homew o r k [open]

[violethorses]

Azzurra shrugged slightly, she hadn't entirely planned out what she would be taking next year yet. A few of the classes would depend on the scores she got on her OWLs. Azzurra expected to do fairly well, but she struggled in a couple of classes and knew she would have to do well on her OWL in order to continue. "Probably Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Divination," Azzurra replied with a shrug. "What about yourself?"

[julie]

Julie thought a moment, Charms and Care of Magical Creatures were her best subjects, although she did enjoy Divination. "Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and maybe Divination and Defense Against the Dark Arts, depending on how well I score," Julie replied, frowning a bit. She was not looking forward to doing the theory portions of any of the exams. Reading and writing, two of the things she disliked the most put together.

[violethorses]

Azzurra nodded slowly, thinking vaguely that it would be nice to have so few classes as a sixth year. But she wanted to push herself a bit more so that she could find a good job after school. No longer was Azzurra nonchalant about grades; she needed something to occupy her time and her mind, and for now, schoolwork was doing that. "Sounds good," Azzurra commented, not knowing what else to say about the matter.

[julie]

Julie nodded, she wasn't sure what more to say about it either. She was looking forward to taking it easy in her sixth and seventh years. she wasn't quite sure what she was going to do with her life. Julie vaguely wanted to go for professional Quidditch, but she really wanted to be an ordinary housewife. She loved children and cooking, and didn't mind other domestic duties. Being a stay-at-home mum seemed tailor-made for her personality.

[violethorses]

Azzurra was silent for a moment, staring into the fire. At last she felt the need to say something, so she turned back to Julie. "Have you ever considered becoming a professional Quidditch player?" she asked. Azzurra knew that Julie was an extremely talented Quidditch player, so she supposed the girl had probably considered it. Azzurra had herself, though she had reached the conclusion that she would probably end up doing something else for a living.

[julie]

Julie smiled, it wasn't often that she heard things that contributed to her self-esteem in a positive way. After years of abuse she didn't think very highly of herself, but to hear anyone tell her that she was good at something, or even something that might be close to it, was like a breath of fresh air. "I've considered it," said Julie truthfully, "though I'm not sure that it's exactly what I want."

[violethorses]

Azzurra nodded slowly, she had been truly curious as to what Julie's intentions were for the future. "Well I think if you decide you want to become professional, you definitely could," Azzurra said, drawing up an encouraging smile. She knew that Julie had little self-esteem, so Azzurra wanted to help her a bit. But also, what she said was true, Julie was an extremely talented seeker.

[julie]

Julie grinned, probably one of the more genuine ones that she had in a long while. She was starting to find something of a friend in Azzurra, not just because of the bad things in their pasts they had in common, but she got along well with the blonde-haired girl. That and Julie like hanging out with a fellow female that wasn't her sister- Hyperion and Seamus were her best friends, but she couldn't talk to them the way she could to Azzurra. "Thanks," Julie said, a little bashfully.

[violethorses]

Azzurra shrugged slightly. "It's true," she said, unable to stop her smile that came from seeing Julie's grin. It was nice to see her fellow Hufflepuff smile- Julie had certainly had things had, Azzurra couldn't recall the last time she had seen her smile. Azzurra was glad that she and Julie seemed to get along so well, she felt like she had more friends outside of Hufflepuff than in her House, so it was nice to get along with someone who was in the same common room as she was.

[julie]

Julie couldn't help herself as she lightly blushed- it was barely noticeable by the dim light of the dying fire, but she could feel her cheeks grow slightly warmer. She supposed that she never really did give herself enough credit for her talents, but Julie had always been overly critical of herself. She could recall being that way even before her mother left, sparking the years of abuse she endured from her father.

[violethorses]

Azzurra noticed Julie's slight blush, but decided to pretend as though she didn't. Instead she merely smiled. "Looking forward to the final match?" she asked of her friend. If all went well, Azzurra thought her team could win, especially with Julie as their seeker. She hadn't yet failed to catch the snitch and Azzurra was hoping that would continue.

[julie]

"You bet I am," said Julie after a little bit of a pause. She was looking forward to playing, it was the first time in many years that Hufflepuff had made it to the finals, and she was not wanting to disappoint. This went to the extent of practicing on her own, charming golf balls to behave the way that a snitch might. Sure, she was sacrificing time that she might spend with her friends, but Julie wanted Hufflepuff to win the cup that year, especially since it had been so long.

[violethorses]

"I am as well," Azzurra said with a smile. "I think we're ready." She had been scheduling extra practices around the Slytherins, hoping to get her team as prepared as possible. Everyone seemed to be working especially hard, trying to give Hufflepuff the best chance they could at winning the Quidditch cup. Azzurra hoped they could pull it off; it would be nice for Hufflepuff to get a bit of recognition.

[julie]

Julie nodded. She was certain that they could pull off a victory, or at least be some tough competition. Somehow she visualized it being a very close match that would go on for a long while. Final matches were notorious for being the longest ones of the season, but at least no Hogwarts match had ever gone on as long as some of the professional ones. "I think we've got a good chance this year," said Julie.

[violethorses]

Azzurra nodded at Julie's comment, she quite agreed. "Well, we've certainly got the best team in a long while," Azzurra replied. Hufflepuff was somewhat infamous for having poor Quidditch teams. They rarely won the Quidditch cup and often didn't even make it to the final match. Azzurra was excited for the team that she had put together; it was their chance to prove Hufflepuff wasn't just a bunch of dunderheads.