Running Partners PV Euphrasia Millie Closed

Euphrasia Millie didn't really do very many sports before going into Hogwarts. With traveling all the time, and almost always being busy, she never got into being able to do a sport. And none of the muggle (or wizarding) sports seemed to interest her. So when she realized there was something she could do.

Running.

To most people, it was pretty stupid, but to Millie, it was a quick thing Millie could do every other day or so, and not have any time taken from her day. She could read a book and take a jog, no matter how difficult. Hell, if she wanted to, Millie could go running and do absolutely nothing else. It was good to make her legs move, even if she didn't want to exercise all the time. It was like a cheat to exercising, where you were, and weren't doing it.

So taking a quick trip to the Hogwarts ground wasn't going to be so bad for the Gryffindor. She knew what she walked down there for, and wasn't going to chicken out. Even if it was just a brisk walk, it was something to get her body moving, and Millie needed to do just that. All this studying was making her head go dizzy.

Upon further walking to the Grounds, she noticed a girl walking idly around the grounds, in a grassy area, so Millie decided to catch up.

The girl was a Hufflepuff, and had long brown hair, and expressive hazel eyes. Millie found most people with normal eye colors, and much to her dismay, had been the only one to have pretty purple eyes. Though she didn't mind it so much, her eyes were what made her herself.

"Hey there," Millie finally caught up with the Hufflepuff. "You going for a walk? Mind me joining?"

Everything about her voice was very outgoing and vibrant, but also very straight-forward and blunt, and it wasn't as though Millie could help it. She just happened to always speak her mind. It got her in quite a few blunders, but also seemed to keep her safe some times, too.

"I'm Euphrasia, but call me Millie."

It must have been a while since Saskia started walking, because when she turned back, there was just more and more grass. Seriously, how big were the grounds? At this point, she didn't even know where she was, and she wasn't sure whether it was due to the fact she got briefly distracted while walking, or if it was because the school was that big.

Shrugging to herself, she continued walking. Maybe if she walked enough, she'd be able to keep herself distracted with her own thoughts. It would be boring, but she couldn't do anything else about it. It wasn't until she heard a rather loud voice somewhere that she would reconsider that plan.

"Hey there. You going for a walk? Mind me joining?"

Saskia turned to see who spoke to her. It was a Gryffindor girl with short black hair and... Purple eyes? That was a first. She didn't think she would ever meet anyone with that kind of eye colour, but she was clearly proven wrong. She wondered if it was her natural eye colour, or if she somehow managed to change them through magic. Either way, it was impressive. She would have stared a little longer, but she didn't want to be too weird, especially since she just met this girl.

"No, go right ahead," she replied, smiling at the girl. She seemed nice enough, if not rather lively, judging by the way she talked. Maybe she'd make a new friend along the way. She just hoped she wouldn't mess this up for herself eventually.

"I'm Euphrasia, but call me Millie."

Saskia nodded. She had also never met a Euphrasia or a Millie before, which wasn't really surprising, considering how little people she knew in her life. Still, the girl was already shaping up to be an interesting individual, with her unique eye colour and name. Saskia wondered just how much there was more to her than it seemed. She'd have to wait until she actually knew her better, of course.

"I'm Saskia. Nice to meet you, Millie."

The Hufflepuff continued to walk, albeit at a slower pace so the girl could catch up to her. There was a brief moment of silence, and she wouldn't mind keeping it that way, if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't want things to be awkward between the two of them. Now that she actually had someone to talk to, she may as well be using that opportunity to have a conversation to pass the time.

"So, what brings you here? Just enjoying the nice weather out?" she asked. She hoped Millie didn't mind small talk, though she didn't know what else to ask at the moment.

"So, what brings you here? Just enjoying the nice weather out?"

After about a moment of silence from both Millie and the Hufflepuff girl, Saskia, the question popped Millie from her personal thoughts. She didn't really know why she chose to go outside and run, instead of just walking around the castle. Sure, it could've been that it was nice and warm outside, since it was almost Summer, but she felt like it just wasn't the case. And besides, the Scotland Summers during this time weren't exactly the nicest.

Honestly, Summer in the U.K. sucks. It seemed to always be dreary, or always sweltering hot. And muggles had such terrible air conditioning, Millie wasn't sure how they were even functioning! With easy magic access, wizards and witches could live comfortably, but the same wasn't said for those poor muggles.

Finally forming an answer after another moment of silence, Millie finally knew how to answer for once.

"Well, I think I wanted to just get outside and away from the castle, y'know? I hate doing schoolwork, and I just wanted to get my mind off of it." It wasn't exactly the truth, but just enough for Millie to make herself believe it. Maybe she would be a great liar someday, whether it would keep her safe, or someone else.

Millie smiled at Saskia as the two continued walking on the grassy, dewy Hogwarts' grounds. She knew it would be easier to keep a conversation with Saskia.

"So, you know why I'm out here, why're you?"

"Well, I think I wanted to just get outside and away from the castle, y'know? I hate doing schoolwork, and I just wanted to get my mind off of it."

Saskia nodded. "Fair enough. We all need a break from schoolwork sometimes," she said, lightly shrugging. It was true- even she wasn't done with her work, though she planned to do the rest of it after she was done with her walk. Learning about magic took a lot of work, and while it was interesting, she found herself having to close her books just so she can process the information in her mind.

"So, you know why I'm out here, why're you?"

Saskia turned back to face the grass again, trying to think on how to answer the question. As far as she knew, she didn't have a noteworthy reason, other than the fact that she likes the outdoors more than staying indoors. The weather was a bonus, but even if it wasn't as nice as it was today, she would have still went out for the sake of having some fresh air. Maybe she wouldn't have if the weather was completely scorching or freezing, but it all depended on how she felt at the time.

"I don't really know. I guess I just like taking a walk outside when I'm bored and have nothing to do," she replied, laughing mostly to herself

"There isn't a lot of things to do in school, you know? I mean, we have classes, and we have to study for them afterwards, but that's just academics. When people actually have free time, what is there to do? There's the library for reading, but it's hard to know what's interesting enough to read when you're just met with a bunch of shelves," she remarked. She has been to the library plenty of times to find enough books that got her intrigued enough to read to the finish, but most of the the time, she searched for books rather than actually reading anything, and on occasion, she wouldn't be able to find anything at all.

"People can start all sorts of pranks, but it's not that easy to plan them and get away with it, either. Plus, there's the risk of losing house points and having detentions, so not many people would want to do that. Then there's people who just want to talk to their friends, and while that's a good way to spend the time, it doesn't always work out if they're too busy," she continued, shaking her head. The school was huge, and everyone was bound to be scattered around the place. But it only made searching for people to talk to more difficult.

After a while, it dawned on the Hufflepuff that she was rambling at this point. Embarrassment crept inside her. She only met this girl. She didn't need to tell her about her personal boredom issues. What was she thinking?

Turning to Millie, she gave her a sheepish grin. "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to rant there. Feel free to ignore all those things I just said," she said, half jokingly.

So the girl was calm and collected, Someone Millie needed to be with. After finding out she was a Parseltongue, and never getting a break with dramatic friends, it was nice to just walk with someone who would just be chill. It was pretty hard to find someone like that. Saskia seemed like a nice person.

As she answered Millie's question, the Gryffindor let her mind wander. It was pretty new, to the girl, to walk around outside. While she found the majority of her comfort there, it was still interesting to be out in the grass, and not feel the cool water beneath her feet, as she did so at home. Because, at home, there was a creek. One with cool water, and crawdads under the rocks if you knew where to find them. The creek had frogs and fish, and tons of bugs, but Millie had lived with the creek her entire life. She had gotten used to them.

When Saskia finished her answer, Millie simply nodded. It was a rant that went on for a while, yes, however Millie didn't mind all that much. She enjoyed listening, more than talking. It wasn't very hard to just sit peacefully and listen. Not at all.

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to rant there. Feel free to ignore all those things I just said,"

"Oh its cool. I prefer listening, anyway. Did you have a creek or a river, or something like that, at your home? It kinda sucks that there isn't one here, besides the Great Lake," Millie smiled. "I used to run around with the cool water under my feet, and look for crawdads under the rocks." When her big purple eyes and American accent returned, Millie gave a smile. It was nice to be yourself.

"Oh it's cool. I prefer listening, anyway."

Well, at least the girl didn't mind her rant. Still, it was humiliating. It was true that Saskia did have a tendency to go on about things until she realized how much she was talking, especially when she was in such an agitated state of mind, but it was odd. She never liked ranting to other people- especially if it involved her personal inconveniences and feelings, but sometimes, she does so anyway because there would be nothing else she could do to relieve her restlessness. It was rather annoying to her, and at that point, she wasn't even sure whether the other girl was just reassuring her to be polite or if she just stopped listening after it was clear she was rambling. One part of her hoped it was the latter- she didn't want Millie to feel obligated to listen to her talk nonsense. But on the other hand, it would have been nice to know if she actually related to what she said.

"Did you have a creek or a river, or something like that, at your home? It kinda sucks that there isn't one here, besides the Great Lake."

Saskia nodded at her question. She did, in fact, have a small lake somewhere in her hometown, although it was still far from her actual house. When the weather was warm enough, she'd visit the lake and pass the time by skipping stones over the water. She thought she was pretty decent at it- she managed to get a stone to bounce off for more than seven times before it finally dropped in the lake, but it was a long time since she skipped stones, so she'd probably be rusty if she tried to do it now.

"Yeah, I had a lake nearby. Well... It wasn't exactly nearby. It took some walking to get there, but it was a nice place to spend time in. It wasn't good for swimming, unless you want to get surrounded in seaweed, but it was really pretty to look at, especially when the sun's out, and you could find some stones to skip across the lake," she replied, smiling wistfully as she recounted the memories of her time there.

They were distant memories, but they were some of the truly peaceful moments in her childhood. For the most part, things were boring for her- tutoring lessons, wandering around her home in a vain attempt to find something to do, or doing the same thing when she went outside. But there were also times where she had a genuine adventure out, although that was uncommon, especially considering where she lived, and then there were the ones she didn't want to think about at all. It was ironic to consider that she was going through the same thing in the past few minutes- though it was unsurprising, since she was frequently stuck in this predicament.

"I used to run around with the cool water under my feet, and look for crawdads under the rocks," Millie continued.

The Hufflepuff tilted her in curiosity. For one, it took her a moment to realize that Millie was referring to crayfish. She had also noticed the transition in her accent- it wasn't something she could put into words, but there was some kind of change in her voice that she could hear. It was definitely different from what she'd been accustomed to, but she didn't necessarily mind.

"That sounds like it was fun. How many did you manage to catch?" she asked, smiling back at the girl.

As her feet carried her forward, Millie let herself think. She let her body be consumed by her own brain, and let her reality be consumed by imagination. Like it always did.

She thought about being at home, the cool water running beneath her bare feet, rocks sometimes stabbing the balls of her feet, making her squeal. It usually stopped hurting, after doing it so often. Imagining running with the fish, letting the water carry you forward. She had only fallen once, and it was the scariest moment of her life. Losing balance on a mossy rock, and tumbling forward. Swishing down the wet stream, crying and screaming out. Nobody would come for her, and she would be stuck. She would keep going until she learned how to save herself. How to be brave.

Reaching forward and grabbing onto a loose branch, Millie was able to pick herself up, and lean away from the freezing cold and sopping wet water, and cling to the branch for life. Then, she would have to swing herself from the water, and to the ground, where sharp things lay. She was forever away from her home, and it was getting dark. Her magic shined through, and she was able to sprint and not get hurt, all while illuminating light.

She opened her eyes, and looked over at Saskia.

"Tens, if not hundreds!" And then she fell face first onto the sopping wet, and cold grass. Ew!

Looking over at Millie, Saskia noticed that the girl had closed her eyes and was moving at a slower pace. Almost like she was in her own little world. She didn't want to pry too much, but she wondered what she could have been thinking of. She seemed much more free and perhaps a bit nostalgic, like she was trying to relive some kind of distant memory. Although it was probably to be expected since they were talking about their lives before Hogwarts. It made Saskia wonder for a second on what kind of life Millie really had before Hogwarts. She seemed like quite the unique individual, with her violet eyes and that unfamiliar accent of hers. There must have been some interesting things that happened to her at some point.

Saskia continued to watch Millie, who was now trying to climb on one of the branches of a nearby tree. Huh. She really was deep in her own thoughts. It wasn't something the Hufflepuff could judge her for- if someone wanted to take their time to think about something, then she couldn't stop them from doing so, after all. But if she wasn't careful enough, she would definitely slip and fall. She might not end up injuring herself too badly, but it would have still hurt.

Millie finally opened her eyes, although she didn't look too surprised that she was on the branch. Instead, she looked towards Saskia's direction and replied, "Tens, if not hundreds!"

Saskia raised her eyebrows at the response. It wasn't that she was surprised, although it was still fascinating to hear that there could have been so many crayfish, or crawdads, as Millie called them, where she was from. All Saskia could notice back home were insects, and maybe some birds, and squirrels, and other wild critters she could never properly put a name to.

Just as Millie replied, however, she slipped from the branch she was holding onto, and was now lying face first on the grass. Ouch. That must have hurt a lot. But that wasn't what Saskia should have been concerned about at the moment. Right now, she needed to help her out.

"Whoa, you okay there?" she asked, her brows furrowed with concern as she walked towards Millie and extended a hand out in case she needed help getting up.