Being A Champion

Entering

Okay, okay. They said Gryffindor was in the tower, Slytherin was the dungeon and Hufflepuff...the..."Shit." Maya mumbles under her breath as she wanders the Hogwarts corridors. After dinner, they were informed that Hogwarts is allowing the visiting schools to stay in the various Houses. Beauxbaton got Slytherin and Gryffindor, while Durmstrang got Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw was for the boys and Hufflepuff was for the girls.

However, Maya is gonna have to go sleep on the ship if she cannot find the damn House. Woods stole her away before she could follow her group and now she doesn't have a clue where it could be. She has gone down far too many hallways and yet she did not pass a single professor. Sure she could ask the paintings, but her pride was too much and she wanted to find it on her own. After a few more minutes she arrived at a series of staircases that...are moving. Well, screw that. She turns on her heel and stomps away. She goes down a corridor that looks exactly the same as the rest.

"Fucking hell." She leans against the wall and lets her head hit the stone. "These Hogwarts students have to be amazing at mazes at least." She mumbles under her breath. Taking some time, Maya tries to think of where she has been and if she can remember anything that will help her find her way. She's stuck in her mind, until quiet footsteps catches her attention. She snaps her eyes up and-

"Oh, um hi." The girl from earlier is a few feet in front of her and her voice is probably the softest voice to ever fill Maya's ears. She's different this time, her hair falls free down her back in gentle curls, the uniform is replaced with simple black sweats and a yellow tank top. Maya notices the girl is taller than she expected, however it doesn't take much to be taller than Maya. Maya swallows hard and tilts her head up.

"Hey...um," she rubs the back of her neck, "I'm kinda lost. Could you tell me where the Hufflepuff quarters are at?" Her voice doesn't come out as confident as she would like. The words feel heavy on her tongue and sound stiff.

The girl stares for a moment, then tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. "I was looking for you actually." She admits shyly.

Maya quirks an eyebrow. "Oh?"

The brunette snaps her eyes up and goes red. "Not like I was looking for you exactly-I mean I was-but um, not like in a certain way, it's just that-well we did a head count and someone was missing and your friend um Darby was it? Anyway, she said you were gone and and I'm a prefect-which probably doesn't mean anything to you-but that means that I can be in the hallways, so I came to find you because your suppose to be in the dormitory and not wandering the halls!" The brunette finally ends her rambling and breaths heavily and Maya finds it all very amusing.

They're quite for a few moments as the brunette tries to collect herself and Maya watches her with curious eyes. Maya finally pushes herself off the wall and takes careful steps to the other girl. "So, you gonna show me the way or shall I get myself lost and you come find me again?" She says in a smooth voice with a hint of a smile. The other girl looks up and breathes out a nervous giggle.

She nods once. "Yes, of course, sorry. Follow me please." Before Maya can blink, the girl spins on her heel and hurries down the hall. Maya has to walk faster to match the girl's long strides, but she ends up by her side. They walk for a few moments, neither saying a word then the girl speaks again.

"My name is Riley by the way." Maya turns to look at her, just to see Riley staring straight ahead.

Maya nods still. "Thanks, Riley." She tests the name on her tongue, liking the way it rolls off. Even the name has something soft about it, it flows smoothly, nothing harsh about it. Maya decides she likes it. As they walk, the Durmstrang girl tries to make a mental note of all the turns they take, but she feels more turned around than she did earlier. They finally enter the kitchen and end up at some barrels. Riley taps the barrels to a rhythm for a moment and low behold, the entrance to the Hufflepuff basement.