» I am the best, Open

[{Declan Wood}]

He really ought to have been doing something else. Something productive - something like working for the Asperhands, shining shoes for coins or even pickpocketing (which he hadn't done in a great while), but all he wanted to do was lie around in the hot summer afternoon sun and laze around. It was too hot to do much else. The thirteen year old had brought his sisters to the lake in order to keep cool. His mother was off working, but he figured he could be nice enough to at least watch the girls for her. Besides, whether he wanted to admit it or not, he liked spending time with them. Granted, only for short periods of time, but he liked it all the same. It was always a little hard for him to leave once the school term started up again.

The five girls splashed about in the shallows of the lake while Declan was sprawled out on the grass nearby in the shade of a tree. His back was supported by the trunk of the tree, padded by the shirt he had taken off and balled up behind him. It was too hot to bother with it, his sisters didn't care and there wasn't another soul as far as the eye could see. At least, from his perspective on the ground.

The boy pulled out the spare pieces of parchment he had brought along as well as his lead pencil and began to sketch the lines of a rock nearby. Then the rock next to it took shape, then the shoreline, grass, water, and then the forms of his siblings, blurred with their movement.

[Rosamund Filch]

Rommy had kind of missed her siblings. It was fun to make fun of them. Especially of her second oldest brother. He was a loser in Rommy's eyes, just because he had left school. Sure, he did it to help the family, but that way he ruined his future and that made him weak and useless in Rommy's eyes. It was a pity he had so little ambition. But she was going to finish her schooling and actually have a decent job. She did not want to become a maid or a prostitute.

All of her siblings were busy today, so Rommy decided to go to the Black Lake. She was not sure if she wanted to go swimming, but perhaps she could meet some mer and talk with her and spend her day in a fun way. Staying at home was a nightmare for Rommy, just because her mother would be there. The redhead did not want to see her mother practise her disgusting spells at home. Besides, she was rather afraid of staying near the woman when she practiced black magic. She did not want to get killed because of her mother's stupidity and inability to use a wand properly.

Her eyes widened when she saw that there was already someone at the lake and she could feel her heart bit faster when she saw Declan Wood. Declan. The older Slytherin was one of her many male friends at Hogwarts, but he was always the one who was more interesting. He was strong and brave and clever. And a Quidditch player.

" Hello Declan!" she greeted rather loudly, as she walked towards the boy. Luckily, there were no boys around, because Rommy knew that her presense would annoy him. They were friends, but his friends would concider him weak if they knew that he had a female friend.

[Ceridwyn Bordeaux]

Since things had happened between her and Andren, things had been going quite well. The two were courting, though whether it was official or not Ceri had no real idea. What was obvious, though, was her deepening happiness, true happiness. It was a feeling she hadn't felt since her father had died, and everyone seemed to be picking up on the happy Ceri vibes, especially her brother. Kyledyr and Ceri had always been close, and he was one of the few people who could see right through her whenever she was trying to hide her feelings from others. He knew when she was just playing at being happy, and he was always kind enough never to bring it up in front of other people. He would hug her when she needed it, though she would never speak the words, and he gave her words of encouragement when he could sense that she needed them. Ceri loved being with her brother.

He was newly turned eleven, and had received his letter to Hogwarts on his birthday. Ceri knew he had never been to the castle, and though school was officially out, they were close enough where they could spend a day on the grounds. Ceri walked around with Kyle close by, trying to ease his fears of being a first year. She told him what her first year was like, and how he ought to be nice to everyone, regardless of how they treat you. "You don't know what they're dealing with in their own lives," Ceri counseled her brother, "and it isn't up to you to make it any more difficult for them." It was something she strongly believed; after all, you don't want someone making your like miserable just because they could. Ceri had to deal with enough of that after her father had died, and she never wanted anyone to feel that way because of something she did. Kyle gave her a look and she threw her arm around his shoulders, smiling, telling him not to worry. She was confident that her brother would learn the same lessons she did in his own time. He was a good kid.

After circling halfway around the lake, Ceri spotted a bunch of other kids hanging out around the lake, some even swimming in it. She had never thought to swim in the lake because of the Giant Squid that lived in there, but they seemed to be safe enough. Ceri asked if Kyle wanted to go over and he nodded enthusiastically, so she laughed and watched as he ran off to join the group. Ceri was more proper than that, but she couldn't help but feel enthused by his excitement. She walked after him to meet with two younger students she wasn't familiar with. "Hi," Ceri said as she walked up to them. "I hope you don't mind us joining you guys. If you do, let me know and Kyle and I can go elsewhere." She offered the younger boy and girl a smile, hoping they didn't mind. She and Kyle wouldn't be any trouble.

tags: declan&rosamund / words: 517

[Maxine Wood]

Maxine loved spending time with her older brother, but got mad every time he said he's babysitting her. She was a big girl now! She did not need anyone looking after her! The other sisters did, of course, so she helped her out with looking after them, but certainly was not the one he had to babysit. If he ever so much as mentioned that word, she would probably punch him in the face and then sulk for days. Just because it was how Maxie dealt with things. She thought of herself as a big girl and wanted to be treated as such.

That day was hot. Very hot. She cursed her dress and the layers of underwear she had to wear underneath it. Of course, lady Etherium probably had it worse, since she wore like dozens of layers. Why did the women had to dress up like that? Declan could take his shirt off and nobody cared. Following his lead, she took of her dress and ran to the lake only in her undergarments. She was a slums kid, he would care anyway? She played with her younger siblings when she hear a familiar voice.
"OI! ROMMY!" Maxine yelled running out of the water in the direction of the girl.

[{Declan Wood}]

Declan glanced up from his sketch as the younger girl greeted him. He grinned and gave her a nod, "Hi Rommy, come for a swim in the lake?" Rosamund was a girl from the slums and also a Slytherin. He'd tried to look out for her during the school term as well as during the summers, just so long as his friends didn't know of it. He didn't need them thinking he was a pansy - he got teased enough for being a half-blooded Slytherin - come from a muggleborn mother and a muggle father. The teen never heard the end of it.

It seemed that there were several others who had the same idea as himself and his siblings. Another girl appeared, one much older, with what he supposed to be her younger brother. He vaguely recognized her from Hogwarts, though he hadn't the slightest idea what her name was. She was rather pretty, though obviously didn't belong to the slums like the others. It was a bit odd for her to want to join them, but it was her own choice.

"Nah, we don't mind, do we, Rommy?" He asked with a lopsided smile just as his sister came running out of the water, "The weathers' too hot to be picky 'bout company." It had meant to be an ironic joke - seeing as how the girl and her brother had been expected to find a shady place a bit farther away on the shoreline. They were the ones who were supposed to be picky about company. Slumrats, well, they couldn't care less. Just like how he didn't care that Maxie was in her underdress or that he had his shirt off. Though it meant a hungry belly at times and a shabby home, belonging to the lower class certainly gave them more social freedom. Nothing was expected of them and they could be as relaxed and unrestrained as they wanted.

[Rosamund Filch]

A beautiful blonde girl soon approched them and it was clear that she was not born in the Slums. Her clothes were better and generally the way she spoke showed that she was not a slum rat. She seemed to have a younger brother, perhaps a year younger than Rommy. She smiled to the blonde and nodded when Declan told her she could sit with them." I don't mind either."

Suddenly, she saw a brunette call her using her nickname and Rommy's eyes widened with excitement. " Maxie!" she greeted loudly and she smiled to her friend. Rommy was rather excited that Maxine would join her and Declan at Hogwarts this year. Most of the females there were boring and cared only about dresses and stuff like that.

" I missed you!" Rommy said to the brunette. She saw Declan every day, because they were both in Slytherin and they shared some of their classes. But she was able to see Maxie only during the Christmas holidays. She honestly hoped that Maxine would be in Slytherin this year, so they could spend most of their time together.

[Ceridwyn Bordeaux]

Although the boy was shirtless, Ceri made no note of even realizing it. She was too engulfed in Andren Lovegood that the boy could've been standing there naked and she wouldn't have taken much notice. She smiled when he said that they didn't mind company, and her smile deepened when the girl agreed. "Thank you," she said, pulling up a piece of ground next to the boy with the sketch book. Ceri watched as Kyle played in the water, and as a brown haired girl who looked no older than Kyle himself ran out of the water, yelling a name. The girl whom Ceri had first talked to answered, so Ceri assumed the girl was Rommy.

Since the two girls had taken to talking, Ceri turned to the boy. "My name is Ceridwyn, but you can call me Ceri," she said, offering him a hand for a handshake. Most people couldn't figure out how to pronounce her first name when they saw it written down, and those who heard her full name and her nickname couldn't understand where the nickname came from. Ceridwyn, pronounced like kehr-UH-dwin, was a Celtic name. The nickname most people used was Ceri, pronounced like Keri, but she preferred the softer sounding Ceri, pronounced like Seri. "Are you an artist," she asked, trying to be polite and striking up conversation with the boy. He was clearly from the lower class, or at the very most straddling the lower-middle border, but Ceri didn't care. People were people and friends were friends.

tags: declan&rosamund&maxine

[Maxine Wood]

Etiquette was never a strength of Maxine. She ran around in dirty dresses, chased boys (mainly her brother) around the Slums and played Quidditch with them. Now, when there was summer, she did not wear a proper bathing suit, instead choosing to swim only in her underwear. Now, if it was up to her she'd chose to swim without it, but she knew it would be a shock too big for the polite society that also used the lake to relax. Not caring about who sees her, or that she is all wet she ran out of the water yelling her friend's name loudly. No more than a second later, Romy landed in Maxie's arms and was all wet as well.

Only then did the girl notice they had company. ”Ahoy!” She said to the beautiful blonde girl, while walking towards her. ”My name is Maxine and this little one here.” She pointed at her brother, who was shorter than her - a fact she loved to remind him about – and stretched out her hand the the pretty young lady. ” Is my brother." She grinned widely. "Ya sure ya don't mind company of slum rats like us?” She made sure before continuing to talk to Romy.

[{Declan Wood}]

Declan nodded at the blonde girl's introduction. In school, he generally tried to call all of the girls by their last names with a 'miss' tagged onto the front. However, seeing as how their impromptu meeting was rather laid back (Maxie was in her underwear for Christ's sake), he figured he might as well call her by her nickname. There was no one present to scold him or give him a detention, anyhow.

The boy didn't often get embarrassed about anything, but his sketches were rather private. He hadn't thought to hide them from the others. Now that Ceri had brought attention to it, he slid the pad of parchment off of his lap and onto the far side of him.

He shook his head, "No, I just like ta sketch sometimes. Nothin' special."

When his sister decided to introduce herself, he scowled fiercely at her. 'Little one?!' Of all the places to make fun of his height! If the new girl Ceri hadn't been around, he would have thrown something at her. A handful of dirt would have done the trick. He would have thrown it right at her face so that she had a nice streak of mud across her cheek. Their mother would have given her a nice scolding for that. Despite living in the slums, Rosa tried to keep her kids clean and out of trouble. Being a single mother of six fairly independent children however, made the task rather difficult.

"I'm Declan," He growled grumpily, "Her older brother."

[Rosamund Filch]

Ceridwyn. What kind of name was that? It sure was a pretty name, but Rommy doubted she would ever be able to pronounce it properly. Rommy had no right to speak, though, since her name was not exactly a common name.

" I'm Rosamund, but everyone calls me Rommy." she introduced herself and smiled at Maxie's comment towards Declan. Rommy was also taller than her youngest brother, but that was because girls tended to be taller than boys around that age. Her brother would probably taller than her once they both reached adulthood.

[Ceridwyn Bordeaux]

The brunette girl who had come flying out of the water introduced herself, and then noted that the boy Ceri was talking to was her brother. "A pleasure, I'm sure," Ceri said, smiling warmly at the girl who was wearing nothing but her underclothes. Ceri looked past the girl into the lake, where Kyle was still splashing around. She smiled and pointed out to the lake. "That blonde thing over there is my brother, Kyle," she told the girl, Maxine, her brother and the other girl. She had introduced her brother a little, and Ceri hadn't realized his height until then. Ah, well, it didn't matter. Girls were often taller than boys until they hit their growth spurts. Ceri, a tiny four feet nine inches herself, was sure that within the next few years Kyle would be more than a head taller than her. She didn't expect to grow much.

"I'm quite sure that I don't mind, and it looks like Kyle doesn't mind, either." So they were slum rats, as she had expected, but she honestly didn't mind. When the younger girl introduced herself, Ceri noted, "It's a pleasure, Rommy." People only offered nicknames when it was what they wanted to be called, and if Rommy was going to take the time to ensure that Ceri knew her nickname, Ceri was going to use it.

Declan moved his sketch pad away from Ceri, and she figured that he was embarrassed or shy about his art. Although interested in what he was sketching, she chose to drop the subject rather than pursue it. He would talk to her about it when he was ready, or he wouldn't. That was his prerogative and not up to her to push him further than he wanted to be pushed. "So, your name is Declan? That's an Irish name, did you know?" She was Irish and had an Irish/Celtic name. Her mother was Irish, born and bred, and she knew some things about the Irish culture. "Are you Irish," she asked, hoping to perhaps find something in common there.

tags: declan&rosamund&maxine