New Changes [Celeste]

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It was so weird. So strange. There were so many things that were changing.

She was in a new place, a new country. Staying with people who she only just really met, well except for her cousins - she knew them at least. But soon she'd be going to a new school, and today - well today she had to get a new wand. Changes weren't the best things for Annika to handle - it wasn't that they were bad exactly. But they were strange and a little scary. She had liked her old wand, it was comfortable and she knew how to use it well. But her old wand was gone, having been destroyed when Ilvermorny had been attacked. She had to have a wand for school, but she was going to have to get a new one.

It'd be easier if her parents were here. But they were still back in America - work was busy for them both, so Annika was here in London without her parents. She had her cousins - but they were all staying with a family friend. Sure they were nice, and it was fun being with her cousins - but it was a struggle to adjust so far from home. A small pout formed on the small redhead's face as she crosses her arms, leaning against the wall as she tilts her head, peering at the door of Ollivanders. Inside her cousins were getting their new wands - but Annika would be next. 

[@celeste ]

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Rocky was venturing out once again on her own to the famous Ollivander’s wand shop so she could pick up her new wand. She was actually quite excited at the thought of being able to carry her wand around with her all of the time instead of having to leave it at school especially after what happened at Ilvermorny. Her old wand had been destroyed with the rest of the other students’ but getting to carry her new one around with her meant it would be safer. She actually missed her old wand though; it had been the perfect wand for her and had never given her any trouble. This was a necessity though; she couldn’t attend school without one so she needed to get a new one. She’d heard a few things about Ollivander’s and how well he matched people with their wands. She figured she wouldn’t be able to find one that suited her as well as her last one did but hoped to find one that was good enough and served her well in her learning. She turned a corner in Diagon Alley and looked at the stores that surrounded her before she spotted her target. The shop looked a bit old fashioned, she wasn’t really expecting anything different though because that seemed to be the wizarding way. There were already people inside the shop and her curiosity had her wondering how many Ilvermorny students had come by already to get new wands. How many were in there now trying to get new wands like she was? Did they miss their old ones or were they more excited about having a wand choose them all over again? As she walked towards the door, she noticed a girl standing near and peering into it with a pout on her face, her arms crossed as if she was frustrated. Hm. Rocky didn’t pause in her approach but her brow furrowed a bit in confusion until she got closer to the door. She looked in and then looked back at the girl. It wasn’t full. Was she waiting on something. "Did you come to get a new wand? Too crowded in there for you or something?" she questioned curiously. She didn’t recognize the redhead from school but that wasn’t saying much. Maybe she was British.

Tag: @annika

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For Annika it was a strange thing. On top of everything else that had been changing around her, she now also had to get a new wand - and okay it wasn't really a bad thing, she knew that much. It couldn't be helped - and honestly it might even be a fun thing, to have the ability to keep her wand with her from now on, as far as things were - it was one of the better things that happened to be one of the changes she was dealing with. It was still odd though, her old wand had been good to her - yet it was destroyed now. So a trip to Ollivanders was a must before the school year began. There was no way that she could attend Hogwarts without having a wand! 

Right now she was waiting for her cousins to get their wands, but then it would be her turn. She was a little upset about having to wait until after them, but sometimes that was just what happened - being the youngest was sometimes such a bother. The red haired girl look up, a little confused when someone spoke - it had startled her from her thoughts but she offered a small smile before speaking, "Yeah I did, my cousins are getting their wands - I came out because I have to wait for them and Its a little safer out here - " her response cut off as there was a small explosion from inside, making Annika jump away from the door - almost tripping into the other girl as a tiny laugh bubbled from her. "Jack has never been the best with wands - I guess new wands are a bit tricker still for him." She offered a small shrug, peering back at the other girl, "I'm Annika. Are you - I mean... are you from Ilvermorny too?"

[@celeste ]

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As soon as the girl started speaking, Rocky noticed her accent, or rather lack thereof, and knew she was one of the students who was coming over to Hogwarts from Ilvermorny just as she was. Here to get a new wand like she was, too. Her voice did come out with southern drawl like hers did so she guessed she had to be from somewhere in that region like she was. She said her cousins were inside getting their wands now and her words were interrupted by the rattling of the store. The windows shook, the door shook, and the girl almost fell into her. She held out her arms suddenly just in case she needed to catch her but the redhead caught herself before she fell too far. Seemed as if the wand choosing wasn't going too well on the inside and Rocky looked from the door back the redhead as she commented something similar to that. "I'm honestly just hoping the same thing doesn't happen to me." Rocky mumbled with a sigh. When she'd gotten her wand back at Ilvermorny, it had been an easy process. Her wand had been the right one for her upon first try. With a wave, she felt a homey sensation come over her and she'd known that it was the perfect one. "Yeah. I'm Celeste. I'm in-- I mean I was in Horned Serpent there. Who knows what I'll be at Hogwarts. I doubt they'll let us keep out houses there," she replied with a shrug. It made sense that they would re-sort them since they were going to be at Hogwarts but if things worked out, they were only going to be there for a year and they'd be back at Ilvermorny next year. Plus, she'd read about Hogwart's sorting ceremony. It was rather boring. A talking old hat was put on your head and it told you where you were supposed to go.

Tag: @annika

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It was honestly a bit of a relief to the young red haired girl, to actually bump into someone who wasn't looking at her weird if she spoke to them, it was comforting to be able to speak to someone who wasn't one of her cousins. Plus the girl seemed nice enough which made Annika smile even after almost falling after she was sure her cousin had made something explode inside the wand store. When the girl spoke again she couldn't help but nod in understanding, "Me too. I mean.. I hope mine goes a little easier. When are you going to get yours? Or is that why you're here?" The thought seeming to just occur to her, perhaps they could go in together to find their new wands. It'd certainly be a little more fun than having her cousins watch her get her wand. 

When the girl introduced herself, Annika's face quickly gained a blush to rival her hair, she hadn't even introduced herself yet! "Oh - I'm Annika. I was in Wampus." saying it like that made a slight sadness hit her heart, "Yeah - I've read a bit about it, Hogwarts has a their own sorting in place - strange little hat thing - have you heard about it? So, we're probably going to end up in different houses. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to that part." she gave a slight shrug, offering the girl a faint smile.

[@celeste]

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"Yup, that's why I'm here. It's a bit early, I know but I might as well get it out of the way now," she replied when the girl asked her if she'd been there to get her wand. It would be weird having her wand on her at all times now. She was still underage and couldn't do any magic outside of school without getting in trouble for it but it was exciting. Now that she would have it on her at all times, she could protecting it from damage. If she'd been able to do that in the first place though, she wouldn't have had to go through this process now. That was in the past though, she guessed. "Being able to keep it with me might be the one thing I like better about the British. Now I won't have to worry about it getting damaged like my old one." The red head then proceeded to introduce herself, adding in that she had been in Wampus when she'd been at school. It was the same house her younger sister had been in. She'd been offered a place in Wampus too but she'd ultimately decided that Horned Serpent would have been better for her. She'd been right. Rocky nodded as she mentioned the Hogwarts sorting ceremony; she'd done plenty of research on it herself because she wanted to know what she was in for. "Yeah it's the Sorting Hat. Odd way to sort, having on old hat sift through your mind and tell you what it thinks best. I'm sure there's plenty of room for error there," she commented, thinking out loud, "Nice to meet you, by the way."

Tag: @annika

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"Pretty much the same for me, I mean - why I am here. It's early but - I think it is one of the more important things we really need." she spoke carefully before shaking her head slightly, "I'll admit.. I'm already missing my old wand - and am a little upset I am required to get a new one." her lips pressed together as she admitted that fact, but she certainly agreed with the other girl, "That's true, at least we can keep it with us and make sure nothing happens to it like.. what happened last time." Perhaps there was a tiny part of the redhaired girl that was a little bitter about what had happened, while she was glad that no one had seemed to have been killed or anything like that, her heart ached for the school that had become somewhat of a second home not to mention what had been lost. Still - she had to try and be postive, to look at the good things like her cousins had been doing - speaking of, the girl looked up quickly as a rather loud crash sounded from inside the store again. 

She simply blinked before turning her attention back to the other girl, a small smile forming on her face once more - simply ignoring whatever was going on inside - it wasn't a surprise, her cousin had apparently had issues finding his first wand, "Yeah I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to that part, I mean... it reads your mind, your thoughts.. memories..." She sounded as unsure as she felt about it, she wasn't sure she liked the sound of it, "Still, I hope we find the right house for us - what year are you going to be in though?"

Tag: @celeste

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Rocky nodded in agreement with Annika’s words. She missed her old wand too but she didn’t want to dwell on it too much. She didn’t think her new wand, whatever it would be, could best her old wand but maybe she would be surprised by it. This wand picking process was already turning out to be interesting to say the least. She could barely see inside of the little old shop because the windows were a bit clouded over with boxes but she could see inside and, yes, still more boxes. Annika seemed completely down about having to get a new wand. She couldn’t really blame her though, everyone had feelings about their wands. There was a loud sound from inside the shop once again and Rocky turned towards the shop to see if she could see what was happening inside. She wasn’t as surprised as the first explosion; Annika didn’t seem as surprised either and that made Rocky laugh. Annika must of had the same idea because a small smile appeared on her face at the same time. Talk returned to Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony and the old hat and Rocky sighed. ”I really hope it doesn’t just start spouting off random stuff from my head. That would be an invasion of my privacy.” Not that she really did much to have super private thoughts. She just didn’t want some old hat spouting off her thoughts. It wasn’t as if the hat could be in trouble for it. ”This is my fifth year. Including this year, three more years and I’ll be ready for the world. What about you?” she asked her. She didn’t look any younger than her but she was certain she wasn’t older. She’d been thinking about Hogwarts houses too and she didn’t really know which one she was going to be in since they were so different from Ilvermorny’s. She really hoped that hat didn’t mess it up.

Tag; @annika

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For Annika, the experience of getting a new wand was simply yet again - one more thing that was different. Another change in her life, it almost felt like the first time she got her wand - but this time, she didn't have her parents with her and that made things a whole lot scarier. She wasn't too sure if she liked the experience but, there wasn't really anything she could do about it. She had to be brave and just try and see what kind of wand she got, whatever it was - she had heard that Ollivanders was one of the best wand places to buy a wand. Surely whatever she got would be perfect for her.

As she listens and hears whatever is happening inside, she feels the familiar amusement that surrounds her when her cousin is involved and a brighter smile forms on her face as she hears Rocky laugh, "Oh No.. I really hope the hat doesn't do something like that." the idea wasn't a comforting one, "But... I'm sure its not allowed to - like there has to be rules in place anyways.. right?" the redhead shakes her head before looking back at the other  girl, a tiny frown on her face, "This will be my fourth year.. I kind of wish it was my fifth - at least I'd know you then. So - I have four more years ahead of me - wow thats a little scary to say! Just four years and I'll be out in the world!" Blue eyes widened at the idea, it was strange to think about it like that for sure.

@celeste

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Annika had seemingly had th esame horrid realization that she had when she mentioned the hat, the girl expressing hope that the hat didn't do something like that during her sorting. It had also occurred to Rocky that there was sure to be some sort of rule in place against something like that happening but she still felt herself shrug in the face of the truth. ”It's a talking hat. It's sure to have it's own feelings to about whatever is in our head. There might be a rule against it but it's its own entity. I'm sure it can break rules perfectly fine.”  It was a scary thought but the hat was bound to have some sort of free will. She still hoped that it didn't do anything like that on her turn to be sorted. The smaller girl then admitted that it was going to be her fourth year, just as a small noise sounded from inside the shop and Rocky nodded in acknowledgement. Since she was going into her fifth year she only had three more years ahead of her before she was going to be out in the world as an adult. It would mean no restrictions on when she could do magic, which would be pretty cool. Overall she felt like she was ready to be done with school just because she was ready to see what being an adult was all about. There were plenty of things left for her to do as a student though and she was okay with that too. ”We've both still got some time. And hopefully we'll get to spend it back close to home. Oh yeah. Where are you from back home?” she asked thinking about it last minute out of curiosity. She looked back at the store as she waited on an answer, trying to figure out if it was safe for them to go in. She was ready to get her new wand already.

Tag; @annika

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It was a little worrying to think of what the sorting hat would know, what it would be able to hear as such - all of the things Annika thought of, it was a little scary - as if that hat would know her better than she knew herself. "I guess.. thats a little scary to think about." Annika mumbled the words, a look of concern on her face, "But I just hope its.. nice  guess. Maybe it's not mean or something like that - maybe it is a nice hat." She was trying not to get more frightened at the thoughts, but it was a little difficult - the unknown was always something slightly overwhelming and Annika liked to know things, to understand things. What was unknown was something she wished to know.

"Thats true. We still have plenty of time and, maybe we'll be back at Ilvermorny before we end up graduating too." She offered a small smile but at the mention of home and where she was from the redhead brightened up, "I'm from Louisiana, New Orleans specificly  - what about you?"

@celeste

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The panic had come and gone for Rocky; while she had thought about it, she didn't really think the Sorting Hat would do something like that, even if it was possible. She was certain they would have heard horror stories about it if had happened but Rocky hadn't heard anything like that. She wasn't worried. Annika, on the other hand, seemed to still be concerned with the entire thing, which only made Celeste wonder what was going on in her heard that she didn't want the Sorting Hat to know. It wasn't her business, no, but it didn't stop her from wondering. She shrugged at the girl's words. ”Sure. Maybe. We can only hope so. I wouldn't worry about it too much though.”  Annika echoed her thoughts regarding hoping to be back at Ilvermorny before they graduated. Rocky more than hoped actually, she really would rather be home. Hogwarts was a new adventure, sure, and she was bound to experience new and interesting things, absolutely. Ilvermorny had been the same exact way though. She wasn't finished finding Ilvermorny's secrets and experiencing all she could at the school. Her story at Ilvermorny wasn't finished yet. It had been cut short though by the attack and it was so unfortunate. She had known this year was going to be her year. Maybe that hadn't changed though. She would have to see. Celeste's eyebrows shot up when Annika admitted that she was from New Orleans. ”No way, really? Wow we're only an hour apart then. I'm from Baton Rouge. My family visit New Orleans pretty often though. More fun stuff to do that way,” she chuckled to herself just as she walked up to the door. She hadn't heard any additional noises from the inside and just as she placed her hand on the door, she turned back to her momentary companion. ”Do you think it's safe?” she asked curiously. She was ready to get the process started.

Tag; @annika

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As much as it did worry her, Annika was pretty sure - at least logically, that the Sorting Hat wouldn't really do something like that. It had been a Hogwarts tradition for well - generations, if the Sorting Hat did do something like that, it certainly wouldn't still be a tradition that was kept up in the school - at least not anymore. So - logically she didn't have something to worry about as far as that went, but the idea of the Hat being able to know some things she remembered and knew - it was still a tiny bit concerning. "You're right." Annika shook her head, trying to shake her worries away at least for now - it wasn't something she needed to worry about right now anyways. For now she was trying more to focus on the other girl, Rocky was a good distraction and she admired how the other girl didn't seem as concerned - perhaps the other girl was far braver than Annika was.

She did desperately hope to be able to go back to Ilvermorny, while she was looking forward to seeing Hogwarts in a way, she did miss home. Hogwarts wasn't Home, it wasn't the school she had attended the last few years - and her parents, her parents were still back in America. "Yeah, wait really?" The redhaired girls own eyes widened, peering back at Rocky in surprise, "Thats amazing! Its so weird to believe we have lived merely an hour away all this time." she gave her own little giggle before moving after the other girl, glancing at the door before nodding slightly, "I think so.. I haven't heard anything else for a bit - so I think we're safe from his accidents, besides.. I really want to see how we do - how many wands do you think it'll take for yours to pick you?"

@celeste

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Annika seemingly shook off her own worries as well before she responded to the realization that they both didn't live too far from one another. Louisiana wasn't that big of a state but considering people literally came from all over the United States to attend Ilvermonry, it was still interesting to find someone who lived so near to her. She'd never even met the girl while they were at Ilvermorny together; being in different houses and different years made that pretty easy though. Now, somehow, crossing the ocean was what it took for them to meet. She pushed the door open to the shop when Annika mirrored her observations. No explosions probably meant it was safe but because it was her cousin, she would probably know best. Upon opening the door, the shop look and felt exactly as she expected it too. It was old and the boxes that surrounded them in stacks that touched the ceiling would make anyone feel as if they were closed in. And the shop wasn't even that big to begin with. Rocky followed the lines of the boxes along the ceiling, eyes focusing to see if their were any differences in them. In one of them she would find her second-most perfect wand. She still kept it in her head that no wand would be better than her first one. Her companion's question came back to her once she broke her concentration on the boxes. ”I don't know. I hope it doesn't take too long. Maybe the second try? Really I just don't want it to take to long.”  She hadn't planned on this trip lasting very long because her parents were expecting her back so they could all go exploring the city a bit more. ”At school when they were giving us our wands, I got the perfect one on the first try. I don't think it'll be the same here.” she responded as she looked around the small shop a bit more. ”How did it go when you got your first wand?”

Tag; @annika

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It was a little funny how despite attending the same school and never even meeting before now, that apparently they lived so close when not at school at least. Annika only knew of her cousins living so close by, none of her friends from Ilvermorny lived even in the same state as she did, perhaps this seemingly random meeting was something that was meant to happen. It was a little fun to think about if nothing else. For now though Annika happily made her way into the shop, blue eyes curiously taking in the shops interior. She wasn't all that surprised about how it look, although perhaps there was a little astoundment as she saw so many wand boxes all stacked up higher and higher - of course, there would be a lot of wands - but this was a little amazing! "I wonder if the stacks have ever fallen..." she mumbled the statement, still looking around before waving to her cousin - apparently he did get his wand if the grin on his face was anything to go by.

At the sound of the other girls voice, Annika snapped back to her, offering a small smile, "I don't think I do either.. I'd be too afraid of something happening and all these boxes to fall on top of me.." she gave a small giggle, shaking her head, it was the following question from Rocky that made her smile drop a little, "It wasn't too long.. I think it was the third or fourth for me, my parents came with me that time though."

@celeste