a saturday off Closed

It wasn't warm in the courtyard, and of course it would not be until later in the year, but the stone walls surrounding the courtyard did help to block some of the piercing winter wind that came across the fields and down from the mountain. Because of this, it wasn't uncommon for students to step out between classes or in their free time to get outside without having to face frozen mother nature. And it was for this exact reason that Loren found themself walking the halls of the courtyard one Saturday afternoon.

As they walked, Loren surveilled the scene around them. Their eyes moved from the cracks in the stone walls to the wood of the dead ivy waiting for summer before discovering another student- a Gryffindor by the looks of it- sitting alone at a bench. She was a young girl, probably Loren's age, and she seemed to just be sitting on a bench. Loren waited for a while, but nobody came, so they decided that probably she wasn't waiting on someone.

Loren thought about what it was like at school now that they had made some friends, and wondered if this new student who was sitting alone might make a good addition. And besides, at this point they were a lot better at speaking to others than they had been even a few months ago, they might as well give it a shot. So, gathering their courage and pulling the edges of their winter coat tighter around themself, Loren pulled out a spare quill that they had in their pocket and walked up beside the student.

"Excuse me, but is this yours?" Loren held the quill up for the Gryffindor to see "I found it on the ground over there." They pointed noncommittally towards where they had come from.

It was a chilly Saturday afternoon, and I was sitting on my bed in my dorm room, which, since I hadn't even started classes yet, was just like any other weekday for me. I had eventually gotten bored of reading the same six books all day, so I got up, not even bothering to put on a winter coat, or a coat of any kind, and walked out of my dorm room and into the courtyard to get some fresh, frigid air. I was not like most people, I had a high tolerance for extreme temperatures, so I could essentially walk through the Antarctic in a crop top and short shorts and assume the temperature was in the seventies. I've gotten numerous weird looks over the years for my 'unnatural attire'. Once outside, I walked into the Courtyard. There, I saw two other students who appeared to be first years as well, and then I recognized the girl (OOC: @Eliza Cunningham) sitting on a bench. I'd seen the girl several times on campus but wasn't sure of her name. I had first seen her at the Sorting ceremony, where I learned that the girl was a Gryffindor. I also took note of another student (OOC: @Loren Beck), who I did not recognize at all, standing next to the Gryffindor girl. I definitely needed more friends, so I decided to take this chance. I walked over to the other two students to introduce myself. Once there, I greeted both of them by saying, "Hi! It sure is nice out here today, isn't it? My name is Magdaline Pritchett, but if you prefer, you can call me Maggie. So anyways, what are you guys' names? What are you doing, is it a friend meet-up or is this the first time you two have met? Just curious." I then wondered if maybe I rambled too much just then. Darn, I guess I really am that bad at social interactions, I thought to myself.

Mentioned:@Eliza Cunningham, @Loren Beck

Interacted with:@Eliza Cunningham, @Loren Beck

Ivy was walking around the grounds. It was her day off, so why not have fun? She had walked down to the lake and skipped rocks like her father taught her, and had looked around for some creatures. She finally ended up in the courtyard, and sat on a bench, reading her favorite book. She smiled at some of the parts and laughed as well. Some of the students around her looked at her like she was a maniac. She honestly didn't mind. She hummed to herself as she flipped the pages, loving every minute of the book. You'd think she was a ravenclaw, seeing how much she reads. She looked up every now and then to people watch, and someone caught her eye. They were a gryffindor, who seemed to be Ivy's age. They looked like a friend she had back home, but obviously weren't them. "Hm" Ivy said softly. She went back to her book when another student walked in, a hufflepuff, probably her year. She noticed them stare at the other person and pull out a quill. "Heh, odd." Ivy was very much a people watcher. She never really talked to anyone but she knew almost all the drama from her people watching and eavesdropping skills. She went back to her book and eavesdropped as another student came along. "That's one big crowd." She muttered to herself. She considered walking over to them and maybe making a few friends. She had no friends, after all. But she was too scared to go over there and risk embarrassing herself. So she stayed at the bench and read.

Loren was still standing with their arm outstretched and waiting for the seated girl to either claim or deny the quill when another individual walked up to the pair and introduced herself. She was wearing clothes with Slytherin colors on them, which surprised Loren a little bit. It wasn't surprising that she would be wearing school clothes, it was a rule at Hogwarts that students must wear their uniform during school hours unless given express permission from a professor; but it was surprising that Loren could see that she was wearing Slytherin clothes. Most specifically because it was February, frigid cold outside, and Loren could see her clothes because she was not wearing a coat or even a light jacket.

"Hi! It sure is nice out here today, isn't it? My name is Magdaline Pritchett, but if you prefer, you can call me Maggie. So anyways, what are you guys' names? What are you doing, is it a friend meet-up or is this the first time you two have met? Just curious."

It took Loren a moment to pull a mental U-turn and redirect their attention towards incoming questions rather than having their own question answered. "Oh, uh.. hi?" they replied, "Its nice to meet you Maggie. My name is Loren, and we actually haven't met before." They gestured to the individual sitting beside them. "I just found this quill on the ground and I was wondering if it belonged to her since she was the only one I saw in the courtyard at first. Is it yours? It was over there." Loren held the quill up for her to see, noticing that their conversation had now drawn the eyes of others who were in the courtyard. Suddenly, they were much more hesitant to be there.

'At least,' they thought to themself, 'it seems like I'm not the only person at Hogwarts who just goes up to people and starts talking... that's actually a little bit comforting.'

I noticed too that there were several other students in the courtyard watching our conversation, and I blushed a little bit. I was not one to enjoy being the center of attention, and I began to look at the ground, my heartbeat slowly increasing. After a few seconds, I managed to get out, "U-uh.. n-no... it's not mine..." I said while blushing. I realized that maybe I had gotten more than I bargained for by stepping into this conversation. I then noticed a girl standing a good distance away from us holding a book. She looked pretty lonely, so, in the nicest way possible, I said, "Hey guys um... I am going to talk to that girl over there. Sorry if I interrupted your conversation." I quickly walked towards the girl reading a book, feeling a lot more in my comfort zone with a fellow introvert. "Hi, my name is Magdaline, but you can call me Maggie if you like. I see you are a fellow reader. Mind if I ask what you are reading?" @ I smiled softly at the girl, though my shyness was still very evident. I patiently waited for the girl's response, a small blush on my face.

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Interacted with:@Ivy Evans

Ivy was reading her book again when she noticed someone was walking towards her. It was the slytherin from the other side of the courtyard, and they were coming her way. Ivy started panicking. what if she was going to yell at her for eavesdropping and staring? Ivy's heart stopped when they got over to her.



Ivy stared at her, surprised she was talking to her at all, nicely, too. She asked what book Ivy was reading and Ivy suddenly felt embarrassed. Today of all days she was reading a girl muggle Y/A novel. It made her seem so basic! "Erm... It's a muggle book called to all the boys i've loved before" She muttered the last part. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed to show that book. Y/A romance novels were her gulity pleasure, and she didn't even know If anyone would know what it was. She sighed and showed Maggie the cover. "It's cheesy and cliched, but it's actually pretty funny." Ivy looked around the courtyard and saw that no one was watching. "If you'd like, I can tell you what it's about. Most wizards and witches don't really read muggle stuff here. I love it though, esspecially muggle comics. I didn't know if muggle comics were allowed, much less this. It's quite good-" She stopped. "Sorry, I'm talking too much. Have you read muggle books before?" She waited for Maggies answer.