The Lost Sisters Finished

Ginny stared at the platinum-haired girl down the corridor. She had never talked with the girl before, but she was positive she had seen her several times before; perhaps during meals in the Great Hall, in the library, or when relaxing by the Great Lake.

But that is not important, Ginny told herself. Where or when I have seen her before is not the point. The thing is, why is she staring at the corridor alone, without doing anything?

At first glance, Ginny thought that the girl was spying on someone; on second thought, however, she realised that this was impossible because everyone passing the corridor was practically on the move. (Save, of course, for Ginny herself and the girl she was staring at now.) If the platinum-haired student was truly spying, she would have moved along the way the target did.

Ginny's next guess was that the girl was waiting for somebody the way some other people did, but this also did not seem right. The grey-eyed student looked neither restless nor impatient as if the person she was waiting for did not show up on time. On the contrary, she seemed to be lost in her own thought.

Gradually, the corridors were deserted as the time to start another class period drew nearer. But since Ginny did not have any class or other plan to attend to, she decided to wait until everybody else left the corridor so that she could talked to the girl privately.

And then the time came.

"Hello?" Ginny asked in a friendly tone as she approached the grey-eyed student. "Are you all right?"

The corridors were now buzzing with activity. Great. Class hours for the older students were drawing near. But for Swan, there weren't any classes left. But she couldn't stay here during dinnertime. Luckily, that would still be a long time from now. But still, maybe she should have gone to the common room instead. But I'm already here, so I guess I am staying here.

Thankfully, the buzz and chit-chat depleted. But now the corridors themselves were full of students rushing here and there. Swan stood up and moved to another, more quiet spot. Who cares if someone sees me? There, unfortunately, were students tripping, slipping, yelling, and getting into all kinds of accidents. Sigh. The corridors wasn't quite a good place to relax, especially if some older kids create arguments and accidents. After class hours were fine. What wasn't fine was when your after class hours were class hours for other students.

Pitter patter went shoes as the students in the area slowly, but surely, depleted. Now, and finally, she was the only one left. Now, I can fully think about those two. It's not like I'm expecting someone anyway. But she didn't really notice a Hufflepuff girl who was staring at her.

"Hello?" Who was that? A prefect? A professor? "Are you alright?" It was the Hufflepuff girl.

"Oh, hi! My name is Swan Mapleleaf. What about yours?" Proper introductions were always important, right?

@Ginevra Tsuchiya

"Hi," Ginny re-greeted the grey-eyed student. (Was this really that necessary? Perhaps some would consider yes and the others no. So that did not truly matter, did it?) "My name is Ginny Tsuchiya. I am a first year and in Hufflepuff. Nice to know you, Swan."

There was a pause between the two girls for merely one or two second(s), but perhaps because there were only the two of them, because they were looking into each other's eyes, the time seemed to stretch and slight awkwardness began to threat these little students.

But again, some people had described Ginny as awkward. So, perhaps it was not the time's fault...

Hurriedly, Ginny snapped her attention out of her memory and back to Swan instead. "Um. I'm... I'm so sorry - I mean, I did not mean to spy on you or something. What I mean is - I just happened to pass by and... well, I noticed you," she garbled.

Another pause, this time for Ginny to take a breath. "The truth is, I'm concerned about you, even though we have never talked properly to each other. Because you look... sad and lost in thoughts." (Would Swan accused Ginny of invading her privacy? Or would she consider Ginny insane for being concerned about someone she barely knew?) Ginny gulped at these thoughts, but she had decided that to make sure that someone in need realise he wasn't alone was much more important than what others said about her.

"But only if you're comfortable talking to me. If it's more comfortable for you to be left alone, I can go," she added.

Her name was Ginevra. She seemed very nice. Some, if not most, Hufflepuffs were like that, anyway. Taking the train early was proving to be a lot better than she thought it would be. It would probably be harder to adjust when you took the train at the start of the school year. Sometimes, even Slytherins could be nice. Man, Hufflepuffs really love bumping into me.

Pause for two or more seconds. Stare at each other. Awkwardness starts to show up without an invitation. Both girls wonder what is going to even happen next. That was literally what happened with the two girls. She hoped that Ginevra wasn't going to think she was spying or being rude. In fact, it might just be the one thing Swan needed at that very moment. Sometimes, thinking alone wasn't the best when it was about family. Often, you needed a friend or two, or maybe some company that would help you feel better.

The other girl, it seemed, finally made her attention go back to Swan. And it took a few minutes to distract her from that nice Gryffindor, Slytherin, or whatever house her best friend was in. Probably Hufflepuff. Well, thats the average Elesdence person for you. No, girl, its okay. You aren't being rude or anything.

Swan didn't really notice she said those things out loud, but it didn't really matter. All that mattered was she finally had someone to talk to.

@Ginevra Tsuchiya

Padma had just finished one of her classes, and she was truly elated by that fact. She was ready to go back to her dorm and kick off her shoes, heading to Dreamland. Once she tried sneaking snacks into the class but the teachers obviously have eyes everywhere and said something as soon as tried to eat.

Groggy from fatigue and hunger, she trudged her way through the hall, just avoiding the other students. Her mind was jumbling with new Information learned in History Class, stuff she thought her mother had already explained to her. She then realized that she'd forgotten most of it from not keeping up with her studies and the knowledge slowly began to come back.

She was rubbing her eyes for an unlucky second and noticed too late a couple of girls standing around. Padma managed to brush pass them without a scratch to her or them, but she still felt like she owed some sort of apologizing, probably for not paying attention to her surroundings.

She fixed a strand of red hair behind her ear, her long locks gathered into a low ponytail. She wore a shirt with a Hufflepuff emblem over her heart and mustered a warm smile.

"Excuse me, long day of classes." She took them in: they both seemed fairly familiar, like everyone else in the school so far, but the other girl certainly was, adorned with Hufflepuff attire. 

They seemed to be in the middle of something and she wasn't really up for a conversation anyone so she began to walk away, readjusting the books under her arm.

Ginny was not that good at dealing with people, to be honest. But she usually did well in cooing and comforting animals, so this had to be somehow similar, did it not?

Rule number one to make them feel better, Ginny said inside her head. Always make sure that they are comfortable with whatever you are going to say or do. Thus, realising that not everyone liked it when he or she was asked "what's wrong" or "would you like to tell me what is going on", Ginny decided that she was to use a slightly different approach.

The blonde Hufflepuff reached into her schoolbag, her right hand and waist dipped inside it. Her hand reached the bottom of one of the pockets. Pulling it out, one now could easily spot a number of small chocolates in the palm of her hand. "Would you like some chocolate?" she offered. "These ones are Black Magic; I got them just last week on a trip watching a play at a theatre in London. Which one do you fancy? We have cherry, strawberry, coffee cream, montelimar, and Turkish delight here."

Perhaps, just perhaps, she hoped, Swan will be more comfortable to open up with her after having some chocolates.

She did not notice a ginger-haired girl who, on the other hand, was noticing Swan and herself.

Yes, not everyone liked that "What's wrong?" or that "What's going on, dude?". But Swan wasn't really the Ravenclaw who would instantly snap out of annoyance like that. She, however, was the Ravenclaw that would immediately introduce themselves first, ask if the person who bumped into them would like to talk, and then discuss what they wanted to discuss to the "intruder".

By that time, Swan wondered if Ginevra was sure that they could start talking. In fact, Swan wasn't really sure, either. Who in their right mind would try to talk with an almost complete stranger? Now, however, they weren't complete strangers anymore. They were in the same year, yet not even Housemates. But that didn't matter much, anyway. Friendships could go below and above your own year. My sisters have always wanted to go to Ilvenmorny. They internally screamed when they were sent to Hogwarts instead of what they wanted. They graduated 3 years ago, and yet nobody has ever seen them again.

Chocolates. Swan wasn't much of a fan of sweets, but to be honest, she was kind of hungry at the moment. Cherry, strawberry, coffee cream, montelimar, and Turkish delight. Swan didn't really like anything else. Anyway, she took the strawberry-flavored ones.

She, however, did not notice another Hufflepuff who was walking to them.

@Ginevra Tsuchiya
@Padma Pikoulas

She was walking away, half in a daze, when her mind wandered back to the two girls. She realized that they seemed to be really fixated on each other and though it was absolutely none of her business she wished to know what that was all about. Sort of.

Padma's curiosity surpassed her need to rest for the time being so she turned around and calmly walked back to the two. She realized that they hadn't really acknowledged her and was upset about that—how could you not notice someone who almost bumped into you?—but there were too many kids in the corridors to focus on one person brushed pass.

With a slight frown on her face Padma stopped a feet away, enough for no one to give her a second look, if they weren't weary of being watched, that is. She eyes the two girls really this time. She swore that she'd seen the blond wine before, the one in her House. Padma wasn't much of a conversationalist, out of choice, so she never shared more than 'hello' probably with this girl. Somehow she got the vibe that both of them were having that awkward moment and she smirked a little.

The girl in her House pulled out a some treats, specifically chocolates, something that Padma had a thing for. Anything related to chocolate she'd gobble up, no matter the flavor. She envied the other girl's luck but not enough to approach them simply for some sweets.

Or was she? Enough staring like a lunatic, she thought, scolding herself. She was acting pretty bonkers, and all for what? These girls didn't even notice her at all! 

That frustration fueled her enough to do something really out of the ordinary:

Padma waltzed over two the two, staring in the Ravenclaw's eyes. With a toothy smile and large eyes she asked, in an overly sweet voice, ”Pardon, but I see that you're sharing chocolates. Mind if I have one...or two," she added, noticing the amount. She actually wanted way more than just two tiny pieces but she wasn't a glutton. "I'm Padma, by the way."

Ginny jumped a little upon hearing a new voice. Quickly, the blonde girl turned her head to see who was speaking. The very first thought which occurred in her mind was that it was a poltergeist, a friend of Peeves' - but it was not because the speaker had a creepy voice or something; rather, it was because Ginny was not used to hearing direct request. However, upon finding out that the voice belonged to a young student like herself, Ginny began to admire her courage.

"Sure, Padma," she answered the red-haired girl's request, although the blonde was still slightly surprised. "We have -" (here she looked down to re-read the labels. What were the available fillings again?) "- cherry, strawberry, montelimar, Turkish delight, and coffee cream here. Which one would you like?"

Ginny extended her right hand to give Padma a chance to take her pick. "And... it's nice to meet you, Padma. I'm Ginny - that's a short for Ginevra and not Virginia, by the the way - and this is Swan."

After that, the blonde turned her attention back to the Ravenclaw. "I'm sorry, Swan; did you say something about your sisters just now? Or was I imagining things?"