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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 3, 2009 17:54:25 GMT -5
Brittany had come to a profound resolve that she definitely needed to get out more. She had become pale by the lack of sunlight. Pale! What the hell? In her twenty years of life she couldn't remember ever being pale. She actually thought that her stupid genetic make-up would help her out with that. Apparently not. So here she was striding across the grounds in muggle clothing on a bright Sunday afternoon. Her blue jeans were matched with a white shortsleeve top and she could feel every blade of grass due to the bareness of her feet. In addition, goosebumps covered her entire body because it was the middle of October.
But there was nothing that could stop her! The sun was shining, the air crisp, and the birds were calling. Brittany's dark brown hair flowed down her back, picking up the wind as she walked. The grounds were oddly quiet for no classes. She passed barely any students on the way out of the castle and had seen even fewer outside. They were probably all trying to get homework finished that they had neglected over the weekend.
She remembered those days. Having the smallest adventures that seemed to consume time at Hogwarts. When did she get so old? Twenty. It was as if the word had haunted her ever since she turned the big two-oh last month. All of a sudden she was thinking about the good ole days. School years, past friends, stories that she would eventually tell people when they asked about her life. If there was a way to just stop thinking, if only for a moment, she would take it.
"Oh what a world!" Brittany exclaimed, laughing at the irony of where exactly that quote came from.
Exhaling, she collapsed on to a nice grassy spot in the middle of a hill. There were no trees, rocks, or people nearby to make shadows. Just pure sunlight. Brittany spread her arms out on either side of her and closed her eyes soaking up the Vitamin C.
[Allegra and who ever else wants to join in!]
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Allegra Thornton
Hogwarts Staff
Administrative Assistant Witch
^it's just me^
Posts: 2,420
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Post by Allegra Thornton on Jan 3, 2009 19:28:23 GMT -5
Allegra knew she spent way too much time inside and now that her brother wasn't around anymore to force her out, she knew she had to do it on her own. She had tried to drag Jeremy out to play a few times, but he was more determined to stay inside than she was, claiming he was going to catch pneumonia if he spent too much time outside.
There was no chance of that on this particular day. Sunday had dawned bright and clear, making it easy to ignore the slight nip in the air. While it wasn't especially warm out, Allegra was dressed in a pair of denim capris, a light purple hoodie over a simple white t-shirt, and a pair of sneaks. She had packed her beach tote with a blanket, a bag of crisps, and a good book to read. As she skipped out to the grassy hills behind the castle, short pigtails bouncing at her shoulders, she really wasn't paying much attention to who else was out... at least not until she came upon a familiar face lying in the grass.
"Brittany?" she greeted her old friend with a wide smile. The Lioness looked like she was in the middle of one of those school wide hiding games they used to play.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 3, 2009 19:52:24 GMT -5
Brittany didn't make a move to get up or roll over to see who it was. At the sound of the voice she simply tipped her head backwards, chin vertically aligning with the sun. To her surprise she saw Allegra standing above her holding a bag filled with stuff. Giggling, she wondered exactly how goofy she looked lying in the middle of a field. She rolled over and propped her head on to her hands, leaning down on her elbows. Kicking her feet in the air she chimed, "Hey Allegra!"
For some reason she felt very giddy at the sight of the girl. It might have been from the fact that she hadn't seen or spoken to her in what seemed like forever. Strange how they lived in the same place, yet rarely crossed paths. Allegra was busy learning how to run Hogwarts since she was probably going to become Headmistress one day and Brittany was usually lost in a sea of books. Today her friend of years looked very laid back and even, dare she think it, carefree.
"Love the pigtails." Brittany smiled brightly at her and asked, "Going on vacation?"
She was teasing her just a bit. The pigtails were really cute and Brittany was a bit jealous cause she could never get her hair to do what she wanted it to. Even with magic. What was the point of a wand if it couldn't even fix your hair-do? Throwing her hand out to the right of her and tilting her head in accordance, she motioned for Allegra to take a seat beside her.
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Allegra Thornton
Hogwarts Staff
Administrative Assistant Witch
^it's just me^
Posts: 2,420
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Post by Allegra Thornton on Jan 3, 2009 22:21:51 GMT -5
Allegra dropped her bag on the ground and plopped herself down next to Brittany, glad for the opportunity to catch up. It was kind of funny that they shared an apartment and now worked in the same spot, yet hardly had seen much of each other since they had graduated. It was nice to have some free time together.
The Ravenclaw laughed and twirled one of her pigtails between her fingers. "Not a vacation so much as a short escape," she answered. "And I see you've finally escaped the labyrinth of books in the library. How's that going?"
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Cooper Lee
Wizard
Son of Hogwarts Staff Member
Posts: 40
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Post by Cooper Lee on Jan 4, 2009 10:02:59 GMT -5
[hope you don't mind]
"Don't go too far!" Cooper heard his dad call as the door of their hut closed and he was down the stairs in half a second. He jumped down the last one, his red cape flapping behind him as he landed. The young boy was clad a pair of black shorts, a grey long-sleeved shirt and a tiny little pair of Chuck Taylor shoes. He tightened the strings of his cape to make sure it didn't fall off as he walked through the grounds, looking for something to do. He'd left his basketball in the hunt and didn't really feel like walking all the way up to the castle today. It was a long distance for his little legs.
Just as he was giving up hope, Cooper took one more glance around the grounds. Just ahead of him, the boy spotted a pair he recognized. Cooper could hear Brittany and Allegra talking and he grinned happily at the sound. A mischievous grin spread across his face as Cooper started to jog over to them. "Hi!" Cooper announced loudly as he reached the two, waving at them excitedly.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 4, 2009 12:08:04 GMT -5
Brittany laughed at Allegra's reference to the library. It was definitely a way to put it. "I'm getting used to it that's for sure. But look!" She pulled her self up to a sitting position and shoved her arms out in front of her. The evidence of being a bookwarm was blantanly displayed with the skin on her arms. She felt sickly when she was pale. Like her skin was deprived of the vitamins and minerals that it needed. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that bad. It was just a shade or two lighter than normal but..."Ick."
"Pale! I've become pale Allegra. Yuck," Brittany exclaimed, overexagerrating her tone a bit but couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. She scrunched up her nose as she dropped her arms back down to her sides.
It was then that she heard a little voice shout out. Furrowing her brow at Allegra, she turned her head this way and that looking for the source of the voice. Finally she spotted it coming from a little boy coming towards them, red cape flapping in the wind. He had a huge smile on his face as he jogged towards the two older girls. Smiling she greeted him, "Hello Cooper!"
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Allegra Thornton
Hogwarts Staff
Administrative Assistant Witch
^it's just me^
Posts: 2,420
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Post by Allegra Thornton on Jan 4, 2009 16:43:28 GMT -5
"You and me both!" Allegra cried out, showing her own arm and laughing at Brittany's mock disgust. While there was some natural pigment there, it was still far from the color she was used to. Back home she would have still sported a decent tan through November, but the offices of a magical school in Scotland were a far cry from the sunny beaches of Southern California.
She was still caught up in the giggles, feeling giddy and slightly high on sunshine, when she heard a familiar voice coming towards them. "Super Cooper!" she cried out excitedly, unable to keep from hugging the little guy. He was just too cute and she was so happy to see him. "How's my favorite basketball buddy?"
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Cooper Lee
Wizard
Son of Hogwarts Staff Member
Posts: 40
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Post by Cooper Lee on Jan 7, 2009 8:20:31 GMT -5
Cooper happily let Allegra crush him in a hug, despite the fact that it reminded him of the way his grandmother crushed him and never let him go. He smiled at her and then at Brittany, plopping himself down on the grass with the older girls. He really liked both of them and had fun in the time they had hung out. It normally took a while for Cooper to get too attached to people, but he had immediately taken a liking to both of them. "I'm okay thank you," Cooper answered politely, remembering what his dad always taught him to say, "How are you?"
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 12, 2009 0:45:17 GMT -5
Brittany laughed at Allegra's response to her paleness issue. She had barely noticed that the other girl's skin tone was slightly off just like her's was. It was comforting that she wasn't the only one locked up in Hogwarts and in need of sunlight. She was definitely glad to have had Allegra run into her that day.
As Cooper sat down with the two of them, Brittany noticed his cape that he had tied around his neck. She figured that was where the nickname Allegra had just said, Super Cooper, had come from. Smiling at her company, she crossed her legs out in front of her trying to get comfortable.
"What kind of adventure are you on today?" Brittany asked Cooper, figuring that he had a course of action for the day. The mischevious smile he had when he had walked up had not escaped her notice.
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Allegra Thornton
Hogwarts Staff
Administrative Assistant Witch
^it's just me^
Posts: 2,420
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Post by Allegra Thornton on Jan 13, 2009 22:17:02 GMT -5
"I'm quite well, thank you," Allegra answered with a small smile, thinking the little guy was awfully cute when he was acting all polite. She wouldn't have held it against the small boy if he had used less than perfect manners, but she thought it said something about Cooper and his dad that he had been so polite without prompting.
She had gotten her quick cuddle of the boy in and when he plopped down with them, she refrained from hugging him again. He probably had important super hero things to do that did not involve wasting time with her pinching his cheeks.
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Cooper Lee
Wizard
Son of Hogwarts Staff Member
Posts: 40
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Post by Cooper Lee on Jan 14, 2009 8:35:17 GMT -5
The little boy flashed a huge grin up at Allegra when she said she was doing okay. He looked back to Brittany when she asked him about an adventure. Cooper hadn't really had anything planned today except maybe wandering through the grounds to find anything cool. So far, he's found two of his favourite people, so maybe today would be a good day. It normally took Cooper a while to warm up to people like he had with Allegra and Brittany, but he had immediately liked the two women. They seemed like fun.
"I didn't really have an adventure planned," Cooper confessed with a slight shrug, "I was only gonna explore the grounds 'cause my daddy said I couldn't go too far. What are you guys doing outside?"
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 16, 2009 18:40:02 GMT -5
Brittany was surprised to hear that Cooper wasn't up to anything. He sounded like he was bored. Which that problem could easily be solved by being around Allegra and her self. She thought about what exactly they could do though. It was a nice day but a lazy one. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of action going on around the castle in the past couple of weeks. To be honest, it was pretty dull. Just a few new students to take notice of, but usually they were just passing by and never stuck out in Brittany's mind.
"I'm just enjoying being outside and in the sun." Brittany answered Cooper's question.
Her mind briefly wondered at the mention of his dad not too far away. She hadn't spoken to Nathan since their lunch and she had been hoping to run into him randomly around the castle but their jobs were in two completely different realms. Quickly she suppressed the thoughts before she was tempted to get up and go see him. "I've got the whole day to do anything. Anyone have any ideas in mind?"
Brittany looked back and forth between her company. She was in a very active mood. Her laziness had been set aside by the arrival of Allegra and even more deterred by Cooper's appearence.
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Cooper Lee
Wizard
Son of Hogwarts Staff Member
Posts: 40
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Post by Cooper Lee on Jan 17, 2009 8:47:32 GMT -5
Cooper thought for a moment about what they could do in the grounds. He always had energy, so if it involved running around, he was game. But he wasn't sure if the girls wanted to run around like he did. Even his dad had trouble keeping up with him. Looking around him to see what he could find, Cooper's eyes landed on the glistening lake just across the grounds from them. He grinned wildly, his eyes looking excited at the thought.
"We could go swimming!" Cooper hollered excitedly, "Come on, come on, let's go swimming!"
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Allegra Thornton
Hogwarts Staff
Administrative Assistant Witch
^it's just me^
Posts: 2,420
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Post by Allegra Thornton on Jan 17, 2009 19:27:34 GMT -5
Allegra had planned to lie around and read a book in the sun, but that had been before she found company. She too was in an active mood and when Cooper suggested swimming, her first inclination was to readily agree. There was only one small problem.
"I don't think any of us have our suits though," she pointed out, not really minding the lower temps. Of course, she'd be willing to just jump in the lake with her clothes (not like she hadn't done it before), but it probably wasn't the best idea with a white t-shirt on.
Heck, she had a wand. She'd figure something out.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 17, 2009 20:25:17 GMT -5
Brittany was up for a swim. She hadn't been in the Great Lake in at least a year. It would probably be a bit cold though considering that the weather was gearing up for winter. However, she didn't mention this because it was a nice day and the temperature was up further than normal during that time of year. As Cooper proposed the idea, she had nodded and looked to see if Allegra was in.
At the mention of swimsuits Brittany looked down knowing that she wasn't wearing a swimsuit. Of course, she could get over just going in with her clothes on. However, the white shirt she was wearing was another obstacle to overcome. With Allegra's jacket, she had no idea that the girl was thinking or wearing the exact same thing.
"I think we can work around that." Brittany shrugged at Allegra.
After all they were allowed to use their magic when ever they wanted now. Hogwart's restrictions no longer applied to employees. What an advantage. Brittany smiled happily at Allegra and asked with a laugh, "Any ideas?"
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