It's Not Gossiping [Steve]

[Deleted]

It was such a strange feeling, to not be at Hogwarts - but the break was now in full swing and there was still some time to go before the new school year would begin. Her Seventh Year. It was kind of trippy to think about that part of it, this next year would be her final year at Hogwarts and after that, she'd offically be an adult - at least in the eyes of everyone else. An adult. It was almost funny to think about herself being labelled as an actual adult. The blonde gave a quick shake of her head as she shifted the two bags she was carrying, carefully side stepping a few people who clearly were in a hurry to get wherever they were headed - a small grumble escaping her as she did so. Being short seriously sucked sometimes - mostly when people either didn't notice you or just didn't care. But she was used to avoiding things mostly at least.

But she didn't see this one coming as she was bumped into, "Damn It." She gave a loud groan from where she had fallen on the ground, eyes narrowing as she looks back at who had bumped her - he looked around her own age, but that could mean he was younger even - she didn't recognize him from school. Either way whoever he was really needed to pay attention to their surroundings, "Are you at least going to offer me a hand or something?" Winnie raised her eyes before shaking her head, moving to gather her things that had fallen, she had decided on a whim to get a few school supplies early among them were just a few other things - some broom polish and a book or two and of course a new Gryffindor scarf she couldn't wait to get to use. 

[@steve ]

[Deleted]

@winnie

Exploration. That was what his sister had said when they left the house earlier in the day. She obviously meant that she was going to be exploring on her own, because Steve was by himself wandering around Diagon Alley. Again. This had happened quite a few times now when Nora said she wanted to run around the city. The shopping district wasn’t exactly a bad place to be though. There were sights to see and people to interact with. At times, more shoppers populated the streets than the amount of people that lived in his hometown in Canada. That was a baffling thing to experience even now that he used to it. School was going to be the next hurdle, considering both he and Nora had never had an ‘official’ magical schooling. There were the lessons provided back home and no-maj school as well to make up for it, but the rest was completely unknown. Steve had figured that the more he exposed himself to the surroundings of magical London, the easier the transition would be come September when they finally entered Hogwarts. Hopefully.

He was caught up in his own little world, thinking about all of this, as he strolled idly down one of the many crowded streets in Diagon. Window shopping had gotten boring relatively fast today, seeing as he had done it like, a million times since moving here, and perusing shops was equally boring. So his feet just carried him around aimlessly as he looked for something to do, whether that was finding his sister or bumping into a person walking in the other direction. Steve barely registered it until he heard the girl on the ground asking him if he was going to help her up or not. Blankly staring at her, his eyes flickered back and forth between her and the things that had spilled across the ground. “Oh…uh sorry about that,” Steve finally said after a few seconds, bending over to pick up the scarf that was at his feet before extending his hand out to her. “Wasn’t paying attention. That’s my fault.”

[Deleted]

Diagon Alley was still one of Winnie's favorite places. She loved to wander around, aimlessly searching for new things she hadn't seen before, or even find something she had been searching for ages for. But there was always so much to do and see, and sure okay - sometimes it was way too crowded and people bumped into her - like right now actually. But she was okay, nothing was broken and the guy - after she commented on helping her up of course - even stopped and help her up. So with only a small sigh she grasped his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet before re-adjusting her things and reaching out to retrieve her new scarf. "Its fine, no harm done." she offered a faint smile and a shrug before glancing at him curiously.

He appeared to be around her age, but she was fairly sure that she hadn't seen him at school before. "I could tell you weren't exactly paying attention..." she started before shaking her head, "But okay - I wasn't paying too much attention either so I guess that I can't really talk about that much." Winnie checked her things before nodding to his hand that still held her new scarf he had picked up, "So - can I have my scarf back? It's new and I brought it for the new school year." she commented before allowing her curiousity to slip through, "So.. I don't think I've seen you at school before.. if you're not from Hogwarts where do you go to school? I'm just curious cause, I'm certain I haven't seen you before today."

[@steve ]

[Deleted]

@winnie

The girl took his hand and he helped counter her weight as she stood up, making sure to hand her scarf back immediately after she was set. Steve was half expecting to be chewed out, considering that he had just plowed her over and responded to her call for help like only an idiot would. He deserved whatever was coming his way. But she said it was fine and that he hadn’t hurt her. Steve gave her an apologetic smile as she continued on, explaining that she could tell he hadn’t been paying attention. Guilty as charged. Having his head in the clouds wasn’t a normal thing for him, but when he did, things like this tended to happen. “Ah, yeah. Here,” he said handing the scarf all the way back to her. He hadn’t realized that he still had the one end of it in his hand. “And it was mostly my fault. You were the one that ended up on the ground after all.” If it had been the other way around, he would have expected the roles to be switched. He was considerably taller than her, so that was on him for knocking her over.

Her mention of the scarf being for the school year was only the start to the new person questions. Steve was starting to get used to them lately. He knew there were going to be quite a few once school started, so it was best to practice and craft his life story over the summer. “That’s funny, because I don’t think I’ve seen you at school either,” he joked, deciding to go with the friendly route today. Humor always lightened up situations like what had just happened. “But that’s because I haven’t gone to your school yet. I’m transferring in this year,” Steve explained. “Was kind of homeschooled for the last few years back home in Canada. We had a school, but nothing close to that castle of yours.”

[Deleted]

As she got back and steady on her own feet she gave a small sigh, of course the guy was quite a bit taller than herself. Then again -most people honestly were taller than her - it was something she was still not overly used to. She was short. It was just something she was - but the fact that she wasn't actually growing much taller - that was something that bothered her. Still she offered a faint smile, eagerly tucking her new scarf into one of the bags she had with her before trying to listen as he spoke, she gave a small chuckle, "Its fine really. Don't worry about it, we're both fine and nothing was broken or damaged." she nodded to her bags as she spoke.

Winnie felt a little nosy as she spoke - asking him questions, but compared to most girls her age - she really wasn't that nosy, usually she just kept her questions to herself. But his response made her grin, "Well.." she hummed slightly, already liking his humor, "Transferring huh." It made sense when he said it, although she was a little surprised at the mention of home school, "I haven't met anyone that's been home-schooled before. What made you decide to transfer? I mean.. if you don't mind answering it." she raised her eyes, nodding slightly, "Well I'd love to hear about this more - if you want, I could answer some questions about Hogwarts for you too - I have six years of experience with it already." She offered a small grin as she made the offer.

[@steve]

[Deleted]

@winnie

Steve watched as she put her scarf away, mentioning that everything was fine and nothing was broken. Now that he looked, she had a lot of stuff on her; school shopping maybe? The scarf had been for the school year, she had said as much. So that probably meant everything else was books and stuff. “I won’t keep harping on it then,” he said, giving her an apologetic smile in case that came across sarcastically. He hadn’t figured out how the British took to his Canadian kindness yet. Americans were always laughing about how ‘sorry’ they were about everything. Steve didn’t think there was anything wrong with being polite when it was the right thing to do.

He grinned as she said that she had never met a homeschooled person before. That was him! And his sister too. There probably weren’t too many of them out there, because even their town was small. Fifty kids per class meant that it was easier to be taught by their parents most of the time, and do school activities together when it was necessary. Steve had liked it that way but was sure that Hogwarts would give him what he had been missing, which was the freedom from his parents and a whole new array of girls to talk to. That was definitely the best part. “Mom got a new job over here. Dad could work from pretty much anywhere, so it was an easy decision.” His eyes widened as the girl said that she could tell him about Hogwarts if he wanted to listen. That sounded like a good idea to him, and it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go anyways. “Cool. I guess my first question is what was on the scarf. You said it was a school one. Are those the school colors?”

[Deleted]

Winnie found the guy a little odd, but interesting at least. He seemed nice enough as well which was a plus - the last thing she wanted was to have bumped into a guy that would piss her off or something. Plus hey - now she had someone to talk to for a bit before she had to meet up with her sister. She offered a small grin, raising her eyes as he spoke. She hadn't ever met someone who was home schooled before - and honestly she did have questions. Purely because she was curious really.

"Makes sense to me." she gave a little shrug at his explanation of his mother getting a new job, "Are you looking forward to it though? It's probably a little strange if you've been home schooled your whole life and now - well, suddenly going to a huge school with all new people." she couldn't imagine that herself but for some it was probably just their lives and it had to be a little odd at the very least. She brightened and gave a small laugh, shaking her head quickly as she shifted her bags in her hands, "That's an easy question and a bit of a tricky one to answer." Winnie started to explain, "At Hogwarts there are four houses - each with different colors, the colors on my scarf are the colors of the house I am in - Gryffindor, which in my opinion is totally the best house." She gave a small smirk, "There are three other houses too though, each with their own colors."

[@steve ]

[Deleted]

@winnie

Was he looking forward to going to school at Hogwarts? That answer had previously seemed like a no-brainer, but now that he was actually thinking about it, he found that he was pausing for a lot longer than he should have with his response. “I mean, yeah I think it’s exciting going somewhere new…” he paused again, making sure that sounded correct in his head before starting again, “but it’s also a little nerve wracking. Not to sound like some kind of country hick, but the buildings in London are some of the biggest ones I’ve ever seen. Living and going to school in a castle will be wild though.” And he still had one built in friend with Nora, so it wasn’t like it was the end of the world if he screwed up all other relationships he made. The students (or at least he assumed they were all students) that he had bumped into so far seemed to have walked away with a good impression of him from what he could tell. There was also always the alluring gaze he could use to win over a few friends or admirers, but he always felt dirty after doing that. It was too forceful.

Steve listened closely as the girl explained that Hogwarts had four houses, in which the students were split up into, and that her scarf had the colours of the one she was in: Gryffindor. It was such a strange word for a place that people lived. But so was Canada, so he would give it the benefit of the doubt for the time being. “Four houses? So just like the American school. I know they get to pick which one they go into. Is that the same for you guys?” He liked the gold and red colours of the scarf, and red always seemed to fit vampires rather well. Blood and eye colour and all that fun stuff. Basically he needed to know if he had to do some sort of test to get into the house he wanted, or if it was free game from the start.

[Deleted]

Winnie offered a faint smile, nodding a little in understanding. She could get that, or at least imagine it, it would be a little strange - exciting for sure but also an odd feeling to be suddenly picked up and dropped into a whole new school after being homeschooled. It would be odd for sure. "Yeah I can guess that. But hey - I promise if you end up in the same house as me I'll look out for you." she offered a slight grin and a shrug of her shoulders, "The castle is awesome!" she eagerly jumped on that, her face lighting up a little, "It's old and stuff but pretty cool and there are secret passages all over... I don't think I even have found all of them, I doubt anyone knows all of them."

Talking about Hogwarts was always fun, and speaking about it to someone who didn't know the school as well as she did - it would always be a little amusing, plus the bonus was seeing the reaction when she spoke of the sorting. After all - magic or not - hearing about a hat choosing where you ended up.. it was always a little hilarious. "Yeah four houses - just like Ilvermorny but also not." she paused for a moment, "At Hogwarts we don't choose which house we go into - it's decided for us based on where we will fit in most, I have heard a few people have had the final choice though but thats mostly rumors I think." she mused before shaking her head, "At Hogwarts you get a hat placed on your head - the Sorting Hat, and well - I don't want to ruin the full experience for you so I'll just tell you a little about it, the hat will help decide which house you belong in most."

[@steve ]

[Deleted]

@winnie

Steve desperately wanted to say that he didn’t need anyone looking out for him, since he had Nora for that, but the words for that fell short, and were instead replaced with a nod of his head. That was more along the lines of what he was trying to do in this new school; the age old saying ‘new year, new me’, but this time with a different school and a magical culture that was similar yet different from his own. But this school apparently had secret passages, and probably more than the girl knew about. “Don’t let my sister catch you saying that,” he chuckled, knowing that if she did catch wind of secret tunnels and rooms within the castle, he would have to go along as well. He’d protest at first, but eventually give in to the challenge. That sort of innate curiosity always got the better of him in the end. Most of that exploration would have to happen at night though, when he was his sharpest and wouldn’t be disturbed while looking for secrets. That was the only way Nora would have it anyways.

The explanation about Hogwarts’ houses continued, and the girl drew up comparisons between this school and the American one. They didn’t get to pick here? That seemed like half of the fun though. Being able to figure out where you fit best and go from there. Instead they had a hat sort them. How very British of them. Steve felt his face scrunch up slowly as she went through it all, and while he understood it, he was still having trouble figuring out why a hat got to pick. “Does it read your thoughts? How does it work?” Or would it even work on someone like him, being a half-vampire. That was one of the more important questions.

[Deleted]

Winnie raised her eyes, she was curious about this guy and he seemed okay-enough as far as random guys who bumped into her went. Usually she would have likely snapped or said something worse - instead though she was now having an actual conversation with someone who had almost knocked her off her feet. "You have a sister? Is she a transfer as well?" Her question was innocent enough, with a slight dash of curiousity. It'd be interesting to at least know of a few more transfers before they were back at school.

She gave a small shake of her head, offering a light smile as she spoke a bit more about the houses, she had done her own research in the past - curious to how other magical schools chose houses and things for their students. From what she had discovered though, no other one was quite like Hogwarts, "Its mostly something like that - it reads your mind a little I guess, memories and working out who you are as a person I suppose. It's a little hard to explain but - what it does, it works and it decides where you would thrive the best." Winnie gave a short little nod, "It's nothing to worry about, its not like the hat gossips about what it learns about you."

@steve

[Deleted]

@winnie

Steve did indeed have a sister, though trying to discern Nora from a wild animal was difficult at times. She had cleaned herself up a little since the big move to England, but he was still wondering how long that would last once they got to school. Apparently Hogwarts had a lot of acreage, woods and lake included in that, and he was sure she would spend most of her time out there exploring instead of interacting or caring about school. Which honestly, was perfectly fine with him. Whatever made her happy. “Yeah. Twin sister, so she’ll be going as well.” Steve hadn’t really processed the second question, about whether Nora would be a transfer or not. He was so used to having her right next to him that there was never a doubt that they were twins, or at least close enough in age to be attending school at the same time. Not like this girl would know or anything. “But we’ll see how much school she actually decides to do. It isn’t really her ‘thing’,” he emphasized the last word with air quotes. If Nora ever did decide to apply herself, she would probably be pretty good at it. The hardest part was getting her to sit still and read a book or study.

The girl went on to explain that the hat kind of read minds, but it was more used to figure out the traits of the bearer. Steve assumed that was the best possible explanation someone could give to a magical object, mostly because it was a magical object. No one really knew how those kinds of things worked. “Interesting…well I look forward to it,” Steve affirmed, nodding his head slowly as he processed how the hat functioned once again. “I think I’ll forget to tell my sister about it, and have her freak out when it comes time to put it on,” he laughed. Taking a deep breath to stop himself from continuing, Steve glanced down the street, realizing that he had gotten caught up for longer than he had anticipated. There were things to explore around here, after all. “Well, thanks for explaining how things work around here. And sorry about running into you again. Guess I might see you at school then?” he stated, before giving her a small wave and continuing back on his path that he had been on a few minutes earlier.

[Steve End]