journey of a thousand spells PV Closed

Anemone looked back at her parents. There was a sense of uneasiness between the three because of the strange circumstances, their daughter going off to a wizarding school they'd only just heard about, but because she was okay with it they tried their best to be okay with as well.

Her parents, who were separated but friendly, stood behind her as she readied herself to do probably the craziest thing she'd ever done in her life, run straight into a wall. Well, the plan was apparently to run through it but almost everything in her was telling her it wasn't possible and she would end up with a sprained wrist or ankle, or rose, in the end. They were all unsure about this as they stood in the middle of the nineth and tenth columns in the grand train station in London.

"They said there was no other way but...," muttered her father, rubbing the back of his neck.

Her mother shook her head. "And it would be foolish to lie, too much of my time was invested into this," she remarked in her thick Romanian accent.

Anemone gave them both a weary smile, knowing that if this worked out, she wouldn't be seeing them, and possibly hearing from them, for months, all the way up to Christmas. A pang in her heart spread throughout her body but she managed to keep her voice steady. "I love you, mom and dad." As she gave them both a hug she felt the pressure of her phone, which reluctantly gave to her father. "I'll try to find a way to let you both know that I'm alright."

"Hopefully it's not the owl mess. I feel like my fear of birds resurfaced," said her father, whispering the last part to her mother.

"Unfortunately it probably is." Anemone adjusted her hold on her cart. "Well, see you guys in...," She decided not to say the amount of months. "On Christmas! I think that's the first break, not sure what else they celebrate." She had to remember to be careful about what she said in public, since the wizarding world preferred to be hidden.

"La revedere, comori!" They all chimed as per their normal departures. It meant 'goodbye, treasures' in Romanian. And with that Anemone turned towards the column that somehow signified 9 3/4 and raced towards it with her eyes closed.

Seconds later the young wizard found her ears welcomed by the sound of a whistling train and hundreds of voices. She had to stop and gape for a moment at the eccentric variety of...things, from the garments, creatures, and the huge red freight itself. Anemone barely got a chance to take in everything before she heard cries that the train was getting ready to depart. She had to shake her head and focus, making her way to the Hogwarts Express.

A coach took most of her luggage, which was only a few, and she was left with her small, yellow backpack that carried some hygiene items, a sketchbook, a few books to read, and her wand. Anemone hopped onto the train and brushed passed students conversing vividly and playing around. She felt strangely comfortable in the setting, like she belonged. She had wondered if she would end up feeling like an outsider because she was so new to everything but this resembled her old school life so much except for the fact that she was riding on a train full of people with pointed hats carrying wands.

Anemone walked around for a bit until she decided to just choose to sit with a random person since she knew absolutely no one aboard. She noticed a timid girl with braids sitting alone. She cleared her throat to make herself known before saying, "Hey, I'm Anemone. Can I join you? I don't know who else to sit with, and you seem pretty nice." She offered her a friendly smile as she pushed her glasses up. She was wearing her black robe loosely over a green polo, black jeans, and a pair of worn white sneakers.

─────Sylvie startled and looked up when she realized someone was in her compartment and speaking to her. She played the lute a little more softly and considered stopping altogether—it was a little hard to concentrate on speaking to a stranger and playing at the same time.

“Of course you can join me!” she said, smiling brightly at the newcomer. “I’m Sylvie Hawthorne. My pa’s a wizard, but only him. What about you? I feel like so much of this stuff is so new—he never really brought me to wizarding places with him. I think it made him afraid because of… well… you know…” Sylvie trailed off and the music stopped without her realizing. If Anemone knew anything about the wizarding world, she would know about the Wizarding Wars, right? Even Sylvie knew about those, and her pa “didn’t like to talk politics”.

“Anyway,” continued Sylvie with a bit of a blush. “Don’t let me talk circles around you. My da says that I could drive a saint to cuss with all my chattering, and the kids at my muggle school were always telling me—” that I didn’t know when to shut up. With some real effort, Sylvie stopped herself again.

Without the music or her chatting to distract her, Sylvie was able to take a better look at Anemone. She was so pretty… Sylvie was caught up just staring at her for a little, admiring the softness and colour of her hair.

She couldn't help but be impressed with the girl's talent. Anemone had heard the music faintly over the sound of the train and voices of the passengers but she had been too distracted to really appreciate it. It was interesting how she seemed to be good at multi-tasking with her instrument, comfortable with talking and playing at the same time. Anemone knew how to play the french horn but not as if it were second nature.

The girl introduced herself as Sylvie Hawthorne and shared a little about herself, like how only her father was a wizard, and how he was fearful because of something that Anemone probably should know about but didn't. Anemone frowned a little. When she was being informed about the wizarding world she wasn't told anything particularly alarming, especially anything that would make her, or her parents, fearful of shopping in Diagon Alley or her attending Hogwarts. She wondered what kind of things happened in this peculiar society. Wizards were humans, too, and they had more power so they were bound to go to war just like the non-magic.

Sylvie blushed because how she was talking gregariously but Anemone didn't mind, it was actually a good distraction from the sense of anxiety she had because of all the new things she was being exposed, new things she was facing all on her own. She knew that she could take care of herself, and her parents trusted the wizards enough, but she was only eleven going away to a boarding school for months, so long from both of her parents. It was a little scary, she had to admit.

Even though the girl felt like she had been talking too much, or in circles, Anemone knew that she was no where as bad as some people she had met before who definitely didn't know when enough was enough. "It's alright," she chirped.

She sat down across from her new acquaintance. "Um, I think my parents are...muggles? I don't know why they call people that, it sounds kind of mean. They just can't do magic, and somehow I can. I was told one of my ancestors was a wizard, that's the only way I'm one now."

She noticed Sylvie regarding her and gave her a good look as well. She had beautiful blue blinkers and neat plaits hanging from the sides of her head. Even though there were stray hairs here and there it actually complimented her in a way.

Anemone listened to the hum of the train as it rolled along the tracks, glancing at the scenery passing outside for a moment before turning back to the girl. "What were you talking about when you mentioned your dad being afraid? I don't know that much about, uh, all of this." She waved her hand to emphasize that she literally meant everything they were partaking in. Just enough to keep me sane.

─────Sylvie felt reassured by Anemone. Everything about her felt soothing somehow. She seemed to really listen to Sylvie—not pretending to listen, but actually hearing her.

“Do you feel lucky?” Sylvie asked, genuinely curious. She’d known for a while that she had magic and was going to go to Hogwarts, and it had always been curiously neutral. It wasn’t that she wasn’t excited by magic or finally learning it; she had always intuitively weighed it against the loss of her usual life—her room with its gauzy curtains, her reading nook on the windowsill, her pony waiting for her to take him on a brisk trot across the rolling hills. Was it luck that had them sitting here across from each other, on their way to spending seven years away from all their friends and family? “I mean, do you feel lucky that out of all your family and your ancestors, you get to have magic? Or does it make you nervous? Or lonely? I feel sad to leave everything… but my best friend was going to a private boarding school anyway, so I would’ve been alone if I’d stayed. My village only has a primary school, so everyone leaves, one way or another.”

Nervously, Sylvie began playing the lute quietly again.

“I don’t know if I’m the right person to tell you,” Sylvie admitted. “I’ve only heard bits and pieces from my pa. But he said that there used to be a war between wizards. I don’t know too much about all the reasons… There was an evil wizard and my grandparents stood up to him so his followers…” Sylvie looked out the window. The scenery whipped past and the geography gradually changed as they moved north. “My pa came home and his whole family was dead. So he stopped doing magic and pretended all he could do was play music.”

It felt strange to say it out loud. It felt awful to say it to a muggle-born who should be feeling happy and excited about being on their way to Hogwarts.

Lucky? Now that she thought of it, Anemone hadn't really compared her current state to her non-magic family and friends. Only her parents knew the truth about what happened while the rest were just told that she had been accepted into a prestigious boarding school in Scotland. Some of them congratulated her but since it wasn't actually what happened how they were made to think she'd thought nothing about her situation other than that each day left her even more incredulous.

After realizing that she was indeed able to use magic Anemone had felt very excited and her parents had been in awe; they were very proud in the way they could be with their limited understanding. But she had never felt lucky. "...lucky, I guess that would make sense but actually..." She thought about it. "I think I just feel grateful. This is all so new to me still and I still feel unsure about what I'm getting into because I don't know much about anything. And my parents can't really be there for me because they're regular people..."

Anemone left some friends behind but not a best friend. It was something she never had before because no one has ever gotten that close before. Sylvie mentioned that her best friend went to a private school, and not this one, so she assumed that meant that the person was non-magic. Anemone was going to ask how much was the girl sheltered from the magic world but then Sylvie explained why her father was the way he was.

The young girl didn't really know what to say for a good while. It was heart-wrenching to hear about such death, especially a mass amount of it. Anemone hadn't experienced death that much in her own life, only a few great grandparents and her father's older brother. But losing one's entire family was just...devastating. Anemone wondered if that included Sylvie's mother but felt like that was too sensitive a question to ask.

"That's really sad," she sighed, her cheeks blooming with color as it did when she started to get emotional. But tears didn't come easy for Anemone. She only felt deep sympathy, hardly being able to imagine life with her loved ones. "Did you just grow up around non-magic people, then?" She hoped that meant that they could maybe relate on things that maybe others wouldn't, knowing that many didn't grow up using muggle technology in the magic society.

"Who was this wizard, and is he still around? Where are his followers? Why were they evil?" Anemone felt a little uneasy but as she adjusted in her seat she felt her wand poke her through her backpack and felt a rush of adrenaline; with this little stick she could possible do anything. One day she could become a great wizard and fight against the evil wizards and prevent things like what happened to Sylvie's family. It was really terrible what happened to her but now Anemone actually felt lucky about her heritage; she could use it to do good beyond the limits of ordinary people's imaginations.

Zelda pushed her luggage against the wall of the train compartment and sat on it panting as the train pulled away from Platform 9¾. She had only just made the train by the skin of her teeth. What would she have done if she had missed the Hogwarts Express on this, her very first year at Hogwarts? What would her mom say? Zelda pushed the unpleasant thought away from her as she looked around and decided where to go.

Some students were bustling up and down the corridor, but none of them seemed as lost as she was. Zelda was the only lost newbie around still faffling about with her luggage and not having a single clue where she ought to sit or go. This was the first train trip she was taking by herself and she hadn’t even a proper ticket to guide her anywhere, like the way she had seen her parents do when they went on family trips around the UK. The students she saw were also clearly at least second years and walked with the confident gait of people who knew exactly how the system worked and probably expected everyone else around them to as well, therefore not even sparing her a second glance.

Pushing her luggage in front of her, Zelda looked hopefully into the first few compartments she passed, hoping to find an empty one she could hide out in for the rest of the trip, or at least be the first person in there so she didn’t have to go through the awkwardness of being the stranger joining a group. She had no such luck however. The compartments in that particular carriage were mostly full and also full of older students chattering away with their friends.

As Zelda pushed her luggage on to the next car of the train, she found herself fleetingly wondering what a student in her position might do. Could she possibly hide out in a corner of the corridor somewhere for the whole trip? How long was the ride anyway? There was so much she didn’t know about this journey, whether it was this ride on the Hogwarts Express or this whole plunge into a world she hadn’t even known existed a year ago.

The first compartment Zelda peered shyly into seemed promising. There were only two students inside so it was comparatively empty, and they looked around her age. They also didn’t seem to be familiar with each other, judging from the slightly stiff way they held themselves and spoke to each other. Deciding to take a plunge, Zelda knocked on the door of the compartment and slid it open.
“I’m so sorry for barging in like this but if you don’t mind, might I join you guys?” she said, poking her head in. She dragged in her luggage and managed to find a space to squeeze it into. When she had done so, Zelda dusted off her hands and offered it in a handshake to her two new companions in the compartment.

“My name’s Zelda Lime, nice to meet you. New first year at Hogwarts and honestly this is my very first time traveling without my parents so I’m really rather lost. I was really just deciding if I should camp out in the corridor for the whole journey!” Zelda chattered away as was her wont in dispelling awkwardness during first meetings. She unravelled the scarf around her neck and tucked it away beside her on the seat. “Are either of you new here? Please say I’m not the only one!”

interacting with: @Sylvie Hawthorn, @Anemone Waddleath

─────Sylvie nodded at Anemone as she described how new everything felt, and how her parents couldn’t be there for her because they weren’t wizards. How strange that would feel! Soon Anemone would have this whole other world that she would understand that her parents wouldn’t. No hand-me-down books or supplies to use, no advice about which stairwell to avoid or what rules could absolutely not be broken. If Sylvie had felt sheltered from the magical world, it was nothing compared to Anemone’s situation.

Sylvie watched as Anemone’s face reddened with emotion at her story. She felt touched by this girl’s emotion and empathy. How lucky it was that she had chosen this compartment to sit in! Sylvie smiled and blushed in return.

“That’s right!” Sylvie said when she was asked whether or not she grew up around non-magical people. “I grew up just outside of York in a smallish village. My best friend was a muggle. I really wished I could have told him about magic! We kept things mostly normal at home so our neighbours wouldn’t think we were stranger than we already were. Did you have a cellphone? Or a Switch? Sevver did, but my da thought I was too young for a cellphone, and my pa thought I wouldn’t practice my instruments enough if I could be playing games all day. Now I suppose it wouldn’t matter! We have to send letters instead of texting.”

Sylvie sobered a little as Anemone asked her about Voldemort. Was she really the right person to be explaining this? She didn’t know much more than she had already said. She supposed it would come up eventually in History of Magic. But there was a light in Anemone’s eyes that made Sylvie brighten and soften a little—Anemone didn’t seem frightened by the idea of dark wizards and evil deeds, but... maybe excited to fight it?

Just as she was about to answer, a knock came at the door. Sylvie looked over as the compartment door opened again and a girl asked their permission to come in—then strode in anyway without waiting for a reply. Sylvie grinned. She watched as the new girl stowed her luggage, then dutifully shook her hand.

“I’m Sylvie Hawthorne. This is Anemone—um. I don’t know her last name, actually! We just met. It’s my first year, too—but not my first time traveling! I took the bus to York by myself one time. I got such a scolding! But I had bubble tea and had a tour of a chocolate museum, so it was well worth it.”

Anemone deflated a bit, feeling a little sense of relief at knowing she wouldn’t be the sole person knowledgeable about muggle technology at this school. But that made her think; Sylvie had wizard in her family but what if there were students just like Anemone who had two non-magic parents? It actually would make the most sense, she couldn’t be that much of anomaly in this whole situation. One of her ancestors had been a wizard, or at least had magic blood in them, but it stopped showing up in the next generations at some point. Somehow it awakened in Anemone, which she was still unsure about how grateful she should be for it, but the point was that if it could happen to her it definitely would happen to others.

”I had a phone but they said we can’t bring one to school, and it can’t be used either way because of the magic there.” That, and the mention of letters, made her think of her parents but she didn’t want to feel more upset so she continued. ”Yeah, I played videos games but not that much because my grandparents made sure I learned to do other things, like gardening, fishing, and just being outside. I also draw—“

She was interrupted by the arrival of another girl, one with really dark, coarse hair and emeralds for eyes. Anemone couldn’t help but look between the girls for a second cuz both of their eyes were so pretty. Her own were dark and almost dull in most settings. Most people complimented her on her wispy blond hair, and how feather-soft it was, no matter the condition.

The new person apologized for her way of arrival and introduced herself as Zelda Lime, offering them both a handshake, which she also accepted. It was surely a curious name, at least in Anemone’s eyes. While her own was certainly uncommon, and maybe even rare for a person’s name, it was normal. But Zelda Lime sounded so much like a witch’s name, one who was famous for…something magical. Anemone couldn’t think of anything in particular because of her limited knowledge of the wizarding world society and culture.

Zelda went on to ask if they were new, in which Sylvie answered and introduced them both. ”Yes, I’m Anemone Waddleath.” She gave Sylvie a curious glance, wondering if she was a little on the hyper side. ”This is my first year too! I’ve ridden trains before but not something like this, and not by myself. Well, without my parents. It feels weird but I don’t feel unsafe.”

Anemone unzipped her bag and looked inside. She wanted to make sure she had her snacks. She felt like she remembered something about their being something to eat onboard but she wasn’t from where. After seeing her sandwiches and juice she closed her bag and turned back to the girls. ”What kinds of wands do you guy’s have?” She pulled out hers, studying it. It still felt strange that she actually had a working wand, and not a regular stick or manufactured toy one from a muggle factory.

Zelda couldn’t help feeling a little relieved that her conversational gambit was met with some satisfactory success as the girl sitting opposite her with her hair in plaits responded at least as enthusiastically. She introduced herself as Sylvie.

“You took a bus all the way to York? All by yourself?” Zelda’s eyes widened. Although Macclesfield wasn’t quite so far from York, to her eleven year old’s perspective it might have been the other end of the world. She couldn’t even imagine taking a bus to another village all by herself, much less to a whole different county. “Whatever did you do it for, Sylvie? Bubble tea and a chocolate museum does sound like such fun though. I don't think I've even been to York myself, though I'm from Macclesfield which isn't very far from it.”

The other girl Zelda had seated herself beside now introduced herself as Anemone Waddleath. Zelda had to repeat the girl’s name to herself a few times over just to get used to the pronunciation – she had never come across such a name before and wondered if the other girl had perhaps grown up in a more magical family than she had.

“Isn’t anemone a type of sea plant? Were you named after that then?” asked Zelda, with a bright and open countenance that would go some way to dispelling any offence that a question like that might have caused. She was genuinely curious and liked to ask questions about things she didn’t know.

Anemone opened her bag as if in search of something, but then pulled out her wand and looked up at them, asking what type of wands they had. Zelda gave a little start. She can clean forgotten that she even had a wand, so overwhelmed was she with everything else that was bright and curious in this new world she was plunging into. She reached out for her backpack and took out a large rectangular Ollivander’s box, in which her wand was still lovingly encased. Zelda just hadn’t had the heart to just throw it in haphazardly into her messy backpack. The sliver of wood looked like a veritable piece of art to her.

In this case, though, having the original box helped in answering Anemone’s question. Zelda had clean forgotten about the details about her wand, so the little handwritten card stuffed into the lining of the box helped jog her memory. She struggled a little with deciphering the intricate calligraphy on the card but managed to read, “Well, mine is… 33cm, aspen wood, and snallygaster heartstring.”

Stuffing the card back into the box, Zelda took up her wand and looked at it in the sunlight streaming in through the windows. Her wand was pleasingly symmetrical and straight, with a strange diamond-shaped pattern in the wood around the handle. She had examined it minutely countless times, of course, but now that she was speeding her way to Hogwarts and actually interacting with other people her age who were talking to her about wands, everything suddenly felt ten times more real.

“What on earth is a snallygaster anyway, and how do they get its heartstring, do you think?” Zelda wondered out loud. She curiously peeked at the other girls’ wands, and asked if she might be able to gingerly handle them for a bit, just to see how different wands felt in the hand. She had only ever had the opportunity to handle her mom’s wand since she got hers, and she was ever so curious to know how much variety they came in. “I wonder who are the people who go out there to obtain those ingredients for the wands, and how Ollivander gets his hands on them. Does he make the wands himself, do you think? Or perhaps he just buys them wholesale from someone else?

“By the way, I’m really sorry if I seem to be asking any silly questions. Me mom’s the only other witch in the family so far but I only found that out late last year. She decided to drop that bombshell on me after I got my owl on my birthday. I guess I’m technically a half-blood, as my mom told me, but I’ve never known anything about magic for most of my life.” Zelda wasn’t usually this talkative, but she seemed to be running on an adrenaline high from having nearly missed the train to finally being on this adventure, all by herself for the very first time in her life. “Mom told me that not everyone’s like that, and that some other children might come from fully magical families and have grown up with magic all their lives. Are either of you like that, or met anyone like that yet?”

interacting with: @Sylvie Hawthorne, @Anemone Waddleath