Searching for the Unknown Closed

Nova listened intently to Lara's explanation, visualizing players flying above, hitting balls with bats and catching tiny Golden Snitches. Seeing her friend get all excited about the sport made her excited too. Lara used to play rugby? Nova thought curiously, eyeing Lara's petite and narrow frame. She imagined the boys in her neighborhood playing rugby against Lara--they never even let Nova play with them, fearing that they would crush her. And Nova was taller and broader than Lara.

Nova thought about Lara's analysis. Maybe I would be a good Keeper, I really did love playing keeper in football as well. And I think I was good. But would I be as good on a broom, up in the air? And I'm sure the goalposts are different in Quidditch than in football, but I wonder if I should try out... Nova thought intently. Or Lara said I'd be a good beater, but would I be big enough to be a Beater as a first year? I may have broad shoulders and am tall, but I'll need to get stronger if I want to start throwing balls at people.

"I played football, but nothing serious, just with friends in my neighborhood. Most were older boys though, so we roughed it out a lot. I played Keeper because the one time they let me play as a midfield, one of them accidentally kicked me in the face and gave me a bloody nose. So that freaked them and my parents out, so they reluctantly let me play Keeper instead of nothing at all," Nova explained.

Lara laughed a little, seeing the look Nova had given her when she mentioned playing rugby. It was true that she was a bit small for the sport. That was probably part of the reason she’d been so not-great at it, but she always had fun on the field, so she played anyway.

“I have four older brothers,” she explained, grinning. “I’m small, but I can play rough.”

"I played football, but nothing serious, just with friends in my neighborhood. Most were older boys though, so we roughed it out a lot. I played Keeper because the one time they let me play as a midfield, one of them accidentally kicked me in the face and gave me a bloody nose. So that freaked them and my parents out, so they reluctantly let me play Keeper instead of nothing at all.”

Lara let out a surprised laugh at Nova’s midfield experience, only realizing afterward that maybe the other girl didn’t think it funny. “Sorry,” she said quickly. “It’s just- I can imagine the looks on those boys’ faces, y’know?”

She paused, pushing the image out of her mind so she could actually consider what Nova had said.

“Well, I mean, if you’ve already got experience as a Keeper playing football, you’d probably be good at being a Keeper in Quidditch, too, right? Unless you’d rather try a different position. Either way, trying out doesn't hurt, even if you don't make it.”

Nova smiled, a little jealous at Lara having four older brothers. She wished she had siblings growing up, well, siblings that she actually knew. And were alive. I wonder if my brother ever wished he had a sister. Or a sibling. I wonder if he would've liked me, Nova thought, slightly solemn, but quickly broke that train of thought.

“Sorry,” Lara said quickly. “It’s just- I can imagine the looks on those boys’ faces, y’know?”

Nova laughed along with Lara, adding even an unexpected snort. "Don't be sorry, you should've seen them. I was the only girl playing, and they were terrified. I tried to shrug it off and keep playing, it really didn't hurt that much. Though I must've looked insane," Nova laughed, remembering how much of a brat she was towards her dad after the game. You should've just let me play, I was fine, Nova remembers whining, huffing and puffing at her dad and then leaving to her room in anger. She and her dad would laugh about it now, knowing it was ridiculous for Nova to be angry at her dad just trying to fix her broken, bloody nose.

“Well, I mean, if you’ve already got experience as a Keeper playing football, you’d probably be good at being a Keeper in Quidditch, too, right? Unless you’d rather try a different position. Either way, trying out doesn't hurt, even if you don't make it.” Lara said.

Nova considered her friend's idea. That's true, it doesn't hurt just to try out. And I won't be too upset if I don't make it. And it would be one more thing Lara and I could do together. The thought of Nova and Lara being on the same Quidditch team together delighted her--she could imagine them both becoming the best players on the team, the star players. A pretty lofty dream, but nice to think of for now.

“Plus,” continued Lara, getting caught up in the prospect of getting to play Quidditch on a real team. Getting to play with Nova. “If we did both make the team, then we could train together and stuff! That’s be so much fun. And if we didn’t make it, then we could still train anyways, so we’d be ready for next year. Or if one of us made it and not the other, then we could still watch the other person’s games and stuff. It’s like, a win-win-win.”

The only real downside that Lara could see she kept to herself: with her sister on the Gryffindor team, and her brother on the Ravenclaw, she knew that if she made the Slytherin team she’d either end up playing, or cheering, against them. If she’d been in Ravenclaw, she wouldn’t have had to deal with this. She’d have cheered for Madeleine if Gryffindor was playing, and Ravenclaw if Ravenclaw was playing, and if it was Slytherin vs Hufflepuff, she’d root for Hufflepuff.

She pushed the thoughts away. That was a problem to deal with another time, not right now, when she was happy and excited and enjoying talking to her new friend.

“You should ask your dad what position he played,” Lara suggested. “Maybe he has some tips or something.“

Nova began to grow giddy with ideas of joining the Slytherin Quidditch team with Lara. Or even not making the team, and just cheering on their housemates in games. She'd need some house gear to wear though, to be spirited. Maybe her father had an old scarf that he kept? That he could pass down to her?

But then Nova remembered that Lara didn't even originally want to be in Slytherin, and probably still didn't want to. Maybe she even had Ravenclaw gear that she would now have to give away. And she would have to cheer against her brothers, granted that they were all in Ravenclaw. At least Ravenclaws did not seem to be the biggest Slytherin rivals? The Slytherins during the Sorting Ceremony seemed to be sneering mostly at other Gryffindors, but then again, unless Slytherin is in first place they probably think of everyone as their enemy. Or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your real friends. Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends, Nova began to realize how dark that quote could sound. She had interpreted it as just gutsy, that Slytherins fight for what they want.

“You should ask your dad what position he played,” Lara suggested. “Maybe he has some tips or something.“

Nova gave an uneasy grin. Her father did tell her not to go looking for his family. Or his past. Or anything related to his family or his past. She wasn't sure how she was going to bring up that she found out her father was in Slytherin, and played Quidditch. She'd have to figure out how to phrase that in a letter later on.

"Yeah, definitely. I'll just tell him that I'm thinking of joining the Quidditch team and ask for tips, without saying anything about knowing that he played. Maybe that way he'll tell me, since it'll be about me, and helping me. Instead of learning about him," Nova thought aloud.

As soon as she said it, Lara started to regret her words. The expression on her friend’s face shifted - not too much, but it was still there, and Lara immediately remembered everything she knew about Nova’s family and felt terrible. Of course Nova’s dad probably wouldn’t want to talk her about playing Quidditch. Not if he’d already made the choice to hide that he’d played it. Especially not if he hadn’t even really told his daughter what the game was in the first place. Would he be mad that Nova had found out? Would he be mad that Lara had told her? God, she hoped he wouldn’t be mad. Especially not at Nova.

“Yeah, definitely. I'll just tell him that I'm thinking of joining the Quidditch team and ask for tips, without saying anything about knowing that he played. Maybe that way he'll tell me, since it'll be about me, and helping me. Instead of learning about him.”

“Yeah!” Lara said, relieved. Nova was brilliant. She’d already gotten it all figured it out. “That’s really smart. Plus, maybe then he’ll get more comfortable with the idea of you, like, being here and knowing all the magic stuff, if he knows how much you like it, and he’ll wanna open up about it in the future.” She paused. “You do like it, right? Or do you miss being at home?”

She knew it wasn’t really a one-or-the-other type of question. She herself felt both options acutely: on one side, she’d been looking forward to coming to Hogwarts her whole life. Her eldest brother had started his first year when she was only a year old, and the anticipation had grown with every sibling she’d seen off at the platform. But at the same time, of course she missed home. She missed the smell of the sea in the air, and her Muggle friends, and her dad, and sleeping in her own bed. It would make sense for Nova to feel that way, too.

"Plus, maybe then he’ll get more comfortable with the idea of you, like, being here and knowing all the magic stuff, if he knows how much you like it, and he’ll wanna open up about it in the future.”

Nova nodded, mulling over her friend's words. "You're right, I'm positive that once he knows how much I'm enjoying and liking being a witch and learning magic that he'll open up about his own experiences. I mean, that makes sense, right?" Nova just sought affirmation that she wasn't being hopeful. She hoped she wasn't. She really did want to talk over these experiences with someone like her father, who is supposed to teach her the world's ways anyways. After all, it wasn't like she could ask her mother for advice.

“You do like it, right? Or do you miss being at home?” Lara asked her.

Nova pondered a little. She smiled; she did really like being a witch. It made her feel special, almost part of something greater, like her life had a destiny she was meant to fulfill. That she had powers only a select-few could utilize, and she could use her power to make the world a better place

"I do really like it. I mean, I like using magic, and learning about magic. It just makes me feel special and unique, you know? Like extraordinary. And though I do miss home... a lot... I do like Hogwarts. I can't stay home forever, after all."

"You're right, I'm positive that once he knows how much I'm enjoying and liking being a witch and learning magic that he'll open up about his own experiences. I mean, that makes sense, right?"

“Yeah, of course,” Lara reassured. To her, it did make sense. If Nova’s father had been nervous, for whatever reason, that the Wizarding World would cause more harm than good for his daughter, then knowing how much she liked it would help alleviate that stress. Wouldn’t it? When Lara’s own father had been hesitant about allowing her to play rugby with the neighbourhood kids, knowing they played rough, she’d come home after every game telling him how much fun she’d had, in the hopes that he’d be able to look at the fresh bruises and scrapes as a positive thing. She thought it had worked. When her grandmother protested that it was unladylike for girls to play rough, her father had defended her without a second thought. Kids’ll be kids, Isabel.

"I do really like it. I mean, I like using magic, and learning about magic. It just makes me feel special and unique, you know? Like extraordinary."

Lara couldn’t quite relate to that - her whole family could do magic, and even though her grandparents had always claimed it made them “special” and “better than Muggles”, Lara had been too close to the situation to really understand. For her, it was normal. What was extraordinary was how fast a boy in her class had been able to run the 200 meter race. What was extraordinary was the way her cousin Fiona could paint the sunset so it looked even prettier on paper than in the sky.

“Have you written to your parents yet?” asked Lara. "You must have lots to tell them."

“Have you written to your parents yet?” asked Lara. "You must have lots to tell them."

Nova shook her head, not yet. Though fresh on her mind. She just felt like she had to organize what she wanted to say. Phrase just how to say it. So far on Nova's list that she had to weave together:

• Update them on the Sorting Ceremony, potentially hinting at asking for some of her father's vintage Slytherin gear if he even still has them because that would make her look cool
• Request a care package of more chocolates... her stock was lower than she'd like to admit
• Ask for Cambridge updates like how her mother's lectures were going, how her friend Elena liked her new puppy--and pictures, since Nova hadn't met the pup before leaving--and how her father's patients were doing at St. Mungo's
• That she had found out she was a Polaris???
• If she can bring a cat, or an owl
• Some more pens, because she hated using quills

"I haven't written to them yet, but that's a good idea, why don't I do that now?" Nova said. "I've kept you here long enough in this trophy room, I wonder if people are wondering where we've been for so long," Nova smiled, realizing how much time had gone by. Time flies when you're having fun, Nova smiled, enjoying her new friendship so much.

Even though she was the one who’d brought it up, Lara was uncomfortable at the topic. Every time she thought about writing home herself, her stomach would flip, and her hands would shake, and she’d have to find something else to focus on, quick, before she became completely overwhelmed. She was seriously considering just never writing home, period.

At least Nova didn’t seem to have the same reservations. Lara figured her friend would have a lot to say to her parents, after finding out so much about being a witch. She wondered if Nova planned to bring up the family history she’d discovered, too, or if she was going to keep that to herself for the time being.

"I haven't written to them yet, but that's a good idea, why don't I do that now?" Nova said. "I've kept you here long enough in this trophy room, I wonder if people are wondering where we've been for so long.”

Lara laughed a little. She knew nobody would be wondering where she was - she didn’t have any close friends, other than Lara, and as for her siblings… Well, she didn’t want to think about that.

“You go ahead,” she said, turning to the trophy display, pretending to examine an old Quidditch medal. “I’m going to stay here for a little bit longer, I think. Get a good look around.”