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Gideon stopped at the top of the stairs in front of a portrait of a rather large looking woman. The gaggle of first years all stopped as well and looked up at Gideon, ready for something to happen. He stopped before the portrait and smirked, looking down at the first years' expectant faces. He looked at the woman and said "Erumpent Horn". She nodded and the portrait swung open revealing a hole in the wall leading into a snug little room all kitted out in red with Gryffindor banners on every wall.
"Woah." Kingsley breathed.
"Far out..." Dora marvelled as she stepped through the portrait hole and into the cosy, round common room.
"This is the Gryffindor common room," Gideon explained, gesturing widely around the room with a sweep of his arm, "I expect you lot are pretty tired after the day you've had so I won't waste time. Boys dorms are through this door, girls are through the other." He said, pointing to each door in turn.
Dora and Kingsley, who were at the back of the group, followed the others through the doors into their respective dorms.
"Don't forget," Dora called out over her shoulder, stopping Kingsley before he disappeared into the boys dorm, "I'm your closest friend."
"Of course you are!" Kingsley laughed and disappeared through the door. Dora felt her spirits drop as she was left without a friend. She sucked her teeth and stepped through the door to her own dorm with a sigh.
The other girls had already claimed one of the four-poster beds for themselves, leaving Dora's choice of bed easy. She sat herself down on the only available bed and looked across the room.
The two other girls who had been sorted int Gryffindor, Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene McKinnon, had chosen two beds next to each other and were unpacking their things and chatting with each other. The bed left for Dora was in between the two other girls and the bed Lily had chosen.Dora didn't quite know what to do with herself. Her trunk had been taken up to the dorm and lay in the middle of the room. She should unpack, or move it at least, but she had no energy left after the day she'd had. She sat on her bed and smiled when Lily met her eye.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Dora said, not thinking of anything else to say. She only knew two things about Lily. One was that her friend had been sorted into a different house and the other was that she didn't like those two boys, James and Sirius, almost as much as Dora disliked them.
"Oh, that's okay," She said wistfully, "I'm sure I'll see him around."
"Yeah, maybe we'll have lessons together," Dora speculated.
"Yeah, I hope so. I wonder when we'll get our timetables."
"Tomorrow morning, I expect. We could ask Gideon tomorrow?" Dora suggested, pulling a face.
"Good idea!" Lily said and Dora smiled. Both girls locked eyes and just smiled at the other until Lily yawned which set Dora off too.
"I don't know about you, but I'm knackered," Dora said, laughing through her yawning, "It's going to take me ages to get used to the magical world," Dora said, lying down on her back and staring up at the roof of her bed. She heard the bed sheets russell as Lily laid down too, "You know, Kingsley said they have a whole different currency! I almost tried to pay the trolley lady in pounds!"
Lily laughed.
"Are you a muggle born too then?" She asked, turning over to lie on her side, facing Dora, and propped her head up on her elbow.
"Yeah, I 'spose I am." Dora said, still not quite sure what exactly the term 'muggle' meant. Kingsley had tried to explain what blood purity was but Dora had gotten confused when he tried to explain the difference between muggles and squibs and she had lost interest. Kingsley said that blood purity didn't matter anyway so Dora didn't see the point in trying to understand.
"My parents are muggles too," Lily said, her sentence ending rather abruptly, giving Dora the impression that Lily wanted to say something else but didn't.
"It's going to be weird being away from them, isn't it?" She said, staring at the ceiling and playing with her fingers, "I dunno 'bout you but I've never been to a boarding school before. I'm used to seeing my parents every evening after school. And my sister too!"
"You have a sister?" Lily asked, perking up a bit, lifting herself higher up on her elbows, "I've got a sister."
"Yeah, Polly, she's four years younger than me," Dora said, "I can't wait for her to get her letter and we can see each other as often as we used to."
Dora heard Lily's bed creak as she dropped back down onto her bed.
"Oh," She sighed, "My sister's older."
"Oh right, she here then?"
"No," Lily said flatly. Dora got the impression that she should change the subject, and fast.
"Dunno about you but I am dying to try out these beds. I mean, look at them!" She said, throwing her arms wide and Lily chuckled, "Four posts!"
"And those pillows!" she said, piling both of them up and sinking back into them. Dora grinned and piled up her pillows too. She flung herself back into her bed and sunk further than expected, making herself jump. They both laughed as Dora scrambled back up.
"It's great here." Dora beamed.
"Yeah..." Lily agreed, trailing off into a yawn. Neither of them able to keep their eyes open much longer drifted into a peaceful, magic filled sleep. It was nice to get some peace and quiet in just the girls' dorm after the fiasco with the boys at dinner, Dora thought as she drifted off. She was going to enjoy these moments.
