Pick Me, Rowena!
Jeremy held a hand up to his forehead, squinting against the hot oppressive sun, on what most kids would call a beautiful summer morning. Jeremy, who didn’t much like the summer, wasn’t so sure about the beautiful part. To him it just felt hot.
What WAS beautiful though, was being here. Being able to look over the fields, so close to starting his Hogwarts journey. He’d spent YEARS waiting for the day and it was finally so close he could taste it. It felt like a day away and a lifetime away all at the same time. He couldn’t even sleep anymore, he was so excited. And so many of the kids here had already done it. It was amazing and torturous all at once seeing so many kids - kids who had already been there, learned from the amazing professors, cast actual spells, not just had to ask their parents to do everything for them.
It was like a treasure trove in front of him…a treasure trove of answers and knowledge, from people who really lived it. Sure he had his sister, who had graduated Hogwarts in the spring. But he didn’t really want to ask HER. Half the time she gave him fake answers anyway; not even because she wanted to trick him, because he rarely fell for it, but mostly because she knew it annoyed him. And probably also because she knew that if she threw in true things juuuust every now and again she’d drive him crazy with the 1% chance that every next one COULD be.
But here there was everyone. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, Slytherins…Jeremy sadly felt like he knew what HE was bound for. It had been set in stone years ago. His mum, his dad, his sister, all Slytherins. He’d heard sometimes that just happens in families…everybody all ending up in the same place. He knew that Slytherins could be wonderful. His mum and dad were (mostly) after all. It still didn’t feel very much like him though. He loved his family, but oftentimes he felt like he’d been born from a different one. Like how whenever they went on family outings they rarely went to places that Jeremy wanted to go. He had read through so many Quidditch games, and even though his dad kept trying, he hadn’t managed to really give Jeremy any love or even passing interest for the sport.
Jeremy figured the sorting hat would take one look at him, see he was a Slater, and not even think any further. ‘Ah yeah, another one. Slytherin of course. NEXT!’ What did it need to even think about it, when it already knew where to put him? It really wasn’t fair. When he was younger and his parents friends would smile down at him and ask him if he was excited to be a Slytherin one day, just like his mum and dad were, Jeremy would nod his head, even though secretly he wished the hat would see him for who he WAS, not who he was supposed to be.
But now he was here…and now Jeremy had a plan.
One month. One month to change minds and hearts. He might not have learned a lot from his dad about Quidditch, but he HAD learned a lot about business and people, and he knew that one thing that was really important was just knowing people. It turned out you could (apparently) make a lot of things happen if you actually tried. A lot of people just sat there and let things happen to him, but his dad said that those who don’t are the ones who get what they want. Jeremy often rolled his eyes about stuff like that, but well…this time he really wanted something, and it seemed like his dad had done alright.
So, he approached the girl sitting under the tree.
“Hello, you look like a Ravenclaw, is that so?” Jeremy asked. It was, of course, because of the Ravenclaw shirt that she was wearing, but he left it ambiguous in case maybe she might take it to mean she looked very smart. Which, well, she didn’t NOT look smart. So maybe it was true?
“Jeremy Slater, very pleased to meet you,” the boy said politely, holding out his hand. Jeremy actually hated shaking hands, and hated the rigid rituals of social niceties, but this was the kind of thing that Mum had drilled into his head over many years of meeting his parents’ friends and their kids. It had always felt pointless to him, if everybody already knew what you were going to say anyway like it was some script, why not just save time and skip the whole thing? She had always said though that it would start you off on the right foot, and well, this was the time to put it to the test.
As he spoke, he knew he needed to try his best to sound mature, so that she would take him seriously, and not write him off as some little kid. It was probably for the best that his sister wasn’t at school anymore, having just graduated in the Spring. It would be a lot easier to be taken seriously without her around to undercut him at every turn.
“Now, you maybe don’t know who I am, but if you have the time I would love to ask you some questions about Ravenclaw house.” he said. Yes, that sounded very mature. Very intelligent. “I’ve read quite a lot about it,” he added in hastily. Yes, that was perfect.
What WAS beautiful though, was being here. Being able to look over the fields, so close to starting his Hogwarts journey. He’d spent YEARS waiting for the day and it was finally so close he could taste it. It felt like a day away and a lifetime away all at the same time. He couldn’t even sleep anymore, he was so excited. And so many of the kids here had already done it. It was amazing and torturous all at once seeing so many kids - kids who had already been there, learned from the amazing professors, cast actual spells, not just had to ask their parents to do everything for them.
It was like a treasure trove in front of him…a treasure trove of answers and knowledge, from people who really lived it. Sure he had his sister, who had graduated Hogwarts in the spring. But he didn’t really want to ask HER. Half the time she gave him fake answers anyway; not even because she wanted to trick him, because he rarely fell for it, but mostly because she knew it annoyed him. And probably also because she knew that if she threw in true things juuuust every now and again she’d drive him crazy with the 1% chance that every next one COULD be.
But here there was everyone. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, Slytherins…Jeremy sadly felt like he knew what HE was bound for. It had been set in stone years ago. His mum, his dad, his sister, all Slytherins. He’d heard sometimes that just happens in families…everybody all ending up in the same place. He knew that Slytherins could be wonderful. His mum and dad were (mostly) after all. It still didn’t feel very much like him though. He loved his family, but oftentimes he felt like he’d been born from a different one. Like how whenever they went on family outings they rarely went to places that Jeremy wanted to go. He had read through so many Quidditch games, and even though his dad kept trying, he hadn’t managed to really give Jeremy any love or even passing interest for the sport.
Jeremy figured the sorting hat would take one look at him, see he was a Slater, and not even think any further. ‘Ah yeah, another one. Slytherin of course. NEXT!’ What did it need to even think about it, when it already knew where to put him? It really wasn’t fair. When he was younger and his parents friends would smile down at him and ask him if he was excited to be a Slytherin one day, just like his mum and dad were, Jeremy would nod his head, even though secretly he wished the hat would see him for who he WAS, not who he was supposed to be.
But now he was here…and now Jeremy had a plan.
One month. One month to change minds and hearts. He might not have learned a lot from his dad about Quidditch, but he HAD learned a lot about business and people, and he knew that one thing that was really important was just knowing people. It turned out you could (apparently) make a lot of things happen if you actually tried. A lot of people just sat there and let things happen to him, but his dad said that those who don’t are the ones who get what they want. Jeremy often rolled his eyes about stuff like that, but well…this time he really wanted something, and it seemed like his dad had done alright.
So, he approached the girl sitting under the tree.
“Hello, you look like a Ravenclaw, is that so?” Jeremy asked. It was, of course, because of the Ravenclaw shirt that she was wearing, but he left it ambiguous in case maybe she might take it to mean she looked very smart. Which, well, she didn’t NOT look smart. So maybe it was true?
“Jeremy Slater, very pleased to meet you,” the boy said politely, holding out his hand. Jeremy actually hated shaking hands, and hated the rigid rituals of social niceties, but this was the kind of thing that Mum had drilled into his head over many years of meeting his parents’ friends and their kids. It had always felt pointless to him, if everybody already knew what you were going to say anyway like it was some script, why not just save time and skip the whole thing? She had always said though that it would start you off on the right foot, and well, this was the time to put it to the test.
As he spoke, he knew he needed to try his best to sound mature, so that she would take him seriously, and not write him off as some little kid. It was probably for the best that his sister wasn’t at school anymore, having just graduated in the Spring. It would be a lot easier to be taken seriously without her around to undercut him at every turn.
“Now, you maybe don’t know who I am, but if you have the time I would love to ask you some questions about Ravenclaw house.” he said. Yes, that sounded very mature. Very intelligent. “I’ve read quite a lot about it,” he added in hastily. Yes, that was perfect.