Always good enough

[Lily Grace]

Lily knew she wasn't going to be a straight O student, but she was determind to give it her best attempt. She took herself to the library for the first time of the year, and settled out her belongings ready for work. She'd only been looking at her essay for half an hour when the panic began to set in. Glancing around the library, everyone else seemed to be so relaxed. Either talking quietly to their friends or head down and concentrating. Lily was never going to be able to pass this class, she just didn't know how to do it right. As she began to freak out, she put her head in her hands, and tried not to let any tears fall. Pull yourelf together she thought, but no matter what she did she couldn't get it out of her mind that she was simply never going to be good enough. Maybe she should just go back home now, and become the shop assistant her father always told her she would be. What was the point of ever trying for something, when everyone else said what she already was, was good enough? There was no ambition, and Lily was becoming increasingly overwhelmed that she would never be able to break that cycle.​

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[Kaia Rosemary Grimm]

After last year Kaia knew she had to work a lot harder. She knew from her cousins' experience that she needed to be more involved both academically and socially and therefore had decided that from this semester she would join clubs and study much more considering she didn't need to go off exploring the place. She took herself to the library, her books in her arms and her bag swung over her shoulder. When she got there she noticed many tables were full except for one with a girl she didn't recognise. Shrugging, Kaia went over to her and smiled at her. "Hi," she said cheerfully. "Mind if I sit here?" There weren't any other places available so the Ravenclaw hoped she'd let her sit here with her in order to finish her homework. Kaia needed the grades and she really wanted to make her parents proud of something about the school. Kaia hoped she wasn't bothering the other girl. ​

 

[Tristan Collins]

Starting classes at Hogwarts was a little bit like going to school in a foreign country, where you only knew the language a little bit. You could follow some of it, but a lot was lost to you. At least, that's how Tristan was feeling right now. Every subject he'd had so far was more strange and ridiculous than the last. And no one else seemed to be bothered by it in the slightest, was it really just him?

In order to be more prepared for his next week, he went to the library. The last time he was here he hadn't paid too much attention to books about magic or classes, he'd been too busy trying to find books about how this world compared to his own. That trip hadn't been very successful in that regard, but he was sure the library would have more information about Herbology or Transfiguration than it would about Muggle things.

He picked up a few books and looked for a place to sit. Almost every table was packed, and even though he didn't really want to disturb anyone trying to study, he also didn't want to carry these books with him all the way to the common room. With that in mind, he made his way over to a table where two girls around his age were sitting. "Excuse me, can I sit here?" He asked, smiling a bit shyly at them both.

 

[Lily Grace]

While her head was in her hands, and her eyes were pressed tighly closed, Lily heard a voice. She instantly unfolded herself, not keen to show anyone that there was anything wrong. The less questions other's asked, the happier Lily was. "Hi. Of course" she said watching the girl join her. Why did she say of course? Now the girl would think she minded! It wasn't surprising considering she had only been at the school a month, but she had no idea who this girl was. As she took a seat next to the young Hufflepuff, Lily quickly lifted her arm and pulled her book in closer to her before resting her hands back in her lap. She didn't want to be in her way. She tried glancing over to the girls books, trying to see if they gave an indication as to her name, year or house. She pulled her book again.

Just as Lily tried to focus on her work once again, another student approached them. Clearly the library was lacking space today. "Sure" she said quietly, now no longer sure whether she was the correct student to give the permission. As she looked at the boy who'd joined them, and thought she recognised him. Hadn't she seen him around the common room? Possibly. Whoever he was, Lily doubted he'd known her. She tugged at her book again, careful to not take up anyone else's personal space, and tried to concentrate on the jumble of words in front of her, occasionally glancing up to see how her fellow classmates were getting on. Why was she the only one struggling?!​

 

[Kaia Rosemary Grimm]

Kaia smiled at the girl gratefully before taking a seat. "What year are you in?" She did not want to ask her whether she was a first year or not straight out because she didn't want to scare her by guessing. The Ravenclaw was usually right with these sorts of things, guessing how old other people were. She opened up her books and started studying Charms. She had brought her Herbology notes as well to revise because she loved that class and her books had her name written at the top. She wouldn't know what to do if she lost it. Her head was so buried in the charms textbook that only after some had sat down with them did she realise someone had joined the other girl and her. Kaia smiled at him, glancing from him to the other girl and realising they were both hufflepuffs like her cousin. "Hello" she greeted quietly, smiling at him before she went back to studying.
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[Lily Grace]

Lily glanced up from her homework as the female student spoke to her. "My first" she spoke quietly, and gave her a brief smile before looking back at her textbook. The Hufflepuff wasn't sure whether she should be here, maybe the older students had priority and she should give them their space? They were the ones closer to doing exams afterall. No. She thought, she had every right to be here as much as anyone else. She had things she needed to do so she should just focus on doing them.

Her charms homework was increasingly frustrating. The matching of incantations and words seemed to just confused Lily further. If she were ever in a situation where her life depended on remembering the spells, she were surely screwed. She looked once more over to the other students, and noticed the female was doing Charms homework too. Maybe it would be worth making a few friends. She'd been so shy in her classes and in her dormatory, she'd barely gotten to know anyone. Although what made her consider she could befriend this girl instead was beyond her. "Do you like Charms?" She piped up, hoping to strike a conversation. Perhaps she'd finally be able to get to know someone?​

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was grateful that the two girls let him sit at their table and he quickly took a seat, taking out his herbology book. As much as he knew he had to focus on his homework, he couldn't help but listen to the two girls talk a little.

One of them was a first year too and Tristan smiled at her. "I'm in my first year as well." He said. The other girl looked to be a little bit older but she went back to her studies and Tristan decided not to ask anything else. Then the younger girl asked the older one if she liked charms, and Tristan bit his lip. Was he not supposed to answer? He sort of wanted to. "Uh, I like charms." He said slowly. "I think you're in my charms class, actually."

 

[Lily Grace]

Before the girl could speak, the boy Lily believed she may recognise spoke first. As he mentioned he liked Charms, there was an instant wave of hope that spread across her chest. Maybe she wouldn't have to figure this out alone. More helpful, was he also thought they shared the same class. "Are you in Hufflepuff?" She asked, unable to see any signs that would give it away without asking. So far, Lily's experience with creeping out of her comfort zone; voluntarily talking to others wasn't usually her thing, hadn't turned out so bad, yet. She was feeling a little guilty that she hadn't been able to place the boy, but to be fair Lily hadn't really paid attention to anyone yet. She was finding most students had such large attention seeking egos that all Lily wanted to do was ignore them, however these students seemed a little more mature. At her muggle primary school she was often teased for not saying much, but perhaps, with the right friends, that could change. Not willing to admit she had forgotten his name, she went first "I'm Lily" She said, glancing between both students.​

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[Kaia Rosemary Grimm]

Kaia was reading about one of the spells they had done recently when the girl answered her. She looked up, maybe deciding that studying could wait for once. She closed her book and kept it on her lap as she smiled at the younger girl. "That's cool, I'm in second year," she spoke to both of them. "I like Charms as well it's my favourite class," she said after the boy. Charms was the one class she was able to take a breather and actually not worry about having to impress her parents with, because she got it easily.

She glanced curiously as the girl's textbook and saw she was also doing charms. Maybe offering help to either one of the first years would allow her to make friends outside of her own age group. "I'm Kaia and it's nice to meet you guys. Do you need some help?" She directed the question to both of them in case they were struggling with something, if they accepted that might let them feel a lot less lost with whatever it is they needed aid. Kaia knew how daunting first year could be, especially if you weren't raised with magical parents but instead by people who knew as much magic as you did. Even with parents who studied at Hogwarts it was still not easy settling in at first. "I think I still have my notes from last year."
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[Tristan Collins]

The girls introduced themselves and Tristan tried to remember their names carefully, it would be embarrassing to mix them up later. The young nervous looking one was Lily and the older girl was named Kaia. He had been right about her age, as she said she was a second year. "I'm Tristan." He said."And yes, I'm in Hufflepuff. Are you as well?" He thought he'd seen her in the common room but there so many people around that it was hard to be sure.

The older girl offered help and Tristan sat up, interested. Any edge he could get was appreciated, though he didn't want her to think he was lazy and didn't want to do the work. "Oh! I would appreciate looking at those. I could compare them to my own notes and maybe see if I missed anything?" He smiled at her with a hint of shyness. "I mean, if you're alright with that. The past few weeks have been very overwhelming for me, I didn't even know this all existed until I got my letter."