Her New Home (Ollie)

[Deleted]

There were so many things Isolde loved about her new home, which she shared with Morgaine and watched over herself when her older sister was away. For one, she no longer had to live with her cold-hearted parents. Isolde felt she might actually enjoy this particular summer. For another, she was near Tomes and Scrolls, so she could walk right over to buy a book when she wanted to. She was also near Gladrag's where she could buy hats. Morgaine left her a great deal of money behind, and she still received money from her parents. They seemed to gladly give it to her in order to keep her away from home. Isolde wasn't a big spender. The money went to food, house and garden upkeep, and the occasional book or hat.

Isolde was talking a walk around the garden when Cain flew in and landed on the nearby gate. Isolde smiled at him and pet him. She was happy her owl was with her because if there was one thing bad about living in the house, it was that she got lonely some times. She had few friends, but she missed them, along with her two sisters of course. She always hoped Ollie would especially come by. He had very much become her best mate.

@ollie

[Deleted]

When Isolde had invited Ollie to her house over the summer break, he had been pleasantly surprised. He was glad that she apparently felt comfortable enough around him now to do that. So just before the Rome trip started, Ollie made the trip back to Hogsmeade. School had been out for a couple of weeks now so he had had time to wind down, so he was feeling quite relaxed by now.

He was looking forward to seeing Isolde again, also knowing that she wasn't coming on the Rome trip (ooc: that's true right?) so it would be good for her to have some company at some stage over the summer, too. She had said that she was living there with her sister, but he wasn't sure if her sister was there very often. Still, he didn't know much about that so he supposed he would find out shortly. He knocked on the door and waited for her to answer.

@isolde

[Deleted]

Isolde was looking over the plants. She was mainly eying the plants that her sister warned were poisonous. She had wondered why Morgaine had them and what she used them for. She didn't suspect Morgaine of anything of course. To her, Morgaine could never be evil or do evil things. Morgaine had been nothing but wonderful to her. But still, the plants sparked her curiosity. Fortunately, she had an excellent memory of what her sister had told her, and knew which were poisonous and which were not. She could bring the edible ones inside for when she wanted to prepare food at home.

She was just walking in from the garden when she heard the knock on the door. Stepping over, she opened it and when she saw Ollie, a smile formed on her face.

"Hello," she said softly. "Come in." She then moved so Ollie could step in. Being a girl who said little, she didn't begin going on and on about the house and what was where. She just stood and let her friend look it over. After that, she politely motioned for him to sit down on the sofa in the living room.

"I'll make tea," she said.

@ollie

[Deleted]

Although Ollie and Isolde had become friends, she still was very selective in the words she chose to use. Ollie was fine with that, it would be unfair and impractical to expect her to change the way she spoke drastically just because she was more comfortable around him. She was more expressive now, though, which was a big difference. She smiled more.

"This is a nice house," he commented as she allowed him inside. When he sat down and she offered him tea, he smiled and shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't drink tea. A glass of water would be great, though," he said kindly, not wanting her to be hurt that he didn't take her up on the offer. He didn't really like hot drinks in general. "So how has your holiday been so far?" he asked her.

@isolde

[Deleted]

Isolde was happy that Ollie liked the house. It wasn't luxurious or anything extreme like that, but Morgaine had made it look very much like a home, and that was enough for Isolde. She was glad Ollie agreed with the look and decor.

"Yes, it's nice," she said.

Isolde nodded when Ollie said he wanted water instead of tea. She walked over and poured him a cup of ice water from a picture. She then handed it to him and walked over to pour a cup of tea for herself. She then returned and sat down.

When Ollie asked about her holiday, Isolde wondered what to tell him. Her holiday had been nice without her parents around and her being able to take care of herself without servants trying to do everything for her. But it had been pretty uneventful too as she did everything she had done during the school year except going to classes of course. She still read and visited her stores in Hogsmeade.

So she kept her answer simple as usual.

"It's been okay," she said. "Yours?" She then sipped her tea. She had just started making tea herself, but she found she was fairly good at it. The tea tasted good with milk and sugar anyway.

@ollie

[Deleted]

Ollie thanked Isolde when she brought him a glass of water. It was nice and refreshing after the trip to get here. It felt strange to come back to Hogsmeade outside of the school year - he wondered what it must be like living here over summer. He suspected it would be a lot quieter when there were no students around.

"Yeah, it's been pretty good. It has been nice to relax fully at home, and to spend some time with my parents and Julian again. And Emma, of course, but I get to see her during the school year as well," he explained. He enjoyed hanging out with his family, they were very easy to get along with and he appreciated the company. "The Rome trip starts in a few days, though, so I won't be spending as much time with my family after that." He looked around the room again. "Is your sister out at the moment?" he asked.

@isolde

[Deleted]

Isolde let out a soft sigh when Ollie mentioned his parents. She wondered how nice it must have been to have good parents, people that treated a child like the child was a treasure and not a disappointment. Isolde was the child that her parents were not planning on having, an extra mouth to feed. She wondered if she ever would have been fed and clothed if it hadn't been for the kind servants.

"Your family sounds nice," said Isolde, trying to be pleasant about it all. "Maybe I can meet them... one day."

Isolde then looked up for her tea when Ollie asked about Morgaine. She wondered what her sister would think of him. Morgaine was very protective of Isolde. She might be suspicious about the boy at first. She might think that Ollie was just with Isolde to try and take advantage of her. But Isolde knew better. She knew Ollie was a good guy and was nice to her because he was... well just nice. She was sure she could talk Morgaine into liking him.

"She's in London," said Isolde. "She lives there sometimes. Business." Isolde knew little of her sister's business there, other than the fact that the man she now worked with was a very dark man and one Isolde didn't trust with his sister.

"I hope you enjoy Rome," she said with a small smile.

@ollie

[Deleted]

When Isolde said she could meet his family one day, Ollie nodded and smiled. "Sure. You're always welcome to come and visit us if you want over the holidays. Probably not while I'm in Rome, obviously, that would be a bit awkward if I wasn't there... but anytime after that, sure." She had probably already seen Emmaline around the castle, but they probably didn't know each other as they were in different years and houses.

Ollie didn't know much at all about Isolde's family. All he knew was that she had older sisters, but he didn't know anything about what they did. "Oh, cool. What kind of business does she do?" he asked, not knowing any better than to ask. It was just out of interest, after all.

"Yeah, I'm sure I will. I've heard it's a really beautiful city. Have you done much travelling?" he asked her.

@isolde

[Deleted]

Isolde smiled at this. She had never been invited by anyone to visit their home. The only time she ever went to other people's houses were if their parents were invited somewhere and she had to come along. But now a friend wanted her to come and see his house and meet his family. She didn't know what to say at first. Then again, she had a lot of trouble with that anyway.

"I'd like that... thank you," she said.

Isolde wasn't sure what her sister did now, but she knew what Morgaine had done before. Who knew, maybe Morgaine still did it at her new home and office. She turned to Ollie.

"Alchemy," she said. "She supplies ingredients for people." Isolde sighed. "She used to do it from here, but works with someone else now." But Isolde would not say his name. The very mention of Dathan Burke gave her the creeps. So as much as it pained her, she lied to her friend to keep him from asking. "I don't know who."

Isolde shook her head when Ollie asked if she had done much traveling. Usually when her parents traveled, she stayed with the servants, which she didn't mind at all.

"Not really," she said. She then tried to cheer up and smiled at Ollie. "Thank you for coming here, Ollie. I've missed you."

@ollie

[Deleted]

Ollie smiled at her simple thanks. "You're very welcome," he replied contentedly.

Ollie still didn't suspect anything weird about her sister's job - he couldn't read Isolde well enough yet to pick up when she was lying about things. "Okay, that sounds cool. Does she like the change of scenery?" he asked conversationally. He was pretty oblivious to the idea that Isolde didn't feel like talking about the details of the job.

He supposed it kind of made sense that she didn't travel a whole lot, as she tended to be quite reserved and kept to herself. That might make seeing lots of new places quite intimidating for her, he guessed. "Thanks a lot for inviting me. It's really nice to see where you live." He wasn't really sure why she lived here instead of with her parents - but he wasn't sure if he should ask. Those kind of questions could often be quite sensitive. "So what do you do when you're around here by yourself? Do you read much?" he asked, knowing it was one of their shared interests.

@isolde

[Deleted]

Isolde already felt bad for lying to Ollie. But supposed Ollie knew who Dathan Burke was and told someone else. She trusted Ollie to keep a secret for her if she asked, but in this case it could be different. Isolde would crawl into a hole if something happened to her beloved sister. Isolde wasn't sure if Morgaine liked the change of scenery or not, just that she liked Dathan.

"I suppose," she said. "London can be nice... sometimes." Isolde liked London itself. She just despised two people who lived there.

When Ollie said thanks for inviting me, Isolde smiled again.

"You're welcome," she said. "You can always come here when you want." Isolde found she didn't mind talking more around Ollie. He made her feel more and more confident to talk. She wasn't afraid to say things around him... well most things.

Isolde thought over what all she did when she was alone.

"Yes, i read a lot," she said. "I take care of the house and go to the village. I may get a job soon at the book shop. They're looking for a shop clerk." She could handle that, but she couldn't be a cashier. That was too much interaction.

@ollie

[Deleted]

Her comment was true enough, but Ollie shrugged a little. "Yeah, it can be. I think it's a bit too intense for me, though, I prefer more quiet places," he replied.

He found it really great to see how Isolde was opening up more over time. When they had first talked, almost all of her answers had been one or two words, but now she was actually speaking in sentences more often. "Thanks. That's a really nice offer."

Ollie looked up in surprise when she said she might get a job as a book clerk. That sounded perfect for her. "Oh, that sounds like it would really suit you! It would be cool if you could get a job. Would that go on through the school year as well, or just over the summer break?" he asked curiously.

@isolde

[Deleted]

Isolde smiled and nodded when Ollie said he liked quieter places.

"Me too," she said. "I like it here."

Isolde smiled when Ollie appreciated the offer. He was such a genuine guy, and so easy to be around. She wasn't in love with him in the romantic sense as she really didn't understand that despite all the poetry she had read. But she did love Ollie. He was kind of like a brother. As with Morgaine, she knew she could confide in him, and that everything was alright around him.

Isolde wasn't sure if she would work during the school year. Maybe on the weekends and perhaps even when she didn't have classes. She would be a Seventh Year and the Hogwarts staff understood when students had jobs in Hogsmeade and came back a little after curfew.

"I'm not sure," she said. "But hopefully. I think I'll enjoy working there."

Isolde then sighed and thought over whether or not she should tell someone about Dathan. She was a bit concerned about him being around her sister, and it was eating her up inside. She had to talk to someone and she felt she could trust Ollie.

"Ollie," she said. "Can I tell you something that you could keep a secret?"

@ollie

[Deleted]

Ollie thought that maybe having a job would help Isolde to come out of her shell a little more and become more comfortable with talking to a few more people. But it would be a good job for her because most of it would be keeping to herself and working with the books, which ment it would be manageable for her. "I'll have to come down sometime while you're working and see how it's going for you. It's pretty exciting that you're getting a job," he said warmly.

When she became more serious and asked if she could tell him a secret, he felt a bit nervous. It sounded like something big. Of course he wanted to support her and be there for her though, so he nodded. "Of course, you can tell me. What is it?" he asked her tentatively.

@isolde

[Deleted]

Isolde smiled when Ollie said he would come visit her at work. She could show him what books she liked. Well she could do that at the house, but she was still waiting for most of her books to be sent.

"I'd like that," she said. "I could show you around."

Isolde then sighed and tried to think of where to begin. She was glad Ollie would let her tell him though, she trusted him to not tell anyone.

"I do know the man my sister is going to live with," shes aid, hoping he wouldn't be angry that she lied. "He's a very mean man. His name is Dathan Burke. He lives in Knockturn Alley and his shop sells things that hurts people." Isolde then looked at Ollie with tears in her eyes. "I'm scared for her, Ollie, but if I tell anyone, she could get into trouble for being with him. She could go to Azkaban. Morgaine can't be taken away from me. I love her too much." She then moved in and embraced Ollie. It just felt natural to do so. She was not affectionate, but she needed the comfort at the time, and holding on to Ollie helped.

@ollie