Pride In Me and You [ A Harry Potter Prequel ]

the friendly feasts

The funny thing about Hogwarts, witchcraft and wizardry in general, is that I'll never quite understand it. I never thought anything so wonderful could possibly exist. The studies, the magic--clearly--and of course, focusing mostly on the relationships I've gained and lost and how I've deeply changed through the journey. It doesn't matter how I got there, only that I was there being sorted.

I was fifteen, supposedly a fifth year when first exposed to the oddities of Hogwarts, talking hats and moving paintings, staircases, real ghosts. I was late to the school, I had a rough childhood but I managed to find my way here with the help of a certain boy. I was odd to others and they were odd to me.

With my wand and cat and robes I stepped up, not unaware of the stares, but disregarding them completely. Out came a singular word to change my life. "RAVENCLAW!"

The confusion overruled the small claps scattered from the long tables. I sat down at the table of blue robes and a girl greeted me. Light yellow skin and dark brown orbs on hooded eyes, with effortless and straight dark hair that fell just above her shoulders. "Welcome to our house. I'm your prefect, Vanessa Thompson."

"Hi, I'm Char--"

"Charlotte Edwards, we know. You're going to be all the talk this year, like an alien, a phenomenon or something. People just can't seem to look away and it's hardly the first feast."

"Thanks?" Of course I wasn't thankful this girl only gave me more space to swim in my own anxieties. I could feel the stares on me ever since I arrived at this castle. Though, everyone was just as much an alien to me as I was to them.

I gazed around the hall of dark gray stone. There were small window on the walls, and empty arranged tables, illuminating from the orange light of unearthly floating candles. The ceiling was starry almost as if there wasn't one at all. And there were four incredibly long tables. On the left of Ravenclaw's, was a large group of people, chuckling in pine green robes. On my right were those with a scarlet red, and next the them was a bright yellow. I noticed Henry smile at me from that table.

"Holy shit you're a wizard!" He grinned from ear to ear, at the odd stick of wood in my hands. A wand, apparently.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. "Wait, what?"

The man behind the desk before me, took back the wand and put it in a slim green box, and handed it back to me.

The brown haired boy grinned toothily, his dark eyes glimmering. "I'm going to send Hogwarts an owl right now, I don't understand how they could have missed you."

The man behind the desk of the sleek wood shop smiled as well. "I'll handle that. What's your name, dear?"

I fiddled around with my fingers, "Er- Charlotte Edwards."

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander."

I also returned a bit of gratitude towards the man. And I followed this boy who was vaguely my age, fifteen or sixteen, through the bustling streets of the alley. This was by far, the weirdest day of my life. "I'm Henry Kingstad, by the way. I definitely should have introduced myself first before I started dragging you all around Diagon Alley."

I muttered, pushing back my hair, and laughing slightly, "That would've been nice."

"So, I guess this is goodbye. I hope you hear from Hogwarts soon." He began to walk past me, until I urgently grabbed his shoulders.

"I have two questions."

"Okay."

"First, I have nowhere to stay. I don't even know where I am. And second, what is Hogwarts?" I've never felt stupider in my lifetime. Even at the orphanage, I was the one the younger kids would ask to read or help with the minimal amount of schoolwork we received. So this lack of knowledge, was tugging, or irking at some part of my body.