Polishing the scales

[Bren Bartlowe]

Bren was laying on the corner of the room staring up at the ceiling. His body was exhausted from all of the explorings and walking that he had been doing over the last couple of days that this was the most comfortable way to relax. There was nothing particularly interesting about the ceiling. It was rather plain in the way of ceilings, but it was far more interesting than staring at the floor. He should have gone back to the dorms to take a nap, but Gryffindor had to be at the top fo a bloody tower. Which meant making his way through the accursed staircases that refused to stay still long enough for him to get from point a to point be without moving. The Paintings found the display to be quite hilarious though he found them to be a bit crass in their laughing and pointing. He had found them all to be insufferable at best, but he tried his best to knock pick a fight with a painting in his first semester of Hogwarts. He did not want to appear crazier than what he already was at this point, so he left well enough alone for now. He would likely give one of the portraits a good piece fo his mind by the end of the year as it was only fair and to be expected with his somewhat short temper. It was not the first time he had confronted a portrait; he often got into heated debates with a picture of his grandfather that hung in his mother's house over the silliest of things, but the old man refused to see things through his eyes. It was likely because it was just painted after all. Still Bren could not imagine life growing up without the old man.

Bren had taken to glaring at the stone ceiling and squinting with one eye at a time to see if he could see images in the stonework. The student lounge was a common room of sorts where all the houses could gather and hang out in peace with one another. Though on this particular day, it had been otherwise empty. There was a Hufflepuff girl playing with her pygmy puff on one of the sofas, while a pair of Ravenclaw boys were sitting at a nearby table playing wizard chess. Besides that Bren was the only other person in the room and neither of the three seemed to pay the Gryffindor much mind as he laid on the floor. He did not blame them, as he would imagine that it was a bit intimidating approaching a student laying on the floor. It was not common for people to lay on the ground in a heavily trafficked area as most people were a bit germaphobic. Bren did not mind germs, well at least not any that he might find on the floor. He was a boy after all and as such he was naturally expected to get dirty or play with things he shouldn't like frogs or bugs. He was too exhausted to care; that was until someone nearly stepped on him. "Hey watch it, I am not trying out to be the new floor rug, I am just partial to the cold floor." He said int protest as he sat up and leaned on his elbows to get a good look of his assailant. What he saw was a bit surprising to say the very least.

 

[Anabelle Williams]

The last few days had been incredibly exciting for Anabelle. The castle was huge, much bigger than she ever imagined. Coming from a family of wealth, the blonde knew of lavish houses, her family house being far too big for the small family that now lived there. But to actually be living in a castle, to have to find her way around everywhere, know where everything is and not be late for classes, that was a whole different story. Of course, the building was magnificent and filled with history and ancient stories, and Ana was glad she had decided to come to New Zealand. Her older sister, Charlotte, was living in New Zealand also, so Ana was going to make sure she visited her when they had breaks and holidays. She wished that Dove was at the school with her, that was the biggest draw back of moving to New Zealand instead of going to Beauxbatons. But Ana had written her a long letter already, and was eagerly waiting her reply, so she could tell her about the people she had met, and the places she had visited so far. Anabelle hadn't gone much further than the Fifth Floor yet, not having a need to, but she was sure she would visit the upper parts of the castle eventually. But today, Ana needed to be around people, not adventuring by herself.
The blonde had left her hair down for the day, deciding that she probably wasn't going to go outside anyway, so it wouldn't get messed up or blown around by the wind. Anabelle quite liked her hair being down, it had a natural wave to it which she knew she was lucky to have. She figured it was from all the times she braided her hair, or fell asleep with a plait in her hair. Ana made sure her uniform was clean and straight before heading out of the dungeons, going to her favorite place so far. The student lounge was great, there were usually always people there, and she could just day dream to herself, or read a book, perhaps draw, though she wasn't the best at free hand drawing and it was usually just doodles. Often though, Anabelle would use blank face canvases to design make-up styles, she loved thinking and creating make-up styles as much as she enjoyed applying it. Though, she didn't wear it often, she knew she was still a bit too young but she had worn it before, and had felt like a proper lady. Anabelle wasn't really watching where she was going, and she had thankfully looked up from her book before she stepped on a boy, who seemed to be lying on the ground. The blonde quickly side stepped before turning back around, hearing the boy's remark. It was incredibly witty, and Ana had to chuckle, before putting a hand on her mouth. She almost stepped on him! She shouldn't be laughing. Anabelle put her things to the side swiftly, before bending down, crouching on her knees. "I am so sorry, I didn't see you. Are you alright?" Anabelle asked sincerely.

 

[Bren Bartlowe]

Bren jumped to his feet and did a little turn as he checked himself overhead to toe and front to back. "Ten fingers, Ten toes, and all four limbs." He said in a little bit of a whisper as he looked up at the woman suddenly and cracked a large smile. "All parts are accounted for and in working condition. Gently used but like a good broom, hard to replace." Bren said with a bit more energy as he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. The woman, or girl if you were, was a pleasant looking blonde Slytherin. While Bren was cautious in his dealing with members of the Slytherin house, he found the girl to be pleasantly chipper for someone who lived in a dungeon. Most Slytherins had the personality of a cranky troll or vain veela at best, so he had relatively low standards for those of the green and silver house. While she was able to crack a smile, Bren had no idea what to make of the girl, so he looked to her loaded hands for inspiration. Walking up and invading the personal space of his companion and examined the drawing pad(?) in her hand and then looked at her more closely. "Are you planning on drawing my portrait? I would be the worse subject to sketch as I am not a huge fan of sitting still, but I figure I deserve something given that you nearly killed me." He said with a shrug as he retreated out of slapping range and folded his hands behind his back, a tuft of light blonde hair falling into his face causing him to try and blow it out of his eyes a task that he failed at more often then he succeeded. Bren rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited to see how the woman would respond, but before she could speak, he decided to extend a small olive branch, "I am Bren the Dragon Tamer. Though that is an unofficial title. License pending and all. Bren Bartlowe is what my mother calls me when I break something or forget to clean my room." He said cheekily as he grinned ever wider showing off his pearly white smile.

 

[Anabelle Williams]

As the boy jumped up, Anabelle quickly stood back up as well, picking up her items, glad that he seemed okay, though she did watch worriedly, her eyebrows crinkled slightly as he checked himself. But when he grinned at her, her face relaxed and it was hard not return such a smile and she let out a tiny laugh at his comment. The boy had such a cheerful disposition, and even within seconds of talking with him, Ana already felt her mood lifting. It wasn't that she was in a bad mood before hand, but it was going to be hard to face the day without a smile on her face. The fact that he was in Gryffindor didn't throw her, she had been slightly unsure when she had met Teddy but he was an example of why the so called feud between the two houses was ridiculous. The two houses could easily be friends, just as easy as it was to be friends with the other houses. Anabelle took a sharp breath in when the boy walked up to her, not sure what he was going to do, her first thought that he was going to give her some pay back or something, but instead, he looked at her sketch book before he stepped back after his comment. Anabelle wasn't exactly sure how to reply to him, she hadn't meant to nearly kill him, and she definitely couldn't draw his portrait unless he liked stick figures. People were incredibly hard to draw, and that was why she always had their templates already there, so she could just design the make-up or patterns. However, the boy kept talking, and she couldn't help but grin again at the way he introduced himself. He was so interesting, far more interesting than she was, Ana had no idea how to introduce herself, she didn't have anything clever at all to say. "I'm Anabelle the - no I've got nothing. Anabelle Williams." She replied, giving a small awkward laugh. "It's a pleasure to meet you Bren. I'm sorry for almost killing you, but I don't draw portraits! I can..do your make-up for Halloween?" Anabelle offered. Another thought popped into her head from his introduction. "Do - do you have pet dragons?"