Ilvermorny

Grace sat down at the free table, and pulled out her purse, wand and phone as she waited for Layla to join.

Layla, carrying her small basket (baskets, really?) Of chips (fries!) In one hand and pulling her bag with the other. She sat down at the table with Grace, putting the fries down.

"Feel free to have some. This is enough fries to feed half of Hogwarts" Layla smiled, although it didn't last long "I didn't know you transferred here. Uh...well, if I was told I didn't hear it I mean. Nice to see you again."

Grace smiled as Layla put all her stuff down. "Yeah...we moved a while back, as Dad got a promotion, and he wanted me to spend some time in his alma mater." She hid a frown...Layla forgetting about her was most unwelcome...does that mean all her Slytherin friends forgot about her too?!

Focus Grace, focus!

"Do you want something to drink? Tea, or a cappuccino?"

"So your dad now works out here? That's...cool. I think? Just means you had to leave Hogwarts which is a shame. It's much quieter now. Well, last year was. Nobody else seemed to want to make the effort to arrange parties. Oh and a good cup of tea would be amazing right now! Please tell me they can make it out here" Layla sighed "I actually brought a box of fruit tea with me because I only heard the worst."

She bit her lip, adding "um...I need a favour. A small...well maybe a big one."

Grace smiled. "Yeah well...I'll make it up to you this year, what'd you say?" She smiled and leaned in to whisper. "The tea is...a thing. It's never going to be as good as at home, but this place makes a half-way decent one."

She quickly waved down a server, requesting tea for Layla and a cappuccino for herself. "Elio's coming in later?" The question was idle, before she narrowed her eyes. "Sure...what's up?"

"I should have brought tea" Layla sighed softly, accepting the inferior tea filled future as best she could. The next part was worse, and she closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them. Grace could see the pain in them. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Elio's dead."

A small pause.

"And except for here...or if we're alone...please don't talk about my...my family or life back in Hogwarts. To anyone."

Grace managed to withhold her gasp at the news. She blinked four times quickly, then extended her hand towards Layla's.

"I'm sorry...my condolences." Elio Smith was funny, witty and popular. "Of course! Sorry...I'll keep it quiet." She smiled, though it was a sad one.

"I'm...really sorry. Let me know if you ever want to talk about it. I...lost my aunt over the summer." It sounded so lame, like comparing miseries to one another. But still, she wanted to let Layla know she was not alone.

Layla allowed Grace to take her hand, swallowing to hold back some tears.

"I'm...sorry for your loss too..." she whispered, a few tears escaping. She knew Grace was trying to be comforting, but thinking about her family was painful.

"I...it's a fresh start. New everything. Even hair" she tried to smile, holding some of her own now very white locks "what do you think?"

Grace held Layla's hand, then held back her own tears.

"A fresh start is nice...this place is good for that. And I'll help. Most people are nice, and kind. Beware of the Vanderwicked though." she gestured towards Xanthe. "Her family is...weird."

She smiled at Layla's hair. "It's nice! Bit sudden of a change, but it looks good on you. Goes with the school robes too!"

"I mean, there's plenty of weird kids in Hogwarts. Like...most of Hufflepuff in our year. Kinda used to that, as long as you keep the ketchup bottle away from her" there was a small laugh at that, trying to be more cheerful as she wiped her eyes.

"Oh god, white hair matching the school robes. Is it really that bad?"

"Yeah, but... I mean...look at her!" She waved in her general direction, before dropping the topic.

"The robes are cranberry." The distaste was palpable in her voice."And my house colors are blue and yellow." She sighed. "I tried to make that work with green and silver. Once." She shuddered.

"Cranberry. You have got to be kidding me. Never thought I'd miss Hogwarts uniform" Layla accepted her tea with a thoughtful frown "blue and yellow isn't so bad. To be honest I wasn't a fan of the excessive amounts of green. I don't know where I'll end up, I need to go to the sorting ceremony...which has statues the other kids said, because all the houses are magical creatures that the founder liked?"

She looked at Grace to confirm the story or not.

"I guess if it's anything like Hogwarts I'll be in the same house as you. Although I don't know if they care for blood privilege here, not that it really existed in Hogwarts as much anymore."

Layla shrugged. She knew that's why she was Slytherin, even though she was more a nerd than a popular kid.

Layla Smith wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 05, 2019 4:31 pm

"Cranberry. You have got to be kidding me. Never thought I'd miss Hogwarts uniform" Layla accepted her tea with a thoughtful frown "blue and yellow isn't so bad. To be honest I wasn't a fan of the excessive amounts of green. I don't know where I'll end up, I need to go to the sorting ceremony...which has statues the other kids said, because all the houses are magical creatures that the founder liked?"

She looked at Grace to confirm the story or not.

"I guess if it's anything like Hogwarts I'll be in the same house as you. Although I don't know if they care for blood privilege here, not that it really existed in Hogwarts as much anymore."

Layla shrugged. She knew that's why she was Slytherin, even though she was more a nerd than a popular kid.

"Yeah, something like that. The founders basically copied a lot from Hogwarts, though not necessarily the right way." She shrugged with English superiority. "Sorting is done via a group of statues, and whichever finds you interesting displays something...the thunderbird flaps its wings, for example. You can have more than one be interested in you...the Horned Serpent and Thunderbird both were interested in me. Horned Serpent are like Ravenclaw back home...Pukwudgie is Hufflepuff, Thunderbird are like....a mix of Slytherin and Gryffindor, I guess. Wampus are jocks and muscleheads." She shrugged. "Who knows, maybe you'll end up in the same house as me!" She seemed to be excited about that idea. "Blood privilege isn't a high priority here, at least not that I've seen."

"Most schools try to copy Hogwars with their own...unique twist" Layla shrugged "but really? Animals? It does sound quite unique. I can't imagine being sorted as a fifth year will go unnoticed though."

I really wish it would....

"Thunderbird are the closest to Slytherin?" She looked over at the Thunderbirds then back to Grace "I see. If I wasn't a Slytherin I guess I would have been a Ravenclaw. The hat put me with my...well, I guess where I would have been due to blood" she avoided mentioning her brother "I know nobody, so having one person I know in my house would be nice" she smiled at Grace.

"What are the teachers like? Harder and stricter than Hogwarts?"

Layla Smith wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:27 pm

"Most schools try to copy Hogwars with their own...unique twist" Layla shrugged "but really? Animals? It does sound quite unique. I can't imagine being sorted as a fifth year will go unnoticed though."

I really wish it would....

"Thunderbird are the closest to Slytherin?" She looked over at the Thunderbirds then back to Grace "I see. If I wasn't a Slytherin I guess I would have been a Ravenclaw. The hat put me with my...well, I guess where I would have been due to blood" she avoided mentioning her brother "I know nobody, so having one person I know in my house would be nice" she smiled at Grace.

"What are the teachers like? Harder and stricter than Hogwarts?"

Grace shrugged. "I don't think it's too bad." Then again, Grace rarely had problems with being the centre of attention.

"Yeah, you were always pretty smart. I'm sure you'll fit right in." She took a sip of her cappuccino, then glared disapprovingly at her cup. Original Italian was so much better. "The teachers? They're ok...though I think we have a whole lot of new ones joining now, with a new Headmaster, so we'll see."

Grace Wilkinson wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:46 pm

Grace shrugged. "I don't think it's too bad." Then again, Grace rarely had problems with being the centre of attention.

"Yeah, you were always pretty smart. I'm sure you'll fit right in." She took a sip of her cappuccino, then glared disapprovingly at her cup. Original Italian was so much better. "The teachers? They're ok...though I think we have a whole lot of new ones joining now, with a new Headmaster, so we'll see."

Layla took a chance to sip her tea, and made a small face before reaching for some sugar. "This really needs sweetening!" She laughed.

"A whole new suite of teachers? Hmm, ok. I heard about the new headmaster...I had met the old one, so everything is new for me."

She sighed.

"This'll be an interesting year."

Deciding to change the subject, she decided to pick a topic that she knew Grace would be better at.

"How's the party scene?" She looked at the girl for her reaction. Graces party were famous in Hogwarts, did that count here?

Layla Smith wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 05, 2019 9:41 pm

Layla took a chance to sip her tea, and made a small face before reaching for some sugar. "This really needs sweetening!" She laughed.

"A whole new suite of teachers? Hmm, ok. I heard about the new headmaster...I had met the old one, so everything is new for me."

She sighed.

"This'll be an interesting year."

Deciding to change the subject, she decided to pick a topic that she knew Grace would be better at.

"How's the party scene?" She looked at the girl for her reaction. Graces party were famous in Hogwarts, did that count here?

"The party scene is fine. The Thunderbirds are the big party house, or at least as much as they believe they are. Sometimes the Wampus hold parties as well. I organized a few bashes last year, hoping to do it again. Oh, there are a ton of dances. Like, all the dances." She took another sip after finishing.

"It's fun! And responsible partying, generally. People are fun here. Mostly."

Grace Wilkinson wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 06, 2019 4:08 pm

"The party scene is fine. The Thunderbirds are the big party house, or at least as much as they believe they are. Sometimes the Wampus hold parties as well. I organized a few bashes last year, hoping to do it again. Oh, there are a ton of dances. Like, all the dances." She took another sip after finishing.

"It's fun! And responsible partying, generally. People are fun here. Mostly."

"Dances?" Layla tried to keep down her excitement at that. While she hated social events, she loved dancing. "Well, it does seem that most people are nice, although it's also really loud here. I hope the library is nice, that's where I'll be most of the time! You'll let me know about the parties though right?"

Layla Smith wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:08 pm

"Dances?" Layla tried to keep down her excitement at that. While she hated social events, she loved dancing. "Well, it does seem that most people are nice, although it's also really loud here. I hope the library is nice, that's where I'll be most of the time! You'll let me know about the parties though right?"

"Yeah. Lots of dances. Seems to be some kind of American mania or trend." She shrugged. In general, she enjoyed dances and balls, but...some of what happened at Ilvermorny seemed excessive.

"Of course! You're invited to all of them! Wouldn't leave you out for anything. In fact, I'm planning to throw a nice little party for my birthday early October. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough for a lakeside party."

Grace Wilkinson wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:33 pm

"Yeah. Lots of dances. Seems to be some kind of American mania or trend." She shrugged. In general, she enjoyed dances and balls, but...some of what happened at Ilvermorny seemed excessive.

"Of course! You're invited to all of them! Wouldn't leave you out for anything. In fact, I'm planning to throw a nice little party for my birthday early October. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough for a lakeside party."

Layla made a mental note to look up what American dance trends were.

"Lakeside party? That does sound pretty cool. How cold does it get here? In the UK it would just rain halfway through the party and we'd get soaked" Layla chuckled "hopefully it's not that bad out here. I'll have to get a tour of the grounds from you, if you have time that it. Teachers can tell you things but I know you'll see things better."

Layla Smith wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:46 pm

Layla made a mental note to look up what American dance trends were.

"Lakeside party? That does sound pretty cool. How cold does it get here? In the UK it would just rain halfway through the party and we'd get soaked" Layla chuckled "hopefully it's not that bad out here. I'll have to get a tour of the grounds from you, if you have time that it. Teachers can tell you things but I know you'll see things better."

"It can be cold...not as rainy on most days. I'm hoping the summer will hold out until then. Do you have a bathing suit?" Grace's mind was slowly grinding away at all the options on what could be good for that. "Of course! I'll be happy to show you everything! Except the maze. We don't want to get lost." She smirked. "Last year quite a few people got lost there for a whole week!"

Grace Wilkinson wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 07, 2019 5:30 pm

"It can be cold...not as rainy on most days. I'm hoping the summer will hold out until then. Do you have a bathing suit?" Grace's mind was slowly grinding away at all the options on what could be good for that. "Of course! I'll be happy to show you everything! Except the maze. We don't want to get lost." She smirked. "Last year quite a few people got lost there for a whole week!"

"I actually do. I packed for...well, nearly anything, and can get anything I need quite easily" Layla nodded "oh...you don't mean for swimming in the lake do you?"

That doesn't sound like a good idea....

"A maze? I'd like to see it, but in a not getting lost kind of way. Is there like...a watchers platform?"

"The lake can be pretty warm when the sun is up, so if all goes well it should be fine to take a dip." She smiled, and slowly finished her drink. "There's actually a classroom in there, so you'll get to see at least part of it."

"A classroom in a maze? Do you get in trouble if you get lost on the way and end up late?" Layla laughed "hey...thanks by the way. I was worried at first, but having someone I know here might not be so bad after all."

Layla Smith wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 08, 2019 5:31 am

"A classroom in a maze? Do you get in trouble if you get lost on the way and end up late?" Layla laughed "hey...thanks by the way. I was worried at first, but having someone I know here might not be so bad after all."

"Depends on which teacher finds you. Some are good, some are...new." She shrugged. "I'm happy to help. No matter which House you end up with, I'll be happy to help with anything." She smiled widely. "It's good to see an old face."