Closed Enjoying the Outdoors

[Stan Beckett]

While the troubling thought that he would eventually need to find his own way in the Wizarding World was back once more, Stan was actually very happy to be back at the castle again. Things were going to be at least somewhat better this year, which was why he was happy to return to the school. He finally decided to stop ignoring the twins and their cousin ever since his fight with Allison over the break. While he did not like the outcome of the fight, purely because he knew that Allison was going to tease him with it for quite some time, a part of him was glad that both of them had been able to let out their irritations toward one another. The fact that it almost immediately lightened up everybody's mood, especially when Casper was back again, was enough to know how much of an impact their fractured relationship had had in the family throughout the last couple of years. Even though he still didn't really see any prospect of a grand time after Hogwarts, the fact that he was on speaking terms with his family again was enough to make him spend more time outside again. Stan was currently playing with his football on the great lawn, trying to keep the ball from touching the ground by juggling it using both feet.

 

[Blair Bianchi]

Blair wasn't exactly happy to be back at school, she had OWLs this year and she absolutely wasn't happy about that. Actually, she wasn't the smartest person ever, so lessons for her was such a huge problem and now she knew that she couldn't let down her dad. Not after how much he was trying and it was Blair for who it was so hard to actually let him in. And with those thoughts, she decided to learn outside. Blair had always preferred being outside and she really tried to focus on schoolwork tho she noticed a boy juggling with football and it was easy for her to get distracted when she didn't enjoy what she was doing. He seemed to know what he was doing and when Blair still lived in Russia, it was quite common for her to go out and play soccer with other kids. So she watched him juggling and then decided that she didn't want to be a creep and just went on with a question. "What's your record? How many juggles can you do?" she loudly asked the boy that she definitely had seen around the school but still had no idea who he was. She honestly never really bothered herself to know the names of people she didn't hang out with.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan, who was so focused on the ball, had not noticed that someone was watching him from a distance. He would get into a certain flow with the ball once he had found the right pace to keep it aloft. And when he did, he often found himself thinking about his family back in Poland. Did they miss him after all these years or were they still very much against the thought of having a werewolf as well as a wizard for a son. They hadn’t reached out to him since his first year, which actually made him quite sad, as he could not understand why they were so against wizardry. He also found himself thinking of his dad a lot and where he would be in the world at this moment. Did he even care about his son? Should Stan look for him instead? He knew that the twins weren’t going to like that very much. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden voice. Dropping the ball, he turned to see who it belonged to and saw a girl standing not too far away from him. ''My record? Thirty times!'' Stan replied. He could do a lot better though, he knew he could, but the problem was that he would often grow tired.

 

[Blair Bianchi]

Blair almost made a guilty face when the boy dropped the ball, tho, she knew that answering the question while juggling could be challenging. At his answer, she made a face like not bad. "Oh, it's not that bad. Are you into soccer or anything that way?" she asked, finally getting back on her feet, not to appear rude. Not that she really cared but she really didn't have a lot of people to hang out with and her brother made her realize it, so she thought that it could really be pretty good to make a pretty good first impression, so in case of anything, she could have someone to spend time with. And the boy seemed like a pretty good choice for that. "Hey, maybe you can try to set a new record now? You seem pretty skilled with the ball," she commented on his skills from what she had seen so far. It was still clear to hear a Russian accent in her voice, after all, even at home, she preferred talking, reading, and even watching movies in Russian. It was still easier for her as she didn't really enjoy that she mainly had to use English now.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan nodded. ‘’I used to play a lot of football back home,’’ he answered, missing the days when he and his friends would play against one another. There wasn’t much he missed from his life back in Poland but his friends were definitely on the list of things that he did miss. It had been heartbreaking to leave them the way he had done, not telling them where he would be going or how long he would be away for. Would they still remember him after six years? It was pointless to dwell on such things however since he was never going to go back to Poland. ‘’I could try and break my record, sure.’’ Though something else caught his attention. ‘’You are not from around here, are you?’’ Stan asked. Her accent sounded eastern enough for him to reckon that she too must have been from Eastern Europe.

 

[Blair Bianchi]

Blair proudly smiled as she understood that she was right, he did have some experience with football. "And do you still play when back at home?" she seemed like she was just asking it to keep the conversation going. Well, it was true too but Blair just tried to don't show that she was actually curious, she had always enjoyed football herself, so it just kinda made her more interested in the conversation. She wanted to support him in accepting the challenge she threw at him however the next question made her lose focus on that. "Oh no, not even close to around here. I'm Russian," and partly Italian, however, it was already something that only her brother and closest friends knew about her in school. "I am from Arkhangelsk if that says anything to you," she gave him a bit more information about her previous residence.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan shook his head at the girl’s question. ‘’I was adopted by my best friend’s family a couple of years ago,’’ he answered. ‘’So I do not really play back home anymore.’’ He wished he still did though, playing football with his friends had always been the highlight of his days. As soon as he could apparate, however, Stan would go back to visit his old friends. Stan shrugged when she mentioned where she was from. He had never heard of such a place in Russia before, but then again, he was not Russian so it wasn’t a surprise that he wouldn’t know where Arkhangelsk was or that it even existed. ‘’I am from Poland myself,’’ the Gryffindor said, smiling. ‘’It is good to know that I am not the only person from Eastern Europe around.’’ And with that Stan lifted the ball up in the air with his feet, juggling it back and forth in an attempt to keep it up for twenty-nine more times.