Starting tradition (tag: Jude and Delilah) on Cascade Hall

Headmistress Sadi Powell

April 02, 2010 3:04 AM

Opening Feast! by Headmistress Sadi Powell

It was a beautiful evening. Sunlight streamed in through the windows of the Cascade Hall, creating a dazzling display of ripples and rainbows as the final rays of the day were reflected by the waterfalls lining the room. Sadi had made her way to Sonora in her usual fashion: Apparition. She was wearing her customary plain brown robes and her graying hair was fastened, as usual, in a neat knot at the nape of her neck. She stood quietly in the far corner of the room as returning students noisily made their way into seats, and the first years were gathered by the door. The new students were greeted by Professor Dakin, newly instated Deputy Headmistress. It was the first time in a good long while that Sonora’s Head and Deputy had been of the same gender, but with Henry Flatt incapacitated and the majority of her staff being relatively new to the school, Sadi had little choice. Rowan had applied for the position, and she had been accepted. She was good with the students; while the Headmistress watched her new Deputy collecting the first years together, she was confident they would make an excellent team.

When all the wagons were empty, and every student had managed to find his or her way into the Hall, Sadi joined her colleagues at the staff table (although she stood in front of it, rather than sat behind) and called for attention. “Settle down, please,” she said, gentle but commanding, as always. When there was enough quiet to be heard without the assistance of charms, Sadi graced the students with a smile. “To our older students, welcome back. To our first year students, welcome to Sonora Academy.” With Rowan’s assistance, each new student was handed a goblet full of a clear, bubbling liquid. When swallowed, this potion would turn the drinker’s skin the corresponding color of the House to which they now belonged: blue for Aladren, yellow for Teppenpaw, red for Crotalus, and brown for Pecari.

Most students enjoyed watching the sorting of the first years. Sadi couldn’t deny that the event had held her interest more thoroughly when she’d been Head of Crotalus, and so could identify her future students, but it was nevertheless an entertaining spectacle. Therefore she waited patiently until all the students had settled once more before returning to her address.

“As always, the prairie elves have provided us with a magnificent feast,” she said, hoping to reel in the attention of those whose minds had wandered. “However, first I would like to make a few short announcements. Our returning student will probably have noticed that Professor Dakin, our Care of Magical Creatures professor, has taken on the role of Deputy Headmistress. She will also be Head of Teppenpaw House.” The fact that their government-appointed Deputy from last year brought only relief remained unspoken. “Secondly, I would like you all to welcome Ichabod Linn, who will be teaching Divinations," Sadi gestured to her new collegaue at the staff table. She had personal reservations about the subject, but it had seemed very popular last time it was available at the school. Perhaps it was time it was re-instated. "And," Sadi continued, "Janette Wolfe, who will be your new transfiguration professor.” Sadi had high hopes that this professor would stay around longer than a year. She almost believed it, but student rumours about the position being cursed refused to leave her thoughts entirely.

“Finally, I would like to present this year’s Head Boy and Head Girls with their badges.” The announcement of who would receive these titles had been made at the end of last year, but the Opening Feast made it official. “Could Talen and Lutece cone forward?” Sadi distributed the badges with a smile and ‘well done’ for each student. She waited for the applause to die down before attracting attention for the last time that evening. “Thank you for listening. I have no more announcements to make, so you are free to enjoy your food.” With a wave of Sadi’s hand, each and every table was suddenly groaning under a multitude of dishes, plates and jugs, each filled to the brim with one or another of an impressive variety of foods and drinks. Enough, indeed, that no student was ever likely to.

Subthreads:

Turning Blue isn't really what I expected by Cooper Abramson (Aladren) with Jera Valson, Cooper

May you live in interesting times by Professor Aaron McKindy with Amelia Pierce, Aaron

But I don't even like the Redskins. Or football. by Nicodemus Sawyer with Cosette Miller

Fourth Year Crotalus Transfer by Dmitry Talsky with Charlotte Abbott, Dmitry , Charlie

Brown + First Year = New Pecari by Neal Padrig with Dorian Talsky, Tristan Volkmann, Neal

Got to be done [Tag Hannah] by Oliver Abbott with Hannah, Oliver

Unexpectedly yellow. by Dmitri Petrovskii with Brian Moore, Dmitri, Colleen Ryan

Undeniably annoyed by Lutece Anthony

Brown just doesn't work for me. by Dani Adair with Jessica Zeworth, Dani

No escape (Tag: Rachel Bauer) by Veronica Kerrigan with Rachel Bauer, Veronica

New to Teppenpaw by Sarah Logan with Tobar Brishen

A new term, a new look, a new start. by Adelita Garcia with Juri Dahlgren, Lita

Starting tradition (tag: Jude and Delilah) by Demelza Eagle with Jude Normandy, Delilah Kerrigan, Demelza

Seeing Red. [Crotalus] by Nadi Roth with Autumn Collins, Nadi

Mellow Yellow by Kirstenna Melcher with Pippa Brockert

Tapping and Drumming by Ellie McGill with Marian Parker, Ellie

A shiny new brown Pecari! by Sophia Randolph with Starbuck Gregory, Sophia

Showing up by Taylor Li with Daniel Nash, Taylor

Hungry by Alessa Hinckley with Caleb Nichols

Pecari fourth years? by Dana Smythe with Alison Sinclair, Dana

I'm blue now? by Samantha Hamilton with James Anthony

This might be a first [Tag: Talen] by Jaeven Dimitri with Talen Dupree, Jae

Overprotective by Quentin Melcher with Euna Song

My room! (Ladies) by Chelsea Brockert with Cecily Smythe, Laurel Cider, Holly Greer, Cecily

Here Comes Crotalus by Cynthia, Cecily, Amelia and Jethro Smythe with Chelsea, Ian Grimm

0 Headmistress Sadi Powell Opening Feast! 0 Headmistress Sadi Powell 1 5

Cooper Abramson (Aladren)

April 02, 2010 8:24 AM

Turning Blue isn't really what I expected by Cooper Abramson (Aladren)

New family, new school—Cooper Abramson wasn’t phased at all. It was basically just another change in a rather annoying series of them. The thing that did annoy the slight, brown-haired, brown-eyed eleven-year-old was that Melody couldn’t come with him this time. It wasn’t like they had ever been separated for real, so Cooper had no reason to be freaked out, but he had never gone to a boarding school before either. He wouldn’t see his sister until Christmas, and that was really, really worrying. Cooper Did Not Like that. At all.

Not to mention that his first transformation had happened not-so-long before he was set to start at Sonora anyway. Cooper didn’t have an especially high opinion about either one of their new foster parents, and he didn’t expect much out of them. The first transformation would be okay, just a little worrying. It was the transformations afterwards that would gradually lead to their caseworker being called and, eventually, the Abramsons would be moved again. It had happened five times in the last four years, and Cooper was just counting down until time number six.

He hated having to make friends, especially because they wouldn’t be around for long either. So when Aaron McKindy left him with a woman to wait for the rest of the first years, Cooper had just crossed his arms and glared at the floor until they had all been lead into eating hall, which was full of waterfalls. That, Cooper would admit, was kind of cool. But only kind of.

When the woman handed him a clear, bubbling potion, Cooper drank it without even making a face. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to random people handing him potions or anything like that. It was annoying and he hated it, but it wasn’t worth complaining about.

And okay, it wasn’t that Cooper wasn’t used to his skin changing into what people would consider ‘weird things’, but having it turn blue was seriously freaky and he growled under his breath, fighting the urge to scratch the blue off his skin. He felt claustrophobic, all of a sudden, and was glad to get out of the spotlight to take a seat at the blue table. Then there were a bunch of announcements that he didn’t care about and didn’t both clapping for anyway, and then there was food.

It wasn’t particularly appetizing to Cooper, so he didn’t bother trying to eat anything. He wouldn’t admit that he was nervous to anyone, but he was also smart enough to not bother to try to eat. Cooper threw up very easily.

“What?” the newly-Sorted Aladren snapped as the person next to him touched his shoulder. Cooper did not like being touched, either. He glared at the person in question. They should go away.

0 Cooper Abramson (Aladren) Turning Blue isn't really what I expected 0 Cooper Abramson (Aladren) 0 5

Professor Aaron McKindy

April 02, 2010 8:26 AM

May you live in interesting times by Professor Aaron McKindy

The last few weeks had been hectic ones, because Aaron and his husband hadn’t bothered to check a few things out until it was a little too late. For one, Garen hadn’t actually mentioned that one of Aaron’s two biological daughters was moving in for the purposes of attending a local Muggle University. Nor had either man thought to ask what exactly the magical child welfare system’s definition of ‘special needs’ child was, and they had ended up the somewhat accidental foster parents of a prepubescent werewolf and his younger sister. Their first full moon had been just last week, and while nothing had gone wrong—and Cooper had been cynically blasé about the whole thing—it was still a little nerve-wracking.

Additionally, neither man thought it was a particularly responsible plan to leave Melody under the care of any of the myriad of older girls currently staying at their apartment. Which meant, that since only RMI had a live-in family plan (and a selective one at that) each of them would be taking one of the kids ‘to work’ with them, so to speak.

In short, things had gotten a lot more complicated over the summer.

Cooper had been less friendly than usual when Aaron had asked him how he wanted to get to Sonora, but in the end, Aaron had ended up Flooing in with him a few hours before the Opening Feast was set to start. The slight eleven-year-old had occupied himself in Aaron’s classroom for those few hours before Aaron escorted him to where Rowan (the new Deputy, which the Charms professor had duly congratulated her for; he rather liked Rowan) was to meet the first years. It wasn’t without the slightest tinge of worry that Aaron left Cooper with the Care of Magical Creatures professor.

Shaking his head to clear it, the black-haired Italian took his seat at the staff table with a smile at Sadi. They had been friends for years, even before his chain-smoking biological daughter had befriended her somewhat more sane offspring. Funny how he was actually more worried about Cooper than Jessie at the moment. Or not—the seventeen-year-old had clearly proved that she could bounce back from setback without issue. To Aaron, at least, Cooper seemed a lot more sensitive. He would also have to ask Cleo about the transformation thing; the soon-to-be first year had been very quiet since the full moon.

The Opening Feast began as it always did, the usual Sorting, announcements, et cetera. Aaron clapped politely at the correct times, quietly thankful that Cooper hadn’t been Sorted into Pecari. The whole actually-being-a-parent thing was new to him, even if he was only being a parent temporarily (or, in theory temporarily).

“Nice group of first years,” Aaron commented mildly to the person on his left, watching the Aladren table. “I hope the Pecaris aren’t too much trouble,” he added with an equally mild grin.

0 Professor Aaron McKindy May you live in interesting times 0 Professor Aaron McKindy 0 5

Nicodemus Sawyer

April 02, 2010 11:14 AM

But I don't even like the Redskins. Or football. by Nicodemus Sawyer

Nic was dubious. Dubious was a good word. It meant 'Not convinced, questionable, open to suspicion.' Oh, he knew magic was real and everything. His dad was a wizard and the man had never made a secret about that. Nic might have liked it better if he had - or, more accurately, Nic would have liked it better if Dad had been able to keep it a secret but the guy seemed fundamentally incapable of acting or dressing himself like a normal person. Luckily, their neighbors just figured he was being all New Age-y and left it at that. Mom told fortunes out of the living room, after all.

No, magic wasn't the problem. Lights turning on without using a switch, objects floating across the room, the cat getting turned into a step stool if McTabby happened to be the first thing to hand when Dad needed to get to the top shelf of the pantry - that was all old hat. Oh, the flying wagons were kind of neat and the waterfalls of the Cascade Hall were certainly something else, but Nic wasn't overly impressed or awed or stunned or anything.

Even drinking the potion and seeing his own skin turn red barely caused a flicker of concern. It wasn't the allergic reaction kind of red, and other people were turning equally strange colors, so obviously this was supposed to happen. He rolled with it and sat down at the table the red kids were supposed to sit at. No, that wasn't the problem either.

The reason he was dubious was that his denim jacket had been forcefully taken away from him and put into his suitcase, which Dad had then put a spell on so he couldn't open it again for six hours. And then his parents made him put on a stupid robe. A robe!

His school in Miami never made him wear a uniform and he wasn't sure he liked the precedent here. Especially since it was a robe. Seriously, didn't his parents dress weirdly enough? Now they were making him put on funky eccentric articles of clothing that had no place in Nic's awesome wardrobe? Seriously, a robe? How lame and girly could you get? Even his work boots couldn't entirely compensate, and he wasn't sure his earring or his shoulder length hair in its leather tie really gave off the same effect without his jeans and Hard Rock jacket.

Well, Sonora did have two things going for it anyway. The first and most important being that nobody was likely to run into his parents at the grocery store and realize how horribly uncool Nic's family was. The second was that the food looked great. Way better than what Miami's public schools dished out in their cafeterias. It almost made the robe uniform worth it.

Nic dug in, taking large helpings of every kind of food he could see. He was a growing boy, after all, and doing a better job of it than most eleven-year-olds. From what he'd seen of the other kids drinking the color changing potions, he had the same height advantage over most of his classmates here as he had at his old school.

When he noticed one of the other kids sitting nearby looking at him, he figured he was probably supposed to say something. So he said, "Food looks good. I'm Nic." The longer he could go without mentioning his full name, the happier he was going to be in this new school. Most people would assume Nic was short for Nicholas, and the longer he could avert people from finding out otherwise the smaller his chances were of people thinking he was a dork or that his parents hated him.

1 Nicodemus Sawyer But I don't even like the Redskins. Or football. 165 Nicodemus Sawyer 0 5

Amelia Pierce

April 02, 2010 12:35 PM

May you find what you're looking for by Amelia Pierce

For the second time, Amelia Pierce sat at the staff table of Sonora Academy during a Welcoming Feast. It had been easier to leave Boston this year. Bel had accepted that Amelia had moved on and had hardly even put up a fuss about Amy missing her birthday again. Of course, she'd been bribed with presents a day early, so that might have had something to do with it. That, and she'd had a year to realize that just because Amelia was living in Arizona for nine months out of the year, it didn't mean Bel had been abandoned or that the DISCUSS office would sublimate without a Pierce running it. Bel was smart, she'd figured it out.

So Amelia was more at ease this year without worrying about how badly her twenty-three year old daughter was taking her departure, and she was able to quietly enjoy the sorting process. She took note of the new Crotali, as their Head of House, and also watched for the ones turning brown as well. The Pecari Quidditch team had lost about half their number since last year and she was a little worried about whether Jose would be able to fill the roster. But it looked like a good number of new Pecaris had joined the school and one of them was even an older student, which should help the team a lot if she played.

Amelia nodded in agreement and smiled at the other person watching the new Pecaris with interest as McKindy commented on lot of first years. "Aren't Pecaris always trouble?" she asked mildly. "I'm just hoping the Crotali get along with each other." This year's sixth year class of Crotalus girls was particularly tense, she'd learned pretty early on in her tenure as Head of Crotalus last year.

1 Amelia Pierce May you find what you're looking for 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Dmitry Talsky

April 02, 2010 1:32 PM

Fourth Year Crotalus Transfer by Dmitry Talsky

Dmitry Talsky exited the wagons looking rather disgruntled. He didn’t want to come to this stupid school, in annoying America. He frowned at his robes; he hated them and missed his Durmstrang uniform. He glared at his half brother Dorian as he joyfully exited the wagons. He already missed Durmstrang and his friends there. He was ushered into the hall glad that he was being spared the humiliation of turning another color by having been sorted earlier in the summer; he went right to the Crotalus table.

He sat down and listened to the Headmistress’ speech. How could two women were run this school? This was a farce in his eyes. He could already tell that Sonora wasn’t the school for him. He wished his father and Step-mother had just allowed him to stay in Durmstrang while Dorian had come here to this sissy school. His dark black shoulder length hair was pushed behind his ear, and his cold calculating dark green eyes scanned the hall. While he looked about, he realized that they allowed just about any in this school. Did Father know what kind of rabble they let in here?

He scowled and looked over at the student next to him. “Hello.” He said in his thick Russian accent. “I am Dmitry Talsky.” He wondered if any of the American Purebloods had heard the name Talsky before. In Russia and at Durmstrang it was a well-respected name and many families had vied their sons to be friends with him, or their daughters to be married to him.

0 Dmitry Talsky Fourth Year Crotalus Transfer 137 Dmitry Talsky 0 5

Neal Padrig

April 02, 2010 2:58 PM

Brown + First Year = New Pecari by Neal Padrig

It was simple enough: take a sip, change colors, go to the House with the color that matches skin. Only Neal Padrig was worried it wasn’t going to be that simple for him; while initially excited to be sorted, he was quick to realize that – much to his horror – the colors of the changed skin for the Crotalus and Aladren Houses were the same tone. This meant that if the world was to suddenly switch into black, white, and shades of gray, the gray the students changed into would match up with either House.

Considering the fact Neal was colorblind, he figured he might have a few problems finding out which house he belonged to. Despite having spent his entire life priding himself on noticing subtle tone differences in shades of color everyone else missed, he was struggling picking out the difference between the ‘red’ and the ‘blue’ colors. Once his name was called up to take a sip, the most he could do was cross his fingers and hope that he turned dark to go with the ‘brown’ Pecari or lighter to match the ‘yellow’ Teppenpaw, since those two were easy to discern. He’d rather not have to sink to asking the Headmistresses what color he was when everyone’s eyes were on him, just to find out where he should sit.

His lips lifted at the darkening skin, and he wandered over to the Pecari table feeling relieved. He wasn’t sure how relieved he looked though, what with the veins in his eyes all bright red (an obvious sign to others that he can’t tell his colors apart, if they knew the symptoms for colorblindness anyways), the permanent bags under his eyes, and the wrinkled robes he haphazardly put on. If anything, he probably looked like a sleep deprived lunatic.

Not that he had time to be concerned over what people were thinking of his appearance – he was too busy being fascinated with the waterfalls-for-walls in the room. “This,” he decided aloud to the person next to him as he loaded up his plate with a smile, “is the best school I’ve ever been to.”

0 Neal Padrig Brown + First Year = New Pecari 0 Neal Padrig 0 5

Dorian Talsky

April 02, 2010 3:02 PM

Me too! by Dorian Talsky

Dorian Talsky bounded off the wagons happily. He was excited to be coming to Sonora even if his older half brother Dmitry hated it. He was glad to not being attending Drumstrang he had heard too many horror stories from Dmitry and his friends. One of the many reasons the Talsky boys were now attending Sonora. Other reasons included Father being transferred to America for work, and Mama not wanting her boy to attend Drumstrang.

His eyes widened at the Hall amazed at how it looked. Taking a mouth full of the potion he quickly swallowed and saw his skin begin to turn brown for Pecari. ‘Whew! I’m not in the same house as Dmitry!’ He thought thrilled about that fact as he practically skipped over to the Pecari table. Dorian ran a hand through his short black hair, he wished Mama would let him grown his out like Dmitry’s but she thought he’d look silly with it. He wasn’t a tall or slender boy, he was short for an eleven year old boy with a bit more pudgy-ness then normal. However, his grey eyes stood out from his pudgy face. They were beautiful, expressive, and often seen as attractive to other people.

He took a seat and smiled making his grey eyes shine even more. He listened intently to the Headmistress glad that she seemed nice. He didn’t want to go to a school where the Professors were mean or nasty looking. After the Headmistress ended her speech, he turned to the person next to him. Who spoke. “This is the best school I’ve ever been to.”

“It is rather nice!” He said brightly in his English accent. “I am Dorian Talsky it seems we will be roommates!” He knew that no one would think he and Dmitry were related as they had different accents, Dmitry’s was a thick Russian accent while his own was a crisp English one. This came from Dmitry being raised in Russia for half of his life, while Dorian himself was raised in the English countryside.

0 Dorian Talsky Me too! 0 Dorian Talsky 0 5

Charlotte Abbott

April 02, 2010 3:29 PM

New <s>prey</s> blood? by Charlotte Abbott

It had been an interesting summer' Charlotte had felt like an actual teenager. By this she meant that whereas in previous summers she had been under constant parental supervision, attended ballet classes and done little else, this summer held some distinction. It had started off more or less the same, with the added bonus that her older brother Julian had learned to drive and bought a car while she'd been at Sonora last term. So Charlie didn't need her parents to drive her to and from dance classes, because Julian could do it. He didn't mind, becuase he sat and watched the older girls dance. Charlie thought that was a little perverted, but the older girls didn't seem to mind. In fact, one of them (called Jenny, blonde and quite pretty but not too bright) had befriended Charlie in a very poorly-disguised effort to get to know Julian better. This short version of this story is that Charlotte had spent a lot of time with Jenny's brother Mark, and she hadn't had cause to complain one tiny bit. It almost made up for her feeling pretty sure that James Anthony had totally freaked out when she'd kissed him at the end of the ball.

Anyway, another term, another chance for Charlie to work out if she wanted to date Daniel or James or neither of them. Hopefully she'd get it sorted before she graduated. Oh, but then she might go to college, and did she really want a boyfriend for that? That was a thought for another day. Right now, Charlotte wanted to find Lita and catch up on their summers, and tell her ... hello. Who was that? As Charlotte approached the Crotalus table, she saw a new face. A boy, about her age. He looked sort of foreign. Sitting down next to him, Charlie was pleased that her dark hair had managed to stay in a neat braid for the journey, and her robes were freshly laundered. It never hurt to make a good first impression.

The fourth year managed to sit silently through the speech (more or less - she did applaud for Lutece when she collected her badge), and when the stranger spoke to her Charlotte was delighted to discover his voice had a kind of sexy growl to it. "A pleasure to meet you," she said, trying to restrict her smile to an appropriate level and succeeding in preventing a childish grin from emerging. "I'm Charlotte Abbott, and I'm in fourth year. How about you?"

0 Charlotte Abbott New <s>prey</s> blood? 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Oliver Abbott

April 02, 2010 3:39 PM

Got to be done [Tag Hannah] by Oliver Abbott

What in Merlin's name was wrong with him? New, marginally cooler glasses, his hair grown out a little longer that he liked to think made him a touch less nerdy, and wearing the Quidditch captain badge pinned to his robes, Oliver should have felt a million dollars. Yet his mouth was dry and his stomach tied itself in knots as he sought out his girlfriend, Hannah. Who would soon be thought of as the first girl he'd broken up with.

Oliver hated himself for it, and he knew she would hate him, and he felt awful about that, too. He liked Hannah a lot, he really did. That was part of the problem. She was good, and wholesome, and beautiful, and Oliver didn't deserve her for several reasons. More than that, he couldn't see them together past the end of Sonora. Sure, he could keep the relationship going that long, for the comfort and security. However, there was only one year left, and that might be his last opportunity to... well, try something new. Yeah, there was no way he deserved her.

Seeing Hannah sitting with other Teppenpaws, Oliver waited until after the Headmistress had finished speaking. He did his best to ignore her speech, and certainly didn't look up as Lutece and Talen collected their badges. When she stopped speaking, Oliver jumped up and swiftly went to sit next to Hannah. "Hey," he said awkwardly. He twisted his hands nervously, realized he was doing it, and shoved them in his pockets instead. How was he going to say this? How?

0 Oliver Abbott Got to be done [Tag Hannah] 99 Oliver Abbott 0 5

Cosette Miller

April 02, 2010 3:54 PM

Football Never Did Make Much Sense to Me by Cosette Miller

There were two things Cosette Miller was looking forward to this school year: good food and a good place to sleep. Considering how quirky her parents were, it was hard for the girl to do anything with big changes besides side-stepping them or just going with it. After getting her letter to attend Sonora Academy, her parents were more eager and nervous than she’d ever been about anything before in her life. Those two were, without a doubt, probably the key reason she was as laidback as she was. She couldn’t imagine the climate of insanity that she’d be living in if she was as easily excitable and dramatic as those two were. She hoped, for her younger brother’s sake, he wouldn’t turn out like them while she was away.

But she really shouldn’t be focusing on her family’s abnormalities at a time like this, in a place chock full of strangeness. Though she didn’t mind the differences; the waterfalls made her drowsy (not that it was hard to do that) and the lights reflecting all over the room were something out of a dream. Her skin turning red after a delicate sip of potion only strengthened that thought. Being as small and thin framed as she was, she wondered if she’d be red longer than the larger kids.

As soon as she sat at the Crotalus table, she had started to anticipate being fed, having heard from both her parents how excellent food is at magic schools. Of course, there was a speech she had to sit through, first. Yeah, she slept through that, waking up just as it ended. Her large black eyes took in the delicious array of food before her and she couldn’t stop her hands from dropping a bit of everything in sight onto her plate.

It was when she was reaching for a heaping of Yorkshire pudding to add to the growing food zoo on her plate that she remembered that she’d be sharing her helpings with other people. Not liking the idea of sharing food here anymore than she had back home, she sighed and waited patiently, watching the boy and waiting for him to wrap it up. He was stacking up his plate (it had on as much food as hers did, which is something she hadn’t seen before) and not bothering to let up anytime soon. When he did, he must’ve noticed her staring.

“Food looks good,” was his explanation, she assumed, for him eating as much as he was. Cosette nodded in complete understanding. Yes, stranger, she thought, food looks amazing. “I’m Nic.”

Deciding he might be an okay person to share food with (they were in the same House anyway, so it was inevitable), Cosette smiled at him as she put pudding on her plate after he was done. “Agreed, it looks great. I’m Cosette, nice to meet you.”

0 Cosette Miller Football Never Did Make Much Sense to Me 0 Cosette Miller 0 5

Dmitry

April 02, 2010 4:03 PM

Oh dear by Dmitry

Dmitry was surprised when the girl next to said it was pleasure to meet him. Not many people had said that before. “It is nice to meet you Miss. Abbott.” He said with a nod of his head. Trying to be pleasant was not difficult, he was used to faking it. “I’m also a fourth year.” He said answering her question with a small smile. At least the girls here were not as burley here then at Drumstrang. He looked her over wondering if she was a respectable pureblood or something besides that.

“I assume you have attended Sonora all you school life?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “I attended Drumstrang myself.” He paused for a moment as he began to fill his plate with some mashed potatoes and chicken.

He looked over at Charlotte as he took a bite of his potatoes and swallowed before asking his next question. “So what can you tell me about Sonora?” He really needed to learn more about the school. He was at a disadvantage here not knowing who everyone was or where everything was at and that annoyed him to no living end.

0 Dmitry Oh dear 0 Dmitry 0 5

Charlotte

April 02, 2010 4:16 PM

It's not a bad thing by Charlotte

Dmitry said it was nice to meet Charlie, and she really had to stop herself from beaming. She didn't want to frighten him off right away. Luckily, she'd had a lot of practise in perfecting a coy smile, and she kept it firmly in place throughout their exchange. Dmitry was in fourth year, too, and would be in all Charlie's classes and share her commons. Fabulous!

"Durmstrang?" Charlie repeated, unable to help herself. She knew her voice sounded a shade incriminating; she couldn't help it - all she'd ever heard about the European school was that it taught Dark Magic. Probably a load of nonsense - the Rocky Mountain visitors had said that they thought everyone at Sonora was a pureblood, which obviously wasn't true. "I bet that was interesting?" Charlie tried to cover her bluntness with a question (or a statement with a higher pitch at the end to make it sound like a question, anyway).

"I've been at Sonora since I was eleven," she said, taking a plate and starting to dish herself a small helping of steamed vegetables. "It's a good school, I think. There are clubs to join like Charms and Quidditch, and the older years can take independent studies if they want to study subjects that aren't taught here." It wasn't until this moment that Charlie realized she was actually quite proud of her school, and she wanted to defend it. "Plus the weather is always good," she smiled at Dmitry, offering him the vegetable dish.

"Was there anything in particular you wanted to know?"

0 Charlotte It's not a bad thing 0 Charlotte 0 5

Dmitri Petrovskii

April 02, 2010 4:23 PM

Unexpectedly yellow. by Dmitri Petrovskii

Dmitri clutched his planner to his chest in nervousness. It wasn’t as though this would be his first time going off to school. He had been going off to boarding schools since he was five years old, but those had all been exclusive (not to mention muggle) schools. There having a bodyguard wasn’t anything out of the norm. Most of the kids had one, because their parents were important, often targeted, people, and therefore, safety was of the upmost concern. It had taken a lot to convince his parents to allow him to go off to school without one. They had wanted to get him a private tutor instead. It had taken much convincing that he would be safe from muggles, which was who he needed a bodyguard from, because it was a magical school. However, there was a catch and that was this year was merely a trial run to see if it would actually work out.

Looking around, he wasn’t sure if he wanted it to or not. There was something blissful about living in ignorance, completely unaware of magic being real, not knowing that walls could rain. It brought up an entire slew of questions, such as vampires. Were they real? He had seen quite a few horror films, being a movie buff and all, and was curious to know just how many of the myths were true. Did they really suck blood? Did they have special powers like Dracula? Could they walk in daylight (hey, he had seen Twilight), but please tell him they didn’t sparkle. That would have just been too creepy. No matter what the vampire was like, though, Dmitri really hoped they didn’t exist, because they freaked him out entirely.

On the other hand, here was opportunity just waiting to be seized. At home (and at the boarding schools), he had a certain reputation to maintain. He was the son of a Russian diplomat and an American blueblood. His parents were looked to as societal examples. As their son, he was expected to set one as well. It was utterly frustrating at times. His life was a constant stream of performance or enhancing activates. But here, he was free to be nothing more than Dmitri. It was a strange, but new and exciting feeling. But who was he really? He took the cup that would be the first step to whatever his future. It didn’t really taste like much, but gave him a sort of weird sensation. Looking down at his hands, he hadn’t expected much, but he was…yellow. Not just yellow, but bright, chickie yellow. Right.

So, that meant he was Teppenpaw, whatever that meant, and off to a particular table. Sitting down, he did what he always did, what he had been taught to do. He took his napkin and placed it in his lap, neatly folded. He arranged the silverware properly since it wasn’t, but then most made that mistake. Once he felt like the setting was perfect, he took a moment to observe his choices. Normally, he would have started with a salad, but he wasn’t home. Here, he could skip straight to the main course. Hmm. Spaghetti? No, that would be utterly too messy. Not to mention the possibility of bad breath if garlic was involved. He opted for a salad with oil and vinegar. Okay, maybe it was he who was a little concerned with appearances, which also meant making appropriate contacts. Looking to the person next to him, he felt it only proper to introduce himself, “Hello. My name is Dmitri Petrovskii, first year, and may I ask you are?” Only a small bit of a Russian accent came out from time spent with his father.

0 Dmitri Petrovskii Unexpectedly yellow. 162 Dmitri Petrovskii 0 5

Neal Padrig

April 02, 2010 4:46 PM

Will This Be an Issue? by Neal Padrig

Hearing the English accent made Neal almost choke on his potatoes. One of the favorite pastimes of his proud Welsh mother was to speak ill of “those darn English who like to invade other countries.” She aspired to fill Neal’s head with the education on English invasions in Wales when he was a child, but he saw never saw any reason to hate the entire English population today because of it. He was pretty sure that his mother left out any possible wrongdoings of Wales from her lessons. Not that he didn’t like his heritage, but he wasn’t about to hold a grudge he didn’t understand – especially when the boy with the accent looked like such a nice guy.

A bit curious to see if the English disliked the Welsh as much as his mother claimed (he’d never before met an English person face to face), he strengthened his weak and barely-there accent a bit before speaking again. “It looks like it,” he told the boy, who’d introduced himself as Dorian Talsky. “I’m Neal Padrig.” Hopefully he was making an okay first impression, since he'd be living with this guy for the rest of his school career.

0 Neal Padrig Will This Be an Issue? 0 Neal Padrig 0 5

Jera Valson

April 02, 2010 4:47 PM

Turning blue is normal compared to what you do by Jera Valson

Jera decided that her summer had been the best ever even if she did have to take exams during the last week. Being bumped up to sixth year meant she had taken her CATS at the end of the summer, which meant that she had been studying all through the holiday. On and off. She'd also spent a lot of time with Jessie, and that was better than anything. She could drive, she could swear like a sailor, and she had taken Jera camping. Jessie was Jera's idol - expect for the swearing and the smoking. Jera decided she didn't like smoking all that much. She'd tried it because Jessie said she should (and their parents would kill both of them, and possibly each other, if they ever found out about that) and while it had made her feel like a grown up for a moment, it hurt her throat and made her tongue feel funny. Better than the cigarettes was the Snapdragons - a drink made by mixing fire whisky with pumpkin juice. That had been nice (but still hurt her throat a little) even if it made her feel a bit sick.

Jessie wasn't the type of person Jera would usually befriend, but she was so easy-going and easy to talk to that it was difficult not to like her. Jera had told her all sorts of stuff, about having no friends at school and even about her crush on Grayson. She's also got to go 'home' with Jessie one night, and stayed at the already seriously crowded apartment. That was when she met Cooper, and she was thrilled to discover he, too, had been sorted into Aladren.

When her Ma finished talking (Jera already knew what was going on, so she was only half-listening) the sixth year (wow, that was weird) moved up a few seats to sit next to Cooper. He didn't notice her, so she tapped him on the shoulder and smiled in greeting. From what Jessie had said, glaring was Cooper's standard expression, so Jera wasn't put off. "Hello again," she said. "Congratulations on being sorted into Aladren."

0 Jera Valson Turning blue is normal compared to what you do 112 Jera Valson 0 5

Lutece Anthony

April 02, 2010 4:58 PM

Undeniably annoyed by Lutece Anthony

It had been another one of those summers, but Lutece was used to the weirdness by now. Her father had been in and out of the apartment and the Baltimore Convention Centre; James had spent his entire summer at the library. Lutece Anthony herself had spent most of her summer doing nothing. She had done nothing in a wide variety of places. The Inner Harbour was one of them, and she had snuck into the Aquarium once or twice (because being legally allowed to do magic outside of school was pretty awesome), and she had spied on a couple of cute skaters for awhile.

Actually, the cute skaters had evolved into a very interesting summer interlude. They had introduced her to the party scene in Baltimore, which had been more-or-less interesting, but more distasteful than actually interesting. Still, Lutece had gone along with it basically because she had nothing better to do, and had ended out hooking up with two of the three skaters over the course of the two months. Neither one was a real interest but it had been pretty cool to feel like she had friends—and a couple of almost-boyfriends—again.

And now she was back to Sonora for another year, her final year. And better yet, she was Head Girl. Yes, Lutece Anthony had finally been recognised as an actual, real life presence at Sonora. On the down side, Talen was the Head Boy, and he was so totally gay it wasn’t funny. On the up side, he was still cute, and definitely nice. There were much worse people to share the figurative crown of popularity with.

When Headmistress Powell called her up to receive her badge, Lutece didn’t even smirk in satisfaction at Hannah. The stupid Tepp may have stolen Oliver, but she hadn’t been made Head Girl. And Lutece was going to be graceful now and pointedly not rub it in her face...although she couldn’t help the elated grin that slid onto her face once she had received her badge. This was better than being Prefect by so much!

Almost light-headed, Lutece walked back to her seat and hummed quietly to herself as the tables suddenly became loaded with food. The brunette was rather proud of herself, both for being polite to Hannah in her defeat and for becoming Head Girl. Or at least, she spent about a second and a half being rather proud of herself before realising something very, very worrisome: Oliver wasn’t seated next to her. The Crotalus set her jaw and looked around the room. Where was he?

0 Lutece Anthony Undeniably annoyed 100 Lutece Anthony 0 5

Brian Moore

April 02, 2010 5:11 PM

Didn't Know What to Expect, Period by Brian Moore

Brian Moore couldn’t stop smiling. Getting an acceptance letter from a magic school had certainly seemed like a practical joke, but when they kept on coming and the owls wouldn’t move until his parents agreed to let him go, he knew his future was taking a turn for the better. Sure, he felt bad when his older sisters heard the news since they were as much as a muggle as he thought he was, but they seemed nothing but supportive. They’d even gotten him an owl as a going-away-gift so he could send everyone letters (at least one a week to everyone, as promised). As if the anticipation for school wasn’t enough, all his new supplies had only ebbed on his keenness to start off his school year as a wizard.

For the first time he ever left his state, he was a bit nervous. By himself, on a carriage, going to Arizona – he never heard that much about that state in the news, so even on a magical carriage he wondered if he was going somewhere truly great or not. Once his carriage dropped him off at the school, he knew he had no reason to doubt the magic all around him.

Smiling throughout the whole explanation process and the opening ceremony, Brian only dropped the grin to properly drink the potion. He didn’t want to risk drinking it wrong, lest he end up in the wrong house. He smiled again at the yellow tinting skin. Yellow had always been his favorite color, and the Teppenpaw table look packed with friendly faces. He was one of the first people to ditch the front of the room and take a seat with his new house.

His heart hammered through the Headmistress’ speech. He tried to give her all his attention and not miss a detail. Being a bit forgetful, he didn’t want to mess anything up on his first day. It was only when the food appeared and chatter was alive did he relax enough to put some food on his plate.

Taking a few bites, he felt awkward as conversations stretched around him. Not being included in making new friends made him worry he was missing out. Or worse – maybe there was someone friendless that really needed someone to talk to! He wasn’t about to sit idle and eat when there was a possibility someone out there was lonely!

His sudden blind panic to play hero ebbed when the boy beside him introduced himself. He had seemed so preoccupied with his food, Brian hadn’t even considered he’d want to talk to anyone until dinner was through. Brian looked at him and smiled at how well put together he looked and at the politeness he heard. Being very neat and orderly in his own appearance and prizing manners himself, Brian was pleased to recall seeing this boy drinking a potion near him earlier. So, they’d be roommates then? This settled well with him. “Pleased to meet you, Dmitri. I’m Brian Moore.” Excited to talk to someone, he figured he’d try to start a conversation. “So, are you a muggleborn or a pureblood? I myself am a muggleborn, so this is all pretty exciting for me. What do you think about this place?”

0 Brian Moore Didn't Know What to Expect, Period 0 Brian Moore 0 5

Dani Adair

April 02, 2010 5:42 PM

Brown just doesn't work for me. by Dani Adair

Sorting. What a waste of time. Dani didn’t see why they needed to be separated. In her opinion, if the school were smart, they would just throw them all in a room together. It would be the quickest way to determining friendships, enemies, and who would survive all of the chaos in the end. But no, they were to be separated based on personalities, shoved into a little box, as if that explained everything. Would it really explain who they were or what they were going to become? Would it determine if she would live happily ever after or miserably ever after? No. At least, not for her for she saw through it all, but it didn’t mean she didn’t have to be sorted all the same. With a sigh, she took the drink to find out which color box they were going to stick her in.

Brown. Her green-blue eyes flicked over to where some of the other brown colored first years had moved. Fabulous. The group as a whole seemed overactive. A wry smile twisted her lips wondering if anyone else saw the humor between the color and personality. Had they picked the color based on the idea of making them look like a bunch of caffeinated beverages? Though, it did little to lift her hopes of what sharing a room for the next seven years would be like seeing that she was more like Earl Grey – relaxed with a bit of a bitter taste. Sitting down at the table, she glanced at each of the other first years. She doubted they would appreciate her humor.

However, on the bright side, there were only two other females. This would mean more available space – a necessity when it came to her wardrobe. She might not have worn what most other pureblood girls thought to be the height of fashion for she much preferred a sense of individuality, but that didn’t mean she didn’t adore clothes. In fact, she loved shopping. There was something about being greeted by the salespeople, the smell of new clothing, and the sound of the cash register at the purchase being completed. Would she ever tell this? Probably not. Not because she was embarrassed by it, but because she didn’t usually get along with the stereotypical shopping lovers.

Of course, that didn’t matter so much here seeing as there wasn’t really any place to shop. It was a shame. She didn’t really like ordering things by catalog, which meant that she would have to be more creative with her current wardrobe until midterm when she could really add to her collection. Mentally, she was already making a list of things she would need to get come midterm like new hairstreak colors and nail polishes. She was a little low on the blue metallic, but that was because she wore that color more than any other. Thankfully, blue and brown didn’t clash horribly, but she would have preferred black for a house color. She was so busy thinking about this that she didn’t notice someone talking to her. “Excuse me?”

0 Dani Adair Brown just doesn't work for me. 166 Dani Adair 0 5

Tristan Volkmann

April 02, 2010 5:54 PM

Hope Not by Tristan Volkmann

School had never been something Tristan looked forward to, but when he got his Sonora acceptance letter that changed. The same day his pureblood parents through him a surprise ‘Thank you for Officially Proving You’re Not a Squib to the Family’ party, he was packing up and ready to go. Imagine his distain when he found out he had to wait for what felt like eons before his first day would come. Having the patience of a squirrel, Tristan took to playing a lot of Quidditch to pass the time. If anything could put him in a happy place, it was Quidditch. The greatest thing he’d he’d ever been introduced to was that sport. He didn’t know what he’d do with himself if he was born in a world without knowing what Quidditch was. How’d muggles live?!

When the day to leave for school came, Tristan waved his family off and let the carriage whisk him away. He’d been in a few enchanted carriages before, but this one just seemed better because of the destination. Arriving to see all the nervous faces made him feel even better, since he looked like the picture of confidence among them. It wasn’t until he was told he had to drink in front of the entire school did he feel a nervous itch. To ease his frayed nerves, he turned his back to the crowd and (wishing he didn’t look as stupid as he thought he did) took a quick sip. He saw his brown skin and darted to the Pecari table before anyone could see if he belonged there for themselves. He felt better when the Headmistress gave her speech and the attention was mostly on her, even if it was a total snooze-fest like all speeches seemed to be.

He started to eat, already thinking about Quidditch again. Now that he didn’t have to get all excited over school, he could solely focus on his favorite wizard sport like he normally did. When did try-outs start? Could first years try-out? How good was his team? What brooms did they have? Y’know, important stuff like that.

In the middle of these thoughts, he heard a conversation start between two guys across from him. Wanting very much to make some new friends, he watched them talk a bit, hoping to get a good feel from them before cutting in.

The guy with the reddish-brown hair looked dead tired. Or he had a drug addiction – why else would all the veins in his eyes be popped like that? And those bags under his eyes and the wrinkled robes didn’t make him look any more alert. He probably wouldn’t do well in a Quidditch game without a few hours of sleep, that’s for sure.

The other kid seemed way more normal. He was a bit heavy set, but would make a great beater if Tristan had to go off of body type alone. He seemed fierce. Well, that is if he wore a mask, since his eyes looked anything but threatening.

“Hey, you two,” Tristan said, pointing a fork to them, “we’re all gonna be roomies, right? At least, I think you guys were up there when we did the whole color-changing-skin-shindig.” Not patient enough to hold out for an answer, he continued. “Well then, it’s best I introduce myself, too. Name’s Tristan Volkmann, but it’s cool if you call me Trist since most people back home do.” He narrowed his eyes at them, studying them carefully as he asked, “Now, more importantly, do either of you play Quidditch?”

0 Tristan Volkmann Hope Not 0 Tristan Volkmann 0 5

Dorian

April 02, 2010 7:21 PM

I highly doubt it will be. by Dorian

Dorian smiled at the boy next to him and across from him. At least they were nice so far! “Neal and Tristan.” He said with a smile remembering their names. “From what my brother said at Drumstrang they roomed with guys in the same year, so I’m pretty sure it’s the same way here.” He said with a nod. At the mention of his brother, he glanced towards him at the Crotalus Table where Dmitry was talking with a girl. He seemed to be fitting in good, which was surprising as he had basically pouted the whole summer after the move from English Manor to an American Mansion.

At the mention of Quidditch Dorian smiled and nodded. “My brother has me train with him during the summer, I usually play Chaser since well he’s a beater.” He laughed. He wanted to try out for Qudditch but he was sure Dmitry would tease him about it if he didn’t make the team. Well he didn’t have to tell the older Talsky unless he made the team. “Do you?” He asked looking at Neal and Tristan. He said to call him Trist but Dorian wasn’t used to calling anyone anything other then Mr. So-and-so or Miss. So-and-so.

OCC – To make things easier lets keep posting Neal – Tristan – Me

0 Dorian I highly doubt it will be. 0 Dorian 0 5

Dmitry

April 02, 2010 7:33 PM

I hope so. by Dmitry

The girl said Durmstrang like it was a horrible school and Dmitry narrowed his eyes at it. People always assumed it was all Dark Magic and such. Yes they had studied in dept the Dark Magics but they were more prepared to face a Dark Wizard then this sissys here. “It is a highly respectable school Miss. Abbott.” He said with a frown. “But yes it was interesting, a good school, and good Professors.” He missed his Head of House already and really was getting a dislike for Sonora. Though the girl talked very highly of it. Hopefully he could find a Professor he enjoyed classes with.

“I was actually wondering about the Professors. At Drumstrang we had Professors who were very strict, the no nonsense type of thing.” He said with a nod. “My father said that the ones here might not be as strict.” He said softly. It was one of the few times his father had spoken to him about.

Father paid more attention to that brat Dorian then his heir anymore. He held back a sigh and forced another smile. “So are any of them strict?” He asked again hoping she didn’t ask about his Father. He hated speaking about the elder Talsky.

0 Dmitry I hope so. 0 Dmitry 0 5

Hannah

April 02, 2010 7:50 PM

Wasn't quite my choice of timing. by Hannah

Hannah jumped a bit at the sound of the voice suddenly next to her. Without thinking about it, she flipped over the letter she had been reading. Why had she done that? It wasn’t as though she were trying to hide it or was she? Was she actually considering taking what was said in the letter seriously? Maybe and that made her feel guilty. Her eyes shifted up to Oliver, but not quite meeting his. “Oh, hey. Um, so how was…” she almost said summer and stopped. She didn’t want him to ask about hers. More guilt. “So, the spaghetti is kind of gross.”

It wasn’t really, but she didn’t know what else to say. She couldn’t very well go into an account of her summer. Every free moment had been spent with Jamie. Nothing had happened except of course the feeling of waking up in the morning and not being able to wait to see him, the tingling of butterflies in her stomach when she did, and the familiarity they seemed to slip into whenever they were together. There were several times that she had to remind herself that she had a boyfriend, but if she admitted it to herself, things between her and Oliver weren’t right. They never really had been.

She had been quick to say yes when he had asked her to be his girlfriend. She had liked him a lot then, but what had she based it on? They hadn’t really known each other then and now, well frankly, it was obvious they had no chemistry. That much became obvious at the dance last year when she had been paying more attention to Matt Santoro than when Oliver was dancing with Lutece. But there was absolutely no way she could break up with him. That would be absolutely cruel of her to do in their last year. The relationship would only be to the end of the year. Then, they wouldn’t have to deal with seeing each other everyday and any lingering feelings. Easy as pie.

0 Hannah Wasn't quite my choice of timing. 0 Hannah 0 5

Neal Padrig

April 02, 2010 8:31 PM

Three's Company by Neal Padrig

They were, Neal decided as he looked between the pair, curious company to keep. Not that Neal minded – he was a fan for things that were curious, people or otherwise.

As satisfied as he was to notice the Welsh-English issue didn’t even seem to spark any recognition in Dorian’s face, he quickly got over that when he had learned that Dorian had strings to Durmstrang through his older brother. Neal looked at the Crotalus table, noticing someone who shared some similar features to Dorian. The eyes, though, were different; his didn’t seem near as bright as his new roommates. Maybe that was because of his school? Even a half-blood like Neal heard what type of magic was taught at that place. He suddenly wanted to talk to the older Talsky and get to know more; there was a lot about that place shrouded in mystery that he wanted to peak into.

Then there was the Tristan. Tristan – or ‘Trist’ as he advertised – seemed like a different breed of pureblood, assuming Dorian was one too. While Dorian was all smiles and kinds words, this guy seemed full of himself and bossy, which was more or less how most purebloods Neal had ever met were. Still, he was making an attempt to play nice, so Neal decided to join in and see where it led. Answering Dorian’s question, Neal responded, “I played a little here and there, not too much. I figured I’d go to tryouts and see if I can even still stay on a broom for long. I lived with muggles most my life, so not much Quidditch beyond my dad taking me to see some games.”

OOC - No problem! It’s cool with me.

0 Neal Padrig Three's Company 0 Neal Padrig 0 5

Tristan Volkmann

April 02, 2010 9:22 PM

<i>Shocker</i> by Tristan Volkmann

“Dude, no way! I love playing Chaser!” Tristan said when kid-with-English-twang (he’d never been too good with names) said his position. If Tristan was being honest, he’d say that he definitely thought the kid would make a wicked awesome Beater if given the chance. To make the information sweeter, his brother went to Durmstrang, which is as famous for its Quidditch skills as it is for its dabbling in the Dark Arts. This kid had to know some mind-blowing tricks – Tristan only hoped his brother-in-another-House forgot them all, or just didn’t play Quidditch here at all.

He looked over at the kid with bloodshot eyes and wasn’t shocked to hear he wasn’t much of a Quidditch player. He appeared to be a fan though, which was one place to start. He liked fans as he liked good competition. Maybe him and the other guy could whip him into shape or something.

“Hm, yeah, that bites,” Tristan said after Neal told them about his experience (or lack there-of). “Anyways, I liked playing everything on the field, but like I said, Chasing is my thing.” He thought about what he said and shook his head. “Wait, no, rewind, I meant Quidditch is my thing. You’ll see enough proof of this when we get to get our stuff out and set up home in the dorms, I s’pose.” He remembered advice from his older cousin, advising him to not go all Quidditch-fanatic at school. With a sigh, he tried to follow the words of wisdom to not come on as crazy as the bloodshot-eyes-guy looked. “And what do you two like to do? Y’know, for fun and what-not?”

0 Tristan Volkmann <i>Shocker</i> 0 Tristan Volkmann 0 5

Dmitri

April 02, 2010 9:22 PM

Suppose we'll learn as we go. by Dmitri

Muggleborn? The idea that anyone else could be muggleborn hadn’t really occurred to him. Oh, it wasn’t the fact that they were muggleborn made them harmful, but they might mention him to others away from the school. They could be people that knew of and didn’t like his father. Politics could be quite scary and growing up with them had made him rather cautious of what he mentioned, but it was really too late to give some other name than the one he had given. The good news, however, was Brian hadn’t made mention of Dmitri’s father. Though, it wasn’t like most eleven year olds knew politics, so maybe it was safe to answer the next question truthfully. “Muggleborn.”

Relieved over the lies he told himself, Dmitri took the opportunity to brush back a stray piece of brown hair out of his eyes to look around. His hair always annoyed him, because it was never neat. It curled on the ends so it left him with little choice, but to leave it somewhat shaggy in the front. If he cut it, his hair would curl to the point he looked like a girl, but if he cut it so there was no curl he looked ridiculous like he was balding. With his hair out of his eyes, he was better able to really take in the room properly. He gave a low whistle to what he hadn’t seen before. “It is really rather magnificent with the magic.”

That’s what really took him in. The magic. He was used to large, brilliantly decorated rooms, but it was nothing compared to what magic could accomplish. It was like walking into some storybook and to some degree that’s exactly what it was. “Do you think this means that everything else in books and movies could be real?” He nervously poked his tomato around on his plate thinking of some of the movies he had seen. “I have to admit that the idea of some creatures existing is quite hard to believe and a little worrisome.”

0 Dmitri Suppose we'll learn as we go. 0 Dmitri 0 5

Dorian

April 02, 2010 10:04 PM

Fun by Dorian

Dorian frowned when Neal said he lived with muggles most of his life. All he had ever heard about muggles were that they were worthless and good for nothing. Yet he was intrigued by Neal having lived with them. He would have to pick his brain at some point during the year; it just seemed that right now was not the time with Tristan the cocky Quidditch player around. It was not that he did not like him he just seemed a lot like Dmitry and Dorian and he had never really gotten along. And yet it seemed like Tristan wasn’t going to shut up any time soon.

When he finally did stop talking Dorian was surprised that he asked what they liked to do for fun. “Well I like to play Quidditch I guess, and I also like to read.” He was not sure what he really liked to do. Mama had always kept him doing lessons. He sighed and looked down at his food feeling a bit dorky at the moment. He hated feeling dorky Dmitry always made him feel that way. “What about you Neal?” He asked trying to get the attention off his lame answer.

0 Dorian Fun 0 Dorian 0 5

Neal Padrig

April 02, 2010 10:38 PM

Something About Hobbies by Neal Padrig

Questions about what people’s hobbies are had always seemed vague. Neal liked a lot of things, and to find a few favorites on the spot he felt wouldn’t really give much out about his character. He couldn’t be too frustrated with the question since it was a common relationship-building one. Dorian saved him some time to think up answers by speaking first. But for the life of him, Neal couldn’t understand why Dorian looked ashamed. What was there to be ashamed about Quidditch and reading? Even if most reading wasn’t the most exciting hobby in the world (not that Neal didn’t read a lot himself) at least he had the Quidditch thing going for him. If anything that seemed to be a key for friend-making success as Tristan unknowingly proved.

Once Dorian personally addressed him, Neal just shrugged his shoulders and tried to list a few things he liked. “Drawing,” he said slowly, thinking over his answer as he said it. With more resolve in his answer, he continued, “I like art. Riddles are neat, too, but it’s hard to find people to mess around with those besides me and some of my cousins, so I usually reserve them for family reunions. And, well, I like anything even semi-interesting since I tend to get bored easy. It’s a curse.”

With a slight nod to himself for what he deemed a good answer, he took another bit of his food and pointed at his plate. Being as lanky as he was, he got a mental image of him eating more here than at home and leaving the semester looking less like a stick figure. “And eating at this place is probably going to be a new favorite of mine, too.”

0 Neal Padrig Something About Hobbies 0 Neal Padrig 0 5

Tristan Volkmann

April 02, 2010 10:59 PM

You Call Those Hobbies? by Tristan Volkmann

Reading? Art? Riddles?! Oh, dear Merlin, how were these two still alive? Where was the rush in any of those things? How could they do those things for fun? Tristan ran a hand over his thin dark afro to keep himself from shaking his head in pity. Those two just did not get out enough. He must have been put in this house for the sole purpose of showing these guys how to live it up. Wait, how did these two get into this house, anyways? Aren’t Pecari’s supposed to be daring and adventurous? Maybe the potion they got was defective or something. It would explain a lot.

Or maybe they’re not as boring as they’re letting on. It was the first day after all, and first impressions weren’t always spot on. Maybe he just had to give them time to become the bold and thrilling people they were meant to be. Or something to that effect. He hoped they were secretly like that at any rate, or this would mean less time in the dorms. Not that less dorm time would be that miserable, since it’d probably mean more time on the pitch. Definitely something Tristan could live with.

“That’s… great,” Tristan said. “Yeah, really great. I guess. I mean, I don’t read much or anything. I think the last book I read was in… um, third grade? Yeah, something like that. And art’s never been my thing. Don’t have patience for that at all, and don’t get it much either. And riddles… no comment.” In an attempt to stay friendly and not scar any shot of having friends in his House, he added, “But that’s cool if you guys are into that. You like what you like, I get it.” He cleared his throat, desperately searching his brain for some sort of way to fix this conversation before it ended with his only friend today being his broomstick. He looked at Dorian and tried to give a compliment, another thing his cousin told him to do with would-be friends. “Uh,” he struggled to think of something nice but not creepy to say, “… nice food on your plate.” He really could’ve hit himself for that one. Apparently, when it came to making new friends, he was more than a little rusty.

0 Tristan Volkmann You Call Those Hobbies? 0 Tristan Volkmann 0 5

Veronica Kerrigan

April 02, 2010 11:16 PM

No escape (Tag: Rachel Bauer) by Veronica Kerrigan

Veronica wished that she could say that she was relieved to be back at Sonora. She really wished she could, but the problem was that the issue at home just followed her to school and what was worse was in her House. She glared murderously at Juri Dahlgren, her new stepbrother, as she took a seat at the table. Honestly, what had her father been thinking by marrying that woman? And so soon? She wasn’t even a muggleborn. She was a muggle. Their family reputation was absolutely ruined. How was she ever going to find a respectable pureblood when her father was mingling with commoners?

If that wasn’t enough to deal with, they had moved into Veronica’s home. His mother was sleeping where her mother should have been. Then, there was the unnecessary space that Juri, himself, took up. His room was always a mess in her orderly home. Every time she entered a room, he was there. He hogged the bathroom. There was absolutely no room in that house and soon there would be even less. A baby was on the way and her father was absolutely thrilled about it. No wonder there had been a rushed wedding and now there was no way her mother would ever be able to return. And it was all his fault. Him and his mother.
She sent another angry glance in his direction before turning her attention to the feast.

It was strange to think that last year she had been among those being sorted and this year she was the one watching the sorting. She wondered if any of the respectable pureblood females would end up in Aladren. When she had been, she had found it to be the most horrific thing in the world. After all, how was any respectable pureblood male supposed to find her endearing and charming when she was part of the nerd herd? But since then, she was beginning to find that perhaps the old ways were not always best when it came to snagging someone and that maybe her intelligence could actually be used as a positive attribute.

Though, how Juri had ended up in this House, she had no idea. With a sigh, she put her hands up in the air and got up. There was no way she could sit here with that thing at the table. Instead, she made her way over to the Crotalus table looking for her best friend, Rachel. Spotting the girl, she sat down next to her. “So, how was your summer? Mine was absolutely dreadful!” She was about to go on when she noticed someone new at the table since she had never seen him around before. Unfortunately, Charlotte Abbott was talking to him, but one never knew. “Who’s that?”

0 Veronica Kerrigan No escape (Tag: Rachel Bauer) 151 Veronica Kerrigan 0 5

Brian Moore

April 02, 2010 11:41 PM

I Hope I Remember What I Learn Then by Brian Moore

If Brian had been more observant than he actually was, he might have noticed how much tension there seemed to be in the boy next to him when he told him he was a muggleborn. Since Brian wasn’t all that observant, he didn’t notice Dmitri skip a beat when he told him so. This made him feel content with himself to have another person from a non-magic family here and in the same house even. Not that he’d want to say it aloud, but it comforting to know it was all so new and slightly overwhelming to something other than himself. It made him feel a hope that he could fit in here fine, even if he didn’t know the first thing about this place beyond what he remembered seeing in some of the books he paged through.

A whistle jostled him out of his thoughts. “It is really rather magnificent with the magic.”

Brian couldn’t agree more. “Definitely. You’d never see anything like this anywhere but in a place like this,” he said in response.

Then Dmitri continued his train of thoughts, playing with his food a bit as he asked, “Do you think this means that everything else in books and movies could be real? I have to admit that the idea of some creatures existing is quite hard to believe and a little worrisome.”

Brian had been awed by the insight. He felt stupid for not even considering the fact that other ‘myths’ would actually exist. Things like zombies and vampires and hippogriffs and unicorns and dragons. Maybe even places like Alice’s Wonderland were real then as well. “I guess they might be, at least some of them. It’s kind of neat in a way since I think seeing a dragon would be pretty awesome, but I get where you’re coming from. Something like a banshee doesn’t seem like fun to run into. But you have to take the good with the bad, right? There’ll be cool things and not-so cool things so in that in the end everything evens out, right?” He smiled and said, “Plus, if we work real hard, I’m sure we’ll be good wizards and we’ll know enough spells to not have to worry about some random werewolf attack or a Yeti sighting.”

0 Brian Moore I Hope I Remember What I Learn Then 0 Brian Moore 0 5

Rachel Bauer

April 03, 2010 2:40 AM

Looks like we're still a perfect match. by Rachel Bauer

Rachel's summer hadn't been so bad at first. Her mother and stepfather had been every bit as thrilled over her catching the attention of the Smythes as she'd expected, and she had been able to exploit that for a while and spend most of her time practicing gymnastics. There was, she knew, no way her mother had actually bought her story about how doing so was strictly to make herself more graceful for real balls after she turned fourteen, but her accomplishment had been enough that her competitive instincts had seemed less unacceptable than usual.

Then, though, her mother and stepfather had decided on an overseas trip and, through intention or oversight, hadn't planned around the time Rachel and her sisters were meant to spend with their father. Momma had backed down when it came up, but Jeremy had decided to bluntly state how very superior to Jake Bauer he was and had gotten knocked down for his trouble. Then Jeremy had been absolutely awful to Kate, and Rachel's awe for her mother's ability to play a role had shot through the roof when no one had spent some quality time with Magical Law Enforcement by the time the situation was more or less resolved.

Of course, it had also made other thoughts about Momma come up, too. She hadn't agreed when Jeremy said that Rachel had been a hopeless case before his mother got hold of her, but she hadn't disagreed, either. Combined with how excited she had been about that ridiculous excuse for a date and a sort of compulsion Momma had to show off for Granddad, and...She knew it was stupid, but Rachel found herself wondering time after time if her mother actually noticed her, or if it was just a matter of accomplishments that furthered some bigger goal.

Though the thought appealed to her as little as ever, she decided to do the professors the favor of sitting at what they considered her proper table for the night. She fully intended to reclaim her rightful chair over at Aladren in the morning, but she had to prove she could sit at Crotalus sometime, and now was as good a time as any. How pleased Momma would be to hear about it, which Rachel was sure she would; though she'd approved of Rachel trying to overcome her only-girl-in-House status and make ties, she had also been concerned about how Rachel wasn't using the resources Crotalus alone was apparently able to provide.

The opening speech was not particularly inspirational, and Rachel gave it less than half her attention. It was, she'd decided, more important to make sure Raines Bradley wasn't having a field day with her seating arrangements, so she'd be able to hex him into oblivion if he was. The twit was a lot of the reason she wouldn't have really joined Crotalus now that Helena was gone even if she hadn't had friends in Aladren.

Veronica's arrival was enough to make her smile, at least until the part about how her friend's summer had been less than satisfactory, too. "I have no idea who that is, but I guess he's now part of Charlotte's harem," she said, deciding to tackle the rapidly-delivered points in reverse order. It was funny how some Crotalus girls seemed to pick up male attention like they were picking up their actual mail; Marissa Stephenson had a little group of her own, too. Rachel had felt like she was borrowing the other girl's shoes or something when she was at the ball with Jethro. Maybe it had something to do with being dim, or having Chronic Niceness Disorder. "And I'm sorry that your summer was dreadful. Mine was, too. What made yours bad?"

16 Rachel Bauer Looks like we're still a perfect match. 154 Rachel Bauer 0 5

Sarah Logan

April 03, 2010 7:10 AM

New to Teppenpaw by Sarah Logan

Sarah walked in a daze of amazement as she was led into the Cascade Hall and left amoungst the other first years by the door. It was impossible not for her to be impressed by the dazzling array of waterfalls and the grand crystal chandeliers.
She actually shifted uncomfortably though, she wasn't used to being in nice places. All the foster homes she'd been in were pretty grubby if she was honest, and all the schools were in rough areas. She felt so out of place here, which was a new feeling for the proud girl.
She had never been more shocked in her life to discover she was a witch, seriously her a witch?! And magic being real, the concept was new to her as she was always the sceptic.
She was looking forward to learning magic though, her life had finally taken an interesting turn. Distantly she hoped her rat was okay, Rocco was the first pet she'd ever had and was quite fond of the ugly creature. That's why she'd got him, he was so hideous and fiesty he was cheaper than the rest. Not that that bothered her, she was amazed she had a pet at all.
She turned her attention back to reality as she was handed a bubbling goblet of something. Shrugging she downed the odd liquid and watched as her pale skin turned yellow...?
"Fascinating," she mused out loud as she went to sit at the appropriate table, Teppenpaw. Whatever that meant.
She listened attentively to the Headmistress' speech but was relieved when she shut up so they could finally eat. Sarah was hungry after the bumpy wagon ride. Ravenously she dug into her food and decided she should probably introduce herself to these others, she turned to a random person beside her.
"Name's Sarah Logan, you?"

0 Sarah Logan New to Teppenpaw 0 Sarah Logan 0 5

Nic

April 03, 2010 9:44 AM

I've only watched it for the commercials by Nic

The girl across from him also had a goodly pile of food on her plate and he smiled as he passed her the serving spoon for the yorkshire pudding. Cosette, he learned her name was a moment later. Maybe, just maybe, 'Nicodemus' wasn't going to sound as strange in a magic school as it did in a normal muggle school. He still didn't like it.

"Good to meet you too," he returned, because that was the polite thing to say, but he wasn't quite sure where to go from there. They'd exchanged names and appreciation for the feast. What was he supposed to say now? Conversation had never been something he was terribly good at. Could they just eat in companionable silence or was it still too early for that?

He supposed it wouldn't kill him to ask after her background or something. See how much they had in common besides their new House designation. "So is magic new for you? My dad's a wizard." At least here he could say that, instead of trying to explain his father to the muggles he used to go to school with.

1 Nic I've only watched it for the commercials 165 Nic 0 5

Cosette Miller

April 03, 2010 10:36 AM

What Good Commercials They Are by Cosette Miller

With her plate well overfilled, Cosette decided it was alright to actually start to eat. She was thrilled to learn firsthand that the food tasted as good as it looked and smelled. For the first time all night she didn’t feel compelled to sleep through something. She was already a quarter of the way through her plate when he spoke up again and told her it was good to meet her, too. With a nod and a smile, she went back to her food. While she recognized the fact that it’d be in her best interest to try and engage in a conversation, she didn’t really know what to say. Besides, she was happy to just be eating herself into heart attacks with food this wonderful, and she assumed Nic felt the same. It wasn’t like the silence was awkward, either. Unless the obnoxious sounds of people around them who couldn’t chew with their mouth closed was awkward to anyone. It was when she was halfway through her serving that Nic proved her wrong and spoke up once more.

"So is magic new for you? My dad's a wizard."

She felt envious over the fact he was a half-blood, though she’d been more jealous if he’d been a muggleborn. Growing up with magic in a muggle community made her always feel like magic was something to be made a secret out of, and she still didn’t quite overcome that guilty feeling she had being what she was. She sort of wished she’d been a squib sometimes, but nothing she could do about those matter now. Not to mention that having her two psychotic parents made her question if her background was something to talk about her dinner. Still, he seemed genuinely nice and apparently wanted to talk, so she took a quick sip of pumpkin juice and answered Nic. “My dad was a muggleborn and my mom was a pureblood, so I’ve been introduced to a lot of magic growing up. But since we lived in a muggle neighborhood, the most magic I ever saw was inside our house when the curtains were down.” There, that was a sufficient answer. She wanted to know about his background too, she realized. So she asked him, “Did you get to grow up with magic, or did you only find out recently that your dad was a wizard?”

0 Cosette Miller What Good Commercials They Are 0 Cosette Miller 0 5

Adelita Garcia

April 03, 2010 10:54 AM

A new term, a new look, a new start. by Adelita Garcia

Adelita walked into the hall with her sister trailing slightly behind her. Her summer had been phenomenal. She had been able to spend most of the summer in San Francisco to work on her recital with Carlos. It had been extremely difficult work for since this was her first partner routine, but being around Carlos had made it rather worth it. He had even invited her to hang out with him and his friends a few days during the summer. Those experiences made Lita think twice about boys though. Maybe it was because they were older, but teenage boys were… well, they had dirty mouths and dirty minds. By the time the dance recital had completed, Lita was more than happy to say farewell to Carlos until the holidays when she would have to compete for a decent spot in the next summer recital.

Aside from her new understanding for the male population, Adelita had physical changes as well. Her once long straight dark brown hair now was full of choppy layers that gave it a sort of wavy look to it. She was still short, under 5 feet, but now that she was fourteen, Adelita felt she actually started to look like a teenager and that confidence had her walking taller.

She had wanted to talk to Charlie about her summer and how great the dance recital had turned out. Honestly, if Carlos hadn’t been so awful with his friends, Lita may have found herself behaving like her best friend, but since Carlos proved to be a pig, Lita was quite happy with herself for not falling blinding into something she would have greatly regretted. And, considering Charlie was her only friend who seemed to have any experience at all, Lita was curious to know her opinion.

But, upon arriving to the Crotalus table and having said farewell to her sister, Lita discovered that Charlie was currently in the company of a guy. Lita didn’t recognize him at all and he looked older, so it was quite possible that he was new. Lita merely rolled her eyes because that was a Charlie thing to do. A new boy. A new challenge. Lita wondered how the other boys in their year would take to Charlie paying attention to a whole new competition.

Letting Charlie be Charlie, Lita decided to give her best friend space and instead took space at the table where she wouldn’t have to be a third wheel. She listened as the Headmistress introduced the new professors (there were always a handful each year it seemed) and gave the badges to the newly elected Head Boy and Girl and then set them all off to eat. A small crease appeared on Lita’s forehead. Leaning towards the person nearest her, Lita asked, “What happened with the Prefect elections?”

6 Adelita Garcia A new term, a new look, a new start. 136 Adelita Garcia 0 5

Demelza Eagle

April 03, 2010 11:15 AM

Starting tradition (tag: Jude and Delilah) by Demelza Eagle

Despite the rest of her family, Demelza was rather chipper the morning she was due to return to Sonora. By that time she had gotten over the whole Paul-nearly-getting-slaughtered-by-his-mom's-murderer business. But everyone else, especially Paul (which she could sort of understand, considering his jaw wasn't totally fixed yet) and Kat. But Demelza's little sister was a wimp anyway. But the Eagle family seemed a bit scared, and Demelza didn't really understand it: Uncle Ethan blew the dude into obliteration, so now everything was fixed, right? Well, the rest of her family didn't think so.

True, she had to admit, actually seeing it happen was freakin' scary. She had actually screamed when she saw the beaters bat make contact with Paul's jaw, and thought for a moment that she was next, but Uncle Ethan came. Nothing seriously bad happened, so why all the fuss? Demelza was way past the past. She was ready for a rocking new school year!

The summer, besides the last few days, had been a particularly good one: she got a close friendship with her cousin Paul (again) and even got to meet his girlfriend from his school, whom she had to admit, was pretty cool and good for Paul. And then Jamie came home for much of the summer, and she got to pester him with questions about what an assistant captain does, and he even brought her to a few national Quidditch games! Although, despite all this, she was more than ready to go back to the family-secludedness of Sonora, where she could do whatever she wanted without being teased by her brothers. Plus, she would get to see her friends again!

As the ride on the wagons ended, Demelza got off and entered the school. She took a seat at her house table: Pecari. Last year she was one of the scared little firsties (wait, Demelza wasn't scared...), but not anymore!

She watched the new first years get sorted, and thought happily that some of them might try out for Quidditch, which she was now the assistant captain of Pecari's team. It was quite an accomplishment for her. It made her really pleased with herself: for one thing, she wasn't very good at the smarts section, but she was very athletic. Quidditch was like her new passion. Of course, she also enjoyed singing and writing music but she was in love with Quidditch right now.

She then listened to the rest of a very boring speech from the Headmistress, not really listening and more concerned on the food, yet to come. When it was over she dove into a peice of chicken, smirking. she always got the chicken at home because Kat was a vegan. She enjoyed taunting Kat about it.

Then she realized that she should probably talk to someone to make her night more enjoyable. She wanted to talk to her friends, so when she spotted Jude and Delilah, she sat down right next to them. If she remembered correctly, they were the same people she sat with last year. She was starting a start-of-term tradition!

"Hey guys," she said to them brightly. She gave them a wide grin as she tried to spike up a conversation. "You still got the shoes, Delilah? And you still... don't got the shoes, Jude?" She asked, laughing lightly to herself. Her friends were crazy with their shoes, she supposed. It was rocking!

0 Demelza Eagle Starting tradition (tag: Jude and Delilah) 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Veronica

April 03, 2010 11:29 AM

Was there ever any doubt? by Veronica

“That girl is so annoying,” Veronica stated angrily tearing up a poor, defenseless napkin. It wasn’t that she really knew Charlotte, but that she knew of Charlotte. Not being up to date with names, she didn’t know if the girl was pureblood or not, but either way, she certainly took all the boys and left none for no one else in the school. It was an exaggeration, sort of, but with the female to male ratio it was close enough to the truth for Veronica to cause her to dislike the girl. And if the entire school wasn’t enough for Charlotte, they had to bring in a transfer for her to recruit. She really was bitter today.

The saying was that misery loved company, but as miserable as she was, Veronica really didn’t like hearing that Rachel’s summer had been awful as well. “I’m sorry that your summer was dreadful. I would have invited you to stay at my house except that’s a little crowded nowadays. My father got married.” Now here was the question. Did she reveal exactly whom her father had married and the shame that was now to haunt her family? Did she trust Rachel that much? “Okay, please don’t tell anyone, but he married Juri Dahlgren’s mom and what’s worse is they’re having a baby.”

So there it was. Her awful shame exposed. Her father had married a muggle and what was worse she had a son that went to this school, someone who might reveal it to everyone so that she would become a laughing stock and no pureblood boy would ever marry her. Really, how was she supposed to hide this terrible secret? Though, at least, for better or worse, she would know for certain if she could trust Rachel where it mattered most. Oh, sure, she had told her best friend other secrets, but this was super major. This was a change her entire life secret.

0 Veronica Was there ever any doubt? 0 Veronica 0 5

Jude Normandy

April 03, 2010 11:36 AM

I like the sound of that by Jude Normandy

Even though Jude had sort of planned on asking his parents if some of his friends could come over during the summer break, the now-second-year hadn’t gotten around to it. His summer had been particularly busy. They had visited his grandmother in Oklahoma for a few weeks, and then his dad had a gallery show to set up, and then something had happened with his mom’s work, and then all of a sudden he was packing up to be picked up by the Sonora wagon. Never had Jude Normandy experienced a summer that went by quite that quickly—but then again, he’d never had a school to go back to before either. All of his life, before Sonora, Jude had been homeschooled. His parents didn’t think the California school systems did much in the way of teaching well, so they had just taught him at home. He had taken some online classes at the local community college too, but nothing too intense.

Anyway, he was back at Sonora now, although he had been lulled to sleep by the movements of the wagon and hadn’t been very social because of that. Someone had woken him up when they got to the school, at which point the second year had slipped on the majorly hand-me-down shoes that he had swapped Jose for last year (and had removed during the ride) and jumped off the wagon to head into the Cascade Hall. The Pecari was friends with everyone in his year, really, and not seeing Jose he decided to sit next to Delilah. He just didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her before Headmistress Powell started her speech.

The Care of Magical Creatures professor was to be the new Deputy Head, which Jude thought was cool, because he liked her. There were two new professors, and there were two new Head Students, although Jude didn’t know either one. He clapped and cheered anyway. They should be proud of themselves for that sort of accomplishment!

He got out a ‘hey’ and a ‘how was your summer’ to Delilah before Mel came spinning over, as hyperactive as ever. Jude moved aside, scooting towards Delilah to make room for their crazy friend who started talking a mile a minute. But that was just typical Mel, really, and Jude was used to it.

“Chill, girl!” he laughed as he tilted his head towards the empty seat on his right, inviting her wordlessly to sit. “No shoes here. How was your summer?” the brown-haired boy asked, curious. He had no idea what someone as crazy as Mel would do during the summer; his had probably been really sedate in comparison.

0 Jude Normandy I like the sound of that 0 Jude Normandy 0 5

Tobar Brishen

April 03, 2010 11:50 AM

Welcome! by Tobar Brishen

Tobar exited the wagons with a hop and a skip. He was excited to be back at Sonora but he would also miss his caravan. Though he couldn’t wait to get away from them since Midsummer and the whole Nadi Roth incident. He was twelve how could he be engaged? He shook his head and headed off towards the Teppenpaw table. He was trying to avoid the first year as much as possible this term.

His black hair was once again braided with beads, he loved expressing his gypsy side the only way he really could while being in the uniform robes. This was the one thing he hated about being in Sonora, the robes. Couldn’t they just let them wear whatever they wanted? He listened to the Headmistress’ speech and was happy to see that his favorite Professor had been promoted. He had just began to fill his plate when the first year next to him spoke. "Name's Sarah Logan, you?"

He smiled at her and said. “Tobar, Tobar Brishen.” He said with a grin. “Welcome to Teppenpaw!” He said with a grin. He knew that most students at Sonora were girls he just hoped that if there were any boys in the new year that there were at least two. He himself roomed with the older Teppenpaw boys but it didn’t seem odd to him at all.

0 Tobar Brishen Welcome! 152 Tobar Brishen 0 5

Aaron

April 03, 2010 12:00 PM

I'd rather not look by Aaron

“They were astonishingly well-behaved last year,” Aaron responded wryly. “I think they’re lulling me into a false sense of security before they strike.” And it was true—the Pecari had been, last year, more-or-less well behaved. Elly had pulled one of her characteristic pranks at the end of the school year, but that was to be expected and Aaron wasn’t about to spoil her fun. He was fond of the redhead, and she deserved to have her final prank executed. “Good luck with the Crotali though,” the man responded with an ‘I’m-glad-it’s-not-me’ sort of grin at his colleague.

Things were quite different this time around at Sonora. Aaron was not, by nature, a particularly social person and he tended to eschew social events, such as the feast, or regular meal-times. However, he had somehow found himself on good and social terms with several staff members after last term. He hadn’t made much of a comment on his personal life with them (aside from Sadi, of course), but he still got along fairly well with all of them, and was borderline friendly with some. Idly playing with his wedding ring, Aaron wondered how Garen would respond to that piece of information.

Once again, he found himself distracted by the Aladren table. To his great relief, he saw that Jera was talking to Cooper. Or trying to, at any rate—Aaron would be the first to admit that the boy was not the easiest to talk to, and was considerably less loquacious than his younger sister. He seemed to get along fairly well with Jessie though, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise the Jera would approach him now that he had been Sorted into Aladren. Once again, the Charms professor thanked the gods that Cooper had not been Sorted into Pecari.

“Sorry,” he said apologetically to Amy. Now that he was sure that Cooper was more-or-less settled, the man helped himself to a pasta dish. “One of my—kids,” Aaron couldn’t really remember the last time, if ever, he had said that phrase, and he wasn’t sure it really applied here. Jessie and Cara had always seemed like some sort of vague extension of his family than his actual children, and now that Jessie had come to live with them she certainly was not acting like a child, “is a first year and I was a bit worried he would traumatise someone, but it looks like Jera’s adopted him for the time being,” thankfully. Aaron grinned sheepishly at Amy and took a bite of the pasta.

0 Aaron I'd rather not look 0 Aaron 0 5

Juri Dahlgren

April 03, 2010 12:13 PM

Does that apply to all? by Juri Dahlgren

Summer had been lame. His mother had gotten married, which probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise since she had been getting serious about the guy and it wasn’t as if Juri hadn’t gone through the entire stepparent thing before since his father was married to the Executioner. And maybe he could have lived with that, but they had moved in with the guy’s family, which was clear in North Carolina. Everything he knew and loved was back in Pittsburgh. Lame, just very lame. So, even if he had tried looking on the bright side, it was ruined by having to deal with the guy’s kids. Three girls. Okay, maybe two of them weren’t so bad, but the one was absolutely terrible. She was probably the shallowest person he had ever met and how she had gotten into Aladren was beyond him.

With relief, he watched her leave the table heading over to Crotalus. Good riddance to the I want to hurt you glances she had been giving him. Though, without meaning to, his eyes drifted down to another face at the table and his heart skipped a beat. She was more beautiful than she had been last year, but that really wasn’t much of a surprise. Getting up, he made his way over to where she was sitting. He wasn’t sure if she would actually talk to him or not. He had been kind of mean to her last year and he had never actually been exactly sure of why. Maybe it was because he had never admitted to himself the truth. He liked her. He liked her a lot, but what did that actually mean?

Juri sat down across from her answering the question for her neighbor in an attempt to start a conversation, “They got rid of the fifth year class cause of attendance or something. So, the fifth years that they had had to be moved into fourth or sixth year. I think they all went to sixth year though.” He only knew this from having overheard someone else’s conversation about it, but that didn’t mean he knew everything. His eyes narrowed looking at whom Charlotte was talking to. “Looks like Charlotte had new prey.” He didn’t dislike the girl, but he never understood why all the guys seemed to fall all over her. She seemed a bit of a flake to him.

“So, how was your summer?” Juri asked in an attempt to be nicer to her than he was last year. Whether or not it remained had yet to be seen. “I’m glad to be back.” He starred at her a little more intensely for a moment before covering up with, “You know cause my mom got married and we had to move and stuff. But the girls down there are way hotter than any back in Pittsburgh.” Open mouth. Insert foot. Why had he said that? Great. He had moved from being mean to whatever that was supposed to be. Was he never going to get this right?

0 Juri Dahlgren Does that apply to all? 127 Juri Dahlgren 0 5

Cooper

April 03, 2010 1:26 PM

If this is normal to you, you've got issues by Cooper

Okay, so the person who was bothering him was Jera, who Cooper knew because she had come to spend the night at one point because she was friends with Jessie. Jessie was Aaron’s bio-kid, which usually boded rather badly for any foster kids in the picture, but Cooper actually got along with Jessie. So by extension, Jera couldn’t be that bad, and he’d only sort of hated her when she came to spend the night anyway. There were a lot of people in the apartment a lot of the time, but none of them but Jessie were actually related to either of their new foster parents, so Cooper wasn’t sure about that either. But he decided not to hate Jera too much, because he ~~really liked~~ thought Jessie was okay.

“Whatever,” the first year scowled at Jera anyway. He thought that Houses were stupid, and he didn’t want to have to share a room with anyone who wasn’t his sister. Cooper hated sharing rooms with other people. He hadn’t ever had his own room, but sharing with Melody was different than sharing a room with random strangers he didn’t know and didn’t want to know.

“What’s the point of this stupid House stuff anyway?” Cooper asked. The brown-haired boy felt like he had a headache now, and he kind of wanted to rub his temples and take a nap, but that probably wasn’t a good idea at a feast like this. Hopefully he would get to go to the stupid room he had to share soon, and hopefully he didn’t have to share with too many people, and hopefully they would leave him alone so that he could sleep without being bothered. Apparently he had to go see the medic woman in the mornings to take his potion anyway, so he would have to wake up even earlier than he had to for classes. That was annoying.

0 Cooper If this is normal to you, you've got issues 0 Cooper 0 5

Colleen Ryan

April 03, 2010 2:59 PM

The Magical World Is Fun by Colleen Ryan

Colleen grinned when she found out she was in Teppenpaw. Undoubtedly her family would have mixed reactions but what would she do about that? She enjoyed being yellow too, yellow was a happy colour and it made Colleen smile.

Sitting at the table, after admittedly paying little attention to the speech, Colleen happily watched all the new people around her as they began their feast, and in the case of the newest students making awkward conversation.

Colleen ignored the food before her, choosing to watch the students in other houses, trying to recognise if there were any obvious differences between the houses. She wasn't having much luck, though she was admiring the hall they sat in.

Returning her attention to the table before her, Colleen listened in to the nearest conversation of people who didn't look too intimidating. From the last sentence spoken, Colleen could only assume they were muggleborns and completely new to the magical world. She smiled, slightly jealous at their respective innocence of magic.

"Even with magic, I'd still worry about a werewolf attack." She commented, not bothered if they ignored her. "But they are quite rare and I highly doubt you get Yeti's here. I've seen a dragon and Daddy has met a vampire but he didn't think it was that great." Colleen wrinkled her nose slightly, vampires held no attraction to her and she didn't like how much the muggle world had romanticised them.

"Hi, I'm Colleen Ryan, pureblood, half Irish and half Italian."

0 Colleen Ryan The Magical World Is Fun 0 Colleen Ryan 0 5

Oliver

April 03, 2010 6:28 PM

But it'll be over soon by Oliver

True, Oliver was distracted with his own thoughts and actions, but he couldn't help noticing that Hannah was acting a bit off, too. Was she talking about spaghetti? "Haven't tried it," Oliver replied, though he was almost talking to himself. He was thinking about the letter she'd just hid. He was sure it wasn't from him - the two of them had barely corresponded over the summer. That in itself was indication to Oliver that he was probably doing the right thing, here. He just had to get around to doing it. Maybe fast, like rippingn off a band aid.

"So..." he started, catching her eye for just a second and then looking away quickly because looking at her directly was distinctly uncomfrotable. Plus the silence was tretching out between them now. Just say something, Oliver instructed himself. He looked up again, the edge of his vision just catching the Crotalus table, and one person in particular. It seemed to somehow give him the focus he needed.

"Well, this is awkward," Oliver laughed nervously, but he felt strangely more relaxed than he had just seconds ago. "We, um, we're not - we're not working that well, are we?" he asked Hannah with a smile. It was a rhetorical question; the comment about spaghetti as a greeting had already given him his answer. "I was thinking maybe it was time to try just being friends." Unoriginal, perhaps, but effective. And hey, the anxiety had returned again while he waited for her response. He wasn't going to be able to eat a bite at this feast.

0 Oliver But it'll be over soon 0 Oliver 0 5

Charlie

April 03, 2010 6:39 PM

In fact, I think you're very lucky by Charlie

As little as she had spoken with Dmitry, Charlie had already gotten the impression that he wore his emotions right out on his sleeve. It was inspiring really, and a little endearing. She could tell he had anger at her reaction to his school, and there was something else - sadness, maybe? - when he talked about the professors begin strict. That gave Charlotte mixed messages - did he want the professor to be strict or not? She supposed she might as well be honest; he would find out for himself soon, anyway. "Some are more strict that others," Charlie said. Elaborating, she added, "Professor Fawcett, the potions master, is quite strict. Our Head of House, Coach Pierce - she's from the Boston Pierces - likes to stick to the rules," Charlotte said, trying to judge Dmitry's reaction to her words to make a better picture of his character.

"Others," Charlie shrugged, "don't mind so much about nonsense. Professor McKindy will late you hand in classwork late if you've got a decent excuse." Feeling a bit like she'd betrayed one of her favorite professors, Charlotte added, "Though he is an excellent teacher. Loads of sixth years carry learning charms."

"Obviously I don't know anything about the new professors," Charlotte said, beginning to eat. "I hope Professor Wolfe is a good teacher; transfiguration is my favorite subject." She left the topic open for Dmitry to add his own input if he desired.

0 Charlie In fact, I think you're very lucky 0 Charlie 0 5

Nadi Roth

April 03, 2010 7:42 PM

Seeing Red. [Crotalus] by Nadi Roth

Nadi Roth walked into Cascade Hall looking all about, she was suppose to talk to Tobar but she had yet to do so after that awkward Midsummer’s Eve bonfire. She sighed as she made her way to where the Headmistress was handing out goblets of potions. Nadi was afraid of the taste but oddly enough it was tasteless. She looked down at her skin and saw that she was turning red.

Crotalus? She wasn’t in the same house as Tobar? She found him in the crowd and frowned. Sure they weren’t family but he was the closest thing to it here. He was another gypsy after all and she had wanted to be in the same house as him! Was there any way to get put in another house after a sorting? She wondered as she joined the other Crotalus students heading towards the table.

She sat down and sighed trying not to break down in tears. She already missed home, and she needed to talk to Tobar! How could he be so inconsiderate and stay at the Teppenpaw table? As the Headmistress spoke Nadi was able to pull herself together, the next Gypsy Queen must never show emotion in public, especially around non-gypsies. She began to load up her plate with the freshest looking foods before passing them to the next person at the table. She smiled at them and said.

“Hello I am Nadi Roth.” She said hoping this was how normal wizarding folk introduced themselves, Tobar hadn’t told her how to introduce herself! He was a useless boy, how did they think he would make a good Gypsy King!

0 Nadi Roth Seeing Red. [Crotalus] 0 Nadi Roth 0 5

Kirstenna Melcher

April 03, 2010 8:19 PM

Mellow Yellow by Kirstenna Melcher

Even though her experiences with other magical people had mostly not been the greatest, Kirstenna was extremely excited to be attending Sonora. They couldn't all be like her grandparents. (Kirstenna hadn't spent much time with them but the few times she had, it hadn't been too pleasant. They treated her and her parents like dirt.)

But, then, her father wasn’t like that and her cousin Quentin wasn't like that. Quentin was funny and nice. Spotting the elder Melcher, Kirstenna caught his eye and waved. She had lots of other cousins here too, but Quentin was the one she knew, and she didn't even know him that well.

Besides, it was ridiculous to assume all of any group of people would be exactly the same. Her parents always taught her that she couldn’t judge someone simply by one factor. Judging someone by whether or not they had magic (or how much magic was in their background) was, well, pretty much exactly what her grandparents did. (Though, technically, it wasn’t just that her mom was a Muggle, it was also that Kirstenna’s mom was a circus performer, a trapeze artist, and according to her father, his family considered performers-even if they were purebloods-to be the absolute lowest in terms of respectability. The Melchers were intellectuals and did not approve of those who did things they considered frivolous.)

Of course, it was usually assumed that one would share characteristics with their housemates but still, even then, they couldn’t all be alike. There were so many more than four types of people in the world. Kirstenna took a goblet and drank the Sorting potion. Her skin turned bright yellow. She was to be in Teppenpaw. It wouldn’t help her out with her grandparents at all as they preferred Aladrens and Crotali but Kirstenna wasn’t sure she minded much. Any house was just as good as any other. They all had positive characteristics.

She sat down at the Teppenpaw table. Tonight Kirstenna would sit here and meet her housemates. She could always meet others later.

11 Kirstenna Melcher Mellow Yellow 161 Kirstenna Melcher 0 5

Autumn Collins

April 03, 2010 9:05 PM

Me too by Autumn Collins

Autumn felt a bit nervous as she went up with the first years and got a goblet of Sorting potion. She didn't know anyone here except Nina and Chelsea a little. The eleven year old took a sip and instantly saw she had turned red. Crotalus.

This was what Autumn wanted, really. It was the house that her sister Lily had been in. Not that they were much alike,so she hadn't necessarily thought she would be there. But then, their cousin Adam wasn't like Lily either and he had been in Crotalus. From what she knew of him, he was more like her, quiet and artistic and not terribly social.

Of course, there was always the fact that Autumn didn't really have much experience with those her own age. Lily was twenty-one and their younger sister Willow was four. Nina was the only person close to her age that she knew at all.

Despite that, Autumn was glad not to be in Pecari, where Nina was. Even though her cousin was nice to her, she had little in common with what Lily said most Pecaris were like. She'd also said the idea that Crotali were stuck-up purebloods was an unfair stereotype and really Crotalus tended to be the most diverse in terms of personality. There were the stuck-up purebloods but there were also people like Lily and people like her and Adam.

She sat down at the Crotalus table, looking around at her new housemates and wondering what they were all like.

“Hello I am Nadi Roth.”

Autumn turned to the girl who had spoken to her. She smiled shyly, "I'm Autumn Collins." She introduced herself. Autumn had seen Nadi turn red just now with her, which meant they were going to be roommates. She hoped they would get along.

11 Autumn Collins Me too 164 Autumn Collins 0 5

Lita

April 03, 2010 9:44 PM

I should think so. by Lita

Surprise registered on Lita’s face when Juri answered her question. When had he sat down across from her? Or had he been there the whole time and she had not noticed? Of course, she wasn’t the most observant person and her mind had been on other things, so Juri’s appearance would have gone easily unnoticed to her even on a good day.

Her dark eyes went down the table to where Charlie was sitting when Juri commented on her. A bemused smile played on Lita’s lips. “I don’t know how she has time for all the other activities in her life when she’s always chasing after another guy.” Lita turned back to Juri and with an exasperated, but full of affection, stated, “She’s exhausting.”

Adelita instantly perked up when Juri asked about her summer. “Oh, it was absolutely fantastic!” Lita began, “My dance recital went splendidly and Carlos didn’t drop me once! I mean, during practice that happened a few times and my shoulder dislocated twice, but that’s not new. But we were so great together on stage! It was just …perfect. Really perfect.” Lita was beaming. She loved dancing and knowing when she’s doing it all right just made it all the more worth it for her.

“There are some girls who think I only got the part because of my size-“ and really, she couldn’t quite blame them for thinking that. She was the smallest one in size and weight, but she was getting the solos long before they merged with the boy dance school. That had to stand for something. “But, I think they’re just mad because they wanted to be the ones dancing with Carlos. Maybe they’ll do better at Christmas.” Without stopping, Lita continued on with her summer.

“And then Tio Jose – you remember him, right? Head Boy last year – he got married at the end of summer and the wedding was beautiful! They looked so happy together too! That’s real love.” Lita finally took a deep breath and ended her spiel regarding her summer. And once she was done, Juri picked up on his own summer. He had also been to a wedding, only, he didn’t seem quick as happy about it. So, instead of asking him all about it, Lita let it slip on past. She’ll ask about it when he wasn’t so upset over it.

“Hot girls, hm?” Lita asked, looking somewhat amused. She wondered what boys considered hot. “Carlos and his friends” Adelita’s attitude when bringing up the other male population turned sour for a brief moment, “said that when the weather is warmer, the clothes are shorter. Maybe that’s why you think they’re hot? More skin to see?” Lita asked or suggested, whichever. “If you visit my Great Grand Papa and Mama in Mexico, you’ll see girls in bikinis everywhere. It’s like, if you aren’t in a tiny bathing suit, you aren’t allowed on the beach.”

0 Lita I should think so. 0 Lita 0 5

Ellie McGill

April 03, 2010 9:45 PM

Tapping and Drumming by Ellie McGill

Ellie enjoyed wearing her new robes. They were shiny and comfortable, if a bit long, which wouldn't help her natural clumsiness. But they made her feel important, like she belonged there. She had read in one of her magazines "The key to first impressions is dressing as if you belong there." Of course, it had been talking about job interviews for Muggle teens. None the less, she still supposed it was fitting for this scenario.

That was Ellie, always over thinking things.

She walked into Cascade Hall, and stopped in her tracks. She audibly gasped and her eyebrows jumped to her hairline. The place was beautiful, like something out of the real estate magazines her Muggle mother preferred (her father was the magical one) to the gossipy teen magazines Ellie always had at hand. Though, of course, none of the magazines had pictures of waterfalls trickling down the walls. She wished they would make a splashing sound; she had always loved water, the tinkling sound it made against stones, the touch of it on her hands. She missed summer where she and her sister would visit the pool practically ever day, unless they were out shopping at the mall.
She quickly drank a bubbly potion, and was mildly surprised when her skin changed a canary yellow. It clashed terribly with her artificially orange hair. How had she let her sister Cameron talk her into dying it? She missed her brown hair,though she had to admit, the orange was growing on her. She looked around and saw others with different colored skin, and sat a table with the other banana colored students.

During the headmistress' speech, Ellie began furiously tapping her foot and drumming her fingers on the table. It was something she always did when she was nervous or excited (or in this case a fierce combination of the two. As Headmistress Powell concluded her speech, Ellie let out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. She continued tapping and drumming, though, and accidentally kicked the person across from her in the leg.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, meeting the kick-ee's eyes.

0 Ellie McGill Tapping and Drumming 0 Ellie McGill 0 5

Delilah Kerrigan

April 03, 2010 9:46 PM

Me too. by Delilah Kerrigan

When Jude sat down, Delilah gave him a friendly smile and was about to answer his question involving her summer when a crazy burst of energy in the form of her friend sat down. Her grin got even wider for her friend. Summer had been crazy. Actually, summer had felt like being in the middle of a battle between her sister and her new stepbrother. It was a relief to be back at school even if her grades weren’t all that stellar. When she had gotten her grades, she had gotten a lecture from her father about trying harder. It wasn’t that she didn’t try. Often, it seemed like she understood the material, but then when it came time to take a test or write a paper everything seemed like a foreign language.

At least, there were other things that made sense like her drawing and her shoes. “Absolutely! I got a new pair for this year and you have to be the first to sign them,” Delilah answered as she showed off her new shoes. She sensed it would be another tradition or at least she hoped it would be. She wanted to get a pair of shoes every year and have all of her memories for the year on them. That way when she was in seventh year she could look back at what had happened through every year like last year had dealt with salamanders and dodge balls. What would this year hold? Whatever it was, she was sure it was going to be great.

She waited until Mel finished telling them about whatever she wanted to tell them of her summer before Delilah revealed her own mixed news. “My dad got married. I think she’s really nice. Veronica hates her though. I think she hates that Marla, that’s my stepmom, has a son. He goes to this school. A fourth year. Juri Dahlgren. Anyhow, the really cool part, well, I think it’s really cool is that they’re going to have a baby. I’m going to have a little brother or sister.” The downer was that they wouldn’t be around when she had the baby cause the due date was in February, but it would still be cool coming home to a new baby. Maybe her father wouldn’t worry about her grades so much if he was busy with the baby.

“So, how was your summer?” She asked the final member of their little group since he had yet to tell them and she wanted to know. They hadn’t gotten to keep as close of contact as she would have liked and she wasn’t sure how much time any of them would be able to spend together this year. Mel, especially, since she had been promoted to Assistant Quidditch Captain. “Hey, Mel, congratulations on Assistant Captain.” She didn’t remember if she had congratulated her last year or not, but more than once never hurt. She was proud of her friend. “I bet you’ll have your hands full this year with all the new firsties.”

0 Delilah Kerrigan Me too. 158 Delilah Kerrigan 0 5

Dmitry

April 03, 2010 10:05 PM

And why is that? by Dmitry

Listening to Charlotte talk about the Professors he nodded his head glad that the Potions master was quite strict and that the Quidditch Coach liked to stick to the rules. Professor McKindy didn’t sound too bad and that was a good thing. He looked over at Charlotte and smiled. “Well that is a good thing that Professor Fawcett is strict, I’m absolutely horrid with potions and my father demands the best grades.” He nodded seriously. Professor Petrov had been a strict Potions Mistress making Dmitry work hard for his passing grade.

When she said that Transfiguration was her favorite subject he nodded and swept his hair our of his face. What was his favorite subject? He was sure they didn’t offer certain classes Drumstrang offered, things that would most likely get him thrown out of Sonora. That was an idea then he could go back to Drumstrang. He knew father would kill him he was expelled, that was not something a Talsky would ever do. “I would have to say Charms or Transfiguration is my favorite subject.” He said after a long pause. “Though I’ve never taken Care of Magical Creatures before. Is that a fun subject?” He asked before taking a bite of his food and looking over the girl with a smile.

0 Dmitry And why is that? 0 Dmitry 0 5

Nic

April 03, 2010 11:27 PM

Yeah, I'm partial by Nic

Nic took a short while to take a few bites of his food, using the opportunity to both enjoy the taste and decide how to answer Cosette's question. There was a short version and a long version of the story and he wasn't sure which would be the better option to tell. The short version had the advantage of, well, being short. The long version at least meant he wouldn't have to think too hard about what to talk about next because it would take the whole evening to explain this one thing.

He decided on the short version.

"I grew up knowing he was a wizard." After he said it though, it felt a little too short, like he hadn't really given her the whole truth, and he didn't really want to start at his new school by lying to his Housemates. So he expanded a little bit. "I think he meant to keep it a secret, but he's really bad at blending in and after a while he stopped trying." At least, Nic hoped the last few years worth of his father's behavior was 'not trying' and he wasn't going to let himself think otherwise.

Nic shrugged, "My mom is a professional psychic, so nobody ever expected her husband to be normal anyway. They figure it's all part of the 'image' and chalk up anything strange to marketing. When I was little and talked about magic to muggles, people just figured I was either making things up or reading too much into the fortune telling thing. Seriously, muggle psychics are the best camouflage for real magic because people are too skeptical to think anything going on in their house could be anything but special effects to fool the tourists."

He grimaced and added, "The only hiding I ever had to do was denying any relation to my parents." In verbal descriptions they were bad enough, but he could at least acknowledge them since lying wasn't quite justified. They sounded eccentric, sure, but the full mortification factor didn't become obvious until one was actually in their presence. Words could never truly portray exactly how embarrassing Nic's parents were.

1 Nic Yeah, I'm partial 165 Nic 0 5

Dmitri

April 03, 2010 11:37 PM

It's certainly not boring. by Dmitri

Brian’s reassuring words were short-lived as a girl joined their conversation mentioning the idea of vampires. Werewolves, okay, were scary. Yetis were rather frightening. Dragons were definitely nerve-racking. But vampires were unimpressive? He had a hard time believing that with all the lore that surrounded the creatures, but then it wasn’t as if all of it could be true, right? “Can they walk in daylight? Do they sparkle like Twilight depicts?” Dmitri ventured. He seriously hoped not, because the entire idea gave him the creeps. Vampires were supposed to be many things, but not sparkly like in sunlight. He wanted them to detest the light so that at least that would be one place he would be safe. Instead, they brought about the idea that they were perfect killing machines. He didn’t want them to be perfect at anything.

“Oh. Pardon my manners. It is very nice to meet you, Colleen Ryan. I am Dmitri Petrovskii. Uh, I suppose I am Russian American?” He wasn’t really sure if that was the correct term or not. “My father is Russian and living here and my mother is American. I have duel citizenship to both countries.” He would have that until he was eighteen and then he would either have to choose one or apply to have both. He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to have both or not. He had family in Russian, but he didn’t know how much time he would actually spend there apart from a visit. Otherwise, he would just choose an American one since he was born and raised here. “What about you, Brian?”

The idea of heritage brought up other questions in Dmitri’s mind. “If you do not mind me asking, what is it like growing up with magic? I had no idea it even existed until I got my letter. I mean, strange things happened, but I just thought that they were like other unexplained occurrences in the world.” He had a strong belief in God and contributed phenomenon to His will. Magic existing only reinforced his faith of the unknown. He also believed that everything happened for a reason like him being able to go to school like a regular kid instead of with a whole bunch of stuck up kids and quite a few of them were. He wasn’t sure they realized they were supposed to be role models or maybe, like him, they were just tired of being in the spotlight.

0 Dmitri It's certainly not boring. 0 Dmitri 0 5

Hannah

April 04, 2010 12:42 AM

Maybe sooner than you think. by Hannah

As Oliver talked, Hannah couldn’t help but stare at him. She willed him to get to the point, because at the moment, the entire conversation, what so little of it there was, seemed overly drawn out. It was like taking a trip to the dentist, knowing that a tooth is going to be pulled out, and instead of just yanking it out, he pulls it out slowly in pieces without Novocain. It wasn’t that she really wanted to break up with Oliver, well, she did, but not at the moment, but if it had to be done, it really was better to just get it over with. They both knew what was coming so what was the point of beating around the bush? She much preferred the direct approach. It just seemed like a courtesy to do so.

And it was one that she was about to extend to him. “No.” The word just slipped out uninhibited, but it also deserved an explanation lest he think that she was saying that they weren’t going to break up. “I don’t think we should try being friends. We were never really friends when you get right down to it. And honestly do you think that one is really going to develop when we’re going to be graduating? We probably won’t even see each other once we leave here unless you plan on going into Quidditch professionally and that’s only to play against each other, assuming we both make it, of course. Until then, I suppose we’ll just face off in Quidditch.” Though, she supposed it wasn’t really facing off since she was the team seeker.

“Anyhow, I’m sure you’re worried if I hate you or not. I don’t. Honest. I just think that the best term to describe us from this point would be acquaintances.” She stuck out her hand in the hopes of shaking his hand. “Well, it’s been nice being your girlfriend, Oliver Abbott, and I really do hope you have a spectacular life. I really do. No hard feelings? Oh, and one more thing…just to make it official and all,” Hannah said this all with the sweetest smile possible as she took her plate of spaghetti and turned it over onto his head. Like their attraction to each other at the dance hadn’t been completely obvious, which made her feel less guilty about what she just did. “Okay. Bye now.” With this, she turned on her heel and walked off. One should never underestimate the scorn of a woman.

0 Hannah Maybe sooner than you think. 0 Hannah 0 5

Sophia Randolph

April 04, 2010 4:18 AM

A shiny new brown Pecari! by Sophia Randolph

Sophia Randolph was excited to be starting her magical career at Sonora. Since the day she received her admittance letter everything she could think about was about the great life she would have there. All the friends she would make and all the neat stuff she was going to learn. Sophia had worked all summer at a nearby Apothecary to be able to afford everything she needed. Her parents weren’t able to give everything Sophia wanted, they gave their daughter the basic necessities but unfortunately they couldn’t give her more. Sophia had learned from a young age that if she wanted something else she would have to get it…so she worked all summer to buy her new neat stuff that was currently stored away in her trunk.

Sophia had breakfast with her parents. A nice goodbye breakfast! Sophia liked to spend time with her parents and it saddened her to leave them. She finished with her pancakes and smiled at them “It’s almost time!” her voice was filled with excitement. She got up hurriedly and ran up to her room to retrieve her trunk. She finally made it downstairs and it was time to go! Her parents were going to leave her at the designated transportation point…she was arriving by wagon. How cool was that?!

Sophia enjoyed the wagon ride and her little eleven year old body was about to burst with excitement when she finally arrived. This was so cool! She had to stifle a giggle. She followed a woman that was assembling all the first-years. She couldn’t stop smiling. Then she had to drink something…a something that turned her skin brown. She was looking in awe at her new brown skin while she walked towards the table that housed all the Pecaris.

Sophia listened diligently to everything Headmistress Powell was saying, she clapped when it was necessary with a little too much enthusiasm. Oh well, she liked to show what she was feeling. She laughed at herself. The new Head Boy and Girl went to get their new shiny badges and Sophia couldn’t help but want one of her own…in that moment she decided that Sophia Randolph was going to be Head Girl in her seventh-year.

She nodded seriously. Her green eyes were scanning curiously the Cascade Hall, which by the way was the best room ever! With all the cascades and colors, it was amazing. When the food finally appeared she sighed in relief…she was super hungry. She served herself some chicken and mashed potatoes and began eating. Her green eyes scanning the Pecari table for potential new friends. She swallowed and looked at the person besides her. She smiled and introduced herself, “Hi! I am Sophia. A new Pecari, you?” she extended her arm and smiled in the most friendly way she could muster.

0 Sophia Randolph A shiny new brown Pecari! 167 Sophia Randolph 0 5

Colleen

April 04, 2010 7:39 AM

Magic Is Normal by Colleen

Colleen chuckled when Dmitri questioned if vampires sparkled. "Muggles do come up with the most ridiculous rumours. No they don't sparkle, that is quite ludicrous. And what's Twilight? They don't like garlic though. Daddy said that once I've learnt some magic he'll take me to meet a vampire. Did you know it's illegal to hunt them?" Colleen grinned, she thought that meeting a vampire would be fun, though she could only hope they would have a sense of humour, she didn't want to meet a sullen vampire.

"Growing up with magic?" Colleen pondered. "It's perfectly normal. What's growing up without magic like?" Colleen had never considered life without magic. Magic was deeply intertwined in her life. She was a pureblood after all, and magic was natural in her bloodline. She considered her relatives. She knew of only one squib in her family, from her Mother's Italian family, but Colleen thought that the squib had married into the family anyway.

Colleen wrinkled her nose as she thought of her family; they were stoic purebloods and didn't believe in association with muggles. Colleen was never one for tradition though. "How do muggles travel?" Colleen asked. She was never quite sure what the things were that she had seen in muggle suburbia and never dreamed of mentioning them to her parents.

0 Colleen Magic Is Normal 0 Colleen 0 5

Brian

April 04, 2010 11:36 AM

That's Easy for You to Say by Brian

Irish-Italian Colleen Ryan seemed to be very magic-savvy. At least she knew her magical creatures well. Brian decided, even though the truth about magic not helping in a werewolf attack and vampires being mediocre were troubling, that it was still fascinating. He was in awe how nonchalantly she told them the myths versus the facts of things that had always seemed so unreal.

Russian-American Dmitri then introduced himself after asking in vampires sparkled (something that Brian had wondered about himself). Brian found him as interesting as he found Colleen. Duel-citizenship? He probably saw a lot more of the world than Brian had. The 11-year-old hadn’t ever left his state before earlier that day and he could count the number of times he had left his county on two hands easy. He was thrilled to be meeting such amazing people – in his house, no less! What a great day this was turning out to be!

Dmitri then looked over at him and politely asked, “What about you, Brian?”

Brian smiled and nodded at him in thanks for remembering he was there. It can be hard to pay attention to everyone around you with such enthralling facts being tossed around. “I’m Greek-German,” he answered. “At least I have the Greek nose and the blonde-hair blue-eyed German genes.” He ran a hand through his cropped hair and turned to smile at Colleen. He knew Dmitri had just told her his name, but Brian couldn’t remember if he had told her his. “And I’m Brian Moore, in case I didn’t say so already.”

Dmitri must have still had something on his mind, because he then asked Colleen what is it like growing up with magic. It was another thing Brian was curious about.

Colleen laughed lightly before answering, "Muggles do come up with the most ridiculous rumours. No they don't sparkle, that is quite ludicrous.” Brian sighed in relief. He never did like the idea of a sparkling Dracula. “And what’s Twilight?” Brian was going to answer, but he kept on with her train of thought. He decided he’d come back to it, since he liked to hear about what she knew. And he couldn’t get why hunting vampires would be illegal. He wondered if it was illegal, then, for vampires to hunt humans.

Brian’s eyes went wide when Colleen said magic was normal. He wondered if this place was still amazing to her even though she’d probably seen this all before. He wasn’t looking forward to the day when all of this around him wouldn’t be amazing.

“What's growing up without magic like?" Colleen asked. Brian couldn’t imagine why she’d be curious about muggle-life, since it paled in comparison to a life brimming with wands and spells.

“It’s a lot more manual work, I guess,” Brian answered. “Like in some of the books I read, there seems to be a spell for everything, like cleaning and doing chores, things like that. But muggles just do it all their own.” He was unsure how to explain it well since he wasn’t entirely sure how to explain what his life was like since he was so used to it, but he hoped she got a gist at least.

She then asked a peculiar question. "How do muggles travel?"

He laughed lightly before telling her, “Loads of different ways. Most of us have cars, which is like… like a carriage with an engine instead of a horse.” He hoped she knew what an engine was, because he didn’t know the first thing about mechanics and explaining it could be confusing for the both of them. “Then there are busses, which are like six cars in one so more people can ride together if they’re going to the same place. Then there’s planes, which are a bit like a flying bus, but with wings instead of all the wheels, for longer distances.” He hoped he was making some sense to her, because saying what was common-sense information where he lived by relating it to carriages made him feel like a moron. Still, he wanted her to understand since she’d been so helpful to him.

There was one more question Brian took the liberty of answering. His sisters all loved ‘the books’ and talked about them non-stop, and he still couldn’t get why. They were so… awful. “Twilight is a book series about this vampire, who sparkles, and how he likes this girl.” He shook his head. “It really isn’t that great. I think Dmitri would agree with me on that.”

0 Brian That's Easy for You to Say 0 Brian 0 5

Starbuck Gregory

April 04, 2010 12:55 PM

An old dull Pecari by Starbuck Gregory

Starbuck had not enjoyed her summer, banned from doing magic, no flying, and stuck with her dreary parents caused her to go into a depression. Her brothers Ishmael, Elijah, and Ahab had done their best to make it a fun summer but Starbuck missed school. Who knew the once C student would go to good grades and missing school. Finally school was restarting and Starbuck couldn’t wait. She said goodbye to her parents and her brothers walked her to where the wagon would come to get her. The hugged her close and made her promise to come home for Christmas. Then it was time to go.

The wagon ride wasn’t as nerve wrecking as last years and she oddly felt like she was going home. Finally they were there and she jumped out. Glad she didn’t have to be sorted again she practically skipped to the Pecari table. She couldn’t wait for Quidditch to start back up even if Dem was Assistant Captain. She sighed and listened to Headmistress Powell’s speech her stomach grumbling. Once the feast began Starbuck herself began to fill her plate when she hear a voice besides her. “Hi! I am Sophia. A new Pecari, you?”

Starbuck smiled remembering how nervous she was on the first day last year. She shook the girl’s hand as she said. “Hey, I’m Starbuck Gregory, second year Pecari.” She said as she began to load up her plate again. “Are you nervous about school?” She asked with a smile trying to make conversation.

0 Starbuck Gregory An old dull Pecari 0 Starbuck Gregory 0 5

Juri

April 04, 2010 1:39 PM

Are you sure? by Juri

“Does she have any other activities?” Juri asked. He didn’t mean it as an insult, but he honestly didn’t know whether or not Charlotte did. He had thought at one time that she might have something to do with ballet like Lita did, but he never knew if she actually did any practicing. He suspected that it was probably hard work, something that one had to truly dedicate oneself to and it seemed that she was more dedicated to the boys of the school than anything else. Not like Lita, but then that brought up all the other things that came along with her devotion, things that didn’t involve Juri.

Instead, they involved Carlos. He hated hearing how they danced perfectly on stage together. He hated the idea of Carlos’ hands all over her. He hated how all the girls wanted Carlos. Oh, it wasn’t that he didn’t have girls interested in him, because he did. He had even made out a few times with Jenna before they had moved. It had been all experimental, of course, so leaving her hadn’t really affected him. He had yet to find any in North Carolina, but that had more to do with getting everything moved in and situated. Then, there was dealing with Veronica who had given him another angry glare as if everything were his fault.

He shrugged it off and continued to pay attention to Lita, who had apparently gone to a wedding as well. Love. Pfft. As if such things actually existed. If it did, it would last forever. If it did, his parents would never have gotten divorced. If it did, he wouldn’t be stuck with a new family. So, no, there was no such thing as real love in his view, but he would never spoil her optimistic view. He liked that about her even if he didn’t always agree with it. He thought that it only set one up for disappointment, which was inevitably unavoidable. Even so, he could hope that never changed about her. He couldn’t imagine her being a realist such as himself.

But it probably didn’t matter anyhow as he couldn’t get a word in edgewise as she was an endless stream of chatter. Though, he did get to answer a question, one that was rather awkward to answer. “Um, well, they’re probably hot either way cause they’re pretty, but I guess, the shorter clothes make them more noticeable cause you can see more.” He brushed back some blonde hair as though it didn’t really make all that much difference, but a thought occurred to him as he connected the dots. “So, do you wear a bikini in Mexico? You know, so you’ll be allowed on the beach and all.” He gave a teasing grin.

0 Juri Are you sure? 0 Juri 0 5

Dmitri

April 04, 2010 3:08 PM

It may become easy for us. by Dmitri

When Colleen confirmed that vampires did indeed not sparkle, Dmitri relaxed slightly, but only slightly for they still existed. That had not changed and he still didn’t know enough about them to put his fears at ease. Perhaps, a visit to the school library at some point would be a well-worth endeavor. He wanted to know if he actually had anything to fear and if he did the best way to protect himself. They couldn’t be invincible like they all seemed to be portrayed as nowadays. Right? Besides, if they were, he didn’t think wizards, and consequently muggles that had no idea of such things, would have been able to exist for so long.

He wondered if they were just normal in this world as Colleen claimed magic to be in her life. He didn’t think he would ever be able to think of magic as just something that occurred just like breathing. It was a wonder to behold and more of one that he would be able to create it. And it was a little jolting to think just how much his life might change as a result. If he had never knew of magic, he would have simply gone on living his life as he had, but now that his eyes had been opened, he couldn’t imagine how he had never known. How was it even possible? And how was it even possible for purebloods, like Colleen, to be just as curious about them?

“Or pay someone to do it for them,” Dmitri added on to Brian’s definition of what it’s like not to have magic. “We have an entire staff that cleans, cooks, and does our laundry since my parents really don’t have the time for such matters.” Well, it was really his father that didn’t have the time, as he was a rather busy man while his mother merely to the more social. Like him, his mother had never done a day’s work in her life. Would that change at Sonora? He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to know the answer to that question since it seemed, well, rather tiring.

At the question of how muggles travel, Dmitri couldn’t help to raise an eyebrow. He really, really couldn’t fathom how either party missed each other’s methods, as one would think them so glaringly obvious. It wasn’t as though an airplane could very well be hidden, especially when he thought of them as having feathery wings by Brian’s explanation. Thinking that Colleen might actually believe that to be true, he injected, “Not actual wings, though, not like a bird’s. The extensions are just wings, because they extend from the body of the plane.” He didn’t think that made much more sense than Brian’s and figured it would probably be better if they had pictures.

And then there were the other pictures. Movies. “I never read the books, but I did see the movies made so far. They are quite horrible. The entire reason he is even interested in the girl is because he wants to taste her blood more than any other in the world. Instead of just sucking her blood, however, he falls in love with her and dooms them to forever be in torment over their love. It is sort of like a messed up version of Romeo and Juliet except Romeo is already part of the undead and just keeps toying with Juliet. Oh, and there are also werewolves and one of them is in love with her too.”

0 Dmitri It may become easy for us. 0 Dmitri 0 5

Marian Parker

April 04, 2010 5:27 PM

Kicked and caught by Marian Parker

School had never been like this for Marian Parker. The first day and there was already a banquet being held. A banquet for first years, even! The older kids at her private school had always said freshman were at the bottom of the totem pole so to speak, so this was a climate she was not expecting. She also didn’t anticipate people to applaud her for turning blue, but even since she got her Sonora letter her life has been filled with firsts.

Marian had been the last first year to get off the stage, and she was horrified when she saw her table was filled. She tried to peak around for an opening as her face flushed red (more purple since she was still the color of a blueberry). She was panicking with thoughts that her first day she wouldn’t get to sit with her table! To make matters worse, the Headmistress had decided to start the opening speech. Her fright of looking like a dumb little girl in front of her new school had her shamefully collapsing at the table beside the Aladren table.

While Marian prided herself in paying attention well, she could barely hear Professor Powell over the blood rushing behind her face. She peaked nervously around at the table and felt even more disheartened to see the bright yellows. Blue defiantly did not pass as yellow. She combed her shoulder length light blonde hair in front of her face and leaned carefully between her arms to let the loose robe protect her blue face from the yellow ones.

When the speech was over and the food appeared, Marian was already to scanning the Aladren table for any sort of opening she could dart inconspicuously to when she felt something hit her leg. She squeaked, her already too-large-for-her-face glacial eyes popping two sizes larger to see the girl across from her apologizing, her face a pastel yellow that stood out strongly against her glossy orange hair.

Marian didn’t know what to say. The girl could obviously see she didn’t belong, what with her blue-face and all. She looked pathetically back at her table and sighed to see no opening nearby. She disgracefully turned back around and said, “No, I’m sorry. I’m not even supposed to be here.” Not knowing what punishment would take place because she was at the wrong table, she bowed her head in embarrassment and said, “Please don’t be upset with me, I’ll leave for my table as soon as a spot opens up.”

41 Marian Parker Kicked and caught 1402 Marian Parker 0 5

Taylor Li

April 04, 2010 8:17 PM

Showing up by Taylor Li

Summer, as previous summers had been ever since Taylor had told her mother that she no longer wanted to pursue acting or modeling or the such, was boring and uneventful. She had filled the time with doing the things that she had always wanted to do. She attended some college courses. She went to science camp. She had made some friends there. But even with all that it felt like something was missing. She just couldn’t quite put her finger on what. Perhaps, this year she would find something that gave her a better sense of purpose. Maybe.

Brushing back a strand of her dark hair, now a bit longer with blonde highlights, she sat down at the Aladren table for the fourth time. As she watched the first years being sorted, she couldn’t believe how quickly time had passed since it had been her over there. Already her class was at the halfway point in their school career. After this year, it would be all about their futures. First, it would be all about the CATS and how important they were to the two years of their lives after that. Next, it would be all about the RATS and how important they were to their entire lives. What if she didn’t even want a magical career? How important would they be then?

They were the thoughts that she had been having lately. Sure, she was set to become some sort of scientist. Most likely a physicist, but she didn’t know. She hsad always thought it was the only thing in the world that would make her happy, but was it really? The more she thought about her future the more uncertain she became about what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She kind of wished she could be one of the innocent little first years just waiting for all the magic to begin instead of anxiety of where it would end. She pushed some of her food around on her plate. Maybe she just needed to talk to someone who might understand.

0 Taylor Li Showing up 128 Taylor Li 0 5

Sophia

April 04, 2010 8:36 PM

Old? I don't think so...dull? maybe! haha by Sophia

Sophia was happy that the girl besides her was perfectly friendly. She thought that it was a good omen for the beginning of her school career. She smiled brightly at her, “Hi Starbuck, very nice to meet you” she shook the girl’s hand. She seemed very nice and friendly. She unconsciously smoothed her brand new uniform robes. Sophia was very proud of them; she had purchased them with her hard work. Even when working over the summer was really annoying she was learning a lot. She wanted to work with potions when she graduated from Sonora.

She took a spoonful of her mashed potatoes and after swallowing, she answered Starbuck’s question “I am not nervous! I am excited. I have been waiting all of my life to attend school!” she almost screamed out of excitement. Sophia was an only child and wanted to be with children her own age…not that she didn’t have friends back home, but it would be different to actually live with them. “What can you tell me about Sonora? I have heard awesome things from my parents, but I think it is better to know from an actual student,” her green eyes looking at Starbuck eagerly. She hoped she wasn’t scaring the second year, because she was almost bursting from the excitement. Being at Sonora was awesome!

0 Sophia Old? I don't think so...dull? maybe! haha 0 Sophia 0 5

Lita

April 04, 2010 9:53 PM

Yes, of course! by Lita

Adelita laughed when Juri asked about Charlie. “She dances, like me.” Lita said, thinking over in her head what her best friend did. “But she is also into Quidditch. She’s the Assistant Captain now. I’m not really sure how that’ll work out with her brother being the Captain, but it’ll only be for a year. Anyway, once she becomes full Captain, I think everything else, but boys, will fall away into the wind.”

It would be very sad to lose Charlie completely to Quidditch. Not because Lita didn’t understand or appreciate Charlie’s loyalty to the game, but rather, because she enjoyed dancing with her and would miss the company that Charlie gave to her. When Lita had started at Sonora, she was really upset and depressed because she didn’t think she would ever be able to dance while at Sonora. But having met Charlie during the opening feast had changed everything and gave Lita hope of being able to dance. And so, she had found a way to keep up with all of it.

But she was dedicated to dance on a level that few actually ever found themselves. Much like an stage actor or a potions master would be for their passion. It was just how life worked. Dancing was probably a hobby for Charlie just as boys and Quidditch were and out of all her hobbies, dance would probably be the one she gave up first. Lita would respect that and support her friend and her hobbies.

Lita was tempted to ask Juri what it was in a female that he found to be attractive, but he asked her a question that she felt the answer had been rather obvious. “Of course.” She said it so matter of factly that it might have come off sounding a bit harsh. “I mean, it’s just what we do there. But, I have to wear loads of sun screen so that I don’t burn myself in the sun. Mama’s orders.” Lita added. “I miss the beach. I miss the water.” She sounded a bit wistful for a moment. “Anyway, back on to you.” Lita stated, looking at Juri with utter curiosity. “So, these girls are hot with lots of clothes and with not so many clothes. Can I try to guess what you find attractive?” Her question was rhetorical. She was going to guess whether he wanted her to or not.

“Hm… I bet they were tall, skinny, blondes with light eyes and perfect white skin.” Magazines always told her that the opposite of her was beautiful, so that was her first guess.

0 Lita Yes, of course! 0 Lita 0 5

Alessa Hinckley

April 04, 2010 10:23 PM

Hungry by Alessa Hinckley

Alessa wasn't even that sure she wanted to be at the opening feast. She remembered how last year it had been loud and crowded with a lot of conversations going on at once, which the Aladren had hated. On the other hand though, she was hungry . Alessa had had an upset stomach last week, which was better now, but she still hadn’t eaten much lately and was therefore starving.

So, she had chosen to go to the feast. If all the conversations going on at once bothered Alessa, she would leave. She was a second year now and knew were her common room was and how to enter it. She had that option. Besides, she was a bit curious about the new first years, who would be in each house and how many, stuff like that, so for now, Alessa sat down at the Aladren table.

She waited somewhat less than patiently, though one would not know it by looking at her, for the Headmistress to finish talking. Alessa didn’t even care at the moment that there was no fifth year and thus no prefects being announced or that there was a new subject. She didn’t even know if Divinations was a required subject or an elective and at the moment, Alessa was hungry enough not to care. She gazed over the feast in front of her. Last term, she’d tried to eat spaghetti, though she’d lost her appetite due to all the noise. Now, Alessa realized that it was a terribly messy thing to eat and it was best not to eat it in public, lest someone be repulsed by her eating. It was a shame really, because she did like it, so long as the sauce didn’t have mushrooms. It was one food where the texture wouldn’t bother her. Eventually, Alessa settled on a pastrami sandwich. She liked meats with Italian names like pastrami, pepperoni and salami. Furthermore, sandwiches were usually not messy.

And she really wanted to rip into it too, but she knew better. Alessa knew she was supposed to take lady-like bites. What a pain.

Someone sat down across from her then and she looked up at them. “Oh, um hi,” Alessa greeted the new person.

11 Alessa Hinckley Hungry 150 Alessa Hinckley 0 5

Rachel

April 04, 2010 10:59 PM

I certainly hope not! by Rachel

"She definitely draws attention to herself," Rachel said. She, too, had never spoken to Charlotte Abbott, but there was nothing Jeremy and his mother criticized her for than drawing too much attention to herself. Not only did being more visible mean a greater chance of being caught out as half-blood, but it was also supposed to be something that gentlemen didn't like in a girl.

Of course, the evidence provided by Charlotte suggested the theory might not be quite as valid as her stepfather wanted it to be. Or maybe it was just that the sort of boy who was attracted to Charlotte was not going to be attracted to the sort of proper lady she and Veronica were asked to be, and the sort of boys who did like proper ladies were in even more limited supply than the kind who flocked to Charlotte. It didn't bother her much, but Veronica was already husband-hunting. Which made it all the more unfortunate that the acceptable options in the years near theirs were limited.

Just hearing that her friend now shared the curse known as a stepparent was enough to make Rachel wince slightly in sympathy, but hearing "please don't tell anyone" let Rachel know this was serious. She put her fork down slowly as she processed that last bit, her eyes darting over to find the unfortunate stepbrother. His exact lineage was unknown to her, but Veronica's desire for it not to be told meant it was either bad or that he was several different kinds of weird. Having a parent on a second or third marriage wasn't as common or acceptable in the magical world as it was in the Muggle, but it wasn't that bad, which meant the issue had to be something worse. Either way, it didn't seem like a topic to ask flat-out about at the Crotalus table.

"Of course I won't tell anyone," she said. "Stepparents are awful. It's all because of my stepfather that the family practically went to war this summer. You get used to them, though." She lowered her voice a little. "Or is it...not just the having a stepmother thing?"

16 Rachel I certainly hope not! 154 Rachel 0 5

Nadi

April 05, 2010 12:07 AM

Roomie!!! by Nadi

Nadi smiled at her new roommate, she had a welcoming name, Autumn. She had a cousin Autumn that had shared her wagon with her throughout childhood. It would be comforting to have another Autumn close by. She smiled again hoping she didn’t come off odd. “So I think we are going to be roomies.” She said as she began to fill her plate. She silently cursed Tobar for not telling her how this all worked. How was she ever going to marry him?

She looked back at Autumn and smiled. “Sorry if I seem a bit jumpy.” She said with a smile. “I’m not used to being with so many people.” She decided that was the best way to put it. She didn’t know how people would react to her gypsy ways. Another thing Tobar had failed to mention. Stupid boy! She smiled again and looked over Autumn.

“So do you have any family here?” She hoped so then she might get some information about the school. If not she was just going to harass Tobar in the morning. He should’ve covered everything before today. She took a bite of her mashed potatoes before glancing back up at her new roommate.

0 Nadi Roomie!!! 0 Nadi 0 5

Cosette

April 05, 2010 1:40 AM

I do get hockey, however by Cosette

Most kids thought their parents were bizarre. Until just now, Cosette had always thought they were stupid for thinking such things. How could they run around acting ashamed of their parents when hers were the freakiest people in existence? It frustrated her to no end to hear people complain about the latest quirky tic of their mom or dad. If they thought their parents were so horrible, Cosette could bet those whiners wouldn’t last five minutes in her shoes.

As soon as Nic started on about his dad, she was afraid it was going to take a turn for the worst. He gave a brief, quick comment on his dad than cut it off, like he was embarrassed or something. All the times she’d heard kids bad-mouth their parents, it started off sort of like that – a few sentences that left more questions than answers – before they broke into a ‘parents are sooo lame, they don’t get me, they’re unfair’ monologue. It was rather upsetting, since he seemed like a pretty cool person otherwise.

But then, he surprised her, and didn’t do anything of the sort. Instead, he told her about his mother being a psychic. She’d hoped he didn’t see her cringe at that. She’d heard too many tales about how muggle psychics were more-or-less con artists that only the most gullible muggles fell for.

And hearing him recollect how people made assumptions about him because of her job made her stomach twist. She knew all too well what it was liked to be judged because of a parent, but this seemed to be a more public issue than hers had been. The only pro the situation had going was the shield that a psychic provided; talking about magic isn’t so far-fetched if muggles chalk it up as fake with little care to figure if it’s real or not for themselves.

He finished his answer by saying, "The only hiding I ever had to do was denying any relation to my parents." Well, so much for making this a good day for everyone. She felt bad that he had to deal with so much family drama before coming here. It was enough to make light conversations heavy talk. Her eyes fell to her empty plate and she wondered how many times he was going to have to repeat the story to people while he was here, introducing himself to everyone else. It seemed like a complete drag, really. If she was him, she would’ve just gave the same stupid anti-parent rant she originally thought he was going to give.

She appreciated his openness, though. Nic seemed to be giving this whole ‘get-to-know-your-Housemate’ thing some effort. At least more than she had wanted to. Just to even out the playing field, she decided she’d let him in on something herself. “I can sorta relate, though I don’t know if my issues have anything on yours,” she said slowly as she was filling her plate with her second helping. “You see, my mom has this chronic dissociative amnesia. So once every month or so for a day or two she’ll just forget who she is, and her therapy doesn’t do much to stop it. Nothing too serious most of the time, but the neighbors with no lives like to gossip too much about it. Gets real old after awhile, y’know?" She wondered if she shared something too personal when she finished. She hated to be that impulsive. With a dejected sigh she resumed eating, hoping she wouldn’t say anything else stupid if her mouth was full.

0 Cosette I do get hockey, however 0 Cosette 0 5

Oliver

April 05, 2010 4:59 AM

... So I deserved that. by Oliver

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting. He certainly hadn't expected her to gush that yes, that's what she wanted too, let's just be friends and the world will be a perfect place with rainbows everyday. Hardly. Even so, her response took him by surprise. "No." Luckily, an explanation followed, otherwise Oliver would have been baffled.

Yet as the explanation continued, Oliver started to wish she hadn't bothered. Each word made him feel more guilty than the last. It also triggered a sort of self-pity, wondering where it had gone wrong. They'd just tried to get to know each other, started going out together with nothing in common (well, they had Quidditch, but it was a rivalry), and hadn't really developed from there. Oliver wasn't kidding himself; they'd never been friends. It just seemed a gentler way to put things than, 'I don't want to be around you any more.'

"I suppose..." Oliver replied to her short outburst about them not being friends, and only seeing each other in Quidditch. Wow, he was not looking forward to the Tepp/Crotalus game. Not one little bit. He was also surprised to find that Hannah's assurance she didn't hate him wasn't at all comforting. He didn't seem to care if she hated him or not. In all honesty, he hadn't been a brilliant boyfriend, but he had liked her. A lot. It just turned out he liked the idea of being with her more than the true sensation itself. Hannah had been untouchable - someone far out of his league who was beautiful, unattainable, and perfect. Of course that just wasn't possible, and the longer Oliver had been with her, the more attainable she had become, and the less perfect. Not by her changing, of course, but just because Oliver had been introduced to reality. Hannah was a great person, and she would make some guy ridiculously happy again one day.

Taking her extended hand (just because it would have been rude to do anything else) Oliver shook it, feeling relieved this was going to be over soon. "No hard feelings," he agreed, his expression neutral. It wasn't something to smile about; he didn't feel especially happy about how this had turned out. Of course, he felt distinctly unhappy just a second or two later, when he had the apparently unpleasant spagetti sitting atop his head, with the sauce rapidly trickling its way down his neck. Dumbstruck, Oliver just watched Hannah leave before he managed to gain enough semblance of control to banish the spaghetti and cast a cleaning charm effective enough that it would be sufficient until he made it to the commons for a shower. Which he would have to do immediately.

Desperately hoping that hadn't been witnessed by the entire school, Oliver followed Hannah's example and stormed off from the Hall to the safety of Crotalus commons. She had been right about one thing - they were not going to be friends.

0 Oliver ... So I deserved that. 0 Oliver 0 5

Charlie

April 05, 2010 5:17 AM

Because you're getting to know me! by Charlie

Charlotte almost melted when Dmitry smiled at her. With his dark hair and his foreign accent, she was completely taken over. Plus they already had things in common, like favorite subjects and a need to impress for potions. "My parents don't care about my grades," Charlie admitted, "but my Uncle is Raymond Abraham" - if he hadn't heard of the potioneer then Charlotte assumed he hadn't been trying as hard at the subject as his own father would have liked - "and he has very high expectations." She smiled softly; she wasn't brilliant at potions by any means, but her grades were acceptable. Potions was more her brother's area of expertise.

By coinincidence, just as she thought about her brother, Charlotte looked up just in time to see him have a plate of spaghetti upturned on his head as Hannah made a swift exit from the Hall. Charlie was torn between amusement and sympathy. She had entirely expected Oliver to break up with Hannah this year, but at the Opening Feast? Her brother had no tact. Luckily, even if Dmitry had noticed the event over at the Teppenpaw table, he was unlikely to make the connection between Charlotte and her brother. With Charlotte's darker skin, chestnut brown hair and brown eyes, and her brother's albinism, they weren't often recognised as siblings.

Back to the conversation at hand. "Care of Magical creatures, can be fun," Charlotte considered. "It really depends on what creature we're studying that week. Like, we did a class about phoenixes that was pretty cool, and the upper years get to learn about hippogriffs and granians, but sometimes you get stuck with crups or puffskeins." While undeniably cute, these animals weren't especially exiciting to study. Dmitry didn't seem like the sort of person who would be swayed by 'cute'.

Sensing an opportunity - and an opportunity was a criminal thing to miss - Charlotte said, "I could bring you up to speed, if you like. Be your personal tutor," she smiled, one dosed with plenty of sweetness, just an edge of mischief, and a tiny hint of suggestion. "We'll be sharing the same commonroom anyway, but we could meet in the library" - or not, seeing as that right outside James and Daniel's commons - "or even in the gardens. What do you think?"

0 Charlie Because you're getting to know me! 0 Charlie 0 5

Nic

April 05, 2010 9:10 AM

I'm from Florida. What's this 'hock-ee' you speak of? by Nic

Nic resumed eating after he finished explaining his magical background. The last bit had crept in without him quite meaning to. He normally kept his complaining to himself - most because if he complained then he'd have to explain why he was complaining and silence about the elder Sawyers was golden - but she'd asked, and he'd explained, and it was kind of a relief to tell someone, besides Mom and Dad themselves, that his parents were less than ideal for his public image.

Just this one, he felt happier for getting it off his chest and he dug back into his food without noticing the damper it had put on Cosette. As far as Nic was concerned, the meet and greet was going quite well.

He looked up again when she started talking and he felt a little bad for complaining about his folks. Sure, they were as mortifying as anything, but they were at least healthy.

"That sucks," he said, and realized immediately he was probably understating it. But conversation was hard enough; surely he couldn't be expected to be any good at sympathetic or tactful, either. Was he supposed to change the subject or say something reassuring? Nothing reassuring came to mind, so he decided to got with the first option.

"So. Muggle neighborhood, magic parents. How did that happen? That's not normal for wizardkind, is it?"

1 Nic I'm from Florida. What's this 'hock-ee' you speak of? 165 Nic 0 5

Ellie McGill

April 05, 2010 9:40 AM

Re: Kicked and caught by Ellie McGill

“Please don’t be upset with me, I’ll leave for my table as soon as a spot opens up.”

Ellie was surprised to have found herself staring at the top of a girl's blond head, the skin of her forehead a bright blue. That meant she was in... Aladren? That was silly, this table was full of kids obviously as yellow as the scared girl's blond hair. Well, there's a first time for everything, Ellie thought with a smile. She giggled as the girl seemed to believe the penalty for sitting at the wrong table was certain and untimely death. While Ellie wasn't sure if there was one, she was sure if there actually was, it wouldn't be quite so severe.

"That's okay, stay as long as you want! I don't mind. I'm a first year too," she said, smiling brightly. In Ellie's mind, at least one of them had to maintain a happy front, and it sure wasn't the frightened Aladren girl, who reminded her a bit of her older sister with her nervous tendencies, sitting across from her. "I'm Ellie," she offered, sticking out her hand to be shaken.

0 Ellie McGill Re: Kicked and caught 0 Ellie McGill 0 5

Cosette

April 05, 2010 9:47 AM

Only the greatest muggle sport ever by Cosette

“Definitely not normal for them,” Cosette said to Nic’s question. “At least, I don’t think it is. I heard wizards who are really into muggle studies try to live like them, so I guess it’s not that weird.”

She took a few more bites before continuing, “I don’t know how much you know about purebloods, but they generally like to marry other purebloods to keep ‘the blood clean’ or whatever that’s supposed to mean. So when pureblood mom fell for muggleborn dad, it wasn’t like they could hang out at her place and hang out, so she just went to his house a lot, and I guess she really liked the way muggles lived. So when they got hitched, they just decided to live in the same neighborhood they spent most of their time in anyways.” It wasn’t like she had never been to any magical places, she mused to herself. Vacation had always had some rather magical twist, generally involving Floo Powder for speedy and cheap travel.

“What about your parents? How’d a wizard end up with a muggle?” Cosette never grasped how half-blood relationships would work unless the magical one in the relationship kept it quiet. She just couldn’t picture a muggle being all that accepting or much of a secret keeper if they knew they were dating someone who had gifts they couldn’t understand themselves. Though she could bet his mom wasn’t like many muggles she’d ever met.

0 Cosette Only the greatest muggle sport ever 0 Cosette 0 5

Marian

April 05, 2010 10:09 AM

This isn't so bad by Marian

With her eyes squeezed shut, Marian waited for the lightening to strike. How did magic schools punish students for sitting at the wrong table? Had anyone else ever done it before? … Did the professors let them live long…?

"That's okay, stay as long as you want! I don't mind. I'm a first year too." … Huh?! Not expecting such cheerful comfort, Marian peaked between her fingers to see a friendly grin spread out on the yellow-faced girl’s face. Why oh why is this girl being nice to her? Isn’t she afraid of getting in trouble for being nice to a rule-breaker? Marian sunk lower in her seat, feeling all the worse for dragging this girl into her new criminal life. She had always been a good girl at muggle schools, but she supposed that once her inner-witch was channeled, she was nothing but trouble. How was she going to explain this to her parents?

“I’m Ellie,” the nice-girl said brightly, her yellow hand hovering over the food to be shaken. Marian brought her hands lower on her face, darting her eyes between the palm and the smile. If Marian was going to get punished, this Ellie girl wasn’t going to be the one to enforce it. She seemed genuinely caring, but why would she be so nice to someone stupid enough to invite themselves to sit at the wrong table? “Umm…” Marian gulped, delicately placing her hand in the girls. “I’m Marian.” Then she shook her hand, for the first time feeling a bit pleased to have sat at the wrong table. “Nice to meet you, Ellie.”

0 Marian This isn't so bad 0 Marian 0 5

Colleen

April 05, 2010 10:41 AM

Either way you'll love it! by Colleen

Colleen smiled when Brain said he was Greek-German. Between the three of them there was only one half American. “It’s nice to meet you Brian.” Colleen was very glad Brian had thought to introduce himself; it could’ve been an awkward moment later on otherwise.

Colleen wrinkled her nose when Brian mentioned manual work. She couldn’t imagine not having magic. “You pay people?” Colleen’s eyes widened when Dmitri spoke. “We have house elves but you don’t have to pay them. They do everything except for the laundry, Mama usually does that, but it doesn’t take very long with magic.” Being a pureblood, Colleen’s family was naturally very rich and she was looking forward to claiming part of her inheritance when she reached 17. The down part was having her whole life planned out from her birth.

Colleen frowned slightly when Brian was explaining about travel. She wished she hadn’t asked, not because it was boring but because it was so incomprehensible. She had no idea what an engine was and couldn’t even picture a car; she would need to find some pictures. She had led a very sheltered life in the Irish countryside due to her family’s anti-muggle tastes –she couldn’t see any problems with muggles, after all they were all human.

Colleen laughed when they described Twilight to her. “They do sound awful. Though I’d like to read a muggles impression of a vampire, I bet that part would be funny and the werewolf part sounds kind of normal but I guess that depends on their idea of werewolves. But um...” Colleen paused, slightly embarrassed at her lack of knowledge. “What are movies?”

0 Colleen Either way you'll love it! 0 Colleen 0 5

Brian

April 05, 2010 11:13 AM

Memo to Self: get some pictures by Brian

Brian had a funny feeling that he was the only person among the three to ever do chores. While he was out mowing the lawn, scrubbing floors, and cleaning toilets, these two just told other people (or house elves, whatever they were) to do it. Brian didn’t know how well he’d do ordering people around, paid or not. If he ever did get maids, he was too much of a pushover to make them do much and would probably be cleaning while his maid sat back and watched his TV.

Also, it seemed that he was the poorest of the three. Being middle class had never bothered him before, but now he sort of felt awkward being around people who came from wealth. Rich people were about as fascinating as purebloods – they led lives he had only ever daydreamed about.

Brian watched Colleen frown at Dmitri’s and his rough definition of planes and travel. Even worse was their attempt to explain the horrors of Twilight. Though Colleen seemed more amused as they fumbled over their explanations for the book/movie plot then she had confused when they talked about planes, so he thought they had done a decent job of explaining.

Then she asked another question that Brian felt he could answer a bit better than the previous ones. “You know how people in pictures move? Well, muggle pictures are just like magic pictures, except everything – even the people – are frozen. Since the pictures of frozen and can’t tell much of a story for themselves, muggles have movies, which are basically pictures that people watch for about an hour or so that play out a story. When the story is done, it can be replayed and... I’m not making much sense, am I?” Even Brian was getting lost by his supposed clarification. He could only imagine how baffled Colleen felt. He turned to Dmitri, who seemed to be way more articulate than he was, and asked, “Do you happen to have a better way of explaining it?”

0 Brian Memo to Self: get some pictures 0 Brian 0 5

Dorian

April 05, 2010 11:26 AM

Yeah I think we do. by Dorian

OCC: Sorry this took so long Easter and all

BIC:
Dorian thought that Neal’s hobbies they seemed normal enough. His brother often carried around a sketchbook but Dorian himself had no artistic ability. He chuckled a bit when Neal said eating at Sonora would be a new favorite of his. Tristan on the other hand seemed a bit crazy. He did not read or like art, and apparently hated riddles. Dorian could not help but laugh when Tristan said. “…nice food on your plate.”

“Um thanks.” He said slowly looking over at Neal hoping he would help him out. It seemed that the other boy was more nervous then he and oddly enough it made Dorian more relaxed. “Sooo.” He began holding out the so to think of something to say. “What do you think is going to be your favorite subject?” He asked with a smile.

“I think mine is going to be potions. My Mum is a great potions maker.” He said with a nod. He brushed his brown hair back and looked over at Neal and Tristan. This seemed a bit of a normal conversation for them to talk about and it held the potential to be a better conversation then the last one.

0 Dorian Yeah I think we do. 0 Dorian 0 5

Dmitry

April 05, 2010 11:48 AM

Oh but of course! by Dmitry

Dmitry couldn’t help but become a bit jealous at the mention of Charlotte’s parents not caring about grades. Father expected only the best out of him and Dmitry planned to do just that. There was no way the little brat Dorian would inherit everything. When she said who her Uncle was he was beyond impressed, every one had heard about the potioneer Raymond Abraham. “I would assume he would expect the best grades from his niece especially in potions.” He said with another smile in her direction.

When she spoke about Care of Magical Creatures he nodded. “I would assume the more dangerous creatures would be more fun then the cute ones.” He said the word cute as if it were a disease. Cute was boring, and average. He wanted a challenge when it came to a class not something girls would fawn over all of class.

"I could bring you up to speed, if you like. Be your personal tutor, Charlotte offered and Dmitry raised an eyebrow at her smile. Was she flirting with him? He could not help but smile back. “That sounds like a good idea.” He said with a nod. Tried of talking about school Dmitry deiced to turn the subject closer to his heart.

“So do you play Quidditch?” He asked hoping to pump her for information on the Quidditch team. He had been the Head Beater on his house team back at Drumstrang and he hoped to do the same here. Having been an assistant captain there too he planned to be one here or hopefully Captain by his seventh year.

0 Dmitry Oh but of course! 0 Dmitry 0 5

Neal

April 05, 2010 11:58 AM

Unless the definition of hobbies has changed recently by Neal

It didn’t take Neal long to come up with an answer for this question. “Charms will probably be my favorite,” he decided quickly. “I’ve just always thought it was cool.” It was true, he thought it was. Ever since he was a kid he liked nothing more than to sit back with his mom and watch his dad do basic wand work. Even the easy spells like levitating a lamp were absolutely amazing to watch.

“I think mine is going to be potions. My Mum is a great potions maker.” Dorian nodded at his answer and flicked his gaze between Neal and Tristan expectantly.

Neal tapped his fork on his plate, trying to remember any potions he’d seen his dad conjure up, but none came to mind. “I haven’t seen my dad pull off any potions, so I don’t know what the subject’s like. I hope I’m decent at it since it’s on all the major tests. If not, I know who to go to for a tutor.” He beamed at Dorian, thanking his lucky stars that his roommate was knowledgeable on something that might go completely over his head.

OOC: You weren’t all that late :D It’s nothing to worry about.

0 Neal Unless the definition of hobbies has changed recently 0 Neal 0 5

Tristan

April 05, 2010 12:22 PM

Maybe my definition is different than yours by Tristan

Tristan smiled a bit when Dorian laughed at his miserable attempt to be friendly. He guessed he wasn’t making such an awful first impression after all. He perked up more when Dorian talked about potions. That was some hard stuff right there. He was unsure how much he’d like the class when he was out buying all the equipment needed for a term. He’d never been much of a chef, and following directions well off any Quidditch pitch seemed pointless. So that ruled out Potions as being a favorite for him.

Neal finally gave an answer that made sense to Tristan when he brought up Charms as his possible favorite. Charms was definitely awesome, and downright useful too. Maybe the kid wasn’t that psycho as Tristan had pegged him. Still, his eyes were weird, so the possibility of having a psycho/drug-addict for a roommate was still up in the air.

Tristan tried to think of what he’d like and settled with, “Transfiguration seems pretty decent.” Yeah, that way he could make himself a Snitch or something so he had something to practice with if he ever forgot his equipment when he went out to the pitch. He was suddenly very excited to have that class. He looked up at the professors to see if he could tell who taught what but quickly gave up. He shrugged it off. “Anyways, I can’t wait to get this place figured out, but I’m thinking remembering this whole school will be a problem even with a tour. I definitely think we need to make, like, landmarks or something.” He ate some food and considered this thought. “Or maybe even get Prarie Elves to be our permanent school guides. Do you think they’d do it?”

0 Tristan Maybe my definition is different than yours 0 Tristan 0 5

Starbuck

April 05, 2010 12:23 PM

Well thanks by Starbuck

Starbuck smiled at the first year, she was so excited and that made Starbuck excited. What can you tell me about Sonora?” Sophia asked seemingly over excited. Starbuck smiled as she took a bite of her food thinking about what she could tell Sophia about Sonora. She swallowed and smiled at her again.

“Well it’s a big school and really easy to get lost in the Labyrinth Gardens but they are super fun to explore. They have nice little courtyard areas that make it a great place to relax.” She paused thinking about something important. “Our Head of House, Professor McKindy, is a bit crazy but awesome he is by far my favorite Professor! But Professor Dakin is pretty cool she’s our Care of Magical Creatures Professor.” She paused again just glancing over the two Professors before looking around.

“I’m not really sure what to tell you.” She admitted sheepishly. “Maybe if you told me what you want to know I’d be able to help you out better.” She brushed her red hair out of her face and smiled. She hoped she could make a friend in her house. It seemed that Dem didn’t like her anymore bringing Jude and Delilah with her. Well fudge that! Starbuck didn’t need them.

0 Starbuck Well thanks 0 Starbuck 0 5

Ellie McGill

April 05, 2010 1:15 PM

Not bad at all by Ellie McGill

Ellie watched curiously as the blue girl lowered her hands from her eyes.

The Aladren shook Ellie's hand back. “I’m Marian.”

Ellie smiled wider. Marian, that was a pretty name. It reminded her of her old dolly, Marie, which seemed very fitting for the wide-eyed girl. "Nice to meet you too, Marian." Ellie continued eating, not sure what to say next. There was an uncomfortable silence filled with only the sound of the clinking of utensils to plates and the chatter of students around them. Ellie had resumed drumming her fingers, but didn't risk toe-tapping again.

She missed her sister. Cameron had been her best friend, even after she had been so jealous that Ellie had been a witch and not her. It was odd that their father was a wizard and Cameron hadn't been a witch. But after Cam had just accepted it, she went back to being a quiet, witty big sister. Ellie couldn't imagine what she would do without her sister to help her. She looked a bit like this Marian; both with blond hair and bright eyes, a bit under spoken. Ellie hoped Marian would open up more. A thought occurred to her, and she nearly choked on her juice because of a giggle bubbling up.

"Who knew my first friend here would be an Aladren?"

0 Ellie McGill Not bad at all 0 Ellie McGill 0 5

Marian

April 05, 2010 2:51 PM

You'd be friends with someone who's blue? by Marian

After introducing herself, the other girl took her hand back and ate, not saying much else. Marian did the same, deciding that it was worthless to try and find a spot at her table now that the food was served and everyone looked situated. She’d wanted to say something to Ellie, but she was too afraid to look any more foolish and just kept her trap shut. It’s not like she had ever talked a whole lot anyway, what with her social awkwardness and all, but she actually wanted to make at least one friend here. Looks like that wasn’t about to happen after she sat at the wrong table.

She was about to eat some of the potatoes she’d been playing with when Ellie caught her off guard. “Who knew my first friend here would be an Aladren?” She abruptly dropped her fork and put her hands over her lips to stifle her loud laughter. “That is kind of funny, isn’t it?” she asked. She felt so much better after Ellie had called her a friend. Even though she was quiet and sat at the wrong table and was blue not yellow, she still wanted to be her friend. It was like a scene pulled out of a corny muggle tween movie or something, and she couldn’t say it didn’t make her over joyed.

“And who’d thought I’d be sitting at the Teppenpaw table? Not that I even knew what House I was going to be in before I got here, though I had hoped it’d be Aladren when I read how academic oriented they are. I’m guessing you got Teppenpaw because you’re so friendly?” Then, because she was feeling brave all of a sudden (having a friend does this to people) she asked Ellie, “What subject are you most looking forward to? I want to use my wand a lot, but I have a feeling I’d do well in potions since it seems like cooking, but with unusual ingredients.”

0 Marian You'd be friends with someone who's blue? 0 Marian 0 5

Ellie

April 05, 2010 3:56 PM

Heck, I'd be friend with someone who's purple by Ellie

“And who’d thought I’d be sitting at the Teppenpaw table?" Ellie giggled, secretly glad that Marian had. "Not that I even knew what House I was going to be in before I got here, though I had hoped it’d be Aladren when I read how academic oriented they are. I’m guessing you got Teppenpaw because you’re so friendly?” Ellie had never seen Marian talk so much before. She had to admit, it was a nice change. Friendly? Ellie? She blushed in an "aw, shucks," type way, grinning. “What subject are you most looking forward to? I want to use my wand a lot, but I have a feeling I’d do well in potions since it seems like cooking, but with unusual ingredients," Marian added.

Ellie hadn't really thought about this before. She really did animals, and thought Care of Magical Creatures could be fun. Potions seemed alright, but a bit tedious. Transfiguration sounded like a lot of fun, turning things into other things and back again. "Transfiguration," she answered finally. "I like the idea that one thing could be another, and vise versa." She sucked the final remains of pudding off of her spoon. She was glad her mother wasn't there; she hated things out of order. Which was why her hair salon was always neat as a pin, with not a single hair left on the ground at the end of the day. This made her curious about Marian's family.

"So what's your family like? Mine's kind of insane, I suppose. I have a sister, Cameron, and we're best friends. She's a lot like you."

0 Ellie Heck, I'd be friend with someone who's purple 0 Ellie 0 5

Nic

April 05, 2010 4:05 PM

I think I prefer Beach Volleyball by Nic

Nic took Cosette's word for it that most wizards didn't live in muggle communities and her reason for why her parents did seemed to make sense. They still lived in the house Mom had grown up in, and if Gramma were alive, she'd still be there now.

Theoretically, Dad's parents were alive and well someplace, but he was pretty sure they were from Canada. To hear Mom tell of it, that was like Siberia or Antartica - remote, far away, and freezing cold. They didn't visit and the Grandparents Sawyer never visited either. He'd always thought it was a little weird but he'd never been motivated enough to ask about it.

He wondered if maybe they were like Cosette's mom's parents and weren't so happy about Dad marrying Mom. Though honestly? Dad was lucky he got Mom. Even accounting for the fact that he was a wizard living in a muggle world, he was the sort of guy who should not normally get pretty women to look at him never mind marry him. And Mom could be pretty, when she lost the crystals and the freaky clothes. Mom cleaned up nicely.

Dad, on the other hand, had trouble matching his shoes. Nic had seen him leave the house wearing one flip flop and one winter boot before. He was willing to bet that wasn't a failing of the entire wizarding world, as Mom had often claimed, else the clothing of the other Sonora students would be much more painful to look at.

Oh, there was something to her claim - the school uniform was, as previously noted, a robe - but there didn't seem to be a society induced pathological inability to dress themselves without looking like an idiot.

Cosette was hardly the first person to ever ask him how his parents met, though she was probably the first to do so because of their differing magical backgrounds. Usually it was in amazement that Dad had managed to find a wife when he couldn't even find the sunglasses sitting on top of his head.

Nic sighed. "My mom's a psychic." According to the story Mom usually told, she'd just Known that dad was The One when she laid eyes on him. The true story was a little more complicated, but it didn't actually vary in that key element. "There's actually a little bit of overlap between the magical world and the muggle world when you start talking about psychics with some real talent."

"Don't get me wrong, most muggle psychics are fakes, and even Mom fakes her way through most of her readings unless there's something really significant about to happen, but she's genuine enough to be able to tell when she needs to be somewhere. I remember one time I got into a fight at school, and Mom was at the principal's office before I was."

Nic shrugged, figuring that was as much verification of his mother's talents as was necessary, and continued the story. "So, anyway, she just Knew she was supposed to go into this one building on this one particular day, so she did. It turned out, there was some kind of Divination conference going on. Dad was there, newly graduated, and hoping to find a master diviner to apprentice under. Mom just wandered around, learning a few new things about the Art, not even realizing that she'd crashed an event for witches and wizards, and none of them noticed she was a muggle either." Nic had realized pretty early on that fortune tellers - magical or muggle - could be oblivious like that.

"Then, Dad walks up to the table where she was discussing the finer points of tarot reading with a witch. She turns and takes one look at him and says, 'I'm going to marry you,' and he says, 'I know,' and, three hours and some legal paperwork in front of the nearest judge later, she did."

Nic sighed, and rolled his eyes. "For a couple who eloped after knowing each other less than a day, they've been married for fifteen years and haven't ever had a real fight so far as I can tell. I think it took them a week to figure out she didn't have magic but he did. They both had the Gift and that was the talent that really mattered to them." He shrugged, "Magic was just icing."

Speaking of icing, was that cake? It was. Nic reached over to cut himself a slice.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how most wizards meet muggles, though," he added to be fair. He was reasonably certain his situation was fairly unusual, not that he really knew a lot of half-bloods.

1 Nic I think I prefer Beach Volleyball 165 Nic 0 5

Caleb Nichols

April 05, 2010 4:06 PM

Me too! But don't be polite, dig in! by Caleb Nichols

Caleb was excited for his first term at Sonora Academy. He was so excited because he was finally going to be on his own. That morning when he had woken up, he hadn't been able to sit still. When he had run downstairs he had jumped on his brother, Cooper's back. "Guess who's going to Sonora!!!!!" he had yelled. Cooper had laughed and pried him off of his back and set him down and ruffled his dirty blonde hair. "Someone's excited," Coop had said to him. Caleb had smiled and fixed his breakfast of Reese's Cocoa Puffs, his favorite cereal. He had such a good life since he was a half-blood.

As he was eating his sister had come downstairs and ruffled his hair as she walked past. "Okay what is with the ruffling of my hair?" he had said, exasperated. His sister, Hayden, turned around and smiled at him. "Are you excited little bro?" He smiled back at her and said, "Am I ever!"

And finally, he had arrived at Sonora. He suddenly lost all of his excitement when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to hang out with Cooper and Hayden on a daily basis like he used to, but he knew he could write them so he gained some of it back. As he listened to the headmistress's speech he smiled to himself. He was actually here! He was actually at Sonora Academy!

When he was handed a cup with clear bubbling water in it he looked around at the other first years and did what they were doing: he drank the liquid. He looked back down at his skin and gasped. He was blue! He chuckled as he thought about how he could join the Muggle group Blue Man Group. But then he grinned and adjusted his glasses. He was in the Aladren house! He had heard great things about that house.

When he walked over to the Aladren table he took a seat across from a girl who spoke before he had a chance to. "Oh um hi," she said to him. "Hi!" he said, giving her a nervous smile. "Im Caleb Nichols. What's your name?" he asked her. His green eyes were nervous for her answer. She didn't seem too social.

0 Caleb Nichols Me too! But don't be polite, dig in! 0 Caleb Nichols 0 5

Marian

April 05, 2010 5:12 PM

Then I guess I can be friends with someone who's yellow by Marian

Making friends wasn’t something Marian could say she had done a lot in life, but she was doing it right now. She felt great talking to someone else about her excitement for school; her old pet dog didn’t have much to say when she gushed to him about her letter from Sonora. But since he was the only one who she had the confidence to really talk to, she had to make-do.

Marian tried to picture what Transfiguration might be like while Ellie talked a bit about why she’d like to take it. Changing things back and forth would be very helpful, she mused. She couldn’t picture it being easy, of course, but she’d just have to practice a lot is all.

"So what's your family like?” Marian blinked at Ellie’s yellow face as the Teppenpaw continued, “Mine's kind of insane, I suppose. I have a sister, Cameron, and we're best friends. She's a lot like you."

Marian gave a shy smile, wondering what exactly she meant by that. Did she mean that her sister was also blue? That she was also socially inept? That she was also shy? Marian assumed it was the latter, glad that Ellie may be able to understand her more than she would’ve expected.

“I don’t have a sister,” Marian told her, “or a brother. It’s just me and my dog, Lucy. I would’ve brought her, but I wasn’t allowed, obviously. It was okay though, because she’s so old so bringing her with would be a nightmare.” She tried to think about her parents. How does one explain their parents the right way when introducing oneself? “Well.. um… my dad is a professor for English at a muggle school. He’s pretty great, I think. My mom runs a book store on campus, so I’m there a lot. They’re really big on education and thought this was a great opportunity, even if magic seemed off to them.” She nodded to Ellie and asked, “What about your family? Are your parents muggles, too?” Then she gasped, looking around wondering where Ellie's sister/best-friend was.

0 Marian Then I guess I can be friends with someone who's yellow 0 Marian 0 5

Charlie

April 05, 2010 5:21 PM

That's the spirit! by Charlie

When Dmitry smiled back and said their 'study session' sound ed like a good idea, Charlie didn't hold back on her more genuine smile. It showed teeth and everything. She'd secured a date within an hour of meeting a boy. That was quick, even for her. Plus Dmitry could tell her all about Durmstrang, and she could avoid topics that were potentially cute (she was right, he didn't seem impressed by the concept). It was just as well he changed the subject, because she was on the verge of daydreaming.

"So do you play Quidditch?" Dmitry asked.

This was usually the sort of thing Charlotte would tip-toe around, because some pureblood families didn't like girls to play Quidditch. However, she could hardly lie about it now. "Yeah, I do," she replied. "I'm the assistant captain for the Crotalus team," Charlotte said proudly. "I play Chaser with my brother - he's the captain." It was going to be a very Abbott-run team now that Helena had graudated. Charlotte wasn't going to admit to how poorly their team had done last year in the championship. "What position do you play?" Charlotte asked. "We have some openings on the team."

Charlotte briefly wondered whether she would be too distracted having Dmitry on the team, but she decided she could focus enough with Daniel on the opposition, so it shouldn't be a problem. Quidditch was going to be so fun this year! Charlie was only sorry it would mean she'd probably have to spend less time dancing with Lita. She didn't want to let her best friend down, but Quidditch was important, too.

0 Charlie That's the spirit! 0 Charlie 0 5

Cosette

April 05, 2010 5:53 PM

Tennis can be fun, too by Cosette

Maybe his mom had some Seer in her. Most muggles had some magical background, even if they were unaware of it, and it wouldn’t be too outlandish of the thing to believe. The way Nic spoke about her abilities made Cosette think that this might be the case. How else could she get into a Divination Convention? After all, wizarding meetings are typically warded with spells to make the common muggle remember they had to be somewhere else miles away. Then again, it wasn’t impossible that they decided against spell barriers for whatever reasons.

"Then, Dad walks up to the table where she was discussing the finer points of tarot reading with a witch.” She was about to ask what Tarot cards looked like exactly since she’d never really knew much about Divination, but she held her tongue to hear the rest of the story. “She turns and takes one look at him and says, 'I'm going to marry you,'” - Cosette almost dropped her fork – “and he says, 'I know,' and, three hours and some legal paperwork in front of the nearest judge later, she did."

Wow, talk about being self-assured. Then they were married for fifteen years without major fights to mention? Cosette suddenly didn’t think Divination was such a foolish subject as she had before she came here. It seemed to be like any other real magic, if not more powerful. Maybe her parents were wrong when they bashed it for being ‘fake’ magic. How could anything that’s fake work so well?

Nic got a piece of cake (wait, cake? how’d she miss cake?!) and said, “I'm pretty sure that's not how most wizards meet muggles, though."

“It makes more sense than any scenario I would’ve guessed,” she admitted brazenly. “It works well since they both are into Divination too, I’d think. So does that mean that you like the subject, too?” She chanced a look at the Divination professor, apparently the first one after a brief period of time without the course. “Or is it something only your parents are into?”

0 Cosette Tennis can be fun, too 0 Cosette 0 5

Jera

April 05, 2010 6:04 PM

I don't have issues! by Jera

"What’s the point of this stupid House stuff anyway?" Cooper said.

Honestly, jera would have preferred someone who was chatty and cheerful, but it wasn't like she really had any friends. Plus she was now the roommate of Chelsea Brockert, who had always intimidated her a little bit. Cooper's company was about the best she was going to get, and she was sure that he would appreciate her attention. Somewhere, very deep down.

"One part is so that you feel you have a sort of family while you're here at Sonora," she said, clutching at straws to answer a question she'd never been asked before. "You live with your housemates a lot of the year, share commonrooms and things like that. So you get to know them quite well, and can ask for ... help and advice, I suppose." She thought she'd better move on before he caught on that she didn't know what she was talking about. "And the other part is for competition. With Housepoints and Quidditch, for example - being competetive pushes us to do better." That part was proven with facts and properly documented studies, so Jera sounded more sure about this part of her explanation. "So we can compete against other Houses to be our best."

Also, theoretically it sorted you to be in close quarters with similar people, but Jera wasn't sure of the validity of this claim, nor its usefulness if it did turn out to be true. Again, she didn't think sharing this with Cooper was going to help any, so on this occasion Jera stayed quiet. She tried to turn the conversation round to something she could talk about with greater confidence.

"You'll be able to unpack tonight, if you like," she said, "and classes will start in the morning. I'm a bit nervous about my classes, because I'll be joining the sixth years," Jera admitted. "How about you? Nervous? Excited?... Couldn't care less?" she smiled.

0 Jera I don't have issues! 0 Jera 0 5

Ellie

April 05, 2010 6:30 PM

And a blue friend never hurt (at least, not that I know of) by Ellie

Ellie liked the talking Marian to the I'll-just-hide-behind-my-hands-thank-you Marian she'd seen before. Maybe she had just been embarrassed? Or shy? Or embarrassed and shy? (...embarrhy?) That was probably it. Thinking about it, Ellie would probably have hid too, but under blushing skin as opposed to blue fingers. She chuckled when Marian mentioned her dog, Lucy. It reminded her of her neighbor's huge Bernese mountain dog who especially liked to chase her. That had been one of the cons of staying home all summer. The monster gave her the heebie-jeebies.

“Well.. um… my dad is a professor for English at a muggle school. He’s pretty great, I think. My mom runs a book store on campus, so I’m there a lot. They’re really big on education and thought this was a great opportunity, even if magic seemed off to them.” Ellie smiled knowingly. They sounded like nice parents, maybe a bit overbearing, but what did she know? She'd never met them. “What about your family? Are your parents muggles, too?”

Ellie hadn't been expecting this, but was quick to answer none the less.

"Well, my dad is a wizard, he's a broom designer. My mom is a Muggle. She's a hairdresser, she has her own salon. It's a lot of fun and I get free magazines." She grinned cheekily. "I just wish Cam had been a witch, too. Then everything would be perfect." She pouted, but looked up at Marian again, and smiled. Having a friend was a great comfort from being away from her family.

"But I'm glad that I met you."

0 Ellie And a blue friend never hurt (at least, not that I know of) 0 Ellie 0 5

Nic

April 05, 2010 8:35 PM

Yeah, that's not bad. by Nic

The cake tasted every bit as good as everything else had and he enjoyed his first couple of bites of it immensely before he followed Cosette's look to the staff table. By the turn in the conversation and the vague interest he'd taken in the Headmistress's speech, he gathered she was looking at the new Divination teacher. He'd taken note of the man to see if he recognized the guy as one of Dad's occassional visitors, but if he was, Nic didn't made the connection. He usually made himself scarce when the folks had visitors, though, so that didn't necessarily mean anything.

He gave a small short laugh at the idea that he might enjoy Divinations just because his parents did. So far, he hadn't demostrated any particular Gift in the subject, and he really hoped it stayed that way.

"My skill with divinations so far is knowing it's going to hurt when I fall off my bike. That's pretty much where I expect it's going to stay and I have no plan to change it. Fortune telling is my parents' thing, not mine. I'm trying to stay as far away from it as I can."

1 Nic Yeah, that's not bad. 165 Nic 0 5

Sophia

April 05, 2010 8:35 PM

You're welcome! by Sophia

The answers provided by Starbuck were insightful, Sophia was anxious to explore the Labyrinth Gardens…they sounded so cool! She would have to explore them some day; her first priority was to get good grades to make her parents proud. She knew that they were making a lot of sacrifices in order to send her to Sonora. She was interested in knowing more about their Head of House, “Why is our Head of House crazy?” she followed Starbuck´s gaze to where the mentioned Professors where. She smiled; Prof. Mckindy looked kind of crazy…she already liked him.

Starbuck told her to ask whatever else she wanted and Sophia had a lot of questions, but she was afraid to frighten Starbuck. Her eleven-year old body was bursting with them so she finally relented to them; “Is the potions class awesome?” she was really interested in that, she was an awesome potioneer. “Which is the best house? Well apart from Pecari of course!” she took a deep breath and continued “who are the mean ones at the school? Because my parents told me to stay away from them,” at magical primary school she had been teased because her parents didn’t have a lot of money. But she didn’t care about that; her parents had given her all of the love they could. “And most importantly, will I love Sonora? And do you love it here?” her green eyes were filled with excitement and hope for everything.

0 Sophia You're welcome! 0 Sophia 0 5

Coach Amelia Pierce

April 05, 2010 9:36 PM

Perhaps we should stop cursing each other. by Coach Amelia Pierce

"Thanks," Amelia responded to the offer of luck with the Crotali. She might need it. With a smile, she began to make a joke about the false sense of security the Pecari had tried to lull him with, but she stopped when she realized she'd lost his attention to the Aladren table. She tried to see what had caught his interest, but she couldn't tell what was interesting about Thomas's new assistant talking with a first year.

A short while later, he explained, and she tried not to show her surprise. She was quite sure he hadn't had a son last year, and certainly not an eleven year old one. On the other hand, she ought to be the last person to be surprised by a sudden late onset of parenthood.

She gave the boy another look of interest, but she didn't see a family resemblance. "Is he one of your relatives, or did you adopt on purpose?"

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Perhaps we should stop cursing each other. 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 0 5

Dana Smythe

April 06, 2010 5:55 AM

Pecari fourth years? by Dana Smythe

Another Feast, another year Dana thought miserably. First year hadn't been great, because she hadn't made any friends. Second year she'd sunk into the shadows and stayed there. Last year her parents had pulled her out of school for its majority, and then decided to send her back again for fourth year. She didn't know how she was supposed to fit in, and she wasn't doing it very well.

What's the worst that could happen? she asked herself as she got ready for school that morning. Her robes were clean and well pressed, just the way she hated them. She'd tied her dark blonde hair back into a straight ponytail, keeping it away from her face. Neat and presentable, and ready to take on the world. Or maybe just Sonora. Or maybe just her own dinner plate.

Letting the Headmistress' speech pass her by, Dana had sat on her own (again) and was staring miserably at her plate. Her attention only caught up with her when the food was served. At least she had something to focus on now to get her through the next half an hour. Unfortunately, the salt was out of reach, so Dana had to comunicate. "Could you please pass the salt," she said to the most conveniently situated student.

0 Dana Smythe Pecari fourth years? 142 Dana Smythe 0 5

Demelza

April 06, 2010 9:16 AM

Glad that's settled. by Demelza

As Demelza had expected, Jude still wasn't wearing shoes and Delilah had gotten a new pair that she wanted people to sign. Demelza grinned widely at them, glad that her friends hadn't changed too much. She liked them they way they were. Demelza certainly hadn't changed much: she was still as hyper as ever, and a ball of energy and joy, in general.

"That's awesome! My cousin sounds a lot like Veronica," she added, thinking of how Paul didn't want his dad to remarry. "You see, my cousin's dad currently has a girlfriend, and they are talking about getting married, but my cousin really doesn't want it to happen. Maybe I just don't know how it feels, but I would love to have a new member of my family! He just doesn't think much of the idea... but a new baby, that's so cool!" She gave Delilah a high five. Demelza honestly didn't know what it was like to not have a mother. Now that she thought of it, she would be devastated if her mom died. Her mom was so cool, being a magical creature caretaker. Demelza ginned when she thought of all the illegal magical creatures she had back at home. Only her mom would do that.

"Well, my summer was very eventful, to be honest. My brother Jamie was home for much of it, because he had lots of games in the U.S.. He's the one who plays on Australia's national Quidditch team. I got to go to a few of his games, and it was so awesome! And then... I spent time with my family most of the summer at home, and my cousin's house. He was distracted much of the time though," she said, rolling her eyes. She thought that Paul and his little friend were funny in a way.

"And then a few days ago a freak-o killer came and tried to kill my cousin, little sister, and my self," she said in a sickly pleasant matter-of-factly way. "And that was about it."

After Jude told them about his summer, Delilah congratulated Demelza on her making Assistant Captain. Demelza gave a bow, and then answered her question, pretending to have a tear in her eyes. "I'll treat them as my own," she said, pretending to wipe away a tear. And then she changed her tone to hyper mode again. "And whip them all into shape! And that means you too, Delilah! I burn about 1000 calories a day talking, so I'm already slim and like almost in shape!" She excitedly said, laughing at the foolishness of what she just said. It made hardly any sense, but nothing Demelza said made sense. "Lucky you, Jude, you can stay fat all year," she said, laughing. Still as crazy as ever, she was.

0 Demelza Glad that's settled. 0 Demelza 0 5

Daniel Nash

April 06, 2010 11:02 AM

Same here by Daniel Nash

Daniel's summer had differed from his past few summers in one very important respect. Mom had married Anton about two weeks after he and Holly returned from Sonora. So the first two weeks were insane with fittings and flowers and seating arrangements and whatever else it was that had to be done so that the wedding could go off without a hitch.

The studio had been kind enough not to ask for Daniel to do much more than fill out the paperwork for returning to the show during that time. Well, they figured they were being kind. Daniel would have much preferred filming scenes where Nate had to deal with his divorced parents than living the real life scenes himself. Fortunately, Dad wasn't involved in the wedding and Daniel could escape to his house for short periods of time before Mom found him again.

Holly, of course, remained naively optimistic that Anton would actually stick around and made an effort to bond with the guy. Daniel wasn't going to bother, and Mom seemed to think this meant he was being 'moody' and 'unfriendly' though he really really wasn't. He was only being realistic. She didn't accept this explanation, even when Daniel pointed out the empirical proof, and he was sent to his room for the rest of the evening, which honestly? He was perfectly all right with. There weren't any wedding plans going on in his room. If that was the reward, he'd show her 'moody' and 'unfriendly'.

Eventually, the two weeks were over, and Daniel's life returned to normal. Or as normal as Daniel's life ever was. He moved back into his room at Dad's and resumed his role as Nate Bealer. Becky from last year had left the show while he'd been away, so he was the biggest child star on the set again, which was comforting and familiar. Actually, the whole acting thing was starting to feel entirely too comforting and familiar and he was a little worried about his plans for a 'normal' existence when he was done with school.

He was becoming less and less sure that being a nobody accountant was really what he wanted in life. And that terrified him.

He could only hope coming back to Sonora and returning to the role of Aladren student would fix the problem. He parted company from Holly as soon as he could - she was still in the Honeymoon phase of Mom's marriage even if Mom wasn't anymore and being around his sister for any length of time grated on his nerves more than normal - and headed in to the Cascade Hall to take up his position as an Aladren as quickly as possible.

Smiling as he spotted Taylor Li (one of the greatest success stories he'd ever seen of dropping acting in favor of academics), he headed over to join her at the table. "Hey, Taylor," he greeted her.

He didn't ask after her summer because then she'd ask after his, and he wasn't sure he wanted to admit how much he was liking his Nate Bealer role to her. Even redirecting to the wedding wasn't going to work because she'd probably ask after the show since she'd been on it. He needed a much larger redirect, something important enough to bypass the summer entirely. For an Aladren, there was only one thing that big. Well, two, but the CATS came first.

"So," he said, "Fourth years, now. Have you had any CATS nightmares yet? I had one the night after Holly got her scores. I got all A's. It was awful." It was still better than Holly did in reality, but Holly was (a) not an Aladren, and (b) suffering from potion-, history-, and DADA- phobias. Besides which, a failing grade or two was almost better than straight across 'Acceptable'. It gave your report card a little character.

A's were completely and utterly boring. They were the minimum standard and scoring an A only meant you were competent enough not to cause harm to yourself or others when applying the subject. Straight across A's meant a one failed to display any kind of notability in any subject at all.

Maybe it was his own mental issues (with half his genetics coming from the same source as Holly's, he must have some; Paul Greer seemed emotionally stable and even mostly sane so the bulk of his half-sister's mental health problems must come from their shared mother) but he thought having one P and the rest A's was better than all A's. At least then he would have been notable in one of his classes, if only in a bad way.

Given this, Daniel was almost willing to accept that there might have been a kernel of truth to a recent accusation made against him that he was a drama queen. Almost.

However, he still maintained that it was wildly inappropriate to call him that when Holly had been right there in the same room. Relative comparison alone should have precluded him from getting labeled as such.

1 Daniel Nash Same here 130 Daniel Nash 0 5

Alison Sinclair

April 06, 2010 2:15 PM

I seem to meet that description. by Alison Sinclair

Aunt Lauren hadn't had the common decency to tell her what was going on or even allow Alison a few days at home after pretty much everyone she knew went AWOL, but she had found the time to write a long and glowing letter about how much she had enjoyed her time at Sonora Academy and how utterly sure she was that Alison would like it far more than she'd ever liked being semi-privately tutored. Alison, receiving said letter at her parents' house in Philly, had taken one look at the hyperbole and considered jumping off the roof.

Alison's powers had manifested when she was six, and she'd been shipped off to her Muggleborn aunt the very next time Lauren was in the country afterward. She dropped in on her parents and brothers for a few weeks in the summer and for a while at Christmas, but other than that, Aunt Lauren and Uncle Arnie and Mellie were her family. She could spot any attempt her aunt made to bring her 'round to something she knew Alison was going to hate at a hundred paces, and this was the biggest effort she'd ever seen Lauren make. It was inevitable that this stay at her aunt's old school, in her aunt's old House, was going to be a disaster.

It's just until June, Ali, she told herself, taking a seat at the table. Then you can go home and find out - whatever it is that went wrong. Then you fix it, and we're all able to go back to normal.

Instinctively, Alison reached up to touch her necklace, the three thin leather cords supporting the large, round wooden charm she'd carved the runes into herself. What was normal, anyway? Before they had started teaching themselves things? She didn't know if she could go back to just doing what she was told, but she also had her suspicions about why all the parents had suddenly decided their girls would do better in different schools in, at least one instance, other nations. She suspected Tessa and at least one of the others had been caught.

She listened to the headmistress' opening speech, giving a million thanks for small favors when no reference was made to transfers in general or Alison Sinclair in specific. As the terms 'Head Boy' and 'Head Girl' sounded important and official, she made a note of who they were and resolved to avoid them if at all possible. Then she deigned to fix her attention on the feast.

It looked good. So did the school - the building was among the nicest she'd ever been in. She could already tell that she was going to have to admit it wasn't the school itself she had a problem with soon. Alison looked up at the sound of a voice, pushing her straight dark hair back from where it had fallen by her face.

"Sure thing," she said, passing the salt shaker along and taking the other girl in at the same time. She looked not too far from Alison's age, so she decided to be friendly. Well, to make an effort, anyway. "I'm Alison. Fourth year Pecari."

16 Alison Sinclair I seem to meet that description. 140 Alison Sinclair 0 5

Autumn

April 06, 2010 2:21 PM

Yay! by Autumn

Autumn relaxed slightly. So far, Nadi seemed nice and not the pureblood princessy of Crotalus at all. It wasn't that Autumn had much to worry about as far as being judged by them for her background, as she was a pureblood and the Collinses were considered a good pureblood family. It was just that she didn't have much in common with the people that it really mattered to. Besides, her older sister was a half-blood.

They also tended to be snobby about other things, the way Chelsea was. She wasn't close to the other girl, but Lily didn't get on with her at all and Nina didn't like her either. Chelsea had never said much to Autumn though. Still,that didn't mean she would do well if someone was mean to her.

"It's okay." Autumn replied. "I'm really not either." Even though her mom had six sisters and one brother, it wasn't as if she was around them all the time. "It's usually just me, my parents and my little sister Willow at home." A pang of homesickness struck her, wondering what they were up too. "I have an older sister Lily too, but she's twenty-one and in college so she's usually at school." Techincally, Lily was her half-sister, but Autumn never thought of it that way. She was just Autumn's sister. Autumn was sure Lily was going to be pleased that Autumn was in Crotalus.

"I do have family here, but the most closely related ones are my second cousins, Nina and Chelsea Brockert. Nina is a year older than us, in Pecari and Chelsea is a sixth year Aladren. There are some other, even more distant cousins as well but I've only really met them a few times." Autumn gave Nadi another smile. "So, what about you? Any family?"

11 Autumn Yay! 164 Autumn 0 5

Marian

April 06, 2010 7:38 PM

They don't hurt, but they do stutter by Marian

“A broom designer? No way! That’s too cool!” Marian gasped in awe after Ellie told her what her dad did for a living. As a kid, she’d always thought that nasty witches rode brooms on Halloween, so when she read all about how important brooms were in the wizarding world she was impressed. She was excited to ride a broom – maybe not join the Quidditch team or anything, since the sport seemed dangerous – and see what flying really felt like for herself.

Marian’s eyes went glossy when Ellie told her that her mom was a muggle hairdresser. She must get know all the coolest hair trends and can dye her hair any color she wants. When Ellie mentioned dying her hair blue, she thought her mother just about fainted. Marian looked at the blue fingers, glad to see the color ebbing away. If her mom was freaked out by the idea of her with blue hair, she should take a look at her now.

Her happiness for her friends neat parents turned a bit sour when she heard her older sister wasn’t a witch. It can’t be too fun not being able to share everything with your best friend. Marian could imagine how sad they both must feel.

“But,” Ellie said, “I’m glad I met you.”

Marian felt her face get hot and hid it behind her hands. “You’re gl-glad you m-met me?” she nervously stuttered. She felt so on-the-spot, and willed herself to stop being so bashful. She slowly brought her hands down and played with her fingers before saying, “I’m glad I met you, too, Ellie.”

It’s true, she was honestly glad she had. She could only imagine having sat here without Ellie – or at another table – and being near someone who wasn’t nearly as nice. She looked at the still packed Aladren table and sighed. “I have a feeling it will be a lot harder to make any more friends, but I’m really happy to know that I at least do have one.” She smiled a bit more boldly before a thought came to her. “So, you said your dad makes brooms? Does that mean you use them – I mean, do you like to play Quidditch and things like that?” If Ellie played, she decided, she’d have to at least go watch the games – dangerous or not.

0 Marian They don't hurt, but they do stutter 0 Marian 0 5

Dmitri

April 06, 2010 9:01 PM

Lots and lots of pictures. by Dmitri

Dmitri smiled slightly in amusement over Colleen’s reaction. “Well, yes. By paying people, we help provide them with a job as well as do our part in the economy.” He acted as though this were the most obvious thing, because he assumed that even purebloods had some sort of economy. Although, he couldn’t be one-hundred percent positive about that. For all he knew, they could just make their own money, but that didn’t seem very realistic even with magic. Besides, before he had come to the school, they had to go to an office to exchange muggle money to wizarding money. So, no, he didn’t think it very likely they made their money.

However, it seemed as if there were other ways their economy worked. He couldn’t help frowning a bit at the mention of house elves. “Why do they not get paid?” He asked. It seemed like some sort of slave labor if they weren’t being paid for it. But would it fall under human rights violations? Were house elves considered that way? He had no idea, but he also knew that as a diplomat’s son that it wasn’t always wise to rock the boat, especially with so little information. Perhaps, he would need to do a bit of research on the subject. Maybe they actually liked doing the work. Maybe they were like a family dog. Who knew?

Okay, now he was terribly confused rather than frightened. Werewolves falling in love with girls was normal? How did the girls feel about that? Did that mean werewolves were limited to being male? The Twilight movies seemed to imply so since they had all been male. Did that mean that being a werewolf was actually something genetic? Obviously, he would have to do more research on that as well. He had no idea how he was going to keep up with all the academics as well as all this extra work he had to do just to learn about the world he was now living in. It wasn’t like growing up in the muggle world where he had eleven years to learn about it and he still didn’t know it all. Sigh. He would be buried in books at this rate.

Or maybe not. His eyes lit up at being asked to explain muggle movies. He absolutely adored movies. “Movies are great! Brian did a good job of explaining the differences between pictures, but think of it as a whole bunch of moving pictures put together and they tell a story. For example, in one picture you might have a girl alone and then in another a boy joins her and in yet another, they are talking. It keeps going on and on to tell the story until the very last picture. Really old movies have no sound, but nowadays, they have sound so you know what the people are saying.” An idea occurred to him. “Maybe the two of you can come over sometime and we can watch movies in my theater.” Yes, his family had a private theater in their home.

0 Dmitri Lots and lots of pictures. 0 Dmitri 0 5

Ellie

April 06, 2010 9:09 PM

Well, better to stutter than to hurt! by Ellie

"Well, I learned how to ride, 'cause my dad really wanted me to. But it turns out, I'm totally afraid of heights," Ellie confessed. She blushed a bit and smiled shyly. The day she had first ridden a broom, she had been seven. She was still tall for her age, but not nearly as clumsy, as her feet hadn't been disproportionally large then. Her dad had steadied the broom, and as soon as she got on and kicked off of the ground, the broom zoomed way up high. Much too high to Ellie's liking, and soon she was looking at the top of her house. It had been a very scary day for her, and her father had had to come up on his own broom to get her down.

Ellie recalled the memory to Marian, giggling a bit. She liked how Marian was always so intrigued with everything. It made Ellie feel even more important than her robes ever could. Marian always had a wide-eyed expression that made her look as though she was forever in awe. Ellie was sure as heck glad that Marian hadn't sat at the Aladren now, and hoped they would have some classes together. Marian seemed like she was very studious, something Ellie hoped to be. Ellie was sort of an over-achiever, though she hated to admit it. She also hated the pressure that being an over-achiever put on her. Hopefully Marian would understand; her parents seemed like they would push her academically.

0 Ellie Well, better to stutter than to hurt! 0 Ellie 0 5

Dmitry

April 06, 2010 9:16 PM

Well I'm glad you approve! by Dmitry

Dmitry was surprised when she admitted she not only played but also was the assistant captain for the team. Most girls didn’t believe in playing Quidditch but he found the ones who did play were the type of girls he enjoyed being around. He smirked at her when she said Chaser, of course most girls were either chasers or seekers. “Ah a Chaser.” He said with a smile.

“I hope you’re good.” He teased her a bit with another smile. “Because I don’t lose.” He took a bite of his food and chewed slowly. It was true he refused to lose, even if he had to take out a Keeper and a seeker with a well placed swing of the bat.

After swallowing he finally answered her question. “I’m a beater; I do hope there is a beater position open.” He said with a smile. If not he might have to take someone out so they didn’t make it to Quidditch tryouts.

His eyes looked around the table trying to pin point the beater like figures at the table. Dmitry himself didn’t look well built for the position but he had been trained by one of the best Bulgarian beaters, father had made sure it was only the best for his sons.

0 Dmitry Well I'm glad you approve! 0 Dmitry 0 5

Veronica

April 06, 2010 9:29 PM

Letting it all out by Veronica

“It seems improper and ill-conceived to be fraternizing with so many boys,” Veronica commented in regards to the attention. Her grandmother said that it was perfectly fine to leave one’s options open by having many suitors, however, it was scandalous to openly and overly flirt with them. Matters such as that were better done in private when actually getting to know the person. Of course, this was assuming that a betrothal wasn’t already in place. In her unfortunate case, her father didn’t have the hindsight to do such a thing and therefore she was on her own to finding a worthy partner, but given his taste, this might have been a good thing.

She gave an almost dramatic sigh. Now that she had brought it up, it was apparent that she was going to have to spell out exactly what Rachel wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. How was she going to tell her best friend in the entire world that she was related now to a muggleborn, that her entire reputation would be ruined if anyone ever found out? “Well…” she started off slowly and even more quietly than before. It would be a miracle if Rachel could even hear what she was saying. “Juri is a…a…muggleborn!” The last part came out in a slight squeak. “If anyone found out, then no respectable pureblood would ever look at me.”

Veronica pretended to brush a tear from the corner of her eye as though this were the most distressing thing ever. In her view, it really was. “What’s worse is what if I did meet someone. I couldn’t very well introduce him to my family. Oh, this is my father, this is my stepmother, and this is my half blood little sibling. He would probably run away screaming.” She gave a heavy sigh and put her chin down into her folded arms. “With the baby, there’s not going to be any room for me. All the rooms are already filled. They’ll probably make me share mine with the baby while they’re all the happy family.” The last part said in a whisper.

She glanced over hoping her friend was still there. Now that she felt slightly better of having kept that inside herself all summer, she could concentrate fully on Rachel and what she had said earlier, “What happened over summer that was so awful?”

0 Veronica Letting it all out 0 Veronica 0 5

Juri

April 06, 2010 10:20 PM

All right, just double checking. by Juri

“Because boys are obviously the most important thing in the world,” Juri stated sarcastically. Though, he wasn’t really one that should be talking. Girl watching had begun its toll on him and had become vastly more interesting than doing most else. Thankfully, there were no girls around when he practiced on his guitar. Of course, then the topic became about girls and most of his songs were becoming focused on them, especially about one in particular. What the tone was, however, was set around his mood at the time. But at least, his focus was still there. He didn’t see why Charlotte couldn’t pull that into dance. He would bet that’s what Lita would do, but then Lita wasn’t snow. She was leaves, always dancing, always adapting, always beautiful. Or so one of his songs implied.

Juri blinked in surprise at the duh tone to her voice. It had been an honest question and it wasn’t actually as if every single girl wore a bikini. He certainly couldn’t imagine some old school teacher wearing one or for that matter, Lita’s little sister. His eyes flickered briefly to the younger girl. So not going there and back to Lita as she questioned him on what he found attractive. Should he lie and tell her that he did indeed find tall, skinny blondes with light eyes and perfect white skin attractive or should he tell the truth? It was a rather difficult decision when one got right down to it. If he told her the truth, then she might realize that he liked her type, which might make things really awkward between them, but if he liked, then he might be written completely off, which was probably best.

“Ah, society’s ideal,” he finally stated. Being male, he was well aware of what magazines pictured since there was a tendency to drool over them. Perhaps, truth was the way to go. “Yeah, blondes are pretty sexy, but so are brunettes and redheads. So, are girls with dark eyes and skin, but tall girls not so much. I mean tall girls are fine, but I don’t think I would want to go out with someone taller than me. I think it’d be a little weird if they had to lean down to kiss me. My mom would probably yell at me about that. She’s very big on girls being anything they want to be and that probably includes being taller than boys.” He laughed a bit thinking of his mom and how crazy she could be sometimes. He couldn’t help worry that would change.

“I will state that there is a type that I like above all else, but I’ll have to leave you guessing on that,” Juri teased, reaching over to tug on a bit of her hair, but not hard, with a smile. “Now, turnabouts fair play. May I guess what you find attractive? Is it tall, dark handsome dancers?” Thankfully, he was able to keep his voice light, though, it dipped some at the end, as he thought of what Carlos and his friends might be like. For all he knew, they could have already been an item. His fist closed thinking of the very idea. He already hated a boy he didn’t even know, but at least, it was better than dislike for his roommate.

0 Juri All right, just double checking. 0 Juri 0 5

Taylor

April 07, 2010 11:06 AM

Does that make us good company? by Taylor

Hearing her name, Taylor looked up in surprise to see Danny. When they had first started at Sonora, this day exactly, but three years ago, she had been just as surprised to see him then. At the time, she had thought they might become good friends since they had sort of known each other before, but as life had a funny way of not working out the way one wants it to, they had not become that close. She had been busy with trying not to act and, well, science, and he had been busy with acting and, well, Charlotte. Even so, the surprise didn’t last long and a welcoming grin spread across her face, “Hi, Daniel.”

Taylor’s features shifted at the mention of CATS, though, her lips upturned at the idea that Danny would get all A’s. It was impossible for someone in Aladren to get completely negative scores, wasn’t it? They were supposed to be the smart house after all. That had to count for something, but it did little to quench her fears. “Well, I did have a couple. In one I had gotten horrible grades and no one would ever hire me. The other was I got perfect scores and I was forced to stay in the magical world working three different jobs.” There it was. Yes, failing was a fear, but so was succeeding.

Knowing that Danny was probably confused by why completely opposite nightmares scared her, Taylor decided to elaborate, “I don’t want to fail the CATS, but if I do well, I feel obligated to get a magical career. I’m really not sure that’s what I want to do with my life. At first, I wanted to be a scientist and just assumed that there was a magical career somewhere for that, but now I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t love science, but I just don’t think I want to do that for the rest of my life, you know? It’s like a been there, done that, sort of thing.”

She wasn’t sure if she was making any sense or if he really understood. Danny might very well be set for life with acting. Thinking of that, she wondered how everything had gone for him over the summer and that it was rude not to have asked, “So, how was your summer? I saw a couple of episodes of Street Beat. They were repeats. It was weird how…young you looked.” There were other adjectives she wanted to use to describe how he looked then to now. Getting older definitely changed everything.

0 Taylor Does that make us good company? 0 Taylor 0 5

Colleen

April 07, 2010 11:20 AM

Pictures would help! by Colleen

Colleen considered the idea of paying the house elves. “I don’t think they would like it if we paid them, it would probably just offend them. Plus they like working. I tried to give them a holiday once but they refused.” Plus if Colleen did pay them, then she would have to endure the speech from her parents about how money isn’t something you should waste. In her eyes, Colleen thought her parents were far too worried about their money. They had enough of it, yet Daddy spent his days in foreign countries working and Mama socialising with all her high society friends. The part that worried Colleen the most was that was how her life was destined to be and she had no choice in it.

From what she could gather, Dmitri looked to have lived the muggle version of her life and Brian was what her parents would call muggle scum. Colleen thought that was highly unfair as Brian seemed a perfectly nice person, nothing like her parents had tried to convince her that muggles and muggle-borns would be like.

Colleen giggled as she listened intently to Brian’s rather confusing explanation of what movies are. She was still confused even after Dmitri had added to the explanation, but she tried not to show it. She was, after all a pureblood and it was not right for a pureblood to be confused. Colleen bit her lip at Dmitri’s offer. She wanted to accept it without hesitation as she doubted there would ever come another time when she had a chance to really find out what a movie was, but her parents would be oh so angry if they ever find out. “That would be nice.” Colleen replied, a small smile gracing her lips as ideas began formulate in her mind. She would find a way.

0 Colleen Pictures would help! 0 Colleen 0 5

Alessa

April 07, 2010 2:03 PM

All right by Alessa

"Hi, Caleb. I'm Alessa Hinckley." She replied. Alessa left off her family branch, as Caleb hadn't mentioned one. Besides, it really wasn't as if there were other pureblood Hinckley families in other states (and she would know if there were.) They were from New Jersey, period. Alessa actually didn't see a point of giving the state branch when there weren't branches in other states. It was understandable if a family was like the Careys with branches in several states but her family wasn't like that. It always seemed awkward to her introduce herself that way.

"Nice to meet you." Alessa smiled at Caleb. She might as well be friendly. Just because she liked to do her own thing a lot of the time didn't mean Alessa didn't want friends at all. "Welcome to Sonora." She knew he was one of the first years, as she knew the older Aladrens by sight.

It was difficult for her to know what to say next. Alessa often had a hard time coming up with conversation topics and making small talk. Added to this was Alessa's general lack of interest in topics most people enjoyed. She supposed she could just ask Caleb some general questions about himself. "So, um, where are you from?" Alessa asked. She took another bite of her sandwich while waiting for him to respond.

11 Alessa All right 150 Alessa 0 5

Marian

April 07, 2010 4:02 PM

I couldn't agree more by Marian

Ellie admitting to being afraid of heights shocked Marian. Ellie seemed fearless, but maybe that was just because she appeared to be outgoing. Pretty people with strong confidence always seemed supernatural (well, considering her magic, she kinda was supernatural anyways). Ellie sheepishly smiled at her as a blush lit up her face, which was also returning to its normal color a bit.

“A lot of people are afraid of heights,” Marian told her soothingly in a whisper, not wanting anyone else to hear about Ellie’s fear in case she wanted to keep it secret. “It’s okay, really! And now instead of watching you play Quidditch, we can watch the games together. It’ll be more fun!” She pictured Ellie being a good Quidditch player from what she’d read about the sport in her books, but maybe one day she’d overcome her fear and take over the pitch. Until then, Marian was clandestinely glad she had someone to enjoy her first real Quidditch game with.

She started to think about how they’d go back to their dorm once the game was over, and frowned. They couldn’t change Houses, could they? She wished she’d been a Teppenpaw and could room with the livewire across from her – maybe she could teach her how to be more social. Only a conversation with her had made Marian more open then she’d ever been with someone who wasn’t her family, her dog, or one of her parents’ older students. But they might have class together, right?

Marian beamed at Ellie suddenly, an idea dawning on her. “Hey, you know, we might not be in the same house, but it’s not like we’re taking different classes! We can study and do homework together, too!” Marian never had someone who wanted to do homework with her (all her former classmates thought it was boring, labeled her ‘nerd’ and went on with playing their video games and what-not). In case she sounded like a nerd to Ellie, who seemed cooler than the people who’d called her a nerd to begin with, she cleared her throat and quickly added, “Umm… we don’t have to… we can do other stuff, too.”

0 Marian I couldn't agree more 0 Marian 0 5

Brian

April 07, 2010 4:46 PM

Maybe even encyclopedias... by Brian

Brian listened as Dmitri and Colleen talked about paying house elves and the like. While he didn’t get why no one would want to be paid for work they do (or what house elves even were exactly), he didn’t get a lot about the magical realm. Maybe it was just something that came with the territory. And, hey, at least Colleen offered the elves a vacation, so it’s not like he assumed they were slaves or anything. Maybe house elves were like his oldest sister – she cleaned all the time just because she liked to, and he didn’t really understand why she did either.

After the topic shifted, he then thanked Dmitri for fixing up the ‘movie’ definition, before eating some more of his dinner. It tasted great, but it made him a bit homesick for his parent’s food. His parents were both great cooks in the kitchen, and his family all hanging out together and messing around before dinner was something not even the magic here could bring to him. Speaking of his family, he wondered how they were all fairing. His mom had him most worried; she cried for hours every year on the first day of school for each child of hers. (“My babies are going to grow up and leeeeave meee!” would be her mantra for the day). He could only imagine the grief she must be putting his dad and sisters through…

… He might want to write her a letter as soon as possible…

Dmitri took him out of his inner-ramblings with an invitation he’d never have heard if he’d stayed at home in his small town setting. Go to Dmitri’s house? Brian smiled, more happy with the invitation rather than the promise of seeing a movie in a private theater. Heck, he would’ve been just as glad to get invited to a shack. It made him feel great to know he was getting along fine with his Housemates. Everyone being in a good mood was all he needed to be in one.

“That sounds like it’d be fun!” he told him enthusiastically, a wide grin on his face. Colleen politely agreed after he did, wearing a smirk of her own. Brian’s thoughts then casually drifted from his family to theirs... “Besides who has magic and who doesn’t, what are your families like?” To clarify, he added, “Like how many siblings do you have and things like that?” It didn’t seem like an invasive question since it was one people tossed around a lot in meet and greets, and it was something he cared about. It was also something that would make sense to everyone - unless magical families were totally different then muggle ones and he just didn't know it yet.

He glanced grayed green eyes between the two, waiting patiently for an answer as he resumed eating.

0 Brian Maybe even encyclopedias... 0 Brian 0 5

Ellie

April 07, 2010 5:41 PM

Me neither! (Then again, I said it....) by Ellie

"That's cool. I'd love to have someone to study with. I'm more a crammer, myself," Ellie assured her mumbling friend. And Ellie meant it sincerely, too. None of her friends were that into studying, so Ellie would have to do her studying at home. Now that she was at a boarding school, though, would her dorm mates want to study with her? She doubted it; girls her age weren't much into the whole "academics" thing. But Marian seemed pretty enthusiastic, a trait Ellie much appreciated in this once-quiet girl.

Ellie looked up at the clock, hoping there was still lots of time for her and Marian to talk. The buzz of chatter sent tingles up her spine. She grinned at the thought of casting spells, turning turtles into rabbits, brewing potions that could save a life. And to do it with Marian would be even better; she was quite supportive. Ellie had never really talked about her fear of heights with many people, but Marian had taken it well. Ellie bounced her foot up and down underneath the table, making her whole body, to the tips of her orange bangs, shake a little bit.

"I can't tell you how excited I am!" she squealed.

0 Ellie Me neither! (Then again, I said it....) 0 Ellie 0 5

Ellie

April 07, 2010 5:41 PM

Me too! (Then again, I said it....) by Ellie

0 Ellie Me too! (Then again, I said it....) 0 Ellie 0 5

Daniel

April 07, 2010 10:56 PM

You certainly can't be good company if you don't show up. by Daniel

As Taylor described her nightmares, Daniel found himself - despite her clarifying elaboration - understanding the second dream far more readily than the first. Sure, doing bad on the exams was an obvious nightmare, but not being able to land a job? Daniel couldn't imagine that. He already had a job, one he could continue and do well in as a career even if he completely flunked all of his studies.

Doing too well, though, that he got. It was part of his problem with Street Beat. Or maybe it was part of his non-problem with Street Beat. Because his problem with the show was that he didn't have a problem with the show. And he wasn't supposed to like acting. That was just supposed to be something he did so he didn't get bored over the summer and so he could spend some quality work-time with his father.

And not asking about her summer didn't work. Oh, it distracted the conversation for a little while, but it was the first day back. Of course the first lull was going to bring out that question. Still, he was a good enough actor to keep his heavy sigh unsighed and just grimaced a little at the mention of re-runs. He'd been ten during his first season and though he'd thought he looked pretty mature at the time, now he knew how very very wrong he'd been.

"At least you weren't watching Mom's A Date with Alfred. Talk about baby pictures. I can't watch that movie without cringing." Of course, that was as much because it showed Mom falling in love with Step-Dad Two in it as because it had two scenes with a three year old Danny Nash bawling his eyes out, but that wasn't really the point.

"Anyway, summer was okay. Mom got married again. This one's name is Anton. Michael lasted almost a full year last time, and Anton's already made it past my dad's two months so they're not completely incompatable. And since he's not an actor, they're both starting to get older, and neither of them drink heavily or do drugs, I'm putting my money on a year and half, which will edge out Holly's dad for longest marriage by a couple months."

Daniel shrugged, showing none of the agitation he'd shown to Charlie last year when his mom had merely been engaged. Engaged was the worst because that was when people were so hopeful and words like 'forever' and 'commitment' were thrown around like they actually existed, and people expected him to be happy that his mom was setting herself up for another heartbreak.

This part of the process was much easier because the deed was done and he knew he'd done everything he could have to stop it; now it was their fault for not listening, not his for failing another day to break them apart. He didn't have to be the doomsayer anymore, the one who refused to be excited for the happy couple, as if he was the only one who could see what a huge mistake another wedding was. Now it was over and done with and the only thing left to do was to wait for the inevitable and that needed no help from him. And Daniel wouldn't say I-told-you-so because that would be insult to injury, but he'd think it because he had told them so.

But since Street Beat actually was a preferable subject compared to his mother's marital status, whether he wanted it to be or not, he continued, "After the wedding, I spent most of my time on the show. They're giving me some really great scenes now that I'm older, though I still wish they'd set up the filming schedule so I'm not on set right after Dad has a Half Naked scene." Where 'half' was overly generous on his dad's wardrobe in some of those scenes. "Okay, yes, I'm gonna see it on TV, but I really don't need to be in the same room in person when my dad's making out with someone, you know?" Where 'making out' was about as much of an understatement as a prime-time television show would allow past its censors. A cable prime-time television show. Apparently, the whoever set up the schedule decided that Daniel turning fourteen meant that his eyes no longer had to be protected from content that 'may not be appropriate for children under 13'.

"Other than that, though, the show's going really well. We were picked up for another season and it seems to still be popular in the ratings. I kind of hope it keeps going until seventh year, but if it goes past that, I really don't know what I'm going to do. I only joined the cast so I could spend more time with Dad before I ran off to Sonora. I never wanted to be an actor."

He gave Taylor a sympathetic smile. "I'm kind of in the opposite boat from your scientist plan. Every year I do the show, it seems harder and harder to imagine doing anything else. I remember I used to want to be an accountant - or some magical equivalent - because that was so stable and opposite of everything that an actor's life is. And now I can't see myself there anymore. Not even a little."

1 Daniel You certainly can't be good company if you don't show up. 130 Daniel 0 5

Rachel

April 08, 2010 11:53 AM

Trying to offer reassurances. by Rachel

Veronica's voice was so low that Rachel almost didn't catch her confession, but the near-squeak let her make out enough to confirm what the problem was.

As her friend went on, she didn't say anything. She didn't have much to say. The problem, and the ultimate inescapability of it, was one she got all too well. There was, after all, nothing worse than having society even so much as suspect that the old family had a touch of Muggle in its background. Having a sibling with much more than a touch was social suicide. As long as purebloods treated a marriage as a business affair, Veronica had little chance of ever making a moneyed, reputable match.

Rachel knew all about that. Her father's parents were both Muggleborns.

She had always known that her friendship with Veronica was at least partially predicated on a lie. Most things in her life were like that. Rachel had never actually told anyone she was a pureblood, but she suspected it was only because no one had ever flat-out asked her. She had never actually thought about what people thought of half-bloods, and this conversation was making her wish she hadn't. A little part of her wanted to stick her fork in Veronica's folded arms now, and while the rest of her was revolted by the thought, the thought was still there.

"What happened over summer that was so awful?"

Right. Back to reality. "All the men that my mother marries have the maturity of hysterical five-year-olds," she said dismissively. "They cause drama. Momma got them back into line eventually. It's nothing now." That was the official line, anyway. That Rachel was still having a very bad feeling about it all didn't matter. "Do you know for sure that they're having a girl? Maybe it'll be a boy - then...your stepbrother will be the one who has to share." She could have mentioned that she and Kate had to share a room when they visited their dad, but decided not to. "And none of it's the end of the world. People cover...that sort of thing up all the time."

16 Rachel Trying to offer reassurances. 154 Rachel 0 5

Starbuck

April 08, 2010 12:23 PM

Yay by Starbuck

“Why is our Head of House crazy?” Sophia asked causing Starbuck to laugh. “Well he usually wears this pink bubble hat, I wonder why he didn’t wear it tonight.” She said more to herself. “But he’s a great Professor, last year we played Jumanji for our first lesson.” Starbuck took a bite of her food as Sophia rattled off a whole lot of questions.

“Woah!” Starbuck said with a smile. “Question overload!” She laughed and looked over the first year. Trying to remember her first question Starbuck took another bite. “Well I personally hate potions class, I love Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but that’s a personal choice.” She said with a nod. “Well Pecari is the best house!” She said with a laugh, “But if I had to choose another house it would be Teppenpaw.”

Starbuck took a couple more bites as she dwelled on Sophia’s question. “Who are the mean ones at the school? Finally she thought of the answer and swallowed. “Well I wouldn’t say there is one mean house over all; they all have their share of mean people just have to play it by ear ya know?” She said with a reassuring smile.

“Of course you will love Sonora!” She said with a grin. “I adore Sonora! I didn’t want to go home during the summer.” She couldn’t help but admit it, Sonora was just a much happier place then her real home. She took a sib of her drink and smiled at Sophia. “So anymore questions?”

0 Starbuck Yay 0 Starbuck 0 5

Samantha Hamilton

April 08, 2010 1:01 PM

I'm blue now? by Samantha Hamilton

A few weeks, ago, Samantha had felt special. Really special. She'd had to turn down her scholarship place at an expensive school on the edge of the city so she could come to a magic school in the desert instead. She hadn't been able to tell anyone about it, but she could still gloat to her family, and that made it almost worth it.

Now? Totally different story. There were a bunch of other kids her age, all of them wearing identical unifrom robes, all of them special enough to go to this school. Samantha couldn't gloat to them; they were no worse off. In fact, they might be worse off, but she couldn't tell for certain yet. There was a positive side though. Seeing as she hadn't heard of any other magic school ever, it seemed more likely she would stay at this one longer than her other schools. Plus it was a boarding school, so she didn't have to live with her stepdad any more - always a good thing - and she might make some awesome friends and it would be like having a sleepover every single night!

So it was with mixed feelings that samantha accepted the weird cup-thing and took a drink of a funny liquid that - oh, right, it turned her skin blue. A warning would have been nice, she considered, getting over the temporary panic that had settled when she'd first noticed her fingers changing pigment. Luckily, all the other new students were changing colors, too. Breathing steadily to remain calm, Samantha took a seat at the table the blue kids were heading to - Aladren, the Headmistress said - and sat quietly waiting for something else to happen.

Several announcements later, food appeared on the table like magic. No, not like magic. It is magic, she reminded herself. That was enough to bring her spirits back up. Looking at the person seated opposite, the blue girl smiled, and said, "Hi, I'm Samantha. What's your name?"

0 Samantha Hamilton I'm blue now? 159 Samantha Hamilton 0 5

Jaeven Dimitri

April 08, 2010 6:33 PM

This might be a first [Tag: Talen] by Jaeven Dimitri

Jaeven Dimitri had a fantastic summer, and he was back as awesome as ever, sitting at the Pecari table and tapping his fingers against the side of the table as he waited for everyone to settle down and for Headmistress Powell to start the announcements. Jae had always been hyper and a little off-the-wall. His blonde dreadlocks spoke for the latter, and his tendency to tap the former; he had been diagnosed ADHD when he was younger, but his Aunts were very anti-medication and so he didn’t take Ritalin or any of those other drugs like that. Instead, he was free to be himself, and that made him happy.

Over the summer, he had gotten another puffskein, and volunteered at a horse rescue ranch, and volunteered at the Humane Society, and had Thyme over. Aunt Marla teased him about her while Aunt Cheri made cookies for them both. It had been lots of fun, and Jae had introduced Thyme to everything important in his life: his horse, his dogs, his cats, and his new puffskein, and his aunts. It seemed to him like she had been at least a teeny bit happier in Colorado than she was at school. Jae hoped, anyway. Thyme was sad too much.

He gave her a happy wave from across the Hall. Maybe he would give her a puffskein as a starting-of-school present. Gerbil (Jae’s new puffskein) was so cute and cuddly and friendly that he could make everyone smile. At least, Jae thought Gerbil was a ‘he’. Gerbil might have been a ‘she’. But it was hard for anyone to tell with puffskeins. Right now, Gerbil was nested in Jae’s robe pocket, attending the Opening Feast like so many of Jae’s pets had over the years. He was vibrating, which pretty much meant he was purring, which was happy and good.

Once the Headmistress made her announcements, she announced the Head Boy and Girl. Jae knew Lutece but wasn’t very good friends with her, but he clapped to be supportive—but when Talen’s name was called, Jae jumped up and clapped and cheered! He liked Talen. Plus, they had been roommates for six years, and it was totally madcool awesome that he had gotten it!

After Talen returned to the table, Jae grinned at him. “Congrats, man!” he said, pulling Gerbil out so the puffskein could explore his plate with the long, sticky tongue all puffskeins had. “How’s it feel to be all authority-stuff?”

0 Jaeven Dimitri This might be a first [Tag: Talen] 104 Jaeven Dimitri 0 5

Aaron

April 08, 2010 6:47 PM

Excellent idea, that by Aaron

Aaron had considered bringing Garen to the Sonora Ball last year. Considered. It had never actually ended up coming through—for whatever reason, neither man had pursued the idea. Perhaps they were both too old for Balls, or perhaps it was because Aaron had never really fancied them to begin with. They invariably began with him being stuffed into uncomfortable outfits, and had invariably ended with him either leading on or disappointing a number of Eligible Pureblood Girls. Vito DeMarco hadn’t been entirely crude about the matchmaking process; the McKindy boys had been given their choice of appropriate pureblood girls and had been given the opportunity to become acquainted with them at a number of social venues.

Yeah, that was probably why Aaron hated the things.

Of course, he had never mentioned the twins to anyone aside from Sadi either, so he probably shouldn’t have been so bemused at the surprise Amy showed (just barely) when he mentioned Cooper. He wasn’t sure whether or not he liked the secrecy that shrouded his personal life. On the other hand, it was probably necessary for things such as keeping his job. He’d learned that two years ago.

“Fostering,” Aaron decided, then continued with a care for his phrasing. “We registered last year, but Cooper and his sister were just placed with us at the beginning of August.” The process had been considerably more involved than he had expected. Classes upon classes upon paperwork upon background checks—Mariabianca had thankfully been able to smooth over the background check portion of the experience—and then more classes, more paperwork. Bureaucracy.

0 Aaron Excellent idea, that 0 Aaron 0 5

Cooper

April 08, 2010 7:23 PM

You sure about that? by Cooper

Like most girls, Jera talked a lot. Of course, nobody talked more than his baby sister did, but she was still really talkative. Which made sense, because Jessie was either quiet or talkative, depending on who she was with. That was probably why Cooper didn’t hate her as much as he hated the rest of the foster family kids he had stayed with. She was okay with just being quiet, and she didn’t make fun of him and she didn’t try and make Melody love her. He hated those kind the worst of all. Because eventually, they would move on and the old families would stay behind, and Melody would be upset because she wanted them to be ‘Forever Families’, which was stupid. Cooper was pretty sure that’s what they called families that adopted dogs. He was equally sure that a hell of a lot more people adopted dogs than adopted kids, especially screwed up werewolves.

But on the other hand, he was going to a boarding school now. And that sucked, because Melody couldn’t be there with him for him to take care of, not for two more years. But Cooper had the idea that might mean no more school changes—he hoped. There were always the crazy magical families who thought that homeschooling was best, but he also knew that his education fees were being paid by the government, just like his medical fees.

Whatever. The competition stuff sounded stupid, and Cooper knew he didn’t need to make friends or meet people or anything like that. Family was a stupid concept, for the most part, and he didn’t believe that he could actually get attached to a bunch of kids who were only like him in that they were currently coloured blue. Melody would like it, though. He should probably try not to screw this up for Melody’s sake.

“I never unpack,” the slight, brown-haired first year said with a scowl. How did he feel about classes? Cooper considered. It might be cool to actually learn magic. He knew it was important that he actually do well in school so he could get a job when he turned 18, when he stopped being a ward of the state. “Excited, I guess. It’s dumb to be nervous just ‘cause they’re older, your mom wouldn’t have moved you up if she didn’t know you were ready. Moms love their kids, they don’t do stuff like that.” And it was true, most of the time, and that was why he hated living with other kids. Foster kids always took second place to real ones.

0 Cooper You sure about that? 0 Cooper 0 5

James Anthony

April 08, 2010 7:38 PM

Corrupting the young by James Anthony

Understandably, James Anthony had spent his summer methodically practising for his CATs exams. Although many would consider the preparation a bit superfluous, considering he would not take the actual exams until the May of his fifth year, James himself thought this assumption was preposterous. After all, his primary objective was to score straight Os on his exams, and such a goal was not met without the utmost of preparations. Thankfully, James was deemed to be particularly intelligent by both his peers and the intelligence tests he occasionally indulged in, and he was satisfied that he would be perfectly prepared when the time came. As things had turned out, he was woefully behind in Charms. Considering that he had studied far beyond his level for years, that was shocking, and James determined that he would right the situation at once. How could he score a mere E on such an exam?

It was with his studies in mind that James arrived at the Opening Feast. He had arrived in the wagon with his sister, although they soon parted ways. Lutece found him strange, and he found her somewhat frivolous, always pining over Charlie’s older brother despite her summer involvement with a few slightly unusual characters encountered at the Inner Harbour, a trait that James did not find particularly endearing of any one person to him. Baltimore had the tendency to be bizarre, and he did not wish his sister to get entangled with some of the less unsavoury characters there.

However, the brown-haired, blue-green-eyed boy seated himself at the Aladren table in relative seclusion and mindlessly responded to the Headmistress’s speech—although his eyes truly did pop in response to his sister being named Head Girl. Clearly it was a fairly simple title to obtain, if Lutece could do it.

“Good evening,” James said, pushing his brown-rimmed glasses up his nose and examining the inquisitive first year. “My name is James Anthony, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Samantha. Are you familiar with the magical community, or would you wish a brief introduction?”

0 James Anthony Corrupting the young 126 James Anthony 0 5

Jude

April 08, 2010 7:57 PM

Does that exist, with you around? by Jude

Although Jude had this thing about not liking shoes, he did think it was cool that Delilah had shoes for each year. It was like a yearbook, but totally non-commercial and original. The Californian totally dug that sort of thing, even if he still hated the confining feeling he got every time he had to put on shoes. At home, he almost never wore shoes. They lived in an eco-friendly, steel-and-glass-and-white-walls house in the middle of nowhere, California and his parents didn’t believe in things like shoes or regular school. Jude missed that sometimes, but he liked having friends his age.

Okay, so when Jude had expected Mel to have a crazy summer, he absolutely hadn’t been expecting murder attempts; nor had he expected Delilah’s summer to be as weird as she said it was. In comparison, Jude lived a really boring life. Which he was kind of glad of—he wasn’t one for the unreal, or weird to happen to him. Magic was the weirdest his life had gotten, but his family had always known he was special somehow and it hadn’t been a big deal. Nothing was a big deal in his family.

“Wow,” Jude managed, in response to both of them, then paused as the usual Quidditch talk happened. He was thinking about joining this year, but wasn’t too sure. It would be cool, because Jose was Captain, even though he didn’t see the point of having a Captain who was in the same year as the Assistant Captain. But whatever, he was cool with it. “Yeah, congrats Mel! Who knows, I might join you,” the blue-eyed boy added with a friendly grin. Who knew, who knew.

“Uhm,” Jude paused, thought a second. “I mostly just chilled at my house and helped out my parents. Uhm...” he paused again, thinking. “I went to hippie summer camp? It was a week of like, environmental awareness, my mom helped run it with the National Park Service. There was a really cute boy there too,” Jude grinned. “He lives all the way in New Mexico though.” Yeah, that was really it for his summer. He felt awful boring.

0 Jude Does that exist, with you around? 0 Jude 0 5

Amelia Pierce

April 08, 2010 11:53 PM

Fair weather and good fortunes, then by Amelia Pierce

"Ah," Amelia released a sound of understanding. "Good for you," she said. She wasn't overly familiar with the wizarding system of fostering, but she approved of it on theoretical level and she'd even dabbled a bit in the muggle systems, when Derry had needed a place to go where Derwent the Original wouldn't find him.

"My two were just sort of dropped in my lap and I didn't have a lot of choice in whether or not I took them in - it was either me or we all stopped being Pierces - but it's great when people take in kids for no other reason than they want to." Her Boston apartment was more a half-way house than a Pierce household anymore, but that was different. Part of how she got Bel to accept that Amy was leaving was to promise that she'd keep the apartment for DISCUSS and since nobody else was using it . . . it only made sense to lend out the empty bedrooms to girls who needed a place to stay.

They weren't kids though. They were either late teens or fully adults. They could take care of themselves. It was not in any way fostering. Amelia only paid the rent; she wasn't even in the same state most of the time. At this moment, she couldn't even say what were the names of the girls living in her apartment. Bel could have, but Bel had always been more invested.

"If you know any kids aging out of the system, DISCUSS does a lot of work with people newly out on their own who don't have the advantage of family support. We advocate for anyone, not just girls, gays, and muggleborns. I can get you some flyers if you know a place to distribute them."

1 Amelia Pierce Fair weather and good fortunes, then 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Marian

April 09, 2010 5:14 PM

Until next time? by Marian

Marian followed Ellie's gaze to the clock and pursed her lips. Weren't they supposed to have a tour tonight? She didn't remember a specific time they announced ending dinner, but most people seemed to be finished eating. She deduced that it could only be a matter of moments before –

There it was. The Heads of each House were standing up and gesturing and shouting out for students to follow them for the tour. Marian looked sadly back at Ellie, who seemed to be bouncing off of her toes in unbridled excitement. Marian sighed softly and stood, walking away in a completely different direction than the rest of the people at the Teppenpaw table had.

Before she left, she wanted to make sure of one thing first. “It really was great to meet you, Ellie!” she called out to the orange-haired Teppenpaw. “Thanks for being my first friend… ever pretty much.” She waved and smiled. “We have to meet up later then, alright? Enjoy your first night! See ya!” She bounced off merrily to follow her fellow Aladrens, a deep blush on her face when a few too many looked at her smiling. Back to being socially awkward it was then…

0 Marian Until next time? 0 Marian 0 5

Lita

April 09, 2010 7:32 PM

Were you worried? by Lita

“I don’t know…” Lita began quietly. “Sometimes I feel really behind the times with boys. All my friends are really into them and all I think about is dancing.” Lita did sometimes feel lost when it came to boys. She knew she liked them because she would get the flutters in her stomach, but she wasn’t so into them the way other girls were. She just didn’t see the point of fawning over them when there was so much else to do with her time.

Lita laughed when Juri spoke about tall girls. “You know, I don’t think they can really choose to be tall anymore than I can choose to be short. You shouldn’t hold that against them. Besides, isn’t it just as awkward to have to bend almost completely over to kiss a girl my size as it is to tilt your head up to kiss a tall girl?”

By the end of Juri’s rant on females, he did admit that he had a type, but that he wasn’t going to tell her what it was. That was fair. After all, that was probably a private thing and Adelita had no right to really pry into it. Still, it might be fun to watch him to see what girl pulls him in. She was still leaning towards blonde blue eyed girls, but that was mainly because Juri had gone with Pippa to the ball last year. And from what Lita could figure out, those who asked others were the ones who liked that person they had asked. Which is why Juri went with Pippa, Jethro with Charlie, and Danny and Lita were stuck in singledom (even though she didn’t see anything wrong with that and had fun anyway).

“Ow!” Lita said when Juri pulled on her hair even though it didn’t hurt. Sitting back, Lita thought for a moment. “I suppose that’s what most girls want. That’s what the fairytales always say the Princes’ look like.” Lita commented. “And being with someone who loves to dance would be good, but most male dancers end up liking other male dancers.” She didn’t say this in a negative way nor in a judgemental way. She said it as though it were the honest truth in life. “But, I’m not sure I have an actual ‘type’ when it comes to guys. At least, I don’t think I do…maybe I do…” Lita frowned for a moment. Considering Lita didn’t actually may much attention to boys, she wasn’t really sure if she would ever have a ‘type’. “Charlie doesn’t have a type. Or, at least, none that I’ve ever seen. Anyway, I think I’d prefer someone I can get a long with over what they look like.

“For my dance recital, I was paired with Carlos. All the girls liked Carlos, and I thought I did too. He’s that tall, dark, and handsome sort.” Lita explained. “But then, after spending time with him…he’s a real jerk. Completely full of himself. Maybe it’s because he’s sixteen or whatever, but I wanted to strangle him half the time. And even though I kept getting hurt while he danced, he could have cared less.” Lita huffed, clearly still mad about the whole event. “He ‘s a great dancer, but a horrible human being. I do not want a guy to be good looking if it means he has to be an a** too.” Lita’s dark eyes went wide for a moment when she realized she cursed.

“Excuse my language. He was just really mean and I had to spend a lot of time with him.” Lita let out some air to calm herself. “My point was that if I can’t get along with him, it’s pointless to be around him at all. Cute or not.”

0 Lita Were you worried? 0 Lita 0 5

Ellie

April 09, 2010 8:15 PM

Next Time, then. by Ellie

Already time to go? Ellie sighed sorrowfully, but still was still bubbling with the excitement of the school term to come. She and Marian stood up from the table, heading in the direction of their respective houses.

“It really was great to meet you, Ellie!”

"You too, Marian!" she called.

“Thanks for being my first friend… ever pretty much.” Ellie's eyes widened in surprise, but recovered quickly as to not discourage her friend. She waved back. "Anytime!"

“We have to meet up later then, alright? Enjoy your first night! See ya!”

"Good niiight!" she sing-songed back to her companion. Ellie was certain this was the first of many great days she got to spend with Marian. She smiled at the prospect.

0 Ellie Next Time, then. 0 Ellie 0 5

Dana

April 10, 2010 4:11 AM

Makes two of us by Dana

Dana accepted the salt shaker, but continued to hold it in mid-air, her motions frozen while her brain processed what the girl - Alison - had said. "Fourth year? Pecari?" she repeated, probably sounding rude but not really caring. Alison must be a tranfer. Dana actually had a roommate again. Shje didn't seem to be unfriendly, either. Maybe this year would be an improvement.

"Sorry," she said, shaking herself (and the salt). "Me too. Pecari fourth year, I mean." She smiled at Alison. She had been friendly once, but as her efforts had got her precisely nowhere, she had started to fall out of the habit. "I'm Dana," she said, putting down the salt and gazing wistfully at her chicken and potatoes. She didn't even have an appetite.

"So how come you're new?" Dana asked, deciding conversation was preferable to consumption. "I mean, did you leave your old school, or what?" Of course, she was assuming Alison was new this term, and her introduction supported this theory. She might have been there since last October for all dana knew, seeing as she wasn't at school then herself. Being tutored at home had been painfully boring, so despite her lack of freinds, Dana had decided to rejoin Sonora and remain in Pecari. At least for the time being.

0 Dana Makes two of us 0 Dana 0 5

Charlie

April 10, 2010 4:42 AM

Sounds like we're both happy by Charlie

"I hope you’re good," Dmitry said, "because I don’t lose."

"We could really do with you on the team, then," Charlie admitted. It hadn't been their fault they'd been pitched against Pecari who had a super-experienced Seeker. Marissa hadn't really stood a chance. Though, honestly, Charlie wasn't sure she would have stood much of a better chance against the other teams, either. Crotalus' one weakness was their Seeker, and it usually cost them their game. Maybe this year they would be lucky? One of the first years had to be a good Seeker. Right?

"Beater?" Charlie repeated. "Awesome." Theo and Ethan had been fairly decent, but there was no guarantee the boys would come back for this year. Plus, well, Theo wasn't really a beater's build. Ethan wasn't either, but he had a bit more strength, being that bit older. Of course, Dmitry didn't look much like a beater himself - he was a touch too thin in Charlie's professional opinion. "We have a couple of Beaters, but I'm assuming you're not scared off by a little competition," she said. "My brother's going to be seriously competetive, as this is his last year and he'd like to leave reigning champion," she said, rolling her eyes a little not because she thought the idea was dumb - she'd probably want the same if she were in his position - but just because he was her brother. The fact that it seemed likely he was going to want to crush Hannah's team into the ground probably wouldn't help matters, either.

"There's quite a lot of House rivalry if you know where to look," Charlie told Dmitry. "Then again, there's some Intra-House rivalry too," she laughed, thinking of the Crotalus girls a couple of year above her. "Was it like that at Durmstrang?"

0 Charlie Sounds like we're both happy 0 Charlie 0 5

Dmitry

April 10, 2010 1:16 PM

Sounds like it. by Dmitry

"We have a couple of Beaters, but I'm assuming you're not scared off by a little competition," Charlotte said causing Dmitry to laugh. He looked over at her and said. “Do I look like I’m scared easily?” He asked with a smile.

He turned back to the plate thinking about how their captain was in his last year well that was an interesting thing, last year had been his Captain’s last year and he had been out for blood. Those had been the most brutal Quidditch games he had ever played, and felt they were some of the best. “Competitive is good, every player should want to win at any cost.” He said with a nod. “I’m sure you’re glad that it’s his final year.”

He paused thinking about Charlotte’s question about Durmstrang. He rubbed his face and then said. “At Durmstrang the Heads and Professor’s promoted rivalry. Their philosophy was if you are not fighting to be at the top then you will grow lazy and fat. House rivalries took precedence over personal Intra-House rivalries of course but the Intra-House ones were a bit more interesting.” He said and smiled remembering his long time rivalry with his roommate. “I think it shall be interesting to see how Sonora will effect me.”

0 Dmitry Sounds like it. 0 Dmitry 0 5

Taylor

April 10, 2010 3:29 PM

You are wise indeed. by Taylor

Taylor couldn’t help giggling at the idea of Danny as a baby in movies. It was no doubt incredibly embarrassing. Having an album full of them was bad enough and Taylor dreaded the day when she brought a boy home for the first time. She could just imagine her mother bringing out all the albums and subjected the poor boy to endless humiliating pictures. At least, being brought up in the muggle world (and not being on screen), they weren’t moving. Of course, that didn’t stop her from teasing him just a little, “Hmm. Maybe I should add that to Netflix over midterm.” Though, she probably would never actually do it just because it would be too odd to see and think of him as being that young just as it would be to think of him as very old.

Her head tilted slightly at the idea of multiple marriages. She knew that his mom did from all that went around in magazines, tabloids, and the like, but she couldn’t imagine what it must actually be like to have to deal with all of that. It was hard to follow even from someone that lived it. Perhaps, part of it was that she hadn’t. Her parents were still very much in love after all of these years, even if her mom was slightly unhinged on her thoughts of stardom. Sometimes, she wondered why her mother hadn’t just tried to become one herself instead of trying to force it on her, but then sometimes she wondered if her mother had how much different would her life be?

Would she be as cynical as Danny? Actually betting on how long a relationship would last? “Why couldn’t it last? It could actually be love. I mean someone can’t stay with someone else unless it’s really the right person and the only way to find him or her is to keep trying,” Taylor suggested in her own form of logic. At least, it’s the way she saw things, but it wasn’t like she actually knew. She had never had a boyfriend. Merlin, she had never even had a date or been kissed. Maybe she would view things different if she were worldlier like Charlotte with all her boyfriends. She felt a little sorry though for Danny in that respect since he was only one of many, but maybe he expected it.

Taylor gave a sympathetic shudder at the idea of watching his father’s make out scenes and was glad that neither of her parents had gone into such a field. She wouldn’t have wanted to watch her parents making out with other people. It was bad enough when she walked into a room with them all over each other. Disgusting, really, and why she was rather tan from having spent hours on their private beach. She didn’t really want to think about what it must be like to be able to view it in takes and then on the screen over and over again. Ew.

“Maybe you were meant to be an actor. Maybe you’ll be the greatest there ever was. Maybe you’ll be able to be a role model and do some good,” Taylor replied. She didn’t think that wanting to be an actor for the rest of one’s life was neither something bad nor necessarily something unstable. Besides, there was a draw to it, a lure that even she couldn’t deny. “I miss it sometimes.” It had been her mother that had forced it, but now that she had been away from it for a while, she missed it. She hadn’t realized what it was before, but there it was staring her in the face. She missed it.

0 Taylor You are wise indeed. 0 Taylor 0 5

Juri

April 10, 2010 5:06 PM

Maybe a little. by Juri

At the mention that all Lita thought about was dancing made part of Juri ecstatic. It meant that she wasn’t looking at any one else, but a part of it made him a little disappointed that she wasn’t looking at him. He reminded himself that’s how it should be, but her love of dancing only interested him more. “There’s nothing wrong with thinking of only dancing. I think a lot about my music,” Juri commented, which was true even if he did think about girls just as much. He admired that Lita had the same dedication, if not more so, to her dance as he did to his music.

A sparkle came to his eyes as he retorted to her comment on tall girls, “Well, Quentin can’t really help being Quentin. So, not holding that against him, would you date him?” He couldn’t help teasing her just a little. He knew that it wasn’t quite the same point that she had been trying to make, but it wasn’t any less funny of a concept. He really couldn’t see Quentin as ever being competition in terms of Lita as the boy would probably drive her crazy, but she would probably drive him just as crazy. They were definitely not each other’s types just as tall girls weren’t his. “No, it’s much easier for me to bend over than to tilt up. Besides, kissing a girl that’s cute like you makes it worth it.”

Juri nodded as Lita talked about what would be good. “Not all do, though. So, there have to be some that like the female dancers, but I guess it would make your options a bit limited if there are less that do than like males. Of course, you could always go with Charlotte’s way and never have a type. Actually, if you go that way, I don’t think you’ll ever have a serious boyfriend.” He looked over to where Charlotte was with her latest victim. He had teased Adelita earlier about Quentin, but he wondered if the boy would have a chance with her friend. It was quite possible after she was done with the new kid she might move on to someone else.

“If you don’t have a type, why did you like Carlos before you knew him?” Juri questioned. This time he wasn’t so angry about it since it was apparent that she didn’t like the guy. He was just curious since it seemed like maybe she did have a type after all. “But he does sound like a real jerk. If you’re dancing with someone, they should care about whether or not you get hurt. You have to work together or the entire thing is meaningless. He just sounds like a loser. No real guy would treat a girl like that. No matter what.” A sureness was written on his face about that.

0 Juri Maybe a little. 0 Juri 0 5

Delilah

April 10, 2010 5:52 PM

I'm betting yes. by Delilah

“Yeah, it is. I’m hoping the baby is a boy since I only have sisters. And well, a stepbrother now,” Delilah said returning Demelza’s high five, but then shrugged at thoughts of Veronica. “I think some of it has to do with Veronica holding out hope that our mom would return. Even if she did, I don’t think my dad would welcome her back easily.” Her mom hadn’t just abandoned them. She had abandoned Delilah’s father as well. She had left her marriage and for what? She didn’t understand it and she wasn’t going to nor if her mother ever came back would she forgive her. She couldn’t. No matter how much she missed her.

When Mel finished telling them about her summer, Delilah could only blink at her for a moment before questions came pouring out, “Huh? Why? Why would someone try to murder the three of you? Were you some place that you shouldn’t have been? How did you make it out alive? Weren’t you scared? I would have been terrified!” She couldn’t imagine anyone ever coming after her or even how she would survive. Wow, her friend had to be the bravest person she ever met. She would have had a nervous breakdown and Demelza was acting like it was an almost normal thing. Crazy.

But then Mel was a little crazy herself as she switched so many gears. “We’re so going to win!” Delilah said excitedly. Nudging Jude a bit, she continued, “You totally should join. It would be so much fun having you on the team. We would get to spend more time together, especially since Mel here plans on wiping us all into shape, I don’t know that we’ll get much time outside of practice.” She felt like she had hardly seen her friend last year with all the insaneness of the school year. Quidditch would be a great opportunity. “Besides, being wiped into shape just think how good you’ll be looking.”

When Jude mentioned a cute boy, Delilah bit her lip in pause. She didn’t think many boys would mention the attractiveness of another boy unless…did mean…was Jude gay? She didn’t know for and she wasn’t sure what to think. She had never met someone who was before and didn’t really know what to say about it. Instead, she let it go. It didn’t really matter if he was or not since he was her friend before she knew. Besides, if he was, maybe it would be like some of the books she had read where they would be able to check out guys together and share eyeliner. That would be totally cool!

“Camp sounds like fun. I’ve never been to one at all and saving the environment is definitely cool.” Delilah wasn’t nearly the environmentalist as Jude might be, but she was all for making the world a better place and learning about it sounded like something they needed at the school. As for the boy, “New Mexico isn’t that far away from her or even from California. Plus, you could write each other,” Delilah commented. Even if Jude wasn’t, it still would be cool to have a pen pal. Maybe she would have one someday if she ever went to camp.

0 Delilah I'm betting yes. 0 Delilah 0 5

Alison

April 10, 2010 6:11 PM

It's good not to be alone. by Alison

"Ah - yeah," Alison said when half of her introduction was repeated back in such a way that it didn't seem Other Girl believed her. "Fourth year Pecari."

Under ordinary circumstances, Alison would have asked what the other girl's problem was. As it was, though, it seemed easier just to assume that the last fourth year Pecari had died and that Alison was now going to be sleeping alone in that person's room. What was it Gran always said? Troubles came in threes. One had been whatever had happened and two had been the mothers shutting them down, and she could see no reason why three shouldn't be rooming with an angry and possibly homicidal ghost.

Of course, it was also possible that she'd just met her new roommate, who hadn't been aware that Alison was going to be joining her in fourth-year-Pecariness. There was always the simple explanation, and there was always a very good chance that Alison wouldn't see it. She smiled back. "Nice meeting you, Dana," she said. Inane, but protocol. Even Aunt Lauren agreed that the magical world ran on it, so everyone needed to learn it.

And, of course, one of the human questions: what are you doing here, anyway? On the other side of the divide, she would have asked the same thing. "'Or what,'" she said, beginning to slice an apple. After that wagon ride, she needed something to steady her up before she tried to eat for real, and apples usually worked for some reason. "I was homeschooled, but my tutor went crazy or something, so my aunt decided to send me here." She thought that got at the gist of it. "I'm guessing you've been here a little longer."

16 Alison It's good not to be alone. 140 Alison 0 5

Dmitri

April 10, 2010 6:33 PM

Important matters by Dmitri

House elves were definitely complicated, Dmitri decided as he listened to Colleen tell them about how she had offered them a vacation and they had refused. He couldn’t imagine anyone refusing even a vacation even if they liked what they did. His father enjoyed his job, but he still took vacations. He said that family was the most important thing in the world and it was key to spend time with them. He took them all sorts of places for vacations. They went to Russia once a year to visit his father’s family. Other than that, they had gone all over the world. His favorite so far had probably been Ireland. It had been absolutely amazing.

Thinking of his family and telling about them though was quite different, but he supposed he had to since he had already invited them for the summer. “Well, I am an only child. I think anyone that has siblings is very lucky. It is quite lonely sometimes. My friends are limited to being children of families like mine. Security makes it difficult to be friends with anyone outside of that.” He paused realizing that mentioning security, he would need to explain even further. “Before I go further, we must keep this between us. My parents made me promise to keep a low profile as it could be unsafe otherwise.”

Glancing around to make sure that no one else was listening, Dmitri continued in his light accent, “My father is a Russian diplomat and my mother is what is called a blue blood. This means that both of my parents are very important, very targeted people. We have a security team to keep us safe. In fact, at any other school, I have always had a dedicated bodyguard. Micah. There it was never considered unusual as the people I went to school with also had bodyguards. The only reason I am allowed to go here without one is because of the low chance of running into anyone that would want to use me to get to my parents, particularly my father. So, here, to everyone I am just a normal all-American boy.”

He looked rather proud of the fact since he had never been one before. He also hoped that his trust hadn’t been misplaced, but sometimes, one had to trust others in order to make everything else work. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to quite evade anyone else’s questions about his background and hoped that these new friends would help him do that. Otherwise, he just might end up a complete outcast, which would not be on the down low. People had a way of talking about those that stuck out one way or another.

0 Dmitri Important matters 0 Dmitri 0 5

Pippa Brockert

April 10, 2010 7:24 PM

Family Reunion by Pippa Brockert

No sooner had Pippa sat down at the Teppenpaw table and the new first years had been sorted than Quentin came over to talk to her, pointing out one of them, who was apparently their cousin (but more closely related to Quentin than her) and asking Pippa to go and talk to her. Pippa didn't really mind. Family was important to her and apparently, it was important to Quentin as well. She had never known that about him, admittedly thinking more about his odd quirk when she thought of him.

Besides that, Pippa wanted to help the new first years anyway she could. Even if they weren't in Teppenpaw or related to her. In fact, she would like to help anyone in any way she could. It made her feel good to help others. She hoped to be able to make Kirstenna-as well as anyone else, she had seen a few new transfers along with the first years-feel welcome at Sonora.

Hopefully, it would help keep her mind off last summer. Though nobody really behaved all that differently, Pippa couldn’t shake the feeling that her parents were upset with her. Plus, she’d overheard the word “betrothal” being tossed around, which honestly made her stomach knot up. The idea of being introduced to pureblood society, paraded around in front of several pureblood boys in hopes of finding the one Pippa would marry, made her sick with fear and anxiety. She was certain that her family was disappointed in her to begin with, she didn’t want to make it worse somehow.

Pippa also didn’t want to end up marrying someone whom she didn’t like, who didn’t treat her right and who was cruel to their children. That had happened to a distant cousin of hers, Chelsea and Nina’s aunt Rosemary. It was why Pippa’s aunt Margo had chosen to be an old maid. Not that she wanted to be an old maid either.

Shaking her head, as if to clear out these thoughts, sheapproached the first year. “Hi Kirstenna, I’m Pippa Brockert.” Would the younger girl recognize her name, know that they were cousins?

11 Pippa Brockert Family Reunion 132 Pippa Brockert 0 5

Talen Dupree

April 10, 2010 8:00 PM

I would have to say so. by Talen Dupree

The dreaded last year had arrived for Talen. One more year and his life would forever be in stone. There was almost no point in living any more, because he certainly wouldn’t be then. There were only two possible futures for him, neither seemed worth living. Sure, he could be like his cousins and forsake the family name, but then what would he have other than nothing? The other choice was to go through with the impending marriage to someone he didn’t love, someone he could never love, someone he would never love. Either way would be a life of not living. He wished that he could be a seventh year forever.

Hearing his name he was pulled out of his dark thoughts. What? Oh, yeah, he was the Head Boy. Somehow over the summer he had forgotten this little fact. Otherwise, he would have been continuously questioning it. Certainly, the others that had been on the ballot had been more qualified than he was. If he had been a betting person, he would have put his money on Oliver Abbott to be Head Boy. He was popular by default since he was a Quidditch Captain. Plus, he was dating someone beautiful. Yes, Hannah was Talen’s not mentioned cousin, but he was looking at it from a purely objective point of view. And she was also popular by default being a Captain herself. So, why him?

A bit numbly, he walked up to where the Headmistress was and got his badge. He wanted to stare at the shiny piece of metal, but instead, he forced himself to be polite and congratulate Lutece on her victory. It really came as no surprise. As nice as Talitha was, she had been no competition. She didn’t really seem to get out there in the social field that much, but then look who was talking. The other choice was Hannah, who did have leadership experience just as Lutece had, but maybe people thought she was too wrapped up in Quidditch and her boyfriend to really be effective. That’s what he would guess anyhow. He was really glad that Lutece had won out of the three. He felt the most comfortable around her. She felt the most normal to him.

Sitting back down at the Pecari table, Talen couldn’t eat. He kept flipping over his badge, amazed that it was real, when his roommate congratulated him. There was another surprise. “Thank you,” he answered a bit shyly. He never would have thought of the two of them as friends, but he supposed after so many years of living together, it was really only fitting, even if they were complete opposites in every way imaginable except one. He couldn’t help cringing a bit at Jae allowing his puffskein to eat off his plate. Germs freaked him out and he couldn’t imagine the creature’s tongue being very clean.

On the other hand, it was awfully cute. “Odd, very odd. I suppose I should get used to it, but it’s just, well, odd,” he answered truthfully before shifting the subject. “What’s his name?” He was used to Jae having had some pet or another. Sometimes, Talen pretended that it was his pet too. He loved animals, even though he was not allowed to have one. His parents didn’t want some animal making a mess all over the place. It was a rather lonely life, but maybe, in his life after school, he would be able to finally have a pet, a friend. Maybe.

0 Talen Dupree I would have to say so. 105 Talen Dupree 0 5

Jae

April 11, 2010 9:24 AM

It had to happen sometime by Jae

Talen was shy, and even though they had been living together for like ever, he had never talked very much with Jae. Brett had always been the one Jae talked with and shared with and had been almost-best-friends-with and Brett had left. But Talen liked animals too, and Jae liked him. They just weren’t best-friends-forever because Talen didn’t talk very much and he wasn’t very outgoing, and sometimes Jae thought that he was annoying Talen because he was very outgoing. Er, Jae was, and Talen wasn’t. The blonde-dreadlocked seventh year had never really, really talked to Talen like that, but he’d seen Talen pet the animals that usually lived in their dorm room, and that meant that Talen had to be a good person, just quiet.

“You’ll be good at it,” Jae said with a reassuring smile lighting up his green eyes. He did think Talen would be good at it, because Talen was a good role model for everyone else. Not like Jae, who was kind of hyper all the time and not super good at school, or like Oliver Abbot who seeemed a little bit unapproachable. Jae had voted for Talen because he was pretty sure that Talen was good at being a Role Model.

“His name is Gerbil!” Jae answered Talen’s question with a decidedly excited tone. Gerbil twitched his tongue and made the purring noise he always made when Jae said his name. Jae helped himself to some corn. He was thinking about going Vegan, but wasn’t sure. He knew that the meat industry was very cruel and he disapproved of that (and had gone to several protests to protest it) but at the same time he didn’t think it was necessarily bad to eat animals. After all, everything had to die sometime otherwise new life would never grow. Aunt Cheri had taught him that there was a time for everything, even dying.

“Would you like one?” the blonde-dreadlocked boy tilted his head curiously as he looked at Talen. “My aunts are taking care of them right now but they don’t think it’s a good idea to have them around too much, ‘cause we’re Muggle and stuff, and also ‘cause the rescue dogs think that puffskeins are like squeak toys, to chew on,” he giggled. Gerbil wrapped his tongue around a piece of corn and blinked his blue eyes several times. “The puffskeins haven’t minded so far, but we’re worried something will happen accidentally.” Jae was planning on giving one to Thyme too, once he had a chance to talk to her in person and make sure that was okay.

0 Jae It had to happen sometime 0 Jae 0 5

Aaron

April 11, 2010 9:58 AM

Fortune is as fortune does by Aaron

The level of approval from Amy was something Aaron hadn’t particularly expected. He couldn’t say he was actually familiar with American pureblood culture, but he knew that his own family would never be caught fostering a non-relative, and from what Mariabianca had said, that feeling basically pervaded the wizarding world. Especially with ‘special needs’ children. Oh, Aaron had been surprised by that all right. He had assumed that the phrase had the same meanings in Muggle and magical usage. That is, until Mariabianca had informed them that they would be fostering a prepubescent werewolf and his ‘tempermental’ younger sister.

“Thanks,” Aaron managed, somewhat shyly. He was about to follow up with a question about magical fostering resources—Mariabianca was useful, but she was also caught up in her own new status as a mother at the moment—when Amy went on to give him a small and unexpected heart attack.

"If you know any kids aging out of the system, DISCUSS does a lot of work with people newly out on their own who don't have the advantage of family support. We advocate for anyone, not just girls, gays, and muggleborns. I can get you some flyers if you know a place to distribute them."

Okay, Aaron would admit to basically living under a rock. He was anti-social, he didn’t trust people, and the only person on staff that he was actually friends with was Sadi. He had nothing against his other colleagues, he was just wary of them. He would also admit to knowing almost nothing about what was going on in the American pureblood community, simply because it did not really pertain to him. Garen was technically some variety of pureblood, but that ‘some variety’ came from his mother; Aaron had never asked about Clara, and had not planned on doing so.

It shouldn’t have been a shock that Amy was involved in DISCUSS, but it was. Aaron barely knew what it was, and couldn’t help but wonder if there was more than one reason the Quidditch Coach was mentioning it to him.

“I’ll let my cousin know,” Aaron said carefully, examining Amy. “She’s an advocate in Magical Child Welfare,” had he mentioned that? He couldn’t remember. “so she’s really more involved in the system than we are.” pause. He debated asking for a moment. “I didn’t know you were involved with DISCUSS,” he commented mildly, helping himself to some chicken for the sole purpose of distracting himself.

0 Aaron Fortune is as fortune does 0 Aaron 0 5

Jessica Zeworth

April 11, 2010 2:11 PM

Works for me. I'm just flexible. by Jessica Zeworth

"Jessica, honey, are you sure?" her mom asked for the trillionth time. Jessica Zeworth waved away the wig.

"Yes, mom, I'm sure." she grinned. "Besides, if I go to school bald now, it takes away the questions sooner. Hiding it just makes it more obvious." Defeated, her mom sighed and kissed her on the top of the head. Jessica gave her dad a goodbye hug before leaving for her first day of school. And it wasn't the first day of just any school. It was the first day of a magic school. That already made it infinitely better.

She got off the wagon and looked around. Then she followed an older lady with the rest of the first years. She could feel their eyes on her, tell that questions were wanting to be asked, but no one had the courage to ask them. The most common was usually about cancer. That was a pretty common explanation as to why an eleven year old girl would be bald, right? No, not really. But it didn't bother her.

The Cascade Hall was beautiful, and there were so many other students! She took the goblet handed to her and drank. The first year watched as her skin turned brown. Well, that wasn't normal. Magic school, duh. Other kids were turning different colors, but there were others turning brown like her. She grinned and followed them to their little group. Pecari, then.

She sat down next to another girl that looked her age and listened to the rest of the Headmistress' speech. She didn't understand half of what was going on, but she did smell the food. She grabbed a biscut as it appeared on the table and happily took a bite. The food didn't seem poisonous, either. Yup, much better than Muggle school.

"Are you a first year too?" she asked the girl next to her, who responded with a distracted "Excuse me?" She was daydreaming, then. Cool. "Never mind, it was a dumb question." Jessica laughed at herself. The girl's skin was brown, too. Only the first years had changed colors. "I'm Jessica Zeworth. You?"

0 Jessica Zeworth Works for me. I'm just flexible. 0 Jessica Zeworth 0 5

Kirstenna

April 11, 2010 2:55 PM

It is? by Kirstenna

The food seemed so... nutritious . Kirstenna was used to cotton candy and corn dogs. Stuff like that. Healthy food seemed odd to her and she had ended up taking a slice of pizza, which still seemed a bit fancier and less greasy than the what Kirstenna was used to.

Then she heard someone address her by name and Kirstenna looked up from her strangely gourmet and healthy pizza, slightly startled. The only person who should know her name already was Quentin.

"Uh, hi Pippa." Kirstenna gave her friendly smile. Having friends and getting along with others was important to her and she was glad to have someone to talk to. Kirstenna liked to talk. Still,she just had to ask. "How do you know my name already? Are you friends with Quentin? He's my cousin, he's a fourth year Aladren." She looked over at the Aladren table where her cousin was with his housemates.

That was probably it. Quentin had asked a friend of his that was in Kirstenna's house to make her feel welcome. How nice of him. It made her feel good that at least one member of her father's family cared about her.

11 Kirstenna It is? 161 Kirstenna 0 5

Quentin Melcher

April 11, 2010 3:38 PM

Overprotective by Quentin Melcher

Quentin had watched the Sorting with a bit more interest than usual this year. As soon as Kirstenna had turned yellow, he'd gone over to talk to Pippa and ask her to introduce herself to the first year. He really wanted his cousin to know that not everyone in their family (or indeed, the magical world) was like his parents and their grandparents.

Honestly, he was glad that Kirstenna was a Teppenpaw if she wasn't in Aladren with him. He supposed if she were a Pecari, he would have asked Nina to speak to Kirstenna as she was, well, nicer than Tawny.

However, Quentin didn't quite know what he'd have done had Kirstenna been a Crotalus. As far as he knew, they did not have any relatives there since Adam graduated. He might have asked Marissa to talk to her, but that would not have quite served the same function as Marissa was not part of their family.

But it did not matter what might have happened if Kirstenna was part of a different house. (Still a ridiculous thing to call them, as far as Quentin was concerned. There was no seperate dwellings for the four groups. They had common-or rather, gathering-rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms within the larger structure of Sonora.) She was a Teppenpaw-he wouldn't say Kirstenna was in Teppenpaw, she was in the Cascade Hall-and therefore, Quentin had asked Pippa to talk to her.

Logically speaking, Quentin knew he was being a bit overprotective of his younger cousin. For all he knew, Kirstenna would be fine on her own. Still, he just wanted her to feel happy and wanted by others here, the way she wasn't by their grandparents, even if Quentin didn't care what most other students thought of him.

He heard someone speak to him then. "Pardon? Sorry, I didn't quite understand what you said, as I was not paying attention." Quentin couldn't say he hadn't heard the person, he had heard them say something, he just wasn't sure what that something had been.

11 Quentin Melcher Overprotective 129 Quentin Melcher 0 5

Caleb
April 11, 2010 6:29 PM

Caleb
Peripheral
Written by:

Interesting title there...... by Caleb
Caleb nodded at the girl when she explained that her name was Alessa Hinckley. It was a unique name he thought, Alessa. He had never heard anyone named that before. But, he liked it. It was a unique name and he liked unique names. He smiled back at her when she said that it was nice to meet him. He wasn't quite sure what to say to her but he just smiled and waited to see if she said anything.

Caleb responded to her question when she asked where he lived, "I live in Delaware. It's pretty exciting to be so far away from my home, but I also miss my family." He thought about his older brother and sister back at home and how he wouldn't be able to see them until midterm, that was if he went home during midterm. "Do you have any brothers and sisters?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

He wondered what Cooper and Hayden were doing at home right now. They were probably goofing around enjoying the last bits of their time at home before they have to leave to go back to college. He would miss them.

0 Caleb Interesting title there...... 0 Caleb 0 5

Demelza Eagle
April 11, 2010 7:00 PM

Demelza Eagle
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by:

Age in Post: 12

Kinda leaning toward Jude's opinion with that one by Demelza Eagle
Demelza felt a bit awkward when Delilah explained that her dad wouldn't let her mom back. Wow, that must have been hard. Demelza, once again, tried to imagine herself being in that kind of situation, and she just couldn't. She was used to an intack intermediate family, no one strewn all over the place like Delilah's.

Demelza's almost laughed when Delilah asked her a million questions. Although, it wasn't much of a laughing moment. "It's very complicated, actually," she decided she would give the shorter version of the story to save time. "The crazy murderer dude wasn't out for me and my sister, we just happened to be there. And we were just in our cousin's home all alone waiting for my Uncle to come back. And well the guy that actually came to kill my cousin wants revenge from my uncle, because my uncle killed his father (don't worry, his father was a dark wizard) Anyway, it's all very confusing, but to get to the point, this crazy dude wants to kill my cousin because he already killed my aunt a few years ago," she said, not in a much of a cheerful way. Goodness, she would be devastated if Paul had died. Her and Paul were tight!

"And, yeah, I was scared. I mean, I screamed, but I didn't know what was going on at first. Anyway... yep," she said, with a shrug. Then she switched to going off about how great Quidditch was going to be this year. That was one good thing about Demelza's ADD: she never pondered on anything too long.

"Dude! Jude! Hey that rhymes... anyway, you should so so so sooooo join, it would be totally awesome!" Demelza exclaimed, really fast and really loud. His appearance on the pitch would make Quidditch even more fun! With Jose, Delilah, and Starbuck (who Demelza was friends with, but she didn't know where Starbuck exactly was at the moment, and was starting to think that Starbuck wasn't quite as warm and nice to her as she used to be, although it might have just been Demelza being paranoid) Quidditch was already tons of fun, but then you add Jude and Demelza would just be incredibly happy! Quidditch time would be like happy pills to her!

Then Jude described his summer, and Demelza had to admit, she was jealous. A hippie camp sounded so cool, mainly the "Go Green" aspect of it. Demelza loved nature. She meditated there, and wrote some of her best songs in the great outdoors.

But what Jude said next made Demelza chock on the piece of chicken she just bit off of. Did he just grin and say "There was a really cute boy there"?! But, Demelza never knew, nor would she have ever guessed! Was this just something he had decided, because didn't he invite Nina to the ball last term? She was pretty sure she remembered it being mentioned... and then Jude says he met a cute guy there? Demelza didn't get it, but Jude must have suddenly made his mind up. Demelza thought about herself for a minute there. She really wasn't all that interested in guys yet. She still liked them just a friends. Maybe it was because she grew up with seven brothers? But Paul, who was a month younger than Demelza, had already kissed a girl. Maybe he was just a fast bloomer? But Demelza thought of it the other way around. No... she definitely didn't like girls how Jude liked boys. She didn't think so, anyway. Demelza decided to drop it. She didn't really care that Jude was gay, he was still the same old Jude! And besides, gay guys weren't anywhere near as awkward to be around!

Skipping over his comment about the cute boy, she went on to camp. "That's so awesome! I'm jealous! Environmental stuff is so cool!" She grinned widely at him, and then she asked the question she couldn't ignore because Delilah even talked a bit about the comment, just in a not as strait forward way. "So, Jude, who was this... cute boy you mentioned?" She said, hesitating before saying 'cute'. "Was he like another crazy environmentalist hippie?" she asked, with a little laugh, trying to cover up the fact that she was actually trying to 'weasel' out of him that he was gay for sure. She wasn't prepared to make assumptions.

0 Demelza Eagle Kinda leaning toward Jude's opinion with that one 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Dani
April 11, 2010 9:52 PM

Dani
Peripheral
Written by:

I'm just blunt. by Dani
Hearing a voice next to her, Dani looked over. She raised an eyebrow in question to what the girl had been talking about, but ending up shrugging as she decided it probably wasn’t important since the girl had said never mind. Instead, she answered the question that had actually been asked, “Dani Adair.” Here was where she was supposed to add on the entire formality of region to let the person know exactly what branch she belonged to and here is where she failed to do so. Her parents would probably be highly disappointed that she hadn’t, but she figured if someone was going to judge her, they should judge her by who she was rather than by her family, especially not by her family.

Dani’s family was one of the oldest, purest, and most powerful as far as pureblood families went. It was nearly guaranteed that if she stated that she belonged to such, other purebloods would readily agree to be her ‘friend’ regardless of her oddities, but she didn’t want that. She couldn’t stand shallow people. All those that pretended just to get whatever it was they wanted. It’s part of how the upper echelon worked and she couldn’t wait for the day that she could escape it. Until then, she was fine with others mistaking her for a muggleborn. Sure, some might think to associate the last name, but with her dress, they might assume it to be a coincidence unless they already knew her.

She ran polished black fingernails through her short blonde hair as she surveyed Jessica. The girl had no hair, which might have been odd to most, except to Dani who made it a point to be different. It could have just been a fashion statement, but it might not have been. Of course, the easiest way to the truth was simply to ask. “Why are you bald?” Some might have found this to be rude. She just thought of it as not beating around the bush. When people did, then they ended up actually being rude by staring, but trying not to stare, and just putting their foot in their mouth. All of it was rather amusing to watch.

0 Dani I'm just blunt. 0 Dani 0 5

Amelia Pierce
April 12, 2010 10:29 AM

Amelia Pierce
Former Staff
Subject: Quidditch Coach
Written by: Nathan

Age in Post: 34

Looks like it'll be sunny out today by Amelia Pierce
Amelia was a little surprised by Aaron's shyness and carefulness in response to her conversational contributions. First of all, she hadn't expected anyone who regularly wore a top hat made out of pink bubbles to be shy or careful, but she was perhaps biased on that point. All the eccentric dressers she knew were highly confident and, if not social butterflies, then completely unafraid to let their opinions be known to all and sundry. All of the careful shy people she knew (not that there was a large pool to draw from there; she knew a lot more eccentric dressers) chose clothing designed to help them fade into the background.

She'd introduced herself to Aaron last year, but they hadn't really crossed paths much beyond that. She'd just assumed he was as outgoing as his hat suggested he was and if he wanted to meet up with some of the other teachers, he just would. Apparently, she'd been wrong.

Secondly, he looked away when he asked her about DISCUSS. Under ordinary circumstances, among her normal peer group of Crotali and former Aethers, she might had attributed the tell to mean something like 'I am trying to be polite and show an interest in your life, but DISCUSS goes against everything I raised you to believe in and I really wish you weren't a part of it.' At least, that's what Druscella meant whenever she asked after that organization you're involved in. But she thought she might be biased again because Aaron was a Pecari and had never struck her as having the normal pureblooded bigotries.

She know in a few minutes if he changed to subject soon to ask if she'd found a respectable husband yet and she really ought to start dating a man - any man, for Merlin's sake, take a Muggle if you have to - if she wanted to dispel those persistent rumors that being a Quidditch Coach and Bel's guardian really weren't helping. She didn't think that would happen, though. Mostly because she didn't think Aaron was in the circles that would hear those persistent rumors, nor did he have a vested interest in what people thought about her. Aaron had foster kids and presumably a spouse of his own; he had no reason to care what Amelia's marital and/or dating status was.

"Yeah," she confirmed her involvement with DISCUSS. "My daughter - Bel," even a decade later, it still felt a little strange to call Bel her daughter to people who weren't more familiar with the family. "One of the kids I mentioned I took in. She's my biological first cousin, actually. Our fathers were brothers. Are brothers." Neither of them was dead. It just felt that way most of the time.

"Anyway," Amelia shook her head to shake out the old history and remember what she'd been talking about. "Bel is one of DISCUSS's co-founders. When she graduated from Salem, she started up a Boston branch office that she ran out of our apartment. Since she was also going to the academy at the same time, I helped out when she couldn't be around. When she left Boston to go to Sapienti University, I took it over almost completely for a year, and then we hired a girl to run it in our absence when I decided to come out here to Coach. Bel's close enough that she stops in if there's a problem and during the weekends, so she's back to being the office manager."

Amelia shrugged, "I was supposed to open a Sonora Chapter, but then I was made Head of Crotalus right out of the gate. I didn't think it would be a very politic move to alienate half my kids by taking such a fundamental stand against the entire pureblood way of life. It's bad enough I'm a Boston Pierce and a female Quidditch Coach."

1 Amelia Pierce Looks like it'll be sunny out today 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Daniel
April 12, 2010 4:27 PM

Daniel
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Nathan

Age in Post: 14

That's why I'm in Aladren by Daniel
"Please don't," Daniel requested in a pained voice two shades off begging when Taylor threatened to rent A Date with Alfred, but he was mostly immune to people using that one against him (besides, he'd been two; he couldn't remember filming it and he knew perfectly well he couldn't be held responsible for anything he did at that age) and the protest was largely out of habit. If he really objected to her seeing it, he wouldn't have brought it up.

Her next question hit a far more exposed nerve and his grimace was not at all feigned (though he believed he probably could have masked it if he'd wanted to). He even let out the sigh he'd suppressed earlier. "It can't last because Mom is an Actress. Actors and Actresses don't get to have happy marriages. That's why I never wanted to be one. Every time Mom divorced someone, it was because of her job. Well, except for the time she divorced Dad, but that was because they never should have married in the first place. Dad should have known that even if Mom didn't. But every other time it was because of the job. It's not going to change until she stops playing lead roles in movies and she's not going to do that until she gets too old to keep getting them."

Daniel shook his head, "Anton's at least a camera guy, so acting is only a problem for one of them. Michael was doomed from the start. The only reason that one lasted as long as it did was because, with him filming in Canada, and her on location in the Caribbean, they weren't ever in the same state long enough to sign all the paperwork sooner."

"And if it's not the travel, it's what you see on screen. Mom always does romances of one kind or another, and even when it's not a romance, there's a romantic subplot, so any husband runs the risk, every time he turns on the television, of seeing his wife in bed with another guy. I mean, it was four weeks after my first date with Charlie that I kissed a girl for the first time, and it was on screen with a girl I don't even like. There were six takes before we got it to the director's satisfaction, too, so anyone who knows how it works, knows that what they see in the final show, isn't all that was going on. Plus, Michael met Mom filming a movie with her, so he knows she gets into her roles too much."

"And if it's not the travel or the movies, it's the paparazzi. They love Mom because she's practically guaranteed to marry and divorce, marry and divorce, maybe pop a kid, marry and divorce, and those are the things that sell tabloids. So they'll publish every detail about your life, even just the rumors, and you just have to take it, and wonder if maybe your wife really did leave with Tom Cruise from that party and what they did together."

"And if it's not the travel or the movies or the paparazzi, it's that you can't believe a single thing an actor says. Highly paid actors are as well paid and highly sought after as they are because they're the best damn liars on the planet. It's way too easy for Mom to lie if she thinks a lie serves her purpose better than the truth. I wouldn't believe anything she said if I have even the tiniest reason to doubt her."

The same went double for him, but Taylor didn't need that spelled out for her. If she was naive enough to think it didn't apply to Daniel, he wasn't going to educate her. If she was smart enough to figure it out on her own, it would only be insulting to beat the point over the head. Besides, Daniel didn't like admitting he was liar. It didn't suit his purposes.

"It makes clear communication difficult," he finished, "And a marriage can't last without open communication. So no. I don't think it can last, even if there is love. I'm quite sure Mom and Holly's dad loved each other. I'm reasonably positive Mom and Luke's dad were made for each other. But neither of those worked. This one won't either. The odds are astronomically against it."

"Dad at least avoids the travel and paparazzi as much as he can. The on-screen make-out sessions are rough on him and his secret live-in that I'm not going to say anything else about, but Dad knows better than to get married or do anything that will alert the public to the fact that he's even in a relationship. That one, I can almost almost believe will last, if they can just survive Street Beat ending. As long as that's going on, they're pretty stable. They weathered the big on-screen re-occurring girlfriend fight last summer and they're still together, so Ba- um, so Bee obviously has some pretty significant trust in my dad. But I really don't think Anton has the background and experience to be able to say that yet about my Mom and until he does, I'm not holding my breath that their marriage will last."

Daniel took a few moments to breathe, and then felt it necessary to apologize. "Sorry. Nobody's been listening to me since Anton proposed." He shrugged a little sheepishly, "It just sort of spilled out."

"And please don't say I'm destined to be an actor. I don't want to lead this kind of life. I want to have a marriage that works. I don't want a significant other that I have to hide so I can protect my happiness and my family from the press. The acting's fun, but the side effects aren't worth it. But sometimes I think I might be able to handle being a regular on a television series. Sometimes I think: Dad's doing well now. Same partner for almost six years. That's as stable as I've ever seen before. And then that same cautious part of me that's been saying for years that acting isn't the smart way to go, rears up suddenly and says: This is all you've ever known. Can you really uproot everything and leave this? And I don't know if I can."

1 Daniel That's why I'm in Aladren 130 Daniel 0 5

Taylor
April 12, 2010 8:29 PM

Taylor
Peripheral
Written by:

At least one of us fits the description. by Taylor
For a moment, Taylor was simply stunned over Danny’s outpouring. From his exterior, she never would have guessed at all that was waiting beneath the surface. Some might have viewed Taylor as less compassionate than others, because she wasn’t as friendly, but that wasn’t true at all. She felt for her friend, almost a man lost in a boy. Not knowing what came over her, not thinking about it, she got up from her seat and hugged him sideways, laying her head on his shoulder. The offer of comfort probably did him little good and probably only served to make his girlfriend mad, but she did it anyway just in case it helped a little.

Moving away from him, she took her seat, but held his hand. She spoke calmly in the hopes of not starting an argument, but there were any guarantees when saying things the other party may not want to hear. “Okay, maybe, someone should have listened to you since your mom seems not to settle, but maybe that makes her happy. Maybe being in the spotlight is her love, her lasting relationship. The only thing that should really matter is that she’s happy, right? But that doesn’t mean that people can’t have a lasting relationship and be involved in acting. If they really wanted to be together, it would take a lot of work and, you’re right, communication to make it work.”

She stopped to let him process and to gather up more of her thoughts before continuing, “I won’t deny that it’s probably worse for actors with everything they have to deal with, but they don’t have to believe the paparazzi when it comes to their partners. Being at the heart of gossip themselves should be a good lesson that they shouldn’t be so quick to assume. That maybe they should ask questions of the person rather than of those that just want to destroy for personal gain. You also shouldn’t let others determine what you should or shouldn’t do. You shouldn’t let anything hold you back. Not even fear.”

Taylor was having hard time controlling her voice. She didn’t want to make a scene, but there was just so much passion in it. “If you want to be an actor, be an actor. If you want to do something else, go for it. If you want to have a wife, you can add that to the list too. Besides, I hardly doubt Charlie (or was it Adelita?) is the type to allow you to believe the paparazzi over her or to sit back in the shadows.” She wasn’t sure if he was actually seeing one or the other or something entirely new, but either way he seemed to go for that type of girl and the rule that she stated applied just as easily to whomever it was.

0 Taylor At least one of us fits the description. 0 Taylor 0 5

Lita
April 12, 2010 9:24 PM

Lita
Peripheral
Written by:

I should have made you worry more. by Lita
“Oh, music?” Lita commented, sitting forward. “What kind of music do you like?” She figured him for an alternative rock sort of guy. The type who would follow Hex around. But she could be wrong. As much as Lita loved classical for dance, she loved Latin music just as much. Swaying her hips around could just be theraputic as twirling in a tutu.

Without having any control over her body’s reaction to the mention of Quentin or Juri’s curiosity in whether or not she would date him, Adelita shuddered. She shuddered visibly and she was fairly certain that she made a choking sound as she did it too. It wasn’t that Quentin wasn’t cute. He certainly had looks if one was into him. It was that he was just… annoying. The questions he asked were absolutely ridiculous. Lita would never ever be an Aladren (actually, she was rather surprised she had two friends who were Aladrens and who didn’t think she was an airhead) but she felt like an absolute genius whever Quentin was around.

“Would you date a flobberworm?” Lita asked Juri. Okay, so that might have been a bit mean, but really? Quentin? Lita didn’t have any thoughts on someone, anyone, being able to get beyond Quentin’s annoying habits to want to be with him in a relationship. But then, maybe someone would prove her wrong.

Lita went a bit bit pink when Juri called her cute. Of course, he was just saying in general a girl her height would be cute and he could handle bending over to kiss her. But still, it wasn’t every day that someone complimented her looks. But, she decided not to bring attention to that.

“No, you’re right, not all of them like their same gender.” Lita agreed. “No, Charlie knows how I feel about her messing around with different boys. I couldn’t imagine handling more than one guy at a time and not feeling guilty about it. Besides, I think she’ll break a lot of ties to friendship the way she’s going.” Lita commented, glancing down the table to her friend.

“But anyway, I don’t know. I don’t really see them as the people I want to be with. I can’t explain it.” Lita looked slightly confused for a moment. “They’re friends. Dance partners. I just don’t want to start something like a romance with them. That’s weird to me. I’m not saying it isn’t possible. Maybe I’ll change my mind. But, I think I would prefer to be with someone outside of dancing. Someone who isn’t completely into everything that I am. I mean, if I was dating a dancer and that’s all we did, wouldn’t it get boring?”

Lita looked thoughtful for a moment when Juri asked her why she had liked Carlos in the first place. “That is a good question. I’m not really sure what it was…I think…I think when I got the partner spot with him and he was super nice to me in the beginning, I started to like him. And all the other girls were jealous. I felt special…” Lita paused and looked a little bit sad in her thoughts. “But then, reality struck and I saw the real him. For the best really. I would have killed him if I spent any more time with him.”

Lita turned her dark eyes on Juri and had a rather curious look on her open face. “So… what exactly are you and Pippa Brockert? She was your date to the dance, right?”

0 Lita I should have made you worry more. 0 Lita 0 5

Colleen
April 13, 2010 8:08 AM

Colleen
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Written by:

Sucks to be pureblood by Colleen
Colleen listened to Dmitri’s family description with awe on her face. Admittedly she wasn’t quite sure what a blue blood was, but she did know that Dmitri would be safe in the magical world. “I doubt many people here will really understand what you are.” She told him. “So I’m sure you will be quite safe.” She smiled warmly at her new friend before she pondered Brian’s question for herself.

“I can sympathise with you on the only child front, I am too.” Colleen sighed, considering how to continue. “I generally spend all my time with my tutor, because I’m pureblood and we’ve got to be the best.” Colleen bit her lip, she was meant to be proud of her heritage. “My parents had an arranged marriage so we don’t spend a lot of time as a family. My Father works in America but I live in Ireland with Mother, but as Daddy had a lot of friends over here he wanted to send me to school here.”

“The worst thing about all this is that my life is destined to be the same. I’ve had pureblood suitors lined up since birth and I’ll be a trophy wife.” Colleen grimaced slightly. She knew this was where her life would be heading, but it sucked to know that her parents would hold her in a slightly lower opinion if her grades ever slipped or if they found out that the first two people she had spoken to in her new school were both muggleborns. She thought they were lovely people but her parents would never agree.

0 Colleen Sucks to be pureblood 0 Colleen 0 5

Juri
April 13, 2010 11:33 AM

Juri
Peripheral
Written by:

Perhaps. by Juri
“My favorite is alternative rock. For the ball, I had gone as Dason DeAngelo,” Juri said excitedly. He was in total awe over the guy even if his death had been somewhat twisted. “He was this big guitar prodigy. That’s what I play mostly. Guitar. I have other instruments too, but there’s just something about it, you know?” He didn’t know if she actually knew or not or could relate, but something said she knew that feeling even if it weren’t through an instrument. He loved the way his flew over one side and pressed on another, how even the most minute change could have such an impact on what was heard. And sometimes he swore he could feel it right down to his heart. There was absolutely nothing like it.

“It’s not the only thing I listen to though. I don’t think it would be right if I did. So, I listen to other genres too, like classical. Being in ballet, I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of classical. Have you ever listened to how talented they are? How they can go so quickly that it’s almost furious or so tender it makes you want to cry? Their passion is so obvious,” Juri continued. His fingers were starting to itch to play, to try and capture something new, and had started tapping on the table. “I try to learn from every type and draw inspiration from it into my own work. I mean, how else can music grow if we just keep repeating the same stuff over and over again? Well, that’s how I view it anyway.” He finished with a shrug of his shoulders.

At the idea of him dating a flobberworm, Juri burst out laughing. “Maybe if the flobberworm had a great personality,” he joked. “Seriously, Quentin’s not that bad. He just has no common sense. I’m sure there is a girl out there somewhere that finds that attractive. It takes all types, right? But the point is we’re all attracted to something whether it’s personality, looks, brains, whatever, and as much as we want to say that we shouldn’t hold something against a person inevitably we will. For me, it’s being tall and for you it’s being a jerk or lacking common sense plus whatever else falls on your list. Truthfully, though, I probably wouldn’t date someone who wasn’t all there either. It’d be frustrating to always watch what I say.”

That was probably the top reason why he and Quentin weren’t exactly friends. Everything had to be so exact with the boy les he questioned it and sometimes there were just those things that couldn’t really be explained. They were things that one just knew or felt without any real reasoning to them. And while he had stated that there might be someone out there for Quentin, Juri wasn’t actually positive on that. If Quentin was always questioning things, would he understand being in love, being interested in a girl for no other reason than because she’s her? Or would attraction and love just be a big mystery to him? Juri didn’t know, but if that were the case, he couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for his roommate.

On the subject of roommates, Juri wondered how this new interest was going to go over with Daniel and James. He guessed more James than Daniel. “All her boyfriends know about each other, so at least she’s not cheating on them, and it’s their own faults for allowing themselves to be toyed around with,” he commented, which was true. He didn’t think any of them had issued any sort of ultimatum when it came to her so he guessed they liked to be puppies on a leash. His eyes drifted that way again, observing. “Charlotte’s attractive, but I don’t get what’s so special that guys lose all dignity when it comes to her. Personally, I find being someone’s plaything very unappealing.”

And just like that he was put on the spot about Pippa Brockert. “She was my date to the dance, but right now, we’re undefined,” Juri answered truthfully. He hadn’t decided if he wanted more or not. “She’s beautiful, sweet, funny, a great conversationalist and dancer.” The words implied Pippa, but he knew he wasn’t talking about her. “I guess we’ll see how things go.” At the end of the night, he had walked her back to her dorm and given her a goodnight kiss. He was sure that if he wanted to pursue a relationship with her, he could, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be tied down. With girls outside of school, there was the excuse of summers being crazy and going back to school in the fall. However, he supposed one here could be beneficial.

Thinking of the dance, he asked, “So, I saw you with Mr. Daniel Nash the Second at the dance. He said he was thinking of asking you so I guess he did. How’d that work out?” He had hated seeing them together and hoped it had gone horribly, but at least it sounded like he wouldn’t have to make any of Danny’s things magically disappear since previous conversation told him they hadn’t made it to couple status.

0 Juri Perhaps. 0 Juri 0 5

Daniel
April 13, 2010 4:27 PM

Daniel
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Nathan

Age in Post: 14

I'm fairly sure we both do. by Daniel
Daniel wasn't quite sure what to make of Taylor giving him a hug. But it was kind of nice and he leaned into a little, for a long as it lasted. Fortunately, it didn't last long enough to get awkward and Taylor moved away before he did anything really horrible like cry or start talking again. Not that he was in any danger of crying. He wasn't upset. At least, not a crying kind of upset.

He was just frustrated and worried and even a little bit angry. And he had been, for most of a year, but Daniel didn't know what else to do with the emotions other than repress them, and he knew that wasn't healthy, but it seemed better than snapping at people who didn't deserve it. So he'd kept it largely to himself, only trying to talk about it once, to Charlie, but he was pretty sure she thought he was freaking out over nothing, so he hadn't said anything else after that.

Holly was useless, of course, because they weren't yet to the stage where she knew he was freaking out because she was too, so he sniped at her (she totally deserved it) until she started avoiding him, which was what he'd been going for. Dad listened, but he didn't get it, and neither did Barry, because Daniel didn't tell them the whole problem, because he didn't want to jinx their relationship by pointing out how very improbable it was that it had lasted this long. And Mom just wasn't listening, and Anton thought Daniel didn't like him because he didn't want to share his Mom with a new step-dad, which was completely not the problem at all.

So Taylor was very much appreciated right up until she started talking. But Daniel made himself listen to her and consider her thoughts because Daniel knew he was too close to see the whole picture. "She's happy now," Daniel answered grudgingly, "But she won't be when it falls apart." The happy-now was not worth the unhappy-later. He'd tried the happy-now thing for the first few step-dads and it only made the unhappy-later worse. This way, there was only unhappy, but the change wasn't nearly as crushing.

But there was something to Taylor's assessment that Mom loved the spotlight. There was no denying that. She had never tried to stay out of the paparazzi's sight like Dad did. She flirted with them, keeping their attention on her almost on purpose. She protected Holly from it because Holly was fragile and couldn't take it. She even diverted them away from Daniel and Luke to a lesser extent, but she made no effort to keep the rest of her life private. She did not shield her husbands. She expected them to swim the tabloid river without her help.

And he completely disagreed with Taylor's belief that actors could have a lasting relationship. He explained why already, so he didn't go into again, but he shook his head in disbelief when she said as much. Ideally, work and communication would make it possible, like she said, but the world was hardly ideal, and trust was so much harder to come by than communication.

Even if Mom only spoke the truth (which Daniel suspected she was as incapable of as he was, not because she was an inherently dishonest person but because she too often believed her own press and didn't always realize she was lying), there was no guarantee people would even believe her. Communication was just hard in a non-ideal world. Daniel had once given contradictory stories to both Mom and Dad about something, fully believing he'd told both of them the whole unfettered truth until they compared notes and demanded a clarification - which was also the whole and unfettered truth, but completely different from the first two versions of it.

Point of view made people unreliable at the best of times. It was so much worse when the same person could shift points of view depending on their mood or their audience. It made things like 'truth' highly suspect, and if you couldn't trust your own words to tell it, how could you possibly believe someone else could?

But maybe that wasn't an actor problem. Maybe that was mentally unbalanced problem. He already knew Holly got that from Mom. He already knew he probably got some of it, as well. Daniel was still doomed, but it was possible he was blaming the wrong root cause.

In which case, it wouldn't matter what he did for a living. The damage was already done.

"That's the problem," he said, in answer to her entreaty that he do what he wanted to do, because he wanted to do it, not because he was afraid to do something else. "I don't know what I want. I don't even know what I'm afraid of. All I know is I'm not dating Charlie anymore. If I ever was, which I'm not sure if I did or not. We had one date that was definitely a date, but it was horrible, and we called things off for the summer, and I don't know if they ever picked up again or not."

He shook his head, to clear it of the confusion that was Charlotte Abbott, "Anyway, she went to the ball with James, so that means it's done, if it ever existed. And even though I danced with her, I'm not dating Adelita, either, because that would just be weird. She's Charlie's best friend." It would be different if he was into Adelita, but he wasn't. She was a nice girl, pretty, and a very good dancer, but she wasn't what he was looking for. Charlie definitely wasn't.

"I don't know what I'm looking for in a date, never mind a spouse - Bloody Merlin, I don't even know if I'm straight - and I don't know what I'm looking for in a career, and I don't know where I'm going or even what I'm trying to avoid." He grimaced and shook his head unhappily. "This is a teen thing, isn't it? Hit puberty and suddenly all your answers are questions. I hate questions. I liked having all the answers."

1 Daniel I'm fairly sure we both do. 130 Daniel 0 5

Alessa
April 14, 2010 1:33 PM

Alessa
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 12

It is? by Alessa
Alessa nodded,taking another bite of her sandwich. She was surprised to hear that Caleb was from out east too. It seemed most people at Sonora were from places closer to school,usually California. "I'm from New Jersey myself. When I was younger, my parents planned to send me to Salem but it closed so they sent me here because Sonora was where my mom went to school and almost everyone on her side of the family goes here or went here or will go here."

She took a drink of milk. Alessa liked milk, but only two percent or chocolate. Skim was awful. "I'm an only child actually. What about you?" She had never really wanted siblings and used to worry that her mom would have another child, a little brother that would head their family someday. Alessa didn't care about doing so-as she was a girl, it would never happen anyway-nor was she worried about her inheritance as there was plenty of money to go around.

It was just that Alessa had been an only child for nearly 13 years now and she was just used to it. Plus, the age gap would just be weird at this point. Huge age gaps were okay for cousins but for siblings who had both the same parents and nobody in between it seemed strange. "I have cousins though. Most of them are way older and have graduated school already, except two on my dad's side. I have several distant cousins here as well. There's Nina,Quentin,Chelsea,Tawny,Pippa, and I think there are two first years this term as well." Alessa broke off, blushing."Sorry, I get off on tangents at times and talk too much."

11 Alessa It is? 150 Alessa 0 5

Brian
April 14, 2010 9:36 PM

Brian
Peripheral
Written by:

Seems like it by Brian
No sisters, limited friends, and too much alone time to know what do with yourself. It wasn’t a hypothetical situation he enjoyed picturing himself in, that was for sure. It wasn’t an actual real-life situation that he enjoyed picturing Dmitri in, either. Someone as nice as Dmitri shouldn’t have to go through life feeling alone. Brian felt like that sometimes when his parents and sisters ignored him – he always seemed to be the overlooked one in the family, he thought – he wondered if it was the same loneliness that Dmitri felt.

Brian blinked in confusion when Dmitri brought up something secretive sounding, but leaned in to listen to what he had to say after Dmitri checked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. “My father is a Russian diplomat –“ diplo-what? “ – and my mother is what is called a blue blood.” Oh, blue blood! So, wait, Dmitri was royal? That’s cool, Brian thought with a happy smile. He wondered if that meant his friend had a body guard or a crown lying around somewhere. He smiled more when the security team and Micah were mentioned – he had a feeling. Still, the diplomat thing went a bit over his head. And who would try to hurt him because of that? It’s not like it’s his fault he’s royal and his dad does something with… um… diplos, whatever they are. Brian wanted to ask Dmitri to explain what it was his dad did exactly, but Dmitri didn’t look like he wanted to talk about it anymore.

If picturing Dmitri being alone wasn’t upsetting enough, Colleen sounded just as sullen when she owned up to be an only child too. And as cool as having a private tutor sounded, it didn’t seem like her family was close at all. Having only ever heard of arranged marriages in fairytales, Brian associated the term with a feeling of dread, and he didn’t know who to feel worse for: the parents or Colleen (he decided on both).

His stomach dropped when she admitted to sharing the same fate as her parents. It wasn’t fair, it really wasn’t. Maybe they could fight it – had she tried? Would she get in trouble if she did? Punished for going against her parents? Brian imagined his sisters marrying guys they didn’t like and he felt horrible. He wanted to reassure her somehow, but what could he say? He’d never been in a situation like this before – the most drama in his life stemmed from his older sister’s fights over clothes. If Dmitri was a blue blood, did he have to be arranged too? Should he even talk about his family when they had no siblings? Would that upset them?

No, he wasn’t going to make them think about things like that now. Maybe he’d try to see if he could help his new friends later, but he wanted them back in a good mood. It was the opening feast! They should be laughing, not staring blankly into a bleak future outside of school. Hoping to ease the tension, he tried to think of a topic of conversation… thinking, thinking, thinking… he looked at the table of professors and got it. “At least you guys can look forward to learning more magic this year though, right? What classes are you looking forward to?” Hopefully they wouldn’t look so disheartened by this topic.

0 Brian Seems like it 0 Brian 0 5

Chelsea Brockert
April 15, 2010 5:33 PM

Chelsea Brockert
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 16

My room! (Ladies) by Chelsea Brockert
As usual at the opening feast, Chelsea ignored the house tables and sat with the other Ladies. (After all, she did that the rest of the year, why should the opening feast be any different? There was nobody in Aladren that she particularly wanted to be around.) Her summer had started off lousy, with her cousin getting sick and of course, with Chelsea's mother being the nurturing type, she had taken care of him.

Chelsea was really getting tired of this. First of all, Marshall was twenty-four years old and needed to just grow up and take care of himself. It was his own fault that he was a drunk (though that hadn't been why he was sick, but still.)More importantly, it was bad enough that Chelsea had to share her parents with five siblings, she didn't need to share with her cousin too.

She sat through the opening speech, bored. Chelsea couldn't have cared less about the sortings, even if Autumn (who unlike all her other relatives here aside from Nina, she actually knew a little)was among them.

The other one Chelsea was ignoring. She wasn't going to acknowledge that girl's relation to her. It wasn't as if that firstie was even that closely related to her so Chelsea was just going to pretend she didn't exist.

Notably absent from this year's speech was the prefect announcements. Chelsea had noticed last year when she'd taken her CATS that the year below hers was there with them and had heard they were going to be with her class from now on.

What had not occurred to her until this moment was, "Are we going to have to share our rooms with the students who got moved up to our class?" Chelsea asked her friends, slightly horrified. She didn't have anything personal against Jera Valson per se, but Chelsea didn't relish having to share with anyone aside from maybe the other Ladies.

Of course, it could have been worse considering what Cecily and Anabel had had to share with for years. Still, Chelsea did not like this. She had never shared a room before aside from a little bit in her first year, and she didn't want to start now.

11 Chelsea Brockert My room! (Ladies) 108 Chelsea Brockert 0 5

Cynthia, Cecily, Amelia and Jethro Smythe
April 15, 2010 6:00 PM

Cynthia, Cecily, Amelia and Jethro Smythe
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Written by:

Here Comes Crotalus by Cynthia, Cecily, Amelia and Jethro Smythe
The summer had been entirely insufferable. Luckily, Cynthia had been able to read her own school textbooks (or re-read, as was more accurate) and truly familiarize herself with all the curriculum material, and had access to the Smythe family libraries, too. It had helped to keep her sane. She was thankful for that, because if it hadn’t been for these luxuries, she would have had to maim most of her family purely out of annoyance. Being somewhat lower down in the familial rank than her other relations at Sonora, Cynthia didn’t tend to spend a great deal of time with them – in or out of school. Unfortunately, every once in a while an occasion occurred that would throw them all together. The previous occasion had been her Uncle Algernon’s birthday. This time it was Ivy’s wedding. Cynthia wasn’t even sure why she’d had to go: Ivy was not her cousin. She was Muriel’s daughter, which meant she was a cousin to Lucas, Dana, Cecily and Amelia, but not to her. However, Muriel was David’s cousin, and as such, Ivy was Cynthia’s second cousin, and apparently that meant both Cynthia and Jethro made near top of the invite list. As if that hadn’t been enough of an irritation, Cynthia’s relatives had not been very subtle in their suggestions that she might meet a potential suitor at the celebrations following the wedding, however unlikely that would be. Other people’s opinions didn’t bother Cynthia in the slightest. If she had to be pretty and an air head to marry well, then she would die an old maid, and Cecily would have been betrothed since her birth. As it happened, the world was apparently not so clear-cut, and Cynthia was not concerned. If she couldn’t talk her way into a suitable marriage before she was twenty then she would be seriously disappointed in herself.

Amelia harboured similar sentiments. Although younger and perhaps not so obviously intelligent as Cynthia, the debutant had looks on her side, and was still brighter than most her age (even if she was usually reluctant to show it – being smart could really damage a reputation). For a moment or two, Amelia had toyed with the idea of perhaps marrying Ian Grimm. He was odd and that was an understatement, but he wasn’t too harsh on the eyes and his family was excessively well-respected (due to their knowledge and potential for blackmail, but that was not the point). Brushing her blonde hair back from her eyes, Amelia briefly scanned the Cascade Hall for her friend and arch-nemesis before resigning herself to the fact that he had, in fact, left Sonora, and she would not be in receipt of her customary gifts from his grandmother. She was exceedingly upset by this – the favors had always contained the most elaborate jewellery and Amelia had dearly loved seeing Cecily so jealous. Of course she had plenty of opportunity for that this year – having taken her exams early, Amelia would now be sharing a class with Cecily. She had, however, opted to keep her own dormitory. The other sixth year Crotalus girls were a little creepy; Cecily included. On the positive side, moving up a year gave her a real opportunity to gloat over her sister, and to mix with her peers perhaps a little more than she had done thus far. In her attempts to be popular, Amelia had apparently alienated herself from those who might otherwise have been her friends. In a buoyant attempt to rectify this, Amelia sat down at the Crotalus table with a friendly smile. She made sure to sit well away from where Cynthia had seated herself with a scowl at the far end of the Crotalus students. Amelia didn’t want to be tainted by associated.

Cecily, meanwhile, did not have to make any friends. She already had plenty, and proved this by immediately seating herself with said friends. She was ready to tell them all about her summer, how the wedding had been beautiful, even though the bridesmaids had been ugly (she knew in her heart she was too old to be one herself, but that didn’t stop her being jealous anyway), and she was becoming increasingly distressed at not yet being betrothed. If she had to graduate without a fiancé it would just be embarrassing. Plus Amelia had jumped up a year, and gotten higher CATS scores than Cecily (not that she cared about that sort of thing), and her sister had developed into a far more becoming shape – though of course if anyone asked Cecily would politely explain that she didn’t want to be curvy, thank you very much. She sat down with a disheartened sigh and made an excellent job of ignoring Jethro as he dithered around trying to find an empty seat.

The third year was bewildered as ever to be returning to Sonora. The Opening Feast was by now familiar to him, but he’d had to travel on a covered wagon with his sister and cousins, and not one of them said a word to him. He had a feeling they’d been avoiding him all summer, too. He didn’t know what he’d done wrong, and thinking up possible scenarios where his behaviour might have been offensive was starting to drive him to distraction. Thankfully the cascading waterfalls and the glistening chandeliers were enough to temporarily focus his attention on something that was else. He also momentarily lost track of what he was doing, and it was only when he saw Headmistress Powell stand that he thought he ought to find a seat. He went to sit in one, but realized it was too close to his cousin Cecily, so he walked a little further on only to find himself near Amelia, and he didn’t like her very much. Turning around, Jethro passed Cecily by again only to find himself near to his sister, and she had forbidden him from ever talking to her at school unless she spoke to him first. Turning once more, Jethro simply picked the nearest empty seat and flung himself into it just as the Headmistress began talking. He tuned out for the entirety of her speech, but he had fun watching the first years change pretty colors.

(OOC: feel free to reply to any of these characters...)

0 Cynthia, Cecily, Amelia and Jethro Smythe Here Comes Crotalus 0 Cynthia, Cecily, Amelia and Jethro Smythe 0 5

Chelsea
April 15, 2010 6:27 PM

Chelsea
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 16

OOC-Cecily by Chelsea
Cecily, I already have a post for the Ladies beneath this one, if you'd like to join me.

11 Chelsea OOC-Cecily 108 Chelsea 0 5

Jessica
April 16, 2010 2:45 PM

Jessica
Peripheral
Written by:

Which I totally appreciate. by Jessica
Dani Adair didn't seem to be too bad. She might've been staring at Jessica, though, which was normal. It was something she was used to. Jess just hated it when people stared and then asked dumb questions, or just stared and didn't say anything. People who did that were, just to be blunt, morons. And she hated it.

“Why are you bald?”

Oh cool! Jessica smiled; she liked Dani already. She wasn't someone who did all that staring stuff. And she didn't ask if Jessica had, like, cancer or something silly like that. Awesome.

"I have Alopecia. It's an autoimmune disorder where my body attacks my hair follicles and stops my hair growth." she paused, hating that she sounded like a doctor. Let's try that again. "Basically, my body thinks hair is bad." There, that sounded better. "So I'm bald. I don't even have hair on my arms, see?" Jessica was one of the luckier kids she had met with Alopecia. At least she still had her eyebrows and eyelashes.

"But don't worry, it's not contagious. Hanging around me won't make you bald." she said with a laugh. That was usually the second question.

0 Jessica Which I totally appreciate. 0 Jessica 0 5

Caleb Nichols
April 17, 2010 2:33 PM

Caleb Nichols
Peripheral
Written by:

It is. (Please note sarcasm.) by Caleb Nichols
Caleb nodded at Alessa when she said that she was from New Jersey. He was happy to find someone who lived on the East Coast. He knew that coming to a school in the Mid-West he wouldn't be able to find that many people who lived on the East Coast. So he was glad to hear that she lived in New Jersey.

When she said that she was an only child he frowned to himself. Although Cooper and Hayden got on his nerves sometiems, he didn't know how he could live without them. He really loved hanging out with them and spending time together. If he didn't have them he figured he would be one very bored individual. Speaking of being without them, he sighed to himself as he realized that he would have to make friends since they were not going to this school. Obviously since they were not magical like him. They, unlike him had not inherited the magic gene. Since he father was a wizard and his mom was a Muggle, he was glad that he had inherited the gene for magic from his dad. Although, now it placed him far away from his family. But, he would have to deal.

Caleb smiled at the girl when she blushed for rambling. he had been known to do that sometimes, but only around his family. He wasn't much of a talker when he first met someone but he tried to change that. If he wanted to make friends at Sonora he would have to come out of his shell and talk a little bit more than he normally did. "It's fine. Trust me. I'm not much of a talker so your talking is filling my lack of words." He smiled shyly at her. "But, I have an older brother and an older sister. My brother, Cooper, is 20 and my sister, Hayden, is 18. They're awesome. I love hanging out with them a lot, but I'm going to miss them here." He probably should stop talking about his family. He didn't really know what else to say to this girl.

"Well. I'm excited to be here at Sonora. My brother and sister are Muggles; they didn't get the magic gene. But I, thankfully, did." He smiled again at her and hoped that she didn't want to be friends with him just because he was a halfblood.

0 Caleb Nichols It is. (Please note sarcasm.) 0 Caleb Nichols 0 5

Lita
April 18, 2010 9:28 PM

Lita
Peripheral
Written by:

You'd be mad though. by Lita
She had totally pegged him right for the type of music that he had liked. She had seen him at the ball and even though she didn’t know specifically who he was, she had been able to gather it was some type of musician. Lita nodded, but she assumed his question was really more rhetorical. “That’s how I feel about dancing. When the music starts, it just flows and I have to move.” She supposed everyone had something that made them feel that way. Maybe boys was Charlie’s thing just as music was Dulce’s and dance was Lita’s. “My sister is a musical prodigy.” Lita commented, a smile on her face as she watched Juri talk about his music. “She doesn’t play guitar, but she’s amazing on the piano and the violin.”

“Of course I listen to how good classical musicians are!” Lita exclaimed through laughter. “In order to be able to find a dance for the music, I have to hear it and understand the emotions behind it. Only true musicians can make themselves heard through musical notes. Dulce taught me that.” Lita added, proud of her sister’s abilities. “I love dancing while she plays. It feels so honest and natural.” Whether Dulce ever admitted it or not, Lita knew just how much she spoke to people through her music. Those were her words and Lita wondered if that was how Juri spoke too.

“Charlie really isn’t so bad.” Lita said, though she wasn’t sure if Juri was being negative about her or not. “I think she just wants to be free from obligations when it comes to romance and relationships.” Charlie had tried to explain it to Lita before, but Lita was old school and she blamed a lot of her perceptions of love and romance on her parents. “My parents met in school and were friends before they started to date. I guess I just want that for me too. No mess, no heartache, just someone to see me and want me as I am. Flaws and all and hopefully I can give that in return.” Lita shrugged after a moment. “Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic with thoughts like that. It’s my parents fault, really.”

Lita wasn’t sure what it meant to be ‘undefined’ when it came to another person. Was that the same thing that Charlie and Daniel had been for so long? “Well, either you like her or you don’t. If you like her and she seems to like you, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to see where it went.” That was how Lita saw it anyway. Dulce was rubbing off on her. Being direct and blunt about the things in life. Dulce believed that there was no point in small talk. Just say what needs to be said and be done with it. Maybe she had a point.

Lita shook her had and started laughing, although it was more in disbelief than anything else. “Daniel never asked me. I went with Dulce. Daniel came and sat with us and danced some with me. He probably felt the same way I did. I didn’t want to sit at the tables with all the couples because then I would be the fifth wheel.“ Everyone had looked like they were having fun. Hopefully they have the ball again when she’s a seventh year and by then Lita will actually have a date.

0 Lita You'd be mad though. 0 Lita 0 5

Alessa
April 19, 2010 4:53 PM

Alessa
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 12

Titles were never my strong suit by Alessa
Alessa listened as Caleb talked about the magical gene. She had three halfblood cousins but they'd all gotten it. "Pretty much all my relatives are magical." Alessa really wasn't supposed to mention that Uncle Bernard had married a muggle. She wasn't that bothered herself but her parents didn't like for her to tell people so she decided against mentioning it to the first year.

"I love spending time with my older cousins. On my mom's side they're all boys and treat me like the little sister that they don't have. Well, my first cousins. The ones here aren't, of course." Alessa didn't really think Caleb would think she had male cousins named Chelsea, Nina, Pippa and Tawny. That would be weird.

She took a bite of her sandwich, chewed, swallowed and continued. "On my dad's side, I prefer my older cousins to my younger ones.Still, sometimes I play with my cousin Oralie but she's pretty little."

Alessa paused, realizing that Caleb was younger than her. "I don't mind younger people really, its just that my younger cousins can get a bit loud sometimes." She didn't really like loudness and sometimes people who talked too much got on her nerves. Even though Alessa got off on tangents sometimes herself. That might be why she had apologized to Caleb for talking too much. She didn't want to be annoying. Or boring.

"I don't really mind if you're quiet. I actually prefer people who are." Alessa smiled at him. Smiling was the one way that people could be sure that a person was happy with them. She often had trouble with that herself. Alessa wasn't too good with reading expressions and body language so she often didn't know how people were feeling. "That's why I'm glad I'm in Aladren. Most of us aren't very loud."

"Do you have any cousins or anything that you think might come here? Then you won't be as lonely." It was entirely possible for him to have a bunch of magical cousins since his dad was a wizard. "And you'll probably make friends too."

11 Alessa Titles were never my strong suit 150 Alessa 0 5

Cecily Smythe
April 20, 2010 5:46 PM

Cecily Smythe
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by:

Age in Post: 16

Welcome to my world by Cecily Smythe
Chelsea didn't seem to be in an especially good mood, either. Apparently returning to spend the rest of the year at class coukld do that to a girl. Cecily did notice that Chelsea was also paying at least some interest to the first years. She had a big family - maybe another sister had joined this year? Cecily was finding it difficult to keep up with her own family, let alone anyone else's.

Rather than discuss each other's summers - which they had mostly done with owls anyway, but it went without saying they had each had a fabulous time - Chelsea's first comment was about sharing her room. "Merlin, I hope not," Cecily replied, but without any true feeling. Honestly, as horrific as sharing a room with Amelia would be, she would pick her sister over some of her current roommates any day. "Milly doesn't seem to think so, but then you don't already share your room with the population of a small town," Cecily grumbled, stabbing at some shellfish she'd recently added to her plate.

The thought did occur to her that the Headmistress' daughter could make a powerful addition to their group - plus she was pureblood, which was always a good start - but she was just too odd. besides, she played Quidditch, which was plenty argument against her. Laurie was odd, but at least she didn't stoop that low.

"I refuse to share a room with my sister," Cecily said bluntly. The statement reminded her of her earlier thought, and so she abruptly said, "Have you got another sister starting this year or something?" she asked Chelsea. "I saw you watching the sorting." Not that it mattered in the long run, but Cecily would never intentionally be rude to any relative of Chelsea's. Unless Chelsea asked her to.

(OOC: I've tried to leave it opne in case Holly wants to be there, too)

0 Cecily Smythe Welcome to my world 122 Cecily Smythe 0 5

Ian Grimm
April 20, 2010 8:54 PM

Ian Grimm
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by:

Age in Post: 16

Miss me? [Tag Amelia!] by Ian Grimm
Over six months had passed since Ian Grimm last walked through the double doors that granted entrance to the Sonora Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Over six months since he last traded nods with the portraits that lined the front halls and watched his trunk disappear toward the library. Over six months since his ears heard the gentle rush of the water falls that flowed from the Cascade Hall's four walls. It had been weeks and days and far too many nights since he last saw any of it, and loathe as he was to admit to the feeling, he was glad to be back.

Relieved, reassured, and yes, even cheered to be back at Sonora which had, at some unknown point in time, become a home of sorts for him. He knew the expression-- the claim-- that absence made the heart grow fonder, and once his bespectacled gaze landed on the Crotalus table and the familiar blonde seated there, he knew it to be true.

He clung to the back wall, though, hesitance striking him in a fit of foreign pique. Ian hadn't written, despite intentions otherwise. When his parents announced that he wasn't to return to Sonora during the winter break, he had brought quill to parchment more than a half dozen times, the lines all following similar patterns of explanation: sub-par test scores, lack of proper application to studies, private tutoring-- it all became far too humiliating to admit to. And finally, once time enough had passed that the feeling had lost its sting, word arrived that a Smythe girl had taken her CATS early and was skipping a grade-- once that news arrived, Ian couldn't write a single word.

Even if he had wanted (sort of) to congratulate his--

Ian frowned, brown eyes serious in their contemplation. He hardly knew what word to use when describing what Amelia Smythe was to him. Classmate was accurate, mostly. Friend? Was that the better word for it?

He shook his head and traded the basket held in his left hand for his right; it didn't matter. Amelia Smythe had been the reason why his intended one semester in private study was stretched into summer; he had sat for the CATS a week earlier and his scores had arrived the night before. They were better than he imagined, but no doubt not what his parents preferred. He had until the winter break to impress them with his new-found dedication to scholastic pursuits. If he didn't pass suitable muster, then he was out again.

His frown deepened; he would not share that detail with her, no way. It was bad enough that he was going to have to apologize-- or at least offer the obligatory basket of bribes. He hoped it would be enough to bring to rights whatever ire she might hold for his silence, especially if--

Again, a strange sort of feeling passed over him, a flutter that paused his approach midway through the Hall. Unconscious of the gesture, his free hand pressed near his heart; a second of self-gathering forced him to blame the peculiar sensation on Amelia's older sister's nearness. It was Cecily, after all, who he preferred. In that sense.

Amelia was--

Well--

"Grandmother sends her compliments." He found a proper greeting impossible, and he refused to address the reason for it. He shoved the basket of summer favors (wrought silver, more of the truffles from the chocolatier discovered over Christmas, and a pair of dream stones that hummed their wearer to sound sleep) into Amelia's arms, and then, finding no seat readily available, he stole one from the table opposite and sat astride, legs crossed. The past months had added some height to his stature and he found the extra length to his frame comfortable.

It was then, faced with the very features he had not seen in over half a year that, most peculiarly, Ian felt himself soften. "Hello Amelia; it's been a while."

0 Ian Grimm Miss me? [Tag Amelia!] 110 Ian Grimm 0 5

Laurel Cider
April 20, 2010 9:26 PM

Laurel Cider
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by:

Age in Post: 16

Requesting audience with the Ladies. by Laurel Cider
It was a ridiculous notion. Ridiculous. Ludicrous even, and not even remotely worth granting real consideration. There was no way anyone was paying her even the slightest bit of special attention. And yet--

Laurel Cider smoothed nervous hands down the smooth chiffon of her knee-length dress, the heeled sling-backs on her feet shuffling forward cautiously. The notion wasn't completely without merit. She was returning to Sonora, to the Crotalus House, as a witch introduced to Pureblood society. She had spent the summer in the Hamptons, night after night passed with dull-curtsies and ready-dimples; she had been appalled at first, at how easily the affectations came to her. Three weeks into it and her aunt, Vyra Grimm, declared her a natural; Laurie had wanted to be insulted, and yet the blush that filled her cheeks was from exhilaration.

She was good at this, this game the elites played. They traded pleasantries, insults hidden in compliments, and gossip disguised as concern. The whole of it was cliched and trite and still, undeniably, delicious. Ian had scorned her sudden enthusiasm with clipped remarks about her real family; she wished she felt more guilt, but in all honesty, she had only barely missed her parents and brothers. The world of the Grimms, with their doorway into society with all of its incestuous connections, was too dazzling a temptation to turn away. The rich clothes, effortless late mornings, and complete lack of denim had only taken a brief time to get used to.

Laurel Cider was a different girl in her sixth year; that hesitant awkwardness that had haunted her, forcing her into duplicitous actions of supposed niceness and good-intentions-- it was shoved into the far back of her heart. Her brother Bryce might have accused her of selfishness, but Laurie thought the judgment premature. Was it wrong to enjoy the benefits of her birth parents? They had died and their bequeathment to her was more than a simple paper and a trust fund; it was a legacy. Shouldn't she enjoy it? Embrace it?

No, she wasn't going to feel guilty for a moment longer, even if it meant ignoring the lost expression on her father's face the night before, or the way her mother had clung to Laurie as if she might never see her daughter again. No, Laurel Cider, born Grimm, was not to play martyr to guilt's altar.

Not this year.

Her first step, she decided, would be to face head-on the Ladies and their Yearly Court. They might not grant her audience, but she had just as much right to claim blood and status as they did now. Chelsea and Anabel would be the greater challenge, she knew. Holly had always been friendly, if a bit neurotic. And she was sure Cecily would have her back.

Or at least, she hoped.

Shoulders straight and dark blond hair perfectly coiffed, Laurie angled her seat to face the group of fellow Crotali directly. As a prefect, she could address Chelsea's concern with some semblance of authority. Even if she was just pretending.

She waited until Cecily had finished before cutting in. "It's up to Jera whether or not she'll join you; I imagine, if you're terribly against it, you can convince her otherwise."

Laurie tried terribly not to let her blatant, if silent, cry of Notice me! translate between her words. Somehow, though, she felt the measure a failure even with only her first attempt at crossing the divide.

0 Laurel Cider Requesting audience with the Ladies. 118 Laurel Cider 0 5

Euna Song
April 20, 2010 10:08 PM

Euna Song
Peripheral
Written by:

Overshadowed by Euna Song
Euna Song wished she could push aside the nervous knot in her stomach, if only for the few minutes necessary to properly greet her new housemates. She always enjoyed the Sorting, the excited and sometimes concerned expressions alighting the first years as their skin changed from its normal hue to that of brown, red, yellow, or blue. When her own had traded its typical tawny tone for blue three years earlier, she had been overwhelmed. Her very first contact with magic-- and how very drastic it had felt to her skin, to her blood! It was better than finding her wand, for all that her wand had felt like finding home.

Before the goblet, there had been a life without magic, and after--

Euna smiled, her wish at last granted. Her nerves loosened and a warmth settled over her. After the goblet, her life had changed, irrevocably and forever. Looking back on it now, she felt a small measure of pity for the Purebloods in the group; how could they ever really appreciate magic if they never knew what it was to not feel it? To not have it?

It was the difference between happiness and sorrow, dark and light.

Witch and not-witch.

Her brother couldn't be content with that mere state of being, though, and his refusal, his continued adamance that he must know all those things their mother was equally stubborn in never sharing-- Your father is dead, he is dead, he is dead, he is dead!-- Euna had none of that damning curiosity. She didn't need to know; Min Ae, Mike by his own declaration, had to. He disappeared the third week into the break, and returned a month later, escorted by a social worker and a sympathetic police officer.

Euna hadn't realized it until the moment Min Ae returned, but she had been glad of his absence, relieved. It was an ugly realization, but she relished the honest knowledge it granted her. Her brother was a negative force in her life, and she would do well to separate herself from him. If only to preserve her sanity and her happiness. For of all the traits her brother carried, his greediness cost her the most.

But not this year. "No, not this one," she repeated out loud, her dark eyes clear and determined.

"Pardon? Sorry, I didn't quite understand what you said, as I was not paying attention."

Euna lifted her head, her thick black hair shifting with the movement. "Oh no, Quentin, I wasn't talking to--" She broke off, shaking herself briefly, and instead smiled. "It doesn't matter. How're you? How was your summer?"

Her overly-literal housemate could be frustrating, but Euna liked that quality in him. There was nothing underhanded or shady about Quentin; he simply was what he was.

0 Euna Song Overshadowed 0 Euna Song 0 5

Chelsea
April 21, 2010 4:56 AM

Chelsea
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 16

*eyebrow raise* by Chelsea
As Cecily declared her refusal to share a room with her sister, Chelsea shuddered involuntarily. It wasn't in reaction to the thought of sharing with Amelia specifically, it was more of a reaction to the thought of sharing with her own sister.

The thought of sharing with Nina in particular filled her with revulsion and to be honest, sharing with Kaylie or Hope wouldn't have exactly thrilled Chelsea either. She put the idea of sharing with Jera on par with either of them. Indifference to the person generally speaking-though Hope and Kaylie inspired a bit more emotion in Chelsea than Jera did, they were her sisters after all-but the thought of sharing a room was less than pleasant.

What Cecily and Anabel had to share with-except perhaps Addie, she was tolerable-would have been more on par with sharing with Nina. Absolute unbearable.

"It's up to Jera whether or not she'll join you; I imagine, if you're terribly against it, you can convince her otherwise."

And speaking of which, there was one now. Chelsea kept her face an impeccable mask that hid what she was truly feeling, which was a revulsion that fell somewhere on a scale between Nina,Alexis or Old Flatt(the most disgust and loathing that a human being could possibly feel) and Jera or Grayson (a situational irritance that she probably would not have given a second thought to if the person was not somehow a hindrance or had gotten something Chelsea wanted. Kaylie and Evan were closer to this end) or Quentin (just plain annoying.)

Why was Laurie trying to talk to them? She was not a Lady, never had been, never would be. It wasn't simply about blood purity, Holly was a muggleborn and she was one of them, Lucie Dupree was from as good a background as hers or Cecily's or Anabel's but she wasn't (possibly because she played Quidditch.) Nina was Chelsea's full blooded sister, meaning they had the exact same background and she was about as far from a Lady as humanly possible. Cecily's cousin Cynthia was a similar example.

Furthermore, Laurie had to be the most sanctimonious person Chelsea had ever met yet for some strange reason Cecily seemed to like her. She wasn't going to try to make her friend stop-sometimes people just did stupid, self-destructive things and it was futile to try to get them to stop, like Marshall and his drinking-but that didn't mean Chelsea had to or ever would.

"I'll keep that in mind." She replied cooly. The worst part was that Chelsea had to grudgingly admit that as of right now, she could find nothing wrong the idea besides the source of it. She turned back to Cecily. "I suppose it could be so much worse. I couldn't imagine having to share with some of the people " the word people was here being used euphemistically and Chelsea's tone implied this "that you and Anabel have had to put up with all this time. Such as Alexis and Renaye." Chelsea may not have mentioned Laurie's name, but that was implied as well.

She went back to Cecily's earlier question. "No, no sister. Hope won't be here until I graduate. Just a second cousin, Autumn. It looks like she'll be in Crotalus." Chelsea did not make mention of the other one, nor would she. She was not acknowledging her, not even by name. (In part, because Chelsea wasn't entirely what it was. Kristen maybe?)"That's her." She pointed to a first year seated at the table with incredibly curly light brown hair. Chelsea felt largely indifferent to Autumn, even though she hated Autumn's older sister Lily.

11 Chelsea *eyebrow raise* 108 Chelsea 0 5

Holly Greer
April 21, 2010 9:53 AM

Holly Greer
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by: Nathan

Age in Post: 16

Naively Oblivious, as always by Holly Greer
Holly was in a fabulous mood. She'd been walking on air (figuratively, of course, her muggle relatives and the hired staff would have found it disturbing if she'd started actually walking on air, though she'd seriously considered it during the really good moments just to see if it felt as wonderful as what she was already feeling) for the entire summer. Her mother's wedding had been beautiful. Her mother's dress had been entrancing. Holly's junior bridesmaid dress had been perfect.

Daniel had been a downer, like he always was during happy occasions, but she was pretending her younger half-brother was as happy as she was because she didn't want to feel any kind of sadness right now, even it was just pity that Daniel inexplicably couldn't share in her joy even though he'd looked impeccable in his junior groomsman suit and his very own TV show (that she still wasn't allowed to watch) was signed on for another season. He really should be happy, so Holly decided he was and ignored any evidence to the contrary.

The wedding bubble had floated her through the first month of the summer, and then Wendy was wonderful for the middle of the summer (her CATS scores had been a momentary disappointment, but Daniel had been kind and didn't tell Mom that an A in the wizarding world wasn't the same as an A in the muggle world, and a good long ride on Wendy soon had her back in excellent spirits), and then, as it became time to get ready for Sonora again, she remembered a wonderful wonderful thing.

She was a sixth year now and would never have to touch another rat spleen or face a horrible monster ever ever again! She could drop Potions and DADA both with complete impunity and leave only the classes that didn't give her terrible nightmares and incite horrible panic attacks that forced her to abuse anti-anxiety medication!

This was going to be her best year since she came to Sonora, she could already tell. She spent the entire wagon ride beaming at her brother and going on about how splendid being a Sixth Year was going to be and didn't even feel the need to kick him back or respond to his obvious attempts to make her snap at him. It was too wonderful a day! (Oddly, she was pretty sure smiling happily at him annoyed him even more than if she had retaliated like she normally did, but she wasn't entirely sure why this would be and dismissed it as another weird Danny-ism.)

As a Prefect, she sat at the Pecari table during the Sorting, but she wanted to see her friends again, so after she ate a bread stick and gave Raoul a peck on the cheek, she headed over to the Crotalus table.

Arriving in time to hear Laurie Cider say something to Chelsea, Holly tried to figure out why Jera might have occasion to join Chelsea in anything. As she drew closer, Chelsea's next comment seemed to suggest sharing a room, and Holly abruptly remembered the fifth years had been moved up a grade. She had a momentary panic attack for the sanctity of her own private room, but remembered Pecari hadn't had any fifth years before she even got the vial of anti-anxiety potion out of her pocket.

Another wonderful thing about this year. She smiled.

Still, she felt a little bad for the other girls. "Hi," she said, nodding at each of her friends, as she found the seat one of the Ladies must have saved for her. Since Laurie was apparently part of the conversation this year, she included the other Prefect as well in her round of greetings.

Looking down the table at the latest of Chelsea's cousins to join them at Sonora, Holly took note of the girl, but she wasn't a Pecari. It seemed unlikely to her that Holly would ever cross paths with the first year.

Looking at the Crotalus Ladies and Laurie again, Holly offered an idea that had suddenly occurred to her. "Since there is no more fifth year, perhaps some of the sixth years in your House could split off and move into Amelia's room. Then maybe you wouldn't all be so crowded." Plus, Alexis and Cecily would probably both be happier people if they didn't have to share a room with each other any more.

1 Holly Greer Naively Oblivious, as always 123 Holly Greer 0 5

Caleb
April 21, 2010 10:43 AM

Caleb
Peripheral
Written by:

No, really? I couldn't tell. :) by Caleb
Caleb listened intently as she explained that she liked to hang out with her older cousins. He could totally relate because he loved hanging out with his older siblings. He didn't really know if he had any cousins, since his dad didn't really keep in contact with his family. He knew that his dad did have two brothers and a sister, but he wasn't sure whether or not they had children.

He nodded as she explained that the cousins she had here, obviously, weren't the cousins that she liked to hang out with. He was pretty sure that no one would want to name a boy Chelsea, unless it was only for ridicule.

He suddenly felt nervous as she explained that she preferred older people to younger, but still, he had gathered that she wasn't that much older than him. She looked to be only a year older than him, at the most two years. But she couldn't have been that much older. He didn't take much offense though at her statement because he didn't really like to hang out with people that were younger than him too. Older people were much more fun than younger ones.

He smiled at her when she said that she preferred quiet people. "Well, you're in luck then. I'm not much of a talker. Quite shy actually."

Caleb bit his lip when Alessa asked him if he would have any cousins coming to Sonora. "Uhm...I'm not really sure because my dad, although he's a wizard, doesn't really keep in touch with his family. I know that he has two brothers and a sister, but since I haven't seen them in years I don't know if they have any children that are coming here. But, I sure hope I make friends. I'm not much of a talker and I don't really like to initiate conversations much, so I hope that I meet people fairly easily here." He smiled at her and then looked back down at his food.

"But, anyways, what do you like to do?" he asked, trying to keep their conversation going. He hoped that she didn't think of him as an intruder. He was nervous and couldn't think of anything to say, and when he didn't know what to say, he asked lots of questions.

0 Caleb No, really? I couldn't tell. :) 0 Caleb 0 5

Cecily
April 22, 2010 5:21 AM

Cecily
Peripheral
Written by:

That's why we love you by Cecily
It was no surprise that Chelsea barely acknowledged Laurie - the two of them had never gotten along. Cecily did grace her roommate with a slightly longer glance than normal, because she just looked so... well, different was definitely the right word. It was like when Addie had started making an effort last year. Except that for Addie it had been an obvious improvement. Laurie looked more to Cecily's tastes now, without a doubt, but it didn't seem to fit the girl inside. Cecily made a note to talk to her about it later - she could talk to Laurie any time when they were in their shared commons. She had limited discussion time with the Ladies, so she turned her attention back to them as Holly arrived with a bizarre idea about the room-sharing conundrum. She was a lovely girl, but could be weird sometimes. Maybe that's what being in Pecari did to you.

"I would second your notion in an instant," Cecily replied, adoring the idea that she could force her unwanted roommates onto Amelia. "However I'm not sure it would be especially welcome." True, some of her current roomates might want to leave, but Cecily couldn't see Amelia willingly giving up the room she currently had to herself. If she was being truly honest, having Amelia in the room wouldn't make too much of a difference, anyway - there were already so many of them that one more was probably not going to make much of a difference.

Looking over where Chelsea had indicated, Cecily identified the first cousin Autumn talking to another red first year. "I'll keep an eye on her," Cecily offerred, in a voice that somehow simultaneously indicated she would stand up for Autumn if she got into trouble, and berate her if she did anything that might not be appropriate. She spent so much time ignoring her own relatives it would probably be possible to notice other people's.

Catching a glimpse of the staff table as she'd looked for Chelsea's cousin, Cecily leaned over in a conspiratory manner, and said plenty loud enough for anyone interested to hear, "Did you see our new transfiguration professor? She has tattoos for Merlin's sake." It was a pity, because mostly Cecily had approved of the staffing arrangements since Professor Powell had taken Headship of the school. Aside from Coach Pierce, of course. "What do you think? Shall we try to bring her down now, or just wait out the year and let the curse on the position do it's job?"

0 Cecily That's why we love you 0 Cecily 0 5

Amelia
April 22, 2010 3:35 PM

Amelia
Peripheral
Written by:

I could express several other sentiments by Amelia
"Grandmother sends her compliments," were the words uttered as a basket was placed unceremoniously before her.

"Um," Amelia said, entirely too taken over by surprise to utter anything more eloquent in the first instance. Her fingers itched to open the basket and peek inside, whereas her eyes desperately wanted to make sure that voice really did belong to the person she had only seconds ago decided wasn't coming back. Meanwhile her thoughts were occupied in forming the rest of her sentence. Following shortly on from its first syllable, Amelia added, "I can see that."

Great, now that hurdle was out of the way, Amelia's mind was free to wonder where Ian had been, why he was back now - if that was indeed the case, and why hadn't he said anything? Well, the last question she could answer herself. Although they'd always been on speaking terms, their manner of conversing had not always been especially pleasant. If they had developed a friendship - Amelia thought maybe there was a better word for what she shared with ian, but she couldn't think of it right then - it had been recently. There was no need in the world for Ian to tell her his plans and reasons for them. No reason at all.

The motion opposite finally presented her eyes with the excuse they were waiting for, and she looked up to see none other than Ian Grimm sitting quite comfortably before her. She raised a quizzical eyebrow, and was rewarded with what seemed to be a genuine greeting.

"Yes, it has," she agreed. Mostly she wanted to be annoyed with him - she even felt quite annoyed with him - but as she had discussed with herself just moments ago, she had to reason to be. Instead, she let the other emotion she felt join in. Bizarre as it was, she was pleased to see Ian. Of course it would be entirely inappropriate to let him know this, so she managed an expression that was mostly questioning, with perhaps just a hint of a smile, while she waited for him to say something. An explanation, perhaps.

0 Amelia I could express several other sentiments 0 Amelia 0 5

Dana
April 22, 2010 5:11 PM

Dana
Peripheral
Written by:

Company loves company by Dana
"I was homeschooled, but my tutor went crazy or something, so my aunt decided to send me here."

Well that was a reason and a half for missing the first three years of school. "I've been in and out," Dana replied shrugging her shoulders. She couldn't help noticing Alison wasn't eating much, either. A sliced apple hardly counted as a feast. "I came here for my first and second years, but was tutored last year. Um, didn't agree with me though." She didn't have any friends at Sonora, true enough, but there were at least other people around. In her own home, with its ridiculous two staircases and more hired staff than actual family, Dana had never felt more alone. School would be better this year, she was sure of it. "So here I am again. With a roommate, apparently," she smiled.

Showing willing, Dana took a forkful of food. She chewed it, and it felt like cardboard in her mouth. Lowering her cutlery, she didn't attempt to eat any more food. "So, let's get acquainted," she decided. "I like Charms and History of Magic, my favorite color is yellow and this summer I was bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding." That would do, until Alison asked for more information. "How about you?"

0 Dana Company loves company 0 Dana 0 5

Taylor
April 22, 2010 5:22 PM

Taylor
Peripheral
Written by:

As long as you're sure. by Taylor
A furrow appeared in Taylor’s forehead when she frowned. She didn’t know what it was like to be a child of divorced parents or what it was like to have stepparents. And she certainly wouldn’t want to add all the drama that acting brought on as the anchovy topping on a liver sundae. All she could do was try to piece together how she might feel with what Daniel was telling her. “Are you worried just about her or about yourself too? Are you scared to like him, because he’s inevitably going to leave?” She bit her lip; worried she was going to far, because it wasn’t as though they were the best of friends where they were able to say anything to each other. But then she supposed everyone started somewhere and the friendship either went one way or another.

She guessed everything in life was like that. It would go one way or another. You could be like her and look towards brighter path or be like Daniel and look to the darker path. Would she be different if she had his life? Probably, she decided. But it didn’t have to stay that way. It was like a lake. It was calm until someone came along and threw a pebble in it causing a ripple effect. Eventually, if one waited long enough, the lake would go back to being calm. Yes, it was forever changed, because that pebble had become part of the lake, but the rippling was gone. People could be like that. They could be forever changed, but they could achieve their calm lake again. Maybe one day he would no longer be rippling.

But apparently there were other changes. She nodded her head about him no longer dating Charlie or having ever dated Adelita, but she couldn’t feign the slight shock of the possibility that he might not be straight. Thankfully, living in California, it was more common and accepted, and she was easily over it and into logical thinking. “Then, maybe you should find some answers. The best way is experimenting. You could try doing something different just as a hobby and as for what your type is, have you tried dating someone else? Or you could try dating a boy if there’s someone that strikes you’re interest.”

Thinking about it, she added, “You could also be bi or maybe you just haven’t hit the point where you’re looking.” Taylor gave a slight shrug of her shoulder. “If it makes you feel better, though, I have no idea about the whole dating thing either. I’ve never had one. I never even thought about guys until recently. It was like one-day they were jushad started there, then bam it suddenly hit me how interesting they were.” It was right after that she had started experimenting with makeup. Like how today she was wearing berry delicious lip gloss.

0 Taylor As long as you're sure. 0 Taylor 0 5

Alison
April 23, 2010 10:33 PM

Alison
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 14

Most of the time, anyway. by Alison
Alison nodded quickly in acknowledgment of Dana's story. Her brother Michael, either in a misguided attempt at bonding with her over how life sucked or an attempt to call her a freak in somewhat more oblique language than he'd used when she'd visited as a little kid, had started rambling one evening about how his ex-girlfriend had been homeschooled, then she'd come to his school, but she'd had so much trouble adjusting that she'd gone back to being homeschooled, which was why she was his ex-girlfriend and not his current girlfriend. She had never thought about it, having been worried about having the same issue as Michael's ex, but she supposed it could work the other way around, too, when a schooled kid tried to become a homeschooled one.

Michael had reacted weirdly to the end of that conversation. Alison had politely told him she was sorry to hear about his breakup and suggested, pretty reasonably to her mind, that he hook up with Sarah Jane's chief tormentor as revenge, and he had taken to avoiding her and giving her odd looks when they were in the same room. He must have said something to Anthony, too, because she'd seen them talking together and then stopping abruptly when they saw her, which meant they were either fooling around with her friends or talking about her behind her back.

"Apparently," she agreed, finishing her apple and starting to pull together a fruit salad. Unlike Dana, she didn't cut herself off after the first bite.

She wasn't sure if Dana's method of "getting acquainted" was standard issue, but decided to just go with it. "I like Charms and History, too, my favorite color is fuchsia, and this summer I...uh...moved back to Philadelphia for a while." Hopefully not a long one, hopefully not even long enough to qualify as a move, but it was the most interesting thing that had happened during what could be loosely defined as summer. Once the initial attempts she and her brothers had made at making friends had pretty much failed, she'd had nothing to do but find the public library and then sit in it, reading books she didn't understand half of the references in anymore. "My parents are there. I'd been staying in Chicago with my aunt most of the time because she's a witch, but, you know, tutor went crazy." Or whatever. "Where are you from?"

16 Alison Most of the time, anyway. 140 Alison 0 5

Laurel Cider
April 24, 2010 8:59 PM

Laurel Cider
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by:

Age in Post: 16

Retreating for now. by Laurel Cider
It became painfully obvious, almost immediately, that Laurie's attempt to enisle herself into the dynamic that made up the Ladies was over literally as soon as it started. The conversation quickly returned to its original source, and as Holly joined in, Laurie decided that it would be best to make a hasty retreat. She waited, pessimistically convinced that no one would include her, and then satisfied that her pessimism had proven realistic, she quietly stood up and smoothed down her skirts.

She made sure to smile should anyone glance her way, her hair still in its perfection and her clothes remaining their impeccable selves.

She didn't bother trying to find a seat elsewhere, and ignored the brief glance her cousin gave her when she moved past him. Ian seemed to think her summer transformation ridiculous, but then again, she hadn't been the one to spend over six months locked in a wing of the house going through four different tutors. Plus, she had managed far better scores on her CATS. She hoped the look she threw his way managed to infuse the right amount of lofty superiority to convey her thoughts.

Laurie managed to make it to her common room before the rejection fully kicked in. She took immediate sanctuary in the bathroom, securing the door behind her with a doubled locking charm, and then stared at her reflection angrily. Her eyes watered and her nose reddened; her attempt at make-up was quickly being burned away by the mixture of high emotion and teary regret. She had wanted to make a new impression; she had wanted their acceptance.

"Try again tomorrow, Laurel," she ordered her reflection. Then she wiped her eyes, pinched her cheeks, and admired the way her dress circled her waist. Vanity was an interesting to polish.

0 Laurel Cider Retreating for now. 118 Laurel Cider 0 5

Ian
April 26, 2010 1:58 PM

Ian
Peripheral
Written by:

Ultimately, though, 'miss' is the right one, of course. by Ian
Silence wasn't the sort of response Ian was used to when it came to Amelia. He expected her to grouse, complain, and then dig through the summer favors like she normally did at the beginning of each school year. That she showed restraint and instead gave him only quizzical muteness was annoying; Merlin, it was grating.

Ian uncrossed and then re-crossed his legs, fingers fidgeting near his glasses. He supposed he owed her-- although, 'owed' seemed a bit strong of word-- some sort of explanation. If only to butter her up enough to tell him about the goings-on the past six months had encountered at Sonora.

"It was private tutoring," he said at last, impatience layering his tones. "And then my parents heard about your testing out for the CATS a year early, and not to be outdone by a Smythe, the parents Grimm had me spend the entire summer locked up, studying, and it was lo--"

Ian broke off, head jarred by the flurry of royal blue chiffon brushing by. His cousin, so newly introduced to society, had not been immersed in the blue-blood world long enough to learn to mask her emotions. He craned his neck past Amelia to where the rest of the Ladies sat and noted that a chair stood empty beside them. He had warned Laurel not to bother, but plainly, she hadn't listened. Ian had grown up long enough in the company of strong-willed women to recognize that there was no creature more fearsome. And that Chelsea Brockert was not about to stoop herself down to socialize with someone who equated to little more than a nicely groomed upstart.

"It was loathsome," he finished, already feeling tired. Six months of absence from Sonora had translated to six months of absence from the general world; he had forgotten how wearying the game of politesse could be, how cold it could be. He considered Amelia's older sister, Cecilia, for a moment more, a little curious why a professed friend of his cousin's wouldn't have demonstrated such ties.

Observing the older brunette reminded him of what else he had missed in his sojourn from society. "What happened with the ball then, last year?" And surprising himself, the jealousy completely foreign to him-- and especially in regards to Amelia, he asked further, "Who did you end up going with?"

0 Ian Ultimately, though, 'miss' is the right one, of course. 0 Ian 0 5

Quentin
April 26, 2010 3:47 PM

Quentin
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 14

Overly...literal, of course :) by Quentin
"I'm fine. Summer was all right, I suppose." Aside from his parents being not very happy about him going to the dance last year with a muggleborn. They'd criticized Quentin for it, but he'd been quick to tell them that there really weren't very many appropriately aged pureblood girls at Sonora that were also intelligent and not related to him. The only one who matched that description that he could think of was Cassie Kerrigan and Quentin had never spoken a single word to her, whereas Marissa was his friend and he enjoyed her company. His parents had stopped talking about it after that, which either meant they understood-which was what Great-Grandfather thought and had been quite amused by-or they were tired of arguing with Quentin and dealing with his extremely logical reasoning.

Other than that, summer had been the same as it always had been. Quentin had spent most of the time reading. His parents were the type that people said did not believe in vacations. That wasn't quite true-they believed in them, knew that vacations existed, they just did not take them.

His parents and grandparents were probably the most serious people that Quentin had ever met. They did not have what other people called a "sense of humor" (Though Quentin considered this phrase to be something of an oxymoron...which, come to think of it, was pretty weird word, as it suggested some combination of ox and moron. Given the meaning of the word, it suggested oxen were smart which was not what word Quentin would think of when he thought of oxen)

"So how was your summer, Euna?" He took a sip of milk. "And what doesn't matter? Who were you talking to if not me? I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation if you were speaking to someone else and I'm sorry if I did so."

11 Quentin Overly...literal, of course :) 129 Quentin 0 5

Alessa
April 26, 2010 10:05 PM

Alessa
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 12

Sarcasm noted ;) by Alessa
"Oh, there's nothing wrong with that." Alessa told Caleb in response to him saying he was shy. "There are much worse things to be. And Aladren is a good house to be in if you are, as opposed to say, Pecari. Most Aladrens are so focused on studying so they aren't all that social."

Alessa wasn't a terribly social person herself. A lot of the time she really did like to do her own thing. Still, that didn't mean she didn't want friends and she kind of hoped Caleb would be. He was quiet and that...was a start. She went on. "If anything, Aladrens are more likely to criticize someone who isn't as bright. Or they simply do not care at all."

"That's too bad." Alessa replied in what she hoped sounded like a sympathetic tone. It was clear enough, even to Alessa who was bad at understanding the feelings of others, that family was pretty important to Caleb, considering how he talked about his siblings.

"Oh, I understand that." Alessa agreed, nodding. "I have the hardest time initiating conversations. I never really know what to talk about." She went on, considering his question. "Well, I like to read a lot. And I like history and puzzles."

She decided against telling Caleb in her interest in pureblood geneology. It made people think she was either strange or a supremacist and she certainly wasn't the latter, she simply thought how the pureblood families interconnected. As for the former, people didn't necessarily like people who were strange. Like Quentin. (Though, he'd had a date for the ball last year, so she was pretty sure that the girl he'd gone with must have liked him at least as a friend.)

"What about you?" Alessa asked in return. For now, that was the way she knew to keep the conversation going.To ask of him what he'd asked of her.

Then she thought of something else. "You know, if your dad is a pureblood, you may be related, even distantly, to a whole bunch of people you've never known about. Maybe even some here. I could help you look, if you want." She offered. Alessa hoped Caleb wouldn't somehow take offense to her suggestion. "I mean, it seems like you really care about your family, that family is important to you and I thought if you wanted, you could find out if you had family here and establish relationships with them. So you wouldn't feel alone." Alessa added.

11 Alessa Sarcasm noted ;) 150 Alessa 0 5

Amelia
May 01, 2010 10:43 AM

Amelia
Peripheral
Written by:

You believe that if it makes you happy by Amelia
Wow, this was like a new game, one of the few that Amelia and Ian hadn't already played. Each one waited (Amelia with more patience, fo course) for the other to say something. Eventually Ian caved, as she knew he would. He explained the reasons for his absence, and Amelia couldn't do anything to stop the smug smile that spread across her face. It was so wide she even showed some teeth. Ian had to have a tutor? Ian in Aladren had to have extra classes to match up to a Smythe's standards? It was positively fabulous. Amelia would bet the basket of favors before her that she'd gotten better grades, too.

Amelia's smile did falter as she caught Ian watching Laurie Cider walk by. She was dressed up almost beyond recognisition, and a glance at the table she'd come from explained it all nicely. It was so unfair; Cecily had people trying their hardest to be friends with her, and she and her clique were turning them down. Amelia couldn't even get people to takl to her, let alone... whatever. Ian resumed speaking, and Amelia returned her attention to him.

"What happened with the ball then, last year?" Ian said. "Who did you end up going with?" What was this? Had he read her thoughts? Was he trying to be cruel. Amelia considered her answer for a split-second. She had subtly searched for a potential date, but anyone worth going with was taken. Everyone else was too Muggleborn, too not-interested-in-girls, or Josiah Ashwood. If she was honest with herself, Amelia had even contemplated trying to get the redheaded seventh year to take her, but in the end she hadn't been that desperate. Fair enough, she could tell ian the truth. Maybe make him feel guilty about running off, if she could.

"Nobody," she said, the smile almost completely faded, and a touch of accusation in her voice. "I went with nobody. I spent the evening alone." It was interesting that admitting a fact like that aloud to Ian made Amelia feel vulnerable; that was not a feeling she relished. It was probably because he was most likely to taunt her about it, so Amelia continued swiftly on before he had the opportunity to do so. "It wasn't so bad; I watched everyone else make fools of themselves and I wore the latest Decorus gown, so I educated, too." besides the dress had looked gorgeous - it was too bad there hadn't been anyone looking to appreciate it.

0 Amelia You believe that if it makes you happy 0 Amelia 0 5

Chelsea
May 01, 2010 6:13 PM

Chelsea
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 16

Good riddance. by Chelsea
Chelsea greeted Holly and said "You know, Cecily, that might be a good idea. Though considering some " here it was heavily implied that she meant Laurie as well as Alexis and Renaye "of your roommates, it would be an awfully cruel to Amelia. Of course, I would do it to my sister in a heartbeat." That was, of course, because she loathed Nina. "But, then, as she's in Pecari, there's a good chance her roommates are horrid anyway, no offense Holly." Oh, how Chelsea enjoyed the fact that Nina's roommates left her out since she wasn't allowed to play Quidditch.

Although Chelsea was trying her best to ignore Laurie's presence, she was glad to notice when the other girl left. Laurie was such a wannabe and her sitting with the Ladies irked Chelsea even more than she usually did. Not that Chelsea could blame Laurie for wanting to be a Lady, after all who wouldn't? Still, it was never ever ever going to happen and nearly anyone short of Alexis, Nina or Renaye had a better chance of ever being one.

She turned back to Cecily and Holly. "Oh, gross. I can't believe someone would do that. It's so unattractive." Chelsea said of the new Transfiguration professor's tattoos. "Tattoos are only appropriate for criminals and the lower classes. However, I say we wait and see. I'm taking Transfiguration so we'll see what she's like. If she's anything like say, Old Flatt, we get rid of her ASAP. Otherwise, we let the curse take it's course."

Chelsea didn't quite get what it was with schools and filling the Transfiguation spot. Not only at Sonora, but the entire time Marshall had been at SUM they hadn't had one either. As it made her cousin unhappy, Chelsea had taken great joy in this fact.

A horrid thought occurred to her then. What if Tattoo Lady left and Marshall ended up applying for the Transfiguration job? She didn't know if she could take that. Chelsea doubted they would ever hire him though given his raging alcoholism. Besides, Marshall didn't seem to have any interest in teaching whatsoever.

11 Chelsea Good riddance. 108 Chelsea 0 5

Euna
May 01, 2010 10:46 PM

Euna
Peripheral
Written by:

I did sort of supply that one, didn't I? by Euna
"I wasn't really speaking to anyone--" Euna quickly continued, knowing that a clarification would be necessarily lest Quentin point out that by speaking out loud, she had to have been addressing something. "It's a bad habit of mine: I sometime speak to myself, when deep in thought."

She didn't add that the habit had been borne from years of a mostly self-induced loneliness. Aside from her one best friend growing up, Euna's primary school days had mostly consisted of eating lunch alone and reading during recess. Her existence had been the complete opposite of her brother's, who managed to draw in a solid crowd of cheering friends and listeners no matter the occasion. That Min Ae hadn't had the same success so far at Sonora-- Euna lifted her gaze, searching out her brother from across the room; he was practically friendless, she realized.

The realization left her feeling hollow.

"My summer was all right, I suppose. I live in Florida, in the Keys, so they tend to get over-run with tourists. It's hard to enjoy the beach when it's crowded full with people." Key Largo was too small of an island to really have any private part of it reserved for tourist-avoidance. Even the natural beaches, whose shores were pebbled and sand-free, drew in the hordes of chair-toting, cooler-dragging, northerners.

She struggled for a moment, once finished. It had been nagging at her for a while, since before summer break, really. She knew that ultimately her brother's actions were not her own, but that sense of responsibility she always felt for him prevented her from committing to total isolation. Out of all of her classmates, Min Ae had been most cruel to Quentin. While her housemate seemed oblivious to it for the most part, Euna had heard the awful taunts and rude jokes made at Quentin's expense.

She knew her brother would never apologize, but she felt someone ought to.

Euna sighed and pushed at the edge of her plate. "I've been meaning to do this for a while now, Quentin, but I'm really sorry about my brother. Min Ae's not always very nice to you, and while I imagine you don't really care, I still wanted to tell you that: I'm sorry for how he treats you."

0 Euna I did sort of supply that one, didn't I? 0 Euna 0 5

Quentin
May 06, 2010 4:59 PM

Quentin
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 14

Not sort of, completely. by Quentin
"Isn't the act of speaking to yourself a bit illogical?" Quentin asked. He didn't want to offend Euna but the point of speaking was to communicate with others. A person could not answer themselves. Well, he supposed they technically could but he did not see why someone would hold conversation with him or herself. After all, he or she would already know what he or she was going to say.

Quentin nodded. He knew the Keys was an area in Florida from his geography lessons as a child and he had thought it an absurd name. A key was something people used to unlock things, an object not a place. To leave in a key was utterly impossible. Had he not had those lessons, Quentin might have began to worry about Euna's sanity, given she had conversations with herself and claimed to live in a key.

"I'm from Iowa myself. Dubuque. Quite the magical 'party town'. All sorts of places muggles don't know about. Of course, I'm only fourteen so obviously I don't really go to any places." It was likely he never would. Quentin wasn't really inclined towards that sort of thing and the only parties his family would be okay with would be of the fancy pureblood kind.

What Euna said next made Quentin blink. He had no idea Mike had said anything about him. "You're right. I don't really care." He rarely cared what anyone thought of him. Quentin was who he was and that was that. He couldn't be anyone besides Quentin. He could pretend with polyjuice potion or something but he'd still be himself.

"I mean, it's nice of you to apologize for him but you didn't do anything wrong. He did, I guess. It's not your fault at all. People are not responsible for the actions of their relatives or anyone but themselves. " Granted, he still felt it was his duty to look out for all his cousins,especially Kirstenna but it was his own personality that made him be kind to her not guilt over the way his parents acted. Quentin wasn't going to apologize to her for anything they said. That was for them to do. Nor would he apologize to anyone for anything Chelsea or Tawny did or said. Or his other cousins either.

He went on "Though, to be honest, I never would have known he had said anything had you not mentioned it." Quentin shrugged. "But really, I don't need to talk to him or even think about him. Once I graduate, I'll never see him again."

11 Quentin Not sort of, completely. 129 Quentin 0 5