No real explanation

[Annika Lansden]

So, there was such a thing as magic. For Annika, a faithful believer in science, this was a big change. Though she had now accepted that magic existed, after a week of disbelief, Annika was emersing herself in it, attempting to understand. She walked slowly through the streets of Brightstone, her round blue eyes taking in the sights and sounds. People in cloaks appeared out of nowhere, then disappeared. Others entered shops with brightly coloured displays in the windows, and came out clutching bags. Annika hadn't yet gone into any of the shops, she was saving all the wonderment for when she could actually go in and buy her school supplies. It would all just have to wait.

After looking around for half an hour, Annika decided to settle down, where she could better observe the goings-on of the wizarding world. Bypassing an empty bench, she sat in her usual cross-legged position on somebody's brick wall. Long fly-away blonde hair shifting the chilly breeze, she watched the street, blinking occasionally.

 

[Elizabeth Sturridge]

Elizabeth darted and dodged through the crowded streets of Brightstone, narrowly missing many cloaked people as she went. Effy hadn't really come to terms with this whole 'magic' thing yet, she was finding the wizarding world rather confusing. After spending a week with one of her older brothers back home in the UK, Effy felt slightly less frightened, he had told her what she needed to know and for that she was grateful. The young girls knotted hair blew in the wind, she never cared to use a brush or straighteners like most girls her age did, she was lucky if she bothered to tie it back some days. All of the shops seemed too daunting so she wandered along a street that seemed a little less daunting and slumped onto a brick wall.

There appeared to be another young girl cross legged on the wall as Effy dangled her legs just above ground. Elizabeth had never been the least bit shy so she shuffled towards the blonde and smiled. "Hi, I'm Effy" she said, holding out her hand to be shaken, only as a formality, often the young girl didn't see the point. She wasn't one to abide by the rules, but it seemed like the polite thing to do. Effy found herself cursing her mother for drilling manners into her as a child.

 

[Annika Lansden]

Annika was watching as a little child hovered above the ground on a mini broomstick. This brought her back to a conversation she'd had a couple of months ago, in the park. A girl had been talking about flying on broomsticks, and touching the clouds. Annika now realised that the two girls must belong to this world. She continued to watch, as the boy attempted to fly away from his mother at. The broom obviously wasn't very fast, as the mother caught up easily.

Annika was aware when somebody else joined her on the brick wall, however she was concentrating on watching the child, and wondering how the broom worked. She just could not think of a reason for the piece of wood to be floating in mid air. After several minutes she looked slowly around at the girl sitting there with her hand held out. She slowly extended her hand and shook quickly, before tucking her hands under her knees "Annika" she said briefly, blinking up at the other girl "How does that work?" she asked Effy, pointing towards the child on the broom.