A Ride with the Dead

[Proleptic]

Felix's face split into a goofy grin as a young boy from the group approached him, seeming timid, but acting intentionally bold. He was a very respectful young boy, Felix thought immediately. Felix was certain that this boy could grow into a fine young wizard. Then, he opened his mouth. "Hello. I am Victor Rémond, and I was wondering if you are in the right place?" Felix's smile almost faltered at that. "D-did you say Rémond," Felix asked, slightly bemused at the revelation. After a moment's thought, it wasn't so surprising. After all, just because his older sister was a bit of a...Felix paused mentally, trying to think of a good British word for 'jerk'. Ahh, that's it. Prig. That'd be the one, Felix thought to himself.

Just because Catherine was a prig didn't mean her younger brother would. If anything, this simply made Felix more optimistic for Catherine's potential. Perhaps her rudeness was simply a mask of sorts. Either way, this kid seemed very nice. "Nevermind that, my apologies," Felix continued, realizing the boy likely wouldn't want to be associated immediately with his sister. "Anywho, I'm Felix," he said, holding his hand out for the young man to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Mr. Rémond." Felix realized he had been asked a question to start with, and quickly answered. "Oh, right. I'm quite sure I am in the right place. Well....pretty sure....that's to say about, err, eighty-nine percent sure," Felix scratched at the back of his head while he thought for a moment. He was quite sure this was the right place, but his forgetfulness was making him think that perhaps he had it wrong.

"Anyways, I am actually a new student, same as you," Felix started with a smile. "I went to Ilvermorny, over in America y'know. I transferred here this semester, and so I have to go through the sorting, same as you." Felix was enjoying talking to the kid. He was really quite a promising young individual. When the man at the head of the group started calling for them to gather in the boats, Felix went right along. He was rather lucky to get a boat to himself, though he supposed it was just thee school trying to make sure he felt accommodated. It was an unnecessary, but nonetheless appreciated action.

Felix's excitement steadily grew as the boats began their approach towards the enigmatic castle. This was what he had been waiting for, and he was beyond ready.

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

"My summer was fine. Nothing really that exciting to talk about." Iskandera said, not really feeling like going into detail about it all that much. In truth, it had been something of a rouge year lately, but she didn't want to dwell on it now that she was here, at her sanctuary of Hogwarts. "We went looking for my Brother again this summer...There's been no word from the ministry, but...my parents are hopeful, at the least." She said, not sounding too happy about it.

Her older brother had been missing for the past 3 years now. No word or hint of what had happened to him present. Iskandera's parents had not given up hope about finding him one day, perhaps under some sort of curse, in rough shape but still alive, still tangible. Families dinners were the worst, old family pictures of them together set up where her brothers spot would have been, almost to the point where nobody could do anything but be reminded of it.

She was free of that here though, and she wanted to keep it that way, as much as she could.

 

[Tristar]

Oliver Wickerbough, in his many experience as a talent finder had understood the lesson of preparing for the unexpected very well. It still always came as a slight shock, but working with people up front gave him two invaluable abilities: The ability to maintain an expression, and the ability to shift aside one's feelings aside. Brodie's appearance tipped the balance, not because Oliver had any negative feelings for the Slytherin sixth year, heavens no! The seventh year had made quite a name for himself within the Hufflepuff community, mostly of humorous nature. Oh some were pitiful if not fond of the little character, but Oliver had for all matter and purpose, little to do with the man.

Even in quidditch; the captain didn't play by the faces but by the House.

With his appearance, the illusion of spaciousness melted away with Pancake, the admittedly adorable if overly excited Labrador puppy. Its wet nose twitched excitedly, and the Hufflepuff still had no idea how Brodie was sorted into Slytherin. Hufflepuff material, he was. Maybe the Hat made a mistake between the two of them? Shrugging the thought aside, Oliver swept the boy along with a quick smile of his. "'s no' a' issue, kc'min. Bu' keep tha' pup away yeah?" He jerked his head at the squirming Gryffindor. "Carol' dun' like dawgs' mooch." He explained, nudging the rest of the passengers to shift along. Ben grumbled, unhappy about being forced from his comfortable seat, eyeing Brodie with irritable eyes.

A little inter-House rivalry, or maybe the Slytherin still hadn't forgotten Brodie's lackluster performance in that spectacular toss up. Lachlan could probably explain the situation to him. "Why's he here, and Merlin's Beard keep that mutt away- don't want him slobbering over my things." warned the Welsh, inching further away from Pancake with a look of disgust on her face. "Carol, kc'mon, 's joost a pup- see?" he said, trying to pat the dog. This was a daring risk on the man's part- the dog could have all sorts of reactions to a total stranger patting it. A little out of his way, but Caroline's reactions to the dog was simply too comedic to not push it further.

Ben, in his air of superiority and wealth simply turned away from the display, twirling his wand as he watched the other carriages slowly roll aside. And Lachlan? Lachlan simply sat back, content with watching the show in mild interest. As far as Oliver knew, the Scotsman had twelve dogs at his ancestral home of various sizes, with the biggest one (so he claims in close confidence to Oliver out of the blue) nearly as big as Lachlan himself.

Now that was a dog Caroline had every justification to be afraid of.

 

[Cheshire]

Brodie grinned slightly as Oliver gave his response, nodding about Caroline not liking dogs, that was fair enough in brodie's eyes so he climbed in, smiling apologetically and holding the tired puppy close to him and making sure that he didn't get anywhere without his say so. When Oliver went to pet its head, Pancake only let the young man pet his hair carefully and only letting out tiny puppy snores of contentment. Brodie didn't want to raise any suspicions or start any conversation on the carriage. After all, he did end up stealing a lot of the space.

Just as Brodie sat down they hear a loud pop and a house elf appeared. Holding a thing that looks oddly like a broom wrapped up in green and silver wrapping paper. She gave Brodie a curtsey and in a quiet voice began, “My Mistress, Catherine of the Ancient and Noble house of Rémond requests your presence at earliest convenience. She also wishes to give you a gift and this card.”

Now that they all got a good look at her, they can see that she is much more well fed than most other House Elves and that she has very kindly eyes.

She then extends her short arms holding the gifts to Brodie and gives him a small smile.

“She hopes you enjoy this new broom and wishes to convey that she cannot wait to see your try-out and hopes that you go get those injuries checked out before the feast. Will that be all sir?”

"Ehhhh that'll be all for now thank you!"

Brodie gave an anxious grin but he knew he had to refrain from opening the parcel, after all, he had just taken up even more space

 

[Kuroshi]

When Erin was offered a seat in a carriage, she was caught off guard due to the yelling. Just the fact a stranger was shouting her name was a little unsettling. Her body froze, chills echoing through when the words hit her ears. She looked over, not giving a response right away. She hesitated. She had seen the kid around, they were a half-blood like herself in addition to being a Hufflepuff. She walked slowly, but got into the carriage nonetheless. "Hello.", was said simply.

There wasn't much else to say. Being a person with a decent level of social anxiety in certain situations, what was there to say? Hey I think i've seen you before? Hey how do you know me? She wasn't too keen on talking too much, it was just how she was when talking to most people for the first time. For her years at Hogwarts she truly only knew people from clubs and classes. She didn't have many friends so social interaction was an awkward thing for her to deal with. In reality she only had maybe one or two friends.. or, not 'friends' but people she knew and was comfortable to be around and hangout with. She really didn't know if she had friends.

Sure Erin would hang around people and talk with them and everything else, but she knew little to no one on a personal way in the sense that she had no one to hangout with on a regular enough basis for it to mean anything aside from them being in the same place at the same time. When she would think of people as friends, she always worried about getting mixed signals or that she was just annoying and unnecessary as a person. She had no one to ride with, so why not just go for an open carriage?
@Tristar

~~~~~​

Morgan was a tad.. displeased with the lack of a response Catharine gave to her existence. It was bad enough not seeing someone for months, but then to have them just ignore you as if you were a phantom was annoying. She was somewhat mad, but she didn't want to go off on Cat or anything. She was just disappointed that their first interaction of the school year wouldn't be when they first saw each other outside of school. She just glared at Cat and Whit for a few seconds before walking off. If she was going to be ignored what was the point of her being there? What was the point of her acting friendly towards Catherine and Whit?

She was probably over reacting to the situation, but she just stormed off to a random carriage not caring who was in it or what they were doing. She wanted to be combative and try to get Catherine's attention, but she was obviously hanging around with another friend and could care less about Morgan. She left it, the urge to start conflict was there but if she did just with all of the people around she'd get her ass handed to her. It would be a stupid decision if she didn it now. She would just duel to get out her aggression, that's what she'd normally do as unhealthy as that sounded. She didn't have much emotional support that was consistently there all year round so she just tossed it. If she was angry she'd duel, if she was anxious she'd duel, sad, depressed, scared, etc. She worked out her feelings through putting them in the back burner and focusing on the one or two things she's good at and just doing those things constantly to distract herself from her surroundings.

 

[Tristar]

"T'fu-" cried Carol, her words barely spoken as the elf carelessly dropped a rather large and bulky package at the newcomer's lap, her face contorted into a mix of both envy, anger and disgust as the servant disappeared in another snappy crack!. It wasn't so much of the broom that had her gabble incoherent words, Oliver assumed. The word 'Remond' probably did the trick- the welsh harbored no secret feelings for the over-achiever: everything was out for people to see. The liverpoolian picked her up during their second year, stopping her from outright cursing Catherine from the shadows. The girl was more anger than human being, but for whatever reason the two of them stuck like glue.

It was a good combination, he thought: her vibrant energy, passion and spark of life to his calm, unflinching and easy-going nature made for an interesting dynamic. "T'f*ck's the rich bi-"

"Language, Carol." warned Oliver, nodding with a welcoming smile to Erin. Already cramped due to Brodie's pup and the addition of what was most certainly a broomstick, Erin's presence only served to pack the carriage even further. Oliver himself was pressed against the door, his legs squeezed uncomfortably while Ben was protesting loudly, making sure to remind everybody of his birth, wealth and relative social position that 'almost' rivaled their shared nemesis. Lachlan simply sucked it up, though his face showed discomfort. "'llo Erin." Oliver spoke, giving her a small wave that took up most of the available space in the carriage.

With Carol and Benjamin's incessantly loud grumblings, maintaining a cohesive conversation was out of the realm of possibilities. Whatever he had to say to her, and whatever she had to say to him was probably best left to when they reached the Great Hall; they'd have every opportunity to speak. They were both Hufflepuffs after all- they might as well exercise their reputation. Still, that didn't mean he was going to leave the niceties at the doorstep. Digging into his robes, he withdrew a slim metal case and popped them open, revealing neat rows of thin sticks. Pulling one out, Oliver put the cigarette in his mouth and tapped it with the tip of his wand.

Rolling down the window next to him the man took the cigarette from his lips, exhaling out of the carriage in the chilly evening. Looking back inside he offered the case to Erin and to a lesser extent, everyone else. Carol nabbed two roughly, flicking one at Benjamin who caught it at the last moment while Lachlan silently lit their ends. "Fancy a ***?" he said, grinning at Brodie and Erin as he brought the cigarette for another puff.

The first cigarette of each year was always a momentous occasion for Oliver, a toast to another year of hard work. This year, it was a toast to good friends, good years and in the end, to a good business.

 

[Jason Vaiken]

Hogwarts Great Hall​

The moments before the feast are always a flurry of activity as friends go and rush to greet each other, Catherine of course ran to her Quidditch friends and confidantes of a more subtle sort, she loves Whit, but- the intricacies of upper society tend to fly over her head.

"Catherine!" Phyla Malfoy, the picture of an aristocratic woman and they both walk to each other and give brief hugs and trade air kisses , "How was your holiday? Mine was the normal of course, glad to be able to escape the manor and come to Hogwarts-"

"Mmm, Catherine, how are you? It's been far too long, I must say that Phyla and I missed you terribly whilst you were off in France." They exchange the normal pleasantries and the three girls all smile at one another as Catherine reminisces a bit.

They met during one of Ms. Malfoy's legendary galas and have been inseparable ever since. In this small grouping of girls, Black, Malfoy, and Rémond a significant amount of wealth and influence in the Wizarding World is showcased.

"Aurellia, Phyla, I must agree that it has been far too long and I agree, that I missed spending time with my favourite girls, now if only Whitney can join us to round off the quartet, but surely we must grab a seat with the utmost of haste before they are all gone?" With that they stride to a seat and found themselves quickly surrounded by their associates. Now onto the fun part, the girls all trade small smiles as the Years Seven of Slytherin raise their wands and a massive serpent made out of sparks is created. She looks at her friends and offers them a thin slash of a smile, "here's to a great year."

---------------------------------------​

Victor's heart certainly did soar a bit as he stared at the castle. His family has been coming here since around 1080, in a nearly unbroken line. He couldn't help but smile at the man next to him.

"Ah, that's where your accent is from. You're an American. I never met an American wizard, can you tell me a little about your school and what house you were in? It certainly is a wonderful thing to meet a person so interested in the magical arts that you would think to come to a foreign culture to advance your studies!"

He couldn't help but keep the enthusiasm out of his tone and his dark blue eyes gleamed with the excitement of a child as he took in the school. Yet, he couldn't help but be anxious, Slytherin or Gryffindor, Gryffindor and Slytherin. It is eating at him slowly, he knows that Catherine wouldn't mind if he gets sorted into Gryffindor, but at the same time, Catherine always looked out for him, she was the one who picked out his robes, got him his wand and owl. all the books he has currently. He knows that she is a good person, but she just has problems with reading and understanding others. He doesn't know exactly why, but she wasn't always like this, she used to smile a lot more, she'd go and play games with him, laugh as he turned things different colours when he was younger, but as she aged, she grew colder and more distant. Henry and her seemed to also grow apart. Both of them rarely speaking to each other unless it is to ask for something, but even then, no more than what's required. The only thing that seemed to bring them together was him... Oh boy, maybe if he's lucky, he'll wind up in Ravenclaw or something so that doesn't tear his family apart.

@Proleptic

 

[Cheshire]

When Brodie heard all the cabins protests, he tried to make himself as small as possible as the rest of the cabin had their protests and he felt horrible for the rest of the cabin at Catherin's lavish wealth once again. He hated it and knew that she would be relishing in the feelings that everyone was experience. He gave a nervous smile and a small nod of his head in approval, his shaking hand grabbed the cigarette before grabbing his wand, lighting it and raising it to his mouth, taking a large puff which made him calm down slightly.

He grabbed his stuff and put pancake in his arms as he led the small puppy into Hogwarts happily, making his way upstairs to his dorm, dropping the puppy off and walking back towards the feast and felt a short wave of fear when he spotted Catherine with her friends , exchanging their lavish holidays and various bits and bobs. He however walked towards her, tapping her shoulder lightly before looking at her, no emotion shown on his face yet he hid his currently shaking hand in his robe. He bit his bruised lip slightly as he waited for her to turn around. "I believe you wished to see me?" he asked, curiosity creeping into his voice slowly.

(OOC: @The Star of Chaos I FINALLY POSTED! LOVE ME)

 

[Jason Vaiken]

Catherine la Fay-Rémond smiled at Brodie, it was a patrician smile, the polite kind that hid her real thoughts behind an iron mask.

"My dear Brodie..." she reaches into her robes, "I seem to have your name on my Quidditch tryout list. I find it most gratifying that you do wish to give it a shot. I also..." she swallows and looks nervous, "I wanted to apologise for the horribly rotten way I have treated you. You are an amazing Wizard and I have treated you poorly. I sincerely hope that you and I, can work much more harmoniously if you successfully try out, on top of your continuing role on the Duelling Team."

With that she holds out her hand and gives him an earnest smile, a little nervous that he will deny her.

She and him have constantly fought and much of it was her being nasty and an utter arse. She did a lot of thinking over the summer and decided to try to make amends with him. Perhaps if she tries a carrot she can turn him into a productive member of the House of Salazar Slytherin.

@Cameron Foster