First Years Dorms

by Guest Sun Dec 18, 2011 4:08 pm

Alys hadn't been entirely sure what to expect but it certainly wasn't a comfortably furnished room with a row of beds. Always used to having her privacy, the witch wasn't sure how she would cope in a room with other occupants. Wondering which bed she could claim without offending any other Muhe first year girls, the witch settled for one in the far corner by the window. Sure, it might get cold if the panes were left open but watching the snow from behind closed glass was pretty, especially when she won't have to feel it.

Finding her trunk and holdall by one of the cupboards, the witch dragged them to her chosen bed and unpacked her night things before heading off to an adjoining spacious bathroom where she brushed her teeth and combed out her hair. When she was young, Mama used to sit with her for hours running a comb through her curls. "To make them shiny" she used to say and now as Alys performed that bedtime ritual, she realized how much she missed her parents. already.

I'll write to them tomorrow, she promised herself, heading back to her bed, changed and ready to tuck in.

by Guest Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:37 pm

Zara sighed as she made her way to the first year, girls' dorm. She was ready for bed and the stairs ahead of her were making her want to sleep on the floor in the common room just to avoid them. Sluggishly, she made her way up them.

She hoped that the girls here were nice and not like some of the snobs she'd met in America. Of course, part of that problem could stem from her inability to make friends easily, but what can you do?

She spotted her trunk in the hallway and grabbed it, using all of her weight to push it into the dimly lit room where she'd be sleeping for the next year. Unfortunately, the trunk got the best of her when it snagged on a peice of wood and sent her tripping over it and almost onto the floor.

"Son of a Herbert!" Zara yelled, unaware of anyone else being around.

by Guest Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:49 pm

Alys had made it back to her bed and was in the process of placing a family photograph on her bedside table when she heard someone coming in. Surprised that someone would be later than even herself, the witch turned just in time to see the redhead's trunk trip the poor girl in a bad way. She was just about to offer some help when the girl cursed.

"Son of a Herbert!"

Involuntarily, the blonde giggled. The girl had a slight American accent so maybe the swear was an American slang? Smiling, Alys walked over to the other witch and offered her a hand. "I'm not laughing at you," she said, her blue eyes twinkling. "Just at Herbert, and his parents, whoever they may be."

by Guest Sun Jan 01, 2012 5:04 pm

Zara looked up from her place on her trunk at the sound of a giggle. A blush spread across her face, making her slight freckles blend into her nose. A blond stood in front of her and offered a hand.

"I'm not laughing at you," she said, her blue eyes twinkling. "Just at Herbert, and his parents, whoever they may be."

Laughing off her trip, she took the hand, climbed over her trunk, and stood in front of the girl.

"Herbert is not a real person. I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of people named Herbert around but I haven't met one. Yet. It's just a bad habit that I picked up from my Father. He is completely unable to watch his mouth around me so he comes up with creative words that don't sound half as bad coming from an eleven year old." Zara's blush deepened at her rambling. She was speaking so fast that she was sure the blond didn't understand a word of it. She took a deep breath to calm herself and stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Zara. Thanks for the help up."

by Guest Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:19 pm

Hearing Zara speak of her Papa like that made Alys smile even more, glad that she wasn't the only one who would be missing her parents.

"Well, as long as you never use the word 'Alys' because that's my name," she said brightly when the girl thanked her for the help up. "Your Papa sounds really funny," she added moving beside the other witch and gesturing for them to both push the trunk together. She still remembered how she had to fight with her own luggage on the ship and if she could save this girl from a similar fate, then she would.

"Where should we stow this? Have you chosen a bed?"

by Guest Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:18 pm

A bed.
Zara hadn't really looked around since she walked in, with her face in her trunk and all. She wasn't too picky though. To her, a bed is a bed.

"As long as it's warm, I don't really care."

Alys helped her move the trunk to the second bed closest to the window (the closer one already taken, presumedly by her) and helped her flip it over to open it. She paused on opening it, choosing instead to sit down.
"Papa is hilarious. I'm going to miss him. This is the longest we have ever been apart."

by Guest Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:48 pm

"As long as it's warm, I don't really care."

"Oh, I can vouch for its warmth," Alys supplied as she helped Zara move her trunk to the bed next to her own. With a heave, the girls managed to get it up on the bed before Zara sank down on it herself, out of breath. Alys herself was struggling to catch her breath and sat down across the trunk from the other witch.

When the girl mentioned her Papa and how she would miss her, Alys smiled and pointed to the framed photograph of herself and her parents at her own nightstand. "That's my family over there," she said with a fond look in her eyes. "I've never been away from them too. And I don't know how I'm going to survive without Mama's cooking."

by Guest Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:04 pm

"That's my family over there," she said with a fond look in her eyes. "I've never been away from them too. And I don't know how I'm going to survive without Mama's cooking."

Zara looked at the picture Alys had gestured too. The frame wasn't too elaborate, but it was pretty with the dim lights, of the room, glinting off of the silver. The moving picture showed Alys standing in front of two older blonds, her mama and papa, all three have rosy cheeks and smiling faces. She smiled and popped the locks on her trunk, lifting the lid enough to reach in with her hand. She grabbed two pictures and pushed the trunk to the end of the bed, plopping down next to Alys.

"This is Papa and Nanna," she said, handing the biggest one to her. "It was taken at her house in Ohio this past summer."

by Guest Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:58 am

Alys took the picture carefully from Zara and smiled at the scene displayed within. Ohio, that was in the states, she knew. An elderly woman stood with a man who was unmistakably Zara's Papa. He had the same mischievous eyes and tentative but warm smile as the other witch did.

"You should put this right over... there," the blonde said, setting the photograph on Zara's nightstand. Gesturing to the other picture, she asked "and who's in there?"

by Guest Wed Jan 04, 2012 6:35 am

Zara watched as Alys placed the frame carefully on her nightstand in the best position too see it from any spot in the room. Smiling, she offered the smaller picture to the witch when she moved back to her spot on the bed.

"This is my Mum and I. It was taken a few months before she died a few years ago. Papa refuses to tell me what she died from but I know it has something to do with the war." Zara hadn't meant to sound as bitter as she did, but she really wanted to know what happened and couldn't wait until her father thought she was old enough to know the truth. She pushed that to the back of her mind, for now, and continued speaking, a smile creeping back onto her face.
"Mama and I planted the garden in the background. It took us two springs to finally figure out how to get the flowers to grow and stay alive through the entire season."

by Guest Wed Jan 04, 2012 6:49 am

Alys wishes she could do something about the sadness in Zara's voice when she mentioned her Mama. Taking the picture carefully from her hand, the blonde gasped. Ava's Mama looked exactly like her, except older. They had the same red hair, the same facial features and even the same lithe built. The woman in the picture clearly loved her daughter a lot as she was hugging the child and smiling wide for everyone to see.

"She's very pretty," Alys said softly. It made her sad to think so many people didn't have one or both of their parents. "My parents always say that war is the root of all evil, and that by taking sides, we only encourage it."

The girl laughed as Zara explained how much trouble it had taken herself and her Mama to plant the garden. "She should have tried better spells. My Papa has one that makes roses grow blue because Mama and I like them so much."

by Guest Wed Jan 04, 2012 6:57 pm

Zara's eyes widened at the girl's comment. "Woah, blue roses? I have never seen anything like that!"'

Being raised by Muggles had it's advantages and disavantages and she learned, at a young age, that she was going to experience different things than she would in a normal magical family. But, Zara being Zara, loved being different than others and wouldn't have it any other way. She considered it having the best of both worlds.

"Both of my parents are muggles." she continued, a chuckle lacing her voice at the memory she was sharing. "The magic gene skipped a generation and jumped into my body, so Mama and I had to build that garden with our bare hands."

by Guest Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:49 am

Alys blinked at the new bit of information. So Zara's parents were Muggles. Of course, the blonde knew of such cases but had never met a witch or wizard who actually had Muggle parents. A million questions were lining up in her head but she didn't think it would be polite to ask at this point.

"I'm not new to Muggles," she admitted honestly. "We live among them, and my best friend from primary school is also a Muggle. But I've tried gardening your way and its really sweaty work," she finished with a grin. "Though I can tell your Mama and you didn't mind the work," she added, gesturing to the happy faces in the picture.

by Guest Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:35 pm

Zara braced herself for some sort of negative reaction to her revelation. She was used to people, from the wizarding world, either bombarding her with questions about muggles or looking down on her because of her lineage. She really liked this girl already, so she hoped the later wouldn't happen; the questions she didn't mind, much. What really surprised her was when her new room mate did neither.

"I'm not new to Muggles," she admitted honestly. "We live among them, and my best friend from primary school is also a Muggle. But I've tried gardening your way and its really sweaty work," she finished with a grin. "Though I can tell your Mama and you didn't mind the work," she added, gesturing to the happy faces in the picture.

Zara silent sigh of relief turned in to a giggle at Alys' statement.

"We didn't mind it at all. It was a lot of fun, actually. Of course, we made Papa do all of the digging and we planted all of the seeds."

by Guest Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:19 am

As the witch beside her giggled, Alys felt her own lips curling into as smile. "Just the way its done in any house then. Mama makes Papa do all the gardening, and she makes him clean the shed religiously too. He must do a great job because I've never seen the place dirty even once."

The blonde parted her lips to laugh again but instead, let out a huge yawn, making her realize how late it really was. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized to Zara "You must be tired out. And we have classes starting tomorrow."

by Guest Fri Jan 06, 2012 6:31 pm

The blonde parted her lips to laugh again but instead, let out a huge yawn, making her realize how late it really was. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized to Zara "You must be tired out. And we have classes starting tomorrow."

"No problem. I honestly forgot how tired I was when my face decided to get personal with my trunk. Just stop yawning, Nanna says that yawning is con...tag...ious..." The red head released a yawn herself and chuckled right after. Alys moved to her bed and Zara pulled essentials, for bed, from her trunk and decided to clean her bed off the way she did at home. She locked the trunk up and pushed it off the end of the bed and onto the floor starting on her way to the bathroom. But not before turning back to her blond roomate.

"You'll probably be asleep by the time I finish. I promise to be quiet when I come out. I'd like to hear about your family the next time we have a chance like this. Pleasant dreams!"

by Guest Sat Jan 07, 2012 3:34 am

"No problem. I honestly forgot how tired I was when my face decided to get personal with my trunk. Just stop yawning, Nanna says that yawning is con...tag...ious..."

This time, the witch really did laugh as Zara let out a yawn of her own. It was late, no wonder their body was reminding them they needed rest.

"We'll have a lot of time to talk, we're housemates now," Alys assured the girl as Zara grabbed her things and headed off to the bathroom. The blonde climbed into her own bed but decided to wait for the other girl instead. Every day, her Mama was the last one to say goodnight to her and it didn't feel right going to sleep without saying it and hearing it back.

The witch hugged her knees as she sat on top of the overs, waiting for Zara to return.

OOC: Dark blue font for my poor eyes, if you use a darker color, it would be much appreciated.

by Guest Sat Jan 07, 2012 7:47 pm

Zara was surprised when she walked out of the bathroom to see Alys sitting up in her bed. She expected the blond to be asleep by now.

"Why are you still awake," she asked, walking over to her bed. The room seemed colder in her night clothes but the thin, monkey clad outfit was her favorite and reminded her of home. She'd always need to wear cooler pajamas when her dog, Sparky, crawled into bed with her.

She crawled into bed, without her dog, and pulled the covers up to her neck, almost immediately, relishing in the warmth.

by Guest Sun Jan 08, 2012 2:11 am

"You didn't expect me to sleep without saying good night, did you?" the witch grinned as she watched Zara pull the covers up over her body and huddle in them like a cocoon. The idea had merit. Getting off her own comforter, the witch slipped under her bed covers and mimicked the girl.

"The last thing I heard before going to sleep everyday was Mama yelling good night to me because I wouldn't let her tuck me in proper after I turned nine," she said, remembering her mother's voice floating up the stairs, telling her to sleep well. I miss it now, she blonde added silently to herself.

by Guest Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:40 pm

"The last thing I heard before going to sleep everyday was Mama yelling good night to me because I wouldn't let her tuck me in proper after I turned nine."

Zara chuckled and the chuckle turned into another yawn. "Papa wouldn't allow me to go to bed unless he tucked me in. He said it was his right as a father and I wasn't allowed to object."

She cuddled up into the thick quilt, "Goodnight Alys. It was nice to meet you."

by Guest Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:20 am

"Papa wouldn't allow me to go to bed unless he tucked me in. He said it was his right as a father and I wasn't allowed to object."

Zara's Papa sounded nice and for a moment, the girl pictured her own Papa, mussing up her hair and telling her she was princess. The witch smiled sleepily.

"Good night, Zara," she replied, burrowing under her own blankets. "Here's to hoping the Lehrers don't kill us tomorrow..."

by Guest Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:20 pm

If Alys had said anything to Zara after she said goodnight, she didn't hear it. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep, a light snore coming from her bed.