A Walk and A Girl PV Lauren Stonewood Closed

Interacting with @Elizabeth Isaacs

It was a beautiful day. The temperature outside was perfect for just wandering the grounds of Hogwarts. The slight wind blew through Lauren's light brown hair, which was tied loosely back in her usual ponytail. After a lot of walking Lauren had somehow made it down to the lake. Her grey-blue eyes stared as she marvelled at its immensity.

Before coming to Hogwarts she had been told by many, of its magic and wonders. She was told about the painting mounted on the walls, the numerous courtyards, the quidditch field, and the astronomy tower. However, she was never told about how beautiful and wonderous the grounds surrounding the castle actually were. She could already see herself going for early morning runs or coming to this spot to think.

Walking towards the water's edge she discarded her thick black robes and backpack to the side. She also rolled up the white sleeves of her shirt to her elbows, she undid the top button and loosened her yellow striped tie to let her neck finally breathe. Looking around again at the scenery she crouched down and picked up some of the smoothest rocks she could find. The first stone she threw skipped 4 times. Taking a deep breath in she smelled the faint smell of earth and flowers. It was a stark difference to the smog-filled air of London and Cambridge she was used to. She could get used to this.

Lauren was shaken from her daydreaming when she heard rustling coming from the path behind her. she turned around to look but didn't see anything. Shrugging she turned back around and skipped another stone across the surface of the lake.

Liz's attention was dragged from the disgrace of a jelly bean on the ground back to the lake. Her brown eyes were met with the sight of a girl, about her age, who looked pretty laid-back. She watched as the brown-haired girl removed her robes and loosed her tie. She noticed the tie was an annoyingly cheery yellow tie. Ah, so she must be a Hufflepuff. The blonde girl began to take notes in her mind.

After realizing she was being extremely creepy by just standing there staring she, made her way out from behind her tree. She softly walked to edge where the grass began to mingle with sand and the forest turned into beach. Deciding she didn't want to dump sand out of her shoes later, the girl removed her Doc Martens and sat them to the side along with her pristine white socks. She tentatively stepped barefoot onto the sand, making sure it wasn't going to burn her feet.

She stood there, bare-foot watching the girl skipping rocks before letting out a little cough to announce herself. "Hello.", she said rather pleasantly, plastering on her sweet persona that she always started out with. She walked further onto the beach and closer to the girl. She noticed that she had smatterings of freckles here and there.

The blonde female herself was free from any such marks, much to her dismay. At the moment she had her long blonde hair in a braid that ran down her back, stopping just above her waist, and was dressed in the required Hogwarts Uniform.

Forgot to mention you, @Lauren Stonewood

Interacting with @Elizabeth Isaacs

"Hello" Lauren heard and she whipped around at the sudden presence of someone else.

The moment she turned her head she saw a very pretty girl standing there. She had long blonde hair that was currently braided down her back and brown eyes. She was quite a bit shorter than Lauren and a bit skinnier too. The girl also had vibrant green robes. 'A Slytherin,' Lauren thought to herself as she took in the girl some more. The girl carried her shoes in one hand and a metal tin in the other.
'Shoes', Lauren thought as she realized she forgot to take her own off before stepping close to the water. She mentally facepalmed before bringing her attention back to the present. She hopes that this girl is nice enough. She would rather not have to abandon her new favourite spot. Lauren tries not to listen to the stereotypes of each house but sometimes it's hard to not get sucked into it all.

For example, a lot of other houses usually assume that all Hufflepuffs are always friendly and willing to talk to you. It's part of the reason that Lauren sometimes feels so out of place as a Hufflepuff. Granted it's only been a few days since she got sorted but she still didn't understand the sorting hat's decision. She wasn't quite the optimistic and friendly Hufflepuff one would usually associate with her yellow robes. She was protective, sure, but she thought she was far better suited for Gryffindor or Slytherin. Either way, she was determined to make the most of her house and school years so she excepted her fate.

Realizing she should probably say something Lauren quickly said a, "Uhh...Hi."
Turning her whole body to face this girl, Lauren continues, "What are you doing all the way out here? I haven't seen too many people out this way before."

Interacting with: @Lauren Stonewood

The girl in front of Liz seemed to be taking the blonde in. Liz's pale face went slightly pink as the girl looked her up and down. She bit her lip slightly, waiting for a reply. "Uhh...Hi." Liz smiled a bit at the girls hesitance, but was also glad she finally said something. "What are you doing all the way out here? I haven't seen too many people out this way before."

Liz silently set her shoes down in the sand and then stood back up. "I was walking and I stopped to get a jelly bean out", she rattled the tin in hand, "when I saw you. It's really cool that you can skip rocks. My siblings and I learned to do that when we were young and had nothing else to do. I'm Elizabeth. Elizabeth Isaacs. Slytherin, Pure-Blooded, and Proud!"

Her final dialogue seemed almost like an extension of her body, like she brought it up or said it often enough that she didn't even have to think before saying it. She turned her brown eyes to the lake and then reached down to pick up a rock. Instead of skipping it she threw it into the lake with a loud plunk. Her eyes traveled back to the girl, taking her in. After seeing how laid back the girl was Liz set her tin inside her shoes on the ground and then pulled off her robes as well and loosened her green tie, but left her top button buttoned.

She picked up the tin again and opened it, looking for another bean, more warily this time. She waited for the girls response.

Interacting with @Elizabeth Isaacs

The blonde smiled and said after putting her shoes down "I was walking and I stopped to get a jelly bean out when I saw you. It's really cool that you can skip rocks. My siblings and I learned to do that when we were young and had nothing else to do. I'm Elizabeth. Elizabeth Isaacs. Slytherin, Pure-Blooded, and Proud!"

The girl seemed to practically have the entire thing rehearsed, Lauren thought. She could see there was something deeper under the words and smile the girl gave off. It intrigued Lauren and she wanted nothing more than to figure this mysterious blonde out. For some strange, unexplainable reason she also felt drawn to the girl. There was a calmness to her yet a certain subtly to her demeanour.

However, at the mention of Isaacs, Lauren's small smile dropped. She knew that name from some of her family members mentioning them. If she remembered correctly, they weren't exactly a fan of muggle-borns or half-bloods. 'Oh god, I hope this doesn't go poorly" Lauren thought to her self as she quickly schooled her features and returned her small smile to her face.

She doesn't think the girl noticed her slip up as she was too busy trying and failing to skip a rock across the water. Lauren grinned at the girl, amused. The blonde then decides to remove her green robes and loosen her tie to match Lauren's similar relaxed state. Lauren's pretty sure her heart skipped a beat at that but her thoughts quickly moved on as she realized the girl was again, waiting for her to respond.

"Issacs huh, I've definitely heard that name before. Irish family right?" Lauren says with a cool confidence before reaching her free hand out to the girl to shake, "The name's Stonewood, but my friends call me Lauren."

Interacting with: @Lauren Stonewood

"Issacs huh, I've definitely heard that name before. Irish family right?" Elizabeth could basically see the girls internal panic. She let out a small snort at her confident persona and smiled, taking her hand in both of hers, after quickly closing and putting away the tin. Her skin was warm and smooth and Liz didn't ever want to let go. "The name's Stonewood, but my friends call me Lauren."

Liz nodded. "That's right! Straight from Dublin! Oh! A Stonewood. I've heard of them. Another old Pure-Blood family, right?" she asked, still gripping the girls hands in her own. She seemed to realize how long she had been holding onto the girls hands and quickly withdrew her own. She finally reached up and unbuttoned the top button of her shirt. She pulled her long braid over her shoulder and took out it's hair-tie, letting it come un-done. After it was done unraveling her hair reached down to her waist and was slightly wavy from being in a braid all day.

Liz picked up another rock and with more concentration threw it. It skipped 3 times. A grin spread across her pale face. "Yes! I actually did it right! And don't think I didn't see your little amused look when I failed last time, Laurie.", she said jokingly, throwing the girl a sly look and a quick smirk at her ingenious nickname.

Interacting with @Elizabeth Isaacs

The girl, Elizabeth, said "That's right! Straight from Dublin! Oh! A Stonewood. I've heard of them. Another old Pure-Blood family, right?"

Lauren knew she had asked a question but she was quite honestly too busy staring to hear what she was saying. The girl had gripped her hand and held it for a while. Elizabeth, no, Liz, had the softest hands she had held. When Liz finally let go, Lauren couldn't help but miss their warmth. However, she didn't have much time to dwell on it because the blonde had moved to let out her hair, the beautiful golden locks blowing in the breeze. Lauren stood there kind of awestruck for a moment before recomposing herself.

The blonde bent down grabbing another stone before launching it at the lake again. This time around her throw was more successful. After the first skip, Lauren's heart filled with pride for the girl and her smile widened. After a full three skips, Liz smiled and yelled triumphantly, "Yes! I actually did it right! And don't think I didn't see your little amused look when I failed last time, Laurie.".
Lauren's heart flutters again at the nickname and her face is probably embarrassingly red. What was happening to her? Lauren just huffed out a laugh, looking out towards the water, grinning, to try and hide the blush tinting her face. She let her shoulders finally drop and relaxed a little more since Liz had appeared.

Though sobering up a little more she responded to the earlier question and said, "Uhh, yeah the Stonewoods are an old Pure-Blood family too. But-Uh, I'm not a pure-blood. Half-blood actually..." Lauren trailed off, frown returning to her face. She didn't know why but she felt ashamed for a moment. She couldn't explain it or really understand it but she felt a closeness to this girl. She didn't want to assume anything of course but she had a feeling Liz might share some of the same sentiments as her Pure-blood family. Lauren really hoped she wasn't. She had a feeling in her gut that they could be really good friends. It's rare for Lauren to meet someone she feels so comfortable and close to right off the bat. Or even someone who can keep up with her snark and jokes. It was refreshing and she didn't want to lose it, whatever it was.

Interacting with: @Lauren Stonewood

Elizabeth watched the girls face light up with blush and a small grin appearing on her face along with a huff of laughter. This made her heart do a flip in her chest and she lifted her hand to her chest and placed it above her heart. Why was her heart basically performing a gymnastics routine in her chest right now? What was going on? She brought her other hand up to a strand of blonde hair that had fallen into her face and twisted it between her fingers. She was mesmerized by this girl and it was weird. She never latched onto people this quickly.

She wanted to grab her had again and hold it forever. She wanted to play with her silky brown hair. She wanted to trace her fingers along the freckles on the girls face and arms. But she was jolted from these thoughts at the brunettes reply to her question.

"Uhh, yeah the Stonewoods are an old Pure-Blood family too. But-Uh, I'm not a pure-blood. Half-blood actually..." Liz's eyebrows shot up. Her hands quickly slipped from her chest and her hair down to her sides. A glare formed on her face but it looked half-hearted, like she was trying really hard to glare. Her brown eyes slid to the ground and she stare at the sand. So she's one of them? A blood traitor? Momma told me I might run into them here. But...she didn't tell me they would be so...nice? Funny? Cute? Cute? What...okay. Liz. Get it together. She's a blood traitor...but... She finally looked up. Her eyebrows were now crinkled and she looked like she was having a mid-life crisis at 11. She sighed, coming to a decision. "I...I was raised...to never be friends with...blood traitors....but I-", she sighed loudly and looked up at the sky, hand coming back up to her lock of hair and continuing its twirling motions,"I want to be your friend. I really really want to be your friend. It's crazy. Because I've never had the urge to be someone's friend like I do with you." Her cocoa orbs lowered back down from the sky and rested on Laurens own eyes, heart flipping again as they regained eye contact.

Interacting with @Elizabeth Isaacs

At 'half-blood', the blonde's eyebrows shot up. 'Here we go," thinks Lauren as she braces herself for rejection. She was quite used to it by now with her purists family not treating her or her mother with the same respect they do other Pure-Bloods. Her mother had warned her that there would be people at Hogwarts who felt the same but she was hoping it wouldn't be the case with Liz.

The girl looked stunned, her hands falling to her sides from where they were at her chest. She looked to be having a battle with herself inside her head. The blonde sort of half glared at Lauren but it didn't seem entirely sincere. The girl eventually looked away, staring at the sand beneath their feet.
'Just when I let someone in, they go and do this' Lauren thinks angrily to herself. Lauren likes to act and think she is tough but deep down she knows that this sort of thing really eats at her.

Before she could turn away to leave Liz finally spoke again, "I...I was raised...to never be friends with...blood traitors....but I-". Lauren cringed at 'blood traitors' anger rising to her face before softening at what the girl in front of her said next.

"I want to be your friend. I really really want to be your friend. It's crazy. Because I've never had the urge to be someone's friend like I do with you." As soon as she finished their eyes locked.

Lauren's eyes went wide with shock. She definitely wasn't expecting that. She was expecting her to say something mean or hateful, not...well that. She gulped at the words the girl uttered as they made her mouth run dry. She had to almost physically restrain herself from running up to the girl and throwing her arms around her. She had never felt that urge towards anyone ever.

"You-you do?" Lauren asks surprised, stuttering slightly out of pure shock then anything. "Whichisgreat!" She blurts out quickly before recomposing her self and clearing her throat.
"Uh, I really want to be your friend too." She said sheepishly scratching the back of her neck and going red in the face again. Again, she felt the urge to reach out for the girl but instead, she shoved her hands into her pockets and stood there a little awkwardly. What was this girl doing to her? Most times shes met a blood purist she runs the other way not directly to them.