Farewell Surprises

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

All holidays, this had been the day Kyle was dreading. Having October back over the school holidays had been like having a piece of himself he hadn't realised was missing. Without his daughter around, Kyle drifted, aimless and unsure of what to do with himself. His whole adult life, he had made her safety and happiness and success his priority, to a point where he wasn't quite sure anymore who he was without her around. It had been a scary learning process, functioning day to day without anyone but himself to take care of, but he had been lucky enough to have Matt around to see him through. But nothing felt quite like having his daughter around, and the short weeks of the winter holidays had been wonderful, hearing all her Hogwarts stories and catching up with the little girl he worried was already slipping away from him.

But the holidays were over, and it was that dreadful time once again, to return October to the Hogwarts express for another year, to say goodbye and watch his daughter go, and return to being lonely and unsure and aimless. His youth spent living to be a parent, Kyle just couldn't quite wrap his head around how to live for himself. It was troubling and frightening, and he desperately didn't want to let her go. But she was growing up, and it was time to say goodbye. "Are you sure you have everything?" Kyle asked for the fourth time this afternoon as they headed across the platform, October pushing her suitcase alongside him. "If you get there and find you're missing something important, write to me so I can send it for you. And write to me anyway, so I know you got there safely." Kyle cut himself off, not wanting his own worries to spill over and influence October. It was time for her to go, and he wasn't going to hold her back or make her worry.

 

[October Alcott]

October couldn't put her finger on how she felt about going back to school. On the one hand, she really felt like she hadn't managed to adjust to Hogwarts life at all... the classes weren't what she had expected, everything she had studied so hard up til now was apparently worthless, and she hadn't managed to make a single friend. But on the other hand, returning home had felt strange too. The lack of friends had meant October had retreated internally a lot this year, keeping to herself, staying quiet and contemplative, analysing the people around her rather than interacting with them. She felt like she had returned home a different person to who she had been when she lived there, and it was peculiar, both familiar and now ill-fitting to be in the same places and talk with the same people she once considered so close. It felt like the home of someone she used to be, not who she was anymore. But Hogwarts didn't feel like home either... October felt almost like she had no home at all, and it was slowly dawning on her that that sense of drifting anchorless was sad, was making her sad, and she didn't know what to do with it.

Other than put on the face the people around her considered normal and continue trying hard every day, because what else was there to do? She pushed back her inner struggles as she and dad approached the platform, unable to hold back a slight roll of the eyes as he continued to pester her about making sure she had packed everything. October had barely bothered to unpack, it hadn't exactly been difficult to make sure she had everything she would need at school again. "Yes, dad, I checked everything. It's all fine, I promise." October faltered and looked down as he continued, dad's tone telling her everything she needed to know. He was freaking out again, just like when she left last year, and after last summer holiday. October knew dad liked to think he kept his feelings from her, but he was the most transparent person she knew, grief and anxiety written all over his face. October took a deep breath and plastered on a more cheerful face, knowing that once again she had to push her own worries down to keep him calm. "Don't worry, dad, I promise I'll write. Everything's going to be fine, I can't wait to get back to school. I'll keep working hard and making you proud." She smiled warmly, praying he would relax and let her worry about her own problems instead of his.

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

"April, slow down!" Matt called to his daughter who was skipping ahead of him as he struggled with her suitcase. He knew she was eager to get to school, but he wished she would stay by his side. It was the last day in a long time that she could be near him, and he wanted to cherish that. April thankfully listened to him and looked back at him impatiently. Matt smiled at her, she was so grown up now, ready for Hogwarts. Ready to leave him. It hurt a little, but he mostly felt proud.

He caught up to her and smiled. "So, are you ready?" He asked her softly. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you, you know?" He really was, he couldn't help but think his daughter would shine at her new school. There was no doubt in his mind that she was ready to face any challenge it threw her way.

 

[April Ward]

April almost groaned in frustration when her dad called to her. Didn't he understand that she wanted to see everything? The train! The people! Other kids! Her new best friend could be out there, had to be out there, because she wasn't going to go through school without one, or maybe a few. She turned and waited impatiently for him to catch up. She was so ready to go, she needed to go!

"Of course I'm ready." She told him confidently. "I've wanted to go for aaages, you know that!" Her dad was so silly, April didn't need reminders of how proud he was of her or anything. She knew that! She just wanted to go already, she wanted to learn magic and meet new people. It still hurt her a bit to give up her phone and the internet, as well as her ballet classes... but what was waiting for her was more exciting and more important. Once she knew magic, she could choose any future she wanted. And she knew what she wanted, she wanted everyone to know who she was and to like her, she wanted to be famous. She just wasn't quite sure how to get there yet. But that she would figure out.

"Thanks dad." She told him after he told her he was proud of her. She wanted to tell him she knew that, that he didn't need to remind her, but the words died on her tongue as she saw a familiar head of curly hair in the crowd. Her heart skipped a beat. She had been sad no one but her dad had come to see her off, but maybe... her dad had told? Told his secret to Kyle and October so they could come say goodbye? She gasped and looked up at them? "You TOLD them?" She asked eagerly, but his confused expression made her own happy feeling turn into confusion as well. He hadn't? Then how? She looked back at the girl she had spotted, it was definitely October. But... wait, was that a trunk? A school trunk?" She gasped again, this time even louder. "Dad! Look!" She pointed, but he had already followed her gaze and seen them too. He looked like someone had slapped him, this was clearly news to him too. April couldn't believe it. October was a witch? Her friend from dance class? Her maybe sort of future sister? A witch like her? Her very first feeling at the thought was a stab of jealousy. She wanted to be the witch. She was supposed to be special. Now October was too!? But the feeling soon lessened as she remembered how much she liked October. She still felt a bit stunned as she raised her hand and waved to get the older girl's attention.

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle sighed and relaxed slightly, relieved to hear the happiness in October's tone. As much as her departure filled him with dread, he had to remember that this journey was all about her, her future and her new life at Hogwarts. He had to fight his own worries, be strong for her. "I know you will, my treasure." He said reassuringly, patting October's back. "I'm already so proud. You're doing wonderfully..."

Kyle trailed off as April's familiar chatter came into earshot, and it took him a long moment to realise just why such a familiar sound would be so strange. It had to be another child with a similar voice. But when Kyle looked over to the source, he saw April and Matt's confused faces staring back, Matt with a distinctive suitcase in tow. His mind raced through a million possibilities (Had they followed him here? Were they extremely lost?) before he was able to begin to contemplate the most obvious option. April was a witch. Matt was... possibly a wizard. He definitely knew magic existed. And... here they were. At least this made the issue of when and how to tell Matt a whole lot easier. Kyle gave a weak, uncertain smile, but he couldn't think of a single thing to actually say to break the uncomfortable shock between the four of them.

 

[October Alcott]

October's relief at hearing her dad buy the fake enthusiasm in her voice was short lived. At first she couldn't tell why he was turning to look behind them, the platform was too crowded and noisy for October to make out anything but her conversation with dad, but as soon as she looked over to see what had caught his attention, her heart stopped. April?! Here?! Her mind raced, zooming back through conversations cast in a new light, and now that she wasn't focusing on her own efforts to keep secrets, things April and Matt had said in the past now seemed blatantly suspicious to her. How had October never suspected them? It was obvious, obvious that they were magical too, and she and dad had struggled and scrambled to lie for two years!

Her emotions a whirl of amazed and annoyed and embarrassed, October couldn't think of a single thing to do or say. Dad was staring right at Matt, clearly struggling with the issue, and April looked almost dazed, the least excitement October had ever seen on her almost-sister's face. With nobody else doing anything, October uncertainly raised a hand and waved back to April, struggling to muster a nervous smile. "Hi..."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

When Matt had turned to look what April was staring at, seeing the face of his boyfriend had been one of the last things he expected. Kyle was so firmly in the muggle world in his mind, that seeing him here was jarring and a little bit uncomfortable. He stood staring for a long moment, and saw from the corner of his eye that his daughter had recovered more quickly than he had. They made their way over to the other two, Matt still silent. He looked at Kyle. "So uh." He said, his voice a bit croaky. "I suppose the train to the ballet school leaves here too?" He tried to smile, showing that he was attempting to make a joke, but he knew it fell a bit flat. He couldn't believe that Kyle was a wizard. He felt so incredibly foolish for not seeing this before. He had felt so guilty every time he had lied to Kyle's face about everything, even his job. And now he pictured Kyle feeling the exact same way at the exact same time. How utterly stupid. It sounded like something from a movie, or a play, though if it was a comedy or a tragedy he couldn't decide just now. His eyes darted to October and he tried to smile reassuringly at her before returning his attention to Kyle. "Are you a wizard, then? Like me?"

 

[April Ward]

April felt a whole swirl of emotions at the sight of October that she didn't really know what to do with. She decided to focus on the bright side, the good things. Now she knew someone at the school. And now she knew October wasn't learning ballet moves she didn't know yet. "Oh wow October! I was so jealous of your school and now we're going to the same one! At least I know you're not going to beat me easily in ballet then." She grinned. "I can't believe you went to Hogwarts all year! What house are you in? What's it like? Do you know a lot of magic? Can we sit together? Do you have a ton of friends?" She paused in her questions. "Oh wow, I can't believe this. We were trying so hard to keep it a secret, how silly!" It really did feel silly, though she also still felt a bit of resentment at not being the special witch between them anymore. She'd had imagined the day they would finally get to tell Kyle and October, especially how she would wow October with her magic. Instead, October knew more than her! How unfair.

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle couldn't hold back an incredulous laugh at Matt's comment. Trust him to be joking at such a surprising revelation. It broke the tension somewhat and he smiled, relieved to have something to say. "Yep, uh... all aboard the ballet express." He smiled awkwardly, glancing back at the train. It felt surreal seeing Matt and April in such a magical setting, like they had been cut and pasted from a different reality.

Kyle laughed and nodded awkwardly at Matt's question. "I am. And you... wow. This, ah... sort of solves a lot of awkward conversations I was hoping to avoid." He smiled nervously, though in the back of Kyle's mind he already knew this could wind up making the werewolf conversation that still had to happen much more difficult, if Matt was already carrying some of the biases and prejudices a lot of wizards held about lycanthropy. "God. This is... really strange, isn't it?" He laughed nervously, trying to keep the tone light.

 

[October Alcott]

The full force of April's inquisitive might wasn't something October had been prepared to handle so suddenly, and she faltered, taking a few moments to try and take in all the questions she had been asked at once. "I... wow, um, I'm in Ravenclaw, it's... nice. The school is... big. The classes are really interesting. They don't teach a LOT of magic in first year, but I know some things. We can... maybe sit together at meals sometimes, but you're supposed to stay with your house..." October trailed off, avoiding the question about friends. "It... yeah. We were trying really hard to keep all this secret from you too. It's pretty funny in retrospect..." She smiled nervously. "I was so worried about when I got older and wasn't any better at ballet, how we were going to keep the ballet school lie going... at least we don't have to worry about that with you anymore."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt was glad Kyle laughed at his joke. A part of him had wondered if he would be angry with Matt for lying for so long, as illogical as that was. Maybe a small part of Matt felt weird about Kyle's lies, though, even though he knew there was no way he could blame him for that. They had been doing the exact same thing, so why did this feel weird? He kept his smile in place, though.

"I guess I should have known, I feel a bit foolish to be honest." He said, scratching the back of his neck."It does solve some awkward conversations, I suppose, but maybe brings a few new ones to light as well." He pauses. "Yes, it really is strange." He added. "Did... did you go to Hogwarts in New Zealand too? Did we go to school together?" The thought had just occurred to him and it was too bizarre to be true. It was true that he was a few years older than Kyle, but could they really have missed that?"

 

[April Ward]

April could tell her father was still recovering from the shock, but she was already recovered and moving on to the possibilities. "Ravenclaw sounds a bit boring, to be honest. Is it? And not a lot of magic? That stinks, I want to do magic!" She sighed, shaking her head. "And we can sit together at meals I bet, I don't think we would get in trouble! We're almost maybe sort of sisters, they have to understand that." She nodded reassuringly. "Now we're both going to be worse at ballet." She said, trying to smile. It would be horrible to see her progress slow down, but magic was so cool that it was probably worth it. "So at least we have that! And you could show me around!" She grinned and took October's hand. "Can we sit together on the train?!" She didn't know if October already made promises to her friends or not, but April wouldn't mind meeting them too.

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle sighed and nodded, shifting awkwardly. "Yeah, I suppose it does. There are... still some things I should probably tell you now, but... after the girls are gone." He looked away, feeling almost numb with worry about the conversations to come. It was so likely that Matt would just... walk away. Even being friends with a werewolf was too much for some people to handle, let alone in a relationship with one. They had spent the last two years building something so strong, it was heartbreaking to consider the very real chance that it might all end so soon.

Matt's next question snapped Kyle's focus back to the conversation. "What? Yes, I did, I was in Hufflepuff, you... did we really go to school together?!" He laughed awkwardly. "Oh god. You must have been a few years above me, but how did we manage to miss each other completely?"

 

[October Alcott]

Once again, October struggled slightly to take in everything April was saying. Only having seen her once in the last year had really taken away October's ability to understand April's torrent of conversation, and it took her a moment to respond again. "It's... Ravenclaw is fine, it's quiet. I don't think you'd like it much though... and don't worry, you'll get to learn some magic, but most classes are more sort of... introductory, like just telling you what the subject is all about. Charms and Transfiguration and Defence all teach a few practical spells though. And I bet you'll like the Potions teacher..." That was a definite... the whimsical tone of her Potions lessons had reminded October strongly of April's sense of fun.

"They might let us sit together, I don't know. I've never tried to sit at a different table. Even if you have to sit somewhere else I'm sure you'll make friends though." That was true. People were going to love April, and October was more glad than ever that they likely wouldn't wind up in the same house. It would just make her own loneliness all the more stark. "We can sit together on the train though, and I'll definitely show you around the school. It takes a while to get used to going places there, the stairs move all over the place so you can't always take the same path you could yesterday..."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt could see Kyle was more uncomfortable than he was, and he heard something in his voice that made him pause. There was more to this than he wanted to say right now, and Matt had no idea what it could be, but he knew they would be having many long talks about this. It was alright, though. A long talk where he could finally be honest about everything in his life would be a blessing. Especially now that he no longer had to lie about what he did for a living. He laughed when Kyle said he had been at Hogwarts New Zealand as well, and in Hufflepuff. He could have guessed that house. "Oh, wow. I was in Ravenclaw! I was like, five years above you though. So we only overlapped a little bit. I didn't make a habit of paying attention to the firsties either, so I guess it makes sense." It still was an incredibly weird thought that they could have crossed paths at Hogwarts twenty years before. Odd, but wonderful in a way as well.

Then, like a knife stabbing the air, the sound of a whistle sounded. A quick look around showed that most other kids had already left the platform and boarded the train. Matt cursed mentally and turned to April, his heart sinking as it really got through to him that she was leaving. Right now! He hugged her fiercely. "Please take care, April. Write me, write your mother. I love you." He told her as he held her. She still felt so small, even though he knew she wasn't. It was just so soon, couldn't she stay a little longer? But no, he knew deep in his heart that it was time.

 

[April Ward]

April was practically bouncing as she was talking to October. All traces of her earlier dislike of the idea of October being magical too had disappeared by now, and she was just excited. She took her friend's hand and jumped up and down. "That all sounds so much fun! I can't wait! I can't wait! We're going to Hogwarts!" She giggled happily, eager to get going now. "I can't wait to see it all, moving staircases? Can you fall off? Wouldn't it be fun to be on them if they change? Oh wow!" She laughed in delight, picturing it all.

She was just about to start talking about how excited she was to sit together when the train whistle sounded. She let go of October's hand. They had to go! She was immediately engulfed in a hug by her father and she hugged him back tightly. "Bye dad, I will! I love you too!" She said before letting go. She gave him a wide grin and then turned to Kyle, who had just finished hugging his own daughter. Without thinking, she gave him a hug as well. She had gotten to know her father's boyfriend very well, and would miss him a lot too. "Goodbye Kyle! Take care of dad, okay?" She said as she pulled away from the hug. "I'll write you too!"

Out of Character:

Godmod approved

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle laughed. He could have guessed Matt's house in a second, the man was a Ravenclaw from toe to tip. And it did make sense that they wouldn't have run into each other, the age difference was a big factor. Still, he couldn't believe he didn't remember Matt at all. "Yeah, in such a big school I suppose it's not surprising that we never ran into one another. I was also actually homeschooled for a couple of years, from... third to sixth, I think. It's all a bit of a blur. But I wouldn't have been around for your last couple of years at all." He smiled a little awkwardly, hoping Matt didn't ask more about the homeschooling. It was a topic for a more private conversation, one Kyle was dreading, that could spell the end of their relationship.

Kyle's thoughts were interrupted by the whistle of the train and he jumped slightly, eyes wide. How could it be time to say goodbye already?! He turned to October, giving her a warm hug. "Work hard and always be your best self, my treasure. Keep your head high and walk with pride, and take care of April. I'll write you soon, love you always." He said warmly, giving an extra tight squeeze before letting her go, a tear appearing in his eye as he realised he was really saying goodbye to his daughter for the next few months already. His melancholy was cut short by April though, and though it was a little surprising getting a hug from her too, Kyle hugged back, quickly putting on an encouraging smile. "Have a great time at Hogwarts, April. I'm sure you'll love every moment."

 

[October Alcott]

Before October could reply to anything April was saying, it was already time to board the train. The holiday had gone by so quickly, and October couldn't fight back a hint of bitterness that her goodbye time with dad had been cut short by these two. It melted away as dad hugged her goodbye though, and October hugged him back tightly, already missing their home and her normal life. "I'll do my best, dad. I love you too. I'll write as soon as I get there..." She said a little shakily, struggling not to cry. She was reluctant to end the hug, reluctant to go back to the cold, huge castle where nobody cared about her. Except, now, April, which... could be a blessing or a curse.

As October stepped back though, she was startled to see April bouncing over to hug her dad too. She glanced at Matt, feeling uncomfortable. Was she supposed to hug him? Matt was nice, but October had only seen him twice in the last year. But clearly he, dad, and April had been busy... building a family dynamic without her, since he and April were saying goodbye like she was his own daughter. The bitterness came back with a vengeance, and to her shock, October had to struggle to hold back tears again. The three of them looked happy, like a family, and she was standing off to the side, not a part of whatever they had spent the last year building. Forgotten, unwanted, just like at school. She looked away and started pulling her suitcase to the train silently, still struggling not to cry.

 

[April Ward]

April pulled away from Kyle and waved at him one last time before she hurried to catch up with October. She could tell she was a little bit sad about leaving, so she linked arms with the older girl. She gave her a big smile. "It's going to be amazing, October. I can just feel it!" She said as they got onto the train together. After struggling with their luggage for a moment, she glanced at her again. "I was really surprised to see you, and felt a little bit sad that I wasn't ever going to impress you with my magic, but..." She paused, averting her eyes. "I'm glad too. It will be a little less scary with you there, and I think it will be more fun too." She admitted. Then she brightened again, glad to have any seriousness over with. "Let's find a compartment and wave at our dads from the window!" She said eagerly, tugging October along.

 

[October Alcott]

October struggled a little to smile back at April, going into the train with her. At least she would have one friend at school this year... hopefully. One... person around who knew who she was, at least. She helped April board the train and sighed, beginning to look for an open compartment for them to take their seats.

((Continues in Finally Departing))