The Adventure Begins... Open closed

Crystal hugged herself tight as she followed her moms through the barrier onto the platform. She had never been away from her parents for more than a few weeks before, and even then, she was with people she knew. Her anxiety was running rampant as she pictured herself in a new environment completely surrounded by strangers. Noticing her daughter's nervousness, Crystal's Mama, Katarina, hugged her daughter tight.

"I don't want to go, Mama," Crystal looked up at her mother with a fearful look in her eyes. Katarina hugged Crystal even tighter.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, love." Katarina tried her best to comfort her anxious daughter, but she didn't struggle with those feelings as much as Crystal did, so she often didn't know what to say. "What are you worried about?"

Crystal looked around at all the kids on the platform,-- kids she had never seen before-- and then looked up at her Mama with a look that said, "Isn't it obvious?" Katarina understood immediately and tightened her grip on Crystal before letting her go so that her other mom, Marie, could have a moment with the girl.

Marie hugged Crystal tight and said, "You can always send us gossipy owls if you have no one else to talk to, but I'm sure you'll find someone you like." Crystal pulled away from her Mom and gave her a look, as if to say "I doubt it," before taking a step back, picking her bags up off the ground and taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the journey to come.

As the other kids began boarding the train, some even more visibly anxious than Crystal, Marie gave her daughter a little push, encouraging her to be brave and take a step forward. Slowly, Crystal made her way towards the train, carefully making sure she didn't bump into any of the other kids who were also carrying lots of bags.

Crystal was one of the last to board the train, so, as the doors closed behind her, she turned around and waved goodbye to her moms as the train pulled out of the station. Feeling only slightly less nervous, Crystal began to head towards the back of the train in hopes of finding a mostly empty compartment. Eventually, she came across one with only one other person in it-- a girl who looked to be about Crystal's age.

Upon opening the door, the girl in the compartment nodded at Crystal with a smile, greeting her with a polite "Good morning." Crystal returned the girl's greeting with an awkward wave and began to stuff her bags into the storage rack.

Crystal had already sat down when she came to the sudden realization that she had never asked the other girl if it was okay for her to sit there. 'I hope she doesn't think I'm rude...' Crystal silently panicked. "Is it okay if I sit here?" she asked quietly.

✩ The Adventure Begins ✩

𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒: September 1st, 2022
𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒: Mid-Morning
𝐿𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: The Hogwarts Express
𝒩𝑜𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @Crystal Walker

The morning so far seemed to be out of a movie or story that the young blonde girl would be waking up from any second. From a nice spot of breakfast with her entire family at one of the nearby restaurants that the family had discovered during the last week or so in the city of London to saying an emotional goodbye to her family for her first official term of study at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. It was safe to say that the irish native was a bag of mixed emotions and the day was only just beginning.

After boarding the train just minutes earlier Alora had made her way towards the back carriage to find an empty compartment to enjoy the long journey ahead of her. Placing her bag on the shelves above the benches and taking a seat beside the window to be able to look out across the landscape as they traverse the English countryside. The young girl had taken out a variety of items from her coin purse and book that she was in the midst of reading to her new leather-bound journal and a pen to take notes along the way where needed.

Starting off with a spot of light reading as she raises her feet up securely on the bench to make herself more comfortable for the train ride to Hogwarts, it isn’t long before the door of the compartment opens and stood in the doorway is the small petite form of a female around the same age as Alora herself. Maybe another student taking the journey to Hogwarts for the very first time? Smiling as she greets the young brunette seeing her head inside of the compartment to settle herself down as well, Alora can’t help but notice the moment the young girl seems to freeze after taking a seat before asking if it was okay for her to take a seat.

“Well of course… the more the merrier! Is it your first time as well?” Alora smiles brightly her irish accent present as she speaks in a gentle tone of excitement as she sits up from her position to retrieve the plastic carrier bag that her parents had packed with a variety of snacks, treats and drinks for her long journey to school.

𝓣𝓸𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓒𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽: 384 words

Crystal was only slightly less anxious now than she was on the platform with her moms. Her moms. She was too busy thinking about how she would live without them, that she had never thought about what they would do without her. Now that she didn't have to be home every day, would her Mama get a job? If she did get a job, what would that mean about summers? Would they be able to continue going on family vacations if both moms were working?

Crystal was so wrapped up in her spiral of worry that she almost didn't hear the other girl ask her a question. As she often did, Crystal registered that the girl had asked the question, but her anxious mind wasn't fully present in the moment, so it took her a moment to formulate an answer.

The girl had asked if it was also Crystal's first time at Hogwarts. A simple question with an even simpler answer. Why was "Yes" so needlessly hard to say? 'Damn anxiety,' Crystal cursed in her head. She didn't curse often, really only when she was mad. She would probably do it more if her moms did it. She had never heard either of them swear, so she wasn't sure if it was acceptable in her house.

"Um," Crystal mumbled, forcing the words out awkwardly. "Yeah, this is my first time. I- I'm Crystal." She realized almost immediately that the girl had never asked for her name. Crystal always seemed to make every conversation that she partook in unnecessarily awkward.

She sat in silence as the girl pulled out a bag of snacks, wishing that she had the courage to speak up and ask for one. Crystal had been too anxious to eat a proper breakfast that morning, and the lack of food was finally starting to catch up with her.

@Alora Shendrow

✩ The Adventure Begins ✩

𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒: September 1st, 2022
𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒: Mid-Morning
𝐿𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: The Hogwarts Express
𝒩𝑜𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈:@Crystal Walker

Sensing that the girl seated ahead of her was probably feeling as scared and nervous as she herself was the blonde knew one thing she needed to be patient. After all many had been in their shoes before this day and come off unharmed, however, this was a really big moment in the lives of the first years especially those like Alora who before the letter had no clue that the wizarding world even existed but one thing that all the first years no matter what status of blood they shared had in common was the fact that they would be heading away from their homes and loved ones for a prolonged period of time most likely for the very first time.

For Alora this was the first of many experiences to come over the next seven years much like her peers, but with not really being around those her own age outside of school to socialise there was still a lot to learn along the way. What was the strangest so far that day though was how people seemed to react different when feeling the same way. For the girl ahead of her seemed to outwardly be a nervous wreck and on the verge of tears whereas Alora, well whenever she felt overwhelmed, stressed or just pure stupid she tended to distract herself and others around her from the feelings all she could. Maybe that was why she was a calming force around the animals on the farm back home?

As the moments pass by the young blonde hears her suspicion is confirmed as the young brunette speaks up answering that she was also a first-year much like Alora herself before she introduces herself as Crystal. Smiling politely as she makes brief eye contact but doesn’t keep it long enough to make her feel uncomfortable the irish lass speaks up in response. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Crystal, I’m Alora Shendrow but please call me Alora or Lora or Al or Ally” she chuckles rambling a little as her nerves kick in a little.

Feeling the rhythm of the train moving bringing up the nerves inside the pits of the blonde's stomach as her thoughts flit to how in a short few hours the life she had always known would be officially over Alora turns to distract herself with the sound of the rustling plastic bag as she takes out one of the sub sandwiches and a packet of crisps (chips) that her mother had purchased just mere hours ago before turning her attention towards Crystal realising how much her mother had packed being just ridiculous. “Erm… Would you like something to eat and drink?” She asks hopefully with a smile before running her fingers through her blonde locks nervously “I swear my mum thought all of us were going on the train and not just me, it’s like she wants me to eat for a whole month” Alora states as she chuckles a little not surprised by her mother's methods at all from past occasions she had personally witnessed.

𝓣𝓸𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓒𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽: 514 Words

Crystal could feel the girl watching her. Strangely enough, that feeling didn't make her any more anxious. Somehow it almost made her feel less afraid?

Crystal looked up at the blonde girl. She did not appear to be outwardly anxious, a feature which never failed to baffle Crystal. She had lived with anxiety her whole life, so she simply couldn't process the fact that some people just... don't feel that way. As Crystal's mind focused on her anxiousness, she actually felt the anxiety get worse, and quickly scrambled for a mental distraction to take her mind off the tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

The blonde girl introduced herself as Alora, and then spouted off a list of acceptable nicknames, Crystal began to form the conclusion that she and this girl were quite different, both inside and out. The girl sitting in front of her was a pale, blue-eyed blonde, but Crystal had tan skin, brown hair, and green eyes. Their physical appearances were not where the difference stopped. The way that Alora had introduced herself, cheerfully rambling off nicknames and ending with a laugh, gave off an impression of outgoing-ness, a trait that Crystal had always wished that she had.

"I like your name. It's very pretty," Crystal said very quietly, almost mumbling and silently hoping the girl hadn't heard her. She often said things in the moment and then regretted how awkward they sounded after they left her mouth.

Crystal watched as the girl took out a sandwich and some crisps, still wishing that she could speak up and ask for some, and still silently cursing the mental illness that prevented her from asking for what she wanted. Fortunately, Alora must have seen Crystal eagerly eying the large bag of food, and she offered some to Crystal. "Yes, please," Crystal said, trying to make herself sound as polite and calm as possible. The girl then added something about how her mom must have thought that "all of them" were going to be riding the train, implying that Alora must have a large family.

Crystal's anxiety faded as she began to eat, a sign that she was beginning to feel more comfortable around Alora. Perhaps her moms had been right. Finding someone wouldn't be that hard. "But would she even want to be friends with me?" Crystal tried her hardest to push the negative thoughts away, but it was hard.

Feeling more comfortable, Crystal decided to ask Alora a question. "You said that your mom packed enough food for 'all of us.' How many people are in your family?" Crystal hoped that the question had come out the way it sounded in her head, and that the girl didn't take it in a rude way, or interpret it as insulting her mom for having lots of children.

@Alora Shendrow

✩ The Adventure Begins ✩

𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒: September 1st, 2022
𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒: Mid-Morning
𝐿𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: The Hogwarts Express
𝒩𝑜𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈:@Crystal Walker

Although the young blonde had been around countless people throughout her years so far originally living on a working farm and also attending public school this situation wasn’t entirely new to the young girl. However, what was new to the young blonde was the fact that she was openly having to communicate without having a full escape for in the past the only people she’d truly been this way with were either her family, the animals or the workers of the farm as they passed small talk during their daily chores.

When it came to her school life, outside of class Alora would tend to be found working in the library or at a small table in the lunch hall catching up on the homework set throughout the day so far or studying further what she’d been learning. With minimal time outside of class and school due to her life on the farm to really be a child and enjoy what is known as childhood, it was almost like Alora was wise beyond her years. With plans already set in place about her future at age 10 before she would learn how she was a witch and the wizarding world was real for the first time in forever there were no expectations or limitations in the young girl's life.

Although Alora was far from inside of her comfort zone with not really knowing what to expect to happen for the rest of the day or how Hogwarts would work in general, she hadn’t been allowed to conduct any research into what was to come really due to limited time and the not knowing was the worst part. But it was nice to know that she certainly wasn’t alone in feeling a little lost in the situation and others her own age were feeling the same if not worse about the situation they found themselves in.

Crystal seemed nice enough and for the first person, she would meet on this long road ahead Alora couldn’t help but hope that everyone else was like her. Outwardly in appearance, the two couldn’t have appeared more different from Crystal’s ashen skin, lithe tone and dark hair with green shaded eyes, her clothing style also seemed modest and different too. Whereas Alora was your typical young irish lass Blonde haired, blue-eyed and overly pale in skin tone even if her body seemed to be a little more toned due to the nature of her farm work. But even though the two of them seemed complete opposites in appearance the young girl couldn’t help but feel like they were more similar than different almost like they were both kindred spirits destined to meet that day.

A little distracted as she remained deep in thought with a smile spread across her lips thinking over the day so far it was at this point the young blonde would hear Crystal compliment her name saying it was nice. ” Well thanks, my mum and dad seem to have this weird naming system as my siblings and I all have some form of our parents' name in our own” Alora chuckles warmly unsure if that was actually normal or just a Shendrow thing. Offering the brunette some of the food and drink that her beloved mother had packed for the journey ahead she can’t help but continue smiling as Crystal accepts.

Gently passing the bag across to the young girl sat ahead of her filled with countless treats, food and drink Alora smiles ” Help yourself there’s enough here for probably a full day for at least four people, so grab as much as you’d like” she chuckles as she opens up her chicken and bacon sub and bottle of orange juice that she herself had selected taking a brief sip a short while later. This was the first time of many to come that Alora would share lunch with other students which were completely out of the norm for her after all during her public school days during the lunch hour she would pretty much eat alone as quickly as possible to make the most out of the spare time she would have at school.

Unknown to Alora at present but she would have to really get used to be around others throughout her time in Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry outside of class for not only would she be sorted into a house which would end up being treated as her home for at least the next seven years but the school also promoted student socialisation on a daily basis. Whether it be through dorm room or house meetings, the countless clubs available but also most students would find at least a handful of students similar to themselves throughout their journey. It was safe to say that the famous school truly did make friendships and family last entire lifetimes.

This would be another thing that would be completely different to the life she’d been leading as a muggle for when it came to friendships it’s safe to say they were non-existent outside of her family, the animals that called their farm home as well as the workers but that to her was normality even if it wasn’t the healthiest it was all she’d really known in her life so far. For the longest time, Alora thought she knew how her life would go and the steps it would take from attending school to then going to college and onwards to university to study animal and vet care she would ultimately become the family vet caring for the animals on the farm but that had all changed the moment she received her Hogwarts Letter now she just didn’t know what to expect as this was far from planned out or expected to happen.

With countless thoughts and questions spiralling in the forefront of her mind, it was apparent that the young girl was once more distracted, however, this would soon end when she would hear Crystal speak once more just a few seconds after she had handed her the bag asking about her family. ” That’s kind of complicated, You see back home I lived on a huge working farm with 12 acres of land so if you’re meaning back there hmmm…. Let me see with us, all of the animals and staff maybe 80 in total. We have a lot of animals you see but in London, there were my parents, Lora and Leith my elder siblings, me and then there’s Loralei my younger sister” Alora speaks absentmindedly speaking about her life in the muggle-world.

”How about you? Where do you come from? Are you excited to be going to Hogwarts? I mean I didn’t even know that the place existed till maybe two months ago by that I mean I didn’t know magic was actually real” She chimes in a little over-enthusiastically and trying to keep her focus on the excitement she was feeling about this new life, after all, it was so much better than some of the other feelings she was experiencing in that moment of time.

𝓣𝓸𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓒𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽: 1181 Words

Crystal began to feel more comfortable around Alora the more that she shared about herself. This morning was really not shaping up to be as terrible as Crystal had expected it to be. She managed to part from her moms with minimal tears, she didn't end up sitting alone --or worse, with a bully-- on the train, and the person that she did end up sitting with seemed nice enough. Maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be as bad as Crystal had thought. As her anxiety faded the muscles that she didn't even realize were tense began to relax and a smile began to form on the young girl's face.

Crystal had been homeschooled her entire life, so this feeling of being comfortable around a stranger, the feeling of making friends, was entirely new and unfamiliar territory for Crystal. Her whole life it had been just her and her moms --nobody else-- so to have been able to warm up to another person so quickly felt almost like a miracle to the anxious child.

Crystal felt embarrassed that Alora had heard her compliment her name, but she also relieved that the other girl didn't think it was awkward. Instead, she just accepted the compliment politely and added on a bit of information about her siblings names. It appeared that all of Alora's siblings had names very similar to those of their parents, a fact at which Crystal laughed quietly. Crystal had never thought about why her moms had named her what they had, but now that she had brought it up she was curious. She made a mental note to ask about that in her first owl home.

"That's an interesting fact about your family. I don't actually know why my parents named me Crystal." But I really want to. Crystal left the last part out of what she said aloud, because this was a conversation about Alora's name, and Crystal didn't want to come across as if she was making everything about her. Sometimes when she had tried to speak up for herself in the past, she had been told (mostly by her grandmother) that it was not the time to make everything about her, and that others were having a conversation that wasn't about Crystal. Because of this, she was very careful to keep the personal information she shared to a minimum, unless she was asked a question directed specifically at her.

Crystal smiled as Alora passed the bag across the compartment. She hadn't realised how hungry she was, but now that there was a bag full of food in her hands, she was tempted to take more than what would be fair. Though she was able to practice some self-restraint and only take out a drink and a bag of crisps, nothing more. She opened her drink and took a sip as Alora began to eat her own sandwich. Crystal noticed that all of the food in Alora's bag was Muggle food, which let Crystal know that the girl was a muggle-born. Though, of course, that didn't make a difference at all. Crystal knew what it was like to be different, almost every time her family went out into the muggle world, some middle-aged man said something to harass her parents.

Alora then proceeded to answer Crystal's question about the size of her family. The girl lived on a farm with her family, but if you counted the animals and staff, there were many, many more individuals than Crystal could ever imagine living around. Sometimes she wished that her moms had had another kid after her, but she never wanted more than one sibling, especially if she had to be the oldest.

Alora than starting rambling with questions for Crystal. Crystal was grateful for this, because she felt less anxious the more questions she was asked. That way, she didn't have to decide what to talk about because there were already specific parameters set on their conversation.

"Um-" Crystal began, not quite sure where to start. 'Do I mention my moms? How would she react? Should I wait to see how she feels about it, or should I say it anyway and learn how she feels right now?' Crystal loved her moms, but sometimes, others' lack of acceptance made it really hard to talk about her home life. In the end, she decided to just go for it, after all, Alora seemed nice enough.

"It's just me and my moms back home. No siblings. And my Mama taught me at home, so no real friends either. They decided to teach me from hom because they though it would be odd for me to be a wizard kid in an all-Muggle school." Crystal intentionally mentioned her lack of friends in hope that Alora would offer. In fact, she did things like that quite often. If there was something that she wanted to happen or wished she could talk about but was too scared to bring it up herself, she would try to steer the conversation in that direction in hopes that the other person would mention it and open up the opportunity for Crystal to say what she wanted.

@Alora Shendrow

Isla did not like this. The young Scottish girl clutched her trunk tightly in her hand as she hurried behind her mum and dad like a lost puppy. She brushed past countless witches and wizards, all scurrying about the station as the train only a few metres away blew its whistle in a thick cloud of smoke. She and her parents began to slow as they neared the crimson train, where the crowd was densest. Isla took a moment to admire the thing; although she had been raised with a decent knowledge of muggle contraptions she had never used their transport. The Hogwarts Express was a deep red colour, so shiny she could see the reflections of the arched roof on its smooth surface. White smoke billowed around it, stinging her eyes and bathing her tongue with its charred taste. Her hands were clammy and her stomach somersaulted inside her as she made it to the front. Her mother urged her forward, and she glanced back with a pleading look before hopping the gap between the platform and the train, slipping into the river of students shuffling along the hallway.

The air was rife with chatter as kids all around her caught up with their friends, so casually. They all looked like they knew what they were doing, which just worsened Isla's reluctance. Maybe she could slip off the train now, or she could sneak off when it arrived at Hogwarts.. No. She had to do this, it was too late now.

Knuckles white as she held her trunk's handles, the Scottish first year began to let the stream of Hogwarts students guide her down the unfamiliar train. She glanced from compartment to compartment as the crowd began to thin out and people found their places. Then, she felt the train lurch beneath her feet as it began to heave forwards, causing her to stumble. She shot back up and held her luggage tighter, fingernails digging into her palm. Panicking, Isla stepped to the side and shuffled into a rather barren compartment, with only two young girls inside. She stood silently for an awkward moment before speaking up,
"Um, hullo. Sorry," She mumbled, seating herself at the edge of the compartment.
She dropped her trunk at her feet and quickly took in the space. It had pale walls and a large window which looked out onto the other side of the platform, with only a few people milling around. The seats were a patterned red, similar to the colour of the train, and there were racks for luggage above. Oops. Too late now. Her gaze flickered back to the girls, embarrassment building inside her, and she practically whispered,
"A hope A didnae bother you twa, A didnae ken where tae go.."
Her voice was hoarse, which she kicked herself mentally for. Come on, this isn't you! Isla reached up to touch her hijab, making sure it was still in place after pushing past so many people.

✩ The Adventure Begins ✩

𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒: September 1st, 2022
𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒: Mid-Morning
𝐿𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: The Hogwarts Express
𝒩𝑜𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈:@Crystal Walker and @Isla Ainsley

Reducio

Hey Isla, Just wanna say I couldn't help but laugh at the written scottish slang, my rl boyfriend is scottish so all I could hear was his accent when reading it so thanks for this it made my day

Throughout her days at home never before had the young blonde seemed to have as smooth of a conversation with one her own age even in her days in public school and that was openly a welcome change. If this was how it was going to be within the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry it was no surprise how its students would make friends and family that lasted them a lifetime. All that Alora had experienced so far during her days in school were countless stress and fascinations caused by studies, but what could she have expected for a less than healthy upbringing.

Although her family were extremely close and loved each other dearly, Alora didn’t realise just how much her life had not truly been of her own choosing so far but the decisions of her parents for their own benefit. Truly believing the choice to spend her days focused on becoming a vet from such a young age was all of her doing was far from the truth and even though Alora just didn’t see it she would soon becoming to learn how toxic her life had been before finding the path to find her true self. But finding herself would take a while and with the support of those she would surround herself with over the next seven years was one thing she knew for sure and one of those people she hoped would be Crystal who seemed really great so far.

“Oh my parents are just weird… I mean their names are Lora and Leith so then they decided to name my brother and sister Lora and Leith Junior which is understandable but then I came along and it was Alora and my younger sister Loraleith or Loralei for short I mean that’s just excessive I think the term is” Alora shrugs clearly amused as teased herself about her own name and how obsessive her parents seemed to be with the lasting family legacy. It was at this point she would hear Crystal respond to her bombardment of questions and couldn’t control herself when she learned she had two mothers and was a wizard born as a squeal escaped through her lips.

“Sorry… I’ve never met anyone with two mothers before or someone who was a wizard from the beginning I mean that is amazing. But trust me you’re not missing out on much when it comes to public school I mean the lessons were cool and stuff but it takes up so much time and well it was a bit tough, to be honest” Alora smiles as she discusses her experience of public school briefly clearly enthused with what she’d learned and at this point the door to the compartment would once more swing ajar.

Stood in the doorway once more was another female of similar age to the two girls dressed a little different and clearly Scottish as she speaks up to which Alora smiled brightly across towards the girl stood at the door shifting across on the bench to make more room “Oh, You’re not bothering us as far as I’m aware. I’m Alora and this is Crystal… Would you like to join us? We have snacks” she beams excitedly inviting the girl inside with the offer of food after all the more the merrier.

𝓣𝓸𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓒𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽: 625 Words