A possibility. PV Aiden Lennox Close

Aiden finished up with dinner in the Great Hall and decided to take a walk around the lake to think. The Sorting Hat had known his father. Maybe there was someone else at this school he talk to about his mysterious parent? Aiden wasn't sure if he would come in contact with the Sorting Hat until the Sorting Ceremony next year and he wasn't about to try and steal it. Who knows what kind of magical traps and protections could surround the hat when its not in use? He could be killed or, even worse, expelled.

The wind whipped his cloak around him as Aiden slowly strolled towards the large lake. He noticed some students lounging around, some playing Wizard Chess and others just relaxing in the balmy Scottish weather. It's quite beautiful here, Aiden thought. I may yet grow to love this place.

Aiden heard a shriek coming from the lake's dock. He quickened his pace, not knowing what he would do if someone was actually in trouble as he knew no spells or curses. He came across a red-headed girl, breathing heavily in relief. She stood up and turned to face him, a soft blush rising to her freckled cheeks.

"Sorry," she began, the lilt of her Scottish accent reminding Aiden of Aberdeen. "You startled me. Are ye' new? I've never seen ye' before around here. I'm Verla, just Verla. I'll explain another day, if we're lucky enough to be friends by then."

"I'm Aiden, Aiden Lennox," Aiden answered, trying his best to contort his mouth into the friendliest smile he could. "Yeah, I'm new here. Just got here today actually." He noticed some ripples in the lake beyond the dock and wondered what could have possibly caused the girl to shriek as she did.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes, one of the merpeople just startled me, I guess putting my feet in the water wasn't a good idea. That's cool that you're new, I remember when I was new, I was a little nervous and scared, but then I was sorted into Hufflepuff and I made amazing friends." She said trying to reassure him. She hoped he didn't get scared either. Though he seemed pretty confident of being in Gryffindor. Verla blushed and turned around on the dock and saw the head was gone. She let out a sigh of relief and sat back down "you can join me if ya' want to, I'm just embracing the water." She said, then thought: sort of. 

She dipped her finger into the water and played around with some minnows, they seemed to like her, every animal and every person seemed to like her, besides a few people. Of course she didn't know why, everyone thought she was a Veela, which she was sure she wasn't. She didn't turn into a monster when angry. Though she might've once during the ball. But she didn't feel like bringing that up.

Verla took out her book and began to sketch a little picture in the side of it out of boredom as she waited for Aiden to make a decision on whether or not to sit with her.

Ah, a merperson, thought Aiden. His mother had told him plenty about the devilish creatures. They could be cruel beasts, especially if they believed a human was encroaching on their territory. He watched as Verla sat down on the dock and began to dip her fingers in the Great Lake. Minnows swarmed around her pale digits, causing soft ripples to appear around the front of the dock.

She seems like a decent enough person, Aiden thought, smoothing out the front of his black robes. Might as well attempt to make a friend. He stepped forward and took a seat next to her, shaking the dock slightly as he did so. Aiden noticed that Verla had taken out small book and was sketching, a bored look on her face. He gazed out at the lake, admiring how the light danced on its glass-like surface. The slight breeze that came off the lake ruffled his hair and caused the sleeves of his robes to flutter softly.

“What are you drawing?” Aiden asked, watching the Ravenclaw girl scribbleintently. He had tried to keep his voice as friendly as possible, acknowledging that sometimes he came off as cold or unfriendly when talking to someone who didn’t know him.

"I've drawn this view before, so I'm just adding the merpeoples head into it." She wiped off the extra leftover lead and wiped the lead on her hand onto her robe and showed it to him and smiled. The picture was very detailed and did show the glistening and dancing water, then the trees and the ripples in the water from the wind. 

She didn't know what he would think of it, she always thought her drawings were awful but she was mainly complimented on them. She blushed as she put the sketch book away and let out a sigh as she leaned back on her hands and looked at the clouds. She made sure her hand wouldn't touch his if he decided to do the same thing. She smiled at the sky and then looked at him and sat up. "So, Aiden, where are you from? I'm originally from Scotland, and I wish I could go home. But my parents would never let me after finding out I was a witch." 

Verla looked down, sort of sad, but then lifted her spirits again. She hated showing how weak she could really be in front of people, made her seem too vulnerable. 

As Verla turned her notebook towards Aiden, his mouth dropped open. He was gazing upon a near perfect recreation of the scene that lay before him. The water, glittering like a thousand diamonds, the oak and maple that lay across the lake, the worn wooden dock upon which the two students sat- it was all there.

"Wow!" Aiden exclaimed, scratching the back of his head. "That's brilliant!" He wondered how someone could possibly be so talented to draw such a fantastic still. He didn't think he had any skills that refined, except in football perhaps.

Verla leaned back, gazing skyward, the clouds reflecting in her pale eyes. Aiden stretched out his legs in front of him, mimicking her apparent comfort.

"So, Aiden, where are you from? I'm originally from Scotland, and I wish I could go home. But my parents would never let me after finding out I was a witch." Verla said after a few minutes of silence. Her eyes grew sad for a second as she touched on her parents' decision, but she became cheerful again almost immediately after she finished speaking.

Aiden wasn't sure how to answer. He let the words hang in the air for a couple seconds, wracking his brain on how to be kind to this girl he just met. We just barely sat down, why is she getting so personal? Aiden thought, staring out across the lake. Maybe all Hufflepuffs are like this...

"I-I'm sorry about your parents." Aiden finally replied. He stared at his hands as he spoke, unwilling to make eye contact. He truly didn't want to hurt Verla's feelings, but he just didn't know how to talk about emotional topics. He looked down at her face, searching for any signs of pain. "I'm from Scotland as well. How long have you been here for?"

"About half a year. And I'm sorry if I seem so personal, I'm really not, really, it's just, I've had no body to talk to about besides two of my friends, but I haven't seen them around much anymore." She looked down, slightly sad, but she lifted her spirits and smiled "I'm so awkward, I'm sorry, m-maybe I should just go." She stood up and began to walk off the dock.

But then she heard her name and turned around, (if he said it and if he did what's coming up next) he was right behind her. She was stopped and then she smiled slightly (if she was stopped). 

Oliver had gleaming eyes on him, making sure he wasn't going to try anything stupid. But Aiden didn't seem that way, he was in Gryffindor, of course he wasn't that crazy. Maybe he was, she didn't know, and she barely knew him herself. She wanted to get to know him, make a Gryffindor friend. But she didn't know, that was up to Aiden.

She wanted to leave the awkward situation, which she didn't do well in. She only sought best to remove herself when she made things awkward between her and a stranger, they sought it best too because she never heard back from them. Maybe Aiden was different, maybe he really wanted to be her friend.