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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 12, 2018 8:47:00 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 8:47:00 GMT -7
Katherine was definitely not planning on sitting with her twin brother on the train. If her younger sibling wanted to see with her she'd let them, but luckily they weren't interested in being associated with her, either. "Mum, it's going to be fine," she half-heartedly reassured her mother with an eye roll. She was worrying about how safe Hogwarts actually was. Truth be told, Katherine didn't think it was that safe either, but her mothers loud worrying was incredibly obnoxious. She was trying to decide how to best tell Jacob to shove off and find someone else to sit with, when she caught sight of Lance near the train, about to get on. She didn't say a word to her family as she just walked straight to him. Her bags were already being taken care of, like everyone else's, so she only had a carry on with her. It was easy to move through the crowd until she was beside him. "Hey, sit with me."lancelot ray linley
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 12, 2018 19:33:10 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 19:33:10 GMT -7
@katie 09.01.2024 Getting on the train for the start of every year used to make Lance envious. Now he was glad that he didn’t have to deal with any of that nonsense. Saying goodbye to parents seemed tedious at best, and while he needed it the first few years, everything since had made him realize that it wasn’t necessary. The workers at the orphanage had always made sure that he, Georgie, and any of the other kids that were of age (which was very few), were all packed up with their allotment of money for the term, and then sent them on their way. He had always viewed school as normal, whereas other students thought of it as a getaway from their parents or guardians. But Barbara was alive, unfortunately, and all those jealous thoughts were tossed out in a heartbeat. The adults that had helped him at the orphanage and the professors at the school were more parental figures to him now then she ever would be again. She had lost that chance.
And for some reason, the school seemed to be using this as a lesson, because they had dubbed him as a Prefect for this year. Apparently the guy in his year that previously had it was sick and tired of playing the role of an adult in his final year. Lance, on the other hand, was ready to pounce on the opportunity. The shiny badge shoved in his pocket was yet another badge of responsibility he was supposed to be taking on. It also meant that he had to probably cut his train ride short with his friends and join the other Prefects near the end of the trip. His bags had already been taken to that area, and Lance was preparing to climb up the stairs into a cart when he spotted a familiar face walking towards him. Katherine was at his side in a matter of seconds, easily evading the crowd like it was no problem. “I’m down. But sure you shouldn’t be sitting with your family?” he asked, looking around her head and at the group she had just come from, which he assumed were her parents and siblings. Lance put his hand up to wave slightly at them, before looking back at her. “I bet I can get an empty cabin,” he said, turning to head into the train.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 13:00:26 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 13:00:26 GMT -7
Lance asked if she should be sitting with his family, waving to them and she scoff-laughed.She shook her head, "no, I should be sitting where I want to," she said. She was going to make a comment about him sitting with his own sister, but then he was looking back at her and suggesting getting an empty cabin. She raised an eyebrow at him, "what, you got an agenda?" she questioned, trying to sound as sarcastic as smile but a smile was creeping up on her lips. She nodded, "yeah, let's do that," she said, gesturing for him to lead the way onto the train. Once on, she'd follow him until he found the car he wanted to get settled into. She set her bag down on the seat and looked out the door, "how you going to keep people from joining us?" she asked. She hoped most of the school was already on the train by this point, that would make this easier. She definitely didn't want to share a car with anyone else. lancelot ray linley
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 14:39:12 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 14:39:12 GMT -7
@katie 09.01.2024 Lance let out an awkward laugh when she scoffed at his idea. He knew she wouldn’t do that, but the thought didn’t hurt. He had spent a few years riding with Georgie, at least until she managed to find friends to ride with in her own. The train wasn’t intimidating in the slightest, so much as it was captivating, but the first ride to an unknown castle nestled in the hills of Scotland was a lot to take in. He assumed the two other school-aged kids were her siblings, the boy clearly being the twin brother she had already mentioned, and the other looked to be a year or two younger. They could handle it on their own, he was sure. There were still all the other Ilvermorny students for them to tag along with after all. Shrugging her first comment off, he finished climbing up into the train, and headed off towards their destined compartment. “Guess we’ll have to see, won’t we?” he said over his shoulder as they continued through the cart they were in, before he stopped in front of one that looked empty.
The trick here was that no one ever went to the front carts; even with the extra students this year, it was pretty easy to tell that they had passed by quite a few empty ones already. Lance only knew this because his Prefect report prior to the train ride had indicated that someone needed to be stationed there at the start. This was now his territory for the foreseeable future. With Katherine’s back turned to him as she set her bags down, he slid his badge out of his pocket and stuck it on the outside of the door before closing and locking it. ”Locks and curtains keep everyone but the curious away,” he started to explain. ”Plus there are more interesting things to do on this train. Might be a while before anyone comes knockin’.” If they even did at all. That badge was a pretty decent deterrent at the beginning of the year, even with the rowdy students, if he recalled correctly.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 14:59:26 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 14:59:26 GMT -7
Katherine liked when she could get that awkward laugh out of Lance. It was surprisingly easy, and didn't make him look weak like it did with other people. It was charming when he did it. Most things were. Especially his over the shoulder comment of "Guess we’ll have to see, won’t we?” in reference to his 'agenda'. She smiled, shaking her head and then replacing her expression back to a neutral look. He chose a cart at the front, which she thought was odd, but once he closed the door and locked it she turned back to look at him. "Locks. Curtains. Clever," she said, nodding. Now no one could see in their compartment. She looked toward the window as he went on, saying there were more interesting things to do on the train. She was going to make a joke about that, but she found herself staring out the window with her arms folded. "Is it far?" her voice was softer than she had intended for it to be. "Hogwarts, I mean," she clarified. It wasn't like she wanted to tell Lance that she was indeed afraid of going to his school, but it was hard not to think about it when they were finally on the train, about to go there. She didn't think Hogwarts was safe, not one bit. Not after everything in the news about what happened there. But her education was important to her and, even though she'd never admit it, she wouldn't let Jake and Baby K be here without her. She considered trying to convince her parents to send them all to another school, but Hogwarts paid for the move and everything... it would have been a hard bargain. lancelot ray linley
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 17:05:30 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 17:05:30 GMT -7
@katie 09.01.2024 Locks and curtains were clever. The Hogwarts Express didn’t sell itself short when it took an entire day to get to its destination. While the general seating area was fun for large groups, having a private compartment to relax and kick it back for a few hours was more his thing. One with less people meant he could fall asleep whenever he wanted to, and quite a few trips had been spent doing just that when he was given the chance. Today meant, well, he didn’t really know what today meant yet. After their first date, and he was calling it that because he didn’t know another word for it, there had been a few more like the first. He had been able to show off his apartment too, which sadly had to be left behind until Christmas break. Basically every time they had hung out together, it was just the two of them. So locking themselves into a train compartment shouldn’t have been any different than those days. “You can thank the school for those. Pretty useful in my experience.” And anyone stupid enough to disturb a Prefect would have it coming too. Lance didn’t want to be a hard ass, but if he had to do it, he would.
Katherine asked if the school was far, looking out the window as she did so. “Usually takes all day,” Lance breathed out as he stepped up next to her. Any second now, the train was going to start up and they would be on their way. From where they were, he could see a few smaller children running as far as they could on the platform, waving, to whom he supposed were older siblings, parents close behind. That must be nice. Hopefully Georgie made it onto the train. Lance extended his arm around her shoulder, the train jolting into its departure soon after. “The scenery does get boring after a while though.”
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 17:35:30 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 17:35:30 GMT -7
He said that the locks and curtains had been useful in his experience and she wished she had made a comment about him doing this a lot with girls, but she was already distracted. He stepped up next to her, saying that the train ride took all day and she nodded once to show she was listening. When he wrapped his arm around her shoulder she leaned into the touch, her brow furrowing a little more as the train started to move. "Guess there isn't much to see yet," she suggested, turning to look at him instead of out the window. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, quickly, and then pulled back to get a look at him again. "Though this view isn't bad," she joked, raising an eyebrow at him. She was trying to be lighthearted but it only took a second for her to shake her head and looked back out the window. Her arms were still folded and she tightened them together, locking them in place. "Not sure I want to go," she admitted, leaning into him a little more. "Don't tell anyone," she added with a snap to her tone. She didn't need her feelings being spread around. Well, aside from her feelings of hating Britain as a whole. She didn't care if that spread. But her being uncomfortable? That wasn't something she'd be okay with people knowing. Not that Lance was the type to spread things around. lancelot ray linley
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 18:32:12 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 18:32:12 GMT -7
@katie 09.01.2024 He wanted to laugh as she said there wasn’t much to see yet, mostly because they had barely taken off. That was cut off as she quickly leaned up and kissed him. It was fleeting, but a grin spread across his face as she backed away slightly. For all of the walls she put up, she put them down just as fast. Her intensity was matched with innocent actions like that, which left Lance slightly confused about what her true thoughts and feelings actually were. All with time though, he supposed. “I can’t disagree with that at all,” he said, chuckling a little before she turned to look back out the window. From what he could tell, the statements like that, the ones that sounded like jokes, ended up being laced with what she truly meant. Of course her bluntness was a matter on its own. He had just been lucky to avoid the worst of it.
Letting Katherine lean against him, he listened intently as she mentioned that she wasn’t sure about the whole Hogwarts things. Lance understood that all too well. This wasn’t her school, or her place. He had felt the same way for his first few years at Hogwarts too. Comparing their reasons for being here wasn’t fair though, since his was a darker one, and hers was because some jackasses decided to blow Ilvermorny up. “Your secret is safe with me,” Lance said, trying not to laugh at her change in tone. There was no reason for him to tell anyone something personal about another person. While there were certainly kids like that at Hogwarts, he tried to keep true to his upbringing, even if it was cut short by a few years. “But I don’t blame you. It seems useless to have to go here for just a year. Especially just to graduate. I had to adapt to it because this was all I had. Believe me, would have loved to go to school with people who weren’t worried about missing their afternoon tea times every damn day.” He had found it easier to unload his frustrations about Hogwarts when around other Americans, even if he understood the students he had spent the last six years with better than any of the ones from Ilvermorny. Probably because there were other people like him and Georgie to be ogled at and asked about the United States. Took them long enough to get over here.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 18:49:32 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 18:49:32 GMT -7
He said her secret was safe with him and she breathed out a little, a slight chuckle bubbling up in her own throat. She sighed as he went on, saying how she had to only go for one year and all that. She nodded, it did suck, but then he mentioned the afternoon tea and she laughed, looking back to him. "There is nothing better than hearing you diss tea time," she said. She laughed again, shaking her head and moving away from him. Not far, just enough to take his hand and sit down, tugging on his hand to join her. "Guess we ought to get comfortable if we'll be in here all day." Once he was sitting she turned in the seat to lay down, bending her knees to place her feet on the cushion and laying her head on his lap, her facing the window. But she looked up at him instead of at the scenery for now. "So, you mentioned earlier there's plenty to do on this train. Like what?"lancelot ray linley
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 16, 2018 20:32:55 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 20:32:55 GMT -7
@katie 09.01.2024 His grin widened as Katherine seemed to like his take on the tea here. In his defense, it was okay sometimes. “It’s easy to do when I grew up on sweet tea. Hot tea doesn’t do it for me.” And then the milk! They put milk in their tea sometimes. That was the hard for him to get over for the longest time. Going from sunny, warm South Carolina to cold, rainy England (and then subsequently Hogwarts with its stone-cold castle), was not Lance’s preferred way to move to a new country. Damning tea with milk like that was sacrilegious; an offense of the highest accord. It didn’t matter that cold and hot teat were technically two different drinks. The fact remained that tea was tea and shouldn’t be touched by milk at all. Lance hid his frustration about it extremely well – years of practicing a poker face whenever someone asked him how he wanted his tea had proved to be useful.
Katherine took his hand as she pulled away, leading him over to one of the seats. Planting himself down where he was, Katherine took the spot next to him, immediately ‘getting comfortable’, as she put it, and setting her head down on his lap, staring up at him. “Normally someone in the compartment has games. Exploding snap, chess, whatever really. Can’t really tell from where we are, but I bet barely any of the cabins are taken in the busy sections, with everyone moving around trying to find their friends.” That was probably what was happening with his friends right now too. They knew he was a Prefect though, so they were made aware of the fact that he wasn’t going to be spending much time with them on this trek, if at all. “Never said the things were interesting though. I usually find a few people to tell me about their summers and call it at that. But without that…” Lance shrugged. “What about Ilvermorny? They don’t talk about it much here. Did I miss anything cool in the last seven years over there?” There was an undeniable truth that he and Georgie should have attended the American school, extenuating circumstances aside. Regardless, he was still interested in what could have been, even if it was never going to happen.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 17, 2018 12:41:42 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2018 12:41:42 GMT -7
He spoke about growing up on sweet tea, which made sense since he was from the south. She was from New York City, so really you could grow up on whatever you felt like since there were a about six thousand different cultures settled there. Sadly, though, she grew up on sweets, which was the main reason she hated them now. Cupcakes, pastries, donuts, you named it, she was fed it for all three meals. It wasn't long before she stopped eating that crap. Especially when Jake started making it and trying to get her to taste test it all. Once they were on the bench, he answered her question claiming that some people had games and that students were probably still moving about the train. He said none of the things to do were interesting, just that he listened to people talk about their summers. "That sounds even worse. Plus, you know most of my summer already, so," she said. Then he asked about her school and what he missed. She sighed, lifting a finger to tap his chin twice, once on each word, "not much," she said. She brought her hand back to rest on the skin at the base of her neck. "We didn't all go to school together, though. You just had to get their however your family decided to send you. Most used Portkey. School was amazing, though. Aside from the fact that Americans are terrified of muggles," she rolled her eyes, "our muggle lifestyle class was absurd. It was all about how to avoid muggles, not really learning what muggles do or muggle technology. But you already know how I feel about all that. America makes it worse," she explained. "But as far as fun? I'm not sure. Aside from a boyfriend or two I didn't do many things that were 'fun' by most people standards. Too busy learning things."lancelot ray linley
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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Apr 17, 2018 22:34:03 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2018 22:34:03 GMT -7
@katie 09.01.2024 Lance did a half head nod, half shrug as Katherine said that he already knew what her summer was like. Forced to move at the drop of a hat and then to adjust to it all in a matter of months was madness. He had certainly been there, and done that as well. “If it makes you feel any better, that was the most fun I’ve ever had during a summer. Being locked up in an orphanage always makes me stir crazy by this point.” This time he had the freedom to roam and do what he pleased – something that only ever existed while at school. There was a reason the castle felt more like a home to him than the orphanage did, even if they treated him and Georgie well. Katherine reached up and tapped his chin as she said he didn’t miss much by going to Hogwarts. Somehow he doubted that. There was a world of opportunities to going to school with other kids like him – Americans, southerners, the likes. There was a chance he could have met Luke before this summer as well, or actually had him as a real older sibling, instead of some mystery man that showed up out of the blue. But that wasn’t reality, unfortunately, and things went the way they were supposed to for a reason.
Listening as she described how they got to school, and the way everything was ran, was certainly interesting to him, even if it didn’t look like it from Katherine’s reactions as she spoke. “You don’t have to call them muggles if you don’t want to,” Lance offered. “I still call ‘em no-maj, because it confuses most folks. As for how they’re treated here…I’d say the upper-class dislike the idea of blood mixing and adopting their lifestyles. But that’s a different form of being afraid I suppose.” She mentioned that the things she did for fun were different from most interpretations of the word, and that a couple boyfriends and schoolwork occupied most of the time. Lance chuckled at the comment, placing a hand on one of her bent knees. “What was your version of fun then, Miss Kowalski? You’ve piqued my interest now.”
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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May 6, 2018 7:36:27 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 6, 2018 7:36:27 GMT -7
He said that it was the most fun he had had in the summer, comparing it to the summers at the orphanage. She smiled and lifted one shoulder a little as if to shrug, "it was fun for me too. Maybe the most fun... Maybe not," she chuckled to herself. She hadn't really thought about comparing it to other summers... In all honesty, there were probably better summers out there. Ones where she didn't have to move across the world. Summers where she was in New York seeing the sights with friends, summers in Washington DC watching the cherry blossom trees. Yeah, she had definitely had better. That didn't necessarily mean the company was better than Lance Linley, though. He told her she didn't have to use the term Muggles if she didn't want to, explaining that he didn't use it because he liked to confuse people. "As fun as that sounds," she said, "I actually prefer the term I think because no-maj just sounds stupid. Like they have no magic, duh. It's like we really couldn't get more creative than that?" she rolled her eyes. She bet that in the past Wizards just called them no magic people, or non Magic beings which was so obvious that they were at least smart to shorten it. When she talked about boyfriends and fun, he placed a hand on her knee. She looked over at his hand before turning her gaze back to his face above her as he asked what her version of fun was, claiming she had piqued his interest. She felt her smile starting to grow, but stopped herself from letting it turn into a full-on grin. "Oh, you know. Kissing, sneaking off in the middle of the night together, making out under the clocktower. Getting to know one another in the carnal sense," at that she laughed, then lifted her hand again to gently tug on his right earlobe, "still curious? Or maybe... Jealous?"lancelot ray linley
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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May 6, 2018 12:13:05 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 6, 2018 12:13:05 GMT -7
@katie 09.01.2024 Lance knew he couldn’t take it to heart that this summer couldn’t be the best for her. That was a fact he knew all too well – being forced to move at the drop of a hat. But hearing that she at least agreed with him on the fact that it was fun, was enough for him. The last real summer he had was before having to come over here, and since then, the summer months had been spent lazily waiting for school to roll back around. So much for having fun during his youth, or whatever it was his classmates were always talking about. While the orphanage was great in terms of making it feel like a real home, being locked in like a prisoner wasn’t Lance’s ideal way to spend his summer months.
He raised an eyebrow at her as she said that she preferred to use muggle instead of no-maj. “So the British got something right then?” Lance teased, biting onto his lip as he stared down at her. Was she going to get frustrated at that or agree? Her discontent with their accents had certainly been made clear from the start, and he was pretty sure that his own southern twang had been one of the reasons she had taken interest in him in the first place. Because a southern gentleman wandering the streets was odd, wasn’t it? Lance knew that he and Georgie stuck out like sore thumbs sometimes, especially if they started getting loud and rowdy. It was always the ‘y’alls’ that did it. Even when trying to eliminate some of his accent that one stayed right where it was. Forsaking it more than that would be a betrayal of his heritage, and enough of that had already been tossed away with the absence of Barbara.
Katherine reached up and took hold of his ear, explaining her idea of fun to him. It was certainly a different take than what he would have guessed, but the question she posed at the end got him laughing as well. “Still curious, I’d say,” Lance said before leaning down and kissing her, pulling back after a brief moment. “You know, summer doesn’t really end until the train gets to the school…”
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last online Apr 19, 2024 4:36:20 GMT -7
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May 11, 2018 5:26:07 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 11, 2018 5:26:07 GMT -7
She was glad he didn't push the fact that she admitted it maybe wasn't the best summer. He of all people would understand what she was going through this summer, moving and all, so she was glad he understood that it wasn't all good, even having him around for most of it. When he mentioned that the British got something right she rolled her eyes, "I guess so. It makes more sense to say a made up word than to flat out call people 'non magic'," she reiterated. "But don't think that means I respect them or anything," she added quickly, smiling a little to try and not seem so severe... but it probably wasn't convincing. Once she had answered his question and had hold of his ear, he said that he laughed and said he was curious. She felt disappointed for half a second, but then he leaned down and kissed her. She breathed in through her nose while his lips were on hers, expecting the kissed to last a little longer than it did. His reason for pulling away, however, was to say that summer didn't end until the train got to school, which was a good reason to stop kissing her. She smiled, "I guess we better make the most of the time we have left then," she said, pulling on his ear with one hand and reaching the other around to clasp the back of his neck. She lifted her head partway so it'd be easier to meet his lips again, but she didn't let him get away so quickly this time. lancelot ray linley
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