Katherine Greenwood: The Hidden World #19

Instructions

Katherine's POV: I was still eating when I noticed two girls sitting across from me at the Ravenclaw table. I had seen them during the Sorting Ceremony, but I hadn't spoken to either of them yet. One of them had dark hair and a friendly expression, while the other had light brown hair and a quiet smile. I wasn't sure whether I should say hello, so I kept eating and tried not to stare. After a few moments, the girl with dark hair smiled at me. "You're Katherine, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Yes." "I'm Nina Mishra." She pointed to the girl sitting beside her. "And this is Ella Moore." Ella gave me a small wave. "Hi." "Hi," I said quietly. Nina smiled. "We saw you get sorted into Ravenclaw." I looked down at my plate, feeling my face grow warm. "Oh." "You looked really nervous," Ella said gently. "I was," I admitted. "I don't think I've ever been that nervous before." Nina laughed softly. "I think everyone is nervous their first night." I looked at them. "Were you nervous?" "Very," Nina said. Ella nodded. "I was trying not to show it." I smiled a little. It made me feel better knowing that I wasn't the only one who had been scared. Nina picked up a piece of bread. "So, where are you from?" I told them the name of my town, and Nina nodded. "I've lived there my whole life." "Really?" I asked. "Yes." I smiled. "I've never met anyone from there before." "Me neither," Ella said. "I'm from a town a few hours away." I looked between them. "Did you both know about magic before you got your letters?" Nina nodded her head. "I did. My family is magical." Ella nodded too. "Mine is as well." I hesitated before asking, "So your parents already knew about Hogwarts?" "Yes," Nina said. "My parents told me all about it." I looked down at my plate. "My family didn't know anything. We didn't even know magic was real." Nina looked surprised. "Really?" I nodded. "Hagrid had to explain everything to us." Ella smiled. "That must have been a lot to take in." "It was," I said. "I still don't understand a lot of things." "That's what school is for," Nina said. "We'll learn together." I looked at her and smiled. "I'd like that." For some reason, talking to them felt easier than I expected. Maybe because they weren't asking too many questions at once, or maybe because they seemed to understand that I was shy. Nina asked me about my owl, and I told her that I had bought her in Diagon Alley. "What's her name?" Nina asked. "Hedwig," I said. Ella smiled. "That's a pretty name." I nodded. "I thought it suited her." Nina smiled. "She seems like a Hedwig." I looked toward the place where my owl was being kept and smiled. I was glad I had finally chosen her name. We continued talking while we ate. Nina told me that she was excited about starting classes, especially Charms, and Ella said she was looking forward to Herbology. I listened carefully and asked them what those subjects were like. "Charms is about magical spells," Nina explained. "You'll learn how to make things do different things." "Like what?" I asked. "I'm not completely sure yet," she admitted. "But I heard that Professor Flitwick is a really good teacher." Ella told me a little about Herbology too. I still had so many questions! I also realized that I had been talking several minutes without being shy. I was usually quiet around people I didn't know, but Nina and Ella made it easy to talk. When the food disappeared, Professor McGonagall stood and waited for everyone to finish. I looked around the Great Hall at all the people, and realized that I was a bit more confident than I had been when I first came in. Hogwarts was still unfamiliar to me, and I still had a lot to learn, but I didn't feel so alone anymore. I had come to Hogwarts not knowing anyone, but now on my very first night, I had already make two new friends, Ella and Nina. I had a feeling that this was going to be a great first year.