Scary Place (Charlie)

Phoebe had decided that Hogwarts was a scary place. She was terrified to go anywhere alone, and yet she had made zero friends. There seemed to be not a first year in site. The common room was filled to the brim with older students. Maybe the younger ones where hiding behind the older ones and she just couldn't see them, or was too scared to go forward and introduce herself to them. She didn't have time to go to her common room between classes, so therefore, Phoebe was forced to carry all of her stuff in her one arm.

Almost everyday so far, she had managed to drop her stuff all over the floor, and she had nobody to help her. She was too afraid to go and talk to the professors about it because they seemed scary, and she didn't want to go up to them. She had written to her parents that she wanted to go home, but they wouldn't let her. They told her she had to stay here. Which made her cry for twenty-four hours straight one day, and she had to miss classes. Things seemed to turn up when she met a girl who helped her clean up her mess the fourth time.

Phoebe had talked to her on and off, and waved to her shyly with her little nub of an arm when they passed in the hallways. Other than that they had no real conversation. But it was something. Soon, Phoebe was supper late to class, and she hated it. And once again, she had tripped over a loose stone in the floor, and fallen flat on her face. She let a tear slip, and looked around waiting for somebody to help her. She would have to tell them her organization system like always, and make a complete fool of herself. Finally, she saw a boy walking down the hallway. She waved her hands and asked, "Can you help me please!? I've fallen and I can't get up!" It was true. Sure it wasn't the most amazingest way to make friends, but at least it got her talking to people.

Hogwarts was terrifying. That was the only solid conclusion that Charlie had drawn from his first few days there. The castle, the likes of which Charlie had never seen before - and he'd spent more time than he'd care to remember sitting quietly in Buckingham Palace, waiting for his father to finish up some business outing. And the palace was of course magnificent, but this castle... well, Charlie imagined that his parents would be offended by its very existence, as the Queen of England herself had nothing so grand to offer them. Too bad his parents would never see the castle - they hadn't even gotten to see the train. Because they hadn't been there to see him off. His mum had driven him, because his nanny was on leave that week, but she'd only dropped him off, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek - which might have been nice if she'd paused for even a second from her phone call to do so. But instead, she kept talking, and Charlie was sure that what she was saying to the person on the other end was very important. But he couldn't help the pitiful feeling in his stomach as he watched her drive away, leaving him to find his way to the train all by himself.

Charlie still remembered sitting in that compartment on the train, completely alone, terrified that someone might come in. But nobody did, and Charlie spent the rest of his time since then lurking in the shadows. It wasn't that Charlie didn't want friends. He did, desperately. But he also knew that nobody would want to be his friend, and he didn't want to be a bother to anyone. He was more lonely than he'd ever been, without his nanny and his tutors there to keep him company, and there were many nights that he just wanted to cry. But at least the concept of magic was completely new to him and he could put all of his efforts into studying it. He was sure that his parents had never seen any such thing before as the things in his spellbooks, and if he learned how to do them well, maybe his mother and father would be impressed, and want to spend more time with him!! Trouble was, Charlie had never seen any such thing either, and he still didn't know how to do any of it. Which only made the whole situation worse. Because Charlie was muggleborn, and if anything could make him feel even more insignificant than he already was, it was knowing that he was one of the only people who didn't know anything.

He was also sure he'd never figure out how to get around the school - but for once, Charlie was doing okay. He might even make it to potions on time! He was already at the entrance hall, but if he took too much longer, he could be late. His long, gangly legs carried him as quickly as they could without tripping him, and he hugged his potions text to his chest. He was just about certain he would make it on time, when suddenly a small voice called out from across the entrance hall. Charlie wouldn't have even thought for a moment that whoever it was was talking to him, except that they were calling for help. Which made sense. Of course, he would be acceptable to talk to if somebody needed help - otherwise, he was sure they would have let him pass by without a word. But, even if this person was just using him for assistance, Charlie couldn't keep walking - even though he might be late. Because maybe helping them would make the person like him, and Charlie only ever wanted to be liked.

When he turned to see who it was, Charlie noticed a girl lying on the floor a bit away. After sniffing deeply and pushing his glasses back up his nose, Charlie approached her. Yes, she'd fallen, but why couldn't she get - oh! Always observant, it took Charlie only a moment to notice her missing arm, and a wave of relief washed over him because all of a sudden, there was a possibility that someone else might be the target of others' laughter instead of him. But instantly, he realized how terrible that was to think and pushed it from his mind. He hadn't meant anything terribly by it - Charlie was just fearful of the judgement of others. But of course it would be just as bad for him to pawn it off on this one armed girl. "Um, yes, I can try," he told her, holding his hand out for her to grab - except he quickly realized that it was the wrong hand, because she couldn't grab on with her nonexistent arm, so he switched as fast as he could, putting his hand awkwardly under the girl's arm and helping her to her feet - even more awkwardly. Then, without being asked, he bent down to gather her books. "Are you okay?" Charlie asked as he knelt down on the ground, his voice nasally. He pushed his glasses up again so that they wouldn't fall off his face and get stepped on.

Phoebe saw his awkwardness when he tried to help her up. She blushed in embarrassment and tried to hide in her hair but it was incredibly difficult when she was on the ground. She saw him reach for her hand that just had the nub, and looked at him helplessly when he switched hands. She secretly wished she could magically grow an arm and everything would be normal. But that wasn't the case. There was no magical spell that she knew of that would magically make her grow a hand. She couldn't be normal and it pained her to know end. She just wanted to be like normal people and have two normal functioning arms. But that wasn't the case. She was cursed in this unfortunate life with a disability. She hated being treated like she was special but sometimes she just needed it.

She looked at the boy with the glasses with a greatful look of shame. She wasn't sure how to describe her embarrassment at needing help. She said, "Thank you. And um.. I guess." She stood up and she had a hole in her robe. She would have to have her mum fix that later. She brushed off the dust and looked at everything that went flying everywhere. She sighed. She said, "I'm Phoebe by the way. Nice to meet you." She took out her hand, the one without the nub. She said, "This happens a lot. I'm very clumsy." And indeed she was. This had happened several times in the common room, and threw out the hallways. She REALLY needed to work on being able to walk without falling over her own feet, but it was unfortunate that she just went flying all over the place. She said, "I really need to learn how to walk." She bent down and started picking up papers.

Phoebe asked, "So, your in what house?" She began picking up her papers. Now this situation was completely awkward. She was really hoping that this could be her one chance at making friends. She blinked her eyes innocently. She wasn't really good at the whole making friends thing. She hoped she wouldn't give off the wrong impression. She hoped that this boy could be her one and only friend. Even though they met in an awkward situation, she hoped that this would be the start of something new. Even though the thought was a little cheesy, she really did hope it made her a friend.

When he’d finally managed to help her up, the girl looked pretty embarrassed about the whole situation. Charlie didn’t really know what else to say to make her feel any better, but at least made a very conscious effort not to stare at her arm – or, lack of one, that is. But, since he couldn’t stare at that and meeting her eyes seemed entirely too daunting, he ended up just staring at the ground. He was actually glad that she’d dropped her things, because he had a reason to not look at her while he helped her gather them. When she bent down to help, he couldn’t help letting his eyes flicker toward her nub of an arm, but he quickly averted them again. You’re welcome,” Charlie mumbled, sniffing loudly to clear his sinuses.

Charlie completely expected the girl to take her things back and be on her way once he’d helped her – it only made sense. So, once he’d returned her books, Charlie looked at her in surprise when she didn’t dart away from him and his terrible allergies immediately. He wondered if maybe she wasn’t afraid of germs – he’d been sniffling the entire time, and people usually thought that he was contagious. But he wasn’t, Charlie was just allergic to everything. Charlie stared at her hand for a moment when she held it out to him. It wasn’t that Charlie wasn’t used to meeting people, but when he did it was usually for a business meeting that he’d been dragged along to. And it was never somebody his own age. Hesitantly, he stuck his own hand out to shake the girl’s. ”I’m Charles Edwin Wellington the Third,” he replied, only remembering after that most people here didn’t introduce themselves by their entire full name. A blush rose on his cheeks as he tried to correct himself to sound more normal and less like some weird loser. ”I mean, I’m Charles – Charlie.” Finally, he settled on his most casual name. Only his tutors and nanny called him that, but Charlie liked it better, and since this was a new place where nobody knew him, he might as well go by a name he liked.

Was she making a joke? Was he supposed to laugh? Charlie wasn’t sure. Had he even smiled this entire time? She probably thought he was mean because he hadn’t smiled, but it seemed awkward to smile now for no reason. He was thankful when she asked a question. An easy one. ”Ravenclaw,” he replied, his voice nasally. ”What about you?” Charlie glanced uneasily toward the door to the dungeons, and then down at his watch. He needed to get to potions. But he felt like just walking away would be rude. So, hesitantly, he spoke up. ”I have potions now. I could help you there, if that’s where you’re headed.” Because Charlie did feel bad that the girl had to carry all of her things around with one arm, and he didn’t want her to fall again. ”If you want,” he added quickly.

Phoebe wasn't used to making friends, or talking to people, so the fact that this boy was willing to do so, was very comforting. Maybe everything that she had heard about Hogwarts wasn't true. Maybe this was the chance to prove itself wrong. Phoebe always thought she had an interesting personality. It was different than most. She questioned at first, as to why she made it into Hufflepuff, but then realized it right away. She was different. By appearance, and personality. She liked it like that as well. She was special, and unique, and embraced it at such a young age. She was full of life, and love, and at the same time, she embraced death and if something bad happened to her, she always braved it with a smile on her face.

Phoebe always liked to test her friendships, she knew it was cruel, but she needed to know who would be there for her, and who wouldn't. She didn't like fake people, or people who gave her sympathy because of her birth defect. She needed to know who she could trust. She loved coming up with ways to prove who would. Charlie could be a future nominee if he was willing to put up with her right now, and in the future. She nodded when he said he was in Ravenclaw. She said, "Hufflepuff, unfortunately. I was hoping for Ravenclaw myself." She really wasn't. Phoebe was the type who liked to impress people whether she agreed with what she was saying or not. She looked at him with her big doe like brown eyes. She said, "But I can see Hufflepuff. I mean..." She raised her little nub up awkwardly. She was different. Ravenclaws she assumed where smart, and genially the same personality wise. She just wouldn't fit in anywhere else, because she was too nice to be in Slytherin, and too much of a chicken to be in Gryffindor. The sorting hat probably didn't know where to put her, so it probably said Hufflepuff by default.

Phoebe realized the time. They were late. She was indeed going to potions. She hated being late. She said, "Ohmygosh, I'm sorry if I made you late." They had all of her stuff gathered, and she started to walk towards the basement. She felt silly calling it a dungeon. It just didn't seem fitting. Creepy basement seemed more like it. She nodded and said, "Maybe we could study together sometime! That would be fun! All the people in my house are idiots. I'm sure you Ravenclaws are cool." She felt a little bad bashing her own house, but it was true. None of the Hufflepuffs had even said hi to her, except for Jessica, and she was about to graduate soon. So it would be pointless she thought to start a relationship with her. She needed to converse with people her own age, and if becoming somebody they wanted her to be was the way to go, then she would do it just to be accepted.

Charlie frowned when Phoebe showed a bit of distaste for her house. He was muggleborn, so it wasn't as though he could claim to be an expert on the school's four houses. In all honesty, he found it slightly strange, to split people up in that way. But he'd spent a lot of time reading all of his schoolbooks, and a few others, and knew a lot about the theory of the houses. "But Hufflepuff isn't bad," he said, before continuing a little hesitantly. "Patience, Loyalty, Dedication, Kindness - Hufflepuff is comprised of several very admirable qualities." It was probably the most coherent sentence he'd said so far, though only because he'd filled it with facts. Charlie was good at talking about factual things. He tended to keep his personal opinions to himself, for fear of being judged too badly for them. Which was why he responded to her next implication in the same manner.

"That isn't something that the sorting hat is supposed to consider," he told her matter of factly, his eyes trailing to her arm. In Charlie's opinion, Hufflepuff was just as good a house as Ravenclaw. Well, in his opinion, all of the houses were good really. Each had their admirable qualities, but Hufflepuff's qualities all seemed to be those that simply made one a good person. The other houses, while maybe smarter or braver or slyer, couldn't say as much. And that also wasn't to say that a Hufflepuff couldn't be any of those things - it just meant that their other qualities were stronger. There"Ravenclaw is nice, I suppose," Charlie said, mumbling a bit again. "I don't feel very smart here, though. I've never been around magic before," he admitted a little glumly. Though, he did feel a bit better getting that off his chest with someone early on. Would Phoebe hate him now, knowing his family wasn't magic? Was that a thing? Hopefully not.

Charlie was glad when Phoebe finally seemed to realize what time it was. Because she was making him late, but he was too scared to say so. "It's okay." She was the first to start toward class, and Charlie sighed in relief and followed her, still carrying some of her things. He was a bit annoyed that they wouldn't be on time, but when she went on to talk about studying together, a small smile finally spread onto Charlie's face. Because he wanted friends - he really did. He just didn't know how to make them. But Phoebe's offer definitely seemed to be a good start. "Yes, we could, if you're sure that you want to," he replied. Maybe she only wanted to study with him because she knew he was in Ravenclaw and would probably be able to help her. But, so far, the girl seemed pretty genuine. Maybe there was a chance that she just wanted his company.