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[Albertus Vermeulen]

Fifteen year old Albertus Vermeulen, known as Albie to most, strode out on to the Great Lawn of Hogwarts New Zealand, breathing in the spring air with a smile crossing his face. So this was his new home, huh. Dropping his bag, he slipped off his shoes and socks, and broke in to a jog, circling around the grounds, before returning to his starting position and dropping to the ground.

He wouldn't be able to play rugby at Hogwarts, which he was sad about. Same with cricket. He was looking forward to taking up Quidditch, however. He was a pretty damn good sportsman, if he did say so himself, so he hoped he'd be able to get in to the Slytherin Quidditch team. Sure, he needed to know how to play the game, but how hard could it be to learn?

Staring up at the sky, Albie gave a gentle sigh. He felt a bit out of place being the oldest (by far) in his year level, but hopefully that wouldn't be an issue. Hopefully. He'd work his way in to the crowd, though. He always did.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Una was out in the grounds. she decided that it was a little too cold to go swimming even for her. she had been in the lake the other day and it had practically given her frostbite in her toes though she didn't mind. today she was thinking about maybe trying the forest she had heard that someone had seen a centaur in there. she was dressed in long pants and a tee and a hoodie over her standard bikini. she wore a bikini every day. it was just something she had always done as she didn't know when she would end up at a beach, pool, river or lake. she was heading over towards the forest and making a detour around the edge of the lawn. around the lakes edge. she was an expert at wagging but even she knew it was stupid to march straight to of the castle doors towards the lake.
as she walked she looked over her shoulder checking to see if anyone was watching her this meant that she didn't see where she was walking. she didn't see the boy lying on the floor in front of her. she didn't see him until she ended up tripping over him. "Carp." she said as she fell onto the floor. It was almost face first but thankfully she managed to get her hands there before she did land on her face. she then rolled over so she could sit up. "didn see you there." she said shrugging. it wasn't an apology or accusation, just a statement. he looked around her age, maybe another fifth year he did look slightly familiar. maybe she had seem him in class, or maybe the common room.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Perhaps lying on the grass was something of a hazard, Albie mused, as he felt a figure trip over him and land on the grass beside him. "Aw, jeez..." he started, pulling himself in to an upright position and looking at the newcomer. She was a girl he vaguely recognized from the Slytherin common rooms. He thought she was a newcomer - she'd looked a bit lost when he'd seen her, anyway. About her age, although probably actually a fifth year, unlike him. She'd probably had an actual proper magic education since her eleventh birthday, unlike him.

"Sorry about that. You right?" He gave her a small apologetic smile - though it wasn't his fault she'd tripped over him, thus he had no reason to apologise. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, he'd once been told, and thus he lived by the morals that it was better to be polite and friendly - although honestly apathetic, in Albie's case - than harsh and rude. He always believed it was better to have friends than enemies, and although Albie couldn't really say he'd ever had a true friend, he did his best to remain on good terms with people. At least, most of the time.

"You're a new Slytherin too, right?" he asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions. Extending a hand, he gave a polite smile to the girl. A smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, but wasn't cold. Just...there, really. Just like Albie himself. Not cold, not warm. "I'm Albie. Nice to meet you."

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Una heard the boy jump as she fell. his accent was something familiar. not like at home, but from where she had been sent to school in perth. south African? Zimbabwean? she could never tell the two apart. but she knew the girls at her school (as it was an all girls school) got a little iffy if she mixed them up. Not that she ever did it on purpose, okay she totally did. today she decided not to, it was always a good plan to get to know people before she started to tease them.
when he apologies she realised that he was a fairly decent guy. it was totally her fault. "Don worry. it was my fault, i should have watched where i was going." she said "yeah 'm fine, how bout you?" she asked. she did vaguely recognise him. he was about her age. were they in class. she didn't really pay attention in them.
she nodded when he asked is she was also in slytherin. "yeah, fifth year, how about you?" she said if he was also a fifth year then she would just say she hadn't been at the school long. she smiled too, as she shook his hand also showing no particular emotion. "nice to meet you albie, I'm Una." she said using her nick name, she never used her full name if she could help it. at her last school everyone called her Una, even all the teachers at her old school.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie shrugged, giving a small laugh. "It happens." He was a pretty tall guy as it was, about 6 foot tall and only 15. His legs had often gotten in the way. "All good."

He paused for a moment when she asked if he was in fifth year. It was about the most uncool thing he could imagine, the fact that he was 15 and in 3rd year. Of course, the sensible side of him knew that he was way too far behind in his education to be in 5th year. He hadn't even started learning magic until he was 12, and his teacher had been this dotty old warlock he only saw every Sunday - unless there was a cricket match or something on. His father had believed that learning magic was only incidental. You only needed to learn a little bit to control it. It was more important to work hard at muggle school. And play sport, in Albie's case, since he was naturally good at it. Same with Anna. Anna danced at every given opportunity.

It was only when the pair of them really acted up that their parents realised something was wrong and it was best to ship them off somewhere where they'd have appropriate outlets for their energy. "What a waste," his dad had said. "You'd better be able to get a good career with magic."

Albie tried not to dwell on it. He was a pretty easygoing guy, unlike his sister, but prolonged exposure to or thought about his parents really frustrated him. "Third year," he said, his voice very quiet. "Didn't really get any wizarding education until now." He felt the need to justify himself, but he didn't want to talk about it, really. Shaking his head, he looked back at Una with another smile. "Cool name, Una. You're...Australian, yeah?" It was pretty easy to pick the accent, but he had to ask incase he'd made an error and it turned out she was actually a Kiwi.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna smiled when he waved off her apology. he seemed like a real nice guy. someone who she could actually be friends with. in fact he vaguely reminded her of one of the guys she had been friends with back home, tyler he had been called. Often when the waves were good she would wagg school with him and head down to the beach. they would then spend the afternoon surfing, maybe annoying the tourists, both those from perth and further afield. and they would both laugh at the expressions on their faces when they realised that the eleven or twelve year old girl was a far better surfer than them. those had been the good old days. before she had been shipped off to perth to stay with her grandma.
when he said he was a third year she raided her eyebrow, he looked older than that. but when he explained she nodded. "another transfer, eh? I only just transferred here meself, was home schooled before then, tank god my dad realised that two curriculums were just impractical" she said it was nice to know she wasn't the only new person here. and apparently her mum and grandma had done a good job of teaching her or she too would be back in third year or something. "thank's, It's sort for myuna, which i hate. an yeah, I'm aussy mate, you're South african right?" she asked wondering if she had got it the right way round and he wasn't from 'zim'.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie was instantly relieved when she didn't question or tease him about only being a third year. Una seemed pretty cool, like someone he'd be able to get along with. Maybe someone he could get along with without trying to be someone he wasn't...the thought of that alarmed Albie a little. He hadn't had a friend who was a friend for him in a long time. All his friends - acquaintances, he'd called them - he'd made through sliding in to different groups, taking on different personas. Not for just being himself.

He was getting ahead of himself, though.

"Parents, right?" he shook his head, with an almost sad smile. "I guess they eventually get it...it just takes them time to work out what's best." Which is usually what we've been saying from the start, he'd thought. He'd remembered asking his dad if he was supposed to go to a school for wizards, when on his eleventh birthday he'd found out about his magical ability. His father had said there was no need. Course, when Albie'd taken up with that group...well, his father had changed his tune.

"Yep! Born and raised there. Moved here last month. Myuna's a pretty cool name, I see why you'd prefer Una though. Albie's short for Albertus...which makes me sound like an old man, I think." He hadn't spoken this casually in a while, really. It was almost kind of nice...and a little scary. He normally put on a facade to talk to anyone. At Hogwarts, he hadn't really had the opportunity to set up any sort of mask. He was just who he was.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna nodded "too right. My mum wanted me to come here since my eleventh birthday, but my dad, oh, no. my dad wouldnt let me." she said wonderign if her brothers would have he same problem, if they did she wouls tel her dad it was pointless keeping them at home as it was impossable to keep the two corriculums up, but if he ler them go he would call him sexist for believig she needed protecting more than her brothers when Little Maka still had nightmares and when she was home would often find him in the morning in her bed. her and Lowan were the tough ones, but even saying that give Maka a few years and they would be the same. st least she hoped so. she loved her brothers but she could be a bit of a cry baby at times. "nice I guess." she said in reference to being brought up in south africa. "Albertus," she said in disbelief guffawing slightly. "also a cool name in an odd way. I can see why you prefer Albie" she said trying to make up for laughing before. "so, how've you found the castle so far?" she asked. the forest could wait for another day, she may as well make a couple of mates around the school.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Parents. Albie wondered if he'd had a better teacher, could he have been a fifth year too? He wished that that was the case. But he knew deep down that he just really wasn't ready. Maybe he'd talk to his teachers about taking on fourth year classes so he could skip ahead to fifth year next year, and only be one year older than everyone in his grade, instead of two. "At least we're finally here now," he said with a light shrug, a little bit distant.

He came down to earth a bit when she laughed at his name. He tried to glare at her, but couldn't help breaking out in to laughter. "It's okay. It's kind of a dorky name...Myuna." He winked at her, so he'd know she was joking, as he chuckled to himself. He'd gotten used to his name, but then again, nobody ever called him Albertus. Except his parents, really. Everyone knew him as Albie Vermeulen, star cricketer and rugby player. Would probably play for South Africa one day. Well, probably not any more.

"The castle is great," he said more seriously, calming down with the laughter. "Got awesome grounds. Pretty huge, though. I got a bit confused at first," he admitted, with an embarassed wince. "How about you?

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna nodded when he said at least they were at the school now. "I know right, if I ever see another eoisode of letters and numbers, or get bullied into going to the theatre one more time it ilt'l be to soon." she said frowning. she really didnt like living with her grandma.
as he took her comment on his name a joke and made a similar oneon hers she laughed and rolled her eyes. "there isa reason i prefer una" she said. as he stressed the My and oo in myuna. she actually didnt mind the name too much, but still didnt like people useing it. the main reason she had to not like it was it's meaning, clear water. it was pretty obvious where her mum hed most likely been when she had first moved, and therefore what theme her name had as was her dads culture. Myuna meaning barramundy, and anka meaning barramundi. chances are she was on the beach. maybe there was something to that myth as she had always had a love to the sand and sea. "yeah, the grounds are epic, I want to check out the forest soon" she said gesturing to where the nearest trees lay to them. "as for the castle, I swear things keep moving, though i can now find my way to most classes. howr you finding it?" she said pausing for a second before adding "if i know who to follow one of the disadvantages of transferring into fifth year was that people looked at you and assumed that you knew what you were doing. and where you were going, she had even been asked a few days back to give directions to the charms classroom. she had directed them down a couple of corridors to a dead end knowing it was a dead end as she had been there only minutes prior.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie snickered to himself. "Alright, alright, sorry Una." He wasn't in any real position to tease her for her name. He didn't hate his name, but he didn't think it suited him at all. Especially as it was such an old man sounding name. And sure, he felt like the old man of third year, but he was only fifteen, soon to turn sixteen. Still a kid in the eyes of many. In that awkward time of not being a kid, but not being an adult either.

"Classes are okay. The teachers are all so young - mostly. It's really bizarre." He shrugged. Some of them were a reasonable age - Professor Davershire didn't look like she was fresh out of high school, and Professor Styx definitely didn't, but a lot of them looked as though they'd only graduated from Hogwarts recently. "I just leave for classes earlier than I need to at the moment." he admitted, a little embarassed. He hadn't really found a group to blend in to yet, so he just had to look like a total dork and get to classes early, spending his time finding his way around the castle.

"Wanna go check out the forest together sometime?" he found himself asking, without thinking at all. "I've been wanting to check it out myself," Albie admitted, looking at Una with a smile.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna rolled her eyes. it was the second time he had apologised to him in about five minutes. "there is no need to keep apologising. my skin is pretty thick. it has to be" she said dryly. it did have to be thick. stuck between the black fella and the white men
Myuna hadn't really noticed the professors were young due to two reasons. one most of her teachers at muggle school had been rather young. so there wasn't much difference. and two she hadn't payed that much attention to the professors and to be honest didn't really see herself paying much attention to classes anyway. "I honestly hadn't noticed. most of the teachers at my last school were quite young." she said shaking her head her eyes looking across the grounds.
it seemed like there was now a professor on patrol on the lawn, undoubtedly checking for students heading out of bounds. and she knew the forest wasn't meant to be entered. "that would be great. though professor eagle eyes over there may mean we may have to wait" she said. she didn't know the professors name but she remembered seeing him in the entrance hall one morning telling off some students who had apparently broken some rule and she hadn't noticed them.

Out of Character:

the professor is Professor Mikolaj Lukosevicius