Absit Omen RPG

Just as Emrys was about to reply to his new maybe friend, his mother had said her goodbyes to the other woman and was standing near where he was lounging in the chair.  "Come along Emrys, it is time to go home." She didn't wait for him to follow her, just headed towards the door.

Emrys looked at Aoide, "Um, see you on the train... maybe..." he said to her as he rushed to find his mother so they could go home.

Emrys dutifully followed the rest of his classmates into the room and sat down in a chair nearest the back of the group.  Unfortunately for him, it was in the middle of all the chairs.  He shrugged to himself and started to listen to the professor.  In truth, he was most excited for this class.  He knew he'd learn all kinds of useful things in here. 

He listened as the professor began to talk and then watched in fascination as he put a student under a spell.  Emrys' mind was amazed, even as he knew things could happen with magic, he was still young and had yet to learn that magic could be used for bad things as well as good.

As the professor told the student to try to move, Emrys watched to see if there was going to be any movement before he heard the professor ask a question.  He knew the answer, but the professor was kind of scary, so there was no way he was going to draw attention to himself unless it was absolutely necessary.

Emrys hadn't been paying attention at all to the other kids getting sorted before him.  He'd heard all the stories from his grandfather about the old castle and now his head was looking side to side and occasionally up at the ceiling, trying to take it all in.  He was so engrossed in his examining of the castle that he almost missed his name being called.

"Westhaven, Emrys"

His head swiveled quickly towards the front of the Great Hall when he heard his name called and he gulped as the ascended to where the stool was.  In his mind he was already wishing to be placed somewhere his parents would hate.  He knew they wanted him to be a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw, but Emrys knew he wouldn't fit in there.  Sure he liked to read and all, but not all the time.  And he certainly wasn't brave or reckless enough to be a Gryffindor.

He sat down on the stool and looked out at all the other students who were waiting for the sorting to finish.  There were a lot of people looking his way and Emrys couldn't help but feel as if they were all staring at him.

The hat was placed on his head and for a moment there was silence.

"You would do well in any house."

He heard the voice in his head, all the while thinking of the house he wanted.

"Very well"

"SLYTHERIN" the hat said and Emrys pulled it off of his head and sat it down on the stool before trying his best not to rush to his new house table.  He'd tried so hard to get the hat to listen to what he wanted and now he was where he wanted to be.

He sat down with his new house members and waited for the feast to began.

Looking around at the other new faces he said, "Hello."

"I don't think there is anything wrong with Hufflepuff, but mother thinks it is not suitable for decent folks.  Or at least that's what I've heard her say to father on several occasions.  For some reason those conversations always end with her needing 'smelling salts' because she's fainted at the thought of me not being in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.  It's hilarious really, I don't care where I go."

He looked over at where their mothers were talking and rolled his eyes, "Are all mothers like this, or is it only ours? I mean, I don't think they've met before today, I mean, I've never seen your mum around mine, yet they are talking like they've known each other for ages.  It's ridiculous."

Emrys wasn't too interested in all the commotion on the platform, he'd already stowed his trunk thanks to the help of an older student, but he was looking forward to actually getting on the train.  When Gwenna suggested they find an apartment, he made sure he had a tight grip on his book and looked over to Aoide, "I'll go find a compartment if you want to stay out here for a bit." He was glad he made a new friend, but was still kind of nervous.  He'd never been away from home at all and now he was going to a boarding school where he wouldn't be back home until the holidays.

"I mean, if you want." he amended, knowing that people didn't like decisions made for them, but then again, they were only eleven and some a little older, but he still gave them a choice.  Truthfully, he really wanted to just find a compartment and read more of his book.  It wasn't a school book or any book by an author that was famous, it was the journal he'd been writing his grandfather's stories in.  There was no way he was going to leave it at home for his mother to find, she would destroy it in an instant.

"My name is Emrys, I live in Ireland.  It's very nice to meet you." he said, knowing that if his mother heard him without less than perfect manners, he'd have to sit through another one of her 'lectures' which was really him practicing good manners for close to an hour before his father would take pity on him and let him go.

"So, where do you think you'll be sorted?  I'm expected to be a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor, but I think I'd give mum a heart attach if I were to be Hufflepuff."  He stood up from the chair he was in for a minute as his legs were going to sleep from sitting for so long, he stretched and sat back down.  "I'm just ready to be there, I listened to stories about it from my grandfather and am really looking forward to it."

Emrys didn't have a chance to say anything as he felt a presence standing behind him.  When he looked, he saw his mother standing there with his father standing right behind her.  "Come along, it is time for us to leave." she said and then turned to leave.  Emrys looked at the two he'd been talking to the whole time they were there, "Sorry guys, see you in school, I guess."

Emrys turned to follow his parents knowing they were leaving for one of two reasons, one being that someone had asked where the Westhaven name came from, which wasn't likely, and two, his parents (mainly his mother) had decided that they had socialized enough for today and just wanted to head home.

Emrys looked back to see if his parents were watching him, but noticed that they seemed to think he'd be fine on his own and had left him to his own devices.  "Hello Aoide." he told her as he stopped his trolley within inches of hers.  He didn't really know too many people his own age, unless they were important enough for his parents to be invited to their parties.

He ignored the other girl for a moment and then said, "I'm gonna go put my trunk up, be right back," and he left to go do that.  It wasn't as hard as he thought it was going to be, he reached the area of the train where some older boy was helping some of the younger kids with their trunks and in no time, Emrys was back, standing next to Aoide as she still was talking to that older girl.

"Finally free of my parents... at least until the holidays." Emrys said before pulling a fantasy book out of the inside pocket in his robes and opened it to the marked page.

Emrys understood the girl's excitement about going to Hogwarts.  He too was excited, but it was to get away from his overbearing parents. He knew that they loved him on a certain level, but he got tired of being an only child, expected to be perfect at all times because he was the heir.

He watched her glance over to where the adults were still talking. "I just can't believe that I'm stuck in here, I mean, how long does it take to buy clothes." he was a boy, so he never really understood the allure of a shopping trip.  Even his aunt had told him how she loved to shop.

"I'd much rather be in the bookstore.  But she won't take me there until after we're done with everything else." he frowned. 

His custom made trunk on a trolley and his back straight, his mother would not tolerate hunched shoulders, Emrys stood with his mother and father by the Hogwarts Express and they turned to him with smiles on their faces.  He'd woken early this morning and hopefully had managed to pack his favorite books and all of the journals he'd written his grandfather's stories in without being noticed by the house-elf who had been ordered to pack his trunk the night before.

"Have a good trip lad," his father said, not even looking at him anymore, but gazing at the rest of the parents who were bringing their children to the train station.  His mother looked like she might cry, but then again, the engine of the train had just let off some steam, so he couldn't be sure, "My darling prince, my treasured little boy, " she began and Emrys tuned her out.  He couldn't deal with all the embellished emotion in her voice, no doubt hoping it carried to listening ears of her pureblooded friends, "Have safe travels and be sorted into the right house." To the innocent bystander it would sound like she was wanting him to go wherever he felt would fit him.

But to Emrys' ears, he heard the feminine voice of his mother turn hard at the end, warning him to get into the house they wanted and not his choice.

Truthfully he hoped he'd get Slytherin, that would really tick his parents off, he'd dreamed of it actually.  Sorted into Slytherin, the Howler at breakfast the next morning, then the quiet letter later telling him he'd been disowned and all his things had been sent to his aunt's house and she would collect him from the train station for his first holiday.  He knew it wouldn't be that easy, but he could dream.

"I'll be fine mum..." he began, but quickly changed his words at his mother's raised eyebrow, "I will be very well mother, farewell father." He desperately wanted to roll his eyes, but couldn't do it safely until he was on the train.  He felt his father clap him on the shoulder as he turned from them and headed towards the train.  Maybe he'd get lucky and find a compartment with someone he knew in it.

Emrys had been off in his own little world he'd created in his mind when he heard, “Well, that’s us stuck here for the rest of our lives.. He raised his chin off the hand that had been balanced on the arm of the chair and looked in her direction, "I know, I don't know why they need to shop so much, it's not like we need 15 sets of socks to get us through the year."  He was exaggerating of course, but it seemed like his mother was planning for the end of the world to his eleven year old mind.

"I got my wand before we came here," he told the girl, "I just can't wait to go to Hogwarts, my mum has been waxing poetic about how she'll miss me sorely when it's time to leave." He looked over to where his mother was now chatting with who seemed to be the girl's mum, he guessed anyway, and sighed, "I just don't think she knows what to do if I'm not there to boss around and being told to always correct my manners, or go change my shirt because it isn't proper to wear that for tea."

He hated being the heir of a house.

Emrys took a deep breath and thought about how he was going to answer Tim.  He was never sure if anyone was listening to him that would run back and tell his mother what he was thinking.  "I'm sure that if I wrote home that I was a Hufflepuff they'd disown me." He meant it as a joke, but his parents were hoping for anything but Hufflepuff.  "My mum would probably have kittens if I was in Slytherin." 

"I've been wanting to hang out with friends, or my crazy aunt," he mentioned his aunt with a fond smile.  She wasn't crazy at all, but his parents didn't like him hanging out with her because they thought she was a bad influence on their heir.  "But my mother is all about 'spending as much time with me before I go off to school'" He said using his fingers as air quotes.  "I don't think I've been out of her sight for three days now, except when I'm sleeping."

It was frustrating being at home right now, he absolutely hated that he was an only child.  Sometimes he wished he could just run away, but as many tracking spells his parents had placed on his belongings, he doubted he would get very far.

"I'm actually hoping for Ravenclaw," he told them.  "Or Gryffindor. I'm not sure which one I'll end up in, but I'll do great in either house I suppose."

He didn't know how long they'd been in this stuffy clothing store, but it seemed to Emrys as if it had been hours.  He'd been woken that morning by his mother who told him that they were going shopping for the things on Hogwarts list.  He'd groaned silently, for if his mother had heard him, it would of been a lecture before breakfast and that was enough to turn him off his food.

He wished he could just go with his aunt.  She'd get everything done quickly and leave enough time for a little fun before taking him back home, and she wouldn't make him get all the expensive stuff either.  He got up and dressed quickly and headed downstairs where he was hustled into the dining room and told to eat quickly for they had a lot to get done.

Once they had all finished and had made it to Diagon Alley, they moved in quick succession through the shops, getting everything he needed to start Hogwarts.  Avoiding the bookstore and the Quidditch shop, two of the places Emrys would rather be, and then finally heading towards the clothing store.  Any other parent would of probably went to Madam Malkin's, but not his parents.

They walked in the door and his father immediately made an excuse up to go have a drink somewhere, leaving poor Emrys to suffer his mother's love of shopping for clothes all by himself. He'd had to endure this every time he hit a growth spurt, so he'd been in here enough that they had his measurements written down and saved somewhere.  There was actually no need for him to be here at all as he'd gotten a suit a few months ago and he hadn't grown any since then.

But under his mother's watchful eye, he was stood up on a pedestal and measured again and then they held different fabrics up for her to see if it would look good on him.  Emrys was getting tired of it already and they'd only been there 20 minutes.  Finally he was told to go sit down.  He watched his mother talk to the shop owner and rolled his eyes, wishing he'd remembered to bring a book with him as he figured he would be here for another hour or two at least.

Wincing as he heard his mother exclaim, "Only the best for my little prince", he turned the seat he was in to face the opposite direction and began to hope that someone interesting would enter the shop and quickly before he decided to run to the bookstore.  It's not like his mother would notice he was gone.

Emrys was bored out of his mind, he hated all these fancy get-togethers, but at least the two who got hitched looked happy with each other.  Unlike his parents usually. He was pulled out of his musings by a shout from across the way.  He made his way over to the older boy and the girl with him before he realized it was Tim.  They knew each other obviously, mostly cause their families knew each other, but Tim was cool. 

"Hiya Tim." he said before listening to introductions and then because his manners had been drummed into him, he automatically replied with, "Pleasure to meet you Ms. Hericho." and was about to do the whole kiss her hand thing that his mother insisted he do all the time before he caught himself.  Looking about to make sure his parents weren't watching him, he loosed the tie from around his neck just a bit and then began to act like himself.

"This is some party huh?" He looked at Tim, "I honestly can't wait for school to start, my folks are going on and on about how I need to be perfect because I'm their heir and all that, but honestly, I kind of want to get sorted into the opposite house they want me in, just to give my mum a conniption fit."

They had barely made it to the ceremony in the church, having been glad to have been invited at all.  The Westhaven family wasn't a big family, but they were of the pureblood variety and the matriarch thought they had been invited at the last moment mayhaps because someone cancelled or could not make it.  However, they were here now.  Two and one child seated themselves in the back row, too far to be able to hear things, but still able to see.  Emrys looked to his parents and knew that if he started fidgeting, he'd never hear the end of it.  So he sat with his back ramrod straight and even though in his head he was thinking about all the stories his grandfather Andrew had told him of his adventures, his eyes and facial expressions were fixated on the wedding.

Once the ceremony was over, Emrys breathed a sigh of relief.  He hadn't wanted to be there, of course, what 11 year old boy would willingly sit through the ceremony of someone he did not know. However, he was his mother's son, so of course, they had to drag their perfect heir to any function they were invited too.  Maybe now that they weren't in the stuffy church, he could escape for a bit and maybe meet someone his age.

They entered the tent together and found their table, at once his parents began talking to the other occupants of the table and Emrys was able to make his escape.  He'd go back eventually, but surely there were some kids his age here.  Or young people of any age.  He stood against the side of the tent, on the opposite side of where his parents were and looked around.  Everyone seemed to be having fun, he didn't care for dancing though. All those lesson shoved upon him were taxing to say the least.  He wished his Aunt would of been able to come, she would of had some ideas to keep him from being bored.