A seat alone

[Ainsley Lynch]

Nestled in a corner of the courtyard with a book, Ainsley took a moment to reflect. When she first arrived at this school she had felt... beyond lost and overwhelmed, no idea what anyone was doing or where anything was, or why any of this was really happening, but today she had thought nothing of finding the library by herself, choosing an interesting book on the school's history, making her own way to the courtyard, and settling in on her own, nobody to help, not even so much as a point in the right direction, and it hadn't even crossed her mind. Although she still felt the emptiness after having mum by her side for every moment of her life up until now, magic didn't frighten her anymore, this school didn't frighten her anymore, and doing things by herself felt downright like a piece of cake.

A couple of loudly laughing Gryffindors passing by pulled Ainsley out of her thoughts and she watched them as they went by, wide eyes peering through her curtain of hair. She supposed that... really, not being frightened of people was the next step. Mum had given Ainsley a lot of advice on making her first ever friends before she got on the train, but she had quickly realised that people seemed to find the way she talked offputting, and other than Amber, Ainsley didn't feel like she had really made a single close friend. Really, after a few tries, she had just stopped talking to people. Amber was great, but other than her, it just didn't seem to be worth it to try, and watch people get put off or bored by things that excited Ainsley so much.

Watching the Gryffindors chat away, Ainsley realised she didn't know exactly how much she minded. The conversations she always overheard people having seemed so... trivial and confusing, and nobody else seemed as fascinated by the bizarre and odd things Ainsley found interesting. Ainsley looked back down at her book as the Gryffindors hugged, not realising there were tears in her eyes. At the same time, without mum there was... nobody to share her thoughts with, to discuss with and discover with, and she missed that kind of companionship desperately. Swallowing, Ainsley wiped her eyes and closed her book, standing up quickly and crossing towards the other side of the courtyard, wanting to get to somewhere quieter and curl up among the plants, so nobody would see that she was crying.

 

[Twyla Rothery]

As it happened, Twyla was nestled in behind a bunch of the plants, almost hidden from the view of most passersby. She had been there for a while now, trying to find plants that were either toxic enough to be interesting or prettier than her so that she could rip them out. It was something she'd already tried with the proper gardens and wanted to do with the Herbology Greenhouse once she found a way inside. These plants were awfully boring, though, and it was more a waste of her time than anything else.

Then suddenly there was another girl amongst the plants. Twyla's first reaction was that her personal space had been invaded, even though there wasn't much space here to begin with and it wasn't anything close to being in her possession. Still, she couldn't help but reposition herself to glare at the girl who had curled up here with some kind of drab-looking book.

Twyla crossed her arms. "Excuse you, what do you think you're doing?" Once she saw evidence of crying on the girl's face, however, Twyla's own softened somewhat. "You know, the flowers in the proper gardens are much prettier than these boring old things, if that's what you're looking for." That was something nice to say, right? Twyla was never quite sure of these things.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley didn't realise the bushes were already occupied until it was too late, almost smashing right into the other girl. She shuffled back immediately, branches scraping across her skin and tangling in her hair. This was... the exact opposite of what she had intended, and Ainsley couldn't help the tears welling up again. She gripped her book instinctively as the strange girl began to talk in a clearly displeased way. Ainsley kept her eyes locked on the cover of her book to avoid eye contact, totally unsure how to react.

"I... ah... nnnh..." Ainsley managed to stammer, shaking her head and scooting back more, forgetting how to speak properly in such an unexpected situation. "I... sorry. I'll go." She eventually managed, voice choked and distressed. Ainsley turned away and tried to get up as the tears spilled over, but her hair was completely tangled in the branches of the bush behind her and it yanked her back, Ainsley tumbling backwards onto her bum with a startled yelp. "Oh..." She said weakly, dropping the book and turning to untangle her hair, hands shaking in her panic at a situation she was so unprepared for.

 

[Twyla Rothery]

This other girl's clearly panicked reaction softened Twyla's demeanor up even further. She hadn't quite meant for that to happen. When the girl's hair became tangled up in the bushes, Twyla gave a dramatic sigh and knelt down next to her. "Here, hold still, I'll help." The girl was already untangling her own hair with shaking hands, so Twyla reached mostly for the branches of the bush to pull them back. Her own fingers helped pull them away from the other girl's hair as best she could. "There, is that better? I didn't mean to startle you, you know."

Twyla sat back and looked around for the girl's book. It had ended up on the ground, so Twyla picked it up and glanced at it. A history book...one of Twyla's least favourite subjects. It could be interesting, but the way it was taught was never exciting or fun for her. She didn't say anything about that as she handed the book back to the girl, though. "Here, this is your book, right? Looks, um...interesting."

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley pulled away from the bush as soon as she was able, wrapping her arms around herself. Her freckled face was bright red with embarrassment as she struggled to find words to reply to the other girl with, fingers rapidly drumming against her arm to try and calm herself down. "I... I'm sorry..." She finally managed in a slightly croaky tone. "I was... trying to be alone..."

Ainsley's eyes widened when the other girl picked up her book, taking it immediately as it was handed back. "A... girl said I should... learn about the school..." She said shakily, wrapping her arms around it quickly. "Because I don't know a lot of things people with magic parents do..." She hugged the book tighter and glanced away, wondering whether she should be talking or just... leaving, as had been her first instinct.

 

[Twyla Rothery]

Twyla pulled away from the girl to give her a little more space, swinging her legs under her in a cross to sit more comfortably. As the girl took the book back, Twyla's interest was drawn by her mention about magic parents. "Oh, are your parents muggles? Mine too! I didn't even know real magic existed until I got my letter." Then, figuring she ought to introduce herself before sharing some sort of life story, she stuck her hand out. "I'm Twyla, by the way."

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley relaxed a little when it didn't seem like the other girl wanted her to go immediately, but she kept her eyes down, still not comfortable looking anywhere but at the familiar cover of her book. She shook her head quietly, hair tumbling from behind her ear and forming a curtain to hide most of her face. "I didn't know either." She said quietly. "I always thought it probably did, because of all the stories I read, but I didn't think it would work like this, with schools and things..."

Ainsley winced instinctively when Twyla introduced herself, realising she really should have done the same. Another thing mum had reminded her to do that kept slipping Ainsley's mind when it mattered. "I'm Ainsley." She said quietly, reaching out to shake Twyla's hand. "Nice to meet you."

 

[Twyla Rothery]

"Nice to meet you, Ainsley!" Twyla smiled as Ainsley shook her hand. "I used to have a magic kit back home. You know, those magician things with the cape and the hat? But those magic tricks are nothing like real spells." She wasn't sure if she should mention the part where she'd accidentally done real magic a few times before getting her letter or not. She didn't even know it had been real magic until she learned such a thing existed. "What's your favourite thing you've learned so far?"

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley withdrew her hand quickly after the handshake, curling up tighter, and nodded to show she was listening as Twyla spoke. She frowned a little in confusion as the girl went on though. "I've never heard of those magician things." She said quietly, glancing at Twyla, then looking down again. "I always thought magic would be like books, like... magical fantasy stories with wizards and warlocks, but there are... so many rules, and everything's all... planned, it's not like I thought at all..." Ainsley swallowed and trailed off, realising she was talking a lot, and began to fidget with the pages of her book to try and calm herself down.

Ainsley took a while to think about the girl's question, biting her lip and wiggling her bare toes in the dirt. "I... don't know... I think charms were the most fun. Though history's really interesting too. I don't like transfiguration or flying, and I already knew a lot of what we did in herbology, because mum and I have a garden at home. It was still fun though..." Ainsley trailed off again, silent for a moment before remembering mum's words about politeness. "What are your favourites?"

 

[Twyla Rothery]

The other girl seemed like she was insecure about talking, but Twyla figured she was just shy or something. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be better when we're not in school anymore," Twyla said, something she'd hoped herself a few times. "I'm sure grown-ups don't have as many rules as we do, you know?"

She shrugged, then listened to Ainsley's other answer. So many classes Twyla hadn't had! "I haven't had any of those yet. I learned a lot about the Dark Arts, though! And astronomy, up in the tower looking at stars all day. And flying, which I thought would be fun but..." She shuddered, remembering her times on the broomstick down at the Quidditch Pitch. "How can anyone stand being that high up in the air like that?"

Ainsley's mention of her garden and herbology class drew Twyla's interest as well. "I can't wait for herbology! Gardens are quite lovely, aren't they? I've been looking for a place around here to start my own garden but it needs to be just right."

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley listened to Twyla quietly, alternating between staring at the cover of her book and peeking out from behind her hair for quick glances. She perked up a little when the other girl began talking about classes Ainsley hadn't had yet, listening intently. Dark arts sounded horrifying, but astronomy! That would be amazing! Ainsley was pulled away from her mental picture of classes just looking up at the stars as Twyla mentioned flying, Ainsley's least favourite class. She nodded quickly in agreement as Twyla spoke, relieved that she hadn't been the only one who hated it. "I have no idea! It's so scary, anything could go wrong... flying is so awful. I never want to do it again..."

Ainsley smiled a little, pleased to talk more about one of her favourite classes. "Herbology is really fun, though we didn't do much actual... making our own garden... type things." She trailed off, realising that sentence didn't really make a lot of sense. "I mean, we grew plants and things, but not... it wasn't like... having your own garden to look after over time, which is what I did at home... it was more like... we planted pumpkin seeds, then learned a spell to make them grow immediately. Stuff like that."

 

[Twyla Rothery]

"Oh," Twyla said, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. "That's okay, I'm sure I'll like it anyway. As long as we don't grow anything prettier than I am." Her hands ripped off a leaf from a nearby plant, and she began toying with it between her fingers as she spoke. Then she smiled, almost trying to reassure Ainsley and herself as well. "I'm sure we can just grow our own garden in our free time if we like. What would you put in your garden?"

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley faltered, not having thought of trying to make her own garden here. It seemed a bit silly, since she wouldn't really have the chance to cook anything she planted, but maybe doing something so familiar would help with the homesickness. "In my garden at home I grow vegetables and herbs, we don't... go to shops often, we live a long way from the city, so it's... better to grow our own food. I don't know what I would grow here... it's so different to home."

 

[Twyla Rothery]

Twyla nodded as she listened to Ainsley speak. "I think you can grow anything you want here! Like...flowers and herbs and magical plants!" She shrugged. "I haven't learned about herbology yet. It would be awfully nice to, though."

Once again, Twyla was in a position where she desired help but had trouble asking for it. Openly asking for help would feel like admitting she was useless because she didn't know something, so all she could do was hope Ainsley might pick up on her hints.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley gave a small, kind smile, never one to look past the face meaning of someone's words. "I think the classes here would be more helpful to you than they were to me, then, if you don't know much about gardening yet." She said in a small voice, staring down at her knees thoughtfully.

"It... almost seems silly to start a garden if I've got no real reason to..." Ainsley said quietly, pondering what she would do with her own patch of land here. "I mean, they make all our food for us, so if I grew vegetables they'd just be wasted, and..." Ainsley trailed off, mind beginning to work in other directions. "Oh! I could grow some flowers for Amber, I think she likes them!" Ainsley gave a small grin, relieved to have a new goal.

Out of Character:

Ainsley isn't one for understanding nuance she won't understand hints unless they're spelled out haha sorry