Learning Who You Are PV Gabriella Closed

Gabriella had completely lost track of time during her squealing fit up in her dorm, so she had to hurry to get to the Great Hall on time. As she sped through the corridors, hoping there wasn't a 'no running' policy like there had been at her old school, Gabriella found herself doubting that Gia would show up. She didn't know why she felt this way - it was clear Gia really liked her and wanted to be her friend, but she had had too much experience of friends betraying her...

When she finally stepped into the Great Hall, it had more students in it than she would have expected. She scanned the room, searching for Gia among the mass of heads in the hall. She wasn't on the Ravenclaw table... but why would she be? You don't just go and sit alone on another house's table. She wasn't on the Hufflepuff or the Slytherin table either, but again, why would she be. Neither of them were in Hufflepuff or Slytherin, and Gabriella wondered why she had even chose to look at those tables.

The only table left was the Gryffindor table, and, sure enough, she caught sight of Gia's brunette mane swaying slightly among the other Gryffindors. "Over here!" Gia said, looking at her. Gabriella couldn't actually hear the Gryffindor, but she could easily lip-read. She nodded vigorously and quickly made her way over to the Gryffindor table, sliding onto the bench opposite her friend. She looked up and down the table - it was strange sitting in an unfamiliar seat when she had known the Ravenclaw table for so long, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that nobody noticed she was there.

If this had been a little less spontaneous, Gabriella thought, she could have disguised herself as a Gryffindor. Maybe Gia had a spare Gryffindor tie Gabriella could borrow, or she could even have found a wig to disguise herself as one of the real Gryffindors. Although it would be a bit awkward if the person she was dressed up as actually turned up, Gabriella realised, so maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all. Anyway, it wasn't really a breach of the rules, was it? You only have to sit with your house at feasts, right?

Pushing these thoughts aside, Gabriella grinned at her friend. "Hi!" she cried. "Sorry I'm a bit late, I was, uh, dancing in my dormitory." She didn't know why she had chosen to disclose this last piece of information, as it was hardly going to help Gia think her normal, but, back in the Study Room, Gia had seemed genuinely confused as to why others might think Gabriella weird. Relax, Gabby, she told herself, just be you. After all, you don't want to permanently act like someone you're not just because you want to keep a friend.

@Gia Adelard

Word count: 479

@Gabriella Haworth

24 January, 2021

The girl she'd called out to nodded and hurried over, which made Gia quite certain it was who she'd thought it was. That was a relief. Sure, the first year didn't think too much about other's opinions on her, but. . . calling out to a random stranger would definitely be awkward, no matter what. Pushing aside the random thoughts she'd been having, the girl smiled at her friend as she slid into the seat across from her. "Hi!" she said happily. She hadn't really been worrying that Gabby wouldn't show up, not really, but it was still very nice that she had, she thought to herself, the smile still on her face.

When Gabriella apologized for being a little late, Gia shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. I only arrived here a few minutes ago myself." A few moments later the Ravenclaw explained her reason for being late, and the Gryffindor girl blinked in confusion. "You were. . ." she paused. "dancing?" Her tone wasn't mean, or even incredulous, it was simply confused and very curious. She honestly had no clue why the other girl had been dancing, but she probably had a good reason for it, Gia thought to herself. "Did you get good news about something? Or. . . were you just excited?" The brunette waited for an answer. She had danced to herself many times, so it wasn't too odd for her to hear this, but still. She was curious as to Gabby's reason why, if the girl would share.

Looking down at the empty plate in front of her, the eleven year old began to feel a little bit hungry and added a few pieces of food onto it. Biting into the sandwich she had just picked up, Gia sighed with contentment. "The food at my old school was terrible," she told Gabby. "The food here, however, is the exact opposite. In one of the earliest letters I sent to my brother," she said, possibly confusing the other first year with the odd change of subject, "I told him the things that they serve here, just for fun. He was so jealous!" she laughed. "I'm sure that one of the main reasons he wishes he could come here now is the food." It was true, Vance had practically said the very thing in the letter he sent back in response.

Gia knew that the two of them needed to get to know each other a bit better, but she didn't want to ask Gabby all the usual, boring questions that people asked. They would learn that in time, she thought. Plus, whenever someone brought up a question like, "What was your first magical incident," or "What's your favorite color," it just made the rest of the conversation seem so. . . forced. Polite. The Gryffindor certainly didn't want that to happen, so she asked a completely different question instead. "When you found out about all of this" - she motioned to the rest of the Great Hall, implying all of Hogwarts in this gesture - "What was your reaction?" It was a good enough start.

511 words
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6
Evasive Maneuvers

Gia seemed happy to see Gabriella, which was good. The dancing was justified, it seems. "Oh, I was just excited," Gabriella explained, in a rush. "Happy that I had made a friend. I tend to overreact sometimes." She shrugged. "I'm not great at dancing, though, so I only ever dance when nobody's around."

Gabriella liked food, so she was glad when Gia picked up some food and put it on her plate. Not that Gabriella couldn't already have picked up some food - she just took Gia eating as a form of consent allowing her to eat, too. She picked up some food herself as she listened to what Gia was saying. "I can relate," laughed Gabriella, "the food at my old school was gross. That's why I brought in packed lunches most days. Are you muggle-born, then? I am. I just went to a normal Muggle primary school before I came here."

Gabriella hoped Gia was muggle-born. Pretty much everyone she had spoken to so far had been wizard-born, and their conversations had always been a bit awkward. Sometimes people spoke to her with condescension after she mentioned she was muggle-born, and sometimes they started bombarding her with random questions. What's a television? What's a phone? What's a radio? She had met a few muggle-borns, of course - she remembered meeting some on the train - but they had all been obsessed with technology and 'bringing tech to Hogwarts!' which Gabriella just found irritating. She hoped that Gia, wouldn't do any of those things, but Gabriella assumed she wouldn't as they were already friends and it wasn't the first thing they had discovered about each other.

Gabriella took a while to respond to Gia's next question. "I suppose... well, I'm muggle-born, so I didn't know anything about this stuff... like I had no expectations or anything. Maybe I thought it would just be a normal school, and I was surprised. I remember I really liked the architecture." She had liked the architecture a lot, she remembered. She remembered sitting in this very hall when she was relatively new at Hogwarts, chatting to Henry about the architecture. Now Henry wasn't someone to think her weird, either. Actually, now she came to think of it, nobody she had met so far at Hogwarts had thought she was weird. In fact, they had all pretty much confirmed the opposite. They thought Gabriella was perfectly normal. Maybe it was just the paranoia she had after people having bullied her at a Muggle school for so long... yes, that was probably it...

Gabriella, you're such a weirdo!
I don't want to be friends with someone who cries!
Gabriella's a witch!
Gabriella's a witch!
Witch!
Witch...

Gabriella realised she hadn't spoken in a while. She had sort of just - stopped abruptly, in the middle of a sentence. She wondered whether she should reiterate her thoughts to Gia, but decided against it. Maybe she could make the pause seem natural.

"The classes were much better than I had expected, too," she said. "Well, except Herbology, which I don't like. And History of Magic essays-" she nodded appreciatively at her friend -"which are, you know, all-round bleugh." She laughed lightly, trying to cover up the fact that she wasn't ok.

Usually, she wasn't one to be 'not ok'. Through the whole of primary school, Gabriella had just shaken off the bullying. It was just now, now that it was over, now that she was realising what life was like with friendship, that she realised the impact it had made. Gabriella wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, however. Not quite, anyway. She imagined one day that she might tell Gia, but this wasn't that day. After all, they had actually only just met, and they didn't know each other well at all. I guess that's what this dinner is about. To talk lightly with one other and learn the good things about each other's lives. This isn't the moment to be talking about the depressing stuff.

Word count: 670

@Gia Adelard

@Gabriella Haworth

24 January, 2021

Gia smiled at Gabriella's response. "Oh," she said. She was able to relate with what the other first year had said, since she wasn't the best at dancing either. Gia would much, much, much rather be playing her guitar - or maybe even singing, if someone asked her to. She had never been all that scared of what others thought about her, and honestly, if someone asked, she would probably dance for them even though she knew she was horrible at it. "I'm not that much of a dancer either." she told the Ravenclaw with a small laugh. "And I don't think that's overreacting, I haven't met too many others - besides you, of course - that I really feel like I could become good friends with. Most of my encounters feel more like. . . well, more like one time things." She shrugged.

Gabby took some food onto her plate as well once she noticed the Gryffindor doing it, and also agreed with what Gia told her about muggle school food being disgusting. "Yes, me too!" Gia exclaimed when the other girl said she brought packed lunches most days. "And yes, I am muggle-born." She added in response to her friend's question. After a short pause, Gia said, "This is sort of random, but have you ever wondered why wizards call humans 'muggles' all the time? Why don't we just call them. . . Oh, I don't know." she furrowed her brows, thinking, trying to remember something one of their professors had told them in a class a few weeks ago. "Oooh, yes! Don't Americans call people without magic 'No majs?' That name makes sense, at least." She had found herself bringing this up with everyone she met, but it was really something just so curious to her, and had been ever since she found out about it. Still, she had gotten much better at using the new term, but. . . she was always wondering what others thought of it.

The Ravenclaw took her time answering, and Gia was able to take a few bites of her sandwich before she needed to speak again. "I was very surprised when I saw Hogwarts for the first time - the architecture, like you said, but also just the fact that, well, that we're attending school and having lessons in a castle!" she laughed, remembering the expression that must've appeared on her face that day all those months ago. "My brother was almost completely certain the whole letter was a prank - even after we saw Diagon Alley!" she told Gabriella with a smile. "I eventually figured it had to be real, but whenever I see things around here that aren't. . . normal, I feel as if I'm imagining things." Seeing people casting spells and using wands for everything had taken a very long time to get used to, honestly. And why wouldn't it? Everything seemed so unbelievable in the wizarding world, or at least it did to someone who had been seeing through a muggle's perspective their whole life.

Noticing that Gabby had stopped talking abruptly, the eleven year old wondered if it was something she said. The other girl responded just a few seconds later, however, and seemed fine, so Gia threw that thought away. Clearly it hadn't been something she'd done, maybe it was a bad thought or something similar that had caused it? Realizing that she herself hadn't said anything yet, Gia hurried to do so. "The classes here are amazing," she said with a smile after the Ravenclaw mentioned the History of Magic essays. "I think my favorite class has got to be Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts. They're similar, but different at the same time. Flying class is really fun too - but I'm not sure that really counts as a class, class." Gia shrugged. "Have you seen any of the Quidditch Games, yet?" The first year grinned. "I definitely want to play on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team someday, I'm going to sign up the next time there's a chance." her eyes were bright and excited. Distracted by the talk of the wizarding sport, Gia didn't even notice the strange expression on her friend's face.

689 words
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6
Evasive Maneuvers

Gabriella grinned. She didn't know why exactly she was grinning - she was just having a conversation, that was all - but something about this conversation seemed different. Like it would be a friendship that lasted. She nodded enthusiastically when Gia mentioned being muggle-born. Good, she said to herself, we're on equal footing. "My brother was really jealous too," laughed Gabriella. "He hasn't shown any signs of magic yet, but then we aren't actually related genetically. He's adopted." She paused, wondering whether to talk about her trip to Diagon Alley. Eventually, she decided this was a conversation, and that was the way to propel conversations forward, so she did. "He didn't come to Diagon Alley with us, though," she said. "Only my mum and I went. My brother and my dad stayed home. Jacob got really annoyed." Well, Gabriella thought to herself, serves him right for all those times he's taken advantage of me in the past.

Gabriella's eyes brightened as Gia mentioned Quidditch. Just a few days previously she had signed up for her own Quidditch team, and, to her surprise, had actually managed to get a first string position. She hadn't been able to play in any games yet, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. "I'm on my team!" she blurted. "I watched the first match of the season, and it looked fun, and my teacher told me I was a natural at flying, so I decided to try out and I got in! First string Beater." Gabriella beamed, but then faltered. Was she being too boastful? She was just excited about her new position, that was all.

Word count: 272

@Gia Adelard

@Gabriella Haworth

24 January, 2021

Gia grinned. "You have a brother as well? Is he older or younger than you?" It was fun finding out all of these things the two of them had in common, and she was eager to learn more about her new friend. "My brother, Vance, is older than me. By three years. Well, two years and, like, five months or something, but. . . close enough." she laughed again. Her brother could name exactly how much older he was than her, and had loved reminding her of it in previous years, but she never could get all the numbers straight. She had also never really wanted to, anyway, so that wasn't much of a problem. Remembering something Gabby had said, Gia added, "Oh, younger probably, right? You said he 'hasn't shown any signs of magic yet,' so. . ." She assumed this was what the Ravenclaw girl had meant.

Gabby seemed very excited about Quidditch as well, and that was judging just from the look on her face. Gia assumed correctly, however, and her eyes widened when her friend shared that she was actually on a Quidditch team already. "Really?!" The eleven year old shrieked, much too loudly. Other students around them turned to look and see what the commotion was all about, making the first year give Gabriella a sheepish look. "Oops, sorry," she said. Then, turning to the other people around them, she waved and apologized once more. "Sorry 'bout that!" she told them. After a few seconds in which they stared at her weirdly, the other students turned back to whatever they had been doing before the interruption.

"Okay, wait, you got on your house's quidditch team? You are so lucky!" Gia evidently was very, very excited about this news. "I actually wasn't even positive that first years could sign up - and get in, I mean. And you're a beater?!" her words were coming out fast and enthusiastic; she couldn't help herself. After seeing a quidditch team practicing out a classroom window and learning how to play, Gia had known immediately that she was going to sign up whenever a spot became open. "I want to be a Seeker," she told Gabby with a smile. "It sounds so exciting, being the one that ends the game, you know?" She sighed happily. "I love flying."

"So, do you do any clubs or other activities? Besides Quidditch, obviously." When the other girl had been given a decent amount of time to reply, Gia told her what she did. "I'm in the Outdoors Club and Pranksters Club. The Outdoors club hasn't really had any meetings yet, but the first one sounds like a lot of fun, and I can't wait!" Then, wanting to make it clear, she added, "By the way, the Pranksters Club is. . . well, we only play pranks on others that won't hurt them. You know, small, harmless ones." She impatiently wondered what the Ravenclaw thought of this.

486 words
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6
Evasive Maneuvers

"Jacob's eight," smiled Gabriella, "we adopted him when he was one, I was three. Because he's two and a bit years younger, like you said with your brother. Vance." She repeated his name to show Gia she was listening - a conversational tactic she had learnt in that book she found in the library. Most helpful book she had ever read, including the school textbooks, which she needed to get good marks on her essays. "I'm assuming he doesn't go to Hogwarts," Gabriella said, looking round as if Gia's brother was going to be standing right behind her.

"And yeah, it's really exciting being on the Quidditch team," grinned Gabriella. "I haven't played in any matches yet, though. My first one's on the sixth of February, against Gryffindor, actually. Maybe if there are vacancies before then, we can play against each other! That would be kinda fun." As long as it doesn't detriment our friendship, she was about to say, but decided against it at the last minute. She didn't want to sound too needy, even if she was.

"I signed up for Les Amis de l'ABC," said Gabriella with a frown, "because it sounded pretty cool, but they never got back to me about it. Hey - maybe you could take me along to one of your club meetings!" she exclaimed. "Prankster Club sounds pretty fun, as long as it is small and harmless," she said, making sure Gia really meant what she had said. She loved pranking and having fun - in fact, she had pulled many a prank on Jacob before that time it had gone too far and she was banned from ever doing it again - as long as it didn't hurt anyone. Well, technically the prank I pulled on Jacob didn't hurt him, Gabriella said to herself. It just - made him feel a little uncomfortable for a while... Gabriella shifted in her seat just thinking about it, and she really hoped her friend hadn't noticed it.

Word count: 332

@Gia Adelard

@Gabriella Haworth

24 January, 2021

The first year nodded when Gabby confirmed what she had been thinking. "Oh, that's cool." she said with a smile in her friend's direction. "Are you two close?" Her own brother and her were very close. Back in Manchester, Vance had probably been one of her most trusted friends - although she did have a few regular friends as well, ones that were her age and not her sibling. After her mother died, well, it just sort of. . . happened. Their whole family grew much closer together. Her grandmother's death also solidified those new, closer bonds, making them as strong and as tight as they could be. "And no, he doesn't go to Hogwarts. I'm the only wizard in my family, as far as I know." she said in response a little while later.

When their conversation turned to Quidditch, Gia couldn't help the large grin that spread across her face. The wizarding sport was one of her favorite things about the whole "magic" thing. Who would've guessed that witches and wizards would have a sport that was all about flying on a broomstick, for goodness sake? Definitely not her or anyone else she knew, that was for sure. "Ooh, yes, that would be a lot of fun!" the eleven year old agreed immediately. "But if there isn't, I'll still come. For sure." Her smile grew even brighter and was now directed right towards the Ravenclaw. "If that happens, I'll probably have to cheer for both teams, huh?" she laughed. It didn't bother her all that much. If there were too many other Gryffindor's surrounding her, she could simply cheer for Gabriella by name, instead of cheering for Ravenclaw altogether, couldn't she?

When Gabby told her about the club she had signed up for, the Gryffindor nodded. "I think I saw the notice for that somewhere. . ." A few seconds later, however, Gabby said that they never even got back to her about it, and Gia frowned as well. "Huh. I mean, you could ask the leaders of the club about it if you ever see them, couldn't you? Maybe they just didn't see that you'd signed up." She shrugged, but when her friend asked if she could take her along once, the first year's face brightened considerably again. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "I'd love to." The tone Gabby said the next sentence in sounded a tiny bit. . . suspicious, maybe, and Gia couldn't help blushing slightly. The club's pranks were certainly all going to be harmless, but she couldn't exactly say that about some of her own. "The sign up form said that they were going to be completely harmless." Gia eventually said.

Most of the not-so-harmless pranks she'd pulled before were on her brother, so she didn't think they counted as too bad. The two Adelard children loved to play tricks on each other, and did it all the time. It was a big part of their childhood, that was for sure. Still, Gia had played a couple of not so nice pranks on others before - none at Hogwarts yet, though. Sure, she'd tried to set off a dungbomb in a corridor once. . . or twice. . . but the first time, at least, it hadn't worked. Her mind began to stray, thinking about countless other times bad things had happened during one of her pranks, and it was a couple of seconds before she could fully pull herself back to the present again. "Sorry," she apologized, once she managed to stop thinking about other times and focus on what was going on at that particular moment.

592 words
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6
Evasive Maneuvers

Was Gabriella close to her brother...? Well, close wasn't the word she would generally use to describe their relationship, the Ravenclaw thought to herself. She loved her brother, but she found he restricted her somewhat. Gabriella often found herself thinking that Jacob was her parents' favourite, and that he could get away with anything. He was pretty manipulative, too; Gabriella had stopped reading as a hobby because of her brother's constant teasing, and although she knew she shouldn't need to give in to a (then) seven-year-old, it was far easier than trying to fight with him every time he tried to mock her. When she went back home for the holidays, however, Gabriella was going to do whatever she wanted, she had decided. She had one up on Jacob - she was a witch, and he was not, and while Gabby knew she wasn't allowed to do magic, her brother didn't. Gabriella didn't say any of this out loud, however. "Meh, we're pretty close," she said, instead. "He's annoying - but aren't all brothers?" She hoped Gia wouldn't say anything more on the topic, as she might be expected to reveal more about her relationship with Jacob, which she didn't feel like doing, so she quickly moved on to the next topic - clubs.

"Yeah, I guess I could ask them," Gabriella replied, referring to the leaders of the club she had signed up for. "But maybe I might just sign up for another club instead." While she didn't mind talking to new people her age, talking to people older than her was something that made Gabriella very nervous indeed, and she actively avoided it as much as she could.

"So..." Gabriella wasn't sure what to say next. She wanted to start up a new thread of conversation, but she wasn't sure what to talk about - they had spoken about family, they had spoken about favourite classes, clubs, Quidditch... what else was there to speak about? She didn't want to revert back to the boring getting-to-know-you topics students usually spoke about, as she found they seemed forced. "So, what are your relationships like here?" she asked, hoping it wasn't an inappropriate question. "Like, who are your friends, do you have any enemies..." She asked 'who are your friends' rather than 'do you have any friends' as she was sure a girl like Gia would be extremely popular, and have lots of friends. Gabby herself, meanwhile... well, there had been acquaintances, but she wouldn't really call them friends, even if they had seemed promising at the time. She counted them in her head: Henry, Joyce, Elliot, Blair from the train... they had all been such promising starts, but none of those relationships had gone anywhere. They had just left, with an 'I'll send you an owl!' and then they never did. Such was the way of friendship, Gabriella had thought to herself - until now. Gia was genuine, and she was nice. Maybe she would be able to invite Gia to celebrate her birthday with her? It was in a couple of weeks, after all...

"Hey, Gia," she asked, seemingly changing the subject abruptly, but in reality just continuing her train of thought out loud. "It's my birthday in a few weeks. Do you want to celebrate together, when it comes?"

Word count: 551

@Gia Adelard