The Last One Standing

[Alice Holland]

Alice Holland wasn't a melancholy girl. Usually she was cheerful and friendly and hard to beat down. But now that she was the only one of her sisters that was left at home, she couldn't help feeling lonely. During the week she went to a muggle school, which was fun, but it meant that she had very little contact with magic or the magical world. Not like her older sisters, who were all off to learn magical spells and potions and other fantastical things. She knew she just had to be patient, in less than a year she would be at Hogwarts too, but September still seemed so far away.

To cheer her up, her parents took her out more often, but it wasn't as fun without her sisters around. Now she was sitting on the swing in the park, dragging her feet across the ground. The last time she had been here she had been with Diana and another girl, and they'd been playing a fun game. But now there was nobody there, and Alice tried to entertain herself on the swings. But all she could think about was Hogwarts and how much fun it would be. After a while, she picked up a twig off the ground next to the swing. She twirled it in the air, trying to imagine she was doing a real spell.

 

[Emily Madison]

Emily had gotten used to a lot of different living situations over the years, but being separated from Charlie was something she still wasn't used to. Even when they didn't live together, she and Charlie had seen each other at least every week throughout their whole childhood. Being adopted together had been the dream, they could live together like the sisters they had always wished they were. But now Charlie was gone again, away at Hogwarts, and the only contact Emily got with her was letters, and the occasional story from mum about something she had seen Charlie getting up to at school. It felt strange. Even a year and a half later Emily still found herself wanting to tell Charlie all about things that were going on, and remembering too late that they would have to be relegated to letters, or wait until the next school holiday.

Mum was home from work today though, and she had taken Emily and Finn to the park. Emily would have preferred a beach trip, but Finn liked the park and this was fine too, it was a magical park so any kids Emily met stood a chance of being her future classmates. Unlike Charlie, Emily wasn't shy about giving new people a chance, so when she saw a girl waving a stick around she approached her curiously, giving the girl a bright smile. "Hey! Did you get your wand already?" She asked excitedly, wondering if this girl would be joining her at sorting next year. Only a few more months to go...

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice was imagining sparkles trailing from the stick she was waving through the air, though it wasn't really working. She quickly looked up when a girl approached and gave her a smile, happy to have some company. Her smile turned apologetic at the girl's enthusiasm, as she couldn't help feeling bad for misleading her even if it wasn't on purpose. "No, not yet." She said sadly. "This is just a stick and some imagination." Alice said, as she held out the stick to show the girl. The blonde looked to be around her age, and Alice wondered if they would be heading to Hogwarts in the same year. In a few months! "But I'll get a real one soon, before I start Hogwarts in September." She swung forward slightly, smiling. "What about you?" Since they were in New Zealand, she assumed the girl in front of her would be going to Hogwarts there as well. At least, she hoped so. It would be great to have some friends at the school as soon as she started.

 

[Emily Madison]

Emily was a little disappointed to hear that the other girl hadn't been waving a real wand, but she nodded sympathetically. "I don't have my wand yet either, mum wants me to wait until the school holidays when my sister's home." She rolled her eyes, still frustrated by this decision. Emily was excited to see Charlie again, certainly, but she wanted her wand now, and surely Charlie coming for the shopping trip wouldn't make all that much difference. She nodded in response to the girl's question, smiling. "I'm going to Hogwarts soon too, what house do you think you'll be in?" Emily wasn't sure if this girl would know about the houses yet, but Emily could always teach her. "I'm Emily." She added quickly, not wanting to be rude and forget to introduce herself.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice was a little sad for the other girl when she heard she also had a wand yet, though she had figured as much if the girl mistook a simple stick for one. She beamed when she said she would go to Hogwarts soon too, eagerly hopping off the swings. "That's awesome! We'll already know each other!" She said happily. "I'm really not sure, all houses seem pretty nice. I have a sister in each except Hufflepuff. I would like to be with any of them." She said with a shrug, though she also wouldn't mind if she was on her own. Whatever the hat decided for her, she knew she would make it her own. "I'm Alice, nice to meet you!" She looked at her curiously. "What house do you think you'll be in? Oh, it would be fun if we're together." It would be a relief to know someone already, even if Alice didn't think she would have too much trouble making new friends.

 

[Emily Madison]

The thought of already having a friend in her year before starting at Hogwarts cheered Emily, and she stepped closer to the other girl now that she was off the swing. "Yeah! Let's be friends at school!" Emily said happily. She didn't know if Alice would actually follow through, but at least it was somebody to know, other than just Charlie. Her eyes widened a little when the other girl talked about her sisters houses. "That's so many sisters!" She said excitedly. "I've just got one sister, she's in Gryffindor. I wanna be with Charlie, but mum thinks I'll be in her house, Hufflepuff." She smiled when Emily introduced herself, and nodded in agreement. "It's nice to meet you too! I hope we're together too, it'd be so cool. I'm kinda nervous about having roommates, I hope they're nice." Emily had shared rooms with some not-so-nice people over the years, and though she knew she could handle it if she had to, it would be nicer to live with people she got along with.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice grinned at the blond girl, eager to befriend her so she had her own friend at Hogwarts already. Every one of her sister had made their own friends almost immediately, and Alice didn't want to be any different. It would be horrible to be seen as an annoying tag-along by her older sisters. Though she was excited to spend time at the school with them too. She giggled at Emily's exclamation about her sisters. "I know, but it's kind of nice. Maybe your sister knows mine! Rose is a Gryffindor too. Maybe we're in Hufflepuff together. That way, we won't be with our sisters but we'll know each other." She said with a nod. "And we can visit them anytime, together." She could already picture it. Though she thought she could be happy in any of the houses. "I bet they'll be nice. My sisters all have made friends with their roommates." She said with a grin. Alice was an optimist. The concept of not having nice roommates had never even occurred to her.

 

[Emily Madison]

Emily was pleased to have made a friend before even going to school. She found Charlie's slowness to open up to people frustrating sometimes, and it would be nice to have someone hopefully more social to hang out with at school. "Oh, maybe!" Emily said excitedly. Charlie didn't have many school friends, but it would be nice if she was friends with Alice's sisters. "What years are your sisters in? Charlie's in second year now." It had been strange, being without Charlie the last two years, and Emily was itching to see her big sister again. She smiled when Alice said they might be in Hufflepuff together, nodding in agreement. "I hope we are! It'd be so cool to be housemates!" Hearing that Alice's sisters all liked all of their roommates was a relief, but Emily knew that Charlie had had some troubles with her own roommates, and she certainly remembered sharing rooms with some not so nice people in the past. "Well, that's good. I hope they're all nice." She smiled.

 

[Jenna Toubia]

"What a boring day." Jenna would complained as she was being dragged all around town with her tia. They were running errands, and like always, Jenna was force to go along with her aunt on their many trips in town. It's as if the woman had accumulated a vast amount of friends or tia was selling her oils again. Jenna wouldn't be able to tell, she carried this bag everywhere and it had all sorts of stuff inside. Stuff, that were off limit to her and Joshua. Tia tells her to stop complaining, Jenna wouldn't quit. After some time, her aunt gave in and brought Jenna to the park. Jenna, grabbed her water bottle and was happy to get away from the woman. She took a long sip from the bottle and walked on over to the swing set. She saw two other girls talking, that didn't stop her from taking the vacant swing next to them. "Hey, pay me no mind. I love the swings!" Jenna went right on pumping her legs to get as high as she can.​

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice was excited by the idea that maybe Emily's sister was friends with one of her own sisters. Having three older sisters made that at least a little likely, but she deflated a little when she heard Emily's sister was a second year. That was the one year none of her own sisters were in. "Rose is a fourth year, and she's the Gryffindor one." Alice said with a small shrug. "But I'll ask her anyway, and Phoebe and Diana too." It would be fun if they knew each other, but she also wouldn't mind if they didn't. It was nice to have a connection with Emily that wasn't also somehow connected to her older sisters. Alice knew she was quite capable of making friends on her own. She grinned, nodding eagerly. "It would be so much fun!" She agreed, clapping her hands excitedly. "And I bet they will all be nice. Why wouldn't they? Everyone will be so excited to go to Hogwarts, they can't help but be nice." Alice was an optimist, but also genuinely couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't be on their best behavior at a magical place like Hogwats. What reason would there be to be in a bad mood when you were there? She looked up when another girl approached the swing set, smiling when she took a seat on the swing she had just vacated. "That's okay, they are fun!" She agreed happily. This girl looked around their age too, so Alice couldn't resist drawing her into the conversation. "What's your name? Are you going to Hogwarts next year too?"

 

[Emily Madison]

Emily was a little disappointed to hear that Alice's sisters probably didn't know Charlie, but the thought that at least they could be friends themselves cheered her up. Maybe if she and Alice became good friends, their sisters would too! "Cool!" She said happily. "Are your sisters all nice?" Emily had had plenty of experience with foster 'sisters' she didn't get along with, but Alice seemed like she liked her sisters a lot. Maybe if they were nice people they could help Charlie get better at making friends. It sometimes pained Emily thinking about how lonely her big sister could get. It shocked Emily a little that Alice didn't seem to understand why Emily was worried about their roommates, but she didn't really want to explain how she had grown up to a relative stranger, even if they were going to be friends at school. That was a conversation for a future day. "I dunno, I just think it'd be awful to share a room with someone who wasn't nice." She commented, evading the subject. Emily looked over when another girl joined them, watching her on the swings for a moment. She listened as Alice brought her into the conversation, wondering if the other girl would be joining them. Having two friends before school would be even better than having one!

 

[Jenna Toubia]

"They are." Jenna agreed, pumping her legs harder. She wanted to go high as she can before her tia drag her away from the play ground. The woman was annoying and strict. She cannot wait to get away from her once and for all. "Jenna, and I am." Jenna smirks at the girl asking questions. Jenna looked over at the other, the blonde and the brunette were both pretty. "I want to be in Slytherin. It's one of the best house out of the four. My brother in Ravenclaw, that house is boring." Jenna made a face. From what she perceive from the other houses, Ravenclaw was the blandest and Joshua did not belong in Ravenclaw. That's something they can both agree on. Hufflepuff had suited the boy. "And, you both?" She asked, her swing not moving as fast as she wanted. But, she the one to blame for engaging in their conversation in the first place.
​

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice blinked in surprise at Emily's question about her sisters. Her mind flashed briefly to Diana, who was far from nice sometimes. But the older girl could also be sweet, and Alice definitely loved her very much. "Of course," she said with a firm nod. "Why, isn't yours?" Emily seemed very concerned about people being nice, which made Alice wonder if she was bullied or something. If she was, Alice would definitely want to help her. "I'm sure everyone will be nice," she said with a confident smile. "If not, we'll just have to help them and make them nice." Alice was nothing if not an optimist. The girl that had joined her told them she wanted to be in Slytherin and called Ravenclaw boring. Alice shrugged, everyone was entitled to their opinion, but she felt like this wasn't something she agreed with. "I have a sister in both of those houses, they both seem fine to me," Alice said as she thought back to what Diana and Phoebe had said about their respective houses. Diana had mainly complained a lot about being in the dungeons, but had also insisted her house was the best one anyway. It seemed like maybe this girl would be in the same house as Diana.They certainly sounded alike. "I don't really mind where I end up." Alice said again. "I think the hat knows best."