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 Kody Ashworth on May 18, 2023 20:58:57 GMT 10
Kody had come to the Owlery after class for a reason. Well, two reasons.
One, he needed to write a letter to his grandpa about his broomstick choice. He had thought about it some more during class since he had been dithering between two and finally made his choice. He hoped it would be okay -- he hated the idea of being too greedy or upsetting his siblings by asking for more than he deserved.
Two, he wanted to be alone. Kody figured there was a good chance no one else would come to the Owlery right now. Or so he hoped. And being around the owls would help him feel better.
He sat on the steps outside to write his letter first.
--
To: Grandpa
Thank you for your letter today.
It was a nice surprise to be accepted on the team. I didn't think I had done well enough during try-outs (I tried for Beater first and then Keeper) but it seems Madam Graysteel has faith in me to be an asset to our house team.
About my broom -- First I want to say thank you so much for helping me get one. I was worried about what to do, I didn't want to upset mum by bringing it up so your letter was a relief.
Would it be okay for me to ask for the Moonclaw? I know it's probably an ambitious broom for my first one but I'm really determined to do well on the team and I don't expect to get another broom. I would really like this one. If you and grandma think it's too much, I'd be happy with the Ironbark as well.
I have practise with my team this afternoon, I'm excited to see how it goes. I hope I can improve before our first match. We'll be playing Slytherin soon.
I'd love to meet you in Hogsmeade! Should I ask my siblings about coming along? Mum said not to go alone... Um, I think the next one is on Halloween!
Can't wait to see you and Granny for my first match! Sorry for my rambly letter... I'm okay. I love you both!
From: Kody xo
--
He hesitated and then added a kiss and hug at the end of his letter. He stood up and entered the Owlery, looking around for an owl who seemed like they would be willing to deliver his letter.
Stroking a tawny owl under its chin, one of the school owls, Kody attached his letter, "Deliver this safely, yeah?"
When he was done he sighed and looked around. There wasn't exactly a spot for him to sit in here without risky some owl poop on his clothes. Still, the soft noises from the birds helped him to relax.
Last Edit: May 18, 2023 21:53:28 GMT 10 by Kody Ashworth
Post by Joshua Twiggs on May 19, 2023 2:27:50 GMT 10
Joshua walked up the stairs to the owlery, letter to his dad in hand. He had thought about asking Martha to borrow Bartlebee, but he had decided not to disturb her and ask a school owl instead.
“Ah. Hi,“ he said when he saw the Gryffindor boy.
Lately he found himself running into him a lot. Perhaps it was just fate, throwing Twiggs and Ashworths together - or perhaps it was the fact that there were a lot of both in this school.
Either way, he thought it best to try a friendly approach.
“Kody, right? Heard you made Keeper. That makes two of us, congrats.“
Joshua gave him a smile before he approached a brown owl that looked alert and eager to him and cooed at it. It got up from its nest and took the letter he had written previously and he watched it fly away with it.
Having written the letter last night, Joshua knew the contents by heart:
Dear Dad,
first of all: I made it! You are looking at a letter from Hufflepuff‘s new Keeper!
Thank you for your affirming words. I went to Tryouts, prepared to follow your advice to try for different positions.
Tryouts were different this year however, as there is a new flying instructor, who wants to oversee everything. Her name is Madam Graysteel and they say she trained Tammy Doyle!
Do you know her, or of her?
Anyway, she had everyone pick two positions to try out for.
I went up for Keeper first and I must have impressed her, eventhough I failed to prevent the Chaser from scoring, because I didn’t even have to try out for my second choice, which was Beater.
My friend Caine made Seeker for our team, and Sophia Rhynhart said it was a sign this year is Hufflepuff‘s year. She will revise her role as our star Chaser, so I am not worried about our score levels.
I will be sure to put in energy to keep scores out however!
Do you have any advice specific to the Keeper role? I would appreciate them!
Our first practice is going to be soon…
Will you be able to get me a broomstick on time? Don’t worry about it being fancy, if I could make do with a school broom, I am confident I can get any broom to work once I get to know its kinks and stuff.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Lots of love, and give a kiss to Mum from me!
Joshua
Having watched the owl fly away, he reached into its nest to see if there was a feather by any chance which he could use for a potion - or at least show to Snape for his potions kit.
Post by Kody Ashworth on May 19, 2023 5:18:00 GMT 10
"Hi -- Yeah and yeah. Congrats." Kody said to the older Hufflepuff. Jason? James? J...
JOSHUA!
"Thanks Joshua, it'll be fun to play. My grandpa offered to help me out with a broom so I just sent him a letter about it." Kody explained, gesturing at the owl who was now long gone.
He felt a bit awkward which was weird and new for him. Kody never had a problem talking with someone regardless of who they were. He could feel the tops of his ears going hot and red with embarrassment.
Of course, his goblin brain betrayed him. It instantly thought of the newspaper and he wondered if Joshua had seen it. Everyone had, hadn't they? It was different was it was just his family (and well, some people at the Ministry he supposed) who knew but now everyone would know. That something weird had happened to their family.
Lost in his thoughts, the conversation was lost for a second.
Kody looked around the Owlery, blinking hard.
Too many thoughts were swirling around his head and he wished he had Reena or Jaxen here to help.
Last Edit: May 19, 2023 5:41:54 GMT 10 by Kody Ashworth
Post by Joshua Twiggs on May 19, 2023 6:27:01 GMT 10
“Uh-hu. That’s nice.“
Joshua briefly looked at Kody when he talked about his grandfather helping out with the broom - and did a double take when he saw the Gryffindor apparently tried to match the colour of his tie with his face and ears.
The fourth year looked very uncomfortable and Joshua blinked at him in surprise. He must’ve caught him at the wrong time.
Was it because of the article? Hadn’t they known the case had been reopened? Or, maybe Kody just did not like his family business to be public knowledge.
Well, now Joshua felt kind of bad.
“Umm… Are ya lookin‘ forward to practice?“, Joshua figured talking about Quidditch was the safest option.
“You got on a good team though, I‘m sure my sister Amy will take care of any Bludgers flying your way.“
He personally could talk about the sport for hours. If that didn’t work, he figured he better leave Kody alone.
“I wish Hufflepuff had practice today, though it does give my folk more time to get a broom for me,“ he continued with a shrug.
“I also wanted to check out that Gobstones tournament, do you play?“, he asked.
Joshua should probably be going to the Alcove Courtyard soon, if he wanted to get ahead in that one. Though it really depended on how his first game or two went, Gobstones were rather expensive for him.
Better get that feather quick then. He got up on his toes to get a better look at the nest and the one next to it.
There were feathers in a nest box, which made for great ingredients. However, they were also underneath a rather unimpressed owl. It'd take some gentle and strategic retrieval, as the owl may decide to sharply peck a hand for its invasion.
Post by Kody Ashworth on May 19, 2023 16:27:50 GMT 10
Kody nodded but he was watching a sleeping owl, instead of looking over at Joshua, "Yeah, practice is this afternoon -- when is yours scheduled for? It should be good. I'm both nervous and excited. Your sister is amazing! It was really eye-opening doing the Beater try-outs along with her."
He watched the owl a moment longer and then finally turned to watch Joshua instead, "Why did you decide to try out for Keeper?"
Was it because he didn't want to directly go against his siblings? That made sense to Kody since neither of them were a Chaser for Gryffindor -- though his sister might have to hit a Bludger his way once in a while to make things fair.
"You looking for a feather? Careful you don't accidentally disturb an owl. They'll peck you without hesitation. Try and be gentle." Kody advised, as if he was the world's foremost expert on the subject.
Then he remembered Reena's advice, "Also you should put it in some parchment and then put it between pages in a textbook. My sister taught me that! It will keep your feather safe and sound until you can get it back to your dormitory."
Kody beamed, pleased with himself and he hoped Reena would be proud of him for helping out too.
Post by Joshua Twiggs on May 19, 2023 16:42:36 GMT 10
“After Halloween, I think,“ he said and smiled. Kody seemed less uncomfortable now, which was good.
“Amy‘s great with a bat,“ he agreed, then took a moment to think about the next question.
“I don’t know. We often play backyard Quidditch at home and more often than not I end up in the Keeper position. But I definitely know I‘m not a Chaser.“
Joshua shrugged, then turned his attention back to his search. He nodded to let Kody know he‘d heard him.
He didn’t have any luck with the empty nest but as he got up on his toes to inspect the nearest ones, he saw some feathers sticking out - from underneath an owl, who looked at him rather unimpressed.
Joshua clicked his tongue at it and rubbed his fingers along his thumb as he slowly moved it towards the owl so it could get an idea of what he was trying to do and not get too spooked.
He did a low impression of a hoot before he flattened his hand and gently pushed the upper side of it against the owl‘s belly to make it stand up.
It did not need to fly or even step away for what he wanted and he gently lifted its chest while it glared at him with a look in its eyes that he knew from the chickens back home. If he lingered too long, he would be pecked.
And so he wasted no more time, reached into the nest to grab two feathers, all while cooing to the owl, who did a good job, and retrieved his hand with the feathers to safety.
He cooed at the owl a while longer, hoping it would settle down again, before he crouched down and laid the feathers onto his knee while he opened his secondhand backpack.
“So, Reena taught you the trick with the parchment?“, he was vaguely aware that there was a second Ashworth sister, but he took an educated guess.
“That makes sense. She’s top of the class in Potions. Thanks for passing her wisdom along.“
He carefully put the feathers into parchment before sticking them between the pages of his Herbology textbook.
Looking up, he saw a beaming Kody, and could not help but match the joyful face.
“I‘ll go and check out the Gobstones event, of you wanna come and play?“, he offered with a shrug.
“If not, I hope you have a good day!“
He put his backpack back on and lingered for a moment to catch the answer before he turned to walk down the stairs.
[Exit]
Last Edit: May 19, 2023 16:55:36 GMT 10 by Joshua Twiggs: tryouts date
Post by Kody Ashworth on May 19, 2023 16:55:20 GMT 10
Kody watched as Joshua made short work of getting his feathers, pleased that he seemed to keep the owl's welfare in mind too. It was nice to see other people treating creatures with the respect they deserved.
"Playing at home together sounds like a lot of fun. Sadly, none of my siblings really like Quidditch. My grandpa is into it and my dad used to play--" Kody cut off his own words. He hadn't expected to get choked up talking about his dad but there he was.
He shook his head and attempted a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "It'll be fun to play against each other. And yeah, she's brilliant when it comes to Potions and stuff like that."
Talking about Reena helped Kody to feel better and part of him was proud that her classmates recognized her skills. She deserved as many compliments as possible!
"I didn't think about Gobstones..." Kody thought about it for a second and then shrugged, letting Joshua go. Would playing Gobstones be fun? He dithered for a second longer.
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