The Little Ladies United
โMum!โ Arlene shrieked as her mother, Cassiopeia Travers, shoved a biscuit in her mouth. โI'm not hungry!โ
โOh, but you will be,โ said her mother, calmly, watching her daughter as she chewed the snack with great difficulty.
โI'm ๐ด๐ช๐น๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ,โ Arlene protested, frantically glancing around to see if anyone was watching this embarrassing exchange. Fortunately, no one was. โPractically, ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต legally, an adult. I'll be a graduating soonโโ She went on to continue, only to have her mother shove another biscuit into her mouth. โMUM!โ
โCassie, I suppose that's enough pampering to last the entire day,โ Antonio, her father, said to his wife good-naturedly, a chuckle escaping his lips. He then glanced at Arlene with a wink. โShe can take care of herself, can't she?โ
โ๐๐ถ๐ต she cannot ever wake up in time and finish her breakfast to save her life,โ Cassiopeia supplied, pursing her lips. โCan she?โ
โThat's beside the point,โ Arlene retorted, with a roll of her eyes, not missing a beat. Sleeping the night before her return to Hogwarts had always been hard; there was so much to look forward to โ so many thoughts clouding her mind and keeping sleep at bay until dawn. Oversleeping wouldn't be a hard thing to predict.
Arlene quickly gave the both of them a tight hug. โI need to go now. I'll miss the train with your theatrics.โ
โBe good, okay?โ Antonio said, with a smile. โStay out of trouble.โ
โWrite to us once you reach,โ Cassiopeia gently reminded, kissing her forehead. โAnd take this packet with you!โ
Arlene groaned, reluctantly taking the packet of biscuits along with her. Clambering on to the train, she waved at them before walking to the very first compartment. With all her luggage carefully stored in the chambers below their seat, this compartment had, since her very first year, been hers to reserve for her best friends and herself. It was a good strategy to acquire the best of the treats from the trolley witch.
Arlene plopped down on her seat and glanced at her snowy owl, Amaryl, who hooted in her cage beside her, as if reciprocating her excitement about starting fresh at Hogwarts. She couldn't wait for her friends to arrive.
( @emmaaveryrp @aliceburkerp )
Start of term has always been hard for Emmaline, she was excited to see her friends but that meant being away from her family whom she loved more than anything in the world and always missed them greatly. She hugged them all, deciding to hug her eldest brother last, he was her favorite, since both of her parents were healers, he had to look after them and take care of her and her siblings, so she developed a strong bond with him, leaving him at the beginning of each term made her feel sad. Her older brother, Davian, called out her name telling them theyโll be late. She reluctantly let go of her brother and pressed a kiss on his cheek, making him promise he will write to her before joining her brother and making their way into the train. She waved goodbye at her brother as he made his way to another compartment to meet his friends, her best friend, Arlene, usually came earlier than them to reserve a compartment, it was the best in her opinion since their compartment is the first stop for the sweets trolley. She slid the door open and at the sight of her best friend, she dropped her bag onto the ground and rushed to hug Arlene โARLY! I MISSED YOU!โ
Alice, her mother Sigrid, and their house elf Rigsbee arrived behind schedule at the Kings Cross Station. Alice was running along the station like there was a race while her mother and the elf were jostling to catch Aliceโs pace.
โAlice Cerise! The train wonโt leave you!โ Sigrid exclaimed. The three of them finally nearing platform 9 and 3/4.
As Rigsbee had been placing Aliceโs trunks at the train luggage compartment, Alice bid her goodbye to Sigrid and hugged her briefly but tightly. โYou take good care of yourself, my darling.โ Sigrid said, her hands cupping Aliceโs cheeks. She will surely miss her dearest mother but she certainly did not want to cry so she gently took her hands off her face and replied โOf course I will mother! Now, finish your fresco painting back at home and stop worrying about me or else THE TRAIN IS GOING TO LEAVE ME!โ One last quick hug and she hopped inside the train.
In her hands were pink boxes that were enchanted to fit more than it could. She had curated these boxes herself from her travels during the break. Alice has always been thoughtful towards her friends, she loved spoiling them and giving them a peek of what she experienced in her tours. Inside was a variety of food and random trinkets โ chocolates, coffee beans, pastries, tea bags, lipsticks, socks, jewelry, head bands, scented candles, soaps, bath bombs, a pajama set, even small bottles of liquor, and other posh things you could think of.
Alice waltzed towards the usual compartment of the little ladies. Her face radiated upon seeing her friends already settled. She was struggling the open the cabin door so she kicked it aside for it to budge a little and used her bum to slide it open. Looking haggard but still fashionable, she greeted her friends in a cheery tone, โHello girls! Miss me?โ
She then sat on the seat across Arly and Emma before handing them her presents.
โItโs just a little something, a little token...โ she grinned.
Arlene grinned as the door of their compartment slid open to reveal Emmaline walking in with her luggage. She couldn't help but laugh at how dramatically her best friend dropped her items and rushed to hug her. Emma and her theatrics were both always precious.
โYou saw me only last week in Diagon Alley,โ she said, with a giggle, as she got up from her seat and embrace the blonde. โBut I missed you too!โ
No sooner did she step out of the hug than the door of the compartment slid open again, and in came her other best friend, Alice, with great difficulty.
โWhoa, Ali,โ Arlene laughed, giving her a quick hug before the three settled down. Considering how her fiery red-haired was all over the place, it wouldn't take a seer to predict that she had been rushing โ as usual. โDid you run all the way up to the train or something?โ
She smiled, glancing at the small rose-pink boxes as Alice handed them their presents. The ladies had a tradition of exchanging gifts every year at the onset of their academic calendar โ a token of love for each other. She was glad the war hadn't wiped this tradition out.
โOh, come on,โ she said, with a grin. โWe know it's not little. You always go over the top.โ
She then reached for her satchel from beside her and produced two small black velvet boxes before handing them to the girls. One of them featured a tiny, four-petal pendant with glistening pink diamonds, dangling from a rose-gold chain โ for Alice. The present for Emmaline had a charm bracelet, featuring a sea turtle with an aqua-blue cut-out diamond as its belly. Both the jewelry items were made of rare diamonds, and she had them custom-made according to the likes of her best friends.
Julliet Hansen:
Julliet finally made it to 9 3/4 up to the Hogwarts express. "you'll write to us, right kitty?" Derek said still cynical about all of this. He knew what his baby sister had been through after the war and he didn't want her ptsd to take over. "yes, puppy. You know, I will" She said sweetly before hugging him. Derek clasped his sister in his embrace and kissed her temple before hesitantly letting go. "Take care, bunny." Evan smiled towards his younger sister. "I will, moose" she said softly with a smile towards her huge figure of a brother. That's where the nickname came from. They gently hugged each other and again, reluctantly let go. "I'll write to you the second I step into my dorm." she reassured them. "Alright. Bye, kitty. Stay safe" Derek softly told her. "Noted, Bunny. Now go educate yourself" Evan chirped towards her. She grinned at them and made her way into the train. The compartments were already filled with students.. That's what it takes for being slightly late. You won't find an available compartment just for you and the quiet. Due to Juliet being anti-social, she wasn't one to come up to you and ask if it's OK to share the compartment. But.. Luckily... She already saw a familiar red-head in a compartment close to the sweet-trolley. A bright smile curled up before she gently slid the compartment door and held a nervous smile while feeling her heart beating with nervousness. "Urm. Hi... All the compartments are filled. Would you mind if I stay with you 3? I won't be a bother, I promise" she said quickly and nervously but quite in a gentle and apologetic tone.
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Emmaline Maeve Avery:
Emmaline smiled sheepishly at Arlene when she said that they only met last week, it felt like forever, she was used to seeing them more often than that and she missed them so much. She whipped around when she heard Aliceโs voice and let out a squeal before rushing out to engulf her in a hug. After she was content with the hug, she let go and took a seat beside her friend. She felt her heart warm as they both exchanged gifts, she reached into her bag which had an undetectable extension charm and pulled two glass domes with enchanted flowers in them, charmed by her eldest brother to never die and always look fresh and smell fragrant. โI hope you like them. Tommy enchanted them to stay like that foreverโ She handed the violet flowers to Arlene and the Pink flowers to Alice. She then proceeded to open her own gifts, they were so beautiful, it made her feel giddy to have such amazing friends. She then opened Arleneโs gifts, her jaw dropping at them all. There was so much of it! Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she heard the compartment door sliding open. Who were they? And why were they interrupting their time, her eyes softened when the girl said she couldnโt find any other spot. She glanced at the rest of her friends not sure if she should say anything, her friends are always telling her she is too nice and she didnโt want to be rude even tho she is not happy about this girl ruining their sacred tradition.
Alice giggled at Arleneโs remark. โUh, for sure! The things I got you are from all over the world,โ she agreed with a bat of her lashes.
She decided to show them some contents of the box but the coffee beans were the one sheโs most interested in talking about.
โThose coffee beans are from Brazil,โ she shared. โAnd the wizard who was selling them actually looks as fine and strong as his beans,โ she emphasized. โYou see, if only I was more confident around males he would have been inside that box too.โ
โโโ
Alice showed deep gratitude upon receiving Arleneโs gift. She knew that pink diamonds are expensive so she cannot help but wonder how much galleons did Arlene lose just to buy her something this expensive. Alice also appreciated Emmalineโs gift for she also loves flowers and thought it would make a good ornament for her vanity table back at home. She thanked her too and gave Emmaline her sweetest smile.
โAnywho, letโs talk about our activities during the break!โ she suggested, her natural plump lips pouting as she searched through her purse to find a bottle of jellybeans.
She first turned to Arlene and before popping a jellybean into her mouth she asked, โArly, what exactly happened in your business voyages? How was it?โ
She chewed on her jelly bean before looking over at Emmaline, โHow about you Emma? Iโm expecting to see Hogwartsโ boring walls painted pink later when we get there!โ she let out a chuckle.
Her gaze moved from Emma to a pink haired girl. She was the one she met at Diagon Alley during the break. โOh, hi, Hansel,โ she greeted her. Alice smiled awkwardly but she gave her a tiny wave. She wasnโt too sure about her name but she believe it sounded similar to that.
Now she would be shy to tell the rest of her stories since a girl sheโs not really close with would be joining them.
Arlene opened Alice's gift box first, sporting a big smile on her young face as she glanced at its contents. The gifts she had curated were well thought out and generous. There was no doubt she had used the undetectable extension charm on them, considering its contents would easily need about five boxes of the given size.
โIt's a shame you can't make an illicit use of magic like that,โ Arlene jeered, giggling at Alice's story. โImagine the amount of men you'd have entrapped in that box by now if that weren't the case. I shudder to even imagine.โ
Next was Emmaline's gift. The charmed purple coloured flowers made her smile as she glanced at the glass dome in her hands. The enchanting floral smell from the outlet wafted into her nose and she sighed happily. Placing all the gifts beside her, she turned to them and said, โI ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ all the gifts!โ
When Alice asked her about the chain of business voyages she had to accompany her parents to, she made a sour face. โ๐๐น๐ฉ๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ,โ she said, emphatically. โThe amount of sleep and sightseeing I had to sacrifice for my damned ambitions... Adulthood is a ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ.โ
She shook her head, sobering. โIt was worth it though. And a funny thing happened, actuallyโโ
Arlene paused midway, her eyes following the trail of Emmaline to see a dark-skinned witch with pink hair enter their compartment. She cocked an eyebrow at Alice, who seemed to know her, before glancing at Emmaline only to discover that the blonde was already looking at them expectantly.
Trying not to roll her eyes, Arlene shrugged at the stranger. โSure,โ she said, nonchalantly. Indeed, this compartment had been theirs traditionally, but she couldn't let the poor girl stand all the way to Hogwarts. โCome on in.โ
Julliet Hansen:
Juliet felt her cheeks blush as soon as Alice remembered her. "oh. Alice. Hi. It's Hansen, but close enough" she chuckled shyly looking down at her feet feeling slightly awkward and shyly. The second the Raven haired girl spoke she grinned a toothy grin and exhaled in relief "Thank you. I don't want to intrude, please carry on what you were doing" She gracefully got in the compartment and slid the luggage under her seat after she got out her book. She sat down at the side of the door and just offered them a smile before immediately exporting herself into the book and minding her own business
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Emmaline Maeve Avery:
She looked at Alice then back at this new girl, how do they know each other? Now that she had a better look at the girl, he recognized her, she has seen her around Hogwarts, she was a Ravenclaw but that didnโt explain how Alice knew her. โHi! Iโm Emmaline or better know as Emma. Nice to meet you!โ She hummed to herself when the girl told them to carry on what they were doing. She shrugged and did just that โAli, I still donโt understand, why would you want to put a man in a box? What did they do?โ She asked ignoring everything else that was said, that made no sense to her.



















