⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Ryan woke up to the next morning after a three-hour-long rest and naturally, she had a massive struggle with keeping her eyes open. She did not quite know the reason for her insomnia and took a mental note to ask Newt in her next letter if there was anything she could do about it. Running her fingertips gently on leaves that occupied Finn's head, Ryan woke up the tiny beast and held her hand beside him for him to climb on her palm. It was time for breakfast and she was well aware that Finn would never want to miss it.
Walking out of the common room, she heard the portrait move and close behind her. But as the sound reached her ears, Ryan noticed she forgot her Potions book and turned to face the portrait of Fat Lady with a hope that she would open the door for her. All these time young witch was lucky enough to have a company around her, but that morning, everyone seemed to be everywhere but near the Gryffindor Tower.
"I can't let you go in without a password," Fat Lady said which left Ryan hopeless. She desperately searched for the portrait's eyes, almost begged it to open, but rules were rules and portrait had no intention to break them. Finn seemed to be bothered by the way Fat Lady behaved mercilessly towards Ryan and waved his stick-like fingers towards her, threatening Fat Lady. Yet, it did not really work.
"How did you manage to go in the tower all this time if you can't even say password?"
Ryan turned her head in search of the source of the voice and found him across her, leaning against the bannister. He was lazily shaking his leg and twirling his wand between his fingers. His slightly long hair was covering the side of his face, but his grey eyes were bright with mischief that he was hiding behind them.
Frowning at him as she noticed the teasing grin on his lips, Ryan crossed her arms and wondered if he had any intention to help her. On her shoulder, just like Ryan, Finn also crossed his arms and sent Sirius rather threatening glare.
"Does it mean that you need help?" Sirius asked before he walked to the downstairs to approach her.
Fortunately, after Sirius said the password and Ryan ran to her dorm to grab every book she would need during the day, she still had time for a fast breakfast. Exiting the common room once again, Ryan was surprised to see Sirius still standing there, playing with his wand, twirling it between his fingers. She was not sure who he was waiting for and decided to head the Great Hall without bothering him. She could, later on, thank him, once she found a piece of parchment.
"You know, it is rude to leave me behind."
Just as she took a couple of steps front, Sirius appeared beside her and strolled the corridors with Ryan. He was acting rather bizarre, which gave a feeling to Ryan that he was up to something. Probably, something no good and it took him just a few minutes to spill the beans.
"Do you remember the prank I told you about?" He asked. Ryan did not really remember him telling her a certain prank, but she recalled the conversation they had in front of the fireplace. So, with a little hesitation, she nodded her head.
"Do you want to prank someone with me?" He asked rather excitedly as she gaped at him. With a tiny frown on her forehead, Ryan shook her head to indicate that she neither now nor in the future had a desire to help him with his pranks.
"It means yes?" Sirius still asked, even if he clearly understood that she meant no. His question caused Ryan to shook her head a bit more violently, which actually made her feel dizzy.
"Oh, I bet this means you can't wait for our prank," Sirius grinned. Ryan could not stop herself and raised her book to nudge him lightly, but it only caused Sirius' grin to widen.
"We will have so much fun, Ryan," he sang as they arrived in front of the wooden doors of Great Hall.
Sirius bid her goodbye with a playful salute and walked towards his roommates, whereas Ryan spotted Frank and Alice on Hufflepuff table, both waving their hands to get her attention. She knew they wanted to invite her to have breakfast with them, as they did every morning and this time, instead of rejecting their offer, she found herself walking towards the pair. She wanted to get used to being around people and so far Frank and Alice seemed to be the best of companies.
Resting her chin on her palm and letting Finn lean against her arm, Ryan listened to Professor Flitwick telling them about the internal details of Levitation Charm. They were supposed to focus on that charm one more week before moving to Wand-Lighting Charm, which everyone seemed to wait for impatiently. Puffing her cheeks, Ryan moved her gaze on to her wand and wondered when she would manage to use it as others did. It was true that she could hold it now, she even managed to make the feather levitate slightly, but none of those was enough for her to catch up with others.
"You shouldn't think that much, you know?"
Ryan tilted her head to see Remus looking at her with a kind smile on his face. She let out a sigh and pulled a parchment piece to write a reply to him.
Because worrying means you suffer twice?
Remus read her note and curved his brow up before he took a quick glance of Professor Flitwick and grabbed a quill to write a note under hers.
Nice philosophy.
Ryan smirked a bit before she also added a note on parchment.
It is. I heard it from afriend.
It felt so natural for Ryan to classify Newt as a friend. And as if Finn also sensed from who she was writing about, he peeked behind her hand to look at the parchment and smiled at her once he raised his head to look at the young witch.
"Are you sure that you will be alright here?"
Ryan nodded her head.
"Do you want me to stay?"
Ryan shook her head. It was after curfew and once again, she knew she could not sleep. And instead of lying lazily on her bed, she decided that it could be a perfect chance for her to practice her magic. When Ryan arrived at headmaster's office, Dumbledore seemed to be taken aback to see her there. Unlike the portrait of Fat Lady, the statue of Griffin let her in without a password and that way, she managed to approach Dumbledore to ask him, by giving a parchment piece where she wrote her request, for a permit to practice in a classroom. Though the headmaster preferred her to rest like any other peers of hers, he could not say no to her. Especially when Ryan seemed so eager to practice her magic. So he found an empty classroom near the Gryffindor Tower for her and allowed her to stay there with a promise to return her dorm after an hour.
"Miss Selwyn," he called when she looked at him. "It is Wingardium Leviosa," Dumbledore said the incantation lastly for her to repeat and Ryan smiled at him as a sign of 'thank you'.
"Wingardium Leviosa," Ryan said pointing her wand to the feather, her voice sounding a bit hoarse because of not using it much. She watched it levitate a little bit higher after her fifth try and let a smile spread on her face. Maybe she could really do it. Maybe, just like how Newt said, patience would be her key to success. Hence, she continued to try the same spell for many times.
Ryan was so into her magic attempt that she did not notice the wooden door of the classroom was opened by another student, who did not know about Ryan's condition and was surprised to hear her talk.
"Can you talk?"
A voice startled her and Ryan turned to come face to face with a fellow student.
