Seeing Serena so happy made Alin feel happy too, and the smile on his face grew even larger. Maybe this year wouldn't be all that bad. He could face going back to the orphanage when the time came, but for now all that really mattered was that he was here at Hogwarts with his best friend. It was fascinating how Serena could completely turn around his mood in such a short time, and he was glad for it. Maybe he would be able to make her happy, too, as she did for him. He silently pledged to himself that he'd do everything he could to be the best friend possible to the girl.

As the class started, Alin found it hard to focus very much, his mind was in a flurry. Two emotions swirled around, sadness and happiness, but the happy feeling far overthrew the sadness, and he felt better than he had in awhile. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase the small smile from his face.