Open Warm Winter Gifts

[Rose Holland]

It had been three years since Rose had first set up a small stall to give away some of the things she had knit. She still enjoyed knitting, even if she had less time for it now, so over those three years some more creations had appeared. Rose had mostly been focusing on scarves and beanies lately, as they were easier than sweaters and especially gloves. The six fingered glove she had tried to give away last year had eventually been picked apart by Hooward, the owl the sisters shared. He enjoyed pecking at the pieces of yarn that came loose sometimes, and had destroyed more than one of Rose's creations that way.

But today she had put the best things on display in the stall. Many different colors of scarves, usually with striped patterns. Rose wasn't very good at being consistent with a pattern, so they often were a little strange. And some of them were a bit crooked, but Rose was still happy with the results. They were all warm, and that was the most important part of having a scarf, or really anything that was knit. The weather was still cold, so this was a good time to give things away. The girl had put up a sign that read 'Free scarves & beanies!' which she hoped would attract people. She smiled, looking around for anyone that looked like they could use something like this. It had been fun to give away some things in her third year, and it would be nice to get some of these things a new home now, before she graduated.

Out of Character:

Throwback

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had never spent the Spring in New Zealand before. Or any season outside of his two month Summer stays, really. A brisk wind rustled through the courtyard. It reminded him a lot of New York Spring, just a hint of winter chill lurking in the air. Though he'd admit, the wind here certainly smelt a lot better than back home at least.

Across the way, he spotted an older student fussing with a collection of hats and scarves. Bolstered by another gust of wind, Elliot peered closer at a selection of the hats. They were charming in a lumpy sort of way. "Does it get that cold here uh- during the Winter?" Elliot asked the older girl, inspecting a particularly eclectically patterned beanie.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose looked up as a small boy approached, and she gave him a friendly smile. Maybe he would want something! She said nothing as he looked at them, but when he asked a question she was happy to respond. "Well, I don't think it gets too bad. We're moving to spring now slowly, so it'll heat up. But I have a lot of these, and winter will come again next year so it's always handy to take something." She smiled encouragingly as he looked at a beanie. "You can pick something out, if you like, like that one." She didn't think the boy was a Gryffindor, as she thought she remembered most of the first years in her house from escorting them up to the common room.

 

[Elliot Briar]

"I've been hoping it might snow before the school year ends, but it doesn't seem like it." By the time El got home from visiting his father every year, the snow in New York had always turned into a gross mush. He'd hoped HNZ might be South enough to see some real snow before the school year ended.

Elliot considered the spread on the table, she certainly did seem to have plenty to go around and it seemed a waste to decline a kind gesture. "Did you make all these yourself?" he asked, picking up at beanie from the table. It was a soft grey with stripes of multi-colored yarn of varying sizes. He slipped it on, smiling softly and tugging it down past his ears. A little big, but Elliot figured he could grow into it. "Does it look alright?"

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine heard a familiar voice shouting from the courtyard and peeked inside just out of curiosity. She moved closer, seeing the sign repeating the words she'd just heard. Corrine smiled at her fellow prefect and friend, a small hello as her fingers touched the edge of one very pretty looking beanie. She was actually quite curious about the young boy's question and looked up, her blue eyes looking kindly on her friend. She was a bit ashamed really that she'd never taken notice of her friend's past-time.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose shrugged. "Maybe it still will, you never know!" She said, always optimistic. Rose thought snow would be nice, but she also looked forward to spring as she liked spending time outside. It was nice when all the plants and flowers started growing more. Rose just loved nature. The boy asked her if she made all these herself, and Rose nodded. "I did, but I've been saving these up for a few years." She told him honestly. "I like knitting, but I don't always know what to do with the stuff I make. My family has enough scarves and stuff by now, and I can't wear everything myself either!" Her friend and fellow prefect Corrine joined them, eyeing some of the things she was displaying. Rose gave her a small wave in greeting, but then focused on the boy for a moment. She grinned as he put the beanie on. It looked really cute on him, probably because it was a bit big. At his question, Rose nodded with a big smile and gave him a thumbs up. "It looks perfect! Right Corrine?" She then gestured to the beanie Corrine was looking at herself. "I bet you'll look just as good with that one, you should try it on!"

 

[Isaac Kain]

With Owls on his doorstep, Isaac had enough to do between them and his extra activities to keep him occupied for the entire year. Nevertheless he didn't want to be working all he time. Everyone was so obsessed in the school about what they could possibly learn that sometimes the Ravenclaw wished he wasn't a wizard and he could just be a normal teenage boy like so many others, locked away playing games in his room or hanging out with his friends at the park. Everyone always had something to do at Hogwarts and the eagerness in which the students participated made his skin crawl. Today was no different as he passed a similar sight. One of the older girls was often seen throwing away scraps of things she'd made, probably wanting to show off the creative abilities she believed she had and to see everyone wearing her items of clothing. Why anyone would want them when there were perfectly good shops selling real accessories he didn't know.

He passed the table, trying to ignore it but with so many students around in the yard it was hard not to walk past those trying things on. "Can you move." He asked rhetorically, keeping his annoyance only just below the surface.

 

[Elliot Briar]

“I think it’s cool that you made them and want to give them away.” If all the older students were like this maybe they weren’t quite as scary as Elliot thought.
Elliot felt his ears go hot when the older girl gave him the thumbs up, smiling into his shirt collar before noticing another student had approached. They seemed to know each other and Elliot figured he should probably leave them to talk.

“She’s right, it probably looks great on you,” he said shyly to the other girl, Corrine, before making to step away. “Thank you, for the hat. I can’t wait for winter.” As he was turning to leave, another older student, a boy spoke as he moved past. Elliot got the feeling he wasn’t speaking directly to him, but couldn’t but feel a bit bad anyway. Flustered, he mumbled a quick apology, trying his best to shuffle out of the older student’s way.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine nodded. She did think that the hat looked nice on the young boy. His next words caused a blush to cross her face. She reached for the beanie to give it a try in an attempt to cover her embarrassment at being complimented. Corrine put the beanie on, ready to pose for Rose to give her true opinion when she heard another voice. He didn't sound like he was speaking to her, but she turned in his direction anyway to see who he was speaking to. She wrinkled her nose at the teenager's bad attitude. Corrine didn't know him, thankfully, and she turned back to Rose intent on ignoring him. "So...as good as you thought it would look?" she asked with a grin, her hands going to her hips as she threw her shoulder forward and posed.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose smiled at the boy as he told her it was cool that she was doing things. "Cool, huh? Don't you mean... warm?" She asked, a grin spreading over her face. "No, just kidding. Thanks!" This kid was really sweet, and Rose wondered if she should try to get Alice to become friends with him. But no, it was probably better not to meddle in her sister's social lives. She beamed at the boy in approval as he complimented Corrine, nodding in agreement. She hadn't noticed the other boy trying to move past them until he made a snide comment, and Rose gave him a frown before turning to the other two and ignoring him. "Some people get grumpy from cold weather, I guess." She said with a shrug. "Don't worry about him, okay?" She added to the young boy, not wanting him to feel bad. She could tell Corrine didn't like the Ravenclaw boy's attitude any more than she did, and was glad to move the subject away from him. "It looks even better than I thought it would!" She told her in response to her question, giving her a thumbs up as well.