A Package for an Owl open Closed

Gretchen would finally be the one sending letters back home to her parents. She only had the regrets that she didn't have any younger siblings that she could brag about being at Hogwarts to. She didn't have her own owl yet, no, her parents had told her to wait. So she had to use the school owls, which she absolutely adored, especially their feathers. The walk was an issue, but Gretchen had always loved running. Maybe she'd choose a more active pet if her parents ever let her get one. When she was older she wanted to be a dragon trainer, if such a thing existed. She had only vague ideas of what being a grown-up was like, and usually only from her siblings' letters.

As she was running up to the Owlery, she caught sight of another girl. A potential friend! Gretchen made her way up the stairs and into the room, glad she had robes on. She'd always thought that they were stuffy, but now she saw some usefulness in them. She gave the other girl a huge grin, "Hello!" she said, tucking her hands in her pockets and trying not to look as though she had just ran almost all the way here from the Hufflepuff Common Room. "Are you a first year, too? I am, I'm Gretchen Whistler."

"Isn't it cool that we have all these school owls? My mum won't let me get one, 'cos she says Jason already does--that's my brother, by the way." she paused, glanced at the other girl, and, red reaching up to Gretchen's cheeks, from embarrassment, not cold. "Oh! I've been going on for a bit, yeah? Sorry about that."

Phew, at least Asteria wasn't finding Gretchen to be annoying. Some of the older kids had waved her off on the train when she had tried to speak with them, so she wasn't really sure. Plus, some people were quiet, like her older sister Stella, and didn't really feel like talking all that much. Gretchen reached out to pet another owl. She liked that they could come close to her, and they wouldn't be afraid.

It was nice to see Asteria smile back at her when she came up. It put her more at ease with everything, especially since Gretchen hadn't made any very close friends yet. Maybe she and Asteria would be besties. Or maybe it was wrong of her to assume that they would grow close. They had only met for the first time today, after all, even if they were both first years, that was no indication that they'd still enjoy each other's company later on.

"Nice to meet ya, Asteria!" Gretchen said. Asteria was such a cool name. She was something muggley, she was Gretchen. She liked her name, but Asteria was cool as well. "Yeah, prob'ly 'cos I was just about last, eh? Whistler and all. Sorry I didn't spot ya, I was looking for my siblings." she chuckled. It would be the only year she shared with Stella and Andrew, so she'd craned her neck looking at the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables for most of that time until she spotted them.

Gretchen waited when Asteria paused. What could she have been thinking about? Maybe she decided that she had some homework to do that was a little more important than talking to another girl in the chill of the Owlery. Gretchen smiled when Asteria spoke again, though, and made sure her 'listening ears' were on, like her mum said.

"Yeah. Jason won't let me send letters with his owl unless he's sending them, too, and he takes forever." she put her hands on her hips and mimicked her own movements as she waited for her older brother to write his letter, laughing the whole time. "I miss my parents sometimes. Last year I had 'em all to myself, 'cos everyone else was at school or moved out." Gretchen nodded, "They're pretty cool for parents. How 'bout yours?"