By the shore
thoughts - speechDate: 20th of May, 2026 - @Anne Brown
It were the last glimmering lights of the year. The Lake waved somberly, while a few fishes swam from one point to another. The wind was still breezy enough that one could still hope that it was mid spring instead of early summer. Donald sat near the shore, a couple o pebbles in hand, trying to make them skip on the surface of the lake. Like the water itself, him too seemed particularly somber, something that didn't sat too well on his face.
Another stone thrown, another couple of skips made, he looked at the silhouette of the castle, where a sunny glow still floated on the air. Near him a couple of books and a newspaper of this morning, while his wand remained safely tucked away under the school robes that identify him as a slytherin.
An ache filled him to the brim, one that made his eyebrows crest.
"I just wished to made some friends." He said, without even nothing that he said it out loud. "Why is it so difficult? I- I didn't want to skip school." A sigh escapes from his lips, the lake the only thing present to hear his thoughts. Another small pebbles goes flying on the lake, this one with a mighty thud.
word count: 212
Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 0 | Wis 8 | Arc 3 | Acc 8 |
Alluring |
By the shore
Anne decided that day to go do some exploring. She had already seen an immense part of the castle which she wasn't even sure it was all of it. After all, it was enormous and had endless corridors. So, that day, she decided she hadn't explored enough of the outside. She had merely been out for a few moments.
@Donald Robinson
236
As she was walking by, she headed towards the Great Lake. Anne had seen it the day she entered and was mesmerized by it. It was giant and beautiful. She wondered what animals could live there.
As she neared the lake, she saw a boy from her same year with strawberry blond hair and he was about her size. She saw from some distance how he was throwing pebbles into the water. Anne saw he was alone, and even though she knew some people loved their own company and peace, she headed towards him.
As Anne neared she heard him murmuring something under his breath but couldn't really make out what. When she was close enough, she started talking. "Hi. What's up? Are you alone? Do you mind me being here?" She asked. But after that, she continued. "The lake is beautiful. Since my first day I have been wanting to come by. I was just strolling by wanting to explore a bit. Oh, and my name is Anne by the way. I forgot to introduce myself."
By the shore
thoughts - speechDate: 20th of May, 2026 - @Anne Brown
The voice of the girl basically made him jump. He tried to quickly fix his hair even if it didn't need it. "Uh- Hi! Yes." He quickly shot up, "And, uhm, no. No I don't mind you.", patting a couple of times his hands before offering to shake hands. "I'm Donald. Nice to meet you."
He followed her eyes toward the lake, fixating on the calm waves gently lapping at the stones, while the darkness beneath called for their secrets. "Yes, I really love it. I-I haven't really had the time to come here, these couple of years, but it's always so calm...I thought a couple of times to bring here a couple of pencils and a notebook to draw it but...I never had really the time to do it."
"Do you like exploring? I never really did, I was...I guess I am, scared to lose myself somewhere." He seemed calmer now, but the light blush of his cheeks and the way his eyes got to always look elsewhere but Anne's eyes made his shyness clear. "I guess someone would start to search for me, though...Did you ever got lost? Inside Hogwarts, I mean." He briefly looked up, before continuing, "Or, I mean, you could have explored the Forbidden Forest but is, well, forbidden..."
word count: 218
Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 0 | Wis 8 | Arc 3 | Acc 8 |
Alluring |
By the shore
"I get you. Homework has been crazy so far. I still don't get it how we got so much of it since the first day. It's just frustrating. I wanted to have more time to enjoy and I wanted to have some free time." Anne said with a sigh.
@Donald Robinson
236
"Oh, I love exploring. Well, lots of people don't like it because of getting lost or the wild animals. I still like it either way. Losing myself was always the best part. I got lost several times. When I was younger, the first time it happened I was crying until my dad came looking for me." Anne said while smiling at the memories. "But then I learnt to live with it. Orientate myself. Survive I guess. I find it fun." Anne said sincerely.
"Well in Hogwarts I have gotten lost sometimes. The stairs just keep moving and sometimes even take me where I don't want to be. It's also so huge I sometimes have barely made my way from class to class. But gotten completely lost I think not. I usually know where I am and try to take another route. What about you?" Anne asked.
Then, at the mention of the forbidden forest something caught Anne's interest. "Why should we not explore it?" Anne asked, but her question led elsewhere. "Is there anyone who guards it?" Anne was suddenly interested, as she asked her question mischievously.
By the shore
His eyebrows twitched, getting more serious. "Well, it's called Forbidden for a reason- I mean, there's the Hogwarts Groundkeeper that I guess does some kind of guard or post, after all it's him and the Prefects that check every night to make sure no one is breaking the curfew." His eyes shined for a moment, mouth agape, before continuing, "You never broke the curfew, did you?" His voice sounded far more curious and shocked than judging.
@Anne Brown
"I usually tried to stick to the usual routes, inside the castle and outside." He looked at his shoes for a moment, glancing for a second behind them, towards the forest. "I mean, the Forbidden Forest is house to a lot of dangerous things. Centaurs, acromantulas..." Donald licked his lips, "...If one wanted to explore it, it should be best to prepare oneself for whatever possibility..." Stealing a quick look to Anne to see if she liked the idea or not, and if she was catching on on what he meant. "I should be in second year now, well, almost third year since we're in May, so I don't know that many spells, even if I like to study...What about you?"
He wasn't sure where he was going with this. A sharp tugging on his chest made it clear for him that this wasn't how he would've talked about this a year ago. A possible plan to maybe go into the Forbidden Forest? No thanks! But...he isn't the Donald of a year ago. Not anymore. With this thought he tried to fix his posture a bit, trying to look more confident than he has ever been.
Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 0 | Wis 8 | Arc 3 | Acc 8 |
Alluring |
By the shore
“Yeah right.” Anne said before thinking about it. “Well, it’s just one gamekeeper right? And that person can only watch over a little section. Not the whole thing.” Anne said, and then answered the next question. “No, not really. I haven’t got much to do in after hours. Too much homework and I still want to sleep as well. Have you ever broken it?” She then asked.
@Donald Robinson
302
“I don’t know what the usual routes even are. The stairs keep changing over and over again you can just get lost. And, apart from that, I’ve been outside a few times but I sadly don’t come out that often.” She gave a big sigh.
“But isn’t it just all exciting? All the creatures you could look at! A whole new adventure! But yeah, you would need some spells. But I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? We did get taught a lot of spells already…” After a short pause she continued. “I detest studying. I can’t find any joy to it. But as for spells I have learnt a bit. Couldn’t hurt to learn some more though. I’m just in my first year, so I’ll probably learn more from books. Don’t you think?” Anne said.
“Haven’t you thought about exploring it?” She blurted out. Anne wasn’t able to stop herself. “Don’t you want to go in? Just for a look.” She said curiously while looking back at the great forest. “And it’s hard to get lost. I’ve got a great sense of direction. Being out in the woods comes like second nature.” She wasn’t able to stop herself, so she had to ask it. Going into the woods seemed fascinating. The urge was immense. Anne hoped she had asked it directly enough.
Now, she was sure of it. She wanted to go in.
By the shore
@Anne Brown
"W-Well..." The thought of sneaking past the gamekeeper gave a shiver to Donald, "Yes, it's only one, I think, and... There are ways to go past him... The Hogwarts Grounds are really big, afterall." He tried to fix his hair one more time, even if there wasn't a single strand out of place.
"And, uhm, I never tried it but... I managed to buy something to sneak past... Originally I thought to use it to sneak around the library but I mean, it's camouflage qualities don't really work inside a library..." He lowered his head, cheeks hot, almost expecting a tutor of his or a Prefect to jump out the lake waters and scolding him for what he just said.
"Oh. Yes, it is exciting." And his voice couldn't cloud that. "And, I mean, I studied super hard Defense Against the Dark Arts, so we should be fine.." And Charms. And Transfigurations. "We just need to make sure to not go into the hearth of the woods, just maybe... Skirt around it. So if there's any problem we can quickly run away." This seemed sensible. Yes. Making plans was the best way to go about it.
"I... Yes. I have to admit that I thought about it a bit. I like studying and there could be a lot of really cool magical creatures inside the Forest. Not dangerous beings per se...Just, really cool." Maybe Veelas too? He pushed the thought away. That wasn't the reason for going into the Forest. Couldn't be. "I mean, would you be comfortable going into the Forbidden Forest with someone you just met?"
Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 0 | Wis 8 | Arc 3 | Acc 8 |
Alluring |
By the shore
“There you go! One person can’t guard a whole forest.” She said.
@Donald Robinson
273
“What did you buy? Something like an invisibility cloak? I’ve heard of those. They sound great. It would be so useful to be able to walk around and do things while others can’t catch you. What else is there anyways?” She said thinking on what things could be useful for stealth. “It would be great to gurantee we can’t get caught. I mean, I wouldn’t mind a detention, but I guess you would, right?” She added, while thinking of all the possibilities.
“Good for you I guess. I don’t really study hard but I do try my best when it’s something actually interesting or useful. Otherwise I don’t find the need to waste my time or energy. Good plan, since its just first time it would be stupid to go too far in. Maybe just a little into it, but not too deep. I rather run away than fight magical creatures which I don’t know what they might do.”
“Yup. The creatures should be fascinating. Some of these will probably be hard to find anywhere else. Are you looking forward to finding something? Anything specifically? We could go find it.” Then, changing subject she said: “Well I do. Otherwise I might as well go alone, but then I’ll be an easier target. Plus, it’s always better to go with someone. Do you want to come though? I mean, if someone sees us we might get in trouble. And if you’re just scared…” Anne was crossing her fingers behind her back. She hoped he would come. Even if they had just met.
By the shore
"Well... I don't know if we can find other ways to hide, the camo cloak that I bought should be enough, but you need to buy it too. It's too small for two persons." He figured detention wouldn't be so harsh, but then what about his mother and father? He could picture an owl flying with an harsh letter, maybe a couple of "We are very disappointed in you." Would that bother him? Donald remained silent for a fistful of seconds. "I...I wouldn't like to get detention, no, but we just need to cover our bases well and we should be good." He lit up for a second, "I'll make sure to take a couple of antidotes to poisons that I brewed in Potions, you never know.."
@Anne Brown speech - thoughts
"I mean, a Unicorn must be beautiful to see, right? Even if they're really rare. I like a lot Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms because they teach really useful stuff, and Unicorns can be dangerous." His hand finds the ring he has on the other, fidgeting with it. "There is another magical creature that I would be curious to see but...I mean, they are probably a whole lot more dangerous... I would like to see a Veela." Donald averts his eyes the moment he says it, "B-but I mean, I don't even know if there are Veelas inside the Forbidden Forest.."
"Yes. Yes, I do want to come." He's still playing with the ring in his hands, but this time he purposefully looks Anne in the eyes. "It's probably clear that I'm afraid, but..." It's something different from the ordinary. It's something where I can test if I'm good for something, "But I want to come, I can swear on it."
Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 0 | Wis 8 | Arc 3 | Acc 8 |
Alluring |
By the shore
@Donald Robinson
221
“Yeah maybe. How much does it cost? If it’s too expensive then I might as well just go without it. Can’t the creatures smell us? Yeah I know you wouldn’t want to get one. That’s why it’s more important that you wear it. I can also bring some. But I don’t think we’ll really need them.
Yeah, a unicorn would be so beautiful. I can’t believe they actually exist!” Anne said amazed. When she was small she really loved them, until people just started saying they didn’t exist and she believed it. But now, the thought of seeing one was exiting her even more. “Since when are unicorns dangerous! Wait what!?” Now that suprized Anne. But, she didn’t care. She wanted to see one. “What are Veelas exactly?” She asked confused. “Why are you so nervous about it? Sorry it’s just that I’m usually just clueless about most things.” She said sincerely.
Anne was looking back at him. She smiled as she said “Well then. When do we go? I mean, we can go now. The camouflage cloak won’t really matter for me. You can go get your stuff and meet me back in a few minutes?” Anne didn’t want to wait more time. Then, she would probably find herself occupied again. So, she hoped he would agree on going now.