Closed Creative Exchanges

[Sophie Wilson]

The new semester had started, which for Sophie mostly meant a new issue of the paper had to be set up. Last semester had gone well, and Sophie was pleased by the increased activity that came with a few new people joining the club. She hoped that the issue from this semester could be even better than the last one, as she always wanted to improve. She had been wondering if she should add any new things to the paper, though she didn't really have any ideas. She intended to ask at the next meeting, which she would be holding soon, but wanted to at least think about it herself before asking the members of the club. She wanted to be a good editor for the paper. The clubroom was quiet today, and Sophie was glad to use the space. Empty rooms were a rarity at Hogwarts, and it was quite nice to just take some time by herself to think. She was scribbling some ideas in a notebook, though none of them really stood out to her. It was hard to think about interesting things to write about life at Hogwarts without going into gossip territory, and the last thing Sophie wanted was to drag the paper down to the level of a gossip rag.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney hadn't had high hopes for Hogwarts being particularly challenging or engaging. She hadn't exactly come to school with the goal of bettering herself or whatever it was that her parents and the school curriculum seemed to be so intent on fooling themselves into believing, but she had at least hoped to find something marginally interesting to pass the time. So far, the closest thing she'd found was being part of the Hogwarts Monthly, and while seeing her own work published, albeit anonymously, in last semester's issue had been gratifying, it just wasn't enough. How were students expected to survive at this school without some sort of creative outlet?
Escaping her dorm for a moment of peace, Sydney had swung open the door of the HM room, somewhat surprised to find their editor apparently already hard at work even at the start of the new semester. She'd been planning on working on some of her poetry, but upon seeing Sophie, Sydney decided now was the perfect time to express some of her complaints about Hogwarts dismal arts opens. "So," She said, dropping her notebook loudly on the table in front of Sophie and dropping into a free chair across from her. "The state of this school's literary options is abysmal and we need to do something about it." She said matter-of-factly.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie's quill had just started to draw a little doodle under her notes, almost on its own accord, when the door swung open with quite a bit of drama. She saw Sydney step in, one of the new members of the club. She was only a first year, but Sophie had enjoyed her writing for the paper so far. Her Agony Aunt advice had certainly been entertaining, though she wondered how many of the people sending in letters guessed a first year was answering them. She didn't think they needed to know. Sophie wondered what the girl was doing here. Perhaps she was looking for a quiet place to work? But then the girl sat down in front of her and made it clear she was here to talk to Sophie. Her eyebrows raised, Sophie closed her own notebook to listen. The girl's statement wasn't untrue, exactly, but Sophie wasn't sure why she was coming to her. "Do I look like Headmistress Alicastell to you?" She asked the younger girl. "She's a bit older than me, also not Asian. Probably nicer, too." She smiled a bit to show it was a joke. Professor Alicastell was intimidating, Sophie wouldn't deny it.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney frowned when it seemed like Sophie was going to try to joke about this. She had hoped this would be something she of all people would care about. "I'm sure you're well aware the school'll never make changes on its own steam," She said, rolling her eyes, though she wasn't totally sure if it was at Sophie or the idea of the school itself. While Sydney hadn't exactly planned to get into this particular crusade when she'd walked in, she'd brought it up now, and Sophie would definitely make a decent ally in her cause. "As much as I like to think my opinion matters to the headmaster, I somehow doubt it," Said wryly. "If we can get a few heavy hitters among the students to bring it up to the staff, they'll have no choice but to listen to us," She said intently. "Besides, you've probably thought the same thing, right?" At least Sydney hoped Sophie had thought the same thing. If they could combine some ideas, they stood much more of a chance of actually making a change at the school. At the very least, maybe Sophie could help Sydney make the paper less gossip columns and quidditch and into more actual interesting prose.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie could tell by the girl's frown that she was not appreciating the joke, and she sighed softly. "Well, that's true." She said as the girl said the school wasn't likely to change on it's own. She listened as the girl explained a bit more, one eyebrow raising a bit as she mentioned 'heavy hitters among the students'. Did she mean Sophie with that? Sophie had never seen herself as that. She ran a club, and what she mostly did was remind other students of deadlines and struggle with the logistics of printing the papers. She shrugged. "I have thought the same thing. I joined the paper mostly because it really was the only club with a creative outlet, unless you count the yearbook." Her tone implied she clearly didn't. "But for me personally it's... enough. I used to draw a lot more, and write stories. But with the paper taking over more and more of my time I've realized that this is what I really want to do. After Hogwarts I plan to work for the Daily Prophet. Or at least, I hope to." She shrugged again. "Doesn't mean there shouldn't be more literary options, as you said it. What sort of thing did you have in mind?"

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney still wasn't entirely certain Sophie was taking her fully seriously, but she wasn't about to back out of this conversation just yet. She figured she'd have better luck expressing her grievances with the sorry state of the school's creative outlets with Sophie than with some out of touch member of the faculty. At least for now. She shared a look with Sophie when she mentioned the Year Book as a potential other option, appreciating that they both apparently shared a similar opinion of what kind of option that was. "Well, that's all well and good for you," Sydney responded sullenly when Sophie mentioned she was content with her position at the paper, but she could see the opening that Sophie was giving her and warily took it. "Journalism doesn't leave much for the imagination, and frankly the school paper barely counts as journalism at this point, it's all fluff. How does the school expect to raise well-rounded students if we don't have any way to express ourselves through writing - Poetry, short stories, music even," She sighed, realizing she didn't exactly have a plan in place, she was just furious that Hogwarts was turning out to be such a drag on her own creative process lately. Even if Sophie didn't have any answers, which Sydney somehow doubted she would, it was nice to at least have someone for Sydney to direct her distaste. "No wonder half the student body can barely write an essay." She said snidely.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie was willing to hear the kid out and see what sort of ideas she had. As long as Sydney was willing to put in the work herself, Sophie didn't mind having a new section added to the paper or some sort of side project within the club. She was curious if the girl had any specific ideas. But her first words made Sophie's eyebrows raise a little, and they only rose more as the girl continued to speak. "Interesting move, trying to convince me by insulting the paper I've been the head of for nearly two years, as well as the profession I want to pursue after Hogwarts. Let me guess, you don't often negotiate with people?" She asked dryly, less annoyed than she may have sounded. The opinion of an eleven year old didn't really matter to her too much, as much older and, frankly, smarter people had commented on the paper in more constructive ways than this. "If the paper is so terrible, I'd be happy to help you leave the club. It's not a difficult process." She added, deciding to keep the girl on her toes for a bit longer. She would be happy to let Sydney ad a poem or a story to the paper, but she wasn't going to admit that yet until the girl showed a bit of sense. But then she realized the girl might need a nudge to understand what Sophie needed from her. "I find it impressive that you have, apparently, read everyone's essays and judged them accordingly. First years must have a lot of free time." She said with a light smile, unable to resist a bit more teasing. "But let's imagine that I let all of this slide and focus on what you really want, which is... I'm guessing, is to have a poem or short story of yours in the paper in the future. Or maybe some other section where you can express yourself. Can you think of how you would try to convince me to let you?" Sophie twined her fingers together and rested her chin on them. "I'll give you a hint. Insults and mocking aren't going to do the trick." She added mildly.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

"I'm not trying to negotiate with you," Sydney said in a huff when Sophie accused her of insulting the paper. She wasn't, was she? Sydney had seen this more as a recruitment than anything, but maybe Sophie could offer her more than she had considered before, if only Sophie would be less sensitive about everything. Sydney's mouth twisted when Sophie offered to help her leave the club though. That had not been Sydney's goal, but the idea of saying so and undermining her point put Sydney in a tough spot.
She leveled her gaze at Sophie, realizing that she'd underestimated her at the start of this conversation. Perhaps there was a reason Sophie was the paper's editor beyond just mere seniority. Sydney did her best not to squirm as Sophie continued to destruct her complaints, trying to keep her focus on what Sophie was saying this time and not just the urge to respond back with more scathing insults. She did bristle when Sophie opened it up to Sydney to convince her, stilling fighting the urge to devolve into catty remarks and leave the room. It would be easy enough for Sydney to just start her own literature club, she figured, so there was really no harm if she failed to "convince" Sophie on anything, right? Though there was no denying the benefit of the established platform HM had.
Trying not to appeared cowed by Sophie's comments, Sydney opened her mouth, pausing before answering, "I could bring you an example of my work, I suppose," She said, a touch bitterly. "But I had hoped this would be more about opening the floor for other students too, not just me." She finished, crossing her arms. It would be a lie if Sydney outright said this wasn't something she wanted for herself, but deep down she really was bothered by the lack of options at the school for everyone, and she'd hoped Sophie might agree.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie smiled a bit, amused by the younger girl. She had been trying to mess with her a bit, but also tried to make her aware of her tone. Sophie saw herself a lot in Sydney, and while Sophie was still very snarky, she had become more conscious of a time and place for it. She softened a bit when she saw the girl seemed to have gotten the message. She did think her complaints were valid, but comparing her ideas negatively to the newspaper wasn't the way to do it. "Alright, that would be good." She said when the girl offered to bring an example of her work. "I would be happy to run some of your stories or poetry, and I think seeing someone do that might inspire more people to do the same thing." She said. "I understand your complaint, but I can't bring another official writing club into existence. Not only is that not something I'm authorized to do, but the paper is taking up a lot of my time. You could always bring it up with the headmistress if you want, but I'm happy to help you out where I can. If other people are interested in the same thing, the paper could be a good starting point." She said, folding her hands together. "I agree that the school needs more creative outlets, but there's always the option of creating a... unofficial club. It won't be easy to find other people, but you can start off by asking around at Hogwarts Monthly since they're writers already. Or put up pamphlets." Sophie shrugged. "I've seen kids with study groups and things like that do that, so... why not for your idea?" She hoped she hadn't been too harsh before, but the girl's tone really hadn't been very respectful. Sophie didn't much care about that on a personal level, but she had a certain pride about the paper and the work they had all put in. Including the girl in front of her. "Sydney, you've done a great job with the assignments you do for the paper. The Agony Aunt pieces are honestly pretty good, and I'm happy you joined the club. I get your frustration, but I can't offer you more than what I've suggested and some space in the paper for your own things if you want to publish a story or poem." She paused. "If they're any good." She added with a slight smile to show she wasn't too serious about that. "But I'd guess they would be."