Interacting with: @Summer Lancaster Mentioning: N/A Date: 03/28/25

Word Count: 245

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The spring sun warmed the air as fluffy white clouds dotted the sky. It was a beautiful day and perfect to spend time outside. Dylan was excited since it would only be a couple more days until he left this place to visit Hogwarts for the ball. He couldn’t wait to see his cousin, Avery again. He had missed her dearly over the time that they had been separated. But before he left, he wanted to do something fun. Something memorable enough to leave a lasting impact. A picnic. Dylan had read about picnics from a muggle book and he couldn’t wait to try it out! Of course he has invited Summer to join since she was pretty much the first person he ever met at Ilvermony and they had become good friends since then. Dylan had managed to convince his mother to send him a picnic blanket via owl a couple days before, and he had managed to find some extra food he had laid on the blanket. It was amazing. He breathed in the fresh spring air as he awaited his friend’s arrival. Today was going to be a good day. Dylan was sure of that! It was just too beautiful and warm out for him to miss a chance like this! A chance where he could be outside by the lake and enjoy the scenery of America. It wasn’t like his real home, but it was good enough for the time being.

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It was that time of year when the weather was just easing up and the coldness in the air was slowly starting to melt away. It was the time when it wasn't quite spring yet but it just didn't fell like winter. It's spinter! No, that sounds like splinter, it's wing! Hmm... winting? Whatever! Summer thought as she skipped out to Ilvermorny grounds. Boy had she changed a lot this year. She was no longer that girl who didn't talk and just kept her head down, she actually talked and held her head up! Well... maybe just talk a little. To a select few. Marshmallows sure helped though.

Why was she skipping out to the grounds though? She had been invited to a picnic, by one of her best friends, Dylan. Marshmallows helped with the friendship a little. As did crashing into each other! Summer enjoyed spending time with Dylan, they both were not born in America and would have probably been at Hogwarts right now, instead of being there in a few days.

Summer arrived at the grounds and noticed Dylan sitting on a picnic blanket. She smiled and walked over to him. She was carrying a basket of mini cakes, frosted with toasted marshmallow frosting. Yes, maybe her marshmallow obsession was a bit much, but how could she resist their sort, melt in your mouth goodness!

She walked over to him and sat down, placing her basket down, she smiled, "Hi Dylan! Thanks for setting this up!"

Interacting with: @Dylan Astor
Word count: 249
OOC Notes: Sorry this took so long!

Interacting with: @Summer Lancaster Mentioning: N/A Date: 03/28/25

Word Count: 226

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Dylan was happy to see probably his closest or even best friend at Ilvermony, Summer, walk up to him. A basket probably full of delicious treats lying inside. A smile lit his face as she sat down. Her joy contagious. That was one thing Dylan had always admired about the girl. Even though she had never had things easy, she still held her head high and appreciated the world around her. Spreading her bubbly side to even the darkest of corners. She was a lot like him, though. Quiet, shy, introverted when others tried to interact, but unlike Dylan she seemed to be way more out of her shell than he was. Dylan still felt the same as always. Quiet and reserved except when around friends or people he trusted. Sometimes it was a good thing, but other times that side of him didn’t work too well. “Hi Summer! Thanks for coming and bringing some more food and treats!” Dylan said brightly. A smile lighting his face. Dylan moved over on the blanket so there would be enough room for both them and the basket. The blanket wasn’t huge, but it served its purpose as something that would come in handy for a picnic. Sitting on a blanket beat sitting on the ground and getting wet any day. Especially when the day was sunny and promising.

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Summer smiled at Dylan when he said hi. She opened up her basket of cakes and took two out, placing them on one of the little plates she brought. They were chocolate cakes, with a marshmallow frosting that she had toasted and some crushed graham crackers on top to complete the s'mores. Okay, actually she hadn’t mad them, but her mom had so that had to count for something?

She handed him a plate saying, “Are you excited to go to Hogwarts soon for the ball?”

Summer sure was, she hadn’t been back to England- well technically they were going to Scotland- in… 6 years, more then half of the time she has been living! She smiled at the thought, she couldn’t wait! She could she Ellie again! They could share everything that had happened and… wait, what if Ellie had found someone to replace her? Summer’s smiled dropped and she dug her fork into the cake. She bit into the cake, letting the rich chocolate and soft marshmallows desolve her fears. Besides, she was here, in the Ilvermorny grounds, with her new friend, her first one, in a long time. She shouldn’t be worrying about the future, she should just enjoy what was going on now, the picnic with Dylan.

interacting with @Dylan Astor
Mentioning @Ellie Randensmith
OOC Notes: sorry for the lateness
Word Count: 211

Interacting with: @Summer Lancaster Mentioning: N/A Date: September 2025

Word Count: 273

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Dylan’s eyes widened in excitement at the sight of the cake. The airy look of the slice of chocolate cake with the gooey burnt marshmallow on top paired with the crumbled graham crackers sealed the deal for him. He carefully took the plate as it stared back at him. Calling to him. Dylan almost missed Summer’s question directed at him, but he quickly recovered his composure before saying, “I guess so. Honestly, I never thought balls were my thing thanks to my mom always taken me to the pureblood parties, but the spring ball at Hogwarts was greatly entertaining.” A broad smile spread across his face at the memory of seeing his cousin have a ‘love at first sight’ moment of her own. It was something he would never let her forget. Especially after the letters he had caught glimpses of over the summer and the amount of time his cousin had spent with the guy she had fallen for. Mikey. Dylan always enjoyed watching them interact and he couldn’t wait for the day that they would finally admit their feelings for each other. “What about you? Are you excited for the fall ball?” Dylan asked. Not wanting to be rude. Dylan watched as the smile on Summer’s face fell and concern filled his features. “Are you okay? Did I saw something that bothered you?” He didn’t know what else to say as his inexperience with girls began to show even more than usual. Summer was his first friend since moving to America and he didn’t want to mess everything up like the last time he had tried to make friends with someone.

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"I've never been to a ball. My family was pretty separated from the pure blood side of things even though we are pure blood." Summer said with a laugh. It was amazing how much she had changed from the sorta quiet kid in the beginning of the year.

The previous ball she had been to had been okay she guessed. She hadn't seen Ellie at all and mostly kept to herself. It was sorta boring. Summer wasn't really keen on "balls". Dancing with others and watching others dance wasn't really her thing. And technically she hadn't even doe the first one! She just watched some older kids kiss and dance... defiantly not her thing. She had gone inside to try dancing a little last year but failed and went to the drink table where she got bored quickly so she went back to where the Ilvermorny students were staying.

"Ehh" Summer said, in response to Dylan's question if she was excited to go to the ball. He obviously noticed her face fell after that and asked if she was ok, "Yeah, it's just, never mind, overthinking everything" She laughed hoping he would forget.

To cover up, she quickly brought up the first thing that came to mind; the s'mores cake that was currently in front of both her and Dylan. "Sooooo, what do you think of the cake? I hope the chocolates not to overpowering!"

@Dylan Astor
word Count: 235

Interacting with: @Summer Lancaster Mentioning: N/A Date: September 2025

Word Count: 232

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Dylan's eyes widened in surprise at what Summer said. "You're probably one of the luckiest pureblooded families. My parents dragged me to pretty much every event whenever I used to live in Wales, but we don't really go to them anymore since we moved to America." Dylan explained with a sigh. Relieved that he didn't have to be tortured by dressing up and acting like a sophisticated son of a sophisticated family. It was exhausting, honestly. Dylan nodded in understanding when she said she was overthinking. Dylan had done plenty of that lately as he tried to sort out everything in his life. Ever since he had returned to Ilvermony after spending his entire summer in Wales, yet again Dylan wasn't adjusting well. Not only was the time change difficult, but the thought of not being able to see any of his family until the fall ball was torture. He missed all of them dearly, and it was already hard enough moving back. He just hoped his grandfather would last until Dylan could at least say goodbye. After the heavy thoughts, Dylan was excited to finally talk about the cake. "It's amazing! I really need to get this recipe for my mom. She loved to bake until we moved, so maybe this will be enough to convince her to try baking as a hobby again." A bright smile lit his face again.

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Summer laughed at Dylan's comment about being the luckiest Pureblood. She sure didn't feel like it. While she might not have enjoyed lavish party's, she sure had had her own torture. Like the classes her mom had signed her up for with some rude parent. Even a party sounded better than sitting through one of those again.

"I get that. My parents used to hang out with friends all the time but when we moved, they where either home, or at work. And at least you know how to act at partys! I'm just some awkward girl, standing in a corner." She smiled. She always talked about England like they had moved yesterday but she hadn't been back in forever and the move had been over five years ago. But for some reason, that was the part of her life she could never forget.

"It's crazy how people change after something major happens in their life. It's like..." Summer trailed off, not sure where to take that one so instead she took another bite of her cake.

It was weird though. Her parents had been generally social people and Dylan's seemed that that too. But once they moved to America, they seemed way more involved in her life and in their work then trying to make more friends. Moving, had been hard for them, especially her parents who had lived in England their whole life. Summer had really know what England had ment to her until they had moved, now it was like a constant pebble in her shoe. Always nagging. But yet, she didn't want to forget it.

"Oh thanks! It's my mom's recipe. I can get it for you if you would like? She loves sharing her cooking! Or at least she did! You'll have to tell me about your mothers attempt!" Summer smiled. She was glad he liked it.

@Dylan Astor
Word Count: 312

Interacting with: @Summer Lancaster Mentioning: N/A Date: September 2025

Word Count: 255

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Dylan nodded in complete understanding. He couldn't believe how similar he and Summer were when they dived deeper into their pasts. It made him feel less alone. Less likely to be left out of a group because he didn't fit in. He wasn't American. Didn't have an American accent, and didn't even know the American traditions even though he had lived there since he was eight. Maybe that was why he yearned so badly to go back to his home in Wales where he was free. Where he fit it. Where a Welsh accent made sense instead of being tagged as the outcast. "It feels nice to not feel alone. It's crazy how similar our lives really are and how I feel like I've known you forever even though we've only known each other for a short time." Dylan sighed. Time really did fly. Dylan's face lit up when Summer said she didn't mind getting the recipe from her mom. Dylan was glad about that. As much as he didn't want to force her to give it to him, he was still glad that she was willing. Even if her mom didn't want to give the recipe out, Dylan also didn't mind. "I'll keep that in mind! It probably won't turn out as good as this, but it will hopefully still be good!" Dylan smiled.

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When Summer was with Dylan, it was easy for her to forget about all the world around her. It was like she was alone with the one person who she could connect with and didn't think she was crazy. "It is crazy. We only met at the beginning of the school year, but I feel like a know you better then anyone I've met in America." Summer said softly.

She felt she better know Dylan more than she did all the people in her school before Ilvermorny. She had seen a couple of them around, but most of them were squibs. She had never really talked and the teacher hated her, making her not want to talk even more. Something about Dylan made her want to talk though.

Summer smiled and laughed when Dylan said his wouldn't come out as good. She remembered how many tries it had taken her mother to do it right. The cake would be raw, but the marshmallows on top were perfect or the marshmallows where burnt but the cake was perfect. It certainly was a challenging recipe, no doubt. "When you make it, you'll have to share it! I can't wait to see how yours tastes! It took my mother forever to get the recipe right, so don't be surprised if it takes awhile. Not that I don't think you'll do good of course!"

@Dylan Astor
Word Count: 230
OOC Note: I want marshmallow cake...