Housing and housemates
As Diana seated herself at the Hufflepuff table she cast a curious glance towards the Gryffindor table in an attempt to gauge James’ reaction to their newly separated lives.
His perpetually mischievous grin had turned into a rather downcast pout with his brows furrowed as he pushed his potatoes around his plate with his fork.
Diana knew her parents wouldn’t be disappointed in her sorting - or at least she hoped - as she technically was the first in a very long time to disrupt the chain of Gryffindor children.
As she snapped her gaze away from the other table, a girl placed a hand upon her shoulder. Caroline Carraway. She had heard her being sorted before herself, and took in the girls appearance. Whilst Diana herself was around average height for a girl her age with soft, chestnut curls, pasty skin and thick black rimmed glasses, Caroline was slightly taller with jet black hair and dazzling blue eyes.
The only way Diana could describe her looks as if she had been sailing back to Ithica, tied to the mask of her grand ship whilst staring into the eyes of the most beautiful sirens to ever surround the depths of the Aegean Sea.
“Hey- I’m Caroline” the girl outstretched her hand and Diana awkwardly shook it. “Diana” she responded, trying to determine the girls intentions.
Caroline simply smiled before turning to demolish a small pot of Jelly and turning back around “Potter right?” She asked, still with some ice cream on her nose from dipping her face into the pot. “Yes. You know my family?” Diana knew of course her family were relatively well known in the wizarding world. But not for the most favourable of reasons to half, she just hoped Caroline was not snobbish when it came to blood purity.
“Of course!” Caroline had now moved on to a handful of chocolate truffles “my brother’s a fourth year- Ascanius” she swallowed her mouthful of chocolate “he says I should be careful of you, your brother and his friends once turned the schools water supply green and gave everyone green skin and hair!” The girl was truly devouring everything on the table, as by this point she had switched to a large hunk of Victoria sponge cake.
Diana had no response. After all she was nothing like her brother - yet - and had no intentions of turning the water supply green. “Oh. I didn’t know he’d done that”.
Of course she had known about that, but it didn’t seem Caroline was very interested in anything Diana had to say whilst there was food in front of her.
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After the feast had concluded, Wallace Perks, the Hufflepuff prefect had caught their attention and began to usher the bubbly first years over to the common room.
The common room was actually not too far away, and Caroline had been commenting on each individual thing they had passed, as if she were muggleborn.
Wallace led them to the kitchens and to a section of rather enormous barrels, the sort medieval kings would have to store their finest wines. However he raised his fist and knocked on the wood “hel-ga huff-le-puff” he sounded out before the barrel creaked and the top swung open into two large doors.
Most of the first years let out sounds of amazement as they were ushered into the comfortably toasty corridor and into the common room, the moon peaked through the windows and illuminated the furniture. It was a rather tall room, with seating in the centre and a few balconies also consisting of seating. Plants, flora, fauna all of which grew in different climates and regions flourished from all corners of the room.
The fireplace was positioned by the wall, a few portraits either side of it which individually welcomed the first years.
“Right-“ Wallace offered the first years a soft smile “boys dorms are that way” he pointed to the right corridor “the doors will have your names” and he pointed to the left “and girls to the left”.
With that the first years began the search for their dorms. Diana’s happened to be the fifth door along. She had done the mental math, there were around seven hundred students in the school, about a hundred and seventy five in each house and then twenty five in each year. So if her door was the fifth it meant there would be five girls in each form.
She could live with that.
As she pushed the oak door open to enter the bedroom, she was met with the scent of warm honeysuckle and fresh roses. It was was said that the Hufflepuffs had an affinity for gardening, but Diana was not expecting the walls to be lined with pots of different flowers.
“Hey- Diana right?” A tame, rather meek voice spoke up. Diana spun around and observed the source of the noise.
It was another girl, presumably one of her dorm mates. This girl was rather short, with an unflattering blonde bob and almost rodent like features. But Diana had learned never to say such things to people’s faces.
“Yes. That would be me” she settled for a civil conversation, kicking off her pair of shiny mary-Janes and sitting down on the end of her yellow bed. “I’m Martha by the way. Martha Summers” the girls cheeks turned a shade of pink as she came out of her shell.
As Diana was about to speak the door creaked open again, and in poured three other girls. One with a darker complexion and thick, bushy hair - who later introduced herself as Juno Jones - another with a head of mousy brown hair and soft, cherubic features - who would be introduced as Dollie Tricket - and the girl from before, Caroline Carraway.
These four girls would be her dorm mates for the next seven years.