First time PV Closed

Althea gave an absent smile as she shook Hanako's hand, accepting the conditions of the bet. She wouldn't mind or care if she was the loser, she had no pride either way.

"I accept, Mr Tone. Betting is fun with conditions like those," Althea accepted, pulling away from the handshake. She was quite pleased on how her first conversation with someone her age that wasn't her cousin from Asia went, and now it was her job to keep it alive.

Althea then relaxed against her seat and looked out of the window. They were going through a tunnel at the moment, so it was quite dark. She is a bit afraid of the dark, but she learnt to handle her fear. She stared out the window for a few more seconds, before turning back to Hanako.

"Sorry about that, Hanako. Back to the bet, yeah?" Althea chuckled, locking eye contact with the boy seated on the opposite side of her once again. She was excited to see how this bet was going to go, to be honest. Althea had never been allowed to bet, as muggles thought that betting was for adults since they thought all bets need money. Now that she was engaged with the activity of betting, she was excited to see the results of it.

He was satisfied to get him bet and can't wait to use this opportunity to get someone to do his bidding but still somewhat unnerved.

Did she not hear him when he basically told him to ask him out in 3 years? Does this mean she actually agreed? He found her presence, nice, but to think of her that way sent unpleasant shivers down Hanako's spine. Girls are weird and scary, Hanako doesn't understand them.

As the train went through a dark tunnel, he seized the opportunity to cringe and showed a sour face to the girl. Whom, was fortunately too focused outside the window to notice.

Under the lack of light, he still managed to see her braided hair faced towards him. Why was she so focused outside if there was nothing to see?

Hanako had to blink multiple times when a new ray of sunshine filled the compartment once more that he even rubbed them. Perhaps focusing too much on mundane things was a mistake on his part.

"Sorry about that, Hanako. Back to the bet, yeah?" he heard her laugh but his eyes were too blurred with bright visions of unexplainable colors.

" Yes. Bet. Indeed " he mumbled, still rubbing his eyes hoping to get his vision back. Once he did, he let out a short sigh of relief. He took a moment to appreciate his ability to see before turning back towards his compartment buddy again.

" Well, just like we agreed. Winners get to make the loser to something they probably don't want too, but it's more fun when they don't want too so hopefully it's something they don't want to do". What a mouthfull, he thought. " I bet you get in Ravenclaw and you bet I'll get in Slytherin. If we both lose this bet, then I suggest we both have a tea party and laugh about it. Preferably, the tea party ends with another bet~"

" You seem to be excited with these sorta bets " he pointed out, a carefree smile on him " Done these things before? Perhaps you're a fan of quiddich? You did say you were a half-blood. Were you more exposed to the wizarding side of the world, or the muggle? "

He was referring to the book she was tapping on non-stop the moment he started a conversation. It was a wild guess, but he could've sworn they saw the same book at his house. His mother made sure any items from the magical world was free from their penthouse before Hanako turned out to be magical himself.

"Well, I never seen quidditch. My mother forbidden my father from bringing me to see quidditch games fearing that it would make me lose my feminine features," Althea admitted, staring at Hanako with a chuckle, "I discovered bets when I went to Asia to meet my mother's side of the family. They have a thing called 'The world cup' in the muggle world, and I saw how betting worked when my relatives had bets on who would win."

To tell the truth, Althea was immersed in muggle culture more. Her mother made her learn Chinese traditional writing and dance, she also never got to see magic until she was five. She never got to see magic or even test out a broomstick like Alex did until she was about seven. H*ck, she had only seen magic for the first time when Alex's mother done some healing magic on her scratches when she got injured on one of their play dates when she was four.

"Quick question, business pal, do you have a friend going to Hogwarts too? I actually seen magic for the first time because of my friend's mother," Althea asked with a hint of curiosity. If Hanako was one of the wealthy half-bloods, he should have some connections with other wizarding families. Besides, Althea wanted to see if she could make the boy spill some dirt on other children if they were starting to attend to Hogwarts this year too. If said people treat her badly, she would have some dirt on them to get revenge. Though, Althea wished it wouldn't come to that. She hated hurting people, physically and emotionally. Rumours were nasty, but in order to defend herself, she learnt sometimes it was better to not be a push-over.

Her reply had made the boy laugh. " Lose your feminine features you say? She was kind enough to say there was any, to begin with, I see~" he joked, feeling more relaxed as the conversation goes on.

He hoped the fact that she knew he would feel less inclined to talk to her if she was more polite than she now does not need to be said. He certainly did not want to explain it even if she asked.

He listened intently to her when she talked about her history with bets and her family, suddenly feeling something sting in his chest at the mention of her mother's side of the family. It must be nice to have a large family, even if they lived in another country.

Hanako would've had the same if his grandmother hadn't cut their ties with the one in Japan. They were a corrupted family from what he heard, and he admired his grandmother for doing such a thing. But the thought often wondered of how it would've been like to have such a large family to go back to. With that thought, he said almost too kindly: " Gotta love relatives like that, hahah".

Hanako raised an eyebrow at the girl's question, a coy smile adorning his face as the relief that she did not ask him about his family sank in. " 'Too' you say? I see you already have a close friend to start the year with. Should I prepare myself in case that friend of yours barges in soon?" Of course, he was joking. There was no way someone would actually barge in a compartment when the train was already moving. That's dangerously fun, but not recommended.

" Hmm? A friend? " Lei immediately came to mind, but he dismissed the thought " No, ma'am. I don't have such dangerous things." He wasn't lying. Lei was nothing but a companion that deemed himself useful to be in Hanako's circle.

" But if you wanted to get to know our fellow first years, then I'd be happy to comply~ "

His face turned serious for a second " If you win the bet of course. I don't give valuable information just like that " his smile returned to the cheeky one he had been wearing since the train ride started.

" Forgive me if I misunderstood your question. I don't trust quick questions as innocent as that, business pal. Knowing a lot about a person can come in handy if they annoy you one day, don't you agree? I would pity you greatly if you do not. "

He worded his next words, almost softly. " We need to protect ourselves sometimes, right? Children can be really unpredictable. Get's worst as we grow, and sometimes just saying ' I forgive you ' doesn't sit well with me, to be honest. "

Unconsciously, his hand had his wand between their fingers, just twirling it around or just feeling the cherry wood and details on it.

He didn't know the information Althea wanted, but he could definitely get it. Other people's business wasn't something he sought after, but if he did, he'll usually ask Lei. A real pure-blood family that had connections with many others. Althea didn't need to know that. Just assuring her he knew enough was all that was needed.

As Hanako replied to her words earlier, Althea felt a strange feeling. She couldn't say it was empathy, it was more of pity. Hearing him talk about friends as 'dangerous things', seeing him react so strangely at the mention of family... Althea could not help but feel that something was bothering the boy. Was it her, or something else? She wanted to know what happened with him and his family, though she did not ask fearing that he would react badly to the question.

"We need to protect ourselves sometimes, right? Children can be really unpredictable. Gets worst as we grow, and sometimes just saying ' I forgive you ' doesn't sit well with me, to be honest," Hanako mumbled softly after a pause. Althea only stared blankly at him for a moment, before whispering her reply, "Yes. People can be cruel and difficult to deal with."

At this point, Althea felt extremely guilty. Hanako was the first person she spoke to around her age that was not Alex, and she cursed the conversation. Not only that, she made the guy feel bad, which was even worse than her being weird. 'Socialising is so hard, how does Alex do it?' Althea thought to herself with a mental facepalm.

Althea looked up at Hanako, mumbling, "I apologise that I made you feel uncomfortable. I am not exactly an extrovert and know what to say." She began tapping her fingers on the book's cover once again, breathing in a deep breath and exhaling. Communication used to be so much easier for her when she was a kid. She didn't know how people were at that time, all she had to consider back then was how to entertain and please others. She wished Alex was here to pick up the conversation like he usually does when she messes up around him, but she guess she has to pull through without him for now.

Alex was late. Terribly late. He had just arrived at the platform, covered in sweat, and the worst part was, he had no trolley to drag his luggage with. His parents were behind him, huffing and panting from chasing their son.

"Hurry up and go, Alex," Lilith urged him, catching up with him and her husband.They pushed him, yelling at him to quickly go on the train before it was too late, so he took his mother's advice of closing his eyes and dashed towards the railings.

A second later, Alex fell into the train. He sighed in relief and went into an empty compartment to catch his breath, throwing his stuff on the floor and sitting on the seat without a second to spare. "Darn it,I think I broke something." He groaned, taking a moment to calm himself. After fixing his hair and catching his breathd, Alex suddenly remembered a certain dark haired girl. He growled, face-palming as he forgot that Althea and him were supposed to meet up. So, he grabbed his stuff , and started striding across the train in search for his childhood buddy. Althea was bad at talking, so she must be alone..

Alex looked through the windows of each compartment as he walked, trying to spot a familiar dark haired girl. He was starting to give up when he heard a faint whisper. Althea. It must be her, definitely. Alex turned to face the compartment behind him, and sure enough , Althea was in there. To his shock, another boy with dark hair and eyes was also in there.

So, Alex trusted his guts and immediately swung open the door. He peered inside and stepped forward, saying, "Hey Thea and white-cracker dude I have never met before. Budge over so I can enter, everything hurts-"

Hanako took a second to blink at the girl's response, slight panic seeped into his system, despite his calm and collected face.

What the hell would he have said to dampen her mood this much? Well, it was his nature to talk about certain ' rather not talk about ' topics too nonchalantly. At least, he knew Althea was true, a kind one. And he made a vow, not to associate too much with kind people.

Maybe it was too early to call her that, the word he was looking for was lack of self-confidence. He was always hanging around Lei, who didn't know the definition of ' lack of self-confidence '. Hanako himself is a rather confident person. The same thing goes for his family, being quite up there in that social standing. With his mom's bank, and dad's business and being a Tone and all.

Understanding how people could not talk as free as the wind, confused the Japanese boy. Althea seemed like a living example of that, and though it did scare Hanako a bit, he was slightly intrigued.

He decided to switch seats. Now he was seated a few spaces from Althea on her side of the compartment, his honey brown eyes scanned her like she an odd-looking statue. A statue that both confused, and fascinated him.

Althea was a fun one to talk too, he wanted to say. He wasn't saying it to make her stop sulking such mundane things when she was fine just the way she is. Hanako, as insensitive as he can be sometimes with his words, he was honest. And Althea thinking he was uncomfortable was down-right insulting to his ' chill ' image.

" I - d - i - o -t " he sang to her beautifully, despite his insensitive insult. And he was about to say more, before being rudely interrupted by a random kid, crashing the silence with a loud bang. The sudden sound of the compartment door opening was enough to startle Hanako, but the best he did was flinch.

He stared at the white boy, now standing near the door and demanding entry. The one that nicely addressed Althea, while Hanako was insulted. A smile appeared on Hanako's previously blank face.

Not only was he glad he was saved from talking about his feelings, but he was insulted as well. It sounded odd, but the way this white kid insulted him, it was almost like Lei was here. That just sent a jolt of nostalgia but of course, Hanako refused to admit he missed his companion.

Even if, part of him wished he remembered to lock the door.

" Oh my, I'm assuming this is the friend you mentioned before? What a dramatic entry, sir. Like a prince saving his princess from the evil warlock~" he teased the two in a playful tone. " Praise to you, sir knight, for searching for your friend when we're all on a moving train. And you look like you're in quite a hurry " he snickered, referring to how tired and hasty the boy looked.

" Well, we can't have you standing now, can we? Alas, this evil warlock wishes to stay next to this kid-" he pointed to Althea "-and I certainly don't want to waste my energy to get back to my previous seat. But please, sit across us stranger. Let me see more or that exhausted face of yours as it slowly fades. "

He gestured Althea's friend to sit, as he muttered to Althea " You both just love to surprise me, don't you?" he lightly joked before averting his attention back to her friend.

" Pleased to meet a fellow child in suffering~" he beamed brightly "- I'm Hanako Tone, a friend of your friend, Althea. Our friendship is purely business so please, no need to see me as an enemy. I am simply a kind soul, at your service~ " he smiled while he lightly bowed down to the child.

When Althea saw Hanako's calm face change just a little bit just now, she was one second away from apologising once more when suddenly, Hanako got up and just sat down next to her. This surprised her, confused her, and scared her. She was unsure of whether he was gravely insulted or feeling any other emotion, and she was about to ask him about that when Hanako spoke.

"I-d-i-o-t," Hanako told her simply, voice as smooth as silk and light as a feather. It sounded more like he was singing the words as if they were part of a song, reminding her of the guzheng performances she had seen before. Soothing yet firm.

Althea's eyes widened at this. Even though it was an insult, it was strangely mild. It didn't sound hurtful and that was rare, considering Hanako's personality from the first moment she met him. In fact, all of her discomfort of being in this conversation partially slipped.

Despite his language and facial expressions, Althea always found Hanako a person who was confident and his words often both scare and amuse her. His presence somehow makes her confidence level a tad but higher, for an unknown reason. The Japanese boy reminded her of Alex, who was a great speaker with a flair for dramatics which suited her preferably awkward personality that needs saving most of the time. Thinking about it now, was Alex at the station earlier-?

At that exact moment, the door was slammed open and speak of the devil, Alex in his sweaty and dramatic glory. She stared at Alex from the second he entered, and she noticed that for once he packed light and didn't bring enough snacks, clothes, and any other products and supplies which a whole battelion could survive on. Althea, who was both happy and shocked to see him barge in, was speechless. To say that she was grateful wasn't exactly wrong, but she felt extremely bad that she forgotten about Alex. It seems like Hanako flinched at the dramatic entry, but he regained his composure and ability to speak a bit quicker.

Smiling, Hanako greeted him, " Oh my, I'm assuming this is the friend you mentioned before? What a dramatic entry, sir. Like a prince saving his princess from the evil warlock~ Praise to you, sir knight, for searching for your friend when we're all on a moving train. And you look like you're in quite a hurry." The boy snickered a little at the end of that, and Althea, too, let out a choke of a laugh. Indeed, Alex looked a bit sweaty and his usual styled brown hair was currently spiked up at certain angles.

" Well, we can't have you standing now, can we? Alas, this evil warlock wishes to stay next to this kid-" Hanako then said as he pointed to Althea, "-and I certainly don't want to waste my energy to get back to my previous seat. But please, sit across us stranger. Let me see more or that exhausted face of yours as it slowly fades." Althea was surprised when he said he wanted to stay next to her, even though she caused him the trouble to move in the first place. But, she didn't argue and turned to face Alex, and said with her now-regained composure and slight smile, "Hello, Alex. Sit and fix your hair, you looked like you got run over by the Knight bus."

Hanako then proceeded to introduce himself, so Althea, being the self-conscious person she was, kept silent. She continued to stare at her childhood partner in crime, giving him the 'Don't-even-think-about-talking-about-your-ambition-of-driving-a-tank' look. Yes, her childhood friend adores tanks and wants to drive one.

Althea knew better than to doubt her saviour when it came to socialising, but she was the manners if he was the words in a conversation, so, she decided that the look was a bit necessary.