Sitting by the lake ((anyone))

[thenamelessone]

Rayne pushes past the oak front doors and walks past all the students milling around the grounds as if she was in a daze. A piece of parchment is clutched tightly in her hand though she doesn't notice she still has it. All that is in her little world is the pounding of her own heart. It's loud so loud she's vaguely surprised others can't hear it. She bumps into another student but doesn't seem to notice.

Only when she's at the edge of the lake does she notice that it's winter and she's not dressed for the weather. She draws her robes tightly around her and by doing that she realizes she still has the parchment clutched in her hand. She sits down at the edge of the lake and draws her knees up to her chest and unfolds the parchment re-reading what was written.

Her brother, her oldest brother, best friend, and caretaker is getting married and what's worse to his wench of a girlfriend. How could this happen? All sorts of thoughts run through her head as she reads the words for what seems like the millionth time. How could he do this? She thinks crumpling up the letter. What will happen to her there's no way his girlfriend will stand her living with them. They hated each other from the moment they met. His girlfriend calling her a snot nosed brat and Rayne calling her a gold digging wench. Rayne angrily chucks the parchment into the lake and lays her head on her knees trying not to cry.

[kat]

Kat resurfaced the water of the lake quite near it’s edge. She had just spent an hour under-water thanks to the Gillyweed her brother had sent her via Star – Kat’s owl. And it had been fantastic.

“Uh,” Kat ducked a paper flying towards her head and glanced up to the person who had obviously thrown it. The girl had some-what curled up and didn’t seem very, happy. Kat hesitated for a moment, before reaching the shore line and heaving herself onto the bank there.

“You know it’s winter, so it would be useful to wear a cloak out here. Of course I was swimming, so I can’t really judge,” Kat commented pulling out her wand and casting a heating charm on the girl, then doing the same for herself once again, after drying herself quickly, with a charm she had asked Flitfick to show her after class.

“So – may I ask why do you go around throwing pieces of paper to innocent people heads?” Kat asked conversationally crouching down next to the girl, and pulling out a pair of sneakers from between the tree-roots. Kat sat down and started to pull the sneakers on, while waiting to see, how the other girl will react.

[thenamelessone]

Rayne looked up startled out of her trance like state by a girls voice. The girl said something about winter and Rayne was suddenly warm. She really didn't want to talk to but was extremely grateful towards the girl for making her warm. She figued it would be extremely ungrateful and rude of her to just ignore the girl so she forced herself to concentrate.

"Sorry about hitting you with the piece of paper." Rayne said laying her head on her knees again but making it so she could still see the girl. She watched her pull her sneakers from the tree roots "I didn't know you were in the lake. I didn't think people swam in the winter."

[kat]

Kat clicked her tongue silently, noticing that the girl’s eyes had been a bit shiny, indicating that tears weren’t far. Kat didn’t comment, but her personality wouldn’t allow her to just leave, without even trying to help. She didn’t press the matter however.

“Yeah, well, I’m not most people,” Kat said with a shrug smiling at the dark water of the pond, “Actually my brother sent me some Gillyweed by owl-post this morning and I tried it out. Spend an hour under-water and it was absolutely marvelous. Besides I wasn’t really cold, as I had a heating charm on you. The same I casted for you.”<br>
Kat tied her sneakers up and smiled at the girl, noticing her eyes still observing her: “And no damage done, so nothing to worry about. Besides it didn’t hurt me in any way.”<br>Kat hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth wordlessly for a moment, then biting her lower lip. Kat closed her eyes for a moment and pushed her hand through her hair, before opening her eyes again and looking at the other girl again: “Listen, I don’t want to sound pushy nor nosy, but I’m willing to listen, if you want. Or do something, if I can to help. You being out here without any winter-clothes kind of clued me in that everything wasn’t going that great. You don’t have to certainly, though, if you don’t want to.”<br>
Kat made a hesitant move: “You can order me to leave any time, if I’m bothering you.”<br>

[thenamelessone]

Rayne smiled when the girl mentioned her brother sending her gillyweed. Her brother sent her stuff by owl all the time. He had never sent her stuff to breath under water though. Rayne noticed the girl looked hesitant like she wanted to ask something but didn't quite want to at the same time. Then the girl mentioned being a good listener and assuming something was wrong.

Rayne really didn't want to spill everything to a stranger. She had a hard enough time talking to people as it was she really didn't want to unload her troubles on someone she'd just met. Rayne turned her head so she wasn't looking at the girl debating whether to tell her or not. The last time she'd told someone about her troubles the person just laughed. Though this girl looked genuinely concerned.

Rayne sighed and turned her head back so that she could look at the girl again. "My name is Rayne by the way and the reason I threw the paper is cause it's a letter from my brother. He's getting married and thats not even the worst part. He's getting married to his girlfriend Leona" Rayne said Leona's name like it had a bad taste to it. "She's a real wench you know. She doesn't even like him and she really hates me."

[kat]

“Family-problems. I know the problem though – I really dislike my own brothers girl-friends, so I can sympathyse,” Kat said with a small smile as she stared off towards the squid in the lake, “She’s a wench? That’s bad. Think your brother would still have time to come to realize that fact, before the wedding? I mean it’s not over, until they both have said yes. Would you have to live with her as well as your brother?”<br>
Kat turned her eyes towards Rayne and let sympathy, but not pity, shine from them.
“Rayne – it’s a pretty name. I’m Kat.”<br>

[thenamelessone]

Rayne looked out at the lake watching the squid swim around the lake. She smiled bitterly when Kat asked if her brother would realise that his girlfriend was a wench. "No I don't think he'll realise it until it's to late. I've seen her with another guy you know she was hanging all over him but my brother didn't believe me when I told him. He thinks he's in love with her or something and that I just don't like her. Don't get me wrong I don't like her but I wouldn't make stuff up about her just because I felt like it." Rayne sighed and stretched out her legs because they were beginning to cramp.

"Anyway I doubt he'll see that she's just a money grubbing wench before the wedding. She'd have to do something extremely bad and since the wedding is in a few months she'll probably be on her best behavior so that he doesn't get any second thoughts or whatnot. So yeah I'm going to have to end up living with her and him." Rayne looked up at Kat and noticed that she was looking at her with sympathy. "Nice to meet you by the way and your name is very pretty as well."

[kat]

“That sucks,” Kat said about the whole conversation as she pondered about it a bit, biting into her lower lip, like she had a bad habit of doing, when she was thinking.
“Well, getting your brother into a place, where he could see himself Leo…Leona? Well, whatever her name was, where you brother could see her what she really was wouldn’t really be easy either,” Kat said silently, “Well, if you think of something and need help, you can count me in.”<br>
“Thanks,” Kat smiled slowly at Rayne, as she leaned back against the tree, “But I can do something. If life gets too unbearable at home, you can come to visit and stay at my place if you want. I would like it and my brother wouldn’t mind either. The house is big enough as well. Remember it just in case.”<br>
Kat offered with a smile, showing the offer was sincere and picked up a pebble and threw it lazily into the pond, watching waves starting and slowly circling away from where the pebble had sunk under water.

[thenamelessone]

Rayne looked at Kat in surprise. She understood what she was going through or at least tried to understand. That had never happened before. It had always been extremely hard for her to make friends everyone seemed to avoid her but here she had made one and she hadn't even tried.

Rayne smiled at Kat. "Thank you. For the offer I mean and if you want you can come stay at my house we could find ways to torture Leona it would be fun." She said and laughed at the thought of pranking her soon to be sister.

Rayne leaned forward and found a flat stone. She picked up and threw it watching as it skipped across the pond. "So what year are you in?" She asked picking up another flat stone and skipping it as well.

[Redneck]

Jason walked around as he usually did. He was wondering what to do. Maybe he should study some more, maybe he should go outside and have some fun. He made a decision. he might be bright, but he should at least have some fun every now and then. Walking to the Entrance Hall, he saw many of his fellow students running about here and there, but he did'nt stop to say hi to any of them., he was rather set on just going outside to have some fun and relax from his studies. So he continued on his way and in no time he was outside among the cool air of winter.

Walking around outside, Jason's eyes brightened and he felt extremely full of vivacious energy. He walked over to the lake and looked across. It reminded him of the time his brother had freaked out when he, Jason, had fallen off of his jet ski. Anyways he looked around and saw two girls not far from him. He decided that he might as well aquaintance himself with people outside his house. Walking over to the two, he noticed that they were younger, so he said " Hi, I'm Jason Strife Jr., and you two are? Hope you do'nt mind, but you two seemed like people I could talk to."

[thenamelessone]

Rayne had been just about to skip another stone when a boy walked up to them and introduced himself. Looking at his robes she identified him as a Slytherin. She was so shocked she ended up dropping the stone.

Rayne had heard bad things about Slytherins from her brother. They were supposed to be mean and nasty and hate people from other houses but here was one and he seemed nice enough.

Rayne picked up her dropped stone and skipped it across the lake. "I'm Rayne." She mumbled.

[kat]

“Driving your brothers evil girl-friend crazy? Works for me,” Kat answered with a smirk and winked, “Just let me know when you need me and I’ll be there.”<br>
Kat looked up as a bit older boy approached them and introduced himself as Jason. Noticing Rayne tense up a bit, Kat glanced at her curiously, but didn’t ask.
“Hi, Jason. I’m Kat,” Kat said calmly, smiling and nodding at the boy in greeting, “And go ahead – it’s a free country. And we both certainly are capable of speaking and making sense – so yes, we can carry on a conversation.” Kat added with a grin and an easy tone, hoping both Jason and Rayne would take the comment as a joke.

Kat turned to look at Rayne again:” And to answer your question – I’m a first year. Ravenclaw.”<br>

[thenamelessone]

Rayne laughed when Kat told Jason that they were capable of making conversation. Obviously she wasn't afraid of the Slytherin so Rayne relaxed. "Yeah, what she said." Rayne said to Jason then turned to Kat.

"Don't worry I'll definately owl you or something when it comes time to driving the evil wench out of her mind. I'll need all the help I can get." She said laughing.

"And I'm a first year Gryffindor." She turned to Jason. "What year are you? And you can sit down we don't bite."

[kat]

We might taste a bit, but we don’t bite very hard,” Kat added with a wink as Rayne told Jason they wouldn’t bite and pulled her legs under her, “And my brother adores the Weasley shop, so I’m quite comfortable with handling their pranks as well, should the need arise. I’ve tasted most first-hand, when my brother sets them off.”<br>
“And you can owl me, phone me, e-mail me, fax me, hey, even have a messenger account!” Kat laughed out loud, “I’m easy to contact. And remind me to give you my address some time. I don’t’ really have a quill and paper along with me and I suck at transfiguration, so I can’t turn something here into them either.”<br>

[thenamelessone]

Rayne laughed when Kat told Jason that they tasted but didn't bite very hard. Rayne crossed her legs so that she was sitting indian style. "Your brother plays pranks on you?" She asked Kat. "My brother never plays pranks on me at least not the one I'm living with anyway. My other brother, he's muggle, used to play tricks on me but quit when I accidentally made one of my toys come to life and chase him around the room." Rayne said lauging at the memory of Lokeij running away from her barbie car. "That was before I was told I was a wizard." She added as an after thought.

Rayne was about to look for a quill when she remembered she hadn't even brought her cloak. "I'd give you one of my quills but seeing as how I didn't even remember a cloak I'll just have to wait and get it from you later."

[kat]

“Yeah, my brother pulls pranks on me. He’s hopeless addicted to it, but he makes sure no-one besides us two and the couple who cleans the stables and takes care of the horses as well as cleans the house, show me while it,” Kat explained and bit into her lower lip, thinking for a moment.

“Once he set off Weasley’s fire-works inside our living room to give me a grand awakening. As he blew off the roof of the living-room which was also the floor of one of the guest-bedrooms, I certainly woke up alright. We had to replace the furniture in both rooms though and the builders looked weirdly, but didn’t comment when my brother said he had set off fire-works inside,” Kat told Jason and Rayne with a grin, retelling one of the biggest and most costly mishap they had had with pranks, “But some canary toffees or something like that are regular.”<br>
“I did first piece of magic with a horse though. The horse I was riding stumbled and broke her leg while we were practicing. My brother told me there was no chance for the horse to ever recover, so death would be the only option. I was so shocked and sad, that I kind of snapped the bone together again. I was about 10,” Kat said thinking back and still feeling a sharp pang of pain, as she recalled in how much pain the horse had seemed to be in.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll use my owl tonight, when I’m back in the castle and send you my address and phone and telephone,” Kat told Rayne with a small smile, pushing the memories aside.

[thenamelessone]

Rayne laughed at the image she got when Kat told her about her brother setting off fireworks indoors. "I bet those workers thought he was insane." She said laughing. "Were your parents mad? I know my mother would've killed me if I ever did that come to think of it so would my brother."

"I've never ridden a horse before. I'm glad you healed it back though I know I would've cried if that ever happened to me. I hate to see anything in pain people and animals it makes me feel bad so I'm glad it didn't have to die." She said trying to make Kat feel better she seemed to be upset at the memory of the horse.