Dear Quill Pal...

WC-325
Hex-#433687

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Gemima had almost fallen down the owlery steps in her haste, but what awaited her at the top of them seemed far more important than a possible bruise.
She made a beeline for her favorite owl, her long hair swishing as she went. A neatly sealed envelope was clutched to her chest. She'd taken extra care in selecting the ink, folding the parchment, and pressing the envelope closed that morning, making sure it was practically perfect.

This was going to be for her Quill Pal, after all, and she wanted to make a good first impression. She liked to think that she had a way with words, and she hoped this person would feel the same.

Gemima held out the letter to the small barn owl, and smiled kindly at it. "Take good care of this one, okay?" she whispered. The owl hooted softly and bumped its head against her hand. Gem giggled as she watched it fly gracefully out of the window. This was going to be fun! She could feel it.

Dear Quill Pal,

Hello! It seems we've been paired up to write together, which I'm very excited about! My name is Gemima, but my friends call me Gem. I hope you'll be all right with being my friend. If you want to, of course!

Here's a little about me- I'm in Ravenclaw house, and I'm twelve years old. I just had my birthday last month! What else...? My hobbies include swimming, reading, painting, and astronomy. I also love to learn new things. One of my favorite parts of Hogwarts is the classes we get to take-everything's just so interesting, and I love learning new spells and potions. (I actually hope to join dueling next year, when I know some actually useful spells.)

But that's enough about me, I guess. I look forward to writing more with you and getting to know each other!

Yours,

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@Vienna Goodwin

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mentions: @Gemima Sable interactions: n/a

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Dear Gemima Gem,

Cool! I'll call you Gem for now, if it's alright. It's a nice name. It's simplistic, but that's what's cool about it! It's funny, my sister cousin's name is Gen! Well, it's really Genevieve, but she goes by Gen. I might get confused occasionally, but I'll try my best!

Second of all, happy late birthday I guess! A month is kind of really late, but whatever. I'm still eleven, sadly. Well, just another month and I'll be up there with you! Time flows slower when you get excited though, which might make it a bit harder.

Also, painting sounds fun! I've always been more of a doodler, but art either way, right? Painting always seemed like quite a bit of work to me, but it's cool! And I have to agree with you, that classes here are pretty cool! My grandma actually used to force me to take charms tutoring, so I'm not entirely new to everything. But the classes here are SO MUCH better. My tutoring was so boring, I can't even explain it. I barely even paid attention.

Dueling's cool! My sister, darn, messed it up again. She's my cousin, but we spend a lot of time together and we live together, so I've gotten accustomed to calling them my siblings. But that might get confusing, so I'll try to stop myself. Anyways, she's in dueling, so I'll try to send any advice she gives me your way! Again, I don't take much interest in dueling, it doesn't sound as adrenaline-pumping as broom racing or quidditch, but you do you! Everyone enjoys their own things. My other cousin, my 'brother,' plays quidditch, so that's why I grew up with it. But I though it'd be nice to branch out from the rest of the family, you know?

Sincerely,

@Vienna Goodwin
WC-247

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Dear Vi!!

Don't get me wrong, quidditch is one of my favorite sports. I've watched a few games in my time, and it would be amazing to be able to go to the World Cup one day. I can definitely respect the skill and talent needed for the sport, it's just that I prefer being a spectator over being a player. Duelling on the other hand, combines learning and casting spells! (And it's so much more dramatic one-on-one like that)

I'd love to hear any advice your sister/cousin might have! (Gem and Gen, heheh) It's great that you have such a close relationship with her. I'm not really that close with any of my cousins, since we don't see each other that often, but I have an older sister named Cath. She's at Hogwarts too, a fourth year Gryffindor. We haven't spent too much time together since I started here, but that's ok...

Anyways, I'm glad you like the classes too! My favorites are the ones we get to do magic in obviously, but I also really like History of Magic too, even though some of my friends say it's boring. I think learning about our magical world is important though.

And lastly a fun fact about me! I'm from Brighton, the seaside city in the south of the UK. I love it there--the sea, the sun, the storms, the "hidden wonders." Have you ever been?

Yours,



(Thank you thank you for the happy birthday! )

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mentions: @Gemima Sable interactions: n/a

wordcount: 575 words outfit: n/a

Dear Gem,

I've got to agree, quidditch is pretty cool. If I'm gonna be honest, I'm pretty bad at it. I don't usually admit I'm bad at things, but I still have a few scars from quidditch games gone wrong... (I crashed into the bushes, it's not a fond moment to remember.) I've always been good at controlling the broom. I just kind of panic with a Quaffle in my hands. It's like, having to deal with staying in the air and the ball. Gets a bit stressful.

Right! I'll be sure to share! Though, I wouldn't say we're, well, close? I mean, we're kind of forced to bond together, to look out for each other. But she can be a bit rude sometimes. She says I'm annoying, and I'd have to disagree, but I guess we're family nonetheless. It's like a sibling type of bond, you know? We don't exactly like each other, but we look out for each other, which is nice.

And don't stress. My cousins have just pushed me away this entire time. They didn't even bother helping me out on the Hogwarts Express, they just left me the moment we boarded! We see each other in the common rooms and hallways sometimes, but that's pretty much it. Maybe it's a school thing. Maybe schooltime is for their friends, you know? We'll probably be like that in a couple of years, who knows? I'm sure she'll spend more time with you once you get home!

Well, if I'm gonna be honest... I might be one of those friends. I can barely stay awake in History of Magic, but again, I have a bit of a hard time focusing. I'm more of a... kinetic? Is that the word? Kinetic learner. I zone out when I'm not doing things. Specifically my way. When I'm not doing things my way. And, call me uncultured, but I don't really see the point in lingering in the past. Always been more of a looking to the future type of person. Or just present. My grandmother says I don't think ahead a lot. Yeah, maybe just the present.

But hey! Everybody had their own interests. I've pretty much been learning about the wizarding world since I was born, so maybe it's just me.

Brighton! Cool! I've heard of it. Sadly, my grandmother doesn't let me travel a lot. I've pretty much spent my entire life at home. The only time I leave is to go to these big pureblood parties, like for betrothals or stuff like that. But I don't think I've ever come to Brighton. Maybe now, since I've made friends and whatnot, my grandmother will let me travel more. I'll be sure to visit you sometime! Though, perhaps we should meet at Hogwarts before we take things any further, aye?

I'm from London. But, not the city. More around the outskirts, the more rural area. There's a lot more grass and trees than in the city. And a lot less people. But I don't mind. Again, since practically three generations of my family live in my home, it's really hard to get lonely.

But the countryside's charming, honestly. The fields and forests are nice to take walks in. There's this nice flower field right outside our manor. I like laying out there when I'm free, just watching the clouds go by. You should try it sometime, it's very calming!

Sincerely,

(No problem! Hope it treats you well.)

Mentioning-@Vienna Goodwin
WC-430

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Viiii!

I hope you're doing well today!

Thanks for the reassurance about Cath. She actually stopped me in the halls with a small sketchbook that she'd bought in Hogsmeade, so that was really sweet of her. She was off pretty quickly afterwards, but that's Cath for you. I was starting to think she might have forgotten about me, so it's good that she hasn't, haha. I'll have to show you the drawings I've done so far when we meet!

I hope your cousins aren't making you too lonely, though. And I suppose I'll have to help you out with the traveling bit! I'll be more than happy to show you around Brighton if you ever make it down there. I've been to London several times. Mum's a model, and dad works in the Ministry, so duty often calls in London. I haven't been to the more rural areas, though. They sound lovely. So does cloud-watching! I'm more into stargazing myself, though. I know loads of constellations, so it's fun to try and spot them up there.

And I can definitely see how HoM would be boring. Kinesthetic learning is really enjoyable, too! I think I work well with reading and writing, but there's some visual learning in there, too. Isn't it fascinating that our brains can work so differently from one another? I'll have to read up more on that topic. As for learning about the past, I don't think it's all that bad. After all, you need all three to get the full picture.

In other news, you would not believe what happened to me last week. I met this boy, and before you ask, he was kind of cute.

But then, he ruined that for himself by turning out to be a massive prick!
All I did was accidentally bump into him on my way from the library, and he has the audacity to pretend he's hurt, just to make me feel even worse. And then he flat-tired me, pulled my hair, stole my bag! I know he was just trying to push my buttons, and...it worked. I hope that I never see him again. Not many people can make me angry, I'll give him that at least. But really, how can somebody be so immature and rude?

Sorry for the small rant there...It's just been on my mind ever since. I hope your week was better. The Blossom Ball is coming up though! I'm really excited for that. Maybe I'll see you there!

Aaaa, I'm running out of parchment! I guess I'll sign off for today.

Yours,

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mentions: @Gemima Sable interactions: n/a

wordcount: 699 words outfit: n/a

Hi Gem!!

I'm doing good today! How are you?

I'm glad to hear that! A sketchbook sounds cool! And from Hogsmeade too? There's so much cool stuff you can buy at Hogsmeade, I bet your sketchbook's one of them! And I'd love that, you totally should. I like sketching too, but it's usually on my homework. I just somehow find more inspiration when I'm doing homework, hehe.

Don't worry, they aren't. I talk to them in the common room sometimes, I guess that's the plus of having them in the same house. I totally get how it would be a lot harder if you were in different houses, but like I said, good thing Cath talked to you! Slytherins kind of just run in my family, though. When we were getting sorted, I was so nervous I wouldn't get into Slytherin! I'm really happy I did.

I'll have to ask, since I'm really excited now. I really wanna travel over the summer, so I'll put Brighton at the top of my list! Exploring with you would be fun, and at least I wouldn't get lost. And, wow! It's cool that you get to travel a lot. Your parents sound cool too! My dad also works in the ministry, what a coincidence! Wouldn't it be ironic if they knew each other? I'll have to ask him, maybe when he's not as busy. He usually takes a while to answer my owls. And my mum- well, if I'm gonna be honest, I don't actually know my mum that well. Or, at all, actually. I don't tell a lot of people that. Hopefully I get to meet her someday though! I know she's a muggle, so I guess she probably has some cool muggle job. When I meet her, I'll ask her all about it.

Stargazing's cool! I'm not allowed to be out late, so I don't get a lot of chances, but sometimes I sneak out or stick my head out the window to see the stars. That's such a cool skill to have! I have a quilt of all the constellations on my ceiling in my dorm. It's nice, I get to stare at it every night before bed. I haven't gotten the chance to memorize any of them though, since it's usually too dark to see and I try to get as much sleep as I can. Classes at Hogwarts are very tiring! But anyways, you're probably ahead of me when it comes to that. Maybe we should stargaze together sometime, you can point some out to me!

It is interesting! I was never really good with words, but I know a lot of people who are. Including you! I bet there's all sorts of people at this school alone. It makes me wonder how everybody's brains work. And, those are very wise words. Perhaps I'll have to start looking into the past and thinking about the future more.

Ugh, he does sound like a prick! I hate people like that, sorry that happened to you. Seriously, some people at this school really suck. Who would do that to a stranger? That's just a straight up bully! I wish I was there, I would've beat him up for you! I bump into people in the hallways all the time, and I bet everybody else does too. It is a very confusing hallway. Usually people are cool about it, but this one girl started an argument about it with me and called me names. She was a jerk too. I guess they're both hallway jerks. I hate hallway jerks.

Don't worry about ranting, it's alright! At least you got it out, you should feel better about it now! Plus, I like hearing about people's days, they can be interesting sometimes. My week was decent, just really busy. And, the Blossom Ball! I'm super excited. Have you got a date yet? I've gotta find one, but I'm probably just gonna go with a friend. No mushy stuff, or anything like that. We are still first years! Hopefully we do see each other! It would be cool if our first meeting was at the ball! Hope to see you there!

Best Regards,

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Hello again!

Vi! I'm so, so sorry that I haven't written you in such a long time. I've just been so busy with school, and life in general... Will you ever forgive me?

I'll make it up to you, somehow! Maybe I'll take you stargazing someday, and teach you all about the constellations. Or maybe a little sketching session? Both would be such fun. And I'm sorry that I didn't catch you at the ball, too! I was a bit, let's say, preoccupied. And I nearly got lost several times. I had a wonderful time, though! It was like something out of a dreamy fairytale, wasn't it? (Even if I tripped over my dress a hundred times...)The planning committee really went all out. I hope you had a lovely time, too! But I guess we'll have to save our meeting for another day. I went with Kim Sato, maybe you know him? We've become pretty good friends, and he was sweet enough to ask me to be his date!

But enough about me, how have you been?

Yours,

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@Vienna Goodwin

Reducio

hi! i'm back, so sorry for ghosting you like that! i've had a super busy past month, but i hope you're doing well.