Being a Role Model

[Anna-Jo Worth]

Anna-Jo had long enjoyed being at Beauxbatons. She got to be a frilly girl and a fierce student. She was hoping by the end of the year she'd still be at the top of the class. But she had quite a few other students that were tough to beat in her classes. She also was trying to figure out what she was going to do with her life. She was a lot less innocent than she had first been coming into school. But she fought for that world she had seen as a child, bright and cheerful and wonderful. The world was filled with evils such as inequalities. Her own role model was that of Hermione Granger. The woman worked long years for the Ministry in England fighting for creatures such as house elves. Annabelle was tempted to also go into that line of work. But one Professor had convinced her to go to a meeting in New Zealand over break to meet with an activist group. It was going to be something new for the young lady but she hoped it would widen her field of vision of the world.

Walking through the castle Anna-Jo was greeted with smiles and waves. She had a far number of friends and a few younger girls who always came to her for advice. She didn't mind, she loved helping people it felt right. Almost as though it was what she had been made to do. Going into the great hall for lunch, Anna-Jo sat down and began gathering up a plate of food from the choices around her. Usually people of the same year stuck together for dinners, but breakfast and lunch always seemed like a free for all. Where ever you found a seat you sat and ate. So as she ate she wondered who would come and join her for the meal.

 

[Isabelle Vernier]

The whole fact that Isabelle was at a new school was still slightly daunting, even after a few months of being there. She had missed home and was rather grateful that her father had been continuously writing letters, despite them being annoying in the beginning. She had even kept a journal, noting down things that she had done that day and the people who she had met so she could tell her father about them in the letters. She had already met one girl who was very polite to her and even offered to hang out with her and her friends during break times and Isabelle couldn't thank her enough. Only Merlin knows how she would have survived without her and, admittedly, she really did not want to find out. The only bad part about it was that once she left school Isabelle would be by herself, which she tried not to let get to her at that moment. For now, she was in the present and the future was too far ahead for her to think about.

As Isabelle walked into the Great Hall for lunch, she tried not to let the vast amount of people around her get to her. She hadn't really liked crowds very much and that probably developed over time as she had been homeschooled. The lack of company from people was horrible and perhaps being able to be around a lot more people during her time at Beauxbatons would get her more used to it. For now, Isabelle found herself walking quickly towards the closest vacant seat she could find, not taking her eyes off it until she sat down. When she did, she quickly piled as much food as she could on her plate. She hadn't really went to the Great Hall for lunch before and maybe if she ate a lot then she would be too full to come for dinner. "Sorry," she murmured in French as she struggled to reach over an older girl next to her for some roast chicken. She ate quickly and nervously, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone around her.

 

[Anna-Jo Worth]

Anna-Jo noticed the girl next her the moment she sat down. Recalling her memory she had seen the girl a few times during the school year, but not before. She also had no clue what the girl's name was. "It's good," she replied in french to the girl as she picked up the plate with the roast chicken. She often wondered why they didn't have some sort of buffet that everyone could go to instead of randomly placing the food across the tables. You had to get to meals early to get a seat next to the more delicious foods. "Anna-Jo Worth," Annabelle said introducing herself using her nickname her strong British accent not being contained this time. She held her hand out for the girl, hardly caring if there was food on the girl's hands or not. Anna-Jo made it her life's mission to be nice to everyone she met, even if the person turned out to be a jerk. She was keen on being liked but more importantly she was more keen on letting each person know someone cared.

Annabelle Worth was of a semi-noble family from the United Kingdom, hardly were they actually Royal being so far down the line of succession it wasn't even worth mentioning. "Have you come here long?" She asked the younger girl next to her, sure that the girl's French was able to handle a conversation if she was coming here. Though Anna-Jo hardly preferred the language, much rather enjoy talking in her native English. The girl seemed a little different than most of the other students here. A lot of part veela students and those of wealthy families, seemed to be typical attendees of Beauxbatons. Most of them had heads large enough to contain their parent's wealth as well. This girl, from what Anna-Jo gathered by just seeing how she was eating, seemed more nervous than others at their table.

 

[Isabelle Vernier]

Isabelle continued to eat her food, trying to shove down big portions of it without looking impolite. Isabelle was definitely not an impolite person and she didn't want people to take it the wrong way. All she wanted to do was get out of there as quickly as possible without paying much attention to the growing crowd around her. Isabelle froze as the girl who she had apologised to spoke a name: Anna-Jo Worth. What did she mean? Considering her hand was out in front of her Isabelle supposed that perhaps that was her name and she was introducing herself. She was much older than Isabelle and looked like she wanted to start conversation, something that Isabelle was not really interested in doing at that moment. "I-Isabelle Vernier." she stuttered awkwardly, wiping her greasy hands with a nearby napkin before daintily shaking her hand. She quickly wiped her face as well, hoping that she hadn't spoken with chicken all over it and blushed softly, wishing that Anna-Jo Worth did not think poorly of her yet upon their first meeting.

When the older girl asked the question, Isabelle hesitated before answering it. Many people she had met so far at Beauxbatons had asked something similar to it, probably because they have never seen her before and she looked too old to be a first year. Despite this, not many people had even spoken to her, keeping her as an outcast during class discussions. Isabelle did not mind this though and thought that she would probably ask the same thing if it was the other way around. Isabelle spoke quietly, barely a whisper. "N-no. I'm new." she told her simply, not bothering to say much else. It was obvious and Isabelle was not going to elaborate any more than that. Social situations were not something Isabelle was good at and there was simply nothing else to say. She sat there in silence now, looking down at her plate of food. She wasn't sure if she wanted to eat the rest of it now but still sat there, hoping that the awkwardness that Isabelle was feeling would soon go away.

 

[Anna-Jo Worth]

Anna-Jo was curious about this girl's behavior, she seemed like she hardly wanted to be in the room. She wondered if the girl did not like being around a lot of people. If she went here she'd have to get over that fear however, people would constantly be watching her every move and talking. That was Beauxbatons, it wasn't a place to hide, this was a school made for the pretty and the wealthy, if you tried to be in a different group, you'd end up feeling like a fish out of water the rest of your years there. Anna-Jo found her niche when she first came to the school, the school paper. She enjoyed writing and researching, History of Magic being one of her more favorite classes. Her least favorite was ballet of course. "Oh, my full name is Annabelle. Looks like we are two belles in a pod," she said to the younger girl trying to get a laugh out of her. But she wasn't sure if the girl was actually french or not, if she was french she wasn't sure what she'd think of the English saying, especially since she had said it in French. It was a play on the saying of being two pees in a pod.

The older teen nodded her head about the girl being new. It was made sense that she was new and Annabelle had figured as much before she had even said anything to the girl. "Welcome to Beauxbatons. It's not as scary as it seems right now. Would you like a tour of the school from someone who has been here a few years? I transferred here from Hogwarts when I was going into second year, I sort of understand what it must feel like," Anna-Jo spoke to the girl, going on a bit longer than she probably should have. She cursed herself in her head, she shouldn't overload the poor girl. Looking down at her nearly empty plate, Anna-Jo felt as though if the girl wanted to go, she would be good going now being done with her main course.

 

[Isabelle Vernier]

Isabelle looked at the girl quizzically after she told her her full name. Why couldn't she just say that in the first place? And since when was Anna-Jo short for Annabelle? They had the same amount of syllables so why not say the latter? Isabelle didn't find it at all that funny or coincidental that both of their names ended with Belle and didn't understand what she meant by "two Belle's in a pod". Isabelle didn't laugh and simply looked up at the girl with a scowl. Was she trying to offend Isabelle or did she simply not realise what she said? Whatever it was, Isabelle didn't like it. She was just about to get up and leave before the girl spoke again, this time assuming that Isabelle was somehow scared of the school and offered to give her a tour. She gave her half a smile before speaking.

"Oh, um, sure." she said, trying to hide the fact that she was developing some kind of hatred for Annabelle. She wouldn't know at all how Isabelle felt with her life at the moment and she wished that people would stop comparing their life to hers. But perhaps getting a tour from someone who had transferred to the school around the same age as her was a good idea? After all, she seemed to fit in perfectly now and acted as though she already knew everything there was to know so it shouldn't be that bad at all. Isabelle continued to sit, waiting for Annabelle to make a move first and wondered where she would take her to start the tour.

I'm sorry this is late and not very good!

 

[Anna-Jo Worth]

Anna-Jo smiled at the girl as she agreed to the tour. She hoped she wouldn't bore the poor girl with the tour, but it seemed like this girl needed a friend to help her out. And Anna-Jo the motherly type of person she was, was read to help out. Although, she was trying to be careful to not push herself on the girl, she didn't want Isabelle to be scared and end up quitting school. "So, obviously this is where we get food. It's made in the kitchens, down below. Students aren't really allowed, but a lot sneak in there anyways, the trouble makers," Annabelle stated as she got up from her chair and began to lead the girl on a tour of the school. It was different from Hogwarts New Zealand, fancier in a way only a French school could be. "Do you have any extracurricular activities you're interested in? Quidditch, dance team, yearbook, or unsure as of right now?" She wasn't trying to be personal with the girl but she wasn't mostly curious so she could show the girl highlights of the school she'd actually enjoy. She stopped outside the Great Hall to see what the girl would say and that would lead to where they'd head off to next.

I've taken forever as well, I'm sorry!

 

[Isabelle Vernier]

As Annabelle began to stand up to begin the tour, Isabelle followed her lead and stood up too. She found it hard to believe that there were troublemakers at the school that had the audacity to even think of getting themselves caught hanging out in the kitchens. Many people at the school were rich and proper and she couldn't really see the majority of them disobeying the rules. What would anyone even want out of the kitchens anyway? Food? There were plenty during meal times and no way that any of it would run out. It would be wiser to sneak food out of the Great Hall than the kitchens. Isabelle shrugged and followed Annabelle outside of the Great Hall and into the main part of the school. She figured that she would soon learn who to hang around with and who not to, and she definitely wasn't going to make friends with any of the idiots that thought it was a great idea to sneak into the kitchens.

Isabelle looked up at Annabelle as she began to list some of the extra-curricular activities the school had provided. She had never really thought about doing any of them. The school seemed to have quite a lot but Isabelle was much more focused on her studies to even think about trying to do something else on top of that. Quidditch seemed like the most popular thing and it made her think back to her first year when she was required to take flying lessons at her own home. They didn't have much space and she had to borrow an old crappy broom from her father's friend which meant that she hadn't really been able to do much at all other than a few slow laps. She didn't like it much anyway and hadn't really earned herself a high mark for her exam so quidditch definitely wasn't something she was interested in.

"There's a d-dance team?" Isabelle chuckled, imagining a large group of a rich students all dancing around in a circle wearing long silky robes. "I-I think I'm good for now." she said, not really at all interested in what Annabelle was telling her. It didn't appeal at all and Isabelle would much rather keep out of that as much as she could, but she appreciated how kind Annabelle was being to her nonetheless.