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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Oct 17, 2016 9:55:21 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2016 9:55:21 GMT -7
Olivia was in the Room of Requirement, and it was fairly late. She had already eaten dinner and was now practicing her karate. Liv had brought her suit to change into, and an audio recorded lesson for her to copy and listen to. She got dressed quickly and turned on the radio, getting into a stance.
This was extremely relaxing for her and it was something she enjoyed doing, and it also calmed her down when she was stressed or angry. Karate was something Olivia would most definitely recommend for most people; she just hoped no one walked in on her right now... That would be embarrassing.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Oct 17, 2016 22:38:14 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2016 22:38:14 GMT -7
@jill15 Lance didn’t really know why he was on the fifth floor, or why he had missed dinner, but it had happened. It was one of those frustratingly quiet nights in the castle, and he knew he had managed to escape his sister’s watchful eye for at least a few minutes. He didn’t hate having Georgie hanging around him 24/7, but after five years of doing it nonstop while at school, he was getting tired. He wanted his own time to do what he liked, yet she was always a few steps behind him. Calling her a puppy would be an accurate way of describing it. Prior to this past summer, he wouldn’t have cared. But they had their parents back again, and as weird as that still sounded to him, he knew that meant she could finally learn to rely on someone other than him. He wouldn’t always be there for her when she needed it, and that was something that she didn’t seem to understand.
Caught up in his own thoughts of trying to find something interesting to do, he passed down a random corridor on the fifth floor. As he was slowly pacing down it, something caught the corner of his eye. A door appeared, materialized was a more accurate way to put it, right next to him. Coming to a halt, Lance looked back and forth down the hall to see if anyone else was around. Seeing he was in the clear, he walked up to the door and popped it open, peeking inside hesitantly. A strange noise was coming from within and it piqued his interest. Closing the door behind him quietly, he walked closer to the sound and spotted a person standing in the center of the room, wearing the strangest clothes he had ever seen at school. The more he looked, the more he realized that it was a small girl wearing a karate uniform. That was definitely out of the ordinary for Hogwarts. Inching a little closer, he then noticed that he recognized this girl. She was the same one that he and Georgie had talked to at the music store in Hogsmeade. The best part though, was that she was also American too.
Unsure of what to do, Lance waited for a few minutes to see if she would take a break at all. What seemed to be a rest in the audio tape that she had rolling, he started clapping quietly, so as not to startle her. It probably wasn’t the best idea in the world, but she looked like she was quite accomplished at it. “So you’re good at karate and the ukulele? That’s an impressive set of skills you have there.”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Oct 22, 2016 20:37:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 20:37:29 GMT -7
Every fifteen to twenty minutes there would be a pause in the recording, giving her a time to stretch and drink some water if need be. As soon as the voice on the recording stopped however, she heard quiet clapping. Olivia stood up straight and her hands went straight to her heart, her breath having been caught in her throat. Olivia's eyes were wide as she saw the familiar face. He was the boy she had met at the music shop the other day. What was he doing, following her? Was it because she was American? "Oh my." Olivia skipped over to the random, and bent her knees so she was closer to the ground and pressed the stop button. Olivia shut her eyes, taking in a deep breath, and stood back up, turning around to face him.
She realized her attire was not the most flattering; a white gi with her black belt was not the cutest, and she had no socks on either. Suddenly her feet became cold, but she did not blush, nor did she make it known that she was slightly embarrassed. He didn't need to know that. "Well, thank you for the compliment. I've got plenty of other skills as well, are you going to follow me to see those too?" Olivia rose an eyebrow, a small smile appearing on her face. She was just teasing of course, but hey, maybe he was following her.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Oct 22, 2016 22:39:56 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 22:39:56 GMT -7
@jill15 Despite his attempts to not startle her, it seemed like the clapping still did. He thought that was better than having her turn around and suddenly see some strange boy she ran into one time watching her. The last thing he wanted her to think was that he was some kind of stalker. Apparently it was a little too late for that, as questioned if he was going to follow her around to see her other various abilities. Now that she mentioned it, it was kind of strange that he wandered in on her practicing karate, and almost bumped into her in the music store. He had felt bad about that first encounter they had too. Georgie-no, both he and his sister had been out of line in how they acted in front of her. It was honestly extremely embarrassing, seeing as something of that degree had never really happened between the two of them. Sure, there were squabbles here and there, but nothing really past that. Until recently, it had only been the two of them. This change, their parents returning, was really starting to drive a wedge between them. “No, no, following is a little weird. Can’t guarantee that I won’t stumble across you again while you’re doing something though.”
He hesitated for a second. All of that made him sound like he was following her. He was interested in learning about her though, she was another American after all. There were very few instances where they, meaning him and Georgie, came across other Americans. The last thing he wanted to do was make the wrong impression around this girl. “I’m Lance by the way.” He stepped forward, sticking his hand out. “Can’t remember if I said that or not last time we crossed paths.” Pausing for a moment, he felt like he had to address that again for some reason. “Sorry you had to see that too…my sister, Georgie, she’s had a hard time lately. Wasn’t really appropriate for either of us to blow up at each other like that in front of you.”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Oct 23, 2016 7:49:27 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2016 7:49:27 GMT -7
Olivia wasn't too scared, she just hadn't heard anyone else enter the room which had shocked her a bit. Normally, she'd assume she'd realize when someone else was there but with the room being so large, she supposed it was normal. She took a quick glance around, also behind him, to make sure the other girl wasn't there. Olivia had realized halfway through their argument at the music store that she was his sister, and not an ex-girlfriend. Which really embarrassed her for thinking that even though no one even knew what she had been thinking. His words shocked her, but she grinned. "You can follow me if you'd like, I'm not opposed." Olivia squished her eyebrows together. "What types of skills do you have? I realize I didn't ask in the music store, but do you play any instruments?"
He held his hand out and introduced himself as Lance. Olivia took it and shook it, smiling. "Olivia, it's nice to meet you, again." She was flattered that he apologized, but she didn't find it necessary. What had happened really wasn't his fault, more so it was his sister's fault for overreacting and causing such a big ruckus in the middle of the store for no reason at all. "Really, no need to apologize, honest. I argue with my family as well, it's completely natural." Olivia gave him a reassuring smile, finally letting go of his hand. Her eyes glanced down at her karate gi and she became slightly sheepish. "Don't mind this whole outfit."
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 4, 2016 21:42:03 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 21:42:03 GMT -7
@jill15 He could follow her if he wanted too? That was kind of a strange preposition, even if it had been a joke. Like he had initially thought, the last thing he wanted to be labeled was a stalker of sorts. There was some truth though. He was kind of interested in this girl. As he had said back in Hogsmeade, he hadn’t really met too many other American students at Hogwarts. He hadn’t been necessarily looking too hard, but here one was now, and things seemed to be going well so far. It definitely wouldn’t hurt to get to know her a little more, especially now that Georgie wasn’t there to escalate things. Not that it was entirely her fault though, he had been ignoring her recently, so there was some extra fuel in the fire already. Then she asked about his skills. Lance pondered the thought for a few seconds, scratching his face in the process.
“I don’t really know.” He finally said, still thinking of what to say. “Baseball I guess? Haven’t played it since I was moved over here though.” Trailing off, he tried to push that thought behind. He had almost moved past all of that, but then good old Barb and Art decided to show up once again, reawakening all of those feelings again. It wasn’t really fair to him and Georgie.
“Nice to meet you too.” Lance returned the smile, shaking Olivia’s hand as he did so. He nodded his head slightly as she tried to explain that her family was the same. Maybe that was true, but as far as he knew, her parents didn’t suddenly come back from the dead and try to act like nothing had changed over the last six years. To add to that, he was almost positive she didn’t have a sister like Georgie, who was like a leech when it came to him interacting with other people. He loved her, but there were some things that overstepped his personal boundaries, and as they had gotten older, that was one of them. Unfortunately he didn’t have the heart to outright say that to her, especially not now. There were more important things to worry about. “Outfit?” Lance looked at Olivia again, realizing that she was wearing some kind of karate thing. He had absolutely no idea what it was called, but knew that people practicing karate always seemed to have one on. “I think it suits you. Shows you have some fightin’ spirit in you.”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 6, 2016 15:02:00 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2016 15:02:00 GMT -7
Ah, baseball. Olivia enjoyed that sport, especially watching it on television. That was her favorite part. Playing it was fun as well, but watching was much better. At least in her opinion. Although, she couldn't recall anything, or any hobby she had, that she had stopped doing just because she had moved to the United Kingdom. Yes there were differences in some things, but nothing that she had to stop, or could no longer accomplish. So it was slightly confusing to hear that Lance no longer played baseball since he was a young child, but she decided it was probably best not to question him much further about it. "I like baseball too."
Olivia's eyebrows rose at him and she glanced down at herself. Fighting spirit? Well, that was true, as she trained whenever she was free and had been doing it for many years. But the outfit was still embarrassing to be seen in; Olivia was sure no one from around here really knew what karate was or had any idea what she was doing. So it made her thankful that it was Lance that had walked in on her and not someone from this country. That would have been much more embarrassing. "Why, thank you, Lance. Have you ever done any karate before?"
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 11, 2016 21:14:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2016 21:14:11 GMT -7
@jill15 His comment about not playing baseball wasn’t true. He had managed to bring over a couple baseballs, as well as his and his father’s gloves. So it wasn’t like he hadn’t had the chance. There were a few times at the orphanage where he had been able to toss a ball around. Never with the gloves though. They had too many memories attached to them. Instead, they sat in his room, untouched, both at the orphanage and at Hogwarts. They weren’t his most prized possessions, but should he ever be without them, he would know. Now that his parents were back though, maybe it would be a good icebreaker to talk to them again. It would be against his will of course, but he knew it would come in handy eventually. Lance’s face lit up a little bit when Olivia said she liked baseball too. It was hard to be an American and not want to hold onto the country’s sports when in England. Football seemed to make a little bit of surge, from what he could tell by muggle news, but baseball seemed to solely stay in the states. “Hopefully one day I’ll be able to make it back home and catch a game. It’s been forever.” He mused.
“Karate?” He thought for a second. There were definitely times back home when he had begged his parents to let him, but as far as he could recall, he never actually had. “I don’t think so. Unless wrestling with the other kids at the orphanage when I was younger counts.” That was always in good fun though. No one ever got hurt, at least not from him. Lots of little kids with high energy levels always led to a scuffle or two outside. But for the most part, they had all respected each other. They were in the same boat after all. “I keep away from sports now. Someone has to take care of Georgie, and I can’t do that if I’m hurt.” He laughed, thinking of how funny that would actually be. It would probably be the exact opposite; Georgie wouldn’t leave him alone as it was, an injured Lance would be prone to her clinginess by tenfold.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 14, 2016 19:28:59 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2016 19:28:59 GMT -7
Lance seemed very out of it for a few moments. Olivia wasn't sure what exactly he was thinking about, but she didn't want to interrupt his thoughts. Whatever had happened in his personal life was none of her business, and although she was quite curious, Olivia wouldn't ask. That was beyond her capacity to be so open with someone. And his sister, in the span of probably five minutes, had filled Olivia in on enough personal information about Lance that she wasn't going to push it any more. "Well, we could always try to get some people at school here to play a game, it's pretty easy to explain."
Lance questioned karate and then just as quickly mentioned the orphanage, and Olivia's eyes widened slightly at him. Orphanage? She hadn't assumed that Lance had been there; yes his sister had mentioned their parents disappearance however Liv tended to think that another family member would've taken them in when they needed it. She decided to take the easy route and not seem too shocked. "You wrestled at the orphanage? What was that like?" She smiled gently and took her hair out of the ponytail she had, letting her curls fall around her shoulders. "You shouldn't keep away from something you love, she's got to grow up sometime, right?"
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 15, 2016 22:19:50 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2016 22:19:50 GMT -7
@jill15 Baseball was pretty easy to explain, she was right about that. The real problem here though was that they didn’t have the equipment for it. Pickup games, from what he could remember, only required a bat and ball at most, but he only had one of those things. And trying to hit a baseball with a broom probably wasn’t going to fly with any of the Quidditch players. They were probably better off finding a few people that wouldn’t care about tossing the ball around. That was even easier to explain to someone who had no clue about muggle sports. “That’s true. I’ve heard that some of those French guys liked competing at everything. Maybe once they climb out of their little carriage I can try and get them in on it.” If they would even talk to a Hogwarts student, let alone an American one. Lance had seen the way they looked down on a good portion of his classmates; it didn’t take a genius to notice that. At least the Hogwarts students were mostly good people, he couldn’t say the same about the Beauxbatons ones just yet.
“Yeah a little bit of wrestling. Kind of like a big pile up on the playground type of thing.” Did that actually count as wrestling? It wasn’t like any of the other kids at the orphanage were trained in the sport. He didn’t even know if that was a thing in England. “After a while everyone ended up getting adopted though, so it was always a short term thing. I always had fun, so that’s all that matters.” Lance shrugged. He had never seen it as a bad thing that he and Georgie weren’t adopted. If they had been, there was no way that the orphanage would have let them get separated, not after pulling them all the way to the other side of the Atlantic. “Georgie grow up?” He pondered that thought for a few seconds. “I think recent events have only made it harder for that to happen. Maybe she will soon though. As long as she’s happy, that’s good enough for me.”
The last thing he wanted was to drag Olivia into the rather strange circumstances of his parents being dead, and then suddenly reappearing like they had never left. But between their initial meeting and from the way he was explaining things now, he felt like it was inevitable eventually. Too much of what he had said seemed to be left wide open for more questions to flood in. He knew that if he was in her place, he’d definitely be asking them. Trying to get away from that though, he decided to ask his own questions instead. To get to know her better of course, since it mostly seemed to be about him so far. “So where in the States are you originally from?” He paused for a second. “My sister and I are from South Carolina, although home is kind of rainy England now.”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 19, 2016 13:32:40 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2016 13:32:40 GMT -7
Olivia laughed. The Beauxbatons students were definitely very different from the Hogwarts students. She could tell that they tended to keep to themselves and not throw themselves out there or make tons of friends, very wary-some and cautious of other people. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, but it made it very difficult to speak to any of them. Not only that but they were a bit intimidating, although not as intimidating as the Durmstrang crew. "Well, if you ever do that, let me know. I'd love to play a game!" Olivia smiled at Lance.
She nodded her head. Olivia had never really wrestled or watched wrestling, but her father and two brothers really enjoyed it. Her and her sister were more into other sports, but baseball was a Sterden family hobby. She was glad Lance always had fun though. He mentioned adoption and she tilted her head. "If you don't mind me asking, were you and your sister adopted too?" Olivia wasn't stupid, she knew there was a chance they were still in foster care, but as she asked, she truly hoped they weren't. Lance mentioned his sister growing up and Olivia laughed. "Well, you need to be happy too, not just her."
Lance finally asked where she was from since at the music store he wasn't really able to talk to her. Ah, he was from South Carolina. She grinned. "Oklahoma, town called Guthrie. Not very well known, though. Most people from America wouldn't be able to tell me where it is on the map."
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 28, 2016 21:50:48 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 21:50:48 GMT -7
@jill15 “I’ll give you a call then.” He mimicked using a muggle phone, placing his hand up to his ear, hoping she got the joke. Most Hogwarts students would these days, but there were the occasional few who used absolutely zero muggle tech. Those folks tended to be of the blood purist breed, no one that he would associate with without good reason. As far back as he could remember, the whole blood status thing hadn’t been an issue while living in American. The few special snowflakes at Hogwarts would beg to differ though. The fact that problems still arose because of it was ridiculous.
And there was the question about adoption. He didn’t mind. Lance had been asked it numerous times before. This was just another one. “No we didn’t. They have enough room there that I was going to be able to stay a little while after graduating too.” He realized as he finished talking that he’d have to explain more now, since it was somewhat of a cliffhanger. “We were moved over here after our parents disappeared, assumed dead, but they’re alive and back to start the family up again.” Lance had a hard time not rolling eyes. He knew it was rather immature to not be happy about family returning, but they had left him and Georgie on their own without an explanation. Coming back like nothing had changed was silly. “Georgie is happy of course, but I need more time to let them back in. They all think it’s so easy…” He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.
So she was from a town in Oklahoma. She was right though, he had never heard of it before. “To be frank, I wouldn’t really know where most things in the States are anymore. Hogwarts education does a good job getting rid of all the American stuff.”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 29, 2016 14:06:31 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 14:06:31 GMT -7
As he held up his hands to mimic a phone, Olivia laughed. She hadn't been expecting that, so she probably laughed more than she should've. "Well, I'll definitely answer. But you better not just be saying that to get rid of me like a typical boy." Liv was joking as well, of course, but it was known for girls and boys to tell others they'll call them and never do. She hoped he got her joke and wasn't actually offended.
Lance began speaking more about the whole adoption process and the foster home that he had been living in with his sister, and Olivia felt a pang of guilt. She probably shouldn't have asked; what if he felt obliged to share all of that information with her? He didn't, of course, but at the same time, she was glad to have some type of conversation with him. Olivia was very interested in the other American's that were at Hogwarts, and since Lance was one of them, she was glad he was comfortable speaking with her. "Well, it isn't easy. You can't go from being loved, to being abandoned, to just being okay. It doesn't work like that, feelings don't work like that...were you all very close before?"
"That's okay, most people don't know where anything in America is anyways, I wouldn't worry about it." She smiled. No one knew where Oklahoma was, or many other states that she mentioned. It didn't bother her as it was the same for her here. She rarely knew where any of these countries were in relation to England.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 29, 2016 21:59:34 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 21:59:34 GMT -7
@jill15 Apparently the phone joke had worked. Somehow Lance knew it would. It didn’t matter if they were an ocean away from home, Americans and their technology were inseparable. He was positive that if things had been different, had he and Georgie gone to school in the States, that they would have been deeply invested in muggle stuff. He was close to it already with music and sports, it probably wouldn’t be too farfetched to see him walking around some day with a phone stuck in his face. “Course not. I always stay true to what I say. If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t say it in the first place. It’d waste both of our time.” Simple and efficient. That’s how he liked to keep things. Anything more or less was acceptable. Too often people would go back on their words or leave others hanging. What was the point in putting someone through that? Some called him brutally honest, but it was better than being flaky or not staying true to who he was.
Olivia seemed to take his word vomit about being abandoned quite level-headed. He never wanted to make it seem like he was bitter about being sent to the orphanage, because it was quite the contrary. He had always been asked if Hogwarts felt more like home to him than the States did, but it was neither at this point. The feeling of being wanted only came from the orphanage, not from Hogwarts and definitely not South Carolina. Not anymore. Lance thought about what Olivia said and pondered it for a few seconds. That was exactly what he was feeling, more or less. The tough question was about how close he was to his parents before they left. “I thought we were.” He shrugged his shoulders. Being tossed aside like they were expendable hadn’t sat well with him for years after the fact. And now it was all back again.
“I blame it on the lack of interest in no-maj stuff. They have that class for it here, but it seems like no one takes it.” Lance shrugged again. Even though he had spent the last six years at Hogwarts and leagues away from home, there were still some things that he didn’t quite understand about their habits. He and his sister might live and breathe their culture now, but they were still American at the end of the day. Getting along with other American witches and wizards seemed so much easier to do. “So what do you think about this tournament thing? Apparently it’s a big deal over here.”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 12:49:13 GMT -7
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Nov 30, 2016 13:38:35 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2016 13:38:35 GMT -7
"Well that's a good quality to have, Lance. Honesty is one of the best things a person can be." Olivia rarely ever lied. It wasn't something she enjoyed doing and in her opinion it just made many things worse. It also didn't help that she had so many siblings and lies wouldn't go very far; her parent's would just discipline them. Not that they did so frequently, but when necessary it did occur.
Lance's answer to her question seemed upsetting, and if that is what she had done she hadn't meant to. She was genuinely curious and couldn't understand why his parents would just leave two children. Olivia, while not a parent, and wouldn't be for quite a while, couldn't fathom doing such a thing. Children were a part of you, a part that you were supposed to love, care for and cherish, not just abandon. And while Lance didn't seem like he wanted pity, Olivia couldn't help but do so. "I know this doesn't help any but I am sorry. I can't imagine what that feels like."
"I've heard they think it's quite boring, but I don't see why. I've been very curious in the magical world ever since my sister received her letter." Olivia had been fairly young when this occurred, and then herself and her two brothers also received their letters and it was the most wonderful feeling. Granted, Liv was quite a nerd and had read tons upon tons of books, but she loved it. "I think the tournament is dangerous of course, but interesting. Although, I did not put my name in. I wouldn't, too crazy for me. What do you think?"
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