The fact that Mr. McLeod assured him the monster wouldn't return next term did calm him a little. The corridors still frightened him because he didn't know what lurked around every corner but even though the monster gave him nightmares and walking through the entrance hall sent shivers down his spine; he still loved Hogwarts. He was still completely in love with magic and after knowing about it for almost a year, he didn't want to go back to his old school. He really hoped his parents would allow him to return for his second year.

Carlton stayed silent. Why hadn't his magic worked? At first an idea struck him that perhaps he wasn't supposed to be at Hogwarts in the first place. No one in his family did magic, no one even knew it existed so why him? But he pushed the thought away. He'd managed to do magic in class (most of the time anyway) so the idea that his acceptance letter had ended up at the wrong address didn't stay with him for long.

The young boy looked up at his Head of House with a questioning look. "Because I wasn't focused? Maybe?" All the professors always told him to focus and that it was all about intent. The intent for his magic to work inside the portal had definitely been there, but the focus... "Because I was afraid..." He frowned, suddenly irritated. "But... How do you even focus in a situation like that, Mr. McLeod? How do you focus when a monster is chasing you? It drooled on my head, Mr. McLeod!" He pointed at his curls for emphasis. "I can't focus when I'm being drooled on by something that wants to eat me." Fact.