The Legacies Only They Knew

Chapter 12 - Blooming Relations

It certainly seemed as though Coraline would never not be a source of gossip during her time at Hogwarts. She hadn't even been at the castle for two full nights yet, but she was, once again, the topic of interest for the majority of the student body. First, it was the dragon attack, then it was her victory over Sebastian during Defense class, and now it was the trolls' attack on Hogsmeade. Granted, this time, at least, Sebastian was getting an equal amount of gossip about the latest attack, allowing him to share the burden of the numerous inquisitive eyes watching their every move during the feast.

Coraline almost skipped the feast entirely upon walking into the Great Hall and seeing all of the eyes staring at her, but the adrenaline from the afternoon was starting to wear off, leaving her quite tired and hungry. As she sat down next to her dormmates at the Ravenclaw table, she could see the endless questions already forming on their lips so she lightly shook her head and gave a small whisper of "later." All of them immediately understood and cautiously looked around at all of the other students before giving nods of their own, leaving them to eat in relative silence. However, as soon as they made it to the safety of their dorm room in Ravenclaw Tower, none of the other three girls held their curiosity or concern back.

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking taking on a fully-grown troll by yourself?" Sammie exclaimed as she walked up to Coraline and rested her hands on the other's shoulders, giving her a clear, pointed look.

Coraline suddenly wanted to shrink away from them and hide in the solitude of her bunk, feeling like a small child being scolded by a parent. Thankfully, Devin placed her hand on Sammie's shoulder and gently pulled her away from the overwhelmed Coraline. Robin took the opportunity to guide her over to Devin's bunk, allowing the girl to sit before dropping down to her knees in front of her, lightly clasping Coraline's hands in support.

"Are you okay? Were you hurt in any way?" Robin quietly asked as she rubbed small circles on the back of Coraline's hands, worry and concern etched across the entire girl's face.

Her question drew the attention of Devin and Sammie, causing them to sit on either side of Coraline with their heads tilted slightly. Coraline just sighed, her head dropping down to look at her hands as she finally had time to process everything that had happened in Hogsmeade in relative peace and quiet. After what seemed like an eternity to the other girls, Coraline finally spoke.

"I'm about as good as can be expected, I guess. Though to be honest, I'm not entirely sure I understand everything that happened just yet."

The other three girls exchanged a brief, concerned glance but ultimately said nothing.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'm just going to get ready for bed."

Robin gave Coraline another small smile and a light, reassuring squeeze on her hands before getting up off the floor. The other girls watched as Coraline silently grabbed a pair of pajamas and her toiletries out of her closet and exited the dorm, closing the door behind her with a soft click. Immediately, each of the remaining girls' heads swiveled to look at each other, their mouths slightly agape as they tried to figure out how to word what they wanted to say.

Sammie was the first to speak, but her voice remained just above a whisper, "She's not okay, is she?"

Devin sighed and hung her head, unsure how to help their newest dorm mate.

"Would you be? She just found out she was a witch, started a new school in a completely different country, and just in the last twenty-four hours alone, she's been forced against a rogue dragon and a fully-grown troll."

"Well, what do we do? How do we help her?" Robin asked as she grabbed her book bag from where she had placed it in front of her closet when they arrived at the dorm and went over to the table.