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Welcome to Dufftown! This small village, located in northeastern Scotland, offers activities to suit a wide range of interests. Enjoy a relaxing day perusing the shops along Balvenie and Fife Streets where you'll find a hair salon, ice cream parlour, and several shops selling various Muggle trinkets and clothes. Hungry? Sample some of the local fare in one of the pubs and restaurants.
Maybe you'd prefer sports to shopping. If that's the case, there's a football ground just around the corner from the shops. Grab some friends, and get a game going!
If history is more your thing, explore Balvenie Castle, built in the 13th century and once inhabited by Mary, Queen of Scots, or the ruins of Auchindoun Castle. Check out the clock tower, a building with a colourful history that once housed the town jail, or have a bite to eat at The Seven Stills, Dufftown's longest-running Scottish inn.
Have fun exploring the town and interacting with the locals, but remember to be on your best behaviour and keep your wands hidden!
OOC: This thread is, more or less, a weekend getaway on the final Saturday in May right before final exams come in full swing. Students going on this trip would have gotten permission slips signed and, so the Statute isn't broken, would have arrived to this burgh not far from Hogwarts by bus. This thread is being used for plot purposes; feel free to join in -- the more the merrier!
We kindly ask that you refrain from playing any Muggles (we have that covered), and please post only the student listed in your post-bit. Thank you!
Yeah I broke that mirror, so what? ll NOT backward ll Official Gryfferin ll Lemon's favourite
She would have preferred to skip ahead to the exams.
Weekend getaway sounded a ton like 'you're still on duty and responsible for the actions of your housemates and schoolmates, the statute of secrecy is at risk'. No doubt it was in the fine print--etched into the back of the badge then disillusioned for all she knew. Jessa remained near the centre of the crowd of Hogwartians only half keeping an eye on everyone while her hands busily worked away at the rubix cube she had hardly put down since her father had had it owled to her. With the rise in anxiety, it helped to keep her hands busy. It was better than the fidgeting.
Just another day, just one more day then she could fully immerse herself in her exams and once that was out of the way she could begin looking forward to what promised to be a questionable if not downright terrible summer vacation.
Merlin.
The Ravenclaw looked about the group thinking it typical she'd gotten separated from her friends. It always happened, especially now that she was suddenly responsible for a much larger group. They had to be around here somewhere, but if she was honest, making her way through the town on her own wouldn't have been the worst either. It was all the same to her--of course she'd be lying if she said there weren't a few places she wanted to see.
Now then, where to first?
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Imma say all the words inside my head____________________________________
______________________________I'm fired up and tired of the way that things are said.
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
"I like Hogsmeade better," the Gryffindor gave the place a nasty, judgmental sort of look before settling right next to Jessa Cambridge. "No offense." Nothing against muggles or anything. Just these ones. This place looked like it was straight out of the first century. Anyways, it was still nice to get out of the castle for a little while.
Typically Zoryn LOVED that place, but man was it getting stuffy in there. What with all the drama that seemed to ensue (((((((as a direct result of her own actions))))) and all the people she had to avoid... Taking a break to visit a quaint town didn't sound like a HORRIBLE idea after all.
Plus, any time away from the castle was more time away from her remedial lessons. So, she'd take what she could get.
"Think they sell any ice cream around here?"
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
astronomizzle ♧ gryffinDORK | & the rest is drag ♣ #badluckDerf
He was FIFTEEN now. Which CLEARLY was going to make ALL the difference since being fourteen had been nothing but a festering pool of confusion for his head and developing teenager heart. At least that was what he was telling himself.
He wasn't sure he could take more of what the previous year had entailed - both personally and otherwise.
And his mind STILL could not let go of that missing Dark Arts book. It was driving him positively insane. Like an eternal fwooper song inside his head. WHERE WAS IT?!
WHO HAD IT!? WHY WERE NONE OF THE ADULTS SEEMING TO FREAK OUT OVER IT?!
Maybe his fwooper core WAS starting to get to him. He was using it a whole lot more now that he was more proficient with spellwork and not just theory.
Hmmm...
Though these were all thoughts the fourth year had somehow pushed to the back of his mind as he began to wander the streets of Dufftown. WHICH he knew had some historical significance because it was the ONLY place that Sirius Black had been sighted after his escape from Azbakan. Which was, you know, more than a little unsettling considering there was clearly SOMEONE on the loose pulling the same stunts around Hogwarts and stuff.
But maybe....juuuuuuuuuuuuust maybe he could not think and spiral into one conspiracy theory after the other today? Just maybe?
"Hey Jessa! Hey Zoryn!" he chirped as he approached his two friends - Scamander in his pocket, of course. "You gotta help me find something to bring back for Picketta. She is really miffed I refused to sneak her out this trip." Unlike Hogsmeade weekends, but...you know. This wasn't a wizarding settlement and not the sort of place for a sassy bowtruckle.
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When you’re stuck in a moment and your spark has been stolen .................................................. ........... this is our time to own it, so own it..................................... baby we were born withfire and gold in our eyes
Kye was always happy to go on a field trip, it didn't really matter the location. At least in her experience... She liked getting to go explore places, even if she had to do it as a Muggle today, and see these kind of places up close instead of just pictures from someone else. She would actually be there to take it all in, which was beneficial! They should have more field trips in the middle of the year. This one though, was pretty late. Kye imagined studying for the OWLs or NEWTs, and she was sure she would have been irritated at the timing. She'd still go of course, she would just have that lingering voice telling her she shouldn't have.
Kye tried to weigh out her options as to where to go first. She didn't feel like playing football, and she hadn't dressed for that kind of thing. She was having an internal debate over most everything else though... If she got ice cream, would she be able to explore all of the historic offerings? Because she would definitely be working that in before they left. For now, she was off to the ruins.
YesJess! | Captain Goggles | Mama Badger | Eva's Soul Sister | An OG™ | It's all in the Numbers
Another weekend getaway? Okay so the last one wasn't really casual, but was to learn about the fascinating subject of wandlore, but honestly, Skylar couldn't be more thrilled than to be getting away from Hogwarts castle. She was actually looking forward to heavily exploring Balvenie and Auchindoun castles, because the historical significance. Dressed in her casual day outfit, she debated wearing her funeral outfit for about five minutes because it wasn't as if that was muggle inappropriate and somehow it felt right to wear all black. Yet, this nagging voice told her no. Be responsible.
Whatever. Dumb voice anyway. Sitting quietly on the bus ride, she ignored the chatter of the younger kids as her stomach rumbled slightly. Yea she could really go for a cheeseburger and fries in one of those muggle pubs the second the bus stopped. And then her stomach rumbled again but it wasn't because of hunger.
Hopping off the bus, she turned to see Derf and Jessa and Zoryn all running off together. And there was the familiar head of one of her dormmates.
"Kye. Hey. I didn't see you on the bus." Also, she might not have been looking, because lost in her own thoughts, but you know? Same thing, right?
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___________________You should take your littlefinger and just point it in the mirror. ________________________________________Baby, maybe you're the problem✯
You know what? He didn't care about studying for NEWTs anymore. If he had not managed to get the information inside his brain by now, it wouldn't be on the weekend right before the exams that he'd do it. So. Whatever.
Matt gladly took the opportunity to GET OUT and DO STUFF. Actually, he had never been to many places in Scotland and that would be a cool chance to do it AND it'd be the last time he'd go somewhere with several of his Hogwarts peers simultaneously. Bittersweet.
Not that he cared that much, really, but still. Bittersweet.
"Hey, look!" He said randomly to no one in particular, pointing at a building over THERE. That was cool, whatever it was. A clock tower of sorts. The Gryffindor was off that way!
• HuffleStud • Knight of The Zodiac • Manly Beard-Grower • Cicatrice de Harry •
Well, it wasn't Hogsmeade, but any trip was enough for Kirk. He had been pensive lately with the end of the year approaching way too fast for him. At least this gave him a momentary escape from that enough to enjoy the sights and.. other things. He guessed.
He fought a grin at the sight of some muggles, they sure dressed funny. He heard one of the guys point out something, "Now that's huge.." It did look pretty cool in it's ancient sort of way...Maybe he could go check it out too.
Yeah I broke that mirror, so what? ll NOT backward ll Official Gryfferin ll Lemon's favourite
SPOILER!!: Zoryn and Derf ^^
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack
"I like Hogsmeade better," the Gryffindor gave the place a nasty, judgmental sort of look before settling right next to Jessa Cambridge. "No offense." Nothing against muggles or anything. Just these ones. This place looked like it was straight out of the first century. Anyways, it was still nice to get out of the castle for a little while.
Typically Zoryn LOVED that place, but man was it getting stuffy in there. What with all the drama that seemed to ensue (((((((as a direct result of her own actions))))) and all the people she had to avoid... Taking a break to visit a quaint town didn't sound like a HORRIBLE idea after all.
Plus, any time away from the castle was more time away from her remedial lessons. So, she'd take what she could get.
"Think they sell any ice cream around here?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
He was FIFTEEN now. Which CLEARLY was going to make ALL the difference since being fourteen had been nothing but a festering pool of confusion for his head and developing teenager heart. At least that was what he was telling himself.
He wasn't sure he could take more of what the previous year had entailed - both personally and otherwise.
And his mind STILL could not let go of that missing Dark Arts book. It was driving him positively insane. Like an eternal fwooper song inside his head. WHERE WAS IT?!
WHO HAD IT!? WHY WERE NONE OF THE ADULTS SEEMING TO FREAK OUT OVER IT?!
Maybe his fwooper core WAS starting to get to him. He was using it a whole lot more now that he was more proficient with spellwork and not just theory.
Hmmm...
Though these were all thoughts the fourth year had somehow pushed to the back of his mind as he began to wander the streets of Dufftown. WHICH he knew had some historical significance because it was the ONLY place that Sirius Black had been sighted after his escape from Azbakan. Which was, you know, more than a little unsettling considering there was clearly SOMEONE on the loose pulling the same stunts around Hogwarts and stuff.
But maybe....juuuuuuuuuuuuust maybe he could not think and spiral into one conspiracy theory after the other today? Just maybe?
"Hey Jessa! Hey Zoryn!" he chirped as he approached his two friends - Scamander in his pocket, of course. "You gotta help me find something to bring back for Picketta. She is really miffed I refused to sneak her out this trip." Unlike Hogsmeade weekends, but...you know. This wasn't a wizarding settlement and not the sort of place for a sassy bowtruckle.
"Same though." Jessa agreed with Zoryn, idly turning the cube this way and that. She'd already sorted it four times since sitting on the bus here but it was charmed to keep being difficult and changing its level of difficulty. The changes were subtle enough that she felt confident bringing it along as you'd really have to be LOOKING at it for several long moments to notice anything and with the way she kept turning it, it was still anyone's guess.
Blue eyes surveyed the scene before them, not quite as impressed as she could've been were this place magical and not crawling with....muggles. "The map I've got says there's an ice-cream place further up. We could try finding it." That'd be something to do.
Oh, Derf. The second of her friends to find her. This was turning out to be marginally okay.
"Bet we could find something on the way to get some ice-cream." She offered, holding the map up. Nice of the Professors to spare a few of these. She didn't like the idea of blindly wandering through muggle territory, especially not after the last few terms they'd had. If nothing else, this seemed like the perfect place for something to go wrong. Why? Because things always went wrong when the muggle and magical world mixed. "We should check out the ruins too while we're at it."
While she tried not to be too aware of just how surrounded they really were. It was unsettling to say the least.
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Imma say all the words inside my head____________________________________
______________________________I'm fired up and tired of the way that things are said.
sorta mentioning Derf, Zoryn and Jessa (but open for anyone!)
BOOMBAYAH! | #PuedoPorquePiensoQuePuedo | Certified Blank and Random Person | Raventastic
A field trip to a muggle community. This sounded interesting. Being a muggleborn makes her have no difficulty to blend in with no-magic people. Diandra had done that since she discovered herself having a magical ability. She didn't have problem with not wearing robes and put on her usual attire. Dufftown, here she goes!
Oh, wow.
Ever since the Singaporean-Indonesian girl moved to Britain, she didn't really have an opportunity to explore around more, just around the big cities like London and Edinburgh. According to what she had read, Dufftown was known as 'whiskey capital of the world... Well, since most of them were underage, so there's no way they're going to taste the liquor, right? But seriously, Diandra was quite curious why the professors picked this exact location for their field trip. Was it because it's not that far from the Hogwarts castle? (Although she had no idea where exactly the location of their school.)
Just like a common tourist, Diandra picked a brochure and tried to get more information about this town. Oh, maybe she could explore the castle? Or probably just tag along with some other students like... Derf. Mhmmm... Seeing the Hufflepuff prefect, she thought to just join him but there were also the Gryffindor quidditch captain and Ravenclaw prefect so.... Maybe Diandra should think about it again or find Farah... Nah, she definitely would have an agenda with Clay.
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AT THE HOGWARTS YULE BALL, YOU'LL BE HANGING OUT WITH....__________________
It's a fairytale evening, and you want the entire event to be totally dazzling and
a real experience with the friendliest people around you.
Another weekend getaway? Okay so the last one wasn't really casual, but was to learn about the fascinating subject of wandlore, but honestly, Skylar couldn't be more thrilled than to be getting away from Hogwarts castle. She was actually looking forward to heavily exploring Balvenie and Auchindoun castles, because the historical significance. Dressed in her casual day outfit, she debated wearing her funeral outfit for about five minutes because it wasn't as if that was muggle inappropriate and somehow it felt right to wear all black. Yet, this nagging voice told her no. Be responsible.
Whatever. Dumb voice anyway. Sitting quietly on the bus ride, she ignored the chatter of the younger kids as her stomach rumbled slightly. Yea she could really go for a cheeseburger and fries in one of those muggle pubs the second the bus stopped. And then her stomach rumbled again but it wasn't because of hunger.
Hopping off the bus, she turned to see Derf and Jessa and Zoryn all running off together. And there was the familiar head of one of her dormmates.
"Kye. Hey. I didn't see you on the bus." Also, she might not have been looking, because lost in her own thoughts, but you know? Same thing, right?
Kye had not been paying attention to where people sat on the way over, but rather she was realizing how much she did not like bus rides. When the very familiar voice called, she whipped her head around. "Well hey there Captain!" she greeted with a big smile. "Ready for a day out on the town?" Kye hadn't planned anything out with anyone in particular (out loud anyway). She gave a half shrug and admitted, "Well I was near the back, and honestly I was looking at the brochure for Dufftown since I've never been here." Was it embarrassing that she had gone full tourist? Meh. She hadn't brought much else to do with her for the journey. She wasn't used to Muggle transportation, THAT was for sure. She had decided that the bus was worse than a Portkey, too, based on their recent use on the previous field trip. "What did you want to see today?" Kye asked, more excited to be out and about now.
A weekend trip to Duftown was just what Laurel needed in the pre exam preparation stress. Two days to socialize, explore and just be in a muggle town close to the school with the student's and Kaysha and Kalen of course was heaven. Clad for the day in very muggle fashion in jeans and a sweater, along with a purse where she had her wand and other necessities, she was set.
Getting off the bus Laurel accepted a map and a Duftown pamphlet from one of the muggle guides. She let the student's spread out, while she perused the cites to see in her pamphlet, keeping her ears pealed for looming trouble. The landmark that immediately got her attention was Balvenie castle, home to the famous Mary Queen of the Scots. Starting to walk towards the castle Laurel hoped that they all would have a good day ahead.
∞ 17 | RP entrepreneur | defies gravity | Miss George is flawless | blanket burrito lyfe
Beau had honestly ARGUED with his mother about being allowed to go this weekend. HONESTLY. His biggest point had been about how Liliane was able to GAMBLE her education for that annoying quidditch U17 thing (boring) and so his mother should reward him too. Because that was what good parents did. And also his father had said yes already and she was just being unfair and having favourites if she said no.
SO HE WAS HERE.
AND BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZing with excitement.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@
Did someone mention ice cream..??? "I WANT ICE CREAM TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" But also he wanted the bathroom. Hm. HM.
"ANYONE SEE A TOILET?!!! MAN'S NOT GOT AN EMPTY BLADDER."
Snow Miser | Munchy | Molly Hooper | T | Hey, you | Phantom | Mrs. Chris Evans | Brat Pack | Tristalen
There was actually a smile on Kalens face as they disembarked from the bus. Despite being on a bus with lots of loud children, he was happy to be here. He had actually signed up to be a Chaperone on this trip!
A muggle town? What was better than that? He could look at muggle books, not to mention bask in the history of what was around him. A castle that Mary Queen of Scots lived in? He was so there!
He made a quick glance over at all the children, they all seemed to be well enough and lets face it, even if they were acting up, they never paid attention to him anyways. He was pretty much the invisible professor around here. Which had its perks.
He put his hands in the pocket of his jeans and headed towards the castle, though he noticed that he was not the only one headed that way. “Hello Laurel, heading up to the castle as well? ”
Puff by day, snake by night | Mj's bestie | Always UP to Something...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hey Ju
You know what? He didn't care about studying for NEWTs anymore. If he had not managed to get the information inside his brain by now, it wouldn't be on the weekend right before the exams that he'd do it. So. Whatever.
Matt gladly took the opportunity to GET OUT and DO STUFF. Actually, he had never been to many places in Scotland and that would be a cool chance to do it AND it'd be the last time he'd go somewhere with several of his Hogwarts peers simultaneously. Bittersweet.
Not that he cared that much, really, but still. Bittersweet.
"Hey, look!" He said randomly to no one in particular, pointing at a building over THERE. That was cool, whatever it was. A clock tower of sorts. The Gryffindor was off that way!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shanners
Beau had honestly ARGUED with his mother about being allowed to go this weekend. HONESTLY. His biggest point had been about how Liliane was able to GAMBLE her education for that annoying quidditch U17 thing (boring) and so his mother should reward him too. Because that was what good parents did. And also his father had said yes already and she was just being unfair and having favourites if she said no.
SO HE WAS HERE.
AND BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZing with excitement.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@
Did someone mention ice cream..??? "I WANT ICE CREAM TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" But also he wanted the bathroom. Hm. HM.
"ANYONE SEE A TOILET?!!! MAN'S NOT GOT AN EMPTY BLADDER."
Well, of course, Zita wasn't going to miss a weekend away. This was going to be a blast and she had plans to make sure of that, but first what was there to really see here? She'd find her girls a bit later and they could get down to business, business that meant shopping of course and possibly boy watching, but first shopping. That was if she would find them with this crowd. Did other schools come or just Hogwarts, because it felt like the area was super busy.
Her eyes moved to an older boy and she wanted to just turn and walk away,
she knew this one and he really didn't deserve her time, but she was in a good mood, so she moved a little closer. "Look at what?" there were a ton of places to look at so she wasn't fully sure what exactly he was pointing to. Though the Claw Captain seemed to know and spoke up too,
no him she could look at for awhile. He was very nice on the eyes.
Thoughts interrupted by a boy yelling about ice cream though and she turned to see who it was. Five seconds after turning she wish she wouldn't have, because now she felt obligated to help him, because she was there near him. "I think it's over there." Pointing to a public building that looked like it could be loos, but maybe not.
A path is not simply for walking, its purpose lies in moving forward and improving oneself.
Dufftown was a place that Dorian had never even heard of before and because of this the boy was highly curious to know what the town would look like. When he had learned it was a muggle city he was kind of dissapointed. He had thought it would be something like Godric's Hollow, a place he had never been to as well.
He was dressed in an outfit that his father had picked out for the day and for the first time ever, he thought he looked pretty stylish. He did not have his father's eye for fashion , none at all so when the weekend had been posted he was send some new clothes to show off.
He buttoned up his jacket as he looked around when he heard a boy scream for ice cream. Truthfully, he was in the mood of ice cream as well, but at the same time he wanted to explore first. The problem was...he did not know where to go and definitely did not want to go alone.
Despite disliking mingling, he disliked being alone more. It was awkward especially when he was with a group "Can i come with someone too? he asked as he looked around, hoping someone would say yes. PLEASE?
"I know!" Matt responded to the Ravenclaw Captain as he walked past him and towards the Clock Tower. "I wonder if we can go inside." He thought out loud, eyes still on the building way ahead of them.
The Gryffindor looked over his shoulder to see the younger Slytherin girl that had asked 'look at what'. He eyed her for a long second before pointing at the Clock Tower again. "That." Matt said pointing at it once again, choosing not to specify with words what he was talking about just because. The building was pretty tall anyway, it should be clear. Come on, Slytherin girl, you could figure it out.
Sheesh kebabs, a kid (Beau) already needed the toilet? They had literally just arrived! "Just find a corner." Matt added to the Slytherin girl's comment, grinning.
connoisseur of comfort ❅ Crayola's Wibby Mrs Alex Turner ❅ Netflix and meow
He wasn't going to bother with this trip at first. He figured he'd stay behind and make the most of a quieter than usual Common Room and snag his favourite spot for some reading time. A little research about Dufftown and the cool castle ruins soon changed his mind and he decided it might be worth checking out.
Also, Professor Vance was a chaperone sooo...
Max adjusted his glasses as he checked out the guidebook and map in an attempt to figure out which way was which, hmm.
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_____________Take part in our Higgledy Piggledy House Cup!
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
With NEWTs fast approaching, it was really inappropriate to be lazing about town instead of studying. Even if it was someone else's town entirely, rather than Hogsmeade, the lazing part was still appropriate. Or inappropriate. Somehow, Katy convinced herself that the break was required for her mental health... and physical and emotional health... and here she was.
So where were the people she needed so badly for good mental and emotional health? Katy gave a series of dramatic sighs that failed to produce her people, before finally resigning herself to enjoying the sites. Dufftown might be a bit dull, and she had no clue why they'd dropped them here, but it had a castle. A few, in fact, and any town with a castle had a good variety of ghosts, some horrible stories, and enough history to qualify it as interesting in her book. Maybe she'd take a tour.
YesJess! | Captain Goggles | Mama Badger | Eva's Soul Sister | An OG™ | It's all in the Numbers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dokimoto
Kye had not been paying attention to where people sat on the way over, but rather she was realizing how much she did not like bus rides. When the very familiar voice called, she whipped her head around. "Well hey there Captain!" she greeted with a big smile. "Ready for a day out on the town?" Kye hadn't planned anything out with anyone in particular (out loud anyway). She gave a half shrug and admitted, "Well I was near the back, and honestly I was looking at the brochure for Dufftown since I've never been here." Was it embarrassing that she had gone full tourist? Meh. She hadn't brought much else to do with her for the journey. She wasn't used to Muggle transportation, THAT was for sure. She had decided that the bus was worse than a Portkey, too, based on their recent use on the previous field trip. "What did you want to see today?" Kye asked, more excited to be out and about now.
Oh so it seemed she wasn't the only one lost in thought? She was about to respond, when she heard a small child practically yelling about a toilet and to empty his bladder. Skylar had to cover her mouth for a moment to fight back the snickers, just because. Poor kid. And poor Matt and his eardrums for being like RIGHT there to listen to it. At least the kid didn't yell about 'a wizard needing to empty his bladder'. But anyway, back to the dormmate, whom she had to admire the heels. "Your booties are amazing, by the way. Super cute. I think you're almost as tall as me now," she grinned. Good thing she hadn't worn heels too, huh?
She nodded though, when Kye explained how she was looking through the brochure. "Oh whatever. It doesn't matter," she linked her friend's arm. "I actually read the brochure like last week so I was just taking in all the sights we passed from the window." Because duh, of course she read it last week. Miss overprepared that she always was.
"That's easy. The Balvenie and Auchindoun castles. Oh. And I really want a cheeseburger and fries." She laughed, tugging on the other girl's arm in the direction of the Balvenie castle first. Ooh. And how had she just noticed their head of house here chaperoning?
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___________________You should take your littlefinger and just point it in the mirror. ________________________________________Baby, maybe you're the problem✯
Archie was minding his own business, going on his routine stroll through the streets on his way to the park where he read the paper, when all of a sudden a hoard of youngsters made their appearance. The old man nearly lost his balance out of the shock of one of them (Beau) shouting extremely loud about wanting ice cream and needing the loo. He caught himself against one of the building walls and gripped his cane tighter before he regained his footing.
Bloody kids.
He gave a stiff nod at the girl's (Zita) response to the boy and opened his mouth to agree ... and then another boy (Matthew) made a comment that really riled up his old bones. Naturally, the older boy got a little jab with his cane.
"Not on my street," he grumbled. He then pointed a long finger at one of the buildings nearby. "Public loo's over there, kid."
astronomizzle ♧ gryffinDORK | & the rest is drag ♣ #badluckDerf
ICE CREAM!
That brought him back. Well, he and Jessa kinds of back....and it was in that moment that Derf felt a bit of an uncomfortable tug in his chest because it hit home just HOW much he and Jessa had sorta drifted recently. Some of it had to do with the shock of what he had seen on the train ride TO Hogwarts, knowing his best friend had had a bit of an awakening of sorts automatically put them on different levels since, well...it just did. But that was also just a sign that things were evolving, you know? It wasn't good or bad...it just was. Which made him even more grateful for this little trip out of the castle. Made a more even playing field for them to reconnect, you know? And getting ice cream had always been their thing!
"Oh! I bet we could! Reckon she might like some doll clothes. You know. To dress up in," he nodded eagerly. He also figured it was best that Jessa be their navigator since, well, when they had been on vacation together he had held the map upside down and gotten them both pretty lost...but that HAD helped them find some creatures they wouldn't have come across otherwise so that was something worth noting. "You mean Balvenie Castle?" he asked, ruffling his hair a bit.
He HAD done a bit of reading before coming. Liked knowing things about where he was about to be, for reasons.
Which was why he was glancing around and happened to find his bright blues fallen on Diandra - she was looking very polished like a shinny galleon, as always. He reckoned if she were an actual galleon, then a niffler would pick her first she was always so polished. Which meant, NATURALLY, he was beckoning her over to their small group now. "Come join us!" he chirped. You know, just in case she hadn't noticed him or something.
He noticed a few other classmates wandering the streets as well, but his attention was drawn to the two Hogwarts staff who had arrived. And he wasn't TOO sure how to FEEL about THIIIIIIIIINGS. Would Mr. Librarian man even notice if one of them went missing? BECAUSE THERE WAS STILL A ROGUE BOOK SOMEWHERE THAT HAD GONE ON UNNOTICED. Okay, no, he was NOT doing this right now. Ice cream and sightseeing. Focus, Derfael. F O C U S. So, instead, Derf offered both Professor Vance and Mr. Kennedy eager waves. MAYBE...to make sure they saw that he was here and, you know, wouldn't forget to make sure he still was here when they all had to go back to the castle? If the WORST should happen and, you know, someone who broke out of Azkaban and transformed into an animagus came and pawnapped him or something.
Just casual newly-fifteen-year-old thoughts over here.
And then Beau happened, as he tended to do, and the Hufflepuff saw no issues with him joining them for ice cream as well. "The more the merrier!" he nodded, though he had no answer when it came to the loo because, well, he didn't have the map. Jessa had that. Which was why he was looking towards his Ravenclaw friend for that answer when Zita offered some words......and then Matt, who had Derf wrinkling his nose because no, they were not crups. Though just before he could, you know, try to sound mature and tell the older Gryffindor that that was rude and he ought to be litter box trained by now....an elderly muggle appeared and was looking QUITE disgruntled about the older boy's comment.
"S-Sorry, sir! He was only jokin'! We're not an unsanitary bunch! Can keep our secretions to ourselves and stuff...." Derf offered in lieu of a hurried apology to the man. But hey, at least for sure now the mystery of where the loo had been solved?
Er....
A couple of more hair ruffles later, Derf heard Dorian asking for someone to hang with and he also spotted Maxton mulling over his map. "Dorian! You're welcome to join us...or I reckon Maxton wouldn't mind some company and stuff." Unsolicited offers and advice, Derf was full of them.
Aaaaaaaaand of course Derf caught a glance at Katherine Toussaint...and his lips couldn't help but tingle uncomfortably and, well, first kisses when you were polyjuiced as someone else were kinda impossible to forget, you know? Still, he cut her a small awkward wave before returning his eyes to his own small group.
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When you’re stuck in a moment and your spark has been stolen .................................................. ........... this is our time to own it, so own it..................................... baby we were born withfire and gold in our eyes
It was a nice day for a walk in Dufftown! And man were there a bunch of people out; muggle people. Two ladies, one redhead and one brunette, walked out of the salon with freshly manicured fingernails and new hair do's, gossiping about a friend of theirs that was going through a rough patch. "Well, if she would just be nice occasionally maybe she wouldn't be going through so much. Karma is real you know," the brunette said with a pointed look to the redhead.
At the ice cream parlour there was a young mother with long flowing blonde hair, trying to get her toddler to stop rubbing his sticky fingers through it. "Jasper, please, mommy doesn't want to take another shower today." She said with a sigh, taking a wet-wipe from the diaper bag and attempting to clean the wiggliest worm of a child ever found.
Over at Balvenie Castle there was two small groups of teens, a group of four girls and a five boys, that also seemed to be on a field trip...that or they were skipping out of school, which happened entirely too often around Dufftown. Their laughter could be heard all through the courtyard of the castle. A tan boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes was making fun of his friend who just tripped and fell over a rock while trying to impress the gaggle of girls. "You can't even walk without tripping, why would even try to do a backflip," the dark haired boy called out as his friend sheepishly stood up and dusted himself off.
These local muggles were used to having tourist around, so they definitely wouldn't notice anything different about the students that were coming off of the tour bus; not even the strange sticks hidden in their bags or pockets. To these muggles, they were just another group of tourists.
What a lovely weekend! Moira whistled a little tune to herself as she set a cardboard cutout of Choco-Charlie, a cartoony ice cream cone, outside her shop. Not a moment too soon, it seemed! She'd barely finished unfolding the cutout when she saw a group of kids approaching. One small boy among them (Beau)was shouting about ice cream and - oh, no!
She motioned the boy over. "I think I can help you out, lad," she said. "There's a loo in the back of my shop just there-" She pointed in the direction. "-and when you get back, I'll give you an ice cream sample."
She smiled at the others. "How about the rest of you kids? Would you like a free sample?" Uh-oh, looked like another minor crisis to solve. "Be right back!"
She rushed to the young blonde mum and her son, a coloring page and crayons in hand. "Hello, love. How'd you like to color Choco-Charlie?"she asked, giving the items to the little one. To the mum, she said, "I've some more wipes in the back if you need them."
Now what was she doing? Oh right, samples. She grabbed her tray of sample cups and rejoined the kids. "Here we are. It's chocolate-covered strawberry flavored - made it fresh this morning!"
jessa, derf, Moira Mckinley, couple other sprinkled mentions
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
Zor was glad that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t see the appeal of the place. It looked like one of those cities out of an ancient history book or something. The Gryffindor also thought of Jessa’s opinions to be HIGHLY important and thus, if she didn’t like this place that much… Neither did Zoryn Spinnet. Glad that was figured out.
“Let’s do that!” She nodded in agreement. Ice cream place? YES PLEASE. Hopefully their ice cream tasted okay. Her attention was immediately diverted, however, when Derf showed up. “HI DERF!” Okay, maybe this wasn’t awful after all. Especially if she got to hang out with friends. On second thought, she’d stay.
“Sounds like a solid plan to me!” Ice cream, souvenir for Picketta, ancient ruins, OH MY! Zoryn wasn’t awfully excited about the ruins part, but if she had ice cream in hand it wouldn’t really matter. But then Derf starting inviting all sorts of people to join them like that Hufflepuff chick (Diandra) and Beau. Like, no offense, but could they leave before they brought the whole school with them?
Zoryn wanted her friends all to herself.
So she opted to make the move for them, tugging them both as she walked ahead of the crowd. Ice cream parlor and souvenir shopping first!!! As if by a miracle, her timing happened to be absolutely perfect because right as she walked by one of the shops, a shopkeeper (Moira Mckinley) popped out to offer ICE CREAM?
“COOL,” the Gryffindor didn’t think twice before snatching one of the samples off the tray and giving it a try. “Mmmm, yummy,” it was a good one. “I think I’m gonna buy a cone, do you guys want any?” she turned to Jessa and Derf, hoping that one of them would want to buy some too. Maybe they could split or something.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?