"It's Only a Game"

Chapter 6

After the sorting, Dumbles stood up. Silence fell upon the room full of teens. He began to speak.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. To the returning students, welcome back. And to the new, I sincerely hope you enjoy your first year at our lovely school. Dig in!"

Cheering filled the hall as the tables were filled with food. Chicken, steak, tofu, salads... if you could imagine it, it was there. I looked at the food, then at the people surrounding me. They were already gorging themselves on anything they could find.

It was then I realized how hungry I was. Back home, I got a slice of bread in the morning and a glass of milk for dinner. If I was caught stealing... let's not go into what would happen. I didn't want to take too much out of fear of being judged, so I took a slice of chicken and some rice.

As I ate, I observed my surroundings. The Great Hall was massive. Floating candles filled the air, the ceiling looked like the night sky, and banners covered the walls. Lions, badgers, eagles, and snakes. I wonder what they could represent?

After the feast, I was escorted to the hufflepuff common room by another second year. She had short pink hair, and was quite small in stature.

"Hi there, you must be the new kid. The name's Tonks, and I'm also a second year. What did McGonagall say your name was? Amy, right? Well it's great to meet you, Amy, and you're gonna have the best year ever! I'm so excited to have another girl in the year. There's only 3 of us right now. I can't wait for you to meet the others! I'm sorry, I talk a lot when I'm excited."

I chuckled to myself as she trailed off and looked at me. I realized she was waiting on my response, so I fumbled around for my whiteboard. I wrote,

'Hi Tonks, you got my name right. I'm Amy. I hope we can be friends! I use this whiteboard because I'm mute. That means I can't talk. You don't think that will bother the other girls, do you?'

Tonks read my words with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Honey, we're already friends. Of course it won't be a problem! Do you want me to let everyone know so you don't have to write it out every time someone talks to you?"

'That would be helpful' I wrote.

"Leave it to me, then. Here's our dorm. Go ahead and get settled, then meet me in the common room by the fireplace!"