Closed The old and the new

[Sloane Ari]

Sloane was pretty sure that when she grew up, she was never going to get married. If her parents were anything to go by, it just meant lots and lots of arguing on the phone which didn’t really sound like a dream deal to the blonde. Her parents had been divorced now for almost four years, but they stayed in touch for the benefit of Sloane and their other children, but that didn’t break the tension the former couple had when it came to making arrangements and this morning had been no different. Slipping on some red canvas shoes and a long coat that Sloane had thought made her look like one of those ladies from France, she’d stepped outside the large house on the outskirts of Obsidian Harbour and ventured a little way down the street.

It wasn’t unusual for Sloane to head out. It was peaceful, and as long as she didn’t go past the second lamppost along the road, her mother didn’t mind if she went out to play. It wasn’t a particular busy street nor was it particularly quiet. There was usually something going on, even if it was just watching the neighbours dog on the front lawn of number 62. Sometimes there would be other children to play with, sometimes they’d be busy. The blonde knew on this occasion that it was unlikely Rory and his family would be home, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. She walked calmly, taking her time since she had no rush to approach his doorstep, taking in the rest of the street on her way up towards the front door. There were a few people towards the house opposite, sort of milling around and Sloane couldn’t tell what it was they were doing, nor could she tell whether the other kid with them was around her age or not. She eyed them suspiciously for a moment, before knocking the secret knock on Rorys front door, hoping that if he was in, he’d know it was her and he’d have some more stories for her.​

 

[Rory Styx]

Now that Hogwarts was in sight for Rory his mother had decided they should start spending more time in New Zealand. In a way, he still considered the country his home despite barely spending any time there in recent years having spent the time he hadn't been in Bulgaria with his dad travelling around with his mother. Rory had decided early on that he wasn't a fan of the nomadic lifestyle and hoped for his and Victoria's case hey would be a permanent fixture in New Zealand, at least while they attended school.

The location of their house just off from Obsidian harbour had allowed Rory the freedom to explore a popular location for magical kids his own age. He had so far met a small number of people he would likely be attending school with and he was glad he would be surrounded by familiar faces when he made that step.

Rory was hanging out at home reading through one of the many books on Quidditch that dominated the living room bookshelf, he'd lost count of how many times he'd read it but the more he did the more he looked forward to a time he could try it out for himself. A soft knock at the door broke his concentration and Rory got to his feet to see who was at their door. "Sloane!" He greeted his friend excitedly. He hadn't seen much of her over the years due to moving around but whenever he had been in New Zealand he had made sure they hung out.

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon sees the little kids and decides he absolutely does not need to get involved and moves the heck on.

 

[Eaton Jennings]

Moving from Australia to New Zealand had been an experience, particularly since he was only here for this next couple of months until he could start going to school, then his Dad was moving back home to Australia whilst he would continue his education here. He’d never had much issue with that and he loved where he lived. Wollongong was his favourite place in the world, but he supposed he would say that since it was his home. Even after his mother’s death, and the fact that he didn’t get along very well with his father hadn’t done much to put a damper on that live he had for it and even though he was now in New Zealand for the foreseeable future, at least until holidays probably, he wasn’t going to ever think of Wollongong as anything other than his home; more than anything he couldn’t wait to go back for Christmas.

Being new to the area like he was, Nico hadn’t made all that many friends, but it wasn’t surprising. Wollongong was only a very small area after all and there weren’t that many children who lived there. The area itself wasn’t that small, but the part of it that was magical was. It had a Quidditch arena of course and a small little town just outside the arena that meant Nico spent most night whats the home games that happened there, but mostly it was a quiet place - with the magical community sort of dwindling around him - though it hardly put a dampener on his love for the place.

He’d had to leave the one friend he had behind when he’d come to New Zealand, but she was being home-schooled, so he wasn’t going to see her until he went back home for the holidays. But it was okay, he would write her as often as he could. He was wandering around the open areas of Obsidian now, familiarising himself with this new space, just… getting to know the area.​

 

[Sloane Ari]

Sloane's eyes weren't looking at the front door, but a few doors down where she was eagerly watching another boy who was just drifting down the road like a paper bag in the wind. Was he usually around here or was he just visiting? Sloane didn't recognise his face but every time she tried to ignore him, the blonde turned her head once more. She felt like it was important to know what was going on around her home, and if there was someone new in the area then she needed to know about it.

She was startled out of her thoughts when the door did in fact spring open, and she smiled up towards Rory. "How long have you been home?" Sloane asked, hoping that Rory would say he'd only just got back so that Sloane wouldn't have to feel sad that he hadn't come and knocked for her earlier. Sloane never went anywhere exciting, and it was one of the reasons why she wanted to know more about where Rory had been.​

 

[Rory Styx]

Rory had never spent more than a few weeks in New Zealand at a time but despite that he had managed to make one friend through the years and spending time with Sloane had always been the best part of coming home. He beamed at her when she asked him how long he had been home. "We just got in earlier today, I was gonna come over later but now you're here so that's even better," His mum was still unpacking everything that had been kept in storage as they would actually be staying somewhat permanently in New Zealand, while he was away at school his mum would be staying put for Victoria's sake which Rory was very happy about.

 

[Eaton Jennings]

Nico wrapped his jacket a little tighter across his frame - the milder temperatures of New Zealand were still something he had to get used to. It wasn't that it was cold so much as just different. Still, it was the tail end of winter so the jacket wasn't a thick one, but it was enough to keep him warmish. He would have time to get used to the temperatures he hoped, over the time he had with New Zealand now that he was about to be starting school. He kept walking a little, looking around before he noticed a couple of kids his own age having a chat. He continued towards them, the voice of the girl seemingly familiar to him. He couldn't quite place her though and it was triggering something in the back of his mind that he knew something, or that there was something familiar about the sound of her voice, but he couldn't quite place her. Feeling an unusual boldness he headed over and looked at the girl, studying her a little. "Sorry, I'm being a bit rude staring at you but... I feel like I know your voice." he said before looking over at the boy she was talking to. "Hi, I'm Nico!"​

 

[Sloane Ari]

Sloane couldn’t imagine leaving home for long periods of time, even if she wasn’t that close to her mum it would still be strange not to be in her neighbourhood for any longer than the few days she’s would occasionally stay with her dad. The blonde was still smiling at Rory, “Okay good” she leant on the side of the door frame for a moment, “What was it like?” Sloane was intrigued and eager to know his whereabouts, and it wasn’t as though chatting on their doorsteps was unusual.

Sloane had to forcibly pull her gaze away from her friend when she heard another voice, unsure if they were being spoken to. Of course there were a few other children on their street but they didn’t talk to many of them. A boy around their own age was staring in their direction and had said something about her voice, “Me? You might do,” Sloane had never been recognised purely by her voice before, and it was a surprise to think that anyone in the real world had heard her while at work. The boy introduced himself and Sloane took a moment to think about what to say to him next, “Do you watch TV Nico?” She asked, thinking it was a good place to start.