Drawn into being PV June Selwyn Finished

Old habits die hard. And although June's second year at Hogwarts was starting out on a much better foot than last year, she still found herself spending some of her free time alone. Often reading, often studying, often outside. Today was no different, June wanted a head-start on her Charms homework. The earlier she did it, after all, the more time she would have to be more social.

It was beginning to be too cold to comfortably read outside. June had wrapped her green and silver scarf around her neck quite a few times in an attempt to keep out the sharpness of the occasional autumn breeze. It would probably be snowing this time next month. June stuck a makeshift bookmark in her textbook as she closed it and set it on her lap, her attention turning to the splatter of color that had become the courtyard. The warm hues of autumn were always beautiful, but they never lasted very long.

Her eyes flitted around the stone space, following a few stray leaves being pushed along by the wind. It skated along the ground for a moment before hitting a wall, right underneath where someone was... drawing, it seemed like. June peered closer. This was the first year she had met at summer camp, wasn't it? She smiled softly to herself, Gryffindor seemed to suit him.

Finnegan looked up, and the two held eye contact for a moment before he startled, jumping in his seat and almost dropping his project. June held back a small chuckle at his reaction. "Hello again!" Her voice carried across the courtyard as she offered a friendly smile and a small wave. "Hope I didn't startle you too much." The wind picked up for a moment, pushing June's hair into her face. She huffed a bit as she adjusted it, tucking the loose strands behind her ear. "Bit blustery today, isn't it?"

Finnegan clutched his drawings to his chest, worried that she might somehow see them if he didn't shield them with his arms. "Just a bit," he replied. The lack of movement from anything but his lips made his answer sound stifled, and it wasn't clear if he meant that he'd only been a bit startled or that it was a bit windy, perhaps both.

For a while he remained frozen like a sentinel, letting his gaze drift over her and making notes in his mind about all the things he'd have to change in his portrait of her. Now that she was looking directly at him he noticed that she had a far softer jaw than he'd previously thought and less floppy ears. By the time his eyes had passed over her for the second time, he had decided he would have to incinerate his sketch and start all over.

The wind picked up and chased the last few students off the courtyard while heavy clouds, thick with the promise of rain, gathered above. It wouldn't be long before it would start to pour, and he regretted that he'd not yet asked Evelynn Decipio how to cast the umbrella charm.

"Are you going back inside?" he blurted. He hated how desperate he sounded and sat up straight to appear less of a flummoxed mouse. She was only a year higher than him, yet he hadn't struggled half as much talking to other people, some of them many years his senior.

He cleared his throat and tried again. "I saw you were reading. Charms was it?" From where he'd been sitting, he'd been just about able to make out the text on the book cover she'd held.

A quizzical look showed on his face as he slid off the low stone wall, dusted himself off and stuffed his drawings into his school bag. "Rather you than me," he added, letting out a soft snort. "Charms is bloody tricky, and Professor Fresnel-" he stopped there, shrugged and tried to think of something else to talk about.

After a bout of silence, his cornered pea-sized brain failed to come up with anything better than the bloody weather, though he meant it when he said, "I've always liked autumn best, not too hot, not too cold, and the colours and smells and cinnamon tea..." He let out a deep, relieved sigh.

"I could go for a spot of tea or," he smiled, "even better, a stormy hike first, so I've earned it." He motioned toward the path leading out of the courtyard and down the castle grounds. The first few rain splashes were starting to come down but didn't seem to faze him. He looked rather happy about it. "Do you want to join? Nothing clears your head of tricksy spells better than a walk in a storm."

The air grew heavy with the scent of coming rain. June took a deep breath as she looked up at the clouds. "I suppose I will head inside.. No use reading in the cold rain and getting my books all wet." She sighed as she began filing her books away in her bag. "Charms, yes. Never too early to review the year's curriculum, is it?" June looked up, catching Fin's eye. "Are you finding charms difficult? I suppose it was a bit tricky in the beginning of the year, while you're getting the hang of it." She closed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she stood. "I'd be happy to tutor you, if you'd like. I quite enjoy charms. Only if you're interested, though," June flustered a bit as she realized her offer could be taken as a comment on her assumption of Finnegan's grades. She certainly didn't want anyone making incorrect assumptions about her academic standing whenever she made a slight complaint. "Not that I think you need it. You seem quite capable of casting charms." That didn't make it any better.

June listened as the young Gryffindor began to talk about the seasons. She smiled, autumn was quite lovely. "I've always been torn between autumn and spring, myself. Although perhaps fall wins out on account of school starting up again. It's quite exciting, isn't it?" June felt a drop of rain hit the top of her head, quickly followed by a few others. She fished her wand out of her pocket, firmly grasping it and pointing it upwards. "Pluvia velo," she said softly, a magical umbrella now shielding her from the rain as she began to make her way over to where Finnegan was sitting.

A walk in a storm... June hadn't played in the rain for years, let alone just walked. But she had finished all of her homework for the day... "A stormy hike sounds quite nice, actually," she nodded. "And tea sounds lovely. Sure, I'll happily join you. Are those drawings?" June gestured to the papers that Finnegan was clinging to, almost as if he were guarding them. "I could keep them in my bag so they stay dry, if you'd like." Now that she was closer, June was able to notice details that were lost on her before. Like the charcoal pieces sitting besides the boy (at least, she assumed it was charcoal, as she had no other idea of what it could be), and the small smudge of black on his nose. "I've never seen someone draw with charcoal before," June commented. "Oh, um, you also have a little something on your nose." June mirrored where the black streak was on her own nose. "Right here."

Finnegan let out a soft chuckle at her remarks about his charm work. Clearly, she had never seen him try to levitate a feather, though perhaps a whiff of its burned remains had passed her by, or she wouldn't have offered to tutor him.

Of course, it didn't help that he kept falling asleep during his classes. Not because of Professor Fresnel, though she had to have written him off as a hopeless case at this point, but because he hardly slept. Whenever he wasn't worried about becoming a werewolf's late-night snack, he spent the night turning in bed, thinking about home and his little sister Rose. What if in two years' time she did not get a letter too? He knew how jealous he'd feel if their roles had been swapped...

The sound of something unfolding pulled him from his thoughts, and for a second, he gawked at June's magical umbrella, wishing he possessed half her skill. "I'm horrible at charms. Beyond saving, it'd be a waste of your time," he said while he packed the rest of his drawing materials. "I'd like to try, though," he added. If he didn't improve, he'd at least have the opportunity to spend more time with her. Something about her filled him with an irresistible urge to want to learn more about her.

Charms wasn't the only thing he had difficulty with. Despite cramming everything into his bag as quickly as possible, she pointed out the drawings and stumps of charcoal he'd yet to pack. "Oh, uh, no, it's fine, it's fine..." he said while he stuffed them unceremoniously into his crossbody school bag. He quickly brushed his nose with the back of his hand and checked if he hadn't forgotten anything before motioning his chin toward the covered bridge. "Let's go that way."

While they walked, he explained how charcoal was easier to smudge than a pencil, but it was little more than polite conversation to prevent an awkward silence from settling between them. He was far more interested in her than in discussing the minutiae of drawing. "What about you? Do you like to draw?"

By the time they'd crossed the bridge, the wind had picked up to stiff gales, blasting into their ears, then quieting again like the ebb and flow of a rising tide. Finnegan stuck close to June's side while sheets of rain beat down on them. If it hadn't been for her spell, they would have been soaked the minute they left the cover of the wooden bridge. Dark clouds rumbled above, and a heavy fog came down, nearly hiding the distinct peak of the owlery from sight.

Finnegan slowed his pace somewhat, then turned to face June with a pensive look. "How good are you at keeping secrets? I'd like to show you something, but you have to promise you won't tell anyone."

Nonsense," June replied as Finnegan degraded his aptitude of magic. "I'm a fantastic tutor, no one is a lost cause for me." June had done some tutoring in the past, but only for friends in regards to private lessons on English or maths or something of the sort, never in magic. Still, June was confident in her abilities. "Besides, you've only just started. Give yourself some time, I'm sure you'll get it."

The blonde girl held her umbrella between the pair, trying to shield both of them from the pellets of rain from above. She walked, listening to Finnegan go on about charcoal and "pen-sills", not wanting to interrupt him with questions about what exactly a "pen-sill" was. "Me? Oh, no, I can't draw to save my life." June was slightly embarrassed to admit her ineptitude at a skill. She tried finding a way to recover, to not seem completely devoid of skill. "I suppose I enjoy doing little drawings in my notebooks to stay focused, sometimes. I'm sure that's nothing compared to what you do, though. You seemed quite focused."

The two continued, the rain splashing against June's shoes as she walked. She made a mental note to dry them later by the fire.

June stopped as Finnegan spoke, looking him in the eye as his expression shifted. She stayed silent for a moment, wanting to give the young Gryffindor a truthful answer. "I suppose I'm quite good a keeping secrets. I don't think I've ever told someone a secret that wasn't mine to tell before..." A small trickle of anxiety filled June's stomach. What was he going to show her? Was it something terrible? Was it something that would get them in trouble? No, she thought, he didn't seem the kind to have those kind of secrets, especially less than two weeks into his schooling career. "I promise."

Finnegan smirked at her, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "That's good enough for me."

He had wanted to show someone since he'd first discovered the secret of the owlery some days ago; when he'd sent a letter to Professor Farron asking her for a moon calendar. Not that he particularly cared about the moon, but he did care on which nights one of his dorm mates might turn into a werewolf and try to eat him. Without the calendar, his many sleepless nights had taken their toll, and light bags had formed under his eyes. Still, he refused to powder up with a compact like George had done to him only yesterday.

George. That loathsome, insufferable know-it-all. Even the thought of the Hufflepuff made his blood boil. The teenager had shared a secret with him, or at least he'd thought it had been one, and it had taken only minutes to blow up in his face. How was he supposed to have guessed that George liked boys? It hadn't been obvious to him at all. He'd only taken the admission to its logical conclusion and reasoned that George fancied him. Apparently, that was stupid, and George had made sure he'd felt that way in every bone, every vein, every nerve of his being.

While he remained close to June's side, his mind was back at the abandoned toilets where he'd lashed out against the sink and hurt himself more than it. June could never know that he'd curled up into a ball and cried hot, angry tears. That he’d promised to hurt George back the only way he knew how: with fire. No one could ever know how stupid and lonely George had made him feel.

That was why he’d felt the urge to draw today, so he could retreat into something he knew. He hadn’t accounted for June showing up, studying her charms in the courtyard. She possessed the strange, rare power to make him forget everything else just by being in the same space as him. There was more to it than looks; she had an air of gentle calm that reminded him of home.

The owlery drew nearer, and the wind that had brought the thoughts about George Henry to him now carried them away. He'd balled his fists at his sides without meaning to and silently hoped June hadn't noticed.

Once they had reached the entrance to the owlery, Finnegan held the door open until June had safely stepped inside. "Up this way," he said, motioning towards the spiraling stairs. Thankfully the elements had largely drowned out the prevailing smell in the owlery, though it could do little to drown out the noise. It wasn't until they had arrived on the third and final floor that he stopped again, a quaint smile plastered on his face. "So? What do you think?". He'd let her believe that the third floor of the owlery had been his grand secret for a while, but before she decided that he had been joking, his smile turned into a grin. He pointed up toward the ceiling.

"See that up there? Smack in the center, I didn't see it at first either. Just there..." He brushed past her shoulder to stand beside her so her eyes could trace his finger up to where he was pointing. Sooner or later, she'd see it, but Finnegan explained regardless. "It's a trap door. And it works. Wanna see?"

Still grinning, he took out his wand and walked briskly to the leftmost stone barn owl statue. There was no spell or incantation, just a tap of his wand on its nose. For a second, nothing seemed to happen, but then the trapdoor flung open, and a rope ladder came down with a clatter.

"Cool huh? C'mon." He tugged at her sleeve, encouraging her to follow, but whether she did or didn't, he went up the ladder and disappeared into the abyss above. "It's quite safe, a bit dark though," his voice sounded. A moment later, his hand would emerge from the darkness to help pull her up on the last stretch should she risk the climb.

Interact: @June Selwyn
Mention: @George Henry

June held her wand between herself and Finnegan, shielding them both from the rain overhead. The rest of the walk was... Quiet. Not that June particularly minded, but she had expected idle chatter of some sort. Still, the silence was somewhat refreshing. Just enjoying the act of being with another person, not needing to do anything but exist. And while Maggie Hawkins was without a shadow of a doubt the best friend June ever had, she was not the type to stop and be.

Finnegan led the pair down a path towards the owlery, which June was visible intrigued (and slightly confused by). "Thank you," she said as the boy let her inside. June released the umbrella spell as she stepped inside the tower. She hadn't been here in quite some time, the most recent occurrence being when she met Regina Miller for the first time and was somehow convinced to break curfew to sneak into some mysterious room.

"Do you have an owl or something?" June called out as she trailed behind Finnegan on the stairs. He led her up to the final floor, a triumphant look on his face. June was taken aback, not expecting this... un-surprising of a surprise. "O-oh! It certainly is a pretty view up here..." June was grasping at straws a bit, trying to guess what this "surprise" was.

Thankfully, this was not the surprise. June followed Finnegan's pointed finger up to the ceiling, finding the outline of a trap door as he showed it to her. She stood speechless as he unlocked the trapdoor and the rope ladder came tumbling down. He had found this? All by himself? A wild smile spread across June's face as the Gryffindor began climbing the rope. This was her kind of adventure. Not taking a flying lesson from your kind (but very underqualified) friend, not sneaking around the castle at night breaking rules, not playing some stupid bottle game. But exploration, discovery, even if they weren't particularly impressive or important.

June eagerly climbed up the ladder, taking Finnegan's hand as she reached the final rungs. The space was a bit dark, though... No matter, that was easy enough to fix. What was even up here, anyways? June pulled out her wand once more. "Lumos." The space around them lit up, but June was simply looking in awe at the boy in front of her. "How on earth did you find this place? What even is it?"

"It's the attic, I think," Finnegan answered sheepishly after he'd pulled June up.

The young Gryffindor winced a little at the brightness of the wand light and shielded his eyes with his hand. June's spell would show the attic to be small and inhabited only by cobwebs, spiders, and tiny insects that fled into dark corners and crevices. The round room provided enough space for maybe ten small students if they huddled together in the center and held their breaths. Thankfully, the cone-shaped ceiling was just high enough for both of them to be able to stand comfortably while a tiny, oval window on the far end caught dust in a narrow beam of bleak light.

"How I found it is a bit of a long story..." he said while he stepped aside to let her explore the rest of the attic. There really wasn't much to see except for cobwebs, creaky floorboards, and dusty old beams. Unwilling to let June dwell on her how-question, Finnegan deliberately changed the subject.

"You're quite good at charms, huh? There was a sliver of jealousy in his voice. "I honestly had more luck with bluebell flames than the wand lighting charm." Admittedly, his results with the cold fire spell had been spotty too, just less so than lumos.

With all the grace of a battering ram, Finnegan shrugged off his school bag and plopped down on the floor before whipping out his wand."We should've brought tea up here," he mumbled. "Anyway, lumos. There was a momentary flash of light like lightning, although nowhere near as bright, then the tip of his wand glowed like a firefly before petering out altogether. "See? It's hopeless, I should just stick to drawing..."

No sooner than he'd said as much, he remembered that he still had several imperfect drawings of June in his schoolbag that she could never, never see and protectively pulled the bag towards him. All he could think of in order to smooth over his erratic behavior was another change of subject.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't know about this place. I figured all you..." he gestured vaguely at her, "well, all you magic people would know everything about Hogwarts. Uh, not to be rude of course," he was quick to add. "It would be so much easier if I wasn't a muggle, I feel like an idiot half the time and I'm-" he motioned his chin toward his wand, "-failing even basic spells." He hadn't intended to complain, but without George to talk to, his worries, questions, and observations had piled up in his mind. "I bet everything else is easy for you too," he sighed wistfully.

The light from June's wand bounced around the space, revealing a... cozy attic that likely hadn't been visited in a long while before Finnegan found it. June took a few paces around the room, peering out of the small window as she passed it. She looked over her shoulder at the boy's compliment, fully turning around before responding.

"Am I? Well, thank you. I do study quite hard, and I would say it's my strongest class, next to astronomy." June let out a small "hmm" at the prospect of tea in the cool, damp room. "This atmosphere does really make you want to cozy up in a blanket with a nice cup, I agree." A small roll of thunder echoed in the sky. "But that would mean walking all the way back to the great hall and back." She looked Finnegan in the eye with a soft smile. "And a break from the rain is quite nice. I might be dry, but my shoes are a bit wet. If only I knew the hot air charm already..."

She watched as Finnegan attempted the wand lighting charm, already making notes of his casting in case he wanted tutoring. "Oh, come on, you're not hopeless." She pursed her lips together, unsure how to (or if she should) comfort him further. "I'd love to see some of your drawings one day, I'm sure they're amazing." There, a change in subject coupled with an encouragement seemed a good way to continue.

June blinked slowly, not quite able to form a quick response to Finnegan's comments. She never would have guessed he was a muggle born, not that it mattered, anyways. She looked at him with a small frown. "Muggle-ness has nothing to do with it. I had plenty of people in my class last year from the wizarding world who couldn't cast that spell until end-of-terms came around." Perhaps "plenty" was an exaggeration, it was just two. "I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be expected to pick all of this up at the same time as culture and such..." An image of George Henry's irritated face flashed across her mind. Right, it's ride to talk about this kind of stuff.

A moment passed, where June felt she couldn't say any more words that would be truthful on the subject. And there was no use lying to this first-year for seemingly no reason, especially when he had been so kind to her. A slight chill ran down June's spine, causing her to shiver just a bit. "Right then, can I take you up on that promise of tea now?" She looked around the space one last time before leaving. "Thank you for showing this to me. I promise not to tell anyone." June smiled, extinguishing her wand. "It'll be our secret."