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 Thorne Perry on Aug 1, 2022 22:19:21 GMT 10
His mummy at home decorated for every holiday, so it was with a tiny pang of homesickness that Thorne shuffled into breakfast. He really, really should get better at mailing letters - but there were so many things he had to remember these days! Potions ingredients and charm wand movements and hand placements when flying and sometimes letters just...
Slipped his mind.
He slid into a seat at the Hufflepuff table, rubbing at his eyes, and helped himself to his usual oatmeal and toast before he smiled at Janet across the table. "Are you going to plant something today? I'm excited to try!"
It might be a silly thing to be excited about, but it meant he could grow some of his own things for potions!
He jumped a little in his chair when the owls descended, giggling when one above his head swooped at a piece of the confetti only to let out the smallest disgruntled hoot, and reached for a newspaper. Love potions being illegal, that was super important, and he knew his granddad would be happy about that. He had loud arguments with the old lady next door about their usages, and Thorne was inclined to agree with his granddad at all times...
But then his eyes fell on the lower strip of articles and he grinned, thumbing through the pages to find that all important coupon!
Post by Ryan Barrow on Aug 1, 2022 22:36:15 GMT 10
Ryan screamed when someone's hands landed on his shoulders, breaking his concentration and getting cereal in his lap. He stared at who it was, and blushed bright red in realising it was only Joe.
'You scared me,' he mumbled, as if that wasn't the most obvious thing at the Ravenclaw table today. Ryan flicked bits of soggy cereal off himself, then wiped the damp milk. It didn't look like he'd peed himself, so that was a bonus.
Frowning, he reached over and tried to sort out Joe's hair. No need to embarrass both of them. Wait, he'd gotten way to comfortable with his friends...
'Sorry. I should've asked.' Ryan thought he'd done a good job though, as Joe's hair was less of a bird's nest now. He huffed at Joe's clear distaste to the sight of his textbook, and protectively shifted it away from his friend as if he should be ashamed of himself.
He gave it an anxious check for any spilled milk too. Nope, the book was safe. Good.
'Huh?' Ryan stared hard at Joe, as if not understanding him. 'What do you mean? Joe, do you not realise how close exams are now? Seriously, we're so behind! What if we fail?'
He gasped, shuddering at the thought of it. What would happen if they did? It was too horrible to think about.
'A picnic?' Ryan struggled. 'Um, okay. I mean, I guess... but only if we all bring our textbooks, okay? Or at least one for the class you're most worried about. Picnics are nice, but we have work to do too. We can't just chill out when we could be failing. Where's the picnic? When? I'll bring my Potions textbook too, if it's not too far. It's kinda heavy.'
He missed breakfast ending and the owl post completely, too eager to go back to the tower and get his Potions textbook as soon as Joe told him where to meet them and when.
Everyone seemed a little preoccupied, so Orla had no delay in getting a copy of the Prophet. She scanned the headlines, wondering what kind of person would use a love potion and be happy with the consequences. While marriage wasn't a custom within the Fallwater family, Orla had noticed many faces coming and going from the house, some staying for years, others just for a night. She couldn't imagine any of her Aunts or her Ma forcing someone to love them...
While sipping on some fresh orange juice to wash down the large amount of pastries she had consumed, Orla glanced briefly at the other headlines, noting the "mysterious illness" one mainly. She'd have to read that later; now was the time for action, not reading!
Standing, Orla slipped the folded paper into her robe sleeves and began patting her jumper vigorously, dislodging a small shower of crumbs onto the table and the tops of her shoes. She turned to see MJ hurrying from the hall, and smiled, admiring the Ravenclaw; MJ seemed so hard-working, and Orla wanted to take a leaf from her book.
With a final mouthful of orange segment, Orla set her expression to determined and strode purposefully out of the hall.
Post by Jonathan King on Aug 2, 2022 1:57:01 GMT 10
"Sorry!", Joe apologized in an inside-voice and quickly grabbed some napkins which he placed near Ryan and the spilled milk. He had not meant to scare his friend and felt bad, especially since Ryan turned so red. Yet it seemed the paler one's skin, the redder one turned. Joe figured he got lucky in that matter.
"No need to apologize, you're always allowed to touch my hair."
Joe looked at his friend with affection as he tried to hide his textbook from him and he finished his meager breakfast. His affectionate gaze turned into a squint as he was reminded of the approaching exams and suddenly he felt a small pebble of anxious-ness form in his belly.
What if he failed?
He strongly doubted Ryan would fail, he had done so wonderfully so far, but Joe on the other hand... had not exactly been the best student, especially not in potions. What if he failed potions? Would they expell him? Hold him back a year and he'd lose his best friends Toby and Ryan?
No, surely they would still love him, even if he was held back a year just because Snape made his class impossibly hard!
"Okay," he said. He was feeling a lot smaller than before. He took a fleeting look at the Daily Prophet, not really informed on the Love Potion thing, yet relieved that it was one less potion to be learned in class.
"Err...", they hadn't actually thought out all the details. "The highest tower?"
That guaranteed a nice view and possibly for them to be alone. And some quiet for studying (or juggling).
"I'll talk to Toby and then I'll come get you when I get my textbook from our dorm?"
Joe shoved his plate away from him just as breakfast disappeared and got to his feet to locate Toby at the Gryffindor table. His friend's red hair was easy to find, and Joe hurried over towards him.
"Toby," he whispered and leaned onto his friend's back. "Alright, mate?" His ginger haired best friend seemed rather down.
"I've got good news and bad news. Good news, Ryan is down for the picnic, bad news is he will only come if we each bring a textbook."
Post by Reena Ashworth on Aug 2, 2022 2:03:51 GMT 10
Reena laughed and made a shoo-ing motion towards Ezra as he stopped to tell her he loved her again. Even if she had been in a bad mood this morning, after that attack of cuteness, she was bound to be in high spirits. No, today was going to be a good day.
As she opened the Daily Prophet, she let out a small whistle at today's headline. So the protests had actually done something. Good to know the government worked for the people after all. Out-lawing that potion was long overdue, she felt a little sick reading about marriages and wills being affected by it.
Once she had finished breakfast, she folded the newspaper shut and put it in her bag. She might read about that mysterious illness later.
"I'm off to the Greenhouse," she waved at the people she had sat with and left the Great Hall with long, determined strides.
Soon, Owls started running inside, delivering letters and daily prophets around the hall. Alice picked up her copy to find the front page news. Finally, it was the end of such a long news thread about love potion. Previously, she didn't realize how dangerous this love potion could be, but today's news opened her eyes. Marriages, wills, estate ownership, all the things because of a love potion.
It was big news for everyone, including the professors. All of them look happy, and Professor Snape was satisfied as if he had done something big. Maybe, his involvement was also there in the news.
When the breakfast vanished, Alice kept her daily prophet in her bag, greeted goodbye to people around her, and embarked on her journey.
Kassia considered herself to have a proper, refined accent- unlike those howling Glaswegians. But she did greatly enjoy listening to the Highlands accent of Lindsey Bryce, even if it was hardly understandable at times. Truthfully, she was just happy someone else here was Scottish. She always felt Hogwarts needed more Celtic representation.
She watched in surprise as Reena's younger brother flung himself at her, expressing love and affection in such an open way that Kassia could simply gawk. She had never done such a thing in her life. Her father certainly liked to do that to her, but Kassia had never been able to simply... tell someone she loved them. She looked away, allowing them some privacy.
The owls came with their daily deliveries. Kassia wondered for the umpteenth time why wizards did not enlist marginally smarter birds as one owl dive bombed into a bowl of oatmeal, sending a bit splashing onto her cheek. Kassia brushed it off with a napkin and looked at the closest copy of the Daily Prophet.
Love potions had been banned? The Ministry had actually done something? Kassia scanned the paper, hardly able to believe it. She wondered how common they were. How many children here had a parent who had been coerced by another with a love potion? It was an awful thought. It was just as bad as the Imperius curse.
Kassia shook her head and shoved the paper into her pocket for later. It seemed everyone else was leaving, so she followed suit. She figured she didn't have time for Hogsmeade, as there was simply too much to do today.
Saoirse smiled at her friends as they chorused Valentine's Day blessings amongst each other. Valentine's Day had mainly been a thing for the tourists in the South Pacific, and Saoirse had mainly spent those days snacking on chocolate. She certainly hoped there would be chocolate at dinner tonight.
The owls arrived with the mail, and Saoirse wondered how her father would be spending the day. He had a new girlfriend, now, so maybe he'd take her out on a date? Saoirse wasn't sure how any of it worked, nor was she particularly interested. She certainly hoped she wouldn't get any crushes or any such nonsense once she was older.
Speaking of love, potions of that nature were now banned. Saoirse wondered how they had ever been allowed in the first place. What if her grandparents gave her a potion that forced her into being the perfect grandchild? Blegh! But then, lots of rules seemed... bendier in the wizarding world.
Her friends started to head out, and Saoirse joined them. She was curious about Hogsmeade, and disappointed she had to wait more than a year before she could see it. For now, she supposed she would make herself useful elsewhere in Hogwarts.
Xavier was just scooping the last of his scrambled eggs into his mouth when the owls flew into the hall delivering their mail. It was always quite a sight to see and made him want his own owl. Sure his parents had theirs but he wanted one he called his own. Maybe one day!
Grabbing one of the daily prophets that landed near him he rolled it open and scanned the topics. Love potions banned? That made sense, he didn't even know why they had been allowed in the first place. Who would want to force love? Not that he had ever been in love himself, that feeling was kind of foreign to his young brain but he knew he'd be one day possibly, and he wanted it to be real!
The boy quickly finished the rest of his meal and after waving to his fellow Gryffindors got up to leave. Usually he'd hang a bit longer but really wanted to get on with his day. There were quite a few different things he wanted to do today. First being heading to the Niffler pit to see if his shiny gem had any luck.
As he passed by the table to leave he noticed his dormmate Toby looking a bit down. Even though he had slept through the previous breakfast he had heard what happened, and he really did hate seeing him sad. As he passed the red-head he patted him on the shoulder in support.
"Hang in there mate, okay?" He said with a smile and nodded to a Ravenclaw first year that he recognized from classes. He knew Toby and him were close so he felt reassured that Toby would be looked after today and hopefully feel better.
Waving to the two he quickly turned on his heels and made his way out of the great hall and into the rest of his day. Whatever it would bring.
Post by Tobias Twiggs on Aug 2, 2022 8:55:37 GMT 10
The screeching of owls marked the arrival of the morning post and Toby pushed the Daily Prophet away, disinterested in whatever news had made the front page that day. What did attract his attention though, was the letter that was dropped in front of him, barely missing his plate of eggs.
His fathers handwriting was unmistakable on the envelope and Toby couldn't help but groan. Obviously his bad day yesterday was going to carry over into today. McGonagall was definitely losing points for writing to his parents, she hadn't even had the whole story about what had happened yesterday.
Tearing open the envelope, he read over the letter and felt his heart sink. His dad was mad with him- no, disappointed. That was somehow a lot worse and it made him feel a little queasy. But he didn't really understand, they were punishing him... But then he also said his actions displayed strength of character.
Adults were confusing and unfair.
He was grounded and now there was no hope of Joe and Ryan going to his house over the summer. Harshly pushing his eggs away without touching them, he scrunched up the letter and stuffed it into his pocket. They couldn't confiscate his broom, that would prevent him from playing Quidditch for the rest of the school year. He'd die.
He was already getting detention, how much more did they want him to suffer?
Toby attempted a smile when both Alice and Xavier spoke to him, seeming to want to offer their support. It didn't last long though, he just felt so dejected and mad at the treatment he'd received. Honestly, the Seabrook girl was lucky he'd only yelled insults at her after her unprovoked attack. He didn't think his parents would appreciate it though if he wrote to tell them this.
A genuine smile briefly lit up his features upon hearing Joe's voice in his ear, feeling him leaning against his back as he spoke to him. He was glad that one of his friends had come to visit him at the Gryffindor table, though knew his housemates would probably be too rowdy for Ryan to get along with.
"I'm grounded over the start of summer, it's completely unfair" he mumbled when his friend asked if he was alright. He didn't feel very alright, he almost didn't want to go home at all. When he got there his parents would probably lecture him some more about his behaviour- and he hadn't even done anything wrong.
The promise of their picnic lifted his mood slightly... Until Joe mentioned that Ryan was turning it into some sort of studying opportunity. It was supposed to be fun not work. How was he supposed to take that kind of news?
"Why?! Why does he hate us?" he groaned, resting his head in his arms on the table . Maybe he could take a textbook from a class he actually enjoyed, then it wouldn't feel so much like work. Fine. He would go, but only because he valued his time with his friends even more now that he couldn't sit with them during meals.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Aug 2, 2022 9:56:20 GMT 10
Oscar gave a soft laugh as Sophia briefly changed her hair to match the dreaded colour of the past. Yeah, that really was not a colour that he thought anyone with sense would want thrown in their face all day.
"Ohh, Honeydukes sounds so good," he smiled over at her at the reminder. He really did wish that he could go for another trip, but no, his to-do list had grown just a bit too big to ignore. He should probably work on staying on top of that better for next year. "Unfortunate that I think I'll be stuck running round the castle all day instead."
He pulled a face at just the thought of that, but at least it probably let her know that yes, he did have plans, without going into what they actually were. Oscar thought that if he was going to try to tackle a certain Polyjuice question on his list, then he should probably not advertise that around too much.
The owl post arrived not long later so he shoved his last forkful of eggs into his mouth and pushed his plate away. The space in front of him then free to spread his paper.
Since he had taken his time unfolding his own paper, he found himself quite startled by the sudden noise that erupted around the hall. The cheering from Sophia was probably the biggest culprit, what with her being sat opposite him.
Thankfully he quickly figured out the reason when he looked at his paper. The headline made him smile too, his scare quickly forgiven and forgotten.
Finally a news story that was actually something good happening. He didn't understand who had the bright idea to leave love potions as legal in the first place to be honest. Shouldn't they have always been a big no-no?
"Nice to see good news for once," he commented with a happy little sigh before he quickly flicked through the rest of the paper. He could read the rest of it properly later, but a quick glance to see what he could expect wouldn't hurt.
He did pause at the coupon to pull that out though, sliding it across the table for Sophia if she wanted to claim it.
"No use that going to waste," he muttered as he focused on folding the rest of his paper for later. He figured that she could either make us of it herself or pass it on too, it was better than being left to go out of date in his bag. That would just be sad.
"I should get moving," he sighed, glancing about as the hall slowly emptied. That was his nice breakfast over with, now to go and get things done. "Hope you have fun at least. See ya." He found it comforting that, even if he was going to miss out, at least someone might get to enjoy Honeydukes.
With a little wave, Oscar made his way from the table and out of the Great Hall.
Amelia gave Jade a friendly smile and nodded when she asked if she wanted to go after breakfast. Why not? It wasn't like she had any plans to do anything this morning and she needed a break. Class was beginning to really work on her nerves and if she stuck her nose in her book one more time, she was going to loss it.
"Yeah, after breakfast sounds good to me," Amelia said before she turned to face Jaxen Ashworth. It was a surprise to see him here, but when he offered her a gift, Amelia looked between them and smiled.
"Awe! Jax, that is so sweet of you," she said in a slightly higher voice that likely caught the attention of a few others around them. It was sweet and she found her heart make a flip at how adorable it really was. Did Jade have an admirer? "You know, Jax, we are headed to Hogsmeade after breakfast, if you aren't doing anything."
It was a suggestion that she wasn't sure if he would take, but if he did, she could easily... Bow out for them.
"I'll meet you at the gate, Jade," Amelia said as she gathered her things and headed out, giving Jaxen a wink for encouragement before she moved between the tables.
Post by Jaxen Ashworth on Aug 2, 2022 10:59:41 GMT 10
Jaxen waited with baited breath for Jade to pass judgement on his creation. He wished that he could tell what she was thinking, that way he would know why she seemed to be staring at it with such apprehension. He almost asked her what she was expecting, but thought better of it... Girls could be rather short tempered when asked the wrong questions, and after the scene caused during yesterday's breakfast, he'd rather it remain a mystery.
When Jade eventually broke the silence, Jax almost flinched in his urgency to set the record straight. Why would she assume he was trying to play a joke on her? He'd never been the least bit mean-spirited to her before, hadn't he always made the effort to be nice to her? If he wasn't so concerned with the idea of offending her, Jax may have found time to be offended himself by the suggestion.
"What? A joke? No, of course not!" the idea that anyone could be cruel enough to prank someone like that on Valentines day... He could think of a few students who might do that, but he certainly wasn't one of them. "It's a gift, I um... Sorry?" ugh, now why was he apologizing? The right words seemed to fail him and suddenly he wished he'd picked a different day- any other day to present her with her gift.
She seemed to think about it, possibly considering the idea that his intentions had never been to upset her at all. Yes, Jax much preferred it when people didn't assume the worst of him. Oh- but her next question was possibly worse than the first.
"No" his cheeks burned and perhaps he answered too quickly, a reflex to avoid the humiliation that would follow if anyone overheard their conversation. "I mean... You're really cool, I think that. But it's just a gift, I thought you might like it?" he fumbled over his words a little in his haste to explain, he'd never really been any good at these types of conversations.
Did she want him to ask her out? He didn't think so, but girls were confusing. He liked Jade, but how much did he like her? Did he like her enough to want that? He'd spent a lot of time working on presenting her with the perfect gift, he hadn't stayed up late every night making a similar gift for Mathias, and he was his best friend...
Being a teenager was the worst.
Jax froze at the sound of Amelia's voice, his eyes flicking to look at her while his body was still angled towards Jade- obviously having not intended for the conversation to involve both girls, despite their proximity. He felt the heat from his cheeks increase, threatening to consume his entire body.
Why was she so loud? It was like she meant to draw attention to them, and then she just left as if she didn't even care about the chaos she had caused inside his head.
Last Edit: Aug 2, 2022 11:00:42 GMT 10 by Jaxen Ashworth
Post by Grace Babineaux on Aug 2, 2022 11:11:26 GMT 10
When Owl Post arrived, Grace was excited to see an owl flying her way with a package. She loved getting mail from her parents! Well, she assumed it was from her parents. She set aside her Daily Prophet to look at later and tore open the package to find a nice little box of chocolates in the typical Muggle fashion, along with a note from her Dad that said "Happy Valentine's Day!"
Grace was about to offer to share some with her tablemates, but it seemed that there was a bigger reaction to the news than she expected. Grace cracked open her copy of the Daily Prophet and found that love potions were illegal now!
Finally, some good news. Grace couldn't imagine who would've come up with the idea in the first place. Love potions sounded gross. Maybe a potion that helped you find someone with similar interests could be cool. A friendship potion! But the friendship definitely wouldn't be forced. It would be like an icebreaker at Muggle school.
She was about to explain her not-quite-thought-out idea to her friends when she realized that breakfast had already ended. Grace gathered her things and walked out of the Great Hall, wishing just a little bit that she could go to Hogsmeade already.
Post by Jonathan King on Aug 2, 2022 14:44:49 GMT 10
Joe gave Xavier an upwards-nod of acknowledgment as he gave Toby comforting words and left. This particular dormmate of Toby’s was one of the few who’s name Joe had remembered right away, because he was called like a comic book character he had liked to read about in a friend’s comics back home.
“Grounded!“, he repeated, horrified. Oh, this was all his fault.
“Want me to write to your dad and explain?“, he offered. It would be weird to write Mr Twiggs but he wanted to help Toby somehow.
Joe absentmindedly circled his nails along Toby’s spine as he thought about their next move.
“I think forcing us to study is his way of caring. He’s pretty much freaked out about exams already.“ Joe shrugged as though their best friend’s anxiety wasn’t catching in this particular matter.
“Let‘s go get some snacks and then Ryan and textbooks? I‘ve got a linen bag and some paper to wrap things for transport. Does the Astronomy Tower sound good to you?“
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