Quote:
Originally Posted by
fire_faerie 
"Before Hogwarts, I daresay my life wasn't so different from yours. My family is very highly regarded in the muggle world - at least by the people who know them. The Riders aren't famous, but the name often comes up in conversation when talking about prominent families. We're all clever, all relatively ok looking and have enough money to last us a couple lifetimes..." Rachel replied, remembering her times back in the Rider household. It seemed like another lifetime. . . Another her. Technically it WAS another her, but that thought made her feel weird.
"I guess you could say that they are the pure-bloods of the muggle world. Ever since I was born, it's been expected of me to continue the tradition, just like they expected it from my uncle. They got a nasty shock when they realised that I was magic too," she continued, a small smile coming to her lips at the thought. A few years ago any mention of this subject would have reduced her to tears but so much time had passed since then, she could barely work up any sadness at all. "In school it was no different. I was in all the accelerated classes, striving always to be better, to get higher grades - to be more successful than my parents. But all my achievements, all the honors I got; all credit was given to the Riders - never Rachel Rider. Nothing was ever mine... It was the family's." A small sense of resentment crept into her voice as she talked and her eyes darkened slightly. It wasn't that her life had been miserable - far from it, in fact - but looking back on it now, she really and truly saw that she had never been exactly happy either. From the moment that she could start achieving things, her family lost all affection for her as a daughter and rather saw her as yet another member of the family who will bring pride to the family name.
CHANGE OF SUBJECT! "You have a palomino? I've ALWAYS wanted to ride one - they're adorable!" she said quickly, grinning from ear to ear at the thought. "Of course I'll want to - riding with you off into the sun; nothing sounds better!" the sixteen year old said happily, and rested her head on his shoulder. Riding with Reid in America... Of course she'll ride with him - her ancestors were riders, hence the name! If she couldn't ride, who could?
"I can understand that. Sometimes I really do think wizards get the easy way out... I haven't been in a normal tent for years!" Rachel exclaimed, trying to remember the last time she went camping. Oh, no, wait. TECHNICALLY, the last time she had been in a tent, she was in the house. In her bedroom. They had just returned from a camping trip and eight-year-old Rachel had refused to go back to sleeping in a normal bed, in a normal room so her Grandpa - tired of her excessive objections, put up the tent in her room (to this day she still doesn't know how he did it) and she had happily crawled in their and slept for about twelve hours.
"Really? I wonder if my parents will have ever heard of them... They're both politicians in the muggle world so know quite a lot of prominent people. Although they probably wouldn't have heard of your family since we live in America." As Reid listened to her say how much money her family had he nearly chocked. That was a lot of money to have and yet here Rachel was acting nothing like a spoiled brat that most girls with money were. Then again she lived in a flat in Hogsmeade so maybe she'd left that family behind.
"I'm sorry," he almost whispered, not sure how to respond to what she'd just told him. His parents were the same really but he'd always had an escape from it. He'd made sure of that the moment he became a model and then a few years later with his acting. He now had a fortune of his own that would last him at least the rest of his lifetime and that didn't even include the allowance his parents gave him weekly. Whenever Reid felt too pressured he had the means to just leave it all behind, to get out of the country and not come back for a few months. He also had people employed by him to make sure his parents couldn't find him when he took those breaks. Obviously Rachel hadn't had that.
"Well then I'll have to make sure to take you a few times while we're in the country. I know she'll be happy for the company and exercise. That's really the only thing I regret about moving countries. I can't see my animals as much and they're left alone without good exercise for who knows how long." Reid was extremely glad that Rachel was seemingly distracted from the depressing subject of her family. It was making him depressed just thinking about it.
"We do. But then again if you can think of a way to do something and have it be successful then why not? I mean someone worked hard to find a way to make spells and things that would make our lives easier and people still have to work to produce what we need for comfort, therefore it's providing wizards and witches with jobs, which could never be a bad thing." Reid said with a shrug.