The Outcasts Of Hogwarts

Chapter 5 First Impressions

The silence descended as fast and thick as fog and it muffled the sounds of the feast that continued on around them. Amaris looked from face to face in confusion, each wearing an expression of utter shock. What had she done wrong? Only moments ago they'd been laughing and talking like friends but now...

"W-what? What's wrong?" She was beginning to panic now, the emotion around her shifting from surprise to anger. Especially the red-headed boy who looked at her with nothing less than loathing.

"How dare you call her that!" He spat, breaking the silence and attracting several heads to turn. "You'd better apologise right now!"

"I'm, I'm sorry?" Amaris said, unsure of what she was apologising for.

"Not to us, to Hermione!" Scoffed the other boy, glaring through his glasses, he gestured to the frizzy-haired girl.

Finally beginning to understand what must have happened, Amaris turned to the girl next to her who she had apparently offended, again.
But to her surprise, she was met with the least insulted face out of all of them. In fact, she looked less annoyed than she had been a few minutes earlier.

"You don't know that Mudblood is an insult, do you?" Hermione said quietly.

Amaris' eyes widened, "It is?"

"Yes, it is! It's a horrible thing to call a muggle-born, " said Ron, "and you still haven't apologised."

"I am so sorry, I had no idea!" Amaris explained frantically, "that's how my father would always refer to none Purebloods, I didn't know it was insulting but I suppose he always did as I like it was. It's because he didn't want me mixing with people like you, that he wouldn't let come here." She finished slowly and the anger around her subsided.

"So this is the first time you've met someone who's not a Pureblood?" Asked Hermione.

Amaris nodded, "It's the first time that I've really met anyone."

"Well, " Hermione said in a business-like voice and held out her hand, "my name is Hermione Granger and it is a pleasure to meet you."

A smile returned to Amaris' face as she shook  Hermione's hand, "You too and sorry again for, well, both of my conversations with you."

The Great Hall was then filled with gasps, oohs and ahhs: the remains of the feast dissolved of the plates before they were refilled with mountain loads of every dessert imaginable.

"Pudding!" Exclaimed Ron and Amaris in unison.

No one spoke much for the rest of the feast as they gobbled down large quantities of cake. There was the occasional 'can you pass me that'; a few 'have you tried this'; also many variations of 'this is delicious' but that was all. Unlike before, though, it wasn't the awkward or uncomfortable type of silence. Amaris ate slice after slice of cheesecake that made her mouth as happy as her mind was: she was so relieved that her mistake hadn't cost her her new friends.

Just as she was getting to the point of being well and truly stuffed and was feeling thoroughly befuddled by the evening's feast, the food melted of the plates and Dumbledore told everyone to go to their dorms. The Hall erupted into noise and movement as everyone clambered to their feet and began swarming towards the large doors that lead out into the rest of the castle. Over the noise of the chattering children, Amaris heard older students calling out to the first-years and saw them herding the eleven-year-olds from the hall.

Unsure of where she was supposed to go, Amaris rose from her seat and looked around for Hermione. She located the mass of frizzy hair a few meters away, the girl seemed to be heading in the direction of the Teachers Table. Her progress, however, was rather slow as she was having to barge through all of the students that were heading the other way. At one point, she turned around and waved for Amaris to follow as if she had only just remembered her.