10 Mar 2025, 04:27
A Message Home
The breeze became cold as Em walked up the stairs leading to the main door of the tower. The consistent hooting from the owls mixed pleasantly with the crunching of Em’s foot steps. The breeze was strong enough to ventilate the slight smell of the tower, at the cost of making his breath slightly visible. Em rather enjoyed visiting the owls, and he appreciated the variety of sizes, and colors this intelligent bird displayed.
Em took out a bit of folded parchment, and opened it. The ink had dried well, and he gave a final re-through, looking for any spelling mistakes.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Happy Birthday, Mum! I hope you enjoy the enclosed gift, I drew it myself! I finally got to use that special vial of color changing ink Dad got me when we went to Diagon Ally!
Things are going well here at school. I’ve gotten good marks on my school work so far, and I’ve even gotten to spend some time gathering a bunch of slugs from the edge of the lake!
I was hoping you’d send some chocolate back? I’ve run out; and it is my favorite study food.
Love you both, and please tell Chica I am having fun here at school,
Em
Feeling satisfied, he folded the paper again and shoved it into an envelope.
Em looked around at the owls above him, looking for his favorite school owl. She was a stout barn owl, with more white pin feathers than the others. She had a mess of rustled feathers on her bosom, and loved the small bits of chicken Em usually snuck up to her when he sent a message home.
Em looked around, and after a moment, spotted the owl. She was roosted on a perch, next to the other human occupant other than Em. He evaluated the situation, and determined that the other student wasn’t actively using the specifically owl. He smiled to himself and approached the bird, and the other student.
”Excuse me, do you mind if I use that owl?”
Reduciowc 343
23 Mar 2025, 10:34
A Message Home
Lemon was standing in the owlery, petting a small barn owl that had flown up to them as they had walked into the room. This owl seemed to like Lemon and, being an animal lover, the feeling between the two was mutual.
As they were petting the owl, a student from Ravenclaw had walked into the owlery as well. The student had a letter with him, and seemed to be looking for a specific owl to send the letter with. The student approached them. "Excuse me, do you mind if I use that owl?"
Lemon stood back and smiled at the boy. "Go ahead! I was just having a chat with her." As he approached the owl, Lemon decided to start a conversation with him. Seeing as their previous conversation partner was now going on a mission, they decided that they might as well begin a new one with this student. "Who are you sending the letter to?" they asked curiously. He was probably sending the letter to his family, but he might also have friends who didn't go to Hogwarts, either if they were too young or muggles or even went to different schools. It wasn't impossible. After all, one of Azora's friends, Azora being Lemon's older sister, went to Beaucbâtons, because her parents had wanted her to be more engaged in her French culture.
Word count: 227
23 Mar 2025, 23:32
A Message Home
@Lemon Goldfinch
Em smiled as he stepped up to the owl, offering her a little bit of bacon he smuggled from breakfast. He gave a cursory glance over the bird; determining that the Hufflepuff preened some of her pin feathers. At least he brought her a treat! Em began to tie the letter to the Owl’s leg, making sure it was not too tight, but wouldn’t slip. He gave the owl the last little bit of bacon. He admired how it swallowed the bit of meat, and appreciated the soft hoots and trills of satisfaction.
“Oh, just a message home to my family; I’m hoping my parents will send me more chocolate,” Em laughed, petting the bird behind an upright tuft of feathers. He watched the Hufflepuff as he addressed them. They had colorful hair, and a unique sense of style. He appreciated their individuality; especially among the monotony of school uniforms. Though, he found that he was rather fond of wearing a cloak.
As Em looked over at the student, a bit of confusion was in his tone as he asked: “I’ve heard of speaking to snakes, I haven’t heard of speaking to owls. Can you really do that?” his naïveté almost endearing.
Reduciowc: 200
26 Mar 2025, 15:30
A Message Home
The boy went over to the owl and slipped her something that looked like bacon to her, which she swallowed at once, hooting affectionately at him as he tied the letter to her leg.
“Oh, just a message home to my family; I’m hoping my parents will send me more chocolate,”the boy explained as he pet the owl. As he spoke, he observed Lemon intently. “I’ve heard of speaking to snakes, I haven’t heard of speaking to owls. Can you really do that?” he asked, sounding confused.
Lemon laughed at this. "Well..." they began, wondering how best to phrase this. "I mean, I certainly talk to them. Whether they talk back is a mystery that even the best detective couldn't solve," they responded, smiling mischievously. "What's your name? Are you in the first year too? I don't think I've seen you in any of my classes, but you may just be a master of disguise." Before he could answer, Lemon added"I'm Lemon. First year, Hufflepuff. And I can see that you are Ravenclaw. Not that I'm psychic or anything, it's just on your robes. Although I could be..." Lemon added playfully. They found that being serious was overrated. Except for in actual serious and solemn situations, they always liked to add their own silliness to conversations.
Word count: 217
27 Mar 2025, 19:07
A Message Home
@Lemon Goldfinch
Em smiled at Lemon as she spoke. She had a charm about her that Emmanuel felt at ease by. He wasn’t normally a nervous person, but he had found that he’d get butterflies in his stomach trying to initiate making new friends. He was grateful that Lemon was such a natural at it.
Em gave a snicker at Lemon’s contemplation of her psychic talents. As usual, and like really most other students, Em could usually be found in his Ravenclaw robes; unless he was going to a sneaky visit to Hogsmeade.
“‘Suppose you’ll definitely be taking divination in third year huh?” he jested, giving the owl a small and encouraging tap on the tail feathers. As he did so, the owl gave a short hoot, and took into the air, en route to his family to deliver his letter.
“I’m Emmanuel, second year, and you’re very correct about my being in Ravenclaw,” he smiled. ”It’s nice to meet you Lemon, especially since we likely would never have met in class since I’m a year ahead. Were you sending an owl too? I can try to grab another school owl for you if you’d like,” he offered, looking over her head at a particularly goofy male Horned Owl he also made friends with.
Reduciowc: 212
28 Mar 2025, 15:07
A Message Home
“I’m Emmanuel, second year, and you’re very correct about my being in Ravenclaw. It’s nice to meet you Lemon, especially since we likely would never have met in class since I’m a year ahead. Were you sending an owl too? I can try to grab another school owl for you if you’d like,” he answered, peering over their head to look at one of the other school owls.
"Oh, no that's okay," Lemon said, smiling back at Emmanuel. "I've just sent a letter to my family yesterday. Well, several letters. I've got 3 siblings, and I like to write individual letters to my two younger siblings at home, and to my mum. I'll usually also send a letter for all of them together. I do a lot of writing," they explained. "I was just here to... well... it's just really nice up here. It's usually very quiet, when the owls aren't gang fighting," Lemon laughed as they mimed play fighting with one of the brown barn owls to their left. The owl hooted and pecked at Lemon's wrist affectionately. "You'd be surprised to know what these little birds get up to when no one else is around... very surprised indeed." Lemon added this last part with a note of playful mystery in their voice, eyes glinting cheekily.
Word count: 218