The Day After Christmas

[Sara Malvagio R4]

Sara smiled at the drooping decorations that had been hung on the common room tree so carefully. It was the day after Christmas and the common room was nearly deserted. Yesterday the few kids that had remained for the holidays had gathered together in the common room and discussed their newly acquired presents, most of them books. The common room had been draped in shiny green, red and gold curtains that glittered madly in the dying light of the fireplace. White candles were floating in midair just above reach, though when a taller student attempted to touch a candle it mysteriously raised higher, as if by magic. Sara chuckled at her mental joke causing some stirring across the common room as students stared at her. She frowned and burrowed deeply into her armchair pulling the blanket she had brought with her to her chin.

Sara continued to admire the decorations. The large towering Christmas tree was her favorite. Unlike the tree decorated at home this tree was simple and elegant. The fresh pine aroma that hung around it blended smoothly with the smell of the fire. The tree had been decorated with hundreds of gold balls, each engraved with the name of a student. Glittering red streamers were wrapped around the tree in a symmetrical motion reaching all the way to the white angle placed carefully on top. The angel, Sara had smiled when she realized this, was clutching a book in her hand which she was tapping slightly with her wand. Every now and then the wand would glow slightly. The tree's branches were covered in magical snow, conjured to never melt, and created a dusted look on the green pine needles. Underneath the tree was even more snow and a few presents, though no one knew who they were for.

Sara leaned her head against the armrest of the armchair. She was in a position most would call uncomfortable. He small body was squashed in between the two armrests and her knees were pressed closely to her stomach, ankles crosses. Other Ravenclaws often came down to the common room to read their books and do homework but only a few students attempted to lie down in their armchairs as she did. Sara normally didn't pay attention to others around her. She took out her new present, a book from her elder brother Johnathon on wandlore and began reading. The book itself wasn't that interesting; it seemed to be written more to instruct them entertain, but her brother was a wand craftsman and he of course found the book to be a great read. Johnathon often sent her books about wands, some interesting like myths about the first wand, some boring like instruction manuals for proper wand care and every once in a while he would send a book so painfully boring that it tended to vanish completely from Sara's belongings. Nonetheless, Sara enjoyed reading and would take the time to look through Johnathon's wand books as she did today.

From the corner of the room Sara heard the tittering laughter of an elder Ravenclaw girl. When a Ravenclaw read a book in the common room it generally meant they were bored, well to the sociable ones that was what it meant. If you wanted to read a book seriously you stayed in your common room so you wouldn't be distracted. Sara had mastered the art of blocking out the noises in the common room, as most students do, but when she was bored, as she was today, each noise seemed to call her attention. She sighed as her eyes read through the pages though her mind wished someone would come to interact with her, or at least do something amusing she could watch.

((OOC: Whew first post...the most nervracking one. Roleplay with me if you'd like )

[Ephraim Eades R7]

For Ephraim, Christmas was normally spent with his grandparents. The Witherson family always had a big get together, as their four children would come, each bringing the children of their own. There was his uncle Daniel Witherson, a well-established magical home builder, his aunt Michaela, a jinx-reversal specialist, his uncle Wallace, nobody was quite sure what he did, and then there was Ephraim's mother Lisa, a singer. Each of the four Witherson children had their spouse as well, that is everyone except Lisa. Not to mention, two, three, and up to four kids per family. Just another way in which Ephraim didn't fit in. He was the only one of his cousins who didn't have a sibling. It seemed that the only positive part of Christmas was that Finn was always there. Finn was the saving grace for Ephraim during any Witherson Christmas get-together.

This Christmas would not be the same though. Lisa decided to stay in America, meaning that Ephraim wouldn't just be fatherless this Christmas, but motherless too. At least it was something he had learned to live with. And, as much as his grandparents had become his parents, part of him just felt inclined to stay at Hogwarts over break, and so he did. Despite Finn's best efforts to convince him otherwise, Ephraim was more than happy to just be able to enjoy Christmas to himself. And on the bright side, there were always the other select students who decided to do the same. He wouldn't truly be alone.

With it being holiday break, there was no homework to do. No exams to revise for. No essays to write. For most Ravenclaws, this was the most dull part of the year. However, E never usually had much trouble keeping busy. If it wasn't a book that he would page through effortlessly, he could always find someone to join in on a game of wizards' chess. Even the weather hadn't been too brutal, allowing him the occasional stroll through the cold winter air. At worst, he could just grab his broom and practice some Quidditch. Though it wasn't as fun as playing the actual sport, he knew that a few solo laps around the pitch could never hurt.

Whistling a familiar Christmas tune, Ephraim levitated a stack of three books that he had been sent for Christmas by his grandparents. They were part of a series, a trio of books covering the rare magical plants from around the world. One volume covered North and South America, another volume contained plants from Europe and Asia, and the third detailed the different plants of Africa, Antarctica (though this section was small), and Australia. If he were to thumb through the pages and look for a few to read more closely later, he figured it might take up an hour or so of his time.

As he walked to find a seat, he saw a younger girl sitting with her own book. She seemed somewhat intent in her reading, but it was obvious that she had noticed Ephraim passing. He took a seat nearby, always curious to know about the books that others were reading. "For fun or for knowledge?" he asked, referring to her purpose of reading. Though he secretly favoured reading for knowledge, he had a soft spot for certain books which were written for the purpose of entertainment. About ninety percent of his own collection were non fiction books, but one couldn't avoid all fiction if they were truly a lover of books. He flashed a warm smile of cordiality. Despite his love of reading, he was rarely too hooked in a book to miss the chance for a light-hearted conversation.

[Sara Malvagio R4]

Sara had become interested in the book at last. The chapter she was reading, entitled The Maker of The Wand, discussed the wand maker and how only certain people were blessed with the gift of creating wands. To be a wand maker, according to the book, you must be curios and daring. Only through these traits did one gain the skill of wand making due to its guesswork nature. The book presented the possible theory that just as which wand a wizard had is destiny, the makers of wands have the skills already in them, it is not something easily learned.

Sara found the idea of destiny fascinating. Her brother had seemingly chosen to become a wand maker, an elite profession, and it did seem that he had a natural ability for it due to his risk taking attitude. Destiny was always something that bothered her. Was our destiny laid out for us or do our decisions in fact determine our destiny? She liked to think that humans had been given the choice, and blessed with reason to pick the correct choice.

She had been so engrossed in her philosophical thoughts she almost hadn't noticed the boy who had walked by her. Due to her eye level she hadn't gotten a good look at the boy, he wasn't someone she recognized. She got the feeling that he was tall though, and he seemed well built. She heard his whistle and smiled at the familiarity of the tune. She saw three books levitated behind him follow him to his seat. She was surprised when he chose a seat near her and even more so when he spoke to her. For fun or for knowledge? he had asked her, his voice carrying over from his seat. She supposed he was talking to her, no one else was sitting nearby reading. She sat up rightly in her chair, it would be rude to talk to him while she was lying down, and thought of how to respond.

The book had originally stared out quite dull, wand books tended to be for her, but informative nonetheless. She always read the books her brother sent her however, it had become like tradition. Sara smiled as she realized her answer, "For tradition," she said with a smile, "My brother sends me a book about wandlore every Christmas, he is a wand maker; and I read the book he sends every year, even if I find it dull. This chapter is more interesting though, it talks about how wand makers could be destined to be wand makers. 'Just as the wand chooses the wizard the wand maker chooses the craft.'" Her last line had been quoted directly from the book.

Sara mentally chided herself, she had been looking down as she responded. She lifted her gaze and looked at the boy. He was obviously older then her, probably a sixth or seventh year. He was very, manly would be a word to describe him though it felt a bit flat. Her dark eyes gleamed in the firelight ad she looked into his blue eyes. They were an amazing shade, reminiscent of a character in her favorite muggle book series. She smiled slightly "I'm Sara Malvagio, it is a pleasure to meet you," she said fluidly.

[Ephraim Eades R7]

She exuded an air of agreeableness as the girl answered Ephraim's question. Moreover, her answer intrigued him as she commented on wandlore and the concept of destiny. How philosophically deep, he thought. "Wow, I guess that covers both knowledge and entertainment," he returned. The girl had smiled as she answered and then looked up at E, introducing herself shortly after.

"Nice to officially meet you, Sara. I think I've seen you around before." Her pale skin and warm brown eyes were quite distinct. Ephraim recalled seeing Sara and thinking that she had a sort of soft beauty to her, unlike many of the other girls. It was almost as though she had a certain heritage, one that Ephraim couldn't quite pinpoint at the time. "I'm Ephraim," he replied, flashing again his normal toothy smile. "Call me E though." Rare was the introduction which included this small command. A nickname which lacked in creativity, but Ephraim loved it nonetheless. It wasn't that he didn't like his given name, but the nickname had seemed to grow on him, and it was a heck of a lot easier to write down.

"So your brother... a wandmaker? That's cool." He nodded his head, a slight inflection of pitch in his voice to denote his interest. The only wandmaker that E knew much about was Ollivander. He was the most well-known wand expert in England. Sure there were others out there, but that was one subject that Ephraim had never taken the time to research. "Is he well known? Did he make your wand?" With Ephraim, the questions never really stopped. Of course most Ravenclaws were curious like that, so perhaps Sara would understand. At any rate, the best way to get to know somebody was through questioning, so he figured that a few quick-fired questions was the best way to start their conversation.

[Sara Malvagio R4]

Sara smiled even larger when he responded to her. She was a bit shy when she was meeting strangers and this boy wasn't much different. She had planned to make a New Years resolution to be more outgoing and confident but the new year was still five days away. "E," she repeated, it was a memorization technique. She liked the nickname, it had a nice ring to it and it made him more memorable; not that Ephriam isn't a memorable name on its own. Must be a pure blood, Sara thought, Luckily my brother and I were spared that; even if our middle names were not.

"Yes I think I have seen you around," Sara said hearing the girl laugh sharply again. The common room was large, mainly do to the books that lined the walls, but more sociable people liked the atmosphere and stayed out of their dormitories with their friends. E seemed like that type of person, Sara supposed her confidence level would rise with age, she could even gain an air of superiority that her family was known for in Italy. Sara hoped that her accent wasn't too strong. She had learned English at the same time she began learning Italian and lived in England for the past seven years so it wasn't that bad. It always sounded worse in her head then it actually was spoken aloud.

He had mentioned her brother, most were usually interested when she brought him up, a wand maker was an odd profession. "I don't believe he is well known yet, he just finished his final apprenticeship with the most famous wand maker in Italy." Sara said softly. She couldn't help her facial expression when she talked about her brother but managed to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "He did make my wand actually," Sara said with a smile as she pulled out her smoothed oak wand from her sleeve holder. "It was the first he made." She held the wand softly in the firelight for E to see. It was a handsomely made wand, at least as nice as any found in Olivander's. Her wand always held a special kind of magic for her, it was a gift from her brother when she first started schooling and he first began his last level of apprenticeship. She thought he must have gotten extra points for choosing such an unusual core.

[Ephraim Eades R7]

"Well, everyone's got to start somewhere, right?" E shrugged, figuring that even if Sara's brother wasn't well known now, he'd surely gain some sort of reputation, especially if he was working with a wandmaker who was well known. "That's really unique though that your wand was his first. I bet he was nervous to make sure that it would work properly." Wandlore surely had to be a difficult subject to study. There was so much to consider. Magic itself was such a complex aspect, and wands were essentially the vector that conjured a large portion of magic that witches and wizards used. There was clearly little room for error.

"So when he gave it to you, did you know it was the right one? I'm sure you heard how Mr. Ollivander suggests that the wand chooses the wizard. I'm curious to know what you think of that, seeing that you didn't have much of a choice, right?" Ephraim wasn't doubting the quality of Sara's wand, nor the fact that it was or was not the right wand for her. He had just always remembered what Mr. Ollivander had said. Plus, in all of his years of working with magic, he'd seen many people unable to properly work certain wands. Often it was because they were using another person's wand, but he'd also noticed that some people had their own wands which just didn't seem to cooperate with them.

"My wand has a Leprechaun hair core. I've heard that wands with this type of core don't favour well to those who aren't of Irish descent though. Lucky for me, my father was Irish. Obviously I was lucky enough to avoid his red-headed gene as I look much more like my mother." Eprhaim smiled, wondering how silly he'd look with flaming red hair. "What about you? What wand core do you have? It is true that certain cores are best for certain types of magic, right? It isn't some myth that we all choose to believe is it?" E was sure that Sara might have gleaned a bit of wandlore information from her brother. Part of him wished he had a sibling who was so involved in such a rare field as wandmaking. Then again, part of Ephraim wished he had a sibling in general.

[Sara Malvagio R4]

Sara smiled at E's enthusiasm. Not many people she had met actually cared much to discuss aspects of wandlore; they seemed more interested in their own wands. "Wandlore is a fascinating subject," Sara said comfortably, "There are many different aspects and qualities to take into consideration, though my brother and his colleges can make it sound terribly dull at times," Sara said with a rueful smile. "It's funny you should mention Ollivander, my mother was worried that the wand wouldn't work suitably for me because it hadn't chosen me but Ollivander told her that the products seemed to have been selected specifically for me. Apparently my brother knew that the core and wood matched me, which Ollivander found incredibly strange. My wand wood comes from my favorite oak tree in my backyard," Sara said with a slight grimace, "My brother figured it would be a good match because I would always sit in it to read."

Sara thought about telling him more about her brother but chose to stay on topic and continued explaining what she knew about wands. "Magic is supposed to originate from the soul of the wizard themselves, the wand just acts as a portal for magic to travel through. That is why wandless magic is possible, though it takes a lot of power and ability to focus. Ollivander believes, as most wand makers do, that when a person has a special affinity with an object that object performs better because there is a connection with the certain wood or core and the soul of the person." Sara had become animated as she spoke, rarely did she talk about wandlore in respect to her brother but E seemed like a good audience and was responding to her explanations before, she wondered if she was becoming professor-ish as a boy in her year sometimes behaved. She remembered that E had asked her a question about her core after stating his was Leprechaun hair.

"My wand has a Krakon horn core, powdered though I believe," Sara said remembering the day she did research on her wand core. "Certain types of cores are supposed to be better for certain magic. It depends on the animals that they come from. You Leprechaun hair core reacts better to those of Irish descent because Leprechauns, much like Irish if I may make the generalization, tend to stay more to themselves and are untrustworthy of other species. Likewise a creature associated with darker magic like a Runespoor would respond better to darker magic. A softer creature like a unicorn responds better to lighter arts and are often see with people who have only the purest of intentions. It is easily traced by wand makers, especially in a place like Hogwarts where it is already separated on personality. The people in Slytherin house have wands made of trees that are more rigid and animals that are confrontational while the students Hufflepuff have wands made of softer, pliable wood and gentler creatures. The wand wood seems to symbolize the person and the wand core the type of magic," Sara finished lamely realizing her explanation had grown into a lecture. "It sounds a bit like palmistry when you put it all together," she added musingly.

[Ephraim Eades R7]

Though only a teenager, Sara spoke with the intelligence of an adult. Ephraim was becoming increasingly impressed as she rattled off fact after fact about wandlore in general and then more about her own specific wand. Some might have said that she was acting like a know-it-all, but E was genuinely interested in what she was saying. Part of him though was curious to know more about Sara and less about wands. He'd have hated for them to have an entire conversation about wands and such if he couldn't even learn more about her.

Palmistry, now that was another interesting subject. Ephraim couldn't resist. "Think you could read my palm?" It wasn't a challenge as much as it was intended to be fun. He remembered a few classes that he had which covered some of the basics of palm-reading. It was a dying form of divination, but still used nonetheless. Some argued that without the proper 'inner-eye' an accurate palm-reading was impossible. It was always fun to give it a try though. "If you go first, I'll read yours next."

((Sorry... short and delayed. Hopefully you'll bear with me... ))

[Sara Malvagio R4]

((It's fine, RL calls))

Sara sighed inwardly with relief, he hadn't mentioned her lecture and instead focused on the last sentence, palmistry. Sara had never really been interested in Divination. It seemed like a dying class to take and, to put it frankly, useless in life. It was good for those gifted with the so called "sight" but for average people like herself, it seemed like a light elective. "Alas I lack the inner-eye," Sara said in a lighter tone to match his. "I chose to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes instead of Divination or Care of Magical Creatures. I didn't think I'd have the aptitude for it. I would gladly make it up for you though," Sara said with a smile.

She grasped his hand in hers lightly and pretended to stare intently for a few moments. "I see, I see dark forbidding times for you. Hear, your age line seems to be cut short, a tragic death awaits you. And here your brain line seems to disappear entirely which tells us that you will enter a coma and even if you recover you will have a deep sense of amnesia and live your life thinking you are a duck," Sara said in her best impression of Professor Trelawney's misty voice.

Sara smiled as she looked down at his hand. "Your life will not be all misery though," she continued, "In fact, this very day you will have a conversation with a lovely young girl about the subject of," Sara stopped in her pretend trance as she traced the lines of his hand and gasped, "Palmistry. Oh my it seems as if I do have the sight, a prediction has come true!" She cut off with a laugh and dropped released his hand. "Well maybe not the best predictions but I gave it a chance," Sara said with a shrug. "Care to do mine oh mysterious fortune teller," she said grandly as she held her hand out to him.

[Ephraim Eades R7]

Ephraim was happy that Sara agreed to read his palm. This should prove to be interesting, he thought. It was obvious within the first few seconds of her palm-reading that Sara was going to dramatize the results. With a smirk and a wary eye, Ephraim watched her as she predicted a death, a coma, and finally a conversation with a lovely girl about palmistry. How ironic. "Wow, you're good," he chimed in with sarcasm. Then, he laughed taking Sara's hand in his own and laying it flat against his. "My turn."

Despite Sara's ridiculous attempt, Ephraim actually wanted to see what her lines said. He knew palmistry was a lost art, but it was still practiced nonetheless. He knew the main lines and what they represented, even if the rest of it he would pull from thin air. "Look at that destiny line," he began, tracing the line that ran from the base of Sara's palm to the base of her middle finger. "Very defined. Apparently destiny has you hooked in well." He raised his brow, observing what he knew to be the heart, life, and brain lines. Identifying them was one thing, but figuring what they meant, that was another. Here's where the creativity would come in.

"Well, your life line isn't cut short, so unlike me you'll have a long and hopefully happy life. Your brain line and heart line seem to run perfectly parallel, which means you must have a good balance of head and heart." Perhaps he sounded somewhat competent. He couldn't be sure though. "Ah... but here..." he pointed to a tiny little line that he really had no clue about. "This line says that you pick bad friends. The people you surround yourself with are... well, they're just not good people. Sounds like you need a new friend." Smiling, he let Sara have her hand back before he laughed at his bogus palm reading.

[Sara Malvagio R4]

Sara laughed slightly at his sarcastic tone, after all she had warned him she was rubbish at palmistry. She shivered slightly as Ephraim took her hand. Just by his touch she could tell he was more serious about his palmistry and would probably attempt and actual reading. Sara had never herself been interested in Divination, though the idea of astrology appealed to her, for no other reason that she loved star gazing. She had read books about palmistry but apart from the three main lines Sara could not remember what they said.

Sara leaned forward slightly to get a better look at her hand as E made his predictions. Sara smiled fondly at his intense gaze directed at her hand. Her eyes moved to follow his gaze as he described her destiny, Ironic, that was exactly what you were thinking about earlier wasn't it? Her inner voice told her as she remembered her thought of destiny and a chill set over her body. Luckily for Sara she didn't have to worry long about the dark mystery of her future, one couldn't help being comforted by E's warm presence and she smiled he continued.

Sara looked towards her hand in an attempt to see what lines he was pointing out. She had heard of the heart, brain and life lines before but where they sat on her hand was a mystery to her. A long happy life, Sara thought with a smile though his next prediction startled her. E had pointed to a, seemingly insignificant, line on her hand and told her she made bad friends and needed new ones. His candid voice sounded so believable that Sara couldn't tell whether it was true or not, though his warm smile gave him away after wards. She wondered if he knew how close to home he had been, she never had the best choices when it came to friends.

"Perhaps I could use a new friend," she responded with a smile as E let her hand go, it still felt warm from his touch. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone interested would you," Sara added with and earnest expression. She knew of course that by a new friend he had meant her and she became delighted by the idea. E seemed like a very mature and together person, someone that anyone's mother would approve of, Sara thought wryly.

"It is odd that you should mention my destiny line, which I have never heard of actually," Sara said with a slight twinkle in her eye. "I had just been thinking about the concept of destiny before you arrived in the Common Room." Sara had been taught by her Catholic Church that their destiny was predetermined but like any teenager her age she liked to believe that she had more freedom then that.