Open Home Is Where The Wifi Is

[Nathan Clarke]

In the whole explanation Nate had received about wizards and magic, muggle technology had been brought up. Specifically, that it didn't work in Hogwarts, or around magic and magical areas. Nate knew what this meant. It was said to deter people from trying to contact the outside world while they filmed their reality TV show, which he was convinced was about convincing regular people that they had special powers. A social experiment. Like Big Brother. He wasn't fooled. He'd only been at the school a day at the most, and all of the magic, it could be explained. It had to be. The moving portraits were gifs, the stairs moved with hidden machinery, the ghosts were holographic projections. It was very real well, but he knew better. Nate had brought his smart tablet to contact his friends, and hidden it in his luggage amongst all of his folded clothes, thinking himself very clever for smuggling it onto the TV set. Only, when he'd pulled it out while unpacking, the screen wouldn't turn on. It couldn't have been out of power, he'd brought a battery pack, and that wasn't working either. So he'd deduced it was an EMP sort of thing. Something messing with electronics. He just had to get away from it and hope it hadn't destroyed his technology.

Nate had found the highest tower he could be bothered walking up, and with his tablet under his arm, made the ascent to the top. It was hard to believe that "wizards" didn't have a faster way to climb to the top. "Muggles" had elevators, and according to the girl he'd met on the train, magic was better in every way. He scoffed at the idea, and held his tablet up toward the sky once he reached the top, desperately trying to get a signal, or some sign of life in his precious computer. "Work! C'mon, turn on!" He shouted at it, smacking its side. If it was busted, he was definitely going to have his parents sue for damages.​

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira was coming down from the owlery after visiting her owl, Henri. She had an awkward encounter with an older student and was still trying to live it down. Her bag of treats was almost empty, having fed a few of the other owls aside from Henri. She was closing it when she heard a smacking sound and looked up from the treat bag. In front of her was a boy seemingly shouting and smacking at something, a digital device. "That's a tablet, innit?" She asked the slytherin boy whom she had not met before, most possibly a first year, she thought. "It's not going to work." She added, before he answered. Saira had checked if some of her video game consoles worked last year but unfortunately, none of them did in hogwarts.

 

[Nathan Clarke]

Nate had thought himself very much alone, and was startled by another voice joining him. He almost dropped his tablet from the side of the tower, and hastily pulled it back away from the open air. Not that it would have made much difference if it had fallen the several floors down onto the lawn. It was just as dead in his hands. "Oh yeah? What would you know?" He asked defensively, attempting to hold his computer up toward the sky again. It was so typical. She'd probably been sent to pester him because he was so close to getting his tablet working again, outside of the EMP field thing. He had no doubt there were cameras hidden around the castle, watching his every move.​

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira frowned slightly as he fumbled with the tablet, almost dropping it. "You ought to be more careful with that." She said. If he had dropped it from this height there would be no chance the tablet would work again, even outside of hogwarts. "Technology doesn't work in Hogwarts. I've tried last year." She said, raising her eyebrows as he lifted the tablet even higher. "Everything runs on magic." Saira wasn't so sure about that part, but she hadn't seen a single electric chord in hogwarts, so it must've been at least half correct. She finished closing the bag of treats and put them back into her pocket.

 

[Nathan Clarke]

Nate scowled at the girl, tired of hearing these same excuses. "Everything runs on magic." He repeated under his breath in a mocking, whiny tone. "Everything runs on electricity. Magic is bull. Why don't you go turn someone into a toad?" He suggested, rolling his eyes a little too dramatically. These stupid magicians with their stupid made up rules. He didn't know how long he'd be able to put up with it.​

 

[Saira Lykims]

Of course this is what she gets for trying to be helpful. Saira bit the inside of her cheek to keep her from saying anything. Wow, was he rude, Merlin, was she this annoying when she was younger? Surely not. She gave a sarcastic sweet smile. “Why don’t I turn you into a toad?” She asked him, it was an empty threat of course. She didn’t know enough transfiguration to do the such things but she did have an idea of a sort forming in her head.

 

[Nathan Clarke]

The attempts to get the tablet out of range of whatever was messing with the electronics wasn't working, and Nate didn't fancy leaning any further over the side of the tower. Giving up, he pulled it back inside and tucked it under his arm, shooting the girl an annoyed glare. "Try me. Go on." He dared her. "You couldn't even pull a rabbit out of a hat. You want to see some magic?" He asked. He waved one hand over the other one to cover it. When he removed it, the only finger left sticking up was his middle one. "This is what I think of your stupid magic."​

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira sighed with annoyance, as he flipped her off. She closed her eyes shut and quickly scoured through her mind for the right spell, gripping tightly, her wand that she had kept inside her right pocket. Saira opened her eyes, finding just the spell that she was looking for. She took out her wand, and looking down, made sure he was far enough from the ledge. She didn’t want him to get hurt after all, that could get her in trouble and she didn’t want that. Seeing he was safe, Saira aimed her wand at his legs, “Locomotor Motis!” She cast the spell and hoped it had worked, Saira walked passed him, if the spell had worked, his legs would be locked in position.

 

[Nathan Clarke]

Nate opened his mouth to let out a sarcastic 'ooh' when the girl pulled out her magical wand. The girl on the train hadn't been able to use any real magic, and he seriously doubted this one would impress him either. He listened to her speak some gibberish, and then felt his legs bind together, knees knocking painfully. "Ow, what the hell was that?" He asked. It felt like his legs were tied together, but he couldn't see anything preventing them from being pulled apart. The girl was walking away, and he reached a hand out to try and stop her, almost falling off balance in the process. "Hey, wait! Stop! What did you do to me?" He shouted, a little panicked. It was all he could do to hop around on the spot. This - he couldn't explain this. It didn't make any sense.​

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira turned around, now a small distance away from the boy. He had hopped around to turn towards her. She gave a sickly sweet smile at the boy, one she had seen Liusaidh use when she was lying to the professor. “It’s something we call-“ She waved her hand -the one with her wand- over her other, covering it briefly. And as she removed it, she lifted only her middle finger up, mocking the boy’s previous actions. “-Magic” she said, turning around again and going a bit farther from the boy.

Saira knew she was acting immature, and if one of the professors found him, sheo would definitely get in some sort of trouble. Sighing, she turned back around and cast another spell, “Finite Incatatem“ she said, pointing her wand back at the boy.

edit note: i accidentally deleted the last paragraph, sorry!

 

[Nathan Clarke]

Nate scowled, furious that this girl thought she could mock him with his own completely clever comeback. "You-" He said angrily, but she spoke more gibberish and he froze on the spot, wondering what would happen this time. He felt the restriction on his legs lift, and experimentally shook them out, still astounded that she'd somehow bound them together. He glowered at her, and held his tablet up in front of him as a shield. It scared him, the fact she could somehow restrict him without even being near him. Was it magnets, sewn into his pants? That might have been it. "Get away from me, you freak!" He shouted at her, backing up to put some distance between them. "If you do that to me again - it's...it's assault! My parents will sue your whole family!" He threatened. He didn't know if it really was assault, but his parents had been quite litigate-happy in the past. "Get out of here! Buzz off!"​

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira rolled her eyes when he called her a freak, he would learn someday, probably. She wasn’t too sure if putting a spell on him would be counted as assault, especially when it was an almost harmless spell, but she didn’t think the muggles would understand it. Saira highly doubted the boy’s parents would be suing her’s, either ways, her parents would find a way to get out of it like they always did. With all the money her family had, they could probably deal with it without any struggle. She started to walk away, twirling her wand around as if it were a pen. She hoped she would not be seeing the annoying boy any tome soon.