Starting A Brand New Life

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah woke up early that morning, it was his first day at Hogwarts and he couldn't stay in bed anymore due to the excitement and adrenaline flowing through his body. Just the night before he got sorted into one of the school's houses and as far as he was concerned, the house he got sorted in looked the coolest from the four of them. The Slytherin had been less than a day in the castle but he already felt like he was at home. Asaiah had left the silence of the dungeons, where the Slytherin common room was located, and took a brief tour of the castle, visiting the areas that he was going to spent the next seven years of his life. It was still a bit too early for breakfast, so before going to the Great Hall to eat, Asaiah decided to pay visit to the outdoors of the castle.

He pushed the oak door and walked into the courtyard. The castle's courtyard was looking rather relaxing and would probably be a fine place to hang around with friends. Friends. Unfortunately for him, Asaiah didn't have any friends, yet. Being around his siblings all the time, the first year never really needed any friends, however, now that he and his siblings were no longer together all the time, Asaiah hoped to meet new people at Hogwarts and for the first time, witches and wizards of the same age as him, instead of his brother and sisters who were all older than him. He walked across the courtyard, taking in his new surrounding. Asaiah walked passed the fountain of the four houses. Water was pouring out of it, spreading a hypnotising sound in the atmosphere. The chirping from birds nearby was also audible and the Slytherin boy decided to sit down on a marble bench across the fountain and close his eyes to enjoy the sounds.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya hadn't gotten a lot of sleep on her first night at Hogwarts, the excitement and nervousness she had been feeling all day had taken the better of her and caused her to be wide-awake for a couple of hours that night. Not only that but it had also been the first time ever, or at least as far as she could remember, that she had been away from her home all by herself. Of course she'd visited her grandparents once in a while, but it had always been with her family, she had never really been away on her own. Perhaps it was a good thing though, she would finally be able to get to do things she wasn't able to do back at home, she just had to find out what kind of things that were.

The eleven year old sat up in her bed and as she looked around she noticed that all of the other girls whom she shared a room with were still asleep. Peaking out of the window Freya noticed that it was still rather early, however she couldn't help but want to go outside. There didn't seem to be a lot of students out on the grounds and she was one to enjoy the outdoors so she decided it wouldn't hurt anyone if she was to go outside for a bit. Soon enough Freya found herself making her way down the stairs, around a few corners and finally down the hall that should lead to the courtyard. Pushing open the doors the girl smiled as she could feel a small breeze and made her way down the courtyard. Taking a couple of stepts she noticed another early bird outside, sitting close to the fountain. The boy's eyes were closed and he seemed to be enjoying the sounds outside which led Freya to sit herself down on one of the other benches in silence, not wanting to bother the other student.​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah enjoyed the smell of fresh morning air going through his nostrils. Usually Asaiah wouldn't go outside at this hour but staying inside the castle at seven o'clock wasn't an option for him at all, see, the eleven year old was in fact quite clumsy and would have probably stumbled over his own feet, or knock things over when inspecting them out of curiosity.

The snake smiled when another sound, the sound of footsteps, joined the pouring water of the fountain and the chirping of the birds in the distance. He opened his right eye, not letting the person know he noticed his or hers presence.

Asaiah's eye was focused on a girl who sat down on one of the other marble benches in the courtyard. By the lookgs of it the girl was a about the same age as him, or at least that is wat he assumed when taking in her appearence, however, since he was not wearing his glasses, Asaiah could be totally wrong about the age of the girl, ''I don't bite,'' the boy suddenly said, opening his left eye too, '' Or at least I don't think I do.'' He took his glasses out of the pocket of his emerald-colored hoodie and put them on.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Sitting there in silence made Freya realize that this was actually going to be her first real day at Hogwarts. They had arrived the day before and got sorting done and everything, but this day was actually going to be the first full day she was going to spend at the castle. For some reason most of her nerves were gone and what was left was excitement of getting to finally do things on her own and be herself, perhaps being away from her family wasn't going to be so bad after all.

The sudden sound of a voice made Freya realize she had been lost in her thoughts and it took her a few seconds to realize that someone had been speaking to her. Looking up she realized that it was in fact the boy sitting across from her on one of the other benches. She smiled as she looked up at him. "For your sake, I hope you don't. It wouldn't be a good thing." Freya chuckled as she observed the boy for a bit. She was pretty sure he was a first year student as well, which made her wonder why he was out here this early. Perhaps he wasn't able to really sleep as well. "It's just that I didn't want to bother you, you seemed to be enjoying the peacefullness." The girl started, referring to why she just sat down without so much as greeting him. ​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah was relieved and glad that he had somebody to talk to and get to know, especially since he didn't know anyone at the school. ''I wouldn't actually bite you.'' The Slytherin said. ''That would be rude and uncalled for.'' He looked at his feet, not quite knowing what to do next and bit the inside of his cheek, this was one of the habits he had. One that he wanted and needed to get rid of, obviously Asaiah had been failing at it so far, but what else was he suppose to do if he was in a social situation and didn't know what to do next? The only thing the first year could think of was to ask her a simple question and get the conversation going. So, instead of waiting for the girl to say something, he decided to ask the girl her name. "What's your name?" Asaiah asked, still looking at his feet. He then looked up at the girl and smiled. ''I'm Asaiah." He waited for her reply as he bit the inside of his cheek, he was hoping that he didn't look rude but one can't guess these things.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya let out a small yawn, once again realizing that it was still very early and there might be people finding it strange that she was not only awake, but outside as well. The girl couldn't help but slightly chuckle when the boy started reassuring her that he wouldn't in fact bite her, seeming to take his own joke quite serious. It would be a first though, if someone were to say something like that and wouldn't be joking. "And a bit strange as well." She added, shooting him a smile. For some reason it looked like the boy wasn't feeling completely comfortable, like he wasn't sure of what to do. Not that she had a lot of experience with situations like this herself, she just tried to not be as awkward and silent as she figured she would be whilst talking to or meeting new people.

"I'm Freya." The first year Hufflepuff answered, her Norwegian accent slightly slipping through when she said her name. There weren't a lot of times when people could clearly hear her accent, but when it came to thing such as names it always seemed to slip right through. "Asaiah, that's a pretty cool name." Never having really been introduced to a lot of people after she came to New Zealand Freya had always been more familiar with Norwegian names, which made names that weren't from somewhere around there sound far more interesting to her than they would to any other person. ​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled as she replied to his question, ''Nice to meet you, Freya.'' The Slytherin replied back. His cheeks turned a reddish colour when the girl complimented him on his name and looked away quickly, hoping Freya hadn't noticed it. ''Thanks.'' Asaiah liked to be complimented. It felt really nice, especially since he never got any compliments at home. He wanted to compliment her too, but making a comment about her name didn't really seems original anymore. ''You have eh.. nice hair.'' Asaiah knew that it sounded stupid. Seriously, Asaiah? That is the best you come up with? Urghh. He thought. All he wanted to explore the school some more, but right now the courtyard was really nice, and sitting here with Freya made it sort of okay. Not that he was developing a crush or something like that, he did not like girls like that yet. He looked at her again, ''You are not from around here, are you?'' Asaiah asked curiously, ''You have got an accent.''

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya shot the boy a smile after they had introduced themselves to one another. The boy seemed to be a nice person and she automatically wondered which House he would be in, like she often did, but she didn't find it necessary to ask questions like that. Perhaps they would become friends and she would find out sooner or later. "Thanks." The first year Hufflepuff chuckled as the boy complimented her on her hair. It was a bit of an odd compliment, but the girl figured he was just trying to be friendly by complimenting her as well. When Asaiah asked her if she was not from around there the girl smiled, it was a question she got asked a lot and she never really minded people asking because she knew they were able to hear it from time to time. However she was only eleven, so who could blame her? "No, I'm not." Freya confirmed his thoughts. "I'm from Norway, my family and I moved to this country about three years ago." ​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

When Freya smiled and thanked him for the compliment he gave her, he smiled too. It was a nice thing of her to do. ''You're welcome'' Asaiah replied back to the girl. He had a good feeling about this girl, she was very friendly towards him, something he certainly didn't expect her to be. Asaiah looked rather shocked than curious when Freya mentioned that she moved from Norway to New Zealand three years ago ''No way'' He answered. ''You're seriously from Norway? But that is so far way! Why did you parents decide to move to New Zealand? I would've stayed in Norway if I was given the chance to choose, I mean, I went to there once, during christmas with my family, and it looked really, really cozy. I felt sad that we had to leave when our holiday was almost over. I asked my dad if we could go back during the summer holidays but he said it was too expensive.'' Asaiah had no clue he was rambling on about it and every now and then he spoke so fast that some words were inaudible.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Putting a hand in front of her mouth as a small yawn escaped it Freya listened to Asaiah talking once she had answered his question. The first year Hufflepuff wondered if the boy knew that he was rambling, which caused her to slightly chuckle. He seemed to be very enthousiastic about Freya's homecountry, which made the girl feel happy because she absolutely adored the country as well. "It is." She smiled responding to Asaiah saying that the country wasn't particularly close to New Zealand. "Which is kind of sad because it makes it harder to visit. We moved her because of my dad's job." She explained, the girl was still not exactly sure of what kind of job her father had, however she knew it was something important because he had been away to other countries for it ever since she was little. "That's a shame," Freya said referring to him not being able to go back to the country for another holiday. "It really is an amazing country. I wanted to stay as well, but it wasn't really a choice. However my mom promised we'd go back in some holidays to visit family." She smiled, already getting excited at the thought of going back.​

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[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled as the Hufflepuff girl talked about her home country and why they moved to New Zealand. It kind of made him miss home even though they had just arrived the day before. ''Oh, well maybe your father won't like his job here and you'll move back eventually?'' Without even thinking how it may have sounded to her, the first year smiled hoping his comment would cheer her up rather than anything else. Once again Asaiah rubbed his eyes trying to stay awake. As she mentioned her family more, Asaiah couldn't help but to get a bit curious about Freya's family. ''Do you have alot of family living in Norway?'' He asked Freya, genuinely curious about her family. Like her, Asaiah too had family living abroad; his aunt and uncle moved out off New Zeland a few years ago to where Asaiah's youngest sister was born, La Teste-de-Buch, France and both his grandparents still lived in Australia, so if she was missing her family, Asaiah certainly knew how she felt. While asking her about her family the Slytherin started thinking about his own and what they would be doing now that Asaiah would probably spent most of his time at Hogwarts during the holidays.

uhm.. oops, sorry

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya frowned when the boy across from her made a remark about the possibility that perhaps her dad won't like his job and they could move back to Norway. The first year Hufflepuff was sure that he hadn't meant anything bad by it, it just didn't come out very well. "Well he's been doing it for more than two years no, so I figure he must like it in some way." She explained, before she slightly smiled at him and shrugged. "I guess we won't be going back anytime soon." It wasn't that she didn't enjoy living in New Zealand, but being at this gigantic school on her own and talking about home did make the girl realize that she missed the country a bit. "I'm not exactly sure." Freya answered the boys question. "I have my grandparents there for sure and then there's my dad's brother with his wife and kids and their other brother with his fiancee and I know my mom has other family than my uncle but I've never met them." The girl had a puzzled look on her face trying to remember any other family members that she knew of who live in Norway, but haven't met any of her mother's siblings she couldn't think of anyone. "But what about you?" Freya suddenly returned the question to her, noticing that they had only been talking about her. "Any foreign roots? Or family living abroad?"​

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[Asaiah Murphy]

''I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do!'' Asaiah said with enthusiasm in his voice. ''There are some really cool places all around New Zealand.'' It was true, there were really some cool areas in New Zealand. Like Milford Track or the Waitomo Glowworm caves, which surprisingly enough gave him goosebumps everytime he and his family visited the caves at his request. While the Hufflepuf continued on talking, a yawn escaped and Asaiah, not wanting her to feel like he wasn't interested in what she was telling him about her family, quickly put his hand before his mouth. ''Well,'' the first year Slytherin began after Freya asked if he too had any foreign roots or family living in another country. ''I don't really know if I've got any foreign roots.'' He said while thinking about it. ''I mean I know that my parents, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, and grandma and grandpa are all born in New Zealand - except for my other sister, she was born in France.'' Asaiah continued with a smile on his tired-looking face. ''As for family living abroad, my grandparents live in Australia and my aunt and uncle to France a couple of years ago. I kinda miss them sometimes, you know, they don't visit us as much as they used to do which is actually quite obvious of course since they live in France now, but still.''

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya nodded at Asaiah's remark about the country. She hadn't been to a lot of different places ever since her family and her moved to New Zealand, but she had been reading books about the country, gaining information on its culture and places that were surely worth the visit and she was determined to explore the country a bit more during her free time when she was older. A twelve year old won't get very far. "Actually I haven't seen a lot of the country when I think about it, but I'm planning to when I get older. Any recommendations?" The first year Hufflepuff smiled, being sure of the fact that if the boy was so enthusiastic about his country he would most definetely know some places you couldn't go without visiting. After her question Asaiah started to tell her quite a lot about his family and Freya was sure of the fact that not every person she would meet in this school would be as friendly or enthusiastic about everything as the Slyterin in front of her was, but right now she was glad she had someone fun to talk to. "Well nothing wrong with being a Kiwi either." The girl stated, the last word being pronounced hesitatingly because she did now people from the country called themselves that, she just wasn't hundred percent sure of how to pronounce it correctly. "I get that. It's hard seeing your family a lot less than you're used to. Do you know why they moved to France? I mean did they have a special reason or did they just feel like it would be a nice place to live."​

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[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled when Freya asked him if he could recommend her places to go to. ''Well there are the Waitomo Glowworm caves, it's basically what the name says - They're caves with glowworms in them, which is pretty freaking beautiful, and it'll give you goosebumps the minute you set foot in one of the caves and see all those little lights.'' The first year said with pride. ''There are also a few really nice beaches near where I live, well not really near where I live, it's more like half an hour away or so,'' Asaiah continued. ''Piha for instance, it's mostly used by surfers but it is still perfect for picnics plus there is Lion Rock, an island that is located in the middle of the beach. The other beaches are also nice, but I like Piha the most.'' Asaiah stopped giving her recommendations, thinking she heard plenty to go to and visit someday and started looking around the Courtyard. The sun had risen high enough for them to clearly see it. When the Hufflepuff spoke again, his head turned towards her and nodded. ''I think it's something bad,'' Asaiah said while thinking about what his father said to him. ''Dad told me he would explain it to me when I get older, so I just assumed my aunt and uncle did something bad and then decided to moved to France.''

 

[Freya Odegard]

As Asaiah started to ramble on about the Glowworm caves and other places that were most certainly worth paying a visit Freya couldn't help but smile. First of all she was making a mental note of the places he was talking about and she was glad she now at least had a few points on her list of things to do or visit in New Zealand once she was older and if she got the opportunity to do so. Perhaps she would ask her mother if they could visit some of the places during the holidays, but she was very certain of the fact that her mother wouldn't feel much for it. She was an indoor woman and never really cared much for the world outside of her house. Freya had always thought that there was a reason why her mother wouldn't go out, but she never dared to ask. The second thing that caused the young girl to smile was the fact that she was enjoying talking to Asaiah, he seemed like someone you could have a lot of fun with and Freya was wondering if they would become friends. "I think that'll keep me busy for a while once I get the opportunity." She laughed, but the smile on her face soon faded when the boy told her that he thought his aunt and uncle moved to France because of something bad. "That doesn't sound very good, I mean when parents say they'll tell you something once you get older it's mostly either too complicated or something bad." Shortly after she finished her sentence the girl noticed she was starting to get hungry and not even a few seconds later she could hear her stomach growl. Looking back at the boy she chuckled whilst putting her arm over her stomach. "Sorry, I haven't eaten anything yet. Have you?"​

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[Asaiah Murphy]

''Well I figured that much,'' Asaiah said to her on why his aunt and uncle moved to France. ''I hope they're alright though, because I really miss them.'' His parents were pretty chill people, so whatever his aunt and uncle did, it must have really upset his mom and dad. ''If I ask them long enough they'll tell me eventually.'' a smirk appeared on his face. Hearing her stomach growl made him chuckle too and when the girl told him that she hadn't eaten yet he jumped up and said, ''Good! I've been starving ever since I got out of bed!'' Asaiah exclaimed happily, ''Come on, whoever's there last must eat something gross!'' he said already walking towards the oak doors.

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FIN​

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