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Post by jessimyre on Jul 8, 2008 18:44:07 GMT -5
Sydelle walked quickly along the platforms, counting their number as she pushed her trolley loaded with her trunk and belongings. She was eager to get to her own platform. Her parents were behind, striding to keep up with her.
“Well, there’s 9 and 10.” Her father said, squeezing her shoulder as they halted. “But where is 9 and 3 quarters?”
Sydelle cast around, looking for a clue as to where their platform may be. She began to get frustrated, what if she couldn’t get on and missed the train? There had to be some trick, she thought, remembering how old Tom the barman at The Leaky Cauldron had opened the archway to Diagon Alley for them the week before when they’d gone to buy her school things.
“Come on, race you!” a boy’s voice nearby caught her attention. She turned to see two boys with dark brown hair cheerfully begin running past her, pushing their trolleys. She immediately noticed they had a trunk each, and an owl in a cage! She watched them carefully but a group of commuters hurrying to work came between she and them, and when they’d gone just moments later, the boys had vanished.
Then came a lady wearing the most unusual clothing. She had a brown tweed skirt, a T shirt with “I love Muggles” on it and a lot of old and unusual jewelry. She was holding the hand another boy who looked much like the two who had raced, but much younger – perhaps only four years old and behind her a man presumably her husband, looked even more peculiar, wearing full robes, a vivid scarlet cloak and a tall hat. He was unmistakably a wizard. He wore a badge which flashed in the light and said in a loud voice “Ministry Official Marcus Merryweather.” Every few minutes.
“Erm, excuse me,” Sydelle’s mother stopped them. “I am sorry to trouble you, but I was hoping you could help us. It is my daughter’s first time at Hogwarts and would you please show us how to get onto the platform?”
The lady smiled, her face dimpling and her eyes kind. “Certainly my dear.” She answered. She turned to Sydelle.
"Now then, see the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10? You need to walk straight at it. Don't worry about crashing, just walk straight through and if you're a bit nervous, do it at a bit of a run."
Sydelle looked aprehensive but was willing to trust the stranger. She turned, took a deep breath and walked straight at the barrier. As she approached, she closed her eyes tight and sped up until she was jogging.
The next thing she knew was the sounds had changed and there was a loud sound like a steam engine would make. She opened her eyes and Platform 9 and 3 quarters spread out before her. It was full of people, clearly wizards and witches with magnificent robes, cloaks and hats. Bright colours stood out everywhere and there was so much noise as children packing the station chattered and giggled and squealed happily.
In almost a trance, Sydelle walked slowly toward the bright scarlet train. Boys called to one another, greeting old friends. Many of the adults were helping the children load their heavy trunks into compartments. Several held cats or carried cages for their owls. To her left a trail of golden sparks as one child showed off a new wand to another.
Within a few moments, Sydelle's parents had caught up with her, thanking the wizarding family who had helped them. As her father heaved her trunk up onto the train for her, Sydelle noticed they were attracting some attention. She supposed that to the wizarding world, her family were the standouts in the muggle clothing and not the other way around. She thanked the fates that she had been so eager to put on her robes before they left home, she may have looked odd at the station but here she blended in and was just another student.
Within a few moments, Sydelle had kissed her parents goodbye and had boarded the train. She threaded her way up the corridor between students looking for a place to sit. Toward the back of the train she found an empty compartment and sat down thankfully. Taking a deep breath of excitement she once again pulled out her new wand, taking it out of its box and rolling it in her fingers, turning it this way and that. She had a wand! She was a witch!
Suddenly, the compartment opened and Sydelle looked up quickly to see who it was.
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Post by blossom on Jul 9, 2008 9:43:24 GMT -5
Rafael stood awkardly at the entrance to Platform 9 and 3 quarters, watching the multitude of students and parents as he waited for his three older brothers to come through the barrier.
He looked with nervous awe at the sleek scarlet steam train waiting at the platform, eyes tracing the words "Hogwarts Express" that were picked out in golden lettering. Students were running up and down, several calling out to friends, laughing and chattering. Parents helped children lift heavy trunks onto the train before saying goodbye.
"Rafael." Looking up, Rafael realised his older brothers had come through the barrier without his noticing. They had, however, been noticed by others on the platform; parents and older students knew the Levy family - the father was in Azkaban for life for his part in the last war, and the two oldest boys at least took after him. They were blood purists and unpleasant people - the older students all knew the stay well away from them.
Rafael flinched at some of the dark looks given to him. Although those on the platform hadn't heard much of the youngest Levy, the fact that he was one was enough to condem him as a dark wizard and no doubt would be a Slytherin.
"You get used to it." Gabriel, closest to Rafael in age, told him as he helped heave his brother's trunk onto the train. Rafael nodded, accepting his brother's reassurance but feeling close to tears. Would this how he was to be treated for the rest of his time at Hogwarts? Immediately judged on his family's reputation? It was, after all, why his mother had refused to come and see her sons off - she wanted to avoid the disapproving and disgusted stares.
Lost in his miserable thoughts, Rafael paid little attention to what he was doing as he weaved in and out of the throng of students along the train corridor. The compartments were nearly all full until he got to the back of the train. Opening a compartment door, he saw with relief an empty seat, but then flinched back when he saw another person already there.
A blonde girl with a cheerful face, she looked about his own age and did not immediately glare at him. Feeling somewhat encouraged, Rafael smiled tentatively. "H-hello. Everywhere else is full ... do you mind if I sit down?"
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 9, 2008 18:17:23 GMT -5
Sydelle smiled at the boy, too excited to really notice his anxious look.
"I don't mind at all." she said, keen to meet her first fellow wizard. "I'm Sydelle Beaufort. It's my first year at Hogwarts." she introduced herself. "What's your name?"
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Post by twilightblade on Jul 10, 2008 5:50:08 GMT -5
Deylani wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to reach the train station in time, but at least she hadn't any trouble getting through to platform Nine and Three-quarters. Although her father hadn't gone to Hogwarts, he had learned that much from his teachers.
Breathing hard, she hitched her duffle-bag a little higher on her back and tried not to stagger as the books inside dug into her side. At least she wore black robes, although the duffle-bag wasn't quite what she was supposed to have, considering all of the trunks that were still being loaded onto the cars behind the gleaming red engine. Shaking her head, she wove through the crowd of people, trying to ignore the stares she gathered. What? Is it the duffle-bag? Or just that I'm tall? My scar? My hair?
She sighed as she climbed into the last car and paused at the back. There was a boy with light brown hair standing in the doorway to a compartment, talking to someone inside. It looked to be the only open compartment too. Well, there was no help for it. She'd have to face other students sooner or later.
"Is there room for one more?" She slid the duffle-bag off her shoulder, nervousness giving her voice a sharp edge as she braced one hand against the wall to steady herself. No, running for the train at such a late time had not been good at all, but it was far better than being tracked down by the coppers.
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 10, 2008 7:30:55 GMT -5
Another girl, taller than Sydelle appeared behind the boy and her face dimpled into another smile as she invited the stranger in.
"Sure there is." she said, indicating the empty seat beside her.
At that moment a long whistle blew and with the steady 'chug chug' of the engine the train began moving off. They were on their way!
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Post by blossom on Jul 10, 2008 8:07:14 GMT -5
Rafael nervously backed into compartment to make way for this new, taller girl. Her voice had had a sharp edge as she'd asked if there was room, and after all the dark looks on the platform Rafael couldn't help but wonder with paranoia if she knew his family and was unhappy about sharing a compartment with a Levy.
Still, there was no other room so he sat down, chewing his lip anxiously. However, looking up he saw the first girl - Sydelle - was still wearing a dimpled, friendly smile that made him feel a little bit better.
"I'm Rafael," he answered her earlier question. "Rafael L-Levy."
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 10, 2008 8:21:33 GMT -5
"Hi Rafael, I'm Sydelle Beaufort." Sydelle answered cheerfully, she included the new girl in her smile too, beaming at them both. "It's my first year at Hogwarts." she said, eager to learn more about her new companions.
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Post by blossom on Jul 10, 2008 8:27:08 GMT -5
"Mine too," Rafael said, returning Sydelle's smile shyly. "I have three brothers who are here already though, so they've told me a bit about Hogwarts."
He glanced at the other girl as he spoke; she looked to be a few years older than himself or Sydelle - perhaps Gabriel's age, in third year, or maybe even Samael in fifth year.
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 10, 2008 17:34:36 GMT -5
"Oh, are you from a wizarding family?" Sydelle asked, eyes round. "I bet you know heaps of magic already. Is it hard? I hope I can catch up." she said, voicing her fears, "I hope I'm not miles behind everyone."
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Post by twilightblade on Jul 10, 2008 18:17:52 GMT -5
Deylani stayed silent as the the friendly blond girl introduced herself as Sydelle and the boy told them that he was Rafael Levy. He had the strangest look on his face when he told them...kind of expectant and half-afraid. Was his name supposed to mean something? Perhaps it was, if he had three brothers who were already in Hogwarts. The blond looked excited at the news.
"Oh, are you from a wizarding family?" Sydelle asked, eyes round. "I bet you know heaps of magic already. Is it hard? I hope I can catch up. I hope I'm not miles behind everyone."
Deylani frowned at this show of hesitancy. "Of course you can. A lot of it is memorization and force of will. You'll be fine." She turned to face the boy straight on. "Right?"
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 10, 2008 18:33:13 GMT -5
Sydelle smiled again, glad that the older girl had reassured her. She pulled her wand case out of her pocket and opened it, gazing down at her new wand in delight.
"I just love my wand, it went all warm in my hand and produced birdsong when I picked it up. Ms Lovegood said I'm one of the first to have a wand with import wood." Sydelle told them proudly. "It's Australian Jarrah with Unicorn Hair core."
The wand was a rich deep earthy red, the polished wand gleaming softly in the light from the window. Sydelle really loved that wand, she felt like it belonged to her, that it was a part of her arm. She couldn't wait to try it.
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Post by twilightblade on Jul 10, 2008 18:47:29 GMT -5
Sydelle's excitement finally coaxed a small smile onto Deylani's lips. "That's a very nice wand," she said softly. "I also have a wand of imported wood. Purple heartwood, with a pheonix feather."
She glanced over at Rafael. "How about you?"
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Post by blossom on Jul 11, 2008 6:03:55 GMT -5
Rafael felt himself relax as neither of the girls reacted to his name. Reaching into his pocket, his pulled out his own wand to show them. He had polished it proudly the night before, so the deep brown wood had a bright sheen to it.
"Cedar wood," he told the others, "And dragon heart string."
It wasn't imported wood like Sydelle's or Deylani's, but it still felt special to him. When he held it in his hand it felt like an extension of himself - Gabriel had once tried to explain how wands were a part of their wizards, but Rafael hadn't really understood until he had his own. He smiled happily at the girls, then tucked it safely back into his pocket.
"About what you said before," he looked up at Sydelle. "Lots of people come from non magic families so you won't be behind at all. My brothers helped me try a couple of simple spells at home, but you're not really supposed to used magic outside of school.
"Coming from a wizard family doesn't always help," he added, somewhat miserably.
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 11, 2008 7:10:52 GMT -5
Sydelle looked curiously at Rafael, wondering what he meant. But she didn't want to seem too nosey so instead she turned to Deylani.
"What year are you in?" she asked.
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Post by twilightblade on Jul 11, 2008 21:30:39 GMT -5
Deylani blinked at her. "Year? I haven't even gone to Hogwarts once yet." She pushed her hair back and sighed. "Just how old do you think I am, anyways?"
She glanced at Rafael, silently agreeing with him about coming from a wizarding family. He was right, it really wasn't any help at all. Probably worse than being a pure muggle these days.
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 12, 2008 2:57:40 GMT -5
"Oh, sorry, you look older than me." Sydelle blushed.
The train rattled on. At lunch time, a plump elderly witch came along pushing a trolley full of the most unusual foods and sweets she'd ever seen. There were also plenty of pasties and pies plus a selection of fruit. Sydelle had been given a small amount of spending money by her parents whom had had muggle money exchanged at Gringotts when they had gone to buy her school things.
"Er, how much for a pumpkin pastie, this apple juice and a packet of chocolate frogs?" she asked the witch nervously.
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Post by blossom on Jul 13, 2008 5:40:49 GMT -5
"That's four sickles, dear," the witch told Sydelle kindly, her plump face wrinkling into a smile.
Rafael also looked at the trolley with interest, his stomach urging him to buy a pastie or a pie. The sweets were also tempting - or at least, the chocolate frogs and licorice wands looked delicious. There were also a few packets of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, but Rafael had despised them ever since his two oldest brothers, Zephyr and Samael, had force fed him a vomit flavoured one when he was younger.
Shaking his head, he tried to dispel the unpleasant memory. "Uh, could I have a pastie too, please?"
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 13, 2008 19:07:24 GMT -5
Sydelle carefully counted out four sickles, as she was still getting used to wizarding money and took her purchases back to her seat. She decided to try a chocolate frog first and opened the packed and took one out. When she opened the wrapper, the chocolate frog jumped out and Sydelle dropped the packet and squealed in suprise.
Startled, she leapt up as though it would bite her and watched, round eyed as the chocolate frog gave one or two half leaps and then fell still.
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Post by twilightblade on Jul 13, 2008 23:19:20 GMT -5
Deylani gave a tiny shake of her head at Sydelle's blushing reply, but didn't comment. She should be used to it by now, she mused, staring down at her duffle bag. When the trolley came by with the witch pushing it, she looked up, but only gazed at the cart for a moment before turning her head away. She didn't have the money to buy something like that, and besides, she'd packed a lunch.
As Sydelle and Rafael made their purchases, she unzipped her duffle bag and dug through it for her lunch. Preoccupied with searching for her inexplicably missing lunch bag, she jerked and snapped her head up as Sydelle squealed and leapt to her feet. Her gaze came to rest on the chocolate frog that was sitting on the floor, and she shrugged, then scooped it up and held it out toward Sydelle as her other hand rummaged through her belongings.
"It's just magic, you know. They wouldn't sell you a real frog." She glanced over what Sydelle had chosen and smiled again for the second time that day. "Good thing you didn't get any of those Every Flavour Beans. People like to give away the vomit ones as jokes."
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Post by jessimyre on Jul 13, 2008 23:28:30 GMT -5
Sydelle took a deep breath once she realised that the chocolate frog had stopped moving. Completely unexpected, she had been given a shock when it had leapt out of the packaging. Picking it up gingerly she heard Deylani explain about the charm used to make the frogs jump. It seemed to have worn off already, and what sat in her hand was a completely harmless lump of chocolate. She nibbled an end of carefully and the chocolate melted deliciously into her mouth.
"Unreal." she said. "Vomit flavoured beans? That is disgusting!" she said, glad she hadn't purchased a packet of those.
"Here," she offered Deylani and Rafael both the packet of frogs, inviting them to share with her. Her face dimpled into smiles again as she looked at her new friends invitingly.
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Post by blossom on Jul 14, 2008 7:03:40 GMT -5
Rafael had just purchased his pastie when he heard Sydelle's shriek. He spun around in alarm, then doubled over laughing when he realised she was just surprised by the chocolate frog. He sat back down in his seat, still chuckling, while Deylani explained that the frogs were charmed and not real.
"It's just magic, you know. They wouldn't sell you a real frog. Good thing you didn't get any of those Every Flavour Beans. People like to give away the vomit ones as jokes."
Rafael shuddered, remembering his brothers' force-feeding again and nodded. "They only have one good jump in them," he grinned.
Sydelle still cautiously nibbled the end off her frog, but seemed satisfied that it was only chocolate.
"Unreal." she said. "Vomit flavoured beans? That is disgusting!" She heldi out the chocolate frogs in an offer to share. "Here."
"Thanks," Rafael smiled, shyly taking one. It was a new experience for him - he had never really had any friends, and none that he had shared anything with. "Two of my brothers forced me to eat a vomit bean when I was little ... it was the most horrible thing I have ever tasted."
He shuddered again, and grimaced at the others to express his distaste. He realised as well, that for the first time he could remember he felt happy, and was having fun - he had been accepted by Sydelle and Deylani without question, and was able just to be himself - not judged for being a Levy. He liked this feeling, even if his new friends were girls.
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mi
Chaos Initiate
Posts: 11
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Post by mi on Jul 14, 2008 13:10:02 GMT -5
Martha smiled as her mom waved her goodbye. She would see her again, of course, but she didn't like being away from her. She entered the train and realized to her horror almost all the seats were taken. Her friends gave her a sad smile and then continued their conversation. She found herself in the back. There was one compartment that had some room. Ugh. It was filled mainly with first years. Taking a deep breath she said, "Is there room for me?" With out waiting for a reply, she entered the compartment and loaded up her suitcase and her broom. She then took her seat and opened a cage that held her pet dog. It appeared like a Jack Russel terrier except it was completely black with a white muzzle. She slowly stroked him behind the ears.
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Post by twilightblade on Jul 17, 2008 21:06:40 GMT -5
Rafael's graphic description of his vomit bean experience surprised a little laugh out of Deylani just as the door opened, and she looked over at the girl with grey eyes and ruffled brown hair.
"Is there room for me?" Without pausing, the girl walked in almost as if she owned the compartment and took a seat. She put away her things while Deylani, forgetting about Sydelle's offer of chocolate, watched her curiously as the girl took out a small dog and started petting it.
"Looks like," Deylani finally replied, and turned back to Rafael and Sydelle. "So, Rafael, which flavor was your favorite out of the beans?"
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Post by blossom on Jul 18, 2008 11:52:00 GMT -5
Rafael went quiet as the compartment door slid open again. The girl stood there looked a few years older than them, and not best pleased at having to sit with first years. She asked politely if there was room for her, but strode it without waiting for a reply and settled herself down.
Deylani watched her openly, and Rafael found his eyes drawn to her as she took out a dog and started stroking it. An awkward silence descended on the compartment, Rafael reverting to shyness in the presence of the older girl.
"Looks like," Deylani replied shortly to the girl, then turned back to continue their previous conversation. "So, Rafael, which flavor was your favorite out of the beans?"
Rafael grinned sheepishly, feeling the tension created by the girl's appearance was broken. "I didn't try any others - I felt ill for the rest of the day and wasn't exactly keen to see what other weird flavours there were!"
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Post by twilightblade on Jul 19, 2008 0:16:32 GMT -5
Deylani found herself laughing softly again. "I don't think I would either!" she replied quickly, surprising herself with another smile. "My father always said he could never find one he liked!"
She glanced over at Sydelle. "The chocolate to your taste?" She tried another smile, feeling her face stretch a little with the unfamiliarity of the gesture.
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