Open The year has barely began...

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter had found Harper this morning, occasionally the two of them found each other early in the morning to run together, it almost became a routine for him. Since last year Hunter had focused a little more on exercising again and even though he did not much more besides the morning runs he had to admit that they were starting to have some effect in him.
He was running alongside Harper, they weren't racing at least not yet and they had been talking for a while since they got out of the castle. Apparently Harper had a fair share of drama in the dorms and the year hadn't even started properly a story that Hunter didn't fully hear as he sometimes zoned out but that from what he heard it had something to do with curtains. "Ok, changing the subject to a happier one I hope. How was your break?" he asked the Gryffindor girl.

 

[Harper Alston]

The day was young and the world was wide. Even though the weather was a bit brisk, Harper felt at peace. It was nice to just run alongside a friend, catching up. For once, she and Hunter were not racing, just chatting as they jogged at an easy pace. She had been telling him about her first night back in the castle and all the drama that had gone down in the dorms, when he suggested changing the subject. "Hey, you're the one who asked," Harper laughed. She couldn't quite remember how they'd come upon the topic, but she was pretty sure he had started it.

Nevertheless, Harper was eager to change topics. She didn't really want to dwell on the events of Blake's disastrous dorm decoration party any longer. "It was nice! Thankfully, my sister makes for a much less dramatic roommate," she couldn't help but joke. Unfortunately, her sister also insisted on forcing Harper to play dress-up with her. "I made the mistake of telling her mermaids are real, and now she's convinced she's secretly a mermaid," she said, giving Hunter an accusatory look. He was the one who'd told Harper about mermaids.

What else? Harper thought back to her break, which had passed by far too quickly. "I played a lot of football. And won," she added with a grin. "And I caught up with some of my old friends. Nothing too exciting." That really just about summed it up — playing sports and hanging out with friends. She wouldn't have wanted to spend her break any other way. "What about you? How was your break?"

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter had to admit that Harper presented a point, he did ask but he wouldn't have if she didn't look like she needed to vent. Anyway he was happy to play the role of supporting friend and hear her out "Honestly thank Merlin my roommates don't remember that. I love a good welcome party as anyone but it would be a hard pass on the drama" he said to her as he kept running.
The Hufflepuff boy just laughed at Harper's comment about her sister, thankfully Hunter never shared a room and never had to deal with younger siblings a thing that seemed to be about to change but he wasn't certain of that yet. "Well I mostly just sipped hot chocolate and watched the rain through the window." he said chuckling a bit, Hunter still couldn't understand why they had to be back home during the winter. "Ah I also ran into Emmaline and her sister in Wellington" he said to the Gryffindor girl who shared a dorm with Emmaline so Harper probably knew who she was, he was sure she knew, after all she also seemed to be present at the dorm during the whole curtain thing.
Hunter wasn't sure if he should tell Harper the next thing but he just went for it "Oh and...I think my moms are thinking of adopting kids. I'm a biological kid from one of them, not adopted, but this time they are wanting to adopt a kid, a girl to be more specific" he told Harper "I don't know how to feel about this" he added with a sigh. He knew that people went through midlife crisis but from that to adopting a kid was a huge step.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper smiled as Hunter described his winter break. "Sounds cozy." She could really go for some hot chocolate right now. Maybe she could convince Hunter to grab a cup with her after their adventure. Her thoughts were interrupted when he mentioned that he'd met up with one of her roommates. "I didn't know you and Emmaline knew each other." Harper tended to divide her friends into categories. There was the Gryffindor girl group, her Hufflepuff running buddies, friends from back home, football teammates, etc. It was always nice to discover overlap between the various groups. "Is there a large magical community in Wellington?"

If Harper had been surprised to hear that Hunter and Emmaline knew each other, that was nothing compared to her surprise at Hunter's next statement. She slowed down for a split second as she absorbed Hunter's news before picking up her pace to match his. "Wow, that's huge." Siblings (and getting more siblings) were nothing new to Harper. After all, she had four of them. But her mum having another baby was different than adopting a new, and potentially older, child. "How do you know they're thinking of adopting? Have you talked to them about it?" she asked, remembering that he'd said he thought his moms were considering adoption. She was also hoping her questions would let her get a better read on how Hunter was feeling. It was hard to see his face since they were still running, but their destination — the Forbidden Forest — was rapidly approaching. Maybe once they slowed down she could get a better sense of where his head was at.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter forgot that most people weren't aware of his friendship with Emmaline so he kind of regretex to feed Harper with that information, he knew that he would either tell her the whole truth or she would start imagining things "Yeah we went to the Yule Ball together last year" he said blushing a little. He was running so his face was a little red already so hopefully Harper didn't caught him blushing. "I honestly don't know but I guess?" he said presuming that most people in school would be from new zealand and being Wellington the capital of the country it was likely that there would be more people there and therefore more wizards too.

Hunter noticed Harper getting a little behind but he didn't wait, he figured that not making a big deal out of it would stop Harper from also making it a big deal. "Yeah they talked to me about it, they say they will send an owl if they reach a decision" he told her. He was not really looking forward to have a younger sibling running around the house using and breaking his things, he couldn't even possibly think of an older sibling who would probably be a lot more popular than Hunter and steal all his friends but Hunter didn't want want to sound selfish so he said he was okay with whatever his moms' decision was "I told them I thought it was a great idea and they should go for it. Don't want them to blame me for not having more kids" he said, this last sentence almost in a whisper. Hunter arrived at what seemed an entrance to the forbidden forest and stop but decided to wait for Harper's decision on what to do next.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper had just assumed that Hunter and Emmaline were friends, nothing more. But then Hunter decided to clarify things. "Oh, so you really know her," she said, grinning. He looked a bit red, but she couldn't tell whether that was from the running or embarrassment. Regardless, Harper decided to file away this piece of gossip so that she could tease him later. The boy had an enormous ego, and she figured a bit of good-natured teasing could be useful in knocking him down a couple of pegs.

"Makes sense," Harper said in response to his Wellington comment. After all, Hogwarts, Obsidian Harbour, and Brightstone were all nearby. Still, she had to wonder where the Auckland magical community lived. Surely one existed; she couldn't be the only witch from that area. She imagined it would be nice to be able to stay in closer touch with the magical world during her breaks.

Harper listened carefully as Hunter explained the adoption situation. It almost sounded like it was a done deal if his mums were planning on sending an owl soon with the decision. Her heart fell at his last words, but before she could do anything, they'd arrived at the forest. Moving swiftly, Harper strode into the forest, motioning for him to follow. "C'mon, let's get out of the treeline before anyone sees us." The way they'd planned it, they were supposed to just slip into the forest while on one of their morning runs. They often ran along the forest's edge, so it hopefully wouldn't look too suspicious if anyone saw them near the forest this morning. But stopping just outside the entrance would definitely arouse suspicion.

Once the forest had swallowed them up, Harper slowed her pace and turned to face Hunter. "They would never blame you for that," she said softly. She'd never met his mums, but from brief mentions in past conversations, they sounded nice. Besides, parents — at least in her experience — didn't really put all that much stock in their kids' desires when making big life decisions. Her own parents had never asked her for her thoughts before having her younger siblings. Granted, she'd been fairly young at the time, but even now, she wouldn't really expect her parents to consult her if they decided to have another child. If Hunter's parents really wanted to adopt another child, Harper had a feeling they would go through with it regardless of his feelings.

"You should tell them how you actually feel though," Harper said. "It probably won't change things, but at least they'll be more prepared when they decide. It's better they know now than later." It was rich advice coming from her, the girl who sometimes felt overlooked in favor of her siblings but refused to voice her feelings to her parents. Her concerns had always felt so trivial, something she shouldn't bother her parents with especially since they were always so busy. Harper pushed the thoughts of hypocrisy from her mind. Hunter's situation was completely different from her own, she told herself.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter cringed at Harper's comment "I can say I do?" he said not really sure if that was the wisest response "Please don't go imagining things" he said chuckling a bit, something that Harper was already doing most likely.
He followed her into the forest, the light seemed to dim a lot, it was like it was some kind of haunted forest but Hunter tried to ignore that fact focusing only on the awesome creatures he could find, hopefully.
The Hufflepuff boy guessed that Harper was indeed right, they probably wouldn't blame him but had to disagree with Harper's point of view. It would change things. As their only child their moms only put him first always taking his opinion in consideration so if he actually told them that he was hella scared about having a sibling that would probably make his moms have second thoughts about the whole situation. "Well, if I told them that I'm not ready to share my things, not ready to say goodbye to peaceful evenings, not ready to compromise about where we are having dinner because of some kidand definitely not ready to come in first like I always do, that would make me selfish" he said to the girl "For eleven year I grew up as an only child. They are basically asking me if I'm okay with turning my whole world upside down. Not to mention that the kid they will adopt will also be magical and eventually come to Hogwarts and steal the only thing that is actually mine. It would be hilarious if they happened to be a Hufflepuff too" he said sarcastically, not really looking forward to start sharing all these things.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper shook her head as Hunter described the things he didn't want to give up. "I don't think that makes you selfish. It makes you..." she searched for the right word before finally settling on "...normal." She definitely didn't enjoy it when one of her older brothers swiped the bag of lollies she'd been saving or her little sister decided that the figurines on her football trophies would look better with pink lipstick. Life could be a bit crazy at her house, and she could understand how it might be stressful for someone who wasn't used to it.

A year ago, Harper would have agreed with Hunter that sharing a school with a sibling was not ideal. She had been so thrilled to head off to Hogwarts, a place where no one would know her as Fletcher's or Everett's little sister. But it had only taken a few days before she realized she missed them terribly, especially Fletcher who had been her best friend. Anytime she discovered something new about the magical world, she found herself instinctively turning to tell him about it, but he was never there. Over the break, she'd carefully looked for signs of magic with her two younger siblings, hoping they too had somehow ended up muggleborns, but she had come up empty-handed.

"I get that," Harper said slowly after Hunter was done. "I used to really like having Hogwarts to myself, but then it got kind of... lonely. Yeah, siblings are annoying, but it's nice knowing there's always someone who has my back. Or someone I can go bother," she said with a small smile. She wasn't really sure how to properly describe what having siblings was like. She'd been born a sister, and it was all she'd ever known. Life without her brothers and sister was incomprehensible. "If your mums adopt and if the kid is magical and if they go to Hogwarts and if they end up in Hufflepuff — " They were dealing with a lot of "ifs" here and Harper wasn't sure it was all that productive to worry about a hypothetical worst case scenario, "— then I think things will actually be worse for them since you'll be the older sibling. The poor kid will have to deal with everyone knowing them as 'Hunter Robinson the Great's Little Sister' or 'Hunter Robinson the Great's Little Brother,'" she joked. She couldn't believe she was actually feeding his ego — and she knew she would probably regret doing so later — but it seemed like he needed some serious comforting.

"I still think you should tell your mums about all this," Harper said. "If they adopt, they can probably figure out how to arrange things so it's not as chaotic as you're imagining." She still thought his mums would go through with it, even if he voiced his concerns. Adults never listened to kids for decisions like this. But she had to admit his parents even consulting him about this was promising. And he obviously knew them better than she did.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter couldn't help but smile a little as Harper said he was normal. He knew that being as selfish as he was being wasn't okay but the fact that other people, like Harper, wouldn't blame him for feeling that way made it all a little better, not good, just better.
The Hufflepuff boy was actually also scared about the kid his moms could adopt, what if he or her was a huge troublemaker? Or maybe it was a problematic kid? Maybe a criminal? He had no idea but he knew that they would lose the balance they have at home and his new normal would be a house full of screams and running around and zero attention towards him.
Hunter teased Harper "Oh so this is you not bothering me?" he said sarcastically, the truth was that Harper had never bothered him, actually she was a nice company and for some reason he would see himself opening up a lot to her.
Hunter did have to admit that if his sibling would enroll at Hogwarts while he was still there is was more than likely that Hunter was the most popular one, making his sibling only known as 'Hunter's sibling' but then suddenly he interrupted his train of thoughts "Wait did you just called me great?!" he asked to Harper shocked. He would never have guessed that she would say something like that, it was actually sweet but instead of admitting that the Hufflepuff boy decided to keep teasing her "Wait, let me record this. Can you say that again?" he said laughing and pretending that he was going to take out from his bag a recording device.
He nodded his head at Harper in agreement but quickly decided to change the subject to why they were there "So now that we are here...what's the plan?" he asked unsure of what to do.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper laughed. "Trust me, if I really wanted to bother you, you'd know it." She liked to think she was the least bothersome younger sibling in the world, but she knew Everett probably thought otherwise. She had been relentless in forcing him to include her and Fletcher in all of his plans. Hopefully Hunter's new sibling wouldn't be anything like her or Fletcher.

The regret was instantaneous. As she had expected, Hunter immediately latched onto the word "great," and she knew he'd make sure she never forgot her words. Harper rolled her eyes. "Don't make me punch you," she muttered, but she smiled. He seemed to be in a better mood, and that was all that mattered. Besides, despite his ego and tendency to cheat at every race ever, he could be pretty great — not that she'd ever say that out loud again. That was why he was one of her best friends. Harper waved away his imaginary recording device. "Too late, should've been faster," she said airily.

Harper wasn't entirely convinced Hunter would take her advice, but she knew better than to press him on it. She'd said all she could, and it was up to him to figure out the next step. She was also kind of grateful for the change in subject. That had been the most honest conversation of their friendship so far, and it had felt a bit like walking on a tightrope. Now they were on much more familiar ground.

"I don't know about you, but I want to meet a centaur," Harper said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Ever since Lillith had mentioned seeing a centaur while running by the forest, Harper had rerouted her own runs to pass by the forest. "So Mr. Magical Creatures Expert, how do we find one?" For the first time since they'd entered the forest, she had a proper look around. It looked like any other ordinary forest, just lots of trees and brush. It was hard to imagine a centaur or other magical creature living here.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter was a bit surprised that Harper relied on him to find a centaur but he liked that. He was building a reputation and that amused him, especially because it was a good one but unfortunately he did not have much on centaurs. "Well..." he said, dragging the word to maybe prepare the Gryffindor girl for the fact that they might not see one.
The Hufflepuff boy tried to remind himself of any useful information he read in his books at home but nothing was coming to his mind besides the basic information, making him regret not to read those books again or maybe even bring them with him to Hogwarts. "Theoretically there's supposed to be a colony of them in here but it's a lot more complex than that" he said getting deeper in the woods with Harper "The colony should be a lot more into the forest but we might not actually see it. Even if we do find it, centaurs have their own methods of concealment and besides, they like to avoid contact with people as they are not really fond of humans" he added, pretty sure that it was all he could remember that could be useful at the moment. "You'll see a centaur IF they wanna be seen" he told the girl hoping that he wasn't crushing her dreams "Did you know they are masters in divination, healing magic and astronomy? Not to mention that they are great with a bow and arrows" he added, this one was just to brag.

(OOC: if a centaur wants to join that would be awesome!)

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper listened carefully as Hunter explained what centaurs were like. They were going deeper into the forest, and it was cooler here, which was a nice change after their run. She was surprised to hear that there was an entire colony of centaurs in the woods. "How big is a normal colony?" It almost sounded like there was an entire civilization located in the forest, which she supposed shouldn't be all that shocking. After all, the existence of Obsidian Harbour and Brightstone and all those other wizarding cities proved that entire worlds could be hidden away in plain sight. "How far do you think these woods stretch?" She now wished she'd thought to Google Maps the area around Hogwarts over the break.

Harper frowned slightly as Hunter mentioned that centaurs weren't normally fond of humans. That, coupled with the fact that they were great at archery, wasn't especially reassuring. "Why wouldn't they like humans? Aren't they half-human?" She wasn't super familiar with Greek mythology, but she thought she remembered stories about centaurs and humans interacting. "I guess if we meet one, we just have to hope they're in a good mood. I'd rather get my fortune told than be shot at," she joked. Though she was slightly more worried than before, she wasn't concerned enough to stop. Professor Carter had taken them into the forest once for class. He wouldn't have done that if the forest was truly dangerous, right?

 

[Cecras]

As he understood it, Hogwarts had recently begun a new school year. A time when young witches and wizards most commonly entered their territory. The Forbidden Forest as they called it was filled with wonder and curiosity that naturally the young ones were compelled to explore. Normally they were stopped at the boundary yet it appeared that two young students had ventured further than most this morning. Cecras had heard the distinctly human sound of a young witch and wizard. He stretched out his legs, remaining hidden as they traveled further into the forest where it was not safe for them. The children seemed unaware of the dangers ahead of them.

Concerned for their safety, Cecras emerged from the shadows slowly, facing the two students. "Forest blessings upon you young ones this morning. I understand that students aren't allowed in the forest yet here you are far from the boundary line." He said slowly, "Peaceful as the forest may be at the moment, be cautious as not all creatures who lurk here are good."