Common Room

It was on this cold January day that a youthful lass sat in one of those much-sought-after fireplace seats. They were soft, green and gave great access to heat while you were underground in winter. Matilda Silva sat in one of the coveted armchairs, legs criss-cross applesauce, working on her History of Magic homework. Somehow, unlike most of the population at Hogwarts, Matilda actually kind of liked History of Magic. Not like she'd tell anyone, though.

Strangely enough, that was exactly the way Caroline Yashnid felt about Potions. But she couldn't seem like a nerd!
"Hey, Matilda." Caroline said, sitting down in the couch next to her with a sad little smile. "History of Magic homework? That's nice, I guess.."
She was quiet for a little bit, letting her work.
But then out of nowhere..
"You need a nickname!"

"Yeah, it's..." Matilda resisted the urge to say fascinating, since she didn't want to seem like a loser. "... wait, why do I need a nickname? Matilda's a fine enough name as is."

"In my family, everybody has nicknames. I'm Caro--" Caroline said, pointing to herself. "My mom is Sel, but only to my dad, and vice versa- My dad is Jakeypoo, but only when my mom's had too much sugar. My sister's Char, most of the time. But I call her sadistic bitch." That last sentence was said with a cheery grin. "Don't your family have nicknames?"

"Those are weird nicknames!" Matilda wrinkled her nose. "Well, except for 'sadistic bitch.' That's pretty cool. But, no, we don't have nicknames... my mom is Libby, my brothers are Isaiah, Jared and Josiah, and I'm Matilda. The only one that has a nickname is my dad, but his full name is weird. Maxwell. He goes by Max."

"Hmm.." Caroline pondered for a minute, before grinning. "Izzy, Jar-head, Joss, Tilly! And, is Libby your mom's real name? If it is, she doesn't need a nickname."

"Izzy, Jar-head, Joss, Tilly?" Matilda stared at Caroline like she had just sprouted horns out of her armpits. "Those are terrible names! And yes, it's her real name. It's not short for Elizabeth or anything."

"I like them!" Caroline protested. "In fact, I'm going to use them. I'm never using your real names again. Whenever I see Josiah I'm calling him Joss. Or maybe even Jossy. Is that okay with you, Tilly?"

Matilda sighed. "I'm never going to respond to you if you call me Tilly. That's just a weird name. And Joss... I can understand Joe, but Joe is a weird name. It reminds me of those fat Americans, Joe's a common name there."

"I like Joss! Josiah. Joss. Josiah. Joss." Caroline explained. "And Jar-head is my favorite.. But Izzy is pretty good too. I demand you use those names."

"No, they're weird names! I mean, Izzy? That's just weird."

"No it's not. It's like.. It's like Ozzy Osbourne! Except with an I. I like the names, so they're staying."

"Are you done with that homework, yet?"

"Um, just about." Matilda finished the question she was working on, rolled up the parchment, and gently put the roll into her bag with her books. "Now I am! What's up, mate?"

"Nothing much, really. I'm really bored, to tell the truth. Nothing ever happens here!"

"I KNOW!" Matilda exclaimed. "I can't wait until we're third-years and we can go to Hogsmeade. Jared tells me that it's so fun there."

"That would be so much fun.." Caroline gazed off into the distance, imagining the beauty of Hogsmeade. "Jar-head must have so many friends to go to Hogsmeade with. I bet it makes it more fun."

"He DOES have a lot of friends. They're kinda weird though," Matilda told her, frowning. "I mean, some of them do drugs and stuff like that. It's just odd."

"Oh, really?" Caroline said. "I don't really have an opinion on drugs. Never tried them, you know."

"You go crazy when you do them, apparently."

"Hmm.. That doesn't sound that fun, I guess." Caroline mumbled.

Matilda nodded smugly. "Yeah, and my mom's always been like 'don't do drugs' and primary school said that a lot too. Did you go to a nice school?"

"Oh, I guess. It was large, in the middle area of Bath. It's very nice, an excellent school."

"Bath? That's a funny name!" Matilda laughed. "Why would anyone name their town that?"

"You've never heard of Bath?!" Caroline said, outraged. "It's.. Well, it was named that for the Roman Baths, I guess. It's around a hundred and sixty kilometers from London, just about an hour and a half away."

"Oh, that's probably why. I live in a little place on the outskirts of London, and we don't really travel a lot. Well, sometimes we go to Germany or Ireland, but that's about it."