Maya held in her hand a small stack of cream colored envelopes, the names of each recipient written on the front in her best calligraphy. She had to update her parents and her brother on the way school was going as well as some questions she had for her favorite older Hufflepuff. She sighed quietly thinking of Kimmie and how great it would be if she would just get back together with Noah. But that wasn't her place, no matter how much she wanted and tried to meddle. Instead, she would just settle with treating the girl like an older sister, constantly badgering her with questions.

The Slytherin reached into the desk for the pouch of treats. Pulling a few out, and avoiding all the staring eyes of the owls fixated on said treat, she walked over to one of the school's owls. Maya had never gotten around to getting an owl of her own and didn't exactly know where the owl would stay when back home if she were to get one. Holding out a treat for the handsome creature to take, she gave him a smile.

They were so beautiful and majestic though... maybe she'd get one for next term...

"Alright Mister Owl... please don't lose these," she muttered to him, giving him another treat before trusting him with the letters.

If there was one thing that Dahlia always did, it was keep promises. And she had promised to write to a whole ton of people this year. Not like that was any different than previous years but some of these letters took her awhile to write and by the time she had finished her hand was sore. At least the owlery wasn't far from the Ravenclaw tower so she could send all of these letters off quickly.

Making her way up into the owlery, Lia smiled brightly at all the noise. All the chirps and loud hooting didn't bother her one bit. It only took her a moment to realize she wasn't the other person up here either. "Hello, Maya, sending off some letters too?" she greeted her fellow fourth year with a warm smile. Truth was she didn't know Maya Nam as well as she knew Evan or Lisa but she liked her too and thought she was just as nice as the two others.

After classes Salem-Rain made her way to the very top of the west tower where the owlery is to send of her latter to her parents. When she got to the top she stopped to take a few breaths because there was a lot of stairs.
When Salem-Rain stepped inside the owlery she saw hundreds of owls a couple of other students and an old wooden deck in the center of the room. “Hello!” She greeted the other students before she investigated the desk, which she found spare ink, quills, parchment, and a bag of owl treats.
Salem-Rain took out her letter and some treats for the owls. She gave some of the owls some treats and gave one her letter. The owl with the letter took off out the window. She turned back to the other students and asked “how was your day?”

Maya lifted her hand, ready to give the handsome owl who had not yet bitten her a little pat on the head when she heard a familiar voice. The Slytherin turned at the sound and returned the Ravenclaw's warm smile. "Hi Dahlia," she greeted, giving a little wave of her hand. "I am, my parents will worry if they don't hear from us though I'm sure Evan's already sent them an update," Maya replied with a little laugh. "I assume you're here to do the same?"

She watched as a first year in her house entered the owlery. "Hi," Maya said, looking over. As much as she wished she remembered the younger girl's name from the sorting, unfortunately she did not. There had been way too much... drama that had occurred prior to the feast at the table that distracted many of them.

Maya was ready to turn her attention back to Dahlia when the first year spoke again. Wow... friendly.

"It's been going well, thank you. How has your day been? Have you been settling in alright?"

Dahlia returned the small wave with one of her hand. "Oh, I understand that completely," she nodded in agreement, laughing softly as well. "Sometimes we all write together to make it easier rather than sending off a bunch of different letters but other times it's also nice to just write a letter on my own." And quicker actually. That way she didn't have to wait for four others to write their part of the letter before it could be sent off. "I never really consider how many people I'll be writing home to until I'm writing to them all.." there was a pause as she reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a bunch of envelops, "and I end up with all of these." So so many!

The arrival of a younger girl caught her attention and she smiled over at her. "Hello, how are you liking Hogwarts so far?" Hopefully she was settling in alright. Lia always liked to check-in with the younger years and see how they were handling all of the changes, Hogwarts could be extremely overwhelming!

"My day is going will. I am not use to all these stairs. I am settled in alright."

"I am liking Hogwarts so far."

Writing together would be a great idea but everyone had seemed so wrapped up in their own thing as of late. Especially since Evan had been focused on studying for the OWLs and Lisa creating drama was such a social butterfly it was almost exhausting trying to track her down without arranging for a meeting beforehand. "Do you think your parents keep every letter or dispose of them?" she asked. Because that would be an awful lot of letters to be holding onto, wouldn't it? It was a question she'd have to ask Eomma in her next owl. Her eyes widened when she saw the stack of envelopes that Dahlia held in her hand.

"I think you're going to owe your owl a treat for each letter," she laughed. "He'll be going into overtime!"

Maya turned to look at the first year, offering a warm smile. "I'm glad you're settling in alright... Hogwarts is a big school. I'm Maya, by the way. I believe we're in the same house?"

"I am Salem-Rain and yes it seems we are in the same house. I personally think Slytherin is one of the better houses. Hogwarts is defiantly big and has a whole lot of stairs. I am thinking of going to the room of requirement to see about an easier way down to the first floor or the dungeon. Have you ever given that a try?"

"I really don't think so, not with the five of us writing to them weekly.. sometimes more. That's a ton of letters." She really didn't know for sure though, they might hold onto them but what would be the point in that? Plus there was five other kids before them all so would they have help onto all of their letter too?!

Dahlia laughed. "The good thing is with most of these letter is that they go to the same place." No flying all of the place for the owl.

Turning her attention back onto the younger girl she smiled a little. She herself wasn't a Slytherin but her boyfriend was so no hard feelings there. "The Room of Requirement is an amazing room but I don't think it can help you get down to the dungeon." At least not to her knowledge.

Violet had made her way all the way from the dungeons to the very top of the castle, and now stood in the doorway of the owlery, looking all around it with a sharp eye. Ah ha! Yes, it was just as she had thought--there was Mack, trying to hide behind a group of three owls and pretend that he belonged here. But the owls, sensing her eye upon them, slowly began to back away to the far edges of the perch, leaving Violet's troublesome magpie standing alone and quite visible.

"Come here, you," she said with resignation, holding out a hand, and the magpie cautiously stepped onto her outstretched arm, one foot after the other.

Violet walked over to one of the openings and looked out over the grounds of Hogwarts, enjoying the colors of the fall leaves down below. From this distance, it looked like some sort of Impressionist painting. "Well, today is my birthday, again," she murmured softly to her pet. "Eighteen years old. Practically ancient." Violet should really be getting ready to graduate at this age, but because she'd missed her second year, she was a year behind her class. This year she felt more out of place than ever, with so many of the seventh years who had been her friends last year already graduated and gone. It seemed she was either too old or too young for every group. On her shoulder next to her ear, Machiavelli grunted softly in sympathy.

SPOILER!!: Viii <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

Violet had made her way all the way from the dungeons to the very top of the castle, and now stood in the doorway of the owlery, looking all around it with a sharp eye. Ah ha! Yes, it was just as she had thought--there was Mack, trying to hide behind a group of three owls and pretend that he belonged here. But the owls, sensing her eye upon them, slowly began to back away to the far edges of the perch, leaving Violet's troublesome magpie standing alone and quite visible.

"Come here, you," she said with resignation, holding out a hand, and the magpie cautiously stepped onto her outstretched arm, one foot after the other.

Violet walked over to one of the openings and looked out over the grounds of Hogwarts, enjoying the colors of the fall leaves down below. From this distance, it looked like some sort of Impressionist painting. "Well, today is my birthday, again," she murmured softly to her pet. "Eighteen years old. Practically ancient." Violet should really be getting ready to graduate at this age, but because she'd missed her second year, she was a year behind her class. This year she felt more out of place than ever, with so many of the seventh years who had been her friends last year already graduated and gone. It seemed she was either too old or too young for every group. On her shoulder next to her ear, Machiavelli grunted softly in sympathy.

There was a letter clutched in his hand. It was only natural that he wrote to his parents to let them know that he and his two siblings were doing well. Keigh was perhaps the happiest of the three. Rae still walked about the Castle practicing random lines for her upcoming plays that Christmas and Jude? Well, he was coping with being friendzoned. Things could be worse for him, anyway.

Up the steps to the Owlery he jogged and there she was, an older student and an unusual looking bird. Jude didn’t mean to but he heard the soft words about today being her birthday. Eighteenth birthday? The Hufflepuff frowned. Didn’t that mean that she should have graduated by now? How curious.

“Hi! I couldn’t help but overhearing… but happy birthday! It’s Violet, right?” Or was it Victoria?

A stairwell a day kept the arthritis away.

Actually, Cyril was quite certain that was not at all how it worked. But it was something he told himself anyways to remind him to give all his joints a good stretch to keep his body as young as possible, for as long as he possibly could. Hogwarts gave ample opportunity for this by traveling the grounds alone. And he certainly had good cause to head to the owlery today as it were, the small piles of dirt he'd spotted in corridors giving him cause to want to look around further.

And good thing! As he made his way up the staircase and to the school owls, he noticed a small imperfection in the stone, a crack as it were. With a wave of his wand, it was quickly patched and forgotten about as his made his way in and spotted a few students with the owls. "Ah, Miss Blackthorne, Mr. Anders, lovely day to send a letter isn't it?" The gentleman beamed at them both, before he approached an owl and pulled a treat from his pocket to offer. "And did I hear it's a birthday?"

Violet wheeled around at the sound of Jude's voice, the sudden movement allowing Mack to escape up to the rafters. "What? Oh...yes, it is my birthday," she replied, adding under her breath, "Mack, you get back down here before you get us both in trouble!" The magpie settled on a perch high above their heads and began grooming itself as if it hadn't heard.

The sound of a man's voice behind them distracted Violet once again--oh Merlin, more birthday wishes! This was why Slytherins didn't generally talk to themselves...or to their birds, if they wanted to keep their business private. And of course, it was not only a teacher, but the Care of Magical Creatures professor, just the one likely to object at the presence of an unauthorized pet flying around the Owlery. Violet glanced warningly one more time up at Machiavelli, then turned to respond politely, "Uh, yes, Professor, it is my birthday. I just came up her to...to enjoy the view!"


OOC: Ha, I just realized that my character and I are enjoying our birthdays on the same day this year!

Jude flinched as the bird took flight. That so had not been his fault directly. His dark brown gaze fixed on the bird in the rafters. Truly it was a sight to behold. Then his gaze drifted back to Violet. “I hope you’re having a great day so far. Did you have cake yet?” Because birthdays could not be celebrated without cake, even if it was a single slice.

Even before Jude sawProfessor Amstern, heard the heavy footsteps. He greeted the man with a cheerful smile. “Hello, professor. Here to check on the owls?” He figured that the general health and wellbeing of the School's owls were a concern to the CoMC professor in addition to the Groundskeeper. Or was he here to send a letter like both students? The Hufflepuff proceeded to select an owl and to coax it down to him by using owl treats.

Lucky for the Slytherin, the man had in fact not noticed the imposter within the parliament of the owlery, he was far more focused on the excitement of a birthday. And such a momentous one as the coming of age! Well, at least that's what he assumed the birthday was, given Ms. Blackthorne's status as a sixth year. He offered the girl a smile, the treat that was offered to the owl already disappeared from his hand. "Well happy birthday, Miss Blackthorne! Have you done anything enjoyable to celebrate the day?" Enjoy the view? He supposed the Slytherin students might on occasion enjoy finding somewhere to hang out from a different vantage point. "It is lovely up here isn't it? And quite good company!" Both that of Mr. Anders and all the winged friends.

Smile turned to the Hufflepuff at his greeting, and Cyril inclined his head towards the boy. "Ah, it's true I do like to visit them. But I was actually here to send some letters." He held up a few envelopes, addressed to his various grandchildren. He liked to keep them all updated, lest they worry as some were prone to do. "I never can resist spending far longer than I need up here though giving them treats." He pulled another from his pocket, offering it to another owl before beginning to tie a letter to it's leg. "Are you writing home, Mr. Anders?"

"Um, well, no, nothing that special, other than some cards I got this morning," Violet answered the Professor, who thankfully hadn't seemed to have noticed Mack. "And no cake--yet," she went on, turning to the boy who had first spoken to her--Jude, his name was. "That sounds like a good idea, but I haven't got any. Maybe they'll have some for dinner." Violet wondered if you could just order the House Elves to make you birthday cake or what--it seemed like a lot of extra work, especially if they had to do it for everyone in the castle.

Turning back to the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, she observed, "Yes, the view up here is rather spectacular. I thought it would be a good day to step back and get the big picture, so to speak. Although," she continued, anxious to defend her House, "the view of the Great Lake from down in the dungeons is sort of special, too, in a different way."

Violet watched the professor giving treats to the owls and almost wanted to ask him if she could feed them one. But then she remembered Mack, who would be sure to come down and cause a fuss if he saw her feeding some other bird besides him. Even though not getting fed was entirely his fault for running away and hiding. Glancing up, she saw her troublesome pet was already showing a great deal too much interest in Amstern and his owl treats. Please don't come down, please don't come down, Violet thought furiously to herself, as if she could warn off Mack telepathically.

No cake as yet?! Jude was inwardly dismayed. “The elves will only be happy to make you one, even if it’s a small one if you don’t want to be too much of an inconvenience.” Jude was all too familiar about the works of the House Elves. He noticed Violet kept looking up at the bird but he didn’t put two and two together that she was nervous about Amstern finding out about its presence. The Hufflepuff had thought that permission had already been given for it to be at Hogwarts.

It occurred to him in that moment that he knew little to none about Professor Amstern. Not that he would go prying but if Amstern was willing to share a bit of his private life, then so be it. “Your other half, Sir?” And perhaps there were letters to his children too? The owl Jude had been coaxing flew down with what seemed like gusto, landing on his shoulder. It was fed and given some strokes on its feathery head. “My parents,’’ he murmured to the owl. “Thank you.” Because all creatures deserve kindness, right? Jude watched the owl take flight then turned back to Amstern. “Yes. They like to know that my sisters and I are alright.” And he liked to know that Addison and Connor were too.

"Receiving cards from your loved ones on your birthday is always my favorite part." He grinned at the Slytherin, offering another treat to yet another owl as he'd finished tying one letter to the previous. This fella was a little feistier, nipping at his fingers while trying to get the treat. "If cake was something you wanted, I imagine if you made a stop at the kitchens and the house elves they'd be happy to assist." Sweet, gentle souls that they were. Perhaps even if she didn't seem of too interest to it, he'd stop by and speak with them on her behalf. Maybe that was something they should be doing for all the students, come to think of it.

Another letter being tied to another leg, this owl still coming at his hands. This time he was sure it was just wanting additional treats, but as his hands were busy Cyril could not comply for the moment. The creature would have to wait, and he'd deal with his hands later. "Slytherin common room is something special." Or at least, so he'd heard. He'd yet to have reason to venture to that part of the castle, Hufflepuff having always been his own house. "I certainly have nothing against down in the dungeons either. Hufflepuff we didn't have a spectacular view, but the rooms were cozy and you can't knock the proximity to the kitchens." He chuckled softly.

Hearing Mr. Anders question, the man kept his expression fairly the same, though he was sure the crinkle lessened a little at the corners of his eyes. It had been a good many years since he'd lost his Niamh, but he still found he missed her terribly. "My grandchildren, actually. I have 5, spread out pretty much everywhere. I like to keep as updated in their lives as they'll allow me." Which thankfully, the majority of them seemed more than happy to respond and even visit him when they could. And this year keeping up with Luke was the easiest of all, as he'd not yet graduated. "Every parent does. I imagine you like to hear from them as well? Nothing like a nice letter to ease some of the homesickness."

It had managed to work for him as a boy.

Violet mulled over the idea of asking the elves for a birthday treat, something that had never occurred to her to do in all her years at Hogwarts. But she was rather off cake, or indeed all baked goods, since the year Healer Poppy had filled the castle with her bread. Sure, it had turned out the bread wasn't the cause of the problems, but Violet couldn't separate that smell from the sickening allergic reaction she'd had all year to the potion in those candles. "Hmm," she mused out loud, "I'll give it some thought....Not cake, though...maybe they'd make me a meat pie..."

While Violet was thinking happily of food and family and birthday cards, she suddenly heard a rustle of feathers swoop by her and looked up to see with horror the spectacle of her errant magpie, Machiavelli, sailing past her to land right on top of Professor Amstern's head. The sight of all those owl treats the man had been dealing out had been too much for him.


OOC: Oops, sorry! I didn't realize that it was my turn until now!

No cake? Then again, it was all about Violet and what she liked. She probably wasn’t too huge a fan of cake but it certainly sounded like she was into meat pies. “Whatever you like,” Jude remarked cheerfully. “If you need company for your mini celebration, I’ll tag along.” Jude didn’t know the Slytherin that well but if none of her friends couldn’t make it at the time to celebrate with her… well, they could get to know each other better, couldn’t they?

Amstern’s comment had Jude’s ear perking up. “You were a Hufflepuff, Professor?” he asked unnecessarily but excitedly. How COOL was that? “True, true. Everything there’s true. Is that something you miss a lot about the Puff common room?” Then he asked Violet, “Have you ever seen the Squid pass by one of the windows in the Slytherin common room?” Because Jude knew that room was located under the Lake.

The Hufflepuff noted that Amstern kept the topic fixed to his grandchildren. He didn’t mind though, figuring there would be a reason for that. “They’re all grown up then?” He himself couldn’t wait to go out on his own and to experience all the things, one of which included travelling. Jude nodded. “I do. It makes me feel less homesick.” Even as a fourth year - and someone who had started Hogwarts from his first year - he still missed his parents a great deal when he was away. A drawback of coming from a tightly knit family. He was about to say more but suddenly Violet’s magpie soared onto Amstern’s head. Not seeing anything wrong with this latest development, he actually let out one of his soft laughs. “I think he likes Professor Amstern… or rather, the treats.”

Jude's chatter swam through Violet's mind, but it all faded away in the horror of watching Mack sitting on the professor's head, leaning down to eye the treats in his hand. And now Jude was talking about it, drawing attention to it all (though really, the professor would have to be unconscious not to notice a magpie leaning over his head). This was it--they were in for it for sure now. Violet would be expelled and Mack would be--what did they do to undisciplined pets at Hogwarts, anyway? She only hoped he could slip out of it and fly away with his usual craft--maybe he would go back to Miss Howard, like he did when the Neo-Alliance took over.

"Oh Professor, I'm...I'm so sorry, Mack shouldn't have done that, I do have permission for him to be here, but I was told he's supposed to stay in the animal sanctuary, and I put him there every semester, I swear, but sometimes he just doesn't stay there and he goes off looking for me, I think it's because of that year when the Alliance took away all the owls and Mack flew away and it's made him nervous about losing me ever since." Violet took a shaky breath; this speech was much more excited and rambling than her usual comments. Mack eyed her unperturbed from atop the professor's head. (She didn't mention the fact that Mack also left the Sanctuary to lurk about and look for shiny things to nick and carry off to hide in his latest lair--she figured the professor didn't really need to know all that right now.)

Norman entered the owlery, a large brown paper-wrapped package in hand. Stepping farther inside, he set the package on the desk to free a hand to dig into his pocket for owl treats for Athena. Speaking of whom, where was she? HIs blue-green eyes scanned the room until he spotted the familiar white-faced owl snoozing. He gently stroked her head, and she awoke with a confused whoo.

The owl blinked sleepily but immediately perked up at the sight of treats. Norman smiled softly, watching her gobble up the handful of treats. “Eat up, you’ll need your strength,” he whispered. “You’re going all the way to Ilvermorny.” Probably for the last time…

He glanced back at the package on the desk, a package which contained a graduation present for his only daughter. How was Normandie graduating already?! It seemed like only yesterday that she’d entered his life and now… Last he heard, she was torn between going to university or straight into the Auror training program. She said she wanted to follow in his footsteps, and he wasn’t sure whether to feel proud or lowkey terrified!