Twinkle, twinkle, little leaves Finished

Ginny was happy that both Swan and Dawn did not consider her proposed topic boring, or her being selfish for starting a conversation topic which might not be interesting for everyone.

"Sure, I shall start sharing Robert Frost's poems with you two soon. But only if Swan will share her skit about that Muggle poetry she mentioned earlier," Ginny smiled teasingly at her new Ravenclaw friend. "I'm getting curious about which poem that was and what you actually wrote, Swan."

The blonde was about to start showing the contents of her book when suddenly she remembered Dawn's question and decided to answer it first. "Actually, I'm half and half; I mean, a half-blood. My dad is a wizard and my mum is a Muggle." After that, she decided to ask the second year she had been wondering. "Would you mind sharing about how it felt to find out that you're actually a witch? I mean, I think some Muggle consider witches and wizards as fictional characters, that they do not really exist... so, how did people react about your magic?"

Wanting to give Dawn some time to prepare her answer, Ginny turned to Swan. "Hey, I actually didn't know that pure-bloods went to school before Hogwarts. I thought only those growing up among Muggles did."

Ginny had asked what it was like to find out she was a witch since most muggles believe it to be fiction. Dawn dove right into the details, "Sure thing Ginny. I had grown up reading tales of fantastic journeys and magical powers, but my parents told me to take care and remember it was all fake. I do believe that they were more surprised than I was at my being a witch. Despite what they had been telling me, I had kept on believing that magic was real. My sister, Merrie, acted the weirdest out of all of us, she started shouting about "Pig-Toad School" we never figured out what she meant by Pig-Toad School. We haven't told my friends yet, even if I did, they might not believe me anyway." Dawn did not say why her friends wouldn't believe her, it might make her sound like a liar and Ginny and Swan might not want to hang out with her anymore if they thought she didn't always tell the truth. The truth was, when Dawn was in third grade, about a nine-year-old, she had told some stories about her parents being shape-shifting aliens from Mars. The stories were so good that her friends believed her, and were disappointed when she told them they were lies. Her friends won't believe much of what she says anymore. Her best friend Meg Sanders is an exception.

But, enough of that. Now Dawn sat and spoke again, "Ginny, I think we still have time before we have to be back up at the castle, would you mind sharing a few poems before we have to go back in?" She now sat patiently while waiting for Ginny to answer.

At least the girls were talking and bonding more. The problem was, it was getting late, and they still hadn't shared the poems in the book yet. Ginny had said she now would share the book only if Swan told her about the skit. Great. That was back in third grade, so I don't remember much. But maybe I can tell them about the meaning of it. It could help anyway

First, Ginny's question. "Yes, not all wizards go to Muggle school, but I did. My parents said that this will prepare me for Hogwarts. Sure enough, it didn't really prepare much. But it was still fun." The poem, the poem!

"Okay," Swan was about to start. "So here goes..."

"The best of men is like water;
Water benefits all things
And does not compete with them.
It dwells in the lowly places that all disdain,
Wherein it comes near the Tao.
In his dwelling, he loves the lowly earth;
In his relations with other, he loves kindness;
In his words, he loves sincerity;
In government, he loves peace;
In business affairs, he loves ability;
In his actions, he loves choosing the right time;
It is because he does not contend
That he is without reproach."

Have they heard of it before? It was from the ancient Chinese period. "This poem is titled, 'Water'. It was written by Lao Tzu, if you know him. Anyway, I was the scriptwriter for the skit. The skit was about a student who states during a speech exam that he is not perfect, and no one else is. Some students, mostly the divas, complained. But after the student explained, they calmed down. I got a high grade being the scriptwriter."

"Now that I've granted your hopefully final request, Ginny, can we now start sharing the book? It is getting kind of late, maybe one or two poems would do?"

@Ginevra Tsuchiya
@Dawn Riley

Ginny nodded at Dawn's explanation. It was not that surprising that many Muggles did not believe witches and wizards exist. She remembered her mum told her that she did not use to believe in magic until she met her-then best friend (now her husband, Ginny's dad). But she felt very sorry for Dawn about what happened between the second year and her sister Merrie. What Merrie said to Dawn sounded like an insult, Ginny thought. And the blonde could not imagine what would happen if she herself received those words from her sister-and-bestie, Elisa.

After that, she clapped for Swan and the poem she recited. Even though she had never heard about ancient Chinese poems or Lao Tzu before, Ginny decided that it was a lovely poem and she liked the message the poem delivered.

"Okay, now the poems I promised to share," Ginny kept her promise. She looked at the index at the back of her Robert Frost's Poems and found her favourite. Quickly, she turned the page to show Swan and Dawn the poem. "The Road Not Taken," she said. "My fave. Wonder if any of you girls heard me recite it earlier."

Ginny cleared her throat and began to recite the poetry once again, but this time it was the complete version instead of the first line only. "Frost said he did not intend to write a deep poem about choices in life. His first intention was that it was a literal road," the first year told her new friends. "I personally love its ambiguity, such as whether the speaker regrets or is glad with his past choice of taking an unconventional path in life."

Next, she turned the page to her second favourite. "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening," she declared. "This one has lovely imagery."

Phew. At least the long explaining part was done. After a few rounds of applause, it was finally time to read Ginny's book. It was now sort of late, and dinnertime was nearing. Still, promises were promises, read the book, but only the first two or more poems. Less than 5 should be read today, though they could read more during free time. But the free time would have to wait tomorrow or later. Classes hadn't started yet, but they were getting nearer every day now. September 1 would finally be the start. Swan wasn't all that worried about classes, but she still worried that they won't be able to hang out as often when school starts.

The first poem was "The Road Not Taken". Swan was sure she had heard Ginny saying it before they met, but still, it was a good, if not great, poem to hear, complete with an adequate explanation. Maybe, they would learn Muggle poetry in Muggle Studies, though Swan wasn't planning to choose that as an elective. The next one was called "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening". That sounded nice, because Swan liked snow, and basically every other element in the title. But maybe the poem had some surprises for them...

@Ginevra Tsuchiya
@Dawn Riley

Just like what she did to The Road Not Taken, Ginny started sharing Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening to Dawn and Swan by reciting the poem, followed by its history. "This one has a rather unclear story behind its origin," Ginny informed the two other girls. "Some say that Robert Frost was simply admiring a forest filled up with snow and decided to write a poem about it, while others say that Frost was inspired by his experience crying in the middle of his trip back home on horseback when the snow was falling because he did not have enough money to buy Christmas presents for his family. According to sources of the second possibility, this is what the title and the lines 'But I have promises to keep/And miles to go before I sleep' means - because Frost still needed to explain his financial condition to his family."

After saying all the explanation, Ginny was really out of breath. She was excited and wanted to keep going, but of course she still needed to take a pause and some short breaths. However, looking at the sky, the blonde was not sure whether she should add any other explanation about the poetry.

"Well," said the girl. "I guess... we should call it a day. Shall we go back to the castle? I think we can still find somewhere to sit together and chat."

@Swan Mapleleaf @Dawn Riley

It was getting late. That was one thing. Ginny was tired from speaking. That was another thing. It was almost dinnertime. That was yet another thing. There were so many things that prevented them from reading another poem, but Swan couldn't really think of any other reason aside from the obvious ones. It was definitely time to stop. Maybe they could meet up after dinner, but they should not take too long with that, and leave before curfew starts. Being caught meant detention, and Swan didn't want that to happen to the three of them. The school year hadn't even started yet.

Now, time to for Swan to answer Ginny's question. "Yes, we should definitely go back. It's getting late, and I don't want to miss dinnertime. Not that I'm a foodie, of course." There was probably no need to wait for Dawn's answer, anyway. But maybe they should, for respect. It wasn't nice after all if the people you were talking to didn't really acknowledge your existence there. After Dawn spoke, that was that. They were leaving. But maybe they could return earlier tomorrow. The school year was close to starting, and Swan was excited.

The girls stood up, and trod back to the castle, calling it a day for poetry. Maybe they could continue this tomorrow.

@Ginevra Tsuchiya
@Dawn Riley

Ginny laughed. She knew for sure that Swan was not a foodie, for she had a fit and slim body; no foodie could have a body as healthy as that. She also laughed out of gladness that she did not bore anyone with her poetry-talking - something that did not happen often. But most of all, she laughed because she had found new friends.

Friends, she repeated the word inside her mind. Friends. There was almost no other word sounded as lovely as that.

The three girls trod back to the castle, with Ginny walking beside Swan and beside Dawn as well. She wanted to stay close to both of them.

Unconsciously, the three of them stopped to watch three little golden leaves blown off a beautiful tree beside the lake. The leaves flew as a friendly autumn breeze swept by from the east to the west where the sun was setting off, and the girls maintained their gaze until the leaves seemed to disappear into the golden sun ray. And then, they resumed their trip back to the school building.

Ginny knew very well that she did not need to say a word, but she could not help telling herself inside: Ginny, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

And the three walked off together into the castle.

Nature was always beautiful. So beautiful that some people dared to harm it. At least those were Muggle plants. It was never a good idea to harm a magical plant. It could breath fire, squeeze you with its thorns, what else? Many things were possible when it came to sentient plants. Probably one of the reasons Herbology exists. Not that many students sneak in and out almost everyday there. While there were clear instructions that the students can only go in the first one, and maybe during class time, too.

Surprisingly, they stopped to watch three leaves flutter off in the distance. The girls just stood there until the leaves vanished within the rays of the now setting sun. Today has surely been a very eventful day for me. New friends are always a nice experience. Maybe we can meet up again tomorrow. But we better be quick, because the school year is less than a week from starting. We'll probably be too busy with homework or classes to even try to chat once school has officially started her in Hogwarts.

Suddenly, she remembered she had promised a Housemate to join her for some riddle time. "Sorry, girls. I've got to go. If you can't find me, owl. It always works. Thanks for the talk!"

@Ginevra Tsuchiya
@Dawn Riley