Studying and Gifting. [tag Ginny and Francesca] on Library

Adam Spencer

September 29, 2014 3:12 PM

Studying and Gifting. [tag Ginny and Francesca] by Adam Spencer

There were several things that Adam found great pleasure in, one of them being studying with his friends. Studying in itself was not exciting or invigorating in any way, but his mates made the whole process a lot more fun and less stressful. Midterm exams were approaching quickly as well as the winter holiday, and Adam wanted to be prepared. Just last week the gifts he'd ordered for his friends had arrived and he was looking forward to giving it to them. His poor attempt at wrapping the gifts would, he hoped, be overlooked for the glittery and festive wrapping paper. At least the gifts couldn't be seen without ripping off the layers of paper he'd wrapped each of their gifts in.

Both witches had been relatively easy to shop for. They had obvious interests and, as Adam had two sisters of his own, he had some idea of what they would like. For Francesca, he'd purchased a book on the top ten Quidditch players of all time and a broomstick servicing kit. As a Chaser himself, he knew how important his broom was and how difficult it could be to keep it always looking its best when he was constantly using it during practises.

Ginny's gift was somewhat less practical for someone like Francesca, but he hoped it appealed to Ginny more than a servicing kit. He had gotten her a wooden jewellery box with beautiful ornate designs carved on the lid. The box was about as wide as her wand, and she could fit it inside if she wanted to and add several necklaces or earrings in the smaller compartments without it getting too full. There was an Anti-Burglar Buzzer built into the box as well, a necessity Charlotte had insisted he spend a few more Sickles on.

Adam hoped his gifts were acceptable to them both. He would give it to them once they had both arrived. He'd asked them to meet him in the library to study after dinner in the middle of the week. They had the ball to talk of as well and what they were going to do about that little problem. There was another little problem that had begun to bother Adam these past few weeks as well. Lately he had been finding himself a little more attracted to one of his friends, and the thought of slighting the other by revealing his feelings was slightly horrifying. He didn't want to know what terrible end his feelings would bring to the trio, and since he didn't think his feelings were particularly strong as of yet, he just brushed it off. Still, Adam found himself much more at ease when they were all together.

He entered the library a little earlier than the appointed time. With CATS approaching, Adam really needed to do well. Midterm exams were usually indicative of how well he would do on his final exams, and if he didn't do well in his coursework this year, he knew his parents were going to pressure him to drop Quidditch. Now that he was Assistant Captain, he couldn't exactly let it drop, but his studies were admittedly more important. Adam sighed and slumped down at a table, resting for a moment before sitting straight and pulling out his textbooks and notes. Potions was currently his worst class and he would have to work extra hard to bring his marks up in time for the exam.

He was facing the door, so when he saw friends enter the library, he waved at them. "These exams are going to be the death of me," he said cheerfully in greeting. "But I hope your day's fared better."

40 Adam Spencer Studying and Gifting. [tag Ginny and Francesca] 257 Adam Spencer 1 5

Virginia Bellrose

September 29, 2014 8:50 PM

Those don't usually go together. by Virginia Bellrose

The first half of the school year was coming to a close and the holiday season would be upon her. Ginny was excited to go home to see her family and take a break from everything (or as much of one as she could being that she still had assignments to complete). The school year and her duties with both Prefect and Dance were wearing thin on her. Ginny would put on a bright smile for other people, but it was hardly genuine these days. She felt like she had at the end of last term. She felt like she was drowning. So many assignments, projects, and readings that she had to get through plus studying for exams, it was all so much.

She had very little free time for herself and since she was meeting her friends in the library, Ginny took the time during the first half of dinner to dance. Just dance. No purpose. No meaning. No set course of actions. Just free form. Usually when she did this, it was in ballet form, but she didn’t really have time to work on her shoes, so she did contemporary. She moved with the music. All of her stress of her day flew away when she danced. It was her safe zone. Her friends had their Quidditch, but she had her dance. She did it for an hour before running back to her dorm room for a quick shower and then down to the hall to grab a quick bite to eat before meeting Adam and Francesca for their study group.

Her brown hair down and still wet, Ginny was fresh faced with only mascara, wearing a pleated black skirt with a green blouse and a black cardigan. If she could have gotten away with it, Ginny wished she could have some sweat pants and an overlarge sweater on instead of her current look. It was so hard to always walk around in dresses and skirts. “You’re telling me.” Ginny said back, giving him a smile, this one an actual smile instead of the forced one she had been mostly wearing throughout the day. “I’m so exhausted from all of this work. I just want it to be over with.” Ginny pouted, dropping her head into her hands dramatically.

“I did manage to get some dance time in, so I do feel better. How is your day?” Ginny asked her friends. Christmas would be coming up soon and Ginny was nervous about giving them their gifts. It had taken her a long while to figure out what to get them. She didn’t want to always use Quidditch as her means of gifts for her two friends. This year, she had chosen friendship items. For her and Francesca, they were matching white gold bracelets with AGF etched into them in calligraphy. For Adam, it was a leather strap wrist band (the magazine she purchased the items from indicated this was what sports players wore to support various things, including their teams), Ginny thought it was masculine enough for Adam to wear and not seem weird about it. It was also in Pecari colors and had random Quidditch things carved around the letters. She had no idea if they would like them, but she wanted them to have something to represent their trio. They weren’t the most expensive of items that she was sure her friends were accustomed too, but for her allowance it was the best she could do this year. Hopefully, if she did well this year, her parents would raise her allowance amount and she could get something better.

6 Virginia Bellrose Those don't usually go together. 0 Virginia Bellrose 0 5

Francesca Wolseithcrafte

October 03, 2014 7:46 AM

Perhaps they should... by Francesca Wolseithcrafte

OOC – Francesca's Transfig and DADA posts are both relevant to you guys. Transfig cos it tells you what's in your presents (in more detail) and DADA cos.... feels. Adam, you can also assume that Francesca found him after the Quidditch match to make sure there were no misunderstandings over her glaring at him – basically, she would have said something had set her on edge and she thought it was Jay patronising her, not him teasing her (and that teasing is, of course, fine – it's what friends do).

IC
Although Adam had asked them to meet for a study session, Francesca had her friends' gifts in her bag, just in case, as this seemed like a good opportunity for exchanging presents. They had arrived that morning and looked picture perfect, thanks to the ministrations of the gift wrapping services offered by the companies she'd ordered from. Adam's present was wrapped in green paper with a red bow, she guessed to match the contents, whilst Ginny's featured little trees in frosty shades of pink and purple, edged with glitter, and also bore a bow, this time in silver.

She got the library about the same time as Ginny, smiling ruefully at Adam's greeting.

“I'm glad you found some time for yourself,” she smiled at Ginny. Hopefully her Christmas presents to them both would help with further relaxation over the holidays, as she had got them both fancy bath soaks.

“I'm just cramming in as much practical practise as I can before we go home. It's ridiculous! There should be an exemption on the under age thing during major exam years. Or we should be considered of age now. Do you think I could successfully get Barnabus to argue that practising for my exams is within the reasonable restrictions?” she asked, managing a smile. The eldest Wolseithcrafte sibling had just started studying for a law degree. Whilst she wasn't seriously going to push the point it did irk her that she would be unable to practise whilst home. After the enforced break from spellwork, it would take her time to ease into the practical work again, which would mean long hours studying that she probably couldn't afford; even though she could complete written work quickly, there was a limit, and the teachers were setting such stacks of it that it was interfering with the extra practise she did to keep her practical work on track. All in all, it meant the first few weeks of term were going to be much harder than they needed to be.

“But we'll all get there,” she added, not wanting to end on a negative. She liked having friends to study with, and the fact that they could all help each other along. The moral support was as useful as anything, though they all had different strengths, which worked out well. Whenever it was her turn to be the helper rather than the helped, it also improved her ability to explain things clearly, so it was win-win-win when the three of them were together.

13 Francesca Wolseithcrafte Perhaps they should... 250 Francesca Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Adam

October 05, 2014 6:27 PM

It would certainly motivate me to study. by Adam

OOC: No worries. Adam wouldn't hold a grudge against her.

It was refreshing to be with his friends again after a difficult term. Adam was looking forward to hot chocolate, warm hearths and his younger siblings, but studying with friends was not that bad either. Studying in itself was not a very enjoyable past-time in Adam's opinion, but his mates made it so much more tolerable.

He laughed a little when Ginny put her head into her hands, understanding full well what she meant. "It'll get easier, I hope. I'm glad you found some time to dance." Adam himself found dancing to be more stressful than relaxing, but to each their own. Dancing for Adam meant he had to pay careful attention to his form and his feet and he much preferred doing something requiring less grace. Flying as fast as possible on a broomstick was his way of relaxing, though there hadn’t been as many opportunities to do so between studying, Quidditch practises and Prefect duties.

Francesca had a point about practical exams. They were typically more difficult to study for since they weren’t allowed to perform magic at home and that limited the amount of practise they were be able to do before their CATS. Adam hadn’t thought about that; since he wanted to work harder on studying for Potions, he’d only thought of what brews to practise at home and if he had the necessary ingredients. Practising spells whilst at school was rather important and essential to do well in all sections of the exams. “If your brother can manage to change the wizarding law before the holidays, I’ll sign whatever I have to to get it passed,” said Adam, pledging his support with a hand across his heart. Adam had no real opinions on the age limit for minor wizards and witches, but he could understand why some would be frustrated by it. If they were to learn magic, they had to practise it whenever and wherever they were.

“To give us a little motivation to study...” said Adam, letting his sentence hang as he pulled out the packages from his bag. “Here are your Christmas presents. They’re early, I know, but I couldn’t wait to give it to you. You can open it after you’ve finished your exams or wait till Christmas if you’d like. It’ll be a little celebratory thank-Merlin-we-made-it-through-this-terrible-term gift.” He smiled, slightly embarrassed at the presentation. “Don’t mind the wrapping. You two are the first victims of my terrible hand-wrapped gifts.” He really wanted to know what their reaction was upon opening the gifts, but he was also afraid. Adam would rather believe they really enjoyed his gift than knowing that they disliked what he’d picked out for them.

Once the gifts had been distributed, he opened his Potions textbook. “I hope one of you is getting Os in Potions because I’m going to need a lot of help. In return, I’m doing well in Transfiguration and DADA if any of you need help in those subjects.” Relationships were a matter of giving and taking and the same concept applied in studying. He was very glad he didn’t have to struggle through these subjects on his own.

0 Adam It would certainly motivate me to study. 0 Adam 0 5

Ginny

October 05, 2014 9:12 PM

I would, at least, attempt it more. by Ginny

“Here I am complaining, but it must be much worse for the two of you. Especially you, Adam. You’re both on your House Quidditch teams, but you’re also the Assistant Captain. I’m sure you’re both much more overworked than I am.” Ginny commented. Ginny had the dance club, but it wasn’t nearly as strenuous as Quidditch. They only met on Saturday afternoons and basically just danced around for fun. Except when they were learning Ball, those days was actually learning and Ginny typically had Adam be her partner as he was one of the few boys, he knew how to dance Ballroom, and she was comfortable with him.

Ginny moaned (not so quietly) into her hands when Francesca brought up the point about not being able to do magic at home. While Ginny completely agreed that they should be able to do so under the direct supervision of a responsible adult (ie, parent or tutor), she really did not want to think of all the additional work that would put onto her plate while home. “I do not even want to think about how much school work I have to do over the holidays on top of studying.” Ginny whined. “I just know Mother’s going to put me into a tutoring program while I’m home so all I will be able to do is work, work work, Christmas, work, work work, New Year’s and then back to school.” She understood that her parents were looking out for her and really she was quite blessed to have them and the life that she led, but it didn’t make it any more frustrating.

“Plus, I just received correspondence from my Mother who states that I’ll be attending one of the Christmas Balls to meet potential suitors.” Her parents would not pursue any sort of betrothal for their daughter unless they were approached by another family first. This was mostly because Ginny wasn’t important enough for a betrothal of her own, but her parents wanted to make sure she found someone before it was too late. She was only fifteen so anything serious wasn’t going to happen, but if they got her name and face out there early, there may be a few bites later on. At least, according to her mother. “I swear, I think they truly believe I’ll end up a spinster living a shame-filled life that they have to keep hidden or something.” Ginny closed her eyes and sighed. This was going to be a difficult mid-term.

Now that she had vented her frustrations, she felt better. She still wasn’t in the mood to study (but when was she ever?). Luckily, Adam was distracting them for a few minutes longer. “Yay, gifts!” Ginny exclaimed quietly as she remembered they were in the library. Her usual cheery charm back on her face and in her bright smile as she took her gift from him. Before opening it though, she dug into her bag and pulled out what looked to be duplicate rectangular boxes. The one she handed to Francesca was blue with silver glittery snowflakes and a silver ribbon wrapping around it. The one she handed to Adam was a shimmery red with Christmas trees decorating it and green ribbon wrapping around it. “Sorry, they are a little sappy, but I do hope you enjoy them.”

Ginny held her gift and looked over at Francesca, “Is it terrible if I open this now? Or should I be a good girl and wait?” She really wanted to tear through it and see what her gifts were. But if the other two wanted to wait than she would too because she didn’t want to be the only greedy one.

“Not me!” Ginny stated when Adam asked if any were good at Potions. “I’m only managing an A in that class. But I’ll take it.” She added. She tried hard in that class, but she wasn’t good with the cutting, chopping, grinding, measuring, stirring, waiting, etc. “I’m good in Care of Magical Creatures, Charms when I don’t have balls flying at me, and okay in Transfiguration. You’ll probably have to assist me in Defense though, at least, the practical part, if that’s alright?” Ginny just wasn’t quick on her toes when it came to magic. She often messed up whenever there was a practical involved where she had to think fast.

6 Ginny I would, at least, attempt it more. 0 Ginny 0 5

Francesca Wolseithcrafte

October 07, 2014 10:32 AM

Do your essay, get a cookie. It works for me. by Francesca Wolseithcrafte

Francesca grinned as Adam pledged his support to her petition. Or the petition she'd nominated Barnabus to start. She wasn't quite sure which it was any more. Although the issue was still going to cause her numerous headaches, at least she wouldn't be able to think of it now without also thinking of this conversation. That was how friends helped even if they couldn't really change the thing causing the problem.

“It's our choice though,” she shrugged, in response to Ginny's assertion that they must be more over-worked for being on the Quidditch team. “And it can be a good stress relief, getting out and getting the wind in your hair, thinking about something other than studies for a bit. Don't get me wrong, it can be a hassle and I can feel pretty rushed when we have training, but it relieves at least as much as it contributes to the stress level. Like dance club?” she half asked. Even though Ginny wasn't a Quidditch player, Francesca figured that she could at least relate to the idea, given that she too had a hobby that was both stress relieving but time consuming.

“Just think of the dresses?” she suggested, in response to Ginny's plight of being trotted around balls. Whilst she could understand not wanting to be dangled under people's noses, or set up with halitosis ridden bores just because they happened to be the nephew of someone she suspected her friend would at least enjoy the dressing up side. “We'll have social events coming out of our ears as usual, but I don't think mother will be parading me. I think I have to be interesting enough in my own right to get people's attention. And, until I am, just keep the little ones out of trouble. Not that they're so little these days” she mused. Though Ingrid was still.... if not intentionally trouble then definitely prone to leaving chaos in her wake. “Jemima will be here next year.

“Your valiant struggle against the menace of spellotape and gift wrap is much appreciated,” Francesca smiled, accepting Adam's rather haphazard looking parcel, along with Ginny's much neater one. “I am afraid to say I took the coward's way out and used the gift wrap service,” she explained, as she handed over the two neatly wrapped gifts to her friends.

The parcel from Adam was oddly shaped, and something inside it moved slightly when the parcel was tilted – not that she was feeling about but it was impossible not to notice when you took hold of it and (very slowly) lowered it to the desk (shaking it as subtly as could be managed). She couldn't think of any single object that would be that shape, and she suspected from the sensation that something was sliding back and forth, that there were two objects inside. Ginny's gift to her was small, which usually meant something shiny or expensive. She felt a pang of worry over the fact that she'd got them bath staff. Nice, fancy bath staff but was it going to look too simple or cheap in comparison with whatever was inside the two parcels sitting in front of her?

“I'm not sure they work as motivation if we open them now,” she pondered, although the suspense was killing her.

“I am,” she responded, when Adam asked about anyone getting an O in Potions. “Uh, I mean, I can help,” she added. She had answered his question reflexively but realised it might have sounded a little big headed. “Anything that doesn't involve a wand has got my name on it.” Potions of course sometimes did involve an incantation, something which rather vexed her as it messed with the purity of its lovely non-wandwork status. However, the incantations were never more complex than they'd already mastered in other subjects so she hoped her weaker wand work wouldn't start dragging her down in her favourite subject. “And me,” she chimed in, with Ginny's request for practical Defence help. It wasn't as if it would be news to Adam, as both her friends knew she took extra time practising her wand skills, and Defence wasn't one you could really manage without another person. She was always fine on the theory and happy to be asked questions on any subject, though she tended to bite her tongue in the areas where her friends were confident enough to answer each other, and just save it for the places they both got stuck.

13 Francesca Wolseithcrafte Do your essay, get a cookie. It works for me. 250 Francesca Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Adam

October 07, 2014 11:55 AM

Academic award system. I like it. by Adam

Francesca understood Adam's sentiment about Quidditch exactly and he nodded along. "It keeps me active anyhow," he added, "and I don't mind it much. I wouldn't be half as fit if I didn't play, that's for sure." Dance Club was exercise in its own way, but not enough to equal the amount of food that Adam consumed.

"Tutoring during the holidays? That sounds terrible! I think I'd run away if my mum ever tried to put me into a tutoring program. It's good of you to go along with what she wants." Adam was lucky that his mother adored him slightly less than Charlotte; the way Cassie tried to control every part of her life was maddening to watch.

"I must be lucky," said Adam in response to the talk of social events. "My parents are always on the lookout for suitable witches and wizards for Charlotte and I, but we've never been paraded. Winter seems to be the season for parties. I've got my social calendar already filled out by my parents." Ginny's parents sounded like the typical pure-bloods who worried too much about their daughter. He felt sorry for her, but Adam didn't know how to make it better. He could only sympathise knowing that his own sister went through similar pains. Jemima, he assumed, was Francesca's sister and he smiled. "Jack'll be here next year as well," he said. "Maybe they can become friends."

The wrapping was indubitably noticed, but they didn't seem to mind as they handed over their own gifts. "They do have gift wrap service for a reason," he laughed, indicating the gifts he'd handed them. Next year, if his gift wrapping skills did not improve, he would enlist in the help of professionals. Adam could hardly stand the anticipation and wished now that he hadn't asked them to open it later. He was tempted to rip open the much nicer-looking packages, but he refrained, opting instead to press his fingers a little harder against the gifts to try and guess what they might be.

"Thanks Francesca. I'll be forever grateful if you help me pull an A in that class," he said. "And I'd be happy to help with Defence," he added. Wand-work came easier to him than mixing, stirring and cutting ingredients and he would be glad to help Francesca in exchange. Now that gifts had been exchanged, they ought to begin studying. Though Adam had asked for help in Potions and had brought out his textbook, he really didn't feel like studying anymore. There was still another matter of business that had to be addressed anyhow, and Adam decided to bring it up now instead of later. "Are you both looking forward to the Midsummer Ball?" he asked. "At least you won't have to worry about being paraded there or looking after little ones."

0 Adam Academic award system. I like it. 0 Adam 0 5

Ginny

October 08, 2014 9:32 PM

Aren't points already that? by Ginny

Sometimes Ginny felt that her friends weren’t really listening to the things she said. Or they felt her input was too stupid to really give it any thought. Initially, Francesca’s comment went along with what Ginny had commented, but adding in Adam’s and it missed her point entirely. Her comment had been in regards to the amounts of time they had to practice, and Adam learn to lead, over the fact that she didn’t have to do all of that too. “Yes, I know it’s like dancing to me, but that’s not what I was saying. Just forget it.” Ginny said, deciding to just drop it. It wasn’t worth the hassle to explain herself anyway.

She also chose to not make a comment to Adam regarding her ‘willingness to go along’ because she didn’t want him to think less of her. Ginny had no say in what her life until she was Of Age. And even then, who knew? If she was betrothed, her life would then be that of her future husband’s. But if she complained about any of that, she would sound like a whiner. She didn’t mind doing so to Francesca because she understood what it was like for females in their society, but Ginny couldn’t do so in front of Adam.

“You forget who my mother is.” Ginny said quietly. “Dresses are nice, but I become Mother’s Doll when I’m home.” She was sure her mother was going to force her to wear dresses full of bows and puffy skirts. Her hair will be tightly curled and at ridiculous heights. Unless father put his foot down. He might finally feel that Ginny was old enough to have a say in how she looked. If mother wanted Ginny to find any suitors, it was better that she presented herself as she wanted instead of what her mother saw. Neither one of her friends had to deal with such things though and were thus bound to have a better midterm.

Soon the discussion slipped to siblings and Ginny took this time to pull out her books since she could not contribute to it having no siblings of her own. Just another thing that made her different from her two friends.

Taking Francesca’s gift with a bright smile, Ginny looked each over carefully. “I enjoy wrapping. It was something I used to help out the staff with.” Ginny said. Although she came from some money where manors and house staff were a thing, the staff had helped raise her and they had been her first friends. She led a very unique life, she felt.

“Aw, boo.” Ginny pouted when Francesca denied her the glory of opening her gifts. To not be tempted, Ginny placed both neatly into her bag and returned to her books. At least they all had something to contribute. Ginny always felt less intelligent in comparison to Francesca and Adam seemed always so good with his wand work, but she was good at general spells and could typically do them right so long as she didn’t have to be quick about it. But before any studying began, Adam changed the topic to the ball. Ginny’s anxiety spiked at the mention of it. “Normally, I would be.” She said, her body rigid with tension as she stared hard at her book, “But we’re supposed to find dates or whatever and I know I won’t have one.”

6 Ginny Aren't points already that? 0 Ginny 0 5

Francesca

October 10, 2014 6:50 AM

Yeah but they don't taste very good by Francesca

“Okay,” Francesca said, a little taken aback when Ginny told them they'd missed the point but that she didn't want to talk about it any more. Francesca was far from conversationally perfect, she knew that. But usually when she had put her foot in it she could, looking back, see what she'd done wrong. She also liked to think that, as an Aladren, she was generally good at getting the point of things. However, as she checked back over the conversation in her head, she really couldn't see what had bothered Ginny... She said they'd missed the point in comparing it to her dancing but that hadn't been the only thing she'd said.... Ginny had been worrying about them being stressed by it all and she'd explained her feelings on it. She'd only included the dancing comment to relate it back to Ginny's own interests. All in all, she felt she'd answered her friend's comment well enough. “If you're sure,” she added. Often when people said they didn't want to talk about something it meant they actually did, and were going sit brooding on all their pent up annoyance unless someone asked them. She didn't like the thought of Ginny being in a huff with them, especially if she had no idea why. Then again, she herself had nearly snapped at Adam at the start of their last Quidditch match and that had been Jay, not him. Perhaps someone else had done something to set Ginny on edge earlier in the day...

“Still?” she sympathised, when Ginny reminded her that her mother was likely to be inspired to play an extended round of dress up with the up-coming Christmas parties. “Maybe if she's trying to find you suitors, she'll go for a more grown up look? Though heaven knows whether that will be any better...” he mused. She certainly didn't fancy being at the mercy of someone's make up palette and curling tongs, although she sometimes wished she had a little more advice on what to wear. She didn't think she had horrible taste, she could tell when something looked awful on her but she didn't think she had a natural eye for that sort of thing. Her own mother wasn't overly interested in the details so long as she dressed well and looked respectable. Francesca had cultivated a good relationship with several shop assistants to compensate and already knew which stores she'd be trusting to help her pick out a dress for the ball.

“Maybe,” she smiled, at Adam's suggestion that Jack and Jemima might become friends. “Assuming he's the polar opposite of you, as she's nothing like me,” she smiled. She supposed it wouldn't be necessary for Jack to be that different from Adam... Adam was one of those nice, easy going people who could get on with anyone really. “Where do you think he'll be sorted? I think Jemima will be Teppenpaw or Crotalus but more because I can see she's definitely not either of the others than because anything particularly fits her into those. Still, it's good to think there will be a familiar face for her wherever she ends up,” she added, smiling and Adam and Ginny, even though the latter seemed to be giving her homework some attention at present.

She tried not to tense up as Adam mentioned the ball. She had definitely been thinking about it. Looking forward to was another matter... It didn't take an Aladren to figure out that three divided into pairs once, with one remainder. It was much easier to picture Adam dancing with Ginny whilst she stood on the sidelines than the other way around, especially since that stupid Boggart in Defence.... Ginny beat her to it, in terms of a response.

“You don't know that,” she replied, “I know the ratio isn't exactly in our favour but... Well, you're sweet and you're pretty,” the yearbook agreed with her on at least one of those claims, and that was voted for by their peers, who were the ones doing the potential asking “I don't see why someone wouldn't want to ask you,” she consoled. Her eyes couldn't help but flick to Adam as she said this, though she quickly looked away again. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was hinting at anything. Whilst she really didn't want their trio broken up, she wanted him to be free to choose whatever he wanted to do. Maybe that was take Ginny. Maybe (but unlikely, she felt) it was to take her. Maybe he saw them both as friends and liked someone completely different and wanted to go with them instead, which in some ways would probably be the easiest thing on their friendship. She didn't envy his position as he was bound to hurt someone's feelings, and she was sure he felt a lot of pressure over the decision. She thought it was a little tactless of Ginny to start dangling the self-pity card under his nose. Or rather, it was tactless at best, if she had done it without thinking. If it was on purpose then it was down right manipulative, although she didn't want to think that of her friend. She felt she was in a much weaker position than Ginny in securing a date. Although she'd never received any open hostility for her family's politics there was a big difference between tolerance and active acceptance and endorsement, which would be implied by asking her to the ball. Plus Ginny was cuter than she was. Still, she wasn't about to weigh in with all that in front of Adam. It should be about who he liked, not who could make him feel most guilty if he didn't ask them.

“Hopefully it will be a nice evening,” she commented neutrally, “They did such a lovely job last time. Strange to think that was our first year.”

OOC – regarding the reference to 'familiar faces' I'm assuming that Adam and Ginny would have been to Francesca's house at some point and thus Jemima would know who they are.

13 Francesca Yeah but they don't taste very good 250 Francesca 0 5

Francesca

October 10, 2014 5:48 PM

ooc by Francesca

Sorry. Realised the major error I made in my post. Assume she said she's not sure where Jemima will go but is sure it's not Aladren, and that at least gives her a good chance of having a familiar face. Not sure where my brain was earlier. Yay for insomnia realisations. Will fix properly later.

0 Francesca ooc 0 Francesca 0 5

Adam

October 11, 2014 4:46 AM

Immediate gratification can be inspiring. by Adam

It was clear that Ginny had been offended by something he and Francesca had implied, but he wasn’t exactly sure what it was. He knew dancing was important to her just as Quidditch was important to him. It was loads of work, but she ran an entire club by herself. That, he thought, was indeed a feat. Nothing compared to being an Assistant Captain. He wanted to ask after it, but if she said to forget it, then he would. He just hoped she’d feel better after their meet-up, not worse.

“My sister has to go through just that when she goes home. As soon as she steps through the door my mum’s got a gown on her and is ushering her out to meet new wizards. I sympathise with you,” he said, truly meaning it. Personally it was difficult to imagine his life being dictated by another person. Whilst Adam had his responsibilities and expectations to fulfil, he did what he wanted for the most part. If he didn’t want to be a healer, he didn’t have to be. But it wasn’t like that for Charlotte or Ginny and Adam did feel sorry for them. He just didn’t know what he could do to make it better. It was, he supposed, the burden of being a pure-blood witch, burdens that were very different from those of a pure-blood wizard.

Adam always enjoyed talking about his siblings and he remembered Jemima from the few times he’d met her at Wolseithcrafte parties. “Jack is a bit different from me, but not by much as of yet. He might be in Aladren or Pecari; he’s definitely more bookish.” He wondered whether or not Jack would make fast friends at Sonora, but he certainly hoped so. Though he was tempted to do so, friends trying to throw their siblings together in hopes of having two generations of friendships didn’t always work out as well as one hoped it would. Adam didn’t want to force Jack to be friends with Jemima if they weren’t alike, but he could always hope for it.

The ball, it seemed, brought up some tension. It was only to be expected; he was the only wizard in their trio. Asking one of the girls would leave out the other and imply that he preferred one over the other. He hadn’t really given it much thought until now, but it really posed a problem. Both witches seemed to have some self-esteem issues as well, Ginny being the most verbal about it. Neither of them had been asked yet and Adam felt terrible about it. His initial reaction to Ginny’s comment was to offer himself as a back-up, but he was beginning to have second thoughts about asking his mates. He would dance with them no matter what outside of the opening dance they would have to lead as Prefects, but arriving as dates was another matter. Whilst monogamous relationships only made sense, in this case Adam wished multiple dates to a ball could be acceptable if it was mutual between all parties.

There were plenty of attractive witches within his peer group, though he didn’t know many of them well. If neither Ginny nor Francesca were interested in him as a date, he could always ask one of the Anns. The only dilemma was which Ann to ask. Darn him and his attraction to doubles. “There’s no one in particular that I want to ask,” he said, “besides you two of course. Why don’t we all go together in one party? That’ll make it a lovely evening indeed. Dates don’t really matter anyway if you’ve got someone to dance with.” That was Adam’s philosophy when it came to balls, something he’d concluded after attending loads of parties the past few years. Charlotte neither had ever needed a date to get a dance and he didn’t doubt Ginny and Francesca would be the same. He wasn’t blind to how lovely his two friends were and how much prettier they were becoming. The wizards at Sonora would be fools not to see that.

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