And So It Begins Open Closed

Interacting With: @Lani Beckett

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"Ah yeah, sorry 'bout that. Could've sworn you told me you were a muggle-born. My dad works in the ministry of magic too. I went to a public school growing up. I always thought private schools were all modern and ten times more fun than public schools, but guess not." she shrugged.

She looked out the window. How close were they? Her parents and siblings had told her all about Hogwarts, the classes, the dorms. But nobody had ever told her about the train ride. She wondered how long it was. They'd be there by dinner she was pretty sure, since she heard there was a big feast right after the sorting ceremony. She was excited. She turned back to Lani.

"Gryffindor eh? I didn't really consider that. Mostly only Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. We'll see though. Honestly," she paused. "I hope I'm not Gryffindor or Slytherin. They're cool houses and all but you know, my siblings are both Ravenclaws, me dad's a Ravenclaw and my mum's a Hufflepuff. Being a Gryffindor would be kind of out of place, you know? I'd honestly feel like kind of a letdown, ruining the family line," she looked down. "But hey. Maybe my mum will pay more attention to me if I'm in a different house, since I stand out," she snickered.

She turned to Lani. "No problem," she gave a toothy grin. "I was pretty scared too. I guess I can give you a few thanks as well, for replying to me, I mean." she giggled. "Hmm. Honestly, dunno. I always have to give my brother Tommy the cards, he loves collecting them. Maybe Dumbledore? He's pretty cool. What about you?"

Interacting with: @Valerie Laurier

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Lani giggled. Valerie was a pretty fun person to hang out with. "You don't have to rely on my opinion about your house, though." She gave her a polite smile. "Plus, the hat takes what you want into opinion, too. So hopefully, you get what you want."

"I actually have a ton of chocolate frog cards. Maybe Tommy and I could trade sometime! My favorite one though is Artemesia Lufkin. Did you know she was the first woman to be the Minister of Magic? My mum idolizes her, you know, since she works in the Ministry. She works in Magical Law Enforcement, so she's gone most of the time, probably fighting crime I guess, or probably banging a gavel..." Lani made the imitation of banging a gavel, giving herself a serious, pressed face like most judges do on all those court shows. She loved watching them, since most of them were extremely funny, like Divorce Court.

She suddenly had an amazing idea. Lani turned to Valerie, her eyebrows furrowed, and her lips pressed together, her "I-have-an-awesome-idea-I-have-to-tell-you-face" Her father called it. "...Val. Your dad works in the Ministry, right? Maybe during summer, we could meet up with each other. Or wait..." She took a moment to think, then continued. "We could send owls to our parents and tell them about each other. Then they could get to know each other, maybe even become friends. What do you think?"

Interacting With: @Lani Beckett | Mentions: N/A

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"Oh yeah! That would be super cool. I'd have to warn you though, he is very protective of his cards." Valerie giggled. "I dunno why. Maybe it's cause he's six. It is a pretty big accomplishment for a six-year-olds, eating that many chocolate frogs in a year. But to be fair we helped out. If he ever becomes famous or something, like, I dunno, setting the world record for the most chocolate frog cards owned, we better get some credit. Also, that's pretty cool. To be honest I'm not the history type. Quite boring actually, but I guess it's not that bad when you're learning through chocolate frog cards, huh?" She giggled.

"Yeah! My dad works as an Auror in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. That would be great!" Valerie grinned, happy at how eager Lani was to befriend her. She had never really gotten close to any of her friends back home. It wasn't like she was a complete loner, but she knew eventually she was going to have to leave them for Hogwarts, so she never got too attached. But considering that they'd be going to the same school for seven years, Valerie wanted to make as many friends at Hogwarts as she could.

"My mom would be pretty glad to hear that I've made friends. I didn't really have many back home," she chuckled sheepishly. "You think that they have like, a bring your kid to work day at the Ministry? That would be cool. We could explore together! Maybe my dad will take us along on one of his missions!" She said, putting her hands up as if she were about to fight someone. "I think I'd make a pretty good Auror. Er- once I learn spells, I mean," she giggled, rubbing the back of her neck.

WC: 302 Words

Interacting with: @Valerie Laurier

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"Really? Guess I better think of a good trade then!" She replied. It was cool that a boy as young as Tommy really cared about his chocolate frog cards. Lani had honestly been collecting them since she was about nine. "That would be cool. Imagine there's like a banner from the movies that says:" She waved her arms in the air. "'Welcome kids!' And the whole place is set up like a convention."

It was silly, but it was honestly what Lani thought about when a student from her old private school said their parents were bringing them to work. "What are your hobbies, Val? My hobby is surprisingly mostly art, not anything on the law or history side. I guess I got it from my dad, he's a famous artist, you know, and when my mum is gone he teaches me all about it. Like paper mache, sculpting, painting, all of that. But I mostly like design and fashion. It just... captivates me, you know?" A small smile formed on her face. "I haven't told this to anyone before, so don't tell anyone else, okay Val?" Her hands started fidgeting. "My family is really wealthy, and most people I meet just use me to get more fame. So when they finally feel like they don't need me, they throw me away and I'm left friendless again. That's why I mostly hang out with my dad." Lani looked hopefully at Valerie. "You won't be like them, right? I want to make at least one real friend here."

She sighed deeply. Val felt like someone she could trust, though she could just burst out laughing and say how much of a weirdo she is, or how she was bragging about her wealth, when she really wasn't. It honestly wasn't fun being followed around just for money, or being told that she was a snobby idiot. When she didn't worry about her outer image, she just felt like a normal girl, who loves art and worries about homework. "Right, Val?"

Interacting With: @Lani Beckett

Mentions: N/A

Val hesitated. What were her hobbies? Her days mostly consisted of homework and arguing with her siblings. Really, Hogwarts was supposed to be an escape from her boring life of dinosaurs with Tommy and tutoring with Vivian. "Ermmmm," Valerie pondered. "I guess like... reading. And art. I like art too. Sketching and painting mostly. Aye! If we ever start a boutique or something, I could draw you designs and you could make 'em!" She giggled. "But anyways. Yeah, reading. Dunno if you like muggle things or perhaps you're more on the magical side of your family, but we don't have TV and all that. Well, at least my mum don't allow it. So I mostly read, books from my school's library. It isn't much but it's better than doing nothing, innit? Plus, muggle stories are super entertaining," she commented.

"Oh! And erhm," she fiddled with a stray hair poking out of her ponytail, a habit she had recently picked up, especially with all the change in her life happening recently. "Music. I do music," she stated plainly.

Gosh, that sounded dumb, she scolded herself.

"I mean, I like it. Like, doing it. And stuff," she looked down, swearing to herself. Whenever this topic was brought up, she just completely forgot how to talk."I play the piano. And violin. And some other things but they're not as impressive," she scoffed. She never really told anybody about her interest in music, since it seemed quite embarrassing. Compared to her other hobbies, plus her bold and impulsive personality, playing classical music on an elegant instrument just seemed... not very Val-like.

But Lani seemed like somebody she could trust, somebody who didn't judge people for stupid things. She seemed quite the artistic kind herself, in fact. "But, yeah. I'm pretty basic," she scoffed.

"Oh. That's nice- actually! Famous artist huh? That's cool! It's like- a super unique thing to be famous for," she paused, realizing she wasn't really making things any better. Eh, she was never good at comforting people anyway.

"Sorry. Actually- it might be a coincidence but like, me too. You see- my dad's an auror- and not just like, an average one. He's actually pretty good at his job. Well, at least, that's what I've heard. But anyways. He's not the only one too. My family's been this long like of like, powerful Ravenclaw aurors. All wise and stuff, right? And we're pretty well known in the wizarding world because for some reason all pureblood families know each other or something... it's weird. But like, I always have to go meet other pureblood families and the kids usually just hang out with me because my dad's got a high rank in the ministry. Or they want to be acquainted with my family or something," she groaned.

"But growing up with that, you know, this idea of how much status and blood matters, I don't really give a crap anymore. Like, I'll hang out with you if I think you're cool and nice, you know? I think it's stupid. Especially when it has to do with family. Last time I checked, I'm Valerie. You're Lani. We're not our families or their achievements," she smiled.

WC: 532 Words