I am a rock not just another grain of sand -- Fall 1986

This was my first Hogsmeade trip I was making.  I was super excited.  Except... my mates already went ahead of me.  I was not entirely sure on what I needed to do or where to go beyond giving Filch my permission form.  I walked with the crowd and bumped into someone.  "Oh, I'm sorry," I said quickly.  when I saw who it was, I felt a little frightened.  Though she was a couple of years older than me, she worried me.  Everyone knew she was a Carrow.  She was quiet and kind of kept to herself -- no one said anything about her torturing or harming anyone.  I was not entirely sure what she was going to do with me having bumped into her, though.

I looked at the girl who bumped into me through slightly glaring eyes.  I shrugged it off, though; things happened.  "It's quite alright," I said to her.  I had expected it to be some of the Slytherin guys -- they aggravated me all the time.  "First trip?" I could tell by the way she was nervous.  Or perhaps that was because of me.

I chuckled nervously and nodded.  "Yeah," I said to her.  "My mates went ahead of me while I finished a quick assignment."  I sighed and could not believe that Carrow was so soft spoken.  Her voice was sweet and kind, which went against what everyone said about her and those who knew her family.

I half smiled at her.  "Of course," I said, knowing that she was in Ravenclaw House.  I had seen Ollivander aiding her at times.  We started to walk down to the village together since we were both headed that way anyways.  "Did your mates say where they wanted to meet you?  I could point you in the right direction once in town."  Of course, the main area where Hogwarts students are allowed to go it was not difficult to find the shoppes.  But if one accidentally wandered down a side street where the villagers had homes... things could easily get turned around.

I could not believe that she was being helpful.  "They didn't," I said to her.  "We had mentioned grabbing something from the pub?  I just can't remember the name of it."  I did not want to overstep anything with Carrow.  I was not entirely sure how she would be, though she seemed to be alright.  Better than what people said she was like.

"Probably the Three Broomsticks," I said to her, "as I doubt they would go to the Hog's Head."  I smiled slightly at her.  "I can show exactly where it is, even though it's pretty obvious once you finish following the path to the village."

I was not entirely sure what the second one was, but the Broomsticks sounded familiar.  "Yeah, I think it's the Broomsticks," I said to her.  "Thanks for helping me out."  I was not expecting this from her.

I nodded and smiled at her kindly.  "It's really not that big of a deal," I said to her honestly.  I knew that people had a problem with me... so I understood why.  And honestly, I really could be a bitch.

I was surprised by her.  "Ah, well, I sitll appreciate it nonetheless," I assured her.  I just did not know what to expect when I realized who it was.  "You aren't like what people say..." I realized I said that out loud and quickly looked down at my feet, embarrassed by my thoughts that I spoke aloud.

I chuckled a bit darkly and sighed. "People tend to judge books by their cover rather than anything else," I responded quietly. I was rather surprised that she did not mind. "You've never been here before with family or anything have you?" I questioned, trying to make a conversation. Perhaps I took it for granted that I have been to the village before.