Have you met my...?

[Madeline Walden]

Being in third year made Maddie feel quite grown up. Especially because she was no longer the youngest of the school, she was finally getting established in Hogwarts and she felt like she actually belonged there. Which was just as well because now her little brother Aaron had arrived at the school and he was sorted into Gryffindor with her. Maddie felt sorry for Professor Kingsley now that she had two Walden's in her house and they were both as bad as each other.

Aaron had been pestering Maddie to show him around the grounds of Hogwarts and rather reluctantly she agreed. Even though she was supposed to be spending the day with her best friend. She hoped that Charlotte wouldn't mind her little brother tagging along with them. She decided to wait by the doors of the entrance hall for her so they could make their way outside.

 

[Aaron Walden]

In a strange turn of events, Aaron found himself asking his sister for a guided tour around the Hogwarts grounds. This way he would be at an advantage from his fellow students and Maddie seemed to know all the interesting places to go so Aaron thought that he could show his friends the interesting sights. It would be strange to hang out with his sister at the school, she had been absent for the most part of two years previously so Aaron didn't know what to expect now they were at the same school together.

He followed Maddie out of the Gryffindor Common Room and down to the Entrance Hall then hopefully outside. However, she paused outside the Entrance Hall doors as if she was waiting for someone. "Wha.. why are we here Mads?" he asked his sister, confused as to why they had stopped. He wanted to get outside straight away, he loved the outdoors which was a trait that the siblings both shared.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte was in her third year now which definitely meant another year of exploring with her best friends. She was yet again going to go out for another adventure with Maddie and she was very excited. It was her first adventure of the year and she only knew that it was going to be a great one. She dressed in the most comfortable clothes she could find and made her way to the entrance hall where she saw Maddie waiting for her with a younger boy who seemed to look identical to her. "Hey!" Charlotte exclaimed as she came closer to the pair. "Who's this?" She gestured to the boy standing beside Maddie who Charlotte could only imagine was someone related to her considering how similar they looked to each other and gave him a friendly smile. She never recalled Maddie saying that she had a relative coming to Hogwarts before and it made her even more excited for the adventure that they were going to have today.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie shushed her brother who decided to ask her lots of questions, "you'll see!" she said to him, almost jumping up and down with excitement. She knew that Aaron and Charlotte would get along because Aaron was awfully similar to Maddie and he loved all the things Charlotte did and the best way for them to meet, and to realise this, was to go exploring together!

Maddie saw Charlotte walk towards them in the Entrance Hall and the young Gryffindor broke out into a huge smile, she gave her best friend a hug and walked her over to her brother who was waiting for them by the large, double wooden doors. "Charlotte, this is my brother Aaron. Aaron, this is my best friend Charlotte" she said introducing them to each other. "He's a little baby first year and got sorted into Gryffindor with me!" she said giggling. Teasing her brother was one of her favourite past times and now they were both in the same house she could make up for the two years she had missed while being at Hogwarts without him.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

As Maddie began to introduce her little brother to Charlotte, it made her think of her own brother who would be due to sort next year. If he was sorted into the same house as her she wouldn't know how her parents would cope, especially after all of the drama when Charlotte was sorted two years ago. Slytherin was just bad luck for her family and she only hoped for her brother's sake that he would be sorted into a different house, despite how more comfortable she would be having a sibling in her house. She was glad that her best friend and her best friend's brother were sorted into the same house nonetheless and smiled, knowing that Aaron was going to have a great year of exploring this year if he joined the pair of them every time they went out. "Should we go then? Where did you want to go? There's so many places that I just don't know." Charlotte said, chuckling as she spoke to the pair. "Where haven't you been before?" She looked to Aaron, hoping that she'd be able to show him around. Successfully helping a first year would definitely tick off something from Charlotte's bucket list.

 

[Aaron Walden]

Suddenly it all made sense and Aaron was less confused about the whole situation. He supposed that it would be good to have another person show him around Hogwarts. He just hoped the two girls wouldn't be gossiping the whole time. Aaron wanted to go on an adventure not be a third wheel to their catch up. He was thankful that Charlotte seemed to want to get on with it as quickly as he did and he grinned at her when she suggested they leave. "Lets go!" he agreed with the Slytherin girl while moving on the spot. He had so much energy and so much inspiration to go out and explore the grounds. He shrugged his shoulders "I haven't been out in the grounds much. I want to see the most exciting places you can show me!" he said smiling at the two older girls hoping they knew the best place to go.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Aaron's excitement was infectious. Maddie started doing the same dance on the spot waiting for the three of them to make a decision. She racked her brains for the best place to take Aaron and then she had an idea. The most obvious place would be the Forest but everybody goes there first. Maybe the Lake would be a better idea? "Hm..." she began tapping her chin "what about the Lake?" she suggested to the other two. "What do you think Charlotte? Which place is best for my baby brother?" she asked her friend while squeezing her brother's shoulders.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte chuckled at the first year's enthusiasm. He seemed exactly like the type of person she would have imagined to be Maddie's brother, and it was too obvious that he was a true Gryffindor. The Slytherin really wanted to show him somewhere special and so she nodded at Maddie's suggestion, eager for them to get going. "The Lakefront it is!" she exclaimed, leading the way out onto the Hogwarts grounds. She turned to Aaron and smiled as she walked. "The Lake has lots of magical creatures in it. I don't know much about them but hopefully we can see if we can find something. One of my friends, who is a seventh year now, said he found a mermaid and actually spoke to it! The only time I've ever seen a mermaid is in a book but I'm sure if you visit the lake regularly that eventually one will find the courage to talk to you." It was quite obvious that Charlotte was extremely excited as she babbled on. Making friends with a first year definitely didn't seem too hard at all.

 

[Aaron Walden]

Aaron grinned at the Slytherin girl, he could see why Maddie and Charlotte were best friends they were so similar. He bounced off of both the girls energies and listened intently to Charlotte's story about mermaids in the Lake as they left the Entrance Hall. His mind filled with all kinds of different possibilities if they were to find a mermaid in the Lake, or anything in the lake for that matter. He ran ahead of the girls to reach the Lake first, he was way too excited to dawdle "come on slow coaches!" he called out. He couldn't wait to see what they might find in the lake.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie was thrilled that her best friend and her little brother were getting on so well. It was always a nerve wracking time when you introduced two people closest to you, to each other. But it had gone so well and she couldn't be any more pleased. She followed Aaron out of the Entrance Hall to the Lake and absentmindedly chatted to Charlotte as he ran ahead. Maddie favoured the Lake herself and had spent many an afternoon watching the ripples in the water. But she had never seen a magical creature in the Lake before and was extremely jealous of the friend that Charlotte was talking about who had seen, arguably, the best magical creature - a mermaid. Maddie soon reached the edge of the Lake and shot Charlotte a mischievous look. "Let's jump in!" she shouted to the other two.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte enjoyed chatting to her best friend as they approached the lake. Maddie's brother seemed so much like her and Charlotte smiled as Aaron hurried them along and proceeded to walk a bit faster, excited to see what they would find. The offer to jump into the lake seemed like such a big one, especially since Charlotte was in her favourite robes. The girl had joked about it many of times with her friends but had never actually thought of doing it. Charlotte didn't want Aaron to think that she was a coward and so, after a bit of hesitation, Charlotte took off her shoes and jumped straight in, laughing once she came back up to the surface. "Come on, now it's your turn!" she exclaimed, smiling at them both. The water was much colder than what she expected and the girl shivered, hoping that nothing was going to grab her from behind. She had heard heaps of stories and myths about the lake and she hoped that half of them weren't so true.