The Threads That Bind Us

Chapter 3

After the Sorting Hat finished its song, the Sorting Ceremony began. Seven new students were sorted into Hufflepuff. Afterwards, the feast commenced. It was lovely; there were so many of Fidelity's favorite foods. Fidelity sat at the Hufflepuff table next to Penny and Cameron, piling as much food as she could onto her plate, as did the twins.

"Dis is delicious," Cameron mumbled as he shoved more food into his already full mouth.

"Cameron!" Penny scolded, smacking his arm."Slow down! And close your mouth, will you? You're disgusting."

Cameron mumbled an apology as Fidelity giggled to herself. Once he got his food down, Cameron ate more slowly, much to Penny's approval.

After the feast, Fidelity waved to Ava and headed towards the Hufflepuff common room with the other Hufflepuffs, practically dragging her feet with exhaustion.

Fidelity had always thought her common room was beautiful. It was round with high ceilings, very warm and vibrant, decorated mostly in yellow. There were lots of plants, windows, chairs, and a grand fireplace. It was so cozy.

Despite her nap on the train, Fidelity was rather drowsy. Once she went through the circular door to her dormitory, she collapsed onto her familiar bed. She loved her bedroom; it was just as cozy as the common room. Fidelity said goodnight to Penny and the two other girls they shared the room with—Mira and Eloise—and fell into a deep sleep.

*****

The next morning, Fidelity walked to breakfast with Penny. When the mail owls arrived, they didn't drop anything on Fidelity's plate. She hadn't expected anything, as it was only the first day. Although she would have been happy to see Stella.

Not long after the mail was delivered, class schedules were handed out. Fidelity's first day included Transfiguration, Herbology, and then double Potions. She was indifferent towards her schedule. After reviewing her schedule as well as the twins', she went over to the Gryffindor table to compare schedules with Ava. They had Potions together as well as Charms the following day.

"That's it?" Fidelity pouted, "Only two classes together, I'll hardly see you!"

"I know," Ava replied more calmly, but her disappointment still evident. "I was expecting more. But it's okay, I'll still see you in the halls and during our free time."

The two friends shared a sad smile before realizing the time.

Not wanting to be late to class on the first day, Fidelity exited the Great Hall briskly. As she walked down the corridor to Transfiguration, she noticed the Slytherin boy she had bumped into the day before. She had forgotten all about him until now. He was very tall with defined features. He had dark hair, chocolate eyes, and a small light brown birthmark on his left cheek. Upon seeing him again, Fidelity noticed that he was actually quite handsome. Very handsome.

Remembering the encounter and how guilty he had felt, Fidelity smiled and waved at him. The boldness of the action was a bit uncharacteristic of Fidelity, but the kindness behind it was not. When he saw her, he smiled too. As he brought up his arm to wave back, he tripped on his robes and fell face-first. Fidelity ran over to make sure he was okay.

"I guess we're even now," the boy said, chuckling when he noticed Fidelity standing over him. She grabbed his arm and did her best to pull him up.

"I guess so," she laughed. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm good."

"That looked like it hurt."

"Just a little tumble." He looked down and smiled at her, his cheeks tinged slightly pink with embarrassment. "My name's Noah, by the way."

"I'm Fidelity. It's nice to properly meet you." She grinned up at him.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Fidelity broke the silence. "Well, I better get to class. I'll see you around, Noah."

"Uh, yeah, see you around Fidelity."

After that they both went in opposite directions towards their classes. While Fidelity sat in transfiguration she couldn't stop thinking about the boy called Noah. When she realized that she had been thinking about him, she felt her cheeks heat. Why am I thinking about him? For the rest of class Fidelity pushed Noah out of her mind and focused on the lesson.

Later that day, after lessons, Fidelity and Ava met in the library. It was too early in the term for studying, but they just wanted a quiet place to chat, and seeing as they didn't share a common room, the library seemed like the best option. They filled each other in on their day and their lessons. Fidelity also told Ava about her encounter with Noah.

"You should talk to him." Ava suggested.

"What do you mean? I already talked to him this morning," Fidelity replied.

"I mean you should talk to him again. He sounds cute and seems nice."

"Oh, I could never. I would be much too embarrassed."

"Maybe I should go talk to him then."

"No!" Fidelity said a little too loudly. "No," she repeated, more quietly this time, "please don't do that."

Ava just gave Fidelity that smug look of hers.

Fidelity never understood why boys didn't ask her out. She didn't have trouble talking to boys. What she didn't realize was that she was always too shy to approach the boys she was interested in. She always hoped that they would seek her out, but they never really did. Fidelity assumed that if a boy liked her, then he would come talk to her or ask her out. But how could she expect that when she never sought them out or asked them out?

"Maybe I will go talk to him," Fidelity finally conceded. "I mean, he's only a sixth year, at least I think so. I know he's not a seventh year and if he's below a sixth year I'm definitely not interested. I guess the only way I'll find out is if I ask him."

"Exactly. I'm proud of you," Ava praised. "Should we go down for dinner?"

The two witches walked down to dinner. There was no one in the corridors until they neared the Great Hall, then, they had to part ways at the house tables. During the feast, Fidelity glanced at Ava, who gave her a significant look. Fidelity knew what it meant—Ava wanted her to go talk to Noah.

Fidelity hadn't planned to approach Noah today, but she figured it wouldn't make a difference if she waited until later. She spent the rest of the feast convincing herself to talk to him. After the feast, Fidelity stood up, and before she could head towards the Slytherin table, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, Fidelity." Fidelity spun around to find the source of the voice.

"Noah," she said, trying not to sound nervous.

Noah hesitated for a moment. "Um, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out sometime?"

"Oh, yeah, for sure!" Fidelity replied, trying to hide her surprise and not sound too enthusiastic.

"Brilliant." Noah smiled.

"What year are you in?" Fidelity asked sort of bluntly.

"I'm a sixth year, but I turn seventeen in a couple months. And you're a seventh year?"

Fidelity's birthday was in mid July, so she was only a few months older than him. "Yeah," she smiled.

"Well, I have to catch up with some friends, but I'll see you later." Noah smiled and then turned around and left.

Fidelity's cheeks reddened. She looked over at Ava to see if she had seen their conversation. Ava grinned at Fidelity, and she knew she had. Fidelity smiled back. They walked out of the dining hall together, and Fidelity filled Ava in on her conversation with Noah. Not long after, they parted ways and returned to their common rooms for the evening.