“What’s the worst that can happen?” PV

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Ruby was outside yet again – nothing new. She loved nature, and out here, she could still do some of the activities she enjoyed. She could read, write, draw, observe people, find new people to ally with, plot mischief and possibly even perform it out here. She could experiment, too, although she preferred doing that inside. She loved the library and all the knowledge she could gain from reading books, but she had started to read outside more and more frequently. The weather was significantly nicer than it had been in the winter, and there was no reason for her to remain in the library – except, perhaps, for the quiet, but there were places out here where she could still be in an area where there was a relative lack of talking.

She made trips to the library most days anyway, to return the books from the previous day or two and get out some new ones that she would undoubtedly whizz through. Ruby was a child who adored gaining new information, and books practically presented it to her. How could she refuse? One of her main goals was to learn as much as possible, after all. She always finished her homework early so that she didn't have to worry about that getting in the way of her own separate knowledge gaining.

Today, she had already read a book or two, done some drawings, written in her notebooks about the people she had observed, and had then wandered out here to continue people-watching and all that stuff. She had climbed a tree, going higher and higher until the branches would no longer be able to support her weight if she kept going, and then she had settled there for a while. By now, however, she had climbed back down to the lowest branch, still hidden from any onlookers by the leaves, but she could peer out at the students roaming the grounds and observe them, find out about them, see what they were doing and if anyone was being somewhat interesting.

A Gryffindor boy came outside purposefully and began gathering stones and sticks. He then jabbed the sticks into the dirt and made a pile out of the rocks. Curiously, Ruby tilted her head slightly to the side and leaned forwards on her branch, trying to get a better view. However, unfortunately for her, he had just moved ever so slightly out of sight. She climbed down reluctantly, motivated by her desire to see what he was doing. Now, she could see that he was pointing his wand at the pile and muttering to himself. What was he trying to do? He seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated.

She didn't want to be caught watching him, so she walked over to strike up a conversation instead. “Hello, are you alright? What're you trying to do?” Her tone was friendly and open, and far from accusatory. She had carefully, deliberately spoken in a way that wouldn't anger him further and would perhaps soothe him instead.

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