Escapism Finished

As Em moved through the corridor of full cabin, after full cabin; his anxiety started to rise.
If I sit at the back of the train, am I going to miss the boats? he pondered, not feeling the over-full messenger bag catch on a passing fanged-whizzbee; which sliced through the shoulder strap.

His bag fell to the floor, the contents spilling out. Em felt his cheeks go pink, as he bent down and hastily recovered what strew about the floor. With his arms full of the contents of the bag, he pushed open the door to the nearest nearly-empty compartment.

Slightly out of breath due to the unearned embarrassment he felt, dropped the items into the vacant seat, and turned to face the brown haired girl, with the pink ribbon in her hair.

She seemed to be a first year as well, which eased him. They both were young, and seemed kind. Wearing casual clothes, as it was tradition to change on the train. Her pink hair and was a particularly adorable addition to her outfit.

“I’m so sorry to barge in, but my bag ripped,” he muttered, shyly. “Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full, it seems.”

Emily put the book down immediately.

"Not at all! Help yourself!" She said it a bit too quickly. She figured she was more desperate to make friends than she thought. Either that or her hard-wired social instincts kicked in once her brain registered the boy was addressing her.

She straightened herself up and fixed her jumper to be more presentable as she watched the boy sit down. She tucked her book down in the gap between her thigh and the edge of her seat. She examined the boy without being weird about it. Hmm, he seemed quite similar, she thought; the same eyes, slightly similar hair colour even if it was on the more wilder side compared to hers. It was apparent to Emily the boy had an air of formality, but she was amused by the tiny imperfections too, such as the tie sitting slightly crooked along his collar. In a bizarre way, it felt like she was looking in a mirror. She wasn't going to be judgemental about it though. Unlike her parents, Emily preferred it when things weren't picture-perfect. She had "Auntie" to thank for that.

She smiled kindly. "Long journey, isn't it? I'm Emily, by the way. Emily Shephard."

She didn't really know why she had to announce her full name, especially not so quick in what could turn out to be a short conversation. She pressed the end of her tongue between her teeth slightly. She had to calm down. Friends can be made anywhere but she didn't want to pressure or heaven forbid frighten the poor boy either.

Em smiled at the welcome to join in the compartment of the train.

He looked at the torn shoulder strap of his bag, and sighed, deciding to focus a bit more on his traveling companion.

As she straightened her jumper, he realized they both were taking each-other in at the same time. There were some fundamental similarities, hair color, eye color, potential eagerness to make friends during their first year of school. She seemed kind enough, and decisively not from a well known family, thank goodness. Em let his guard down a bit.

Em laughed a bit as Emily introduced herself. Of all the cabins to pick, you wound up in the one where you both almost share a name? I guess it was meant to be.

Em returned her smile, and extended his hand
“Nice to meet you, Emily Shephard, I’m Emmanuel Bourne. You don’t happen to know a repairing charm yet, do you?” He asked, more in a joking way. Though, he knew his mother would fix the bag immediately if she saw it.

But he’s here now, without the hovering view of his parents. Doing this on his own. He’d have to figure out fixing his bag, at least until the winter holidays.

“My Pa says the trolly witch has the best pumpkin pasties, but I’m really eager for some Honeydukes chocolate. That should make the trip a little sweeter, I suppose!”

Emily smiled at the light-heartedness in his voice. And that was before it widened into a near chuckle upon hearing his name. It really was like looking at another version of herself.

"Pleasure to meet you!" she greeted sweetly, shaking his hand eagerly.

It was then that she took notice of his broken bag. Had she'd realised earlier she probably would've done something to help. Saying that, the mention of spells had her flustered a bit.

"A pity I'm not well rehearsed in charms just yet," she laughed anxiously. The term 'Muggle' really was setting in with her circumstances right now. "I'm sure we can get it fixed when we get there." The least she could do was hope to prevent from dashing his spirits.

With Emmanuel's mention of the trolley, as if by coincidence, a sweet looking lady came down the train wheeling a trolley full of goods. Anymore and there'd be no sign of the trolley left. She went into her skirt pocket and lifted out a few coins, a small allowance gifted to her by an official from Hogwarts when she received her letter. She wasn't going to bribe her travelling companion by any means, but it wasn't going to stop her from being nice.

She respectfully stopped the lady and asked for Honeydukes chocolate, a few of each kind, some pumpkin pasties, as well as some of what looked like apple-flavoured jelly strips. She handed a small mixture of each to him.

"I hope this enough...!" She flashed another friendly grin.

Em smiled, and let out a little laugh at Emily's comment about charms.

"Yeah, I suppose asking another first year wasn't going to yield the best results. Though, I am hopeful we learn Reparo rather quickly. It's one I tend to need, though it's my Mum who uses it."

Em settled into his seat, shuffling his bag a bit. He took in the scene of the cabin. Soft blue covered the seats, the walls seemingly full of generations of history. He looked at Emily, and saw her soft smile; and he felt his stomach settle. It was nice to run into someone so nice, and the same year as him so early. Em couldn't help but ponder what would have happened if he stumbled into a cabin full of seventh years.

Before there could be a lull in conversation, as meeting new people always seemed a bit intimidating, both Em and Emily were greeted by the Trolley Witch.

Her plump face, with rosy cheeks, was inviting; her cart of sweets even more so. Em immediately rifled through his bag. Before he could grab his coins, Emily stood up and graciously procured their snacks. Em opened the first pocket of the bag, a home-made sewing kit fell out; along with a few sickles.

Em held the needle, thread, and alength of embroidered silk ribbon. Clearly these were shoved into his bag, where he would see them quickly. Placed there with caring, but uncoordinated hands. The ribbon was a pale lavender, with pink and gold daisies sewn in. The ribbon was familiar, used to tie back curtains in the Bourne Manor. Em thought it would be long enough to wear, and thought of his traveling companion's hair accessory.

Em's attention was brought back to Emily, holding out the mound of sweets; Honeydukes chocolate at the center. He was touched by this show of generosity. However, he figured it was polite to ensure it was a genuine offer, versus an obligatory one.

"You're really okay with sharing? I can always pay you back! Or, at least you could take this ribbon. It'll look nice in your hair. Likely courtesy of my Demiguise back home, Chica. She probably saw something like this happening, and stuffed my bag," he chuckled; thankful again for this fateful encounter.

Emily wasn't prepared to let her new companion go without. "Please, it's my treat!" she insisted politely. She gently set them by his lap before examining the collection she just bought. A part of her was curious to see if any of what she bought would explode or turn her into a frog, but looking at it all, she felt she was being ridiculous.

She watched as Emmanuel repaired his broken bag. He was quite proficient with the needle. She had a feeling it was one of many tricks he had up his sleeve. Back home, she was often given lip that embroidery was a "woman's job", much like how she shouldn't be running around with other kids like barbarians, as her mother would say. But she knew better than to take the word from a woman who was almost never home. "Auntie" was right all along; anyone can do anything and be anything. If only Emily's mother could see that now. And in that moment, Emily had great respect for Emmanuel right now. As if his kindness and friendly nature wasn't proving that already.

As Emmanuel mentioned his Demiguise, she thought back to the word where she came across it in a book she had to buy for Hogwarts. Luckily she read about it, otherwise she'd feel like a right tool for not being able to engage in what was becoming a nice conversation.

"My Auntie taught me how to stitch a few years ago," she chimed in. "But she's such a sweetheart, she'd go and fix every hole and tear herself. She's very stubborn that way but she's got a lovely heart." She chuckled a little as she thought back to the occasions where the maid would try and take things on herself. Emily may as well have called her "Mother" at this point.

Her gracious smile beamed when Emmanuel held out the lavender ribbon. It was a lovely shade accompanied with pink and gold daisies. She kindly took it and thanked him sweetly, though not out of repayment, before taking out her own ribbon where her hair came undone and flowed down the sides of her face like closing curtains. Glancing between the two, Emmanuel was right; they were both lovely together.

Despite her family's views on appearance, Emily wasn't a stylist. She did her best to plait her hair into a rather mediocre pattern, using Emmanuel's ribbon to tie the top while her own candyfloss coloured ribbon kept the plait up with a knot at the bottom. It was a cheesy look for sure, but she wasn't going to let a nice possession be put to unfair use.

"I hope this looks okay. I'm not very good with hairstyles." She laughed off her nervousness, clearly enjoying the banter between the two.

Em accepted the sweets, and exchanged the ribbon. He snapped off a corner of chocolate, and stuffed it into his mouth; and focused on repairing his bag. Each stitch complimented by the smooth richness of the chocolate.

Em evaluated his work, and pulled on the strap to make sure it was secure. Satisfied, he turned his attention to Emily, now donning both ribbons. He smiled.

“I think you look great!” He laughed, kindly. “My Pa taught me. He was big on not relying on magic all the time. But, you know how useful it is.”

Em snapped off another piece of chocolate.

“What house do you think you’ll be sorted into?” He asked, savoring his bite.

Em wondered if it was too probing of a question, but figured most families have a tradition of being sorted in the same house. Maybe the question was to satiate his anxiety of being sorted into Slytherin, which was expected of him.

Em recalled his most recent conversation with his Great Grandfather. He had been gifted a scarf, made of soft wool in bright green and silver; an embroidered snake embossed both ends. It was beautiful, but a weighted gift. Em had made sure to leave the scarf at home, just in case.

Emily felt her cheeks tighten as she smiled brightly at the compliment. She couldn't deny it was a lovely ribbon she was just gifted, but she was learning more and more about her new friend which intrigued her greatly. She internally praised Emmanuel's Pa for the gorgeous work all the same.

However, the notion of which Boarding House she'd be put in was an interesting topic. When discussing the nitty gritty with the Hogwarts official that delivered her letter, she was told that there were four houses she could be put in; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and the controversial Slytherin.

Slytherin didn't sound like one that would suit her, given their supposed reputation for being cunning. Emily couldn't be sly or any kind of trickster if she tried. As for the other three, it was entirely a toss up. They were each rumoured to represent courage, compassion and knowledge. Courage was debatable, but Emily felt she had a strong bone of friendship and a brain that accrued knowledge since she was very small in her body.

"Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw I suppose..." she finally answered, though sounding not quite sure of herself at the same time. "I'd be surprised if I was put in Gryffindor."

Looking at Emmanuel, it seemed he had his sights on a particular house. She was curious as to which one, but in any case, she hoped he'd get what he's asking for with another encouraging smile.

She finally opened the box of apple strips and popped one in her mouth. It tasted of a perfect balance of sweet and sour as it travelled down her throat. She could definitely get used to these.

"My Mom was a Ravenclaw. She said the tower was the highest at Hogwarts, and the view is amazing! Though, my Pa was a Slytherin. He said the common room was under the lake, and that you could see merpeople swimming from the common room!" Em mused, taking another bite of chocolate.

"I'll be honest, you seem too nice to be a Slytherin," Em laughed, setting down his chocolate, and easing into he back of the seat. "Most of the Slytherin's I've bumped into today were less than pleasant. One older boy, with large pimples on his forehead, kicked me out of a compartment I got earlier. Said his girlfriend was meeting him there. He took my bag and tossed it into the aisle." Em rolled his eyes at the recent memory. He quietly hoped that when he was a teenager, he didn't have boils on his forehead.

"It's too bad my family comes from a long line of them. Though, I can't say they are the nicest people I've met, either." Em sighed, the anxiety of sorting at the forefront of his mind. A moment passed, before Em realized his mistake. Talking poorly about family in the presence of company was a poor faux pas. Em forced some laughter out.

"I'm only kidding," he lied, trying to bury his mistake. "I don't think I've heard of the 'Shepherd' family before; where do you guys live?" He asked, trying to steer the conversation away.