hand in hand

Luke was sad to say goodbye to Hogwarts, but the past seven years had been nothing more than an absolute privilege. Luke had learned so much about himself, about the wonderful wizarding world he was excited to step out into properly now that he'd graduated from school. Ensuring his wand was tucked securely into his pocket, Luke smiled to himself as he pushed his luggage cart towards the entrance back to Kings Cross station, back to the muggle world. He would soon have a letter from the Ministry about an interview for a job as an Auror, thanks to the help of Minerva McGonagall - his mother would be so proud. Looking to his owl as she hooted within her cage, Luke reached a finger to gently tickle the top of her head. "I must find a lovely aviary to buy for you, Love." Luke hummed, before taking a deep breath as the barrier came into view. "Hold on tight, Love." Luke broke into a jog then, and felt the world around him turn as he ran through the brick wall as if it was easy. Coming out on the other side to a bustling muggle London, Luke felt himself collide with someone, and he his first instinct was to catch Love's cage as she fell with an alarmed hoot. "Watch where you're going!" Luke frowned, looking towards an apologetic woman, and although he almost felt guilty for shouting, Love had nearly been injured. "For goodness sake, don't you have any awareness for those around you?" He settled Love back down with a frown, tucking a strand of blonde curls behind his ear.

Leigh had spent the night at her boyfriend's, but she always felt a bit like a rebellious fourteen year old again as she arrived home at the early morning, where her parents were probably still alseep and wouldn't notice her slip through the front door. Grinning with the thought, Leigh shook her head in amusement as she tied her dishevelled hair into a ponytail, not noticing the Clifford's car pull in just after hers had. Pushing open her car door, Leigh shut it once more, thanking every deity she could think of that she'd stolen Alex's hoodie to keep herself warm. Seeing Karen Clifford, Leigh offered a wave, pausing as she saw Michael Clifford, suddenly lowering her hand and feeling a stab of sadness through her chest. He'd been her best friend once. Hell, Leigh had hoped that Michael would be the one she ended up with, but he left one year for private school and came back that summer acting as though she didn't exist, because he'd made better friends. Ducking her head with the thought, Leigh quickly found her house key on her key chain and shoved it into the lock, because the more she thought about Michael, the sadder she became. Slipping inside, Leigh turned to shut the door, seeing another glimpse of Michael fucking Clifford before she closed the door a little harder than intended.

Ashton was, admittedly, a little sad that his final year at Hogwarts school had come to an end, but he could now take refuge in the muggle world for a little bit, and although Ashton loved magic, and loved the fact that he possessed that ability and worked hard to perfect the craft, he was grateful that he could blend in for a little bit. Everyone in Hogwarts had known who he was, the heir of the Irwin estate, an infamously cruel line of Slytherins - and Ashton had been no better, determined to prove to everyone who knew him as an Irwin that he was deserving to carry the title. But now that school was over, he felt as though he could exhale heavily and take a moment to just breathe, because the neighbours on either side of the Irwin family were muggles, and there was nothing his parents loved more than learning about the muggle world and their weaknesses to carry back to those who still believed that the Dark Lord would return one day. Ashton knew that if he did, his parents would be the first in line to bow down, and by default, by association, so would he. Frowning with the thought, Ashton looked to his mother as she scolded him for his untidy appearance. "I've only been home since last night, and I already have to go to the Mitchell's?" His frown deepened then, and he tidied his tie as his mother fussed, always wanting their neighbours to think they were much better than them. Because they were, because they were wizards, and they were Slytherins, and they were to act like such. As he followed his mother out, holding a tray full of sponge cake his mother had baked for brunch to enjoy with the Mitchell's, he waited patiently as she knocked the door. "Can't I just go home?"

Queenie sat on the grass in her front lawn with her older sister, making daisy chains in the morning sun when she noticed that Mrs Hood from next door had returned from an early morning trip in her loyal Ford Anglia - and Queenie couldn't help but wonder if Calum was coming home. Ignoring her sister's teasing Queenie and Calum sitting in a tree - chant with a roll of her eyes - she'd always harboured a bit of a crush on Calum, but he was her friend, and nothing more. He probably would never see her like that anyway. Smiling, Queenie stood to her feet, heading to the fence that seperated the two properities. "Good morning Joy," Queenie greeted happily, absolutely adoring Joy Hood, who had always treated the Stephens children as her own, and although she pretended not to notice as the passenger side door opened, Queenie raised her eyebrows at the older woman with a cheeky grin. "Mum and Dad are having a barbecue tonight to celebrate the nice weather we've been having, they wanted to know if you and Thomas would be coming." Peering up as the passenger door closed though, Queenie blinked in surprise as she saw Calum Hood, golden skinned and all grown up now. Swallowing thickly, Queenie offered him a wave, not wanting to seem strange. "Hi, Calum." And although Queenie could hear her sister laughing, Queenie ignored her - a wise decision, really. "How was school?"

Harry had offered to find his own way home from King's Cross Station to save his Mother a journey, and he'd arrived home at a fairly decent time in a Black Cab that offered a fairly decent discount for new Hogwarts graduates - that was the wonderful thing about being a wizard, anyone could possess the talent of magic, and muggles would be none the wiser. Smiling to himself as he got his luggage from the trunk, Harry offered a departing wave to the driver as he headed up the stairs that lead to his modest home, surprised to see that the home next door had finally become occupied over the academic year. Harry had always wondered if that house held a dark secret or something that stopped people from wanting to buy it, but alas, somebody had actually taken the bait and brought the property - about time. Pausing as he heard another car engine, Harry looked over his shoulder to see, who he assumed to be, the family that had moved in. "Hello there," Harry called with a dimpled smile, studying the two older people with interest - although it wasn't them who had caught his attention, it was, who Harry assumed to be, their daughter, with long, blonde hair tied into an elegant updo, and a face that was certainly crafted by angels. "You must be the new family next door. I'm Harry, one of your neighbours." He introduced, pushing his chestnut curls from his face with an almost shy movement, because he'd never witnessed anyone this beautiful before. Harry had always been told that crossing a magical family with a non-magical family should of been considered a sin, but Harry could at least admire - it would never come to any more, no matter how many times he might daydream of it from that moment on. "How are you finding Holmes Chapel so far?"

Beatrice had laughed herself senseless when she'd found out that her younger brother had been enrolled to summer school for failing to pass his Year 8 exams - in fact, she was certain she'd had to use her inhaler for the first time in a long time because she laughed that hard. One of the things that had caused her to stop laughing so quickly though, was that she would be the one driving Elliott to his classes, and picking him up at the end of the day too. "God, Elliott," Beatrice whined as she unlocked her car, pushing her hair from her face with a slight pout. "Why couldn't you have studied just that little harder? We could both still be asleep by now, but no." Beatrice rolled her eyes teasingly. "D'you want a McDonalds breakfast?" Beatrice offered, wiggling her eyebrows overdramatically as her brother nodded with a grin. The two had always been close, and Beatrice appreciated that. Pausing in her movement as she saw the front door to one of the houses across the road open, Beatrice offered her neighbour a wave. She recognised him as the eldest of the Tomlinson brood, Louis. He and his siblings attended a prestigious private school, because children of a family that posh dare not mingle with the commoners. Grinning with the thought, Beatrice climbed into the front seat of her car, starting the engine. "Let's go."

Fred wondered if paying a visit to Porter's Pranks and Practical Jokes before work would be worth it, because Maris wasn't there to greet him as she'd usually always been in the past. She'd been missing for quite some time, and her Father had told Fred (through George, when he'd gone to inquire for Fred), that she had gone to university. Fred could admit that visiting the shop wasn't the same without Maris, but they had a wonderful new item for sale, and Fred had always taken inspiration from wonderful muggle inventions, so he decided that visiting was definitely worth it. He'd just have to be a little more patient to see Maris again. The village that the shop sat in wasn't far from the Burrow, and Fred had apparated easily without being seen, because really, it was still quite early, and Fred learned that muggles quite enjoyed a lie in whenever they had the opportunity. Pushing the door open, Fred grinned as the door made a farting noise, shaking his head with a slight laugh. "Hello?" Fred called, looking at the familiar shop he had come to adore. He practically knew the place like the back of his hand, and although all the muggle things had been a little intimidating at first, he'd come to become accustomed to everything. "Anyone around? I thought I'd pop in before work."

Nicole straightened out the collar of her work shirt, watching a middle aged man and what she assumed to be his son look at some of things on the shelves. The older man seemed enthusiastic about everything, which was a refreshing attitude for Nicole to experience. Usually people were quick to turn away every little thing, or decided to be rude to her for no reason other than the fact that they wanted to be mean to someone, and Nicole just happened to be the first target they'd come across. The younger of the two, a tall, redheaded boy, seemed bored out of his mind, and Nicole smiled with amusement as she walked over, unable to stop herself, her curiousity becoming a little too much for her to ignore. "Good morning, it's so lovely to see some friendly faces." Nicole greeted happily, tucking a stray strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "You look absolutely bedazzled," she giggled at Arthur. "Is there anything I can help you with, sir?"

Thea was looking around, hopeful to see her parents, though she was doubtful they would show up. She knew she was setting herself up for disappointment; it was nothing new. But this had been her last year, she’d hoped that maybe they’d finally change, be a bit more responsible. Seeing that they were nowhere to be found, though, she knew that was unlikely. She’d still been searching when she felt herself collide with something, and she gave a pained sound, but quickly looked over. “I’m so sorry,” she quickly said, worried that she’d caused a huge problem, and she stepped back quickly when the boy had shouted. Swallowing, she ducked her head, unsure of how to explain herself. Instead, she just offered a small nod. “I’m sorry,” she apologized again, “I’ll, um… I’ll get out of your way.” She quickly stepped around the boy with the owl, unable to bring herself to lift her gaze, and she quickly went to find somewhere to sit, hopeful that her parents would show.

Michael had just gotten home from Hogwarts and was unloading his things from the car when he heard footsteps. He lifted his gaze, easily spotting Leigh heading up to her house, and he watched her for a moment. It’d been forever since he’d even had a conversation with her, but she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever known. When he’d been a student at Hogwarts, a Slytherin, surrounded by people who looked down on muggleborns, and even more so on muggles, he found it difficult to be her friend, his mind tainted by those around him. But even when he’d been intent on not being her friend anymore, he could never bring himself to ignore her growing beauty in the months he came back for the summer. And, now, he was graduated, free to do as he pleased. But, he was sure the damage was done and he wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do to fix it. Shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts, he grabbed his things and headed towards his own door, making a face when he heard Leigh’s door slam shut, wondering what that was about.

Luce giggled as her newest fling chased her down the stairs as she rushed to the door when she heard the knock. Just as she opened the door, Peter caught her around the waist and swung her and she laughed as the movement caused the door to swing open and she spotted the Irwins. “Mr. and Mrs. Irwin, hi!” she greeted, “And bratty Irwin, you’re here, too.” She made a face but grinned as Peter pressed his face into her neck. She knew this was only temporary, just like he knew; it was just for fun for both of them. “Come in, my parents are in the back, on the patio.”

Calum climbed out of the car, listening to his mom assure Queenie that they would try to make it to the barbecue. He looked over when he heard his name being called, his gaze landing on Queenie, and he could admit she’d grown into her beauty, but he also knew they weren’t exactly friends. Their parents were friends, but they weren’t, not really. “Hi to you, too, Queenie,” he said with a small nod, arching a brow when he heard her little sister giggling. Still, he went to the back of the car, opening the trunk, and he reached to grab out his things, shifting them in his arms before he closed the trunk. “School was just… School.” He looked back over to Queenie. “What about you, then?”

Aliah climbed out of the car when she and her parents got home. They’d only lived there for about a week, so everything still felt new and foreign, but she was trying to get used to it. Hearing somebody greet them, she looked over, watching the boy with surprise. She hadn’t seen the boy before, so she couldn’t help but be curious, especially since he was fairly attractive - even though she knew her parents wouldn’t approve of that, because they wanted her to focus on ballet without distractions. “Um, hi,” she greeted with a small nod, watching him for a moment, “Yeah, we just moved in last week.” She shrugged slightly. “I don’t think we’ve been here long enough to have an opinion.”

Louis had only been home an hour, if that. He’d arrived early, ready to rest, but he’d instead had to deal with typical chores. Rubbing at his face as he had finished the chores just a few minutes prior, his gaze went to the window, and he caught sight of his neighbor, Beatrice, and her younger brother, Elliott, leaving their house. Normally, he wouldn’t pay too much mind to it. His family had raised him to see Muggles as less-than, and, well, Beatrice - no matter how gorgeous she was - and her brother and her entire family were all Muggles, which meant he was to have nothing to do with any of them. But he had finished his time at Hogwarts, he had graduated, and outside of his family, he had no reason to remain as he had been. Before he knew what he was doing, he was heading out of the house and towards the car, offering a smile and a wave. “Morning, Beatrice,” he greeted.

Maris breathed out quietly as she was stocking the shelves. She’d only come back from university the day before, but she was glad to be home, she could admit. Still, when she heard a voice she had longed to hear, she couldn’t help but perk up. Grinning, she made her way towards the front. “Fred Weasley, is that you?” she called with amusement, her grin broadening when she caught sight of him. “Look at you, Ginger! Long time, no see!” Before she could really stop herself, she made her way over to hug him. “It’s good to see you, Fred. What brings you here, hm?”

George was finding amusement in his dad’s curiosity, seeing him picking up so many things and examining them in wonder. The older man’s antics were always a bright start to any day, in George’s opinion. “Come on, dad, we haven’t got all day, I’ve gotta be at work eventually,” he joked lightly, though he blinked when he heard a melodic voice greeting them. Blinking, he looked over with surprise, though his surprise grew when he took notice of the gorgeous girl who had approached them. He’d never seen anyone so beautiful, so perfect, and for a moment, he thought he must be imagining her, but he shook his head slightly. “Sorry, you don’t have to help us,” he assured with a smile, “My father might talk your ears off if you give him the chance.”