Mysterious First Year

Outfit

Atticus had already made the most he possibly could of his early start to the morning. He stopped at the Great Hall for breakfast and caught up with Madison and Marietta over tea and eggs. They discussed the books Atticus had been reading, the schoolwork they had been doing, and all the amazing things that they had learned about Hogwarts since their arrival.

As he rounded the corner, still pondering over idle breakfast chit-chat, he found the library door and reached for the ornate handle on the library doors. Before he could get his hand around it, however, the doors swung open and nearly blew him backward over the railing. He was surprised to see that the person who had thrown the doors open with such force was a young girl, seemingly no older than Atticus himself. She seemed visibly distressed when they made eye contact, and even though he was tempted to let her pass, he reached out to shake her hand. "Hey, are you okay? Is something wrong?" He asked, his head tilting and his eyebrows furrowing in concern. "I'm Atticus by the way. Hufflepuff first year. What's your name?" The girl still seemed hesitant to introduce herself, so he gestured to his hand again and smiled, hoping to show that he meant no harm.

She hesitated, "I'm uh, Nevaeh, Sorry I almost hit you." She said in a quiet voice. "I'm fine thanks." She just wanted to get out of that library but didn't want to be rude. She bit her lip and looked down not knowing what to say next. She didn't want him to find out what house she was in. It didn't fit her at all! "He seems really nice though." she thought. "I uh, was just leaving. I didn't know there was someone here." Her stress seemed to ease though she was still tense. She looked behind her to see if the Slytherin first years she was trying to avoid had seen her. She was unsure of what they would say to her if they spotted her. She took a few steps back because she felt as though she was too close to him and was kinda uncomfortable. She took a few steps to the side to get out of his way and held the door for him, trying to hide behind it. She noticed the boy was around her age and remembered seeing him at the sorting. She couldn't for the world remember what his name was thought. She wanted to ask but was feeling too shy at that moment. She wasn't normally like this but given the circumstances she was under, she wasn't sure what others would think of her and she didn't want to make the wrong impression to the first person she met.

She hesitated at this kind offer he had given her. "I'm fine, and yeah, I would like a study partner. If you want to I mean. You don't have to be mine. Wouldn't you want someone from your house?" She fidgeted with a strand of hair. She felt super awkward and had no idea what to do. She kind of wanted to be his study partner just because she needed at least one friend to get through school. She couldn't believe that the day she had been dreaming of since she was really little had turned out to make her super stressed. She knew that people in her house were notorious for being mean or evil. She didn't want to be like that. It just wasn't who she was. This boy was really nice and she wanted to hang out with him. She really hoped he actually wanted to hang out with her and didn't want to make fun of her or just find out what she was worried about. A true friend would be awesome to have and be able to talk to. She wondered if they had any classes together. She doubted it but really hoped they did. She hadn't even looked at her schedule yet though she knew she could. She hopefully looked at him to see what he would say.

"No, I'm not a Hufflepuff." She hesitated, "I'm a Slytherin. I don't think it fits my thought. I really thought I would be Grifindor. I promise I'm not mean or evil." She turned away not making eye contact She knew that Slytherins were notorious for being mean and playing pranks. She really hoped that her being a Slytherin wouldn't affect whether or not they would be study buddies. She really wanted a friend and he seemed really nice, unlike others she had met. She was usually an outgoing person, but being a Slytherin made her seem mean. "So, you probably don't want to hang out with me then, because I'm a Slytherin." She looked at him hoping he wouldn't see how much she really wanted to hang out with him. She grabbed a strand of hair again and played with it. It was a nervous habit of hers that she wished she could break. It made her feel kiddish and she didn't want to be seen as a kid. She had totally forgotten about the other Slytherin first years and at this point didn't care if they saw her. She just wanted a friend that would see she was nice. She had already seen the other Slytherins be mean to the other houses and didn't like to associate with them. She thought about how she wasn't wearing her house color and thought that she might get in trouble because of that but none of the teachers cared. Most students didn't notice either but this boy did. She waited for him to respond thinking she would just be disappointed.

She smiled and shook his hand, "I'm Nevaeh, Nevaeh Wilson. It's nice to meet you. It is also nice to know you don't care that I am in Slytherin. I guess we should get to studying" she started walking toward an empty table. "What type of books do you like to read?" She asked. "I like readying about different people and there adventure. I also love reading about the different magical creatures and now they are cared for." She turns toward him waiting for an answer. She wondered how much they had in common. She hoped she could relate to him in many things and they weren't total opposites. She hated ed when she couldn't relate with a person but she really doubted that would be the case. She seemed pretty similar to her and really nice. Even if they were total opposites she knew he would most likely be her friend. She wondered what classes he needed to study for. She knew there were several things she should study for. She looked through her bag to see what she had and grab the book she was currently reading. She was about halfway through and had a random paper stuck in it to act as a book mark. She wondered what her new friend was working on as she started working on things. She looked over to see what he was doing.

Nevaeh reached out her hand and smiled. "I'm Nevaeh, Nevaeh Wilson. It's nice to meet you. It is also nice to know you don't care that I am in Slytherin." She replied, introducing herself once more. Atticus returned her smile and the two began walking deeper into the library. As they passed row after row of bookshelves and high expanses of ceilings, they chatted and mafe basic small talk about the weather, their families, their classes. Atticus has always seen idle chit chat as boring and dull. There was always something more important that needed doing. But for the first time since his youth, he found walking slowly, and listening deeply. He realised that this, all of this, was what he had spent his whole life searching for. A friend to trust, a place that truly felt like home. He was happy.

When the pair had walked far enough to reach the fiction section, they stopped and turned towards the vast, seemingly endless shelves of books. Atticus walked over and ran a hand along the spines on the books, feeling the texture of the paperbacks, the ridges in the broken spines of the hardcovers. He closed his eyes and searched for a book that felt right, and when he did, he pulled it from its home on the shelf and hastily flipped to the very last page, Nevaeh peeking over his shoulder to read along.

"Ah! A rhyme scheme. It's pretty simple but it tells the story quite well. Do you think we're allowed to take these back to our dorms? He thought aloud, turning to Nevaeh and gesturing to the book.

Atticus felt a sudden change in Nevaeh's demeanor as her eyes passed over the book he was holding, and as he did he felt the book grow cold in his hands, and the air became cold on his skin, the atmosphere of the room shifting subtly as the scent of a winter chill filled the air. But just like that the strange feeling was gone, and they were inside the warm, cozy atmosphere of the library once again. They turned to each other, Nevaeh breaking the tension by replying,
"I think we can if we check them out. I'm not sure, but I hope we can... otherwise I may never get homework done." She laughed to herself as she said the last part under her breath, and turned away from him to look at more books. Once Nevaeh walked away, Atticus took the opportunity to travel to the fantasy and fiction section in search of a fantastical story about some kind of knight or prince to dream about later that night. Suddenly, Nevaeh rounded the corner of a bookshelf, blowing the dust off of the cover of a large, leather-bound storybook. He picked up a copy of a book titled The Tales of Beedle the Bard and walked to meet her halfway down the aisle of books.
"This one sounds good. I hope I can check it out. I really want to read this one!" They met up and exchanged books, he handed her his copy, and she his. He read the title, A Daring Quest of Doom, and chuckled to himself a bit before setting it on the table and flipping through the pages to skim the story. He caught a few things and ultimately decided to give it a read at a later date with a satisfied huff. Atticus then looked back up at Nevaeh, searching for a reaction to his own pick.

Despite Nevaeh's questions, Atticus had already, and rather unfortunately, made the chronic daydreamer's mistake of opening a new book. In the blink of an eye, he was traveling through the pages and weaving himself a part in every tale. If not one brother of three, then a witch or a dancer. Before he knew it, he was captivated by the ink on the page, and the stories being woven, so much so that when his newfound friend asked him, “Should we just start reading or should we go see if we are allowed to check books out?” Atticus barely heard her over the screenplay being written and performed in his mind. "Yes, yes, of course." Atticus replied, waving a hand and turning a page as his feet led him to a chair and sat him down of their own volition. The whole ordeal was rather fascinating to watch occur as if the body moved without instruction. It knew instinctually where to go when the story was being told within the brain. And suddenly, as if it never even happened, Atticus's eyes snapped up from the page and found Nevaeh's once again. "I'm sorry Nevaeh," he said, closing his book and standing back up from his chair, "What were you saying?"