Fun in the sun

[Charlotte Owens]

Life for Charlotte at the moment had been relatively perfect. Upon coming back to Hogwarts for another semester, she took it as a second chance to start over from the beginning of the year. Last semester had been full of drama and so far she had made a pretty good start trying to avoid that. She had also promised herself that she would try her best not to get into too much trouble and with quidditch to worry about, she was mostly sure that was not going to happen. On top of that, James and Maddie seemed perfectly fine now despite everything that had happened which had made Charlotte believe even more that this new semester was another second chance. But their relationship had still slightly confused Charlotte. Did they like or hate each other? She would probably never know the answer to that question, but tried to brush it off as she changed into some comfortable clothing to head outside of the castle.

As Charlotte walked out of the castle, she was a bit taken aback at how many people there were in large groups with their friends. She just kept her head down and walked straight past them all and through to the lakefront where she hadn't really been to at all this year. The last time she was there she was with Maddie, Hemi, and a Hufflepuff who she forgot the name of. She sat next to the water right where the four of them did before and sighed before stretching herself out on the grass. She missed her first year when there was no drama, no fighting, and they were all just getting started and making friends. A lot had changed in a year and at least now she was more comfortable in her green robes. She was still trying to get used how cold her common room could get and she was still quite afraid of her head of house, but things like that took time to get used to and she was sure she would look back and laugh at herself a few years from now.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

With Brightstone Weekend fast approaching, and the prospect of ice cream and Quidditch with Graeme only a day or so away, Reuben's spirits were feeling considerably lifted. Of course, it would have taken much more than these things alone, regardless of how exciting they were to think about, to have made all of the young Hufflepuff's pain disappear; but he knew now that his grief would not last forever, even if a few more months did sometimes feel like an eternity. If only Reuben had known how clever he was to have reached this conclusion all by himself, he might have stopped thinking he was stupid. It took a lot for a thirteen year old heart to overcome the heavy sadness of death and still manage to beat for something positive.

With this renewed hope, Reuben felt for the first time in weeks that he should go and play outside. He didn't stop to look for Rudolf, because he didn't think he could have maintained his courage had his twin said no, and so stepped out into the fresh air just a minute after the thought had crossed his mind. Where should he go? Who should he be? The sky was the limit, and then some! He took off into a sprint towards the lake, where the daisies bloomed in quantities far greater than he could pick in an entire day. Flower bracelets, according to Rudolf, were 'for girls', but Reuben didn't care what he thought. As the lake became visible, he slowed to a walk, shielding the bright sun from his eyes with a hand and trying to make out the figure lying on the grass. It was Charlotte! Or Saveli - they looked a bit similar from a distance. But she was a bit too small to be a fourth year, so Reuben happily approached. "Hi, Charlie," he said, flopping face down onto the grass beside her with his head at her feet and his body propped up with his elbows. He plucked a daisy and poked a hole in the stem. "Whatcha up to?"

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte jumped when she heard a voice approaching her. She wasn't sure if it was talking to her but figured that it was when a familiar boy lay down next to her and asked what she was doing. No one had ever called her Charlotte before and she felt a bit confused. Better yet, she didn't even remember the boy's name from her first year. "Hey... Ru- Rufus? Rupert?" she muttered, not really sure what his name was. She knew he was someone's identical twin which just made the name harder to guess. "Sorry, but what's your name?" Charlotte felt slightly ashamed that she had to ask him but hopefully this time she wouldn't forget it. She obviously remembered his face but hadn't really payed much attention to him to remember a name. Hopefully he still liked Charlotte despite her short memory.

"I was just thinking about stuff." Charlotte told him, staring up at the sky with her hands behind her head. "Do you think taking a long time to get used to something is normal? I mean, it hasn't been a long time yet and I guess everything takes a while to get used to, but how long do you think it's going to take to get over something that you're going to have to spend the rest of your life worrying about if you don't get over it soon enough?" Charlotte sighed, wondering why she was even telling the boy all of this. She had to talk to someone about it and he walked over to her willingly which she was quite happy about. Charlotte was referring to being in Slytherin house but she would never tell him that. He probably didn't care about how she was feeling but Charlotte would tell him anyway with no regrets. After all, it wasn't like he was going to tell anyone about it, right?

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

Quite used to people forgetting who he was, Reuben laughed politely. "Reuben," he told Charlotte, picking another daisy and poking its stem through the hole in the other one. Before Reagan had died, the Hufflepuff had minded terribly that nobody ever seemed to be able to remember his name; but now that he had experienced something much, much worse than this, he didn't feel as if it warranted concern any more. He would have liked to have been as popular as Rudolf, yes. Was it worth stewing miserably over? No, not really. And having for the first time demonstrated this new indifference, the young boy was beginning to realise how much better it felt not to care for popularity, but to be happy with exactly what he had.

At Charlotte's unexpected soliloquy, Reuben furrowed his brow, craning his neck to see around his arm. What in Merlin's name was she talking about? And, more to the point, what did it have to do with him? But as he listened, he felt a growing empathy somewhere inside his chest, and so rather than retorting with a derisive remark, he looked back down at his hands and thought for a moment. "I think you're thinking too hard," he told her eventually, meaning well by the comment. "What are you so worried about?"

 

[Charlotte Owens]

"Thanks Reuben." Charlotte said with a smile when the boy clarified his name. She had to make sure not to forget it now because it would be even more embarrassing if she had to ask him a second time. He probably already thought that Charlotte was a bit of a nuisance and as soon as she told him her problems, she instantly knew she shouldn't have. From what Charlotte could see, he seemed a bit uncomfortable about it and probably a bit confused. Charlotte obviously didn't know when to keep her mouth closed and now was one of those times that she hated herself because of it. Better yet, he was curious and wanted to know what exactly was on Charlotte's mind. She sat up and began to nervously pull some grass out of the ground and play with it.

"Oh, well it's nothing really. You're going to think I'm weird. I mean, I'm really happy to be at Hogwarts again but sometimes I really don't like being in Slytherin." She mumbled quickly, her words getting quieter and quieter as she spoke. She threw a bunch of grass into the wind and continued to ramble on. "I know it shouldn't really make that much difference and I'm terribly sorry for even mentioning it but you caught me at the wrong time and I'm just not really myself at the moment." She sighed, not really knowing why she was still talking. "What are you doing there?" she asked as she pointed towards the flowers Reuben was playing with in his hands. She wanted to talk about something else now and it was quite distracting to see him playing with the flowers when she was trying to explain something. Hopefully Reuben wasn't going to walk away just yet.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

Though his hands were fiddling idly with daisies, Reuben was listening very carefully to Charlotte. When she started to apologize, he turned his head to look at her again. "What are you sorry for?" he asked, wondering if perhaps Charlotte was short of understanding people to express her feelings to as well. "I don't mind." The Hufflepuff sat up beside her, flicking a piece of grass from his knee. "And I don't think you're weird. I was really sad when Rudolf got into Gryffindor and I didn't. I thought... I thought maybe there was something wrong with me," he admitted, voicing this concern for the first time in his life. It was a funny thing - he didn't usually feel like sharing his emotions, but since Charlotte already had, he found it more comfortable. Besides, perhaps she would feel better if she realised she wasn't alone. "Anyway, Hufflepuff isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. All of the houses have good things about them, don't they? Maybe I'm a good listener. Maybe you're really clever and determined. It doesn't change who you are. It's just a badge."

Reuben cocked his head, wondering how he'd managed to come up with that reply on the spot, and then followed Charlotte's gaze down to the daisies in his hand. "Oh," he said, blushing. If Charlotte was anything like Rudolf, she'd probably tease him for being so girly. Bracing himself, he said: "Just a bracelet. Want me to show you how to make one?"

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte was glad that she had someone to empathize with. She felt bad for throwing all of her problems on Reuben and was willing to do anything to turn back time just so she could avoid spilling all of them. But Charlotte was glad that he didn't really seemed all that bothered by it. "I'm just sorry for spilling all of my problems on you as if you are my councillor or something. You shouldn't have to feel like that." she told him, still ripping pieces of grass out of the ground. "Do you miss your twin sometimes being in different houses? You shouldn't have to feel sad just because he is different to you. It's good to be different because not everyone's the same. On the bright side, at least people are able to identify you easily because of the colour of your robes." She smiled, hoping that her words had made Reuben feel even a little bit better. She didn't know how she'd feel if her brother came to Hogwarts and was sorted into a completely different house to her, but she also didn't want him to feel upset if he did get sorted into Slytherin. Her family on her father's side had all been Gryffindor's in the past and her parents will definitely not be happy if both of their children were in the house they feared the most.

"So it's a bracelet... made out of flowers?" Charlotte looked down at the daisies in his hand as if they were recently-discovered fossils. How was it possible to make a bracelet out of flowers? It seemed like Reuben had some pretty good talent. She nodded at him excitedly. "Yes, show me how to do it! Is it easy? How did you learn to do this?" She took the unfinished bracelet from his hands and tried to see what he was doing to put them together. This obviously had to involve some type of powerful magic.