𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔞 ✩ 𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔦𝔲𝔰 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨

0 5

CHAPTER FIVE

✩ ✩ ✩

Thousands and thousands of candles floated softly in the air, illuminating the velvety black ceiling which was dotted with bright stars. What a strange and splendid place the Great Hall of Hogwarts was, it contained five long wooden tables, four for the respective houses where the students sat and one for the teachers, each table adorned with silver goblets and plates, which reflected in the moonlight shining through the tall arched windows.

Each year would start with the Sorting Ceremony, giddy first years waited for a mystical hat, owned by one of the school's founders, to determine their house. Ariadne remembered her own sorting ever so vividly, she remembered her name being called, remembered sitting on a rickety old stool, remembered the overwhelming feeling of fear trembling through her bones when the hat shouted out Hufflepuff instead of the house of the snakes.  She remembered her brothers shocked face, when the hat screamed its verdict, remembered Sirius' utter pride that she also had been sorted into a house other than the one expected by their respective parents.

But the badgers accepted her with open arms and graciously welcomed her into their wholesome little family and Ariadne was never once disappointed with her Sorting again, though you couldn't say the same about her parents.

Following the Sorting Ceremony, the Headmaster stood and gave his ever increasingly confusing speech. He spoke of the new students who were beginning their magical journey, of the seventh years who were on their final stretch and of every year in between who were just trying to make their way through the rest of school with their friends by their sides.

No time passed as slowly as when Professor Dumbledore gave his first speech of the school year, not due to boredom as many would assume, his speeches always silenced the Great Hall, but because of sheer hunger and sleepiness. The journey to Hogwarts was always tiring, and despite eating as many sweets as they could possibly stomach, the second they sat at the long benches at the house tables all food dissipated, and they were ravenous once again.

Luckily, the Headmaster understood this feeling, he had once been a student himself even if it were a century ago, and he always kept the announcements short and sweet before calling for the feast to begin.

With that, an array of delicious foods immediately filled the tables, and there was a scramble to load every last bit of food onto plates. Ariadne never understood the rush, since the food would just replenish itself. There was enough food in that one room to feed every character in every book Ariadne had ever read.

She had opted for a steak pie that night, merely for the reason that it was the first thing she had seen, and she was really too tired to search for a meal she preferred. In that moment, Ariadne longed for her bed, a warm sleepy feeling had settled in her belly and completely overwhelmed her. She simply couldn't wait to be under the soft covers of her four posted bed and snuggled up comfortably in her cozy dormitory. Despite not hanging out with them regularly, Ariadne was lucky to get along well with the other three sweet girls in her dormitory, could you imagine how extremely awkward it would be to room with people who people you didn't get along with for seven years?

They all shared the vision that Ariadne had for their dormitory, muggle fairy lights embellished the pale-yellow walls and vases of pretty flowers littered their nightstands. Snug pillows and blankets covered each bed and the curtains which were drawn around them hand been embroidered with floral patterns. They had tapestries covering the ceilings of each bed which were enchanted, like the ceiling of the Great Hall, to look like the night sky, so the four of them could fall asleep to the serenity of the stars.

Sentimental pictures papered the walls, of friends and family members and the beloved animals they couldn't bring along with them to school. Ariadne herself had only three pictures, each one displaying herself and the three people she loved most in the world. Atlas, Sirius and Regulus.

The disappearance of the dinner and the emergence of puddings pulled Ariadne out of her daydream, she thought she couldn't stomach another bite of any such food but when she spotted a mouthwatering Treacle Tart in front of her that feeling was soon non-existent. Treacle Tarts were by far Ariadne's most favourite food, they tasted like heaven in her mouth.

Soon the feast was over, and they were dismissed front the magnificent hall, prefects lead the first years to their dormitories for the very first time. Ariadne, much to the fury of her mother and father, hadn't been chosen to be the female prefect for Hufflepuff, that title belonged, rightfully so, to her dormmate, Amelia Bones.

She made her way, slowly and steadily down to their kitchen-adjacent common room and entered by tapping the barrel two from the bottom, in the middle of the second row in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. The room was ironically reminiscent of a badger's sett, it was decorated in bee-like colours of yellows and black, emphasised by the use of highly polished, honey coloured wood for the tables and round doors that led to the boys' and girls' dormitories.

A colourful profusion of flowers and plants festooned the entirety of the common room, which all in some strange way seemed to smile and waves at all who passed by. Low windows displayed the green grass of the school grounds and allowed for the badger's den to have continual sunlight, even on the greyest of days. A grand fireplace was centre stage in the common room, it brought a dancing glow into their home away from home and sent a soft amber hue over the room when it was lit

Above said fireplace, an ornate golden flame housed a portrait of the house's founder, Helga Hufflepuff who greeted everyone with a large, comforting smile and toasted occasionally with a small two-handled golden goblet.

Being back at Hogwarts, back in her common room and her dormitory felt like a warm hug from a loved one who you hadn't seen for many years, like returning home after a long trip. At last, Ariadne felt safe, it was an unusual feeling to her, but a feeling she welcomed, nonetheless.

✩ ✩ ✩

Hopefully this rewrite makes up for the shitty chapter yesterday.

Please let me know what you think of this one and what you would like to see next.

Please vote, comment and share.

I love you to the stars.