It's Only Natural

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio's winter holidays had been the best of his life, starting with his fourteenth birthday celebration with family and ending with a belated birthday gift in the form of a brand new broomstick. One so impeccable he couldn't begin to fathom the price of, which made him cherish it more and become impatient to fly it when he returned to school. So when he returned in spring with a literal spring to his step and mood on the highest of notes with expectations that the year ahead would only get better, he had spent the entirety of his morning flying around the pitch. Only stopping for a break when his stomach began to rumble with hunger in protest of having no food. Flavio quickly gave in and headed inside the castle with his broom in one hand, smiling to himself and not expecting any company until he ran into his friend November in the hallway. He greeted her then walked with her inside the hall, choosing to sit at the Hufflepuff table with her so he could catch up with her and eat at the same time. "So yeah, this broom is brand new and it is all mine!" He exclaimed, sitting down on one of the benches, and carefully balancing the broom next to him. "How were your holidays?" He asked November in return, smiling at his friend before reaching forward to pick up an apple he soon bit into and chewed while waiting for her response.
​

<i></i>

 

[November Albertson]

November was glad to be back at school. While she had enjoyed having summer break at home, where it was summer with her sister and family, she was excited to go back to school and continue reading the whole of the library. She had already gotten through one section and little November was excited to start a new section. Now she went from Summer to Spring, upon coming back to New Zealand and it messed with her body and the poor thing had a slight cold. She had been excited when Flavio ran into her on her way to the Great Hall, hungry as well. They decided to sit at her house table and she was happy that her first breakfast back she'd have a friend to sit with, very different from last year coming back. She carefully placed her pile of books she had already gathered from the library to read on the table next to spot listening to her friend go on about his broom. "That's really neat. Better treat it nicely, don't want to have it break," she said warning her friend about his new toy. November also hadn't a clue how breakable brooms were or weren't. Thinking about her holidays she remembered a trip she had taken and a present she had found for her friend. She pulled out a small package and card from her bag. "Holidays were great, it is summer at home so I probably have more freckles then last semester," she said looking down at her arms. "Your birthday was over the summer too right? I found you something on a trip I took over the summer. It isn't much, so don't worry," November said putting the wrapped gift down in front of her friend. She then grabbed a plate and put some eggs and toast on it and began to eat while she waited for her friend's response. ​

Spoiler: Card and Present

Spoiler: Gift

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio was certain he would take the best care of his new broom as possible. It would be a waste of his family's time and effort scraping together the money to purchase it if he didn't treat it like his most prized possession (it almost was, second to his favourite book on myths and legends) so he simply nodded at his friend's comment. While he chewed the bite of apple in his mouth he listened to November, nodding again as she spoke of her holidays and mentioned her new freckles. He would have liked to listen to her talk more and continue chewing the apple although he wasn't so lucky, instead swallowing it far too early and coughing in a state of surprise that November had remembered his birthday, let alone chosen to give him a gift. He never expected anything for his birthday besides to spend it with friends and family. One gift in the form of an amazing broomstick had been surprise enough, but a gift from someone he only grew close to in the past year was on a whole other level. It took him a moment to recover from the shock but when Flavio did, he put his apple on the table and looked to the package as it was placed in front of him.

He began by opening the card, smiling at the adorable image of a duckling and bright colours, then turning his attention to the package itself which he opened with careful fingers. It was a pin with a cartoon duck on it, one that he wasn't certain he would be allowed to wear with his school uniform but one he was sure he would wear anyway, or at least keep somewhere safe so he wouldn't lose it during the year. Flavio wrapped the pin back up and looked back to November, quickly moving an arm around her shoulders to squeeze her in a friendly hug. "Thank you very much." He said as he moved away. Although the gift was amazing, Flavio could not help but feel guilty he had not managed to give November a gift for her own birthday. It was only a few weeks earlier than his, and the thought that he did not put in as much effort for his friend caused his heart to sink. "I'm sorry, I did not think to get something for your birthday." He added, sheepishly. The gift was unexpected yet completely welcomed. Not only that, it had made him happy, but he could not help but feel bad for not giving his friend a gift first.​

<i></i>

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was very happy to be back at school, mostly because she loved seeing all her friends and spend time with other people. Because her parents were very busy and Amber wasn't very close to her sister, her holidays tended to kind of lonely. This time she and her family had gone skiing for a while, but that hadn't really been her favorite thing to do.

As she headed to breakfast at the Hufflepuff table one morning, she was surprised but happy to see Flavio there. He was sitting with November, a girl in Amber's year she hadn't talked to much even though they shared a room. It seemed like she could catch up with Flavio and make friends with November at once! She approached them and sat down with a smile. "Hi! What are you guys doing?" She asked with a smile. "Are you thinking of transferring to the superior house?" She gently teased as she turned her smile to Flavio. It wasn't really like she took house rivalry that seriously, but Amber had enjoyed them winning the house cup last year. "How were your holidays?" She asked, addressing them both.

 

[November Albertson]

November smiled and enjoyed her friend's hug. She had done something correct then. She remembered when they met as first years and he wanted to find books on ducks and then again during the past year they came back up. She had the feeling that Flavio was very much a duck person and the pin was cute and funny and it hardly cost anything to begin with she felt like he would need it. "Don't worry, you need the duck pin, Duckie, I don't need anything, well a bigger brain to remember all the facts in these books would be nice," she said with a laugh. She hadn't really thought about getting gifts from her friends for her birthday. Honestly Flavio was her only friend at the school last year that she bothered to spend time with and to not get a present from him didn't hurt her feeling. The fact he wanted to see her was a present and gift enough. Soon enough a new face was sitting with them at the table.

Amber Wilson was a girl in her year, someone she had shared a room with the past three years. They never talked much, Amber seemed like a busy person and November didn't enjoy spending much time in the dorm with all the girl's ooh and awing over boys and rainbows. She didn't think she disliked Amber, just didn't know her but it seemed like Amber knew Flavio. "Eating breakfast," November quickly answered Amber's first question. It almost felt strange to be talking to another person at the school, November's cheeks were a bit red at how nervous she felt having Amber sitting so close. The young Hufflepuff mostly was nervous because of how ashamed she felt wishing she had been a Ravenclaw and how she often avoided situations where she might have to talk to any of the girls in the dorm. Quickly putting food in mouth she glanced over at Flavio to see his reaction to seeing Amber.
​

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

((godmod approved))

There had been a distinct shift in Ainsley's breakfast moods since coming back to Hogwarts. After their fight, Ainsley dreaded breakfast, having to be around Amber but not with her. Seeing her with that boy. It was difficult. But now, there was no way to know what to expect. Would Amber be sitting with him, or would she want to sit with Ainsley? It was anybody's guess. Upon entering the room, Ainsley was relieved to see Amber sitting at their table with Flavio and November, two people Ainsley had had brief interactions with, and thought were quite nice. She felt her face break into a nervous beam as Amber waved her over, quickly crossing the room and taking a seat with the rest of the group. "Hi." She said quietly, giving the others a nervous smile. This felt like a perfect way to start a day.

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

The gift had been a shock to Flavio, although an appreciated one and it definitely brightened his day. November was so kind to think of him on his birthday that Flavio almost could not believe it. He also could not wipe the smile from his face as he looked over the card a second time. It was a good thing he didn't as he soon looked up to see Amber approaching the table. He smiled even wider as she greeted them and then nodded when November said they were eating breakfast though he soon chuckled, shaking his head when Amber asked if he would be transferring houses. Unsure of how to respond to the comment, he quickly answered Amber's second question. "I had fun in the holidays! My family gave me a new broomstick for my birthday and look, November got me a present too!" He exclaimed, pushing the gift over to Amber so she could see it for herself.

Flavio had not thought he would need to introduce November to someone who shared her house and was in the same year. But the idea to do so did cross his mind when Amber waved another Hufflepuff over to them. Flavio had met Ainsley once and seen her around in wild patch meetings yet he only seemed to associate Ainsley with Amber. Ainsley was one of the things Amber talked about the most after all so he really could not help but think of Ainsley as simply as the best friend of one of his friends. He returned her greeting with a quick "Hello", then added "November is one of my new friends, by the way, we went to the yule ball last year" in case this was the first time Amber had seen them interact. Really the idea that he, November, and both Amber and Ainsley were all together in one place was sort of farfetched to him. He was used to interacting with everyone individually rather than all together but he wasn't about to complain considering he was talking to two of his friends at once and also had an opportunity to make a new friend out of Ainsley. The situation was welcomed even if it seemed unusual to him in that moment.
​

<i></i>

 

[November Albertson]

Oddly enough November felt relieved to see Ainsley at the table as well. It meant Amber wouldn't prod her with more questions and might focus her attention towards the other girl. She seemed a bit off, November would have thought Ainsley would have galloped over and given Amber a bear hug, maybe it was because Flavio and herself were there it was different. She pursed her into a smile as Flavio showed off her gift to Amber. It wasn't really the best gift in the world just a simple pin, so the act embarrassed her a little. "I went to the beach and had my birthday as well," she said trying to distract people from the pin.

November glanced over at Ainsley wondering if she was also going to be quiet today, when they had last run into each other Ainsley had seemed fairly talkative. Well, more talkative than November was, which was most people. Although she did talk a lot with Flavio, but he was her friend. She nodded at his words about going to the ball and being friends. "We usually study together too," she mentioned as he left that part out. She remembered Flavio was nervous about exams last semester and wondered how he did on them after all. "How was Herbology Flavio?" November asked him gently unsure if he wanted the other girls to know he might have one poorly. She thought he had gotten a lot better after using her flash cards but she wasn't sure how it really went.
​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber smiled at Flavio. "A new broomstick? That's amazing, now you'll be even better at quidditch than you already are." She said with confidence. "You'll help Ravenclaw win some games for sure." She spoke as if she knew anything about quidditch, even if she didn't really. She looked at the gift and then smiled at November as she gave it back to Flavio. "That's a cute gift." She said. Her own birthday was also always during the holidays which was a shame, she would have loved to celebrate it at school with her friends.

As Amber was chatting with Flavio and November, she noticed Ainsley from the corner of her eye and turned to see her. She smiled widely and waved her over, hoping that the girl wouldn't pretend not to see. But thankfully, Ainsley smiled back and headed their way. Amber had always thought Ainsley and Flavio would make good friends, as they were a bit similar to her, but she was also just really happy her friend was willing to sit with her again and talk to her. "Hi Ainsley!" She said excitedly. "How were your holidays?" She asked her friend brightly. "I was just talking to Flavio and November about theirs." She looked at her friend, feeling odd in her stomach. Ainsley looked... nice, older. She wondered if she had done something different with her hair. Was she wearing make-up perhaps? Amber looked at her for a moment longer and then smiled and turned to the food, grabbing some toast quickly as her heart beat faster.

Flavio told them he had gone to the yule ball with November and Amber didn't say anything to that, she had gone with Wyatt and that was a sore subject around Ainsley, so she decided not to bring it up. Instead she smiled and nodded. "That's great. Flavio, I don't think we ever studied together! We tend to mostly feed the ducks. Not that that isn't fun, of course!" She said with a smile. "But maybe we could sometime, I feel like fourth year is going to be very hard." She didn't know how many subjects the others were taking, but she herself was quite worried about the strain her school work would be. It prickled her annoyance just a little that November talked to Flavio quietly, as if she wanted to exclude the two of them. But maybe it wasn't meant that way, and Amber soldiered on with the conversation, determined to talk as a group. "It's funny that you both had birthdays during the break, because I did too." She said as she adjusted her ponytail. "I always think it's a shame I can't celebrate it with friends from school, but it's also kind of fun to just have free time on your birthday and no lectures or homework, don't you think?"

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

As Ainsley began picking out things to have for breakfast she stayed quiet, her usual shyness tripled in a larger group of people, even people she was mostly comfortable around. It was easier to listen to them talk than try and make conversation herself. That was, until Amber asked her a question, and Ainsley smiled nervously. "Oh... it was okay. Same as always, mum never changes." She smiled awkwardly, leaning her head a little further forward to conceal most of her features in her messy curtain of hair. "How was yours?"

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio nodded as November added that they studied together. He then looked to her when she asked how he had done in Herbology. It had been the subject he was worried about most at the end of the year though with perseverance and the help of November's flash cards while studying he had managed to get an Outstanding. He expected his mark to have been an Acceptable, or Exceeds Expectations at best but he had instead gotten nearly perfect marks and was proud to admit this to both November and his other friends. "Oh, I got an Outstanding." He said, then adding "Thanks to you and your flash cards." while gently nudging November with his elbow. Flash cards weren't a study method Flavio had considered useful or even known about until November brought it up but now that he had seen how helpful they were he didn't want to study without them.

The idea of studying together being brought up by Amber was genius. Flavio immediately sat forward as he spoke. "Wait, we should all study together. I think fourth year will be difficult, too, and it might help all of us if we work in a group." Having a group of people to ask questions to or explain something he didn't completely understand was sure be useful when exams came around, for everyone involved. He was surprised at himself for not thinking to study with Amber in the past nor any of his other friends besides November. But now that the idea was in his head, he realized that studying in a group was probably the best option for the year ahead considering that their Owl year was growing closer by the day. Flavio was so enthused by the idea of studying in a group that he almost did not hear Amber mention her own birthday but he luckily tuned into her words just in time. "I am sorry that I did not get you a gift either, Amber. But I agree that it is better to spend time with family and friends without homework." He answered, agreeing with his friend although he was still half focused on the idea of forming a study group and how useful it would be.​

<i></i>

 

[November Albertson]

November grinned as Flavio declared his grade, he had done really well and he said it was thanks to her. She wasn't sure if she really was the best teacher but she had enjoyed going through her flash cards of all the plants and memorizing the details with him, especially since he made the tea from class for them. It had been a fun time and he helped her a lot with Charms too which was really nice. "Good," she said with a bright smile. November nodded to Amber as the girl complimented the gift she had gotten Flavio. It was just a small thing, she found it embarrassing that he showed it off to Amber. November was sure Amber would have gotten him something better too if she had thought of getting him a gift. Maybe it was just an American custom to get gifts for your friends even when you missed their birthday however.

November was pretty sure she couldn't breathe when Flavio said they should all study together. Last year it had just been the two of them and it had a nice rhythm she thought in how they studied together. She was comfortable with him. She wasn't comfortable with Amber or really Ainsley although she was pretty quiet and November didn't mind her being around as much. Amber was to friendly, to nice and to perfect for November. She couldn't find a real fault with the girl and that intimidated November. The young Hufflepuff however could find many faults in herself. She had struggled with magic and the school her first two years, and only last year with the help of Flavio and Noemie did she start to really understand all the classes and enjoy some of them. "Yea....we should," the poor girl said weakly. She didn't want Flavio to think there was something wrong with her, as she was pretty sure Amber already thought. Clearing her throat she tried again, "Group studying isn't a terrible idea Flavio." November was stuck on Amber's words that she said before he had his grand idea. They fed the ducks together which meant they might be better friends than she and Flavio. "When, um, was your birthday?" November asked looking over towards Amber. She wasn't quite friends with the girl but it didn't hurt getting to know details about her after all the girl had prodded her with questions in the dorm. Plus, she was putting up a false pretense of being alright with Amber. She mostly was alright with the girl except her jealously. Amber's long hair was up in a ponytail that November was sure took no effort this morning. November however struggled to contain the frizzy bed head she had woken up with. The young Hufflepuff was glad she was next to Flavio at the table and was tempted to hide behind her hair and stare at her lap. She knew she shouldn't but this conversation was starting to feel draining for the young teen.
​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber smiled at Ainsley when she said her holidays were the same. It was a little awkward between them, but they would return to normal in no time. She raised hand to push some of her friend's hair back so she could see her face, but stopped halfway and hesitated. She blushed and pretended to brush some lint of her shoulder instead. "Mine were fine, skiing wasn't much fun but I got you a souvenir from the city I was in, it's in the dorm though." She said apologetically, as she hadn't expected to see Ainsley yet.

Flavio's idea to study together perked her interest and she sat up straighter, grinning. "That sounds like a great idea! A study group!" She said eagerly. "Last year was already pretty hard, and it's only bound to get more difficult now... so I think all helping each other would be a smart idea." It was kind of silly they hadn't thought of it before, and she looked between Ainsley and November with an excited smile to see if the two would agree. "We could sit in the library or student lounge and make a schedule for studying different subjects... maybe color code it or something." She started to think out loud, and knew she was rambling a little but she didn't care too much. Even if November maybe wasn't the first person she would have picked for a group like this, having a friend of hers and a friend of Flavio's join them would work pretty well in her opinion. Maybe later she could invite Evelyn, Noemie or Clementine as well. Though she did think that it would be harder to organize with more people. Maybe four was the perfect amount for this, actually. Flavio was clearly excited about the idea, but November seemed a little less enthusiastic. It added to Amber's suspicion that the other girl didn't like her, and she didn't think she had done anything wrong to her so there was no reason for that. Was there?

She waved away Flavio's concern about not getting her a gift. "I don't think we ever discussed when our birthdays are, it's completely fine!" She assured him with a smile. At November's question, she turned her smile to the other girl, appreciating that she was talking to her directly. "My birthday is July sixth." She told her. "When is yours?" If they were close together, they may be able to give a small party in he dormitory next year before the end of the school year. Something like that. Amber wondered if November would even want that, the girl didn't seem like the type to appreciate a party.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley usually took steps to avoid being in such a large group, with so much conversation happening all at once. It was a little overwhelming, trying to pay attention to everything happening at once, and so she kept most of her focus on her breakfast, only looking up when something directly involved her. She gave Amber a small smile from behind her hair as she listened to the description of her holidays, surprised Amber would get her a present. "Oh... thank you." She said quietly, fork resting in her scrambled eggs. She had just looked down again when Amber's hand crept into her field of view and she looked up again, thinking for a moment Amber was... trying to touch her face? Her heart thudded for half a moment, but then the hand was gone, and Amber was picking some fluff off her shoulder. Oh. Disappointed, Ainsley looked down again quickly.

The discussion of a study group picked Ainsley's interest up again, and she looked up with a mouthful of eggs, glancing between Flavio, November, and Amber as they discussed it. The more Amber talked about it, the more it sounded like a fun idea. There had been so much more classwork last year, it would be fun not to have to do it alone. Swallowing her eggs, Ainsley spoke up quickly. "I'd like a study group too." She said quietly. "I mean, if I can join."

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

</COLOR>

The idea of forming a study group to face what was sure to be a more difficult year in classes seemed to be universally agreed upon. At least to Flavio as he believed the friends that were around him would only say yes if they agreed that studying together was a good idea. They weren't Slytherins like Rory who would agree to something without meaning it and he wholeheartedly trusted their judgements. With this on his mind he picked up the apple he left on the table and took another bite out of it, nodding to Amber's suggestion to colour code different subjects and creating some sort of schedule. If they actually managed to form a proper study group, color coding subjects and keeping some sort of structure would definitely be helpful so they didn't lose themselves on tangents and forget what they were studying to begin with. As he took another bite from his apple, Ainsley spoke and Flavio quickly nodded again, swallowing his mouthful before responding. "Of course you can be part of it." He said. Ainsley was sitting with them so she would of course be included when they began to study together. Flavio was sure she could provide a different insight onto the subjects as much as Amber and November which is what made a study group seem so appealing in the first place.

Flavio put his apple down again, and smiled. He then looked between each of the Hufflepuffs he was sitting with as he spoke "Do we want to organize to study a few weeks into the semester? That way we could get ahead and figure things out early if we are having problems." Waiting until classes were underway and the particular things they would be learning in their subjects were outlined seemed like a logical place to start. It would set the pace for the rest of the semester and allow everyone to catch up so they weren't attempting to study everything they had learned a week before exams. The group could hash out the small details of their studying closer to the time but getting general agreement of when to start made sense in that moment.​

<COLOR color="#000">
sorry this is late!