Fresh Air (Charlie)

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

It was a beautiful day at Hogwarts. It was only early summer and the weather was still unpredictable at times, especially when it came to what seemed like never ending rain. Today though, it was beautiful. The sun was shining and the sky was clear. It was a perfect day to go out to the lake, even if the breeze that came off the water made her need to wear a sweater.

She wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do outside, but it was far to pretty out to stay inside. She decided that the best thing she could do was sit outside and read, after all, she hadn't looked at her Quidditch Through the Ages book in almost a month. She grabbed her book and left the common room, heading out across the grass toward the lake. If she had run into Ivy she would have invited her along as well, but she didn't, and she wasn't brave enough to invite anyone else, so instead, she found a tree, with just the right amount of sunshine, and she sat down at its base, leaning her back against the bark as she opened her book in her lap.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles was up early today, which was rather unlike him. He enjoyed the warm feel of the bed for a few minutes before shaking himself and going about his daily morning activities, a quick wash and choice of clothes and then he pulled on the pair of jeans and baby blue T-shirt he had chosen and he was ready for breakfast. His foot was OK after his rather misfortunate accident with the moving staircase, though it was still a little blue round the ankle. Charles was never much of an eater so breakfast for him meant a piece of toast smeared with cheese and a glass of juice and then he was thinking about his plans for the day. He knew it was early for most people to be awake, and since it was the last week at Hogwarts and the exams were over he doubted any of his friends would be up now. He thought about taking his camera out and taking some pictures, but thought he could always wait till later and anyway he wanted to experiment with taking pictures just as the sun was setting today. He had finally saved up some money to get a better camera and he was excited about using it as soon as he got the chance. In the end he put it in a small bag and took it with him, just in case.

Soon he arrived to the lake, enjoying his leisurely walk as they rays of the sun weren't too strong but strong enough to indicate that summer was almost here. He saw a familiar face immersed in a book, that of a fellow housemate who was a year younger than him. He still wondered how he and Nokomis hadn’t talked more to each other; he had liked her during their short meeting in the common room, though like Ivy, she was a very quiet and rather shy person. Not that shyness ever stood in the way of Charlie. He liked knowing people, making new friends, forgetting the sadness of his home life and living in the current moment and the happiness and security he always had at Hogwarts. He hated to think about the summer and going home. He had no idea what his parents were going to say or do to him this time. Two summers they had ignored and punished him, but he knew that wasn't going to be the end of it this time. They had expected him to come round to their point of view by now, and Charles was just as stubborn as ever. Oh well, it was such a lovely morning. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. He walked up to Nokomis with a smile on his face and sat down beside her, extending his short legs before him them picking a dead leaf from the ground and lightly ran it down her arm. "Hey there Captain! Reading anything interesting?" he asked with genuine interest.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

Her favorite part of the whole book was the sections about chasers. There was a part that talked about some of the most famous moves chasers had ever made, and she had nearly all of them memorized. She never really told anyone before, but she had dreams one one day being one of those famous chasers you could dread about in books. She didn't think she would ever make it to the Ireland team, but at least she could wish she might.

She bit into her bottom lip as she carefully read the words of her book for the hundredth time since she got it. She was so focused that she never even noticed Charles coming up and sitting down beside her. It wasn't until she felt something against her arm and glanced over that she jumped slightly, looking at Charles with her eyes slightly widened. It was Charles. She knew him, or sort of knew him. They bumped into him in the common room a few times, but they never had a real conversation before, or not with just the two of them at least. She wanted to pull away and hide, but she fought against it. Charles was nice. He had always been nice.

"Its Quidditch Through the Ages..I um...I guess I have a bit of a one track mind."

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles noticed the quick intake of breath and slightly startled look on Nokomis' face when she saw him, and was a little surprised to realise she hadn't noticed when he sat down beside her though it had been a few seconds before he'd spoken. She must have been very engrossed in what she reading. He smiled as he thought about his own obsession with photography and looked at the pictures of the playing Chasers, one of them showing a Chaser scoring a goal. "Well, you remember I told you I was thinking of taking up Quidditch? I mean I'd like to try out as a Seeker, I know Valerie's leaving next year, and I haven't heard of anyone who's thinking of taking her place yet. I could do with another hobby, I'm rather one track minded when it comes to hobbies myself," he admitted. He wondered whether it would be fun to play the game. He was as enthusiastic as the next person about watching Quidditch and cheering Hufflepuff till he could shout no more, but playing it, well, he had never known whether that would be fun or not as he had never tried.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

She relaxed slightly when Charlie started talking again. People always made her worry, but Charlie always seemed so casual and happy about everything. It was hard to stay tense when being around someone like him. She smiled slightly looking down at the picture in her book that he had been looking at.

"We can always use new people on the team. Its really hard to keep players these days, probably because of how much time it takes. Besides the it never hurts to try." She could feel color rising in her cheeks after that comment. Her father had said that to her when he gave her a broom for her birthday. He knew she would love quidditch, even if she didn't know herself, and his words came right out of her mouth before she even realized it.
"I bet you would be really good at it."
She smiled again, glancing over at him before looking down at her book again.
"You like...um...taking pictures, right?"
She struggled to remember his favorite hobby from one of the few times he had joined Ivy and herself in the common room for short chats. She thought she remembered him mentioning something about photography one of the times.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

"Well then, I really must try out. It'll give me something to do during the summer - I mean practising for next year," said Charles, wondering if he would be allowed to stay out of the house at all this summer, and telling himself he'd find a way. "Yes, I do, I mean I'm not really good, but I try," he said modestly, wondering if Ivy had told Nokomis that. "Speaking of Quidditch and pictures," he said and then rolled over onto his stomach and pulled his bag over and fished in it for the album which contained some pictures he had taken during one of the Quidditch practices he had watched from the stands. "Take a look," he said, handing her the album. There were pictures of Nokomis looking more serious than usual as she told the team how she intended to run the practice, pictures of the different Chasers scoring goals, and of the team trying out different diversionary tactics and new moves.

A photo dropped out without them noticing, and Charles picked it up and looked at it wonderingly for a moment as Nokomis looked at her album. He thought he'd lost it long ago. It was one of the very first ones he had taken. The woman in it was dressed in an elegant white silk gown and had startlingly pale blue eyes and pointed nose that made her look regal. Charles had once read a story in which the lead female character was evil and was called The Snow Queen. As he looked at the picture he remembered thinking that was exactly what the person in the picture reminded him of – his mother reminded him of The Snow Queen.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

She smiled when he said that he would try quidditch and that it would give him something to do over the summer. She always had a hard time understanding people who didn't want to get into the game. Ever since she discovered it it had become such an important part of her life, she just didn't see how others could ignore it completely. They didn't have to have their life revolve around it...but why not try it and have a good time.

"I can help you practice if you want" she said, color flooding to her cheeks once she did. The comment seemed so forward, especially coming form her, but the quidditch always seemed to make her braver. "I mean...since I'm captin....and I think I am going to try to have the other plays come to my house to practice sometime. I live where muggles wont see."

She was happy when he brought out the pictures, giving her something else to look at to cover up her embarrassment for asking him if he wanted her to help him with quidditch. His pictures were nice, he was good at taking them, but she could feel her cheeks burning when she looked at the ones of her. She looked so young compared to most of the players, and she looked far to serious. There was one of her looking very serious, and maybe a bit frustrated at the new beater she took onto the team that spring, one of the Moore brothers who she never felt quite comfortable around. He was a good beater, but she was never sure if he was going to forget what position he was on or what team he was playing for.

She was thinking about their beater, her mind wandering to who was on the team and adjustments that needed to be made for fall when she saw a picture slip from the book. She picked it up and looked at it. The woman in the photo was beautiful, but she looked so serious, almost cold. She wondered who it was, but didn't quite have the courage to ask.