Author's note:
*dramatic voice* I have returned! Missed me? *watches as everyone raise their hands* Yay! Feeling the love!
4. The Art of Making Friends
Ron just couldn't stop staring at the ginger sitting a few places from him, even forgetting to eat in his confusion. When Ron didn't eat; it usually meant something awfully horrible was at stake. Or that someone kept him away from his food. This time it meant the other ginger was giving him the creeps.
"Harry," he whispered, nudging his new-found friend. "Is there something odd about that guy?" he vaguely gestured towards the creep.
Harry shrugged. "Perhaps there is. But you shouldn't judge him just yet, you haven't even met him yet."
"Well, no. But he looks weird."
"Are you saying those others aren't? And besides, first impressions are usually wrong."
"Fine, I'll meet him first." Ron growled. Then he put on a polite smile and reached across the table. "Hi. My name's Ron Weasley."
The other ginger cautiously shook his hand. "Larten Crepsley. It is a delight to meet you."
Was this guy serious?
"Right…" Ron reached back, grabbing a mince pie. "Weird." he told Harry, before munching into the pie. "This is delicious."
Soon, all thoughts of creepy strange kids had escaped Ron's mind, the youngest Weasley gleefully eating his fill of all the different foods, even eating the peppermints. This earned him a glare from Percy; the older brother was such a pest. Not all his older brothers was stuck-up snobs like Percy, thank the Wizard Gods. At least Fred and George were fun.
"Oi, Ron!" named twins threw a baked potato in his head.
"What d' ya want?" Ron hissed.
"Have you heard? That Malfoy got beat by a girl, and she's a Gryffindor." George kept on talking, accompanied by Fred grinning and nodding.
"It's true." the other twin said. "I saw it."
"I wish I could have seen that. It's the sort of thing you'd cherish for life…"
The dark-haired subject looked at the gingers, creases appearing on her forehead. "Don't you know gossiping is bad?" she sneered at them.
All the Weasleys could do was grin sheepishly at her. "No." Fred replied sweetly.
Later that evening, in the Hufflepuff common room, a blonde first year sat at a table, drawing a map or something. Cedric Diggory thought it his responsibility as a fellow Hufflepuff to help this newcomer to feel at home.
"Hi." Cedric smiled as he sat down, opposite of the blonde. "My name's Cedric."
The blonde boy looked up in confusion at him. "Oh. Hi." he blushed, obviously not expecting someone to come up and talk to him. "Kurda."
"I find that an interesting name. So, how are you liking Hogwarts?"
"It's confusing. I don't know how I'm ever going to find my way in here."
Cedric chuckled. "I thought so when I first came here. But don't worry, you'll get used to it, eventually."
Kurda laughed out loud, a genuine smile staying on his face during the rest of their conversation.
"Where are you from?" Cedric asked.
"I don't remember…" Kurda looked embarrassed at this, but he still beamed at the older boy. "It's been quite some time."
This was odd, considering it was coming from an eleven-year-old, but Cedric put no greater thought in this. "Why are you sitting here all by yourself?" he asked instead.
"I'm not, you're keeping me company."
"That's not what I mean. Why weren't you making friends with some of the other first years?"
Kurda blushed again. "I don't know how to make friends…"
"Then I'll teach you. C'mon, it'll be great."
Cedric looked around the room, finally letting them stop at a girl, huddled up in an armchair, reading an awfully coloured book, called `Lord Loss.´
"Aha, there's a nice girl. Go talk to her." he gave the boy a nudge in that direction.
Kurda turned bright red, pleadingly looking back at Cedric. "Hi." he almost-whispered, as if the girl would rip his throat if he spoke to her.
"Hi!" The girl. "What do you want?" she asked, squinting at Kurda through a too-long fringe.
"I- What are you reading?"
"Um, a book?" the girl suggested, then laughed. "It's sort of hard to explain."
"Tell me anyway." Kurda sat down at the chair's arm. "I wasn't doing anything. I'm Kurda, by the way."
The girl smiled again. "Sabina."
Cedric chuckled merrily, Kurda had officially mastered the art of making friends; both the blonds sat in the chair, talking about different books and stories, getting caught in a loud argument over what they thought really should have happened in some disgusting book that went by the name of `Twilight.´
"It would have been more interesting that way." Sabina insisted, prompting on how someone called Edward and a Jacob should have fought each other.
"But it would probably make that Bella-what's-her-face go into another of those emo moods." Kurda insisted, not having read Twilight.
"She's funnier that way; 'cause she's not going on and on about how beautiful Ed-weird is."
At this point, Cedric stopped listening to what they were saying, only watching out in case Kurda did something stupid. That boy was a natural…
Author's note:
Wow, my friend made a cameo. I might be making one, too. But I'm totally a Gryffindor. Sabina's actually a Rawenclaw, but I think she'll forgive me, considering she got to talk to Kurda. And anyone offended by my hating on Twilight; please, no flamers. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else; feel free to review at any point.