Beside the Lake

Theresa hummed as she skipped out of the castle. She went over to the lake to relax. She smiled when she saw the trees but desided not to climb one today, she felt like just sitting on the grass instead. She took out her sketchbook and began to scrible as she wondered what was actually in the lake.

"Hey Theresa!" Hilary said, sitting down next to her friend. She had finally finished that horrible defence essay, and was looking forward to being able to spend some time just relaxing and taking it easy. And what better way to do that than to spend time with one's friends?

Theresa moved her quill over the page before she heard a voice, she looked up and smiled when she saw her friend. "Hi Hilary, how have you been?" she asked as she closed her sketchbook and put it on the grass next to her. She would continue it later, talking to her friends was always more fun.

"Pretty good," she said, looking out over the lake. "Better now that my defence essay is done and handed in. How about you? Seen any of our good friend Rain lately?"

She noticed the sketchbook that Theresa had been working in when she had first arrived. "Can I look?" she asked, gesturing to the book.

Theresa grinned at her "I had problems with the Defence homework too, how was I suppose to choose blood status, they don't make a difference and no I havent seen him since outside the kitchens and I never will thank you" she said, laughing slightly. She looked back at her sketchbook and shrugged "sure, just don't laugh at how terrible they are" she joked as she picked the book up and passed it to her.

"Have you been to class since the new lesson started?" she asked, confused. "The stuff with protego and all that?"

"And sure, you're going to see him again. Between classes and the fact that this school isn't all that big, you'll eventually have to. I saw him in the History of Magic class on my way down, so if you wanted to go up and talk to him..." she trailed off, knowing that Resa would get what she was aiming towards.

She picked up the sketchbook. "Why would I laugh? This are really good."

"Thanks, they still need a lot of work" Theresa said, nodding to the book. "I didn't know a new lesson started, great, when did it start? is it harder?" she asked. her jaw dropped when Hilary mentioned talking to Rain "I cant do that, he doesnt even know me, except that little, tiny, nothing talk outside the kitchens" she said.

"Just a couple of days ago," she said, laying the sketchbook back down in the grass, wishing she could draw. "I don't know when it finishes up, but there's probably some time left."

Hilary smiled at her friend's reaction to what she had said about Rain. "Just go and argue with him about the lesson. That's what I was doing."

"I will have to make sure I go, I don't want to miss getting points, Professor Hunt is the best at giving them" she said thoughtfully. She blushed slightly as she thought about Rain "oh I don't know, he doesnt even know my name and I don't know what to say to him, also, what if someone did overhear us and tell him, that would explain all the strange stuff that has happened" she said.

"I'm sure he does know your name," she said, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Like I said before, this school isn't that big. Everyone pretty much knows everyone for the most part. And you could talk to him about anything. Talk about homework. That would probably be easiest."

She paused a moment, considering her friend's last question. "Well, we don't know what other people do and do not know. And there's nothing we can do about it if he does know. Talking to him isn't going to change it anyway. Just go make friends with him! Then it won't matter."

Theresa groaned as she fell back on the grass "I cant just go up to a random boy who may or may not know about my crush on him and talk about homework, he would think I was crazy, how do you, Shelby and Lauren do this, I cant even talk to the boy I like" she said, thinking about how everyone but her was at least talking to their crushes.

Hilary shrugged. "I like to talk to everyone. I just don't look at him as any different than everyone else. And it also help that he tends to approach me first," she said, thoughtfully.

"Just pretend he's one of your friends and talk to him. It doesn't matter what about. Just pretend you're talking to me or Shelby or Lauren. Maybe a little less random and crazy though."

"Yes but they have talked to you before" Theresa pointed out. She snorted "if I talked to him like I talk to you three then I am just going to scare him, I am a nut and I am proud of it" she said, grinning madly as she laughed. Imagining talking to him about squids and forests and cooties. "I am not that random and crazy am I?" she joked.

"Yeah, I guess we wouldn't want you scaring him off," she said with a laugh. "But you can't just avoid him and admire him from a distance for the rest of your years at Hogwarts. How will you know what could potentially happen if you never give something the chance to happen?"

"I do know what could potentially happen, he will laugh in my face, girls always flirt with him, I have seen it, some are really obvious" she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I would rather admire from a distance, that way I don't look like an idiot, I was when I talked to him outside the kitchens" she said.

"Sure, it's possible he'll laugh at you. But he's already talked to you, and he didn't. So there's a good chance that next time he won't laugh either," she said.

Then an idea stuck her. But she would have to wait, and maybe talk to the other two girls about it. It was a bit out-there, but there was a chance that it just might work out.

"I miss the time of the cooties, back then we didn't have to deal with this problem, oh to be inoccent and imature like we were a week ago" Theresa joked. "And you can stop refering to that little talk Ayres, it was just him being polite because I was blocking the way and talking about the bloody house of awesome and you know it" she said, sticking her tongue out before laughing again.

"I know," she said, wistfully. "We've all grown up so much in the past week. Where has the time gone?" She couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't sure how much they'd actually grown. They still talked all at once and discussed cooties and acted silly.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," she said, with a dismissing wave of her hand. "You imagine it however you want. But I was there being ignored. I know what went on."

Theresa grinned "we are so mature now, it is creepy, at least I am, I am not to sure about the rest of you" she teased. She had to laugh at Hilary's comment "You were not ignored, there just wasn't that much to say, all it basically was 'could you hurry up and move, I need to get into the kitchens' and me blabbering on apologising, it lasted like three seconds" she said.

"Maybe," Hilary said, thoughtfully. "But he did smile at you. And I really, really doubt that he was smiling because he figured it would make you move faster. I was arguing with him in History and he really doesn't strike me as that type."

"So," she said, decided to try and change the topic. She wasn't accomplishing much here anyway. She needed Shelby's persuasive powers. "Any new gossip going around lately?"

Theresa smiled and thought for a moment "not that I know of, Lauren would know, she may have a tiny brain but that girl could sure find things out" she said. "Although, I heard that a group of students were planning a night trip into the forbidden forest, not sure who but that is hardly news, you heard anything?" she asked.

"Not really news at all," Hilary said, disappointed in the lack of gossip going around lately. "And not really smart either. If they paid attention to what goes on around them, they'd know they're better off going into the forest early in the day. The professors are never around then."

She shook her head. "Nothing really," she said. "I heard there was drama in the Black family, but I couldn't tell you what it was about."

Theresa grinned and bounced up and down "oh I know, I know" she said excitedly, she couldn't believe that she had forgotten, she was shocked when she first heard it. "Two first years have to have an arranged marriage, it was set up by the girl's father and the boys grandmother" she said in a rush.

Shelby saw her friends and went to go join them. She caught the tail end of their conversation, "Yeah, Will Black and Reina Nox. They've been owling their families like mad trying to get them to reconsider. It is rather unfortunate. How would you like to live your whole life knowing you don't get a choice in who you marry. And they're technically related, which is just plain gross. That's worse than cooties," Shelby sat down beside Resa and Hilary.

Hilary raised her eyebrows in surprise. That was one hell of a twisted family.

"That's just plain gross," she said, frowning is disgust. "What were the parents thinking when they set the whole thing up? I've heard that some of the old wizarding families had a thing for blood purity, but that's just ridiculous."

She smiled at her friend who had just sat down. "Oh, and hi Shelby!"