This is Susan's Club meeting on Halloween 1992. I intend to write and post Hannah's tomorrow night and have one more Halloween 1992 chapter closer to Halloween 2024.
As Seamus, Dean, Lee, Gabe, Luna, Sofia, Xiu, and Susan approached the sand pit, they saw that their leader Sarah had a very Halloweeny surprise for them.
The normal sand that usually filled Skyward School of Practical Sorcery's sand pit had been replaced with special Halloween colored sand.
The majority of this sand was orange and black and it had an infusion of white, purple, and slimy green.
"So," smiled Sarah, "Today you are going to be building Halloween themed sand structures. The colors will make them feel Halloweeny, so you don't necessarily have to use shapes that are Halloween icons. They can be anything you choose, and your sand structures should feel Halloweeny. If you want to use shapes of things associated with Halloween, that's awesome, if you want to go a different direction, that's wonderful too because the colors will still give these sand structures that Halloween vibe. Once you have all completed your sand structures, I will perform permanent Hardening Charms on them, and they will be yours to keep. Show me what you've got!"
This was a very fun activity that Seamus, Dean, Lee, Gabe, Luna, Sofia, Xiu, and Susan all felt a jolt of excitement about. It required attention and focus so they wouldn't be able to talk to each other while they worked, but they all looked forward to seeing each other's completed works.
When everyone had finished, Sarah performed Hardening Charms on them all and said, "Wow, these might be the eight best AND eight coolest sand structures I've ever seen!"
Seamus, Dean, Lee, Gabe, Luna, Sofia, Xiu, and Susan all grinned at that.
Sarah looked at her son and asked, "Seamus, why did you choose to make your sand structure consist of a tower of nine interlocking spiders?"
"Well, mom," smiled Seamus, "My thinking was threefold: I wanted to use a shape of something specifically associated with Halloween. The fact that the word spider starts with s is cool because dad, mom, and I all have names that start with S. I made a tower of nine spiders to represent the fact that, including you, mom, our Sand Club has nine people in it."
"That's a pretty cool thought process," cooed Dean.
"What is your dad's name?" Lee asked Seamus curiously.
"Stewart," answered Seamus simply.
"Seeing a tower of nine spiders in Halloween colors is pretty cool," smiled Sofia, "Seamus, your sand structure is my favorite because of the three way combination of sticking to a Halloween theme, the personal touches you put into making that selection, and the awesome job you did of making it."
"Thank you, Sofia," smiled Seamus.
"I really do think the size of our club is ideal," added Xiu, "It's big enough to feel like we belong to a group while being small enough that we aren't crowding each other out."
"Hey Seamus," suggested Susan, "How about we call your sand structure, Seamus's Spider Stack."
"Susan, that's perfect," said Seamus glowingly, "Seamus's Spider Stack it is."
"I wonder," piped up Luna, "If Sarah thinks Seamus's Spider Stack is the best sand structure here today."
"I can't put aside my motherly bias to make that judgement fairly," said Sarah honestly, "What I will say is that Seamus's Spider Stack is my favorite sand structure here today."
Seamus and his mom exchanged wide smiles.
"As for me," put forth Dean, "I chose to do the classic witch with a pointy hat on a broomstick because I wanted to make a sand structure that was big and tall, and this was a perfect shape and theme to accomplish that with."
"You did a superb job," Seamus told his bestie proudly, "I'm in awe of your work."
"It's got nothing on yours," said Dean humbly.
"I love having my own son and his BFF in my club," cooed Sarah, "Their support and admiration for each other is a joy to behold."
"Dean's sand structure had a very high degree of difficulty because of all the little shapings it required," observed Lee.
"This is a club that has really allowed us to showcase our creativity," grinned Gabe.
"Halloween was a perfect day to do an activity like this," added Sofia.
"I agree," nodded Xiu, "A fun and quietly enjoyable activity is right up my alley."
"And mine," added Luna.
"While I don't disagree with Heather's decision to have Harry, Amy, Hannah, and I join four different clubs, I have to admit that I admire seeing Seamus and Dean bring their best friend relationship with each other into our club," smiled Susan.
"Actually," realized Sarah, "Sand Club was a great choice for them to be in the same club while still having the opportunity to make new friends since there are six other members."
"I chose a tombstone sand structure," explained Lee, "Because I was feeling the death vibe. I can't fully explain this, but I felt the death vibe the nanosecond we started, and I went from there to go with a tombstone sand structure."
"Sometimes in artistic endeavors, going with your feeling produces beautiful results," complimented Sarah.
"Now we can use our imaginations to envision something being in that tombstone," smirked Seamus.
"I'm now playing Frankenstein music in my head," mused Dean.
"It might be creepier to imagine a tombstone empty in a quiet environment," piped up Gabe.
"The creepiest vibe might be to envision something buried alive inside the tombstone," suggested Sofia.
"I won't deny that Lee did a great job," said Xiu, "But his sand structure is my least favorite because I'm not into the whole death thing."
"Xiu, that was really rude," said Luna harshly.
"It's okay, Luna," said Lee in understanding, "Not everything will be liked by everyone. Xiu didn't trash or badmouth my work. She just said it was her least favorite. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Anyone who'd be upset by a comment like that needs to grow much thicker skin," added Susan.
"So," explained Gabe, "I just did a sand heart because of my absolute love of sand. I know it's the simplest of anyone's sand structures, but I wanted to do a sand heart in Halloween colors as a representation of what I love most on Halloween. "
"From the nanosecond I met you all," acknowledged Sarah, "You were by far the most passionate member of the Sand Club in terms of your passion for sand itself."
"It may not have had the highest degree of difficulty, " said Seamus simply, "But there's a certain purity in Gabe staying true to himself and the thing he loves most by creating a sand heart."
"The smile on his face when he looks at his completed sand heart says it all," said Dean happily.
"Interestingly, Gabe seemed the least focused and the most casual worker when we built our sand structures today," observed Lee.
"That just shows how he had a quiet confidence," recognized Sofia.
"He didn't need to think about his work, it came naturally to him," agreed Xiu.
"Gabe didn't need to make a choice of what shape or theme to use because his heart gave it to him automatically," smiled Luna softly.
"It may or may not be the best of the sand structures," offered Susan, "But it's the heart of them all."
"I went with a mummy sand structure," revealed Sofia, "Because mummies are associated with both sand and Halloween, so I thought it was a perfect fit."
"Nice thinking, Sofia," praised Sarah.
"It's really impressive," said Seamus glowingly, "And it's actually taller than any of the other sand structures we see here."
"Even my witch on a broomstick," admitted Dean, "Plus, Sofia also had a high degree of difficulty."
"Yes, mummies are hard to get right, but Sofia nailed it," cooed Lee.
"Combining the Halloween and sand associations was a stroke of genius," grinned Gabe.
"Good work, but I don't care for this one," admitted Xiu.
"That's not the way to talk to your best friend," interjected Luna disapprovingly.
"Luna, it's okay," said Sofia a nanosecond later, "I knew that my sand structure would not be one Xiu would care for. She is uncomfortable with the topic of death. Saying you don't care for something isn't insulting it."
"See, Luna," nodded Susan, "Even Xiu herself understands. True disrespect would be lying to placate someone's feelings."
"It also goes back to what you said earlier about needing to not be too thinned skinned," added Sarah seriously.
"I'm a quiet and peaceful girl," Xiu told them all, "So I felt going with something simple would be fitting. I made a basic sand castle. I felt like the fact that there are five different colors would create a feeling of abstract art if I distributed them the right way."
"That's a really interesting way of thinking of it," said Sarah softly.
"The five colors put together like that give it an abstract Halloweeny feel to it," smiled Seamus.
"Xiu used mostly orange, white, and slimy green and just gave an infusion of black and purple," observed Dean, "Using the brighter colors most prominently gives it a feel of warm peacefulness."
"It's like her sand structure is saying Happy Halloween in a warm and quiet way," said Lee simply.
"I suspect that if Xiu were to be an animagus, she would be a fwooper," guessed Grain.
"I don't know, and I don't care," replied Xiu, "A fwooper would fit my personality well. But I'm not willing to put in the work to become an animagus. No way I'm carrying a leaf in my mouth for a month!"
"That would be a lot of strain and effort," agreed Sofia, "And if the night of the full moon is cloudy, that month was a waste, and you have to do it over!"
"Xiu's sandcastle is beautiful artwork," cooed Luna softly.
"Yes, it is," agreed Susan.
"I love animals," piped up Luna, "I chose a thestral sand structure because I love animals and thestrals are gentle creatures that get a bad rap. Building a sand structure of all Halloween colors in the shape of a thestral gives them some personality too. "
"You wanted to represent a creature you think is unfairly judged?" Sarah asked Luna to confirm.
"Yes," replied Luna gently.
"You know," said Seamus thoughtfully, "I like the choice of thestrals because they are associated with death and so is Halloween."
"I did think of that too," confirmed Luna.
"Luna's sand thestrals look like they could fly," complimented Dean.
"Her attention to detail is obvious in the final product," said Lee approvingly.
"I've never been anti thestral," mused Gabe, "But I've never appreciated what beautiful creatures they are either."
"It is a curious thing," said Sofia softly, "But sometimes art can give you a greater appreciation for things, even if you have encountered them in real life."
"Gabe, can you see thestrals?" inquired Xiu.
"No," said Gabe gratefully, "I've been fortunate enough to live an uneventful life free of adversity. I've seen pictures of them, but those pictures were photographs produced by cameras. Art is a different thing entirely."
"Art created by hand has a lot more purity than picture taking," said Luna calmly.
"Exactly, Luna, exactly," said Susan approvingly, "And now we come to mine."
"I was most surprised at yours," admitted Sarah.
"It's clearly meant to be a pool sand structure with four naked swimmers," saw Seamus.
"Well," reasoned Dean, "Susan loves the outdoors. Maybe she just wanted to represent another outdoor activity."
"Perhaps she wanted to do something she knew none of the rest of us would do?" thought Lee.
"I'm definitely the most surprised by hers, but maybe that's what she was going for," nodded Gabe.
"More than one thing can be true," pointed out Sofia, "Maybe she wanted an outdoor theme while also being able to surprise us?"
"Yeah, could just as easily be both," agreed Xiu.
"I have a gut feeling she has a more personal reason for choosing that theme," cooed Luna.
"You are very perceptive, Luna," smiled Susan, "I actually like water even better than sand, but Heather wanted Harry, Amy, Hannah, and I to join four separate clubs. Hannah and I both chose Water Club at first. I let Hannah have that one because she is more of a true water junkie than I am, and I loved Sand Club as a second choice anyway. This sand structure represents Hannah's love of water, and I will be gifting this sand structure to her later today."
"Aw, that's so sweet," cooed Luna.
"Why are the swimmers naked though?" wondered Sarah.
"When Heather was homeschooling Harry, Amy, Hannah, and me last year," explained Susan, "When she wanted to reward us with some time off and relaxation, she would sometimes let us swim in the pool at Abbott Manor. However, since none of us had bathing suits, she let us swim naked. She also sometimes let us have naked water balloon fights on the backyard of Abbott Manor. Sometimes we would even just sit naked in lawn chairs in the backyard of Abbott Manor. In my mind, the four naked swimmers are Harry, Amy, myself, and Hannah from left to right."
"How tolerant is Heather of nudity?" wondered Sarah.
"She was totally cool with it when it was just us and our guardians at Abbott Manor. She would NOT approve of nudity in a more public setting, and she made that clear to Harry, Amy, Hannah, and me. She stressed that public nudity was a no-no at Skyward School of Practical Sorcery except in our own rooms when it is just us. It is worth noting that Sirius, Remus, Ameila, and Heather all think it is very healthy for us to be able to be comfortable with seeing each other naked. It's a different animal when the setting gets more public," explained Susan.
"I think it's really nice that you are going to gift that sand structure to Hannah," oozed Sarah appreciatively, "It's obvious how much the so called Yellow Quartet really do enjoy and appreciate each other."
Next nanosecond, Sarah dug her right hand into her right hand pocket and retrieved her wand.
Pointing her wand straight ahead, Sarah cried, "Accio sand structure!"
A sand structure in the Halloween colors in the shape of a candy bowl came zooming toward Sarah and landed in her left hand.
Putting her wand away and controlling the bowl with both hands, Sarah said, "You will see that there are nine orange lollipops in the bowl. We may each have one. "
Sarah held out the bowl.
Seamus, Dean, Lee, and Gabe all quickly walked up to where Sarah was holding the sand bowl and took their one lollipop each.
Sofia, Xiu, Luna, and Susan on the other hand, had stepped back and were more willing to wait.
Once Seamus, Dean, Lee, and Gabe each had their lollipops and had backed away, then Sofia, Xiu, Luna, and Susan approached Sarah and helped themselves to their lollipops.
Sarah kept the last one for herself.
All nine of them calmly consumed the lollipops until they were gone, at which point they all declared "Happy Halloween 1992!" in unison before the club meeting ended.'
A shout out to the following members who have added Harry Potter and the Yellow Quartet to their favorites and/or follows lists since the last update:
Colt Henderson
grubberry
Patrik Hazel
Much love from Arizona for all the support. Love you all-Michael. :) ❤️