come away to the water [open!]

[Charlotte Sutherland]

[Thread title inspired by "Come Away to the Water" feat Maroon 5 and Rozzi Crane. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ7pWATs-rM&feature=related]

Charlotte Sutherland stood in the doorway of the Leaky Cauldron, her naturally wide eyes even wider as she took in all of Diagon Alley. It wasn't the first time she had been here--often, she would travel with her grandfather to various places in Europe--but it was the first time she had been to the alley alone. Somehow, it seemed....bigger.

Her fiery red hair shone in the early morning summer sunshine, and her eyes glinted green as she took the place in. They had wizarding areas similar to Diagon Alley back in the States, but none of them quite had the radiance...the radiance of time that Diagon Alley did. She wondered how many witches and wizards had walked these cobbled streets, and she wondered what they had dreamed and thought about.

A loud cough behind her startled her out of her reverie, and Charlie turned around in surprise to see a large wizard wearing purple robes and looking annoyed, "Moving sometime today, sweetheart?"

Her cheeks tinted slightly pink, and she stepped aside, letting him pass while mentally berating herself. It didn't last for long, though, because soon she hurried into the crowd, darting from shop to shop in curiosity. Some things they had in the shops back home, some things were brand new, and some things she noticed were missing. A smile crept on her face when she saw various books inside a store called Flourish & Blotts, and she quite happily spent over an hour there, buying the textbooks that were on her list along with several other books she found interesting.

After regretfully leaving the store (she knew she could have stayed there all day), she went across the alley and bought herself a cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream. The cold, creamy substance felt nice on her tongue, and she decided to go back to the room she was renting at the Leaky Cauldron. She was staying there until school started next week.

She didn't quite make it back to the Leaky Cauldron, however; instead, she found herself peering inside a Quidditch store. Quidditch wasn't very popular in the States, but it was apparently all the rage in Europe. Curious, she hefted the sack that contained her schoolbags over her shoulder and stepped inside. Naturally, she was drawn to one of the shelves containing various books on Quidditch. She set the sack down, took a bite of her ice cream, and picked up one of the books, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to understand the sport of Quidditch.

[Claus Amsel]

A lone seventeen year old in Diagon Alley wasn’t a rare sight these days, but usually they at least some manor of family waiting around for them somewhere, but the straight-backed teen with his hands folded behind his back that walked out of Knockturn Alley and into the brighter one did not. His family were all miles and miles away in Germany and he was grateful for the distance. He had never been too fond of his sisters and his mother, but he knew that they were doing the best that they could for him now that their father had died.

The strangely dark boy was clothed in his usual, dark black robes with green and silver trim, ironically, the colors of the new house that he was in. Slytherin, house of the snakes, house founded by Salazar Slytherin, and the house that the two Darkest Wizards of all time had come from; Lord Voldemort and Gilert Grindlewald came from.Half of him longed for their power and what it would bring him, and he wondered if he would ever be as dark a wizard as they were. He sure hoped so, but the first thing was to prove himself to their Dark Lord. If he could do that… then he would be able to pursue what he wanted most; power.

A little sigh parted his lips and gazed at the storefronts as he walked. They had become familiar to him over the times that he had been there before and in the last few days, but he was gradually becoming bored with them. He wanted to go to Howarts already, after all, he had already secured the position as seeker, so that would bring him some excitement through the year. The few stores that managed to draw him in again and again were the Quidditch stores that flourished in Diagon Alley.

And so, drawn in again on his way back to the Leaky Couldren, as usual, he was drawn into a Quidditch shop. The goggles, pads, balls, brooms, strategy books, and other gear all called out for him to buy them, and he would have loved to. Being raised as the son of the German Head of Magic’s Department of Magical Games and Sports, he knew everything there was to know about Quidditch, and had fallen in love with the sport along with the many languages that his father had started teaching him at a young age.

Claus’ lips turned up into a rare genuine smile, as he ran a gloved hand over the perfectly formed wood of one of the newest models. It was tempting to buy another broom to add to his set, but he stayed his pocketbook, only wanting to appreciate the elegance and brutality of the sport. He longed to be up in the air again. The slytherin turned away from the broom, and continued to browse, noticing a girl with a rather perplexed look on her face.

“Vould you like some help? Perhaps, I could explain it to you better?” He asked her lightly, German accent obviously there on his tongue though it was not very heavy, nor was his accent broken. He had been to England too many times with his father on business to allow his accent to be two strong.

[Charlotte Sutherland]

Charlotte bit her lip, frowning as she flipped a page. She remembered catching a few glimpses of the games on their wizarding TV at home, but for the most part, she didn't care too much for sports unless it involved a horse. Her grandfather had several horses at his farm, magical and "muggle", and she adored riding both kinds. She had to admit that she had a preference for the flying ones; there simply wasn't much to compare to the freedom she felt in the air.

A boy about her age walked over to her bookshelf and spoke, asking if she would like him to explain the game to her. A bright smile grew upon her red lips, and a relieved look spread across her face, "I'd be mighty appreciative of that, if you'd be so kind," she replied, her gaze moving from his face to the book briefly before looking back at him, "They don't play Quidditch much in the States."

She quickly brushed a strand of fiery red hair out of her face and behind her ear as she patiently waited his response.

[Claus Amsel]

"An American?” He asked, placing her accent quickly when she spoke when she told him she was from the States. How rare to find an American witch in England before the school year. It was obvious now though why she was so intrigued about the sport. He smiled a little, trying to decide whether she was a pure blood or not. She knew the basis of Quidditch, so that was something… but she could have just read it in a book. His lips quirked into a slightly amused smirk.

“Zat explains vhy you are so perplexed. My father was German Head of Magic’s Department of Magical Games and Sports, so I know a lot about zat.” He chuckled slightly. “Americans need to get back into Quidditch. It is ze best sport. It should be more popular over there.” He smiled again, and ran a hand over the spines of the books on the bookshelf, looking for a specific title now that he had someone to explain Quidditch to. Americans. They always seemed to close themselves of from the cultures of other countries. Some melting pot. He scoffed a little inside.

“I am ze new Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team at Hogwarts. I’m ze German foreign exchange student, Claus Amsel, I do not know if you have heard of me... because some have.” He said as he pulled one of the books down, finding the title that he had wanted. It was merely an innocent question, not one of vanity. He was just curious. Some students had indeed already heard of him and his reputation, and he wondered if she was one of them.

“Why don’t you tell me vhat you know, and I can fill in the blanks and give you some good resources?” Claus asked tucking the book under his arm.

[Charlotte Sutherland]

She nodded at his assumption of her nationality, though she knew her grandfather would be annoyed. He never liked to simply be called an 'American'; 'American' could refer to any state in the United States (or really, any country in the Americas), and he was particularly proud of being from Georgia. Charlotte, being younger, didn't mind it at all.

She let out a small laugh, "My brother is actually an avid Quidditch fan. His favorite team is, I think, the Bulgarian National Team. I've just never really been into sports in general," she explained, listening to him explain his Quidditch position at Hogwarts. Charlotte nodded, slightly impressed, "I figure I ought to learn as much as I can about the sport. It seems very popular at Hogwarts," she added, gesturing to the crowd around them. Most of the occupants of the store were Hogwarts age. She gestured to a page in her book, " I know the basics of the sport. I was just confused on why some of these things are considered fouls."

At the mention of his name, a light of recognition lit in her eyes. Charlotte remembered her grandfather mentioning the name 'Amsel' once a few years ago in relation to a death. Curiously, she wondered if the 'Amsel' her grandfather had mentioned was a close relative of Claus, but she was too polite to ask. Instead, she said, "I've heard of your family. My grandfather told me once that the Amsels were a influential wizarding family in Europe," Charlotte said, inclining her head slightly, "I'm Charlotte, but people normally just call me Charlie. My grandfather is Cornelius Sutherland," she added, knowing that just as she had known his last name, he would most likely know hers.

[Claus Amsel]

“Your bother has good tastes. The Bulgarian team is very talented, very much so. They are my second favorite team, after Germany’s team of course.” His smile faltered a bit as he thought about the teams recent losses. “I must root for my own country, though… I wish we had more talent on the team. Perhaps I will join them when I graduate and lead them to more victories.” There was that pride and vanity of his merged with fact that he was consenting that his country’s team currently was not a very good one. Though, it was true, he was probably better than Germany’s current seeker, but he couldn’t be bothered to try out for it though he had almost been recruited. He was too busy with his own ambitions.

“Ah, so you do know of my name, and I know of the name Sutherland. It is a pleasure to meet you, Charlie. I am glad that you are a pure blood. Even with the Dark Lord in power there are too many muggles and mudbloods around.” He chuckled darkly, and it was all too obvious there were some dark meanings behind it, he himself had already caused a few deaths while he had been in Germany. “I am not surprised that my family name reached you in the United States, a lot of people had heard of my family. But that notoriety is fading, now zat my father is dead. It is unfortunate, but it is also a welcome relief as you must understand, but I plan to make my name as well known here in England as it is in Germany and Bulgaria.”

“Vell, it is the only sport at Hogwarts. Each house has a team, and it is basically vhat causes the house cup to be won from the information I’ve gathered. Do you fly at all?” He asked. It was understandable that she would be confused about the fouls. Fouls for any sport were confusing unless you had a deep knowledge of it. “You want to watch out for the ones that involve colliding with other players, skinning, and blatching which will get you a foul almost immediately. There are others as well, Quafflepocking is one of the more serious ones which involves tampering with the ball. Any tampering with balls is a major offence, and it can be very dangerous if it involves a bludger, and could possibly get you banned from playing professionally.” He explained a few of the fouls, and paused.

[Charlotte Sutherland]

Her smile faltered briefly at his mention of the Dark Lord, suddenly uncomfortable. What he was saying wasn't exactly new to her; her grandfather spouted similar beliefs. Charlotte just couldn't remember hearing things from someone as young as Claus--her age! She wondered if he was just an unusual case, or if there were many more like him at Hogwarts. 'Or in England, for that matter.'

Charlie latched onto the news that his father had passed away, grateful to be off the uncomfortable and often controversial topic of blood purity, "My grandfather was very sorry to hear about his passing," she told him, remembering her grandfather's words about how it was a great loss to the wizarding community. Knowing that Claus was apparently on the side of blood supremacist, she wondered if her grandfather's words held a second meaning as well. She considered his words about the death being a relief, but she couldn't quite understand.

Why would anyone be relieved that someone else was dead, especially someone as close to them as their father? She thought of her own father, the way he would sneak into her room in the middle of the night to wake her up to go get ice cream and how the two of them would sit on the roof and eat it while wrapped in a ton of blankets, watching the stars. Charlie supposed not everyone was close to their fathers, but it was hard for her to fathom how it would be a relief. Unbidden, the image of her school in flames came to the forefront of her mind....and then it was pushed back, locked away. She would think of that tomorrow.

Charlotte nodded when he asked if she could fly. If she could fly! It was hard for her to understand that some witches and wizards didn't know how to fly; she didn't think you were a proper witch or wizard until you knew how! Of course, she preferred riding on the back of a flying horse, but riding on the back of a broom was a close second, "Yes, I fly. My mother actually helps to work on the charms and enchants that go into racing brooms," she explained, listening to him explain a few of the fouls.

Her frown deepened, "I still don't understand. Why in the world are things like grabbing another person's broom considered a foul, but knocking a bludger into someone's skull isn't?" she asked, puzzled, "I thought fouls were, in practice at least, supposed to keep the game fair and moderately safe-ish."