Summers Nearly Up! ( Pandora /

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Sitting under a tree, Pandora glanced around to make sure no one was near and slipped the stone back into the pouch before slipping it back under her shirt. Even a few minutes tended to help her and despite the time spent hiding it, the Earth still felt pleased with her. Closing her eyes she settled still, her knees pointed forward, her hands on her legs, her feet under her while her shoes actually sat aside. From a distance she might seem to be meditating though she wasn't in the oh so common crossed legs position westerners seemed to adore. She breathed in and in her mind energy filled up her legs like water then she breathed out and bad energy swept out of her into the ground.

It felt good to dump the negative, to remove it from her life. And Mother Earth always took it back, refreshing her with new.

For about ten minutes she sat there in a position which might look to some like it was stiff, but was completely relaxing to one used to it since a little girl. In the sunshine she opened her eyes in the park near her grandfather's home and enjoyed the moment of connectivity. Everything was tied together by the web, all creatures still at one though mankind tried to rip the thread apart. It gave her perspective in the world of the west, the science minded world compared to her homeland. But in her world there were no special people, everyone was equally responsible. To be special was to step out of the familiar and create a new life.

And that is what she was trying to do, recreate herself anew.

It was then she became aware of someone nearby, paying attention to her. She couldn't have said how she knew, just that they were behind her on her right side. When she felt ready, she turned her head and looked and there was a familiar face from Hogwarts, though it was summer time right now. Her eyes widened as she realized she knew who it was too! "Well howdy stranger! You so tired of summer you have to come find the rest of us?" Raising her hand she half-waved and spoke louder.

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Evie liked to explore new places. She got inspiration from seeing new things, and new places, particularly in nature. She often travelled to nearby neighbourhoods that she hadn't been to before to wander around them, particularly looking for parks or other nature reserves that she found very peaceful to walk through. If she saw something particularly striking, she would just decide to sit down and draw it, before getting back up on her way. The nice thing about it was that she could just use the whole day at her own pace, get out of the house and have control of her own time, unlike what it felt like for her at home with her family when it seemed like her parents just disapproved of her in general.

She came into a park that looked quite nice, and immediately felt a little more peaceful as she entered it. Nature had that effect on her, it calmed her, which she loved. Just as she thought she might sit down and start drawing, she heard a voice calling out to her which she hadn't expected. She looked around and saw that it was Pandora, a girl from her year at school. She really hadn't expected this! "Pandora, hey! Yep, I just missed you so much I couldn't stay away," she teased gently, coming over and sitting beside the other girl. "Do you live near here?" she asked.

@shava
(Sorry its a little incoherent, I'm pretty tired and need sleep XD)

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If anyone was art addicted, it was Evie. Why she had the urge to draw so much was out of Pandora's wisdom, but then again she didn't have the creative urge so much. Pandora didn't exactly go through her art book so she didn't know how good her skill was either; she felt unqualified to have an opinion on art in that way, just art in the medium of clothing. But not Evie, she seemed to draw everyone and everything, always at her most satisfied it seemed when she was drawing. Pandora's interests were much more individualistic and internal then that.

As the other girl teased back she allowed herself a smile. "Well I guess I am pretty special, but you don't need to revolve around me or anything you know," she smirked then as several other comment ran through her head but she ignored most of them. She nodded instead to the second part, using her nod to motion in a direction slightly south of the park. "A few blocks that way actually. I think I'd go nuts in a city if there wasn't somewhere to go to get out of it actually."

She wondered if Jerad lived near a park suddenly. She ought to ask.

"So I see your fingers have not fallen off yet from too much time with charcoal," she teased again about her pencils, "so has the summer treated you kindly? Or has it been a mess and you are here trying to forget about things back home?" Pandora was no gossiper, but hearing what people had been up to was for her own thing. No one else would hear stuff from her, just as she kept her own secrets, releasing what few things she could to keep people from wondering about deeper subjects. Besides, the news she was under a contract negotiation was certainly big news since it had only happened this week.

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Evie didn't often show her drawings to people, but when she did they always seemed to be impressed, which she was always a little surprised by. She knew she was pretty good but people seemed to think she was even better than she thought. Still, there were always little things she liked to practice and work on to try and get better, or more realistic. Particularly with people, she loved to try and capture the energy and emotion they had in her drawing. She laughed as Pandora went along with her teasing. "Oh, but it's so easy to revolve around you... I just naturally gravitate to you," she continued with a smile, obviously joking. Otherwise it would be kind of creepy. She was a very attractive girl, though. "It's nice that you live so close to a park like this. It's such a beautiful spot, if I lived closer to here I'd come here all the time. Even as it is I'm considering coming here more often."

At the comment about Evie's fingers falling off, she laughed. "Nope, not yet! If they ever do, I'd be shattered, though... not being able to draw would be terrible," she replied. "The summer has been pretty good. I went on the Rome trip, which was nice... good to get out of the house, you know? And spending time with school friends outside of school is always nice." She was a little surprised that Pandora brought up Evie's situation back home. Evie supposed she must have mentioned not liking being at home sometimes when they had chatted before. "Yeah, not really forgetting about things at home, just trying to spend time out of the house when I get the opportunity," she replied with a smile. "What have you been up to?"

@shava

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It was a bit hard to both laugh quietly and have an ego rush, but Pandora managed both somehow. It was, even in a joke, gratifying to hear someone say they liked you in any way and gravitate certainly fit! "Ah well maybe we should make this a meeting spot for when we're out of school, that will give you incentive for coming out this way more! How does that sound?" Oh. But she didn't know if Jared was going to be lax about where she could go either. Momentarily flummoxed as she really wasn't used to thinking about someone else's wishes first, Pandora frowned.

Saved by the fingers response she shook her head. "Artists. You all are crazy, really. If it';s not looking for a subject it's smearing charcoal across your face while distracted by making art." Suddenly she leaned forward and rubbed at a spot on her friend's cheek which had been lightly grey clearing it off. "There, much better." Evie's skin, like most girls, was very soft and Pandora wondered if her own was the same still. She did go through an awful lot of lotion. "Oh you went to Rome? Nice! Who all went?"

Pandora hadn't managed too much travel yet being mostly hitting the books in the summers for things she couldn't learn in school. Learning an entire wizarding society and modeling made a big difference. "When I turn eighteen the modeling companies will probably be dragging me all over the place, but not so much for sightseeing I think. I have a friend I keep crossing tracks with who complains about it regularly." Her friend's response seemed...off. Pandora wondered if there was something wrong at home or with someone there? Interesting. "...but everything is okay? I mean I'm glad you got away some, that's always good..."

Playing their past conversations through her head she could not remember ever having heard her talk about home actually which made her suspicions come up something was wrong. Eyes sharpening, she felt suddenly maybe a bit too soft towards her friend. "Um, well. If you ever need a place to escape to just drop me an owl, it's just me and my grandfather at home. it gets dull." And then there was the question and it was too good a chance to miss. "Well. Uh, about that. The summer was msotly quiet but I have had one thing happen, but I have to ask you to keep it quiet for now till I know what is happening with it..."

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Evie laughed a little at the suggestion to make this their meeting place. "Yeah, that could be fun! It'll be even better after I learn to apparate. I can't believe we have to wait until our sixth year to learn it, it's so frustrating," she said with a sigh. She didn't mind travelling using normal means, soemtimes, but being able to apparate would make everything so much more efficient.

She was surprised when Pandora leaned over and wiped Evie's cheek - she blushed at the touch, and the realisation that she had actually had a charcoal mark on her face. How embarrassing. And the girl's touch was nice, too, which was also still embarrassing to admit to herself. "Uh, thanks," she said, still blushing. She was realising more and more that girls had more of an effect on her than guys did - and little things like this only served to affirm that belief. "Yeah, I did. Quite a lot of the students did, it was kind of a shame that you weren't there! Why did you decide not to come?" she asked curiously. She always enjoyed spending time with Pandora, sure she had had plenty of other friends on the trip but it would have been nice having Pandora there too.

Whenever Evie heard about Pandora's modelling, it always sounded so amazing and high-class. "That's really cool. It's so awesome that you do modelling. I mean, it makes sense, because you're really pretty and stuff. Who is your friend who does it? Are they at school with us too?" she asked.

Pandora's offer was quite nice, that she could come and stay with her if things got bad. She smiled gratefully. "Thanks for the thought... I'll keep that in mind. Things aren't that bad, though, I mean I'm still looked after fine. It's just that my parents definitely appreciate my brother and sister more than me - because I kind of have gone away from the direction they want me to go in, you know?" she admitted. When she mentioned that there was one thing that she wanted Evie to keep quiet, she nodded quickly. She loved secrets, but was also very careful about keeping them. "Sure, I won't tell anyone, promise," she said seriously.

@shava

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Ah yes, the magic 'teleportation' she had heard so much about. It would certainly be a lot easier to move around with it, but she wondered... "Oh I know, it is going to be so much handier then a broom. But I also heard some people get sick doing it! So not everyone c an manage it and that does make me a bit nervous..." Plus she had read about splinching and it made her shudder! Seeing the other girl blush she smirked. "Oh it was just a smudge, silly, it's all fine now. It's what you get for sketching and having an itch probably without thinking about it!"

Why would you blush about-- ah well if she was on a shoot it would be embarrassing she supposed for the make up artist so maybe if you were doing your own it could be worse. Most of the time when Pandora wore the stuff she only did the bare minimum when not on a work time. "Ah yeah well the time you all were going I had a contract come up and I needed to go. Client had another model come up sick on him and well, I need the exposure so it was all good. Most of my down time I have to take what I can to make up for not being available while in school the rest of the year."

Smiling wider she glanced down, fiddling with a button loop on the side of her pants pocket. "Aw thanks, I just seem to have gotten lucky really, it's a lot of work to keep up but I enjoy it." She shook her head and glanced up again. "No, she graduated from Durmstrang. Her family used to live near us till her brother went there too. She works for a different company but sometimes we end up in the same studios and it's just nice to hear from another model further along what's coming up I can expect."

She nodded, knowing she was missing something big here but unable to tell what; still it left her with both questions and answers, enlightening but mystifying at the same time! "Ah I see! Well hang in there. The offer stands if you need it!" The second part however was a touch unnerving for her because she had the impression most girls would object to what was happening to her and she just didn't have the same perspective. "Um, do you know Jared Tchaikovsky? he's in the Slytherin dorm? About a year ahead of us..."

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Evie had also heard about people getting sick or injured from apparating. "Yeah, that part of it is kind of scary. But if we can manage to learn it while avoiding that, then it'll be so much better than getting around other ways." The idea of being splinched made her shudder. Pandora didn't seem to have any idea why it was that Evie was blushing, which was a good thing, and Evie planned to keep it that way. She didn't need people finding out that she was attracted to girls. That would make her name fly quickly around the gossip mill.

"Oooh, that's cool that you had a contract," she replied in an excited tone. "Do they get annoyed that you're not available during the year? Or are they okay with that?" she asked. She didn't really know much at all about how the modelling industry worked. "It's nice that you and your friend can keep in touch, though, especially to help you know more about what to expect."

When Pandora asked if she knew Jared, Evie nodded slightly. "I know of him. Haven't really spoken to him before, though. Why?" she asked.

@shava

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Nodding because it was nothing more then the truth, Pandora leaned back on her hands for a moment eyes clearly imagining all the places she could go. "Personally I think I'd chose it over a broom just because of ease of travel. I'll have to do a lot of it after school if I keep on doing modeling which I hope to. And they go a lot of places back and forth. Might end up being the only way I have a life sometimes..." A little twinge of guilt again for not having told about her future complication yet. She nodded about the contract too, her face looking pleased.

"During the year I get a few weekends for some things but not often, but once we hit winter break and summer time I have a ton of work to do, just keeps coming. If I was in a normal muggle school then I'd be doing a job and they would put me in a small school there with tutors. but it's in my agent's contract I'm only available certain time and my clients seem to work with me on that. But when I turn eighteen and am legal, whoo boy am I going to be busy I think."

"Did you do anything else since we got out? Besides Rome I mean..." Then she had asked and heard the answer about Jared. "Ah well, his father spoke to my grandfather about a contract marriage. Not till I graduate of course, but still... So I might be married by the time we finish school."

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Evie nodded - with a lot of travel, apparating would save a lot of time. "Yeah, it would be especially good if you're travelling around a lot for modelling. Plus, I still don't know how people don't freak out more when flying in planes. It's a giant metal death trap in the sky, how do they even fly without magic? Apparating would be much faster and safer," she said, shuddering a little.

"I guess it's good that they let you keep focusing on school, though. It's a good thing to finish up with school before being swept up in work, I think," she replied thoughtfully. As much as school wasn't always the most fun thing, learning was good, and being taken away from that early wouldn't be the best.

When Pandora asked about what else Evie did apart from Rome, she shrugged as she laid back on the grass. "Not really. I mean, quite a few trips to Diagon Alley here and there, to buy stuff for school and catch up with people... and I went on a trip out to the beach with a few Hufflepuff friends once, but that was about it," she replied. She sat up when Pandora explained about the marriage, though, and had quite a surprised look on her face. "Oh no, how do you feel about that?" she asked worriedly, not wanting to react too strongly against it in case Pandora actually didn't mind it.

@shava

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She nodded automatically, but her mind was caught up on the 'death trap' part. When she had come over, it hadn't occurred to her to wonder how it worked really. You could see it go up and stay up at the airport and it just...worked. Did she have to know how to ride in one? It wasn't like with magic you know how the power itself worked in a broom. This insight into the wizarding mind stuck in her mind and she was distracted as she answered back, not really hearing her words, just speaking. "it does make you wonder how muggles manage sometimes..."

Inside she knew she would never be completely a witch ever. There would always be this little voice inside which wanted to raise up questions about how blind people really could be in some ways and as clueless to what was really happening around them. She came back to herself in time for the next comment however and shook her head slightly, both shaking off deeper thoughts at the same time she emphasized the negative in her words. "Defiantly, even though school is not so much fun it has to stay the priority. I need those grades and the full witch status first off."

What happened to wizarding drop outs? Did they have them? What could they actually do?

"Um, on that thought, have you ever heard of someone not finishing school? I mean, could they even get work from someone in the wizarding world?" Evie had more freedom of movement then Pandora did for sure and she rather envied the beach talk. Her time on the beach was surrounded by cameras and make up people, not nearly so much entertainment of course. She was however gratified to see her friend's reaction to the announcement. "Um, not sure really. It's more then a year away and they are still negotiating. I mean, I always knew it could happen, but I wasn't sure I had considered it soon. It feels sort of unreal..."

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Evie nodded in agreement to Pandora's comment about Muggles. "It's crazy. How they do things like that without magic, and still willingly get onto it and fly through the air? I wouldn't trust that kind of stuff unless it was run by magic. It just... gives me the shivers," she said, shuddering a little.

She thought for a moment at Pandora's question about people not finishing school. It seemed to her to be a hypothetical question, as she had said that she wanted school to stay the priority for herself. So it wasn't like Pandora was asking to try and find a way to drop out of school herself. "I don't know, actually. I mean, the school works pretty hard to help people get through. Some people who fail their courses repeat a year because the school really wants them to come out with the right kind of preparation for the real world, I guess," she replied. "But I suppose some people could still drop out of school sometimes. I'm sure there would be some kind of jobs around after that, I guess they might just be a little more limited," she decided thoughtfully. She hadn't really thought about it before, if she dropped out of school her parents would basically kick her out of the house for good.

The surprise about the arranged marriage was still a shock to Evie. "That's still pretty crazy. I mean, the whole idea makes me wince. Surely people should be able to choose the person they marry, right? Do you like Jared in that way at all?" she asked.

@shava

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Being a secret muggleborn, Pandora knew better then most that science sounded more logical and easily understood then magic, but she bit her tongue. She doubted most in the wizarding world would comprehend what she meant, but that was magic for you and it surely was the better of the two really. "Have to give them their ability to be inventive at least. The way they work around magic is kind of amazing." Actually, living in the magic world and having muggle science at your fingertips was a good combination as far as she could see.

Phones, for instance, were amazing with the net and all your music on them. That communication (while equally distracting) was unbeaten by the wizarding world.

"I don't know why it just suddenly occurred to me." Pandora shrugged. "I mean, things happen, whether accidents or reasons you have to leave school but you never see anyone here except in their right years it seems to me and I just find it hard to believe humans who screw so many things up somehow manage magic perfectly for grading. There have to be some who failed along the way and it just made me wonder about them." And if they had fails, you had to wonder what they did for survival...

Her eyes turned on her friend with raised eyebrows. "Oh come on, Evie, none of us would be here if everyone waited on love. It was a matter of survival in the old days, making sure the species continued. If you found love I bet you considered yourself really lucky." She made a face, glad she didn't live back then from what all she had read. "I mean yes we have a lot more advantages and all that now, but it's not surprising that's how people survived in the past." However the rest was still a point.

"No, I barely know him, but we talked. It's not too unreasonable the way it sounds thought things could be a lot worse. Do you know what service rings are? I could have gotten stuck with those!" She shuddered herself now. "Fortunately he's not that type. That's in his favor, but you are right, I don't love him."

@evie

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Evie nodded when Pandora said that they had to give Muggles credit for what they were able to do. "Yeah, I guess so. It's pretty impressive that they do so much without magic," she agreed.

When she said that there had to be some who failed along the way, Evie nodded. "Yeah, I know a couple of people who failed last year and have to repeat the year. There's one guy who was in the year above me last year but is repeating fifth year so will be in the same year as me now. So it does happen," she pointed out. It could be pretty embarrassing for those students, though, so Evie was going to try really hard to make Hugo feel welcome as a fifth year again even though he would be in classes with a year group different to the one he had been in beforehand.

Evie didn't agree with what Pandora said about love at all. "Do you really think that going into a marriage for convenience is better than one for love?" she asked, frowning. "The point of connecting yourself with someone for life is to be able to share your life with them, because you want to love and support them, and would give yourself up for them. And knowing that someone else would do that for you is the reason you would want that, you know? At least that's how I think about it..." she said, blushing a bit. "So it's absolutely guaranteed to happen? I think if that happened to me, I'd be fighting it every step of the way to try and get out of it."

@shava

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"Oh?" She didn't realize a few were failing this year and were joining them. With surprise she made a note she needed to pay more attention in this year's class to see who was new to them. "Huh, I guess I hadn't noticed it before." She shook her head. "Good thing you are around to jab me when I forget to pay attention," she kidded, winking at her friend cheerfully. She had no idea this would cause her friend any difficulty, but she only knew that some people could be that way, not that anyone she knew was.

Her friend said something which showed she had either not heard what Pandora had specifically said or she had been talking Ravie talk again which sometimes happened. Mostly it happened when you jumped to the conclusion others followed what you said. A bad habit. "Did I say that? No, I said it was way the human race had survived in the past, emphasis on past." She grinned as her friend continued, revealing a romantic streak. "Someone has some clear ideas on what they want at least," she teased her, pushing her arm playfully, "but what you also have to remember is that humans have been pairing up in the past for survival and protection."

Continuing she tilted her head to one side as she spoke showing this was more her look on things then any great desire. "Everyone hopes for love I know and these days more people get something at least close then in the past, but marriage has never been entirely about love only, no. It has always been some great big breeding project and tradition in a number of families still is contracts. I never said I liked or disliked it did I? But I know that while I am underage I'm still legally under my grandfather's roof and I have to follow his rules. This is one of them and while I might not have love, he has set me up with someone I don't find cruel or abusive. Can I not be grateful for that?"

Guaranteed? Of course not, nothing was guaranteed in life! "Nope, just a strong possibility. I mean, my grandfather is obviously from a different time. He's doing what he thinks is best for the girl under his control. Could be a lot worse I mean! But in his time women were still possessions. Surely you know that, Evie?" Romantic or not history was a fact. "Of course I'd rather have love, but many of the old contracts the couples grew into love and am I bad to hope that might happen here as well? Meanwhile I know my place. I'm sure by the time my kids are older I can keep them from falling into the contract system, but change is slow. That's logic. Besides which, despite your words about me being pretty, there aren't any guys following me around either now are there?"

@evie