Doesn’t Feel Like It. pv

date- May 11th, 2025 ooc notes-

interacting/mentioning- @Brookline Quinn, @Ophelia Northwell, @Kaitlyn Connor, @Elisa Wagner, @Andy Loggins, @Pamela Graham

Sage had raced to get ready inside of the castle. It was Brook, one of her best friends, birthday! Sage had picked out a chocolate frog, chocoball, and marshmallow biscuit to give Brookline as a present and wrapped them in a simple blue bag. She'd found that there wasn't anything much better than chocolate to cheer you up or to give as a present.

Once she was ready in some fun party clothes, Sage tied back her hair in a simple braid and ran outside, trying not to stumble over her own feet. It took her a moment to locate Brook outside by the Great Lake, but sure enough she found her and ran to her. Her time running must have paid off because she was there faster than you could say alakazam!

"BROOK!" she called, coming to a stop by her friend. "Happy birthday! I can't believe you're 13 now! How do you feel?"

She handed the blue bag of treats to Brookline, a big smile accompanying the gift. "I know you've said you didn't really need anything, but 13 is a big important birthday."

She would let a second pass before acknowledging... him. "Sorry to bring this up on your birthday but... Have you heard from him? Or anyone in your family?" Concern dotted along her brow. "I just- are you doing okay today?"

Sage wasn't sure how much the other invitees knew about what Brookline had been battling, so she wanted to make sure she wasn't openly announcing the absence her friend was suffering from. Plus, today was a day for celebrating. It was her dad's fault that he wasn't there celebrating in the first place.

"Either way, let's make this one of the best birthdays ever!"

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banner by Prat Pass

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__◇ IC Date: 11 May, 2025

Speech: #1d5758 ◇ __

__◇ Thoughts: Italic	Mentions: @Brookline Quinn ◇__
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The 'little something' for Brooke

Elisa's first reaction upon receiving Brookline's invitation to her birthday party was first surprise, then eagerness, then finally anxiousness. If the Slytherin had not talked to Brooke as much as she would have liked during the past months, she knew well enough that her dear friend was not faring well - and would not be hosting a party any time soon. The surprise was almost immediately replaced with eagerness, because if Brooke was indeed celebrating her birthday it mean that she, well, was getting better. At the prospect of the tears and frowns finally leaving her friend's face, Elisa had brightened up, even if she was halfway through a tiresome essay.

Then, a few hours later, as Elisa laid on her bed, unable to sleep, a thought struck her and made her jump back onto her feet. Brooke needed a present! So, despite night creeping in, the Slytherin had lit her wand, grabbed a half-finished ball of yarn, and her crochet. Her grandmother had taught her how to crochet when she was only eight, and by now Elisa was acquainted enough with the art to be able to whizz something up at ten pm. After some thinking, she had settled with a mushroom bookmark for Brookline.

At the assigned hour, Elisa headed out of the castle and towards the Great Lake. Great location for a quiet party... Elisa thought, looking dreamingly at her surroundings. Spring was sprouting all around her, and a few flowers had begun to bloom.

Elisa spotted Brookline and Sage from afar. She hurried towards both her classmates, splitting her lips into a wide smile for the birthday girl.

"Happy birthday Brooke!" Elisa said, pulling out a small parcel from her satchel. "It's uh- not very well wrapped, but uh... I hope you like it anyway."

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^{banner by Haven Bohannon}

speech • #427c9a thoughts • italics others • #ffffff

may 11, 2025 • date great lake • location doesn't feel like it • thread

Ophelia was quite excited for today. For it was not just any old day, not just a random Sunday, but it was her roommate, and very close friend, Brookline's birthday! The Ravenclaw had very much thought of ideas to surprise her friend, surprise parties or outings or something or the other. But it turned out that Brookline had that part all figured out already when Ophelia had been invited to the party that she was hosting for herself. Now all the Ravenclaw had to do was figure out the perfect birthday present.

Hiding things from a friend was already hard, but hiding things from your dormmate? That was next level. Ophelia had thought about this gift for a while, and keeping it away from Brookline's eyes was where most of her thought had gone. Her biggest fear was that either Dove or Tigeress, their kitties, would unearth the present and show it to Brookline. The cats always meant well, of course-- and they were so irresistibly cute together!-- but sometimes Ophelia did wish that she had Galleon with her instead of Dove, because at least her dog knew how to follow directions.

Eventually, though, her plan had worked out. Here Ophelia was, making her way to the Great Lake with a bundle in her arms, colourfully wrapped in blue and yellow paper. Inside the parcel was her gift: a little statuette of Tigeress and Dove play-fighting to make her smile and a tin of homemade cookies. The statuette had been 3-D printed for her by her brother Felix back home, having designed the little project himself when she'd sent home a picture of the kittens. When he sent her it, she'd loved it so much that she'd asked him to print another one for Brookline. While Ophelia's figurine was a lighter blue, Brookline's was darker. The cookies were chocolate-marshmallow flavoured, with a light dusting of powdered sugar. She hadn't been sure what flavour would've been the best, so she'd gone for something that she knew could win any crowd. They hadn't come out as perfect as she'd hoped, but it was the thought that counted, right?

When Ophelia reached the Great Lake, she saw that she wasn't the first to arrive. Unfortunate, as she wasn't the most outspoken person and she'd wanted to say a few things to Brookline, but that was alright. These were her friend's friends, which means she knew they would be amazing people. And there was Sage, one of the attendees of Ophelia's own party.

"Happy, happy birthday Brookline!" Ophelia tried to sound as cheerful as possible, knowing that her friend hadn't been the most upbeat since they'd come back from winter break. She handed her the parcel with a grin. "Lucky thirteen!"

interactions • @Brookline Quinn mentions • @Sage Willows @Elisa Wagner stats • sta 8 | eva 7 | str 6 | wis 9 | arc 6 | acc 7

451 • word count xxx • outfit perfectionist, paragon of health • abilities

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Speech -- Thoughts

Pam rushed out of the castle doors, nearly tripping over herself as she headed towards the Great Lake. She was terribly late, having fallen asleep (for the nth time that week) over her books in the Library. Honestly, it was becoming a habit; she really needed to deal with it soon.

She hadn't forgotten the important occasion though. Brookline. It was the girl's birthday. She had seemingly planned out a birthday party for herself and rather surprisingly, Pam had been invited. She hadn't realized that the older girl had actually liked her, considering she had been in a terrible mood when the two had first interacted. All the same, she was thankful for the invitation. She had quite liked the girl, even if she had been a little melancholy. Perhaps, things had been better for her since they'd met.

She walked around the Lake, eyes scanning for the sight of the girl, and spotted her in a while, surrounded by a few other people- three to be more specific. Pam hesitated, stopping in her tracks as she noted, uncomfortably, that she did not know any of the other girls. She supposed that most of them would be older than her as well. Well, she did know Brookline, and they would be Brooke's friends, so it was probably okay, right?

"Happiest birthday, Brookline!" she greeted, her voice coming out smaller and softer as it always did around unknown people. She handed the girl a small packet, wrapped in dark blue paper. It was a box of macaroons Pam had baked a the previous night. Since she was still not familiar with gifts in the wizarding world, she had taken to gifting her most of her friends with different types of bakes goods. Besides, if she remembered correctly, Brookline liked sweets.

_{Mentions: @Brookline Quinn @Pamela Graham @Ophelia Northwell @Elisa Wagner @Sage Willows}

_{Time: Time given in thread}

_{Day: May 11th}

_{Outfit: Below in the Reducio}

Reducio

Andy scurried out of the Hogwarts doors running to the great lake, hoping he was not late for his best friend's birthday party. He was incredibly slow since he was carrying a cat bed and a chocolate bar for Brookline, so he made it just in time. Still huffing and puffing from all of that running, he breathed out, Happy birthday, Brookline! Here, some chocolate and a comfy bed for your cat! I can't believe you are 13 already! While he talked, Andy looked at the cupcakes Brookline bought. Suprisingly, Andy never tried a cupcake, but heard it was some sort of American treat. He then greeted each and everyone of Brookline's friends by shaking there hand. Sage, Elisa, Ophelia, and Pamela. Andy recognized Ophelia, since she was the Ravenclaw Quidditch team's backup seeker. Ophelia! Hi! You know me? I am the back up keeper for our quidditch team! You are amazing at Quidditch! The boy said. Andy then looked around the great lake, the water as shiny as it could be. Andy had a lot of memories with the great lake. He swam in the lake, swam some more and more! Since it was already late spring, the water will not be freezing cold, maybe chilly. This was the first time I was ever invited to a birthday party in Hogwarts! How cool! Andy thought, thrilled about the activities the group will do together.

Interacting with : Reducio @Brookline Quinn, @Sage Willows, @Elisa Wagner, @Ophelia Northwell, @Pamela Graham, @Andy Loggins

Date: Reducio May 11

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio

When she received the invitation, Kaitlyn was happy. To be fair, she was usually pretty happy. But, she was even happier to celebrate someone whom she knew. She wished she were closer to Brookline and more of a friend, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t show up now and try her best. It wasn’t completely lost on her that Brookline seemed … off. While she hadn’t a clue as to what was going on, she wanted to be there … maybe even offer her support. Sure, she was polite, but she tried her best to be a good active listener … even though she likely couldn’t answer much about what was potentially wrong.

So, for Brook’s birthday, Kaitlyn wanted to try her best. Growing up at St. Ann’s, an all-girls Catholic Boarding School, she took etiquette lessons. Birthday parties were one of the topics. No matter what the intention was, she was taught it was polite to show up with a gift. It was just one of a few ways to show that you care about the person. It didn’t have to be anything big or spectacular.

For Brook’s gift, Kaitlyn started the night after the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw broom race. She had passionately cheered on Brook from the stands, happily rooting for the girl. As such, she wanted to gift Brook a drawing. In this case, it was a drawing of her racing, flying through the sky on the broom racing track. She looked fearless and cute at the same time. The image was a recreation of the real match she watched. The lines were coated in black felt-tip marker, and it was colorized with a mixture of markers and colored-pencils. Blending was applied throughout the drawing to give it the appearance of being a picture taken during the match, with the appearance of Brook in motion.

This drawing was packed in a small box, wrapped neatly in blue and bronze. A Ravenclaw-inspired charm hung on the outside. Kaitlyn wasn’t done, however. She was also bringing a plate a chocolate chip cookies to the party. While it likely wasn’t much, she wanted to try her best to be a friend to Brookline. It was the least she could do, after all.

Her sandals gently tapped against the ground as she moved. The skirt of her dress swayed at her knees. Kaitlyn braced herself for the upcoming social interactions. She was invited, so the least she could do was to show up and try her best. That was exactly what she planned to do.

Skipping to the lake, Kaitlyn held her gift and plate of cookies. Her blue eyes spotted the small gathering of people so far. She sought out Brook and approached the birthday girl. “Hi, Brook. I loved your invitation. Happy Birthday!” she greeted her with a smile. After handing over her gift and cookies, she took a step closer to the Ravenclaw. “Hey, I’m here for you if you ever need someone to talk to,” she lowered her voice, hoping not to embarrass her in front of the others.

With another bright smile, Kaitlyn stepped away and looked at the other guests. She smiled at Sage, the prefect from Hufflepuff who organized the pajama party. “Hi, Sage,” she greeted her with a smile. Next was Elisa, a fellow Slytherin whom she hadn’t talked to for a while. “Hi Elisa,” she greeted her with a smile. Then, a Ravenclaw, Ophelia, whom she met while helping out in the greenhouse and in a literature club. It had also been a while. “Hi Ophelia,” she smiled. The next was a girl she saw multiple times, ever since the tea party, Pam. “Hi Pam,” she smiled at the younger girl. Lastly, there was a boy Kaitlyn didn’t know … but recognized as a Ravenclaw Quidditch player … and wasn’t he in some of her classes? The ever-so-polite Kaitlyn had to introduce herself. “Hi! I don’t believe we’ve talked before. My name is Kaitlyn,” her smile was friendly.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 666 words

𝔖tuck in her thoughts, Brookline stared into space. Even since she cast that spell, all she thought about was Easter break, and how she made the stove catch fire. By a damn rag. And my family could have died.

Why is she still casting with fire? She couldn’t be much better than her father. She was additive to fire; her father to alcohol.

Then, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice. It was Sage! Hurling right towards the Ravenclaw girl, with a blue bag in her hand. Brookline bounced up to meet her friend. “SAGE! Didn’t think you’ll here that early. I was thinking that I would be in my thoughts for much longer. And, ah, yes! I can’t believe it either - like where the hell did all the time go?? Before you know it, all we’ll kmow is we’ll be third years. As for your question...” She lowered her voice, “I don’t feel 13.”

Sage passed the bag over to her. Brookline grinned at her, giving her friend a little squeeze. “You didn’t listen to me.” Brookline sing-songed, trying to joke around. “Thank you.”

Worry was etched in Sage’s face as she asked about Brookline’s father, and her family. “Not today... Uh.. he - he came to pick me up before Easter Holiday. T-that was all.” Words just sputtered out of her mouth. “I’m fine! It’s my birthday for crissakes! It’s time to have some fun.”

Brookline then saw Elisa, running toward her and Sage. She waved at Elisa as she approached. The Snake (who Brookline always saw a little more Ravenclaw than Slytherin in the young girl) also had a little gift in hand, and she gave it to the birthday girl.

She smiled at Elisa before exclaiming enthusiastically, “Elisa, hi!! Thank you, and I’m really glad you’re here with us!”

And then next to arrive was her roommate! Ophelia! Brookline gasped, and called, “Hiya Ophelia!! Thank you! Happy you came.” She gave her roommate a huge hug. She glanced around for her friend’s kitten, but didn’t see the kitten’s beautiful pelt anywhere. “Did you bring Dove too? That’s okay if you didn’t. I get to see her most of the time!”

And the friends just kept on trickling in. Pamela, Andy, and Kaitlyn too. Brookline gave Pamela, a first year she met not too long ago, a tiny hug, and received the parcel the girl gave her. “Hi hi! Thank you, Pam!”

When Andy came, she gave the Ravenclaw boy a excited wave. “Oh, Andy! Hello!!” She glanced down at the cat bed, and little chocolate bar Andy has brought gracefully. “Thank you!” She stashed the bar and bed in her satchel, and a little grin spread across her face. Brookline had thought today wouldn’t be a great day but that was slowly starting to change with her friends here.

And last but not least, Kaitlyn! The serpent was so kind, and it was sometimes hard to believe the young girl was a Slytherin and not a Hufflepuff! Kaitlyn had cheered for Brookline during the race, and she had to appreciate that. She gave Kaitlyn a smile, and thankfully took the gift with Ravenclaw colors, when the girl handed it to her. “Ah! Hi Kaitlyn! Thank you so much!” The Slytherin girl had stepped closer, her voice quiet, and the smile on the Quinn’s face disappeared a little. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.” And she gave Kaitlyn a hug.

“All right! We’re all here, we’re going to have a thrill of a time...!!” Brookline faltered. “Only! Only I don’t know what to do... I’m a clueless pure-blood who doesn’t know much about party games. Soo....”

Laughing slightly at her obliviousness, Brookline jumped down and grabbed her basket, holding it up in front of her friends. The basket which had two dozen homemade handmade cupcakes inside. The cupcakes were vanilla with white frosting, and her favorite flower for decoration. Violets.

Her dark blue eyes were brimming with joy. “Who would like a cupcake?”

_{Mentions: @Brookline Quinn @Pamela Graham @Ophelia Northwell @Elisa Wagner @Sage Willows}

_{Time: Time given in thread}

_{Day: May 11th}

_{Outfit: Below in the Reducio}

The party has officially started, since everyone seemed to settle in, but the thing is, the host of the party herself, did not know what to do. Right before this, a girl named Kaitlyn introduced herself to Andy. Hello Kaitlyn! I'm Andy, it is nice to meet you! Andy held out his hand for Kaitlyn to shake it. Andy was not ready for this type of thing to happen, where the host of the party doesn't know what to do on her own party, but there is always a idea, they say! Normally, parties have decor, like signs and flowers, so why not cast a couple? Andy had just the spell in mind. He took out his Mayhaw wood wand and rose it at his own eye level and pointed it slightly down and said, Orchideous! Flowers started blooming from the ground, all types, dandelions, roses, and tulips. Now that the lake looked a bit better, a activity needed to be planed. Helping himself for the first time to a very amazing cup cake with violet flowers on top, he said, Brookline, who said we need party games? We can do any game you want, it is you birthday. Andy said. We can do something relaxing, like naming what the clouds in the sky are, like for example, the one over there looks like a turtle! The boy said using his wand to point to a huge cloud, which really did look like a turtle. Than, he put his wand back into his pocket in his robes. So, what do you guys say? It might be fun, looking up at the sky, trying to figure out which cloud looks like what, right? Honestly, for Andy's perspective, looking at clouds and naming what each one could be is the only thing to do exept swimming, which might not be a bad idea, but the water might be a little to cold for now. The boy came up to the shore of the lake, bent down, and touched the water with his fingertips. It was chilly, but just right for a cool swim.

date- May 11th, 2025 ooc notes-

interacting/mentioning- @Brookline Quinn, @Ophelia Northwell, @Kaitlyn Connor, @Elisa Wagner, @Andy Loggins, @Pamela Graham

It was her responsibility to keep the sadness off her face. This was a birthday party, not a time for her to break and cry because she was still mourning. Because Brook didn't seem to have heard... anything from her family. And what made that acceptable? Your family was- is- supposed to be there with a candle and a smile on your birthday. What was this silent emptiness then?

"Well, I think you definitely look older. More mature. I didn't feel 13 on my birthday either, it's a common lack of feeling." She waited a second for Brook to finish her sentence before adding, "Okay. You just let me know if you need a minute or if you ever need to talk, okay? We're all here."

And soon the others started arriving, more faces Sage was less familiar with. Kaitlyn she knew from a brief but nice interaction during her first year. That felt like a million years ago! Of course she'd attended Ophelia's dual birthday party back in September, but the other faces were new ones to her. She offered quiet "hellos" and "nice to see you agains" to anyone who said hello to her.

Sage smiled, watching all the friendly interactions of the second-years. It was nice. It was... normal. This wasn't a time to remember that ten days ago when it felt like the world was ending. And what was ten days but a line on a calendar? It felt like forever. And all the thoughts that Sage had blurred and ran together. She continued smiling.

Sage accepted Brookline's offer for a cupcake. "You take your bite first!" she insisted. "Happy 13th birthday!"