beating like a hammer

[Ryder Bradley]

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Emma Blackthorn, Ellie Casper

if my life is mine what shouldn't i do

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Ryder was having a wonderful time at breakfast that morning. The house elves made their famous sausage gravy and biscuits along with ham, eggs, and all good breakfast food. He was most excited about the sausage gravy, though. The second year was tearing into his plate, listening to Emma and Ellis chatter away, occasionally interjecting with a ‘yeah’ or ‘no way’, when his owl came soaring in. Finn dropped a letter in his lap before landing on the table, taking a piece of sausage from his plate as payment. Ryder looked down at the envelope, his brows pulling together when he recognized the seal. What could his dad want now? He left Emma and Ellis to their conversation and picked it up, his thumb breaking the seal before he pulled the letter out. His eyes raked the page, a frown pulling at his lips. Uneasiness welled up inside him as he read his father’s words. When he was done, he quickly folded it up and stuffed it in his robe. “What are we talking about?” he put on a smile and looked up at his friends, picking his fork back up as if nothing had even happened.[break][break]

He’d like to say the rest of the day went well, but in truth it didn’t. His heart pounded in his chest with every step he took, echoing in his ears like a metronome. He tried to keep his spirits up for appearances sake, but he felt so… so… angry. And hurt. He should have known his father wouldn’t take his interests seriously, but to have it thrown back in his face like that just made him feel worthless. Ryder followed Emma and Ellis around from class to class, falling behind as he got stuck in his own thoughts. Potions was horrendous. Usually the boy was good at the subject, but today his heart was just not in it. Even the disgusted look on Professor Avery’s face didn’t make him feel scared. He just didn’t care.[break][break]

Finally it was time for dinner. Ryder was trailing behind his friends like he had all day, his brows furrowed as he stared at the ground before him. It was the only reason he didn’t run straight into Emma when she stopped walking. He stopped, looking up at his friend with a puzzled expression. She was saying something to him, but his thoughts had been too loud to hear her. “Hmmm?” he asked, shaking his head. “Sorry - I just - sorry. What were you saying?”

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[Emma Blackthorn]

Good heart but this attitude

This year at Hogwarts felt less fun than the first year had been. Emma sat with Ryder and Ellie in the Great Hall for breakfast that chilly November morning. Thankful that their uniforms were so warm. The three snakes were digging into their breakfast as Emma chatted to Ellie about their upcoming Muggle Studies test that Emma was ready to tank, “I just don’t understand why they carry around those small bricks. Staring at the constantly.” There were small huffs of agreement coming from Ryder. “I mean what use is their Owls if they have this brick?” Speak of the devil. Ryder’s owl flew into the great hall, dropping something in his lap. Emma wasn’t one to pry but she did notice how his mood changed, no matter how hard he tried to mask it. 

“What are we talking about?”


As she was about to answer, she noticed the time. They were going to be late. “Come on, we better get to class.” The day passed by in a blur, Emma wasn’t paying attention most of the day, sending notes back and forth with Ellie and Ryder, but thankfully she didn’t have Divination or Muggle Studies. She hated those classes, mostly because she didn’t understand at all. Swanson and Macready probably weren’t too impressed with her. Eventually, classes ended and it was time for dinner. The perk of having friends in your year and house meant that she didn’t have to look for them, they were together all day.


Ryder had been down all day but it was showing now. She asked the pair what they should do after dinner, hoping it didn’t involve homework…


“Sorry - I just - sorry. What were you saying?”


Emma had stopped in the hallway into the Great Hall, “Okay, you know I’m not one to pry but seriously dude, what’s up? You’ve been super down all day.” Crossing her arms over her chest in a little ‘I dare you to give me a dumb excuse’ kind of way. The serpent was anything but delicate.


Tagged;;Ryder Bradley Ellie Casper

[Ryder Bradley]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","oneword1"]

[attr="class","fromyou1"]
Emma Blackthorn , Ellie Casper

if my life is mine what shouldn't i do

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Heat rushed to his cheeks when Emma confronted him. He thought he’d done an okay job at hiding it. Okay, maybe that was a lie. He wasn’t any good at suppressing his emotions and his temper was rather resentful. Ryder rubbed the back of his neck, considering for a moment on brushing her off, but the look in her eye told him he’d better come clean. The snake let out a heavy sigh, reaching into his robes and pulling out the letter. “Letter from my dad,” he said glumly, handing it over for her to read. “It’s just him congratulating me on making the team.” And a not so subtle attempt to dissuade him from wandmaking. Ellis and Emma were his closest friends, they knew how much wandmaking meant to him. With your brother entering the professional league, all eyes will be on you these next several years. Ryder knew what that meant. Going pro was the last thing he wanted to do. Sure, he enjoyed Quidditch and was good at it, but since he was old enough to ride a broom his father put so much pressure on him to improve at the sport. He wanted him to be perfect and Ryder was anything but. It didn’t matter to James Bradley, though.[break][break]

Feeling a bit uncomfortable now, he shuffled his feet. “It’s nothing,” he said with a shake of his head, taking the letter back and stuffing it back into his robes. “Really. I’ll be okay I just - well - needed a bit.” Ryder huffed out a breath, offering up a half-hearted smile. “I’d rather talk about… anything else.” He looped his arms around theirs and started walking toward the Great Hall again. “Ellis, did Professor Macready ever tell you about those bricks muggles carry around?”

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[Ellie Casper]

Ellie was really into Hogwarts. While her two best friends were pureblood and lived this type of life every day, at home it wasn't very magical. Her mom was a half-blood witch but spent most of her time doing muggle things, and her stepdad was the Muggle Studies professor… so I guess you do the math. When Emma had brought up the bricks - cell phones - Ellie laughed, not noticing the owl or Ryder's sudden change in demeanor. "Cell phones. Mechanical owls? You hit send and the message goes straight to the other person rather than having to wait for an owl. Muggles are really into the 'now' factor," she explained, rolling her eyes at the amount of times her own mother checked her phone, muttering something about Sherrod not texting her back right away.

"What were we talking about?"

Emma mentioned they were going to be late, and while Ellie didn't care, she didn't much feel like making her friends late. So she scuttled along gossiping with Emma and raising a brow now and then at Ryder's sour face. She wasn't one to pry either, but boy was definitely bringing the mood down and Ellie was thankful that Emma asked… even though it took him almost bowling her over from behind before she did. But Ellie would have preferred talking about what they were going to do after dinner.

Ryder brought up making the team, and it made sense his dad would congratulate, since Ryder's older brother had just gone professional. Ellie still wasn't the strongest flier and was still trying to learn the rules of quidditch, but she'd happily gone to tryouts to support her friends, both of whom were good enough to make the team. She was proud! But it seemed there was more than just quidditch on his mind. "Y'know, if it doesn't make you happy you don't have to do everything your father wants." but apparently that wasn't enough…he brought up the cellphones again.

"Both him and my mum have one. Bit of a hassle if you ask me, when you can just wave your wand and all. But my mum had one far before my stepdad was in our lives." she said with a casual shrug. Saffron fully intended to live a muggle life before Sherrod came back. "But since muggles can't just flip their wand, this makes life much easier for them. Also kinda deters their social interaction but who am I to judge? I think personally I'd rather get a howler than be interrupted by a phone call from my mum telling me how disappointed she is that I got detention again," she teased, nudging Ryder with her elbow.

[Emma Blackthorn]

Good heart but this attitude

None of her friends were really that good at hiding their emotions, herself included. Emma kind of liked it that way. There were no 'I was upset yesterday why didn't you say anything' mixups. So when she cracked down on Ryder and he pulled out the letter with a huff, the young serpent felt a little twinge of pride in herself for prying. She took the letter from Ryder and shuffled closer to Ellie so both girls could read at the same time. Yadda Yadda..Christmas...yadda yadda quidditch.

As she finished reading she let out a low whistle, "Wow. No pressure at all, huh?" Emma could relate. Her father was always trying to get her and her siblings to be the best. Not so much with quidditch but in keeping the Blackthorn name strong and proud. "Did you talk to him about wand making? He seems VERY set on you being a pro quidditch star," she said, handing the letter back. "Yes! What Ellie said! She's so right!" Ellie was so smart!

“ I just - well - needed a bit...”

Emma smiled, "that's okay. You're allowed to feel Ryder. Take all the time you need." The trio looped arms and continued into the great hall. The topic of cellophane was brought up again...or was it cell planes? Emma wasn't sure. "So they write on this brick and throw it out the closest window, hoping it gets there? With no wings?" These muggles don't think things through, do they? Emma liked learning from Ellie's home life cause it was so much different than hers. She laughed at her howler tease as they sat down for dinner, food already magically spread across the tables.

Tagged;; Ryder Bradley  Ellie Casper

[Ryder Bradley]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","oneword1"]

[attr="class","fromyou1"]
Emma Blackthorn , Ellie Casper

if my life is mine what shouldn't i do

[attr="class","itsover"]

Ryder didn’t know what he did to deserve such awesome friends. Emma asked if he’d talked to his dad about wand-making and he told her that yes, he did but his father just lectured him on making the responsible choice. All his life his father talked about how important Quidditch was to the family. Noah used to say that it was just his way of making sure the Bradley’s left their mark on history. Ryder felt that was a bit selfish of him, but what was he to do? Ellie told him he didn’t need to do everything his dad wanted if it didn’t make him happy and Emma agreed emphatically. His heart swelled and his spirits lifted at their support. Ryder offered them a genuine smile before looping his arms with theirs and asking Ellis about the cellphones.[break][break]

Ellis nudged him at the mention of detention and Ryder couldn’t help but laugh. “Who was it again? Professor Avery?” She had quite the rebellious streak and that’s just one of the things he really adored about her. Not that he… he didn’t… oh just shut up. Ellis was pretty, sure, but she was his friend. Emma seemed confused on the function of muggle cellphones and honestly so was Ryder. He didn’t get how it was supposed to work. “They throw it? How is that supposed to work?” His brows furrowed as he thought about it. Ellis said it makes things easier for them, but he didn’t see how that was possible if they threw it. Was it like a boomerang? Did it just go where it needed to and come right back? He still didn’t see how it was possible without magic. “Aren’t owls easier?” [break][break]

They finally made it to the Great Hall. The tables were filled with students buzzing about their day. Ryder looked over at the Hufflepuff table where his sister sat with Ophelia and a small smile touched his lips. Noah might have graduated, but he still had his sister. At least for another two years. Ryder led his friends to the Slytherin table and found an empty section to sit at. Dinner would arrive shortly. “I still can’t believe Professor Walker wants us to write twelve inches on Cornish Pixies by Thursday,” he said with a frown. He had hoped they’d at least learn a new spell in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, but instead they had to corral a horde of pixies back into their cage.

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[Ellie Casper]

It seemed that the girls' words were easing Ryder's mind a bit, and it made Ellie happy. She wasn't usually the type to go out of her way to try and make other people feel good, but she had a soft spot for Ryder and Emma, of course. Ride or dies, isn't that what the muggles were saying? "Professor Davis, actually. I probably could have left and he wouldn't have known," Ellie giggled, rolling her eyes before starting in on the cell phones again. Sometimes it was fun having two purebloods as friends, because they were pretty curious about the muggle technology, but Ellie obviously wasn't as good of a teacher as her step-dad and sometimes had a hard time explaining things.

"They throw it?"

"It grows wings," she teased the two of them. "The phones connect to satellites in the sky. Muggles use them to transport messages instantly. They used to only use letters, kind of like owl post but even slower," she explained. "But, each little box is connected to a specific number, kinda like an Azkaban prisoner number. It's linked to just their box. So when you type the message in the cellphone and send it to that number, the satellites in the sky transfer it to the other person's box."

"Aren't owls easier?"

Ellie laughed. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, she supposed, if you didn't grow up with the technology. And honestly she really couldn't explain how cell phones worked without having to explain how satellites worked and that a cell phone is basically a handheld computer and then having to explain to them how a computer worked...but thankfully, Ryder brought up the essay they had to write for Defense Against the Dark Arts as they found a seat at the Slytherin table to eat. "Well someone's gotta torture us," she offered with a shrug as she poured some pumpkin juice into a glass.

[Emma Blackthorn]

Good heart but this attitude

Emma's singular brain cell was not up to snuff and hearing about these satellites were going to fry her poor little brain cell. "That's a lot of nonsense for something very simple." Shaking her head, she sat down with her friends as they began to serve themselves for dinner. She saw Ryder look over towards his sister at the Hufflepuff table and her heart sank a bit. She wished Jules was still here but also just wanted him to be safe. The serpent took the pumpkin juice after Ellie was done suing it and poured herself a glass.

"Gods, 12 inches? That's longer than the pixies are! That doesn't seem fair." Emma just didn't want to write an essay. Torture was the right word for the situation. "I think between Avery, Davis and Walker...we have our fair share of torture." The plates on the tables started to fill with food and Emma reached for a chicken leg to add to her plate, along with some veggies. "I heard a rumour that Professor Walker used to be a Death Eater! Isn't that crazy?!" Yes the rumour had come from her uncle and might be true but she liked to imagine for herself if it was true or not.

Tagged;; Ryder Bradley  Ellie Casper

[Ryder Bradley]

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[attr="class","oneword1"]

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Emma Blackthorn , Ellie Casper

if my life is mine what shouldn't i do

[attr="class","itsover"]

Ryder had to agree with Emma that seemed entirely too complex for something like sending a message. He could hardly wrap his brain around it. Muggles were weird, but… you know the more he thought about it the more he thought it was cool they figured stuff out without magic. He didn’t understand a lick of it, but he thought it was neat. Ryder took the pumpkin juice from Emma after she was done and followed suit in pouring a glass. He preferred Butterbeer but unfortunately the school was probably never going to have it available. Taking a sip, he listened to his friends talk about the torturous assignment they’d been given. He let out a huff of approval about the three teachers. He liked Professor Walker, but she was kind of strict. Professor Davis just didn’t care and Professor Avery was terrifying. Yes, definitely plenty of torture for the three second years.[break][break]

The food had appeared and Ryder set to making his plate. He grabbed some chicken and veggies and had started eating when Emma mentioned a rumour about Professor Walker. Ryder chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth, nodding along. “Yeah, I remember my dad saying she was a coward or something.” He didn’t see how she was a coward, but his dad said it after reading about something involving her. Ryder didn’t really read the Prophet. He looked to Ellie who was the professor’s niece. “Is it true?”

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