Finished the magic of spells PV Ophelia Northwell

Self | Thoughts | "Others Speaking"

Ophelia had arrived at Charms class early. She'd wanted to set a good impression on the professor. The entire classroom was empty, including the professor's desk. Sitting down somewhere in the back near the window, she waited for the rest of the students to file in.

They came in, one by one, filtering in through the doors. None of them came alone like she had. Instead, she came in pairs, talking and laughing with people who seemed to be their best friends. Once, she caught a girl coming in by herself and had gotten excited, only to become flat again as she took a seat near another girl and started a conversation.

Ophelia's friend-making luck had run out, it seemed. She checked her watch and sighed. A minute left till class would start. The professor's desk was still empty, and she wondered if something bad had happened.

Finally, a lone girl entered the classroom. She looked around once before settling in a seat close to the professor's desk. She wore a white headband and carried around a bright pink bag. Ophelia eyed the seat next to hers, self-pitying. While all the other students had people next to them, she was alone, just like the girl who'd entered just now.

Before long, the professor, a blonde-haired woman, entered. Her robes were long and flowing and she looked full of energy. With a sweep of her hands and a look around the classroom, she told us to pair up.

The look, Ophelia observed, was aimed at her. As the other students looked on, she packed up her things and moved to the empty desk next to the girl that she'd observed before. The girl eyed her but she gave off a friendly air.

"Hey. I'm Ophelia, and you are?" It was best to get to know class partners at the beginning of the year, right?

Word Count: 313

Interacting with @Juliet Ashbrook

interacting with @Ophelia Northwell

WHEN THE PROFESSOR TOLD them to pair up, disappointment took over, aware she was one of the few students sitting by themselves. At first, she panicked at the possibility of the professor putting her to sit next to friends, which was always the worst situation to be in. She didn't want to be an intruder.

However, before she could say or do anything, a voice came from next to her. Juliet jumped in place, finding that another first-year had taken the empty seat next to her. She had been so distracted, she didn't even notice her.

The girl was... striking to look at, for lack of a better word, and for a second, Juliet avoided direct eye contact with the piercing jewels staring right at her. Her pitch-black hair contrasted against her pale skin, and if you had told Juliet, that this girl was an inspiration for the next Disney princess, she would've believed you.

"Hello," Juliet let out, lips trembling into an awkward smile, offering a hand for the Ophelia girl to shake. Her eyes darted down to the girl's black robes, spotting a blue emblem belonging to the Ravenclaw house. "I'm Juliet, nice to meet you. Are you excited? I've never really done magic before,"

wordcount: 351

Self | Thoughts | "Others Speaking"

Ophelia sat down without waiting for the girl's response. It wasn't like she had a choice anyway. All the other seats with partners were taken and the professor had specifically looked at her and had asked everyone to pair up.

The girl looked at Ophelia with what she almost considered a terrified expression. Her full, rosy lips were trembling with nerves, though they formed a pretty smile. She openly stared for a few more moments before speaking.

"Hello," Her voice was soft, though it held confidence. "I'm Juliet, nice to meet you." It was as if a switch had been turned on. Just a moment ago, a terrified girl sat in her chair. Now, an excitable and eager girl had traded places with her. "Are you excited? I've never really done magic before."

Ophelia wouldn't have been surprised if this Juliet girl would popped out of her seat to ask more questions, but she was glad when she didn't. The girl had quieted down and had resumed her staring, waiting for a response to her query.

Being a half-blood witch, many expected Ophelia to know a thing or two about magic and spells and the wizarding world, when in truth, she knew about as much as the Muggle-born students around her. She'd been told nothing about this secret society of magical beings, and now she was more than a little lost.

So though Ophelia had seen small magical things in her life, like the moving pictures in magical books, she'd never really understood how different they were until she'd learned the truth.

"I'm probably more excited than you are," Ophelia said with a wink that she almost immediately regretted. She wasn't the social type, though she tried to be more often than not. "I've never done magic before either. Then again, I don't think we're supposed to until we've been taught."

Interacting with @Juliet Ashbrook

interacting with @Ophelia Northwell

JULIET PRIDED HERSELF IN being an active listener, nodding along as people spoke to her, to assure them she was paying attention to whatever subject at hand. She learned it from her mother. The woman disliked when people didn't listen to her, which was often the case with her side of the family. They all had blank looks on their faces and laughed awkwardly when someone said something they didn't really care about.

She was relieved to know Ophelia didn't have a lot of experience with magic either, shoulders visibly going down.

Every lesson, it felt like she was behind everyone else - even those who were new to this world, like her. It's a brand-new feeling for her. Up until now, Juliet was used to behind the top of her class, always complimented by her professors for her effort. Here at Hogwarts, she doubted she'd ever be able to get a grade over 60.

"Well, yeah, you're right. Isn't it crazy, though? To be a witch?" Juliet let out, glancing to make sure the professor wasn't looking at them. She ran her fingers through her hair, fiddling with the quill, poking her piece of parchment with it. "I didn't think magic was real, so all of this is still surreal to me. My parents are both... muggles. I only found out when I turned eleven,"

Once the professor began the lecture, Juliet made a face, eyes going back to their figure, paying attention to what they said. She wrote things down when necessary (which was often, considering her memory wasn't the best).

wordcount: 260

Self | Thoughts | "Others Speaking"

Ophelia watched the girl- Juliet- for any signs. She'd always been picky with her partners back in Muggle school. As soon as they got to know about a project, she would spend days scouting out the perfect partner to work with. On days when she felt like making the project grand and the best of the class, she would pair up with a perfectionist like her. At times when she'd felt like she was behind on the subject, she would choose someone who knew more about it to balance it out. Now it wasn't any different.

Every class that Ophelia attended, she wanted to find the best people to sit with, the perfect partners, and the smartest kids in the class. If she was going to have to work with this Juliet, then she hoped that she was going to be alright.

"Well, yeah, you're right. Isn't it crazy, though? To be a witch?" Her eyes held all the wonder that she was fighting to let out. She'd already taken out her supplies, ready to take notes at the slightest mention of a spell or spellcasting tactic, and she played with her quill and the edge of the parchment. "I didn't think magic was real, so all of this is still surreal to me. My parents are both... Muggles. I only found out when I turned eleven."

The girl seemed slightly uncomfortable at saying the word "Muggle," as if she still considered them all to be normal. Maybe she did. Ophelia surely did. Many times in the past, when she hadn't understood something, she'd gone to her father for help, and he'd provided her with reliable and helpful tutoring. Now, the impulse was still there, but her father, being a Muggle, wouldn't be able to help her with anything.

More than anything, Ophelia was afraid that she was going to fail. That all of this, going to Diagon Alley to buy supplies, coming to school on the Hogwarts Express, all of it would be for nothing. That there had been some mistake, that somehow she wasn't a witch or a magical being. That she was just her normal self.

Ophelia stopped herself from thinking about all of that. She wasn't going to let any of that happen. She was going to do her best and she was going to succeed. She smiled at Juliet. "It's surreal for me, too. I'm a half-blood, but I'm new to all of this magic and as excited as I am, I'm nervous as well."

The professor began the lecture before Ophelia could finish and she hurriedly took out her ink wells, quills, and parchment, scribbling down notes as she heard important topics being mentioned. After a few minutes of silent note-taking, the professor gave the class a moment to write down the name of a spell.

"Are you completely excited to learn about magic, or am I not the only one with anxiety?"

Interacting with @Juliet Ashbrook

interacting with @Ophelia Northwell

JULIET ALWAYS MADE AN effort to keep up with her peers.

She had to. She wasn't naturally gifted in anything, nor a genius, so she had to make up for her lack of talent by studying or taking notes. School was a competitive environment, after all, with professors only looking to coddle the best of the best. And magic school would be no different, she was sure of it.

Her memory was terrible, so she was careful not to lose a single word the professor said during their lecture. The last thing she wanted was to fail and prove her insecurities were right to doubt she'd ever succeed as a witch. Her handwriting was messy, but at least she could read it.

"Oh, I'm excited," Juliet let out, glancing at Ophelia with a gleam in her eyes. She leaned over her parchment, in that awkward writing position, and still gripping her quill, in case the professor remembered to point something important out for them. "But I'm also kind of scared I'll mess up so bad they'll tell me to leave. I doubt they'll do something like that, right?... Maybe I'm just paranoid," She huffed, looking down. Juliet winched. She hoped the other didn't think she was weird for spewing all of that at once. "On my first day, I couldn't really eat anything because of how anxious I was... did you also feel like that?"

wordcount: 235

Self | Thoughts | "Others Speaking"

School was always a priority for Ophelia. Her parents, though a little worried for her, had been proud of her consistent grades and love for perfection. Though this had earned her few friends in school, it had made her proud, and that had been enough. Even if she didn't have anyone to sit with at lunch, at least she was the best at algebra in her class.

But here, it was completely reversed. There were so many people to speak to, all of them new to this magic like her. Yes, a few of them had been exposed to magic for their entire lives, but none of them had done magic before, which set them on an even playing field.

And even playing fields annoyed Ophelia. She wasn't used to being average, or maybe even slightly below average. She wanted to be perfect and on top. She did not want to have to catch up and then get ahead. But she would do what she must to get to the top. Even if it would take a while.

And so she wrote down almost every word the professor spoke. Everything was written so that nothing would be forgotten. Because anything lost would mean Ophelia would need to catch up more. And she didn't want to waste a second.

It wasn't just this urge to be the best that drove her to write her hand out. It was also the challenging speed of her partner's hand movements. She also wrote down as much as Ophelia, which sparked a little bit of competitiveness in the girl.

As the day's lecture grew to an end and the professor gave them a moment of silence to put everything away, Ophelia wrote the date and the class at the bottom of the parchment before signing her name. Juliet still hadn't answered her question from before, having been too caught up in writing the notes to bother, but now she seemed to remember.

With a smile, she reacted to the words Ophelia had spoken almost half an hour prior. "Oh, I'm excited." She let out a breath, as if calming herself so that words wouldn't tumble out of her mouth. "But I'm also kind of scared I'll mess up so bad they'll tell me to leave. I doubt they'll do something like that, right?... Maybe I'm just paranoid. On my first day, I couldn't really eat anything because of how anxious I was... did you also feel like that?"

Ophelia remembered her first day very clearly. The confusion about where to go. The castle was larger than anything she was used to, and she'd been scrambling to find her classes. But an excitement had also followed her around everywhere. She'd been beyond ecstatic to start her new magical classes.

"I felt like I was dreaming. Like everything that had happened that first day would just reverse and I would be back in my house in Dublin." Ophelia said truthfully. A part of her had even wished that she'd felt right and that it was a dream so that she could go back to her family. "Do you like it here?"

Interacting with @Juliet Ashbrook

interacting with @Ophelia Northwell

JULIET TOOK A SECOND to respond, hand playing with her quill, feeling the texture of that bright feather brushing against her fingertips. Although her eyes were on Ophelia, her mind drifted somewhere else, wondering how she'd answer without sounding lame.

Did she like it there? Well. Yes. And no. Maybe? That question was very difficult to answer. She loved the castle and the excitement of it all. Magic, although hard, was so... wonderful. Her eyes doubled in size whenever she saw an older student or professor cast a spell.

However, being at Hogwarts brought its sets of problems. Loneliness was her main problem at the moment if she ignored her pile of homework and the lingering fear of bad grades. She hadn't met a lot of people - and it was a big change from how things used to be. Being away from her family, missing the tranquility of her bedroom, and the normalcy of muggle life - all of it hurt. Real bad. There was no room for normal in that gigantic castle.

"I'm not sure yet. I like some things, and I don't like others... But overall, it's fun," She confessed with a huff. Juliet copied her fellow classmates, putting all of her things inside her bag, careful not to spill ink all over her belongings again. Her hand still hurt from rewriting her entire Potions lesson.

Juliet ran her fingers through her hair, "What class do you have after this?"

wordcount: 243

Self | Thoughts | "Others Speaking"

Ophelia ignored the stare Juliet was giving her as she packed up. Everything in her world had a neat and orderly way to be done. Including packing up. The first step was always to close the ink bottle.

During her trip to Diagon Alley, Ophelia had fetched a luxurious deep blue ink well that had seemed like it had enough in it to last her entire Hogwarts career. But now that she looked at it, a slight frown creased her face. More than half the ink bottle was already empty and this was only her third set of notes! Not only did she have two more classes left in the day, but she also had the tremendous amount of homework to finish.

She sighed. The tremendous amount of homework that she didn't even know how to begin. She didn't know the first thing about charms, other than the notes that she'd just taken, and defense against the dark arts seemed even worse. How was she supposed to get good grades when she felt like she was failing at everything already?

Ophelia knew what her father would say. It was the same thing that he always said when he tutored her. "If you don't understand it at first, read the question five more times." The advice was simple and easy to do. It helps with math problems and science questions when you sometimes miss something in the question. It did not help when doing homework about magic that you didn't understand.

Another wave of homesickness washed over Ophelia and she felt a sickness in her stomach. Hogwarts was a magical place indeed with mostly friendly people and great professors, but home would always be where my family was.

And that was the moment Juliet decided to speak up. She answered with a more confident voice and I could tell that we'd both grown more comfortable about each other throughout the course of the class. "I'm not sure yet. I like some things, and I don't like others... But overall, it's fun." She sounded enthusiastic but also tired.

She put away her things carefully, methodically, giving Ophelia time to process her words and connect to them. When she was finished, she ran her nervous fingers through her hair. "What class do you have after this?"

Ophelia blanked out. School had only started a few days ago, and memorizing her schedule had been tough for her. Reaching into her book bag, she pulled out the piece of paper in which she'd hastily written down her classes for today in the morning during breakfast. Scanning it quickly, she brightened at the next subject. This was something she'd been waiting to go to for a while.

"History of magic." She carefully folded the paper up and tucked it back into the bag before looking back up with a smile. "What about you?"

Interacting with @Juliet Ashbrook