It's all fun and games

[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor couldn't believe that she was already in her second year at Hogwarts. She regretted taking advantage of it so much and wished that she had done many more things, despite how much longer she had left at Hogwarts to do all of that. Her second year hopefully wasn't going to be too hard and the only good thing about this year to Eleanor was that it had the least subjects and she was not stuck doing flying anymore. Flying was definitely not Eleanor's best subject. She loved going outside and feeling the wind blow through her hair but she just didn't have the coordination to stay on a broom for long and could not ever see herself joining the Hufflepuff quidditch team this year. She really wished she was good at it but not everyone was good at everything.

As Eleanor sat in her common room with nothing to do she began to think of what she missed most whilst she was on holidays. The food was definitely the very first thing with Herbology being a close second, and suddenly Eleanor had an idea. She jumped up and quickly sprinted down in the direction of the Hogwarts Gardens. She had loved being a part of the Wild Patch Club last year and just seeing all of the flowers in the distance as she ran towards it had really brightened her mood. They looked so pretty and Eleanor couldn't believe how a small seed so tiny and simple could turn into be something so beautiful. When she made it, she stopped to catch her breath and soon began to skip around, picking different coloured flowers as she went and shoving them into her robes. When she was satisfied with the amount of flowers she had found she plopped herself in the middle of the garden and lay them all out on the grass. She wanted to try and make a flower crown just like Orwell had taught her but as she tried they just did not want to seem to go together and she simply sighed, wondering what on earth she was going to do with all of these flowers now.

 

[Rory Fergusson]

Rory had once again only managed a light breakfast before he"d gotten annoyed at the lack of help from others, and the fact that it put him so wholly on edge when it appeared that no one was willing to do what he said. The boy felt nervous, he felt very nervous and though he knew he could've probably just kept asking various people until someone helped him, the first few who had turned him down had just made Rory nervous to ask anyone else, why wasn't anyone helping him? Didn't they see he deserved the help he was asking for, that really people should just be helping him without him having to ask, but he was having to ask, and worse yet he was being turned down, no one seemed willing to give him the hand he deserved. So after that, and feeling just like Hogwarts was the worst place the young slytherin headed outside, he had his hood up, and his thick pink jumper on and was making his way through the grounds, the weather in this winter season was far nicer that Rory was used to, he didn't need multiple layers, his jumper seemed to be enough, it was admittedly a very thick jumper.

The only issue with the slight wind which nipped at his legs, the ultra-skinny jeans did absolutely nothing to help keep him warm, but it wasn't a hugely terrible thing. Eventually Rory noted that he had arrived at some kind of garden that it grew surprisingly well, and Rory wondered if the school looked after it, if it was part of herbology because while he liked being outdoors and walking he didn’t much gardening or getting his hands physically dirty. But he noticed a girl who seemed to be gathering flowers and he had to wonder what she was doing, were they allowed to pick up the flowers, "Are ye supposed tae pick the flowers?" Rory asked, "I dinnae 'hink ye'd be allowed," Rory continued there was a hint of nervousness in his thick accent not sure if he was correct in what he was saying, his mother had always told him to not pick the flowers so surely that was the same here.
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[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor quickly looked up when a boy spoke to her. She hadn't ever seen him before and she could barely understand what he was saying. He sounded like he didn't really come from New Zealand and it made her want to ask him a million questions asking where he came from, but she didn't and simply listened carefully to each word as he asked her if she was allowed to be picking the flowers. Truthfully, Eleanor had never thought of whether or not she'd be allowed to play with the flowers when Orwell wasn't around. Even if she wasn't allowed to be picking the flowers she'd gladly help grow more. Besides, magic could make flowers grow really fast and Eleanor didn't think that her picking a few flowers was going to affect the garden much at all.

"Well, no one ever told me I couldn't." Eleanor replied, shrugging. "Did you want to join me? We can pick some and then practice making flower crowns with them! Do you know how to make a flower crown?" She knew that the boy was only a first year as she really hadn't ever seen him before but that didn't mean that he wouldn't know how to make a flower crown. It seemed easy when Eleanor first tried and, even if he didn't know how to make one, they could always try and figure it out themselves. "I'm Eleanor Hope. What's your name?"​

 

[Rory Fergusson]

Rory didn't particular want to join her, he didn't like the idea of her or him picking flowers if they weren't even sure they were allowed to do that, it seemed like an oversight on someone's part to not make that clear and he shook his head, "But jus' cause you havenae been telt that you cannae doesnae mean ye can," the boy told her, but he muttered this pretty quietly, if this girl was older then perhaps she did know better and he just didn't know anything yet. The young slytherin didn't know what to think, he wasn't allowed to pick flowers from gardens but from the wild he was more than allowed to do so, maybe this garden was a little more like that, wild and free that the rigid parameters of his old garden in Scotland. Maybe that was it, that he simply just didn't know and this girl did, so instead of really pushing, he decided he would just drop it, and focus on what she was saying instead, the flower crowns, Rory had seen them before but he didn't know how to make one and he didn't really want to learn, "Naw, can ye make one fer me?" the boy asked her.

There was a feeling within the boy that this girl would probably make the crown for him, he didn't want to learn how to make them, wouldn't it just be easier if someone made it for him, and this girl who was a little older had clearly more practice with it and he thought that she'd make it better than he could and so what would be the point of trying when he could get her to do it for him. So, rather than leaving like he wanted to do, the boy sat down in front of her and flashed her a small smile, especially as she introduced herself, Eleanor Hope, and he didn't know if she wanted his full name or just his first and last name, "Rory Fergusson," the boy introduced holding out his hand to her, "Am a first year, slytherin," Rory didn't like being a slytherin at all and there was a hint of resentment in his tone as he said the word slytherin, but he had accepted it mostly, there wasn't exactly any way for him to change it, and his father was still against him going to school in scotland, where he might have the chance to be re-sorted in hufflepuff.
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[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor felt slightly offended when the boy tried to tell her that just because no one told her doesn't mean that she can. She had always learnt from her mistakes and if picking flowers was really that bad then she would gladly take the punishment for it and know to never do it again. Besides, it wasn't like she could just glue the flowers back on the stems. They were just a few flowers from the many that were in the garden and Eleanor could already feel herself not really liking this boy so far. She felt even more annoyed when he asked her to make a flower crown for him instead of him helping. For Eleanor, the whole part of making flower crowns was to do it with friends and to learn together but obviously this boy didn't think that. "I don't really know how..." was all Eleanor could say as her cheeks flushed a tinge of red. "I mean, I know the basics but my hands just can't do it." She picked up a couple of the flowers and attempted to make them weave together but to no avail. She'd have to get Orwell to teach her again.

Eleanor listened as the boy introduced himself as Rory Fergusson. He was in Slytherin house just like her sister and Eleanor beamed, wondering if Rory would ever want to be Lilyanna's friend. "My sister is in that house!" she exclaimed. "Her name is Lilyanna. You should talk to her some time." The effort of trying to get more friends for Lilyanna was all too much and sometimes she often considered just giving up. But she was still determined to get her as many friends as herself, despite how hard that might be. "I'm in Hufflepuff as a second year. Do you know any Hufflepuffs? I've seen a lot of first years around but I've never had the chance to talk to them. Do you think they're nice?" She looked up at Rory, hoping that he wanted to continue this conversation. Eleanor had nothing better to do anyway.

 

[Rory Fergusson]

The boy was surprised when she said that she couldn't make them, why she had offered him the opportunity to learn or to make him one when she didn't know how, that didn't make sense, he didn't know how to make one so why would she offer that or suggest it when he also couldn't make it. Rory gave her a skeptical look as she spoke, "Why'd ye ask me if a knew how tae make wan if you then couldnae even help me, I'm sure if you gee it a try ye'd manage," the boy asked her, clearly trying to figure out why she had been like that with him, what had she intended to do when he asked her to make one or agreed to make on with her when she couldn't actually make it. The young slytherin was very surprised by this fact, and he wondered if perhaps she'd been asking him if he knew so that he could make one for her, but from what she'd implied he had thought she had to have known how to create one, there was no other reason for asking than to show him how to. He felt a little silly now sitting with this girl in front of him, trying to figure out what they would do now, he hoped that at the very least she'd try one.

As the girl began explaining that she was in hufflepuff, his eyes narrowed, this was the crop in Hufflepuff, this girl had managed to get into hufflepuff and he hadn't managed it, the young slytherin couldn't believe it really, this girl was a hufflepuff?! The scottish boy didn't care that this girl had a sister in slytherin, he didn't care to make friends with her, but this older girl was in Hufflepuff and he wasn't, that just felt so frustrating to him, "My sisters were both Hufflepuffs," he told her a hint of bitterness in his tone as he spoke, "But they dinnae go tae school here, they went to school in Scotland," he explained to her, but of course he didn't know any hufflepuffs, well apart from that girl from the bookstore, the one named after a month and the one who'd said that muggles were cannibals, "I know one, whose of muggle parents and she'd telt me that some muggles are cannibals, so I'd watch oot fae muggle kids and their muggle families,"
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[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor smiled when the boy told her that she could probably manage trying to make a flower crown by herself. He didn't really know her that well but she was still glad that he managed to say that, which she took as a compliment. Compliments weren't always something Eleanor knew how to take properly and so she simply nodded, not sure what exactly to say. Instead, she answered his question. "I asked you because I thought we might be able to learn it together. But if you don't want to then that's fine." She sighed, trying her best not to make the boy feel bad that he didn't want to join her. She didn't know what else they would do though, if he really wanted to do anything at all and just sat there, listening as he spoke about his family who went to school in Scotland. "My father went there! He was sorted into Hufflepuff just like me and your sisters." she told him, sensing that he was perhaps a bit upset that he wasn't put into Hufflepuff as well. "It's okay though because I don't think it really matters what house you're in as long as you're nice to everyone. Who cares about the colour of your robes anyway? It's what's inside that counts." She giggled, knowing the phrase was used a lot but still used it anyway, hoping that Rory didn't mind.

As Rory mentioned that he heard from someone that some muggles were cannibals, Eleanor suddenly shifted herself a bit away from the slytherin in fear that she might accidentally hit him. She couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth and felt her face go red with anger. Her friend Ares' father was a muggle and there was no way that muggles could be cannibals. "How do you know some of them are cannibals? She could just be saying that! I don't think any of them are!" She tried to be sincere and not raise her voice and it had slightly worked, given the fact that she was easily worked up by the boy's statement. She wasn't going to believe it for a second. They were no different to wizards and telling people to stay away from them because of one rumor was not the way to go.​

 

[Rory Fergusson]

The boy thought it was odd, why would she want to make them together, especially if she couldn't actually do it, "Naw, now've interested me," he told her bluntly, "If ye can just show me a little," he asked thinking that he might be able to get it if she should him a little how to do it, or at the very least he could continue to get her to do what he wanted, just without her really realising, he didn't know at all how to make them, but perhaps she knew a little more than he did, perhaps that was why she had asked, both knowing a little and hoping that together they could improve their own skills. The boy didn't much care about making a flower crown he didn't see why it was a big deal or an issue of any kind but the slytherin boy would do it if that was what was required of him. The boy wondered for a moment if perhaps their father's might've known each other while at school, it was likely, if they went to the same school and were in the same house, the likelihood of them knowing one another greatly increased and that to Rory would be quite interesting, perhaps she'd be worthy of his company.

However, he didn't think that would be true especially as she spoke, who cared about the colour of the robes, well for one, he did, Rory cared, "ah care," he told her, "I dinnae want Slytherin, and I care I dinnae get what ah wanted," Rory didn't hide his bitterness over the sorting, he was annoyed at it, he cared where he'd ended up, as much as he'd lied to himself over not minding too much in the run up. Had this been his home then yeah he would've minded lesson, but it was too much all at once. The Slytherin was glad that she seemed to believe or followed his thinking over the fact that muggles could be cannibals, he had no way to prove it, "I dunno, but they might be, I've never met a muggle, ah dinnae think she was lyin' but I asked some others and they also seemed to agree with it," the boy told her, "I would stay away fae the muggleborns' families," Rory didn't think the ones, those with a muggle parent or both were cannibals themselves they had to adjust to the schools eating habits after all.
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[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor was a bit annoyed at the way the Slytherin boy was insisting that she should try herself how to make a flower crown. With a frustrated sigh, Eleanor began to pick up some of the flowers she picked and tried her best to concentrate on winding the bigger flowers first before the smaller ones, her tongue slightly poking out as she did so. It was quite an effort but she managed to begin to make the shape of the crown as if the boy wasn't even there. Each time she went to add a flower she made sure that she was picking the bigger ones as they were much easier to work with. Eventually, after a long 15 minutes of concentration, the crown was completed and Eleanor looked back and smiled at her work, not really believing that she had finally done it and had successfully made her first flower crown. It was slightly loose at places but the magic was holding it together and she put it on her head before giving Rory a cheeky smile. "Now it's your turn." she told him, wondering whether or not he would even bother to try now that Eleanor had already done it. She was very excited to tell Orwell what she had achieved.

As Rory began to talk to the Hufflepuff in such a bitter tone, Eleanor couldn't help but give him a dirty look, not really caring how impolite she was being in doing so. She wanted to tell him that maybe that sort of attitude had put him into Slytherin house but she kept her mouth shut. She knew Slytherins too well and knew that if she started an argument with him that it wouldn't turn out pretty. Many of the snakes were always about getting what they wanted and nothing else and she could definitely see that in the first year, especially after such a sentence coming out of his mouth. She felt even more upset when he continued his talk about muggles being cannibals and was somehow slightly offended at his words. "I don't think there's anything wrong with muggles and muggleborns and I would not believe any of the nonsense that other people are saying about them." she told him matter of factly. "If I were you I would find facts before telling other people to stay away from them. They're nice people and just because you haven't met one before that does not mean you can talk like that about them." She tried to keep her tone sharp but not argumentative. There was no way she was going to let someone talk about some of her friends this way but was by no means wanting to start an argument.​

 

[Rory Fergusson]

Rory let a small smirk settle on his face as he watched the older girl finally cave and begin making the flower crown, it was, the scottish boy realised, not that unlike sewing, it was delicate work with hands and just took concentration, he figured as he watched that he would actually probably be quite good at it, and was beginning to question why this girl had found it hard in the first place, but the problem with this was, that even as the girl managed it, Rory knew it would then become his turn and he didn't exactly want to have to take his turn, he didn't want to have to make one, that involved effort and work, and why couldn't this girl just make it for him, what would really be against that happening. He didn't need to do it, but he wanted on, and this girl could clearly manage to make one so why couldn't she just make one for him, he deserved it, he was better than her, more important, of course she should make one for him, but Rory knew he was going to have to at least pretend or give it a try and just fail at it.

The slytherin boy however as he attempted to get start on his own crown, listened to her reply to his words and he shook his head at her, after all how many muggles or muggleborns did she know, how much research had she done to counter his argument on the matter. The young boy shook his head, he had to admit, most were not terrible, the small amount he'd met were more just disrespectful to him. He was almost a little surprised by her tone, "Ah can talk about them however ah want," Rory informed her with a sharpness in his own tone that reflected hers, "Dae ye have any fact tae prove they arenae?" he asked her, his tone returning to just the normal level, and just the thickness of the accent filtering through, and he took this occasion to glance down at his hands, he had managed a little bit of it, the movement of his hands like he'd watched this girl do, had been easy, but he was bored, and he didn't want to finish it, so he began to purposefully fumble it, accidentally pulling too hard, crushing the flowers, making it not actually stay together and then he let out a long frustrated sigh, "Ah cannae dae this," Rory said frustratedly, "Gonnae you just dae it,"
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[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor listened to the boy speak with her mouth slightly open in shock. Who did he think he was talking to her in such a tone? She respected the fact that he had an opinion and was merely just trying to put across her own without making it seem like she wanted to argue. Being a strong believer in peacemaking, Eleanor was definitely not looking for an argument and somehow Eleanor managed to get the vibe that he was, resulting in Eleanor getting slightly annoyed at him. "I've met plenty of muggle-borns in my life and they're all much kinder than what you think. If you want to stay at Hogwarts then you've got to get used to it. After all, it's very hard to avoid them in a school like this." Eleanor replied calmly, trying to hide the fact that she had the urge to punch him in the face. Fortunately for him, Eleanor was quite good at controlling those kind of feelings and so he would be safe from any harm for now.

Eleanor began to panic slightly as she watched Rory crush the flowers that he was supposed to be making a flower crown with and wanted to cry, knowing that the flowers had feelings and probably didn't like to be mishandled like that. "You can't do that!" she exclaimed suddenly, snatching the flowers from his hands and attempting to put them back to normal. Unfortunately, that was impossible and she sighed, dropping all of the broken flowers onto the floor. Eleanor had always treated flowers as if they were her pets and was very upset to see how Rory had treated them. How would he like it if Eleanor crushed him? The thought of it was almost satisfying at this point. "You won't be able to do it if you say you can't." she told him reassuringly, getting a new bunch of flowers and beginning to make an entirely new one. "You just thread them through like this. It takes patience."" She showed him slowly, knowing that she wasn't really much good at it either. All she wanted was to make flower crowns with a friend and it was definitely looking like she wasn't going to get that any time soon if he kept his negative attitude.