Youth [Sari]

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

Charms had finally let out, meaning classes were done for the week for her. Normally she would have gone straight to the Great Hall to get lunch, meeting her friends there (or whatever the people she hung around were). Classifying them as something they most certainly were not would be doing them a disservice. They had their purposes for being in her life and so far they were fulfilling them perfectly. She couldn’t ask for anything better in the first month of school. Eventually she would tire of their squabbling or petty concerns and move onto a new group. The only ones she wasn’t allowed to piss off were her roommates. She found that she had to be real with them, not the fake, social butterfly personality that she normally put on when she wanted something done for her. They would make things a living hell if she did that. So today she was going to find one of them to grab lunch with. To socialize with and possibly befriend. Maybe. Having one or two solid friends to back her up and rely on wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. The kind that didn’t need to be manipulated or bribed with favors.

Hovering right outside the Charms classroom, that was who Madeleine was waiting for. One of her roommates. Being forced to live and take classes with them meant they were easy to get ahold of, and aside from waking up across from them, this was the next best time to catch one and latch on. A gaggle of Gryffindor girls tumbled out into the corridor in a roar, causing Maddie to back off slightly. They were an obnoxious bunch and kind of rude too. Her gaze followed them, a scowl on her face as their voices continued to bounce back down the hallway despite being a good distance away now. Her brother had warned her about that lot. She hadn’t anticipated sharing classes with them multiple times a week.

As she continued staring down the hallway after the Gryffindors, a flash of a yellow tie caught her attention. “Hey,” Maddie called after the girl. “Going to lunch?” she asked. What was this girl’s name again? Even though they were roommates, she hadn’t taken the time to remember all of their names perfectly. Better late than never, she supposed.

[Deleted]

definitely not my week .

That one particular morning was a terrible one for Sari Fawley. The 6th year dealt with her lack of sleep by remaining grumpy for most of her morning classes, even groaning towards her friends who showed some kind of effort. In the weeks that had passed, Sari noticed a slip in some of her grades – especially in the classes she…kind of…goofed around in. Charms being one of them. It’s only natural of her. As a result and most definitely because the Fawley girl wanted to avoid a confrontation from her elder sister: Laurel, the muggle-studies professor; Sari put in as much hard work as she could…Thus giving up her sleep in the process. For the first few hours of her morning classes, Sari’s eyes remained shut but her ears open, somehow managing to nap while understanding every point for her notes to review later on. But thank god for lunch.

Aside from the moment her head crashes into her soft pillow, lunch was Sari’s favourite moment of the day. The magic it had, the food itself; of course and the conversations and closeness it brought for all of the students. As she pushed up from her desk, her feet dragging themselves towards the door, Sari turned to the left until she heard someone call out for her, leading to the blonde turning slowly a frown sat heavy on her lips while her brow raised. Oh. The roommate. She thought to herself. Before Sari could question if her roommate-who’s-name-she-couldn’t-remember, was in fact talking to her, the question left the other’s mouth that left the Fawley girl’s eyes slightly widened, more alive than she was just seconds ago. ”Yeah.” She said, holding onto the books in her grasp rather tightly. ”How about you?”

While the two shared a dorm together, Sari was sure they had never conversed properly, perhaps on just the first day of the new year when the girl transferred in. Maybe there’s potential, Sari thought to herself. ”I’m kind of starving and in need of some kind of sugar rush. Or caffeine…Maybe both.”

@madeleine & hope this works

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

Seeing the roommate’s face definitely helped with name recognition. Started with an ‘S’ and was shorter. Then it clicked! This was Sally something-or-other. Surnames weren’t important unless they were, and that stayed true for almost all of the Hogwarts students. Even the purebloods that called the school home were muddied or so far gone that their status could easily be disproven with a simple blood test or look at the family tree. Regardless, Sally here wasn’t all that memorable so far, so she couldn’t have been of any importance, which was perfect for Maddie. That meant she could probably wiggle her way into whatever was fetch at Hogwarts.

“Oh wonderful. And I am. Still getting used to how everything works here, so I was wondering if I could pick your mind while we ate,” Maddie explained, getting right to the point. There was no reason to dawdle; the first month of school was almost at a close and she had yet to truly establish herself amongst the student body. Her only achievement was somehow being named the co-captain of the magical creatures club and the rest of the attention on her had been because of her brother’s impact the previous year. Good old Émile, leaving his legacy behind for her to clean up. That was just like him.

Flashing Sally a smile, she motioned with her hand that she was ready to head down to the Great Hall. “I know how you feel. It’s always draining trying to keep up with the professors right before lunch.” She tried to sound as sympathetic as possible, but was unsure how the other girl would take it. Her unfortunate habit of lacing her words with sarcasm dribbled into casual conversations every so often, and she knew that reading it the wrong way would leave her in a negative light. She hated that more than anything, especially because it was all on her for causing the misunderstanding in the first place. “The house elves…they’re the ones that do all the cooking and cleaning, right? I’ve heard there’s a way to get into the kitchens but I still don’t know my way around all that well…” That was a lie. The castle wasn’t that hard to navigate, as long as she followed the crowd. The ones that got lost were the absent-minded and scatterbrained, which she was neither.

[Deleted]

definitely not my week .

With a brief nod, Sari found herself walking besides…Oh god what was her name. ”That’s perfectly fine by me.” She beamed, while her mind racked around for the lost name that belonged to the individual. The two shared a dorm together and the Fawley girl was at least ninety-nine percent sure the other blonde had shared her name at least once or twice, the remembering thought had suddenly left her mind. In the millions of people Sari spoke to, it was rather hard to keep up with names – being so popular and all. ”Exactly. Especially a long class of Charms every Friday morning? Not the best way to start the weekend.”

In their short journey to the Great Hall, Sari found herself drawing a blank at the other blonde’s question. She hadn’t really paid attention to those who made the food and prepared for all of the Hogwarts students, instead she mainly cared about if she would get fed or not. There were times when the Fawley would leave a class late and manage to miss the remaining minutes to grab a few plates of lunch for herself. Horrid days. ”I…don’t know.” Sari responded honestly. ”I haven’t really thought about it, I usually just come here to…well…eat.” A laugh left the blonde’s lips and soon her feet pressed against the marbling floor of the main level. As they walked, the Fawley pushed open the doors revealing the Great Hall with all of its glory.

The thought of the other’s name still racked inside Sari’s mind and soon she found herself questioning whether or not it would be rude of her to question it. Unlike most of her friends who were too shy to speak for themselves, Sari was usually straight forward with things, but this took quite some time to consider. While moving inside the Great Hall, Sari gulped softly before her curiosity was revealed. ”Could…Could you remind me of your name?” she stammered, closing her eyes gently as she expected some kind of backlash.

@madeleine

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

Sally was a lot easier to talk to than Maddie had made her out to be. Even though she fought against the standard definitions and categorizations of students into houses, those placed in Hufflepuff did seem able to vocalize what they were thinking and feeling better than any of the other houses. Gryffindors were very brutish and she felt like she always had to watch herself around the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. They were a sneaky bunch. But the Hufflepuffs – they were her kinds of people. “Could be worse,” she reasoned. “I’m not the biggest fan of the Potions class here. It’s very…primal? Everyone throws their ingredients in haphazardly.” That was also partially the professor’s fault for not controlling the rampant idiocy in the room. If they were muggle chemists, or something of the sort, explosions and potentially poisonous gasses would have the professor fired in an instant. Here at Hogwarts, they laughed it off as the norm. The British were odd indeed.

Unfortunately the other blonde didn’t know anything about the kitchens. That was a bummer. She had been looking forward to sneaking in there after hours to get a midnight snack from time to time. Frowning slightly as they crossed the front entrance and into the Great Hall, it was hard to maintain her disappointment with food so close. Then Sally asked what her name was. Maddie almost laughed. Had they both done the same thing? Hilarious. At least she had remembered the girl’s name was Sally. “Madeleine Chevalier. Or Maddie. Whichever is fine,” she said effortlessly. “My brother was the Beauxbatons champion last year. I’m sure you saw him compete?” She didn’t really care if Sally knew or not, but it was a way to elevate her position by using Émile’s former status as a glorified game show contestant. If only he had won…she almost sighed thinking about all the extra money that probably would have gone to her if he had.

Maddie took a seat at one of the tables, tactically placing her books down on the seat next to her so that Sally would be only on one of her sides. While the Great Hall was a cool place to eat, it did not have enough personal space for her liking. There were days where she could barely move her elbows without almost hitting another student’s robes. Beauxbatons had plenty of space; comfortably chairs and tables that could be utilized for eating and studying alike. “Are there any must join clubs here? I’ve been trying to find the best way to get myself involved, but there isn’t exactly the best advertising when it comes to that…” Maddie trailed off as she reached across the table to grab a sandwich, setting it down gently on her plate while looking over the rest of the spread.

[Deleted]

definitely not my week .

Primal wasn’t exactly the word Sari Fawley would have used for her classes in Potion alongside Mr Reed and other sixth year students. Sure, there were times the blonde would have fooled around rather than pay attention and other times she was probably one of those students that the other mentioned that threw their ingredients in haphazardly. Potions was one of her favourite classes considering the endless possibilities one could make! Sari sent an awkward smile in the other Hufflepuff’s direction with a gentle nod as if she was somewhat agreeing with the statement – even though she truthfully wasn’t.

Oookay…Maddie. Sari thought to herself, making a mental note to remember said nickname. Give her three days and she would have probably forgotten it. That is, if she had no intention to befriend the other Hufflepuff. If the two of them had common interests – sure why not? But Sari barely knew her – but she did in fact know her brother. From a side glance, the Fawley noticed a frown on her lips before the topic change and her head nodded. ”Ah! I enjoyed the competition a lot.” She commented, a small smile upon her lips. ”He didn’t win though did he?” Sari had lost focus on the competition around the time; deciding to focus on the thing that was bringing her down: her grades.

As Maddie sat down, the Fawley reflected her actions, sitting beside her so she was on the right-hand side of the Hufflepuff. Her stomach growled softly, a sign that she was ready to eat but her mouth dropped open in order to respond to the Hufflepuff. ”Uhh…” She began, losing her trail of thought. ”It more so depends what you’re interested in…I suppose.”

@madeleine

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

Sally didn’t exactly respond to the distaste Maddie was expressing about the Potions class. Had she come off as too arrogant? There had been a few whispers she had heard in the last few weeks that she did that sometimes. It wasn’t like it was her fault that Beauxbatons gave a better education to its students than Hogwarts did. She had simply been taking advantage of being at the superior school for six years, and was now slightly disappointed in the quality of the Hogwarts classes and professors. There were a few standouts, like the two French professors, Thorpe and Delacour-Creevy - though she couldn’t help but think that they were only at the English school because they weren’t good enough to teach at their alma mater. Maddie knew that if she was ever in the position to become a professor, she would go back to Beauxbatons in a heartbeat and make them give her a job. It was all about confidence, and that was a trait that a lot of people seemed to be lacking at Hogwarts. The students were very wishy-washy, and she was quickly starting to see why her brother had such an easy time getting his way. According to his letters, of course.

“No. He didn’t,” Maddie answered, clearing her throat as she decided whether to drop the ‘and now he’s dead’ bit that she did so often. Sally seemed smart though, she probably already knew Émile was dead, just like the rest of the Beauxbatons students. She decided to go with it, despite the voice in her head telling her to avoid the pity party that could ensue. “Kind of disappointing if you ask me. Dying a loser,” she shrugged. “But at least he got to compete in his stupid tournament.” She had no idea why it always sounded so bitter when she said it; it was the happiest he had ever been. The positive of it all was that she got all the attention from her parents now, something that had sort of already happened but there was always Émile somewhere in the background sucking up all the limelight like he loved to do. Not anymore.

The clubs depended on what she was interested in. Sally’s words, not hers. Maddie was still looking over the food as she tried to decide on what she was interested in. Getting in people’s business when it wasn’t hers was one thing, but she doubted Hogwarts would allow a club like that. They were too soft. “Animals? Magical creatures are always interesting. I’ve heard most students don’t keep up with the class past their sixth year too, which is disappointing.” She had plucked another half of a sandwich and placed it next to the first on the plate before finally taking her seat. That would do for now. “What about you? Quidditch?” Sally didn’t look like a Quidditch player, but she had been wrong before.

[Deleted]

definitely not my week .

To Sari, Hogwarts had always been her home, it had never really brought the blonde any downfall aside from the one moment in her life she realised she was using others for her own benefit. It was cruel to do so, pick on the smart and definitely not as attractive to do tasks for her - homework, take notes for a class she planned to miss...She didn't miss being so...manipulative. But Potions, like many other classes were simply that. Just classes. Sometimes it gave her a confidence boost, being able to do things certain other students couldn't do, other times it was a mediocre class. "Potions isn't...all that bad." She finally spoke, raising a brow around their silence.

Because of her sheer lack of actually paying attention to things, Sari had no clue as to who exactly won the tournament that year. So as soon as the words left the fellow blonde’s lips, blue eyes widened in surprise. Maddie seemed to be the kind of person that was rather…direct with most things. Didn’t beat by a bush and Sari Fawley just simply wasn’t used to it. She was used to the simple euphemisms around her family and friends. ”Oh…” She began, swallowing the lump in her throat. ”I’m…Sorry for your loss.” Surely it must of been depressing to lose your brother to a competition, watching him to hopefully see his success but instead watch his death.

Deciding on what she wanted to eat, Sari reached out for the things she craved, small cut sandwiches, fruits — somewhat loading her plate to prepare her for the rest of her day as well. The blonde then reached for a few loafs of bread in the small basket, ready to smother them in butter. ”That’s true…People tend to stick to other elective classes…I hear Arithmancy and Muggle Studies are popular ones. But with clubs, people usually follow the ‘popular ones’” As this was said, her fingers bent and stretched to mimic quotemarks. Chewing into her first loaf, the Fawley was shy of a snort when Maddie asked if her interests lied in Quidditch. She shook her head lightly, swallowing her contents before she spoke. It was rude to speak with a mouth full. ”Quidditch is…fun to watch. But it’s not my thing.” She shrugged, ripping at the side of her loaf with her fingers. ”I just like being social. And being known I guess.” How narcissistic.

@madeleine

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

“Like I said, potions could be worse.” There was always a worse. Like constantly being reminded that her brother was dead. It was fine when she brought it up, for instance; how she had brought it up during this conversation. People didn’t know though. They felt obligated to tell her they were sorry, that they knew what it was like to lose a family member because grandma had died the previous summer (or even better, their pet pygmy puff named after grandma), and that going through the loss of someone was going to be a painful process for years to come. Maddie didn’t really care what others thought or how they thought she should be feeling. When she wanted it known, she would let it out. Right now she was still frustrated that her idiot brother had gone and gotten himself blown up and that he hadn’t been a good enough wizard to keep it from happening. It was irrational, she knew that. “Thank you,” she responded, her tone appreciative for once. She had caught poor Sally off guard and was making her feel bad for that. Her new friend couldn’t be like that.

Scrunching her nose at the notion of joining Arithmancy or Muggle Studies and a bit more at the condition of the finger sandwich she had just picked up, her ears perked at the sound of there being popular clubs. Did that mean those had all the popular people in them? She had assumed Quidditch was the type to draw all the athletes, and with them, the popular students in the fan clubs. Assuming the popular kids weren’t already the ones playing the sport. Sally went on to add that she liked being known, and that brought the French girl’s excitement up another notch. She was perfect for this! “Well you met the right transfer student, Sally. Because that’s what I’m all about too.”

[Deleted]

definitely not my week .

Maddie was right in some aspect, there were times in which Potions as a whole was filled with pure chaos. Depending on the students that actually bothered to turn up that is. But the conversation turned dark and awkward once Sari apologised for her brother’s death, even though she knew it wasn’t her fault. It felt natural to apologise for things, blaming that sort of behaviour on her British culture — similarly to paying for dinner if you invited the other and other stereotypes that seemingly weaved itself into the culture.

Though Sari had a rather large family of her own, nine Fawley children in the household — including herself — and with eight siblings to remember, if tragedy was brought to any of them, Sari was sure she would weep for years. The Fawley hummed quietly in response at Maddie’s response, trying to force a reassuring smile. Sari noticed the change in Maddie’s expression, leading to Sari pausing her chewing and raising a brow in question. Though, not wanting to question it, Sari continued on eating, until Maddie spoke once more. ’Well you met the right transfer student, Sally.’ Was the only thing the Fawley heard before she spaced out for just a moment.

She felt bad for leading their conversation into silence but…Who the hell was Sally? Looking over at her, Sari swallowed the now-dry loaf, her mouth parting to speak. ”Sari.” She corrected. ”You mean Sari.” Although, Sari was sure that Maddie truthfully meant Sally. Did she even look like a Sally? She felt the need to find the nearest mirror and stare upon her appearance for a year now. Maybe she needed to change the colour of her hair. Or even straighten it. Waves were out of season now.

@madeleine

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

At some point in time throughout their conversation, Maddie must have said something wrong. Everything that had come out of her mouth in the last few minutes didn’t warrant the demand for an apology that Sally was asking her for. The silence wasn’t noticeable at first, and the French girl thought her awkward bluntness over her brother’s death had hit more at home with the other girl than she thought was possible. Not everyone was required to love their siblings dearly and desperately, and while Émile was loveable at times, he was still and idiot until his final moments. Bold and set in his ways, but an idiot nonetheless. She could only imagine him trying to pull some last minute heroics on the exploding Beauxbatons carriage just to have his name live on with the possible survivors. That was a very Émile thing to do.

“Sorry? What would I be sorry for?” she asked, genuinely curious now to what it was she had said or done to elicit such an odd request from the other Hufflepuff. The problem here was that was fluent in English, unlike some of her former classmates at Beauxbatons, and translation errors weren’t exactly possible for her. Being half French, half American tended to make that difficult to pull off. Also, she knew when she was saying terrible things to people, and nothing out of her mouth in the last few minutes even came close to that. Unless Sally was the soft sort and was actually terribly offended by the views she had held about potions.

[Deleted]

definitely not my week .

CONFUSION WASN’T EVEN the right emotion to express how Sari felt right now. Perhaps a personal offence? How could the Fawley even approach the situation without even confusing herself further? The silence between them was awkward until Maddie spoke but even then, the blonde’s mouth hung open, forming all sorts of expressions. At first, her lips turned upwards before parting, trying to form the word ’Sorry’ while saying her name at the same time. It fitted. Sort of. ”Sari.” She corrected bluntly, even going as far as placing her butter-smothered loaf down. Her hunger had been replaced with a strange churn of emotions. ”My name?” She clarified, her voice taking on a new pitch. It felt uncomfortable, foreign even as she slightly turned in her position, facing the blonde a little better now.

”My name…Is Sari.” And there it was! The ultimate reveal. Perhaps Maddie had gotten the Fawley confused for someone else. Not that Sari had met anyone with the name…Sally…In the six years she had been in Hogwarts. Trying to shrug off the awkwardness that hung awfully heavy in the air, a fit of laughs erupted from Sari’s lips, leading to the blonde tilting her head back in a complete uproar of laughter. Eyes turned in the Hufflepuff’s direction as she continued, the sound softening as she held her sides, leaning over the table a little. ”S-S-Sally!” She stuttered in laughter. The Fawley definitely needed to find a new way to deal with random problems.

@madeleine

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

Maddie didn’t understand what was going on. She didn’t like it when that happened, because it meant things were out of her control, and that meant she was out of the loop. Sally apologized again for some reason, and then turned to face her, even going as far as to place her food down. The French girl didn’t get why her fellow Hufflepuff seemed so confused about her own name. Sally was a fairly normal name, albeit outdated, but what names weren’t when it came to the magical community. There were loads of students at Hogwarts with odd names, like that strange Gilderoy boy or the boy that was a Hufflepuff Prefect, named Lancelot after the knight. And he wasn’t even British! Clearly the English speaking witches and wizards had a strange taste for classic names, so Sally didn’t seem all that farfetched to her.

But then Sally apologized even slower, and it struck Maddie that the other girl wasn’t actually apologizing, and was saying her name. Her mouth fell open, surprised for once that she had been really far off the mark when it came to the girl’s name (but also not surprised that it was even stranger than Gilderoy). Not Sally, but something pronounced like ‘Sorry’, which she wasn’t quite clear on how to spell because it was such a weird name. The girl burst out laughing at the fact that Maddie had fingered her as Sally this entire time, drawing quite a few looks from the students that surrounded them. “I think it’s quite an easy mistake to make,” Maddie huffed, starting to get defensive. “Maybe not getting it confused with Sally, but it is with trying to apologize to someone.” It was a hill she was going to die on, because she refused to admit that she had been clueless enough to not learn her own roommate’s name. There had been plenty of times for her to do so, and she had completely ignored all of them. And now she looked like an idiot.

[Deleted]

definitely not my week.

IF SARI COULD CHOOSE her preferable false name for people to use if they couldn’t…figure out her name, the blonde knew Sally wouldn’t have been her first choice. Perhaps a traditional name like her mother had: Ashley, or even another A name like Amelia. Or even a selection of random other names, unusual like Gilderoy or even like that Gryffindor, Bryelle! From the spelling of it, Sari always got the pronunciation wrong. Though, Sally on the other hand, would have been the last choice on the Fawley’s list, or even at the bottom of her second imaginary list. Because of the other Hufflepuff’s confusion, Sari’s mouth formed the syllables of her name, mouthing them quietly to herself. It was then when she realised the confusion, with her name sounding like sorry, depending on the thickness of one’s accent. And with Sari being British...Surely it caused a whirl of confusion for the poor girl.

Though the blonde’s final statement seemed to strike realisation into Maddie, watching as shock filled her expressions, only leading to Sari snorting and throwing her head back in laughter yet again. The students that watched rose their own brows, grumbling at Sari’s loudness but who cared! Sari was the new Sally! At the girl’s defence, she did have a point, leading to the Fawley clearing her throat, nodding in agreement. ”I’ve never thought of it like that until all the transfers came in.” Then again, she was either referred to as ‘Fawley’ or the irritable girl who simply loved herself. Any choice was fair. ”But don’t worry about it. I blame my mother for giving me such an…eccentric name. She decided Sari would fit well with Lavanda, as if that doesn’t mean Lavender in…Italian I believe?” Forcing a smile to cheer up her fellow blonde friend, Sari reached for another small and triangle cut sandwich, her laughter simply rendering her hungry. ”Don’t worry Maddie. I’ve heard worse.”

@madeleine

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@sari

09.20.2024

Sari or Sally or whatever was taking it all in stride though, and the French girl was sort of confused how someone could laugh off being mistaken like that. If that had been her in that position, she would have been pissed. Her first name was important but her surname was even more so. Everyone needed to know who she was and who her brother was, and there would be no mistaking the Chevalier name for something silly - like Charles. Being called Madison or Mary or anything else in between didn’t really phase her nearly as much as having her last name butchered to no end. Still, Sari took it all in stride and her apology sounding name rolled off of Maddie’s tongue awkwardly, because it really wasn’t much of a name to begin with.

To add, her roommate continued on about how it fit with what Maddie assumed was the girl’s middle name, another odd sounding one. She nodded her head in agreement that it sounded like it would fit with lavender in Italian, and then turned back to the food she had been picking away at earlier. “I’ve heard worse too,” she said as she took a bite, contemplating what the worst of the worst had been. Probably being called a bitch for something she wasn’t being a bitch about. The unjustified name calling always felt like being stabbed under the ribs. When she deserved to wear that title, she had no problem with it.

“All of the Hogwarts students have strange names, if you ask me. My brother used to write back about this one family, I think their last name was Crumb. Like bread crumbs. He didn’t like them all that much,” Maddie mused. It was specifically the one girl, whose name was slipping her mind at the moment, and how she had some Durmstrang boy named Dave wrapped around her finger. Émile liked talking about Dave, and there had been times where Maddie had contemplated hunting the older boy down to figure out what was so interesting about him. “There isn’t one of those Crumbs in our year, is there?”