A Hogwarts Overtale

by Tums Festival

The Deep End

The rest of the train ride to Hogwarts went much the same as the start of it. Hermione was persistently curious when it came to both Equestria and the Monster Kingdom, Luna chiming in occasionally with an odd comment or surprisingly thoughtful insight. Frisk, too, had questions for Sunset when she wasn’t busy trying to keep Flowey under control. When they started asking things even Sunset didn’t know the answer to, she gave them a few books on Equestria she had handy, Hermione nearly jumping for joy at the gesture.

In return, they had given her answers regarding human customs, technology, and politics the best they could. After all, Equestrian knowledge on this distant continent was somewhat scarce, so she didn’t exactly have much to study up on it before she arrived. Even afterwards, she only had a few days to tour before being whisked away to Hogwarts.

All in all, it was a surprisingly pleasant experience, even with Flowey’s occasional snark. While she was initially against the idea, perhaps there was room for her to make new friends here, and for them to include her among their own. Because of this, she made sure to stick by her new acquaintances once they arrived at the train platform near Hogwarts.

There, Sunset was surprised to see Equine Thestrals of all things. The strange, nightmarish creatures were pulling the various carriages that took people to the looming castle itself. She wasn’t necessarily confused about it because she had never seen death before, it was more because they had a reputation for only hanging around their mythical (to the humans, at least) humanoid cousins simply called Thestrals.

One of them didn’t seem to be happy about its current situation, either, as it was currently thrashing about, rocking the carriage it was latched to slightly. The very one that would be pulling Sunset and company.

‘Alright, time to put my Equestrian heritage to good use,’ she said to herself.

Her mere close proximity turned out to be all it took to calm the bony creature, as she found out when she walked up to it. Instead, both it and its partner nearby glanced at the girl curiously.

“That’s good. Easy there, you two,” Sunset said. Then, with a voice best described as a loud, echoing whisper, she spoke: “Tre su’at. Visheǎ.”

The creatures remained silent. However, she could tell her words had some influence, as their body language seemed to indicate they were in a state of trust.

“Um, Sunset, who are you… whispering at?” Frisk asked, walking up next to her and staring blankly at the spot where the horses stood.

“The Thestrals,” Luna explained. “Oh, I understand. You’ve never seen death before, have you?”

Frisk paused, standing completely still for a second, before shaking her head.

“Not in this timeline, anyway,” Flowey said, giving her what could only be described as a sinister wink.

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that, glancing at Flowey and then at a clearly nervous-looking Frisk. Before she could ask what Flowey met, however, she was interrupted by Hermione.

“As Luna said, Thestrals have a rather unnerving quality of only being visible to people who have witnessed… a demise," Hermione explained, before clearing her throat and glancing at Sunset, seemingly eager to change that topic. “What did you say to it? You were speaking Equestrian, right?”

Sunset threw her an impressed glance. “How many Equestrian books did you get through on that train ride?”

“Oh, three our four,” Hermione said nonchalantly.

‘How fast can this girl read?!’ Sunset thought.

As they were speaking, the group boarded the carriage. Despite not having a driver, the Thestrals seemed to know when and where to go. They were soon off down a beautiful, moon-soaked gravel road towards Hogwarts.

“The part about your connection with horses was especially fascinating,” Hermione continued. “To actually be able to speak directly to them… it reminds me of Harry’s connection with snakes. Well, former connection.”

“We usually only have one-way conversations,” Sunset chuckled. “They can’t exactly speak back. But to answer your first question, loosely translated, I just told them to calm down and that they were among friends.”

“Remarkable,” Hermione said.

“If we learned Equestrian, could we talk to horses?” Frisk asked hopefully.

Sunset shook her head. “No, unfortunately. We’ve tried teaching other species Equestrian, but for some reason, horses just don’t understand them even if they’re speaking the language perfectly.”

Frisk frowned slightly. “Oh…”

“Pffft, why are you so upset?” Flowey groaned. “You barely used to talk to people. Why would you want to talk to beasts?”

Sunset shot him a glare. ‘They’re more than just beasts, you dick,’ she thought. She would have said it out loud, but she didn’t want to give him any more ammunition at the moment. He seemed to thrive on making other people angry.

“Because I want to tell them what a neigh-sayer you are,” Frisk joked in a sing-song tone.

“Oh god,” Flowey said, comically gripping his ‘neck’ with two leaves. “That’s it. If you’re going to start making puns, I’m going to end it all right here.”

Sunset gave him an evil smirk. “Not a fan of horsin’ around?”

Flowey shot her a glare. “And before I go, I’m taking you with me, Knife Ears.”

“I thought we already agreed you’d stop joking about the k-word, Flowey,” Frisk sighed.

“What, killing people?” he said. “Who said that was a joke?”

Sunset scratched her head. ‘How would that even work?’

"Anyway," Hermione interrupted. "Were you two sorted into your houses already? I'm curious how that works with older newcomers."

Sunset and Frisk looked at each other, then back at Hermione. In near unison, they asked:

"Houses?"

--

After a short, fifteen minute journey, they had finally arrived at the impressive castle turned school. From her limited knowledge of the Second Wizardry War, Sunset knew a decisive battle had taken place here not too many months prior. With its looming towers, battlements, and single long, stone bridge as its entryway (which they were currently crossing), it was no surprise the victory went to the defenders.

‘Equestria hasn’t built anything like this for a thousand years,’ Sunset thought. ‘And even the ones before then would definitely be outclassed. These humans really do have a long history of war, and they’ve gotten good at it. If only the Federation was more… proactive when it came to promoting democracy, it wouldn’t be all that hard for them to--’

“Sunset, did you hear me?” Hermione asked, snapping Sunset out of her sinister train of thought.

“Huh? Sorry,” she said. “Just um, lost in the view, I guess.”

“No worries, I get lost like that all the time,” Luna comforted.

“Yes, well, trust me, you don’t want to get lost in the bureaucracy,” Hermione said. “The school has had major renovations over the summer thanks to…” A haunted expression came over her once more. She looked away, gazing at nobody in particular. “Thanks to the war. There’s been staffing rearrangements, reconstruction, dealings with the Ministry of Magic, their own integration into the Federation, you name it. I just want to make sure everything is set with you. I believe Professor Flitwick is the new Deputy Headmaster, so we’ll need to--”

“Ah, Ms. Granger, there you are.”

As soon as they had reached the massive double doors to the castle’s entrance hall, they were greeted with the sight of a short, mustache’d man strutting towards them.

“I needed to speak to you as a Prefect before you got settled in,” he continued. “It turns out, on top of the first years, we’ll be having two more rather interesting students with us this year, and they are not starting out fresh. Rather unprecedented, if I do say so myself. We’re going to need to find them and...“

He blinked, gazing upwards at Sunset’s antlers, then downward at Frisk and Flowey, the latter with a prominent scowl. Realization quickly dawned on him. “Oh, you’re right here.”

“You figure that out by yourself, shortstack?” Flowey muttered, just audible enough for only the group to hear.

‘Even he knows not to mess with a potentially powerful wizard.’

“I mean, of course you’re right here!” he said, forcing his voice to be cheerier than a sunny sky. “Leave it to you, Ms. Granger, to be proactive.”

Hermione smiled at that. “Thank you, professor. Though we were actually just about to come to you. We don’t know what to do about the sorting situat--”

“Not to worry, not to worry,” he said briskly. “The war may have bruised us, but that is not going to get in the way of our usual diligence. Please, come with me. We’ve decided to sort the both of you before the first years arrive.”

“Headmistress McGonagall is, as usual, ‘on point,” Hermione smiled, her and the rest of the group following him inside. “As the Colonials say.”

“It was actually Professor Hagrid’s idea,” Flitwick spoke. “He said, and I quote, ‘it would be ruddy awkward otherwise’. Personally, I’m not sure if he’s correct, but Headmistress McGonagall says otherwise. Come now, come now. Again, there’s no time to waste.”

They followed him into the entrance hall, then into what Hermione had called the Great Hall itself.

Sunset couldn’t help but be impressed. Starlight shined from the ceiling above, which was apparently made semi-transparent to show the night sky. Candles upon candles floated on their own above four massive tables, all seating a hundred or more students. While the former took a lot of mana to cast, it wasn’t exactly a hard spell. The latter, however, was unknown to Sunset. While many Equestrian Elves could easily levitate objects, keeping them levitated on their own wasn’t something she had ever seen any Equestrian magic user do.

‘Did they… did they permanently change how they behave with the laws of physics?’ Sunset blinked.

Frisk, she noted, seemed to be even more in a state of wonder. Despite Monsters being creatures completely made of magic, as she had explained, they apparently didn’t use it for show all too often.

Flitwick guided them down the center of the hall, and it wasn’t long for people to begin noticing them. She had half-expected most of the attention to be on her and Flowey, but instead, she could overhear a variety of comments and cheers:

“Look, it’s Hermione! She’s come back!”

“Bloody war hero if there ever was one. I’m dead serious. Where’s her medal? She should be wearing a medal!”

“Who is she with? Is that an elf?”

“What, a house elf?”

“No, stupid, one of the tall ones. Vulcan, maybe.”

“Why is the young one carrying a flower around?”

“Might be emotional support or something.”

“Rumor says she’s the daughter of the goat lady.”

“Astral, you idiot.”

“They look older… wearing student robes. I didn’t even know we accepted transfers.”

“Guess we do now.”

Sunset glanced at Hermione, half expecting her to be bemused. But instead, her face once ago seemed to be laced with remorse as she glanced around the various tables.

“So many missing people,” she whispered to herself, her tone broken and sorrowful.

Sunset hadn’t noticed it before, but the tables did appear to be at only half-capacity.

‘Could this be because of the war?’ Sunset wondered. ‘Did it get so desperate they had to throw students on the front lines?’

“I need to take a seat,” Luna said, diverging from the group. “But I hope you both get into Ravenclaw. You’re just so… different.”

“Thanks,” Sunset blinked, watching her walk away. “I think?”

“I think she meant it as a compliment,” Frisk smiled.

At that moment, they reached their destination: directly in front of where the teachers sat. With everything else dividing her attention, Sunset hadn’t even looked too closely at them. Aside from a joyful, massive looking man who might as well have been half-giant, there were three other unusual people at the table. This included Frisk’s adoptive mother, who threw the former a loving smile, and two older, but still spritely-looking women with eyes as sharp as knives.

"Hello again, Ms. Granger," one of them said, nodding her way.

"Headmistress McGonagall," Hermione said, smiling brightly. Any sorrow in her tone seemed to have vanished. "It's so good to see you again! How are you doing?"

"The best I can," she said springly. "I see you've found our two new transfers. Sunset Shimmer and Frisk Dreemur, is it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Frisk replied politely.

"Please excuse the rather awkward circumstances," she said. "We aren't used to having transfer students. Not that it's ever been discouraged, mind you, it is simply a rare occurrence." She turned to Hermione. "Go ahead and have a seat. There are a few things we'll need to discuss later, but the Sorting Ceremony waits for no one."

“Thank you, headmistress,” Hermione said. She smiled towards Frisk and Sunset. “I hope we can talk again soon.”

After that, she took a seat, and McGonagall rose from her own. Immediately, all background chatter died. The headmistress, as it seemed, wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with.

“Attention everyone,” she said. “At any moment, a new set of first years will be arriving to be sorted. However, before then, we have another matter that requires attention. Professor Flitwick?”

“Frisk Dreemurr, please take a seat here and we will sort you into your house,” he said, gesturing towards a small stool. In his hands was a large, black hat. “After which, take a seat at your respective table.”

As the hall (in particular, the other older woman at the staff table) gazed at the scene with keen interest, Frisk looked at the stool warily. However, with an encouraging smile from Sunset, she seemed to find the drive to sit. Soon after, Flitwick set the hat upon her head, and to Sunset’s surprise, it quickly came to ‘life’, what looked like a face forming among its contours.

‘Some advanced form of animancy?’ Sunset pondered.

“Hmmm,” it spoke in a gravelly tone, ‘blinking’ a bit. “It’s been many moons since I’ve sorted someone already keen with magic. Most of whom I sit upon have not started their stories, but you, on the other hand, already have quite the tale to tell. Many tales, in fact, separate but coinciding. Some so dark they would chill my bones if I had any. Others with such warmth one could survive wrapped in them in the coldest winter.

I believe I will choose the latter as the most truthful representation of your inner self.

A forgotten people you mingled among, their features at first frightful. A journey fraught with peril, one you could have met with violence, but instead, met with kindness. Kindness, yes, great kindness. The choice of house is obvious: HUFFLEPUFF!”

There was a round of thunderous applause from that table. For a brief moment, Frisk didn’t seem to know how to react, but nonetheless quickly moved there to take a seat.

“Ms. Shimmer,” Flitwick said, nodding her way.

Sunset nodded back, moving to the stool. She didn’t feel much in the way of nervousness, as she would only be here two years. Would the house really matter much in terms of her academics?

Soon, she felt the hat sitting on her.

“Ah. Another sensation I haven't felt in centuries,” it said with great curiosity. “A non-human, eh? I can’t help but say I’m pleased. Before humans here went through a rather… xenophobic period, we used to count fairies, centaurs, and even goblins among our ranks.

You, however, are from distant shores. Shores unknown to us all until recently, the vastness of the world underestimated to the extreme. You have a love for that land, but avoid it with your mind’s eye. What could have driven you here? What could you want from us? What could we want from you?”

“I have many things to offer,” Sunset whispered defensively.

“Indeed. I sense magics within you that I’ve never sensed before. However, I am not here to judge your worth. With courage, ambition, cleverness, adaptability, empathy… and anger, you’re proving difficult to sort."

Sunset gazed up at it. "If I'm adaptable, any will be fine."

"Hah! Very well, then. I think I know just the house for you…"

It took a deep breath, as if for dramatic effect, and finally announced...

Comments

[Starkeeper_Ponyfic]

It took a deep breath, as if for dramatic effect, and finally announced...

YOU LITTLE

[Tums Festival]

10352014
Muahahahaha

[Comickook]

Again, simply wonderful work on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up here. I absolutely loved seeing Sunset continuing to bond with the others over the course of the train ride (and Flowey's comments about alternate timelines and knives certainly make sense all things considered). And, yeah, Frisk getting assigned to Hufflepuff makes A LOT of sense. Of course, we're going to have wait until next chapter to find out what house Sunset got assigned to (since she IS qualified for ALL FOUR houses).

VERY certainly looking forward to more of this.

[Honey Badger]

It took a deep breath, as if for dramatic effect, and finally announced...

OH, COME ON!
What house is she sorted into? I need to know. I must know!

But I must say, this chapter is amazing. You’re doing great. I like how you’re making Sunset bond with the characters. This is the first time I’m reading anything related to Harry Potter books that don’t have Harry and Ron in them. I also love how you’re combining these different universes. What you’re doing is admirable.

But now you’ve got me thinking. At first, I felt Sunset was perfect for Gryffindor, but after reading this chapter, she seems qualified for every house. I can't wait for the next chapter. But seriously, ending a chapter like this is...

[FanOfMostEverything]

Literal horse whispering. How long have you been waiting to unload that one?

“Not in this timeline, anyway,” Flowey said, giving her what could only be described as a sinister wink.

That's... ominous. Depending on how much death Frisk saw in other timelines, everyone here could be in grave danger.

“Because I want to tell them what a neigh-sayer you are,” Frisk joked in a sing-song tone.

Sans strongly approves.

Hagrid thinking of the early Sorting makes perfect sense. He'd know all about awkwardly standing out among people smaller than you.

It feels almost invasive to hear the Hat's full thoughts on Frisk. This is supposed to be a deeply personal moment, after all.

It took a deep breath, as if for dramatic effect, and finally announced...

"SPARKLYPOO!"
"Wait, what?"
"Just kidding."

Looking forward to seeing what the Hat decides. Though if Sunset does end up in Slytherin, it would have one member of each house in the group of friends. And goodness knows she came out of Equestria with ambition at the forefront of her mind.