A Pleasure To Meet You! PV Anna Heart Closed

It was a cool November day, the kind where Jack Frost was nipping at your nose. It was almost Christmas, and Anna was already in the holiday spirit. Since it was still November, she tried to keep her festivity at a minimum, and so the only sign of Christmas she showed was a beaming smile, as well as a generous and kind attitude towards others. Anna wasn't quite sure where she was going, but she knew immediately when the lake that was now ice caught her eye. She walked towards the frozen lake, in her black jeans and a yellow hoodie, as well as the winter coat she had bought in Diagon Alley. Anna also had her Hufflepuff scarf on to make sure her neck was warm. Her mother had always told her that. Scarves in the winter, for those who wish to keep their necks. If her mother knew that she had forgotten a scarf, then she would be in deep trouble. Luckily, she possessed a Hufflepuff one.

Anna was holding a steaming hot mug of apple cider as she made her way to the lake. It seemed so funny to her what a sucker she was for anything apple. Apple cider, apple juice, apple sauce, apple candy, and of course, apples. It had just been her kind of thing, even back home. Her favorite apple treat was her mother's apple pie. The way the crust crunched against her teeth, and how the apple filling melted from the chamber of the pie onto her tongue. Anna nearly fell down the hill thinking about eating some of her Mom's pie, luckily she caught herself. She continued her walk down towards the lake when she noticed another. There was a girl with amber hair sitting with her legs crossed, looking out at the lake. She was in a sweater, and was all alone. Anna decided that the girl would be the first friend she made here at Hogwarts, and so she took a deep breath, and walked towards her.

Rose noticed the girl walking toward her, near the lake, and smiled warmly. "Hi, I uh, I don't think we've met. I'm Rose... you can sit if you want," she said. Her voice was welcoming and gentle, and carried a distinct American accent. It was just a shade softer than most voices, a strange feature she'd carried all her life. Rose scooted over, as if making room for the girl, even though there was already room next to her. It was simply a gesture to accentuate the words she had said. She was really pretty, with super curly dark red locks and graceful features on her face. "What's your name?" She asked. Rose always needed to put a name with a face, otherwise she would be calling them something vague like "the pretty Hufflepuff redhead," which included a whole lot of people. She had a feeling that the girl was a Hufflepuff, at least, by the scarf around her neck.

Rose spotted the girl's steaming mug- it smelled like- "Apple cider? I wish I'd thought of that," she said thoughtfully. Warm apple cider. Among the comfort foods of life. After giving her plenty of time to respond if she wanted to, Rose carried on the conversation- silence made her nervous with people she didn't know. "Are you a first year?" She looked a little like a first year. She looked too young to be older than a third year, but Rose wasn't one to assume how old someone was.

The girl, or Rose, seemed very kind and welcoming. Anna tried to respond to her, but her voice had just disappeared. Anna wasn't normally shy, but she wasn't extremely outgoing either. The smell of her warm apple cider called to her, but she desperately tried to speak instead of take a sip. She did neither. Finally, she summed up all the courage that was in her body, and spit out her words. "Hi, I'm Anna. It's really nice to meet you. I am a first year, actually. Sorry, I'm just a little shy." She said with an awkward laugh at the end to lighten the air. Rose smiled, and it gave Anna a bit more confidence. "Yeah, umm, I love apple cider too! Apple things are just kind of my thing, you know? My mom used to make the loveliest apple pie," Anna told Rose. She tried to ignore the way her brain produced the smell of it, and just continued the conversation. She didn't know what she would say next, but she thought a compliment would be best to add next. The problem was what to complement Rose on. She had a lovely name, beautiful hair, and was just so pretty. Her smile was so warm and welcoming, it gave Anna a sense of warmth in her heart.

That's when she noticed Rose's sweater. It was absolutely magnificent, and looked so very warm. Anna thought that she would compliment her on just that. "I love your sweater," Anna commented, and smiled, waiting for Rose to respond.

The fellow redhead seemed just a little shyer than some, which was okay with Rose. Rose had used to be super shy herself, but she was a little less nowadays. Anna hesitated, seeming at a loss for words, and Rose worried that she had overwhelmed her already. The elder was about to ask Anna if she was okay, but she eventually introduced herself, seeming to be able to push words out. “That’s okay, Anna. It’s great to meet you, too.” Apple cider wasn’t something too significant in Rose’s life, not the way it was in Anna’s, apparently, but she couldn’t deny how good it was. Definitely more of comfort food in Rose’s book, for sitting in front of the fire on freezing cold days, snuggling up with your friends or family. “Ooh, I bet it was really good. I’ve made apple pie a couple of times, and it came out wonderful.” It actually had. She had made it last year for Christmas break and had earned compliments all around.

The compliment produced a blush from the Gryffindor. “Oh, thank you. I just love sweater weather. Sweaters are just so comfortable, you know?” Oh, dang it, now she had to find a way to compliment the sweet girl. She went with the first thing that came to mind. “I love your hair, it’s so pretty. I wish my hair was curly like yours instead of somewhere in the middle like it is.” Rose pulled her hair over one shoulder without really thinking about it, revealing the ginger color and the way that the curls were wavy instead of super curly like Anna’s or straight like someone else’s. She ran her fingers through her hair, just fiddling with it. “What brings you to the lake?”

Before she could even think, Anna blurted out, "My hair? Really? It's so hard to handle. I would much rather have your hair." It was Anna's default response, to a compliment on her hair. She hardly ever accepted a compliment on her hair. So, she decided to change it up a bit. "But thank you," Anna said, smiling.

Anna was a little caught off guard when Rose asked what she was doing at the lake? What was she doing? She simply responded, "Nothing, really. Since it's my first year I decided to explore the grounds a little bit, and the lake just caught my eye with it's frozen, reflecting surface." The lake was just so peaceful, and while Anna loved people and was mostly extroverted, she was just a little overwhelmed by the mass amounts of people all over Hogwarts.

Anna knew that it was probably her turn to carry on the conversation, and it was much easier now. Rose was so easy to talk to. She seemed very understanding to Anna, and she felt very comfortable around her. Anna always felt even more comfortable when talking about a similar interest, such as a show or hobby. Clearing her throat, Anna asked, "So Rose, what do you like to do around here?" Anna smiled, and awaited Rose's response.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill, huh? Rose wanted Anna's hair and Anna wanted Rose's hair. Rose blushed again, murmuring, "Thank you," after Anna. Maybe Anna was right, though. Rose's hair was prone to getting super tangled sometimes, especially after she slept and in the water. That was why she braided it before doing either those things. However tangled Rose's hair would get, it would have been a million times worse for Anna since her curls were so much tighter. Even if they were a million times more pretty as well.

"Yeah, exactly- it's so much more peaceful out here than anywhere else, even the library. There's something so... soothing about nature that grounds me, you know?" Yes, there was something about the ripples of the lake and the gentle winds that was so soothing and trustworthy. The lake wouldn't critisize her, it wouldn't leave her, it wouldn't hurt her. How pathetic was that- that she trusted a lake more than most people?

What did she like to do around here? "Uh, I like to read and journal, and I do some sketching sometimes... I mostly just explore and hang out with friends, though... What about you? What do you like to do around here?"

"What house are you in?"