𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢 ⸝* 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

004: 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 & 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵

"I'm sure he's alright." Kedan comforted her. "And no matter what house you were placed into, he'll support you." He said confidently.

Melinda scoffed a bit before questioning him. "How do you know that?"

"He's your brother. It would be wrong of him to judge you for something you can't control." Kedan stated as if it was common sense.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Hopefully.

—

The Slytherin group walked through the labyrinth of Hogwarts led by their house Prefects, whose names Melinda had not yet learned, all the way to the Slytherin common area.

The Slytherin common area was located in the dungeons and below the surface of the lake, which Melinda thought was fitting.

She walked closely to Kedan, keeping up with the group in front of her. The two hadn't spoken since their previous conversation, and Melinda thought it best not to bring up anything else that night.

As they approached the entrance to their Commons area, one Prefect spoke the Slytherin password for the year,

"Pure-Blood."

Something Melinda was not.

Being underwater made Melinda nervous. The windows looked out into the deep waters, you could see every creature swimming around. All Melinda could think about was the windows breaking and water flooding inside.

She fell behind the group and stared intently into the water, focusing on a moving squid in front of her. Kedan noticed she had stopped walking and pushed his way through the group.

"Those windows must be incredibly strong." He read her mind. "They haven't broken once in Hogwarts' history."

She looked over to him, her brows furrowed. "It's uncomfortable."

Kedan patted her shoulder. "Try not to think about it." He then knudged her forward and the two caught up with the first-year group.

After touring the commons area, they were led to their dormitories, where Kedan and Melinda finally split up and veered toward their own rooms.

Melinda entered her assigned dorm and saw her luggage sitting on top of a bed in the middle of the room. She looked around the room, it was spacious, maybe a bit bigger than her and Harry's shared room, but not by much.

In the corner of the room, a young girl with curly brown hair sat in a chair, reading something on a piece of paper, brows furrowed together, looking very deep in thought. She had not noticed Melinda standing there yet, so she decided to speak up.

"Hello," Melinda spoke.

Startled, the girl glanced up from her letter, her eyes wide with surprise, clearly oblivious to Melinda's presence just a few feet away.

"H-Hello." The girl stuttered slightly and stood up from the chair, placing her letter on a table beside her. She had an American accent. "I apologize I didn't notice you there. I'm just a bit disoriented at the moment." She smiled at Melinda and laughed off her embarrassment.

Melinda walked over to her. "No worries, I completely understand." She smiled at her.

Then, the girl held out her hand, "I'm Dahlia Thornton. And you are?" Dahlia introduced herself casually.

Melinda took the girl's hand, shaking it softly. "Melinda Potter. Nice to meet you, Dahlia."

"Nice to meet you as well. I was so scared I'd get bad dormmates, I don't do well with living with other people you see, but you seem quite nice. That Potter name though—I must say—I am surprised you're in Slytherin." The girl gasped a bit, embarrassed. "I must apologize. I don't mean that in a bad way at all! Your family name is just surprising to hear here, and I—"