Mornings were never her thing, and yet she has found herself awake before the other girls in her dorm.
She found Susan in the bed to her right, sleeping soundly.
Grabbing the uniform from her trunk as quietly as she could to not disturb them, she headed to the bathroom just off their room. After a quick warm shower and putting her uniform on, she heard the door open behind her.
“You’re up early.”
Amaryllis turned at the sound of Susan’s voice.
“Morning. And yeah, I just woke up and didn’t bother to try and go back to sleep.”
“That excited?”
“To learn magic? Yes. To do work?” She laughed, shaking her head. “No.”
Susan snorted, walking further into the bathroom with their uniform in hand. “I don’t think anyone really likes the work. The other girls are awake and chatting away. I’m hungry and ready to get breakfast.”
Amaryllis hummed in reply as Susan went to change and she quickly out her hair in a high ponytail. She had no idea what to expect in the classes, but she’d rather be prepared just in case.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she noticed the other girls were chatting away, still sitting on their respective beds.
She learned the girl that slept to the right of her was Amelia Jones. Sasha was next to her and Olivia was to the right of Susan, coming around in a full wide circle.
“Ready?”
Amaryllis turned to see Susan dressed in the grey plaited skirt and shirt with the robe that magically added their house crest. The tie had also added yellow that twisted around.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Voices drifted into the corridors from the Great Hall as they got closer.
It had just been her and Susan that headed out first, as the other girls were not ready, but neither one minded. Susan had told her she hadn’t talked much to them last night to leave her to walk alone. Susan’s excitement for Charms had her anticipation for the class soar. Not so much for the History of Magic, especially when Susan told her all about the reading that was involved in that class.
If any class would give her a constant migraine, it would be that one.
Amaryllis glanced at the Gryffindor table on their way in, but didn’t see her brothers messy black hair or Ron’s bright red that stuck out. She did however see Fred and George who waved enthusiastically to her which she returned.
“What classes are you looking forward to?”
She took a moment to ponder over Susan’s question as she began to pile eggs, bacon, and toast onto her plate. It was one thing to hear what the classes were like, and another to experience it. There was the aspects of reading, actual magic, and writing that differentiated between them all that she didn’t know which she might prefer over others.
“Probably Charms, but when doesn’t it when you can cast spells?” The problem was being able to read the spells. “The others, I’m not really sure. Some we can’t take until at least third-year, unfortunately.”
Susan hummed in reply, taking a sip of whatever juice she had the cup conjure. “Hagrid is the gamekeeper, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I’ve heard some other students hear how he shouldn’t have been allowed to come back. He doesn’t seem like that bad of a person.”
“He’s not. I’m not sure what they mean by that, but I wouldn’t listen to then.” Amaryllis said, taking a mouthful of eggs.
More students entered the Hall and a few Professor’s now sat at the table, eating and talking amongst themselves. Professor Quirrel was with them, sitting next to Professor Snape again. The feeling of something wrong whenever he was around hadn’t gone away. Even as she stared at him, she couldn’t figure out what it was. Though, it had reminded her of something Harry had told her about Hagrid. “He told Harry he wanted a dragon since he was a kid. They seem like they’d be a cool animal to have.”
“They only have those in Romania,” Susan informed her, glancing at the Professor’s table with wide eyes.
“Dragons? I thought that was just a joke the goblins told everyone.”
“Of course not. Did you not see it when you went?”
She had not. She was more worried about not puking, but that didn’t seem like something she should say. “I was preoccupied.”
Susan raised an eyebrow, pointing her fork at her. “Doing what, exactly? There isn’t much to do on those mine carts.”
Amaryllis scowled, turning away from Susan. She had never been happy to see Professor Sprout, their headmaster, walk towards them with small parchments in her hands; their timetables.
Her stomach twisted and uncoiled with excitement and nerves that tried to fuse together, but couldn’t.
Amaryllis and Susan gave Professor Sprout a quick thanks as she passed them, continuing to the others that had filed in and began to eat. With zero patience, Amaryllis dug her nose into the piece of parchment and tried to read her timetable.
“Do you also have Charms first?”
That was the only thing she could make out. Everything else had such long names that she couldn’t tell any of them apart. And it was all written in small ink, close together that it made it near impossible without squinting and a lot of prayers to will the letters to stop. “Yeah, but umm..”
“What is it? Is something wrong with your classes?”
Amaryllis glanced behind her, catching a Ron’s red hair, and quickly finding Harry’s black next to him. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and contemplated her choices. Go to Harry and seek help from someone who wouldn’t ask questions, or take the chance and confide in Susan while taking the chance of ruining a friendship because of her nuisance disability?
What choice did she have? Harry wouldn’t always be there for her. She had to learn to do everything herself at some point.
“It’s not that,” she mumbled, glaring down at the parchment. “It’s… I have trouble reading. It’s not that I don’t know the words, but they float and move around all the time that it’s impossible to read without staring at it for what feels like whatever. I’m sorry. I should ha—”
“Rhylie, stop,” Susan interrupted her. Her voice didn’t come out harsh. It was soft, softer than what it had been with an airy tone. “That doesn’t matter. I don’t care that it takes you forever to read, or if I have to help you with something when you ask. You made it as far as you have. That’s something you should be proud of.”
“I had my brother. And coming here, being in separate houses…”
“You don’t think you can count on him?”
Amaryllis shook her head, unable to voice what she felt.
“How do you think he’d feel?”
Amaryllis stared at Susan, wondering where she was going with that question. “I mean, he can do what he wants without having to feel as if he needs to stop and help me every time.”
“Do you think that’s how he’ll see it?”
“I don’t get what you’re saying,” Amaryllis said, shaking her head.
“Rhylie, don’t push him away because you see it as giving him a form of freedom. Has he ever complained to you.”
She shook her head.
“Then it’s never bothered him. He’ll see it as you pushing him away if you cut him off without an explanation.”
“What made you wise?”
Susan smile was filled with a bit of sorrow, barely curving the corner of her mouth to even be considered a smile. “I had always wanted a sibling.”
Amaryllis couldn’t imagine her life growing up without Harry. The loneliness, grief, tears, and harsh filled words that were thrown at them everyday, but to experience it by yourself? That was unimaginable.
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Amaryllis rushed out of the Great Hall with Susan not far behind. “Harry.”
“Lissie.” Harry smiled, running over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Amaryllis returned the hug. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”
Amaryllis hadn’t noticed before, but the worry in his eyes dimmed when he stepped back, bringing back the brightness in his green eyes. It tugged at her chest to know he worried about her. She didn’t want that for him.
“Do you need help?”
That was her brother. Always there to be her helping hand. And as much as she had leaned on him, she hated how she felt like a crutch in his life. A constant part that he had to always watch for and stop whatever he was doing. Maybe she could start letting him see she could slowly do everything herself and let him breath. “No. Susan helped me. And… well, I’m going to try and do my best with what I can. I can’t always ask you to help, especially since we’re in different houses. And, Harry, I want you to have friends. Just as much as I do.”
Harry smiled. “I know you wouldn’t, Lissie. I can’t tell you what to do either, but know I’ll be there if you need me.”
“Thanks.”
Harry adjusted his glasses as Ron spoke up. “What’s your first class?”
“We’re headed to Charms. It’s with Ravenclaw.”
“We have potions with Slytherin,” Ron groaned. His brown eyes rolled as he slumped forward on his feet slightly.
“Good luck,” Susan added with a dreadful tone.
Amaryllis still didn’t understand what was wrong with the Slytherin house, besides the boy Draco being in it. She couldn’t say the same for the rest of the others in the house.
“I’ll see you at lunch, Lissie?”
“Definitely.”
Amaryllis and Susan parted ways from Harry and Ron. They quickly went to the common room to grab their book for Charms and almost got lost as they found the Charms classroom. The Friar, who had been wandering the corridors, was kind enough to give them directions.
Charms hadn’t been as horrible as she thought it would be. Between casting spells and learning the movements, she skimmed the book to find anything that might helped her reading problem. As the class ended, she had no such luck.
Herbology went by quicker, as no reading was involved. Their headmaster was a sweet, but she wasn’t afraid to tell someone when their did something absurdly dumb. Take Justin, a Hufflepuff, for example. He had pulled a vine Professor Sprout specifically told them not to. He had been sent to the Hospital Wing when it lashed out and left a rash.
Potions. There wasn’t much Amaryllis could say about it. Other than Professor Snape had barely cared to glance in her direction. It had left her and Susan out of answering anything. Granted, she didn’t know the answers because everything he asked, they had to read. And she hadn’t studied up on anything before coming. Completely dumb on her part, but she loathed reading and only did it when necessary. Apparently she might not need it as their Potions Professor didn’t even acknowledge their presence.
Susan walked beside her as they exited the dungeons where Potions took place. “That was… interesting.”
“That’s one word for it.”
“Was it just me, or did he ignore the whole right side of the class?”
Amaryllis shrugged. “Didn’t one of the guys in Gryffindor raise their hand? I thought he answered one of the questions.”
“No, he got it wrong,” Susan informed with a shake of her head. “It’s the paper we have to do for homework tonight.”
Amaryllis groaned. First day and homework just because of a wrong answer. She could see why most students hated that Professor now, especially if he handed homework out like it was air.