New of a Kind

[Aurora Night]

Rory was lying flat on her back, staring up at the sky. Continuing to slowly map out the grounds of the castle when she needed some time to herself, she had come out to the garden to see if there were any good spots within it in which to concentrate. She had brought her journal with her, but hadn't even bothered to untie it. She didn't want to write anything when all she could think about was what had been happening lately. Rory had originally hated the idea of coming to school, but making so many friends had almost completely turned her opinion on its head. Unfortunately, those new friends were what had tossed her into the sea of drama in the first place. Which she was more than happy to be a part of, considering the circumstances, but still...

For the first time since she had woken up at Hogwarts just over two months ago, Rory wished she could go home. Turning her head sideways, she watched some kind of insect crawl along one of the leaves of the flowers next to her. A memory of shrieking filled her mind, and she smiled at the image of her little sister scrambling back into the house, yelling for their mother. Sophia loved flowers, but absolutely hated the bugs that lived in tandem with them. Rory often liked to point out that butterflies were bugs too, but her sister just stuck her nose up in the air and ignored her whenever she did so. Rory hummed shortly in amusement, but her smile faded. She really missed her family right now.

 

[Beatrice Fleming]

The Hogwarts Garden was the closest thing to home for Beatrice. There were no Leaping Toadstools or Aconite or other plants usually found in her home garden, but it still had beautiful flowers and the smell of freshly turned soil. She brought her notes and quill to study the plants since she honestly can't go one day without doing her research. The flowers were pretty average with roses and lillies and orchids, she kept track of them regardless. She noted their height, growth, moisture regulation, and scent. Bea even picked a few now and again to use as potion ingredients later.

Beatrice strolled through the gardens hoping to find a few new things to store in her on-the-go apothecary. She almost didn't notice someone lying down in the gardens, just staring up at the sky. Beatrice went in for a closer look and noted it was another student. The girl looked almost wistful. Closing in on her, like a predator and it's prey, beatrice got just close enough to where she couldn't see her and whispered, "What'cha doin'?"

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory was still deep in thought when she suddenly heard someone practically hiss in her ear, and she was so surprised that she shot up into a sitting position with a yelp and batted at the air beside her. Wondering who on earth would sneak up on her, Rory looked around to see a girl about her age watching her silently, seemingly amused by her shocked reaction. Her breath slowing slightly at the realisation that there was no threat, Rory regarded the other girl just as silently while she catalogued the fact that she didn't really recognise her. She supposed she could be in a couple of her classes, but Rory had never really paid much attention to anyone other than her friends in those.

"Hey," Rory said, once her heart had stopped pounding from her momentary fright. "Do you usually sneak up on unsuspecting people and freak them out?" She smiled as she said it, wanting the girl to know that she wasn't mad at her. In fact, now that she had gotten over her surprise, she actually thought it was pretty funny. She supposed that she had made a pretty easy target, staring into the flowerbed and thinking about her family. Grinning at the other girl, she joked. "You'll have to tell me your name now, so I can spread the tale of the stalking student and how she managed to pull a scream from the bravest of Gryffindors."