Open Eyes Wide with Wonder

[Lars van Houten]

Lars had never been in a place as magnificent as Hogwarts castle. Everywhere he went, he felt like he didn't have enough time to take everything in. He had never been in a castle before, and now that he was here he had to fight the urge to draw and paint everything he saw. He knew he had seven years, but even that wouldn't be enough time to paint everything here that caught his eye, which was just about everything. Sketches took less time, but even that would be difficult to accomplish, especially if he had to focus on schoolwork too. At the feast last night, he'd had plenty of time to appreciate and admire the beautiful great hall. The same was true for his common room and dormitory, which had both been lovely in shades of blue. But this morning on his way to breakfast, he found himself stopping in the entrance hall to look around. It wasn't as magnificent as the great hall but it definitely had its own kind of beauty. Lars decided to look around for a bit before heading to breakfast, wandering around on his own in silence. From the corner of his eye, he noticed he got a few odd looks as he trailed his hand over a wall and marveled at the texture, but he didn't mind. They couldn't know he was simply wondering how old these stones were, and if they did they would probably still find it a bit odd. Eventually he stopped in front of the hourglasses for each house, admiring the gemstones in each one. Their colors were so vibrant, and he gently touched the glass of the Ravenclaw hourglass with his fingertips. He wished he could reach through and pick up one of the sapphires so he could admire it at every angle, but he didn't think that was possible even if he asked a professor.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

The beginning of a new school year had once been a source of much anxiety and dread for Monty: long days, sleepless nights, and, when he finally did manage to drift off, nightmares in which he lived out every classroom catastrophe even remotely plausible, so that by morning his overactive imagination had twice as much to feed upon. But things had changed. Which things exactly, he couldn't determine - the process had been gradual, promoted somewhat by the help he had received from Maria, and from the therapist he had sought outside of school. He didn't relish taking advice from his mother, but on this occasion, he had not the pride to deny she had been right.

Still, he was not cured. Hesitating outside the great hall, debating whether or not he felt too sick to eat, he wondered if he would ever completely overcome his anxiety. Probably not. But that was OK. He glanced around, and his eye was caught by a young first year staring into the Ravenclaw hourglass, his fingertips on the glittery surface. Monty smiled. As a child, he too had been beguiled by those stones, though he had not had the courage then to examine them so closely. Hands held behind his back, he approached the boy. "I hope you're deep in thought about the many thousands of house points you intend to earn for Ravenclaw," he said, with a poorly-suppressed grin. "I see you've found your hourglass. A little empty at the moment, but I'm sure it'll soon fill up. How are you doing - all right?" Being away from home, especially if for the first time, could be a daunting experience, and Monty liked to make sure the new first years weren't struggling by themselves. In this case he wondered what the boy was doing out here while everybody else had begun breakfast.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars glanced over at the other hourglasses, imagining what it would look like if all gems were together in one. The colors would probably be a bit overwhelming, but very pretty too. He would have liked to see that, but imagining it was almost just as good. He jumped slightly when someone spoke, turning his head to look up at the man behind him. He was a professor, Lars knew that much, but he didn’t really know who this man was yet. Fleur had talked about some of her professors in the past, but not in enough detail that Lars could place this man. The professor’s words made him think, then shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking about that.” He said honestly. “I was thinking about how beautiful the sapphires are and how I would like to hold one and maybe see what they look like in natural light.” He decided honesty was best, in case the man was interested in his real reason for looking at it and not just making a joke for no reason. He agreed silently that it was empty at the moment, but didn’t think it worth commenting on really. The man’s assurance that it would fill up soon was something Lars believed immediately, as he probably knew from experience. His next question took him off guard, and he wondered if he didn’t look alight. Maybe staring at the hourglass was so strange that it was concerning this professor a little. Lars tried his best to look normal and very much alright as he nodded. “I am. Alright, I mean.” He said quickly, nodding again. “I like being in Ravenclaw, the common room is nice and a very lovely shade of blue.” Lars liked almost every color, but he did like some shades more than others. “My sister is in a different house, but that’s okay.” He added. “Are you alright too?” He asked, deciding that it would only be polite to inquire back. "Professor." He added after a beat, remembering that that was polite too.