Skipping Stones PV Serena Towers Closed

It had been a while since the tragedy of her house event had happened. For a while, Serena was afraid to go out alone again. She particularly avoided the Great Lake, where it was originally set up to be. Of course, the lake was vast and spanned around the castle but that did not matter. The fear had been set deep within her heart and that was one that took a little while to overcome. Even now, she would never dare to venture out alone in the dark. However, the Hufflepuff had started to force herself to attempt to overcome this ridiculous fear that seemed to be controlling her life.

She used to love sitting by the lake. In fact, it was - without a doubt - her favourite place here in Hogwarts. There were a few spots she had found, mostly enclosed by trees and hills, that one could sit and gaze out into the open water. These were always filled with the most beautiful scenery and views that Serena had witnessed. Of course, she avoided being somewhere where no one could see her these days. Being in a secluded area sounded rather dangerous, given everything that could be lurking around Hogwarts.

Sighing softly, Serena leaned back onto the grass and stared up into the sky above her. She was currently attempting to catch up on some homework that, well, quite frankly should have been done a long time ago. The library was getting too crowded and her dorm was too stuffy as the summer sunlight hit the badger's nest directly. It was far too warm. Outside, where the fresh air was, seemed like the most suitable option. Having finally gotten over her fear, Serena ventured outside to the lake today. She was nowhere near the forest or the place where everything happened but just being here was a breathe of fresh air - literally.

Next to her were her open textbooks and spare parchment, held down by the ink pot placed neatly on top of it. You can never trust the wind in Scotland, after all. The girl started to doze off in the blissful silence. The sound of the water rippling gently, the gentle wind in her hair and the sunlight on her face. It wasn't until she heard a noise that Serena's attention snapped out of sleep and back onto her environment. Her eyes shot open as her body jerked itself up, scanning for any signs of danger. You could never be too careful in Hogwarts.

Her eyes fell onto a girl, who must have been around her age, standing in the water. The girl was throwing stones into the lake. The sound of the girl moving into the water must have caught her attention. She watched the stranger for a moment before calling out to her, "Hey, you okay there?" She asked the girl, wondering why in Merlin's name she was in the lake throwing pebbles. It was against the rules to swim in the lake without supervision but Serena had no idea if standing in the water had the same rule apply. Either way, she was not really trying to get the girl in trouble. She was more just curious as to why and also concerned for the girl, wondering if she was okay.

She noticed the girl throw the pebble into the lake, watching it bounce at least five times if she counted it correctly. "That's pretty impressive," She called out again, nodding her head towards the direction the girl had thrown the pebble in to indicate what she was talking about, "How did you do that?"

"That's pretty impressive. How did you do that?"

Because she thought that she was completely alone beside the water, Evianna was very surprised to hear the sound of another girl's voice. She gasped and brought her hands up and in front of her mouth, a motion that sent her handful of rocks cascading into the shallow waters of the lake. Small splashes from the fallen stones sent small beads of water flying into the air; a few clung to Evianna's skirt. Slightly embarrassed at being caught standing in the lake (and more than a little afraid of getting detention) he turned around to face the girl who had spoken.

"Oh, thanks," she replied. Thinking that her response was rather lame, she hurried to say more. She couldn't really remember how Da explained skipping rocks, but she'd do her best. "It's not really that hard," she said. "You just sort of hold it like this flick your wrist to throw it, I guess. I don't know. My da taught me when I was little, so I don't really remember what he said when he taught me. I suppose I can try to show you, though." Unsure of what to do next, she stooped, picking up another stone and flinging it into the depths of the lake. "You're the Hufflepuff prefect, right? I heard... uh, some stuff about the Hufflepuff campout that happened last month. Sounds like you all had a rough time." She picked up another rock and threw it, this time without bothering to skip it. It flew a few feet, then fell into the lake with a splash.

"My name's Evianna, by the way." Flick. Splash. Another stone flew across the surface of the water, sending up a small spray of droplets with each bounce. "Sorry if I crashed your study spot. I didn't notice you before."

Now calm enough to finish her homework (she hoped), Evianna waded out of the lake and sat down on the beach, a short distance from the Hufflepuff. She almost hoped that the other girl wouldn't respond so she could get back to her paper, but then stopped to think. Since coming to Hogwarts, Evianna really hadn't been focused on making friends. Instead, she'd spent her time studying. Only with her parents' most recent letters had she decided that she needed to be more social. She'd attended the Blossom Ball, of course, but that event had gone down in flames. Quite literally, in fact. Evianna couldn't say that she was disappointed that it had ended early, but did wish that she'd been able to socialise before the Slytherin boy set the snack tables on fire.

Serena smiled at the Ravenclaw. She appeared to be caught off guard a little, whoops but nonetheless, tried to explain how to do it. The Hufflepuff frowned a little, trying to understand. It sounded easy but she had a feeling that it was one of those things that looked a lot easier than it actually was. The Hufflepuff pushed all of the textbooks and the work she was doing to the side a little as she stood up. She made sure that she had secured the parchment she was working on underneath the books so it did not fly away in the wind. Brushing her clothing off a little to remove any grass that might have attached itself to it and smooth out some of the creases, Serena walked forward a little towards the water as the girl in the water spoke to her.

She nodded as she approached the lake, "I am her." She replied firmly, admitting to be the Hufflepuff Prefect that she spoke of. It was not really hard to guess though - or easy to hide - as her robes were definitely yellow and there was a Prefect badge pinned to it. She sighed softly as she looked at the girl before looking up to the sky, "Yeah..." She said softly, not sure what else to say for a moment. Everyone heard about the Camp Out. The Hufflepuff Camp Out was probably the most famous event of the year - and for all of the wrong reasons. Looking back to the girl, she took a deep breath before speaking, "Yeah, the camp out ended quite badly... Everyone is safe though, which is good..." She continued. They were all safe now. All of the physical injuries had been removed. The mental injuries and emotional burden of the event, however, was another matter. But Serena did not need to burden the stranger with that.

Evianna had come out of the water by this point but Serena looked back at her, deciding that she would love to give it a go. She picked up a pebble and tried to flick it into the water. She attempted to do what the girl had demonstated but she was quite far away from her at this point so perhaps missed how to do it properly. Because the stone ended up just plopping straight into the water. Oof. That was not how to do it. Serena frowned at her own attempt. Yeah, this was definitely harder than it looked. 

Shaking her head, she smiled softly, "No, no, it's fine. I uh... fell asleep anyway." Serena replied with a shrug. Work was definitely too boring for her. She needed a break once in a while. The Hufflepuff stifled a yawn as she spoke, "I think I'm due a break," She continued, with a firm nod, "Mind if I join you? I'd love to learn how to do it." Serena had never really been taught how to do this sort of stuff. Her mother was very proper. A lady, rather. This was not very 'ladylike' according to her mother but Serena did not care much about that right now.