Paddy was never keen on writing assignments, but hoped that writing "Paddy - Gryffindor" at the top of the parchment would help give her some inspiration. She'd made several friends since starting at Hogwarts, but there was one in particular that stood out.

Paddy double checked the number of words she'd written, and was pleased to discover she'd barely scraped by the minimum. Making a mental note to not leave future assignments to the last minute, she rolled the parchment and handed it in.

Damn, I ran out of time. I really hope this is an activity that gets reopened, because Aderyn and Emmy have such stories to tell! :)

Elise hadn't made a single friend at Hogwarts yet. Between Head Girl duties, classes, and Choir practice she hadn't had much time to socialize with her peers. She thought about who she could write about for her writing assignment. She missed her friends from back home. Her grandma had paid a pretty penny for her to be able to attend Hogwarts.

She thought about one of her first childhood friends. Mina lived next door to Elise's grandma. Elise remembered the first time they met. She had heard a knock at the door on a bright sunny day. Elise walked up to the door and called out, "Who is it?" "It's me, Mina!," a soft voice responded. She didn't know anyone named Mina and wasn't tall enough to reach the peep hole. She sneakily looked through the window to see who the unexpected visitor would be. Elise couldn't see much but a pink bow and big brown eyes. Elise opened the door and was surprised to find a girl around her age wearing a baby blue dress and pink ballet flats. A big pink bow held back her short black hair.

The girl gave her a quick hug before Elise could even speak. "I thought you'd never come! None of the other kids on the block want to play with me. They think I'm too young," Mina said with a pout. "Your grandma told me, you was coming over today and that you were my age!" Mina told her and smiled. She reached inside her backpack and pulled out a container of chocolate chip cookies. "My mom baked us COOKIES! Would you like one now?" she asked as she open the container and ate one.

Elise didn't quite know what to tell the strange and hyper girl so she stared at her. Her grandma approached the door. She must have heard Mina. Her grandmother greeted her and turned to Elise. "Elise, I see you've made a new friend. I knew you and Mina would get along well. Are you two going on an adventure?" Elise began to speak, but Mina was quicker and louder. She grabbed Elise's hang and exclaimed, "YES! We're going to have so much fun!"

Elise laughed as she remembered her first impression of Mina. Mina wore her personality on her sleeve. Something that Elise was sometimes jealous of. That afternoon was probably one of Elise's favorite memories with Mina. Mina hadn't lied. They really did have fun that day. They threw water balloons at each other, played dress up, drew on the sidewalk with chalk, played hide and seek and made homemade ice cream. Her favorite activity was using Mina's cousin's walkie talkie set. They used them to pretend they were spies on a secret and dangerous mission.

Elise finished her assignment and sighed. She missed Mina and wonder what her friend was up to. Elise hadn't told her much about Hogwarts, only that it was her father's alma mater and that it was somewhere in Scotland. Elise was not used to hiding secrets from Mina. Mina knew everything about her. She was always there for her even when things were bad.

-Elise Cortez, Slytherin House

You still have a little bit of time to get those entries in if you're so inclined!

it ends tonight at 11.59, so you still have time if you are on.

Luck grimaced at the assignment. She was a first-year student, and had failed to make any friends yet. Nonetheless she took her quill in hand and put it to the parchment.

It’s an unfortunate thing that I don’t have any friends here at school. Back home in the muggle world, friends came and went as I grew up, but as I became more introverted it became harder to maintain those relationships. On the train ride here, I tried to isolate myself, and didn’t talk much to the others who joined me in the compartment. That was a mistake, as I think that they say that friendships between magical folk are most likely to be formed on the train ride to Hogwarts. It’s my first year at school but I won’t give up yet. It would be nice to become friends with someone later on, perhaps in a class. I’d rather like a fellow Hufflepuff for a friend, but I wouldn’t even mind if they were from another house, as difficult as it could be to bond. I believe that friends could be made from different houses, though we’re all competing against each other for house points. I don’t know if the nature of the houses could prevent friendships, but I wouldn’t think so. People couldn’t be all that different from each other, we’re all witches and wizards here. There’s always the train ride next time I return to school; hopefully I’ll meet someone then. Right now, the closest thing I have to a friend is my pet lizard, which I brought here for company. I’ve always wanted a pet lizard, and his company thrills me. His name is Maji and he usually stays perched on my shoulder.

(Luck, Hufflepuff)

Cradling her chin in her hand, Lyn gently tapped her fingers on her cheek as she wiggled her quill between her fingers. "Friendship, huh..." Lyn knew that if anyone asked her whom she considered her best friends, the first thing out of her mouth would be those of her two sisters, Beth and Elli. They were her two longest and strongest friendships after all. When she thought of Hogwarts though, a lot of people came to mind. People she had met in Gryffindor, in Quidditch Club, in her classes, but her first friends at Hogwarts had to be... Lyn smiled to herself as her quill began to flow across the parchment in front of her.

"If I think back to my first days in Hogwarts, I think of late night trips to visit my friends in the Astronomy Tower: my bats. We sought comfort from each other when we were still grappling for familiarity within the castle walls, looking out into the various night skies that fell over Hogwarts. I like to believe that our shared love for the sky is what drew us together to begin with. I can't begin to explain nor understand it, but then again, friendship is somewhere between spontaneous and fate."

Lyn Hale, Gryffindor