Closed Differences in Communication

[Emma van Houten]

The swing Emma was on flew up high after she kicked off the ground hard, and she laughed as she swung back. The playground here in the park was a lot of fun, and she had enjoyed this part of their shopping trip a lot. Brightstone village would soon be the place she and Iris would be visiting during weekends at Hogwarts, and being here made Emma feel a little bit like she was already a Hogwarts student. Of course, that illusion faded the moment she looked down at herself and saw she wasn't wearing a Hogwarts uniform, but it was easy to dream while she was soaring through the air on the swing. She noticed her twin on the other swing, but Iris was barely moving. The girl was staring dreamily at the castle in the distance. Staring dreamily at things definitely wasn't new for Iris, but Emma still wanted her to have some fun. She dug her heels into the sand until her own swing stopped moving, then prodded her sister in the side. "Say, do you think Lars or Fleur could hear us if we shout really loud? If they're outside? Lars is probably painting somewhere, or Fleur is playing Quidditch. I bet they'd hear us." Emma grinned, eager to test this theory.

 

[Iris van Houten]

The trips to New Zealand were helping Iris grow more accustomed to the place, which was probably why they went fairly often. She would be living here soon, going to the school like her older siblings. Iris was glad she would be with Emma, but still couldn't help worrying a little. The castle was so big and the classes seemed to be fairly difficult. At least, from what she had seen when looking at Lars' and Fleur's school books over break. But Iris was excited too, she wanted to learn, and was especially eager to learn more about different ways of telling the future. She knew that wouldn't be something she would learn in her first year, but she couldn't help daydreaming about it. At least, until Emma snapped her out of it. Iris shook her head at her sister's suggestion. "No, but maybe if we both focus on a message we want to send them and think on it very hard, perhaps they can hear it." She said quietly. She had been thinking more and more about the power of thought lately, though ever experiment she had done with Emma had failed. Iris wished they had a telepathic twin bond, but Emma's thoughts were always different than her own.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole always loved visiting Brightstone when she was allowed to explore on her own, especially if it meant getting a break from Ryan. Her parents were shopping with him and Nicole had been given the okay to go play at the park for a bit while they fitted her brother for some new clothes. She cast a vaguely glum glance at Hogwarts off in the distance, disappointed that she'd just missed out on going this year. Being born in September meant she was always either the youngest or the oldest, no matter who she was hanging out with and it sucked when the new school year started and she had to wait and watch her friends leave.

It was a little weird to mess around on the playground all alone, and Nicole was relieved to see two other girls already there, both with gorgeous red hair. Nicole had always been a bit put out that her was stuck somewhere in between, not quite brown, but not red enough to really be considered "red hair". Instead she got some muddy auburn colour.
"Hi, I'm Nicole, I love your hair!" She said, leaning against the pole of the swing set. "Do you mind if I join you?" She asked, pointing at a free swing. It only seemed polite to ask.

 

[Connor Holland]

It still felt weird to Connor that he was in a whole different country. Mum had taken him to New Zealand a couple of times now to meet Uncle James, and while Eric's worries about their New Zealand family being snobs did make a lot of sense to him, every time Connor had met Uncle James and Aunt Claudia they seemed perfectly nice. It was all pretty confusing, and Connor didn't really know what to think. It was kind of a relief that today Mum wanted to talk to Uncle James about family business. Connor was more than happy to just go play at the park and think things over himself.

Nestled between two bushes was the perfect patch of daisies, and without Eric around to tell him to knock it off, Connor was quite enjoying himself making an extremely long and elegant daisy chain, one that looped around his head several times to make what he thought was an excellent crown. Nobody could see him between these bushes anyway, there was nothing to worry about. Nobody could pick on Connor if they couldn't see him. After a while he overheard voices though, and after a moment's consideration, popped his head out to see who was talking. There were a couple of girls on the swings nearby, and another girl approaching them. All three seemed to be talking nicely, but Connor didn't know whether it was safe to approach them or not. He hadn't made any friends in New Zealand yet, and the thought of getting it wrong before he had even met anyone was too intimidating.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma hadn't really expected Iris to go along with her idea, but it was still a bit disappointing. "I don't think that will work." She said with a shrug, kicking her feet idly on the swing. "Even if it did, they wouldn't know how to answer!" She then said, still thinking her idea was better. Lars of Fleur could just... shout back, that was much easier than whatever Iris was thinking of. But as a girl came up, Emma was quickly distracted. "Hi Nicole, I'm Emma! This is Iris. Thanks! Or did you mean her hair?" She said, gesturing to her sister. "Or both?" She grinned happily. "Of course not! Wanna see who can swing higher?" She was always ready for a challenge, and now that Iris didn't seem to want to go along with her, Emma was happy to seek it elsewhere.

 

[Iris van Houten]

It wasn't new that Emma would dismiss her idea, and Iris simply resumed staring up at the castle and imagining what she could do. A girl approached, but Emma immediately started to chat to her, even introducing Iris. Iris gave the new girl a smile and a small wave, but let Emma do the talking. Her gaze scanned their surroundings and she noticed a boy making a daisy chain. Iris hopped off the swings and walked closer, her hands clasped behind her. "That's nice." She said softly.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole returned Iris' wave before taking her vacated swing as the other girl walked off to another kid nearby. Maybe a friend of hers? "I meant both of you, red hair is so pretty," Nicole sighed wistfully. Giving her swing a gentle kick, she turned to Emma, "Are you two fighting?" She asked, curious about the conversation she'd walked in on. The pair were probably sisters, they looked pretty similar, and Nicole knew she fought with her brother constantly.
Tightening her grip on the swing, Nicole gave Emma a quick nod, happy to play any sort of game the other girl was interested in. "You're on!" She said, pushing herself forward into an easy swing. She wanted to win, but she'd have to be careful she didn't make herself sick swinging too much.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor watched the girls from a distance, shifting to sit crosslegged. The idea of approaching strangers to make friends was a nerve-wracking one, and he didn't know if he felt comfortable opening that door. What if his first interaction in his new home was making enemies? The choice was taken away from Connor though, as one of the girls approached. He yanked the daisy chain off his head nervously, not wanting anyone to make fun of him for it, but was surprised when she complimented his work instead. Was she teasing him, or did she mean it? "...Thanks." Connor said quietly, setting the flowers down on his lap. It was hard to know what to say without Eric around. Connor was okay at talking to the boys at rugby, they had sports to bond over, but part of him felt almost as if it was wrong to make friends with girls, bonding over the things Eric gave him a hard time for. "Do, um... do you like making daisy chains?" He asked hesitantly, voice soft and unsure.

 

[Emma van Houten]

It didn't surprise Emma that Iris wandered off, she was never really one for competition, which was stupid. It made it hard for Emma to find people to race against, and then she couldn't win! She grinned as Nicole said she meant both their hair, and ran a hand through her own distractedly. "Oh, yeah, it's pretty cool." She said. She shook her head when the girl asked if they were fighting. "Nah, just talking. We're twins, we never fight." She said, though that wasn't entirely true. She was delighted when Nicole took her on for the challenge, and kicked off hard to swing as high as she could as fast as she could. She really wanted to win this! "Woo!" She called as she started to swing higher.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris crouched down next to the boy to look more closely at what he was doing, her long hair falling forward as she leaned in. She looked up at the boy and smiled as he asked her a question, and she shrugged noncommittally. "I have tried it once or twice, but I've never been very good at it." She said softly, then she plucked one daisy and smiled down at it as she turned it in her hand. "Did you know some people use these for fortune telling? By tearing off the petals." She then shook her head. "Seems like a bit of a waste, and not very reliable. Could you show me how you make these?" She asked him curiously. "Also, you should put it back on your head, it looked nice."

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole sighed longingly again when Emma mentioned that she and Iris were twins. Imagine having a twin sister, that must be so lovely. Like having a built in best friend. "You're so lucky, I have a gross little brother and we always fight," Ryan was just such a pain in the neck, he didn't know how to do anything and he was always saying such weird things. She looked at Iris, noticing her talking to another boy with some flowers. "It must be nice have a normal sibling."
She gripped the swing harder as Emma seemed to be pushing herself higher, a bit nervous. Nicole'd always hated reaching the point where you swung so high the chain went slack, afraid she'd fall right out of the swing. But if Emma wasn't stopping, she wasn't going to chicken out. At least not yet.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor still wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, but the girl certainly didn't seem as though she had any intention of picking on him. It was a bit of a relief, after the way Eric acted about Connor's softer side. "I've seen people do that fortune telling thing, but I've never tried it." Connor said softly. He shifted a little, hesitating before moving the chain back onto his head. "I can show you, it's really easy." Connor said gently, looking around. "We just... need to find some more daisies." Connor had picked every decent flower in this corner for his own crown, and couldn't see any more immediately nearby.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma beamed at Nicole as she told her that she was lucky, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah! I am!" She said happily, shooting a grin at Iris who wasn't paying attention because she was talking to some boy. But that didn't matter. "I have two older siblings too, and they're also pretty cool." Lars wasn't really cool, but he was nice, and that was what really mattered. "I never really fight with them either." She told the girl, clearly proud of her family. "How old is your brother?" She asked the girl, swinging even higher. She let out a delighted laugh as she could feel the movement in her stomach, and kicked her feet up in the air happily.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris smiled at the boy. "There are more reliable ways to tell the future, did you know?" She was always eager to share her knowledge about different forms of divination. "Like tarot cards." She said with a small smile. Those had always been her favorites, even though she didn't really quite grasp all the ways she could use them yet. "Let's go look for some." She said as the boy said they would need more daisies. "I'd love for you to show me." She then paused. "Wait, what's your name? I'm Iris." Emma's laughter behind her made her turn her head, and she sighed. "Emma, don't go too high!" She called to her sister. Didn't she remember what happened last time? Somehow, her twin never seemed to learn from her mistakes. But iris would have thought a broken wrist would have been a good enough warning to keep Emma from being reckless. Apparently not.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Watching Emma, who was clearly best friends with her sisters, made Nicole wish she had a sister even more. Maybe if Emma and Iris were going to Hogwarts too, they could be friends, like honorary sisters. She sighed wistfully again imagining getting to go to school with your best friend sister as well, giving her swing an extra kick as Iris talked more about how they never fought. "That must be so nice, my little brother's 9 and he's such a pest. I liked it better before he learnt to talk, honestly" She said with a laugh. Deep down, she really did love Ryan, but some days he was just the worst. "Are you guys going to Hogwarts next year?" She asked hopefully. She'd been looking forward to having at least one whole year to herself before Ryan came to school, and it'd be awesome to make friends with girls like Emma.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor didn't really know much about telling the future, but he nodded curiously when the girl spoke about it. "That sounds cool." He said politely, though he didn't think he had ever heard of a tarrow card before. He liked the idea of showing his new friend how to make her own flower crown, but the idea of moving out where the other kids could see him with his on was nerve-wracking. "I'm Connor." He said quietly, leaving his last name off. Eric had a lot of opinions about how people in New Zealand were going to see their family, and Connor didn't really want to deal with that right now. When Iris called out to the other girls Connor recoiled slightly, speaking to Iris nervously. "Are they your friends?"

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma groaned at Iris' warning, but obediently slowed down. If only because she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it if she didn't. She looked over at Nicole as she talked about her brother, a smile on her face. "Aw, so he's not that much younger than you? That's almost a twin." She joked. "You're my age, right? I'm ten." She wasn't actually sure, maybe she had guessed the girl's age wrong. "Yes we are! FINALLY!" She shouted the last word as the swing went up, a laugh following it.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris was glad to see Emma listened to her even if she didn't acknowledge her words. Her sister knew by now that Iris was usually right to be cautious, even if she didn't like it. She turned back to the boy as he introduced himself and nodded. "Nice to meet you Connor." She laughed a bit as he asked if the other girls were his friends. "The redhead is my sister. The other one I just met, but maybe she will be my friend." She could tell the boy was nervous, and wanted to help. "Do you want to go say hello?" She asked him softly. "Though we could stay here too."

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole was a little relieved when Emma listened to her sister and eased up on the swing. She was starting to feel a tiny bit nauseated from all the swinging, but hadn't wanted to say anything. She scrunched her face up when Emma implied her and Ryan were almost twins in their own way though. "Ew, no thanks. He's nothing like me, thank merlin," She laughed. "I'm 11, I'm so upset I missed going to school this year by like two whole weeks. So unfair."She said. It had been such a pain to have to wait a whole nother year before she was allowed to go. Laughing at Emma's enthusiasm over finally getting to Hogwarts, Nicole cheered along with her as she swung upwards, letting out a woop right at the top of her own swing.

 

[Connor Holland]

The idea of meeting so many new people all at once was a bit overwhelming to Connor, but Iris was nice so far, and she was vouching for at least one of these other girls. Surely it would only be a good thing to make some friends before heading to Hogwarts. So Connor only considered Iris's question a moment before nodding shyly. "I... we can go talk to them." He said nervously, glancing at the girls by the swing again. "If you want to..."

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma giggled as she saw Nicole's face when she said her and her brother were almost like twins. She was certainly funny, and fun to tease too. "Isn't he?" She grinned. "Do you guys look alike at all?" She was curious, but also just wanted to have some fun. "Iris and I are pretty different too, she's always telling me to be careful." She rolled her eyes, though she still didn't swing any higher. "Oh wow, you're so old! That's so cool. I'm glad you missed out, though that's a bit mean. I just mean that it's nice that you'll be in my year."

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris wanted to protect this boy, as it was clear he was very shy and nervous. He reminded her a lot of Lars, which made her like him all the more. "I think there are some flowers over there as well." She said gently. "We could go say hello, and get some flowers for a daisy chain at the same time. Emma is nice, I promise." She hoped her sister wouldn't be insensitive, but doubted it. Emma seemed way too caught up with her new friend to really even notice anything else.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole shook her head furiously when Emma suggested her and Ryan might look like, even though the action made her a little dizzy. "Gross, not at all!" She said, gripping the chains of the swing a bit tighter as she regained her balance. "You guys definitely look alike, though, but you're not identical right?" Nicole felt like she would be able to tell if Emma and her sister were identical twins, but she wasn't sure she knew enough about twins to be sure.
Nicole laughed when Emma called her old, but was a little glad Emma liked her enough to be excited about having her in the same year. "I'm probably going to be like, the oldest in our year, so you'll have to listen to me." She said, sitting a little straighter. It was annoying to have to wait so long, but the idea of being the most mature in their year was a still exciting.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor listened to Iris nervously, glancing between her and the other two girls slowly. The thought of getting more flowers only made him more anxious... Iris hadn't made fun of him for playing with flowers, but she might be a rare case on that front. Connor didn't want to make a friend only to have her friends turn on him at once. "Um, we can just... go and talk to them, it's fine..." He said nervously, reaching up to remove the daisy crown from his head once again.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma smiled proudly as Nicole pointed out they looked alike. She always enjoyed hearing that, proud of the red hair they had in common. She dragged her foot over the ground to slow her swing down a bit more. "Nah, not identical. And I'm the older one." She said, feeling like that was important to tell to the girl. She stuck out her tongue when Nicole said she would have to listen to her next year. "No way! Not unless you're a prefect, and you won't be until fifth year, maybe. My sister is a prefect." She said, thinking of Fleur's badge. "I guess we have to do what she says if we're in Gryffindor."