In the Sunshine

[October Alcott]

It wasn't going to stay warm forever, and October was eager to soak up as much of the lingering summer sunlight as she possibly could before winter swept over the country and froze it all. Even though the breeze was a little nippy October grabbed the opportunity to sit out in the courtyard in the warm sunlight, to work on this essay. Before Hogwarts she had definitely been dedicated to her schoolwork, but the work here felt more like actual work than it had back then, and took a lot more effort. Settled on a seat with a pile of books next to her and parchment and quill in hand, sunlight streaming over her, felt like an ideal place to be working on this, but October still felt herself longing for distraction as her quill scraped over the parchment, wishing to be do something more interesting.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber had been avoiding the common room and the dorm as much as she could lately, because running ino Ainsley now was so awkward. She spent her time in the library or student lounge a lot, but now it was such nice weather that she wanted to spend some time outside. The courtyard would be safe, it would be far away from the gardens where Ainsley would likely be if she wasn't in the Hufflepuff common room.

She was planning to do some homework, starting with an Astronomy essay. But if she was honest, the nice weather didn't really put her in the mood to do schoolwork. She saw another girl with parchment and quill, though she looked distracted. It looked like she was having the same problem. Amber couldn't help but notice she was really pretty. She siled at her and sat down next to her. "Hello, can I sit here? I wanted to do some homework too, though it's going to be hard in this weather." She laughed, looking up at the sky. "It's so nice out today, isn't it?"

 

[October Alcott]

In her distraction, October was hypersensitive to the world around her, and she noticed the other girl sitting down immediately. She recognised her from Heta Omega, but couldn't quite place the girl's name. It felt strange, someone asking to spend time with her, but she nodded quickly. "Feel free." She said a little softly. "Yeah, I was just trying to finish an essay, but it's too nice a day for studying." She lowered the parchment a little, quietly hoping the other girl would want to make conversation. "I know you from Heta Omega, but I've forgotten your name, I'm sorry. I'm October Alcott."

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber smiled brightly at the girl when she said she could sit with her, and took a seat. She recognized the girl from somewhere, and when she said she was in Heta Omega too she remembered meeting her at the meeting. "I know right!" She said about the weather with a sigh. "I'm trying so hard to keep up with my homework, but the nice weather out is making it a lot harder than it has any right to be." She smiled at the girl happily. "And I recognize you from Heta Omega now too! Isn't it a wonderful club? There's so many names to remember, though, I can't blame you for forgetting mine. I admit I forgot yours as well." She giggled. "I'm Amber, it's nice to officially meet you October. That's a nice name."

 

[October Alcott]

October beamed as the other girl did indeed seem to want to talk to her, brushing her hair back a little self-consciously. "I always think they should assign less homework when it's nice out. Nobody's going to really pay attention to it." She said with a nervous smile. "Yeah, Heta Omega seems really nice. I wish I had joined last year, it looks like a really good way to make friends, I was... sort of struggling with that for a while." She glanced away, not wanting to admit just how dire the situation had gotten. "It's nice to meet you, Amber." October said with a smile, shifting in her seat a little. "Your name is really nice too..."

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber had almost forgotten how fun it was to make a new friend. She could already tell October was going to be a good possible friend to her. She smiled in agreement. "Less homework sounds nice, though I would probably feel ill-prepared for the exams if I did less..." Amber was always anxious about that part of school life. "You're a second year, right?" She knew for sure the girl wasn't in her own year, and she didn't look older either. She smiled brightly when October talked about Heta Omega, she felt the exact same way. "I'm glad you joined it! It's wonderful, and you're right about it being a good place to make friends." She felt sad for the girl when she told her she had been struggling with that, Amber immediately wanted to befriend her even more. "Well, you've already found one." She said with a bright smile, pointing at herself. "I love your style! I've noticed your outifts before. It's so nice! And your hair is something to be jealous of..." She sighed and then smiled again. "Which house are you in, October?

 

[October Alcott]

October nodded. She wasn't used to actually having exams yet, her muggle school had never done them, and it was always a scary time of year. "Yeah, I am. And I agree. It... helps a lot with the exams. They're so different to muggle school..." She listened to Amber politely, smiling shyly when she referred to herself as October's friend. She wished she had thought of joining a club last year, making friends this way seemed so easy compared to her loneliness in first year. "Oh! Thank you!" She blushed, pushing some hair behind her ear self consciously. "I love your outfits too, you always look so neat..." She shifted, smoothing her skirt out politely. "I'm in Ravenclaw. What about you?"

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber's eyes lit up when the girl mentioned muggle school. "I never went to muggle school though I always wanted to." She told the girl with a slight smile. "My parents thought it was too risky with accidental magic, and it wasn't really practical. I was home-schooled by my aunt but it always seemed so fun..." She paused. "Probably more fun than it really was, that's how these things tend to go. The grass is always greener and all that." She smiled. "I sound like an old lady, don't I?" She giggled. "Thank you for the compliment!" She told the girl when she said she always looked neat. "I love dressing nicely, but we don't get many special opportunities at Hogwarts to do that... I love the balls and dances for that reason." She sighed wistfully. "But the next one isn't until Christmas." She answered the girl's question then, not really surprised her new friend was a Ravenclaw. "I'm in Hufflepuff."

 

[October Alcott]

October laughed softly, listening to Amber. "Oh... I don't know, I liked muggle school a lot. My dad wanted me to go, so I'd have... the best opportunities to learn that I could get. I learned a lot there, I still miss some of the subjects sometimes. Though... magic is pretty fun." She smiled shyly. October blushed a little and her smile widened as Amber accepted her compliment, shyly tucking a curl behind her ear as she listened. "Oh, I love the dances too! It's so fun to see everyone dressed up. It reminds me of ballet concerts, seeing the senior dancers in their big beautiful costumes." October nodded, Hufflepuff seemed to suit Amber's friendly disposition. "That must be fun." She smiled. "My dad was in Hufflepuff, he talks about it all the time."

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber nodded earnestly. "I can't blame you for missing muggle school, it seems so different. Though we learn a lot at Hogwarts too." Her smile was slightly tired. "I don't think I could handle more subjects, if I'm honest." She said with a small shrug. It wasn't in her nature to complain, but the stress of the last few weeks was starting to take its toll. Add the problems she had with Ainsley to the mix and it was enough to keep her up at night more than once. But no, this wasn't something you dumped on some poor girl you were talking to for the first time. Amber gave a bright smile. "But they're all so fun! I had trouble picking what electives to get this year. Do you know yet? It's coming up soon. Maybe I could help you? If you want, I mean." She shrugged. "I've only taken two, so I can only tell you about those."

The comment about ballet made Amber's eyes go wide. "Wow, you do ballet?" She asked, clearly impressed. "That's so cool! I've always thought it looked so beautiful." She smiled. "And yes, Hufflepuff is fun! It's a bit underappreciated sometimes, but I really love it." She didn't want to be rude to the girl for being in a different house, so she added. "Ravenclaw seems fun too, though. I really wouldn't have minded being sorted there isntead. My sister is in Ravenclaw actually."

 

[October Alcott]

October nodded, listening. "I've been thinking a lot about electives actually." She said hesitantly. "Some of them seem rather silly, like Muggle Studies, and Divination, but I'm really looking forward to Arithmancy. I'll probably take that, and Ancient Runes. The Divination aspect of that one seems pretty silly, but I'm interested to learn to read the runes, at least." She hesitated. "Um... which ones are you taking?" She asked, suddenly worried that she might have insulted Amber's favourite subject.

October broke into a bright smile when Amber complimented her dancing, blushing slightly. "Thank you!" She said delightedly. "I really miss having proper ballet classes, I can only do so much practicing by myself here." October tensed a little when Amber mentioned sisters, trying to figure out the best way to phrase her situation. "I... that's funny, actually." She said hesitantly. "My.... dad's boyfriend's daughter is in Hufflepuff." Calling April a sister was still a bridge too far, especially with how Matt had been acting recently, but her... situation still mirrored Amber's, in a way.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber blushed a little when October called Divination silly, she herself had taken the elective this year for the first time and had quite enjoyed it. Then the girl asked her which ones she was taking this year, and she dreaded having to answer now. She shrugged and smiled a little nervously. "Um, well, I'm taking Divination and Ancient runes." She told her with a small laugh. "So um, you might find my opinion a bit silly since I enjoy them both greatly." She was no longer insecure enough to downplay her enjoyment of something because someone else disliked it, but she still felt awkward admitting it.

Amber giggled at the parralel between her and October and their sisters, or sort of sisters. "That's funny." She told her. "It's like we're opposites in that regard. I think I would have fit in Ravenclaw too, honestly, but I don't see Sophie doing so well in Hufflepuff..." She associated Hufflepuff with friendly, open, and kind people. Her sister was honestly almost none of those things. She could be kind but she didn't like to show it.

 

[October Alcott]

October winced a little, immediately regretting her choice of words. "Oh! I'm sorry. I just mean, they're not... really based on anything, it just seems like guessing to me. But I suppose magic isn't really based on anything ever, so..." She shrugged. "I don't know. It might... totally work for some people, but I don't think it sounds terrribly... informative?" She struggled to find a nicer way to phrase her disdan for divination, but even as the words came out October could tell she was failing utterly. She just hoped it wasn't enough to lose her a friend.

October laughed softly. "That's so strange. I don't think I would have made a very good Hufflepuff, and my... dad's boyfriend's daughter would be awful in Ravenclaw. She would get so bored so quickly. She doesn't have much patience for things like sitting around reading." She smiled. Picturing April in Ravenclaw was an absolute mess, there was no chance their roles could ever have been reversed.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber laughed brightly at the girl's discomfort. "Don't worry." She told her with a nod. "I understand what you mean, I think there's magic involved that makes it more true than just guesswork. But I don't think those subjects are for everyone. I don't even think I'm that good at them, but I think it's pretty interesting to see that side of magic too!" She smiled. "Maybe next year you can tell me what Arithmancy is like?"

Amber smiled as she listened to October talk about her family. "It's funny how that goes. I would probably have guessed for my sister to go to Slytherin if I had made a prediction, she's ..." She paused. "Very sarcastic, snarky, and grumpy too. It seems to fit that house to me." She laughed a little. "But Ravenclaw works very well too. What's your... uhm," she didn't want to say sister if October didn't, "dad's boyfriend's daughter's name?" She giggled at the mouthful. "I might know her, or if not I can at least keep an eye out for her." She didn't know a lot of first years, but the name could very well be familiar from the common room.