Simple Entertainment ((Danelle))

[Sydney Rawson H6]

The day was winding down and the evening dullness was settling over the castle. Since the winter weather set in over the grounds, the grass was now piled under at least a half a foot of snow. The lake was now a sheet of ice. And the courtyard was mound of ice sickles handing from the trees, benches, and overhangs. Most students kept to themselves inside during this season and tried to stay warm. But on the contrary- not all students did so. Sydney Rawson was a bit more of an adventurous girl to be around. She wasn't the type to be cooped up inside just because was weather wasn't ideal for 'the perfect tan'. Syd could make any season entertaining. Maybe because she was one of five children, and she was used to doing something with one of her siblings constantly. But Syd really wasn't the type of girl to sit around and let herself be bored.

On an evening like tonight, the wind was a low howl floating across the lawns. The glistening reflections of the candles inside of the castle shown over the show in the courtyard to bring a low glow to the snow covered hide-away. Pushing open the door to the courtyard, Syd had to put her shoulder into the door. It took a lot of her strength to push it open because of the piled snow outside of it. Pointing her wand at the cement floor, a few feet of snow melted into the ground making a small walk way to the door. Closing the heavy rod-iron mass behind her, she tapped he wand on the handle. She placed a warm temporary temperature on the handle so that it wouldn't freeze over and lock her outside. Turning back to the courtyard, she noticed she was alone. Not something she really minded, but she half expected it. Not many people wanted to be outside, especially in the evening.

As she walked a bit deeper into the court yard the moon shown above her through thick dark clouds. The light from the sudden appearing moon, reflected off of a few ice sickles that hung from the low roof of the school over a little bit of the courtyard. Smiling to herself, she figured this would be a good time to get some practice with her charms. She excelled in charms already, but kept findings new spells she wanted to try out for fun. Flicking her wand, she spoke softly "Accio blanket." with a flick of her wrist, she pointed to her hand, as she caught a warm fabric between her fingers. Catching her blanket she left by her window, she carried it with her for a few yards. Finding an ideal spot on a bench, She tapped it three times with her wand. Soon the snow melted from the cement and dripped down to the floor. Finding a warm comfortable place was ideal for her, and if she couldn't find one- she'd create one for herself. Placing the blanket down. She sat Indian style within it, and wrapped it around her legs. She wore pants under her cloak, but she was sure the excess blanket was a good idea. Getting situated, she heard the low howl of the wind roar through the courtyard. She didn't think much of the sound as it passed, but another sound caught her attention. The door to the castle flew shut. Sydney looked up, as she remembered she closed it herself when she walked through it. That only meant that someone else was coming outside. Looking through a few snow covered trees, she tried to make out the nearing person. "Hello?" she asked as she waited for a reply.

[Danelle Gregory H6]

She pulled on her suede calf high boots over her dark jeans before slipping into a jacket and then latching her cloak on over her shoulders. It was especially cold at night, and Danelle wasn’t going to take any chances with the cold and getting ill, and so she was bundling up as much as she thought would work. She didn’t want to get too warm, though, because then she would sweat and then get colder than she would have been otherwise. It was kind of a double edged sword. Nonetheless, Danelle liked to take an evening stroll whenever she was feeling anxious about something. It was her way of relaxing and sloughing of all of the horrible thoughts and feelings that plagued her during the school day. Some days there wasn’t any reason to slough off any bad feelings, and so she just skipped her stroll around the grounds at night, but today was not that kind of day. This day had been horrendous for Danelle, all because of her Potions class. She couldn’t wait until she was out of Hogwarts.

With everything in its place and her body all bundled up nice and warm, Danelle left her dormitory and the Hufflepuff common room. The stairs that led to the Entrance Hall were empty and eerie with the flickering candles in their brass candelabras. All that was missing was a passing ghost, singing a mournful song. Danelle pulled her hood up over her brown hair and hurried to the grand double doors that led out to the grounds. It had been warm for the past week, but apparently winter had decided to hit again with full force. God, she hated winter. It was pretty the first time it snowed, but every other time after that – it was horribly ugly. Dismal and dark and depressing. Her feet squished in the snow as she traipsed down the stairs to the grounds, trying to keep her mind off the fact that her day had been utterly horrible.

The wind was strong and it was sending the snow into swirly patterns of white, dancing around her and in front of her. Danelle paused in her steps, looking ahead of her at the white mass of land that she could trek through if she so desired. But did she really desire it? Biting her bottom lip, Danelle turned around on her heel and headed toward the Courtyard where at least there she knew the paths like the back of her hand. At least there it would be slightly well lit and she wouldn’t need to take her hands from the warmth of her coat pockets to hold her wand for lumos. She had to pretty much lift her knee high so she could walk through the snow without tripping over the mounds of it in front of her. She looked kind of silly, no doubt, but there really wasn’t anything Danelle could do about it.

After about ten minutes, she reached the door to the courtyard, and pushed it open, sliding in with very little effort because someone had cleared the walk way. Danelle shrugged this off and stepped inside, letting the door bang shut behind her from the gust of wind that had just made its way in her direction. She stamped her feet on the stone flooring to get rid of the excess snow on her legs and boots, and was surprised she could hear someone calling “hello” through the sound of her feet banging on the ground. Nonetheless, she had and so she made her way through the courtyard to the sound of the voice. Sydney Rawson was sitting on a bench with a blanket, looking startled. Danelle smiled and waved slightly, stomping her feet again; “Heya, sorry to frighten you. It’s just me.”

|Sorry for the delay.|

[Sydney Rawson H6]

Sydney enjoyed being wrapped up in the blanket outside, feeling the low wind howl against her back. She pulled her wand out again and spoke another simple charm, making the blanket larger so it would cover her entire body. She wrapped her upper body in the warm cloth, and heard the castle door fly shut with a large bang again. Was there someone else coming or was it the same person she had seen coming out of the darkness? She said a clear “Hello?” waiting for a reply. The girl came out of the near pitch black entrance to the large courtyard, smiling. She waved slightly, stomping her feet clear of the snow she had evidently ventured through to get to the spot she was at now, which was where Sydney was. Sydney didn’t know this girl, did she? Wait. Danelle, was it? Yes, now that she took a minute to think and remind herself of the other Hufflepuffs she knew. Danelle Gregory. They were in the same year, but she didn’t know the girl very well. Danelle apologized for frightening her. “It’s fine, don’t worry. I just didn’t expect anyone else to be out here since it’s so cold.”

It wasn’t too cold for Sydney, she didn’t mind the extra chill. But any normal person would likely stay inside the castle to keep warm, so what was Danelle doing out here in the courtyard? “It’s good to see you Danelle. That is your name, isn’t it? I’m horrible with remembering names, so forgive me if it’s wrong.” Sydney didn’t want to sound like an idiot, but she did want to make sure the girl knew she didn’t mean anything personal if the name she remembered was indeed wrong. When the girl didn’t object, she continued. “So what brings you out here in the cold? Sit down here, I’ll get another blanket. It’s freezing, isn’t it?” Ending her questions quickly, she spoke the same charm, summoning another blanket and enlarged it quickly, holding it out to Danelle, waiting for her to sit down on the bench with her. “Was it getting too stuffy in the castle? I leave sometimes when it gets to be too much.” Knowing she should let the poor girl respond, Sydney kept her mouth shut, anticipating a response from girl.

[Sorry it's short, and for the delay.]

[Danelle Gregory H6]

"Are you kidding?" Danelle smiled widely, her eyes sparkling with mirth, "I love the cold. I just love the way it makes me numb. Don't you?" She rolled her eyes and then looked up into the inky black sky. The stars twinkled prettily, in their place, lovely. She sighed happily, softly, and then turned her attention back on Sydney when the girl spoke again. Another friendly smile appeared on Danelle's face and she shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I understand completely, names aren't my forte, either." Unless the person was mean to her and they got into a huge argument, or it happened to be a letter, or it really made her think when she heard it. So far, only three people had names that did one of those things and so far she was able to remember them quite easily – as opposed to scrambling for them at the last moment.

Danelle took the seat Sydney offered beside her, and she leaned back on the palms of her hands, reclining her head backward and closing her eyes as the cold chilled her face. If someone had been looking at her, forgetting the wintry scenery, they would have thought she was sunbathing – with how relaxed she looked. She opened her eyes went she felt the warmth of blanket cascade over her, and smiled at Sydney again, this time in thanks. "Do you always ask so many questions?" She teased, but then she smiled again and shook her head, "I like questions. It helps you get to know someone. But, uh, in answer to your question: I'm out here because… being inside is so boring." Danelle looked away again, her eyes drifting to the moon that was off to the left a ways, training on it as she thought about what she was going to say next.

"Day in and day out we're in the same building, same classrooms, we see the same people. It's so mundane and tired, that I just wanted to feel like I was being spontaneous for once. Being outside is the closest, and not to mention, easiest way of doing that. Besides, sometimes when you're outside, you meet someone you normally don't talk to on a daily basis. And that person can easily change your life, or at least your day. You never know what the outdoors holds for you because it's ever changing," she took a deep breath and let the silence settle around the two of them before she looked over at Sydney again and chuckled, "Sorry – that was a really profound answer for such a simple question. What about you? Why are you out here in the blistering cold?"

[Sydney Rawson H6]

Sydney smiled softly as Danelle found the words to reply to her several questions. Syd did seem a little forward with the abundance of questions, but it worked out in the end. Danelle and her are from the same house, as well as the same year. They have always knew each other but never found the time to get close. It's interesting how you can live with someone for several years, but never really 'meet' them, or get to know them. At Hogwarts, everyone seemed to be in their own little world. There were the people who depended on studying constantly; or the group who dwelled on gaining friends all the time; or there was a group who played jokes and rarely participated in class. This place was stuck in a time period where being beside someone rarely meant actually being with them. People seemed to be so stuck in their own lives within Hogwarts that and escape was rarely thought about. That was Sydney's reason for leaving. It was a wicked cycle most students were stuck in, and Sydney would not allow herself to be lost. She was an individual, and sometimes a loner. She had friends, but preferred to stay out of the drama that circulated most teenage girls stuck in the social life of the castle. Syd had fun learning and living in the heat of the moment. Syd was anything but boring- and hated living in a less than entertaining world.

Holding her wand on her lap, she listened as Danelle finished her statement. Syd paused for a moment and smiled. "Honestly..." she drew out. "It's nice to hear something think that way too." She turned to Danelle next to her with a nod. "I think living in the castle just get so stale. After six years already, I am counting down the days to leave. Don't get me wrong, I adore Hogwarts as a school, but as a common area; it's absurd how routine things get. And hardly anyone realizes it." Syd shook her head as she went on. "I came outside because I needed a change in scenery. " She laughed subtly after. "I was hoping something would catch my attention. Someone more entertaining than what is going on in there." She spoke as she motioned to the castle. There was silence between the two as Syd looked up at Danelle, "but maybe I like you're reason better." She laughed as she picked up her wand again.

"I come out here often, really. I get most of my work done here, instead of the common room. However, in the nice weather it is easier to do more things." Syd spoke, as she thought to herself about a time when her and her friend Kamron climbed up the overhang that covered a portion of the courtyard, and continued to scale the side of the castle to the roof. It truly wasn't difficult, but it was preferred to be done on a warm evening. She smiled as she remembered how Kamron graduated last year, she missed him. But on top of that memory, Syd had a whole hand full of things she found out did out in the courtyard. Hidden walkways to the dungeons or to the back door of the Great Hall Kitchen. As most kids spent their time in the lawns or by the lake, she was often found back here finding more secrets to the castle.