Reunited, Anthony Lombard Options

[Angela Crenshaw]

Anthony Lombard

Summer holiday was finally here! It was wonderful because she got to see her family and her little brother. They had gone to the park and went on a vacation, you know, normal family outings. She had missed these while she was at Hogwarts, and Angela really did love her family, but it was also sad because she missed all of her friends back at Hogwarts. She bored her brother about all the details about Alex, Anthony, Eva, Marissa, Nicholas and all her other friends. She conveniently left out the part when she made a couple enemies at Hogwarts as well. Those are the kinds of stories he would like, but what kind of role-model would she be for her brother if she told him that?

Today wasn’t an ordinary day though, today she got to visit her best friend Anthony! She was so excited when she received her owl from him stating the day and time she could come over. Angela’s parents took her there with side-along apparition and told her they’d be back later to pick her up. With a kiss to both her parents, she bounded off to Anthony’s house. Another reason she was so excited to see him is because he lived in the muggle world! Angela had very few interactions with the muggle world, and thought this to be an adventure!

“Anthony!!!” Angela called out before she got to his front door. She couldn't contain herself. Lucky for her, he heard her and came bounding out to greet her. “Hi!” she said enthusiastically as she wrapped her arms around him in a very quick hug before pulling away and beaming at him. “It’s great to see you! So how has your summer been? What have you been up to? Have you heard at all from Alex?” The roll of questions continued. Since she couldn’t be there with him the entire summer, she wanted to know everything. That might be a bit difficult to explain over the course of a few hours that they had together, but she wanted to try! Going a month without seeing him and Alex had been too long. She made a mental note to owl Alex when she got home and set up a time to hang out then too.

They started to walk away from the house. The two friends were both pretty fond of being outdoors, so it didn’t surprise her when he just skipped the tour of his house altogether. They could always do that later. “So what are we doing today?” she asked bouncing along side him. Anthony always seemed to have a plan and Angela was sure to be up for anything as long as she was spending time with her friend.

[Anthony Lombard]

Anthony couldn't sit still. Not only was it summer, any kid's favorite season of the year, but Anthony was about to have company! Although he loved his father dearly, but the young boy was dying for some other human contact. He would admit that seeing his old school friends was nice, but not being able to talk to them about the amazing things he learned at Hogwarts the past year, or even mention the school at all, was beyond difficult. All Anthony could say was that he had been shipped off to boarding school (which wasn't far off from the truth) and call it good. However, today was different. Anthony had taken up the initiative himself to write an owl to his friend Angela Crenshaw. The blonde boy had been writing a few letters to his friend Alexander Sweyn as well, but his friend in Ravenclaw seemed to be a little busier than he was. So this time he figured he would try Angela. Only a couple of days ago, the boy sent off a letter practically demanding she come to his house and hang out with him. Today was the day.

Finally, someone he could talk to without boundaries that wasn't his father! All morning, Anthony was restless. Why hadn't he told her to come over sooner? The blonde boy felt like jumping out a window, or throwing the apples on the kitchen counter at the television set. Needless to say, Anthony was a bit excited. The very moment the door bell rang, Anthony was bounding toward the entry way. He threw open the door and beamed at his friend. He had missed her so much! The blonde boy returned her hug, and in only a few moments they were off walking down the street. There was no way he could contain himself inside his house; his father would figure out what had happened on his own.

"It's been way too long," Anthony said. It had really only been maybe a month since school ended, but it had felt like an eternity for Anthony. In this time, though, the boy had grown again and his hair was bright blonde due to the sun. The subtle-but-not-actually-that-subtle changes that came along with summer and time. "My summer has been good, though! I've really just been sticking around close to home, but it's nice to relax, y'know?" The blonde boy proceeded to tell her what he knew of Alex, which was very little. He was sure that the both of them would find out what had happened to their Ravenclaw friend soon enough. Anthony and Angela continued down the street toward who knows where as Anthony described what he had been doing lately. Reading, playing the piano, playing video games, and mulling around outside. It was this point where the Hufflepuff made a mental note of where they were. From where they were at the moment it would make the most sense to go to the park. Anthony would show her the inside of his house later.

The pair came to an intersection where they stopped. It was here that Angela asked what they would be doing. It dawned on him that the plan that formulated in his head had never been verbalized. "I thought we'd go to the park! It's not too far away from here, or my house really. We'll figure it out when we get there," said Anthony. "After that maybe we'll head back to my place and grab a bite to eat." He took a breath and smiled at his friend. Now it was her turn. "So that's what's been up with me," Anthony said as they continued on their way toward the park. "And what great and exciting things have you been up to, Ang?" The light for the crosswalk switched on, and they kept moving right along...

This post has been edited by Anthony Lombard: Apr 24 2011, 07:33 AM

[Angela Crenshaw]

“Anthony!” Angela teased as she ran her fingers through his hair and tousled it a bit. Some of it fell over his eyes. It was one of the first things she noticed when seeing her best friend. “You know, not that I don’t like your hair long, but you really should get a hair cut.” His new look kind of reminded her of a dog. In many ways, Anthony was like a dog. Adorable, active, loyal, playful, and now shaggy. She grinned at her puppy-like friend. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, nothing has changed between them. They talked just as easily as they had seen each other yesterday.

The only thing that could have made this day better is if Alex had been able to join them. Alex is next on her list to visit, even if he did seem super busy. She couldn’t just go a whole summer without seeing him! She listened as Anthony described his summer. It sounded pretty uneventful and relaxing. “I’m jealous,” Angela chimed in. “My summer’s been pretty hectic! Well…maybe not hectic, but busy! Went on a family vacation, and my little brother is jealous because he still has to wait two years before he can go to Hogwarts.” Angela put her hand over her mouth and looked around. Nobody was in earshot of her, but they were in a muggle town after all. “Oops, we’re not supposed to say that here, are we?” Angela said in a hushed whisper. She wasn’t used to being forced to be careful about what she says around muggles. This was going to take some getting used to.

Anthony said something about grabbing a bite to eat after the park, and she nodded in agreement. Since when did this little Hufflepuff say no to food? Never, that’s when! She always seemed to be hungry, but all thoughts of food slipped from her mind as they came upon the park.

“Wow!” Angela said as the park came into view. Her eyes scanned the different playground equipment and courts that were available. There were plenty of things for them to do here! They kept walking in the park when Angela saw some boys throwing around a ball similar to the one Angela got Anthony for his birthday. “Hey! Is that the one game you love?! Basketball, right?” she asked excitedly. She had never seen it played before and she stopped to watch the other boys play a bit. It looked a little confusing...

[Anthony Lombard]

Anthony blinked and laughed as his hair fell into his eyes. Angela withdrew her hands from his hair, and Anthony shook his head to the left. His growing hair flipped back into place for now. He made a mental note of Angela's suggestion. He listened to her explanation of her summer. It sounded more exciting than Anthony's had been so far; however, Anthony wasn't worried. For the blonde boy, some time for relaxation and, pretty much, vegetation was needed. His first year at Hogwarts had included a lot! Having dealt with crazy Professor Grimsby, mysterious potions, fights with Nicholas Silversmith, learning to solve a Rubik's Cube, making new friends, and regular classes on top of all that, Anthony felt that some time to just sit around and do nothing was well warranted. He was glad to hear that Angela had gone off and done something, though. It was always nice to hear about other people's adventures.

At the mention of Hogwarts, Anthony took a quick, nervous glance around the neighborhood. Luckily, it appeared as though no one near them had been paying attention to the pair's conversation. One of the first things that Anthony had learned about Hogwarts, was that muggles couldn't know about it. There were huge consequences for those who let the secret slip. The blonde boy subconsciously wondered whether that was the reason his mother had been so reluctant to tell his father at first, and then not tell her son. Anthony's body relaxed and he nodded. "Yeah, we aren't really supposed to let anyone know," said the boy. "I've been lying to the friends from my old school all summer. It seems kind of wrong, but you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess..." Anthony and Angela continued on their way toward the park. "But yeah, just be a little careful out here," finished Anthony.

Soon enough, the park came into view. It was a nice, well-maintained park with a small playground area, bathrooms, water fountains, playground equipment, a bike trail, and two concrete basketball courts. Almost immediately, Angela asked about basketball. Anthony turned and beamed at her! It wasn't that he was insulting her intelligence or memory, but he was so proud she remembered what his favorite muggle sport was! "Yeah, that's basketball," Anthony said, still smiling. He strode toward a bin of playground equipment near the bathrooms and picked out a basketball that wasn't flat. Dribbling the ball a little bit, the blonde boy looked over towards the court. There was a group of older-looking boys already playing on one, but the other looked open. Grinning, Anthony looked back toward his friend. "You wanna learn how to play a little?" He asked. Angela had practically no other choice, but Anthony knew his friend well. She was the outdoors, athletic type, and he was more than positive she wouldn't say no to a new sport.

[Angela Crenshaw]

“That must be kind of miserable,” Angela commented. “Lying to all your friends from back home. Most of my friends and family know about Ho-uh….our school.” It was like Anthony was leading a double life. Special Agent Anthony Lombard. She wondered if his friends were secret too. Of course she needed to get better at not mentioning Hogwarts before he would let her near his friends, but she’d still like to meet them. She could pass as a muggle! It couldn’t be that hard, could it? Well, she’s only been here with Anthony for 5 minutes and slipped up twice. Okay, so maybe it was harder than she thought. She sighed and laughed. “I’ll be more careful I promise! This secret thing is just so new to me. Let’s just stop talking about it so I don’t accidently slip up again.”

When they got to the park, they looked like a bunch of kids at Christmas. So many options to play with! Angela’s eyes strayed from the basketball court to the playground equipment. There was one in particular that spun around in a circle and had lots of squealing children on it that looked like so much fun! The park was gorgeous too! Beautifully decorated, full green grass and lined with flowers. Okay that was it; every time she came to visit Anthony the park was definitely at the top of their to-do list. She wanted to do everything!

But she settled for basketball today mostly because she knew how much Anthony loved the sport. He lead her down to the basketball courts and picked up a ball. She already was explained a bit about basketball at Hogwarts. It was different though, seeing it played. It wasn’t at all like she imagined! Mostly because her view of the ‘hoop’ they had to get the ball through was vertical like Quidditch hoops, not horizontal. They looked so odd!

She nodded vigorously when Anthony offered to teach her. “Of course! What’s first? Just go easy on me, I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said with a laugh. That was a given. She glanced over at the other boys playing on a nearby court for some pointers. She wasn’t really sure why they were waving their arms in front of each others faces. Maybe it was some type of intimidation? “Anthony,” Angela asked suddenly realizing she was the only girl on the court. “Do girls play basketball in the mug- er….the normal games?” There she goes almost spilling the beans again. She had to get better at that….