Originally Posted by Presley Black

Luna did seem really stressed out, and now that Presley thought about it, that was the most obvious explanation for her less-than-normal behavior. "It's all right, Lu," Presley assured her with a smile. "Don't stress too much, okay? Leo says that a small amount of stress is good, but oo high a level and you actually underperform." There. That should help, right? Leo was smart, and Luna knew that.

She caught her best friends subtle wink, and Presley's eyes cut inconspicuosly to the firstie, clearly asking Luna if that's what she was talking about. It probably was. So playing along beautifully, she shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe we'll just stay up late and get some good chocolate from the kitchens or something."



Presley smiled at the cute but obviously nervous kid. She remembered when she was that little, being a little in awe of the older students who seemed to know so much. It was weird, thinking that she was now the older student, and no longer in awe of even the sixth and seventh years. They were just normal students to Pres. All hanging out in the same common room, and a part of the same Hogwarts family.

"That's pretty fast reading," she grinned again. "Have you tried out any of the spells yet?" Then remembering her manners, and the fact that she'd no idea who this kid was, "I'm Presley, by the way. But most people just call me Pres."

No last name. Absolutely not. If the child was of wizarding descent, that would simply intimidate her further. And Presley's goal this year was to make the new kids feel welcome, not terrified or anxious. Even if her parents weren't magical, she probably had read enough already to figure out pretty quickly what family Presley was a member of. Besides not scaring the little kid away, Presley wanted to be known for who she was, not who her family was. Like Rachel had been.

Thinking about Rachel sent a slight pang through Presley's heart. In the brief time she'd been friends with the girl, she'd shared some pretty hard secrets. She wouldn't trust so easily again.