Home!

Obderedria would be going home. Not that a year of magic school hadn't been exciting at Hogwarts but she did miss some bits of a simpler life and she hadn't seen her mother Patricia since Christmas, as Drea stayed at school over the Spring Break. Letters back and forth with her mother and grown frequently as the year drew to a close, with Drea reporting every knight how she thought she did on each test. Her mother was getting her room ready, couldn't wait to have her back, and she had talked with her boss about getting a few days off when Drea got home. Obderedria couldn't wait to see her mother again and tell her all of the things that could never fit on a letter, unless it was three miles long.

Like the fact she was bringing home a dwarf peach tree.

Obderedria had skipped many morning rituals in a state of nerves about the move back home like a frantic mother hen. All her things were packed away except for two she refused to let out of her sight. One being Puddin', her black and white kitty in his wicker basket (with pillow and bell and fresh catnip from the greenhouses) and her peach tree. She had a label tied with yarn to the trunk of her tree and some plastic bags that she normally kept shoes in over the Blue Bessies. For protection. She would have hauled the tree up from the Hufflepuff dorm herself but students were told to leave their large luggage at the foot of their beds, the house elves would transport it to the train station. Besides, she needed both hands to make sure Puddin's basket didn't fall over.

She was first along to the train station, moving with uncharacteristic speed to claim a space on the luggage rack for her trunk and a compartment for her peach tree, there was no way it could fit in the luggage rack. She excused herself as she had to pass students when going back for Puddin's basket. Finally she flopped onto a seat in her compartment, peach tree partially obscuring the window with Puddin's basket on her lap. She counted out her remaining pocket change. She was thirsty and would buy a pumpkin juice when the trolly lady came by with the snack trolly.

The next person to come by the compartment wasn't the witch with the tea trolley; it was Pax. He had been a bit slower lugging his things onboard, but now he had finally stowed his trunk away (after checking and double-checking that his sister's dollhouse was still safely secured within), and now only had to worry about his backpack slung over one shoulder, his little grey cat Vesper perched on the other, and the dwarf fruit tree of his own that had made it so difficult to navigate the train to begin with.

Catching sight of more miniature branches as he passed on the the compartments, Pax stopped and looked through the compartment door's window, and grinned to see that the other fruit tree belonged to Drea. He awkwardly nudged the door the rest of the way open with his foot, and squeezed into the compartment, holding the little tree protectively, and being careful not to clip its leaves on the door frame. All the movement caused Vesper to dig her claws into his shoulder to avoid being shaken off, but Pax was fairly used to her scratches by now, and only winced a little.

'Hiya Drea!' he chirped cheerfully. It was a lot easier to be cheerful, Pax decided, now that exams were finished. 'You kept the tree from Professor Blair too, huh? I'm gonna see if I can transplant mine into the garden at home, what about you?' Vesper, evidently tired of riding on Pax's shoulder, hopped down onto the seat next to Drea and started investigating the other cat present. 'Vess!' Pax chided. 'Sorry, Drea, Vesper's so nosy sometimes.'

Very excited that her first year was over, Cytherea quickly and haphazardly dragged her luggage aboard, leaving it in some random spot she probably wouldn't be able to find anytime soon. Not that it mattered because everything important to her was in the bag over her shoulder and in her tiny arms.

For whatever reason, she opted to bring the apple tree from Herbology home with her. It was super adorable, and that was probably the main reason regardless of what she may say to anyone. With a spring in her step she carried the little tree around with her as she went and harassed everyone she knew.

Cytherea was actually a little surprised seeing Pax carrying hes tree into a compartment, and never wanting to miss a minute of making a Hufflepuff uncomfortable, she moved her way down eh train. With gusto she threw open the door and dragged her tree inside, making it very cramped as there were now three various fruit trees.

"Hey Hufflepuff!" Cytherea exclaimed happily. "Er, Hufflepuff's," she added noticing Drea, or more accurately, the green in her hair. "Y'all are bringing your tree's home too, eh? Aren't they adorable?" Beaming at the two, Cytherea made to sit down on one of the empty seats. But the one closest to her had a cat on it.

"Oh my God! Cat!" she cried, flapping her hands up and down like an excited school girl (which she was). "I love cats. I want a cat. Whose cat is that?"

Heliotrope was encumbered. Instead of a trunk, she was dragging a large canvas rucksack, a bulging monstrosity like a felled bovine. All of her possessions where in there, crowned with a plum tree poking from the opening closed by long cords. In spite of the heavy load of the sack it dragged easily, made from watertight low friction fabric, a wizard textile.

Plowing a path through the train compartment as few were able to pass, Helio stopped when she saw the limbs of an apple tree disappear into a compartment. She followed, wedging her large bag through the sliding door.

"Hi Pax," Obderedria said. "Yeah, I'm taking my tree home. But I'm going to have to keep it in the pot, we just have the flat. I asked Professor Blair the best way to keep it without planting it in the ground."

From her lap Puddin' stuck his head out of the basket to look at Vesper and the elder cat sat nose to nose with the kitten. "Hi," Obderedria said, hold out a hand with still fingers for Vesper to sniff.

Then Cytherea came in, herself with an apple tree. Now there were too many branches in the way to see properly. "Hi Cy. I guess a lot of people wanted to keep their trees. Um, Vesper is Pax's cat and Puddin' is mine. No, Puddin'!" She gripped the kitten with both hands as he attempted to jump from the basket. She should have a lid on this. Obderedria didn't want him to escape out to the train car because she wouldn't be able to get to him, being thrice blocked by fruit trees.

Speaking of the train corridor, the door slid open again and her mermish roommate Heliotrope entered behind Cytherea, lugging a sack the size of a boulder. Her own fruit tree poked from the opening at a hazardous angle. Peach, Pear, Apple and Plum. Oh my. Just how much room was left in the compartment?

"Um, hi Heliotrope." Obderedria tried to make herself hear through the forrest in between the seats.

This compartment was getting more treeful by the minute! Pax flinched instinctively when he saw Cytherea; why was it that Gryffindors his age tended to have that effect on him? But she seemed to be in a friendly mood, so Pax chanced a smile at her. 'Hi Gryffin-- I mean, Cytherea.' He shuffled further into the compartment to make room for Cytherea, and Heliotrope, who had also appeared. He suddenly felt rather conscious of the fact that he hadn't asked Drea if she minded him joining her, but at this point, between all the bodies and trees, it was going to be difficult to leave. So he sat down by the window, still careful of his pear tree.

'Hi Helio,' he greeted his half-mermish housemate. Pax glanced between her and Cytherea, a little at a loss. He got along with Drea just fine, but he hadn't spent all that much time with either of the other two girls. But, Cytherea liked cats, like he did. And both of them liked their trees enough to take them home. So really, they wouldn't be short on things to talk about.

Vesper, who had given Cytherea a discerning look in reaction to her exclamation, clambered down from the seat next to Drea, and stalked over to the Gryffindor to sniff up at the tree she was holding, as if to say, That looks interesting, are you going to let me see it? Pax, not feeling the need to deter her anymore, instead went for the conversation hook Cytherea had offered. 'The trees are pretty cool, aren't they? I'm going to put mine in the garden, and Drea's going to keep hers in its pot. What are you guys going to do with yours?'

"Tree?" Heliotrope asked, almost confused. She was perched on her blob of canvas sack that held all her things. Then she looked at the branches sticking out of the bag with the miniature pods that would become plums. She had just assumed the students were to take them home and had no prior plans on what to do with it.

"It could be planted on the island my mother lives on in Loch Lomond," Heliotrope said after a moment. She pulled out a letter, once moist then dried until it was crinkly. "She is still at the loch for assisting with spawning season. She does that," hand movements around her head, "spell with the bubble. Long lasting ones."

"Oh-dear-God-there's-no-more-room!" Cytherea exclaimed as that weird Hufflepuff brought an entire boulder into the already cramped compartment. She certainly was a strange one; it was almost as if she wasn't human. Then again, there were rumors that she was half fish, or something. But Cytherea doubted that as from what little she understood about it, Humans couldn't have kids with Fishes.

Luckily she was short, and managed to hop up on the empty seat as whatsherface hobbled in, still clinging to her apple tree. "Sorry, kitty," Cytherea said solemnly, noticing the cats look as she moved away from it.

An ear perked up as the weird girl said something about her mother living on an island in the middle of a loch. And spawning. "Your mother lives in the middle of a lake?" Cytherea asked somewhat pointedly, finding it very odd for some reason. "And helping what spawn, exactly?" She gave Pax a look that said 'what's up with this chick?' before finally declaring what she would be doing with her tree.

"I'm sticking mine in our backyard somewhere," Cytherea said proudly. "Maybe next to the one Vulpy planted back in the day."  In actuality, the tree was planted by their father. However, when Cytherea was about five she asked who planted it, and was jokingly (by their cousin, nonetheless) told Vulpes summoned it with his magical prowess. Worst of all, she's never been convinced otherwise by either her parents nor her brother that it wasn't true.

Smiling broadly Cytherea stepped down the seat to the window, leaning slightly and looking out of it. "What are you all doing for summer?" she asked, turning back to them, already bored of the scenery. "I'm going to Egypt."

Pax beckoned to Vesper with a free finger, slightly worried he was going to lose her amid all the miniature forestry, but she was blatantly ignoring him and now turning to investigate Heliotrope. Pax sighed slightly, and hugged the pot containing his pear tree to his stomach. It was difficult to see around the branches, but he wasn't entirely sure it wouldn't tip over if he put it down somewhere. At least he wouldn't have to carry it anywhere else after this. Well, except the car ride back to Birmingham. Listening to Heliotrope mention planting hers on an island in Loch Lomond, he wondered vaguely how far away the half-mergirl lived. Would she have to go all the way back up to Scotland after arriving in King's Cross? How did merpeople travel long distances, anyway; would she swim?

Shaking his head a little, he refocused on the conversation, and perked up a little when Cytherea declared she would be going to Egypt. 'Ooh, so you're going on the school trip, then, right? I wasn't sure if any first-years were going. D'you know who else is going? I'm not,' he added, sounding a little torn about it. 'It sounds like it'd be amazing, but I really want to just stay home with my family. Plus I've got studying to do,' he added with a grimace. 'What about you two,' he asked Heliotrope and Drea. 'Are either of you going?'

"Ooh, I heard about it," Obderedria said about the trip. "But it sounds like a long time to be abroad and then what would happen to my tree? And the Galleon-Pound exchange rate is low again, mom figure's we need my school fund to accumulate."

"I suppose it would be a fun spot to visit. I'll guess I'll be around home while mum's at work. There's always Diagon to visit. We could always owl, Pax, since you'll be with family." That did seem to be the main way the young witches and wizards communicated over the summer. "But you should send it first, I don't have one and mum hasn't gotten used to owls still."

Pax nodded along for Drea's reasons why she wasn't going to Egypt either. The trip was for about a month, if he remembered correctly, and that was a long time to be away from home, away from family. Pax didn't often get homesick at Hogwarts, he liked the school and the people there too much, but one of the things that kept him from being homesick was the knowledge that he'd get to be at home with his mum, dad and sister (and all their cats) over the holidays. This wasn't the kind of thing one came out and admitted though. Well, maybe if it had just been Drea in the compartment. But Pax didn't know Cytherea and Heliotrope as well as that.

Drea's mention of owling over the summer brightened Pax's expression. Much as he was looking forward to being back in Birmingham again, he was going to miss his school friends, and was eager to keep in touch. He and Eirene had already agreed to owl each other a lot. 'You bet! Yeah, your mum's a muggle, isn't she, like mine?' He chuckled good-naturedly. 'My mum told me it took her a while to get the hang of the whole owl thing. We can't keep them in the house, y'see, because of all the cats we have. We use the wizarding post offices instead.'

With a self-effacing grin, he added, 'Though I'm afraid my letters probably won't be terribly interesting, since I'm only staying home. Hey Cytherea, you'll have to tell us all about Egypt when we're all back at Hogwarts!'

"What?" Cytherea turned her attention back to Pax. Up until this moment she had pulled what she dubbed as 'a Vulpy', in which she completely zoned out for no apparent reason. What had they been talking about? Summer vacation plans... yes that was it. "Oh!" Che exclaimed, mind finally catching up. "Yea sure!"

Cytherea casually folded her legs and let herself fall into a sitting position, tree resting between her legs. Standing was getting boring. "I could owl you during the trip I suppose; send lots of picture." Cytherea gave a shrug and leaned back, fiddling with the branches of her tree.

"Are you really no doing anything Pax?" She asked idly, thinking of how boring it would be for him. "We could hang out over the summer if you want. After Egypt. Keep you from going stir crazy." If she had more tact, Cytherea probably would offer the same to the other two in the compartment. If only out of sake of courtesy.

'Really?' Pax was pleasantly surprised. He had pegged Cytherea for one of the Gryffindors who tended to find him annoying. So that she was offering to hang out sometime was pretty encouraging. Pax grinned, a little self-conscious. 'I mean, it's not like I won't be doing anything anything. I've got studying, and art projects, and visiting Eirene and Noriko and-- oh! Flying practice.' He chuckled sheepishly. ' 'Cause I need a lot of flying practice. And like Drea said, there'll be Diagon to visit. Maybe I''ll see you there, Drea? And you, Helio?' Pax had remembered he hadn't addressed the half-mermish Hufflepuff in a while, and was feeling a little guilty about leaving her out.

'But yeah, Cytherea, it'd be great to catch up after Egypt-- hey, you can tell me all about it in person! Though owling and pictures, that'd be brill too.' He leaned back contently, adjusting his tree a little. He was falling again into that habit of his of getting too enthusiastic about a subject, and rambling on about it without pausing for thought. 'I'm like, collecting people to owl with over the summer, I think. You'd make... hmm...' He counted briefly on his fingers. 'Six.' He laughed a little. 'I hope I don't run out of ink!'

Heliotrope had not been paying attention to any notices about a trip. If one was to speculate, she may have enjoyed the beach and Nile, the sand and heat another story.

When asked what she was doing over the summer Heliotrope spoke from her stupor. "I must swim home to Loch Lomond. I was offered visits to Charles Harcroft and Mary Beth MacEvoy afterwards. Diagon is that hidden street in the London cirty, correct?" Heliotrope had the briefest of visits when securing school supplies. Much had to be gotten from elsewhere.

Pax nodded, trying not to look too disbelieving that Heliotrope needed to clarify where Diagon Alley was. Surely she had been there already, to get her school supplies last year? But then, Heliotrope did seem to perceive things in different ways. Maybe when one had to swim everywhere to get around, it made them think about the names and locations of wizarding places differently.

'That's the one, Helio,' he said. 'The street you get to through the magic wall at the Leaky Cauldron. We'll need to go their for school supp-- oof.' Vesper, apparently now bored of roaming around the compartment and investigating the other first-years, had climbed up behind Pax and now landed on his shoulder.

'Anyway. It'd be great to see people over the summer. I think I'm going to see Mary Beth too,' he added to Heliotrope, grinning a little at the prospect. The two of them had some Quidditch moves to practice if they wanted to try out for the Hufflepuff team next year! He kept quiet about planning visits with Eirene and Norkio, though; Cytherea seemed nice enough, but he couldn't be sure she wouldn't give him a hard time about being friends with Eirene.

Casting back to another of Heliotropes comments, Pax said, 'I can't imagine swimming all the way home. Is it far? Do you have to stop to rest sometimes?' Pax hadn't really spent much time with Heliotrope over the year, so there was a great deal he didn't know about her, though he was curious to find out more.