A Missing Sketchbook
| ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ |
|
▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ |
Date: Friday, 9 October 2026
▛ |
▜ |
|
|
||
▙ |
▟ |
Making memories that last
A Missing Sketchbook
________________________________________
WC: 697
Private thread with Elara Whitlock.
Note: Sorry that it was kinda delayed, and it's very long
________________________________________Josh made his way to Ravenclaw Tower after the last class of the day, planning to spend his Friday afternoon relaxing with fellow Ravenclaws. It was while he was in the common room that he heard a tap on the window he was sitting near. He looked, and saw that it was his owl. He had sent him to deliver a letter to his parents five days ago. He opened the window, and noticed that he returned with a letter which was tied to his leg.
"Thanks" he said to his owl with a smile, and untied the letter from his leg. He was in no rush to read it, so he put it into his pocket. He gently stroked his owl's head, before speaking again, "Alright, get moving then." His owl instantly obeyed his words, and began flying again. He assumed he was going to the Owlery to rest, because that is what he meant when he said that. He watched him, wings spread widely as he glided through the air, not at all looking like he had just come back from a five day journey. The view of the grounds was surprisingly good from Ravenclaw Tower. So good, that he managed to see his owl flying towards a girl setting beneath a tree, and snatch something she was holding with his talons. "Oh, not again..." he muttered to himself, as he watched the owl flying back towards the castle and the girl trying to chase after him. This was not the first time he had done this unfortunately, when he just got the owl during the summer, he used to bring him many stolen things from his neighbors. Each time he had to embarrassingly return them. This however was the first time he had stolen something at Hogwarts, he was so sure that being around other owls was helping him be more down to earth. It returned to the small window at Ravenclaw Tower, and Josh could now see that it was some kind of notebook that he was holding in his talons. "No Columbus, you don't steal things! Remember?" he took the book and opened the cover, which had some words written on it, This book is the property of Elara Whitlock. The name did not really ring a bell. He turned to the first page, and saw a drawing of a tree. It was actually quite good. The next page had a drawing of a butterfly. He was surprised at how elegant the pencil strokes were. This Elara seemed to be a true artist. "You, go to the Owlery, and don't take things on your way there" he said to his owl firmly, who immediately flew out again. He sighed as he closed the window, he was going to have to return it and apologize for his silly owl's behavior. He left Ravenclaw Tower, and made his way down the castle so that he could get to the great lake, which was hopefully where the girl, Elara, still was. As he rushed down to catch her before she left, he looked through a few more pages of her sketchbook. Each drawing had the same art style and pencil strokes, only that each progressing one was slightly better than the previous. He made it outside, and saw that she was still there, and he carefully made his way up to her. He needed to be careful in his choice of words because after all, she had every right to report him which could end him up in big trouble. "Hello... Are you Elara Whitlock? I'm Josh Ericson, I think my owl might have taken this from you..." he held the book up, sort of defensively. The embarrassment was evident in his voice. "I'm sorry about him, he doesn't mean any harm." he looked at the ground, trying to think of something else to say. "You should know, they're actually really good - the drawings" he spoke as he offered the book back to her. "I'm sorry that I looked at them, I hope you don't mind." Internally he wished he was anywhere else, he couldn't even look this girl, Elara, in the eye properly.
@Elara Whitlock
A Missing Sketchbook
| ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ |
|
▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ |
Date: Friday, 9 October 2026
▛ |
▜ |
|
|
||
▙ |
▟ |
Making memories that last
A Missing Sketchbook
________________________________________
WC: 462
Private thread with Elara Whitlock.
________________________________________Elara's reaction was surprisingly calm. Let's just say that the neighbors had very different reactions when his owl used to take things from them and Josh had to return them. Looking at her properly, she didn't actually seem like the person to make a big fuss over nothing. Josh always tried not to judge people by their appearances, but Elara looked like a very laid-back down to earth person - her reaction just confirmed it. After Josh complimented her drawings she spoke again, "Thank you... I just like drawing whenever I have some free time." He understood, sometimes he also drew doodles on pieces of parchment whenever he was bored, but they were never good, and he always threw them out. "And... I don't mind that you saw them." He was relieved to hear this, he knew he crossed a line by looking at them in the first place, but he was happy she didn't think of it like that. "As long as they didn't get damaged." He nodded as soon as she said it. "Of course, don't worry, I made sure to be careful when I looked at them. But there might be a scratch on the cover from his talons - I'm so sorry about that!" Even if she said she was okay with the whole situation, he still felt bad. "Does your owl do that often?" He couldn't help but smirk when she asked him that. "More times than you'd expect. At first it was just my neighbors' post, then it was their keys, shoes and cellphones. Things really went too far when he took one of my neighbors' diamond earrings..." He winced just thinking about that day, it was so bad that the police almost got involved. Fortunately his parents were able to handle the situation and assured the neighbor they were going to ''send him away" for his behavior. Of course they just said that because it was a prime excuse to justify where he went when he attended Hogwarts this year. "Let's just say I kept a lock on his cage for the rest of summer after that..." He knew with a firm hand and a little more training, Columbus would learn that he should only deliver letters and parcels to him. He suspected something went wrong during his initial training because all wizard domesticated owls were properly trained to deliver post. Oh well, he really didn't care if he lacked some training, it was only a minor issue when you took into account how much he loved him. And besides, Columbus delivered post for him perfectly, he only had that one flaw. "So, you said you like to draw? You must have been drawing for quite a while to be able to draw like that."
@Elara Whitlock
A Missing Sketchbook
| ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ |
|
▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ |
Date: Friday, 9 October 2026
▛ |
▜ |
|
|
||
▙ |
▟ |
Making memories that last
A Missing Sketchbook
________________________________________
WC: 425
Private thread with Elara Whitlock.
________________________________________"I've been drawing for a few years, I started before coming to Hogwarts." Her answer didn't really surprise him, he didn't expect those sketches to be done by someone who started drawing yesterday. Still, her commitment to sketching intrigued him. He continued to listen carefully to what she had to say about her artistic backstory "I don't usually decide what I'm going to draw before I start. Most of the time, it's just whatever catches my attention." She began to glance at the Great Lake, he wasn't sure why she was staring at it, but he looked as well. "Places like this, trees, flowers... sometimes even small things that other people might not notice." He hardly noticed the smaller things in life that were mostly overlooked. It seemed like Elara however always noticed them. He was also sort of like that only he was more of a social observer - he tended to mainly observe the behavior and actions of people around him. "I guess when you feel sort of isolated, you tend to notice those things." He continued to glance at the lake, deep in thought. Of course he wasn't referring to Elara, he was mainly speaking about how he himself sometimes felt. His voice also didn't have any apparent sadness, in fact he found his ability to observe people naturally a strength. "I still have a lot to improve, though. Most of these are just practice." He didn't really pay attention to what Elara said, he was still in deep thought as he stared at the lake. This happened quite often, his mind would randomly wander at the most unusual times. "What about you? Do you draw too?" He snapped back to reality, and his attention shifted back to Elara when she asked him. "Me? Uh, not really. I mean, sometimes I draw doodles, but I'm not nearly as good as you." He thought about the small little doodles he drew on extra parchments he had. "And I don't really draw what I see.. Well I do. He was trying to find the best possible way to explain it without contradicting himself or confusing Elara. "I draw whatever I see in my mind, when my imagination wanders." He thought it sounded weird in his mind after he said it. "It doesn't really matter anyway because I don't keep them" He looked at the sketchbook in her hands, and recalled the first few drawing he saw before he returned it to her. "Do you mind me asking what made you want to start drawing?"
@Elara Whitlock
A Missing Sketchbook
| ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ |
|
▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ |
Date: Friday, 9 October 2026
▛ |
▜ |
|
|
||
▙ |
▟ |
Making memories that last
A Missing Sketchbook
________________________________________
WC: 451
Private thread with Elara Whitlock.
________________________________________After hearing Elara speak about how she had never thrown away any of her drawings, it was clear that she was attached to her sketches. Perhaps she had her reasons, but he refrained himself from asking because he didn't want to overstep or push her. Still, he decided to ask her, out of curiosity, why she started drawing. She went quiet for a moment, maybe thinking, before she answered. "Um... I don't really know. I never planned to start." He felt slightly hesitant to ask Elara this, because they just met and weren't really friends. He was glad that she was still willing to answer and be open though. "Sometimes I just want to remember them, so I draw them." Josh could see on her face that she was hesitant to continue, but she continued speaking anyway. "My parents always liked seeing my drawings. They never cared if they were good or not. They were just happy that I enjoyed it." He stared back at the lake, thinking about what Elara had just said. "I get it. It's like me and reading" He shifted his attention from the lake back to her. "I started reading at first because it was one of the only ways I could entertain myself." He thought about the times when he was still in primary school, and his mother used to give him books from many different grades and subjects since she worked at the school - mainly history books. "The more I read the more my parents praised me. I started reading more because I felt happy about making them proud, and eventually I just grew to enjoy it." He was very grateful to his parents, it was thanks to them making him read regularly from a young age that he could read so well and understand literature and books much more advanced than his age. "Maybe you should keep one. Just one of your drawings. It might be interesting to look at it again a few years from now." The idea of keeping his silly doodles and scribbles was so amusing, he couldn't help but chuckle for a moment before speaking. "Perhaps I should keep a few, to remember my childhood by. The idea has never crossed my mind until now." He looked at her sketchbook again. Her drawings were curious and interesting, both in how good they were and the lingering thought that maybe each of them could have a hidden backstory. "Do you have any favorite drawings in there? I'm sure you're proud of all of them, but are there any drawings that are special to you?" Again, this sort of question seemed a bit personal, naturally was hesitant to ask it.
@Elara Whitlock
A Missing Sketchbook
| ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ ░▓ |
|
▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ ▓░ |
Date: Friday, 9 October 2026
▛ |
▜ |
|
|
||
▙ |
▟ |
Making memories that last
A Missing Sketchbook
________________________________________
WC: 487
Private thread with Elara Whitlock.
________________________________________Elara was quiet for some time. Eventually she opened her sketchbook, and turned each page carefully and slowly. Josh was able to catch glances of some sketches he did not get to see, that were further inside the book. "This one..." She said after stopping on a page that had a sketch of an old oak tree beside a narrow path, with a wooden bench beneath its branches. It really captured the expression of the setting. " "It isn't my best drawing anymore. I made it before I came to Hogwarts." Josh still thought it looked more sophisticated than the few drawings he managed to see at the start of the book. "That isn't your best?" He said as he continued looking at it. "I wonder what your best looks like then." He said jokingly as he grinned. "My parents were there that day. Mum was reading on the bench, and Dad stayed beside her while I was drawing." He thought about how down to earth Elara's parents must be to spend their time in such a meaningful way. "It wasn't anything special. I can't even remember what we were talking about. I just remember sitting there for a long time. Every so often Dad would lean over and ask to see what I was drawing, and Mum always smiled whenever I turned the sketchbook around." Josh assumed from that one explanation that Elara probably had a relatively peaceful and happy childhood with her parents. "Your parents sound like very cool people." He said with a soft smile as he turned to look at the lake for a brief moment, then turning back to her. "I think that's why I always come back to this one. It reminds me of home. Whenever I see it, I remember that afternoon. That's all I really need." Maybe that's why she's attached to them, he thought to himself. Some of the drawings probably had some sentimental meaning, that's why she was so protective of them. Like the one she showed him was like a piece of her home that she brought with her to Hogwarts. "Wow... I would have never guessed that a drawing of a tree, path and bench would have a deeper backstory." It made him look at the the environment around him in a new way. "So... I guess that's what makes it special." He was glad he was able to return the sketchbook back to her, losing it might have been difficult for her. "It must have been hard for you to leave home to come to Hogwarts. I know when I first arrived in my First Year it was hard for me... He sighed, and dropped to sit down beneath the same tree she was sitting under before. "Now Hogwarts is like a second home to me." He said with admiration in his voice as he stared at the large castle in the close distance.
@Elara Whitlock