Fish out of water. on Cascade Hall

DH Skies

May 25, 2019 4:39 AM

Pre-Concert - Arrivals and Tour by DH Skies

The day of the concert was sliding pleasantly into a bright, warm summer’s evening. Given the weather charms around the school, to make the climate closer to Ireland than Arizona, you could never quite guarantee that, but they were in luck today - or the founders had had a little magic up their sleeves for midsummer events. Selina definitely thought this was preferable to the desert temperatures which must be baking the sand outside the protective bubble of the school.

They had set up a transportation station just outside the bounds of the school in order to allow the families of students to travel in, the concert being open to immediate family members, meaning the child’s parent(s)/guardian(s) and sibling(s). The area was still protected from accidental intrusion by non-magical people; deliberate intrusion was, of course, being welcomed. Selina had ensured that parents of Muggleborn students had actively been offered a connection to the Floo network - it was a right that was, supposedly, available to all homes in which a magical person resided, but that was information that you had to go digging for, and be persistent in your application for. They had also been provided details of the nearest public access Floo points, and a letter of authorisation from the school which would enable them to actually see the buildings as well as be allowed to enter and travel by the network whilst not accompanied by the magical member of their family. For those who preferred the traditional Muggle way of travelling, they had been told to meet a man with a yellow flag outside the nearby coach station, which was also close to a large designated automobile parking area for anyone who would be driving themselves. Professor Wright (who, aside from the flag, was pleasantly inconspicuous) would then bring them to school by car. It was just the one car, regardless of the number of families travelling in that way, but they would all find it perfectly capacious. And all the Charms teacher had to do to operate it was place his hands on the wheel - the vehicle would do the rest. There were limits, after all, to how far a group of magical people were able to go in arranging fully non-magical transport, and unless anyone fancied a nice long walk in the Arizona sun, they would get in. Families had been asked to reply as to how they would be travelling in order to help the school make arrangements and troubleshoot any particular problems.

For those coming by magic, the transportation station was equipped with several fireplaces, a landing space for portkeys (for any magical families who had chosen to arrange these - it had been decided that it wasn’t a good idea to expose non-magical people as their first experience of wizarding travel) and it was possible to aparate in. In addition to these travel features, it was contained within a bubble charm which kept it to a pleasantly cool temperature, and equipped with chairs, water, and anti-nausea remedies for anyone needing some recovery from their journey. Professor Brooding was on hand at the transportation station just in case there were any particular difficulties that needed addressing (and because, as well as being a good problem solver, it was hard not to feel welcomed by her cheerful demeanor) though it really was just a landing space. Opposite the fireplaces was a door. The station was a simple platform and thus had no walls, and so the door simply… was there, rising up off the platform, much like the fireplaces. Families would step through this and find themselves in the foyer of the school itself. This had been hung with the multilingual banner made by a group of the students, which bid them all ‘Welcome’ in all the languages spoken by the students and their families. Proper refreshments were available here, and Deputy Headmistress Skies was ready to greet parents more formally. There was also the option to make themselves name labels, as it had occurred to her that plenty of parents had never had the chance to meet their children’s friend’s parents, and may only have corresponded by letter, although these were not mandatory.

Those who wished to be taken on a tour of the school had been advised to arrive before 6.30. Any parents who did not wish to join could travel in just for the concert, which would begin at 7.30. Once she was fairly sure anyone who wanted to join had arrived, she called for their attention.

“Good evening, and welcome to Sonora Academy. I am Deputy Headmistress Skies. We’re so pleased to be able to welcome you all here,” she added, smiling very genuinely at this. Parents often seemed so removed, given the boarding school system, and it was nice to have this chance to connect. She was especially pleased that they had been able to bring the Muggle parents in, who she was aware had some bridges to cross in understanding their children’s lives at times. “We are going to conduct a short tour of the school, after which we will take you to the Cascade Hall for this evening’s concert, which will be introduced by our Headmaster. After the concert, refreshments will be provided, and there will be some time for you to catch up with your children and with each other.

“If you’d like to follow me, we’ll begin with seeing the grounds,” she invited, leading them out of the large white stucco building and into the pleasant summer evening, explaining the weather charms as she went.

OOC - welcome to the concert! This post is designed to give background information so that you are aware of the arrangements made. It is also open for replies if you want to have parents chatting amongst themselves. The concert itself will be posted during the weekend, as will a post-concert thread for socialisation involving the students.

Subthreads:

Party of two? No? by Mathias Stones (Evelyn's Dad) with Duncan, Angus and Whitney Brockert , Mathias Stones

Zdravstvuite, sonory! by Sem'ya Vorontsovykh with Professor Mary Brooding, Karl Hexenmeister

Wow, magic! by Damien and Patricia Ives with Abraham Jackson

A Maarten and two Sparks walk into a school by Stefanie Sparks plus Two with Marijke Lange (Mom: Kir & Ness), Stefanie and Peter Sparks

Fish out of water. by Arthur and Rosalie Hayles with The De Matteos

We have a problem by Holly Delachene with Raoul and Philippe with Florian Eckart and Agathe Zauberhexen

Working on my first detention before I even start by Anya Delachene, with Granddad Sparks with Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

A blast from the past by Ryan O'Malley

Arriving by The Priorys

13 DH Skies Pre-Concert - Arrivals and Tour 26 DH Skies 1 5

Mathias Stones (Evelyn's Dad)

May 26, 2019 2:31 PM

Party of two? No? by Mathias Stones (Evelyn's Dad)

Mathias was not eager for the concert, and had honestly considered not attending. The previous year hadn't required nearly so much of his attention, and he hoped that the school would put a stop to it as soon as possible. Of course, some part of him was aware that attendance was an altogether Good Thing, whether or not it was actually any good at all.

For one, there were at least a few professors, and probably some students, who would think of Mathias Stones as the bad guy in Evelyn's little adventure. They didn't get to see how hard he'd pushed her to pick up the magic she now seemed to be doing okay with, or the tears she cried over silly, muggle things, or the way she looked just like her mother, a woman who was supposed to carry enough magic blood to get them through. It just went to show that marrying for love was rarely enough; love was temporary, while blood potency and wealth were more substantive. He thought it all, but wasn't sure he meant it, particularly when he caught himself looking around for that familiar face in the crowd of parents arriving, and found his heart ached terribly when he didn't spot it.

Charity wasn't coming.

He wondered what Evelyn would tell her friends, if she had friends other than that Ness girl... boy... ah... other than Ness. That one was from a strong family background, and Evelyn maybe wasn't so keen to reveal her own family goings on, quiet as she tended to be.

Mathias had left Charles in the care of his own mother, a competent witch who wouldn't be so upset at his bursts of magic as these strangers might be, and was attending entirely alone tonight. There were a few other parents here and there who didn't have partners with them, and perhaps he wouldn't be alone on the outside. The inside, though, was where it hurt, and it kept him quiet until someone approached.

22 Mathias Stones (Evelyn's Dad) Party of two? No? 1422 Mathias Stones (Evelyn's Dad) 0 5

Sem'ya Vorontsovykh

May 26, 2019 7:29 PM

Zdravstvuite, sonory! by Sem'ya Vorontsovykh

The smile on the face of the young man who, finding himself in the presence of a woman upon emerging from the fire, bowed to Mary Brooding was almost laughably forced. This awkward expression, foreign to one raised to believe that a neutral expression was far more polite when dealing with a stranger, marked him even more clearly as Tatiana Vorontsova's brother than his brown hair and pale-blue green eyes.

"Hello," he said, with a Russian accent which did nothing to reduce the resemblance between brother and sister. "My name is called, Grigori Andreyovich Vorontsov. Those who are my parent, they follow, and my sister, Sofiya Andreyevna." His pride in his ability to speak English to a native was obvious. "You do know my small sisters, yes? They are called Tatiana Andreyevna i - and Katerina Andreyevna."

The fire flared again, admitting a plump, yellow-haired young woman whose dimples and merry blue eyes belied the formality of the tucked-up adult roll her hair was in and the twenty-inch strand of pearls dangling down onto the front of her square-necked red robes. Her smile was more natural than Grigori's; Sofiya Andreyevna had often earned her mother's disapproval for her ability to find humor in inappropriate places and thus truly smile when she should have at worst put on an American smile.

"Stop showing off, Grisha," she said in Russian, and bowed slightly to Professor Brooding as well. "Bonjour," she added in French, as she spoke almost no English and saw no reason to pretend as she stepped aside so her mother and father could follow her into Katya and Tatya's school.

Olga Petrovna Vorontsova did not speak to or smile at Mary Brooding, and bowing to a teacher would have been beneath her dignity, but she did incline her head slightly in acknowledgment as she brushed off her deep blue robes and the intricate bands of silver embroidery which rose up the wide sleeves and then descended down two panels extending from each shoulder to each foot. She was a tall witch, with a graceful, well-proportioned figure, Tatiana's brown hair, and Katerina's round face and enormous, slightly tilted deep blue eyes. Her hair was arranged in a more elaborate updo than Sonia's, with a curled fringe over her high forehead, and her jewels were also grander than Sonia's, as suited her status as a married woman of some status: her sapphire and diamond earrings were large, her three strands of creamy-colored pearls longer than her daughter's one and joined together with an emerald clasp. Another emerald made a clasp for one of the several gold bracelets, a mix of bangles and chains, which encircled her slim wrists, and her engagement ring, resting alongside her wedding band on the third finger of her right hand, supported a substantial green diamond.

Andrei Viktorovich was of yet another type. Though slightly taller than his wife, he was not, compared to most other wizards, very tall at all. His dark gold hair hinted at what Sofiya and Katerina's might look like in fifteen years, but his face bore more of a resemblance to Grigori and Tatiana. Like them, he also did not look so solemn as Olga Petrovna, looking about curiously and managing a tolerable American smile as he bowed slightly, in what he imagined was the manner respectable Americans greeted each other, to Mary and echoed his son's rehearsed "Hello."

In the next room, however, he smiled a much more genuine smile, a proud smile, as he beheld the banner and immediately spotted his own language on it. "That is Tatiana writing," he said to Grigori, pointing.

"Da," said Grigori. "Vidish' eto, Mama, Sonia?" See that, Mama, Sonia?

"Yes, Grisha," said Olga Petrovna, with an indulgent glance at her eldest son. "I am not blind."

Only, she thought, as good as deaf and dumb, at least for the duration of this event. She spoke even less English than Sonia. She had never noticed the lack before, but after listening to her husband make words which she did not understand - only 'Tatiana' had meant anything to her - she hoped intently that more people spoke French or German here than one would expect in America.

16 Sem'ya Vorontsovykh Zdravstvuite, sonory! 0 Sem'ya Vorontsovykh 0 5

Damien and Patricia Ives

May 26, 2019 8:09 PM

Wow, magic! by Damien and Patricia Ives

Damien and Patricia Ives were half-tempted to just go with the car ride route into the school, based mostly on the idea that they were already in Pheonix already, it hardly was any effort to drive over to the transport area. Except the nearest Floo connection was literally across the street (until the Mitchells moved away, the Ives saw little reason to bother getting one installed in their own home since they didn't actually have a fireplace already) and the Mitchells insisted it was no trouble at all and really much easier and quicker all around to take the Floo, so that's what they did.

It was quite strange really, stepping into a fire and not being burned. That in itself qualified as magic in their eyes. Actually relocating their bodies and stumbling out of a different fireplace was very nearly Star Trek (which, in truth, did have more in common with magic than with science). They patted themselves down upon arrival, making sure they still had all their body parts in the right places. They'd heard about the dangers of splinching when Zevalyn had accidentally relocated herself, prompting them to finally accept that magic might actually be a real thing their daughter could do and she ought to get trained before she hurt herself.

Zevalyn had turned seventeen last school year, so she'd been legally allowed to show off some of her new skills at home over the previous summer, but that did not prepare them for their first look at Sonora as they walked through the random doorway standing alone near the random fireplaces. From their astonished expressions as they looked at, well, everything, anybody observing them would easily be able to identify them as a non-magical couple.

They joined up with the rest of the gathered parents and were glad to have a face to put to one of the teachers Zevalyn spoke of at times. Even better was the tour, where they finally got to see the school where their daughter had for lived most of the last five years. They recognized the names of places she had talked about but had never really be able to properly imagine, and they felt a little better about having sent her off to some unknown 'magic school' now that they could see it for themselves. It would have reduce a great deal of their worries and stress - and probably Sullivan Quincy's as well - if this tour would have been possible when they had still doubted that magic was really a thing, but they were glad to get to see it before she left, if only by a few hours.

As the tour concluded, they turned to a neighboring tour-goer and Damien remarked, "That was very enlightening. It's good to see the school where our daughter spends so much of her time. I'm Damien, and this is my wife, Patty.
We're Zevalyn's parents. She's in seventh year." Head Girl, too, but he didn't want to sound like he was bragging.

1 Damien and Patricia Ives Wow, magic! 0 Damien and Patricia Ives 0 5

Stefanie Sparks plus Two

May 27, 2019 9:36 AM

A Maarten and two Sparks walk into a school by Stefanie Sparks plus Two

Peter and Stefanie Sparks apparated into the landing area near Sonora Academy. After another moment, a third crack sounded the arrival of Peter’s father. He wasn’t technically invited, being neither a parent nor sibling of Jozua (though there were certainly days that Stefanie considered her father-in-law more of an errant child who needed closer supervision than her own son ever had), but the older Sparks would hear nothing of not coming and seeing his grandson explode things on the stage. He argued he was immediate family since he had lived with Jozua since the boy was born, and it was mere oversight that live in grandparents hadn’t been mentioned. Peter had been inclined to agree and reasoned that since Jozua had no siblings, a single extra adult who was as just much a part of Jozua’s home life as a sibling would be, could hardly be frowned upon as too much of a burden. Of course, Stefanie believed this opinion was based on Peter’s inability to not view his father as part of his own immediate family. It was one of the drawbacks of marrying a man who had never not lived with his parent.

Stefanie was half expecting the elder Sparks to get thrown out and would have been a little bit smug in her I-told-you-so when he did, but the lady on the platform just smiled and welcomed them all. So it was her father-in-law who got to shoot the smug look back at her instead as they walked through the doorway into the school.

Stefanie just sighed and shook her head, letting the matter drop as she saw the school she’d lived in for seven years of her own early life. A multilingual banner welcomed them, and she was a little disappointed not to see Dutch represented, but she was perfectly fluent in English and she knew the basics of enough other languages that she picked up the welcome off the German, Spanish, and French greetings as well.

Being more social than either of the wizards she was with, Stefanie approached another set of Sonora family members and spoke in English that was accented more like Northwest American than Dutch (though a faint hint of the later could be detected to anyone looking for it), “Hello. We’re Jozua Sparks’ family. Is he friends with your child?”

1 Stefanie Sparks plus Two A Maarten and two Sparks walk into a school 0 Stefanie Sparks plus Two 0 5

Arthur and Rosalie Hayles

May 27, 2019 10:01 AM

Fish out of water. by Arthur and Rosalie Hayles

The man who had driven the car had looked almost comically normal. Everything about him had made Arthur Hayles want to hand him something and tell him to go file it - everything, from the lineaments of his face to the cut of his clothes to the shape of his glasses. The exterior of the car, too, had looked perfectly normal, so much so that Arthur normally would have been reluctant to enter it on general principles. Snobbery, however, had quickly receded into a low position in the list of things on his mind, because the inside of the car was physically impossible and he thought he would be ill if he looked at anything too long.

”It’s like Escher made cars,” his wife Rosalie had said. Arthur had hurriedly whispered for her to shut up, disliking the though of the space looping on itself endlessly so they never got out. Neither of them had said much on the rest of the trip.

Now, inside the building where his eldest and Ros’ only daughter had lived for most of the past year, Arthur felt slightly at loose ends, and very very exposed. He could not remember the last time he had gone anywhere other than Carmela’s without some security, and even her building had a night guard. Unless he drove himself, which was rare enough, he always had at least Robert or the backup chauffeur with him. Now, he had...Ros. Who was a good shot, of course, when she had something to shoot, and always carried pepper spray, and, admittedly, knew some self-defense, as was only appropriate for a politician’s daughter, but he would have been more comfortable with a slightly more masculine companion, or even companions. The entire Marine Corps might have done nicely.

These...things had been inside his house. Spied on him, his daughter, endangered privileged information about his company....

At least, he thought, the facility looked reasonably comfortable. Bright and airy, surprisingly clean for a place which apparently used fire as it’s main source of heat and illumination. There were odd gaps - no bright red glowing exit signs, no fire alarms near doors, no water fountains as he knew them - but the foyer did not make an immediately poor impression.

Beside him, Ros made a familiar sound of irritation. He glanced at her and found her tapping her watch face. “Stupid thing won’t come on,” she muttered.

“That’d be because it’s a smart watch, Ros,” said Arthur, trying to keep his hands from reaching for the digital assistant he knew wasn’t in his pocket. When had he last passed a conscious hour without checking his messages?

“I never even thought about my watch,” said Ros.

“I’ll buy you a new one when we get home, if yours doesn’t start working again,” said Arthur.

“I’m sure it - what is that?”

Arthur looked at what his wife was looking at just as the painting put down a pen and squinted at her. “I,” said the painting - the painting; its mouth moved, brush strokes apparent, and sound came out - “am Tavarius Mims.”

Had he ever seen Ros go quite that white before, or was it just the strange lighting combined with the contrast with her dyed dark auburn hair?

16 Arthur and Rosalie Hayles Fish out of water. 1442 Arthur and Rosalie Hayles 0 5

Professor Mary Brooding

May 27, 2019 1:59 PM

Welcome! by Professor Mary Brooding

Mary had been smiling because of course she was smiling. It was part of her job as greeter, but she also couldn't help herself when such exciting things were going on. Plus, she was meeting the families of her students! Some of them deserved stern looks, which she did not give, and some of them deserved big open hugs, which she also did not give, so she settled on warm smiles. When a Russian man approached and used Mary's absolute favorite second-language-ism, "small" siblings, she positively glowed. Additionally, since he was clearly forcing a wide open grin, Mary wanted to assure him that the gesture was indeed appropriate here.

"Hello," Mary greeted him, pretty sure that's not what she knew Tatiana and Katerina's last names as. "It's a pleasure to meet you and your family," she added, surprised by the size of it. She hadn't gotten to know the girls too well, and wasn't sure what their family was like.

The next several people that appeared intrigued her all the more. The next person that appeared was young enough for Mary to assume it was Sofiya, and Mary smiled easily at her comfortable expression. She wondered whether it was the sign of a well-traveled young woman, or just a happy one. Or something else. In any case, she was easy to greet with a warm expression and Mary was glad she'd practiced greetings in at least the languages she labeled bottles with. Her pronunciation was undoubtedly not great, but it was not terrible either.

"Enchanté," she replied, dipping her head. She was surprised by the use of French, but supposed she shouldn't have been.

The next woman didn't say anything at all until the man that Mary assumed was the girls' father did. "Hello," Mary replied again. Then, looking at both parents, she managed a very practiced "Dobro pozhalovat' v Sonoru."

Smiling warmly and as unobtrusively as she could manage, she nodded again and retreated to the next appearing family, certain she couldn't manage anything more than that, and not wanting to seem for a moment like a show-off. Or a bad show-off, depending on how terrible her pronunciation had been.

22 Professor Mary Brooding Welcome! 1424 Professor Mary Brooding 0 5

The De Matteos

May 27, 2019 2:53 PM

That's quite alright! by The De Matteos

Ilefonso De Matteo was accompanied by his wife and daughter as he approached the first people who looked uncomfortable. It was in his nature - or practice - to seek out people who may need a friendly face, or even more substantial help. He'd noticed them muttering to themselves as he, Julieta, and Leonor took the time to admire the school, and wanted to make sure everything was alright. The fact that they were confronted with a talking portrait and seemed alarmed was a good sign that this whole thing was new for them.

Ilefonso and Julieta were honestly just too excited that Felipe was at such a well-rounded school, we students of such diverse backgrounds, to be too impressed by things that were relatively normal in their own lives. The number of talking portraits of in-laws, grandparents, and other figures around Los Jardines de Plata was more irritating than either De Matteo would admit, although they weren't sad that the frequency of Muggle visits meant that they had to keep the portraits well out of the more public spaces.

"First talking portrait?" Ilefonso asked with a smile as Leonor looked over the girl with a smile and Julieta smiled warmly at the woman. "I'm Ilefonso. This is my wife, Julieta, and my daughter, Leonor. My son, Felipe, attends here. He's a first year student in Crotalus."

"I'm not coming for two years," Leonor added, frowning dramatically. Julieta chided her daughter with a loving pat and some hushing noises.

Looking up again, Julieta smiled apologetically. "No one in our family has come to Sonora before, so it's very exciting. How old is your student?"

22 The De Matteos That's quite alright! 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Holly Delachene with Raoul and Philippe

May 27, 2019 6:17 PM

We have a problem by Holly Delachene with Raoul and Philippe

Anya was missing. Holly hadn’t seen her younger daughter since they walked through the doorway into the school. She and Raoul had taken a moment to admire the banner that Jasmine reported she had helped with, and when they looked back, Anya was gone.

“Anya!” Holly called out, silently resenting that she couldn’t have brought her parents, Raoul’s parents, and at least Daniel to help her keep track of the kids. Well, Anya. Philippe was right here, and was unlikely to run off. He was a good kid.

“Anya!” called out Raoul, looking in another direction. He looked at her helplessly and shook his head. He didn’t see her.

“Excuse me,” Holly said to Headmaster Clurican’s portrait. “Did you see where the curly haired girl with us went?”

“No trouble at all, Miss Greer,” the Irishman said, “she went right into the Cascade Hall. Welcome back to Sonora. You, too, Mr. Delachene.”

Holly smiled in relief. “Thank you, Headmaster. And it’s Mrs. Delachene now.” There was no time to converse further though. Anya’s trail was getting cold. She took hold of Philippe’s hand and led him and her husband into the Hall.

Tavarius Mims was busy talking to a well to do family, so he probably had not noticed where Anya went. She looked around, barely taking note of the cascading waterfalls that she hadn’t seen in well over a decade in her search for her middle child.

She was nowhere to be seen.

Irritated and a little bit worried, she approached another adult, kind of hoping she hadn’t picked out a teacher who might think Holly and Raoul were a bad parents for losing their kid already. “Excuse me, have you seen an unaccompanied eleven year old with very curly hair? She was probably climbing on something?” Anya usually was. It was as much an identifying feature as her hair.

1 Holly Delachene with Raoul and Philippe We have a problem 123 Holly Delachene with Raoul and Philippe 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 27, 2019 6:32 PM

If you say so. by Arthur and Ros

The painted man, apparently unmoved by horrified silent stares, lost interest in Ros and her husband and returned to his ledgers. Ros continued staring at him, though, trying to assure herself Arthur had seen it too and that she was not hallucinating, until someone in three dimensions spoke to them instead.

The little family looked so...normal. A father, a mother, a young daughter. The girl speaking out of turn, the mother subduing. Jessica had rarely spoken out of turn by the time she was that size, but still - it could have been her own family standing before her, a couple of years ago, before everything had gone wrong, and Ros was torn between envying them and telling them to run while they still could.

Arthur looked wary, and sounded it too. “My - ah - my Jezi turned twelve this spring,” he said, and Ros was relieved he hadn’t said that it had been in February, or used Jessica’s proper name. In some books, knowing someone’s real name gave you power over them, and Jessica avoided talking about her condition as much as possible in the sporadic letters she was allowed. For all they knew, she had taken another name here. That seemed excessive and like something that would have come up last summer, but Ros had just been addressed by a painting. Nothing seemed impossible, and they had not heard from Jessica in almost a month. “She only had to start here in September, so we’ve - never - been here before, either.” To Ros’ mild horror, he offered the other parent his hand. “I’m Arthur - my wife, Rosalie.”

16 Arthur and Ros If you say so. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

Karl Hexenmeister

May 27, 2019 8:45 PM

Standing and talking nearby by Karl Hexenmeister

Karl Hexenmeister flooed into the transportation station, carrying Hans, who was just about too big to do that much longer, but Hansel's accent was too uncertain to be sure he'd arrive in the right place if he went alone. He put the six year old down on the other side, though Karl continued to hold his nephew's hand, as he nodded a greeting to the smiling woman standing nearby, not smiling himself, but not frowning either. Leading Hans through the doorway into the school, he looked around and was pleased to see a banner welcoming him in his own native language (as well as many others). Karl had lived in the United States for almost twenty years, so his English was perfectly respectable, but it was still nice to see his mother tongue unexpectedly.

“What letter is that?” Hans asked in accented English, pointing at the banner.

“Which one?” Karl asked back in the same language, his own accent still notable but not difficult to understand.

“The funny one, like a d and an o.”

Ah, the cyrillic. “That’s a Russian letter,” he told the boy, “we don’t use it in English or German.”

“So ist es wie ein ß in Englisch,” he said, switching to German, not because he was any more comfortable in that language but because English didn’t have the letter he was talking about. Of his brother’s three children, Karl had unsurprisingly had the easiest time teaching English to the one who had still been in the process of learning German when he arrived in America. Hansel had an accent, yes, but his command of the language was far better than either of his older siblings.

“Not exactly,” Karl explained, sticking to English as he usually did with his wards, since that was the language they’d need most in life for as long as they lived and went to school in America. “German and English use the same alphabet. German just has an extra letter and some umlats in it. Russian uses an entirely different script. See how the rest of the letters in that word are a little bit unusual, too?”

Hans tilted his head and studied it seriously. “Yes.”

“It’s called cyrillic.”

“Cyrillic,” Hans repeated the new word. “What does it say then?”

Karl looked at it, but he’d never learned Russian and he had no idea at all if the letters corresponded even remotely to the ones that looked close to his own alphabet. “I have no idea how to say it in Russian, but it means Welcome. They all say Welcome. See, that one says ‘Wilkommen’ - with the W.”

Hansel found the appropriate word and nodded. “Wil-kom-men,” he repeated slowly, reading it himself with difficulty. Karl had been trying to teach him to read all year, and it was coming along pretty well, he thought. “Und dieser sagt,” he frowned in deep concentration at another word. There were times Karl wasn’t sure that Hans even realized he was swapping languages mid-conversation. “Bye-en-vay-new,” Hans sounded out carefully.

Karl knew French about as well as he knew Russian, but he still flinched at the butchering of the word. “That’s in French,” he explained. “French uses different rules for pronunciation, just like English and German use different rules.”

“Oh. So how do you say that one?”

“I don’t know the rules, just that they’re different,” he admitted. He’d had to get used to admitting he didn’t know a lot of things since Hans and his siblings had been dropped suddenly and unexpectedly into his life. Hans wasn’t so bad. Hans had been so little. Hans had slotted into his life like he was meant to be there. But the older two, Karl still struggled with trying to connect to them, a task not made any easier by needing to send them off to boarding school for three quarters of the year.

1 Karl Hexenmeister Standing and talking nearby 0 Karl Hexenmeister 0 7

Marijke Lange (Mom: Kir & Ness)

May 27, 2019 9:09 PM

Sounds like the set up to something by Marijke Lange (Mom: Kir & Ness)

It would be Marijke's second Sonora concert, but her first at the actual school. The previous time they had attended, it had been at the hotel in town, and they had been a party of three. It still felt a little odd sometimes, to find it being just her and Fionn. She supposed this was because it was, in itself, still something of a rarity, as they spent so much time with Catriona and Lola. It was a shame that the children's aunts hadn't been able to join, as they were a huge part of their lives and had had a fairly active hand in raising them. Still, the invitation had been clear, and someone had to hold the fort at McLeod headquarters.

It was exciting to get to see the school, and she was very happy that the timing of the events, and of it moving up here, meant she got to be here for both her children participating.

When they arrived, she and Fionn made their way to the name label table, seeing as they were sort of looking for and being looked for by specific people. She wrote out 'Marijke Lange' which would also hopefully help deter people from addressing her as 'Mrs. McLeod.' Not that she minded a lot, but it wasn't really what she went by. She considered writing in brackets 'mar-ee-kuh' but she would most likely be verbally introducing herself, not just gesticulating at her label, so that seemed unnecessary. However, as her name did differ from that of her children, she added '(Mom: Kir & Ness)' under her name, to make herself as easily identifiable as possible. Still, if they didn't find Dr. and Dr. Ives right now, she was sure their children would bring them together later. Kir had told her that he'd told Zevalyn to tell her parents to look out for them, and roughly what they looked like - Marijke suspected that the fact she was taller than her husband and had short hair had featured in this description, as these both marked her out as somewhat unusual. She had also guessed (quite correctly) that very brightly coloured scarves and large earrings might also have got a mention and so had endeavoured not to disappoint on either of these fronts. Her scarf was purple with lime green polka dots, and gold tassel earrings hung from her lobes.

Before the Iveses could use these beacons to find her though, someone else had approached. She doubted her description had been that widely circulated, nor that the woman had been able to read her name label at that distance, so it seemed like a coincidence that she was able to answer the question in the affirmative.

"Yes, we're Kir's parents - ooh, you must be the famous author, Stefanie Maarten Sparks," she grinned, her tone playful enough to suggest that she knew Stefanie was not quite world reknowned, but was at least well known in their house, "I'm Marijke, and this is my husband, Fionn. Nice to meet you."

13 Marijke Lange (Mom: Kir & Ness) Sounds like the set up to something 1419 Marijke Lange (Mom: Kir & Ness) 0 5

The De Matteos

May 27, 2019 11:01 PM

I know so. by The De Matteos

Ilefonso positively beamed, thrilled to have found that he'd accidentally met the parents of his boy's classmates. "¡Es maravilloso! They must be in the same class, then," he said, shaking Arthur's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Felipe just started in September as well. Jezi... is that Jessica? Felipe has mentioned some of his friends and I think I remember him mentioning someone named Jessica in his House."

Leonor tugged on her mother's sleeve, looking up with curious expression and whispering to her: "Creo que son muggles." I think they are muggles. She scowled when her mother shook her head, quietly chastising her in response.

"Be nice," Julieta warned her. "I apologize. My daughter is curious about whether your daughter is the first person with magic in your family."

Looking over at the three members of this family, so much Ilefonso's own collection, he couldn't help smiling. It was easy to be kind when you looked first to the ways people are the same.

"Always the line between curiosity and being polite, eh?" he said, granting a moment's stern look at his daughter before looking back up at Arthur and Rosalie. "It's so nice knowing we aren't the only ones still trying to figure things out. It's been hard having Felipe so far from home."

22 The De Matteos I know so. 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Abraham Jackson

May 28, 2019 6:06 AM

Wow, non-magic! by Abraham Jackson

The Jacksons had opted to travel by Floo, seeing as only one member of the family could aparate, and side-alonging the other three was a bit of a stretch, given that that included another adult and a teenager. Abraham had paired with his son for the journey, whilst Evangeline had brought her mother. Even though non-magical people could use the Floo by themselves, it seemed safer to pair up - both for Claire to travel with someone magical, and for Evangeline to travel with a parent.

They had not bothered with name labels, seeing as anyone who knew Zara would be easily able to identify them as her family. None of them sported Zara's explosive curls - her father and brother both had their hair close cropped, whilst her sister's was slicked down into sleek but moulded looking waves with lots of long-term hair abuse and product - but there wasn't really anyone else they could be. Her mother, with her pale skin and bright red hair was the only one at risk of not being immediately identifiable, and it was unlikely she would be on her own.

Abraham and Claire had enjoyed the tour. Evangeline had kept her nose in her book for much of it, occasionally glancing up as they were shown a new room. Her brother was trying to do a puzzlebook, which was less compatible with walking, but as it was about spies, it conveniently had holes cut through it so that you could pretend to be reading whilst running covert surveillence. He had spent the tour with the book pressed against his face so he could look out at everyone in a fashion which he believed rendered him all but invisible to the untrained eye but which actually made him incredibly conspicuous. The tour, and all its attendant spying, had made him thirsty and in need of a cookie, so as they returned to the foyer, he had dragged his mother off to the refreshment table, leaving Abraham and Evalngeline to mingle. Well, leaving Abraham to mingle whilst Evangeline trailed him with her nose still in her book. They were soon approached by a set of parents.

"Hello," Abraham smiled enthusiastically, "Abraham Jackson," he introduced himself, "And this is my daughter, Evangeline." The teenager clearly regarded the grown ups as far less interesting than the book in front of her which, judging from the cover was a young adult romance novel. She lifted her head long enough to utter a 'hi' with eye contact before returning to the page in front of her.

"It's nice to see where my other daughter will be spending most of the next seven," her father continued, echoing their comment. "Zara is in first year," he clarified, "Zevalyn," he echoed ponderously, "Good use of the letter Z, by the way. Under appreciated letter. That name's familiar but I'm not sure how they'd know each other. Unless she's a prefect in Zara's house? Teppenpaw?" he asked.

"She's Kir's girlfriend," Evangeline commented without looking up.

"Oh," her father smiled enthusiastically, "So you know Kir and Nessa's family? Lovely people."

13 Abraham Jackson Wow, non-magic! 0 Abraham Jackson 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 28, 2019 1:13 PM

I approve of your confidence anyway. by Arthur and Ros

“Yes,” said Arthur. “Jessica. Jessica Hayles.”

Jessica, who was causing him such headaches, both professional and personal. Jessica, whom he missed every day. He did not think he had realized just how much he saw of her until suddenly he hadn’t seen her at all, or even been able to speak to her - he knew he was hardly the nonpareil among fathers or husbands, but when he was away on his own he did make a point to find time for at least a brief phone call to each of his families. It still seemed unnatural to listen to Mara complain about her teacher and Lola babble about her dolls without soon before or soon after hearing Jessica recite her accomplishments of the day.

“We’ve - ah - we’ve missed Jessica as well,” said Arthur quietly, then focused on the small girl who had lapsed into Spanish. “No sé si soy un muggle, pero Jessica es la primera en nuestra familia,” he said, his Spanish accented but understandable. I don’t know if I am a Muggle, but Jessica is the first in our family. He switched back to English to avoid excluding Ros. “Now that I think about it, Jessica might have mentioned your son - she said after Christmas she had met someone else she could practice her Spanish with in person. I have business interests in Latin America, so Jezi, she’s learned it since she was little, so she can join in the family business someday.”

“And she went to a bilingual school before - well - before,” bragged Ros, only faltering a little at the end, remembering how all their hopes and aspirations for their daughter had been abruptly smashed by These People. She recovered quickly, however - always a politician’s daughter. “All the students had to pick a language to take half their days in - Spanish, French, German, or Mandarin Chinese.”

16 Arthur and Ros I approve of your confidence anyway. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

The De Matteos

May 28, 2019 3:30 PM

Confidence is a man's best strategy. by The De Matteos

Leonor's mouth fell open in embarrassment and shame for a moment, before changing into excited surprise. Then, unbidden, words tumbled out of it. "¡Tú también sabes español! Mi hermano dijo que todos sabían inglés y que tendría que practicar más, pero yo ..." You also know Spanish! My brother said everyone knew English and I would have to practice more, but I ...

She was interrupted by Julieta again. "If you can't be more polite, you'll need to wait for us in our seats. Do you want to stay here or go sit down?"

Leonor clung to her mother's leg in silent protest, an apt response that Julieta accepted in stride.

"I'm sorry about that. It's a very exciting day for her I think," Ilefonso said, smiling sheepishly. He looked very much like his son when he did that, although the Hayles couldn't have known as much. "That sounds like a wonderful school program! Ours have been mostly studying with private tutors until now, so Sonora was a big change. We work mostly with non-magical people as well," he added, slipping easily out of the jargon of the wizarding world.

"It's such an asset to have someone with skills both in witchcraft and wizardry, and in business. The efficiency is unbelievable. It's just a matter of protecting everyone's best interests at that point, and I know the magic world has a lot to gain from business-minded folk as well."

"I'm glad that it sounds like Felipe and Jessica are getting along. Do you know which House she's in? I'm so relieved to know he's made friends with such kind families," Julieta chimed in, adding the last to her husband, who beamed back at her.

22 The De Matteos Confidence is a man's best strategy. 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 28, 2019 6:18 PM

Or a woman’s. by Arthur and Ros

“Oh, it’s quite all right,” said Ros, smiling at the little girl reflexively. It was easy to smile at a little girl, even...knowing...what she was.

Arthur, predictably, looked intrigued by what the man had to say about business and magic, and working with the real world. Ros supposed she should have taken more interest in that as well, but Arvale has never been one of her primary concerns and she had always more than half-hoped that Jessica would keep literature as the main business of her life, rather than trying to both write and to please Arthur by joining the company when she was older. If it had not been so distressing to the poor child, and if it had not endangered her plans for Jessica as much as it did Arthur’s, Ros might have thought it was a good thing that Jessica had made an abrupt transition from the status Arthur’s pride and joy to a position, equal to that of her half-sisters, among his liabilities.

“I think she said it started with a c,” offered Ros when Julieta asked about the dorm building names and Arthur hesitated. “It was something strange-sounding, but it started with a c or a k sound.”

“I think you’re right,” said Arthur. “So, you’re in business with - our people, huh? What sort of business? I’m the CEO of Arvale Cosmetics,” he added by way of explanation.

16 Arthur and Ros Or a woman’s. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

The De Matteos

May 28, 2019 7:39 PM

Ah, yes of course. by The De Matteos

Julieta smiled gratefully. She'd been worried about some of the cultural differences that might prejudice others against them for any number of reasons, and she'd been worried that Felipe would take the brunt of it at school. So far, that didn't seem to be the case. If the parents of students at Sonora were so flexible and understanding as these, then surely it was a school that attracted only the best. Of course, it didn't exactly sound like the Hayles were attracted to the school so much as forced there. Still, it was a welcome contradiction to her original fears.

She also hadn't expected Ilefonso to find someone to talk shop with, and was glad about that as well. He worked too hard, gave too much, and rarely made time for his own interests. Felipe did take the brunt of that, as did she and Leonor to a lesser extent. It wasn't precisely his fault, though, and Julieta was as much in love with him now as she'd been when they were children. Maybe more. How could you not love a man who cared so much for everyone else that he was entirely susceptible to the love of others to support him? There was beauty in his interdependence, and humility.

"Crotalus? That's where Felipe is too!" Ilefonso couldn't have grinned any bigger if he'd tried, and he looked excitedly from Arthur and Rosalie to his own wife and daughter. "I can't believe our luck running into you here! That truly warms my heart." He looked ready to burst, or wrap the entire Hayles family in a massive bear hug, but thankfully decided against it.

"Business may be a strong word," Julieta chuckled, encouraging another sheepish smile on her husband's face.

He nodded, chuckling as well. "It's true. We mostly work in agriculture and provide jobs, land, produce, and livestock for our people. Los Jardines de Plata, our estate, is in a fairly remote part of eastern Mexico, and the main goal of our work is to make sure that the surrounding areas are self-sustaining," he explained. "Primarily, my job is to manage the area and the workers, and to manage inventory. We're more involved in politics than business if I'm perfectly honest." Which he was. He always was.

Julieta shook her head. "Politics means something different here I think," she reminded him, thinking both of the country and the world of the people they were speaking with. "We run a small area of the country," she said. "Our business is the livelihood of our people."

22 The De Matteos Ah, yes of course. 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 28, 2019 10:40 PM

Passion is the best makeup..but cosmetics are easier to buy. by Arthur and Ros

For a moment, Arthur was sincerely concerned that the strange man might try to hug him, and he was very relieved when Ilefonso refrained from doing so.

"Yes, it is quite a coincidence," he said, deciding to go along with the notion that Jessica was in 'Crotalus.' That did sound vaguely like what he imagined the word he had seen written in a letter or two would sound like....

In a different world, if Jessica had gone away to boarding school in a few years as her mother had always wanted her to, Arthur would have known every detail about where she lived and the history of the building and what famous people had lived there and who it was named for and everything. In this one...Jessica simply didn't talk about her life here very much. Mostly, on the rare occasions when any of them worked up the courage to deal with terrifying birds of prey in order to communicate, she wanted to offer her opinions on things at home, or talk about how much she missed them and Mel and her sisters and the rest of the staff. He had never, he thought, slightly ruefully, asked any questions about what she didn't discuss; truthfully, he hadn't wanted to know too much.

"Ah," he said, impressed, as Ilefonso and Julieta explained what it was they did. "I see. That's very admirable - sounds more like what Ros' family does than like what I do, of course."

"To a point," said Ros. "We don't exactly run any part of Georgia, but we have a lot of property in the southern half, and we've been investing in improving the economic and educational opportunities down there."

This was surprisingly mild boasting, from Ros. Arthur added, "Plus her granddaddy was the governor and her daddy's a state Senator, so in a way, the Groves' have been helping run the whole state for about sixty years now."

Ros smiled the way she did when she sat alongside her mother and grandmother in the row of relatives behind podiums the Groves men used to address larger crowds. "We all have to live there, so we've always thought we all ought to do everything we can for the place," she said. "And since my family was blessed with things not everybody has, we've always felt that came with extra responsibility."

This, Arthur knew, was patented, weapons-grade feces from a male cow. From a herd of male cows. Maybe it had been true of Rosalie's grandfather - there had been no political advantage whatsoever to supporting humanitarianism, energy conservation, and integration when the old man had done so - but it certainly was not true of Senator Frank Groves - or, for that matter, of Ros, though she was a far cry from being as cold-blooded as her father. Ros was simply very practical in some ways. Frank was a reptile in human form, in Arthur's opinion.

"We feel the same at Arvale - it's a family business," he explained. "We met at a fundraiser for a program promoting summer reading in south Georgia, for the schoolkids."

"We did," agreed Ros, smiling up at him for a moment. "So. This - Crotalus." She stumbled only slightly over the unfamiliar word. "Is it a place where there are - many children from families like ours? It's a good place to be?"

16 Arthur and Ros Passion is the best makeup..but cosmetics are easier to buy. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

Florian Eckart and Agathe Zauberhexen

May 29, 2019 1:34 AM

Ich verstehe nicht. by Florian Eckart and Agathe Zauberhexen

Agathe Zauberhexen stood with her son and husband, happily taking in their surroundings. It had been a short trip, of course, but the distance was very great. It was interesting to see something so different from what they were used to, especially when what they were used to was almost entirely outdoors. Hedgemagic didn't loan itself well to cascading waterfalls or anything like this, and knowing that their little girl had been here for a year was so crazy to think of. Plus Friederike Albert would be attending soon, and that was exciting.

She turned when someone approached her, and the look of panic on the parent's face made her stomach churn. Instinctively grabbing Friederike Albert a little closer to herself, she looked to her husband.

"Hast du das verstanden, Liebling?" she asked, grimacing. "I do sorry," she told the family in front of her when Florian Eckart shook his head. "My understand bad. You are hair looking?" She absentmindedly touched her own hair, the same color as her son's. Friederike Albert looked up at her, wondering at his mother's response.

Florian Eckart shook his head. "Nein, ich glaube, sie suchen ein Kind," he said to his wife, glancing between the worried faces. "Dropped you a child? Lost? Lost you a child?"

Friederike Albert took a breath, preparing himself to speak English. He'd been practicing all year and managed much better than his family members. "You are, for someone with curly hair, looking?" he confirmed. "A child?"

22 Florian Eckart and Agathe Zauberhexen Ich verstehe nicht. 0 Florian Eckart and Agathe Zauberhexen 0 5

The De Matteos

May 29, 2019 2:23 AM

Is that your slogan? by The De Matteos

"That's wonderful," Julieta crowed, excited by Rosalie's family's work. "It's so important to be invested in education and growth. Mira lo maravillosos que son, Ilefonso," she added to her husband. Look how wonderful they are.

Ilefonso wholeheartedly agreed, although he only knew a little about what senators and governors did. Certainly they had studied American political systems, but much less of their attention had been paid there than elsewhere, and certainly not on Muggle politics.

"That's so sweet!" Julieta declared upon hearing how the Hayles parents had met. "We grew up together, but I always sort of wondered what it would have been like to meet when we were a little bit older."

When the Hayles family asked about Crotalus' reputation, though, the De Matteos were less sure about what to say. Certainly Crotalus had a reputation, even an international one, but it was largely for its popularity among Pureblood students from affluent families. Jessica's placement there as a muggle born was unusual in that regard, and the De Matteos didn't want to give a bad feeling there. They'd been worried enough when Felipe had ended up there.

"Only the most ambitious, most driven students are in Crotalus," Ilefonso said. Julieta nodded, smiling and appreciating her husband's careful truths. Neither of them betrayed any concern. "Most students from well-known families are in Crotalus, and they're very organized."

"The Head of House is the Deputy Headmistress," Julieta added. "So they're also under a very strong hand and really encouraged to grow. I don't know think there are many students whose parents aren't magical too, but there are other students at Sonora who don't have magic parents."

Ilefonso interrupted, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder and offering the Hayleses a smile. "Crotalus is a very good house," he promised. "It must be if our kids are in it, right?"

22 The De Matteos Is that your slogan? 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 29, 2019 4:43 PM

Just an abbreviated quote from Dior. by Arthur and Ros

"Of course," agreed Ros with a smile when Ilefonso joked about Crotalus' quality being evident simply from Jessica and his boy being in it.

Ros did not actually consider this an entirely facetious argument. She had gathered from the school literature that the students were somehow put into dorms according to their personalities, rather than anything concrete, like grades or athletic affiliation or simply age. Jessica belonged in a place which was the best of the best. Ros was not as inclined to sentimentality as her husband, but Jessica was a source of considerable pride for her, too.

"Jessica is always a good girl," she added approvingly.

And almost always had been. When she was very young, Ros had worried about her - thought her too exuberant, too strong-headed, too talkative - but for years, Jessica had been an almost perfect child. She was hardworking to a fault, and always did exactly as she was told. Or had, anyway, until this winter, when she had come home a nervous wreck and had obliged her father and the driver to destroy part of her bedroom wall.

The contractors had been visibly disturbed when they had come to repair the wall and replace the door, but had had enough sense not to ask questions about what Ros and Arthur couldn't have possibly explained.

"You said there are others...like her," said Ros, coming back to a point of interest. "We were under the impression her condition was...unusual. Is it?"

Admittedly, this school was small enough that it was easy enough to assume it was a nation-wide gathering space for children with the same rare problem. Ros wondered absently how far they were from Los Alamos. The desert was as good a place as any for a quarantine.

She knew Arthur hoped that Jessica would gain control of her condition and be able to pick up the threads of her life as though none of this had happened. Jessica seemed to hope that too, or had. Ros was not so sanguine. Right now, she just wanted to know if she needed to worry about her nieces and nephews. No-one was going to notice or care that Jessica was not part of the Groves machine, but if one of her brothers had a child like this....

16 Arthur and Ros Just an abbreviated quote from Dior. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

The De Matteos

May 29, 2019 7:53 PM

Oh, that's handy! by The De Matteos

Ilefonso relaxed, glad that the Hayles family seemed satisfied by their explanation. He nodded his agreement that Jessica was a good girl, as convinced by her association with his son as he was by the kindness of her parents. He wondered whether... Well, it was far too soon to worry about who Felipe would take as his partner on the estate, and there was the terrifying chance he would turn it all down anyway.

"She sounds very sweet," Julieta said, interrupting her husband's worrying mind. "You're all welcome to visit us over the summer if you'd like. We have plenty of space and are happy to help with transportation."

Leonor nodded eagerly. "It would be very nice to meet play together," when said. At eight years old, she didn't think of much else. Ilefonso wanted to keep that just the way it was as long as possible; he hated to imagine her burden if Felipe did give up his inheritance.

When Ros asked about Jessica's "condition," Ilefonso noticed their fear for the first time. Of course they'd been uncomfortable with the talking picture, and of course they were unsure of themselves and their daughter's future, but fear was something else entirely. He smiled warmly, just as his wife put a loving arm around their daughter, as if to show just how okay things could be.

"There are many students here with non-magical parents, and there are thousands of witches and wizards all over the world just the same. It's less common in Crotalus, but still not unheard of." He hesitated a moment and wondered whether he should say more. Deciding this was a family who wanted information, he went for it.

"Magic," he began, "is carried forward genetically." He hoped a more science-based explanation, courtesy of a very expensive education meant to intimidate and manipulate others, would help. "Sometimes, a wizard and witch will have a baby who doesn't have any magic, and will live their life just like you have been. However, the next generation, or several generations later, can see the re-emergence of that Gene, and the baby is magical. In all likelihood, one of your ancestors was a witch or wizard."

22 The De Matteos Oh, that's handy! 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Sonia Vorontsova and Family

May 30, 2019 1:46 PM

Alleviating boredom. by Sonia Vorontsova and Family

Sonia was bored.

This was not, in and of itself, inherently unusual. Sonia was often bored. She had, in fact, decided to accompany her family to see Tatya and Katya’s school out of boredom, which was where things had started to fall apart: the thing she had done to alleviate her boredom was, itself, proving not very interesting. She was in a new place, yes, but she couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying.

Looking around, she spotted a little boy, about her little brother Alexei’s size. Her youngest sibling was not particularly interesting as a conversationalist, but playing with him was diverting enough that Sonia was not opposed to the idea of being a mother herself, once she found someone she liked well enough to marry.

”That child is as small as Alyosha,” she observed to her family. ”We should have brought him too.”

Her mother shook her head. “It is too late for Alyosha to be out,” decreed Mama. ”It would disturb his sleep.” As Mama had said before - Mama could be awfully unfun, though Sonia would only say so to Tatya and Grisha - Anya and Katya were too much like Mama to get a positive response from, and Alyosha too young to have many thoughts on the subject, especially without a sibling close to him in age to get into trouble with.

The older of Sonia’s two younger brothers seemed occupied with something else, ”The little one is speaking German,” said Grisha.

Grisha would know this. Grisha, as the oldest boy, had been tutored in major languages so much that Sonia was surprised he had ever learned to write in Russian, between all the other things. ”They talk about the words,” he added.

Some of this, Sonia knew, was for her benefit. She had struggled even with Russian grammar, and her French was only passable - as a smattering of German was more common if a girl was bookish, which Sonia was not, she only knew stray words picked up from Mama speaking to Anya or Katya. Grisha could be irritating with his know-it-all-ism, but Sonia appreciated him keeping her in the circle on things without always pointing it out that he was doing so. Sometimes he did and she got annoyed, but not always.

They all glanced at each other. If they approached other potential non-Americans, in this case, it would have to be Mama or Grisha, and Mama’s German was better than Grisha’s. However, was it appropriate for her to speak to someone here? Papa did not mind taking the chance, or adapting himself to his surroundings, but Mama was very careful of her dignity. It was, therefore, something of a surprise when Mama, seemingly unaware of their glances, took the initiative - perhaps, Sonia thought, Mama was more fun than she acted, or else just really, really, really bored.

“Entschuldigung,” said Mama to the man, and Sonia smiled at the little boy to avoid laughing at how silly the German language always sounded to her ear. “Bist du Deutscher? Meine Töchter haben mir erzählt, dass sie hier deutsche Studenten getroffen haben.” My daughters told me they have met German students here.

16 Sonia Vorontsova and Family Alleviating boredom. 0 Sonia Vorontsova and Family 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 30, 2019 2:23 PM

And it has a good ring to it. by Arthur and Ros

Hospitality was a virtue in both their cultures, but Arthur was still slightly surprised by Julieta’s invitation to people she had just met, and whose daughter she only knew through comments from their son and the little Arthur and Ros had just said. However, this couple brimmed over with sincerity; it was almost unnerving, to the point where Arthur almost worried they might actually be cultists.

If they were not cultists, however - the things they had said made it seem it should be relatively easy to find out more about them when he was back in the world of internet service - then the invitation was...interesting. Arthur had gotten the impression from Jessica that this place was barely civilized, but the people around them all looked reasonably clean and neat, despite the somewhat garish or otherwise strange attire of some - that was a cultural difference, not a civilization difference, and the emerald on that one woman’s neck was either very good glass or very good quality - and the facility was...not uncomfortable, at least this part of it. It would be good to learn more of this strange place his daughter was now obliged to go on his own, without Jessica’s childish passions (and, from what Robert and Mel had said after he had been shocked by her conduct at Christmas, possible anxiety disorder) between him and the information. And, of course, to learn what there was to be gained here.

“I do usually take Jessica with me on a business trip or two in the summer,” he said. “If we can figure out how to communicate, I’ll let y’all know if we’re going to pass through Mexico. Be nice to see more of this...magic world, and I’m sure she’ll like to see her friend.”

They also usually had Carmela and the younger girls with them on such trips, as he could hardly look after Jessica on his own while doing business and Carmela could hardly leave Mara and Lola behind - besides, it was perfectly sensible that he’d see to it Jessica had children to play with when he was busy. He did not think he would include his younger daughters in any jaunts to the De Matteo estate, however, even though Leonor was clearly much more of an age to play with Mara than with Jessica, really. Mara was….

Truthfully, Mara was his daughter, as Carmela had pointed out more than once. She was a tough customer, who went after what she wanted and did not appreciate others infringing upon what she saw as her rights. Unfortunately, while he had been born the oldest child in the family, Ariana’s beloved grandson and namesake, Mara was officially the fatherless daughter of a single, immigrant mother who worked as a domestic. And Mara was old enough that, as much as he hated to admit it even to himself, she was starting to notice this, and to resent it. And Mara had always been close to her sister - he doubted she would have made a play for Jessica’s place even if he had acknowledged her and Lola on the spot. She would struggle to hide that they were sisters, especially so very far from Atlanta, and she would glare whenever she called him ‘Mr. Hayles’ instead of ‘Dad’, and there would be a chance that outsiders would put together two and two about their family and therefore obtain leverage over it. It would not do.

Secrets upon secrets. One wrong move, and any of his children could wreak catastrophic harm upon his business, upon the empire his entire family had worked to build and which he wanted to keep intact both to honor his father and to ensure that his same children should never want for anything. Life was very complicated sometimes.

So were genetics. He and Ros both glanced at each other, equally startled, at the same time. “Huh,” said Arthur. “We thought it was a - spontaneous mutation of some kind - none of our family that we know...none that I know, anyway.”

“Nor mine,” said Ros. “My mother did go to boarding school up north, but everyone knows about it - it isn’t all - secret like this.”

“I hope you’ll forgive us if we seem a little….” Arthur made a vague hand gesture to encompass what he meant. “It’s hard to get your head around, that...all this can be kept a total secret, until suddenly they’re telling us we have to send our girl to a school we couldn’t even vet first for ourselves, or else she’ll die or explode our laboratories. We're still...getting our heads around it.”

16 Arthur and Ros And it has a good ring to it. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

The De Matteos

May 30, 2019 4:31 PM

Perhaps it's not the only ring to think of. by The De Matteos

"That would be perfect! How much experience do you have with wizarding communication? Our community is fairly remote, and you probably can't reach us by phone or email," Ilefonso said, aware from his travels of how Muggles tended to communicate. "I have an American mailing address for Muggle post as well, if regular mail is more comfortable than owl post for you," he offered, thinking of the post office he'd confounded a box in in the south of Texas. It was easier to floo up and pick up his mail than it was to deal with the impossibly slow international mail process.

When they spoke of it all being new, both Julieta and Ilefonso glimpsed that fear again, and Julieta took over in mollifying it. "I understand," she smiled, looking intentionally down at her young daughter, mama bear fear changing her features for a moment before she looked back up. "I can't imagine having to give her up for any reason, but especially not for her own safety. It has to feel a little hopeless."

Ilefonso chimed in, hoping to offer the business minded side some reassurance as well. "I miss Felipe when he's gone, and I always worry about him, but I think it's really similar to other boarding schools. I have heard that there are programs for particularly gifted students, correct? They have particular training and learning to best prepare them for life after graduation. In this case, Felipe and Jessica are learning to use their abilities. It's a little bit less like finding out that they've lost a leg or something, and a little more like finding out that they've beaten the world record for running, and will be training for the Olympics."

Ilefonso's ability to draw on his knowledge of Muggle culture never ceased to amaze his wife, who had little such exposure. She was aware that it was a matter of livelihood for him, but it still inspired her.

"I think it's normal to feel like all your plans have been for nothing, but there's some very exciting options for other plans, too," Julieta said. "And Jessica is probably scared too."

Leonor shook her head, tossing her dark hair. "No, mamá, Jessica is... is afortunado." She looked up at the Hayles, not seeing the look of pride on her parents' faces. "Her parents will help her make the scared go away." And with that, she went back to looking eagerly around the room, possibly hoping to find something sparkly or shiny to look at.

22 The De Matteos Perhaps it's not the only ring to think of. 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 30, 2019 9:24 PM

Intriguingly vague statement. by Arthur and Ros

Ros had assumed both the De Matteos' offer and Arthur's reply had been purely polite gestures, and so was surprised by the enthusiasm with which Ilefonso replied in turn. Arthur looked less perturbed, however.

"I have to admit, we are slightly more comfortable with regular mail," he admitted. "Here, I think I have my card - "

He did, of course. Ros couldn't decide if this was surprising or not. On one hand, Arthur was the sort of person who always carried cards. On the other hand, who on Earth could he have expected to meet here? This was all a very strange coincidence, them meeting these people, whose son knew Jessica.

At any rate, it was obvious Arthur thought he could somehow gain something here. Ros was curious what it was, but mostly just glad that Arthur's cards didn't include their home address, or even his actual office. Arthur hadn't opened his own mail in years, really; there were some pieces, the sort that had to be signed for on delivery, which he did, but as a rule, mail was screened before it ever reached him, lest it have something...unpleasant...in it. Arthur personally was generally well-liked among those who knew anything about him, but there were always...cases, especially since he had married her. Taking Arvale in a more activistic direction had yielded significant profits, but it had also somewhat increased the frequency of threats against his person - or, worse, against hers or Jessica's. Arthur tended to shrug off threats people directed at him, reasoning that whatever outrage he stirred up by supporting gay adoption or atheists being allowed to run for office or whatever in an interview or television ad would blow over more quickly than the approval it would gain from his actual audience, but she had briefly remembered why she had married him that time some whack job had sent letters just stating that said whack job would merely like to see various charmingly-described acts performed against Ros and Jessica.

It was strange, but Ros thought that in his way, Arthur actually did love her. He had never been particularly faithful to her - indeed, the present arrangement, where he kept up an apparently permanent second relationship with the nanny, was as close to monogamous as their relationship had gotten since the very early years - but she wasn't entirely sure that mattered, at least from Arthur's sometimes odd point of view. The first time, she had left him and gone home to her parents - and been told she could stay the weekend to get her head together, but that her father was running for governor at the time and that he would not have her causing a scandal. When she'd gone home and told Arthur why she had come back, Arthur had promised to make it up to her, and the very next week, the GBI had started investigating her father's campaign funds. They hadn't found anything, but the accusation had ended his campaign; it had been five more years before he gotten back into any political office at all.

Arthur had never said that he'd been the one to give the GBI a false tip-off about campaign finance fraud, and Ros had never asked. Too much conflict of interest, especially when, from that point, she thought they had understood each other. He had cleared the way for her to do as she saw fit; with her father's campaign in ruins, she had been completely free to stay or go as she pleased - even though such a divorce would have damaged the brand. From Arthur, that was a far more solid declaration of love than anything he had ever said to her before they got married. Arvale was Arthur's entire life, as it had been his father's and his grandmother's before his. So she had stayed, and they had had Jessica, and now here they were.

Ros flushed slightly at the reference to their position feeling 'hopeless,' but she refrained from pointing out that the De Matteos had already casually remarked that they would have to send their girl here as well. She did not quite trust herself to speak. 'Hopeless' and 'helpless' were words that were anathema in her vocabulary.

Ilefonso had better words; she saw Arthur brighten noticeably at the idea of Jessica being in any way the equivalent of an Olympian, and she knew her own face must have done likewise. And was it such a bad analogy? If Jessica had been an outstanding athlete, she might have had to put substantial portions of her education on the back burner to make time for securing her medals. Those would open different doors for her later on. Of course, there were still problems - they could not use Jessica for advertising campaigns for this, for instance - but...well, it was better to think of this than to think about how they had essentially been strong-armed into sending her here. Which meant it was probably inaccurate, a pretty dress on a rotting cadaver, and the strong-arming was still the relevant bit, but....

"We do try," said Ros, smiling again at Leonor, noticing the other couple's expressions. She had frequently had an expression like that, once. "She's a smart one, I bet, isn't she?" she added to the De Matteos, with a slight gesture toward Leonor.

16 Arthur and Ros Intriguingly vague statement. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

The De Matteos

May 30, 2019 10:46 PM

I wouldn't want to push, but... by The De Matteos

Ilefonso accepted Arthur's card and read it quickly before tucking it into his pocket with a grin. It was the little, non-magical gestures that meant so much to Muggles. Then, reaching into his wand pocket, he worked some quick magic and retrieved a card of his own.

"Here's mine," he said, dutifully ignoring the look on his wife's face. "We have a box in Houston, so you can reach us there."

These sorts of things were his favorite uses for magic. There was something special about being able to make little things happen, just to improve the day of people who couldn't do it for themselves. Muggles were so . . . he wasn't sure what the word was. Their brains had to work so hard to make things happen, and it wasn't very hard to blow them away. What kinder thing could there be to do with magic?

The fact that both parents seemed thrilled by the comparison to an Olympian was promising, particularly as it meant they weren't opposed to such things for girls, and Ilefonso relaxed. This would be a good connection for their now mutual futures. He wondered just how much Jessica enjoyed Mexico.

"She is," Julieta said of their daughter, interrupting Ilefonso's thoughts. "Our boy is more the planner, but Leonor is always looking out for others, and trying to think up how to get involved. It sounds like you are the same way," she added, nodding to the pair of socially-minded business folk. "I don't wear makeup often, but if I was going to, I'd want to know it was created by people who cared so much. I feel like we're really blessed to have met you."

Ilefonso nodded his agreement and smiled, putting an arm over his wife's shoulders for a moment. He was just so proud of everyone. Why was everyone so nice?

"Met most of you," he corrected, stepping away. "We haven't met the lovely young lady that's brought you here tonight. Will she be performing?"

22 The De Matteos I wouldn't want to push, but... 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Arthur and Ros

May 30, 2019 11:52 PM

You ended on a significant word, we suspect. by Arthur and Ros

A box in Houston. Well, that made sense. If they lived in Mexico but had a son at school in the United States, it would of course follow that they would have a landing space somewhere in the Southwest. It was just surprising it was Houston and not somewhere closer to Arizona.

"Fantastic," said Arthur briskly, also reading the card politely and then putting it away.

These gestures were soothing, comfortable and familiar, part of the regular material of meeting another person of his own sort. It was not only comfortable but somewhat, if he was to be honest, comforting in this strange new place, with all these people who could apparently reduce him to atoms with a wave of the hand if they were so inclined and where the air alone could fry Ros' smartwatch. It was also a positive hint that somehow Jessica could still have a life - if they had people who had cards and understood about business, then they could be dealt with, even if their economy was positively medieval by all accounts. The medievals had invented banking, after all, and built and administrated some impressive empires for their levels of technology, and without the ability to walk through fireplaces and reduce people to atoms.

He was not sure how he and Ros had apparently made such a good impression, but he made a note to send Senora De Matteo a batch of samples to try to confirm it for them. If he could make friends, of a sort, here, then that could offer some level of protection to Jessica. Influence was the only kind of power he understood, the only kind he could work with effectively, and as much of his low-level chronic panic about Jessica's situation was the knowledge that he had no influence here as it was the knowledge that he could not provide her with the level of physical security he would like while she was here.

"She didn't mention it," said Ros when asked if Jessica was performing. "I think she's been focusing very hard on her studies this semester, now that she's...settled in a little." Arthur nodded, having also gotten that idea from Jessica's sporadic letters.

He was less confident what he thought about it. On one hand, if Jessica was settling in, then she might be less miserable, which was something he always wanted. Plus, if she was working hard, she could learn to control it, which would make it safer to have her at home again. On the other hand, though...Ilefonso and Julieta made it sound better than anyone else they had dealt with had, but he still couldn't quite get on board with the idea of his daughter forming a new life completely away from him and the company. Influence was the only form of power he really understood, the only kind really knew how to use effectively. If he couldn't offer that to Jessica, then...well, what did he really have to offer? He was her father. It was his job to protect her, but if she made her life here, then there was only so much he could do to do that.

"It's been an adjustment for her," he said, allowing his thoughts to skim past the panic attacks and splintered doorways of Christmas. "And for us all. That's why I'm glad we get to see the school for ourselves tonight on this tour before the concert."

16 Arthur and Ros You ended on a significant word, we suspect. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

Duncan, Angus and Whitney Brockert

June 02, 2019 6:31 PM

Nope. Of four. by Duncan, Angus and Whitney Brockert

Duncan gazed around the Cascade Hall.It had been awhile since he graduated and it was nice to see the old place. Juniper wasn't performing of course, but he still wanted to come see how she was doing. And possibly hex the crap out of Finn Scott if she wasn't doing well.

He was just disappointed that he couldn't bring Araceli with him. Duncan very much wanted the girl he loved there with him but it was parents and siblings only. Even if he'd been married to Araceli, he wouldn't have been able to bring her. Which somehow seemed wrong to him. Sure, now, when they weren't even engaged, but if they were married ? It was unfair to exclude spouses of older siblings.

Maybe Duncan should do something about it. He was a Brockert so people might listen to him. He didn't believe in abusing the power of his family name but spouses of older siblings were family. Not that it would help him, since his sister was graduating but it would help others in the future.

The Teppenpaw alum spotted his parents and approached them. Mother did not look all that pleased to be here.

"Hey son!" Angus Brockert greeted his older child, apparently cutting off his wife mid-sentence, to her great annoyance. He was thrilled to be here. He looked back on his time at Sonora with tremendous fondness. In his day, Angus had been rather well liked and popular enough to get Head Boy though he hadn't been one of those obnoxious popular kids who played Quidditch and thought they were Merlin's gift to humanity like his cousin Eustace. Angus had been kind and friendly to everyone, and it paid off.

Sort of like his son. Indeed one of Angus's proudest moments as a father was when Duncan followed in his footsteps. The fact that his son was the first Brockert to get Head Boy-and first one to get Head Student along with Princess Serena- since Angus himself made it extra cool.

Not that he was disappointed in Juniper, the way his wife seemed to be. This irritated Angus to no end. Juniper was a sweet and lovely girl, very gentle and caring. And if Mr. Finbar Scott didn't want her, he was a bloody idiot.

Which would be literal if Duncan had his way. "Hey Father." He replied as Angus swept him into a bear hug. Mother was much more stiff and formal as she greeted him as well.

"Hello Duncan" Whitney Brockert was not as happy to be here as her husband was. Mostly, she was disappointed that Juniper was not performing and thus, she felt there was no reason to come. She had only agreed once Angus convinced her that there would be many important people there.

Spotting another family, Angus decided to approach. "Hello, I'm Angus Brockert of the Western Brockerts. I'm Juniper's father and this my wife Whitney and son Duncan. How are you doing?" He shook their hand enthusiastically.

Whitney smiled stiffly and asked them, her question a pointed one "Is your child performing tonight?"

11 Duncan, Angus and Whitney Brockert Nope. Of four. 271 Duncan, Angus and Whitney Brockert 0 5

Mathias Stones

June 03, 2019 12:15 AM

Oh, great. by Mathias Stones

It had been a long time since he'd heard that greeting used, and smiled instantly at it. He'd been unfortunate to find work in a place that didn't care as much as they should about whether someone came from a good family or not. Granted, he'd sort of hexed himself in the foot by marrying a squib, but she'd come from a powerful family herself and love made him blind to the compromises their relationship would entail for himself and his future. Still, they'd managed one decent child at least, and the other was pretty smart, so it wasn't all bad.

Putting thoughts of his "wife" aside before he turned to self pity, Mathias held out his hand and shook with the man who introduced himself as Angus. Angus Brockert. This was turning out to be a very helpful evening.

"Mathias Stones of the Oregon Stones," he said, falling into that old introduction with comfort and ease. Of course, a family like the Brockerts may not have heard of him, but their names were in the history books of magic families for a dozen generations, and each had turned out strong. That was worth something. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm well, thank you."

Whitney seemed less eager than her husband, and Mathias suspected his wife would have liked her. Unfortunately, he couldn't be sure whether or not Juniper Brockert was in his daughter's class, as he and Evelyn hadn't hardly talked about school. They hadn't really talked about anything. He'd been doing so much better, and she hardly seemed to care. It made him crazy.

"She is," he said, managing a proud face. He would've preferred she be backstage, where people didn't need to see her but could see her magic. He suspected she didn't have it in her to make that happen. She'd said something about flying, and he supposed it was good that she was athletic, even if unskilled. Of course, the scarred up arm was a constant reminder that she wasn't very athletic either.

"Evelyn is a first ye-- no. Second year." He flushed. "She's always been very involved in her studies, so I didn't see her much more when she was living at home during the school year," he laughed, passing his mistake off as a joke. "What about your girl?"

22 Mathias Stones Oh, great. 0 Mathias Stones 0 5

The De Matteos

June 03, 2019 12:29 AM

"But" or "performance"? by The De Matteos

An academically inclined muggleborn daughter of a business guru and a politician's daughter, eh? This was turning out to be a very important meeting after all. Julieta was glad that she and Ilefonso had dressed up for the occasion, choosing something nicer than the more comfortable clothes they wore around Los Jardines de Plata. She was glad they'd brought Leonor, too, although the girl would've pitched a fit if they'd chosen anything else. All around, their decisions had been wise and her husband's insistence on being nice was proving once again that it was the best approach to most situations.

"I'm glad to hear she's settling in. That first leap has to be the hardest part, but she sounds bright," Ilefonso said, wanting to acknowledge the positives in Rosalie's comment. There was, of course, the chance that she was actually distracting herself with her studies, but focusing on them was a more positive outlook on the matter.

Arthur's comment reminded Julieta that they weren't the only family who hadn't been here before, even if for very different reasons. It was encouraging to know that Felipe's classmates came from a variety of backgrounds, and that many of the parents here had probably never been before.

"Us as well," she said aloud, figuring that if it was encouraging for her, it might be encouraging for them. "We didn't get to come before Felipe started here. This was too good an opportunity to pass up."

"And how little we knew what an opportunity it would turn out to be! I can't say enough what a pleasure it's been. I'd honestly love to hear what you both think of the grounds and architecture once you've had a chance to take it all in." Ilefonso's enthusiasm was bubbling over again, but he was more restrained this time, a clear sign to his wife that he had a reason for asking. This wasn't just social niceties anymore; he was talking business. "Part of what we do at Los Jardines de Plata is make sure that both magical and non-magical visitors are comfortable and enjoy the area. Of course, you have a very different perspective than most of our people, but I'd love to know what you think of these sorts of inherently magical destinations. Can you feel it at all?"

22 The De Matteos "But" or "performance"? 1434 The De Matteos 0 5

Arthur and Ros

June 03, 2019 3:04 PM

'But' is almost always significant, in our experiences. by Arthur and Ros

"She is," said Ros, with the easiest smile she had worn yet this evening. She had always enjoyed hearing Jessica praised, seeing it as a positive reflection on herself and Arthur. "Always at the top of her classes."

Until recently, anyway. But Ros didn't want to think about that.

She and Arthur glanced at each other when asked if they could feel 'it.' Did they? They felt dreadfully out of place, and she at least was frightened, if less tense than she had been on arrival, but...what was 'it'? What did 'it' feel like?

"I...couldn't say for sure," said Arthur. "Though I'll be sure to tell you what I can, of course, after the tour."

There was the hook, then - he would do them a favor, for, presumably, a favor of his own he could collect later. Except he had no leverage here. He could do favors and get nothing in return from these people, other than perhaps be leveraged for more and more favors. He was acting as he would with other people, but these weren't other people, however kind and friendly they seemed. She would have to have words with Arthur later - find out what he was thinking, or if he was thinking at all. It was difficult, not being on the same page like this. They always had a game plan in public, discussed and worked out so they would not miss a step whatever happened while they were in front of a generally hostile - overtly or otherwise - general population. Now, however, they were both feeling their way in the dark - having conversations like this had been no part of their strategy for today.

16 Arthur and Ros 'But' is almost always significant, in our experiences. 1442 Arthur and Ros 0 5

Holly

June 05, 2019 11:12 AM

I don’t understand by Holly

Holly blinked in equal incomprehension to the responses she got in reply to her query as her question had induced in the family before her. Jasmine had said something about there being a pair of German twins in the first year class who spoke poor English, and there was a Russian girl in Jasmine’s own year whose English was less than flawless. She could only guess this was the family of one of those foreign students. All she knew for sure was that they were not speaking French. She didn’t know French either, but she heard it often enough from her husband and in-laws that she could recognize the cadence and accent and this was not French.

Only one of them, the youngest, a boy who might by close to Anya’s age himself, said anything close to understandable. The woman spoke completely in gibberish and the man was closer - he got the she had lost a kid, but she had not dropped Anya! If Anya fell, that was her own doing! Only the fact that he was showing obvious confusion rather than alarmed concern let her assume he had not actually seen a child fall from anywhere and was only guessing.

So Holly addressed the boy directly in the hopes of actually get some kind of assistance from the group. “Yes. My daughter. Your age. I can’t find her. She has curly hair.” Holly twirled her own long straight brown hair around a finger to demonstrate a ringlet. “Did you see her?” she asked hopefully.

Kids noticed other kids, right? There was a chance the boy had pick up on her arrival and seen where she went.

Oh, Merlin, she hoped so. She did not want to have to report a missing child to the professors already. Fortunately, she didn’t think there was any overlap from her own time as a student here, but Daniel had worked here for a little while and she was honestly not sure whether he was more likely to pretend he didn’t know Jasmine’s mother or complain about his half-sister to his coworkers. Either way, this was not a high point in her parenting career, and she was not eager to make it official.

Jasmine would never do this to her.

1 Holly I don’t understand 123 Holly 0 5

Stefanie and Peter Sparks

June 05, 2019 4:49 PM

It’s the set up to meeting you by Stefanie and Peter Sparks

To be quite frank, Stefanie expected her question to be answered in the negative. Jozua, despite his sorting into Teppenpaw, did not have an abundance of friends. There were perhaps a half dozen students she heard about in his letters, and she wasn’t sure that all of them really qualified as ‘friends’ so much as ‘people he did stuff with’. The one constant had always been Lily. No letter ever had arrived that didn’t have that name in it. Finn was a close second, mostly by dint of their roommate status.

They had both visited once, but that had been years ago, and she wasn’t sure she’d recognize either without an introduction now, and certainly not their families. Other names had come and gone over time, most of which Stefanie thought she would recognize if she heard them, but whether the students attached to those names had likewise mention Jozua to their parents in any way that stuck was another matter entirely.

Mostly she had asked as an ice breaker, a place to start in identifying how much their children might have in common.

What she had not expected was a compliment on her book. She laughed more out of surprise than anything else, but she still smiled with the warm glow of being recognized for her work, even if the recognition was mostly due to Jozua introducing her books to his study partner. Just because Jozua had shared with Kir was by no means a guarantee that Kir would share the book with his family, and they would actually read it or remember it.

“Thank you, yes. Pleasure to meet you. You may call me Stefanie, I don’t stand on ceremony these days. My husband, Peter, and my father-in-law, where did - ?” she shook her head at finding the elder Sparks missing. “Well, he’s about somewhere.”

“Hello,” Peter said to Kir’s parents, then added as an aside meant mostly for her, “He said something about cookies before he wandered off.”

Stefanie sighed and failed to prevent herself from rolling her eyes. She successfully bit back any uncomplimentary words that might have offended Peter. She put on her party smile and moved on. “I’m glad to meet you. Jozua talks about Kir quite a bit lately. Most of it’s about what they are studying in their history unit because he knows I’m interested in that, but they do seem to have become friends outside of that, too, I think.”

1 Stefanie and Peter Sparks It’s the set up to meeting you 0 Stefanie and Peter Sparks 0 5

Anya Delachene, with Granddad Sparks

June 06, 2019 3:27 PM

Working on my first detention before I even start by Anya Delachene, with Granddad Sparks

Anya was so super stoked to be going to see Jasmine’s concert at Sonora, she could hardly contain herself. Not so much for the concert, but for Sonora itself, which she was getting an unexpected early preview of just a few months before she would be starting as a first year. She wanted to see everything.

While her parents stopped to admire a boring old banner, Anya hurried on, intent on seeing the school.

There! Awesome! Just like Jasmine described! A room where the walls were made of waterfalls. It was amazing. Anya ran up to one of the closest cascades and marveled at how it didn’t make any sound. She stuck her hand in it, and yeah, that was definitely real water. Her hand was wet and while it hadn’t hurt exactly, she could tell it was probably literally tons of water crashing down the wall without so much as a splashing sound.

She wanted to see the top.

The curly haired eleven year old looked around, but the only places the walls didn’t have falling water was where the windows were. Well, if that was the only way up, that was what she’d take. There were casements holding the glass panes that should work as foot and hand holds. Having some rope and pitons would make it easier but this was hardly the first time she’d gone without.

Still, that was sheer glass, and pounds and pounds of water rushing down at the speed of gravity. “Hey,” she called to an old guy eating a cookie who looked like he knew the definition of fun. “Spot me?” She pointed up the window.

He looked momentarily confused but then he caught on and grinned. He drew a wand. “Go for it,” he encouraged.

“Thanks, Grampa!”

“Granddad,” he corrected.

“Grandad,” she dutifully amended his form of address with a grin of her own. He was definitely the coolest granddad ever and wondered whose he was and if she could steal him. She had no shortage of other grandfathers - her dad’s dad was French so he talked cool but he was otherwise kind of dull, her mom’s dad was a lawyer and no fun at all and she had to spend almost half of every visit to his house in jail (her mom called it the time out corner, but Grandfather Greer called it jail and Anya figured his name for it was more accurate), and her Uncle Daniel’s dads were in show business and therefore cool by default but the weren’t fun.

None of them, not even Grandma Burbridge’s latest boyfriend who wasn’t even old like grandfathers are supposed to be, would have helped her do this.

“You’re the best,” she told her new favorite Granddad to show him her appreciation, and started climbing.

She was a few feet above the ground when she floundered for her next grip. Just as she was about to decide on one that was a bit dicey, a new one appeared. She looked down, and saw Granddad was was using his wand. “Thanks, Granddad!” she called down to him.

He grinned back and raised two thumbs at her. “Keep going! Teachers are going to start noticing you soon!”

Right. That was a very real concern. Anya climbed faster. She had to see the top before someone stopped her.

1 Anya Delachene, with Granddad Sparks Working on my first detention before I even start 1453 Anya Delachene, with Granddad Sparks 0 5

Duncan, Angus and Whitney

June 07, 2019 6:31 PM

Angus-"It sure is!" by Duncan, Angus and Whitney

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stones." Angus replied warmly. The name was vaguely familiar, he thought they might be a family who produced people of decent magical ability, even if they weren't top tier society people like the Brockerts were. Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't converse with the man. Angus was the sort who was genuinely interested in what others had to say, no matter who they were, much to the chagrin of his wife.

Whitney, of course, was more interested in the top tier society people. She could not wait to get away from this man and go find them but she knew her husband. Juniper sure didn't get her reticence from him. She often wondered where it did come from. While Whitney wasn't as.... enthusiastic as her husband. she certainly wasn't shy . When she'd been in school, she had been pretty much the most popular girl in her class.

It was just that she was selective about who she wanted to associate with. One couldn't rise to the top if they weren't. For all Whitney knew, Mr. Stones would try to use her husband to get ahead in the world. That's why you could never be too careful around the lower classes. And knowing Angus, he'd get sucked in. Still, she shook the man's hand as well, for appearance's sake as did Duncan.

"Oh that's nice." Angus replied. "Juniper is a seventh year, so basically she's about to graduate. She won't be performing tonight though, it's never really been her thing. She's always been good at her studies too, especially Care of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration. Juniper is also studying to be an animagus." There was no denying that he thought this was a great accomplishment.

11 Duncan, Angus and Whitney Angus-"It sure is!" 271 Duncan, Angus and Whitney 0 5

Mathias Stones

June 10, 2019 12:19 AM

I'm glad to have met you tonight. by Mathias Stones

Mathias realized with some self-disgust that he had no idea what Evelyn was good at or if she was actually good at anything. Her mother was as good a potions brewer as any squib could be, and it was certainly in her blood, so that was a strong possibility. But what if she was terrible at it? He didn't know that he wanted to risk that.

"You must be very proud. Transfiguration was a favorite of mine when I was in school, although I never became an animagus," he said, smiling. If he was honest, the idea of having to be mostly quiet through the whole process was enough for him to decide against it. He had too many things to say for that to be a good option. Did Evelyn want to be an animagus? It would certainly be helpful if she could be a mouse or something.

"What are her post-graduation plans?" he asked, hoping to get ideas. What did young magical graduates do these days anyway? "She's coming into an adulthood with quite a legacy behind her," he said, nodding again to the family name she had inherited.

The thought that he may have to do this all again in ten years was almost too much for him to bear, but at least he'd have a kid he could be proud to boast of next time. He sent a silent prayer to whoever was out there that Charles James would never be too interested in concerts and things.

"Have all of yours started school already?"

22 Mathias Stones I'm glad to have met you tonight. 0 Mathias Stones 0 5

Duncan, Angus and Whitney

June 11, 2019 3:31 PM

Thanks by Duncan, Angus and Whitney

"Oh very much so." Angus replied. Most witches and wizards never accomplished that, or even tried. Possibly because it was something that had to be regulated and registered, which really wasn't a problem for his family. Not only that, but Angus had cousins who very firmly believed there were unregistered animagi who worked as spies. And also very firmly believed that some of their own relatives were unregistered animagi who worked as spies.

Anyway, either that or people didn't become animagi because they just...weren't all that great at Transfiguration. However, Juniper was and she'd always loved animals, so this was a terrific way to fuse his daughter's two best subjects, one of which involved her greatest passion in life.

Whitney wasn't as impressed as her husband. She didn't necessarily think being an animagus was a bad thing per se, but she certainly would have rather had a daughter who was a social butterfly than an actual butterfly. "Oh, she'll be getting married as soon as we can find a suitable husband for her." The implication in her tone was that they hadn't found someone good enough rather than there being a problem with Juniper herself, even though that was more what Whitney was concerned about.

In fact, she found it odd that Mr. Stones should ask what the Teppenpaw would be doing after graduation. Certainly a Brockert girl would not be working . They had been born into a station in life where they did not have to.

"Oh, it's just the two of them." Angus answered, gesturing at Duncan.

"I graduated several years ago." Duncan stated. "Now I'm a therapist, working mostly with ghosts who are either experiencing transitional issues or had issues when they were alive that they still want to discuss."

Whitney honestly wished her son had not added that last part. It was made him seem so...strange and while Mr. Stones' opinion was not really of any value to her, she never wanted anyone to think her children were anything but perfectly normal and respectable.

"What about you?" Angus asked even though Miss Stones was a little young to know what she wanted to do with her life. "Any other children?" The other man seemed to be here alone but Angus felt it wouldn't be tactful to ask about the man's wife.

11 Duncan, Angus and Whitney Thanks 271 Duncan, Angus and Whitney 0 5

Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

June 16, 2019 1:19 AM

Would you like some help? by Tarquin Fox-Reynolds

There were several things wrong with the scene in front of him. Firstly, family members were not supposed to be in the hall in general right now, and most definitely not someway up a windowpane.

Tarquin regretted very much the fact that he had turned around. It had been when the girl called out to the man below that he’d looked around. Most of the teachers were busy doing meeting and greeting jobs, and he had been sent to the hall to just… keep an eye on the students whilst they set up. Technically, he supposed, the child halfway up a window was not a student. It had not been in his remit to keep an eye on non-students, and she appeared to be with an adult. Still, neither of them were supposed to be there, and technicalities or not, he suspected he was expected to do something about this, and that ‘pretend I didn’t see it’ wasn’t the thing in question.

First order of business was to draw his wand. He wasn’t sure that surprising a child who was halfway up a window or the person who was…. supervising(?) her was going to end well unless he was prepared. He made his way over, his wand trained on the child in case of emergency.

“Excuse me,” he stated mildly, his eyes flicking to the adult to let him know he was being addressed but mostly staying focussed on the girl, “But I’m not sure you’re supposed to be in here just yet. And she’s definitely not supposed to be up there,” he pointed out, he felt somewhat unnecessarily. The other adult had a wand. He was not quite sure why he therefore hadn’t retrieved his granddaughter. “Do you… need some help?” he asked, perplexed.

13 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds Would you like some help? 1464 Tarquin Fox-Reynolds 0 5

Ryan O'Malley

June 16, 2019 8:39 PM

A blast from the past by Ryan O'Malley

Ryan entered the Cascade Hall, looking around for his parents and other relatives that would be coming to Sonora tonight for the concert. He was here alone, as Sophie and his children were not allowed to come. He sort of understood with the children, and he wasn't sure if Stanley would even be able to sit still for the concert but he and Sophie were a married couple and should be allowed to do things together. Not that they never spent time apart, but Ryan felt like he was missing something without her standing next to him at an event. Plus, it was kind of wrong that-technically-Carrie was allowed to come-though of course she wouldn't-and Sophie wasn't.

However, he wouldn't miss this concert for anything even without his wife along. He knew it was incredibly important to Peyton that he be there. They'd always been very close ever since the time the fourth year was a baby. It was really nice for Ryan after the way Carrie had treated him to have two younger sisters-the other being his step-sister Sally-who actually liked him, especially as Peyton in particular adored him.

Anyway, though Ryan had been here since he graduated, when Sophie was working here, it was nice to see his alma mater again. The tour would be like a trip down memory lane for him. Things like meeting Sophie and winning second place in the challenges-on a team he was leading -sprang to mind. True, Ryan's team hadn't won, but that they hadn't been dead last had made him feel a bit less like a total loser.

Of course, not all his memories here were positive. Like when Carrie had been sorted into the same house as him and he'd spent three years living in fear of running into her in the common room. Plus, all the times when he had and she'd harrassed him.

Ryan would like to believe he'd come a long way since then. He was happily married with three wonderful children and he had a career as a social worker, doing his best to protect kids who were like him though sometimes, he didn't feel as if he was able to do enough. His instinct was to take children out of those situations but that didn't always work out the way he wanted. Then Ryan felt like a failure and one whose particular failings lead to the suffering of a child. It kept him up at night at times and he worried more about the children he'd came across in his career than his own. His own children were happy and healthy and had two loving parents. That wasn't the case with the ones he worked with.

He continued to look around the Hall, not spotting anyone he knew. Before he could, someone came up and greeted him.

11 Ryan O'Malley A blast from the past 176 Ryan O'Malley 0 5

The Priorys

June 19, 2019 1:15 AM

Arriving by The Priorys

Kaylie had not been back to Sonora in years. Her son, Connor had been in the last concert, but it had been at a hotel nearby in order to accomodate muggle parents. She wasn't sure why they had decided to open the school up to everyone now, but it wasn't as if she was as upset about it as some people might be.

She was more concerned about the memories that she'd have. Surprisingly, Kaylie wasn't feeling all that nostalgic. Not all her times here had been good. She'd experienced both heartbreak at the loss of her first love and literal injury.While the Teppenpaw alumna had recovered from the former, and now had her true love, her husband Ian-and could barely remember loving anyone else-the latter still affected her to this day. Her back was in constant pain but she wouldn't have missed her son's concert for anything so she'd loaded up on pain potions.

Ian, however, was more than a little concerned about his wife. Not only was she in pain, but he was worried about the potential triggers of being back here. He wanted nothing more than to take her hand and reassure her, but they each were clutching the hands of their younger daughter Lydia so it would have been super awkward to move that way.

Lydia clutched the hands of both her parents. She was curious to see where Connor, Sophia and Bridget went to school, but she also didn't want to get lost. The idea of being on her own without anyone she knew, especially Mommy and Daddy terrified her.

"Do you see Chelsea and Julian anywhere?" Kaylie asked her husband. She wasn't overly close to her sister but they were still sisters and she wasn't going to be at the same event with Chelsea without saying hello to her, even though the Aladren alumna would probably spend more time talking to her friend Holly, whom Kaylie assumed would be here tonight too. Holly's daughter Jasmine was best friends with Connor's friend Peyton.

Speaking of which, Kaylie hoped to meet the young lady that her son spoke so highly of.

Before Ian could answer, someone came up to them. "Hello." Kaylie greeted them warmly. "I'm Kaylie Priory of the Wisconsin Priorys, Connor and Sophia's mother. This is my husband Ian and daughter Lydia."

11 The Priorys Arriving 43 The Priorys 0 5