It had been eight hours since Doe had hugged her parents for the last time and said goodbye to them on the train platform in London. Eight long hours of meeting new people, hearing strange and unexpected things, fighting off the nerves and fears of not fitting in and not measuring up to all the stories she'd heard older students telling. But she'd made friends and despite an internal debate on which house she ought to be sorted into, she found herself slipping into one of the welcoming benches at the Gryffindor table, the same house that her mother had called home when she was at Hogwarts. And after finally making it up to her dorm after the feast, she suddenly found herself overwhelmed by the people around her, all of them swapping stories about Hogwarts and their families at home, passing sweets around as loud laughter echoed through the common room.
Now, Doe was beyond thrilled to have found herself in Gryffindor. But at that moment, it was the last place that she felt like she belonged. She couldn't go to bed yet, it was far too early for that, but she felt suddenly claustrophic in the cramped room and with an unexpected determination, she got up from where she'd been sitting awkwardly with some of her new dormmates and strode toward the portrait hole. She hadn't realized she'd been holding a nervous breath until she finally released it when she hit the peacefully quiet corridor.
Pausing to lean against the cool stone wall, Doe looked down the hall, then back to the portrait of the Fat Lady, only to find the portrait empty. She was gone and now Doe had no choice but to wait outside until she returned. She let out a deep sigh of frustration and lightly kicked her foot against the wall, trying to think of something she could do, but she barely knew any magic and she certainly hadn't performed any spells on her own as of yet. The idea that came next was quick but Doe couldn't help laugh at herself for having missed it before. The library! Her father had told her all about it and she'd been dying to see it anyway- why not go on a little adventure now, since she didn't really have another option?
Recounting the stories her parents had told her, Doe managed to make it through the castle relatively unscathed but with no idea of where she was. She was beginning to believe she'd wandered past the same series of statues twice now when she heard footsteps at the end of the corridor. She paused, wondering if it was best to stay quiet in case it was a teacher or an older and less than helpful student. One more look at the eery light flickering off the ugly gargoyle beside her made her mind up quite easily and she raced down the hallway in pursuit of the footsteps.
"Excuse me!" She shouted, the sound of her voice shocking her after the silence that had surrounded her for so long. She slowed as she grew closer to the boy that had been making his way down the corridor, coming to an awkward stop in front of him. "Hi. Umm... this might sound really really silly, but could you tell me how to get to the library from here? I thought I could find it myself but all I've managed is to walk past that ugly stone monster back there five times."
In the moment it took the boy to respond, Doe let herself observe him, noticing his height first, then his sandy brown hair that fell nearly to his eyes. She saw the blue crest on his shirt and hoped that everything she'd heard about Ravenclaws was right. "Of course, not a problem. I was headed there too, actually. Follow me." Doe smiled back at him as he motioned for her to follow him and she quickly scurried behind him, her pace not nearly as long as his.
"Thank you so much. I'm Dorcas by the way, Dorcas Meadowes. But you can call me Doe if you like."
"I'm Matt Jarvis. You can call me Matt." She laughed, smiling widely up at him as he looked sideways at her.
"You're in Ravenclaw." She blushed faintly when he turned to look at her in surprise. "It's your tie. The blue is for Ravenclaw. My dad was in your house. The Sorting Hat nearly put me in there too but it changed its mind at the last minute."
"That's too bad. If we were in the same house, we could've come to the library together and you wouldn't have gotten lost."
"I wasn't lost." Doe countered quickly. "Well, not exactly. I was close, right?"
He smiled back at her, nodding his head with a tiny shrug. "Not too far off actually. It's just around here. Come on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her around the corner excitedly. Doe let out a giggle that stopped right in the middle as they rounded the corner and her eyes fell on the wide oak doors that stood open. She could see the tall bookshelves through the opening and suddenly she couldn't get inside fast enough.
"Was this what you were looking for?" Doe could hear the smile on his face as she stepped into the library, and thinking that he- like some of the mean boys in her own house- was going to make fun of her, she turned to him with a serious expression.
"There's nothing wrong with going to the library. I like to read." It took only a moment to realize that his smile was not one meant to tease, but one of sympathy and understanding.
"Aye, I agree. Nothing wrong with the library at all. 'Course I'm a Ravenclaw so it's kind of to be expected for me. Not such good luck for you, little lion." His face had split into a wide grin by this point.
"Oi! Shut up, tosser. I was barely a Gryffindor. I could be half Ravenclaw, really. Maybe I should've been one too, a dork like me might fit better there than with the rest of my house." She tugged at the wrists of her sweater, a little embarrassed at having admitted one of her greatest worries to this boy she'd only just met. She couldn't help trusting him though, something about the kindness in his face made it easy to do so.
They both turned to look behind them as the librarian shushed them with an angry glare. Matt turned back to look at Doe, but she was too busy looking down to see the sympathy on his face. "Come on, I'll show you around." He grabbed her hand again and pulled her down the long row of shelves, further and further from Madam Pince who kept shooting glances in their direction. He pulled her down a random aisle and the pair of them began browsing, their eyes running along the titles. Doe had already pushed aside the negative thought she'd uttered just moments ago, already wrapped up in the excitement of so many unread books. But Matt kept shooting her occasional glances and she wasn't quite blind to these.
"Have I got something on my face? What are you looking at?" She ran her hand across her cheeks, brushing her long hair back down her shoulders.
"What? No. No, you're perfect. Um, I mean... well, look. You snuck out of your dorm all on your own, determined to find the library even though you'd never been here before. I don't know, but that seems pretty brave to me. Brave in your own way, which might be a bit Ravenclaw-ish of you. But that doesn't mean you don't fit in Gryffindor. I think you might be surprised by how well you'll fit in your house."
She stared up at him, biting her lip as she absorbed his words. "You really think so?"
"I do." He nodded his head, a smile spreading across his face. "Come on, let's look at another aisle." He pulled her to the next row and it didn't take long to realize that they were in the section on flying and quidditch. Doe's smile quickly grew to mirror Matt's.
"Do you fly?" She asked as she pulled down a book at random, flipping through some pages before slipping it back on the shelf and pulling down another one.
"Yes, I love it! I think I'm going to try out for the house team this year. My brothers are on the team, and if I can play them at home, I should be able to do it here too." Doe's eyes went wide at the mention of his siblings and his confidence to try out for the team.
"Well good luck. I'm sure you'll make it."
"You've never seen me play, Doe."
"So. You seem like you'd be good at it. What do you want me to say, that you won't make it? I believe in you." She smiled encouragingly at him.
"Well thanks. That means a lot, actually. I'll let you know how it goes."
"Good, you better. That's what friends are for, right?"
His face faltered for just a moment as he looked at her in surprise. "Right. Friends. Come on," he pulled her hand down so that they could both sit on the ground, their backs to pressed against the shelf behind them. "I was hoping nobody had checked this out over the summer." He flashed the cover at her, Quidditch through the Ages. "You've read it, right?"
"Yes, of course!"
"Good, or I'd have to start reading it to you right now." He laughed loudly, covering his mouth quickly as the sound echoed through the library.
"Or you could do that anyways. I'll listen."
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not?" She wasn’t sure how long they’d been in there, but she was starting to get more and more sleepy as her head drooped slightly till it was resting lightly on Matt’s shoulder. “Go ahead. I’m listening, I promise.”
“Lighten your life with a bit of Quidditch, yeah?” He said smirking, as he looked down at the page. “The Arrival of the Golden Snitch,” Matt started, smiling as he kept his voice down, his hand running down the ruined and old page as he began to read to the girl next to him. ”From the early 1100s, Snidget-hunting had been popular among many witches and wizards. The Golden Snidget is today a protected species, but at that time Golden Snidgets were common in northern Europe, though difficult to detect by Muggles because of their aptitude at hiding and their very great speed. The diminutive size of the Snidget, coupled with its remarkable agility in the air and talent at avoiding predators, merely added to the prestige of wizards who caught them. A twelfth-century tapestry preserved in the Museum of Quidditch shows a group setting out to catch a Snidget. In the first portion of the tapestry, some hunters carry nets, others use wan-” Matt pulled from his quiet reading to look at the girl next to him. She was sleeping, her small head drooping as she slept contently. Matt’s own eyes drooping from the heavy reading in the dim lighting, and he rested his head against hers, letting his eyes droop, as he sighed contently. “I’m glad we did this, Doe.” Matt muttered, as he drifted off to sleep too, the pair happily content with each other's presence in a way that would shape their lives in ways they would never be able to predict on this first night.
Dearest Ms. Meadowes, Your presence is requested in my bed asap. I miss you. I miss my jersey. I miss you more, but I'd also like to wear my jersey once and a while before I leave it permanently in your clutches. Also I love you. Also I hope studying is going well. Also I need you to keep me sane during this month because I'm sure that if you don't I might toss myself off the Astronomy Tower from stress. Hope to see you soon, Matt. P.S. When is our date?
If you think you're getting your jersey back then I must inform you that you are sadly mistaken, Mr. Jarvis. But I suppose you can have me back if you like. Studying is going miserably and I think maybe we should just study together from now on because I miss you too and I'd hate to leave you alone if it means you jumping off the Astronomy Tower. Maybe you should come see me, too. Otherwise I'm moving into your bed and never leaving. As for our date, I have no idea. Blame my books for clouding my mind with other things. Soon, yes?
