Three Wishes

Chapter 5: Sorting Out The Houses

The Sun rose with mild sparkle on her free day given by Snape, and Flora decided to spend most of her time in bed, getting a well-deserved rest. Yesterday's panic attack left her quite worn out, the young witch longed for sleeping in, and a lazy day with nothing else but reading until the Sun waved its goodbye again. So she made sure to prepare for such day in advance, visiting the library the evening before, and taking out books about legilimency and occlumency, hoping she would find information about her powers. Seeing the intriguing experiences with Snape, she looked for an explanation like a man possessed— for a mention of a name, anything that would point her to understand this unusual condition.

But even though Flora returned with almost half the library under her arms, determined to read them fast, or at least run through them quickly, results were close to none. But to no avail. Two entire weeks of research and practically going through almost every nook and cranny of the bookshelves, still, her work bore no fruit, so she decided to throw in the towel for now, at least until something else showed its head on the horizon. There was no reason for sadness though, visiting the library so frequently brought other benefits for the white-haired maiden.

Hermione Granger, the third-year Gryffindor student was a permanent resident there, either reading, doing research, or just simply relaxing if she wanted a little peace and quiet. Their first meeting was almost natural, giving Hermione's helpful nature and drive to point people in the right direction, the curly haired teen immediately rushed to help a lost-looking Flora find her way. Although, benevolence wasn't Hermione's main sentiment which made her offer aid to Flora, she was also extremely curious about the silver maiden, having heard the fresh rumors about the oldest student who attended Hogwarts in history. 

Getting to know her was a pleasant surprise for the Gryffindor teen. Flora bonded with her over a few books, giving the white-haired witch was also outstanding in studying, and had no difficulty keeping up with the rushed schedule she was forced into. If only the Slytherins hadn't make fun of her so much, maybe her anxiety would be on a much lower level when it comes to making friends.

Hermione expressed her respect towards Flora, saying she wouldn't be able to compress materials from multiple years and learn them simultaneously. One year's material was difficult enough, the brunette would just simply go insane if she had to bear what Flora was doing. Hermione's compliment warmed Flora's heart, and soon the two girls became friends, always meeting up in the library, discussing lessons and helping each other finish assignments.

After Hermione introduced Ron and Harry to Flora, the witch found herself spending more and more time with Gryffindor folk, but mostly the golden trio. At first, the teens found it unusual to befriend someone much older than them, but once they saw Flora's innocent character and good heart, making conversation was smooth sailing for everyone. Flora could finally place her trust in people, and the trio could get to know someone highly intriguing. 

She made quite a few new friendships as well, one being Neville, who, despite his clumsy nature, turned out to be an enormous help in Herbology. Fred and George, the Weasley twins always made her laugh, and the frail woman listened to the stories about Harry and Voldemort with her jaw on the floor. She needed to know more details about the very man who was targeting her, and she was beyond grateful to make friends with the chosen one himself. Life seemed to ease up a little for Flora.

It's a quite peaceful morning, Flora successfully avoided any kind of bullying by getting up early, and heading out straight to the Gryffindor tower. She sets up camp before the portrait of the Fat Lady, waiting for the trio to appear (or at least one of them) so they could grab breakfast together. She would rather spend her entire day crouching before the Fat Lady, than staying in the Slytherin dorm, and endure the nasty looks and comments.