You've got 'owl' mail

[Hemi Te Rua]

Magical folk didn't understand how the absence of technology was considerably inconvenient for Hemi. The eleven year old muggle-born child had mysteriously left his parents home for a school which was inconceivable to them and they had not heard from him since. He expected them to be worried and he wanted to contact them to let them know he was safe. The easy solution would’ve been email, which he couldn't do! All was not lost however, the wizarding world did have a system for sending letters referred to as ‘Owl Post’. It was significantly less convenient than email, involving Hemi climbing what felt like a gazillion steps to the Owlery where he was greeted with an unpleasant musty smell and a choice of sleeping Owls to wake.

Hemi had already written his letter which read;

“Dear Parents, I’m safe at my new school. Sorry I couldn’t email, they don’t have it here and wizards send letters via owl’s just like this one. I know that sounds crazy but it’s true. I’m missing home heaps. Love from Hemi”

He was going to end with a series of X’s but changed his mind last minute.

Hemi was in the process of selecting an owl for the journey when a breeze rushed through the exposed Owlery. The breeze was strong enough to blow the letter out of Hemi's hands and down the spiral staircase. He sighed, advancing to the stairs to retrieve his letter.

 

[Cairo Savage]

Being a tired, introverted kid that found more joy in reading books than writing them meant Cairo rarely sent owls. That task had usually been reserved for Rome, the more social of the two because unlike him, she always had something to say. Cairo was the more tight lipped twin, choosing not to speak unless he wanted to say something valuable. The same could not be said for Rome, because not once in Cairo's life had he ever experienced his sister at a loss for words. Rome never failed to shut her mouth at the worst of times so he naturally assumed she had been keeping their family updated on their progress at school. However, after learning during breakfast that neither he or Rome had sent an owl to their family this year, Cairo had dragged himself to the owlery against his better judgement with a newly written letter in hand, knowing that if Rome wasn't going to contact their family he would be found responsible for not taking up the task.

Cairo rubbed some sleep from his eyes and yawned quietly as he ascended the stairs to the owlery, though stopped in his tracks when someone else's letter flew in his direction. He caught it and continued towards the owlery with a puzzled expression that only changed when he noticed another student and assumed the stay letter belonged to them. "If this is your letter, I suggest you try to be more careful, so you don't lose them in the future." He held the letter towards the kid, his expression showing more annoyance than anything because even after finishing breakfast and trekking to the owlery, Cairo was still too tired to muster enough patience to tolerate other people. "Not everyone is nice enough to catch a letter for you."​

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

Hemi jumped, he had not seen or heard anyone coming until this boy was right in front of him. His eyes averted to his stray letter which he caught. "You caught it!" He smiled, "Thanks, it was pretty windy up there and caught me off guard. I've never sent a letter using an owl before so I didn't expect it." He forced a laugh, "Thanks again though. Uh - Can I have my letter back?"

 

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo could not have cared less about the other boys reasons for loosing the letter. He was more focused on his own agenda of sending an owl to his family rather than anything that had to do with the Gryffindor boy standing in front of him to be entirely honest, and the fact he had been delayed in his own task of sending an owl due to the other boy's inability to hold a letter in his hands through a breeze only added to his already tired and slightly annoyed mind. He scoffed as the boy laughed however instead of choosing to give the letter back like he should have, Cairo scrunched it in his hands and smiled slightly. "Actually, I just remembered that I'm not someone who's nice enough to catch your letter." He said as he scrunched the parchment further between his palms.​

<i></i>

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

Well Hemi didn't want the note back now that it had been damaged. He was not annoyed that his letter home was crumpled, because he could easily write another. No, Hemi was annoyed because the Slytherin had needlessly crumbled it in the first place. Hemi wasn't going to let him get away with it. If he let him get away with it then the Slytherin wins, and it's never okay to let a bully win.

"What did you do that for? He exclaimed, pushing the the boys chest firmly with both hands. It was the best he could think of since he didn't know any hex's yet. "That's private property!"

 

[Rome Savage]

Rome had been left to her own devices that morning, it hadn't been particularly difficult to be alone, but she was feeling pretty tired and she just wanted to figure out where her twin had gotten to. She'd managed to then, blend some of her searching with just plain exploring and then eventually she made it up to the Owlery, which she hadn't wanted to enter just because of the muck, but she did, and just in time to watch some boy shove her brother. She noticed in Cairo's hand was a letter, surely that was the other boy's letter, "What are you doing?" she stepped over to them hurried, placing herself directly in front of her twin and very much in the other boy's personal space, "Don't you touch him," she snarled at him, she was the older one of the two, it was her duty to protect him, and she wasn't going to let some kid push her brother.
​

 

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo was almost surprised when the other boy pushed him slightly. He had assumed the other boy would have been what he was used to; a pushover. Someone that held their annoyance to his actions behind their teeth. In some sort of twisted way Cairo wanted to applaud them for giving him reaction that was not entirely boring like the rest of the first years had. But he of course had no chance to even smile wider at the reaction before Rome intervened and stood up for him exactly how he expected her to. "Yeah, what are you doing?" Cairo repeated his sister's words as he leaned to his sister's side in an attempt to mock the Gryffindor so he could hopefully gain more entertainment from their interesting reaction.​

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

Hemi wasn't sure what he thought pushing the boy would achieve but it certainly wasn't this. He suddenly found himself outnumbered and the one in the wrong. He shouldn't have pushed him and Hemi knew it.

"Okay," Hemi said, taking a step back and putting his hands up defensively. "He scrunched up my letter, that's all." Hemi mummbled, it sounded ridiculous even to himself. "My parents aren't wizards and I've not been able to contact them." Hemi should stop talking, he could tell by both the twins expressions that they weren't the sympathetic types.

 

[Rome Savage]

Rome was glad when her brother seemed to agree with what she was saying, and without even glancing at him, she knew they were on the same page about this, like they were with most things. She looked at the boy and just smirked as he put his arms up defensively, and then when he explained that he was muggleborn her smirk seemed to strengthen, "I don't see any letter belonging to you, all I see is my twin's letter to our parents," she told him, not even looking at the boy, sure that the letter was his but wasn't going to back down ever, "It's ours, so why don't you just scram," she tried to take a small step towards him, just to make herself look more threatening so that he would hopefully just run away, "I think you should leave," she lowered her voice slightly, just trying to make sure he didn't stick around although hoping that he would so that they would be able to have more fun.
​

 

[Cairo Savage]

When the other boy admitted his parents were not wizards, Cairo felt intrigued. He had experienced encounters with clueless muggle borns before, however that had been in obsidian harbor in the back to school shopping rush. When his priorities were to buy his own school supplies rather than helping a stranger when they asked the most pointless questions that he couldn't even begin to answer. Though regardless of the setting change to something less crowded, Cairo had a feeling this muggle born boy was equally as clueless as the many others he had met at obsidian harbor had been. He decided to mess with the other boy a little longer, and immediately shushed Rome so he could do so. "Shhhh, sister. Can't you see? He clearly does not know how things work around here." He stepped forward, holding his hand towards his twin so she would stop threatening the kid and hopefully go along with his scheme like he always followed hers. "Do you think we should clue him in on how the magical world works? Starting with Owlery etiquette, of course." Cairo attempted to smile reassuringly at the Gryffindor, to make sure he did not scram like Rome had demanded moments ago.​

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

The Owlery had become very tense very quickly. Hemi had only come here to send a letter and now he had to deal with Slytherin’s! It only reiterated his point that emails were much more convenient.

Just when he thought things were escalating, he was ordered to leave by the girl. Hemi tried his best to keep his expression neutral but was delighted to hear that they wanted him gone. The Gryffindor had already planned what he was going to do. He was going to leave without a word, return to his own Common Room, rewrite his letter, and make his way back to the Owlery long after the twin’s had gone. It was perfect, and now it was time to put his plan into action.

He nodded obediently, taking a step to pass Rome, which was instantly blocked by Cairo moving beside her and suddenly Hemi felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. They weren't going to let him past that easy! He would put up more of a fight if he wasn’t outnumbered by a girl who looked about ready to tear his head off and a boy who wanted to show him how things worked at Hogwarts (and not good things like how to play Quidditch). That said, Hemi was definitely more afraid of the girl than he was the boy.

"Wha-" Hemi cleared his throat, "What do you mean Owlery etiquette?"

 

[Rome Savage]

Rome looked round at her brother as he told her to sssh, she wasn't so interested in really keeping this other boy there, after all, she had seen him shove her brother, and Rome wasn't having any of that, her hands were tightly bunched up into fists. She was ready to punch the boy, but as her brother spoke, and she began picking up on his signals, she gave him a small smile and then glanced back at the boy who was in front of them. Of course if this was her brother's idea she wasn't sure what she would need to do, since she had no clue where to go with it, but she glanced at her brother and nodded, "I think we should," she told him with a slight nod, just as the kid, whose letter she knew that Cairo probably had and smirked slightly at him, taking an ever so slight step to be directly in front of him again, "Oh you don't know Owlery etiquette?" she asked, in a tone that suggested that if he didn't, she wasn't going to be happy about it, "I guess we're going to have to teach him brother," she continued, "Filthy mudbloods being let into this school is bad enough, and they don't teach them how to act within, how terrible, but I guess we now get to do the honours," she basically snarled at the boy, making sure to be right in his personal space, stood tall and not once glancing away.
​

 

[Cairo Savage]

"Rome, please. No mudblood cracks until later." He half-pleaded, half joked before turning to the other boy, his fake reassuring smile still lingering. "Owlery etiquette. It's simple." He began, "One of the most important things you should know, is not to piss off the owls. They do bite. Especially that one." He pointed to a black owl perched above one of the windows, lacing the truth with his lies in his attempt to sound more believable. It was no secret that Owls could bite when angered though he had no idea if that particular owl had bitten students before. "The next thing you should know, is that finders, keepers. Lose your letters and the person who finds it gets to do with it what they wish. So it's a good idea to keep hold of them, especially if they have secrets, stuff you don't want spread around the school. Someone could find the letter and tell everyone. We don't want that now, do we?" He queried, stepping so he was standing by the Gryffindor's side. "The last, but not the least thing you should know, is to never go to the owlery after dinner. There's a troll that sleeps here every night and he doesn't take kindly to visitors." Cairo finished, wrapping his arm around the Gryffindor's shoulders in a manner that seemed friendly although it was anything but. Anyone who knew anything about the owlery would know that Cairo's words were far from true, but it was this kid's ignorance that he was playing on. "Just don't screw up again, my friend, and you will be fine." He concluded.​

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

Mudblood? What on earth was a mudblood? Hemi gave the girl a confused look but didn't ask what it meant. It was obvious to him that it's intention was derogatory and if it came to it, he'd just pretend to know what she was talking about.

Hemi looked to the bitey owl, that was surprising helpful advice from the Slytherin, he made a mental note to avoid that particular one in future. Perhaps he genuinely was trying to help Hemi get a better understanding, he was continually holding back his sister from abuse after all.

He might be worth listening to.

It went on, Hemi didn't agree with the finder, keepers mentality but if it was Owlery etiquette then he'd have to accept. He nodded to show that he understood.

It was the last one which worried him, "A troll?" Hemi queried, "But, where does it go in the daytime?" He needed to know these thing, they were important! Hemi winced when the boy put his hands on his shoulders, it wasn't supposed to be friendly and Hemi knew it.

 

[Rome Savage]

Rome for once really didn't understand where her brother was going for this, and why he wasn't just letting her threaten him in an almost blind fashion. Not caring about what might happen, this boy had a cheek to try to push her brother, she was having none of that, she didn't care about what was right, but at his words she took the smallest step away from the other boy, and just looked at her brother, who seemed to want to play this a little game, make him play with this boy, make him believe things that just weren't true. She wasn't like that, not when someone threatened her brother in any way. She was a little more brutal than him, and she didn't trust anyone but him, it was in her interest to protect him, Rome let him continue listening along, and realising that this plan that he was probably better than her one to just hit him in the face. Which wasn't what Cairo wanted to do. She nodded along with him, and then at the boy's reaction, she had to hide a small smile, "Oh they keep him in the dungeons during the day, that's why those corridors are so dark and damp," she told him, with a friendly tone she didn't usual exhibit at all, "We're just helping you, you should be very careful," she told him, "It's probably a good thing my brother found you, can't have Hogwarts losing another student so soon after the last one," she reached out, and hovered her hand at his shoulder, where others might've touched his shoulder, the hover was enough for to express that she was providing him comfort when she really wasn't. Her entire body had seemed to relax as if she no longer wanted to threaten him, and had merely just been very concerned for her brother.
​

 

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo maintained a straight expression however there was no denying he felt glad when Rome managed to calm down and follow along with his plan. In a moment's notice he did not expect her to change her threatening behavior to something more somber, but he was glad she did because now they could pair up and continue to mess with the boy. Cairo allowed his twin to speak before adding his own words. "It really has been too soon, hasn't it?" He glanced towards Rome, responding to her remark though including the other boy in the conversation. His intentions were to obviously scare the other boy for the simple amusement of it. "I heard it was gruesome, too. That they're still finding pieces of flesh in corners of the lawn." He added, knowing full well that the headmistress would never allow a troll on school grounds, but also knowing this kid was a muggle born. If he had believed everything the twins had said so far, what was stopping them from going further with their lies and telling the most ridiculous stories their minds could conjure?​

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

What kind of school was this where the kids were murdered by trolls in the Owlery and their flesh spread across the lawn? Hemi grimmaced. Was he safe here? Was there a way to defeat the Troll? What was the purpose of the troll? There were so many unanswered questions Hemi had to know for his own safety.

"I- I had no idea! Hemi said at last, "You guys aren't having me on are you?"

 

[Rome Savage]

Rome could barely hide her grin as Cairo went into the more grissly details about what had happened. She could enjoy this at last, it wasn't perhaps her original plan, and it was far from what she'd had in mind, but it was likely better than what she would do. It was all in the name of fun, and though they seemed to be scaring the boy, Rome felt proud of them, they were just having a bit of fun, and at some point this boy would realise it. She looked at the boy when he asked if they were having him on, and she pretended to look horrified at the thought that she or her brother would do such a thing, "Why would we do something like that? We're all in this together," she told him trying to make it seem like she actually did care about him. She didn't think he would really believe them, but if he did for even the smallest amount of time that would be good, "We first years have to stick together, that's why we're telling you this, helping you with this," Rome finished looking over to her brother for the support she knew he'd give her.
​

 

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo glanced at his sister and nodded in his own attempt to seem concerned about the other boy's safety. "We're telling you this because it's important, alright? We couldn't live with ourselves if we didn't tell you about the troll and he got to you next." He said, speaking on his sister's behalf knowing she would not mind. They were both pretending to care about the boy's well-being so putting words in Rome's mouth was simply a means to an end. "It actually worries me that the parents of muggle borns aren't given flyers about the dangers in this school. Flesh eating trolls are normal for us wizards but I don't think they're so normal for muggles." He shook his head and moved his gaze to the floor, speaking as if he was thinking aloud and almost as if he were thinking of a way to help the Gryffindor out of this. After pausing for a moment, he looked up and made a suggestion to the boy. "Wait, I know! Why don't you go to the library and read up on trolls? That way you will be prepared if you ever meet one!"​

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

Either these twins were convincing liars, or there was a flesh eating troll roaming the school. Hemi couldn't tell which was fact and didn't fancy taking his chances on a deadly troll. He nodded, understanding that this information is important and he should stay vigilant. After-all he is a muggle-born! He didn't grow up with things like this, "Maybe they don't send the parents flyers because they don't want to risk pulling us out." He stated, if his parents knew they were sending their son to co-exist with trolls, they might've thought twice about letting him go. "I think I will research, just in case I meet this troll."

 

[Rome Savage]

Rome couldn't believe that this boy actually believed them, the boy must've been new to entire thing, new to the school and how things are at this place, or else he might've actually seen sense on the matter. Glancing at her twin she had to admit that this was a much better way of doing things than any other method which had been on her mind, which had really boiled down to her punching him in the face which wouldn't get anything or have any enjoyment from it. Aside from her own satisfaction about it. When the boy seemed to be prepared to leave, "Off you go then," she said as the boy they'd lied to seemed to rush off in the direction of the library, she turned to her brother and smirked slightly, "That was fun, but you should've let me punch him at least once,"

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