Sandcastles

[Tesla Wilde]

Being the oldest meant that Tesla had certain duties on vacation. Duties that normally she might have complained about if she wasn't away from her brothers and sister for a majority of the year. Instead she was overjoyed to spend this time cramped together in a crib that was most certainly too small for a family of six in the middle of nowhere. She let her hair get kinked and messy and her face get dark from the sun and her siblings tug at her and bug her but she was happy for it as she lifted Darwin up, holding him on her hip as she lead the troop down to the water where her parents had told her they could go as long as Kinsey and little Darwin didn't go into the water without either her Mum or Dad there to watch. That was easy enough as the little ones wanted to build sandcastles anyway so she slipped her jandles on so she wouldn't step on anything too sharp from the little house to the beach as it was a fair enough walk.

"Tessie can you show us the tricks?" her sister asked and Tesla turned pink. She wished she could show her family what she had been learning while they were still travelling around with their parents but she couldn't so she deflected the question by pointing out that maybe they could see a familiar Tomtit that always seemed to nest adjacent to the walking path as long as they had been coming here. Or as long as they could collectively remember the calls it made and the funny way it would hop or fly around them. It was easy to distract the youngest ones of the group who started to mimic the calls with their mouths. Even Alby tried, bless him. Smiling wide and whistling the Wilde children put their towels down on the beach and hunkered down to get to work, not bothering to notice if they were bothering the tourists that the beach normally got. Tesla was directed to get some water so she stood, rubbing the sand off her togs while she picked up the small plastic bucket and bent over to get some water, allowing her feet to get wet all the while but when she stood up and looked back at her siblings she didn't just see them she saw another person in her line of sight. Tess shook her head, thinking she was imagining something or perhaps they were a doppleganger so she stood there for a second longer and adjusted her bulky glasses that she rarely wore in school. Still the person looked too familiar for it not to be him because she was not so home-sick for Hogwarts that she would allow her mind to trick itself into thinking Asaiah was standing there so Tess said, "Asaiah?" Her eyebrows pushed together, curious as to what he was doing here of all places. She would've thought he would be doing something a bit more magical for his vacation time.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah, along with his three older siblings, made his way down from the cottage they were staying in to the beach with a frisbee in his head. He liked to come here, it was competely different from his usual surrounding and for some reason it made him more peaceful. When the others were down at the beach as well Asaiah made sure that they were all in perfect throwing distance from each other so it wouldn't be too easy from them to catch the frisbee. The boy smiled and threw the frisbee towards his oldest sister first to practice his throw. Asaiah turned around when he heard his name being called out, forgetting all about the frisbee that was thrown his way again by Hannah because the voice sounded very familiar to him. He smiled when he saw Tess standing in her togs by the water, and instead of catching the object that was going his way, Asaiah ran towards his friend to greet the girl happily. ''Tess! I didn't know you would be here!'' the boy said, happy to see someone that he recognised. Asaiah had definitely not expected to see one of his friends on this beach, probably because most of his friends either stayed at school during the summer break or went back to a country that wasn't New Zealand. ''Asher, who is your friend?'' he heard behind him, looking over his shoulder to see that his sister Hannah approached the two of them with a wide grin on her face, a grin that he had seen only once before when Marisol visited the Murphy family two years ago. ''Go away.'' Asaiah told his sister because he knew what was about to happen. ''Oohhh, so this the girlfriend you told mom about?'' he heard another voice say, the voice of his brother Thomas. Asaiah sighed and turned around to face two of the three older siblings. ''No. This is Tess not Zara,'' the boy began, ''Tess is the Hufflepuff player I told you about, remember, the one who hit the Slytherin seeker?'' Asaiah hoped that Tesla didn't mind that he had told his family about her action against Lestat because he was sure that they would find it just as impressive as he did.

 

[Eduardo Orbon]

Tesla was surprised to find that her eyes weren't tricking her when she saw that it was Asaiah and he came running towards her. She practically squealed with joy at seeing him and eagerly wrapped her arms around his shoulders to greet him until she said, “I come here almost every year! What are you doing here?” She didn’t imagine a lot of wizards vacationed where muggles were because there were probably more exciting things to be done with their time when they had magic at their finger tips. It was at this point that she saw two people talk to ‘Asher’. She looked at him peculiarly for a second and then blushed deeply when a boy insinuated that they might be dating. Tess didn’t know what to say about that so she stayed silent on the matter, hoping that it would go away because the girl could hardly imagine something as strange as dating when there was more exciting things happening in her life and furthermore Asaiah was her friend. Just a friend. She was about to confirm that when he revealed that he had told his siblings about her playing. She playfully nudged his stomach with her elbow and said, “Oh you’ve been telling people about me?” The Hufflepuff girl managed a little snicker at the thought before she teased him just a little more, “I knew you were intimidated by my playing.” It was with a grin that she showed that she was joking before she glanced back her her siblings, just to make sure that they all seemed to be doing fine and that Alby had it under control. Glad that he had and that her siblings didn’t seem to notice that they could come running over to demand her attention, Tess pushed her big curly hair out of her face and said to the two others, “You must be Hannah and Thomas. Nice to meet you.” Asaiah hadn’t mentioned them often but when he had she took note of it, especially which team Thomas played for so she could see what a professional player was actually like because she was so amazed that one of her friends knew an actual Quidditch player. If Quidditch players were anything like Rugby players they were supremely famous and so the girl hoped to not make a fool out of herself.

It was at this point that she felt a tug on her hand and she looked down to see Kinsey, who was ever curious. ”Tesla do they do the tricks too?” Tess looked up at the others and turned red, she knew Asaiah was okay with her not being from magic but she had never met his siblings before she she didn’t know how these things worked but she could only imagine that it was something you eased people into. Of course to add to that embarrassment her two brothers followed as well. Albert was holding Darwin and looking at her with utter frustration while Darwin had heard Kinsey mention tricks and said, “Twicks twicks do twicks!” While she had not done any magic outside of school since starting at Hogwarts she had been known to do ‘tricks’ to make her siblings laugh before she had known what was really happening. “Guys remember what we said?” Tess said firmly. “That’s a family secret, right?” She winked down at her siblings, the youngest of whom giggled. Then she looked over at her friend and his siblings and said, “Sorry… I’m a muggleborn.” Tess didn’t know if they would be able to grasp the troubles that came along with it especially with young siblings who didn’t really understand the importance of this secret. Alby was a bit older and could grasp it and that much she was thankful for. “Uh these are my brothers, Albert and Darwin,” she said pointing to them. “This is Kinsey.” She paused to say, “Guys this is Asaiah, Hannah and Thomas.” The girl hoped that with introductions over they could make things a little less awkward and maybe just get to enjoy the summer heat. Albert who was a little vindictive about her teasing him about someone at his school for a crush asked, "Do you like like that boy Tess?" Tess' eyes widened and her cheeks went hot so she said, "Shove off, Alby, we're just friends." The girl mouthed an apology to Asaiah as if to play off her embarrassment but the truth was she was a little humiliated by what her brother had suggested.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah's smile widened when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, ''Mum and dad own a house in the town,'' he said and pointed towards the houses in the distance. He was happy to see a familiar face so far away from Hogwarts, a face he was planning on writing to once he'd be back in the house later that day. ''We used to come here a lot before I went to school,'' the boy explained. It had definitely been a while ago since his family last visited their house and this beach since two of the Murphy children were spending most of the year at a wizarding school - not that he was complaining because even though he loved to be around his family Asaiah loved being around his friends even more. He noticed that his friend started to blush when Thomas asked him if she was by any chance his girlfriend, and could not help to smile a little. He liked Tesla, but had never thought of her as more than a friend. ''I am not,'' he commented, looking over his shoulder at Hannah with a look that said 'don't you dare' because he knew that she was probably going to tease him with the joke Tesla made somewhere in the near future. ''You're just a really good player,'' Asaiah said when he turned his head back to Tesla and smiled widely at the girl. ''It is nice to meet you too,'' one of the siblings answered back and held their hand out for Tesla to shake it. Asaiah was glad to see that both his brother and sister were acting normal for once and didn't try to embrarress him like they had done when his best friend visited for the holidays. ''Too bad we're surrounded by too many Muggles, otherwise we could've played a match of Quidditch to see if you are really as good as Asher claims you to be,'' he heard his brother say to his friend.

''I could show them some tricks?'' Hannah asked, ''I'm allowed to do magic outside of school so it's fine.'' she told Tesla with the hope that she could show the girl's younger siblings what people like them were learning at school. ''And don't worry too much about the whole bloodstatus thing,'' his sister said with a reassuring smile, ''I don't think any of us really cares about that.'' Thomas added, which was true because no one his his family cared much about the bloodstatus of their fellow witch or wizard as they believed that everyone was equal to each other. The three Murphy's smiled as they were introduced to Tesla's younger siblings and Hannah, who for some reason could never resist small childen, walked towards Kinsey and crouched down before the child, making funny faces so Kinsey would laugh. Asaiah grinned when her younger brother asked if she liked him and winked at Tesla to let her know that it was all good.

 

[Tesla Wilde]

Tess was so surprised at the chance that she had missed Asaiah all these years - even more that a witch-to-be and a wizard would be so close in the muggle world purely by chance. Their friendship seemed more solid than before thanks to fate. The girl smiled amused at how small New Zealand really was when they could find each other like this and wondered if any other kid she knew from before was also a wizard and if there were ways of telling without knowing. Except maybe how cruel they were with wifi. The girl was brought out of her frame of mind at Asaiah's claim but she still had a feeling that if it weren't for her being kicked out of the game and Reuben having a bit more self-confidence they could've won. Or this was her hunch because she knew how hard they all worked - except a fellow player who had more interest in self-sabatoge and infighting. "Thanks Asher" she said, using the nickname his family had for him because she thought it was interesting how different the names were from each other and how he answered to Asher happily. She couldn't help but wider where that had come from but instead she blushed deeply when Thomas suggested they should play a game. While Tess would absolutely have loved to play because she was going through a patch of Quidditch withdrawal she had to admit that playing against students was way different then playing against a professional player. She was not that cocky, after all. "I'm really not as good as you'd be... You'd have to go easy on me," she said, suggesting this before any other possible place they could sneak away for a game. It was a quiet area, save the beach, but there were a lot of prying eyes and she didn't want her magic taken away for breaking another rule.

Kinsey and Darwin, who were both trying to keep their cool at the mention of the secret to do with the magic she had unintentionally used before Hogwarts, both perked up at Hannah's suggestion. Even Albert seemed curious and knowing how trustworthy and smart her friend was she had no reason to think her younger siblings would be in danger. So Tess nodded her head before she said to the kids, "Remember... Secret okay?" She then looked towards Hannah and said, "Thanks, they've been asking about magic non-stop since I've started school." Tess flushed a little though at Thomas' comment about blood status, she didn't want to insult them which was why she had explained it because she could hardly imagine Asaiah speaking much about her to his family, even though she knew that he had brought up her supreme Quidditch skills to them.

Kinsey giggled at Hannah and Darwin smiled, amused too. Tesla on the other hand was looking over at her friend and wondered if maybe they could sneak off to catch up briefly because she felt a little self-conscious being around his siblings as she felt sure that whatever she might say they might tease them about seeming a little like a couple even if they were just friends. "Are you here the rest of the summer?" she asked, instead. She hoped so because Tess really missed being in contact with the rest of the world when she was back home with all the muggles. It was a strange feeling to miss home while being at home.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled when she called him by his family nickname and looked at his brother, wondering where he wanted to play Quidditch because the town was full of Muggles who'd see them if they would decide on playing here at the beach. Asaiah chuckled slightly at Tesla's comment and said, ''Neither am I, and he's not that good, so don't worry.'' while grinning and playfully nudged his brother's stomach with his elbow. Although that wasn't completely true, because Thomas could pretty much kick his ass too if he really wanted to, he knew that his brother wouldn't give it his all anyway since this would be a match with friends and family and not against a professional team like the Falmouth Falcons.

Hannah smiled and said, ''Wait here, I'll get my wand.'' and winked at Kinsey and Darwin before leaving the group to get her wand. It was nice of his sister to show his friend's siblings some magic and he couldn't be happier that she chose to entertain the kids rather than telling Tesla embarrassing stories about him. His sister came back after a few minutes with the wand in her hands and sat on her haunches in front of the children who were eagerly waiting for Hannah to show them tricks.

Asaiah smiled as Hannah was showing them all sorts of tricks and turned to his friends when she asked him how long he'd be staying here. ''Until Hannah and I have to go back to school,'' he said, ''What about you?'' Asaiah asked in return, wondering if the two of them could have some fun together while not being in the presence of their siblings. He absolutely loved being with his brother and sisters again but they would start to annoy him eventually so having a reason to be out of the house without one of them was a blessing.


next one will be better

 

[Tesla Wilde]

Tesla felt completely reassured by Asaiah's joke, even if Thomas could absolutely destroy them if he wanted to, and so she said, "There is a clearing not too far away from here. It's just a few kilometres away." She fiddled with her hands and said, "We could play there. No one ever goes there." She knew this because when she had found out about Hogwarts she had run off to that spot to clear her mind and think. It had been at least three hours before her parents had come to find her and only because they had searched anywhere she might've gone to be alone in their little vacation town. There had only been sheep otherwise.While the kids were distracted, luckily not noticed by the muggles the girl smiled up at the Slytherin and said, "Just a day earlier. I left all my school stuff at home." She was endlessly excited about the possibility of spending all this time with him during the summer break. She did love her brothers and sister to the moon and back but it was nice talking with people who understood what sort of situation she had for the majority of the year. More than that she just enjoyed his company.

Hopefully mine will be better next time. >.<

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Thomas turned his head from the laughing children to Tesla and Asaiah, and looked back and forth at the two students. ''You know, Asher, it almost seems like you are trying to impress this girl,'' the older Murphy said teasingly. He knew his brother had a girlfriend, but that did not stop him from messing with Asaiah. Asaiah ignored his brother's comment about trying to impress Tesla completey and instead focused on what she was saying to him. ''You wouldn't mind spending time with me right? I don't want to be my brother and sisters all the time.'' He hoped that she wouldn't because it would be nice to spend time with someone his age, especially since his siblings were all performing magic to mess with him now that Hannah was of age too. ''Oh and I don't know if we have a spare broom, so did you pack your own?''

nvm the 'next one will be better' part lol

 

[Tesla Wilde]

Just as Thomas made a little crack so did Tess' little brother, Alby, who sung, "Tesla and Asaiah sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Her younger siblings giggled as he continued, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage." The three younger Wilde's broke out into fits of laughter as the Hufflepuff felt humiliated and awkward as she stood by her friend. She didn't have a crush on him but still there was a level of awkwardness she felt at the mention of it - not that she had a crush on anyone either. It would be equally as uncomfortable to have that said about her and any other boy she knew so the girl laughed awkwardly trying to play it cool but the gawky nerdy girl was never very good at playing something cool. "As long as we're not sitting in a tree," she said then instantly regretted it so she tried to correct quickly. "I mean no it'd be nice to hang out." That hadn't been the smoothest save ever so the girl just tried to shove it off and smiled as he asked about a broom because she had brought hers. "Yep. Someone is watching the house so I had to bring my wand too just in case they wanted to throw it out of use the broom... as a broom." The girl could only imagine the trouble that would make so she had saved any risk by bringing the two truly magical things she owned - the rest was either at home or at school.

It was lucky then that her parents showed up so she didn't have to watch over them completely. "Guys time to say Goodbye to Hannah and Thomas and run over to Mom and Dad, ok?" she said before she would go run to get changed and get her broom. They all said their own versions although Kinsey who acted as if she had made a new best friend hugged Hannah tight and waved as she and Albert helped Darwin walk along the beach. "Meet back here in five minutes?" she asked to the group eagerly. It had been too long since she had played Quidditch.

After Tess had changed into a t-shirt and shorts and managed to tie back her unruly curls she grabbed her broom and it only then occurred to her that she didn't have any sort of Quidditch balls so she could only hope that the Murphy's had a stock of their own as she walked down to the beach, this time in proper shoes and a little more than togs and waited for her friend and his brother and sister to play a bit of group Quidditch.

Hope you don't mind the time skip/slight GM.