Capturing the World

[Matthew Harper]

After settling in at his new school and getting used to the differences between his home country and this one, Matthew was finally feeling up for some photography. His tour with Rory Night had given him a nice view of the grounds, and he had been itching to take some pictures of it ever since. The quidditch field would be fun too, he had noticed it when he had been trying out. That memory still embarrassed him, he hadn't done well at all in his own opinion. He had been hoping to befriend Reuben, the captain, but now he worried the other boy would think he was boring and bad at flying. And on top of all that, he still had no idea how to start looking for his sister. Part of him wanted to confide in a Professor and have some help that way, but what if they contacted his father? It was such a delicate issue, and he worried about taking too many risks. Besides, he still needed to think of what he would do or say once he found her. Coming here had been surprisingly easy, but now that he was living in the same building as his mysterious half-sister, he realized he had no clue of what he would even do if he saw her.

To take his mind of all these things, he had lugged his camera and supplies outside to take some nice shots of the castle and surrounding area. Unlike most wizards he knew, Matthew preferred to take photos and let them develop the muggle way. There was something special about a still image of a moment, without the artificial life instilled by magic that the moving pictures had. Not many people seemed to get that, least of all his father, but he didn't mind. It was just something he enjoyed. When he would finally write his letter to Leah (another thing weighing on his mind), he would include a copy of some of his photos. Surely she would get a kick out of seeing the place he was now, even if she probably already knew what it looked like through her family.

Matthew crouched down and peered through his camera in the direction of the castle, trying to get a shot of some of the higher towers from below. It still was jarring to him that this castle wasn't on top of a mountain, though he was sure the opposite would be true for anyone from here that visited Ilvermorny. At least it wasn't as misty here, taking pictures should be easier like this.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie was actually quite pleased to be back at Hogwarts especially since Leila had joined the school aswell and she had been sorted into Gryffindor with both Aaron and herself. She felt so protective over her little sister but she knew Leila had a really good best friend beside her who was coincidentally, James' little sister. She found herself getting a little sad as she thought about how close Leila and Jess were. Maddie and Charlotte were that close at one point and they had drifted so far apart over the course of the last year which was largely down to Maddie's own actions and she was now to embarrassed to even confront her friend to try and rebuild their friendship. She sighed and kicked a couple of stones that were in her way as she thought about the year ahead. She didn't want the drama that she had experienced over the last few years from being at Hogwarts when she had to do her OWLS but she knew wishing it away was pointless. It would come regardless, she was like a magnet for it, especially when James Cade was around.

She broke out of her deep thought process when she noticed a boy who she had never seen before who looked to be around her own age set up some equipment. She slowly walked over to the boy to get a closer look on what he was doing. "Hey, I hope you don't mind me intruding but.. what are you doing?" she asked the boy. She needed a distraction from her overthinking things too much so engaging the boy in front of her in conversation seemed the best thing to do.

 

[Professor James Cade]

The previous semester had been eventful for sure. James and Charlotte had broken up, though that had been coming since before Christmas after what happened with Ezra. Though James still couldn't believe Charlotte had a problem with him standing up for her best friend. Then something had finally happened with Amy, there had been a spark between them since first year and it had finally ignited, it had burned hot and was soon extinguished when Maddie, and then Dan walked in on them. Who knows what would have happened if they hadn't, but nothing had happened since. James hadn't even seen Amy since returning to the school, but he needed to, she was his first friend at the school and it was a friendship he wanted to protect.

It appeared as though James didn't like staying single for long lately. Going into the holidays not in a relationship had been almost liberating. But the single life had been short lived as while working at Olivanders he and a certain Lyra Potter had grown closer. Due to Maddie's intense dislike of her, James hadn't had the chance to get to know her, but that changed over the holidays and the more he found out, the more he liked her and apparently the feeling was mutual. Now back at the school, they were dating, and James was happy.

With a lot of new responsibilities in the new year ahead James wanted to relax and enjoy his free time while he had it so he headed out onto the grounds and spotted a peculiar sight. Maddie, with a boy he didn't know, transfer perhaps. The timing was opportune, he needed to be the one to tell her about Lyra, even if she wouldn't like it. "Madz," James called approaching the pair. His eyes fell on the boy as he watched him suspiciously. "James Cade, I don't believe we've met," James smiled at the boy. Perhaps he was a little weary of any male attention Maddie received, but he shouldn't be and it was something he needed to work on.

 

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew had been so caught up with his photography equipment that he was taken by surprise completely when an unfamiliar girl spoke to him. He jumped slightly and then quickly smiled at her. It wasn't her fault he had been too caught up with his own thing to notice her. "Sorry, I didn't see you there." He told her, suddenly very aware of his American accent. "I'm taking some photos of the castle and the surroundings." He explained, feeling a bit shy but also eager to talk about his hobby. "I enjoy photography and since I'm new here I wanted to capture what it's like here. And I want to send a few copies back to my best friend who is still in The States." He explained, blurting out more information than he really intended. He realized they hadn't been introduced and quickly added. "I'm Matthew Harper, by the way. As I said, new here."

Their conversation was quickly interrupted again by a boy that looked to be around their age. Matthew felt himself blush, he hadn't expected to be around so many new people today and he felt a bit silly with his camera and equipment. "Hi." He told the boy. "You're right, we haven't met. I'm new here." It felt like he kept just repeating that phrase over and over whenever he met someone. "I transferred. I'm Matthew Harper." He smiled. "It's nice to meet you James."

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie smiled and waved her hand in front of her face as if to say 'don't worry about it'. She hadn't exactly announced her presence so she wasn't too surprised the boy hadn't noticed her. "I didn't mean to alarm you or anything" she said a little apologetically. She raised her eyebrow, his hobby was pretty interesting. All Maddie seemed to do these days was spend her time outside or in the Herbology greenhouses, mostly alone, which was her own fault really. She debated spending more time with her sister but she had her own friends to spend time with.

She grinned as she listened to the boy talk about his photography "so are these magical photos or normal ones?" she asked. "Have you been anywhere else around the castle to take photos? I'd love to show you the gardens. I reckon you could get some really nice photos there you know" she said, chatting away to the boy. Her ears pricked up a little when she heard the boy mention that he was a new student "Oh no way! You're new here? So you're a transfer then? You look too old to be a first year" she joked "so where are you from then? What school were you at before?" She loved getting to know new people and it was a bonus that he had only just joined the school because he had no idea of the drama that had happened beforehand. "My name is Maddie. Maddie Walden. Nice to meet you... Matt?" she said grinning at the boy. "What house did you get sorted into then? It couldn't have been Gryffindor because i'm pretty sure I would have remembered seeing you" she said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger while smiling at the boy.

The two were soon interrupted by the familiar face of James Cade and Maddie felt her stomach do little somersaults as he got closer to them. "Hi James" she replied, feeling her cheeks get a little warm. She looked at the ground to try and distract herself from looking at James. As always, their relationship continued to be confusing for Maddie. She had not long ago caught him and her best friend Amy Rosemary kissing and even though she was a bit gutted to see him to continue to move on, she was glad that it was with Amy. She knew the two of them really liked each other and it had been a long time coming in Maddie's eyes. "How's Amy, James? I haven't really had time to catch up with her yet" she said sadly. Her attention soon turned back to Matthew as James addressed the new boy "yeah! This is Matthew, he's new here. We were just chatting and getting to know each other" she replied grinning at the two of them.

 

[Professor James Cade]

When the boy confirmed that he was indeed knew he nodded and looked between him and Maddie, wondering what had been happening between the two before he arrived. As far as James knew Maddie was still dating Olivia, or whatever her name was, so didn't think she would have been flirting, but he wasn't as close to her as he would like so he honestly had no idea, she could be single and she could be interested in the boy in front of him. The very idea made James not like him, but he couldn't let his own imagination colour his opinion of someone he had just met, not again anyway.

"Hi Matthew, its nice to meet you and welcome to Hogwarts, I assume you're not a Gryffindor or I'd have seen you at the house meeting, so where did you end up?" He asked wondering which bunch he was stuck with. James grinned at Maddie but his smile faltered when she asked about Amy. The last time he saw Maddie before the holidays was when she walked in on him and Amy. Did she think they were dating? "Uhm,
she's ok I think? I haven't seen her since...well you know when," He said pulling at his collar not able to bring himself to mention the incident in the cupboard.

 

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew looked at Maddie and smiled shyly as she showed interest in his photography. People here at Hogwarts seemed really friendly so far and he was relieved. It was nice to know his sister, whoever she was, had friendly people around her at school. It was interesting to him that Maddie referred to non-magical photos as 'normal', it made him feel less embarrassed to admit they were. "Non-magical." He told her. "I prefer them that way, most of the time." Her offer to show him the gardens made him smile and he nodded. "I would like that, I think I would get some great pictures there." He said eagerly, already thinking of which pictures he could send to Leah later.

"I'm glad you didn't mistake me for a first year." He said with a laugh, the eleven year olds were tiny. "Yes, I'm a transfer. Fifth year, and I used to go to Ilvermorny." It gave him a sense of sadness to talk about it in the past tense, though he planned to go back there. "I'm American." He added, knowing it was probably unnecessary with his accent. He had never even considered himself as having one before he came here. Though, to his relief there seemed to be many students from all over the world at this school. "It's nice to meet you, Maddie." He nodded at her use of the nickname 'Matt' for him because he didn't mind. It was what his sister Charlotte called him, though, and he knew he would feel homesick if he thought about her too much. It was ridiculous, he would be away from her too if he was at Ilvermorny, but somehow knowing he was in a different country made it more difficult. He shook off the thoughts and listened to her question about his house. For a second he wondered if she was flirting with him, judging by the way she asked the question but he quickly dismissed it.

He looked at James, wondering what the relationship between him and Maddie was. He could sort of sense something tense there, but he didn't really know them and he could be completely wrong about that. It sounded like this 'Amy' might be James' girlfriend, but he could be wrong about that too. It was so weird to be dropped in the middle of a group of people that all knew each other but didn't know you. When James asked him about his house he realized he never answered Maddie's question about the same thing. So he addressed them both when he answered. "The yellow one with the weird name." He paused. "Hufflepuff, I think? And you're both in Gryffindor?" That was where Rory Night was too. But he doubted these two would know a random second year girl so he didn't ask. He got the feeling James wanted to talk to Maddie and felt a bit like he was intruding, even if Maddie talked to him first. He averted his gaze from them to fiddle with his camera.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie grinned "yeah the non magical photo's are nice, they're a nice change from the moving ones" she agreed. "That's great! Next time we're free from classes i'll take you down there and we'll see what is worth photographing then if you like" she offered, smiling at the boy, Matthew seemed decent and Maddie was excited to get to know him a little better. "Oooh you're a transfer? and you're in fifth year? Me too! We'll be in a lot of the same classes then! What electives have you taken?" she asked, firing question after question. She flashed a smile at James as they both asked Matt the same question "Jinx!" she said to her fellow gryffindor, playfully hitting his arm and grinning.

Maddie nodded at the boy's answer "Hufflepuff? My best friend Amy is in your house. Amy Rosemary, she's the sweetest you'll really get on with her" she said to the boy while looking at James as she did so. James and Amy had a nice relationship and after everything that had happened at the end of last year she hoped that the two of them would be really happy together. Well, that was until James dropped the bombshell that he hadn't seen her since the kiss. "What?!" she replied, her mouth dropping open. "I thought you two were getting together? You really like each other don't you? After what I saw it looked pretty intense. You haven't just dropped her have you?" she said in an accusatory manner, placing her hand on her hip. Maddie felt extremely protective over Amy and she didn't want anything or anyone to upset her best friend.

 

[Professor James Cade]

There was something about the boy that James was unsure about, maybe it was because he didn't know what they had been talking about before he arrived, maybe it was because he felt like he was interrupting something between them, there was just something about him. When James heard Matthew say he was American it peaked his interest slightly. "No way, I'm american too, Texas right? I recognise the accent anywhere," James laughed when Matthew described Hufflepuff as the yellow one with the funny name, he bet Amy wouldn't like that too much. "Yeah we're both Gryffindor," Maddie wouldn't like him speaking for her but t wasn't like he was taking liberties with what she might say.

James was at a loss when Maddie started asking him about Amy, until he remembered the last time he sae her she had caught he and Amy getting hot and heavy in a broom cupboard. "Erm no, I didn't drop her, I don't know what the incident in the cupboard was all about but nothing happened after, in fact I'm dating somone else now," James paused, Maddie wasn't going to like what he said next. "It's Lyra, Lyra Potter,"

 

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew liked to hear that James was American as well, it made him feel less alone. He blushed a little bit when he instantly recognized him as being from Texas. He sometimes forgot that he had an accent at all. "So what's Gryffindor like? Is it where all the cool people are?" He joked, but he had the feeling Hufflepuff was sort of the dorky house. He didn't really mind that much, he'd probably have sorted himself in the dorky house as well. "I've chosen to take Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures." He told Maddie.

But then they got back to their own conversation and Matthew felt like an awkward third weel. It seemed like this James had a lot of action going on, if he had had done something someone in a cupboard and was now dating someone else. He fiddled with his camera settings a little, glancing around. He didn't know what to say or do, hoping they would figure out their situation soon.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie smirked at Matthew's comment "well obviously" she drawled, pointing to herself and James "can you not tell?" she joked. "No, but Gryffindor is fun though. We've had some good times, some bad times... and some very interesting times" she added, quickly glancing at James. The two of them had been involved in interesting adventures throughout their five years at Hogwarts, a couple of those adventures had landed them into trouble with their Head of House which had led to an interesting relationship with Professor Kingsley. "That's not to criticise the other houses though" she hastily said "there are many mischievous stories that I've heard come out of the Hufflepuff house. I'm sure you'll find yourself in the centre of them soon" she winked at the boy. "If not... I'm sure we could help you in whatever you want to get up to. Although this one is a prefect now so he has to be on his best behaviour. Luckily, I don't have those constraints so we can do whatever we like" she said smirking at the Hufflepuff boy.

The conversation soon turned to electives and Maddie clapped her hands together at Matthew's choices. "Oh! You've picked great ones! Muggle Studies is so easy and Care of Magical Creatures is the best class you will EVER attend. I wish we could do it from our first year, it's probably my favourite class... along with Herbology and Potions I think. But that was when Professor Pendleton was teaching us and we have a new Professor this year and I've heard she's horrible and not at all like Pendleton!" she chatted.

As James explained what had happened since Maddie had stumbled upon himself and Amy in the cupboard she grew more and more confused. She frowned as he continued saying that nothing had happened between him and their mutual Hufflepuff friend since. "But I'm confused... I thought something was bound to happen after what I saw in the broom cupboard. What happened?" she demanded, not taking her hands off of her hips for a second and scowling at her fellow Gryffindor. It didn't take long for James to drop the bombshell that he was already seeing someone else. Her mouth dropped open "what? Someone else already?" she asked interrupting what he was saying. She almost didn't want to know who it was that he was seeing and she had a terrible feeling that it would be someone that she wouldn't like. Of course, no one would be equal to Amy anyway, and she held her breath as she waited for James to reveal the mystery girl.

As soon as James uttered the first syllable of the girl's name, Maddie felt her blood boil and her face grow hot. "Lyra Potter?" she thought to herself "wasn't it enough that she had to take Fee and now she has James too?". Maddie felt instantly sick and couldn't bear to look at James. She was half tempted to ask how long they had been together but she didn't really want to know. She hugged herself and turned to Matthew who seemed to be occupying himself with his camera. Maddie felt bad that he had been forced to listen into the drama between the two Gryffindors but she couldn't think of anything to say to the Hufflepuff. The situation had turned from an incredible new meeting to a horrific revelation. "Er.. Matt I dont, I don't suppose you want to see those flowers now, do you?" she asked, clearing her throat and trying her best to show that James' news hadn't affected her.