Septem - Sidemen/Harry Potter fan fiction

Ripples

A new day dawned with the rising sun, emerging from the misty lake; a star birthed from the water below. The fog hung from the windows like draping curtains, the light shroud never failing to linger on a crisp autumnal morning. Inside the castle, the hall was alight with the glow of candles and the warm conversation of early morning.

As breakfast drew to a close, the fluttering of wings grew in a crescendo until the owls responsible for the noise erupted through the doors and flew low above the cleared tables. Notably, that day, they were joined by a large group of smaller birds, all of them sharing the same shade of brown feathers and stark yellow legs. Each deposited an identical letter in front of the first year students, many of whom sat with their cluttered timetables, desperately planning a foolproof route around the castle for their day.

"What's this?" Josh asked rhetorically, frowning at the magnolia paper delicately inscribed with his name and house in a royal blue ink. He tore at the envelope, neatly tearing the seal and drawing a single card from within. On it was a single name, adorned in red and gold ink, above a short paragraph and signed at the bottom by the headteacher, McGonnagall.

"No morning lessons," Vikk read aloud disappointedly, reaching the information faster than the former boy who continued to stare at the name imprinted on his card with distaste, "We have to meet with our year group partner?" Josh hid a small snort, noticing Stephen do the same from across the oak table. The ginger haired boy carried the same expression of discomfort and was the first to drop the card in the eye line of his two friends.

"Well, they're Slytherin," he began in confusion, "But I don't recognise the name - Olajide Olatunji." Vikk shrugged slightly, only able to name two boys from that house, JJ and Harry. Josh, who remained silent, folded his card and placed it back into the envelope without another word, his lips pressed tightly together in thought.

"Well I got Tobi from Hufflepuff," Vikk announced over the small silence that grew in Josh's absence from the conversation. Stephen sighed slightly, a reluctant expression of jealousy infiltrating both his and Josh's faces, before standing and leaving to visit the library. Despite himself, Josh found a small smile creeping across his mouth at the sight of this 'typical Ravenclaw' behaviour.

"Let me guess," Vikk narrowed his eyes, "You either also just got paired with some Slytherin or Simon Minter." Judging from Josh's growing frown, he deduced that his second assumption was correct and laughed slightly to himself.

"You could be much worse off," he reminded softly, "I know we all got off on the wrong foot but maybe you'll like him by the end of this morning." Josh raised an eyebrow comically and scratched his neck with vigour.

"Right now, no amount of money would persuade me to like that boy," he replied, still smiling reluctantly at the amused Ravenclaw next to him. His eyes trailed away from his companion for a moment and he subtly punched his arm, not realising for a moment that his gaze had crossed to the Gryffindor table, straight into the line of sight of one Simon Minter who nervously smiled in his direction. Josh quickly turned away, catching Vikk's watchful stare and ignoring the persistent question it held.

"Just give him a chance," he was eventually told by Vikk who began to roll the newspaper he was reading and tucking it under one arm, "Stephen has to put up with a Slytherin, you know." Josh nodded slowly until he froze on the bench.

"Olajide - Jide," he muttered under his breath before clicking his finger in recognition, "Simon called him Jide. JJ." Vikk's eyes snapped back to his face in recognition and he stood quickly, gesturing in the vague direction of the library and beginning to push his way through the congregating groups of students, the clock tower behind the Great Hall signalling a warning for the start of the first lesson.