finding people worthy of my presence on Crotalus Commons

Jordanna Howard

June 11, 2006 3:16 PM

finding people worthy of my presence by Jordanna Howard

The reason for Jordanna Howard to skip the Welcome Feast was simple. There were people of tainted blood down there, people unworthy of her presence. And she would not have the first people to see her back at Sonora be people unworthy of her presence. No, she headed straight up to her old common room, the place that had the highest concentration of worthwhile people. People with good upbringing and good blood. Those were the people deserved to see her first.

The pretty blond girl in the blue robes sat in one of the armchairs, staring at the fireplace. She cared not to dwell on the past year, when she had missed out on so many social events, so many fashion trends and so much shopping. Not to mention a year of school, although she wasn’t bothered by that. Still, Jordanna would definitely have a lot to make up for lost time.

When the third year finally heard someone entering the common room, she stood. It looked like it may be someone worthwhile.

"Good evening," she said politely.\n\n

0 Jordanna Howard finding people worthy of my presence 65 Jordanna Howard 1 5

Catherine Raines

June 11, 2006 6:29 PM

Do I still qualify? by Catherine Raines

Catherine wasn't quite sure how she'd done it, but, one way or another, she had managed to get 'round the zombie and into the common room. She needed some time by herself before she threw herself back into school politics, which, though they had never gotten quite so violent as they had been in her first year, bore a pretty close resemblance to quicksand at their best. Especially when you were the school's resident symbol of the arrogant, mean, and hopelessly stupid pureblood and roomed with the school's resident symbol of the borderline-sane-at-best pureblood. Catherine doubted two months of isolation had done much to improve Crazy Carey and her socially unacceptable ways.

Bracing her feet against the floor, Catherine pulled on her trunk as hard as she could, dropped it when her upper arms began to feel as though every muscle in them was about to be torn free from the bone. The result of this was the slightly elevated end of the trunk closest to her falling, but without making a loud noise. The thing it fell on was her foot as opposed to the floor, and she bit her tongue hard to keep from yelping. Even if she was by herself, she wanted to keep a little dignity. If she had figured out a way in, someone else could have done the same thing.

Finally, making use of both her injured foot and her beginning-to-be-sore arms, Catherine managed to get both herself and her trunk into the room just as a voice spoke. She whirled around on instinct and found herself facing another girl, this one wearing blue robes rather than the school green ones Daddy had insisted she wear back. "Oh, hello - " Who was she? Her immediate thought was that it was a first year, but that was impossible. The firsties might not have been Sorted yet, and none of them would know the way here. Besides, this girl was too tall, and Catherine could at least recognize everyone in Crotalus who had been there for the past two years. There was something so familiar about her...She caught a glimpse of gray eyes. No way. "Jordanna?" \n\n

0 Catherine Raines Do I still qualify? 66 Catherine Raines 0 5

Jordanna Howard

June 11, 2006 7:44 PM

Not sure... haven't been here in a year after all by Jordanna Howard

“Well duh!” Jordanna rolled her eyes but flashed a smile to show that she was just being sarcastic, “Who else has my amazing sense of style?”

Jordanna eyed the trunk Catherine dragged behind her. Bringing suitcases up here was like, peasants’ work! What a very un-ladylike action. Plus it made for poor posture. And no matter how you’re your outfit looked; you always looked lowly and poor with bad posture. Jordanna just wouldn’t have that happening to a pureblood, especially if it was someone who would be seen around her. She did have a reputation to maintain after all.

“This place truly has gone to the dogs,” she said disgustedly, taking out her wand from her robe sleeve, “Or should I say, muggleborns. Allow me,” she pointed her wand at the trunk, Charms had always been the one academic thing she was good at, “Wingardium Leviosa.”

The suitcase rose a foot in the air, and with her wand Jordanna guided it up the stairs, in front of the door where her old dorm used to be. Jordanna pivoted back around, a smirk of satisfaction on her face. Completing spells successfully always put her in an arrogant mood.

“So come sit with me,” she said as she sat on the couch, “Tell me what’s happened- if anything interesting ever does happen in this piece of dirt.” \n\n

0 Jordanna Howard Not sure... haven't been here in a year after all 65 Jordanna Howard 0 5

Catherine Raines

June 11, 2006 11:35 PM

Gossip Galore by Catherine Raines

Catherine smiled back, hearing her response - "Nobody, of course" - come without her having to think about it. She'd spent the majority of her time since she'd learned how to talk trying to stay in good books with someone, and at Sonora, the head someone was Jordanna Howard, followed closely by Nicoletta Dupree. Jordanna being gone for a year didn't matter, since she was here now and last year was definitely over with. "You have no idea how boring last year was with you gone." Maybe boring wasn't the right word, but it was the best one Catherine's vocabulary could come up with.

She felt the telltale heat creeping up her neck and around her cheeks when Jordanna pulled her wand and charmed Catherine's trunk up the stairs. She should have thought to do it like that. She should have known to do it like that. Even if avoiding being funnelled into the Cascade Hall had meant avoiding the bag-carrying people, she shouldn't have physically attempted to move the thing. It seemed that even three years hadn't quite shown her where the line between playing stupid and playing too stupid was. "Thanks," she said, smiling again, trying her best to look like the biggest thing on her mind was her friend returning. "I always forget that one." She laughed and tossed her hair back uncomfortably. Nicoletta wouldn't have botched things like this. Catherine didn't know what she would do if she had to prove herself to Jordanna all over again, or - worse - didn't get the chance, but was tossed aside without warning.

Her mess-up, if it had been a mess-up, looked like it had been forgiven when Jordanna asked her for information. She sat down at once, clasping her hands on her knees and wishing she had somehow figured out a way to wear her own robes instead of the school ones. The green robe with its red-and-silver Crotalus emblem felt childish and outdated, as if she was trying to pretend she was still a first year or something. "Well, our dorm's two people smaller. Asher Tallow and Laura Keaton both left. Guess they couldn't stand the weather." She smirked because it seemed like the proper thing to do, but didn't let herself think too much about the weather of her first year. That still had the ability to rattle her a little. "You might already know this, but Gwenhwyfar Carey's in complete disgrace for mixing with Muggleborns. She's sort of lost her mind, so if she says anything really strange, just ignore her. I think she might be dating one of the Pecaris in our year, too." Roommates report: done.

"We've got new professors - well, they aren't really new anymore, but they got here after you left - in Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Marlowe and O'Leary. They're both pretty horrible. I heard they're giving Muggle Studies this year and they've hired some woman to teach it, but I don't know anything else about it except that I'm not taking it. Marnett disappeared last year, but I think she's back now. Oh, and Dione's our Head of House now." Faculty report: done.

"Like I said, though, nothing much happened without you," she said. "Just one other thing, really. My mother says that they got in touch with the women from the important families, so you might already know this, too, but there's this group of witches - they call themselves Witches Against Immorality in the League - who're wanting pureblood girls to boycott Quidditch until witches are taken out of the games. They wrote pretty much everyone who's anyone last Christmas." Society report: done. She just hoped it would be enough. \n\n

0 Catherine Raines Gossip Galore 66 Catherine Raines 0 5

Jordanna Howard

June 13, 2006 2:55 PM

Gossip is always fun by Jordanna Howard

Jordanna listened attentively. If there was one thing that Catherine could be relied on for, it was gossip. And Jordanna needed that, if she wanted to get back into the mix of things as soon as possible. The only other person she could rely on for that kind of information was Nicoletta, and since she wasn’t here, Catherine would have to do. Even if she couldn’t even remember to use magic instead of dragging a suitcase and making herself look lowly and pathetic. The blond girl made a mental note to fix that.

She was glad to hear that the year had been boring without her; it meant that she was missed and that Jordanna hadn’t missed too much when she was gone. Always thinking of herself, she was also glad that two of the other girls pretty much moved out- it meant more room for Jordanna and Jordanna’s things. And she did have quite a lot of clothes. Besides, from what she remembered of Asher and Laura, they really weren’t worth her time and space. Who wanted to share a dormitory with unworthy people like them?

She didn’t pay as much attention to the teacher update. As far as she was concerned she’d never need half her classes, they were below people like her who would probably spend most of their life running their luxurious homes. Besides, Charms was the only one she was ever any good at anyway.

The thing that interested her the most was that “Witches Against Immorality in the League”, business. She herself had never heard about it, but she hadn’t heard very much from the outside world while she was away. Whatever it was had little impact on her- she hated brooms and she hated heights anyway. No way would she ever be caught playing Quidditch. What was even more, it could mess up her hair!

“The people from Witches Against Immorality in the League definitely have the right idea,” Jordanna nodded, “There are much more important things we pureblood girls ought to be preparing for other than roughing around with boys- we have to work hard to make sure we keep our status. Quidditch gets you dirty, and there is no room for grimy, impure, people in high society. The first impression anyone gets of you is based on your appearance, and first impressions are everything. Speaking of which, dear,” Jordanna eyed the unsightly school uniform, “We don’t have to wear that uniform all the time now, do we? They’re the tackiest things I’ve seen since pointed wizards' hats- and what's more, green and red clash. You’re not going to actually wear them once school starts, are you?”

She had more to say on the subject of their roommates, especially that Carey girl, but she'd save that for later. Her fashion future was the more impending predicament.\n\n

0 Jordanna Howard Gossip is always fun 65 Jordanna Howard 0 5

Catherine Raines

June 13, 2006 6:39 PM

And thankfully plentiful around here. by Catherine Raines

Jordanna appeared to be listening to her. That was a good thing. It meant that Jordanna was giving at least some credit to what she said, or was at least considering doing so. She wouldn't do that with just anyone, so Catherine was still considered an acceptable acquaintance. She refused to let it mean anything else. She couldn't make any more mistakes, though. She wasn't going to lose her place in the scheme of things because she was too soft to hold it. What good luck had given her on that morning three years earlier was what laziness could take away from her just as quickly.

She badly wanted to do something with her hands, but she knew it would look bad. Girls like them never showed that they were nervous. They never showed any emotion they didn't want people to see. She could do that. She could keep her hands still and her head in one place. And she did, all the way through Jordanna's lecture on the correctness of W.A.I.L. She considered telling the other girl what Gemma had told her about it - about the women who liked other women instead of men - but decided not to. All of Jordanna's reasons were, after all, good ones, and she just didn't like to talk about things like that.

She looked at her robe, thankfully able to keep from blushing, when Jordanna commented on it. There hadn't been much hope that it would go unnoticed. "No," she said quickly when asked if she meant to keep wearing it. "I only wore it tonight because Daddy wanted me to," she said, carefully regulating the tone of her voice. "The Welcoming Feast being such a major school event or whatever. He's like that, sometimes. I think we're still supposed to wear them to classes, but - " She shrugged with one shoulder, hoping to keep from seeming like she had an opinion until Jordanna voiced hers so Catherine could agree with it. Jordanna hadn't been lying when she said that they had to work hard to keep up their place in the world. \n\n

0 Catherine Raines And thankfully plentiful around here. 66 Catherine Raines 0 5

Jordanna Howard

June 13, 2006 8:50 PM

As good a time as any to mention pureblood values by Jordanna Howard

Catherine didn’t seem to have much of an opinion today about very much, which was just fine with Jordanna. She’d much rather have it that way than any other way she could think of. Arguing was a waste of time and energy that could be better spent. Moreover, Jordanna believed she tended to have the right idea about how the world worked, making arguing with her ideas even more pointless. Yes, a girl who agreed with everything she said and gave her the information she desired was much more preferable than someone with the sense to use magic to carry their things and with their own ideals.

“I hate how they try to bring us good purebloods down by making us dress like we had a sense of style like a muggleborn,” no, she was not above placating people to guarantee they would be loyal to her, “It’s an injustice. I believe in looking how I feel- and I feel and I know that I’m better than these mixed bloods and traitor spawn. Uniformity won’t change that.”

Jordanna hated having all these muggle lovers and traitors in her society. Yes, her society. Her father had given her the lecture on how they were a danger to magical culture on countless occasions, even more so in the past year. Magical people had to marry other magical people so as to conserve magic. It’s what made them special, unique. If everyone married muggles and had mixed blood children, everyone would have a little bit of magic in them, and then no one would be special. The magical blood would eventually become diluted by the muggle blood (since there were so many more of them), until eventually everyone would become magically weak or worse, Squibs, and magic would be lost forever.

Unfortunately, not everyone understood this as Jordanna did, and not everyone wanted to protect the magic, as she did, and so they accepted mixed bloods into the community. And to make up for all their handicaps, pretended like they were all the same, which was not true. For even a powerful halfblood was more likely to have nonmagical children than a weaker pureblood (although Jordanna considered that a rare occurrence).

Jordanna tossed strands of yellow hair behind her, refusing to dwell on such gloomy matters. They were for others to think about, not her. She just had to go along with it.

“Well, I’m going to wear what I like, and if anyone has a problem, they can take it up with my family,” she said decisively, “Anyway, tell me about that Carey girl- who’d want to date her? No pureblood boy, I’d hope."

OOC: I have way too much fun making Jordanna as annoying and insufferable as possible. I ought to thank the hp-lexicon.org and their article “Magic, Genes, and Pure Blood” for help on Jordanna’s blood theories. Very interesting read, that one.\n\n

0 Jordanna Howard As good a time as any to mention pureblood values 65 Jordanna Howard 0 5

Catherine Raines

June 14, 2006 2:49 PM

You'll get no argument from me. by Catherine Raines

If Jordanna had suddenly changed her mind and announced that pointed hats were at the pinnacle of fashion, Catherine would have nodded obediently. If Jordanna had instructed her to refuse to wear robes at all, she might have even done that. When Jordanna began to talk about her superiority to traitors, muggleborns, and mixes, Catherine, as was expected of her, nodded agreement. The only difference between this scenario and the others was the fervency of the gesture. In this case, she really did wholeheartedly agree with every word that Jordanna was saying. Pureblood philosophy and her father had been the two things Catherine had latched onto when, at seven, she finally figured out why her grandmother disliked her.

"They're trying to end the old order," she said, maybe a touch too passionately. "My grandmother says the liberals aren't getting as much power in the government as they want, so they're trying to influence the people in the schools. They want us to be liberals, so they force us to mix with those sorts. Half my cousins are homeschooled because of that, or sent to Europe." The fidgety desire to pace was stronger, now. She was no fonder of Amelia than Amelia was of her, but she agreed with the woman on that. It just wasn't right for purebloods to have to share space with the lower orders. It was through doing so that good people - good purebloods - were lead astray and became blood traitors.

She forced herself, through willpower more than logic, to keep outwardly calm. Caring about the topic was one thing; all decent people did. Being rabid about it was another. Jordanna had never shown any indicators that suggested she knew about the old scandal with Catherine's mother, but being too insistent about the blood issue might make her do some poking around in search of skeletons in Catherine's closet. She wasn't naive enough to think that Jordanna would consider keeping her as an ally worth the risk.

It helped tremendously when Jordanna changed the subject to Gwenhwyfar. If there was one thing that Catherine truly enjoyed doing at school, it was trashing Gwenhwyfar Carey's already horrible reputation. "Oh, no," she said, shaking her head for extra emphasis. "She'd probably turn her nose up at anyone decent. I heard him telling Anne Wright - she's Gwenhwyfar's cousin, another traitor - that he was a muggleborn. Flat-out. Didn't even try to deny it."

She considered withholding what she considered to be the most scandalous bit of information she had, but her fervor about blood had translated straight into enthusiasm towards discussing this. "The worst part of it is," she said, lowering her voice in case anyone else was around, "is that I've heard his surname is Pierce. I'm sure she knows he isn't really one, though, so that's no excuse. It's just clear-cut treachery." The Pierces had spent the past several years in-between scandals, but she still felt somewhat bad for them. She didn't know what she would do if she ever met someone with her surname who wasn't a pureblood. \n\n

0 Catherine Raines You'll get no argument from me. 66 Catherine Raines 0 5

Jordanna Howard

June 17, 2006 1:15 PM

As it should be by Jordanna Howard

Ghastly, very ghastly. Some random mixed-blood pretending to be a Pierce, that is. In Jordanna’s mind, that was right up there with treason. What imbecile would try to do that? Or maybe he was disowned from the family or something like that. No, it couldn’t be, they’d probably make him change his surname or something to that extent. You didn’t just let disowned people run around using your name after all, that was practically blasphemy. In any case, Jordanna thought that no good, upstanding pureblood family would allow for that anyway.

“I’m sure the Pieces will set things straight with the muggleborn,” Jordanna said confidently, “But as for Gwen, I pity her, almost. I feel worse for her family for having to put up with her ways. She’s really being idiotic. There are halfbloods with more tact than that, and look who halfbloods have for parents.”

Jordanna was about to toss her hair back again (it was getting awfully long, it almost reached her waist when it was down, as it was today) when she wrapped several strands around her index and middle finger for appraisal. The blond hair was beginning to get split ends, she’d have to trim it. It bothered her too much to let it stay that way.

In the moment she was examining her hair, Jordanna had an idea. What if they could find a way to weed out the worthwhile people from the worthless? Just to get a chance to talk to them and figure out their bloodlines and if they were well-mannered or not would do. The plan would only work for Crotalus, but that didn’t matter. As she always said, Crotalus had the highest concentrations of worthwhile people.

“What if we could organize some sort of social type thing in the common room?” she asked aloud to see if Catherine liked the idea. Of course she’d probably go through with it whether or not Catherine approved, but Jordanna always liked someone to agree with her, “For first and second year girls in our house. We could pick out the ones with good heritage and good upbringing and take them under our wing, and just ignore anyone else. We’d be making good connections and they’d be saved from making mistakes like Gwen’s. I’ll have Daddy owl snacks or something. ”

The more people she had to agree with her and to discuss fashion and gossip with, the better. Jenna was becoming rather boring, mostly because the older sister threatened to throw Jordanna in a vat of boiling potion every time she tried to strike up a conversation, which was very rude. She was sure Daddy would approve. The more good publicity for the Howard family, the better, and she would finally get to host a party. Yes, this was definitely one of her most ingenious ideas.\n\n

0 Jordanna Howard As it should be 65 Jordanna Howard 0 5

Catherine Raines

June 18, 2006 11:38 PM

There's no arguing with the truth, is there? by Catherine Raines

Things had been going fine. Apart from the little incident with her trunk, there had been nothing to indicate that Jordanna was going to turn on her. They had been, from what Catherine could tell, fine, as fine as they would have been if the whole last year had never happened. One word couldn’t be enough to throw all that off. It couldn’t. It meant nothing that Jordanna had just referred to Gwenhwyfar as ‘Gwen’. Jordanna didn’t call her or Nicoletta by nicknames, so, therefore, using nicknames had to be Jordanna’s form of condescension. It didn’t mean that Jordanna was going to ditch her and take the shame of the Savannah Careys under her wing. No, no, no, no, no.

She was being paranoid. Jordanna didn’t really feel sorry for Gwenhwyfar. She felt sorry for her in that you-pathetic-idiot way only used for the lower orders. Yes. Of course. There was no way that Jordanna would ever, in a million years, prefer Gwen Carey to her as a friend. Ever. She was acting crazier than Gwen if she thought things might be different for a moment. She was fine, she and Jordanna were fine. She was still on the inside. “Her father’s trying to disown her,” Catherine volunteered. “She keeps saying that she’ll know one way or the other the Christmas after this one.” Another error...there was no way she could know that if things between herself and Gwen were as they had been when Jordanna left... “Like I said, though, she’s a bit delusional. Sometimes last year, she’d get it into her head that we were best friends and start telling me stuff like that when Nicoletta wasn’t around. If I tried walking off, she’d follow me.” So it had never happened. Who cared, so long as it got her off the hook? Gwenhwyfar would have understood, if it hadn’t been happening to her.

She sat, feeling as though she were on top of a field of needles, and watched Jordanna playing with her hair. She didn’t know what it meant. Was Jordanna genuinely that interested in her hair, or was she fiddling with it absent-mindedly, really thinking about whether or not she bought Catherine’s story? Either, from what she knew about Jordanna, was a plausible explanation. She sat up straighter on reflex when Jordanna sprang the idea of what would basically amount to a party in miniature on her. As the other girl elaborated, Catherine felt herself beginning to smile, more from relief than from excitement about the idea, though she did like it, too. Jordanna wouldn’t ask someone she thought was going to be a quickly cut off liability to help her with this.

“That’s brilliant!” she said, squeezing her hands together hard to keep from clapping them like an overexcited child on Christmas morning. “I know there’s at least one or two all right ones in the second year, and there have to be a few decent first years...” ‘Our’ wing. That was the golden term. They – not just Jordanna, but ‘they’ – were going to be at the head of the Sonora social scene after this. Everything was going to be all right. “Jordanna, you’re a genius!” In that moment, she actually meant it.\n\n

0 Catherine Raines There's no arguing with the truth, is there? 66 Catherine Raines 0 5

Jordanna Howard

July 12, 2006 5:09 PM

Truth: My author posts slowly by Jordanna Howard

Gwen trying to befriend Catherine? What would make the girl think that she could win over Catherine as a friend in the first place? Well, if it was true that she was trying, then Catherine would have to be carefully watched, just to make sure that the friendship think was definitely one-sided, and that she wasn’t going to turn on Jordanna and tradition any time soon. Walking around like she owned the place wouldn’t be as easily done without her chief supporter to walk behind her.

Jordanna gave a smile of satisfaction when Catherine proclaimed her praise. Of course she had genius in her- just because she decided not to act like a nerd or pay all that much attention to her classes didn’t mean she couldn’t be clever if she had a reason to be.

“Of course it’s a good idea, I thought of it, didn’t I?”

Modesty was a different story entirely.

“Mother sent me with some elegant stationery; we can choose one of them to write the invitations out on. We can leave them on their nightstands in their dormitory- to keep the party as exclusive as possible,” in other words, she didn’t want anyone from the other houses corrupting the younger girls with bad impressions of Catherine and herself because they were jealous of the girls, “And so we don’t have to bother with going to a dirty owlery or anything like that. We could have the common room decorated and everything,” she added with a sudden spark of ambition. She said “have the common room decorated” rather than “decorate the common room” because she certainly wasn’t doing that herself. No, she’d make the prairie elves do it. Jordanna could put in a request or something. Which led her to another problem.

“We’ve got to find a way to get around Dione, don’t we?” Jordanna asked, worried because Dione was possibly the only thing that could get in her way. Jordanna had not made a favorable impression with the Astronomy teacher; of course, Dione hadn’t made a favorable impression with Jordanna, either. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that Dione, who probably already had it out for Jordanna, and would probably love even more to ruin a social event she despised anyway, would have twice the fun ruining a social event that was organized by Jordanna.

She heard Günter let people into the Common Room, a lot of people, by the sound of it, meaning it was the first year’s tour. She heard a voice giving the usual speech.

The voice was not Dione’s.

It was all she could do to keep her jaw from dropping as she took a quick glance at the woman who was clearly not Dione, then shot Catherine a suspicious look that clearly said, ‘You said Dione was the Head.’

Getting up from her seat, she smoothed out her robes and mad her way towards the group. She’d deal with Catherine’s mistake later, now she had to go meet the new head and make a good first impression.

OOC: Meet you at the thread above, okay? \n\n

0 Jordanna Howard Truth: My author posts slowly 65 Jordanna Howard 0 5