Relaxing by the Fire on Quidditch Pitch

Jack Frost

January 08, 2010 6:42 AM

A seasonal alteration by Jack Frost

With the arrival of midterm, the weather charms surrounding the grounds of Sonora Academy obligingly provided a good covering of soft, white snow. The gardens looked dazzling, the pathway was slippery, and the Quidditch pitch had been completely transformed: The prairie elves, under the guidance of groundskeeper May Gail, had worked all morning to create a Winter Wonderland. Instead of the expanse of even lawn that usually filled the space between the stands, the land was now a series of slopes and drops, and had sprouted shrubs and even a couple of fully grown fir trees.

Scattered about the pitch were five or six little wooden cabins, each the size of a large wendy house. If a student were to venture inside, they would discover each little hut contained comfortable seating, a real fire, and a never-ending supply of hot chocolate. These charming grottos were connected by a series of winding open walkways, marked out by knee-high rows of young conifers.

Buried in amongst this small village, just waiting for explorers to stumble across them, were two ice-skating rinks, accompanied by a pile of skates in assorted sizes. Other hidden treasures included wooden toboggans laid strategically near the top of some steeper slopes, some fences that seem to have been placed perfectly for a snowball fight, and lone tree that bore edible chocolate-covered fruit.

No doubt those students who had remained at school after midterm would be entertained for several days, should they decide to venture outside into the cold.

OOC: feel free to invent your own additions to the Winter Wonderland, but please keep to realistic limits. Enjoy!

Subthreads:

Woot! by Starbuck Gregory with Demelza Eagle, Starbuck

Looking for some company by Charlotte Abbott

Relaxing by the Fire by Amelia Pierce with Jacob Carter, Amelia

Hot chocolate, anyone? by Alexis Ashwood

0 Jack Frost A seasonal alteration 0 Jack Frost 1 5

Starbuck Gregory

January 08, 2010 3:59 PM

Woot! by Starbuck Gregory

Starbuck had stayed at Sonora for the winter break she had written to her family and expressed her sorrow at how her school work was more important but she would see them at summer. She didn’t think she’d be allowed to stay there during the summer sadly. She loved it here, she had friends, a team, she was getting good marks, and best of all the past didn’t haunt her. Her parents had written her back and promised to send her gifts via the owl Starbuck sent once a week to them. She hated being the only magical person in her family but wasn’t something she could change.

She had gone off to find something to do when she saw the Quidditch Pitch had been turned into a winter wonderland. It was beautiful; she passed by the little cottages and to the ice skating rink. She took one look at it and shook her head. That was not her cup of tea, moving around slowly through the winter wonderland when she found the toboggans she hooted in excitement. She loved to sled and this was perfect. She grabbed one and was about to get in when she saw someone standing by looking at her. “Hey!” She said with a grin. “You want to go down with me?”

0 Starbuck Gregory Woot! 0 Starbuck Gregory 0 5

Demelza Eagle

January 08, 2010 6:14 PM

Wait, I as though it doesn't snow in the desert! by Demelza Eagle

It wasn't going to be much of a problem for Demelza to decide whether or not she was going to stay at Sonora. Duh, of course she would! She absolutely loved it in Sonora! And quite personally, she didn't want to meet her uncle's new girlfriend, spend a whole two weeks with just her parents and two uncles and little siblings, and miss out on all the fun at Sonora! Her parents were a little upset because none of their children came home for Christmas, nor did they go to church. But Demelza was young and not that bothered about it.

So, with the reasons why she stayed at Sonora still fresh in her head, she decided that she was going to enjoy herself as much as possible and join in all the festivities. She had heard some whisperings about snow on the quidditch pitch, and was totally bemused. She definitely wasn't expecting snow. It wasn't supposed to snow in the dessert! She was really confused, seeing as the rest of the grounds seemed perfectly warm. Not really believing there was snow on the pitch, but was certainly interested, Demelza headed off to the pitch. She wasn't going to wear any snow stuff because 1- she may be wrong, and 2- she didn't bring any with her. She got snow every once in a while in Delaware, but never a whole lot. Like, 6 inches at the most. But, she did sorta miss snow...

And, boy, did she get her snow. The minuet she stepped onto the pitch it got cold. There was snow everywhere! It has to be magic! Oh, wait, she thought, realizing how stupid she was for thinking that, it is magic. She wished she could conjure snow like that!

While still looking, awed, at the snow, she thought about what she wanted to do first. She remembered the one time she went to the Pocomos with her brothers and they went sledding down a huge hill. She grinned at the slope, remembering the time her brother Willy got stuck in it. Before walking over to it, she grabbed an edible chocolate covered strawberry from a tree. Wow, it was good! She then made her way over to get a toboggan to sled on,looking at her footprints. But she jerked her head up as she heard someone speak to her. She noticed it was Starbuck and grinned back at her.

"Sure!" she replied to her question. Oh, boy, this was going to be much more fun now! She ran up the interior of the hill, and then turned top her and said, "Do you want to go down first, or should we try it together?" She asked, hoping she would say that they do it together. Then it would be really interesting!

0 Demelza Eagle Wait, I as though it doesn't snow in the desert! 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Starbuck

January 08, 2010 7:12 PM

Two riders! by Starbuck

She looked back at the other girl and grinned. “I used to do this at home all the time; sledding and Christmas go hand in hand for me.” She didn’t take on the whole before Mark died. Mark her eldest brother had been the light of the Gregory family, now they were somber and Christmas usually meant mom crying in his old room and dad leaving the house while the younger kids unwrapped their gifts.

“I’m glad to see the faculty seem to have an imagination, this is like every kid’s dream!” She said with a smile.

She rubbed her hands together it was a bit chilly and she was glad she wore a long sleeved shirt today, she wished for some gloves and she reached into her pocket and as if by magic there were gloves. “Awesome!” She cried as she pulled on the mittens designed with penguins.

OOC: I give you permission to god-mod a bit with Starbuck for the ride down. :)

0 Starbuck Two riders! 0 Starbuck 0 5

Demelza

January 08, 2010 11:07 PM

Double the disasters! by Demelza

When Starbuck said that she goes sledding all the time at home, Demelza wondered what state she lived in. She never in her whole life has gotten enough snow in her town in Delaware to go sledding on. But, since Demelza is an inpatient person, she wants her questions answered right away, so the thought didn't ponder too long in her head before she asked, "What state do you live in? I live in Delaware, but we never get this much snow. Although, one time I went to the Pocomos in Pennsylvania and me and my brothers and sisters went sledding. But it all just resulted in my brother Joel burying my brother Willy in the snow," she said, grinning at the memory. That was a funny day...

But then she said that she was glad that the faculty had an imagination because the winter-infested pitch was like every kids dream. Demelza laughed at that, although she didn't think of it as every kid's dream. Demelza cracked a joke of her own as she looked over at the mini cabins, "Bet you Professor McKindy made up the cabin things. There's probably crazy decorations in them!" She could just imagine a pink bubble hat used for a chimney...

Demelza felt envious as she saw Starbuck find a pair penguin gloves in her pocket. "Hey, I'm cold too!" She exclaimed. She looked in her pockets, and found cloves with fat penguins on them. She laughed the design before putting them on. Why didn't she trust the rumors and come to the pitch in warm clothes?

Demelza, satisfied, then sat on the wooden sled and beckoned Starbuck to sit down too. Once that was done, she dragged her heals across the snow to give them a pushing start. Before they got any real speed, Demelza exclaimed, "WEE!" sarcastically. But soon they really did have a lot of speed, and Demelza couldn't control it. Very, very soon, there was a SPLAT! as the board flipped over and Demelza fell flat on her face. She got up quickly, though, and started laughing uncontrollably. When she could stop enough to talk, she asked Starbuck, "Did you live trough my death party?" Despite her giggles at the moment, Demelza was cold, and wished her face would be dry. And it was! Maybe Starbuck was right; this is a winter wonderland! Or maybe Demelza was just coo-coo in the head, because as she touched her face, it was wet. Yep, that girl has some serious brain injuries. Oh well.

0 Demelza Double the disasters! 0 Demelza 0 5

Starbuck

January 09, 2010 2:15 AM

Oh! Sledding - check..snowboarding maybe? by Starbuck

Starbuck laughed when Demelza asked what state she was from. “Ohio, dead smack in the Snow Belt. We get snow from as early as October all the way to and sometimes thru March.” She said with a grin. She loved snow being raised on a farm playing in the snow had been a large part of her childhood. “Believe me I have plenty of stories about sledding, and snowboarding.” She squinted around maybe after their ride she’d go and find a snowboard. Would the wizarding world even know what a snowboard was?

Starbuck giggled when Demelza made that crack about Professor McKindy. “Oh my gosh no the couches are probably made out of pink bubbles!” That made Starbuck long for a warm fire and hot coco. ‘One thing at a time Stary, snowboarding, then coco.’ She reminded herself just like Mark use to do.

Soon they were going down the hill and Starbuck realized that the girl didn’t know how to control it. That was a bad idea. Giggling as she stood up and brushed the snow off. “I wonder if the cabins have closets. I need some snow gear! And yes I live!” She cried. She squinted and then nodded knowing that the cabins would have snow gear for the students, and it would fit them. She looked over at Demelza and said. “Come on let’s go get warm and then we’ll try sledding again or maybe snowboarding. Have you ever been?” She asked as she slid down the rest of the hill and then jogged over to the cabin.

Once they entered the cabin Starbuck nodded, it look like a ski resort inside but sure enough there were two pairs of snowboarding pants, and two snowboarding jackets. Along with that there were some goggles, knee pads, wrist guards, helmets, boots, and finally a bright blue snowboard that she pulled out. “Holy crap! We have to go boarding!” In the back of the closet there was another snowboard but Starbuck didn’t take it out she just stared at the board in amazement. “So wanna go?” She asked hopefully. Boarding was so boring alone, even if she had to teach Dem, she wanted her to go.

0 Starbuck Oh! Sledding - check..snowboarding maybe? 0 Starbuck 0 5

Charlotte Abbott

January 11, 2010 11:54 AM

Looking for some company by Charlotte Abbott

Staying at school over midterm turned out not to be such a bad idea after all! The first morning, Charlie had ventured outside to find the ground blanketed with snow. So yeah, there would probably be snow back in Chicago, too, but here there were no winds, no freezing temperatures. It was a touch on the chilly side, but nothing like the winters she'd endured back home. According to Julian, being back home was not where she wanted to be right now, what with him being off skiing and her parents trying to run the world (or the hotel, which was pretty much the same deal) themselves. Oliver was right - there would be nobody to drive her to and from dance practice, auditions or rehearsals, and she should hold out for a better part over the summer. She'd got her pointe shoes with her (though in all honesty they could really do with replacing soon) and she could always practise with Lita in their dormitory. No problem.

Besides, it got better. Taking a wander round the grounds, dressed snuggly in black jeans and ankle boots and a cute pink fleece jacket, Charlotte had been gobsmacked when she saw the Quidditch pitch. Or what used to be the pitch - thie was so much better! Smile firmly in place, she pulled on her black furry ear muffs and went for a stroll round the new attraction. It wasn't long before another student crossed her path. "Hey," Charlie said, smiling cheerfully. "Isn't this great?"

0 Charlotte Abbott Looking for some company 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Amelia Pierce

January 12, 2010 1:26 PM

Relaxing by the Fire by Amelia Pierce

Amelia was here for the duration. Well, almost the duration. She was going to slip away for a few hours on Christmas to see her two grown kids, but for the most part, she was staying at the school. Bel had been less than pleased, but oddly less so than Amelia had truly been expecting. She suspected it had something to do with that 'Danny' person Bel had gone on about in her last letter, though she had enough survival instinct to know better than to ask confirmation.

Bel would reveal what she wanted revealed when she wanted to reveal it.

In the meantime, Amelia had headed out to the Pitch and was pleased to see the place transformed to a mountain wonderland that almost reminded her of New England. She entered one of the little cabins and found herself in one of the most cozy rooms she'd ever encountered.

This was better than home, almost. She sank down into one of the armchairs by the fire and put her feet out in front of her. After a few minutes just sitting there, listening to the fire crackle, she lazily summoned over a mug of hot chocolate. She took a sip. Perfect.

She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the hot liquid warm her belly and her fingers. She could have sat like that for two minutes or twenty before she heard the door to the outside open again. There seemed to be some kind of spell on the mug to keep the hot chocolate steaming but not scalding. She was also almost positive it was refilling itself every time she took a sip.

Keeping her eyes closed, she huddled into the chair cushions and pulled the mug closer to her body until the cold inrush of air stopped. The door closed and she opened her eyes to see who had joined her and gave her new companion a smile. "Good afternoon. Have a mug of the chocolate. It's fantastic."

1 Amelia Pierce Relaxing by the Fire 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Jacob Carter

January 13, 2010 1:16 PM

Joining the party by Jacob Carter

Jacob needed to walk his thoughts were a confused bundle at the moment. He had just returned from a supper with his former boss from Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. He had offered Jacob a promotion head of the Squad something he had been passed over for in June. Of course now they realized that he had been the best person for the job. Jacob had said he would think about it but he knew where he belonged, here at Sonora. He loved being a Professor but still the pay would be incredible at the Squad.

Jacob’s thoughts calmed down some as he walked around the winter wonderland and he knew he would never take the job back. He stood watching the children playing on the slopes and laughed. Though he missed snow he didn’t want to join the kids on the slopes for sledding he thought it would look a bit odd, though he might take a midnight ride later tonight. He smiled thinking about what the students would say seeing a Professor sliding down the slopes. He laughed to himself as he rubbed his hands together. ‘Time to get warm.’ He thought as he spied a little cabin and nodded, the promise of some hot coco laid beyond those walls.

He walked over and slowly opened the door hoping he hadn’t chosen one that students were occupying. He heard a voice and he grinned. There sat the Quidditch Coach enjoying a cup of coco. He laughed and nodded. “In fact that’s why I came here, I can never say no to hot coco.” He said with a smile as he grabbed a mug and took a seat on the couch opposite of Amelia. “It’s nice to see you again.” He said as he shrugged out of his pea coat exposing his dark blue button down shirt and black slacks. He took a sip of the coco and nodded. “You were correct this stuff is fantastic.”

0 Jacob Carter Joining the party 0 Jacob Carter 0 5

Demelza

January 13, 2010 9:11 PM

Suuuuure... what's that? by Demelza

Oh, that explained it. Starbuck was from Ohio. So she must have a lot of experience with snow. Demelza was glad to be just in Delaware. She raised her eyebrow when Starbuck said...snowbrading? No, wait... was in snowbracket? Demelza wasn't sure, but she had no idea what a snowboard was. Why hasn't her parents taken her snowbracketing? It sounded like fun! Her parents were both muggle-born, and obviously this was a muggle sport-thingy. She had to do it! Ooo, this was exciting!

She laughed at Starbucks come back to her comment. It was fun to laugh about Professor McKindy, 'cause he was a fun person. Demelza was starting to get really hyper (ADHD kicking in!!) and was bouncing inside the cabin. She wore a silly, stupid grin on her face.

She nodded enthusiastically and exclaimed, "YES!" when Starbuck asked her if she wanted to go snowboarding. Actually, she asked if she had ever been, but Demelza heard it wrong. She realized that too late: she had no idea about how to snowboard (She knew how to say it now!). She would just have to wing it. She laughed when Startbuck exclaimed her surprised that there was snowboarding equipment.

“So wanna go?” Starbuck asked, and Demelza answered with the same, enthusiastic, "YES!" She grabbed a snowboard and threw it on the snow outside the house. She ran over to it to go step on it, but just slipped on it and fell over backwards. She must have looked silly because it was like slipping on banana peal. She laughed and looked over to Starbuck, from the ground, and said, "Um, yeah, I don't know how this snowbracket thingy works...haha," she laughed and hoped that Starbuck would show her how to use this odd contraption.

0 Demelza Suuuuure... what's that? 0 Demelza 0 5

Amelia

January 14, 2010 3:45 PM

Glad to have you. by Amelia

Ah. Jacob Carter. Though there weren't any students she particularly disliked, she was still a bit relieved to find her new cabin-mate was another staff member. That he was one of the professors she considered a friend was even better.

"Good to see you again, too," she returned his pleasantry with one of her own. She truly meant it, too, which wasn't something she could always say.

She nodded in agreement and took another sip of her own hot chocolate as he confirmed her assessment of its worth. Once he was settled down into his chair, and the fire's warmth overcame the last of the chill from the temporarily opened door, she asked, "So, we're halfway through our first year. Are you glad you came out to teach at Sonora? And, more importantly," she smiled a little teasingly, "have you managed to avoid getting lost in front of the students?"

0 Amelia Glad to have you. 0 Amelia 0 5

Starbuck

January 15, 2010 9:17 PM

Weee fun by Starbuck

Starbuck laughed at Demelza jumping on the snowboard and falling down. She retrieved Demelza’s snowboard and then set it by the other girl’s feet. Just like she had done when teaching her best friend from home she strapped Demelza’s feet in securely before doing the same for her own. “Now the most important thing about snowboarding is stopping. Watch me.” She said before she began to slide down the hill gaining momentum. Quickly she added pressure to the back of the board and turned to look at Demeza. “See easy? Just put pressure on the back of the board.”

She unstrapped her one foot and made her way back to the top of the hill. Once there she smiled and helped Demelza up. “Steady?” She asked for a moment as she put her straps back on.

With that she grabbed both of Demelza’s hands and pushed off sending both the girls down the hill. She laughed as she released the other girl’s hands hoping she’d make it down to the bottom of the hill.

0 Starbuck Weee fun 0 Starbuck 0 5

Jacob

January 15, 2010 9:35 PM

A pleasure by Jacob

Jacob thought for a moment when she asked about being glad about teaching. “I love it here.” He said after a moment’s thought. “And I’m very glad that I cam out to teach.” He smiled and sipped the hot coco. “Thankfully I know my way around now so no more fear of getting lost.” He laughed for a moment. “So have to teach any student the point me spell?” He asked with a grin.

He paused and sipped the coco again. It was wonderful and he couldn’t get enough of it. He smiled at Amelia and said. “Well the first Quidditch Game I must say was quite entertaining, even with the Ms. Eagle’s accident. It seems as though she didn’t want to be out of the game for long.” He said with a wince. It had been hard to watch the young girl with the broken arm fly around. He had been very glad that Amelia had flown out as soon as she could.

0 Jacob A pleasure 0 Jacob 0 5

Alexis Ashwood

January 19, 2010 2:55 PM

Hot chocolate, anyone? by Alexis Ashwood

For the first time in years, Alexis Ashwood had opted to stay at Sonora for her midterm. Honestly, going home would be worthless. She was a social reject at school and at home. Staying at Sonora, where people would allow her to be alone, sounded much more appealing than home, where she would be asked why she was such a failure, outcast of the pureblood society, etc. Alexis didn’t want to deal with it.

Besides, if her plans to transfer out went the way she wanted, she would have to deal with it later.

The fifth year had been silent for most of the year. She had failed in rejoining the select group of fifth year girls. Alexis had made an attempt at the Opening Feast. They weren’t having it. So she had stuck with staying in her room, or the commons, or venturing into the library. No longer was the red head a socialite, someone other students wanted to be. She was defeated.

The girl decided to venture out to the Quidditch Pitch, the bane of her existence. Quidditch was what had caused all this trouble. She had just wanted to get back at Josiah. Back then, it had only made sense. Now Alexis couldn’t find the sense in her plan at all. Proving herself better than Josiah by defying her family and social group? No, she hadn’t thought it through. It was amazing how one mistake could ruin everything for someone.

The Pitch had been transformed, to Alexis’ surprise. She pulled her brown coat closer to herself and walked into one of the cabins that didn’t seem to be occupied. The red head picked up a cup of hot chocolate, smiling to herself. Sometimes the school had its redeeming qualities…Alexis turned around nervously, hearing another person enter.

“Hi.” She said quietly, grasping her cup of hot chocolate tightly. “There’s, um, hot chocolate. If you want some.”

0 Alexis Ashwood Hot chocolate, anyone? 117 Alexis Ashwood 0 5