Delia Busby had always been in love with the stars. From her village in Pembrokeshire she had loved to go out at night and watch them, whenever she was lucky enough to get a clear sky (although the light pollution was almost non-existent, there was rarely a cloudless sky in Wales!).
To her, the swirling oblivion of the night sky offered endless possibility. Watching the sky, she truly was travelling back in time; none of the stars appeared as they were at that moment in time. The images were hundreds, thousands, even millions of years old. There was always something poetic to her about space- whether it was the fact that its sheer scale brought a meaning to the concept of infinity, or the beautiful swirling colours of nebulae, or even its promise of alien life, she didn't know.
Speaking of aliens, she'd always felt a bit like one back in Pembrokeshire. Her love of the stars had made her a bit of a curiosity back home- she knew that studying astrophysics was as close as she'd get to the stars, but mathematicians and physicists, particularly girl ones, were not common in Little Haven. Her mother was forever hoping her daughter would see sense and settle with a nice boy instead, but Mrs Busby knew that that wasn't where her daughter's heart lay. She didn't think of astronomy as a useful subject, and thought that there were much more useful things for her to do on this planet- her father could use some help in his draper's shop, for starters. But ever since Auntie Blod had sent over a book on the Solar System from London, then a small telescope for Delia's 10th birthday, there had been no stopping her. She was mortified at first ("Delia, for the love of God, don't use that bloody telescope in the daytime- the neighbours will think you are spying on them!"), but did see that Delia's natural curiosity and sharp mind suited her for a scientific subject. She supposed that it could be worse- instead of sneaking off to parties, her daughter snuck up the hill at night time with her telescope. Delia was as tame as a teenager could get (even if she had fallen out trees attempting to get a better look at the sky and gave her mother a heart attack with the various scrapes she'd gotten herself into).
Despite her mother's reluctant support, Delia still felt like an outsider. While the girls in her class were all interested in Gregory Williams, the class heartthrob, and his new haircut, Delia engrossed herself in her maths textbooks. She hung about with the guys a lot- Greg was alright, she supposed, but she really didn't see his huge appeal. She yearned to find people who were interested in the same things as she was, and who wanted to see more of the world than just Little Haven.
This was why she had accepted an offer from Edinburgh to study- it was far enough from home, had a decent department, similar climate (rain did not intimidate her), and Celtic connections were aplenty. She'd been once before during the festival- her parents had hated it, but she loved the wacky street acts, and wandering the city's cobbled streets was another way for her to travel back in time. It had the big city vibe, without the massive scale. Plus, the connections to Harry Potter were always going to be an asset. She knew that this would be a place where she would like to spend the next four years.
Delia got in easily- she was a straight-A student, and she was absolutely passionate about the subject. To her delight, there was even a small observatory just up the hill from the university science campus. This was the place she wanted to be.
However, when she arrived in Edinburgh, she wasn't entirely sure she had made the right choice. Coming off the train, she was greeted with a gust of icy wind carrying the torrential rain almost horizontally. It was far too windy for an umbrella, so her parents and she had to run for a taxi to take them to her student accommodation.
Once in the taxi, away from the wind, she was able to filter out her mother's complaints ("Cariad, can you believe we've come all this way for this? We get rain in Pembrokeshire but it isn't this bad. Nothing is this bad. Why couldn't you have gone to Swansea? It's so much closer, less expensive and the weather is not as bad as this. You'd still expect some rain in Scotland, but dear God..."). Watching the rain pour down the windows, and observing the smoky façades, she remembered why she had come here. Edinburgh was beautiful, even in the rain.
Arriving at Pollock Halls, she marvelled at the natural beauty of the surroundings. It was right next to Holyrood Park, which looked like a miniature version of the Highlands, and she was delighted that it would give her a little opportunity for hillwalking. Delia was in good shape and loved sports, so she enjoyed the outdoors greatly. Pollock Halls was just next to a swimming pool too, so she'd be able to spend time there too. This was just getting better and better.
She found her room (thankfully a single, but with a shared bathroom), bid farewell to her parents, and flopped down on her bed. This was it. The beginning of the rest of her life.
After putting away most of her belongings, and assessing her room as respectably tidy, Delia was jolted by a decisive knock at her door. When she answered it, she was greeted by the sight of a rather striking redhead who was smiling at her a little nervously.
"Oh, hello there. I'm Patience Mount, but everyone calls me Patsy, I'm the RA. I'm actually just next door, and I heard you arrive, so I thought I'd come and say hello, and if you need anything you are welcome to come and see me. I'm in second year, so I have a decent idea of how this place works, and if you need anything, just chap on my door."
Delia gulped, hearing the clipped RP, as Patsy flashed her a brilliant half smile. This girl had perfectly sculpted cheekbones, and her legs seemed to go on forever, and oh heavens, her eyes were really blue. Her hair was in a neat beehive, with not one flyaway hair. She was amazing. Delia felt her face grow warm. Shit. She'd taken too long to respond and Patsy was looking at her quizzically. Say something, Busby.
"Oh, er, thanks. I haven't spent a lot of time in Edinburgh so I probably will be needing some help. I'm Delia, by the way, Delia Busby. First year astrophysics". Good job, Busby, she thought. Nothing too incriminating so far.
"Oh, you're Welsh?" asked Patsy. Delia nodded. "How lovely! I daresay you won't be too out of place, it rains a bit here are there are plenty Celts! But a scientist… Hmm. Just as I was thinking we would get on!" Delia was a bit taken aback.
"Ah, really?", she asked, in a slightly strangled voice. She sure as hell wanted to get on with Patsy. In more ways than one… No. Keep it together, Busby.
Patsy flashed her another dazzling half-smile. Delia could get used to these. "I'm only teasing. I study history, I'm sure you are familiar with the little, ah, rivalries between us humanities students and you scientists. I daresay we have the better end of the deal here at Edinburgh- we get the central, beautiful buildings, and less 9am lectures!" Delia had no idea whether to laugh or cry. At this point she wanted to do both.
Sensing Delia's bewilderment, Patsy wanted to crawl into a hole. Pretty girls had a way of making her talk absolute nonsense, and pretty was the understatement when it came to Delia. She quickly backtracked.
"I mean, you will still love it here. Everyone is very friendly, and the staff are top notch. There are lots of societies and thing that I am sure you will enjoy." She reached out and touched Delia's arm, "Anyway, I need to go and see the other freshers settling in, but do come to the common room at 5, we will have tea and cake and you can meet your fellow students before dinner."
"Thanks, Patsy, I definitely will." Delia's heart was racing. It seemed silly, but all of a sudden, she didn't really want to meet the others. She would be quite content staying here with Patsy, but she knew Patsy had to go.
"Excellent," Patsy squeezed Delia's shoulder. "I look forward to seeing you then!"
And with that, she walked away. Delia gently closed her door and slumped against it, letting out a deep breath. Snap out of it, Busby. There is no way you are going to get through uni if you get yourself an infatuation within your first 30 seconds. Take a deep breath, and you will be fine.
She still figured freshening up before the gathering at 5 couldn't hurt…