Summer Camp Flood Welcoming Bonfire

Yeah, of course. Hi, Mia, by the way... don't think I've quite said that yet. 'Scuse my lack of manners.

Taking a seat, Mia brushed her hair out of her face, something she tended to do a lot. Maybe it was her mound of hair that seemed to sparkle in the sun, but that didn't seem it. Maybe it was just habit. Something constant in her topsy turvy life.

Anyway, it didn't really matter. What mattered was her, Ami, and Isabella, and their conversation.

Ami, I'm the one who should apologize-barging in like this.

Mia coughed slightly and looked at Ami, shivers running up her spine. She had worn a turtleneck, despite the heat, and long jeans, but she was still cold. Dreadfully so. She had always hated the uniform that Hogwarts gave her, but now longed for it, because everyone was required to wear the long robes that kept them safe from the harsh northern winds.

In New York, August was always unbearable, and June too cold. July was perfect-but was spent traveling. This year, however, she wouldn't be traveling much, just back to New York. In August. It would not be tolerable-just almost so if spent in air conditioned cars and houses and museums.

Shaking her head slightly, Mia returned to the conversation. It wouldn't do to zone out while talking to her friends.

A matching laugh lit up her own face, as Eris blinked her eyes to rid them from soot and dust that was floating into the children's faces from the fire they stood so close to. At the sounds of Max's voice, Eris's shoulders slummed. She hadn't realized just how tightly wound she was, for even excited, there was still terror. Sure, the masked figure had been caught, but even so, there was still some worry revolving around the dangerous forces that resided at Hogwarts.

The fire flickered brightly, and the ashy smell of fire and burning wood filtered up through the flames, burning in Eris's nose, which twitched, before she sneezed and rubbed at her nose with an oversized shirt sleeve. The shirt hadn't been made to be too large, but most things were too large on Eris, even at the end of the year. She preferred not to shop in the toddlers section, so large clothes would have to do. The smell wasn't exactly unpleasant, but the smell along with the burning was enough to make Eris become uncomfortable. She took a step away from the fire, eyes stopping their watering, and she let out a sigh of relief.

"I can go a day without you, you're the one who always seems to find me!" Eris replied indignantly, easily slipping into the typical banter that one could expect from two friends "You might as well be a huf-" Trailing off just as Max had done, a smile latched itself onto Eris's face. For all her talk of hurting hufflepuffs, the Indian girl that approached her was not one of the children Eris would ever hurt. Serena Towers was one of the few tolerable hufflepuffs, one that Eris had come to be friends with over the course of the year. They had became friends from being prefects together, and even after being fired, they had remained friends.

Staring up at the girl, who was still a tad bit taller than Eris, Eris waited for Max to finish talking about prefects, before talking. "Serena! Hello! Can you believe we're all second years now? I didn't think I would pass, not with how hard the homework was to complete." Eris laughed at her own joke, before frowning at the form of an ebony haired ravenclaw approaching than going away. That was Phaedra, right? Why did she not want to be around them? There would be time to ask her later, thus, it was not too much of a concern. Even so, Eris felt unhappy with the fact that Phaedra had not joined their group, but before she could really think upon it, another girl jumped into the group with the excitement of a herd of elephants.

There was safety in numbers, and Max and Eris seemed to be attracting a crowd. Rosie Parker danced into the group, and before Eris could say a word, Max spoke for her, saying that they were excited in a callous tone, different from the one he used with Eris, or even the tone he used with Serena.

Frowing at Max's treatment of Rosie, Eris raised an eyebrow. Weren't they friends, again? At least, Eris assumed that Max and Rosie no longer hated each other after the lock-in. "Max and I are in Professor Yornikovych's cabin, but I'm not sure about Serena."

Before Eris could say another word, or before Rosie could reply, another girl came towards the group. Her face was familiar, and Eris's hands twitched at her sides. The girl who had been rude at the lock-in started to talk, and Eris raised an eyebrow as she stated that she needed to talk to Max and Serena, then that she was looking for Eris.

Was she that short? Could the blonde hufflepuff really not see her?.[/color]"It's your lucky day, you found Eris"The little red head girl remarked, before stepping closer to Dorothy, frown on her face. "What do you want with us, Dolittle girl?" Eris knew nothing of pureblood politics, and her brow furrowed, as she stepped back to Max and Serena's side.

Apparently everyone wanted to hit or hate on Hufflepuffs! But Serena was lucky. She was blissfully ignorant when it came to this matter and had no idea about the bias that her friends had towards other Hufflepuffs. At the very least, they were good friends to her - even if the same could not be said for all of the badger house. She grinned at the pair of Gryffindors that almost insulted her house in front of her. The very same house that she had grown proud to be a part of and adored more than anything. They had been through a lot together, that much was for sure. 

Listening to Max speak, she could not help but noticed how strange it was. When they had first met, she was sure she would not like him or get along with him. She never got along with anyone that her mother had forced her to meet. Max was different. He was one of the few people that did infuriate her, like the rest of the purebloods her mother forced upon her. "Ah, thank you. I'm not entirely sure about that but I'll do my best," Serena replied with a smile and nod, accepting the compliment. It was a matter of pride to get a compliment from an Avery, after all. In the recent months, she had most definitely questioned her position as Prefect or if she was any good at it. She had almost marched into Lear's office and told him that she quit. After the Camp Out, she truly believed that she was not worthy of such a title. Since then, she had worked harder to try and overcome her weakness and essentially, to become worthy of it. Finding someone who had faith in her ability to do the role was certainly a little reassuring and nice to hear. 

Laughing softly along with Eris, "I have no idea how I passed them," She replied shaking her head. It was definitely a wonder, given how little she attended classes at the start of the year. All of that changed in the recent months and perhaps that was the only reason she was here today, "I really don't believe it's been a year already... I can't believe we're second years. I can't believe I even survived long enough to make it to the second year..." Serena continued, exhaling a soft sigh of relief as she thought about that. A lot certainly happened over the past year. It went quickly and yet so much had happened that it felt like it had been longer than just a year. She honestly could not believe how lucky she was to still be here, to be alive and well together... After everything that had happened. A lot of it weighed on her heart and mind but that was a story for another time. Today was a chance to forget about these things, if only for a moment.

Speaking of purebloods that her mother forced upon her... Serena refrained from making any sort of expression towards the youngest Stavrou daughter that had appeared at the bonfire. The Ravenclaw turned away from her, heading off into another direction, much to Serena's relief. She really did not want to deal with her right now. Phaedra Stavrou was a girl that Serena had never quite figured out. For some reason, they just did not get along. She could not quite work out what it was about her that she didn't like but something irked her. Phaedra was nothing like her older sister, who Serena admired immensely. The Hufflepuff looked up to the older Stavrou daughter, as though she were her own sister. In fact, she kind of wished she was. Perhaps in a weird way, she was jealous that Phaedra had gotten such a great sister. Serena's mother was definitely fond of her, however. She always heard about how amazing Phaedra was from her mother. In the past year, she had successfully managed to avoid her - despite being a Prefect with her - and yet, her mother had kept her informed on her progress. Phaedra this, Phaedra that. 

Luckily, Serena was soon distracted from the pureblood whose mere presence irked her. A very sweet and excitable voice caught her ears. A Hufflepuff appeared that Serena did not know very well but recognised. They had, after all, been living in the same house and attending the same classes for the past year. But more so than that, Serena recalled her passion and fierceness when they played Quidditch together. Being a huge fan of Quidditch herself, she had a lot of respect and time for people who were so passionate for the sport she adored herself. Rosie Parker was definitely a name Serena would remember, if purely for her passion, "Rosie, right? Hi, I'm in uh, I think I'm in Professor Sorrel's cabin," Serena replied, after pondering for a moment. She probably should have double checked that before but she was pretty sure that was the name she was told. It was definitely related to Phoenix, she remembered that much. She just forgot which Professor was leading it...

Turning as she heard yet another voice - this small group growing larger by the second - Serena blinked at the familiar face. She could not recall her name but she had definitely seen the face around. Fortunately, the girl introduced herself and waved around a letter that had Serena's name on it. Blinking, she felt a bit bad for the girl. Her mother would often send her the same letters and they were an absolute pain to have to act upon. She hated it, perhaps the girl who introduced herself as Dorothy did too, "Yup, Serena Towers here," She confirmed with a nod of her head as she held out her hand for a handshake, "Pleased to meet you, Dorothy," whose full name I will never remember. 

Two things that Dinah had never done in her lifetime was attend summer camp and go to a bonfire. Now she was about to do both and as eager as she was, there was a ball of nerves in her stomach that would not go away. 

Immediately after hearing such a thing as the Hogwarts summer camp existed, Dinah had put her name down. If it meant she didn’t have to spend all summer at the care home then she would happily stay. 

Dinah made her way over to the roaring blaze, staring wondrously at the flames that jumped several feet into the air. 

There were already quite a few people stood around the bonfire, most in little groups talking amongst themselves. Dinah found herself in her usual position of recognising many but knowing very few. She didn’t want to interrupt anybody so contented herself standing by the heat of the fire. 

As Dinah glanced around at the picturesque scenery of the Hogwarts grounds, she made herself promise that she would try to put herself out there and get involved with the activities. If her first year at Hogwarts had told her anything, it was that she needed to learn to leave her comfort zone. 

With this in mind, she marched over to the space where everyone seemed to be convening and approached one of the groups. Her hands uncontrollably fidgeted with the edge of her leather jacket but she didn’t let it deter her. 

“Hi, enjoying the bonfire?” 

She wasn’t sure why she decided to make that her opening line but it was too late to back out now. 

Leonie, in her sparse interactions with the Heads of Slytherin House, was as quiet as always. Adelaide did not take this in offense, she knew some people where simply like this in nature. Although Ms. Ayers was outspoken, that did not mean everyone else was. Quickly, the two women were approached by History of Magic Professor, and budding friend of Adelaide's, Sebastian Cazarez. She grinned at him, happy to see a friendly face around. Ayers hadn't been at Hogwarts long, and so far had not made good friends with her coworkers. But Cazarez was a start.

It was quickly realized, however, that Cazarez had not come to this tiny group for Adelaides benefit. His smile was directed purely and excitedly at the Runes Professors companiob, Leonie. Adelaide was very unaware of their relationship, but Cazarez made it abundantly clear.

It seemed it was not secret, despite Ayers previous lack of knowledge, as Wright, the Herbology Professor, approched and joked of their flirting. As supsexted, Leonie did not take well to the joke and attempted to shrug it off. Adelaide stood simply watching the scene, a sly smile slowly growing on her face.

Perahps it was time for the pair to have a minute by themselves and let Leonie come out of her shell a bit. Directing her words towards Sorrel, she held out her hand in greeting. Professor Wright, we have not officially met. I am Adelaide Ayers, the newest Runes Professor." With this she attempted to steer the Herbology teacher from the budding couple, giving a knowing smile to Cazarez as she turned away. "My cabin for the Summer Camp is the Auguery, I hear you have an actual one as a pet... how interesting!"

Interacts with Dinah Dragensail. Mentions Skye Blackwood and Aurelia Bezuidenhout.

"Thanks again, but I ought to be going," Lilith said quickly, moving away from the two girls before they could utter a word. It was a simple thanks and truthfully, Lilith was just waiting for someone better to come along.

That better someone was Dinah Dragensail, from Lilith's adventures in the tunnels under the school. They had a real adventure under there that Lilith tries not to talk about to the general public. Either way, she walked up to her fellow Gryffindor nonetheless.

"Hi, enjoying the bonfire?" Lilith asked cooly as she walked up next to the brunette. She seemed awfully uncomfortable among all the others standing alone like she was. Lilith's bare feet sank into the dirt. "Nice to see you again, Dragensail. Staying at Hogwarts over the summer as well? I don't know about you, but this place has been awfully grand so far, but what else can you expect from Hogwarts?"

Lilith prodded Dinah's arm and motioned her over to a log that sat a few feet away. Lilith herself sat down on it and patted the seat next to her. She threw one of her legs over the other. "Have you liked it so far? It would be awful if you didn't as you'll be spending the rest of the summer here."

She had gotten lost in the fire for longer than she had realized, and when she looked back up the Campground had gotten a lot more crowded than when she first arrived. Looking around she tried to spy some people she knew. She had spent the majority of the Blossomfest fire by her lonesome and preffered not to start of the Summer Camp the same way.

To her joy she quickly spotted a group for girls not far from her. Three of them stood talking amongst themselves and she recognized all of them! The first was Ami, a Hufflepuff who she sincerely enjoyed and respected. Then there was Mia Alexander, a fellow Newspaper writer, and arguably the most efficient of them all and then finally Isabella Hills, the Slytherin Prefect and another newspaper writer, that was until her unfortunate resignation at the end of the school year.

She practically skipped over to them, and hoped she was not intruppting anything. "Hey guys!" She said excitedly. "I'm so glad all of you are at the camp this summer! I wonder if any of us are in the same cabin? How awesome would that be?" She grinned at her friends. She couldn't wait to find out if any of them would be in the same cabin as her. In fact she couldn't wait to see her cabin at all. She hoped she knew someone, she wasn't very good at meeting new people.

And Anatole was late again. It had taken him a while to pack up his belongings and seal them back up in his trunk, and immediately after he hauled them down, tossed them where he could notice them apart, and was like a moth to the flames. He was sucked in, the smoke getting all over him and the heat---oh, the heat!---radiating wonderfully and bright like the sun itself. It was almost as if it was day rather than the approaching night.

In the distance and with wide eyes, he took note of the Professors and quickly backed away. Surely they would scold him for getting all too close to the blaze. Sheepishly, he zipped up his blue and gold sweatshirt and moved into the darker background. That was usually where the boy unintentionally blended in.

Observing the other students, he noticed a few familiar faces in the scarlet radiation of the fire. Max Avery and Eris Fawley. No way he'd go over to them, so he strolled a bit further. He knew that Max didn't like him, and he was sure that Eris was slowly growing away from Anatole. And yet, the boy did nothing about it. However, finally he took note of two more faces in their huddle: Serena Towers. Friendly! The role model of Hogwarts. Even though their second interaction had been a little...shaky, he had grown to admire her nobility and usual respect for all. The Ravenclaw Prefect was there, and having known nothing about her, the ratio was still 2:1:1, the baddies leading. With that, he almost had the courage to hike over to them.

Yet he resisted.

Oh, and how wonderful! He had finally taken note of Rosie's presence there too. It was a mob almost as big as the fire, and the sheepish boy was sure Rosie wouldn't talk to him. So the bad guys won him over. They were all too great, and for a moment, he felt envious of the way they laughed together. They seemed nice, but the balance would surely be thrown off by his entrance.

Well, thankfully, there were other groups. Ami and a few other girls...what were their names again? Ugh, his mind couldn't conjure them up. Being late had its challenges.

And so, as the mobs only grew larger, Anatole stayed to the side, slowly growing closer to the fire and smiling. The amber light curved around his silhouette as he pulled up his hood and sighed.

It was peaceful alone.

A little chuckle escaped from Sebastián as he realized what Adelaide was doing. A true wing man if there ever was one. The Spaniard was indeed happy to be alone with Leonie, as much as one could consider this alone. He gave her a simple smile and said nothing before the others were away. If there was one person he was happy to simply exist near, it was her. The pair had something, but it was hard to label. Cazarez watched as the others got some distance before he piped up again.

"Apologies, I did not mean to make a show of it." He said quietly, still trying not to laugh too hard.

The fire burned powerfully and provided more warmth than the night likely needed. It was super fun though and that's what mattered. Kids seemed to be enjoying themselves and it was a real party. He was still excited for his assigned students to see the cabin he had prepared. It was a glorious mansion of comfort. Part of it was to impress his... whatever Leonie was. He wondered what she had done with her own cabin, or if she had left it plain. His bet was on plain but she was good at surprising him with what she would do. He would have to sneak a peek at the cabin later.

Directly interacts with Anatole Evans

Lucy struggled with every step as the duffel bag, sleeping bag, and pillow threatened to escape from her arms as if they had a life of their own. She paused for a second, wondering for a moment if they were actually enchanted. No, that was stupid. She was just having a hard time carrying them. Every step seemed to get closer and closer together until she was baby-shuffling, watching with trepidation as the pillow slowly sank towards the dusty ground. The longer she carried it, the more she squeezed it, the more it tried to escape. "Come on, you," she growled, tossing it slightly and recapturing it with her elbow. With her multitude of items more secure, she advanced towards the blaze.


She paused on the outskirts, eyes roaming the groups. Wow, there's a lot of kids here. Her heartbeat sped up a bit as she noticed people socializing, laughing, and generally already making their groups for the summer. Oh no. I didn't come early enough. I'm not going to have someone to hang out with. The panicked thoughts flew through her mind until she took a deep breath. Don't be stupid. You know a few of these people and you love to make friends. You'll be fine. Her inner monologue merged with her mom's comforting words that she had heard just hours ago. You'll be fine.

It was at that moment that her eyes landed on a very familiar face, even though it was shrouded by a hood. She grinned and nearly sprinted towards him, but instead she ended up doing an awkward half shuffle-slide because of her burden of bags. "Anatole!" she called from across the fire. She started breathing harder as she skirted around different groups of people, smiling or calling out "hi!" as she passed them.

"Anatole!" she called again, now closer. A huge grin lit up her face. "Dude, I'm so glad you're here!" Though she enjoyed meeting new people, she was glad that there was someone that she knew so accessible as she arrived. She dropped her stuff in the dust at his feet, wincing as she saw her pillow hit the ground. She hadn't thought about the dirt until... well, until she saw the dirt on the pillowcase. She turned her attention to the hooded boy and crouched a bit in front of him. "What are you doing over here by yourself?"

She was slightly amused to see him out of his school robes. The hood he was wearing reminded her of Ravevnclaw, but she didn't say anything. After all, it's not like she was wearing yellow. In fact, she had chosen casual blue jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt with a happy cartoon sun on it. I guess I'm wearing Ravenclaw colours, too, she thought to herself, smiling. She plopped down on the seat next to him, enjoying the warmth of the blaze. "This is going to be so fun."