A Sketch Away Finished PV Linnéa Seacloud

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That was the moment when Eldred decided he wanted to tell her. He wanted to gossip with her and hear information in exchange for his own. It was the kind of friendship he longed for at Hogwarts. Of course, it couldn’t be called friendship right away, but the longerthey sat together, the more Eldred hoped it could become one. He didn’t think about anything beyond that at his 12 years of age.

He briefly looked away from her. His eyes shifted left and right, resting on the courtyard and the cobblestone path. Then he leaned back slightly to look at the door. It was still closed.
The two of them were definitely alone, which reassured Eldred that they could speak about the party.

Still, the young boy kept his voice calm and quieter. He tilted his head back to the position it had been in before he had briefly looked around, then began to speak.

"We had met in Herbology, he is an arrogant idiot if you ask me - but somehow, there is something suprisingly kind about him. Between the lines of what he says, he isn‘t just arrogant and stupid. The idea of his pretty face probably went to his head a little too much, and inflated his ego until there is no more room left for his brain.“
He had to smile slightly at the statement, then continued subsequently, "I think there’s more. You know, I felt so sorry for him because I could imagine how the girls would drown him in Valentine’s Day cards, I sent him a plant. He said he likes plants, and I thought it would be nice if he got something normal, not just about his looks… Anyway, he sent me back one of his favorite type of flowers."

Eldred still couldn’t quite figure out whether it was just another silly flirt or if something more sincere was behind it. Probably the first of the two. He briefly rolled his eyes, then tightened and focused his expression. He didn’t want to talk directly about the letter, even though he would have liked to. Maybe Sebastian didn’t mean it seriously when he said it was their ‘secret.’ However, there was a chance that the other Gryffindor student didn’t want anyone to know that Eldred had been invited – directly by Sebastian. Whether it was meant as a joke or not, Eldred spontaneously decided not to be disloyal and honor that silly small comment Sebastian had written.
So the smile disappeared as he continued to whisper, immediately speaking around the truth instead, "I’ve also heard here and there about this party, and I already thought it might have something to do with him... So, you were there..at his party?"

Linnéa listened to Eldred talk, lowkey roasting the other Gryffindor boy, with intruige and some mild amusement. She found it surprising that Eldred had already gathered such strong opinions and feelings based on an interaction in class. For all she knew, he could have been an arrogant idiot to him. While she couldn't deny that he was arrogant based on the few interactions they'd had, she would feel bad assuming he was a bad person because of it. From what she'd seen so far, Sebastian didn't seem to have a bad bone in his body; he just loved himself... A bit too much, sometimes. But suppose there wasn't anything inherently wrong with that. Besides... Linnéa herself had been a bit starstruck by his appearance.

The plant gift exchange sounded like they'd mended things, and perhaps gotten closer than he was currently letting on. For once she didn't pry deeper into it. Instead she agreed with him that there was probably more than meet the eye. Or one could at least hope.

"Sure, Sebastian seems a bit arrogant, but I don't think he's a bad person, you know? Just typical of someone born with a golden spoon in mouth and used to getting what he wants and hearing how good he is?" Linnéa said with a smile and shrug. "The gifts sounded nice though, I'm sure he enjoyed it. I would have." This was obviously just her attempt at reading people, not sure if it was accurate or not, but she wanted to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

Linnéa nodded at his question, she had been at his party, though felt the urge to explain herself. "Yeah, I was. It's not usually something I would attend, but I just accepted before I could stop myself, so I made my friend come along with me. Apart from Sebastian, he was the only boy there. Honestly, it was a bit awkward. I didn't really know anyone there. At some point I considered not going, but I felt like it would be rude to just ghost." Doubtful that Sebastian would have cared, considering he had plenty of girls at the party willing to give him their undivided attention.

"He probably wouldn't have minded, but we went anyway. It was different- totally out of my comfortzone, but... kind of fun?" She offered and glanced at him through her lashes, biting her lip. "I don't know if you would have enjoyed it, but kissing is kind of fun." Merlin, she couldn't believe she was telling him this so casually. "I've never done it before, to be honest. The rest seemed more... experienced." Then she grinned at him, adopting a teasing tone. "Why, did you wish you had been there?"

@Eldred Grayswell

Eldred listened to her. None of it really surprised him. So there were actually almost only girls there!Except for Sebastian and another student Linnéa had brought along.
The Gryffindor student could already imagine how much Sebastian must have liked that. He really didn’t want to judge him. Hence the boy made a firm decision to ask Sebastian about it someday later, should their paths ever cross again.

When Eldred heard what she thought of the whole thing and why she was even there, a sense of relief washed over him. He was glad to hear she wasn‘t the type to actively seek out such events. The student smiled again, this time a bit more curiously. For a second, it shifted into a teasing tone. “Oh—so someone had fun kissing some around, huh?”, but the smug expression vanished abruptly “- of course, just a joke!... I’m glad you liked it. I don’t think he’s bad either. But it really bothers me that so many chase after him. I somehow worry that his behavior will crash him into a wall. What if he really likes someone and that person only likes him for his looks? That would be a shame, would it not? It‘ annoys me somehow immensly how many gawk at him in the hallways. He came too late to herbology because of girls.”

Eldred tried to explain how he felt about it, but the topic of kissing wouldn’t leave him, and after all, he still owed her an answer, even if the question had only been meant as tease. He quickly added: “I only want to kiss someone I really like, I think. I never really thougth of it but the idea to go to such a party just didn‘t feel right with me..... wait- did you play a kissing game or something? I just know there was kissing there, but you just said the others seemed more experience as if you all shared kisses as an activity..?”

Her cheeks flamed red, and she shoved at him lightly, "Stop it! It wasn't like that," barking at his teasing about 'kissing around'. Besides, she hadn't been the only one doing it! It wasn't that serious however. Eldred had been nothing but nice to her all this time and she didn't take it personally, though he was nice enough to reassure her that he hadn't meant anything bad about it. "No offense taken." Proven by the grin that hadn't left her face, obviously not taking it to heart.

"Yeah, it would suck, if he ever really liked someone and they just liked him for shallow reasons," As of right now, it seemed like the guy knew it and wasn't bothered by simply being fawned over by his looks. Eventually he would grow up and come to appreciate other things, probably. "... But at the same, time isn't that everyone's struggle in life? Find someone who likes us for us, I mean?" Though some might struggly more than others. Her parents had been together for as long as she could remember and had nothing but good role models growing up, but she also had friends who weren't quite as lucky. Divorce seemed common. Some of them had lost one parent young. The thought made her shudder- She couldn't imagine anything worse than losing her parents. Wait... How the fuck had they gone from talking about scandalous parties, to her thinking about dead people? He was just a casanova, not dying. She tried to redirect her focus again.

Listening to him talking about his feelings about kissing, she wondered if he had someone in mind when he spoke, until he realized the implication and glanced at her with an expression akin to shocked. His sudden detour and reaction made her laugh. She thought it had been obvious all this time?

"It was ONLY kissing at that party," she said through giggles. "Wasn't that obvious?" Sebastian might not have completely branded it as such, but they didn't do much else than spinning the bottle and kissing each other.

@Eldred Grayswell

Eldred had to chuckle at the little nudge. Her flushed cheeks gave him a feeling as though he had won a grand victory. As if it were the reward for being a bit more smug, and he hoped immediately that it wouldn’t make him a bad person for enjoying it.
After all, she seemed joyful, at least that’s what he assumed. She was still smiling, responding to what he said, and even grinning by the end.

With the information about the exclusive kissing as the party‘s activity, the Gryffindor heard a giggle in her voice. It made him happy that she was relaxed around him. So much so, that although the information was a big surprise to him, he grinned back with a sparkle in his grey eyes. An only kissing party? He should have guessed this could‘ve had been the case!

“No, it wasn’t – at least, I didn’t think so. Feel free to call me naïve - cause that’s how I feel right now!” Eldred had to laugh lightly as well. He quickly pressed his lips together and raised his hand to his mouth. It was an unnecessary gesture of politeness, something he occasionally copied from his English grandmother and father. His fathers-side‘s paternal family was very eager to follow every possible rule. If grandmother only knew what her son‘s offspring was talking about, she‘d shake her head in displeasure.

“By Merlin, do you think everyone who showed up knew ahead of it? Now I’m even happier I didn’t come.” He put his hand down again and placed it on her sketchbook. Gently, so as not to damage it, he closed it for the time being. Not that anything would happen to it while they were talking.

It might have been the first time she heard Eldred laugh since they had gotten known each other, which was admittedly not a very long time. It was light, a bit feathery, if she were to describe it. Linnéa decided that she thought it was nice, she liked it, and thought he should laugh more often. She'd also noticed that he held up his hand in front of his mouth, for what, she didn't know. Frowning a bit, she said and grabbed his hand: "Hey, don't cover your smile! That's the best part about a person." One of the best things, anyway. Glancing down at their hands, realizing she was still holding his hand, she released it with a 'sorry' and giggle.

They resumed to talk about the party, nodding at his question. "Yeah, I think everyone was well aware of it, and they all seemed excited about it too." Except that one girl of course, Syrah- she recalled- who Linnéa could have mistaken for someone who was forced to attend at wandpoint. Nevertheless, everyone had participated and kissed.

Two pair of boys entered the courtyard just then, shouting in their direction. "OY! Linnéa Seacloud! Where the hell have you been loca?" Caspian Proudmore joked, earning roaring laughter at the twilight reference, one of her favorite movies that earned her teasing she never would hear the end of, from his other gryffindor friend Grey Lopez.

"I'm coming!" She shouted back, resisting the urge to flash them a well chosen finger. Smiling apologetically at Eldred and taking back her notebook, she excused herself. "Sorry, I gotta go. But we'll draw in the library sometimes, yeah? Look out for my owl." She promised and then skipped away to join the two annoying, but funny, gryffindor boys.

@Eldred Grayswell

A smile is the best thing about a person. The sentence still echoed in his ears as she began to giggle with a brief ‚sorry‘ to leave her well shaped lips. It was enchanting, sweet, and light, and Eldred knew he could listen to it for hours and never find a hint of annoyance attached to the sound.
The fact that she had held his hand didn’t bother him. Eldred had no problems with girls; they didn’t make him shy or uncomfortable. Physical contact didn’t get under his skin, normally. He suspected that he‘d be one of the lucky ones who wouldn’t have trouble approaching girls. In any case, he had no problem with Linnéa, who looked like a princess. An incredibly talented and lovely princess.

How strange the thought was that she must have kissed people at the party! By people, he of course meant Sebastian Drake. It briefly disturbed his emotional world, but Eldred didn’t show it, nor did he really let himself feel those emotions thoroughly. For just then, a stranger voice called after the girl, and she responded.

"Don't forget your notebook" he said quietly to make sure she didn’t leave without her sketches. Eldred stood up gracefully from the ground. His thighs felt a little cooler than he would have liked. Sitting on the stone floor for hours hadn’t been a good idea, but he didn‘t want it to influence his movements.
Standing, he nodded briefly in her direction and replied with "I’ll wait for the owl".
After that, he could just observe the scene, as she disappeared from it. Alone in the courtyard, the smile still wouldn’t leave his lips. He was glad to have made such a good acquaintance. Eldred was about to turn around and leave when after the first step he heard the crackling of paper under his shoe. He almost forgot about the faulty journal entry— thankfully only almost.