A Free Day in the Courtyard Closed

Adonis sat under a tree, watching. Classes had yet to start for her, and she was so. bored. There was little to do here, compared to her home where she couldn't so much as breath without creating five more chores. 'Oh Adonis, make sure the cows are fed'. 'Oh Adonis, brush the calf's, would you?'. 'Oh Adonis, since you can't smell, clean the pens, Father says they stink Oh Adonis'. She grimaced, clicking her teeth. Maybe having nothing to do was okay. She shifted in the grass. But wow, what she wouldn't give to have someone to at least share this boredom with.
She had decided to student watch since that really seemed to be the thing to do here, and she didn't have any friends. Yet. She told herself. Yet. She watched a few students here and there, jotting down what she could overhear of their conversations, sketching them. For a second, she feared this was invasive. She'd really only done this to complete strangers - but these were her classmates! She paused.
Oh?A flash of red drew the girl from her thoughts. She watched closely as a girl around her age made her way over to the fountain, only to pull out a piece of parchment in a way that struck Adonis as quite deliberate. A note from someone? She watched as the girl put the parchment above her head - odd - and let it go. Note from someone they doesn't like, then? Why make a show of it, though? She glanced around at the other students. None stood out to her, no one that she could see gave the action an extra glance. Adonis hummed. Interesting.
Her leg bounced in thought for a second before the blonde stood up, taking her notebook with her.
She made her way to the other end of the fountain, making an equal show of picking up the paper, making sure to keep the written side facing down. "This yours?" She asked, a small smile playing on her lips. You wanted to put on a show, entertain me. Who are you?

Winter watched as the blonde stranger had walked, her long flowing hair glimmering in the sun. She had been watching the tree waiting for the perfect chance to snatch the spot. Quickly she rushed over sitting in the shade, against the cold tree. A slight smile formed on her face as she took a deep breath and let it out, the fresh scent of pine cones filled the air. This is exactly what winter needed, a nice cool place to calm down after the constant rushing to classes. Looking around winter sees multiple students hanging out with each other, each of the different Hogwarts houses forming together as friends. Letting out a sigh winter begins to think of home, not having any friends there...now not having any friends here. Then again who can she blame but herself her shyness and fear of getting rejected pushed her away from doing more and making friends?
She paused before sighing again, reaching into her bag and taking out her headphones, and placing them on her head listening to music. Winter lays her head against the tree feeling the cool bark through her hair as she slowly closes her eyes. Slowly her arms lift sliding her hands into the pocket of her large hoodie. Quietly singing along to her music winter keeps thinking about everything slowly missing home more and more. Sitting up, she begins to look around as the girl from before catches her eye along with the brown-haired girl sitting gracefully on the fountain with her hair blowing in the wind. Without realizing it I stare at the two girls, with my head rested on the tree and my hands rested cozily in the pocket of my hoodie

they seem nice...

Now if I could only bring myself to talk to them...

Iris was surprised by the way the blonde girl, she could only assume was around her age had approached her. Her green eyes assessed the way that the girl held the parchment. Face down?
"It was." Iris began, trying to keep the Romanian accent hidden. It always came out whenever she got excited, and the prospect of making a friend seemed to be getting the girl excited. "Then I lost it. Clumsy me, but you found it! Thank you so much....?" She reached out for the parchment, her head tilting to the right as she would wait for a name to match with the face.
Her eyes did drift for a second, though, seeming to sense the extra pair of eyes on them. Still she couldn't seem to place where the feeling was coming from and returned them to the girl in front of her. A smile found a way to rest upon her face as she pondered who this girl would become to her. A close friend? Someone to prank? The possibilities were endless and she could hardly contain her curiosity. More questions were piling into her mind as she couldn't recall seeing this student before, yet she held them back. There would be time for questions and time for answers.
@Adonis Hoffmann@Winter Wolfhartz

"Adonis." The farm girl replied. Her head tilted to the right in a sort of mirror of the girl infront of her. The girl seemed nice, from what the blonde could tell. She seemed well meaning and, Adonis glanced at her hands, clumsy. Or at the least, someone that worked with their hands, based on the band-aids that adorned the girl's fingers. Maybe...an animal handler then? She felt a smile pull at her face. Oh, she hoped! They'd have lots to talk about then. Adonis also noticed a slight change in the girl's accent, one she wasn't familiar with. British? Or someone from faraway? Wow, insightful Hofmann. She mentally patted herself on the back for noticing so many things about this new girl - hopefully things to talk about. Then again, they had both spoken, oh maybe a few words - and despite how many times Adonis read the books, she was certainly no Sherlock Holmes.
"Hufflepuff," she added, as if that alone would spark a conversation. "Note's for class...?" She asked, bringing the crinkled paper to the other girl's hand in hopes for her name in exchange.
As she leaned to the side to do so, a change in the background came to focus. Another girl was sitting under the tree Adonis had been sitting at. Her eyebrows raised slightly. Were you people watching too? The thought made her feel a bit more grounded - wither it was because it served as a reminder that, at the end of the day, she fit in just as well as any student here; or because it meant others people watched was lost to her. I wonder, if we drop the paper in the fountain again, if she'll come over here as well.
@Iris Zarus@Winter Wolfhartz

"Iris Zarus." Iris replied, her Romanian accent seeming to hide once more. "And they are notes..." She paused with a sly smile. "Of sorts."
Iris brushed some hair out of her face as she wondered whether to tell the contents of the parchment to this girl. As the paper touched her fingers she grabbed it and instinctively twirled it as she tried to pin down if this girl had ever orchestrated a prank of any kind.
"Gryffindor." She added, the statement being as much an afterthought as it was. Her mind trying to quickly place where the Hufflepuff common room was. Was it true that it was next to the kitchens? That would be extremely helpful, but upon looking at Adonis closer she began to wonder if this girl would be comfortable with the one idea she had been toying with. As the paper rested on her lap, a finger ran across the word 'Verita', the rest having been successfully ruined by the water, not that the notes seemed to be out of place among all of her other notes.
"Where are you from?" She decided she would not bring it up herself. "Your accent sounds familiar but I can't seem to place it." Upon closer examination she had noticed that Adonis's build was more towards the muscular side. Was she a part of a quidditch playing family? Iris wouldn't have known either way, having never been all that interested in the game. So what was this girl's story. "What does your family do?" The second question slipped out before she could stop it, her eyes widening in embarrassment, hoping she wouldn't scare off this girl.
@Adonis Hoffmann@Winter Wolfhartz

Adonis' eyebrows quirked up, her lips slightly curling inwards to stifle an amused smile. A Gryffindor! With that single word, Adonis understood the flourish in dropping the paper. She should've known. She smiled warmly. Mother always said they were an interesting folk. Words her mother had said about Hufflepuff's flashed in the back of her mind, but she payed no mind.
"Amersham, England." She replied, perhaps a bit too proudly. "But my folks are from Ireland - they say I speak like them." She smiled softly. " They own a farm, a nice place in the country with lots of cattle." Speaking of the place brought warm memories of the cows and the sunsets she'd watch with them. Adonis wondered if Iris had experienced something similar, and if not, then what had she experienced? Iris reminded Adonis of something from a book - but she couldn't quite place it.
She regarded the girl another time, taking in her words. Iris seemed a fitting name for the girl in front of her, so much so, that Adonis wondered if that was a nickname somehow. She seemed excited, with certain hints of a trouble maker only a sibling to one would pick up, and mysterious. Adonis' gaze flicked to the girls' hand. She couldn't quite make out the word, wither it be hand writing or water damage, but it did have the unmistakable air of magic. Adonis' jaw tingled with excitement at the thought. There is time for magic later - this is much more important.
"We're cattle ranchers, nothing real fancy." She shrugged, returning her gaze to Iris, hoping she hadn't noticed. "What about you? Quidditch player?" She joked lightly, motioning towards the bandages and her clothes, if they had any Gryffindor markings. She moved to nudge the girl's shoulder, but stopped and winked to cover it up instead. Shoot, forgot not everyone likes to be touched.
@Iris Zarus@Winter Wolfhartz

Cattle? Iris wasn't very familiar with the non-magical creatures but she believed that this animal was primarily for consumption. She would ask, but the thought of looking like an imbecile was too abhorrent. She looked down at her bandaged fingers, immediately reminded that she would need to send a letter to her father about needing more, as it seemed being at Hogwarts was much more dangerous for her nimble fingers.
"Potions." She responded with a soft smile. "Father says I cut myself more than anyone else he knows." Iris looked back up at Adonis, her smile still glimmering. "I like to tell him that it means I'm 'cut out' for the craft." She hoped the girl would get the joke, or at least let out a half-hearted laugh. Her eyes scanned the courtyard once more, she didn't like being watched and she could still feel the eyes on them. Perhaps she could mess with the one watching them, but she quickly dismissed the idea, they would just have to draw the watcher out.
Iris found herself getting up to stand on the edge of the fountain, her blazer slipping off her shoulders (she had hastily sewn the Gryffindor crest on the left side breast area). "Is there anything magical about cattle ranching... ranching cattle....." She frowned, were either of those correct. What was the word? Creșterea vitelor, as her father called it sounded correct but that translated to one of the pairings she had just said. Irritated she gave up, resisting the urge to slam her hand against her leg. "What your family does. Is it magical?"
@Adonis Hoffmann@Winter Wolfhartz

//sorry for the wait! and the short reply, "

Adonis snorted at Iris' joke, her lips curving upwards. Her lungs ached to laugh, but her Mother always said her laughter sounded like a hyena, so she kept it locked away. Cut out for the craft...minecraft
"Only if you look at it in a romantical sense." She responded off handedly, "There's so many things that would be easier if it was magic - if my folks would let me use magic." She shrugged, then looked at Iris with a gleeful glint in her eye before glancing around dramatically. "Hypothetically, of course."
"Mother says seeing a baby calf get born is magical enough, we don't need me shrinking cows again, so magic's a no go - do you use magic for potions though?" She asked, tilting her head, looking up at no one in particular. Adonis sat down on the fountain, the tips of her hair close to the water.
"I know potions *end* in magic," She made a gesture with one of her fingers, "But, I uh, I must admit, I have not been to potions class yet. Don't you wave your wand over it and add bits of your magic in? Like your blood and tears and stuff?" She scrunched up her face. That was right, right?

Iris's eyes lit up, almost falling into the fountain as she straightened up. "Well in a sense, that's the gist of it. Wave your wand over a bubbling cauldron, but there's more magic to it." She was beginning to ramble in her excitement, feeling at home to just sit and answer questions. "There is an essence of magic in most ingredients, like the unicorn horn, dragons blood, and many other ingredients. Not to mention the dedication you put into your potion, it's just..... it's like being wrapped in a big warm hug when you finish all that you've toiled over." At this point she reached up, touching her scarf as she looked up at the sky. Her face darkened then, a deep sorrow dulling her green eyes. "But if you don't do it correctly you can rob someone of valuable things. It's a magic that can steal if brewed by inept hands. One could try to brew a cure and, instead, administer a deadly poison." She fell into a moment of silence, clutching the scarf like a lifeline. Iris didn't know why she was attached to this particular worn, almost ratty, scarf, but it always brought her comfort. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say all that." Her voice was weak now, worrying that she may have just pushed Adonis away. She looked over cautiously, wishing she had stopped herself before spilling the darker side of the art of Potions.
@Adonis Hofmann// it's perfectly fine