Closed A beautiful morning at the owlery

The stairway to the owlery was illuminated by candles dotted along its stone wallls, the sun having not risen enough to lend any of its light to the castles sleepy inhabitants. Fortunately for this particular endeavour, Cass was very much a morning person. And a night person. More like a "sleep? Never!" Person actually. This had it's benefits and disadvantages (like annoying their dormmates to no end- a benefit if you asked them but perhaps a disadvantage to others) and they tended to use ridiculously early times of the morning to do their chores before classes started.

Even the owls where still asleep, heads tucked under fluffy wings. One of them was about to get a rude awakening because today, Cass had a letter to send home. London wasn't that far compared to other places though, and their stepmothers love of owls meant that they where sure to get breakfast and a pat before they returned to the castle. They shook a snowy white owl awake gently and attached a envelope crafted from thick and expensive looking paper to its leg, before whispering instructions to the owl on where to fly. It looked kind of annoyed at being woken up, so Cass gave it an absentminded headscratch and wandered over to the other side of the room to give it some room to awaken in peace. Never let it be said that they didn't have mercy on poor tired owls.

There was another girl standing there, who had been concealed from view at Cass's angle by a group of sleeping owls. She was watching an owl fly away as the sun started to just peak up above the horizon. Cass almost let out a small yawn before they stopped themself. No, they would not give in to the tiredness! They walked up beside the girl, and gave her a grin. Talking to someone would help keep them awake entertained. "Morning! Up early sending an owl as well?"

As Tori looked out the window, she saw another owl flying by. When she saw a child talking, she noticed that there was a child with dark brown hair and dark green eyes next to her. She smiled and started talking.

"Good morning. Yes, I sent an owl to my mother. I came early to make a nice surprise. And this was a good reason to watch the sunrise."

It was a beautiful weather outside. It looked so relaxing outside with no one around. Then she turned to the boy next to her. They hadn't even met the boy yet. She extended her hand and introduced herself.

"How rude of me, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Victoria. Victoria Lena Jones. But you can call me Tori if you want. Or Lena. It's up to you. So, what is your name? What is your house?"

Even though it was early in the morning, he felt very energetic. One of the reasons for this was her mother's answer.

"What do you like to do? What are your hobbies? Who did you send letters to?"

When she realized that she did not ask these questions, he started talking again. If he had her bag with him, she could offer chocolate.

@Cass Ito

The sun was just beginning to rise, and the view from the owlery was amazing. Honestly, Cass would never understand people who slept in. How could you bear to miss something so beautiful? They smiled back at the girl and opened their mouth to answer her flood of questions. "Im Cass- Slytherin by the way, which is clearly the best house" they grin "The letter was to my father and step-mother". At least someone else appreciated the sunrise. It was its own kind of magic really, something far outside what they could do with wands. The thought suddenly struck them that with strong enough spells and a good enough broomstick, you could probably fly all the way up to the sun. So much seemed possible this early in the morning.

"I like to fly- I'm not sure if quidditch or broom racing is my favourite, I just love being in the air" they open their mouth to speak again "As for hobbies uhh.. I like anything that's outside I guess. Oh, and most magical creatures". What else... they couldn't think of many things actually. It's not that Cass didn't have many hobbies, more that they were just a go with the flow person and tended not to plan out their days scheming didn't count. They turn to the girl again "What about you? What kind of stuff do you like doing?"./center]

Watching the sunrise felt so good. That's why she could even afford to get up early. She wasn't a late riser though. It felt very good that the weather was slowly warming up.

"I'm a Ravenclaw too. I think our house is better. How's your common room? Your stepmother? Do you get along well?"

The child becomes curious when you tell him about his hobbies. She thought that having an interest in magical animals was just like Tori's love of rodents, reptiles, or plants.

"Drawing, collecting flower petals, reading books, especially learning about plants, reptiles and spiders, and listening to music. "

If she had a book, maybe she could show him the pictures she drew. She yawned slightly. Waking up on Saturday morning couldn't change the fact that he was still a little sleepy. She wondered why Cass was at the owlery so early.

"So why are you at the Owlery so early? I mean, you could have come at noon or evening, but you came before the sun rose. Why?"

She leaned a little against the wall next to the window. She wasn't dirty, so he thought she wasn't. Even if it was dirty, she didn't care. The coldness of the wall made her feel better.

@Cass Ito

They strongly objected to ravenclaw being called the best house. It was clearly Slytherin, and they weren't afraid to tell the girl that. "I am a member of the actual best house, Slytherin" they said to her "And our common rooms obviously the best as well". Cass grins to make sure she understands that they are just participating in "friendly" house rivalry. "No seriously though because we are down below the lake we have GIANT windows and you can see out underwater" they smiled "I haven't seen the giant squid yet but some of the seniors say they have".

"And yeah my stepmothers nice- she loves owls so she might be happier to see it than my letter" they laughed. It was honestly true- their stepmother wasn't big on people but she did love birds. Cass was finding ways to get along with her better now, since that talk they had a few years ago. "Drawing sounds cool- I wish I had the patience to learn" any time they tried to draw anything it turned out looking like the giant squid. Which wasn't always a good thing.

"Oh and reptiles are the best- especially snakes" they grinned. Being able to talk to snakes was one of their favourite things, though they understood the reasoning behind keeping it a secret. Still, it would be nice to be able to translate conversations between this girl and a snake. "Music's awesome as well- I play violin" they fidgeted with their wand while they spoke "Not very well though". Cass laughed and stroked the head of a nearby owl they had disturbed.

They leaned back against the perch the owl was on, giving it a good scratch upon its little feathery head. "I'm here because I wanted to get here early and send a letter before classes start" the owl bopped their hand in an attempt to get them to keep patting it, so they did. Who were they to contest the wishes of a creature so beautiful? "And also I got bored waiting for everyone else to wake up" people took SO LONG to get out of bed in the morning, it was crazy. How hard was it? They could never sleep in the mornings (or nights honestly) either, so they often took to coming up here early to send letters or say hi to the owls when bored.

When she tried to imagine the Slytherin common room, a beautiful image came to her mind. A nice combination of green silver and black would be nice anyway.

"It sounds very noble and cool. The Ravenclaw Common Room overlooks the Great Lake, the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the Herbology greenhouses, the huts, and the surrounding mountains. Blue and Bronze gives an Astronomical vibe."

As he listened to Cass, she thought of the stepmothers normally described. 'I hope Cass and her stepmother will get along better soon,' she thought.

"If you want, I can show you what I do one day. If you have enough patience, maybe I can teach you in one day."

She says with a smile. "Yes. Snakes are very interesting animals. Especially a very interesting feature of a snake is that they can sleep for up to a year under environmental conditions, or if they die, they can sting with a quick reflex within 1 minute."

She said quite fascinated. Although the poison of reptiles such as snakes was harmful, it was used in many medicines. This was one of the topics that caught Tori's attention.

"I guess it's a good option. I think I'd choose it too. But if I'm in a chocolate crisis while choosing, I don't know. So, not being able to smell or not being able to feel?"

@Cass Ito

They smiled back at the girl. "It is! Noble is a good way to describe it actually" they say. It is a very grand place, and the green and silver of their house colours make it look like home. The way the girl describes the ravenclaw common room does make them curious though. They have heard so many rumours about the other houses, and the ravenclaw common room riddles especially. It's a good thing they aren't a ravenclaw, because they would be terrible at them. Remembering the passcode is hard enough without also trying to find the answers to a new cryptic question every time they feel like a walk. Still, they feel like it would be fun to visit.

"Yes! snakes are the best" they smiled again "Did you know some snakes cant move on glass?". Two can play the snake fact game. You find out a lot firsthand when you can talk to them, but this particular fact came from their textbooks. They did actually read what they were meant to occasionally. Those occasions just happened to be very rare. It wasn't their fault that books were boringggg. Which idiot decided that learning should be done through written work?

As for the girls other question- not being able to smell 100%. Feeling was amazing, and how could they live without the wind on their skin and the grass beneath their feet? "I would pick not being able to smell" they prop their chin upon their hand in thought "though cant you not taste without your sense of smell? Either way, not being able to feel would be so WEIRD". They scratch the owls head again "what about you? And did you just say chocolate?". Let no one say they didn't love chocolate. Chocolate was amazing.

Tori couldn't help but be surprised by this information. When she thought about it, she thought it might make sense. She engraved this information in her mind.

"Wow, I didn't know this information. Actually, it makes sense when you think about it. I think this depends on the way they move, right? It says in the books that the ways of moving are divided into four."

She spoke with curiosity. She was glad to have a friend who could answer questions like these. She loved researching, but it also caused a lot of questions to accumulate in her mind.

"I mean, there is such a thing as perfume. I mean, I would like to smell it. As a second option, I think I would choose not to smell it either."

She loved chocolate and couldn't bear not eating it forever. Since not feeling was such a bad thing, not smelling seemed like a worse thing. When he saw that the owls were starting to wake up, he went to an owl and petted its chin. They were tame because they were school owls. So it was very comfortable.

"The surroundings look beautiful from here. It's like music. Don't you think so?"

@Cass Ito

Snake facts are indeed a good topic of conversation. Most of the ones that they know they don't quite have an explanation for that wouldn't reveal their parselmouth abilities though. They wrack their brain for things that they have definitely learnt from textbooks, but come up empty. Like usual when books and reading are involved. Dam it. They wished they had something more interesting to say back, but they don't let it show on their face. "Yeah- it's because some of them get around sort of using their scales, they use them for grip on the ground" they reply with a grin.

She does have a point about all the wonderful smells of the world- however, they wouldn't consider perfume one of them. Maybe it's just a girl thing, because to them most of it smells like chemicals and a cheap imitation of the real thing. Freshly baked apple pies, and the clean fresh smell of the wilderness on summer days however are truly amazing scents. It would probably be possible to bottle them with magic, but (pun not intended) where was the magic in that? They were special because they were in the moment, and never to be repeated quite the same again. They can't quite find the words to explain that to Tori, so they just nod.

But then they pause for a second- maybe they should try. She seems nice, and they want to be friendly. Maybe even make a friend. "Yeah perfumes nice" they say with sudden confidence "But so are so many other smells- like freshly baked food, and animal's fur". Maybe they wouldn't have chosen smell after all. But then again, feeling was important too. Ugh, these questions were so harddd. But what Tori said about the surrounding sunrise made perfect sense. "Yes!" they smiled "Music is the perfect way to describe it. Do you play an instrument or sing? Or do you just love it?".