Home Is Where My Heart Is (Katherine)

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

Stepping into Diagon Alley for the first time had been an assault on Kaylee’s senses. There was so much there in front of her, and she never would have known that it was all behind an unassuming brick wall. That was the thing about magic, she supposed, yet everything in Britain so far seemed so new and different.

On this one street alone, she thought as she walked past the bookstore, there must have been at least a hundred people at any given time. She guessed that most of them were strangers to her, though she wanted nothing more than to be back at Ilvermorny. There, she would have known people. They would have known her. She would have known where to find things, and she would have been home.

Speaking of home, she needed to write to her parents to tell them that she and her brother and sister were settling in alright. She didn’t even know how many of her friends were coming or when they would be arriving if they were. Kaylee knew that what she needed was something familiar, though she doubted that the ice cream parlor would have shave ice.

Just as she was wondering where else she could go or what else she could do to take her mind off of the fact that she had virtually all summer left to wander around this same place before she could go to Hogwarts and have classes and assignments again, she saw someone she recognized among the throngs of people.

“Katherine!” she called towards the thin brunette, to ensure that she was heard. Even if Katherine Kowalski was a Wampus in the year above her, it was a relief to see anyone from Ilvermorny.

@katie

[Deleted]

Katherine was already quite familiar withbthe Alley, having been here several times since her and Jake had explored it. She hadn't been back here with him, of course. The twins didn't make it a point to spend time together. Sure, sometimes they found themselves in a collaborative situation but Katherine didn't really care for his company and she was sure he didn't care for hers. So, they went their separate ways.

She was exploring the alley again today, and spun around when she heard her name. Despite herself, she smiled, also somewhat glad to just see a fellow American. "Kaylee Mahi'ai," she said, chuckling a little as she sauntered to the slightly younger girl. "Well hello, dear. How are you adjusting to the british life?" she said the word 'british' with a lick of disdain.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

Katherine spun around as soon as she heard her name and appeared to have no qualms about acknowledging her. Like her, Kaylee guessed, she was probably glad to see someone else she knew around, even if they weren’t close. “Well, hello, dear,” she greeted her after closing the distance that had separated them. “How are you adjusting to the British life?”

“I guess. I mean, it’s so different from home,” Kaylee commented. At least people did speak English, or she knew that she would have been completely lost. She didn’t dislike London as much as Katherine seemed to, but she was still adjusting to it. The hustle and bustle of everything was so far from the pace of life that she typically enjoyed, and coming back to a pub at night was a little bit uncomfortable—not that she could do much about her accommodations. “My brother and sister and I just got here,” she acknowledged, “but I swear I’ve tried to hand people Dragots, like, ten times already.” Kaylee made the admission with a slight laugh; she still wasn’t used to the difference in currency, either. “I did meet a Durmstrang transfer student, though,” which was about as exciting as her summer had been so far.

“What about you?” she asked Katherine in return, curious to hear about how things had been going for her so far. Kaylee guessed that Katherine’s brother was probably around somewhere, too. Maybe they had met some of the people from Hogwarts already.

@katie

[Deleted]

Kaylee spoke about how it was so different from home. Well, obviously. Katherine rolled her eyes and nodded, agreeing. She said her brother and sister and herself had just arrived, but that she kept trying to use Dragots. That made Katherine laugh with a nod. "Yes, the currency is rather difficult to get used to. I know muggles have the same problem," she said. Then Kaylee mentioned Durmstrang and Katherine raised an eyebrow, "one of the ones who survived that explosion or someone just coming to Hogwarts?" she asked, curious. The fact that there were explosions both in the UK and in US at the same time had, well, blown her mind. What was the world up to?

Kaylee turned the question to her and Katherine shrugged casually, tossing her hair over one shoulder to get it out of her way. "It's been find, I suppose. Jake is really into meeting all the new people," another eye roll. "I met a nice American boy - but he didn't go to Ilvermorny. So he'll be teaching me about Hogwarts without, well," without her having to deal with that annoying accent.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

At least she wasn’t the only one who had been finding the different currencies to be a pain. Katherine agreed with her and said that non-magical people had the same problem. As soon as she mentioned Durmstrang, though, it seemed that Katherine’s interest had piqued. “One of the ones who survived that explosion,” she emphasized, “or someone just coming to Hogwarts?”

“I didn’t ask,” Kaylee replied to her simply. All of the students involved in the explosions were older than they were, weren’t they? Unless any of them had a reason to repeat their last year of school, she didn’t think that any of the victims would be at Hogwarts with them. Frankly, if she had been one, Kaylee didn’t think that she would want to return to Hogwarts after that.

Katherine continued speaking and said that, while her twin brother was interested in meeting new people, she had met an American boy who hadn’t gone to Ilvermorny, which surprised Kaylee for a moment. She hadn’t really given much thought to the idea that there must have been Americans at the other magical schools who had gone there the whole time, but it made sense. There were plenty of jobs out there that required people to travel, and of course that must have meant moving across borders before they had children or before those children were old enough to attend school. “So he'll be teaching me about Hogwarts without, well.” Kaylee didn’t get to find out what it was that the older girl would be without, because Katherine left her comment at that.

“That’s so cool that there are more Americans here than the people we know,” Kaylee said, already curious to know what they were like. “Where is he from,” she asked, “do you know?”

@katie

[Deleted]

Kaylee said she didn't ask the Durmstrang person and Katie scoffed, rolling her eyes. Where was the fun in meeting people who were possibly involved with the war without asking about the war? She, of course, thought the war thing was stupid and unnecessary and not really Americas problem, but that didn't means he was going to have boring conversations when that was stirring about. "Well, shame," she added, finally. after a moment.

As for the American, Kaylee said that it was cool that there were more Americans that they didn't know here, and Katherine nodded. "He's from... oh dear, somewhere in the south. He has a lovely little southern spin to his speech," she explained, shrugging. "But he's been in England for most of his life. He has a sister, too. It'll be nice to have them at Hogwarts, I think. Hopefully she's as helpful as he is, you know?"

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai