Closed Little White Lies

[Lorenzo Vero]

Enzo was trying to be better about writing home this year, especially with Tempest on his tail. It was hard, because he was having trouble expressing anything to his family. He was learning about new things that were very different than what they were taught growing up. He had more freedoms growing up than he had ever expected, and any time he had gone back, his father would grill him on their entire education. He wanted to know the books, lesson plans, spells... and he was relentless in his asking. Nothing seemed as good as Koldovstoretz to his father, and Hogwarts was no exception.

Nevertheless, Enzo tried to come up with interesting tidbits about his adventures at Hogwarts, almost like he were writing a children's fairytale. It seemed too far to be true, but it was easier than trying to send information about his new friends who may or may not be muggleborns. Seeing as his parents didn't see a value in pets or an owl, Enzo was left using some of the castle's resident birds. One in particular was his favorite, and thankfully, he was around that day. "Hello, little one," he said, giving her a gentle head rub. "Now, don't work too hard getting this there. No one will be heartbroken." Enzo laughed a little under his breath as he handed the letter to the owl.

 

[Gabrielle Sylvie Durand]

Gaby didn't exactly feel the need to write to her father yet but something about all the school stuff and everything made her write the letter. Tell how she's doing, how she misses him and their family, how Hogwarts sucks and how Beauxbatons was better. And honestly, she didn't mean all that really to her dad, she just missed her mom, she wrote it the way she would have written it to her mom, her best friend and best parent. But here she was, sending the letter to her dad. And as she went up, she just opened the door as she heard someone talk and really soon she connected the voice and face. "Hey there," she smiled at him, not trying to start a conversation or anything, just being polite as she tried to look for an owl that she liked to send her letter. She knew that she had to avoid a lot of touching of the owls as she had a particularly jealous raven at her dorm, so she just observed without any physical contact.

 

[Lorenzo Vero]

Enzo gave the owl one more pet before watching it take off, following it for a moment before landing his eyes on a girl in front of him. He had never seen her before, but he was immeadiately drawn to her and felt like he couldn't stop staring. Enzo hadn't really been interested in people before. He had better things to do, but this girl had definitely caught his attention. Trying to look back at the owl, he turned away as she greeted him, feeling kind of like an idiot for doing it. "Hello," he said right after clearing his throat, feeling his voice crack a little. "Uh, beautiful day, isn't it?" he said, scratching his head a little at his less than smooth greeting. Enzo looked back at some of the owls, now unsure what to do with himself as she had seen his letter off. "Sending a letter?" he asked, again feeling ridiculous. Of course she was sending a letter. They were in the owlery.

 

[Gabrielle Sylvie Durand]

Gaby felt as he stared at her and couldn't help but smile to herself, it felt nice to have attention. So, as he answered, she looked over her shoulder, letting her hair move freely before turning around and going next to him to see what he was talking about. "It's pretty, yeah," she smiled, not being able to not think about how still better was the view in France. "What? Oh, yeah, to Mateo, it's my dad," she even explain with a little chuckle. In fact, it was sometimes difficult to pronounce her dad's name as in French, it sounded weird, so she stumbled over it with an accent. "I'm Gabrielle," she put her hand out towards him, glad to meet more new people.

 

[Lorenzo Vero]

Enzo watched as the girl turned towards him and began speaking. He couldn't quite place the accent, but he knew it wasn't from around here. He stared at her hand like a dork for a moment before taking it lightly, giving it a small shake. "Gabrielle. That's very beautiful. I'm Lorenzo, but I go by Enzo." As he spoke, he felt less frozen and more like a normal boy again. It had been a weird feeling before, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. "I'm also writing to my father. And mother," he continued, gesturing towards the owl that was getting smaller by the minute. "Umm, I'm assuming your parents don't live in New Zealand?" he asked, hoping to decipher the accent a little more.

 

[Gabrielle Sylvie Durand]

And Gaby saw as he was a little awkward but it definitely just made her smile more, it was adorable, she could make feel people feel awkward in a good way. Hopefully. "Very astonishing Italian, Spanish name, Enzo, but suits you," Gaby put a strand of her hair behind her ear, giving more little smile, trying to be a little flirty but not overly much. But she just nodded as he said that he was writing to his parents, she missed her mom a lot. "Well, my dad is from around here actually, my stepmother is from here too but my mom was French," she just easily told him with a little shrug of shoulders. She wasn't going to be emotional about her mom, not in front of someone. "But I'm guessing that you're Kiwi?" Gaby tried to guess, would be sad if she missed her chance to answer correctly.

 

[Lorenzo Vero]

Enzo listened intently as Gabrielle started talking about his name. "You're right, wow. Um, thank you," he said with a smile. "Is Gabrielle French?" he continued to ask as she talked about her parents. He noticed she said stepmother, a concept he wasn't super familiar with but knew of from books and fairytales as people in his family did not get divorced. Or at least, not that he had seen. At her next question, Enzo tried to think it through before he answered. While he had grown up primarily in New Zealand, he hadn't been around many people other than his family. At the same time, his nannies and the house staff were from New Zealand, which helped him grow into the accent, something his parents were thankful for. But to answer her question, Enzo knew he'd have to lie a little bit, as his parents had explicit instructions about what they were and weren't allowed to say. "I grew up here, yes." He wasn't allowed to add that his parents had moved here from Russia or that his mum had family in other countries he had never meant because she grew up there. He still didn't understand why, but he knew following the rules was important for their safety. His sister didn't know as much, yet, but that was mostly because she liked to talk a lot. "So, umm, have you been here? I don't remember seeing you around, and I feel like I would," he asked, muttering the last part but realizing she could actually hear it.

 

[Gabrielle Sylvie Durand]

Gabrielle smiled proudly as Enzo said that she was right. Of course she was right, why wouldn't she? "It is indeed, yes," Gaby nodded. "My second name is French too," her parents wanted to gave make her absolutely French as they weren't planning on moving away. and she wouldn't move away too if she had a choice. She would always prefer to stay in Paris, in Beauxbatons instead of being in New Zealand, overly dark Hogwarts. She didn't like it here. She loved her family, she loved her life at home but she would always prefer France over New Zealand. "And do you like it here? Have you been out of New Zealand?" She curiously asked, she wanted to know more about how did he like it out of NZ. But at his next sentences, she just giggled a little. She was able to read lips as her mom was deaf and they had learned to communicate easily in a lot of different ways, so she noticed that adding and honestly, she liked it. Felt nice to grab attention. "I transferred here only this year. I have been in New Zealand, Obsidian Harbour and other magical places a lot but Hogwarts... First time," she spoke about her moving. "I am from Beauxbatons and Paris," Gaby finally added as she knew that the question would come up wither way.