A Total Coincidence

[Odette Madison]

It was surprisingly difficult to find people in this school. Odette missed her phone more than ever as she walked through the different corridors, looking for a telltale glimpse of red hair. If this was her old school, she would just have texted Rory to meet up somewhere. But here, you had to find someone the old fashioned way. How tiresome.

She decided as she walked that she wasn't going to let Rory know just how hard she had worked to find her, it would be easier to pretend it was a simple coincidence. Odette knew better than to show anyone that they meant anything to her, even if it was only as much as wanting to ask them a question.

Then, finally, she spotted Rory's red hair. She was walking in a corridor, probably to go to a class or something. The first thing Odette did was look around the other girl to see if she was with any housemates. It didn't seem to be the case, at least Harley wasn't anywhere near, and that was the most important part. She sped up her pace to catch up with her and touched her shoulder. "Rory! What a coincidence!" She said brightly, beaming at the other girl. "How are you doing?"

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory was pretty glad she'd left her bag at lunch. She'd been halfway to her next class when she'd realised, and going back to get it was probably going to make her late. The less time spent in class the better, she thought. Her friends seemed to have thought so too, they looked particularly jealous as she turned to go back the way they had come. She was surprised they hadn't used her as an excuse to be late too, they seemed to be the type. She had her bag now though, and was trying to slow her pace as much as she was able to prolong her freedom.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a touch to her shoulder, and she turned to see Odette behind her. Grinning, Rory came to a complete halt. "I'm even better now that you're here. What have you been up to?" She had sort of seen Odette in their shared classes since they had last seen each other at the lake, but she'd always been either too busy with her own friends, or trying to stay invisible in Defence. Just as well, really, she'd seen Harley scowling in Odette's direction a few times, and she didn't want to open up that can of worms again.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette smiled as Rory was still happy to see her. Good! That meant Harley had either kept her trap shut - unlikely - or Rory was smart enough not to believe everything she heard. Odette decided it was probably the latter. If anything, Harley had probably told the entire Gryffindor girls dorm about how awful Odette was. But if Rory still wanted to talk to her, she hadn't succeeded in driving people away.

"I've just been going to classes and stuff, getting used to the place. What about you?" She smiled. "Been up to much mischief?" She asked curiously. The fact that she had to be so wary of Harley made it hard for her to see Rory much, but the other girl really had something about her that Odette sort of liked. It was silly to befriend someone who would have to pick between her and Harley at some point, and would probably choose her housemate, but Odette couldn't help but want to befriend her.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory couldn't help grinning at Odette's question. "I went out to the forest. Even tried to get up a tree and everything." She decided not to mention Harley. If the other two girls didn't like each other, well, that was up to them - Rory was happy enough being both of their friends without involving herself in any unnecessary drama. Her mouth quirked as she smiled at Odette. "I'd ask you to come with me next time, but you'd probably rather drag me back telling me it was a dumb idea." Rory laughed, amused at the idea. She probably would have let Odette do it, too.

"That's the worst of it, though. Otherwise I've just been forgetting homework." Right now she was late for class too, but she didn't care. She was having much more fun talking to Odette. Suddenly remembering part of their first conversation by the lake, Rory's face brightened. "I decided you're right by the way, Charms is gonna be way better than I thought it would." Now that she had started learning actual magic she felt like she didn't quite mind whether it was supposed to be useful or more fun-oriented, and was just enjoying performing spells. Although... "Flying's still gonna be the best, though."

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette laughed softly. "Yes, that is incredibly dumb. It's no wonder Gryffindors are doing so badly with points if that's what you're all up to in that house." She smiled at Rory to show she didn't mean it that way. She actually liked the other girl quite a bit and hoped that she could keep her around.

She smiled at the comment about Homework. "Charms is pretty good." She said, nodding. It was nice to learn spells, though she did hope they would get to something a bit more powerful before long. Her face lit up when the other girl mentioned flying. "It is! I hope. Maybe once we know how to do it, we could fly together." This was one of the first genuine expressions of excitement she had shown Rory and it made her feel a little uncomfortable and exposed. She looked for something to change the subject, and then noticed her bag. "Are you... on your way to class?" She asked, wondering if she was getting the girl in trouble by talking to her.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory laughed. "Yeah, I know some of us have already lost a few points being caught out at night." Shrugging, she continued. "I don't really care, though. We're having fun, and you don't really get much for winning anyway." She paused, tipping her head to the side. "Can't imagine how we won last year."

She was glad to see that Odette was excited about flying too. Grinning, Rory bounced a little on her toes in excitement. "We should totally fly together, that's a great idea!" She was glad that the other girl was turning out to be more fun to be around than she'd originally realised. Still smiling, she followed Odette's gaze to her bag, where the expression turned into more of a faint grimace. Hitching the strap a little further up on her shoulder, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm late actually." But she didn't want to go, she was having a better time out here in the corridor.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette laughs. "Well, you weren't here last year. That must have helped at least a little." She gently teased, nudging Rory a bit. "I'm sure that for the next seven years, you'll have a hand in stopping them from winning." She sort of wanted Slytherin to win, if she was honest. It would be fitting if she was part of the house that was the best of all.

Seeing Rory excited to fly together made Odette smile again. It would be a lot of fun to fly with someone, especially Rory. Though she did hope the other girl wouldn't try to do foolish tricks and stunts and get herself hurt. Odette wasn't going to play nurse to anyone.

When the other girl admitted she was late for class, Odette nudged her again. "C'mon, you should go before you lose even more points. What if the rest of your class learns a good spell and you don't?" It was flattering that Rory wanted to talk to her instead of going to class, but she didn't want the other girl to get in trouble because of her. She didn't want to be associated with trouble at all. Not yet, anyway.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory grinned at Odette's teasing, pleased that the other girl was no longer emulating a blank piece of paper without unique thought or expression - it was like she was getting coloured in. Rory looked forward to finding out what else Odette had hiding under the surface. Filing away the plans for flying with quiet excitement, she smiled at Odette's second nudge. "Okay, okay, I'm going. That's pretty good motivation. I'll see you later!" Waving goodbye, Rory turned and finally continued on her way to class.