Carnival I.M

4

Leaving the Great Hall, Sabrina forced Draco to leave us be and do his Prefect duties whilst she showed me the way to the Slytherin common room - which, just so happened to be the dungeons...kind of underwater. It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. The swishing of the water sent me a calm, fuzzy feeling and I knew I could listen to it all day if need be. The black, leather armchairs were to the left of the common room, and to the left of that was the fireplace, above the fireplace a portrait of the famous Salazar Slytherin hung, seeming to have scowled whilst getting his portrait painted. To the right of the common room, there was a bunch of desks and chairs and bag racks - if anybody was even brave enough to leave theirs in there.

"Getting a good picture of your new home, huh?" Sabrina interrupted my thoughts, shifting her bag strap. She exhaled, taking the place in herself, as though glad to be back. "Well, come on, then. Let's go up to the dormitory."

"And who is in there, exactly?" I questioned, jogging up the wide steps until we reached a large bronze door with a strange handle, which really didn't look like a handle at all.

"You, myself, Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass. They're all right, really, once you get used to them. I think it's fair to warn you, be careful what you say around Millicent; she'll take anything seriously and usually the wrong way. Daphne is pretty chill. I think you'll like her."

I inhaled sharply as Sabrina reached for the door handle, shaking my hands as though ready to throw a bludger. I didn't understand why I was freaking out; I was great at making new friends. Sabrina gave me an encouraging smile before stepping into the room, followed by myself. There were five beds, obviously, draped with green bed hangings. A trunk was set in front of each bed, and the room was, surprisingly, circular. It smelled of a light touch of perfume. I liked this much better than my previous dormitory. We had a room to ourselves at my old school and it got a little lonely sometimes. The reason for this was because none of us were trusted to share a dorm, not even with the same gender.

"Woah, I like it," I thought aloud, stepping further into the room, the floorboards creaking slightly under my feet. The three girls who were already in the room stopped packing away their things and looked up at me, recognition taking over their annoyance and confusion. "Hi," I smiled, waving. "I'm Emma."

"Yeah, we know," a girl with long, bushy, dark brown hair said, folding a piece of clothing. "We were at the sorting you know, we aren't deaf."

I looked to Sabrina, who mouthed, 'Millicent.'

A girl with straight, shoulder-length blonde hair, who I assumed was Daphne, threw her scarf at Millicent. "Introductions are essential, sweetheart," she smirked, then turned to me. "I'm Daphne, by the way. Welcome to Slytherin, you'll find it's the best House."

I made no comment on the house itself, as I wasn't in the right to judge and compare the four houses; I didn't know very much about them. Instead, I smiled back at her and walked over to the vacant bed with my trunk beside it. The girls conversed back and forth, speaking about their O.W.L's and subjects, whilst I packed my usual clothing away into the small cupboard beside the bed, and while the girls were busy I stripped out of my robes and into simple clothing. It wasn't that I was afraid of getting dressed in front of other girls, it's just I didn't know whether they were comfortable with being in the same room as a girl stripping. There was a girl like that at my old school, where she had never came into the bathrooms or the changing rooms until it was empty and she didn't have to witness any skin and genitals.

"Say, you look awfully familiar," Millicent said, her tongue poking her cheek, eyes narrowed, studying me when I turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" I let out a small laugh.