Counting Stars PV Aly Closed

@Lindsey Springhall
Aly's Text Colour: #1155Cc

Aly Salinger was absolutely delighted to be back at Hogwarts, but then again, Aly Salinger was usually delighted about pretty much everything.

The young, curly-haired Ravenclaw's favourite thing to do after the evening meal every day was go for a walk, and today was no exception to this rule, even though large white flakes of snow were falling fat and cold and wet towards the ground. The whole grounds were covered in a thick, fluffy layer of the stuff, and as she stepped out into the snow and wind, Aly wrapped her blue-and-bronze-striped Ravenclaw scarf a little more tightly around her thin, pale neck. "It's not worth catching a cold!" the young girl mumbled cheerily to herself, flipping up the hood of her Hogwarts-required, fur-lined winter cloak to keep her loose brown curls from buffeting into her face.

Not snow, nor wind, nor rain, nor even... Aly tried to think of some other odd weather phenomenon, but could come up with nothing... could keep her from enjoying the out-of-doors. And checking on her plants.

They weren't her plants, per se, these little patches of flowers that the Salinger girl tended carefully around the grounds. In fact, the groundskeeper probably took care of them too, now that she was thinking of it- considering that she hadn't planted them. Aly had just been steadily stumbling upon a plant here, a plant there on a solid majority of her after-dinner walks for the year and a half in which she'd been attending Hogwarts, and every time she discovered a new one, it was added to her mental list of things to love and care for. It also didn't hurt that the Ravenclaw girl loved flowers, and often kept a stash of freshly bloomed ones in her bag or in her hair. Though no blossom could be found among today's messy frizz, the simple thought of gathering a few for tomorrow- whether to wear or to hand out to strangers and friends, Aly wasn't quite sure yet- brought a smile to the ever-cheerful student's face.

The world was eerily and beautifully silent as the snow fell from the heavens, the tranquil and perhaps slightly creepy hush broken only by the satisfying crunch of Aly's plain black uniform shoes on the snowy grass. Grinning, Aly tilted her head skywards as she rounded a corner, hoping very much that no one was around to see her as she stuck out her tongue; a few flakes made their homes there, melting nearly instantly. She giggled. At times like this, it always seemed that nothing could ever be wrong with the world.

Then Aly rounded another corner, looking for the small cluster of bluebells she knew grew fast and strong against the wall furthest from her, and her eyes landed on the girl.

She was small like Aly, though probably a few inches taller than the short Ravenclaw... not that Aly could really tell, because she was curled up in a small ball, sitting alone in the middle of the snowy ground. A thin layer of snow was beginning to collect atop her golden-brown head, the curls of her hair falling around her arms and knees as the girl's face was buried entirely in her arms. And though the snow softly muffled any and all sounds at this time of night, Aly could still hear her sobbing.

The sight near broke her heart.

Though Aly couldn't see the girl's face, nor did she particularly recognize the crying, shaking voice, she knew instantly what she had to do and began to tiptoe as quietly as she could through the crunching snow towards the bluebells she lovingly tended. Quickly, the ringlet-haired brunette brushed the excess snow off of the flowers and leaves, rushing the job a bit, and then plucked a single purplish-cerulean bloom from near the top of one of the plants. Then she approached the girl with soft, tentative steps, trying not to startle her, and took a gentle seat on the ground beside her. The snow was cold, but Aly ignored it as best as she could.

Aly reached over and tucked the short, brownish-green stem into the visible crook of the girl's elbow, doing her best to not disturb the sobbing student too much.

Then, so she didn't seem odd or creepy, she folded her legs into a crossed pretzel and made a point of not looking at her new companion. I always hate it when people watch me cry.

Instead, she stared out at the snowy field in front of them; the lights of Hogsmeade shone faintly far away to their right, and except for the trees dotting the landscape with their branches weighing heavy with snow, Aly's footprints were the only things marring the perfect fluffy ground. How long had this girl been sitting here in the cold, anyway?

"I always love the world when it's like this," the short, skinny Ravenclaw sighed happily, gazing out at the view. It wasn't much, but it was home, and to Aly it was the most beautiful thing in the universe at that very moment. It always was. "So quiet and peaceful, like nothing can ever harm you. Always makes me feel better!" She cast a singular, quick glance to her side, a natural grin spreading across her freckled face. "That and flowers, of course. Hard to believe bluebells can survive in this sort of weather, but they're hardy plants, bluebells. Fighters, you see. Always doing their best..."

Then she realized she was about to ramble on about bluebells to a random crying girl in the middle of the snowy Hogwarts grounds, and she closed her mouth with a soft snap, returning to looking at the beauty of the snow.

WC: 953

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@Aly Salinger
speech in #6f5a93

Tears continued running down. Ugh. Why couldn’t she…control herself a bit? Although clearly no one’s looking at her around there, Lindsey felt a bit embarrassed. The young Springhall girl had never, never like this before, sobbing alone in the snowy world.

Snow was always highly appreciated by Lindsey. From the time she was born, she liked winter. Well, maybe a Springhall should like spring, and it was true, for spring had always had a strange attraction to Lindsey. But, nah, before spring came winter. Christmas, for example, was one of the best holidays in the year. And it was in winter. Nothing more should be explained. Pure, white snow calmed people down, and the Hufflepuff appreciated calmness. Normally there wouldn’t be an emotional outburst for her, but…

Maybe it was a little too much today. Lindsey shivered a bit in the cold. Merlin, she wasn’t wearing much clothes apart from the Hufflepuff color themed sweater, a wintercoat and an additional yellow and black scarf. She didn’t know how long she had been out here…but she went out before the sun had disappeared from the horizon. And now, it must be at least half past six.

“Iz…? she continued whispering. “Do you…do you miss me?”

It was a hard question. Lizzie Callaghan, one of her closest friends at Hogwarts, left school and transformed last term. Alina Rosier, another good friend, went to Beauxbatons. She didn’t dare to think about Marshal, Leonard, Lucia, Wyatt, Scarlett, and many others whom she seldom saw this days. Do you miss me? Do you know how much I wish to see you? She wanted to ask them. But she couldn’t. Lindsey had always loved her friends, and friends were always one of her biggest weaknesses. Maybe that’s why she ran for the beater position in the Quidditch team. She was afraid these days — after losing her old home and old neighborhood, after losing the trust for her grandfather, after losing her freedom doing the things she love freely — and finally, she was afraid of losing her dearest people, her friends, and her intimate family.

Another drop of tear fell onto her knees. Slowly she swept the little drop of tear away, and sighed a little bit. Being an extremely good analyst, Lindsey knew that crying out here wasn’t a top solution — or even, not a solution. But she wanted to. She wanted to let go.

She heard footsteps coming. She heard someone walking past. Being extremely sensitive to sounds and senses, Lindsey nearly jumped up. A prefect on patrol…? A professor, probably the Herbology professor, walking past? Or some annoying kids that loved to poke their noses into other’s private life? Tears ran down fast. Lindsey didn’t want to sweep them. Hopefully the one walking past could go away soon, without recognizing her. Well, number one, Lindsey Springhall wasn’t really one of the most popular ones around the school. Number two, even if someone indeed recognized her, it wouldn’t do much harm as she wasn’t known to most students. So she continued burying her head in her knees.

The footsteps stopped. Right beside her. A small flower was passed to her by the newcomer.

She smelt it. The smell of a beautiful flower. Through the tears on her face she could see the brownish green stem of the little plant, and surprisingly it bring her sense of calmness.

Who’s that? The intruder? Why? Why would them, this newcomer, care to stop by and give her a flower? And where did they get this flower? It’s…winter now. Did the one just picked one of those flowers over the Hogwarts grounds? Was them a Hufflepuff? Lindsey knew that Hufflepuffs loved taking care of plants. Well, she liked Herbology, but maybe the chocolate brown eyed girl wasn’t just that capable of being patient. All in all, she didn’t really have noticed the flowers and plants on the Hogwarts grounds — but surely, they were a beautiful scene during winter. She could imagine that, when she heard the newcomer speaking. It seemed that them — no she, since the merry voice was clearly from a girl, and a girl of her own age — had sat down besides her.

“…Hard to believe bluebells can survive in this sort of weather, but they're hardy plants, bluebells. Fighters, you see. Always doing their best...” the voice suddenly faded, as if the girl had left unexpectedly. So the flower that she just gave her was bluebell? Pretty name. Thought Lindsey. She was never a good flower planter, and could never recognize a plant apart from those taught in the Herbology greenhouses right. Somehow she had forgot all the pain and anger on her great grandfather…this little bluebell and the bubbly girl brought happiness to life again.

She shook some curls to the back to prevent them from blocking her view. Slowly she raised up her head, and quickly swept some tears off using her right arm. The tears vanished in the fabric as soon as they touched it, which was satisfying.

Interesting, the first thing she did after raising up her head after such a long time was to give a small yet nervous smile to the girl. “Is that…” pointing at the little flower, “…a bluebell?” and, with some tears still in her eyes and on her face, she murmured in a low voice. “It’s pretty indeed.”

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