I Love Parks

[Avie Mitchell]

Having finished with all the shopping he had meant to have done, Avie was hoping to just head home, relax and enjoy the last few minutes of the day hanging around with his cousins. He had done most of the shopping himself. His aunt and uncle had been around, but had stayed away. Occupying their kids and letting young Avie do what he wanted. Which really suited him just fine, it meant that when he was finally heading home, well, to where they were currently staying, because Auckland was a little to far to be a viable option right now, he had noticed in the distance a park. It was relatively far but he could see it. Now, the boy realised he had two options, option number one was just go straight to the park, which he really wanted to do, and option two was just head back home and drop off the stuff to then go back to the park. The only issue that he thought was wrong with the latter of the two was the fact that if he went home, he might not be allowed to head back out. They might expect him to stay, ignoring the mighty need he had to play in this play park. He was standing at a sort of figurative forked path though the end point was that he just really wanted to go play in the park. He was practically jumping on the spot trying to make a decision. He wanted to go. Super bad. It looked so fun, even though he was pretty far from it. Parks were fun. It was almost 100% certain that a park was fun in Avie's mind. If the park was bad then he could quickly leave. Looking down at the bags in his hands, Avery was finding that this really was a difficult decision. They were heavy, and he didn't want to lose any of the items. But, the park. The young boy glanced around him, seeing if there was any way of the nature around him telling him the decision to make, tell him what to do. Until, he looked at it again, and suddenly the decision had been made, without thinking it over to be sure he was making the right choice, the boy set off in a fast sprint. Clutching the bags tightly though not too concerned about breaking or dropping them.

It really didn't take him long to get to the park itself. Once within it, he dumped all of the belongings on to one of the benches and covered it with his first jumper, Avie was wearing two. That plus his usual dark blue beanie hat were what he was wearing to keep warm during the winter months. While this meant he was slightly more exposed to the elements, the jumper did cover up almost all of the bags, so people wouldn't really know what was in them. Avie told himself that no one would actually steal it if they couldn't see was any of it was. In any case, it was now at the very back of his mind, he had tried and if they got stolen no one could actually blame him. Now that he was in the park, the boy paused. Glancing around himself. Looking at everything that he could possibly have a shot on. He was getting more excited by this. But, in the end, he settled on the roundabout. It was something that he could run with, and also then mess around with. He could hardly contain his excitement. Running to it, and then gripping the side to then run, round and round, going as fast as he could, before jumping on to it, and using his foot to move faster, pushing and pushing. Not slowing down, or giving himself a break. While Avie was excited to be going to hogwarts, this was so much fun, and though his thoughts had been on the castle and that school for the most part of the day, they had completely vanished. He didn't even think to see if there were other people in the park. Instead he paid attention to himself and the fact he'd really wanted to be in the park, and now on the roundabout. After a few more pushes, the boy began to carefully, although for most what Avie considered careful was not in fact in the slightest careful, move around. Jumping up and down, just to see what it felt like. He did eventually lose his footing somewhat and face plant, but it didn't really stop him. He just flipped to be on his back and kept his eyes on the spinning sky that was slowly spinning less quickly. Eventually it stopped and unsteadily the boy got to his feet. Stumbling from the dizziness and finally settling himself down on a swing. No time for rest when he probably couldn't spend too long in this park.
​

 

[Jarek Speed]

Jarek was relieved to be heading for the park, he found it so boring when his mum dragged him along to catch up with her old school friends. They usually began with a conversation about how much Jarek had grown, making him feel uncomfortable. They then almost immediately forgot he was there and spent the remaining time gossiping.

Fortunately for Jarek his mum sympathised and told him he was old enough to go to the park for a short time instead. He thought how perfect it was for him to be able to escape as he walked to the park. It was only a matter of weeks now until he wouldn't have to be here all together. All because he would be attending Hogwarts!

Reminding himself of Hogwarts made Jarek excited all over again. He had no idea about what to expect but he certainly was expecting an adventure.

The gate to the play park squeaked as Jarek pushed it open. At the same time he gazed his eyes on a boy who was a similar age also playing in the park. "Hey" He smiled at the kid, "Having fun? I'm Jarek by the way!" He hoped the other boy didn't mind being interrupted.

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Once he had sat himself on the swing, and was pushing himself back and forth, the young boy finally glanced around the park, there were not many others in the park. Some parents with kids, but not too many that made Avie feel like he shouldn't be there. Or that the parents might not enjoy a slightly older kid messing around in a park probably designed for kids younger than him. It was good in Avery's mind. To him it meant he had free reign, maybe not to do everything he wanted, but to just have more fun. The kids with their parents would leave soon anyway, so Avery was holding them to that. He didn't really see anyone his age, though this was not necessarily a bad thing. Aside from his cousins, and one other person, Avie didn't have any friends. He couldn't really count his cousins, since he was sure they didn't see him as a friend, but to Avie that factor didn't really matter. Instead he was always just glad they bothered with him. The other person was the only friend that Avie had had. He was a year younger, and had recently moved, so that actually left Avie with no real friends. But, it didn't make him any less happy actually. He was still pleased to run around and have fun all on his own. Which was why, sitting on the swing, he let his brain settled so he'd be less dizzy when he tried to do the next thing. He was looking up at the bar which held the swings up, the frame of the swing set. It was a little higher than was reachable. Avie was fairly small, but he would try, he assumed that maybe swinging the swing back and forth would give him enough momentum to grab the bar and climb up.

Halfway to standing on the swing, when a voice interrupted him. He looked forward suddenly, almost slipping on the swing. A boy about his age was introducing himself to Avie. Avie smiled at him, nodding, and then looked back up. He got down from the swing and held out his hand to the boy, he'd seen his aunt and uncle do this when they met new people. He didn't entirely get why they did it, but it was what they did. "I'm Avie." He said, looking directly at the boy, almost like he was sizing him up. Would he be interested in messing around with him, or was he one of the people that would tell him it was dangerous. "I'm trying to grab the pole" He said pointing up to the bar holding the swings. The highest part of the swing frame. He was offering that as having fun, that yes, because that would be fun. "Do you want to help me?" He asked, not really waiting for a response before walking away and standing behind the swing. "I figure if I stand on the swing, and swing back and forth, getting higher and higher, there will come a point when the swing will be high enough" At this point the boy was holding the swing seat above him, to show how high he intended to go, "And I can jump slightly, and be able to grab the bar." He concluded, bringing the swing back down and looking to the boy, to see if he had liked the idea, and was on board, or if he had better ideas. If Jarek decided that it was too crazy, and said that Avie shouldn't do it, it wasn't exactly going to stop Avie from doing it. Now he was in the park all he wanted was to be able to get up to that bar and sit on it. Nothing would stop him trying.
​

 

[Jarek Speed]

Jarek shook the boys hand then stood back and thought Avie's plan through, imagining how it would play out in reality. It was a bold stunt but it could work so he nodded, "Yeah I think it's possible" He replied, "You're going to have to make your timings perfect though, it will be quite a jump to reach that bar!" It sounded like an impressive stunt which Jarek was lucky to witness. And if it didn't succeed, well then he would be calling for help from one of the parents close by.

"I can give you a push to get you started if you like?" Jarek said, moving behind the swing. "Although I can't wait to learn a spell which will make this even more impressive!" There was an awkward moment when Jarek wished he hadn't said what he just said, for all he knew the kid could be a muggle from the village. But with any luck the boy may not have noticed him mention magic altogether if he was focused on the stunt.

"Okay! Jarek said quickly "Are you ready?"

 

[Avie Mitchell]

As Avery watched Jarek he noticed that the boy didn't seem like the type that would attempt to stop him, which was good. It was actually exactly what he wanted to happen. This meant, he might even have help. The other boy spoke, it's possible. Letting his gaze move back up to the swing Avie nodded. He knew that he would have to get it just right. If not then, it could end super bad. It wouldn't be an awful fall, and the healers would be able to fix things up no bother, but he didn't exactly think that a trip to the hospital would be best for this time of year. His aunt and uncle would not enjoy it, and his mother, well, she'd probably say that they should go to the muggle doctors so that he wouldn't get the easy way out of his own mistakes. Avie nodded, "I'm pretty sure I can get it.' He sounded more sure than he really felt, but there was no backing out now. He wanted to try it, and he wanted to succeed. "Once I'm up, I'll pull you up if you want?" He half asked, but had in part already assumed that the answer would be yes, I desire to be pulled up. He wasn't sure what they would do after he got up, probably swing on the bar, maybe attempt to stand. He didn't know. Avie hadn't actually thought that far ahead. Which was perhaps a slight mistake. With a final grin to Jarek, whom Avie was probably going to nickname Jai, since Jarek was a bit of a mouthful, Avie watched as he moved behind the swing, and Avie got up on to the swing. Stand with his feet slightly apart holding the chains at either side. Bending his knees slightly.

A spell? He looked round at the boy, Avie knew this was a magical play park, in that it was in the magical area, it was likely that there were muggles, although since he'd brought it up, he had to be. Avie hadn't even thought about magic. Sure, they didn't know any spells didn't mean they couldn't try to use the wands if they wanted to. Avie however just ignored that. Letting himself steady his nerves and then look behind to the boy. "I'm ready Jai, push to get me started" Which was exactly what happened. Avie swung back and forth, using both the strength in his legs and in his arms to move himself to swing higher and higher. After he had a rhythm going the young boy let his light brown eyes fixate on the bar. Every time he felt like he could do it, all it would take was one push, and just let go. His heart was now racing, suddenly he didn't want do it anymore. Avie however didn't want to not do it in front of the boy he'd just met, he just shut his eyes, let go with one hand and when he was at the highest point, facing the bar, he just jumped, reaching both his arms out. Avie's eyes flew open as he was suddenly in the air. He put his arms out, and managed to grab the bar, just in time. He hauled himself up slightly, so he wasn't holding on with his hands and the sweat that would cause him to fall. He was dangling, slipping slightly until he positioned himself better. "It worked!" Avie exclaimed, incredibly surprised he'd managed it. He looked down and smiled at the other boy. Avie, pulled himself up more, swinging one leg over so he was more secure. "Your turn Jai." Avie smiled at the other boy, as he swung himself down slightly, so that he could reach out to the other boy if he would prefer to get up that way, rather than Avie's way.
​

 

[Jarek Speed]

Jarek pushed Avie when he was ready and watched as the kid carried out the stunt almost perfectly. Jarek raised both eyebrows, he was impressed by Avie's strength and coordination and he doubted that he could do the same with such precision. But of course, he'll give it his best shot.

He was in the process of thinking through how he would get up to the top bar when he noticed Avie call him Jai. He had never had his first name shortened before, usually most people called him by his last name, but of course the other boy was yet to know his surname.

”You know what” Jarek started, “I think can do it myself but I’m going to cheat a little bit.” He stood up on the seat of the swing where he climbed onto the support bar running across the two legs of the swings structure. By standing there he could just reach the top bar and pull himself up. He was no expert at holding his own weight having never been able to do the monkey bars. After taking hold he hang there, he wasn't strong enough to pull himself up and over the bar. He would have fallen had he not been able to prop his feet on the legs of the swing, making it easier for him to shimmy up until he was able to throw one leg over the bar where he could sit with his legs hanging over either side. It was an all together less impressive performance than his new friends but at least he had not fallen!

”Phew we made it... Azza!” He high fived him, careful not to loose balance when doing so. Avie was a hard name to shorten and Azza was the first thing into his head, if he ever saw him again after this day he would have to remember it. “With this view I’ll have a bit of warning if my mum turns up! Maybe I'll even have time to hide.” He laughed casually, this day had was much more fun than he anticipated.

He wasn't sure what they were supposed to do next so Jarek made conversation."Have you done that trick before, it looked pretty cool?" He asked, "Are you from around here?"

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie was most lying on the bar, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to sit up just yet, it would be tricky, and he'd have to make sure that he could stay on the bar, and not fall off. Smiling at the other boy, he nodded, as Jai decided he was going to do it some other way. Avery moved back slightly, giving him enough room, while getting himself into a more comfortable sitting position. He just watched at the other boy climbed up. Using a completely different way of getting up. One that Avie had to admit looked a lot safer than what he had done. Although to Avie it had been the only option he could've done. Avery didn't always think things through, and when he had one option it was fairly hard for him to see anything else. He could never see any other options besides the one that was right in front of him. He was ready on the bar, just in case Jarek needed his help. But, it appeared that he didn't. Avie wasn't sure what else he could do on this bar, he could try to stand but he was unstable at the best of times, this would not be a good thing to try. So while it was really all he could think about, it wasn't something he was actually going to do. He figured he could just hang upside down for a bit. while deciding. As his mind wandered, he became aware that Jai had managed to get himself on to the bar. Avie high fived with him, smiling. "Woow" Avie exclaimed at the top of his lungs. Holding his arms up in a victory. It wasn't a huge victory, but Avie was young and it felt like a bigger victory to him that it may to others.

Avery hadn't really looked at the view, at Jai's statement, he glanced around, laughing along with Jai. He could see his belongings still on the bench, untouched. Clearly his jumper idea had been great. He didn't imagine that he would be collected from the park, Avie was much more the type to leave when he had had enough fun. Though that would be hard in this park, since it was his first time in it. "Plenty of warning to go hide" He agreed, giving the other boy a smile, before, repositioning himself on the bar, and then swinging backwards, so that he was hanging upside down, his knees keeping himself from slipping from the bar. He shook his head, "Nah, never. I just thought it would be cool" He shrugged slightly. "and it did. But I just really wanted to get to this bar, and the way I got here was the only way I could think of." Avie admitted pulling himself up slightly, so that it seemed less like he was talking to the ground. "Nah, I'm from Auckland. But, I'm here now because I'll be starting at Hogwarts soon. Needed to get supplies" He said, reaching the bar and pulling himself up so that he was sitting again on the bar. He pointed over to the stuff on the bench. "What about you, Jai?" Avie returned the question, though he wasn't so bothered about the answer. He knew that it was polite, but he didn't really care about where the boy was from. It didn't matter. Avie, was already busy trying to come up with what to do next. What would take his fancy next. He smiled at the other boy, wondering if he was already a student or if he was an arriving student like him, it would be nice to know someone before he went to school. Avie knew that standing on the bar would be bad, yet that was all his mind wanted to do. "What shall we do now?" While Avie hadn't meant to say this out loud it slipped and well, he didn't care. Maybe Jai had an idea.
​

 

[Jarek Speed]

Jarek tried to contain his excitement and respond casually to the Avie saying he was going to Hogwarts at the end of the summer. He replied in a casual way, "Me too. We'll be in the same year. That's pretty cool." This confirmed that their new nicknames Azza and Jai would be sticking. "My mum came into town to meet up with a few friends so I came here, I'm from the Bay of Islands though." Now that the casual introduction was done and Jarek felt that he knew his friend a little bit better, they could commence with playing.

Jarek smiled, "If I can stand up on this pole without falling off then I'm definitely going up for Seeker in the new year!" Jarek proclaimed. He didn't have the best balance but given Azzas much more impressive performance getting up here in the first place, Jarek had to prove that he too had some serious skills. He pulled one leg back over so they were on the same side and slowly started to balance himself into standing.

He was wobbling lots but managed to find some sort of equilibrium as he straightened his back. "YES! I'm doing it!" Jarek proclaimed, raising both hands in the air. At that moment he lost concentration and therefore balance. He wasn't able to stop himself falling, flailing his arms Jarek fell face first onto the soft playground below with a thud. Despite it being soft it was still a painful on Jarek's body. "Ow" He moaned, moving himself to the sitting position and nursing his fresh cuts and bruises.

I'm okay, it wasn't that painful." He lied, it had been very painful. "I still did it ey. I reckon I can still go up for Quidditch! What do you think Azza?"

 

[Avie Mitchell]

While Avie had thought about how good it would be to have a friend before going to Hogwarts he had not been overly positive about that happening. However with the other boy, it seemed very likely that he might just have found someone he could be friends with. Avery at least enjoyed the fact that it wasn't someone pushing him around for fun, or that it wasn't someone who didn't like him doing crazy things and attempting to stop such acts. Avie hoped for a small moment that they could be friends when going to school, though he was unsure. It was a while to school and well, he didn't know if the other boy, Jai would even want to hang out once he got other friends. However, being in the there and then with him, he returned the smile. Feeling that was the best thing to do. This was just as Jai told him where he was from. Now, Avie was not the smartest boy, he struggled to read on the best of days, so what the boy said meant nothing to him. "Where's that dude?" he asked, hoping the boy wouldn't make fun of him for his lack of knowledge, if he did Avie wouldn't mind too much, though he wouldn't ' the overly interested in hanging out again. "I'm not so good with my geography." he gave as a small explanation while giving a small chuckle. Laugh it off, pretend like you just don't care. "Is it in New Zealand?" while Avie was well aware that he was probably making things worse for himself, now he'd made himself curious about it. Not enough to look at a map when he got home, but asking Jai was the next best thing. The next thing he said drew in all of Avie's attention to him. "Jai, if you can stand on this pole, you can go be a seeker and I will be your personal cheerleader." Avie exclaimed, he wanted to do it . Stand on the bar, but this would be good. He was sure that Jai could do it.

Moving himself back again to give the other boy plenty of space, he just focused on what Jai was doing. If this went okay, then Avie would do it too. If it didn't go okay, well that would make for a very different story. He doubted either of their parents would actually enjoy this tale. However it appeared that Jai was managing, Avie wanted to help but he couldn't, fearing it might break the concentration of the other boy. Avie was nervous for him. However it appeared like Jai had done it. Avie cheered just as Jai spoke, and this appeared to break the balance. The boy was falling, and well all Avie could do was try to grab him and swear incredibly loudly. "Sh1t". Avie sort of yelled out as he leaned over the edge and looked at Jai. "poop dude, Jai you good?" he asked, both very impressed and ever so slightly worried. Though it appeared that the boy was alright. He was asking about quidditch, and seemed to drop the name Azza, a nickname. While Avie was his nickname, what Jai had just done had been awesome, he could call Avie anything he wanted. "Definitely! That was awesome!" Avie smiled at Jai. Avie decided that it was time to get down from the bar. He wanted to stand, but wasn't sure that was the right way to go. Instead he sat on the bar and let himself fall backwards doing a sort of backwards roll/flip on the bar so that he was hanging with just his hands holding the bar. From that he jumped down. He gave Jai a smile. "I got some sweets, you want some?" Avie offered walking over to his stuff and pulling out a bag of muggle sweets, offering them to him. "We can refuel then do something else. Maybe something a little safer for your sake." Avie motioned to the bruises. "That was totally awesome though."
​

 

[Jarek Speed]

Jarek was surprised that he had never heard of the Bay of Islands, especially since he did say he was from Auckland. He shrugged, "Oh it's a couple of hours North of Auckland. He said vaguely. He would have expanded but he had much more pressing things to do, aka stand up on a swing.

As previously mentioned, it didn't all go to plan.

The fall may have hurt him but it cheered Jarek up to have someone impressed at the whole display. Had it been his parents or Merlin forbid, his grandparents, who had witnessed such antics then he would be halfway to St. Mungos by now. Azza's reaction put a wide grin on Jarek's face and encouraged him to get up off the floor to relive the moment. "I'm glad you liked it, I obviously intended for it to play out exactly like that, even the bit where I lost my balance." He jokingly replied, whilst simultaneously helping himself to a sweet, "Thanks! He said before turning and half walking, half limping his way to the nearest bench.

"Are you excited to start at Hogwarts?" Jarek said, changing the subject, "Do you know what house you want?"

 

[Avie Mitchell]

The other boy took the sweets from Avie happily, which Avie was perfectly content with. He was fine, it was why he bought sweets and offered them to people. He always felt like that was the best way to be kind to others, to offer them something sweet and tasty. He nodded as the other boy spoke. Of course he was impressed, even if it hadn't worked out like Jai had maybe wanted it to. Avie couldn't say much about that. He really couldn't. He had wanted to try it, and he was sure that he really would not have gotten as far, Avie had a small amount of balance, though, not much if he was completely honest. Avie looked back over to the swings. While from up there it had seemed a lot higher, from the ground, the young boy wondered how on earth it had really been such a challenge. He had to admit it wasn't really too much of an issue, but, well, he was still thinking that of the two ways they both got up to the top bar, was the only want to get to the top bar, there could be no other way of doing it. That much was all he could think about. Parks were interesting things to Avie, so much to do, so many possibilities, it was filtering those possibilities into something, or one thing that he could do. Something easily done, or just something that wouldn't really end up with him accidentally killing himself. Avie had a fairly high bar for what he thought he shouldn't do, but, it was always something he tried to keep in mind. The other boy spoke again, Avie turned to look at him again.

Avie shrugged slightly, he was in part excited to go to hogwarts, not so much for the education side of things really, just an opportunity to get away from his family and have a better shot in life in general. "Yeah, sorta" He replied with a small shrug. "I've been homeschooled, so it'll be good to have normal schooling" he added with a smile, dipping his own hand into the sweet bag, "What about you?" He returned the question looking towards the boy, and wondering how much more excited this boy would be about Hogwarts and school. "As for house, I don't know. Not that smart one, because I ain't smart, and also not the hard working one, because I'm not good at that either." Avie didn't know much about the houses, he knew that his mother had given him a book about them, but he hadn't really paid much attention to them. He didn't like forcing himself to read when he just couldn't. It was no fun for him. "What about you Jai, which house?" He returned the question, though he didn't really care what the answer would be. He hoped that they could be friends no matter the house that they both got, if it was the same or different. "Shouldn't matter though, we'll still be friends" He made a point of saying that before placing the bag of sweets down between them, and headed to the seesaw, walking along, to the middle, where he made sure his balance was dead centre. "Do you play any other sports, besides quidditch?"
​

 

[Jarek Speed]

Jarek had never met a homeschooled person before. "Really?" He didn't hide his surprise before asking, "What was that like? Did you have a tutor or did your parents teach you?" Jarek couldn't imagine being taught by his parents, he didn't think either of them would have opted for sitting at home teaching Jarek the alphabet. He was enough work before and after school.

He nodded "The brainy one is Ravenclaw, no I wouldn't belong their either." He said along with Avie, "Hufflepuff" He nodded, "I agree."

Jarek thought for a moment, "Well my dad always told me not to be sorted into Slytherin. He and my mum are both muggle borns so a select few from that house used to give them a hard time when they were at Hogwarts. I suppose that leaves me with Gryffindor." It wasn't a bad house to be left with, in fact the characteristics suited him well. "Yeah, it shouldn't stop us being mates" Jarek agreed, although he would like it if they were in the same house.

"Besides Quidditch? Um, well my dad has shown me how to play rugby which is a fun game. He even took me to see the All Blacks play once." The All Blacks are New Zealands National Rugby Team "But I definitely prefer Quidditch!" Jarek added. "What about yourself?"

 

[Avie Mitchell]

It surprised that Jai seemed really interested in his home education. Avery knew it wasn't the most normal way of learning, but he thought that in the magical world it was fairly common. "My aunt taught me and my cousins. I had to persuade them to let me go to Hogwarts." He gave a shrug, before shoving a few more sweets into his mouth. "It's pretty dull, I mean I don't have to get up early which is nice, but my aunt is not my biggest fan, since I get easily distracted, so, it'll be good to go to school" Avie didn't have too many issues with having learned at home, but he got the least amount of attention and he was eager to have a few more opportunities than he would've had at home. That and he was finally able to spend some time with people with his own age, learning. And, he would spend a lot less time arguing with his aunt, or being told that he would never amount to anything because of his inability to learn how to read well. He hadn't known what the houses had been called, it was good that Jai knew, it sort of filled in the blanks. He didn't think he'd ever get in the smart house, or the Hufflepuff one. He wasn't sure what could be so bad about Slytherin house, he found it funny that Jai's parents didn't want him sorted into Slytherin because of their time. He wasn't sure what Slytherin or Gryffindor was about. Either of them seemed liked a good idea. "I don't think my mother cares what house I get into, so I have no pressure. Maybe you should try for Slytherin, see how happy that makes your dad" He didn't really care about houses, and he'd find it fun if this boy would do that just for fun, but it seemed like he wouldn't.

Avie was glad when Jai agreed that it wouldn't stop them being friends, even though they'd just met. Avie got down from the seesaw closed the gap between himself and Jai, made his face more neutral. "If it does cause us to not be friends, I'll make sure you have the worst school experience ever." Avie's voice showed no signs that he had been kidding, he kept the gaze and then broke out into laughing. "Ah man, I'm kidding. I hope we stay friends, but no hard feelings man." Avie stepped away and picked a few more sweets out the bag and began to chew on them. He had of course played rugby, he loved watching the national team play. He was smiling to himself, "I live in a muggle dense area, so not much quidditch, but plenty rugby, football, ice hockey. I'm only good at ice hockey, but I play that the least. I really just enjoy running around." As if to prove his point he ran off, heading straight up the slide, not going up the staircase. "I wish I had a rugby ball or something so we could play. That would be fun!" Avie jumped down from the slide and headed back over to Jai. "Have you ever been to a New Zealand rugby match?" Avie had never been, but he so wanted to. He would love the energy, he wanted to know if Jai had been. ​

 

[Jarek Speed]

It had always been assumed that Jarek would, at the age of 11, be attending Hogwarts. Almost as if everything else before then was just a warm up. His parents had exposed him to the muggle way of life to ensure that he didn't get too wrapped up in magic and forget that there is a world outside of it, yet also prepared him for a life surrounded by magic once he attended Hogwarts. There had been no persuading on either side. "I'm glad you managed to convince her to let you go! I know you'll have more fun at Hogwarts" Jarek replied. It would have been uncomfortable to have met this boy in the park only to discover that when all wizards their age were about to start an adventure, he would be left behind because his aunt wouldn't let him go.

"Oh I think my dad would disown me. Well not really, he'd get used to it." Jarek said, "I think he would worry that being around Slytherin's might make me anti-muggles, and my whole family are muggles, apart from my mum and dad of course!" Jarek didn't want to say it out loud but he didn't want to be in Slytherin. Despite there being nice people in that house, they were in the minority. Slytherin housed the bullies and extremists and he wouldn't fit in.

Jarek was surprised at the boys sudden turn, Jarek remained eye contact, his face expressionless, as he was threatened. He wasn't sure if it was serious or not but before he had time to give any definite reaction, Avie laughed and Jarek sighed. Jarek laughed along with him, "Phew. I wasn't sure if you were being serious then. I reckon you're pretty scary when you get angry!"

"Cool, yeah I've been to a Rugby match, I saw the All Blacks play!" Jarek repeated, Avie must not have heard him the first time. "Yeah a rugby ball would be awesome right now, but a quaffle and broomstick would be even better!" Jarek wish he knew the summoning spell his dad used whenever he was feeling particularly lazy, he would be able to bring exactly those things!

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Smiling at the other boy, Avie was glad he had managed to persuade his mother into letting him go to hogwarts. Especially if he would have the chance to make more friends like Jai. Who could be eventual good friends. If given the right amount of time, and nothing to interrupt their friendship, like the oddness of houses. "I know I'll have more fun at hogwarts. It's why I wanted to go" He said with a bright smile, a sort of duh, expression on his face as if that was the most obvious answer their could be. Of course it would be more fun. He was out of fun things to do in his home, but now, he had a new place that he would be able to explore and have fun with. He was really looking forward to it. He knew the education part of it would be hard, but he'd push through. He would make it work, just because he was finally at hogwarts and it was his time to shine and do whatever he wanted. Forgetting about absolutely everyone else. He gave a small laugh, when Jai said that he would be disowned, of course they were kidding. "I don't think Slytherin would make you anti-muggles. I'd hope not, because that's stupid" He said with an air of annoyance, but it was not directed at anyone. Avie enjoyed messing with people, but he wasn't openly hateful. It seemed wrong to him. He cared about if people were fun. If he could have fun with them.

It was good that Jai had been surprised by Avie's turn. Avie always watched his aunt when she yelled at him, or was angry with him, which was where he'd learned to be like that. He was never really like that, unless he was trying to achieve something and needed others to listen to him. It was good that people knew that he could turn if he wanted to, and he might not be kidding, but he like Jai, and didn't think he'd ever use him to get what he wanted. "I learned from my aunt. She spends most of her time angry with me, so I learned how to mimic it, mostly to her face" He laughed and smiled at the other boy. He was super jealous that he'd been able to go to a rugby game. Avie was not that into sports, he tried for the sake of his cousins and his uncle, but he had little interest in them. Rugby was one of the few that he'd actually grown to quite like, and he thought the atmosphere would be better than in any other sport. Avie hadn't heard the boy the first time around he'd been too focused on the sweets. "Yeah that would be! But, I have neither of those things." Avery ran off, "Maybe if we find some sticks we can pretend to play quidditch, or just pretend to be pirates and sword fight or something" He said, Avie was getting more and more excited as each word fell out of his mouth. It was reflected in his tone. He suddenly felt like that was the thing to be doing. He didn't even care if Jai didn't want to do that, he was finding himself a stick to play with.
​

 

[Jarek Speed]

Jarek searched the ground around them for something which resembled a broomstick, or alternatively a wand. He wasn't sure about pretending to be a pirate, but he wouldn't mind pretending to be Merlin! Jarek had his real wand securely stowed away in his waistband. Since he purchased his wand Jarek had carried it around with him everywhere, he knew no spells but was getting used to having it on him. Getting use to how life will be at Hogwarts!

"Yeah I guess the house your in doesn't mean everything." Jarek realised, "But I hope we end up in the same one!" He reached down and picked up a branch which had snapped from a tree when he heard a voice call his name in the distance. The voice repeated his name, calling him louder each time.

He turned around and saw his mum ushering him to her. "Uh-" He looked to Avie, "Sorry I would stay and play but that's my mum! I better go. It was nice meeting you, we should catch up once we get to Hogwarts!" He turned and headed for his mum, hoping that he had indeed made a friend!