Learning Something New

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph had been pretty much everywhere else in the castle, and she found herself wondering into the Arts room off the courtyard. It seemed to be pretty empty most the time, and with exams just around the corner Sapph felt it was time to relax a bit.

Without any music though, that was hard. Music had always been a cornerstone of Sapph's sanity, and it had been her main concern when coming here. She had managed to keep herself busy, but there were still times when she missed it.

So here she was. Not that she was really good at any of the instruments. But she did know how to read sheet music, and she knew a few words on the guitar. There had been a few kids that came through the Home that found comfort in music, but it wasn't until this little blond girl that could play the piano that Sapph had decided to learn something herself.

She found a comfy enough seat and picked up an acoustic guitar, smiling as it shrunk until it was just her size. She loved magic. She found some sheet music nearby and started going through a few exercises.

 

[Fleur van Houten]

In the past two years, Fleur van Houten had seen a lot of Hogwarts. But not everything. A recent letter exchange with her little brother made her realize there was a part of the school she'd never really checked out. Fleur wasn't a very artsy person, though she enjoyed doodling during lectures as much as the next student. But her little brother was very artistic, and she hoped he would feel more at ease about coming to Hogwarts if she could give him a detailed description of the arts room waiting for him.

As she entered, her gaze drifted over the many canvases and paint supplies she could see. But her attentionw as soon caught by a young girl with a guitar, she looked over and smiled. It seemed like she wasn't the first one to come here today. "Hi! I hope I'm not interrupting. Just looking around. It's awesome that you can play an instrument though. I never learned"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph stilled, looking up to see a pretty redhead had entered the room. She smiled warmly. "Oh, hi. No, you aren't interrupting. I'm not that good at it yet, I just miss listening to music." Sapph scowled at the last part. That really was the worst part about Hogwarts.

"My name is Sapphire. What brings you here?" She asked, genuinely curious. Not a lot of people wondered in here, and it surprised her that the redhead had wondered in. Maybe she was an artsy kind of girl?

 

[Gwen Owens-Lee]

Gwen loved exploring the castle, and when she didn't have any classes on for a while, Gwen always took that as the perfect opportunity to do so. The Gryffindor wandered around looking at all of the rooms off the courtyard, seeing if anything there had piqued her interest. When she heard music coming from the Conglomerated Arts Room, the girl poked her head in and saw two girls. Gwen was about to join in on the conversation until she realised who one of them was. Quickly taking out her wand, Gwen pointed it straight at the Gryffindor girl. "Lumos." she said, pointing her wand at her assassin target.

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur smiled at the younger girl and shrugged. "You're already on your way to getting better. And you'll have music to listen to in the meantime." She said with a small shrug. Music was something she missed occasionally too, but not as much as this girl apparently did. She wondered if she was a muggleborn. "I'm Fleur, nice to meet you. I'm just checking the place out. I kind of never looked in here before, even though I'm a second year. I'm writing my brother about Hogwarts, and he'd want to know about this room."

Before there conversation could continue, another girl joined them. Before Fleur could properly react, the younger girl tapped her with her wand. She sighed and gave her a small smile. "You got me. Congrats." She said. It didn't bother her too much. It was just a game, after all. "Did you come here to play music to or were you following me for the game?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph had been watching the two girls with amusement, and finally she laughed. She didn't know what game they were playing but it was definitely entertaining.

Sapph waved casually at the other redhead. "Heya Gwen. Been a while." Sapph hadn't seen the Gryffindor since that day when she'd almost been pelted by the girls Rocky anger issues.

 

[Gwen Owens-Lee]

Gwen smirked as she realised her assassination worked. For the second week in a row she had managed to assassinate someone and Gwen was happy for this, nodding a thanks at the girl's congratulations before answering her question. "I heard the music! I don't play music, but I wish I did." Gwen didn't have much talent for creativity but she was happy to watch other people be creative. She beamed at Sapphire whom she had met before. "Yes! How are you Sapphire? I didn't know you played music." She gestured to the guitar that Sapphire was holding.

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur glanced between the two girls, realizing they must be classmates in first year as they seemed to know each other. "I don't play music either." She said with a small shrug. "It's pretty impressive." Glancing between them, she smiled. "You're both in first year, I assume? I'm in second, so I remember how strange it was at first. Do you guys have siblings at school?" She wondered if either girl had someone looking out for them. Fleur had managed pretty well in her own first year, but if she could help out anyone else she gladly would. "I'm in Gryffindor, like you." She nodded at the other redhead with a grin.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph smiled, feeling a little embarrassed for once. "I just know a few chords," She could feel herself blushing a bit, and it was odd. Fleur seemed pretty cool, and Sapph still liked Gwen. "Oh yeah, I met Gwen when she threw a rock at my head." Sapph teased with a sly grin. "I don't have any siblings, but I did meet this cool girl named Merrill."

She might have met her because of a prank gone wrong, but still.

 

[Gwen Owens-Lee]

Gwen pursed her lips as Sapphire told the older Gryffindor about the rock throwing incident. She hoped she didn't think poorly of her now and listened as she spoke, glad that she had made a new friend. "I have two cousins at this school, and a brother at Hogwarts Scotland, but I haven't really spoken to either of my cousins since coming here." Gwen told them with a shrug. She wasn't that close to her cousins and was more closer to her siblings. After all, with Gwen living in Wales, she never really had the opportunity to get close with her cousins in New Zealand and hopefully attending the same school with them would allow that, even if it wasn't her initial intention. "Who's Merrill?" She turned to Sapphire with a friendly smile.

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur laughed softly when Sapphire made sure to tell them she only knew a few chords. "Well, that's a few more than I know so you're doing well." She said encouragingly, giving the girl a smile. She raised her eyebrows slightly, glancing at the other girl. "I didn't think throwing rocks at each other was a good basis for friendship." She teased. "Maybe I'll have to try it sometime," she added with a wink. When she heard neither girl had an older sibling at the school to help them out, Fleur felt a little like she could fill that role. "Well, if you ever need a guide, or someone to have fun with. I'm your girl." She said with a grin. "I have three siblings but they're all too young for Hogwarts yet." She added. The question about who Merrill was wasn't one she could answer. Vaguely, she seemed to recall one of the Quidditch player having a name like that, but she wasn't sure. Her own interest in joining the team had lessened seeing how full the tryouts were. Though she was glad her roommate and friend Frankie had made it. "Either of you play Quidditch?" She asked as the question popped into her head.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph snickered at Fleur's comment about the rocks. She always did appreciate a good bit of sarcasm. She smiled as Fleur offered to be their guide. Gwen then asked who Merrill was and Sapph just shrugged. "She's an older Gryffindor, I don't remember what year."

Fleur then asked about Quidditch and Sapph shook her head. "Nah, I've never been the sportsy type." She looked to Gwen then, curious about her answer. Sapph had never really gotten into the Quidditch spirit, but it did seem like an interesting enough game.