Daisies • HP Next Generation

A (Simple) Tour Through Hogwarts

Daisy woke up early the next morning. The unfamiliar room, full of unfamiliar people couldn't coax her into a deep sleep like her room at home could. It was only 6:30, but since breakfast didn't start until 7:30, she had plenty of time to get ready. Her earlier reluctance to go to Hogwarts was subdued by her curiosity and excitement. If only she had known more about what Hogwarts would be like before she came.

She pulled out her robes and got dressed before looking more closely at her surroundings.

The Hufflepuff dormitory was full of furniture in varying shades of yellow, and gold. The first year girls' room had five beds set facing towards the center of the circular room. Hanging vines lined the crevices in the walls, potted ferns and cacti grew on shelves, and quilts lay across the beds and chairs.

The common room was much the same, when she ventured down there. As she walked through the rounded door, hanging plants tickled the top of her head, and she noticed them draped over most of the ceiling. There were only a couple of people sitting in arm chairs, talking softly to each other, and none of them were first years, as far as she could tell.

"Daisy?" A hushed voice said from behind her.

Daisy turned, a little surprised anyone here would know her name, only to see that there was one first year sitting alone in a corner.

"Hi Jasper," she whispered back. Daisy sat down in a black armchair next to him, and they waited for the other first years.

Slowly more people joined them, quietly finding their place nearby. Everyone was wearing their long black school robes and a few people even wore hats too. Daisy even got to know the names of all the other girls in her year. Besides herself, Sophie, Regina Cattermole, Emily Macmillan, and Laura Eustace were also in her year. All of them seemed very welcoming, and there weren't any pre-made friend groups, because no one had met before the Hogwarts Express.

When Sophie, the last first year to come down, got there, the group followed a prefect through the halls to breakfast, where the other Houses had already begun gathering.

Plates of food were already laid out across the table. To Daisy, it looked like much more than they could possibly eat. Surely they didn't always get this much? Just on special days maybe? She decided on a simple breakfast, and placed two pieces of buttered toast and some scrambled eggs on her plate.

"So, how'd you like the common room? What do you think the rest of the castle will be like?" Sophie asked.

Daisy finished swallowing a bite of toast before answering. "I thought it was very... homey. It's great, really. The rest of the castle is way too big. Even after this tour, I'll probably still get lost. How could they not give tours or maps before the expansion? The castle can't have been that much smaller before."

Sophie shrugged. "Maybe they had it as some sort of test. I bet Gryffindors and Ravenclaws would think it would test your bravery or memory or something."

Although it didn't make much sense to to Daisy, she went with it. It was as good an excuse as any.

After breakfast time was over, Professor Mcgonagall pointed out their groups.

"For your tours, first years, please meet your house prefects at the head of your table. Prefects, don't forget to take attendance! Second and third years..."

Sophie was already pulling her to the head of the first year crowd to meet their house prefects near the staff table.

"Well, at least some people have some enthusiasm," the older boy said, seeing Sophie first, and then the rest of the curious, but tired, first years. The boy had a narrow face, and deep set eyes that were foreboding, but at the same time obviously held humor from the creases at the corner and the twinkle in his eyes when he spoke to them. The girl next to him had curtains of shoulder length light brown hair that curved around her face, covering much of it. It was hard to see what kind of person she might turn out to be.