16 Jan 2023, 14:40
Finding a Place to Be
It was a warm afternoon, and Jordan was hoping to spend some time outdoors for a change. Sure, they may usually prefer the peace and privacy of their own dorm, but vitamin D was still necessary for success and survival. That, and it was possible that Jordan missed having human contact most days. They still hadn't made any lasting friends here, and they hoped that by getting out more, they could change that.
Jordan had heard that most students would be out at the Quidditch Pitch today, so they figured it would be a quiet day to visit the Courtyard for once. Usually, it would be bustling with sounds of Exploding Snap and students pushing their way to electives, but today, there was even a spot near enough to see the fountain. Jordan made a bee-line for the bench, and quickly claimed it with a book bag.
They took their seat and pulled out a rather strange book on Herbology, which Jordan was learning was a bit like botany and Wicca had a child. At least, that's the closest you'd find in the muggle world. Opening to the third chapter, Jordan began their reading. Their current goal was to stay at least a chapter ahead in each subject, and they were trying to give themselves a head start on most of them. At least it was fairly easy to motivate themselves to read about Herbology, as it was quite interesting. Much more so than History of Magic.
Jordan had heard that most students would be out at the Quidditch Pitch today, so they figured it would be a quiet day to visit the Courtyard for once. Usually, it would be bustling with sounds of Exploding Snap and students pushing their way to electives, but today, there was even a spot near enough to see the fountain. Jordan made a bee-line for the bench, and quickly claimed it with a book bag.
They took their seat and pulled out a rather strange book on Herbology, which Jordan was learning was a bit like botany and Wicca had a child. At least, that's the closest you'd find in the muggle world. Opening to the third chapter, Jordan began their reading. Their current goal was to stay at least a chapter ahead in each subject, and they were trying to give themselves a head start on most of them. At least it was fairly easy to motivate themselves to read about Herbology, as it was quite interesting. Much more so than History of Magic.
Courtesy of Jordan Niveo, First-Year Wix
21 Jan 2023, 02:57
Finding a Place to Be
@Jordan Niveo
Finding a Place to
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Sunny had his copy of Magical Theory in his hands and somehow the copy had gotten fairly battered and dog-eared already. He observed it the way one might read an angry smart phone, hunched over it and glaring from above. This posture wasn't great for his back, but the real problem was that the book obscured his feet and took up most of his field of vision.
So when the cobblestone pavers had a slightly bigger crack than normal, one of Sunny's toes went in perfectly the one wrong way, and down Sunny went, book first, chin into pages.
Kapoof!
He picked himself up, grabbed his book off the ground and attempted to smooth over the pages, trying to figure out what had happened. He didn't think that it could be the little cobblestone crack, so the only thing nearest to him was another person, who had shorter, nearly shoulder-length brown hair.
Sunny's Magical Theory book with now crumpled pages was held awkwardly in his hands as he looked from the crack in the cobblestones to the stranger (Jordan), and back again. Now, this is the place where personality and character comes into play. Were this a glass-half-empty sort of character, Sunny would accuse Jordan of being the trip-er and we'd have a very different thread than this one is now. But it just so happens that Sunny isn't that sort, so instead, instead, he at last looked to Jordan and said:
"Woah."
What Sunny wanted to say was: 'Wow, did you enchant that cobblestone, that's so neat!', or 'Hi, I'm Sunny, let's be friends!', or 'Wow, I need to pay more attention to where I'm going.', but instead, all that came out was a one-syllable word of indeterminate meaning.
Sunny rubbed his chin absently, and in doing so, realized that his chin and hands and knees all hurt from where he'd skinned them. He comically hobbled to the bench where Jordan was sitting and plunked his bottom a respectable personal-bubble distance away, but not an unsociable-bubble distance away.
Now sitting, Sunny tried again. He opened his mouth and tried to say something, but he just ended up staring at the cobblestone, the book, and back at Jordan. After a few more seconds of awkward gaping like a zombie fish out of water, all on it's own and utterly unprompted, words finally came:
"I'm hungry.", Sunny's mouth said.
Sunny even looked shocked at what he said. Then he looked embarrassingly at Jordan as if to say 'I'm trying, help me out here'.
Finding a Place to
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Sunny had his copy of Magical Theory in his hands and somehow the copy had gotten fairly battered and dog-eared already. He observed it the way one might read an angry smart phone, hunched over it and glaring from above. This posture wasn't great for his back, but the real problem was that the book obscured his feet and took up most of his field of vision.
So when the cobblestone pavers had a slightly bigger crack than normal, one of Sunny's toes went in perfectly the one wrong way, and down Sunny went, book first, chin into pages.
Kapoof!
He picked himself up, grabbed his book off the ground and attempted to smooth over the pages, trying to figure out what had happened. He didn't think that it could be the little cobblestone crack, so the only thing nearest to him was another person, who had shorter, nearly shoulder-length brown hair.
Sunny's Magical Theory book with now crumpled pages was held awkwardly in his hands as he looked from the crack in the cobblestones to the stranger (Jordan), and back again. Now, this is the place where personality and character comes into play. Were this a glass-half-empty sort of character, Sunny would accuse Jordan of being the trip-er and we'd have a very different thread than this one is now. But it just so happens that Sunny isn't that sort, so instead, instead, he at last looked to Jordan and said:
"Woah."
What Sunny wanted to say was: 'Wow, did you enchant that cobblestone, that's so neat!', or 'Hi, I'm Sunny, let's be friends!', or 'Wow, I need to pay more attention to where I'm going.', but instead, all that came out was a one-syllable word of indeterminate meaning.
Sunny rubbed his chin absently, and in doing so, realized that his chin and hands and knees all hurt from where he'd skinned them. He comically hobbled to the bench where Jordan was sitting and plunked his bottom a respectable personal-bubble distance away, but not an unsociable-bubble distance away.
Now sitting, Sunny tried again. He opened his mouth and tried to say something, but he just ended up staring at the cobblestone, the book, and back at Jordan. After a few more seconds of awkward gaping like a zombie fish out of water, all on it's own and utterly unprompted, words finally came:
"I'm hungry.", Sunny's mouth said.
Sunny even looked shocked at what he said. Then he looked embarrassingly at Jordan as if to say 'I'm trying, help me out here'.
23 Jan 2023, 00:03
Finding a Place to Be
Jordan was deep into a passage on Devil's Snare when suddenly someone walking past had an awful fall right in front of them. They closed their book onto their thumb and looked up at the other student, and then grimaced at seeing the many scrapes they now had over their body.
"Oh my," Jordan found themselves saying aloud, using one hand to cover their mouth.
As the boy stood, Jordan looked for their bookmark, putting it into their book and then tucking it away into their book bag. They were about to stand to offer the boy a hand up, but he had already stood up on his own. Jordan decided to stay put and watch as he collected himself, just to be sure he didn't need any additional help, like a walk to the infirmary. When he sat beside them and mentioned hunger, Jordan couldn't help but chuckle.
"After a fall like that, I'm surprised you're biggest worry is your next meal," Jordan said with a smile. "I guess the Great Hall should be opening for dinner fairly soon."
They looked down at the crumpled pages in the other student's hands, noticing that it was a textbook as well. "Magical Theory?" asked Jordan casually. "Do you enjoy it so far?"
Jordan took this segue to glance over the other for a moment, noting from their uniform that they must be a Gryffindor student. Now the sudden and surprising statements made much more sense. That's about when Jordan realized they hadn't even introduced themselves.
"I'm Jordan, by the way, Jordan Niveo," they offered a hand to the Gryffindor boy with a smile.
"Oh my," Jordan found themselves saying aloud, using one hand to cover their mouth.
As the boy stood, Jordan looked for their bookmark, putting it into their book and then tucking it away into their book bag. They were about to stand to offer the boy a hand up, but he had already stood up on his own. Jordan decided to stay put and watch as he collected himself, just to be sure he didn't need any additional help, like a walk to the infirmary. When he sat beside them and mentioned hunger, Jordan couldn't help but chuckle.
"After a fall like that, I'm surprised you're biggest worry is your next meal," Jordan said with a smile. "I guess the Great Hall should be opening for dinner fairly soon."
They looked down at the crumpled pages in the other student's hands, noticing that it was a textbook as well. "Magical Theory?" asked Jordan casually. "Do you enjoy it so far?"
Jordan took this segue to glance over the other for a moment, noting from their uniform that they must be a Gryffindor student. Now the sudden and surprising statements made much more sense. That's about when Jordan realized they hadn't even introduced themselves.
"I'm Jordan, by the way, Jordan Niveo," they offered a hand to the Gryffindor boy with a smile.
Courtesy of Jordan Niveo, First-Year Wix
24 Jan 2023, 03:17
Finding a Place to Be
"Oh," Sunny replied, then "Oh, " again, as if he were a parrot.
At last, he eagerly grasped Jordan's hand and gave him a firm handshake. "I'm Sunny!" , he responded back, snapping out of it. "Oh," he regressed, "I already introduced myself didn't I...," but he hadn't, unless he counted the dad joke (Hi Hungry, I'm dad).
He didn't mean to be such a conversation crusher, it just sort of happened that when his stomach rumbled, which was all the time, his brain just sort of stopped working. But he tried not to think about it and forced his brain to think of other things, like what his new acquiantance had just said.
Sunny looked over at Jordan's book, seeing a page about a plant. "Oh, that looks like a plant. Do you like that? Plants?", he tried. He gave Jordan room to respond and then added "Yeah, no. It's so boring. Books are so boring."
"Wanna go with me to the Great Hall after this? You could eat... uh... plants?", he tried.
"Tell me about ... uh... that?", he tried again to be conversational and pointed comically at Jordan's Devil's snare book. Jordan's book looked a lot nicer in condition than Sunny's. Sunny was doing a lot of trying lately, but practice made perfect, as the old saying said.
He tried to listen, really listen to what Jordan had to say. His eyebrows knit together in sheer concentration with the brain power exerted to absorb Jordan's words.
At last, he eagerly grasped Jordan's hand and gave him a firm handshake. "I'm Sunny!" , he responded back, snapping out of it. "Oh," he regressed, "I already introduced myself didn't I...," but he hadn't, unless he counted the dad joke (Hi Hungry, I'm dad).
He didn't mean to be such a conversation crusher, it just sort of happened that when his stomach rumbled, which was all the time, his brain just sort of stopped working. But he tried not to think about it and forced his brain to think of other things, like what his new acquiantance had just said.
Sunny looked over at Jordan's book, seeing a page about a plant. "Oh, that looks like a plant. Do you like that? Plants?", he tried. He gave Jordan room to respond and then added "Yeah, no. It's so boring. Books are so boring."
"Wanna go with me to the Great Hall after this? You could eat... uh... plants?", he tried.
"Tell me about ... uh... that?", he tried again to be conversational and pointed comically at Jordan's Devil's snare book. Jordan's book looked a lot nicer in condition than Sunny's. Sunny was doing a lot of trying lately, but practice made perfect, as the old saying said.
He tried to listen, really listen to what Jordan had to say. His eyebrows knit together in sheer concentration with the brain power exerted to absorb Jordan's words.
25 Jan 2023, 14:04
Finding a Place to Be
They tried to keep an equal pressure with the other student's Sunny's handshake. Jordan had always been taught the an even, firm handshake was key to a good first impression. They tried to take in all of Sunny's mannerisms and words, trying to figure out what kind of person he might be. It seemed to Jordan that, while a bit peculiar, they were nice.
Looking down at their book, Jordan nodded, "Yeah, uhm, this is Herbology. I've sort of always liked nature, so a subject built around plants that are imbued with magic is kind of the coolest thing I could possibly be studying."
At the offer to eat plants, Jordan couldn't help but laugh. "Right, well," they chuckled, "I guess some vegetables or fruit could be good, but protein and carbs are probably also necessary. And, sure, we could go to dinner together . . . if you're up for it, at least."
After figuring out which part of the book Sunny was looking at, Jordan nodded, "Right, well, Devil's Snare is actually pretty interesting. It's basically a mass of vines that wants to trap any intruders, yet is scared of light."
They smiled softly at their own prowess, then looked up at the Gryffindor. "So have you found any subject that has piqued your interest? Maybe something from school or like a hobby from home?"
Looking down at their book, Jordan nodded, "Yeah, uhm, this is Herbology. I've sort of always liked nature, so a subject built around plants that are imbued with magic is kind of the coolest thing I could possibly be studying."
At the offer to eat plants, Jordan couldn't help but laugh. "Right, well," they chuckled, "I guess some vegetables or fruit could be good, but protein and carbs are probably also necessary. And, sure, we could go to dinner together . . . if you're up for it, at least."
After figuring out which part of the book Sunny was looking at, Jordan nodded, "Right, well, Devil's Snare is actually pretty interesting. It's basically a mass of vines that wants to trap any intruders, yet is scared of light."
They smiled softly at their own prowess, then looked up at the Gryffindor. "So have you found any subject that has piqued your interest? Maybe something from school or like a hobby from home?"
Courtesy of Jordan Niveo, First-Year Wix
29 Jan 2023, 04:01
Finding a Place to Be
The handshake went well, and just like that they were new friends. Jordan explained about the book he had, then vegetarian diets. He nodded along.
"Sure, I'd like that. There's not long to wait. I don't mind it if other people decide not to eat certain types of food to try to be kind to animals or plants, what about you?", he tried to comment on dietary preferences.
Jordan was now talking about the plant on the page, which had been Devil's Snare. He thought carefully about the plant, trying to think of something interesting to say, but his brain didn't produce any thoughts worthy of words, like 'the uses of devil's snare in botany?' or 'devil's snare in dietary...?' , but each thought ended in a question mark. There was so much he didn't know. He nodded along as appropriate.
"I don't know. I'm not failing any subjects, I just... like being outside," he felt a little vulnerable confessing there wasn't a class that he absolutely loved. "How about you? Do you like being outside too? What class is your favorite? Is it herbology? Will you do more things with herbology when you're big and grown?", he didn't mean to pepper his new friends with the questions, they just all tumbled out, one after another.
"Sure, I'd like that. There's not long to wait. I don't mind it if other people decide not to eat certain types of food to try to be kind to animals or plants, what about you?", he tried to comment on dietary preferences.
Jordan was now talking about the plant on the page, which had been Devil's Snare. He thought carefully about the plant, trying to think of something interesting to say, but his brain didn't produce any thoughts worthy of words, like 'the uses of devil's snare in botany?' or 'devil's snare in dietary...?' , but each thought ended in a question mark. There was so much he didn't know. He nodded along as appropriate.
"I don't know. I'm not failing any subjects, I just... like being outside," he felt a little vulnerable confessing there wasn't a class that he absolutely loved. "How about you? Do you like being outside too? What class is your favorite? Is it herbology? Will you do more things with herbology when you're big and grown?", he didn't mean to pepper his new friends with the questions, they just all tumbled out, one after another.
11 Feb 2023, 13:43
Finding a Place to Be
Sunny was an interesting kid, and Jordan found the many questions even more so. They thought about the vegetarian question and decided on a shrug. "Honestly, I don't really care what other people eat as long as they don't force their preferences on others. And as long as they aren't cannibals, I suppose."
Jordan had a habit of going into too much detail too quickly, but Sunny didn't seem to mind their speech on the Devil's Snare plant. Once they realized they had been talking about plants for far too long, they blushed and shut up quickly, looking to Sunny to change the subject.
"Oh, yeah, I like being outside. I used to play soccer, but I'm hoping to be able to play Quidditch someday. For now, I'll take soaking in my vitamin D while reading ahead. Most, if not all, of the subjects seem very interesting. After all, they result in us learning actual, literal magic. Though I do love Herbology best, I believe. It relates so well to a lot of the herbal medicine books that I read during my doctor phase in elementary school."
Realizing how nerdy that sounded, Jordan looked down at the pages of the book, thumbing the pages. "I'm not really sure what I'll do now. I'm kind of new to the whole magical world, so I need to research more about the careers we have available. As of this moment, I am trying to read ahead in everything so that I can make good marks in every class and have any path available to me."
Jordan looked back up to Sunny. "Do you have a goal for after Hogwarts?" they asked. "Or like a dream career if you could do anything at all?" Jordan was truly interested in Sunny's answer. They were sure it would add a little more context to their own research into the wide world of adult wizards.
Jordan had a habit of going into too much detail too quickly, but Sunny didn't seem to mind their speech on the Devil's Snare plant. Once they realized they had been talking about plants for far too long, they blushed and shut up quickly, looking to Sunny to change the subject.
"Oh, yeah, I like being outside. I used to play soccer, but I'm hoping to be able to play Quidditch someday. For now, I'll take soaking in my vitamin D while reading ahead. Most, if not all, of the subjects seem very interesting. After all, they result in us learning actual, literal magic. Though I do love Herbology best, I believe. It relates so well to a lot of the herbal medicine books that I read during my doctor phase in elementary school."
Realizing how nerdy that sounded, Jordan looked down at the pages of the book, thumbing the pages. "I'm not really sure what I'll do now. I'm kind of new to the whole magical world, so I need to research more about the careers we have available. As of this moment, I am trying to read ahead in everything so that I can make good marks in every class and have any path available to me."
Jordan looked back up to Sunny. "Do you have a goal for after Hogwarts?" they asked. "Or like a dream career if you could do anything at all?" Jordan was truly interested in Sunny's answer. They were sure it would add a little more context to their own research into the wide world of adult wizards.
Courtesy of Jordan Niveo, First-Year Wix
15 Feb 2023, 03:54
Finding a Place to Be
Sunny nodded along as Jordan thought aloud about dietary preferences. He knew the word, just had never considered what it really meant, and how it made him feel - not good. He didn't want to dwell on that thought. But he supposed that he did agree with Jordan.
"I suppose I agree," he voiced to Jordan after some thought of his own.
Sunny stretched out his legs and wagged them, as if trying to touch his toes while sitting. It wasn't that he wasn't listening, nor that he couldn't sit still, it was that he related so viscerally that he didn't know where to put all that energy. He settled on kicking his legs back and forth like a smaller child would do, and nodding violently in agreement. For once, he was afraid to say anything. Like Jordan soaking up the sun, Sunny found himself soaking up Jordan's love of the outdoors.
He was afraid to talk and interrupt Jordan, he even opened his mouth a few times like a fish tasting oxygen, but couldn't make anything come out until Jordan was done. He wanted to talk about quiddich some more, but the thought flew away on its own.
"My parents want me to be a doctor, or a lawyer. I'm thinking lawyer. I could see you as a doctor, though. If you were a close friend, I would reconsider just to be near my friends. "
"That's rough, not knowing what you want to do. It sounds like it's stressing you out, too. My parents have everything all figured out for me. In a way, it sucks that I can't do silly things that I want to do. But in another way, I don't have to worry about those other things. I wish you had someone who could suggest a career path for you, if you wanted it. But then again, it's neat that you get to choose," he tried to relate. Er, he did relate. He related, he really did. He just didn't want to offend, as if he had it all, because he (er, his parents) had everything all figured out for him.
"And you could always do a muggle thing if you wanted to. Or both. A doctor, and a magical career. Or both together. A magical doctor. Or a magical beasts doctor, er, magic vet."
"What if you never chose at all, though? What if you just did whatever you felt like doing? After all, we have magic..." Sunny thought about this for a while.
Sunny also wanted to think about how his friend could be a study buddy with him for high marks, but his brain was only so big and thinking about very big things very far away took up all the capacity he had for logical thought.
"I suppose I agree," he voiced to Jordan after some thought of his own.
Sunny stretched out his legs and wagged them, as if trying to touch his toes while sitting. It wasn't that he wasn't listening, nor that he couldn't sit still, it was that he related so viscerally that he didn't know where to put all that energy. He settled on kicking his legs back and forth like a smaller child would do, and nodding violently in agreement. For once, he was afraid to say anything. Like Jordan soaking up the sun, Sunny found himself soaking up Jordan's love of the outdoors.
He was afraid to talk and interrupt Jordan, he even opened his mouth a few times like a fish tasting oxygen, but couldn't make anything come out until Jordan was done. He wanted to talk about quiddich some more, but the thought flew away on its own.
"My parents want me to be a doctor, or a lawyer. I'm thinking lawyer. I could see you as a doctor, though. If you were a close friend, I would reconsider just to be near my friends. "
"That's rough, not knowing what you want to do. It sounds like it's stressing you out, too. My parents have everything all figured out for me. In a way, it sucks that I can't do silly things that I want to do. But in another way, I don't have to worry about those other things. I wish you had someone who could suggest a career path for you, if you wanted it. But then again, it's neat that you get to choose," he tried to relate. Er, he did relate. He related, he really did. He just didn't want to offend, as if he had it all, because he (er, his parents) had everything all figured out for him.
"And you could always do a muggle thing if you wanted to. Or both. A doctor, and a magical career. Or both together. A magical doctor. Or a magical beasts doctor, er, magic vet."
"What if you never chose at all, though? What if you just did whatever you felt like doing? After all, we have magic..." Sunny thought about this for a while.
Sunny also wanted to think about how his friend could be a study buddy with him for high marks, but his brain was only so big and thinking about very big things very far away took up all the capacity he had for logical thought.
20 Feb 2023, 02:10
Finding a Place to Be
Jordan had never really considered that magic would be able to get them out of making a future commitment. They furrowed their brow at the thought. Is that really what people in the Wizarding World did? They just find a place, settle down, and use magical spells to create all the food and water they would need? That's when Jordan remembered why that hadn't occurred to them before.
"Wait," they said, turning to face Sunny. "Isn't there a magical law or rule or something that says that food and money can't be created through magical means? So, even though we're magical, we still need to work doing something. I mean, I suppose we could work just long enough to get starts of everything and then duplicate it, but I think I heard something about the nutrients running out or going bad after time or something?"
At that, they heard their stomach start to grumble. "Maybe I should stop talking so much about food before dinnertime," they joked, putting a hand over their stomach to try to stifle the noise. They blushed slightly, then tried to change the subject.
"So, Sunny, uhh what are your hobbies? Do you play sports or art or anything?" Jordan asked lamely.
"Wait," they said, turning to face Sunny. "Isn't there a magical law or rule or something that says that food and money can't be created through magical means? So, even though we're magical, we still need to work doing something. I mean, I suppose we could work just long enough to get starts of everything and then duplicate it, but I think I heard something about the nutrients running out or going bad after time or something?"
At that, they heard their stomach start to grumble. "Maybe I should stop talking so much about food before dinnertime," they joked, putting a hand over their stomach to try to stifle the noise. They blushed slightly, then tried to change the subject.
"So, Sunny, uhh what are your hobbies? Do you play sports or art or anything?" Jordan asked lamely.
Courtesy of Jordan Niveo, First-Year Wix
20 Feb 2023, 02:11
Finding a Place to Be
Jordan had never really considered that magic would be able to get them out of making a future commitment. They furrowed their brow at the thought. Is that really what people in the Wizarding World did? They just find a place, settle down, and use magical spells to create all the food and water they would need? That's when Jordan remembered why that hadn't occurred to them before.
"Wait," they said, turning to face Sunny. "Isn't there a magical law or rule or something that says that food and money can't be created through magical means? So, even though we're magical, we still need to work doing something. I mean, I suppose we could work just long enough to get starts of everything and then duplicate it, but I think I heard something about the nutrients running out or going bad after time or something?"
At that, they heard their stomach start to grumble. "Maybe I should stop talking so much about food before dinnertime," they joked, putting a hand over their stomach to try to stifle the noise. They blushed slightly, then tried to change the subject.
"So, Sunny, uhh what are your hobbies? Do you play sports or art or anything?" Jordan asked lamely.
"Wait," they said, turning to face Sunny. "Isn't there a magical law or rule or something that says that food and money can't be created through magical means? So, even though we're magical, we still need to work doing something. I mean, I suppose we could work just long enough to get starts of everything and then duplicate it, but I think I heard something about the nutrients running out or going bad after time or something?"
At that, they heard their stomach start to grumble. "Maybe I should stop talking so much about food before dinnertime," they joked, putting a hand over their stomach to try to stifle the noise. They blushed slightly, then tried to change the subject.
"So, Sunny, uhh what are your hobbies? Do you play sports or art or anything?" Jordan asked lamely.
Courtesy of Jordan Niveo, First-Year Wix