Chapter 1: Goodbye to a World

First Year (Flashback):

Clara Diggory could not stop shaking.

Two Mary-Jane clad feet barely grazed the floor of the train compartment as her knee bounced nervously, and her dark brown hair curtained around her shoulders. With red-rimmed eyes flickering to the passing scenery outside, she sniffled and clumsily wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater. She didn't want to be aboard the Hogwarts Express, she didn't want to go to some school far away from her mother and father, and last but not least, she did not want to sleep in a room with people she didn't know in a strange, unfamiliar place.

"You need to cheer up," her brother, Cedric, said as he bumped her shoulder encouragingly. She had tried to put on a brave face, but she found herself sulking even as her brother tried to lift her spirits. "What happened to all the excitement from last week, or even from the last year? You couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts."

Clara slumped in her seat. "I'm still excited," she lied, not even attempting to disguise the sadness in her voice. Cedric shot her a skeptical look, and his eyes narrowed at her as he propped his feet up on the seat across from him. "Are you nervous?" he implored knowingly.

"I'm not scared! I'm… I'm not," Clara rushed out, her arms crossing across her chest as she averted her gaze from his. So maybe she was a little…nervous. Who wouldn't be? She never went to a real school before, the only teacher she ever had was her mother. And besides, there were so many things to be nervous about. Which house would she be in? Would she make her parents proud and be a Hufflepuff like the rest of her family, would she make any friends? It seemed as though Cedric had a million of them, and she would hate to be lonely for the next six years.

Clara played with the wrapper from the toffee she nearly choked on as she tried to eat and fight big, fat tears at the same time. Her mother had snuck some candy into Clara's satchel before she left; a few pieces of her favorite toffee and a bar of Wizochoc lay at the bottom of her bag along with a folded-up piece of parchment paper with spidery script.

We love you very, very much, and we are so incredibly proud of our girl! Don't miss us too badly, my dear. I promise we will owl you very soon. Remember to make lots of friends and show Hogwarts that beautiful Diggory smile. Don't eat all your sweets on the train ride and try not to be too nervous!

Love, Mummy and Daddy

Clara sighed shakily as she fidgeted in her seat, trying to blink away her blurry eyes as she concentrated on the British countryside outside her window. She wondered if the train could turn around and drop her off at home. It was run by magic, after all.

"You know," Cedric said with a chuckle. "I was really, really scared my first year. I didn't know anyone, and I was so scared of the dark… I slept with a Lumos charm under my blankets for two whole months."

Clara's eyes widened dramatically, and her piercing grey eyes met matching ones. "No," she said in astonishment. "You never told me that!"

"Well, you never asked. And besides, it was really embarrassing."

That was the best thing about her big brother, Clara thought to herself. There was something so intrinsically honest about his presence, she couldn't help but believe everything he told her, even though she was certain Cedric made up stories just to comfort her. When she was just a little girl and cracked a window anytime she was upset, Cedric was right by her side to calm her down by telling her a tale of how he shrunk a stray cat so he could hide it from their parents, and when she spent hours with him and her mother to buy her first wand at Ollivander's, he assured her it took him just as long. Clara smiled warmly up at him, her misty eyes long forgotten as she thought of a smaller version of the boy next to her hiding under his covers.

"Do you… do you get very homesick, Ced?" she asked him warily, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Do you ever miss us when you're gone?"

"Well, of course I got homesick. How could I not? I was a little lonely until I started making friends. But you have something that I didn't."

"What?"

"You have me," Cedric replied playfully as Clara rolled her eyes with a smile. "Not many people get to say they have as cool a big brother as you do, Clara. You'll get all the perks. Once you get sorted into Hufflepuff, you can sit next to me in the dining hall, and I can ask some of the older girls to watch out for you in your dormitory. And you'll have such a blast, I'm sure of it."

Clara smiled, but her face fell as she thought about her brother's words. "But…but what if I don't get into Hufflepuff? What if I get sorted into Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor, or…Slytherin?" she whispered conspiratorially, her eyes darting from side to side as if anyone could hear them.

Cedric tilted his head at her and let out a bark of a laugh. "Yes, Clara. You, the very same girl who cries when Dad kills spiders in the house, will definitely get sorted into the house of some of the most wicked people known to the wizard world. You're a shoe-in."

She swiped her hand at him clumsily as he chuckled at her, and she pouted her lip concernedly. "Ced, I'm serious."

Her brother took a deep breath, and he tried desperately to school his features even though there was an amused twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Clara," he told her earnestly. "Unless you have some kind of secret identity I don't know about, you're a Hufflepuff. Maybe, maybe a Ravenclaw, but I don't think you're competitive enough."

"I'm just," she said with a sigh. "I'm…afraid. I don't feel ready."

Clara just needed one more year. One more year to prepare for the transition, a few extra months with her mother and father so she could finally do this all on her own. As excited as she was to finally experience Hogwarts with Cedric, she still felt apprehensive about all of the changes that were happening. He assured her she was still his best friend in the world, but would that change once they went to school together? Would she ever be able to branch off and do things on her own, so she wasn't pulling on her big brother's robes like a toddler?

"Do you know what Mum said to me before I left for school for the first time?" Cedric asked her gently. She shook her head; she refused to cry in front of her parents at the train station if only to make them feel better about sending her away. "She said…being afraid is alright. Fear can be a superpower. It can make you faster, and cleverer, and stronger… and when you feel the most afraid, that's okay. Because if you are very wise, and very strong…you can still be brave," he explained, his low voice reassuring as her knee stopped jostling up and down. "So whenever you feel afraid, just know that it's okay. It… you'll never stop being scared of things. But it doesn't mean you're a coward. Not if you don't let it make you into one."

Clara met his gaze with a dimpled smile and nodded to herself as she took in his words. Maybe he was right. She had been afraid of a lot of things before, after all. Like the dark, and snakes. But she'd overcome those on her own (mostly, anyway). Hogwarts would be the same. She just had to adjust to it, and Cedric was right. She had him, so even if everything went wrong and she didn't make any friends or like any of her classes, she had her brother watching out after her. That was a lot more than a lot of other people could say.

"I can't even imagine going to Hogwarts without you," she told him truthfully, her voice waterlogged with unshed tears. "I'm nervous as it is. I don't think I could do it."

Cedric gave her a soft look, his eyes bright and twinkling. "Well, I guess it's a good thing there's no without. You've always got me."

Just as she was about to tell him he had her by his side just as much, a young girl around her age with big, bushy brown hair and large teeth cleared her throat in the doorway. Clara immediately whipped her head towards her, eyes wide.

"Excuse me," the girl said confidently, her eyes wandering around their seats as if she was searching for something. "Have either of you seen a toad?"

Clara immediately glanced around her, peering between her knees at the room under her seat. "I'm sorry," she said kindly. "I haven't seen anything."

"Yeah, me neither. Have you lost yours?" Cedric asked her. The girl's cheeks turned bright red as she looked at the older boy, and she cleared her throat again. "No, i-it's not mine. It's a boy named Neville's."

"It'll turn up, surely. Wait, are you a first-year?"

The girl nodded, her face splotchy as she blushed and shifted her feet nervously. "Yes. But I've been practicing a few spells on my own, of course. To prepare for classes. I want to be as ready as possible," she retorted quickly. Cedric smiled at her and glanced back at his sister. "No kidding! Clara's a first-year too. Do you need help finding your frog? She'd be happy to help- "

"-It's a toad," the girl blurted out, effectively interrupting the boy from his suggestion. "Sorry. You see, frogs have very wet, smooth skin while toads-"

"I-I can help you look for him," Clara piped up unsurely. Her brother turned to her with an encouraging grin, and she clumsily got to her feet. "If you need help? I've been told I'm good at finding things."

The girl assessed her for a minute, her eyes searching her face for a sign of deception. With a short nod, she motioned for the other girl to follow her and Clara smoothed out her new, black robe as she rose from her seat. With one last nervous shrug, she looked at Cedric as he gave her a wink and she followed the bushy-haired girl down the aisle of the train car.

"Hermione Granger," she said, whipping around and extending her hand out in front of her. Clara's eyes widened as she grasped it, giving it a slight shake. "What's yours?"

"Clara. Clara Diggory. That was my brother, Cedric. Next to me."

Hermione gave her another intense look, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Oh… what year is he? What house?"

Clara felt heat rise to her face at the rapid fire of the questions and shook her head of her thoughts. "He's, uh, he's a third year. Hufflepuff."

"Oh, interesting. Well, you look just alike, you know. Even though you're much smaller than he is."

"Yeah, that's what, uh, that's what everyone tells me."

Hermione glanced between another group of students; her eyes trained and focused as she looked for the toad. Clara looked around to her right, quickly averting her eyes as an older student gave her a questioning look.

"Is that the house you want? Hufflepuff, I mean."

Clara was confused by the question. What she wanted? It really wasn't a matter of want. She would be lucky to follow her family's footsteps, and besides, it wasn't like she had a real choice in the matter. The Sorting Hat would know her better than she knew herself, Cedric had said earlier, and it would choose where she fit best. She just knew where she couldn't go, the very house that made anxiety bubble up in her chest whenever she heard the name. Slytherin was out of the question.

"Yes, I suppose so…but I'm not too picky," she replied, watching the bushy-haired girl's eyes widen. "How about you? Where…where do you think you'll be sorted?"

"Gryffindor, obviously. It sounds like it's the best house by far… I know Dumbledore himself was in it, but maybe Ravenclaw… definitely not Hufflepuff or Slytherin, no offense."

Clara shook her head. "None taken," she said lightly. Her parents had warned her about this, how Hufflepuffs were often seen as dumb or cowardly by the other houses. But they assured her there was far more important things than the stereotypes held by people who didn't know any better, and who was she to disagree with that? "Well, I hope you get sorted for Gryffindor, if that's the house you like best. Red would suit you, I think."

Hermione gifted her with a genuine smile and pushed her shoulders back confidently. "Thank you, I think so, too. Anyway, Clara… do you want to hear something interesting?"

The dark-haired girl's eyebrows rose, and she nodded eagerly. Hermione smirked. "Guess who I saw in a one of the compartments a few rows back?"

She waited in silence as Hermione let the anticipation build. She truly didn't have a clue who it could be… Dumbledore himself, maybe? "Who?"

"Harry. Potter."

Clara's eyes widened comically, and she glanced around her nervously. The Boy Who Lived? The very same child who somehow defeated one of the most evil wizards in the entire magical world, before he could even walk? "H-Harry… Harry Potter?!"

"Yes. He was with some ginger boy, I don't know…but he was very nice. I fixed his glasses for him," Hermione boasted, a confident smile on her face as she held her head up high. Clara didn't even know what to say. A real-life celebrity, on the very same train as her? Going to the same school, in the same year? She couldn't even imagine meeting somebody who had been the legend of every modern tale and story she could think of.

Suddenly, she noticed something move from the corner of her eye. Turning slightly, she saw a brown, wart-covered toad sitting on the floor between a group of boys sitting and grinning suspiciously. "Got him!" Clara called excitedly; her face lit up with glee as her hands reached out in front of him. She quickly launched herself between the seats and bent down, picking the creature up gently as she gave it a once over. "I've found him, Hermione!"

As she stroked the rough, uneven back of the toad in her hands, a boy with shockingly white hair looked up at her in a mixture of surprise and disgust. "Excuse you," he said haughtily, causing the boys across from him to laugh. "Is that…thing…yours?"

Clara blushed brightly and shook her head. She had always loved animals, and even though frogs weren't exactly cute in the same way a cat or an owl was, her heart melted as she looked at the small creature. "Oh, I'm sorry- it's not, actually. This little cutie belongs to someone else. He was lost, you see."

The blonde looked at her with contempt and rolled his eyes. "You've interrupted our conversation."

She looked at the boy in confusion, not sure what to make of his aggressive attitude. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Maybe the boy just wanted some credit for having the frog- it was in his compartment, after all.

Clara merely hugged the toad a little closer to her, petting its tiny head with her index finger. "Thank you for finding him," she told him kindly. His jaw dropped slightly, and he nearly let out a rude laugh as he shook his head at her.

"Find him? I would never-"

"Thank you so much, really" Clara interrupted with a dimpled grin. Turning on her heel, she walked away from the boys and lifted the toad to show Hermione. "Look! Isn't he adorable?"

Hermione gave the boys a suspicious glance, and her lip curled in slight revulsion as she thrusted the squirming creature at her. She extended a hand to push it away from her, and Clara blinked at her. "It's a good thing you came with me," she said. "I don't know if I would have been able to touch it. And… I suppose you're not too bad at finding things, after all."

"Told you."

Both girls chatted as they walked down the aisle in search of the toad's owner, and as they passed by Cedric, Clara excitedly shoved the toad in his face with a broad grin.

Her brother gave her a forced smile as he moved away, his expression looking a little peaky at the wet, sticky animal in her palms.

Even though Hermione was a little…self-assured, to put it kindly, Clara found that she didn't mind all of the facts and information she was spouting at her. Any information she could get was better than nothing, and she wondered how the bushy-haired brunette knew so much about Hogwarts even though she wasn't even a student yet. She didn't even think Cedric knew all this stuff.

A tall, chubby-cheeked boy marched down the aisle in exasperation, and his eyes widened dramatically as he looked at Clara and Hermione. "Trevor!" he yelled exhaustedly. "You need to stop running away!"

Clara looked back at the toad, her eyes flickering up to the boy in front of her. "She found him, Neville. He was sitting between some other first-years," Hermione informed him happily.

"He's very social. Oh Trevor, Gran will be so angry if I lose you again."

The boy, Neville, turned bright red as Clara flashed him a bright smile and brought the frog up to her face. "I love your pet," she said sweetly. "He's so cute!"

"C-Cute?" Neville asked her incredulously. She nodded.

Reluctantly handing him over, Neville grasped the toad in his hands and made a chastising sound at Trevor as its large eyes stared ahead blankly. "This is Clara Diggory. Clara, this is Neville Longbottom," Hermione introduced. Clara gave him another smile, and he ducked his head.

"Hi Neville. I-I'm sure you're very relieved to have him back," she said with a hint of jest in her voice. If it was possible, his face reddened even more, and he gave her a nervous smile. "T-Thanks… uh, thanks for finding him. He's always getting loose."

"There's got to be a spell for that," Hermione prattled on. "It just seems inconvenient, is all. Toads are a very popular pet among witches and wizards- "

And in just an hour after her departure from home to Hogwarts, Clara had made her very first two friends.

Clara rocked on her heels as she waited with all of the other first-years, her fingers tapping against her leg as she stood next to Hermione. The older students had long since separated from them, and Cedric had given her a light hug as she watched him head into the opposite direction before she boarded a small boat with her new companion.

Her stomach flipped and she couldn't tell if it was from the hours of travel, or if it was because she was standing in awe of one of the grandest castles she had ever seen. She'd seen pictures of Hogwarts, of course. But nothing compared to seeing it for the first time in all of its massive glory, the towers and structures so large and intimidating, she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.

"Are you nervous?" Hermione asked her, her hands uselessly smoothing out non-existent wrinkles out of her robe. Clara looked around at all the other students, finding slight comfort in all of their matching black attire as she realized how much she blended in. She shrugged nonchalantly, even though the butterflies in her belly told a different story.

"I'm trying to be excited," she whispered honestly. Hermione let out a shaky breath and nodded in agreement as they walked up flights of stone staircases. "Me too. I wonder if we'll meet Dumbledore. I want to shake his hand and thank him, of course."

"You think he'll be there? I'm sure he has a lot of important things to do."

Hermione gave her a look of disbelief. "Of course he'll be there," she said proudly. "Especially since Harry Potter is among us."

Clara seemed to have forgotten about that, and her nervousness multiplied.

As they climbed the final flight of stairs, a tall, stern-looking old woman with a black witch's hat waited at the top of the landing expectantly. The first-years crowded around her, and she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, her tone laced with a sing-song quality Clara couldn't discern. "Now, in a few moments, you'll pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses."

Clara felt her face pale. I just got here, she thought inwardly. I thought they would have waited a little bit…at least until tomorrow!

"They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," the woman explained slowly. "Now, while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points, any rule-breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup."

Suddenly, a loud croak broke the silence among the students and Clara could hear a muttered curse under someone's breath. "Trevor!" Neville exclaimed in the front, his toad jumping from his arms. The woman stared at him with an unimpressed expression, her eyes slightly wide at the interruption.

Clara's giggle rang out among the silence, the only sound heard among a sea of poorly- suppressed smiles.

"Sorry," Neville said quietly as he gathered the toad back into his hands and turned back to the crowd.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily," the woman said as she spun on her heel and headed inside two large, heavy doors.

A slight beat of silence commenced among the students, but it was quickly disrupted by the very same blonde boy Clara saw earlier when she was looking for Neville's toad. "It's true then, what they're saying on the train," the boy said insolently. "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

Whispers broke out among them, and Hermione gave Clara a knowing glance. See? Told you, she communicated to the dark-haired girl silently.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Clara looked over at the blonde, and she saw a small boy with glasses standing next to another boy with bright red hair. The red- head let out a muffled laugh, and Draco shot him a heated look. "Think my name's funny, do you? I've no need to ask yours. Red hair and a hand-me down robe? You must be a Weasley," he said arrogantly.

The Weasley boy shot him a dark glare, and Draco turned slightly to give the other boy a sharp smile. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. And you don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Clara swallowed thickly as tension built in the air, the boys exchanging harsh smiles as more whispers filtered through the crowd. "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," the boy, who Clara now guessed was Harry Potter himself, replied shortly.

Draco looked as though he wanted to say something more, but the older woman from before made a reappearance and rapped him on the shoulder with a scroll. With one last glare, Draco walked back to his friends.

"We're ready for you now. Follow me."

As the doors opened, Clara hadn't seen anything like it before. Students in black robes sat at long tables, the ceiling appearing like the night sky as Hermione whispered to her about how it was bewitched to look real.

Flames adorned the walls, burning in scales held by gargoyles, and the room was cast with a warm, candlelit glow as they walked forward. Clara had grown up with magic her entire life, but nothing was as magical as this. She felt like a tiny grain of sand in a huge ocean; small and insignificant in comparison to the grandeur around her.

The woman walked onto the stage and turned towards the students. A hat, worn with age and covered in patches, sat on top of a stool as the first-years filtered in. "Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words," she said seriously.

A long wooden table on the stage was seated with stoic looking adults, but a man with a long white beard rose from his chair and placed his hands out on the wooden tabletop in front of him. "I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. The first years, please note, the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden for all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death," Dumbledore croaked evenly. "Thank you."

Clara lightly tapped Hermione with her elbow in concern, her brows furrowed at the damning words coming from their headmaster's mouth. Hermione shrugged at her, and for once, didn't seem to have an explanation for Dumbledore's haunting words.

The older woman rolled out a scroll in her hands and looked out at the crowd. "When I call your name, you will come forth," she explained. "I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."

Slowly, she read out the names of the students in front of her, and one-by-one, students were placed into one of the four houses as applause rang out from around the hall. Clara really thought she was going to be sick as names ticked off the list, and she felt a begrudging resentment that her last name was so early in the alphabet. She wished it began with a Z, so she'd go last and everyone would have stopped paying attention by that point.

Abbott. Hufflepuff.

Abernathy. Ravenclaw.

Belby. Ravenclaw.

Bletchley. Slytherin.

Bobbin. Gryffindor.

Bones. Hufflepuff.

Cho. Ravenclaw.

Cram. Slytherin.

"Diggory. Clara Diggory," the woman read out. Clara's entire body shook with a noticeable tremor, and Hermione squeezed her elbow reassuringly. With wide, bright eyes, she swallowed and walked up the stairs to the stage.

As Clara peered out over the crowd, she desperately searched for her brother among the sea of black-clad students. The Sorting Hat was placed onto her head as she pushed herself onto the stool, her hands folded nervously in her lap as she bit her lip.

A strange sensation came over her, a slight tingle running down her spine as she blinked. She curled her fingers in and out, clenching and unclenching into fists as a rough voice appeared in her head.

Hmm…another Diggory, I see. A strong mind, but an even stronger heart…you're intelligent, but other things are much more important, is that right? Ah, a hard-worker, honest…but most of all, incredibly kind… definitely…no doubt about it…

Clara's fingernails clawed into her legs anxiously as she awaited the hat's answer. Her eyes zeroed in on her brother, who was rising slightly out of his seat among a throng of other yellow-tied students so he could see, and she smiled despite herself.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

In seconds, the entirety of the table she was staring at erupted into cheering and whistling, and she could see Cedric standing and rallying wildly as relief settled into her body. A huge smile broke out on her face, and she glanced towards Hermione, who was smiling and clapping proudly. Clara sent the girl an encouraging grin and clumsily hopped off of the stool and ran off the stage to the Hufflepuff table.

She felt a rush of excitement as hands gave her welcoming pats and one-armed hugs, the bright yellow ties blinding her as older students congratulated her. She was surrounded by love and support, and she felt like one piece of the larger puzzle of her Hogwarts had slid into place. How could she ever think she would have been placed in another house? This was where she was meant to be.

Clara stumbled forward until she ran into her brother's broad, strong arms. Cedric was smiling so widely it looked painful, and his eyes glimmered with pride as he rubbed his sister's arm happily. "I told you," he boasted. "I knew it!"

She stepped over the bench to take a seat next to him and butted her head into his shoulder warmly. "I'm so happy, Ced," Clara exclaimed delightedly. Cedric poked her in one of her large dimples, and she swatted at his hand playfully. "Watch out, Hufflepuff," he echoed to the people around them. "The Diggory's are taking over the house!"

She chuckled and redirected her focus back to the stage, her eyes wide as she watched Hermione climb onto the stool and mouth calming words to herself. Clara wasn't sure Hermione was even looking, but she sent her as reassuring a smile as possible as the girl squirmed nervously.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Clara rose from her seat and clapped loudly, letting out a whoop in excitement as she watched the other girl get placed into her desired house. "Way to go, Hermione!" she shouted loudly. Hermione turned towards her and gave her a lively wave and sat down next to the red-headed boy from earlier.

As more and more first-years got placed into their houses, Clara watched in fascination as other students either smiled at the news or blinked in confusion. She couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky as she watched her peers walk to their tables, unable to imagine if she had been sorted any other way.

The blonde boy from the train, Draco, walked onto the stage confidently and shoved himself atop the stool as he smirked out at the audience. Clara wondered if he always sneered like that, or if he was trying to act more boastful than he felt. How could he seem so unshaken? She had nearly peed her pants, and he was acting like this was just a normal day.

The hat barely grazed the white hairs on his head when it's loud voice quickly echoed through the hall. "SLYTHERIN!" the hat boomed. The green table applauded, and the smirk on Draco's face tilted up as he narrowed his eyes.

"Real shocker there, that one," Cedric said next to her with a laugh, staring at Draco as he walked to his new housemates. Clara looked at him with questioning eyes, but her brother was quickly distracted by a new presence on the stage. Turning to look, she saw Harry Potter climbing onto the stool, and the hat sat on his head for what seemed like hours.

It appeared as though Harry was talking to the hat, something Clara hadn't even thought of when she had been sorted several students before. Was the hat…sentient…enough to speak to? Was Harry telling it where to put him? He was the most powerful wizard in all of Great Britain, wasn't he?

"Better be…GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table stood in standing ovation, their cheers and claps louder than anyone else's. She even noticed Dumbledore was clapping, a knowing gleam in his eye as he looked at the dark-haired boy sitting with his new housemates. Clara wondered if he got the house he clearly wanted, but based on the smile on his face, she was pretty sure she answered her own question.

As the sorting of the first- years concluded, Dumbledore rose from his chair and tapped on a gold rimmed glass. "Let the feast, begin!"

Clara watched in wonder as the table filled with every food you could imagine, every spare inch of space covered in everything from ribs and chips to fruit and rack of lamb. Cedric quickly grabbed her plate from under her hands and started shoving mashing potatoes onto it as he slapped away prying hands. "Oi, first-years, first! Clara gets first pickings," he yelled with a smile. Clara shoved an elbow into his ribs and grabbed the plate from his hands. "Oh really? Then why are you giving me all your favorite foods?" she asked playfully.

Cedric gave her a knowing grin, and she stuck her tongue out at him as a girl in front of her chuckled at their antics as he popped a chip in his mouth.

A blonde girl with dark blue eyes and a lazy smile sat across from Clara, and she quickly realized she, too, was one of the first-years. "Hi," Clara told her warmly, allowing herself to settle into something more comfortable as she celebrated her placement with her new friends and family. "What's your name?"

The girl looked at her with surprise, her cheeks pinkening slightly as she forced herself to swallow the food in her mouth. "Hannah," she coughed out. "Hannah Abbott."

"Clara Diggory. Are you happy about your sorting?"

"Oh definitely. We're from a long line of Hufflepuffs."

"Us too! This is my brother, Cedric…"

And just as easily as Clara made her first two friends, she had just made a third.

As the first-years finished their celebratory dinner, prefects came to guide them to their dormitories. Clara looked up at Hannah excitedly, and she bumped Cedric with her hip as she bid him goodnight. "Have fun," he told her. "Don't get lost!"

As she walked forward and followed after the Hufflepuff prefect assigned to them, Slytherin's first-years also started to depart for the night. As Hannah prattled on about rooming assignments, Clara accidentally stumbled into the person next to her and quickly rose her hands to apologize.

"Watch yourself," said a rude voice, a voice Clara immediately identified as Draco after hearing him speak to Harry Potter in the same tone. She gave him an apologetic glance. "Sorry," she exclaimed in horror. "I didn't mean to trip into you."

"Walking is actually very easy. You put one foot in front of the other, I'm sure you've done it before," he bit out. Clara couldn't even find it in herself to be bothered by his tone and shrugged. She hadn't ever been spoken to so condescendingly before. "Sorry...oh! And, um, congratulations on Slytherin…I suppose I'll see you around in some of my classes," she told him earnestly.

The blonde's eyes narrowed at her, searching hers for something she couldn't place. It was as if he thought she, too, was being sarcastic, even though she was merely trying to be friendly. "Hm," he huffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"…Congratulations? It just means…congratulations."

Draco's face morphed into another sneer, but the Hufflepuff prefect called over to her and beckoned for her to catch up. She sent the boy an apologetic glance, and she shrugged as she started walking away. "Sorry, I have to go…have a good night!" Clara said as she flashed a quick smile up at him.

Even though she walked briskly in an attempt to catch up to Hannah and the rest of her new peers, she couldn't help but hear the boy mutter disgustedly under his breath.

"Hufflepuffs."

A/N: This is just a flashback, a majority of the story will be set in GOF and post-GOF. Please pay attention to trigger warnings, and I have also just posted this on AO3 as my first fic! Please leave a review and follow/favorite!

Love always,

Fairylight2003