❝ Just when we think we figured things out, the universe throws us a curveball. So we have to improvise. We find happiness at unexpected places. We find ourselves back to the things that matter the most. The universe is funny that way. Sometimes it just has a way of making sure we wind up exactly where we belong. ❞ — Grey's Anatomy

   Maybe it was the line of sunlight that shone directly on my eyes, disturbing my peaceful sleep, or maybe it was the knowing that today would be our very first Hogsmeade trip, but that Saturday morning I woke up way earlier than usual.

   Once I got up from my fluffy bed, I approached the large window where I could see the gorgeous scenery of the verdurous hills and fields of Hogwarts. The infinite blue sky completed the view, the clouds glowing in the livid beam of the early sun rays. I opened the window wide, allowing wisps of the fresh morning breeze to swim inside and lick at my face. Smiling widely, I took a deep breath, the soft chirping of birds filling my ears. This place was phenomenally beautiful, a real heaven on earth.

   After having a quick shower, I put on a light blue shirt, my favorite pair of jeans and some running shoes. I used a spell to straighten my hair that Sibi had taught me, shoved my wand in my pocket, grabbed my jacket and left the dorm room.

   The soft thud of my footsteps against the marble stairs sounded almost too violent in the stillness of the empty common room. But only when I fully made my way to the end of the staircase did I realize that the common room wasn't actually deserted. A boy was sitting on the couch, facing the empty fireplace, his back towards me. Although all I could see was the back of his head, his mass of tousled brown hair made me instantly recognize who he was.

   "I know you're there, Polly." I wasn't able to hold back the shocked gasp that escaped from my lips. How did he know it was me? As if reading my mind, Alex replied, "You usually wake up very early whenever you're excited about something, correct me if I'm wrong."

   He whirled around to face me, his steel grey eyes shimmering like minimized full moons in the partially dim room. The sun was just beginning to stretch out its golden rays, slowly filling the place with light.

   "H-How do you know that?"

   I hadn't intended for my voice to come out as quite this queasy, nor had I intended to stutter. But to think that somebody I had known for such a small amount of time like Alex had realized this fact about me so quickly was downright astonishing. Honestly, was he a Legilimens?

   "I haven't been stalking you, if that's what you may be thinking," Alex replied as a small smirk crept onto his lips. "Michael told me. Me and the lads were talking about you the other day, and he said you had an odd habit of waking up quite early whenever you felt enthusiastic."

   Thank you for sharing this information with everyone, Mike, that's exactly what every Gryffindor guy in my year needed to know.

   "Don't you have anything better to do than to talk about me?" I muttered, rolling my eyes.

   "Hey, I wasn't the one to open the discussion!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up dramatically in defense. "Besides, you're the only transfer for this year. Everyone's talking about you."

   More attention. Wonderful.

   "Also, not to make you . . . uh, anxious or anything, but your surname has raised quite some skepticism among the students."

   I breathed out a sigh, running a hand through my hair. I approached the couch, taking a seat next to him.

   "Tell me about it," I murmured, mostly to myself. "It's not my fault that I happened to be exactly his daughter. Besides, my father was a misunderstood man. Everybody saw him as a monster, when in reality, he was just an innocent boy trying to enjoy life . . . although life was very cruel with him."

   The common room was blanketed in deep silence as I finished speaking and the lack of Alex's responding finally made me realize what I'd actually said. My eyes widened and my heart jumped to my throat as it sank in.

   I had just told him I was Robert Kin's daughter!

   Alex was looking down at his knees mutely, brows drawn together, absorbed in his own thoughts. All of a sudden, he seemed far, far away, like he wasn't here with me but somewhere else, and I wondered if he'd actually listened to me at all.

   "A-Alex, look, uh, I . . . what I meant was—"

   "You are Robert Kin's daughter, I get it," he replied slowly. "And that he wasn't what everyone thought he was . . . I get it too, you know?"

   My throat went dry as he turned his head to face me, his bluish-gray eyes seeming like they were staring right into my soul.

   "Y-You don't actually hate him . . . wait, what?"

   "You know, Polly," he began. "You can never hate on something or someone you don't fully know and understand. Most people nowadays, they're not what they seem. The outer layer can easily trick you into thinking that's all there is to a person. Few ever pluck up the courage or merely have the interest to dig deeper and find out more. So they judge on who they think a person is. But rumors, assumptions, prejudgments — they don't define a person."

   Now it was my turn to stay silent, looking at his face as if searching for something, for anything. Maybe that typical ironic smirk of his, a glint of amusement in his eyes or a playful expression, anything to show that he wasn't actually being serious.

   Yet there were no signs of joking on his face, the look in his eyes being as genuine as the tone of his voice while speaking.

   It was the second time I'd seen Alex being serious. The first time would have been that day in Diagon Alley when he accompanied me to the Leaky Cauldron and advised me to be careful during my risky ventures.

   And now, while staring into his eyes that seemed as though they wanted to avert from my gaze, I realized this boy had many secrets he hid deep within. It wasn't my job to try and uncover them, but at that moment I told myself I would no longer judge him only for the part he chose to show to the world.

   "You're so right," I said, my voice a teeny bit louder than a whisper. "I'm glad you get it."

   He laughed softly, almost ruefully. "No one gets it better than me."

   After another round of profound silence, I decided to break it with a question of my own.

   "You—you won't actually tell anyone about this, will you?" I asked. "I mean, Sibi and Mike already know and so does Bree—uh, professor McBon, but no one else can. Well, not yet. Please don't tell anyone."

   Alex gave me a small smile —an actual smile, not another one of his usual smirks, then shook his head slowly.

   "Don't worry, Polly, I'm no telltale. Plus, I have no reason to. It's not like I would obtain joy from defaming you."

   "Thank you," I replied, giving him a sincere smile in return.

   He'd taken the news of me being Robert Kin's daughter quite well, better than anyone else actually, which thoroughly surprised me, to say the least. And now he was being courteous and compassionate enough not to tell anyone.

   Well, maybe Alex Forster wasn't as insufferable as I'd thought.

   "What time is it?" he asked, glancing at my wristwatch. I lifted my hand to my eye level so that I could read the time.

   "Eight. Shall we head down to the Great Hall for breakfast?"

   Alex nodded and with that, we both got up and left the common room. The walk to the Great Hall wasn't an awkwardly quiet one. Instead, we spend the time talking about our first Quidditch match of the year against the Hufflepuffs, which would take place exactly the following week.

   With so much practicing we had done and with such an ambitious and persuasive team captain like Stanley, I was absolutely sure we would win this game.

   Since it was very early and people normally woke up late on Sundays, the Great Hall was almost deserted. Only few people were there, silently eating their breakfast or occasionally talking to their friends in muted voices, as if they were afraid they'd wake up the entire school.

   We sat down on the Gryffindor table, opposite each-other. Although early, the food appeared magically right in front of us as soon as we sat down. I started eating my toast in silence, my eyes absently focused on one of the huge portraits when I remembered that today was our first Hogsmeade trip.

   "Hey, Alex," I spoke, drawing his attention away from his plate of food. "Today's our first Hogsmeade trip!"

   "Oh, right. Completely forgot about that," he replied nonchalantly, going back to his food.

   I looked at him incredulously.

   "Why are you looking at me as if I just said the most unexpected thing of the century?" Alex asked.

   "Well, you kind of did. I mean, the tone of your voice . . . Oh yeah, completely forgot about that." I tried to imitate not only his tone, but also his British accent — sort of exaggerating it, which made him cackle in laughter.

   Since the Great Hall was almost as noiseless as a cemetery, I felt heat rush to my face in embarrassment when few people turned their heads at the sound of his laughter.

   "Goddammit, lower your voice," I whispered-yelled, narrowing my eyes at the amused expression planted on his face. "I just don't get it. We're gonna visit freaking Hogsmeade, aren't you excited?"

   "Well," he spoke in a more serious tone, clearing his throat dramatically. "My apologies for not showing enough enthusiasm, miss. Should I perhaps have said something like," he paused for a millisecond, his voice suddenly turning into shrill giggly squeals, "Yay, we're visiting Hogsmeade today! Oh my Merlin, I'm so excited, I—"

   "Silencio!" I muttered, cutting him off immediately with a Silencing Charm.

   The hall went back to its previous noiselessness that was interrupted only by the timid clangs of cutlery against plates as the rest of the students continued eating.

   My face felt like it was on fire now, partly because of embarrassment—since his stupid actions had made us receive even more weirded out stares—but also partly because of my attempts to smother my laughter.

   Alex brought out his wand. "Thank you for shutting me up so politely, I do very much appreciate it," he said once he had lifted my charm off from himself.

   I looked at him in awe for a moment. "Didn't know you could do nonverbal spells."

   He puffed out his chest proudly. "I guess I'm full of surprises then, aren't I?"

   I let out a light laugh now, shaking my head. I could feel Alex's eyes on me, gazing at me mutely just like he'd done so often from the moment we first met at the bookstore. I swallowed my bite of food, grabbing a glass of water nearby and taking a long sip.

   "What?" I finally asked.

   Alex didn't reply instantly, his eyes still fixed on mine in a way that I'd had somehow grown used to by now. When he finally cut his eyes away from me, it took me a while to take notice of the sudden heat that had risen to my cheeks. I grabbed the glass of cold water again, drinking almost half of it.

   "Polly! Hey, Polly."

   My neck snapped in the direction of the bubbly voice calling my name. A grin formed onto my face as I saw a girl frantically rushing over to our table, her bushy curls slapping her face while she pranced towards me. Rena Richards.

   "Good morning, Rena," I replied, giving her a friendly smile. She squeezed me in a bear hug like we hadn't seen each-other in ages.

   "Today is our first Hogsmeade trip!" she cried sprightly, smiling from eye to eye. "I'm so so excited, you can't imagine! We're going to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and we'll definitely buy tons of prank items, Ralph and I. The Weasley twins were definitely the best pranksters in history. It was so sad that Fred died during the battle of Hogwarts, I would have absolutely loved to meet him."

   It felt weird to be having this kind of conversation. Rena was talking about it as if it was true — which, it actually was — and it just seemed so . . . bizarre. Sometimes, I still found it difficult to believe that I was at Hogwarts and it wasn't all part of some sick joke.

   "We'll have lots of fun today, ain't that right?" asked Rena, suddenly catching sight of Alex who was sitting opposite me, eating in silence. "Oh, hi Alex. A little quiet today, aren't you?"

   "I'm not you, Rena," Alex replied, giving a light laugh. "Don't expect me to run around the school squealing and pranking everyone."

   "Pfft, of course not. That's what Ralph, Melvin and I are here for," she said. "But I often see you mucking about with your mates or flirting with girls."

   "I don't flirt with girls," corrected Alex with a cheeky grin."They flirt with me. I just tease."

   "You're insufferable," I muttered, rolling my eyes before turning to Rena. "You should've just seen the way girls were looking at me during our first Arithmancy lesson. This idiot decided it would be hilarious to sit next me and tease me all class and his unending row of admirers wouldn't stop glaring at me. I thought I was about to be murdered."

   "She's exaggerating," Alex told Rena. "They were like, what? Four girls? If you call that unending, you should see how many girls actually fancy me. Some blokes too, but unfortunately for the male community, I don't swing that way."

   Rena giggled. "Perks of being aromantic, no relationship drama for me."

Just as I was about to huff in annoyance at his conceit, Alex tugged at my sleeve, whispering "Look," as a Slytherin girl with blonde braided hair passed by our table.

   "Hey, Stephanie!" Alex called her, his lips quirking upwards in a charming smile.

   The girl stopped, her eyes widening as a deep blush spread over her face.

   "G-Good morning, Alex," she squeaked, giving him a small wave.

   "You're looking great today," he complimented her, a spark of playfulness in his bluish-grey eyes.

   The girl's eyes widened even more, her lower lip trembling as she opened her mouth to respond. "R-Really? Oh, thank you! You're too nice."

   A self-satisfied smirk slid onto his face. "It's what I do best, sweetheart."

   I would have let out a shocked gasp at how unbelievable he was, but I didn't want the Slytherin girl to mistake it for a possible sign of jealousy, so I kept my mouth shut instead. A grin appeared on Stephanie's face and in less than three seconds, she was out of sight, sprinting towards her respective table as fast as a roadrunner to share what had just happened with her friends.

   "Look at the effect I have on girls," Alex shook his head, laughing.

   A burst of laughter erupted from Rena's throat and she clapped her hands like a comedian had just said the funniest joke ever. I didn't get that surprised since Rena laughed at almost everything, but I had to admit that the obsessed girl's reaction was hilarious.

   "Never gets old," Rena said when she had calmed down, tears visible on her eyes as she wiped them away. "Maybe you should lend me some of your hair, Alex. Ralph, Melvin and I could prepare a Polyjuice Potion and then walk down the hallways pretending to be you. I'd love to see the girls' reaction to that."

   "Nice idea, Rena, but unfortunately, my hair's too precious for that," Alex said wryly, running his fingers through his chestnut curls.

   "Good God, are you always like this?" I asked in exasperation, to which he responded with a shrug.

   "I'm leaving now," beamed Rena, getting up from the table. "Hope to see you guys at Hogsmeade."

   "Sure thing," I said, giving her a soft smile.

   "Say hi to Ralph from me," Alex added.

   "Will do. Bye, guys!"

   And with that, she turned around briskly, beginning her merry walk towards the Ravenclaw table.

   "I'm surprised there is actually a girl in here you can talk to normally without teasing her," I said.

   "I have no reason why to tease Rena," he replied, shrugging. "She's my friend, and one of the very few people who actually like me as a person."

   I guffawed. "I'm sure a lot of people like you, Alex."

   He shook his head.

   "They don't like me. They like what I show them. The outer layer I was telling you about in the common room, remember? But Rena likes me for me, and to have at least someone not consider you a self-centered scumbag is quite comforting, to say the least."

   Before I could even start contemplating on the deeper meaning of his words, a glint of amusement lit up his eyes again.

   "Besides," he started. "I really respect her for not fawning over my gorgeousness."

   So much for his deep words.

   "I am not fawning over your gorgeousness either, Alex, but you still think it's funny to try and tease me."

   "Well," he responded, positioning his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hand. "As much as you let me."

   I arched an eyebrow. "I never let you."

   Just as I was about to reach for the glass of water once again, my hand froze as Alex leaned closer over the table. He reached for a loose strand of my hair and gently tucked it behind my ear. Every inch of my body froze.

   Clearly deciding to benefit from my short-lived immobility, he tilted his head, his lips grazing my ear as he whispered, "Are you sure?"

   That's when I snapped out of my daze, my hand grasping the glass of water I'd reached for a few seconds earlier. Without thinking twice, I poured it all over his head, watching in amusement as the water dribbled down his precious glossy curls. His jaw fell open.

   "Very," I replied with a triumphant smirk, then bursted out laughing.

   Some people were looking at us weirdly now but I was enjoying this way too much to care. Alex looked at me with a dumbfounded expression for a few seconds, but then recovered. He shook his head to himself as a smile flicked to his face.

   "Oh Polly," he said with a laugh, wiping some droplets of water from his forehead. "You really are something else."

▼

   The Hogwarts horseless carriages came to an abrupt stop as we finally reached our desired destination. Rena was the first one to hop out of the carriage, jumping up and down joyfully and dragging Ralph behind her.

   "Ooh, this place is so beautiful!" she squealed, her voice laced with her usual excitement as the rest of us got out of the carriage as well.

   A quick scan of the area left me totally mesmerized by the beauty of this little village. Houses and shops illuminated by bright lights were positioned on both sides of the cobbled street which was covered by a thick layer of multicolored autumn leaves.

   Birds and owls were sitting on the brittle tree branches, and children dressed in hoodies, sweaters, jeans and boots were playing around with one-another as the crisp air blew on their flushed little faces.

   "I love autumn," I muttered to myself, a smile building on my face.

   How much I wanted to have fun like those little kids; how much I wanted to enjoy my year at Hogwarts and not ever have to worry about being imprisoned or executed . . .

   "Come on, guys," Sibi said, taking the lead. "Let's go to The Three Broomsticks."

   We entered the cozy little pub and sat down on a booth in the corner, right by the large window. The time spent with my friends was the most fun I'd ever had in my entire life. We discussed vividly about Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, as well as our families and school lives.

   Alex didn't join us because his group of friends came and took him away to spend some time with them, to which he didn't argue. After finishing our Butterbeers, Rena, Ralph and Melvin were intent on going to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to buy some prank items, so we left the pub and headed toward the joke shop.

   Although the store was fascinating, it was quite packed with students so spending an hour there wasn't the most exciting thing ever. Nonetheless, when we finally left, the three of them had kept their promise and indeed bought loads of prank items. The entire time, Rena kept repeating how excited she was to put them to use.

   Afterwards, we went close to the Shrieking Shack to take look. I wanted so badly to go inside, and so did the Richards. But Mike had absolutely no desire to go there because of the rumors that it was actually a haunted place, so although we tried to convince him it was safe to go, nothing could possibly change his mind.

   I really enjoyed the day with my friends and I was sure that if we continued to spend some more time together, we'd get closer to one-another, and then I'd be sure that I could have their full trust and support.

   But for the moment, I didn't want to rush on things. Although there was not much time to wait, I was going to take one step at a time and not make rash decisions.

   Because despite everything, despite all the problems and stress and worries, I was going to enjoy my life and make the most out of everyday. Wasn't that the point of living, after all?