An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Snow-dusted owls swooped into the Great Hall, eagerly to complete their deliveries so they could get somewhere warm afterwards. A few lingered at the tables to snatch warm food or shake snow from their feathers. As many were yet to return from the holidays, the deliveries were primarily focused on subscriptions to the Daily Prophet.
As soon as letters and the newspaper arrived, there was an increased chatter throughout the hall -- temporarily broken by an angry yell from Professor Fairburn. She bunched up the Daily Prophet and stormed from the hall in a fury, soon followed by Hagrid and Professor Hathmore.
Curiosity and discussion intensified after that, with everyone peering over shoulders to get a glimpse of the latest news. Anyone with family members who worked at the Ministry of Magic were particularly invested, as several quickly left to write home with questions or congratulations. Some of those parents had even lost their jobs or been reassigned.
No additional letters were delivered, as none were sent that required answering.
However, @sarah received a letter from her family regarding an update on their situation -- Headmaster Rickard kept his word in having someone check in on them to make sure they were okay. Apparently, whoever did that insisted the family write the information personally as an added reassurance.
Post by Lindsey Bryce on Apr 30, 2022 23:58:15 GMT 10
Lindsey looked up as the Daily Prophet was brought in, as well as letters from home. She snatched one letter from the air and pulled over a Prophet that had landed near her plate. She felt her hands shaking a little as she opened the letter, with her name written in her mother's handwriting. She swallowed and blinked as she started to read...
A Leannan,
Your father and I will be staying in North Carolina just a few more days. You heard about the cursed muggle gifts, correct? Well, your father and I were staying with muggle friends during this visit and they received one of these random gifts. Your father is the one who opened it at their insistance... Your father is okay, but he was hurt and is being treated. If anything happens, I will write to you and your professors to let them know.
I love you, Lindsey. Please do your best with your lessons and I will see you at your next match if you father is doing well.
Mòran Gaoil Do Mhàthair
Lindsey's eyes were wide, they were brimmed with tears as she read over everything. Her father had been hit by a cursed gift?! Why had they chosen to leave for North America? Now she was mad and she put the letter down and look at the Daily Prophet. She didn't quite understand a lot of that stuff, but it seemed rather important and a little worrisome.
Last Edit: Apr 30, 2022 23:59:36 GMT 10 by Lindsey Bryce
Alice was super hungry when she arrived at the great hall. Almost everybody staying in school was there and was happy. This vacation time was very adventurous for her. Before Christmas, she pleaded with her father to let her come home, but now she was delighted to spend Christmas here.
Now, this vacation would end, and boring classes would start. At least nobody here seemed worried about it. She moved inside, looking around for some friendly faces.
On the Ravenclaw table, she waved toward Mj and Ezra. Then at Nova in Hufflepuff table. Finally, she went to Gryffindor's table and sat near one of her roommates, Saoirse.
"Happy new year," Alice said to Saoirse, who was silently eating. Alice grabbed the first thing she found on the table and ate it. Alice was super hungry. After eating a bit, she noticed the daily prophet in front of her and began reading it.
Taking a big crunching bite of her toast she nodded to the boy enthusiastically. "Yes, most definitely! Herbology is one of my favorite classes and I'd love to work with plants outside of that too. Plants are just so fascinating to me!" She tried to speak around her mouthful of toast and hoped she could be understood. She was just too excited!
Nova's eyes widened at his next comment. Her? Scary? He definitely didn't know her very well! Which was to be expected. Even with his teasing tone she wanted to make it clear. "Oh no no! I'm probably the least scary person here!" She returned his smile. "I guess I'm just very...passionate, and when I set my sights on something I get a bit hyper-focused. I'll try to look less crazy next time." She laughed, hoping that he was the only one that had witnessed all this.
Finally she was able to put a name to his face. "Oscar! Nice to meet you too! You're off the hook this time, but you never know what the future holds..." she teased right back to him. She'd never do something that required a trial, she hoped, but if he could joke she would joke right back!
Nova noticed Alice arriving and waved back to her with a giant smile on her face. It was great having new friends! She was a bit sad they were split between houses, but was glad that didn't seem to affect them at all, other than not being able to sit together. They'd have classes and free-time for that!
Suddenly the owls flew into the Great Hall, dropping off their mail and letters. Nova didn't expect anything, but curiously glanced at one of the Daily Prophets that a nearby student was reading. She didn't really understand what it was all about but suddenly some of the Professors rushed off...and Hagrid!
Nova almost jumped up right then and there to follow him, but then realized this wasn't the time. Something was definitely going on and she was sure Hagrid would be busy attending to whatever it was for awhile. She'd wait until after breakfast like planned. Though she was curious what was going on. It always seemed like adults had such drama in their lives!
Post by Ezra Ashworth on May 1, 2022 5:52:45 GMT 10
Ezra looked up at the teachers table as he thought over MJ's invite, his head tilted as he tried to decide if he wanted to change his plans. Getting to grow their own ingredients would be really fun, very useful too! And he did like to have company. But.. Potions.
After overhearing that the student laboratory was a real thing and not a myth made up by older students to tease poor innocent first years, Ezra had been planning on hunting down Snape as soon as he could. He was not sure if he was willing to let his first opportunity go, even if it meant he got to spend time with his new friends.
Decisions, decisions... He was slowly eating his breakfast as he thought, the food helping to get his mind in gear.
"Thanks, MJ," he finally said as he turned back to face her. He hoped he didn't offend her by saying no! He really would have liked the chance to spend more time with his friends, but potions were calling. "That sounds fun! You should tell me all about it later! But I really want to find Snape first. Did you know that the student labs are real?"
He was still amazed at that fact. How much fun had he missed out on already that year because he hadn't known? How many fun potions could he have tried to make and figure out? It was a real shame in his mind.
So distracted by his thoughts of what he could do in the student laboratory, Ezra nearly missed the older student saying good morning to them. That was nice! He waved his own hello back, his mouth full of cereal.
Just in time for the post too! He smiled as the owls appeared, offering one that dropped a newspaper near him some toast in thanks for their hard work.
"Thanks, birdie!" he smiled at the owl as he reached for the paper. He was curious to know what was happening in the world.
He held it out to Misuk and MJ, silently offering to share if they wanted to, before he started to read the front page.
Honestly, he was not sure what a lot of it meant. It sounded like the Minister was being a bit mean and he couldn't help but wonder why that was. Why wouldn't he want to make things better for others? Werewolves and House-Elves were living, thinking people too. Did that mean that the Minister was bad?
He also wondered how a department at the ministry could just explode - had someone been doing something they shouldn't have? That probably hadn't been a good time for the ministry. No wonder he didn't remember hearing about it though, if it was nine years ago he would have only been around two. Huh...
"Ohh, miracle potion!" he pointed to the index at the bottom of the page. That was his attention grabbed, all other news quickly fell from his mind. "I wonder how they did it."
Post by Oscar Tinkle on May 1, 2022 6:56:25 GMT 10
Oscar was smiling at Nova's enthusiasm as she gushed over her love for Herbology. It was nice to see someone appreciating a good subject! Herbology might not be his number one favourite class (that spot was strictly reserved for Care of Magical Creatures, thank you very much!), but it was definitely up there!
"I'm sure Professor Sprout will be very glad to hear that," he said before wincing over her next comment. Okay, so apparently his teasing had not worked quite right. See? This was why he found animals easier!
He distracted himself from fretting over how to reassure her that he had only been joking, by reaching for the mail. It was a shame that the owl had already left, it would have been the perfect distraction for him!
Oh wait, no.. she was teasing him back? Did that mean that he had not offended her? Oh thank Merlin! He really did not want to have to explain to the professors how he really hadn't meant to bully a student three years younger than him. He could already picture Professor Sprout's disappointment in him in that scenario.
"Hopefully the future doesn't hold any actual murderous first years," he teased because apparently that was how this conversation was going? Stressful. "I don't think my poor heart could take it."
He was relieved to see that Nova got the hint that something was wrong with the professors and didn't charge after Hagrid straight away when he rushed out. He wondered what that was about though... The paper?
Oscar glanced between the newspaper and the letter from his parents. The letter might have news about the attacks talked about over Christmas... but his curiosity had been piqued by what had put Professor Fairburn in a bad mood.
He decided to read the paper first, the letter could wait until he was not sat in the middle of the hall. That way if it wasn't good news from his mum then he could live in ignorance for a bit longer. He really hoped it was good news.
Reading just the front page, he thought he could understand why the professor might have stormed out. He was frowning as he read it himself. What was wrong with the Minister that he could just ignore ways of making life better for House-Elves? And then at the same time, go and make life harder on werewolves! It was horrible! Was life not already difficult enough, they deserved good lives too!
"What a disappointing man," he sighed, losing faith in the man that was apparently supposed to lead them.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on May 1, 2022 7:47:13 GMT 10
"Oh they're very real, I spoke to Snape..." She pauses to think for a second, "Yes, it was Christmas day. I took him some shortbread my Granny had sent and asked about using the student laboratory. He gave me a task... Which I still need to finish. I'm hoping after I go see Hagrid and Professor Sprout, I'll have enough time to finish that too."
As Alice came into the Great Hall, she waved eagerly to her Gryffindor friend. Hopefully they would be able to catch up later that day (she was definitely curious to know why she had come in late to breakfast...)
Maybe she was being overly ambitious, giving herself a lot to do at once but MJ was just too excited about everything. Despite being at Hogwarts for about five months now, she was still amazed by everything she could learn when it came to magic. She wondered, did students from magical backgrounds feel the same? Or did they take it all for granted...?
MJ smiled at Ezra, "Good luck with your potions stuff, I'm sure Professor Snape will allow you to use the labs."
But it wasn't long before the owls arrived and added more excitement to the morning.
"Post!" A newspaper was dropped at her place (so she waved away Ezra's offer, smiling at him regardless) and she picked it up, gasping at the miracle potion - having the same momentary distraction as Ezra but her attention went to the main article after that.
"Woah.. Is this true?" She glanced at Misuk and then Ezra, going back to read. She noticed she hadn't gotten a letter back from her Granny or Great Auntie yet (or even Max but that was more than expected). Just as she said that, several staff left the Great Hall and she watched, eyes wide. "This is serious..."
She frowned as she thought things over, deciding that she would get a head start on her morning plans now. She smiled at her friends, "I'll be off, see you later!"
Rylan made his way to the Gryffindor table for breakfast, safe in the knowledge that none of his family had been hurt by any of the cursed gifts that had been circulating. One look at the Daily Prophet told him that the investigation was ongoing, but the main headline was also very interesting, to say the least.
Piling his plate with bacon, egg, and all those things that made a nice hot english breakfast, Rylan made sure to gift a sausage to the owl that had delivered his newspaper. The bird seemed rather happy with its lot, flying off to hopefully enjoy it's meal in peace and get warmed up again.
With that done, he began to read, wondering just what had prompted such a restructure at the Ministry. They were really tightening things up, that was for sure, and it seemed as though Professor Fairburn wasn't happy, to say the least. Whether that be the headline, or something else, he did not know, but he did note the exit of Hagrid and Hathmore.
Sighing as he placed the paper down to read later, he looked around for familiar faces, before realising that the others probably wouldn't be back until the afternoon. For now, he fancied getting himself signed up for the Duelling session, tournament, whatever, but he hadn't made any plans for the morning just yet.
Nova glanced over at Professor Sprout with admiration of her head of house. "She's a very great Professor, I can't wait to talk to her about it!" She actually reminded her of her Grandmother and that had made her feel almost at home when everything had been so overwhelming when she had first gotten to Hogwarts.
She had a very calming presence. Some might find the other classes with spells and such more exciting, and Nova agreed those were cool too, but there was something about Herbology she just loved so much!
With a look of mock horror, Nova looked around at the other first years seated at the various tables. "We all look so innocent...but you never know what's going on in someone's mind." She was half-joking but really...who knew?
She laughed but also kept that thought in the back of her mind. "Let's hope that's not the case! I'm way too trusting." Nova trusted almost anyone at first meeting, it probably would end badly one day. She just always saw the best in people.
Noticing Oscar's change of expression as he read the paper, and the reaction from the Professors and even others around her, she knew something was up. Being so new to this world it was still hard to wrap her mind around everything.
"So this Minister, is he a bad guy or just really disliked?" From the things he was doing it looked like people really didn't like him. She thought everyone deserved rights! This Minister guy really needed to be more open-minded.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 1, 2022 12:55:03 GMT 10
Elizabeth wished the winter holidays were over already. What was she supposed to do if there was no class time? The library was looking very tempting. She placed a healthy balanced breakfast on her plate. Maybe that would help her decide what she could do that day.
At least it wasn't Christmas. The tables were the way they should be instead of yesterday's mess. She noticed a few people studying. At least some people were intelligent enough. She had some doubts about most of her class. With OWLs coming up, Elizabeth wondered if it was even possible to disappoint her parents if all they wanted her to do was get married.
Elizabeth turned her head in shock and surprise when Professor Fairburn yelled and stormed out. Why on earth would she do that? Was it the news, or just something about magical creatures? Elizabeth had never really enjoyed the class, but she did like to know that her teachers were capable of holding their emotions in, or at least waiting until they were away from others. It was only polite, after all.
Post by Arthur Hocking on May 1, 2022 13:05:35 GMT 10
Arthur had been late to breakfast. It didn't help that he didn't get much sleep the night before as a result of his worrying. With bleary eyes, he sat down at the first open seat and tried to stay awake long enough to eat his breakfast.
The arrival of the mail definitely helped. Arthur perked up almost instantly, waiting patiently to see if an owl was coming for him. His heartbeat was beginning to feel like a particularly enthusiastic drummer was banging on his chest. At last, a letter arrived. Arthur shredded it open, reading it so fast that his brain didn't process it at first, and so he had to read it again.
"Yes!" Arthur couldn't stop smiling. He didn't even glance at the Daily Prophet before rushing over to Oscar, who seemed to be talking with a first year.
"Hi, sorry if I'm interrupting," he said to the first year before turning to Oscar, "My family's okay! They don't even know anybody who got a gift." Arthur took a few deep breaths to calm down, and then realized that he didn't know if Oscar's family was okay. He sure hoped that they were.
Saoirse watched as snow-laden owls swept into the Hall, fingers crossed that a letter from her father would be among them. Much to her excitement, one owl dropped a letter almost into her plate before landing neatly next to her arm. Even the owl shaking snow off of itself and all over Saoirse didn't dampen her joy.
She started opening the letter. She wouldn't have received one from her grandparents yet, as they were still on their holiday in Tunisia. She noticed another first year, Alice, sitting next to her as she fumbled with the cold letter, and nodded back to her. "Happy New Year!"
She sounded more happy than usual, and finally opened the letter with a crackle. Like her father's usual communications, it was short and to the point. But she relished every letter.
Hey kiddo,
It sounds like you had a great holiday up there. I'm so glad. It was good at the lighthouse, too- except for some tourists I had to scare away. Luckily, even Muggles believe in curses.
I also want you to know that I've met someone. I hope you can meet her this summer. I'll tell you more when I see you.
Love,
Dad
Saoirse was surprised that her father had someone he wanted her to meet. He had seen other women since her mother died, but he usually kept them far away from Saoirse- probably to avoid confusing her or getting her hopes up. However, any other thoughts Saoirse could have had on the matter were interrupted by a painful slap to the face.
"Again? Really?" Saoirse snapped.
The owl who had thrown the Daily Prophet into her face, seemingly on purpose, started shamelessly pecking at the bit of sausage on her plate. Saoirse sighed and looked at the front page. Yet more mysteries and half-truths. Saoirse was considering working at the Ministry just so she could get some answers to all these frustrating questions.
And then breakfast was over, seemingly as soon as she had sat down. Saoirse tucked her father's note into her pocket, leaving the Daily Prophet where it had fallen. She nodded a goodbye to Alice, and decided to head back to her dormitory to grab a towel. She was going to go for a swim while she could.
As breakfast ended, Rylan rolled up his newspaper and made his way back to the dorms. He still hadn't decided what to do, other than maybe try and get some practise on his new broom.
Yes, not only had his parents gifted him a broom for christmas, but they had even given him permission to try out for the team! All that remained would be to await the next tryouts, which could be soon if what he had heard about the team no longer having a captain was true.
There was also the matter of The Sorting Hat, and he wondered if he would be allowed to help out Rickard again. He had said just knock next time right?
As he exited the Great Hall, he also thought of Bella and perhaps just spending some more time with his beloved toad. Maybe he could do that while nursing his wounds from the duelling contest?
Post by Ezra Ashworth on May 2, 2022 8:25:49 GMT 10
"I thought they were just a rumour!" Ezra admitted with a blush. Had everyone except him known that the labs were real? That was hardly fair. "It sounded too good to be true."
After MJ mentioned taking Snape a gift when she asked for permission, he couldn't help but wonder if that was something that everyone had to do. Did Snape only let people who gifted him things use the potions laboratory? That wasn't good!
He started to wrack his brain for what he had that he could donate to the cause.
All he could come up with was the napkin-wrapped Christmas cake that he had up in his room still, being safely kept so that he could share some of the Hogwarts Christmas with his siblings. He couldn't give that up! Snape would have to make do with nothing and Ezra would just have to plead his case especially well.
"You have a really busy day planned then. Good luck, MJ!" he smiled as he wished her luck in her missions for the day. He hoped she had fun with it all! And who knew, maybe they would bump into each other on their tasks. That would be cool!
Seeing as people were leaving the hall and the food had all disappeared, Ezra decided that it was time to hunt down Professor Snape! He eyed the paper before he stood up, but no.. the chance at making real potions would be more fun than trying to read if it had more information on the miracle potion. All other news had left his mind.
"Bye Misuk!" he called to the one remaining person that he knew. He hoped they had plans too. It would be awkward if he was just leaving them behind to boredom but he didn't want to push off getting permission for the student lab a second longer. With that determination he left the hall.
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February
