Finding You

[Emily Madison]

Emily found it easy to adapt to new situations and she was already feeling right at home at Hogwarts, making friends and settling into her classes. She knew Charlie found it much harder to actually relax in new homes though, and it had disappointed her to see that although her sister had a few friends she wasn't really that close to anyone. After a lot of talking, Emily had decided with her best friend that their sisters needed to be best friends. This wasn't a new role for Emily to fill, at every new home or school Emily had always been the one to encourage and help Charlie to make friends. Charlie had done her best on her own, but now that Emily was here to take care of her big sister she was going to make sure Charlie had all the friends she wanted.

It had to be approached right though. Emily and Alice had already noticed their sisters getting along helping them set up the fort at the start of the year, and now was the time for gentle, calculated nudges. Pulling her sister by her hand, Emily led the way quickly over to the snack table where she had agreed to meet Alice and Phoebe. "Come on Charlie, let's get some food!" She said happily, making a beeline for Alice as soon as they got within range. "Alice!" She squealed in excitement, hurrying over to hug her best friend. "Hi! You look so pretty!" Looking back she gestured happily. "Remember my big sister Charlie?"

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice was very excited about tonight. Not only had she heard a lot of good things about the yule ball from her sisters, she had a plan! Together with Emily she had decided their older sisters needed to be friends. Emily's sister Charlie had already seemed to get along with Phoebe, so it seemed logical to encourage the two to be friends together. Alice knew Phoebe had a few friends already, but it was never a bad thing to have more. Not to mention, a part of Alice wondered if maybe, just maybe, something more would blossom between them. She hadn't mentioned this to Emily because she wasn't sure if her sister liked girls or not, but Phoebe did. The romantic in Alice couldn't help but hope, though she also knew it was unlikely. A friendship would be plenty.

Alice got a little distracted from her mission when she noticed how pretty the great hall was. She stopped to listen to the headmistress' speech, but then nudged Phoebe along. "Hey, I want some food!" She said, grinning up at Phoebe in a way she knew her sister couldn't ignore. She knew the older girl wouldn't send her away even if she wanted to. Phoebe looked really nice, Alice thought. She herself was wearing a simple white dress, nothing special, but her sister had definitely put more effort in it. Once she spotted Emily coming for her, Alice grinned widely. "Emily! What a coincidence!" She said, knowing as she said it she didn't sound very convincing. If there was one thing Alice wasn't very good at, it was lying. Not that this was a lie exactly, but she still had to act in order for their plan to go smoothly. "You look pretty too. Hi Charlie! You look really nice as well." She nudged Phoebe. "Right? Doesn't she? Anyway, this is my older sister, Phoebe. Remember her? You both helped me set up the firstie meeting." She said, glancing between them and grinning hopefully. "Emily, let's go get some food and let these two talk." With that, she grabbed Emily's hand and started moving away from the two. Hopefully Phoebe hadn't noticed this meeting was a set-up.

 

[Phoebe Holland]

Phoebe had had a feeling something was up from the moment Alice practically attached herself to her side. While Alice might be the youngest of the sisters, Phoebe knew her to be very independent and not shy at all. Something like the yule ball wouldn't intimidate her, and she would have expected the Hufflepuff to be off with her friends. If there was one thing Alice was good at, it was making friends. But for some reason she stayed close to Phoebe, nudging her in the direction of the food table. It wasn't that Phoebe minded, she didn't have any specific plans for tonight. No date, or even any girl she was hoping to dance with. Though a small part of her had been hoping to meet someone here. She remembered how it had felt to be kissed at the party, even though that had been pretty bizarre. Maybe it would be nicer with someone she actually knew, but she didn't really know how to make that happen. But spending a night with her youngest sister wasn't bad either.

It wasn't until the two ran into Alice's best friend Emily and her older sister that Phoebe could see the pieces clicking together. She might have bought this as a coincidental meeting if it wasn't for Alice. That girl really needed to work on her stealth. Her tone of voice totally changed as she talked to Emily and Charlie, and her entire demeanor was about as subtle as a freight train. Phoebe had to fight to keep her expression in place, as she was close to laughing at her sister's antics. Was she trying to set her up on a date? Or just trying to make her befriend the sister of her best friend? It was one or the other, and Phoebe knew her sister was just trying to look out for her. She didn't seem to realize not everyone was a social butterfly the way she was, and that Phoebe was happy with the friends she had. She knew it had come out of good intentions, so she decided to keep up the pretense long enough for her sister to feel like she had done something nice. She glanced at the older Madison girl, giving her a slight smile with her eyebrows raised. "I remember," she said as Alice prattled on. "Nice to see you again." She had noticed the girl when they were setting up the student lounge. She was rather cute. Her outfit now was something really interesting, definitely different than the dresses everyone was wearing. Phoebe suddenly felt a little unoriginal in her dress, one Rose had given her a few weeks ago. She cleared her throat as her sister dragged the other girl away and added in an undertone. "I think we've been set up." She glanced at Alice with a small sigh. "I think my sister is a bad influence on yours." She didn't know Emily very well, but she knew Alice was usually the girl with a plan. Somehow she always managed to rope other people into helping her with whatever schemes she had in mind.