T'was The Year Before Hogwarts

[Benjamin Davis]

Even though there was still quite a while before Benjamin would be able to grace the halls of Hogwarts Castle, he still found himself often browsing the stores of Obsidian Harbour. He wanted time to go faster, and clung to any part of the magical world that he could, since at home his parents often denied him any recognition of magic. It was a little understandable since he hadn't started learning magic yet or gotten a wand, but the fact that they made him do all of the normal things that they could easily do by magic themselves. He sighed deeply, and took a seat on a bench. He often tried to get away from the house for a few days so he wouldn't be subjected to such menial and disgusting behaviour, but more often than not he couldn't find a place to go and he refused to live outside. He yearned for the days when he attended Hogwarts and would be able to start earning a living of his own so he could rid himself of his 'parents'.

 

[Grayson Wolfe]

Grayson and Jasmine had jumped at the chance to follow their father to Obsidian harbour. While he met some of his old school friends in the leaky cauldron the twins would be able to explore and poke their noses in some of the shops. Sure Grayson would prefer to be looking around alone, without his annoying sister following him around, but of course his father wouldn't allow that. Once they arrived the twins were quick to leave their father behind and make their way away from the Leaky Cauldron and over to the other shops. Once they were out of the sight of their father Grayson turned to his sister and grinned. "See that boy on the bench? Race you to him," Grayson smirked, knowing his sister would never turn down a challenge from him.

 

[Jasmine Wolfe]

Jasmine was entirely bored sitting at home on her own and she wandered from room to room trying to find something interesting to occupy her time when she came across her father who seemed to be getting ready for something. She shot him a quizzical look and asked him what he was doing. It turned out that he was visiting Obsidian Harbour that afternoon so, naturally, Jasmine and her twin brother, Grayson begged him to take them with him. He eventually agreed as long as the two siblings would stick together. Jasmine rolled her eyes, she didn't want to be stuck with her brother all afternoon. She was perfectly capable of navigating around the harbour on her own now, after all, she was eleven years old, more than old enough in her eyes.

She followed her father to the Leaky Cauldron where they said their goodbye's and then the twins were alone and were allowed to do, pretty much, whatever they wanted. She placed her hands on her hips and looked around for somewhere to start the afternoon. However, Grayson had other ideas and decided to challenge Jasmine to a race, which was foolish really since he would always lose. "You're on!" she replied enthusiastically. "Get ready to lose" she smirked as she immediately set off to where the boy was sitting.

 

[Benjamin Davis]

Benjamin didn't have very much time to think before he saw some people in the distance running towards him, they looked to be related and he had noticed the male running towards him. Was this a contest? See who could annoy him first, maybe? Well, either way, he wouldn't be taking it very lightly and he hoped that they had a good explanation for their childish behaviour. Even though he was very much a child himself, he liked to think of himself a little bit more grown up than the rest of them. With a sigh, he elected to ignore them as they got closer to him. He didn't have the time or the interest in their shenanigans, and even though he did find himself wanting friends, he sure as hell didn't want to make friends with people as uncivilised as these two.

 

[Grayson Wolfe]

Grayson smirked as Jasmine seemed up for his little challenge. He wasn't surprised, his sister was just as competitive as he was which was good when he was in the mood to prove his superiority. "Dream on," He responded to her comment, there was no way he would lose, not to his sister. Once they agreed on where they were running to Grayson set off leaving Jasmine standing but it didn't take her long to start and she quickly caught up, as usual he had forgotten how fast she actually was. It would be close. Both twins put their hands on the bench within seconds of each other and Grayson couldn't be sure who did it first, there was only one person would could help. "Which of us got here first?" Grayson asked the boy. Hopefully he wouldn't pick Jasmine because she was a girl and he found her cute or whatever.

 

[Jasmine Wolfe]

It didn't take long for Jasmine to catch up with her brother, they were both just as fast as each other and it was going to be a close one to call. She was pleased that there was a boy on the bench that the twins didn't know so he could judge the winner without any bias. She reached out for the bench at the same time as Grayson, though, probably a second earlier and placed her hands on her hips while she tried to catch her breath. "Yeah, who do you think won? It was obviously me right?" she said playfully winking at the boy.

 

[Benjamin Davis]

Benjamin raised an eyebrow when the two of them spoke to him. He didn't understand what he had done to deserve this, why were they getting up in his face? With a sigh, he shot them a filthy look, and considered just getting up and walking away. He wasn't interested in making friends, especially not with filthy commoners like them. They didn't interest him, not even in the slightest, and it was clear to him at a glance that they had nothing interesting to offer him. "Who cares?" He told them, an ice cold chill in his voice. He had no interest in their little games, and woudn't act as some stupid little judge. He had better things to do.

 

[Faust Treadway]

The thought of finally starting at Hogwarts in the next year was one Faust constantly had on his mind, too bored of being at home, unable to learn and use magic like his parents could, unless one of them left their wands unattended. After his last attempt at waving around his father's, which ended in two broken windows and a small fire, he'd resigned to the fact he would need to wait until he could have his own, one that listened to him. But it was still too far away. He would be eleven in a few short months, yet it would be many more until Hogwarts opened their doors to him. If only he'd been born a few months sooner.

The opportunity to visit Obsidian Harbor was a rare one. As his parents, despite both being magical, chose to live in a muggle dominant city. The majority of Faust's friends were muggle children who lived in his neighbourhood, whereas he lacked any magical friends. Of course, he'd met a few once or twice, just never any he saw often enough to really befriend or keep in contact with. Nor did he have a way to contact them, until now. The boy's parents had given in to his repeated asking for a pet of his own, and now he walked through the harbor with a small boobook owl sitting on top of his head, happily nested in his mess of hair. Since he'd purchased it earlier in the day, he hadn't been able to pry it off, but by now he didn't mind it. He just hoped it would deliver his mail when he needed it to. Now all he needed was someone to actually send letters to.

Stopping by the side of the cobbled street, Faust watched as two kids roughly his age ran across to a nearby seat, to meet someone he initially assumed was their friend. It became evidently clear he was not, in fact, either of their friends. He was a ****. Why did some people feel the need to act that way? He probably had no real friends, and it was his own fault. "You did." Faust offered helpfully to the girl instead, hoping to diffuse the situation early rather than let a rude remark ruin their fun.​

 

[Grayson Wolfe]

Grayson had been hoping the boy on the bench would declare him the winner of the little race, but rather than pick him, or even pick Jasmine, he had decided he was too good to take part in their game. Was he not their age? Why was he so against them acting like their age? "We care, it matters to us, don't be so rude," Grayson said feeling rather defensive. When a second boy turned up and decided to pick a winner Grayson soon changed his tune when the boy decided that Jasmine was the winner. "What? That's insane! I beat her easily," Grayson demanded, though not entirely confident in the fact he he had won, but how dare someone imply he hadn't.

 

[Jasmine Wolfe]

Jasmine's face screwed up when the boy on the bench dismissed the outcome of their race so easily. "We care!" she said, frowning and stamping her foot "now who won?" she demanded, pushing the boy's shoulder. The race was a serious thing and the boy wasn't taking it seriously enough for Jasmine's liking. Who did he think he was, disregarding the twins attempt at potentially making friends with him. Well, Jasmine definitely didn't want to be friends with the boy anymore. He was very rude and someone that she did not want to associate with. She was close to grabbing Grayson and leaving the boy to be miserable on his own when another person who looked around their own age joined them. She smiled gratefully when they boy announced her as the winner of the race. "YES! I knew it! See Gray, I am faster than you!" she teased, sticking her tongue out at her brother. "Thanks!" Jasmine said smiling at the new boy that had joined them. "That wasn't so hard was it?" she fired at the horrible boy on the bench.

 

[Benjamin Davis]

Benjamin was unfazed by their insistence that he give in and actually care about their stupid childish games. If they wanted to do something like that, they could take it somewhere else. He was, on the other hand, slightly annoyed by the arrival of a third boy, who also seemed to be judging him as if he knew who he was and what he had been through. He shook his head in mock disdain. They were nothing compared to him and they would never understand what he had been through. He couldn't contain himself, however, when the girl pushed him to try and get him to conform to their game.

Who did she think she was, laying her hands on him? What gave her the right? She was all tough around her brother and this newcomer, but he would show her soon enough that she should regret such actions. Standing up, in one swift motion he pushed her brother out of the way and pushed her back, hard. He watched her fall to the ground and slide a little bit away, and he returned to his seat, throwing both of the others a look that told them not to mess with him. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty and teach them a lesson.

 

[Faust Treadway]

The male of the two, who looked alike enough to be siblings, didn't seem too happy about being declared the loser. If he'd beaten her as easily as he thought, they wouldn't have had to ask, surely. The girl on the other hand, seemed ecstatic. "Sorry, but she just beat you. Better luck next time." Faust said with a small smile and a light shrug of his shoulders. He'd been close, but not close enough. Faust was about to suggest they have another race to determine the best out of three, when in an almost instantaneous turn of events, the third boy got up and shoved both siblings. Hitting a girl was always one of the number one rules Treadway had been taught growing up, and this kid had broken that without a second thought. Of course, maybe the girl shouldn't have pushed him, but her actions were lighter by comparison. "Woah, you can't just do that to someone." The situation had escalated quickly, and he didn't know how to deal with it. Stepping at a safe distance away from the anti-social loser, not wanting to end up in the same predicament, Faust offered to help the fallen girl up, extending his hand for her to take if she needed it.
​

 

[Grayson Wolfe]

"You're just saying that because she's a girl," Grayson grumbled and rolled his eyes. The matter of who beat who soon became irrelevant when the rude kid pushed Jasmine and she hit the ground. Grayson's gaze snapped from his sister to the boy who had casually sat back down as if he had done nothing wrong. "You dare put your hands on my sister?!" Grayson's voice croaked slightly as he raised his voice. He couldn't let the boy get away with doing that to Jasmine. He stood before the boy, who looked as calm and casual as he could be. He pulled back his fist and buried it into the boys cheek.

 

[Jasmine Wolfe]

The boy was infuriating, why was he being so difficult? Jasmine couldn't understand it or him, at all and she didn't think she wanted to. She had half a mind to grab her brother (and perhaps the newcomer) and find somewhere nicer to go, a place far away from the arrogant boy. Before she had chance to suggest moving somewhere else the horrible boy stood up and pushed her over. It happened so fast that Jasmine didn't have time to react and she lost her footing and fell backwards and scraped her hands on the concrete behind her. Almost instantly, Gray reacted and punched the boy in the face. She was grateful for her brother for doing that and grateful to the new boy for protesting what had just happened and the fact that he tried to help her up. She took the boy's hand and jumped up from the ground and wiped her hands together, they were only beeding a little bit. She narrowed her eyes, ran and jumped on the back of the horrible boy. Grayson seemed to have the front covered so she decided to get the back. There was no way he was going to get away with pushing her brother out the way and pushing her onto the floor.