Drip drops in the stillness

[Minoas Stratis]

They were finally over. Minoas had finished half an hour ago his last exam for this semester. Overall he had managed to do very well. He wasn't quite sure about herbology. As it was his last one, he didn't manage to concentrate properly and every time he was trying to remember his answers, he was growing more and more uncertain. Trying to cast away all those second thoughts, he headed towards the lake, the right place to pass the rest of the day after several long weeks of revision and study.

The weather was quite warm, not ideal for swimming but good to sit by the lake and enjoy the afternoon sun. Surprisingly, the shores around the lake were deserted. Where on earth those people are spending their free time in this school? he shrugged. He couldn't imagine a better place rather than that. Nothing else could compare with the freshness that was filling his lungs, the sound of the lake's waters touching softly the rocks at the shores and the sunlight, revitalizing everything around him.

He found the perfect spot to relax. A rock few meters away from the lake, surrounded by fragrant grass. He tossed his backpack on the ground like he wanted to get rid off something that was tiring him both physically and mentally. He sat down and leaned his back on the rock. He placed his hands behind his head and left a sigh of pleasure as he stretching his legs. He was watching the cloudless, blue sky mixed with the golden brightness of the sun and started daydreaming about Quidditch until he realized the presence of someone near him.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar was in the grounds like normal. she didn't have any exams this semester as It was her OWL year however she was looking forward to her holiday. it would be her first holiday in five years away from the castle and she was glad to be going to australia with her new adopted family. It had been over a month since she had been caught in the forest. and for this reason she was not surprised to see the other student who she had been caught with was out in the sun. "hey up acromantula. enjoying your freedom?" she said sliding down beside him. she had just about almost forgiven him for telling the professor that she was lying when she was trying to cover for him. " Its nice outside and i am so glad you were the castlebound one not me" she continued not really caring if she was annoying him or not as she was still on probation for her adventures, and he owed her, not that she kept track on who owed her but this night was still fresh in her mind.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

He looked up to see the Gryffindor prefect. He was glad he was seeing her again although he was feeling bad for last time they had met. "Hey there!" he said while she was sitting next to him. He laughed when she called him an acromantula. "I guess I'm worthy of this nickname." he accepted it with a kind smile. He wasn't sure if Briar had forgiven him for what he had done so he was acting still quite apologetically.
"You bet! A little longer than a month and I was going to lose my mind. Honestly, I have found all the possible secret places of that castle." he said with eyes wide opened, pointing at the castle behind them, like it was something cursed and unpleasant. He raised an eyebrow for her next comment. He was sure she didn't mean it in a bad way but still he could spot in her voice, the bitterness.

"See? If I hadn't say the truth, I would be wandering around risking my life again while you would be driven crazy inside the castle, chatting with stupid portraits. Plus, you could be no more a prefect and lose your chance to play for Gryffindor. Have you lost any of this?" he asked her, proving that what he had done, wasn't completely bad.
"Lying to cover a reckless first year is not that bad. I'm sure that professor Weasley is not mad about that." he concluded.

He left a sigh and continued. "Anyway. I would like to apologize again. I thought I knew what I was doing as always." he said sarcastically for himself. "In the end, look! We are both free now!" he exclaimed, opening his arms like they were wings, to express his freedom.

Out of Character:

Sorry!!! Totally forgotten this one

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Out of Character:

thats cool

Briar smiled at the boy greeted him. despite the trouble he had caused he seemed pretty cool, or maybe it was because of the trouble he had caused. "all the secret places" she said raising one eyebrow, "suposedly there was a room, called the room of requirements, during the first few years of the school it was used quite a bit, then all of a sudden it vanished, suposedly its still around somewhere but no one that i knowof has found it. and I know i have tried" she contined, unsure whay had caused her to give a history lesson, it wasnt history really, it was more of a myth. she reckoned that that would be the next place the boy would try and find, a hidden room much safer than the depths of the forrest. "Trouble is nothing new. if i was stuck inside i would have to work which although crazy making will probably do me good as i have me OWLS this year, as for being a prefect that was a surprise to me when the badge arrived that i thought that it had come to the wrong person. Quidditch would have been the only thing i would have missed. Anyway aren't Gryfindors meant to stick up for their friends before themselves" she said, pretty sure that even castle bound she would have been able to get her exercise in by becoming extremely forgetful and leaving books and things in odd places that she would have to go back and get.
they sat in silence for a moment until the boy felt the need to apologise again. "Seriously you are lucky that i have had a month to calm down, but there is no need to keep apologising, it was fun, even meeting the professor added a certain thrill to the evening. however not one that i plan to repeat at least for the foreseeable future?" she finished laughing at the last comment.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas smirked at Briar's lecture. "So that's how it is called?" he said and nodded with a mischievous, broad smile.
He realised that Briar had raised an eyebrow and was casting that suspicious look. "What? I swear I found this one by accident. I was wandering around the seventh floor, thinking of the forest and the grounds and then that double door appeared all of a sudden." he expained recalling that incident that happened during his castlebound detention period. "Of course I checked out and I think I left my jaw back there." he said and his grey eyes shined, like he was opening that door again for the first time. "I'm not crazy, there was a forest in there, with a clearing and a small stream. There were no walls or windows. Just trees and nature staff." he said and shrugged.
"I guess it takes you somewhere that you really wish to go." he concluded a bit doubtful.
"So as you can guess, I wasn't really castlebound. I...I was visiting that room every...night." he admitted reluctantly. He regretted saying that. Maybe Briar was still mad with him and she was looking an opportunity to payback.

"Well, you are too kind to admit it but I'm sure you would mind if that prefect badge was taken back from you and more than anything else, you wouldn't like being castlebound. Just the idea it may drive you nuts. Believe me." remembering all that wasn't doing any good. He tried to cast away the memories of the previous month.
"How many O.W.L's do you have?" he asked quite puzzled. Why she had mentioned her pets? Whichever was the reason, he liked talking about animals. "I have a variety of pets. My family uses different kind of birds for mails. Not just owls." he explained.

Picked up a small, flat stone and tossed it on the serene surface of the lake. The stone sunk instantly, wrinkling the dark waters. "I think I stick up for you. At least that's what I thought. It would be worse if she had realized that you were lying. Plus, you are not really good at lies." he said with a soft smile to show her that he was joking.
He laughed too with her last comment. "I don't know. I would love another adventure like that one. Less risky of course and without a professor guest-starring." he said with a laugh.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Out of Character:

seriously the room or requirement is out there, but it needs to be found

briar saw that the boy was taking a special interest in the room. I don't know how it is called, I have never found it"[/b] she said picking up a flat pebble and skimming it into the water. she listened as the boy described what he had found, it sounded like the room but she wasn't sure. "that kind of sounds like it. but i am not entirely sure though" she sad . that the boy said next surprised her, she thought that the boy had learned his lesson sneaking out late, but apparently not, either that or he was braver than she was, she hadn't had night flight since she had been caught, and that was a shame as the weather was perfect. "maybe you should wait until you get out of trouble for one mistake before you try another, but i guess I'm glad that you had something to explore. and you had some way of being outside." she advised
when the boy asked how many owls she had she quickly counted them up, Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Potions, Defence against the dark arts, a history of magic, herbology, and of corse Care of magical creatures and Runes. "I have nine, but some feel like more than one" she said the most painful one was history of magic as it involved long writing and reading and nothing practical. When the boy started talking about pets it took her a while to catch un as to what he had thought. Oh, sorry I thought that you knew, O W L stands for ordinary wizarding Level, they are the tests that the fifth years sit at the end of the year. I don't have any pets, but it is interesting that you use different birds to deliver your Post ad not just an owl, I know some of the students here use ravens, but there are only a few" she said Explaining what she had meant by owls. she watched the boy throw a stone into the water and it sunk to the bottom.
"well thank you for trying to stick up for me. Usually i have a while to come up with my lies, but i would rather think of them as twisted truths. besides the story wasn't that far fetched, I had gone to find the flower a few nights before we got caught, but it was on the other side of the forest and a lot deeper." she said then she realised that the boy would probably go looking for it. "there is no point trying to find it, it only flowers for one night then dies" she reaffirmed, only then realising that he was joking about her being a bad lier. she still hoped that she hadn't seen that se was lying manipulating the truth about her childhood back in the forest she doubted it, but there was no way to make sure that she was right without raising suspicion, she just had to hope that as the truth was more unbelievable than the lie that even if people thought she was making it up they wouldn't guess the real truth

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Out of Character:

i didn't know that

Seemed that the room of requirements wasn't so easy to be found. Perhaps Minoas had came across to another secret room, maybe leading straight to a forest or it contained a forest by itself. "You may be right but now I'm more curious to find it." he said determined. It was a challenge for him. A challenge that he would prefer to share with someone else but most first years weren't so risky.
"You are right. I mean I wasn't really proud when all tha points were taken from Gryffindor because of me but it just happened. I just came across it and besides, I didn't really left the castle." he explained although he was quite sure that if professor Kingsley was going to learn that, she wouldn't be really pleased.

At first Minoas thought tha nine owls were quite a big number for pets. His family might have around to five or six bird pets but still he didn't really take care of all of them. When Briar described what exactly she meant with O.W.L's, he felt a complete idiot. "Funny name they have there." he commented to soothe his embarassment.
"It sounds tough but I'm sure you can make it. I bet you'll get an outstanding in care of magical creatures." he said with a supportive manner. He preferred to slightly change the topic to that, that his ignorance had brought up.
"Yeah we use a variety of different species. Mainly to avoid attention but it's not really ordinary to receive your mail by an emperial eagle in the great hall when the rest of the students receive it from normal owls." he said recounting all those embarrasing moments that an eagle, a falcon or a seagull were bringing his mail.

"No it wasn't really far fetched but I swear that woman could read minds. She wasn't really convinced. There are some people that can detect easily lies and professor Kingsley looked like that." he explained to her although, there was no reason to do that. Briar seemed clever enough to have figured it out herself.
"I can say that I'm a terrible liar. My parents can always tell if I'm lying or not." he said quite disappointed that he didn't have that gift. It was useful sometimes. Small lies could help a situation without damaging relationships.
"So you haven't heard anything from anyone about that room?" he returned back to their previous topic about that mysterious room that had caught his attention.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Out of Character:

Sorry it has taken a while, i seem to have semi lest my muse , and all my time on here seems to be quidditch related as we are doing pretty poorly, but i am trying to rectify that

Briar was glad that the boy said he wasn't particularly happy that they had lost the points. she had not set foot out of the castle at night since. she had flown though the dorm windows weren't as secure as some students hoped, once you squished through the tiny gap you had a whole sky in front of you. "dont worry, as you can probably tell even tough i am a prefect i font like getting people into trouble, i would much rather get them out" she said.
when he commented on the name of the exams she laughed, "I guess that they are a strange name for the exams, the older students take N.E.W.T.S., Nastily exhausting wizarding tests i think it stands for, I always wondered who the eagle was for though, I guess that is one mystery solved" she said, hopeing that next time a student mentioned OWLS or NEWTS he wouldn't start talking about animals.
"Oh well, its okay now. a month has gone and passed and it doesn't matter. you have come out of the other side of your punishment, and i am unscathed so who said what doesn't matter any more. I am an okay lier but i usually have a lot of time to plan my stories. " she said not mentioning that she was still on probation and didn't know when she would be getting off. when conversation returned to the room of requirements, she smiled. "No it was only a rumour but i am pretty sure that there is some truth behind it" she said before skimming another stone.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Out of Character:

no worries, Quidditch is a priority

"Someone really sadistic I guess. They sound really tough." he agreed about the NEWTs. "Good luck with your OWLs" he wished to her, glad that he had still several years of careless until those examinations.
"I think that I could use a few lessons on how to lie successfully. Something tells me that this won't be the last time a get busted." he said and rolled his eyes on his unfortunate habit of getting into trouble.

Rumours. For him rumours were alway true. The room was somewhere there and he wanted to find it. It was like he had find a sweet treat but he hadn't manage to taste it. "Well, the only thing I know for that room is that is placed somewhere at the seventh floor's corridor. I guess we should start searching there." he said but then he realized what he had just said. He wasn't sure if Briar wanted to join him in one of his future adventures. Especially inside the castle, the possibilities of being caught were much higher.
"Have you find any other secret places in the castle?" he asked as he wanted to check out if he had found every single of them.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Out of Character:

Quidditch is won XD celebrate.

"they are pretty stressful as far as i can tell. and the Owls are no jog in the forest. thanks i think i will need it" she said as he wished her good luck. she had never been taught to read and write properly, her family had never found that skill important, and the few months she had had with a tutor before starting school had not really been enough. "I think that be best thing to do with lying would be to not deviate too far from the truth. also it helps if you convince yourself that the lie is true, if that makes sense" she said.
she smiled as the boy suggested that they should search for the secret room some time. "That sounds good, but i don't have that much free time at the moment and i need to at least appear to be sticking to the rules, at least for a while longer, I don't want to be kicked off the team before the match. but maybe after the match and the exams" she said, she didn't know why but she quite liked Minoas, he somehow reminded her of herself in her first year. "any other secret places. I guess you have found that the passage that leaves from behind the tapestry next to the entrance to the common room to the top of the north tower. there is also one from the fourth floor to the kitchens, that one has a beach pained on the wall, and i cant think of any others right now" she said trying to remember what was a secret passage, what was a well known hidden passage and what was normal corridors. they had all sort of blurred in her mind over the years she had been at the school.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

He listened carefully to Briar's advices about lying. She had a point, her idea was brilliant. "It totally makes sense. Actually, what you just have said is really genius." he praised her for that.
He could understand that Briar was pretty pressured with other kind of things and she didn't want to get into trouble again, risking her position in Gryffindor's team. Speaking of Quidditch, he had competely forgot the upcoming match. "Oh yeah, the match!" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes as he couldn't believe how he managed to forget. "I heard somewhere that there will be some special teaming up. Gryffindor with Hufflepuff and Slytherin with Ravenclaw. Sounds interesting! Are you ready for that?" he asked her as she happened to be one of the chasers. He was going to watch the match. It would be his first one. "I'm ready to see some of your moves and practise them." he said with a wide smile. He had never played an actual Quidditch game before. He had practised flying and had some shots with the Quaffle but that was all about.


"I know those two! I have also found another passageway under the statue of a humpback witch on the third floor. I found that one by following some older students, they were looking kinda suspicious. They used also a password and I think they said that it'll lead them to Brightstone Village. I haven't try it myself but I intent to do so." he told her, making his plans for the night.
"So, who are you going to visit in Australia? Do you have any relatives there?" he asked her.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar smiled as the boy said that what she was saying was smart. "I wouldn't go as far as to say it was genius, it is just what i have found out." she said, she didn't think that she was a genius, or to be honest, or particularly smart. she just was her, more fast or sporty.
"thats right we are teaming up with the puffs, and the snakes are teaming with the ravens. I'm glad we are not with the snakes, that would be a disaster" she said thinking what would happen if they made the two houses that had the strongest competition together. "If you want one weekend i can try and teach you, we sure as hell could do with some decent players" she said. she didn't dislike anyone in the team but some of the people didn't seem dedicated enough, but then she was planning on playing after she left school and she knew that some of them were only doing it as a hobby. "I have heard of them but don't let me hear you talking about you going down those passages again, or i may have to tell on you." she said behind stern. she didn't like putting people in trouble but she knew that some reasons she had to. "I guess that they are my family now. My best friends family have just fostered me, so I am going back home with them" she said. really looking forward to being part of a real family, especially the Margeras family.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

"I don't really have any dislikes for Slytherins, I actually have a Slytherin friend but I can tell that Hufflepuffs might be a little more collaborative than them." he agreed with her preference. Slytherins could be sometimes unpredictable and Quidditch needed strict cooperation.

Minoas felt really lucky that Briar was offering to him some of her knowledge. "Really? I mean, thanks, that would be awesome. Whenever you have time, it would be great!" said the first year enthusiastically, avoiding being really pressuring. After all Briar had to concentrate for her match and her examinations and those should be her priorities. His enthusiasm didn't last long. He lowered his head when the prefect took a stern look.
"Ok fine, I won't try that secret passage. Keep your promise about teaching me some moves and I'll keep out of trouble." he smiled, offering a good deal. He looked up at the clear sky. A flock of birds was flying above the surface of the lake where the sunlight was bouncing. He was starting to realize that he had got back his freedom. His exams were over, for the moment and he had finished his detention. Still he couldn't do whatever he wanted.
Entering inside the forest would be something to think of twice before he was going to do it.
He listened to Briar as she was explaining the reason why she was going to visit Australia.
"That's pretty nice but...what happened to your real family?" he asked reluctantly, sensing how delicate that topic could be. He could understood that his question quite cornered Briar. He could tell. So he decided to swift the awkward conversation back to the place where they had met.

"Why this forest is forbidden anyway? Does it hide anything?" he wondered loudly as he was watching the tree tops, swept by a sudden gust of wind. "Apart from the acromantulas of course." he said with a short smile, still with his grey eyes magnetized on the edge of the forest.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

briar smiled when she saw the boy had friends in slytherin, she didn't mind mot slytheirns just some of them left a fowl taste in her mouth, like the one who she had had a fight with in the forest the previous year, and to the one in the north tower who was picking on the younger students. they did have a tendency to pick on the younger students, which she didn't like.
"I am afraid the pitch is pretty busy at the moment, as people are preparing for the match, but one day next semester would be good, how about a sunday evening?" she asked, she knew sunday evenings were usually pretty quiet as the teams trained during the weekend but by sunday afternoon most people would be finishing homework and getting ready for classes to start again. when he spoke about the passage she realised that h didn't quite get the subtle implications that she was saying. "I didn't say you couldn't use the passage, i did say that i didn't want you to tell me that you used it, now thats all i will say on the matter" she said, hopeing that that would be the last he would say about it too. she realised that for some odd reason she had started to get the reputation of a goody goody, she wasn't sure why as she was way more likely to go into the forest than normal people, and no one could say that her night flying was strictly within the rules. she guessed that people saw her badge first and her after.
when her thoughts finally returned to the present she realised that Minoas was asking about her family. once again she stretched the truth as far as she could without lying, "I never met my biological family, i was found a few hours old and was adopted by the family who owned me, however when they discovered that i was a witch they didn't want anything to for with me." she said not wishing to say any more, the only people who knew any more were her closest friends, the margeras and some of the more senior professors. "aren't acromentula enough, well i know that there are centaurs, and unicorns, as well as the thestrals, Bowtruckles, as well of many others" she said, hopeing that he wouldn't go in looking for any of them.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas was glad that she offered her Sunday to show him some Quidditch moves. Usually, the young Gryffindor's sundays were the most boring days of the week. He used to do his homework right after his classes so it wasn't anything left for the end of the week. He was having some strolls around the grounds but as soon as it was getting darker, he had to stay inside the castle, especially after being busted in the forest.
"Great idea! I'm dying of boredom during sunday's evenings, I don't really know what to do."he admitted with a frown. "I can't find the pleasure of playing exploding snap like most first years do at sunday evenings." he added remembering the day that he almost fell asleep when he decided to join the rest first year Gryffindors for an exploding snap game.
"Ok!" he said and winked mischievously at Briar. "I won't tempt you with that." he ended the conversation about secret passages. He wasn't sure if Briar had enough of that topic or she was tempted to investigate it, something she shouldn't do while she was on probation.

His playful mood changed when the converstion switched again to her family. His features turned serious as she was confessing that she had never met her biological family. "It's alright. I mean family isn't exactly the biological relatives but who had brought you up. Those that were by your side in the most blissful and critical moments in your life. I'm sure your friend's family will really care about you." he said honestly those mature words.
Himself loved his family but he regarded his friends too as a second family. The kind of family that you choose.
"Think of it. Now your best friend will be your sister or brother!" he pointed out, not so sure if Briar's friend was a girl or a guy.

He changed again the subject. He didn't want to drown her in depression.
"Nah, ain't enough. Acromantulas may be a bit scary but the rest of them aren't the kind of reasons that could turn a simple forest into a forbidden one. Centaurs and unicorns usually avoid humans. Thestrals cannot be seen by most of us and well, bowtruckles can just throw to you pieces of wood." he concluded, indicating that nothing of what he had mentioned was enough to award to the forest the title forbidden.
"I doubt that this forest is the dwelling place of manticores, chimaeras, hydras or sphinxes." he mentioned just a few dangerous creatures that could someone encounter in his homeland.
"Maybe it is the hiding place of something. Hogwarts staff might have wanted to hide something in this forest." he said. Just the idea was intriguing him.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar was glad that the boy liked the sound of sundays. "Awesome, i will let you know of an appropriate date. probably mid next term, the match will cause it to be fully booked." she said, hopeing that he wouldn't mind the wait, she doubted that, he would probably send the next couple of months, practicing as much as he could. she winked back at the boy as he said that he wouldn't talk about the passage, but didn't say anything out loud.
when he said about what family was, "That sounds about right. How old are you again?" she asked as the words he was saying wounded much more like they should be coming from a professor, not a first year. "I am sure Madlyn will be an awesome sister, you should know her, she is the real tall fourth year. anyway enough about me, whats your family like?" she asked, she knew Madlyn was part giant, but she didn't say the words out loud, instead she just said she was tall. "obviously you have never tried to collect fruit from a tree inhabited by a family of bowtruckles, It is not a pleasant experience" she said remembering one time when she was about three or four and was just learning to climb trees and learning that the was able to do something the rest of her family couldn't. however when the boy said that he thought that the professors were hiding some secret in the forest she laughed out loud, it seemed to echo around them. "Thats a good one, but it is not true, I met one of the professors in there a few year ago, first or second year, and we ran into a centaur, lets just say she didn't got on with him too well. and i keep close tabs on the forest, and i am pretty sure none of them go in there frequently for any amount of time, except the care of magical creatures professors, and sometimes the herbology ones. I think that is just hard for them to keep track of people in there if they do get into trouble, " she said, but the last two were understandable, there were lots of plants, and animals in the forest.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

"Sure thing!" he muttered as words couldn't describe his excitement. Generally Minoas, wasn't the most patient person when it came to knowledge but for Quidditch, he could wait. Of course he could keep practising on his own until that day as he used to do, early in the morning, when most students were still in their beds or in the great hall.

"I guess I'm growing up..." he said among laughs while he was giving her a shrug. It was something that his father had told him about family. He really liked it so he mentally noted down. The name that Briar mentioned was reminding him of someone. He might had never spoke with the girl named Madlyn but he had seen her in Gryffindor's common room a couple of times. "Oh yeah I know! I've seen you hanging around with her and another girl in the common room. She looks like a really kind person." he added about her friend.

Whenever Minoas had to talk about his family, he was feeling terribly homesick. It wasn't that he didn't like the school. It was just that feeling that his family was needing him. The past two years were pretty difficult for him and his family. "Well actually I have a huge family." he said, emphasizing the word 'huge'. "Uncles, cousins, grandparents. The thing is I have only met them once and I'm not sure if I'll be able to see them again." he said with a nostalgic tone in his voice. "But as I have already told you me and my parents are living here in New Zealand. They are both into magic and I have two younger borther that are twins." he continued about his family members.

He smiled while he was imagining Briar stealing fruits from bowtruckles. It was indeed a funny think to imagine.
"Well no but my dad used to breed erklings until I was shot by one when I was eight. Their darts are painful. After that incident my father gave up on them as my mother had enough of them. He has concentrated now on breeding flying cretures. Winged horses, griffins, hippogriffs...better than little woody creatures I guess." he said, remembering that he had talked to Briar about his father's profession.

Startled, he looked at Briar who bursted into echoing laughs. He wasn't expecting her to find it so funny. It was nothing more than a wild idea. "Centaurs are more humanoid than we think. I don't blame them that they are harsh sometimes. I was blessed that I had the opportunity to be taught things by them. Believe it or not, Astronomy lessons are piece of cake for me. I've done most of them during my home education with my centaur tutor. In Greece it's a tradition. Like most heroes in the past, who were brought up and educated by centaurs. Most magical families decide to offer that kind of education to their children even these days." he explained, knowing that magical communities differed from place to place.

He stretched his arms up in the air and let a short yawn.
"I don't get it. Why everytime I'm free I can't find something to spare my time and when I'm busy with lessons and homeworks, my mind finds millions of other things to do?" he asked both himself and Briar as he was watching few flying-seahorses emerging from the lake's waters.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar was glad that Minoas didn't seem to disappointed with the wait, but there was nothing else she could do about it. "Growing up, twelve going on twenty five" she laughed, she wasn't being mean, she just thought it funny that such a young boy could be talking such truths. "yeh, Madlyn is pretty hard to miss, but she is really nice, and we get on pretty well, sort of both being little different, so we both sort of know where the other is coming from." she said, true Madlyns difference was pretty obvious, but hers was pretty strong, it was just on the inside, not the outside.
when she asked about the boys family she saw that it made him look a little upset, she was just about to tell him it didn't matter, when he spoke. "that sounds like a pretty large family, and two younger twin brothers sounds like a handful." she said, she had never had prober siblings, back at home it was such a community that all of the other people were either siblings, or aunt and uncles or parents of some kind, even if they weren't related.
"erklings can be a bit of a pain, i was thankful in my childhood not to smell human enough for them to look for me." she said hoping he wouldn't ask why she didn't smell human. "Flying creatures are cool, to own a flying horse would b awesome especially a granian." she said, maybe some day she would try and acquire one, but in the mean time she was happy with her flying on a broom, and if she needed to send a letter there was always the schools owls.
"I know a lot about centaurs, they were my favourite topic in care of magical creatures, but i know that accidents don't go amiss, in my first year here one of the older boys was killed by a centaur, i am not sure what happened, i just know that he was part goblin or something. but the greek education system sounds pretty cool, i didn't think centaurs would willingly teach their knowledge to wizard children" she said, knowing how hard it had been for her to learn anything because many of the centaurs she had lived with had deemed her a two hoof and not deserving to learn from them, thats why she had such a strong base on plant healing as thats what her mother specialised in, and taught her.
That is always the way, i bet that when you were trapped, you came up with a plan a minute of what you would do once you were out, and now you have so many opportunities hat you don't know what to do. " she said watching a pack of trying sea horses leave the lake briefly.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas laughed with her joke about him growing up. The truth was that his statement wasn't usually used by a twelve year old. "Not exactly the kind of things I say. Sort of another person's knowledge." he stated still laughing.
"Sounds nice to have such a close relationship with someone." he agreed although he didn't have yet such a relationship with someone except from his family. Minoas could tell that Briar wasn't telling him the truth about her family. She might was good at lies but he could read the signs of her facial features. Her lips were saying different than her eyes. However, he didn't say anything. It was up to her to trust him and he didn't want to rush it. True trust was established after a certain period of time. Besides, he hadn't say everything about his family.

"Yeah it is quite large. Imagine I haven't meet everyone yet. I would like to learn more about them. Learning about your past, ignites my interest." he said with his voice full of excitement. He still remembered the day his father had told him about their family's story. Now it was his brothers' time to learn about their ancestry.
"More than a handful actually. I really feel sorry for this school when the time will arrive for them to come here." he said looking at the castle. His little brothers were true hurricanes. The troubles he was getting into were nothing compare to theirs. He could bet that they would have their first detention during their first week in Hogwarts.

He found strange what Briar said about not smelling human enough. He thought about it at first but then he coudn't resist not asking. "What do you mean by that?" he asked curiously. He started wondering if the girl was a werewolf or something. That could explain her statement.
"If you are lucky enough you might have your first one from my dad. He breeds granians as well." he offered still casting at her suspicious looks, trying to remember when was the next full moon.
Just when she mentioned it, he realized that indeed she knew a lot about centaurs. Surprisingly a lot for someone that hadn't pass his life next to them. "Yeah I see." he nodded as she was recounting a story about a guy, killed by a centaur. Normally, he would be interested in the story but his mind was still trying to find out what Briar was hiding.
"I think I found something to pass my time. I was thinking of learning not only how to lie but also how to figure out if someone is lying or is hiding something." he mentioned, waiting to see Briar's reaction.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar was glad that minoas took what she had said as a joke like it was intended, "borrowd wisdom, very nice" she said still smiling loudly. "madlyn is pretty awesome and although we are different we get allong really well." she said thinking about the morning after she had gotten caught, they had had a game of bludger tennis. it had been good fun even if the had cracked her shoulder bone on a bludger beforehand.
as minoas talked about his family, she realised that as he had been on the move he hadn't met all of his. it was a shame as sometimes it took not having a family to realise what family meant, to be honest, she had always been a little envious of the students who were whisked away on holiday with their family during the breaks, but now she guessed she would be one of them. "I am sure that there are enough staff, and prefects to keep them under control, when do they start, next year or the year after?" she asked wondering if she would meet them and have a hand to play at keeping them in line, she hoped that she would meet them, but that they would be able to look after themselves.
Briar cringed when she realised what she had said, she didn't smell human enough, now the boy would think she was something odd, she wasn't, she was as far as she knew pure human, but she had spent so much time outside around her family as a kid, that the horsey centaur smell had kind of become a part of her too. "no, its not like that" she said following his train of thought "Its just i used to spend so much time outside, that it sort of got blown off, and masked with other smells, like plants, earth and different animals" she said. when the boy said that his dad bread Granians, she shook he head, "although i thin it would be cool to own one, i don't think i could" she said, she had always had a thing about owning animals, like they were an object, and not their own entity. she much preferred wild animals. she could see that the boy was disinterested in the story, and wondered what he was thinking about, it didn't take long to discover.he wanted to work out when someone was lying. "good idea, but sometimes it is better to go on believing lies than trying to find out the truth, as often lyes are used to cover truths that would give you a headache otherwise." she said in a way that wasn't fully serious, but wasn't joking either. in truth she knew that she had told the boy too much, and now he wanted to find out the rest.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas laughed again as he was going again to use some lines that his father was using.
"Opposites are attracted. What's the point of hanging around with someone when you are completely similar with them. There must be differences." he said surprised with himself as well.
"You are pretty lucky actually. You won't meet them at least here, in Hogwarts. They are still four but don't be deluded from their young age. My mom had to stop her career as a healer to take care of them. I think I might be lucky as well. They'll attend Hogwarts when I'll be graduating." he said with a smile as he was remembering that day that his brothers set their house in fire or when they broke his camera which he found after a month, badly bandaged with spellotape. "Sometimes a get envious of people that don't have siblings." he joked as he really loved his little brothers, regardless their explosive characters.

Minoas raised an eyebrow as Briar was trying to explain her statement that seemed to have been slipped off her lips accidentally. Minoas could tell that she wasn't saying entirely the truth. She had just revealed her way of lying and now he could tell whether she was telling the truth or not. She might have sensed that he was suspecting something as she used in her defence a statement which Minoas was finding reasonable. Sometimes it was better to corrode the truth. There might was a reason and it was selfish of him of thinking just his curiosity. It could be something that was bringing Briar in an uncomfortable position and he knew how awkward that was.
"It's okay. You can tell me whenever you feel so." he gave her an encouraging smile.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

briar smiled as Minoas said something else way beyond his years. "another borrowed saying?" she asked. not really caring either way. "by the way toy spoke about them i thought that they were about nine or ten. but hopefully they will have gotten a little more manageable by the time that they are eleven. she said hopeing for the sake of the school that she was right. "having no siblings isn't fun, but then friends sort of become siblings." she said, she knew that she had no blood siblings that she was aware of, but she knew that she had many friends who she thought of as siblings, Madlyn, and Sid at a start, and Minoas was quickly becoming her younger brother.
she could tell that Minoas was getting wise to her cover up, and he knew that she was hiding something, she wondered how long she could keep him in the dark. she had made a promise to her family not to tell anyone, she knew that she had broken it a couple of times, but to many, and the only people who knew were her closest friends the people she would trust with anything. she tried to think of the best way to respond to the boy, she couldn't just deny that there was anything she was hiding as he had worked out that there was. "I cant tell you as I promised i wouldn't ell anyone, and it isn't my secret to tell" she said truthfully, hopeing that the boy was satisfied with that.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas nodded at Briar when she wondered if what he had said was another borrowed saying.
"I hope so. For their shake." he commented, quite sure that Pollux and Castor would be flirting with the possibility of an expulsion. He listened to her as she was explaining the reason why she couldn't reveal more of what she was hiding. Minoas studied her features and he could see sincerity in her wild eyes.
"Fair enough. Sorry if I started becoming pressuring." he apologized truthfully as he wanted to avoid becoming nosy.

As the flying seahorses were submerging again, the surface of the black lake calmed down.It looked like it was made of glass and Minoas wondered how the lake could be during winter. "It must be great for ice skating when it's frozen." he suggested pointing at the lake. "I'm wondering how the creatures that inhabit it survive during that period..." he wondered loudly. "Have you ever swum here?" he asked Briar, wondering if it would be safe.
He loved swimming. He could swear though that he had caught a glimpse of something enormous in that lake from the common room's windows.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

"they will learn quick enough, either how to fit in, or how to hide behind the system i am sure.['b] she said sure that it would be true, they would either straighten out, or know how to get out without the professes knowing. Briar had sort of done both, she knew how to do the things that she wanted when she wanted, but she had get a good enough reputation to become a prefect.
she was glad that the boy understand that she couldn't tell, maybe one day, but not at the moment. "Thats okay as long as you understand." she said. leaning back on her elbows. she realised should make a move, she had some things that she needed to get done and she had to patrol the corridors that evening. she looked out over the lakes and saw the flying seahorses submerge. "I don't know about ice skating, i think that it will be a little too rippled for it. in winter the top freezes but the bottom still stays liquid so they just go to the bottom." she said talking form experience. no matter how cold it was any large body of water was almost always liquid at the bottom, not a goo if the ice breaks she knew for a fact. "i have swam here on a hot day, but i wouldn't recommend going too deep, but they me because i am not a big swimmer." she said. most people would be surprised that she wasn't into swimming. the amount of time she spent outside. but she had never really been taught properly.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

"Of course I understand. There's no reason to worry." he reassured her with a warm smile. Everyone had they secrets. He had himself his own, that he could trust only to people that he could trust blindly. He didn't know how frozen water was. As he used to leave in a mediterranean island, he had barely managed to see snow in his life.
"I see...pretty interesting how nature had taken care of everything. I mean, the low temperature might freeze the surface but life still exists underneath it." he shared his thought with Briar.

He barely could muffle his yawns. It was just then that he realized how tired he was. His exhausting revisions the past few days had kept him from enjoying a good sleep. Now that the examinations were over, he could sleep as much as he wanted. "I'm a wreck, I think I'm going to crash." he said and stood up. He picked up his dropped backpack and placed one of its bands on his left shoulder. "It was nice to talk to you again. Have fun in Australia. See you next semester." he said and waved at her as he was heading for the castle, straight to Gryffindor common room.