_{﹕backdated to the start of the first year﹕}

FLOURISH AND BLOTTS smelled like he’d expected it to: parchment, inkwell, and... magic, if that last one made any sense. Hands shoved in his front pocket, Jude Morgan walked inside like he’d been there before multiple times, with his mother, Arabella, on his tail.

The woman had a list of books she wanted to find for herself, mostly on the topic of divination and crystal balls, other than the ones they needed to get for his first year at Hogwarts. The boy was eager to get his hands on those textbooks, even if he had never been a stellar student back in his Muggle school. Jude planned on spending the last few days before the year started studying as much as possible, so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself in front of his fellow wizard classmates.

“Go find your books, darlin’,” Arabella placed her hand on top of his golden curls, handing him the list of books he needed. Jude nodded, watching the woman walk to the opposite end of the shop, approaching one of the staff to ask for help with her mysterious books.

Jude scanned the list and nodded, folding it and shoving the piece of parchment into the front pocket of his jeans. He didn’t look as out of place as he’d expected. Some kids his age wore fancy robes and pointy hats, yes, but others shared similar fashion styles to his: jeans, oversized band shirts, or hoodies. That was comforting, at least. Jude had feared he’d be spotted as a half-blood right away.

He spotted the shelf displaying a ridiculous number of History of Magic volumes. Picking one of the textbooks for himself, he flipped a few pages, trying to begin his studies right away. Perhaps he’d find someone to impress with his knowledge, someone who didn’t know nearly enough like him, that would be so shocked by his brain they’d want to befriend him immediately.

It would be nice to start the year with someone by his side, at least.

_{private thread with @Ekaterina Varganova}

: backdated thread to before first year

outfit.	@Jude Morgan .interacting
location. Flourish and Blotts	465 .word count

EKATERINA WALKED INTO Flourish and Blotts, her dad behind her. The smell of old and new books filled her nostrils. Her hands were clasped together in front of her, her expression remaining neutral yet elegant. Her father trailed behind her, his hair slicked back with some strands loosely falling over his forehead, in a red suit.

As they walked in, gazes fell on them, mainly because of her father. And then, soon, the bustling of the book shop in Diagon Ally became quiet, before erupting into whispers and stares from a few parents and families. She glanced quietly at her father, a slight twitch of his eye made her almost snicker, but she held it in. She did not like the attention one bit. She hated being born into a family of... of fame and glory.

She couldn't stand the fact that she couldn't go to any place without getting glanced at or whispers trailing behind her, and the constant pointing of figures. It was exhausting to say the least. Well, mainly because her family is truly something else. Her dad, being a well-known wizard, isn't one you see every day, especially in Diagon Ally.

Ekaterina's father placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Ekaterina, Вот список книг, которые вам понадобятся для занятий в Хогвартсе." "Ekaterina, here is a list of books you will need for your Hogwarts classes." He spoke in Russian with his deep voice before handing her an enchanted parchment. "Пергамент заколдован таким образом, что, получив его, он сам отметится в книге." "The parchment is enchanted to tick off a book by itself when you get it." He said again, and she responded with a nod.

She took the parchment, her eyes briefly scanning over the books before she walked off to find her books. As she walked, she stopped by the History of Magic section. She knew a lot about almost all the subjects because of her parents. She had a lot of time on her hands, so she decided to read a little book because why not? So she grabbed a book with little pages; well, little to her but large to others, as she had read tons of books at her house, so the pages never significantly mattered to her.

She noticed a boy next to her; he was reading as well, but she didn't pay him any mind, though she did notice the book he had in his hand. It was one of her favorites back at home because she had a copy she had read before. "That's a nice book. I've read that one a lot" she said smoothly in a soft voice

A soft voice came from his side, and Jude’s eyes rested on the girl right next to him. He wasn’t one to pay much attention to people’s appearances, much less his own. It had never mattered to him as much as one’s personality… But she looked straight from an old-school Disney animated movie: blonde hair, delicate features, and pale eyes.

He stopped staring, turning to his book before clearing his throat as he realized the girl was talking to him.

“Really…? Oh, me too... Plenty of times,” The lie left quickly, before he could think about it for more than a second. Jude looked away, a clear sign that he wasn’t honest.

Being impulsive was one of his biggest flaws. But, hey, he didn’t want the girl to think this was his first time getting his hands on one of their school textbooks, as it’d expose him as inexperienced. Jude wasn’t inexperienced, after all! Only his experiences with magic were more… Divination-oriented than anything else.

Clearing his throat, he added, closing the book in a simple motion, sliding it under his arm.

“I’m Jude… Jude Morgan,” He turned to her, offering a hand. Part of him hoped the supposed weight of his wizard family name would at least get a reaction out of her. Even if it didn’t, the girl was slightly shorter than him, which gave him a confidence boost, straightening his back some more. “I’ll be a first year at Hogwarts this year. I take it you’re the same?”

_{private thread with @Ekaterina Varganova}

Ekaterina Varganova wrote: 1 Feb 2026, 22:01

: backdated thread to before first year

outfit.	@Jude Morgan .interacting
location. Flourish and Blotts	372 .word count

EKATERINA RAISED AN eyebrow, she hadn't seen anyone yet who had read that book up until today. She had finally given the boy her full attention, and she couldn't help but stare a little at his looks. He had golden-brown curls and rounded, blue-green eyes. He had a striking look if she was being honest, which she is.

"Really? That's surprising. I've never met anyone of my age who has read that book. What's your favorite part?" She spoke in her soft voice. She did suspect he was lying, though, as soon as he said he had read the book as much as she had, he turned away from her gaze.

She stared at him, a bit skeptical and reluctant, but she didn't press on it. She had been used to people being surprised when she told them she had read some of the school text books, but this boy in front of her was more peculiar than the others. She could feel herself smile a bit, something she didn't think she would do in front of anyone but her mother.

She looked back to where her father was previously standing, now being surrounded by parents and a news reporter, whom she didn't know when or how they got here. She sighed and thought that life would always be this difficult with a famous family.

When she snapped out of her thoughts at the clearing of his throat, she turned to him once more.

She heard him state his name, and it was only simple manners to reply to him "Pleasure to meet you, Jude, I'm Ekaterina... Varganova" she said with a short pause, the weight of her family background resting on her shoulders. She really hoped he didn't know about her family because she didn't want someone asking if they could meet her dad or her mom, heck, sometimes they even ask to see her grand parents, and she didn't want to be part of or deal with any of that, especially before her first year at Hogwarts.

Once the girl finally looked at him, Jude knew he had said the right thing. With her eyes on him, he made sure to smile a little more, puffing out his chest, to make sure she saw him as someone competent, and not... an inexperienced half-blood who had no idea of what he was doing.

The girl's following question, though, caught him red-handed — what was his favorite part? He didn't have any. He had never read that bloody book before. Jude had already closed the textbook, so glancing down at the pages for some clue of what to say was out of the question. He'd have to think of something on the spot and hope it worked.

"Uh, you know, goblins... Werewolves..." Jude let out, hoping it was vague enough that it made sense, but also appropriate, given the contents of the book. "It's hard for me to pick a favorite part when the whole book is so interesting, you know?" That had to be enough, right? That's something nerds said all the time. "I love learning, so..."

Hopefully, the conversation would shift to something more interesting, something he had his fair share of knowledge in. Damn it, he'd even talk about Divination if the girl wanted to. It was better than risking being caught in a lie and embarrassing himself right when he was getting close to making his first magical friend.

"Cool," That's all Jude had to say to her name. The pause and the strange look on her face left him even more curious, though, but he wasn't going to press on it. Varganova...? What, was she important, or something? It didn't matter to him, anyway. Mother wasn't one to talk about famous wizard people or important families. "So, Hogwarts... It'd be fun if we ended up in the same house, no? It'd be good to have a friend right away,"

_{private thread with @Ekaterina Varganova}