Welcome to TB, an all levels Harry Potter roleplay with no word count. Our purpose is to go through the books with one exception: the addition of original characters and what changes that makes.
We accept all beings and creatures in the Harry Potter verse including ghosts, veela, muggles and even centaur.
We have many active events ongoing for both students and adults and many characters and locations around the world.
Come join us and discover how your character can grow and evolve in the world of Harry Potter.
Aiden grunted, when Silvia mentioned dueling, though he didn't have much to add about that. There had been a tournament at Hogwarts that he had lost, for various reasons, but had also mainly been versing younger students. He recalled one of them, Thorne, who had been as good as him, despite being in a lower year; and he supposed she was likely better than him now, which made sense, because of her skill then - and given Aiden's turn to focus on Quidditch.
Everyone had their specialties.
"Yeah, we've got a few days t'relax an' recover from any travel needed," Aiden said, in response to the question about free days. "It's why I was checkin' out local destinations, tryin' to fill up some time an' all. A couple o' the lads are goin' to the clubs or somethin', but I wasn't too interested. So... I'm guessin' ya've got school?"
Before he realized, Aiden had asked about Silvia's schedule, as though she had consideration of his plans. It was surreal, in a way, because the young man felt as though things hadn't changed - even though they clearly had - but being around Silvia again was like... well, like it was before. Only this time Aiden didn't keep looking at her with boggling eyes. Maybe it was because he understood the affect she had, or could have, on him now?
Aiden had had a lot of time to reconcile his feelings from back then.
His thoughts were interrupted by the answer about schools.
"Oh, wow, under a pyramid?" Aiden nodded slowly, impressed. "I bet that's somethin', what with all the - uh - the Egyptian writing and pictures. It's nice t'hear yer still after the Curse-breaker career, I always thought ya'd do well with that."
The city of Cairo had slowly started to come into view ahead, though it was still a little ways off. Aiden had also been wondering about Silvia's... personal life... since a few miles back, and the small talk and catch up had been nice, but the question burned into his brain like a hot iron now. He wanted to be subtle, because seeing her had been surprisingly pleasant, but he didn't know about her beyond what had been shown in the papers.
"Say, yer considered a local expert by now, right? Did ya want to show me some places 'bout the city? ...ya know, assumin' yer not busy or got plans with someone else, or anythin'."
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 13, 2024 11:28:24 GMT -5
Silvia smiled, content to give a negative response to Aiden's inquiry. "It's school break here, same time as winter break at Hogwarts. Even though we get no winter here," she explained. "I only have to go back on the fifth of January." Of course, she had a pile of assignments to complete, but she was willing to shuffle that schedule around to make time for Aiden. Provided he wanted it, of course.
She was eager to further elaborate on the topic of her school, the innocuous conversation topic making it feel as though no rift had ever separated her from Aiden. "We have plenty of hieroglyphs there, and even some authentic ancient curses. There's an award promised to any student who can break this particularly difficult curse, but it hasn't been claimed yet - for fifty years." Silvia had already given it a go and intended to try again.
The sight of Cairo appearing out of the desert startled her. How much time had already passed? Her trip to the oasis felt five times longer, and her broom only had one rider then. She recognised the experience; it used to happen frequently when the two of them were dating. Hours would disappear without notice, leaving her wishing for a Time-Turner.
Aiden's next question sent her heart skipping happily inside her chest. His thoughts must have been on a similar track as hers, only he expressed them much more boldly. "No plans. I'd be happy to show you around," she hurried to reassure him. We can start now was just about to slide off her tongue, but resisted the urge - both of them were exhausted from the recent ordeal. She needed a change of clothes and a few hours to think about what had occurred, perhaps even sleep. Parting ways now and meeting again tomorrow seemed like a good idea, but also a terrible one. Aiden would get some time to ponder on what happened today, too, and he might conclude that he didn't want that tour after all. Some discussion would still need to happen before she dared to let him out of her sight with any hope of meeting again.
"My apartment is on the east side - a wizarding neighbourhood," she informed, showing the way with one hand. Well, it was her mother's apartment, but she was on a work trip in North Macedonia - so Silvia had the place to herself. Before they got there, though, they would need to fly over some Muggle areas. Carefully, mindful of her still somewhat shaky hands, she took out her wand. "Wait, I need to cast the Dissilussionment spell. Praeter Formae Fidem." Lightly tapping Aiden on the back, she rendered him nearly invisible - at least if viewed from down on the ground. Silvia repeated the same spell for herself, and finally for the broom. The chilly feeling that resembled water trickling down her skin was welcome in the desert heat. They would be safe from Muggle eyes now.
With a casual lean, Aiden adjusted against the wind, to keep the broom at comfortable speed. He listened as Silvia explained she was on break, which was cool, and actually had time to catch up without school getting in the way. It was also weird to think that Silvia was still at school, and when Aiden did some quick math - badly - he figured she should have been graduated. But, he also recalled that some magic schools were different, and assumed the same about Dahshur.
"Yeah, hieroglyphs, that's them," Aiden said with a grin. He glanced back. "A fifty year old curse? That's somethin', yeah... wonder what the award is? Or a prize?"
Surely, something to complex also garnered a prize or reward of some sort. And if not, it was a lot of risk for a slap on the back and a parchment saying you broke the unbreakable ancient curse... well, modernly ancient curse, anyway. Yet, all interest in the curse was lost, when Silvia mentioned she was happy to show him around. Aiden smiled to himself, eyes forward, as he looked out over the approaching city; he couldn't deny it felt good knowing Silvia wanted to spend more time, which was exactly how he felt.
"Aces, sounds like a d--plan," Aiden coughed, as he hesitated and changed the phrase. "Did ya want to plan for somethin' tomorrow, maybe? I dunno 'bout you, but I wouldn't mind a shower an' a chance to chill out after that fight..."
Silvia pointed toward her neighborhood, before casting Praeter Formae Fidem, which Aiden was thankful for. He had been about to suggest the same, seeing as they were about to start flying over a very populated Muggle city, but - per usual - Silvia was quicker on the uptake and took care of it; and that definitely reminded Aiden of their time at Hogwarts, where she balanced out his casualness.
He angled the broom, following the direction.
"This place is so different compared to London," Aiden muttered, as they passed over the city limits, soaring through the air overhead of the populace. "It's kind of amazin', in it's own way, with all the heat an' sand not withstandin'. This is the first time I've been to Egypt, in case yer wonderin'."
Headed eastward, Aiden slowed the broom a little bit, to give them time to finish talking before arriving wherever Silvia lived.
"I'm holed up in a place with some of the team," he said, as he motioned - though he realized the movement might be missed, with the invisibility. "We're, uh, more in tha city... at the City Palace Hotel. It's cheap but comes with a free breakfast, so can't complain!"
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jul 16, 2024 14:22:07 GMT -5
"A trophy and some money," she described the promised prize, not particularly enticed by it. The successful breaking of the curse would be the most satisfying reward. That, and bragging rights. It would certainly get added to her portfolio, too.
She snickered at Aiden's hesitant use of a phrase, experiencing a flashback to one of their dates. There had been some entertaining awkwardness during their outings, though she didn't often think of them. Their breakup was still too recent for her to separate the fond memories from the not-so-fond ones.
Her amusement diminished when Aiden mentioned meeting up tomorrow. The worry about what he would think when he found the time to think was at the forefront of her mind again. "Tomorrow... yes, of course, I'm free all day." She did need a shower, and some rest.
"The culture is vastly different as well," she chatted, eager to continue the conversation. "I've been learning Arabic to try and fit in. The heat is the biggest challenge, though." Noting Aiden's words about this being his first visit to Egypt, Silvia made a mental note to prepare a basic tour for him tomorrow - provided he still wanted to go.
City Palace Hotel. She knew where it was, though she had never stayed there. Judging by Aiden's description, it didn't sound like a spectacular place for a major Quidditch team to stay in. Then again, wizards had to keep a low profile when travelling. "Do you at least have a room all for yourself?" she asked without thinking... then felt her cheeks starting to burn. The relative invisibility meant her sudden embarrassment wouldn't be noticed, for which she was grateful.
"The apartment is in that building. Three-story house, yellow bricks." Silvia pointed at it, moving her mostly-transparent hand into Aiden's field of vision so he would have a chance at seeing it. Their trip was about to end; she felt the pressure to explain herself before he departed. "So, um-- the Killing Curse," she began somewhat falteringly. "Not part of Hogwarts curriculum, of course... but Dahshur is different. I learned it in class for self-defence purposes. This was the first time I used it against anything bigger than a scorpion."
Aiden kept nodding along as Silvia spoke, though the translucent spell effect probably hid the movement more than anything. He was glad they could meet tomorrow, since it gave him a chance to take care of some things; sourcing a new broom, having a shower, settling into the hotel, and considering how he felt about the killing curse he had seen. Just a few small things. He was interested to learn she was studying Arabic, which was impressive, but also made sense.
"I've never had an ear for other languages," Aiden muttered, scoffing to himself. "Barely able t'perform Latin, really. But good on ya, how many languages ya at now?"
Aiden suspected it was quite a few.
Mention of the heat was met with another smirk and nod, as it was definitely a new climate Aiden was not made for. Though, to give Coach credit, that showed preparation by having some players of the Quidditch team train in the dessert, to be ready for global matches in other environments. He wondered if spending time in a snowy region might have been better, but the thought passed quickly enough as Silvia asked about the room.
"Heh, nah, I'm bunked up with a few o' the lads," he said, though couldn't help but keep the smirk to himself. She wanted to know about his sleeping arrangements. "I don't mind, they're good lads. We've known each other a few years now, so all the annoyin' habits are obvious an' ignored."
The directions to the apartment were given, to which Aiden angled the broom and started toward that area. It wasn't hard to find, and soon the pair were close. That was when Silvia brought up the Killing Curse, and explained her reasons...
"Yeah, I get it," he said slowly. He frowned, but the spell kept that expression largely hidden. "I never thought I'd see it done. In person. Ya know? But I can't blame ya, either, because that Manticore was a dangerous threat... besides, it was a magical creature, right? Ain't like it was human or somethin'?"
It was the best he could come up with on the spot; it remained to be seen if he felt that way later, but, for now, it seemed to help.
"This is us," Aiden said, as the pair circled and he landed as close to the yellow bricked apartment as possible, while keeping them somewhat concealed. "So... it was good seein' ya again, Silvia. I'm lookin' forward t'tomorrow. An' I'll walk, we've got spare brooms I can grab at the hotel, Quidditch supplies an' all..."
Aiden held out her broom, waiting for the spell to be removed, before he caught her eyes and raised his eyebrows. He was concerned, but understood she was capable of taking care of herself. Still...
