Steofan's Journey to 9 & 3/4
It was late summer in Wicklow. Like most towns in Leinster, Ireland, it had been a comfortable summer and fairly uneventful for most of the children in town. Not for Steofan however, not since he had gotten a letter that had changed his life.
Having grown up with his muggle paternal grandparents, Steofan had never had much access to magic growing up despite the fact that his father was a wizard and his mother a witch, apparently from a pure-blood family herself. Shortly after his parents split, his mother left Steofan with his father and disappeared from all contact. His father was not a good man in the slightest but the greatest deed he ever did was deciding to give Steo to his own mother and father, Gladys and Charles O'Tuath. Gladys' mother apparently was a squib, but her family was all gone by the time Steo came around, and Charles was a muggle from what he knows. Steo's father, Scott, was the only magical member of the O'Tuath family and as such was seen as an outcast from the otherwise muggle members.
Gladys and Charles were good to Steo, loving him and caring for him, if a bit old-fashioned as products of their time. Once his father was out of the picture, he led a good life and a fairly typical childhood until the age of 8 when Charles was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and suddenly all of Gladys' and Steo's efforts went to taking care of Charles. This was how Steo spent his last 3 years of his life, every day after school, every weekend, every vacation day. Therefore, when he got his invitation to Hogwarts, not only was Steo supremely confused by the fact that he had magical abilities but also distraught at the fact he would have to pass up on this opportunity to help take care of his grandfather and grandmother.
"I cannot leave them alone, I am all they have. If I go off to school elsewhere, its just Grandmom taking care of Granddad, and he's too much for her to handle!" Steo had thoughts along these lines often and he told his grandmother soon after getting his letter he would not be going to Hogwarts.
About a month passed and Steo had put Hogwarts out of his mind, continuing on with his stoic work until early in July his grandmother gave him a ticket to London.
"Steo, my baby boy, you are so kind, so loving to think to give up your education to take care of me and your granddad, but we are the ones who are supposed to care for you. You are the child here, though you've not had a chance to be one for too long." She pulled him close for a hug and continued, "Your aunt and uncle will come and stay with us some, and we will go and stay with them the rest of the time. We will be ok, but not if we rob you of your chance."
Steo looked up and hugged her tight, holding back tears, unable to say anything beyond, "Thank you!"
About another month has passed and Steo made his way to London, got his supplies in an adventure to be described elsewhere, and finds himself at Kings Cross Station, holding in front of him a ticket that says it admits one to the Hogwarts Express via platform 93/4.
"Platform 93/4, platform 93/4... what in the bogs is platform 93/4?" Steo shakes his head as he looks around, wishing that he had someone in his life familiar with all of this to learn from. He pushes his trolley of trunks back and forth between platforms 9 & 8 & 9 & 10 & 10 & 11 over and over trying to figure out what he could be looking for. Luckily, he still had about an hour until the train was set to leave, but that would help him not at all if it took him more than an hour to find the platform.
He walks over to a man in uniform that he thinks works for the train station and asks him for help, "Excuse me sir, might you know where I might find platform 93/4?"
The man looks down at Steo and just shakes his head and grumbles to himself about "Bloody children pests" while he walks away.
Steo refuses to give up and thinks hard about how he might be able to find his way to this blasted platform. "3/4 means between two numbers, so maybe 93/4 is between 9 and 10? I mean, they are right next to each other.... but maybe if I just stand back and watch."
So, that is exactly what he does, he stands about 100 yards away and watches the walkway between platforms 9 and 10 and sure enough, first he notices someone walking and then suddenly they are gone. They he sees a family with a group of children all walking together until they stop and the parents one by one usher the children to go somewhere that he cannot see and disappear from his view. Convinced he has found something, he decides to run for it and dashes over towards the family before they can all disappear.
Steo gets there right as the last child runs face-first into a column only to disappear into it rather than bounce back bloody. Amazed, Steo calls out to the parents, "E... ahhh. Excuse me please. Is this how I get to platform 93/4?"
The father turns and looks at Steo with a smile, "Must be a new student, why yes it is. Right this way, my boy."
Having grown up with his muggle paternal grandparents, Steofan had never had much access to magic growing up despite the fact that his father was a wizard and his mother a witch, apparently from a pure-blood family herself. Shortly after his parents split, his mother left Steofan with his father and disappeared from all contact. His father was not a good man in the slightest but the greatest deed he ever did was deciding to give Steo to his own mother and father, Gladys and Charles O'Tuath. Gladys' mother apparently was a squib, but her family was all gone by the time Steo came around, and Charles was a muggle from what he knows. Steo's father, Scott, was the only magical member of the O'Tuath family and as such was seen as an outcast from the otherwise muggle members.
Gladys and Charles were good to Steo, loving him and caring for him, if a bit old-fashioned as products of their time. Once his father was out of the picture, he led a good life and a fairly typical childhood until the age of 8 when Charles was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and suddenly all of Gladys' and Steo's efforts went to taking care of Charles. This was how Steo spent his last 3 years of his life, every day after school, every weekend, every vacation day. Therefore, when he got his invitation to Hogwarts, not only was Steo supremely confused by the fact that he had magical abilities but also distraught at the fact he would have to pass up on this opportunity to help take care of his grandfather and grandmother.
"I cannot leave them alone, I am all they have. If I go off to school elsewhere, its just Grandmom taking care of Granddad, and he's too much for her to handle!" Steo had thoughts along these lines often and he told his grandmother soon after getting his letter he would not be going to Hogwarts.
About a month passed and Steo had put Hogwarts out of his mind, continuing on with his stoic work until early in July his grandmother gave him a ticket to London.
"Steo, my baby boy, you are so kind, so loving to think to give up your education to take care of me and your granddad, but we are the ones who are supposed to care for you. You are the child here, though you've not had a chance to be one for too long." She pulled him close for a hug and continued, "Your aunt and uncle will come and stay with us some, and we will go and stay with them the rest of the time. We will be ok, but not if we rob you of your chance."
Steo looked up and hugged her tight, holding back tears, unable to say anything beyond, "Thank you!"
About another month has passed and Steo made his way to London, got his supplies in an adventure to be described elsewhere, and finds himself at Kings Cross Station, holding in front of him a ticket that says it admits one to the Hogwarts Express via platform 93/4.
"Platform 93/4, platform 93/4... what in the bogs is platform 93/4?" Steo shakes his head as he looks around, wishing that he had someone in his life familiar with all of this to learn from. He pushes his trolley of trunks back and forth between platforms 9 & 8 & 9 & 10 & 10 & 11 over and over trying to figure out what he could be looking for. Luckily, he still had about an hour until the train was set to leave, but that would help him not at all if it took him more than an hour to find the platform.
He walks over to a man in uniform that he thinks works for the train station and asks him for help, "Excuse me sir, might you know where I might find platform 93/4?"
The man looks down at Steo and just shakes his head and grumbles to himself about "Bloody children pests" while he walks away.
Steo refuses to give up and thinks hard about how he might be able to find his way to this blasted platform. "3/4 means between two numbers, so maybe 93/4 is between 9 and 10? I mean, they are right next to each other.... but maybe if I just stand back and watch."
So, that is exactly what he does, he stands about 100 yards away and watches the walkway between platforms 9 and 10 and sure enough, first he notices someone walking and then suddenly they are gone. They he sees a family with a group of children all walking together until they stop and the parents one by one usher the children to go somewhere that he cannot see and disappear from his view. Convinced he has found something, he decides to run for it and dashes over towards the family before they can all disappear.
Steo gets there right as the last child runs face-first into a column only to disappear into it rather than bounce back bloody. Amazed, Steo calls out to the parents, "E... ahhh. Excuse me please. Is this how I get to platform 93/4?"
The father turns and looks at Steo with a smile, "Must be a new student, why yes it is. Right this way, my boy."
Steofan's Journey to 9 & 3/4
Platform 9¾
It's early in the morning, the place is bustling with activity from all directions, proud parents hugging their first year kids, mothers fussing over their uniforms, nervous kids clinging to their parents, older kids catching up to old friends...
For a first year like Azrael, it can be quite overwhelming... although he doesn't seem anxious, his pupils are smaller than usual, giving his huge, round eyes a more eerie look...of course, he doesn't mean it, it's just that he's never actually been anywhere with so many people.
It's hard not to be stared at, with such pale skin and those big, eerie eyes- it's bound to make some people curious (or at least, a bit hesitant to be around you), regardless...it's nothing he isn't used to.
"You'll be okay, my boy." said his father, as he gently guided him towards the column- where another father and a boy his age were standing near...his eyes flickered over to the boy his age, his mother had always tried to encourage him to make friends his age, and Hogwarts was the perfect opportunity for that...still, with his stoic nature, it was a lot to ask from him, really.
He decided to give it a shot either way, it never hurt to try, right?
"...Hello, I'm Azrael... what's your name?" he started, voice monotone and eyes as wide as two flat plates.
Hopefully, he doesn't mess this up...after all, maybe he DID need some friends?
"... would you like to sit together on the train?..my mother says the cabins get full quickly."
Has he blinked at all this whole time? Probably not, but he's trying his best not to look too creepy.
@Steofan O'Tuath
"The Sun's shadow knows no fear, no dawn. Is the watcher always watched, or simply drawn?"