Closed A Happy Coincidence

[Natsuko Hirano]

Natsuko had been exploring on her day off. She'd been doing it off and on all week, trying to find her way around better as well as just find anything interesting. The paintings had been a big surprise - some of them even talked - and now, seeing it a pleasant spring day, she decided to take a step outside. Natsuko knew the quidditch pitch already, having watched tryouts, and skipped past the lake happily to move onwards to follow a soft scent on the breeze. It turned out to be flowers, as she came across the gardens. Natsuko wasn't a green thumb by any stretch but she couldn't deny the beauty of the place as she strolled into the gardens. Sighing happily, she trailed her fingers across some of the leaves of plants. There were still a lot yet to blossom, but the daffodils and tulips were out and looking pretty. Natsuko kept walking through, enjoying herself despite the seeming lack of magic, when she noticed another student - someone familiar. It took Natsuko a second - oh yeah, she was from her dorm! Natsuko pranced over. "Hey! You're Sofia, right?" Natsuko asked pleasantly. "How are you finding school so far?"

 

[Sofia Gutierrez]

Despite her initial nervousness, Sofia found herself enjoying herself at a brand new school away from all her family. She figured all the new things to see and experience and new people to meet were overshadowing any feelings of homesickness she might feel, which she was grateful for. Still, she had just finished writing a letter to her parents to update them on her first month at Hogwarts, and decided to look for a flower or two to press into her letter before sending it off.

She'd heard about the Hogwarts Gardens and hoped she could find something pretty she could pluck and send to her mom. Spring had just begun in New Zealand so she hoped things would be in bloom. She was standing over a bush of a flower she couldn't identify when she heard someone approaching and call out to her. She looked up to see one of her dorm mates and nodded, touched that she remembered her name. She was always afraid people wouldn't remember who she was. "Hi! Natsuko right?" just to be sure she was getting it right. She smiled at the question and said, "Honestly it's been kind of fun so far," she said truthfully. "There's so much to do or see, I feel like I could never get bored here," she giggled slightly.

"What about you? Do you like it so far?" she asked curiously, remembering the girl said she was Muggleborn on their first night in the dorms. Sometimes it was overwhelming for her so she could imagine it might be a lot for someone like her too.

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

"Yeah, Natsuko!" Natsuko responded, happy to hear her name had been remembered. Natsuko nodded emphatically to what Sofia was saying. "Yeah! It's a lot of fun! Well...mostly fun." Natsuko thought back to her encounter with the head boy and couldn't say it was a positive one. She quickly moved on from that thought "Exactly! I'm trying to explore as much as possible but there always seems like there's something else new! So yes, I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm, um, a little bit worried about actually using my wand. I'm excited, but a little worried, you know?" Natsuko said nervously. "But, I suppose everyone else is using a wand for the first time too." Natsuko mused on this for a moment. "Flying is harder than I thought too," she also admitted, feeling like she could be honest.

 

[Sofia Gutierrez]

Sofia couldn't help but smile at how excited Natsuko seemed and felt her excitement contagious. When she voiced her worries about using her wand she nodded along to her explanation and said, "Exactly, even if some of us have grown up around wizarding families, you should remember we're not allowed to do magic at home, so we've pretty much got the same amount of experience as you." Sofia hoped that was encouraging for her so she would stop being so nervous about their upcoming lessons. At the mention of flying Sofia nodded vigorously in agreement. "Oh my gosh I totally agree!" she exclaimed. "Well not so much that it was hard, I guess I got it eventually, but it's just so terrifying," she amended. "I thought I would like it but I definitely did not enjoy it," Sofia admitted honestly. "All those years I spent wishing my brothers would let me play with them and it turns out I don't even like flying," she laughed lightly.

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

Natsuko nodded - that was good to know. Still, it did feel like some people had an advantage and she wished the playing field was a bit more even. It didn't get her down, though. She wasn't falling behind or anything. Natsuko laughed with Sofia when she talked about disliking flying. "I'm not sure if I dislike it, but it's harder than I thought. I really want to play quidditch, even though it looks a bit dangerous, it just seems really cool! So I hope I'll get good enough for that." It then took a moment for things to catch up to her. "Oh, you have brothers?" Natsuko asked. "It's just me and my parents at home. I don't mind though. I have some cousins and we got to play together growing up," Natsuko shared honestly.

 

[Sofia Gutierrez]

Sofia laughed lightly when Natsuko told her she wanted to play Quidditch even if it looked dangerous. "Wow! I'm sure with time you'll become good enough to get on the house team!" Sofia encouraged. "I'll just be happy cheering you on from the stands," she giggled.

When Natsuko asked about her brothers, Sofia nodded. "Yes I have two older brothers and one younger brother," she explained. She couldn't imagine being an only child, even if her brothers didn't always want to have her around, it must make her household quiet, but it was reassuring to know Natsuko had cousins to play with growing up. "That's good! I bet they were nicer than my brothers at least," she laughed lightly. "Since I'm the only girl they still left me out sometimes, like with playing Quidditch," she shrugged lightly. "It used to bother me a lot but now not so much I guess." This is why she was looking forward to making female friends at school, but she didn't want to come off too eager and tell Natsuko that. "That's why I signed up for Heta Omega, to see what it's like to have 'sisters'," Sofia told her. "Did you sign up for any clubs other than the Brew Crew?" she asked, recalling her at the booth by the Great Hall.

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

Natsuko waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, but was clearly pleased to be told that she'd make the team (even with the qualifier). There were no guarantees, but everyone had been encouraging about it so far and it was starting to go to Natsuko's head a little. "Ohh, that sounds a bit rough," Natsuko said thoughtfully. "I have one guy cousin and he's a bit older but he's cool. My other cousins are girls but younger and they always want to play dress up. Which is fun the first ten times. Plus they wanted to be princesses and not witches." Natsuko smiled at the memory. "Oh! Yeah, I signed up for Heta Omega and I signed up for the Quidditch Club! I hope the Brew Crew will be good. Did you sign up for any others?"

 

[Sofia Gutierrez]

Sofia smiled as Natsuko described how she used to play with her cousins, envious of being able to play princesses. Perhaps they were too old for that now, but she looked forward to getting dressed for future events like the Yule Ball together where they got to wear nice dresses, so it was kind of like playing princesses anyway right?

She grinned happily when Natsuko said she signed up for Heta Omega, glad she would have someone she knew there too. "Wow there's a Quidditch club too?" she wondered. She wasn't interested in joining it but at least it meant Natsuko could learn more about Quidditch and join the team the next year. "I joined the Wild Patch club as well," she smiled happily. "My mom has a little greenhouse at our home where she grows herbs and vegetables so I hope it'll be like when I try to help her at home. I'm actually here in the garden looking for some flowers to send back to her in my letter," Sofia said, gesturing around them at the garden and holding up the envelope with her letter.