Before Class Wanderings and Ponderings

[Henry Larsen]

Location: Edge of the woods surrounding Phoenixsong
Time and Date: Early morning, just after breakfast on September 2nd
Private/Open: CLOSED

Henry Larsen was seated, leaning up against a large tree that was one of the many that dotted and marked the edge of the Phoenixsong grounds. If he were to go any farther than this tree, he risked getting in trouble...although the Headmistress and Deputy Headmistress were generally kind and lenient. At least, he had known them to be so during his six, going onto seven, years at the School of Spellcraft. It was quite strange to think about...his seventh year. He had a cousin who attended Hogwarts, and this was his last year at that school. Henry was glad he had eight years at Phoenixsong, because right now he most certainly didn't feel...ready or anything to go out into the 'real world' and 'live his life'. Whatever those phrases mean.

He fingered the camera he held in his hands, and looked around at the trees again. As everyone had noted, the leaves had changed earlier than normal, so kids were outside and enjoying it. No one was near where he was, at least, not yet, but that was all right with him. What wasn't all right with him, was that after rushing out here with his camera after looking out his window this first morning of waking up at the school he loved...he now didn't really feel like taking any pictures. He didn't have that much of a clue why. Oh yes you do. A nasty voice inside his head reminded him. You miss your big brother. Can't deal without him, can you? Baby. Henry sighed. The voice was probably right. He wasn't used to being alone, he and Wyatt had been joined at the hip for most of their lives. He was confused and a little lost without him. He often disliked himself for this, it made him feel weak and unimportant. And that was one thing he did not want to be perceived as. Especially not with the guys in Quidditch. They saw him as the great seeker who had led them to two championships and two championship worthy seasons. To the people he hung out with doing photography, he was innovative, he had a great eye that could find detail to expertly capture on film.

Right now, he didn't feel like either of those guys. In fact, sometimes he didn't know how he could be so different. How could he ever merge those two lives?

Tired of moping, he shoved the camera in his pocket, deciding he'd try and photograph something later. Right now he seriously did not feel like it. Getting up, he shoved his hands into the dark blue and black Blastfur robes, and turned around to begin walking back to the school as the fifteen minute bell before first class began.

[Melinda B. Hayes]

Melinda was walking along the edge of the forest, uncharacteristically without Hayden, as she had been during that first day in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was holding a stick in her hand, and kept whacking it against random trees, making a nice thwacking noise. She had decided to enjoy a last hurrah of summer and just amble around the grounds and relax before having to worry about taking notes, and studying, and reading, and everything in between. She was approaching the pathway to the school, and was surprised to see that someone else besides her had actually wandered this far from the school. She couldn't tell who it was from this distance, but it was definitely a boy. Immediately, she wondered if she looked ridiculous, having just been walking around the entire grounds in the early morning...the chances weren't good. She was no Hayden when it came to her looks, but she tended to care a little more than most.

At last, she could tell who it was, Henry Larsen, seeker of the Blastfur Quidditch team. What is he doing out here? she wondered. Didn't all Quidditch players sleep in until the last minute, then rush down to the Great Hall and wolf down everything within site? The desire to just clam up and go back the long way was overwhelming...but the lighthearted Brightstar air won out (along with the fifteen minute bell ringing), and she called out,

"Good morning! Didn't think I'd see anyone else but me out here..." she twirled the stick in her fingers like a wand, even though hers was in the bag she had brought with her, knowing that she might spend an extra amoutn of time outside. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so just smiled and kept walking towards the path like he seemed to be.

[Henry Larsen]

He snapped his head up and turned, eyes widening in surprise at this unsuspected interruption. So he wasn't the only one out there this close to the woods as he had thought. He knew it was irrational, but when Henry was alone, he felt completely separate from the world around him; it was just as if he was all by himself, which he happened to enjoy in a strange sort of way. He watched as the girl came closer and closer to him, a smile spread across her face, he didn't return the smile, as he was too uncertain of how to respond to this. After all, he couldn't even tell who she was. She was quite a deal shorter than him, maybe younger, and a Brightstar. But, as far as he could tell, she wasn't in his year, but then again, Henry usually didn't pay attention to girls that much, so for all he knew, she could be Head Girl. He tried not to imagine what kind of embarassment that would be.

She didn't say anything to him for a while, which he found himself perfectly fine with. He probably wouldn't be able to think of anything to say back anyways. Henry was a bit socially awkward at times. And by 'a bit', it's meant to be read as 'a lot'. It was a marvel he had managed to survive thus far. As the two of them walked side by side up the path, her twirling the stick she had been holding like a wand, him with his hands in his pockets, he began to feel a bit more comfortable. And then she said good morning, and how she didn't believe that anyone but her would be out here this early. Drat. Now he had to respond.

"...good morning. I actually..." he paused. "Expected the same thing. No one ever seems to care to go this far, but I like it." The blond boy stopped talking, he had been worrying about saying too little, and now he was nervous that he was saying too much and make a fool of himself and the other guys would tease him even more for being completely hopeless when it came to girls.

[Melinda B. Hayes]

Oh dear, looks like I've scared him. She thought regretfully, although her smile never wavered. It probably was only because it was rather early in the morning, and she had kind of snuck up on him. "Sorry if I startled you." she apologized quickly, having to widen her gait a little to keep up with him. She cursed the family gene for being short. She normally didn't mind, as it seemed as though shortness was a prevalent trait at Phoenixsong, but then these tall people come along and remind you that 5'1" is not at all tall. He was looking at her strangely, and he wondered why. It was not a look of admiration, so she didn't think he thought her stunningly beautiful. Which was fine with her, let Hayden get the looks for that. She'd much rather keep the free spirit and do what she wanted when she wanted, it was more fun that way.

When she had kept quiet, he seemed quite and ease and not to mind that she was there and had startled him. However, he had stiffened a little when she spoke before, and she remembered how Henry had a bit of a reputation for being quiet. She probably should've remembered that and not bothered him. Well, it was a bit late to call back her words now, wasn't it? And Melinda most certainly was not about to apologize for speaking, that was just silly. Maybe this would be good for him. Help him gain good people skills. Yes, that was what she would do. Help him gain good people skills. Her eyes sparkled, a new 'mission' for the new year. What fun. She was surprised when he spoke, it was a rather quiet voice for a boy. Her smile widened and she said, "I like it too. I think the woods go underappreciated, since we're banned from going into them..." she made a slight face at that rule, one that her mother upheld particularly strictly. "Wish we could go in there like...once in a while. I'd like to see it. Wouldn't you?" She was pushing him, and she knew it, but she believed it would be good for him.

[Henry Larsen]

He blinked at her and then simply shrugged when she apologized for scaring him. It wasn't really anything to be sorry for, he just perhaps needed to pay attention to what was going on around him and not doze off into his own little world. It just wasn't a good idea, especially when there's no telling who could use magic against you as a joke in the last minute, after all, he did hang out with Quidditch jocks who unfortunately actually retained some of their magical learning. Go figure. And as for being out here, it was really kind of his fault for honestly believing that in such a big school, no one else would think to wander over near the woods...He realized that he was staring at her again, trying to see if he could remember at all if, or where he had ever seen her before. She looked up at him, and he felt strange for staring. But she didn't seem to care and kept walking and twirling her wand/stick all the same.

She seemed to be watching him as much as he was watching her. Then he remembered some of the qualities of Brightstar, empathetic was one of them, so she was probably trying to figure out what he was thinking and feeling. He hoped she hadn't been sorted into the house based on that particular trait. He felt uncomfortable about others knowing the deeper part of his emotions. It was just weird for a guy to do that.

Something changed in her demeanor, and her 'wise' eyes, which now had a strange sort of gleam to them, as if she had just made up her mind about a certain matter. At least she liked the woods, just like he did. That was something they could talk about, if she insisted upon talking about it. Which it seemed as though she was going to do. His lips twitched upwards in a smile when she made a face, her expressions were very...well...expressive. "Yes, I do, but I don't think the Headmistress is willing to budge on this. I don't think anyone would be able to persuade her from anything. Maybe her family or best friend Mrs. McLaughlin could though..." the last part was said mostly to himself, as he furrowed his brow, once again forgetting that he was not alone.

[Melinda B. Hayes]

He's acting as if he's trying as hard to figure me out as I am him. The brunette pondered as they continued to walk along, almost warily surveying each other. Oh, he'll get to know me eventually...just not too well. But well enough to get him to break out of that shell. Melinda kicked a pile of leaves that was in their path as a gust of wind came, sending the leaves into a tornado. She giggled slightly as the wind whipped her hair around her face, and using her fingers, began to rake it out of her eyes so that she'd be able to see where she's going. As they continued up the path, conversing casually about her mother, something that Henry said made her stop right in her tracks in the middle of the path. He had said to so quietly she had almost not caught it, but luckily, she had, and it was now causing the gears in her head to spin extra fast. Quickly, she turned around, a great big smile spreading across her face. She seemed to be in a very smiley mood this morning.

"Oh! You've just given me a great idea, Henry!" she said as she clapped her hands together. "I'm sure I could talk to her...I mean, it'd take some pleading, and I'd have to get Dad on my side...oh, but he always is. Mom will definitely listen!" her speech gradually gained speed as she continued voicing her thoughts. She didn't realize how she had called the Headmistress 'Mom', even though that was who she was to her, and people knew that. Her mother just explained to her it would be easier for her to simply call her Headmistress, or Professor Hayes. In private, she could call her mom however many ways she wanted to. Little did Melinda know, Henry had not yet puzzled out her identity, so he was sure to be in a bit of a surprise.

[Henry Larsen]

He watched the leaves dancing around in the tornado air, and the girl chuckled at it all, and without thinking, picked up his camera and snapped a picture. When he looked into the viewfinder, he saw that he had also caught her in the shot as well. His hand went to delete the picture, but stopped, and looked closer. Her hand was running through her brown hair, her face carefree and happy as the leaves swirled around her. His thumb moved away from the delete button, a slight frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. Henry generally deleted pictures that had people in them, but he decided to keep this one. It wasn't because he was going to look at it later specifically to look at her, he just might as well show Wyatt he had talked to a girl practically willingly, and his brother would most likely want proof of said girl. And the picture would do. Besides, he couldn't delete the photo when, even though she was in the picture, the way the leaves were swirling, although frozen, even without magic the picture appeared to have movement in it.

When he looked up from his camera and saw her grinning ecstatically at him, he wondered briefly what he had done. He dropped the camera back into his pocket as she chattered about a 'Mom' and a 'Dad' and how he'd had a good idea. What was it they had just been talking about...? Oh, right. The Headmistress and how she didn't allow students into the woods. But how in the world did that translate to this strange Brightstar girl talking about her family? Something nagged at the back of his mind, and then he rememebered. Headmistress Hayes had a daughter, and he looked back at the girl he had been walking with with new eyes. In the dark brown hair, the brown 'wise' eyes, the defined cheekbones, and trademark smile...he saw what he, who had been so often praised for having a wonderful eye for detail, had not seen in his eagerness to distance himself from her. She was clearly the Headmistress' daughter, and she also knew his name.

And he still hadn't the faintest idea of what hers was. Slowly, he said, because he felt he had to, "You could do that...but would she listen?" He hoped against hope she was fond of using the third person.

[Melinda B. Hayes]

Her brown eyes met his accusatorily after she had seen a flash out of the corner of her eye,

"Did you just take a picture of me? Lemme see!" she held out her hand to accept the camera. Melinda, although rather photogenic, hated getting her picture taken...so she planned on deleting it as soon as he handed a camera. That is, if he handed it to her. He asked if she believed that her mother would actually listen to her if she proposed the idea. She frowned a little and dropped her hand, momentarily forgetting the camera and photo. She was trying to decide if she actually would be able to convince her mother. "Well...she's usually really strict about rules and stuff...but I mean, we're in New York, it's not like there's going to be any kind of creepy thing in there, with us so close to the city and all." she pursed her lips as she thought it out some more. "She might not listen to just me...maybe we could get together a petition!" she nodded and stopped walking as she thought it through. "And I'm sure there are charms we could do to make it safe and stuff...don't you think?" she continued talking without waiting for an answer. "I'm sure we could. It's the 21st century! We can have electronics that aren't affected by magic anymore, and this school is right near by one of the most populated cities in the country, and the muggles haven't figured us out yet, so why shouldn't we be able to go into the woods a little, right?" she stopped talking in time to catch her breath, turning back to face him. "We can do it, don't you think?" she smiled, perfectly unaware how Henry wasn't exactly the type of person to go around talking to people he didn't know and asking them for their signatures.

[Henry Larsen]

Panicked, he looked from her hand to his camera. She wanted to see the picture? He hardly ever showed anyone his pictures before they were developed. Not even his brother. He felt like it was bad luck or something. Okay, maybe not bad luck...but he didn't like to do it. His pictures just weren't...finished yet. They didn't have the nice finished look to a developed photo.

Luckily, she seemed to have registered his previous question about whether or not her mother would listen to her, and had dropped her hand. She began rambling about this or that. He just listened mutely as her idea changed from her to pleading with her mother to organizing a petition. A petition? Wait, isn't she taking this a little too far? A petition? I mean, sure I would love to go and see the woods, but...a petition? I've lived without going into the woods for seven years, who says I can't wait one more?...Who would sign the petition besides me and her?

In the midst of his thoughts about whether or not this was a good choice of action, he realized that she had included him in her scheme. Whoa there. We can do it? As in...him and her? She actually thought he would help...he would go around to people who he didn't talk to normally-unless, like Melinda, they forced it out of him-and ask them to sign a petition to let them into the woods? It seemed silly even in his head.

He swallowed heavily. "Um...I don't know." he said, deciding that he might as well try and dissaude her from this drastic plan of action. Or at least from making him go along with it. "Isn't this a bit much? Getting people to sign a petition...I mean, we're only going to be here for a bit more, why go crazy about the woods now? It's almost not worth it. Let's have someone else do it. Someone who's got more time to enjoy it" he finished, putting his camera back into his pocket, having just realized how tightly he was clutching it.

[Melinda B. Hayes]

Melinda could hardly believe what he was saying. Not worth it? Let someone else do it because they wouldn't be here to enjoy it long enough? Clearly, he did not know her very well. She was all about trying to make a difference and fight every rule possible...definitely not letting someone else do the work.

"It's definitely worth it! And who cares if we'll only be here for two or three years more? The point is we'll have made a difference so that the kids after us don't have to fight for it!" she grabbed his arm tightly, nodding her head earnestly. "Henry, we've got to do this now. Because I wanna at least enjoy it when we get this to work!" she began dragging him towards the school. She planned on kicking Hayden out of bed and getting her to help them on this. The five minute warning bell then rang. Damn! I forgot that we have class...and I definitely can't be late anymore.

"Where's your first class? Meet me after it and I'll bring my friend Hayden, she'll help us. She's related to Professor Mclaughlin-I didn't just tell you that-and she, the Professor that is, will probably help convince my mom. So, remember, after your first class, be at..." she thought for a moment about a place where they were most likely not going to be disturbed. "Outside the Quidditch locker rooms! We're all allowed to be there since we're on the Quidditch teams. So, you better be there!" she then continued dragging him into the school. "Come on, we're gonna be late!"

[Henry Larsen]

This girl has no limits... Henry thought as he was dragged along to the castle. It must look comical, she, a few inches above five feet, dragging him along. But he didn't pull his arm away, and just continued to be dragged along. Kinda like what he did in life. He just allowed himself to be taken from place to place, hoping he would end up where he was supposed to be.

As she stated her case for why they should sign the petition, he wondered if she really needed him or the petition to convince her mother. She was very persuasive. Reluctantly, he agreed. "You're right...you..." he stopped, sighed, and decided that he might as well join in for the side. "We, should do this." he couldn't believe he was agreeing to this. He briefly wondered how committed she planned on being to this. Did she want to meet after class every day? He had photography club and Quidditch...he couldn't just skip out on either of those. The guys would kill him, and he would kill himself for not getting a chance to develop his photos.

"My first class? Uh...it's Potions." he said after a moment of wildly trying to remember his schedule. This strange girl had scattered his thoughts in a mere fifteen minutes of talking with her. He felt himself pale when she mentioned another girl...but then realized she couldnt be any more out there than this one. How wrong he seemed to be. He had forgotten that Hayden was the bubbliest, girliest blonde he would ever had the pleasure of meeting. She continued her dragging, and he wondered if he ever was going to get her name. "I'm coming..." he said as she yanked him up the steps particularly painfully.

[Melinda B. Hayes]

She was a little surprised that she was able to pull Henry along so quickly. After all, he was a lot bigger than she was, and had quite a bit of muscle on his arm from Quidditch. Not that she didn't, but she was a bit more toned instead of muscled like he was. She colored a little at the little thought of just how muscled he was...No, I am not going to go there...he's just cute, and that is it. she decided firmly. Once the thought was put into her head, she was able to continue all the way up the steps until the got to the formiddable front entrance.

"I'm glad you agree with me." she said as she turned around with a smile. "And I don't think it would take very long to get this going. Maybe two nights after classes-after all, I do have Quidditch practice. And I'm pretty sure Professor McLaughlin would kill me if I missed that. She really wants us to win this year. No offense to Blastfur, or anything." she added on at the end. "And besides, I have Drama Club too...and Professor Hazlett would kill me if I missed any of that...but I still think we can do it. What do you have to do after school besides Quidditch?"

Obviously, Melinda didn't realize how positively unnerving to Henry it seemed to be that she knew so much about her...and he had yet to remember what her name was.

[Henry Larsen]

I don't think anyone would last very long if they didn't agree with you. he mused to himself as she turned around to face him. They didn't have much longer to get to classes, but he doubted he'd be able to leave until she let him leave. She gave him another clue to her identity: she was on the Quidditch team, and in Drama Club. That narrowed it down to seven people in the Quidditch team...but he had no clue who was in Drama Club. Inwardly, he groaned at his ability to stick himself inside his own little world as everyone else continued on with their lives. It was probably something he should consider working on.

And apparently she knew just about everything about him-well, except for the fact that he was in Photography club. "Well, besides Quidditch...I'm in photography club." he said the last part without emotion. He had gotten very used to telling people this random fact, and he had also gotten used to the slight teasing it usually entailed. After all, not many boys who played Quidditch also 'wasted time' fiddling with cameras and photographing 'bugs'. "But I only need to do that once a week, and it doesn't last very long."

Another warning bell sounded. "Well, I don't wanna be late to Potions...so I guess I should go?" he phrased the laste part of his sentence as a question, because he really didn't know if he should go or not. He decided to leave it up to her to decide whether or not they were done with this conversation.

[Melinda B. Hayes]

The brown haired girl was once again surprised by Henry-he was in the Photography club. Usually, Quidditch guys stuck with just that-Quidditch. And if they did do anything else, they most likely would not admit that to anyone else, girl or not. Then again, she probably should've gathered that he had some interest in the photography when she had realized he was walking around with a camera early in the morning with no one else around. Melinda certainly hoped she was not losing her perception. "Well, then I think we should meet as soon as we both don't have Quidditch, drama, or....photography. Since Hayden's in the same clubs and whatnot as me, she'll be able to help without any problem." she finished with another smile.

The next warning bell sounded, and she nodded at his words, moving to head up the steps beyond him. "Yeah, we might wanna get going." It was then she realized that she still had the stick that she had been using as a make shift wand in her hand. Her eyes widened as she looked at it. "Oh no, I've still got this! Wait right here!" she said, not really expecting him to 'wait' for her, running down the steps to go throw it into the woods. Halfway down, she realized she wasn't gonna have enough time to make it, so she threw it as hard as she could, and then turned around, sprinting as if her life depended on it to get to the class-which, considering the penalties her mother had promised her if she was late again...this run might as well depend on it.

Finally, she ran back up the steps, grabbed Henry's arm, and pulled him into the entrance hall just as the second to last bell rang. "See you later, don't be late!" she called over her shoulder as she sprinted up the steps.

[Henry Larsen]

"Sounds...good to me." Henry said, running a hand through his short blond hair. It appeared as though there was no getting out of this now. He couldn't just back out on Melinda...though he once again doubted he could even if he really wanted to. She would find some way or another to drag him back in...and he would just follow along.

He waited when she told him to wait. It was a silly thing to do, yes, but he would've most likely felt bad if she had actually expected him to wait for her...so he decided to play it on the safe side. While he waited, he snapped a photo of some of the plants growing up the side of the building. Upon looking at it in his viewfinder, he deemed it satisfactory, and put his camera pack in his coat pocket. He turned, wondering what was taking Melinda too long.

And what was Henry's reward for this? Melinda grabbing his arm and jerking him into the building so quickly, he feared for his shoulder. But as soon as they were in the center of the hall, she released him, darting up the steps for the first class. Shaking his head, he took the southeastern staircase to get up to his own dormitory. On his way he passed his friend Sven, the German exchange student.

"Hello Henry, who was that girl?" Sven asked as he looked over Henry's shoulder to glimpse Melinda's brown hair whip around the corner before she vanished completely. "To be honest, Sven...I have no clue"

[Sponsored content]