The Mentor & Mentee PV Opeila Winters Closed

@Bloom Silverton

Once again, Opeila made her way down to the Great Lake, which actually managed to become her favourite place again. When she first returned to Hogwarts, the young Slytherin had avoided the lake for weeks, scared that it would force her to think about things she didn't want to think about.
She tried to blend out how trapped she felt, every day. She tried to focus on school, on her studies. Slowly she tried to pick up her life and put the pieces back together. Only that pieces were missing, irreparably destroyed. Her life couldn't be fixed. She couldn't be fixed.

The twelve year old held her face into the cool wind, slowly felt her cheeks getting numb. She pulled Flash's coat tighter around her body, trying to keep the warmth. The wind helped her, it kept her in place, stopped her thoughts from drifting off. From falling. That was what Opeila felt like all the time, like she was falling down an endless hole with no one to help her. No stopping. She would fall and break apart when she maybe met the ground sometime.
But right now she was here. Outside of Hogwarts, on the beautiful, snow-covered grounds. Right here was nothing she needed to fear.

When Opeila finally arrived at the lake, she was surprised to find someone sitting there already. A girl Opeila couldn't recognize. Brown hair and definitely a few years older. Opeila opened her mouth to gree the girl, but it seemed the girl had already noticed her. Or had she? The second year frowned confused, when the other girls asked if and how they migrated somewhere and then came back. Who were they? "Uh... Hello?", she said slowly, hoping she wouldn't startle the girl, who apparently hadn't noticed her, because that question made no sense to Opeila. Yeah... hello. What should she say now? Opeila just stood there awkwardly, feeling her face heating up. "Sorry, I just... I happened to hear your question. May I ask who you mean?"

Perhaps there's an underground tunnel. That can exist, right?

Bloom was still thinking of ways the Merpeople were able to keep themselves warm during the winter as the lake froze over. It had to be extremely uncomfortable to be in freezing waters.

"It has to be tunnels," she thought out loud to herself, unbeknownst that there was someone close by that could hear her personal conversation.

"Uh... Hello?"

Her heart stopped for a split second at the surprise of another person's sound in Bloom's semi-silence. How was she not able to hear the steps of someone coming near her? Bloom looked at the girl who was standing before her. She was younger, definitely not close in age. Was she a first year? Probably from how young she looked, but Bloom could be wrong. She was

"Sorry, I just... I happened to hear your question. May I ask who you mean?"

At first, Bloom wondered what she meant, and then put together that she was probably talking about her question about the Merpeople migrating. Bloom smiled at the girl. Perhaps she had an answer.

"Oh, I was thinking about the Merpeople that live in the lake. Where do you think they go when it freezes over?" she asked, seeing if the young girl had any bright ideas. "By the way, I'm Bloom Silverton, Fourth year, Ravenclaw," she added, introducing herself.

@Opeila Winters

For a moment Opeila was worried that she had just started an uncomfortable moment, but the older girl didn't seem to mind at all that Opeila had heard her. Instead she shared her thoughts about merpeople with the Slytherin. Where did they go when the lake froze over? That was actually a very good question, one that Opeila had never thought about really.

She knew that there were merpeople in the lake, but she had spent more time thinking about the giant squid than other living beings in the water. "Do you think they go somewhere?", she asked the girl, who now introduced herself as Bloom Silverton, a Ravenclaw fourth year. Oh god, a fourth year... Opeila grew up, always automatically being a little intimidated by older students and adults.

That often only lasted as long as they were strangers, as soon as she got to know them, she could treat them as equals. "Opeila Winters, Second Year, Slytherin. Nice to meet you.", she told Bloom. "Like, their bodies have to work somewhat different than ours, right?", she explained her thought further. "Maybe they can just endure the cold. I mean, they must have a different temperature tolerance than us, they live in the lake. So what if for them the lake freezing over is like when it snows for us?"

She had to bite back a grin at the image of a merperson putting on a coat and hat. Well, who knew?

It had been awhile since Bloom had been in contact with another Slytherin house member. She often found herself around Ravenclaws (obviously) and Hufflepuffs. Only a few times a year does she interact with those from Slytherin and Gryffindor houses. Bloom looked at the girl once more. She was a second year, so she wasn't a firstie who was just trying to understand the Hogwarts layout. She was now wanting to know more about the world, at least Bloom thought.

Bloom smiled at the second year who joined her odd curiosity of the Merpeople. Her answer seemed more on point than what Bloom would have thought. To not go anywhere, but rather their bodies change in temperature.

"I didn't think of that. That's good!" she said, emphasizing on how brilliant the idea could have been.

Bloom's idea on the lake and the Merpeople whisped away and she looked at Opeila who was curious with her. So far, Bloom was a fan of her. She wasn't just asking questions to ask like most younger students, nor was she studying. She was just being there.

"So what are you running away from being out here in the cold than warm inside?" she asked, half joking.

@Opeila Winters

Opeila enjoyed this little challenge. What did merpeople do in winter? Great question. "Is there a way to leave the lake? How far away from the coast is Hogwarts located, could there be an underground passage to the ocean? But this is freshwater, would the squid survive if there was saltwater mixing with it?" Questions on questions on more questions that the other girl likely wouldn't be able to answer. Maybe Opeila would do some research on merpeople later on...

Bloom asked her what she was running away from and Opeila couldn't help the feeling that she had just been called out. "Do you never feel like you are losing your mind inside the castle?", she asked a counter question. "I have a bit of a claustrophobia issue when I stay inside for too long. It's weak but there. And my common room doesn't help it. We're down in the dungeons, the lighting is terrible and when we look outside the window, all we see is water. Daylight barely makes it in there. It can be fascinating, but sometimes it just feels like drowning."

The Slytherin shrugged. She did like her house- Actually she didn't mind houses so much, she had friends in every house, although especially first year Ravenclaws seemed to give her a hard time not to be negatively prejudiced. Her common room was not even a downside really, but sometimes she wished she was able to see the sky when looking outside. She had given up trying to do homework down there or studying. She could not focus down there.

"I could ask you the same. Why are you out here?"