I don't own Harry Potter or his universe
Worn and dusty shoes scuffed along the ground as they carried me hesitantly towards the castle. I kept my eyes lowered to the floor and my head bent, to avoid drawing attention to myself: I couldn't remember ever being as isolated as this. Here, outside a school for goodness sake, is where I felt most lonely, though I was surrounded by children. Groups of friends delighted to be reunited were walking around me, talking animatedly with each other; while I walked alone. It was my first day at an English wizarding school, and I hadn't made a great start to making friends yet. Wedged in my pockets, one of my hands slowly fidgeted with the golden necklace I had been given that morning, the other squeezed into a ball, a lame attempt to reassure myself.
I lifted my face a fraction to admire the amazing scenes of nature around me. I was surrounded by broad trees, their branches heavy with twittering, wild birds, and their leaves pulsing with vibrant green life. Then my gaze shifted towards the castle. From my previous position on the path, I had not been able to see it in any detail at all. I had missed its swirling towers and complicated turrets, had not seen its sturdy walls and elaborate decorations. Never before had I looked upon the enchanted and ancient wonders of this magnificent building, because never before had I entered Hogwarts, school for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
I was so engrossed in my awe, that I had completely frozen, standing stock still on the path. This was not a good move in my plan to remain unnoticed. A sure fire way to be the most obvious person in school was to cause a traffic jam in a long queue of hungry students, and that's exactly what I had unintentionally found myself doing, and the worst part was, I hadn't even noticed. Irritated murmurs rose as others took it in turns to walk around me, held up a few seconds in their quest to enter the castle and fill their stomachs. In my hazy state I vaguely noticed two fair-headed figures veering from their paths to come beside me. One of these figures disappeared almost immediately, but the other remained close.
Still absorbed in my own thoughts about the castle, I felt the person's presence brush against me. The last thing I expected was a hand to enclose gently around mine, but I didn't jump. Fingers squeezed mine and I gradually ripped my eyes from the sight before me, my gaze following the line of my arm to where the fingers of my right hand had been joined by another's. The hand, which was attached to an arm, tugged my own forward and began to lead me on. Dazedly, I consented to the demand, and allowed my dizzy self to be guided onwards, the cool hand still clasped around mine.
After a few minutes of silent walking, the shock of where I was had finished wearing off. I could see that the owner of this hand had just saved me from a very embarrassing situation, and then permitted me to gather my thoughts alone, without intrusion. I suddenly realised that our hands were still joined, and this person, male or female, had made no attempt to remove them. Curiousness buzzed through me, mixing with gratitude to my newly found saviour. Quickly, embarrassed, I took a peak from the corner of my eye at the person walking beside me. At what I saw I felt nothing but contentment and turned my eyes back towards my new home. The moment my gaze had rested on this blond haired girl with radish earrings, I knew that I had stumbled across what I had been desperately looking for: I had found a friend.
'Hi, I'm Luna' the girl still holding my hand said to me.
She said it in not much more than a whisper, but I heard every syllable perfectly. Her face was pretty and kind. Her features were gentle, although her choice of earrings confounded me.
'Brianna' I responded at the same volume.
Luna smiled and turned to face forward again.
I racked my brain for things to start a conversation with, but met nothing. What was unusual for me in this instance, however, was that instead of feeling nervous because of the silence, I actually began to feel comfortable. It was nice not to have to try and prove that you were fun to hang out with; to try to convince others that you should be their friend. With Luna, this seemed to be a given. She had assumed that I was good inside; although by her far-away expression, she seemed to have forgotten about me already.
With every step we drew closer to the enchanted doors of the castle. As we approached them, I began to see them as symbolising the entrance to my new life. Hogwarts. What a strange name. I found it odd, and yet there was something so incredibly intriguing about it. Now, clutching the hand of my new companion, we walked towards them. A hot cauldron of potion in my stomach bubbled wildly with excitement. I had a gut feeling that I was going to enjoy life in this place, with these people.
That's when I saw him. I had been completely unaware beforehand, but now I couldn't look away. A startling blond head had flashed in the corner of my eye. I turned to look, but it wasn't Luna's hair that had captured my attention. I spotted, in the confusion of people, a tall blond boy. Such fair hair on a boy, was of a like I had never seen before. Something stronger than destiny caused my eyes to trace his fringe down to his face. The breath vanished from my lungs; causing me to gasp for air. Luna turned to me with surprise in her eyes, a question forming on her lips. I was powerless to do anything but squeeze her hand and stare at the boy's face. His smooth, pale face. Somehow, without looking in his direction, her eyes still dreamy and a little unfocussed, Luna came to a decision. She tugged me forward, picked up the pace considerably, and forced me to march towards the school. I strained my head to look behind and catch a glimpse of the bewildering beauty again. However it was impossible to find him among the crowd of colours and chaos.
Finally I managed to make it through the huge oak doors without getting too mashed in the crush of students. I turned to Luna, who had suddenly slowed her pace, looked her straight in the eyes and asked
'Luna, what was that all about?'
Her huge blue eyes stared at me openly. I struggled to keep my tone polite and my voice even, but I was angry at her for taking him out of my sight.
'You mean running away from Draco Malfoy whom you were staring at, or holding our breaths as we went through the crowd of hellihoffs?'
She caught me off guard with that one. Twice. How could she have known what had happened. That I had been watching someone. She hadn't seen him, couldn't possibly have seen him; she'd been facing the wrong way. But she spoke like she had seen. Like she had even known his name.
His name. Draco. And what was the other thing she had said? A crowd of what?
I stuttered 'Hellihoffs? What even is that? Did you make it up?' no answer.
'Oh, it doesn't matter now.'
I was getting frustrated. Her eyes continued to look at me, a little dazed, but somehow very clear aswell. She didn't say anything, Didn't look like she was going to either. Just stood there, piercing me with her clear blue eyes.
'Please Luna.' I implored, 'Did you see me looking at that blond boy? Who is he? And why did we practically run away?
A little crease appeared between Luna's eyebrows, and her lips curved down very slightly.
'Very well.' She breathed. 'But I feel that in telling you, I will be part of a terrible ending which I would rather avoid.'
