Cold Meeting ((Brooke))

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy tied her scarf more tightly round her neck and buttoned up her thick woollen cloak. She was glad for it now, in this bitterly cold weather. Not that she had to go outside, but to not get fresh air from November to at least February if not early March... impossible.

The frozen landscape was not a wasteland. At the moment the snow was only powdery. Green grass shoots still stuck up from above the white covering. The lake was not entirely frozen over. It would be a while before the ice covering would be thick enough that they could go skating on it. If Ivy could be persuaded to go skating on it, that was.

The snow crunched under her feet as she walked, and Ivy thought of her father. She still hadn't received a reply. Why the silence? He had never done this before. So all right, she had never sent him a reproachful letter before, but it hadn't been that awful. Just asking why he hadn't disclosed important details to her earlier.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a dull thud as a ball of ice impacted with her neck. It slid down the back of her coat and Ivy shivered. Why couldn't they leave her alone? It was hardly as if she had been getting involved in the snow fight.

Ivy wheeled round, cold, miserable and just a tad angry. She saw a small Gryffindor Katie's age standing there, looking a little uncertain.

"What was that for?" Ivy asked, walking up to her.

[luvs2dance]

Brooke forced on each of her gloves as she stepped outside in the frigid air. There was a soft layer of snow coating the ground which made Hogwarts look even more magical.

She had been in the library studying for what seemed like an eternity and she really needed to blow off some steem.

Not many people were outside on such a cold day. Brooke scanned the area and saw a girl who looked to be just a little older than her. Wasn't that one of Katie's friends? She really hadn't an idea.

Brooke bit her lip as she considered her options. Then smiling mischeivously she started to dig into the snow forming a nice round ball. Now, who didn't love a good snowball?

Brooke edged up a little closer to the girl before sending the snowball towards her. It had actually gone a bit lower than planned, but it still brought about the same effect.

The girl turned around looking quite angry as she walked up to Brooke.

"Ooh, touchy, touchy," she muttered under her breath. "I take it you don't like snowball fights, eh? I'm Brooke by the way. Brooke White. And you are?"

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy eyed the girl, feeling, although slightly guilty for having been so reproachful, still pretty miserable thanks to the cold that was now melting and sending icy water down her back. That was really cold. Ivy shivered.

"I don't mind snowball fights. I just don't like being attacked when I'm trying to be quiet and think, without doing anything to provoke it," Ivy told her, slightly accusingly, since she didn't seem very sorry. "I'm Ivy," she told Brooke. "Do you by any chance know Katie Davenport?" she asked, trying to say something slightly more pleasant, and trying to ignore quite how cold she now was.

[luvs2dance]

Brooke bit her lip, "Yeah I suppose that wouldn't be too pleasant."

She could think of quite a few times when she had gotten some unwanted snowballs. Of course, the only people stupid enough to start an unwanted snowball fight with Brooke were destroyed, but the first snowball was always a little unpleasant.

"Katie Davenport? Yeah, I know her. I guess you could see we're um, partners in crime," Brooke said with her classic mischeivous smile.

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy frowned at Brooke, wishing she had thought before she acted.

"Ah, is that where she gets it from?" asked Ivy, smiling a little. Katie, she knew had ambitions to be a prankster, although she couldn't for the life of her work out why. Maybe she got it from Jordan. Ivy had not the inclination to get herself in trouble and make other people angry with her, or worse, miserable and embarassed.

[luvs2dance]

Brooke laughed. "I wish. My pranksterness is still on the rise. You know, I think she gets it from Jordan and Dillion . . . even if she didn't everyone seems to blame it for them anyway."

Brooke looked the girl up and down for a moment.

"I take it you're not a prankster," she said more as a statement than a question, "So what are you in to then?"

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy inclined her head in affirmation of Brooke's statement, her eyes accusing. She turned around and started to walk again, presuming that Brooke would follow her if she wanted to hear what she was saying.

"Well," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly, "I'm into reading and horse-riding. I would say that they were the main two." She looked around to Brooke, smiling slightly.

"And what are your interests?" she asked, "Save trouble-making."

[luvs2dance]

Brooke followed Ivy closely, listening to what she had to say.

She smiled and replied, "Well, I dance. Like as in a studio, you know. It's alright, I guess. I mean the hip hop is cool, but the rest I could care less. And I like to play the piano. I um sometimes compose my own music even. And I write a lot. Stories, diary entries, lyrics . . . just whatever comes to mind. I like muggle music. And I know I probably don't seem the type, but I like reading novels. But music is probably my main thing."

Brooke thought a moment before adding, "I used to ride horses. I only do occasionally now. What type of riding do you do?"

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy looked at Brooke, interest kindling in her eyes. A musician? Vanessa was musical, and she was one of the nicest people Ivy knew. Although admittedly Ivy didn't know her very well. They'd only talked a little. Ivy wasn't used to talking to many people older than her.

"I um... just do riding," she said, smiling a little at Brooke. "No showjumping or anything like that. I hardly get the time any more, and I can't when I'm at Hogwarts, but in the summer some days I go and muck out in the stables and get to go horse-riding for it."

Since her mother had departed, the family had not had the money to pay for Ivy to go simply horse-riding. She was busy with her father most of the time, but when she got the time, she still loved to go. Olivia would come too. She was only just starting to learn to ride. Ivy left all this unsaid, however.

[luvs2dance]

Brooke nodded.

"That's cool."

She continued to walk, the snow crunching under her feet. She couldn't wait for Christmas.

"So, um, read any good books lately?"

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy looked sideways at Brooke, surprised at the momentary awkwardness from the girl who always seemed to have something to say. It did make sense though, after all, she was Katie's friend.

"Yeah, I have. I've been reading North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's different than most books I read. Makes a nice change."

Ivy smiled quietly at Brooke. "You?" she asked.

[luvs2dance]

Brooke thought back to the book she had just read last night. It was one of the best books she had read in a while.

"Well, I've started The Man in the Iron Mask, it's a muggle book. And I've already read the two before that: The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After."

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy let out her breath, which had the unplanned effect of creating a small frozen cloud between her and Brooke. Ivy looked at it in bemusement. Oh well. Some things were strange.

"That's some heavy reading then," she said to Brooke, raising her eyebrows slightly.

[luvs2dance]

Brooke gave Ivy a small smile.

"Yeah, most people wouldn't expect that from me. I don't really come off as someone who would read those sort of things. I have no idea how I inherited the reading genes. My mom was never a real big reader, but my dad . . . well no one really talks about him too much. I guess he might have . . ."

Brooke paused and bit her lip. She was rambling.

"Sorry, I uh didn't mean to go off like that. Happens a lot."

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy looked at Brooke, frowning. She had stopped short when she was saying about her dad. Her dad... had something happened to him? Had something happened to Ivy's dad? Ivy was brought back to her previous reflections along this trail of thoughts, and she said nothing for a while, her brow furrowed. It hurt her that her father hadn't replied. Had she alienated herself from both her parents? She certainly hoped not. Why did she always have to mess everything up? Why did her mother hate her so?

Ivy looked up at Brooke, trying to clear her troubled mind. "No, no," she said, "it's all right. I don't mind. You can say all that you like... I..." Ivy broke off here, realising that she too was rambling and that unlike Brooke she wasn't making any sense. She gave Brooke a small embarassed smile.

[luvs2dance]

Brooke laughed. They were a good bit a like, considering how different they were. It was strange how you could find something in common with someone who seemed so different from you.

She continued walking before realizing how cold Ivy must be.

"That snowball probably melted didn't it? Do you um want me to put a drying smell on you?"

((Okay all of my creativity is being drained from me for these stupid articles for journalism all these end of term projects so my posts aren't too great lately. They'll get better though. But this next week will be kind of bad. Sorry ))

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy looked sideways at Brooke and sighed. "No thanks," she said, her voice slightly colder than before. "I'm not sure I'd be wise to trust you to perform any spell, seeing as you're a self-confessed prankster."

Ivy smiled at the girl all the same. 'Lighten up, for goodness sake', she told herself. She looked up at the sky for a bit and immersed herself in it. There was the cold tranquillity of the clear blue sky, all uniform in colour, except for tinged more orange where the sun was coming through, and then there were the dark grey storm clouds, building up and up, swiriling about threateningly in the sky, a promise of more snow yet to come. Ivy looked back at Brooke, her expression looking fed up, but to people who knew her well one that showed she was really in a fairly good mood, if temporarily annoyed.

((Don't worry, it was fine. I had to write an extremly long English essay at the weekend and I've been grumpy ever since. That's why I took such a long break. ))