19 Jan 2025, 21:57
A Seat by the Window
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December 23rd, 2024
Midday
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Reducio
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@Jade O’Reilly
Brief Mention of @Ira ThornfieldEnglish ˖°𓇼°˖ ThoughtsEulalia did as she had some four months ago on September 1st when she'd first come to Hogwarts. Now, she sat alone in a compartment again, taking the train back into London for Christmas Break with her family.
She took off her red jacket, setting it beside the small bag she'd set beside her on the compartment seat. Her hair was clipped up, but not with its usual seashell hairpin. That treasure was clipped safely to the waistband of her skirt and hidden beneath her lace-trimmed, brown long-sleeve top.
She glanced out the window, pondering how her winter break would go. Of course, her parents were up to date on her schooling and grades, proud to know she had been receiving nothing less than an O. She had decided not to ever mention her little rivalry with Hufflepuff Ira Thornfield, and Eulalia would prefer that she never did.
She brought her feet up onto the cushioned seat, leaning her back against the wall to look out the window. She spent a solid five minutes continuing to ponder her winter break, her eyes zoning in and out of focus as the landscape zoomed by. It looked much more desolate and dead now that it was winter.
She focused on more enjoyable things, like her ocean or grandmother. Eulalia decided that the first thing she'd do after she'd reached Aegean Crest was to find her lovely grandmother and spend some time on the beach, scouring for new seashells, or standing in the water, letting soft waves lap against their ankles. Eulalia knew that the water would be cold, but she couldn't care less.
She glanced out the window on the door to her compartment. She knew the train was mostly full, considering a multitude of students desired to be in their homes and with their families for the holidays. Her eyes found the window again before reaching over to her black handbag she'd kept with her, reaching in for the black book inside.
Opening to a new blank page, Eulalia grabbed a sketching quill before beginning her work, sketching the compartment and the window, with the landscape zooming by.
STA 7 𓇼 EVA 6 𓇼 STR 4 |
ability 𓇼 ability 𓇼 ability |
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"Steadfast as the Tide... |
E N C Y L O P E D I A |
...Boundless as the Sea" |
WIS 6 𓇼 ARC 6 𓇼 ACC 6 |
ability 𓇼 ability 𓇼 ability |
27 Jan 2025, 16:50
A Seat by the Window
Mentioning: @Eulalia Vasilios | Date: Dec 23rd 2024 | Dialogue: #407e58 | WC: 334
Jade made her way through the train, humming softly to herself as she looked for an open compartment. Upon waking up that morning, she had realized she had forgotten to pack a bag. She had hurriedly packed one, of course, but that meant she had gotten to the train station rather late. Jade had just barely managed to board before the train departed. Now, she was wandering in search of an empty compartment as the train sped on to its destination.
Despite the rush of her departure, Jade was in good spirits. She had come to love Hogwarts over the past few months, but she was incredibly excited to get home and see her dad again. Jade had never been away from home this long before, and she wanted to get back to home and all of its familiar comforts. It would be nice to sleep in her own room again. Jade was a bit worried about how Christmas would go - this year would be their second Christmas without Mom around, and last year’s hadn’t gone super well - but… she didn’t need to think about it. The rest of the break will be great, Jade told herself. Christmas will be great too. No reason to be worried.
Jade was nearing the back of the train, but thankfully, the nearby compartments seemed to be relatively empty. She peeked through the window of one and spotted a girl with wavy brown hair who appeared to be sketching something in a notebook. Taking a breath to banish her nerves, Jade knocked on the door to the compartment. “May I come in?” She asked politely, her voice soft. “I can’t seem to find anywhere else to sit.” She was able to keep most of her nervousness from her voice. Jade’s everyday anxiety at Hogwarts had faded as she got to know the school, but it came rushing back in moments like these. I hope she’s friendly, Jade thought, as she waited for a response from the other girl.
9 Feb 2025, 06:24
A Seat by the Window
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@Jade O'ReillyEnglish ˖°𓇼°˖ ThoughtsEulalia snapped her journal shut as she heard a knock on the door of the compartment, her eyes flicking to the window on the door she'd left open. Through the door, she could hear the soft voice of a girl. Listening to her request, Eulalia was able to detect the tiniest amount of anxiety in her voice. She smiled slightly.
Standing up, Eulalia went to open the door of the compartment, nodding for the girl to come inside. At least she had somewhat decent manners to knock before entering unannounced or uninvited. She could at least appreciate that.
Her eyes scanned the girl briefly before she took her seat again, the wall of the compartment at her back as she faced the window, her things still beside and in front of her. Eulalia made sure to set her journal back inside her handbag before the girl could question it.
"Seat by the window is open." She spoke after a moment, her voice cool.
The girl seemed shy. Eulalia could tell just by the way she carried herself. She's been around enough people that she could tell who was confident and who wasn't. The girl wore glasses and had long brown hair, quite like her own, just a tad bit messier. She was pale too, although that was quite common for a majority of people in England, considering how rainy it is all the time.
She broke the silence. "Eulalia Vasilios, Slytherin pureblood." she introduced, now including her house in her routine introduction.
STA 7 𓇼 EVA 6 𓇼 STR 4 |
ability 𓇼 ability 𓇼 ability |
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"Steadfast as the Tide... |
E N C Y L O P E D I A |
...Boundless as the Sea" |
WIS 6 𓇼 ARC 6 𓇼 ACC 6 |
ability 𓇼 ability 𓇼 ability |
12 Feb 2025, 23:42
A Seat by the Window
Mentioning: @Eulalia Vasilios | Date: Dec 23rd 2024 | Dialogue: #407e58 | WC: 309
Jade gave the girl a polite smile when she opened the door and stepped into the compartment. "Seat by the window is open,” the other girl said. With a nod of acknowledgement, Jade took the open seat and placed her bag next to her. She folded her hands in her lap, to prevent herself from fidgeting too much. “Thank you,” Jade said softly, giving another smile.
She fell into silence, looking around the compartment and out the window. After a moment, Jade retrieved a book from her bag and placed it on her lap. She didn’t open it right away, in case the other girl wanted to talk, but she felt better having it out. It was a reread, one of her favorite fantasy books. It had become one of her comfort books over the course of the school year, something to reread when she needed a break from everything.
Jade didn’t start to read yet, however. She waited to see if the other girl wanted to talk. Sure enough, a few moments later, the other girl broke the silence. "Eulalia Vasilios, Slytherin pureblood,” she said.
“Jade O’Reilly, Ravenclaw Muggleborn,” she responded, a bit awkwardly, mimicking Eulalia’s method of introduction. She felt a bit weird about including her blood status, but… It was what the other girl had done, and Jade didn’t want to appear rude by excluding the information. She hadn’t met many other people who introduced themselves with blood status, though. Maybe it’s a pureblood thing. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Jade fell into silence again, unsure if the introduction was a sign Eulalia wanted to converse. She struggled to come up with something to say, and failed to make up something that didn’t feel awkward or contrived. I’ll just… wait to see if she says anything, Jade decided. That way I don’t sound rude or awkward.
18 Mar 2025, 03:56
A Seat by the Window
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@Jade O'Reilly
Apologies for the wait!English ˖°𓇼°˖ ThoughtsEulalia watched as the girl pulled out a book, her curiosity peaked. The title didn't look familiar to her. Yet again, other books and scripts in the family library and archives in Aegean Crest interested her far more.
As the girl introduced herself, Eulalia couldn't help but notice that Jade had copied her form of introduction. The other thing that caught her attention was the blood status of the young girl. Muggleborn.
Eulalia's calculating honey-brown eyes darkened, and her expression instantly went cold- well colder than it had been before. Muggleborn. The exact type of person she'd been raised to avoid, to dislike. She tore her eyes away from Jade and the book in her lap.
Eulalia's eyes instead found their way back to the window, to the blurring landscape. She bit her tongue to keep herself silent, from saying something she'd regret. She didn't want to disappoint her parents by associating with the quiet Ravenclaw, yet she didn't want to be cruel to her. Yes, she did have a habit of being distant, untrusting, and unapologetic with her words, borderline mean sometimes, but never cruel. She wasn't one to openly bully or berate simply due to the prejudice she'd been raised with.
The Slytherin's eyes flicked over to Jade ever so slightly, her mind deciding to not kick her out of the compartment as her eyes caught the struggle to say something to break the silence. She wouldn't be the one to do it.
Her eyes moved back to the window, her eyes catching sight of her reflection before they moved to the endless blur of grassy hills. She held back a sigh, a rare moment where she truly didn't know what to do. She wanted to make her parents proud, to prove she was worthy of bearing the Vasilios name.
She grounded herself, hiding her slight inner turmoil well as in this rare moment, her heart swayed in a different direction than her mind. "Don't mess up." she reminded herself, her eyes trained on the window, on what lay beyond.
STA 7 𓇼 EVA 6 𓇼 STR 4 |
ability 𓇼 ability 𓇼 ability |
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"Steadfast as the Tide... |
E N C Y L O P E D I A |
...Boundless as the Sea" |
WIS 6 𓇼 ARC 6 𓇼 ACC 6 |
ability 𓇼 ability 𓇼 ability |
19 Mar 2025, 23:44
A Seat by the Window
Mentioning: @Eulalia Vasilios | Date: December 23rd, 2024
Dialogue: #407e58 | Word Count: 325
Jade stiffened slightly at Eulalia’s cold look, before realizing what she had done and forcing herself to relax. Why did she… Jade began to wonder, even as the answer quickly came to mind. It must be because I’m Muggleborn. Eulalia had introduced herself as a pureblood, and Jade knew some pureblood families had prejudices against Muggleborns. However, this was her first real encounter with them. The other purebloods she had met at school throughout the year had all been very friendly to Jade.
But with a lot of them, I didn’t mention I was Muggleborn unless it came up… Would she have been treated differently if she had made her blood status clear from the start? The thought was… concerning, to say the least. Jade wanted to believe the people she had met were kind, and in the case of some of them, her friends. I’m just overthinking things, she told herself in an attempt to counter the rising anxiety she was feeling. They are all perfectly friendly. I’m sure Eulalia is friendly, too.
Jade watched as Eulalia turned to look out the window. It didn’t seem as if she was interested in conversation. Yet… Jade was curious about the other girl. About her upbringing, why she seemed to be prejudiced against Muggleborns. She couldn’t ask the other girl, why of course, but… Maybe a small conversation would help shed some light on the issue. But what to talk about? Jade had never been good at starting conversations with strangers.
Thankfully, a topic soon came to mind. They were taking the train home for break, after all - that was a perfectly good discussion topic. “So, are you excited to be going home for break?” Jade asked, glad she sounded friendly and not at all anxious. She smiled at the end, for good measure. While Eulalia didn’t seem to want to talk, she also seemed polite, so… hopefully she wouldn’t simply refuse to answer the question.