Fragments/// R. J. Lupin

Four: Purple Dragonflies

After the whole confrontation, it took no less than five more minutes to get to the quite literally magical castle. I wasted no time getting out of the carriage, because the tension in there was making my anxiety shoot up by the second, and the last thing I needed was literally anything to do with ~emotions~ right now. It took no less than 5 minutes for upperclassmen to report towards the Great Hall.

It was a beautiful sight to see. The enchanted ceiling held a different view this year. It was a beautiful sky with clouds and a sun coming from the middle. Even though it was nearing midnight outside, the hall held a radiant glow. Around tables were decorated with flourished purple flowers. There were enchantments of vines going around the fireplaces. And the teacher's table was a beautiful sight as well. There was a long purple table runner from what I could see, and there were flowers etching their way through the legs of the table. Around the room flew beautiful green dragonflies.

Amidst my awe of the hall, I was pulled from my sights by Autumn, who had now found her boyfriend, Rory Hood, a fellow Gryffindor. They were a cute couple, to say the least. You could never see them without a smile. It was precious. Snapping out of what seemed to be another daydream, I let Autumn and Rory guide me to the beautiful table. Noticing Stephanie had already gone to the Slytherin table, I sat across from my best friend, and in between two of the marauders.

There was buzzing chatter heard all around, eagerness to see who would be joining which house. I noticed the boys whispering about what their first prank would be, and Autumn and Rory talking about Quidditch tryouts while absentmindedly playing with the hands and fingers of each other. I, however, just quietly sat and waited for what seemed like an infinity before Professor McGonagall came with the baby faced first years trailing behind her. Professor Dumbledore took no time explaining what would happen and soon, the Sorting Hat Ceremony had begun.

I couldn't keep track of the names of the children who had been sorted, but I cheered each time someone was lucky enough to be sorted into the house of red and gold. In total, Gryffindor had 20 new students, Hufflepuff had 14, Ravenclaw 39, and Slytherin with 37. I was absolutely happy with the people we had, and I was excited to introduce myself to them as their Prefect with Remus.

After encouraging words from Dumbledore such as "Jigglypuff''' "corn" and ''lemon sherbert," the feast had begun. Foods of all kinds appeared all around us, and the inviting aroma of the pasta begged me forward. It took no time before I had pasta, garlic bread, and Gillyweed water in front of me. I took a bite and sighed in content, not noticing the smile Autumn was giving me.

"You just had to go straight towards the Italian things," Her Irish accent said. I looked up at her with a mouth full of noodles and smiled.

"God gave us this fine dish, and it is my duty to appreciate it," I responded once swallowing. Autumn did nothing but laugh and take a bite out of her own food.

****

After about thirty minutes, everyone was finished eating, and it was announced that we were to report to our dormitories for the night. I looked towards Autumn and smiled big.

"Oooohhh shit. Here she goes! Big prefect on duty to lead the little lions to the cages!" The brunette said teasingly. I could only respond with an even bigger smile and a little push of her shoulder.

"I just hope I don't mess it up," I say after a few seconds as we all walked to the end of the table. Remus had appeared next to me and rounded up the new Gryffindors.