Cadence wanted to cry. She'd decided to try and find her way back to the common room by herself after she had sent a letter home to her mum, but somehow she'd taken a wrong turn or something and now had no clue where to go.
The tiny first year sniffles a little and rubbed vigorously at her eyes to stop the burning tears that were threatening to spill over.

Cadence did a 360 turn on the spot and took in the many trophies. She heard the sound of approaching footsteps and hurried off. Hiding behind a large stand in the center of the room, the timid first year peeked around the corner of the stand and stared at the door, hoping whoever it was would not see her.

The Professor was taking a stroll around the castle. His day had been empty so far, no students had come to see him and he took that as a sign that all well within his house or well he hoped. Students always knew where to find him should they need to, however he felt it important as with past experience Samuel knew it was often difficult for students to approach their head of house with any problems they had. 
On his way up to Gryffindor Tower, he heard a sound coming from one of the rooms on the third floor, hoping it wasn't a student causing trouble he went to investigate. He looked upon a couple of rooms before entering the Trophy room, he hadn't really been here lately. He scanned the room until he saw a small face poking out from behind one of the centre stands. He guessed it was a first year but he couldn't tell which one. "Hello, is everything okay?" he asked looking at them expectantly. 

Cadence flinched a little, fully expecting to get told off for not being in class or her dorm. The relief was evident on her face when the head of Gryffindor only asked what was wrong, "Professor Copeland. I-I'm so sorry, I got lost trying to find my way back to the Gryffindor tower and then the stairs moved and I've completely lost my bearings." She explained, the first year stamped her foot a little in irritation, "I should have learnt the school by now, sir. I've almost finished my first year and I'm still getting lost." She tugged on her blonde curls a little and sighed in frustration. "How long did it take until you learnt the school well?" She asked nervously.

Samuel looked at the girl and recognised her as one of his Gryffindors. She looked a little scared, he hadn’t meant to startle or scare her. Merlin’s sake no! Especially if she was in his house. “ Miss Braeburn, please do not apologise, it’s perfectly fine, I was a first year too, many years ago and the stairs weren’t that nice to me either” the wizard smiled at her kindly. He fought back a chuckle as she stamped her foot. It was kind of funny how quickly first years got angry when trying to learn their way around the castle, even after a few months of being a student here. He was certain that many older students still got lost around the castle. Of course more often than not that was their excuse for being out past curfew when Samuel would catch them.

“ Well let’s see….I remember getting lost in my fifth year once on the way back from potions class, thought I was on the fourth floor, turns out I was on the second” he laughed in reply to the question. “And when I came back to teach here, I had to learn the castle all over again” he added, trying to make her realise that even the adults still get lost from time to time.

Cadence giggled a little at what her head of house said to her before stepping slightly closer to him. "Fifth year? But you'd been here for ages." She said, the surprise evident on her features. "Where you at Hogwarts before the war or after? Because I know the school has changed so much since the war. I saw it in books, what it used to be like." She said, starting to become a little more chatty. "I mean, yeah most of the school had the same outline as before the war but it's also changed a lot." She said thoughtfully, cocking her head to one side.

Samuel was glad that the girl had been able to relax in his presence. He was hoping she eventually would. He was her head of house after all and normally that was the first point of call for any student who needed help. “I know, you’d think by that age I would have learnt my way around, but sadly I was distracted a lot that day” he didn’t tell her the reason for his distraction was girl he had a crush on. His smile faltered slightly before it appeared fully back on his features. “The war happened during my second year here” he answered, no emotion in his tone. He didn’t want to discuss it too much with the first year, no doubt she’d eventually learn about it in History of Magic Class. “The castle as you can imagine was destroyed a fair bit during the battle and of course had to be rebuilt but yes the outside structure is still very much unchanged". He informed her with his smile slightly growing. "Lucky you found yourself in one of the more pleasant rooms" the professor added.

Cadence nodded as she listened to her teacher, "I think all of the rooms here are pleasant." She said with a dismissive shrug. "I prefer being outside, but inside is alright too. There's a boy I like spending time with and he likes to wind me up. I've met his sister too; his sister says that I remind him of what he could have had. Another little sister or something." Cadence explained, "Have you talked to them? They're called Ezekiel - he's a Gryffindor, and Ruby." She said, "Ruby says that Ezekiel gets into trouble a lot, so you probably have seen him." She continued, looking up at him thoughtfully.

The professor smiled at his student as she spoke. Normally first years weren't as bold even Gryffindors but there was something different about Cadence, maybe even she was still getting lost she was able to hold a decent conversation. And that was one sign she'd be fine in her later years at Hogwarts. "There are some rooms you should still be weary of" he warned but with a gentle tone. His ears perked up as the girl mentioned a boy, he hoped this boy wasn't leading her astray and they both weren't getting into trouble. "I do know who Ezekiel as well as his sister. I do know that they both have suffered a lot" he informed her. He wasn't about to share the exact reason for that with her, as head of house he was responsible for the privacy of his students. "I will talk to him soon" he smiled at her. "Miss Braeburn tell me, have you enjoyed your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Oh? What rooms might that be? Then again, I'll probably find out if I keep getting lost." She said with a coy smile, bowing her head a little. When her head of house said he knew Zeke and Ruby and what had gone in their life as of late, she cocked her head to one side, "Well, I don't know what's wrong but it's sad to see them so... well sad." She shuffled forward a bit and gestured for him to come closer to her. "Zeke doesn't know it, but I once caught him crying. He was holding a picture." She whispered sympathetically. "When you do talk to him, don't say what I've just said." She warned, trying to appear intimidating but failing miserably.

"My first year has been really fun, sir!" She replied, perking up and grinning, "I've made lots of friends. None of my friends are in my year but still, apparently I'm too posh for them. Am I posh, sir? I don't think I am." She said. "It's just because Lina and Alec have taught me to say my words right." She said, "My favourite class is Transfiguration. I've found I'm pretty good at it, I do like potions but it's a bit of a task trying to get the right measurements." She informed her teacher.

The Professor arched is brow at his student and crossed his arms across his chest. She was in Gryffindor and they did like to go scope all parts of the castle and he did know it was all parts, speaking from experience. “Hmm, I have no doubt in my mind Miss Braeburn you will come across them on your own and let me warn you know that I will not ease up on serving a detention because you’re in Gryffindor” he warned her, even though he knew that he would likely see her sooner rather than later in his office. Of course she too had picked up on the sadness felt by the Fehu siblings, it was obvious to anyone really, probably more so to the professors since they would notice changes in their classroom behaviour and such. Samuel walked forward a few paces when he sense that Cadence wanted to share something with him in confidence. He listened and nodded along as she spoke. He dared not laugh at her attempt to come across as intimidating. “ Don’t worry I won’t reveal my sources” he stated with a firm nod as he drew back.

He smiled as she stated very happily that her first year had been fun and went on to speak of her friends. “When I was student here miss Braeburn I had a number of friends who weren’t in my year either” he informed her. Of course the war was the main factor behind that, it just brought everyone closer together. Did he think she was posh? Was he actually meant to answer that? “No I don’t think you are” he informed her. “I’m glad you have enjoyed your classes, and don’t worry you’ll get the hang of measurements soon in potions, everyone struggles in their first year…….have you not enjoyed Charms?” he asked in a teasing manner.