A strange encounter Finished

It was the weekend, and while no one was in class yet, the castle was rather empty. Tatiana had only passed a handful of students on her way from her dorm to the grounds. Most seemed to be leaving the great hall, dinner time had just passed, but she had eaten earlier. She had been feeling a little overwhelmed since she had arrived at school, and was trying to take things slowly. In the recent days, she had spent her time getting ahead on her studies alone in the library, sketching in her dorm, and eating at the least popular times, as to avoid too much of a crowd. She had barely allowed herself the opportunity to meet anyone else. She was anxious to change that, even if a little bit nervous as well.

The sun was setting quickly over the top of the forest trees as Tatiana made her way through the castle and on to the grounds. The sky was vibrant pinks and purples as the moon began to glow in the increasingly darkening sky. The air was beginning to cool, and she pulled her cardigan tighter against her. Bag on her shoulder, and sketchbook in hand, she was making her way to the lake for some night time writing and drawing.

As she approached the lake, she could see the moon’s reflection shining brightly on it’s dark still surface, barely a ripple in sight. And the stars were bright here, far away from the cities; it reminded her of looking up at the sky back home in her small town by the sea. The grounds were always beautiful, especially at night, and she looked forward to coming out here to relax. It wasn’t until she had reached the stony shore that she noticed she was not alone, she could make out the silhouette of another girl not that far off. She took a second to muster up the courage, before closing the distance between them.

As she approached, she asked, “Might you be looking for some company?”

@ Tatiana

Alyssa looks up, surprised at the sudden break of silence. She did not recognize the girl, she was part of Ravenclaw though. A pang of jealousy disrupted her thoughts. She smiled softly as she sat up and turned herself to face the girl.

" It would be very nice to have the company of a live person for once. I have not had a proper conversation since I left home. Books have been my only friends."

She gestured to the girl to take a seat next to her. The grass had become a bit damp from the change in weather, it was not freezing outside though. She wondered why the girl had ventured outside of the castle. but then again why was she outside. Possibly for the same reasons, to escape the walls, she guessed.

She crossed her arms as she stared out at the black waters of the Great Lake. It brought a sense of calmness to her, but water always had that effect. A frown formed on her forehead, it would be appropriate to introduce herself.

She turned again to the girl.
"I'm Alyssa, this is my first year at Hogwarts. And as you can see from my clothing, I was sorted into Gryffindor."

Just a few feet away now, the girl sat up straighter as Tatiana approached. Turning over her shoulder to look at her, she had a soft smile on her face as she spoke. "It would be very nice to have the company of a live person for once. I have not had a proper conversation since I left home. Books have been my only friends." That was nice to hear, she could relate. Though books could be filled with exciting characters and imaginative worlds, she was still occasionally reminded of just how lonely she'd been since her arrival.

Patting the ground beside her, she seemed to be gesturing for her to take a seat as well. Tatiana could relax a little, her intrusion had been greeted with a welcoming attitude. She held her cloak against her back side, as to protect her jeans from the wet ground, and took a few steps closer before situating her self on the shore.

The girl had turned back to the lake by now, her arms crossing over her chest. They shared a brief moment of silence, both gazing out over the water, before she turned to face her again. "I'm Alyssa," she introduced herself. "This is my first year at Hogwarts. And as you can see from my clothing, I was sorted into Gryffindor." Looking down, Tatiana observed the small red and gold accents on the girl's uniform that she had failed to notice before, the small but distinct emblem of a lion embroidered onto the robe just over her heart.

"Pleased to meet you, Alyssa," she beamed, extending her hand toward her. "I'm Tatiana. This is my first year as well, I was sorted into Ravenclaw." She looked down at her own emblem, a raven, in the standard blue colors of her house. She hadn't really spent much time thinking about it before, but she was happy about the placement. She hadn't really had a preference, but luckily, everyone in Ravenclaw seemed nice enough so far. And she was grateful, at least, to be surrounded by people she could rely on to encourage and help her with her studies.

Noticing she had been silent, lost in her own thoughts for a moment, she asked, "So what brings you out to the lake tonight?"

Alyssa smiled at her as she had taken a seat next to her. This was her first step towards being a social butterfly. She grinned at the absurdity of this thought. Her mother would be so proud of her if she had to see her right now.
She took her hand and shook it softly as she introduced herself.

She pondered the question for a moment before answering. " I enjoy the library as much as I possibly can, however, it has been a bit lonely. I get lost in the stories as well as the information that they so willingly share, but since classes have not started I was unable to keep my focus on the books alone. Which makes me a bit sad, but I do understand that my brain needs to rest at some point. I had read a lot about the Great Lake, and I remember how I felt when we first came to Hogwarts. The ride on the boats was such a lovely experience."

She frowned as she thought of her response, it seemed like a real mouthful. A smile formed on her lips nonetheless. She tilted her head to the side.

She turned to face her."What brought you here tonight?" she asked, genuinely interested in what she would be doing outside tonight.

Tatiana listened attentively as Alyssa proceeded to explain the thought process that led to her being out by the lake alone on this damp, quiet night. "I enjoy the library as much as I possibly can," she began, "however, it has been a bit lonely. I get lost in the stories as well as the information that they so willingly share, but since classes have not started I was unable to keep my focus on the books alone."

Well, doesn't that sound all too familiar, Tatiana thought to herself. The girl continued. "Which makes me a bit sad, but I do understand that my brain needs to rest at some point. I had read a lot about the Great Lake, and I remember how I felt when we first came to Hogwarts. The ride on the boats was such a lovely experience." She nodded in agreement. Alyssa was right, the ride across the lake had been a spectacular sight. She thought back on her own experience now- the train ride, almost missing the boats, meeting other students for the first time. But what really stood out from that night was seeing the castle, sitting atop the cliff towering over them, every window emitting a warm and welcoming glow. It was, indeed, magical. Far more magical than anything else she'd ever seen at least.

Turning to face her, Alyssa asked, "What brought you here tonight?"

It wasn't until then that Tatiana actually even remembered why she'd ventured out on the grounds herself. Looking down at her bag, she held her sketchbook up in front of her. "This," she replied, shrugging and shaking the book in her hand. "I suppose. I guess I thought it might be nice to come sit by the water and do a little sketching, maybe some writing. But honestly," she paused, sighed. "It's probably the same reason you're out here." Tatiana pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she turned her gaze from Alyssa back to the lake. "I wanted to get ahead on my studies before classes started and I've been spending almost all of my free time holed up in the library, reading- only books for company."

And it wasn't just that. The lake had brought her comfort, even if only slightly, as it reminded her of home. It wasn't the sea by any means, but it would do in the meantime. "I don't know if I would necessarily say i'm... lonely?" she pondered her statement for a moment. Was she? "I mean, sometimes it can feel like the books talk back to me, but they always say the same thing, ya know?" They were too constant, predictable. To say they were starting to bore her might be a stretch, but it was certainly a different kind of comfort and connection than the ones she felt when meeting actual living, breathing people. "I just needed a change of pace."

Alyssa stared at the sketchbook in her hand. It immediately caught her curiosity. She enjoyed drawing as well, but she had not touched her book in ages. She had spent so much time on her reading that she forgot to give some of her attention to her drawing.

She frowned as she explained that she had spent most of her time in the library, she had to be the girl that she noticed. She bit her lip as she tried to remember but inevitably she shook her head. She did not recognize her immediately. She sighed as she listened to her response. She seemed to have a lot in common with this girl. A soft smile formed on her lips.

"A change of pace, taking a stroll seems like a great place to start don't you think?" she pulled her cloak closer to her body as she refocused on the lake. It was such a magnificent night out, she knew she should enjoy it while she can. She knew that when classes start she would not have enough time to explore much.

"I was rather disappointed to learn that we first years are not allowed to go into the forbidden forest. Although if I think about it, there are a bunch of creatures there that we would not be able to defend ourselves against, however, that doesn't stop the curiosity."

"A change of pace, taking a stroll seems like a great place to start don't you think?" Alyssa asked, smiling. Tatiana nodded in agreement. After all, that was the logic that had brought her out here in the first place. "I was rather disappointed to learn that we first years are not allowed to go into the forbidden forest. Although if I think about it, there are a bunch of creatures there that we would not be able to defend ourselves against, however, that doesn't stop the curiosity."

Tatiana couldn't help but laugh. "You are very right about that," she responded, shaking her head. "If anything," she started, following Alyssa's gaze back to the lake. "I'd say making it 'forbidden' only feeds the curiosity even further." Of course they would want to know what sorts of creatures and mysteries lied beyond those trees. Who wouldn't? Perhaps someone who actually knew what was in there, she pondered, eyebrows raised. Though the thought didn't make the prospect any less enticing.

Tatiana had done plenty of exploring at home, through the forests and deep into the caves that lined the seaside cliffs back home. All the while, on her own. She'd had muggle friends at her small, rural muggle school, but none that she trusted enough to take on her explorations. Her father had accompanied her, maybe a handful of times, but adventuring is mostly what she did when he was busy. Her parents always trusted her to be safe, and be home by dark. But she had to admit, the most glaring difference here was, there had been no magical, and potentially deadly, creatures waiting for her in the forests outside of St Bees- at least not as far as she knew.

"Either way, I'll have to credit it to my fear of death that ultimately keeps my curiosity at bay."

Alyssa silently listened to her response"I'd say making it 'forbidden' only feeds the curiosity even further." She smiled and nodded. It was true, to make something so enticing, the school should have known better, especially housing so many students. Most of their curiosity came from them being children. Alyssa had already read the history of the Forbidden Forest, they were not too clear on all the kinds of creatures lived there. Alyssa had taken note of the similarities between the lake and the forest. Both these places cared for the creatures that lived within them.

Alyssa had read about the different kinds of jobs the groundskeeper had to do, one of them was the care of the different creature that lived within the different areas.

Alyssa was brought back to reality by Tatiana's next words.
"Either way, I'll have to credit it to my fear of death that ultimately keeps my curiosity at bay." She nodded, it was true. Without proper training, they would never live to explore the forest alone. She wondered whether the professor that dealt with care for magical creatures would take them into the forest at some point to experience some of those creatures.

"You know what, you are absolutely right, I would rather live another seven years at this school than to go into a forest alone." she chuckled behind her hand.

"You know what, you are absolutely right, I would rather live another seven years at this school than to go into a forest alone," Alyssa said, chuckling. Seven years. That seemed like an unbearably long time to be within view of a forest she wasn't supposed to enter. She couldn't decide if the forest itself was all that alluring, or just the idea that she was warned to not dare go in.

"Well hey," Tatiana shrugged, stretching and leaning back on her hands, her legs extended straight out in front of her. "Maybe in seven years, if we haven't been brought there already for our magical creatures class, you and I will have learned enough defensive spells to venture in their together." She turned to Alyssa, grinning, excited at the possibility.

The moon was high in the sky now and its reflection rippled across the lake waves. She turned back to face it, squinting her eyes to stare into the deep darkness of the forest on the other side. What was it that kept the creatures within from venturing onto the grounds? she wondered. If fear kept the students from entering, what was there to stop them from exiting? Magic? she guessed. Maybe fear of us? she smiled, amused at herself. No way. Deadly dangerous and magical creatures weren't like insects or regular animals, it was highly improbable that the phrase 'they're more afraid of you than you are of them' applied to this particular scenario.

Tatiana doubted either of them knew the real answer, but decided to ask Alyssa anyway. "So, what do you think is in there? Or, at least, what do you think keeps them from coming out here?" Her mind wandered as she waited for her response. A chill ran up her spine. Was that feeling... fear? Maybe. But if she didn't know what was in there, what did she have to fear? Perhaps fear of the unknown could be just as strong as fear of the thing itself.