Rain Closed

Jane was randomly walking around the grounds as she noticed a girl her age in the puddles. All wet. Jane was all bundled up under a tree, for rain was not really her THING. She watched the girl dance under the droplets, and saw a family of hedgehogs at the side. THAT was her thing. Jane tiptoed over to the hedgehogs, petting them, until she noticed the girl's bag there. She walked back a little, then towards the girl. 

I mean, it's just a little rain, one part of Jane's brain thought, while all the other parts screamed in disgust of the puddles around her and the droplets decorating her hair. Jane smiled meekly at the girl.  

"H-Hey, I'm Jane, I'm sort of new here....what's your name?" Jane went with a less formal approach than usual, but felt that she messed up. Sweat stuck to the back of her neck (or it could have just been rain). Jane tossed her scarf around her neck, wiping her wet hands on her robe. Her hair was now drenched with rain, and she kept herself from the verge of running around, screaming about the wet droplets as she usually would have done. She just kept her calm and smiled. She needed friends.

Rain. It was one of those rare things that could be both beautiful and annoying at the same time- like a pretty bird that cawed at three in the morning or a shooting star that happened to strike a well-populated area. It was beautiful for obvious reasons. Rain was a necessity that cycled water throughout the earth, brought life to the plants that began the food chain, and left a wonderful smell as it fell on the soft, green grass. It was annoying because it was currently getting in Ford's way.

The frustrated boy paced across the grounds, trying in vain to shield his textbooks from the skywater. Everything about him was completely and utterly soaked. His hat, his robes, the textbooks (despite his best efforts)... yet what truly worried him was a small device nestled in his left jean pocket. If this phone got wet, there was no chance he'd be able to get his hands on another one. Muggle technology was strictly forbidden at Hogwarts, and it had been difficult enough to bring this one onto campus.

This insane rule was the reason Ford had taken to the field in the first place. He had hoped that if he strayed far enough from the castle itself the device might pick up a signal. His efforts had been useless. He had gone all the way out to the edge of the grounds, nearly entering the forbidden forest, but to no avail. The cell phone would simply spark and crackle at him whenever h dared to turn it on. This had left him in quite a terrible mood, and the rain was certainly not helping.

Ford kept his head down so as to keep the rain from striking his face. As such, he did not notice the auburn-haired girl dancing across the field. If he had, he would have warned her to go inside before she caught a cold. Yet he did not notice. Nor did the dancing girl, nor the other student who had just called her attention. At least if they did, neither of them spoke had time to speak of it. There was nothing to stop him, no warning before he barreled into her.

"Ow!" Ford exclaimed. The force of the collision sent him tumbling onto the ground. He supposed that was his punishment for being unaware of his surroundings. He made a mental note to work on his focus before looking up at the girl and her companion. "My apologies."

Jane watched another boy enter the scene. She began to approach him, until all of a sudden he collided with the other girl, falling into the mud. Jane rushed to him, giving him her hand.

"Are you all right? What's your name? I'm Jane." Jane sighed. And, yet again, she talked much toooo much. She noticed that the other girl had fell, and lended her a hand, too. Jane handed the boy a scarf to wipe the dirt, for she knew how much of a nuisance mud on your clothes could be. Jane could not find anything to give the girl, and looked down. She found her boots covered in blotches of mud, and leaned down to wipe them with the end of her robe. Jane was one for cleanliness. She then soaked the end of her robe in rain, to get the mud back on the floor. Jane nodded to herself, satisfied. She then noticed a device stuck in the boy's pocket.

"What would that be?" she asked him, curious. It looked familiar- something from the Muggle world that her parents and brother may have used. She tried her best to smile at the two, though she was sure it came out odd.

Mary was leaning against a branch of the tree she climbed not that long ago when a water droplet fell onto the page of the book she was reading. Dumb rain Mary thought to herself. Mary was doing her usual, sitting in a tree reading a book. To anyone who might not know Mary, this might seem like a peculiar thing to do but nonetheless Mary did it anytime she was free. She knew that with the rain thunder was soon to follow so she closed her book and shoved it into her book bag.
When Mary went to jump off of the branch she was perched on she noticed a girl around her age running towards the tree. Mary knew that the girl couldn't see her in the tree so she looked around in search of what caught the girls attention. Hedgehogs Mary smiled to herself, what wonderful creatures they were. Mary didn't want to disturb the girl and at this point she was soaked from the rain so, she sat idly on the branch waiting for the girl to move.

A few minutes went by when the girl flung her bag at the tree and started dancing and hopping in the puddles the rain brought. Peculiar Mary thought to herself. She noticed another girl approaching and wondered if the two knew each other. Mary sat and watched. To some this might be deemed as creepy but Mary was observing how the scene would roll out. She didn't know what to do anyway , afraid she might interrupt the girls conversations.

Through the tree branch Mary saw a boy approaching. He didn't pay much mind to his surroundings she noticed. Watch out Mary thought to herself. As if on cue the boy ran into the Auburn haired girl. Mary giggled and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. Maybe no one heard over the rain?

It was another day in Hogwarts on the grounds. Ugh, it's raining! I hate rain. He had spent a good amount of time with a friend he really cared about. He was on his way to see her again when he suddenly saw one of his close friends. He was able to make out the figure to be Mary Brown, a Ravenclaw he first met when they bumped into each other that one day. Josh decided to go over to her and talk.

Just as he did, he saw a boy run into another girl as he slipped in the rain. Josh flinched as he imagined the pain on his face as he fell. Josh shrugged it off and went over to Mary.

"Hey, long time no see!" Josh shouted. "How have you been?"

It was a while since he last saw Mary. Mary was his first friend. While he was involved in so many fights, Mary was the first to accept him as her real friend. They also had fun that one night in the girls bathroom on the 2nd floor corridor. Perhaps they could hang out again. Josh also noticed everything else that was going around him while he waited for Mary's response.

"Are you all right? What's your name? I'm Jane."

A dark-haired girl appeared beside him, helping him to his feet. This one was talkative- too talkative. The boy accepted the scarf that she offered him, but remained silent as he was assaulted by her rapid-fire questions. As she spoke, he took the opportunity to examine her. This was not the dancing girl whom he had run into. This person had softer, less angular features. Her eyes were a deep blue- not as crystalline as his own, but a darker and more alluring color. All there of the students wore the black robes of a first-year. Perhaps these girls were in his class.

The lone male in the group rubbed the mud from his face. Wonderful... Not only was he soaked and now covered with mud, but he would likely be expected to speak with these people now. He figured that he should at least stick around to see if the girl he had run into was alright. That was common courtesy after all. Yet the next question out of the standing girls mouth made him regret his decision to stay.

""What would that be?""

Apparently his robes had gotten twisted in the fall, so much so that when he stood up they became caught on his belt. Beneath then the group could see his jeans, and the rectangular outline of the phone in his pocket.He panicked for a moment, though his face remained apathetic. Think about it, he told himself. His pockets were deep, so there was no way she could have spotted the device itself. There must be things in the wizarding world-legal things- that could leave such an outline. He certainly wasn't about to admit the truth to this stranger. He had no clue who she was or if he could trust her. What he did know was that she talked a lot.

The manipulative boy put on an innocent face, pulling his robes back down to cover his legs. "It's a... well, it's a candy bar." He made a convincing show of looking embarrassed by this. A candy bar would be about the same shape, right? Even if she had seen a glimmer of its silver casing, that could easily be mistaken for chocolate foil. "I just left flying class. Had to hide it because of the no food rule." The tale he had spun was perfect! Now even if the girls thought his expressions to be suspicious, they would think he was guilty of breaking a much lesser rule. If this blue-eyed student went so far as to tattle on him, the device would not be confiscated.

Still, he was eager to change the subject. A laugh coming from a nearby tree gave him just such an opportunity. The boy turned to see another lady- this one covering her mouth with her hand. She was obviously trying to stifle her giggles. Grateful for a change of pace, he turned toward her and bowed. "Glad I could entertain you."

Moments later, he heard another male voice calling to the girl. "Hey, long time no see! How have you been?" Perfect. if this kept up, the attention would be drawn away from Ford altogether. Perhaps then he could slip away quietly.

"I'm glad i could entertain you"

The boy, who she assumed was first year, said to her. Mary stopped laughing in an instant, a little shocked she was caught by the boy.
Mary hopped down from her spot in the tree, landing on the ground smoothly. She started a walk to the group of first years and stopped some feet before the boy. "Yes fine entertainment is hard to come by these days don't yah think? Names Mary Brown" Mary said offering a small friendly smile while she stuck out her hand, waiting for the boy to shake it. The boy went to open his mouth when a voice came from behind him. Mary peered over his shoulder and noticed the voice belonged to Josh Altman, a first year Slytherin she had a run into a few days ago. One of her newfound friends.

"Hey, long time no see!"Josh said "How have you been?"

Mary offered a smile and turned to Josh but kept an eye on the boy she introduced herself to, he seemed as though he was plotting a get away.

"Hi Josh!" Mary waved him over and turned back to the group of first years.
"This is uh Jane" She recalled from the girl who babbled her name. "and uh .." Mary drifted off, implying for the other two too state their names.

"Hi Josh!" Mary waved him over and turned back to the group of first years.
"This is uh Jane" She recalled from the girl who babbled her name. "and uh .." Mary drifted off, implying for the other two too state their names. Josh laughed out loud.

"Maybe you should work on talking to more people," Josh commented. "So what's new? I haven't heard back from you since that night."

After spending time with other people, Josh kinda lost track of Mary. It was embarrassing to say the least, but at least he was able to see her again. His first crush and first real friend. Hopefully he could spend more time with her instead of seeing her stuff her face in those books. Perhaps something interesting happened. Either way, while waiting for her to respond, Josh turned his attention towards the other students.

He first noticed that boy who slipped and fell in front of another girl. He was another Ravenclaw by the looks of it. The girl he fell right in front of was from Gryffindor by the look of her robes. Then there was another Slytherin girl. This one, he hasn't seen before. Perhaps a second-year or maybe she was not noticeable to other people.

Jane ran to the boy. "Hey, wait up! You didn't even tell me your name!" she called, waving her arm. "And that is NOT a chocolate bar, mister Ravenclaw!"

Jane sighed. She was much less welcome in this group of ragtags than she was even liked. The rain cleared up a little, only a drizzle persisting.

"Sorry if I'm a little, ah, talkative. Usually not like this. Just nervous." Jane mentally facepalmed at her second fast-coming streak and wiped her wet face. She had quickly seen through the boy's lie.

"Don't worry. I won't tell on you. Just curious." she whispered to the boy. She was not the best with social interactions, especially with those of the opposite gender. She studied the boy's expression. He seemed evasive at the moment; as if he were eager to get rid of the social interaction. Jane sighed. When people realized she was a Gryffindor, they often thought that she couldn't be as smart as a Ravenclaw. Not true. She sneaked a glance into the boy's pocket and saw something gray and shiny- not foil, though. She thought of all the random Muggle objects her parents and brother used. And forgot ALL the names. Oof. Jane just waited, hoping the boy was truthful sometimes, at the least.