Getting Away

[Margo Liddell]

The week of exams was about to rear it's ugly head and ever the perfectionist when it came to matters concerning grades, Margo Elizabeth Liddell had been spending nearly every waking moment studying in preparation. Margo had worked extremely hard all year, and she was not about to throw that all away by failing her exams. Not that Margo was in any real danger of doing so but she was sticking to the old moniker 'better safe than sorry.' Just about the only thing little Margo had allowed herself to do aside from studying was to practice her flying. Ever since her fateful first flying lesson all those weeks ago Margo had spent at least an hour on the Quidditch Pitch, practicing, perfecting and honing her skills. It had been enough to get Margo, a muggle born witch, onto the Quidditch team and she was determined not to make the Captain and her house regret the decision.

After nearly a week of doing nothing but eating, sleeping, studying and practicing Quidditch, Margo was beginning to feel rather restless. It had come to the point that she simply had to do something new or she'd be in very real danger of going quite mad. So it was that Margo found herself abandoning her studies to rummage through her trunk for her dog-eared copy of The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll. The Gryffindor had planned to merely read in her room, but the bright sunshine peeking through the window nest to Margo's bed seemed to be beckoning her. Frankly, it was beyond her power to resist. With a happy sigh Margo slid on her shoes, ran down the many flights of stairs, through the doors of the Entrance Hall and out into the open air.

Once outside Margo headed for the cliffs. Strange to think that in all her adventuring Margo had only been there once before but that is precisely why she went. Finding a likely rock set back a bit from the edge Margo began to climb, enjoying the feel of the sun warmed rock. It was challenging work with a think novel tucked under her arm but Margo was used to climbing. A minutes time saw her settled on the rock laying stomach down. For a while the tiny girl simply lay there, looking a bit like a cat as she basked in the sun letting her skin drink in every ray. Pulling out her book Margo propped her upper body up using her elbows, letting the book rest on the rock as she began perusing Carroll's poems.

 

[Caroline Beckett]

Caroline was exhausted mentally. She had been trying to prepare herself for the upcoming exams, but the pressure of trying to be perfect was really getting to her. Her parents always made her feel like such a freak that she wanted to do something to please them. If she scored straight O's maybe they would feel something like pride in her accomplishments. If not, well she would be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. The blonde had been studying nonstop for the past week. Caroline was going to scream if she spend another minute indoors. So it was with that thought that the first year left the castle. The Gryffindor girl needed some time to just breath. It was an absolutely beautiful day out, and it would be a shame to waste another second of the day.

Caroline wandered around the grounds through the garden, stopping to smell the flowers. The light air and warm sunshine certainly improved her mood. Almost imperceptibly, her hair lightened a shade. Her light grey eyes looked outwards towards the cliffs. She thought they were supposed to be off limits, but she didn't think the Professors or Prefects followed that rule very closely. She hadn't been there before, but now was as good a time as ever. Caroline made her way there, finding that the cliffs were already occupied by another girl in her year. Margo was her name. Caroline shared a dorm with her, but they had never had any real conversation. Margo had quite a little group of friends that the blonde didn't feel welcomed into. Not that she disliked any of them. It was just that she wasn't used to having any friends at all. Her parents chose her friends for her based off of their friends, and still she had very few of them. She didn't much like the people that her parents associated with.

Caroline was about to turn and go when she changed her mind. She needed to start making more friends. This girl was going to be one of her roommates for the next seven years. Caroline smiled slightly and greeted the other girl. "Hello, Margo. Mind if I join you?" she asked in a polite, friendly voice.

 

[Margo Liddell]

Out of Character:

Sorry, I so didn't realize you had replied to this. I'm a dummy sometimes

An afternoon out in the sunshine with a good book was just the kind of break Margo had been needing. As she lay on the rock she could feel tension easing out of her muscles, practically melting away. Truth be told Margo had been stressed about more than just exams. As worried as she was about the upcoming exams it paled in comparison to what had been happening recently in her personal life. Both Kaleb and Isla seemed to be missing. Margo hadn't seen either one since the night of the Halloween feast, and that terrified her.

On more than one occasion Margo had awaken silently screaming from a nightmare starring two of her closest friends. Night after night Margo saw Kaleb and Isla going for a walk out in the moonlight. Suddenly, the moon would peek out from behind a cloud, revealing it's perfectly full circular shape. A look of horror and pain would wash over Kaleb's face as he turned to Isla and told her to run, but it would be too late. Isla would stand there, frozen to the spot in terror as she watched Kaleb transform before her eyes. By the time she finally realized she needed to get away, it would be too late, and Kaleb would pounce. That was where her dream usually ended. Margo was glad that it didn't continue, but what was involved was enough to make her feel sick. Though she doubted very much that her dreams held any truth, the possibility of it was almost too much to handle. Margo constantly thanked whatever higher power there was for bringing her Eugene. Of course, he'd been busy himself studying for exams but at least Margo saw him around and knew he was alright.

After about an hour of reading on the rock Margo was called back to reality by a sweet voice saying her name. Blinking her bright green eyes Margo took a minute to come back to the present.Stretching, Margo let her mind adjust as it transitioned from thoughts of wonderland and Jaberwockies to comprehend what was going on in the world around her. turning around Margo spotted the source of the voice, a pretty blonde girl she recognized from her house. After a second, the girls name came to her and she exclaimed, "Caroline! Yes, yes, please do. I've had so little non-school related human contact these past few weeks that I feel as if I'm going mental. Honestly if we don't all get O's with how much everyone's been studying I think I'm going to lodge a complaint or something." Margo shot Caroline her warmest smile, offering a hand to help the girl up. There was room enough for two on Margo's rock.