A Record Meeting PV Liv Hartley Closed

It was quite remarkable that she was actually here after having waited for so long. After all the feuds and the raised voices, the summer of silence and the intense slamming of doors and snarling. It had been the most unpleasant summer the blonde had ever experienced, but all of it was worth it because it culminated in this. A new school, new potential friends and a new opportunity to fit in, because Merlin knew she hadn't fit in before, in any facet of her life. This place was her chance to find like-minded individuals who simply wanted to have fun and explore, go on adventures and meet all the magical creatures that roamed freely in her head. Maybe she'd get to befriend a centaur...or swim with the mermaids? Perhaps she'd get to see a unicorn! The possibilities were endless.

Being petite and blonde, people often overlooked the new Hufflepuff student. She was of a short stature and looked innocent enough, it was unlikely she would want to explore corridors or hunt for ghosts in the dungeons. At least that was the perception she seemed to cultivate. Perhaps it would be a good thing to lean into the ideas others had of her, keep her head down and not bring about suspicions. And yet the young girl was determined to fully experience life in a magic school whatever that brought about in terms of punishments. Not that she wanted to be put in detention or given extra homework for her plights, but she was of the resolve that the cost was absolutely worth it in the name of fun and advancing her knowledge in a practical sense as opposed to via a classroom and through a textbook.

She was never going to win awards for her brains. Even in muggle school, she was middle of the pack; average. It wasn't that she liked being there, but she wasn't opposed to it either. She was never going to be lauded as the class swot, but equally she wasn't failing either. Neither cultivated too much attention and her parents didn't press her to improve on her marks either. Here though, she was already on the back foot. Yes, her dad was a wizard, but he had never been particularly focused and hadn't taught her anything prior to her arrival. Her mum was a muggle and useless when it came to any of this. As such she had to work twice as hard as anyone else to master the very basics and still it didn't feel like it was enough. She woke up confused, went to bed just as confused and long words swam uselessly around in her brain. Perhaps she needed a tutor? Did First Years get tutors? If she was struggling now, who knew how bad it would be when she progressed through the school and faced OWLs or NEWTs! Already she felt sweats at the mere thought of it.

She hadn't noticed herself aimlessly strolling into the small hall. Hadn't seen anyone else about. Hadn't seen any of the portraits posing or pointing, whispering or calling out to one another. Wrapped up in her own thoughts she was startled out of her reverie by the sudden appearance of another girl, someone unfamiliar and undoubtedly not from Hufflepuff. Lillia Eilertsen. Gryffindor. "Oh hello!" she volleyed, her usual smile now firmly in place. This she knew how to do. She could be the effervescent personality that drew people in; the chatterbox who entertained and cultivated bonds with people. It was a role she knew well - one she certainly practised enough. "I'm Liv, Liv Hartley, Hufflepuff. Well, technically I'm Olivia, but nobody calls me Olivia - that's when I know I'm in trouble!" She offered a hand, and waited for the other to shake it. "You're a first year, too, aren't you? How are you finding Hogwarts?" Maybe it wasn't just her who was struggling. Perhaps the other would validate all her uncertainties and fears of how far behind she was.. This might be a typical thing all first year students experienced.

Lilia hadn’t taken into account what the girl she was talking to even looked like, she hadn’t bothered to see who she was. It wasn’t that she didn’t care who the girl was, it was more the fact that she would rather act first and then ask questions later. It had gotten her into trouble in the past, her impulsive desire to not think before she acted or spoke. However, she now took the time to appreciate the girl in front of her. The girl was small, reaching a similar height that Lilia stood at. This initially surprised the latter, normally she was smaller than the rest of her classmates, she looked like it too. She had always been rather scrawny, she played sports as a child but never seemed to gain muscle, she could also eat for days and not put on any weight. Lilia supposed she was lucky in that sense but the doctor had told her parents that she had a ‘fast metabolism’. However Lilia wasn’t completely sure what that fact meant to her.

The girl also looked quite innocent with one’s speculation only being enforced by the yellow tie that the girl wore around her neck. Although Lilia had heard that badgers were known to eat snakes so taking that into account, she decided not to make first impressions or write anyone off. Anyways, she certainly didn’t want to be categorized as weak so why should she have the privilege to do the same to others. Lilia realized she had been staring at the girl, mouth shut with what probably looked like an eerie smile on her face. “Scuze.” Lilia cursed softly under her breath. “Sorry!” Lilia had the unfortunate habit of speaking in Romanian when she was nervous or scared and it appeared her native tongue had slipped out once again. Lilia then realized that the girl probably didn’t know what on earth Lilia was apologizing for, what a start, she thought to herself sullenly.

Luckily for the Gryffindor, it appears that the girl opposite her hadn’t heard her lingual mishap, or perhaps she hadn’t cared. Either way, Lilia thanked the moon and the stars that she hadn’t botched a potential friendship. Lilia felt a bit overwhelmed as the girl began to introduce herself. Olivia Hartley, a first year like Lilia. Well Liv Hartley, Lilia made a mental note that the girl prefered a nickname. Lilia always went by Lilia except for her parents who called her Lia, although it was quite hard to shorten the name Lilia! Lilia saw that the girl had raised her hand out for Lilia to shake, which she did find quite formal but who was she to complain? Reaching her hand out quickly she softly shook the girls hand, firmness just wasn’t in her nature.

How was Lilia finding Hogwarts? She wasn’t sure what the correct or appropriate answer to how she was finding the castle should be. After the initial rush of being sorted into Gryffindor, Lilia had tried to take every moment as it came, including this encounter with Liv. She had made peace with her dorm-mates but they were all too tired from their long day that they had collectively decided to call it a night and get to know each other at a later date. Whilst Lilia would have loved to get to know her house as soon as possible, she was quite relieved that for now everyone was taking things a bit slower. Whether that was because they were new, Lilia didn’t know but she wasn’t complaining. The castle did take a while to get used to, with its ever-changing staircases, classes in the dungeons or food appearing out of what seemed nowhere. Lilia was glad she had a wizard and witch for parents, she couldn’t imagine how completely alien this must have been to muggle-borns. Lilia had found herself liking History of Magic. Whilst many said it was a boring subject, Lilia had always found history interesting, even more so when magic was involved!

Smiling at the girl Lilia revealed her thoughts; “Hey Liv, it’s nice to meet you. Hogwarts is well, interesting I think is the correct word.” Whilst Lilia was fluent in English she found Romanian a whole lot easier, both her parents were Romanian so they spoke it at home. “I do think it takes some time getting used to but so far I really like it, although some things are definitely confusing!” That was not an understatement, Lilia didn’t want to make out that she was finding certain things hard in case Liv was finding things a breeze. The Gryffindor didn’t want to known as stupid even though logically all first years were in the same boat. The young girl had never liked lying; it wasn’t on her moral compass, however, she had gotten uncharacteristically good at it. Although she preferred the term “bending the truth” which is what she was doing with Liv. Focusing her attention back on the petite girl, Lilia spoke again; “How are you finding things?”


Color code ~ #5b856f

Something about the school was magical. It felt magical. Obviously she knew students learned spells and took lessons to develop their abilities and knowledge, but it was more than that. The floors, the walls, the ceiling...everything felt so much more than the typical floors, walls and ceilings. Automatically, just being in this hall, she felt smarter. Perhaps she had unwittingly absorbed some knowledge from the floorboards, through her feet and somehow into her brain? If that was an option she'd bring all her books here and do homework here too! Imagine how clever she would be. They'd be coming to her to answer all the deeply pondered questions within the wizarding world!

It was nice to dream anyway. Instead she was the one who sought answers, often to questions that went unspoken but rolled around her brain and kept her awake til late at night. Where was the pear you were supposed to tickle? Was the Giant Squid real or just a myth? Could you actually swim with mermaids? Why was the Forbidden Forest in the grounds of Hogwarts if you weren't allowed to explore it? She could obviously ask an older student and bask in their wisdom, but there was something to be said for uncovering the answers herself. It just meant she was going to have to acquaint herself with every nook and cranny of the Castle until she determined the right answer. Maybe she could make friends along the way and they could explore things together. Experiences were always more fun when they were shared - so she was consistently told, anyway. Without anything to fall back on she had to buy into it.

An only child, she was often a lonely child. Not simply because she had no constant companion, but also because she didn't integrate well with others. At least not the children she had grown up around. To some degree that was her own doing. Friendly and happy she could be rather enthusiastic and exuberant - perhaps a touch too much for some people. She had never understood how a person could be too eager or welcoming but apparently that was a thing that happened. If she wasn't pushing people away with her fervent desire to befriend them, they were comparing her lack of wealth to their own situations and finding her undesirable company from a purely financial standpoint. It was true, her parents worked hard for every penny they earned, but they bought the basics. She made do with old gadgets and passed down clothes that a cousin had sent her way. She didn't need anything fancy and new. She didn't exactly have anyone to impress anyway!

Interesting was definitely an appropriate word to describe the school. Talking and moving portraits, ghosts that not only existed and were visible but interacted with students, magic. Liv didn't think she'd ever get over the whole 'magic is real' part of the equation. It never got old. "Totally confusing!" she agreed readily with the other girl. "Just the other day I was heading to Herbology and must've taken the staircase at the wrong time because I found myself in a loop of going up and up and up. I wasted a good ten minutes trying to work out where I was going wrong and then arrived late!" She wondered how much of the Castle and grounds the Gryffindor had investigated but wasn't sure if she could ask about it or if that was entirely too personal for a first meeting. Maybe Lilia would accuse her of being too nosey and pull away. It would be so nice to have a friend to call her own! "We should probably explore places together. Just to stop things being so..confusing!" the blonde clarified, hoping the other girl would agree. "I bet you haven't been found that room that disappears yet! I forgot it's official name, but it's sometimes here and sometimes isn't." she continued, wrinkling her nose. That's what she had heard an older student say anyway. If Lilia agreed to look around with her maybe they could discover the mystery of it and perhaps even go inside.

The first thing Lilia noticed about Liv was her over-exuberant personality, making Lilia feel immediately overwhelmed. However the young Gryffindor decided to give Liv a chance, maybe she was just nervous and wanted to make friends and anyways she wasn’t that over-the-top. No, she was more like an adorable puppy and Lilia found it rather endearing. One of Lilia’s best friends at muggle school had had a similar personality but Lilia found herself getting on quite well with her, possibly Liv and her would have a similar connection? However, Lilia knew that things like friendships took time but if it was one thing that Hogwarts offered was time.

Lilia had always had her fair share of friends; despite growing up with no siblings and only a dog for constant company, her mother and father always had people round. She grew up sociable, with a close knit group of 4 muggle friends who visited each other's houses on the weekend even when not at school.  Lilia couldn’t help but miss her old friends, they didn’t know she was a witch; instead they thought Lilia was simply going to boarding school in the heart of Scotland.  On their last day together the 4 girls and Lilia shared their tearful goodbyes in promise to keep in touch, Lilia still knew she would see them in the holidays but she felt like she was lying to them. Obviously she couldn’t tell them that she was a witch and the truth was partially correct, she was going to boarding school in Scotland, however, something didn’t sit right with Lilia. Whilst she would always miss her old friends, Lilia knew Hogwarts was where she would hopefully create some friendships that lasted for life.

Speaking of Hogwarts, Lilia was rather excited to continue her magical journey and explore all that Hogwarts  offered. Being a Gryffindor, Lilia naturally loved exploring, whether it be dangerous or not. Lilia had a lot of questions about the school; did the Squid really eat mermaids? Were there mermaids? Was it true that if she got a dreadful she would be expelled? The latter scared her more than anything else, Lilia had always been smart but just like your average child. She didn’t know how she would cope with the shame of failing her exams, what would her parents say? It didn’t help that the girl cracked in two under the pressure of any written test, it was weird because be it physical or even dangerous she excelled but as soon as  pen and paper were taken out, she began to sweat.

Although she felt mean thinking it, Lilia was rather glad that Liv too felt overwhelmed and confused by the constant creature that Hogwarts was. The castle was never still, with its moving staircases and talking portraits, it felt very much alive. The girl had only seen a quarter of what she knew to be Hogwarrs and who knew what else she would potentially find. When Liv mentioned exploring the castle together, Lilia couldn’t help but let out a grin, maybe Liv was more like Lilia then initially thought? As for the hidden room, Lilia figured Liv meant the ‘Room of Requirement’.  Lilia’s father George had mentioned the room, stating that it was only visible for those who needed it, there was a high chance Lilia and Liv never ventured inside but there was always a chance. Who knew what would happen in the future?

The grin stayed on Lilia’s face as she turned all her attention back on Liv; “You mean the Room of Requirement? My father told me about that.” It occured to Lilia that this girl was a muggle-born that probably explained how excited she was, Lilia’s gut told her half-blood but she knew it was rude to make assumptions about someone's lineage especially when in Lilia’s opinion, blood didn’t matter. “I haven’t been able to see half the things I’ve wanted to. I heard you could enter the kitchens by tickling a pear? How crazy is that!” Lilia really wanted to go to the kitchens, she had had a house-elf back home named Lolly whos she loved dearly, maybe the Hogwarts ones would know her! However, Lilia wasn’t sure where Liv wanted to go first; “Where do you suggest we go?”

Colorcode: #5d435e
Wordcount: 713

Maybe it was all a bit much. She had been told before she was too much for some people. They just didn't know how to handle her excitement and couldn't channel her exuberance into a means that worked for them. Instead they backed away and sought relief from her plethora of questions. She was just keen and excited to know people. She was the girl who always wanted to be part of the fun but instead stood on the sidelines and watched everyone else enjoy themselves. She had spent so long now telling herself that it was okay and that she was fine, but it had gotten to the point where she didn't know who she was trying to fool because it wasn't working in her favour. She wanted to be accepted and desired. She wanted people to involve her in their fun and adventures. She wanted to be someone's best friend and confidante. She'd be a great best friend. Probably. She'd had plenty of experience watching what not to do that she was bound to be awesome at it!

The Gryffindor didn't seem to have a particular best friend yet. Well, unless she was going to meet someone shortly after they had finished. Maybe she was trying to get away and the blonde was holding her up? Paranoia set in and she bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from asking the question without invitation. Even supposing Lilia did have a best friend, it didn't mean she was eager to escape her! It was an adjustment, getting used to the fact that perhaps people did want her around and hadn't immediately written her off based on her parentage and financial background. Here she was just another student, which suited her perfectly fine. She wanted to be just like everybody else and to be treated accordingly. She wanted the same opportunities and the same aspirations as the other First Years, not to be frowned upon for daring to hope and dream. Maybe she had a few things to work through before declaring a particular best friend, but right now she'd settle for a friend. Any friend. Just the one would do.

Tobias was supposed to give his daughter a foothold into this world, since there were so many social graces she evidently lacked. Instead he had no answers to her volume of questions and left the Hufflepuff more confused than ever. He had essentially told her that she had to figure it out by herself and that it was more fun doing everything that way anyway. There was likely truth to it, but that didn't mean she wanted to face everything alone! It's why she worked hard to try and cultivate friendships, throwing everything at a person. She was very trying, her father lovingly told her, whatever that meant. All she knew was, she couldn't possibly get through all the changes of uprooting her school, being away from her family and learning magic without people to support and encourage her. Magic already seemed insanely difficult and she was definitely aware she wasn't naturally gifted with a quick brain or reflexes. However, she was persistent when something caught her attention and could focus if she was interested in the topic - usually practising magic just couldn't hold her for too long. Not when there was an entire Castle in need of exploring first!

"They say the pear is near the Hufflepuff Common Room, but I definitely haven't seen any loose on the ground!" she exclaimed to the other girl, really unsure about where you might find a pear worth tickling that might lead to the Kitchens opening up. Maybe someone made it up and was having a laugh at their expense? It did seem rather far-fetched. Then again, there was a lot of really strange things that had been proven to be true in her limited experience at Hogwarts so perhaps she shouldn't rule it out yet? "Oh, is that the name? It sounds rather difficult to find. And how would it know we want to find it? Are we supposed to tell someone?" At least Lilia was on board with searching the Castle for things, which gave her some reassurance that she might have at least one companion at school. There was still plenty to learn about her, they'd not even scratched the surface, but she seemed relatively normal, if that was even a term that applied to anyone here. "Let's find this pear. We know it's near my Common Room, it can't take us too long to crack the case! Then we can put our tickling skills to the test!" she laughed, the sound alien to the First Year. It was so long ago that she had genuinely laughed, she didn't recognise the tinkling notes at first.

The adventure started now!

Permission to join granted by the participants

She was bored. This was, supposedly, the most amazing Wizarding school in the world, and quite frankly, Valentina was not impressed. Sure it was big, old, full of portraits of famous people. But it was also easy to get lost in, repulsively dusty, and she couldn't turn a corner without one of those infernal portraits gawking at her. 

Her life had become a series of uneventful days. The small girl felt swept up in the endless routines of daily life. She attended classes. She spent time in the Slytherin common room. She ate in the Great Hall. It was as if the school was slowly consuming her in its bid to destroy her individuality and make Valentina like every single other pupil. So many little black robes all in a row. At this point, Valentina even missed the horrid uniforms from her old school. At least those had some variation. 

Next in her growing list of complaints, there was absolutely no privacy. Nobody seemed to have any idea that sometimes a girl just wanted to be alone. People were forever trying to talk to her. "Hi, nice to meet you." "What's your name?" "Where are you from?" "Why are you scowling?" What was everyone's problem anyway? If she wanted to tell them her life story, she would. But she didn't, so she kept her mouth in a firm line most of the time and largely ignored the attempts from others to engage socially. 

All of this would have been degrees more tolerable if she only had someone decent to talk to. Even writing letters home was basically pointless, since her parents, who she'd never been very close to, were too busy to respond most of the time. Any letters received were short, cold, and business-like. She was secretly jealous of the other girls with their heart-felt letters and cute packages from home. They had siblings who missed them and parents who worried about them. All this just served to further harden her heart against her classmates, and while she secretly longed for friends, her attitude had thus far prevented anyone from getting too close.

It was an ordinary day for Valentina as she strolled from the Great Hall to the Small Hall, scowl on her face and pear in her hand. She had so far succeeded in avoiding eye contact with several people, and nobody had asked her any stupid questions yet, so she was considering the day a success. Glaring at a nearby portrait that was looking at her just a little too closely, she was suddenly aware that she wasn't the only one in the hall. Had they noticed her? Maybe if she jussst kept near the wall, she could avoid being seen. The chattering from the little blond girl was enough to make her hair stand on end. What on earth were those two jabbering on about? If ever she wished she had an invisibility cloak, now was the time. Hoping to eavesdrop without being noticed, she heard one of them mention a pear. Well, she certainly wasn't sharing hers. They'd have to get their own. Taking two more steps to the left, she resumed her attempt to become one with the wall.