Dumbledore tapped his glass with a spoon for silence and, like magic, the entire dining hall went quiet at once.
"Thank you all for your attention!" he began. "I know that announcements such as these are far from common, but it is still of vital importance for everyone to listen because, tonight, Hogwarts is getting its first ever foreign exchange students!" the moment Dumbledore spoke those last three words, a dull roar started up in the dining hall as every student turned to the person nearest to them and began to whisper and wonder.
Dumbledore allowed the confused and excited speculations to carry on for a few moments before tapping his glass once again.
"I understand that this is a momentous occasion and I have no doubt that all of you are quite interested in seeing who your new peers will be, so I shall not keep you waiting any longer!" he said, and then the moment he finished speaking, he waved an arm. A few feet to his left, one of the doors behind the table where the staff all dined at swung open. Out popped a gorgeous, young woman with hair like gold, eyes like sapphires, skin like porcelain and a big, pink, glittery dress that almost hurt the eyes of anyone who beheld it because of how bright it was.
"Blimey! I don't know if I'm about to fall in love or get sick!" Ron whispered as the beautiful young with stepped up in front of the staff's table with a bunch of adorable giggles and princess waves. Harry laughed a little at Ron's joke, but he couldn't disagree. He had never seen a witch so beautiful before, yet he wasn't quite sure what to make of her bubbly, quirky mannerisms. She kept on tossing her golden curls and posing as though she expected to have her picture taken, yet there was not a single camera in the audience and she knew it. What on earth was she doing? It really did mystify Harry and Ron both and, one seat away, Hermione was busy rolling her eyes.
"I had hoped that when Dumbledore said we'd be getting foreign exchange students he would've meant someone with something amazing in their head rather than on it," she grunted, clearly far less enchanted by the beautiful blond than anyone else in the room. She looked quite annoyed at the girl's glittery display, even rolling her arms as the girl gave another toss of her hair.
"Oh, lighten up, Hermione, you haven't even met the girl yet!" it was Ron who interceded upon the foreign exchange student's behalf first. The dreamy note in his voice did nothing to help Hermione feel better. Instead, her eyes only narrowed even further, crossing her arms in disdain. Before she could say anything else, however, the foreign exchange student finally began to speak.
"Hello everyone! My name is Glinda Arduenna-Upland, of the Upper Uplands in the Gillikin country of Oz!" she said with a grandiose wave. Only silence met her greeting, not a single student in the crowd below having ever heard of Oz or Gillikin or the Upper Uplands. Even Hermione looked baffled, her irritation with the girl evaporating into confusion when she realized that these were magical places she had not yet ever heard of. Already, her gears were turning as she tried to think back on every History of Magic class that she'd ever taken.
"Gillikin. Gillikin. Gillikin. I'm sure I've heard that name before! But where?!"
"Insufferable know-it-all," Ron cackled. This earned him an elbow to the ribs. "Ow! Hey!"
Meanwhile, Glinda had since started to speak again.
"I am honored that you chose me to be a foreign exchange student in this year's program and I so look forward to getting to know each and every one of you and unlock all the secrets that this glorifcous castle has to offer!" she gave a curtsey to indicate that her speech was done. That was when everyone in the dining hall began to clap. Except Hermione.
"Glorificous?" she demanded, sounding scandalized. "How on earth did she qualify for this program?!"
But before either Ron or Harry could've told her off, Dumbledore tapped his glass for a third time. While Glinda took a seat in a chair sitting at the end of the staff's table, Dumbledore announced the second and final foreign exchange student. Once again, the door behind the table swung open, but no one came out. There was a moment of awkward silence as the door remained open, but no one coming out.
"Will the second and final foreign exchange student please make her way out to the dining hall?" Dumbledore asked, voice as soft and gentle as a cloud. But even with a coaxing like that, no one emerged from the door.
"Oh! Elphie!" because the dining hall was so quiet, everyone heard Glinda's sigh of annoyance. She hopped up at once before vanishing through the door. Right before she was totally inside, however, she turned around to address the crowd of waiting students.
"Just give us a sec, ok? Thanks!" she sing-songed, then she pulled the door shut after herself and it closed with a nice little bang.
Three more minutes of awkward silence passed and, at long last, the door opened again. Glinda bounced out first, beaming from ear to ear. She took her seat once again and that was when, finally, slowly but surely, the second witch made her appearance.
"Blood Hell!"
"Blimey!"
"Merlin's beard!"
All around the dining hall, a slew of gasps and whispered curses were uttered when the mysterious second student finally made her appearance. From the staff to the students, everyone began to whisper and marvel. This was because, although the new student was completely covered up from foot to neck, she was unable to hide her face, which revealed her bright green skin.
"What d'you think made her look that way?" Ron asked, sounding a bit astounded and a bit disgusted. Harry could only shrug and shake his head. He would've wondered if his eyes or glasses were failing him, had the rest of the dining hall not started to gasp and whisper in shock. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Hermione staring at the green witch with a slack jaw. Even she seemed to be at a loss for this phenomenon. But that was when the green girl began her own introduction, which was far less gentle and fluffy than Glinda's had been.
"What?" she asked sarcastically. "What are you all looking? Oh! Do I have something in my teeth?!"
"Elphie!" once again, off to the side, Glinda snapped her friend's name, but it was too late, she was on a roll.
"Ok! Let's get this over with!" she snarled. "My name is Elphaba Thropp, no, I'm not seasick, yes, I've always been green, no, I didn't chew grass as a child!" Glinda rolled her eyes with a tired sigh while everyone else could only gawk. Only Dumbledore was smiling.
"Well, Ms. Elphaba, that was a lovely introduction!" he said and Elphaba looked completely caught off guard. This was because she had not expected anyone to compliment her at all. She could see the way the staff all gasped and gawked when she finally made her "grand" entrance! But not Dumbledore, there was a note of sincerity, acceptance and understanding in his voice that could not be faked. It was enough to quiet Elphaba back down some. She gave a short nod of her head before thanking Dumbledore with a smile that only he caught. Then she took her place right beside Glinda. She received weak, half-hearted applauses as she took her seat.
The rest of dinner passed awkwardly, everyone in the entire room constantly sneaking peeks at the bizarre and surly green witch. The only two people in the entire hall that weren't constantly gaping or gasping were Dumbledore and Glinda, Dumbledore locked in conversation with McGonagall while Glinda was locked in conversation with Elphaba herself, who looked quite uncomfortable with it all.
"Poor girl!" Harry mused unwittingly. As he watched Elphaba fall under fire of all the stares and gossip and as he watched her slowly but surely turn her back more and more on the student body, the more and more sympathy he felt for her. He knew what it felt like to be the subject to intense scrutiny and interest. He knew what it felt like to be looked at for no good reason. He knew how embarrassing and uncomfortable undesired attention was. His heart went out to her as she continued to tremble, visibly uncomfortable. Beside him, Ron was still throwing skeptical glances at the newcomers while Hermione was still blinking up at Elphaba in fascination.
Once dinner was over, every student except Elphaba and Glinda left the dining hall. All around, chatter flew through the air as every student wondered where Elphaba and Glinda would be staying for the night.
"I hope they stay in our dorm!" a Ravenclaw said.
"Well, just as long as it's not the green one!" a Gryffindor replied.
"Oh hush! I think she's very witty! I would like to get to know someone like that!" the Ravenclaw defended.
"Well, you can have the green girl all you want!" another Ravenclaw snickered. "Just so long as the rest of us get to hang out with the blond!" This earned him some snickers from other male peers across all the houses. It also earned him a smack from the first Ravenclaw.
"Oh! Grow up!" she hissed. And on and on this sort of chatter continued, everyone trying to figure out just where these witches had come from, and where it was that they would be staying.
The answer was made by Dumbledore and was made known later that night when Elphaba and Glinda were personally escorted by him to the Gryffindor common room. A soft groan went up from all the students as they realized that they would have to be rooming with the green one.
"Dang it! Why didn't they put her in Ravenclaw?" the Gryffindor from earlier exclaimed under her breath. Cormac snickered in agreement. All the other students looked just as guarded as well. Dean and Seamus looked a little less than pleased and Neville had already since scooted away into hiding, clearly intimidated by the green witch. Fred and George were already seizing the blond witch up with interest while Ginny's face was unreadable. Lavender, Parvati and Romilda were all whispering to each other, but giving away their topic of discussion by not-so-subtly pointing at her. In the background, Collin looked like he wanted to take a picture of the green girl, but even he seemed to have the good sense not to, though he still had his camera in hand. Elphaba's face had since contorted into a scowl again, but at the silent behest of young Glinda, she didn't speak. Dumbledore, however, did, breaking the silence as though he were only having a pleasant chat with the students.
"Tonight, Ms. Elphaba and Ms. Glinda will stay in Gryffindor. I expect you to treat them both with the same amount of respect you'd treat me, or any other honored guest within out hallowed halls!" he said as he helped the two girls get their luggage into the room. Once everything was inside, however, he bade all the students a good night before exiting the dorm room and leaving them all in awkward silence once more.
For about two hours, everyone walked on eggshells around Elphaba. No one spoke to her and the only time anyone looked at her was when she was looking away. Glinda was treated much the same way. Although she was quite chatty, no one else really knew what to say back to her, and some of it came from the worry that what they said to her might somehow impact the green girl, and no one wanted to provoke her. So even chatty, bubbly, friendly, pretty little Glinda remained mostly unacknowledged. At least until she finally lashed out at them all.
"Oh honestly! It's like talking to a brick wall! Haven't any of you got any common courtesy or common decency at all? Haven't any of you ever engaged in polite conversation before? Or is every Gryffindor this shallow, rude, ignorant and closed off?" and that was the remark that finally yielded a reaction. Hermione was the first one to respond, taking personal offense to the term "shallow".
"We are not shallow!" she snapped immediately.
"Oh, Merlin, here we go!" Ron whispered to Harry with an exasperated look. Harry only gave him a grimace in reply.
"I will have you know that Gryffindor is the house of the courageous and the righteous!" Hermione continued. "And everyone in this room has a long history of greatness! You may be foreign exchange students, but that does not give either of you the right to disparage us so."
"Hark who's talking," Elphaba interrupted with a dry grin, having since looked up from her book with interest when Hermione finally began to fight back. Realizing whose attention she'd garnered, Hermione quickly shut up. Glinda, however, was not yet finished.
"If you really are so courageous, then be brave and talk to us! Stop treating us like outsiders! We didn't come here to be ignored, we came here to be integrated and learn alongside you!" she pleaded. "If you really are so righteous, then drop your hoity-toity ways and quit making fun of my friend!" she finished with a passionate look at Elphaba. For the first time that night, Elphaba's face softened into a smile of real warmth.
"My sweet, do not waste your time or breath. We both knew that this would happen," she murmured.
"But that doesn't mean it should!" Glinda argued back. "I am quite disgusted with the disgraceful treatment we have both received thus far and we have half a mind to just pack up and go home! We will let it be known that Hogwarts is not a home and it far from accepting!" she continued.
For a moment, there was only silence, Glinda grimly waiting for the first person who would shout, "Well, then, if you're so unhappy here, then leave! Go away! Go back to where you came from!" but that retort never came. Instead, it was Ginny who first stepped up, one of the few Gryffindors to look properly ashamed as Glinda's harsh remarks finally rang true within their ears.
"I'm sorry," she said, plain and simple. "You're right, we have been unfairly harsh towards you two. And that's all on us. We were wrong to behave like that. It really is great that you are here. May I ask how you got involved with the program?" she extended a hand to Glinda, sincerity in her hazel eyes. The entire room fell into a silent surprise once again as Glinda's jaw nearly dropped, her having not expected to receive an apology so quickly and sincerely. Elphaba looked just as surprised, though she was regarding Ginny with a fond expression now.
"Well, I suppose that is quite alright," Glinda said, flustered, as she accepted Ginny's outstretched hand. She had not planned on what to say in the event of a truce. Then, once Ginny was finished shaking Glinda's hand, she turned to Elphaba with the same gesture. Elphaba, though secretly shocked by having someone willingly shake her hand, masked that surprise with a calm, confident smile. She gave Ginny's hand a tight, formal squeeze to indicate that she really meant business. Ginny smiled politely at her, no pretense or disgust anywhere in her expression at all.
"Merlin's beard!" Ron muttered. Behind him Fred and George's interest seemed to have peaked and Hermione was looking ashamed and angry all at once. Everyone else bore similar expressions of embarrassment and a newfound sense of interest in the foreign exchange students.
The rest of the night passed along much better. Glinda's little speech really did the trick and got every Gryffindor engaged. Suddenly, the room was full of sincere, friendly and interested chatter. There were still a few reserves about the foreign exchange students, especially the green one, but everyone was becoming more and more open-minded the longer the night went on. People spoke to both Glinda and Elphaba and treated them in a polite and respectful manner, asking sincere and interesting questions about the two foreign exchange students. Glinda looked positively delighted to finally be receiving all the attention she'd so craved ever since first coming here and even Elphaba looked happy that she was finally being addressed in polite and common chatter. Eventually, even Harry, Ron and Hermione got in on the action.
"So where is Oz?" Hermione asked Elphaba. Although it was clear that Elphaba's skin was still a bit of a shocker to her, Hermione had come to learn how intelligent, witty and eager to learn Elphaba really was and the two became fast friends after that. Hermione almost considered them like kindred spirits just because of how similar they were, not just in intelligence level, but in passions and interest.
"To be quite honest, we are not entirely sure ourselves," Elphaba answered sincerely. Now that she was being treated with respect, her tone was far more conversational and inviting. "We arrived here through a spell that transported us not too far away from Hogwarts. We think it may have had to do something with the fact that Hogwarts has so much magic embedded within it that we were drawn here like a metal to a magnet," she explained. Hermione looked fascinated and it didn't take long for her to begin interrogating Elphaba on all the magic she already knew.
"If they create a study group, we're all doomed!" Ron pretended to moan in dismay as he and Harry watched Hermione engage.
"The Ravenclaws won't be the smartest house anymore, will they?" he agreed. But he, himself, had spoken to Elphaba just moments ago and he found her to be a little bit like him as well. They were both raised under less than stellar conditions (physically, emotionally and financially) and were often marked as odd ones out. They also both had a very dry and aggressive sort of wit and temper. Although Harry was far more outgoing than Elphaba, some of the things she said and did when she was angry or defensive reminded Harry quite a bit of himself. In fact, in hindsight, her little "greeting" to the student body hadn't been too far off from the types of things Harry used to say to his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. And Harry certainly was no stranger to bitterness, anger or loneliness...
Harry, Ron and Hermione managed to speak with Glinda as well and although all three of them were still on the fence about how to feel about her, it was clear that her sharp call-out of the Gryffindor house had earned her respect, when it didn't earn her irritation. They came to learn that she was a very good and natural leader. Behind her "dumb blond" persona, a queen lay in waiting. She knew how to get what she wanted and she new how to control a crowd. She knew how to stand up for what was right and she had no reserves about calling people out on their mistakes.
Hermione looked willing to make amends with Glinda for having been so judgmental earlier, especially after Elphaba managed to tell her that Glinda really was very intelligent, she just didn't apply herself. She was a girl full of brains, but she did not like to use them. Or, if she did, it was not in the ways that Elphaba did. While Elphaba and Hermione were drawn to books, lectures and lessons, Glinda preferred to learn how to deal with people, and the world around them. It was just a different type of intelligence.
When this message finally resonated with Hermione, she found herself a bit less disdainful of the hair-tossing, princess-waiving, glittery dress-wearing Glinda and instead tried to talk with her in a serious manner.
"I am sorry about earlier," Hermione said at last, offering to shake hands with Glinda.
"Not to worry," Glinda promised with another dazzling smile as she shook Hermione's hand in return. Hermione grinned awkwardly in return.
"Your hair is lovely by the way!" Ron gulped suddenly after he saw that smile she gave Hermione.
"Oh! You're so sweet!" Glinda giggled, giving Ron the most flirty and adorable smile he'd ever seen. He felt himself melt, vision suddenly becoming blurry with embarrassment. Hermione only rolled her eyes. Harry would've made fun of him for being so lovestruck, but he himself was a little enchanted and intimidated by Glinda's good looks and charm. In the back of his mind, he imagined Glinda becoming fast friends with the likes of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil.
As the night rolled on, the atmosphere grew far more relaxed than it was a few hours ago and it was like Glinda and Elphaba were already a part of the crew. Of course, nothing was set in stone yet. The two were going to spend a night in each of the other dorms just to see them, and then they were going to get properly sorted. But just for that night, as far as anyone else was concerned, they were already honorary Gryffindors. And somewhere along the way, the conversation became so relaxed that hobbies, interests and talents were brought up and Glinda suddenly grew very excited. She was sitting cross-legged in front of the fire place but she pointed to Elphaba, who was sitting on one of the couches, and began to beg.
"Elphie! You should sing something for these guys!"
"What?" Elphaba scoffed. "Are you mad?"
"No! Come on! Please! You have the best voice in the whole world and we're already talking about talent, so why not?" Glinda pleaded.
"Because I don't sing in public, especially not in front of strangers," Elphaba deadpanned back.
"You used to sing hymns for your father's congregation!" Glinda reminded, still pleading.
"That was different!" Elphaba retorted, suddenly looking uncomfortable at the mention of her father.
"You know, Hogwarts has a singing group if you're interested," one Gryffindor suddenly said to Elphaba.
"But please, sing for us now! Do sing! I'm sure it'll be lovely!" Neville, who had since come back down when he caught wind that Elphaba and Glinda were friendly, pleaded. Then slowly, one by one, the entire dorm came alive with students eager to here Elphaba sing. They began to chant at her, imploring her to. Glinda was the loudest of them all. In the background, Dean, Seamus, Lee, Fred and George started creating little firecracker type things that, when they popped, uttered the chant as well: "Sing, sing, sing!"
And at last, Elphaba surrendered.
"But only because I know I'll never hear the end of it if I don't!" Elphaba glared at Glinda.
"Love you, Elphie!" Glinda waved adorably. Elphaba's face twitched unreadably, but she finally took a deep breath in and acquiesced. The song was unlike anything that anyone other than Glinda had ever heard before. It was her mother's lullaby to her. It was a song of strength and courage, something that Elphaba really needed right now. Though she was excited to be a foreign exchange student, she couldn't deny some level of fear. Nor could she deny how hurt she had been when, initially, the entire school kept staring and pointing at her like she was some sort of freak. She pretended that the words and gestures didn't bother her but, after enough of them, it really did start to hurt. She was strong, but not invulnerable, and even she was still sometimes susceptible to the hurt that came with judgement. She really needed to hear this lullaby again.
All eyes and ears were enchanted as they listened to the green girl sing. Her voice really was like magic, audible gold. There was something smooth, low, silky and powerful about it, but she could still hit the high notes with a clear, sweet pitch so unlike her regular, smoky speaking voice. The entire dorm could only gawk, hypnotized by her song. Even Glinda looked like she was falling in love, eyes practically in heart-shapes as Elphaba kept on singing.
"Blimey!" Ron whispered. "That's the voice of a goddess!" and Harry, though he agreed, gestured for Ron to be quite because he didn't want to miss a single note of Elphaba's voice. It was something he would never ever forget and, in the back of his mind, he realized that if there was ever a lullaby he would've wanted to hear, it would've been this. It was so gentle yet so powerful and moving. It was quiet but not weak. Some students even began crying, the whole dorm moved by Elphaba's words. Then, once the final note finally faded into the air, the entire dorm exploded into applause and cheers. Elphaba looked away and everyone assumed it was from shyness. Glinda, however, saw a tear glisten in Elphaba's eye and she wasted no time in hopping up from the fireplace to come to her friend's side and embrace her, kissing her cheek.
"I'm so proud of you," Glinda whispered to Elphaba and Elphaba responded by resting her head on Glinda's shoulder and sighing into her neck.
This year was going to be very weird and very difficult, Elphaba could already feel it, but just for this moment, as she sat in the Gryffindor common room with Glinda in her arms and excited students all around, she felt just a little bit better, just a little bit braver.
AN: Here ya go elphiegranger2508! Hope it met your standards!