Heart of Courage and Fire | Marauders Era [Poems Rewrite]

Chapter Nine - The Chattiest Ravenclaw.

Chapter Nine

"Adria!" to say she was surprised was an understatement to hear her first name called in the hallways and not her last. She didn't have the fear that shot through her, her heart didn't drop and her palms didn't sweat. The voice was recognisable but only because she knew it from the last hour.

She believed she had found the chattiest Ravenclaw in the world in one Milo Bell.

"Hi!" he said, panting slightly as he ran to catch up with her, "you walk really fast!"

"I have to get away from James and his friends," she said quietly, "the only way to do that is to pack up and leave to my next class as quickly as possible.

Milo frowned. He didn't know Adria well in the slightest but he knew that wasn't fair at all, he wasn't too fond of James and his friends. He had a small conversation with Remus one time in the library but when he found out he was friends with James and Sirius he tried to avoid him.

He had heard the rumours of the pranksters in his year and saw it in action. Part of him was sure he thought the boys saw it as one big joke that everyone was in on, but Adria definitely didn't see it like that. It was bullying.

"That's not nice," said Milo, practically towering over her. He was definitely tall for his age at eleven, and Adria had to lift her head just to look at him, "I'll walk you to your next class!"

"You don't have to," said Adria. She was quiet when she spoke, still rather shy to speak to anyone that she didn't already know and that included Milo. He was nice enough but she could never be sure, even her own brother left her.

"I want to, I have Herbology which isn't too far from Defence!" he grinned. He knew she had defence against the dark arts because she told him, still rather quietly, in potions. It was like getting blood from a stone to get the girl to speak but she was nice, he could tell.

He knew she didn't have any friends, and he didn't really have many true friends either but he spoke to people. He spoke to anyone who would speak to him. Maybe he could be her first friend, he liked the idea of that.

"Why are you being nice?" Adria finally asked, slightly louder this time. They had walked in silence but neither of them minded. She liked having Milo around her, she felt more relaxed to walk to class with someone else. Even if James and his friends still teased her, at least in some way, she wouldn't be alone to deal with it.

What she didn't know, though, is that Milo didn't back down from a fight. He, like Adria, had muggleborn parents and this was all new to him too. The only difference was that he didn't have a brother to start with him, so for the first two weeks of school, he felt entirely alone and scared in a large new world.

Adria felt like that too, Benji didn't.

Regardless, Milo had a little brother back home. He was still in primary school and was bullied quite frequently, and Milo had no issues fitting into the big brother role and beating them up for him. He worried about how his brother was doing, his mum said that he was doing okay but he wasn't completely sure.

"What do you mean," said Milo to her question, "I'm just being normal!"

"No one has been nice to me really...or well, spoke to me. I suppose I haven't spoken to them either but the only ones who have spoken to me have been rude, like stupid James Potter and his stupid friends!" she truly felt like she hated them, and with good reason.

"Well not everyone our age is as stupid as James Potter," said Milo, "I don't really like him either. My mum taught me to be nice to people. I won't back down to a fight, though!" he put up his fists, punching the air in front of him and for what felt like the first time since she arrived, Adria let out a laugh.

"Maybe we should switch places, then." She pulled on the strap of her shoulder bag, "maybe you'd be more suited in Gryffindor."

"Maybe, but I heard from someone that it's not where you're most suited but what you value most. I don't think stupid James Potter is suited to Gryffindor cause he's a giant arse. He must value bravery and courage though, and I suppose that means you do too." Milo nudged her with his shoulder, bearing his teeth in a wide grin, "I think Gryffindor suits you. You were a hatstall, though, so maybe you're suited to more than one house."

"A hatstall?" Adria repeated, "what's that?"

"Well, I didn't really know until I heard a few older kids talking. Basically, it's when the sorting hat takes longer than five minutes to choose which house you should be in." He ran a hand through his messy black hair, and fixed his squinted glasses, "I think that's cool. Shows you're suited to more houses than one, shows you have a good personality!"

"I think you're making half of this up," Adria said with a small laugh and Milo grinned again. The doorway to Defence Against the Dark Arts was just down the hallway, and class wouldn't start for another five minutes. Milo would have to sprint to make it to the greenhouses on time.

They definitely weren't close to her classroom, but he didn't care.

"What class do you have next?" asked Milo, fumbling about in his pocket to bring out his folded up timetable, "I have...Charms."

"I have History of Magic," Adria frowned, slightly wishing she had another class with Milo. She liked him, he was cool and nice and friendly and maybe could become her friend if he wanted to.

"Alright, I have a plan!" he stuffed his timetable back into his pocket, "why don't we meet in the courtyard after classes?"

"Yeah!" she nodded, "that sounds good to me."

"Cool, okay that's good. I'll see you later, Adria." He smiled at her, "and remember if those stupid idiots annoy you again-" he cut himself off by punching the air, pretending to dodge incoming punches his way and lifting his leg to kick the air.

She laughed again, slightly louder than she had before and some of her peers were surprised to hear her laugh at all. It was entirely unfamiliar, but she didn't care. She may have had a new friend for the first time ever, and she was happy about it.