An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
The dawn of a new day came quietly, as though to sneak into cold morning and lure the Dorens from sleep. Christmas was over and the New Year began -- as would their journey back to Hogwarts soon enough.
Their school robes and attire awaited them, freshly laundered and ready to wear. Their trunks were either packed the night before, if they'd felt up to it, or needed to be finished before Breakfast. The meal itself was rather simple, spread meticulously on the dining table as if it wasn't just the two of them.
As if the huge estate wasn't nearly as empty and cold as it was now. The chill was always there, they realised, but it was different this time. A house but not a home. An everlasting sense that something had changed. Something was removed.
But they had no rush to pack up and leave just yet. Tolliver hadn't arrived to collect them, as it was still time for Breakfast. Yet their House-Elf and their uncle weren't around either, no doubt tending to their usual early-morning tasks and routine.
It was just Elizabeth and William... in that big, quiet house. No direction or pressure, just patience. And a plentiful breakfast, of course.
Post by William Doren on Jun 5, 2024 23:38:48 GMT 10
William very much doubted that laying in bed, thoughts swirling, for most of the night was considered restful. Even though he had laid down and closed his eyes, sleep had eluded him.
Despite that, he had got up as soon as the sun rose and took care to carefully pack his trunk. He showered and made sure he was presentable for breakfast that morning, already dressed in his travelling clothes.
He'd don his school robes whenever they were on the train.
Looking around his room, trunk neatly packed and ready to go, William didn't feel a sense of longing or desire. He just saw a room that he stayed in sometimes.
Did that mean he considered Hogwarts to be more of a home?
It was something he could dwell on later as he closed the door and walked towards the breakfast room. Glancing out of the windows, the weather was still unforgiving but at least he had Hogwarts to look forward to.
Anything was better than this huge house, devoid of life.
Entering into the room, William glanced around for any sign of his sister or their... Uncle. It was still odd to think of Mr. Gilbert in that way but William would just have to adjust to it. He was still coming to terms with everything that had happened at the trial as well.
He walked past the seats that would have normally been reserved for his parents (it was odd not to see his father there, reading the paper or his mother, ever elegant as she checked through any letters). Just like always, he sat in the same seat and sighed.
At least now he was hungry but the idea of plating something up right away wasn't appealing.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on Jun 7, 2024 0:47:30 GMT 10
Elizabeth had barely unpacked and so found packing rather easy the night before. In the morning, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, but laying in bed for hours was not a productive way to spend her morning.
She walked downstairs, examining the breakfast. She noticed William was already awake, so she started putting food on her plate and then sat down.
"When will be Tolliver taking us to the train station, do you think?" Elizabeth said, "And do you think that perhaps our...uncle might join us for breakfast?"
It was difficult for her to say those words, as that was not what she considered Gilbert to be, all things considered, but it was his title technically. She just wondered how he had got to his place in life. Perhaps he had done something wrong. But Tolliver seemed to think that it was okay for him to be around Elizabeth and William, so Elizabeth was determined to figure out why.
Not wrong enough to land them in jail. Elizabeth cringed. There would probably be some people at school who heard the news, and she did not want to have to answer questions about her parents. Especially since she still wasn't sure how she felt about it all.
Post by William Doren on Jun 7, 2024 2:04:12 GMT 10
His shoulders sag with relief when Elizabeth came into the breakfast room. He watched as she served herself some food and then sat down.
Seeing this as a sign that he would be okay to eat some breakfast too, William rose to add some items to his plate. A little bit of everything and he would do his best to stomach as much as he could.
Sitting again, William looked at his sister when she spoke up and glanced towards the door.
"I do not think Mr. Tolliver is the kind of person to leave these things to the last moment. I would rather prefer to be at the train station promptly, myself." He just had to believe Mr. Tolliver would be punctual.
William picked up his knife and fork, seemed to think again and set them down. He reached for his cup and rose once more, "Would you like some tea or another drink?"
He offered to get it for his sister since it would be a good distraction. Especially since she had brought up the topic of their... Uncle.
"I would find it hard to believe Mr. Gilbert would join us for breakfast, as he has not been in the habit of doing so before... Regardless, this is hardly the typical situation we are used to." William concluded with a slight nod, moving off to the side to get tea and whatever his sister wanted (if she required anything).
At least the paper had not arrived yet but William was positive there would be some note about what happened yesterday.
He was not looking forward to that.
Last Edit: Jun 8, 2024 6:40:08 GMT 10 by William Doren
Post by Elizabeth Doren on Jun 9, 2024 1:27:04 GMT 10
Elizabeth nodded. "I do dislike being late." So at least she and William had that in common, which was nice. If she had to go and her brother wasn't ready, well, it would be frustrating to say the least.
"Tea would be nice." Elizabeth said, after considering it for a little while. She wasn't sure how she felt about treating her brother like a house-elf, but he had offered so it was probably okay. And he could always tell her that he didn't want to make tea.
"I'm just...I feel concerned that we will be seeing a lot more of Gilbert. Tolliver mentioned that he wanted to see us, but we don't know him all that well." Elizabeth expressed her worries, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at the food in front of her. What would they do?
That was Elizabeth's main worry: that there would be something she could not control that came up. The trial had been enough--but for more of that to happen? Elizabeth shuddered.
Post by William Doren on Jun 9, 2024 1:50:41 GMT 10
William nodded in agreement with Elizabeth.
People who failed to have good time management were just so disagreeable to him. A shudder ran down his spine as he thought about some of his classmates. Yes, a few of them would be the tardy sort, wouldn't they?
He went over to fetch his sister a cup of tea, welcome for the distraction.
William paused by the teapot and hesitated for a moment. Now, he had seen this done before, hadn't he?
Lifting the teapot, he hadn't expected it to be so heavy but recovered quickly as the warmth radiated over his hands -- he would have to be quick as well? What a torture.
Still, he managed to pour the tea and only spilled a few drops. A success in his eyes.
"I recall," William responded to his sister, turning to face her and bring over her tea, "I just do not know what I have in common with him. Aside from, supposedly, being our blood. I do not partake in... Gardening and the sort."
The idea of willingly digging around in dirt and handling plants. He wasn't a fan of getting his hands dirty and it just seemed pointless... Though, he did suppose, it was something they had been forced to do at home a few times. Not to mention, something they were taught at school with regard to Herbology.
It just hadn't been something William had given much thought to before or considered enjoyable.
William thought it over as he walked over to the table.
He set the cup down next to his sister, rather pleased with himself for completing such an arduous task, "Do you require milk or sugar?"
At least the sugar bowl was between them both, but the milk sat closer to William's seat. He sat down and reached for it, ready to pass it over.
"I do suppose I could try...?" William thought aloud, surprising himself.
Clearing his throat, he gathered himself, "I just mean, since it would be related to school and not for a frivolous reason. It would be okay to try something like planting a seed or what-not."
His cheeks felt rosy and warm. William wasn't used to slipping up and revealing his thoughts.
Hopefully Elizabeth wouldn't judge him too harshly for it.
Last Edit: Jun 9, 2024 2:18:27 GMT 10 by William Doren
Post by Elizabeth Doren on Jun 9, 2024 2:02:07 GMT 10
Elizabeth accepted the tea from William, somewhat impressed with the way he handled the teapot. Elizabeth hoped that they would get to keep their house-elf. Doing tasks like that all the time must get tiring, or at the very least challenging.
"It is interesting, I suppose, to imagine how he got into that line of work. Perhaps it was the only thing that would let him stay on the Estate?" Elizabeth wondered. The one time she had been in the Greenhouse had almost felt like too much to her. It was all rather overwhelming, actually, the dirt, having to fight the plants for ingredients. Ugh.
"Neither, thank you." Elizabeth did like to add sugar in sometimes, but she liked to do that part herself and didn't want to trouble William after he had already gone through it to make the tea in the first place.
"It might help your Herbology grade." Elizabeth conceded, "I'm not too fond of the Greenhouse, but there are opportunities for learning there, if you are able to handle it. In fact, I planted a few seeds last year."
Post by William Doren on Jun 9, 2024 2:11:58 GMT 10
"Yes, perhaps it was one of the few options left to him?" William agreed with Elizabeth and went back to eating his breakfast.
After a few moments, he set his knife and fork down once more and continued with, "I must admit, I do find the relationship between Uncle... Gilbert... and our parents to be rather... Intriguing."
Though he didn't abide by gossip, and talking about someone who wasn't present wasn't very pleasant either. William had better manners than that, so he didn't press the topic.
If Elizabeth wished to continue speculating then he would contribute but otherwise, he focused on his food.
"Oh yes, that was what I had in mind." He didn't look up from his plate as he concurred about Herbology. Improving his grade was always something he strived for.
He had plans to part-take in another one of those Extra-curricular activities he remembered being mentioned in the Slytherin common room, upon his return to Hogwarts.
But William paused when Elizabeth admitted to using the Greenhouse at school, "You did?"
It was hard for William to mask his surprise at such a revelation, "How did it go? Was it... Unpleasant? Or..."
He allowed her to talk, if she wished, and he wanted to know more. William had a hard time picturing his older sister part-taking in such an activity.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on Jun 10, 2024 12:56:17 GMT 10
Elizabeth nodded, although how he would've ended up in that situation was beyond her. William was clearly intelligent. She could never imagine him working as her gardener.
"I agree. I do wish we had more information to study about it." Elizabeth disliked that she hadn't known nearly as much about her parents as she thought she had. Was it like this for everyone, or were they just special?
She poked a little bit at her food, remembered that that was rude, and took a bite instead, and then a sip of tea.
"It was very dirty." Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at a thought of the Greenhouse, "And it is not nearly as easy to retrieve the ingredients from the plants as one might think. You should most definitely wear gloves."
She tried to think of some other advice to give to William. Although she had strongly disliked her experience, she didn't want him to be unable to learn because of her words. "I do like watering the plants magically. There aren't many other uses for that spell."
Post by William Doren on Jun 10, 2024 18:21:31 GMT 10
"Fascinating." William was clearly impressed by his sister's calm explanation of what she had done in the Greenhouse.
It seemed handling the plants, while not wholly pleasant, had been something she had done with some ease.
He could only hope he'd be as composed as her during his own attempt.
Though the train of thought related to Gilbert and his choice of career did make William think of something else. He finished poking his breakfast and set down his knife and fork.
"Elizabeth, I hope you do not mind my asking, but I was curious to know. Have you settled on your future career for beyond Hogwarts? And if so, how did you come about choosing it?" This was something William struggled with himself.
He had a hard time picturing himself doing a great many jobs and, knowing it was his OWL year, and he would have to pick N.E.W.T subjects soon, did scare him a little.
"I only ask because I do not have mother or father here to guide me." William added, his voice smaller than before.
Perhaps the reality of their situation -- a life without their parents -- had finally begun to sink in for him.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on Jun 12, 2024 0:18:05 GMT 10
Elizabeth hesitated. She was equally uncertain what she was supposed to do in her future. She knew she liked Transfiguration, but she could hardly do something with just that in mind. She had somewhat briefly entertained the idea of being a Toymaker, especially after a class when she had animated a small cat sculpture, but wasn't certain of it.
"I haven't." Elizabeth said. "I think I should like to attend the Academy. I...am not entirely certain if they would still accept me after the Trial."
Elizabeth wasn't sure if she was ready to face a world that had seen her parents as criminals. Before the trial, before they were convicted, there was some doubt that Elizabeth could cling to. But now...well, she wasn't sure what she felt. It was difficult to sort those feelings out.
"I'm here. And I will do my best to guide you." Elizabeth said, although she wasn't sure how she was supposed to guide herself. At least she would experience most things before William and be able to give him some warnings.
Their House-Elf popped into the room, interrupting the moment.
'Mr Tolliver is here,' he told them, already magicking away Breakfast -- and summoning their trunks etc. 'You is to be meeting him in the lobby, to head to the train station now.'
Sure enough, Dae-hyun was waiting for them just outside the main door. He was dressed in his usual silver outfit, and forwent any robes due to their need to be in Muggle locations today.
'All set?' he asked, giving them each a kind smile yet kept his tone formal. 'We'll be apparating to a point near the station, then walking from there. Shall we?'
You may proceed to the Pre-Boarding thread at King's Cross Station.
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