Drawing (open)

[nicole]

Nicole felt the warm breeze across her back as she walked to the Black Lake. She had only been down this way a few times in her three years at Hogwarts, but this time she had decided to bring her drawing pad. She began to draw the scene as she saw it when she heard a noise behind her. It scared her as she didn't have many friends and didn't know who could be around.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie was walking down by the lake, enjoying the weather. It was a warm autumn day, and the leaves were in full color. Hallie always loved the colors of the trees in the fall, because they reminded her of the warm, rich colors of the sunset.

Smiling to herself, she walked with her head up and her eyes moving around, trying to take in as much of the view as possible. Some of the kids were fascinated by the castle, with its big, impressive structure, but what Hallie loved about Hogwarts was the grounds. She loved all the soft, rolling hills, the thick green grass, and the tall, majestic trees. Most of all, she loved the view from the lake, with its wide, smooth surface reflecting the sky and the trees around it.

As she approached the lake, not really watching where she was going, she abruptly tripped over a tree branch and fell to the ground. "Ow!" she cried.

[nicole]

Nicole looked up as she heard someone say ow. She put down her pencil and asked the girl, "Are you okay?" She noticed that this girl was a Ravenclaw just like her. She wondered if this girl remembered seeing her at the feast during her own first year.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie got to her feet and brushed herself off. With a nervous laugh, she looked up at the girl who had spoken. She hadn't realized that anyone was around, and she was feeling more than a little embarrassed. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Just a little clumsy, that's all."

[nicole]

Nicole smiled at this girl and said, "Don't worry. I am clumsy too. I trip over almost everything." She looked at the girl wondering if they knew each other. "My name is Nicole. What's yours?" She asked quietly.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie smiled. "Yeah, I trip all the time, too. I hate it... I'm not exactly the most popular girl around as it is, but I fall so much that a couple of older boys call me Trippy." She rolled her eyes. "Boys, right?"

Running her hand through her tangled curls, Hallie smiled at the girl. "I'm Hallie. Nice to meet you, Nicole."

[nicole]

I'm sorry to hear that some of the boys came up with that name for you. You seem like a really nice person to me." Nicole said with a smile on her face. She didn't really talk to many people, but most of those that she had talked to she noticed were really nice.

"Do you like this weather?" She asked because she loved the fall weather almost as much as she loved the spring weather.

[Hallie Monroe]

"Thanks," said Hallie. "But I'm kinda used to it. I've always been a little clumsy. That's just one of the things I have to put up with. It doesn't really bother me that much."

When Nicole asked her if she liked the weather, Hallie smiled. "Yeah, I do. What's not to like, right? Not too hot, not too cold... leaves changing color everywhere... Although sometimes it bothers my allergies." She gave a wry grin as she walked over to Nicole. "Mind if I sit down?"

[nicole]

Nicole nodded and said, "You may sit down. I'd love to have someone to talk to. The weather is amazing." She loved this weather, especially when drawing because the colors of the trees made an amazing effect on the drawing. Hallie seemed like a really nice person and she enjoyed talking to her.

[Hallie Monroe]

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's too nice to be stuck inside on a day like today. I don't even mind if I sneeze every once in a while when it's this nice out." She leaned back and looked up at the sky ahead. "I wish it could be like this all the time."

[nicole]

"It would be great if the weather could always be like this. The colors are so beautiful and it just is never too warm out." Nicole smiled and followed Hallie's gaze upward. The sky was beautiful and it would make a great addition to her drawing. She looked back down and looked for her blue pencil. She couldn't find it though and knew she had it when she got to the lake.

"Um...Hallie...have you seen a blue pencil anywhere?" Nicole asked as she looked around some more. She knew she had it before.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie immediately began looking around her, feeling with her hands in the soft grass. "I don't see anything," she said, frowning. She moved forward slightly, to inspect a patch of grass that was just out of her reach. As she did, she felt something sharp under her rear end. "Oh, no... don't tell me I'm sitting on it!" she said as she shifted to look underneath of her.

Sure enough, there it was. She picked up the pencil and handed it to Nicole. "Of course I was sitting on it. That's just my luck. But at least I didn't break it, right?"

[nicole]

Nicole smiled and said, "That's it! Thank you so much! I'm sorry that you were sitting on it though. I hope it didn't hurt you." She took the pencil and started to work on the sky in her drawing. She then asked Hallie, "What do you like to do in your spare time?" She smiled and looked at her for a little while.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie gave a wry smile. "Oh, no, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just glad I didn't break it." She settled back down in her seat and tried unsuccessfully to smooth out her hair. "My spare time? Mostly I just read, I guess. I read everything, from magic books to muggle books... It's actually pretty rare for me not to have my nose in a book. Oh, but I do hang out with my friend, Regina a lot. She's really cool... you'd like her."

[Gage Oliver]

Gage was lost. He decided if anyone asked what his special talent is, he'd tell them he's the only person in the world who could get lost in an open space.

But on the upside, it was a beautiful day. So he walked absent mindedly, thinking of home and pushing the thoughts of school work far away from his mind.

Sadly, this meant that Gage wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, resulting in his tripping over a small rock and landing with a splash on the end of the lake. He squeezed his eyes shut, annoyed with how much of a klutz he could possibly be. Gage opened his eyes to look around, hoping that no one saw him, when he saw two Ravenclaw girls sitting under a tree by the lake.

Noticing one of the girls, Gage smiled and pretended he didnt notice that he was sitting in the lake. "Hi Hallie!" he said cheerfully, gettiong up and walking toward them. He stood back a bit though, when he noticed that the other girl had a drawing pad on her lap. He didn't want to drip on her.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie smiled at him. "Hi, Gage," she greeted him. He was dripping wet, which was unusual. It was a pretty sunny day, even for England in the fall. "What happened? Did you decide to go for a swim or something?" she asked lightly. "Or did you have a run-in with the giant squid?"

[Gage Oliver]

Gage shuddered. The Giant Squid gave him the creeps! "No...I just..." Gage looked around and figured that the truth would be the best way to go. "I got lost and then I realized it was nice out so I stopped paying attention to where I was going which is what got me lost in the first place. Then I tripped and..." Gage laughed and took a breath. "Well, you can see what happened next..." He pulled out his wand and closed his eyes tight, begging his mind that the spell would work. He pointed, muttered the spell and by some miriacle, he was completely dry!

"Wow, it worked!" Gage jumped, beaming. He then sat down and addressed the other girl. "I'm Gage by the way," he laughed. "Gage Oliver. And what, may I ask, are you two doing out here this fine day?"