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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 3, 2017 15:54:13 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 15:54:13 GMT -7
Anna shrugged when Jamie apologized. "It's fine." Then Jamie said she was strong and Anna remained silent. She wasn't sure how she felt about that statement, but she also didn't want to disagree with Jamie right-out, especially when she was being so nice. She only spoke when Jamie asked her to wait to make up her mind. "I am waiting. I'm just also looking into other options just in case I decide to change what I want to do," she explained. She didn't want ... well actually, she didn't know what she didn't want. She wanted to do well in the next task, to prove she could do things right and that she didn't need to worry about it. Then Jamie listened to her advice and Anna smiled. "I think we all have to do that. It's so easy to get caught up in where we're going and what we really need to do is enjoy what we're doing now. I'm working on that now." Working on staying in the moment, but her problem was more looking toward the past than the future. Then she gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I guess we are. I think we'll both be fine, no matter what we decide." Then they switched places and Anna closed her eyes, relaxing when she felt Jamie starting to comb her hair.
@jamie
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 3, 2017 16:06:06 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 16:06:06 GMT -7
Anna said that her nightmares were fine, and Jamie nodded. Obviously the Gryffindor didn’t want to make a big deal of them, and Jamie had the feeling she wasn’t the first one that Anna had confided in about that subject. When the other girl said that she was waiting, but looking into other options, Jamie nodded, glad that she now had free movement of her head. “Can I ask what other options?” She said curiously. If Anna didn’t know what else she wanted to do, that was fine, but while the two of them were on this advice-giving spree, it seemed like it would be prudent to help Anna weigh her other choices before she brought them to Oscar, her parents, or her head of house. Anna agreed that everyone needed to be in the present. “Maybe that’s something that we should remind each other to do every so often.” Jamie suggested. “I don’t think that having a spa day once a week is practical, but maybe if we just have a chat or something, we can remind each other to enjoy what we have, and not stress the small stuff?” It was always easier to commit to making a change in your life if you had a partner to do it with, and since both she and Anna wanted to do this, Jamie couldn’t think of a better partner. “We’re going to be okay.” Jamie repeated, finally able to smile after the hard confession of a few minutes ago.
@annelise
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 3, 2017 16:12:54 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 16:12:54 GMT -7
Anna laughed, even though she wasn't amused. "I have no idea. I keep on trying to find things that I would enjoy or be good at but none of them are really sticking out to me," which was lame, but it was also the truth. Anna wanted to find something else to do, but she didn't know how to go about doing it. She smiled at Jamie's next suggestion. "I like that idea! We should get together every week or two, just to talk and relax." That would give Anna something to look forward to and relax in. (not that Oscar didn't do a good job getting her to relax, but sometimes she just needed some girl time) "I want to do it." She said more firmly, determined now. "Thanks for listening to me, Jamie," she said calmly. "What now?" Jamie was still combing her hair, but Anna needed something to talk about or she might drift to sleep, she was so comfortable.
@jamie
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 3, 2017 16:22:07 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 16:22:07 GMT -7
Anna said that she had no idea what her other career choices would be, and Jamie made a soft noise of interest to show that she had heard the other girl. “Something will come along eventually, I’m sure.” Jamie said confidently. And if nothing did come along, then maybe that would serve as Anna’s sign that being an Auror was what she was meant to do. Anna agreed with her idea of getting together to debrief and destress, and Jamie grinned. “It might be difficult to plan.” Which was her default warning whenever she tried to do something with anyone. “But I think if we make a weekly commitment it’ll be easier, because then we’ll already have the time blocked off in our schedules.” Recurring things were so much easier than one-offs. “Thanks for talking to me, Anna.” Jamie replied. It took a lot of courage to open up to people, especially about your weaknesses and fears, and she was glad that she and Anna were taking a step in the right direction after the way their cookie-baking experience had gone. “We could talk about…um, our professors?” That was probably the worst gossip material ever, but it was what had first popped into Jamie’s head.
@annelise
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 3, 2017 21:19:43 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 21:19:43 GMT -7
Anna smiled, glad that Jamie understood that she didn't have any idea what she wanted to do. It was nice to be talking with someone who felt so confidently that they would be able to do what they needed to do. Anna smiled when Jamie seemed to agree to meet with her. "Alright, well what's a good time for you?" Anna didn't have a lot of extra time, but she could block out a little to help her relax. Anna smiled when Jamie thanked her for talking. "Thank you. I appreciate your understanding," she said calmly. Then she laughed at Jamie's next suggestion. "Our professors? I don't really know what to say about them ... what were you thinking?" She could talk about the professors, but Anna typically got along with them, so she didn't have anything interesting to talk about.
@jamie
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 8, 2017 19:20:19 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 8, 2017 19:20:19 GMT -7
Jamie paused to consider when Anna asked her what a good time was. “Sundays normally work.” It was the day that she blocked off for homework, but if she did enough of her work during the week, then Jamie’s Sundays normally were free, or at least free enough that she could meet with Anna. Jamie smiled when Anna thanked her for her understanding, continuing to work the comb through the other girl’s hair but not wanting to say ‘you’re welcome’ to something that seemed more like human decency than anything actually worth thanking someone for. When Anna asked what Jamie had in mind, the Hufflepuff immediately had one thought spring into her head. “Apparently one of my cousins is, like, best friends with Professor Zhu.” Jamie said, hoping that was juicy enough gossip. “…Oh. Yeah. I have cousins now, apparently.” Jamie said, since they were only a recent discovery and Anna probably wouldn’t know about the Wulfes.
@annelise
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 12, 2017 23:35:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 12, 2017 23:35:29 GMT -7
Anna smiled and nodded, "I can do Sundays," she told Jamie easily. It was a nice idea, having a specific day set aside (or at least a portion of it) to relax. They only just decided to do this, but Anna was already excited for the coming Sunday. It was nice to have plans to not study and she was sure that Jamie would make it interesting somehow. Her head cocked to the side as Jamie revealed information about her ... cousins? "Who are your cousins?" she asked with interest. "And which one is good friends with Professor Zhu?" Anna herself wasn't really close with any of her professors, but it was something interesting to talk about at least so she went along with it.
@jamie
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 13, 2017 9:40:20 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 13, 2017 9:40:20 GMT -7
Jamie was glad that it was so easy to find a time for them to meet – she had feared that it was going to be a mess of trying to coordinate, but she supposed since most of Anna’s work came from the Triwizard Tournament, it was a bit more flexible than Jamie’s Quidditch obligations. The conversation turned to her cousins, and Jamie took a break from combing Anna’s hair to take a deep breath. This still felt weird to talk about them. “Their last name is Wulfe.” Jamie began. “I think there’s…one or two of them in school? I can’t even remember anymore.” She licked her lips, and then began combing through the redhead’s hair again to give her nervous hands something to do. “Mina is the fourth oldest. She works at Flourish and Blotts and she’s the one that’s friends with Professor Zhu. I don’t really know much about the others.” She knew Dakoda, the eldest, was a Quidditch player and that Sarah, the second eldest, had been expelled from school, but the other Wulfes were mysteries to her.
@annelise
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 23, 2017 17:11:30 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 23, 2017 17:11:30 GMT -7
Jamie stopped combing her hair for a bit and Anna wondered if asking about her family was the wrong way to go. Wasn't that to be expected, the way the conversation was going? After all, Jamie was the one to bring up her family. Anna let it go, relaxing once more when Jamie started talking again. At least she hadn't messed things up somehow on their nice relaxing break. Anna's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to think if she knew anyone named Wulfe. "I don't think I know them," she answered honestly. She wasn't sure if that would be a relief to Jamie or not, but she said it anyway. She tried to think of something that would help change the subject, not wanting to make Jamie feel uncomfortable. "Do you have a favorite professor?" She asked, since Jamie brought up talking about professors in the first place.
@jamie
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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May 27, 2017 19:02:21 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 27, 2017 19:02:21 GMT -7
Anna said that she didn’t know any of Jamie’s new-found cousins, which was just as well with her. It was easier if no one she knew also knew the Wulfes, because then it was possible that they had known Jamie had cousins before even Jamie had known. That didn’t sit well with her. In any case, Anna seemed to be moving the conversation in a different direction, which was just fine with Jamie. She was still getting used to talking about her family, so it was better to start doing it in small stretches and then evolve it into something longer and deeper. When Anna asked if she had a favorite professor, Jamie shrugged. “I suppose it should be Professor Zhu, since she’s friends with Mina.” Besides her cousin’s relationship with the professor, Jamie also thought she was nice enough, and she ran the GSA, so Jamie supposed that was enough to make her the Hufflepuff’s favorite.
@annelise
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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Jun 3, 2017 22:53:42 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2017 22:53:42 GMT -7
Anna laughed at Jamie's response. It definitely wasn't what she expected. "Well, what if you didn't know about Mina? What if family had nothing to do with anything. Then who would your favorite professor be?" She didn't understand why Jamie's favorite had to be her cousin's best friend. If Anna had to go throughout life thinking like that, things would definitely get complicated. Her family was too big and had too many friends to do things like that. She shrugged, starting to stretch. "How much longer do you need on my hair?" she asked, a little impatiently, though she was still trying to relax. She wasn't Lily or Dom, but Anna still wasn't good at sitting for long periods of time.
@jamie
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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Jun 24, 2017 7:47:55 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2017 7:47:55 GMT -7
Jamie shrugged when Anna asked who her favorite professor would be if family was taken out of the equation. All of the Hogwarts professors were interesting in their own right, and Jamie thought they were all good enough teachers, so it was difficult to choose one that was her favorite. Part of it was that Jamie didn’t have the chance to get too close to any one professor, since she was always so busy pulling herself in so many different directions. “Still Professor Zhu, maybe? She’s the adviser for the Gay-Straight Alliance, and I’m a part of that, so it makes sense, I guess.” Jamie didn’t want to seem too wishy-washy, but it was likely Anna wouldn’t believe her if she said that she didn’t have a favorite, so Jamie was content with her answer. When Anna asked how much longer Jamie needed on her hair, the Hufflepuff laughed. “I can be done now if you want.” Jamie said. All of the tangles were out, and Jamie was really only continuing to comb it to get the hair to dry more quickly – and she had heard something about combing hair making it really soft, so that wasn’t a bad thing, either. “Want to move on to nails?” Jamie asked. They could do their nails and then do face masks, so they could wait for both the face masks to work and the nails to dry at the same time.
@annelise
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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Jul 4, 2017 9:31:17 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 9:31:17 GMT -7
Anna smiled and nodded when Jamie said that Professor Zhu was still her favorite, giving her reasons. "Makes sense," she commented, thinking about all her classes. If she had to give a favorite professor, who would she choose. Really, she liked them all, but ... "I would probably have to say Professor Constantine because he has so much patience with me when it comes to potions. Really, I can hardly believe he let me come into his N.E.W.T. class for it, but I'm glad." Patience was an important thing for teachers, to have, but definitely when they had students who struggled in their subject. "Okay!" Anna agreed when Jamie said they could be done. "Yeah, let's do our nails," she stood up from the chair and turned to face Jamie, ready to follow the Hufflepuff's lead. She wasn't sure exactly where in the room Jamie was planning on doing this ... or if she'd just summon the items that she needed.
@jamie
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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Jul 6, 2017 16:46:13 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2017 16:46:13 GMT -7
Jamie was surprised by Anna’s answer. Most people only seemed to like the professors of the classes that they were good at it. It did make it a lot easier to like someone when you weren’t miserable in their class, Jamie thought, but it just went to show how different she and the Gryffindor were – or just how much of a better person Anna was. “Sometimes professors see potential in us we don’t see in ourselves.” Jamie suggested, as a way of justifying why Professor Constantine might have let Anna into his class even if she wasn’t the most adept at potions. Jamie went over to where she had stashed some nail polish bottles, offering one to Anna. “We can use towels to make sure we don’t get polish on the floor.” Jamie said, sitting down on the floor of the bathroom unceremoniously. It probably wasn’t the most sanitary thing in the world, but at least the prefect’s bathroom was used less, and cleaned just as often, as the other bathrooms.
@annelise
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last online May 7, 2024 3:14:10 GMT -7
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Jul 14, 2017 22:06:00 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2017 22:06:00 GMT -7
Anna laughed when Jamie said that professors could see potential that the students can't see. She wasn't laughing at Jamie, more at the idea of her having potential in potions. "I bet they do ... but he probably let me in out of pity more than a belief in my potential." She chuckled a little more. "I am abysmal at potions, even when paired up with people that do pretty well with it. The only reason my potions generally come out alright is because I study really hard and have help from my neighbors and Professor Constantine, but thanks for the vote of confidence," she finished with a smile. She followed Jamie to the nail polish bottles, sitting on the floor beside him. "Sounds like a great plan," Anna agreed, waiting for Jamie to start. She wasn't exactly sure how this was supposed to work, but didn't want to ask either. Was Jamie planning on them doing their own toenails or doing one another's toenails? Or ... yeah, best to just wait and then follow suit with whatever Jamie started.
@jamie
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