Catching Up on Friendship Private Finished

Cheeks nipped by the bite of the winter breeze coming in from the lake, Angellica welcomed the chill that woke her up. After spending most of her morning in the library, she had needed to clear her mind. Concepts and theories swirled in her mind as she rehashed how to apply them to the homework that was waiting for her in the common room. Rather than simply place her quill to paper as she was reading, the blonde liked to mull it over and truly grasp everything before she placed a single word down. Sometimes she got so lost in concepts she liked, she missed the point, but all systems needed tweaking.

As thoughts of studies and the upcoming Christmas Holidays danced around her mind like dreams of sugar plums, she barely took in the sights around her. It wasn't until she found herself near a bench she enjoyed to sit on that she finally allowed herself to take in the lake, the leafless trees, and the lawns that still hadn't been frosted over, yet showed promise for keeping the next snowfall or perhaps a few more between then and Christmas. When she noticed the brunette on the bench she smiled.

"Meenauh?" the statement was more of a question, but she knew exactly who the other girl was. There was something about being a terrified child in a train with three strangers that just stuck around. She'd remembered the sorting ceremony, and neither of them had really gotten their house of desire, but that didn't really matter now did it? It felt like a lifetime ago, and with trying to settle in and all, she felt a pang of guilt overcome her that she hadn't kept in touch.

"How are you?" she asked, trying to remember where the other had been sorted. She was fairly certain it was Gryffindor, which might have been a leap from Ravenclaw, but the famous Hermione Granger had been of the scarlet and gold, so there was merit nonetheless. All houses had merit. "It's been so long," she shook her head and tucked her blonde curls back. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.

She heard a slightly familiar voice calling out for her by her name. With a quick turn of her head, she saw a blonde coming closer to her. Oh, god, Angellica! The only one from that compartment who did get into Ravenclaw after all. Lucky girl. It's been several months since they lost each other on their way to Hogwarts and then she saw her being sorted. And then only from time to time in the classrooms. She heard things about Angellica excelling her record and being a great asset to the house point earners. If Meenauh would have been sorted to Ravenclaw, she could have made a nice asset to her Research Club.

"Angellica! Wow, been a while!" she exclaimed in a genuine surprise, "I am fine, indeed, thank you. How are you? I heard you're among the top scorers in your house, congratulations!"

She moved a bit to free the seat on the bench for Angellica and invited her to join:

"Yes, of course, join me," she remembered that it was exactly the same phrase Angellica used when she stood in the doors of their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, "Enjoying the chill as well? Gosh, that's been a while, Angellica. So, what are you up to?" she was somehow thrilled to have Angellica around. Though they didn't interact much during their trip to Hogwarts, at the moment it felt like she missed a dear old friend for quite a while.

It was nice to see a familiar face. With time, her housemates and a few other students had become familiar to her, and yet, Angellica hadn't connected with too many students, at least beyond perhaps the Quidditch team, and even then, she felt like she wasn't good enough for them. Meenauh reminded the blonde of simpler days, even if all that much time hadn't stretched between their first real meeting.

Taking a seat she smiled. "I've been good, really good," she nodded as she repeated the word. Perhaps if she said it enough it would be true. Of course nothing horribly wrong was going on, she just felt like things should have been different.

"Ah you heard that huh?" she bit her lower lip. It was nice to know that people knew of her achievements. "I've been trying my best to earn as many points as possible," she explained. Of course if it hadn't been for nine points she would have been student of the month, but no matter her efforts, it seemed those pesky snakes foiled everyone's plans.

"Overachieving for one, and then Quidditch takes up most of my free time that isn't spent studying or getting roped into errands," she gave a small laugh at the question about what she'd been doing. It wasn't far off from the truth, over-achievement and the quest for perfectionism had seemed the background to her first year at Hogwarts. "Enough about me, what have you been up to? How are you liking classes? Did I hear right that you joined the Duelling club?"

Meenauh listened to Angellica with unfeigned interest. All about her achievements, or overachievements as she put it herself. She even got to the Quidditch team — wow, Meenauh would never expect that from the tiny fragile Angellica. Apparently, there was way more she didn't know about the young Ravenclaw and she didn't have any chance to get to know her better.

"Quidditch? In your first year? That is quite an overachievement!" she laughed. She didn't know what was the reason behind all that overachieving or that was just a natural way to exist for her.

Angellica turned the conversation towards Meenauh by asking questions back. What have Meenauh been up to? She quickly scrolled back the autumn they spent at the school and tried to distinguish something specific that surprised her.

"People. I've been up to people. You see, I've been really really short on proper conversations with wizards before, so the most interesting thing that I've been doing during the whole autumn was meeting people. Different sorts of people, having different wishes and intentions. Struggling to find a friend, or being very inquiring about how everything in this school is operating. That's really exciting how many different people are out there that you can actually talk to," she kindly smiled and continued, "I wish I made it to Ravenclaw, though. Especially, if you remember, how confident I was on the train, saying I'll make it to the Ravenclaw without a doubt. Maybe I could have more intelligent and interesting conversations, compared to the ones I had," she looked at Angellica, hinting that she really lacked overachievers to talk to.

As she was answering the question, the Hat problem started to rise again in her head, getting her overwhelmed with emotions, but Angellica's question about the Duelling Club brought her consciousness back:

"Duelling? No, there must be a mistake as I didn't know first-years can join one. But in general, I'm very worried about children being hurt during duels or Quidditch and I have no idea how parents allow their children to go through that. So I wouldn't want to be a part of that," she answered and suddenly remembered the thoughts she had when she was walking towards the Great Lake, "But, speaking of clubs — I've recently... let's say... established the Research Club. There's an application form at the Study Room. I plan to have the most inquiring students gather and hold discussions about the essence of things, or just study together. Does it sound like anything you'd be interested in?" she looked at Angellica, not quite understanding how she could fit that considering all the activities she was a part of, but she needed at least her opinion.

Angellica gave a small laugh. She had applied thinking she’d have been an alternate, and there she was a beater for Ravenclaw. “Would you believe me if I said I was a beater,” she laughed, her cheeks dusting with pink at the admittance. She didn’t feel good, but she was sturdy on a broom. It had felt good, but nothing like the feel of a bludger meeting the wood of her bat she had named Bettie.

As the Gryffindor spoke, the blonde listened with the same genuine interest as her counterpart had for her. People were fascinating, and she felt guilty not to have sought out people as much as her counterpart. She had studied them from afar, she had noted interactions during her study sessions, but she’d been so focused on achievement she hadn’t quite bothered with people. On some level, she knew this would haunt her. That she would definitely think it over come night time. Some portraits were interesting, she had spoken to a few, even encountered a ghost or two, but true bonding, friendship.

“Well I’m here, and you can talk to me,” she promised with a smile. “Seriously, owl me, though I do tend to mix studying with discussion. I do like to talk about Gamp’s Exceptions or even how Golpalott’s Law can be used in the creation of antidotes.” Angellica paused and pressed her lips together. “I mean if that’s something you would want to talk about. I mean I can discuss a lot, but Potions and Transfiguration are definitely among my favorite classes.” There was a light guilty laugh hinting her words as she spoke them.

She herself had been confident to be a Slytherin, so she understood having to deal with that kind of adversity. Either way, it was always better than Hufflepuff, even though she had met a few Hufflepuffs she didn’t dislike.

“Oh, well you know those pesky corridors, they tend to stretch the truth,” she bit her lower lip feeling bad to have believed a rumor, when clearly she could have just asked. She hadn’t really paid much attention to it, it was just data she stored in that expansive mind of hers. “A Research Club?” She spoke and listened as the other girl spoke of it and Angellica nodded. “I tried making a study group in Ravenclaw but that seems to have died fairly quickly. I’d love to join your research club!” Angellica loved anything that could help her achieve her goals and this would give her a chance to talk to Meenauh more. “I’ll check it out after we’re done catching up,” she promised the brunette. “Maybe I can help bring more interesting conversations,” she chuckled. “Though by who’s standards that is debatable,” she admitted.

Meenauh demonstratively examined Angellica and said:

"A beater? But you're... like... a fragile little thing," she laughed, "That is unbelievable, indeed."

At the mention of Gamp and Golpalott Meenauh's eyes widened. It was not the names that fired up her interest, but that Meenauh heard Angellica was very eager to discuss everything. A perfect member of the Research Club, indeed.

"Oh, yes, I'd love to have you around, especially in the club. It's not quite a study group unless you'd want to use it specifically for that, of course. It's also about thorough discussions and... well, experiments if you'd say so. And as I said, getting into the matter of things around us," she said to Angellica in response to her positive answer about joining the club, "I have no idea yet how many people have applied, but I don't expect many anyway, as it seems to be quite a niche activity here. I don't know, we'll see."

The wind started to get stronger as she noticed the pages of her book turning over. She was so engaged in the friendly conversation that she didn't realise her book was still open. She hastily put it back into her pouch and adjusted her scarf, so that the wind wouldn't get to her.

"Are you going home for Christmas? Are your parents happy that you got to Ravenclaw, by the way? I bet they would love to hear about your academic achievements and especially making it to the Quidditch team while being a first-year!" she asked the young Ravenclaw. She usually tried to avoid conversations about families and homes as a few times that conversation went into nothingness with her conversant turning out to have no parents or not a nice home to get back to.

The blonde could feel her peers gaze move over her. The thin limbs, the frail disposition. Honestly, she knew she wasn't the build of a beater, she barely even had height going for her. Part of her felt someone was trying to kill her to even entertain the idea, but then her desire for her fathers approval combined with youth had surpassed that will to survive. "I've survived so far," she offered with a bit of a guilty smile and chuckle. She couldn't quite admit that she wasn't great, but she would definitely work on it.

Their conversation shifted and she was grateful for it. Although the Research Group wasn't a Study Group it might as well have been from her understanding. She could only hope to pursue trains of thoughts she couldn't quite complete in class without missing the point as she had on a few occasions. She made a note to apply as soon as they were done, or perhaps Meenauh could just add her to the list. "Well you can count one more than whatever you've got in terms of sign ups," she exclaimed easily.

With a burst of wind the blonde had to pull at her hair into a temporary pony tail before turning the soft waves on themselves to settle them over a dainty shoulder. There'd been a rustle of pages, a sound she loved more than anything, but it wasn't her book, though she found herself eying the tome.

"New reading material?" she asked with an easy smile. They had attempted to discuss tomes and such on the train, not that they'd gotten much time to do so. This was a second chance though, and she wasn't about to lose an opportunity to get to know the Gryffindor this time around.

Christmas, sorting, parents, they were all topics they had avoided in the past, but Angellica was willing to answer. "I'd be lynched if I didn't make it to Christmas," she admitted with a laughter despite it being fairly accurate a portrayal. "Mother is proud I've found my home in her old house, father is...more eager to hear I've made it on the Quidditch team," she felt her cheeks flush. It was an assumption, honestly, she had no idea whether or not he cared. He hadn't actually replied to any of her owls, though her mother had send word and treats. "How about you?" she asked turning the question on her friend, eager to learn more about her own familial intricacies.

Angellica was attracted by the book Meenauh put into her pouch. Of course, she was.

"History of Magic that was. I feel like I skipped a huge layer of history, which I could cover before Hogwarts. And knowing history is vital to perform any kind of research as one should know everything that happened to the previous researchers who attempted to perform the same things," she answered to the question, "I'm quite a lot into a safer approach than a hot-headed one," she pointed at the colours of her Gryffindor scarf and sadly smiled.

The conversation continued and they went on to discuss families and holidays. As Angellica spoke of her father, Meenauh remembered how Abi spoke of her father on the train. Not the exact words, but the tone. Quite a similar one. 

But it was Meenauh's turn to answer:

"Well, as for the Sorting, my mother lost all the bets she made with her friends. Quite interesting that some of her friends bet Slytherin for me, one even bet Hufflepuff, but no one even assumed Gryffindor. Which only makes me wonder more whether the Hat malfunctioned this year. I met quite a bunch of people, who were utterly surprised and shocked by the Hat's choice. There's one girl in Gryffindor with a whole bloodline of Slytherin, her home is full Slytherin, she dresses and behaves like a Slytherin-to-the-bones. And there she is, in Gryffindor. I plan to investigate it and bring the matter to the Headmaster, wherever that would lead me to," she stopped to breathe and continued, "But I'm definitely taking a break for Christmas as we planned to go studying a few caverns in Iceland. My father is a kind of researcher, so he said he thought there could be something."

They sat for a while in silence, but Meenauh couldn't stop thinking about Angellica's father, especially after Meenauh mentioned her own:

"Your father is quite a... strict fellow, yeah? That's okay. Just remember that you don't owe anything to anyone. Like ever. The most important thing is making sure you are happy and no one can stand in your way. Even your parents, Angellica. Actually, it's their job to make sure you're happy," she ended that small psychological passage with a tender smile directed at the blonde.

The brunette before her definitely wasn't the typical Gryffindor in theory, and yet, perhaps there was something there. In any event, Angellica could definitely appreciate a less hot-headed and more calculated approach to life. History did have a lot to teach, though so did current cues.

"I can understand that," she smiled. "Can't say I'm much of a go head first into things either, despite the whole beater thing." Another light chuckle escaped her as she remembered sometimes things just weren't black and white.

Although she imagined her family and their friends had spoken at length about her future within the walls of the castle, she somehow doubted there had been bets so much as the potential for disowning her had she found herself in the basement rather than the dungeons, though she kept her lips tightly closed on such a subject. Instead she listened, nodding and taking in the data that was being given to her.

"If you ever need help, I'd be glad to assist. After all, I was fairly certain myself I would have found my place in Slytherin. I guess it could have been worse..." she daren't shudder at the thought. Instead remaning composed and cool, the same way her mother could be absolutely still and impassive. A trait she had always envied. Still the blonde was learning, in some cases the appearance of detached interest coming with more ease than others.

The conversation returned and though the blonde knew there was truth to her friend's words, she also couldn't help but give a small closed smile that spoke more than anything. A sort of I get it but, and when it came to her father, there was a big but. "Spoken like a true Gryffindor," she smirked to try and salvage the loss of the mask she was still carefully crafting. "My father cares about his reputation, and therefore mine," she chose her words carefully. They still meant nothing to her, but the equilibrium in her household was shaky at best.