Never been in the part of the Castle before

[Briony Harper]

Mid afternoon rays of sun shone down on the North Tower, making the stones that were a part of it delightfully warm. Briony touched her hand to the stones and looked down at the ground below her. It was incredibly far down, and she felt the familiar lurch in her stomach upon seeing the ground from such a long distance. She gripped onto the edges of the short wall in front of her and forced herself to look away.

It was nice to finally be able to sneak off to the North Tower. She had yet to explore it seeing as there was hardly a chance with all the homework and classes Hogwarts had piled upon her First Year shoulders. Briony almost felt like a fifth year preparing for the OWLs. But up here she tried not to think about the History of Magic assignment waiting for her in the common room.

It was relaxing, until the faint sound of footfalls were heard in the distance.

 

[Bates Larkin]

It was a pleasant afternoon and the last thing Bates wanted to do was work on his essay for transfiguration. In order to do the essay he would have to read and in order to read he would have to sit still. Oh no, he had many important things to do. He wasn’t quite sure what they were yet, but he would figure it out.

So, after lunch, he made his was to the top of North Tower with a handful of grapes he had kidnapped from the Great Hall. He had wandered up a time or two before out of mistake, but now that he was nearing the end of his first year he figured that he should be aware of all the nooks that the school held. It just seemed like something he should know for his second year.

The climb up was about as thrilling as walking up to the Ravenclaw common room or going to Astronomy. Months of experience allowed him to reach the top without getting out of breath, and upon reaching the top he realized he was not alone. The girl he recognized as being a fellow Ravenclaw first year. He smiled at her and peered over the wall to the ground below. “Bit of a long drop, huh? I wonder if anyone has ever fallen off,” he said, contemplating throwing one of the grapes to see how far it would go.

 

[Briony Harper]

Briony turned her head and looked at the person who entered. She was grateful that it was only a student and not a Professor, for she wasn't sure if she was allowed up here or not. It didn't seem likely, seeing as it was probably very dangerous to be on top of the North Tower. "Hello, Bates." She knew his name from him being a Ravenclaw as well. They had every single class together, and of course sometimes sat near each other at meal times. They had never been acquanted officially, but perhaps now they would be.

"It is a long drop." She chuckled a little. "Hogwarts has been around so long, that I'd be shocked if no one hadn't fallen." She looked to the bottom and pondered if they had some sort of magical protection that kept students from falling. She would definitely not be testing that out.

 

[Bates Larkin]

Bates nodded in agreement, not really knowing exactly how long Hogwarts had been around. All he knew is that there was another one in Scotland that was very similar. Perhaps if he paid attention in History of Magic, he would know, but the class bored him ever so slightly. “I’m sure that if a student did die in the past, there are probably protective spells around it to keep it from happening again.”

There was the awkward sort of silence that occurs when people are acquainted but not fully. The two knew each other, but he himself had been rather quiet so far this year. It was unlike him, to be quiet and to spend him time studying. He was also slightly unsure of how to interact with girls and here they seemed to be everywhere. “Nice, uh, weather we’re having,” he said, shaking his head as soon as he said it. “That was really, really lame.”

 

[Briony Harper]

"That's what I thought." Briony smiled at him. "There must be some sort of protection to keep us from falling. Great minds think a like." The silence surrounded them, but Briony didn't mind all that much. She felt comfortable just looking in the distance with a few comments in between.

“Nice, uh, weather we’re having”

Briony smiled again. "It wasn't to lame. It is nice weather, but soon snow will be around and we won't be able to be up here without lots of jackets and sweaters."

 

[Bates Larkin]

There was a noise of disgust from Bates when she mentioned the cold. “Just in time for break. Can’t play soccer in the snow,” he said, shaking his head. Well, technically he could, but his mother would have a fit and accuse of him of wanting to catch himself an early death.

He had forgotten momentarily that he was at a Hogwarts, but a quick glance down at the Quidditch pitch reminded him that someone who grew up solely in the wizarding world would have no idea what soccer was. “Did you grow up around muggles?” he asked, figuring that was the better approach to take rather than asking her if she knew about soccer.

 

[Briony Harper]

"Oh, you play soccer?" Briony asked with interest. She was not a very sporty person, but while growing up she had played a little with her family. "It should be snowing more heavily... I am looking forward to the snowball fights..."

"I grew up in a muggle town so yes.." She looked at him and pondered whether to ask the next question. She was not biased but it was one of her weaknesses of being nosy. "Are you muggle born?"