There was a slightly tattered magazine in her hands and a mane of platinum-blonde curls cascading down her back and a hazy half-smile on her face, and Cho was not sure what to make of all that.
But this was one of the only compartments she'd seen that wasn't completely full, or worse, occupied by older students. Despite it being her third year now, the task of choosing somewhere to sit on the Hogwarts Express was still terribly daunting. And so Cho braced herself, plastering what she hoped was a friendly smile onto her face before carefully knocking on the door.
The girl looked up from her magazine, pushing a pair of multicolored glasses up from where they'd slipped down the bridge of her nose.
"Hello," Cho managed to softly stammer out.
A sparkling smile spread across the girl's face, and she offered an enthusiastic wave, welcoming Cho into the compartment. "Hello!" she chirped brightly.
Cho bit her lip, not quite sure what to say. She was tentative as she sat down opposite the girl, peering with interest at her magazine- The Quibbler, it seemed to be called- before realizing that she was staring and averting her gaze elsewhere.
She was staring blankly at her faded reflection in the glass door when the girl spoke again. "I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood. First year."
Shaking herself from her stupor, Cho offered a small smile back. It was not nearly as vivacious as Luna's, but it was something. "I'm Cho Chang. Ravenclaw, third year," she replied, her voice slow, cautious, and careful as always.
"Ravenclaw!" Luna echoed, her blue eyes growing wide and animated. "I'm hoping to be in Ravenclaw," she admitted. "It's where Mum always said I'd be. But I think I could be in Hufflepuff, too. I wouldn't mind being in Hufflepuff." She tugged at a lock of her platinum-blonde hair as she talked a mile a minute. "I wonder what it's like to be Sorted- what's it like?"
It took Cho a moment to realize she'd been asked a question. "It's um, interesting. I'm not sure how to describe it…" Cho trailed off. Her decision had been a quick one- a brief deliberation between Slytherin and Ravenclaw before the latter had been chosen.
Luna bobbed her head in an understanding nod. "I'm sure it is," she said genuinely. "But I can see why. It sounds like a complicated process…"
And just like that she was talking once more, and Cho was more than content to listen.
It was nice, she realized, to just listen.
To not have to worry so much about herself for once. To not have the scrutinizing eyes of her parents, her peers, and her professors all trained on her every move.
Luna, she realized, did not seem the type to have to deal with such scrutiny. Carefree and effortlessly happy, she looked as though nothing could faze her.
Perhaps this decidedly peculiar first-year could teach Cho a thing or two.
And so she leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands as she nodded along to what the other girl was saying. She continued to listen and dared to hope.
