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Errand Decking the Hall PV | Saskia N. Closed

~Private Errand Thread for @Saskia Nicholson~
The Christmas spirit was certainly quick to reach Hogwarts Castle, filling each corner with a little festive charm and magic that had been nowhere to be found merely a week before. This bit of magic unlike all the wizarding type that was forever ubiquitous in the wizarding world that was new to the girl, was exactly what had tempted Thora out of the library where she had settled down for the last couple of hours, hard at work as always. To be exact, it was the holiday feel and the promise of sickles, a bit of extra pocket money, that had drawn the young Slytherin out of her book-filled shell.

First of all, for the Christmas spirit. All throughout her childhood, Christmas had been at least recognized in Thora's house. Although they didn't make the holiday a huge deal--as it would've been hard to do anyways due to the difficult town access on the countryside--Thora and her sister had grown up aware of Christmas. Thora had grown to love it, as it helped to take her mind of the things that so plagued her. At her Muggle school, it had been bullies. The admittedly smart girl had no problem at school, maintaining a high grade average all throughout grade school.

Carrying a social life, as the girl soon found out, was not nearly as easy as carrying her academic life. Although bullying was not a widespread problem at her small countryside school, it still happened. The main target of almost all of the bullying was Thora. The still-petite girl had been even shorter in her earlier years, comparatively speaking. People never ceased to remind her of this, calling her a midget, undergrown, and worse things that the poor girl wish she could forget. Through her struggles, Thora knew she could never truly forget these things that had so ruined her childhood but could move on and forget about them. Christmas was one of those things that never failed to excite the Slytherin.

Thora enjoyed Hogwarts much, much more than her Muggle primary school. Her first year had been rather uneventful, while her second year had already been jam-packed with memories--both those she cherished and those she wished could vanish into a void where they would never have to bother her again. She had met a number of rather kind people who she would've loved to know more in the coming years. However, traumatizing events seemed to follow the girl, forever a snare in her life--at least into her second year. She would never again forget the Masquerade Ball and how two Ravenclaws had almost died as they were stabbed, one by a spear and the other by knife... when they fell... when she was almost sure they would die... and blood. So much blood.

Thora had to pause in her brisk walk towards the Great Hall, fighting back a wave of nausea and struggling not to reel from the memories that were permanently seared into the front of her brain. She couldn't collapse. Not here, not now.

Collecting herself, Thora continued to walk on until she finally reached her destination. The Great Hall, although not a mealtime, was as magnificent as always, the ever-blazing candles still floating in midair. Having had experienced and survived a year of Hogwarts already, Thora knew that the Great Hall would soon be bedecked with Christmas decorations, bringing a festive touch to every meal. It was certainly in progress, and an errand had been set up to aid this effort.

And finally, the other reason why she was here. Money. To be exact, 10 sickles. Thora had heard that Ruby, a Slytherin prefect, had started an errand where the participating students could decorate ornaments which would later adorn the school's Christmas trees. Taking a rustic-looking wooden snowflake ornament with a length of twine through the top, Thora picked out some pale blue, white, and silver paints. She was a talented painter, so she had might as well use her skills for the better. 

Settling on a bench, Thora got to work on her ornament, losing herself in the art she had so missed and no longer had time for. Although the brunette surely had better things to do, with a wealth of homework and Quidditch practices filling her schedule, she couldn't resist the chance to take in a little Christmas spirit. After all, didn't she deserve a little peace after all she had been through?
WC: 741/1000
Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground [T. Roosevelt]
Encyclopedia » [x] | Dialogue » #005F1C
Errand Decking the Hall PV | Saskia N. Closed
@Thora Larkston
The year was passing by so quickly. Maybe too quickly in fact. Summer passed by, then autumn, and then it would soon be winter. So many things already happened- the Quidditch games, the Ilvermorny students visiting, and the Masquerade Ball were one of the few things that easily came to mind. Some had more impact than others, although by now, people had already adjusted. Even something as scary as the Masquerade Ball incident could be put at the back of people’s minds. After all, it was no different from other events like the Blossom Balls, and what else could they have done about it? It was in the past, and they had other things to worry about.

Preparations for the upcoming winter holidays were arriving. There was no doubt the school would want to have some festive events before the winter break, or even during it if people chose to stay in school for whatever reasons they had. Maybe they didn’t have a specific reason. They might have opted to stay because they wanted to do something in the school that they couldn’t do at home. She wouldn’t know too much about it though. The break would have also been an opportunity for people to return to their families, even if it was only for a while.

For Saskia, she was happy to go back to her father and sister. She had been sending less letters home nowadays, and she wanted to make up for it. She was still a bit irked that her mother wouldn’t even bother to visit them this year, but what could she do? She knew how busy she was, and even if she tried to reach out to her, it was as if she didn’t care. It was a silly attempt on her part, but she had tried to send several letters to her. Not all at once, of course. But it was gradual.On her first year at Hogwarts, she would have tried to send one letter per month. She didn’t want to bother her too much, and she didn’t have the time to write letters each week, especially since she still had to give letters to her father and sister. But over time, it was obvious that her mother wouldn’t respond to her. Did she even read her letters? She wouldn’t know either way.

What became desperation for her mother’s attention over time became something that was confusing. On one hand, she didn’t feel too hung up over it. Her mother was always gone in her life. There were times when she would come by to visit, but even as time went on, Saskia would notice that her mother rarely ever came by their home. But even that was frustrating. Throughout her childhood, she noticed other children with their parents. And in a lot of cases, their parents loved and cared for their children very much. So, why couldn’t her mother do the same? Did she even love her? Or did she only find her family a burden to cast aside? Was her job just an excuse to get away from everything? Was there a bigger reason to this? She wouldn’t know that either.

But that was something she would focus on when she had the time to ponder on that, preferable on the actual winter break. This month, she wanted to help out somehow. It was that time of the year, after all. It was only fitting for her to help spread Christmas joy, and what better way than to make an ornament? Admittedly, she wasn’t that great at anything related to art. At best, she was average. There was just something in her art that didn’t have any kind of uniqueness or life at all. She just didn’t have that skill to pull of a masterpiece, it seemed. But that wouldn’t stop her from trying her hand at making an ornament herself.

She wasn’t exactly looking to get paid. She already had enough money from her own income, and even if she didn’t, money wasn’t important to her. It might have been nice to have some on hand, but it definitely wasn’t that much of a priority. She just wanted to help in some kind of meaningful way. Sure, ornament making might not have been a talent of hers, but she could at least try. She was confident enough to believe that she wouldn’t mess up with the errand, or at least she hoped that it wouldn’t happen.

As Saskia walked in the Great Hall, the first thing she noticed was the new workspace set up inside. Various supplies took up most of the space on one table, all in different colours and shapes. It was evident that a lot of effort was put into this activity, which would have made it all the more enjoyable to explore different options and unlock a creative side, even for people who didn’t normally take an interest in arts and crafts.

As it turned out, she wasn’t alone. There was someone else in the room, and it was someone she was only vaguely familiar with. It was a Slytherin girl with brown hair, and if she was correct to assume who it was, that girl was Thora Larkston. A fellow second year who shared the same cabin with her in summer camp, and someone she recognized to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team. It also happened that she saw her for a brief amount of time at the Masquerade Ball just a few months ago. Not that she talked with her that much at the time. Had it been that long since that happened? It didn’t seem like it, that was for sure. Even then, it was all a blur to her. The memories didn’t haunt her as much as they did a few months ago, and for once, she felt that she could at least get over the nightmare that was the Masquerade ball.

But she wasn’t here to dwell on that. Walking over to the table, she made her way to where Thora was. “Hey. Need any help?” she asked, pausing to look over at the ornament the girl was holding. “Not that you need it. That looks great so far.” She smiled at the Slytherin. It was true. From what progress she made so far, it seemed that Thora had a gift for art. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t offer assistance if she needed it, however. But Saskia did know that she was already capable on her own.
Total Word Count: 1087/1000
Last edited by Saskia Nicholson on 24 Dec 2019, 21:38, edited 1 time in total.
"Honestas ante honores."
Stam: 9 | Eva: 6 | Str: 7 | Wis: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
Abilities: Fearless
Errand Decking the Hall PV | Saskia N. Closed
~@Saskia Nicholson~
Green eyes stared at the snowflake cutout as Thora drifted a bit into the past. Her paint job consisted of a dark blue center which faded into a lighter blue and an almost silvery-white at the tips. Even a random craft reminded her so much of home and its Christmas traditions. Living on a farm, miles away from stores or the conveniences of a city, had taught Thora more than a few lessons, both in making use of what she had and about various items she could craft, rather than buy.

The skills, as obscure as ornament-painting, had been incredibly annoying to Thora as a child, as the then-redhead found the random traditions of her family mundane and unnecessary. It wasn't until recent months at Hogwarts that she had put her expertise to the work. Never would she have imagined the sickles that such simple farm-life skills would get her.

But even the Larkston traditions were being called into question this year. Her family, although never open to the idea of their elder child going to an unheard-of magical school, had become even more against the school when Thora had returned home just that summer. Being from a completely Muggle family line--on both her father and mother's sides--her parents had become wary of their own daughter, despite agreeing to let her go to Hogwarts. Thora had no wish to return home this Christmas. Even though she knew full well that remaining, solitary, in the walls of the magical castle would awaken more unwanted thoughts, and possibly even more hurt, it would be worse if she went home. It could be worse. Her parents weren’t abusive and her sister still sided with Thora most of the time. But the broken girl just couldn’t go home. Not this time.

A voice above her pulled Thora out of her reverie, asking if she needed help and complimenting her on the work she had already done. A light pink bloomed in the Slytherin’s cheeks as she turned.. A small smile broke out on Thora’s originally tense face as she recognized the brunette as Saskia. A Hufflepuff. A Quidditch player. To be exact, Hufflepuff’s Quidditch Captain. Honestly, the girl on the verge of being scared of Saskia, although it was more of a friendly respect. The other girl had certainly done her part in the Masquerade Ball and seemed to be quite a captain, as her team had defeated the Slytherins just the month before.

Although Thora didn’t exactly need help, she didn’t want to drive Saskia away. In fact, the Hufflepuff had arrived at around the right moment, as she seemed pretty nice. Having not spoken to the other girl since the Masquerade Ball, Thora was glad they had ended up in the same place at the same time. Saskia seemed pretty similar to her, as far as Thora could tell, and had both experienced the ball first hand. So, she decided to accept the other girl’s help happily.

“Sure,” Thora answered, patting the chair next to her. “I was thinking of sprinkling this with glitter or maybe just flicking silver paint at it.” True to her word, the Slytherin reached for silver paint and silver sparkles. “I don’t really mind what we do, so I guess you could choose.” Thora didn’t mean to sound terse or anything, but Saskia wasn’t as high on her trust ladder as she would have liked.

“I-I can start on another ornament, maybe,” a light stutter broke out in Thora’s voice once more. Swallowing hard, she reached for a Christmas tree cutout. Hopefully Saskia wouldn’t mind her awkwardness. Budding friendships were just so hard.
Total Word Count: 607+741=1348 
errand complete!
Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground [T. Roosevelt]
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