The Potter Generation

5

2 weeks later

"You're on." I whispered, nodding at the girl sitting across from me. She eyed me suspiciously before running a hand through her stark black hair and folding her hands on the desk in front of her.

"My name is Olivia Tellson and I have agreed to be a part of the Potter Generation." she said hesitantly. The flashcard in my hand with the sentence scrawled on it in big letters apparently wasn't helping her case. I sighed internally, deciding it wouldn't get any better than that, then continued with the interview.

"Before we dive into the world of Hogwarts I'd like to get to know you a bit better." I said with ease. I had been practicing what I was going to say for weeks and now I finally had someone to play the opposite role. "So Olivia, instead of asking the same old questions I thought I would spice things up a bit. How do you think other people would describe you?"

The girl's dark eyes flicked to the window, where rain was pouring down in buckets. It was an ominous Monday morning, which made the empty classroom feel even more lonesome.

"Honestly? No holding back?" she asked, her voice sounding small in the big room. I adjusted the camera in my hand before nodding eagerly, despite not getting it on film. The Slytherin picked at her nails nervously, not catching my gaze before replying coolly.

"A selfish bitch."

That wasn't what I was expecting. I cleared my throat awkwardly as Olivia's lips drew into a smile. Footsteps echoed from outside the locked classroom door, but I refused to stop filming.

"You said to be honest, right?" she smirked. Everything about her screamed confidence and playfulness, but as I sat right in front of this girl, camera in hand, I can see her heart just wasn't in it.

"Right. Um, is that how you would describe yourself."

"I think there's a difference between what other people think and what I actually am." Olivia said thoughtfully. "But I would say a bitch is accurate."

"Is that it?" I asked after a moment, regaining my self confidence. I had to learn how to get over the road bumps somehow, and it was obvious things weren't always going to go my way during these interviews.

"For now." Olivia said smoothly, glancing out the fogged up window again. "You said this would last throughout the whole year, so I figured you could wait and see. It'll be liking watching TV and having to wait another week for the next episode."

I was disappointed but agreed with her. If this was going to last I had to time it perfectly.

"Right. Well, I guess that's all for now. My name is Wesley Adkins and this has been The Potter Generation." I pressed the record button and set the camera down, sitting back lazily. Everything felt sluggish today, and it was ruining my creative mood. Olivia twirled a piece of hair around her finger as she looked me up and down.

"So, why are you doing this again?" she asked, placing her chin on her hand. The same old answer played on my tongue but I decided to hold it in. What was the point of lying?

"I'm not really sure yet." I shrugged abruptly, rubbing my tired eyes. "The idea just popped into my head and I went with it."

"Not very Ravenclaw of you." she commented, eyeing the blue tie hanging loosely around my neck. I rolled my eyes and pulled at it absentmindedly. I couldn't even count how many times someone had said something like that to me and made me angry but when Olivia said it, it was like she knew exactly how I felt.

"That's why I'm doing this." I said, my voice low in the back of my throat. "To kill the stereotypes that every wizard parent passes down to their children and every muggleborn hears from friends. It's ridiculous to think that we can all fit perfectly into one category and not wonder why we weren't placed somewhere else. Everyone wonders at least once if they were sorted correctly."

"Not me." Olivia said with a small smile, as if she was reminiscing about that dirty old Sorting Hat being placed on her head. I didn't say anything but my doubt was obvious.

"Seriously." she laughed. "I mean, when I was little I tried convincing myself that I was brave, or smart, or kind. But once I was up there in front of the whole school I realized that I would never make it in any other house. And it's not because I'm pureblood or a selfish bitch, it's just because that's who I am. It's something I can't change."

It made sense. Sometimes you just knew where you belonged. Some even said the Sorting Hat lets you choose your house for that reason in particular. Sometimes I wished I had known that when I was eleven, but I didn't think anything would have changed. Because I wasn't sure where I belonged.

We sat in silence for a while, the room filled with the sound of rain and fading footsteps. Somehow things didn't feel as awkward as I expected and I felt almost normal sitting with a Slytherin girl. It wasn't often that I interfered with other houses, but this year I had to be willing to make sacrifices. And it turned out to be as easy as sitting in the Ravenclaw common room with a book.

"Well this has been nice, but I've got places to go and people to see." Olivia said shattering the serene silence as she stands from her desk. I sit up straight.

"I'll see you next week?" I asked, a hint of hope in my voice. There was no soul selling contract that had to be signed for my project, so she could walk out at any moment. I just hoped it wasn't so soon.

"Next week." she agreed, pulling her book bag over her shoulder. I let out a sigh of relief that was just a bit too loud and pushed my glasses up off the tip of my nose. Olivia strode to the door, her heels clicking against the tile floor but stopped abruptly. I peered at her from my seat across the room as she turned to me hesitantly.

"I was just wondering who else agreed to be interviewed." she asked slowly, her finger tracing the doorknob. "For the documentary."

The three others faces flashed through my mind and I almost considered ruining my whole plan. It was exciting, for me at least and I wanted to share it with everyone around me, but I knew it wouldn't be fair.

"That's confidential." I said, not able to hide a smile. Olivia rolled her eyes sarcastically before trudging out of the classroom and into the nearly empty hallway.

I leaned farther back into my chair, closing my eyes. After so many weeks of planning everything was falling into place. I finally had a chance to tell what Hogwarts was really like. With no sugar coating and no hidden truths. This was the generation of Harry Potter, and there was nothing holding us back from telling everything we knew. And there was nothing stopping me from getting all of it on tape.

Please give me some feedback! Thanks for reading!

Megan