Wandering Thoughts
Ben walked through the grounds of Hogwarts late at night. It was close to curfew time and he knew he had to be going back to the castle soon, but there was something peaceful about being under the stars. It was his favourite thing to do when he was pensive like this... when you looked up at the stars it was like nothing else mattered. You actually felt like you could hear yourself think, without the noise of the world going through your brain.
His thoughts, though, weren't really going in a positive direction. Like he had told his father on Platform 9 3/4 at the beginning of the year... He had heard all about his family and the "Coletti Curse". He was starting to think that it was true though. Herbology hadn't been going well at all... the plants hated him and they were constantly scratching him with the thorns and thistles and everything. He wouldn't be surprised if they were conspiring against him to make him fail.
Like your father... a voice said in his head. He'd heard the voice a thousand times before, about his family and all the men that had gone on before. He knew he had to change the course, break the curse, and rewrite the future before the past repeated itself.
His thoughts, though, weren't really going in a positive direction. Like he had told his father on Platform 9 3/4 at the beginning of the year... He had heard all about his family and the "Coletti Curse". He was starting to think that it was true though. Herbology hadn't been going well at all... the plants hated him and they were constantly scratching him with the thorns and thistles and everything. He wouldn't be surprised if they were conspiring against him to make him fail.
Like your father... a voice said in his head. He'd heard the voice a thousand times before, about his family and all the men that had gone on before. He knew he had to change the course, break the curse, and rewrite the future before the past repeated itself.
Ashley Coulson
Wandering Thoughts
Interacting with @Ben Coletti
Ashley bit her lip and ran her fingers through her tangled red hair as she walked through the silent grounds. It had been a long day, and she needed some time to unwind. The night sky was dark as ink, peppered with stars and a glowing crescent moon. It was beautiful, beyond beautiful, actually. It was miraculous. Ashley heard an owl hoot in the distance and trees rustling slightly in the crisp breeze. Even at night, the world was alive and awake. Ashley breathed in the scent of pine needles and fresh air. She felt calm, mostly, but a tiny seed of anxiety bloomed in her stomach. She didn't know why. Nothing too stressful had been happening, really. School hadn't been too hard. Maybe she really did need to get some time alone.
The sound of footsteps startled Ashley out of her thoughts. She turned. A boy with brown hair was walking a few yards away. He looked lost in deep thought, looking up at the sky, and hadn't noticed Ashley yet. Hesitantly, Ashley walked over to him. And stared up at the stars, trying to find the big dipper.
"It's so amazing, isn't it?" she finally murmured to the boy. She hoped she wasn't interrupting anything important. She wasn't known for her fantastic ability to understand people.
Wandering Thoughts
Ben jumped as he heard the female voice behind him. He turned and saw a red-head girl, who looked to be about his age as well. They hadn't met yet though, so he looked from the stars into her eyes. "Hey, yeah, they are pretty amazing aren't they? I know it's almost time for curfew I just..." He shook his head. She wasn't a prefect, she didn't have the badge. She was a first year, just like him. Why was he being all nervous? "Sorry, I'm all out of sorts tonight..."
Moving to the side on the rock that he sat, he nodded to the empty seat. "You wanna join me? It's not too cold out tonight. I was just sitting here thinking. Ever have nights like that, where you just can't turn off your brain? It's like the voices of the past just cloud your thoughts and you can't escape it. No matter how much you wanna be your own person, they keep telling you you're just gonna fail. Just like everyone else who has gone before."
Looking up at the stars, he exhaled deeply. He looked over at the girl, as if remembering that she was there. "Do you ever wonder... if the stars are their souls or their eyes... watching down from above, waiting for us to screw up or do good things?"
Moving to the side on the rock that he sat, he nodded to the empty seat. "You wanna join me? It's not too cold out tonight. I was just sitting here thinking. Ever have nights like that, where you just can't turn off your brain? It's like the voices of the past just cloud your thoughts and you can't escape it. No matter how much you wanna be your own person, they keep telling you you're just gonna fail. Just like everyone else who has gone before."
Looking up at the stars, he exhaled deeply. He looked over at the girl, as if remembering that she was there. "Do you ever wonder... if the stars are their souls or their eyes... watching down from above, waiting for us to screw up or do good things?"
Ashley Coulson
Wandering Thoughts
@Ben Coletti
"Do you ever wonder... if the stars are their souls or their eyes... watching down from above, waiting for us to screw up or do good things?" The boy said softly, glancing at her. Ashley looked over at him with surprise.
"I do, actually. I think about a lot of stuff like that. People usually think it's . . . weird, though." It was true. Ashley didn't know other people her age really thought about things like that. Ashley went quiet, staring up at the stars. She felt melancholy, somehow, happy, a little sad for some reason, and something else, too. Awe? Maybe. But not quite. Another small breeze blew past, ruffling Ashley's long red hair and sending shivers cascading down her spine. She had stupidly worn a rather thin sweater, and was now cold as the result. Oh well.
A strange noise, a sort of rustling that didn't seem like the sound a tree would make, came abruptly from a few feet away. Ashley looked around. Nothing was there. It's nothing, she told herself firmly. But then it happened again. Again, Ashley looked around. Again, nothing.
Ashley turned to the boy next to her and nudged him with her shoulder. "Did you hear that? That weird rustling noise?" she whispered. She wasn't nervous. Not really. Just . . . curious, mostly. Okay, maybe she was a little nervous, but it was just a noise. Nothing terrible was going to happen.
Wandering Thoughts
Ben leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees. He was relieved to hear someone else felt the same things. "Well, at least I'm not completely crazy... it's not just me, right?" He looked over at her and watched her a bit. She was looking around, and he turned to look where she was looking. "Rustling noise?" Ben asked, slightly disconcerted. "Of course there's rustling... It's night time... and there's wind and stuff... of course there's rustling noises... That's just my point." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "There's so much noise all around us... from nature, from voices in our heads, from the past... Don't you ever feel like they're talking to us? Warning us? Trying to stop us from making the same mistakes as those that have gone before?"
Ben sighed, running a hand through his hair. The girl seemed distracted tonight as much as he was... but not for the same reasons. "You have a hard time focusing too, huh?" he asked her, looking over at her curiously. He then looked back to where the sound was that she had nodded towards. "What kind of sound was it, do you think? Just some creature in the forest?"
Ben sighed, running a hand through his hair. The girl seemed distracted tonight as much as he was... but not for the same reasons. "You have a hard time focusing too, huh?" he asked her, looking over at her curiously. He then looked back to where the sound was that she had nodded towards. "What kind of sound was it, do you think? Just some creature in the forest?"
Ashley Coulson
Wandering Thoughts
@Ben Coletti
"You have a hard time focusing too, huh? What kind of sound was it, do you think? Just some creature in the forest?" The boy's voice broke through her thoughts, startling her back to the present. She had never met anyone quite like him, who thought of the world as in-depth as she liked to think she did. It was a nice change.
Ashley turned towards him, tucking a stray strand of fiery hair behind her ear and twisting the friendship bracelets on her wrist around in her fingers. "Sorry," she said, smiling. "Yes, I do have trouble focusing on a lot of things, too. I don't know why. And you're probably right. It must have been a tree or owls or . . . something." She looked back into the woods one more time before telling herself to stop it. It was nothing. Just regular nighttime sounds.
She looked back up at the sky. "It would make sense if they were warning us, wouldn't it?" she mused, pointing again at the stars. "I mean, humans can be pretty messed up and stubborn. We can use all the help we can get." Ashley laughed softly and lay back on the grass, ignoring the rustling noises. "Maybe they talk to us so much because we never listen to what they have to say." The moment the words were out of Ashley's mouth, she knew they were true. She didn't know how, but she did.
She looked over at the boy. "I'm Ash, by the way. Ravenclaw."
Wandering Thoughts
Ben watched her as she twisted her bracelet around her wrist. "That's a nice bracelet," he observed, looking down at it. "Did you get it from a friend here, or from someone back home?" He hoped he wasn't prying... he was just curious about people. Where they came from, what they liked, what their families were like... Everyone had a story, a past.
He looked around, as if trying to find the source of the noise from the forest. There was indeed more rustling, and he was starting to understand the nerves that she was feeling. He nodded to her as she talked about the ghosts talking to them and reached over to put a hand on her knee. "Wait... do you hear that?" he asked, stilling himself. "Maybe there is something out there we should be worried about." He inhaled deeply, but his curiosity and bravery were starting to increase.
He stood, looking from her to the Forbidden Forest. It was late, it was dark, and it was forbidden... But she was scared, and he was curious, and there was something coming towards them. He was sure of it. "I'm Ben," he introduced himself, but then looked back to the forest again. "It's your call. What do you want to do here?" he asked, looking over at her.
He looked around, as if trying to find the source of the noise from the forest. There was indeed more rustling, and he was starting to understand the nerves that she was feeling. He nodded to her as she talked about the ghosts talking to them and reached over to put a hand on her knee. "Wait... do you hear that?" he asked, stilling himself. "Maybe there is something out there we should be worried about." He inhaled deeply, but his curiosity and bravery were starting to increase.
He stood, looking from her to the Forbidden Forest. It was late, it was dark, and it was forbidden... But she was scared, and he was curious, and there was something coming towards them. He was sure of it. "I'm Ben," he introduced himself, but then looked back to the forest again. "It's your call. What do you want to do here?" he asked, looking over at her.
Ashley Coulson
Wandering Thoughts
@Ben Coletti
Ashley smiled at the boy. Ben. "Thanks. I made this bracelet. And as for the noise . . . I agree." Ashley whispered the last part. The forest at night was really starting to freak her out. At least someone else was with her. A howl moaned in the distance. Ashley gripped Ben's hand, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. When the howl faded, Ashley sheepishly shrugged at loosened her death grip on the boy's hand. "Sorry," she said, straightening her glasses, "I'm not usually very scared of this kind of thing. I'm just kind of . . . jumpy tonight."
The howl came again, louder this time. Ashley grabbed Ben's hand again. "I really am sorry," she apologized again, laughing "I need to get a grip." She was really overreacting, she knew, but the howl seemed so . . . real.
When the howl sounded again, Ashley reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out her wand. "We should go looking," she said to Ben, sounding much more brave than she actually felt. "Is that fine with you? I just feel like somethings off. I don't know why, it's just . . . " Ashley trailed off, spinning her wand between her fingertips. She probably sounded like an idiot. But she really did think that something weird was happening. She just couldn't explain why. Maybe Ben would understand.
Wandering Thoughts
Ben listened as she talked about her bracelet. "That's really nice. I'm not good at making anything..." He heard the loud moan and blinked when the girl gripped his hand. He held it tightly and smiled, tightening his grip. "It's okay, really. I get being scared... There's definitely something out there though." He heard the howl and blinked, feeling his whole body stiffen. His other hand reached for his wand, just in case. "You're fine, seriously... I have to know what's out there. We can explore, for a little bit." He still didn't want to get caught, but he also didn't want to appear like he couldn't protect her either.
"I agree. Something is definitely off." He led the way towards the edge of the forest, looking out into the darkness. "Lumos," he said... barely audible but enough audible that the wand heard him. A glow of light came to the tip of his wand and illuminated the area in front of them. He held his wand around, looking to find the source of whatever the sound was that had startled them both. "It's gotta be here somewhere," he whispered to her. "My name's Ben, by the way. I didn't tell you before," he whispered, realizing he hadn't even introduced himself. Or maybe he had, he wasn't sure.
"I agree. Something is definitely off." He led the way towards the edge of the forest, looking out into the darkness. "Lumos," he said... barely audible but enough audible that the wand heard him. A glow of light came to the tip of his wand and illuminated the area in front of them. He held his wand around, looking to find the source of whatever the sound was that had startled them both. "It's gotta be here somewhere," he whispered to her. "My name's Ben, by the way. I didn't tell you before," he whispered, realizing he hadn't even introduced himself. Or maybe he had, he wasn't sure.
Ashley Coulson
Wandering Thoughts
@Ben Coletti
"It's gotta be here somewhere. My name's Ben, by the way. I didn't tell you before," Ben whispered. He held his lit-up wand up and scanned the area around them. Following suit, Ashley murmured "Lumos," and her own wand tip began glowing with white light. She was relieved that Ben thought something was wrong as well.
The howl came again, long and sad and lonely, not far away at all that time. It came from the forbidden forest. Which, as the name implied, students were forbidden to enter.
Ashley cocked her head towards the dark, scary forest and turned to Ben, whose face was glowing from the lights at the tips of their wands. "Okay," she whispered, "We aren't allowed to go in there. And I don't want to get in trouble or worse. So how about we scope the perimeter first?" The howl came again. Ashley inched closer to Ben, wand out. She fingered the bracelet Ben had admired, stroking it's blue, purple, and sliver threads. If they got out of this alive, she would make him one for chasing after a sound she had heard in the night with her.
When the long howl echoed once again, it was even closer. Ashley grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him along with her closer to the sound. Suddenly, she stopped abruptly. There, standing in front of them, was a wolf. Not a werewolf, but an ordinary wolf. It was huge and strong and beautiful. It's thick gray coat gleamed silver in the moon and the light from Ashley and Ben's wands. It's eyes were a shocking clear blue that made the wolf look solemn and all-knowing. It didn't seem at all fazed by the humans' presence. It merely looked at them before throwing it's head back and howling again. Ashley looked from Ben to the wolf. "It . . . it's beautiful, Ben. I've never seen anything so . . . majestic." But a nervous feeling still sat in the pit of Ashley's stomach.