Holly, Jolly PV Edme Achillian closed

The entire Great Hall was glowing. Edme had seen the great hall many times before, and gorgeous as it may be, it was nothing compared to this new decor. There was tinsel, and wreaths, and ornaments, and everything that you could possibly think up. It felt like you were stepping into a new world, a mythical dream.

The students seemed to think the same, as it was clear on their faces that they viewed the sight beloved just as Edme. Exclamations and pointing fingers spoke for that factor. Who wouldn't be excited about this? It was almost as if it were made in seconds, a single flick of a wand and words yelled to the world and it was covered in a sheet of white and everything was molded into perfection.

The Ravenclaw table was alive with chatter and conversation, most likely speaking of the decor or some gossip Edme had yet to get caught up on. Either way, the joy of it all was enough for Edme to find herself walking to the long bench that lead to the front of the room in a quick motion, like a track leading to its destination. Up front were the teachers, who no matter how brooding or dark, still seemed to enjoy the festivities.

Light was bleeding through every crevice, emitting from the floating candles that bounced elegantly in the air. They were everywhere, casting the whole room in a warm glow, as if welcoming you and encouraging you to sit and eat. Who was Edme to deny that offer?

She had been quite famished after a restless night. It seemed that always happened in the festive season. Or it was because of the cold winter air blowing in through the window that their roommate insisted on keeping open for whatever reason. No matter, as the Great Hall alone was enough to wake her from their groggy half-asleep state.

@Maggie Hawkins

WC:376

♡

MAGGIE HAWKINS

♡

interacting with: @Edme Achillian mentioning:

December 9, 2021

XXXXBright eyes and alert smiles couldn't tear their attention away from the festivities, couldn't ignore the spirit that fell over the entire hall like a blanket of snow covering the ground. Maggie, for her part, was still half asleep but quickly brightening as the distant sound of bells grew in her ears. It was likely intentional, the noises, to aid in the atmosphere as a whole. Make it one big cesspool of holiday cheer. Of course, it wasn't a holiday, or a meal, for that matter, unless Maggie was bothering someone. It was a habit of hers, people watching. Ordinarily, she'd just observe the atmosphere in which she was immersed, would watch the people milling about and talking. From there, she'd make up elaborate stories in her head about what was going on at home, what was ailing them, what their stories were. Edme Achillian was today's 'target'. They looked a bit withdrawn, someone easily messed with. No, no, Maggie wasn't planning on humiliating her or something, no, just liked a person that wouldn't bite her head off if she wanted to make a joke. Edme Achillian, in Maggie's professional opinion, was from some small town and liked to enjoy long walks on the beach after long days. They probably had a dog. She seemed like she had a dog. Likely, they had siblings. Obviously, Maggie was quite practiced. So, without hardly thinking because she was just bored, not surrounded by her friends, Maggie peeled herself from her seat and made the delicate trek over to the Ravenclaw table where Edme was sitting. Looked like they were in the same boat. "Howdy," she greeted, leaning down and pressing her elbows and forearms against the table. As if they were best friends already. "Do you have a dog?"

As she sat for breakfast, the beauty of the lovely scene truly embraced her, as if it were hugging them. Even the chatter seemd quieter, more hushed and relaxed, as if the whole room was too busy staring at the decoration rather than speak.

That was until a Slytherin had popped by the table and asked them the question of whether or not she had a dog.

"Oh, well no." Edme replied slowly, brows furrowed in confusion, "Not personally. I mean sometimes, I guess. Do I know you?"

It all came out in a bit of a burst, sort of erupting in a large spin of words. It was hard for even Edme to know if she was speaking actual words or just pure gibberish mushed together. It may have been the slight shock from admiring the room to finding herself being asked a quite silly question.

They did have a dog. Sometimes. One time a foster family of hers had this super big, scary dog with these big teeth. It scared nine year old her half to death, and it would most likely still scare them to this day. But they didn't really remember it until it came up now.

WC:227

♡

MAGGIE HAWKINS

♡

interacting with: @Edme Achillian mentioning:

December 9, 2021

XXXXSometimes. They sometimes had a dog, which didn't quite make sense to Maggie. How could someone sometimes have a dog? Was this not a question that only required a yes or no answer? Of course, Maggie hadn't considered anything from a different point of view, so it was unsurprising that she didn't quite understand how one could both have a dog and not have a dog. Still, she didn't budge, even when the other expressed clear confusion about Maggie's presence as a whole. "Uh, no," she shrugged and slung her leg over the bench to sit down at Edme's side, completely uncaring about the fact that no, she was not a Ravenclaw, and no, she probably wasn't welcome at the table. The spread of the table was quite vast, plenty of food set out as it ordinarily was. Maggie leaned forward to grab herself a scoop of hash browns, then slathered them with ketchup. Like a bloody massacre, really, the way that the red was all spread over the crisp potato strips. "No, you don't know me. Well, now you do, technically, because we're talking right now." Common sense, duh. "You seem like the kind of person to have a dog, you know. I thought you for sure had a dog and everything, but if you only sometimes have a dog I guess that's different," Maggie folded her hands in her lap for a moment before she went back to the hash browns, taking a big bite of them and chewing thoughtfully. "Is Ravenclaw fun? I think it seems kinda boring. Also, one of your guys knocked me off my broom in the Quidditch game. So. That sucked."

The girl ended up swinging herself onto the bench and sitting just by Edme. They looked around, receiving a few dreaded glances from table mates and some whispers. So much for lost in the beauty. She turned to the girl, hoping to get this over with.

"I don't think that's how knowing people works." Edme pointed out quietly, not meaning to cause a fuss but also a little confused as to this person logic. She sure seemed to think it made sense, so who was Edme to be in the right.

The girl was now talking about how Edme looked like she had a dog. How does someone look like they have a dog? Did Edme look that way? Was it the hair? Or the bag? The bag did have a few stray hairs on it, but nothing uncontrollable.

"Ravenclaw is... well, I wouldn't call it fun necessarily. We have some fun games in the commons I suppose." Edme explained thoughtfully, trying to come up with reasons as to why it may be fun to someone not in the house. "You play Quidditch? I assumed... well, that's very cool. I doubt I could ever, all that flying and such." Edme shivered a bit, ending it in a small laugh.

They hadn't ever met a Quidditch player face to face, nonetheless a 1st year. She hadn't even known first years could actually play.

@Maggie Hawkins

♡

MAGGIE HAWKINS

♡

interacting with: @Edme Achillian mentioning:

December 9, 2021

XXXXIt was pretty simple, actually. Simple and plain to see, quite obvious, in fact. Edme Achillian was a dog person. In Maggie's mind, of course. No promises that they were actually someone who had an affinity for dogs, but it was a fair assumption to make. Maggie couldn't exactly put her finger on what, exactly, it was, but it was there. Edme had to have a dog. Or would have a dog, in the future. Whatever, whatever. "No? Can't say that surprises me. These lame-os here," Maggie gestured to the assembled Ravenclaw students that surrounded her as if she wasn't the intruder in their midst, "seem like a real card. Super interesting. Can't relate, Slytherin is a blast. Except for when it's not, you know, those kids can be freaking crazy." There was nothing like Slytherin's competitive spirit and mean streak! Except that Maggie would never pass up an opportunity to gloat about her accomplishments and in-school activities. Extracurriculars were nothing if they weren't boast-able, wasn't that right? Never heard anything truer, nope! "Oh, it's great. It's awesome. I love flying, it's just so cool to be up in the air, floating above everyone else. They all look like ants when you're up there real high," and Maggie assumed it was considerably more fun when you actually won games. "What's not fun is when you get knocked off your broom and spend a bunch of time on the bench feeling like your chest caved in. That's not as fun."

@Maggie Hawkins

Edme took a small bite of an egg as the other rambled on about how fun Slytherin was. Edme swallowed nervously as she mentioned something about Slytherin being crazy.

"Crazy? Like how crazy? Insane crazy?" Edme asked quickly and quietly. They didn't want the slytherins to hear, "Well, you aren't, but are the others?" Edme was now grasping the fork tightly, palm white.

Trying to brush it off as a joke, Edme continued to listen intently as the girl told them about Quidditch and how fun it was. Edme could never join Quidditch, as she knew they would fall off the broom and probably get killed in the process. Well, no, the teachers would surely have a procedure to make sure she wouldn't die. Maybe get paralyzed, but not killed.

"Wow." Edme imagined the people looking like teeny tiny insects crawling around on the ground below, "Caved in? Is it painful? Are you speaking off experience? That doesn't sound fun at all." Yet another reason why Edme would do poorly at Quidditch. The pain.

Another bite was taken of the eggs, now a bit cold from how much time Edme had taken to listen. They didn't mind cold eggs, so she continued to munch away.

The lights were still beautiful as Edme looked up, elbows resting on the table and supporting her head with a splayed hand. It was a dream, swept upon the world like a bright blanket. And a warm one at that. Edme began to notice the strange warmth emanating from the walls, though not seeming to have a true source. Maybe the candles?

WC:272

♡

MAGGIE HAWKINS

♡

interacting with: @Edme Achillian mentioning:

December 9, 2021

XXXXWell, well, well, Edme didn't think that Maggie was totally coo-coo! Which was great, because Maggie didn't consider herself exactly crazy, per se. Moreso eccentric, maybe. Maybe a bit loud, annoying. Not crazy, though. Not crazy like a good amount of Slytherins, who were truly nightmares to be around for a good amount of the time. "Oh, yeah, no, I'm not crazy. I'm pretty normal," she shrugged and picked at her food, before dropping the fork back down on the plate with a little clatter. "The other Slytherin kids are just really weird. One of my friends is, like, crazy psycho, I think. She's cool, though, she's cool. But I think she might be a serial killer." Vale Ashwood, an enigma @Vale Ashwood. Maybe one of the strangest people Maggie had ever met, and likely someone you didn't want to cross. Someone whose bad side would be a true nightmare, The magic of the castle was truly something to behold. The way that the lights never dimmed, the food never ran out, the drinks never, ever ran low. Even as Maggie spoke, the castle lived around her, went on without a care for the lives of others. That was amazing, truly, it was, because something being so deadset on living without any regard for what was happening around it just gave the castle a quality of sentience it otherwise might not possess. "Okay, technically nothing was caved in all that much. But, like, it felt like it was. It was awful," Maggie explained. It had been! It had been awful, something Maggie never wanted to feel again. Also, she couldn't wait to get back on that broomstick.

@Maggie Hawkins

Thankfully, the girl stated she was "pretty normal". It was good enough for Edme, so she settled back into comfort with this new face. She seemed to have quite a lot to say, but it wasn't like they were low on time. So Edme listened intently to the words they were told.

"Serial killer?" she gasped out, slightly covering her mouth as they chewed to avoid spitting it all out, "I she... here? Right now?"

It was a stupid question, but Edme had once read a book about a woman in dark clothing that could blend into the shadows like butter melting onto toast. The girl would seep into the walls, only appearing when need be. Was this what this girls friend was?

"I have a friend, though he most certainly isn't a murderer." Edme said, pausing to take a quick gulp of water, "He's like... into books. He's in Ravenclaw as well."

Eliphas Dune was one of the first people Edme had become acquainted with, and certainly the first one they had become buddies with. He had lots of similar interests to hers, though he was more into the older books. Edme couldn't help loving the newer books.

They contained a sigh of relief as Maggie let out that her chest hadn't actually caved in, and she was A okay. Though Edme still feared what that feeling might feel like.

"Well, another reason I could never get out on a broom." Edme smiled, internally complimenting herself for how smoothly that came out. This whol conversation thing was getting easier by the minute. "Oh, I didn't get your name. Not that you have to give it of course- I mean it would be easier to- forget I said anything." Edme laughed awkwardly, rapidly "sipping" her water.

Her front teeth were freezing as they lifted her mouth from the water. Sensitive teeth was something they always had to worry about, how cold could the water be before it got too cold. She awkwardly tired not to flinch at the chill of it.

WC:347