Monday Afternoons

The sun was shinning and it was a beautiful day to just walk around. The sun felt nice on the second year's skin. It was just after class and Riley decided to take a break before getting started on his homework. He put his things in his dorm and changed out of his uniform and into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. The outfit was so much better than his uniform because it felt like his uniform weighed him down. It was a nice spring day and flowers filled the grounds. He always liked flowers and thought they were so pretty. But he wasn't going to pick any because they looked better in the ground in his opinion. He sat beside a group of flowers and ran his finger along the petals of one. It was very pretty and he liked the blue color.

He pulled his journal out of his messenger bag, which went everywhere he did, and began to write a letter to his friend David. Maybe he'd pick the flower for him and put it in his letter. He was sure he'd like the flower so he would pick the flower. He would just wait til he was done writing. Since David was a muggle, Riley left out all the things about magic. He mostly wrote about his roommate, who is his best friend, and all of his other friends. He was about to sign his name when a shadow hovered over him and he felt the presence of another person. "Hello," he said while looking up at the person.

Lucie's Nanna had written to her to remind her that she should write to her brothers. As if they wanted to know what she was doing at her freak school. They already thought she was weird enough with her doll collection and her pet hedgehog and fear of bycicles and their grandfather's horrible little ankle biting dog. Why would she tell them about the things she learnt at this school?

The second year scowled at the letter and decided she needed to go on a squirrel hunt down on the grounds. She'd already changed out of her uniform for the day and was dressed in jeans and top with a lightweight jacket. "Come along Sathya," she whispered to the hedgehog currently shuffling across the dorm room floor. "We're going out in to the open air." The witch abandoned Nanna's well meaning letter and carefully scooped up her pet.

"Maybe you'll make a hedgehog friend out here," she said softly to Sathya as she walked across the grounds. Her eyes were watchful for any movement up amongst the trees. So far nothing. Instead she caught site of one of her friends and she smiled softly. "Well Sathya, it looks like we'll have to save squirrels and hedgehogs for later."

Her smile was brighter by the time she stood in front of Riley waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. His greeting she took as an invitation to join him on the ground. "Hello," she returned as she sat in front of him. "Are you writing to someone?" she asked. "I'm supposed to be writing to my brothers but it's much nicer just coming out here than doing that."

He liked the fresh air and the smell of flowers. He was at peace and he was almost done with his letter. He paused his work and grinned at his friend Lucie. "I am, sit down." He patted the grass beside him then moved his half-finished letter out of the way. It would be rude to write while he was in the presence of someone. He had come outside to write the letter since he wasn't getting much muse inside his dorm. "The weather is nice," he noted as he leaned against his hands and looked over at her.

There was a small smudge on his glasses and it was beginning to annoy the second year. He couldn't see his friend clearly because of it. So he sat up and took his glasses off. He hardly ever took them off and his sister said that he looked like a totally different person when he did. He cleaned his glasses off with the bottom of his t-shirt then put them back on. "So, how are you today on this beautiful day?"

Lucie sat and set her hedgehog down on the ground in front of her. "Thanks," she said cheerfully. "And it's great weather. The perfect weather for squirrels." She lifted her head upwards toward the trees around but none of those bushy tailed creatures were showing themselves. "Do you know if there are magical animals similar to squirrels?" she asked. Lucie may not yet be old enough to do Magical Creatures but she'd already learnt of kneazles and crups who were similar to cats and dogs. Maybe there was something squirrel like out there she didn't know.

She teased Sathya with a blade of grass and laughed as she curled up into a prickly ball whilst Riley cleaned his glasses. Something she'd seen her grandfather do a million and one times whilst Nanna nagged him to clean them the proper way. Lucie's little trip down memory lane was halted by Riley's question. "Oh I'm good," she said. "School's over for the day and my brothers are still millions of miles away." And she was not going to write them that letter. "Whatta 'bout you?"