Emilia

Emilia woke up with a pretty bad headache the next morning. After all the unusual excitement she had been really tired. Sally already had left to the bathroom, and Emilia hurried to get dressed for her first lesson.

There was no time for showering left, so she quickly brushed her teeth and ran to her classroom. She even had missed breakfast – but since she usually ate way too little anyway it wasn't a big deal. Still, she planned to eat more during lunch break. Having always been on the lower end of the scale she didn't want to loose even more weight.

“Want to sit with me?”, Sally asked her as she entered the classroom.

“I, uh”, Emilia hesitated. “If the others don't mind….”.

Sally usually sat with her friends, and Emilia never dared to intrude.

Sally rolled her eyes and shoved her towards an empty desk next to hers. She had switched orders with Clarissa to make room for her. Clarissa was one of Sally's close friends. She had medium length, dark and very wavy hair, and her pale face was covered in small freckles. Emilia had always though that she was one of the most beautiful girls in class – now that she thought about it though she wasn't as beautiful as Sally – Emilia could have slapped her head at this dumb thought.

Clarissa at least didn't seem to mind the new girl in the group, although she looked at Emilia with a raised eyebrow.

When McGonagall entered the classroom she took notes of the changed seating arrangement, but didn't seem to mind. In fact, Emilia could have sworn she saw a quick smile on her face – McGonagall was one of those teachers who had always been worried about her.

Emilia still couldn't comprehend what had happened. Within a few days that girl she used to talk with in the evening had become one of the closest people she had ever had for probably all her life.

Even as a child Emilia didn't have many close friends. She had always been very quiet and reserved, only wanted to wear black, especially black dresses, and she was never interested in playing as actively as other kids.

People had told her that it wasn't right of her to sit around, that she had to be wild, that she had to jump and run around as a child, because ‘that is what children are supposed to do’. Stubborn as she was, Emilia started to hate it even more and did the exact opposite. Sometimes she sat at a table for hours while drawing only to prove a point.

Emilia's parents were both Wizards, but she was raised in a muggle neighbourhood, visited Muggle elementary schools and kindergartens, played with muggle toys… her parents weren't averse to the wizard world, they read lots of wizard books to her as well, showed her wizard-only villages and events, but they always seemed to be drawn to muggles.

Emilia had learned very early that the wizard world didn't appreciate what her parents did in the slightest, but since her father was involved with muggles in his job the families connection to muggles seemed natural.

Emilia accepted the muggle world more than her parents could have dreamed of. She started to be interested in science, wanted to know more about muggles history and in the end grew up like other muggleborns in Hogwarts. She had been able to control some of her magical powers already when the letter came, but she was still split about the fact that she was actually a witch.

Just liker her friends who all went to middle school, she wanted to learn more about chemistry, biology, and physics. But she also wanted to be able to cast spells. To have her own wand and a broom.

The day before joining Hogwarts she had cried herself to sleep in her parents bed, contemplating whether she wanted to stay with the few people she knew although she wouldn't belong, or whether she hoped she would finally fit in in a world she felt alien to.

Her parents blamed themselves, worrying that they had involved her too much into the muggle world. Until this day they still sent Emilia books about science, history, and all sorts of things her parents found.

Due to her interest, her father started to study some muggle science himself, and whatever he found interesting he made sure to send it to his daughter. Overall, owning or reading muggle books wasn't forbidden, but also not viewed favourably.

Emilia made sure to send back every book before another arrived, which wasn't an issue, since she usually binged through them in a few days.

~

McGongalls lesson ended, and Emilia, Sally and Clarissa headed to Snapes classroom.

Just like usually, Emilia had finished her potion way earlier than the rest of the class. It had surprised her how a bit of knowledge about chemistry had helped her in the lessons. Sometimes she wondered if Snape knew much about chemistry, and that lots of things he taught didn't only base on magic, but sometimes could also be explained by muggle sciences.

Emilia spent the remaining time helping Sally with her potion, although she had to admit, that she wasn't particularly helpful today as she spent most of her time looking at her. She wondered what had happened, Sally looked so… different. Her smile alone made Emilia's heart race.

“No, no no, you are a god damn idiot”, Emilia thought to herself. She was just not used to having a friend, that was all.

Emilia was glad when Snape ended the lesson and she could stop staring at her friend like a creep. Also, after skipping breakfast, she felt hungry. She followed Sally and Clarissa into the main hall. Both of them were very occupied discussing various things, from rumours to subjects.

Emilia hesitated a little when the two girls sat down, looking around for free places, but then finally sat down next to Clarissa. She now faced Sally who shook her head and smiled. She had told Emilia many times that she wasn't hated by others (anymore) and that she could sit down with her, but Emilia was never really sure.

“I see you warm up a little”, Clarissa smiled and turned towards her, “Its cool to see you being a little more outgoing now.”

Again Emilia didn't know what to say.

“Do you guys want to join next week? Ravenclaw was allowed a party in the basement, I'm sure it will be lots of fun!”, Clarissa said. “You can also bring a date”, she grinned.

Emilia immediately looked at Sally and felt how her face started to burn. A FRIEND, she tried to remember herself, but somehow she knew it was futile. She stared at her plate to distract herself, she had wanted to eat more anyway.

“Funny”, Sally said sarcastically, “Not after the disaster with Oscar – I pass!”

Oscar was Sally's ex. Their relationship was very quick, had seemed to be very intense and most importantly – had ended in a massive argument. Emilia had to admit though that she didn't only know barely any details, she had also never cared.

“Okay okay”, Clarissa laughed, “Understandable, only you two then, right?”

“Sure, have you even been to one of Ravenclaws parties yet?”, Sally asked Emilia.

“No”, she answered.

“I… never was invited”, Emilia added and looked back at her plate.

“Well now you are!”, Sally said. Her eyes were glowing in anticipation.

“Its lots of fun, there's a small buffet usually, butterbeer and music. Everyone from third grade and higher can come”, Clarissa explained.

“Is there something like… a motto? Or anything else I need to know?”, Emilia wondered.

“No, at least not that I know.”, Clarissa said.

Both continued eating, and Emilia didn't know how to continue the conversation either. She couldn't really believe what was happening. It was all too quick for her, she was almost scared.

~~

This day had probably been one of the least productive ones Emilia had had in a long time. She had no issues following the lessons, but she kept drifting off with her thoughts over and over again. When the last lesson was over Emilia was glad she could finally get some time alone to sort her thoughts.

“Do you want to go into the common room with us Emilia? We will do our homework together until dinner.”, Clarissa asked.

“Oh, no thanks, I uhm… I already made it, and I still want to take a shower.”, Emilia answered. She was glad Clarissa had asked, and turning down the offer made her pretty sad, but she was tired and wanted nothing more than some time of her own.

“But, thanks Clarissa, maybe another time!”

“Oh yeah, no worries!”

At least Clarissa didn't seem mad. Emilia could never tell if people really wanted her to join or if it was just a pity-offer. Sally and Clarissa left to the common room, while Emilia headed the other direction.