Morning Among the Owls PV Anna Blackrose finished

' ' - thinking
" " - speaking

“Good morning. Oh, you climbed up really high and this early in the morning. The letter must’ve been an important one.”

The presence of another student has Dora immediately straightening her spine and neutralizing her features. Turning around, she sees a young, dark-haired witch in Ravenclaw colors. She's vaguely familiar, Dora probably having seen her around in the halls or maybe in one of her classes. Then again, she may be mistaken. Either way, it doesn't much matter. She doesn't know this girl, and this is just an encounter between strangers. So, she offers her a polite nod, answering her question in little words. "No, just a routine one."

A gust of cold wind blows in, though it's not too bad when wearing robes. She hopes it isn't too cold for the other girl. Sneaking a glance, she watches her fasten a letter to an owl and send it off. Dora hasn't seen many people come up here this early. She likes to get the task out of the way every Monday morning, but a lot of other students mail their letters later. Thinking back to the girl's comment, she wonders briefly if her letter is an important one.

Oh well, that's all with that. She turns back to pick up her journal where she set it, and stops. It's gone! Her eyes widen, starting to panic as she looks around. She's sure she set it right there on the ledge!

"Where is it...?" She mutters worriedly.

Reducio

I know our colors are similar, so I just want to clarify that the bit at the top is what Anna said before!

"No, no, no, no..." Dora says under her breath as she looks around for her journal. It was right there!

'What if it fell out the window??' She suddenly thinks, afraid she may have lost her uncle's gift. How could she be so careless?

On the verge of tears, she steps back and bumps into someone, startled because she'd forgotten about the other girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" She apologizes, her throat hitching halfway through. Her hand goes to cover her mouth in embarrassment, and she turns away. She shouldn't make such a scene...

“Hey, what are you looking for?” The girl asks, and Dora shakes her head. "No, I- I mean, it..." She stumbles over her words, failing to express herself adequately. Why is she so overcome by this? It shouldn't be that big a deal! But she feels so bad for losing it, it hurts.

But... maybe this girl can help? Dora knows it's presumptuous to ask, and she doesn't want to be a bother, but she's so desperate to find her journal. Before she can change her mind, she quickly says, "I'm looking for my journal. I left it right over there, and now it's gone. Please, have you seen it?"

Dora really hopes that she has.

Dora feels a hand squeeze her shoulder, and she's a little put off by it. She's just not used to all that physical touchy feely stuff. But, she knows it's meant to be comforting, so she doesn't recoil. She just stops moving as the girl tries to soothe her.

“Hey it’s okay. Your journal is up there."

"What?" Dora's eyes dart up and widen when she sees it. That owl stole her journal! It's nesting now, but really high up and out of reach.

“Do you know any spells that could get your journal back, without hurting the owl? It did take your journal, but I’m sure it wasn’t to cause you harm.”

She nods, not feeling that annoyed at the owl. It doesn't know any better, after all. Still, Dora's not quite sure what to do. She thinks over the spells she's learned this year, and one comes to mind. "Maybe.. the Levitating Charm will work?" She says to herself mostly. But, what if she messes it up?

She pulls out her wand and takes a deep breath. 'Just... concentrate. Like Professor Fresnel said in class.'

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Dora tries to keep her focus on the book, gently levitating it out of the nest. The owl seems a little irritated, but doesn't try to hold onto it. 'Just lower it down slowly...'

Not wanting to, Dora suddenly envisions the journal falling, or being taken away again. She loses her grip on the spell and the journal is falling. "No!"

To Dora's surprise, the girl moves to catch her falling book. She nearly does, too, but it hits her fingers awkwardly. “Ouch!” She shouts, Dora wincing in sympathy and sucking in a breath as the journal falls onto the floor, open and pages on the ground. "I'm sorry, are you alright?" She asks quickly, hoping the girl isn't badly hurt because of her. She seems to be okay, thank goodness.

Her mood sinks when she turns back to her book, seeing the owl droppings all around. She's almost too anxious to see what the damage is. The girl picks it up for her, handing it over.

“I’m sorry, I tried to catch it.”

"Thank you." Dora says, maybe not sounding as appreciative as she really is. She dusts off the dirt, which doesn't stain the pages. The worst damage is how bent some of the pages are. It hurts seeing something new made such a mess of. 'Not as bad as it could've been, though...' She thinks glumly.

“I can reparo it if you want? I’m good at that spell.”

"It's alright. I'm sure I can manage." She could also cast the Mending Charm. She's used it before on a torn dress. But part of her thinks she doesn't deserve to fix it. Leave the bent pages as a reminder not to be so careless next time.

It's time she leaves, but before she does, she turns and thanks the girl again. "Thank you. What is your name? Mine is Isadora Everridge." She introduces herself properly, thinking it the least she can do.