The Novelle Diaries & The Wampus Cub

Chapter 23: Praising Pansies

As the train began to chuff away from the station, the children began to entertain themselves by trying to teach Sullivan to repeat various words. As magpies have similar capabilities to parrots, Erris had already taught him a few words and calls though these were mostly utilitarian such as warnings to alert him of his family's presence. Now the children wanted to broaden the bird's repertoire with funny, and in Rory's case, rude phrases. The magpie caught on to many of them rather quickly, especially the vocabulary aimed at Prudence. It was clear that her stay at the McGrath household would be one filled with alot of frustration. Rory had taught the bird to make raspberry sounds every time she spoke just to carry on the tradition which Erris found hilarious.

As the trolley came around and the children chose sweets from the goody laiden cart, conversation turned to what Rosewaine and Rory would be doing over the summer.

'No' much. Catch up with th' village lads, swim in th' sea, help me Pa with tours. It's the tourist season ya see. They like tae see the seals. I'll just spend alot o' time with me family really. Especially Malcolm.' Rory grinned. It was evident that he was rather excited to be going back home.

'What about you?' Wren asked Rosewaine.

'Back to the travelling life i suppose,' She shrugged a little less enthusiastically. 'Family are thinking of going to Ireland this summer to meet up with a few other families. I'll be spending a lot of time with Nanna and playing with my cousins and other community kids.' Rosewaine explained, sounding rather unenthusiastic.

'You don't like travelling?' Erris asked, a little surprised.

'I love travelling. It's in my blood but it's not like it used to be where people left you alone to live your life.' Rosewaine explained. 'In my Nana's time, you could pitch up in a field and people would leave you be, knowing you'd move on in a week but now as soon as people see our caravans pull up anywhere they are calling the police, moving us on in the middle of the night. It's gotten so bad that a lot of people are settling in houses and abandoning the lifestyle. I don't know, I just don't want to live my life in car parks and football fields with police knocking on my door in the middle of the night.' She sighed heavily and her friends could tell how stressful she found the outside hostility to her family.

'Maybe when you're older you can use your magic to make things easier for them, like cloaking them from view.' Wren suggested sympathetically.

'Your right,' Rosewaine smiled with a little more positivity in her tone. 'In a few years I will be able to help everyone out and local councils and law enforcement won't bother us again.' She sat back and munched on a liquorice wand, imagining all the ways she would use her magic to make life easier and maybe even dish a little revenge on the muggles who made her family's lives difficult all the time.

As the train chuffed along the tracks through the English countryside, Wren started out at the views as she nibbled on Every Flavoured Bertie Botts, grimacing every now and then when she got a foul tasting one. Erris and Rory busied themselves playing exploding snap whilst Rosewaine doodled on a piece of scrap parchment. As they had been sat on the train for several hours the conversation had died down to a contented simmer, happy in one another's presence without the need for a gripping topic. Only when the houses and buildings that marked the outskirts of London began to flank their windows did the children liven up once more as they returned their animals to their cages and collected their belongings from around the cabin.

A few minutes before the train pulled into kings cross, Wren pulled out a small wooden box from her dungaree pocket and handed it to Erris. The boy looked down at it a little confused before Rosewaine rolled her eyes as she instructed, 'Open it,'

Erris did as he was told and slowly pulled back the lid to reveal a pile of light blue grey, dried petals, their colour a little less intense from the drying process. 'Praising pansies!' he exclaimed in surprise as he recognised the flowers.

'We clubbed all our petals together,' Wren explained with a small smile. 'We thought that they might help your morale a little when things are getting a little bit much at home.'

Erris stared around at his friends, his eyes wide and watery. This gesture had evidently touched him deeply but as he couldn't trust his voice not to break he only managed to utter a small 'thankyou' before becoming intently interested in the commotion that was beginning to fill the hall beyond. His friends just grinned knowingly and allowed him time to compose himself.

As the train pulled up alongside its platform, the four children began to shuffle along the train corridors, following the tide of other students until they reached the packed platform filled with excited parents. Rory was the first to disappear, hugging his friends quickly before running off into the crowd to find his parents. Rosewaine spotted her parents looking rather nervously around as they hugged the platform wall.

'I had better go and save them. They are still under the impression that they aren't really allowed here because they are muggles. It makes them nervous.' Rosewaine sighed then hugged Wren and Erris as tightly as she could. As she broke away and began walking into the crowd she turned and yelled back, 'Letters, we will write lots of letters. I will see you next year, Love ya!'

That left Wren and Erris scanning the platform for familiar faces, though Erris looked as though he wasn't trying very hard. Wren spotted her mother and father looking around eagerly, trying to spot their daughter. A huge smile spread across Wren's face as she met her parents eyes and they began to rush over with arms stretched, readying for a hug. As soon as they reached her they smothered her in affection, thoroughly embarrassing Wren infront of her friend but she couldn't help but giggle, she was so pleased to see her parents after so long.

Finally after extracting herself from her fathers vise-like hug she turned to Erris who was standing next to her rather awkwardly and introduced him. 'this is my good friend Erris McGrath.'

'Ah, so good to meet you, Wren has told us so many good things about you.' Delphi Novelle smiled warmly down at the rather shy boy standing in front of her.

'I would like to thank you again for my bag, I use it every day.' Erris thanked the lady as his posture changed to one of standing to attention. Delphi looked at the boy's formal demeanour a little surprised and uneasy before accepting his thanks with a nod. It was evident just by the boy's mannerisms that he had had a strict and fear filled up bringing. Delphi Novelle knew the signs from how her own husband had once held himself.

Suddenly, before anyone could say another word, a rather boney woman with spiteful pursed lips and a sharp, pointed nose appeared out of the crowd and grabbed Erris roughly by the arm, dragging him away with her as she scolded him for making her wait around.

Wren looked on helplessly as her friend was dragged out of sight without so much as the opportunity to say a goodbye. As Wren turned to her parents, her eyes filled with tears as their faces began to soften from the shocked expressions they had housed. 'What an awful mother.' Delphi exclaimed, apawled at what she had just witnessed.

'I told you.' Wren sniffed as her dad patted her on the back. It was hard to be ripped away from her friend so abruptly but she reminded herself that Erris was only a letter away. With that thought, she resigned herself to the situation and began to focus on happier things such as the excitement of seeing her home with its woods and her family again, all the things she had missed whilst at Hogwarts.

'Come, let's get you home, dear.' Lyal Novelle suggested gently as he took Eremials cage and began to guide his daughter to the exit. Wren took one last look at the scarlet engine that was exhaling steam, swaithing the crowded platform in clouds and muttering to herself with a small smile, 'I will see you next year.'