Closed Cue sympathy

[Morrie Ayre]

People, so far, had firmly established themselves as Morrie's least favorite aspect of Hogwarts. She felt profoundly misunderstood in this place, forming adversaries left right and centre. Morrie acknowledged her own role in these altercations, but she also believed that some people here were just plain awful. In the end, she didn't care. Right now, all she needed was a break.

Morrie ventured to the lake, wandering aimlessly as she tried to get a lay of the land. Eventually, she stumbled upon the perfect tree for climbing, with its thick branches, sturdy frame, and towering height. Without hesitation, she began climbing, navigating the branches until she reached the highest point she could reasonably climb. From this vantage point, she gazed out over the lake and, for the first time since arriving at Hogwarts, felt a sense of calm wash over her. Even with how badly everything was going, she had to acknowledge the undeniable beauty of Hogwarts.

 

[Zaros Lodowick]

Zaros had kept up with his habit of taking long walks. The castle was beautiful, and there were many places to be explored, after all. He wasn't sure he'd formed a solid opinion on anything yet- the twins were alright and there was a boy in his dorm that seemed afraid of everything. He was considering his new roommates when he spotted a familiar ball of fiery hair ascending a tree. He wondered over and looked up, leaning his head back to peer through the branches. "Do you just live in trees?" He offered, an attempt at a friendly opener- even if it was a poor one.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie sat perched on her chosen tree. Her attention was drawn down to the boy from the park. For some reason, seeing a familiar face, especially one she didn't instantly dislike, brought a comfort. His comment about her living in trees drew a smirk from her. "Only when people annoy me too much, which has been happening a lot recently." Morrie replied. She didn't sound entirely unwelcoming, which was a bit unusual for her. "You want to come up?" She extended the invitation, knowing full well how unusual it was for her to do so. However, this boy had already proven himself as a good tree companion, and that was reason enough for her to make an exception.

 

[Zaros Lodowick]

Zaros considered the invitation before nodding slowly. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and jumped up into the tree, climbing up until he was in a branch opposite her. "Here we are," He murmured, mostly to himself, his hair a bit mussed with leaves caught in his clothes. He looked around. "The view is nice," He offered, enjoying the breeze up this high.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie watched as he considered the invitation, nodded, and started his climb up the tree. Her lips curved into a hint of a smile. "Don't fall," she offered with playful sarcasm, a call-back to his own words during their previous encounter. She noticed his slightly disheveled hair and the leaves adorning his clothes, but she decided to let it slide without comment.

She shared a quiet moment of agreement, her gaze on the scenic surroundings. "It's one of the few places where you can find some peace and quiet around here," Morrie mused. Then she turned her head to look at him. "Which house did you get?" she inquired, fully aware of her own lack of knowledge about the other house colours, names and attributes apart from her own.

 

[Zaros Lodowick]

Zaros gave a half smile before just a moment before his face fell back to its usual nuetral expression. He leant back against the tree trunk. "Hufflepuff," He told her. "What about you?" He asked, turning to look at her. He hadn't paid much attention during the sorting, if he was honest, and he probably should have.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie nodded as Zaros mentioned his house. "Hufflepuff, huh?" She pondered for a moment. "Any good there?" She leaned back against the tree. She hadn't really paid much attention during the sorting either, as she was too busy being in a terrible mood. Then there had been the situation with the meatballs, followed by meeting her awful roommates. Every moment had been horrible for Morrie so far. She let out a sigh. "I ended up in Slytherin." Her displeasure with her house was evident in her voice.

 

[Zaros Lodowick]

Zaros raised a brow. "Not thrilled with the house?" He asked, giving her a chance to open up and vent, just relaxed against the tree. Personally, he didn't mind so much. Though one of his roommates did seem to be a scaredy-cat, but that wasn't the worst thing in the world, he supposed. Just... annoying a bit, and probably frustrating for Helios to try and live that way.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie shook her head, "No, Slytherin sucks and everyone is horrible," she told him. She refrained from delving deeper into her own experiences because revealing too much might make her appear less like a victim, and she wanted to maintain that narrative. She felt the urge to change the subject but wasn't sure what to talk about. It was apparent that Zaros wasn't much of a talker. After a moment's pause, she decided to probe him instead. "So, do you know any cool spells yet?" she inquired.

 

[Zaros Lodowick]

Zaros shrugged at her question. "No, but I've done some reading on the spells we're learning this year. Accio and Lumos seem rather useful." He offered easily, running a hand through her hair. "Hufflepuff isn't too bad. Perhaps if you spoke to your head of house he would change your room." He suggested.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

He offered easily, running a hand through her hair.

Sorry I couldn't resist abusing this gender typo.

"Care to give a demonstration of Accio or Lumos?" She asked, wondering if he would be able to cast them without proper teaching first. Then something weird happened and Morrie swiftly pushed away Zaros' hand. "Don't touch me," she snapped.

His suggestion about changing rooms caught her attention. "A single room would be the only alternative I'd want, but I highly doubt they offer those." She sighed, annoyed that there was this giant magical castle that made everyone sleep in dormitories. "Instead, I could make everyone else so miserable that they want to move, then I'd have the room to myself." She suggested, sharing her musings with him.

 

[Zaros Lodowick]

Zaros hadn't even realized he'd reached over to touch her, and pulled his hand back. "Sorry, force of habit," He offered. "I could give you a demonstration of Lumos if you'd like," He mused, pulling out his wand. "Maybe if you could pull out a valid medical reason, they'd have to listen," He offered, thinking that they could probably pull it off.