ST CASIMIR'S
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"Alright just go through it with me again, one more time," Richard said, straightening the yellow bow in Charlotte's hair as she stood in front of him, ready to leave the house.

"My name is Marie Dubost, I'm from Brighton but I've moved up to London for my Dad's new job," Charlotte recited, grumpily. "I attend St Casimir's Church of England High School and I'm retaking lower sixth form after a year of travelling."

"Where did you go?"

"All over Europe, but I loved France the most," she answered. "I'm studying French, History and Sociology for qualifications that won't have my real name on it because I'm in hiding ever since I got kidnapped by sorcerers."

Her father sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair. "I know it's hard sweetheart, but once it's all over, we'll have some people sort it all out for you. Just work hard and finish school, okay? Make friends."

"I don't want friends," Charlotte said, simply. "I have Flynn. And Zara and Layth and Theodore."

And Harry, she thought. However far away he may be.

For the first time, Charlotte would be truly alone. Flynn wouldn't be attending school with her, for the first time in six years. St Casimir's was a very selective school, and so instead Flynn would attend the local comprehensive, which had places available at such short notice. She glanced over to where Flynn sat, hunched over a bowl of cereal he didn't need to eat, dressed in his usual clothing, since his school was uniform free. Unlike hers.

Charlotte sported a yellow tartan skirt, white open necked blouse, yellow socks, black brogues and a yellow woollen school blazer emblazoned with the St Casimir's crest on the breast pocket- a grey squirrel holding a golden acorn, surrounded by Latin text. It was hideous.

Makeup was prohibited, yet Charlotte had still slapped on some lip gloss and mascara. She would build it up as she went on into the year, seeing how much she could get away with until she was caught out.

"Make friends," her father repeated sternly. And she just rolled her eyes, smiling. Richard kissed her forehead before playfully attempting to push her out the door, and she rooted her feet into the ground, pouting like a child.

When Charlotte finally decided it was time to go, Gretel was quick to follow, her slightly enlarged belly protruding from beneath a green shirt. The woman was pregnant, yes, but she would teach for as long as she could.

Gretel Woods was allowed to keep her name. She was unknown to the Death Eaters. Charlotte and Richard Cardleman were not.

"Excited?" Gretel said as they got into their temporary car, and the woman began to drive away from their new home.

Charlotte simply turned on the radio, which had been wired to Potterwatch by Sirius, and rolled down the window. The air was warm, the remnants of summer clinging onto September's fall, but the sun was not visible behind grey clouds.

"Not bothered," she said simply. "You?"

"I am excited actually," Gretel grinned. "Ready to make a change."

"You mean treat children like actual human beings?" Charlotte snorted.

"Hey, I always treated you like humans. But you disrespected me, and I couldn't let that rub off on the whole class," Gretel argued. "But... I did single you out. I'm sorry."

"Fresh start," Charlotte said, turning her attention to Potterwatch, as the list of missing people's names were finished.

"Now, in case you missed the news yesterday, the Golden Trio have been spotted!" the voice on the radio said, excitedly and Charlotte felt her breath catch in her throat. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were thought to have infiltrated the Ministry of Magic yesterday, under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion- and we can now confirm that that is true. Isn't that right Rodent?"

"I mean you'd assume they would know better considering the only time they have seen it work was with Barty Crouch Jr- who failed miserably by the way-" Charlotte didn't know or what Polyjuice Potion was or care about this Barty Crouch. She just wanted to know what happened. "But anyway, it failed on them too- good news is they haven't been captured!"

"We don't know what the three were seeking but, they're in the wind once more, and we can only hope they got what they need..."

Charlotte sighed, disappointed. She had been hoping for some clue as to how close this war was to ending but, it seemed, whatever task Harry had told her of would take a lot more than one trip to the Ministry to complete.

At least she knew he was alive. And with his friends.
Gretel glanced at her with a smile as they halted at a red light. "He's safe. Good news."

It didn't take them much longer to reach St Casimir's, and Gretel pulled into the staff car park swiftly and easily. The school building was mainly dark brown, with panels of mustard encircling each of the four blocks.

"Good luck," Gretel said as they climbed out of the car.

"You too," Charlotte grinned. "Might see you today, if I have French."

"I won't be teaching you," Gretel sighed. "Since your father and I are now a couple, it's deemed inappropriate. They think I might be biased."

Charlotte scoffed at the idea of Gretel Woods being biased towards her but shrugged, as they walked out of the car park and into the school yard. Children swarmed through the student entrance ahead as Charlotte followed swiftly after them, Gretel heading in an opposite direction, and stopped at the main office to collect her timetable.

The main building was a large space, with five floors, and six staircases, and one lift and toilets in the basement. Charlotte was unsurprised when she found herself ten minutes late to registration, in the attempt to find her classroom.

"Marie!" Somebody called from somewhere in the corridor behind her, and it took a minute for Charlotte to register that they were calling for her. She turned around. "Marie Dubost?"

A tall, dark haired boy dressed in the same yellow blazer as her, as well as a grey and yellow tie and school trousers, hurried quickly towards her, a piece of paper in hand. She forced herself to smile. "That's me."

"I've been asked to come find you, you're supposed to be on the floor above," he said, before holding out his hand. "Isaac Liebchen. I'm the school council representative for our form class, leader of the worship team and Year Twelve ambassador. And now, I guess I'm your friend! You're in all of my classes. If you ever need anything, I'm always happy to help- not just school wise, I've been here since Year Seven so I know everyone quite well, so I can help you out with introductions-"

"Great," Charlotte said, trying not to cringe at the thought of being introduced to so many people at once. She began to follow Isaac towards the nearest staircase.

"Tell me about yourself," Isaac said. His accent was typical of a southerner, his diction mostly perfect, yet there was still hints at underlying cockney, making his voice much more engaging, and livelier than most. "What brings you to St Casimir's?"

"My dad's new job," Charlotte said. "We used to live in a town near the southern coast, but then we went travelling and now we live here."

"Ooh, interesting- what's your dad do?" Isaac asked curiously.

"He's in the food business," she answered briefly. "Yours?"

"He's not around," Isaac shrugged. "Just my mum and me. But she's a cleaner, and I don't live with her."

"Then where do you live?" Charlotte asked, and Isaac's smile faltered for a second. She quickly changed the topic. "How long is form time?"

"Half an hour," he said. "There's still fifteen minutes left. You can meet our friends!"

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Hi everyone!
How are you all? This update is sorta boring but I wanted it to be kind of in real time ish, so everything drags like it would in real life so that you can kinda see Charlotte's dissatisfaction with her new life. Has it worked?

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated but school and work are a complete JOKE but hey what can you do?

QOTD: any new starts in your life?
AOTD: none that I haven't talked about really, I got a job in a pretty cool place tho

-Amber.