A New Hobby

[Kayla Sheridan]

Kayla was walking, precariously holding a pile of six or seven books. The post had just arrived and to Kayla's delight, her mother had sent her many different books for her to read. Since coming to Hogwarts and her various interactions here she had became interested in taking up reading. To make sure she would be any good or enjoy reading she had spent hours in the library, combing through books. She found that the time had passed really quickly and she enjoyed the experience. She had then sent a letter to her mother asking her to send some books she thought Kayla would like. It was why she was currently walking out to the courtyard. It was a beautiful day outside and she would be able to find a quiet corner, amongst nature to start her proper reading. She was very excited. She had discovered that other than singing she had no real hobbies. There was only so much singing and dancing she could do here in Hogwarts before she annoyed people. Back at home she had spent most of her time practising or enjoying the wonders of electricity. In Hogwarts, acting and singing was no longer her priority. She needed to focus on her work , after she was confident in her magical abilities she would focus once more on her future. So for the next seven years Kayla needed to find something else to do.

She finally managed to find a spot to sit. She gently laid the books on the ledge before sitting herself down. She was curious to see what kind of books her mother had sent. She desperately wanted to like them so she would no longer be bored here in Hogwarts. She also wanted to say she had more than one hobby. She hoped to take up Quidditch next year but for the moment her only hope was reading. With that thought, Kayla took out the first book and began to read.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya had a smile on her face as she was making her way towards the courtyard with some pencils and charcoal in her hand and her sketchbook locked under her arm. Ever since she had arrived at the school she never really found any time to take up her sketchbook, mostly because whenever she had some time off she would find herself reading, but also partially because on one of the first days she had searched for it but couldn't find it, leading her to believe that perhaps she didn't bring it. However a couple of days ago she had come across it whilst searcing through her trunk and since then she had been waiting to get it out again. It had been quite a while since she had last drawn anything and she was pretty sure of the fact that the first few things she's do wouldn't be very good. However, she still felt the need to take it up again and try her hand at something, perhaps starting with observing and sketching things at the castle.

Once the first year Puff had made her way outside she held her step for a couple seconds, letting her eyes scan the courtyard before finding the perfect spot to sit at and moving towards it. Whilst sitting herself down Freya took her sketchbook in her hand and once she was sat down comfortable she placed it on her lap. Now she just needed something to draw. Within seconds the twelve year old noticed a girl a few meters away from her, fully focussed on the book in her hand. Freya had always enjoyed drawing people, so she figured this girl would be a good start as she didn't seem to really notice anything around her whilst she was reading. If she were to notice however Freya hoped she wouldn't mind, she enjoyed observing people and drawing them but she was always hoping they were okay with it because otherwise things could be rather awkward.​

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[Kayla Sheridan]

A half an hour passed and Kayla was still fairly engrossed in this new book. It was amazing how one could get sucked in so easily. She liked being able to escape the thoughts that generally went through her head. Instead she was in the world of the characters in the book. This was her first fictional book. Every other book she had read was from the library and they were all academic. The book she was currently read seemed to be a fantasy one. To think less than a year ago she would have believed magic was fictional and fantasy. So many muggles read magic books and dreamed of a life full of magic. It made Kayla feel incredibly lucky that she lived that dream. She wondered did any magic authors write books about magic filled lives and sold them as fictional books in the muggle world. Were they allowed? She would maybe like to do that when she was older. Or she could write about something completely different? There were so many opportunities, so many options. It sometimes overwhelmed her. She had her whole life ahead of her and there was so many things she wanted to do. Before she came to Hogwarts, she had been solely focused on musical theatre and pursuing a career in that area but now she had started to think about other things. She didn't wanted to achieve her musical and acting career at the cost of living her life to the full. She wanted to find some balance.

She realised that she had not been reading in the last few minutes, she had allowed her mind to wander and drift into the thoughts she sought to escape. She decided a break was needed. She closed the book and stood up, stretching. It was as she did this she noticed a girl, a little bit away from her. Kayla wasn't entirely sure what she was doing. If she had to guess she would have said drawing. Kayla looked at her pile of books before deciding she may as well talk to the girl as she was sure she recognised her from some of her classes. "Hi there" She said walking up to the girl "Are you drawing?"She asked curiously, a smile on her face.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya had been trying her best to draw as well as she could because when she was drawing people she always felt like she was obligated to do it well and to make sure it actually looked like the person, she's never show a failed drawing out of fear that a bad drawing could be insulting in some way. She was a perfectionist and it could take a long time before she would think something was good, even though she always kept telling herself to loosen up a bit whilst doing such things, it didn't have to be perfect all the time right? Having been fully focussed on the drawing the first year Hufflepuff hadn't been sure how much time had gotten by, but she didn't really care. Taking some time to fix some of the shading Freya looked up to notice the girl she had been drawing was gone. Looking back at the drawing she was ready to close her sketchbook, untill she was shaken by the sound of a voice. Freya looked up to notice that the girl she had been drawing was now standing in front of her. "Hi." She broadly smiled at the girl trying not to be an awkward mess. "Yeah, I was." Freya recognized the girl from somewhere, but she knew it wasn't just from seeing her around so she was pretty sure of the fact that the other girl was a first year as well and that she'd seen in her in some of her classes. "I was actually drawing you." She admitted, hoping the girl would be okay with it. "I was looking for something to draw and you were so focussed on your book that you hardly moved, which made you the perfect target. I hope you don't mind?"​

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[Kayla Sheridan]

Drawing was a talent Kayla did not possess. Well if she was honest she had never really tried. But the drawings she had brought home from school had never been anything special. They had never done much art in school anyway. Add to this the fact she had no new interests other than music and acting. She sighed, she had really limited herself. She wished her mother had pushed her harder to try new things but Kayla knew herself that she was incredibly stubborn. At least she was young enough that she could still try all these things and she wasn't stuck with just one thing. She would like to try it out maybe some time. But for the moment she was content with exploring the world of books and reading. She was glad she liked at least one of the books her mother had sent her. At least if the other books weren't good she could just reread this one and also ask her mother for books similar to this one. It would help pass time a lot quicker and she could broaden her interests. Kayla was pleasantly surprised when the girl said she had been drawing her. It wasn't an answer she had been expecting but it was pretty cool to think someone had drawn her. She smiled, she had been pretty stationery when reading. Her eyes immediately glanced down to the girls sketch book but she felt bad. It was the girl's drawing she didn't have to show it to her but Kayla would love to see it. She just wanted this girl's permission first. "Would it be okay if I saw it?"She asked tentatively. "I'm Kayla by the way"She added smiling.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya was still looking up at the girl, as she was sat down on the ground, and smiled when she asked her if she could see the drawing. She was glad that the girl decided to ask instead of just looking at the sketchbook on which she had rested her hands, trying to get a peek of it like a lot of people would; she hated when people did that. After not having drawn anything in a while Freya knew that the drawing hadn't been her best, but it wasn't very bad either and perhaps the girl would even like it, but that was something only time would tell. "Sure," She smiled at the other girl, taking up the sketchbook and handing it over. "I haven't drawn in a while though, so it's not very good." She quickly added, wondering if she would have enough time to get back at drawing more often because she didn't know how things would go. "Nice to meet you, Kayla." Freya brightly smiled when the girl introduced herself as Kayla. It was a name she wasn't very familiar with, or actually she had never heard a name like that before, but she did think it was a nice name to have, her parents must have put a lot of thought into it. These were thoughts she has had multiple times since coming to Hogwarts because for some reason the entirety of the schools students seem to have unusual, at least that's what they are to her, yet very pretty names. "I'm Freya." The girl smiled once again thinking of something else to say, something different than just to ask what House the girl was in, but her mind was blank and she hoped that this wouldn't lead to an awkward moment of silence.​

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[Kayla Sheridan]

Kayla was glad when she was allowed look at the drawing. "Thank you" Her eyes widened when she saw it. Sure it wasn't out of this world but Kayla could see the talent in it and it was very well drawn. It was a million times better than anything Kayla would have produced. There was definitely a likeness there. It was interesting to see her from such a perspective. Her head was bent, close to the book. No one had ever sketched her before. It was nice to see. "It's still amazing"She practically gushed. She admired anyone with a creative talent. She bit her lip before asking "There's no way I could have it, no?". She would understand if the girl would want to keep it, it was after all her drawing but Kayla really liked it and it would be lovely to stick it up in her dorm."I understand if you want to keep it"She added quickly, smiling. She seemed nice this girl, lovely and smiley. "Nice to meet you too Freya"Kayla replied, smiling. It was a strange name Freya, but Kayla had heard it used a few times at home. She had found since moving to New Zealand that the variety of names was different than home. "What house are you in?"She asked , curious.

 

[Freya Odegard]

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The first year Hufflepuff found herself being a bit nervous whilst letting the other girl look at her drawing. What if she taught it was bad and would just start laughing? Not that she seemed like a person who would do that, but still it was one of the fears Freya always had when she showed people her drawings. When the girl told her she liked it she couldn't help but smile and when she asked her if there was any way that she could have it Freya's smile grew even bigger. "Ofcourse you can have it!" The twelve year old exclaimed as she took the sketchbook from the other girl and got ready to get the piece of paper out of it as neatly as possible. The trick always seemed to be to not pull it either too slow or too fast, however she had found a way to almost everytime get the paper out without damaging it. After putting the sketchbook in her bag Freya got up from the ground and handed the girl the drawing. "Here you go." Pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder she nodded after the girl responded to her introducing herself. "I'm in Hufflepuff." Freya stated as to answer Kayla's question about which House she was in. "What about you? What House are you in? And do you like it? Do you think it suits you?"​

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<SIZE size="50">sorry this is bad