ANOTHER mini-thing?!

Jinx pulled her jacket tighter around her as she walked through the snow-covered grounds. The weather was freezing, and although she was wearing God knows how many layers she could still feel the bite of the cold. Jinx felt her fingers starting to numb and pulled out her gloves from her pocket, putting them on and rubbing her hands together in an effort to warm them up faster. Her breath was clouding up as it left her mouth and she trudged through the snow. Soon, she found herself nearing the village and heading to her usual haunt: The Three Broomsticks. Jinx sighed satisfiedly upon entering the pub, the sudden warmth a great contrast to the chilly weather outside. She got a butterbeer and sat down, taking off her coat.

Khaat had walked into Hogsmeade, with her bald eagle Archangel. He flew along beside her, and when Khaat would stop walking, he would land on her shoulder. It was a bitterly cold afternoon. She had gotten an owl from her father--a note telling her about a large package. Too large, he was afraid, to send by owl. He was sending it by muggle post. She had to go to the post to get it, but it was so cold that she decided to go in and get a hot butterbeer to warm up with.

There weren't a lot of people in here today. "Hey, Khaat!" the bartender called, "I have a lovely bit of fish saved back for Archangel, I do! Can he have it?" "Of course," Khaat said. "Go get it," she told Archangel. "Could I have a butterbeer when you get a chance?" she asked the bartender, "It's bitter cold out there today."

She went over to a table next to the fireplace and took off her coat. It was the only vacant table left that was close to the fire. At the next table was a young student with her own butterbeer. Khaat smiled and said, "Hello."

Jinx cradled her mug of butterbeer in her hands, looking out of the window at the people coming and going. She was lost in thought, wondering how on earth her life had taken such an unexpected turn- getting a guardian, leaving the orphanage, and joining Hogwarts. It wasn't that she wasn't happy, of course, because although she might not show it she was very grateful to Robert for taking up guardianship of her and enrolling her at Hogwarts. It was just different from what she had been used to. There was a whole wizarding village here, whereas her old school had been located in a muggle city where the area's inhabitants were mostly muggles. She had never been in an area as big as this with no muggles to act normal around. Here everyone used magic freely, without worrying about being caught or the Statute of Secresy. To be honest, it was all extremely unfamiliar and slightly scary for her.

Jinx was interrupted from her reverie by a voice coming from the next table. "Hello." She turned around to face the speaker, unsure of whether she was the one being addressed or not. Since there were no other tables close to the fire and the woman was looking at her Jinx assumed that she was indeed the person she had greeted. "Hi." she said quietly. The woman looked familiar, maybe she was a professor? Jinx wasn't sure, seeing as she hadn't taken any classes yet.

Khaat saw the oh-so-familiar look of confusion that new students always had. This young woman only had more of it than most. "I'm Khaat Lupin. I'm a substitute teacher at Hogwarts. You look just a little lost and overwhelmed. Can Archangel and I be of any help to you? Oh--this is my best friend, Archangel." Khaat gestured towards the enormous bald eagle on her shoulder.

Jinx was surprised by the woman's readiness to introduce herself. She didn't expect her to give that much information without needing to be asked. She was surprised even more when Khaat commented on her unease and asked if she could help. Having lived in an orphanage for half of her life so far, she wasn't used to being treated that nicely by strangers. Most people had avoided the kids from the childrens home where she came from so it wasn't exactly a common occurence for someone to voluntarily offer any sort of help. The corners of Jinx's mouth curved upwards slightly, not enough to be called a smile, but enough to change her expression to one of relative gratefulness. She looked from Khaat to Archangel and said "Hello Khaat, Archangel. I'm Jinx Mitternacht, and I've just recently joined Hogwarts after my guardian decided it would be easier if I attended here." She didn't usually offer so much information about herself to strangers but she thought that since Khaat had told her as much about herself it was only fair that she did the same. Jinx wasn't particularly friendly but she didn't want to feel like a monster so early in the morning."It's just that... I'm not really used to all... this." she said, gesturing to the shops and students outside. It was a poor explanation but she didn't know how to describe exactly what she felt.

"Ah! This, "Khaat nodded, understandingly, "Raised in a muggle town, huh? Yeah. I do understand how different this looks. I was raised in a muggle town too. This is shockingly different, especially when all of a sudden your biggest challenge is followiing school rules and completing assignments, instead of making sure you aren't followed or seen. And it is very different being encouraged to use magic instead of reprimanded for it. You know, I'd be happy to help show you around. I was on my way to the muggle post when I get done here. My dad sent me a big box by muggle post. He said it's too big for Archangel to carry for me. I have no clue what he could have possibly sent me." Khaat laughed.