hp, mirrorball

- chapter 5. making friends in the night

❀ 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖎𝖛𝖊. 𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖋𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖘 𝖎𝖓
𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 ❀

🌤

THE thought of even sleeping after everything that had happened seemed impossible for Harry. He thought perhaps falling asleep, would mean he would wake up and this would all be a dream, and he's really still under the stairs in the cupboard. That night he stayed up with the night sky acting as his friend, the stars danced in his eyes.

Everyone else had fallen asleep almost immediately, the fuel running out quickly for them, but Harry had watched them sleep and wondered how they could. Instead, he made his way down to the common room, perhaps the fire would give him some warmth? However he was shocked to find he was not the only one there.

Harry saw the girl sitting on the sofa, a blanket wrapped over her shoulders. A creak in the stairs betrayed him as his presence was made to the girl, to Esme.

"Hi, Harry," she smiled, shifting on the sofa so he could come sit.

Harry made his way around the sofa and sat next to her "Could you not sleep either?" he wondered.

Esme shook her head, her long hair swooshing with her movements "If I go to sleep i'm scared i'll wake up and this will all be a dream," she told him, with wonder in her eyes that radiated from her as he watched.

"Same," he laughed "I can pinch you if you like?" Harry joked, rewarding him with a laugh from her. Around people, he didn't know what to say, or what to do, cause he wasn't sure if he would be welcomed, his whole life he'd lived under the hatred gaze of the Dursleys. Being here, with Ron and Esme, everything came naturally and he truly was happy. Only one day here and Harry finally felt at home somewhere.

"It must be weird for you-" Esme jumped on the sofa, sitting cross legged right at him "coming here after not knowing anything about the Wizarding World, it's strange enough for me," the thought of magic not being in a household was a foreign idea to her.

"It was," Harry admitted "The Dursleys never mentioned any of this to me, not even my parents,"

"Dursleys? what's a Durslley?" questioned Esme.

Harry realised his mistake "My Aunt and Uncle, and Cousin,"

"Are they nice to you?"

Harry thought about lying, about telling her what he wished was the truth. How he had his own room with posters and books and toys, or how he would be fed three consecutive meals a day that all smelled of five star quality food, or how he went to an amazing school and was popular, but the truth wasn't that "Not really," he said sheepishly, almost scared to admit it "I sleep in a cupboard under some stairs,"

"Under stairs?" she exclaimed before remembering there are some sleeping "That's-that's-" she struggled to find the words.

"Terrible?" he finished, but shrugged it off "I know nothing," he changed the subject, talking about this world and all there was for him to understand and know.

Esme watched him "I don't know anything either really," she told him, gaining his attention as he looked to her "I know of magic of course, but not that much of the Wizarding world and it's history. I didn't know you were the boy who lived until I saw the scar," she looked at his intrigued eyes and continued "my Grandparents are very protective over me and my younger sister, they don't tell us anything, don't let us out all that much. I'm not told anything about my parents either."