Advanced Hogwarts Roleplay discussion
GRYFFINDORS ONLY
Archer strides into the common room, Quidditch robes draped over his shoulder and his curly hair slicked back with sweat. He glances around at the almost empty room that was illuminated by the pinkish light of the setting sun. Sighing to himself, he decided it was for the best if he cleaned himself up and studied for his Care for Magical Creatures essay.
Dakota pushed the portrait entrance in a few minutes later. She’d stopped by the owlery after charms class to send a letter to her brother who, last she had heard, was in Mongolia and had refused to tell her what exactly he was studying there until he’d finished sketching it for her. A sketch that was taking literally forever so she, being a good little sister, had been pestering him by sending all sorts of random things and letters. She sighed, dramatically flopping down into a cushy chair near one of the windows.
Archer failed to notice his friend in the window at first, but saw her on his way back into the common room several minutes after his entry. "Oh, hi!" he greets cheerfully and hugs his books close to his chest. His cheeks flush red, slightly embarrassed that he hadn't seen her before and also because he was wearing one of the ugliest pajama pants he owned. They were a faded red color with a few tiny hole and they hung so low that they completely covered his ankles.
"Are you studying or something, Kota?"
“I probably should be, but not the moment,” Dakota admitted, noticing but ignoring her friend’s red cheeks. This was probably her only chance to today unless she wanted to study and eat at the same time, and her night was already all booked up. But she still didn’t really want to. “How was practice?” She’d taken the long way back from herbology so she could pass by the pitch and watch the crimson clad figures for a few minutes but had had to hurry to charms before she could see much.
Archer shrugs. "It was alright, I suppose. I'm not too confident in our new players right now. They seem like they might try the easy way out to win a match or something." he admits, sitting down at a table close to Dakota. His books fall onto the table with a defined 'thump' and dust slowly clouds around them. Chuckling, Archer cracks open the book and flips to the page he needed.
"Are you at all nervous for the Care for Magical Creatures exam?"
"You still have time to prepare them before the first match, I'm sure it'll be fine," Dakota assured him. She'd found that quidditch players tended to overthink games and sell themselves short. She shook her head. "Nah, it's the only one I'm not nervous about. The others not so much." Considering she was currently behind on her astronomy homework which was due tonight and had barely gotten her charms essay in earlier, the nervousness was well founded. "What about you?"
"I'm well terrified!" Archer admits, pulling out a quill and his notebook. "I've always enjoyed learning about the creatures and taking care of them and everything but I'm always rubbish at the science bits." he says anxiously and begins hastily copying down a lung diagram over Diricrawl.
"What have you been up to this past week, Kota? I feel like we haven't talked since the sorting ceremony."
Dakota groans. “OWL year that’s what. I’ve had Advanced Care of Magical Creatures every other night at 2am— usually in the forest or the middle of the lake so half the time I’m soaking wet. And I was actually stupid enough to agree to Advanced Herbology before the summer break, a terrible decision really since that’s at dawn three days a week. I’m just glad I might be able to drop and/or fail a few standard classes this year so I have time to sleep next year.” It really wasn’t quite as bad as she was making it out to be, well it was, she just enjoyed it most of the time. “But! I can still help you with the science bits if want some help, it would be a much welcome distraction from the lovely Astronomy essay sulking around the corner and it would be like studying for my own classes.”
"Oh, please, that would be wonderful!" Archer exclaims gratefully. He didn't want to stress Dakota out after hearing her poor class schedule and even poorer sleeping schedule. Either way, he scooched his chair closer to her, showing her the annotated graph scribbled on his note pad.
He begins to explain his confusion to her while thanking her over and over. "I really can't tell you how grateful I am. Between classes and Quidditch, I haven't managed to study a lick of the things I need to."
Dakota smiled. "Of course, now stop thanking me and listen," she said with a small laugh to hopefully let him know she was messing with him and didn't mind helping in the least. They were both clearly busy so they should help each other out if needed and helping him just happened to also be helping her prepare for exams too since taking advanced classes meant they were more or less learning similar things despite him being a year older. "They really do push us don't they? But at least they feed us, that's a plus," Dakota joked before explaining as best she could what he was confused about, pulling a book out of her bag and flipping to a page with a similar diagram for an extra reference.
Archer chuckles softly. "That's true! But the professors never fail to make me crazy nervous! Like if I don't pass one test, I'll never move on with life or something." he remarks. Archer had never wanted to do anything super academic after graduation. He wanted to play pro Quidditch like his father. "Do you think he'll take a half-written essay? Because Diricrawls are stupidly confusing creatures." he jokes.
Dakota thought for a second. "I mean it's a possibility, but I'm almost certain he'd give you an extension on the due date if you explain, Mr. A's pretty cool about that stuff." Another reason Care of Magical Creatures was her favorite class. "Just focus on the facts you know best and lightly go over the ones you don't, you'll most likely be expected to explain their disapparation though." Dakota tended to focus more on mammals and reptiles so birds weren't her best category of creatures but she had a basic idea of what would be expected from Archer in order to get good marks.
"I pray he will. I can understand their anatomy when they decide they're going to stay in this dimension." Archer jokes, running his fingers across the paragraph about their ability to teleport. "It's almost like they can Apparate..."
"In their own way yes," Dakota said nodding. "Some people believe it's how we learned to Apparate in the first place. Although I don't think that's ever been proved." It was something her brother had told her years ago and it made sense to her but it probably wasn't fact enough.
"I'll never really understand Apparation. Or portkeys. I'll keep my trust in what I know, which is broomsticks, trains, and magical cars." he says with a smile. "You won't see me getting into a toilet to flush myself into the Ministry any time soon."
Dakota shakes her head. “Brooms can be unreliable too. And magical cars are technically illegal over here.” Over here meaning Europe since she’d seen plenty in America and refused to get in them if she could help it. “At least with Apparation you’re in control.”
Archer smiles widely at her. "Be smarter, why don't ya?" he jokes, nudging her playfully. He always loved Kota's ability to see all sides of a conversation. "Either way, Diricrawls could apparate circles around me for hours if they wanted to and I'd still be amazed and confused." he says, scribbling down notes. "What do you think we'll learn about next?"
Dakota smiles. “They are cool. Pity they’re not native here.” That would greatly help studying them. People could bring them in of course but it always better to study the creatures in their natural habitats. “I’m hoping Occamies, I’ve never had the chance to study them before. But they’re pretty advanced so I might have to wait until next year. We’re studying Thestrals right now, tonight will be the… fourth lesson.” It had been fascinating, being one of the people who could actually see them, but watching the others who couldn’t was strange. “What are you currently learning?”
"We were doing lots of studies about the unicorns in Netherlands but we just recently picked up Diricrawls and other teleporting animals." Archer comments, glancing over at the slightly different diagram in Dakota's book.
“Unicorns are interesting,” she said, remembering their short lesson in fourth year they’d done. Most people thought they were pretty and that was the extent of them but in reality they were rather fascinating. “Have you reached aquatic creatures yet?” With the lake full of all sorts of things it made a good opportunity for learning and she wondered if he’d learned anything she could look forward to. Dakota pulled out another book and found two pages on Diricawls that she propped open next to the other one. These were the books she’d bought as extra reading or Carter had sent her over the years.
Archer shakes his head. "Not yet, but I hope that's next. Professor said he had made friendly arrangements with some merpeople and we'd be allowed to take short dives if we could prove that we're able to perform the correct charms." he tells her. "Though, I'm nervous someone will get tugged down by a grindelow or something. My class isnt the smartest bunch."
Dakota laughed. “Neither is mine. We were paired with the Ravenclaws this year and while there are some that like it I’m pretty sure most don’t. Don’t get me wrong, they’re brilliant, they just prefer wandwork or other things I think. There’s only one left in the advanced lessons since the other dropped out.” She debated it for a second but then decided to go for it. “We could go down in our own if you want, I’ve done it before to practice my mermish— which still isn’t that great,” she admitted. But it was getting better and progress was progress she supposed.
"Same here. Mr. A has been working with me on mine before the dives start and it's slowly getting better. It's good enough it'll get me out of trouble if I run into any temperamental merfolk." Archer remarks, taking note of the new books Dakota was showing him.
“It’s so hard to make some of sounds though, I can understand it fine but speaking it is the hard part,” she said. “They’re pretty nice though, as long as you behave that is, but since it is their territory it’s only right that we respect that.” A lot of people tended to forget or ignore that though and that’s why most witches and wizards saw merfolk as hostile. It was the same with the centaurs. She’d never once had trouble with the ones in the forest here simply because she respected them and the forest.
"Wisdom at its finest." Archer says with a smile. "Say it again, but louder this time for the people in the back." There had been too many students (entitled Slytherins especially) who had very little respect for native creatures end up getting in trouble. Mr. A typically had to save them, and being the person he is, he often didn't punish them harshly.
Dakota smiles, she knew he'd agree with that. She just wished the Ministry did as well. "I wish I could march into the Ministry or MACUSA and do just that. Wampus and Thunderbirds are slowly going extinct because we're invading their homes. And the only reason MACUSA is kind of helping them is because their hair and feathers make good wand cores." It was wrong. But at least with these two creatures you didn't have to kill them to harvest cores for wands unlike the White River Monster spines favored by Thiago Quintana. The wandmaker who had made her own wand respected the animals being of Native American decent, something Dakota admired and prized about her wand.
Archer nods in disgust. "And to think...they treat these animals like they and their homes are profit. They expect them to bend to their ever loving will because we want to use Erumpet brains for heaven knows what." he continues. It was cruel...even some of the less bizarre creatures were sold to Muggles for large sums of cash.
"Exactly!" Dakota exclaimed, earning a few looks from a pair of fourth years playing chess at a table near them and a seventh year girl studying in the corner. But she ignored them. "And if they don't have any profit they're treated as nuisances that can die off if necessary because they're a danger to our secrecy when we magic folk go around obliviating people left and right. It's ridiculous."
((@logan rose you still there?))
((aah, sorry! I didn't get the notif))
Archer nods his head in firm agreement. "You know, have ever considered doing something to help protect these animals? Like a Mazoologist that focuses more on conservation?" he asks her, baffled at her passion and knowledge towards these creatures. "I think you'd be really good at it."
Dakota nods. "I have actually. I was thinking about going back to America after graduating since I have the most knowledge of creatures there. And everything is a lot stricter too with the recent breeding ban on magical creatures, of course that just means that the black market is huge, it would be a good place to start." She'd always known she would go back. Great Britain wasn't her home, not with just a few short summers at her parents house since moving, but Hogwarts did feel something like a home. "I could always use some help if you want in," she offered with a smile. "If you ever want out of pro quidditch that is. Or if you support my cause when you become famous that would help too."
Archer grin and chuckles. "I'll definitely root for you when I'm a pro player and you have dozens of world-famous books." he jokes, but thinks sadly about them no longer being close friends. She has always expressed her dislike for Great Britain and was always reminiscing about America. It would only make sense that she goes back home and he goes to Bulgaria where they would exchange the few odd owls talking about their travels and experiences.
“It’ll be great, I’ll miss Hogwarts I think though,” she admits. After all she’d made her friends here and seen things she’d only heard stories about. Hogsmeade was going to be missed too but at she could go back and visit there, that wasn’t as much of an option with the school itself. Dakota senses more than sees the change. “What’s wrong?”
"Oh, nothing..." Archer replies. "It'll just be strange not seeing you all the time. I mean, we've become so close and we graduate soon, and our dreams are so different..." he says, his voice trailing off. He didn't mean to sound sappy, but he would definitely miss late night studying with Dakota.
“Oh,” Dakota said, seeing what he meant. That would be strange, and he was older than her which meant she’d have a whole year here without him. “It’s not like we won’t be friends anymore,” she said, convincing herself and not letting any other options cross her mind. “And I can come watch some of your games.”
"That's true." Archer says with a smile. "Hopefully I'll be able to spot her in the massive crowds." he thinks to himself. "And we can always send owls when we're in the same country!" he adds, knowing very well that an owl exchange between America and Bulgaria would be dangerous.
“Yep. We’ll figure it out like we always do,” Dakota assures. And besides, that was a problem for later, they still had two years together at school. So there was nothing to stress or mope about now. “We could always send the post the no-ma— muggle way too. It takes longer but it gets across sea just fine.” Dakota couldn’t believe she’d slipped up, it must be because they were talking about America because she’d gotten into the habit of calling them muggles since she was constantly surrounded by people who did the same.
Archer grins at her stutter. He had become accustomed to her American vocabulary. "It'll be cute to send each other letters like the Muggles do." he says, smiling, and realizing he had been tempted to say "no-mag" just to tease her a little. "To be honest, I'm not even sure exactly how they do it."
“I know it’s more complicated than just giving it to a owl, but I’m really not sure exactly how it works either,” she admits. It couldn’t possibly be that hard right?
"We'll figure it out once we graduate." Archer says, offering her a comforting grin. "Until then, I have to worry about Diricrawls and dives in the Black Lake." He laughs. "Is it true that there's a giant squid in there?"
Dakota nods. “Yeah but it’s not dangerous. He’s— at least I think it’s a he, is actually rather docile, for a giant squid, but he usually just sticks to himself when we dive,” she says with a small smile. She'd fed him food regularly and he honestly seemed domesticated to her. “It’s the grindylows you have to worry about, there’s a lot of them.” Archer had been right to worry that one of his classmates would be dragged under by one, it wouldn’t be a first.
Archer shivers at the thought of a grindylow. "I don't even want to know what would happen if one of those things grabbed onto someone. Or the aftermath! I wouldn't want to see our professor lose his job because someone decided to be stupid and mess with the wrong creature."
She hadn't really thought about that part. "That would be terrible." Dakota would hate to lose Mr. A, and a classmate she supposed, because of something like that. "The professor will probably steer clear of their colonies and hiding places though. So hopefully you have an uneventful dive."
Archer nods firmly, knowing very well that Mr. A could handle and correctly plan for lake dangers. He just hoped that nothing would go awry. "Any other classes you need to study for? I really shouldn't keep you from those." Archer says to her, scribbling down a few more notes before closing his book. "Plus, I could help with some since I took all those classes last year."
"I have an astronomy chart due tonight that is currently blank," Dakota offers. She liked astronomy well enough, it was interesting and had something to do with the outdoors, but Dakota was seriously debating dropping it after OWLs. "But only if you're good on your diricawl assignment. No sense in leaving it half finished."
"I'm good for now. I can finish it tomorrow morning." he insists, moving to crack open a window. "Come on, it'll be easier looking at the stars from here. There's no point going up the the Tower when we can observe from here."
