Candles
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| xxx | Lottie hadn't had a proper birthday party in a long time. Back in Cambridge, birthdays were just another passing festivity. There would perhaps be a few presents and a treat or two, but Delphine had never been raised on birthdays, so neither were her children. Lottie, though, had the special privilege of an older sister with too many principles and a knack for theft. Every night on November 27th, after the house had gone silent with slumber and the middle Winfield's room was illuminated only by pale moonlight, Anadil would creep in with a small cake. She would sing a soft song, a roughly translated birthday jingle in Veela, and then present three candles for Lottie to blow out. These memories only came in brief snatches to Lottie. The glow of warm candle-light on her cream walls, the sharp smell of the flames being snuffed out, the taste of hazelnut and chocolate on her tongue, caught on a laugh. After Anadil left, so did the tradition. It had been a very long while since Lottie had gotten a cake. So, she thought, perhaps it was time to do something for herself. Winter break was just around the bend, and luckily there was still plenty of clean ground for Lottie to gently set out a thin picnic blanket. She had chosen a spot far enough away from prying eyes that she could easily set out a small array of treats and, of course, the cake. Strawberries, grapes, chocolate covered peanuts, everything that could melt in one's mouth and make them forget about all their troubles was strewn about on the blanket. Lottie had sent a demanding letter to her sister and received the recipe for her old cake from Anadil, then promptly messed it up three times before she managed a sloppy hazelnut-chocolate cake. Setting it in the center of the blanket, she gently stuck three candles into the center. | xxx |
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| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
Candles
As the school year progressed, the weather outside grew colder. It often took a lot to force Kaitlyn to abandon the thought of spending time outside. That was often dedicated to when it turned incredibly cold outside and was snow-covered. Even then, she loved going outside for a run in the early morning. So, nothing could physically keep her in her dorm for too long. Right now was one of the times when Kait could feel the cooler weather. As much as she liked to be outside, it was starting to get too cold for her to ignore the nippy wind.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that Kait was skipping outside through the grounds, with her hands shoved into the pockets of her skirt. The young prefect was often pretty shy, and she didn’t talk as much with her fellow students as she probably should. Combined with her social anxiety, she had no idea how to behave half the time. Yet, she clearly changed over the few years that she was at Hogwarts. At the very least, she was no longer the shy mess that she was as a young firstie, having trouble talking due to her stutter.
The lack of social engagement, however, also meant that Kaitlyn wasn’t well-versed about the students she considered her friends … and even acquaintances. It was frankly a part of her life that she needed to work on. Sure, the shyness wasn’t something that would be easily changed. But, she needed to be more physically present for her friends, and to do a better job engaging in social activities and events.
When Kaitlyn was first named a prefect, one of the areas of Hogwarts that she was supposed to patrol was the grounds. That simple fact made her very excited. Even with the cold weather, she loved patrolling the grounds. Additionally, it provided her with an extra incentive to exercise more. What a win-win situation! At least, it was in her opinion.
Kaitlyn was rarely the type of prefect who would run around trying to find rulebreakers, and personally dreaded the idea of having to hand out detentions. For that very reason, she tended to keep her detention criteria close to her chest. She wasn’t the type to get mad so easily, and routinely described herself as pretty laid-back to most innocent rule breaks.
Despite her lack of desire to lay down the rules to the ’t,’ Kaitlyn was perfecting the prefect sweeps to make sure she covered her entire patrol region. Hence, she noticed what looked like a picnic set up with … wait, was that cake? Her blue eyes fluttered to the occupant on the picnic blanket. A girl she recognized from Slytherin in her year, Charlotte. Apparently, she was alone?
With a mental shrug, Kaitlyn skipped over to Lottie and smiled at her. “Hi Lottie. This looks like a nice spread,” she continued, as she glanced at the various foods and the cake.
Word Count: 495 words
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| xxx | Lottie had intended to spend this birthday alone. In fact, she had no qualms with being alone, despite how itchy it made her and how it seemed to make her throat go all tight and her heart beat faster. Really, she had no problem with it. She liked being alone. She liked when her mind started to spiral, really she did. So, of course, it could not have been relief that she felt when the sound of crunching leaves grew closer and closer, before stopping behind her. It wasn't gratitude she felt when she turned around to find the third year prefect, Kaitlyn Connor, admiring her small meal with a look of considerable interest on her face. It wasn't at all intentional that Lottie had brought a large amount of food just in the rare case that perhaps someone would stumble upon her lonesome little party and ask to join. Not at all. She would admit to startling a bit at the appearance of the other girl. Lottie had only seen her in passing, dutifully patrolling the halls or eating quietly in the Great Hall. Admittedly, Lottie knew very little about the other girl, despite them being from the same year and sharing a solid chunk of classes. Curiosity was quick to override her caution, though she had to forcibly stop herself from breaking down all her walls just yet. "Er- thank you," Lottie replied, shifting slightly to create more room on the blanket despite her better judgement. It did look a bit pathetic, all this food with no one to share it with. "I was just... celebrating." It occurred to her very suddenly that showing and telling were two very different things here. Yes, she had a cake, and yes, it had candles, but did that automatically mean "birthday?" She really didn't want to have to tell any passersby that she was celebrating her birthday out on on the grounds in the middle of a cold day with no one but the memory of her sister and her own bloody mind. She rubbed at her arms awkwardly, warring between the honest truth and some other, easier lie that could make this seem any less pitiful. | xxx |
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| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
Candles
Due to her social anxiety, Kaitlyn typically spent some time alone. Sure, she had friends and would spend time with them on occasion. But, she also didn’t like burdening them, either. So, she didn’t press to hang out with anyone too much. For that matter, she also wasn’t trying to impress anyone. Regardless, her alone time was usually very comfortable despite the silence. Due to this, she was attuned to spot other students who were similar to her in wanting solitude.
As a young prefect, she kept a close eye on students who wanted solitude. After all, Hogwarts was meant to be a safe learning environment for all, extrovert or introvert. She also liked to keep an eye out for other muggleborn students, as well. She viewed it as paying support forward, where she’d try her best to be a good support system for muggleborn students, like herself … especially for the first years. She remembered all too well just how scary and different it was to come to Hogwarts and be thrust into a magical environment. Yes, she had her twin sister, Abigail, but that didn’t make the experience any less scary.
Glancing at Lottie, Kaitlyn had to wonder if she wanted to be alone. The fact that this little setup was away from most prying eyes (although not hers) would make it seem like that was the intention. Then again, who was she to guess what Lottie was thinking? It wasn’t like she knew the other Slytherin girl that well to be able to guess, anyway. And yet, something propelled her to want to stay … or at least to try to stay … and hopefully not be an unwelcome visitor.
If Kaitlyn had to guess, this picnic set up kind of looked like a birthday celebration. For whom, she had no idea. Lottie’s answer didn’t give anything away. Guarded. Who could blame her, of course? Kait was far too polite to attempt to extract information. Not to mention her years of etiquette classes, as well. She tried her best to be careful. She gave Lottie a kind smile as she moved over on the blanket to create more room. Was that an invitation?
“Thank you,” Kait replied quietly, as she joined Lottie on the blanket. She gently played with one of her pigtail braids while crossing her legs at her ankles. “You don’t need a reason to celebrate. I celebrate every day by hugging random trees on the grounds,” she continued, throwing in a little humor. While she had no idea what Lottie was celebrating, she wasn’t going to ask and wouldn’t pressure her to do so, either. If the other girl wanted to sit in silence, Kait would respect that as well.
Word Count: 456 words
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| xxx | Lottie pulled her legs up to her chest, looking out at the expanse of fall trees just waiting for snow to cap off their bare arms. She understood the peculiarity of her situation, her lone picnic on a cold day outside. She was glad, though, that it had been Kaitlyn of all people to stumble upon her little array, mostly because Kaitlyn seemed equally as peculiar. She seemed fairly open to Lottie's silent invitation to join, and the two settled neatly on the small blanket. Lottie had considered trying for prefect a long while back, but the idea frightened her a smidge. All those people relying on you to know things, to be a guide and an advisor and a friend. Late nights spent on patrol, long meetings, the expectations from hundreds of staff, students, and wizards. Lottie could sympathize with the other girl, but she could also respect her dedication to such an elaborate craft. Leadership was no easy trait to develop, in fact, Lottie could hardly boss around her little siblings. Lottie gave Kaitlyn an odd look at the statement, her lips cracking into a slightly confused smile. She felt a bit of guilt at that, Kaitlyn's admirable attempts to relate to the girl and Lottie's much more simple reason for the celebration. "Right, yes, well I..." Lottie shifted a bit, crossing her legs beneath her. "It's my birthday, actually." | xxx |
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| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
Candles
While Kaitlyn was well aware of her shyness and social anxiety, she also didn’t let those factors significantly impact her while she was patrolling as a prefect. Yes, she rarely got other students in trouble and hadn’t issued a detention at all. To put it mildly, she wasn’t looking to do so, either. Right now, however, wasn’t the time to think about her prefect duties. For right now, she was Kaitlyn, a fellow third-year Slytherin. Half the time, she hid her prefect badge for that very aspect.
A kind smile danced on Kaitlyn’s lips, and she tilted her head to the side at Lottie’s admission. While she wasn’t fishing for information, this was a rather curious sight. The more surprising part of it was that Lottie had volunteered the information without Kait having to mention it. The fact that this setup was meant to celebrate a birthday made a lot of sense … especially the inclusion of the cake.
With that being said, it also opened many more questions! Just why was Lottie sitting outside alone to celebrate her birthday? Why was there so much food here if she planned for this to be a solo celebration? Why celebrate in such an open area if this was meant to be private? Hadn’t other students been invited? None of those had good answers. Not to mention, she was also far too polite and careful to even ask. It wasn’t her business to do so, either.
Her fingertips grazed her pigtail braid again, and Kaitlyn nodded … no judgment evident in her features. “Happy Birthday, Lottie,” she smiled again. “And thank you for letting me join you to celebrate your birthday,” she continued. If she had known in advance, she would’ve brought a gift. At the sight of this, however, perhaps her presence was good enough? “How were you planning to celebrate?” She asked, quietly. Although a birthday party was nice, the other activities would help set the mood. But, she wasn’t going to be pushy.
Word Count: 334 words
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| xxx | Lottie was at once struck by the softness of this other girl, her kind smile and the warmth that seemed to radiate from her. It made Lottie feel all fuzzy, content in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time. It was a wonder how one person could be so good, beaming with a quiet kindness that immediately soothed the heartache that had been buried deep within Lottie. In fear that she would ruin the calm moment by saying something wrong, Lottie carefully plucked a strawberry from its container and popped it in her mouth. Sweetness melted into her mouth, overriding her senses in favor of momentary pure bliss. She held a hand to her mouth as she chewed, letting a careful silence slip between the two before swallowing. "I do appreciate that," she replied to the kind birthday wishes, a dim smile ghosting over her face before she smothered it with the back of her hand. "I suppose I was just going to... sit here. Eat my cake." She motioned to the slightly uneven brown cake at the head of the blanket, one of the candles beginning to slide off the edge. With the tip of her finger, she pushed it back into place, then glanced at Katelyn. "I didn't make a whole lot, but you're welcome to have some." | xxx |
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Candles | |
| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
Candles
Naturally, Kaitlyn was curious about why Lottie was celebrating her birthday alone on the grounds with a bunch of snacks and the cake. It wasn’t the picture that she had in mind when it came to birthday parties. But she was far too polite to ask and didn’t want to judge her fellow Slytherin. It wasn’t her place to cast judgment on anything. As such, she maintained her kind smile. To be fair, she wasn’t the type who wanted a big birthday bash for her birthday, either.
Kaitlyn looked at the cake Lottie mentioned and smiled. Her fingertips played with her pigtail braids again. “No worries! If you don’t mind me having some, I’d love to,” she smiled again. “I think it’s great that you made the cake yourself. If you don’t mind me asking, what type of cake is it?” She asked.
Being polite, Kaitlyn hadn’t attempted to eat anything until she was given permission. It was a common courtesy mentioned in her etiquette class at St. Ann’s. It was more accurate to say that it was one of many lessons from that etiquette class. Just like not sitting until she was offered. When she was a first-year, she easily abandoned the idea of the other students at Hogwarts being polite back to her … even when she was stuttering. Of course, that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t try her best to be polite … just that she could slack off a little … even if it was just a little bit.
Word Count: 253 words
Candles
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| xxx | Lottie knew it wasn't an impressive display, but Kaitlyn didn't seem to mind. The Slytherin girl hadn't initially intended to spend her birthday in the company of a partial-stranger, but now that she was here, it didn't seem so bad. Finally, she allowed a small smile to snake across her face, a private expression that carefully chipped away at the remaining walls she had set between herself and Kaitlyn. After all, Lottie always forgot how much she hated being alone. "It's hazelnut and chocolate," Lottie replied, reaching into her bag and rummaging through its overlapping contents, "I liked it a lot when I was little. Haven't had it in a bit though, but- Merlin, where is it?" Lottie was one moment away from upending her bag on the blanket when she finally determined she did not have anything to cut this cake with. She glanced back at the asymmetrical sweet, then around the table for anything that could replace a knife. In the end, she came up empty-handed. With a defeated sigh, she finally plucked out her wand. "Bloody hell," She muttered, giving Kaitlyn an odd glance, "One moment. Diffindo!" In one quick slice, the cake was split in two uneven chunks. She repeated this once more and finally managed a half-decent slice, of which she gently slid onto a paper plate and offered to Kaitlyn. "It's quite good, if memory serves me right." | xxx |
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Candles | |
| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
Candles
A kind smile formed on Kaitlyn’s lips. Her eyes glanced at the cake, and she nodded. Even as a young girl, she enjoyed baking. Sadly, since coming to Hogwarts, she hadn’t been able to bake yet at Hogwarts. It was simply a travesty! She’d have to see if she could now, as a young third-year student. “Hazelnut and chocolate,” she repeated. “I can’t say I’ve used that combination before, but it sounds tasty, and like something I should try sometime.”
While Kaitlyn could have easily taken out her own wand to help Lottie, Kaitlyn kept her hands in her lap. She didn’t want to overstep her welcome for Lottie’s birthday. After all, the last thing that she wanted to do was to make this about herself. That would never be her intention, and was one of … admittedly many … reasons why she didn’t gloat about herself. Then again, you’d have a hard time identifying a time when she did gloat about herself.
The young Slytherin gently played with her pigtail braids as she watched Lottie cut the cake with a diffindo … er, two diffindo’s. Kaitlyn beamed and accepted the slice of cake. “Thank you, Lottie.” It was an invitation to taste said cake, one that she wasn’t about to ignore. Those years of etiquette training instilled in her a deep understanding of these different social norms.
Kaitlyn felt slightly awkward eating with her hands. She learned the intricate and delicate use of silverware from St. Ann’s … from the more traditional table setting to the very fancy setting of intricate parties. Needless to say, she wasn’t exactly exposed to intricate parties with any form of consistency anymore … at least when she was home, at any rate.
Despite feeling nervous, Kaitlyn delicately tore a piece from the slice offered to her, and she popped it in her mouth. Even with just one chew, her taste buds were overwhelmed by the intricate flavors of hazelnut and chocolate. She hummed happily with her eyes closed, as she slowly swallowed the pieces of cake. At the last swallow from her first taste of the cake, her eyes quickly popped back open.
Looking back at Lottie, Kaitlyn beamed. “This cake is delicious!” She exclaimed.
Word Count: 372 words