Revelling in the breeze.

[Hariah Meadow]

At the first chance she got Hariah went outside. It felt good to be out of the busyness of the school. Hariah was not used to this at all. Home schooling was so different. She could be independent and make her own choices and do what she wanted at any time of the day without anyone else interfering.

Being part of the youngest and smallest students in the school, everything looked ten times more crowded than it actually was. She felt a bit lost without the guidance of her father, who was always there. Of course she could send him owls but what good would that do really? She just hoped she'd find someone to share the experience with soon. The students she met on the train seemed to have vanished for the moment.

She sat down by the lake and watched as the breeze danced across the water. She wondered how the students she sat with on the train were getting on and what houses they got sorted into. Hariah was extremely happy that she got sorted into Gryffindor, a family tradition. Her father had been a Gryffindor so had her grandmother and her great grandfather.

 

[Mima Scarlet]

Mima liked being outside. It was different. She wasn't permitted out of the manor much - although she did often sneak out at nighttime, usually with Alice for company, because the ghost was as sick of the manor as Mima was. And the castle wasn't much different. Yes, it was fun to explore, but things began to look the same after a while. Being outside was refreshing. Having the sun shine on her pale skin was an odd feeling, but she kind of liked it. She felt almost rejuvenated.

It was also nice to get away from the people, too. Hufflepuff house felt so crowded. So many people - the eleven year old felt honestly overwhelmed. Mima had spent so many days in solitude, with only a ghost, the portraits, and her imagination for company. She'd had Stella's company recently, which was nice once she'd opened up to the young woman, but it had been so awkward at first. Zelda Scarlet was far too busy writing novels that Mima wasn't even allowed to read, to bother teaching her daughter much about the world.

Of course, that meant that poor Mima had little idea of how to cope with a school environment. For instance, walking in to someone while lost in your own thoughts was generally not a good thing to do.

"Oh," Mima started, awkwardly, seeing a girl who looked to also be a first year. "Um. Sorry."

 

[Hariah Meadow]

Hariah heard a little voice mutter "sorrry." She looked up to see a girl who looked around the same age as her but Hariah had never seen her before.

"Oh it's okay" Hariah said to the girl with a smile. The girl seemed to be a bit preoccupied, obviously didn't notice where she was going.

"Going anywhere in particular?" Hariah asked the girl? "You can join me if you like?"

 

[Mima Scarlet]

Mima froze involuntarily. Someone was inviting her to sit down with them. This was weird. This was different. The only kids she'd ever met were rude and obnoxious, like Ariadne, or her cousins, or indifferent, like Astrid. And now a complete stranger was inviting Mima to join her.

She didn't really register on how strange she looked, but she imagined Marielle berating her for being silly. Marielle was often the voice of reason for Mima. She was mean, but she knew what she was doing, much more so than Mima did. So quietly, Mima sat down, her face almost ashen. She wasn't used to this. Hogwarts was so far out of her comfort zone.

"I wasn't," she said simply, in response to the girl's question. "What's your name?" And then, remembering the manners Stella had drilled in to her, "I'm Mima." She was almost hesitant to introduce herself to the girl, her family might class the girl as 'unsuitable' for her to talk to. But, as Stella had reminded her before she boarded the train, she wasn't around her family anymore. She had to make her own decisions and be her own person. And she could talk to whoever she pleased.

 

[Hariah Meadow]

Hariah watched as the girl sat beside her. She seemed rather nervous, maybe she felt the same way Hariah did about Hogwarts, adjusting to this life was strange, but Hariah didn't let it show.

"My names Hariah" she said smiling at the girl called Mima. "That's an interesting name" Hariah commented "Where are you from?" Hariah had met people from all over the world and it was amazing to see them all come together in one place. She never realised just how many wizards and witches there must be in the world.

 

[Mima Scarlet]

Mima stared straight ahead at the lake, her face emotionless. The scenery at the school was beautiful, at least. Much nicer than the boring gardens of home. The lake was picturesque, and Mima loved the way the sun touched her pale skin and the breeze danced through her hair. It gave her new life, so to speak.

"Hariah's an odd name," Mima said, bluntly, before quickly realising she'd forgotten her manners yet again. Stella had been at such pains to teach Mima to be polite to other people - she'd never learnt at home. "I mean in that I haven't heard it before. It's nice." Her house was full of odd names, as it was. Alice was perhaps the most conventional. There was Mima and Marielle, Zelda, Stirling, Gretchen, Valerian...they weren't exactly the most common of names. "I live just outside of Brightstone Village. Uh...and you?"

 

[Hariah Meadow]

Hariah wrinkled her nose at the girls bluntness, Hariah had been home schooled but she knew to be polite. She forgave Mima when she explained herself. "Thankyou" Hariah said her features becoming softer. "Oh I see, have you lived there all your life?" she asked the girl.

Hariah wondered what to say, where was she from? England or New Zealand? She had spent the majority of her life in England with her parents as a family and only a couple of years in New Zealand just with her father. "I'm from England" Hariah said smiling. She loved it there, England was brilliant. She had only just adjusted to life in New Zealand she liked it, it was just different and now she has to adjust all over again, to life in Hogwarts.

 

[Mima Scarlet]

People at Hogwarts were so...genuinely interested in other people. Mima couldn't quite understand it. Uncle Stirling and Aunt Gretchen were too worried about Valerian and Tobias, as well as themselves, to focus on their strange niece, and her mother was far too wrapped up in her own work to spend much time with her daughter. Apart from Stella, people didn't really bother to ask Mima much about herself, and she didn't bother to ask them much.

So this was rather an odd situation for Mima to find herself in.

"I have, yes," she replied, nodding slowly to Hariah's question, before giving a small 'ah' at her statement about England. "Oh, I see. People seem to be here from all over the world," she added as a statement, more to herself than anything. "It's...different."

 

[Hariah Meadow]

Out of Character:

Sorry it's so late!

Hariah smiled at the girl, she seemed to be out of her comfort zone here. She was sure Mima would adapt soon though, there were students wherever you went at Hogwarts.

She nodded, "They do yeah" Hariah replied. "It is rather strange being bundled up in here with lots of complete strangers. I only had a few friends where I lived and we were all from the same place. Now there's just people everywhere, from everywhere!" she added.