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witticasterWill takes the train to Hogwarts. :D :D :D
Will's mother kissed him goodbye, on the hidden train platform, and his father shook his hand, and then they were gone.
He was left to climb aboard the train alone, feeling out of place in his shirt and slacks, and supposed his parents had felt similarly. Most of the other parents saying their farewells sported the same curious robes that the wizards and witches of Diagon Alley had worn--the same sort Will now possessed himself, packed away in his school trunk. In comparison, Dad was in a suit, and Mum, a dress, and Will himself--well, he was now grateful that he hadn't been coaxed into putting on a tie for the occasion.
Nelson hooted quietly in his covered cage as Will made his way on board, struggling to balance as he walked down the train corridor. He did not want to leave Nelson alone all the way up to school, but it was difficult to maneuver a tawny owl in its cage when the cage seemed nearly half his own height already. At the first compartment he found not already full of older boys or giggling girls, Will opened the door and asked, "May I sit in here?"
There was no response from the compartment's only resident, a boy with dark hair and skin the colour of bronze. Will set Nelson's cage down for a moment, for it was growing heavy, and it was easier to see the other boy that way. He was reading something, slouched in his seat with his feet balanced precariously against the train window.
"If you don't mind," Will tried again.
The boy looked over, glancing up and down at Will; his face grew sullen at the sight of the cage near his feet. "Do what you like," he said, sounding very much as though what he would like would be for Will to leave.
And so Will did; he was not about to spend a whole train trip attempting to make conversation with a boy who didn't even want to speak to him. Hefting Nelson's cage back into his arms, he said, "Sorry for bothering you," in a stiff voice, and hoped the next compartment would hold friendlier faces.
It actually contained a group of older girls, comparing cards of some sort; Will hurried quickly on, until he reached another nearly-empty compartment. This time, the other boy was freckled beneath a sunburn left over from the summer, and looked as though he was trying not to cry.
"May I sit in here?" Will asked, and while the shrug he got in return was not exactly friendly, it was more encouraging than sulky silence. He set Nelson's cage down on the floor and sat across from the boy. The train began to move, jerking forward a little as it began the journey to school, and Nelson made a sleepy-sounding noise. It seemed appropriate to try again to engage the other boy in conversation--it would be a very long trip otherwise--and so Will said, "My name is Will Laurence."
"I'm John Granby," he said, and did not bother to shake the hand Will offered to him. John had curled himself into a ball and was staring out the window quite determinedly.
Will's mother kissed him goodbye, on the hidden train platform, and his father shook his hand, and then they were gone.
He was left to climb aboard the train alone, feeling out of place in his shirt and slacks, and supposed his parents had felt similarly. Most of the other parents saying their farewells sported the same curious robes that the wizards and witches of Diagon Alley had worn--the same sort Will now possessed himself, packed away in his school trunk. In comparison, Dad was in a suit, and Mum, a dress, and Will himself--well, he was now grateful that he hadn't been coaxed into putting on a tie for the occasion.
Nelson hooted quietly in his covered cage as Will made his way on board, struggling to balance as he walked down the train corridor. He did not want to leave Nelson alone all the way up to school, but it was difficult to maneuver a tawny owl in its cage when the cage seemed nearly half his own height already. At the first compartment he found not already full of older boys or giggling girls, Will opened the door and asked, "May I sit in here?"
There was no response from the compartment's only resident, a boy with dark hair and skin the colour of bronze. Will set Nelson's cage down for a moment, for it was growing heavy, and it was easier to see the other boy that way. He was reading something, slouched in his seat with his feet balanced precariously against the train window.
"If you don't mind," Will tried again.
The boy looked over, glancing up and down at Will; his face grew sullen at the sight of the cage near his feet. "Do what you like," he said, sounding very much as though what he would like would be for Will to leave.
And so Will did; he was not about to spend a whole train trip attempting to make conversation with a boy who didn't even want to speak to him. Hefting Nelson's cage back into his arms, he said, "Sorry for bothering you," in a stiff voice, and hoped the next compartment would hold friendlier faces.
It actually contained a group of older girls, comparing cards of some sort; Will hurried quickly on, until he reached another nearly-empty compartment. This time, the other boy was freckled beneath a sunburn left over from the summer, and looked as though he was trying not to cry.
"May I sit in here?" Will asked, and while the shrug he got in return was not exactly friendly, it was more encouraging than sulky silence. He set Nelson's cage down on the floor and sat across from the boy. The train began to move, jerking forward a little as it began the journey to school, and Nelson made a sleepy-sounding noise. It seemed appropriate to try again to engage the other boy in conversation--it would be a very long trip otherwise--and so Will said, "My name is Will Laurence."
"I'm John Granby," he said, and did not bother to shake the hand Will offered to him. John had curled himself into a ball and was staring out the window quite determinedly.
no subject
on 2010-09-30 07:23 pm (UTC)