Open Just Studying

[Ondine Physwick]

History of Magic was a fascinating subject, and anybody who knew Ondine would not have been surprised to find her sitting on a bench in the gardens, her enormous second-year textbook spread across her lap. Classes hadn't started yet, but when they did, she was going to be well-prepared, that was certain. The sun shone generously over the grounds and the birds harmonised in the trees as she scribbled notes in the margins.

 

[Echo Zephyr]

Despite not putting a great deal of meaning behind a Hogwarts house, Echo had to admit she was proud to be the first Slytherin in the family. The dungeons were a little gloomy and could do with a new lick of paint, but she would see to that once she'd had a chance to discuss the new furnishings with her new roommates. The way she saw it, the first year at school was like a trial period; it was about learning the ropes and routines, and figuring out the people around you so that by the time the real work began, you would be better equipped to know how to handle it. As the first year walked through the gardens, grateful for the amount of available space that wasn't covered in her mother's horde of animals, she spotted a student already quickly making some notes in a book. Probably a Ravenclaw, Echo figured. "Do you have a favourite subject?" she asked, determined to figure out not only more about the students in this castle, but also which class would warrant a fierce scribble this far away from the beginning of term.​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Ondine looked up. A small girl - well, smaller than her, anyway - had stepped into her light and was casting a long shadow over the illustration of British alchemist Edward Kelley. "Oh," she said, covering the page with her arm, as if studying this early were somehow scandalous. "Well, I do enjoy History. But me ma says I've an aptitude for Potions. You must be new. You must be new?" she repeated, this time remembering to add the question mark.

 

[Echo Zephyr]

Echo wondered whether whatever this student was drawing resembled something her little brother might have drawn, the way she threw her arm over it as though anyone seeing her private work would catch her out with embarrassment. The Slytherin frowned a little as she tried to listen to the words that were coming out her mouth, but whatever thick accent she had going on make it almost impossible for Echo to decipher any meaning. "Potions?" she clarified, trying to pick out the key word that would make the most sense. Echo could tell the girl had asked her a question, but she wasn't quite sure what. "What language is that? That isn't English?" she asked, switching to Italian herself, and then Spanish, just in case it was the better option.​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Oh! The girl didn't speak English? Well, this was going to be tricky for her. Ondine recognised Italian and Spanish, but she could only speak a handful of words of each. "Potions," she said. "Parles-tu français?" Perhaps French would be better.

 

[Echo Zephyr]

"Pas beaucoup," Echo sighed lightly, feeling as though this was going to be trickier than she first believed. She took another step towards the student, glancing down again at her textbook and realising she was reading in English. "English is fine," she readjusted the smile on her face, hoping the girl would be able to ask her question and she might actually understand it this time.​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

"Oh..." Ondine fingered the corner of the page, creasing it slightly. "Sorry - what did you ask me?"

 

[Echo Zephyr]

Echo thought for a moment, resisting the urge to let the girl in on what was running through her head as she took note of the students hair, the stripe of black through otherwise white, the peculiar fashion sense and thick accent. "You must be Ondine," she smiled lightly to the girl, sincerity written across her face. ​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

"I am?" No - the question mark wasn't necessary this time. "I am. How did you know?" As far as Ondine knew, she wasn't famous. Half her own class couldn't even get her name right. So how could this small child possibly know who she was?

 

[Echo Zephyr]

"Last year you borrowed my pants," Echo explained, moving to take a seat on the bench beside the Ravenclaw. "Well technically you did, although I doubt Demi told you that."​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

"I did not!" Ondine protested at once. Borrowing pants was very unsanitary, and this girl's probably wouldn't have fit her, anyway. It was only once the name Demi was mentioned that she remembered the incident at the beginning of her very first term. "I see... you must be Demi's sister. Yes, I did borrow a pair of trousers. We call them trousers, see, not pants; what we call pants is what you wear underneath your trousers. They were yours, then, were they? I certainly didn't know that. Thank you very much for't lend. I was most appreciative."

 

[Echo Zephyr]

Echo flinched when Ondine suddenly protested that the first year was lying. She would never! Thankfully it occurred to her that Echo had simply called the garment something different to that she was used to. "Me and my family grew up in New Zealand so it's pants," she clarified, but nodded at the other girls terms. "I assume you've got your own now?" Echo asked, although glancing down at the collection of material the Ravenclaw was currently adorned in, it was no surprise she hadn't known what she meant by pants. She would also have never let anyone borrow her underpants, they would have been burned. It took the first year a few seconds to work out the latter part of what the girl was telling her, "Where are you from?" she quizzed, unable to place the accent that had them both so confused.​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Pants was a silly thing to call trousers, in Ondine's opinion, but she kept her mouth closed. She knew when she was outnumbered. "Oh, no. I strictly wear skirts," she explained. "Ankle-length skirts are an essential part of any witch's wardrobe. Although... no-one else seems't wear them. They don't know what they're missing out on. It's much more breezy." She smiled pleasantly at the first year. "I'm from England - up north. Have you ever been to England?"

 

[Echo Zephyr]

Echo would personally have reserved any ankle-length skirts for ladies of a certain age, or those who were planning on tending to a small farm on the outskirts of town with their husbands, three children, and a goat, than recommend them for witches' attire, but that was just her. Echo wore skirts of a different kind but she didn't feel the need to explain it. "I don't think so," she said, thinking carefully. "My parents travelled a lot when my sisters are I were very small, I've been to a lot of countries. I don't think England was one of them though," she was likely too young to have remembered it even if they had visited. "Why did you come here instead of going to Scotland?" she quizzed, thinking it was a bit far to go to school.​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

"Where else have you been?" Ondine asked. She was quite well-travelled herself, but she didn't like to make the conversation about her; that wasn't polite at all. Closing her book, she said, "Well, me ma wanted to home educate me, and I said yes. I didn't really like the idea of boarding school. I'd never been away from home. Then September came, and I suddenly came over all bold, and said I wanted to go after all. We wrote to the headmaster at Scotland, but they'd already given my place to someone else - and Beauxbatons, well, they just didn't have room. So I came here. I'm quite glad I did; everyone is very nice. What's your name?"

 

[Echo Zephyr]

"A few places," Echo didn't want to brag, "My dad is a Magizoologist, he researches animals all over the world so when we were younger we would travel out so he could find them. By the time my brother was born though we came back here, so I don't remember many of the places we visited," Echo hadn't been more than a couple of years old by the time they'd settled down. Her eyes lit up however when Ondine mentioned being homeschooled, "Were you taught at home before you came here then?" she asked before getting too ahead of herself. "My siblings and I were the same! Hogwarts is the first place I've ever left home for." At least in terms of education; she didn't include shopping trips in there. "My name's Echo," she said, her voice faltering slightly.​