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"G!" Someone called out. Well, okay, not just someone. It was Alayna Williams, Gia's best friend. "You coming?" Alayna was standing with a bunch of other girls around their age—nine years old. Gia knew that her friend wanted her to come join them and play whatever game they were about to play, but the girl shook her head.

"No, I'm good," she called back. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Maybe later, though. . ." Just because she didn't want to play with them right at that moment, it didn't mean she wasn't going to want to join in later. Once she saw Alayna nod, Gia turned back around so she was facing the gate surrounding the school property again.

Although it was kind of an odd place, this was Gia's favorite place to be on the school grounds. There were many reasons for this, but it was mainly just because she loved looking out at the big, wide world beyond the small school building she spent most of her time in. There was just so many places out there, and she couldn't wait to leave her school years behind and be able to explore all of it. This is how Gia was: an adventurous soul.

A cool breeze blew around her, gently ruffling her hair. The nine year old smiled to herself and hummed a soft tune that she remembered her mother singing before. . . A frown appeared on her face when the girl thought about this. Even though her mother had passed away six years ago, it still hurt when she thought about her. Having someone close to you die was not a wound that time could fully heal, no matter what people said. "I wish. . ." but she didn't finish. She knew what she had been about to wish for was not a dream that was going to come true, and what was the point of hoping for something that she knew would never happen?

Sighing, the young girl looked back over her shoulder at the area where Alayna was playing a jump rope game with the other girls in their grade. Maybe she should just go over there. . . Then, something caught her eye.

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Henry moved from his home and friends from godric hollow a few months ago to Liverpool where he knew no one and had no one there. His older brother; Arthur was at Hogwarts while his father was busy at the ministry as usual which left him and his twin sister; Annabeth to themselves most day's besides when their tutor came to gave them their lessons.

Luckily however their tutor came yesterday so they had a day off today and their father would be out a few weeks on ministry business which meant they had time to explore the city. However Henry was a bit bored alone so dressed in some jeans and short sleeve light blue shirt before grabbing a house key and placing it in his jean pocket and heading out of his house where he then boarded a train that brought him to Manchester.

His twin sister decided to explore Liverpool so he was alone which wasn't that odd to the boy as be wander down streets and through alleys until his eyes laid upon a school with a grate around it.

Henry approached the gate and figured that was a muggle primary or secondary school as he walked around the gate before stopping at the side and staring at wonder inside the gates when he heard a bell ring and school children run out for their break.

As Henry watched he wished to be on the other side of that gate as a few children turned and stared at him weirdly before whispering to their friends about the weird boy on the wrong side of the gate. Whom Henry ignored as he stood on the outside staring in and keeping to himself until a few of those kids decided to approach him, one certain muggle boy decided to shout to him " why are you on the wrong side? Are you a freak or something?" Still being rather shy and dealing with anxiety problems Henry decided to moved to a different part of the gate as the muggle boy was rather shouting toward his friends " that kid is such a freak, maybe that's why he doesn't go to school because no one wants to hang out with a freak like him!"

Henry ignored him as he walked closer to the entrance of the school still on the outside of the gate when another caught his eye but he didn't say or do anything as he stared in through the gate from the outside yet the boy was longing to be on the inside with the other; laughing and playing games but he was on the outside. On the other side of gate staring in at the others.

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What are they doing? was the first thought that spun around her brain demanding attention when Gia saw a boy yelling at someone. The second thought she had was: Who are they yelling at? Every other child she knew was in school right now, it didn't make sense for someone their age not to be. It was the law, wasn't it? Gia stood up to get a closer look, but by then the person they'd been taunting had left. Still, the nine year old was NOT about to let those boys get away with bullying someone.

A determined expression appearing on her face, the girl ran over to the group of children a little ways in front of her. When she got there, Gia placed her hands on her hips and glared at them. "Why were you guys yelling at that person?" she asked. The boys exchanged glanced with the child who seemed to be their leader, but didn't reply. "Seriously? You don't even have an answer?" A few of them frowned at her, but still none would take her bait. "Hmph. I always knew boys like you weren't that smart," Gia finally said, and turned around to leave. This made them mad.

"We ARE smart!" One called after her, but just to annoy them, she didn't do anything to acknowledge that they'd even spoken. "Plus, that guy is a freak. He doesn't go to school with us. He's probably home schooled!" Gia rolled her eyes, and couldn't help but call back a reply over her shoulder.

"Yes, well, he's lucky then. I would rather not go to school with you either!" the girl knew that the boy they'd been bullying probably had some other reason for not being in school with the rest of them, but at the moment she really did envy him. The other kids she went to school with—mainly the boys—were just horrible. Like, seriously, they bullied a poor kid just because he wasn't in school like them! Who does that? By now, Gia was already back at her rock, and the nine year old sat down in the same position as she'd been in earlier. She knew she would pay for what she'd told the bullies, but it didn't really matter. She got in trouble all the time anyway, so. . .

Just then, Gia noticed someone lurking outside of the gate. Was that—had he really not left yet? If it was who she thought it was, that had been a bad move on his part. "Hey," she called out, loud enough for him to hear but soft enough that the other children wouldn't notice. "What are you doing here?" She actually was curious, because most people she knew would have left directly after being bullied—especially if they were actually able to leave the school grounds, like this boy was.

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Henry placed his hands in his jean pockets as he stood at the entrance of the school staring in at the kids who ran around and chatted with their friends during the break. The 10 year old watched with wonder at the scene since he never went to school actually he did go to school before his mum died back in godric hollow but even after he stopped going to that school Henry still had friends in godric hollow who he could talk to and hang out with.

The scene in front of him made him think of his "best friend" Scarlett Aden who was back in godric hollow, she and him were close friends and he loved hanging out with her but after the move Henry could only write letters to her and soon they would drift a part until meeting again at Hogwarts "accidentally" again but that's not until later of course.

Henry stood at the grate entrance staring in not expecting anyone to speak to him, when he overheard that muggle boy speak loudly to his friends " don't listen to her, we are smart guys," Henry looked elsewhere but still heard as the boy spoke loudly to his friends " and who cares why he's not here, the point is that kid isn't here and didn't even respond to us so he's a freak. I hope that freak doesn't go to our school soon, come on guys let's go," Henry carefully looked back at the group as they walked toward the side of the building and away.

The boy wished he was 17 then he could have made them pay for their words but he was still not of age and only next year be attending hogwarts with his twin at least he hoped since for as far as knew Annabeth still hadn't done any accidental magic yet.

Henry was lost in his head that he jumped a bit when someone addressed him and he looked to fine a girl, maybe a year younger with brown hair and blueish almost greenish eyes talking to him. Henry being shy and dealing with anxiety not to mention his stutter that sometimes was showed in sentences stared at that girl not saying a word.

He was confused by her question as he looked around a bit before giving the girl a tiny smile and almost whispering "hi," he then thought of her question but still didn't understand it. A part of him wanted to run or leave but he stayed there as he watched the girl for a few more moments before saying " what do you mean by your question?"

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At first, it didn't seem like the boy had heard her. Instead of answering, all he did was stare at her, which made Gia raise an eyebrow. Clearly he was a little shy, and so she opened her mouth to speak again when he finally whispered something. It was so quiet, the girl almost didn't hear it. Luckily though, she did, and she gave a small wave in return. "Hi. . ?" There was another beat of silence, and then the boy spoke again, asking a question this time. Gia shrugged at him, not really sure what the confusing part of her question was. After a few seconds though, she realized what he must not have understood and tried to explain it.

"I was just asking why you hadn't left yet, that's all. When it became clear that even this wasn't enough of an explanation, she hurried to go on. "If you hang around too long, someone else will see you and start yelling 'freak' again. You don't want that to happen, right? And oh, don't worry. I won't shout at you like that—it's just plain rude." Gia hoped that he believed her. She didn't like talking to people who didn't speak very much, it felt to her as if she were talking to herself, or even just empty air. If she could get the boy to open up to her a little, though, and maybe even convince him that she really wasn't going to start bullying him, then maybe that wouldn't happen. . .

"Oops, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," Gia realized, a small grin slipping onto her face. "I'm Gia," she told him. It was a little awkward introducing herself to someone on the other side of a gate, but it would have to do introduction-wise. "What's your name?" she asked, and waited for his reply. It was always kind of fun finding out what someone's name was, especially with the little game the nine year old liked to play by herself—or with Alayna—when she met someone new. While playing this game, she would try and guess the other person's name before they told her, and then see if she was right. Then, based on what their name really was compared to her guess, the girl would give herself a score of one to ten. It was a little bit of an odd game, she knew, but there were lots of things about her that others thought of as weird.

So, as she waited for the boy to answer, Gia tried to guess in her head what his name could be. Maybe James? she thought to herself, unsure. Ooh, maybe William, he could be a William. . . It was harder to guess a name this time compared to the other times she'd played the game, mostly because she had only just met the boy and really didn't know anything about him besides that he was shy. There was also the fact that she wasn't the best at guessing things like this in general, and she knew that from the other times she'd played with Alayna. Gia's best friend was much, much better at the game than she was. . .

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Henry stared at the girl on the other side of the gate as he watched her and talked and listened. He couldn't stop but get a feeling that while she seemed social and like the others almost, there was still a rather quiet aspect about her one that Henry couldn't help but like especially now after he moved away from his home and everything he knew and all of his friends and his best friend only a year before starting at Hogwarts.

Henry looked back at the boy's before turning to the girl and the ten year old took a moment to think and breath for a bit to clam his nerves before saying " I don't care what they call me, it's not like they can get to me or anything. And plus I rather be a 'freak then like them any day," Henry gave the girl a small smile and his words felt odd to him while yes he didn't care what they said for the most part since a part of him did care. He didn't want to tell her the true meaning of his word freak which meant magic but then again he found her as kind and quiet so he stayed.

Gia, that was her name and Henry couldn't help but wonder what she was being so nice to him and all. Henry stared at her for a moment and remembered his first meeting with Scarlett when she looked at him to see if he was a bully which he wasn't and a part of him now wanted to do the same thing that Scarlett did all those years ago. So Henry looked at her for a moment or two while thoughts rushed to his head on why she would talk to him and act so nice to him before guessing that she wasn't a bully only they he would say quite softly " I'm Henry Knight, it's n..nice to meet you Gia."

Henry looked at her for another moment and really didn't want to go like she had suggested instead he would say again " what do you learn in there?" pointing to the school behind her for a minute before putting his hand down and looking at her with a small smile on his face.

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The boy told her that he didn't really care about people calling him a freak, a lie that Gia could see right through in an instant. Well, maybe it wasn't a lie exactly, but it certainly wasn't the full truth. The nine year old had already opened her mouth to say something about it when he said something else that she agreed with fully. "Me too! I'd totally rather be called rude names than be like them," she told him. "They're absolutely horrible. And I spend most of every single day in the same class as them!" The girl laughed slightly. She knew she was being dramatic, but. . . on some days it really did feel as bad as she was making it sound. Because even though she put on a show of bravery most of the time, the things that they said to her—and others—made her walls crumble a little bit more each day.

Having completely forgotten about wanting to tell him that "of course being bullied bothered him, why wouldn't it," Gia waited in silence for him to introduce himself. During the couple of seconds before he replied, the boy looked at her as if he were trying to determine something about her. She was tempted to ask him once more what his name was, but she waited impatiently without saying a word. Finally, finally he replied, saying his name was Henry. "Henry. . ." she said, thinking. How would she score herself in this round of the name game she played? Well, the name Henry and the name William literally had no letters in common, so that was a big fat zero. Then, realizing that he was probably thinking that she was a little odd for murmuring his name and then not saying anything else, Gia quickly added: "That's a nice name. And it's very nice to meet you too!"

Then, Henry asked her what types of things she learned in school. This question reminded her that he didn't go to school—something she probably shouldn't have forgotten, since it was basically the thing that made them meet. "Oh, are you home schooled?" she asked, and then quickly hurried to add something else. "Is it interesting? It's probably better than being in school like I am, right?" The thought of answering his question had completely flown out of her mind a few minutes earlier, but that thought finally came back. "Oh! And we learn the normal things, you know, like math and english and stuff." Then, Gia tilted her head to one side, a curious expression appearing on her face. "Why, don't you learn the very same things?" It was an odd question to ask, she thought.

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The 10 year old looked at the girl on the other side of the gate, a barrier almost stood between them yet he felt like they were similar almost or on the same side. Henry watched as he asked if he was homeschooled, the boy never got it that but he heard the word before and figured he should say at however before he could she spoke again this time asking him if he liked it and assuming that it was better than being there. Henry looked in at awe on the place and couldn't imagine being stuck home all day doing lessons was better than that so he opened his mouth but quickly closed it again when hearing her speak.

The 10 year old was taught about the stature of secrecy so he knew he couldn't tell her the real meaning behind his question but he couldn't lie to the girl who was so nice to him either as he spoke " I guess I'm homeschooled, my twin sister and I get our lessons from home while my older brother attends a boarding school," he technically told the truth just not all of it about the boarding school as he continued " It's interesting I guess sometimes to easy but fine. Although I would rather study there, it seems fun," he pointed to the school behind her before looking again at her blueish almost green eyes.

" English, math, and what other stuff do you guys learn," Henry asked before brushing away his hair and tapping his legs quite quickly to ease his nerves as he spoke " well I learn mu- uh the normal stuff; english and math but I also have language, music, history almost, and other lessons that my older brother has in boarding school," again not lying just not saying the parts about magic as he spoke " don't you enjoy going to school? It seems fun but from what you told me it doesn't sound like you like it much Gia?"

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Right before she asked her question about him being home schooled, Gia thought she caught Henry looking at the school building behind her as if he would give anything to be inside there. The girl couldn't help but raise an eyebrow a bit when she noticed this, because she had no clue why anyone would ever want to go there. Still, she didn't say anything about it—at least not until the boy brought the subject up on his own. Then. . . well, then it was hard to keep her tone from sounding too surprised.

"Oh, believe me, you do not ever want to study there." Knowing he might be a little skeptical about how bad it could be, Gia crossed her arms in front of her chest in a defiant manner, an attitude that most people rarely dared to disagree with. "Like, seriously, even though there are some nice people there, the other students aren't the only problem. I mean, you're literally cooped up in that building all day, and everything you learn is SO boring! You've got to learn better stuff than we do here while you're at home." Actually, the girl had no way to be sure of this, but she was almost positive that any other school would be better than hers.

Then, the nine year old finally remembered to even acknowledge the rest of what Henry had told her. She had completely forgotten about it while she had been telling him all the horrors of going to school in Manchester like her, and so she hadn't said a single word about it before. "Oh! And you have an older brother and a twin sister? I have an older brother too! Ooh, can you and your sister, like, read each other's minds? I've heard that twins can do that. . . Then again, I'm pretty sure the person I heard that from wasn't super reliable, so. . . well, can you?" Gia waited expectantly for his answer, while at the same time trying to remember the exact person she'd heard that information from. Had it been her brother? Yes, that was possible, since Vance was totally the type of person to tell her random facts like that. Yeah, it probably had been him, she finally decided, then turned all of her attention back to the boy in front of her.

When Henry told her the things he learned while being home schooled, the young girl nodded. "Yes, I have a music class as well. What language do you learn? I really want to learn Italian, because my great-great grandparents or something came from Italy, but it might be kind of hard. I also do want to learn French. . . but that seems hard as well." After she said this, Henry asked her whether she liked going to school or not. This made her think for a little bit, since her feelings about learning this stuff were a little complicated. "I mean, well, it's not exactly the learning that I don't like, it's probably the students. But. . . I just have this feeling, and it makes me think that this stuff isn't super important. Really, how much help do you think multiplication would be if you got captured by a dragon?" The girl had always had a bit of a wild imagination, and this was the first random example of a situation in life that she could think of—even though she probably wouldn't be seeing any dragons in her lifetime.

"I guess. . ." Gia thought a bit more. "Well, I guess I just feel like I'm meant for an adventure. And somehow school is getting in the way of that." The nine year old laughed then, knowing she must sound crazy to him. "I know, I know, all my rambling is probably making you think I'm mad," she said to Henry, and then quickly turned the conversation back to him. She was beginning to feel more comfortable around the boy, but it didn't mean she needed to share everything she thought with him. . . yet. "What about you? Do you like school?"

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As the girl complained and spoke rather poorly about the brick building enclosed in the metal grate, Henry couldn't help but stare at it and feel almost a longing to attend the school as well even though he knew that his father's response would be no and depending on his mood maybe a lengthy lecture why Henry couldn't attend the school full of kids which he was sure his anxiety, stutter, and panic attacks would in a way be included that couldn't mean the ten year old couldn't dream of attending it despite his limited social skills and interactions.

As the talk turned to siblings, Henry looked back at her mix of greenish and blueish eyes as he smiled a bit before speaking " you have a older brother to? That's wicked, are you g..guys close? My brother and I are b..bloody close with each other even through there's a eight year age d..difference," as the boy became more comfortable around Gia his stutter became more visible since he hadn't learn to control yet and wasn't focus on his anxiety anymore it was a bit more prominent as he continued " no we can't read each other's m..minds. My twin sister and I aren't that c..close with each really b..but I heard of twins who c..could that though."

Henry smiled toward the girl as he was comforted around her and enjoyed talking with her as he wished this conversation would never end. Their concerns bounced back toward classes and school as Henry listened to her and nodded before speaking " what instruments do you learn in your music class? I practice or learn violin, piano, and voice while my twin does guitar, voice, and Flute.
Then we both learn german, french, and Italian but now were currently learning Arabic and Russian," reemerging now she wanted to learn french or Italian Henry spoke " I could teach you French or Italian if you want? They aren't that hard depending how you learn it."

Henry took a step closer toward the gate as he listened to girl and speak and enjoyed their dynamic so far. She spoke and he listened, he already didn't talk much so he enjoyed this and might have laughed in his head slightly at her mention of never seeing a dragon but then another part of him wanted to tell her that they were real and show one keeping those thoughts to himself of course.

When she finished and turned a question to him, Henry laughed lightly a little before speaking " I don't mind your rambling, I actually enjoyed it anyway Gia," he would smile at her before answering her question on school " while I attended a mu- uh primarily school when I was 5 and 6 but then after a family incident I stop going with my twin and we started having our lessons at home," Henry chose to say family incident than the attack of his family that made him a werewolf and killed his mum as he smiled toward Gia before asking " do you have any hobbies Gia? Besides from school what do you like to do?"