Summer Camp Cabin Of The Phoenix Closed

For the first time, Bloom was not to be with her family over the summer. It was scary for her as she always had summer routines with her sisters. Once a week, they would run around the neighborhood park, swinging on the swings and sliding down the slides. But this year, her sisters were one short. Tempted to go back home, Bloom's parents pushed for her to experience a summer abroad. Perhaps it would get her mind straight after all that she had gone through this past year.

Not socializing throughout the bonfire, Bloom was beyond relieved to be told to go to their designated cabins. She needed some sleep after extensive studying and emotional experiences. The one emotion ride she cannot get over is not seeing Ben Eckenrode, her boyfriend, for a very long time. Perhaps it was because started to become distant herself? She thought he would have at least tried to get her attention, but he could have respected her need of space, too. Are we still considered together? she asked herself, wondering of their status while walking towards the cabin and getting inside.

It was absolutely beautiful. The amount of potted plants that cascaded around the rooms--inside and out-- was spectacular. Bloom thought it to be living in a garden. Listening to directions, she made her way to a room and saw to her surprise that she was going to live in the same cabin as both Serena Towers and Reid Kovacs. The latter made her heart stop. Every time Bloom would hang out with Reid, something would go wrong. The worst part was that it was always her that ended up doing something incredibly embarrassing. A deep part of her wished that she would at least have a normal summer, but with her luck, it would be just as difficult.

Walking into the room, she took a bed that was near Serena as she was the only person she knew at that moment. Perhaps as the month progressed, she would be able to get to know more cabin-mates.

Placing a small bag onto the bed, she looked over at Reid with a small smile,"Hey," she said, a bit distant than usual. Bloom attention immediately went to Serena with a slightly bigger smile, her cheeks lifting to show enthusiasm. "Mind if I sleep near you?" she asked, pointing towards the bottom bed of the bunk, hoping the answer was a given yes. Was she awkward to Reid already? The thought of their adventures together in the past made it too difficult to open up like usual to him. She wanted to be his friend, but there was such an embarrassing price to pay.

Bloom jumped at the sound of a Gryffindor girl yelling at Reid and another Hufflepuff boy. Her eyebrows perked up at the thought that someone would make a big stink about co-ed rooms. Then again, Bloom had never thought about the rooms being co-ed. She just accepted whatever the professor had said and went with it. Bloom had plenty to say to the girl in retaliation to her snapping, but she kept them to herself. The last thing she needed was to make enemies her first day of summer. Immediately, she saw the girl storm out of the room with her sleeping bag. Perhaps Bloom was making a better impression than she had thought.

Bloom looked at the other mates and saw their large duffel bags engorge their beds. Here she was with a small bag, nearly as big as a backpack that was enclosed with two uniforms, pajamas and a knitted sweater. She quickly took her bag and threw it under the bed. There was no need to broadcast her economic status to the entire room.

Finally settled in, Bloom walked to where the professor was waiting and sat in one of the small chairs, awaiting directions. Why am I not conversing like everyone else? Where's Ben when I need him? she thought to herself, hoping these lingering feelings would go away. Why did she feel so weird? This wasn't like her at all. She was uplifting, outgoing, entertaining, adventurous and creative. She felt more like a faded painting. The vibrant colors slowly brushing away. Perhaps someone would be able to lift her spirits, but until then, she sat, her ears open for what is yet to come for her summer adventure.

To be honest, Mary had not enjoyed this whole summer camp experience at all. She'd much rather be at home with her younger brother Sam and her books,not seem trapped at a place where she was forced out of her comfort zone. Alas when Mary was sent the only owl she'd received that whole year asking her no, demanding her, to not return home-she had no choice but to sign up and suck it up

Mary spent the whole time at the bonfire sitting next to the fire scowling. She hadn't made anything more than an acquaintance at Hogwarts and so she seemed more alone than she did at home. Mary sat by the fire alone for what seemed like hours before hearing that it was time for the students to follow the professors the their cabins. Mary felt relief at the thought of finally getting a new change of scenery.

Mary scuffed her shoes along the dirt as she followed her peers to her cabin and was taken aback by the decor of her now new home for a month. Everything was so incredibly green. She did however like the small potted plants strewn across the room.

Mary realized though, that her plans of secluding herself for the summer would be cut short when her eyes stumbled upon the bunk beds. Mary hadn't really got to become friends with anyone at Hogwarts and wasn't sure if there was a bed avaliable for her to be on by herself. She scanned the room and recognized a few faces such as Serena and Mia, other than that she knew no one.

Mary walked over to a bunk that had someone sitting on the top bunk. Mary was quite nervous to claim the bottom bunk but she had run out of options. She whispered a small "hello" and offered and awkward wave at the person before sliding her belongings under her bottom bunk. As Mary went to set her backpack onto her bed she heard an outburst of a Gryffindor girl about the cabin being Co-Ed. Mary was taken aback a little by this girls outburst as she saw nothing weird of the arrangement, she just saw it as a chance to hopefully make more friends. The girl rushed out of the room and conversations resumed. Mary simply sat on her bed and waited for what was to come next.

The cabin was coming along perfectly. Although the appearance of so many children scared Sorrel, she was able to spot a perfect, and a former prefect along the rabble of eleven and twelve year olds that bunched around in the small room. Once they all arrived, Sorrel waved an arm in the expanse of room, admiring the way that the light caught on one of the small plants, turning the ray of light that caught on her arms green.

She looked peaceful, forgetting about the presence of the children until their greetings to each other brought Sorrel back to the present with a loud sigh and a whisk of her fingers through her tangled hair. The chairs were definitely too small, and the chocolate wasn’t enough to satisfy the children’s hunger for objects and exploration.

She hadn’t brought out the toys yet, hoping that they wouldn't be needed, and that the plants and presence of other children would keep the little monsters entertained enough.. Sorrel really did not want to hear the loud noises of children playing in her cabin, but rumors had spread about how great the other cabins were, and how her other professors had went above and beyond, so she had ordered from the Joke Shop in Hogsmeade.

Deep down, Sorrel had hoped that her plants would be enough to satisfy the strange rowdiness of childhood, but none of the children had explored around the plants enough to find the strange quirks of each and every potted plants. The ones by the beds shoot out glitter and the ones by the window swayed and danced to whatever humming or melody a student would play. Yet, the children hadn’t dared to explore her plants yet, which was a fact that tasted sour in Sorrel’s mouth. For a needy group of children, they really didn’t do much, and for a group that claimed they loved adventure, toys, and presents, they did not go out of their way to find them.

Sorrel had not paid heed to the children’s conversation, but once she saw a girl address her in an icy tone, a frown sported itself on Sorrel’s face, as she watched the blonde gryffindor student stalk outside. A teacher’s work was never done. With a wave of her wand and a quick “accio”, a flurry of toys landed in the laps of the children inside of the room, and one landed in Sorrel’s outstretched hand. Her nails, painted yellow, and clean from dirt for the first time in the whole year, gripped onto the fabric of the toy, as Sorrel pocketed her wand and turned back to the children still in the cabin.

“Right, we’ll make this brief, as I gather your errant classmate from outside. This cabin will be your house for the summer. There will be no Slytherin, no Gryffindor, no Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. With that, that means there shall be no bickering over house points, which house is better, or so forth.” A faint smile bloomed into being on her face, as Sorrel mustered a wink at the Ravenclaw girl in her sight. “Although, I can assure you ravenclaw is the best house,” she stage whispered, pride for the house she had left so many years ago had grown in the woman during her year at Hogwarts, and she had to admit that Ravenclaws were much more mature and grounded than the rest of the strange students that were housed at the Scottish school.

“Nonetheless, if I hear of any of you talking about your houses, you shall receive a talking to by Professors Sergei or Leonie.” She was too weak-willed to talk to children sternly, and the threat of her dangerous coworkers was enough to make any student listen. Or so she hoped. “Now, I have to go outside, so I expect you all on your best behavior. Ms Towers will be in charge, along with the ex-prefect and ex-head boy, Ms. Silverton and Mr. Kovacs.”

With that, Sorrel stepped outside into the darkness of the night. Her voice was timid, but warm in nature, as Sorrel set the toy down for the white haired girl to grab. Watching her set up camp for a moment, a low chuckle burst from Sorrel’s lips, as a solution for the problem emerged from her head. “It’s cold out here.” Sorrel noted, sliding down to sit on the cold earth, back resting against the cabin.

“You may not want to sleep around boys, but it’s better than sleeping in the cold.” The child had the bravery of a lion, but hopefully she didn’t have the stupidity that so many Gryffindors had. “What about sleeping on a side of the room with only girls? There has to be something that will make you sleep inside. I wouldn’t want you to get cold, outside on your own.”

You may now post as frequently as you’d like, but after 4 posts each, it will be considered 11 and time for bed.
You have all been assigned a random toy, which will arrive in your inventory (so check your remembrall)
If you have not posted in this thread yet, you will have another chance to introduce yourself, stating you were late to the cabin.

Once her sleeping bag was all set up and perfectly straightened, December exhaled as if she had been holding her breath for forever and looked up at the night sky for a moment. Her heart was still beating so fast that she was sure it would come bursting out of her chest. What are they playing at, putting us in the same room like that? she fumed silently, her brows furrowing in dismay.

Before she could untangle any more of the millions of thoughts buzzing around in her throbbing head, a distinct voice cut through the silence of the night. Severely startled by the sudden appearance of another human being, December immediately whipped her body around and scrambled away like a crab on all fours before holding her legs close to her chest while seated on the ground. She relaxed slightly when she realized it was Professor Wright, but her eyes stayed open wide and filled with fear. Terror was emanating from her body like an aura.

December saw the curly-haired women set something down as if she was offering it to her, but she remained stiff and continued to clutch her legs tightly. She furrowed her eyebrows at her in confusion as she plopped down onto the ground next to her. December had all but condemned her in front of a cabin full of students, but Sorrel was continuing to be nice to her and had even offered a potential solution. Why did she care about where she slept?

A strange sort of pressure pushed into the girl’s chest and she immediately averted eye contact, unsure how to respond. Not knowing what else to do, she countered the kindness with more hostility, refusing to let her guard down if even for a second. ”No, that makes absolutely no sense, because they’d still be there,” she gulped, forcing herself to regain some composure. ”I’ll continue to sleep out here, thanks. I’m not afraid of a little bit of cold.” She grumbled before bringing her legs down and crossing her arms defiantly.

Whether it was too cold for her to stay outdoors she truly didn’t know, but she did know that she was extremely exhausted. It was as if she had used up a whole week’s worth of feelings in one night, and now all she felt was tired and blank, like a white piece of paper. She thought she could probably fall asleep in the middle of an ice box at this point without much difficulty. The cold never bothered her anyways.

Turning her attention back towards the toy, December squinted her eyes and studied it for a moment before reaching out to grab it with her hand. Truthfully, she thought it was really neat and she was a bit shocked at how thoughtful it was. ”Thank you,” she said as casually as possible, though she suspected a little bit of wonder had escaped into her tone. ”But really, you can go back inside. I promise I’ll be alright, and there’s no way I’m going back in there unless all the boys disappear.” She suspected many of her classmates would think that she was overreacting, but to her the fear was as real as the night sky. She honestly hoped they would never understand.

For some reason, the French from the girl who had introduced herself as Alexx shocked her. She knew most people at Hogwarts spoke other languages - the Purebloods usually speaking three or four - but she had yet to be spoken to in another language. Isabella had understood Alexx perfectly, being able to speak French herself. Her mother, who was fluent in French had insisted that she taught her - as her grandmother had contemplated sending her mother to Beauxbatons and insisted she learnt French. Now, French was spoken around her house more than English was, leaving her and her siblings fluent in the 'language of love, as it was dubbed by people.

As Alexx turned to the Hufflepuff prefect, she scanned the room - studying each and everyone of the faces to see if she could recognise anyone at all. It would be just her luck if she didn’t have any friends at all in her cabin. She sighed as she recognized no one - except Mia Alexander, who she didn’t feel comfortable striking up a conversation with at the moment. You’ll just have to make friends then, you antisocial worm. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? She had been doing it all year after all. Plus, they were just people like her. That is, she thinks they are. She didn’t know of any half-breeds at Hogwarts just yet, but she was sure none of her cabin mates were half-breeds. Merlin, most of them were probably Purebloods instead.

Her bunkmate swung her legs off the bunk, before jumping down and landing on the floor. The Slytherin stuck her hand out for her to shake, which Isabella shook politely for a few seconds before dropping it. ”Tu parle Français?” She said, raising an eyebrow as she spoke.

Behind the two, a white haired girl was making a scene - snapping at a boy about him simply being there before taking her stuff and leaving the cabin. Isabella didn’t understand what was so bad about sleeping in the same cabin as boys - they just were flobber worms who could be squished if needed. Plus, they had a professor there. And no one she knew would dare try anything right under an adults nose. The two flobber worms looked perfectly harmless as well, they hadn’t even spoken to most of the cabin - choosing to interact with each other. She had no problem sharing a cabin with two flobber worms, as long as they kept 5 feet away from her at all times. Then both parties would be able to coexist in peace.

With a wave of the professors wand, a set of ten Gobstones flew across the room and landed in the palm of her hand. She covered her hand holding the Gobstones with her free hand - so as to prevent the Gobstones from dropping and releasing their foul goo all over the floor where she stood. Professor Wright said a short paragraph about how this cabin would be their house for the summer, meaning there was no need to bicker over house points, or cups, or which house was the best. Although the professor had said something about Ravenclaw in an undertone, she knew that Slytherin had to be the best house. Before she had anymore time to think about her great her house was, the professor spoke again - saying she was leaving the Hufflepuff prefect in charge, along with the ex-head boy and ex-prefect. Looking around at the boys, she sort of found it hard to believe one of the pair had been head boy. Especially as the one with the better looking hair - both of them had horrible hair, but ones was more ‘neat’ - was carrying a shoebox around with him. She assumed that they were both in on whatever they were doing with the shoebox, seeing as they had been conversing about something a few moments ago.

After her short speech, professor Wright had gone outside to try and convince the girl to come back inside - or at least she assumed as much. But from what she had gathered from the herbology teachers classes, children weren’t her strong point. She was sure she wouldn’t mind if she went outside to help try and convince the girl to sleep inside - maybe she could help her see the ridiculousness of her decision.

Setting all but one Gobstone down on her bed, she shot an apologetic smile towards Alexx and made her way across the cabin. Looking curiously at the boys shoebox as she passed the table, she wondered what could be inside. Surely it wouldn’t be anything to dangerous, right? Seeing as they were boys, it was probably something really stupid. Like a popped, burned and overstretched balloon. Or a eggshells. Or maybe the flobberworms had brought a flobberworm to camp. Smiling slightly at the ‘funniness’ of her own lame joke, she covered the few steps to the door in a matter of seconds. The cabin was small enough for her to be able to cross it in under ten seconds - which made it just the right size, in her opinion. Only hesitating for a second, she reached out a turned the handle - stepping out into the chilly, star dotted night.

I should of grabbed a jumper. Was her first thought as she took a step out of the door, instantly being surrounded in cold night air. Thankfully, the professor and student weren’t too far away from the door. And if everything went to plan she’d be back inside within ten minutes of first stepping out.

She had stepped out just in time to hear the girl say something along the lines of ‘there’s no way I’m going back in there unless all the boys disappear.’ Furrowing her brow, she realised this girl might take a bit longer to convince to come inside than ten minutes. She couldn’t wrap her head around why this girl was making something so small so big. They were just flobberworms boys, were they not? They couldn’t do anything. At least, not with an adult there. Plus, they were what? 12? What could a pair of twelve year old boys do to seven girls? They were perfectly safe - the professors wouldn’t of made mixed gender cabins if they thought there was any sort of risk of people getting hurt.

Taking a few steps forward into the cold night, she tried to think of something - anything - to say to the girl to try and convince her to come inside. Surely a few well chosen words would help the girl see sense and realise she couldn’t sleep outside for a whole month while they were here. Plus, wasn't Summer Camp about getting to know new people, and have new experiences? This girl couldn't really mean to stay outside over a little problem such as sharing a cabin with a pair of boys, that were virtually harmless? Giving a small smile to the professor - trying to let her know she meant to help - she walked over to the other side of the girl and sat down in the dirt, not caring if she got mess all over her clothes.

Taking the opportunity in the silence before it disappeared, she spoke into the crisp air in a soft voice. ”You know, there’s a nice, warm cabin in there? With seven girls inside it - eight if you include professor Wright.” She nodded towards the professor as she said her name. ”Do you really think she would let anything happen to you? She came out here because she didn’t want anything to happen to you,so why would it be any different inside with two boys?” Stopping for a second, she hoped the words were sinking in. She wasn’t going to let this girl sleep outside for the night, just because of a pair of stupid boys. ”Here, look, why don’t you come inside? You can’t sleep out here all night, it’s freezing. And you're too close to the forest at this time of night - you don't know what's inside it, it could be a bit dangerous. You can come play Gobstones inside with me if you want? We can stay on the opposite side of them room to the boys, and I promise I won’t let them come within five feet of you. Just think of them as flobberworms if you really don’t like them, that’s what I do when I’m with someone I don’t like.” She smiled warmly at the girl, hoping she had convinced her. Surely she didn't want to spend her nights at Summer Camp outside in the cold?

The Gobstone was still gripped tightly in her left hand. She lifted it and unclenched her fist, exposing the single Gobstone resting on the palm of her hand. She gestured for the girl to, hopefully, take the Gobstone - signifying her agreement, and letting her know she would come back inside with her and the professor.

It was sad to see a child so belligerently stubborn in her attempts to stay away from the males of the cabin. Sad enough to melt the shell of distaste for children that Sorrel wore like a shield, but obviously, something had happened to the ivory skinned girl, something horrendous enough to scare the poor thing enough to make her afraid to step into a cabin with an ex-prefect and an odd ball of a Gryffindor, who was clearly incapable of doing much besides side eyeing girls as if they were going to attack him, and looking like the poster child of the strange anti-cooties movement that children liked to parade around, unaware of how cooties would affect them later in life. Although, adult & teenager cooties were known as STD's, and were worse than the cooties that children seemed to fear so adamantly.

The rudeness of the small girl did not bother Sorrel, who knew her own mother had dealt with similar outbursts from young Sorrel. Children might of been little monsters, but they were predictable in their actions, and after a whole year, Sorrel was used to the outbursts of adolescence. Although, she had never been up close and personal with such outbursts.

Carefully, Sorrel hitched up the folds of her skirt, knees moving up, until she was sitting in a similar fashion to the young Gryffindor. Sorrel had never been a fan of the theatrics of Gryfindor, nor a fan of children, but she managed a weak smile. "Of course you're not afraid of the cold, you're a Gryffindor. Fear is not in your DNA, little lion. Although, I suppose, that could be considered recklessness and foolishness, to those who will watch you sit out here ."

Her voice was not admonishing, simply conversational, as Sorrel's eyes averted upwards to the sky full of stars. It took four or five moments to do the right thing, four or five moments to change someone's life, or make them feel special. Sorrel wasn't an avid believer in such stupidity, but shrugging her shoulders in the sleeves of their pink confines, Sorrel let loose a breath of cold air.

"If you truly want to stay out here all night long, I suppose I'll have to stay out here too. Unless," Another deep sigh, as Sorrel thought of the lavish comfort of the small room that had been set up for her own sleeping quarters. "You would like to sleep in the adjoining room. It'll be away from the boys, if that gives you any comfort."

Before Sorrel could say another word, the presence of another ex prefect alerted Sorrel, causing the jumpy woman to recoil, . Was she grateful for the child's presence? Perhaps. The girl also tried to help the paler girl, and Sorrel raised an eyebrow, face pinking under the sea of stars.

How sad that a child had to help Sorrel in her conquest to aid a student. Wasn't Sorrel equipped to deal with children? She was a professor, for gods sake. She could do this!

.... If she wasn't so flustered.

"Thank you, uh, Ms. Chills, Oh, gosh, I mean Hills. Wow, that was quite the rousing speech. Do you think you're up for a game of gobstones, Elsa jr?" The flustered professor asked, stuttering through half her words, before drawing herself up, and studying December, awaiting her response.

Serena chucked her stuff down onto the bed and looked around. There were plants everywhere. It was exactly what you would expect from the Plant Lady herself, it was brilliant. Though, that probably also meant there were going to be a lot of insects around... Hopefully not mosquitoes though. Being bitten by them was kind of annoying, if nothing else. It never hurt. It was just itchy and annoying. She took a piece of candy that Professor Wright had left for them and popped it into her mouth. She was definitely glad she was in this Cabin. The Herbology Professor was great. Far less scary than some of the other professors, although she was strict. Imagine being in Professor Valtome's cabin? Sheesh, you would have to sleep with one eye open at all times.

The other boy, whose name she could not remember - the odd one in Gryffindor whose name sounded like Parasite. It was something like that, she was sure - was talking to Reid. The pair of boys had decided to bunk up together. Serena blinked as she noticed the box in Reid's arm, wondering what it was. He placed the shoebox on the table. She had noticed it earlier, as he had moved it out of the way to avoid it getting crushed when they had hugged, "What's in the shoebox?" Serena asked the boy, curiously from her bed. She was about to get up and approach them to find out but two other girls caught her attention. 

The first was Bloom Silverton, the former Ravenclaw Prefect. Grinning at her friend, "Bloom!" She called out, immediately throwing her arms around the girl and bringing her in for a hug, "It's been a while..." Serena had been so busy in her role that she did not have a chance to hang out with her friend as much as she had before. It didn't help that she had also distanced herself from people - and socialising in general. "Of cours-" She began to reply with a nod as she motioned to one of the free beds near her, only to jump slightly at the raised voice.

This was the second girl. A girl that she did not recognise was having a go at the boys. Snapping at them for being here, as though they had done something wrong. Serena blinked, wondering if it was all boys or just those two... Perhaps that Parasite guy had done something to her. She was about to address them when an item suddenly appeared in her hands. Looking at it, she examined the item that appeared to be a boomerang. "Wh-" She was about to start when she heard a voice pipe up.

Silently, Serena turned her attention to Professor Wright instead, who wrongfully claimed that Ravenclaw were the best. That was definitely not true. But they could agree to disagree on the matter. Now... which one was Professor Sergei or Leonie again? Serena blinked for a moment, trying to recall their first names. She was so used to addressing Professors by their surname or a made up nickname, for when she could not remember their ridiculously hard to spell or pronounce surnames. Whilst she was thinking about it, she jumped a little as she heard her own name being said out aloud. 

Ms Towers will be in charge...

Ah, well, that was... going to be interesting. But the Prefect had started getting used to being in charge of things. She was not very confident in doing it nor did she think she was very good at it but over the months, she had helped oversee a few things. Leading was something she would have to get more confident in... It was her own self-doubt that made her less confident in the matter but she could try, nonetheless. She hated disappointing people, after all. Nodding, "Yes Professor," Serena replied simply, glad that Bloom and Reid would also be in charge with her. She worked better in groups or with people. Team work made the dream work, after all.

Serena sighed as she watched the Professor follow the angry girl outside. Shortly after that, the former Slytherin Prefect did the same. There were enough people crowding around the girl, so Serena decided to stay inside. There was no need to crowd her. Giving her space was probably a better idea, letting her calm down before trying to fix the situation. Instead, Serena hopped off her bed and looked around. "So... any idea what that was about, boys?" Serena asked, looking at Reid and Parasite, "Did you uhh do something to upset her or...?" She continued, trying to figure out what was going on in the first place.

Holding the boomerang, she looked around, wondering what everyone else got, "So... What did everyone get?" She asked Bloom and any of the other girls around, trying to make conversation and dissolve the small awkwardness that had fallen onto the room. It was awkward and tense from the yelling. Whoops.

Alexx smiled at Isabella upon realizing that she, too, spoke French. It was nice to have someone understand her for once. The language made her feel more at home than she did almost anywhere else. She didn't have time to answer, however, as she watched the girl follow a silver-haired Gryffindor out the door, the very one who was raging on about males and females sharing a cabin. Alexx, someone who identified as bigender, felt a slight pain in her heart upon hearing that. She wasn't sure if she should chase the mysterious Gryffindor out the door as well and try to talk it out with her, or if she should just decide that it wasn't her place and move on. It was always a difficult task, but it got her thinking about where she would stay if the cabins were separated by gender identities.

Eventually, she decided on the former, to follow Isabella outside to confront the heated Gryffindor. "'Scoozi," The blonde announced herself, also noting that Professor Wright was out there. "but I was wondering if I may ask why you do not wish to stay with the boys?" Isabella had seemed to already be doing a good job at being friendly, and Professor Wright seemed to be talking her out of her decision to sleep outside, so Alexx decided that another friendly gesture was never too much. Maybe talking it out with the silver-haired Gryffindor would make her more understanding of everyone's position here.

There was already more girls in the cabin than there were boys, with Alexx being the middle ground, but she found herself appreciating the diversity. It was good for them, that was the most reasonable conclusion she could come to in her own mind. "The boys seem nice. I've never met either of them, but I plan on introducing myself at some point. I'm sure they're quite nice, and there's nothing to worry about. If you like, though, as Isabella suggested, you don't have to go near them. But really, darling, it's not good for you to stay out here." Her smile was gentle and polite, welcoming the Gryffindor in a friendly manner. She meant no harm, but would rather no negative vibes be circulating the cabin; that just wouldn't be good for any of them.

The Slytherin then looked down into her hand at the Exploding Snap that Professor Wright had given her. What on earth do these do? The one mildly depressing aspect of having no childhood was the fact that she really had no childhood. She realized that they were a deck of cards, blue on the back, but she wasn't at all sure how to use them. Maybe she'd ask someone later on.

It was quite nice outside, it reminded Alexx of her brief visit to Alabama one summer whilst celebrating the Fourth of July in the states. The chill was what reminded her most, it was slightly chillier than the July breeze she remembered as she watched the fireworks light up the night sky, but none the less she couldn't stop the memories of coming. She remembered the close houses that looked as if they'd been standing there since the 40's and 50's, maybe even before that. Melancholy filled her as she searched, in the back of her mind, for the slamming screen doors and Hank Williams playing on an old radio, just louder than the sound of a buzzing porch light and cicada's calling. That was a quieter time, a lovely memory from her childhood. She decided then that maybe she ought to pay Alabama another visit one day. She had connections everywhere, after all.

Busting out of her thoughts, she turned back to the two girls she spoke to. Maybe just inviting herself to a conversation wasn't the most polite thing to do, but someone was in distress. She simply couldn't help herself. It was in her nature to be polite with everyone, but only to a certain extent. Sometimes, when Mikey was able to sneak a letter to her, he joked about the family wondering how it was that she was in Slytherin when she acted much like a Hufflepuff. She only rolled her eyes. It was clear why she was a Slytherin, just not outright.

Interacts with Reid and Serena

Parcel gave Reid a boyish grin as he listened to Reid’s exclamation about getting the top bunk. Parcel wasn’t ready for all the climbing up and down and would much rather have the bottom bunk, so it seemed like there wouldn’t be any infighting about beds.
Chewing on the piece of candy he was eating, Parcel exclaimed in boyish delight as Reid explained how long Bartholomew had grown. This was perfect! The longer he was, the more he would ward of the girls for them, parcel thought!

“Come on Reid! Don’t leave me hanging, open the b-“
But before Parcel had spoken the whole sentence, he heard a sharp snapping voice coming from somewhere by the door. Sharply turning his head in the direction of the noise, Parcel could see a Gryffindor girl stomping out of the cabin, muttering her great dislike for bunking with boys.
Well, Parcel did agree, there was no way it could be safe, for the boys that is. But unlike the gryff girl, Parcel and Reid had made their preparations, and their worm-knight in shining armor would save them from the hoard of girls that would be roaming the cabin, ready to spread their germ-like cooties and kill Parcel and Reid.

Looking back to Reid, Parcel made an exasperated expression. Parcel pointed a thumb behind his back to the door the girl had left from “What’s her problem you think? Its almost like she thinks we’re the ones with cooties.”

Not having time to hear Reid’s answer, Parcel turned his attention to the wizard cracker that had suddenly appeared in his hand. With a joyous expression on his face, Parcel whispered
“ooh, cool” as he glanced down at his gift before turning his eyes to the professor as she started speaking.
He chuckled a bit when she said there were no houses under the roof of the cabin, because the professor clearly thought Ravenclaw was best. But his smile soon turned to an awkward grin as she continued. His eyes glanced over the two girls the professor had put in charge… there was a girl Parcel didn’t know and there was the-.. the Kissy Prefect. What was the professor thinking!? Putting someone like that in charge. Wasn’t the professor afraid of the Kissy Prefect misusing her power? Forcing Parcel and Reid into kissing all the girls or something?
The only solace Parcel could find was that Reid was made a boss too, that way the boys still had some say in the cabin… but… but there was only one Reid, and there were two girls in charge with Reid, the boys was outnumbered… Parcel gulped as he glanced down at the box containing Bart, he would be their only hope now…

When the professor left, the Kissy Prefect seemed to take to action at once. She must have gotten used to it after bossing all her boys around.
Turning to Parcel and Reid, she even suspected them of doing something to the girl that ran outside! Like Parcel would ever bring a girl’s wrath upon himself, he didn’t have a Deathwish!
Leaning back on the tiny chair he was sitting on, Parcel put his hands behind his head and answered the Kissy Prefect. “N-no, of course I haven’t done anything!” Parcel stammered a bit as he talked, he didn’t want to look like she flustered him, but it was hard to look at the Kissy Prefect without imagine her snogging someone.

With a bit of a red shade in his cheeks, Parcel continued. “And if you absolutely must know, its Bart we have in the box” Parcel remember her asking them, but he hadn’t gotten to answered her earlier, because of the ruckus the Gryff girl made. “Barthalomew Wormington the Third! He’s a worm” Parcel pointed to the box with a thumb “so you as a kis-.. Girl, Probably wouldn’t like him. But we can show him to you, right Reid?” Parcel glanced over at Reid as he finished talking. He almost muttered Kissy Prefect but stopped himself quickly. Parcel felt that talking to the girl was draining his mental power, he had to keep himself on his toes not to be dragged into a game of 7 minutes in heaven or something, because that would be a game of 7 minutes in hell. What keep Parcel going was the image he had in his mind of himself laughing manically as he was dangling Bart over the terrified Kissy Prefect as she crouched down on her knees, begging not to be touched by Bart the worm.

Both the pounding in December’s chest and the ringing in her ears had began to lower to a more tolerable decimal. There was something calming about being outside in the peaceful stillness of the night, with only Professor Wright to talk to. Though she had been extremely resistant to the idea at first, her perception of the Herbology Professor had slowly began to change. Maybe she wasn’t as aloof as December had initially thought.

Truthfully, the whole situation was a bit surreal to the young girl. She had not been expecting to be followed at all, and if she had, she was sure that it would only be for the strict purpose of sending her to detention. Having someone make such a fuss over her rebellious defiance was incredibly puzzling to the young Gryffindor. It was not at all something she was used to.

December was going to immediately protest the idea that Professor Wright stay outside all night with her, but before she had the chance to do so, the women suggested something else that caught her off guard. She had noticed the adjoining room, but wasn’t that meant for Professor Wright to sleep in? She shifted her gaze to the ground, unsure of what to say. Honestly, it was something that could theoretically work, but not even December could avoid feeling a guilty at the idea of taking over the Professor’s sleeping quarters.

Before she could give it any more thought, a Slytherin girl had joined them outside of the cabin and was also seemingly trying to reassure her. December allowed the right side of her hair to hang over her face like a shield and avoided eye contact with her as she began to feel uneasy and her heart began to flutter again. She tightened her hands into fists once more, immediately irritated at the girl’s insistence that the cabin was completely and utterly safe. The thing that bothered December the most was that she knew the dark-haired girl was right.

The white-haired girl was stubborn as ever, but even she couldn’t deny the logic of the situation. Professor Wright would indeed be present the whole time, and there were many more girls than boys in their cabin. As she attempted to reason through her position, she depicted how the rest of the night may look. She pictured the gobstones they were sure to play, the feeling of belonging while relating to all her fellow campers while under the same roof, and the unique bond that was sure to develop among them. However, she knew that it didn’t stop there. The second half of the picture included complete darkness as the lights went out, unexplained noises that permeated the deafening silence of the cabin, and the feeling of being feet away from people that she neither knew nor trusted at all times. A familiar panic swept over her, and she was reminded again about why she had come outside in the first place. Sure, Professor Wright may not want anything to happen to her, but December knew all too well that there was only so much that adults could prevent.

”I know what’s inside the forest,” she replied scathingly. ”Do you know what boys are actually capable of? Why do you think we have separate dormitories, and different bathrooms?” She frowned, gesturing back towards the school. Clearly this girl had no idea what she was talking about. The idea of playing gobstones actually didn’t sound too terrible, though, and she had to admit that she quite liked the idea of thinking about the boys as flobberworms.

December turned her head back to the Professor, but before she had a chance to say anything else, yet another girl had joined them outside. December became yet more flustered at the new arrival and her face grew pink. How had she piqued this much curiosity from her fellow classmates? There was no way that anyone actually cared this much, so she was sure they had only come out because they were nosy, or because they wanted to know the latest gossip. If this was the case, she knew they would be severely disappointed.

The new girl’s question caught her off guard so much that she nearly jumped up and ran away towards the next train back to London. She stared in awe for a moment before replying through gritted teeth. ”The question isn’t why I don’t want to stay with them, but why you do.” She had no idea why this was such a difficult concept for everyone to grasp. Boys were different from girls. Boys were raised without manners, eager to get their hands on whatever they could so they could claim it as their own without a thought for anyone else. Boys would be boys, and it was best for girls to just stay out of their way. There was an order to the world, and without order, they risked falling into chaos. ”It’s much safer for everyone involved if we are kept separate,” she concluded in a matter-of-fact tone. She was convinced that nobody could argue with that logic.

Deep down, December knew that the two Slytherin girls were only trying to make her feel better. Part of her felt a little bit bad for snapping at them, but at the same time, they should know better, and she couldn’t be seen as vulnerable. If they sensed weakness, they were sure to use it against her at some point in the future.

Remembering what Professor Wright had said before the two Slytherins had joined them, December turned back to the curly-haired woman as she thought of an alternative solution that she might actually be able to tolerate. ”You mentioned there was an adjoining room?” It wasn’t as much of a question as it was a reminder. ”I don’t want to take your bed, but ... do you think it would be alright if I slept on the floor in the corner in there? I promise I’ll be quiet,” she looked up at the Professor hopefully.

Regardless of her sleeping situation, December didn’t see the harm in playing a game of gobstones and going back inside to join the other campers. She nodded at the dark-haired Slytherin and said, ”Alright, I’ll play gobstones with you, I guess... If you’re still interested.” She kept her tone as nonchalant as possible. She grabbed the gobstones the girl had offered before turning to the lighter-haired Slytherin girl. ”Would you care to join?”