Prelude to Seventh Year

[natascha anneliese knight]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eec020; border-left: solid #ad2303 60px; padding-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px; width: 320px; height: 500px] Her sister's townhouse was on the outskirts of London in a row of connected brick homes with white accents. Ivy crawled up the front and needed trimming. It was beginning to hang slightly into the view, but Natascha suspected that her sister might prefer it that way. They were the same in that respect, and it helped make the house feel more secluded, in spite of sharing walls on either side. On the outside, it did not seem spectacular, as ordinary as their parents' home, but within was concealed the accents of the world they experienced. Back home, where Natascha had been staying all summer, was an ordinary muggle domicile. Though from a magical line, the Knight girls had come to their abilities through their squib father. Magical items would do little good for him, and so the fireplace certainly had not been connected to the floo network like here. Though Natascha certainly enjoyed the world they lived in, coming early to stay in the city with her sister and hit Diagon Alley before going to Kings Cross station had made for earlier tearful good-byes than most students at Hogwarts. Natascha's sister was not a fellow student. She had graduated the year before she was even born, and the age difference certainly made for some unusual differences between other siblings. The one thing that Natascha made sure rang true was the typical younger sister's duty to give Elaine a hard time. Walking down from the second floor, where two modest bedrooms and a bathroom were located, she turned into the kitchen. Her sister was sitting at a small round table eating a steamed artichoke and her owl was eating out of her sister's owl's dish. "Thanks for feeding Roach." She grinned, sitting down in the empty of the two chairs and watched for her sister's reaction. Suspecting she would only get the faintest expression out of her, Natascha leaned back and propped her elbow on the table, shifting the paper in the middle of the table to glance over a series of discounts in Diagon Alley stretched down the side of an article. Whether Elaine had been reading it or not didn't cross her mind. Tag: Elaine Knight | Location: Knight Townhouse, London (couldn't find anywhere else to put it, so maybe it'll end up at the Leaky Cauldron? :/) Date: 25 August 1996 | Time: Early Afternoon

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[elaine rosalei knight]

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Once or twice a year her quiet isolated home would play host to her baby sister. Generally, it was only for a little while before she went back to school and it was an arrangement she agreed upon. It was not that she disliked having Natascha; in fact she looked forward to it. It got so lonely sometimes. There was only so much Pepper, her Tiffany cat could do to comfort her and be company. But every time Natascha returned, she’d forget the little... quirks, she will say, that made her wonder if she had been like that when she was her age. Merlin she hoped not.

Roach. What an awful name for an owl. Well, for any pet for that matter. Her gaze briefly looked to the poor animal before it returned to her sister. A brow rose slightly, but she didn’t say anything. She had been reading it, but she figured she could give it a break while she ate. She had to remind herself that she was only here for a little while. Instead, she brought her attention to another issue. “Your elbows, sweetheart,” she said in gentle reminder. Elaine knew Natascha was raised to know better. Not from their father, but definitely from their mother.

Letting only a moment pass to allow Natascha time to adjust, she continued. “I have to go into the office today for a little while. Do you need anything? I can take you to Diagon Alley later this afternoon, if you’d like.”

tagged: who | location: where | time: ##:##

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[natascha anneliese knight]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eec020; border-left: solid #ad2303 60px; padding-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px; width: 320px; height: 500px] Natascha was focused on an ad for fifty-percent off on a second pair of new robes, with purchase of the first. If she had grown at all over the summer she might have pressed for this, but even she had enough sense to know that'd be ridiculous for her last year at school. It was more the idea of having new things than having them. Especially since she knew a time when new school robes each year would have been a given, regardless of wear. Such had been the case for Elaine, she was sure -- though her sister had never mentioned it -- because her school years were spent in the lap of luxury. Before their father lost all of their mother's inheritance. Not that this changed the expectations of propriety on her, only emphasized by her sister's critique. Scoffing clearly and rolling her eyes, Natascha expressed more disdain for the correction than she actually felt as she slid the paper down into her lap. She often accused her of being as insufferable as their mother, but refrained from doing so this time. At the very least she didn't harp on. Even if her sister's house came with the same set of rules as home, she did not like the idea of her working. She was good at working, and was way too dedicated for her own good, but it was the point of the matter. Natascha didn't like her mother having to work either. They should have been able to live more than comfortably for another generation (provided money didn't have a tendency to make money), had it not all been lost. Elaine lived comfortably, and Natascha certainly wasn't hurting... she just didn't like having to watch herself on an allowance, having to be concerned about what she asked for. "Yeah, I need to get my books." She nodded, folding the paper and putting it back on the table. Almost immediately, a fluffy black cat replaced it in her lap. Natascha began to pet Pepper absentmindedly, a thoughtful expression crossing her face, "If I barely use them, do you think it's even worth buying them in the first place? I should just nick George's." She mused. The only time she actually dusted her books off and broke the perfect binding was when she was looking for direct quotation for essays. Tag: Elaine Knight | Location: Knight Townhouse, London (couldn't find anywhere else to put it, so maybe it'll end up at the Leaky Cauldron? :/) Date: 25 August 1996 | Time: Early Afternoon

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[elaine rosalei knight]

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Elaine was a controlled woman... contained within herself. It was how she felt most comfortable. Even as she sat there with Natascha there was some measure of reserve. Distance. The age difference between the two sisters could’ve been a factor, but she was like that with everyone else. With Natascha she was less guarded, but even with her, she couldn’t fully let her walls down. Especially in dark times like these. It was her job to protect her family, to shield them from physical and emotional harm. What they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. Now Elaine was fully aware that Natascha wasn’t a child. Her younger sister, along with every other wizard and witch knew You-Know-Who was back. But her job was to make sure Natascha didn’t feel endangered or feel worry. Just as Natascha didn’t know that she was, in fact, paying for her Hogwarts tuition and supplies, not their parents.

Giving a small smile, she looked up to Natascha. Her arms were pulled in against her sides and she was sitting straight up. Her mother’s teachings died hard. Settling her palms lightly at the edge of the table. “You’ll be buying your own books,” she commented lightly. She wasn’t really scolding her. She actually found what she said amusing. At least her jest implied that she was doing some studying. Getting up from her seat, she turned towards the sink. Muggle habits also died hard. “Why don’t you come down to the Ministry...” Her tone trailed off lightly, but her silence left an air of suspense. Washing her hands, she reached for a towel. She was quiet for a moment, but far from the empty silence. She finally turned to her sister. A light smile formed on her lips and she had come to a conclusion.

“Do you have plans to meet with your friends?”

tagged: natascha knight | location: knight Townhouse, London | date: 25 August 1996 | Time: Early Afternoon

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[natascha anneliese knight]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eec020; border-left: solid #ad2303 60px; padding-top: 10px; padding-left: 10px; width: 320px; height: 500px] The problem with books was that there were always new editions of the same old crap, she felt sure it was a scheme to get more money out of parents. Did page 304 really need a new problem? She didn't think so and hated the greed associated with the reason. But she also envied it. She wouldn't have thought twice about it before purse-strings were tighter. It made Natascha uncomfortable to think about and so she reached for a pastry, holding it out of reach of the cat interested in the devonshire cream she was spreading on it. It was easier for Elaine to say she would get her own books. She had a well-paying job. Well-paying because it was also one of the most dangerous. The families of Aurors had different and additional reasons to worry, about their loved ones, but it probably wasn't in an active Auror's nature to think about that. Otherwise, they wouldn't be. For all of Natascha's daring and athleticism, she was sure she wouldn't be. That didn't mean she knew what she wanted to be. Done with school and assignments would be nice. She wasn't much of one to think about the future and that jobs often entailed the same responsibilities. That's probably why her sister wanted to get her down to the ministry; see a job that would provoke her interest. Resting her hand on the table, still holding a smeared pastry, Natascha shook her head. She did not notice Pepper perched on the table from her leg, finally licking furiously at the lightly sweet cream. "George never makes plans with anyone over the summer. And Jack rarely bothers to write back." Natascha thought it was a shame that telephones didn't work alongside magic. Sure, there were other means of immediate communication, but who wanted to be tied to their fireplace when you could walk around the house with a cordless phone? A multi-tasker's dream. "I take it you're doing paperwork at the office, today." She figured, with a tone of boredom. Natascha was certainly not someone to shy away from adventure, but she knew her sister well enough to guess she would not offer to take her during the arrest of a Death Eater. Tag: Elaine Knight | Location: Knight Townhouse, London (couldn't find anywhere else to put it, so maybe it'll end up at the Leaky Cauldron? :/) Date: 25 August 1996 | Time: Early Afternoon

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[elaine rosalei knight]

Elaine was constantly worried about Natascha. She could quickly come up with several reasons off the top of her head. Natascha’s too young. She’s indecisive. Not only is she young, but she’s a young woman. But regardless, whether Natascha outgrew her young demeanor and antics, and became a successful Ministry official Elaine would always worry about her. It was in her nature. It was one of the reasons why she had been so dismayed when she heard her mother was pregnant again when she was graduating Hogwarts. She felt it irresponsible of them. The age gape was ridiculous enough. They hadn’t stopped to think about how it would affect her, did they? They were already made to baby-sit one adult. For as much as she admired her father for his free spirit when she was young, now she only felt disappointment.

There was no changing it now and no matter how she felt about it (now or then), Natascha was seventeen years old and entering her last year at Hogwarts. Elaine took her responsibilities and just dealt with it. Not that she didn’t regret having a younger sister; she wouldn’t have changed it even if she could. But knowing from experience seventeen extra years of life, Elaine tried to guide her in the right direction. She didn’t care if it was considered being bossy and stiff; she knew better and that was final.

Taking Natascha to Diagon Alley was her responsibility. Even if she had made plans to meet with her friends, she would have insisted she came along. And by insisting she meant she had no choice. She felt more comfortable that it would just be the two of them though, but she wouldn’t bring that up. Her work was important, but family came first. Sometimes she forgot that because she could consume herself so deeply into it and because they lived so far away. She had to remind herself every now and then why she was doing this in the first place.

Smiling at her sister, she appreciated her tease, but she wasn’t going to step on her toes like some of her friends might’ve. “It’s all that crème you’re letting him eat. He gains about two pounds whenever you come to visit.” Getting up from her seat. “I’m giving you an hour otherwise, I’ll just drag you out the way you are; half dressed or not.” She threatened, but not one she would actually follow through with.