Everything about this was baloney. The war was over. Thankfully the family had come through unscathed, but even so, mum and da had thought it necessary to send them away. No bombs dropping. No sirens had blared in nearly two years, but off they went anyway.
It was events like this that Everleigh hated. At home she could be herself without the fake facade that was required of a Pureblood lady. Thankfully her parents were supportive of her thoughts and wishes, but still, in public there were expectations. The wardrobe was one of the more obvious and annoying aspects of proper society. Dresses or skirts that went to the ankle, tops that were loose fitting with flouncy sleeves and soft silky fabrics, ruffles, dear god the ruffles, bows and pleats. And oh the layers. It was stuffy and itchy and suffocating. Looking at the boys, she envied their easy trousers, shirt and vest. Was it really too much to ask for a simple pair of pants?
‘It’s good to get out and meet new friends.’ The arguments were all the same. ‘It’s safer for you there. You always have so much fun at the summer facility.’
But do I? Sure, there was some fun to be had, at least this time there was a lake and meadow. She had deposited her trunk in the dorm, unpacked a few things before she had run out of steam and went to look for something fun. It was still early on the first day, so there weren’t many kids in attendance. At least she knew Alice was around somewhere.
Walking into the feast hall, Everleigh took stock of the layout and people milling around. Annnnnnd great, she didn’t recognize anyone.
From afar Everleigh looked like the sweet pureblood girl you would expect from the Ravenstone/Nordstrom family. Ravenstone’s being her father’s family, Nordstrom her mother. As you get closer, there were things that would set Ever apart from the other high society princesses. No makeup, no vacant expression. Her eyes were calculating, fire hiding in their depths, smarter than most her age she didn’t just read fictional novels, but the daily papers as well. She wanted to know what was happening in the world and how she could change things for the better.
Taking a seat in the middle of the hall, Everleigh sat down at an empty spot. Back straight, head held high, no elbows on the table, napkin in her lap. The glass at her place setting filled with lemonade while the plate filled with a simple sandwich. Lifting the bread, she saw mayo, ham and lettuce. Great, she hated mayo. One more reason to be annoyed, the list was getting dreadfully long.
During his past years in Hogwarts, Timothy had gotten used to not being at home… but being at the summer camp still felt different. His mother had wanted him to attend this “summer facility thing” this year. She’d said Timothy had to spend some time with his friends now that they were still young and free from things such as work and responsibilities. That was the best thing about Timothy’s mother. She would say things straight and not care what others would think of her opinions. Timothy wanted to be just the same when he would grow up.
With a smile on his face, Timothy walked into the feast hall and took a quick look around. No familiar faces. He was a bit disappointed and considered taking a seat far from others and wait for Aidan and Jerry, but figured his friends might have already left the feast hall. Therefore, he decided to sit down next to some of the students that were, for one reason or another, sitting by themselves. There were a couple of possibilities… and finally, Timothy took a seat next to a young girl who seemed to be sitting kind of… strictly? It caught his attention.
Timothy couldn’t help but wonder if one of the adults were watching them, judging them based on how they would position themselves while they were eating. “Are they watching us?” he asked the girl, while the glass in front of him started filling with lemonade. Timothy took a deep, disappointed breath. He’d wanted pumpkin juice. At least it wasn't Coca Cola...
“I don’t think we’ve met yet!” Timothy then said smiling, offering his hand for the girl to shake. It was funny though, how people would still do that – shake hands – when the origin of handshaking was a way to let the other person know that you had peaceful intentions, that you could be trusted with. “I’m Timothy.”
Her eyes were glazed over, not really taking in anything around her. People moving around the hall eating, chatting, snogging… really? Already? Honestly Everleigh didn’t understand the big deal. It was lips and spit and just… Why?
It was at that moment someone dropped into the space next to her, waking her from this daydream. “Are they watching us?” Blinking out of her haze, Everleigh looked over at her new neighbor questioningly. “Hmm, who?” Looking around the feast hall, she didn’t notice anyone staring in their direction. “Everyone seems to be consumed by their own issues. I think we just blend into the background.”
Picking up her sandwich, Everleigh took a bite, forgetting the Mayo covering both pieced of bread. *Gag
Ugh, so gross. Picking her lemonade up she chugged three full mouthfuls to get the horrible taste out of her mouth. She realized that her behavior might be seen as distasteful, so it was only right to apoplogize.
“Sorry, there is mayo on the bread. It’s absolutely the worst.” She said, pushing her plate away. Finally looking clearly at the older boy that took up the seat next to her, Everleigh smiled. He seemed… normal?
“I don’t think we’ve met yet! I’m Timothy.” He held his hand out towards her, in a friendly gesture. She was used to such niceties, so her hand slid into his easily, shaking in a friendly gesture. “No, I don’t suppose we have. Nice to meet you. I’m Everleigh.”
Looking around the table, she grabbed an apple from the pile in front of her and a a brownie off the tray, which lets be honest, was so much better than mayo.
“So, you got the pleasure of being sent to the summer facility as well? I’m not sure why my parents thought this was necessary. I did hear that there was a bonfire planned for tomorrow night though, so maybe there will be smores. That is really the only thing that will make this bearable.”
Judging from the girl’s reaction, she didn’t think anyone was watching them. “Oh, never mind…” Timothy said, giving her a quick wave of his hand, like he was suggesting the girl to forget about it.. However, just to be clear, Timothy decided to mimic the position the girl was sitting in, realizing it would be difficult for him to not have his elbows on the table. He’d never really paid attention to that before, because his parents wouldn’t care about something that small. They didn’t follow tight rules when it came to eating and stuff like that. Having other manners was important to them, though. The girl then said something about the two of them blending into the background, which was probably true. There were students that were much louder than they were. There were students that would throw pieces of food at each other, which should be enough to catch an adult’s attention. If it wouldn’t catch their attention, Timothy didn’t know what would.
He lifted the top part of the bread, noticing there was no mayo on his bread. Maybe they’ve ran out? Or maybe they’ve heard some complaints about them putting mayo in their breads? Whatever the reason was, Timothy handed the girl his bread. “Here. Take this. It seems to only have some butter, ham and cheese in it. No mayo.” he said, giving her his warmest smile as he waited for the girl to hand him her bread. “I don’t mind having mayo on mine.”
The girl introduced herself as Everleigh, and Timothy nodded his head once as he tried to think of ways to remember her name correctly. Obviously, he knew he would most likely fail for the first few times. He’d always been terriböe with names, which was unfortunate, especially at school when he was supposed to remember the names of his professors. It was kind of embarrassing to just yell “hey, you!” at them when you had a problem you needed some help with. He’d done that.
“I did yeah,” Timothy chuckled when Everleigh pointed out Timothy, too, had been sent to this summer facility. “I found it impossible to talk my mom out of it, so I… just came here…” Timothy shrugged his shoulders. When Everleigh then mentioned a bonfire, and the possibility of smores, Timothy suddenly felt a whole lot more excited. “A bonfire? They are building a bonfire?” he repeated, “I hadn’t heard of that, yet. Are we all invited, though?” Timothy asked, wondering if that was the reason he hadn’t heard about it yet – what if he wasn’t invited into the fun? He did know it was more likely that the message just hadn’t reached him yet. He’d spent yesterday by himself because he was feeling a little down, after all. His dorm mates were already sleeping when he came in and they were also still sleeping when he’d left the dorm this morning.
“Here. Take this. It seems to only have some butter, ham and cheese in it. No mayo.” Timothy said, handing over a sandwich with a smile. Everleigh’s eyes went wide and a smile graced her normally serious face. “I don’t mind having mayo on mine.”
Her shoulders lowered just a smidge and her entire frame seemed to relax a small amount while her smile grew. After the initial bite, her eyes shut and she sighed. “I can’t thank you enough. I was so hungry and I can only have so many snacks.” Taking another bite, now not in danger of going hungry, she was much more relaxed and open with the boy next to her.
“So where are you from Timothy? I live in a small parish north of Lancashire, Tunstall isn’t all that much, but it is a magical community, so that’s nice. When we aren't there, we visit my mum’s family in Sweden.”
It was amazing how a few bites of protein and carbs made the girls mouth start working. She wasn’t a blabbermouth, but not being hungry worked wonders.
“A bonfire? They are building a bonfire?” he asked. “I hadn’t heard of that, yet. Are we all invited, though?”
Taking another bite, she chewed and drank some lemonade to wash it down. “Absolutely, I heard it was like a welcome to camp, come meet everyone type thing. So the entire camp is invited. Not that there are many people here. Did you hear about what happened with Head Master Halloway? My parents seemed a bit hesitant to send me and my sister Alice back to camp or the castle, but ultimately decided it was the best. I guess we’re getting a new Head Mistress and Deputy Head Master. Tons of people aren't coming back. There are four of my friends that won’t be returning until the ministry can assure their parents it will be safe. It’s going to be a crazy year.”
Alice stared at the first year, her mouth hanging open a bit. The girl was talking about how terrified she had been sleeping away from home for the first time in her entire life the night before. The older Ravenstone, as one of the female volunteers, had been tasked with making sure the girl was comfortable for her second night.
Alice glanced past the little girl’s worried face to the clock on the wall. Ever would be in the feast hall, and her own stomach was growling. The sun had drained her, so all the energy she had gotten from breakfast was gone.
“Susie, if you get scared again, you can come to my bed, okay?” Alice responded, giving in. The little girl’s face lit up a bit with relief. “Let’s go eat something. It’ll help you feel better.”
The two set off from the dorm and to the feast hall. As soon as Alice entered, little Susie spotted some friends and ran off with them. She sighed, shook her head, and looked around the room. There was her sister, sitting with a boy that she thought she may have recognized.
Once the older girl had scanned the entire room, she made her way over to her sister and the boy. She passed by an older couple that were already wrapped up in each other, snogging as if no one was watching. She rolled her eyes and scrunched up her nose.
“Finally,” the brunette said as she sat down. “Remind me next year to not volunteer, no matter how insistent mum and dad are.”
Then her brown eyes settled on the boy. She definitely recognized him, probably from some classes or something. “Hi, I’m Alice,” said, watching him.
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