HARRY offered me a wave, beaming as i made eye contact with him.
the group then turned to look at me, shocked, as i waved back awkwardly. harry leaned forward so his face was peeking just over diana's head. i could tell she bit back a squeal when she turned back around only to meet harry potter's face right behind her.
"i didn't see you on the train! well, at least not until that last moment, but still," he said, tapping his wand against his thigh. why did he have his wand out? i could see a redhead and brunette sitting just to his left and even could see the weasley twins behind them.
"oh, yeah, i got there kind of late and i found a compartment with fred, george, and lee. sorry." was all i could think to say. my brain fuzzed as the rest of the group gaped at us as we talked. he smiled, but i could tell he was surprised at the knowledge.
"you pretty much know all my friends now," he laughed, green eyes shining in the candlelight. "well, i suppose you still don't know the names of hermione and ron," they each took a glance at harry and then looked to us after hearing their names. ron looked through all the people in the group before glaring at me, whilst hermione sent us a warm smile and a wave. kiana fidgeted from next to me. "but you've met them."
"yeah, haha, it's nice to see you again," i said, trying to disguise my cringe as a smile. this interaction was incredibly awkward - or at least to me it was. i semi-glanced at everyone else for their reactions, but they were still watching us converse, shock clearly displayed on their face.
"-so what do you think?" harry brought back my attention with a dazzling smile. i didn't even know what he said, but i smiled back.
"...sure..?" i responded, shrugging at him. he beamed at my response, causing me to relax a bit.
"brilliant! we'll meet you at honeydukes, alright?" harry waited eagerly for my response, acting sort of like a puppy waiting for his owner to give him a treat. i smiled at this, a real, genuine smile, even though i was confused.
"okay. see you," i bit the inside of my cheek, biting back a laugh as harry seemed to sit up a little taller after i reassured him. confidently, he turned back to his table, grinning proudly - prompting questions from his friends around him. i turned back around to my own friends, unprepared for the ambush i was about to face.
"how do you know harry potter?" diana accused, causing my smile to fall immediately. it was a little intense, her pushing to prompt a response and the rest of the group staring at me.
"um, i-" i started, flustered at how to explain and where to start.
"i get it, your family is famous," diana interrupted. i frowned, especially since she didn't apologize nor did the others say anything. kiana gave me a sympathetic look, but it did little to soothe my building annoyance with her friend. "but i didn't think your families would actually know each other. you know, with the whole atlantic literally between them."
"well, she did cross that whole atlantic to be here right now," charles pointed out, literally pointing at me with his fork. my mind raced to piece together how i knew harry.
"i actually-" i was cut off yet again, but by harper this time. i wasn't sure how much of this i could take anymore.
"harry said you knew, quote and quote," she made quote signs with her fingers. " 'all his friends.' i mean, i get harry, cause - like di said- you're both famous and all that, but how do you know 'all his friends'?" harper stared at me accusingly. i stared back with an incredulous look.
"i met him at the bookstore in diagon ally, and a few other people on the way here. does that really matter that much?" i tried to keep my voice light, but im pretty sure at least some people noticed my irritation.
"erm, yes?" diana stated it like it was the most obvious thing ever. "you've met harry potter, and all his friends - so basically the hottest people at this school."
"sorry, i just don't get how that's relevant right now." i tried to conceal my anger, hopefully keeping a poker face. diana sent a look at harper, one that i knew was them judging me.
"don't get so worked up about it. it was just some questions." diana shrugged and began to chat quietly with harper about something. by the way they kept glancing at me, i knew their conversation was about me.
i bit on my cheek, my smile strained. contrary to what i had thought earlier, diana was a pick me and extremely annoying person who only cared about hot people, not some "cute girl." i had half a mind to pull out my wand and hex her right now.
i calmed myself down and stopped thinking about them. i continued to eat my food while having a pleasant conversation with kiana and charles. i didn't like their friends very much, but it felt good to talk to them at least.
by the end of the feast, i was so emotionally drained, i was becoming physically drained. i tried to keep up with the conversation, but the combination of the loudness and the number of people in the great hall was so overwhelming i was almost on the brink of tears.
finally, dumbledore excused everyone to go back to their respective houses. we followed some girl and some boy who'd introduced themselves earlier as head girl and boy. i had already forgotten their names.
they showed us the secret code we had to tap on the barrels to get in and not get drenched by a barrelful of vinegar. i made a mental image of it and hoped i remembered it later. when everyone got inside the common room, i breathed a sigh of relief. i thought i could just lay down, and finally sleep.
i was wrong. i had to figure out where my dorm was, which was also chaos. the dorms were split into two by sex. they were dorms that held 3-4 students, some with only 2 people.
the names of each person residing in the dorms were on the outside of the door. kiana was able to choose harper and diana as her partners, cause she was a prefect. everyone else was assigned their dorms randomly.
after lots of searching, i finally found my dorm. there was only one other girl i had to share the dorm with, which i was both grateful for and disappointed about. on one hand, it would be easier to connect with her, but on the other, i would expand my amount of friends.
i opened the door to my dorm. instead of a musty, unused room smell i was expecting, it was a nice and clean room that had a nice cottage aesthetic. my roommate was already in there, sitting on the bed.
my mind blanked when i saw her. she was possibly the most beautiful girl i had seen in my life. auburn locks of hair cascaded in silky locks down her shoulders and stopped all the way at her waist. some pieces of her - almost maroon - hair framed her heart-shaped freckled face perfectly, which obviously was glass skin kpop idol level clear.
she was so perfect, it was intimidating. i'd always considered myself a pretty mid-girl, not super ugly, but not pretty enough to seriously like. so beautiful girls, many like my roommate, intimidated me. but as soon as she smiled at me, it all washed away.
"hello! my name is ivy," even her name was perfect. her voice was sweet, like honey, and had a nicely complementing slight french accent. "i transferred last year, from beauxbatons. i am in my sixth year of school. what about you?"
"uh, hi, i'm y/n.." i trailed off, eyes darting around the room. it was hard to keep eye contact with her hazel eyes, which were shining curiously like gemstones. "i'm also a sixth year. but i skipped a year, so i'm probably younger than you."
"it is nice to meet you y/n." her pearly teeth flashed at me once again, the smile kind and genuine. "shall we check to see what classes we have together?"
"sure." i smiled at her offer. she seemed truly nice and sweet on the inside, despite her intimidating exterior. i handed her the folded paper schedule in my pocket. i stood there awkwardly while she checked both of our schedules.
she beamed at what she saw. "we have almost all classes together except for muggle studies and herbology. it must be fate!"
"yeah," i chuckled, sitting on the tightly made bed across from hers. in front of the bed was my luggage. the sheets below me were yellow with yellow curtains and a black bed frame. i was beginning to notice a pretty obvious color scheme of the room, nearly all decorations and furniture being black or yellow. "i guess it is."
"yes, and we will be such good friends! a lot of the people in this school are very closed within their social circles, and i have been finding it hard to intrude." her eyes became sad for a split second as she handed back my schedule, before becoming excited once more. "so now we can make our own social circle and intrude together! right?"
this girl was pure. so very pure and so very kind. my eyes scanned her for any signs of lying or hidden judgment, but there were none. just pure joy and excitement shining through her eyes. just being here in her ethereal presence made me want to be a better person. i let go of all my remaining tension in one small breath, letting myself sink into the mattress below me.
"yeah. together." i meant it. i felt a true connection with this girl, a bond undeniably connecting us. she was so unlike diana or harper or charles, or even kiara. i felt so welcomed and unjudged by her that i wasn't sure i'd ever felt before. it was nice to be able to differentiate between the fake and the real.
for now, i'll stick with the real.
just to clarify: by "almost on the brink of tears", i meant that feeling where you're about to cry because everything that's going on is so crazy and you cant keep up with it and you just feel so hopeless. and reader is emotionally drained, so she's literally about to break down if she doesn't "recharge."
this chapter was okay, kind of bad tho. the ending is iffy. can yall tell that my writing is different? i wrote this a while after writing the previous chapters cause i lost motivation. i hate the way this progressed so unsmoothly - i really spaced it out really badly. anyways, love you, and tysm for reading. have an amazing week!!!
7/20 i forgot to post again lmao