Training Closed

Emma's smile only increased as the rays of the sun hit her face. It was an absolutely brilliant day to take a stroll outside, and well, every day was a great day in her opinion. Frankly, she ought to be studying, cramped up in the common room of Ravenclaw, but what was the point when she was just going to earn another 'Exceeds Expectations'? She was quite fine with her current grade.

Storing her hands inside of her robes, fingering her white aspen wand, she walked down the path to the Quidditch Pitch to train, after all, it wasn't exactly studying. She wasn't sure what to precisely call it, more like training. Her feet light on the rugged path, she zoned out and concentrated on the sound of the environment instead. 

Past the Herbology greenhouse, then the former campgrounds which she had slept in not so long ago. Up next was the Great Lake, it was tempting to walk past it without worrying about the wretched gigantic squid. That is until she heard a voice, one she had never actually heard before. Once, twice, thrice. The third time was always that magical number for everyone, what was so special about it? It just didn't seem to make any sense.

She watched the small leaf flutter up and down with the control of his wand, though it was tempting to say that the wind had merely blown that leaf. Still, she stood on the path clapping her hands, genuinely as she smiled, though she had no clue why. He was about her age, it was not like he was a first year who had just completed their very first spell. 

"Congratulations," she spoke, walking over to greet the successful student, "Emma, by the way, I'm going to assume that wasn't your first attempt at a spell?"

Alan looked up from his crossed legs position upon hearing a soft voice. When he did he soon noticed that the voice belonged to a girl, if the colour of the details of her uniform were any indication, she belonged into the house of the smart people; a Ravenclaw.

"Hey" he greeted back with a genuine smile, all though it failed to reach his eyes. "My name is Alan Va-... Alan Blackburn" he introduced himself, subconsciously twirling the Wand between his small fingers; it was distracting him enough to not feel the familiar nervousness he usually had when talking to new people. After living two weeks with a kinda complete stranger, if it was not for catching glimpses of him in school beforehand, Alan kind of lost a bit of his anxiety around others. He also got used to hiding his true feelings behind the shell of a happy and strong boy.

"I am a Second Year, Gryffindor - so I already mastered quite some spells" he explained kindly as he shrugged. "So... I suppose you are a Firstie?" He asked remembering that term being used for First Years frequently in the upper years. "Can you cast any spells yet?"

Listening closely to his words, he seemed apprehensive about expressing his own name. Why? She did not know, nor did she want to dig deeper into his history no matter how much she had been intrigued. It was never a good first impression. Still, she removed her hands from her pockets to produce a small wave, her eyes coming in contact with his wand.

Sometimes, she twirled her wand for entertainment. Other times, in class immediately before a spell. Never for her timid behavior, not that she would be able to remember. She had spoken to numerous students in her first and second year. In fact, she advanced from introverted to an extremely outgoing person. Perhaps it was the magical impression that Hogwarts had given to you the moment you cruised into the doors, only to have the Sorting Hat settled upon you. 

"Actually, I'm also a second year," she said cordially, chuckling a bit before looking down at her own shoes... at least Hogwarts did not provide shoes for them. "Mind if I join you? I hadn't been doing anything anyhow."

Emma didn't mind if the Gryffindor had kindly said no, but practicing spells with someone was much better than flying alone in the Quidditch Pitch. Regardless, she'd nevertheless be going to the Quidditch Pitch later to get in some training. Drawing her aspen wand from her robes, thinking of harmless spells she could perform, she inched forever, unsure if she should sit or not. She didn't want him to feel even more awkward than he always was.

"Incendio," she said painting a simple flame with her right hand. Her wand sputtered, and she repeated the spell, this time with a determined voice. It was a success. She examined the small ball of fire dropped into the Great Lake and fizzled into emptiness. "What other spells have you learned... and well have you perfected the Counter-Spell -" I think that's what it is called. "I cannot seem to get my timing right."

Alan looked at the girl in surprise and smiled when she told him, that she was also visiting Hogwarts as a second year student. He couldn't remember talking to her yet and he did not have the best memory so maybe he just forgot about her if they had been in the same classes."I don't mind at all, you are welcome to join me!" He chirped and scooted to the site so she also could sit down facing the Great Lake.

"I learned plenty of spells~ I really like learning the spells that get tought but I still have to work on my concentration a lot..." he explained. "What about you?" he asked back, watching as she casted Incendio towards the water and he grinned slightly. "Awesome!" He congratulated her on her successful spell and nodded in acknowledgement of her abilities.

"You mean the general counter spell? Finite Incantatem?" He asked "Sadly I haven't really learned that one yet... I mean I know about the spell and what it is used for, but I haven't casted it yet", he smiled softly hoping it would be enough explanation. "What is your favourite subject?" Alan suddenly asked the girl with a smile.

Taking a seat beside him, at a comfortable distance, she set her wand down on the soft earth. Observing both his smile and easy tone, she beamed. It made her feel much better that he had at least warmed up to her instead of feeling nervous, still, she didn't know why. Surely first-year Emma would have known the answer to that.

Picking her wand off the ground, she held on to it with a firm grip, two hands. It seemed to give her hands something to do, enough though she loved to listen to other people. Specifically, their problems, though she could never really seem to solve her own without the help of a friend or two. Her acceptance into Hogwarts hadn't made her life any than that it already had been. She'd bet that the rest of the main schools did not have this much drama.

"As for second-year spells, there are 'Slugus Erecto' and 'Incendio Duo' that I know, but I haven't turned in my second assignment, oh and the addition of the Bubble Charm. At least, that's what I call it." Emma laughed, as she was bombarded by a second question, though this time, she didn't really seem to mind. It was more of a good question.

Asking a Ravenclaw their favored subject was like asking Emma to choose between one of her beloved sport, nevertheless, she was still passionate about both sports and academic performance. Every subject was amazing, in her opinion, but there was only one that exceeded the rest. "Transfiguration, unquestionably. C'mon! It's your turn to perform a spell. Well, after you tell me your favorite class." She said, beaming.

Alan nodded lightly as he watched her sitting down beside him. She seemed nice, like really nice and she was not judging him or anything which he thought was nice. There are some people who are not that nice and some of the Ravenclaw House who were really proud of ther knowledge and made sure everyone knew how smart they are. However Alan just tried to be as open as possible when he was meeting new people. Only Gryffindors made him nervous. He was afraid that those sharing a house with him, sharing the Tower he slept in with him, that they were judging him. Because Alan didn't think he was strong like them or had the courage like they had. Often he was sitting awake listening to his dormmates snores as he wondered if the sorting hat made a mistake. Then he had to remind himself that the Hat makes no mistakes and that made him even more confused. What did the Hat saw in him that not even he himself could see?

"I really enjoyed Transfiguration with Professor Yornikovych as well! I really look forward to those classes with the new professor though... Another subject I enjoy is Potions and Charms" he answered with a smal chuckle. He loved those three subjects and... "Oh, I forgot to mention DADA! It is really all about being active and learning by doing, if you understand what I mean..." he added nervously. "I mean reading is fine and sfuff but I would rather do things" he rambled on not wanting to hurt her if she liked reading and all that.

He twirled his wand again with a frown, thinking about what he could probably do.
He saw a small flower that grew in violet color out of the ground and shrugged. "Diffindo" he muttered and doing the required movement (DC - 17 | rolled 18 | Success). With a smile he watched as the flower and a bit of grass got cut off and he tenderly reached for the flower, picking it up between his thumb and pointer finger. He began thinking and then grinned.

"You can cast Wingardium right? How about we take turns- one makes one of the fallen leaves float over the lake and the other aims for it with incendio! That way we can really train" he chirped, proud at his idea and the game he just thought of.

It was astonishing how he had warmed up to her so easily, it had almost shocked her, though in the best way possible. She had to prevent herself from daydreaming into her past, possibly because her bad hadn't been too great, but it also wasn't a daily-dread kind of life. No matter how hard she persuaded herself, it just still would not work. Moving cities, her grandmother dying right before her eyes, and the dread she got doing essays for class, though she felt pride after completing them.

They had more things in common than she had foreseen, possibly even larger than one of her own friends currently. She could see the enthusiasm in his eyes, that light looked inexplicably familiar. The absolute expression of Eagles (and just about anyone) whenever they spoke about the things they had a passion for, but she didn't know if this was a passion or just a mere conversation.

Shaking her head, she replied. "I enjoy DADA as well, well all moving in general." She had gotten used to the stereotype, and expected nothing less from other students. Every house was stereotyped for something false, at least hers wasn't the worse. Slytherin. As far as she knew, every person from Slytherin had been kind, protective, and great people to talk to when times got rough. They had seen it all, the criticism and the demeanor of people. 

Clapping, she beamed at his success, though it agitated her slightly that he had chosen to sever a plant into two. You could have easily planted another one.. or just grown another by magic, surely wizards were capable of doing so. She drew her wand, ready to cast her given spell, and she had no problem with doing so.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she said softly. Every spell had its own preferred variation of speech, well at least in her opinion. It was strange. (DC - 9 | Roll - 17 | Success) She kept her concentration on the small leaf she had chosen purposely. She gestured to Alan, grinning slightly.