Evie stood all alone in the middle of a quite alley and watched everyone bustle around just 30 feet from her. Just 30 feet away wizard's and witches alike all moved like a giant wave of talking and shopping. Women stopped with other women to hear the latest gossip and read the newest witches weekly while men stopped to compare ideas and talk about work. She could pick out students here and there who were all on similar missions for books, robes, pets and other necessities for school. It all looked so exciting, but her nerves were on end. Dumbledore had tried to find someone to help her out, but she quickly refused and said she would be fine. How wrong she had been. Everything was so different in England! The shops back home had been a lot different, but not nearly as crowded. Heaving a sigh, she straightened up and made her way into the throng of people. Pulling out her list, she quickly made a bee line for the book store. Walking in, she breathed in the heavy smell of old books and smiled; she felt at home around books. Slowing making her way through the store she grabbed book after book, both school related and not. Looking down at her list again, she searched for the final book amongst the tall shelves. As luck would have it, it was placed snugly on the topmost shelf, right in the middle. Not wanting to attract attention to herself, Evie tried everything she could to reach it. Jumping, standing on her toes, jumping again, she began debating climbing up the shelves to get it. Right as she made the decision to do so, a long arm reached around her and plucked the book off the shelf, then held it out for her to take.
"Here you are miss, I noticed you couldn't reach it." Blushing profusely, she reached out and took it slowly. "Thank you. I'm Evie, and you are?" Standing before her was your typical good looking boy. About 5'6, dark hair, tannish skin, he was defiantly a looker. "I'm Blaise Zambini. It's my pleasure to meet you miss Evie." Winking at her, he waved goodbye and made his way to what she assumed were his parents and walked out the door behind them. Shaking her head and walking towards the register, an elderly man greeted her. Ringing up her books and making small talk, Evie decided she liked this store and the kind man in it. He didn't judge her or anything, just talked to her. Smiling brightly as she left the young girl continued her long day of shopping. After getting all of her robes, books, a firebolt, her wand, and a gorgeous black owl, Evie made her way into a little coffee shop and plopped down in a plush chair. Settling in for a nice little break, the barista took her order. Taking out "A History of Magic" she began to read all about her new life. Being so absorbed by her book, she failed to notice her cup of tea set down, nor the group walking into the shop. Everything in the book made sense to her, and just put her troubled mind at ease.
I'm not crazy, everything is actually real.
A body plopped down in front of her, startling the petite girl. A sweet laugh filled the air, and Evie finally noticed the blonde seated before her.
"Hello, I'm Luna Lovegood. I saw your earrings and thought I would ask you about them. What are they exactly? I quite like them, but you see my radishes are my favorite. I don't know if I could change to something like that. Change is always a good thing I suppose, especially the unexpected kind. Like at school, the kids always take my things. But they hid them in different places every time. It's not always as you expect, huh?" Luna finished with a dreamy smile, and waited patiently for Evie to respond.
Shocked at how kind she was, her reply was all but a whisper at first. "Hi Luna, My name is Evelyn, but, you can call me Evie. Evelyn sounds too formal, and my mother uses it constantly. My earrings are little bells and birds actually. I like bells, they're my favorite sound to hear, so it seemed logical to make some into earrings. I agree with the last thing you said…its not always as you expect. I'm sorry if this seems a little odd, but I've never really had a friend before, so I'm still terribly shy. Its taking some getting used to as well, being in England. Would you like to join me for some tea though? Or pumpkin juice, I absolutely love it!" Beaming back at Luna, she was proud of how well she had composed herself. Maybe making friends wasn't so hard. Maybe, just maybe, this would be a better life after all. Everything did seem to make much more sense here, and just seemed to click within her.
The day passed with the two girls chatting about anything and everything, but a lot about what Evie needed to learn. Luna was sweet and understanding and genuinely wanted to be friends. Thus, a beautiful thing happened in Evie's mind. She made a real friend, one with who she didn't feel weird or out of place with. She laughed at Luna's odd way of doing things, like reading her magazines upside down, or talking as if in a dream. Her stomach almost hurt from laughing so much and her smile seemed stuck on her face. Once night had fallen, Luna invited her to dinner with a few more kids from school. The nervousness was back, but not as strongly as before. The walk towards the warmly lit resturaunt was short and fun, with both girls skipping around and acting silly. Opening the door, the girls were greeted by a rush of heat, the smells of fresh food, and the loud voices of a lot of people. Conversations stopped quickly as they noticed Luna wasn't alone.
Evie stood awkwardly beside her dreamy friend, and looked around the crowd. A familiarity radiated from a boy towards the middle, but she ignored it. Smiling slightly, she waved.
"Hi everyone…I'm Evelyn, but call me Evie. Please. Um…yeah." Laughing a bit because of nerves, she noticed a bushy haired girl, Hermione, smile.
After a moment, a loud chorus of "hi's" resonated from the group, and a feeling of welcome washed through her. Soon both girls were seated, Luna beside a boy named Harry and Evie in between two boys, Fred and George, who she couldn't tell apart for the life of her. The dinner ensued with lots of talking and general greetings before attention was turned back to her. Sighing at what would probably be the first of many, many introductions she began.
"My name is Evelyn Grace Jordan, I'm from the States, and I found out just this week that I'm a witch. I actually have no idea who my family is, only that Dumbledore had taken me away from danger and put me with this muggle family. Wow…muggle feels so weird to say. Anyway, I'm turning 16 in a few months, December 17th to be exact, and I've never really had friends to talk to. So, here I am. Any questions?"
An hour passed of simple questions like favorite color, what she had learned so far, what it was like in the States, and so on. Around midnight Mrs. Weasley ushered everyone to bed, and gave Evie an affectionate hug as she walked upstairs. Walking into her room, she noticed Hermione and Ginny were on the other two beds. The trio talked long into the night, and after Hermione promised to help her out magically, the girls fell into an exhausted sleep.