Down by the shoreline Closed

Rushing out of her last class, Allie walked quickly towards the Great Lake, her bag full of books slung over her shoulder like always. Wanting a little time to read before dinner at the Great Hall, Allie had decided to come down here, where it was usually quiet. She had just gotten another book from the Library, one written by a Muggle, and she was more than excited to read it.

The day was a little chilly, so Allie had brought a jacket in case she got cold. It was always colder by the water anyway. Her hair was a bit of a mess, wispy strands coming out of the neat braid she had put it in that morning. By the time she made it to the large oak tree that stood in front of the waves, she had taken it out of it's braid and let it fall down to her shoulders instead. Sitting down against the tree and opening her bag to take out a book, Allie let herself relax. That's when she heard a faint swishing noise.

Turning around and squinting slightly to see what had made that noise, Allie noticed a tall girl standing with her ankles in the ocean. Allie didn't remember seeing her before, but then again there were so many people at Hogwarts it was pretty hard to remember them all. Standing up and brushing off her jeans, she slipped her book back into the bag next to her and wandered over to wear the girl was standing.

Up close, this girl was much taller than she had looked from afar, probably around two inches taller than Allie herself. She had dark brown hair, only a little lighter than Allie's and was quite pretty. The girl's back was to her, and Allie stayed a few steps away, not wanting to bother the girl too much. Glancing around, she noticed a neat pile of clothes on a rock not too far from where they were standing. The robe had a small Slytherin crest on it. Shrugging to herself, Allie walked over to the side of the girl where she could see her and gave her a slight smile.

@Allie Lewis

Paisley had paused, her eyes closing to allow her to take in the sounds around her. She let herself be immersed in the moment, allowed her thoughts to still inside her head for a minute so she could just…be. But, as was characteristic for her, her thoughts only rested for the briefest of seconds before going off on another tangent.

The feeling of the wind on her face and the smell of the water in the air reminded her of when her little family went to their cottage in the English countryside. The cottage was quaint but adorable, with ample space between theirs and the next to ensure a sense of separation. It was encased in beautiful flora, so much so that there was constantly the scent of flora throughout the cottage. You felt like you were one with nature, soaked in the smell of the earth after it rained, the feeling of dew on the grass in the morning, the sound of birds singing all around. It was her favorite place to go, a welcomed experience when compared to constant flow and noise of the London central.

In the back was a great expanse of forest, and a trail that led practically from their back door down to a large lake. The Bellweather outcasts would spend a week or two there for holidays or simple excursions, almost always making sure to make a day on the lake. She could hear the laughter of her mother and brother as they splashed each other, or watched her father create an incredible castle out of the muddy sand with a wave of his wand. A smile curled onto her lips and she pictured it.

Movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and the smile was quick to drop, inverting to be replaced with a frown. Her head turned and she noticed a girl about her age with shoulder length brown hair and curious brown eyes. The color of her robes told the young Slytherin that she belonged to Ravenclaw and a bitter taste was left in the back of her tongue. “Can I help you?” she asked, anything but friendly.

The unfortunate girl had caught Paisley in a bad mood, of which she was famous for in her family. Most of the time she was indifferent, but when things went south…they went south. Adding insult to injury were things the newcomer couldn’t control, like knocking her out of her happy reminiscing or belonging to the house that Paisley had so desperately wanted to be in. Combined, it was a recipe for disaster.

Not five seconds after noticing her, the girl's pleasant demeanor vanished, leaving no trace of itself. The girl's smile flipped into a frown, and Allie had just enough time to think uh oh before the Slytherin asked sharply, "Can I help you?" Allie twisted a lock of hair around her finger and then let it go, a habit of hers she couldn't seem to break. This was not what she had been expecting, the girl had looked so calm and. . . well, nice, before. Allie tried to give the girl a smile.

"Oh, I was just walking by and saw you over here - I'm Allie by the way." She hoped that if she was kind enough, the girl would warm up to her. . . but that might not be the case, she reminded herself, thinking of the cold glare she was getting. "I'm from Ravenclaw. Although you could probably tell. . ." she laughed a little, pointing to the blue trimming on her robes. Biting her lip as she waited for a response, Allie started to second guess her instinct to come over here and meet the girl a lot more. It was like her to convince herself everyone would be happy to meet another student, even when she knew it wasn't always true. "You're Slytherin, right?" Allie pointed to the green tie the girl was wearing around her neck.

The wind began to blow a little harder than it had been before and Allie gave the girl in front of her a helpless look and said, "I'll be right back, I'm just going to grab my jacket." Hurrying off, she went back over to the tall oak tree and grabbed her coat, as well as her bag full of books. After doing this, she hesitated. Should she go back over to the girl? She didn't know. It seemed like the girl was having a bad day. . . Allie made up her mind and went back over.

Paisley watched the Ravenclaw girl’s smile falter as she rounded on her, her tone snippy and untowardly cruel. She knew she was being childish, she did. But she couldn’t get rid of the bad taste in the back of her mouth, or the jealousy she felt, or the faint pang in her chest she felt as she missed her parents and brother. The other girl introduced herself as Allie, stating one obvious thing after the next. Of course she could tell what house she was in, they were all marked from the Sorting with specially colored ties. She couldn’t help it, she rolled her eyes as Allie asked if she were in Slytherin. “Well, last time I checked Slytherin was the only green colored house in Hogwarts,” she shot back, arms crossing over her chest.

After a moment, the girl turned back, stating she was going to get a jacket and Paisley’s brow arched. It was bloody warm outside, what would she be needing with a jacket? The Bellweather had shed her robe for the sheer fact that it was so warm outside. Perhaps she’d taken the hint that she wanted to be left alone? But, alas, the Ravenclaw girl did return with a jacket in tow tossing that thought away.

As she returned Paisley let out a long sigh, hand rising to ruffle her hair. “Listen, I’m not exactly in the mood for company right now. Could you shove off down the shore or something?” she said bluntly. After all, she’d been there first. There was no sense in the First-year being the one to leave.

“Well, last time I checked Slytherin was the only green colored house in Hogwarts,” the girl snapped at her. Allie raised her eyebrows, biting her lip a little nervously. Technically, it was true. . . but the girl didn't have to be so rude about it. She had hoped all Slytherins would be like the first one she met, who was actually pretty nice, but it seemed like not all of them were like him. Especially this girl. Still, Allie attempted to be polite and didn't snap back at her, even though it was slightly hard to hold her tongue.

When Allie returned with her jacket, the other first year seemed quite disappointed to see her again, so Allie wasn't surprised when she asked if Allie could just leave her alone. She bit her lip, and then gave the girl a small nod. "I'm sorry I bothered you," she started, then paused. "Can I at least know your name?" she asked hopefully. If she could get the girl to tell her her name, that would be something. But Allie knew that the Slytherin would most likely refuse, from the way she had been acting. It was worth a shot. . .

Sighing, Allie looked out at the small ripples on the lake, waiting for the girl's answer. She felt bad that she had somehow annoyed the girl, but hoped that maybe someday she could talk to her when the girl was in a better mood. . .