Tilly wakes me up the next morning by barging into my room and getting into bed with me.
"What're you doing?" I ask groggily.
"I'm homesick," she replies, snuggling down, "I just wanted some company."
We lie in silence for a few minutes before I realise she's gone to sleep. I roll over and eventually fall asleep again.
When I wake a couple of hours later, Tilly is lying on her back, snoring. I laugh and get out of bed. It's about six am, which is when Charlie suggested we get up. Breakfast is over at seven and most people are out working by seven-thirty.
I get some clothes and go into the bathroom to change. When I come back out Tilly is stirring. She sits up, rubbing her eyes.
"Sorry, mate," she yawns, "it just feels so lonely lying in the dark. Feels like no one is around for miles."
"It's fine," I say, "why don't you get dressed and we can head up to breakfast."
"Yeah, new boy might be here," she says, getting up. She goes out to her cabin and I brush my hair and tie it back before going outside to wait for her. The sun is up already, but I know in the winter we'll be working in the dark for a few hours every morning and evening.
Tilly comes out dressed in jeans, an old flannel shirt and riding boots and we head up to the food hall. Jennifer and Andrei are there, sitting apart from everyone. Charlie is sitting with a group of men and women, all of them talking and laughing.
"So, do we sit with the other newbies or with Charlie?" Tilly asks. We exchange a look and walk over to sit with Charlie.
"Morning!" he says cheerfully, "everyone, this is Aurelia and Tilly. Guys, this is... Everyone."
We sit down and mainly listen to them talking, trying to figure out who is who. At seven a whistle blows and everyone gets up, carries their plates to the window going through to the kitchen, and files out. I follow Tilly through to the communal room where we sit down on a couple of sofas.
"So, tell me about you," Tilly says, kicking her shoes off and lying down, "where did you go to school?"
"Uh, Hogwarts," I answer, "most British kids go there. Where did you go?"
"Sturt's Academy," she replies, "boarding school in Sydney. Were you born or made?"
"Excuse me?" I exclaim, shocked. Tilly raises her eyebrows at me.
"You're a vampire," she says, "were you born or made?"
"How did you know?" I gasp. Tilly rolls her eyes.
"I'm an expert on all non-human beings," she says, "show me a creature, I'll identify it in three seconds or less. Except werewolves in human form, still getting the hang of those..."
"Non-human beings?" I repeat. She grins at me sheepishly.
"Monsters is such a harsh word," she says. The door opens and Jennifer and Andrei walk in. Neither of them acknowledges us. Tilly rolls her eyes at me.
"So, this boyfriend of yours," she says, "what's his name, again?"
"George," I reply.
"George who?"
"Weasley."
"Weasley," she raises her eyesbrows, "no."
"Yes?"
Tilly bursts out laughing.
"Sorry, sorry," she chortles, "that's great. So, what does he do?"
"He owns a joke shop with his brother, Fred," I say, "Weasley Wizarding Wheezes."
"Brother?" Tilly sits up, "twin?"
"Yeah," I nod.
"Have you ever, ya know, with both of them?" she winks at me. I crinkle up my nose.
"No," I say, "gross."
Tilly laughs and lies down again.
"So, they own a joke shop?" she asks, "that's pretty cool."
"It is," I agree, "they're doing really well. What about you? You don't have anyone special back home?"
"Nah," Tilly shakes her head, "not really interested in dating, too much trouble. Maybe one day. So, you got brothers or sisters?"
"Nope, you?"
"Yeah, one of nine."
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah," Tilly sighs, "four older sisters, two older brothers and one of each younger."
"That must be tough," I say, looking over at her. She smiles and looks back at me.
"It is," she agrees, "most people think it'd be great."
We sit in silence for a little while, then we go over to the book wall and get a book to read. Tilly has a mantra: If you can't think of anything to do, read. If you can't think of anything to read, write. If you can't think of anything to write, do.
We read until lunch time, after which Charlie tells us he's going to get the last of the new recruits.
"I wonder what he'll be like," Tilly says, hanging her legs over the back of the sofa, "I was glad that you're friendly, those two just don't talk."
"Maybe they prefer the company of animals."
"Who doesn't?" Tilly mutters.
We keep an ear out for Charlie's return and finally we hear him coming and sit up, staring at the doors in anticipation. Charlie steps in and gestures around the room.
"This is the communal area," he says, "we spend most of our down time here."
The boy steps into the room and I gasp.
"Lucas!"
"Aurelia!" he strides over to me, grinning and gives me a hug, "I didn't know you'd be here!"
"I didn't know you would be either!" I say, stunned.
"Good, you two know each other," Charlie says, "I'll leave introductions to you, Aurelia, I'll see you all at dinner."
"Lucas, this is Tilly," I say, "Tilly, Lucas."
"Nice to meet ya," Tilly says, leaning over the back of the sofa to shake hands, "those two are Andrei and Jenny."
"Jennifer," Jennifer corrects before turning back to her book. Tilly pokes her tongue out at Jennifer, making Lucas laugh. He sits down with us and Tilly puts her feet on his lap, instantly at home with him.
"So, how'd you two know each other?" she asks.
"We went to school together," Lucas says, "I used to have a bit of a crush on her."
"Oooh," Tilly waggles her eyebrows at me.
"Nah, she was always more caught up in George," Lucas says, "Aurelia, do you remember the parties we used to have, in the Room of Requirement?"
"I'll never forget," I laugh, "what was your school like, Tilly?"
She blows a raspberry and gets up.
"Let's go exploring," she says, pulling her shoes on.
We follow her out of the room and outside. She leads us up a hill and suddenly we're looking down on a huge enclosure.
"Whoa," Lucas breathes.
"This is where they keep the Welsh Greens," Tilly says, making her way down the hill, towards the enclosure.
"Are we allowed down here?" I ask hesitantly. Lucas is already following her down.
"Yeah, it's fine," she calls back. Going against my better judgement, I follow them. The hill is steep and rocky, covered with juts and holes. I stumble a few times before making it to the bottom.
"Look," Tilly says, pointing into the enclosure, "there's one."
"It's huge," I say in a hushed tone, "wait, the enclosure is made of wood!"
"Yeah, there are spells all over them, though, so they won't catch on fire," Tilly says, "besides, the Welsh Greens are happy enough in there, they're the most subdued dragons I've ever seen."
"Can we get closer?" Lucas asks, pressing against the enclosure. The dragon closest to us seems to be surveying him with cautious interest.
"I doubt we'd be allowed in," I say, "not without someone with us."
"The door is 'round here," Tilly says.
"Wait, what?!" I exclaim, hurrying after them, "we can't go in! We don't have any training."
Tilly ignores me and uses her wand to unlock the door. She and Lucas walk in and look back at me.
"Coming?" she asks. I hesitate, but follow them, a bad feeling growing in the bit of my stomach.
We step into the enclosure and the temperature seems cooler. There's lots of lush grass and a big pond in the middle.
"How many dragons are in here?" Lucas asks, staring around him.
"I think fourteen at the last count," Tilly says, walking into the enclosure. I hover close to the door until they disappear from sight, then I hurry after them.
"Look," Tilly squats down next to a boulder and points ahead of her. There's a massive dragon in front of us, with four little dragons crawling around her and over her back.
"It's huge," I breathe. Tilly glances at me, amused.
"It's one of the smallest species," she says, "you think that's big, wait until you see an Ironbelly."
The dragon is staring us down and I suggest we move away. Tilly shakes her head and takes a few steps closer.
"Tilly!" I hiss. The dragon sweeps her babies behind her and makes a low grumbling noise in her throat.
"Tilly," Lucas calls, "don't!"
I hold my breath, convinced that I'm about to see her roasted or bitten in half. The dragon's neck is coiled, as if she's about to strike, but Tilly seems completely at ease.
"Get back!"
I jump out of my skin as a deep, raspy voice booms from behind me. Tilly glances back, then at the dragon and slowly retreats back to us. The man behind us is scarred and looks furious. He pushes Tilly roughly towards the door, shepherding Lucas and I along with her. Once we're all outside he explodes.
"What do you think you're doing?" he yells, "you could have been killed! Worse, you could have shaken any trust we've built in those dragons! Get back to the common room, now!"
I duck my head and follow Lucas back, feeling shaken. When we get back to the room, Tilly slumps on a sofa, looking annoyed.
"He over reacted," she mutters.
"I have a feeling you're going to set the record for fastest person kicked out," Lucas tells her. She grins at him.
"I can't help it," she says, "I need to be close to animals. Drives me crazy if I'm not."
I look at her and am forcefully reminded of Hagrid.