Nathan Xavier
April 01, 2016 7:32 PM
First Year Orientation by Nathan Xavier
Nathan Xavier stood, as he had two years ago, in the landing area for the flying wagons as they arrived from all corners of the United States. International students were responsible for getting into the country by their most convenient method, but once inside the US, they would also board one of the wagons for the final leg of their journey to the school. Also as he had two years ago, the heavy-set middle aged man offered directions to those disembarking."Hello and welcome or welcome back to Sonora Academy," he greeted again as another wagon landed and disgorged an assortment of new and old students. "Leave your luggage in the wagon; the elves will deliver it to its appropriate location. New first years, you can head over that way and collect a welcome packet, get some snacks, and get to know your fellow classmates until we are ready to start the Orientation." He indicated a nearby clearing in the Gardens where a reception area was set up with tables of food, a large banner ("First Year Orientation - Welcome to Sonora Academy!"), and a few piles of green folders on the table beneath the banner.
"Returning students, the Cascade Hall has some snacks for you if you're hungry, otherwise you can head up to your rooms and settle in. Prefects or Heads of House should be in the Hall if you need a password. The library is also open if you would rather spend the time until the feast reading." The students split off to their various destinations, and Nathan turned to address the next wagon load of kids with the same instructions.
Eventually, all the wagons were accounted for and he headed into the clearing where the first years had gathered. In addition to the green hedges enclosing the area, and a large maple tree shading the space, as well as the tables and banner, the reception clearing was also decorated with a handful of natural sculptures. They were not necessarily the top scoring sculptures that came out of last term's team event (some of which had walked away as soon as the judging was complete), but they were the ones Nathan had deemed most likely to endure the elements for a year or more. He'd liked all of the results he'd seen and was hoping these showcase ones would survive until the next school wide set of challenges was issued. Reinhardts had contributed to two of them, so there was a good chance those ones might make it that long at least. But even if they all fell apart at the end of the week (unlikely, since they'd made through the whole summer intact), they would, if nothing else, potentially provide conversation starters for the first years who were currently almost all complete strangers to one another.
He let them mingle for a little while longer, giving the last wagon group time to get their packet and a plate, then cleared his throat to gain their attention. Speaking in front of this group was not nearly as intimidating as speaking in front of the whole student body last spring, so his nerves were not nearly as apparent as they had been then. A keen eye, though, could probably note that he repeatedly wiped sweaty hands against his green robes (which were a lighter shade than their uniforms, but close enough that it was fairly clear he was trying to show school spirit).
"Hello, and welcome again to Sonora Academy of Magic," he began with a voice that was deep and loud enough to carry well over this small area without amplification. "My name is Mr. Xavier, and I am the groundskeeper and Head of Teppenpaw House here. I'll be giving you all a little overview of what to expect, then we'll break to continue meeting each other, then we will finish up with a tour of the grounds and school, which will end at our dining hall, the Cascade Hall, just in time for your Sorting Ceremony and the Welcoming Feast."
He paused a moment, less for dramatic effect and more to organize his thoughts and briefly pray he didn't forget any important parts of his rehearsed speech. "This is a school, so I'll start with academics. You should have a copy of the class schedule in your folders. All first years take the same core classes, and most of those will be shared with the second year class, and are collectively known as beginner level classes. In third year, you move up to intermediates and are allowed to select optional elective courses or begin independent studies at that time. In sixth year, you become advanced students and are allowed to drop the courses you don't want to take anymore." This time, Nathan decided not to mention the massive exams that took place at the end of fifth and seventh year, figuring it was too far off to bother scaring them about those already. He only kept in the part about advanced classes because it implied dropping classes wasn't a done thing until that point.
"Also, we have several student run clubs, some of which have an academic focus, like the science club or the book club. We also currently have an art club, an archery club, and House Quidditch Teams. If none of those cover what you would like to do as an extracurricular activity, you may start your own. In the past, we've also had cooking, fashion, and dance clubs. They just need a leader to volunteer to start them up again."
He wiped his palms on his robes again, then went on, "For living arrangements, everyone is split into one of four Houses, chosen by some personal characteristics and values during our Sorting Ceremony later today. Within each House, you will room with those of your year and gender. Each House has three prefects, one from each of the year groups fifth year and up, a Quidditch Captain, and a faculty member called your Head of House, any of which you can go to with questions or problems."
He had decided not to go into which traits were characteristic of each House this year in the vain hope that maybe that would slow the perpetuation of House stereotypes, though the school literature they had received with their acceptance letters went into those details and had likely already done that damage.
"Houses serve as your family here as you will be seeing quite a bit of one another over the next seven years. Each House earns points for exceptional classwork, behavior and participation in school activities such as Quidditch. Likewise, misbehavior loses points. The House with the most points at the end of the year gets the honor of hosting the House Cup in their commons the next year."
He took a deep breath and finished off with the key facts people probably wanted to know but didn't fit together in any neat categories. "Small fare food like sandwiches and snacks are available upon request in the Cascade Hall at all times between 6am and curfew at 10, but larger meals are marked on your schedule and are only available then. All students are welcome on the House Quidditch teams; no experience necessary. I think most teams have openings."
"If you have any further questions feel free to ask me or one of the other staff members." He took a moment to nod at the other staff volunteers who had chosen to help him chaperone the group during the orientation. "In the mean time, enjoy the food and talk amongst yourselves. The tour will begin in approximately one hour."
OOC (Out of Character):
Welcome first years to Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask staff questions or meet your new classmates. This thread is intended for first year students to have a chance to try out posting and get a hang of the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast next week, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming. So post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can.
Subthreads: Is this really real? by Killian Everett with Farrah Welsh
Looking for a fellow explorer. by Lily Spencer with Jozua Sparks
♪ A whole new world! ♬ by Madeleine Dautin with Georgia Kirkly
From Paris to Sonora by Sébastien Évreux with Jocelyn Spencer
Welcome Home by Eliza Steinbeck with Arianna Valenti, Eliza
Glad to be here, I think! by Finbar Scott
1
Nathan Xavier
First Year Orientation
28
Nathan Xavier
1
5
Lily Spencer
April 03, 2016 2:56 AM
Looking for a fellow explorer. by Lily Spencer
From the moment Lily stepped into the wagon, she could hardly contain her excitement. It was finally, finally her turn to attend school and learn how to control her magic. Her mum had forced her to comb out her long brown, coarse hair for the occasion and would have liked her in a frilly dress had Lily not thrown such a fit. “Now behave when you get to school, Lily, we need to make an impression to all the American pure-bloods,” Mother had said, but Lily didn’t really listen. It was only fair to say that Lily wasn't exactly the ideal Spencer in her household. If her good-natured, lovely siblings hadn't made an equally lovely impression, then the American pure-bloods were all mental.Jack kept eyeing her with his condescending stare as the wagon jostled along, and Lily crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him, an expression she made in his direction often. “What?”
“You’d better not make trouble whilst we’re at school. I don’t want to have to look out for you wherever we go.”
Lily stuck her nose in the air. “That’d be your choice, wouldn’t it, looking after me? I’m going to do whatever I please.”
“I’m going to tell Mum.”
Lily glared at him and turned her face away. The trip from England to Arizona had felt like an eternity, but soon enough they arrived at the school. Without waiting for Jack to lecture her any more, she hopped out of the wagon and immediately joined her peers at the entrance. The chatter of conversation as older students walked past filled her ears as Lily’s wide, brown eyes soaked everything in. Everything was enormous; she’d never been inside a castle before and now she was going to live here, the same castle where Adam, Charlotte and her cousins had lived and studied before her.
There was a larger-set wizard guiding separating the first years and the older students. She walked away to join the rest of her peers, looking back only once to wave goodbye to her brother. Though Lily was only wearing her robes, she felt comfortable in her skin and fashionable trainers. After grabbing a couple of pumpkin pasties and tucking a welcome packet under her arm, she walked over to a fellow student and would have stuck out her hand if they hadn't been filled with snacks. “Exciting, isn’t it, all this? I’m Lily Spencer. I can’t wait to find out which house I’m in. I hope I’m in Pecari. My older brother was in that house, you know, and he was Head Boy and Quidditch captain. I’m going to play Quidditch just like him. Which house do you hope to be sorted into?”
Their conversation was severed by the groundskeeper’s introduction. Lily listened patiently, allowing her mind to roam as he relayed information she was already knew. She was looking forward to being as actively involved in school as possible; if she didn’t try out everything, she’d never know what she liked. Lily already had a long list of things she didn’t like, which included painting, practising the piano, reading long books and wearing dresses. She knew what she loved as well, that being flying, climbing trees, pulling pranks on Jack, swimming and wearing trousers and loose shirts. The first thing she would do after the feast would be to find the MARS rooms. According to her siblings they were perfect for practising music, sports and swimming. Lily couldn’t wait to explore the enormous castle.
Once the groundskeeper had finished, she turned back to her potential new friend. “Do you like exploring?” she asked, remembering to be polite and keep from speaking too fast. "I used to do loads of exploring with my brother when he would take me out to the gardens in London."
40
Lily Spencer
Looking for a fellow explorer.
357
Lily Spencer
0
5
Jozua Sparks
April 03, 2016 5:24 PM
Do we get to slay Evil? by Jozua Sparks
Jozua boarded his wagon in his hometown Aladren, Oregon. Being a magical town, it was one of the spots a flying wagon could land safely without raising any eyebrows. He'd said good-bye to his parents and was on his way to his new life at Sonora Academy. Having grown up surrounded by magic, he wasn't worried about that part of it. The difficult part was going to be the number of other people he would need to interact with over the next months. He was a home-schooled only child; until now, the only people he'd really spent much time around were his parents. Boarding school was going to take some getting used to.The brown haired boy allowed some of the other riders to get off first, but he was not the last to disembark. He followed another first year over to the Orientation area and collected his packet and a few crackers. He wasn't really all that hungry (his mom had packed him a bag of brownies for the ride south and they were all gone now), but he took the snacks anyway to blend in with the other kids. He didn't want to look out of place and draw attention to himself.
It didn't seem to work, at least not completely. He avoided wide-scale staring at least, but a girl came up to him and started talking. A lot. He was saved from answering by the Groundskeeper starting up his speech about information he'd mostly already gotten from his mom and the pamphlet the school sent along with his acceptance letter, but it was only a temporary reprieve. But instead of picking up her earlier chatter, she just asked now if he liked exploring.
He blinked a moment, surprised by this turn to the conversation and the less frenetic flow of words, but it wasn't an unwelcome change. "Sure," he said. He almost left it like that, not being a person of many words, especially around strangers, but Lily Spencer had provided her name and it seemed rude not to return the favor. "I'm Jozua Sparks." If the students were sorted alphabetically by surname for anything here, they'd probably be spending a lot of time together. He didn't offer a guess to his House, partly because he thought that half of their 'conversation' may have expired, but mostly because there wasn't a lot of point in speculating. If he guessed wrong, he might end up disappointed, and if he guessed right, then that killed the suspense of finding out. He didn't think any of the four were entirely out of the question, but he was kind of hoping for either Aladren or Crotalus, largely based on his mom's observations that people in Teppenpaw and Pecari talked too much. If Lily really did represent Pecari, he could see what she meant in regards to that House at least. Plus, mom had been and Aladren, and he came from a town called Aladren. So he was a little biased to start with and that didn't help accuracy.
Because he did have some social experience, he knew the best way to avoid talking himself was to encourage his companion to talk. That didn't seem like it would take much effort in this case, so he asked, "Did you find anything interesting with your brother?"
1
Jozua Sparks
Do we get to slay Evil?
348
Jozua Sparks
0
5
Lily
April 04, 2016 2:05 PM
Of course. We'll be heroes. by Lily
Lily noticed that the boy hadn’t said a word to her yet during her ramble, and she remembered Adam’s sage advice to her: "Let other people speak, Lily. People like it when you listen to them." She was never any good at that, listening to other people, but she wanted to make friends even if that meant shutting her mouth for a bit. She asked a simple question which he didn’t give much of a response to; maybe he was one of those shy, quiet sorts who needed to warm up to conversation. The lad, Jozua, asked her a question and the English witch didn’t hesitate to begin chatting again about her favourite subject.“Not much, really, besides insects and furry little creatures. I did find a nest of duck eggs once. Loads of Muggles go there; it’s quite a large park in London and I’ve been around almost every inch of it. But the playground there is my favourite. They have a play ship and it’s almost always crowded during the summers. It’s very popular. I’d assume a boarding school like this wouldn’t have a playground, but I guess we’re supposed to be little adults now.” Her disgust with the idea of being a ‘little adult’ was evident on her face. The idea that she couldn’t play pretend anymore was depressing, but the inner rebellious spirit in Lily refused to give it up simply to ‘fit in’ with society.
There had been many wars between her and her mother regarding Lily’s blatant lack of pure-blood propriety. She had manners like any decent child, but it wasn’t according to Cassie’s high standard. Not that it mattered to Lily, really. She’d accepted her role as the petulant youngest child; though she didn’t get along well with her mum, her dad let her get away with anything.
“There’s a palace there too where the Muggle royalty lives, but I’ve never been there,” continued Lily. “I’m excited to live in a mansion like this here.” She gestured to the school behind her before smiling again at Jozua. “I’ve never seen one like this before, but I suppose I haven’t really travelled much.”
Adam’s advice returned to her then and she felt contrite. She’d never really known what to do with quiet people. “What’s your family like? Do you have siblings?” The idea of getting to know someone new outside of the children she used to play with was invigorating in its own way. Having grown up in a very full household, she couldn’t imagine life without people to play with her. Lily liked to play, and she was sincerely hoping to find companions who did too. She didn’t care that she was already eleven-years-old; even when she was an adult she’d still play pretend and climb trees.
The trees here looked nice, but the shrubbery as a whole seemed a little unnatural in the desert. Still, the labyrinth looked intriguing; it would be a lovely place to begin her exploring and, she hoped, find magical creatures waiting to be found. That idea was the sort she wouldn’t be sharing with Jack. That and climbing trees after dinner.
40
Lily
Of course. We'll be heroes.
357
Lily
0
5
Jozua
April 04, 2016 9:08 PM
Then I am in! by Jozua
Jozua nodded along, genuinely interested in her response, and pleased that his question had paid off so well. At this rate, he was only going to need to say one or two sentences for every five to ten of hers. If that held up and she didn't run off to meet someone more chatty, he might actually know her well enough to start evening out the ratio by the time the tour started.He was going to guess, tentatively, given the number of times she'd apparently been to the London gardens and her accent, that she was at least British, and possibly from London. He made a note to ask her that at some point to confirm the theory, but first he needed to answer her question back to him. It was important not to be dismissive of her own curiosity about him, or it would just backfire and, if past experience was anything to go by, they'd just think he was trying to hide something and become even more curious about him. Not what he wanted.
"I'm an only child," he told her. "Pureblood." Not that he thought there was anything superior about only having magical relatives, but that was the most common term for the type of family he was raised in and would save a lot of words. Plus, the Maartens on his Mom's side cared about that kind of thing, so it would probably be good to figure out who he should and shouldn't be admitting he knew here when he talked to his Dutch grandparents. "Grew up in Aladren, up in Oregon. Are you from London, then?" he thought that sounded like a seamless transition and not like he was pushing the conversation back at her. Maybe one more useless personal fact to be sure. "I haven't made it to England yet."
He wasn't quite sure what level of travelling qualified as 'much' to Lily so he offered no statement on his own travel experience classification. He'd been to the Netherlands to meet his family out there on more than a few occasions, and they often hit another neighboring country while they were out that way anyway, so he'd also visited Germany and Belgium a couple times, and toured Luxembourg once. England was next on the list, but it hadn't happened yet. Beyond that, they took annual vacations somewhere in the States, so he'd been to most of the Western ones by now, too. He could now check Arizona off that list as well, so he thought that just left New Mexico and Utah, unless he was forgetting one, and also depending on how one defined 'Western states'.
1
Jozua
Then I am in!
348
Jozua
0
5
Lily
April 06, 2016 1:03 PM
We'll make a great team! by Lily
Lily had never considered being an only child before. She couldn’t imagine how awful it would feel, not having anybody to play with. It had been agonising when Adam left for school first, but she’d always had at least one sibling in the house with her. Once it was Jack’s turn to go, Adam had come back home hopefully for good. Being surrounded by adults all the time must’ve been awful growing up; it was no wonder Jozua was as quiet as he was. “You didn’t have any siblings?” asked Lily, feeling sorry for him. “Did you have many friends in Oregon then? What sorts of things did you do there for fun?” It must’ve been even worse for him, being alone, if Jozua came from the typical chilly pure-blood family. If she’d been born into that sort of circle she would have cried.“I’m pure-blood too,” she said, feeling glad despite herself to have found someone she shared the same background with. As she’d discovered playing with the neighbourhood children, there were some unspoken mannerisms understood by pure-bloods that Muggles and half-bloods didn’t understand without being told. It wasn’t as though it would make any difference whilst playing, really, but it was a nice foundation to begin a friendship on. As long as he wasn’t the stuffy, misogynistic sort.
Though Jozua told her where he was from, Lily had no idea where Oregon was. She assumed it was in the United States, however, and nodded as though she could visualise the place. She didn’t want to look foolish in front of a person she’d just met. “Yeah, I’m from London. I’ve lived there my entire life with my family, but neither of my parents are from the city originally. My dad works as a mediwizard for a London hospital. If you haven’t made it to England, where have you visited?”
Lily hadn’t travelled much with her family and she’d never had the real burning desire to do so. The furthest she’d gone out in any direction was to Germany on holiday whilst Adam and Charlotte were in school. It hadn’t been much fun without them, really, even though she and Jack didn’t fight during that trip. Usually their family holidays were spent visiting her grandparents in Darlington or the Princetons in East Horsley. Last she’d heard of her Princeton cousins, one of them was betrothed to an Italian witch. She really hoped their wedding was in the summer so she could finally visit Italy.
After Jozua had spoken, Lily asked a question that popped into her mind that would be critical to their potential friendship: “Do you like climbing trees or flying?”
40
Lily
We'll make a great team!
357
Lily
0
5
Jozua
April 07, 2016 2:08 PM
If you say so by Jozua
Jozua was mildly disappointed that his investment in words netted mostly questions in return, but at least Lily was proving to be one of those people he found easy to talk to: Interesting enough to hold his attention and carrying more than her own conversational weight. Uninteresting people got tedious and Jozua often tuned them out after a while which made it even harder to return meaningful replies, and people who expected Jozua to talk in equal amounts often found themselves hiccuping from one awkward silence to another.Lily triggered neither social pitfall, and Jozua was grateful for that.
Though he could do without the pity. He liked being an only child, thank you very much. In retaliation, he opted not to answer her questions about his friends in Oregon. That was a complicated enough issue that he wasn't sure he was ready to share it yet, anyway.
Fortunately, she rattled on and gave him more to work with that was less fraught with explanation.
"I have relatives in the Netherlands," he offered. "The Maartens," he added in case she'd heard of them. They were supposed to be a big deal among Dutch purebloods and not too shabby among the greater European arena either, if his grandfather wasn't exaggerating things too much. The Sparks had a much smaller sphere of influence, though, so it still seemed kind of weird to him that people in unrelated countries might have heard of his family.
"So we visit them about once a year and them make a tour of some other European area while we're out that way. Mom was an Aladren, and she homeschooled me, so they were very educational trips." He nodded definitively to emphasize the point. Which was not to say they weren't fun, too, but Mom made sure he always came back smarter from them.
He wasn't quite sure how her brain traveled from educational foreign tours to climbing trees, but evidently it had because that was the next question fired his way. After he blinked in confusion for a moment, trying to find the point where they'd taken different tracks on their trains of thought, he just shrugged and answered, "I can fly." In Aladren, it was the most quickest, most common mode of transport for kids too young to apperate. Everyone under seventeen had a broom. "And I'm not very good at climbing trees, but I'd be glad to learn."
1
Jozua
If you say so
348
Jozua
0
5
Lily
April 11, 2016 6:13 PM
At least I hope so. by Lily
Lily was chatty, but that didn't mean she didn't notice when someone evaded a question or a topic. She let it slide, however, instead of pushing it as she usually did. Lily didn't want to come off as too pushy since Jozua didn't seem like the sort who would appreciate that."Are the Netherlands very nice?" she asked. It was sad that she, a Brit, had never been to the European continent. She supposed there was enough to take care of, what with her father travelling often during her early childhood and her mother too preoccupied with teaching her children manners and etiquette. The family name didn't ring a bell for her, but she was sure her parents would know. Lily had never been particularly strong in her pure-blood history. "All that travel sounds lovely, though it's only once a year," she said.
Jozua's mum was an Aladren, and already Lily had her stereotype for them based on her brother. She imagined Jozua's mum to be proper and intelligent and not very fun. Her brother Jack could be fun, but only when he wanted to be and not when he was with Lily. She didn't know why she and Jack just couldn't get along, but their idea of 'proper' did differ considerably. That was probably it. She hoped Jozua wouldn't be like that, and she waited in anticipation for him to answer her next question.
She was sure it seemed a bit odd, but he answered any way and she smiled. A friend who could already fly was a good mate to have. She was a little jealous that he'd grown up in magical town, but she wouldn't trade London for the world even though she had to hide her magic when she went out in public.
Lily was even happier to hear that he would be glad to learn how to climb. A typical Aladren trait, she mused, but it was too early to make any assumptions on which house they'd be sorted into. "It wouldn't be wise to climb in our uniform," she said, looking down at her fresh forest green robes, "but maybe in the future we can climb together." She let the statement linger, wondering if she could possibly make Jozua smile or show any emotion other than a cool demeanour. "I'll be happy to teach you," she said, smiling at him. "What's Oregon like? It must've been nice growing up in a magical town. London's very big and Muggles and magical folk live there nearly on top of each other. Typical of big cities, I suppose."
40
Lily
At least I hope so.
357
Lily
0
5
Jozua
April 12, 2016 3:52 PM
It's certainly possible by Jozua
He had forgotten to ask a leading question to get her talking again, and he regretted it when the questions started getting directed at him again."Yeah, the Netherlands are pretty great," Jozua confirmed in answer to the first of them, though that was usually the less interesting part of the annual trips. Nothing against the country, of course, but the Maartens were pretty stuffy people and Jozua always had to be on his best behavior there. "And we travel around the States, some, too," he added for accuracy's sake when she voiced her assumption that was the only traveling he did.
He looked down at his new school robes and decided she was probably right that they were less than ideal attire for climbing in, and nodded agreement that 'later' would be a better time for his first lesson on the subject. "Aladren is a pretty good place to live. Definitely smaller than a city, but it's a big enough town that if you fart in a restaurant, people have better things to talk about than your flatulence." He paused, reconsidered, and amended, "Most of the time. And not everyone knows your name, but maybe three quarters of the adult permanent residents know your grandfather's name." He gave a small eye-roll because he couldn't count high enough to reach the number of times someone had asked if he was the Sparks boy because he was the spittin' image of old George.
"Where'd your parents live before they moved to London?"
1
Jozua
It's certainly possible
348
Jozua
0
5
Lily
April 14, 2016 2:33 PM
Time will tell. by Lily
As someone who had never travelled far before, Lily was disappointed by Jozua’s vague remark on the Netherlands. Her house was great, London was great, Sonora was great, but that didn’t really tell her anything. However, instead of pointing it out she just nodded. Again, she didn’t want to seem too pushy and end up making an enemy on her first day here.Jozua seemed like a well-travelled young wizard, but if she asked which states he had visited, it wouldn’t mean anything to Lily. She would really have to improve on her geography to engage in more traveller’s talk. “That sounds like fun. You’ve been to loads of places,” she said with a friendly smile.
Then Jozua went on to talk about his hometown, and his reference to farting made her eyes widen in surprise and then giggle out loud. She hadn’t expected someone like him to talk about farting so openly. She didn’t know what ‘flatulence’ meant, but she assumed it had something to do with expelling air out of one’s bum. Lily didn’t particularly understand why farting was considered rude when it was such a natural phenomenon, but she was old enough to control herself in public. Burping was OK and more fun, especially when she and the lads engaged in burping contests. That her mother considered terribly rude as well, but Lily didn’t mind her much.
“That must be annoying, always being asked about your grandfather,” said Lily, wrinkling her nose. “If they know you’re his grandson, that is. I suppose no one knows that I’m related to the Princetons unless I tell them.” The Princetons were a very big name in Europe, an old name with relatively new money, and all three of her cousins had attended Sonora. The last had just graduated, but she’d never been close to any of them. That family seemed rather chilly in comparison to hers.
Jozua asked a somewhat odd question following, but she supposed it was because she’d mentioned the subject earlier offhandedly. “My mum’s a direct Princeton witch, so she grew up in Surrey where the Princeton Estate is located. Dad grew up in Darlington, but he moved to the city to work at the hospital. He started as a potioneer there, brewing medicines and collecting ingredients, but he’s a mediwizard now. That’s where my parents met, at the London branch of the hospital my grandparents own.” Lily grinned, remembering her parents’ love story. It was all very practical, but still sweet. She just didn’t want a wizard dictating her life so firmly; rather, she didn’t want anyone dictating her life. Watching her mum and Charlotte both endure that, Lily knew she wanted no part in it.
“So if you don’t climb trees, what do you do for fun in Aladren?” she asked, pressing the question again. She didn’t ask about his mates this time, just in case he didn’t have any or they were the snotty pure-blood sort who just used others for their own personal, or familial, gain. “I played outside a lot, at the gardens with my dogs and friends who were around, but was it any different in a smaller town?” She was genuinely curious if living in a magical town made life as a pure-blood different in any way from her own.
40
Lily
Time will tell.
357
Lily
0
5
Jozua
April 14, 2016 4:05 PM
That it will by Jozua
Jozua could see her disappointment when he failed to describe the Netherlands in any real detail. He felt a little bad for it but not enough to correct the oversight. He gave her a mental promise to answer her next question with more than a boring adjective anybody could toss around about anything. And if they did become friends, he'd probably eventually show her some of the photographs he had from his Grandparents' estate. They'd do better explaining the countryside better than words could anyway.He shrugged a little as she commiserated about being asked about his grandad Sparks. "It's not as bad as it sounds," he admitted. "I just look like him, I guess, and people like to tell me so." In truth, Jozua tried pretty hard to blend in, so he stuck to common styles, and his coloring and features were all pretty average, too, so he just reminded people of someone and apparently Grandad was similarly nondescript so the comparison settled people's mind that they had figured out why Jozua seemed familiar.
His eyes started to glaze a little as she answered his own question in far more detail than even he had hoped for. The unfamiliar place names skidded over his brain without leaving any impression or trace of their passage, but he did catch her parents met at work in a hospital her family owned. Or somethings like that.
"Princeton" sounded vaguely familiar and he wondered if that was one of the families the Maartens wanted him to meet while he was here. If so, mission successful! And Lily didn't even seem super uptight or anything! Maybe her dad's family was more relaxed like the Sparks were about that kind of thing.
He flushed a light pink as she asked about what he did for fun. And his promise - even though she didn't know about it - meant he couldn't just brush it off, either.
"Well, flying," he said, because that was the easy and safe part of the answer. "And reading." Getting dorkier, but Sonora Aladrens didn't hold a total monopoly on the book reading market. "I guess I collect chocolate frog cards, but that's mostly because I like eating chocolate frogs. And I play wizards chess," and that probably killed any coolness he'd earned with his chocolate frogs. "But mostly," he paused, gathered his courage, and went for full disclosure, "I listen to wizard duels on the wireless, and Dad brings me to a match in person on my birthday every year, and he and mom both pretend to duel me in the backyard, and sometimes we go hunting pretend monsters in the woods!" The flush deepened and he hoped that didn't come across as childish as he feared playing pretend with his parents might sound to others.
1
Jozua
That it will
348
Jozua
0
5
Lily
April 18, 2016 1:45 PM
I think I like you already. by Lily
Lily tried to imagine Jozua as an old wizard with loads of wrinkles and sagging eyelids and a receding hairline. She couldn’t see it, really, but it was entertaining to try. She wondered what it was that made Jozua remind others of his grandfather. Was it their similar demeanour? The way they walked? Their similar facial features? Lily would like to see a photo of his grandfather one day. Maybe then it would be easier for her to visualise an old Jozua.“You’re practically a celebrity,” she said grinning, half-teasing. “I suppose that could be both good and bad. I know I’d love the attention, but I’d hate constantly being reminded of my grandfather.” She waited a beat before adding, “My mum’s dad, that is.” She liked her Darlington granddad who was very lively and friendly when he was feeling well.
The slight change of colour on Jozua’s face did not go unnoticed, and Lily wondered what it was he did for fun. Was he going to tell her straight or be vague again? Unsurprisingly he enjoyed flying, which he’d already told her, and reading, which she assumed from his quiet, bookish sort of personality. Boring. Wizard’s chess was something that Jack and Adam liked to play, but Lily never really understood why except that the pieces fought each other. She did like watching that. Collecting chocolate frog cards, however, was a hobby they shared.
But there was even more, and Lily grew more delighted with every word he spoke thereafter. As soon as he was finished, she clasped her hands together in her excitement. “You like wizard duels? I think they’re great! I listen to them occasionally on the wireless, but I’ve never seen a match before. And you play pretend too?” Her smile couldn’t possibly grow any bigger. “I do too! I used to pretend to hunt monsters and baddies in the gardens with my siblings when I was younger. I didn’t think I was the only one, but I imagined no one here would admit to it. I’m glad I’m in good company.” It sounded like Jozua was close with his parents, and they didn’t seem like the uptight pure-blood sort like her mum’s side. That was very encouraging.
“I play pretend all the time,” she admitted a little quieter. Jozua’s hesitation was probably merited in this sort of crowd where they were supposed to be ‘adults’. She stood a little straighter after her admission. “But your secret’s safe with me, if you want it to be a secret.” Lily smiled at him. “I collect chocolate frog cards, but I only started my collection after my oldest brother gave me all of his. Wow, I didn’t think we were going to have so much in common. I don’t like reading much, but I like climbing things and playing Exploding Snap.”
Now that Lily had found someone with a common interest, she really hoped he wouldn’t grow up too fast or decide he was too cool to play with her after joining Aladren. She was quite sure he was going to be sorted into Jack’s house after hearing about his interests.
40
Lily
I think I like you already.
357
Lily
0
5
Jozua
April 19, 2016 4:39 PM
You're my new best friend by Jozua
Jozua shrugged noncommittally as Lily teased about his near-celebrity status - or at least his grandfather's. The Sparks had been one of the founding families of the town, and Grandad was highly involved in the community, so she wasn't exactly wrong, at least on the scale of the town. As for her analysis of the situation, he was exactly the opposite; he hated the attention, but he didn't mind getting compared to Grandad Sparks. Though if her mum's dad was like his Mom's dad, he could see the reluctance. "Grandad Sparks is okay," he assured her.Her response to his admission of his dueling obsession was just about the best possible scenario and he immediately upgraded her from barely an acquaintance to his best friend at Sonora. "Really?" he asked amazed and showing some excitement for the first time. "You fight monsters, too? We'll need to mix that into my climbing lessons!" That was what he needed the skill for after all: gaining the high ground and a quick escape if chased by ground dwelling monsters! "And maybe you can come with me to the next match we go to! My birthday is the summer so Sonora isn't making me miss any, and Dad has asked if I want to bring any friends before."
He calmed down again as she promised to keep his secret, and he nodded solemnly, "It might be for the best," he agreed, "we can have our Secret Order of Sonora Knights, which we can invite more people to once they have been cleared, but we don't want imagination-less people raining on our fun." He gave her a conspiratorial grin, and added, "And having a secret club is always fun, too."
He was a little disappointed as the conversation moved away from quests of derring-do, but he was much more open and comfortable talking now that she had passed over the threshold into friendship, "I mostly just read adventure stories," he confided, "through Mom tries to get me to read things that are more 'literature' but those are usually boring. And Exploding Snap is too loud for me; it makes too many people look over to see what you're doing."
1
Jozua
You're my new best friend
348
Jozua
0
5
Lily
April 28, 2016 3:17 PM
The feeling is mutual. by Lily
Lily had gleefully discovered that the quickest way to Jozua’s heart was through duelling. He perked up immediately and she fed off of his surprising enthusiasm. Fantasies of fighting off monsters and magical creatures whilst climbing trees to gain the higher ground played in her thoughts. She couldn’t wait! Jozua was proving to be more fun than she’d initially thought, and she was very glad for that. He was turning out to be a fine playmate already, as long as he didn’t try to keep her on the ground or in dresses as if that were the “proper” thing to do.It sounded like Jozua had exactly the same idea and she clapped her hands. “That’s a brilliant idea, Jozua!” she exclaimed. “And I’d really like to see a match in person. That sounds fantastic.” Hardly an hour in and she’d already found her best mate. Taking a holiday to Oregon sounded like an adventure, though she had looked forward to spending the summer with her family all together again. But then again, if it was only for a week or so, she could have both! “A secret club is only proper,” she said, half-serious. “Not everyone can appreciate what we do. But we’ve got to keep the name. What was it again? The Secret Order of Sonora Knights? Ooh, I love it! How did you come up with such a brilliant name on the spot?” Lily’d never been very creative in that aspect, but she knew a good name when she heard one.
“Adventure stories are loads of fun too,” she said, addressing the next topic, “but I like ones with loads of pictures. It makes the story more interesting, seeing the battles taking place on the page even if they’re just drawings.” Even if he liked reading, Jozua was becoming less and less dull as she got to know him. “My brothers love Exploding Snap, so I used to play with them and by myself just to annoy my mum, but I started enjoying it. I like the explosive suspense of the game.” Lily liked making a lot of noise with her playmates and playing games that made a lot of noise, but she wasn’t a loud and noisy person on her own.
“Have you ever played Wizard’s Chess?” she continued curiously. She wanted to know how nerdy and bookish Jozua was. “My brother Jack - he’s in Aladren - loves it. It’s all about strategy, so he’s told me, and the pieces fight each other. I have more fun watching than playing, but it is too bad when the pieces get worn out. He’d never teach me how to play though, my brother.” Lily hated how possessive and condescending Jack was towards her, but she didn’t hate him; at least sometimes.
40
Lily
The feeling is mutual.
357
Lily
0
5
Jozua
April 29, 2016 4:57 PM
Knights and Chess by Jozua
Jozua grinned back as Lily enthused about the idea of a secret order and shrugged self-deprecatingly as she asked where the name came from. "I just always wanted to be in a secret knight order, and we're at Sonora, so..." he trailed off figuring the rest was self-evident and did not need to be verbalized. "It does sound pretty good, though, doesn't it?"He nodded along to her explanation of how she came to enjoy Exploding Snap, and he guessed he could see it if one didn't mind annoying one's mum, but his Mom was one of the few people Jozua spent a lot of time around and it really was counter productive to get on her bad side. She didn't like loud noises either.
"I've played Wizards Chess. Mom and Dad both kick my set's butts though, so they get annoyed at me. I can teach you, if you'd like." He gave her almost a teasing grin, "It might be more fun to play against someone who hasn't been honing their skills at it since before I was born. I might actually win."
"Seriously, though, I do like it. There's knights - I told you I like knights - and my Queen is awesome, and I do like strategy games, but it gets old when you just play against the same two people and they are loads better than you. They say I'm getting better but I haven't managed to rise out of the ranks of the sorely defeated yet."
He hesitated a moment, then asked, curiously, "You mentioned brothers. Are they all older than you?" He assumed the one must be if he was in Aladren. He wondered if he'd meet the older Spencer if Jozua got sorted there and whether he was at all like his sister. Would he have a House ally right from the get-go? An interest in wizards chess was promising at least, though his apparent disdain of playing with a younger sibling was off-putting. If there was rivalry there, Jozua felt he should side with Lily since she was his friend first.
1
Jozua
Knights and Chess
348
Jozua
0
5
Lily
May 05, 2016 7:10 PM
Eager to learn! by Lily
Jozua was brilliant at coming up with names, and Lily, her hands still clasped together, nodded eagerly. “It does sound good; better than good!” This was exciting, this new secret they shared. She couldn’t wait until she and Jozua could play together in the gardens without everyone watching. She really hoped he would be in her house now, though their personalities were quite different. Lily and Jozua together would be loads of fun, she thought, excited to have potentially found her new best friend.It wasn’t surprising that Jozua knew how to play Wizard’s Chess and it was equally unsurprising that he had learnt from his parents. Playing against adults who were clearly better at it than any child seemed unfair, but Jozua seemed to only mind it a little. Even if Lily was a sore loser most of the time, losing to Jozua whilst he taught her how to play didn’t seem that bad. At least she would be learning. “Would you really teach me?” she asked with a smile. “That’d be brilliant! We could conduct our Secret Order and then you could teach me how to play Wizard’s Chess afterwards.” She loved this idea so much already. Studying and classes and books were completely disregarded in the light of her new fantasies.
Strategy games - those Lily hadn’t much experience with, but she wanted to learn what her peers already knew. It was good of Jozua to even offer to teach her how to play; Lily had learnt most of what she knew from following her siblings around, especially her brothers, except one was much more receptive than the other.
“Yes, they’re all older than me,” she said, happy to talk about her siblings. “I’ve got an older sister too, but she’s the prim and proper sort; you know, the pretty one who plays the piano and paints and makes Mummy proud.” Lily had never been envious of Charlotte, but Mum always alluded to some future where Lily would wish to curl her hair and wear pretty robes like her sister. “I used to follow my brothers around everywhere. Adam - he’s the eldest - is an intern at the Ministry right now in London. I’m not sure what he does, exactly, but he’s always working. My sister’s graduated as well, but my other brother, Jack, he’s a fourth year here. If you’re in Aladren, I’m sure Jack would be much nicer to you. I don’t think he likes girls, Jack. He always got on better with Adam and Dad.”
40
Lily
Eager to learn!
357
Lily
0
5