Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
Wes narrowed his eyes at her and leaned back in his chair. There was a smirk still on his face and he breathed out a laugh. He considered it banter, friendly banter, and none of it appeared to offend him at all. “Yeah that’s fair. I actually sit it on my trunk in the dormitory. I might have someone knit him up a Gryffindor sweater. A new mascot even.”
“You do give off that vibe.” Wes commented after she said she was a sneaky person. “But look who found this place first.” He then looked up toward the ceiling and he drew his mouth inward and his cheeks puffed subtly, “Though… I guess I was sneaking around when I found this place. After dinner we were told to go back to our Houses. I took a detour.”
For the candies, Wes simply smiled. “No problem. Not like they’re mine anyway. But I’ll keep in mind that you have a sweet tooth.”
When she said she was planning to find some cool places, the Gryffindor nodded and leaned forward. The boy looked very interested in the topic. “So I heard the older students talking. Apparently there are places all around the Castle. Hidden passage ways. Puzzles. Rooms that change and do crazy things. Places around the Grounds that are hidden. I want to find them.”
It was as if he was daydreaming for a moment before he returned back to Earth. Then with a more serious tone, not too serious but where he was conveying general interest. “So why did you stay for the Holiday break?”
@Skylar Astor
“You do give off that vibe.” Wes commented after she said she was a sneaky person. “But look who found this place first.” He then looked up toward the ceiling and he drew his mouth inward and his cheeks puffed subtly, “Though… I guess I was sneaking around when I found this place. After dinner we were told to go back to our Houses. I took a detour.”
For the candies, Wes simply smiled. “No problem. Not like they’re mine anyway. But I’ll keep in mind that you have a sweet tooth.”
When she said she was planning to find some cool places, the Gryffindor nodded and leaned forward. The boy looked very interested in the topic. “So I heard the older students talking. Apparently there are places all around the Castle. Hidden passage ways. Puzzles. Rooms that change and do crazy things. Places around the Grounds that are hidden. I want to find them.”
It was as if he was daydreaming for a moment before he returned back to Earth. Then with a more serious tone, not too serious but where he was conveying general interest. “So why did you stay for the Holiday break?”
@Skylar Astor
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
| Outfit: Reducio  | Wc: Reducio 330 |
Skylar let out her laugh freely, listening to what Wes was doing to his rubber chicken. “Poor thing…” She made a pity face. “At least, you should give it a name before making it a mascot.” She then giggled.
Skylar wiped her mouth a little before standing up to find some cookies in the shelves.
“Yeah, yeah… whatever,” She responded to his proud face while the boy explained how he found the place. Then, she came back to her seat with a jar of chocolate chip cookies. She felt thankful after Wes told her that he would remember what she liked, so she wanted to do the same.
“So, what about you? Do you fancy only Chocolate?”
Skylar put a cookie in her mouth. The bite gave a crackling sound, leaving its crumble that slowly melted in her tongue. While enjoying her moment, she paused a bit after the boy leaned forward to her.
“Hmm?”
The boy said he wanted to find all the places that had been hidden. The eyes of his excited and interested made her feel thrilled too.
“That sounds like a good idea.” She brushed the cookie crumbs off her hands as she added, “Honestly, I liked to explore the nature outside more than in the buildings, but maybe it would be really good practice for me to explore the castle first before going to the bigger place.”
Skylar gave him a smile as she turned to the table, grabbing her mug. Then, the boy asked her a question that was sensitive enough to make her stop her movement for a few minute. She sighed as she walked to the cauldron, still in silence. After scooping up the hot Chocolate, she got back to her seat again.
“I’m not close to my family, more like a black sheep.” Her tone was light and quiet as if she was confessing her secret.
“I don’t think it would be different than the last gathering, even if I go.”
@Wes Morrow
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
“Skylar?” The boy said when she mentioned giving the chicken a name. His tone was playfully sarcastic. “Seems to fit him well, right?”
Wes shrugged and shook his head at the question about him possibly only fancying chocolate. “No. I’ll pretty much eat anything. Not the biggest fan of coconut though. Or… Brussel sprouts when they’re boiled. That could be my mum’s fault though. She is not the greatest cook in the world.”
He then sighed and took a sip of his drink as he looked over to watch one of the candles in the room flicker. “It’ll be harder to go around the Castle once classes start back again though. Plus… our curfew is so early compared to the older kids. We do have seven years here though. So that will help.”
Wes could tell that it was not so comfortable for her to speak about her family. So when she called herself the black sheep, the boy still asked, “Black sheep, why?” Then he immediately started to talk about his own family, hoping that it would skate pass the issue. “Yeah. My parents and sisters are in Australia for the Holidays. I had issues getting my passport renewed, since I was here. I also kind of asked if I could stay here. It’s… easier. I can’t always control my abilities very well.” Wes shrugged again and took one more sip. “It was hard on my mum to help me with it, both of my parents really, being Muggles and all.”
@Skylar Astor
Wes shrugged and shook his head at the question about him possibly only fancying chocolate. “No. I’ll pretty much eat anything. Not the biggest fan of coconut though. Or… Brussel sprouts when they’re boiled. That could be my mum’s fault though. She is not the greatest cook in the world.”
He then sighed and took a sip of his drink as he looked over to watch one of the candles in the room flicker. “It’ll be harder to go around the Castle once classes start back again though. Plus… our curfew is so early compared to the older kids. We do have seven years here though. So that will help.”
Wes could tell that it was not so comfortable for her to speak about her family. So when she called herself the black sheep, the boy still asked, “Black sheep, why?” Then he immediately started to talk about his own family, hoping that it would skate pass the issue. “Yeah. My parents and sisters are in Australia for the Holidays. I had issues getting my passport renewed, since I was here. I also kind of asked if I could stay here. It’s… easier. I can’t always control my abilities very well.” Wes shrugged again and took one more sip. “It was hard on my mum to help me with it, both of my parents really, being Muggles and all.”
@Skylar Astor
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
| Outfit: Reducio | Wc: Reducio 485 |
Skylar rolled her eyes, and a clicking sound with her tongue slipped from her annoyed face again. She was afraid that if he kept calling her a chicken, he might actually have made that nickname for her someday, since Rose also got one from him.
She took a sip of her hot chocolate and listened intently to what Wes said about his taste.
“Coconut is good, actually, but I understand that not everyone would like it.”
She kept that in mind, what he preferred, so maybe someday she could turn back his favor that he once brought her to this wonderful hidden room. Her grip was tight as she put her mug on the table. Then, she realized she hadn’t offered him any cookies yet.
“Do you want some?” She pointed her finger at the cookie jar.
Even though it was hard for Skylar to talk about her family, something changed her after she had a deep talk with Rose. She knew that being in Hogwarts didn’t mean she have to be the same like she was at home anymore. She had a friend now, and she could make her life her own choice.
After the boy asked why she was a black sheep, she didn’t answer him right away, but his family story somehow comforted her enough to be more opened her wound.
“I was a black sheep because Astor is a family of strong bloodline dedicated to Hufflepuff, but I am a Slytherin.”
She glanced to the fireplace, drowning herself into old memories along with the crackles sound. “Even how much I tried to be like them, kind, loyal, and patient, I even built myself loved nature and plants like them, yet I couldn’t hide that there was something inside me… the eagerness that wanted to find more, to be more.”
She smiled a little. It seemed like a pity smile that she gave to herself. “Pathetic. Isn’t it? I was pretending my entire life to fit their life, but my family knew all along that I was different.”
Her eyes started to water up, but she kept smile as she added. “What kind of parents leave their daughter alone with a house elf for years, and come back a few times to be gone again?”
She wiped her eyes a little with her sleeve. “Because they knew I was never gonna fit into the family. They brought themselves away from me, so I couldn’t be awkward around the house, and pretend all the time.”
She looked at Wes with her teary eyes and started to realize that her conversation might make him uncomfortable.
“Sorry, I looked so pathetic right now. Don’t you ever tell anyone about me crying in front of a boy. Never! Ever!” Her eyes stared at him with a serious look before changing the topic.
“Could you tell me more about the Muggle world? What does it look like?”
@Wes Morrow
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
Wes shook his head at the offer of a cookie. He had already had enough to snack on for now, especially after they had been eating in the Great Hall not too long before the venture here. Then after he had finished his story, part of him worried that he had blabbed on too much, Wes paused to listen to her.
While he had heard stories of the old blood lines, mentions of it during his first semester here, there was not too much that Wes had in direct discussion with someone. Some issues with a pureblood boy, yeah, but the contrast of the proud son to the disappointed daughter of an old magical family that was sitting before him with tears.
Wes let her finish. Tears did not make him too uncomfortable, he had three older sisters so there tended to be a lot of tears in his household. Though this was different, very different. “It doesn’t have to be a bad thing though right? Being different.”
When she said that they would leave her, Wes almost asked why but decided it was best not to ask just yet. So he let her continue. When Skylar had finished, Wes lightly bit his lip. He could not lie to himself, it was awkward, but it was not the most awkward thing to happen. “I get it, well somewhat, I’m different than my whole family. Made growing up with them a little weird.” While that was true, the baggage Skylar held was vastly different than what Wes grew up with. Different than his family, but also close to them. “How are you so different from them?” He asked with genuine curiosity.
As for her comment about him being a boy and the small threat she pointed at him if he told anyone caused Wes to smile and shrug. “Well who else are you going to cry in front of? Duke Barthomule Handlebarstache is gone from his portrait. So it’s just me.”
The boy then arched a brow at her, a little smirk on his face. Why had so many people asked him what the Muggle World is like? “Well it’s the same really. Bleak, rainy, overcrowded. That’s just London I guess though.” It was a joke and he was hoping it was a good bit of comedic relief.
@Skylar Astor
While he had heard stories of the old blood lines, mentions of it during his first semester here, there was not too much that Wes had in direct discussion with someone. Some issues with a pureblood boy, yeah, but the contrast of the proud son to the disappointed daughter of an old magical family that was sitting before him with tears.
Wes let her finish. Tears did not make him too uncomfortable, he had three older sisters so there tended to be a lot of tears in his household. Though this was different, very different. “It doesn’t have to be a bad thing though right? Being different.”
When she said that they would leave her, Wes almost asked why but decided it was best not to ask just yet. So he let her continue. When Skylar had finished, Wes lightly bit his lip. He could not lie to himself, it was awkward, but it was not the most awkward thing to happen. “I get it, well somewhat, I’m different than my whole family. Made growing up with them a little weird.” While that was true, the baggage Skylar held was vastly different than what Wes grew up with. Different than his family, but also close to them. “How are you so different from them?” He asked with genuine curiosity.
As for her comment about him being a boy and the small threat she pointed at him if he told anyone caused Wes to smile and shrug. “Well who else are you going to cry in front of? Duke Barthomule Handlebarstache is gone from his portrait. So it’s just me.”
The boy then arched a brow at her, a little smirk on his face. Why had so many people asked him what the Muggle World is like? “Well it’s the same really. Bleak, rainy, overcrowded. That’s just London I guess though.” It was a joke and he was hoping it was a good bit of comedic relief.
@Skylar Astor
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
| Outfit: Reducio | Wc: Reducio 412 |
Skylar softly leaned her back against a cozy armchair. She felt better after seeing the boy genuinely listening to her. She thought he would tell her to stop being a crybaby at first, but he didn’t do such a thing.
“It happened after I got the magic. I think.” She answered his question as he asked why she was so different from her family.
“I was close to my aunt, and after she knew how I got the first magic, she visited me more than usual. She liked to spend a night with me, telling bedtime stories that she picked from her Ancestors’ book. It was so fun and exciting. I loved it so much that I wanted to hear it every day. The more I get close to my aunt, the more I see the world like her.” Her eyes were bright as she told her past, yet softened slowly while she continued.
“But my parent don’t like my aunt. She wasn’t an Astor, actually, but she married my uncle, so she became a part of my family.”
Skylar frowned. She tried to remember the day she saw her aunt and her mother arguing in the living room. “I’m not sure why they don’t like each other, but deep down, I had an assumption that the reason behind them was probably about my uncle because he is in Azkaban.”
Skylar put her elbow on the armrest, and her hand supported her head lightly. “A year later, my parents are always busy at work, coming home two or three times, or when we have a family gathering.”
She shrugged her shoulder a little bit. “I am always alone in my house, but at least I have my aunt, who usually visits me and Baxter, my house elf.”
She took her mug to sip the hot chocolate again. She felt full, but she didn’t want to waste this sweet, delicious hot chocolate, so she had to finish it as much as possible.
“Duke?”
She was curious after Wes said about the portrait. She glanced up, then found out that it was actually like he told her. His answer about the Muggle world was shorter than she thought. It seemed like he was bored telling this answer too many time.
“Well, I never see one, so I wonder what it looks like. How does it feel to travel without a broom or floo? And… what do people do when they cannot use their magic?”
@Wes Morrow
Last edited by Skylar Astor on 12 Dec 2025, 12:27, edited 1 time in total.
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
“What about your siblings though?” He asked, his mind going to them when Skylar started talking about her family and being alone. “I guess they would be here during the school year, but surely the summer they’d be home right?”
Wes paused and listened to her more, when she talked about her aunt. “Oh… did they ever say why they don’t like her?” Though as he listened on the bit about her uncle being in Azkaban made him widen his eyes. “Azkaban? What did he do?” The question was a bit blurted out, and he tried to back step a little in hopes to not sound too insensitive.“Sorry… you don’t have to answer that.”
He did feel the mood lighten when she mentioned the false title for the man in the portrait. Wes had made that up and he laughed. “Oh I have no idea what his name is. He never told me.”
The boy also chuckled at her response about London and the Muggle World. “I was just making a joke about London being… kind of dreary. As for the Muggle world as you all call it, it’s kind of just normal for me I guess. I have no idea what it’s like to travel by broom I only just started with a broom this year, or… by… floo?” Wes paused at that. “The what?”
@Skylar Astor
Wes paused and listened to her more, when she talked about her aunt. “Oh… did they ever say why they don’t like her?” Though as he listened on the bit about her uncle being in Azkaban made him widen his eyes. “Azkaban? What did he do?” The question was a bit blurted out, and he tried to back step a little in hopes to not sound too insensitive.“Sorry… you don’t have to answer that.”
He did feel the mood lighten when she mentioned the false title for the man in the portrait. Wes had made that up and he laughed. “Oh I have no idea what his name is. He never told me.”
The boy also chuckled at her response about London and the Muggle World. “I was just making a joke about London being… kind of dreary. As for the Muggle world as you all call it, it’s kind of just normal for me I guess. I have no idea what it’s like to travel by broom I only just started with a broom this year, or… by… floo?” Wes paused at that. “The what?”
@Skylar Astor
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
| Outfit: Reducio | Wc: Reducio 416 |
“Well,…” Skylar let out a long sigh after Wes asked her about her siblings. She leaned forward to straighten her back a bit. “When I was six years old, they were already nine, and had two years left before going to Hogwarts, and my grandparents wanted to spend more time with my siblings before they went to school. So, they moved out, living with my grandparents.”
Her annoyed face slipped out as her tone changed to sarcasm. “The twins are always their favorite. I still remember that family gathering day,”
She put her hands up and quoted the phrase with her fingers. “Aww… Our little honey pie. Look at them growing up so fast. If our perfect Azalea and sweet Hailey go to school, there will be no more little angels dancing around to see. What shall we do after that time, Bastian?”
Skylar sighed again, crossed her arms to her chest, and put her back in the chair. “Of course, they’d be home in summer, and also every holiday.” She answered. “That is why I wanted to stay here.”
She looked at the boy with her genuine eyes. She confessed before the boy could judge her. “Yeah, I was a bit jealous, but also tired. I couldn’t pretend to praise everything my siblings had admired all the time, even they like the same things I adored. Sometime I felt like they don’t think I even exist because they already have each other.”
While she talked about her aunt again, she looked at Wes and noticed how much he interested in her story. But there was a little of hesitation in his eyes as he asked about her uncle.
“I don’t really mind you asking, don’t worry, because I have no idea either why my uncle is in Azkaban, or why my parents don’t like my aunt. Even I am close to aunt Amelia, but she’d never told me about her personal life, only her adventure she experienced.”
Skylar’s mood was a lot better than a few minute ago while hearing Wes explain about the name he made up for the portrait, and she couldn’t help to express a soft grin to him. She was enjoying listening him talk about the Muggle world.
“The floo” She repeated. “It’s like a powder that we use when we hurry to go somewhere.”
She raised one of her eye brown before she was in her thought. “I think I only use it once when I went to Diagon Alley.”
@Wes Morrow
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
Wes arched an eyebrow when Skylar mentioned older twin sisters. He also had twin sisters, but from the sound of what she was telling him their relationship was not the greatest. “Two of my sisters are twins too.”
Then when she spoke about them being the favorites, Wes realized that his relationship with the pair of his sisters was far different than Skylar with her sisters. “I wonder if my sisters think I am the favorite,” Wes said aloud, but was still thinking it over, “my mother’s attention landed on me more because of my magical abilities, and I am the only son.” He did not think on it too long, Wes did enjoy being with his sisters and they seemed to enjoy being with him.
Deciding to ask about something else instead, Wes chose it to be about Skylar’s parents. “So what do they do? Your parents. For work.” He was hoping this would not be too much of a question, but he still wanted to know what could keep people so busy.
When Wes did not receive and answer about Skylar’s uncle being in Azkaban, his boyish curiosity got the better of him. With a hushed tone he asked, “So… is your uncle… a dark wizard?” There was prejudice in his voice, just curiosity. From what he had heard so far is that only dark wizards go there. He did seem to remember himself and shook his head again. “No… sorry.”
@Skylar Astor
Then when she spoke about them being the favorites, Wes realized that his relationship with the pair of his sisters was far different than Skylar with her sisters. “I wonder if my sisters think I am the favorite,” Wes said aloud, but was still thinking it over, “my mother’s attention landed on me more because of my magical abilities, and I am the only son.” He did not think on it too long, Wes did enjoy being with his sisters and they seemed to enjoy being with him.
Deciding to ask about something else instead, Wes chose it to be about Skylar’s parents. “So what do they do? Your parents. For work.” He was hoping this would not be too much of a question, but he still wanted to know what could keep people so busy.
When Wes did not receive and answer about Skylar’s uncle being in Azkaban, his boyish curiosity got the better of him. With a hushed tone he asked, “So… is your uncle… a dark wizard?” There was prejudice in his voice, just curiosity. From what he had heard so far is that only dark wizards go there. He did seem to remember himself and shook his head again. “No… sorry.”
@Skylar Astor
Cocoa and Candlelight | PV
| Outfit: Reducio | Wc: Reducio 408 |
Skylar was surprised when Wes told her he also had twin sisters. “Really?” She leaned forward to him. “I have no idea that we could have something similar.”
However, after she considered how his family dynamic was far more different from hers, she wondered how her life would be different today. She pictured herself a lot of time in such situations. The day that her parents sent her to school with a smile. The day that her parents were proud and enjoyed planting with her. But it all faded in her mind as she knew the fact that the day could never be true.
“I’m sure that even if you’re your parents’ favorite, your twin sisters probably still love you, though.” She looked at the boy with gently smile, but her eyes were sadly craving for love.
Skylar knew that Wes would be curious about her parents' works, the same way she had questioned them many years ago, so she chuckled a little bit. It did not surprise her much, knowing why they’re so busy, but the way they came back home just to have a few small talks to their daughter and get back to the room was upset her for years. She was always desired that her parents could spend a night with her at least, like her twin sisters when they were younger.
“They both work for the Ministry. My mother works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and my father… something about Magical… Catastrophes, I think.”
As the boy asked about her uncle again. It seemed he was really curious, which made her also frown, thought back to her past. “I don’t really know. I never saw him, only in the picture. He looks cool, but I don’t feel like he was someone who was into dark magic at all. Maybe I am too young to know about him because my family never once brought up his topic to the table. It’s like he had been deleted from my family.”
Seeing the boy shake his head, she couldn’t read that he hesitate, nervous or scare to talk about her uncle. He looked curious, but also judging something in his mind. Maybe the topic was too sensitive. Skylar decided to tease him a bit to change the mood. She smirked.
“Funny, coming from someone who’s clearly brave, yet hesitates to ask me about the dark wizard. Who is a chicken now?”
@Wes Morrow
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |