Madame Zoltar PV Alyssea Brown Closed

date: 15th oct. 2022
alyssea, alora

Alyssea stepped out into the open air, breathing in the fresh scent of grass and flowers. It was nice to get out of the castle every now and then. The stone castle and all its interior was a dream from a storybook. But of course, no one can survive in just the castle alone.

She watched as groups of people strolled through the courtyard. Others walked through with heads buried in books. Inside, she laughed. She would become one of those head-buried-in-books seniors one day, she was sure of it.

But there was a girl, wearing green robes, sitting by herself. In her hands was a deck of cards. She shuffled them meticulously in her hands. The back of the cards had an intricate design at the back. Playing cards, perhaps?

Normally, Alyssea would be afraid of any Slytherin students. Green made her feel all sorts of ugly emotions. Envy, greed, but also the growth of nature. Naturalism.

But it wasn't just the Slytherin green that made her feel ugly emotions. Gryffindor's red gave her a sense of fear and danger. But red was also the colour of love.

And besides, being stereotypical gets you nowhere in life.

Alyssea shuffled her shoulders, adjusting the way her robe sat on them, before approaching the girl. She tried to be light-footed, but surprising them by greeting them wouldn't be the best way to get into a conversation, would it? Not if it already scared them.

She cleared her throat. Just a subtle way to get her attention without being outright. "Uh, hi!" Heat spread across the back of her neck. "I'm Alyssea. First year."

When her head cleared from the nerves, she chuckled. "I j-just wanted to say hi! If you'd like some time alone, I can do that. So sorry to intrude on your personal space."

@Alora J. Graves

@Alyssea Brown

October 15th, 2022

Alora looked up towards the sound of a voice. It took her a moment that the name and grade being uttered was directed towards her, that she wasn't eavesdropping on some encounter. The raven-haired girl beamed, someone wanted to approach her. They weren't put off by her Slytherin inspired attired, or her pale skin and darker hair creating a stark contrast. In muggle school she'd often been called a vampire. Back then, that was fiction, now it was a possibility, though she knew she was no such thing.

"Hi, Alyssa, I'm Alora, also a first year," she responded in kind. Although a snake, she wasn't mean or despondent by any means. Quite the contrary. Self-preserving was definitely in her roster, but so was kindness.

As the girl continued, Alora understood that stammer. She had been nervous many times, heck, she felt so nearly every day in the magical world without much guidance beyond that of the classroom. Even the crisp air of autumn and the promise of petrichor had done little more than tell her time had advanced, and she still hadn't quite found her niche within the walls of Hogwarts. She knew she belonged here; that was never in doubt. It was more friendships she lacked. It was something she thought she had found only to realize how much it sometimes felt like cupping water in her hands. So easily it slipped beyond her reach, to a point where she questioned her own worthiness of the title.

"Stay, sit, let's see what the future holds for you," she said with a hint of the dramatics as she shuffled her cards and held them before her. "Readings are better with someone to read," she added as if to reassure her schoolmate, patting the ground to encourage her.

date: 15th oct. 2022; interacting with @Alora J. Graves

Alora. Alyssea liked that name.

Now that she was closer to her, Alyssea noted Alora as pretty. Her blue eyes were like the moon at night amidst a sea of stars. Just like Ravenclaw's blue, she could feel her cool aura, the serenity that surrounded them. The heat dissipated from the back of Alyssea's neck and she let her shoulders sag. When did she stiffen them?

Alora patted the ground next to her. "Stay, sit," she urged, "Readings are better with someone to read."

So, Alyssea sat and peered over to the deck in Alora's hands. She could see it clearly now. Each card had a figure or a distinct design. There was a roman numeral on each with names on the bottom.

She recognized the cards now. They were tarot cards. They were part of Divination under the category of cartomancy. In the Muggle world, the cards were used by fortune tellers or simply any witch (the Muggle kind; they relied on personal intuition, Alyssea gathered) who needed guidance from spirits or gods they worshipped.

The prospect of getting her future read piqued her interest. But she didn't just want to know her general future or what career she'd take when she would be older. Playfully, Alyssea said, "Tell me about my future love life."

@Alyssea Brown

October 15th, 2022

Alora's mother had had a witchy phase before she'd found Jesus, and it had stuck with some of her older siblings. At least, that had been what Nadia the eldest of her sisters had told her. Ben usually kept quiet about the past. He'd had an entire childhood alone with their mother that none of them knew about. Whether the cards had been her mother's or just an impulse buy from her sister, she never knew but they were hers now.

"Love life huh?" she questioned, giving her cards a shuffle and ominously pulling the first one, she set the lovers on the ground. "Seems the cards are listening!" she said cheerfully. This was easy, which was good because love wasn't something she cared for. At least, not in the romantic sense. "Now let's see what the cards have to say about this potential love affair!

Alora set a second card down, and placed the hanged man. "Sounds like whoever you're having the hots for isn't a winner," she said. "Definitely a deadbeat, find something else because it's only bad news with this person. she continued. "This can be them or you, and if it were me, I'd rather see them on the figurative noose so to speak, ya?

date: 15th oct. 2022; interacting with @Alora J. Graves

Alora pulled one card out, or more like the card 'flew' out. First, it was a pair of two figures, named 'The Lovers' at the bottom. Did the cards really hear her intentions? Alora said so. But they were just cards, right?

Alyssea shook her head. She was attending a magic school! Anything was possible.

The next card came just as quickly as the first. This one was a man hanging upside down by his ankle, almost as if he were holding the tree pose (but upside down, of course!). It was named 'The Hanged Man'.

Her brows furrowed. What does 'The Hanged Man' mean? She could understand 'The Lovers'; they were pretty straightforward, if their name wasn't already enough.

Alora went on about the card. As Alyssea listened, she felt her heart sag with her shoulders. The potential love interest wasn't going to be 'the one', let alone even be remotely nice. But then Alora mentioned it could be about her as well.

Yikes. Talk about some bad luck already. Maybe her love life wouldn't be as magical as her time at the castle.

Still, she stuck around and leaned over the cards. "Alright. What else should I prepare myself for?"

@Alyssea Brown

October 15th, 2022

There it was, that lean. Despite the bad news, she really had this girls attention, and it pleased the young Slytherin. Attention was addicting, and she did so enjoy having it in all forms she could manage. So far, she'd been lucky. Even in her less stellar deeds, the short girl with an active imagination and a knack for spinning tales had turned out fairly well.

"Hmmm," she sounded, pulling that third card out and noting an eight of cups. It wasn't a common card, and though she knew her Major Arcana, her minor one she was hazy on. Cups...cups meant water. She tried to recall what her sister had said about them. "Cups are all about emotions," she continued. Perhaps the cards were making it easy on her, or maybe that was pentacles? No, she was going with it. She had already engaged.

"See how the goblets are set up," she motioned to the bottom of the card. "Looks like a castle, so this is definitely all related to your time here at Hogwarts..." she continued. "Now this person here," she pointed to the character walking towards the inside of the card. "This is showing that you're looking for something, and from your question, is you're looking for love. From what all the cards are saying, I would say stop looking." She added and pulled a fourth card as though to confirm it.

"Ah yes, see, swords," she added. "Swords have two edges, and this two of swords, see how she's blinding herself purposely," she pointed to the woman holding the too swords. "She's asking you to trust the process. Stop looking, it'll find you, and you'll have to make a choice. Choose carefully, or you'll find yourself with a broken heart. I'd honestly just stick to my studies. There's always next year, and by then you can always hex a boy for breaking your heart," she added with a wink.

date: 15th oct. 2022; interacting with @Alora J. Graves

When she saw the cups card, she knew her luck had run out. The positioning of the cups were just so... uneven. None of it was right. Her luck probably ran out way before with 'The Hanged Man', but let a girl dream, okay? We should be allowed to be delusional sometimes.

Man, Alora's reading really was not the reality check she wanted. But hey, she did ask for it.

Alora then pulled out the next card. A Two of Swords. Alora pointed to the blindfold on the woman's eyes. She needed that blindfold off real fast. No more allowing herself to not acknowledge red flags or else, as Alora said, "you'll find yourself with a broken heart."

So what were the cards? There was The Lovers, The Hanged Man, VIII (eight) of Cups, and II (two) of Swords. Not the best line-up. It seemed as though it would be a pretty superficial relationship; it would look good at the start but in actuality? Not a fun ride to be on.

Alora winked at Alyssea as she said, "There's always next year, and by then you can hex a boy for breaking your heart."

Alyssea laughed. Right, she wouldn't learn any hexes in her first year. "You think if I met them this year though, I could jinx them? That's part of our first-year curriculum, isn't it?"

Alyssea shook her head with a grin. She shouldn't take it the reading to heart too much yet. She was only 11, after all. Who wants to be in a serious relationship this early?

Alyssea sighed. "Well, thank you for the reading," she said, "and it was fun talking to you, too! Shall I catch you around the castle?"

No matter how the reading went, Alyssea was glad. This encounter definitely brightened her year and it was only getting started.

@Alyssea Brown

October 15th, 2022

There certainly were a few hexes and jinxes on the curriculum that could be of use. Next year, she could only imagine what would be on the academic menu, so to speak. Even though she knew more spells than she ever did, which a single one was already more than in the past, she wasn't sure she had what it took to really use it in a one-on-one situation or more than that.

"I mean you can," she said simply. "But imagine what you can do next year if this year gave us...what we know...you know?" If one is going to deal with the aftermath of a broken heart, surely one should have the best means to counter it. All was fair in love and war. After all, at least, that was what she was taught from a young age. Vengeance was a dish she had learned to serve cold.

At the thanks, she nodded her head. "Of course," she grinned. She was happy to have made the reading and gotten such a good sport out of it. Now she had ideas for the next reading. Plans on how to demonstrate better showmanship.

"It was nice meeting you Alyssea, I hope you have better luck than the cards suggest...and I don't plan to go anywhere," she winked at the young woman before her. School was amazing, and she had no plans to leave the stone walls that made up Hogwarts. Even if she missed her games and technology and the ease of her hyperfixations.

Placing her cards back in her deck she gave them a shuffle before putting them away. She had a journal to write and a new focus to fixate on for a spell.