You've got a friend in me

[Patrick Vernier]

Hogwarts was much more bigger than what Patrick had imagined. The boy stayed close to the fellow Hufflepuff first years as he followed the prefects along to their common room after the start of year feast. He desperately wanted to find Isabelle and see what she thought about him being sorted into Hufflepuff, but she had completely disappeared and the group of Ravenclaw first years had already walked up another set of stairs in the opposite direction to him. He knew that the Ravenclaw common room was up in a very tall tower and he hoped that he would be able to find it easily for whenever he needed his sister. Unfortunately, due to the fact Hogwarts was so big, it would most likely take him a while. Lagging behind a little bit, Patrick jogged slightly so he could catch up with the other Hufflepuff first years, wondering how far away their common room was and if he'd be able to find it later. As he moved quickly, the small boy soon lost his footing, stepping on his robes and falling face first onto the floor with a loud thud. He slowly sat up, holding his now throbbing head in his hands. He had completely embarrassed himself in front of everyone and he hadn't even spoken to them yet.

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

The castle was becoming steadily more interesting as they were guided through it, but there was a stone nestled deep within the pit of the new Hufflepuff's stomach. He hadn't eaten much at dinner (which was ridiculously out of character), even though he would have eaten literally anything on display if it were back home. The problem was that this wasn't home, it was a castle with ghosts, poltergeists, a load of strangers and food that wasn't made by his Papi. How was he ever going to be happy here? All semblance of confidence that he had had in the beginning had completely evaporated now that it was completely clear this wasn't a dream. He was stuck here for the rest of the year, and there were no amount of letters he could send home to convince his parents to take him back. Especially after he promised he would commit to this.

Feeling rather sorry for himself, Wilfred fell to the back of the pack as he shambled along, taking in the portraits they occasionally passed, and wondering whether his Papi would be impressed by them (probably not, he wasn't impressed by anything). Fortunately, he had managed so far to not draw any parallels directly to his Tata, because he was quite certain he'd find himself crying like a baby, which probably wouldn't help in this situation. The Hufflepuff paused when he heard someone fall, and turned quickly to find a fellow first year seated on the ground. Brow furrowed, Wilfred quickly approached the student and knelt down to pet his upper arm. "You okay? Come on, you've got to get up. Is your head okay?"
​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

As Patrick rubbed his head he barely noticed another boy quickly come up to him to ask if he was okay. After a while, the Hufflepuff nodded, putting his hand down and using it to get back up again. He was used to falling over all of the time and luckily it seemed that no one else noticed what had happened. But they were moving quickly ahead of them and so the pair of them had to hurry, despite how much his head was throbbing and he was sure it was going to leave a mark. "Thank you." he politely told the boy with a strong French accent. He smiled at him before quickly gesturing for him to follow. "We have to catch up." With that, the boy made sure to grab hold of his robes this time before walking quickly again. Even though it made his head hurt more, he was eager to carry on and looked behind him a couple of times to see if the other boy was doing okay.

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

Wilfred looked at the distance between them and the group, and found that it was growing at an alarming rate. He didn't have any relatives at the school, and had not had the time to acquaint himself with anything but the Great Hall and the hallways they had used to get to their current position - he couldn't afford to lose their housemates. Neither of them could, he suspected. "Any time!" the Hufflepuff responded genially, matching his housemate's pace with ease. He was taller than his friend (as he had already dubbed him, despite not knowing his name), and so his long legs enabled his speed. "Don't worry, we'll catch up easily," he reassured him, twisting to walk backwards with exceptional balance. "If they start getting too far, we can run, or we can call out to have them slow down, or we could ask the portraits for directions. They've probably been here for ages, they'd definitely be able to help!" He hoped, anyway. Realistically, he had no idea the sort of nature, or quality of the school portraits, nor did he know if they would have any ability to assist, but thus far he had been exposed to some exceptional specimens.

"My name's Wilfred, by the way," he added, hopping back around to face forward as they approached a corner. "What's your name?"​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

The other boy seemed to talk a lot which Patrick didn't particularly mind. It meant that he didn't have to and so he was quietly thankful for that. As they moved, the boy was easily faster and Patrick had to be even more careful that he didn't fall over again as he scooped up his robes in his arms. "Running... you can fall..." Patrick said trying his best to concentrate more on where he was going than what he was saying. This was exceptionally difficult, especially considering he was so far behind, but he did it anyway, hoping the boy knew what he was going on about. As the boy continued to speak, Patrick realised the portraits would be of great help, but he was more worried about getting into trouble than getting lost. What would their head of house think of them if they turned up to the common room later than the others? The thought of it was terrifying and Patrick was glad that someone was with him or otherwise he would surely be freaking out. "I'm Patrick." he responded when the boy introduced himself as Wilfred. "It is nice to meet you."

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

It was rather difficult to neglect to notice the state of the boy's robes. They were clearly ill-fitting, seeing as he needed to pick them up and carry them around like that. Wilfred didn't wear robes constantly, but he wore them frequently enough to know how to move in them, and the most important thing was that they fit well. "Falling's not so bad," Wilfred replied, still smiling. "Everyone falls over. It's only bad if you don't get up again." Words of wisdom shared, Wilfred felt that the topic was closed and that his new friend would completely understand what he was on about. After all, being worried all the time was rarely productive.

Wilfred noted his name, finding it to be easily remembered. It was fortunate, with an accent like Patrick's, he had assumed that it would be something more inherently French-sounding. The Hufflepuff had a considerable amount of exposure to the language, but he was still more comfortable in his native Italian, especially when it came to sounds. "Nice to meet you too, Patrick. Do you have any family at Hogwarts?"
​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

As the boy told Patrick that falling wasn't so bad, he felt the need to push him over for a second so he could experience it himself, but refrained from doing so. Patrick would never be that unkind to someone, even if they annoyed him with such a statement. As Patrick walked quickly, he began to jog, just so he could be a little bit ahead of Wilfred, despite the fact that he was beginning to become a little bit out of breath. "My sister... in Ravenclaw." he told him. "What about you? Who are your... your siblings?" He wondered if Wilfred had any siblings that might know Isabelle as the pair of them were just about caught up. But just as Patrick thought they were safe and that they were finally back with the group, the boy had dropped his robes only to fall over them again. The sound of his robes ripping made him want to cry as his nose then began to hurt. Putting his hands over his face, he noticed his nose was bleeding and he sighed deeply, quite annoyed at himself. "I'm sorry." he told the other boy as he looked up at him with tears in his eyes, wanting nothing more than to wake up from a dream at this point.

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

Wilfred noticed that Patrick was trying to get ahead of him, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Not being exceptionally competitive, himself, Wilfred didn't bother trying to be faster than the boy - he maintained his comfortable pace, and was now a half-step behind his fellow Hufflepuff. "That's nice!" Sometimes he wished he wasn't the first of his siblings to be coming here. Well, technically. All the other members of his family had long since graduated, and he was very much alone to forge his own path and gather as much knowledge about his surroundings as possible. After all, his own siblings would never forgive him if he returned without stories to share.

"I'm the oldest of my siblings. My younger sister is seven, and my little brother is three, and my youngest sister is just one. So, I'm here by my-oh dear." Wilfred paused and looked down at Patrick with a furrowed brow. He knelt beside Patrick as the lines deepened when he apologised, and with a practised hand, Wilfred retrieved a tissue from his pocket and offered it to the fallen 'puff. "Why're you apologising? You're the one with the bleeding nose." It didn't look broken, at least, but it did look rather sore. "You're going to be okay, though. You just need to get back up - and maybe ask a professor to resize your robes, or something. Why are they so long?" He felt the question safe to ask, seeing as they looked quite new. Why on earth would someone buy robes that didn't fit? He could hear his papi cringing at the thought. Even his tata would begrudge too-big robes. "Maybe we can borrow a hair tie from one of the girls? We could tie it up at the back!"
​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick was thankful that the boy was so nice to him. Wilfred didn't have to help him at all but he was and it made Patrick's heart warm knowing that he was not alone in the big world. He thanked him as he took the tissue and quickly wiped his eyes before putting it over his nose. Wilfred's question made Patrick think. Why were his robes so big? "Papa said everyone needs big... bigger robes because they grow." he explained, holding the tissue with his right hand and using his opposite hand to help himself up. His previous bleeding noses taught him that he must pinch his nose with the tissue and put his head forward, and he did so, leaning up against the nearest wall. The mention of using a girl's hair tie to tie up his robes made him shrug. "That woold look silly." Patrick said, chuckling slightly. "But if it work, then so bee it." He was annoyed that the group was moving continuously fast but didn't particularly care now as much as he did before. If they managed to get into trouble he would just explain the truth and that would be that.

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

Wilfred actively tried to understand his papa's logic, but it was so completely alien. He understood the need for forward thinking (his own papi was very good at that sort of thing), but forward thinking at the detriment of what was happening currently just seemed... silly. He was wise enough to not openly criticize Patrick's father's decisions, however. "Oh," he replied inadequately, as a result. "Well... maybe you can write to him, and you can get them resized and fixed up. He won't be too mad, will he?" Considering he was the sort to buy robes that didn't fit right, Wilfred wasn't entirely sure what kind of person his friend's papa was.

At least Patrick seemed to know how to treat a bleeding nose, and so the blond focused on his friend, pulling his eyes from the disappearing group of Hufflepuffs. "I don't think it'd look too silly," Wilfred replied. At least not as silly as continually falling over. "If we can't get one, though, maybe you should just walk slowly and hold them until we're in the common room and can sit down... and I can teach you how to fall safely." Wilfred wasn't entirely convinced Patrick's face could survive another poor fall.
​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

It wasn't really his father that Patrick was worried about telling, but he shrugged nonetheless. "Oui, it will be OK." Patrick told him, wondering if he would be able to owl his father and tell him not to let Clarissa know. It was best to be on the safe side with these kind of things and he was sure his father wouldn't be too worried about it. It didn't take long before Patrick's nose had stopped bleeding, although the impact of it still hurt and all Patrick could do was wait until they finally arrived to their common room just like Wilfred said. But as Patrick looked up at the group they weren't there and Patrick sighed. "Where did they go?" he said, astonished that they managed to disappear so quickly. It was like they didn't even exist.

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

Wilfred nodded to Patrick's assertion. It seemed like that was the first positive thing he had to say, and Wilfred was quite happy for it. What he wasn't happy about was the fact that they were starting at one end of an intersection in the castle, and there seemed to be no evidence as to where their fellow Hufflepuffs had gone. The lines on his brow were back. "I'm not sure. I stopped watching them for only a second." Maybe a minute. It was no matter, the first year simply approached the intersection to look left and right, assuming that there would be some evidence of the students they were looking for. Unfortunately, both ways ended in T sections, with only the forward direction having another intersection. Six possible ways. Wilfred's shoulders slumped, and he returned to Patrick.

"Okay, so... we have six possible routes," he explained. "But I don't think they went forward, so that makes it four. But if those ways don't have really long corridors, we could miss them." The most logical solution was rather simple, at least, and Wilfred didn't see any faults in it at all. "We should split up and go both ways, and see if one of us can find them. When one of us finds our housemates, we find the common room, and then get a prefect to help find the other!"
​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Wilfred seemed almost as worried as what Patrick was and Patrick was glad he wasn't the only one feeling so. As the other boy walked down the corridor to have a look, Patrick wondered if perhaps maybe the common room was a secret trapdoor or something and they had just missed them falling down it for a split second. The idea of that made Patrick smile. If that was true, it was a great way to prevent people from other houses getting in. But did that mean the boys would never be able to find it now? Wilfred seemed like quite an intelligent person and Patrick listened as he explained that there were four or six possible ways the students could have gone. But when he then said they should split up Patrick quickly began explaining what he thought previously, not liking that idea at all but not wanting to tell him that. "Maybe they already in the common room," he began, hoping his words would somehow change Wilfred's mind. "Maybe they fall down in the ground and are gone? Magic can do anything."

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

Them already being in the common room was quite possible, as they had been walking for some time now. What he was hoping to find now was an entrance, or maybe someone dropped something along the way. If they were really lucky, there would be a prefect standing outside, or they would be able to hear their housemates through the walls. Patrick's hopes were left unrealised, however, as all he managed to change in Wilfred was his expression, which went from mildly disturbed to outright bewildered. "I know it can, I grew up in it," he explained. There was still plenty of magic for him to learn and experience, but he wasn't exactly a muggle-born about it, either. "Just because the Hufflepuff mascot is a badger, doesn't mean they actually want us to live like one. At least, I'd hope. I don't think they've gone through the ground." He didn't want to outright shut down his new friend's suggestion, however, and so decided to soften his approach. "But, if we come across a door in the floor, we can revisit that idea." It would certainly be something to write home to his tata about, at least.

"I think it'd be best if we split and start moving. The more time we waste debating about how we're going to access the common room, the less time we have to actually find anything to help us - if we still can find it."​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick scratched his head at Wilfred's opinion about them living in the ground. He was sure that the Slytherin common room was somewhere in the dungeons which were underground but refrained from creating a disagreement and instead kept his mouth shut. After all, Wilfred was acting as though he knew more than what Patrick did and so Patrick was not going to doubt him. But unfortunately, Wilfred was still content on them splitting up and Patrick really didn't want to. "There has to be a way..." Patrick said, more to himself than Wilfred. "We... we may no be able to find each other again. And what if something happen?" Patrick was clearly worried, despite himself trying not to be. He desperately wanted to solve the problem but no book was going to tell him the answer and it definitely wasn't a good start to his first year.

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

Wilfred's brow furrowed, this time with understanding. He was going about this all wrong - trying to be his papi, when what he really needed to be was his tata. He had already given all the reasons they should split up, and had already explained that it was probably their best solution, but he had not been listening as well to Patrick's concerns as he should have been. Patrick wasn't specifically against looking for the common room, or their housemates. He was against doing it alone. Wilfred could entirely sympathise - he didn't really want to split up either, but he had been trying to put on a brave face to make it seem like they were totally in control. Knowing that Patrick felt as lost as he did brightened his spirits, and his expression melted into a warm smile at the prospect of finding a like-minded friend.

"Well, to avoid losing each other, we'll just have to stick together," he concluded. "You're a genius, Patrick. We should still probably get a move on, though, but we don't have to split up if you don't want to. I don't want to either!" Now that that was sorted, Wilfred began looking at their direction options again. "Left or right?"
​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick was glad that after he voiced his opinion that Wilfred was quite understanding. Hufflepuff must definitely be one of the best houses there as it consisted of such nice people so far, even if Wilfred was one of the first people he knew from the house. It made Patrick feel glad that the sorting hat thought him nice enough to belong there and he smiled at his new friend, glad that they had come to some sort of agreement after all. The French boy looked down each of the corridors with Wilfred too, wondering which way their group could have gone off to. If worse came to worse, they could always retrace their steps, come back to this exact place, and go down another corridor to try again, even if that meant being there all night. "Let us go left." Patrick said, gesturing down the lamp lit corridor in which many different pictures hang. Many of the pictures were sleeping and Patrick then wondered how late it was. Had all of this really taken that long? Making sure Wilfred was by his side, Patrick began making his way down the corridor as slow as he could. He would take extra extra care so he didn't trip over his stupid robes again.

 

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

Patrick's pace wasn't exactly ideal, but Wilfred wasn't going to begrudge him on something he couldn't even control. It just meant that the Hufflepuff had some time to admire the snoozing portraits, rather impressed by their workmanship. He doubted his papi would share this opinion, but he had the tendency to think he was better at everything until proven wrong without a doubt. He wanted to touch them, but they were sleeping and that would be very rude. Besides, he had other things to concern himself with - such as the approaching directional decision before them. Wilfred's nose wiggled with indecision as he paused just before the T section, trying to decide a path before actually checking them.

"Left again?" he offered over his shoulder, before strolling forward to check the way. "Oh, Patrick!" he called, though it was entirely unnecessary, as his friend was quite close to him still. "They're right there! Come on - wait actually, you walk, I'll run up." Patrick and running had proven itself (repeatedly) in the recent past to be a very bad idea. Wilfred was used to running around like a headless chicken. "I'll be five seconds," he offered, before he was off to the group. He returned moments later after snooping out the entrance to the common room, and was barely breathless.

"It's just up there. We're completely not lost now!"
​

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick was just about to keep walking whilst looking around absent minded at the many different portraits on the walls when Wilfred told him to stop and wait. He did so as he watched him walk up to the group and find the common room. Patrick beamed when he told him that was it and began to walk towards him not too quickly in case he fell over again. They were not lost at all and Patrick took a sigh of relief as he followed the other Hufflepuff first years inside, glad to be back on track again. "I wonder how big the beds are." Patrick thought aloud as he climbed inside and waited for what was to come next.