Look What I've Done...I've Gone and Made a New Friend

[Lola Mason]

Lola wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a social person which is why her appearance in the village today would have surprised most anyone who knew her (which wasn't very many people), but most of all she had surprised herself. This would have been the first Brightstone weekend that she'd ever actually managed to venture out of the castle for which was a huge feat in her book seeing as how large gatherings of people made her nervous as did meeting new people for she had a fear of rejection.

Wandering down the lane, Lola browsed a few shop windows and flashed a few meek friendly smiles at anyone who happened to meet her gaze. She wasn't really sure why today of all days she had picked to try and venture out and do new things, but something in her gut told her that it was going to be a good day. Finding a huge shade tree at the end of the road she grinned and went and took refuge under it as she pulled out her journal that she carried everywhere with her and began to write.

 

[Daniel Aragorn]

When Danny’s parents told him to explore the area, to make the best out of the situation, he hadn’t quite expected that he would end up in a wizarding village. It did actually take him a little while to realize why everyone was acting so weird but when he spotted sparks coming out of a piece of wood, he flinched and spluttered something under his breath. After four years Danny still didn’t like that there were wizards and witches and a whole world of creature that had been hidden to him for eleven years of his life, except in story books his Mom would read to him when he was younger. Danny Aragorn didn’t trust his teacher when he taught him that there were people that could change into animals and back, or that there were sirens like in the story about the gods and such.

He also didn’t like that there was one person who was the “chosen one” or the “savior” of the real world. Danny thought it was all an elaborate plot to get back at him like that Jim Carrey movie called The Truman Show. The only thing that gave him reason enough to believe that that wasn’t actually what was happening was the fact that he was not significant enough to actually be in that position.

Daniel also didn’t like that he had moved to New Zealand. He missed Texas and the dusty sand that lined his home and the small ranch where his horses had been until his parents sold them to move here. He felt out of place here, more so then he had felt back in America.

Danny knew that he had to make some sort of an effort so instead of turning around he kept walking, as always keeping count of his steps mentally when he came to an even number and turned towards a tree sharply, deciding he had gotten enough of walking around this crazy village. He didn't really pay attention to the girl who was sitting against the same tree as he was, he just picked up one blade of grass after the other, tying them to each other. I must be insane, he thought as his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder took over his hands.

 

[Lola Mason]

Lola became temporarily distracted as a boy, who looked to be about her age, walked up and sat down under the same tree as she was. She was almost certain that he wasn't in any of her classes and was almost equally as certain that he didn't even attend Hogwarts. A thought crossed her mind to actually speak to the boy, but what if he didn't respond to her? That would be humiliating and would have meant that she had put herself out there for absolutely nothing. No, she'd simply sit there and pretend that she was still sitting alone.

Several minutes passed and Lola noticed that the blonde boy still sat in the same position he had been last time she looked, still trying to tie together those tiny pieces of grass. Biting the inside of her cheek she thought about her cousin Kat. The older Gryffindor girl was so wild and outgoing and a part of Lola had always wished that she too could have been the same way, but for some reason she just never would let herself get close to even trying to put herself out there...until now. Taking a deep breath in she said in a very meek tone, "Lovely day today isn't it?" Her small British accent sounded weak and frail as she attempted another greeting, "My name's Lola."

She looked at the boy, but then her gaze hit the ground, waiting for the result of her reaching out to others.

 

[Daniel Aragorn]

Danny looked up from his odd fixation when he heard a voice near by. His blue eyes flickered around and he leaned forward, cocking his head to the side so he could see around the trunk of the tree. He smiled shyly at the girl and said, “Danny.” He cringed as he noticed how different his accent seemed to play in his ear in New Zealand. For once, he didn’t like the fact that he was a Southerner. And this brought him to groan before he added quietly, “My name is Danny.” He settled back down against the tree and continued on with what he was doing, feeling more tense because the girl named Lola seemed to want to walk to him. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her or anything, he just was rather uncomfortable with talking to someone, never mind a girl.

Daniel put the blades of grass down messily and wiped them off on his jeans. He chewed on the pad of his thumb in silence. Why did he have to be so uncomfortable around people? It made situations like these unpleasant.

 

[Lola Mason]

The boys accent was odd to her, but in a nice way because she remembered how some people had thought her accent strange when she'd first moved to New Zealand. "Nice to meet you," Lola started and was about to add something else when the boy turned back around. She felt her heart leap in her throat at his actions and normally something like this small bit of rejection would have sent her off to her room crying something told her that maybe if she'd put a little bit of effort into this then she might come out of the situation with a new friend.

With a deep breath she laid her journal beside her and scooted over slightly to where she wouldn't have to strain her neck to look at the boy named Danny. "So you're not from around here I guess," Lola said, but immediately cringed at just how extremely stupid that had sounded. Obviously he wasn't from around here...any half wit would have been able to tell that from his accent.

 

[Daniel Aragorn]

Danny cringed as Lola said that he wasn’t from around here. It was clear by her accent she wasn’t either but he hated that it was so clear that he wasn’t, as if he wasn’t weird enough. “No. I’m from the boonies in Texas,” he said shyly, smiling nervously at the girl. He chewed back down on his thumb and looked down at her through his shy blue eyes. "Take it your a student?" he asked, noting that there were many other children around them today. Danny felt stupid for asking a question to an obvious answer. It was pitiful.

 

[Lola Mason]

Lola cocked an eyebrow at the boy. "I'm sorry...boonies? I know where Texas is though," she said hoping she didn't sound super stupid. Maybe it was some town in the state, but she had never heard of it. When Daniel asked if she was a student she nodded. "I am. Fourth year Ravenclaw actually. You don't go to school here do you?" Lola was fairly certain she knew the answer to that, but as reclusive as she was it wouldn't have been hard for her to miss someone.

I nearly fell out of my chair laughing cause when people ask where I'm from I say, "From the boonies in North Carolina."

 

[Daniel Aragorn]

Danny smiled in amusement as Lola asked what the boonies were. "It's a small town," he clarified. He quirked an eyebrow up as she said the word Ravenclaw. He had absolutely no idea what it meant so he asked, "Ravenclaw?" He shook his head when asked if he went to school here. "Been homeschooled since I was little," he responded with a nod.

You and me both, well not from North Carolina.

 

[Lola Mason]

"Ah, that makes sense...I think," she replied and then she heard him ask about Ravenclaw. Lola guessed then that he wasn't a student at the school to have never heard of her house. Thinking on it for a moment she finally decided on the easiest way to explain it. "Well at Hogwarts we have four different houses that students can be sorted into. We have a house that sorts us based on what it can sense our personality's are like," she paused for a moment to make sure he at least seemed to be following along and then continued on, "Ravenclaws are supposed to be smart and studious. Gryffindors are brave and chivalrous. Slytherins are sly and cunning...and most of them downright mean and lastly Hufflepuffs are the sweetpeas."

Lola wasn't sure if any of what she had said had made any sense, but she had done the best she could. "So...your parents homeschooled you in magic then? My parents are muggles or else that would have been my first choice...I'd much prefer being homeschooled." It was true, Lola thought she'd probably flourish better if she could have stayed at home.