Home is not where the heart is.

[Matilda Undersee]

Matilda's heart threatened to burst through her chest. A stabbing pain shot through her lungs, which felt ready to explode. Still, she did not stop running as fast as her tiny, strong legs could carry her. She shot through the crowd in Brightstone village, who barely noticed such a tiny girl as she darted in between the legs of Witches and Wizards alike. Her breathing was short and rapid, panting as the wind carried her dark brown hair out behind her. At last, a gap appeared in the sea of legs before her, and she sprinted with every last ounce of energy she had. Emerging through the clearing, Matilda Undersee found herself on a long, cobbled street. To her left lay a large expanse of grass, and to her right, a small, empty park. At least it may as well have been empty, since there was only one other child in it and Matilda was sure they wouldn't bother her. For a moment, she bent over, resting her hands on her legs in a feeble attempt to catch her breath. She had no idea how far she had run, or where she was for that matter, but she had a very good sense of direction and knew that when the time came, finding her way back home would not be a difficult task. Home.. Matilda shuddered. That word was a joke. It wasn't a home, it was a prison. She could not grasp the concept that her parents thought they were protecting her. They were not, in fact, they were causing something much deeper to stir inside the little girl's heart. Loneliness. Had Matilda had a friend, just one, throughout her childhood, she would have been a bright, friendly girl with a huge heart. Unfortunately, her parents seemed to think that a life sized doll that looked vaguely like a three year old would suffice as a friend. Matilda sighed a petite sigh and slowly wandered towards the park. The one child who had been playing was now gone, as dark clouds were rolling in over the harbour and those who had been enjoying a day of shopping had now retired to the comfort of their homes. Matilda wished with all her might that she could have a place she called home, but to no avail. Every day, upon walking home from school (closely by the side of her Mother, of course), Matilda would stare up at her three story, six bedroom house and blink hard. Yet, no matter how much she wished for it to change, the house stayed put and Matilda was faced with yet another evening with nobody to talk to.

The grass was a little damp, which surprised Matilda. She had not known it had been raining. Why would she? Making her way over to the swings, she jumped, hauling herself up onto it. The part goblin was too small to sit on it without first clambering up the chains. Being small definitely had it's down sides, but all in all, Matilda didn't mind. After all, she had a very extraordinary brain, which enjoyed devouring books and information like a vacuum cleaner in a dusty room. At this thought, a little smile formed on the young girl's lips. She leant against the chain on the swing for support, which was a good idea considering her feet were quite a long distance from the ground. She hoped nobody would see her in this state. Not only would they most likely think she was about five years old, she also had no idea how to properly address anyone. She didn't talk to people in school. They thought she was a freak for being so short and so smart. However, Matilda had to admit she got a little kick when they joked about her being a dwarf or a goblin. "If only you knew," She muttered under her breath in Italian, inhaling the smell of freshly cut grass and gazing out across the harbour.

 

[Alison Kingswood]

Alison was lucky with a park almost in her front yard, she was their a lot, to think or to calm herself from her busy family. The Park was quiet today, no playing children or talking adults, Alison was pretty much alone in the big park. Alison preferred the park this way, without the screaming and talking people. Alison loved being home, she called it home and hoped that she could call Hogwarts a home too when she would arrive there. Alison had already made some friends with whom she would go to Hogwarts, they would make her feel at home. Alison was a bit wet from the raining that it had done in the park, but Alison could not give a flying salamander about wet clothes. The grass was a little damp and now and then she could hear some noises coming from the bushes and trees in the park. Alison was not stupid, she was quiet smart, but still she had no desire to complete her almost all Ravenclaw family. Alison was tucking her long brown hair back behind her ear, she hoped that the park stayed quiet for a while not much noise suited Alison.

Alison could not be bothered with her clothes today, she was wearing an old blue jacket over a plain black T-shirt, with long blue jeans and a simple pair of black sneakers. Alison was not that girly or into fashion to care about what she was wearing, if it looked like Alison would wear it. Alison was quite tall for her age and that made her quit embarrassed when she was with other kids her age. Alison walked more into the park, the creepy noises from the bushes and trees were fading more and more when she fully entered the park revealing a large playground for children. Alison saw a girl sitting on the swing, she was little almost dwarf like, but something in Alison wanted to help the girl. The girl her breath was short and rapid and Alison was hoping that there was not something wrong with the girl. Alison walked up to the other swing and sat herself down looking at the girl on the swing. Alison knew there was people with different blood, Goblin, Giant and Veela blood, so Alison knew not to judge to early on the girl. The girl could be as old as she was or younger or older for that matter, she hoped that the girl wanted to talk. ''Are you alright?'' Alison politly asked the girl, she hoped that the girl was not angry on her for asking if she was doing well.

 

[Matilda Undersee]

Matilda had been swinging gently for almost ten minutes when the feeling of dread finally reached her stomach and entered her throat. Her parents would be awfully worried about their daughter's whereabouts, and though Matilda did not like to upset them, she had had enough of it. The thought of them pacing up and down Brightstone village, or even.. Did the Wizarding world have police? She shuddered to think about it, and continued swinging, her eyes tightly closed to block out every sight and sound that surrounded her. Right now, she needed some time to herself. Time that could be spent enjoying the fresh air, perhaps even meeting someone, instead of being cooped up in her room. You have everything you could ever want in your room! The bellows from her Father still echoed in her ears, and Matilda almost began to shake. Of course, he was a professional and would never lay a finger on his daughter, but sometimes words could hurt just as much, if not even more than physical damage. Sticks and stones, my butt, Matilda thought, sighing involuntarily. Why couldn't things just be normal? Why did she have to be afraid of returning to the place that was supposed to make her feel safe and happy?

These thoughts swirled through Matilda's mind - and stomach - as she contemplated how she would explain her sudden disappearance to her parents when she returned home. Her eyes were still tightly closed when a voice behind her caused her to jump suddenly. "Oh!" She squeaked, her eyes wide with fright. Not because she was scared of anything, but because the thought of having to introduce herself to another human being was a frightening one. She had never really had any social interaction with anyone except her family and her teachers, and even then she was generally a quiet girl. The girl who had approached her seemed nice enough, though, and in a split second Matilda had decided it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. With no idea how to react, her reply came out a little ruder than she had meant it to. "Hey! W.. why did you creep up on me like that?" her attempt to sound feisty was not going well, and it quickly became apparent that she had been a little too abrupt. "I mean.. I mean.. Uh.." Matilda could not for the life of her get her words out. Almost on the verge of crumbling, she slouched down into her swing. "I'm sorry," She mumbled quietly, closing her eyes again as she literally watched any hope of making a friend vanish into thin air. "How could you be so stupid?" Matilda muttered to herself in Italian, almost positive that the girl would not understand.

 

[Alison Kingswood]

The girl looked almost scared, her eyes were big and she knew she was thinking about something, Alison wondered what she was thinking about. Alison knew that cell phones had no range here and that here parents could not frighten the girl with calling Alison. Alison loved her parents no matter what, but the whole you need to be a Ravenclaw thing was getting out of hand and Alison did not like the House. Alison loves her sister, but her sister was your stereo typical Ravenclaw in love with her books while Alison would rather be outside then reading her books. Alison hoped that the girl was not afraid of her and would run away from her swing. When Alison was sitting next to her on the swing, she knew she had done something wrong.

The girl had a frightened look on her face and Alison was a bit sad that she had made the girl scared of her. When the girl abruptly spoke Alison was confused, the girl tried to sound feisty it was a failed attempt though. Alison did not know what to think about this girl, she was young, but not that young. ''Do not apologize you did nothing wrong.'' , when Alison spoke in her clear voice with Kiwi accent she looked at the girl. The girl was muttering something in a different language that Alison could not quiet catch, she knew some syllables, but the language was not something she spoke. ''Can you repeat it, I could not quiet catch it.'' Alison muttered to the girl hopefully to start a conversation with her.

Out of Character:

I do not know how to respond really, It is too hard.

 

[Matilda Undersee]

When Matilda was faced with addressing herself to acquaintances, she often found herself, as she had just done, saying the wrong things and offending people. It wasn't by choice, she simply did not know how to react to someone trying to make conversation with her. For this reason, she was surprised when the girl stuck around and told Matilda that it was not her fault. It was strange for anyone to be so understanding, as Matilda had never really experienced true kindness. The kindness she received from her parents was vicious and cruel, even if they were only doing it for Matilda's safety. In some ways, she knew that they were doing more damage than good by stopping her from being a kid. Had she had experience in the real world, she would not have been so miserable and lonely. What was breaking an arm compared to having a loving, fulfilling childhood? On the other hand, Matilda suffered terribly from a phobia of blood, and the other half of her was unsure whether it was such a bad thing that she was never allowed out. That way, she had never had to come to terms with her phobia on a large scale. She let out a long sigh, wondering if had she been exposed to her fear more often, she could have been cured by now and have a lovely group of friends. Two birds with one stone. Why did life have to be so unfair? Had Matilda's legs been long enough, she would have scuffed the floor with her brand new fancy white pump shoes. She absolutely hated them, along with everything else she was wearing. A pink polkadot frilly top and denim shorts. The clothes she wore were always designed for children several years younger than herself, but that was not what bothered her. What bothered her was that if she got even the tiniest bit messy in these clothes, her Mother would go berserk and immediately buy her new ones and possibly even keep her home from school as a punishment. That would have been dreadful, since not only did Matilda love to learn, but school was one of the only places she was allowed to attend without her Mother.

Still, Matilda could relax safe in the knowledge that soon she would be attending Hogwarts, and nothing could stop her from going. She smiled, her tiny dimples showing, but it soon faded when she remembered what situation she was in, and that this girl was still attempting to make conversation with her. Her little blue eyes darted back and forth as she searched for something to say, but nothing came. She wanted to thank the girl for not being upset, but did not trust that she was not about to turn on her like everyone else in this bitter world seemed to. However, this girl was a Witch, considering she was in Brightstone Village, and it was nice to finally meet someone who had experience of the Wizarding World. She almost wanted to make friends with her just so that she could learn more. Matilda had read many of her Father's old Hogwarts books, but there was only so much information she could get from them. She needed someone with some first hand experience. Matilda was not very skilled in judging people's ages, and wrongly assumed that since she was so much taller than herself, she was already attending Hogwarts. "What's Hogwarts like?" She asked, her voice barely more than a whisper as she gazed at her acquaintance, now fascinated by her presence. Suddenly, she realized she had made a mistake. She was so used to her life on the island in Italy that she often forgot she had to speak English here. "I mean, what's Hogwarts like?" She asked again, this time a little louder. Matilda never knew how much power to put in her voice, as she feared scaring people away by sounding too feisty.