Closed Finally By Myself

[Anastasie Vernier]

Anastasie was relieved that she had made it. She made it through the exams, she made it through all of the troubles and stress and now she was in the real world having to fend for herself. She made it evident that she was going to look after herself now, bought her own apartment and applied for a few jobs here and there. It was only a few weeks out of Hogwarts too and Anastasie found herself in the city of her hometown in France. It was currently warmer here than in New Zealand and Ana preferred that. She walked slowly through the main park, mostly reminiscing on her time there as she did so. It was disappointing that they hadn't come back there since leaving eight years ago. Everything felt different. Her mother wasn't there, less kids were hanging around, and the whole atmosphere just felt so quiet compared to what she remembered. An ice-cream truck stood in the middle of the park and she made her way over there. Maybe if she bought herself ice-cream she would feel better. She took the ice-cream cone from the man serving her and made her way over to a park bench, beginning to eat it. She didn't know anyone there anymore so no one could judge her. She let her mind wander.

 

[Archer Thompson]

Archer still wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten his mother to agree on him taking his sister for a trip but here they were, in France. He had planned it all thoroughly, honestly wondering if he had ever done something with so much care in his life. But she hadn't been to the country since his family left eight years ago and he had to make sure she had a good time, that she enjoyed the trip. They had started out in their hometown and after that moved through the country, visiting different towns and cities. He had also given his sister plenty of space to do things on her own every now and then. Obviously he wasn't going to let her wander around cities alone, but every now and then there was an activity she wanted to do that she was fine with doing without him and he was cool with that. Today it had been a dance class of some sort. He didn't even know she still danced, but he figured now that they were back in France she might just feel a little bit nostalgic about getting dance lessons in French so he had happily dropped her off at the place and now made his way through the town's park, which was not even a street away. Being fresh out of school he was still undecided on whether he wanted to keep living in New Zealand or move back to France. He didn't have a lot of connections in either country, which he guessed was the risk of living somewhere and going to school somewhere else, so had decided that every time Chloë was off doing her own thing he'd just do his own thing as well. Grab a coffee, visit a park and in general just see if there were any people his age he could get along with. He was extroverted enough to just walk up to someone without feeling weird so when he spotted a girl alone on one of the park's benches he didn't hesitate. "Hey, mind if I sit?" He shot the girl a charming smile, although at the same time hoped he didn't come off as some kind of creep since the park wasn't very crowded so in reality there was no solid reason for him to want to sit on the exact same bench she was sitting at.

 

[Anastasie Vernier]

As Ana saw a boy around her age walking towards her out of the corner of her eye, she kept her eyes at the ground. It wasn't until he spoke to her that she looked at him. He was smiling at her, asking if he could take a seat next to her, and Ana wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't good at making friends and had never had one in her life, mostly because she gained the reputation of not being able to keep her mouth shut at school. It felt odd to be approached, and she suddenly became insecure about the ice-cream she was holding. She nodded, keeping the ice-cream in her hand still. "Okay." she said in response, giving him a slight smile. "What brings you here?" Ana wanted to know why he chose to sit with her and whether or not he wanted something out of her. After all, most people just spoke to her because they wanted something.

 

[Archer Thompson]

Archer smiled when the girl agreed to him sitting next to her. He got that it was somewhat unexpected with the park being near empty so he was happy she at least wasn't immediately creeped out by him. That definitely wasn't his intention. "I just dropped my little sister off at some dance class down the road." He answered her question, nodding in the general direction of where the dance school was. "Figured I might as well socialize for a second while I wait for her class to finish." Archer explained a little more. He was an outgoing person in general and he'd never shy away from a little conversation. Especially not with someone who seemed to be around his own age. "Wouldn't be offended if you told me to leave though." He added, never wanting to pressure anyone into a conversation. It was only at that second that he noticed the ice cream in her hand which definitely wasn't going to get any better if she just left it like that. "That's gonna melt if you're going to ignore it for much longer." Archer chuckled, nodding at the ice cream in her hand.

 

[Anastasie Vernier]

Ana just nodded as the boy told her about his little sister's dance class and about how he wanted to socialise whilst he waited for her. Ana was lucky that she wasn't the one that had to take the twins everywhere, that was Isabelle's job, and she couldn't be more thankful for that. "Is that annoying?" she asked, knowing that she would definitely be annoyed herself. "You know, taking your little sister places?" Ana always dreaded the day she had to take the twins anywhere by herself, but maybe it made it worse knowing that there was two of them. "You can stay." Ana replied with a shrug as the boy said he wouldn't be offended if she wanted him to go. She really didn't want him to go. She needed a friend. Ana quickly looked down at the ice cream in her hand as the boy pointed it out, before suddenly feeling her cheeks go a shade of pink. She quickly untucked the long hair behind her ear, letting it fall and cover her face in the hopes that the boy did not see it. "Oh, um, yeah. I mean, it's not that good anyway." she told him. It really wasn't as good as Ana remembered, and so the girl stood up and disposed of the ice cream in the bin across the path from them, and came back to sit down, feeling the most embarrassed she had ever felt.

 

[Archer Thompson]

Archer let out a small laugh when the girl questioned whether taking his sister places was annoying. "Well we're on a trip right now so taking her places is kind of the whole idea." He smiled as he answered the question. He definitely didn't mind taking Chloë places, whether they were on a trip or not. The trip had been his own idea anyways and he was glad they got to go, not even having doubted it would be fun for a second. "But in general no, it's not annoying." He added his thoughts on the idea in general. He felt like it was just part of being an older sibling, to have a slight responsibility for his younger sister. "Thanks." Archer nodded when the girl seemed okay with him being there, told him he could stay. As confident as he was he had to admit it would've been slightly embarassing if he had to get up and walk over to a different bench. He was saved from that thought though. "That's disappointing, I was considering getting me some." He shrugged when she got up to throw away the ice cream. He had honestly been considering it but even if the girl was a complete stranger she seemed like someone with taste he could trust. After all, no one would just casually throw away their ice cream if it was good. Archer smiled at her as she sat back down, holding out his hand to her. "So since I'm intruding your solo park..bench..adventure, I feel like I should at least introduce myself." He chuckled, slightly unsure of how he should describe the girl sitting on the bench by herself. Apart from planning on eating the ice cream he had no idea what she had been doing anyways. "I'm Archer."

 

[Anastasie Vernier]

Anastasie was unaware that he was on a trip like herself. She just assumed he was a local, as he seemed to fit the part, and nodded as he told her that it wasn't annoying to be taking his sister places. "I'm on a trip too. I was born here but I live in New Zealand now." she told him. "How old is your sister?" Ana wondered if perhaps she was older than her own younger siblings and maybe they became less annoying with age. As the boy told Ana that he was considering getting some of the ice cream herself, she instantly regretted throwing it away, but then again she wasn't an ambassador for the ice cream or anything and so it wasn't really her job to convince him to get it. "It was okay." she just said with a shrug, not caring whether or not he changed his mind. He then introduced himself as Archer and Ana smiled slightly at him. "My name is Anastasie Vernier. But you can just call me Ana." Normally she wouldn't have been so casual with her name, but she liked Archer and she wasn't really sure why.

 

[Archer Thompson]

Archer smiled when the girl said she was on a trip as well, his smile growing a little bit wider with excitement when she mentioned being born in France but living in New Zealand now. "Well that makes it a weird coincidence for us to meet each other here." He said with a small laugh, before explaning himself further. "I was born in France as well, moved to New Zealand when I was younger." He added, looking at her for a second to figure out if she might have gone to beauxbatons with him but being pretty certain that he'd have recognized her earlier if she had. Especially since she didn't seem to be that much older or younger than him. "She's fourteen." Archer answered her question about his sister before asking her a question himself. "So did you go to school here or in New Zealand?" He asked, even if he was pretty sure it would be the latter of the two options. He laughed when she said the ice cream had been okay after all, already having made up his mind that he wasn't going to get any anyways. "Cool, Ana it is." He smiled at her, pretty pleased so far to be spending the time he had to be waiting for his sister by talking to her. It seemed to definitely be more enjoyable than sitting on his own.

 

[Anastasie Vernier]

It seemed like the pair were in the same boat, having both moved to New Zealand at a young age. But Ana hadn't seen Archer around at Hogwarts New Zealand and wondered whether or not he was an international student somewhere else. It made sense that his sister was fourteen, a few years older than Ana's own siblings, as this meant she would probably be less annoying. "That makes sense. My youngest siblings are only eleven, and they're very annoying." Ana told him. She couldn't wait until they grew up a little more. As Archer asked Ana a question this time, it was almost like he read her mind, and she wanted to ask him the same. "I went to school in New Zealand like all of my other siblings. I only graduated last year." she told him. "What about you?" Ana thought that perhaps he could be older than her and that was why she hadn't seen him around at school much, but even then, Ana was sure she would've recognised him. It made Ana smile slightly when Archer said her name, feeling as though it made more sense and she liked it. She liked sitting on the bench with him in a place where she felt most comfortable, and the fact that they both lived in New Zealand meant that she might be able to see more of him after this.

 

[Archer Thompson]

Archer let out a soft laugh when she told him her siblings were eleven, and very annoying at that too. Personally, he had always gotten along with his sister quite well, even when she was younger, although he did have to admit that she had definitely got a bit more annoying when she was a couple of years younger than she did now. He figured it was just the whole being a teenager thing, for both of them at that time. "So siblings?" He asked, having clearly heard her use her put an 's' behind the word. "Like, multiple of the same age? Are they twins?" He added curiously. Archer nodded when she told him she went to school in new zealand like he had suspected. He also noted she only recently graduated, now being sure that they had to be at least around the same age. "I went to Beauxbatons." He replied. "I'd already been in my first year when my parents decided to move and I didn't want to transfer." He added with a little shrug, always having been pleased he'd gotten to stay at the french school. "Pretty sure you would've remembered me had I went to school with you." Archer joked, his usual cockiness about his own appearance peaking out for a second as he smiled at her.

 

[Anastasie Vernier]

Anastasie didn't realise how rare twins were until Archer asked if her siblings were twins. She didn't like the fact that they were twins, but nodded in response to his question. "Yes. I wish they weren't twins though." she said rather bluntly, not at all with the intention of making a light-hearted joke. She had been devastated when her mother had told her there was not only one baby but two on their way. After all, it was bad enough Ana had to share the spotlight with Isabelle and Patrick and she much preferred it when she was an only child. "Oh, Beauxbatons. My mother, my step-father, and my step-sister went there. They've told me it's a great school. Was it?" she asked, wanting to know for sure. She had liked Hogwarts, had liked the classes that they offered and the way things ran, but never had the choice of picking another school, and perhaps if she was able to pick, she would have chosen Beauxbatons. Isabelle didn't make many friends there however, not that Ana made any at Hogwarts either. "Yes but, you probably wouldn't have remembered me." Ana replied with a shrug. She quickly realised how self-deprecating it sounded. "I mean, because it's such a big place, you know."

 

[Archer Thompson]

Archer wasn't sure whether to laugh at her remark or not, although judging on the tone in which she had said it he decided against it. He figured having twin siblings would be difficult, especially since they were younger and would likely cost anyone a lot of energy. "That bad, huh?" He asked instead, wondering if she'd go into more details or whether she would just brush it off. He wouldn't mind either way, never much one for pushing others into sharing things they rather wouldn't. He was surprised to hear her state at least a couple more family members though, wondering how many siblings or step-siblings she actually had. "Oh yeah, it was." Archer confidently nodded, almost sounding nostalgic even if he had only recently left. He figured things would be a bit weird when the time came for school to start again though, knowing that he won't be going back. "You've got a big family then?" He asked, still curious about it. He was about to frown at her response to his statement of being someone he was sure others would remember untill she quickly made an addition to what she had said. "Well you never know." He smiled, before letting out a small chuckle. "And I guess we'll never know."

 

[Anastasie Vernier]

Anastasie knew that she probably shouldn't have said what she did, but she couldn't take it back and so there was nothing she could do. She just shrugged. "Well, it's alright. There's a 7 year age gap between me and them, so at least they have each other." Ana knew that she would feel alone if all of her siblings were so much older than her, and so perhaps she felt a little bit bad for them. As Archer said that Beauxbatons was good, Ana wanted to know more. "How is it good? Does it have a good library? Any good study areas? Is everyone much more study-focused?" Ana couldn't help always asking questions. The main thing that had annoyed Ana about Hogwarts was that a lot of people just didn't care enough about their studies, especially during the younger years, and so perhaps Beauxbatons was different in that area, and that would make it better. "Well I guess I have a big family. It was just my mother and I for a long time until my mother met my step-father, and when they married I gained step-siblings, followed by half-siblings." Ana told him. She had never thought her family to be big, especially considering it was two families that had merged into one. "What about you? Do you have anyone other than your sister?" Ana chuckled with him at his statement, agreeing with it, but deciding to brush it off for now. They were here now and had met, so the past didn't really matter all that much.