A muddy meeting pv Haley Rose Finished

Cosmo grinned, delighted to be given a chance to talk about something she loved. She thought back to the long sunlit afternoons that seemed as though they'd never end. The fields and forests had beckoned her and so she went, exploring sometimes from dawn to dusk and completely immersing herself in the natural world. There was a specific kind of peace and quiet that she felt deep in her soul when she was alone in nature. Cosmo blinked herself out of the memories, and tried to think where to start.

"Well I've been doing it for years, the first animal I helped was a little brown hare. We think he was caught by a cat, when I found him his legs were all bloodied and he couldn't hop, so I brought him home and begged mum to help," Cosmo gave a wry grin, "she didn't take much convincing to be honest." Cosmo's affinity to animals was partially born from a loneliness, but mostly inherited from her mother, and none of the animal rescues would have been possible without her help.

"So we cleaned him up and put a salve on his wounds and in a couple of days he was well on the mend! From then on I was always on the look out for anyone who might need our help, and we've rescued squirrels and hedgehogs and robins, even the occasional falcon," another child their age may not find any interest in these things, but Cosmo was almost certain that Haley would. Maybe one day they would even rescue an animal together.

Cosmo was glad that Haley went first, as it gave her more time to study the other girl, and try to notice all her little mannerisms when she talked. Her first statement took Cosmo by complete surprise though, it wasn't that Slytherin was bad... she just didn't know many Gryffindors who would want to be sorted there. She tried her best to set aside judgement until Haley finished talking though, just in case there was anything completely outlandish. There wasn't though, and Cosmo could not tell for the life of her whether Haley was lying just from her expression.

"The first one was a lie, right?" Cosmo scratched her chin, thinking. "I can definitely see you playing piano, and having a brother, but Gryffindor is so much better than Slytherin! We always seem to be having more fun at the dining table at least." If Cosmo had guessed wrong, she might have accidentally caused insult, and she definitely didn't want that, but she was pretty sure she was right.

Cosmo took a few seconds thinking, before saying her first truth - "One time when my magic was first coming in, I accidentally filled the whole bathtub with little golden frogs," she squished her shoulders up sheepishly. It had been because she missed her usual bath toys, which were lost somewhere at the back of her room. Then her lie - "Another time when I was really little I planted what I thought were broad beans in the garden, but were actually spare coat buttons," Cosmo tried her best to look just as sheepish for this one. It had actually almost happened, but her Grandma had caught on and warned her. Finally her second truth - "My dad is missing because the secret magic organisation he worked for sent him on a dangerous mission, and no one knows if he's dead or alive," this time she tried her best to keep a straight face, but hearing it come out of her own lips she just had to grin a little bit. It sounded absolutely ridiculous even to her.

Haley looked in awe at Cosmo as she told the story about the hare. Haley had always been interested in nature and its creatures, whether magical or not, and thought it was great that Cosmo had such a good heart and had probably saved the little one's life. She herself thought for a moment. Had she ever saved an animal before? No...although when she was at her grandfather's she had let the snake free, which is why she had a huge fight with Aiden. She smiled at the thought and decided to write a letter today.

Haley smiled victoriously, proud of her acting skills. "I have to disappoint you, It wasn't a lie." she said and started laughing. She could understand her reasoning, most non-Slytherins thought the same way. "I was really hoping for Slytherin, well Slytherin or Gryffindor. So my wish still came true." She giggled, "I've actually been playing the piano since I was a little kid, I learned it from my dad. However, I don't have a brother. I have many cousins and Ian is like a brother to me, yet only a cousin." She explained further and shrugged her shoulders.

She now turned her focus on Cosmo, hoping she would expose her lie. She listened to her words and paid close attention to her facial expressions. She laughed, she didn't know why but that sounded totally like Cosmo. Well, as far as Haley could tell just now. She put her hand over her mouth apologetically and waited for Cosmo to continue. Haley could also imagine the second statement and she feared that this was going to be difficult for her. Wow, that last statement was tough. No one would make something like that up, was Haley first thought and she remembered that she had only mentioned her mother a few minutes ago, not her father. But again she could see a small grin on her lips. If that were the truth, it certainly wouldn't be a reason to smile, would it? Still, Haley wasn't sure, but she hoped that the last one was the lie and typed accordingly. "The last one was your lie?" she inquired cautiously, glancing uncertainly at cosmo and beginning to chew on the inside of her lip.

Next round, new luck. "I literally know nothing about my family." Laughed Haley, immediately annoyed that she hadn't put on her poker face. To anyone this would immediately be the lie, but in Haley's case it was the truth. "I'm originally from Ireland." She just kept laughing, this was now her new poker face, as well as her second truth. Now came the lie "I play on the Quidditch team." She would like to, but did not. Not yet, as it would later turn out.

Cosmo let out a gasp that was partly genuine shock and partly mock horror at Haley's appreciation for Slytherin. She placed her hand dramatically across her chest and leant back, an expression of teasing incredulity on her face.

"I can't believe you wanted to be in Slytherin," Cosmo turned her head away, eyes closed and head tilted up pompously, "I'm sorry I guess we can't be friends anymore!" She held her position a second before peeking back to Haley and dissolving into a fit of giggles. She let them out for a while before drawing a deep breath and pushing her stray hair back from her face, and turning to face Haley properly.

"That is very interesting, though," Cosmo's expression became serious once again. "I'm very glad you ended up in Gryffindor because now we get to share a common room and be in the same classes, but I wonder what it would have been like to be in Slytherin," she wrinkled her nose, "I bet their common room is freezing if it's in the dungeons."

"I'd love to hear you play one day! The only place I've heard piano is at church during Christmas when mum made us go," it hadn't been an unpleasant experience but the piano and choir had definitely made it ten times more enjoyable, "and I'd love to hear about Ian, maybe I'll meet him when I visit?" Cosmo smiled cheekily.

It was adorable to watch Haley try and figure her lie out, the girl became so serious, even chewing on her lip at one point, and Cosmo wondered if she might have a competitive streak in her. "I'm afraid to say that was a truth," Cosmo looked away for a second, suddenly realising that in order to try and catch Haley out she had said exposed a very vulnerable part of herself, "but an eye for an eye I guess! Your turn," she smiled, covering over her awkward moment.

This time Haley laughed through talking, and Cosmo supposed it must be the new tactic. She didn't think it was likely for Haley to nothing about her family, especially because she had mentioned Ian previously. When Ireland and Quidditch were mentioned Cosmo looked Haley up and down. She was lithe and elegant, making her a perfect candidate for Quidditch, and her slight accent gave her away as Irish. "I think your first answer is your lie," Cosmo stated, quite confidently this time.

Now to choose her new lie and facts. Cosmo changed up the order this time, saying both her truths first, and her lie last. "I can hold my breath for a minute and a half," she grinned proudly, "I painted a whole wall in my lounge room with mum," still grinning, "and I'm allergic to nuts." Cosmo was pretty sure she'd been grinning throughout the whole time, but her face might have slipped a little on the last answer. It was actually her mum who was allergic to nuts.

@Haley Rose

Haley started to laugh out loud, she knew it was just a joke but this was exactly the reaction she expected. There is probably no Gryffindor who could understand this statement. At Cosmos words she slapped her hand over her heart and pretended it to hurt. "Ahh." She spoke theatrically and flopped onto her back before continuing to laugh with Cosmo. She straightened back up and stuck her tongue out before smiling warmly at the girl. Haley knew she had made a wonderful new friendship today.

"I'm glad too." Replied Haley, giggling at the thought of the Slytherin common room. "Yeah but maybe it's queasy warm down there too from the crimson, green couches and comfy chairs everywhere." Haley enthused and laughed. She didn't know what it looked like down there, of course, but that's how she imagined it.

"Oh yeah, I'd love to play for you sometime! I should spend more time here at Hogwarts practicing too but I always end up finding an excuse and something more exciting to do." She shrugged, being honest. "Oh and Ian, he's great. You really need to meet him, I'm sure they'll come visit us next summer and you can get to know each other then." Haley smiled broadly, pleased that the two of them were already making plans for the future, even though they had only just met.

Haley looked shocked for a moment when Cosmo admitted it wasn't a lie. She didn't ask any more questions, she wouldn't push Cosmo, but it hurt her heart to think about it. Not knowing if her own father was alive or not had to be awful.

She shook the thoughts off again, wanting to pick up and spread the positive vibes. "Makes sense to think that," Haley replied, looking uncertainly for a moment at her hands plucking blades of grass on the ground. "But unfortunately, it was the truth. I was born in Ireland and I'd like to play on the Quidditch team, but I don't. Not yet." She laughed lightly. "But unfortunately, I know almost nothing about my family." She shrugged, feeling the sadness welling up inside her. "It's not that I don't want to know. But well, it's just the way it is." she waved off the subject and focused on Cosmo.

"Here we go, let's see if I can expose you this time." She watched Cosmo and listened to her statements. The first was almost certainly the truth. A minute and a half wasn't long and Haley was sure cosmo could hold it even longer. Haley also trusted Cosmo with the second, it was so simple, not very special. She logged this as truth as well. After the last statement, Haley pondered for a moment. This was a good round, Cosmo didn't take anything special, all things that could apply to many, but she stuck with her first thought.

"I think you are NOT allergic to nuts." She said confidently, looking at Cosmo expectantly.

"Okay one last round I would say, then I think we need to get going for dinner." Haley said kinda sad, even though she would prefer to sit here with Cosmo for hours.

"Most people think I'm older than I actually am." That truth was easy to expose as truth. Haley was more mature to others her age and looked a bit older. People were often surprised to learn she was younger than they thought. "I don't have a specific plan for my future." While most raved about what they wanted to be someday, Haley didn't have a plan and she also felt she still had plenty of time to discover that for herself. She was still young and desires and dreams changed far too often for her to commit to anything just yet. She knew she wanted to see the world someday, but that was hardly a plan. "My favorite color is yellow." Lie, lie, lie. Her favorite color was green, and it always would be. At the last thought, the corner of her mouth pulled up slightly, barely noticeable, only to a good observer.

Cosmo watched Haley's returned theatrics, and felt her heart grow warm. It wasn't often that her goofiness was reciprocated, but she was very glad Haley did. Then the other girl described how she imagined the Slytherin common room, and Cosmo began to realise just how much Haley really wanted to be a Slytherin. It made her wonder, and she decided to ask about it properly another time.

"Your piano situation sounds familiar, y'know, I haven't had a chance to do any knitting since I got here," she put on a mock pout, "I was halfway through a jacket for my dog and now it's at the bottom of my trunk!" Cosmo considered for a moment, tilting her head, "maybe you can practice piano and I can knit while I listen, that would work out perfectly!"

Back at home Cosmo had done kitting or art while her mother read her stories, and those quiet times of softly existing together was one of the things she missed most. She couldn't imagine living with someone and not knowing them. Thinking about Haley having to do that made Cosmo wish she could have befriended the girl even before Hogwarts, but hopefully there had been close friends for her back at home. There were more questions Cosmo wanted to ask but she knew there would be other days for that, and hopefully when they came she would be able to offer Haley some comfort. Instead, she sat up straight again, turning the conversation to the happier subjects.

"That's brilliant! Oh my god I can imagine you on a broom, are you gonna try out?" she wasn't quite sure why, but the thought of being friends with someone on the Quidditch team made Cosmo very excited. She had considered joining herself, but coming from a muggle childhood she didn't have the confidence on a broom yet, and so had decided to wait a few years and see if she was ready then.

When Haley guessed correctly Cosmo's whole face lit up, glad her new friend had got one right. "Correct! I'm not allergic to anything, thank god," a grin, "are you? I wanna make sure I don't accidentally poison you one day."

Haley was right of course, there really was only time for one more round, but Cosmo didn't want the game to end, she was having a really good time. She nodded nonetheless, and comforted herself with the thought that maybe the two could sit together in the Great Hall.

Cosmo listened carefully, and sorted through Haley's answers once she was done. The first was definitely believable considering Haley's appearance, and the way she seemed to speak with a wisdom beyond her years. Thinking back to the conversation about future and travel earlier it seemed likely that Haley's second answer was a truth, also. She certainly hadn't mentioned any longterm plans then.

"I don't think your favourite colour is yellow," Cosmo said, grinning happily, quite sure she was right. "What is your favourite colour?"

The last round of questions. Cosmo sat for a second watching some soft puffy clouds, thinking of what she wanted Haley to know. "I designed one of my mums tattoos," truth, drawn two years ago, it was a little brown barn owl on the inside of her wrist. "My Grandpa won a medal for rescuing a calf from a mineshaft," truth again, it was before Cosmo was born, but it was one of her favourite stories for him to tell. "I want to dye my hair purple," lie, it wasn't something Cosmo had ever considered before this very moment, but if she did ever dye her hair it wouldn't be purple.

@Haley Rose

Knitting? Haley had never met anyone her age who did it, but she didn't find it strange, she found it special. She liked it, which somehow made Cosmo even more special. It was incredible how much she learned about her in a single afternoon. She would definitely have to keep the idea of 2 truths 1 lie in mind for the future.

"Oh my God you have a dog?" gasped Haley, interrupting Cosmo. She slapped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry and yes, that sounds great! I'd say our next meeting will be in the rehearsal room." Haley now suggested and already couldn't wait for it.

Haley loved playing the piano and also learning new instruments. At home she had spent a lot of time at the piano with her father since she was a little child, but at Hogwarts there were so many new and exciting things to do that rehearsing just didn't get enough time. Playing the piano while Cosmo knitted something, doing something together on their own and maybe learning a bit more about each other just sounds great. Haley had far too few friendships where they could sit together in peace and quiet without it becoming awkward. And her gut told her that she had found such a friendship today.

"I definitely want to try it." Haley gushed enthusiastically, her eyes lighting up at the idea that she really could soon be a part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The idea of having her first game sparked pure excitement in her and she imagined throwing the Quaffle through the goal and seeing Cosmo in the stands cheering with her. It was just an imagination but maybe someday it would be reality.

"Maybe you are the killer of us both after all," Haley laughed, "I'll tell you my weak spot thinking you don't want to poison me and then bam, I'm done." the red head joked, tapping her index finger against her temple to make it clear she was being clever. "But no, no known allergies." she answered her question.

Haley was surprised by Cosmo's sureness, she liked the confidence and had to grin. "You're right, my favourite colour is green."

The last round was hard for Haley, she couldn't imagine Cosmo wanting to dye her hair purple but that she had designed a tattoo of her mother wasn't either. "Okay, that's a tough round." She mused for a moment, "But I say the tattoo is the lie." She feared it was the wrong guess, but she had to choose something. "And if it's not the lie, I'd also like a tattoo designed by you." Haley added with a laugh.

She would wait for Cosmo's answer before packing her things and suggesting that they go to dinner together at Big Haley.

Cosmo laughed heartily at Haley's reaction, she was glad her friend got so excited over dogs, that was another thing they had in common. "Yeah I do! She's a Chihuahua called Ruby, and she thinks she's the queen of the house, you should come meet her one day! I can show you all around my village, we can build a pillow fort and have midnight snacks," Cosmo smiled happily, it was really nice to plan for the future with Haley. Everything felt so natural she almost couldn't believe they had just met today.

Seeing Haley's excitement for quidditch was contagious, and Cosmo found herself desperately eager for her friend to get accepted onto the Gryffindor team. "You should go for it! And once you get in I will absolutely be cheering you on," Cosmo smiled, before gently leaning to the side and nudging her shoulder against Haley's in a friendly gesture.

A small furrow appeared between Cosmo's brows when Haley called her a killer, but then she recalled earlier in the conversation and burst out laughing. "Oh my god you're right, I better be more careful when I tell people who are practically strangers-" Cosmo wiggled her eyebrows at Haley, insinuating that she meant her, "-about my mum's allergies."

Cosmo carefully made a mental note of her friends favourite colour, and decided to paint her a lush green forest one day. Once Haley gave her answer Cosmo nodded, it had been a tough round. "I think if I died my hair it would probably be pink or red, but I did make a tattoo for mum! It was of Achilles, a little barn owl that dad bought for her," she grinned, "I would absolutely make a tattoo for you though, once we're older of course!"

The sun was setting and the air was steadily loosing heat, so when Haley stood up to go Cosmo readily followed, cleaning her feet from mud by wiping them in grass on the way up to the castle. She turned to look back at the lake one more time, imprinting the memory of today in her mind so that she would always remember where she first met Haley.

@Haley Rose