The Scamander ✧ Harry Potter Year 1

Chapter 7

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There it was for younger Mathilda. It was departure and arrival with one word. It was the yellow and black emblem that decorated my robe, it was newly made friends, and it was Hogwarts. I spent most of my time in the suitcase thinking of what will or could be, of how my first day at Hogwarts would go. And now the moment has long passed, and I have realised that you will always spend more time with it was than it is. So, I'm glad to remember this memory as a happy one, with newly made friends broadly cheering and a smile of pride eclipsing my face.

I felt the hands of my fellow Hufflepuffs patting me on the back gladly as I sat amongst them, undoubtedly many gleeful at being present to witness the third-generation Scamander's initiation in the Badger's house. I sat amongst a larger boy with ruffled hair and rosy cheeks who smiled prettily and an older girl with kinky curls and freckles that complemented her darker complexion.

"Hi. I'm Mathilda."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Cedric." He nodded his head politely, "this is Rossita."

Then, the conversation continued pleasantly, and perhaps it was impolite, but my eyes tracked behind my shoulder, immediately meeting Ron and Harry's enthusiastic smiles from the Gryffindor table, them happily watching me take part in my table's festivities. We waved just as enthusiastically.

"Your attention, please." The loud chattering of the Great Hall was interrupted by a quick echoing chime of glass and McGonagall's voice.

The voice of the elder woman commanded the room's attention to Dumbledore, who stood at the helm of the hall, allowing the silence to increase anticipation among the students.

"Let the feast...begin."

He clapped his hands, and a second hadn't gone by before the tables creaked, and I turned to be sharply surprised at the feast that lay for the student's gluttonous appetite. There were all manners of foods, Turkey, Roast Potatoes, steamed veggies and buttery mash. The food extended from the top of the table right down to the end.

There was only one moment of polite silence before the hunger of the students overtook, and the knife and forks clanged as they were rapidly picked up and dropped into delicacies across the grand room.

Upon my next glance behind my shoulder, Harry spotted me looking over again while shovelling a load of mashed potatoes onto his fork. He quickly lifted his hand to gesture for my arrival at the Gryffindor table. I widened my eyes in fear, my head shaking no. I encountered that day the stubbornness that I would come to know as characteristically Harry,  as my rejection seemed only to stoke his fire; he more expectedly looked over for my arrival, Ron noticing and doing the same.

The disruption and eyes of prying people seemed only grew the more I left these two boys to their antics, and it was only in the avoidance of the social embarrassment that I tried my best to slyly tucked my leg out of the bench and slide across to the Gryffindor table into a space between two overgrown ginger boys.

Mathilda knew little about the smiling eyes of Dumbledore as he gazed towards the friendship quickly formed between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindors.

"Hey Mathilda," Ron greets, "We were just speaking to Nearly Headless Nick, shame we are in different houses, rotten luck, but no matter, my family says there is a lot of time after classes where we can meet, and they mix and match the houses for class so we might be in class together as well."

"That would be great!" I beamed at this news.

Harry also nodded excitedly. Ron then made his way about, introducing me to the curious eyes of those surrounding us.

"These are my brothers; that's Percy", he pointed to a stern-looking teenager with matching fiery hair, "this is the twins I was talking about, Fred and George," Ron gestured to the two gingers that sat on either side of me. They do look very identical.

"Hi!" I greeted them; they down at me with welcoming smiles.

"I'm Fred-"

"George, and we were thinking-"

"that YOU would be a great tester for OUR experiments- "

My eyes went around at the strange display of telepathy being performed, going frantically between them both as they spoke, barely registering their content.

"Huh?"

"Do you think that was a yes, George-"

"I think it very well could have been Fred."

"-We will just need verbal confirmation." They both spoke at once. I sent a look of worry over to Harry, who just looked confused, shrugging his shoulders. I looked back at them and smiled warily.

"Sure?"

"We'll be in touch with the details-"

"We are still in production"

"don't want to kill you on the first try, now do we?"

Perhaps I should have sent my look of worry Ron's way, as I would have recognised the nervous glint in his eye that nearly translated to horror.

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