Closed Dinner and a Show PV Ava Winchect

Finally dinner. Ava had been waiting for this all day. What wasn’t to like about a feast in the great hall? More than that, a feast with the entire school? To her, it would always be a feast. The fact that the platters refilled themselves was pretty much enough to confirm her belief.

The day of classes had been surprisingly uneventful, usually in this school it seemed like something was always going on. Usually not a good thing, at that.

The school robes weren’t uncomfortable, but they certainly weren’t something you wanted to wear all day. The only thing they seemed to be good for was keeping the drafts out in the dungeons. Given the choice, everyone in the room would gladly trade their uniforms for a stylish outfit. Ava had a particular outfit in her mind at the moment…sweatpants and a T-shirt. Now those, her sweatpants and T-shirt, had a useful purpose. To keep her comfy while she caught O’s.

Ava didn’t have a particular spot at the slytherin table, she always just sat wherever she felt like it. Today, she was eying a spot near a girl with black hair kept in messy braids. Looks like this girl’s day had been much more eventful than Ava’s. She slid in just in time to hear what the girl was asking. "So, who's up for a reading?" Ava’s eyes twinkled, but she said nothing, just heaped some potatoes onto her plate. "I haven't foreseen any deaths lately, so we should be good on that end," Ava glanced at the girl next to her, eyes still shining. "What sort of reading?" She couldn’t help but ask. The girl wad grinning, and Ava easily matched her energy. Much as she wanted to sleep, the day hadn’t been at all draining. "Ava," she introduced herself, holding out her hand for the other girl to shake. Ava had met lots of students since arriving at Hogwarts, but this one had a feeling of mischief surrounding her. An aura, if you would. Ava could respect that. A fellow troublemaker.

344/200

November 5th

@Alora J. Graves

@Ava Winchect

November 5th, 2022

"Your future, of course!" A glimmer shined in Alora's chocolate hues as she watched the girl that showed interest. It was similar to the one she had in instances of impending mischief. Alora had a flare for the dramatic, and it seemed the young woman before her had a similar aura to her. A mischievous and easygoing side that seemed to sometimes lack among her kin.

"The great and magnificent Alora at your service," she gave a dramatic bow of her head and an emphatic wave over her stack of aged, gilded cards she had shuffled. With a smooth motion, she fanned them across the space on the table she had dedicated to it. She brought them back into a stack and shuffled them. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath," she told her. "Breathe out," she added and paused in her shuffling.

"You can open your eyes now, the cards know all," she assured with a grin, pulling a first card and setting it on the table and making a sound as she nodded in agreement with the frayed portrait before her. "The Fool," she spoke aloud. This is a card of innocence and joy; you're at a point in your journey where you've not encountered anything to lead you to one side or the other," she says, remembering how her sister had told her about the major arcana had been the journey of the fool until Death.

Atop it she places the nine of swords. That's a whole lot of pointy things, and the woman on it seems to be crying. Alora extrapolates to save herself from forgetting it's meaning. "Oh no," he voice takes a deeper turn. "Sleepless nights and regrets are to come. You're going to do something you regret..." she warns the girl.

"Your future, of course!" The girl answered. Ava grinned. "Well what are we waiting for, then?" Ava winked jokingly.

"The great and magnificent Alora at your service," They shook hands. "Pleasure to meet you, Alora."

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath," That meant they were starting. Ava closed her eyes and followed the instructions, trying to keep the smile off her face. This was serious! Although…Ava sure didn’t think so. With an afterthought, Alora added "Breathe out," and Ava did. "You can open your eyes now, the cards know all," Ava opened her eyes slowly and looked at Alora calmly. "Let’s hope I don’t get death or something," Ava mumbled cheekily, remembering the earlier comments.

The first card was layed out. The fool. "This is a card of innocence and joy; you're at a point in your journey where you've not encountered anything to lead you to one side or the other," What did that mean? Was it good or bad? Ava had taken the reading in good spirits, but she peered carefully at the card now. What exactly was her future, and how would this play in? Nah. A set of cards couldn’t predict her future…could it? Time would tell.

Second card. Nine of swords. "Sleepless nights and regrets are to come. You're going to do something you regret..." Ava furrowed her brows. "That sounds bad…" She examined the card for herself. Plenty of swords and…a woman. Crying, it seemed by the illustration. "Are you sure this is accurate? That surely couldn’t be my future." Ava studied the girl beside her. Was Alora telling the truth, or was this part of her mischievous personality? Rigging the cards to tell Ava bad, untrue thing? "The only thing I regret is when I don’t pick up dessert after dinner." Ava said in an attempt to lighten the mood, but her easy smile had been sliced by the nine swords, it seemed.

322/200

November 5th

@Alora J. Graves

@Ava Winchect

November 5th, 2022

Alora thrived off matched energy, and that playful wink only motivated her to play the part more. She imagined herself as some femme Zoltar where she sat. All she lacked was a turban and a crystal ball. Perhaps she'd work on a booth someplace. Once I learn engorgio and reducio, it would make for easy enough work, she thought.

"Death is actually a good card most of the time," Alora said, echoing her sister's words when she herself had expressed a similar statement a few years back. It didn't matter because it wasn't what was at hand. Quite the contrary. That nine of swords was no joke!

Alora raised her small shoulders and sighed. "I'm just the messenger" she reminded, tapping the cards. "Whether they tell the truth or not, or lead you in the right direction or not is between you and the cards," she noted with a hint of mischief. She felt like those disclaimers on medicine. It might heal you or give you horrendous gastrointestinal trouble, and you'll die.

"Hey, regret is regret, I'm not here to judge you, Ava, and skipping dessert anywhere, but especially here, you definitely be regretful" she smiled and pulled the next card. It seemed the other was feeling a sting, and though doom and gloom was fun to recount, she was also human. Alora didn't like to make people sad. She wasn't sure why, but she felt a vibe with Ava, like perhaps they could be friends. She hoped that was the case, even with the next card that turned over.

This time the hermit. "Either you deeply enjoy your alone time, or whatever regretful deed you're going to do is going to lead to isolation," she said with a furrowed brow, as though doubting herself for a just a second. No, that had to be right. It made sense in this tale she was spinning.

Ava could tell that this girl could easily become a friend, with little effort needed in the friendship. Ava liked those sorts of things, things that didn’t need an excessive amount of time. It was the kind of friendship where you could walk up to them after not seeing them for months, and act like old friends.

"Death is actually a good card most of the time," Ava raised her eyebrows. "I’ve lived through lots of things, and death is never good." Unless it was the death of a video game character. That wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t very realistic though, and Ava was pretty sure this was a serious talk that had nothing to do with her triumphs of Donkey Kong.

"I'm just the messenger. Whether they tell the truth or not, or lead you in the right direction or not is between you and the cards," Ava looked at Alora suspiciously. Was the trickster telling the truth? She decided to ask her question out loud. "So you aren’t telling the truth? This is just a waste of my time?" She wondered. Although…Alora wasn’t really giving off that look that people gave when they were doing mischief. When they were lying. She knew that look. It had appeared all throughout her childhood.

"Hey, regret is regret, I'm not here to judge you, Ava, and skipping dessert anywhere, but especially here, you definitely be regretful" Ava peered at Alora. "Does it say what I’ll regret?" That could be relevant in her future. She doubted that the cards would know. "This is so stupid," she muttered under her breath, so quietly that the fellow slytherin wouldn’t be able to hear. Hopefully.

Third card. Hermit. "Either you deeply enjoy your alone time, or whatever regretful deed you're going to do is going to lead to isolation," Ava had a flash of something across her face. Fear, maybe. Regret, even though she didn’t know what she was regretting. She would have to keep that in mind in the future, should this girl turn out to be telling the truth. She saw the fellow slytherin had a look of doubt on her face, but only for a second. What did that mean?

288/200

November 5th

@Alora J. Graves

@Ava Winchect

November 5th, 2022

Alora could understand that, and she had said something similar to her sister. Death wasn't good. It meant losing something forever, but then her sister had said something wise. She was trying to remember it now, and it escaped her. The same way water slipped out of one's hands despite every attempt to cup it.

"I didn't say that," she responded to the girl. "I said I'm just the messenger...what's talking on the other side, that's between you and it," she said simply. She tried to remind herself of what her sister had called it. Something like a demon, but Alora couldn't recall it. There were holes in her memory, and it annoyed her.

Alora looked at the cards as if to see if she could get a more in-depth answer. "Not exactly an exact science is it," she said with a bit of a tight smile. She did so, hoping she could finally get to a point where she could tell how long and more specific information. For a moment, she dreamed of being some divination whizz. A miss Cleo or a real Zoltar of sorts.

"Stupid would be not heeding the warning," she said. "Even if just with a grain of salt, if you can prevent any of this," she motioned to the card before her. "Or brace yourself for it, shouldn't you?" she asked. In her shoes, she certainly would, but then again, in her shoes, she probably would forget this in a second and move onto the next bit of chaos in her life.

"Anywho, I'm hungry," she chuckled, reaching for a dinner roll and taking a bite.

"I didn't say that, I said I'm just the messenger...what's talking on the other side, that's between you and it," Ava furrowed her brows. "Talking to me? Is that even possible? It’s just a bunch of cards." Although…Alora seemed so sure. Surely the art of tarot card reading wasn’t just chances, seeing it was so popular.

Ava was holding a breath, waiting for the answer. "Not exactly an exact science is it," She exhaled at the tight smile on Alora’s face. "Right. Sorry." If she knew what she was going to regret, then she could prevent. But given she had no idea…it would be left to her memory to remember this day.

"Stupid would be not heeding the warning, even if just with a grain of salt, if you can prevent any of this, or brace yourself for it, shouldn't you?" Ava cringed. So Alora had heard what she said. "Right. Sorry." Way to call me stupid, Ava thought, annoyed. But she did realize she was being a bit of a jerk. A bit. This girl was also being annoying. Very annoying, to Ava. Annoying, because she was right. Ava really should take the warning to heart but it felt so…stupid. Unreal. Like child’s play. Tarot cards were only as predictable as the American (and Canadian) Groundhog’s day.

"Anywho, I’m hungry," Alora said, reaching for a dinner roll. "I’m sorry, I came off as rude. It’s sort of difficult to take something like this to heart, you know?" It was a weak apology, but hopefully one that would be sufficient. Ava also took a dinner roll, but spread butter on hers before taking a bite.

236/200

November 5th

@Alora J. Graves

@Ava Winchect

November 5th, 2022

If Alora gathered anything from the other girl, it was that she was forward with apologies. She had done so twice, a third time now. Honestly, Alora didn't mind. She knew she was spinning a tall tale. She also understood the need to keep the peace. Truth be told, as strong as Alora wanted to be, she had a big softness to her that she wasn't sure she would ever shed. She cared a whole lot, and that often meant that she felt a lot as well. Empathy was the word that lay just out of her reach as she ate her feelings instead.

"You're fine," she promised, brushing it off. "Can't imagine you'd take all that with grins and joy," she responded simply, tucking her tarot cards in her cloak pocket and shifting a plate in front of her. There was delicious food before them to be tasted and enjoyed and Alora wasn't about to let doom and gloom spoil her appetite. "You mind handing the mashed potatoes," she asked the girl.

If there was something Alora loved more than anything, it was potatoes. Her brother had often called her a Hobbit, though she still wasn't quite certain what that meant. She hadn't been introduced to that series just yet. Just that they liked to be barefooted and enjoyed second breakfasts and elevensies. All of which sounded amazing in her opinion.

"So, Ava," she said simply. "What all have you been getting yourself into lately?" she asked with a grin, stacking vegetables and meats on her plate.

Alora didn’t mind her apologies and quickly brushed them off, which Ava was grateful for. It wasn’t that Ava meant to apologize so often, but she did it without thinking. Habits of childhood died hard, no? Some would be harder to drop than others, but with time they would go away. Hopefully.

Alora made a comment about Ava not taking it all with grins and and joy, which made her remember an old saying. “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, yeah?” She dramatically searched the table for said sugar. “Know where I can find any of that?” It was really just an attempt to lighten the mood, and whether it succeeded or not was in the hands of her fellow slytherin reacted.

Alora didn’t seem to think the cards were that big of a deal, putting them back in her pocket and digging into the food before them, even going as far as to ask for Ava to pass the mashed potatoes. Ava’s mind was still stuck on the cards, now located in Alora’s pockets. She absent-mindedly grabbed the potatoes and handed them over, thinking over what Alora had said.

Ava did react to what Alora had said, asking a simple question. “Oh, I dunno. Reading, I suppose.” That was true, she could often be seen with a book in hand, making her look like the nerdy ravenclaws. She did wonder if she had been sorted in the wrong house at moments. “What about you?”

249/200

November 5th

@Alora J. Graves