Nora Cadwallader (safekeep) wrote in disorderic, @ 2017-11-19 19:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | barnaby snell, nora cadwallader |
WHO: The Snell Siblings
WHAT: Getting ready for Hogwarts
WHEN: August 2001
WHERE: The Snell House
WARNINGS: Siblings
"Bazzy, have you got your supplies list?" Nora asked, ever the big sister as her little brother came bounding down the stairs. She finished banding her hair into a ponytail (fourth year, she decided, was going to be a year for ponytails) and followed after her brother. "Dad says we're leaving at ten for Diagon Alley, so don't forget it!" “I have it right here,” Barnaby replied, cheerfully smoothing out his supplies list. He had reread it countless times, memorizing every detail. He wasn’t sure what he was more excited about, his textbooks or a new pet. He was buzzing with excitement as he looked up at his sister with wide eyes. “Do you think Dad will let us stop by Quality Quidditch Supplies? I want to look at the new broomsticks.” "You're not allowed to have one yet," Nora insisted, though she wanted to stop there herself. "It says so right on the letter." Barnaby rolled his eyes. “I know what it says,” he replied, lifting his chin. “I just want to look at them. That’s not against the rules.” "Well," Nora conceded, "I don't think you're going to have a hard time convincing Dad to go there, anyway. He loves it there. You're allowed to bring a pet, though! Do you think you want a pet?" “I definitely want a pet,” Barnaby said, face lit up in excitement. “I kind of want a kitten, but owls are dead useful. But a cat can sleep with you and an owl can’t.” He didn’t want to admit this to his sister, but he was worried about being lonely at night. He always slept with his stuffed bear — a stuffed bear he was leaving at home, because Hogwarts students didn’t sleep with stuffed bears (or so he thought.) “I definitely do not want a toad, though.” "Nobody wants a toad," Nora scoffed. Thinking she picked up on something in his voice, she suggested, "Well. The school has owls you can borrow. They haven't got cats you can borrow, though." Barnaby gave Nora a curious look. “What would you do if you were me?” "I think I would get a cat," she said, which wasn't really true. Nora thought she didn't need a pet when she started her first year at Hogwarts, and now she was stubborn and insisted she didn't need one at all -- even though she wanted an owl, now. Still, Baz had said two things in favour of a kitten and only one for an owl, so Nora decided that meant a kitten was what he really wanted and he just needed to hear it was okay. That was what big sisters were for. The corners of Barnaby’s mouth turned upward as he let out a delighted huff of breath that wasn’t quite a laugh. “Okay, I’ll get a cat too. But not just because you’d get one,” he insisted, pointing a finger in his sister’s direction. “I’m getting one because I can train it to steal people’s things.” "Bazzy, that's not going to make a great first impression," Nora said, just in case her brother wasn't joking. “How would they know it was me?” Baz asked with a guileless expression. “I’ll have my Cannons poster that’s a little torn go missing so I can go—” He dramatically clutched at his chest as he affected a terrible posh accent, “Oh no, my favourite item in the whole world has gone missing! Who is the culprit?” (He had just learned the word culprit from a radio drama and was excited to use it in a sentence.) "You're never going to make prefect if you start out by stealing from your housemates," Nora said, smirking at the idea of Baz as a prefect under any circumstances. "What if you're a Hufflepuff? Hufflepuffs definitely can't steal from each other." Barnaby shrugged. “I don’t think I’m going to be a Hufflepuff or a prefect.” The idea of being a Hufflepuff wasn’t a disappointing one, but… “I’m going to be in Ravenclaw.” "You'd be a good Ravenclaw. There are a lot of weirdos in Ravenclaw," Nora teased. “I’m not weird,” he protested, making a face. “There’s nothing weird about, I don’t know, being awesome and liking Quidditch. And being awesomely smart about Quidditch!” "You do know more minutiae about Quidditch than anybody else I know, that's true," Nora said. Then, a little nervously, "Can you keep a secret? I think I'm going to try out for the team this year," Nora confessed, saying aloud something she hadn't told anyone in the family yet. “What?” Barnaby replied, practically shouting. “Are you serious?” He beamed excitedly at Nora, as if he was suddenly seeing her in a new light. “That’d be so cool! I’d tell you everything I know.” Nora smiled at his enthusiasm, even as she wanted him to quiet down before Dad heard anything. Still teasing, she said, "If you're a Ravenclaw, though, you'll have to cheer against me." His smile faded as he considered her words. “I’ll cheer for you but not the rest of Hufflepuff. I think that’s fair.” "That's an acceptable compromise," Nora decided. "Do you think you're ready? For Hogwarts?" Barnaby scoffed, then let out an arrogant laugh. “Nora, come on.” He gave her his most winning smile as he said, “I was born ready.” There was a small part of him that was vaguely worried about not being ready, or a horrible scenario in which the Sorting Hat declared he wasn’t fit to be at Hogwarts at all. But those concerns were outweighed by the confidence he felt. “I’m going to be the cutest and coolest kid there. Mum said so.” Nora furrowed her brow as if she were confused. "But wait … that's the same thing Mum told me. We can't both be the cutest and coolest kids there." “Mum said I was her favorite child,” Baz replied easily, with a mischievous grin. “Which means I’m cuter and cooler. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” "If you're her favourite, it just means she tells you what you want to hear, not the real truth. She just wants to protect your feelings," Nora replied just as easily. "So I'm definitely the cooler, cuter one." He pulled a face. “Dad also thinks I’m cuter and cooler,” he protested. It was not a very convincing lie — their father wasn’t very open with compliments. "I didn't realize you could read minds, too," Nora said, her smile faltering a little. “Oh, yeah,” Barnaby replied, puffing out his chest a little. “I have um, a Third Eye. An Inner Eye. The Sight.” "Well then, watch out for the squid on the way in to school," Nora said. "I hear he likes kids with the Sight." Barnaby’s expression was a mixture of horror and skepticism. “There’s no way Professor Dumbledore would let anyone be eaten by a squid,” he replied, with the air of someone who had a very close friendship with Albus Dumbledore. He did have five copies of Dumbledore’s chocolate frog card, after all. “Stop trying to scare me.” "Well, the squid's not really the scary one, anyway," Nora said with a shrug. "The Merfolk and the Centaurs are much touchier. And," she added, landing on one of the long-held (but unconfirmed, and certainly not believed by Nora) rumours of the school, "The Acromantula that lives out in the Forbidden Forest." “Hogwarts is supposed to be safe,” Barnaby insisted, though he sounded less sure of himself now. There was a pause before he asked, in a much quieter voice, “Are there werewolves?” Then, in a moment of sibling pity, Nora softened her tone. "To be honest, there are rumours about some living in the forest," she said, "But I don't think they're really there. I've never seen one, anyway." “I’m not scared of werewolves.” It was not a very convincing act of bravado, however, as he had had several nightmares about werewolves over the years. “I’d give them a hah—” He punched the air, then did what was supposed to be a karate chop, “—and a hiya and then I’d set them on fire with my awesome curses.” "I've heard that works really well against werewolves," Nora said, more encouraging than sarcastic. Barnaby smiled, obviously pleased. “I’d protect you from werewolves and acromantulas too.” "Barnaby Snell, my hero," Nora said. "Maybe you'll end up in Gryffindor." “Maybe!” Baz folded his supplies list up and tucked it into his pocket. “But I think it’s going to be Ravenclaw.” |