Luggage packed, tickets checked, walking down the corridor. The two of them luckily found an empty compartment.
"Wow, Vespera, you're amazing! How did you figure out where the platform was?"
"Study your math well and observe people's movements."
Vespera placed her luggage up on the rack and opened the birdcage, letting Perrin stand obediently on the seat.
"Of course you can do it too, it's not hard," Vespera said, sitting down opposite Harry. "Provided your glasses were in good shape."
"Can I fix them for you?"
"Of course! Thank you so much."
"Reparo."
The effect was not bad.
Vespera wouldn't tell Harry that this was her first time using magic, and she hoped the spell would keep his glasses together for a while longer.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you? I really couldn't find an empty compartment anywhere, please."
The red-haired boy's eyes were full of apology and plea. Vespera and Harry exchanged glances and spoke at the same time, "Go ahead."
"Gosh, thank you so much. I'm Ron, Ron Weasley."
"Vespera Quinlan."
"Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter!" Ron's expression was very animated; it was easy to see how shocked he was. "The boy who lived!"
Realizing he seemed a bit too excited, Ron sat down cautiously beside Harry, trying to use a calmer tone.
"Are you really the boy who lived?"
Harry Potter smiled shyly and raised a hand to push back his bangs.
"If you mean the Harry Potter with this mark, then I suppose I am."
Holding Perrin and stroking his smooth feathers, Vespera watched the two kids across from her going back and forth like they were acting out a script.
Kids these days really had such expressive faces.
So that lightning bolt meant he got struck by lightning and survived?
After a moment, Ron finally calmed his inner turbulence and realized there was someone else in the compartment.
「Sorry, I got too excited... You...」
His eyes crashed into Vespera's. "Your eyes are so pretty, like amethysts in a storefront..."
"Ah, sorry..."
Dark, thick, shoulder-length wavy hair, deep purple eyes, sharp and defined features.
Ron dared to swear to Merlin that this was the prettiest person he had ever laid eyes on.
"It's fine, that's normal."
After all, getting struck by lightning and not dying was genuinely rare. She was quite excited herself.
Vespera's forgiving smile made Ron even more shy, so he had to find something to say: "You cast a spell just now, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Ron, Vespera is amazing, she helped fix my glasses."
Distracted by Ron, Harry had almost forgotten to thank Vespera for her kind deed.
"Sorry to interrupt, but has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost his toad."
The three children shook their heads in unison. The girl with brown shoulder-length curls looked disappointed for a fraction of a second.
"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you, and I hope we have a pleasant time at Hogwarts."
With that, she knocked on the next compartment door. "Excuse me..."
The scenery along the way to Hogwarts was very pretty; both Perrin and Pela stared intently out the window.
Harry spent a small fortune buying a bunch of little snacks, and Vespera had a brief taste of what money smelled like. After eating their fill, the three kids slept for a bit.
As they were nearing the station, Hermione passed by their compartment to remind them to change into their wizard robes.
Vespera looked around the train for her luggage and owl, only to be told that the Pixies had already taken the luggage up to the school.
Because she was delayed a bit, she didn't manage to get into the same boat with people she knew.
A tall giant beckoned for her, the left-behind one, to board a boat where two boys were already sitting.
Their robes were pinned with small name tags.
Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini.
A flash of amazement crossed both boys' eyes, but neither initiated a conversation. A quiet atmosphere filled the small boat, and all three of them were content in their own worlds.
...
"Hannah Abbott."
"Hufflepuff."
...
Vespera was at the very end of the line, preceded by Zabini and Nott.
"Harry Potter, Gryffindor."
...
"Draco Malfoy, Slytherin."
Oh, the reason she was at the very end of the line was that she had accidentally stepped on Mr. Malfoy's heel.
Getting dirt on his slicked-back blonde hair.
And then being pestered by him for a while.
That kid kept blaming her for ruining his historic meeting with the savior Harry Potter.
An eleven-year-old minor, advanced case of middle-schooler syndrome, totally incurable.
After spacing out for a bit, the Sorting Hat called her name: "Vespera Quinlan."
Walking closer, Vespera stared at the hat sitting there. "What is it, Miss Quinlan?" Deputy Headmistress McGonagall asked, puzzled.
This hat was "a tiny bit" filthy, and she didn't really want to put it on her head.
"Nothing, Madam Headmistress."
"Hmm... wise and clear-headed, diligent and thirsty for knowledge, oh? Hiding some secrets you can't tell me, hmm... gazing at the moon, waiting for the wind..."
"Ravenclaw!"
Dinner at the house tables was lavish: roast chicken, steaks, roast sausages, pork chops, lamb chops...
Vespera's verdict: inferior to the boiled potatoes at the orphanage.
How could anyone make food taste this awful?!
They deserved divine retribution! She was going to write a letter tomorrow to report this to the Headmaster and the Ministry of Magic!
No, she'd write it tonight.
-
On the top floor of the tower, behind the bronze knocker shaped like an eagle, lay the Ravenclaw common room.
Except, they couldn't get in?!
"Incorrect password."
The Hilliard Prefect, accustomed to this, led the upper-year students in digging out bedding, preparing to sleep right there on the floor in the hallway.
"What question can you only answer with 'yes'?"
The little eagles, defeated time and again, had already pulled up their blankets and lay flat on the floor; when it came to sleeping, anywhere worked.
"When someone asks me how y-e-s is spelled."
"Correct password."
Password... huh? Password correct!
The little eagles cheered. Today, for a rare change, was a day with beds. Meanwhile, Vespera had walked briskly to her dormitory, sat upright at the desk, picked up her pen, and wrote:
"Dear Headmaster Dumbledore, please forgive my actions.
I wish to report the Hogwarts dining hall for attempting to ruin my appetite and ultimately starve me to death. This is slow murder.
It is hard to imagine what kind of genius could possibly create such despair-inducing food..."
"Dear Minister of Magic, Mr. Fudge. Greetings, and I hope this letter finds you well. If it does disturb you, I offer my deepest apologies... Regarding the nutritional health of underage wizards... food waste..."
Perrin wasn't with her, so Vespera had no choice but to slip the letter into an addressed envelope first and find him at the owlery tomorrow.
Ravenclaw had a relatively small number of students, and Vespera's dormitory was a two-person room.
Her roommate Catherine Palmer had just returned from the washroom. "Vespera, are you done writing?"
"Yes, going to wash up now."
When she came back from washing up, Catherine was still awake. She looked like she was waiting for her. "Is something the matter?"
"You are so amazing, you answered the password right." The girl's eyes were full of stars.
Vespera climbed onto her bed, bundled herself into the blanket, and faced the moon outside the window. "I just happened to read English brain teasers. If you need, I can have Perrin bring them over for you to borrow."
"Really! Thank you, I'd love to read them."
"You're welcome, get some rest now, classes start tomorrow." This was Vespera's first time sleeping with moonlight as her pillow; she missed home so much.
Within two minutes, nothing was left in the room except the even breathing of the two girls.
Youth was wonderful indeed; her head hit the pillow and she was out.
-
The very first class for Ravenclaw first-years was Professor Sprout's Herbology.
At the Ravenclaw table, Vespera drank a bowl of oatmeal porridge and two slices of toast slathered with jam.
"Hello, Vespera." Cho Chang, a second-year senior student, sat down beside her. "Hello, Senior Cho Chang."
Senior Cho Chang was very pretty, and the familiar East Asian face gave her a long-absent sense of warmth.
"Senior, do you know how to cook?" The second-year girl paused, then smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Vespera, I'm not very good at it."
"My father is great at it, though. He runs an oriental restaurant in Chinatown, and business is very good."
Vespera imagined the taste of Chinese food and drank another bowl of oatmeal porridge.
A bit too full.
The West Tower owlery was a great spot: sending mail, walking off food.
There weren't many students in the owlery in the morning, and Perrin was doing well here. The two little eagles had a brief affectionate moment, and Vespera handed the letter over to him.
"Clever good boy, remember to deliver the nearby ones first, go on."
"What's written in your letter?"
Green and white necktie, Slytherin crest.