#just by saying it’s sirius core (they wore a leather jacket) or remus core (they’re wearing a sweater)

[odderancyart]

Welcome Home

I presenteth to thee, a Hogwarts AU, because why the fuck not?

On AO3

No warnings

Word count: 4186

You can find the Hat’s song here

Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home

Edge gazed out the window, placing his fingertips against the cold glass. Their father stood outside, wearing the elegant suit that unnerved Edge so much. It was a casual suit, so normal, and Dr Gaster never wore that kind of clothes unless they were going to London. Like now. He looked just like the other parents, except for the two cracks on his face and glowing red eyelights. It was odd. Far away from his usual domain, inconspicuous. Edge wasn’t sure whether he preferred this or the usual. This gives a sense of normalcy. A normalcy they’d never had, and it was a constant reminder of that they never would. There were no traces of the man who’d come home from work the same they were going to buy school supplies, blood splattered over his face.

Not his blood, of course. It never was.

Dr Gaster nodded at him as he caught his gaze, and Edge nodded back before sitting back down, tearing his eyes from the colourful platform. Platform 9 ¾. Feelings he couldn’t name coiled inside him. They were leaving home to go to a boarding school – a magical boarding school – and in all honesty, it was hard to swallow the guilt over how relieved he was over it. Their father was a good parent and had always done his best, but growing up in the middle of a gang war wasn’t easy. Particularly not when your parent was incredibly involved in it.

He ran his fingers over the carvings he’d found beneath the table between the seats. Four names. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter. And two words. Marauders Forever. Who they were, he had no idea, but they must’ve been friends. Friends going to magic school together. Edge glanced at his brother. Red lounged in the opposite, leaning against the wall with his nose in one of his physics-books. Another book laid on the table: The Wisdom of Stars: a ground course in astrology. Bullshit, of course. Astrology wasn’t a thing, everyone with a teaspoon of sense knew that. Why the fuck they taught in in a school, he didn’t know.

Oh Angel, magic school. When, on their eleventh birthday, that lady had shown up and claimed that all the weird shit happening around them was because they were wizards, Red had slammed the door in her face. But since father had insisted they hear her out, they had. He smiled faintly, pulling out the wand he’d bought two weeks ago from his backpack. Hornbeam with a dragon heartstring core, whatever that meant. Thank the Angel they had listened.

In all honesty, until now he’d been expecting to wake up and find it all to be a dream. But now, as the old train puffed and pulled away from the station, it actually felt real.

“Fuck,” he said, pulling at his leather jacket. “This is happening.” Red grunted noncommittally. The only time he had looked up since he pulled out his book was to growl at whoever tried to enter the compartment.

His biggest issue with this all, though, was that there was a school uniform. And those wizard robes were a far cry from the clothes he and his brother had always worn. Back in their town, there were basically two choices: suits or leather. And he was not comfortable surrendering his leatherjacket for that weird-ass uniform.

But it wasn’t like they lacked money. Maybe he could bribe the headmistress into letting them keep their own clothes.

He looked up as the door to their compartment slid open, revealing three older girls. The one at the front had blue skin and the reddest hair he’d ever seen. Behind her stood a lizard and a brown-haired human. Red looked up from his book, glaring at them and letting out a growl Usually, it made people retreat but the redhead only raised an eyebrow.

“First-years?” she asked. Her voice was dark and laced with amusement.

“What’s that to ya?” Red grunted. Edge could hear the defensiveness in his voice, though he doubted anyone else could.

“This is our compartment, punk. But since you’re first-years I’ll give you some slack. You didn’t know. Now get out of here.”

Stiffening in his seat, Edge glared at her. “No.”

“No?”

“No. We were here first, asshole. And we don’t take orders from anybody.” His soul pounded in his chest as he met her gaze unflinchingly. She was obviously older, and so likely knew magic already. And despite his knowledge about fighting, he couldn’t battle magic. Yet. But he’d never taken orders by anyone other than his father in his life, and he wasn’t about to start with some random teenager.

The girl guffawed. “I like your spirit, punk,” she exclaimed, seating herself next to him. Her friends stepped in after her. The human was smiling while the lizard’s eyes flickered between Edge and his brother. She held out her hand, and cautiously, he shook it. “I don’t usually talk with kids, but I’ll make an exception for you. I’m Undyne. They’re Alphys and Frisk.”

“How generous.” Edge’s voice dripped with sarcasm, even though he smiled. “I’m Edge. This is my brother Red.”

“Cool names!”

Was she sincere or mocking them? He narrowed his eyes. It was fifty/fifty. Edge quite liked his name, but many found them amusing. Particularly in combination with their edgy style and red magic. But there were no signs of mockery on her face. “Thank you,” he replied cautiously.

Undyne grinned sharply. “Any thoughts on which house you’re gonna be in, punk? Personally, I’m in the coolest of all the houses: Gryffindor!”

Edge shrugged. “No idea. I don’t know anything about them.”

“Oh, muggleborn, are you?”

In the corner of his eye, he could see Red peek up, glancing suspiciously on her. The witch lady had warned them there still were a few people who looked down upon ‘muggleborns’ even though they apparently were much fewer after the Second War – and Edge hadn’t the faintest idea what this war was.

She threw her arm over his shoulders, grinning down at him. “No worries, edgy lil’ pal. Aunt Undyne is gonna tell you everything you need to know.”

…

When the train arrived at the end stop, Edge had made a deal with himself regarding his uniform. The girls left for a while to let him and Red get changed before they afforded them the same courtesy, and now when he stepped off the train it was with the cape-like thing still stuffed into his bag and his leatherjacket over the rest of the black robes. Red had done the same. Neither of them was willing to give up either the pure aesthetics of it nor the safety the symbol on their jackets, the Delta Rune, had always granted them at home. No one at home would hurt a child wearing the Rune unless they wished for a painful death. Edge had never left their apartment without it.

The activity on the platform was frantic as students flooded out of the train. At least their stuff was still on the train: Frisk had said to leave it. Though the thought made him slightly nervous, he had listened. Except his backpack – he had the black leather bag slung over one of his shoulders. He wasn’t leaving his most precious belongings for some stranger to take.

Undyne grinned sharply at him as someone yelled from behind the crowd, “First-years over here! First-years!”

“Go over there, punk. I’ll be waiting after the Sorting ceremony. Can’t wait to have ya in my house.” Gryffindor, as earlier mentioned. Frisk was a Hufflepuff – “The only cool one in that bunch,” Undyne had said and then received hard poke that made her grin – and Alphys a Ravenclaw. According to Undyne, it went, Gryffindor – the cool house for the brave and daring ones, Hufflepuff – “They say they’re hard-working, but they don’t seem to do much, sorry Frisk but it’s true,” Ravenclaw – for the weird nerds, and Slytherin – the stuck-up kids. Edge had a feeling she was biased.

Nonetheless, he really hoped he’d go to Gryffindor like her. He’d only known her for a couple hours, but he really wanted to make her proud. It kind of worried him, that he already liked her so much. After all, he didn’t know her.

But Red grabbed his wrist before he could continue pondering and pulled him toward the crowd of their peers that had gathered around a man in a huge green witch hat with flowers in the hatband. He beamed at them. “Welcome to Hogwarts, children. I am the groundskeeper, Asgore Swapp – call me Asgore – and I am going to bring you to the castle. Come with me, please.”

Edge regarded the other new students as he and Red did as asked, following the crowd away from the platform. Surprisingly, there were quite a few skeletons in the group. Of course, they weren’t an uncommon species, but he still had never seen that many in the same place. The group was otherwise very mixed between monsters and humans.

“-older brother is starting second grade!” one of the skeletons said, and Edge listened intently, trying to gather what kind of people he would be attending school with. Hopefully, they weren’t like his old classmates. Especially since he would have to live with them. “He says the Sorting is super cool, though not as cool as me, of course!”

“-I’ve got no idea what house I’m going to be in-”

“-can’t wait! I’ve been looking forward to this all my life-”

“-I miss my baby sister already. What if she forgets me-”

As they stepped away from the lights of the platform, Red gasped. When he turned around, he found his brother staring up at the sky, eyelights glittering. Edge followed his gaze, and his eyes widened. Stars. Thousands of them, or millions. Twinkling up there, bright and gorgeous. His mouth fell open. He’d never seen anything like it.

“Holy shit,” Red whispered, awe shining on his face. Edge smiled. The view was beautiful, but he’d never heard his brother so enchanted before. It was nice.

Then a lake appeared in front of them, the stars glittering on its calm, dark surface, and Asgore started directing them into small boats with a single light in the front. And on the other side of the lake, a castle towered. Edge’s soul skipped a beat in his chest. Wow. It was enormous, lights shining in every window and tower, and the full moon was rising behind it.

He wasn’t certain how he ended up in a boat sitting next to Red, but somehow, he did. Two other students sat in the same boat: a skeleton who was even taller than him who beamed at them, and a human with blonde hair. The skeleton held out his hand, offering it to Red. He didn’t even seem to notice, too entranced by the stars. Shrugging, the skeleton gave it to Edge instead, who shook it.

“Hi!” he said, smiling widely. “I’m Papyrus Gaster! Who are you?”

“Edge Griffin.” He hesitated before giving the other a smile in return, regarding him. This skeleton looked very different from every skeleton he’d ever met. Softer. His teeth were even and his shapes round. How strange. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too! Any thoughts on which house you’re going to be in? My brother is in Ravenclaw, because he’s a huge nerd for the stars, and he says I’m probably a Hufflepuff because I’m so nice. Dad agrees.” The words were thrown at him so fast Edge almost couldn’t comprehend them at first.

He blinked. “No, I haven’t. I didn’t even know what the houses meant before I got them explained on the train.”

“Oh!” Papyrus leaned forward, grinning widely. “Well, Gryffindor is for the courageous and chivalrous, Hufflepuff is for the fair and loyal, Ravenclaw is for creative and passionate people, and Slytherin is for the shrewd and ambitious! Personally, I think I’d fit right into any of them!”

Edge couldn’t help but return his grin. “I’m sure. Well, Ravenclaw doesn’t really fit me then. I don’t claim to be particularly creative or passionate.” Except when it comes to fighting, maybe. His Krav Maga-teacher said he was quite creative. He didn’t tell the other that though. Didn’t know him anywhere near well enough to reveal that he was a trained fighter – he’d started classes at six.

“Well you’ll surely be placed in the house that’s perfect for you! Say have you ever played Quidditch?”

Obviously, he had not. But as he listened to Papyrus explain while regarding the castle, which grew bigger and bigger, he couldn’t help but smile. He had a good feeling about this.

…

The entrance hall of the castle was enormous. The ceiling was so high the crystal chandeliers almost looked tiny, and the staircase at its end was in marble, Edge could see that. On its lower steps, a yellow wyvern lady in a huge brown hat waited, smiling at them. “Welcome to Hogwarts,” she said as they all crowded in front of her. “I am Professor Dunbar, the deputy headmistress of this school. I will bring you to the Great Hall for the Sorting ceremony. Come with me.”

The walk through the castle never seemed to end. Papyrus was still by his side, chatting about various subjects, and Edge did listen but there was so much to look at.

“I remember my first time coming here,” Papyrus said, startling him. The other was grinning at him, something knowing in his eyes. “I was nine, and dad was doing a guest lecture in Potions, and since he couldn’t find anyone to look after me and my brother we got to come too. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Edge only nodded. It really was.

Abruptly, the group stopped. His soul jumped up in his throat as he stopped, almost running straight into the student in front of him. Professor Dunbar gestured toward the huge door in front of them. In the back of his mind, Edge wondered if everything wizardly would be that enormous. Was he destined to feel small, despite his unusual height for his age, during the next seven years?

“On the other side of this door, we’ll find the Great Hall. This is where the Sorting ceremony will take place. There are four houses in this school: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. They will function as your family during the schoolyear, so do your best to get off with a good start. Now, let’s proceed.”

The doors opened, revealing yet another hall with supremely high ceiling. Candles floated mid-air, and even Red gawked at that. Four long tables filled with students were in there, two on each side of the pathway in the middle, and at a platform yet another table stood. Adults sat there – likely the teachers. In front of the table, there was a single stool with a huge, frayed hat on and-

“Red,” he whispered, blinking rapidly. “Is the hat singing?”

“One thousand years ago this story starts

There were four sorcerers with strong and wise hearts,” the hat sang.

“Fucking hell it is.” Shock was painted on Red’s face as they made their way along the path, up to the platform.

Papyrus giggled. “Yeah, that’s not that cool. Wait until you see what we’re doing in class!”

“Bold Gryffindor from wild moor

Fair Ravenclaw from glen

Sweet Hufflepuff from valley broad

Shrewd Slytherin from fen.

They had a dream to teach all that they knew

Witches and wizards came far and it grew

‘Til a castle stood tall by the shore of a lake

And a thousand years later, the magic remains.”

Once more, they all stopped, gathering into a crowd. Professor Dunbar stepped up by the stool, holding up the hat and a parchment. “When I call your name, you will come up here and the Sorting Hat will sort you into your houses.” Many of the students nodded. “Julia Clarke.”

The blonde kid who had been in the boat with them climbed the platform, sitting down on the chair. She hadn’t said a word during the entire trip. The Hat didn’t even have time to sit down completely on her head before it yelled, “RAVENCLAW!”

Edge twitches, staring at the Hat. His mouth fell open, and Papyrus giggled again. An applause broke out at one of the tables, and she walked over to them, sitting down.

“Papyrus Gaster.”

He squealed in excitement before half-running up to the stool, sitting down. The Hat’s face, because it had a face, turned contemplative. A few moments passed. A drop of wax fell from one of the candles, down on the small staircase before the platform. “SLYTHERIN!”

Papyrus’ mouth formed an O before he shrugged, beaming as he bounced over to the applauding table on the far left of the hall. He waved at his new housemates.

“Edge Griffin.”

He swallowed before straightening his back, marching up on the platform. He put a cocky grin onto his face, sweeping his gaze over the audience as he sat down. As he did, he swept a hand over the well-worn leather of his jacket, feeling his soul calm somewhat. The deputy headmistress eyed it but didn’t comment as she put the Hat down on his head.

“Oh, interesting.”

Edge twitched, breath hitching. What the hell?

“Language.” The voice sounded amused, and Edge’s eyes widened unnoticeably as he realized it must be the Hat. It was talking to him. Inside his head.

“Indeed I am.” It chuckled. “Now where to put you? You’re right that you’re not a Ravenclaw. The other three houses, though… you could fit into all of them. You’re as valiant and courageous as a true Gryffindor, but…” It hesitated. “No, maybe not. You’re either a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff. You’re cunning and ambitious, no denying that. Resourceful as well. But those aren’t your defining traits, no. Despite the hardships you’ve lived through already, the horrors you’ve seen, you’re kind at soul. Loyal almost to a fault. Hard-working and dedicated, for sure. And fair as well as patient, yes. Yes, I think I know where you belong, young warrior.”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

The table where everyone wore sunshine-yellow and black ties broke out in loud applauses, cheering as he slid off the stool and made his way over to them. He glanced toward the red table, anxiety coiling in his stomach as he searched for a certain redhead. Undyne looked surprised as she met his gaze but gave him the thumbs up and something loosened inside him as he slid into a seat next to a teenager. He smiled at him, offering his hand. A goat-monster with white fluffy fur. Edge took it.

“Hello, I’m Asriel Dreemurr, one of the prefects.” His voice and smile were gentle. “We’re so happy to have you here and if you ever need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you.” Edge nodded. Just then, his brother’s name was called, and he twisted around to get a good look. Red sauntered up to the stool, hands shoved into his jacket pockets.

The Hat didn’t stay on his head for more than a second before it shouted, “SLYTHERIN!”

Grinning, Red went over to the Slytherin-table, sitting down next to Papyrus. Papyrus beamed at him.

Edge bit down on his tongue, balling the hand he had in his lap into a fist. His stomach squeezed. Oh Angel. Not being in the same house as his twin would be difficult. They’d never been away from each other for any longer while before.

The Sorting continued, and they were joined by more students, among others two more skeletons. One who, almost whispering, revealed his name as Slim Serif, and another who smiled lazily and said, “Rus Shacklebolt, as you heard. Yes, I’m related to Kingsley Shacklebolt, he’s my second cousin.” Edge immediately disliked him. He slouched worse than Red and anyone who introduced themselves that way was bound to be insufferable.

Once everyone was sorted, the headmistress, Professor Greengrass, told them, “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. And an extra welcome to our new students. I am certain you will feel at home in no time at all. I will waste no more time – bon appetite everyone!”

He stayed quiet most of the dinner, listening to the others and trying to gather what sort of company he’d ended up in. Everyone seemed to nice – well, except from Rus that is – and it was freaking him out a little. How the fuck did anyone dare to be so openly friendly, didn’t they know that was dangerous? Then again, so had Undyne. Neither Slim nor Rus spoke a lot either, though when Rus did speak, it was with a confidence that seemed almost exaggerated. It grated on Edge’s nerves, to say the least.

Frisk waved at him from down the table, smiling brightly.

Supper was delicious, he had to say that. He’d always eaten very well, seeing how his father was one of the more influential people at home, but never anything like this. There were roasted beef and chicken, and roasted potatoes and boiled potatoes and lamb and bacon and more food than Edge even knew the name off. And all of it was marvellous – except the roasted turnips. He’d always hated turnip.

Eventually, the dinner had to end, though. Asriel was showing them to the common room as they passed by a group of Gryffindors, among them Undyne. She grinned at him, and that anxiety returned as he freed himself from the group.

“Hufflepuff, eh, punk?” she said, eyeing him up and down. “Wouldn’t have pegged you like one.”

“Yes,” he replied. “So it seems.” Discomfort crept up his spine as he watched her, searching for a hint of disapproval. She seemed to think Hufflepuffs were kind or boring, even if she was friends with Frisk. Maybe she would think he was boring too now?

She guffawed, slapping his back. “Well I guess that bunch of duffers needs someone to spice things up a little! Seems that’s your job now. You’ll do great.”

Relief flooded him, though he hid it behind a smirk. “Of course. I always do.”

Snorting, she nodded. “Keep that attitude, punk.” She nodded toward the group who had stayed a distance away. “Don’t keep them waiting, or they might get tired of it. No one but the Puffs know how the hell to get into your common room, so you better not let that happen. It’s Hogwarts’ most well-guarded secret.” She tilted her head. “But maybe you’ll let me know, eh?”

“Hardly,” he snorted. If it was a secret, he wouldn’t reveal it. But he nodded, grinning as he made his way back to them. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was very happy she still seemed to be his friend. He didn’t have a lot of those – or any, if he was honest. Alliances, yes, but not friends. Asriel smiled at him as they made their way down, down in the castle, until they reached what Edge must assume to be the lowest level possible over the basement itself.

Asriel waved them closer as they gathered around a pile of barrels. He looked around to ensure no one else was there before he placed his hand over one of the barrels – the second from the floor, middle of the second row. “To open Hufflepuff basement,” he murmured, voice hushed so Edge had to lean forward to hear properly, “tap the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff on this barrel. If you forget which barrel it is, just wait for someone else to come. If you do it on the wrong one, you’ll get doused in vinegar, and that’s not fun.”

Edge couldn’t help but get the impression he was speaking from experience.

He demonstrated, and a secret passageway was revealed, much to the delight of multiple students. Even Edge watched in intrigue as they entered it. The passageway was sloping and earthy, and at its end, a warm light appeared.

When they stepped into the common room, multiple students were already there, lounging in the many light-yellow couches. The walls were made of dark yellow bricks, though honey-coloured wood made up a meter-high lath from the wooden floor of the same colour. A fire crackled in a fireplace on the opposite side of the circular room, and a portrait of a brown-haired woman in a yellow dress hung above it. She toasted them with the golden goblet she was holding, and Edge didn’t even twitch this time. It wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d seen today. Why the hell not have living paintings too?

“That’s our founder, Helga Hufflepuff,” Asriel let them know. “She’s amazing if you want help with homework or just talk with someone who isn’t a student or teacher.”

Plants filled the shelves and hung from the ceiling, and light washed in from the circular windows just beneath it. In all honesty, it was beautiful.

As Asriel let them know where the dormitories were, Edge couldn’t help but smile at the sunny room.

He thought he’d like it here.

#hogwarts au #underfell #underswap #swapfell #undertale #uf papyrus #uf sans #ut undyne #undyne #frisk #alphys #ut papyrus #asriel #asgore #us papyrus #sf papyrus #uf gaster