Neptune woke up on his own the next morning, his light gray eyes staring up at the top of his bed. He let out a deep breath, his body too tired to move. He looked around the silent dorm that he shared with a couple more Hufflepuff's, one being Cedric. Then he peered out the nearby window. The sun was rising in the distance and the boy huffed. He did not want to get up. But he forced himself to anyways. Neptune stood up and stretched, letting out a sigh.

The male then went over to his new, yellow robes, and ran his fingertips against the cloth mindlessly. Then he sighed and started undoing the buttons on his pajama shirt. He got ready quickly and folded up his pajamas, laying them on his bed. Neptune then reached into his trunk and pulled out his wand, looking down at it in his hands. This past summer he's had to study all kinds of spells and potions seeing as he missed most of his years at Hogwarts. He had to get himself caught up.

Neptune put his wand in the pocket of his robes and quietly left the dorm room, the wooden floorboards creaking some underneath his feet. He went down to the brightly lit, yellow-like-a-tulip, common room and noticed a few other Hufflepuff's. Two third year girls were talking at a little table with a plant in the center while a seventh year boy read silently in the corner. None of them noticed Neptune, and he was glad for that. He never did like attention.

The dark haired boy left the common room and headed down the magical staircases, which he had to admit were pretty darn cool, deciding to get some breakfast. He hadn't eaten much at the feast last night and he regretted that because now he was starving. His stomach was practically yelling at him. Neptune went into the Great Hall, going over to the Hufflepuff table. There were a few first years eating and chatting excitedly but for the most part it was empty. Everyone else was still asleep.

Neptune spooned some grits and eggs onto his plate and started eating right away, hoping it would make his stomach stop hurting. Though, he wasn't just hungry - he was bloody nervous. Last night was bad enough. Now he had to go to the actual classes. Just thinking about it made him want to throw up his breakfast.

Neptune was so focused on eating that he hardly noticed the male who sat down next him seconds later. The male, Cedric, smiled and started putting some food onto his own plate.

" Good morning, Neptune. "

Cedric said, hoping to come off as polite, not knowing that he had been nonexistent to the hungry boy next to him. When Neptune heard the other Hufflepuff's voice, he choked on a spoonful of egg and had to cover his mouth so he wouldn't spit it out. He quickly grabbed his goblet of pumpkin juice and took a big drink before giving Cedric a light glare.

" Don't bloody do that. "

Neptune hissed under his breath making the others smile falter. Cedric hadn't meant to scare Neptune. He just wanted to be nice.

" Sorry. "

The golden brown haired male said sheepishly, taking a bite of his own food. Neptune just sighed and nodded, not making an effort to reply to Cedric's apology. He kept his mouth shut, staring down at his half empty plate. He was no longer hungry and his stomach was twisted up into knots. He was about to get up when, from out of nowhere, a letter fell onto his head. Neptune glared upwards, spotting Dot. Dot, his pygmy owl, tended to enjoy messing with him and doing small things to piss him off. The bird chirped as she flew back out from where she came in.

Neptune sighed and picked up the letter, only faintly aware that Cedric was staring at it, curious as to who it was from. The male opened the leader with a sigh and read it. It was simply a letter from his parents, telling him how proud they were. It was nothing special and he set it down before standing and swiftly exiting the Hall. He left Cedric there feeling awkward, his lips parted as if he had been about to speak.

Cedric watched Neptune leave and then glanced at the piece of parchment that came from his owl, wondering if he did something wrong. No matter, he would get Neptune to be his friend eventually. He would break through his shell.

Neptune walked swiftly down the hallway, taking large steps as he went. More students were heading towards the Great Hall, meaning that more of them were waking up. As he walked, a certain Draco Malfoy stepped up next to him with a smirk on his pale face. Neptune, being completely oblivious, pushed some of his hair behind his ear and swallowed.

" I can't believe you were sorted into Hufflepuff. "

The male glanced over after hearing Malfoy's voice, biting into his bottom lip with a frown. He then sighed and looked down at his feet. He didn't respond but Draco kept on talking.

" I mean, you're nothing like a Hufflepuff. You're not some annoyingly kind, overly nice push over like the rest of them. "

Neptune shrugged as a reply.

" What's your last name again, Edgar? Is Edgar a pure blood last name? Are you a pure blood? "

Neptune looked at Draco with an arched eyebrow before shaking his head.

" No. My dads a Muggle. My mother's a pure blood though. "

Neptune answered blankly, finding that question to be completely unimportant. He didn't see why blood status was such a big deal to begin with. He let out a sigh and a couple locks of his hair fell into his face to hide his eyes once more. Draco seemed to hesitate a bit at the Hufflepuff's reply but his smirk returned as big as ever.

" That doesn't even matter. I mean, you aren't like any of those other Hufflepuff's. You're the opposite You're like me. "

Draco stated and crossed his arms, lifting his chin up and sticking his nose in the air. His posture made him look even more like a prat than he already was. Neptune was silent at first but eventually he shook his head and let out another one of his signature huffs.

" Oh shut up Draco before I knock out all your pretty white teeth. "

Neptune muttered boredly and looked over at the male who had a momentary look of disbelief on his pale face. He looked offended for a split second before he gave one more, crooked smirk. He put one of his hands on Neptune's shoulders, making him flinch a bit.

" See, that's what I'm talking about. I think that dumb old hat put you in the wrong place. "

Draco said smugly before removing his hand. He walked ahead of the dark headed boy and turned a corner, disappearing down a corridor. Neptune shook his head and continued climbing the steps to go to his first class at Hogwarts. As he walked, he thought to himself. He wondered if Draco Malfoy could be right. Maybe he was supposed to be a Slytherin. He didn't think that he was nice or kind. A sigh escaped his lips and he stopped outside the Transfiguration room.

He had read a book about Transfiguration earlier that summer and he found the subject quite intriguing. In fact, he felt a bit of excitement rush through him and push out some of his anxiety. Neptune stepped into the class and looked around the room for an empty seat. He found one near the front and sighed before going over and sitting down in it. Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher, gave him a stern look as the other students filed in.

" Neptune Edgar, is it? I'm glad you could join us this year. "

The professor said with a light nod. Neptune gave her a silent thanks and set his book down on the desk, opening it up to a random page. He felt like he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders. He was taking all these fifth year classes without taking any first, second, third, or fourth year classes. He felt stupid. He felt like he knew a lot less then the other Hufflepuff's or Ravenclaw's in the room.

Suddenly somebody plopped down in the chair right next to him. Neptune looked up with his chin in the palm of his hand only to see the smiling face of a certain, Cedric Diggory. Cedric was grinning brightly from ear to ear and he seemed much more awake then he had during their previous, and very short, encounter at breakfast.

" Hey Neptune -- I can call you that right? Well, even if I can't, I just wanted to say hi. You remember me right? "

Cedric spoke quickly and Neptune blinked at him, his eyes half lided. He exhaled heavily through his nose and nodded.

" Call me whatever you want, I don't care. And yes . . . You're Cedric Diggory. "

He said in a low voice, glancing back at his book from the corner of his eye. The boy next to him just smiled again, glad Neptune remembered his name. That had to be some kind of progress, right? Maybe? Well, hopefully it was.

" I just wanted to ask you how you were doing. It must be strange being new to school being the age you are. "

Cedric replied politely, to which Neptune shrugged and sat up straight, pulling his hand away from his chin. He looked down, smoothing out his robes so he looked like he was doing something, and swallowed.

" I guess. "

Was all Neptune said.

" Well . . . "

Cedric started, seemingly at a loss for the words. Or maybe he was just trying to find the right ones.

" Well if you ever need something or someone to talk to, I'll be here for you. "

Neptune found himself frowning deeply at this. Not because he was mad or annoyed or upset, but because someone was actually offering to . . . Help him. It gave him a little bit of comfort, but not too terribly much. And he would never admit it. As a response, he nodded and kept his light eyes hidden behind his veil of dark hair as he turned back to his book. Just then class started and he listened as Professor McGonagall explained what they were going to be doing that day.

" Today we will be learning how to transform hedgehogs into pin cushions. "

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