Open Kinda Babysitting

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline wasn't sure that her brother needed to be watched while at the park. Of course he was pretty clumsy, but he was fine, he would be fine, the park wasn't dangerous in the slightest, so he would be fine, he would have to be. She just hadn't argued with her mother on it. Just agreed to it and then headed, grumbling about it as her brother went on and on about the bugs he was currently interested in. She didn't care much at all, but she was able to let him lose in the park and then just sat on some grass enjoy the sunshine though it wasn't really that warm. Vaguely watching over her brother as he followed bugs around the park.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha had been bored out of her mind and had decided she just needed to leave the house. She hadn't gotten Raafe to come with her, which felt odd and a little lonely. She wondered if she should talk to him soon, but she wasn't sure what to say. She had decided to take her mother up on her offer to join her for some shopping at Brightstone village, but had soon gotten bored and wandered off to the park. She knew at sixteen that she was too old to play on the playground, but if it was empty she might still give the swings a try. Unfortunately it was full of kids, so Anisha couldn't really get away with it. She walked around with her hands in her pockets,t then stopped as she saw a familiar girl sitting in the sun. "Hey! I know you." She said, tilting her head. "Oh, yeah! You're the girl who wanted dueling advice." The moment she said it, she regretted it. She didn't want to have to admit to breaking her duelling champion streak.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline glanced at the sudden voice next to her. She looked at the girl and recognised her. "Yeah! Apolline," she introduced herself quickly to the girl. "You're Anisha," she said, since she knew exactly who this was. She was a prefect so of course she knew her. "Are you here with a sibling?"

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha smiled when the girl recognized her by name, nodding as she introduced herself again. "I knew that." She lied, though she had known it was an 'A' name of some sort. She smiled as the girl asked a question, though she shook her head. "Nah, just with myself." She said, gesturing to herself vaguely. "I only have an older sibling-" She cut herself off before she could start about Raafe, who in many ways had felt like her twin, but not so much lately. "I guess you are?" She asked, glancing around the park.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline wasn't about to correct the older girl on whether or not she'd known her name. It wouldn't really have bothered her for Anisha to not know her name. She gave a little frown, and quickly tried to hide it at the fact Anisha didn't have a sibling who she was watching. "Yeah, my brother, he's the one half in the bush, he's looking for bugs," and she pointed to a blonde boy who was just about ten and half way in the bush. "I don't think he needs watched, but mum insisted,"

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha glanced over at the bush and could see a boy sort of sticking out of it, she looked back at Apolline. "Oh, how old is he?" She asked, wondering if he might go to Hogwarts next year. "Mums." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Mine used to make my older sister watch me too when I was younger, we both hated it." Though now she really kind of missed Indi, she was so busy lately.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline watched Anisha look towards her brother and then back at her. "He's ten, so not at school this coming year but next," she added the latter part to help place his age at ten, recently ten and not just a few days away from turning eleven. "Yeah, he doesn't mind it as much, but mostly cause he's always off in a little world of his own," she said. "I do miss him a little while at school, so I shouldn't really complain,"

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha nodded as Apolline explained her brother wouldn’t be going to Hogwarts the upcoming year but the year after, inwas a sobering thought that that would be Anisha’s final year at Hogwarts. “You’re probably also nicer to him than my sister was to me, we were always fighting. But I do miss her now.” She said softly. “She was head girl at Hogwarts, a few years ago, you know.” She was fairly sure that had been before Apolline had been sorted.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline shrugged a little, she wasn't sure that she was a lot nicer to her brother, but they didn't fight really, not nearly as often as maybe Anisha and her sister had fought. She was surprised that Anisha's sister had been head girl. She wondered if that put pressure on her to be as good as her too. Apolline was sure that no matter what she achieved her brother would never feel the same pressure, but perhaps Anish did. "Who was your sister?" Apolline asked, curious. "Does that mean your parents also want you to be head girl?"

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha decided to join the younger girl on the grass, it was getting a bit awkward to talk to her standing over her. She sat down and blinked a little at Apolline's question. She had never thought that much about her parent's expectations, more her own. "I mean, I guess so? I think they'd like it." She said. "But I want to be." She admitted. "She got named head girl without ever being prefect, so I already achieved that... but I also want to be head girl like her." She admitted, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I work hard, I try at least." She said quietly, thinking of her duelling loss which still kept her up at night, and her grades which had been good but not outstanding.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline listened, while looking between the girl and her brother. Taking on what was said. The fact that her sister had become head girl without being a prefect was something, likely more uncommon that the traditional path, but a possibility. She wasn't too surprised that Anisha wanted to be head girl, but Apolline didn't know who else was in her year, only knowing her so couldn't comment on how possible it was. "There's always a chance," Apolline said, trying to assure her, though thinking that a) what she said wasn't that reassuring and b) not knowing any other way to do so.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha liked the fact that Apolline didn't tell her it was sure to happen or gave some other empty promises. She nodded. "There is a chance, and I'm trying my best." She said, thinking back on her OWL year and how tiring it had been. She glanced at the younger girl, wondering about something she had said earlier. She had assumed Anisha's parents wanted her to be head girl. She knew Apolline's mother was the Minister, did she feel that sort of pressure from her parents, she wondered? "Do your parents want you to do well?" She asked cautiously.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline smiled at her, and felt pretty convinced that it would be Anisha who would get it. But again, she knew no one else in her year, so had no way of actually comparing to Anisha. But as the question returned to her Apolline gave a little shrug. "My mother was also head girl," she said with a little smile, "I think she just wants me to do well, not necessarily be the best, but then I think...It would reflect on her if I didn't do well," was all Apolline said on it. A slightly measured response to the question. She had the pressure, but knew that her parents probably just wanted her to mostly be happy. But Apolline wanted to not bring them shame by being the daughter of the minister who couldn't even achieve that much.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha shouldn't have been surprised to hear that the current minister had been Head Girl at Hogwarts, but she was anyway. It was weird to think of adults as teenagers and students at Hogwarts. She listened as Apolline spoke about the expectations she felt, even if it wasn't something her mother necessarily said. Anisha could relate to that. "So you want to be the best." She said quietly. "Even if no one is telling you to be, it feels like it's something you should strive for anyway." She hesitated, almost unwilling to bring it up. "How did your duels go? Sorry, I forgot to pay attention to lower years, because my own first duel went crap and I got mad." She admitted. She had meant to look out for the girl, but had been too enraged by Savannah to think about it at the time.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline gave a little smile, and felt glad that Anisha seemed to get it. Seemed to understand both her desires to do well, and why they mattered even if she didn't have to do well. "Yeah, I mean if I fail, it would look bad," she said softly. She knew her brother had no such concerns but then she knew he had little concerns about much. She gave a little grimace and shrugged. "They could've gone worse, but could've gone better too," she hadn't done amazingly, but she had participated and that was all that really mattered. "I saw your duel, you deserved to win it, she just got lucky,"

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha nodded in understanding as Apolline said it'd look bad. She could say it wouldn't be a big deal, but she'd feel the same pressure as the daughter of the minister. Heck, she already felt the pressure just being sister of a former head girl. She nodded as Apolline described her duel. "Well, next time you'll do better." She said confidently. She was a little surprised the younger girl had seen her duel, and sat up slightly at her praise. "Thanks... that means a lot. Unfortunately, sometimes luck is what changes the outcome." She had been the one winning by being lucky before too, so she shouldn't begrudge Savannah. But she still did, because she was Savannah. "At least someone worthy won for our year." She said, remembering how she had seen Dorian made it in the end. If she had to lose to anyone, losing to him wasn't too bad. Not that she would tell him that.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline nodded in agreement. She was determined to do better than she had in the last round of it. "I'm determined to," she said in agreement. she wanted to do better than she had and knew that she could, though she could agree that it did come a little down to luck. "Yeah, it can do," she said with a little nod. "Do they try and have one every year?" she asked as she wasn't sure if there had been one when she'd be a first year, though then she hadn't been allowed to participate so perhaps she just hadn't noticed it.