The First Day
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"Sofiya? ..Sofiya!~"
"Oh, would you hush up? It's too early for this, Samantha..."
Sofiya's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her roommates fading into her ears, causing her brows to furrow slightly in confusion. When her blurry vision came into focus, she found herself face-to-face with one of her roommates, Samantha Dale. The other girl was unusually close to Sofiya's face, causing her to flinch in surprise.
"Samantha!" She exclaimed.
"Oh, Sofiya!" Samantha hopped a few steps back, her hands coming up to cover her lips in surprise, "I sincerely apologize, I did not mean to get so close! I didn't want you to miss breakfast, is all!"
Rising from her sheets, Sofiya gazed around the room. Everyone seemed to still be in bed - all except for Samantha, of course, who was already dressed in her robes and ready for the day. Over the summer, Sofiya nearly forgot what dorm life was like at Hogwarts. She forgot these early mornings when Samantha would wake the girls long before they needed to be up - a habit she developed from living with her brother, presumably. Samantha was always very sisterly toward Sofiya, so although she wasn't the happiest about being woken up so early, she could at least appreciate her caring nature.
"Enough, Samantha! Why not wake up the rest of the house, don't you?" Sofiya leaned slightly to her left, catching a glance of the girl still bundled up in the bed in front of her.
Astoria Crickett, a headstrong girl who Sofiya hadn't interacted with often, but their first meeting was quite memorable. It was in a match of Crossed Wands, where Astoria was incredibly impressed that she beat not one, but three opponents at once. She could be quite aggressive at times, but from that sole interaction, Sofiya knew she had a good heart.
As Sofiya got out of bed and started dressing for the day, she noticed her last roommate, Sophronia Franklin, wasn't in bed. Perhaps she was out even earlier than Samantha.
It made sense, it was the first day of classes after all. Although she didn't quite feel it yet, Sofiya was beyond excited to be starting the new school year. As she buttoned up her dress shirt and spoke nonsense with the other girls, she pondered about the upcoming day. The previous year, Sofiya couldn't quite enjoy her courses like the other students. She had to spend quite a lot of time catching up to them, the added stress of extra assignments not letting her relish in what they were currently learning. This year, however, was different. She wasn't the new student anymore – at least, not quite as much.
The trio walked out of their dorms together, making their way to the Great Hall. As they exited, Sofiya noticed the chatter of passing crowds of students — the way the younger students lit up at every movement of an object, and the older ones chuckled at the familiarity. Hogwarts felt so full of life now that she didn't have the world to save, or a secret power to harness. Now, she was just a witch attending her magical classes. What else could she ask for?
Pushing open the doors to the Great Hall, the girls were greeted by even louder chatter than in the halls. Each table seemed mostly packed with students, making Sofiya question how so many even managed to fit on just one bench. Either way, the trio made a beeline toward the Ravenclaw table, taking a seat at the nearest opening.
In front of them sat Amit Thakkar and Everett Clopton, two housemates Sofiya wasn't entirely familiar with but knew enough to greet them with a smile.
"A fine morning to you ladies!" Everett greeted them boastfully, his voice booming even over the overlapping conversations around them, "How did the summertime treat you?"
"Just fine, Everett!" Samantha called.
"What?!"
"I said just fine!"
"I jest, Samantha! I heard what you said!" The boy sent a smirk toward the now peeved Samantha, who simply turned down toward her breakfast instead of responding. He looked to Sofiya, "And you, Sofiya, how was your summer?"
"Quite alright, though a bit boring!" Sofiya shrugged a bit, taking a bite of her eggs.
"Easy for you to say, hero! Nothing can quite compare to saving the castle, aye?" Everett chuckled to himself, to which Sofiya laughed along as well. He did have a bit of a point, didn't he? In hindsight, nothing could quite top the events of fifth year; however, Sofiya didn't mind boring. She could get used to boring!
"Well, how about you two?" Sofiya switched the subject to the two boys, more curious about them than her memories.
"Ah, my summer was fantastic!" Sofiya noticed Amit had opened his mouth to answer, but Everett was simply too quick, and far too eager to talk about himself. "Garreth, Callum, and I got up to plenty of nonsense over the summer. Isn't that right?! Garreth? Callum, Callum!"
Everett shouted past Sofiya, trying to catch the attention of the two red-headed Gryffindors who sat behind her. They turned around almost in sync, their faces lighting up at the sight of their mischievous Ravenclaw friend.
"Oi, you don' happen to be talking about what happened over the summer, are ya?" The boy on the left called out, his prominent Irish accent standing out amongst the hundreds of surrounding voices. Callum Conway, another boy in Sofiya's year whose reputation far precedes him. He's known to be just as much of a troublemaker as Everett and Garreth; however, he comes off to be much duller than the two.
"Tell them the Zonko's story! Or... No! Tell the broomstick story!" Garreth gestured wildly toward Everett, accidentally smacking into Callum a couple of times out of sheer enthusiasm. That was one of Garreth's most favorable qualities: his enthusiasm. Sure, he could be a bit of trouble at times, but he was a good person through and through. Sofiya admired that about him.
"Now what in Merlin's name is the broomstick story?" Everett called back, now standing and leaning over the table to engage himself further in their obnoxious conversation.
"Sofiya, you have a free period before lunchtime, correct?" Through all the yelling and chatter, Sofiya glanced over at Amit, who had somehow been able to project himself just loud enough for her to hear. She smiled at him, giving him a small nod.
He nodded back, "Would you like to catch up then? If you wouldn't mind..!"
"Of course, Amit! I have been wanting to talk about those Astronomy tables you showed me!" Sofiya exclaimed, actually quite excited at the reminder of Astronomy. Was she very passionate about it? Not quite, but she knew Amit would love to hear about it.
"Perfect! I will see you soon, Sofiya!" The boy grinned happily before turning to leave. Most students seemed to be departing from the Great Hall to head to their first classes. So, naturally, Sofiya stood and followed the crowd.
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Sofiya climbed up the ladder leading to the Divination classroom, realizing something she didn't miss was this ladder. Wasn't it a bit dangerous to have students go up a ladder right next to the stairwell? One wrong step... The girl shivered at the oncoming thought.
She made it to the top of the ladder, safe and sound, and glanced around the Divination room. Although the way in was a bit inconvenient, Sofiya adored the classroom. The circular table set up with the small pillows for seats, the long purple curtains that draped over the thin windows, and the occasional candle that added a warm aura to its own corner of the room. Sofiya wondered if Professor Onai decorated the room herself — if so, she had wonderful taste!
"Sofiya! Over here!"
The girl immediately looked over to where her name was being called, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Poppy Sweeting and Beaumont Remington. The two Hufflepuffs were close companions, both to each other and to Sofiya. They were the purest form a Hufflepuff could come in, and were the main reason Sofiya stayed so sane over the summer.
"Hello, you two!" Sofiya beamed at the two as she sat between them, adjusting her skirt against her crossed legs.
"Thank Merlin you two are in this class with me. I can't stand Divination..." Beau muttered under his breath, worried about Professor Onai hearing his dislikable opinion.
"We'll make it fun for you, Beau! You'll see that reading a few cards and tea leaves isn't as bad as you think!" Poppy chirped, before turning to Sofiya, her smile fading.
"Have you seen him today?" She questioned, her tone slightly more serious.
"...No, and I would like to keep it that way." Sofiya cleared her throat, her gaze turning to her lap. It was a bit of a white lie she slipped to Everett when she said she had a boring summer. Was she fighting off spiders and dark wizards? No, not at all, but emotionally this summer was quite the ride. Poppy was one of the few who Sofiya told about it — and with good reason. Even after all those owls, Poppy was still taking the time to check on her friend.
"Ah, how wonderful it is to see you all again."
Professor Onai spoke up amongst the class, the side conversations fading away into silence. Her hands held each other behind her back as she stood before the class, a gentle smile laid over her features.
"Welcome back, my pupils, to another year of Divination!" She cheered, "I hope you all reviewed the use of your tarot cards... Let's put you all to the test, shall we?"
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Sofiya stepped off the last peg of the ladder, rejoining Poppy and Beau as they began to descend the spiral staircase.
"What classes do you two have next?" Poppy glanced over at the other two, her schedule in hand.
"I've got a free period. Most likely, I'll simply wander around and help a few lost first years!" Beau exclaimed. Beau was a Prefect, and quite a spectacular one, at that. He was a kind-hearted and friendly boy, with an undying urge to help everyone that he possibly could. Sofiya felt lucky to have someone so amazing as a friend.
"I believe I have..." Sofiya took her own schedule out of her pocket, her eyes scanning over the worn parchment, "Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Oh, Puffskeins!" The smaller girl exclaimed, a pout forming on her face as she folded up her schedule, "I've got Charms, now Merlin knows who I will have to sit with."
The three of them laughed and talked until they had to part ways. The first was Beau, who was pulled aside by a troubled second year on the verge of tears, which Sofiya overheard was because he couldn't find a way out to the Flying fields. The next was Poppy, who left with a smile and a wave to take a shortcut to Charms. Which left Sofiya, alone with her thoughts as she took many stairwells and hallways toward D.A.D.A.
As the girl walked, she pondered about the day ahead. So far, everything was going smoothly. She had met up with a good amount of her friends, all of which were just as happy to see her as she was to see them. There were a couple she was missing, and one person, in particular, she was trying to avoid — and succeeding.
Sofiya approached the door to her next class, pushing it open and squeezing her way through the space she made for herself. Her frosty blue eyes scanned the room for any familiar faces and catches a glance of slicked-back blonde hair in neatly pressed Slytherin robes. The seat beside him was open, so Sofiya scurried over as her heart fluttered in excitement.
"Ominis!" The girl called, to which Ominis glanced over with an expression of slight surprise.
"Sofiya... Is that you?" He spoke, a small smile appearing over his features.
Sofiya was especially excited to see Ominis, of all people. Toward the end of the year, she was aware he held some ill feelings toward her. Since she was so loyal to Sebastian, even after everything he had done, Ominis made it clear to her that he disapproved. However, Sofiya had sent an owl to him as the summer started, apologizing for everything he went through and hoping they could still be friends. As the weeks went by, they sent letters back and forth to each other almost weekly. They became quite close, somewhat to Sofiya's surprise.
"Yes! Say, Ominis, I was trying out some of those tips you told me about Aguamenti, and–"
"Excuse me. That seat is taken."
Sofiya's heart dropped into her stomach.
...No.
It couldn't be.
That sounded like...
Slowly, the girl turned behind her, her gaze following the figure up until she saw his face.
Soft, ash-brown hair swept messily to the side, seeming to be freshly cut. Dark hazel eyes stared down into Sofiya's, though her gaze was more busy taking in the dozens of freckles that spread across his pale features. His Slytherin robe adorned his slightly broader shoulders, while just below it his uniform peaked through the inky fabric.
"Sebastian..." Sofiya uttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
"...Sofiya?"