[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/CcpHF74.png[/img][/center]

There were three people talking about her in hushed tones, as though she couldn't hear them when she was only sitting a couple of feet away. [i]Found the little one jus' outside me hut,[/i] small giant-man said for the tenth time that hour. The story of how he found her prowling along his hut changed a little each time he told it. [i]This cannot happen again,[/i] the stern-looking lady said, and something in the tone of her voice made her believe it won't. The squishy-looking one that had a strangely calming presence agreed with everything the lady said, but he didn't look as upset. 

Sat on a stool with nothing to do, Nova scratched her head and gritted her teeth, her extremely finite patience already at its end. They'd each spoken to her already, more or less saying the same things in different voices—Forbidden Forest this, Forbidden Forest that, you could have gotten hurt, blah blah blah. What more did they want from her? Her mum hadn't mentioned anything about this part of her first day.

But then again, her mum didn't warn her about the vehicle spawned from hell either.

Just the thought made her skin crawl. Nova has lost count of how many times she almost died or almost [i]almost died[/i] in pursuit of XXXX and XXXXX class creatures. There was that time in Borneo when she very nearly got eaten by an Acromantula; that time she dozed off while flying with her mum and fell backwards off the broom; oh! there was also that time she thought an Occamy egg was a shiny rock and its mommy got really mad when she approached it. And that was only scratching the surface. Danger came hand-in-hand in the daily life of an Oswin, and she thought that had primed her to be fearless.

She was wrong.

Even the giant, carnivorous spider paled compared to the metal beast she was forced into. Nova may have lost track of her too many close encounters, but she can count the times she had succumbed to paralyzing fear in one hand. Two fingers, actually. Once, years ago, when her mum fell ill and remained bedridden for days. And today, while she was trapped in the belly of the Nightmare Express. She'd been unbalanced and woozy and it was so hard to breathe that she thought she'd die right then and there. Why on earth would anyone want to travel in a box with narrow walls and no way out? 

[color=#F90000]"For now, let's get her sorted and off to bed. It's past curfew."[/color]

Nova looked up when the the three people finally stopped talking to each other. Her blue grey eyes warily flicked from one to the other as they approached, before lingering on the worn-looking hat the lady carried. She wondered what it was for, although she would find out soon enough.

After a bit of struggle with the talking(!) hat—long story short, she had to be lightly restrained—they eventually managed to force it onto her head and get her sorting on the way. The hat hummed for but a second before barking out a weird-sounding word she'd heard her mum mention once or twice before. [i]Gryffindor.[/i] Small giant-man looked mildly disappointed, but nice man was happy. He guided her out to a tower, to the house of the red lions, where there were more people than she'd ever seen in her whole life.

Nova slept under her bed that night, out of sight and away from all the other girls she didn't even know.

[center][--★ ★ ★--][/center]
Unlike the night before, the first day of classes ended without much incident... not that there was much chance for one. Every time she strayed from the path to her next class, or so much as edged toward the outskirts of the castle, someone conveniently popped up beside her to show her the way back. Nova couldn't believe her luck. It was like the Malaclaw week all over again! She only wanted a moment to get away—spending too much time indoors surrounded by strange people became very suffocating very quickly—but it seemed the head lady [i]was[/i] serious about not getting a repeat of last night's incident.

As she scrambled out of her last class of the day, small giant-man Rubeus Hagrid was waiting right outside the classroom to greet her. He smiled and congratulated her with a well-deserved pat on the head for making it through the day, although he warned it wasn't over yet. There was one more stop she had to make, and he was to take her there after classes.

Nova harrumphed and made a face, brows furrowing deeply and nose scrunching, but she relented anyway. Even if it was his fault that she got caught and was lectured, she liked Hagrid a lot. He talked funny and he had a deep rumbling voice that soothed her and wide shoulders that made for a comfortable perch. She could tell right away that he adored creatures as much as her mum, and that was as good a sign as any that he wasn't a bad person. 

As they walked along the corridors, Hagrid let Nova climb up his arm and drape herself over his shoulder, like she had done last night. It was a surefire way to get her to come along peacefully (Nova liked heights and the chance to tower over people for a change), and Hagrid picked up on it rather quickly. That was actually another reason she liked him: even though they'd only met, he seemed to understand her rather well. At least, better than the other people she'd met so far.

[color=a36209]"Now, yeh remember Neville, don'tcha?"[/color] Hagrid asked as they rounded a corner.

Nova nodded slowly. [color=#ffd700]"The lion king. Nice and squishy."[/color]

A hearty laugh rumbled out of Hagrid's chest and shook his shoulders. [color=a36209]"Yeah, that's 'im. He wants yeh to join this group some o' yer classmates have started. Said it might help yeh adjust."[/color]

[color=#ffd700][b]"NO!"[/b][/color] Nova thrashed about, kicking her legs and flailing an arm in a little temper tantrum. She would have jumped off his shoulder and scurried far, far away if he hadn't held onto her. From what she'd experienced earlier in the day, other people were just no good. Humans were difficult to understand and weird, nothing at all like magical creatures she had come to know as well as herself. 

[color=a36209]"It's not summat yeh can say no to, I'm afraid."[/color] As though sensing her rising tension, he gave her another gentle pat on the head, and while it didn't completely calm her down, now she only hissed and pouted. 

They came to a stop in front of a room, which Hagrid pointed out as their destination, just as a dark-haired boy slipped inside. Nova stiffened, glaring at the door as though she could scare it away, and grabbed a fistful of Hagrid's robe easily to hold onto. Even then, it took Hagrid no effort at all to lift her off his shoulder and settle her down on the ground next to him. 

[color=#ffd700]"I don't want to go,"[/color] she tried again, shaking her head profusely.

Hagrid crouched down and gave her a comforting smile. [color=a36209]"Don' yeh worry, Nova. I promise Yeh'll come ter like it soon enough."[/color]

He ushered her in then, and try as she might to dig her heels into the concrete floor, there was no fighting Hagrid's sheer strength. With resistance rendered futile, Nova resorted to hiding behind the not-too-giant giant instead, poking her head out just enough to keep her eyes trained on the members of the group. There were so many of them, she wasn't sure who to watch out for! Although, Nova already picked out the ones to [i]not[/i]. Like the super skinny boy with dark curls; or the tall, dark-skinned girl that made her think of a harmless flower; or even the other girl with hair like fire. Nova was sure she could easily take them on, [i]if[/i] they were on their own. But if they were anything like a pack of wolves, they wouldn't take to outsiders at all. She'd be no match against their numbers.

[color=a36209]"Sorry ter interrupt yeh fellas,"[/color] Hagrid nodded to the group, smiling as he spotted familiar faces and greeting the two Hufflepuffs among them. He cast a worried glance behind him, where Nova stood with her back hunched, knees bent and feet firmly on the ground, and teeth bared. The girl looked about ready to pounce, and he wasn't so certain that she wouldn't go through with it. 

Still, he pushed her forward and offered a brief introduction. [color=a36209]"This here is Nova and she'll be joinin' yeh're group, if tha's okay."[/color]

Hagrid turned to Nova before he left, hoping a quick escape to the forest would be an incentive for her to cooperate. [color=a36209]"Yeh can come visit me hut when yeh're all done. I'll let yeh feed the Hippogriff!"[/color]

Nova watched Hagrid duck under the door frame with a deep-set frown and only turned to the group when he disappeared into the corridors. She stayed rooted where she was and was back to warily eying the others, anticipating any sudden movements. There was no one she knew by name, although she was sure she must have seen some of them in class. The only ones that were even the slightest bit familiar was the girl with yellow hair and the dark-haired boy who came in just before her. Fellow lions.

Okay…so what was she supposed to do now?