Christmas Day at Weinig Zug!

[kat]

Kat smiled and started skating again next to Colin as he talked happily about the vacation.

“Yep, I’ve been to foreign countries before. I live with my older brother Jake, and we traveled for almost 2 years, never staying in one place for more than 3 months,” Kat told Colin with a little smile, “I got a lot of acquaintances and got to see the world. Did wonders for my people skill and language skills though.”<br>
Cat grinned at Colin and made a quick spin on skates: “And nope. I’m a muggle born. Didn’t show any magic until I was 9. A horse fell and wounded his leg and I just kind of…snapped in into place.”<br>
Cat stared off in space for a moment, thinking of it, before snapping back to attention.
“So – how do you like the vacation and Weinig Zug so far?”<br>

[jaspar]

Colin listened interestedly as Kat told him about herself. They were skating at a leisurely pace so he didn't need to concentrate except on what she was saying, which was quite interesting. Kat was obviously an experienced skater and she glided gracefully across the ice like she had been skating all her life. She had been to a lot of places she said, and Colin, who had never been outside Britain found this to be quite intriguing. He had an adventurous spirit and hoped to see quite a bit of the world when he grew up himself. "Wow," he said. "I'm sure it improved your skills but it must have been hard on you, never settling down in one place and having to leave any friends and acquaintances you made whenever you moved," he said, thinking about what it would be like to lead a life like Kat. "Why did you have to travel so much? Was it because of your brother's job?" he asked, noticing Kat had said nothing about her parents and wondering why she lived with her brother and not with them.

The conversation moved onto their family lines. "You didn't? Neither did I! I got the shock of my life, as did my parents!" said Colin. He glanced at Kat for a minute and they exchanged a look of understanding. Her first magical experience took his breath away. "Boy, I'll bet you were surprised! That must have been a stunning and relieving experience at the same time. Do you like riding? I love horses but I never get the chance to spend a lot of time with them, or at least as much as I'd like to really," he said, making a turn so they could skate around the whole lake.

Kat asked him if he liked Weinig Zug. "I like it a lot and it's so exciting to be in a new place and meet new people but I can't find too many Hogwarts students who are close to our age to hang around with. That's why I approached you today because I was looking for a little company. I don’t know a lot of the older students except for two third year girls in my house, Lilliane Staggner and Amelia Richardson, and also my house prefect Nasser. Do you have friends from older years?" he asked. "I'm a little in awe of the older students to be honest with you," he admitted.

[kat]

“Yep, in a way it was harsh. But I had my brother and dunno, I liked to see the new places,” Kat said almost subconsciously raising her hand to a little gold locket around her neck, “I could give my brother one hell of a time though. And yep, we traveled mainly because Jake’s job – Jake is my brother. He is a computer genius and owns his own company now. He needed to present some programs he had written to different companies.”<br>
“We are more or less settled in England now though. We still travel in summer, and my brother has business trips often,” Kat smiled and stopping crouched to fix the lace of her left skate, “We have quite a large estate there and 8 horses. You can come visit sometime and I’ll promise to take you out for a ride.”<br>
“Yeah, magic for the first time was a shock. To both me and Jake,” Kat smirked and stood back up skating back to towards the other end of the lake with Colin, “Older students. Yeah, they are more experienced. Really makes you stare at awe sometimes. I have a couple of older friends though – A Ravenclaw 5th year – Dana for example. And some others.”<br>
“Like Mary,” Kat smiled and whistled loudly to catch the her friends attention and waved at her then, “She’s a third year and Slytherin but quite nice. We get along really well. She’s a fun person to be with and a great friend.”<br>

[Mary Evans]

Mary was skating around in her own world quite oblivious to what was going on around her. She was on her second lap around the rink when she heard someone begin to speak to her. He introduced himself as Charlie a Hufflepuff and asked her to skate with him. “Hello Charlie. I’m Mary, third year Slytherin. Yes I was on my own and yes I certainly would love to skate with you.” She said as she grabbed his arm. Mary was about to start skating again when she heard someone whistle in their direction. She looked over and saw her friend Kat waving at her. She waved back “Hey Kat” she called. “That’s my friend Kat” she told Charlie, stating the obvious since she had just called her Kat. “I don’t know who she is with though. So Charlie how has your trip been so far?”

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles smiled happily at Mary and tried to keep up with the skilled skater as she grabbed his arm and they started skating around the lake at a fast pace. He laughed as he almost tripped and straightened himself at the last moment and continued to skate with her. A friend of Mary’s called to her and Mary told him who she was after waving at Kat who was a first year by the look of her. “We can join them if you like,” he said. Charles was a really sociable person who loved making new friends and acquaintances. He still couldn’t remember what house Mary was in; she seemed so friendly you would have thought she was a Hufflepuff. Not that only Hufflepuffs were friendly, but it was one of their most characteristic traits.

Mary asked Charles if he was enjoying the trip. His answer was quick and enthusiastic. “Well you see photography is one of my hobbies so there are such a lot of things for me to take pictures of here! That’s what I really love about new places. It’s a nice break from school too. What about you? Having fun or done anything exciting?” he asked, glad they had slowed down a little so he could concentrate on the conversation rather than trying not to fall.

[Mary Evans]

Mary scatted along as she had before this time with Charlie’s arm in hand. She then noticed him stumble and slowed down the pace, upset she hadn’t noticed him having trouble earlier. When she had waved to Kat Charlie mentioned that they could go over and join Kat and the boy she was with. “Sure if you don’t mind.” Mary said. By that point they were a little ways away and Mary decided to finish the lap with Charlie first though.

He answered her question about her trip in an excited manor that made Mary smile. He mentioned that he did photography and enjoyed new places because of it. Charlie then asked about her trip and she giggled knowing her answer would likely sound just as eager as his; but she couldn’t help it, she was having a great time. “Oh I am having a blast. I made time for all my favourite things; this is the best break I can remember. I even got to go shopping twice.” Mary said with a grin, shopping was her favourite thing to do. “Plus I have meet so many people, its wonderful. All those silly house politics don’t apply here. I can just talk to people and be normal without them thinking I have something up my sleeve. I even made friends with Gryffindors, that is how relaxed it is here.” Mary said feeling like she was about to burst with excitement.

“But photography, that’s neat. You will have to show me some of your pictures when we get back. Maybe you can even make me copies of a few from here. I brought my camera but I always seem to forget it in the room.” Mary said as they neared Kat.

[jaspar]

"Thanks, I'd love that, I've never tried riding a horse before! Eight horses? Wow!" said Colin. A girl who looked a little older than Kat and Colin passed by them and Kat waved at her and then told Colin who she was. Colin raised his eyebrows in surprise when he found out what house she was in at school. A nice Slytherin? He had yet to meet one of those. So far he had been lucky enough not to be insulted by any of the pureblood fanatics at Hogwarts but he had already been warned that some people considered people like him to have a 'tainted' family line and that they should not be taught magic at Hogwarts. He'd also been told that most of those of people though not all of them were in Slytherin. Still the girl had smiled and waved back and she looked rather friendly so maybe it was just a case of giving a dog a bad name. Colin knew he had a lot to learn about the magical world, and that he shouldn’t jump to conclusions as there was a lot in the magical world that wasn't yet clear to him.

Kat still hadn't said anything about her parents and Colin didn’t ask her about them dreading the answer. She lived with her brother so obviously they were orphans or her parents had deserted them when they were young and either way he didn’t want to remind his new friend of anything like that. Colin waited for Mary and the boy who was with her to join them and continued his chat with Kat while they were waiting. "Do you think it's going to be easy to be part of the magical and the muggle world at the same time?" he asked Kat, as this was a topic he had often thought about himself and wondered what Kat thought about it since she was Muggle-born like him.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Mary was equally enthusiastic about the holiday. Charles was glad he had met her today as she seemed like a very nice person. He wondered why Samantha could not have turned out to be like that. Why was it that they were both Slytherins yet Mary was so friendly and natural and Samantha was so snobbish and cold? Charles listened to the sound of her giggling and wondered when he had last heard his sister giggle. He couldn’t and he felt bad about that, but decided he was not going to spoil his holiday and think of his family. He had done what he could but Samantha just couldn’t see his point of view and that was that. "Cool!" said Charles. "You're right about house politics; you don’t have to think about that nonsense here at all. Lately everybody has been getting so competitive at school it's almost a war. It's refreshing to see somebody like you Mary who doesn't think being in different houses means you can't talk to anyone from a house other than the one you’re in, well not everyone thinks that but the Gryffindors and Slytherins do."

Sharing your art with someone, if he could call his photographs that, was something that could only come with trust. He didn’t know exactly what it was that made him feel it was a side of him that he couldn't easily share with anyone; maybe it was a fear of being told he was a failure? Or perhaps it was because he knew he was still an amateur and needed a lot of practice. He didn’t know and wasn't too sure, but knew that if the person in question was a friend that he trusted he might not feel too uncomfortable showing them his pictures. Charles smiled at Mary, let go of her arm and did a quick circle around her laughing then held on to her arm again. Then his face became serious as he told her a bit about his hobby. "Every time I look through a camera it's like I can see a small story unravelling in front of me without the characters being aware of it. Then I take a snapshot of one of the events in the story and I can look back and remember it or even make up a new one using it for inspiration. I'll… I'll show the pictures of Weinig Zug once I develop them, at least that's if they're any good, and sure I can make you copies of any of the ones you like. What about you, you got something you like to do a lot in your free time?" he asked.

[Mary Evans]

Mary was glad when Charlie said that the house politics thing was out of control. She then looked down and blushed when he said that it was refreshing to meet someone like her. “I really don’t think I am that unique. Even for a Slytherin I don’t think my views are that odd. Look at Perseus and I heard of a girl named Phoebe who apparently doesn’t worry about house politics either.” Mary then looked up again as Charlie let go of her arm and skated around her. She just stood there giggling following him with her gaze but not actually turning around. He then took her arm again and they continued talking. She was glad they had stopped skating, she wasn’t ready to meet with Kat yet; she wanted to get to know Charlie better first.

He began speaking about his photography and the pictures telling a story. The way he made it sound, Mary really wanted to see them, maybe even try some photography herself. She thought the way he spoke about it was lovely and knew he really must love what he does. She really wanted to ask if she could see them but knew how touchy some artists are about their work. She was even somewhat surprised when he agreed to show her his Weinig Zug pictures. “I would love that” she responded when he said he would show his pictures to her.

He then asked what she did with her free time. “I don’t have anything nearly as interesting as you but well…” Mary began trying to figure out what to say. “I love to spend time with friends, listen to music, read. Ummmmm… I am absolutely enthralled by anthropology and also enjoy sociology and psychology because they are all linked. I have a passion for shopping. I play beater for the Slytherin reserve team. I adore that position. Ummmmm I don’t really know, there isn’t really anything interesting about me. Is there anything else you have a passion for?” she asked him, hoping to continue this conversation.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

"Well, maybe. It isn’t just the Slytherins you know, but it is mostly people from your house. I don’t know Perseus or Phoebe, but if they think the same way as you do, that's great. It just shows how much people are prejudiced sometimes and refuse to accept that not everyone conforms to the stereotypes they have in their minds. Some people think we Hufflepuffs have no brains at all and that's it the house people get sorted into just because they didn’t fit the description of any of the three other houses," said Charles with an edge to his voice, "but of course that's not true. I didn't think I would have been happier in any other house really. That doesn’t stop me from making friends outside my own house though. That's another thing I think should change at school," he said, thinking Mary was a really good listener and a nice person to converse with. He smiled when she said she would love to see his pictures, and started to pick out the ones in his mind that he didn’t think were too bad.

"You don’t call those interesting things?" said Charles his eyebrows raised as Mary told him about her interests. "I think they are. Anthropology and sociology," he repeated, scratching his head. "Those are sciences to do with why people do things and how they think and their personalities, right?" he asked. "I can understand you being so interested in such subjects. I often wish I could understand why people do things…" he said, not continuing the sentence. "Ever thought of becoming a Mediwizard? Or a Healer?" he asked. "Not the ones who give you potions and stuff but the ones who are supposed to help people with problems of the nature we're talking about." Perhaps there was a reason why his parents were such people, but no, Charles did not think so. They were evil, through and through. They knew what they were doing and comprehended its consequences fully. Samantha, now she was a different story. If only she would listen… perhaps she needed that kind of help. She would never agree to seek it though so Charles tried not to think about it for now.

"No, not really, unless you count day-dreaming," said Charles with a grin. Day-dreaming was a habit he was no trying to get rid of but there were times when he just couldn't help it. They would be discussing or learning about a particularly boring subject in class, and he would look out of the window, start thinking about something new to do with his camera, and wake up to find a teacher scolding him or a friend nudging him and telling him it was time to leave class. "I do have a penchant for Muggle things though," he remembered. He sighed and wished his parents were a little more understanding. He hated the way they despised everything he was interested in, but he wasn't going to change just for them. He knew there was nothing wrong with what he liked, and that one day he would break away from all his family ties and live his life the way he wanted to, away from them and from their restrictions.

[Mary Evans]

“Yes well you know people; once they have an idea in their minds nothing else they see or hear matters. And I completely agree with what you said about the common perception of Hufflepuffs; and though as far as I can recall you are the only Hufflepuff I am personally acquainted with more than simply knowing their name, I have not ever believed it. I mean every house has it’s own brainless people even Ravenclaw has people who though they are book smart have no common sense. It all depends on the person not the house.” Mary responded happily when Charlie talked about people’s prejudices.

Charlie then questioned Mary’s calling herself and her hobbies uninteresting. Mary simply looked off into the distance, shrugged her shoulders, and smirked. “I suppose it depends on who you are talking to. If you ask my mother I am not only wasting my time on boring muggle subjects but disgracing the family name in the process.” The smirk then changed to a smile as she looked at him once again. “Where as according to you they are perfectly interesting hobbies worth basing a career off. No, I hadn’t really ever thought of being a healer though. It is a good idea I just have never really thought about what I would do after Hogwarts. When I was little and my parent’s doll so to speak it was always assumed I would get married have kids and manage the Evans’ fortune before passing it on to my offspring. When I came into my own mind I suppose I just never thought of planning for the future because I was so used to simply being told what was to come.” Mary said about his suggestion of her becoming a healer.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Disgracing the family name… those words had an all too familiar ring to them that made Charles shudder involuntarily. How he hated them, and how he wished they meant nothing to him but even though he had heard them hundreds of times they always hurt him all the same. Charles looked at Mary and could feel a bond of sympathy form between them born from having been through the same experience. He had never imagined he would meet somebody who had the same problems he had, someone who hated the restrictions imposed on them and tried to rebel against them. He suddenly took Mary's hand in his and held it tightly. "We shouldn’t give in to them," he said firmly. He realised Mary probably had no idea who he was talking about. "Mary, I've never told anyone about this as it is a topic that pains me to talk about, but your telling me about your parents makes me want to share this with you. My parents… well from your description of your parents I'm almost surprised we're not related. My parents are like yours exactly; they think purebloods are better than everyone else and that anyone who isn’t pure should be treated like filth and are unequal to us. They've… they've stopped talking to me and are trying to punish me in any way they can because I was sorted into Hufflepuff and then I made a lot of friends who aren’t pure. I wish they could understand; I wish they could just…" Charles stopped in mid-sentence, suddenly feeling frustrated and he dropped Mary's hand and looked away. "I wish they could accept me for what I am. I'm not going to change for them; I just know that I'm right about this," he said his frustration making him say all this a little quickly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted all that stuff and burdened you with my problems, it's just that I think you'll understand," he said looking back at her.

Charles wondered of that was how Samantha felt about her future. He was quite sure she had no plans, of course if you asked her she would say she did but then their parents had probably told her what they wanted her to do and Charles guessed that it probably wasn't very different from what Mary's parents had had in mind for her future. "Why do you think you were sorted in Slytherin?" asked Charles curiously. He was hoping against hope that there was still a chance for Samantha, even though he was almost sure it was too late now. He couldn’t think of anything that would shake Samantha's ideas and make her see she was destroying her own life.

[Mary Evans]

Charlie shuddered and Mary worried something was wrong, perhaps he was hit by a blast of cold that she was numb to or something. He then looked at her with a very odd gleam in his eyes and she could see a lot of sympathy, pain, and concern there. Worried that she had upset him Mary was about to ask what was wrong when he suddenly grabbed her hand and held on for dear life. "We shouldn’t give in to them,” he said. Mary tried to remember what she had said that could spark that kind of reaction from him as she held his hand with equal force. She had simply been speaking about her lack of knowledge concerning her future… before that her interests and how whether or not they are fascinating is a matter of opinion… and before that she had been agreeing with him that the stereotypes at Hogwarts were out of control. She could not imagine what was wrong. She looked around to see if maybe it was something outside themselves but saw nothing unusual.

Looking back over to him all she could see in his eyes was hurt; she didn’t know what to say. Apparently she did not have to say anything because next thing she knew he was speaking again; this time about his parents. She thought about how right he was about how alike their parents are when she heard him talk about his own. She felt awful as he talked about his parent’s punishment of him being put into Hufflepuff that was still taking place three years later; especially because she knew how bad it must be considering her parents would react just the same. Mary knew if her parents knew anything about the majority of her friends it would mean no time to herself, no more shopping trips, no more Quidditch, and possibly even a transfer to Durmstang. She knew how he felt; the yearning to be accepted by your family was quite familiar to her. Mary was glad her parent did not know the half of it or they would probably disown her, now they still thought there was a chance to save her and therefore still made the effort.

Mary had been silent through his whole speech when he apologized for confiding in her. He had dropped her hand by then so she linked her arm with his and led him to a near-by bench thinking it best they sit and talk rather than stand in the middle of the rink. Still feeling uncertain about what to say Mary decided just to push back the Slytherin impulse and let him see her true feelings. She allowed all the sympathy, understanding, hurt, just everything wash over her face. “You don’t have to worry about telling me about things like that. I mean we don’t know each other too well sure but trust me I don’t see it as a burden. Its good to know there is someone with the same type family who actually took the plunge and went completely against them, where as I only half rebel.” Mary said with a weak smile hoping Charlie did not think she was using his pain to make herself feel better, she just really did not know what to say. Mary also allowed the look in her eyes to show just how uncertain yet good meaning she was hoping he would pick that up. She really did want to try and help him even if it was only to confirm he is not the only one raised by them who can see how utterly wrong people like that are.

As they reached the bench Charlie asked why Mary thought she had been sorted into Slytherin. Her response was fairly quick seeing as she asked herself the same question several times through the years. “I am almost certain I was placed in Slytherin because in first year I was conforming to my parents wishes. Plus I just fit there really. I may not conform to the prejudice thing but many other qualities I do possess. I can be cunning, conniving, deceitful, and manipulative when truly determined, although I do try and save them as a last resort. Plus I don’t mind a little not so clean fun every once and awhile so long as the person truly deserves it in my mind. Not to mention I really don’t care what people think of me, so I am not afraid to do any of those things and will be proud of it when I have. Plus I am not a ‘just and loyal Hufflepuff’ nor do I think before I act often, and very seldom am I noble. Nobility is something I have never understood actually, if everybody looks out for themselves then nobody will need help; but if somebody is always there trying to help then people don’t learn to look out for themselves. Then they become dependant and will eventually get everyone into a whole heap of trouble because they are not used to having to think and do for themselves.” Mary said, not in a malicious way though; simply stating her thoughts.

[kat]

“Yep, eight. Although ‘Darling’ is about to have a foul soon,” Kat said with a smile, thinking back to the small and gentle blight-brown horse back at home.

“Both worlds,” Kat bit down into her lower lip and thought about the question.
“Well, some pure-bloods do look down on me, because I’m a muggle-born, but not all. Their opinions doesn’t bother me though. Or rather let’s say that I won’t let those pure-bloods opinion of me to bother me,” Kat answered after a little while, skating ahead slowly, “My brother transferred a rather large portion of our money to Gringotts and is by now already a share-holder in quite many wizarding companies, so the only hardship I might really encounter is really the bad-opinions of some snobbish pure-bloods.”<br>
“And the muggle-world won’t bother me – I’ve lived there for 11 years after all,” Kat added with a broad grin towards Colin, “What about you? You a muggle-born, pureblood or a half-blood? And what did your parents think when you got accepted to Hogwarts?”



((Sorry, for the late reply, Colin. Anyway - this place is closing soon anyway - would you like to start a new post somewhere at school?)

[Charles Driscoll H7]

"Thank you," said Charles gratefully. "For being so understanding, I mean," he said, noticing the sudden change in Mary's expression. It made her look more… real somehow; there was no other word for it. Their friendship was cemented in that moment, or at least that was how Charles felt. It was very few people who knew how much suffering Charles endured, for he was proud and did not let everyone in on how sad he could feel at times. He usually bounced back into his normal cheerful state, but he still couldn’t completely forget the overwhelming yearning he had at times to have normal parents who knew how to love. There had been Samantha to replace them three years ago but now he had to fend for himself after she told him she hated him and turned her back on him. He had to tell himself he was on the right track whatever his family said and to focus on making sure he stayed on it, that there were other people out there he could try and be friends with and depend on for affection and friendship. He could see that Mary was one of them and he flashed her a smile and shook himself a little as if shaking away the gloom their conversation had brought upon them.

"Well, I'm not a total rebel myself, I mean I don’t ask for trouble and I certainly try and hide anything I now will annoy them. But they know about me being a Hufflepuff of course and they know about my friends, probably because of my older sister," said Charles. He hoped Mary would not ask him about Samantha, it was a painful topic that he was sure would darken their moods again. He listened to Mary's answer and commented on it after a little thought. "Well it takes all kinds to make a world. Also being cunning and ambitious does not necessarily mean that a person has to be evil. It's not like Slytherin is the only house that produces evil witches and wizards. We all have our faults," said Charles with a shrug. "We all have our faults. I think the important thing is to try and cancel out all the bad you do by doing an equal amount of good deeds, or more if you can." he continued. He leaned his to one side as he thought about Mary's opinion on nobility. "I daresay you have a point there. But sometimes people need a help – a push maybe or some advice. But you're right about not taking it to extremes – the person you’re helping might turn into a leech and then you’d regret helping them in the first place."

Charles looked at his watch. Quite a lot of time had gone by and he hadn’t noticed at all! "Mary, do you want to get something to eat? We're going to have to leave soon I think," he said.