To Write One's Story
This banner contains AI art and was created over a year ago; I do not currently utilise AI art in my banners.
As graduation slowly crept ever nearer, Aly found herself having to say an unprecedented number of good-byes. There were the farewells to friends, the "ta-ta"s to her team, the last longing looks to loved locales she'd never see again. That one window in the sixth-floor corridor. The cranny at the back of the frog choir room. The leaky toilet in the Ravenclaw girls' bathrooms... okay, perhaps not all of them were fond.
The end of her time at Hogwarts also meant the end of her time in the various organisations she had grown to adore so much, such as the Ravenclaw Quidditch team (and Ravenclaw House in general), as well as the Hogwarts Headliner. Aly had no desire to pursue a career in journalism after graduation, having already locked down a job offer to work for @Pericles Dralt's father's shipping company come July, so these final articles she would be writing for the June edition were just that: final. There would be no more sneaking down to the Hogwarts kitchens to test out recipes for her Magical & Muggle Meals columns, for instance, or pestering her peers in the corridors for interviews.
These goodbye articles, however, were the hardest she'd ever penned. Aly had been working on her farewell to the Headliner, one last article from a senior, for weeks... and she had, after a grand total of thirty-two drafts, exactly two words: the last two, Aly and Salinger. Of course she'd sign it with her name. But what else was there to say? How could she sum up seven years' worth (well... six and a half) of Hogwarts experience into one 800-word article?
With a groan, she let her head flop forward onto the table, landing in a pile of crumpled papers.
May 19, 2026 | outfit in banner | @Denise Yarbrough | #C47DDB
lovely & charmer affect everyone | sta 10, eva 14, str 5, wis 19, arc 7, acc 18
gen1 Aly Salinger || gen1 iNPC Manu Macedo || gen2 Kahira Valerian || staff Aulis Vorozheykin
To Write One's Story
locationGreat Halldate19/05/2026word count482banner creditscorrine aelina
To Write One's Story
Denise never really aspired for much growing up.
The only thing Denise wanted to do, or didn't want to do, was to become a nurse like her grandmother. It seemed honorable but exhausting, and clearly is also not the best paid, considering how her family is still rather poor. But growing up, her grandmother wanted her granddaughter to become a nurse just like her.
Denise loved to help others, but clearly, she didn't want that to become a full-time career. Rather, she wanted to become a journalist. At least she thinks she wants to be a journalist. Her grandmother, however, would object and would clearly rather believe that Denise is writing so she could become a nurse than believe her granddaughter would take such an non-honorable profession.
Denise loved to journal and write, and she is rather good at it for her age, of course. And it can help people, and of course, she can do it in the comfort of her bed rather than wearing white scrubs that smelled of isopropyl alcohol and sterile cleanness.
It was another day at the Great Hall. Denise was reading the Hogwarts Headliner Issue #48, published back in April. It was a special joke edition that Denise thought was rather funny. She did not get The Hogwarts Hieroglyphliner by Livia Machavariani, but she thought the rest of the articles were rather humorous. She was then in The Hogwarts Headmasterliner by Aly Salinger. She didn't understand why there were italics and bold letters and different letter shapes and sizes. But like the rest of the school, she thought it was hilarious that the headmaster, Lear, with his intimidating height and beard, was made fun of. She had to cut up that picture and paste it into her scrapbook later. Denise wanted to start a scrapbook diary in her second year and wanted to write or force herself to write and reflect on herself.
Over at the Ravenclaw table, she noticed a pale girl flopping her head in frustration, with sparking light green eyes and curly brownish-blondish hair. Who was it... Aly Salinger, wasn't it? The girl who is part of The Hogwarts Headliner. Denise was excited but also nervous. Salinger was a seventh year, maybe she would find her to be annoying.
But Denise couldn't keep her eyes away. Realizing much to her embarrassment that she is staring, she sighed and decided to talk to her. Taking felt foreign, especially to someone six years older than her. Nervously, Denise hovered over to the Ravenclaw table, looking foreign with her Hufflepuff robes and clothing.
"Hi..." Denise said, "Are you, Aly Salinger? I'm a fan of your writing!"
Was it awkward to admit? Probably. But Denise just couldn't talk and tried to learn something new. Something in the girl's expression and face made her want to talk to her, but she was unable to place what it was.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------- actions + ooc notesinteracting with @Aly Salinger
mentions@Aly Salinger
outfitlink
dialogue#847D7F
thoughtsitalics
statssta 7 | eva 5 | str 5 | wis 7 | arc 5 | acc 6
-♡-
------------
To Write One's Story
This banner contains AI art and was created over a year ago; I do not currently utilise AI art in my banners.
Even with her freckled face pressed solidly into equally freckled arms, Aly couldn't help but still be trying to dream up exactly what solution would pull her out of this writer's block funk. Could she give advice to the younger ones, perhaps? No - no, that was trite and overdone by now. Could she make a joke about her leaving? No, because that, too, would seem disingenuous; those who knew her best were well aware of the fact that though the seventh-year was very much looking forward to her dream job and a life free of societal responsibility and pressure, she was also quite sad about leaving the place that had been a home, a refuge for her for the last seven years. But then again, she couldn't be too sappy either. No one wanted to read a seventh-year crying in the paper.
So caught up in her train of thought was she that Aly didn't really notice the young girl approaching her at first, a copy of the Headliner clutched in her small hand. Last month's, of course; Aly doubted anyone had a Time-Turner around here. She didn't introduce herself, but seemed to know who Aly was, and the seventh-year jerked her head up at the sound of her own name. First and last. The mystery was solved a moment later when the girl outed herself as a fan of Aly's writing, though, which of course brought a wry smile to the teenager's face.
"Are you, now? Always nice to hear that someone reads my drivel, at least," she remarked, somewhat snarkily, before immediately second-guessing her tone and biting her tongue with regret. First-years, especially strange ones, weren't really the type to be sarcastic and witty towards; no, that would just drive them off their big dreams. Aly could remember being eleven and thinking the world was at her feet - and now that she was eighteen and it really was, somehow her dreams didn't seem too big at all. They just seemed... ordinary. But who was she to take that away from someone so small and starry-eyed? To make the girl feel more comfortable, she pushed away some of the crumpled parchments and patted the seat beside her. "Here, take a seat - if you want. Mind if I ask you what your favourite article is? I do love to hear what people enjoy reading. And I could use some inspiration right about now."
May 19, 2026 | outfit in banner | @Denise Yarbrough | #C47DDB
lovely & charmer affect everyone | sta 10, eva 14, str 5, wis 19, arc 7, acc 18
gen1 Aly Salinger || gen1 iNPC Manu Macedo || gen2 Kahira Valerian || staff Aulis Vorozheykin