Crossed at the Water’s Edge PV: Felix Hawthorne

It was only November, and Felix was sick of school once again. Sure, there were a few classes he enjoyed, and it was more fun than being at home, but spending his time wandering around the castle was beginning to get dull, or just straight-up frustrating, once again. He'd tripped on the stairs one day and somehow managed to get lost on his way to Charms (he could've sworn he'd already passed that painting twice) the next.
So, his wandering proceeded outwards. To the grounds. The Great Lake, specifically. It was almost perfectly still at the moment, and quiet, except for the muted sounds of students talking, drifting from across the way. You had to admit, it was surely a pretty sight to see on a day such as this one.

Felix had never been too fond of swimming. No particular reason why. Probably just left-over memories from the swim lessons he'd been forced to take as a kid (he'd hated those with a passion), or associations made by watching Jaws far too many times when he was younger. He wasn't a very strong swimmer anyway. He'd stick to land any day.
However, wading was something he deemed... tolerable. Sometimes fun, depending on the context.

So, he'd just been walking the grounds ever since class ended, looking for anything interesting or out of the ordinary. He hummed a song, Diamond Smiles, to himself.
When he glanced over at the lake again, it was just in time to see someone kick a stone out over the water. On a whim, he decided to go and get it. Just for fun, you know. It hadn't gone out that far, he thought. Plenty manageable to just quickly step out and grab it, right?

So, with another look down at his shoes (he figured they could take a bit of moisture), and after rolling up his pant legs just a little, he hopped into the water.

He yelped. It was cold. Way too cold. Damn it. He almost backed straight out, but, upon further thought, decided it was pleasant, in a way (not really, he'd just already made his shoes wet and figured he'd might as well stay in now).
And well, that rock was most definitely not within reach, but what's done is done, he supposed.

Felix splashed around a bit, trying to get used to the chill.

Date 15/11/2025	@Felix Hawthorne Interactions
Speech #a88400	@N/A Mentions
WC 307 words	OOC

Nova had barely had five minutes to herself when she heard someone shuffling nearby and a splash of water. Irritation filled her immediately, wondering why she couldn't get a break for just one moment. Her brows furrowed as she turned her head towards the nuisance nearby, her eyes landing on a boy. He was definitely older, and with brown hair, jumping around in the shallow end of the lake as if trying to shove the cold away.

Nova scoffed, brushing her own hair back with a gentle hand and trying to turn back to what she was doing before the boy had arrived. Alas, he had ruined her peace, and she huffed irritably, dragging a hand over her face in exasperation. Why couldn't he fumble around like a drowning duck that hadn't discovered it could swim somewhere else? The thought didn't make her feel better. Her eyes went back to him with an exaggerated sigh that he probably heard.

"I thought you were supposed to get more 'mature' as you got older," she wondered out loud to herself, loud enough for the words to drift over to where the boy was in the lake. It was obvious she wasn't talking to the tree nearby, and the idea of him getting annoyed at her words made her smile just a little. It felt like a little bit of payback, her revenge on someone who had decided to exist in her bubble.

To be fair, he wasn't even that close to her, but everything about him just seemed maddening to her. The way he disrupted the serenity of the lake with his actions, how he didn't even seem to be concerned about how much he was disturbing the people around him. She tilted her head, irritation giving way to intent, plotting the best way to get under his skin.

• N/A •

Stamina - 7 • Evasion - 7 • Strength - 7 • Wisdom - 7 • Arcane Power - 7 • Accuracy - 5
Evasive Maneuvers • Charmer

Reducio

Felix was still cold, but not as terribly as before. Guess it just took a bit of minor... acclimating. That was the word, wasn't it? Either way, his shoes were soggy.

Just then, he heard someone scoff. He paused and looked up, and noticed a girl, sitting some ways away. She'd been the one to kick the stone earlier, hadn't she?

He wasn't even that close to her! In fact, the only reason he could hear her at all was because of how incredibly quiet it was, and even then it was hardly audible. But he could see the way she'd scrunched her brows, and how she ran her hand down her face.
She was irritated, clearly, but why? What was her problem? Allergic to fun, or just looking for something to harp on about, like one of those old guys in 'The Muppets', Statler and Waldorf, perched (well, 'perched' was stretching it, it wasn't nearly high enough of a rock to be considered that) upon her rock all huffy.

Felix considered stopping what he was doing. After all, he wasn't completely oblivious to the fact that his excessive splashing could very well be irritating to others, and he wasn't completely inconsiderate either (at least, he didn't think so). However, as she should be well aware, the grounds were a public space, and if she wanted complete silence she should've gone and sat in the library instead.

Then she made her comment about "getting more mature", and any chance he would've stopped went out the window. Completely unnecessary to say, he thought. Unnecessary and rude. Just because he wanted to goof off sometimes didn't make him immature.
Well, he was a bit immature, but that was unrelated to this. Felix had, if anything, become far less mature as he'd aged. At least, since he was 11 and started at Hogwarts. He liked it that way. It even benefited him sometimes (it also got him in trouble and on other people's nerves, but hey, there's nuance).

He turned to her, stuck out his tongue, and replied "Getting older doesn't mean you need to be boring".

Sure, maybe she was just having a bad day or something. He didn't particularly care, though. He had free will. and he would use that free will to jump in the lake if he wished to do so.

He splashed around some more, now deliberately being louder than necessary, and watched to see how the girl would react. "Why don't you come over here? The water's quite nice" he challenged. It was true, the water was nice... and currently freezing his toes off.

Date 15/11/2025	@Felix Hawthorne Interactions
Speech #a88400	@N/A Mentions
WC 336 words	I fixed the hair thing in my second post fyi :> OOC

Nova looked up as she heard a voice cut through the semi-quiet of the Lake, and she turned to find the same boy with his face all scrunched up, sticking his tongue out at him. "Maybe people would like you more if you did get boring as you got older," she shot back at his response, eyes narrowed. "I've seen you moping around on your own a lot lately, maybe try fixing that before it's too late."

Nova didn't even process what she had said until it had already left her mouth, but surprisingly, she didn't feel the usual twinge of guilt that accompanied her whenever she said something 'mean' to anyone whether they deserved it or not. The boy didn't look particularly apologetic in any way, either. In fact, he had begun to splash around more, eyes meeting her own with a challenging look. What a bastard.

She tried to hide it, but the surprise she felt at his audacity was immeasurable. How someone could deliberately be so unbearable, Nova didn't know. And she wasn't about to ask. Instead, she turned her head away, acting unbothered as she responded, "I'd rather let the Giant Squid eat me alive than act like a blind duck, but you should enjoy yourself." Nova didn’t look back at him after that, chin lifting a fraction as if she’d already won, but the urge to keep going was too much.

"Usually, most people don't try annoying others just to get the attention they need so badly," she continued, finally glancing at him while he thrashed around in the water. "maybe people would pay attention to you if you just asked, but it's definitely hard sometimes." Her expression shifted, going from annoyed to amused in less than a second. She finally stood and walked just slightly closer, hands covered by the sleeves of her sweater. She stopped at the bay of where the lake ended and the land began, close enough that the water stopped just a bit from her shoes.

• N/A •

Stamina - 7 • Evasion - 7 • Strength - 7 • Wisdom - 7 • Arcane Power - 7 • Accuracy - 5
Evasive Maneuvers • Charmer

Reducio

Damn. Apparently she was in a bad mood. Or she was just a complete and utter tosser. 'A blind duck'? Seriously?

"I could hang out with people. If I wanted to. Maybe I just don't want to, have you considered that? Plenty of people like me! I have options" he gestured widely, indicating in the direction (he hoped) of the castle (he was actually very far off, almost pointing in the complete opposite direction, but he didn't realize it), before crossing his arms, a bit defensively. Truly, Felix hadn't expected the girl to continue speaking after her original comment. He'd expected her to ignore him, or to just scoff to herself some more.

"And it's far from 'too late'. I've got, like, five more years at this school, there's no rush to do anything. Not socializing, nor studying, or anything else either" well, there was quite a rush, according to his dad, at least. Especially to tidy himself up, make some friends, and prepare for the future. Felix chose to ignore that. It didn't go with his usual...program.

"Besides, I don't 'need' the attention, if that's what you're implying," he huffed. Except he did need attention. It made him feel more solid. Less fly-on-the-wall (flying under the radar was useful in certain situations, but he got sick of it after some time). Besides, who didn't enjoy a bit of a spotlight occasionally?
She'd hit the nail on the head there. But he wasn't about to let her win this.

"What's up with you, anyway? Someone piss in your cereal?" it was the first thing he thought to say. Probably the most civil as well, to be entirely honest. He could've (and would've) said far worse, had he not been making a conscious effort to figure out what was up and to not start anything (well, she'd already started it, technically).

Felix decided to guess at it. Mostly with things that he'd had happen or seen happen to other students. Seemed like there was a fair chance of getting it right. "Package not arrive? Classwork too hard? Spill something in Potions? Message from home? Pet gone missing? Wet shoes, perhaps?" he stepped closer to her.

She'd come down to the water. Her sleeves were long enough to hide her hands. So were his, so he couldn't judge that.

Felix contemplated splashing her. He wasn't sure how badly that would go, though, and he couldn't tell yet if he'd be able to outrun her, had she decided to take it personally, so he made the logical decision to hold off on doing that. For now, at least. No promises for later. he probably would do it if she said anything else. Blame it on reflexes.

Date 15/11/2025	@Felix Hawthorne Interactions
Speech #a88400	@N/A Mentions
WC 210 words	Sorry it's not that long, I've been really busy lately ;-; OOC

Nova's crossed her arms, eyes narrowing as the boy listed off reasons she could've possibly been irritated that day like he was ticking off a mental checklist in his head. Well, he could definitely check off at least 2 out of the many he had listed, but she wasn't about to explain that to him. Instead, her lips curved into an ingenuine smile as she asked, "Is that all the reasons you've made someone mad before? Because it sounded prepared."

She rolled her eyes yet again as he started to stare at her for some reason, and sarcastically added, "Didn't your mom ever tell you that it's rude to stare at people?" She tapped her foot against the ground impatiently, then let her smile widen. “I mean, really. I’ve seen puppies with better focus than you, and they at least have the excuse of being a hundred times cuter while doing absolutely nothing."

She tilted her head, eyes narrowing even more, her smile sharp. “Honestly, you should probably go find someone else to bother. Someone who actually gives a crap about your… whatever this is." Her arms stayed crossed, her weight shifting slightly as if daring him to respond. The cold water licked at her shoes, but she barely noticed.

• N/A •

Stamina - 7 • Evasion - 7 • Strength - 7 • Wisdom - 7 • Arcane Power - 7 • Accuracy - 5
Evasive Maneuvers • Charmer

Reducio

Reducio

Date: November 15th, 2025
Interacting: @Nova Astron
WC: 553
Note: It's all good! Take your time
Speech: #0c6e13
Outfit: link

“Nah, just some things I’ve observed recently. Lost pets are fairly common around here, same with potions mishaps. You see, like, five a day.” Felix checked things off on his fingers as he spoke.
“Classes are always too hard for someone at some point. It's easy cruising for some time, then it suddenly gets difficult. Obviously, family is annoying as hell, and half the time they only owl you to give bad news. Last but not least,” he lifted one foot above the water,“wet shoes are an obvious factor.”

He suddenly remembered something, switching topics. "I found a frog in the dungeons the other day! Dunno if it was someone’s pet or just a random one though. It probably got squashed though, the hall was quite busy at the time”. He wondered if there was any use for frogs in potions. Probably was, but he couldn't think of it off the top of his head. Perhaps frogs weren't mystical enough? A lot of the ingredients in potions appeared to be magical, and a frog didn't exactly fit that description.

Felix glanced back over at the girl. She had a smile on her face, but it looked entirely fake. Or, at least, not nice.

He just shrugged in response to her comment about staring. "No, my mom did not, in fact, tell me that. Don't think she ever had the chance, y'know". Especially considering she left, five years ago—or was it six? He'd somehow forgot. He would've said that, but it was more fun to keep it vague (especially because so many people just assumed she'd died or something when he said she wasn't really around), and, at the moment, he was more concerned by the girl's comparison of him to a puppy.

What was her deal with comparing people to random animals? It seemed like a theme with her. "Well, dogs are trained to be focused on things. It's kinda their whole deal, is it not? And puppies grow out of being cute, no matter how much cuteness that have at the start. Then they get all nippy and loud, and make the neighbors complain. Versus I stay chill. Therefore, I'm way better". His own two dogs were the bane of his existence whenever he was actually at home. They loved chewing up all his shirts and socks for some reason, and chased him around the yard while he was just hanging around.

He pretended to consider her words for a second, but gave up the act quickly. "And nah, I will not be bothering someone else. You're far too funny for me to leave now." he grinned, moving even closer to her, and went to bump her shoulder lightly with his. She was, in fact, rather entertaining. Sure, some of the things she said bordered on being a bit hurtful, but it was still fun.

"And I'm sure you'll give a crap about my-" and he made dramatic air quotes at this, "'whatever this is', eventually. I can grow on people, y'know? That includes you". He punctuated his statement with a poke in her direction.

While some people truly did warm up to him (sometimes after some careful strategy), it seemed unlikely to happen with this specific girl. He didn't particularly care. It was the thrill of the chase, or however that saying went.