the other riddle

part 5

The great feast had begun, and I was surrounded by another group of students.
All whom I didn't know and didn't want to know.

I was a bit disappointed to not be in Gryffindor with Septimus and Theo but my concerns were quickly extinguished when a loud clap boomed through the hall and elegant gold plates appeared.
Lavish confections were arranged in towers, pyramids and patterns on these platters throughout the hall.

A large cauldron full of steaming soup sat imposing before me.
I could see the other first years in my house looking just as confused but amazed as I was but didn't want to make this obvious as I wasn't 11.

After years in the orphanage and the same daily excuse for food that they fed us, the delicious smells that filled my nose were so foreign and unrecognisable I almost felt dizzy.
It was the same beige flavourless porridge every morning, soup for lunch and meatloaf for dinner.

Even though I didn't miss it there a bit I found myself craving a taste of familiarity.
So Looking closer the soup that was only just steaming and seemed to cool down a great lot, and as I reached for the Ladle my hand met someone else's.
Dark brown eyes were staring back at me.

They belonged to a plain boy with big ears and messy brunette hair.
I hadn't even noticed he was sitting near me and wished he wouldn't speak to me.

"Ladies first"
He put the ladle back onto the tablecloth and gestured for me to go with a smile.

Ignoring him, attempting to pick up the ladle once again seemed the best thing to do.
So that's what i did, pouring a green soup with orange swirls dancing around the liquid.

It was quite a change after the brown lumpy mixture I usually had to force down my throat.

"Hello?" The big eared boy continued.
"Hello"

I was right about the soup. It made its way down my throat almost effortlessly and I could taste every wonderful flavour added.

"HELLO!?"
A genuinely concerned look had crossed his face by the 4th time he had said it.

I gave up.
"Hello!" I spoke. "I thought Ravenclaw was for the wise?"
I put on a sarcastic confused expression.

"Well it is but-"

"Then why cant you tell when someone's trying to ignore you" I asked, putting down my spoon.

Apparently my remark left him speechless because he quickly went back to eating. Almost everyone in the hall was chatting to their friends, something I am sure I'll never be interested in.
Even back 'home' i made sure to not get attached to anyone at wools, well anyone apart from my brother but he had quickly made clear what he thought of me and I'd decided to do the same as him and distance myself from anyone and anything.

Any possessions I owned, and anyone in my life would have to be disposable and replaceable in order to keep my life going exactly the way I wanted.
This was easy my whole life as after the first rejection of friendship most people get the idea and forget about me.
But by only being here for less than 5 hours I'd gotten the idea that it would be a lot harder to do this here.

Not impossible, only harder.

-

"Excuse me Everly?"

Dumbledore.
I recognised him again, of course.
I hadn't noticed him make his way from his space at the staff table.

"I'd like it if you joined me for a chat" he requested, with yet another smile.

Everyone here seemed to smile.

I didn't offer him one. "Sure"

"Follow me" he nodded his head at the boy behind me. "Good evening Edward".
The big eared boy nodded back, glancing at me nervously.

-

Dumbledore had led me out of the great hall, Ghosts flying past us and bowing overly extravagantly at him.
"Your highness" one had shouted as he actually peeled his entire head off, leaving it hanging on by a thread of flesh.
This trick many received excited squeals from many children.

"Not now, Sir Nicholas" Dumbledore smiled apologetically.

The ghost dramatically punched his heart in a mock disappointment and with a wink in my direction disappeared into the floor.

"Now Everly, How was the food?, I do hope you had enough to eat before I stole you away" Dumbledore chuckled

"It was fine"

Even though he seemed important, I didn't feel the need to impress him, I got the feeling he would give me more than enough time to 'improve' my behaviour if needed.

The castle had an odd feeling about it, when looking at it you would expect it to be cold, quiet and gloomy. But even I could feel the magic. It felt stupid admitting it to myself but it was almost as if my mood automatically lifted by just looking at the torched flames dance in the dark corners and the high stone ceilings.

When I had first arrived only a few hours ago all the stone had felt overwhelming and almost sickening due to the lack of colour, but now it felt comforting in a way I'm not sure I would ever understand.

A large wooden door opened automatically as we approached, it led to a decently sized classroom.
All the seats were empty and various jars of creatures and objects were littered around the room.

"Take a seat"

Authors notes:
Ok so I'm back! After 2 months of not wanting to update I have loads of ideas of where to bring this story now.
Also sorry about these first few chapters seeming unnecessary i just wanted to introduce Everly character and personality as well as get a start on the whole story. I promise from now on the chapters will actually be interesting :)