Destiny at Dusk pv Scout Fu-Hai Finished

Listening Intently to @Scout Fu-Hai

Emily sat and listened with great interest as she told her story. It was a story that didn't feel quite common compared to the clichés of modern Muggle movies and comics, although at the same time, helped by the sincerity in the young Gryffindor's tone, she couldn't help but believe every word. She was absentmindedly nodding along with her words. There was a great sense of courage with how well this girl handled her heritage but at the same time, Emily couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and sympathy at the same time as well.

"That's unbelievable... your father getting turned out of the blue. And then for him and yourself to hide it as well as your magical talent... I'm Muggle-born and even I wouldn't be able to cope with all that," she said quietly, still trying to wrap her head around it.

The Gryffindor dhampir continued talking before she took out her wand. After demonstrating a rather poorly performed Dancing Feet Spell on a mouse, Emily couldn't help but give a genuine "kudos-for-trying" smile.

"I wouldn't be too hard on yourself if I were you. We're all still pretty new to the whole learning magic thing. Myself included," She said, trying to be as hopeful to her as possible. "I'm the only known member of my family that has magic so you can imagine how good I am at magic. I'll even prove it to you."

Drawing her own wand she aimed her wand at another passing mouse.

"Sincere apologies in advance, little fella... Muspyxis!"

Upon incantation and only a small delay, the mouse turned into a snuffbox. That took Emily completely by surprise.

"Ah... Okay then... Bad example..."

_{Word Count: 309}

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 300		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: :]

Scout snickers at girls' heartfelt response. She's really nice! "I think you're making it sound like a bigger deal than it is. My 妈妈 works for the ministry and has to keep what she does on the down-low too sometimes. But for my dad it was like second nature; my aunties and uncles like to talk and gossip." Talking badly about her family members surely would've gotten her a stern talking-to, but she was right. Scout didn't visit her family often, but when she did, they'd always be spreading around the latest drama.

From the little bit of time Scout had spoken to this Hufflepuff, she could deduce that she was a very good person, and probably would try to cheer people up if they were sad. But considering how 'muspyxis' was a spell Scout wasn't even sure she knew what it exactly did, she was also probably someone who had a tendency to mess up when trying to help.

But the thought was kind, so Scout only shook her head and laughed. "I don't think muggle-borns are worse than pure-bloods when it comes to casting magic." She was sure it could be scientifically proven that her statement was true, considering that it comes down to the person whether or not they're good at magic. Or it might come down to whether or not a vampire bit their dad, but that was second to the first thing.

"Besides, it's a good thing you don't suck like I do, right?" She asks. "We could make an unstoppable duo, you know? Me- the strong, cool bite-y vampire, and you, the cool and powerful witch!" It could make one hell of a premiere for a cartoon show, and given Scout's dramatized face, she'd probably fit right in.

Solidifying a Friendship with @Scout Fu-Hai

Emily went a bit shy at the girl's upbeat response. Emily was so caught up in how difficult it must've been for this girl's father to cope with this sudden other side of his that she had managed to blind herself from how simple things help to make it cope better.

Her train of thought paused before she quickly untransfigured the snuffbox back into the mouse before it scurried away, mouthing another earnest apology as it retreated back into the bushes nearby. "There's no doubt that everyone is capable of some magic. Though coming from a family where I'm the only one that knows how to do magic, it's hard not to put that pressure on yourself."

That was an insecurity - out of a moderate list - that Emily had been spending so much of her time trying to break out of. Fear of failure is a bad habit everybody suffers from at least once in a while. Emily never strove for perfection but the knowledge that she was capable clearly got twisted by her parent's absences. If not for "Auntie," she would be whipping her own back trying to score perfectly in every test and exam, thinking that would be enough to bring her parents home.

Her brief wallow in self pity was immediately shut down by a compliment confidently projected by the Gryffindor girl.

Cool and powerful witch...? That's a new one...

Emily has been called bookish, geeky, pretty (at her behest) and quiet. Never was she "cool." Nevertheless she beamed at the compliment and nodded her head vigorously at the girl's proposition. Emily has now become a close acquaintance - if not a newfound friend - of a dhampir. Of all people.

"You know... I reckon we would!" She turned around to face her properly. "I'm Emily by the way. Nice to meet you...!"

_{Word Count: 338}

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 400		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: Asteria Nagla & Victoria Lena Jones (sorta)

Was it really that taxing to be the only witch in your family? Scout had previously thought it must've been so cool! Being able to be the only one in a whole group of people to cast spells and make potions and all that? So cool. Not to mention how fun the wizarding world was in comparison to the muggle world- er, Scout wouldn't admit that to her father, though. He'd get sad if she thought that his family was boring.

"Emily is a really good name!" It was! The name Emily probably meant something really important. A conversation with a girl at the ice-cream store in Diagon Alley had shown Scout that names always had meanings. Scout meant seeker, but that made sense. To scout something out meant to seek for something or look for something- though she wasn't entirely sure why a name would be chosen for her. Babies didn't really... look for things, did they?

"Mine is Scout!" Though she was excited to have made a friend (in an odd place), a thought scampered Scout back to her and Asteria's competition. Whoever made the most friends by the end of the year would win. Though she hadn't actually set up what they would win, just the idea of winning would be enough for her and her cousin. Scout was going to win, obviously.

"Right, this means we're friends now, doesn't it?" She asks, rather bluntly. "Me and my cousin are having this competition, and whoever has the most friends by the end of the year wins- so it's very important that you consider me a friend!" It was, especially in Scout's eyes.

Thinking of the upcoming end of the year, Scout remembered how she was going to have to study for an exam soon... ugh, she probably should've done that tonight! And now it was already so late... what time even was it? Was she even going to have time to study once she got inside? Should she be heading in soon...?

"Oh, Emily," she asks, a look of concern appearing on her face, "you're not going to go to the forest tonight, are you? I mean- I did answer your questions so you wouldn't. It's kind of late now, and I bet there are way more creepy-crawlies out now than before..." Scout trails off, even thinking of the gross bugs in the forest are freaking her out.

Solidifying a Friendship with @Scout Fu-Hai

That just made Emily's day. From hence forth this very moment she was now friends with someone from Gryffindor - marking it as having at least one friend from each House - and not only that, she was friends with a dhampir. If Emily hadn't spent her life reading novels and getting invested in creatures that were absolutely real, she would've thought she had gone mad and had to pinch herself to ensure she was still awake.

"Scout's a great name!" Emily couldn't help but blurt it out. Though she didn't have the words right now to explain why, it felt like a very fitting name for this girl. "And of course we're friends now!" Though if Emily were to be honest, she would've thought the two of them were already friends the minute they started talking.

Emily looked at the cloak she was still wearing. Scout did have a point. It was very late now and even though the cloak was a marvel at helping her sneak out, Emily doubted it would help her get far before someone else would notice. She unravelled it from her form and folded it up neatly.

"I suppose I could go one night without a midnight walk," she said quietly. No doubt she would make another trip before the school year was over, but if Scout was going to worry about her, it would do her no good to go against her new friend's wishes. It was one thing for Emily to have that fiasco the other evening where she completely broke down after her first journey, perhaps it was a sign that she ought to wait and heed Scout's advice.

She shoved the cloak in her bag. She'd have to find a new hiding spot for it otherwise it would be good as confiscated the next day. But then there was another issue...

"Say Scout... Do you want me to keep your dhampir side a secret?" she asked. Emily didn't know the full extent of how open Scout was about her heritage and figured best to ask just in case. "I actually don't know what other people think of half-breeds in this world, let alone if it's a popular thing among students and all, but if you want me to keep it secret I will. Think of it as a friend's promise!"

_{Word Count: 421}

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 300		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: Brookline Quinn

Okay, Emily had said it herself that they were friends now, so Scout didn't have to worry about that. It was exciting to make new friends! Especially one as cool as her, someone who wanted to go out in the Forbidden Forest and thought dhampir's were cool. Er, though the former was a little more on the dangerous side, Scout could ignore it. Gryffindor's were supposed to be brave and whatnot, weren't they?

"Good! I don't want something to happen to my new friend." Which was true, Scout would be sad if someone she knew got hurt or worse. She had watched a girl go flying off of her broom and in turn get smushed because her brain lagged behind a bit. Oh well, at least that was all in the past, right? This was the present, the now! Much more important.

When Emily brought up keeping the bite-y side of Scout a secret, the Gryffindor wanted to shout 'Yes, please don't tell anyone!!', but that was like... a lame response. If it did get out that Scout was a vampy, well, she would rather be known as a vampire than as someone who cried when her being a vampire was brought up. That would be lame.

"Um, yeah, it'd probably be for the best." A cooler answer! "Also... we should probably head back up to the castle. It's getting kinda late." 'Kinda' was not sufficient, it was probably really late. The moon was high in the sky, and while Scout could see pretty well in the night, Emily might have some trouble. What kind of friend would she be if she let Emily stumble around! A bad one!

"Let's walk back to the castle together, okay? If we get caught or something we can share the blame!" Though, she wasn't sure if it were late enough to 'get caught'.

Heading Back with Buddy @Scout Fu-Hai

Ah...

Scout had a point. The evening was passing in quickly and Emily still hadn't taken her cloak off yet. Leaving it any later would be a window of opportunity to get caught and she was not in favour of that idea at all. Not to mention she didn't spend the last month being careful just to land herself in trouble and most certainly wasn't going to get her new friend into as such either!

"Yes, I agree. We ought to go back," She finally responded. She quickly threw off the cloak and stuffed it into her bag. Clearly this hiding spot was no good now but live and learn as they say. Though with how huge Hogwarts and its grounds were and the mysteries within them, she was confident she would find a new spot to hide the cloak in no time.

Finally back in her "civilian" appearance she got up and dusted herself off, picking up her things and ready to go.

"And not to worry, I said I'd be happy to keep your secret safe and I will." Emily smiled reassuringly at Scout. Her friend's quieter tone was evident that there was clear imbalance between humans and half-breeds - not that Emily didn't suspect as much in the books she had read. Still, as willing as she was to help Scout feel comfortable it nevertheless bothered Emily a little bit that Scout had to feel reserved when it came to that side of her. With the Wizarding World so diverse shouldn't that be also means there's should be an equal amount of acceptance?

Well... Emily reckoned that there was more she wasn't getting than Scout's soft response was hitting at.

Nevertheless Emily started walking back to the direction of the castle at Scout's side.

Friends with a dhampir...

Yes, it would be safe to say that Emily can stroke one thing off the list of hopes and dreams she's had since a small child.

Make friends with a magical creature...

...Well, sort of!

_{Word Count: 370}

Emily and Scout leave the thread