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.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on Jul 19, 2022 12:36:20 GMT 10
Elizabeth stifled a yawn. She hadn't thought that prefect duty would be as tiring, but she was still fine for the morning and she didn't want anybody to think that she had overslept, let alone be late for breakfast and have to go hungry during the first lesson of the day. Looking at the schedule, she frowned.
She might as well have not bothered. Care of Magical Creatures seemed like the latest foe that Elizabeth had to fight these days. While some of her housemates were grumbling about Quidditch, Elizabeth joined them. Well, for the grumbling at least. She couldn't bring herself to care all that much about Quidditch except for the fact that she knew her roommates were unhappy.
Elizabeth was quite glad that she was not on Amara's bad side. Even she had some social self-awareness to know that it probably wasn't a good idea to annoy or otherwise anger your roommates, especially if it was Amara. She had tried to be especially unnoticeable yesterday, a skill that she had practiced many times before.
Post by Grace Babineaux on Jul 19, 2022 12:53:48 GMT 10
"Hi guys!" Grace sat down next to Saoirse and Alice and grabbed some cereal. She wasn't especially hungry. She took one look at the schedule and groaned. Potions! To emphasize her displeasure, she pointed it out to Alice and Saoirse. "Potions. Ugh."
She wasn't particularly bad at Potions, but she wasn't exactly good at it either, and to her it seemed like you had to be perfect if you wanted to make Professor Snape happy. No, scratch that. She didn't think she'd ever see Professor Snape happy with a class that included Gryffindors. Maybe 'not mad' was the better way to think about it.
"How many house points do you think Gryffindor is going to lose?" Grace said, mostly thinking about Toby. But if she was nervous, or made any mistakes, maybe she would be the one to end up losing the house points. Grace hoped not. She didn't want to be behind Hufflepuff again.
Post by Lindsey Bryce on Jul 19, 2022 13:44:57 GMT 10
Lindsey yawned as she entered the Great Hall and shook her head to remove the cloud of sleep. The night had gone by far too quickly and she was already set for a nap. As she looked around, she found a place near Reena and sat down.
"Good Mornin'," she said with a yawn before she started to gather some porridge, toast and fruit for breakfast.
Charlotte managed to slip into the great hall before the crowd became to large. The night before really lifted her spirits and she actual had a smile on her face. It felt nice to feel this way and she loaded her plate with some fruit and cereal before she decided on orange juice.
She had brought the toy cat her sister had given her. It was tucked away in her bag safely. She still felt a little nervous about the growing crowd, but she just felt happy.
Post by Alice Jane on Jul 19, 2022 19:28:23 GMT 10
Alice had taken her first bite when she noticed MJ on the nearby table and waved her back. She wanted to ask how she was feeling now, but she could ask in class. So, she kept eating for now.
Soon her second roommate, Grace, arrived. "Hi, Good morning." She said. Alice agreed with her on Potions. The subject was not the problem, this subject is fine, but the teacher was the real problem.
"A lot." She replied. It is the class where Gryffindor tends to lose a lot of points every time. Usually, she becomes nervous here, even when she knows what to do.
Last Edit: Jul 20, 2022 14:21:42 GMT 10 by Lena: Fixed: formatting error
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jul 19, 2022 19:55:41 GMT 10
MJ smiles when she notices Alice wave back and then sees Charlotte coming to the breakfast table. She had left a space for her roommate if she wanted to sit with her but, of course, if Charlotte felt more comfortable sitting elsewhere that was fine too.
She kept her gaze on Charlotte and hoped her friend would notice so she could mouth 'Good Morning' to her! Hopefully she was feeling a bit better and looking forward to their potions class that morning. MJ worried about her roommate and just wanted her to be happy here at Hogwarts. She didn't know if it was possible for people to leave the school and go elsewhere, or even be taught at home, but she wanted Charlotte to stay with them all the way to graduation at the end of seventh year!
Reaching out, MJ took some apples and nuts, stowing them into her bag for later.
With a small sigh, she went back to her Potions textbook. A healing potion would be fun to learn! MJ, already considering her options for the future, had found a career called Mediwizard. Which meant she could still be around Quidditch but doing healing stuff too. It had seemed a good path for her to consider so more healing experience would be fun.
MJ was lost in these thoughts for a moment as breakfast continued.
Post by Thorne Perry on Jul 19, 2022 20:37:19 GMT 10
"Spring!" Thorne echoed gleefully over his oatmeal as he swirled honey overtop the bumpy surface. He'd never used to like oatmeal, but Hogwart's oatmeal always tasted better than his mum's (sorry mummy!). It was less salty, and less gritty, and he was beginning to suspect that perhaps his mum was not the great cook his papa always talked her up to be. He grinned at the older boy, though his smile faltered when he took in the dark circles under the other's eyes.
"Oh--rough. Uh. Rough night-? You still look so sleepy-"
Last Edit: Jul 19, 2022 21:31:58 GMT 10 by Thorne Perry
Post by Amara Seabrook on Jul 19, 2022 20:53:36 GMT 10
Amara had forgone her robes, wanting to enjoy the seasonal change and feel less confined by layers of scarves. Her hair was rather wavy today, as she couldn't be bothered with the extra effort to brush it straighter. She felt neutral after a good night's sleep, though her gaze was wild. Yeah, she hated losing the match yesterday... but that wasn't it.
She was mad because both she and Vicky had been, for lack of a better term, kind of totally bested by a pair of pests. Birdwhistle was new and didn't interfere too much, but King? No, King had gotten on her nerves more than anything. Whatever Nyx was feeding him, his skills and ability to irritate continued to grow. He was also a first year, so hardly worth her time to plan something more sinister to put him in his place.
But he was still really annoying. She yearned to release some of that frustration. Shoving a pair of Gryffindors into a wall when she'd left the Dungeons wasn't enough. She headed to the Great Hall with an air of purpose. Entering, Amara's narrowed gaze was drawn to the Ravenclaw table. She spotted Nyx, then smirked at the nearby group.
How could she possibly pass this up?
She strode towards the table, making a show of walking along the row of seats as if simply passing by on her way to loop to the Slytherin table... which was on the complete opposite side the hall. On her way, as if she'd done this a hundred times before because she didn't need to slow down, Amara slammed her hand against the back of King's curly head -- his face landing rough into his bowl of porridge. She hoped it was hot.
Not missing a beat, Amara kept walking and didn't look back once. Her pace was brisk, and she knew how to weave around older students to buffer anyone who had the moronic idea of following her.
Arriving safely at the Slytherin table, and sat on her usual side with full view of the hall. Moreso, she'd deliberately picked the spot beside Reena, still intent on recruiting her and wanted to make a show of appreciating her company this morning rather than outright greeting her.
Satisfied smirk firmly in place, she considered her breakfast options -- opting for some fruit, and decided to indulge in a pancake in celebration of the new season. Amara noticed Reena had a similar breakfast. Where were her friends? Amara did a glance for Vicky or Lucas, but couldn't spot them anywhere. She hoped they got to see her handiwork, at least.
Next time, she might go for the juice jug.
'Sleep well?' Amara asked Reena, then gave Elizabeth a glance to include her as well.
She blatantly ignored everyone else, though made a power move of getting her wand out to place it by her hand like a piece of cutlery -- should any Ravenclaws gain the delusion of thinking retaliation was in any way a good idea.
[OOC: plotted with Jonathan King / done with permission]
Last Edit: Jul 19, 2022 20:55:47 GMT 10 by Amara Seabrook
Post by Jonathan King on Jul 19, 2022 21:50:13 GMT 10
Joe took a first spoonful of his porridge and chabhabahhja-ed it cool enough to swallow in his mouth before Toby came to join him. His lips spread into a big smile, evidently even happier to see the Gryffindor boy sit with him than his own teammate Emjy.
"He's looking for his sock, might take a shower?", Joe responded with a shrug as he explained their best friend's absence. He briefly thought about setting aside some food for Ryan but he was sure he'd get here before breakfast ended.
"Thank you! Did you see the sour looks on Slytherin's faces?", he chuckled. It had been a bit scary while on the pitch, fearing to become a target for a foul but now that it was over it was funny and he felt confident to have a laugh about it with his best mate.
Slytherin should have known better than to underestimate them, he didn't really get why older students were so afraid to loose against someone younger anyway. Not like they hadn't been younger themselves at some point. Besides, age did not necessarily equal skill.
Joe quickly glanced at his schedule and his joyful expression shifted into a grimace.
"Ugh. Snape. You think he'll be in an even worse mood after yesterd-"
- Joe was rudely cut off by his face being slammed into his bowl.
He realised that the sudden force to the back of his head had pushed him forward just as he registered the heat on his skin from his meal. He winced as he flinched back out of it and clawed the hot, creamy pulp from his face, before looking around in wide-eyed shock.
"What the- someone pushed me!" Joe had finally made sense of what had happened to him.
He sprung to his feet and looked for his assailant but there was no one looming over him and he couldn't see any malintend on anyone's face that was looking at him.
"Did you see who it was?", he asked towards Toby and the Gryffindor table, then looked at Emjy and Nox - who he hadn't really noticed earlier. Then he caught sight of the Slytherin captain weaving briskly around students away from their table and he squinted at her suspiciously. It had to have been her!
He shrunk back into his seat and picked up a napkin to blow a nose full of porridge into it.
Gross!
His face felt hot and he was sure it wasn't just the porridge. Never in his life had he been this humiliated!
Joe glared at her across the hall until he couldn't see her anymore behind the other two house tables.
"Sore loser!", he huffed as he carefully wiped his face with a new napkin, breathing in sharply when he touched a spot on his face that was especially sensetive after the unexpected heat-mask.
He was very aware of people staring at him and he cleaned up the brown-spotted porridge on the table to bide his time and hide his shock and embarassment. The more he pretended to calmly clean the table, the more riled up he got inside however and he shot something of a glare towards Toby.
He couldn't just let this stand, could he? But how could he get her back so she knew not to pick on him just because he was smaller, without her killing him?
Joe's jaw started to tremble and he had to look down as he fought back tears once the shock subsided.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jul 19, 2022 22:13:26 GMT 10
Sitting on the opposite side of the table to Joe made it hard for MJ to stop what happened, even if she had noticed Amara in time. Sadly, being the sneaky snake she was, she had done a drive-by dunking before any of them could realize what had happened. MJ's head snapped to attention when she heard Joe's dunk into his breakfast, looking around to see who had done it.
What loser thought they were the big person here, by dunking a first year's face into porridge? How pathetic did you have to be? How insecure was your own little world, that to make yourself feel better you had to do this?
Her eyes locked on the girl she recognized from the Quidditch game and she glared in her direction, "It's not our fault we beat her team. She should have been a better player or they should have had a better captain leading them."
Which was an ironic statement considering Amara's position as Captain but it wasn't like the Snake would hear her. She hadn't bothered to stop for the fallout but slunk back to her table like the coward she was. MJ offered Joe another napkin, seeing the hurt on his face.
"Are you okay though? It sucks that she did it but in a way, it's a compliment! She sees you as a threat on the Quidditch field and if we meet Slytherin again, you can make sure she's the one with porridge on her face." Metaphorical porridge, of course but porridge nonetheless! MJ did toss a glance to their Captain to see if she was bothered by what had happened to Joe.
After all, they played as a team, surely that meant something?
But bullying was something MJ couldn't stand to see. There had to be something they could do about Amara, but what?
Last Edit: Jul 19, 2022 22:14:30 GMT 10 by MJ Birdwhistle
If anyone had something to be happy about with changing snow for sun, it was the owls delivering their mail every day. With a loud, happy-sounding chorus of screeches, hundreds of owls swooped into the Great Hall with higher energy and enthusiasm for their task. A bit too much enthusiasm, as a rather confused Tawny went face-first into a bowl of eggs at the Hufflepuff table -- making a mess for those nearby.
Owls carried letters or packages from home, as well as today's issue of the Daily Prophet. And moments later, attention was pulled to the staff table where Professor Fairburn exclaimed loudly in another language. The tone indicated it'd been a rather colourful swear, which explained the obscured language clues and clarity.
Seeing a wave of mixed reactions around the hall to the news, Professor Rivera (with a deadpanned expression) deliberately set aside her unread copy of the Daily Prophet. She leaned over a fresh mug of tea, ignoring Madam Pomfrey's restrained look; Rivera wasn't open to suggestions right now.
The following letters were also delivered:
To: @charlotte
We received your letter. Please restrict letters to matters of greater urgency or importance, as your father and I have far too much going on right now to read about you children wasting time on Herbology Kits and Flying Lessons.
I am unsure who this "Ezra" is. Why did you not include his surname? That is something we need to know, in case he's unsuitable company for you to have. Flying would be of no use to you, so we discourage further studying of this. And do try not to get too dirty, as we won't be able to replace any of your clothes for some time.
We can't say much of where we are right now, but it may take owls a bit longer to reach us. Your father and I are quite enjoying our holiday, though. When the Ministry aren't trying to shove their noses in on things that don't concern them.
Things should calm down again soon. By the end of term, at least. For now, just focus on your studies and please try not to bother us unless absolutely necessary. And mind your manners; try not to get in people's way. It won't do well for you to stand out, so just keep your head down and follow the example set by William or Elizabeth.
How's school treating you? Hope your O.W.Ls aren't being too mean. Please try to resist upholding the family tradition of throwing textbooks off the Astronomy Tower.
Sorry to write on such short notice, as I'm sure you probably have plans, but I'm running some errands in Scotland tomorrow and thought I would stop by Hogsmeade before heading home. I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch together, early afternoon?
I know it's Valentine's Day, so it's quite all right if you'd rather do your own thing -- but if you have some time to schedule in your Grandma, I'll be at the Three Broomsticks. As much as I would love to give out hugs to all of you, I hope it's all right if it was just the two of us? Nothing to worry about, I just thought it might be nice to have lunch with my eldest grandson. And give you a break from your O.W.L stress for an afternoon, what do you say?
No need to reply. If you have time, skip lunch at Hogwarts and come by the Three Broomsticks. I've reserved a booth in the back, and will have some homemade tarts waiting for you -- and plenty enough for you to bring some back for the others.
Your mother "accidentally" made too much coconut ice, after hearing a rumour they'd be increasing Honeydukes stock of it next year. Anyway, we've sent you some along. Please share it with your siblings.
Love you. Study hard. O.W.Ls are no joke, but you'll get through it.
From: Dad
Included was a glass container filled with homemade pink and white coconut ice wrapped in a green and red cloth. It was absolutely delicious, and as good as the real thing -- reminding of the days when Tobias was very young and they'd gone on a family picnic, which that treat was always present. They hadn't done that in years.
Amelia hadn't been up long the night before, she had headed to bed shortly after Tobias had joined her in the common room. It had been a good relaxing moment for the two siblings and though he had offered her a sweet, she hadn't been interested in it. Let the boy enjoy his sweet, she could deal without. Once she had headed to bed, it wasn't long before she was out and likely snoring or something. She had no idea.
The return to the Great Hall had been nothing short of calm, she had moved into a spot at the Gryffindor Table and gathered herself something for Breakfast. She knew that soon owls would be arriving, so she kept a place clear for anything from home and the prophet. Sure enough, the owls arrived shortly later and she grabbed the prophet as it floated down.
Werewolves... Amelia knew that most of her life, there had been support and no-supprt for those afflicted by the curse of being a werewolf. While some people embraced their new life, others hated it. She read over the article, saddened about the death of the boy. When, she felt another presence and looked to see an owl dropping off something for herself and her sister. She took the letter first and read it over. She smiled and folded it up, looking around for her sister and siblings.
"Tobias!" She shouted for him when she saw him. "Hey Toby! Come Here!" She opened up the Coconut Ice and grabbed a bowl to put some in for him.
Charlotte was enjoying her fruit, looking around at her friends who were near by. Friends. That is what she had been called by MJ and it made her heart thump in her chest and her cheeks to heat up with some excitement. When she did look back at MJ, she saw her mouth Good Morning and without thought, Charlotte was up and heading over to join her room-mate.
"Good Morning," she said with a smile, feeling oddly comfortable with the greeting once she was sitting down. As she sat, she heard the loud sounds of the incoming letters and owls and looked up in time to grab a daily prophet for herself as well. It had become a habit for her to see what was going on. When a letter landed before her, she ignored it for a moment to read the prophet.
The werewolf attack was awful. As a child, she was forced to study and she had read a few things about Werewolves. But, their studies never went into great details that she could recall. For a moment, she was distracted for a moment by the Spring Garden Tips. She flipped to the page and read it over. There were some interesting tips and she folded the paper away to read for later.
Then she looked at the letter and grabbed it with a slight smile. Her parents had written her back?
The moment she opened it, she felt her face drop and her heart sink. Was her letters not important? Was her lessons and hands on studies no important? That is what it felt like when she read the very first few lines. And why was a surname so important? He was just a friend... He was also nice and she didn't want to quit being his friend. He was also in her house, she didn't have much of a choice but to be around him.
As she was told not to study flying, she looked at the letter in confusion. She had to take the lessons, how could she not? She doubted that any of the professors cared if parents didn't want them flying. She hadn't seen anyone allowed to skip the class.
So, they were on holiday? Why couldn't they have come for the holiday? Christmas hadn't been that long ago and they had been stuck here. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. She looked around for a moment, remembering what some of her classmates had said about their families. They got to do things together, why not them?
Try not to bother us... She put the paper down on the table, plenty of view for anyone else to see, though it hadn't been her intention to show it to anyone. She just wanted to wipe her eyes. She was a bother to them... She was a bother to them! She glanced towards the Slytherin table, quickly seeing her sister there with her house, but had missed William.
Orla thought her jaw might pop out of the socket - her mouth fell open in shock as she turned towards the sudden exclamations and spotted a boy with a steaming porridge mask frantically looking for whoever was responsible.
She slowly stuffed another slice of gooey toast in her open gob, chewing slowly with wide eyes.
"Did anyone see that?!" She said to no one in particular, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile.
After much too long, she realised staring was rude and quickly schooled her expression into one of innocent ignorance, turning her body towards the tables just as the owls began soaring into the Hall. A bumbling Tawny tumbled into a full bowl of eggs, scattering crockery and swifter owls everywhere.
What a mad morning...
Orla had come to not expect a letter from home (she was sure everyone thought about her, but her family weren't exactly sentimental), but she was always interested in the Daily Prophet; she caught one and unrolled it eagerly.
Her heart sank. More werewolf attacks? At home, too? Orla scrunched up her face, as she often did when she was uncomfortable, and thought of the deep dark forest surrounding the Fallwater grounds. That poor boy...
Last Edit: Jul 19, 2022 22:55:38 GMT 10 by Deleted
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jul 19, 2022 22:59:54 GMT 10
MJ was distracted, and surprised, by a number of things happening at once.
First, Charlotte came to sit with her! MJ was happy to have the other girl next to her and quickly buddied up, "How did you sleep?" Hopefully good!
Second, the owl post arrived which brought a letter from home and a newspaper to her place at the table. MJ was curious to see who had written to her but her hopes sank when she recognized her Granny's (or maybe her Great-Aunt's) handwriting. Nothing from Max again but maybe there would be something in the letter from him?
Then there was the noise from the teacher's table. MJ looked in that direction and wondered what the commotion was about but she got her answer soon enough.
Her eyes read over the headline on the Daily Prophet and she gasped, "Werewolves are real!?"
Her statement wasn't to anyone in particular but she hoped someone from a magical background could explain things to her about werewolves. Maybe Charlotte since she said she read educational books... Would her parents force her to read about Werewolves?
MJ had many questions - Did they turn into wolves? Or were they like the werewolves from Muggles books and movies? Half man, half wolf, all monster?
Well, this article seemed to lead her to believe so. It implied they were dangerous and had to be controlled, calling for stricter regulations. MJ was confused by the mention of a Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Surely they were considered human since, well, they still had a human side right? MJ frowned as she finished reading the front article. "Is there no kind of potion or spell that can help them?"
She felt bad for the werewolves too, they couldn't help being who they were and hopefully they would be treated fairly.
MJ scanned the other articles on offer. She was curious to learn more about the whole love potion thing - it felt a bit icky to her that there was a potion that could force someone to love you! What was the point in that... People could be weird sometimes. But the article about the gardening tips really intrigued her. She intended to cut it out later and put it in her reply letter to her Granny and Great-Aunt. Even if it was about magic, she was certain they would enjoy reading about how magical people took care of their gardens!
And, again, she got excited thinking about magic she could learn to help her guardians out at home when she was old enough. She glanced over the moon cycles, wondering if that related to the werewolves too and skipped the Valentine's gift ideas. She didn't need those at her age. MJ finished with her paper and tucked it, along with the unopened letter, into her satchel.
It was then she noticed a change in Charlotte's demeanour. She had been reading a letter hadn't she? MJ carefully and gently placed a hand on her friend's arm, "Are you okay? Did you get bad news from home?"
What else could it be? MJ's heart sank for her friend and wished she could give her a hug but she wasn't sure Charlotte would be comfortable with that. So she settled to rubbing her thumb against Charlotte's sleeve so she knew someone was there to support her, even if she didn't want to talk about it.
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