August 17th

Summer had been interesting. Definitely different from the usual. For one, she hadn't gone back home, which had been a first. She'd spent it around other children which had also been new. When she had returned to her family, she had found herself missing her bed and the familiarity of their London flat, but soon remembered how much she longed for her parents approval and attention. School had been a great distraction from her lack of parental supervision. With a sack full of currency, she made her way through Diagon Alley alone. Overhead the sky was overcast, London rain threatening to fall at a moment's notice. Shops lined the street on either side, offering refuge for passers by with coin to trade for wares.

First stop, Madame Malkins. After a year, her uniform had gone through the ringer in school, it was time for new robes and Ravenclaw clad clothing. Perhaps she'd even get something in case there was another ball, though she already knew her mother would probably owl something appropriate. It seemed the ongoing theme with her parents, they might have been absent, unless it reflected on them, in which case she had their presence overbearingly known. They weren't there in that moment though, which left the thin blonde girl lighter on her feet as she made her way to the shop with scissors hanging overhead. Leaving the family house elf behind, she entered the shop and waited for her turn to be taken in for a fitting.

This time of year was busy for all businesses, but this time, Angellica was a second year. The fear of her first years quelled by experience. Looking around, she studied the various people inside, a few first years waiting for their first fitting, some older classmates she had yet to discover. It was a glorious day, and she couldn't wait to start the next year at school. Adventure, knowledge, potential for rising up to the rank of Prefect in the future. Oh she could imagine the robe fitting in that context, her parents would make time for that, she was certain.

Noah didn't care much where he was for the vacations, if his parents wanted him to be home, he'd go home and the other way around too, though he couldn't deny he was enjoying Hogwarts a bit more than his home. His parents said he could do whatever he wanted to, they didn't care that much either. So Noah had decided he'd stay at Hogwarts for the summer, it was fun, for the most part as compared to being back at his house.

But the time had finally come for him to go and buy everything, he was somewhat excited for that. It felt good to be back in Diagon Alley for a change. He loved Hogwarts but it sure did feel refreshing to be at Diagon Alley.

He had arrived early to the place, he didn't like it when there was a crowds all that much. He had a list with him of things he needed to buy, he had cleared most of them off but he still needed to buy robes and maybe even an owl, he wasn't sure but he had considered getting a pet so he might look into that after he was done with robes.

By then, the place had more people than before, the stores were mostly crowded with students and their parents. His parents obviously didn't bother coming with him, not that he cared much for that.

He walked into the store, wondering how long it would take, he honestly had no interest in buying robes, he just wanted to get it done with and go look at some animals, he had kept that part for last so it would act like motivation for him to get everything done, so he could go to petshops later. There were a lot of people in the store, he groaned, he would have to wait. He should've come to the shop earlier, he thought, it would have been quicker that way when it was emptier.

Most children within the store were along with their parents. Quietly discussing, some more excited than others. There was fretting and kinship the likes Angellica couldn't quite say she knew. It wasn't that her parents didn't care, they had their moments, but this was not one of them. She hadn't seen the point of wasting their time on such things, and it was something they seemed to agree upon. When a boy entered, she couldn't help but notice like her, he also lacked the parental units about.

For a moment she remained still, just studying her surroundings. The sight of measuring tapes moving in the distance. There were vanity panels to ensure privacy, but still the occasional needle or expanse of fabric. Emerald, Navy, Gold, and Crimson were popular for the insides of the robes they would wear, but mostly black. The one color they all wore. It was a distraction from the newcomer she had noted. Perhaps she'd strike up a conversation with him. If he was a student, which she was quite certain he was, they could potentially get to know each other. He seemed nice enough. In a few years, she might have even considered more flowery terms if she ever got to that point where human beings held more interest than her tomes.

A few newbies before them were brought deeper into the shop, and they moved forward a bit more. She remembered the feeling of when she had been their age. It might have only been a year, but it felt like a lifetime. Turning towards the boy behind her in queue (Noah), she smiled. "Seems like forever since I came for my first fitting, you?" she decided to say. It wasn't as smooth as she might have hoped, but hopefully it would start something. She was curious. What year was he in, what were his favourite classes, was he a Ravenclaw as well? She could only hope it wasn't Hufflepuff, even though she knew better than to judge a person by their house. "It's really only been a year," she added a bit lamely, but perked up. No it had been quite a busy year to say the least.

There was a lightness in the blonde's chest as the other seemed to agree with her assessment. It was as though Hogwarts functioned on a different time schedule. So much knowledge had been gathered, so many spells now under her belt, and though she had had a few encounters with others, she felt like she could have met more people, perhaps deepened her connections, but it would have made it harder to focus on her activities and studies. This year would be different though. She had a plan to build a schedule to fit everything in, training for the many electives she planned to take the following year.

"It's interesting how that works right," she said with the lightest tinge of amusement to her tone. Not quite a chuckle. "It was a year, and yet, it went by as fast as it did slow." She knew he didn't really care for her diatribes, in fact, she wasn't sure she should be so open, but she was excited, and in a good mood. After this, she'd probably go see if her cat was still at the magical menagerie. She'd wanted it, but it was slow going in saving up to purchase it, then there would be the whole hiding it from her parents.

"I'm Angellica," she offered her dainty hand towards him. "Angellica Rowley. I'm in Ravenclaw," she added. They were both second years, perhaps they'd see more of each other at school in the following year. If only in class, but it was nice to slowly add names to faces. With a name she'd build some mnemonic means to remember his name. He had nice features, the symmetry making it pleasing. She'd read something about symmetry and the psychology behind it which established beauty. It was fascinating stuff.

Noah still couldn't believe how weird his first year had been. He met so many people and did so many things, looking back at it, it felt like any event was really long ago but then it also felt like the year was over in a flash. It was difficult to explain how the year passed by or how much he had enjoyed his time there, he had learnt a lot, but the things that had affected him most were how much he had improved in social situations, he wasn't a god yet but he was considerably better than he was a year ago.

"Agreed, It was a weird feeling." Noah hadn't learnt to talk well with strangers yet but if someone was carrying a conversation, he could reply to them most of the times but sometimes he did struggle to come up with things to say. He still wanted to focus on his studies and keep improving his grades but he had also started to enjoy people a little bit, though he probably wasn't going to admit that soon.

But at that moment, Noah was somewhat less conscious about himself, he wasn't even paying attention to the fact that he was in the shop all that much, his mind was still stuck on Hogwarts, just waiting to be back in those castle walls again, there was a faint smile on his face as he looked back on his days from the school.

Noah shook her hand, "Noah Page." He wasn't back at Hogwarts and he already knew another person, this was going rather well, "Slytherin." He had realised that some people still weren't overly fond of Slytherins still, but he didn't really worry about his house much. He chose it and he wasn't ashamed of his choice, besides, if someone was going to judge someone just based on their house, Noah probably didn't wouldn't like the person that much anyway.

Hogwarts had been so blissfully overwhelming that it didn't matter that he didn't speak much. If anything, it made his statements echo her sentiments that much further. Summer had been a breeze, and where some kids might have been weary to return to the castle, the blonde wanted to be back on thr train already. Her family was fine, demanding, but fine, yet their presence was nothing compared to that of the school.

"Right?" she stated more than asked. "It went by so fast, and yet so slow. I barely remember social interactions between Quidditch and classes," she continued. It was surreal is what it was. Just like their handshake felt surreal. Hands were interesting, was she feeling her own thin fingers pressing against his or his fingers against her flesh? She tried not to overthink it. "I'm trying to change that this next year, perhaps actually make some friends, not just surface relationships you know," she said. Speaking what was on her mind wasn't uncommon. In fact, saying things aloud usually helped her keep to her goals, even if the literal nature of her statements could sometimes be off putting by some.

Though she made no adverse motion at the mention of Slytherin, she didn't react much beyond a single statement followed by a warm smile. "I always thought I'd be a Slytherin," she said gently. In fact, she'd always wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, not that she spoke that sort of thing out loud. It seemed unbecoming, or so her mother would have said. "Seems I'm too witty for the dungeons according to a verbose garment," she tacked on with a bit of a chuckle instead. Whether it had been wrong in her sorting, she wasn't sure, but she didn't dislike her house. At least it hadn't been Hufflepuff. She had a feeling she'd have been disowned for sporting the black and yellow. Even then, she'd met a few puffs of note she had enjoyed the company of.

Noah thought about it, what had he done for the entirety of the year besides studying? He wasn't exactly busy, he just didn't do much. All of his free time was spent reading books, resting or on very rare occasions, being with the people he knew (not voluntarily of course.) Perhaps he should try to make the next year more fun for himself, but he still didn't want to get distracted from his studies... though he did have a lot of free time so it shouldn't be a major problem, right? He had given all of that a lot of thought during the summer and he still wasn't sure what Second Year was going to be like for him.

Did he want to make friends though? He wasn't sure about that, it wasn't exactly something he was that excited for but... the few people he did come to know during his first year, he actually did enjoy their company a bit. Though he did not like to admit it, he did wish could have bonded more with the people had become acquainted with during his first year, but that's one of the few things on his list for what he had to do in the second year. "Yeah, I know what that feels like."

Noah couldn't help but feel that the situation was ironic when she spoke about her initial thoughts being that she would be in Slytherin. A Ravenclaw who might have ended up in Slytherin hm? Noah's house originally was to be Ravenclaw according to the sorting hat but it was a hard decision between Ravenclaw and Slytherin anyway so Noah decided he'd rather be in Slytherin. Though he did regret his decision, he did sometimes wonder what would have happened if he went into Ravenclaw. But that's when he remembered the most important thing he had learnt about houses... "Houses do not really define people all that much."

It was just an observation he had made, that the houses were so painfully vague when compared to how much detail a person could have that it probably would be rather difficult to properly be able to put a person into a certain house. It wouldn't surprise him if there were people who could have gone into any house and would fit perfectly in them.

Even though her companion wasn't the most forthcoming with conversation, the blonde felt like they were actually sort of echoing each other in terms of experience through their first year. Or rather he seemed to understand what she was talking about. For a moment, she wondered if she'd become one of those people that would just discuss their life to others, and yet, she wasn't really telling him anything, just stating what she had in mind.

He made one statement though that had her smile more to herself than anything. "I mean technically you're right, but some do define themselves by their house," she responded pensively. She'd seen a few prefects for example have the occasional quip over houses. Although she was a proud Ravenclaw, there was always that hurt that she hadn't been placed in the dungeons where her father had found his home at Hogwarts.

"The binary of Gryffindor versus Slytherin has definitely caused its own share of strife throughout history. It puts the other houses in their shadows, which makes it easier for those within those houses to define themselves as opposed to having to counter the bias placed upon the Snakes and Lions," she hadn't meant to get ahead of herself, but there she was yammering about. Was she being annoying? She bit her lip as she turned away to take a few steps forward in the queue as more students were being serviced. A few more fittings and they would be next from the looks of it.

Nimble fingers running through her golden locks she tucked them behind her ear. "I don't mean to talk your ear off," she said. Her mother did say it was rude to take over conversation like that, and simply impose herself on others; unless time and place allowed it. "Have any favorite classes? Did you join any clubs?" she asked, figuring perhaps she could get him to talk a bit about himself instead of her taking center stage as she had.

Noah was confused by her statement, people who define themselves by their houses? Wouldn't that mean the people who are simply somewhat similar to what their house describes? That would be rather obvious, it would be weird if everyone in a house was different, some of them would be similar, it's not like the sorting was random or anything like that.

Noah thought about it for a few seconds, looking into the distance and contemplating what she had said, a chance for them to define themselves? The ones who were not under the rival houses... but that simply made things unfair, didn't it?

"Well, that simply means that if you're sorted into Gryffindor or Slytherin, your chances of being able to define yourself go down, even if it does benefit half of the school, it affects the other half negatively, that is sort of unfair." Noah wasn't completely aware of whether what he was saying would come off as rude or not, he usually forgot to think about things like that when he was in a debate that was actually stimulating his brain, he loved it when he found interesting topics to discuss.

Listening to her next sentence, Noah calmed down a bit and thought about it, he didn't really do much so he wasn't in any clubs. He had seen a few but he wasn't sure how to join any because he was always quite nervous with things but then he realised he didn't really need to join anything. "No, I did not join any clubs, my favourite class would be Charms, I would say History but learning names and dates doesn't fit me well."