Date: Pre-dated to June 30th
Mentions: @Landon Matthews

If seven years and some odd days ago someone told 10-year-old Annie that her fate was going to be determined by an old and sarcastic talking hat that would change her life forever, she would have laughed. Now all she wanted to do was cry.

The last week had gone by in a whirlwind of papers, joy, and the looming fear and excitement regarding the next stage in the seventh year's life: Adulthood. For her, it was fear that preoccupied her mind the most. Fear coursed through her veins. Was she ready to grow up? What was the outside world really like? The only thing that soothed her mind was three things. A letter from her parents, her best friend Landon, and licorice wands.

Her parents had written her a letter that arrived only a week ago, much to her surprise and delight. They had melted candle wax onto a parchment, making it unnecessarily heavy, earning Eiryk a hefty number of treats. The wax itself had been carved into so she could trace her quill in the carvings to read the letter. It was very tedious, but the support of her parents meant the world to her and adapting was the least they could do. The letter was as listed:

Hello love,

We cannot imagine how you are feeling right about now, but we are so proud of you! You have exceeded all odds and graduated, and we couldn't be prouder. Even if you can't see it yourself, you have grown so much in so many ways and we cannot wait to watch you flourish even more outside of Hogwarts. Your father and I know how well you did in Herbology, and even though you did not pass all the OWLs or NEWTs you were hoping for, don't let that deter your future. You still have plenty potential in whatever field you want to pursue.

While you have been away, I have transcribed all your books the same way we have done to this letter, there is not a candle left untouched or safe from my wrath in our household, but it was for a good cause. I hope you appreciate this effort because we don’t want to see your love for reading fade. Your father also wants you to assist in his florist business if you would like it, he knows you don't need sight to put your talents to work, and magical plants or not you have a gift. We know this may not be your initial plan after graduation, but you can always explore other opportunities later. We just want to support you in any way we can! We miss you dearly and cannot wait to have you back in at home with us soon.

Take care,

Mum and Dad

That letter greatly lifted her spirits. Having read over it time and time again, retracing the words carefully with her quill to not have missed anything, she wasn’t afraid anymore. That letter was something unexpected that she didn't know she needed at the time, but it was a push in the right direction. And now here she was, letter tucked into her pocket on the Hogwarts Express for the last time to head back home to take the offer. The Hogwarts Express was nostalgic that held no bad memories, and she wanted and hoped that her memories would last, from the smells to the sounds, and especially the company. As if one cue, her head turned at the sound of the car door opening, a smile expanding on her features.

"Oh good, I thought you got lost. Come on in!"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 06/30/25 | CC: #1f5cc6 | Banner made by Isa Flores
────────────────────────────────

Normally, the end of a school year came with some joy and excitement about going home for the summer, but Landon was a little morose this year. He hadn't been close to the graduating students in the last few years, minus a friendly relationship with his former Quidditch captain, Howard White, but now... Annie Morgan, the girl that had helped Landon become confident in his Quidditch abilities, who had mentored him and been such a good friend, graduated and this was the last time they would be together on the Hogwarts campus... albeit in the train instead of actually at Hogwarts.

They had decided to ride the train together one last time, and Landon was dreading saying goodbye. He loved Annie like a sister, and he didn't really know what he was going to do without her next year at school. He was happy for her, of course; graduation was a big exciting thing, and he was proud of her. But that didn't mean he wouldn't miss her greatly next year.

Landon boarded the Hogwarts Express, lugging his trunk behind him as he searched the cabins for Annie. Peeking into each one through the windows, he finally spotted her and opened the cabin door slowly. He smiled and tugged his trunk into the cabin, looking at Annie. "Not lost exactly, but I just couldn't remember which cabin we were trying to sit in this time," he said. He put his trunk away carefully and moved to sit down next to Annie. "So..." he started before trailing off. It wasn't an awkward silence, but Landon was not really sure how to talk to Annie now without breaking down.

"Hogwarts Express one last time, huh?" he said uselessly, a frown on his face. "Sorry, I'll just really miss you," he finally admitted quietly. He didn't want to be sad on his last time with Annie on the train, but he was still sad anyway. "You'll stay in touch, right?" he asked. "I mean, I don't know how to write letters for you to be able to read them just yet, but I'll still write and hopefully you'll be able to get someone to read them for you or something?" he offered. He was rambling a little, but it was fine. He was fine. He just felt a little bit heartbroken at the fact that he had made such a good friend and she was graduating.

Date: Forward-dated to June 30th
Mentions: @Landon Matthews

The shuffling of bags being set down and the flurry of words made Annie crack a smile. Although there would be time for awkward silence to fill the space, she was going to savor every moment of her last Hogwarts Express ride as Landon mentioned. It was only beginning to dawn on her, like everything else. But this time, she was mentally prepared or at least as much as she could be when it came to leaving a place that she had called her home away from home for the last seven years.

She tapped her chin with her pointer finger, bemused at his first question. "Right, I will take your word for it that you weren't lost. But I don't think many of the train carts are all that different." Her eyebrow lifted in a quirk, teasing the younger boy slightly. Hearing a small slump, she figured Landon had sat down as a small wave of silence filled the air. Not uncomfortable nor unwelcoming, not that being in his presence could ever exude those feelings. Although, his voice held a note of disappointment, perhaps it would affect her more heavily if she could have seen his expression. Afterall, he was quite the emotional boy, which is said in the highest remarks as a boy of his age is usually bouncing all over the walls filled with too much anger or stress and not enough compassion. That's something that she really liked about him, and she figured it should be made known verbally.

"Hey, I'll miss you too Landon, but I admire you and I have loved to see you grow, even you don't really see much change yourself. And that's coming from a person whose blind by the way." She gave a little jab with her elbow to the seat next to her where the boy sat. Annie didn't need to lighten the mood, but she also had done enough hugging and crying over the past few weeks and interactions with Landon as they drew closer to the real end. And this was it. She didn't want to remember it in a sad way, leaving her heart empty and hurting, even though she couldn't deny that it would be a little bit. Instead, she would do the best she could to supply him with any final answers, bits of wisdom or reassurance to the best of her ability.

"Hey, I bet you didn't know this. A week ago, my parents wrote a letter for me, here you can read it." Annie reached into her pocket to pull out the hefty letter, definitely not the typical looking piece of parchment, and passed it over to Landon. He could see the wax writing and probably make out the words of which they wrote. It wasn't anything too close to her heart that she was embarrassed if he read it. Rather, she wanted to ensure him that she would be okay.

After giving him more time to read the letter, she spoke slowly. "So.. yeah I will be mainly at home with my parents for the remainder of the summer helping my dad at his florist shop. Next year I even got a part-time job working as a Farm hand at Professor Sauber's little home farm and garden. Nothing too grand, but I can still be involved and not die of boredom at home."

Annie laid her head back against the cushioned seat, turning her head towards the window where she felt the glass press against her arm. "We will figure out a way to keep in touch I'm sure, whether I have someone write something for me or I learn this.. method my parents figured out, it'll all work out." She paused in her thoughts turning her head back towards where Landon sat. Annie exhaled, tucking her wild hair behind her ears that had grown for Merlin knows how long down to almost waist level now.

"Will you be okay? I know I told you that you will, but it's not my place to say that for sure. Is there anything I can do to support you?"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 06/30/25 | CC: #1f5cc6 | Banner made by Isa Flores
────────────────────────────────

Landon settled his things away where they could be stored, trying not to be too noisy about it. It wasn't that he was worried that the noise would bother Annie, but he didn't like lots of noise himself and he didn't want to be loud. He smiled slightly at Annie's joke but he was a bit depressed by the fact that Annie was leaving Hogwarts. He really liked spending time with Annie and looked up to her so much, so it was hard to watch her graduate, despite being proud of her.

Landon smiled softly as Annie made a joke about her being blind but still seeing him grow. "I feel like without you, I wouldn't have grown as much as I have," he observed. She had helped him grow in confidence and Quidditch ability, but also he was sure that he wouldn't be as empathetic without her in his life. He didn't mean to get so emotional about things, but he cared deeply for his friends and it was hard to lose them, even though she would probably stay in touch as much as she could. Landon would definitely do his best to write to her too.

Landon took the letter that Annie handed him, studying it with interest. "This is really creative," he said with a smile. "How did they come up with communicating this way for you?" he asked. "I will have to learn how to do this too, so we can stay in touch easier," he observed. He read the letter and hummed softly, his brow furrowed. He knew how much Annie had wanted to be a healer, but that it hadn't happened for her. "Working with plants can be relaxing and fulfilling, even if they aren't exactly what you planned to do with your life..." he said softly. He knew this was a little bit of a sore spot for her. "I don't know if they have a program where you can still learn to be a healer eventually or how it all works, so I'm not sure what to say, but I believe in you and know you will do great things!"

Sighing softly, Landon watched Annie turn toward the window for a moment before she turned back and spoke to him again. "I'm sure I'll be okay, but I will really miss you. It will be hard without you. I don't know many upperclassmen, and, in a way, I guess I'm going to be somewhat of an upperclassman myself, but it will be weird not having you there to go to for advice..." he admitted. "We will figure out something to stay in touch. Not Howlers because, even though they speak to you, that would be overwhelming, I think. And I'm never angry with you."

Landon fell silent for a moment and looked down at his hands. "I'm genuinely so glad to be your friend and so proud of you," he said. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be okay. Just need to keep making friends and getting better at Quidditch so I can make you even more proud. Shame you can't come back to the school to see me play."

Date: Forward-dated to June 30th
Mentions: @Landon Matthews

Somber was not the mood she was going for, yet she did little to remove its coils from around her body. What's more, Landon's words felt like a cold bucket of water getting dumped over her head. Not in a refreshing way either. Reality was really running full force towards her face, only to spit in it and leave her baffled. Not quite scared, nor prepared.

Jokes were not a way she wanted to cope with leaving, but it was just something that came easy in times like this. A small scoff escaped her lips, partly amused at his wording. "You never give yourself enough credit, and yes, you have grown in many ways and will continue to." Annie shifted her hands in front of her extending them upwards to exaggerate his height. Her only assumption to growth as a person could be through Quidditch. Had Landon stumbled upon it sooner, or rather, had she gotten out of her hole of despair and isolation, she could've been an even better friend and mentor to him. But, all of that was in the past and she realized she could not change it anymore. Although, his outcome wasn't so bad with her help anyways, what little of it she did contribute. It meant a lot to Annie that he looked up to her as much as he did, seeing that she herself also doubted her ability and impact in his life. It seems like both of them had some work to do on their own when it came to giving themselves credit.

She brought her hands back to her lap, fiddling as he had taken the letter from her and commented on it. A small smile beamed upon her face at his creative mark towards his parents figuring this out, to which she just shrugged in response. It was better than a Howler, which was what her thoughts first drifted to, and was thankful they figured something out. Going without talking to them for a whole year, especially her last year where emotions and everything else was high strung, she would've been miserable. Annie would tilt her head to the side again at his attempt to keep in touch with her through this newfound letter method. "And where are you getting that much candle wax mister?"A breathy laugh escaped the girl at the several images that popped into her mind. Well, if he ever did figure it out, a surprise letter would be very much cherished but she didn't count on it.

The next topic led to the one that was most tricky for her: what she would be doing outside of school life. Working, was the short answer. But Landon knew that her grades did not quite meet the requirements in terms of her OWLs and NEWTS. It definitely bugged her more in the moment than it did now. Having the mindset that failing one OWL or NEWT meant you wouldn't do anything in life was obviously highly incorrect to the now graduated girl. She nodded slowly at the proposal of some sort of program to help her get to where she wanted to be. Healing had always been more of her realm. Her grandmother was a mediwizard after all and it kind of just clicked in her mind one day. Although she had a lot of learning and hard work to go if she ever wanted to get to that sort of level. It was the type of job with hierarchy in terms of roles. Working one year as an apprentice or trainee, get moved around a lot. It was no easy task that was for sure, but her heart was still set on it either way. Although her grades was the first hurdle she had to overcome.

Waving her hand in the air somewhat to help her collect her jumbled thoughts she hummed. "I am super excited to help on a farm for at least the summer and next year and spend more time with my parents. Sometimes you need more time to collect your thoughts and figure out what you want to do huh?" She paused, not wanting to overwhelm Landon. He had many years ahead until he had to start thinking about this sort of stuff. But then again, it came and went quick, and Annie could testify to that. "But, I did hear about some sort of assistantship offered through Hogwarts that could help me out with grades for the classes I fell short in scores for. I'll have to look more into that, maybe Professor Sauber knows more, or any of the other graduates." She nodded in thought. All the information sort of jumbled together so she would have to take a deep breath and sort things out, but for the first year outside of Hogwarts she was set at least. Although Annie wanted a 5-year-long plan of how everything was going to look, that just wasn't realistic. So instead, she settled for baby steps.

The air tightened around her as Landon shared his feelings, the truth of them. She leaned into the younger boy, bumping shoulders as he let it all out. "My advice never lessens just because my presence will be gone." Annie pursed her lips in amusement, the Howler comment making a smile slip onto her face as she had already thought about that before it was physically said. It was funny to think he was an upperclassman now. Well, at least halfway through, but still he had 3 big years under his belt.

Annie's smile faltered when the next words hit her like a flood. Not a bucket this time, but a frigid wave that threatened to make tears flow.

"I'm genuinely so glad to be your friend and so proud of you,"

Her hands shifted from her lap, one reaching out to squeeze his knee, needing something to support her, to tell her this was real. He was going to be okay, she knew it and he knew it as well. They both had plans, and a steady path for the future that of course would change with time, but what doesn't change with time? Their friendship wouldn't.

"Thank you, Landon." She breathed out, the attempt to not make her voice appear shaky was luckily covered by the all too familiar sound of the snack trolley cart rolling by their doors. Annie cleared her throat and rose from the seat, sliding open the door to flag down the cart. With a glance over her shoulder to where she had sat moments ago next to the boy, a genuine smile filled with no regrets or hints of sorrow flashed across her face.

"Snacks are on me."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 06/30/25 | CC: #1f5cc6 | Banner made by Isa Flores
────────────────────────────────

Landon grinned as Annie exaggerated his height. "I may not be as short as I used to be, but I'm not that tall yet either," he said with a laugh. He knew that she didn't really mean that as a serious observation; she couldn't see him, but he was sure that she could still somewhat know how tall he was because of where his voice came from in relation to her ears or something like that. Not to mention the hugs they had shared. He was sure she had noticed that he had grown a little. But he knew she was referring to his confidence and Quidditch ability. He had gotten much less scared of messing up in front of everyone and letting the team down, especially after messing up in practices, which was completely normal. No one was perfect all the time. He had been trying so hard not to make mistakes that he wasn't relaxing into it, but now he was doing much better.

Landon hummed as Annie shrugged about how her parents had figured out how to write to her this way. "They do have something called Braille for reading and stuff for blind people, maybe you should look into that?" he suggested. "I don't know if that is something that wizards use, but I've read about it," he explained. He didn't know how to learn Braille, but he would be willing to learn to make communicating with Annie easier. He didn't want to lose touch with her. He laughed softly as Annie teased him about needing a lot of candle wax. "I mean, I'm sure my parents have some at home... as for during school, I'm sure I can figure something out," he said with a laugh

Knowing that Annie's grades were a bit of a sore spot for her, Landon felt bad about asking, but he wanted to know what her future plans were. He wanted to know that she was going to be okay, now that she was graduating. He didn't want to worry about her. Not that Annie was someone Landon always worried about, but he really wanted to be sure that she wasn't going to be sad. He knew that Annie had wanted to work in healing of some sort, but sometimes you just needed a little time to figure things out. He listened as she explained what she was planning and he smiled softly. "I'm glad you found something to do, Annie," he said. "You deserve happiness, and maybe if you want to take time to relax between school and trying to get that assistant thing, that's okay!" he said. He was proud of her for finding something to do.

"I mean, I know that I want to either do something with history or Quidditch myself, but if that doesn't work out, it's okay to take some time to figure the next steps out, right? That's what I think you would tell me, anyway," he said with a grin. He knew that Annie would pretty much tell him the same thing if their roles were reversed.

He smiled softly as Annie bumped their shoulders together, trying to keep himself from being emotional. He just felt a little sad that she wasn't going to be there at the school next term. "I'm always happy to hear your advice," he said with a hum. "You always knew what to say to help me get through my anxiety," he added.

Annie got emotional at Landon's words and Landon rested his hand on hers for a moment before the snack trolley cart made itself known outside their doors. He watched as Annie got up and smiled fondly as she changed the subject. "Sounds good," he said and got up to help pick out some snacks as well. "Thank you," he said softly, nudging her shoulder. It was obvious he wasn't talking about the snacks, but he wasn't going to make things emotional again.