"No worries, there, Lola. I got in a bit early and started having a look around. Found an interesting book on Magic Theory." Selina smiled and chuckled at the thought of child having an altercation with an entire tribe of garden gnomes. "They can be placated with copious amounts of Berty Bott's All-Flavour Beans, you know. My grandmother has told me gnomes have a soft spot for them."
"If you're asking how summer has been," Selina said with a roll of her eyes, "the answer would be absolutely dreadful. The two sides of my family don't necessarily get along all that well; now my parents are dead, they're squabbling over the bits, not the least of which is me. I finally decided enough was enough, and chose to spend my summer at my parents' house. Its mine now, after all."
"That would make the gnomes too spoiled," Lola chuckled shaking her head, "besides, that's not exactly the healthiest diet for them... and knowing my brother and the gnomes..." She shrugged with a sort of helpless smile, "...they'll find something else to war about soon enough." She smiled and looked at the book of Magic Theory that Selina had found, it did seem interesting but when Selina began to talk again, answering her question, Lola looked up at her.
Lola frowned as Selina answered, worry creasing her brow and Lola said, "Oh... I'm so sorry..." She paused a moment and then hugged Selina lightly and stepped back and tilted her head, "I... I'd offer you to stay a bit at my place but... I don't think you'd like it all that much. And I think that both sides of your family would agree on this much: that they don't want you there. My home is a bit... um... odd? Different than most...?" She paused and shook her head.
"If you need me to do anything at all for you, be sure to ask though," Lola said, inwardly wincing on how much that statement could include. Thankfully, Selina didn't seem the type to make ridiculous requests, and seemed to have a level head on her shoulders. Granted, most Ravenclaws did. And they weren't really all that conniving. Lola was glad she was sorted into a house that had that sort of people instead of say Slytherin. Not that Slytherins were awful but around that much cunning... yeah, she wouldn't have felt as much at ease. And her house of Ravenclaw allowed her the freedom to create and dream up fantastic solutions to problems and such. She was looked at as normal if she wanted to sit around reading and working on extra curricular homework.
Selina wasn't prepared to be hugged by Lola, but she didn't shrink away from her touch either. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm doing all right," she said lightly. "Thankfully, I learned how to cook for myself, and I have Hepzibah and the dogs for company. It is kinda quiet though, so if you'd like to come over for a bit I'd appreciate the company. Lately I've been going through my mother's books, and working on getting her garden back in some semblance of order. I think Professor Hill would be scandalized if he saw it before I started in on it."
"Out of curiosity, though," she said, as Lola's description of her own home intrigued her, "'odd and different from most' ... how? I've seen some of the places witches and wizards live in; you've got to work at it to get really outlandish for the Wizarding World."
Lola frowned for a moment as she considered Selina's question on exactly how her home was different. Selina was right that many wizarding homes did get quite fantastical; however, Lola was pretty confident her home in the middle of the New Forest, looking as if half the cottage had grown from the forest itself, and the constant fliting of an occasional fairy, and the never ending war between her brother and the gnomes, and of course her mother, the nymph, coming and going, and then her father and his wand making supplies and decor inspired by his upbringing which included an American grandparent, and he growing up in China. "Eccentric... multi-cultural?" Lola said trying to explain how it was different and then settled on, "No, multi-ethnic: that would be a more fitting description but still... I don't know how to explain: it just is different," She ended lamely with a shrug.
Deciding it was best not to linger too long on any follow-up questions, she seized on the topic of her visiting Selina's home and the state of the garden, "I could help you with your garden. I have a bit of a green thumb, after all. Sort of runs in the family." She smiled at Selina. So far herbology had been Lola's best class without a doubt. She had a gift with plants evident as practically with her touch alone the plants seemed to perk up a bit. At least being half-nymph gave her an advantage in the class with arguably one of the scariest professors in the school-Professor Hill. Lola reckoned Professor Hill did have a caring side (since he did care for plants) it just didn't extend to people.
And you don't seem the lying kind A shame then I can read your mind And all the things that I read there
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Sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ Yᴇᴀʀ|Ⅱ|Rᴀᴠᴇɴᴄʟᴀᴡ|Ⅱ|Hᴀʟғ-Bʟᴏᴏᴅ
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Text.
"'Multi-ethnic'," Selina repeated, arching an eyebrow. "That could be interesting. You'll have to show me some pictures some time." When Lola suggested helping her out in the garden, Selina replied, "You have more than a bit of a green thumb; I've seen you in Herbology class, you have talent. It would be fun with the two of us in the garden, and we could have dinner afterward if you want. I could cook, or we could go to old Angus' place; he makes the best pub food in Waterford."
mc2
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Candle lit smile that we both share and you know I don't mean to hurt you But you know that it means so much And you don't even feel a thing
Lola smiled and gave a little shrug at Selina's arched bow and repetition of Lola's choice in explanation for how to define her house was different. When Selina asked for pictures sometime, Lola laughed and said tugging a strand of her shoulder length blonde hair, "I'm Chinese (well half-Chinese) and naturally blonde, how much more multi-ethnic do you need to see?"
She shook her head and smiled as the conversation went on to gardening and her talent at it and Lola smiled a bit embarrassed at Selina's praise, "I suppose you are right... but my little brother is pretty good in the garden too, and he's only four. I could bring him over and set him loose in your garden, the guy is like a whirlwind of nature's breath or something. Might be best not to, though, considering he might try to recruit your gnomes to have a war with our garden gnomes... unless you've managed to avoid gnomes so far. No, it sounds fun, and to be honest I've never really had pub food-or the only things close what the house elves might make at the school. I usually eat salads or fruit or traditional Chinese food. Pub food sounds interesting-especially if it is supposed to be the best in Waterford."
She looked about the shop as she began to work on picking up her books for next year as they chatted and Lola said, "Have you thought about your electives yet? I know this year we only have advance flying to choose, but next year there are tons of options... it's a bit daunting really..."
I could buy myself a reason, I could sell myself a job, I could hang myself on treason, All the folks I know are gone
Second year ║ Slytherin ║ Pureblood ║ Chaser
Devonte sighed, having to walk through Diagon with his brother. They had gone through a few stores, the both of them ogling at those expensive brooms. Their parents had just kind of set them free while they went about.. well, whatever they did when he and his brother weren't around. Actually, Dev didn't even want to know. They had hit up a few candy stores as well, of course, and it looked like Layton was leading Devonte near Flourish & Blotts, that book store. He vaguely remembered it when they went shopping last summer. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, muttering a curse under his breath as he walked through the doors.
Layton's eyes widened as he spotted Selina there, as well as another girl that he hadn't quite recognized. He had seen her briefly during the school year, but, well, she just seemed to kind of blend in. "Hi Selina! And hi.. it's Lola, right?" He was pretty sure that it was, as he thought of himself as very good when it came to names.
Devonte walked up behind him, his eyes widening just as much as his brother's, smiling as well. Although his smile was less as friendly. "Well, well, well.. What do we have here? A couple of nerdy Ravenclaws in a nerdy book store? Who would've thought?" Honestly he hadn't known they would be here. He hadn't expected to see anyone from school here, as he assumed that everyone had done their shopping earlier, but it was even better now that these.. people were here. Although when he looked to the girl beside the Ravenclaw who caused his detention in History of Magic, he raised an eyebrow. A lot of people tended to blend in during school, but this girl definitely did. He hadn't even recognized her, nor did he know her name. Or her house. He guessed that she was a Ravenclaw though.
OOC:
Graydon Ironshield
mc2
So I ate the wedding cake, Until the whole damn thing was gone, And I'm gonna drown the ocean, Now ain't none of that so wrong?
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 6:36 pm
As sly as a fox, as strong as an ox, As fast as a hare, as brave as a bear! As free as a bird, as neat as a word, As quiet as a mouse, as big as a house! All I wannabe is everything... As mean as a wolf, as sharp as a tooth, As deep as a bite, as dark as the night! As sweet as a song, as right as a wrong, As long as a road, as ugly as a toad!
V I O L A N T E F A Y E L I L L A N T I N E Slytherin │ Second Year │ Pureblood │ Adopted
Violante was going to be in huge trouble when she got home, so she saw no reason to hurry there anytime soon. She wasn't supposed to be out by herself, but with her three eldest siblings out of the house and Eleazar making himself scarce, and her aunt and uncle working, she didn't have many chaperon options. So she'd flooed herself to the Leaky Cauldron alone, leaving a very neat and lovely note, in her opinion, for whoever found it on the dining room table. If they were truly tearing their hair out when her absence was discovered, they could send the cavalry. She wasn't worrying about it. She'd wandered around Diagon for a half hour or so, severely tempted to peek down Knockturn but deciding against it, if only because she wasn't going to be that idiotic. She slowed her brisk pace as she started to pass Flourish and Blotts, and remembering that she'd met Luke in a bookstore, though not this one specifically, she went inside.
Her half brother was in prison now, and she didn't like thinking about it too much. Her aunt told her 'nothing was decided yet', but people rarely left Azkaban once they entered it. And she didn't want to think of the redheaded boy who'd made her laugh when she was a little girl as a would be murderer. She instantly recognized her classmates, Selina and Lola, two Ravenclaws, being joined by her house mate Devonte and his Hufflepuff twin, Layton. "Life's full of shocking surprises, isn't it?" she asked calmly as she drew closer to the small group, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "Hello, Devonte, Layton, Lola, Selina. Everyone's enjoying their summer holidays, I hope. What's the occasion? Academics or recreation?"
OOC:
AlphaApex
Graydon Ironshield
mc2
As pretty as a picturehanging from a fixture... Strong like a family, strong as I wanna be! Bright as day, as light as play- As hard as nails, as grand as a whale! All I wannabe is everything... As warm as the sun, as silly as fun, As cool as a tree, as scary as the sea! As hot as fire, cold as ice... Sweet as sugar and everythingnice.
And you don't seem the lying kind A shame then I can read your mind And all the things that I read there
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Sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ Yᴇᴀʀ|Ⅱ|Rᴀᴠᴇɴᴄʟᴀᴡ|Ⅱ|Hᴀʟғ-Bʟᴏᴏᴅ
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Text.
"Hmmm, point taken," replied when Lola mentioned her ethnicity. When Lola mentioned her little brother, Selina's thoughts turned toward her own little brother. 'Wee little Robert,' she thought. 'By all rights, he would be old enough to start looking forward to coming to Hogwarts himself. He wasn't much older than Lola's brother when ... now, he'll always be that energetic little five year old boy who followed me around.'
Before she could succumb to the depression thinking about her brother's life was so cruelly cut short, Selina replied, "If we went tonight, it would be even more fun. Its folk music night at Old Angus' place."
"Well, I'm definitely taking Advanced Flying next year," Selina said, when the subject of electives came up. "I'm planning on taking Healing Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Mother Grey would be crushed if I didn't take Divination, but there's also Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes looks interesting too."
When Selina heard her name mentioned, she looked up in time to see the Bannister brothers arrive. She smiled, and said, "Hi, Layton," in a cheerful tone. While Layton's tone sounded friendly, his brother's seemed less so. "Hmmm, whom indeed?" Selina responded to Devonte's somewhat less than rhetorical question with one of her own. "It's a pleasure to see you as well. I trust you both are enjoying your summer?"
A moment later, she saw Violante walking over toward them. "I've had worse summers," Selina answered. "I've already filled out the required books from next term's syllabus, I'm just looking for a bit of light reading, and maybe a couple extra reference books to take to school."
mc2
AlphaApex
The Forgotten Weasley
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Candle lit smile that we both share and you know I don't mean to hurt you But you know that it means so much And you don't even feel a thing
Lola smiled and said, "Tonight seems awfully rushed... I would have to floo back home quick and let Dad or Mum know if I was going to be late. It's really too bad, it sounds as if it would be fun." As the conversation went to electives, Lola said, "Maybe I should try Advanced Flying... and I know I want to take Arithmancy, and I was thinking maybe to take Divination and probably Wandlore since Dad is a wandmaker. Did you know my wand was custom made by him? Pretty neat, right?" She said with a big grin.
Her attention turned when the Bannister brothers (who in so many ways seemed polar opposites of themselves, and who you would have thought would have had the nastier personality if you were going on stereotypical stories was actually the more pleasant one). Lola nodded as Layton got her name right and rolled her eyes at Devonte's greeting and Selina's slightly hostile answer. Lola sighed and said to Devonte, "I see you still have the venom of a snake's tongue. I guess it was too much to hope that certain leopards might change their spots anytime soon."
She shook her head and sighed, she may have been fairly quiet last year, but this was out of school, and there was no professor to just hand everyone detentions to get them all to shut-up. No here, you had to stand your ground some-if you didn't you would definitely get eaten alive. Thankfully, another Slytherin joined them, Vio, who took a definite neutral stance and asked what the occasion was. "I'm picking up my books now," Lola said nodding to the textbook in her hand, "but I'm here mostly for recreation. Selina and I agreed to meet up here. I haven't had a chance to head down here yet, so I thought I would be able to kill two birds with one stone this way- not that people should go around randomly killing birds, and you won't see me doing so." Lola ended on a shrug with a smile.
The days get shorter and the nights get cold, I like the autumn but this place is getting cold, I pack up my belongings and head for the coast,
Second year ║ Hufflepuff ║ Pureblood
Layton rolled his eyes once Devonte made his usual hostile response to seeing the two there. He honestly had hoped that Dev would've changed, as it seemed he had become a bit tamer after being away from school for a bit, but, alas, he was wrong. Maybe it was just seeing the two that brought it out in him again? He must have really hated them. He couldn't fathom why, other than the fact that he thought he was below them. And it didn't help that their father encouraged it.. but Layton was thankful for a balance in his family, as his mother was the more reasonable one of the family. He decided to just ignore Devonte for now. "We're doing well, thanks." He cut off Dev quickly, knowing he'd say something even worse. "What about you two?"
Devonte rolled his eyes at Layton's sickening attitude towards them. How could he be so nice? 'He's adopted, I swear,' Dev thought to himself. But it made some sort of sense. Devonte was his father's son, and Layton was their mother's son. Devonte looked to his side as his fellow Slytherin came up to them as well, deciding to join their discussion. " And I see you still have the wittiness of a sloth. That is to say, none at all. I'm here for recreation, Layton's here for academics, of course. He decided to drag me in here, and, well, here we are. A party in the making." He secretly wished Hamilton were here. That would make things so much more fun, knowing that it would make this event much more fun, and most likely a living hell for the rest of them.
OOC:
The Forgotten Weasley
mc2
Graydon Ironshield
It might not be a lot but I feel like I'm making the most, The days get longer and the nights smell green, I guess it's not surprising but it's spring and I should leave.
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:01 pm
As sly as a fox, as strong as an ox, As fast as a hare, as brave as a bear! As free as a bird, as neat as a word, As quiet as a mouse, as big as a house! All I wannabe is everything... As mean as a wolf, as sharp as a tooth, As deep as a bite, as dark as the night! As sweet as a song, as right as a wrong, As long as a road, as ugly as a toad!
V I O L A N T E F A Y E L I L L A N T I N E Slytherin │ Second Year │ Pureblood │ Adopted
Vio shrugged in response to Selina. "Haven't we all? My aunt picked up my books for September while I was still in school, to beat the summer rush." She then glanced at Lola with a slightly amused expression at her talking about killing birds with stones, though she didn't think Devonte was being particularly venomous at the moment. Sarcasm and calling people and their interests nerdy was among the usual banter among her family. Even Jess, her Hufflepuff cousin, could be vicious when arguing with her brothers. No one took it very seriously. Occasionally someone got annoyed, yes, but Vio had heard worse. "Sloths can't speak," she commented, but looked delighted at the insults volleying around, even if she was sure she could do far better herself. "They could be hilarious and no one would know. And I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm enjoying myself. Then again," she couldn't help but add on a touch sarcastically. "I rarely get invited to parties. I'll take what I can get, you know? And it's good mix, I see. Business and fun. Three of the four houses. All we need is a Gryffindor, and we'd have the whole set." She was being chatty and she knew it, but she didn't really have any friends or anyone close to her age to speak with at home, so she had a lot of pent up words. "So, what's the consensus on returning to school? Excited? Dreading it? Personally, I'm done with the summer already. I can't wait to be back."
OOC:
AlphaApex
Graydon Ironshield
mc2
As pretty as a picturehanging from a fixture... Strong like a family, strong as I wanna be! Bright as day, as light as play- As hard as nails, as grand as a whale! All I wannabe is everything... As warm as the sun, as silly as fun, As cool as a tree, as scary as the sea! As hot as fire, cold as ice... Sweet as sugar and everythingnice.
And you don't seem the lying kind A shame then I can read your mind And all the things that I read there
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Sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ Yᴇᴀʀ|Ⅱ|Rᴀᴠᴇɴᴄʟᴀᴡ|Ⅱ|Hᴀʟғ-Bʟᴏᴏᴅ
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Text.
"We can always do dinner another night, then," Selina offered. "I'm taking Advanced Flying so I can get out the castle for a little bit, and Layton suggested I might try getting on the Ravenclaw quidditch team in some capacity. It's nice your father made your wand for you; I should like to meet him some time. If nothing else, I have a few questions about my own wand. I know its quite old, but little else."
"I'm doing well enough, thank you, Layton," Selina answered the dark-haired Hufflepuff warmly, choosing to ignore Devonte's attempt at an insult. So far as she was concerned, if one felt the need to add a qualifier to one's invective, then it wasn't particularly effective in the first place. "I have to agree with you, Vi, I'm having a bit of fun myself, and there's nothing wrong having a bit of fun while getting business taken care of. Sadly, though, none of us here have the wherewithal to summon a Gryffindor up to get that complete set."
Glancing around, she really didn't see any other students close by whom she was certain was of Gryffindor House. "Hmmm, rather like Bobbies, eh? Never seems to be one about when you really want one. As far as school's concerned, if I had my druthers, I'd be on the Express right now."
mc2
AlphaApex
The Forgotten Weasley
════════════════════════ OOC:
Candle lit smile that we both share and you know I don't mean to hurt you But you know that it means so much And you don't even feel a thing
Lola nodded when Selina said they could try dinner another time and shrugged about the comment about talking to her father about wands and how it was nice of him to make a wand for her. Well, her wand was sort of custom made considering it had her mum's hair in it for a core-not that she was about to say that too soon. Especially with Devonte there who already seemed to hate them enough and it was no secret he was a blood purist. Just what he needed to know her half-blood father hooked up with a wood nymph not to have just one "halfbreed" child (herself) but two (her little brother as well).
She was thankful of Layton's efforts to redirect the conversation to cheerier matters, though, Devonte had tried to make a barb comparing her to a sloth (because sloth's apparently lacked wittiness). When Vio pointed out the lack of logic in the attempt at an insult, Lola couldn't help but chuckle a little with a shake of her head and she provided her own input to the conversation, "I'm looking forward to school, but I think it is nice to be home too. At least in my case you can't really compare the two. Both are great in their own ways. Maybe I'm just lucky, though..."
I could buy myself a reason, I could sell myself a job, I could hang myself on treason, All the folks I know are gone
Second year ║ Slytherin ║ Pureblood ║ Chaser
Devonte frowned once Violante brought up the fact that sloths didn't talk. Well, of course they didn't. She obviously didn't completely grasp what he was saying. That was no surprise, of course, as not many people did. He was too smart for his own good. "That's why I said none at all." He couldn't help but roll his eyes. But she was right in one way. A Gryffindor would make this party complete, but obviously there weren't any around. That he was familiar with, of course. "I guess this will have to do for now." As the subject turned to more about school, he decided to wander off and search among the books, and leave them to their irrelevant conversations. If he was going to be in here, he might as well make the best of it and at least find something to enjoy. Maybe a book about dragons, or something.
Layton smirked at the banter between his brother and the other three, then watching him walk off between the aisles of books. He sure was a strange brother. He then turned his attention back to the others. "I'm looking forward to it. It's been a really boring summer so far, and with only him to keep me company, it tends to get a bit lonely."
OOC:
mc2
Graydon Ironshield
The Forgotten Weasley
So I ate the wedding cake, Until the whole damn thing was gone, And I'm gonna drown the ocean, Now ain't none of that so wrong?
