FLASHBACK.

[trickswithsticks]

"GRYFFINDOR" screams the Hat.

Leah tears it off her head and chucks it directly at the teacher as she jumps down to the floor and strides off to the appropriate, table. The noise is already getting on her nerves and her scowl that's just her neutral expression stays put, not caring for the loud cheers or the people leaning to get a better look at the tiny girl in the too-big robes. She has eyes only for the food.

There's only one space left that's big enough for a person, so that's where she ends up.

[OOC: please ping lycanfae or email innerbrat@gmail.com before tagging, thanks!]

Comments

[theweasleysheir]

Jo is ignoring her whole table. The one great thing about there being many kids to sort is people stopped whispering in the surprised tone about how is that girl in our house.

She decides to pick up the knife on table, and play with it in her hand while waiting. If she just stares at it flipping back and forth, or even does, and stare at the table, the food will happen, shortly, right?

[trickswithsticks]

Leah's eyes dwell on the knife for a few seconds, watching each trajectory as it twirls. In her pocket, under her robes, is a knife she stole from the London pub where she's been staying this past week.

That week's been a long enough exposure to this Brave New World that she knows to expect with meal times, but the wait is still annoying.

After watching the knife for a few seconds, she looks at her new neighbour's face.

[theweasleysheir]

Jo dislikes the wait. And the tension in the people around her since she started moving the knife. Everyone here is so soft. But she does at least stop, with a sigh, when the headmaster asks for everyone's attention.


At least everyone's staring there, too.

There are rules and reminders. Warnings about what not to do, that make her far more curious about these things than wary, as they should. There are last minute gobbledegook words, apparently a hold over to some earlier head master.


And finally applause breaks out, because the magic words happen;

"Let the feast begin!"

[trickswithsticks]

Leah moves fast like magic, snatching food from the plates in front of her and piling it on her plate, ducking under arms and over arms, with no attempt at communication with the owners of those arms and hands.

She gets as much on her plate as possible before eating, enough that a couple of third years start staring.

[theweasleysheir]

Jo is totally eying this a bit.


"I'm pretty sure it'll still be there in five minutes."

[trickswithsticks]

Leah freezes for a second, before she turns a scowl onto the girl.

At least half of that anger is at herself for being caught acting weirdly.

"You got a problem?"

[theweasleysheir]

"Several, reportedly," Jo said.

Detention of her full first two weeks and sore knuckles? Even if the later was mostly healed by whatever foul smelling substance Sokka put on her hand.

[trickswithsticks]

Leah gives her the brightest of sarcastic smiles.

"Then you may wanna work on them. Don't make them mine."

She's stopped piling her plate with food, now and is eating it, rushing it in bursts between remembering not to do that.

[theweasleysheir]

Jo's eyebrows rose barely. "Whatever."

A half roll of her eyes and shake of her head.
It wasn't like she intended this place to be much different than the others.

[trickswithsticks]

Leah scowls at her again for good measure and starts on her food again.

She doesn't get too far into the plate before she discovers her eyes weer bigger than her stomach, but she keeps going even after slowing, just for the bloody mindedness of it.

[theweasleysheir]

Jo is trying to eat and ignore everyone else. But that girl next to her. She's trying not to think about the fact they are going to be roommates.

Not even for this month. But for seven years.



Can she tell someone she accidentally talked Latin in her sleep?

[trickswithsticks]

Leah stays in her sulky mood for precisely ten minutes before she forgets to be in a bad mood again.

Now just picking at her food, she's looking around the hall with sharp hazel eyes that never seen to light in the same place for very long. She's done being hungry now; she's done being blase about the magic; she's known this world exists for precisely two weeks now, and she cannot get enough of anything.

Except the people. For now, she mostly ignores them.

[theweasleysheir]

Jo is still trying to decide if she approves of the food here. It is definitely nothing like home. All the golden platters and fancy serving things. And the food itself.


It wasn't terrible. Or near terrible.

And somehow that made it all the more terrible.

[trickswithsticks]

After Leah's slowed down to picking at her plate and then just ignoring her plate, she leans back in her chair and watches the floating candles, wondering about spell that's keeping them up.

She glances around the table, and grabs a salt shaker, tossing it up and down in her hand thoghtfully.

Then thinks better of it, replacing it on the table. The staring third ears are still staring.

And occasionally muttering to each other about weirdoes.

[theweasleysheir]

Even if half the table is immersed in catch-up and food, they all move too much and they're all new. And Jo keeps following what they are doing. In what are less than covert glances, that don't conceal her disinterest.

She's so used to knowing her surroundings better. Even if she had heard about this place from nearly infancy.







A lot in the last few years, when her Mom would blister her Dad's ears for pointing out it didn't matter how many muggle schools kicked her out because she was bound for Hogwarts.


Seven years. Seven years.



How many minutes had she been here again?

[trickswithsticks]

"How does the spell that holds the candles up work?"

What? If it won't be appropriate comapny behaviour to throw things at them, she's bloody well going to ask.

[theweasleysheir]

"It is pretty cool, isn't it?" That was the sudden voice from across the table. A little girl with picture perfect black ringlets.

"We learned to float feathers last year," Another boy piped up, not too far from them. Maybe a year older.

Jo is listening, but she isn't so much commenting. She's trying to remember if she actually knows the answer to the question.

[trickswithsticks]

"Yeahbut," Leah insists, the words coming out as one, "How does it work?"

The people around them, mostly younger years give her confused looks. Then the boy who piped up smiles patronisingly. "Magic.

"You'll learn how to do it in class, don't worry."

Leah wrinkles her nose at him, as if he just said the stupidest thing in the world.