Sean headed out of the Great Hall after the Slytherin Prefect and the group of first year Slytherins.
Daisy followed the Hufflepuff prefect with the small crowd of Hufflepuff first years towards a barrel of wine that was by the kitchens.
"Are we getting drunk?" Daisy whispered to a Hufflepuff next to her, they stifled a laugh and shook their head, "No, I'm pretty sure this is the way to our common room. My mum told me about it, she was a Puff like us." They watched as their House Prefect tapped the barrel that was two from the bottom in the middle of the second row.
Daisy and the first year Hufflepuffs watched in awe as a small door like frame opened up between the barrels. The Hufflepuffs crawled in between the barrels and continued following their prefect as they ascended up into a round open room.
Upon entering, Daisy was in a state of wonder at the stunning beauty before her that was the Hufflepuff common room. There were beautiful potted plants that hung from the ceiling and draped down in the corners of the room, every pot with different from the next. The room itself was in Black and Yellow bumblebee colors with honey colored wood tables that were surrounded by big comfortable chairs that screamed "SIT HERE" to Daisy.
An enchanted window that showed the lake, the windowsills covered in more plants. Daisy couldn't get over the amount of plants in the room, it was more than her mother had in her lavish garden. There was a grand fireplace on either side of the room and above the mantle- which was carved with dancing badgers- was a portrait of a beautiful woman whom Daisy assumed was the Hufflepuff Woman toasting a group of students with a tiny two-handed cup and what looked like cabinets that formed to the wall.
"Alright, everyone gather around!" the prefect called out, not exactly yelling, but with enough volume to call in the group. "As you can see, it's a fun journey into our common room, if you weren't paying attention to me when we walked in, The tapping pattern is to the beat of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. No, it is not because we are 'Simple minded' like the other houses like to tease. We are NOT the misfit house. We are the Just and Loyal house. We don't only protect our own. We protect all who deserve such. I've seen plenty inter-house friendships in my years. Do Not let what the other houses say discourage you to befriend whomever you want." She smiled softly and took a deep breath. "We have been given the privilege to have all blood types in our house, there will be no blood purity mumbo jumbo. If I hear anything of the sort, you will be punished accordingly. Please, head to your dorms." She pointed towards the door to the right, "Boys dorms are to the right, and Girls to the left. There are enchantments on the doors so that no boys may enter the girls dorm, please do not try unless you wish to see Madam Pomfrey."
As Daisy made her way to the dorms, through honey-wood doors, she noted the single beds with patch work quilts and her trunk already sitting near the far end of the room next to a head-high window that looked out to the ground outside, showing only the grass and a few wild flowers.
Daisy smiled, It was so different from The Dursley household, but so much of it reminded her of what she once called home. Sighing slightly, she un-packed her trunk, pulling pictures of her and her brother, mother and father in their family portrait, and then a single photo of her wild haired cousin whom she gave up her family for, She regretted nothing. After changing into her pajamas, Daisy crawled into the soft bed that hugged her and fell asleep wishing she could speak with Harry about how beautiful her common room was.
The next morning found Daisy awake and in a hurry after her dorm-mates woke her and told her breakfast had started thirty minutes ago. Once she had her robes on, she ran down to the Great Hall, and right into another student.
"Oh I'm sorr-" She started as she looked up and saw her cousin, Harry Potter. "Harry!"
Daisy pulled Harry into a hug, stepped back, and then punched his chest.
"Ow! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing where she hit him as Hermione and a red headed boy walked up behind him, the red head already eating food
"Oi, why are you hitting Harry? You crazy loon" The boy -Ron, Daisy remembered- said with his mouth full.
"Possibly for the same reason I scolded the both of you last night, Ronald. If you thought I was worried, she searched the entire train looking for you. Her own cousin, just disappeared on her, still in a new environment she's never been in. I would be livid." Hermione spoke as Daisy held on to Harry, who was hugging her just as tight,
"I'm so sorry Daisy. The platform closed on Ron and I after Mrs. Weasley helped you and Ginny through."
"You said you would watch me get sorted, you promised." She sniffed out, not realizing she was crying until she spoke.
Daisy let go of Harry and started pulling him into the Great Hall, "There's so much I have to tell you! I was sorted into Hufflepuff! Look at my cute tie!"
Harry was laughing as she sat down next to him at his table, receiving odd looks from Gryffindors, especially Percy- who was a prefect. As Harry, Ron and Hermione ate, Daisy talked to the trio, mostly facing Harry. Anyone who saw the two could easily tell they were related. Mid-sentence Daisy happened to look up, and she noticed her newest friend walk into the Great Hall, looking as if he had just gotten out of bed. Daisy stood up, with a quick "Hold up" to Harry as she walked over and pulled him more into the Great Hall.
"Honestly Sean, has no one taught you how to tie a tie?" She said as she fixed his tie and robes. Daisy ran her fingers through the boys unruly hair, and deemed him fit for the public. "I found my cousin by the way, he's okay like you said he would be. I can't wait for you to meet him!"
Sean smiled, "Okay then." Daisy pulled him with her towards her favourite person.
"Harry! Harry! I want you to meet my friend!" She exclaimed as she ran up, pulling Sean along with her.
"Who's this then?" Harry asked
Sean looked at the boy and noticed a lightning bolt scar. "Sean Reynolds. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Daisy was absolutely worried sick. I'm glad you made it here safely..
Harry seemed taken aback. "Oh, yeah. Erm...yeah."
Ron looked up from his plate of food, noticing the green tie. "What's a Snake doing here?"
"Ronald! Thats rude! I'll have you know, Sean is a very nice person and was there for Harry's cousin when you weren't." Hermione interjected.
Sean smirked. "That's alright Hermione, I can go if Little Red here has a problem."
Daisy snorted, "Sorry, I was sure that only I had thought of that. Fred and George took it up after they heard me."
Two Twin redheads a few seats down laughed out loud, "And we sure are glad we heard it," one said. "Dear old 'Ronniekins' was getting a bit old on our tongues," the other said.
"Excuse me, Miss Dursley, Mr. Reynolds, If you could please sit at your own tables, we are giving out the class schedules." Professor McGonagall said, as she handed Ron and Hermione their schedules.
"Yes professor" Both kids mumbled as they walked towards their separate tables. Daisy sitting where she was next to Sean and facing Harry. They began eating their own feast of breakfast as
Daisy started to mouth to Harry, 'I told you Ron was a bigot' she started.
Harry swallowed what was in his mouth before replying 'Just give him a chance, he's my best friend'
Daisy shook her head 'I like-'
"What are you doing? Sean asked, cutting her off. Daisy looked to Sean, who seemed very confused, then back to Harry.
"We're mouthing. Talking without using our vocal chords. It's how we would talk when mum and dad were around" She saw Harry smile.
"He's going to want to learn. Ask him if you can teach him. It will help. Slytherins aren't very looked highly upon, but this one seems alright."
Daisy smiled, "Do you want to learn?" she asked, turning to face Sean as she did so.
Sean's face lit up and he nodded. "Yes, please Daisy, I would love that. It would be pretty handy in classes and what not"
Daisy's face lit up, "I can't wait to teach you mouthing!" Her face reddened, "I mean, um…"
Harry laughed out loud from the Gryffindor table. "Oh shut up Harry!" She yelled across the tables, causing Harry to laugh harder.
After Harry stopped laughing there was a sudden screech in the air. Most students ignored this screech but the first years all looked up wondering what was going on.
Sean turned to a Slytherin boy next to him. "Hey, what's going on?" The boy chuckled a little.
"It's nothing mate, just mail time." Just then dozens of owls started flying into the Great Hall dropping off packages and letters and all sorts of things to the students.
An owl landed next to Sean with a letter in its beak. Sean looked at the owl and smiled. It was his Pygmy Owl Peri. Sean wanted to name him Newt, after the author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". It was his favourite book so far. His mom thought Peri was a better fit for the owl though. Peri the Pygmy Owl.
Sean took the letter from Peri's beak and sent him on his way. "I'll read this before bed tonight," he thought to himself as he got up to leave the Great Hall.
Sean's first class was Charms with Professor Flitwick, a short man with a very high pitched voice. Sean walked to the back of the class and found himself a seat away from others. As he sat down, he looked up and saw Daisy entering the classroom. Quickly, he waved to her to sit next to him, which she did with a grin.
Flitwick explained everything that was needed in charms, and how muggle students could benefit from Charms Theory, which is what Muggle students will be tested on at the end of the year.
While Flitwick was talking, Sean was reading through his Charms book for the fifth time since he bought it in Diagon Alley and Daisy was doodling daisies on her parchment paper. As Sean finished the chapter on levitating spells, explaining to Daisy -even though she was still doodling- why charms was important.
Sean eventually stopped talking about Charms and decided to tell Daisy about his common room and his first night in the Slytherin House. "So first off, our common room is down in the Dungeons! I thought that was kind of cool, but odd that students sleep in the dungeons."
Daisy who had stopped doodling and put down her quill, was now listening to Sean as he started to talk quietly. "Inside the common room, or the 'Slytherin Dungeons' as everyone calls them, it was incredible Dais, it looked like a mansion under the lake. Oh, and the dungeon extends under the lake so it has a green kind of tinge to it, that's why i said mansion under the lake. That was the main thing I loved about the room, everything else was basically dark and eerie, but in a really sophisticated way that actually looked sort of cool, I mean my parents weren't unwealthy in any way, but just the slytherin dungeons looked better than my house! I sat up pretty much all night in the Common Room just looking out into the lake, I saw so many creatures swim by like merpeople and I thought I might have even saw a tentacle of the Squid that is said to live there but, it was just so peaceful and..Sorry I'm rambling on" Sean smiled at his friend apologetically.
"No, no, it's fine. I did the same thing to Harry at breakfast." she laughed, "tell me more. "
And so he did, he never thought he would open up this much to another so easily, but the way Daisy just listened, and asked questions made Sean feel at ease with her.
Eventually the two finished their work while taking quietly and Sean was the first to get the practical charms lesson right. Once class was over, Sean and Daisy walked as much as they could together before Daisy went to herbology with the Ravenclaws, and Sean to Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors.
"I'll see you at lunch! " they both yelled as they went to their respective classes.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was an interesting class to say the least. The idea that there were so many creatures in the world, and you could defend yourself with magic had Sean hooked from the idea alone.
Professor Gilderoy Lockhart was a man famous for his adventures and expeditions. According to him, he took down a yeti, a vampire, and other creatures Sean had no idea were real until he learned the truth about magic.
All of these adventures of Lockhart's were available to read in his many books including his autobiography "Magical Me" which was one of the few books Sean had to buy for his first year of Defense Against The Dark Arts.
After Professor Lockhart drolled on and on about himself and his many successful adventures, the class was given a pop quiz on "Magical Me". Sean was not only one of the few students to pass the quiz but he received the highest marks. Which resulted in a few glares from his fellow students.
Sean hid his face behind his books slightly as Lockhart called him out, asking how in the world he knew his favorite color was lilac. The only reason Sean knew any of the answers, was because he read the books only about half a dozen times when he was bored and had finished all of the other books a dozen times each.
Lockhart tried to pull Sean aside after the class had ended to hassle him more, but Sean ran out of the room and towards his next class which he was sure was double potions with the Gryffindors in the dungeons.
While running towards his Potions class Sean accidentally collided with another student. Both students fell to the floor.
Sean looked up to see who he ran into, it was the blonde first year he recognized from the sorting. "Luna right?"
The girl nodded her head as she took Sean's hand to help her up. "I'm very sorry for running into you, I've got to get to my potions class".
The girl smiled softly and giggled "You must be covered in Wrackspurts, it's lunch time silly."
Sean, confused about what a 'Wrackspurt' was, simply uttered out "huh" while he pulled out his schedule. "Oh, you're right, silly me. Sorry, but what is a wikersprat?"
She laughed again, "A Wrackspurt... They're invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy, I thought I felt one zooming around in here. That's why I wear these" She said as she took off the glasses she was wearing. "These are called Spectrespecs."
"Hmm they sound and look neat. Do you think I could try them out Luna?" asked Sean. The blonde smiled brightly and happily handed over the oddly cool looking glasses to Sean.
As Sean put on the Spectrespecs, he noticed how the colors changed, making everything look lighter and pastel. Then, out of what seemed like nowhere, something whizzed past his face. He turned quickly to see what it was and froze. Not ten feet away was a crowd of small glittering… things. Almost as small as a nat, but the light they emitted made them seem as large as a house fly. Amazed, Sean lowered the glasses off his face.
"Wow." was the only word that came to Sean's mind, slightly amazed.
Luna jumped in front of him, happy, smiling, and excited. "You saw them didn't you? Aren't they intriguing? What do you think?"
Sean stared blankly ahead, to where he knew the crowd was, for a few more seconds. Then he smiled brightly at Luna. He noticed that the girl's eyes were more of a silvery blue, than just plain blue like he originally thought. "Yes I saw them, Luna they seem so fascinating. Do you have anymore of those Spectrespecs? I would love to observe the Wrackspurts more when and if I can. Maybe you can tell me more about them, and observe them with me too?"
She smiled wide and pulled a second pair out of her bag "Daddy always taught me to be prepared, and I would be delighted to tell you everything I know about Wrackspurts"
"Sounds like a smart man, your Dad." Sean happily took the glasses, and then without thinking, he also took Luna's hand. "Come along then Luna we have lunch to eat, as you tell me more about these Wrackspurts."
Luna and Sean made it to the Great hall just as Daisy sat down with Harry and Ron. Hermione was not at the table yet. "Mind if we join you? " Sean asked, letting go of Luna's hand and sitting next to Daisy. Luna sitting on Sean's other side. Daisy looked up as Sean let go of Luna's hand and smiled.
"Luna right? We met on the train and we just had Herbology together. I'm Daisy"
"Oh yes, you were the one that dropped the pot full of dragon-"
"Let's not talk about that" Daisy cut in, Luna went to respond, but Daisy continued, "So how did you two meet?"
Sean started to blush, "well, um… I was headed to potions, which I actually don't have until after transfiguration, which is after lunch, when i kind of, sort of...accidentally hit…. her… " he said, rubbing the back of his neck looking away.
"You HIT her?" Daisy said, voice slightly rising, causing Harry to look over to the trio.
"Well, actually, he ran into me. Though, I don't blame him. He had a head full of wrackspurts." Luna spoke with her air of wispy confidence, causing Daisy to look at Sean for an explanation.
"Wrackspurts are small creatures that like to fly around your mind and cause you to be fuzzy-brained basically. I think. Luna is that about right? I just learned of them today." Sean said, looking towards Luna.
"You're fine. You have it right for the most part. You cannot see them with the naked eye, you have to wear glasses that change the light spectrum so that they are visible, even then, it can still be difficult for one to see wrackspurts, but if they close their mind to the unknown..." Luna trailed off, putting on her Spectrespecs and looking around the room.
"Surely you can't be serious about this nonsense" Hermione, who had sat down while Luna was talking, began to say.
"Hermione, with all due respect Luna is telling the truth. I saw them for myself. I put on the Spectrespecs and they appeared right in front of me. Now I know that you might find that hard to believe but you do have to have an open mind."
"But I do have an open mind. I love learning, But I've never heard of such a thing."
"I don't think you have an open mind to everything Hermione. We were raised by Muggles, and before we turned 11 would you have thought that magic like this existed? If you were able to open your mind to wizardry and magic and what not, then what in the world is keeping you from having an open mind about these creatures?" Sean asked in a raised voice, not seeing Draco walk by to the Slytherin table. Draco paused for a second, looking to Sean, then kept walking.
Ron, who noticed Draco walk by, finally looked to Sean from his food, "What are you doing here, Snake?"
Harry snapped his head up, "Ron, no."
"No, Harry, He doesn't belong here, he's Slytherin, and Snakes aren't allowed here."
"Ron-" Harry began, but Sean cut in, "No, it's fine Harry, I'm surprised it took him this long to look up from his many plates of food to even notice the Snake that was talking in front of him for the past thirty minutes, even after I have explained that I am a MUGGLE born Slytherin. But since that has nothing to do with it, maybe you just believe that having ambition is a bad trait. I don't know what you hate about me, but I shall take my leave." He stood up and turned to Harry and Hermione, "Thank you for allowing my unworthy self to sit at the table of gods"
Daisy stood, as did Luna, and all three walked away. "Let's go sit at my table" Daisy said, as they sat at the Hufflepuff table net to a few students who looked to be working on Herbology. They looked to the group and smiled, waved, then went back to work. "My classmates aren't as biased as my cousin's friends are. Anyway, how was the class?"
They talked about their classes for a while until Luna dazed off into a distant land, and Sean lost his train of thought.
"So was charms as fun as I thought it was?" Daisy asked.
Sean let out a laugh "You didn't even take notes! You were doodling on paper making daisies" he laughed.
Daisy looked shocked, "I was not. I mean I was, but hold up. Look" she stuttered as she dug through her bag and pulled out her charms parchment, handing it to Sean. "I was drawing, yes, but I was using the notes Flitwick was saying as the lines."
Sean looked at the parchment, noticing that the dark lines were small letters pushed together with enough space between to differentiate the words. Around each line was a number, Sean assumed it was so Dais could read over it later and know which order everything was written. "This is brilliant, the art work, and how you managed to write it as notes, this is just...fantastic."
Sean was going on about how much he liked her work until Luna spoke up.
"Are you truly surprised that she would be able to do that without being a magical?"
Sean stopped, "What do you mean?"
"Well, obviously she's not a magical like us, she doesn't have any classes that require magic, and if she does, it's only for the theory, it's not hard to guess she's a muggle here, but I knew she had a talent. She will thrive in the classes most witches and wizards struggle in." Daisy smiled brightly, as Sean realized what Luna was saying, her magic wasn't like his, there was still magic in her blood.
"It seems lunch is almost over. I need to find the Nargles before my Potions class, or they'll steal my book bag," Luna said. Standing to walk away, then turning back to look at Sean and Daisy. "Thank you for spending lunch with me."
Sean smiled at his new friend. "Any time Luna. You're free to join us whenever. But the next time we see each other, you have to explain to me what a Nargle is."
Luna just gave them a dazed smile and walked away.
"She's kind of odd, I like her!" Daisy said.
"Yeah me too. She has a cute smile too." Sean said with a slight smile, before he could stop himself.
Daisy pulled a blushing Sean up from his bench. "Come on, let's not be late for our next classes lover boy."