Getting Lost
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After receiving her schedule during breakfast in the Great Hall, Denisse tried to find and get through her classes. There have got to be over a hundred staircases in this castle: some are wide and sweeping, some narrow and rickety, some that led somewhere different on a Friday, some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors you have to tickle in the exact place or ask politely in order to open, and doors that are actually solid walls pretending. It was difficult to remember where everything was since the castle is alive and probably messing with the first-years on purpose.
Once she had managed to find her classes, there was definitely a lot more to magic than she thought. It's more than waving a wand and speaking Latin or Greek. In Astronomy, for example, she had to study the night sky every Wednesday at midnight with telescopes and memorize the names of stars, planets and their moons. Three times a week she went to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, where she learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and what they're used for.
Denisse felt relieved she's not running behind everyone else. After all, she's not the only Muggle-born in her batch. She met two lovely Muggle-borns on the train after all, and like her, has no clue that they were witches. There was so much to learn even the pure-bloods don't have much of a head start.
Eventually, Denisse managed to go up to the Great Hall without getting lost for the first time.
"What have we got today?" Denisse asked Scarlet as she poured sugar on her porridge.
Last edited by Denisse De Vera on 12 Jun 2026, 05:48, edited 2 times in total.
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Getting Lost
Scarlet had been at Hogwarts for almost a full month and yet still couldn't seem to stop getting lost. No matter how many maps she drew or paths she planned out ahead of time, the castle seemed to continue to move in the perfect way to get Scarlet all turned around. It felt like the castle was messing with her, and her alone. The other first-years in her class seemed to have a handle on navigating Hogwarts, but Scarlet was beginning to lose hope that she would ever figure it out. The last few weeks, she would make sure to leave an hour before class started, giving her just enough time to arrive at class on time. She chalked it up to the fact that she was Muggle-born and still didn't quite understand this new world she was in. Magic had always been fiction to her, but here she was, standing in front of a wall of paintings that were alive. They talked, laughed, and moved between frames. What other reasoning is there other than magic?
Scarlet was holding her map in her hand, trying to find the Great Hall entrance. She would look in front of her at a door, then glance down at her map to confirm she was in the correct spot. Then, when she looked up, the door would be completely different. How is this possible?! She turned around and saw a group of students chatting. One of them mentioned something about breakfast, so Scarlet decided to follow them, hoping they would lead her to the Great Hall.
It took them about 8 minutes to get to the familiar large doors that led into the Great Hall. Scarlet let out a deep sigh before opening the doors and sitting down at the Hufflepuff Table. She was already exhausted, and it was only 9 am. Scarlet began to fill her plate with the most English breakfast: fried egg, baked beans, tomatoes, sausage, and mushrooms. She was a bit too distracted by hunger that she didn't notice her friend Denisse sit down at her table and make herself some porridge.
"What have we got today?"
Scarlet looked up at Denisse, happy to see a friendly face. Waiting a second to finish the bite of food she had in her mouth, she responded with, "I've got Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. How about you?"
Reducio
Word Count: 397
Kindness does not equal weakness - in fact, it is my biggest strength.
Getting Lost
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Just then, the post arrived. Denisse had gotten used to it by now, but it had given her a bit of shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had flown down into the Great Hall during breakfast and dropping letters and parcels onto the laps of their respective owners.
Denisse hasn't received anything so far, for someone who has parents nagging her to send them messages. Maybe they were waiting for her to write first. Maybe the owl service was slow for Muggle families. Maybe her parents were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that her daughter was a witch.
She pushed the thought aside and took another bite of porridge and gazed at the enchanted ceiling. The sky was blue with clouds, owls still circling before exiting through the windows. So far, no owl came to her.
She straightened her shoulders and decided to move on to the day ahead. Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts... yeah they should definitely leave now if they don't want any house points deducted or get detention.
"Come on. We should get going," she said, nudging Scarlet.
The castle may be relentless, but at least they weren't facing it alone.
Last edited by Denisse De Vera on 28 Apr 2026, 10:55, edited 1 time in total.
Getting Lost
Denisse and Scarlet had classes together today, which made Scarlet feel a bit better. At least now she wouldn't be wandering the halls lost by herself. With no warning, the post arrived. There were so many owls that came flying through the Great Hall. While Denisse seemed to be used to this, Scarlet was not. She was having a hard time adjusting to the magical world. This new world was both exciting and frustrating at times. Scarlet had a letter fall directly onto her eggs. She picked it up and wiped her breakfast off of it. Her brother seemed to be much more acclimated to the way this world works than Scarlet. Like clockwork, every week her older brother sent her a letter updating her on the Muggle world, but this morning Scarlet wasn't too interested in reading it right away. Instead, she stuffed it into her backpack as Denisse nudged her and said that they should get going.
Scarlet grunted in response, not too excited to face the maze that was the Hogwarts castle. She slowly lifted her bag, grabbed one more bite of her breakfast, and then headed towards the door. Her map was already out and ready. Hopefully, this time she would actually arrive on time, but we shall see.
Reducio
Word Count: 213
Kindness does not equal weakness - in fact, it is my biggest strength.
Getting Lost
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"Put the map away. I think I know how to get to Charms," Denisse said, not unkindly.
She wasn't entirely sure, but she decided to give it a try. The castle seemed to respond to something. Confidence, maybe, or at least the appearance of it. They turned left past the portrait of a snoozing monk, descended a staircase Denisse was fairly sure hadn't been there yesterday, and came out exactly where she needed to be.
She blinked. That had never happened so smoothly before.
The door to the Charms corridor was already visible at the end of the hall, other students filtering in from different directions. Denisse exhaled slowly and kept walking, not wanting to jinx it by reacting.
"Phew. We made it,"
What she didn't say, what she kept quietly to herself, was that she wasn't entirely sure how.
Last edited by Denisse De Vera on 28 Apr 2026, 10:55, edited 1 time in total.
Getting Lost
"Put the map away. I think I know how to get to Charms."
Scarlet slowly and reluctantly folded up her map and put it in her pocket. She had no confidence in herself but she trusted her friend. She followed Denisse as they made a left turn and passed by a monk that seemed to be napping in one of the portraits. So far, it seemed to be working. Scarlet continued to stumble behind Denisse, unsure of where they were but blindly following her anyway.
They descended one floor and discovered that they had made it to Charms class successfully. Looking back the way they came, Scarlet couldn't understand how they did it. She had never made it to her destination that fast. Scarlet was in pure disbelief but was grateful to have walked with Denisse today. Without her friend, Scarlet would have spent probably another ten minutes wandering the castle.
"Phew. We made it."
With the most confused look on her face, Scarlet turned to her friend. There was no way she could have done that without Denisse.
"I have no clue how you did that but I'm walking with you to class every chance I get. Even with my map I wouldn't have been able to do that." Scarlet chuckled a little bit, relieved to have finally made it to class on time.
Reducio
Word Count: 208
Kindness does not equal weakness - in fact, it is my biggest strength.