Open Fresh Air

[Hester MacGillivray]

((Open after Lexi))

As homesick as she got throughout the year at Hogwarts, as soon as she had gotten back home, Hester had started yearning for a taste of magic in her life again. She caught herself staring at family photos waiting for them to move, and reaching for a wand she didn't have to summon things at the breakfast table. (After the first close call, Hester had decided to leave her wand in her suitcase for the winter, rather than risk accidentally breaking the law.) So, finding reasons to visit the magical world, just for a visit had leaped surprisingly high on her to-do list. Thankfully before even setting foot in Hogwarts, Hester had already given herself the perfect excuse to return to the magical world. Big Douglas was hungry, and toad food was much cheaper and easier to acquire in Obsidian Harbour than the muggle world. So, Hester had taken a day trip. She had told her parents it was going to be a difficult mission, possibly take all day, but of course popping into the Menagerie had been a matter of moments. Now she was just... wandering the street, taking in all the sights and sounds, breathing in the magic all around her. She loved her big, wild family deeply, but after getting a taste of the independence magic could bring, she was starting to realise just how much she enjoyed this. No longer the baby of the pack, here she was in charge. Her own witch.

 

[Alexis Rodes King]

Alexis had ducked out of the house again. Knowing her brother would be joining Hogwarts in the next year all her godfather was talking about was which house he would be in. Of course she loved her brother but she didn't plan on returning home just to talk about school. She had put her cat Kaiba on a leash before leaving so they could just enjoy a nice quiet walk. Yes she had ducked out but she made sure to leave a note on the counter and she pocketed some gallons. As she walked around she noticed a girl around her age. She looked so fascinated by everything.

"You must be a muggle then." Alexis said before she could stop the words from tumbling out. She didn't mean it in any offensive way just a simple observation.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester was just considering spending some of the money she knew she should be saving for school supplies on an ice cream when she heard a voice, turning to see who had spoken to her. There were enough kids in their class that it was hard to remember the faces of people she didn't spend much time with, but the girl was definitely familiar, and Hester gave her a confused look. "Don't you go to Hogwarts?" She asked, offering a friendly smile. "I think we're in the same classes, I'm Hester." She had been quietly hoping not to run into any of her less savoury roommates on this trip, but Hester wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to make a new friend outside of her awful dormitory.

 

[Alexis Rodes King]

"Alexis Rodes. Yes I do go to Hogwarts. Going to be a third year are you? I thought we were the same age." Alexis smiled quite satisfied that she had been able to slightly identify the girl. She was also happy that the girl hadn't taken offense from her abruptness. Getting to the point of matters was always something Alexis had done. Not many people liked that. "You're certainly not a Slytherin so what house are you in?" Alexis asked. She would have remembered the girl a lot better if she was stuck in the same room as her.

Kaiba pulled on the leash in Alexis' hand. He gave her that horrible "I'm bored" moew that he often did when he wanted attention. Alexis huffed and picked him up. "This is Kaiba. My always bored cat." Alexis said addressing the girl again.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester had never been good at remembering people's names, and with as many roommates as she had to keep track of, she hadn't done an especially good job with the rest of her extended year group. So she was relieved when Alexis introduced herself, nodding in response to the girl's question. "Yeah, third year." Saying it still felt strange. It was hard to believe she had spent two entire years in the magical world already. It felt like an eternity and no time at all, all at once. Like her previous life travelling with her family had all been a dream. She nodded when Alexis asked about her house. "Yeah, I'm in Gryffindor." She smiled a little tensely, hoping Alexis wouldn't associate her with people like Ivy or Seraphina. It was a relief when the Slytherin brought up more familiar topics, and Hester beamed with delight. "Ohhh, he's so cute!" She said cheerfully, before opening up her own robe and reaching into her biggest pocket. "This is Big Douglas." She said proudly, holding up the enormous toad she had managed to sneak out of the house without Mum or Dad noticing.

 

[Alexis Rodes King]

Alexis could say she was surprised to hear Hester was a Gryffindor. She had quite the bubbly personality that Alexis supposed could survive the lion's den. Although Truthfully she half expected to hear Hufflepuff. Alexis had to hold back a laugh at the sudden reveal of the toad. "Carry him around in your pocket a lot?" She teased. She had to somewhat tighten her grip on Kaiba because he still wasn't very good with other animals although he had warmed up to people now.

"What are you doing here anyway? I'm assuming you live in the muggle world correct?" The question had been bugging Alexis and she just had to know why. Even though she felt she was coming off a bit strong.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester didn't think she would ever get tired of the faces people made when they saw Big Douglas for the first time. "Yep!" She said cheerfully, settling her toad back into her pocket. "I don't like leaving him cooped up in his enclosure, so he comes with me." She smiled, gently petting Big Douglas's head as it poked out over the fabric of her pocket. She shrugged in response to Alexis's question. "I came to get him some food, but now I'm just wandering. I told my mum I was gonna be out all day." She smiled. "What about you, what are you doing here?"

 

[Alexis Rodes King]

What Hester said made sense. Alexis knew that if Kaiba was in a cage she would let him out as often as possible. Alexis pondered revealing the real reason she had been wandering around. Not that she didn't trust Hester, because she really hardly trusted anyone. Not that she was hiding anything because she had nothing to hide. She just didn't like addressing certain topics. "Oh it's nothing." Alexis shrugged. "Would you like to get a milkshake or something? I'm buying so you don't have to worry about it. I should be getting Kaiba a snack anyway." Alexis smiled as she put Kaiba down again.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to live a life where going for a wander in the magical world was just 'nothing', rather than the freedom she had been missing all holidays. Her melancholy was quickly swept aside though, by the promise of sweet things. "Oooh, definitely!" She said brightly, perking up at once. "I was just thinking of going to Florean Fortescue's, I bet magical ice creams are way nicer than the ones at home."

 

[Alexis Rodes King]

Alexis was amused by Hester. She figured the girl was always on some weird rollercoaster. Alexis nodded her head to indicate that they could go to the store Hester mentioned. It wasn't like she had been lying anyway so she wasn't really bothered where they went. She thought about going to get something for Kaiba first but figured she'd end up sharing her with him and didn't think about it a second longer. "I wouldn't know if magical icecream is different. I've never been to the muggle world. My godfather doesn't really allow it. Some nonsense about pure bloods not needing to explore out of the Wizarding world." Alexis had mumbled the last sentence hoping Hester hadn't heard the slip of information.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester began leading the way to the shop as Alexis spoke, already thinking about ice cream. Even in winter, sometimes a sweet treat was just what you needed. She nodded when Alexis talked about her childhood, considering what the other girl said. "Okay, but do you know what Disney is, 'cause my friend Blue thought it was a country and I was thinking, like, do magical people just grow up without movies and stuff?! That must be the worst."

 

[Alexis Rodes King]

Alexis had absolutely no idea what the girl was talking about. Well it wasn't like she was completely clueless she knew what movies were but didn't know how they worked. Where they types of people or objects? She brushed off that question. "What on earth Is Disney? Some sort of muggle contraption?" Alexis said. She didn't quite hide the distaste in her voice. "I've heard of movies but that seems so silly what is the purpose anyway. At least there's no silly things like that in the wizarding world. Books are more than enough for me. Besides flying of course." Alexis said quite proud. She had never imagined she would be talking about muggle stuff. There was only one other time she spoke about something muggle and that was only because she was teasing the person.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester had expected to have Blue's comments confirmed, but it still struck her slightly. The idea that magical kids grew up with no tv, no movies, none of the stories that had been such a big part of her own childhood made her feel all over again like she had walked into an alien planet that just happened to look somewhat like her own. "Well, movies are just like books you can watch." She explained, trying to get her point across. "Like if.... A moving painting was acting the book out for you. It's fun!"

 

[Alexis Rodes King]

Alexis frowned. She knew muggles had all these weird things sure. She'd never really experienced them and she never really thought to. The idea of a book being played out by a moving picture was somewhat interesting though. "But then doesn't that ruin your imagination of the characters and how it goes. Well I mean unless you get to make the moving pictures then other people can imagine what you do." Alexis said. It didn't really occur to her immediately but she then thought about this thing she had read once. "Oh it must be like a pensieve then." Alexis added after the fact. The idea still seemed rather silly to her