Closed America Missed PV Meluna Ravenwisp Continued in Stables

A month had gone by since Meluna had walked into Hogwarts Castle. She had spent much of her time alone, familiarizing herself with the castles many halls and rooms. As a first year she had begun studies in Transfiguration among others. She had written to her mother the first night. She didn't have an owl, so she asked for help to get the letter sent. She wondered how letters were sent to those outside the wizarding world. Mother didn't check the mail often but she had promised she would while her sweet girl was away. She hadn't won the battle against not sending her father a letter yet. She would need to do that soon. She wanted to write to him, but she knew he would be away a lot. She didn't know when he would read her letters. She didn't feel confident enough to try.

Rumors had gone about that the Fall ball was coming. Meluna knew it was tomorrow but her lineage didn't allow for her to join in the fun. She had heard in her dorm that the other schools were arriving and Meluna wanted to meet some of them if she could catch them. Someone had mentioned a ship coming out of the lake and a carriage that flew by Pegasus. She wanted to see the horses if she could. On her way, she entered the Small Hall waved to Albus Dumbledore on the wall above her. It was then that she heard a girl near the fireplace mention New York. She approached the girl and smiled down at the cat in her lap. "You're from the states too?" She asked. It was refreshing considering so many were native to the Wizarding world itself.

EmmaLee was startled out of her impatience by a girl coming over and speaking to her. Smaller than her, so a first year, but the girl's hair was dyed in pretty shades of magenta and purple and her eyes matched in a magenta hue as well. EmmaLee found it a little odd for a girl so young to have make-up and color in this way, but the whole look was very pretty still. Minx perked up and looked at the girl quizzically as she spoke.

"Ah, 'ello." EmmaLee said with a bright smile as Minx leaned over a little to sniff at the girl's hand. "Um, I wouldn't say I'm from the States, but I lived there before I came to Scotland. I lived in New York City. Are you from the States?" She laughed a little, a bit in excitement. "I don't think I've met anyone else with real ties to the United States here yet."

EmmaLee had laughed because it seemed that more and more of her friends were from 'the States' rather than from Hogwarts. Kiernan, Alura, Grace, Stephen. All of her really close friends remained firmly attached to Ilvermorny and now here was this girl, probably the only or one of the only other students also with ties to the United States. She tried to pull her more downtrodden thoughts back before she thought them, but Hogwarts just seemed to be growing more and more into a place where she didn't quite fit. Sure, everyone was nice and friendly. It wasn't like she was being bullied here or that anyone was purposefully making her feel left out. She loved so many things about this school, but the most recent conflicts she'd had, and how much more she longed to be there rather than here after this summer made it hard for her to quite feel like she had a place here. She was like a puzzle piece where the shape matched, she was somehow put in this box by chance, but the color didn't quite match the rest of the puzzle, like two pieces of similar pictures had been switched. She waved the thoughts away by fanning the front of her face with her hand and smiled brightly at the girl once again.

"I was supposed to go to Ilvermorny there in the United States, but my stepfather's job moved us to Scotland and so I ended up attending here instead." She explained.

Meluna blinked at the girls accent. She allowed the girls cat to sniff her hand, waiting for the permission of a gentle nudge to signal Meluna it was safe to pet her. Melunas eyes met the new girls. She nodded, "Yes, from Seattle." She giggled. "Well, like you, I had to move. My mother is in Seattle, a muggle...." The term for nonmagical folk still felt strange in her mouth. "My father stays here, but in Stirling."

She blinked. "Ilvermorny?" When she mentioned the school was in the States, Meluna cursed under her breath. "There's a school in the states?" A pinch of hope came to her eyes. Maybe she wouldn't have to stay in Scotland after all. It made her wonder why her father hadn't mentioned the school before. "Where is it...the school I mean....I didn't know." She could feel the adrenaline of anxiety building. She wasn't at risk of anxiety attacks. It was the rage that boiled over not knowing she could have stayed near her mother and her friends back in the states. Why hadn't her father given her that choice. The anger manifested and churned into tears that filled the girls eyes and she worked hard to keep them back. "Is there a transfer system?"

Notes: Hope this isn't too far ahead. Not an anxiety attack just her emotions getting the better of her. I've no true intentions for transfer, just the idea of it for character development
@EmmeLee LeDames

After her investigation, Minx gave a mew of approval at the girl and rubbed her head against the girl's hand. EmmaLee giggled a little at her animal and nodded as the girl spoke of her family. "We are in Glasgow. I 'aven't been to Seattle, but I 'ave been a lot of other places in the country." She said with a smile at the girl, gesturing for her to sit down in the seat next to her if she wished. EmmaLee chuckled a little as a familiar anger flashed across the other girl's face when she mentioned that Ilvermorny was in the United States.

"If I remember correctly, it's in Massachusetts. I 'ave quite a few friends who go there and I still 'ad a bit of 'ope that I could go until I received my 'Ogwarts letter and my mother said that I would be attending 'ere because they didn't want me so far away from them for so long." She frowned a little at the memory. It had been a rough conversation and once her mother had put her foot down and said that EmmaLee would, in fact, be attending Hogwarts now that she was accepted, the letter in EmmaLee's hands had burst into flame and she had run to her room in tears. It was one of the few times she had ever fought with her mother and she had refused to speak to her for a week before finally giving in and trying to get excited about it.

EmmaLee considered the girl's question about transferring for a moment. A transfer system had never occurred to her. Surely there was such a thing. She couldn't take that road of course, her mother had made it clear that as long as she was in Scotland, EmmaLee would be, too, but it was probably an option for others.

"I imagine there is a transfer system. Rather, I don't see why there wouldn't be. I know that there is a foreign exchange program." EmmaLee said thoughtfully, smiling at the girl in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "I would advise giving 'Ogwarts a try, though. There are so many lovely, friendly people 'ere. Maybe your father thought it would be difficult for your mother to maneuver the wizarding world on 'er own?" She offered as explanation. She remembered her own experience with living like a 'muggle' all her childhood and then Victor whisked them into American wizarding society. It had been disorienting to learn all the new rules. The most disorienting thing was seeing her mother use a wand so freely. When they were in France, her mother had used magic wandlessly, sparingly and only when she was sure that they were completely and utterly alone, otherwise, they lived like the non-magique people around them and avoided wizarding society in France. EmmaLee was still not sure why.

Meluna took a moment to focus on the girls cat to distract herself from the idea that her father didn't give her the options she might of had. The acceptance letter she had gotten had been horror after her father said she would be moving to Scotland. She had been with him for her summer time. She didn't get to say goodbye to her mother, only weep at the gifts she sent in the mail.

"I haven't been to Massachusetts." She had guessed the school would in some cliché place like Great Lakes. She shrugged. "My mother isn't fond of magic. If she could, she would keep me from it." She sat down, suddenly glad to. She wasn't truly sure if her mother didn't like magic but the letters she got before she left had expressed her concern. She had said she loved Meluna and that she wouldn't ever stop loving her but Meluna was old enough to understand that paper was different than a person standing in front her. It didn't stop her from looking forward to Christmas break when she promised she would go see her mother for the Holiday.

The idea of transferring seemed so grand but the risk of her father telling her no squashed hope. Besides, by the time she had a chance to ask, Hogwarts might have grown on her. Perhaps she should send him a letter after all. "You might be right." She sighed. "My father is too busy to honestly say he'd get my letter anyways. He is an Auor." She continued to give her cat attention as she wished it. "What about you? What does your father do?"
@EmmaLee LeDames

EmmaLee nodded as the girl spoke. It sounded like such a interesting situation for the girl. It appeared that she really didn't know almost anything about the wizarding world, even though her father was an auror.

"Well, if you really want to, you can always return to your mother and non-magique life after your education. There are lots of wizards who marry non-magique people and decide to forgo magic altogether to live that way. Some decide to kind of do both." She explained with a smile, thinking about how her own mother had decided to live in a non-magique town. Her mother did some magic when no one was looking and had told EmmaLee about the wizarding world, but for the most part, they had lived without magic. They had even washed their clothes by hand. "It is dangerous though for a child not to learn to control their magic, so it is best that she didn't keep you from it entirely and let you come here."

EmmaLee listened as the girl explained her father and his job. Her mind whirled at the oddness of it. Did her father not tell her anything about the wizarding world while she was growing up? Not even about owls. What did he tell her about his job if she didn't even know about owls? EmmaLee's life was one thing. Her mother pretended they were non-magique outside of their house, but EmmaLee still learned a lot about magic and the wizarding world behind closed doors. Why would a parent keep all of that from them when they were very likely to end up in it anyway? Did he hope that she would not develop magic? EmmaLee had so many questions forming, but thought that they were probably rude to ask the moment she met the girl. Come to think of it, they hadn't even introduced themselves yet.

"Mon dieu my god,"She said with a small laugh at the realization. "I just realized that I didn't even introduce myself. I'm EmmaLee LeDames, a second year." She said holding out her hand to the girl to shake.

"Excuse me if I'm being presumptuous about your knowledge, but do you know that wizards don't get letters like in a postbox? We use owls and the owls will find your father where ever he is and deliver your letter to him. Unless something happens to the owl, or he's using a cloaking spell, he'll get whatever letter you write him in a day or so, maybe longer if he's particularly far away. Your mother as well. Although she might get a shock at getting a letter from an owl if your father has never sent her a letter that way." EmmaLee explained carefully. From what she seemed to be gathering, this was such a foreign situation to her. She guessed an auror would be good at hiding things maybe, even from family, but why? The curiosity was eating her.

They had had Avion, her own owl, since she was young, but her mother used him very infrequently when she was a child and had told the villagers that he had been injured when he was a chick and had just never left them when he was better. This had seemed a satisfactory explanation for their neighbors for their strange owl pet. It also kind of helped sell her mother as the strange, but wise and kind herbal woman of the town.

"As for my own stepfather, he actually runs a medium sized non-magique pharmaceutical company in New York. I think he is trying to expand it into Scotland. As far as I understand, they make medicines based on old Lenape native American recipes and distribute them." EmmaLee explained, her facial expression a little confused as she tried to explain the details. She knew that Papa Victor kind of expected her to take over the company one day so she should probably pay more attention to the workings of it, but she hadn't really put a lot of thought into it yet. Also, it was possible that Chlo would want to take it over instead when she got older.

Meluna nodded. The change of subject for a moment was relieving. She didn't know how to feel about her ordeal with her being raised without knowing magic existed. "It's lovely to meet you, EmmaLee. I'm Meluna Ravenwisp." She shook the other girls hand politely.

Her mention of owls delivering letters some how intrigued Meluna. "Really? They deliver letters. That's interesting." She thought for a moment. "Father kept a barn owl in his barn. I don't think I've seen him deliver a letter." They had always been on the ground inside the house. She assumed a mail man stopped by every day. She would wait for the sound of the mail slip cling against the base of the door to know it had arrived. "I'm not even sure if my father knew or not." She said wrapping her head around the idea. She hadn't found the courage to confront her mother about any of it. She had let her father do all of the talking, nodding numbly to yes or no questions. "I suppose I should ask my father about it." She made a note to send him a letter about it. Finally she mentioned something Meluna could talk normally about.

"Your father is a Pharmacist? I imagine from the books I've read the idea of medicine here is quite different than medicine of non-magic folk. Much of it is chemical based and not always natural like the potions and concoctions used here." She looked at EmmaLee with genuine curiosity for the first time. Magic had still felt foreign to her. Being an outcast from others who grew up with magic left Meluna hesitant to try anything in this new world she was supposed to call home. "What do you want to do?" She asked. "For your career." She was trying to shove awkwardness from her thoughts.
@EmmaLee LeDames

"That is a very pretty name, Meluna." EmmaLee said with a wide smile. "My mother and I lived as non-magiques during my childhood, but we 'ad a barn owl named Avion. My mother told the other people in the town that we 'ad rescued ours and 'e was good at keeping mice and rats out of the greenhouse. Granted, I think she sent 6 letters the whole five years we were in France, but we still had 'im and we still have 'im." She pursed her lip curiously, the gears still turning in her head about whether to ask Meluna more questions about her father or not, before she could decide, Meluna continued with the conversation by asking further about Papa Victor and EmmaLee's own interests.

"Well, I wouldn't call 'im a pharmacist. He is much more of a business man who runs the company and makes sure the product gets sold." EmmaLee said with an amused smile. "It was his idea to make Lanape recipes though. Native American medicine is rather herbal as well as I understand it. His products are popular with people who don't want so much chemical medicine." She explained, her pale eyebrows knitting together as she tried to remember some of the things Papa Victor had told her about his job and his company. "I think really the difference between wizard and non-magique medicine is, well, the magical aspect. Non-magiques don't have access to all the magical ingredients that magical people do, so they cannot possibly make the same remedies. My mother used to make non-magique 'erbal remedies though and she swears that some of them are better than magical ones." She chuckled a little again at this statement about her mother. Sometimes EmmaLee thought that her mother was better suited to non-magique life than wizarding life. She preferred, how was it said, getting her hands dirty and putting in the "elbow grease" that magic kind of removed a little bit.

As for EmmaLee's own job interests, she pondered for a moment in thought before speaking. "Hmmm, well, until my little sister was born, I was pretty much expected to take over Papa Victor's company. I'm only his step-daughter, but up until Chlo was born, I was 'is only child. I suppose either one of us could do that now, but I 'onestly 'ave no interest in it." She laughed a little once more at the revelation. She was decently interested in the medicine side of things, but found the business of it boring. Maybe Chlo would find it more interesting.

"I 'ave actually gotten a lot more interested in Transfiguration since I started 'ere. I find it a very fascinating subject." She said, her eyes lighting up a little bit at the topic. "I think I want to do something in that field, maybe even become a teacher. What about you? 'As anything magical sparked your interest yet? Or do you think you want to get a non-magicque job?"

Meluna gazed at EmmaLee with a level of fondness as she explained that she too had owned a Barn owl like Meluna. She didn't think father had named the owl. She hadn't either. She loved animals but the owl seemed to keep its distance from her. All the things she had googled in her time at her mother suggested that it be a wild animal. Even though she left the barn door open, however, it never wanted to leave.

EmmeLees' explanation of her father left Meluna in a bit of awe, though she understood. "All medicine seems to have pros and cons." She concluded aloud. She hadn't too much on the subject but she would need to from all the talk of potions class she'd been given. They hadn't made anything yet but potions and herbs were to be her next read. She made a mental note to head for the library when she was finished here.

Meluna perked up and grip the edge of the couch when Emma mentioned transfiguration. "I haven't given it too much thought." She answered honestly. "I'm not even sure if I want to fall into the footsteps of my father as an Auor or do something else." She decided to explain the reason she really came down here. "I've read so much about unicorns and Pegasus so I was hoping I'd get to see one up close." She felt heat in her cheeks. The idea of such a thing might seem funny to someone else who grew up around magic. "I grew up with horses. Unicorns were fascinating to me. I'd love to see one up close." Her eyes strayed to the hallway behind them. "Do you think they would let us go to the stables at this time of night?" She hadn't ever tried.
@EmmaLee LeDames