"So, how was it?" Sara asked the second Evelyn returned to their compartment.
"Very informative." Evelyn was glad that Headmaster Dippet had been able to straighten out the rules and explain them to the Prefects, it made sure they were all followed.
"Well, who else is a Prefect?" Lily questioned, leaning forwards, knocking her elbow on Midnight as she did. "Sorry, kitty." She whispered down to him.
"Daniel from our house." Sara wolf-whistled. "Really? You're going for him?"
"Well, he is one of the easier targets, but he doesn't lack the academic abilities I am looking for," she giggled lightly.
"You aren't exactly going to be reciting runes whilst you kiss Sara!"
"Just because you and Jack don't do that, it doesn't mean it isn't possible." She winked at Lily who's face flushed coral as she lifted her eyebrows. "So, who else?"
"Well obviously Tom Riddle, but for some reason, Dippet chose Astrea Black to be the other Prefect, I find it rather odd but there aren't really any better candidates in his house." Evelyn knew that Slytherin students were notoriously rule breakers in her year and it seemed that picking the second Prefect had just been done by choosing the lesser of several evils. "Those twins from Gryffindor, then Eliana and Adam from Hufflepuff."
"So, a rather boring bunch then!"
"I wouldn't consider myself boring!" Evelyn exclaimed in a jokey manner, hoping it covered the slight annoyance in her voice.
"Well, you aren't exactly the most spontaneous girl, are you Evelyn?"
"And that is fine," Lily butted in, plopping Midnight on Evelyn's lap. "We love you either way."
"Oh of course!" Sara chimed.
"Well, maybe I'll get more spontaneous this year, you never know!"
Sara and Lily both giggled. "Oh, we know. I doubt that will happen."
Evelyn sighed deeply. "Well, I'm going to finishing reading Hogwarts: A History so you two keep it down."
"Ah." Sara muttered. "Definitely not boring."
Evelyn thoroughly enjoyed reading Hogwarts: A History, it was one of the things that brought her comfort. She knew almost everything there was to know about the castle and its creation and every time she read the book, she truly felt as though she learned something new. She thought it helped to keep her immersed in life at Hogwarts, particularly during the tedious summer holidays. She had started re-reading it for quite possibly the hundredth time only a few days ago and had been unable to finish it whilst at home so had packed it with her to take to Hogwarts.
By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled up to the station, it was pitch black. Although Evelyn had to admit the night sky looked beautiful, she would also much less willingly admit that the dark was not her most favourite thing.
"Right, I am starving!" Sara announced as she jumped off the train behind Lily and Evelyn and followed them onto the carriages. As soon as Sara's foot let the ground the carriage zoomed off towards the castle. "Thank goodness for that, the sorting ceremony had better be incredibly short this year or I may be forced to consume one of the meagre first years!"
"I hope they have that strange meat pie they had the last term; I could devour the whole thing if they do!" Evelyn's mouth began to water at the thought of the buttery pastry crumbling in her mouth.
"No more food talk or I might simply pass out with hunger!"
"You ate on the train up here!" Exclaimed Lily with an eye roll.
"Well that barely counted, it was just a Pumpkin Pasty!"
"And a packet of Drooble's."
"And far too many Bertie Botts." Evelyn added.
"And three chocolate frogs.
By the time the girls arrived at the castle, they had only just finishing listing off all the confectionery Sara had consumed on the train journey to Hogwarts. "I like my food!" She cried in her defence.
"So do we, so let's get inside, hope the Sorting Hat speeds through the Sorting Ceremony and then eat!"
Nodding in agreement, the trio dashed into the Great Hall and made their way to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down in their usual seats by the exit. "Ready for Quidditch this year? What position will you try out for?" Sara asked.
Evelyn had been on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team since her third year at Hogwarts, first playing as a Chaser and then eventually moving on to play Keeper during her fourth year. "Well, I have statistically better odds of getting Chaser, so I'll probably go for that. I still want to play this year, but I don't know how much I'll be able to commit when we have our OWLS in May!"
"Don't let the Aiden hear you say that! You won't even be allowed to try out if he hears you won't commit!" Sara warned her, partly as a joke but she knew the Quidditch Captain was less than forgiving.
"Hush, he'll never hear me from all the way over there!" Evelyn looked down the table at Aiden who had more than contently seated himself right at the front of the Ravenclaw table, ready to greet the first years that were sorted into his house.
"You never know!"
By the time the last student was sorted into Hufflepuff, Sara looked as though she might faint due to the hunger she was feeling. "If Professor Dippet doesn't give us food in one minute I will personally make sure he regrets it!"
As if on cue, Headmaster Dippet raised his hands and as he did, food appeared all over the tables in the Great Hall. Roast potatoes, vegetables, steamed dumplings, mashed potatoes, pies and rolls of bread were all piled high on the table. "Thank goodness!" Sara cried out as she shovelled a bread roll into her mouth.
Evelyn piled her plate high with the golden-brown pie, mashed potatoes and added a small serving of vegetables to keep up appearances. Before she had seen the food, Evelyn had not realised just how hungry she truly was, she hadn't eaten properly since she left her house earlier that day and the sight of food had made her all too aware of that.
The trio ate in silence until all the girls had wiped their plates clean. "Ooh, dessert!" Lily spoke with wide eyes as an assortment of desserts arrived. "I might have to sneak some of them for tomorrow."
"Day-old custard tarts? Lily that sounds awful!" Evelyn was not the largest fan of custard tarts, especially not ones that weren't fresh. She was far more interested in the chocolate eclairs she had spotted across from her. "Sara, pass me those eclairs!" Sara handed over the plate of eclairs to Evelyn who slid two onto her plate with a toothy grin. "Merlin these are beautiful!" She took a bite of the eclairs and sat back as a flavour explosion took place in her mouth. Evelyn tucked into her eclairs whilst Lily devoured several custard tarts at once.
"Evelyn, are you excited to help the first-years and give then the grand tour of the Ravenclaw Tower?" Sara asked.
"It doesn't exactly need a tour!" Lily spoke with her mouth full, crumbs of pastry falling from her mouth as she spoke.
"As long as they were all rightfully sorted and can actually answer whatever riddle the knocker asks, then everything will be alright." Evelyn sighed as she recalled several instances in which she had arrived outside Ravenclaw Tower to find a gaggle of stranded first years, unable to answer the riddle.
"Merlin I can't deal with finding first years waiting outside the Tower anymore, it ruins the fun of the riddle!" Sara said with annoyance.
"We were first years once, I'm sure they're not too dissimilar to us!" Added Lily between custard tarts.
"Well, none of us were ever dumb enough to get locked out of our own common room though were we."
Sara opened her mouth but before she had a chance to share, Headmaster Dippet's voice boomed throughout the Great Hall. "I should hope you have all enjoyed this Welcome Feast, now I should think you would want to rest in your common rooms after such a feast. First years hang behind the other students and your prefects will lead you to your common rooms! Alright, off we go now students!"
Then the Great Hall was in chaos. Evelyn stayed firmly in her seat, merely watching as all the students raced out, darting between the slower students to get to their common rooms first. When the hall eventually cleared out, all that was left were the eight prefects and four small bunches of meek-looking students.
"Right everyone, we'll wait for the other first-years to leave before we do so that we don't all get caught on the stairs at the same time." Daniel said from beside her, watching as the first batch of students made their way out.
"So when we get out of the Great Hall, you'll all need to stick quite close to us, especially on the staircase, so that you don't get left behind. Then we'll head to the Ravenclaw Tower."
"Now," Daniel butted in, "when we get to the tower, the knocker on the door will ask you a riddle, if you answer correctly then you can go inside and if you don't then you'll just have to wait for someone else to come and get the riddle right."
A few of the first years squealed, in excitement or fear, Evelyn couldn't quite tell which. "Right follow me now, stick close together!" She called out in an authoritative voice as she made her way out of the Great Hall. She led them out onto the staircase, earning several giddy laughs as the stairs around them began to shift. "Now, you'll see that the stairs move so pay close attention whenever you're here!"
By the time that they arrived at Ravenclaw Tower, Evelyn had grown tired of the first years. Despite being more than grateful to have been made a Prefect, the number of peculiar questions she had had to answer for them almost didn't seem worth it.
"What comes down but never goes up?"
Evelyn pointed at the bronze knocker on the door. "This is the knocker it will ask you a riddle and you have to answer it to gain access."
"Does anyone know the answer?" Daniel turned to face the small group of first years, eyeing each of them up and down one by one. When the only response that he received was a group of blank stares, he was all too happy to share the answer. "Well of course it's rain." He flashed them a toothy grin as the door flung open.
"Everybody, welcome home."