Closed School Shopping

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel waited with his sisters, Samantha and Carrie, at Aotea Square. The girls were making sure they had their money and lists."It's important to get everything, don't lose them!" Daniel told them."What's your friend's name again, Daniel?" Sam asked."Kara, but I'll introduce you guys when she gets here." She nodded, and handed Carrie some coins."Stay away from the road," He said as Carrie skipped around, counting the coins. How they didn't fall out of her hand, Daniel had no idea. She was super excited because it was her second year at school, and she had told her friends that she would bring back some things from New Zealand. Carrie had more friends than Daniel, and she was five years younger."I want to buy a pencil case made of zippers!" Carrie exclaimed.

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara was excited to meet Daniels sister's and to visit him again. They had been communicating over owl, but hadn't seen each other since the library. She had been dropped off in Aotea Square. Making her way to find Daniel, she spotted a girl skipping around looking at something in her hand. Nearby, was Daniel.

"Daniel!" Kara said with a smile and wave. "Hey."

She made her way over to him.

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Kara arrived and Daniel waved to her."Hey, how's it going?" he asked. Sam and Carrie came over, and he said,"Sam, Carrie, this is Kara. Kara, this is Sam and Carrie." He pointed to Sam first and then Carrie."Sam's nine and Carrie's just turned six." Carrie smiled up at Kara."I'm in first grade now!"

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara smiled and waved at his siblings. She felt really comfortable around Daniel and didn't feel nervous meeting his sisters. "It's going good, how about you?" She turned towards the girls. "Hi, Sam, Hi Carrie. I am Kara, I am almost 11." Kara wondered how much they knew about Hogwarts. "Where do we go first?"

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel grinned."I'm pretty good. The girls are excited about getting their school stuff." He wasn't sure how to explain to Kara that they didn't know what type of school he was going to."I think Sam knows where we're going, we might just follow her." Sam and Carrie began walking, with Daniel and Kara following behind. Daniel lowered his voice, as he said,"They don't know about school, only that it's selective and in New Zealand." He wasn't sure how else to subtly make sure Kara knew what he meant. Being in public also didn't help."Sorry, I completely forgot to mention it before." He felt bad, but hoped that Kara would understand that he was still getting used to everything.

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara nodded. “I understand that. I love getting prepared for school.” She was beyond excited to go magical supply shopping because, well, wands! Kara walked next to Daniel following Sam. Listening to him talk, she nodded in understanding. “I didn’t want to say anything, just in case. Secrets safe with me.” Kara understood the importance of secrecy. “No need to apologize.”

She lowered her voice carefully. “Soon we will be shopping for our school supplies. Wands, cauldrons, robes, and more.” Kara’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel grinned."Getting our supplies will make this experience even more surreal. I'm literally counting the days until school starts." He laughed."I never thought I would say that." Sam and Carrie turned off into a shop, and Daniel shrugged."We can wait out here for them, if you want. They can't go far and then we can talk a little more about school." He really wanted to know more, especially how they picked which house you were placed in and what that meant."Tell me more about the houses," he said to Kara."How do they pick where we'll go?"

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara stopped next to Daniel ready to explain the process. “At bedtime I always ask my parents for a story about Hogwarts. I have heard their sorting stories so many times.” She paused for a moment, thinking about how she enjoyed them each time. “They went to Hogwarts in England. Apparently there is a room all the first years wait in until they start the sorting ceremony. When it’s time we go into The Great Hall which is bright and full of long tables and bright candles. They call us one by one to sit on a stool and they’ll place The Sorting Hat on our head. It will talk to you, but inside your head. Nobody else can hear. When it’s made it’s decision, it’ll shout out your house.” Kara has dreamed about and imagined her ceremony over and over again, different ways. She doesn’t know how it’ll go, but can only hope it goes her way. Either way, she’ll make the best of it.

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel wasn't too sure about sitting in front of the whole school."I think I'm going to get even more nervous when I sit in front of everyone," he said."But I suppose everyone went through it, or is going to, so I shouldn't be too worried." He was mostly saying this to reassure himself. Still, it sounded like a lot of fun."I wonder which house I'll get into," he wondered aloud.

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara had been too excited about the thought of being sorted she didn’t think about how nervous it would make her. “I hadn't even thought about that. You are right though, everyone had to do it. My dad said your other house mates cheer for you when sorted. Nobody knows you yet, so it’s likely an honor who gets sorted where.” She fidgeted a little bit, attempting to reassure herself. “I hope we get sorted in the same house, it’ll be okay either way. I believe it’s in order of last name so I’ll be sorted before you. I’ll cheer for you no matter what.”

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel grinned."I'll be sure to clap for you, no matter which house you get in! It would be great if we were in the same house though." He often thought about how much more comfortable he would feel if he knew someone in his house. He knew that he'd meet people, but it would make the experience a lot easier if he knew someone."Ravenclaw sounds like a cool house. Does each house have colours or something? Like, so they know who's who?"

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara hadn’t had a good school friend before and she felt her friendship with Daniel growing. “Yeah, they all have different colors. Ravenclaw is blue and bronze. Hufflepuff is yellow and black, Gryffindor is scarlet and gold, and Slytherin is green and silver.” She could just picture her robes, hopefully lined in blue.

Glancing around at the shops, Kara smiled. “Are your sisters going to know anything about you being able to do magic?”

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel shrugged."Maybe if they show signs, or when I come back from school with books about magic. My parents don't really want them to know, they're trying to hide it from them." He wasn't happy about this, but he listened to his parents wishes. Not mentioning the school to Sam and Carrie was easier than getting in trouble.

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara frowned a little bit. "Oh." This probably meant he didn't get to have discussions about magic at the dinner table or just in passing. She found this an odd thought, she grew up around magic her whole life. "Well, if you ever come over to my house maybe on holiday breaks or something, you can talk about magic as much as you like." She simply wanted to make sure he felt welcome in the magic community, but she already had a few suspicions about his parents. Perhaps they were embarrassed or maybe afraid, either way, it seemed they still loved him and that made her happy.

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel brightened at the invitation."That'd be great! You could always come visit me, I get to hang out by myself a lot, though it's a little far to travel." Living in Australia was great and all, but it would be a little hard to invite people over."It's going to be heaps easier talking about magic at school." He laughed."It'd be hard if no-one spoke about it!"

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara has never been to Australia, but thought she might like to go. “I would love to come visit.” She smiled. ”Is there really as many kangaroos as everyone says?” Kara laughed knowing it was probably a silly question, either way she would love to visit her new friend there. Maybe they could make arrangements for a holiday next year.

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel laughed."There sure are! They hang out in our backyard a lot." Sam and Carrie came out and said they were ready for the next place."Okay, we'll follow behind you guys." They started off again."Have you ever been to Australia? It'd be super cool if you could come over one holiday break."

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara walked next to Daniel behind his sisters. She wondered what it was like to have kangaroos in their backyard. “No, I have never been. I would love to come visit.” Her parents have never let her travel that far alone without family before, but she would be more independent after starting Hogwarts.

 

[Daniel Remdond]

"Well, maybe sometime over the holidays you could come over. It'd be cool if you could come before school and we could travel to school together." Daniel liked the idea of Kara coming and spending time in the holidays. He often got bored hanging out by himself, since his sisters would spend time with friends.

 

[Kara Munn]

"That would be loads of fun!" Kara smiled excitedly. "Speaking of, do you wanna ride in the same train compartment on the way to Hogwarts? We can get lots of treats off the treat trolly." She had been told stories by her parents about all the treats they would get off the trolly. "Chocolate frogs are one of my favorites. The cards that come with them are educational too."

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel nodded."Sure! Wait, chocolate frogs?" Sam and Carrie walked into another shop, so Daniel stopped to wait outside."Like Freddo Frogs?" he asked, mentioning a popular Australian chocolate."A little frog shaped chocolate," he explained."You can get them in a bunch of different flavours."

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara looked at him quizzically. “Perhaps they are similar. I’ve never had Freddy Frogs. You’ll have to let me know.” Adding that to the list of things she should try when she hopefully visits him in Australia. She ate quite a few chocolate frogs and liked to look at the cards. “Chocolate frogs act like real frogs and jump and hop around. They are edible and just chocolate so you don’t have to worry about eating an actual frog. The best part about them is the witch or wizard card that comes with it. They’ve got faces on them of historical figures and a description. People collect them and trade them.”

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel was surprised."They actually jump around?!" They defiantly weren't Freddo frogs then."That's super cool! I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this." He hoped that he wouldn't. It would be nice to learn something new everyday.

 

[Kara Munn]

Kara nodded and wondered if she had an unopened one to give him in her bag. She shuffled through the items but had no luck. Deciding to mail him one instead, she smiled. "I'll get you one. They hop around and if you want to eat them, it's best to bite the head off quick." Realizing that was probably a weird concept to somebody unfamiliar with chocolate frogs, she shrugged it off. "I still find magic fascinating. There is a class at Hogwarts called History of Magic, I am looking forward to it. I love learning about our origin and the foundation of magic."

 

[Daniel Remdond]

Daniel have her a funny look when she said to bite the head off."Uh, okay, that's a little strange." He grinned."That'll be fun to try. Magic fascinates me. I'm looking forward to school so much, learning about everything seems super cool."