August 14th, 1894 — Woodcroft Plaza Fountain, High Street, Hogsmeade

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Scallion sat on the edge of the fountain, her hand dangling in the water next to her. Over the summer she'd been doing various odd jobs to bring in some extra money and now she was considering whether or not to buy herself an owl. If she was honest, she didn't really need an owl. She only really wrote letters to her mother regularly and she'd managed six whole years of school without an owl so it did seem a little frivolous. And, she supposed, she already had enough attention from other people's owls on occasion without adding one of her own to the mix. Then again it might be useful to have her own owl once she graduated and needed to find a job.

She started to swing her arm back and forth as she continued to mull things over. Maybe she would get an owl. In the long run it would save on paying for owls at the post office when one couldn't be scrounged off a neighor. Scal's hand suddenly hit the water with force and she surprised herself. Looking up, she realized she'd splashed someone. Uh, sorry! She realized then that she recognized her victim. Hey, I know you! At least by face, she couldn't think of a name but she'd definitely seen her face around the slums.

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

  

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So far her job at the Broomsticks was going well. It wasn't quite what she'd imagined doing with her life by now, considering she had been employed handsomely in the past as a lady's maid, but she'd messed that up, so she couldn't exactly keep to household staff. It helped them keep their place in the slums and she had some spare change every once in a while she didn't feel too guilty about spending. Most of it went into savings for Maeve's schooling, but every once in a while Kenna's sweet tooth got the better of her and she skipped off to Honeyduke's on her break to get something to bring home to Declan. Today wasn't much, just a chocolate frog for each of them, but she knew he would like it.

She was making her way back to the pub, still with plenty of time on her break, when she made her way around the fountain and got splashed for it.  Startled, she immediately laughed. It was pretty warm out still and the cold water felt refreshing. "That's okay," she assured the girl with a smile. The exclamation that followed had Kenna laughing again. "I think we live in the same part of town?" It was hard to forget a face like that and her pretty red hair.

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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We do, she confirmed bluntly. I've seen you around. Scal tilted her head as she gazed at the other woman as if it was the first time she'd properly looked at her.

Did you not go to Hogwarts at all or did you drop out? When she'd been younger, shortly after moving to Hogsmeade, she'd remembered seeing her about. She'd caught her attention because she hadn't looked that much older than Scal, but she was out and about during Hogwarts term time. For a long time that had been one of the first thoughts that came to mind when she happened to see her around.

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

  

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Kens met the other girl's gaze with an amused smile. "I did three years," it had been enough. Kensy hadn't been a very good student, hadn't excelled like some of her peers or siblings and so it didn't make a lot of sense to keep putting money into an education for her. She'd had it made with her household staff position, but that hadn't lasted.

"You're still going though, right?" The redhead did seem to disappear during the term time if Kenna remembered correctly. Kens thought that those who were afforded that complete education should certainly use it to the best of their advantages. She was doing just fine, but an education would help those in the slums with better opportunities.

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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Yeah, yeah I am. She felt a little sheepish as she spoke. I'll be in my last year soon. Would you like to have done more than three? Not sheepish enough to hold back her curiosity though. She supposed it was probably a financial thing, that was the usual reason for people dropping out. How that wasn't an obstacle for her mother... she didn't know nor did she want to think about it. She chose to assume her brother would have the same opportunity to attend all seven years as she had.

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

  

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For some reason Kenna was glad the young redhead was able to continue her schooling. Kenna would have liked to, at least through OWLs, but she wasn't sure if it would have made a difference. "I'm not really sure. It would have been nice, opened a few more doors." Domestic service had been fine, until she messed it up. Being able to be a mediwitch or something else would have been nice. "I have a younger brother who should get to finish, though, that's all that matters." Getting Maeve through Hogwarts was the goal.

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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Scal noticed she spoke very practically, rather than emotionally. This felt significant but Scal wasn't quite sure how to read this - was she a practical person or was she trying not to dwell? Maybe it was both. Oh, who knew!

I have a younger brother too! He won't start until next year, is your brother already in school? And how come your brother gets to finish but not you? She assumed Kermit would have the same opportunity as she'd had to finish all seven years, her mother hadn't said much about it either way though.

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

  

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"Oh yes, he'll be a fourth year this year." Which made Kenna, at a whole two-and-twenty, feel incredibly old. Maeve had already made it further than she had, which was good. "Ah, he has the benefit of four older siblings working to pay for it." Kenna chuckled at the straightforward question. And he was the only one in school currently, not like when she had been younger and they'd tried to get more than one in at a time. They probably could have swung getting her through OWLs but she wasn't a very good student and she didn't want them to waste their hard-earned money on her like that. She'd been doing fine, and was still surviving just fine. "He's much smarter than I am, too." She shrugged.

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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Oh, that makes sense I guess. She was referring specifically to having older siblings to help cover school fees, but the way she said it might make it sound like she was referring to the woman's comment about intelligence. I might know him. What house is he in? What's his name? She wondered if she might know him, although if he wasn't in Gryffindor the age gap was such that there was a chance she wouldn't. What significance this information was to her in the bigger picture wasn't something she was considering at present, she was just feeling nosy. It wasn't like she had any plans to go make friends with this boy.

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

  

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Kenna quirked her head at the girl's response, but decided not to think too much on it, however she meant it. "He's in Slytherin," Kenna paused. Maeve as a little sensitive about his name but there was no reason to avoid her question. "His name is Maeve Buchanan." She added after a moment. "And I'm Kenna, by the way." She hoped maybe changing the subject would help.

"Are you excited to go back to school?" Hopefully that would do the trick.

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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She was familiar with the name but couldn't claim any sort of close acquaintance with him. She thought she had a vague memory of him at the sorting ceremony on account of the fact she'd been expecting a girl to walk up with a name like Maeve. She hadn't judged, how could she with her name? 'Excited' might not be the word for it, but I do look forward to it. I'm Scal. After a beat, she added a touch reluctantly, Short for Scallion. She thrust a hand out for Kenna to shake.

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

The following 1 user Likes Scallion Escher's post:1 user Likes Scallion Escher's post
   Kenna Buchanan

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Kenna typically anticipated some sort of reaction from Maeve's name, but when Scal introduced herself, it made sense as to why she might not find the need to say something. "Nice to meet you Scal," Kenna smiled as she shook the other girl's hand. "Why not excited? Seventh year must be the best year yet." Kenna hadn't made it even halfway, but listening to all of the chatter in the Broomsticks during Hogsmeade visits from the school always had the students discussing their last year. Graduating made so many opportunities open up!

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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All the exams though! She would do what she could but she wasn't a naturally gifted scholar. She felt a sense of obligation to do well enough to justify her continued enrollment at this stage, but she would've expected her past grades insufficient justification to end her education early. What if she did terribly at her exams and ended up with a job that would never cover the financial investment of her education? And I don't even know what I want to do after... It's a lot. She felt awkward now, uncomfortably privileged and ungrateful.

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

  

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"It is a lot," Kenna agreed gently. With a full education there were lots of options for Scal to think through, pending her interests. Kens had had that many options, domestic service or a shop somewhere, unless she could learn a trade. It wasn't that easy though, with her poor reading. All she had going for her was a good work ethic.

"Is there anything you enjoy?" Maybe that would be a good place to start?

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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Scal opened her mouth to reply and then promptly shut it again. I quite like Defense Against the Dark Arts. But were her grades good enough in her other subjects to do anything with it? The idea of being some sort of Hit Wizard seemed fun, but was that even realistic because she was a girl? Were her grades even good enough? Then there was the fact that overall her best subject by far was Care of Magical Creatures... What sort of career was there in that though? Whatever I can get will do though, as long as there's money right?

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Outfit | Tag: Kenna Buchanan | Notes:

  

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