Everything Nice

[April Ward]

April was feeling good today. She had just practiced her ballet in the arts room, which she had discovered only a week ago. She could vaguely recall October telling her about it, but she had been too busy with everything else to get to it. Honestly, she didn't miss ballet as much as she had feared. She missed her friends from home and the fun practice selfies they always made, and she missed being one of the best, but ballet on its own wasn't really her thing.

So after being good for once and staying inside the stuffy room to practice, she was eager to get outside. April wished she had a broom, and knowing her dad she would have one next year. But if she couldn't fly, she could do the next best thing. She started running through the grassy fields of the great lawn and doing cartwheels, enjoying herself greatly. April had a lot of energy, and getting some of it out was always a lot of fun. After running around and doing a few handstands, she was getting a little tired. Without caring about grass stains on her clothes, she let herself fall down into the grass. She stared up at the sky, trying to see shapes in the clouds.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

It was well, well beyond time for Kauri to get some fresh air. As much as he was enjoying all his new classes, and the thrill of learning about this new magical world, he had been spending far too much time cooped up in the stuffy castle lately. Stepping outside, he paused for a moment to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Other than flying lessons, which were by far the most fun part of being at this school, he hadn't really been outside in far too long. The air was just starting to warm up, and it was the perfect time to get out and do something.

Kauri hadn't been crossing the lawn for long before he spotted an odd girl he recognised both from classes and her unusual method of approaching the hat back at their sorting. It seemed that it hadn't been anything out of the ordinary for her, as he watched the girl tip upside down in a handstand. He watched for a few long minutes, debating whether to join her or not, but just as Kauri made up his mind to give it a go, the girl stopped what she was doing, and flopped back into the grass. Never one to abandon a plan, Kauri approached the girl nonetheless, smiling as he sat down next to her. "Hi. You're April right? Those handstands were cool."

 

[April Ward]

April enjoyed looking at the clouds, but she was delighted to be interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. Someone to talk to! That was always fun. She sat up and looked at the boy that sat next to her. She recognized him from her year, though she had never talked to him. She felt immensely pleased that he knew her name, though. "Yes, I'm April!" She said with a wide grin. "Thank you! Do you want to try too?" She didn't know his name, and not one to be shy about it she asked him. "I don't know your name, what is it? You're in Gryffindor, right?" She had seen him around there. April mostly knew the people from her own house, she wasn't very good at remembering names or faces. In all honesty, she never really tried that hard.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri was pleased that the girl wasn't put off by his introduction. In fact, she seemed the opposite of put off, and he beamed as April replied enthusiastically, glad that she seemed nice. "I'm Kauri! And yeah, I'm in Gryffindor. You're in Hufflepuff, right? I don't really get what the difference is." He confessed, before considering her offer. "I dunno, I've never done a handstand or a cartwheel before. It looks fun though." Kauri weighed his worries about being upside down against his eagerness to try something new, and quickly decided fun won out. "Can you teach me how?"

 

[April Ward]

April grinned when Kauri told her he was in Gryffindor. That was a house she wouldn't have minded to be in, honestly. She giggled. "Well, supposedly Gryffindors are brave!" She posed like she was in a fighting stance, though she was still sitting. She put up her fists and grinned. "Are you brave, Kauri?" She shrugged. "And Hufflepuffs uh... they're a bit more unclear. I guess they're nice? Hard working... loyal." She shrugged, none of that seemed to really apply to her. Well, the nice part did obviously. "Anyway, which one do you want to learn first?" She got to her feet. "I could show you both again first!" She did just that, cartwheeling before doing a handstand. Sure, she would teach him, but first he had to appreciate her doing it better.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

April's cheerfulness was infectious, and Kauri found himself giggling at her descriptions of the houses. "Well, I don't know if I'm brave, but I guess I must be if a magic hat said so, aye?" He smiled, but watching April do another cartwheel made him almost hesitate. Almost. Gryffindors were brave, right? "I guess handstand first? Since you don't have to spin around or anything, it's probably easier." At least the grass was soft, if he fell over. It wouldn't be like falling over while dirtbiking.

 

[April Ward]

April grinned at him upside down before standing upright again. "It is easier." She confirmed. "But still difficult the first time. I think you should start off against something sturdy, like that tree over there." She pointed. "Like this!" She hopped over to the tree and did a handstand against it, showing him how to do it. She smoothly turned upright again. "Your turn." She said with a little bow. She loved showing off but she also liked making friends. This was perfect.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri watched April turn upside down, with apparently no effort at all, and gave an encouraging clap. "Oh man, that's so cool!" He said excitedly. But then his turn had come, and Gryffindor though he was, he could feel his nerve failing. "Alright, just..." Trying not to let his worries show, Kauri crossed to the tree and put his hands on the ground. He took a deep breath and tried to kick his legs up, and it felt like he was completely, impossibly upside down, all the blood rushing to his head, but a moment later his legs were falling again, and he thumped back down to the ground. "Oh man!" He laughed shakily. "That's a lot. Okay." Not wanting to stop in case his fears got the better of him, Kauri kicked off for a second try, pushing a little harder this time, and gave a satisfied whoop when he felt his foot connect with the trunk of the tree behind him. He quickly leaned against it and laughed breathlessly, looking around at the dizzying vista of the world from upside down. "Wooo!"

 

[April Ward]

April grinned at the boy's compliment, feeling like it had been worth the slight dizzy feeling she got from doing this too much. She went with him to the three to help him with his legs. He did quite well for the first time. "That's not bad at all!" She said as he thumped to the ground. "I fell quite a few times too, at first." She said with a smile,. "Not a lot, though, I learned really fast." She added, assuring him she was good at this. She felt like he really was brave as a lion when he tried again right after falling. She clapped eagerly. "YES! Good job, Kauri!" She gave him a thumbs up. "Now I can help you down, if you don't want to fall over again."

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri beamed, looking up at April, laughing at how silly she looked upside down. "This is awesome!" He didn't quite realise until her offer that he was gonna have to find a way back to the ground, and nodded quickly. "Yeah, please, I... dunno how to get down without falling." He laughed awkwardly, giving his legs a hesitant wiggle.

((This is the shortest reply of all time and I'm so sorry ))

 

[April Ward]

April clapped her hands. "You're a natural, Kauri!" She giggled, he looked so funny like this. "Okay, lets help you down." She guided Kauri down until he was standing safely on the ground again with both feet. "Good job! I told you you could do it!" She smiled. "You're funny, what do you like to do normally?"

Out of Character:

This might be shorter

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri took a deep breath and held it in as he let his legs fall back to the ground with April's guidance, standing up quickly, relieved to be up the right way at last. A moment later he felt like he was about to be horizontal instead, laughing shakily as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "Whoops!" Kauri said, flopping down to sit quickly and rubbing his head, giggling a little. "Stood up WAY too fast! All the blood was in my head!" He shook his head a couple of times, trying to clear it, as he listened to April's other question. "Oh man, I like tons of stuff, BMX biking is my favourite but I couldn't bring my bike here, it sucks. Why don't wizards have like, magic bikes or something?"

 

[April Ward]

April gasped as it was clear that he was quite dizzy, she sat down with him and put an arm around him. "Are you okay?" She said, looking him over. "You should be careful!" She hated the feeling of dizziness she got when she did similar things. Maybe it would be better for Kauri if they just sat down for a little bit. She listened to him talk about biking, that sounded fun. "That sounds amazing! I wish I could see you!" She grinned."I like ballet the best, it's fun! But I do like to dance other styles too, I just like moving." She waved her arms to demonstrate. "I wish Hogwarts had more sports, but I'm totally trying out for Quidditch next year."

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri took a few breaths and nodded happily. His head was clearing pretty quickly now that he was sitting. "I'm cool, don't worry!" He said with a grin. "Just a little head rush, all good!" Kauri stretched out on the ground, listening to April talk about dance. "That's cool! I never really did any dance, but I like to move too." He nodded in agreement, he wasn't fond of the lack of sports either. "Really? I dunno how to feel about Quidditch... flying is fun, but it's really weird. I think I'm gonna try to focus on studying, there's so much new stuff to learn. Every day in class they're trying to explain like, magic stuff like it's just normal school facts but I can't stop going like 'that's MAGIC!' You know? Like, they're just talking about MAGIC! It's so WEIRD!"

 

[April Ward]

April was glad to see her new friend Kauri was feeling better after sitting down for a while. She had been in similar situations plenty of times. The more she practiced, the less her head bothered her when she did handstands. She looked at the other boy next to her, it was a shame they weren't in the same house. She liked him. April smiled. "If you like to move, maybe dancing would be the right thing for you! Especially if you can't ride your bike." She grinned. "I could teach you some things?" She didn't quite share his feelings on school and lessons. Maybe it would be different if it was all new for her. "I guess I can see why you feel that way, if magic is new to you." She told him. "You're muggle born, right?" April had no issues with that, her own mother was a muggle. "I'm a bit half half, my mother is a muggle so I know a lot about the muggle world from staying with her sometimes. I miss the internet! I know magic is great but I'm sure my followers are all mourning me." She joked, giving him a nudge. "But you'll get used to the magic, believe me."

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri considered April's offer for a moment. "Yeah, that sounds fun! I like dancing but just like, to music in my room and stuff, I never did like, proper dancing." He grinned, excited at the prospect now. "Could you teach me like, cool breakdancing moves and stuff?" He asked excitedly. Kauri wasn't sure exactly what kind of dance April did, but he could always be hopeful.

Kauri nodded, the term 'muggle' still a little strange to him. "Yeah, my parents are just like, normal people. At least I think so. They never said anything about magic being real, and they thought my letter was really weird when it came." He stretched as he listened to April talk about her family, nodding quietly. "Oh my god, yeah! I miss the internet! And TV, so much! Like, what are we supposed to do with our free time with no sports and no internet or TV? It's so BORING here!" He groaned, flopping onto his back. "Why can't they just get WIFI, it's a big CASTLE!"

 

[April Ward]

April grinned at him. "I could teach you fun things! Maybe you could lift me like boys do in ballet." Probably not, but it was fun to think about. "I don't really know how to breakdance but I'm sure we could come up with something good!" She smiled. "I actually mostly know ballet, but I love any type of dance. Including the kind you do in your room when no one is watching." She winked at him. "We'll have fun."

She giggled. "You don't say normal people, Kauri. You say muggles. It's sort of mean to wizards, I guess? It'd make us feel like we're NOT normal. That's kind of silly." She smiled at him. "My mother doesn't like the word muggle either, she finds it weird, but it's just a normal word here." She laughed at his exclamation about the internet and TV. She could relate. "I heard that technology just won't work around so much magic. It's a shame because I think it would really improve this place."