Spring Break '23

Attire: Wearing: Slytherin pride, neck ring, kilt, shoes, fang necklace, raven feather in his braid.

Reducio

As soon as the train pulled into Carlisle station, Colin was excited to get off and see if Clair's city looked any better than London. It didn't really. Or at least, not the bit that Colin's seanmamó, Esmerelda, took him through. In fact, the place looked positively dodgy. Colin wasn't sure how they got where they were, but he reckoned they'd gone under the railway. They came out into the light in a wee car park crammed between an ancient brick wall and the huge stone rampart that the railway ran upon. "It looks like a castle!" Colin said appreciatively. "I wonder why all the doors are bunged up with steel cages."

"Cuts down on murders and thieving and such, lad," she said to him. "There's a lot ye've yet to learn about muggles." Colin thought about that in silence for some time as they walked behind a huge white building that had grey boxes on it that made a lot of noise and blew hot air out into cool April morning. The stones and pavements felt strange underfoot, in stark contrast to the familiar territory of Hogwarts, and even the main streets of wizarding London. "We'll cut through the car park here lad, and cross James Street just over there.

Colin couldn't see a park anywhere. Just a couple spindly trees trying to shade a few motor cars in front of the white building called Matalan that had something to do with ladies, men, kids and homes. Before he could ask where the park was, they were heading across the street and Colin's attention was drawn towards a large pavilion called Jet. Muggles were standing under the pavilion next to their motor cars. He sniffed at the air delicately. It smelled of petrol. Colin liked the smell of petrol as reminded him of the motor car stable at home. He didn't know what Jet meant, but he knew that petrol was what made muggle motor cars drive!

Just beyond the pavilion with the petrol, Colin's seanmamó bade him wait outside whilst she hired a motor car. Colin rememberd the last time he had ridden in a motor car with his seanmamó driving. That was in London, and all he could remember was these huge busses and pantechnicons rumbling by and himself hanging on to the straps so he wouldn't be thrown out the window! Fortunately, as dodgy as Carlisle seemed, the roads seemed to be much quieter than muggle London.

Once Colin pitched his satchel and his small leather case in the back seat, they took off at a terrific rate of speed! Seanmamó seemed quite calm as she guided the machine through the narrow and winding streets with nothing more than a finger motion! The foot pedals and knobs and switches all moved as if of their own accord. Unfortunately, Colin could not say the same for his own self! Every turn, every bump in the road, every roundabout and every sudden stop sent Colin flying in one direction or another! Glancing at Colin, his seanmamó chuckled softly: "Do up yer buckles laddie! We'll be on the motorway soon enough!"

And soon enough they were indeed speeding along the motorway! Colin had calmed down a bit. In fact, he rather preferred the motorway to the winding streets of the city. They were going along at a pretty good clip when his seanmamó asked: "So, when will ye be telling me yer young Clair's address lad?"

Colin looked suddenly surpried. He knew Clair lived on a farm in Carlisle, because she'd given him a bit of parchment with a speech on it. At the time, he didn't think it was much of a speech, really. Just a couple words jotted down. Clair had said this kind of speech is called an address, which Colin thought was something they did in Parliament. But apparently muggles spoke in Parliament the same way they did about their houses. Clair had tried to explain it all to him, but he only ended up with a vague image in his head of MPs shouting things like "Will the Right Honourable CA101EN jolly well get on with the SW144QUing!"

"Oh!" Colin said, smiling broadly. "Clair lives on a farm in Carlisle! She gave me a parchment with a speech on it and everything!"

She herself had been well acquainted with the muggle world for many years, but even so it took her a moment to parse what Colin meant by a speech. "I think ye mean address, laddie. Well, what is it? I'm sure her family don't live on the only farm in Carlisle! We'll be half way back to London soon enough!"

Colin certainly didn't want to end up back in London! So he undid his seatbelt and dove into the back seat where he began rummaging through his satchel. He came across all sorts of detritus inside from school notes to crossed out bits of poetry for Clair to letters and --- "Ah! Found it!" Colin read out all the strange words and numbers on the parchment. They might as well have been ancient Greek for all any of it meant to the boy!

"Laddie! That's on the other side of the city entirely! Ah well! Set yerself back up here lad and tell me all about this Clair of yours! But first, tell me if was are going to be late?"

Colin scrambled back into the front seat and did up the seat belt again. "Oh no, mamó! A wizard is never early or late! We always arrive precisely when we mean to!" Colin didn't even notice the time passing as they talked about Clair and Hogwarts and how many things had remained unchanged since his seanmamó went to school there. At last he noticed that they had left the motorway far behind and were, in fact, travelling along a narrow country lane not to dissimilar to the even narrower road that passed some miles away from his own home.

Colin stuck his head out the window to catch the breeze. The wind made his eyes water and his hair whipped around madly! At long last, still some distance away, he caught sight of a wee figure sitting on a stone by the roadside. His heart jumped in his breast! Could that be Clair? Out waiting for him! It was her! It was Clair! In his excitement, Colin undid his seatbelt and opened the door! The motor car swerved suddenly and a hand reached over and grabbed him by his belt! "Don't be such a daftie, Colin McCoire! Just wait til I stop this machine before ye go jumping out like some mad daredevil!" At last the car stopped, and Colin looked expectantly towards his mamó who waved him off with a laugh, telling him not to forget his things in the back!

At last Colin was out and standing in the green green grass facing Clair!

@Clair Fernandez

Colin was thrilled when Clair rushed over to hug him! "It's so good to see you Clair!" He felt like the whole world was just the two of them hugging in that moment! But when Clair broke off, Colin felt at once that they were just tiny in a huge a world again, and also amazed at the force of Clair's hug! He liked that a lot! Not one of those fake kind of embraces a lot of girls did where they'd rather not touch you at all. Clair's was just a big honest embrace!

He blushed a little when he turned to see his mamó watching them greet each other. Of course, he'd written loads of letters home to Ciarán, and she surely blabbed to everyone else about how much he gushed about Clair. Still, this was the first time anyone in his family had actually seen or met her! She took Clair's hand and Colin said: "This is me seanmamó Edmerelda!" He counted out on his fingers: "She's me great-great-great-great-GREAT---"

"Whist laddie! Mind how many 'greats' you count out!" she said sharply, though there was a rather mischievous glint in her eyes. "Thank you Clair! Do call me Mamó Esme, my dear! Come! We'll drive the rest of the way up to your family's house." She let Clair sit in the front seat while Colin did his best to fold up his long frame in the cramped back. "We actually had quite the adventure getting here, Clair! It seems that 'a farm in Carlisle' is all it takes to find your place! I believe we must work on our dear Colin's understanding of addresses and so forth!"

"Mamó!" Colin moaned and blushed anew.

"Naturally, our Colin has written to tell us so much about you! I won't embarrass him by repeating how often he's said how beautiful and smart you are! Though I dare say he hasn't said half so much about his own family to you!"

"Mamó I---!"

"Has he not even invited you to visit with us a while this summer?"

Colin groaned. Clearly mamó was enjoying her first meeting with Clair immensely, while Colin could easily feel the warmth of bright red blush rise up from his chest all the way up to his face! He'd meant to ask Clair to come and stay a while ago, but they'd gotten busy with other things. He wondered how much Ciarán had told the rest of the family about what he'd written!

As the motor car rumbled up the drive, mamó commented on the things shed seen and asked Clair to tell her all about her farm! Finally! Colin thought: the heat was off of him at last!

@Clair Fernandez

"'M okay here," Colin's voice warbled up from somewhere near the floor in the back seat as he tried to find a comfortable way of fitting himself into a motor car that just barely able to accomodate two people, let alone three or more. He so wished they'd driven Mamó's own motor car! There'd be more than enough room!

Colin began blushing all over again as Clair chatted with Mamó. He wasn't really embarrassed or anything; he was more surprised at how observant and open Clair was! The two of them together would be wicked, telling each other stories of what Colin does! Colin moaned inwardly. He was glad though that Clair didn't mention quite everything. She and AngelFyre had worked him over about a certain piece of parchment. He'd actually been planning to give it to Mamó while they were here. He just hoped there would be a good opportunity to do it!

Finally, he got himself comfortable, and decided to stick his head out the window so he could see the farm better. The breeze brought to Colin's nose the entire list of beasties that Clair named off, and then some! She didn't mention the wild creatures, the fox and the hare, or the newly mown grass and the herbs and wildflowers blooming. Colin felt at home already and they hadn't even gotten to the house!

And when they did get to the house, Colin was not disappointed! He was half expecting something like the wee stone cottage back at home, but Clair's house was much grander! Colin managed to turn himself around by shifting his satchel and travel case around and now stuck his head out the other window! "Whoa. That's grand!" Colin had, to his recollection, had only ever stayed at McCoire House, Hogwarts, the Leaky Cauldron and his parents' row house in wizarding London. He'd never actually been to a friend's house before! And Clair's seemed to his eyes to be utterly magical!

The scents of home --- baking bread, woodwork, dogs, cooking --- wafted around Colin and he was eager to see the inside of Clair's place!

THUMP! "Whoa, Clair!" THUMP!! "Nice!"

Colin's shoes fell to the floor in the boot room where they'd likely lie abandoned for the rest of Colin's visit. TAMP TAMP TAMP TAMP! Colin's bare feet bore him into the kitchen where he revelled in the feel of a new and unexplored floor! Coo. Ancient wood planks! "I'm not allowed in the kitchen at home, Clair! This is grand! I promise I won't try to burn any water here!"

Mamó chuckled. She well knew why the family Elves banished the poor lad from the kitchen when he was still wee! "It's no wonder laddie! Imagine! Climbing up onto the stoves and trying to cook the water by pouring a whole kettle full into the fire! Oh the mess of steaming wet coals you made that day!"

Colin smiled and shrugged. His eyes took in every detail of the kitchen. He wondered if Clair knew how to cook. Or maybe it was Belle and Josh? It was their house after all, he reckoned. Unless they have Elves! Clair began telling them where all the rooms were while Colin examined everything in the kitchen, from the twinkling lights high in the rafters to the curious chopping block in the center. He sniffed at the tap --- that seemed normal enough. But he gave the stove wide berth. He didn't want to upset Clair's family Elves. He looked around to see if he could spot any. Above the stove, however, he caught sight of a curious box. It had glowing numbers on it.

A memory floated up in Colin's mind. Those numbers reminded him of something. Where had he seen glowing numbers on a box before? Colin smiled. "Muggle magic!" he said under his breath! Surely Mamó would be very familiar with the concept, but Colin was still trying to wrap his head around the whole alexatrixity thing. It dawned on Colin that Clair's house might actually be a muggle house! It also dawned on Colin that he'd never even thought to ask Clair if she were pure blood or muggleborn. He'd have to find these things out!

When Clair mentioned where the bathroom was, Colin wondered: "I wonder if they ever changed their babies in for other ones?" His heart momentarily fell as he recalled the whole concept of muggles exchanging their babies for new ones in the loo. But then something caught his eye. Colin put the thought out of his head before he could jump to any conclusions.

The wee box! Colin's eyes lit up! Could it possibly be! "Yer house is brilliant Clair!" He smiled at Clair and skipped over towards the kitchen door where he saw the magical box and a number of knobby things on it. His finger delicately reached out to discover what kind of magic they would do!

@Clair Fernandez

Colin turned away from the magic box on the wall when she talked about the whole burning the water thing. Colin's expression turned from mild curiosity to flat out flabbergastation. "Wh---What?" He mouthed the words twelve hundred and four point forty four. "H---How do you know that?" Colin almost forgot about the knobby things on the wall.

Almost.

Colin realised that Clair's brain must be like a huge encyclopedia! She knew so many things! It always wondered him when she did that, just pull some random fact out of her head. He had no doubt she was right, but now it got Colin to wondering about actually burning water... He felt both Clair's and Mamó's eyes on him as he approached the object in question. He reckoned there would be a bit of a smile playing around both their faces.

It wasn't his fault that he'd never seen knobs on walls before. After all, at McCoire house, and every magical house he'd been to, there were charmed lights that operated, quite simply and rationally, by magic. But out in muggledom, their magic was so different, so --- incomprehensible! Colin got up close to the knobby things and looked very closely. They appeared to be wee ceramic or wooden things. Little bits that stuck out from the wall. One kind of slanted up, the other kind of slanted down. That was curious!

Colin looked around the kitchen, wondering what sort of muggle spell the knobs would actuate. He decided. Colin bit his lower lip, clearly showing off his upper fangs. Slowly, he reached out with his left hand, his fingers extending towards the knobby bit that was pointing up. He licked his lips. He hesitated for a moment, but then pressed on. He grasped the knob --- it was cool to the touch! Colin's eyes opened wide!

He slowly pulled the knob down towards the floor. CLICK!

"YEEEP!" Colin squeaked as the switch clicked and the kitchen dimmed slightly! Colin looked around, then up. "WHOA! The fairies in the fairy lights went to sleep Clair! All of em!" Sure enough, the strings of lights wrapped around the kitchen's rafters were all dark! Mamó held her hand to her mouth and her whole body shuddered with suppressed laughter. Colin grasped the knob again and shoved it back upwards. Colin gasped!

"Look! The fairies all lit up again!" He moved the knob several times, absolutely delighted by each result! Then he decided to try the other knob, the one pointing to the floor. He grasped that one gently and pushed it upwards. Colin almost leapt away as the corner by the windows brightened considerably! "YOICKS! WHOA. Those lamps must have stronger fairies or something! Look how bright they are!"

The boy looked around in wonder, trying to determine if there were any more magical knobs on the wall. "CLAIR! Show me the rest! What other magic have ye got here lassie?" Colin was really excited to explore the place with Clair, and of course to see all her animals and meet her folks! He'd been thinking for a while now about something important. Well, two important things, really, but the main one would involve Belle and Josh. He was practically itching to meet them!

@Clair Fernandez

Colin was totally impressed! Clair knew so many things he'd never even heard of! He wondered if there was anything at all he knew that she didn't. He nodded as she explained the difference between the plain lights and the Christmas lights. "Aye, that makes sense!" Colin found the refrigerator. "I mean, Christmas is colourful. It stands to reason you'd have colourful fairies in Christmas lights!"

Clair explained that the fairies are actually LEDs. "I see," Colin said. "Lead fairies. Why are they lead? Or no! Ell - ee - dee. Led. Who's leading them?"

He pulled on the handle. A blast of cool air struck his face. "Whoa! It's like winter in here! But where's the ice?" He stuck his head inside. Then leaned back and closed the door. The sense of coolness vanished. "Wait! There was a light inside the ice box! But where's the knobby thing?" Colin looked around for another knob on the wall. "Hm!" He opened the door and the light was there again! He dashed over to the knobs on the wall! But the door closed before he could change the position of the knob! "Grrr!" He dashed back to the curious device and opened the door again. "Clair! There's still a light here! Wait."

"Colin!" Mamó chuckled softly. "Use yer eyes for something other than watching the young lady here!"

Colin blushed immediately. Fortunately, his head was inside the ice box! Hopefully Clair couldn't see! Clair had said something about a tee vee. Muggles seemed to like to spell out their magic devices. Ell ee dee. Tee vee. Vee dee oh games. Colin searched around the doorway into the icebox, waiting for his heart to slow and his blush to cool off. "Oh! Wait! There's a knobby thing here too!" He pushed on that --- and the light went out! "Whoa! Neat! I wonder ---"

"Oh you two must be the McCoires!" The voice came from a woman who reminded Colin a little of Clair. As he ducked out of the ice box, mamó stood, bowed slightly then took Belle's hand, introducing herself as Esme. Colin did the same. He learned last year that hand shaking wasn't just just a strange muggle game like his cousins had told him, but was in fact a greeting! He eyed the bucket full of eggs with anticipation! He knew right away that he was going to like this place!

Colin bit his lower lip, then walked over to stand next to Clair, as Belle and his seanmamó talked about grown up things. "Yer house is really brilliant Clair! Yer sister seems nice too!" Colin wondered where Clair would take him next! Or would Belle pounce on him with a thousand questions? Surely a grand muggle house had more surprises than just lights powered by fairies led by some curious mystery force!

@Clair Fernandez