The Closest Thing to Being Outside

It sucked that nobody was aloud to go outside because of that stupid vampire. Adela couldn't figure out why since the vampire was IN the castle. It seemed like it would be more safe to be outside, but the Headmistress must know best. Adela felt like working on a new painting. She loved painting things and places around the castle, but really wanted to paint something involving nature. The problem was that the only way for her to paint anything outside right now would be to look through a window, which was no fun. Once when Adela was wondering around the castle, as she always did, she came across an indoor garden. It was the closest thing to being outside so she decided to grab her painting supplies and head over there.

Once in the garden, Adela felt at ease. The garden was full of different colors and smells. Most importantly, it was quiet. All she has been hearing lately is how freaked out every one is over this stupid vampire thing. It wasn't that big of a deal. Adela was sure the staff would have the whole thing worked out soon. Besides, the vampire hasn't even attacked anyone, at least that she knew of. Adela looked around for something to paint, which wasn't easy since there were so many beautiful plants in the garden. After a few minutes she sat down her supplies in front of a large, vibrantly colored flower and began painting.

Stark didn't expect his first year at Beauxbatons to be like this. He didn't have a clear picture of what he had expected the year to be like but it definitely wasn't what he got. There was a vampire loose in the palace and no one was allowed to go outside. At first the young boy didn't mind so much but now he was getting really tired of spending all his time inside. The palace started to seem darker with very little natural light, and it was starting to feel very crowded. There were few places one could go to get away from everyone else, and the places that you could go to get away were always dark. After a few months of being stuck inside because of the vampire Stark wanted nothing more than to feel the sun on his pale face, feel the wind in his strawberry blonde hair, and to breath fresh air.

After finishing some homework the boy decided to go explore the palace. He was tired of spending his time in his dorm when he wanted alone time so he decided to go looking for other places. It wasn't that he didn't like people, because in fact he loved people, it was just after awhile of being in a big group all the time anymore he wanted sometime alone. Though if he happened to come across a new place with lots of people he would probably stick around and make new friends. The boy was determined to see every inch of the place before graduating in seven years.

During his expedition Stark found a big door that he hadn't seen before. He was only ever on the fifth floor when attending potions class so he had never made it this far down the corridor. He decided to check out what was behind the big door, and what he saw brought a giant smile to his face. Behind the door was a brightly lit room filled with all sorts of plants. There was a gazebo in the middle and the ceiling was enchanted to show the sky outside. The small blonde lifted his face to the ceiling and closed his eyes fro a moment as if he could really feel the sun. After a moment of this he continue to look around, this is when he saw he wasn't alone. He saw a girl sitting near the flowers with supplies all around her, without hesitation Stark bounded up to her with a small smile. "Hello. Do you like the flowers too?" He asked cheerfully as he brushed his hand against a nearby flower as he walked up to the girl.

Adela was painting small details of the flower with super careful precision when she was startled by a noise, causing her hand to slip and sending a white line across the whole flower. She had thought she was alone, so when the small boy came up to her she jumped a little. It was okay though. Even though Adela liked the quiet, she liked having company better. "Hello there," She said to the boy. "You startled me, I didn't think anyone else was in here." After a moment she remembered that he had asked her a question. "Yes, the flowers in here are lovely, although I still like the ones outside better." Adela wished that this whole vampire thing was over so that she could go out again.

Looking at the boy, Adela could tell that he was young, and she didn't recall ever seeing him before, so he was most likely a first year. Then again, it was a big castle with a lot of people. Either way, she enjoyed meeting new people. "My name's Adela," she said cheerfully. "Are you a first year? You look really young and I don't recall seeing you before. I'm a third year, by the way. So, what's your name?"

Stark loved the sun, even if it wasn't really there, and he loved the beautiful plants that grew here as well. Some of the flowers grew to a huge size and others that were teeny tiny. The little ones were cute while the big ones were breath taking, he walked slowly as to examine as many as possible. When he saw someone else there though he suddenly forgot the plants for a chance to talk to someone new. He felt bad though when he saw her mess up on her pretty painting, she turned around with a smile though so she must not have been that upset.

He smiled brightly when the girl started talking so much, that was always a good sign. People who didn't like him tended to say few words at a time. "Sorry about your painting I didn't mean to startle you. I like the flowers outside better too but outside they don't have some of the bigger ones so I guess I like them both." He said with a small smile. "Yes I am a first year, I'm Stark it's nice to meet you Adela."

"It's very nice to meet you Stark. It's no problem about the painting. Here, take a seat." Adela patted the floor next to her. "Now, watch me work my magic." She touched the line to see if it was still a little wet, then took her fingers and smeared it, causing it to fade a little. "Now I just have to cover it up some..." She dipped her brush in some red paint and gracefully brushed it over some of the white. "There! Now it looks like it's supposed to be there. Thank you for helping me improve my painting, it looks much better now." Adela smiled at the young boy.

"Are you enjoying your first year here at Beauxbatons? No one is being mean to you right? If anyone is just let me know and I'll take care of it." Stark seemed really nice and Adela liked making friends and helping people out. This was a chance to do both.

Stark felt really bad about ruining the girls painting, he didn't physically ruin it but he did scare her and make her mess up. He had just wanted to say hi and meet someone new. He really liked her painting it was very pretty and he wished he ha thought through bothering her before he bounded up to her but it was too late for that now. She patted the floor next to her inviting him to join her, so he did sitting on his knees next to her. When she said working her magic he thought she really meant magic but she simply wiped away the paint and painted over it, it look like magic for muggles `Stark clapped dramatically. "Bravo bravo, excellent work. You must be one very skilled artist to fix a Stark mess up." He said with a sweet smile.

The boy thought about what the girl said. Was he enjoying his year? He didn't like not going outside but for the most part he was indeed enjoying his year. Was anyone being mean to him? He thought about the girl he had met in the pub and candy shop but she wasn't really a problem. She was easy to deal with for the most part so even if he did put her in that category he didn't need this girls help. But she wasn't really that mean either, she liked to think she is meaner than she is. "I love my first year here, besides the no outside thing. No one is being overly mean here, of course not everyone is as nice as you, but no problems. Thanks though." He said meaning thanks for the offer of taking on mean people for him. Adela seemed really nice and he was glad he had happened upon her here.

Adela laughed at Stark's clapping. "A 'Stark mess up' huh? Do you mess up a lot? Anyways, it wasn't your fault. I should have been paying better attention to my surroundings. I guess you could call this an 'Adela mess up'," the girl said with a wink. "I'm glad to hear your first year is going well., aside from not being able to go outside. It must suck not being to explore outside on your first year. This is my third year here and I'm still pretty bummed about it. I'm sure this whole silly problem will be taken care of shortly though. Then you will be able to explore the castle grounds as much as your little heart desires," she said sort of dramatically.

"Aw, you're so sweet," Adela said to his compliment. "I'm glad you're getting along with everyone pretty well. You have to be careful though, not everyone hear is very nice. I learned that one the hard way."