The Tale of a Gaunt

Hallowe'en

About a week later, Arabella was in the Great Hall.

Suddenly, a flock of owls flew in from an opening in the roof. Arabella saw her own owl, Lunaris, holding a letter and dropping it in her hands.

Arabella opened the letter, it was a reply from Ominis.

It said:

Hello Arabella,

I'm glad to hear that the ride to Hogwarts was successful and you are safe and I hope you are having a good time at Hogwarts. You're right, it isn't much of a surprise you're in Slytherin but it's still great news!

I'm proud that you have managed to make friends so fast, especially with people like Harry Potter! Of course, you probably have got lots more to tell me now it's been about a month since you joined that school.

See you soon!

Ominis

Arabella smiled at the letter. She was about to write a response, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked behind her to see a brown haired Slytherin girl with blue eyes.

"Hello" The girl greeted, smiling.

"Hi" Arabella smiled.

"Can I sit next to you?" The girl asked again.

"Sure" Arabella said.

The girl then sat next to Arabella, and looked at her, still smiling.

"Is it true you're Arabella Gaunt?" She asked.

"Yes, it is, what's your name?" Arabella asked.

"My name is Charlotte Sallow" Charlotte introduced happily.

That last name sounded familiar to Arabella, but from where?

"Do you want to be friends?" Charlotte asked.

"Sure" Arabella accepted, smiling.

Arabella looked at her watch, it was almost time for Charms.

"Sorry I have to go to Charms" Arabella told Charlotte.

"I can come with you if you want, I have Charms next too" Charlotte suggested.

So, Arabella and Charlotte headed to Charms together and took their seats.

The Charms professor, Professor Flitwick, stood atop some books so he could see the entire class.

"Welcome to your first Charms class! Today, I'll teach you the 'Wingardium Leviosa' charm, which can make objects levitate. To cast this spell, you need to perform a specific wand movement: swish and flick. Pay close attention, and give it a try!"

Professor Flitwick then grabbed his wand and cast the spell on a feather.

"Now, I assume you all have your feathers?" He asked.

Arabella held up her feather.

"Great! Now get on with casting the spell!" Professor Flitwick dismissed.

Arabella then looked at her feather and tried casting the spell on it.

While Arabella was trying to cast it, she heard Ron from the opposite side of the room.

"Wingardium Leviosaa" He said, smacking his wand against the table when it didn't work.

"Stop, stop stop, you're going to take someone's eye out, besides, you're saying it wrong. It's 'Leviosa' not 'Leviosaa'" Hermione explained to Ron.

"You do it then if you're so clever" Ron told her.

Hermione then looked at her feather. "Wingardium Leviosa" She said, and her feather lifted up first try.