She sat on her bed. It was early morning and she was the only one awake,
apart from her owl that was out hunting. She loved this time of the day
before everyone's there to interfere. She let her mind wander to everything
from going to school in two weeks to the books she had been reading. She
finally got into a meditation-like trance until she was "woken up" as she
liked to call it, by the owl swooping into the room and landing on the edge
of her bed. She loved that owl, and she called him Hero, for he would brave
through any storm to get her letters to where se asked him to take them.
She stroked his brown feathers and praised him for his hunt and plugged her
nose and grabbed hold of the tail of the mouse he brought her and dropped
it into the garbage, his yellow eyes looking at her inquisitively as she
did so. She picked up the list she had received from Hogwarts and read it
over yet another time, not because she forgot what to get but to reminded
her that school was coming soon. She would be following in her father's
footsteps and become a witch, but of course she had gotten over that
astonishment four years ago when she first got her letter. She still liked
to remind herself. She loved Hogwarts and couldn't wait to go back. She
put the list in her oak dresser drawer and walked downstairs as quietly as
she could.
"Dad wat'cha dooin here?" she said in astonishment as she looked at a gray haired man with a long gray business-y looking cloak on. "Going to work?"
"Yes and you're coming with me remember?" her father said after wiping his partly brown and partly gray mustache off from his morning waking potion.
"Ooooooh yeaaaaaaa. Oops I thought today was Thursday" she said while getting her favorite cereal from the cupboard. It was impossible to keep track of the days when there wasn't any school. In Hogwarts, it was normally written on the board of a classroom, so if anyone needed to know the date they would simply look up from their work at the chalkboard in the front of the room.
Her house was full of muggle things, mainly because her mother was a muggle and her brother, who was a lot like her mother seemed to be a muggle. He hadn't blown up anything when he was younger, unlike Gabrielle. She remembers quite clearly how her mother tried to feed her soup when she was younger and it turning it into chocolate pudding in her mouth. Yes, she felt bad for disobeying her mother but she couldn't help from smiling every time someone talked about it. Her mother didn't like the idea of her being a witch but tried her best to understand how important it was to her. She remembered Her father gleaming with pride when she showed any hint of magic, and didn't delay in sending the school an apology to a muggle school four years ago explaining how she will be attending another school, but really going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Gabrielle and her father read the daily prophet together, or more like Gabrielle looked for the "good stuff" and her father read the articles on politics. Gabrielle only browsed quickly at an article, and read it curiously, and after reading it thoroughly sighing and thinking to her self that nothing good ever happens.
Soon enough she had finished her cereal and ran upstairs to her room, shoving random things into her green canvas bag, but not forgetting her supply list. She knew she would be in her father's office for a while and its good to come prepared. She put the strap over her head and walked towards her door stopping to see her unkempt blonde hair in the mirror, her mothers voice ran through her head telling her not to look scruffy, but look like a lady and she brushed it, listening to her mother's voice. While she brushed her hair a girl of 14 looked back at her. Her long eyelashes made her bottle-green eyes stand out, and her big lips stood out as well. She was striking, and always stood out, if not her looks it would be her personality. Another thing that made her stand out was the fact that she was wearing witches' clothing. The only thing muggle was her jeans, but her shirt had sleeves that were almost longer than her fingers. She had changed for the trip to her father work. She was also wearing a cloak over the jeans and white long-sleeved shirt. Her cloak was light blue today. She ran down the steps to meet her mother still in her nightgown, and messy dark brown hair making crepes and attempting to teach her brother to do the same. She took a crepe and kissed her mother on the cheek then went over to her brother giving him one and laughed when he made a disgusted face and wiped his cheek. She messed up his short blonde hair and walked toward the living room. Her mother told Gabrielle to fix her pants for the thousandth time (they were too long and had rips at the knees. Just the way Gabrielle liked 'em). She said goodbye and met up with her dad in the living room.
"Have everything you need Gabby?"
"O'course I do" she replied with her playful smile and took a pinch of floo powder and said
"The ministry of magic!"
She hit the cold marble floor with a thud. She still hadn't gotten used to this yet. She heard someone else coming through and quickly rolled out of the way and started to get up from the floor, but fell over when a set of other people came out. Everyone was in a hurry to get to work and didn't pay much attention to the girl sitting on the floor, so she got up and walked of in search of her father. Then a Girl with long black hair and light freckles came out and fell just as she did. Gabrielle recognized her instantly.
"Morgain?? "She asked. The girl looked up.
"Gabby! I came to your house right after you left, I thought I would keep you company" Gabrielle gave the biggest smile that made her little square nose wrinkle up and make her freckles dance; now it wouldn't be so boring. They both walked in search of her father.
"Where were you?" he asked
"I fell getting out of one of the fireplaces, and bumped into Morgain" she said smiling
"We better get going if we want to be out of here early."
They walked through the crowds of people rushing of to work and hurried off to a man who inspects the wands. His name was Earl, and knew Gabrielle by name.
"Haven't seen you in a while Gabby dear" Earl said with a smile, he was wearing a black work robe that she saw many wizards wear. (What did I tell you)
"Yes, what has it been....3 days?" Gabrielle said jokingly while giving her wand to Earl. Earl looked at it quickly and gave it back, moving on to her father's wand, and then he took Morgain's wand.
"Getting your school supplies today. Eh Gabby?"
"Yes I am, and I can't wait" she said Gabrielle waved after saying goodbye. Her, her father and Morgain sped up in a run after they had gotten past earls check, her father was late for being early for a meeting, as Gabby called it. They ran into the lift right before the door closed and waited for them to go to a higher floor and got of after a couple of floors up. Gabrielle's father worked in the transportation office. He let gabby sit at his desk while he got his notes. She liked sitting there, feeling very in charge. She always had a huge grin on her face when she sat at her father's desk, but she would have had an even bigger grin on her face if she was an aouror with her own desk in this building. She had peered inside of the Auror department, and saw a glimpse of how it was in there. She started having fantasies of her being one of them, catching criminals and having the adventures the aurors have.
Right now she was fooling around and talking to Morgain, who had pulled up a chair for herself. Morgain was her closest friend from school, and they had even gone on vacation to France this summer. Her father had taken them because he had a conference there for the Worldwide Magical Transportation Committee. There they got to practice their French and now officially only talked French to each other (to avoid being overheard by others, and it did prove useful).
They went on trips all around France, the Louvre at night, when all the paintings started to move and tell their stories to the people visiting the museum. They also visited the Eiffel tower. The magical towns there they loved as well, and shopped the day away at designer stores. The famous designers there are wizards but sell their clothing to muggles as well.
The time crept by and they were soon interrupted by one of her father colleagues. He was about the same age as Gabrielle's father; he had jet- black hair and knobby knees. He waved to her and Gabrielle waved back,
"Hello Mr. Potter!" she said, and then explained to Morgain how she knew him (in French of course). He was nice, and played exploding snap with Gabrielle once when she was bored out of her mind and he had a lunch break. She always liked him, but his son was another story. Her parents had always wanted her to have a boyfriend and of all people they wanted her to date Mr. Potter's son James. James was the most popular boy in school. He was big headed, arrogant, and ignorant. He never noticed Gabrielle, and she liked it that way. Unfortunately, the Potter family had been close with the Orwoods' since Gabrielle's father had started working wit Mr. Potter, and that was years before she was born. She normally thought up clever ways of avoiding him, and hardly ever saw him.
They both talked for a while longer and were interrupted yet again by Gabrielle's father rushing back from a meeting. He came back with a remorseful look on his face and told Gabrielle that he couldn't take them to Diagon Alley. Gabrielle said it was all right and offered that they could go by their selves, because they've been there thousands of times and could get around pretty well. He gave Gabrielle some money for all her supplies. She left her bag with him, and took the list of supplies, folded it and put it into the back pocket of her jeans and the moneybag in her jacket pocket. She hugged her father goodbye and they went to the lift for the main hall. When they reached it they went back to the now empty row of fireplaces and went to one.
"Diagon Alley!" Gabrielle said, going first.
This time she only staggered, and very proud of herself she stood up straight and brushed of the ash on her, but then Morgain came and hit into her because Gabrielle forgot to move out of the way. They both laughed and stood up, brushing of the dust off their selves yet again. She looked around the Leakey Cauldron.
She saw a group of boys she knew from school in a table by the door in the back. One of them was Mr. Potter's son. She ignored him, knowing he would do the same. Her friends didn't like his lot, and she even doubted they knew her name. They were all popular and very bigheaded. Morgain said hello to a boy named Remeus Lupin. He was the nicest of all of them and said hello as well. She could've sworn she heard the rest of the boys asking Remeus who they both were. They walked out the door and went to a brick wall. Gabrielle tapped a couple of bricks with her wand and the bricks moved to leave an opening that they could walk through without a problem. James looked at the two girls passing by their table in the leaky cauldron. The blonde one was familiar to him, though he didn't know where he could have seen her. A girl with long black hair said hello to Remeus, and as soon as they passed James asked who they were. "Oh that's Gabrielle Orwood, and Morgain Lestrage." Remeus said.
"Oh." James said.
"How do you not know them?" Remeus said. "Gabrielle is in Gryffindor, and she's in our year too!" Remeus said.
"Guess I haven't noticed them." James said, defending himself " Don't go mental over it Lupin." Sirius had been looking out the Leaky Cauldron's window, and Peter wasn't paying the least bit of attention to the conversation.
They both walked into a sea of witches and wizards, and excitement flew through Gabrielle. They started walking around and Gabrielle stopped to look at her list to see what she should buy first. She figured they should get school robes, and asked if Morgain wanted to go get robes first. She walked over to Madame Malkin's Robes for all occasions and stopped to look at the window. It had a couple of moving manikins wearing robes, she liked one to the far right, it was wearing a long white cloak with light golden rims, but she couldn't quite see what was underneath because the jacket was wrapped around the manikin. She walked in, almost bumping into a two girls walking out. They were both girls from Gryffindor, and friends of Gabrielle. There names Were Shannon Collins and Jamie Mclean. Shannon had Light brown, very curly hair, and Jamie had beautiful long black, curly hair and both had far too many freckles to count. They talked to each other for a while, discussing there summer holidays, and then Morgain and Gabrielle proceeded into the store. Madame Malkin walked up to them.
"Hogwarts students?" she asked
"Yes we are" Gabrielle replied
"Then come with me girls". They followed Madame Malkin into another room to be fitted. She measured Morgain first and left for a little while and came back with a set of robes. Then she went on to Gabrielle and fitted her and just like Morgain came back within minutes with a new set of robes for Gabrielle. They left the store after paying, and went to Flourish and Blott's to get their books.
They carried on with there shopping, getting new quills and ink, and more parchment. They went to the ice cream shop down the street and spent some time talking. For a while they watched people go by, some of them friends of theirs so they screamed hello at the top of their lungs. That way they started some good conversations. Gabrielle took Morgain to the Quidditch shop; just so she could look at the new broom model. Gabrielle loved quidditch; in fact she was keeper on the Gryffindor team. She stared at it for a while until Morgain pulled her away to look at other things in the store. They played with a snitch for a while until the lady at the counter started shooting them looks. They left and walked around for a while and Gabrielle checked the time in the closest store. They had and hour till they had to go back, and that time was spent walking around town looking in through the shop windows. Then they went back to the leaky cauldron.
"The ministry of magic!" Gabriele heard Morgain say before she disappeared in the fire. Then she followed.
"The Ministry of magic!"
she was hurled out onto the marble floor again, with all her packages she stood up again and both her and Morgain walked up to Earl. Then they walked to the lift and got of at her father's floor. They met him at is desk.
"Hello girls. How was the shopping?" he asked looking up form the papers on his desk.
"Alright" she said putting all the packages into her bag. (It was enchanted to fit all this in).
Her father got all his things together and took them to the fireplaces in the lobby. They said goodbye to Morgain as she went home, and Gabrielle went home afterwards.
"Dad wat'cha dooin here?" she said in astonishment as she looked at a gray haired man with a long gray business-y looking cloak on. "Going to work?"
"Yes and you're coming with me remember?" her father said after wiping his partly brown and partly gray mustache off from his morning waking potion.
"Ooooooh yeaaaaaaa. Oops I thought today was Thursday" she said while getting her favorite cereal from the cupboard. It was impossible to keep track of the days when there wasn't any school. In Hogwarts, it was normally written on the board of a classroom, so if anyone needed to know the date they would simply look up from their work at the chalkboard in the front of the room.
Her house was full of muggle things, mainly because her mother was a muggle and her brother, who was a lot like her mother seemed to be a muggle. He hadn't blown up anything when he was younger, unlike Gabrielle. She remembers quite clearly how her mother tried to feed her soup when she was younger and it turning it into chocolate pudding in her mouth. Yes, she felt bad for disobeying her mother but she couldn't help from smiling every time someone talked about it. Her mother didn't like the idea of her being a witch but tried her best to understand how important it was to her. She remembered Her father gleaming with pride when she showed any hint of magic, and didn't delay in sending the school an apology to a muggle school four years ago explaining how she will be attending another school, but really going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Gabrielle and her father read the daily prophet together, or more like Gabrielle looked for the "good stuff" and her father read the articles on politics. Gabrielle only browsed quickly at an article, and read it curiously, and after reading it thoroughly sighing and thinking to her self that nothing good ever happens.
Soon enough she had finished her cereal and ran upstairs to her room, shoving random things into her green canvas bag, but not forgetting her supply list. She knew she would be in her father's office for a while and its good to come prepared. She put the strap over her head and walked towards her door stopping to see her unkempt blonde hair in the mirror, her mothers voice ran through her head telling her not to look scruffy, but look like a lady and she brushed it, listening to her mother's voice. While she brushed her hair a girl of 14 looked back at her. Her long eyelashes made her bottle-green eyes stand out, and her big lips stood out as well. She was striking, and always stood out, if not her looks it would be her personality. Another thing that made her stand out was the fact that she was wearing witches' clothing. The only thing muggle was her jeans, but her shirt had sleeves that were almost longer than her fingers. She had changed for the trip to her father work. She was also wearing a cloak over the jeans and white long-sleeved shirt. Her cloak was light blue today. She ran down the steps to meet her mother still in her nightgown, and messy dark brown hair making crepes and attempting to teach her brother to do the same. She took a crepe and kissed her mother on the cheek then went over to her brother giving him one and laughed when he made a disgusted face and wiped his cheek. She messed up his short blonde hair and walked toward the living room. Her mother told Gabrielle to fix her pants for the thousandth time (they were too long and had rips at the knees. Just the way Gabrielle liked 'em). She said goodbye and met up with her dad in the living room.
"Have everything you need Gabby?"
"O'course I do" she replied with her playful smile and took a pinch of floo powder and said
"The ministry of magic!"
She hit the cold marble floor with a thud. She still hadn't gotten used to this yet. She heard someone else coming through and quickly rolled out of the way and started to get up from the floor, but fell over when a set of other people came out. Everyone was in a hurry to get to work and didn't pay much attention to the girl sitting on the floor, so she got up and walked of in search of her father. Then a Girl with long black hair and light freckles came out and fell just as she did. Gabrielle recognized her instantly.
"Morgain?? "She asked. The girl looked up.
"Gabby! I came to your house right after you left, I thought I would keep you company" Gabrielle gave the biggest smile that made her little square nose wrinkle up and make her freckles dance; now it wouldn't be so boring. They both walked in search of her father.
"Where were you?" he asked
"I fell getting out of one of the fireplaces, and bumped into Morgain" she said smiling
"We better get going if we want to be out of here early."
They walked through the crowds of people rushing of to work and hurried off to a man who inspects the wands. His name was Earl, and knew Gabrielle by name.
"Haven't seen you in a while Gabby dear" Earl said with a smile, he was wearing a black work robe that she saw many wizards wear. (What did I tell you)
"Yes, what has it been....3 days?" Gabrielle said jokingly while giving her wand to Earl. Earl looked at it quickly and gave it back, moving on to her father's wand, and then he took Morgain's wand.
"Getting your school supplies today. Eh Gabby?"
"Yes I am, and I can't wait" she said Gabrielle waved after saying goodbye. Her, her father and Morgain sped up in a run after they had gotten past earls check, her father was late for being early for a meeting, as Gabby called it. They ran into the lift right before the door closed and waited for them to go to a higher floor and got of after a couple of floors up. Gabrielle's father worked in the transportation office. He let gabby sit at his desk while he got his notes. She liked sitting there, feeling very in charge. She always had a huge grin on her face when she sat at her father's desk, but she would have had an even bigger grin on her face if she was an aouror with her own desk in this building. She had peered inside of the Auror department, and saw a glimpse of how it was in there. She started having fantasies of her being one of them, catching criminals and having the adventures the aurors have.
Right now she was fooling around and talking to Morgain, who had pulled up a chair for herself. Morgain was her closest friend from school, and they had even gone on vacation to France this summer. Her father had taken them because he had a conference there for the Worldwide Magical Transportation Committee. There they got to practice their French and now officially only talked French to each other (to avoid being overheard by others, and it did prove useful).
They went on trips all around France, the Louvre at night, when all the paintings started to move and tell their stories to the people visiting the museum. They also visited the Eiffel tower. The magical towns there they loved as well, and shopped the day away at designer stores. The famous designers there are wizards but sell their clothing to muggles as well.
The time crept by and they were soon interrupted by one of her father colleagues. He was about the same age as Gabrielle's father; he had jet- black hair and knobby knees. He waved to her and Gabrielle waved back,
"Hello Mr. Potter!" she said, and then explained to Morgain how she knew him (in French of course). He was nice, and played exploding snap with Gabrielle once when she was bored out of her mind and he had a lunch break. She always liked him, but his son was another story. Her parents had always wanted her to have a boyfriend and of all people they wanted her to date Mr. Potter's son James. James was the most popular boy in school. He was big headed, arrogant, and ignorant. He never noticed Gabrielle, and she liked it that way. Unfortunately, the Potter family had been close with the Orwoods' since Gabrielle's father had started working wit Mr. Potter, and that was years before she was born. She normally thought up clever ways of avoiding him, and hardly ever saw him.
They both talked for a while longer and were interrupted yet again by Gabrielle's father rushing back from a meeting. He came back with a remorseful look on his face and told Gabrielle that he couldn't take them to Diagon Alley. Gabrielle said it was all right and offered that they could go by their selves, because they've been there thousands of times and could get around pretty well. He gave Gabrielle some money for all her supplies. She left her bag with him, and took the list of supplies, folded it and put it into the back pocket of her jeans and the moneybag in her jacket pocket. She hugged her father goodbye and they went to the lift for the main hall. When they reached it they went back to the now empty row of fireplaces and went to one.
"Diagon Alley!" Gabrielle said, going first.
This time she only staggered, and very proud of herself she stood up straight and brushed of the ash on her, but then Morgain came and hit into her because Gabrielle forgot to move out of the way. They both laughed and stood up, brushing of the dust off their selves yet again. She looked around the Leakey Cauldron.
She saw a group of boys she knew from school in a table by the door in the back. One of them was Mr. Potter's son. She ignored him, knowing he would do the same. Her friends didn't like his lot, and she even doubted they knew her name. They were all popular and very bigheaded. Morgain said hello to a boy named Remeus Lupin. He was the nicest of all of them and said hello as well. She could've sworn she heard the rest of the boys asking Remeus who they both were. They walked out the door and went to a brick wall. Gabrielle tapped a couple of bricks with her wand and the bricks moved to leave an opening that they could walk through without a problem. James looked at the two girls passing by their table in the leaky cauldron. The blonde one was familiar to him, though he didn't know where he could have seen her. A girl with long black hair said hello to Remeus, and as soon as they passed James asked who they were. "Oh that's Gabrielle Orwood, and Morgain Lestrage." Remeus said.
"Oh." James said.
"How do you not know them?" Remeus said. "Gabrielle is in Gryffindor, and she's in our year too!" Remeus said.
"Guess I haven't noticed them." James said, defending himself " Don't go mental over it Lupin." Sirius had been looking out the Leaky Cauldron's window, and Peter wasn't paying the least bit of attention to the conversation.
They both walked into a sea of witches and wizards, and excitement flew through Gabrielle. They started walking around and Gabrielle stopped to look at her list to see what she should buy first. She figured they should get school robes, and asked if Morgain wanted to go get robes first. She walked over to Madame Malkin's Robes for all occasions and stopped to look at the window. It had a couple of moving manikins wearing robes, she liked one to the far right, it was wearing a long white cloak with light golden rims, but she couldn't quite see what was underneath because the jacket was wrapped around the manikin. She walked in, almost bumping into a two girls walking out. They were both girls from Gryffindor, and friends of Gabrielle. There names Were Shannon Collins and Jamie Mclean. Shannon had Light brown, very curly hair, and Jamie had beautiful long black, curly hair and both had far too many freckles to count. They talked to each other for a while, discussing there summer holidays, and then Morgain and Gabrielle proceeded into the store. Madame Malkin walked up to them.
"Hogwarts students?" she asked
"Yes we are" Gabrielle replied
"Then come with me girls". They followed Madame Malkin into another room to be fitted. She measured Morgain first and left for a little while and came back with a set of robes. Then she went on to Gabrielle and fitted her and just like Morgain came back within minutes with a new set of robes for Gabrielle. They left the store after paying, and went to Flourish and Blott's to get their books.
They carried on with there shopping, getting new quills and ink, and more parchment. They went to the ice cream shop down the street and spent some time talking. For a while they watched people go by, some of them friends of theirs so they screamed hello at the top of their lungs. That way they started some good conversations. Gabrielle took Morgain to the Quidditch shop; just so she could look at the new broom model. Gabrielle loved quidditch; in fact she was keeper on the Gryffindor team. She stared at it for a while until Morgain pulled her away to look at other things in the store. They played with a snitch for a while until the lady at the counter started shooting them looks. They left and walked around for a while and Gabrielle checked the time in the closest store. They had and hour till they had to go back, and that time was spent walking around town looking in through the shop windows. Then they went back to the leaky cauldron.
"The ministry of magic!" Gabriele heard Morgain say before she disappeared in the fire. Then she followed.
"The Ministry of magic!"
she was hurled out onto the marble floor again, with all her packages she stood up again and both her and Morgain walked up to Earl. Then they walked to the lift and got of at her father's floor. They met him at is desk.
"Hello girls. How was the shopping?" he asked looking up form the papers on his desk.
"Alright" she said putting all the packages into her bag. (It was enchanted to fit all this in).
Her father got all his things together and took them to the fireplaces in the lobby. They said goodbye to Morgain as she went home, and Gabrielle went home afterwards.