Different yet the same

[Ashlynn Lee]

It had taken Ashlynn at least a full hour to get from the Slytherin dungeons to the seventh floor. She had stopped counting after the first hour. Heck, it had almost taken her an hour to get out of the winding halls of the dungeons! She wondered how she was going to survive the next seven years here, even though she figured that she'd get used to all the twists and turns after a while. She chuckled as she remembered her first day, when she'd gone from floor three to floor four on six different staircases because she couldn't remember which one she'd gone up or down and where she was at all. A few seconds later, she walked straight into a wall, bumping her forehead. Ashlynn frowned. Today was seriously not her day. But she hoped seeing Cherie would cheer her up. That's what she had come up here for in the first place.

She hadn't seen her childhood friend since that day before school, when she and Cherie and Collin had all met in the park, by coincidence. After asking around at school, some Gryffindors told her with glares that Cherie had been sorted into Gryffindor. Ashlynn still didn't understand the Gryffindor-Slytherin hate thing, but she sure got the point that a good number of Gryffindors hated Slytherins and vice versa. That point was made clearer as a few passing Gryffindor girls glared in her direction. Well, maybe it was sort of her fault for hanging around the seventh floor, where she knew the Gryffindor common room was. She just didn't know exactly where, but she sure hoped she was getting close.

 

[Cherie Jin]

Cherie sighed. She had come out of the Gryffindor common room. She wanted to go down to the dungeons to see Ashlynn, and had finally built up the courage to do so. Most Slytherins hated Gryffindors, right? So she would be a target. The older students... Cherie, she had thought, annoyed at herself. You are Cherie Jin. If someone hurts you, they'll get hurt back. You're being a whimp. Then she had walked in to the corridor. Immediately she noticed an old friend. She ran straight towards her friend, not caring about the strange looks from other people. She hugged her friend.

"Ashlynn!" Cherie said. "Thanks so much for coming up here. I was about to go down to the dungeons to see you. I've heard it's freaky down there." She sighed as she noticed people look at them oddly again. "What, houses are stereotypes now?" she said to Ashlynn. "Really, they're missing out on everything. Because you're awesome." She winked. "So what's up before I talk too much?"

 

[Ashlynn Lee]

Ashlynn had been wandering around the seventh floor for almost fifteen minutes now, and she was beginning to wonder whether the seventh floor was actually the seventh floor or not. Maybe she was actually on the sixth floor. Or maybe the Gryffindor dorms weren’t on the seventh floor and she’d been tricked by the upperclassmen. Or…maybe she’d remembered wrong and they had said something else. She frowned and bit her lip, wracking her brains. No, she was quite sure they told her the seventh floor. I’ll just wait a while longer and see if I can ask someone, she thought. If nobody comes out, I’ll just leave and find Cherie at mealtime or something.

A few minutes later, a boy came around the corner that looked a little older than her, and Ashlynn walked toward him. “Uh excuse me!” She called, but he didn’t acknowledge her. She frowned again. Darnit. She was just about to give up and go back downstairs when she heard someone call her name. Whirling around, she saw with relief that it was Cherie.

“Cherie!” She said happily as Cherie ran over and hugged her. Ashlynn hugged her back, laughing. “It used to be freaky, but I think I’m used to it now. But it’s really hard to find your way around down there. It took me a really long time getting up here myself.” Ignoring the glares of some passing Gryffindors, she smiled. “I know! And the Slytherins are missing out too. Some of them just stay cooped up down there; they should come up here and meet people. I’ve been around the castle a few times, just trying to get to know it better.” She laughed. “I’d say it’s not working too well though. You?”

 

[Cherie Jin]

"I don't think it's quite fair," Cherie said. "I mean, we get to be up high in the castle, while you're in the dungeons. I mean, it's cruel. But you're tough, so you can handle it. Right?" A smile appeared on her face. "I don't think that those people are smart. I mean, get some air! And some sunlight! I mean, being in a dungeon may not be the best think for your skin." She blushed. "Sorry, I became obsessed with fashion and er, trying not to let it get in the way of conversation."

Cherie was silent for a few awkward moments. "Anywho," she said. "I've been great. Trying to do lessons like Collin told me to. Still getting used to the castle as well. I don't even know a quarter of it. I know how to get to the great hall and the classrooms, plus the seventh floor, but I don't really know much else."

 

[Ashlynn Lee]

Cherie had changed. Not a lot, but she wasn’t quite like the Cherie Ashlynn had known from her childhood. It wasn’t a bad change; Ashlynn knew many of the girls their age were the same way. Ashlynn herself wasn’t quite the same either. But no matter, Cherie was still Cherie and that would never change. She grinned. “No, I agree!” Looking around, she lowered her voice. “I’d say a good lot of them need to get out from under the ground. Some of them look like they’ve never seen the sun in all their time here.” Raising her voice again, she continued, “Not all of them are half bad though. Some of them are like me.” She grinned and posed. “Awesome.”

She sighed, thinking about the castle. “Yeah, I guess we’ll all learn the ins and outs of this place soon enough. I hope. It’s pretty cool just being here. It’s cooler when you don’t have to figure your way around though.”

 

[Cherie Jin]

Cherie grinned. "Heh, they won't need to buy any sunscreen, then," she said. "If they don't come out from there. But they must be like salamanders, soaking up the dampness from under their rock." She winked at Ashlynn. "They should definitely follow your example. They wouldn't follow mine at all. Most likely. What I don't understand is this whole rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It doesn't have to be like this." Cherie rolled her eyes as she noticed more glares from people in Gryffindor colors. "All of a sudden it seems like I'm supposed to just give up my best friend because of some dumb rivalry. It's so darn stupid!"

She blushed for her little outburst. "Sorry, it's just really annoying," she said. "I agree with you there. Man, I wish I had a map. Then I could just look at it until I knew where everything was. But nope, gotta just explore and see if I'm right. I've been a little late for class because of not knowing where I'm going."