𝑬𝑼𝑷𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑨|| 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

~5~

Suddenly, the train came to a halt which made the box of jellybeans she had bought fall all over the floor. She let out a frustrated huff as she got up and pulled her suitcase off the shelf before taking out her wand and flicking it at the mess to clean it up instantly.

Then she followed the crowd of students off the train and onto the Hogsmeade platform which was surrounded by a forest. Her eyes instantly when to the half-giant caretaker of the school called Hagrid.

"Good to see you came back this year Miss Parkinson," Hagrid said as he held onto his belt, his beard moving in the gentle breeze. "I almost didn't." She replied with a smirk before she headed down the dirt path which led to a line of black carriages pulled by thin, boney and dark horses called Thestrals.

To see them, you would need to if witnesses death. Asteria could see these magical creatures however she never told anyone that she could, knowing they would blame it on her murdering someone or something along those lines.

Instead, she threw her suitcase on the back of the carriage before jumping up into it. The Hufflepuff waited there for a bit, watching as people approached the carriage but saw her and ran away until she was sent to the castle in the carriage alone.

After jumping off the black, slick carriage, she headed up a set of stairs into the castle. Afterwards, she walked through the Great Hall and took her seat at the back of the yellow table.

The Great Hall was a spectacle to see. The ceiling of the room couldn't be seen due to the dark mist above which had floating candlesticks amongst it.

The Sorting Ceremony was one of the most boring events at Hogwarts, according to the Hufflepuff. She sat resting her head in her hand as McGonagall read out the names and placed the sorting hat on their head.

Occasionally, she would glance over at the Slytherin table and smile at the slightly younger boy if he wasn't focused on his pure-blood friends who saw Asteria as more of a disappointment than her own father did.

Finally, all the names were read out and Dumbledore had done his speech. Then plates of food appeared on the table which all the students destroyed.

"Prefects, show your houses to their common rooms." The silver bearded Headmaster ordered as he pushed his half-moon glasses up his nose. And with that, the students with the Prefect badges led the different houses back to their common rooms.

Asteria trailed along behind the yellow tied house, aimlessly looking around the corridor at the stands of amour or candles. Because she was too focused on the flickering flames, she did not notice the small brown cat which had jumped out of a students arm and started to run towards her. At the last moment, she noticed the animal and came to a sudden halt, barely avoiding stepping on it.

She then bent down with her hand out to check the cat was alright but just before she stroked the top of its head, the student came running over. "Get away from it before you kill it!" They shouted which made all the other students around look over and stare at the Hufflepuff whose face was starting to go red.

She said no more and hurried away, her head down at the ground to avoid eye contact with the muttering students.

-☘︎︎-

The Hufflepuff common room was located on the same corridor as the Kitchens which the Hufflepuff students took advantage of. Pass the wooden door to the kitchens, which constantly leaked the scent of freshly cooked food, was a stack of barrels.

This stack of barrels would open if tapped in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. As a security device to repel non-Hufflepuffs, tapping on the wrong barrel, or tapping the incorrect number of times, resulting in one of the other lids bursting off and drenching the invader in vinegar.

Asteria quickly tapped on the barrels in the correct rhythm to hide from everyone else. The common room was decorated in the cheerful, bee-like colours of yellow and black, emphasised by the use of highly polished, honey-coloured wood for the tables and the round doors which led to the boys' and girls' dormitories

Originally, Asteria had a dorm mate however she was so scared of her that she asked to sleep in another dorm, leaving her to sleep alone. But she didn't really mind. She enjoyed the peace and quiet.

She went into her dormitory, turning the golden door handle before swinging the doors to her wardrobe open and getting changed into pyjamas.

Afterwards, she headed over to the record player she had in her dorm, which she had exchanged with a muggle student, and put on a Beatles record. Although she loved other bands, the Beatles were her favourite to listen to.

Then, leaning against the wall on her dresser was 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and she picked up the book and sat crossed-legged on the end of her bed.

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..." The curly-haired girl sang as she flicked through the book. At a young age so discovered she could both sing and read at the same time which was a skill she would show off if she had anyone to show it to. "But now it looks like they're here to stay,"