young, wild & free

Delaney Allaway, 6th year Gryffindor. Seeker on the Qudditch team and future dragon keeper.

[delaneyallaway-blog]

lennoxfraser:

Lennox tried not to laugh at how emphatic Delaney was about dragons being fun - that wasn’t the word he’d use for them, but he would definitely at least use interesting. She seemed sincere about it, so Lennox held back the laugh, nodding. “Not much that Han doesn’t embrace with open arms though, aye? He’s gung-ho about everything, it’s kind of annoying.” Which was the truth as Lennox saw it, and didn’t mind who else knew. “Plenty we could do,” he said, smile broadening a little. “Just depends what your delicate sensibilities can handle. Want to take a walk down to the dragon hut and see the little ones? Might be a good break from the castle, get your mind off of it. There’s this little one I’ve been taking care of during Rearing Club that I want to check in on.” Dragons weren’t Lennox’s default distraction method, but he was usually too worried about losing a finger to think of much else. “Wanna?”

“Gee, you’re hard to please, aren’t you? Being enthusiastic is annoying, but practicing self-restraint is prissy... Well, better overzealous than a lack thereof. It’s refreshing to see someone around who’s friendly instead of people whose first instinct is to snap at you,” Delaney ended with a shrug. Granted, she hadn’t interacted enough with Han to know him well, but from the few times they have spoken, he’d been nice enough. “Yeah, let’s.” A smile tugged at her lips. It really should’ve been ‘how could I refuse?’ She had rolled her eyes at ‘delicate sensibilities’ but the idea of going to the dragon hut had taken her mind off it immediately. She hadn’t been expecting a suggestion that she’d actually like, so this was a pleasant surprise. “What’s the breed of the little one you’re caring for?” Delaney had no idea, because she barely noticed her surroundings during club meetings; she hardly ever focused on something else when there was a dragon in front of her. 

[delaneyallaway-blog]

avetthuxley:

“That is my name,” Hux said as he turned around slowly to face the voice that had come from down the hall. There he saw Gryffindor’s seeker. He had no strong feelings about her either way, except when they were on the Pitch. Even then his only thought was that he had to score as many points before she might catch the snitch.  “Allaway, “ he said with a nod in greeting, “What brings you to this nice, distant, deserted corridor?”

Delaney immediately wished she hadn’t been so startled or called out to him, although she simply rolled her eyes in response. “I was waiting for—” A portrait? He’d think she was crazy. “I was just taking a nice little walk after dinner. Good for digestion, I heard.” She quirked an eyebrow at him, and asked, “How about you? Taking a stroll as well? You don’t seem to know this area too well, though - if you’d continued walking straight, you would’ve hit a dead end. Unless, of course, that was where you meant to go.” 

[delaneyallaway-blog]

luella-barlow:

It took Luella a few seconds to recognize the girl in front of her; usually she only saw the Gryffindor seeker from a distance. The girl, Delaney she soon recalled, was no doubt feeling like the rest of the Gryffindors in their new bedmates. El was starting to get tired of the other houses’ attitudes. She understood the situation was undesirable, but couldn’t quite understand why everyone had to be so pissy all the time. It wasn’t like they were being housed with ghouls or werewolves.

When the girl compared her to a Slytherin, El’s nose crinkled. “Oh, don’t be mistaken,” she started, “I’m very happy to keep hearing all your complaints about the living quarters, and running into everyone as no one seems to know where the fuck their going.” She gestured towards the other students trying to beeline between masses of people. The sarcasm in her tone was very heavy.

“To be fair, the only people who don’t know where they’re going are the Slytherins.” Delaney even felt sorry for some of them, especially the younger ones, who might have just gotten used to navigating around the dungeons. Of course, she wasn’t going to admit this. “Although I suppose I get your concern about hearing us complain about the new sleeping arrangements all the time,” she relented. “Still, I don’t think you understand how it feels like to have to stay in the same room as people with whom the only similarity you share is your mutual dislike of each other. Unless you have actually done it before?” Delaney thought the whole point of having a common room is so that everyone can unwind at the end of the day - but this new arrangement meant that neither the Gryffindors nor the Slytherins got the space or privacy they needed. 

[delaneyallaway-blog]

the-yunhaneul:

Haneul tried to look for the good in people, that wasn’t to say he necessarily liked everyone but he tried to be civil and a lot of that involved reasoning with himself and focusing on the positives of a person. “Unfortunately not everyone gets along, that’s just the way things are,” He nodded, pulling his shoulders up into a small shrug. Some people weren’t worth your time, in the end, while other’s surprised you. “Do they get their own beds?”

“Mm, you’re right.” No point dwelling on it, especially not now since Delaney was too annoyed with the girls to bother trying. “Yeah, all our rooms were enchanted so that it’s bigger now and more beds were added.” Thankfully. She couldn’t imagine having to share a bed with them. “Ah- sorry you had to listen to me whine,” Delaney apologised, embarrassed that she had been complaining since the start of their conversation. “Was security tightened around the Hufflepuff dorms? I mean, Vauxhall would have moved you guys too if he thought you were in any danger, but you’re still pretty close to the dungeons.” Definitely closer than the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors in their towers, anyway. It was the only reason she could come up with as to why the Slytherins weren’t made to room with the Hufflepuffs.

[delaneyallaway-blog]

summerharlowe:

In all fairness, Delaney was one of the least insufferable girls in the sixth year Gryffindor dormitories, but all in all, Summer found them all to be incredibly childish. Part of her wished she could join them in their childish antics. “I could come up with better insults, but that would be me making insults simply for the sake of making insults, and that’s not me. I call them like I see them.” Summer quirked an eyebrow, as if to challenge Delaney. They were childish, there was no denying it. “I would love nothing more than to go back to my dorm, but that really isn’t an option right now. You girls are just so… Fucking loud. With your chatting and your laughing. It makes it very difficult to focus on the things I’m trying to do.”

“Fair enough,” she nodded. If Delaney had to be appreciative about something regarding the Slytherin girls, it would be their honesty. They might have hidden secrets (who doesn’t?) or some of their belongings (a.k.a the mysterious disappearance of the Gryffindor girls’ essays - although that could very well have just been Delaney’s error because they turned up later on), but at the very least, they were honest about how much they hated the current situation. “We are?” she asked with a slight frown, but genuinely surprised. They had been like that for as long as she could remember, and it didn’t occur to her that they would be different elsewhere. “Well, what are the Slytherin dorms usually like? Don’t tell me all of you just sit in the different corners doing your own things without talking? I mean, that’s what the library is for, right?”

[delaneyallaway-blog]

luella-barlow:

Although Hufflepuffs didn’t have to worry about the new dorm arrangements (thank goodness), there was still so much commotion in the halls as students, particularly first years, wandering aimlessly trying to find their way. You’d think the older students had never seen the castle the way some of them got lost trying to find their “new” dorm. 

As Luella was distracted by all the fumbling students around her, her shoulder bumped into a person walking by her. “Hey, watch where you’re going!” she said, not having seen who she had ran into while rubbing her shoulder, and ignoring the fact that this could have been completely her fault.

Delaney would have liked to return to the Gryffindor common room, but these days it was all she could do to not snap at the Slytherins lounging around with their feet up on tables. She was pretty much in an irritable mood perpetually so when someone bumped into her and acted like they weren’t in the fault at all, Delaney spun around. She had half-expected it to be another Slytherin, but instead she found Luella standing there.

“Nice tone, Barlow. If you’d added an epithet about blood statuses somewhere in there, you’ll almost be on par with some of the Slytherins,” Delaney commented, keeping her voice neutral. In truth, she didn’t know the girl well as they were in different years and houses. What she did know, however, was that Luella was a good beater and she’d had close shaves with the Hufflepuff’s Bludgers on several occasions. “Do tell, what got you in such a bad mood? I thought the Hufflepuffs would be the happiest out of the lot of us right now.”

[delaneyallaway-blog]

astoriadahl:

“The seventh year Slytherin girls aren’t all that bad, actually. They’re conspiring, whispering, though, and I’m pretty sure they’ve gone through our stuff already. Which is why I’m so relieved that I have all my important stuff in my bag.” All her notes for her articles were all magically removed from her notebooks, so that only she could read them until she was ready to publish an article. “Oh, yes, it must be exhausting putting up such a front all the time? Pretending to be something that you’re not.” Astoria shook her head, grateful that she didn’t have to pretend to be anyone other than herself. “Ainsley is actually going to teach me a few things, healing magic. We should make it like a girls night thing. Ainsley being our teacher for the evening, might be nice.”

“I’d definitely flip if someone went through my belongings. That’s just...,” Delaney trailed off, frowning even as she imagined the sixth year Slytherin girls going through her stuff. “Well, I’m glad you were prepared for that. I didn’t think they’d go as far as to doing that, though, no matter how obnoxious I found them.” She nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with Astoria. “I don’t know how she does it all the time. Maybe I’ll ask her when I think she’s feeling peachy,” and a mischievous smile lit up her face. “Oh! Sounds like a great idea. I’ve always wanted to learn, but Mdm Pomfrey isn’t exactly a great teacher. She’s too busy attending to injured kids.” Delaney knew because—well, she had tried asking the matron to teach her a thing or two before. “This would also be another reason for us to avoid going back to our rooms until we absolutely need to. The professors won’t fault us for wanting to learn, would they?”

[delaneyallaway-blog]

lennoxfraser:

“I’m sure we could come to an agreement on what’s fun or not. I’ll start,” Lennox said, straightening up. “Quidditch is fun. Your turn. Say something fun and universal that you love doing,” and he let a tiny, brief flicker of a smile hint at his lips as his eyebrows raised, daring her, almost. Her mention of a current situation made Lennox frown, and he disregarded that, not in the mood for politics, or even contemplating what might’ve caused the Slytherins to leave the dungeons in the first place. “Ravenclaw’s a mess,” Lennox said, folding his arms. “Feels weird to have your space invaded, least of all by the most ignorant bunch of people. I’d almost wish it were the Hufflepuffs, y’know? At least they’d be helpful and show some respect.” Lennox mulled it over for a moment longer before deciding nothing good would come of it. “C’mon, we should do something to take our mind off of it and delay going back to the inevitable. Up for some fun, Allaway?”

Delaney found herself nodding despite her earlier reluctance to agree with him; she couldn’t deny it—quidditch was fun. She caught the slight lift of the corners of his lips, and a tinge of red started to color her cheeks even as she doubted that she was reading him correctly. “Dragons,” she replied after a long moment, having made up her mind to ignore it. “Dragons are fun,” she repeated, “though I’m not so sure others think the same way so it probably doesn’t count.” She contemplated for a moment before asking, “How about animals, in general?” She nodded, satisfied with her answer. It was a safe one. “Yeah, I guess we can at least agree on that. I wonder why Vauxhall would deny the Hufflepuffs the chance to embrace the school spirit, as much as he urged the rest of us to do so. I know that Han, for one, wouldn’t mind sharing his dorm with the Slytherin boys.” She cocked her head to one side as she studied him. “Well, what do you suggest, Fraser?”

[delaneyallaway-blog]

avetthuxley:

“I swear this castle is fucking with me,” Hux nearly growled in frustration.  Hux had spent most of his time at Hogwarts in the dungeons and had spent little time up in the towers and the upper floors. Which meant Hux was back to being a 1st year again, getting lost on his way to his bed. Not knowing which way was which in these hallways that seemed to change every time he made a turn. “And these stupid paintings aren’t much help for directions,” He glared at one of the paintings who thumbed their nose at Hux.  

Delaney had been pacing in front of the painting for at least ten minutes, but she was starting to think that she has been stood up or tricked by the woman in the painting. Right as she was about to leave, a figure rounded the corner and she jumped. “Merlin,” she exhaled slowly, as her eyes narrowed on the boy who just appeared. “Hux... Huxley?” She sounded unsure; it has been a while since she even spoke to him and the shadows weren’t helping. 

[delaneyallaway-blog]

the-yunhaneul:

“I see, well…” In truth he didn’t know any of them too well, only briefly from clubs or classes, but he wouldn’t say he disliked them. Or had any thoughts about them, positive or negative. “I know Flora is very good at art, at least when she comes to the club she seems to know what she’s doing, but I don’t know much about them. I know the boys more, you can’t be friends with everyone.” Though he did like to try.

“Hmm, is that so.” Delaney wasn’t interested in the Slytherin girls, but Han’s observation of Flora reminded her that no matter how much they couldn’t get along, they were still the same in that everyone had something they were passionate about, sides to them that were unknown to her. She said as much in her reply to Han. “I suppose there is always two sides to a coin, but it’s difficult to appreciate the other side when they don’t show that side of themselves to you.”

[daisycallowys]

I’ve always been a firm believer that you don’t have to close one door in order to open another.

[delaneyallaway-blog]

leanderparrish:

“Yeah, I’d like to think so. Once I realized that the wand was good at healing spells, I’ve gone out of my way to learn some healing spells. Just to appease it.” It was still highly ironic to Leander that with his family history he’d have this temperamental wand that was good at healing and disliked dueling. “That makes sense since unicorn tail is consistent for magic.” Leander smiled, parroting what he remembered from the wand lore book he had found in the library. “Mine’s phoenix feather. Which just makes it more temperamental and I think is why I have to convince it to do magic at times. I’m not uhm, not entirely sure that I’ve won its loyalty yet, which I think is why I have to do that.  It’s just tolerating me because it’s bored I think.”

That got a chuckle out of Delaney, as understanding and an odd sense of camaraderie filled her. “I break rules sometimes, just to appease my wand too. It works exceptionally well once I’ve done something outside of my mundane routine. Except—you know, this doesn’t sit well with the professors. I’ve learnt this the hard way,” she nodded somberly, as if she was sharing a grave secret with Leander. “Oh, no, don’t think that. A wand always chooses its owner for a reason right?” she asked, remembering that line from someplace. “Or did you get yours from a family member? If that’s the case, it might be harder to earn its trust, although it’s not impossible either. So don’t feel discouraged!” 

[delaneyallaway-blog]

Ravenclaw!Delaney: The Resort Challenge

Being surrounded by Ravenclaws might certainly tone Delaney down a notch, but her personality would have largely remained the same. Friendly and talkative, Delaney would love to have long conversations about everything under the stars, but mind you, she’s a busy bee. When she’s not at Hagrid’s, in the greenhouses, or practicing quidditch, she can most definitely be found in the library, almost buried under piles of books, glasses askew on her nose with her hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Delaney the Ravenclaw would find herself more obsessed with achieving her goals, with less time to rest or hang out with her friends. That’s not to say Delaney has forgotten how to have fun, but being much more goal-oriented meant that she was stricter with herself and in managing her time. A bigger perfectionist than Delaney the Gryffindor, this Delaney would have thrown herself into her weaker subjects and spent hours upon hours on them until she’s as good as - or even better than - others. 

Being more in touch with her thoughts and emotions and with the insatiable curiosity of a Ravenclaw, she would wonder about her real family—not because she missed them, but simply because she wanted to know where she came from. Her endeavor into this may or may not result in heartbreak, but this is certainly not something that Delaney the Gryffindor would have dwelled on. Without the stubbornness of a Gryffindor, her relationship with Lowry might have suffered (even more than now, anyway). While she still would love to reach through to him, her rationality would stop her from going above and beyond—things that Delaney the Gryffindor would not have put a second thought into. As a result, her relationship with her brother would have taken a backseat while she focused on her future. (inserts sad face)

As a lion, Delaney is almost always ruled by her heart. Spending years with the Ravenclaws, however, meant that her heart and her head constantly warred for control. She would struggle with this until later in life, when she finally manages to find a balance between the two and realizes that her best decisions were the ones made with both her head and her heart. 

[delaneyallaway-blog]

lennoxfraser:

“Self-restraint? Never heard of it,” Lennox said, non-chalant, shrugging. “Why would that be a skill you’d aim to master? No one likes a prude, Allaway. Sometimes the easy things can be fun, too,” and Lennox gave a suggestive raise of his eyebrows before they melted back into place at the mention of Flora. “You could try,” he said with a tilt of his head. “But my sister has never needed my permission, so if you do it, that’s on you and the consequences are yours. Don’t think living together under one roof would be too comfortable after that, do you?”

“Always good to master as many skills as possible, regardless of what it is, no? Gives you an advantage over others. You never know when it might come in handy.” Delaney honestly wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Self-restraint has never been one of her strong suits; she just didn’t want to have to agree with Lennox. “Yeah? Perhaps our definition of fun isn’t the same,” Delaney shrugged. “It’s not like the current situation is comfortable anyway,” she replied, frowning. Then, with a sigh and a shake of her head, she added, “Why else do you think I haven’t done it any of them yet?” It was one thing to be insulting each other under their breath, another completely to physically lash out. “Well, are things at the Ravenclaw tower any better?” she asked, remembering belatedly that he was in a similar situation.

[delaneyallaway-blog]

astoriadahl:

“Mhm, and you’re the lucky one, getting to share a room with Summer Harlowe. That girl is a pill if I ever knew one.” Astoria rolled her eyes. At least she was a 7th year, which meant she got the older Slytherins, who seemed to be at least a little bit more mature. “Oh, my wrist is all better actually, Ainsley helped heal it, I didn’t even feel any pain the next day.”

“Why weren’t I ever this lucky when I actually needed to be?” Delaney mused aloud. “A pill indeed. Although I’d have to say that at least she’s not putting on a fake front with me like she does in front of the pureblood kids. I mean, have you seen her? Unbelievable.” She nodded her head at Astoria’s words and added, “Oh, that’s great! I wish I could heal like Ainsley does. That’d be nice.” 

[delaneyallaway-blog]

summerharlowe:

“Fucking children,” Summer hissed under her breath. Sharing a dorm with the damned Gryffindors was getting to her, they were all such complainers, whether she was just sat reading, or relaxing in her bed, they found things to complain about. “I swear, if this doesn’t end soon, I will flip the hell out.”

“And who, exactly, are you calling children?” Delaney asked, frowning slightly. “Though if it’s for us, you should come up with a better insult. It’s a small room, and unfortunately, we can hear everything you or the other girls say, so I’ve heard tons of names by now and children really isn’t very creative.” Delaney knew this probably wasn’t the best time to start a conversation with Summer—maybe not ever—but it was equal parts gratifying and affronting to know that the Slytherins are having just as hard a time as they were. “Feel free to do that, although I’d invite you to ‘flip the hell out’ outside of this room, or outside of the Gryffindor Tower, actually. Best if you go back to your own room if you wanna throw a tantrum.”

[delaneyallaway-blog]

 the-yunhaneul:

He wasn’t 100% sure Elliot and Hux would come for a sleepover if he invited them, he hadn’t even thought to ask if they got along as dorm mates, but he really wouldn’t mind if both of them had to share his room- his bed even, he really wasn’t fussy. “Oh, not everyone can be the same, I’m sure they have their own charms, you’re staying with..?” He hummed, thoughtful as he tried to remember who exactly was in the dorm.

“The sixth year Slytherin girls. Danika, Summer, Flora, and the like. Do tell, what charms do you see in these girls?” Delaney paused then, chewing on her bottom lip as she considered what she’d just said. “Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, and—I can’t believe I’m saying this—they are probably alright in front of some people, but them and me, it’s like we’re just not meant to get along.”