@May Moonstar

September 1, 2020

This was all highly unusual to the young girl. For one, she had just gone through a wall. Logically, this didn’t make sense. Walls were supposed to be a very sturdy object that one could not just pass through, but Lea- and countless other students and adults- had done it. Many of them, in fact, acted as though this might have been something normal and ordinary.

Completed perplexed, the brown-haired girl would just stand there, hands loosely gripping her trunk, trying to figure out what had happened. Perhaps it was just playing with how light was perceived. That was something she could at least wrap her head around, deciding that she’d put a little more research into this unusual way onto Platform 9 3/4s. Brown eyes would blink a few times, brought back to reality by the sounds of the train nearing. “Hopefully this is a decent school... despite everything,” she muttered, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to come to a stop.

Brown eyes would scan the inside of the train, heaving her trunk upwards as it seemed to grow heavier in her arms. She’d have to stop soon- preferably in one of the cabins that wasn’t nearly as filled. A quick glance into one of the compartments would show no one, so the eleven year old quickly slipped inside. She froze almost immediately, though, finally noticing that there was indeed another person here. It took her a few moments, but the young girl realized that she recognized the girl. May- her cousin... or second cousin. Or something- cousins. There was a pretty obvious difference between the girl with a stranger and the girl with a cousin, almost instantly relaxing into her more peppy self.

"Hello May! You... go to Hogwarts?" The older girl had never told Lea this.

@Lea Hirsch

May took a deep breath as she entered platform nine and three quarters with her sister, Vanessa. It was her second year at Higwarts, and one could say that her first year wasn't pretty exiting. No, wait- it had been very exiting. There was the Masquerade Ball- a event she hadn't attended but had been, of course, very informed of the situation. Then, there had been the common room fire, a accident (if you could call it 'accident') that May had attended, and had bruised and burned a big amount of students....and there it was- the Blossom Ball. May had helped a Hufflepuff, made a enemy, and her partner had forgotten about her completely. May hadn't been hurt, which was ok, but seeing Anastasia Beckett, a girl she had met before the event and had taken quite a charm, being aflame had traumatized her somehow.

There had also been the summer camp, another event that had been short, but traumatizing for the little Hufflepuff, for she had, for once in her life, slapped her best friend and got her first detention- nothing much, probably just scrub the floor the Muggle way- and had, maybe forever, lost her childhood friend.

Not wanting to admit that she was scared of the new school year that was just starting, May waved her sister goodbye and entered a empty compartment. She pursed her lips and frowned, a gesture that meant that she was worried, and opened up her trunk as she took out her diary and began writing in it. That was something that made her feel better in stressed moments.

A few mintutes had passed, when she heard a very familiar voice. Literally familiar.

""Hello May! You... go to Hogwarts?"

May slowly looked up from her diary, and shut it closed, as a small smiled formed her lips. It was her cousin-second cousin to be exact, from the Hirsch line.

"Lea! I-I thought I was the only one! Apart from Vanny- wow!" she gasped, and invited her to sit down. "You didn't tell me you went to Hogwarts! Well, it's a long time since we saw each other- I mean, I'm so happy!" May exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. She hadn't seen her cousin for a long time and didn't actually talked to the Hirsch family line much, thought May was sure that her father was in contact with them. Before Lea could take a peek out of the little book May had in her hands, she placed it into her trunk, where it belonged.

@May Moonstar

"Yeah, me too! Wait- Vanessa went here too? Wow." They never told her anything about this school- but then again, Lea wasn't allowed to tell her friends that she was going to a school for magic. It had been part of why the young girl didn't trust the school, although she wasn't going to tell her cousin who seemed to have liked this school. After all, May's sister had been here for seven and May hadn't decided to transfer or anything. There was a small part of her that wondered if the school might be a good school, but the thought quickly vanished.

"I just learned this summer- plus they were pretty secretive about the whole thing. Didn't want me to tell my friends or anyone. But it has been a while! How are you doing? How's Vanessa?" There was a lot to talk about, especially considering that May actually knew the school. And while Lea might not like having to go to Hogwarts, it was still pretty important that she actually knew where her classes were and how the school worked. The eleven year old knew a little, but she hadn't bothered to read Hogwarts, A History, so most of what she knew came from other wizards and overheard conversations.

May's book was gone pretty quickly, only noticed once she was in the act of putting it away. Lea didn't mind all that much, although that did remind her of a quick courtesy. "Oh, do you mind if I join you?" The brown-haired girl didn't really know if May wanted her own space or not, but it seemed important to ask- even if they were cousins.

@Lea Hirsch

Something people must know was that May didn't like secrecy. But she had to keep everything a secret when she entered Hogwarts, for she had been clearly told that the magical world must be revealed to any Muggles, and May had kept her promise. Her parents too, had clearly been very strict from telling any of their Muggle friends about this world, but for them it was easy. They were pure-blooded Muggles.

"Yeah, me too! Wait- Vanessa went here too? Wow."


A chuckle escaped the Hufflepuff's lips and she mentioned to her cousin that her sister went to Ilvermorny school. "It's a magical school, like this one, but in America. Didn't you remember that Vanessa spent most of her life with my mothers side grandmother in Washington?" May then rolled her eyes jokingly and gave Lea a smile. It was odd for May to have fun with a family member. But Lea was the definition of fun. They were both very shy, thought not to each other, and May considered her more of a friend- they didnt see each other as normal cousins do -, a playful partner from childhood, somebody that she could tell most of her secrets- well, most of them.

The thought of telling Lea that she knew about the magical world before being invited to Hogwarts was nauseous. May had kept her word to Ivy, and even thought they weren't talking anymore she would keep her word until the end. Thought she would be able of telling Lea, now that they were both witches, the thought of Ivy made her sick and she had decided not to talk about it. One day, Lea would know that small secret, but that day was not today.

"I just learned this summer- plus they were pretty secretive about the whole thing. Didn't want me to tell my friends or anyone. But it has been a while! How are you doing? How's Vanessa?"

My, that girl was so full of questions! But May was going to answer them patiently, since she understood the necessity of asking things- after not seeing each other for a long time. "Yeah, Mother and Father are also very secretive, thought Vanessa tells all her friends about it, well, wizarding friends. She's very happy that I'm a witch, since she was it also- I mean, we're both witches...." May had tried skipping something that she had been trying to tell Lea for a while. Well, since she entered the compartment. But it had just bursts out: "Mother is very sick." she said. She pressed her eyes closed, and tried not to cry. She wasn't very close to her mother, thought Eloise Moonstar was a strong woman. Very strong indeed, she had suffered a lot of periods of sickness, and had gone through them well, thought the Muggle doctors thought otherwise. Everybody now thought she was going to be dead sooner or later.

"She has pneumonia, and the doctors don't know what to do. Mother is very strong, thought she has never been so-so sick! I mean, everybody thinks she is going to die, and Vanessa is trying to help out, since she is a magical healer, but you know, my Mother is a Muggle, it's so stupid, the difference-" May stopped dead and her lips moved but nothing came out. Didn't Lea know this piece of information? Hadn't May's aunt told her? She nodded as the first year asked to sit down. She would need some company, after all.

@May Moonstar

"I suppose you never know. Maybe she was just in Washington for the summer. Certainly seems like a trip, though." The girl smiled happily. Even though she hadn't been away from her friends for all that long, the young girl already missed them. Probably more so because they couldn't know where she was going or why. It seemed really unfair to her friends- and to herself. "Magical schools are all over it seems."

She trusted Hogwarts a little more due to that fact- but just the tiniest bit, it still seemed like a weird "school." The benefit of this "school," though, was being able to see her cousin again, which was nice. Brown eyes seemed to glow slightly from happiness and laughter, a smile across her face.

It faded soon after.

"What?" No one had told her this. Her mouth was agape, eyes filled with disbelief and sadness. This wasn't something May should've had to deal with- especially at the age of twelve. It took her a moment of simply trying to accept the fact that May's mother- her aunt?- was sick, before the girl leapt to attention. She quickly closed the compartment door, leaving her trunk where it had been set down in the middle of their little space. The brown-haired girl quickly sat next to May, wanting to give the older girl a little bit of comfort of having someone by her side.

"No one told me. I- I'm so sorry, May. Vanessa should be able to heal her, even if your mother is a muggle." There was a moment of hesitation, before the eleven year old wrapped her arms around May. The second year needed comfort, something that Lea could try to provide as best she could. "She's got two daughters that are wizards. You'll all be able to help her out." But- the first year didn't believe in magic. But she wasn't focusing on that problem right now, instead focusing on May. The girl didn't want to see any of her family members sad. Plus, her cousin had already said that her mother was strong- hopefully this would all blow over and they'd be able to make a fast recovery.

"Will- will they be able to tell you if she's okay when you're at Hogwarts?"

@Lea Hirsch

The tears were falling freely now, thought she didn't sob at all. She just looked at her shoes, as the tears fell from her eyes to her lap, her skirt drying them out. She knew she mustn't cry. But it was useless to pretend that she felt immensely worried, even if Eloise Moonstar and May weren't very...well...they weren't the classic mother and daughter relationship.

"I'm sure nobody told you. what about your mother? I'm sure Father sent them a call, or something, telling them about the situation. I don't like secrets." she said. But she was changing the conversation. She didn't want to worry Lea more than she already was, even if May hadn't told her everything. <It isn't fair,> May thought. <I couldn't even say sorry to her, and she is sick now. Dad can't pretend. He's worried sick, just like me.>

May smiled softly as Lea wrapped her in a very Lea-like hug, something that helped her feel much better. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and the second year gave her a small smile.

"Will- will they be able to tell you if she's okay when you're at Hogwarts?"

Such a simple question, that May burst out laughing. May didn't know why, but that question made her feel a lot better. The thought of the beautiful owls in the owlery, perhaps, were one of the motives. "Why, of course. The Owls will deliver letters from my mother, my sister, and probably my father, for they are the "postman's" in the wizarding world. Didn't you know?" but then, May remembered that Lea was Muggle-born and a first year, something that made her know...well...almost nothing. "Ask any questions, Lea. From now on, I'm one of your Hogwarts teachers."

@May Moonstar

"They didn't tell me anything. But now that you mention it, Mom had seemed a little more anxious. I had just thought-" that it had been because Lea was going to a completely new school. Not that her aunt was sick. It seemed like a terrible thing to deal with, especially when one was going to a boarding school. One couldn't just see their parents everyday... unless they worked at Hogwarts, she supposed. She hoped that both May and her mother would be okay.

The young girl felt a little better when her cousin offered her a small smile. It seemed as though she might've been helping just a bit.

And then May started laughing? The younger girl tilted her head curiously, feeling her cheeks turn red. "No?"

"Oh, alright. Owls seem like such a strange bird to choose to deliver mail. But I don't think that's important. Umm, they were selling brooms? And, uh, there was lots of yellow, green, blue, and red. And weird names on them? I think the wizard helper person tried to explain it, but I wasn't paying attention and it was confusing." She wouldn't note that she hadn't been paying attention attention because she didn't want to come to this school or that she still didn't believe it was real and that really she should be back with her friends. It was nice to meet up with May, and it certainly didn't happen often. Plus, asking questions would hopefully bring the focus off of the ill mother, something neither of them needed to think about right now.

"Oh, and what should I be expecting from this school?" This seemed like the most important question, really.

@Lea Hirsch
Im so sorry for the late response! I'm a total procrastinator! I'm super sorry!

"I know," May said, "You're going to a new school. Plus it's magical. It's very difficult for our parents to...you know..." May shrugged, not knowing how to complete the sentence. Hogwarts could be difficult sometimes, when it wasn't fun. Especially when all of these events were happening, thought Lea would know about them sooner or later.

Then, Lea was talking about brooms. But May couldn't understand a word, for she was talking about blue, red, and probably all the colors of the rainbow. May blinked, confused, but then, she re,e,breed. The Hogwarts houses! "Yes!" the Hufflepuff said, exited, "The Hogwarts Houses! Yeah, there's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I'm in Hufflepuff, and hopefully you will be there too. Let's see. Gryffindor is for the brave and show offs. I don't think you're one thought. And Ravenclaw is for the intelligent and witty. I wanted to be in Ravenclaw, but I got Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal and hard working. Then there is Slytherin, the house of the cunning. I think you'll make a good Hufflepuff, like me. Because..." she wanted to say "because you're shy" but she stopped there. She didn't want to hurt her cousin's feelings.

Then, Lea asked her what she would expect of this wizarding school. Thinking of Ivy, her long lost childhood friend, May said, "Well, there is a lot of very nice people. But you shouldn't expect too much of them Lea." she warned her. "A lot of people are selfish and cunning and-- well, evil. We don't want them to hurt your heart."

After that, May couldn't help but feel protective of the small girl. But she removed that feeling immediately. If Lea wanted to survive Hogwarts, she would have to be hard-- but also nice, and hard working, so that the girl would hopefully be in the same house as she.

@May Moonstar

"Yeah..." That was all the girl would add. It really didn't seem as though it required more words than it had already received. A soft way to end that and continue the conversation to something else.

The words still didn't quite make sense, but at least now there were definitions that went with the odd mix of letters. Lea was rather curious as to what May was going to say, but decided not to ask. Instead, the girl would debate what house she thought made the most sense for her. The small girl would glance up at the ceiling of the compartment, fingers tapping as she thought. "I think... I'd like to be Ravenclaw. Not that Hufflepuff sounds bad or anything," she didn't want to offend her cousin, "but intelligence seems really useful and I think I've got at least a little bit of that." Considering her grades in primary school, she would say so. But the young girl had also been taught that those grades really didn't mean much in the long run. A shrug would follow, although her mind found itself set on Ravenclaw. It certainly seemed like a good house for her out of all the options.

Brown hair would swish slightly, though, head tilting as May explained what other people at Hogwarts were like. Evil? That hardly seemed possible- it also made her intent of not being at this magical school stronger. Obviously she shouldn't be going to a school were people were evil. "Umm... alright. Are they truly.. evil or is that an exaggeration?" And yet, her cousin had never really seemed the type to exaggerate and this certainly didn't seem like the time to start.

"Is there some sort of way where I can... just not meet evil people?" That seemed like a little too much to ask, but maybe May had a few tricks as to how to spot someone who could be potentially evil.

No worries!

@Lea Hirsch
Late again...sorry

May understood that Lea wanted to be Ravenclaw. She knew how it must feel, to be chosen into the house of the intelligent and witty, and also hard working and creative. She had wanted to be there too, for it all sounded extremely interesting. Yet, Hufflepuff was very nice too, and she loved that the plant palace, the dormitory where she resided, had a lot of plants. "I don't blame you." she simply replied, with a small sigh. She was still smiling, thought the talk that they had before was still a come and go.

But then, May saw that Lea was a bit scared. But May didn't intend that. There had been a lot of nice people at Hogwarts that had helped her survive along the way. She was thinking of the betrayal of a friend, but not everyone was like that- "No! I mean-uh....there's obviously going to be bad people that won't like a sweet person like you...but there's also a lot of nice people that love kindness and loyalty, and I think your full of that." she smiled reassuringly, hoping that Lea wouldn't hint the small doubt that came into her voice.

A way to spot evil people? What did that mean? Ok, May could think of some things at least. Uh, maybe just don't walk up to everyone and just talk to them. Let the good people come to you." oh great. she thought, very philosophical.