Open Sights of Trees

[Samantha Jacobs]

It was that time of year again where Samantha and her school mates of Hogwarts had to return to school. Samantha had enjoyed her Christmas break, spending time with her family who she hadn't seen for a while, as well as her extended family that lived in New Zealand or who came to visit them. She always enjoyed spending time with her family and was always quite sad whenever she left for Hogwarts. However, Samantha was excited to be back at Hogwarts. To get back into the learning as well as the swing of things. She was most excited about spending time and seeing her school friends again.

Samantha had decided to make her way towards the Great Lawn. She loved looking at the trees and climb them. Though it had been a while since she climbed the trees. She had missed the view that could be seen when sitting on the branches of the tress. Samantha stood on the Great Lawn, looking around the lawn and taking in the sights of the trees, memories coming back to her. She missed it all. Though she was contemplating whether to climb the trees or not.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah was taking advantage of the warm weather to get a little studying time outside. It seemed like she had very little free time these days with her studies, clubs, and prefect commitments. Rather than sitting in the castle or library for days on end, it made more sense to work outside so she could at least soak up some sun. As she made her way down the lawn, she noticed quite a few students out. Some of the younger ones were playing, a few were just sitting on blankets, others were doing magic. She didn't recognize most of them until she looked up and saw a familiar face staring at a nearby tree. Adorah walked over to her friend, standing a few steps back and then glanced up. "Are you gonna cut one of those big boys down?" she asked jokingly, hoping she didn't startle her friend since she hadn't really made her presence known.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha looks behind her when she hears a familiar voice behind her and notices that it was one of her friends. "Oh, hey Adorah," Sam says with a smile and a laugh when she hears her friend's slight joke. She looks up at the tree again, some memories of her childhood slowly flashing through her mind. "Nah. I was just thinking about climbing them. I haven't really done any tree climbing in a while" Samantha says with a small smile and shrug. Samantha had missed climbing trees, as it was one of her favourite activities to do. Though she hadn't really done it in a while, which had made her miss the activity. She then turns back to Adorah. "How are you? Do anything interesting or exciting during your break?" Samantha asks the Ravenclaw.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah was a little surprised that Samantha wanted to climb trees. They had never discussed this shared interest, as Adorah had spent most of her lonely childhood in trees. Juniper was never one for outdoor exploring, and that was one of the ways this Ravenclaw had learned more about New Zealand when they moved. "I'll climb then with you if you want," she suggested, eyeing the tree in front of them to find a path to a good sitting branch. "Uh, I just stayed here. And I met with Nadia again," she said nonchalantly, still unsure how she should talk about her biological mother. Samantha and Juniper were now the only two students who knew what was going on, as Adorah didn't really have many friends in the first place. She hadn't mentioned things to Aisa, either, as things had been going well. This would just put a damper on their conversations. "How was your break? Did you travel any?"

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha smiles as Adorah mentions that she'd climb the tree with her if she wanted to. "Sure," Sam says with a small smile. She had enjoyed always climbing trees and such when she was younger, so she didn't mind doing it with someone else. Samantha nods when Adorah explains what she did during her break and was about to slowly make her way to the tree when Adorah had mentioned that she mentioned she had seen her biological mother, making Samantha focus her full attention on the girl. Samantha had known a little bit of what was going on with Adorah and her biological mother. "Oh yeah? How did that go?" Samantha asks curiously, hoping that she wasn't prying on anything too personal. Sam was happy that her friend was connecting with her biological mother, though she wasn't sure if she should be worried or not about it. "Oh, well, I didn't do too much this year. My family outside of New Zealand came to visit for Christmas break and stuff. But that was really it" Samantha says with a small smile and shrug.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah began climbing the tree in front of them as she talked to Samantha. She hesistated a moment, lightly swinging from a branch as she decided what to say. "It was... okay, I guess? I just don't know how to feel about it all. Maybe I would have been more receptive to this when I was younger. I feel like I made a mistake searching." She flipped herself up so she was now sitting on the thick branch and looked at Sam. "Would you have reached out? Like, if you were adopted. Would you have gone searching?" Adorah had never really asked anyone else what they thought, but she also didn't want to air her dirty laundry all over the place. "That sounds like a lot of fun with your family, though. Some of them are moving here, right?" she asked, trying to remember why she thought Sam's cousin was already at school.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha began to climb the tree that Adorah had started to climb on while listening to Adorah speak. The Hufflepuff was never good at multi-tasking, but she was trying her best. Samantha had been a wee bit surprised when the girl had mentioned that she probably had made a mistake searching for her parents. "What makes you say that?" Sam asks the Ravenclaw curiously. Samantha then continues to carefully climb up the tree. She thinks for a bit about her answer when Adorah asks her a question. "Hmm, I'm not sure. Probably? I would like to know about my birth parents. But I guess it depends on the situation" Samantha says with a shrug. She wouldn't really know the answer, as she hadn't been in this sort of situation herself. Samantha nods when her friend mentions about her family members. "Oh yeah, I have a few cousins moving here. I have one who just transferred here at the beginning of this year of Hogwarts. And then I have a couple more joining next year."

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah shrugged and swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the branch. "I just feel disappointed. I didn't expect some like grand reunion or anything, but coming face to face with Nadia and knowing she chose to get rid of me to live with muggles... it's just hard." There was nothing wrong with muggles, but they didn't understand what it was like to be so different. Hogwarts was a place were the unexplained outbursts from her childhood or weird occurences finally made sense. "But would you want them to be a part of your life?" That was the biggest question she had - how involved should she let Nadia be? At this point, she was living at the castle during breaks, and while she did wish for her own bed, she only had to suffer through another two years before she could legally be on her own. At least in the wizarding world. "Are you excited for them to come? Most of your family is in the UK, right?"

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha slowly swings her body onto a nearby branch and sits on it, while listening and nodding when her friends discussed her feelings. Sam didn't really understand what Adorah was going through, since she hadn't been in the situation, but did sorta understand why she was feeling that why. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Finding out about this sort of information must be tough. Did she say why she had to live with muggles?" Samantha said to her friend sympathetically and asked with curiosity. She understood if the answer had been a personal thing and couldn't be told, but the Hufflepuff had been curious. Samantha thought that there wasn't anything bad about muggles, especially since her own mother was a muggle. Samantha thought for a moment when her friend had asked her about them being a part of her life. "I'm not sure, to be honest. Maybe I'd like to get to know them first for a little bit while keeping my distance. And then after I've gotten to know them a little bit more, I'd probably decide from there if I'd want them in my life. For me personally." Samantha finally then replies to the Ravenclaw's question after a bit of thinking. "I think so. I don't see them as often, so I guess its cool to see them a lot more, especially around the castle and stuff" Samantha says with a small shrug and smile. Even though the Hufflepuff didn't see her cousins often, she wasn't sure if she was as excited as she had hoped. She didn't really know her cousins well, due to the fact that they were younger than her as well. Samantha nods when Adorah asks about her family being from the UK. "Yeah, my dad's side is from the UK"

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah sighed, thinking about her response and realized her statement had been a little confusing. "Oh, I meant me. Me living with muggles. She didn't even chose some kind of wizard adoption agency," she replied, gesturing with a flourish because she was unsure if any such thing even existed. "There's nothing wrong with them, but my parents were so... conflicted when I got my letter. Like they regretted adopting me or something," she trailed off, swinging her legs again as she looked at the ground. Samantha's response made sense. She probably should be giving Nadia more of a chance before making any rash decisions. While that was what she hoped happened, her natural inclination was always to run. Adorah had no idea why, but it was there, almost like a switch that turned on at the most heightened of moments. "I can't imagine New Zealand is too different from the UK. Hopefully, they're making a decent adjustment." The girl vaguely recalled a Brit in some of her classes but didn't believe they had ever met outside of their academics. "Have you ever thought about spending more time in the UK after school? Like traveling or something?"