Summer Camp Herbology Workshop Closed

Alaska: "Yeah, I live in Stratford, London. I came to this camp so that I could make more friends, and to learn more about magic. Since I only formally discovered magic a year ago, I wake up everyday discovering something new. I was bullied for being different. Little did I know that it was my first signs of magic. No one liked me, and the only friends I had were some animals. I'm glad I came to Hogwarts. The people here are different, kind, and understanding. How about you? Where are you from?"

“I’m actually from Los Angeles, California, Amanda replied. “You know, over in America. We’re going to be moving over here to a nice house in Faversham, I believe, in the next year or so.” Amanda wasn’t sure if she should keep talking and go into detail about her background, but she decided it wouldn’t hurt to. “I didn’t know about magic until my older sister got her letter five years ago,” Amanda continued. “We have always lived among Muggles, even though my parents had both gone to Hogwarts. The day that my sister got her letter, my parents sat down with my twin brother and I and told us everything. We still live near Muggles, though. I think my parents would prefer to try to live a somewhat normal life. I never really had many friends back home, but that was fine because I had my twin, Johnny. We were practically inseparable. But now he’s going to school in America and I’m here,” Amanda trailed off. She groped around in her brain for something else to talk about. She didn’t want to think about Johnny at the moment. “So, uh, it looks like the other Professor is here. I supposed we’re finally going to start collecting soon.” she said.

Interacts with Syrah Steele

Mentions Amadea Campbell and Ami Procoppio 

The Great Hall was quiet this morning as students, bleary-eyed and sleepy from the night before, ate at their respective tables. Lucy, for her part, was shovelling food into her mouth. She was absolutely stoked to go on the Herbology Workshop trip - not because she particularly loved herbology or workshops, but because she loved being involved. She had determined to sign her name to every club, activity, or event that she could while she was at summer camp. When Professor Wright called for them, she shovelled in one last bite of scrambled eggs and followed the throng of people heading outside.

The morning was fresh and the sun played cheerfully on the grass. Lucy skipped a little bit near the back of the pack, revelling in the early morning air. She loved mornings, and noons, and nights, too, for that matter, but especially mornings. She wasn't particularly paying close attention to things around her - she might have even jostled a student or two in her skipping - but she felt the warm sun play upon her face and she was content. All too soon, they were heading back inside. Directions were given, and students began a mad dash for partners.

Lucy saw some people she knew better than others. She spied Amadea and Ami, two girls that she had encountered in the trophy room before, and she was now a prefect with Amadea, but they found partners. All of the sudden, a chipper voice sounded by her elbow and Lucy turned with a smile. She didn't recognize the voice, but she was willing to engage with whoever was speaking. When she saw who the voice belonged to - Syrah - she was absolutely ecstatic. 

"SYRAH!" she shrieked, overjoyed. She hadn't seen the Slytherin girl since they practised Periculum, but she recalled that moment with fond memories. With no sense of shyness, she attempted to throw her arms around the girl in joy and squeeze rather tightly. Lucy prided herself on giving good hugs, but sometimes they could be a bit much if someone wasn't expecting them.

"Yes, yes, yes! Oh man, this day just got ten times better," she continued, stepping back and grinning at the girl. She held up her hand for a high-five. "I know we're going to rock this thing!" She paused, hearing Professor Valtome speak in his usual dramatic fashion. "Do not keep me waiting further. Grab a basket, grab a partner and come." 

The Hufflepuff turned back to her new partner, eyes widening slightly. "Well, you heard him. I guess we better get going," she grinned, rolling her eyes slightly. "But between you and me," she dropped her voice down to a whisper, leaning into Syrah so only she could hear, "I think he is the most dramatic one here. And most of us are twelve." She giggled slightly, attempting to link arms with the girl and pull her outside after Professor Valtome, though she forgot to check to see if Syrah had a basket in her rush to follow orders.

The boy smiled.  Dorothy wasn't one to judge facial expressions at all, but to her it seemed fairly genuine.  It wasn't the usual rehearsed idiom pureblooded children so often clung to.  As a young girl, Dorothy was instructed on the proper ways to show emotions.  There was the polite smile (the one she had just used), which often hid bridled judgement, the minatory smile, an expression used to warn others of their 'misbehavior', and the sham smile.  This last smile was completely fake, a favorite expression of Dorothy's.  From what Madam Shafiq had taught her, the boy had used none of the three grins.  His indication of pleasure appeared authentic.  He either had incredible thespian talent, or was actually gratified by her affirmative  reply.  Either way, this pleased her.

Action: "Accidentally" trip Lucy O'Sullivan, invite Max to exit the building with her.  

That morning, Phaedra took her time arriving at the mess hall for breakfast. She had some difficulties sleeping the previous night, but even an extra fifteen minutes of shut-eye and lingering around the girls' restrooms to get changed was enough to stir her to her normal rate of activity. It meant she would be a few minutes late for breakfast (and likely also for getting a seat with her friends) but she didn't care much - she was feeling less hungry and for some reason a bit irritable these days, anyway.

Poking at an unfinished pancake with her fork, Phaedra rested her chin on a propped up arm and thought of what the day could possibly have in store. She had signed up with a friend to attend a Herbology Workshop with Professor Wright and although she loved flowers and plants and everything related, the Ravenclaw was still a little nervous about entering the Forbidden Forest. She had done it before; as a first-year travelling with her Head of House and Professor Scheinberg for an exploration where she and her fellow students were put at the mercy of acromantulas. All they had to show for it was a new, learned spell, but hopefully this time, there would be no need. How harmful could flower-picking be?

Suddenly, the presence of green sparks shot into the air and Phaedra lifted her head to find the culprit, noisy chattering dying down as Professor Wright acknowledged the students. The brown-skinned Professor called for those who had signed up for her workshop and standing up from her seat, Phaedra followed the woman out of the Great Hall in a large crowd, excited crowd.

From the Great Hall, Sorrel led Phaedra and her classmates down a stony path towards a hut in the distance that the prefect had never seen before. There was a sign nearby written in cursive and Phaedra read the text without trouble; Path to Herbology Hut. Passing a hill with bright flowers that Phaedra couldn't help but smile at, the students soon arrived at the cabin.

Following her professor, Phaedra walked through the open door into a serene and very woodsy room. It looked like something out of a fairytale, vines and flowers growing as far as the eye could see, wrapping and twisting together in a confused, yet beautiful, mass. Watching Professor Wright hold up a weaved basket and point to the smaller ones on the floor, Phaedra listened attentively as the woman explained the plan.

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of the girl's stomach as she realised that they would be working in pairs for the day. It wasn't that the girl couldn't work successfully in pairs - she was a prefect and teamwork was often part of the job - she just preferred figuring things out alone sometimes. Being alone meant she could work at her own pace, ensure that the information stuck to her, and most importantly, guarantee that the work was done right. But of course, they were going into the Forbidden Forest; if they were put into pairs the first time, why would this be any different? The place was dangerous and it was almost as if the professors themselves knew they couldn't be relied on after everything that had happened the previous year.

Phaedra was taller than the average girl of her age and she used her height as a slight advantage to see over the heads of most of the other children. Her first option of a partnership was, obviously, Maxwell Avery, but before she could make her move to go to him he had been approached by another, Dorothy Do. No surprise - he was a fun and popular boy and seemed to be surrounded by girls at every waking moment. If Phaedra believed in cooties, she would have definitely said that the boy was infected by now. Shaking her head, Phaedra gave a sigh. She would probably have to pair up with a stranger this time, but maybe it wouldn't turn out too bad - that was how she met some of her current friends.

Before Phaedra could turn around and find a relatively intelligent looking person to team up with, she heard an all too familiar voice speak out to her right. Holding a breath she didn't even realise she so deeply inhaled, she slowly turned her head to the side to glance at who the voice came from; Serena Towers. The two didn't get along and the entire situation was complicated, especially with the Ravenclaw being as stubborn as she was.

Phaedra's eyes quickly glanced down to the basket in Serena's hand, a clear expression of confusion written on her face. Mostly, she was shocked the Hufflepuff had even spoken to her in the first place, let alone request to be a pair.

"Serena," Phaedra responded curtly after looking back up to her. Her eyes shifted side to side as she observed the rest of her peers - maybe coming here was a mistake, could there still have been time to run for the hills? No, she couldn't do that; she signed up for the event and she wasn't the type to give up nor give her foes the satisfaction of such. Everyone was quickly grouping up and she and Serena would be left alone anyway, so she thought that she might as well bite the bullet and accept what was inevitable. If they wanted to put everything behind them effort would be necessary and a long pause, Phaedra spoke again with an unmoving tone, though her body language admitted she was uncomfortable.

"Fine," she muttered, at last, crossing her arms as she walked past Serena to begin following Professor Valtome. "Come on."

As long as they didn't speak of the past, maybe this could be tolerable.

Action: Accept Serena's partnering request and follow Valtome and the others outside.

Open to interaction. Anyone can feel free to either get hit or almost get hit with the basket.

December had no idea why nobody seemed to want to be with her. She thought she was clearly the smartest person there, so it was a complete mystery. Of course, to everyone else it was obvious, but she didn't quite realize the impact that her resting witch face and a sour attitude had on people.

At any rate, she was glad that the Head of Gryffindor would be joining them as well. He was almost as odd as Sorrel, if not more, but two heads were better than one. He had instructed them to go outside, but December still didn't have a partner. Her breaths became more shallow and her chest tightened up. What if she wasn't able to find anyone and she was banned from the activity? Professor Wright made it clear that a partner was necessary, so if she couldn't get one, she wasn't sure what would happen.

She did her best to keep her face devoid of all expression as she observed the other students forming groups and making their way outside, but on the inside she was in full-on panic mode. She tightened her hands around the basket so that the wood pressed hard against her skin, keeping the focus on her surroundings while she attempted to reassure herself.

Everything would be fine. Another partner-less student would appear and want to work with her and they would do the plant thing and then they would all live happily ever after. She definitely wouldn't spend the entire time sitting in this creepy cabin alone with no friends to talk to but the plants. Oh god, is that how Sorrel turned out the way she was?! No, she couldn't think like that. She would just stand here, continuing to hold her basket, with a huge fake smile on her face and wait for someone to notice her.

She began to anxiously flip the basket around in her hands while she waited, hoping it would help set her mind at ease and make her more visible. However, the basket had different plans and suddenly flung out of her hands and flew towards another student.

Interacting with Amadea Campbell

As soon as Amadea dropped the basket, Angela rushed to pick it up, but she was a bit too slow. She tripped and almost fell down, but regained her balance at the last moment, when Amadea raised her head back up. She straightened up and let out a tiny sigh.

Right, I'm Angela, great to meet you too!, she replied politely to Amadea's introduction. I hope this will be fun! She was pretty sure that for her it will, but she didn't see the same
enthusiasm in Amadea's eyes. Why wouldn't she be excited for a trip like this?

She decided to sit next to Amadea and wanted to talk a bit more, but suddenly professor Valtome started making a scene, fussing about... humidity? tragedy? undoing???, and dramatically stormed out.

Wow, said Angela quietly. He's a weirdo, isn't he? She giggled happily. I'm in his cabin. It's amazing, even if he says weird stuff all the time. You're Lethiiifooolds!, she imitated his thespian mannerism and laughed again. Seriously though, it's best cabin ever.

She stood back up. I guess we better get going, right? I've never been to the Forest before... have you?

[font=PT Serif]Interacting with Angela Silverberry [/font]

[font=PT Serif]

Amadea smiled at the girl as she adjusted her seating on the couch. Nodding, Amadea agreed. ”Yes, I agree, I hope it will be fun,” she said. As long as they didn’t have to do anything hands on with the plants, Amadea would be fine. If they did, she could just have her partner take care of that work. Though she knew she was being silly, Amadea really didn’t want to interact with the plants at all, no matter how harmless they were. That one experience had ruined everything for her. Amadea still wasn’t sure why she was here. She loved nature, but was terrified of plants. What was she doing here? [/font]
[font=PT Serif]
Nevertheless, she was determined to tough things out. She was going to overcome her fear of plants and be able to enter the greenhouse without fear of dying. That was her goal from this workshop. Amadea moved over as Angela took a seat next to her. It seemed as though she was going to say something but both girls were distracted as the potions professor came storming in, quite huffily. He seemed quite angry and distressed about the time it was taking for everyone to find partners. Angela made a comment about how weird he was. [/font]
[font=PT Serif]
”I personally find him quite interesting,” Amadea said. ”He has such an expansive vocabulary. If I’m being honest, I’m a bit envious of it. Of course, he is much older than us so he has had much time to accumulate knowledge of all of those words…” Amadea trailed off, a bit embarrassed as she rambled on about Professor Valtome. She hoped Angela didn’t think it was weird. ”I’m in the unicorn cabin,” she added. ”We have Professor Cazarez. He’s pretty cool.” [/font]
[font=PT Serif]
Following Angela’s lead, Amadea stood up as well, brushing herself off and picking up the basket. ”Yes, sure, let’s go,” she said. ”And no, I’ve never been to the Forest before. It’s off limits, of course, plus it sounds like there are many dangerous beasts there.” [/font]

Serena honestly could do little else but regret her decision. She had asked the Ravenclaw Prefect to partner up but quite frankly, they both would rather be with someone else. Admittedly, the people she would have chosen as her first choice - namely her friends - were already being approached by others. Going back on the offer didn't seem to be an option after a while. The Hufflepuff had made the decision rather reluctantly, yes but she sure as heck was regretting it. She watched the Ravenclaw cross her arms, walk past and move on ahead without her, "Right..." Serena replied, mostly under her breath. She wanted to scoff, to be honest. It was laughable how obvious Phaedra was being. Serena would never understand why her mother insisted on her making this effort or attempting this friendship. It was clear as day that these two girls were not going to get along. They did not even have the intention to but at least they were civil. That had to count for something.

Turning in suit, Serena rolled her eyes behind Phaedra's back at her behaviour. It was a good thing that the girl didn't have eyes behind her head, to be honest. It allowed Serena to at least attempt to continue this civil behaviour towards her "family friend", which was perhaps the best way for the Hufflepuff to describe their relationship.

Scanning the room, she spotted Professor Valtome who gave out a few instructions before heading into the forest without so much as a second glance. Sigh. A trip to the Forbidden Forest, partnered up with someone who really hates her whilst following instructions from perhaps two of the strictest professors... Oh, this ought to be fun! Serena honestly had no idea what part she was regretting most now. Entering the Forbidden forest seemed like a bad idea to start with. Partnering up with perhaps the closest thing to an enemy she had made matters worse. Phaedra would not hesitate to run and leave her in danger - that much she was convinced of. Professor Wright would be furious if they accidentally hurt her plants and Professor Valtome... Eh, well, he would just be furious if they breathed incorrectly towards him. Oh boy oh boy, how fun this was going to be!

Without further ado, Serena clutched her basket and checked that her wand was still securely in her pocket before following the pair into the forest. May as well get this over and done with... What possibly could go wrong, right?

Perhaps the only thing that could make this better now was if she brought up Phaedra's elder sister, who Serena actually had gotten along with and liked. She was definitely the friendliest member of the family. A part of her really did want to know how Pavlina was doing, where she was and why she left. She didn't know if the Stavrou family knew the reasons, if they had kicked her out of the house or if she was even alive anymore... If they knew, though, they sure as hell had not told her family. Her mother refused to mention it and dismissed Serena if she even brought up the name, muttering some profanities about Pavlina, along with her being a 'terrible daughter' for leaving her family. Of course, Serena had no idea why or what happened but neither did her mother, it seemed. Her mother had just formed the opinion that 'Pavlina wasn't worthy of being a Stavrou' as she tried to 'ruin their reputation' by leaving. So much stuff that Serena did not understand or care for. She was sure Pavlina had a reason and if anything, the Stavrous were probably to blame. They probably kicked her out or forced her to leave. At least, that was the twelve year old's opinion on what limited knowledge she had of the situation. It sucked, though. The one person she liked in the family was no longer there and she had no one to even talk to about it... Except perhaps the girl standing near her that looked at her like she was her biggest enemy...

ACTION: Partner up with Phaedra Stavrou + follow Valtome into the forest.

The hug certainly caught Syrah off guard, she wasn't really a hugger. But it seemed in character for Lucy, and she was happy the girl responded so positively to her request. She grinned at the girl and let the hug commence, though she did not return it as fervently. When Professor Valtome entered, Syrah became excited. The Professor, despite being the head of her cabin, was quiet and rarely seen, and Syrah always wanted more time to pick his brain. He made it difficult, but she was glad to see him on this event for many reasons. One of them being, if the Potions Master was here, then the event certainly had something to do with potions, at least a bit, right?

Syrah nodded at Lucy when she offered that they should probably go. She was glad she had grabbed a basket and found a partner before Valtome's entrance. If she didn't she knew she would have felt silly and ashamed. Instead she felt a bit victorious as the pair ventured out behind the 'dramatic' Professor, as Lucy guessed. Syrah laughed at this, the girl wasn't wrong. The man used to be an actor after all. Drama was probably his middle name.

She nearly skipped as they walked outside, but soon they had to stop and wait for everyone else to exit the herbology hut. She was excited about what was to come, and hoped it wasn't a waste of time and that they would learn something interesting.

Parcel was looking rather dreamy eyed as he peered through the window. At this speed it would be midday before he even got to set a foot in the forbidden forest. The only reason he decided to go was for the chance to explore the forest and every moment that ticked by here in the cabin made for one less minute of exploring. Parcel gave a great sigh, he didn’t even notice the Gryffindor girl walking up to him until she spoke.
" Hey Parcel, you look like you could use a partner"
Parcel took his eyes of the dark green forest outside and looked over to the girl that spoke. The tall brown-haired girl was someone Parcel had seen on multiple occasions, and she was a Gryffindor after all, so they she did take all the same classes as him too.

“Oh, hi Aurelia” Parcel answered a bit absentmindedly, it was hard to take his mind of the adventuring he rather would be doing right now. “Yeah, I haven’t teamed up with anyone yet, we can go together if you want to?” He scratched the scar he had on his chin gingerly as he mulled it over. Parcel had originally planned to venture forth alone, but after finding out that they would have to team up with someone, then teaming up with a friend would be the best.

As he gave his consent to Aurelia, a man burst into the cabin. He complained tirelessly in that annoyingly silky voice most students had learned to recognize, it was the potions Professor. Parcel clicked his tongue as the professor seemed to blurt out half a schoolbook of complaints about how slow they all were. Well, it certainly wasn’t Parcel’s fault that the group was being lazy, he would have been far off into the woods by now if it hadn’t been for Professor Wright asking them to team up.

Without more dillydallying, Parcel went in the direction the aloof potions professor had gone. Now, finally, something might start happening. As he started to walk, Parcel took a glance behind himself “Well, come on then Aurelia, adventure awaits” He said as he chuckled a bit and grinned.

Action: follow after the potions professor, bring the basket.