The Long Walk Down

[Davina Rollins]

After being dismissed from her first Astronomy class, Davina hurried out into the tower, craning down the spiral staircase to catch a glimpse of Katherine. There was little to suggest the two girls would get along, other than that they'd sat next to each other comfortably in class, but the young Slytherin was growing desperate. If she didn't make a friend soon, she might be teased for being a loner, and then she'd never make any friends - and that would be awful. Of course, Davina didn't need friends - she was quite capable on her own - but they were useful to have around. And... well, to tell the truth, she was a bit lonely. She missed her sister already, and she'd only been at the castle a matter of days.

Finally spotting Katherine, Davina weaved through the descending crowd, bumping into one or two students accidentally as she went. "Katherine!" she called. "Kat!" Wait... what if Katherine already had friends of her own? What if she thought Davina was sad, trying to tag along behind her? The Slytherin's only comfort was that Kat was a Ravenclaw, not a Slytherin, and therefore she was probably less inclined to take badly to being approached.

It was too late to change her mind now, anyway. Davina was only two steps behind her. "Um, hi. Where are you going next? Can - can I walk with you?"

 

[Katherine Porter]

After exiting the Astronomy classroom, Kat met up with Luna to walk down to the grounds to spend some time outside before getting some studying done. They headed down the spiral staircase, chattering the whole way about anything that popped in their heads.

After they'd reached the bottom she could swear she heard someone call her name, but there was no one there that she saw, so they continued on, until she heard her name loud and clear this time.

She turned around again and this time saw the girl she had sat with in class weaving her way down the stairs. She turned to Luna, and said, "Hey Luna, you go ahead okay? I'll meet you on the grounds. I'd like to see what Davina wants."

Kat walked to the side of the corridor to get out of everyone's way as she waited for Davina to reach the bottom. Once she was in hearing distance she gave the girl a small smile and asked, "Hey Davina, did you need something?

She seemed nervous as she asked where Kat was heading and if they could walk together. Hmm, well she had thought it would be nice to make friends with some Slytherins, and she was friendly enough in class. Not that they'd had much chance to talk, mind you. But she couldn't pass this opportunity to make a new friend, and without Luna's help this time! Usually everyone she met knew Luna first and would rather befriend the happy-go-lucky girl over the moody, mistrusting one.

Realizing she hadn't responded yet, she blushed before grinning at Davina, "Oh sorry, got lost on a train of thought! I was just heading outside for a bit with my friend Luna, you're more than welcome to join us. I'm sure Luna won't mind, she loves everyone." She gestured for the girl to walk with her and, unsure of what to talk about asked, "So, what did you think of Professor Castor's lesson?"

 

[Davina Rollins]

When Katherine smiled, Davina exhaled at length, her shoulders falling at least an inch. She hadn't realised quite how afraid she'd been that Katherine would reject her until that moment. Smiling back, she said, "Really? Great!" Davina resumed walking towards the large doors that opened out onto the sloping Hogwarts grounds. She hadn't had much of a chance to explore outside, yet, and was nearly as excited about that as she was to chat to Katherine. "It was all right," Davina said, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight streaming in through the open doors. "I mean, I sort of expected the classes here to be a bit more... magical, you know? I did like it, though. What about you? You're in Ravenclaw, aren't you? You're taking different classes to me."

 

[Katherine Porter]

Kat blinked in the bright sunlight as the girls walked across the lawn. She took in the beautiful scenery spread before them. "Hmm. I guess so, but then my Dad told me that starting out all the classes are pretty much filled with theory, reading, and writing. Since not everyone comes from a magical household, we can't expect the muggleborns to grasp it right away. Plus not all magical households have magic lessons before coming to Hogwarts either. At least according to Dad. So hopefully we can do more magic soon!"

She glanced around and didn't see Luna anywhere as they neared the Lake. "Oh that's right, you Slytherins have DADA and History of Magic instead of Potions, Herbology and Transfigurtion don't you. I'd be upset if I couldn't take Potions yet. It's the class I am look forward to the most, other than flying that is!" She blushed, "Sorry, I get a little excited sometimes."

Still not seeing Luna anywhere, she settled down in the grass near the lake and patted the ground next to her. "Sorry, Luna probably went to drop things off in the tower or got distracted by someone else on the way down. But anyway, what about you? What classes are you most looking forward to? And how do you like Slytherin house so far, I was hoping to be there myself."

 

[Audrey Luna Birch]

After sitting by two new people in Astronomy class and introducing herself to as many Slytherin's and Ravenclaw's as possible Luna was ready to spend time talking with her best friend about the lesson. She hoped they could go outside and find out what the grounds looked like, maybe even see the Quidditch pitch.

Once class ended Luna walked over to Kat and they started making their way downstairs. Then Kat mentioned that she should go ahead because the girl who she sat next to in class was calling her. "sure Kat, I'll see you soon". Luna made her way further down the staircase, she waited for a bit watching Kat talk to her new friend and hoped she could meet the Slytherin girl soon too.

After a minute or so she didn't want to seem like she was spying so she walked off to put her books away in her dorm room. She knew her friend would be outside so she'd go looking for her eventually but if Kat had made a new friend then she would give her the time she needed.

In the Ravenclaw common room she said hello to a few of the first years and second years she had met in the first house meeting. 'Cette année sera parfaite !' she thought to herself in French. At least she was getting better at speaking in English most of the time, it shouldn't be this hard since she had been bilingual from birth.

After a few minutes of talk to the other first years Luna made her way down to the grounds, hopefully she wouldn't be too late to see Kat and her new friend before dinner. Meeting new people was exciting and she looked forward to seeing the grounds. As she walked out the large doors she smiled at the sunshine, oh how she missed lying in the warmth reading books or flying in the blue sky. She really hoped she'd get to see the Quidditch pitch, if only she could try out for the chaser position now.

She walked down towards the lake when she saw two girls talking, she didn't want to interrupt but it would be worst to just stand there starring. Then she heard Kat mention her name so she approached with a big smile "Salut Kat,
whose your new friend? Can you introduce me?"

 

[Katherine Porter]

Kat's face brightened at seeing that her friend had arrived at last! "There you are Luna! I wondered where you ran off to!" She smirked and patted the ground on her other side. "C'mon, sit down! Luna, this" she gestured to the Slytherin on her other side, "is my new friend Davina. Davina, this" now she gestured to the other Ravenclaw, "is my best friend Luna. We have been friends since we were born, we're practically sisters!"

Kat turned to Luna and updated her on what she and Davina had been talking about and hoped that Luna would be proud of her for making a friend on her own. She glanced at them both, hoping with all of her heart that the three of them could all be friends.

 

[Audrey Luna Birch]

Luna gave her best friend a big smile she was so proud of her, normally Luna was the one making new friends. "Bonjour Davina, it's lovely to meet you !"

"it is true our father's were friends at school so it was fate that we became best friends"

Luna smiled at Davina, she hoped they would all become good friends.
She looked off into the distance for a second, the Quidditch pitch was right there, maybe she could sneak in to see it soon.

 

[Davina Rollins]

Katherine seemed a little embarrassed for talking so much, but Davina was ecstatic. This was exactly what she'd hoped for! She giggled, covering her mouth. "You know my timetable better than I do!" she said, as they sat down on the grass in front of the lake. "I guess you're right about the muggleborns. I hope we get to perform actual magic soon, though. I hate theory."

Davina, too, had very much been looking forward to Potions, and had been quite upset when she'd discovered she wouldn't be taking it for a whole term. "You're really lucky. You'll have to tell me all about your Potions lessons." Granted, that might have been spoiling the surprise for herself, but she was too excited to care. "Oh! we have flying lessons together. That's going to be so much fun. As long as we're not just doing theory about flying." Davina rolled her eyes, grinning.

Before she could answer Katherine's last question, another girl suddenly approached the place they sat. "H-hi," said Davina, feeling momentarily as if she was intruding somewhere she oughtn't until Katherine put her at ease by introducing the two of them. Davina smiled. "Yeah, and you. Wow - so you've been best friends since you were born? Don't you ever argue, or anything?"

 

[Audrey Luna Birch]

Bringing her attention off the Quidditch pitch Luna turned back to Kat and Davina.
"Oh sure, there are times that we fight but it does not last long normally"

Sitting down next to them she couldn't help but wonder what Davina would be like, Luna was the outgoing, trusting one but if Kat decided to trust Davina then she would. Luna would do anything to protect her best friend.

"Were you talking about flying? I really can not wait I hope we get to fly in our first lesson"

 

[Katherine Porter]

Kat smiled and added, "Everyone is going to fight sometimes, what matters is that we take the time to listen to each other's side and work it out so that we don't stay mad long. Plus our Dads quickly nipped any stupid arguments in the bud when we were kids." She giggled at the last part.

As Luna sat down beside her, Kat couldn't help but imagine how nice it would be to have more than just Luna as a friend. Of course she loved her friend, but sometimes you need more. She shook her head clear in time to catch Luna's words.

"Oh definitely! I don't think I could stand to listen to any theory about Flying! We've been flying since we were young kids. Luna here is absolutely obsessed with quidditch, I enjoy the game but actually flying is the best part for me. "

She looked brightly at Davina, "What about you? Where do you stand on the great quidditch debate?" She rolled her eyes playfully and smirked.

 

[Davina Rollins]

Davina got into a lot of fights with her sister, so she couldn't imagine being so close to somebody without arguing every five minutes. Kat and Luna really seemed to get along well, though. The Slytherin returned Kat's giggle, wondering what it must have been like to have parents who were friends with each other. Davina's foster parents had friends, but their kids weren't the same age as Davina, so she was more likely to babysit them than she was to befriend them. Still, now that she was at Hogwarts - and now that she'd met Luna and Kat - that didn't really matter any more.

"Wow, really?" she said, her admiration for her two new friends growing by the minute. She considered telling the truth and saying she'd never flown a broom before, but she didn't want Kat and Luna to think she wasn't as cool as them, so she said, "I've flown a bit. My dad's really into Quidditch, but I'd be scared of getting hit by a bludger. It looks really painful. My dad says he once saw someone get knocked off his broom. He had a massive lump on his head for ages." Davina shuddered to think about it. "Are you two going to join the team next year?"

 

[Audrey Luna Birch]

Talking about Quidditch always made Luna ecstatic, it was her favourite subject to talk about aside from reading books.
"Oh sure, I grew up watching the French national team play and sometimes players would go missing or be knocked out for the rest of the game but that made things exciting"

Luna started waving her hands around to show one of the famous moves "The French team has a special move called 'blitzen ballet' c'est parfait, it truly is magical to watch and it never fails to distract the keeper while the chasers score the winning goal"

"I would love to try out next year, I want to play as a chaser for the house team. What a dream that would be"
Luna knew she was getting too excited but she couldn't help it, maybe she should ask what books they liked to change the subject so she didn't scare Davina away. She could spend hours talking about Quidditch as Kat knew and had witnessed in the past and she did promise herself she wouldn't take over the conversation too much.

She waited for Kat to reply then asked Davina "Do you have any hobbies Davina?"

 

[Katherine Porter]

Kat covered her smirk with her hand. It never fails that if you got Luna talking about quidditch, she could go on, and on, and on!

After her friend had managed to calm herself down a bit and let her speak, she said, "It definitely can be a scary game. I've been to loads with Luna and seen all kinds of things happen. And to be honest I'm a little afraid of the bludgers too." She giggled. "But I'd still like to try out for the team. I am okay with being a chaser or a seeker, but I wouldn't want to take a chaser position from Luna." She nudges her long time friend.

She looked back at Davina, "But more than anything, I just like to fly."

Luna changed the topic after Kat's response, which made Kat proud of her friend. She never usually quits talking about quidditch so quickly. She smiled and laid back in the grass as she listened to her new friend.

 

[Davina Rollins]

Davina's full attention was fixated on Luna as she talked about Quidditch. Davina had never been that interested in the wizarding sport, but the way Luna spoke about it made it sound like the most magical thing on earth. When finally she stopped talking about it, the Slytherin was a little disappointed. She nodded at Kat in agreement. "I just want to fly as well." Well, to be entirely truthful, she was nervous about flying in general, but there was no way she was going to admit that to her new friends.

After being asked about her hobbies, Davina frowned. What should she say? She didn't want to pick something boring, like baking. By comparison her friends would appear to lead much more exciting lives! She thought for a moment, and then said, "I really like Divination. My mum has a real crystal ball, and loads of books on palm reading. I wish we could take the subject before third year." She sighed. "Do you two share a dorm, then? I wish I was in Ravenclaw. My common room is in the dungeons!" Davina pulled a face. "You must get the coolest view up in the tower."

 

[Audrey Luna Birch]

As soon as Luna heard Davina mention books she wondered what else Davina had read. Oh Divination is really interesting, I have also read a book or two on the subject. I prefer Transfiguration myself but I love to read so I have books on almost every subject!"

Luna thought about all of the books her mother had read to her and her collection of books in French and English, she wished reading was a useful skill like divination. At least her other skills were better, her flying skill were above average (so her father said) and she did love speaking two languages but aside from reading about transfiguration she had not practical skills in the subject.

Luna didn't want to take up too much of the conversation but she had to ask Davina one question.
"That's amazing your mother has a real crystal ball, have she shown you how to use it?"

She wanted to let Kat reply if she wanted to so she didn't answer every question Davina had asked. and truthfully she was jsut as excited about books as she was about Quidditch so it was hard or her to focus on any other topics.

 

[Katherine Porter]

Kat stayed laying where she was while the three girls chatted.

She chimed in on the subject of hobbies, "Oh, I've read a bit on Divination too. But Dad says that you either have the gift or you don't. It's not something that can be taught, but honed.
I don't think I have the skills for it myself, but that's so cool if you do! It's fascinating to me how people are all good at different things!" She was lost in her thoughts for a moment before she snapped out of it. "Oh sorry! Hehe. I think my favorite hobby is just reading, but as far as classes it's definitely Potions! "

She listened as Luna asked another divination question before Davina changed the subject and asked about their dorms. "Yeah we do share a dorm and the tower had a nice view of the grounds. I think the best part for me though is that since we are so high up, my Raven, Edgar, can visit me in the dorms really easily when he doesn't want to be in the Owlery. He misses me sometimes. But I'd love to be in Slytherin! Ravenclaw tower is nice, but it's just so bright in the mornings. I'd prefer the darker dungeons. Isn't there something you like about your dorm? What about your dorm mates, do you get along with them?"

 

[Davina Rollins]

Davina hadn't thought much about Transfiguration yet, so was surprised to hear Luna had such a keen interest in it. Then again, as she pointed out, she was interested in everything. "I wish I enjoyed reading so much," she said. "You're going to be way ahead of everybody else!"

That her new friends were so impressed by her interest in Divination made Davina giggled. She nodded to answer them both simultaneously. Actually, her mother hadn't let her use her crystal ball at all, but what harm could come from saying she had? "Yep! My mum says I have the gift." She quietened down to listen to Kat, who surprised her by saying she would rather have been in the dungeons! Davina thought hard about things she liked about the Slytherin dorm. "I guess it's quite warm. And I don't have to walk that far for breakfast..." She giggled. "Have you got any pets?" she asked Luna.

 

[Audrey Luna Birch]

Luna could not wait for classes to start, reading about them was one thing but actually getting to preform magic, she couldn't wait.
"I hope I understand everything, there is so much to learn".
Luna was impressed when Davina mentioned she had a gift for divination, she listened as Kat mentioned about the dungeons and their shared dorm.

"Oh it is a long way from Ravenclaw tower to get breakfast, but the view is quite amazing." She wasn't surprised by Kat comments either, she knew her best friend had wanted to be in Slytherin but Luna was glad she shared a dorm room with her.

"I have a pet boomslang, his name is Apple!" Luna knew her pet loved Ravenclaw tower especially when she made room on one of the window sills for him to get warm in the sun. She had named him Apple because of the beautiful green apple like colour of his scales and she thought he smelt oddly of apple even though that wasn't possible.

 

[Katherine Porter]

Kat laughed as Davina exclaimed about how far ahead they'd be. "I'd be much farther ahead if I read more of the actual subjects though. The only class texts I really read deep into ahead of time was for Potions. Everything else was basically chapter one. I prefer reading for pleasure."

She listened to her friend talk and gave a small gasp of amazement when Davina told them that she had the gift. That was amazing! Sure, she had gifts of her own, but those had to be learned, they weren't naturally there.

She nodded in agreement about the fact that Ravenclaw tower is quite the walk for breakfast. "Yeah I can't say I enjoy the eight or so stories between us and the Great Hall before I get food." She huffed. She was absolutely not a morning person and didn't like to exert much energy before eating.

She giggled at the mention of Apple, she'd always thought that was a silly name for a snake, but she'd never tell Luna that. She let her friend be who she wanted to be, and appreciated her quirks.

She decided to add to the conversation after Luna had finished, hoping she wasn't rude since she hadn't actually been asked about her own pet. "I've got a pet too, he is a black raven named Edgar after Edgar Allen Poe. I'd thought of calling him Nevermore though.. Luna and I figured that between us both, one of us ought to get a pet that could deliver mail back home. I'd really like a Bengal cat though."

She smiled and thought to herself that she should visit Edgar in the Owlery soon so he didn't think she'd abandoned him. Even if he did like to visit her in the tower too. "What about you Davina?
Do you have a pet? Or do you want one?"