Spring Flowers

[Kate Kensington]

Spring was Kate's favourite time of year, and what an amazing time it already was. Apart from the traumatic sorting situation, Katherine couldn't be happier. Out of all the houses, Hufflepuff definitely sounded like the best house for her, and her thoughts were true; upon entering the Common Room, Kate strangely felt at home. How was it possible for her to feel so comfortable at a place that she had only just gotten to? It was a nice feeling though. Of course she missed her parents - okay, just her mother, her father wasn't around enough to miss his presence. But there was an unusual sense of freedom and independence that Katherine didn't feel even when her parents had encouraged her to explore her independence previously. This was different.
The garden, even though it was still the beginning of Spring, was immaculate. Kate breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the sunshine on her face for a minute before pulling her knitting needles out with some yellow and black wool. She was going to make her mother a Hufflepuff scarf.

 

[Liesel Besemer]

Anybody watching Liesel walk across the grounds would have thought she had a stalker. In reality, she was periodically looking back over her shoulder to make sure she could still see the castle. As long as she didn't lose sight of it, she figured, she couldn't get lost; and this was what made wandering around outside far more pleasant than wandering around inside. By now, half of the first years were probably familiar with the important routes and passageways of the castle, but not Liesel. She knew of one common route, and that was the one from the Ravenclaw tower to the Great Hall. For now, it was the only one she needed to know, and as it was serving her very well, she saw no point in risking further exploration.

There was a girl up ahead, sitting in the sunshine, rummaging for something in her bag. Liesel slowed as she reached her, then came to a full stop. "Are you knitting?" she asked, head cocked. "Isn't that an old-people thing to do?"

 

[Kate Kensington]

Kate had only just taken out her items when someone stopped in front of her. Before Kate could nod her head in reply, the girl spoke again. Kate kept the small smile on her face, forcing herself to meet the girl's eyes. "Oh, anyone is allowed to knit. It's a fun way to keep busy and be productive." Katherine replied, remembering what her mother had told her to say about it; but what she spoke was her truth, she did quite enjoy knitting. She wasn't sure what else to say, or what else children her age spoke about, but remembering her manners, Kate placed her items aside and stood up, holding out her hand to the girl. "My name is Katherine."

 

[Liesel Besemer]

In times of boredom, Liesel had never once thought to pick up a pair of knitting needles. "Oh. But we're at Hogwarts," she said. "There's loads of things you can do if you want to be busy. You could read a book. Have you read any of your books yet? Maybe you should do that."

Liesel shook Katherine's hand. "I'm Liesel. I'm a Ravenclaw, obviously," she said, gesturing to the emblem on her robe. "Have you always known you were magical?"

 

[Kate Kensington]

Kate watched the girl, curious as to why she had stated that they were at Hogwarts, as if Kate didn't know they were? It was an odd statement to make, but it made more sense when the girl continued talking. Kate smiled when the girl mentioned the books. "Oh, yes! I have read a book before." She replied, the smile still on her face. She thought for a moment about what her follow up question should be. What would her mom say next? "Do you have a favourite book?"

Kate continued to smile at the girl who introduced herself as Liesel, nodding her head when she pointed to her Ravenclaw emblem. She briefly thought about pointing to her Hufflepuff emblem, but figured that that would be rude, as Liesel probably already figured it out. "Yes. Both of my parents are magical. What about yourself?"

 

[Liesel Besemer]

Well, Liesel hadn't been trying to imply that Katherine had never read a book in her life. And what was she smiling like that for? Did Liesel have something on her face? "Uh... I like the Shadow Vale books," she said, wondering how the conversation had moved so quickly from Hogwarts textbooks to light-hearted fantasy romance. She considered trying to recover her original thread, but the point of it had now escaped her.

Parents? Oh, yes, parents. "I don't know - they might be dead. I only found out I was magical on my birthday. I've been living with muggles for all my life." Liesel smiled back, rolling a small stone under the toe of her shoe. "Who do you think knows more about magic - me, or you?"

 

[Kate Kensington]

Katherine had never heard of The Shadow Vale books, but she also supposed there were a lot of books that she hadn't heard of. Reading wasn't exactly Kate's strong suit, it wasn't something that her, or her parents really saw a huge need for. Sure, she knew the basics, and could phonetically sound out a word, but really, at the end of the day, if she could follow the instructions for baking a pie, why else did she need to read?

Kate didn't continue the book conversation, however, when Liesel said her parents may be dead. "Oh... oh my." She managed to stutter out. She had never come across someone who knew someone who was - or could be - dead, much less someone who didn't have parents. Liesel seemed fine with it, there was a smile on her face, and then she continued the conversation by asking another question. "Oh. Umm, I don't know Liesel, I - I don't know what you know and what I don't...know." She said, a bit confused. She struggled to find what else to say. "Umm. What - uhhh... Maybe, maybe we know different things?" Kate suggested.