A Missing Sketchbook PV Josh Ericson

For a while, neither of them spoke. The breeze stirred the branches overhead, and the lake remained calm in front of them. "It must have been hard for you to leave home to come to Hogwarts. I know when I first arrived in my First Year it was hard for me..." Josh sighed before sitting beneath the same tree. "Now Hogwarts is like a second home to me." She settled back beneath the tree, resting the sketchbook across her knees. Elara looked toward the castle as he spoke. From where they were, Hogwarts stood quietly across the grounds, its towers rising above the trees. Students wandered along the paths, while others lingered by the lake before heading back inside. The afternoon breeze carried the sound of distant conversations, though none of the words reached them. "It was," she admitted after a short pause.

Her fingers rested lightly against the edge of her sketchbook. "I don't think it really felt real until my parents had left." A small laugh escaped her. "After that, I kept wondering if I'd taken the wrong staircase or missed a turn somewhere." She glanced back toward the castle. "The first week was probably the hardest." She smiled to herself. "Everything looked the same to me." The breeze stirred a few loose strands of her hair. She tucked them behind her ear before continuing. "It's different now." She gave a small shrug. "I don't have to stop and think every time I want to go somewhere." Her eyes drifted toward the path leading back to the castle. "I've started recognizing a few people in the corridors too," she added with a faint smile, "but enough that the castle doesn't feel quite as unfamiliar."

For a little while, she simply watched a small group of students crossing the grounds. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "I still think about home sometimes." She lowered her gaze for a second before looking back at Josh. "But... I think I'm getting used to being here." Another brief silence settled between them. When Josh had said Hogwarts felt like a second home, she hadn't understood it straight away. Now, sitting beside the lake, she thought she understood a little better. She smiled. "I can see why you'd say that." Her eyes returned to the castle once more. "I don't think I'm there yet." She hugged the sketchbook a little closer without really thinking about it. "But... maybe I will be, eventually."

Elara's eyes fell briefly to the letter in Josh's hand. She understood what he meant. Writing to her parents wasn't quite the same as having them there, but it still made the distance feel a little smaller. “Elara, do you mind if I see some more of your drawings? It would be cool to mention them in my response to my parents. They like hearing about... Well... Everything that goes on, the interesting stuff and the subtle stuff.” She hadn't expected him to ask about her drawings again, but she didn't mind. "Sure," she said with a small nod. "You can."

She opened the sketchbook again, going back to the pages near the middle. The old oak tree was still there, along with the narrow path and the bench beneath its branches. A few pages before it were some of her older drawings from home. A butterfly, flowers, trees, and other little things she'd drawn over the years. The drawings became newer as she went on. There was the castle from across the grounds, with its towers rising above the trees. The Great Lake appeared on another page, though she hadn't finished the water yet. There was a small flower she'd noticed beside one of the paths too.

Then came Lumi. The silver mackerel tabby was sitting with her tail curled around her paws. Elara paused for a moment, looking at the drawing before turning the page. "I was trying to remember this corridor," she said when she reached another sketch. Tall windows lined one side, with a few suits of armor and some students farther down. "I got distracted halfway through." A small smile appeared before she moved on.

Some of the next drawings were much smaller. A stack of books, a candle on a windowsill, a quill beside an open piece of parchment. Even a pair of shoes someone had left outside a classroom. "I usually draw things like these when I don't have much time." She stopped at the library. The drawing showed a few bookshelves and a small table tucked between them. "This one was from the library. I liked that corner. It was quiet."

The rest of the pages were mostly leaves and branches, some drawn separately and others together. They were more like practice than anything else. "There are still a lot of places here that I haven't drawn yet." She glanced at Josh, then back at the sketchbook. "Just don't laugh at the really old ones." Her smile faded into something a little more sheepish. "Some of them are pretty bad." She held the sketchbook out to him. "Here."