Augurey's Alcove

Augurey's Alcove
hogwarts grounds

On the top of the bannisters of the alcove sits the Hogwarts augurey, which cries out to alert students of an oncoming storm. It can be found near the lake, a bit of a long walk away from the castle. It is a rather scenic place to hang out, but if it's about to rain, then you and your companions might take some damage to your earbuds.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

It's one of the last bright afternoons before the gloom of October washes over the Highlands, the Sun beaming from overhead the bustling students. Summer might be coming to a close, but the bold and otherwise ostentatious Summer Quest is just beginning her reign over the Hogwarts social life. Just moments before, she was hassling her Care of Magical Creatures partner after their lesson before finally just letting him scurry off into the castle ahead of her. In all honesty, he bores her and she has no interest in truly befriending him, but she has taken a liking to his significant other. He is flashy and easy to tease, which amuses her. His association with the Hufflepuff is enough to intrigue her and prompt a little bit of back and forth between classes. Now that that is over, however, she is left on her own and is pressed for someone to ~~bother~~ befriend. Her trek towards the water causes her to spot someone sitting underneath the gazebo all on their lonesome. After ensuring that she doesn't appear to be particularly depressed or... at the very least, she isn't crying, then Summer begins her approach. "Oh, hellooooo," she calls out. Her hands reach out to hold onto either of the beams near the alcove's entrance, stretching her into a large *Y* shape. Summer grins, arching a brow. "Do you mind?" she questions, gesturing out towards the seat across from her.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia had been listening to music while leafing absent-mindedly through some recommended reading for advanced arithmancy. She's learned from her frequent visits to the alcove that it's wise to always have something plugged into your ear in case the augurey begins its deafening cry, and loud lo-fi beats keep her from properly hearing Summer's entrance. She does, however, take notice of the interruption once her shadow casts over part of the alcove floor and she pauses her music, removing one earbud. She looks up at Summer, setting her book down on her lap. This is Katiya's partner in Charms, she remembers now. This reminder serves to set her expectations very low for this encounter. She *does* mind, but saying so is unnecessarily rude and Zenia is not one for being blunt to the point of unneeded drama. It does not take very much effort to be decent. "I don't." she says. If her suspicions prove to be true, it's very likely that they will not get on well anyway and she trusts that Summer would recognize that and leave. "Is there something you need?"

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Her grin widens as she watches her remove her earbud and shift her gaze up to hers. "Wow, your eyes are *beautiful*," she comments, not watching her tongue as she lifts her hand to gesture towards them. Summer does get lost staring at them, but she recognizes the need to act quickly before she's lost her attention completely and nods it off with a sharp raise of both her brows. "I was just searching for someone to occupy time and space with, y'know? We can just sit if that's what you're interested in," she bargains with her, lowering her arms in order to cross the alcove and sit a little ways away from the other girl. Once sitting, she glances at the augurey hanging above them and gives it a pointed expression, challenging its startled one. "But it'd be tight if some time could be spared for a short chat, right?" Summer still stares at the bird, gaze lingering on it for a moment longer before averting it down towards this girl. Her mouth curls in amusement and she leans closer to her on the bench, elbow resting along the white wood. "You seem... *interesting*." And she loves interesting. "Like what even *is* that?" Summer laughs as she glances down and gestures at her arithmancy reading.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia blushes at the compliment, blinking in surprise. She is not complimented so openly very often and never by someone she has never talked to before, no less. Admittedly, it flusters her and it is a good thing too or else she would have reacted less-than-enthusiastically to Summer's intrusion. Who even calls someone *interesting*? She is a person, not something to gawk at. It feels like the other girl is mocking her, and normally she would act more defensive, but she called her eyes beautiful... Hm. "I'm not particularly interested in anything." she replies. It is becoming more and more apparent to Zenia that Summer's intentions are to have an actual conversation with her and not just sit in silence. She is ahead in her studies for arithmancy because it is her favorite subject and it is easy for her to lose track of time when she is doing work for that class in particular, so she supposes she *can* spare time. Does she want to, though? "This is for class. Arithmancy." she replies, before adding, "I'm with Katiya in that class. I think you're partners in Charms?" Considering Katiya and Summer aren't getting along that well, hopefully bringing her up will make Summer realize that Zenia is probably not the person to 'occupy time and space with'. "She and I are good friends."

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Although she doesn't need anything instigating her further into this conversation, her reaction to her compliment does give her some unnecessary drive. Summer smirks to herself. "Ah, Arithmancy," she utters under her breath. It's apparent by how limited her response is that she still doesn't know or understand what it is. It's just numbers to her. When she mentions her Charms partner, her brows raise again and she nods excitedly. "Right. *Sokolova*," she mimics the slight Russian in her friend's accent when she says it. "I love her! I understand why the two of you are friends." While she loves her for her drive and desire to complete the Charms assignments on her own, she understands she is not loved in turn. It has been made clear to her that she is an annoyance, but Summer has rationalized that that's because they haven't gotten to know each other well enough yet. "What's your name? I remember she was sort of insistent about not introducing us. Oh, shit! My name's Summer, yeah," she rambles before coming to the conclusion with a hefty sigh. Summer reaches her left hand out to shake.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

"You love her," Zenia deadpans. She understands that the word is tossed around rather liberally by other people so that doesn't bother her very much, but the fact that Summer is making this statement so boldly when Katiya is very apparent in her dislike for most people confuses her immensely. "Yes, Katiya's a very competent partner. I see why." she adds, not wanting to just stop at her earlier comment. That would be a bit rude. At the very least Summer doesn't hate Katiya, she supposes. Katiya is Zenia's best friend, which means she is allowed to hate anyone she wants but the moment someone else has a problem with Katiya, Zen would instantly be on the defensive. She suppresses a smile at the comment that Katiya had been rather insistent about not introducing her to Summer. Interacting with Summer now, she definitely understands. "My name is Zenia. You can call me Zen." she introduces herself. She glances down at the hand before offering her own after a moment's hesitation. It's unnatural to Zenia that Summer had offered her left hand. She is quickly distracted by the fact that Summer's skin is rather soft, but that is beside the point of well, anything. "Either is fine."

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer pushes off of her elbow so her right hand can gently engulf Zenia's, giving it a small shake. "Well, Zen, you have really nice hands." Her hands slowly fall away and she leans her elbow against the bench once more. While she should exercise more restraint, she feels no need to. Zenia is clearly not *straight* and she isn't doing anything offensive anyways. "Do you know which lotion you use? I should get some." Summer glances down at her hands, rubbing her fingertips along the backside of her right hand to feel how smooth it is. Luckily the Seattle weather prepared her for the chilliness of the Highlands and her hands haven't chapped yet in the wind. "But I have a shit ton already. Maybe not," she thinks aloud before laughing. Her head lifts to look at Zenia again and she's grinning. "Sooo, nothing interests you, huh? Other than... Arithmancy."

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia is busy trying to remember the name of the lotion she uses before Summer suddenly says 'maybe not' and that discontinues her line of thought. She is flustered mostly because the other girl's presence is overwhelming and it is making her a bit nervous, not that she would ever admit that. It is obvious by the way that Zen's eyebrows furrow that she is in deep thought trying to make sense of this encounter, before that train of thought is abruptly interrupted by the her last question. Her brain scrambles just for a second for her interests, blinking before she finally answers. "I have other interests, of course." she says. It would be a bit boring if Arithmancy were the only thing that interested her, though it is *very* fascinating. It feels awkward listing them off as if she is filling up some getting-to-know-you form. Zenia is one to be very thoughtful in her words, so she considers which of her interests she should share before opening her mouth again to speak. "I like to read, to watch TV, to do puzzles..." she trails off, before looking at Summer inquisitively. "Do you make it a habit to ask strangers what they're interested in?" That would feel a bit like forcing the conversation, but Summer doesn't seem to have any qualms with that. Extroverts. So strange.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer smiles as she listens, quite content by the fact that she is getting a response out of her. When she feels challenged by the question, she scoffs, but it turns into a short laugh. "Not everyone, but some! Mostly the ones that..." Summer's words fall off her tongue, unsure of where to go, so she laughs again. "I don't know! Why? What does it matter? If you don't want to answer, just say so." She smirks. "If you want me to leaveee, then just say so. I'm not a *man*." Her eyes roll in their sockets and she bites down on the inside of her cheek to get rid of her smirk. It's true that she would leave if she was told to and she doesn't find herself to be intimidating enough to lie to. As far as she's concerned, people love her company and Zenia is no different. "Puzzles? So nerdish. What sort of puzzles?"

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia contemplates this for a moment, always thinking before she speaks. True, it would be very easy to ask Summer to leave, but that would be a bit rude, wouldn't it? And that might affect her future encounters with Summer and other people close to her. It is unnecessary to be so blunt when Summer is otherwise harmless. Zenia will survive this conversation, she's sure. "It's not that I don't want to answer," she says instead, avoiding the whole bit about telling her to leave. "It's just difficult thinking of things on the spot without sounding generic." Zen personally finds generic answers insincere, and she would hate to give off that impression to anyone. It is especially pressuring now in this conversation with *Summer*, who seems so unique and interesting. It is frustrating to her that people like Summer exist, who so very easily engage in conversations with strangers. These are the sort of people that others naturally gravitate towards, and realizing this makes Zenia rather stubbornly come to the conclusion that she will not allow herself to be charmed so easily. "I like crosswords." she says, "And sudoku. But most puzzles in general." Wanting to shift the attention off of herself, she continues, "And you? What are you interested in?"

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer also contemplates this for a moment, but it's much briefer considering she doesn't want to waste time thinking too much about it. She nods, eyes devoid of much thought as they float towards the nearby water. "True. True." Both reading and watching television are such generic, boring interests, she realizes. Of course there are ways to make them less generic via elaborating upon her answers, but Zenia clearly doesn't want to just do that naturally. Maybe she can follow up with her on the topic later when things go dead again. Instead it's time to talk about herself. "I love anime and... art! I used to grafitti the bridge near my friend's house. I couldn't do it near mine because that would be too obvious, right? I would so get in trouble for that." Summer has gotten in trouble for it and has ran from the police at least twice. What slow, fat fuckers. "Forests are so gorgeous too. I've been meaning to go out into the *Forbidden Forest*. It sounds fucking awesomeee. Have you been?" she asks, eyebrows lifting as she grins at her. "Actually! Let me guess. I bet you haven't, huh?"

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

When people say they like art, Zenia typically expects them to be talking about art more along the lines of painting or digital art... Definitely not graffiti. It's interesting, of course, but she's stunned and doesn't know how to comment on it. "Graffiti..." she repeats, trying to process this information. Her tone is devoid of judgment because it *is* actually quite impressive, but it seems inappropriate voicing that opinion about something so reckless. "Right, it would be too obvious. Where are you from again?" America, probably but Zenia wants to be sure. When she answers, Zenia can ask why she transferred. Zen is content with this plan of action, proud of herself for coming up with a way to direct the conversation. "I like anime too." she admits quietly as well, "I finished *Steins;Gate* last summer." she says, "I still like *Haikyuu* best though." She would tell Summer she is looking for recommendations, but truthfully she has started Horimiya and does not want to admit this because it's a romance and that seems lame. "And I *have* been to the Forbidden Forest," she says, "I had to do detention there in second year." Why Hogwarts would put a twelve-year-old in such a position, she has no idea, but it fits the character of the school. "I would not recommend going alone or unsupervised. It's dangerous."

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

"Emerald City, baby," she declares with a grin, doing jazz hands to add a little flair to the statement. "America," she adds, less excited by this fact but still smiling. Summer is far more interested in the following conversation, leaning in and fluffing her hair as she tosses it over her shoulder. "I *love* *Haikyuu*! And *Free*. I don't know if you have seen *Free*, but Haruka is so hot." Her voice goes dreamy for a moment. Honestly, Zenia has the same coolness about her. How cute. Summer laughs at the thought before refocusing herself. "*Hozuki's* is interesting too. I don't know *Steins;Gate*... What is it?" Excitement radiates off of her, waving her hand as if to egg the other girl on. Her face scrunches for a moment at the thought that she's being told *no* about the Forbidden Forest, but she's reminded that she can do whatever she want and also *whoa*— "Wait, *you* got detention? No fucking way. What for?"

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia is excited to ramble about Steins;Gate considering how much she enjoyed it, but this doesn't manifest in her appearance apart from her eyes lighting up very slightly. "It's science fiction." she says, sounding a more into the conversation than she had been previously. The change is barely anything, but since it's *Zenia*, for whom such excitement is rare, it's noticeable enough for Summer to pick up on. "It was based on a video game, but I haven't played it." She much prefers to consume content passively, though she enjoyed the anime enough to consider looking into getting the game for her to experience. "It's about time travel... It's actually a lot to explain. I think you would just have to watch it, if ever, but it's really good. A lot to take in, but very good." The hint of a smile graces Zen's features before she continues talking, replying to Summer's other statements. "I've heard of *Hozuki's*... I'll look into it. Thank you for the recommendation. I've already finished *Free*, and – " Haruka *is* attractive, but Zenia does not admit that. Her cheeks turn a bit pink though. She likes Rin better, anyway. "And yes, I did get detention." she says, "Someone was being rude about my sister, so I hexed her." Zenia is normally above retaliating in such ways but family is where she draws the line. "It wasn't a big deal." It kinda was. She doubts Tracy Boyd is ever going to forgive her for having scalped her the night before her the drama club's play, but in fairness they were able to make the hair grow back right away, and it wasn't like she was the main character.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer's smile wavers at the thought of science fiction (*snore, loser*), but it brightens again as she notices how excited she seems to be by the topic. And then she tells her that she hexed someone and she can't *not* mind the wandering thought about how absolutely fascinating Zenia is and how badass of a twelve year old she must have been. "I will try! Not usually into that sort of shit, but your excitement has swayed me." She laughs, winking at her as she sways forward towards the other. It's not at her expense; she is genuinely curious in Zen's interests. "Your eyes are just *so* beautiful, and they just- Wow, you must hear that so often." Summer sighs, tilting her head to the side as it falls onto her fist. "So, you hexed her. How interesting. Have you made a habit of hexing people? No, not if you haven't gotten more detentions yet, right? The Forest must've scared you straight then, yeah," she rambles on and on before stopping and grinning at her with anticipation.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

It's unfortunate to hear that Summer isn't interested in science fiction especially when Zenia loves it so much, but at least they both love *Haikyuu*! (Who doesn't, though?) She doubts Summer actually will try to watch; it sounds very much like something people say just to be polite. Zenia's pessimistic line of thinking is swiftly cut off though by Summer complimenting her eyes yet again and her cheeks turn pink so she ducks her head to hide her face. "I don't, but thank you." she says. Nobody really compliments her very often apart from her family and Katiya (who is basically family). Zoe and Zilya tell her that it's because she is too intimidating. She looks up again once she has quelled her embarrassment about blushing to look at Summer's features. At this point, the polite thing to do would be to compliment her in turn and Zenia suddenly feels overwhelmed with how much there is to compliment. "I like your hair." is what she settles on – it feels like the most obvious choice. "I was *not* scared of the Forest." she says, as if the insinuation it terrified her has hurt her pride. "I'm just not as easily provoked as I was when I was a pre-teen." Such is part of growing up. "Hexing people results in unnecessary drama." she continues, before pausing and adding, "But I suppose in some occasions the drama might be worth it. I haven't run into any situations like that for a while now, though."

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer does plan on following through, at least searching for it and watching an episode. That way, she can tell her that she tried should they ever see each other again and she has every intention of ensuring that that happens. "Aw, what a damn shame," she protests the idea, scrunching her face into an angry frown. Zenia deserves the compliments as far as she can see. Her face relaxes when Zen compliments her, hand scrunching up her hair. "Thanks! Have you ever thought about dyeing yours? Maybe an edgy little-" Summer gestures as if showing off a little streak in her hair. "Blue!" She laughs, flashing her eyes wildly. "Or we could be matchy-matchy and you could get a little... uhh, burgundy- magenta something." It's a bit early to start having matching hairstyles, but the thought amuses her greatly. "Interesting though! You said something about defending your sister? Do you have just the one? What's *that* like?" Summer laughs again even though she's wrong in her assumption. She has fantasized about what it would be like to be an only child before dreading that reality and climbing hundreds of stairs to get to somewhere where she can text her siblings.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia balks at the idea of ever dyeing her hair, and dismisses the idea as soon as it's brought up. "I doubt I'll be able to pull off colored hair as well as you do." The compliment is unintentional but it comes out anyway and Zenia doesn't process it as such, instead viewing it as her having stated a simple fact. "I have four sisters." she says. It has been a most draining experience growing up in that household, but she loves them all dearly, still. "Two older ones, then the other two are in our year. Zoe and Zilya, I don't know if you know them... We're triplets." Zoe is so loud that she feels like it might be impossible to not have heard of her, but Summer is new after all. "It's definitely... interesting having a big family." Even apart from her sisters, she is close with her cousins and they are practically like siblings to her, but if she were to explain her family tree to Summer then they would be sitting here for an hour, probably. "There's always something going on." Whether that's a good or bad thing, Zen has not yet come to a conclusion regarding that.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

"Zoeee! I didn't know she had siblings," she exclaims, not meant as an insult considering she had no reason to discuss siblings with her. It was a short interaction in the hallway, but she's noticed her around everywhere since then. Zilya is someone she is less familiar with. In fact, she wouldn't be able to point her out. Maybe they don't share classes with one another. "I have two older sisters too, and a baby brother. He's so adorable. He's thirteen now, but still adorable." Summer shrugs. He's still a baby to her. "Shit, four sisters though... and triplets. My God." Her eyes nearly bulge out of her head, incapable of picturing a world where she's sharing her whole life with two other idiots. "Your house must be so f- damn busy."

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

It's nice to hear someone being so enthusiastic about Zoe especially when Zen cares about her sister so much, though there is a part of her that feels bad nonetheless. It is immature and unreasonable of Zenia, she is well-aware, but she is jealous that interacting with others comes so easily to her sisters when it is something she finds so difficult. There is a frustrating dichotomy in being happy that her sisters are rightfully so well-liked by others and wishing that they could spend more time with her or that Zenia could find people of her own who like her and want to spend time with her as well. "It is, but I mostly keep to myself. It's fine." she says. The corners of her lip quirk up slightly when Summer almost curses, but Zen says nothing of it. It's a big house, too, meaning there are lots of places to hide away (then there's the Zenkastle, too) but there's no need to mention that. It would just look like she's bragging. "Are your siblings at Hogwarts, too?"

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer nods in acknowledgement, slipping into thought about it very briefly before she wants to move on. It helps that she was asked a question too. "Oh, no," she answers, furrowing her brows and shaking her head animatedly. It seems ridiculous. Imagine her siblings practicing magic! How ridiculous! Of course it isn't an insane assumption, but she feels as if it is, knowing the answer. "They're Muggles. They're at home with their friends!" Her laugh is a bit more sad that time, but she doesn't even seem to notice it. "My sisters are in college now, and my brother goes to this stupid little middle school in the city. They haven't even been to Massachusetts to see Ilvermorny, let alone *Scotland*!" She exaggerates the word with her best attempt at a Scottish accent, which is quite fair. Her siblings teased her relentlessly about attending a stupid private school in *Scotland*, so even if she was excited about it, she only seems capable of joking around about it now.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

The very idea of being apart from her siblings like already sends a pang to Zen's heart. She would truly wither if she had to spend so much time away from them and likely mope around about it and be rude and miserable to everyone else as a result. There is nothing as dear to Zenia as quality time with the people she loves. It can so easily make her day, but on the flip side, when she is denied it then she will just wallow and get all moody. "It's too bad you can't see them very often." she mentions before she can help herself, just because the thought of it is so depressing to her. "But it's nice that they are with their friends." When Zenia was younger, she had trouble 'sharing' the people she loves so having just said what she did, she is proud of herself for acknowledging that. It's the little things. "And you're adjusting well to Hogwarts?" she asks. From what Charms Group #3 has discussed, it seems Summer has found a friend in the Camacho girl. It comes as no surprise; from what she has seen of Honey it makes sense that she and Summer have gotten along so well and, in Katiya's words, it is good that they have found each other. "Have you become friends with many people?"

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer shrugs at the ounce of sympathy, not really needing the reminder. "Suuuure. Sure! My roommate, Honey, she's a transferee too, so that's been tight," she explains casually, relaxing more in her seat and starting to move her bag around to sit on top of her thighs. "We've been able to explore together and sort of divide forces on the friendships front, then bring everyone together." Her hands clap together once before she parts them dramatically and brings them together again to lock her fingers together, demonstrating this plan. "The Huffs are all pretty chill, so it's been easy pea-" Hogwarts' annoying augurey begins screeching from above them and Summer flinches as if she's about to be shit on. It's a warranted fear especially with how those Seattle birds take aim. Compare that to this oversized, shrieking bird and it's no wonder she would think it would lose its decency. "The fu-" she lets out, stopping herself and smiling shyly at Zen once she begins to process the situation. Summer stands, pulling a face as if that will block out the noise. "We should go, but I was going to say," she begins shouting even as she steps out from underneath the alcove. "— we can be friends too. I think that'd be pretty sweet."

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

She listens as Summer explains her and Honey's master plan, and then immediately flinches when the augurey starts its screeching. *This* is exactly why she had been listening to music earlier, but it's fine and she comes to the conclusion that the conversation with Summer was worth taking out both earbuds for. Zenia gathers her things before getting up and exiting the alcove after her. She is so busy scrambling to get out that she almost doesn't catch Summer's suggestion, but the moment she does, she freezes and drops her arithmancy book on the floor. How embarrassing! She blinks once at her before bending down to pick it up, hoping that it wasn't obvious that it was that she was so caught off guard by. She isn't sure how to respond to that. It would be pretty hypocritical, she thinks, giving Katiya shit about Yves when she almost immediately accepted the offer. "Maybe!" she says, loudly over the screaming of the bird. It is more non-committal then she would like, but it's fine and she will feel less guilty about it this way. Then, she decides that she is strong enough to put up with a bit of teasing, probably and corrects herself. "Sure!" she says. *I would like that*, she almost adds, but that might be too much and too eager. Hurrying to Summer's side as the two of them leave the alcove, the deafening screech only continues so Zenia takes out her wand and rolls her eyes before cancelling a silencing charm on the creature. Immediately, the cawing stops. She turns to Summer again after letting out a small sigh of relief. "Much better. That will wear off in a few minutes, probably." she says, clutching her textbook to her chest. "Let's go, then."