Finally Something Familiar

[Oscar Edwards]

Oscar stared out of the window beside his bed. It was a beautiful day outside. There was a warm breeze and there was not a cloud in sight. He thought it was almost a sin to spend it cooped up in his dorm. So instead he grabbed his book- his all time favorite- Peter Pan by J.M Barrie. It was an old muggle book and he read it dozens of times, but he never seemed to be bored of it.

Oscar walked out onto the lawn. He hadn't really explored or hung out in the grounds at all. He felt a little angry with himself, he was here two months and he hadn't been near the lake yet. Oscar always used to explore before he came to Hogwarts. He would do all sorts of things, mostly by himself though. Oscar never had any friends. He only had two firends so far and they were; Leia and River, neither of them were in Ravenclaw so he didn't get to see him that often.

The lawn was full of people playing, chatting and some even having picnics. He didn't really want to be near any of them. Oscar liked to keep to himself a lot so when he saw a large tree he instantly headed straight towards it. Oscar had a thing for trees and always climbed them. If he wasn't lying on a branch of a tree he would be in his tree house in his garden. Putting his foot on a small dent in the tree, Oscar realized how long it was since last climbed one.

Once he was completely up in the tree he settled down on the main branch. At first a few people looked up at him with puzzled faces, others didn't notice him at all. But eventually they all resumed what they were originally doing and Oscar opened his book and got lost in the fantasy story of Peter Pan.

 

[Merlina Caliburn]

Merlina was well and truly perplexed, it seemed that no matter what she said or where she went her very presence was enough to drive everyone away. She knew she was sometimes blunt but what did people expect? She had never been a girl to simply keep her mouth shut, she spoke up for and against everything she thought was unjust. She also spoke well out of turn though it was always truthful. Merlina had the nasty habit much to her own detriment of speaking only the truth, apparently it was something a kin to a curse in her family and though many of her family members had learnt to omit the truth to spare feelings, Merlina did not.

She walked through the lawn not caring at this point if people didn't want to be around her, she had her book to read and that was a good enough friend for now. Merlina came from a pureblood family though a slight branch of it had married into less than pure... much to the matriarch and patriarchs chagrin. Merlina didn't care for such things though growing up in such a household had rubbed off in part. What she liked more than anything was the ability of muggles to write with such inventiveness, such imagination. The wizarding books she grew up with were gruesome to say the least, it was only when her cousin Andromeda had left books behind her on various vacations that Merlina later discovered, did Merlina finally fall in love with the written word.

The book in her hand was a childs book apparently, though she always considered alot of the content very much adapted for the older reader. Most of all she simply adored the tiny fairy with the immense attitude. Finding a tree devoid of any human at its base, Merlina stretched herself out on her stomach and with legs tucked up behind her began to read. Oblivious to all about her as she engrossed herself in the pages of Peter Pan once again.

 

[Oscar Edwards]

As Oscar finished a chapter he slid his bookmark into the page and he looked out around him. How beautiful the grounds were. Oscar was now more eager than ever to explore. This was the first real time he was outside just 'relaxing'. Most of the time he would just by pass these places as he hurried from his flying lessons into the castle once more.

Oscar carefully placed his book on the branch making sure it was balanced so it wouldn't fall off then stood up on the branch. He wrapped his hands around a branch above him and looked out around him. In the distance was the lake with a few people swimming inside, he saw the quidditch pitch, he presumed that many people were in there. It amazed him how they flew so easily and lazily on the brooms but when it came to Oscar flying he failed miserably. He fell off dozens of times and he would always be so rigid.

Oscar focused his attention back to the lake. The people he saw swimming were gone, he craned his neck to see where they were gone to. But instead of seeing students he saw something glitter, a set of scales perhaps? Oscar's eyes widened, a mermaid?! He stepped over on the branch in a hurry but forgot about his book lying there and it was knocked to the ground.

"Damnit.." He muttered and crouched down to see a girl was lying- reading- beneath him in the tree. It landed right beside her. Oscar wanted to shout sorry down to her but his voice was gone. It usually went like this when he was about to talk to a stranger. He cleared his throat and forced out a "I'm really sorry!" It wasn't shout but it was loud enough for her to hear it. He gave her an apologetic smile. His cheeks were a little red, how foolish of him, how typical of him to do something like that.

 

[Merlina Caliburn]

Merlina was about to turn the page when a book landed with a thud beside her. She glanced at it and remained like that for a moment. Even in the wizarding world it was rare for it to rain books, on closer inspection she saw it was Peter Pan as well. She sat up and heard a voice from overhead apologizing to her. Merlina looked up at a boy standing on a branch. How she had not noticed him before amused her but she didn't often go around her daily business with her head facing upwards, the dangerous pursuit of walking into things would surely follow.

"You did not hurt me and I am thinking it was an accident, no?" she seriously didn't think the boy had been attempting to throw the book at her. She picked it up and flicked it slightly to rid it of bits of grass. It amazed her that someone else would be reading the same book as her at Hogwarts but more amazingly than that was it should be a boy. But of course there were pirates and indians, great sword fights and treachery what was not for a boy to love?

She held the book upwards a little to him.
"Would you rather I threw it to you?" this she was loathe to do, Merlina adored books and treasured them as others in the magical world treasured their wands, "or will you come down for it?"

As she looked at him, she wondered had she seen him about the Ravenclaw common room and hoped she had not slighted or upset him before. There had been so many now that she had forgotten their faces and never knew their names. Merlina felt as if she were destined to be friendless in such a huge school packed with so many students.

 

[Oscar Edwards]

Oscar gave his head a slight nod, "Yeah. It was an accident, it fell. I'm sorry." He said at a very quick place and threw in another apology at the end. Oscar hated when he was interrupted reading, this girl was obviously interrupted by him. That made him feel even more guilty.

When she offered to throw it up to him he shook his head. He believed in treating books to the utmost respect. "I'll come down." He said in his usual quiet, wispy voice. His voice was almost a whisper though just a tiny notch louder. Oscar made his way down the tree to the girl. Once his feet found the grass he dusted off his hands and turned to the girl.

He gave her a weak smile. He thought he recognized this girl somewhere but didn't know her name. He surely saw her in his classes. Maybe she was a fellow Ravenclaw? Perhaps.. Oscar thought. He didn't really know what to say to the girl lying on the grass then decided that introducing himself might be something. "I'm Oscar." He said in his usual quiet tone.

 

[Merlina Caliburn]

Merlina couldn't believe the boy didn't just take his book and run with it, she stood up and handed it to him.
"Hello Oscar" she smiled, her Italian accent rolling the 'r' in his name, "your book is the same as mine".
Once there was some common ground Merlina always found it easier to pick that to start with, otherwise it was all like foraging in the dark and she hated the dark.
"I am Merlina, a Ravenclaw. You too".

She couldn't help but smile, she wasn't being rude or anything but when she meant someone who was equally and so obviously pained to be around new people, she empathised and could relate so much better to them. Others she simply became overly blunt with or clammed up completely.

 

[Oscar Edwards]

Oscar took the book from her with a smile, he was glad to have it back. On the first page there was a dedication from his great-grandfather to his grandfather, which then was passed on to his father which then was passed onto Oscar who treasured it dearly.

Though what the girl said next made an expression of confusion on his face. He looked over to see her book which was also Peter Pan. Oscars confusion passed into a wide smile. Something that rarely happened to him. He never met someone who read the book never mind reading it at the same time. He looked down at his own book which was clutched in his hands then back up to the girl who just introduced herself as Merlina, a fellow Ravenclaw.

Merlina. Oscar made a small mental note to remember that. He was good with names but only those he had a conversation with or someone who stuck out to him. Though he could never see himself keeping track of all the female first years in Ravenclaw. There seemed to be so many. Oscar cleared his throat, "Have you read it before?" He asked curiously.

 

[Merlina Caliburn]

Merlina returned his smile, this making friends business maybe wasn't so hard after all. Then he asked her a question of course and she didn't know if it was a test of some kind. Not knowing how to lie, Merlina bit her lip convinced that when he knew he would laugh at her and think her nothing more than a silly kid.
"I've read it about a dozen times. It is one of my favourites" she held up her own book which was not quite as old as his own but an early edition all the same. It was aged and had the appearance of being well read and completely worn. The spine was a little damaged as well and a handful of pages were somewhat loose. It was in a pitiful condition but she loved it none the less.
"As soon as I learn a repairing spell I'm going to use it on this book so that I can keep reading it" she blushed a little, thinking perhaps she had gone a bit over the top in her excitement but he did have the same book so surely liked it as well, just maybe not quite as much as she did.

 

[Oscar Edwards]

Oscar thought that this was all a little too freaky. She said it was one of her favorites and she read it dozens of times. Oscar was about to ask was she joking or not but she didn't seem the type to lie about something as silly as that. "Wow.." Was all he could say. He didn't know what else he could say. "I.. it's one of my favorites too and I can never stop reading it." He said his usual quiet tone now had an excited edge to it.

Oscar smiled as she said that she would learn a repairing spell to fix it. There really was a spell for anything and everything. Oscar wasn't so familiar with the wizarding world. His father wanted him to find it all out for himself. Most of the time Oscar appreciated this fact but sometimes he felt a little left out when people talked about such things. "I never met anyone else who loved it as much as me." Oscar said still smiling. Really most people would shrug and say 'Seen the old muggle film'. But to Oscar films were nothing compared to books.

 

[Merlina Caliburn]

She smiled not really believing it for a minute that a boy could love Peter Pan but he was reading it, wasn't he?
"Well we may have to form a Peter Pan appreciation society" she told him as she sat down at the base of the tree very carefully opening her book again.
Merlina shuddered when he mentioned muggle films.
"Oh goodness don't get me started on those. I have seen a few and just don't like them, I think they have ruined so many beautiful stories that were originally books. What's your favourite part Oscar? In Peter Pan I mean, I'm sorry it's just that I've never been able to talk with anyone before about it. Guess just a little excited."