14 August 2018
Bishop Manor, Liverpool

AN eyelash floated down onto the page, covering part of the word that Rhea had just read. Almost swiping the lash completely off the page and discarding it as if it were trash, Rhea stopped and picked it up, adjusting it on her finger as she remembered the superstition surrounding an eyelash - blow on it and make a wish. Shrugging, Rhea closed her eyes and thought of a wish:

Cure my boredom. And with that, she blew on it, and off the eyelash went, soaring through the window and out into the vast expanse of the world. Rhea was never one to believe in superstition, and she did not really know anyone who did. However, Rhea was desperate for something to do, rather than just read. She had been reading for the past month, unable to contact any of her friends and ask to see them - her parents forbade it. No matter how much Rhea tried, she was not able to convince them; they were as stubborn as she was, and thus, Rhea was stuck at home, reading. And drawing. And practicing piano. Actually, there were so many things she could do at the Manor, but Rhea craved human interaction. 

As if on cue, a scratching upon the glass of the window interrupted her reading. Startled, Rhea looked up, and found an owl scraping the window with its long, sharp talons. The sound resembled that of nails against chalkboard, and for that reason, Rhea leaned over her table and quickly cranked the window open, letting the owl in. Untying the piece of paper from the owl’s legs, Rhea handed it a small piece of bread and turned her attention to the letter. Although her brows, in the beginning, were furrowed, her expression morphed into a grin when she saw who the letter was from. Amadea Campbell!

The contents of the letter were simple, and were basically asking if Rhea wanted to hang out with Amadea anytime soon. Of course, the answer was yes, for Rhea was extremely bored and wanted something, anything to cure that. So far, Rhea had no better options, so rather than sitting in the Manor library and dying of boredom, Rhea took out her quill.

Trying to keep her hand steady so no additional ink would spill onto the parchment, Rhea bit her tongue and began to scribble a response back. “Yes, Amadea, I’d love to hang out! I’ve missed you ever so much. When were you thinking - is tomorrow afternoon alright? Quite frankly, I’m free all the time, I’m dying of boredom here!” The smile never leaving her face, Rhea waved the owl back over and tied her response to its leg, before opening the window and watching as the owl flew off, kept becoming smaller and smaller until it was nothing more than a speck on the horizon.

Perhaps agreeing to see Amadea was not a good idea, considering how strict and overbearing her parents were. If her father even got a whiff of the fact that Rhea was making plans to meet with a Muggle-born, the yelling she would have to endure would be enough to give her a headache for the next three lifetimes. However, Rhea thought she had mastered the art of sneaking out enough to make sure that didn’t happen - her father catching her in the act was not what bothered Rhea, rather it was the planning factor of this entire meeting. She knew how far away Amadea lived from her, so how were they supposed to meet? Was Amadea coming to visit Liverpool? Rhea certainly hoped so, there were so many places she wanted to show her Hufflepuff friend in her hometown!

The redhead couldn’t wait.

15 August 2018
Liverpool to Birmingham

The technicalities had been figured out, and the plans had been made. The two girls planned to meet in town, so now, Rhea had to figure out a way to sneak out of the Manor. It wasn't a difficult feat to accomplish, seeing as her parents were usually out at parties or doing other things - quite frankly, they were not very attentive to what Rhea spent her time doing. Thus, it was quite a simple task for Rhea to sneak out. Making her way to the kitchens, Rhea smiled at the house elves working there, before heading to the servants' entrance. As the house had originally been a mansion that belonged to a wealthy Muggle family, they built a separate door from which the servants' entered - a door which Rhea and the elves made sure to keep secret from Aaron Bishop, for fear that he would seal it up. 

The house elves, as always, paused whatever they were doing and saluted Rhea - to which she waved her hand and told them to stop that nonsense. She did not understand why they insisted on calling her "Ms Bishop," even if she was only 12 and kept asking them not too. Whatever she told them, they didn't listen, to Rhea's resolve eventually began to fade and she stopped telling them to stop. 

"Ms Bishop, what is you doing?" a small elf stepped forward, tilting her head at Rhea. It was Rhea's 'personal' elf, assigned to her by her father to style her whenever the Bishops headed to a fancy event. 

"I'm meeting a friend, Skittle," Rhea answered happily, walking towards the door and beginning to open it. "Don't tell my father, please? I do not think he will come back tonight, but if he does, could you cover for me?" Of course, she knew that none of the house elves would snitch; they knew what Aaron's wrath would entail, and did not wish it upon Rhea, so of course they would do anything to help her. Unanimously, the elves nodded and watched as Rhea disappeared through the door and began to run for the coverage that she knew the trees would bring. Even though her parents weren't here, Rhea did not want to risk them seeing her dash across the lawn. 

Following the familiar path to town, Rhea practically skipped there. She was much too excited to contain herself, and as she walked, she began to hum to herself. The excitement she felt to finally, finally, meet up with a friend was unfathomable - all summer she had spent cooped up inside, aside from the impromptu trip to the ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley, so this was most certainly a nice change. As she emerged from the tree line, Rhea quickly made her way to the train station that would take her to Birmingham, seeing as that was in the middle of Camberley and Liverpool. 

The train ride was rather boring; Rhea spent the entire time sketching in the small notebook she had brought with her. After about two hours, the train finally stopped, and Rhea excitedly hopped off. The place they had planned to meet was not too far away from the train station, so with the help of a few strangers' guidance, she quickly found the diner and awaited Amadea's arrival. 

August 14, 2018
Cosner Residence, Camberley

𝒜madea was becoming terribly bored with summer. Sure, she had done some fun things, but she missed seeing her friends every day. She missed learning about magic and all of the secrets about the wizarding world. She wished she could go back to Hogwarts. She knew that she would probably feel differently once she was actually at school and being forced to do all of her schoolwork, but at the moment, Amadea was becoming restless. Even though Amadea had been in London during the past week with her friend Cecily, Amadea already missed it. She missed spending every day exploring and having a blast. 

That was why she had sent that letter to Rhea. Amadea needed to get out and do something exciting. She hated sitting around all day not doing anything. Amadea missed the hustle and bustle of London, even though Camberley was absolutely beautiful. Even though she had spent the past week in London with one of her other friends, Cecily, Amadea still wanted to travel more. She wanted to do other things besides sitting around. That was why Amadea had sent an owl to her Pureblood friend living in Liverpool. Even though they were four hours apart, Rhea was one of the friends who lived closest to Amadea, and also happened to be one of Amadea's closest friends. Amadea just hoped that the Gryffindor was also looking for something to do.

As Amadea sat on her bed, she pulled out a tattered copy of one of her favorite books: Jane Eyre. It was a classic, for sure, but Amadea loved it. She especially loved the character of Jane; Amadea aspired to be more like Jane in her own life. Just as she opened the book to begin reading it yet again, Amadea heard a tapping against her window. Going over to investigate, Amadea found the owl that she had sent to Rhea only the previous day. What a timely response!

Amadea hastily opened her window and pulled the owl inside. Quickly giving it a pat on the head, Amadea fumbled with the paper attached to its leg. She couldn't wait to see the contents of the letter. Unrolling it and placing it on her desk, Amadea smoothed the parchment and read Rhea's writing: I've missed you ever so much! When were you thinking - is tomorrow afternoon alright? Amadea laughed out loud as she read the next sentence. It seemed as though she wasn't the only one who was dying of boredom with nothing to do. But Amadea no longer felt that way. She was going to see Rhea tomorrow! It was going to be a blast. 

August 14, 2018
Camberley ⇉ Birmingham

𝒯oday was the day! Amadea had barely slept at all, for she was too busy thinking about the exciting day she had ahead of her. Unfortunately, that meant she was a bit exhausted as she woke up in the morning, but she was undeterred. She quickly packed the things she needed into a small purse and slung it over her shoulder. Before leaving, she called into her mother's room. "Mum, I'm leaving now!" Amadea said. "I'm meeting a friend in Birmingham. I will be back sometime tonight." While the girls had figured out most of the technicalities, the time of their return was still undetermined. 

"Sounds good, Dea!" Amadea's mother called from her room, voice still low and groggy. Amadea cringed; she must have still been sleeping when Amadea had called into the room. "Love you honey! Stay safe." 

"Don't worry, I will," Amadea assured her mother. "Love you too!" With the conversation completed, Amadea exited her house and walked to the train station. Once aboard the train to Birmingham, Amadea let herself drift to sleep, catching up on the much needed rest she had lacked during the night. The train ride was not a long one, and Amadea awoke as thr train arrived at the station in Birmingham. Rubbing her eyes, Amadea sat up, taking in her surroundings. She loved being in the city! Already, she could feel the buzz of all of the people; being around all of their energy made her feel happy.

Amadea stepped onto the platform, trying to figure out where she was. As she exited the station and stepped onto the streets, Amadea looked around for any street sign that could help her locate herself. She had planned to meet her friend at a nearby diner. With the help of a friendly passerby, Amadea found herself staring at the front door of the diner.

Before walking in, Amadea took a deep breath. This was where her adventure began. Without any more hesitation, Amadea pushed open the door and entered the diner, accompanied by the light ring of the bells above the door. Once inside the diner, Amadea spotted a familiar crop of red hair sitting at a table, waiting. Amadea headed over to her friend eagerly, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Rhea!" she exclaimed happily. "It's so good to see you! I hope you weren't waiting too long."

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