House: Gryffindor
Year: 7
Category: drabble
Prompt (Gregory Goyle)
word count: 417
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Title: and then the door opened
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Optimistic, that's what he was. He hadn't known at first, at least he hadn't known the word. Ever since he'd received his Hogwarts letter he'd been giddy with excitement and anticipation. He'd wondered what one might call such a feeling and asked his father. His father, not being the scholarly sort, had directed him to his mother.
Optimistic, she said. He was feeling optimistic. She was right of course, he was optimistic, and he wasn't the only one. Vincent had been practically vibrating the last time they'd spoken. The cakes they'd swiped from the kitchen may have been part of it, but he was pretty sure his old chum was feeling just as he was, optimistic.
Gregory Goyle had known all the same people for most of his life. There was Draco Malfoy, a boy whose father could easily be mistaken for his mother in the right light. Pansy Parkinson, a girl who bore a striking resemblance to a pug dog, though don't tell her that. And of course, Vincent Crabbe, his mate, best chum, the person with whom he spent the most time outside his family.
But that was about to change. Stepping onto the fabled Hogwarts Express had been one of the most exciting experiences of his life. To think of all the people who'd done the same, all the great wizards who'd walked the very halls he himself now walked. And it was only going to get better.
They were on a mission, he and Vincent and Draco. Harry Potter was one the train. Yes, 'the' Harry Potter. Probably the most famous wizard outside of Albus Dumbledore still living. And they were going to find him. They were going to meet him. And, most importantly, they were going to befriend him.
Rumors had been circulating for years about The-boy-who-lived, where he was and what he was doing. He'd never believed the nonsense he'd heard from those silly storybooks. Not much anyway. But there was one thing they all knew for sure, Harry Potter had not been introduced to the proper sort of people.
They'd asked around so they knew. Well, Draco asked mostly, they'd just stood there and listened but, point being, their new friend likely knew nothing of proper wizards, and it would be their job to teach him. It may be a big job, but he was up to the task, he had a good feeling.
Optimistic, that's what it was. Optimistic is what he was feeling. And then the door opened.