Almost Out of Here

[Kellen McCrea]

"Nah, your brother's great," Kellen reassured her, though he knew she didn't need to be reassured. "And you're right. That would, what, even things out? Though you won't have met my sister yet. And she won't be at the train station."

[Allegra Thornton]

"She's still at home," Allegra pointed out. "Do your parents ever meet you?" she asked. Her aunt usually met them at the station and her parents usually met them after they had portkeyed to New York.

[Kellen McCrea]

"When I was younger," Kellen said, a little more reluctantly. "I mean, it's a long trip for them, without magic or anything, to come all the way down to London. I floo'd home a couple of times, leaving most of my stuff in this little storage place in Diagon Alley. They were really good about it, keeping stuff for most of the summer."

[Allegra Thornton]

Allegra smiled apologetically. "I had forgotten that it's a bit harder without the magic. That is a pretty long trip," she said. "But it's good you got them on the Floo Network anyway. That makes things easier for you, right?"

[Kellen McCrea]

Kellen bit his lip and thought. It was all a bit complicated. "Actually, no, they're not on the Floo Network. But Derry's got a magic section, just like most other bigger cities. I floo'd to one of the stores there and they meet me in the Muggle section just outside. They don't...really like magic, to be honest. Or anything dealing with it."

[Allegra Thornton]

Allegra bit her lip, wondering if she shouldn't have brought it up. Kellen had mentioned his family's concern before, but it was starting to sound a bit more serious. "But Kearney's obviously okay with it, right? How about your sister?"

[Kellen McCrea]

Kellen grinned again. "Eden's fascinated by it. Every time I'm home she's got more questions about what I'm learning, what the school's like, even what we wear here. Keeps me on my toes, too. I've tried to trick her but somehow she manages to figure out if I'm making anything up. She's clever, that one."

[Allegra Thornton]

"She sounds like fun," Allegra answered, smiling at him. "I always wanted a little sister. My mom thinks that's probably why I used to make Drew play dress up with me when we were kids."

[Kellen McCrea]

"Put that on the list of reasons I'm glad I don't have an older sister, then," Kellen teased. "I definitely never had to play dress up with Kearney. He just never let me tag along with his friends. And Eden's not really all about dressing up, or shopping or any things people think are 'girly'. I think it's because she's got no sisters and two older brothers."

[Allegra Thornton]

"We may have to plan that for our next Family Fun Night activity," Allegra teased back. Of course, it wasn't as if she had forced Drew into a dress when he was little. He had just been to young and stupid to know better. "We'll get you and Hiro up to speed with the whole brother make-over thing."

[Kellen McCrea]

"You know, really, I think we're both okay. I mean, I'm guessing with Hiro, but I bet he's just fine not getting made over," Kellen protested, only mildly joking. "Besides. I think I'm just perfectly pretty enough without a make over, thank you very much."

[Allegra Thornton]

"You do, do you?" Allegra asked back, snickering a little. "I think a little color on the lids may bring out your eyes more. And you can never go wrong with some good lip gloss, you know."

[Kellen McCrea]

Kellen scrunched up his nose a little. "I don't know..." he said hesitantly. "Apparently there are rumours going around that I have a crush on Dan, that Slytherin guy? Which is weird. And I don't think that eye shadow would help in that respect..."

[Allegra Thornton]

"Dan, huh?" Allegra answered, raising an eyebrow at him. The rumour mill had run rampant around the school, but she had to admit, she hadn't heard that particular one before. "I don't see him being your type personally." She bit on her lip before she said something she might regret.

[Kellen McCrea]

"Well, he's a boy, which is a strike against him," Kellen said lightly. He stopped dragging his trunk for a moment and furrowed his brow a little. "And he's a Slytherin, which is another strike. Even though Penelope was, too, but that was different. And he's kind of an arrogant idiot, so, there's three. He's out."