Getting the Hang of Things

[Audra Lynch]

The first few days at Hogwarts had been exhausting. First, the beginning of the year feast and unpacking her clothing and trinkets. Then, she had joined in on a tour of the castle and a party for meeting first years. Now, classes were beginning and Audra felt frustrated; this new world provided a lot of challenges, one being that she had absolutely no background in many of these classes.

Audra quietly opened the doors to the library, books in hand. She surveyed the room looking for an empty spot. There were more people than she had expected there to be at the beginning of the year. Not surprisingly, many of them were in blue robes, though they seemed to be older. Audra figured the classes were more intense as you got into your later years.

She trekked to a table near the middle of the room that was free from people, she felt rude interrupting anyone studying so hard right as the school year began. She pushed her books onto the table and gave them a once-over; her books and notes covered topics over Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. They were stacked on the edge of the table as she sat down and when she went to grab her Transfiguration notes, her hand whacked the side of the book tower. Down they went with a CRASH! Audra closed her eyes and winced before bending down to pick them all up. This time she placed them near the middle to avoid a scene again. She could feel all eyes on her and she felt incredibly embarrassed at her clumsiness, it always had been a problem.

"SHHH!" a student walked up to her table. Audra's eyes shot up and looked the student over. She couldn't tell if it was meant to be scolding or if it was just a joke. Her mouth fell open as her cheeks turned bright red in pure embarrassment. Things were not going too great at the beginning of her first year at Hogwarts. "I-I'm so sorry..." she bumbled ridiculously, "I'm really truly sorry, I'll try my best to be quiet."

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Even though Geo had tried to release the reigns of her classes somewhat, promising herself that she wasn't going to get quite as bogged down as she had last year, she still found herself frequently visiting the library. She wanted to keep her grades up although it did help that she'd had found a few other hobbies to now in between studying that Geo didn't feel the tension quite as dramatically she had once before. Her blue eyes glanced up from her Charms textbook, another favourite as ever, when someone who looked like they may have been a first year decided to decorate the floor with their books. It wasn't unusual for noises to be made in the library, but it was uncalled for that one of the other students decided to comment on their way past. That was no way to treat someone who'd just joined, and they should have known better regardless of their age. Closing her textbook, Geo removed herself from her chair, making her way past a few other students buried already in their homework and across to the girl, sliding into a new seat at the table opposite her. "Apparently some people have nothing better to be doing with their free time. As if you need more things to worry about when you've just joined a new school," she started, noting the blush in the girls cheeks and remembering what it was like to be a first year, she didn't want anyone to feel as though they were being excluded. "Geo," she added simply, hoping the introduction was self explanatory. "What are you reading?" Attempting to distract her from focusing too much on the blunder, and perhaps get her excited about the start of her lessons.
​

 

[Audra Lynch]

Audra sat in her chair after picking up her books and took several deep breaths. I'm making an absolute fool of myself, she thought as a tear formed in her eye. The student who had shushed her had kept walking but the embarrassment floated in the air surrounding her.

Another student, older this time, came to sit by her. Audra immediately felt nervous that she was about to be scolded again. Her introductory sentence brought a sigh of relief from Audra's lips; as the girl stated her name, Audra followed, "I'm Audra." Her lips curved into a half smile, feeling much better than she had only thirty seconds before that.

She peered down at her stack of books and read a few of the titles off. "I have to study for each of these because we don't learn these in the normal world. Well except for Astronomy, I know a little about that..." She was thankful for an older student showing her a little kindness; it was refreshing to interact with anyone that wasn't a first year, especially because she was beginning to miss her older siblings.

"What year are you? Are the classes different when you're a bit older?" Audra was a curious girl, always asking questions. She folded her arms on the table and turned her attention away from the books over to Geo.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo grinned as she introduced herself, "That's a nice name," she added, not knowing anyone else called that before. She liked to hear names because it inspired her for when it came to making her own. The Hufflepuff nodded as Audra went through the list of classes she was taking, concern for her rising a little as she mentioned she hadn't learnt any of these before. "Are you from a muggle family?" she asked out of interest. She had many friends that were muggle born, but everyone took to magic a little differently and some found the change of environment easier than others. Hearing that the Ravenclaw liked Astronomy, it gave her idea that the first year may have appreciated. Rummaging around in her bag, she pulled out the pair of moon glasses that she'd gotten over the holidays. They looked more or less like circular sunglasses, except the lenses had a few colours in it when it was shone in a particular light, and the frames were golden. "Put those on and tell me what you see out the window," They had been useful for Geo during her own lessons, as when she wore them the sky would turn black as night, allowing the stars to contrast against the sky. "I'm a fourth year," It still felt strange that she'd already had three years behind her, and another three ahead of her. Time was flying past so fast and even though there had been difficulties, she thought that she would be graduating before she knew it. "In third year you can drop classes if you want to, and then you can choose from a number of elective subjects to pick up, depending of course on what you like and what you want to do after school." Even though Geo knew what she wanted to do, she'd elected to take all subject under the sun, and for a second year running she hoped she wasn't going to come to regret it. "My favourite is Charms though. Professor Hadan is amazing," she grinned, knowing Audra would have him too.
​

 

[Audra Lynch]

"My family are all muggles, yeah," the word muggles felt weird leaving her mouth, what a strange word it is. She thought about what her family was doing there without her around anymore. She wondered if they missed her as much as she missed them. "It's very different here. What about your family?"

Geo pulled out a strange pair of sunglasses from her bag and offered them to Audra. She held them in her hand for a moment, turning them over to see what they were for. She followed Geo's instructions and walked to the nearest window; Audra put the glasses on and her face lit up! "No way! You can see the stars in broad daylight! This is amazing!" She turned back to Geo, taking the glasses off and noticing a few more stares from her careless excitement. Audra smiled nervously again, realizing that she ought to be more considerate of others.

Once back at the table, she handed them back to Geo, "That was really cool, thanks for letting me try them." She was quieter this time as she spoke. Geo explained classes from third year up and mentioned Charms being her favorite. "Charms seems like a really cool class, I can't wait to get to know everything! In time, of course. That's one of those where I'm not sure if I'll get it right away because I don't know that sort of stuff already." A thoughtful face dawned on her as she thought a little about the lessons she had so far in her classes.

Suddenly another question popped into her head, "Which classes do you take?" Audra was happy to have met an older student so she could get a little insight on all things Hogwarts - plus new friends were her favorite. She clasped her hands together as she prepared to have a conversation with the fourth year instead of what she originally came in the library for; Audra certainly didn't mind the company.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo nodded although the smile faded for a brief second when Audra asked about her family. "My friends are my family." She smiled, hoping that the younger girl wasn't going to delve into it any further. It wasn't that she hadn't got used to people asking her about it and her personal circumstances, however she'd recently lost a few of her friends over the holidays, and that in itself felt as though her family at Hogwarts was falling apart. She'd spent the last few weeks trying to focus on those she did have around her though, and she would be forever grateful to have those that still cared.

The Hufflepuff grinned widely once again as the girl tried out the glasses, glad that she found them as interesting as she did. "No problem, you can buy some during the Brightstone weekends if you're interested. They help a lot in Astronomy lessons," she laughed lightly, tucking them back into her bag. Geo knew where Audra was coming from, she knew plenty of other students that hadn't grown up with magic and so joining Hogwarts was the first time they'd used it. "I grew up in a magical orphanage," Geo admitted. It was only last year that she'd been more open about her childhood, although she was started to learn it was alright to tell people. "We weren't allowed to do magic, but we were aware of it." Occasionally a few things would happen around the home that were unavoidable, but it wasn't as though the children had been doing things on purpose. "Some of the subjects take a little longer to get used to, and it is strange when you can make things happen that most people can't, but everyone here's going through a similar thing, or they have done as some point, and there's always other students and professors you can talk to if you are worried about it." As far Geo was aware, everyone was here for a reason and had something to give, and even if they learnt at different rates, it was important that they first learnt to trust themselves and what they were doing in order to perform to the best of their abilities.

"I take them all actually," the fourth year replied, knowing that it sounded ridiculous out loud as it did in her head. She wanted to take them all for at least two years in the fear that she'd never try something she may end up loving, but as her workload was increasing every semester she knew she was going to have to evaluate what she prioritised most, and perhaps even drop a few classes. "I want to be an Auror after school, make use of being a Metamorphmagus and help people where I can." she smiled. It had been her dream for as long as she could remember.
​

 

[Audra Lynch]

Audra was interested in Geo's life prior to Hogwarts once she mentioned living in a magical orphanage but decided it would be something to discuss at a later date since she had only just met her and she was sure it was a touchy topic. Geo was reassuring in telling Audra that she could turn to just about anyone for help and Audra nodded as she looked down at the table. She studied the patterns in the wood as she listened to the older student begin to talk about her classes. "All of them! Geez, that's a lot." Audra understood where she was coming from though; she had been taught since she was little to try everything and learn as much as possible - a big reason for why she always seemed to find herself in the library.

Geo began to talk about wanting to be an Auror but Audra was not familiar with the word. She didn't want to interrupt her so she just sat with a confused look on her face. When Geo stopped, Audra asked her about it, "I don't even know what an Auror is... Is that a job you can have after Hogwarts?"

Audra thought a little about what kind of jobs they must have and wondered if she would end up in a magical job someday or if she would just go back to normal muggle life. She wasn't sure yet which she preferred. She propped her chin up onto her hands and shook her leg a bit, she was beginning to feel antsy as she hadn't been outside all day and couldn't stand to sit still for too long.