No Home to Write to Finished

Silently letting out a breath, Cecilia grinned at the two, turning to face her aunt's owl. Taking the letters, she'd fiddle with the straps for the bird, struggling to get them attached. Her brows creased, frustration evident. "Darn things..."

Finally successful, she'd pat the owl's head, giving one last tug to the strappings and ribbon binding everything together. "Go to Auntie Alisa, Thor! Fly safe!"

Thor gave a small 'hoot' in response, taking off from his perch. Flapping his wings, he left the Owlery through one of the many windows that contributed to the chilly draft of the room. The girl watched him go, glancing to the girls nearby when he left. Her large smile returned, nervousness fading as Dinah said she could stay. Rubbing her palms together, she stretched her shoulders back, loosening the muscles as she tried to think of something to say. Starting a conversation had never been her strong suit, she was much better at continuing them far longer than they should have been held. 

Always a little fidgety, she tugged at her Ravenclaw robes, messing with the seams of the sleeve on her right arm. Her overactive mind played over the recent events in her head, nitpicking each word she had said and their reactions to those words. Just before she had arrived, Amadea had said she wasn't sending a letter. The owls must be very popular for kids to visit, she mused to herself.

Then there had been Dinah's silence. Cecilia wasn't very good at reading faces or emotions, and so she assumed she had simply had a momentary lapse. She had a lot of those too. Internally, her mind sparked with the current events, and that Amadea had said something.

"They're very pretty, aye. Do ya have much animals, where you're from? I've got some chickens, an' a goat! My maw'd show me how to get the eggs without disturbing the hens." 

She trailed off, forgetting that she shouldn't share too much all at once. Social graces, and whatnot. She looked to both Amadea and Dinah, awaiting any possible answer.

Intreagued, Dinah watched as Cecilia attached the letters to the owl in front of her, struggling a little with the ribbon and the straps. 

“Go to Auntie Alisa, Thor! Fly safe!” 

Dinah smiled fondly, the name reminding her of an old memory. 
She didn’t have many happy memories from her childhood, but one that did stick with her was from the first care home when she was about five or six. It wasn’t exactly a happy memory but it was nicer than some of her other ones and made her feel comforted. 

“Thor! Thor, come back!” A five year old Dinah, with long flowing pigtails ran across the overgrown field after the cat ahead of her. 

She followed it all the way down to the river bank, a few miles from the home. There the cat stopped to take a drink from the river and Dinah got a chance to catch her breath. 

Collapsing into the long grass, she ran her hands through the ginger fur of the cat and was rewarded with a gentle purr. 

“Oh, Thor. I’m going to miss you when I go. I wish I could take you with me.” A single tear rolled down the girls cheek which she furiously wiped away. She wasn’t going to be a baby about this. 

Almost as if he sensed her sadness, the cat moved away from the water and to the girls side. He rubbed against her chest, nuzzling his head under her chin. 

Dinah stopped thinking about the cat, Thor immediately. It was making her head go dizzy and she was feeling those resentful feelings begin to stir again in her stomach. 

Cecilia had continued talking, explaining how she was familiar with being around animals and how her mother had shown her how to get eggs without waking the hens. Of course, the explanation sounded much better in Cecilia’s Scottish accent and her enthusiasm running through the words. 

“I haven’t had much experience around animals.” Dinah informed the two other girls. “I wish I had though, I love them.” 

She smiled warmly but nervously at Amadea and Cecilia, trying to seem friendly and hopefully not terribly boring. 

Amadea watched as Cecilia tied the letter to the owl and sent it flying away. She watched out the window as the owl became smaller and smaller until she could no longer see it. Tuning back in to the conversation, Amadea listened to the girls talk about the animals. 

Growing up in London, Amadea was surrounded by animals, yet she had never owned her own one. She was hoping she could finally own one while at Hogwarts, maybe during her second or third year. She knew it was a lot of responsibility, but she loved animals. Back home in her London apartment, there just wasn't enough room for an animal, or at least, that's what her parents always told her. 

Now that her mom was living in Camberley, however, she might be able to convince her to get some sort of animal. Amadea was looking forward to it. 

It sounded as though Cecilia had been well acquainted with different animals. She even owned a few! She must live in the countryside, Amadea thought to herself. She had always wondered what life in the country was like compared to the city. Now that she was at Hogwarts, she was getting to live that life. 

She pulled herself out of her thoughts of animals and cities so she could answer Cecilia's question. "I don't have much experience with animals either," she said. "I lived in London, so it would be hard to have a bunch of animals." Of course, if Amadea had grown up in a different part of London, her life might have been totally different. But because her parents had planted themselves in the very heart of the city, right next to the places where they worked, she hadn't had a pet. "I would love to own an animal though," she added.

Nodding, Cecilia offered them both a toothy grin. She loved her animals, and she was so glad to hear they both liked animals too! Neither had any experience with them, though. And London was so far away, in Cecilia's opinion! She had heard from her Muggle classmates about the huge city when she was younger, as one of them had moved to Glasgow from there. It seemed so crowded, no wonder Amadea didn't know too much about animals! No fields, no massive trees to climb around on..

Cecilia couldn't help but feel a little bad for the two, because it seemed neither had the opportunity to have pets! She'd grown up with so many she could barely keep track. There were the barn cats, but some weren't so friendly so she wouldn't call them pets. Once, one of the pregnant cats broke into the house to give birth, because it was too dangerous for the kittens in the barn. Her father let the cat stay, and she never left afterwards. Emilia, Cecilia's mother, named her May, because of the month she had come into their lives. May had three kittens, 2 boys and a girl. Cecilia couldn't help but think of those cats now. She missed them. "Aye, animals are great fun. When you treat them right they can be your best friends! Hard work to keep 'em happy and healthy, though!"

Now that she knew where Amadea was from, she couldn't help but be curious about Dinah's home, unaware of the troubling past she'd experienced. Dark green eyes flicking to Dinah, her friendly smile was completely genuine, and she seemed eager to hear from Dinah. 

“Hard to keep ‘em happy and healthy though!” Cecilia said, aiming a smile at Dinah and Amadea. 

Yes, that had been Dinahs problem with Thor the cat. Being in the home meant that it was rather difficult for her to run down to the field and spend much time with him. As for food, if she took anything from the kitchen without giving the adult in charge a good reason, they would immediately take it from her and tell her to stop being greedy and wait for dinner. 
She’d never checked but she was certain that ‘I’m taking these three tins of tuna to feed the stray cat I look after’ would not be considered a good reason. 
Unable to keep him happy and healthy Thor disappeared even before she left the home and Dinah had no reason to steal from the kitchen anymore. 

Dinah felt a stare piercing through her and she glanced over at Cecilia. She tried not to cringe under her gaze but she could tell the girl was interested in her history. Was it something she wanted to share just yet? Not particularly but there was something about the girls smile. It seemed genuine and friendly. 

Feeling it would be rude to just keep silent, Dinah cleared her throat. “Yes I grew up in London as well. So not much room for keeping animals...besides they didnt allow pets in the home.”

Immediately she clamped her mouth shut and looked up at the other two girls, her eyes wide. She hadn’t meant to say that. She’d just got carried away and the words came out before she could stop them. 

You should have lied, you should have just kept your mouth shut! She scolded herself 

If they knew she’d been in all the care homes, she was almost certain they wouldn’t want to be seen speaking to her ever again.
Who would?  

Amadea nodded along as Cecilia spoke. She had read plenty of books about animals and humans and the interaction between them. Dogs, horses, chickens, cows, you name it! Amadea had read books about them all. She wished she could have actually experienced it rather than reading it in a book, but books would have to be good enough. It seemed as though Cecilia had made friends with the animals she owned. 

Amadea listened as Dinah talked as well about growing up in London. It was amazing how many people came from London, Amadea thought. She hadn't known any of them existed until coming to Hogwarts. It was crazy to think that they were all packed into one city but none of them knew who the others were until now. Given, Amadea didn't really spend that much time with other humans when she was in London, so that was probably a big reason why she didn't know anyone who said they were from London. 

Dinah said something about how they didn't allow animals at her house and Amadea nodded. Her parents had been quite strict about animals as well. "My parents didn't allow animals either," she said wistfully. "My sister and I would pretend that we had a puppy sometimes though!" 

Amadea smiled at the memory, remembering how she and Kat would sit on the floor of their bedroom playing with their imaginary puppy. She glanced over at the window, seeing the sun was already low in the sky. How had it gotten to be so late? 

With a smile to the other two girls, she turned toward the exit. "It was lovely meeting you all, but I'm afraid I must go," she said. "It was lovely meeting you!" 

With that, she turned and left. 

[ Amadea exits thread. ]

Cecilia nodded as they spoke, smiling gently. She didn't seem to pick up on the fact that Dinah grew up in a care home, and simply assumed her parents didn't want pets. Neither had any personal experience with owning animals, and the girl cringed inwardly. Perhaps she should not have brought it up? They both seemed a bit sad now.

And Amadea used to pretend to have a puppy... Even as the redhead smiled, Cecilia wanted nothing more than a childish wish to somehow make this girl happy. There was no possible way to give her a puppy, nor would it be appropriate, seeing as she just met her. Cecilia was kind to a fault when people were nice to her, but that temper so easily surfaced with rude kids.

With no experience with magic or the people who wielded it, she shifted from foot to foot, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, unsure of what to say. There wasn't much left that she could think of saying, but she desperately wished to befriend these girls. They had the next several years to get to know each other, so she didn't need to do all of that at once. She still wanted to, but now her silence was bordering awkward. 

Inwardly sighing, she grinned at the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. "It was nice meeting ya, Amadea and Dinah. I hope we'll talk more, but I should get back to my Charms assignment. Maybe I'll see you both again?"

A shy smile formed at that, her hopes of cultivating friendships getting the best of her. After hearing any response they might offer, she'd take her leave, a grin on her face.

Cecilia leaves.