"Come on, Sophia, the train is smoking," sighed Maddison as she dragged the trolly behind her towards the steam engine and the line of carriages. Families milled in all directions as the girl with bright red hair and dark eyes tried to steer her way through them - a feat made more difficult because she was pulling the trolly instead of pushing it. Behind her, with a long-suffering stare at the butler who had dropped them off, her older sister pushed her trolly towards the train.
"Really, Maddison, this is embarrassing. People are going to see you being a dork and think I'm a dork too."
"Come on! I don't want to miss the train. Sophia, come on..." her little sister sighed, stopping to wait for the older girl (more because at that moment she got the wheel lodged in a crack in the pavement).
Once they had their cases loaded onto the train, Sophia guided her younger sibling to a cabin in one of the carriages. The cabin had an older girl - possibly a fifth year - who left as the two De'vere girls sat.
"What was that about?" Maddison asked, noting the rudeness.
"Look, just... ignore it. People can be very, well, downright dumb when they want to be. Don't take it personally. I told you over the summer, our family name has something of a stigma attached."
"Sure, but, well... I'm too young to have been involved in all that!"
"Dork. We both are. Now, shush and pass me one of those chocolate frogs you have stashed away in your trunk."
The train started to chuff away from the station.
A few moments later, a boy around Maddison's age slid open the cabin door and poked his head in.
"Er, is like..." he mumbled.
"Yes, come in. The more the merrier," Sophia said before Maddison could speak.
" 'Sup," the newcomer said, sliding into a seat and opening a copy of Quidditch Weekly, ignoring them. Maddison rolled her eyes.
"Are you a first year too?" she asked.
The boy glanced over the paper.
"Oh you are too? I thought you'd be like, a second year or something. Yeah. I'm Harrison Ellesmere. Most people call me Harry."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Maddison and this is my sister, Sophia."
"Cool," Harrison - Harry - said, and then pulled the magazine right in front of his face again. Sophia smiled and winked at her younger sister.
"I'm going to see if I can find Rigel."
"Who's Rigel?"
Maddison pulled her face.
"Her Boyfriend..."
"Ewww," muttered Harry. Maddison liked him more already.
Rolled Double 1:
New NPC - Michael Queensbury, reputable polymath, year 5 (prefect), Motive: Conquor composure; manage allies; spoil charity
The cabin door slid open again, just as Sophia was about to exit, and a tall, waspish boy already dressed in robes of House Eaglebeak stood framed in the doorway.
"These witches haven't attacked you have they?" he said directly to Harry. It took the much younger boy a moment to realise he'd been talked at.
"What?" he asked, bewildered, looking over the top of his magazine for a moment.
"No? What you on about?"
"You do know their family are all dark witches and wizards, don't you?"
"We are not, Michael, you great idiot. We-" Sophia was cut off.
"Ah ah ah!" the tall boy said, tapping a badge with a P on it.
"Don't want to lose House Leoclaw points before the term has even begun, do you?"
Sophia glared at him, while Maddison and Harry watched the scene with utter confusion.
"And who do we have here? Another De'Vere Praetorian?"
Maddison's mouth dropped, utterly horrified. The Praetorians were - or rather had been - a pack of murderous wizards and witches who had served a very evil individual called the Black Queen. To call Maddison one of them was... unthinkable. She had no idea how to react.
"Watch your back, these are wicked witches." With a sneer he was off, and Sophia said several very rude things about his big, wide ears which made Maddison gasp and Harry laugh, and then she, too, left the cabin.
"Are you a wicked witch?" Harry asked.
"No!"
"Na, you look alright to me. You like Quidditch?"
"Yeah, who doesn't. I want to be on the team. My sister is a chaser for Leoclaw."
"Oh cool. That's the ones that, er... chase the big red one, right?"
"You don't know about Quidditch?" Maddison asked, surprised.
"What's with the magazine?"
"I just figured, if I'm gonna be here a while, I best figure out the sports, you know?" The lad laughed.
For the next hour, the pair talked about sports. Maddison talked about the sport, using the magazine to discuss the finer points of being a beater (the role she was often given by her big sister playing the garden at home) and trying to get her head around the sport of Football.
Sophia returned to the cabin, smiling a little as she slid the door closed behind her.
"It's time to put on your cloaks, guys. We're nearly there. Another hour or so and we'll be at Baednook." She smiled, seeing her little sister sat beside Harry and the magazine held between them but resisted the urge to tease.
"Mind if Rigel comes in here and sits with us?"
"Ewww.. No snogging," Harry muttered, looking at Maddison, who grinned.
"Only if there is no snogging," she laughed. Sophia's eyeroll was nearly audible as she left to collect her boyfriend.
FATE:
Does anyone else come in before Sophia gets back? 50/50 - YES.
Lively Cleric; 1-st year, motive: Realise love, pursue poverty, weaken resources
Rowan Griffith
The door hadn't been closed for ten seconds when it slid open again and a witch with pale white hair stepped in. She was clearly the same age as Maddison and Harry and she carried a guitar.
"Hello," she said cooly.
"I'm here to play. I got kicked out of my cabin for annoying some beanpole idiot."
"Play? Wait..." Maddison started to say, but the girl ignored her and began to strum the guitar loudly. She was actually pretty good and Maddison noted that Harry seemed to know all the songs she was playing.
She was still playing when Sophia and Rigel entered the cabin, the older girl looking at Maddison as if to say
"What the hell is going on? Maddison just shrugged. With the girl still playing, the four of them had to sit squashed together on the other side of the cabin politely waiting for her to finish.
Who is Rigel?:
Sinful Astrologer. Motives: Convey lies, collaborate literature, deter dreams
Maddison got a very unpleasant vibe from Rigel. She looked him over, wondering what on earth her sister saw in him, when she saw something she did not like. Sophia was watching the girl playing her guitar. Maddison saw Rigel's eyes flicker to her sister's face, and saw his hateful expression that bloomed across it like a virulent disease. And then it was gone. But Maddison felt his evil intent. Rigel's arm over Sophia's shoulder made her feel sick.
Something is going on here, but I can't tell Sophia till I know more. She has been talking to Rigel all holidays by owl. She's really head-over-heels for him.
The train finally started to slow down and ground to a halt.
<red>"Here. At last!" smiled Sophia, and then the cabin was filled with people getting their trunks and bags and picking up any last possessions before leaving the train.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:43, Sat 23 Mar.