qswa

[slythervivian]

Vivian is a quiet child. Shy and easily overwhelmed, she is most often found at home studying quietly under her mother's approving eye. She does well enough in school that her parents start to talk about sending her to a fancy boarding school when she's older; St. Paul's, perhaps, or maybe Sevenoaks. Vivian doesn't object. She is always well behaved, and she never speaks unless spoken to. If her parents think she should go away to school, she's sure they know best. She doesn't need to talk to them about it. And she certainly doesn't need to mention the strange things that happen sometimes in her room, late at night when she's falling asleep. Her books can't actually float. The street lights don't actually make pretty moving shadow designs on the wall. It's just a pleasant fancy.

And then suddenly it isn't just a child's fancy anymore. There's an older couple showing up to Explain Things to her parents carrying a fancy letter on parchment- sealed with wax, even- and an entirely different kind of boarding school to attend. Her parents seem more confused and afraid than anything else, but the wizard couple is very insistently, politely persuasive. Vivian gets the feeling her parents don't quite know what to do with her. But having been presented with such a convenient answer, the arrangements are made.

She'll be attending Hogwarts in the fall.

---

It becomes obvious to Vivian very quickly that the helpful couple left a lot of things out. Until recently the school was, literally, a war zone. Perhaps they'd done it on purpose; they'd said something vague about fetching her "because the faculty were busy", but Vivian suspects belatedly that they really meant "because the faculty are recovering from an enormous magical battle, yes seriously." She doesn't tell her parents; they would worry, or pull her out of school, and she doesn't really think she'd be any safer if they did. She is, as always, quiet. The Sorting Hat puts her in Slytherin, and she gets quieter. She doesn't socialize, she doesn't answer questions about her home life, she spends as much time as she can in the library. Eventually the older students write her off as "one of those weird Asian witches", and she sees no need to correct them. She is a weird Asian witch. Better than a pureblooded snob, as far as she's concerned.

She does well in school. She's not inspiring awe and admiration in Ravenclaw hearts or anything like that, but when you do nothing but study you do well in school, and Vivian does little else. She likes the work, and doesn't feel the loss. She finishes year one, then year two. Her parents are pleased she's doing well, and don't otherwise ask questions; magic makes them uncomfortable. It certainly never occurs to them to ask if she's making friends. She's not, but she prefers it that way. She likes her cozy armchair in the library much more than the older Slytherins, that's for sure.

Her disinterest in socialization does not survive the onset of puberty.

---

Vivian isn't clear on when, exactly, she realizes that other witches are pretty. But other witches are definitely pretty. So Vivian starts attempting to meet some. Her studying starts moving closer and closer to other students' study groups. There's one group in particular, with a beautiful Ravenclaw witch her age... Vivian watches them. She's not the only one, this group is awfully famous so she doesn't stand out much, but she's still too shy. She tries not to stare as much. (She fails. She's so smart. And that smile.) She tries to at least stare at other girls. (More successful, but it's not a large student body; she only has so many options). And she worries and daydreams and panics that she'll say something and be crushed in the process. (She says nothing.)

But there's no one to talk to about this. Why can't she find any gay witches or wizards to talk to? She listens to gossip. She asks innocent questions when she dares. She only comes up with three names, in the whole school, and the two girls are dating each other. That's probably the only reason anyone knows about them at all, she decides glumly. This is just not talked about at Hogwarts. And it's not like she has friends to ask or compare notes with. She's "that quiet Asian witch" who doesn't make friends.

She decides that if no one is talking about it, she's going to make them.

She gets permission from the Headmistress. She talks Madame Hooch- on the principle that the flying instructor has the most free time- into acting as the faculty adviser. And she starts distributing flyers.

Queer/Straight Wix Alliance introductory meetup, Monday October 2 at 7pm in the Charms classroom. Cauldron cakes and chatting.

Comments

[chanuphis]

And the two Ravenclaws in her year both show up to the first meeting, the famous one curious but aloof, the other visibly nervous.

[slythervivian]

Vivian has been nervously preparing for this event to start for most of the afternoon. There's chairs and cushions distributed lounge-style in the main classroom floor, and plates of cauldron cakes as promised on the main desk. There's a couple students there already; one or two out of curiosity, a few more of varying levels of interest. Vivian's attempting to chat with one half of the Known Couple when the Ravenclaws walk in.

(She came! But what does it mean? Maybe she's just being an ally. Don't assume anything. But she came!)

Flustered and awkwardly smiling, Vivian goes to greet them. "Hi! Thanks for coming! Welcome!"

[chanuphis]

"Hi," says Miranda.

"I can't remember your name," says Karen.

[slythervivian]

"It's Vivian," Vivian tells her helpfully. "I know I'm usually quiet, but I'm working on it?" She waves her hand at the room. "Can't run this if I don't talk, really." She gets shyer. "It's Karen and Miranda, right?"

Of course it is, everyone in Hogwarts knows their names, probably most of the Ministry knows their names. Miranda's been off killing Dark creatures for years, no one's missed their names. If Vivian, anti-social queen of Year Three and clueless Muggleborn, knows their names, everyone does. Vivian feels stupid even saying it, but she's bad at this socializing thing. She's trying!

[pleating]

"That's us. I know you room with Alli but that's like the only thing I know about you. I wonder if any of our other friends are going to show up. Suppose Jenny's too Catholic?"

[chanuphis]

"Possibly too Catholic, possibly just not interested, I don't know whether to expect anybody else in our little assembly."

[slythervivian]

"I don't know," Vivian says, caught off guard. "I mean, you'd know better than me, I think." She smiles a little. "I help Alli with her Divination homework sometimes? I think she was expecting it to be less work."

[chanuphis]

"I'm glad I didn't take it. It looks dreadful."

[pleating]

"She thinks Arithmancy looks dreadful."

[slythervivian]

Confused blink. "Miranda or Alli? Cause from what I can tell, Alli thinks books are dreadful, the lot of them."

[pleating]

"Alli. Miranda likes it okay."

[chanuphis]

"It's the best of the standard electives, anyway. I'm glad they're being flexible about independent studies."

[slythervivian]

"Do they have a choice?" Vivian wonders. "I asked Madam Hooch to help with this because I didn't think the others would even have time..."

[chanuphis]

"They're technically a full faculty and we're a small student body, but I think they're spending a lot of time making themselves available to the upperclassmen who have educational gaps and trauma and trying to keep an eye on our social dynamics to make sure history doesn't repeat itself."

[slythervivian]

"Unrepeated history sounds good to me," Vivian says sadly. "My first day here was... an experience."

They are talking to her! It's going not horribly (she thinks?)! But this is a depressing topic and can she change it? (Are they just here as allies or does she have a chance at that smile?) So she scrambles for an alternative. "Did you get your cauldrons yet? They're good!"

[pleating]

"Cauldrons!" Karen gets one for her and one for Miranda. They munch.

[slythervivian]

Vivian gets one of her own. She only manages a few bites before deciding that there's no way to do this gracefully and she'd rather not look like an idiot in front of them. "So... can I tell you anything about the group?"

[pleating]

"What is the group going to, like... do?"

[slythervivian]

"For now, just this sort of thing. Food, someplace to talk. I wanted someone to talk to about... all this... and I didn't know anyone. It's just not talked about. And that seemed wrong, so I thought, maybe other people want someone to talk to too, and maybe I can find them."

[chanuphis]

"Well, this is probably an effective way of that. I might not come again, though, it's likely to conflict with hours Madam Pomfrey finds it convenient to have me around interning. Luck, though, of course."

[pleating]

"Aw, I thought you were interested."

[chanuphis]

"Conceptually, yes, time-management wise, not for me. If anybody pesters you I can menacingly exist at them, but until that happens I'll probably be a one-meeting attendee. Sorry, Karen."

[witch_please]

Alli, never one to be on time, walks over to join them with a cauldron cake in each hand. "Whoever got these is my new best friend," she announces. "Why are we sorry at Karen? What'd I miss?"

[chanuphis]

"I'm sorry at Karen because I'm probably not going to come regularly. Your roommate here is your new best friend."

[witch_please]

"Cool!" Alli takes a bite of cauldron cake, then smiles at Vivian. "Did you organize this whole thing? I didn't know this was your event."