Hello there! ((Pandora))

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Where hadn't she gone in this castle? In this wonderland? There wasn't a place. Not one. Wait. Yes there was. Ingrid rolled off her bed onto the floor, stuck her feet in her shoes and tied them quickly. There was one place she had not ventured quite yet. The Courtyard. It seemed to be owned by older students, and Ingrid wasn't in the mood for confrontations at the times she had wanted to go. She tied her shoes, then stood up and looked in the mirror. Her blue eyes sparkled with mischeif, and her blond hair was down- as rare as that was. She wore her Hogwarts uniform, but it was very untidy. She sighed and shrugged before she left the dormitory. Her mind was reeling with ideas on what the Courtyard might look like.

The sun was still shining, though it was nearing supper. She had no intentions of skipping her meal...Ingrid was doing a very good job at eating healthy and doing her school work before going and exploring. She was intent on doing well this year. Just to prove Sally wrong. Sally always infuriated Ingrid, always. Ingrid let out a lengthy sigh at the thought of Sally's words running across her mind. "You can't do it, Ing. You're going to buckle down under all the pressure, and cry to mum and dad about coming home." Never in a million years would Ingrid buckle and cry to her parents. No matter how hard it got. She would still prioritze everything. She had to. Not just to prove her sister wrong, but to prove to herself she could do something better than what she had been.

Ingrid was always very good with her studies. She was very studious, and never once did she remember when she did something wrong that involved her homework. Of course, there were things that she needed to improve upon. But she still did her homework and things like that in a respectful manner with a lot of time to get it done with. She never stayed up past her bed time, and she was certain she wasn't going to get caught doing anything wrong. She would either be too sneaky, or she wouldn't do anything. Ingrid chuckled at herself. Not do anything. Hah. Right. These thoughts came as she turned a corner, and saw an opening into an outer area. The courtyard.

She inhaled and continued to walk out there. Her eyes grew wide at the beauty of it. She wondered if it stayed this way all the time. She doubted it. No matter what magic could do, it wasn't right to have fully bloomed flowers in the middle of winter. It looked wrong. Ingrid grinned and looked around, wondering who everyone was and what house they were in. She hardly knew anyone at the school. Anyone at all, besides Sita, Aaron, and Gavin. Everyone looked to be older than her. Wait. Except one girl. But this girl didn't seem to cheerful. Ingrid bit her bottom lip in anticipation, and then finally got up the nerve to skip over and stop right in front of her with a cheery smile on her face; "Hello there!"

[pandora]

The whole of the courtyard was filled with the soft twitter of birds singing, the laughter of older students, and the tinkling sound of water rushing over the marble face of the fountain sitting in the middle. In one secluded area, however, under the shade of one of the fluted columns which defined the outer edges of the courtyard itself, no bird song rang out. In its place was the rough caw of several crows which had gathered like stately men in waiting around a young first year Slytherin. Pandora flipped lazily through her book, tossing a small bite of crusted French bread to the birds hovering around her from time to time. The bread kept the crows close and everyone else away, which was just the way Pandora liked it. She would have Potions class soon and she wanted to brush up on her formulas in peace and quiet. None of the older students had paid much attention as she emerged onto the courtyard earlier that morning and, without a word, had claimed a seat at the base of the column.

The quiet tranquility of the last hour was suddenly interrupted by the happy, scuffling sound of someone skipping. Pandora tried to ignore it but soon found that the sound seemed to be coming straight for her. She resolutely buried her face a little farther in the book in hopes no one would be foolish enough to try talking to her. The crows around her, however, had no such delusions and as Ingrid finally stopped in front of Pandora, they took to flight in a shining rush of black wings and rough cries, a few meager feathers floating down to earth in their wake. Pandora’s fingers gripped the edges of her book a little tighter. “Hello there,” Ingrid called cheerily. Like the cold black doll’s eyes of a great white shark just before the kill, Pandora slid her gaze from the page before her up to Ingrid’s charming smile. No smile was forth-coming from Pandora.

When Ingrid didn’t seem to take the hint and simply stood there like some angelic cherub awaiting the glowing replies she most likely was used to, Pandora sighed lightly and placed one slender pale finger in her book to mark her page. She let her eyes graze over Ingrid to take in as much as she could about the girl before this little unpleasentry began. Ingrid was lovely. She was a sweet, beautiful little girl who seemed full of life and joy; the kind of child any parent would be proud to have and who must leave a line of grandparents fawning in her wake wherever she went.

Pandora didn’t like her already.

“Can I help you?” Pandora asked in a cold monotone voice, a hint of sarcasm slipped in around each word.

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

"Actually," Ingrid stated, "I think the question is. Can I help you?" She smiled and put her hands behind her back and twiddled her thumbs. She rocked back and forth on her heels. She couldn't sit still. But she was determined to be able to talk to this girl without bouncing everywhere. Ingrid grinned.

"You don't seem to be too happy. And I wonder why, so I want to know...what makes you smile? How about kitties? Or ice cream? Chocolates? Or books? What about puppies? I'm sure there's something that cheers you up!" Ingrid breathed in with agrivation. Why didn't some people be as happy as she was? Sure there were times when Ingrid was rather upset with something, but she was always happy afterward. Lately Ingrid had been running into people who were sad all the time. It was tiring to her. And she wasn't even the one sad!

"Seriously, what makes you happy?" She asked. Her blue eyes locking with the girls. Maybe it would have been better to just ask her name. But Ingrid never really introduced herself...well...she did, but not when she was intent on making someone smile. In Mossley, Ingrid was known on picking projects- and coming through with them. She wanted to do the same at Hogwarts. Maybe she needed to pick better projects.

[pandora]

As Ingrid spouted bubbling and joyous ideas from her lips, Pandora’s finely shaped eyebrow climbed higher and higher on her forehead. Finally Ingrid, who seemed like she had swallowed several Zonkos Amazing Bouncable Balls all at once, managed to stop talking and simply stood in front of Pandora attempting, and failing, to hold still. Ingrid was so full of life, it looked as if she was about to burst with it and it seemed that if she didn’t share it with someone, the excitement of life would simply cause her to explode. The mental image brought a small half-smile to Pandora’s face. THAT would certainly be a good start towards making her happy.

Pandora leaned back and looked over Ingrid a little more obviously, mostly for Ingrid’s benefit, so that the other girl could see the disdain on Pandora’s features. “I WAS perfectly happy before you came along. And if you really want to help me and make me happy again, you’ll turn right back around and bounce off to annoy someone else.” She drawled lazily. “I don’t like ‘kitties’ or ‘puppies’ or anything so mundane as ‘chocolate’.” Pandora looked back down at her book, re-settled herself back into a comfortable position and waited for Ingrid to run crying out of the courtyard. She was used to being able to send people she didn’t like away with her sharp tongue and a few hateful glances. Pandora wasn’t expecting anything different from this bubbling happy creature before her.

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

"Well..." Ingrid's tone turned to ice, "I see. You're just depressed. Constantly. Manically. I'm sorry if the world bites for you. But you don't have to treat others the way you are treated. If you want to make something better of your life...then do it. But don't act like I annoy you...because I know that this is probably the most conversation you'll have all week." Ingrid sent a slight glare at the girl. She was really agitated.

"If you really want me to leave...then I will. But just to let you know...you aren't going to get anywhere with being the way you are. I doubt even he-who-must-not-be-named would recruit someone so morally depressed." Ingrid turned on her heel and walked away. Hogwarts was full of those people who weren't worth her time...but were perfectly well worth her insults. She put a smile on her face and ran off in the other direction...intent on finding someone much more kind toward her.

[pandora]

Pandora looked back up at Ingrid’s little out-burst. She managed a little half-smile. “Giving up so soon little muggle lover?” She called after the retreating form of Ingrid. “I’m far from depressed and I have plenty of worthy friends to keep me company, but you did entertain me so. Feel free to come by and do that again.” She laughed coldly and returned to her book, this time a smile was on her face, and she settled in to read for the next few hours until her next class.

(oop: sorry that was so short. )