we were first years once (open)

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It was the day before classes started and the day after he had first arrived at Hogwarts. Lien didn't get a very good night's sleep, but he suspected there were others that hadn't either: there was a lot of wind that night, and up in the Ravenclaw tower it sounded horrific. Now he was browsing over his new timetable and eating some plain porridge, looking like he was being swallowed up by his two-sizes-too-big second-hand robes.

He hadn't spoken much to the other boys in his dormitory. Most of them had been quite shy, and Lien wasn't complaining. He was slightly wary of them - Parkinson, Nott, Macmillan - all pureblood names, all exceedingly wealthy. They probably would start picking on him for being the odd one out, despite the Nott boy crying into his pillow at three o'clock in the morning. He probably didn't realise that he'd overheard that.

Hyacinth blushed when she came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Amy. Things are fine," he greeted with an awkward smile as he looked over at his new friends.

"Chang, Nott, this is one of my sisters!"

@Amaryllis Macmillan @Lien Chang @Atticus Nott

He didn't know what the Nott twins were talking about in hushed voices, but he wanted to believe it was nothing sinister. Atticus still looked like he was constantly on the verge of tears, and he thought it was a little bit soppy of him. He was eleven years old: surely he had been looking forward to going on an adventure, away from his Mum and Dad, in this huge, fancy castle! Then again, he probably lived in a castle himself...

When a very pretty girl in her late teens came over, Lien didn't realise his mouth was slightly open when Macmillan introduced her as his sister. There was very little resemblance between them, but maybe it was because Macmillan had dark hair. The brother was blond too...

"Hi..." Lien said shyly, unable to meet her eye. "I'm Lien, um, what's your name?"

@Amaryllis Macmillan @Hyacinth Macmillan

Atticus smiled nervously at Alayna. Although this was the first time they were away from the eyes of their Father, it felt as though he had planted a second pair in the walls. He had told Atticus before he left: nothing gets past me.

Swallowing a parched throat, he took a quick sip of pumpkin juice and almost dribbled the entire lot over his robe when Macmillan introduced his sister. Did he really want to introduce her to him? Did that mean he still wanted to be friends?

"I'm Atticus Nott, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said rather formally, sitting upright.

Eyes in the walls...

@Amaryllis Macmillan

Amaryllis barely even noticed the blush that stole over her little brother’s cheeks as she had kissed one of them. And he seemed to play it off as if it was nothing as well. A large smile stayed on her lips as he introduced her to his little friends. Weren’t they all just adorable?!? The one her brother indicated as Chang was the first to reply and she ruffled Hyacinth’s dark hair playfully as she realized he hadn’t properly introduced her. He would learn in time, he was still young. His manners were still in the works! ”I’m Amaryllis but most people just call me Amy. It’s nice to meet you Lien and you as well, Atticus.” she said with that same friendly smile. What better than to get to know her brother’s little friends a little better before she returned to Indigo and Memphis? They had seemed wrapped up in conversation anyway after all.

@Hyacinth Macmillan  @Lien Chang @Atticus Nott

He had been talking to Indigo about his post-Hogwarts plans, when a familiar sight caught his eye. What a spectacle she was. His conversation drifted off and his face lit up, watching her glide over to them like some ethereal beauty. As she kissed him, his hand moved across hers and he held her fingers delicately, smiling like a love-struck fool, but she said that she wanted to greet her brother.

"But of course, my darling..." he said wistfully, watching her go over to him.

He turned back to Indigo and lowered his voice: "You wouldn't happen to know her favourite bloom, would you? I imagine amaryllises are far too predictable..."

@Amaryllis Macmillan

"That's a really... nice name."

How stupid! Lien blushed.

"It's a very pretty name," said Atticus, and Lien stared at him. Who had the nerve to say something like that, and without even batting an eyelid over it! Atticus Nott really was a strange boy.

"Are you in Ravenclaw too?" he asked timidly.

@Amaryllis Macmillan

Amaryllis glanced back to where Memphis and Indigo still chatted, a wistful look in her blue eyes as she finally tore her gaze away from him as one of the boys spoke once more. ”how kind of you both to say.” she said, smile still in place. ”Oh no, I’m in Hufflepuff. I just couldn’t miss a chance to meet Hyacinth’s new friends and say hello.” she knew that their brothers gave him a rough time more often than not so she always went out of her way to try to be there for him and make sure he didn’t feel left out. It’s what big sisters were for, right?

@Lien Chang

Alayna watched all the boys go googoo eyes over the older girl and rolled her own eyes. She continues to eat the food on her plate before she looked at her brothers new little friends "You said you're lien right? I'm Alayna. Sorry Rowle was being such a dick to you. He likes to run his mouth to make himself seem important."

@Lien Chang

Smiling in embarrassment, Lien didn't know what was more intimidating: the older girl talking to them, or Alayna addressing him directly. He nodded slightly, confirming his name.

"Um, it's fine," he said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say to her. He had a feeling that if he said anything wrong, the bowl of marmalade would end up over his head.

"I'm looking forward to classes, especially Transfiguration. I've been reading up on it, and there's all sorts of rules that restrict what you can and can't do. It's actually quite mathematical, and I really enjoyed Maths classes when I went to school."

Alayna cocked her head to the side and giggled, he certainly was a Ravenclaw, "I'm not to sure if I'll do well with that. I'm not one for rules really." She picked up her juice and took another sip, "I am looking forward to defense against the dark arts. I think it will be very.... Useful for me in life." It could teach her to fight back against her father one day. She could defend herself and Atticus. That was important

@Lien Chang

Chewing on a scone, Hyacinth was relieved that the attention was off of him for the time being. It was overwhelming, and he needed to make sure he at least ate most of his breakfast! He needed the energy to run around and start the day after all!

He dabbed a napkin around his chin and added to the conversation, "I think I'm looking forward to flying class. It seems a lot of fun!"

Amaryllis smiled once more towards Hyacinth and his friends. "I will stop pestering you guys now and let you get back to breakfast. If you need anything, I'd be happy to help just find me." She did plan on being head girl next year after all!

Then she moved away from the table and back to where Indigo and Memphis stood chatting. She snaked one of her arms through Memphis' as she smiled up to him. "What are you boys talking about?" She asked them curiously, happy to join in whatever conversation they may be having.

@Memphis Rowle @Hyacinth Macmillan

"Me too!" Atticus piped up enthusiastically, forgetting about eyes in the walls for a moment as he looked at the boy in glee. "Do you like Quidditch? What's your favourite team? Mine is the Falmouth Falcons! I had a season ticket last year, and one of their Chasers took a bludger to the knee and it knocked right the other way! There was Mediwizards all over the pitch, but I got a good photo of it! I'll show you when we're back at the dorm!"

He had never felt so much energy come from nowhere in his entire life. What was in the food?

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"I don't think I'll be much good at flying..."

Because he'd never flown before, and wasn't too good with heights.

He looked at Alayna, diverted his eyes back to his toast, and asked her: "Why is that?"

@Alayna Nott @Hyacinth Macmillan

When she made her way back over to them, Memphis smiled down proudly at her. It was the perfect way to end his Hogwarts education: Head Boy and a beautiful, intelligent girlfriend by his side. Perhaps he could invite her back to his quarters later, as he had his own now: she would love the exquisite furnishings. And they had somewhere to be together in private...

"Everything and nothing, although the nothing part was purely my doing," he said, chuckling as he kissed the top of her head. "Shall we sit and eat together, my darling? And you can tell me all about your summer. Where was it that you visited again?" he asked, smiling briefly at Indigo as he took the hint and drifted back to the Hufflepuff table. Memphis guided her to Slytherin's, near to where his brother had rejoined.

@Amaryllis Macmillan

Alayna laughed as Atticus got all excited about quidditch. She never understood much about the sport herself, but she liked that it made Atti so happy. She looked back at lien when he asked why she was determined to learn defense against the dark arts, "Not everyone has a nice and comfy home life." Was all she said before looking down at her plate.

@Lien Chang

"My other brother is into quidditch more than I am, but mum takes us to at least two games a season!"

Their dad was always busy working at the Ministry, and he wasn't as into quidditch as he used to be. It was something to discuss at the dinner table.

His jaw dropped in astonishment. "You got to see that? Wow! I like the Pride of Portree!"

@Atticus Nott

"Yeah! It was so funny, Alayna was shrieking and making a big, big scene over it. Mother tried to shield my eyes but I told her that I wanted to see, and it was just so fun..."

Because his Father wasn't there. He didn't have to sit up straight and watch the pitch like he was viewing some boring opera.

"We were supposed to be in one of the boxes but I asked Mother if we could sit on the stands, because I love how crazy the crowd get in the games. Someone spilt their drink over me. It was amazing!"

Not so many people would find that experience amazing, but Atticus would.

"I think they're playing Portree this Autumn, but I can't go to that match as I'll be here..." Damn.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

Laughing, tiny pieces of Hyacinth's scone spewed out of his mouth. "Indigo would've done the same thing!" Sports never really appealed to his older brother; he always preferred going shopping with their sisters. Hyacinth really didn't understand why Indigo wasn't into playing in the dirt or climbing trees. He only had one brother to do boyish stuff with instead of two. It was a bit lonely!

"He'd throw a fit too over a drink being spilled!"

That was just how his brother was.

Hyacinth frowned when he realized he'd be missing that match too. "At least we have our house team to watch!"

@Atticus Nott

It was an ominous answer, but he didn't understand her meaning behind it. Particularly when he was forced to skip lunches to forage from an apple tree in the garden...

"Did you really shriek?" he asked, laughing.

@Alayna Nott

Alayna frowned as Atticus began telling his story, "I did not shriek. I do not shriek." But that was a lie. She had almost cried during that game and had wanted to go home the entire time. She rolled her eyes and looked across to the Slytherin table, trying to catch Rowles eye. She didn't know why, but she wanted to know if he was watching her.

Amaryllis looked up at Memphis adoringly, she truly found herself lucky to have been able to find a boyfriend such as him. And he was head boy as well, which also led to another level of pride. How many girls could say they were dating the head boy? Only her, that's who! She rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him when he spoke before kissing the top of her head. "Is that your way of telling me it was boy talk and I'm not included?" She said with a mock pout that quickly faded into a smile. She didn't mind, really. She did like to tease Memphis from time to time, though. And he seemed to like her wit. "That sounds lovely." She said as she moved over to the Slytherin table with him. "Mallorca. It was so beautiful there. I almost didn't want to leave!" She said, a smile on her lips as she thought back to the beautiful beaches where she had spent much of her time while there.

@Memphis Rowle