Hogwarts Summer Camp Campfire Stories

Durmstrang's Valentin "Niffler" Schnell

Interaction: @Evelynn Decipio
Open to interactions from anyone.

Aurélie sat down beside Eyre on a soft, velvet pillow. A small crowd had formed around the cerulean fire. They gave off a welcome heat for many students, the evening had gotten colder and every now and then a breeze would move the blue flames back and forth. Aurélie listened to the chitchat and whispers of the students surrounding her seat. It was hard for her to block out all the sounds. Her condition made it easy to hear every single whisper which could sometimes be a burden and give the Scottish girl a headache.

Eyre’s response to her earlier question about Zyk gave her a voice to focus on. “Oh, Zyk? Yeah, we shared a dorm together and got to know each other there. He’s a good friend to have. Very extroverted, usually. We like to scrap a lot, which is always great fun.” The Gryffindor continued to say how odd it was to see his friend upset and out of his usual mannerism. “I hope he’s okay. Do you think he’s alright by himself? I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to go check on him.”, Aurélie responded. She didn’t want to pry or interfere but she thought it was important to take care of friends. Although, she had only met Zykeal so he wasn’t her friend yet, Eyre seemed like a loyal friend and Aurélie was certain he would help him out.

“You’re going to make lots of friends here. Hopefully they’ll act less strange than mine have been, recently.” Eyre confessed to Aurélie. He chuckled and asked her; “Do you have loads of friends at home?” The female student thought for a moment and responded with; “Uhm, I wouldn’t say that… I know a lot of people in my hometown, I help my nanna manage her bakery so I see lots of townspeople, but actual friends… I don’t know. I’ve never really had someone I could tell everything to or could call in the middle of the night if I needed to. I suppose it’s always been just me and Nanna.” Aurélie kept silent for a few minutes and thought of her home before she continued; “Not that I mind to be honest. I think it would be nice having someone you can trust and spend time with but I’m used to being by myself I guess.” Aurélie didn't want to sound pathetic to Eyre and tried to cover up her real feelings. There’s nothing wrong with having few friends.. or none. I’m fine by myself, the girl told herself mentally. An annoying feeling of loneliness crept up on her and she tried to ignore it but the thoughts of wanting a soulmate kept intruding her mind. Absently her hands rubbed over her legs as she stared into the campfire flames. The singing of another student pulled her into a daydream and Aurélie swayed to the pleasant rhythm of the lullaby.

Reducio

Ileen was taken by surprise when someone approached her. She normally was very skilled at staying in the background of social events. The Slytherin celebration party had been literally the first time she ever had gotten involved in the interactions. And ever since, she had been even more careful to stay in observer mode.

When the young brunette Slytherin turned to the person who had spoken to her, her brown eyes met sapphire blue ones. Eyes that she could remember. Ileen didn’t know many of her housemates or students at Hogwarts in general. So if one had caught her attention it was very likely that she would remember them. Even though they had never spoken before Ileen could recall the Slytherin celebration party and the girl glaring into the room before leaving again. Ileen still wasn’t sure at whom she had been glaring - she had wanted to ask Erik but actually had forgotten to do so. But the reaction of leaving the party without actually attending was quite relatable for Ileen. She herself would have loved to do so.

She also knew her as the girl with the camera. Part of Ileen had hoped to meet her in a calm situation, so she could talk to her. She was one of the few people of her own house Ileen was actually interested in. Hence, she was pleasantly surprised when she faced her now.
The corners of her mouth curled into a soft smile and she glanced at her camera before looking at the camera girl again. She was glad the other Slytherin wasn’t glaring this time. “Hey. Honestly, I haven’t thought about that yet,” she admitted and frowned. A slightly embarrassed laugh escaped her. “I have no idea what I’m doing, really. I brought the camera before the summer camp, because I want to capture some memories and maybe start a photo album.” She shook her head about herself and brushed a strand of her long brown hair from her eyes, her cheeks turning pink. Why hadn’t she thought about this before?
With a sigh, she raised her camera. “I don’t even know whether the pictures have turned out okay at all.” Curiously she glanced at the other girl. “How do you do it? I heard rumors that you are very skilled. Do you develop them by yourself?”
And how long have you been doing this? And can you provide me with some tips? Ileen bit her tongue to not be too intrusive.

With one of her rare smiles she cocked her head to one side. “I’m Ileen, by the way.” She reached out over the table to offer the other girl a handshake. Her heart was still beating fast. It was an unfamiliar situation for her. It was the first time she wanted to learn something about someone else. Usually, she kept her mouth shut.

Closed to interactions | interacting with @Santario Martin

· · ─────── ·✧· ─────── · ·

Interacting with @Amara Dragamior

The very sight of the campfire setup brought back a wave of memories for Cielle. Growing up in the circus, there had often been many late nights where the children stayed up, sitting around a campfire - sometimes talking about any upcoming performances, sometimes complaining about how tiring training had been that day, and the most common one - telling stories that scared the shit out of the younger performers. (Cielle was never scared; she was always the one who was scaring people.) If she stood in the middle of the setup and closed her eyes, it was almost like being back in Norway again. The crackling of the fire was the same, the smell of the melted marshmallows, the laughter and the chattering... only, it was so much hotter here in London. In Norway, it was always cold - and she couldn't exactly ignore the fact that there was English in the mix of chatter as well - and the fact that her wand was sticking out of her pocket- and that she was supposed to watch a Quidditch match in a couple of days...

Cielle's eyes snapped open and she frowned. Hm. Not quite the same thing.

Still, it came pretty close, and as she ventured over to grab some s'mores, the Durmstrang student suddenly found herself feeling grateful that she was on this trip. She didn't really like Quidditch and had only come to London as a bit of a joke, but it was actually rather nice to meet some of the students from the other schools. Cielle surveyed the scene with a grin on her face, raking a hand through her short brown hair as she looked for a familiar face amongst the crowd. She couldn't sit alone - that was just freaking lame, man. Hey, actually, maybe she could find someone new to sit with. Make friends with them, exchange phone numbers - or addresses, depending on who they were...

Cielle closed her eyes and spun around in a circle, one arm pointed in front of her. Whoever this lands on, I'll go sit with them. This was how she worked, really - impulse, plain impulse, and a little bit of luck as well. When she opened her eyes, she swayed slightly on the spot, giggling breathlessly from the momentum of her spin, and righted herself before looking in the direction of her pointer finger. A girl, sitting on her own... she weren't readily identifiable from here, but Cielle could tell she was doing her hair in some kind of braid. [IN NORWEGIAN] "Ha! This'll be interesting," she said to herself, smirking as she made her way over. She plopped down onto the seat next to the other girl as she arrived, not even bothering to ask first. It was only after she put her s'mores down that Cielle began to speak in perfect English, tilting her head to take a closer look at her new companion. The girl was quite pretty, actually, with feathery blonde hair and large, beautiful eyes... it was just the humming that threw Cielle off. Like... why...?

[IN ENGLISH] "What's with the singing? Don't think anyone can hear you. They're too engrossed in their own little conversations like the self-centred idiots they are," she cracked, grinning widely at the blonde. "Anyway, I'm Cielle - Johansen, if you must," Cielle added her surname as an afterthought, with a grimace, "but going by last names is stupid, so maybe don't. I'm from Durmstrang, by the way. You?"

· · ─────── ·✧· ─────── · ·

Reducio

Permission has been granted by @Béatrice Lydursdattir to briefly use her character for an even briefer reaction on her part.

Alma arrived at the campsite a bit later than she’d have liked. The tent that she had brought with her on her uncles’ suggestions, had given her quite a bit of trouble when trying to set it up. Multiple times, when she had thought that the tent stood securely, it had collapsed on her like wet tissues. Now that it was standing and dressed in more comfortable clothing (consisting out of black Muggle leggings, a much too large, black t-shirt, and her mum’s purple shawl) she made her way to the campfire where they had been promised tasty treats and stories. And if Alma loved one thing, it was story-time. Her bare feet were making little sound on the mossy ground, although she sort of wished that she had opted for shoes after all. It was bound to get cold eventually.
Finally, she could see the telltale blue glimmer of the campfire. A few people were already seated around the fire, some sitting on the benches, some opting to sit on the floor or on cushions. Awkwardly, Alma joined them, waving at some people she recognised and politely greeting their Runes Professor and Prefect.
Grabbing one of the pillows, Alma dragged it closer to the fire and sat down on it, wrapping the shawl around herself to get comfortable.
For a while, Alma did little more than watching the people around her talk in separate little groups. Some were, as far as she could tell, talking about food, others were introducing themselves and again others were talking in languages she wasn’t familiar with. She thought that, at one point, she heard humming or maybe even singing, but it was far too quiet to be completely sure.
After a bit more time has passed, Alma began to speak, addressing her Runes Professor to make it less awkward. It only worked somewhat.
“So...I’ve been told that anyone that wants to share a story can do so. I have a few, but I’d like to tell the story one of my uncles would sometimes tell me and my older brother. Mostly to scare me, I think. It’s more unsettling than it is scary or anything. Should I just begin with the story or do you want to tell your own stories first?”
For a while, the elderly professor didn’t react. Alma was wondering if maybe she hadn’t spoken loud enough but finally, the professor nodded, which Alma took as the sign that she was good to go.

“Alright. So. I’m sure some of you might have heard of them. Maybe even know someone who ran into them at some point, in someplace. Somewhere you definitely wouldn’t expect them to be. I’m speaking of the abandoned staircases.
You’ll find them in places devoid of humans, like deep in the woods, in a plain field, or even in a cave. My uncle claims to have met a man that once saw one at the bottom of a lake that he’d taken his family to while on vacation. He’d been using Gillyweed to explore the murky depths of the lake when he had found them, appearing before him almost from one moment to the next. The stairs he’d found apparently had been wrought iron, winding tightly. Like the ones one might find while climbing the Astronomy Tower. Or maybe at an old lighthouse.
He had said that, despite being underwater for probably a considerable amount of time, the stairs appeared to have been left perfectly untouched by underwater vegetation and wildlife. Fish wouldn’t go near them. He claims that the longer he looked at the stairs, the more unsettling they became. It was like they weren’t truly part of the environment, despite being firmly stuck in the ground. When my uncle asked the man if he’d ever gone near them or maybe even just went closer to inspect them, the man had firmly shaken his head, claiming that some things were just better left alone.
Now my uncle, like most members of my family, work in our book store down in Knockturn. So he did some digging, asked around if people had heard of these any more strange stairs like the ones the man had found in the lake. And sure enough, people came forward, claiming that they were a phenomenon that even Muggles knew about. And that even Muggles avoided them whenever they’d encounter those strange staircases. One helpful clue brought my uncle to Galloway Forest where multiple people claimed to have seen stairs stand amidst the trees and leading absolutely nowhere. He was also told, very resolutely, to never go near any of them. When my uncle inquired for the reason, he was usually simply told that bad things would happen.
However my uncle always was a Gryffindor at heart and a fieldwork enthusiast as well, so he and my dad packed their things for a week-long camping trip in the woods. Back then I was about three or so years old, so I don’t really recall whether or not this actually happened or if my uncle just wanted to mess with us, but apparently, my dad and he ran into one of those stairs after two days of hiking around the old, deep woods. The staircase they found looked like it was the only thing left of a once stately home, built out of red bricks and the steps made out of dark hardwood. There apparently was a lot of rubble around the stairs, but the stairs themselves once more looked like the elements didn’t harm them overly much. There even still was a gleam to the wooden steps as if someone had come and polished them not too long ago.
Now, my dad won’t really speak much of the incident, just saying that there was something wrong about those stairs. He wouldn’t go near them and he tried to convince my uncle to not go near them either. But my uncle wouldn’t hear any of it, having invested far too much time to just chicken out now and slowly began to climb the stairs.
My dad at this point will start having this strange expression on his face. As if he were recalling something that was just a bit too much to truly comprehend. I don’t know if you ever had that experience where you are just confronted with something and think ‘This isn’t really happening. This can’t really be happening. There is just no way.’.
I suppose it might be what discovering magic for Muggleborn is like. Where your perception of reality is just changed monumentally, from one moment to the next.
Anyways, my uncle climbed up the stairs and my dad apparently got this feeling like they were doing something terribly wrong. Like the forest was waking up to watch my uncle climb. Like they were doing something forbidden. The wind started picking up at this point because, there was something going on so of course, the weather was turning bad, so my dad called for my uncle to come back down before he fell, but my uncle didn’t hear him and didn’t notice the rogue storm just building and just kept climbing. And just before my uncle reached the top of the stairs, my dad got this horrible feeling of being watched. So, taking his eyes off his brother, my dad started looking around for any sign of people or animals having approached them.
He didn’t see anything, so he turned back to check on my uncle who at this point just was waving wildly at my dad, shouting from what it looked like although my dad still insists that he didn’t hear my uncle at all. My uncle kept waving and pointing at something to my dad’s left, so my dad of course turned to look and check for people. Again. Like he just did. And there, partially hidden behind a tree was something. Or someone. The person standing there was, as far as my dad could tell, tall and emaciated-looking. But they weren’t unnaturally tall. There was nothing that would suggest that they were evil or anything like that. They weren’t demonic-looking. They didn’t have any claws or weapons. They weren’t even getting closer. The figure was just standing there, perfectly still. Watching. Not my dad, though. The angle of the figure’s head was wrong for that. They looked like they were watching my uncle.
For a long while, my dad didn’t move a muscle, hardly daring to breathe. Then, he noticed that the wind had settled and the usual noises had once more returned to the forest. The figure moved back behind one of the trees near it...and was just gone. My dad looked back at my uncle to check if maybe he could see the creature. But my uncle was also gone. My dad, panicked that my uncle might have fallen off and hurt himself, started looking for my uncle immediately. But no amount of looking or point-me spells brought any result. My uncle had vanished into thin air. The next morning, after a night of looking, my dad apparated back home to tell my family what happened. They, of course, immediately started organising a search party to find my uncle. But the forest they had gone to was, and still is, massive and they weren’t able to locate the stairs again.
For days they searched, coming home every evening with no more clues than what they had left with. Then, exactly a week later, my family returned home to find my uncle sitting in front of the fire in our sitting room, looking perfectly fine if a bit tired. When questioned, he’d say that it was my dad that had disappeared and that my uncle had suddenly found himself alone in the middle of the forest. So he had apparated home, taken a shower, and had tea. Then he had sat down by the fire until our family returned back home. He wasn’t even aware that an entire week had passed. To him, it had only been a few hours. I don’t know if the story my uncle told me really happened. Although I don’t really think he was lying. Maybe there was more to it, maybe not. But I’m pretty good with trusting my intuition and I could never quite shake that feeling that my uncle and my dad found something old and dangerous that day and only got away due to sheer dumb luck.”

Alma took a few moments after she had finished the story, just taking a couple of deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart down. She liked telling stories, and didn’t mind drawing attention to herself (although she still preferred the solitude and silence of the library) but sharing a story like that left her vulnerable. Especially by being the first to tell a story. So Alma braced herself for any snide remarks that might very soon be sent her way.

Open to interactions

Interacts with : @Lucia Fox | @Scarlett Aden
Open for one more interaction

"Well hello to you both"Cash said to Lucia and Scarlett in more normal greeting than their previous one. Then Cash watched as Lucia put a colorful cube like candy onto her stick and burn it on top of the blue dancing flame. As the flame lapped up the thing, it become melted and it seems like become more like a rubber instead of a sweets.

"Uhh.. is that a normal thing?"Cash look at the sweets kebab that Lucia roasted. They look at the thing warily. The thing melted and become more gooey from where they seated. When Scarlett quipped that if and when another party will arise to the occasion, Cash will easily find the pair because the pair always near some food or treats.

The green eyes girl can not help to let out a small chuckle at that statement. "Or I could just shout 'food' and I bet both of you will be the first people in line"Cash throw their playful wit to their new friends. Scarlett asked when the event will be start. "I am not sure"Cash look up at the sky. The heavy cloud starting to form above their head.

"I hope the rain will not come down pouring on us when the stories begin, if it happen then what a bummer"Cash uttered. They wrapped the colorful blanket around them tightly when the gush of wind picked up. "Are you not getting cold in that garb, Luce?"Cash inquires the Badger. It is somewhat become their habit to shorten people name when they feel comfortable around that person.

When the sweet treats done being roasted by Lucia, she tentatively stick her tongue to it. But immediately retracted it. Lucia then told the duo that she know a song that fit perfectly for the occasion. She took a moment to compose herself then not a moment later, Lucia open her mouth. She sang with soft tone and melody.

Cash under their blanket look at their friend. When Lucia done singing the song, the soon to be second year Serpent smile at her. "That was beautiful, Luce"The purple dyed hair girl stated. "Both for the song and your voice"They added. "Did you write that song? It seems like a lullaby to me with how the soft melody is"Cash put out their opinion about the song that Lucia sang.

Béatrice had watched the first children to arrive, led by Griseldis. Some of them greeted her, some of them just took something to eat and sat somewhere. They had their priorities straight.
She enjoyed her pipe and the fresh air with the hint of burning wood. So far nobody had started to tell a story, but she would wait. Naturally, she had prepared a few just in case everyone was too shy or too scared to tell anything by themselves. This evening belonged the children, she said to herself. So she waited.
With her eyes closed, she listened to faint murmurs. They were engaged in talking in each group, but no overall story still. Well, if they didn't feel like wanting to hear stories at all, that was fine with Béatrice as well.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smoke of her pipe. With that she continued, while staring into the blue fire. The chair was uncomfortable but nevertheless her eyes went heavier with each passing minute. Noticing that she was close to drifting off, she forced herself to keep her eyes wide awake, though she did not pay attention to what was going on around her. As long as everything was peacefully and people had fun, she was happy.

Béatrice did her best to stay awake, unfortunately she lost the battle. With her eyes still open, she drifted into a light slumber. Her head occasionally bobbed, but she managed to keep herself sitting upright even though her consciousness had been fallen into sleep.

Interacting| @Ileen Knight
Closed to interactions

Outfit | Jacket | Camera Bag

Interacting with @Cassandra Ironwoods
Sunny (Scarlett)'s on break so I'm not interacting with her in this post.

"Uh... Is that a normal thing?
"I..." Lucia looked at the melting sugar on her stick rather doubtfully. "...have no idea. Maybe it's a muggle thing?"
"Or I could just shout 'food' and I bet both of you will be the first people in line."
"Objection," Lucia smiled, looking up at the Slytherin for the first time that day. "I think 'sugar' would get me there far faster." She grinned. "Briar can never understand why I eat so much of it."
"Are you not getting cold in that garb, Luce?"
Luce?!
"Really, you can call me Lucia-" she mumbled awkwardly, and then realised that Cash probably hadn't heard her. She coughed. "Sorry. I said, you can call me Lucia-" Merlin, why was it so hard to tell someone you didn't like a nickname?!
Well, it wasn't that she didn't like it, Lucia admitted. It was just... Weird.
Lucia Fox had one nickname, and that was Lucy, and only her family used that.
Oh, Merlin. The Hufflepuff cursed under her breath.
Cash wasn't offended, were they? Lucia sincerely hoped not.
"I mean-" she started, then broke off. "You can-" Nope. "I-" Lucia let out a small sigh. "Never- never mind." she muttered, cringing at the awkwardness of the whole situation
Lucia coughed. "Um, anyway. Sorry." She coughed again, and pinned a little smile onto her face. Luckily, it stayed there without much encouragement - apart from the awkwardness of the naming situation, Lucia was enjoying herself quite thoroughly.
"I mean, the blanket was definitely a good idea," she told Cash, looking longingly at the rainbow draped around their legs.

The girl then sung a song. When she had finished she sighed - a happy sigh - and tentively touched her tongue to the sweets on her stick. Thank Merlin, they were cool now, and Lucia stuck the end of the stick in her mouth in order to pull the last - what were they called again? Sunbeams or something? - off the stick. "Mmmm," she mumbled appreciatively, and pulled the stick out of her mouth, leaving the sweet in.
"That was beautiful, Luce. Both for the song and your voice."
Lucia quickly chewed the sweet and swallowed it before speaking.
"Thanks," Lucia blushed slightly, and smiled back at... her friend? Lucia hoped so. She steadfastly ignored the fact that Cash had called her 'Luce' again, and thought optimistically, 'Maybe I'll get used to it. It might grow on me?'
Seemed the traits of Hufflepuff were growing on her at least.
"Did you write that song?"
Lucia snorted at the idea, though she couldn't help feeling rather flattered.
"I wish," she replied truthfully. "I don't do composing, really."
"It seems like a lullaby to me with how the soft melody is."
"Yeah, I think so," the Hufflepuff nodded in agreement. "I can't remember where I heard it though." because i seriously doubt a pureblood witch is gonna have a scratch/flat.io account
She stuck the stick in her mouth again - probably some kind of health and safety concern, poking sharp sticks into your mouth, but never mind - and, using her teeth, pulled an orange one into her mouth this time before retracting the stick.