|| @Ivy Starling & @Emmie Bailey ||

Aly Salinger had only been here at camp for two days, and she already loved it.

There was just so much to do, and for a soon-to-be-fourth-year Ravenclaw who despised sitting still with a burning passion, that was nothing short of paradise. The only rough patch was that there wasn't really a garden or any fresh-growing flowers anywhere on the London Quidditch pitch, and so Aly's fingers itched to dig into some dirt; she could wait a month for that, though, having just freshly come off of two weeks at home with nothing to do except mess with the garden out back of her family home. Still, as a fourth-year, she had known the Bouquet Spell for over a year now and could conjure blossoms with a flick of her aspen wand, so at least she was in no shortage of blooms, even if she wasn't exactly growing them by hand.

Another interesting thing about the summer camp, Aly had noted during her two days here, was that there were a fair amount of younger students around. No, not younger, really - more like just young. Some of these kids couldn't even have been in their first year at Hogwarts yet, much less Sorted into a House, and Aly found herself wishing that she had had that opportunity - to meet people before going to the Scottish castle for the first time. It seemed sweet that the younger people, the soon-to-be-first-years who looked a lot smaller now that Aly was fourteen years of age, were getting that time to make friends... even if Aly was mildly jealous that some of them were taller than her. Really, what were they feeding eleven-year-olds these days?

Between the prevalence of incoming first-years and Aly's overabundance of flowers, plus the dislike of a few of her tent-mates (read: Manuela Macedo, the perpetually grumpy - if kind enough - girl from Castelobruxo who lived on the bunk directly above Aly) of the perfume-like scent that her bunk now emanated due to the sheer amount of blossoms piled atop it, Aly had taken to wandering around the London Quidditch pitch when there were no activities going on so that she could hand out flowers to the younger students and make them feel welcome before they even stepped foot at Hogwarts. It had the added bonus of keeping her busy... and keeping her mind off of the upcoming Quidditch game that she would be playing in a few days against Durmstrang and Koldovstoretz. And Aly Salinger was always in need of a distraction.

Today Aly was on one of these wandering walks, clad in a ribbed pink tank top and dark blue cutoff jean shorts, with her curly hair as wild as ever and green eyes on the lookout for youngins. Upon spotting a few girls who looked as though they were probably incoming first-years, Aly would walk over and smile, offering them each an orangey-yellow poppy from the bouquet she carried in one hand. "You two look a little lost," she would exclaim with a kind smile. "May I interest you in a flower? Maybe some assistance? This place can be hard to navigate!"

Note: this is a mentor/mentee thread to complete the thread requirement set forth by the H.io mentorship program.
Word Count: 524 words

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English • #0080BF | Welsh • #77FA51 | French • #FF0000
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Outfit: dress
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| 3rd august, 2022 ~ late afternoon ~ taking place in the london quidditch stadium |

Ivy made her way through the crowded campgrounds, passing hundreds of people chatting, laughing, having a good time. Excitement was in the air as the beginning of camp was finally starting. Having not that many connections during her pre-Hogwarts life, and what little connection she had being one out of only a couple people in a tent, or not attending camp at all, Ivy was worried she wouldn't have anyone to hang out with this summer. But if she didn't, she wouldn't mind. She never did.

Just a couple of years ago, Ivy's mother and father, Emily Brown and Jack Starling, divorced, which was the biggest trauma in history for Ivy. She never forgave her father for doing that to her. But then, a few weeks ago from now, Ivy's father and his new partner, Millicent Jones, invited Ivy to be their bridesmaid for their wedding, which horrified Ivy even more. Her mother accepted the invitation, as Ivy refused to go, and Ivy had to stand, teeth clenched, walking down the aisle in a sickly pink dress.

So perhaps it was just a coincidence that as well as making Ivy do things she absolutely didn't want to do, Emily just had to be the one to force Ivy to go to Summer Camp too.

Two hesitant steps were taken in the direction of the Quidditch Stadium, her spotless new blue shoes not best suited for the grassy underground, her hands clutching Chasing the Stars, a new book she had just begun reading on the car journey.

Almost immediately, Ivy noticed that she was not alone in the stadium. Well, of course she wouldn't be, as there were supposed to be at least a hundred and fifty kids joining in the camp activities. Ivy groaned when she noticed a girl older than her strolling around the edges of the grassy environment, her curly hair messy and a bouquet of orangey-yellow flowers held in her hands. As Ivy stepped further into the setting, trying desperately hard to stay silent, the older girl clearly heard her footsteps and spun around, smiling at the young girl when she realized it was just her. The older girl walked over to Ivy, curious about her, clearly. "You look a little lost," she smiled. "May I interest you in a flower? Maybe some assistance? This place can be hard to navigate!"
Ivy licked her lips nervously. "Oh, n-no thank you," she stammered. "I was merely just taking a stroll in this wonderful environment."

Word Count: 416 words

Interacting with @Aly Salinger and @Ivy Starling

Emmie wandered through the campgrounds, her wave of dark brown hair billowing behind. She had received her acceptance letter telling her that she was a witch and is going to study at a school called Hogwarts just a few weeks ago. She could still remember the surprised looks of her dad upon receiving the letter, and how can she forget remarkable experience of shopping in Diagon Alley!

The girl paused, looking around. She was quite uncomfortable with this place, full of noise and chattering. How can anyone FOCUS in this kind of atmosphere? Emmie had given up the thought of trying to read a book quietly in this crowed place, so she decided to breathe some fresh air.

She plopped down on the grounds and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The light green waves of the hills and the crisp green grass looked like a painting. She lied down, the blue sky with fluffy clouds changing shapes then and now……

After some time, Emmie stood up and made her way towards the Qudditch Stadium, her blue jeans a bit wet from sitting in the grass. As she trudged into the stadium, she noticed a girl much older than her, with wild curly brown hair, and green eyes. The girl walked over to Emmie, "You two look a little lost," she exclaimed with a kind smile. "May I interest you in a flower? Maybe some assistance? This place can be hard to navigate!"

Emmie smiled, her dark brown eyes glinting, "Thanks!" she said and took a flower,"My name is Emmie Bailey, what’s yours?"