Goodbye London, Hello Hogwarts Completed

Airlia listened to the girl speak, and nodded from time to time. She agreed. Being strategically smart, academically smart and mentally smart were different things and all had their good sides. She didn't believe that anyone was truly smart in each field especially since there were many more, rarely mentioned.

She lifted a brow at the comment about the wall entrance at platform 9 ^3/4 but didn't say anything. The girl had been watching her then? Before coming to the train. Airlia wasn't sure what to think of that. On one side she felt uncomfortable about being noticed no matter how subtle she'd tried to be. And in a weird way, she felt nice that she'd intrigued the girl enough to have her seek her out on the train. Or had this all been by chance?

Airlia had no idea what debating was. It sounded a bit like dueling. Must have been a muggle thing. She made a mental note to ask her brother in a letter at some point. Thinking of her brother made her glum for a second again.

"Slytherin..." Airlia said after the girl's question. She was trying the word out and looking at the girl. If in fact, Slytherin would be the girl's house she would feel bad for her. After all, out of the whole school, Slytherins held most tightly to tradition. And their tradition was to not accept Muggle-borns. This girl was one and Airlia could be almost certain that she would be bullied in that house. Not a nice fate to anyone who isn't pureblood or at least half-blood. Bluud traitor was a far more lenient dysphemism than... Mudblood.

"Truthfully? I can't really tell. I don't know you well enough to say. I don't think anyone really knows you. However, the sorting hat looks into your deepest thoughts and desires. It will tell you." Airlia said completely serious, she didn't want the girl to think that she was pulling her leg. "You don't have to worry about it. Everything will work it's way out at the sorting ceremony. And I doubt you'll be the first to be sorted and as such, you'll be able to see what you're meant to do."

She looked out the window: "If the sorting hat can't choose; it'll listen to you and you will make the decision yourself."

"Your Hogwarts house will be your family during your seven years of school. So if it comes to that-" Airlia looked at the girl: "Make a wise choice."

" A...Sorting h-hat.....a ...a talking hat..that knows my desires.....determine my family....". it rolled off her tongue like a foreign language. Fumiko would've thought it was a joke if Airlia didn't look dead serious.

Family...they won't be the same like hers right? Fumiko was already so happy to get away from them but what if she meets another one of them in her house? She felt her shoulders getting tense at the thought.

She... she doesn't want to see that...at all.

Fumiko was already glad Airlia was honest and didn't say something like ' ohhh I think you'll be great in anyhouse!!! ' . She mentioned some sort of discrimination about muggle-borns but Fumiko felt as if there was more to the story and some people were definitely going to do more than just call her a nasty name.

Didn't she mention about a war? How bad was it? To avoid further anxiety, Tachibana focused on the brighter side of things.

" I have a lot to learn about the wizarding world huh? " she couldn't help but felt more relaxed when she said this. It reminded her how she was away from her previous muggle life and starting a new one. " To be honest, I'm just glad it's a hat that digs deep into my desires and thoughts and not some sort of parkour test. I can't even open a bottle cap without help " she chuckled.

She wonders what the hat will find out about her...

" Ah " she suddenly exclaimed, remembering what she might not be understood by Airlia because of the very different environment they grew up in. " D-do y..would you like to know what parkour is? Does the wizarding world have those? " she asked in an unsure tone. " Bottlecaps? " she added before she could stop herself.

God hope she wished she could just disappear right now. She bet her cheeks are just red right now.

Bottlecaps? She sounded utterly silly in that genuine tone of hers. Of course, the wizarding world has stuff like that right? But...

The more she talked with the witch, she more she realised how much different the muggle and wizard world are. It might be a nice conversation to laugh about. She never had this kind of conversation. Maybe Airlia might be interested in her world as she is with hers?

" Is- isn't it scary though ? " she tried to change the conversation in hopes of calming down her embarrassment.

" A hat that enters your mind like that. Even if it's just for sorting into your house, don't you have something you want to ... to hide -" she stopped for a moment. She's blabbering again. " hide...even from a hat ?" she decided to finish her sentence.

It did terrify her when she found out the hat was going to know her deep desires and thoughts. It was scarier when she didn't even know what it'll find.

Why did she went her way to change herself for other people.
Why she was willing to be so cruel in front of her aunt.
Why she wanted to keep her previous friends despite all the obvious signs of toxicity.


A...part of her wishes the hat will tell her.

" Will the hat tell us what's in our minds? " she pipped up, genuinely interested.

Fumiko looked unsure and a little awkward. The girl seemed to be quite good at masking her emotions but Airlia felt like she could detect a bit of worry under the surface.

She felt the need to ease the girl's mind. To tell her the hat wouldn't yell out her deepest and darkest, innermost secrets or anything. But the girl seemed like she had her own unique way to handle things and Airlia didn't want to disrupt that.

Ailia gave a little chuckle to the bottle cap point. She didn't really know what this parkour was but she understood the second reference.

Airlia scrunched her brow at the strange question about said bottlecaps and didn't want to embarrass or insult the girl's intelligence by answering that the wizarding world had the same cutlery, pots and pans and all other basic kitchen supplies that the muggles did. At least in Finland, they did. Although people were rather surprised when the Oak family got the microwave thingy when you could warm food with the swing of a wand.

"My brother said that every year dozens of muggle-borns enter Hogwarts each year. So you shouldn't worry about having a lot to catch up to. There are a lot of others who need to do the same. And some of our most brilliant witches and wizards of modern times are muggle-borns. It might take a little bit of more word but if everyone else can do it, so can you."

Airlia smiled at the girl's inquiry about the sorting hat: "He doesn't say your thoughts out loud. I think. At least not loud enough for others to hear. He'll just figure out which house to place you in and that's it. I think... He sings a song too." Airlia mumbled with an unsure pout of her lips. "I don't really have too much to hide. I'm eleven." Airlia said with a shrug: "I mean sure I wouldn't want my parents to know some things but since the hat keeps all secrets I'm not that worried."

"I think... If you have something you want to hide so badly a hat can't know it. You need to let that secret go. It'll weigh heavy in your mind. I'm guarding a secret for someone else right now. Someone I care for the most in the world and it's already causing me distress. I feel a pressure on my chest I can't wait to be rid of." Airlia went back to staring out the window to see meadows of green. "I can't even imagine what it feels like to carry a secret like that all the time."

Fumiko couldn't help but lightly chuckle when Airlia informed her about the Sorting Hat singing. He was a better singer than Fumiko, that was a certainty.

How did she found out Fumiko's worry over this though?

She was sure she only mentioned that she had a lot to learn, it never meant that she cared a lot or anything. Not only that, but she knew Airlia already picked up much more than this within the few minutes they were together.

She was tempted to just ask her out of the blue but that would probably be a conversation too... open for Fumiko. She's still recovering from being too open with her previous friends.

Look how that turned out.

Fumiko unconsciously tilted her head at the mention of Airlia's ' special someone '. At the moment, she truly did look blue at the mention of this person's secret. She had a few guesses at who this person was and Airlia's brother definitely on top of the list.

She spoke with a lovely voice when talking about him but after that, it was as if she remember bad memories her mood immediately flattened.

Fumiko found herself swiftly standing up. Her hand reached out over Airlia's silver-blonde hair, giving it a soft pat. The pat you give to a crying kitten you found on the streets.

She, of course, realized what she was doing. Fumiko was never good with comforting words unless she was acting. She only met this girl for a few minutes and Fumiko decided it was too cruel to give her fake words of encouragement even if they were believable.

This didn't mean she trusted this girl completely though.

Pretending to be shocked at her own action, quickly pulling her hand away with a soft gasp and took a step back.

Her dark eyes traveled to the floor and she tensed her shoulders while fidgeting her fingers. To make her look more embarrassed, she remembered back to when she blurted our ' bottle caps 'and her cheeks started to redden, completing the look of :



" I- 'm sorry I didn't realize..." she shuttered, slowly meeting her eyes with Airlia " I ..you just looked so sad..is...is this ' special person ' you're brother by any chance? A-assuming it is...I just... never had a sibling before.."

Or a trusting family...

" I just...this was something my aunt always did when she knows I'm feeling down and it...it h-helped me feel better all the time..."

Not necessarily a lie. Though her aunt's pats are much more forceful. She only does it when she's showing Fumiko off to her other rich friends or when Fumiko was about to go to school.

" I..um.. I'm truly sorry if I made you uncomfortable!" she squealed and bowed her head down in shame.

She had to do this a lot when she was living with her dad. When she broke another plate or drew on the walls, she was taught that this was a way to show someone you truly are sincere in Japan. So the only way her dad would forgive her is when she did this.

It was funny how she's doing it with such insincere motives now. She was definitely not sorry to give Airlia a pat on the head when she was sad, but she did felt sorry to act like this in front of her.

Chocolates

She'll ask what Airlia's favorite chocolates are later.

Airlia smiled as Fumiko petted her head. It surely wasn't a relaxed, open smile, it was more of the confusing origin.

She wasn't sure what had compelled the girl to pat her head as if she was a child, but wasn't too annoyed or taken aback.

Fumiko fidgeted and blushed a deep red color that seemed to almost reach her eyes. She looked rather sweet and adorable like that.

Avoiding Fumiko's question about her brother Airlia smiled brightly: "You didn't make me that uncomfortable. Just confused mostly." She smiled: "I think a hug might be better than a pat on the head the next time though."

Giggling Airlia pulled out a notebook. Without a word, she started drawing the girl's hair. Airlia wasn't the most creative person. Well, actually she was when it came to the more unconventional arts. Such as finding compromises, breaking up fights and fixing things that were wrong in her town. She always had a solution for problems such as these. But when it came to music, theater or drawing she wasn't really that good. Hair she could draw though.

She'd never been able to draw faces. They never came out looking the way she wished, so she just quickly sketched the girl's hairdo and thinking f how she could finish it later, threw her notepad on top of her trunk.

"Anyway, what was your aunt like?" Airlia asked and thought back to her own aunt that had raised two insufferable children; Airlia's cousins.

Aunts were meant to be fun. Her's wasn't. Her aunt had been arranged to marry her uncle from a young age, just like her cousins were now promised to marry by the time they would turn twenty.

Airlia had never liked her aunt and only called her that because of formalities. They were only related through marriage and she'd always felt more like a stranger than a family member.

Continues on the next page ⟶

Fumiko didn't even notice how Airlia dodged the question of her brother as she was too busy fighting the urge to cover her beet-red face. When was the last time someone suggested that? The last time she did it was with her previous friends when they were upset.

After what happened with them, Fumiko decided hugs were an undervalued action that only should happen with the person you truly love, platonic or not.

Seeing Airlia even suggest such a thing made her even more flustered than before, no acting involved. And ' next time '? Is there going to be a next time?

She felt scared.

Images of her friends doing ... what they did... flashed in her mind and she felt her heart tighten. She had to remind herself Airlia wasn't like them. Though they have shown similar warmth, surely Fumiko could notice the signs better now..now that she knows them.

' Will you really? Or will you be once again blinded by the warmth they give? '

She ignored the dark thought and focused on Airlia's question about her aunt. Her mood depleted a bit as she wondered what her aunt was actually doing now.

Drinking French wine with her annoying rich ' girlfriends ' as they celebrated the day Fumiko was finally gone and cheered to the peaceful months that would come to them she guessed.

Fumiko didn't even know what she did to make her aunt and her friends treat her like a chewed out toy. She made sure her personality matches theirs when Fumiko was around them, though she can confirm it made herlife easier, it didn't work completely

She was too tired of acting like the personality they wanted so she left it like that, thinking it wasn't going to change and the reason for their dislike was something Fumiko's 11 year old mind could not understand it.

She gave Airlia a smile and folded her hands together behind her back. " She gives me a comforting life " she admitted " But I rather not talk about her " the way her smile contradicts with the words she just said might be a bit scary to see but she didn't care.

She came to the conclusion that Airlia was someone Fumiko couldn't lie to as much anymore. She wishes Airlia was meaner, that way maybe she wouldn't have to feel as guilty when she acted around her. Now that that wasn't the case, Fumiko could do nothing about it except hope Airlia would accept her flowers in the future.

Wanting to continue conversing with Airlia, Fumiko's eyes landed on the notepad Airlia threw on her trunk and her eyes widened as curiosity grew in her eyes.

Genuinely excited, she sat down on Airlia's side of the compartment and looked over the notepad, where a nice unfinished sketch of someones braided hair was drawn. Fumiko was too enthusiastic about finding out Airlia can draw to notice the draft was actually her hair.

" You can draw ?!" Fumiko energetically asked. Not even waiting for Airlia to speak, " It's so pretty! Why didn't you finish it? Oh, I just adore people who're interested in any kind of art! I think there's something beautiful about people who express themselves in this kind of form..."

Even if Airlia was simply drawing someone's hair, Fumiko still thought it was nice to see her put her ideas on a notepad. " I always wanted to draw...but my aunt says I should focus on my violin lessons first " A light bulb sparked in her head.

" Hey, do you want to hear me play it? " once again, she didn't even wait for Airlia's answer as she basically zoomed to her trunk on her side of the compartment. She was just too eager to share her interest with the girl.

But for a moment she stopped trying to open her trunk.

What is Airlia hates it? What if she didn't play it well? She showed her previous friends before and they discouraged her greatly. Saying Fumiko didn't play well and the song she played was just plain boring.

Airlia...is not the same as Fumiko's previous friends.

She assured herself as she opened her trunk. The contents weren't a lot. Just a bunch of extra clothes, the items she was required to bring, a book in case magic books got too boring and sat on top of all that is a small violin case.

She opened the case and revealed a frequently polished wooden violin. The violin couldn't be the best quality since it's still considered a 'kid' violin, but her aunt made the butler find one with the highest quality.

The butler knows Fumiko better than her aunt so he secretly bought a regular one, which pleased her greatly. She would be too scared to use it if it were ' the highest quality '.

Bless the butler, Fumiko misses him greatly. She named this violin after him, which was ' Florence '.

She took out Florence from his case and turned around to face Airlia.

" I.. might screw up a bit because well...we're on a moving train..but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway! "

She couldn't sit down, it can't be helped. She feels uncomfortable when she played sitting down. Taking a deep breath, she placed the violin on her shoulder and rested her chin at the edge of it like she had done it a million times.

Then she started to play

Reducio

OOC Note :

Airlia! I recommend opening another tab to get in the mood when you continue reading! If you're on a laptop of course. Plus, it will help IC Airlia to understand a bit why IC Fumiko played it! Oh and tell me if I'm not supposed to do this! I'll quickly edit it

What compelled her to show Airlia such a sad tune confused her. Perhaps it was because Fumiko did better on low, mood depleting tunes then the the joyous or aggressive pieces her violin tutor forced her to learn.

Perhaps it was just her way to silently express what she felt when her parents gave her up to her aunt, when her friends left her heartbroken when she had to develop a habit where she pretends to be someone else so she couldn't form real bonds.

The bonds she so wished to have.

It's ... a way to show her feelings without having to pretend to be someone else. They'll just think she's focused on her playing. She pretends so much sometimes she wonders what her real personality would be like. If nothing that went wrong in her life ever happened.

Just as Fumiko, who was very into playing Florence finished the short piece, the train hit a bump and her hand pushed the bow a bit too hard, causing a loud sudden screech. Both the girls flinched at the sound. Fumiko felt a bit embarrassed but lightly chuckled at her mistake.

" Hahha..sorry about that...I was surprised I could play that long though " she sat down back to her seat with Florence and her bow resting on her lap. " So...what do you think? " she beamed nervously.

Fumiko must not have liked her aunt very much either. She wished not to speak about her and Airlia wanted to respect that. She made a mental note not to bring up aunts in front of Fumiko.

The screech from the violin as the train jolted hurt Airlia's ears. She had to quickly cover them for a moment.

"I think the song was beautiful." Airlia smiled after she got over the irritating and sudden screech of the violin: "I think focusing on it did you good. You could, after all, have art as a hobby at Hogwarts. I don't draw much. Mainly hair because I can't draw faces at all." Airlia smiled.

"You play well. I could never learn something like that." Airlia said and leaned her head against the window, feeling utterly tired. "The song made me sleepy though." Airlia chuckled.

The melody had been soft and careful. Just the kind of thing Airlia needed in order to fall asleep.

"The only things I can play are the harp and kantele. Or Finnish zither if you wish to call it that." Airlia thought back to the rather large golden harp used more as decoration than as an instrument in the living room. Airlia missed playing. Her mother had taught her until she turned eight. That's when Airlia needed to drop both instruments to make room for her pre-Hogwarts studies.

She wasn't even sure if she could remember how to play after all this time.

"Anyway. What kind of art would you like to do?"

She lightly blushed when Airlia complimented her playing and her choice of song. " R-really ?" she nervously asked like she couldn't believe someone actually enjoyed her playing. " A-h sorry...It's not that I don't believe you it's just that...you're probably the first one to tell me that! " second, actually if she considered her father, the one who taught her the violin himself.

But she didn't want to think about him now.

" The way you draw hair is really nice though! A lot of amazing artists I know start from drawing simple stick figures. And hey, if you want someone to help you practice drawing feel free to use my face ~ " Fumiko didn't notice how weird it sounded when she casually offered her face for someone to draw. She was just trying to get the point that she was comfortable around Airlia across.

She chuckled while lightly nodding when Airlia said the song made her sleepy. " Hahah.yes, I've always played better with soft tunes like this. My violin tutor keeps trying to make me play more energetic songs but.. she always says there was something wrong when I try to though...can you hear me play an energetic tune sometimes? Maybe you can help me find out why it sounds off " she suggested as she carefully placed Florence back into his case.

" I hope the song didn't make you too sleepy. I still want to talk to you, you know? Shall I play a horrendous tune for you?~ " she chuckled, very aware of how she was basically switching personalities every second around Airlia. She couldn't help but feel relaxed around her. Even more when she shared her interest and have it encouraged. That didn't happen often.

" A harp? That's wonderful! " she genuinely beamed, happy she found another musician. Her face made a puzzled look when Airlia mentioned the second instrument she played.

A kantele...kantele...kantele...when has she heard that before...

" Ah! A kantele! " she suddenly exclaimed, accidentally surprising her companion.

" My aunt owns that in her music room! Unfortunate I never got to hear someone play it though. She just keeps it there to impress her guest " she explained " I try my best to keep it dust free..a pity, isn't it? Such a lovely instrument like that left untouched and used for mere display ..."

" Not that I think there is something wrong with that though! " she hurriedly defended in case Airlia didn't like what she said " I just think there's much more to an instrument than a decoration. Like how it can change someones mood, or express someones feelings when they play it "

She frowned a bit when she remembered the lonely Kantele, which she named Aina. Who will be taking care of her while Fumiko is still in Hogwarts?

' Acting! ' is what she would say when Airlia asked her question about the kind of art she liked to do. She found it fascinating how someone could pour so much emotion into a fictional character and make them real.

Of course, after doing just that since she was young, she simply got bored. She wasn't sure if she still liked it or not, and she wasn't going to use the time now to think about it.

" Well...I like playing Flo- um..my violin..all the time. I don't think I'd like to do it for a living though. " she almost slipped the fact she named her instruments. Crap. Their conversation was going so well and she hoped Airlia never noticed anything but the minutes they were together in this small compartment proved Fumiko otherwise.

" We should have a friendly duet sometimes between fr- friends ~ " she suggested, though she faltered a bit when she said ' Friends '.

Like the moment they introduced themselves, Fumiko held out a hand to shake. There was something different about the gesture this time though. It seemed more.. real. This looked like a subtle way to ask Airlia if they were friends.

Scenarios where Airlia rejected her hand started coming in like a storm. It would definitely harm Fumiko's confidence and heart if it happened like that. Airlia was the first person that Fumiko couldn't help but be herself with.

Fumiko did a lot of wrong though , so she would understand why she'll get rejected . She showed she was two-faced right in front of her and that made might make Airlia distrust her.

' You know what? You never deserved her anyway '

A dark thought passed by and Fumiko... listened.

"I think you were great. Taking in new challenges is sometimes a good thing, other times harmful to the talent you already possess. Your teacher shouldn't push you over your limits too fast."

Airlia giggled to the idea of using someone's face for drawing practice. It would be tedious for the other person to just sit still so Airlia already thought that she just might draw people from pictures in books. At least those wouldn't leave or get bored. Being in a closed book all day.

"Kantele is Finland's national instrument and the good ones are often very pricey. It is a pity someone isn't taking good care of it." Airlia winced: "It must sound horrible, being untuned all this time. Unplayed. I think not playing an instrument takes the life out of it and playing it gives it memories. A saying my mother taught me... I'm glad you at least try to take care of it." Airlia smiled a bright smile.

"I didn't bring an instrument with me. But I can after Christmas. We can play together then. I'll take my kantele with me. It's a lot smaller to bring than a harp." Airlia giggled and shook the girl's offered hand, thinking of herself dragging a huge golden harp into the Hogwarts Express when returning from Christmas holiday. What a travesty that would be.

Especially when she'd never even been strong enough to drag the harp from the corner of their living room to the middle.

"Playing with a friend might be fun. I'll just have to rehearse a little on holiday to check if I still have the skills to even play half a song. Time really has gone by, hasn't it? I was meant to only take a small break from playing but I feel like with my restricted free time I didn't get to play at all." Airlia shrugged: "I really do miss it."

"Anyway. Do you know anything about the subjects at school? Have you scrolled through your books yet? Is there anything that caught your eye? Anything you're looking forward to learning."

"Personally I'm looking forward to astronomy, even though I already know a lot about the subject and I would love to get to herbology classes as soon as possible."

Airlia swung her legs back and forth with the motion of the train feeling comfortable in her present company. Even with a few bumps here and there, the train ride had actually been rather pleasant so far.

Airlia said the words she wished her aunt did. She truly is a mother figure. Her aunt would claim she's petty when Fumiko tells her the violin tutor teaches her way too fast.

She couldn't help but smile sweetly when Airlia praised her action of regularly clean Aina. Her aunt said it was a waste of time since we have maids to do it. Fumiko just didn't trust them to clean Aina properly.

" You mother....seems like a nice person " Fumiko genuinely smiled. " Was she the one that taught you the harp and Kantele? " She was curious to ask what having a mom feels like but that would mean Fumiko has to talk about her own mother and she doesn't want her new friend to pity her too early.

Better yet, she wouldn't even know what to tell.

' Ah yes my mother Erica Belle Tachibana. I don't know if she's still a Tachibana though. She gave me up to my aunt and I never saw her again hahaha ~ so anyway how's your mother? '

She'd rather touch a frog than have that sentence come out of her mouth.

Fumiko, who's mask already slipped half-way off her face, excitedly clapped like a child who got a new toy. " Ahhh ! That's great! I can finally hear someone play a kantele! I bet it sounds as beautiful as it looks~ " she mused dreamily.

Fumiko frowned a bit when her companion mentioned she hasn't played in a long time. Just what could an 11-year-old be busy doing? Were her parents strict about studies? That's a pity if it were the case. In her opinion, 11-year-old still should be given freedom to explore and discover new good and bad sides off them.

She was glad to skim through the school syllabus when Airlia asked her next question.

" Hm...I guess I'll be good at muggle studies since .. you know..if only it wasn't an elective." She didn't need to finish the sentence " I can't wait for flying classes though! In the muggle world, the only way we could fly is in an airplane, helicopter or jet. None of them are as fun as flying on a broom " She winced when she thought about her experience on an airplane. God, she hated flying on those.

" You must have a green thumb then if you're looking forward to Herbology. " she didn't mean it in a bad way at all " I'm actually interested in learning that too, but we have to take care of plants right? I love plants..but I just can't seem to keep them alive " she reminisced the time where she took care of her first succulent.

" Haru was his name. It means ' spring ' in Japanese. " she smiled as sweet memories flood her mind. Then she let out a rather dark chuckle before saying in a dead tone: " Ironic that he died when spring came "

" I tried to learn as much as I can about plants though. I'm more interested in the language of flowers. If you want to know the meaning of your favorite flower then don't hesitate to ask me " She offered with a smile. With this, she can know what flowers Fumiko wants to buy for Airlia.

" Astronomy sounds cool! Did you study it yourself? What about a Telescope? Do you have one in your house?" genuinely interested in what Airlia has to say, she didn't notice her legs cross folding on her seat. Her back bent as she placed her head on her hands that were rested on each side of her knees, gleaming curiosity sparkled in her dark brown eyes.

Like a child waiting to be told a story.