There it was, back again. The stony woman, who clearly had more on her mind than just stars and fortunes. Charley didn't mind people being unreadable like that, mostly it meant she hadn't thoroughly impressed them. This one, though, had the look that Charley minded a lot more. Her life wasn't a sob story, and nobody should think otherwise!
"I always think carefully!" Even when it didn't seem like she did. The urchin couldn't help that thoughts just came to her quickly. Like this question, which wasn't the first time she'd been thinking about school and learning. Folk around Hogsmeade were quick to tell her she wouldn't, couldn't, and shouldn't. Not for a working gal like her, not for someone so poor. Ma and Da had never needed much money to get around, so she didn't always see what the big fuss was about not having much either.
"Ya mean you'd take me back to Hogwarts with you?" Charley asked, raising an eyebrow at the professor. She raised her chin just a bit, enough to gaze out in the direction of the castle. The night was too dark to see Hogwarts from here, but the urchin had been living under its shadow —along with the rest of Hogsmeade's— for three years now.
Time and enough to think how much she'd want to be back there.
Despite her tough-skinned act, her stories about leaving, or her harsh words for the place, the urchin really did wish she could have stayed. It wasn't just all the magic, for as little as it seemed she'd learned in the school proper. The castle was also the first place that Charley had never had to sleep in a rocking wagon or in a tent, it was the first real home she'd ever had. The professor might as well ask a ghost if he wanted to feel warm again.
"Been doin' a fair bit on my own, an' Mrs. Mann's been helpin' out, too, givin' me lessons an' such. She runs the shop," Charley noted evenly, trying to keep the hard feelings out of her voice. She'd been doing her best, even Mrs. Mann had said so lately...when the shop manager wasn't fretting over something the urchin had overlooked in the shop somehow. "Heard the Ministry'll give me a paper if I keep at it, so's I can do magic on the job. Even Mrs. Mann thinks I'm close."
Charley had only been hearing that for months now, and her only hope now seemed to be that an owl had eaten it on the way.
"I always think carefully!" Even when it didn't seem like she did. The urchin couldn't help that thoughts just came to her quickly. Like this question, which wasn't the first time she'd been thinking about school and learning. Folk around Hogsmeade were quick to tell her she wouldn't, couldn't, and shouldn't. Not for a working gal like her, not for someone so poor. Ma and Da had never needed much money to get around, so she didn't always see what the big fuss was about not having much either.
"Ya mean you'd take me back to Hogwarts with you?" Charley asked, raising an eyebrow at the professor. She raised her chin just a bit, enough to gaze out in the direction of the castle. The night was too dark to see Hogwarts from here, but the urchin had been living under its shadow —along with the rest of Hogsmeade's— for three years now.
Time and enough to think how much she'd want to be back there.
Despite her tough-skinned act, her stories about leaving, or her harsh words for the place, the urchin really did wish she could have stayed. It wasn't just all the magic, for as little as it seemed she'd learned in the school proper. The castle was also the first place that Charley had never had to sleep in a rocking wagon or in a tent, it was the first real home she'd ever had. The professor might as well ask a ghost if he wanted to feel warm again.
"Been doin' a fair bit on my own, an' Mrs. Mann's been helpin' out, too, givin' me lessons an' such. She runs the shop," Charley noted evenly, trying to keep the hard feelings out of her voice. She'd been doing her best, even Mrs. Mann had said so lately...when the shop manager wasn't fretting over something the urchin had overlooked in the shop somehow. "Heard the Ministry'll give me a paper if I keep at it, so's I can do magic on the job. Even Mrs. Mann thinks I'm close."
Charley had only been hearing that for months now, and her only hope now seemed to be that an owl had eaten it on the way.
![[Image: UNpj1yr.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/bwXcVqtF/UNpj1yr.png)
Writer Notes: Charley is a street urchin in both appearance and behavior, unless written otherwise here.
Interactions may reflect Victorian-era morals rather than modern sensibilities; this is allowed and acceptable to this writer.