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.
July ended with a bang -- literally; everyone could still hear the slam of Tobias' bedroom door echoing in their ears from the night before, when the news broke that the Quidditch World Cup was cancelled... or rather, delayed, until next summer.
Molly hadn't said a word about her youngest storming off to his room and shutting the door with more force than the wood deserved, as Alan had done the same (albeit a little more composed) a moment later.
August arrived swiftly, promising a do-over in their summer plans. Molly had breakfast prepared as usual, with some extra bacon for those suffering World Cup Disappointment. Alan was in his usual spot at the head of the table, frowning at the Daily Prophet as if someone had set fire to his hat without consulting him.
An official-looking owl flew through an open window barely accommodating to its size, and swooped to land by a bowl of scrambled eggs. It then stuck out its talon, allowing Molly to detach the bundle of hefty envelopes. It then sniped a bit of bacon from Tobias' plate, then stretched its elegant wings -- taking flight again. It was a speck in the sky before anything was opened.
'Hogwarts letters,' Molly announced upon seeing the crest. She sorted them, and handed each envelope off to its recipient (when present) -- except for the twin boys, of course, who were permitted to sleep in on account of not feeling well.
--
Tobias Twiggs Attic Bedroom, Fifth Floor The Burrow Ottery St Catchpole
Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross Station, platform nine and three quarters, and eleven o'clock.
A list of books for the next year is enclosed.
From: Professor McGonagall
The list of course books was much shorted than last year -- only requiring a tense-sounding textbook for Defence Against the Dark Arts (presumably), and the Grade Two standard spellbook. There was nothing else noted, except the additional requirement of a pair of earmuffs.
--
@amelia Second Bedroom, First Floor The Burrow Ottery St Catchpole
Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross Station, platform nine and three quarters, and eleven o'clock.
Sixth-years are permitted to regularly visit the village of Hogsmeade. Due to recent events regarding Azkaban, we require a renewal of this permission. Additionally, in the case of one or more NEWT-level classes requiring an educational experience outside the Hogwarts grounds, Field Trip permission is also required. Please give the enclosed permission forms to your parent or guardian to sign.
Also, sixth-years can take part in Apparition lessons for a fee (after the introductory lesson) of twelve Galleons.
A list of books for the next year is enclosed.
From: Professor McGonagall
The list of course books hadn't been this long since first year. There was one for each class, which were specified to only be for those attending them. Almost each one had the word "advanced" in the title; it was clear the magic learned in NEWT year lived up to those expectations.
The Hogsmeade permission slip was included, as stated. Ideally, it would be signed before term began but really could be done at any point -- though of course, one can't visit Hogsmeade without it. Apparently, even if they'd had permission in the past. The Field Trip permission slip was also there, as stated. It was rather vague on what sort of trips were necessary, but it was far less optional than the Hogsmeade one.
--
Martha Twiggs Second Bedroom, First Floor The Burrow Ottery St Catchpole
Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross Station, platform nine and three quarters, and eleven o'clock.
Sixth-years are permitted to regularly visit the village of Hogsmeade. Due to recent events regarding Azkaban, we require a renewal of this permission. Additionally, in the case of one or more NEWT-level classes requiring an educational experience outside the Hogwarts grounds, Field Trip permission is also required. Please give the enclosed permission forms to your parent or guardian to sign.
Also, sixth-years can take part in Apparition lessons for a fee (after the introductory lesson) of twelve Galleons.
Moreover, you have been chosen Hufflepuff Prefect. Congratulations!
A list of books for the next year is enclosed.
From: Professor McGonagall
The list of course books hadn't been this long since first year. There was one for each class, which were specified to only be for those attending them. Almost each one had the word "advanced" in the title; it was clear the magic learned in NEWT year lived up to those expectations.
The Hogsmeade permission slip was included, as stated. Ideally, it would be signed before term began but really could be done at any point -- though of course, one can't visit Hogsmeade without it. Apparently, even if they'd had permission in the past. The Field Trip permission slip was also there, as stated. It was rather vague on what sort of trips were necessary, but it was far less optional than the Hogsmeade one.
Finally, out slipped the shiny new "Prefect" badge. There was a weight to it -- not physically, but the responsibility and newfound authority it represented.
Post by Martha Twiggs on Feb 7, 2023 1:13:58 GMT 10
Martha appeared, bright and early, giving her mum a sleepy smile. "Did you say letters?"
Her own question was answered by a thick envelope being placed into her hands. Martha frowned lightly, feeling a lump and wondering if it was something related to sixth year classes. She shrugged off the concern and sat down. It was easy to ignore the letter as she put together her breakfast. She ate a slice of bacon with her fingers, cleaning them on a nearby tea-towel before adding some food to her plate.
After buttering her toast and adding milk to her tea, Martha finally turned her attention to her letter.
This one wasn't as scary as the last one so she didn't need her mum to open it for her -- Martha slid a nail under the wax seal and popped it open, letting the contents slide out onto the table. She picked up the letter and looked it over, holding out permission slips to her mum.
"Can I get permission to go to Hogsmeade again Mum? And there's field trips too for a class apparently?" Both forms were there for her mum to check over.
Martha continued reading, "Oh, Apparition cla-- Oh Merlin! Mum!"
It was then she noticed the badge, sitting on the kitchen table and gleaming in the sunlight. Martha went pink. pleased and embarrassed at the same time, "I-- I--"
She was a prefect! Martha picked up the badge and showed it to her mum, beaming proudly.
The memory of a rather loud door slamming was still ringing in Amelia ear after they got the news about the World Cup. It had been rather an awful thing. But, she had just moved past it. It was just a bigger damper on her whole summer.
She had received a lovely letter from Kassia, which had been brought by a rather strange looking bird. Kassia had said it was an albatross and it smelled awful. Amelia hadn't heard the end of that, she was sure...
When Amelia made her way down for Breakfast, the look on her father's face was rather grim and she sat next to him, which was a common thing.
"Everything alright, Dad?" Amelia asked as she gathered some good on her plate just before a rather large owl came in, his talons hitting the scrambled eggs. Her mother was the first to take the bungle of letters before the owl took some bacon and flew out of the window. 'Rude.' She thought in regards to their now splatted area of scrambled eggs.
Taking her letter from her mother, she began to read over it. The normal talk about the school year and mention of renewals for permission to Hogsmeade. She found that slip easy enough and then looked at the field trip slip with some confusion before putting them together and reading over everything else.
"Oh! Mum here are my slips for permission... Hogsmeade and Field trip... And do you think I could take the Apparition..." She was cut short when her sister called out rather loudly to their mom. Was that... A Prefect badge?! It wasn't that surprising, but was at the same time. Martha would make a great prefect, she had no doubt, but she felt a little jealous...
But, she brought that on herself.
"Great job, Mars," she said with a smile at her sister while she continued to eat her meal. There wasn't a reason to bring anything down or be upset at her sister, even if she did feel a little jealous.
Post by Martha Twiggs on Feb 11, 2023 23:59:29 GMT 10
"Thanks Ames." Martha felt her cheeks heat up, probably coloured a dusty red from the attention. She made sure her dad was able to see the badge as well before she gave the information about Apparition lessons her full attention.
"It's going to cost some money..." She mused, aloud but quiet as she wasn't sure how her parents would feel about shelling out twenty-four galleons for both of them. She looked at Amelia and wondered -- did she really want to learn that badly? It was a good skill to have but if it saved them some money to skip out.
Martha chewed on her lip as she thought it over.
She wasn't sure how essential it was and if it was something she was allowed to not do. It probably would be recorded for her Academy application if she was able to attend. Would it be a mark against her?
A lot of worries started to swirl in her mind as Martha started to overthink things. Her leg bounced under the table and she set the letters down. In an attempt to make herself feel better, she reached for her mug of tea and took a long sip.
Amelia was very proud of her sister, she couldn't be any less proud. But, the summer had just all around sucked for her. It seemed everything had just gone wrong. First, Kassia wasn't able to join them. Then the cup was cancelled. And her parents had been plenty open about Tobias' friends joining them, but not her friend. It still irked her when she thought about it, which is why she was trying not to talk about it.
The thought of being able to take the lessons, it would at least give her a good mood for the summer. Something to look forward to outside of playing quidditch again. She had to bulk down on her studies if she wanted to go pro. But, the skill would be useful...
The mention of money, though hushed as it was, caught her ears. She turned a little and felt her face go red. Martha made a point on the cost and Amelia rubbed the back of her head... Maybe she could do some extra chores and maybe work in Hogsmeade some during the school year to bring in some extra Galleons?
Post by Martha Twiggs on Feb 14, 2023 0:57:52 GMT 10
"You'd be good at apparition." Martha smiled at her sister, nodding her head as she set her mug of tea down. If only one of them could have lessons then she'd want her sister to have them. If it was an option for her to take them later, then so be it.
Martha hoped it would help perk Amelia up, if only a little.
She knew she was still upset about Kassia not being allowed to visit during the summer. It did seem a bit unfair but she could understand her parents reasoning too. And while Toby was upset about the Cup being cancelled so was Amelia. It seemed more people focused on the youngest Twiggs in that regard.
"When we go to Diagon Alley, do you want to check out the Quidditch shop? See what new stuff they have?" Martha offered. She had plans to meet up with Sophia and Lucky but she wasn't entirely sure they would still happen.
Since the World Cup was cancelled, she hadn't heard anything from them... Hopefully they were having a good summer and weren't too disappointed either.
Post by Tobias Twiggs on Feb 14, 2023 6:26:01 GMT 10
The Quidditch World Cups cancellation was potentially the worst news Tobias had heard in his whole life. The twelve year old was in such a state of disappointment- no, that was too mild a word. He'd felt as though his entire world had crumbled around him, a heavy feeling settling in his stomach and reducing him too an ill-tempered, emotional wreck of a boy.
Retreating to his bedroom and allowing the door to slam behind him had been the only thing he could do, throwing some of his less fragile possessions around the room for good measure. He had been quite tearful by the time the initial anger had ebbed and left him feeling a crushing sadness.
He had so been looking forward to supporting the Bats compete, and having Joe by his side while they watched their favourite team secure a well earned victory. Now, they would have to wait an entire year to have that opportunity. It wasn't fair, and after the trauma of the end of the school year...
When the morning came, he had dragged himself out of bed and forced himself to join the rest of the family at the Breakfast table. His own scowl rivalled that of his father's as he fixed his steely glare on his breakfast and moved it around with his fork, not much feeling like eating when his entire world was in danger of imploding.
Reaching for a piece of bacon on his place, Toby gasped as the owl swiped a slice before his fingers could even move to defend it and angry tears burned in his eyes.
What more would be taken from him before the holidays came to a close?
"Can I go back to bed?" he sulked, maybe if he slept a little longer then he'd get to go back to school and see Ryan and Joe again. His best friends would surely make everything feel better, then all of this hurt and upset would be a distant memory.
He barely glanced at the envelope his mother had passed to him, knowing that all it would contain would be a list of supplies... He wasn't old enough to request permission for any of the fun stuff older students were entitled to.
'Hmm,' was all Arthur responded to Amelia's question, still busy frowning at the Prophet. He then huffed, and set it aside as if it'd insulted him.
Molly and Arthur shared a glance when asked about the permission forms, a bit reluctant with the state of the world right now. But Hogsmeade was relatively safe, and close to Hogwarts, as they'd discussed in great length once Arthur had heard from work that Headmaster Rickard was re-issuing the permissions for every student.
'Of course,' Arthur said, reluctantly accepting the forms from his daughters.
With a swish of his wand, a quill and bottle of ink flew over from a nearby desk. He signed the Hogsmeade ones first, then read through the field trip ones as they were entirely new to him. Reading anything before signing it was a lesson well-instilled in the kids, with parents like Molly and Arthur.
'Here you go.' He handed them both back, each freshly signed.
'Oh my goodness.' Molly gasped, also noticing the Prefect badge. 'Our Martha, a Prefect?'
Molly and Arthur were instantly and undeniable proud. Each jumped up to give Martha a squishing hug, and pulled Amelia into it purely as to not leave her out as a celebration of one of them was a celebration for the whole family. Luckily for Tobias, he was out of reach and they were out of hands.
It went on for a moment, which included Molly absentmindedly adding more food to Martha's plate as if she'd need the added strength, and as a way of treating her.
The topic of Apparate lessons calmed the moment down again, though Molly and Arthurs had fully expected this to come with their eldest children reaching 6th year. Molly assured them not to worry, and that they'd been anticipating it.
Yet it was a great struggle to hide the anxiety of their gazes as they read over the shopping lists. Not just because they had four younger children to also buy books for, and apparently earmuffs for Tobias (though Molly was sure they could find something secondhand), but two 6th years? Those were a lot of N.E.W.T books to cover, and some of them quite elaborate compared to a standard spellbook.
'Well, there's only one place we're going to get all of this.' Molly resolved to tackle the situation head-on. 'Diagon Alley.'
And so it begun, as it did every year. The Twiggs had fine-tuned the entire process by now, and knew exactly what to expect. Molly had everything thought of, right down to the finer details and which stores to visit first, and so on. She did pause to give Tobias a sympathic look, and was about to suggest that he was welcome to stay home this year when...
'I actually have a surprise for you,' Arthur beamed at his son, reaching to ruffle Tobias' hair. 'If you feel up to coming along with us, you'll find one Jonathan King waiting eagerly to join us for the summer. I suspect he's already there. We'll bring him home regardless, but I think it might just be the pick-me-up you need?'
And without further ado, everyone finished up their breakfast and helped Molly tidy up. Then they changed, gathers their supplies lists (Molly also retrieved the other letters from her sons, of those who had opted to remain at home).
When everyone was ready, they gathered round the fireplace -- well-understood in the process of floo travel by now. Arthur went first, followed by each child in order of age (with Amelia getting dibs simply for being Amelia), then Molly followed suit.