Absit Omen RPG
Role-Play Boards => Muggle Locations => Topic started by: Cosima Early on May 10, 2022, 04:41:12 PM
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18 August 2012
2pm on a Saturday
A park in Cambridge
The two girls were sitting under a tree. It was hot, nearly 30 C, but there was a breeze and the shade made it tolerable. Louder than their chitchat was the sharp, percussive clacking of typewriter keys. The older of the girls, Cosima Early with her red hair and freckles, was crouched at it typing deftly, though the clunky mechanism didn't really allow very good speed.
Cosima was fifteen and she and her mother were down visiting the Riddles in Cambridge for the weekend. Cosima's single mum Torrence had told Cosima how she'd come to know the Riddles at some point, but Cosima mostly only knew them to be a constant but distant family friend. She'd played with Samantha before, but being so much younger, they'd never become fast friends. But with the school year coming up, Torrence had set Cosima to the task of strengthening the connection so Samantha would have someone at Hogwarts come September.
They were writing some original fiction featuring muggles, taking turns, an activity Cosima had chosen. They'd already filled two pages which were weighed down under the typewriter so they wouldn't blow away.
"Oh, I know..." she said. Clack! Clack-ack-ackity! Clack! Clack!
The woman's face was lit up in the dark by the blue glow of her mobile screen. She'd received a text. As soon as she read it, her all the blood drained from her face. Then, all of a sudden
"Okay, your go."
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Although Sam had been quite chipper when first meeting, since her mother's illness she had become more withdrawn, Cosima's chit-chat met with more lackluster responses than they might have several years ago. She didn't ignore her, but often seemed to have her mind elsewhere, especially considering the recent state of things. Samantha never had a problem with the older girl, she was just that--older. They had grown up in different times, and it was harder to relate to someone four or five years older than you. At least she was polite and never left her wondering or waiting. She'd been a bit skeptical at first when she had suggested writing together, knowing there would be a vast difference in their capabilities. She may have had a slightly advanced vocabulary for her age thanks to her constant reading, but there was no way it compared to a fifteen-year-old's--right?
Luckily, the writing seemed to help. It gave her something else to focus on, other than the books she and her father had recently purchased for school coming at the beginning of next month. Having an older student to essentially mentor her would probably come in handy too, especially considering all she'd heard about how easy it was to get lost the first few weeks. Even if they ended up in different houses, she could easily contact her through letters if she needed, or maybe they'd both end up in the same one and she'd see her in their common room.
Startling slightly when she heard the typewriter's ding as it began a new line, she looked at the latest line that had been written. Sliding in front of the old typewriter, she pondered what to write next.
Then, all of a sudden a knock sounded from the bedroom door. She was supposed to be alone in the house. Steeling herself, she
Looking at Cosima after a moment for approval, she slid off to the side to let her go again. "What's Hogwarts like?" she asked quietly, one of the first few times she'd initiated a conversation topic today, "I've asked my father but he said it would be much different for someone now than it was when he was there."
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Cosima returned to the typewriter and had a look at what Samantha had written. She sucked in a little air at the opportunity to introduce a new character. But Samantha had asked her a question. Cosima only glanced at her long enough to offer a little smile and a bit of eye contact before turning towards the typewriter. Samantha seemed to Cosima really shy and she didn't want to deluge her with a river of information.
"It's big," she said thoughtfully. "In a few ways. The castle is bigger than any you've visited, far bigger than a school has any business being. You can literally get lost on your way to class or the bathroom. And the grounds are vast. Also, very get-lost-able."
Neologism. A word for making up new words. Like get-lost-able.
"And there's a lot of people."
Samantha, Cosima knew, had been to both muggle school and a small local one, but Hogwarts would likely be bigger. There was so much to say about Hogwarts, about learning magic, about being away from home, about the professors, but Cosima thought that the scale of the place was most relevant for a first answer.
She typed out another few lines.
reached for her umbrella, the only half-deadly thing nearby. The person knocked on the door again, this time harder. A man's voice followed and Brenna recognized it. It was the guy from the train. The man with the bag.
"Okay," she said. It was hard to stop writing, but that was part of the fun - the pulling away. She glanced at Samantha again, hoping she was having an okay time.
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A deluge of information would have been welcomed, but Samantha had no idea of her friend's reservations. Instead she took in the response quietly, nodding her head in understanding. That was one thing she knew, that it was large. It had to be large to fit so many students, so it only made sense. Maybe it had charms cast on it to make it bigger on the inside, too? Her only experience with schooling were at a muggle school and the more recent private school, both of which weren't particularly large. At least not as large as she was imagining Hogwarts now.
This time it took her an extra moment or two to slide in front of the typewriter, though it was only after she had read through what had been written. This time it seemed less due to distraction and more due to pondering an addition. She scratched her chin as she sat there, wondering what might go well along with it. The man with the bag...
Finally, her hands were brought to the keys again, and she slowly typed out another addition.
He had seemed friendly at first, but there was something peculiar about him. Why had he followed her? How had he gotten in? She stayed quiet, hoping he would think she had gone.
Sitting back and then scooting to the side, she asked, "What are the professors like?"
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Cosima didn't move immediately to the typewriter. The cast of characters at Hogwarts, their rogue's gallery of teachers seemed to line up on stage in Cosima's imagination. By now, she knew many of them very well.
"Where to start..." she breathed. "You'll have Professor Storm (https://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=4671.0). Ignan Storm. He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts. German. Very intimidating. But it's because wants to be, if you know what I mean. He's very strict and secretive. You'll meet him straight away as he coordinates the Sorting Ceremony."
"Um, and ... the nicest teacher is for Transfiguration, Professor Singh (https://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=18768), who's also in charge of Gryffindor house. He's been everywhere in the world and he's tiger Animagus. Do you know about Animagi?"
Samantha was clever, Cosima knew, and from a partially magical family, but she didn't want to assume. "I don't want to assume. It's okay if you don't."