The Houses Competition
House: Slytherin
Class: Herbology
Prompt(s): [Character] The Fat Friar
Word Count: 951
Beta: Aya, Ash, Dhrish, Hope
The Fat Friar comes across an upset student who is in need of comfort.
Making Friends
The Fat Friar was just like any other ghost at Hogwarts, pearly white and translucent. He had short hair, which he wore in a small tonsure. At first glance, anyone would believe him to be a monk; he was dressed in a habit, which was held together with rope, and he could usually be seen carrying a mug with him.
One cold October night, the Fat Friar was floating down one of the many corridors that filled the school that he had resided ever since his execution. He was about to retire for the night when he heard soft cries. Turning the corner, his eyes landed on a first year, curled up on the bench with her knees pulled up to her chest as she cried, her face hidden behind her auburn hair.
This wasn't the first time he had run across someone upset. There were lots of students who got homesick, victims of bullying, those who didn't feel that they belonged, and he was sure this wasn't going to be the last time.
A sad smile formed on his face, and the Fat Friar made his way over to the distressed little girl and sat down next to her, brushing his robes off as if they were dirty. The girl jumped in surprise. "Cold night, don't you think?" the Fat Friar commented, spooking the girl a little as she hadn't noticed his presence. "What's your name?"
The girl curled in on herself even more as she looked over at the Fat Friar, side-eyeing him, as if he was untrustworthy.
"If you don't want to tell me, that's completely fine, you don't have to. I'm known as the Fat Friar, but you can just call me the Friar. And as you can probably guess, I'm one of the ghosts at Hogwarts. Are you a first-year student?" The Friar questioned.
The small girl nodded as she started to fiddle with her sleeves, pulling on one of the loose threads.
"What house are you in?" the Friar inquired.
"Ravenclaw," the girl whispered hesitantly, almost to the point that the Friar couldn't hear her.
"Ravenclaw? A good house, with admirable traits: creativity, individuality, intuitiveness, wisdom, and intelligence. Mind you, I would say good things about any house. I don't discriminate against the houses, all houses have their good and bad… even Hufflepuff." The Fat Friar smiled at the girl. "I know you must be cold, so why don't we go inside? Let me take you to the kitchen for a mug of hot cocoa?"
"...O-okay," the girl muttered.
The Fat Friar floated next to the girl as they made their way to the giant door that led to the Hogwarts kitchen. "All you have to do is tickle the pear to open the door. You will have to do it since my finger will slip right though," the Friar instructed. When he saw how hesitant the girl was, he soothed her by saying, "Don't be scared, you can do it."
The girl reached out and tickled the pear, and the door opened up to reveal several house elves asleep on the chairs, tables, and counters, but some were still awake and cleaning. Her eyes widened when she saw the little creatures, as the Fat Friar led her inside and got her to sit on one of the empty chairs, before asking one of the elves to make her some hot cocoa. The elf was more than happy to do.
"So, would you like to tell me your name? I do need to call you something," the Friar joked. "Or should I just call you the Ravenclaw girl?"
"My name is Abby, Abby Green," the girl replied as the elf set a mug of hot cocoa in front of her with the top overflowing with tiny marshmallows.
"Abby, that's a nice name. Much better than the Friar. Tell me, Abby, why were you crying when you should be sleeping?" the Friar asked.
"I want to go home," Abby cried, wringing her hands, "I have no friends here, and I miss my mum and dad. I just want to go home."
"Let me guess, are you a Muggle-born?" the Friar said and Abby gave him a small nod. "I find that Muggle-borns get homesick easily, and they also have a hard time making friends. You know, Hogwarts can be your home away from home. That was the case for me. That is why I'm still here. Hogwarts is—and always will be—my home. I'm not ready to give it up yet. Hogwarts can be an amazing place if you give it a chance. There's so much here."
"What about friends? I don't have any," Abby spoke as a few more tears ran down her cheeks.
"In my experience, if you make one or two good friends during your time at Hogwarts, then you've done pretty well." The Friar smiled before reaching out and hovering his hand over hers. "Don't worry too much, you will make friends and you will have a wonderful time at Hogwarts. Pretty soon, you will be having so much fun you won't even remember being homesick. Now, finish up your hot cocoa so you can get to bed, you have a big day tomorrow."
"Can we be friends?" Abby asked.
"Why, yes, child, I daresay we can be." The Friar beamed.
Abby quickly finished off her hot cocoa before standing up. "Thank you, Mr. Friar, I should get back to my dorms before I get into trouble."
"Any time, child. If you ever need to talk or need a friend, I am always here. Now, run along to bed."
"Good night, Mr. Friar," Abby said with a small smile before leaving the kitchen.