"Writing to my mom and asking about what kind of hobbies I could do without electricity. I did have another hobby besides reading back at home, but it was playing computer games with my dad. We have a Master System back at home. My grandma taught me to knit when I was younger, so maybe I'll try that. Can I borrow Hedwig again, Harry?" Hermione asks.
"Oh sure Hermione. I'll have to think of something too." Harry says, furrowing his brow in thought. Fun wasn't something Harry had ever truly managed to have, any time he ever had that wasn't occupied by chores had always been spent trying to avoid the Dursleys for no other real gain. Working in the garden had been rewarding in its way, but wasn't something he overly enjoyed. Cooking was something other people found nice, but Harry simply did it because he had to.
"Back home my Dadi and I, ugh, my grandmother, would do some weaving together on her loom. I know they make small ones, so maybe I can get her to send out for me to get one." Padma says.
"I'm just totally stumped on what hobbies I could try out. I never did anything back home except for chores and schoolwork." Harry says looking dejected.
"Why not trying to learn how to play that flute Hagrid gave you? I know there's a charm that can check what notes are being played. You could use it to try to figure out what notes each finger position is, then learn to play a few songs." Padma suggests.
"Oh, Do you think Professor Flitwick would teach me that charm?" Harry asks, pulling the flute out of his bag. It is a beautiful instrument, and the fact that Hagrid had made it for him made Harry generally want to keep it close.
"No reason why he wouldn't, I've heard he conducts a choir of students, so maybe he'd like someone to play along with them." Padma says.
"I'll speak to him tomorrow about it then. No reason for me to bother him again today." Harry says, before looking over to Padma. "Want to play Gobstones? I don't know what else to do that isn't studying."
Padma smiles and looks at him. "Sure, provided you don't whine when you get gunk shot at you."
"Ah you see Ms. Patil, it is YOU who shall be gunked on." Harry says in a faux villain voice. The trio laugh and all play their game.
The week that follows has the group meet back up in an attempt to discuss the hobbies they picked up. Drawing names out of a hat, they decide who has to show off their thing first. Parvati is picked to be the first victim.
"I've always been really into fashion, looking at pretty clothes and stuff, so I've tried my hand at designing a few things. Here's the sketches I've done." Parvati says, pulling out a few loosely bound sheets of parchment. On them are some very crude drawings of various dress/robe combinations with small notes about fabric type and color pallets. She obviously had tried very hard on them, and Harry commended her effort.
"This is a good start Parvati, had you done anything like this before?" Harry asks.
"No, and I know my artistic skills are pretty bad. I'm hoping practice will make that better. I'm getting our mom to get me an order form for a craft store, so hopefully I can start working with some fabric in my spare time to make something. Who knows, in a few years I might be making my own dress robes!" Parvati says, putting her hands on her hips in a gesture of pride.
"Alright, next up is… Tracey! Did you find anything fun to do?" Parvati says, as she pulls a name out of the hat.
"So… I didn't really find anything I could do. Back home I used to practice whittling wood down to make wands like I want to do when I'm older, but that's not something I can really do here." Tracey says, looking down dejectedly.
"It's okay Tracey, we're just here to have a good time. Maybe you'll find that you like one of the things we picked and you can join us in it." Hannah says, her hand on Tracey's shoulder.
"Okay, next up is… Susan!" Tracey says, taking her seat back as Susan stands up.
"Okay, I'm really into Quidditch, but I'm abysmal on a broom because I'm afraid of heights. I can tell you the result of every World cup match from 1900 onward, but put me on a broom and I pass out. I had to get a note from Madam Pomfrey that excuses me from the flying portion of broom class." Susan says, her face a brilliant Gryffindor red.
"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone's afraid of something." Harry says, patting Susan on the back.
"Yeah but it's still embarrassing, especially after your show in our first class. You'd never even held a broom before that day and threw yourself straight into it. I've been trying for years and anything more than a couple feet off the ground and I just faint." Susan says, frustrated with herself. "Moving on, next up is… Daphne!"
Daphne steps up, pulling out a strangely shaped leather-bound book with very thick black pages. "So, as you guys know, I can't stop eating sweets. As such, I decided that I was going to turn that into something practical, so I started collecting chocolate frog cards. I have all of their 'Wizards of Ages Past collection, like the four Hogwarts Founders, Merlin, and Morgan Le Fay' I'm still working on the 'Modern Magical Menagerie' collection, specifically I've been dying to find the Alicorn card, but it's really rare." Daphne's book opens to find many of the pentagonal cards arranged in rows of four, with each card adhering to the darkened cloth pages. Harry recognizes quite a few creatures, objects, people, and places from the various sets. Several spots however, remain empty as a small placeholder card appears there with information regarding what should be in its place.
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters by joining my patreon!
💧WATER TIER (10$) -- Read 20 chapters ahead of public releases
🔥FIRE TIER (20$) -- Read 40 chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
🔗 patreon.com/LunaDesire1
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference -- thanks you reading