New faces

[Bobby Hughes]

Bobby was relieved to get past the sorting part of his first day at magic school. He was so excited to be in Gryffindor! He was so excited to tell his parents too, after he explained to them exactly what a Gryffindor was! His vague  understanding was that the brave ones were put in Gryffindor and he felt proud to be chosen for such a house.

Immediately after the Sorting Hat annonced his house, Bobby scanned each table then walked towards the Gryffindors and seated himself at an open spot. After having such a rush of excitment, everything crashed down hard when he realised he was alone and he didn't feel so brave anymore. He wasn't really alone with so many people around him but he didn't know any of them yet to talk to.

He looked up the long table at his new housemates and tried to find a friendly face. Most were already conversing with friends and he wasn't feeling brave enough to interrupt as the muggle born didn't understand half the topics of conversations. Bobby just watched the remaining first years being sorted, and listened to near by conversations he wish he could be part of, hoping he would find someone to talk to soon.

 

[Anora Walsh]

Anora had waited for the day when she would finally be able to go to Hogwarts and be sorted. Today was that day, and to put the icing on the cake, she was sorted into Gryffindor! Based on what her parents had told her about the Hogwarts Houses, all the people who sought out adventure and were brave were put into Gryffindor. All Anora really wanted to do now that she was sorted was make some friends, maybe even gain a partner-in-crime, and go on some life-changing adventures.

It took almost all the willpower in Anora not to jump up and down and start squealing after the Sorting Hat placed her into Gryffindor. She cheerfully sauntered towards what looked like the Gryffindor table (I mean, everyone was wearing maroon there so it wasn't that hard) and looked for an open seat.

Seeing an open seat next to a lonely-looking boy, Anora knew that she had to go over there. She skidded across the floor - making an excellent entrance if she could say so herself - and stopped right behind the boy.

"Heya!" Anora greeted him, smiling as his face brightened. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

 

[Bobby Hughes]

Bobby clocked the new arrival in his peripherals seconds before her actual arrival at the house table. Bobby witnessed the impressive skid across the Great Hall towards him. He thought she must've been passing by but when the girl passed his right shoulder without emerging past his left, he deduced that she had either taken some kind of tumble, or stopped behind him and was talking to him. It turned out to be the latter and Bobby did not mind one bit.

Bobby swivelled to face her and smiled at the cheery girl, his mood instantly lifted with someone to talk to. "Hey. Sure, take a seat." He replied, already feeling more relaxed than he had a few minutes ago. "I'm Bobby, what's your name?"

 

[Anora Walsh]

"I'm Anora." Anora smiled and sat down next to Bobby. She was relieved that she wouldn't be left to awkwardly sit alone, after all, sitting alone isn't a good way to make friends! Anora wanted to talk to Bobby, but she didn't want to come across as rude or obnoxious. Should she ask him where he lives? Nah, that'll be too stalker-like. What about his favorite color? Nah, that's too basic. Favorite dog breed? No, first of all, that is not how you start a first conversation with someone, and second, he might not even like dogs! Anora wondered whether or not he had a dog, or was he more of a cat person? Or not an animal person at all? Or allergic to one or the other?

Anora realized that there was an awkward silence while she was lost in her thoughts. "This is a completely random question but it's bugging me a lot: are you a cat person or a dog person?" Anora laughed at herself, wondering where she found the courage to ask such a strange conversation-starter.

 

[Bobby Hughes]

"Cool name." He stated, riding through the awkward silence and hoping that wasn't the end of their conversation.

He opened his mouth ready to say something then shut it as Anora spoke first, asking him an extremely personal question. Bobby thought about his answer for a moment, thrown by its randomness. "I'm gonna have to say I'm sided with dogs." He shrugged, "I like their loyalty and playfulness. Cats are moody and take themselves too seriously don't you think?" Satisfied that his answer made sense Bobby felt more comfortable in his new environment. His smile became natural and his shoulders started to feel looser and relaxed.

"Okay I have a question for you which has been bugging me too. Are you an early bird or a night owl?" He asked, it was the first question to come to his head.

 

[Anora Walsh]

Anora felt a wave of relief as she heard Bobby respond — she had hoped that her question wasn't so random that he would choose to ignore her. "I agree!" Anora replied with a smile. "Dogs for the win!"

Anora waited to see if Bobby would continue and was glad that he did. "That's an easy question for me — I'm a night owl all the way! I'm probably as far from a morning person as there is." Anora chuckled, thinking about how much she hated mornings. "And you?"