Tears and Reassurance PV. K. Townsend

Katherine’s first day at Hogwarts was shaping up to be interesting.

She had started out excited; and incredibly so. The train journey was pleasant — reminiscent of her university days, filled with nostalgia both for those and for the times she came to Scotland as a visitor from Ilvermorny. Hogsmeade was equally nice. Kitty had picked up a coffee at Madam Pudifoot’s: a perfectly pink and pretty shop she could tell she would be frequenting — if not for the quality of the food, then for the kind shop attendant she had a lovely conversation with. As she walked up to the castle, there was a lightness to every step, and she found herself humming. It was going so well.

And then, there was Samuel.

Perhaps it was Kitty’s fault for not checking, and then double-triple-quadruple checking who worked at the school she was applying to work at as well. In her defense, the Daily Prophet only reported that multiple Heads of Houses had stepped down: not who took their place. She was unsure if knowing that Samuel worked here would have stopped her from applying, but at least she could have been better prepared. Mentioned to the Headmaster that having her teenage relationship greet her at the door would be less than desirable — however petty it would have made her sound. I mean, they had to have other people available, right?

Alas, it did not matter now. It’s not like Kitty was going to resign because of one supremely awkward conversation. She settled into her classroom as best she could with Samuel looming over her, continued the (again, supremely awkward) conversation, and was finally free to explore the castle on her own. Her coat was off, now, hung over the chair of the Charms classroom, and her hands were free, outside her wand. She remained now in her white blouse with flared sleeves and plain, black skirt — only hot pink boots going up to her knees to speak of the more colorful aspects of her wardrobe.

The castle was still. The same stone walls she remembered, now calm in a way she hadn’t seen during inter-school visits. Kitty wandered around, unsure of what exactly to do next. She had only met the Headmaster and, well, Samuel, so far, so getting to know the other faculty was high on her list of priorities. As far as she knew, the kids themselves would soon be leaving for winter break, lending itself to the rather quiet nature of the corridors. The question remained where to go first. She had a vague idea of where everything in the castle was — half memories of sneaking around with Anton and Sam, half the vague tour she was just given. Heads of House seemed like important people to meet, and she was sure the one for Slytherin being an equally obnoxious and emotionally repressed prick, was a one-time fluke. A one in four failure.

As Kitty walked through the castle, deliberating which of the three she should track down for a chat, she found herself in a mostly empty corridor. It wasn’t one she had any foggy memories of, a bit too far from the Gryffindor tower or the general areas for her to ever find herself near it as an Ilvermorny student. Either way, it was quaint: would have been quite pretty, really, holding some of the bigger windows she had seen across the castle, light sure to filter through beautifully during golden hour. Now, though, it was barely afternoon, and Kitty’s attention was not captured by the architecture for long. Instead, she quickly noticed a girl — no older than 14 — leaning against a wall, with the most pained expression Kitty had ever seen on a child.

Katherine froze up for a moment. She had half a mind to call on some adult, some faculty member to come and help, before being hit with the immediate realisation that she was not only the adult, but even the faculty member in question now. Right. What was she supposed to do, again?

Kitty straightened her back, trying to project the calm kind of confidence, outside of just the general wave of concern that was hitting her. She approached cautiously, trying not to startle the girl, unsure of how aware she was of her surroundings — she certainly didn’t look to be in the best of shape, pallid skin with hair sticking to her forehead. Kitty cleared her throat.

“Excuse me? Are you okay?”