Poppet found it easy enough to settle into life at Hogwarts. She was taking mostly the same subjects as Roxanne and had her in a lot of her classes which was helpful when she didn't quite know which way to go. The girls in her dorm were lovely and she spent her evenings chatting to them and the Weasley-Potter clan before curling up under her duvet reading 'Hogwarts: A History' so she was somewhat more clued up on the castle she called her home.
The last Sunday of September was unseasonably warm. Poppet returned from breakfast alone. She had a foot-long essay to do for Monday afternoon and was keen to make a start. The common room was quiet as everyone was either at breakfast still or enjoying what appeared to be the last of the year's warmth. Poppet was buried in books, quills and parchment when she heard the portrait hole swing open and heard voices. She grumbled as she closed her books. Guess she'd have to go to the library.
James Potter walked into the common room with Al. They were talking loudly about Quidditch and James had a sheet of parchment in his hand and pin. He pinned the parchment to the notice board in the common room and then noticed Poppet sat in the corner.
"Hey, Poppet," he said and Albus whipped around, noticing her with a smile.
"Hi, James. Hi, Al." Poppet smiled back.
"Are you signing up?" Albus asked. Excitement flickered in his eyes.
"For?" Poppet questioned.
"Quidditch trials!" James exclaimed, "My first ones as Captain! It would be good if you signed up. We need more diversity on the team – it's all Weasleys. Course, we are related to exceptional players!"
"Sounds great," Poppet smiled, "I was a chaser for my house team at Beauxbatons but I don't think I'm really that great. I did make the team but you know what the French are like at Quidditch!"
Albus and James both chuckled. "Tryouts are Tuesday. Better see you there."
Poppet assured them that she would. She also assured them that once she had this essay down she'd come and sit outside with them on the grass by the lake. She had read in Hogwarts: A History that nice weather at Hogwarts in the first term isn't something to take for granted so she hurried to finish her essay. Lunchtime rolled around and she still hadn't written the conclusion but she decided to leave it and come back to it tomorrow morning. She left the common room through the portrait hole and headed down to the Great Hall.
On her way, she saw Rose. She was about to call out to her but saw she was not going in the direction of the Great Hall and was instead making her way down to the Dungeons. Poppet shrugged, assuming she was catching up with some potions work and continued on her way down to the Great Hall, narrowly avoiding being drenched by a cheeky Peeves who was hanging around the corridors like a bad smell.
Impressed with herself that she hadn't got lost, Poppet entered the Great Hall and scanned it for someone she knew. She saw Roxanne and two other girls in her dorm, Florence Kreep and Jocelyn Jenkins, sat at the very end of the Gryffindor table and she slid in beside them. They welcomed her, enthusing about Quidditch trials, which was now the talk of the Gryffindor table.
"I was on the team last year," Florence said, "I was the Keeper. But Albus is trying out this year and he's a Potter. Harry was amazing at Quidditch, so is Ginny and they seem to have passed that talent on to their children. Plus, James is captain so he's bound to pick his brother."
"I don't think you've got to worry," Roxanne smiled, "James and Al will be fighting before long and you'll be invited back."
"I'm trying out," Poppet said.
"What position do you play?" asked Jocelyn.
"Chaser," Poppet said, shovelling a piece of chicken into her mouth.
"You've got a decent shout," Roxanne speculated, "We're in need of two chasers. Two of the best left last year. You decent?"
Poppet swallowed, "I guess." Poppet was new to modesty. She had made the conscious decision that she would turn over a new leaf at this school and not be the asshole she was at her last school. She had made more enemies that friends from what she called being 'sassy' (but really she was just being a dick) and she didn't want to lose any of these friends she had made. These were the most friends she ever had.
"We'll see," James smirked, as he came and sat down with the girls.
"Have you still not made up with your friends?" Roxanne asked; a tone of irritation to her voice.
"They're being assholes," James retorted.
Roxanne and James argued playfully for a while. Poppet smiled and laughed along as she ate her salad but she wasn't really paying much attention. Rose had just walked into the Great Hall and had sat down with a group of fourth years. They were laughed and excitedly talking about Quidditch, from what Poppet could hear, but Rose seemed distracted. Maybe she'd had a rough time with the Potions Master.
Lunch ended and Poppet, Florence, Jocelyn and Roxanne headed down to the lake to soak up the last of the sun. It was pleasant but there was a chill to the air. The girls discussed in depth what Poppet believed to be a very mundane subject: boys. The male of the species had never really seemed like they were worth wasting time discussing, in Poppet's opinion. Sure, she had crushes on boys in the past but never perused it further. It seemed like a waste of time. She was going to wait until boys had matured. If that day ever came.
"Anyone caught your eye then, Pops?" Florence asked, giggling. She was using her wand and summoning spells to get rocks from the bottom of the lake. She was then throwing the rocks back into the water and repeating the process.
Poppet smiled, "No, I don't think so."
"You know who's growing into their looks?" Jocelyn said coyly, "Scorpius Malfoy."
Roxanne laughed, "Don't let Rose hear you say that. She hates him. I think Uncle Ron imparted that into her."
"Who's Scorpius Malfoy?" Poppet asked.
"He's a boy in Rose's year," Roxanne explained, "during the second war, his father and grandfather got caught up with... Voldemort." Even now people cringed at his name. Even after Harry Potter had killed him in the Battle of Hogwarts and everyone knew they were safe, people didn't like to hear the name of the wizard who caused so much suffering, "His father changed his ways and he married a good witch and had Scorpious. However, Uncle Ron, Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione were sort of um – rivals with Draco at school. Uncle Ron still hates him and thus, so does Rose. Can't stand him. Says he's an arrogant pure-blood bastard."
Poppet laughed, "I didn't know there were any pure-bloods left."
"They're few and far between but they're still out there," Roxanne said, "Although after the war there is much more of a... tolerance in their community for those of Muggle descent."
Poppet nodded. "So we avoid the Malfoy boy at all costs?"
"I think he's alright. Rose and Hugo hate him though. I don't think James and Al are very keen either, to be honest." Roxanne said. There was a loud 'sploosh' as Florence threw another rock into the lake. The wind was starting to pick up and a bitter gust made the girls shiver.
"We should go back up to the castle," Jocelyn said, looking around. Many other groups were picking up their belongings and heading back up to school. It was only about four in the afternoon but it was starting to get chillier. Poppet pulled herself up off the grassy bank and the four girls walked up to the castle.
They reached the common room and saw James' very crude notice about Quidditch tryouts had been covered by another piece of parchment. James was cursing, pulling it off and hiding it below his tryout notice.
"Bloody notice," He muttered, "Nobody cares about Hogsmeade."
"Ooh, gimme," Jocelyn snatched the parchment from James' hands and read it aloud to the other girls, "Hem-hem. Attention students. There will be a Hogsmeade trip in two Sundays time. If you haven't handed in your permission forms, make sure your head of house gets them immediately."
There were excited murmurs from around the common room. Poppet knew Hogsmeade was a village near the castle, as her mother had looked it up after she was given a permission slip to sign to say that Poppet was allowed to leave the castle for these outings. Apparently Honeydukes had a branch at Hogsmeade and Poppet was very excited to replenish her stock of Sugar Quills, as she had finished off her last one last night. So many exciting things were happening at once and Poppet had to remind herself to keep her mind focused on her studies.
A/N: Hi guys. Thanks for reading so far. Poppet is an OC I've had for a while and I really like her and I wanted to put her in a New Generations setting. I want your views and criticism, so let me know. Can anyone guess what secret Poppet is going to uncover. I'm going to introduce some more characters into the next few chapters. You're all awesome. Also, I am worried it may be too dialogueheavy. Let me know. Reviews are always welcome! PS: sorry for any typos!