New Beginnings

[Isotta Ellesborough]

• It was smaller than she had expected, not half so grand as the station in Italy had been—or even as the one in London! Still, the child thought, at least she would not get lost.
  
  Clutching the strap of her small trunk—the rest of her possessions would be sent along later—Isotta Ellesborough disembarked from the train, trunk dragging along the platform behind her. Her travels had been an adventure, to be sure—a friend of her foster father had seen her as far as London, where he had been travelling on business, but had let her have her way of things for the entire journey, stopping where she liked and exploring as she liked. The journey from London had been more exciting still, the first time the blonde had truly travelled on her own before.
  
  But now she was here: Hogsmeade. She had, of course, heard of it before, but she had expected it to be either much bigger or much smaller than the town she had gazed upon as the train rolled into the station. Regardless of its size, the tricky part began now: finding cousin James’ house.
  
  Isotta was dressed prettily in a simple blue dress, her light blonde tresses bound up by a white ribbon. Idly, the child supposed she ought to have come the rest of the way with some sort of companion, but was quite determined to find her way all by herself.
  
  Curiously, the girl looked around her as she entered the station proper, trying to determine her next move.

  

[Fabian Prewett]

Fabian was leaning towards a lamppost with his long legs awkwardly crossing each other. In his hand he had a small book he had just bought at the station information desk. He was keen on going to London this summer, even if his mother definitely wanted him to stay put his entire break. He would have to stay with his family, but not every second of his life. So he thought, at least.

As the train from London slowly stopped in front of him he raised his eyes and watched as the passengers left the train. He was curious to see if he would recognize anyone, but unfortunately he didn't spot any familiar faces. Instead his eyes fell on a young girl, about the age of a first year and he smiled a little. She was apparently on her own, which really wasn't a proper situation for a little girl like her.

"Did you know that there are gigantic monsters here in Hogsmeade and they will probably eat you alive?" He made a grimace towards her and curled his fingers as he pretended his hands were claws. "They like little girls especially" He added with an exaggerated expression, but then gave her a friendly smile to underline his silly joke.

  

[Isotta Ellesborough]

• It was with the expression of a determined suggestion that Isotta surveyed the boy—for while he was certainly very tall indeed, he still had a scrawniness to him which made her incredibly reluctant to consider him a man—from curly mop of red hair (how unfashionable!) to shoes of a quality high enough to suggest an affluent background. His commentary faced similar scrutiny; the blonde quickly determined that any monster that didn’t finish off such a stick of a boy was of no threat to her.
  
  “I shall disarm them with my charm,” she offered sweetly, though there was still a glint of judgment in her eyes. “And, that failing, stamp on their toes!” Though her voice was decidedly accented, her English was clear.

  

[Fabian Prewett]

The young girl was clearly not impressed by what she saw, even though she was too well behaved to comment on his hair, which had the talent of attracting attention even when Fabian didn't want it. A smile appeared on his face, as he leaned forward and took a step towards her. It forced him to lower his face quite a bit since he wanted to look her in the eyes.

"I'm sure you will" He agreed, she was a very pretty girl for her age and Fabian was certain she was well aware of it.
"Well, if you really dare to enter Hogsmeade, you must have some kind of purpose? Where are you going Miss? I would be happy help you get there. I am pretty good at scaring monsters as well, they tend to resent my red curly hair." He remarked with a grin and looked around the station, still searching for someone who might claim her. Nobody came, it was rather disturbing actually. Had she run away? Well, if that was the case the best thing to do was to pretend to accompany her on this adventure. At least till he got a better idea.

  

[Isotta Ellesborough]

• She was pleased—and her face showed it—when he did not immediately discount her plan to thwart any such monsters that might inconvenience her. That, Isotta decided on the spot, was exactly the sort of consideration that she deserved; if that was how everyone in this Hogsmeade would respond to her plans, the young girl thought she would like this new town very much indeed. Isotta let out a small giggle at his comment about the hair, smiling brightly up at him—though he had bent slightly to lower the distance between them—to respond.
  
  “I don’t know the address in particular,” the witch replied cheerfully, “but I believe I am looking for a place called Bartonburg?”
  
  While somewhat reluctant to end her solo adventures, the child knew that she needed at least some assistance if she hoped to get anywhere. It had occurred to her on the train that she had not remembered to inform cousin James of her arrival, and so no one would be in the least worried if she did not arrive in one piece!

  

[Fabian Prewett]

Fabian smiled friendly at her as she giggled and met her gaze when she told him where she was going. Bartonburg, he repeated in his thoughts, that would probably make her middle class. He rarely went to that part of the town, but he could not leave her alone here at the station.

"Bartonbug you say, well luckily I know where that area is.. Hopefully you know the name of the person you are supposed to meet? In that case I'm sure someone will know where he lives." He reassured her, not because she actually looked like she needed reassurance.

"By the way, my name is Fabian Prewett, it's a pleasure to meet you Miss" He continued as he had been too busy behaving like a clown to properly introduce himself. He made a rather comical bow afterwards as though they were at a very formal occasion and straightened his back before he turned towards the exit of the station.

  

[Isotta Ellesborough]

• “Isotta Ellesborough,” the young girl replied with a perfunctory curtsey.
  
  She was quite pleased to hear that Mr. Prewett knew where this ‘Bartonburg’ place was. She very much doubted that Hogsmeade would be half so grand as some of the places she had visited in her eleven years, but even small villages could be difficult to navigate if one did not know where they were going.
  
  “I should think I can find the house quite easily if you’ll be so kind as to show me to the neighborhood,” Isotta added brightly. Now that he had proved himself friendly and useful, she had made up her mind to be very pleasant to him indeed.

  

[Fabian Prewett]

Fabian nodded and headed towards the exit of the station, assuming that she would follow him if he started walking.
"It surely makes it a lot easier if you know the house." He commented and smiled at her as they walked away from the station and into the town area. It would be a rather long walk and he didn't want to make it shorter by walking close to the slums. He wasn't afraid of it but he wouldn't risk anything, not when he had a little girl by his side.
"So where are you from? It's not often I see young girls like you at the station" He commented as he offered her his hand with a smile. She really didn't look like someone who would run away but little girls often surprised him.

  

[Isotta Ellesborough]

• She frowned as he set off without making any efforts to help her with her trunk, but set off after him quickly, her own short legs requiring two strides to match one of his own. It took little trouble for her to adjust to this rhythm though, and so she answered him without any unseemly wheezing.
  
  “There are no young girls like me,” she replied primly, though her face was possessed by an angelic grin. Most girls, she thought smugly, would cry if left alone, but Isotta herself relished the adventure of it. Besides, she never struggled to meet new people—as Mr. Prewett himself was evidence of. “Not even in Italy, where I grew up—Florence particularly,” she added as an afterthought.

  

[Fabian Prewett]

Fabian felt quite rude when he remembered his manners, he had forgotten that he ought to help her with her trunk! He was glad his mother wasn't around, she would have been quite disappointed.
“Well I imagine there would be few girls like you in Italy!” Fabian was very awkward when he changed the subject in a rush.
“I’m sorry Miss, let me help you with your trunk. I completely forgot my manners! Do forgive me” He apologized but didn't give her time to reply before he reached out for it and stopped briefly to carry it.
“I've never been abroad, certainly not to Italy. Sounds like a long journey” Fabian smiled at her as he started walking in a slow pace, since he was carrying her trunk.

  

[Isotta Ellesborough]

• That was more like it. Beaming up at the redhead, she happily handed over the strap to her trunk, pleased to be relieved of her (rather heavy) burden.
  
  “It was quite long, and very tiring,” Isotta agreed to her semi-captive audience. She did so like receiving attention! “But I have always quite liked adventure, and where other girls might falter and become afraid, I simply make new friends.”
  
  She skipped ahead a few steps, full of energy, before stopping to wait for Mr. Prewett to catch up.

  

[Fabian Prewett]

It was a heavy trunk, but not too heavy for him as it would be for the little girl. At least, it wasn't a problem for him to carry it to Bartenbourg, although he might have wanted to get a horse coach. It wasn't a long walk though and he wanted to show the girl the town. He really hoped there would be someone who could take care of her once they reached the middle class area, otherwise he thought he had to contact the authorities.
"I'm glad to hear that Miss! I consider myself quite adventurous as well, although I doubt I have as much energy as you do" He replied when he caught up.
"Have you made any other friends than me?" He asked her with a faint smile.

  

[Isotta Ellesborough]

• “Pleanty!” she exclaimed jubilantly. As the pair walked, the young witch took great care to tell the redhead all about her new friends—princesses, dukes, prominent wizards, wealthy bankers—and the wonderful things they wanted to give her, simply for being her—though she doubted Mr. Prewett believed half of what she said.
  
  “It was all very exciting,” she Isotta concluded a story about would-be robbers being thwarted by a young lady that she met on the train to France. “Though I did not worry once for my safety; I always seem to have the most fortunate luck!”