lucky enough pv haley rose finished

Meeting @Cedrella Blythe

Today was the day. The day Haley had been looking forward to for so long and couldn't wait to finally see the infamous Hogwarts Express with her own eyes. Ever since she had learned about all of this - this magical world - in her younger years, she had dreamed of this day. The day when she would be accepted as a student at Hogwarts, just as her mother had been many years ago. Her curiosity and thirst for knowledge was big, as always, and she already knew a lot about the big castle, its houses and its history. But more than about the arrival, she was excited about the sorting hat. She was so excited to see which house she would get into. It certainly wouldn't be Ravenclaw, she was sure of that. Over the years, she had developed a preference for Gryffindor and Slytherin and hoped that she would end up in one of them.

But now she had to get there before she could dwell on it. Once at the platform, there were students and their families everywhere, many already in their house robes but some still dressed in plain black like herself. She was also accompanied by her parents and for her father all this was almost as exciting as for Haley herself. When Haley's mother explained to him that they had to run toward the wall to get to the track, he had declared them both crazy and Haley had to do it first for him to really believe them.

The three of them said goodbye to each other at length, as much as Haley was looking forward to this new chapter, she would miss her family incredibly. She wanted to drag out the goodbyes as long as possible but there were now 13 minutes until the train would leave. "I hope you've thought of everything." Smiled her father and took her again in a tight hug goodbye. Haley was enjoying this moment, hoping it could last a little longer, when suddenly something occurred to her. She fleetingly broke away from the hug and looked at her father with wide eyes. "I don't know if I packed that Polaroid camera of yours!" She replied in a panic. "Haley, you don't have time for that now. You have to get on the train." Her mother said, but Haley was already opening her suitcase and searching through it. Shaking their heads, her parents watched her and kept talking at her that she needed to get on the train now.

"HAVE IT!" a suddenly cry of joy came from Haley and a quick glance at the clock told her that she only had 5 minutes left. She quickly packed all of her things messily into the suitcase, locked it, gave her parents one last hug, and ran to the train. Just in time, three minutes before departure, she had boarded the train and waved to her parents one last time.

She dragged her large suitcase through the narrow aisle of the train, here and there getting caught on some corners or banging her suitcase against a door of the crowded compartments. Every compartment she passed was already full and so she walked on and on. Just as she was about to give up the search, she looked to her right and to her delight there was only one other person sitting in that compartment.

There sat a girl, with long wavy strawberry blonde hair, her face hidden behind it and her gaze absorbed in a book. Her robe told Haley that she was also in her first year, and a bit of hope arose in her that she was already making a first acquaintance here. Haley cautiously opened the door, "Um, is this seat free?" she asked cautiously, waiting for an answer before stowing her suitcase and sitting down in the seat across from the girl.

────────────────────────────────────────────────

THE COMPARTMENT DOOR creaks as its open; hinges old and unimportant. It'd take less than a minute for a competent member of the magical staff to fix the issue. Regardless, the noise is absurdly annoying and has Cedrella raising her eyes, scowl ready on her face, shooting bludgers at the intruder.

Great, sourly, the youngest Blythe thinks.

It's a girl. (Cedrella's expression visibly soothes at the sight of the intruder; she'd be quite ready to scoff if it had been an older male student). Lightskinned and with lots of freckles on her face, the girl is quite pretty. Her wavy hair is long and bright orange as if that girl is the personification of a fire-fox; visions of a character her grandmother had written before crosses her mind, and a small smile almost makes way to her face. Dressed in simple black robes, the Intruder is like most of the new students Cedrella spotted when entering the Express.

Intruder asks if the seat in front of Cedrella is taken, in a soft tone; hesitation and cautiousness palpable through her pause, and visible through her body language. Eying her up and down; catching the sight of the trunk right behind her, Cedrella sighs and waves a hand, signaling for her to enter and sit down.

"Not anymore. Please, sit," states Cedrella, as clearly as possible, as her voice tends to fall into a monotonous soft tone most cannot hear. Amber eyes having fallen back to the words in her book, Cedrella moves down to another paragraph, not bothering to look up at the girl again.

So lucky... bitterly, her thoughts trail on comments on how silly she had been for thinking she'd have some me-time before arriving at Hogwarts. From now on, Cedrella thinks she should stop jinxing herself that way, as things never go the way she wants them to; destiny and karma had different plans for her life.

Then, her father comes to mind. And how he'd approve of her taking a more conversational approach and being nice. Have fun, Mother had said, but Cedrella doubts she'd find any fun among other students. With another quick glance, she takes the girl's appearance once more, trying to find any sign of them having things in common.

Nothing.

Back to her reading, she goes, loudly moving the pages, getting into a more comfortable position, silently letting the girl know that she's not in the mood for small-talk.

────────────────────────────────────────────────
word count: 400+ words
with @Haley Rose

less talking more reading @Cedrella Blythe

Nope, Haley thought , when she noticed the look of the still unknown girl. This is unlikely to be a first acquaintance, at least it didn't seem that way at the moment. Haley didn't want to judge too quickly, but the looks she got made her understand that she wasn't really welcome. Also, the soft sigh and the comment made Haley think that she would rather be alone. Her words told her to sit down, but she was sure, if one would translate this sentence, it would rather say. "No. Go, I want to be alone." But Haley didn't blame her, she wasn't like that herself, she rarely needed time alone but she could understand.

Haley nodded to the unknown without comment and sat down, before her gaze fell out of the window, she stopped briefly and eyed the girl who was now engrossed in her book again. She had a light skin, similar to Haley herself but in contrast she had no freckles. But it was hard to see more in her face, her eyes seemed to be closed for Haley, as her eyes were directed downwards to the lines in her book. Her hair again covered her face from the side and it gave the impression that she was trying to be invisible. Her heart-shaped lips caught Haley's attention immediately, but she felt as if they rarely deformed into a laugh.

She forced herself to avert her gaze, not wanting to stare rudely, and now looked out the window. She had imagined her trip to Hogwarts differently. Actually, she hadn't imagined the trip at all, but certainly not like this. She would much rather have made her first friends, laughed and exchanged stories with each other. But now she was sitting in a compartment with a girl who quietly made it clear that she didn't want to talk, laugh or be disturbed.

Of course, Haley, who actually had such an open and cheerful nature that could always be heard laughing from afar, had to end up here with, of all people, someone who was obviously the complete opposite of her. How she wished she had a big sister or brother who were also at Hogwarts or friends to start her first year with but no, she was alone. At least for now but it didn't seem like anything would change during this trip.

Full of hope, she looked up when her counterpart suddenly moved. Had she changed her mind after all? No. She merely flipped the pages of her book aloud and sat down in an obviously more comfortable position. Who flips through a book so loudly? Haley asked herself and was a bit annoyed. She didn't really know why, but while she realized that no conversation would develop between the two of them, she hung her shoulder a bit disappointed and looked out the window again.

But after only a few minutes she was bored. She pulled her suitcase forward and opened it just a crack, she didn't want anyone to see how messy it was after she had turned it completely upside down. She pulled out one of her books and decided to read it as well. Alright, I guess they did have one thing in common. After closing and stowing her suitcase again, she took off her shoes by pushing down on the heel of the other shoe with one foot and sat down cross-legged. When she saw what book she had grabbed, she had to grin. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was one of her favorite books and it often helped her clear her head. She opened it and began to read.

────────────────────────────────────────────────

THE GIRL SITS DOWN and Cedrella silently prays for the girl not to speak.

And she doesn't.

Silence falls neatly in the compartment, keeping them company, as the locomotive begins to move, the whistling sound signalizing their departure. It begins to catch speed as time passes; the outside world, only visible from the window, turns into a blurry mess of the city of London; grey, smoke, and different shapes of buildings far away, all mixed with the sad-looking sky and its greyish clouds.

The rest of the students in other compartments seem to have quieted down too, as all she can hear is the sound of the engine working on magic, making their way towards the wizarding school. Another page goes, as Cedrella stares at the words, expression delicate. Things slow down and get calm for the first time since she's woken up, and that soothes her rather anxious heart and mind.

Silence lingers; it stays for so long, and her mind drifts away; immersed in her reading to the point of completely forgetting about the intruder's presence. A barely noticeable smile comes to Cedrella's face; heart-shaped lips moving upwards, as the main character of the fairytale she's been reading gets trapped in a fairy's house, and needs to find a way to escape before midnight.

It's only then the girl's reminded of the other's presence; as the sudden movement from the other seat startles her a bit. Cedrella's eyes widen a bit, as she lowers her book, just enough to peek from behind it, watching whatever the other is doing. The redhead first-year moved her trunk, opening it, and taking a book out of there.

Cedrella's never seen that cover before, and she thinks it might come from muggle origins. Despite maintaining healthy relationships with muggles, muggleborns, and half-bloods alike, unlike what many would think of a witch from a family composed solely of purebloods, the youngest Blythe never got to enjoy their world and culture.

Many questions linger in her mind on muggles, especially in regards to their literature; never once before has she even touched a muggle book before. As someone with a famous witch writer for a grandmother, it's expected from both Cedrella and her older brothers to know quite a bit about wizarding literature (more specifically, the books her grandmother has written), and on top of all that, the passion from writing and reading had already blossomed inside her since the moment she learned to read.

So, her curiosity spiking up at the sight of the strange book isn't a surprise. At first, she shushes it down, trying to go back to her own novel with a more serious look to her. Cedrella finds it especially hard to concentrate on said task, which would be a first.

Usually, the girl finds herself disconnecting from the real world to the point of needing to be poked or have the book snatched from her hands to have her coming back down to whatever other fantastical world she'd been visiting.

"What's your book about?" asks Cedrella, sharply, trying to sound disinterested.

Not bringing her face up towards the girl, eyes still very much glued to her pages, though she cannot read a single word written there. The position and tone make her look arrogant (like the old lady next door, that adored to sound like she's putting others down), and she's quick to notice it.

With a flush coming to her cheeks, rosy taint blossoming in her pale skin, Cedrella lowers her book and turns her almond-shaped eyes toward the other. She says, now a bit more delicate, like she's speaking to a wild animal, "I'm Blythe, by the way. Cedrella Blythe."

────────────────────────────────────────────────
word count: 600+
with @Haley Rose

talking about wonderland @Cedrella Blythe

Haley made herself comfortable, leaned back and in the background she heard the soft cackling of the locomotive, which faded out more and more. She relaxed and forgot the tense atmosphere and lost herself in her adventures with Alice. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bench, she began to read the first chapter and immediately she had lost herself in this little world. She often compared herself to Alice, she was also on her way to her own Wonderland, at least she imagined it.

Time passed, Haley lost herself more and more in her book and blanked out the world around her. She had long forgotten that she was on the Hogwarts Express with an unknown girl. But as it so often happened, she was brought back to reality. A soft, annoyed voice brought her back to the compartment she was sitting in. The question was clear, but the tone made Haley wonder. Why was the girl asking if she didn't even care? Haley looked a little confused from her book, unsure if she should answer, but decided to close the pages of the book she had taken with her and put it beside her.

Haley couldn't help a quick grin, the girl across from her was just weird. She almost acted as if Haley was a different species, unsure if she spoke the same language and needed to be explored. But Haley thought she saw through her, like it was a mask she was putting on but behind it she was really interested and yet curious and actually not as strange as at first glance. At least Haley kind of hoped so and answered her, in contrast with a cheerful tone and smiled at her. "Haley Rose."

Her eyes fell on her book again, surprised that Cedrella didn't know the book but then she remembered that it was a Muggle book and most wizard children didn't know this wonderful story. "The book is about a girl called Alice," she looked at the book title and giggled, "Obviously. But anyway, in a sort of magical way she comes to what's called Wonderland and encounters all sorts of different and also strange people, creatures and animals as well as dangers." Haley thought about going into more detail, but decided against it. Maybe she would read the book herself someday. "But it's not like our magic." She added quickly, "It's a muggle book." She explained further, "If you want to read it sometime, I can lend it to you." Haley now offered, unsure if she would accept the offer or not.

Word Count: 437

────────────────────────────────────────────────

THE GIRL PRESENTED HERSELF as Haley Rose, with a blinding smile, cheerful attitude, so different to her nonchalant, chill expression. Despite having her bright orange hair, if put next to Cedrella's brothers, this Haley girl would look more like their sister than Cedrella herself.

At first, she had expected the girl to ignore her completely, as some people did after Cedrella treated them poorly. Not that she blamed them; she, too, ignored most people when they looked at her in the wrong way, so, it's only fair for people to do the same to her when she acted weird for no reason.

But not this time. Haley Rose seemed excited enough to speak, almost like conversation was her lifeforce, to which the youngest Blythe could not relate. More often than not, this type of people got on her nerves rather quickly; her cousins were like that, and, they were definitely one of the many factors as to why Cedrella Blythe enjoyed being left alone.

Her cousins were loud; they yelled when they spoke and in eleven years, she couldn't, for the life of her, remember a single instance where they had been quiet. (In the back of her mind the girl silently hoped this Haley Rose wasn't at all like them, as that would turn out to be a rather draining experience). For now, Cedrella didn't regret introducing herself to her.

As the other spoke, Cedrella kept her eyes darted towards the book, taking in the yellowish cover and cursive letter in the title, nodding to each and every word coming out of the Haley Rose's mouth, like a student would to what a professor was teaching. As the girl had suggested lending the book to Cedrella, the youngest Blythe's eyes widened slightly.

"It does sound interesting..." confessed Cedrella, softly, fingers trailing the cover of the book resting in her thighs, shrugging. "Nonsensical, magical books are my favorite. If... If you do not mind, after I'm done with this book, I'd love to read it. I haven't had the chance to touch muggle literature,"

────────────────────────────────────────────────
word count: 350+
with @Haley Rose
ooc. sorry for the late reply!

more about books @Cedrella Blythe

It was a strange situation and Haley still couldn't judge whether Cedrella was really interested, just being polite or bored for a moment. Her body language, her looks and her tone of voice gave Haley a clear sign but still she had asked. Maybe she just needed some time to warm up, at least that's what Haley thought.

She herself never tried to judge anyone and be understanding of others' behaviour, that was what she had been taught by her parents. Openness, no prejudices and acceptance were always high on the list of her upbringing, but as a rather extroverted person herself, it was still difficult for the young girl to understand from time to time why not everyone was like that. Why there were people who preferred to live a secluded life, not to socialise and preferred to roam this world as a lone wolf. Because like wolves, we humans were pack animals and it was nice not to explore this world alone. At least that's what Haley thought.

She would have liked to hold back a bit, to approach the situation cautiously but when it came to one of her favourite books, she could only rave about it. Haley didn't want to leave a odd impression, she often found that others who didn't share the same fondness for books and stories rarely shared that enthusiasm let alone understood it. But Cedrella seemed like someone who liked to read. Firstly, she was just sitting here reading in a book and secondly, it was mainly the people who found escape in books that they did not find in other people. And the girl sitting in front of her seemed like just such a person. But Haley didn't want to be prejudiced and quickly shook off her thoughts. She would get to know her better soon enough, or maybe not.

But when she saw the shocked look on her counterpart's face for a moment, she already thought she had messed up. But had it even been a shocked look? Had Haley said something wrong? She didn't know what, and before she could rack her brains any further, the girl's soft, gentle voice rang out.

At first the shrug of shoulders again contradicted her words and Haley already assumed that their short conversation was over here, but she was wrong. She took her up on her offer and a smile formed on Haley's face again. "I really love that book." Haley laughed, pleased that Cedrella would enjoy reading it. "I can't tell you how many times I've read it. But somehow it's become like a shelter world for me." Haley shrugged her shoulders, not sure if she would regret being so open with a stranger, and didn't elaborate for that reason either.

"Growing up, I read almost only Muggle books, but very few from the wizarding world." Haley explained further. She had read a few reference books, such as about Hogwarts and great events and wizards, but she couldn't remember any children's books or novels. She definitely had to catch up on that and made a mental note.

"What are you reading?" she asked now, her gaze landing on the book lying on her legs.

────────────────────────────────────────────────

"YEAH, THAT'S VERY NICE... To have a world so dear to you," mumbled Cedrella, playing with the hem of her mustard-yellow trenchcoat, impressed to see that someone else found refuge in literature, much like herself, feeling some heat coming to her cheeks, blossoming pinkish circles on her skin, as the girl avoided eye-contact.

It wasn't all that surprising, of course; Cedrella knew a lot of young wizards and witches that enjoyed reading, much like her, but, she had so oddly forced some nonsensical stereotype in regards to that redhaired girl, Haley, in the less than an hour time since their introduction, that she couldn't help but feel impressed and ashamed.

Ashamed, as her silly assumptions had been proven wrong, but impressed for the very same reason. It's not like her to judge people; ok, perhaps, that was a lie. Cedrella silently watched and came to her own conclusions, which she has yet to realize how harmful it can be. It's masked as some weird self-protection mechanism as she decides to find comfort in what she can imagine, instead of what she can gather as truth from human interactions. The explanation for that was incredibly weak because not even the girl knew why she did it.

At Haley's question on what she's reading, Cedrella's eyes darted down towards the book on her lap; a bit taken aback that the Rose girl would be interested in what she's reading, given how Cedrella had acted a few minutes ago.

She stared at the cover for a second, trying to remember exactly what it was, "It's... a children's book. My grandmother wrote it," Cedrella ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her face now that the blush had faded. The youngest Blythe darted her eyes towards the window, and all she could see was green. "It's about killer fairies and this man. A bit confusing, if I can say so myself, but that's the point."

────────────────────────────────────────────────
word count: 300+
with @Haley Rose

books and dreams @Cedrella Blythe

Haley was pleased about the interest and that it seemed that the two of them would get along after all. She was also glad that she wasn't averse to Haley reading a Muggle book. She had never personally experienced it before, but had been forewarned by her mother that there were still wizards who didn't see Muggle or half-bloods as equals. She very much hoped that she would never have to go through that experience and couldn't even imagine it.

The two seemed as different as one could be at first glance but perhaps this was their future connection with each other. A love of books, stories and an interest in new magical worlds. Maybe this would develop into a friendship, their first friendship at Hogwarts. But Haley didn't want to ponder over many possible maybes, but simply let it come as it would.

Haley was, as she had been from the beginning, open and extroverted and after the two began to have a conversation she became even more open to her new acquaintance. She was sure that Cedrella had a soft core deep inside and just needed someone to help her come out of her shell. And who better to help her than Haley herself? She ignored the looks and insecurity she was giving off and tried to make her understand that none of this was necessary and that she didn't need to be afraid of Haley's reactions. All the while she smiled warmly at her and listened intently to her words as she told her about the book.

"Wow, your grandmother is a writer?" Haley burst out enthusiastically and she looked at the book in excitement. "That's really cool!" she added, imagining what it must be like to have a writer for a grandma. She imagined a small, cosy flat that was lovingly furnished and books were scattered everywhere on tables, shelves and the floor. There were many empty ink jars on the tables and it smelled of old parchment. A dream for Haley, how many hours she could spend there exploring all the books and stories.

"Strange and killer fairies sound great." She laughed, wondering what other books her grandmother had written. Haley now turned her gaze out the window as well and lost herself for a moment in the green hills and landscape that passed by. She dreamily voiced her thoughts without giving them a second thought, which she did far too often and she hated that quality about herself. "Someday I would like to write a book."