open Scared of chocolate frog Finished

Sarah watched as an excited first year opened the mail an owl had just dropped in their lap. The girl's eyes had grown comically wide when they'd caught sight of the purple box which Sarah knew held the chocolate frog. She'd overheard her speaking in the common room a few days prior so was aware she was a muggle born who'd only just found out about the magical world. Sarah couldn't imagine what that was like - not knowing about magic, growing up without it and then suddenly being told you were a witch. She felt the right side of her lip curl as she watched the girl turn to her friend excitedly before she tore open the box.

A part of Sarah knew exactly what was about to happen. It was what happened to every young wizard or witch the first time they opened a chocolate frog. And as if on cue, the small brown frog left out of the box and onto the long table about three feet from the girl. A small giggle slipped passed her lips as the girl looked in the direction the frog had jumped with a dejected look on her face. It was quickly wiped away when her friend motioned to the box and her attention slipped from the frog and fell on card. "I got Dumbledore," She heard the excited words and felt mild relief that the loss of frog had been, at least momentarily forgotten. Sarah turned back to her croissant, about to take a bite when she heard the scream. It made her flinch and drop the pastry back onto her plate, her eyes growing wide as they snapped in the direction the noise had come from.

Breakfast was nearing end, so the Great Hall was becoming less and less full. It meant that the Slytherin table wasn't as bustling as usual - part of the reason why Sarah always opted to arrive at the start or end of the meal. Her eyes caught sight of the girl who had screamed, a mass of black hair framing a pale face from her position on the floor. Sarah blinked. Once. Twice. Before she realised she should probably offer some assistance. She quickly reached forward to grab ahold of the stray frog, passing it back over to the girl who it belonged to with a small smile, before turning back to the girl on the floor. She stood up, took steps across the few feet which separated them, and stuck out her hand.

"Do you need a hand?" She asked with a smile she hoped was friendly enough. It had been something she was working on. She was intimidating my nature - her bright hair and sharp features made her unapproachable, her Slytherin tie meant members of others houses gave her a wide birth, and her name proceeded her. She mentally cursed her father and his backwards bigoted ways for that one. She shook her head, realising she was distracting herself and focussed back on the girl. "Don't worry, I got rid of the frog," She grinned.

The corner of Sarah’s lips quirked upwards at the girl’s refusal to take her hand. I’d likely refuse a hand too, Sarah thought to herself as she drew back her arm and watched the girl climb to her feet. She gathered it was a show of strength, a way to prove she didn’t need help and to negate the embarrassment the girl no doubt felt from her reaction to the chocolate frog. Sarah took a small step backwards, noting the way the girl looked her up and down. She saw it in her eyes, having seen that look a hundred times before. The girl looked nervous – borderline scared – and despite Sarah having seen it so often before, she didn’t like it. She’d never liked the fear in people’s eyes when they looked at her. She knew it was something her father had always loved – to intimate those he deemed lesser than himself, or rather anyone other than himself. Sarah, not so much.

“Thank you,” Sarah internally cringed. Despite the hint of annoyance so clearly evident in the girl’s tone, she could see the doubt in her eyes. It was obvious if you knew where to look – in her eyes which slightly widened when they met Sarah’s, and the defensive position to girl seemed to take, as if she was ready to flee. Sarah took another, almost imperceptible step backwards, hoping the distance would lessen the girl’s worry. “Don’t worry about it,” She said and offered her another smile – unsure whether it would have the intended effect or not. Sarah hoped it did. “Not a fan of frogs?” She asked, mildly bemused. “I get it. I’m like that with spiders,” She added quickly, letting an overly dramatic shiver wrack her body.

@Hildegard Schneider

Sarah chuckled at the girl’s words. Frogs are scary. She could see where she was coming from, all long tongues and slimy bodies. She was about to say as much when the younger girl spoke again. Sarah was mildly put out. No, she certainly did not have the best social skills, nor was her appearance exactly approachable, but she didn’t think she’d given the girl any reason to believe she was being mocked. “I wasn’t,” She said with a slight frown, shaking away the annoyance the assumption made her feel. Clearly this girl was used to be mocked, and it had made her overly wary – pessimistic towards people. Sarah decided, the stubborn person she was, that she would prove that not everyone was out to get the girl.

She would have spoken again but the girl’s question threw her off. It was something which Sarah had considered herself on occasion. It was certainly strange to be eating something which so closely resembled a living animal – even if that something was made solely of chocolate and magic. It was why Sarah had always given the treat to her brother when they were younger, keeping the card for herself and offering him the chocolate. It had been a sound enough system. Of course, they didn’t happen now. It was one of the main reasons why Sarah favoured other treats, like fudge flies and saltwater taffies, over chocolate frogs these days. She shook away the thought, pushing the memories of Albert to the back of her mind to deal with at a later date – or never.

“It is rather odd, isn’t it?” Sarah said, sitting back down at the Slytherin table and motioning her head towards the bench in an offer for the other girl to also sit. “I think the cards are certainly the best part,” She agreed, grabbing an apple she saw on the table and taking a bite. Hopefully it’ll make me look less threatening, Sarah thought. “I’m Sarah by the way, second year,” She said after a moment’s thought.

@Hildegard Schneider

When the girl sat, Sarah smiled slightly to herself. Baby steps, she thought to herself as she angled her body towards the younger Slytherin, offering her full attention. She noticed the girl’s stuttering, no doubt a side effect of her nervousness. She hoped she could at least get rid of some of it. “Yeah, collecting chocolate frog cards is kind of a popular past time here,” Sarah said with a small laugh, mind drifting back to first year when she’d seen a fight almost break out because a Gryffindor girl had supposedly stolen a small Ravenclaws chocolate frog card.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Hildegard,” Sarah said, testing the foreign word on her tongue. She liked it. “It’s an interesting name, where is it from?” She asked curiously. Sarah was far from well-travelled, her father rarely letting her out of the manor grounds, bar a few special occasions. It had left her with a curiosity for all things uncommon and new. She saw as a question clearly formed in Hildegard’s head, though she stopped herself from asking it.

I wonder what she was about to ask. Sarah thought, though was momentarily side-tracked by her compliment. She felt her cheeks heat slightly, unused to such kind words, even if there was an apparent edge to them which Sarah couldn’t quite place. “Thank you. Yours are very pretty too,” She smiled, noting the deep brown colour of the younger girl’s eyes. They really were lovely. “My father thinks mine are ‘obnoxiously bright’” She added, mimicking her father’s voice as she quoted the words he’d often use. She rolled her eyes, personally quite fond of her eye colour; green was her favourite colour after all. Not that that’s hard to deduce. Her mind flicked back to the question Hildegard had been about to ask and she glanced back at her. “What were you about to ask anyway?” She asked.

“I’m about as British as they come. Never even been outside of England,” Sarah said with a soft, slightly dejected, chuckle. It was something she often thought about, how her family had not only always been Pure Blood, but also remained entirely made up of witches and wizards from the United Kingdom. She’d overheard a conversation in the manor once: an older wizard congratulating her father on his ‘pure lineage’. It had sounded far too much like racism for Sarah’s liking.

She saw Hildegard’s reaction to her words, clearly not believing the compliment. It was unfortunate; Sarah had meant what she’d said, truly finding her deep brown eyes enchanting. Still, she knew trying to convince the younger girl wouldn’t likely go down too well so let it pass this time. She felt her own lips pull upwards at the smile on Hildegard’s face, silently praising herself for drawing some positive reaction from the girl. Even if the smile seemed hesitant and her refusal to tell Sarah what she’d been thinking clearly demonstrated her remaining unease.

Sarah felt herself deflate slightly as Hildegard tried to excuse herself, though the fact that she wasn’t averse to talking again did give her hope. We’re going to be friends, whether you like it or not, Sarah found herself thinking. Despite herself wanting to continue this conversation, to get Hildegard to open up, Sarah knew that forcing it wouldn’t work. “Of course, it is getting quite late after all,” Sarah said, offering the girl an excuse to be leaving in hopes of calming her still apparent nerves. “It’d be nice to see you again, maybe I'll see you aaroud the common rooms. I'd like to get to know you a little better one day,” Sarah said. “Hopefully without any incidents with chocolate frogs next time,” She added with a friendly smile.