~The Big Five at Hogwarts~

Chapter 1

Rapunzel~

I lug my large leather trunk up the castle steps with Merida right behind me. When I had finally convinced my mother to let me return to Hogwarts, she insisted that Merida escort me to Platform 9¾ every semester. Her wild red curls fall in front of her face as she drags her own trunk up the massive stone staircase. My hair, of course, despite being pinned and pulled back into countless ponytails and braids, is making it difficult not to trip.

“So, is the Gryffindor team going after the Quidditch championship title again?” I grunt.

“Are you kidding?” Merida lifts her head, “of course we are! We’re undefeated, remember?” I laugh as my trunk is pulled over the top step.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you at the Welcoming Feast,” I tell her as I turn towards the Hufflepuff common room.

“You too. Good luck. I’ve got to check on Angus in the stables after I put my stuff away,” she calls, heading the other way. After parting ways, I make my way over to the hallway near the kitchens. Sitting on the floor is a large pile of wooden barrels, at least to some people. By tapping out a certain rhythm onto a certain barrel, an earthy tunnel opens up in the hardwood floor. As I slide down the tunnel carting my trunk behind me, the voices of my fellow Hufflepuffs rise up through the tunnel. My friend Jane welcomes me with a hug when I clamber out of the entrance. Pascal pokes his little green head out of my robes to greet her before climbing onto my shoulder.

“Hey Punzie!” Jane grins at me with her braces-covered teeth and electric blue eyes. The nickname can get a little annoying, but she means well. “How was your summer?” She finishes. Before I answer I plop down onto one of the overstuffed yellow armchairs that surround a little brick fireplace. The fireplace used to be maintained by house-elves, before the legendary Hermione Granger started the organization S.P.E.W. A framed photo of Cedric Diggory hangs on the wall and circular doors in the corner lead to our dormitories. All types of plants hang from ceiling and sit on shelves, beckoning to passerby with their leafy tendrils. I am so engrossed with my home-away-from-home that I almost forget to answer Jane’s question.

“My summer was boring, as usual. I can’t wait to go to our first Charms class!” I tell Jane as she sits down on the ground next to me.

“Even if it takes you twenty tries just to lift a quill?” Patty Shermin’s nasal voice pierces the conversation like a knife. My green eyes automatically narrow at the sound of that witch’s comment (and I mean witch in a bad way). Jane looks like she is ready to punch someone. Even though I wish that I had my frying pan, I know violence isn’t the answer to this situation. Patty Shermin can only be beaten with words.

“Patty, if you don’t leave me alone right now, I’ll show you what I can do.” Patty’s cackle seems to echo all through my bones and shake the entire room. I grit my teeth and try again. “Patty, go away.”

This time Patty does the unthinkable. She grabs a lock of my golden hair and yanks it, hard.

            “What are you going to do, strangle me with your freakishly long hair?” Now she is asking for it. And I am not going to give it to her.

            “No, Patty. Now would you be so kind as to go away?” I give her a mocking smile. With a dramatic huff, Patty saunters away. Pascal sticks his tongue out at her when she turns her back. That chameleon has sass. “I’m going to put my stuff away,” I growl before carting my things over to the left of the circular doors. I brush a fern’s leafy branch out of my face before entering the large chamber inside. Each large bed has a wooden headboard and is covered in cushy patchwork quilts. I collapse onto one and inhale the smell of home. 

~ The only characters I made up are Patty Shermin and Jane.