Closed Far from Home

[Madeline Kaimarama]

Being at Hogwarts was thrilling, and fascinating, and all that Maddy had hoped it would be. She was already making friends, and spending time with her big brother. But whenever she was alone with him, there was that awful yearning ache in her chest, the painful awareness that there were only two of them, when there should be three. She had never been this far away from Sebastian before, nor had she been away from him for this long. Maddy was confident that she could handle it, and William had already been away from both of his siblings for a whole year, he would be fine. But she was desperately worried about Sebastian. He had always been the least independent of the three, and he had been devastated when Wills left. Now he was isolated while they were together, and that must be hard.

So it was that in the evening of her second day at the castle, Maddy set herself to write a long letter, without allowing herself to get distracted like she often did. Seb needed this, and if she was honest with herself she needed it too, needed to care for him and know if he was okay.

HI SEB!!!

I know it's only been a couple of days but I have so much to tell you! Hogwarts is really awesome. It's so big! And it's really a real castle, it feels like living in one of your campaigns. I got Gryffindor! It's weird being at the opposite end of the castle from Wills, but I get to sleep in a tower like a princess!

The other Gryff girls in my dorm are all really cool, and I think we're gonna be great friends. One of them is Russian, and she got me to teach them all some Maori. One of them gave us all frienship bracelets!

I also met a boy on the train, Jasper, he's in Slytherin now and I think he and Wills will really like each other when I introduce them. He's fun.

I went out to have a look around the forest this afternoon, all by myself. Wills is right, it's really cool, but it's pretty much all native bush like we have at home. I didn't see any magical creatures, or anything scary at all. I don't see why it's against the rules. Anyway, I met Jasper there, he was just taking a look, he seems a bit clueless about the bush, but it's cool that he was keen. He could be a good adventuring friend.

Classes have only just started and they're really boring so far, we haven't learned any magic yet. Wills says we get to start soon, he's being such a showoff about already knowing stuff.

I miss you sooo much! How are things at home? Have you had a D&D session without us yet? I guess you'll have to write Rata and William the Destroyer out of the game for a while . . .

Lots and lots and lots of love,
Maddy

 

[Sebastian Kaimarama]

Sebastian had never been so alone in his life. His parents were trying their best to be there for him, and to make his homeschooling a distraction, but reminders of his siblings' absense was everywhere. One of Wills' jumpers lying abandoned on the sofa. A stick Maddy had pretended was a wand, until she got her real wand. The house rang with emptiness.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before a letter arrived. It still felt weird and wrong for letters to be his only connection to his siblings, even though William had been writing all last year. Sebastian didn't know how he would have coped if the letter took as long to arriv as Wills' first one had. But he knew Maddy wouldn't do that to him. He was a little surprised to see only her name on the letter; he'd assumed the others would write them together, like he and Maddy had last year, but he supposed they'd argue over who got to be in charge. And this way he'd get twice as many letters!

Dear Maddy,

Hi!!! I miss you so much already. Tell me you and Wills are having lots of adventures together. Tell me all about all of them! I want to know everything! Hogwarts sounds really amazing, I can't wait to see it. It's a shame you and Wills aren't in the same house, but I reckon Gryffindor will suit you really well. What's the tower like? What can you see from your window?

You went to the forest already? Awesome! I met a fantail the other day and it followed me and did the cool acrobatics like they do. It's weird being out in the bush without you guys though. Did you meet any birds, or did Jasper scare them away?

What are your classes about? What's it like being in a proper classroom with a teacher and desks and stuff? Are the teachers nice?

Things are lonely at home. Mum and Dad are trying to make it okay but the house is so empty without you guys. Of course we haven't had a session without you yet, it's Wednesday. But you remember that portal the party found last session? I'm thinking Rata and William the Destroyer step through it and it closes and they're stuck somewhere else. Then I can do a separate adventure with you guys trying to get back. But I think I might have to write those characters out of the game completely. It's not fair on the others having to wait for you when you're not going to be there except in the holidays.

Love you too,
Seb

 

[Madeline Kaimarama]

It was strange how quickly Maddy had settled into living at Hogwarts. How quickly it had become normal to sleep in a dorm with a bunch of other girls, and far away from her brothers. How quickly she got used to having to arrange to see William, and have her only contact with Sebastian be through letters. She still missed her little brother, so so much, but there was so much else to think about that it didn't hurt as much as it had when she'd first arrived. The tone of his letter made her worry about him, though.

Dear Seb,

Me and Wills have been hanging out a lot, but we haven't really had any cool adventures together yet. We should do some of that. I've been having adventures with my new friends though, which is cool. Gryffindor is great, everyone's really friendly, and everything's decorated in red. I get a four-poster bed! With great big red curtains! I can see most of the grounds from my window, the lake and the forest and the quidditch pitch.

I'm jealous of your fantail adventure. I got to see a couple of birds after Jasper left, but they were pretty spooked by us crashing around. And I didn't see any magical creatures at all!

I'm taking Flying, Charms, Potions, and Defence Against the Dark Arts this semester. Semester is a weird word. That's in order of how much I like them. Flying is really fun but we've hardly gotten to do any flying yet, and the professor is really strict. Charms is cool, we get to actually learn spells. Potions is kind of boring but the teacher is really fun. DADA might be interesting but the teacher is really mean. He's Jasper's head of house, which sucks.

I went exploring the castle the other day, and I met a Hufflepuff called Elliot, he reminds me a bit of you. We found a secret passage! It was hidden behind a gargoyle and we had to poke it in the eyes to make it open, it was just like one of your puzzles.

I wish I was home with you right now, and I would give you a great big hug. Actually no, I wish you were here with me. It won't be long, I promise. It already feels like the year is going so fast.

I like the idea of Rata and William the Destroyer going through the portal, just rushing in definitely sounds like the sort of thing they'd do. It seems like a shame to write them out completely, but I guess you're right. Anyway, you're the DM, it's your choice.

Lots and lots and lots of love,
Maddy

 

[Sebastian Kaimarama]

Things didn't get better for Sebastian. In fact, his loneliness only grew as he settled into the realisation that this was how his life was now, and how it was going to be for two whole years. Maddy and Wills both seemed so happy in their letters; he grew jealous of their contentment. Maddy was making so many friends - well, of course she was, everyone loved her. It disturbed Sebastian that she was introducing people by what house they were in, like it had already entered her way of thinking, when if he thought about it he couldn't see himself being worthy of any of the houses. Mostly he tried not to think about it.

Dear Maddy,

I'm glad you and Wills are having fun together, even if I don't get to be there with you. Two years is such a long time! It's not fair. Gryffindor sounds great, they're really taking the colours as far as they can, right? Do all the houses do that? Is Slytherin similarly green?

What are you doing in Flying if you're not flying? That doesn't make sense. What spells have you learned in Charms? Are any of them anything like D&D spells? What's DADA about (more specifically than the dark arts obviously)?

Real secret passages! You'll have to show me! That's so exciting! Where did it lead to? Where did it lead from? Did you find any monsters inside? Tell me about Elliot. Why does he remind you of me?

Things are getting kind of weird at home, I'm really worried about it. The Fletchers don't get why you have to go to boarding school rather than to Fiordland College, and I don't know what I can say because without magic they'd be right. I hate keeping secrets from them. I hate lying. And I feel like they know I'm lying, because things felt really awkward at our last session.

Speaking of which: D&D update. Your characters did go through the portal, and it was very dramatic. Lucas nearly cried. He was trying so hard to find a spell that would bring them back, even though you're not even here. It felt like an ending. I guess it kind of is. I'll roll you guys up temporary characters for when you come back for the holidays - or do you want to roll them yourself? Next session I'm planning something really big, that'll force the other characters to stop trying to get Rata and William the Destroyer back.

Love,
Seb