Hogwarts Summer Camp Stargazing

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Interacting with @Cecily Quinn | Closed to other interactions

𝓐madea shifted awkwardly on the blanket; she still felt bad from the weird encounter earlier and she regretted saying anything to the last member of their trio. Thankfully, it seemed like Cecily had moved on from the situation and was focused more on the stars, so Amadea tried to do the same. After all, that was why they had come on this adventure in the first place: to bond and learn more about the stars.

Being able to see the night sky was so calming for Amadea. It made her feel so much smaller and insignificant, but not in a negative way. It kind of just reminded her that she was just a small speck in such a giant universe and it helped her to put everything in perspective and realize her place in the universe. It was a calming and grounding thing to be staring at the stars. Amadea realized Cecily was speaking and made an effort to take in all of the words she was saying. Her story sounded like a wonderful time.

"It must be so nice to be able to see the stars," Amadea commented with a laugh. Cecily lived in the middle of nowhere in Ireland on a moor somewhere while Amadea had grown up in the heart of London. With the bright lights of the city, it made it hard to see the stars. Now that Amadea lived in more of a suburb part of England in Camberley, she figured stargazing wouldn't be as difficult. However, she and Kat had never taken the time to do that, while it seemed like Cecily and her siblings did a lot. "Should we try to find some of these constellations?" Amadea asked, glancing down at the sheet in front of her and trying to match the patterns of dots to the twinkling lights in the sky.

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The professor felt inclined to encourage a certain level of manageable mischief in students that would listen to her. It was best to let out one's rebellious tweenage angst in small, productive ways, rather than bottling it up until they end up breaking and doing something extreme, such as dying their hair or picking up an instrument. "The bones know," she said to @Ileen Knight, with a helpless shrug that implied that the reading was entirely beyond her control. As if Ileen wouldn't have just believed anything she said about the bones. But in this case, there was no need to lie - both Rosalind and the girls had gotten what they wanted from the reading. Everybody wins.

As Ileen bounced up and spoke to her friend, Professor Kibitzer was visibly shocked by what she heard from the young lady. Not only did she accept the reading, but she realized that she'd still have to apply a little elbow grease to make sure the prophecy came true. Now that was a start student in the making, right there. Rosalind held onto a small, tight-lipped smile, perhaps the most genuine one she had worn in months. Unlikely as it was, the clumsy duo of Ileen and Dee seemed to be the first students to really impress the professor at this school. But it would take a little bit more doing to get Rosalind to admit it.

@Dealla Prince seemed like the less impressive of the pair, with her squeaking and giggling. She was a bit shy, which was something the professor loathed - but if she had someone nearby who could speak for her, such as Ileen, Rosalind was sure they would go far. Every hero needed a sidekick, after all.

@Howard White was next. Rosalind's gaze lingered on his face, staring into his eyes. Long enough, maybe, to make him consider that she could know something of his sinister task. But she could glean no such information by her gaze alone. Still, she could see the way he dragged his feet, the sweat on his brow, and the other signs of his anxiety. But she suspected nothing. He was just another nervous teenager. Professor Kibitzer gave Howard a knownig smile, leaning in to listen to his softly spoken words.

Wordlessly, the professor took her deck of cards in hand, shuffling them as she observed the students. "Something special for a certain someone," the professor repeated, adding a little extra drama in the way she said it. "Assigned? You're, what, fifteen? Have you even got a job?" Something about that phrasing did seem to catch her attention, and she looked the boy over with a more wary gaze. Perhaps the students were not even safe from each other. This one would have her eye on him.

She drew only one card for the reading, showing it to Howard. The Chariot. It was the first positive reading that she was hesitant to give to a student. The professor pushed her tongue against her teeth, contemplating the card in front of her for a few long moments, eyes turning upward to contemplate Howard for a few moments as well. "It will take exceptional self control," the professor said, laying the card down. "I would consider if it's worth the cost."

Whether Howard was simply cryptically asking about his plan to get his girlfriend a gift, or subtly hinting at a hidden agenda, the answer would work. Rosalind pushed the strange encounter from her mind and looked over to @Piper LaMotta, beckoning her over to get her fortune added to the pile.

Interacting with @Breana Oliveire, @Aisling Collins, @Santario Martin

Reducio

OOC Note: Apologies for the delay

interacting with: @Bloom Silverton
mentioning: @Dmitri Jones

Adam might have missed the way that Dmitri recoiled from his (incredibly brief) touch as if the blond boy was made of acid. After all, he'd been a bit distracted in the moment; between the star map that he didn't know he'd lost, the familiar face that he never thought he'd see again, and the arrival of a smiling housemate, there was plenty going on. Adam had only been trying to be nice when he'd invited Dmitri to his table, but it was obvious now that he'd severely misread his classmate's intentions. It was impossible to miss Dmitri's harsh rejection.

"Sorry. I have better things to do with my time than stare at unreachable, distant, non-living balls of gas eating themselves up from the inside." The smile froze on Adam's face. He still had a Chocolate Frog in his outstretched hand, but he pulled it back uncertainly as the weight of Dmitri's words sank in. "One minute they're there, and the next they're not. You think they'll always be there for you in your darkest nights, but they'll all fucking disappear in the light of day!" It was too dark to properly read the expression on Dmitri's face — all that Adam could make out was madness. It was like somebody had flipped a switch. Dmitri had made a kind gesture only a few moments before; now all of his politeness had gone in a rush. It was confusing, a little scary even, and it made Adam worried. "What? What happened? Are you...."

He didn't get to find out if Dmitri was okay, or even ask the full question, because the Slytherin had turned tail and fled. He was gone between picnic tables, gone in a manic whirl, leaving Adam baffled. He wished that he knew Dmitri better — maybe this was just something that he did? That seemed doubtful. Adam's instinct was to follow the boy but he had to force himself to stay seated; there was a good chance that confronting Dmitri would set him off worse. Although he was no less concerned, Adam pushed the storm clouds away from his expression and smiled uncertainly at Bloom. "Sorry, I...I don't know what that was."

Why was he apologizing? It wasn't Adam's fault. Luckily, Bloom seemed to understand. She ushered them back into conversation and Adam returned his gaze to the night sky, eyes flickering from star to star.

"Can you believe that we're going to be fourth years?" Bloom was right: the idea was crazy! It made logical sense, but still felt weird on Adam's tongue when he said it. He didn't feel like he knew enough to be a fourth year, not at all. Then again, he supposed that he had learned a lot since coming to Hogwarts. He'd done even more. His adventures through the castle started to play through his memory, and as Adam fought to hold back a few giggles, he wondered if Bloom was thinking the same thing. She probably had plenty of her own stories from the school hallways. It was nice to get to spend time with her, and he'd have to make more of an effort to reach out during the school year. They lived in the same tower, after all — the least that he could do was invite her for a chat every few weeks.

"It makes no sense at all," Adam agreed, shaking his head. "We're almost halfway done. It sounds so weird just to say! I have no idea what I'm going to do after we graduate." Knowing that thinking that far ahead could lead to some unnecessary stress, Adam focused on something closer. "Do you have any plans for the year? Or anything you're looking forward to? I don't even know what to expect."

Adam's thoughts still lingered on Dmitri, and he caught his leg bouncing nervously every few seconds in an effort to chase after the other boy, but the conversation helped calm his nerves. Hoping that Bloom wouldn't mind his question, Adam sat back and bit into his Chocolate Frog, letting his mind drift through fourth year and beyond.

Interactions: @Ruby Cazares
Closed to Interactions

Howard exits the thread.

Interacting with @Jess Malters

Miranda glanced at the star chart she'd been handed, then up at the navy sky. She slowly walked forward, her gaze still focused upwards, so if anyone or anything had gotten in her way, she would've tripped over them. Luckily, nothing did.

Finally, she glanced down just in time to stop herself from running into a picnic table. However, she did manage to trip over a rock when she jumped back. Well this is turning out great, she thought sarcastically. Slowly, Miranda got back to her feet and dusted off most of the dirt from her clothes. She wished there was a nearby tree or something for her to climb, so she could watch the stars in peace. No such luck, however.

Luckily, she'd arranged with Jess to meet up sometime during the event, but so far, she hadn't caught sight of the younger girl. But the night was still young, so there'd be plenty of time later on, when they finally met up...that is, if Miranda could even find her in the myriad of people. It was daunting, make no mistake.

She edged around a group of students that were inspecting their star charts and looked around again. Nothing...no, wait! Was that Jess over by the Fortune Telling Station? Yes, it was.

Suddenly joyful, Miranda made her way over to the other girl and took a place in the line behind her. "Hey Jess," she said with a smile, tapping the girl on the shoulder. "Sorry I took so long getting here."

Interacting with @Aisling Collins @Aaron Jones and @Santario Martin
Sorry if this looked subpar, I was heavily busy and feeling a bit drained lately :C

As the two old friends reconnected, Breana couldn't help but laugh happily by just the sight of a familiar face as Aaron's. They might not have interacted that much lately, sure, but such a familiarity is more than welcomed in Breana's book. Especially since with how many new experiences she's been messing around in, just winding down and hopefully catching up with Aaron would be a nice change of pace.

Speaking of welcomes, The first one that had greeted the Ravenclaw other than Aaron welcomed her interruption with open arms. Breana quickly clasped unto the hand that the fiery redhead gave her, nodding as the child introduced herself as well. "Ah, I reckoned it'd be, your face ain't exactly all that familiar... Well, either that or I'm just flat bad at faces." Breana laughed a bit, pulling her hand away.

As Santario offered a seat for Breana and Aisling, the Ravenclaw smiled widely at the invitation. "Oh, thanks! Honestly, I was a bit worried I won't get a good enough space for this event." She said, sitting down next to the Slytherin. "Thank me noodle arms I don't take up that much space, aye?" She undermined herself in a light banter-like manner.

Then Aaron brought up the main event of summer camp, which was the Quidditch game. "You bet your mad Quidditch skills I'd be there!" Breana chuckled. "It may be my first time seeing the other school's teams, but I got a good hunch you'd be mopping the floor with them Durmstrang lot easily." She said, patting her friend's shoulder.

Breana's eyes brightened as the conversation went to the talk of the new student's own background, which was pleasantly similar to Aaron's and her own situation. "Oh, if you think Quidditch is a doozy of a sport, wait 'til you see it! It's like.... erm..." Breana then wriggled her fingers as if she's physically trying to manifest her train of thought. "Like... American football, but with a normal football ball... with... brooms and other balls hurling at ye!" Then the group moved to the topic of the upcoming year. More specifically, them graduating. "Ah... Well, to be honest, I honestly don't think I feel like a second-year... Well, more like being someone that knows a lot about magic, I mean. She said, the tone of her voice just slightly more serious and a bit heavy. I feel like I still gots a long ways to go, y'know? I don't think I'd be fit to put on the second year cap just yet, heh..."

For those children who decided to leave the Stargazing event for one reason, another would always seem to find themselves greeted by a staff member regardless of the direction they tried to leave. If they decided to go the way they came in, an older gentleman would greet them just after they breached the bathrooms' back walls.

Each staff member would give them all the same two options go back to the stargazing event and continue to enjoy the evening under the just less than full moon and the stars or go and wait out the rest of the evening in the main house which they would be escorted to and supervised by the staff of the house. Going into the main house excused them from interacting with the rest of their peers for the rest of the event. Food, beverage, reading material, and other small comforts would be available to help them pass the time until they would inevitably be collected by Alaric at the end to get on the train home.