Brand New Camera

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie Mitchell had been given a camera during the school break. The head boy had come up to him during the first semester of third year and told him he should consider doing something with photography, and since Avie's mother had always told him to keep his horizon's open Avie had decided to listen to the older boy. He'd then joined the yearbook staff as an intern and by the time the year was over, Avie had decided he wanted to do photography. So, now, in the a new academic year Avie had a brand new camera in his hands. He'd convinced his aunt and uncle to get him one. Originally they'd said no but after him threatening to ask his mother about it and go over their heads on the issue the pair had seemed to panic and had quickly gotten Avie a brand new camera. Generally when he threatened to go to his mother, his aunt and uncle would just let him, but this time had been different. It was one of only a hand full of times when the boy hadn't had to pester and pester about it. Things at home had been strange, he hadn't noticed too much but the teen felt like something had been different like he missing something. He couldn't pinpoint what it was. Between being allowed to actually play the piano and his cousins largely leaving him alone the teen had just been as happy and active as he was normally. He hadn't seen his mother in a while, or at all since last christmas, but he knew she'd write soon. She always wrote within the first week of the beginning of the semester. Avie wasn't too worried about it, and with a new term ahead of him and plenty of things to do. With his photography skills he was on the yearbook, something he'd always enjoyed but had never thought he could. He'd helped out in the last yearbook, admittedly just shadowing the older boy and asking many many questions but it had paid off in a way he guessed.

Knowing that a lot probably would ride on him being able to take half decent pictures the slytherin teen had decided that he would go out in search of things to take pictures off. He was limited, since he'd been expressly told that the camera couldn't go under water and according to his uncle pictures of rocks were dull so he really shouldn't do that either. Avie had protested that, but his uncle had been certain about pictures of rocks being dull. Avie knew that he couldn't break this camera. He didn't know if the school would let him get another or if he'd just be kicked out of the yearbook. So, out the window went climbing trees or really running around. Avie tripped up pretty often, he didn't really pay attention to where he was going so that was understandable. He wouldn't mind but Avie really didn't want to break the camera. He'd wandered around the grounds for a while, not wanting to go to the pitch because then he'd just want to fly. So in the end it occurred to the teen that there was one place that he could go. The gardens. While there may not be many flowers Avie was sure it was the perfect place for him to take all the pictures that he wanted. With that thought the boy just barely kept himself from running towards the gardens. He realised that doing this midwinter probably wasn't the best idea, but Avie wasn't going to just give up. He began wondering around, and eventually found a small growing plant. With the camera in one hand, Avie lay down on his front on the grass, ignoring the wet, muddiness and got his camera ready. He took a couple of pictures before deciding he probably had it. While still on the ground, Avie noticed a slug on a branch not too far from where he was. He quickly army-style crawled along to the slug. Taking lots of pictures of the slug when he got close enough, ignoring all the branches and stuff that were all around him, Avie didn't really raise he practically half within a bush. Avie was focused on taking pictures He knew that if he could take a good profile of a slug he could definitely get the yearbook profile pictures right.
​

 

[Lucien Snow]

Over the break, Lucien Snow had one hell of a break. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing! He hated it, and he thought that he needed to open his horizons, and invite some friends over. But first, he really needed to look for more friends. So far, he only really had Avie. 'Since when did he become a friend?' thought Lucien before shaking his head. He let out a sigh before he wondered what he had done. He looked over his form. He really hit puberty over the break. That was the only thing that really happened. Now, he was looking strikingly similar to his cousin. However, right now, Lucien was on a mission to find someone. Someone that joined the Accio! team with a bunch of weird people. He was looking for Avie. For one, he wanted someone to talk to, and two, he wanted to see why in the hell Avie joined such a club! Was he getting bored? Lucien could definitely find him something to do. But, if that was what he really wanted, then he would not argue or fight him. 'Wow, I am really softening up. This is getting ridiculous,' thought Lucien as he exited the castle, concluding that Avie would be going outside somewhere.

Asking a couple of other younger years where a nerd with a camera might be (Lucien assumed everyone in Accio! might have a camera, so chances were, he would either find Avie, or find one of his peers so he can find him). Pointed to the gardens, Lucien made his way over to the garden. He shielded himself from the cold with his jacket, which wasn't really cold considering where he was from. However, he stopped walking once he entered the garden when he heard something in the grass. Lucien could recognize those shoes, as someone was in a bush. Yes, that was Avie, all right. Lucien straightened his hair, and smirked. He made his presence known with a sentence that sounded unbelievable coming from his mouth, "Hey, why don't you have me model for you like a French woman?" Lucien had to keep from laughing at his own ridiculous statement, but hell, some laughter here and there would be nice. Plus, he was definitely not being serious. He was not wearing the proper attire for any sort of picture. Besides, Avie was half way in a bush. Someone could do something bad, like set hte bush on fire...​

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie was lost in his actions. He was focusing on the slug, occasionally touching it to get it to move so that he could have varying pictures. He didn't know what he'd do with the pictures, but he figured he could give some to his friends. To Marcel and Kris, Emily. Maybe even Lucien, or perhaps even Professor Styx enjoy a few. Avie smiled at the thought of giving Styx a picture of this slug, it was a pretty amazing slug. He was more than certain he'd love it. But, all this focus on the task at hand, meant that Avie really wasn't listening or paying attention to the world around him. He let his mind focus on the task, something his mind did pretty rarely. It was clear that his mother's suggestion of activities for him was paying off. This meant that when someone approached him, he didn't hear them until they spoke. It startled the boy to the point where he dropped the camera on to the ground and gave a little gasp. He grabbed the camera and got himself out from within the bush looking up at who was talking. Lucien! Avie's face lit up at the sight of his friend. His words confused the boy slightly, he didn't understand why taking a picture of Lucien would be like taking a picture of a French woman. What did French woman have to do with photography.

The Slytherin boy used the clean bit of his jumper to wipe off the residue mud that had gotten on to the camera when he'd dropped it. He was filthy, little specks of mud were even on his face. Crawling in slightly damp and muddy grass was not his brightest idea if he was attempting to stay clean, which was never really his objective. Avie grinned at Lucien despite his confusion over the statement, Lucien often said things that Avie didn't understand. "What does a french woman have to do with pictures? Are you french?" he asked his friend. Avie had always liked Lucien, they played rocks together, he knew Lucien was warming up to his rock collection. Avie was sure that soon Lucien would want his own collection. He grinned happily, glad to see him. "Do you want me to take your picture? Is that what you're saying" he asked, perhaps that's what Lucien had meant because that really made more sense than French women. "Do you wanna meet my slug friend?" he was sure that Lucien would say no, but rather than just reaching for the slug straight away and handing it to his friend he decided to just wait for an answer. Almost like Avie had grown up slightly. Avie was incredibly pleased to see his friend. It was early in the term and the boy was more than looking forward to catching up with all people he hadn't seen in a while. Holidays were pretty boring. This time around he hadn't seen his mother, they hadn't done the thing they usually did together. The holidays had been strange and getting back to a more normal life seemed best.
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[Esme Lancaster]

Esme's own school break had been relatively eventful, to say the least. Dealing with the influx of new students had kept her extremely busy at Ollivanders, stocking shelves, counting and recording galleons, keeping everything clean. Not to mention constantly having to avoid explosions and put out small fires as children tested out wands. It was a far more dangerous job than she'd originally anticipated, but in the end it left her with more money in her pocket. She couldn't complain. The store had given her a lot more insight to wandlore too, though it still remained her brothers expertise. At least she was starting to learn the characteristics of a wand. There was a lot she could tell by a person now, solely by examining the type of wand they carried. It was a skill she thought useful to have.

Despite her adventures out in the world, the Slytherin was glad to be back at the castle. She remembered feeling homesick when she first arrived with the other unsorted eleven year olds those few years back, but this was her home now. It was nice to have a break from it every once and a while but she prefered the school over staying with her family. That was except for Emmett, who she wished would just transfer over from Durmstrang, though he seemed to want the opposite thing and they were both too adamant on staying where they were. As appealing as the institute was, she wasn't too excited on the idea of being a stranger in a foreign place. At least she had her loyal companion, the dark furred half-kneazle ever present at her heels to have as a reminder that he was always there for her, even if he was oceans away.

The witch and feline made their way together across the great lawn, Esme being the one to follow behind this time as Dusk pawed at the air, chasing orange-winged butterflies into the gardens. She had little else to do but wander, so had been content with accompanying her pet as it got its daily exercise. What she hadn't expected however, was to pass by Lucien, one of the few people in the school she could tolerate the presence of, as he suggested he model like a french woman. Esme didn't understand the reference, but found the sentence so amusingly absurd that she couldn't resist approaching to see what on earth he was going on about. "Well well, Lucien. Have you always desired to be a french woman? And hello-" She stopped, turning to greet the other Slytherin boy, only to realise she didn't actually recall his name. It started with A, right? She opted not to finish to sentence, leaving it as just 'hello'. "So, what's happening here? Are you having a little photoshoot?" The Slytherin chimed curiously, brushing a stray strand of hair behind one ear. If so, she definitely did not want to miss out. That, and she felt the need to socialise more. A change of pace from tormenting the younger kids.

 

[Lucien Snow]

Lucien heard something drop with a thud, and Lucien chuckled in his throat. That was great. He scared Avie. Lucien could scare a lot of people. He looked down as he watched Avie scramble to get out of the bush, and finally notice who he was. Seeing his face light up only made him smirk a little, but it was definitely one of those good feelings. Lucien then noticed that Avie was a little on the dirty side, probably from that bush. He shook his head at the thought of dirt, since he was definitely a clean person. When asked the question, he placed his hand on his forehead. "It was a figure of speech. I'm only half French anyway." Lucien looked around to see if anyone else could see them, and right now, it was not many at all. Those who were obviously were not paying attention. But then someone else joined them, questioning him over the French girl statement. Oh poop, he was heard. Lucien saw who it was and blushed heavily before shaking his head, "Just like I was telling Avie, figure of speech." Oh wow, this was truly embarrassing, but now, he had two people he could tolerate at the school with him.

Lucien decided that maybe he wanted his picture taken. Esme asked if they were having a photoshoot, and this made him wonder if Avie actually would take a picture of him in a ridiculous pose. "Bring your slug friend out and I will have to pour some salt on it," warned Lucien with a roll of his eyes. He hated stuff like that. The slugs were just too damn slimy for his tastes. He opted to watch them squirm as they reacted violently against the salt. "Anyway, to the picture taking. Yes, I do want my picture taken, and I want to pose like this." Lucien made a very feminine pose, with his hand in mid sweep of his blonde hair. He was cutting up, which was extremely rare. Only those he considered worthy would be able to see a more human side to Lucien. "Just made it fast, I can't hold this pose for long." Especially since he was standing on one leg. He closed his eyes to look like one of those dreamy looking models he had seen in magazines and such. He waited until the cue to say that the picture was taken, and then he would be able to socialize a little more.
​

 

[Avie Mitchell]

As it turned out, the boy was stating fact and using whatever a figure of speech was. Now, Avie knew if he asked Lucien about it he probably wouldn't answer him, but he was a little bit confused. The slytherin's mind then focused on the other part of what he said "You're half French?" he blurted out, he hadn't known that about his friend. He admittedly knew very little about him, but still. He hadn't heard a hint of an accent, or maybe it was Avie who wasn't listening correctly. "Baguette!" he blurted out in not unsurprisingly some of the worst French despite it being just one word. He had since completely forgotten to ask about the figure of speech idea much happier to just stick to the whole French thing. "France is far from here" he added it was sad as an almost assurance to himself, and also almost like a question. Like the boy wasn't too sure if this was in fact correct, so he was looking for Lucien to say he was correct. However, they were interrupted by a girl arriving. Avie knew her face, he'd seen her around. Avie smiled brightly at her, about to say his name at the point where he could've but when Lucien stepped in and said his name as part of what he was saying, Avie figured he wouldn't have to. And there again was that thing, the figure of speech. "Figure of speech? Whats that? A figure is a person right? Speech is something you say. It doesn't add up" Avie shook his head at the two of them, chuckling slightly. It all made sense in his head. His maths added up and no one else's did. The girl asked what they were doing, and Avie brightly smiled at her, sort of shaking his head a little.

"I'm practicing. I'm on the yearbook, I got to get good. Since I take the pictures." Avie was practically beaming with pride over being able to tell people about it. Avie had never had much to really be proud about, though he was proud of his rocks this was just so much bigger than that. He chose to ignore Lucien's statement about the slug, though the idea of putting salt on the slug to make it shrivel up did make him laugh slightly. He didn't want to do that to his slug friend. Instead he realised that Lucien was actually going to let him take a picture. Immediately Avie jumped to his feet. The front of his clothes were muddy, but nothing in his demeanour seemed to give off any impression that he actually minded. Avie watched and waited as Lucien got into the pose he wanted to do, and Avie couldn't help but laugh at it. He lined up the camera and as best he could took a picture. Well, he took about three just in case one was blurry. "Done!" Avie grinned happily. He was so glad to see Lucien, he didn't know this other girl, but he was glad to see her too. A friend of Lucien's was a friend of Avie's. "I'll give the picture to you for Christmas! I'll get one of those picture frames and put it in that. I'll get my ma to send me one!" Avie spoke sincerely, he would give it to him as a present, if the picture turned out alright. He turned to the girl, "Do you want your picture taken? You and Lucien could get in a picture together. I have to get good, and since this camera won't work underwater I need to practice elsewhere."
​

 

[Esme Lancaster]

The Slytherin witch was seeing a whole new side to the boy she'd hung out with atop the towers. It was a much more casual atmosphere, and she found that she really enjoyed it. Amused by the sight of Lucien's cheeks turning a shade of pink from embarassment, Esme couldn't help but let a broad smile touch her lips. "Ah, of course." She said, nodding her understanding. "A figure of speech. That makes a lot more sense." And it did, though the other boy, Avie as she now knew him, seemed confused by the phrase. Though she of course knew what it meant, the Slytherin girl wasn't sure how to even begin describing it to someone else. When he put it the way he did, even she couldn't help but wonder why it was referred to as a figure in the first place.

"You should definitely practice a lot then, Avie. I don't want to have a bad photo for the yearbook this year! As difficult as that may be." Lancaster responded as the boy explained what he was doing, with a mock flip of her hair, as she'd seen all the gorgeous girls do. Though she made fun of vanity, even she was guilty of asking for her picture retaken in the past. She didn't want to be reflected upon as having a horrid school photo. She'd seen some really unfortunate-looking people when she and her family had perused through the last yearbook. But realising that Lucien was into striking a pose for a shot, the witch moved on over to Avie's side, shaking her head and smiling. "Wow, I've never seen such a beautiful pose. Magnifique, Lucien! So elegant!" She laughed, clapping her hands. When Avie asked if she wanted her picture taken, Esme was enthusiastic about the idea. "Oh! I'd love that!" Rushing over to stand by Lucien, she got ready to strike a pose. "Come on Lucien. We should go back to back, all cool like." She said, the excitement evident in her voice as she crossed her arms and tossed her hair over one side, ready for a shot.

 

[Lucien Snow]

Lucien did not know whether to laugh at Avie's attempt of saying a French word, or to be offended by it. He chose neither, and said in fluent French, "Don't be an idiot. And don't ever say that again." Lucien then smirked to ensure that he meant no harm, despite that Avie might not know what he said. He gave a small nod when he said that France was indeed far from here. However, he had relatives here he stayed with until he went to France or Bulgaria over the holidays. He looked to Esme, and then to Avie, wondering if the two knew each other or else he would have to introduce them. He thought this several times, before deciding that if they wanted to know each other's names, they would just come out and say it. Avie questioned what a 'figure of speech' was, and Lucien wanted to slap him on the back of his head. However, when he thought about it, he wondered why it was called that. No, no, he shouldn't be questioning language. "I don't know, it is just a saying. I don't want to question things like that when it has always been that way."

Avie seemed to have a lot of price in his new club, so maybe Lucien shouldn't criticize him for it. After all, his friend was happy, and that was all that mattered. Plus, he could definitely see more into the mysterious club. He chuckled when Esme said that she did not want to have a bad photo for the yearbook. Lucien decided to crack a joke, "Sorry, Esme, then you might want to wear a paper bag over your face." He was smirking to let her know that it was all out of jest. Esme was definitely not ugly. Once Lucien heard the word 'Done', he released his pose and stretched out his legs. He chuckled at Esme's response to his pose after he was free to do so. Lucien was a little confused over what Avie said next. Christmas? "I...My family doesn't celebrate Christmas, but okay." He had to push aside his confusion to stand back to back to Esme for another shot. He folded his arms across his face and a grumpy expression took hold, which was his normal expression. Lucien hoped that Avie would not run out of film. Lucien said, his attention turned Esme, "I hope this pose is cool enough for you."​

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie didn't understand French. He didn't understand english at times, so other languages were just impossible for the young slytherin to wrap his head around. Which was why he just ignored what Lucien was saying. It wouldn't be the first time he'd ignored him. Whenever Avie heard complicated words he just shut it all off. He just didn't listen, didn't take any of it in. It was far easier than trying to figure it out. Sometimes he asked what people meant but apparently that was like wasting their time or something. Avie didn't really care. He just smiled brightly at his friend and the other girl, ignoring the bit he didn't understand because there really were more pressing issues. Like getting good at taking pictures for one. Of course his confusion over the figure of speech had to be said out loud. He couldn't figure out what it meant. And clearly his question was striking a chord with Lucien ever so slightly. The way it's always been. "But why" he couldn't help but say though it was fairly close to a whine. Sometimes half of Avie's problem, he believed, was that language was just really confusing. What was a figure of speech, what did it mean, why was it there if it didn't make sense and caused even greater confusion. Avie however let his mind wander away from that and focus on the girl, he needed a lot of practice. He gave a small laugh at what Lucien said to her, "I'm sure there's room in the yearbook budget for a paper bag" Avie paused, and nodded to himself of course there was room for such an item.

As Avie took the picture he was pretty pleased. He was sure that the picture would be fine. He was sure that it would turn out great. Which was really all that he wanted or needed. Happily the teen knew that giving Lucien the picture for christmas would be a good idea. He could give it before then, but it made more sense. This way he could get his mother to send him a picture frame for it and it would be all nicely presented. Avie barely contained his surprise at what he said. "Don't celebrate christmas?" he was just in awe of that. Christmas in his family was the best. There were presents and food, and his mother and him always did something together in the afternoon before the food. "It's the best. I can't wait to go home for christmas this year. I already got my ma a christmas present. Plus she always reads me a whole story the night before since I don't read so good" Avie's excitement over christmas was clear and it was pretty much decided that he would be giving Lucien something now. Of course the next thing to do was get both Lucien and the girl, Esme into a picture. So after asking her he waited until the were both ready and then he took the picture. Well he took this more slowly taking a few steps back and adjusting the camera slightly. "Done" he said once he'd taken it. He looked at them both smiling happily. "Right my turn" He barely gave the pair any time, before jumping over to stand in front of them, holding the camera away from his face and taking a picture of the three of them. He didn't bother to strike a pose or even attempt to remove some of the mud from his face just smiled brightly. Taking a selfie with his new camera. Once done he jumped away from them. "Ah man, come on let's do something!" He was excited now, and clearly jumping up and done with joy. He wanted to do something.
​

 

[Esme Lancaster]

Hearing Lucien's comment about Christmas as they got ready for the shot, Esme found that she was in the same boat. Christmas was seen as more of a muggle-developed tradition, so the Lancaster's generally refrained from partaking in the celebrations and festivities. The same applied toward Easter and other similar holidays. The holiday didn't make much sense to her, and she knew very little about its roots. She'd grown up living in Salem, but contact with its muggle occupants and their world had been very restricted. The only time the witch ever received presents was on her birthday, but upon mentioning that a lot of the other children were given gifts at the end of the year, due to an old man in a red suit climbing down their chimneys, her parents tended to buy her things she wanted more frequently throughout the year."Neither does mine. I don't really get the point of it. A lot of people seem to get really excited though." Esme commented, and Avie did indeed seem to be excited at the thought of it. When he mentioned that he didn't read good, the witch couldn't help but wonder why. Or how. The fact made it a little bit clearer as to why some of his sentences were a little strangely structured, but she couldn't understand how it was difficult. Reading, in her opinion, had always been so easy. It surprised her to encounter a person who struggled with what she had always assumed was such a basic skill.

Shrugging to herself, Esme waited as Avie readied his camera and put on a serious expression, one eyebrow raised in what she considered a look of "cool contempt". Her eyes flickered briefly across to Lucien."It'll do. After all, it's hard to look as cool as me. It's a natural gift." She replied with a small giggle, trying not to break her expression until the camera finally clicked and she could relax her position. She'd barely had any time to move before Avie bounded over to join them with the camera lense pointed toward all three of them. "Oh." She said in a tone of surprise, her immediate reaction to just smile. A natural, genuine smile, one she hadn't really worn in many photos previously. Most had been for family portraits, where they had to look absolutely perfect and well-presented. The family rarely took photographs of their natural selves in every day life, never cared to keep any memories. Even in her yearbook photos, her smiles never quite reached her eyes and always carried that hint of superiority, the way she wanted others to see her. The way she'd been taught to make herself seen.

Trying to distract herself from the thoughts of her family, Esme turned her attention to the ground, eyes scanning for wherever it was that Dusk had run off to. Probably off chasing someone's pet rat or frog, no doubt. She caught sight of his familiar white tail, a contrast to his otherwise dark fur and felt a surge of reassurance. He rarely left her immediate vicinity, but she had a constant fear that one day he'd simply leave her. Knowing he was still nearby however, she turned back to the group, chuckling at Avie as he started jumping up and down. "I wouldn't mind doing something either. But um," She turned her head, looking around the garden and the grounds further on with no clue as to what else they could do. At least, that could interest the three of them. "I don't know what. Lucien, do you have any ideas?"
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[Lucien Snow]

Lucien shook his head when Avie repeated that he didn't celebrate Christmas. It was something that was over the top, and his family just did not celebrate things like that. But they did celebrate Halloween, to some extent. Several of the family members' birthdays fell on that day so it was widely celebrated. Lucien listened as Avie got excited over the holiday and how his mom read him a whole story at night. Lucien could not express how ridiculous that sounded, but he kept his mouth shut. To his relief, Esme said that her family did not celebrate it either. "The only holidays we truly celebrate are Halloween, birthdays of the most noble of the family, and funerals. Well, funerals for those that my family tends to hate. Also, when the Patriarch gets back from his hunting trip, satisfied." That was a celebration only because the hunting that Asparuh did was not for game at all. And if he came back without his kill, he would be punishing whoever crossed his path. Lucien heard that he had done something like that to his dad since his dad did something bad. In all reality, it was because his dad knocked up his mom and made he and his siblings, but he was unaware of that, or of what happened exactly. His dad sure didn't die except by the hands of his great-uncle.

Now, Avie wanted a picture of the three of them. So, a selfie. Lucien smirked deviously since that was more or less his happy face. He knew that Avie wanted to be involved, and knowing that the pictures would be good enough, everything was all right. He looked over at Esme, and shook her head at her previous comment which just now registered in his head. Suppose that was revenge for the paper bag joke. Lucien watched as Avie jumped up and down, wanting to do something else. He raised an eyebrow and wondered what they could do. Avie didn't suggest anything, and then Esme turned to him. Neither had ideas so they had to turn to him? Lucien placed his fingers on his chin as he pursed his lips in thought. Well, he was feeling like he wanted to play Quidditch, but Esme wasn't on the team, and didn't know if she would even want that. So, what could a couple of fourth years do? Wait, that was easy. "We could find some pathetic little first years to put in their place. You know the type, the ones that will pretend to be high and mighty."​

 

[Avie Mitchell]

It really surprised the teen that neither Lucien nor Esme seemed to celebrate christmas. He knew that it was a particularly muggle festival but he was still under the impression that people who weren't muggleborn or who had muggle roots celebrated it. Avie didn't know what he was, he had never met nor had any word from or about his father, so he didn't know what blood type he was. Avie's family was a little bit different than most, his mother had always been keen to celebrate christmas, more than any of the other holidays. Avie loved halloween but he celebrated that with his muggle friend. They weren't huge on birthdays really. Birthday's made a lot of noise with kids running around, which his aunt hated and added to that was the fact that Avie didn't really have many friends growing up so celebrating had never been a huge deal. Usually it was just a time he and his mother spent together. Avie listened to Lucien and then Esme, finding it incredibly odd. "But christmas is fun. Presents, food, hugs, stories" He knew he wasn't going to sway them to the Christmas way but he could still tell them all about it, and now that he thought about it, surely he could make them both gifts so that they would maybe enjoy it more. It was becoming like his theory with professor Styx, hugs made people happy, so hug Professor Styx to make him less grumpy. Give them christmas presents so they can like christmas. "Funerals are boring, ma always tells me I can't bring rocks to funerals but funerals are boring and my rocks are not" he couldn't believe that plus birthdays of the most noble were celebrations that Lucien was listing off. Maybe Lucien also needed hug to make him less grumpy. Esme didn't seem as grumpy, but Avie hadn't known her all that long, so he knew he could be wrong about it.

Avie didn't give either Lucien or Esme much time to get ready for the picture with him or tell him to stop. He hadn't planned to get into the picture, but he couldn't really resist it. It was just nice to be at school and have friends around him. His mind drifted further away from strange and nagging thoughts he didn't quite understand. He didn't mind that it was probably startling to them, it would likely be the most natural picture of the day. He was oblivious to the fact they might not have wanted it, he was just all for having a little bit of fun and that included strange pictures. Moving away from them, Avie could feel his excitement over everything growing. He hadn't even had that much sugar lately. Which was the most surprising part about it. He grinned happily at them, having posed the question. He was thinking about what they could do. He thought about maybe suggesting to going rock finding but he knew that Lucien wouldn't want to do that, and he wasn't sure about Esme. His mind then jumping to a game he would call slugs, which essentially was like tig but they had to move like slugs on the group. He didn't think they'd want to do that either. Avie was always pretty dirty but they both seemed like the clean and proper types. He was surprised when it was Lucien who came up with something. "Can I throw mud balls at them?" he asked though he was sure that Lucien probably would let him do so. "I wanna annoy little first years!" he said excitedly. "Where will we find them?" he asked glancing around, jumping away as if trying to already look for them. Then he realised that maybe Esme didn't want to do that. She was a slytherin though and knew Lucien so he assumed she'd be interested. "Let's find some first years!"
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[Esme Lancaster]

Listening to Lucien speak about events that were celebrated within his family, it was interesting to hear that funerals of the people they hated were counted among them. Esme herself had been to a great deal of funerals, it seemed as if her family knew a lot of people who experienced unfortunate or inexplicable accidents. Yet, those had always been so solemn and dreary. There were always people sobbing loudly, or standing there looking devastated as tears rolled slowly down their cheeks. At times however, she thought she'd seen her grandmother leave the service with a faint smile on her lips. From the way that Lucien had mentioned them as, something to be celebrated for those who were hated and recently deceased, the Slytherin girl couldn't help but envision his family laughing and joking together while popping a bottle of champagne, balloons and streamers decorating the scene. It was probably not at all accurate, but the thought entertained her. Avie at least seemed to normally attend the same kinds of funerals as she did. It was a shame. Perhaps they all just needed somebody they hated to die?

With no idea for what the three of them could do next, that they'd all enjoy at least, Esme was glad to hear that Lucien had a suggestion. Terrorizing young first year students, why hadn't she thought of that? Then again, she hadn't been too sure if it was something Avie would take an interest in, but now she could see that he was as enthused about it as she was. "That sounds like a lot of fun. I'm in! This year's batch of firsties are absolutely horrid. I sold a good percentage of them their first wands during break - I work at Ollivanders - and they're all so...incompetent and annoying. It's so satisfying to see some of them walking into the store with a smug look, as if they're so cool getting a wand of their own, only to fail their first fifty attempts." She said with a smile. She enjoyed some of their looks of dismay as they failed time and time again. Unfortunately, not all of them had taken too long before they found the wand for them. It was probably her own doing, the witch was getting better at telling what types of wands were more suitable for particular.

When Avie asked if he could throw mud balls, Esme couldn't help but laugh. It was a little unorthodox, given that they had spells at their disposal. She did have to admit, none of the ones in her arsenal included conjuring mud balls. "Mud balls are a bit stone-age, but I wouldn't mind seeing the little brats pelted with them. They might not be so easy to find though, I swear they get smaller and smaller each year. It's like they're all part goblin or something." It did indeed seem to Esme as if with each passing year, the younger students looked more and more like infants. Did she have such a baby face when she'd first been enrolled? Whenever she looked in the mirror she believed she looked the same as she always had, but when she flicked back through the yearbook she could see how much she'd changed. Shrugging to herself at the thought, she hopped over a flower bed and looked across the grounds, wondering if there were any kids to terrorize within viewing distance. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll find one prowling somewhere here in the gardens. Where did you guys tend to hang out back in first year?" She asked curiously, turning back to face the two boys. She herself had always spent her free times down by the lakefront or in the courtyard. The witch generally ignored most of the other students back then. Her roommates were especially intolerable.

 

[Lucien Snow]

Even the thought of Christmas made Lucien want to hurl. He hated anything to do with hugs and stories. Most stories by his family haunted his nightmares. Some of them were okay people and wanted to be left alone, but others were ridiculously bad. Even Vladimir had him worried. Christmas was thankfully dropped by Esme, since he did not want to press his luck. He didn't think that funerals were boring, when it concerned with those outside of his family. Those were celebrated. Lucien would not bother telling others about that. He dared not spare the secrets of his family. Either one of them. Lucien looked over at Avie with his eyebrows raised. That was strange. Why in the world would he want to throw mud balls? Lucien had to repeat it, to see what it sounded like as it rolled over his tongue, "Mud balls?" That was still weird for him to think about. However, if Avie wanted to throw mud balls at them, who was he to judge? "If you want to get your hands dirty, be my guest." That was definitely not what he was going to do. He looked toward Esme as she said that she had a lot of them at her work. Right, she sold wands to them. How unfortunate.

"We do have to look out for a few of the first years. I think I have a couple of family members in their first years here. Seira, Titania, Bellatrix and Isadora I think." Those were the ones that were supposed to come by. From what he knew. He did not know where to find the first years though. Lucien chuckled, "Yeah, they have been getting smaller and smaller. Especially now that I grew almost a foot over the break." His family was unusually tall, but that was probably due to some sort of genetic mutation. He did not know and did not want to know. Some might be here in the gardens? He never thought of that. He thought over where he hung out as a first year, and narrowed his eyes at the ground as he thought. "I hung out in my dorm. I was a bit of a loner then and didn't make friends. I wasn't one of those annoying brats." Lucien thought highly of himself, but he truly did not seem like one of those foulmouthed ones that he had seen before. He threw rocks at Avie, but look how close it made them!​