Chocolate-covered friendships pv Cynthia Beaufort

Cynthia turned suddenly as she heard someone call to her. Well, it was probably her. It was a girl with red hair, green eyes and freckles. This combination was the most popular genetically for gingers. It was Aurora Griffith, a member of her debate club, and the young girl was reading a book. It was Wednesday and just after dinner, the time they got their two hours of freetime. She had spent the last 45 minutes practising in the duelling club. She still remembered her meeting with Aida yesterday. As the second stage loomed closer and closer, Cynthia could taste nervousness, yet, it was tinged with excitement. She was the youngest duellist in the whole school at this point; it was a great milestone, which was received with extreme happiness by her (perhaps somewhat demanding) parents.

‘Why hello Aurora. I am here because… well I’m here to escape duelling practise.’ in truth, Cynthia did practise a moment ago, but she just needed some fresh air after some practise; she really needed a break, no matter how short. Cynthia squinted at the small pet Aurora was holding. Was it a ferret? No, it was a rat! A brown rat, just like Brownie. As her thought drifted there, she petted Brownie, who was in her pocket. ‘Is that a brown rat you’ve got? I’ve got one too!’ Cynthia said excitedly.

@Aurora Griffith

date: 1/25/23 | place: Grounds | #ba9826= Aurora(English), #244199= Birdfeet | Thoughts= Italics

I picked up Cocoa as Cynthia turned around and spotted me. "Hello! Cynthia, wasn't it? From debate club?" Not to mention the New Year's celebration...when Cynthia gave the reason why she was out and about, I nodded and said, "Hmm...that makes sense. I guess that things like that can be very demanding and put a lot of pressure on someone. But I actually really want to be a duellist. Is it fun?" I did want to become a duellist actually. It used to be broom racing, but I dunno what changed my mind. Cocoa twitched a little in my hands as I stroked her fur. "Is that a brown rat you’ve got? I’ve got one too!" I looked down at Cocoa, then back at Cynthia. "Oh, yeah! Her name's Cocoa. It's really cool that you have a brown rat too, what's their name? Did you bring them with you?" I asked. Cocoa would love to meet another rat! She was very active, as well as sort of a handful, and I didn't really know anyone who also had a rat, specifically a brown rat, for I really did want for Cocoa to communicate with other animals, and not just people, especially people who didn't like rats...people like my Mum, though I really couldn't blame her...

interacting with: @Cynthia Beaufort
mentions: @

‘Yeah, I’m Cynthia,’ the young Ravenclaw said to Aurora. Cynthia smirked when Aurora said she wanted to be a duellist too. ‘You’re not alone. Seemingly everyone wants to be one.’ It was meant to be something humourous, but Cynthia wondered whether that was true. Indeed, it had became quite a popular sport, despite it’s danger. ‘I haven’t duelled officialy before, but you can go watch a match or two. I wouldn’t say fun, but it’s interesting, I suppose.’ Cynthia regarded Aurora with mild interest,‘So, why are you out and about?’

Cynthia proudly took out Brownie and displayed him for all to see. Someone had knitted him a little sweater (it came as a Christmas gift, but she can’t say for sure who actually made it, she didn’t know anyone who could knit this well) and he was wearing it proudly. ‘Yeah, this is my brown rat, his name is Brownie. Do you think they would get along well together?’ Cynthia asked Aurora. She didn’t want Brownie to get hurt. She still remembered the day she wanted to get Brownie. At first she had wanted a cat, but then Brownie had charmed the young student with his cuteness. Before, he was called Ratty, believe it or not, but then Cynthia changed the young rodent’s name. Well, he wasn’t that young now, but he was young back in the day.

@Aurora Griffith

date: 1/25/23 | place: Grounds | #ba9826= Aurora(English) | Thoughts= Italics

"Ah, I see. I used to be interested in broom racing, but I'm not sure why I changed my interest to dueling. I'm planning on signing up soon! I'd love to come and see one of your matches sometime!" I said, gushing a little. Once upon a time long long ago, I had been practically obsessed with broom racing. But now it was dueling, all of a sudden. "Why I'm out here? Well, I wanted to take Cocoa outside, since we both don't get out much these days, and it really is a nice day," I say, regarding the post-rainy weather, and the grass wet with dew. At least, to me it was a nice day. I couldn't say the same for everybody else, though, but I understood why anyone would come out here to take a breather. Cynthia took out her pet rat, Brownie for me to see. He was wearing a cute little sweater. "Oh, I love the sweater! Who made it for him?" I said. And then a thought occurred to me. "I just thought about it, it's funny how both our pet's names have something to do with chocolate, like a chocolate friendship, maybe, if you will. But, I think that our rats would get along great together, I haven't really met anyone else who has a pet rat." That last part, about the chocolate friendship I had made up, but I thought it sounded cool, plus it was the first thing that popped into my mind. I wanted Cocoa to meet Brownie, so I held Cocoa up so that she could get a better look...if she could, I couldn't tell. Cocoa seemed t show great interest in the other rat, at least, that's what it looked like...

interacting with: @Cynthia Beaufort
mentions: @

‘Broom racing huh,’ Cynthia said. ‘That’s interesting. I’ve got a friend whose a broom racer. Her name’s Clair. Do you know her? We became friends when I just found out I was a duellist so soon, and I was kind of nervous, but she helped me calm down.’ Cynthia still remembered that day. Of course, she was still nervous, but the nervousness was tinged with excitement. Plus, it wasn’t like the anxiety nervous before, but rather the good sort of nervous. ‘Everyone switches to duelling in the end,’ she smiled. ‘My friend, Oliver, signed up for Quidditch and got waitlisted. He decided to go for duelling instead.’

Cynthia laughed when Aurora said it was a nice day. ‘A nice one? Looks like all other British days to me. Dark. Rainy. Depressing.’ Not that she disliked those days. Cynthia was not fond of sun, for some strange reason. She hoped that that wasn’t because she was a dhampir. Probably not, no one in her family was one. The Hufflepuff prefect, Simon, was a dhampir; they weren’t monsters, but Cynthia preferred to be 100% human.

‘Thanks!’ Cynthia said as Aurora commented on the sweater. ‘I don’t know who knitted it though. It just came in my Christmas bundle. But whoever sent it must be really nice!’ Cynthia had seen a another brown rat around Hogwarts before; cocoa was not the first. A girl, who was about the same height as Cynthia but had much more mature features, had called this rat: Pizza Rat. It was obviously a brown rat and extremely cute, but Cynthia was in too much of a hurry to approach it.

Cynthia gently set Brownie on the ground. She didn’t really worry about his feet getting dirty, because in the same Christmas bundle, there were four little shoes for the rat. ‘A chocolate friendship; I like that!’ Cynthia said, smiling.

@Aurora Griffith

date: 1/25/23 | place: Grounds | #ba9826= Aurora(English), #244199= Birdfeet | Thoughts= Italics

"No, unfortunately, I don't know Clair or any broom racers, for that matter. If I do know any, then, I, uh...don't know. I wasn't really that involved in sports at first... This was true. I had never been to a quidditch, broom racing, or dueling match, and I hadn't even spectated the Hexwizard or whatever it was called. The story about how Clair and Cynthia and Clair became friends was heartwarming. "But you know what, I would be nervous too if I was in that situation. You don't realize just how big the situation is until it's staring you right in the face, and it seems that all the weight of your decision is just now piling on you-" I quickly stopped talking and felt my face turning as red as my hair. I knew that feeling well, yes, and it seemed that all the pressure of learning about the wizarding world just months ago hadn't been faring at all well at first, but this year, I felt lighter than air. if that made any sense... "Yeah, I guess everybody loves dueling, but Quidditch is still very popular!" I said in a tone that gave off nervousness. Cynthia laughed at my comment on the weather. "A nice one? Looks like all other British days to me. Dark. Rainy. Depressing." This made me laugh and drop my book, a book called "A Wizarding Genealogy of the Moriarty Family". "We're in Scotland, actually, but I get your point. It is a little dark and rainy, but should that be a bad thing? Shouldn't we think of it, as, you know, maybe...joy after the storm? You can't have a rainbow without rain, ha ha..." This was something my grandmother had said to me once when I had complained about the rainy weather because I couldn't go out and play. But you know what? Maybe that was what the rest of my time at Hogwarts was gonna be like. I smiled at the thought. I finally snapped out of my inner thoughts when Cynthia told me about Brownie's sweater. "Yeah, whoever made that sweater must be really talented too, it looks great on Brownie!" I said, grinning. Cynthia set Brownie on the ground, and I noticed that, along with the sweater, he also had the cutest little shoes... "Ha ha, I'm glad you do, it was the first thing that popped into my mind," I said, laughing so much I could feel my face reddening, but I didn't care. I figured that I had made a new friend, and I'd never been happier today.

interacting with: @Cynthia Beaufort
mentions: @

‘Don’t worry; sports weren’t my thing either, expect for the very occassional game of wizarding chess.’ As Cynthia heard Aurora’s comment of Quidditch, she said, ‘Well, you know, I’m glad that he decided to join the best sport offered here at Hogwarts. My family has a bad relationship with Qudditch. My father thinks it’s overrated, but I’m very much indifferent towards that sport. Can’t see why it’s that popular.’

As Cynthia reacted to Aurora’s comment about weather, the Hufflepuff dropped her book. Cynthia picked it up and gave it back to her. ‘What are you reading?’ she asked. The Ravenclaw was always open to book recommendations, being, well, a Ravenclaw. ‘A Wizarding Genealogy of the Moriarty Family, aye? Never heard of it; doesn’t sound interesting though.’ One Ravenclaw assumption she hated was that they all loved every book in the whole universe. No. Ravenclaws only loved good books and books that interest them. Cynthia was, to be frank, a abcedarian at genealogy and had no intentions at all to learn more about that topic.

She frowned though, when Aurora tried to correct her. ‘Well I didn’t say English weather did I? I said British weather, and Soctland is indeed part of Great Britian, isn’t it?’ She really hated it when people pointed out she was wrong when she was obivously right. She didn’t want to start an argument but she was correct. ‘I suppose you’re right, but rainbows can be depressing to look at; makes you feel as if bliss is so close yet so far away, doesn’t it?’ she said, still a bit grumpy. This was what her mother used to tell her. Was it being pessimistic? Or simply being truthful?

@Aurora Griffith

date: 1/25/23 | place: Grounds | #ba9826= Aurora(English) | Thoughts= Italics

"Back then, especially during the last Quidditch World Cup, it must've been all that anyone talked about. I'm not sure why everyone likes it either, but I just don't think it's for me." I said. When I dropped my book, Cynthia picked it up and looked at it. "Oh, that's a genealogy book I found in the library, it's of my mother's family side," I said. "Oh, you think it's not interesting? A couple of years ago, I would have said the same thing, until I got interested in the genealogy of my wizard family. I'm half-blood, you see, I don't know much about my mother's family," I said, regarding the book. I had been pouring over it all week, and I had even found my name in there. The book was huge and very detailed, but that was to be expected of a book about a pure-blood family that's been around for ages. On my remark about the weather, Cynthia seemed to get a little defensive
and, I might as well say, touchy about it. I cocked my head at her and smiled slightly to cover up my confusion about Cynthia's reaction. "Ah, I see. My grandmother's from Scotland, and she always thought that Scotland should be its own country. So, my family never refers to Scotland as Great Britain or as part of Great Britain," I said, hoping to clear up the confusion. "On that note, I don't think rainbows are depressing, per see, but they can be a reminder of how dangerous bliss can be, especially when you don't know about everything that's going on around you," I said thoughtfully on the response about rainbows. They were very pretty, though. But I really did think that there was an upside and a downside to everything, like bliss, though I intended to be more on the upside.

interacting with: @Cynthia Beaufort
mentions: @

‘Well, I suppose it would be quite boring and ignorent to JUST talk about Quidditch. After all, there are more interesting and important things in life, aren’t there?’ She was surprised that Aurora was into genealogy, but not by much (because if Aurora wasn’t interested, why would she be reading that book). ‘Junior professor, aren’t you now?’ Cynthia said with a smirk, but then smiled to show that she meant no ill will. After all, getting a new friend was kind of exciting. She used to think Hufflepuffs weren’t worth her time, but turned out she couldn’t have been more wrong.

She could see the ginger’s point about Scotland, but technically Cynthia was still right. She decided, however, not to press that small matter. ‘Well, no matter, all I want you to know is the English weather is depressing. You must remember it’s terrible weather when you came for the new year’s celebration. Overnight celebrations are quite novel, don’t you think Aurora?’ Aurora. Cynthia liked that name. She was the Roman goddess of the dawn, and her Greek form was Eos. To be frank she never liked the Romans much, they just copied whatever the Greeks did. Of course, imitation is the best form of flattery, but to Cynthia, it always felt like stealing. ‘Interesting, I suppose,’ Cynthia said when Aurora expressed her point.

@Aurora Griffin