Alone Together

Harley walked the busy streets, filled with couples laughing and enjoying each others company. She sighed; she was always lonely, even if her guardian was around. He had wandered off though to reacquaint himself with a couple of his old friends, making her feel even worse than before. She groaned, realizing she was wallowing in her self-pity, something she swore never to do. Looking around to see where she was, she smelled an aroma unlike anything she had ever smelled before. She followed the strong scent to a small restaurant then ducked inside for something.

It was loud. People were laughing and shouting over each other, and even the people who weren't talking were smiling. She smiled at the sight of such happiness before turning to find a table. She had to push her way through the crowds of people to find an empty seat. Harley frowned, there were only tables filled with groups of people, or small seats for one or two people, already filled. She went for the latter and found a table with someone already sitting there. She gave a shy smile before saying, "Hey."

Christine knew she'd agreed to meet her sister at that pet shop within the hour but she figured that even though she only had approximately half an hour left she still had time to meet others. Right now though there were so many people she decided that perhaps she should just sit a table by herself before deciding who to approach next. No more having people fall across her path. That was not the way she wanted to do things. She sipped the butterbeer which didn't taste anywhere near as bad as her sister claimed as she glanced around the room again. Maybe that guy over there? Or the girl staring at the menu? This decision needed considerable thought.

She hadn't noticed another girl sidling up to her until she heard the word 'hey' spoken by the girl. Christine nodded in her direction. "Hello," she replied and stood with a hand held out to the other girl. "Hello. I am Christine Henrau." She smiled at the girl encouragingly. Maybe she would take Stephanie's advice and not mention her dream world of princesshood. One day that will be reality and her sister would eat her words.

Harley inwardly smiled. She wasn't too used to being very social, and when she was, it was usually because she was about to get in a fight. A lot of people didn't like talking to her because she also seemed a bit threatening with her height and cold blue eyes. She  grinned and shook the girl's hand with enthusiasm, "The name's Harley. Harley Fenwick." She ordered another butterbeer for the two of them and a potate sarladaise for them to share, if she wanted to of course. Halrey had a strange tendency to get too friendly at first, then slowly start to drift away. It had been the downfall of many brief friendships. She shrugged the thought off, "You a first year too?"

With the first part of her task complete, Christine sat again and smoothed out the skirt of her dress carefully to make sure it didn't crease. "It is so lovely to meet you Harley," she said in the manner of a character she'd admired in one of her favourite books. That was the way people should speak in her opinion. None of this modern slang and shortening of words. "Yes I am. My sister will be a fourth year which is good because she will be able to tell me the things I need to know about Beauxbatons. Do you have any family at the school?" It was lovely of the other girl to order for the both of them and Christine would make certain to thank her when the food and drinks arrived. After all it wasn't like she had any money to spend. Stephie had it all and Christine would get her share later.

The first thing Harley noticed was that this girl talked like royalty, sort of like Elijah once did before he got used to being around her. She immediately switched tones to accommodate the girl's diction. "My family is muggle-born. Only my guardian, Elijah, has previously attended the school," she replied, "What about you? Do you have any siblings attending Beauxbatons?" As she finished the question, their food arrived. Harley barely restrained herself from stuffing her mouth with the food, but she dug around the pockets of her coat for the money and held it out for the waiter. She slowly lifted the drink to her mouth, Elijah had always talked about how delicious the famous Butterbeers were, and here she was, drinking her first Butterbeer with Christine.

Christine had already mentioned her sister but it was not polite to point out a mistake. Thus she merely said. "We are also muggle-born. My fourth year sister, Stephanie and myself. She is involved in a lot of things there and has told me what clubs were there as well as that sport she plays on a broom." She watched the waiter place the food and drinks upon the table. "Stephanie hates butterbeer but I find I like the taste." She picked up the fresh butterbeer placed in front of her and took a delicate sip. "Thank you for this. It is very much appreciated." Christine placed the drink back on the table as she asked, "What as your guardian told you about the school?"

Harley grinned, "You are very welcome, it was my absolute pleasure." She thought about what the girl had said. "You mean Quidditch? I think I might play, I'm definitely brute enough to be a Beater. Any clubs you want to join?" She placed a potato in her mouth and sighed at the warm feeling in her mouth. "Elijah hasn't told me much about the school, honestly. He told me about his favourite parts of it, like butterbeer and quidditch games, but that about it. He mentioned a couple teachers he liked, but I can't remember their names well. He also spoke about the sorting, but not much. He said it was exclusive for each person. What about your sister? What has she told you?"

"Yes. Quidditch. That was the name she called it by. I am not sure which position I'd try out for. My sister though is seeker for her house. That makes me think it is very different to other sports since she has never showed an interest in playing sport before." And if Stephanie played it then Christine wanted to play Quidditch too.

"There is this performing arts club which I think I'll consider joining. I was considering the art and music club but I doubt Stephanie will be happy if I did that." Though what the difference between Quidditch and joining the same club her sister was in Christine could not say. "She said that I will be asked a question but that is all she would tell me." Christine shrugged. "Hopefully it will not be too tricky."

"I doubt it will be too hard. I think you should join whatever club you feel suits you the best," she said. "As for Quidditch, I think you would make a great Seeker too. You look quick and nimble, exactly what a Seeker needs to be. It is a pretty different sport, after all, Muggle sports don't have anyone flying around on brooms. My favourite Muggle sport is football, I played it when I was a kid until I was eight. Anyways. I plan on joining the Astronomy club, maybe. It seems like a good fit for me. Too bad they don't have a Muggle Studies club, I'd take it in a heartbeat," Harley rambled on. As soon as she realized she wasn't letting the girl speak, she shut her mouth. "Sorry. So what's your favourite Muggle sport?"

Christine considered Harley's words and knew she wanted to join that other club but she was also a little wary of Stephanie who'd been a bit on the snappy side ever since she received her letter. "Well maybe I could join one club this year and another next year," she said. "That way maybe Stephanie will not be as distressed if I do end up in the same club."

Her brow wrinkled a little at the other girl's talk of clubs. "But I do not recall Stephanie mentioning an Astronomy club. Just a subject and she did say there was a club about muggles. It sounded awfully strange to me. Muggles are people without magic right? So why have a club about things that are not magic if it is a school for learning about magic?" And from what she had learnt of the meaning of the word muggle it sounded most awfully dull and common place.

"Horse riding," she returned promptly, an activity she'd never participated in in her entire life but imagined it was one she would be extremely good at. "There is something noble about horse riding."