Relaxing on a Weekend

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Being so far away from home was a new experience for Kyle.In the Southern Hemisphere the seasons were completely opposite.When it was nearing fall in Britain,here in New Zealand the winter was fading away and the trees coming back to life.Spring would be here soon.He wondered whether they celebrated Halloween in the school.Even though it was a festival,its significance was to mark the beginning of autumn.But here it would be the beginning of spring.

The day outside was not so cold and the sun was shining.It was a Saturday and Kyle was done with most of his homework so he decided to go for a stroll out on the grounds.The Hogwarts grounds were huge and Kyle could picture how fun it would be in the summer when you could soak in the sun,swim in the lake and play on the grass.Though most students here were older and he guessed they wouldn't be using the grounds to mess around.

Kyle walked out of the Entrance hall and into the winter sun.The grass was wet because of the snow that had been thickly layered on it all winter.But now it was melting.He made his way towards the Lake which had attracted him from the first day of school.Even in the sun the lake looked almost black.That's why they called it the Black Lake.Kyle had heard there was a Giant Squid in this lake but that it didn't do any harm unless you provoked it.But this information wouldn't keep him from swimming in the lake when summer came.

So he walked over to a big and old tree and threw himself down on the ground.He lay there on the ground looking up at the sun through the branches of the tree.He wondered what the other students of his house were up to.He knew many would be finishing homework and others would be hanging around the castle.He wished he had some company because he didn't handle loneliness well and often got sulky if he stayed by himself for a long time.

 

[Bituin San Buenaventura]

Bituin knew she shouldn't be going down to the lake without her older sister. She would be completely upset if she ever heard that Bituin went near the water without her, let only before her. But the young Ravenclaw knew that there was plenty to see on the way there and maybe she'd get sidetracked. But she was curious to see the lake up close. Walking down she noticed how nice of a day it was and she was glad to be outside and not stuck in a stuffy classroom. She wished teachers would open up the windows even a crack to let in the nice breezes the New Zealand spring was giving the school.

Nothing really caught her eye on her walk down so she continued to the lake. Once there she got to see the beauty of it up close, from the castle windows she only had been able to see glimspes of the lake. She could see the Rosebush not far away it didn't have many flowers this time of year which was disappointing. She walked along the shore for a while enjoying the sounds of the water. The Ravenclaw knew she did not have to worry about any homework as she always finished the work right after class, so weekends were relaxing for her. It was Saturday but she had taken her flying lesson earlier so now there wasn't anything to do. Spotting someone sitting under a tree up ahead the girl wondered if she should approach the person or not. It was lonely just walking around by oneself. Standing there she debated on going up to the person or not.

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Kyle stared at the deep waters of the lake. He picked up a stone and getting onto his feet he skipped it into the lake. It was a disaster, he chuckled at his failed attempt. Kyle had done stone skipping before to pass his time and therefore he did know how it was done, he was just out of practice. Picking up another stone, he bent a little and skipped the stone. He grinned as he watched the stone skipping in the water and small ripples emerging the places were the stone had touched the water surface. The sunlight shone on the lake from between the trees that grew on the shore, the view was truly one that could be captioned in a photograph.He made a mental note to get himself a camera when he was allowed to visit the village nearby.

Just as he picked up another stone and skipped it he heard footsteps and spotted a young girl standing some distance from where he stood. He smiled at her and said "Hey!". He recognized the girl from one of his classes but he couldn't recall which. She was a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, that was for sure. "You all alone?"he asked her as he took a few steps in her direction wondering if she too was strolling the grounds and exploring the school. He skipped another stone into the water and grinned as this one went farthest of all.

 

[Bituin San Buenaventura]

Bituin was surprised when the person she had spotted, spotted her. She still hadn't made up her mind if it was worth talking to anyone right now. She didn't need anyone telling her sister that she had been down here without her. Of course Josefina was the water lover of the two sisters. So Bituin wouldn't be surprised if the older girl hadn't come down here yet on her own. Prehaps she'd have to some digging into that and see if her older sister had been down to the lake or not. It wasn't like Bituin couldn't do anything with out her older sister, it was more that she feared her sister's anger. Josefina was particularly good at slapping people.

Bituin was another story, she tried to make up for the meanness inside her older sister by always being nice. Even when people were annoying she still smiled. Of course back home she never had many friends because Josefina always pushed them away. But here could be a different story. They weren't in the same house so Bituin already made friends in her house that she'd be able to spend a lot of time with. And here was someone else she could be friends with without her sister knowing about him. "Oh, Yes I am," she replied as she watched him skip a rock across the water. For living on a island she never actually learned how to skip a rock. Most of the shoreline was a beach anyways so there wasn't much rock to skip anyways. "How do you do that?" She asked to start them off with a conversation. Plus she did really want to learn how to do it.

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Kyle had not yet had a chance to talk to someone from a different house on a one-to-one basis, he hoped that it would work and he would actually make a new friend from a different house by the end of the conversation. When he asked him how he skipped the stone, he smiled. Most of the times when he skipped stones he would end up teaching someone or the other and it was a fun hobby so Kyle did not mind doing it.

"Its pretty easy. The key is to get a flat stone, not too big" he said as he bent down and picked up two flat stones. Handing one to the girl he continued "Lean back a bit, flick your wrist and there" he said as he sent another stone skipping into the lake. Where are my manners? he thought in his head as his brains reminded him that he needed to introduce himself. "I'm Kyle Cavanaugh" he said with a smile. "Go ahead and try, it's easy" he told the girl.

 

[Bituin San Buenaventura]

Bituin watched as this person picked up two stones that fit the description he gave her. One he passed on to her and then demostrated how to throw the rock that that it skipped along the water. She followed along mimicking him but not actually throwing the rock. It didn't seem to be that hard when he showed her how to do it. It actually seemed like nice way to pass the time. Trying to get the most bounces along that water before the rock sank to the depths of the lake. The girl began to wonder where this sport first appeared, how many other people learned how to do such a thing just like how she was now. Being taught by another person or even teaching themshelves.

"Oh! I'm Bituin San Buenaventura," she said introducing herself fastly. It was a long name and it took awhile to get through. So usually the girl would say her first name in a normal speed but just rush through her last. Smiling at the boy she turned her body the way he had from the lake and positioned herself in what she thought was the right way. Flicking her wrist she let go of the rock and watched it fly out towards the water. She noticed the rock was flipping over multiple times before it hit the water and imediatly sunk. "Oh, I guess that was a waste of a perfectly flat stone," she said staring out at the ripples in the water.

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Kyle watched the girl calmly as she practiced the hand motion a few times. It had taken Kyle like two hours to the get the hang of it and back then he had been a kid who was teased by his cousins for not knowing how to skip the stone."Biutin..that's a nice name" he said with a smile. He had never known anyone with that name before. Her last name he did not catch as it was long and she said it too quickly. He wondered if where her family was originated from.He watched as she skipped the stone and heard her say it was a waste. "No, that was a pretty good start.Some practice and you'll get it" he told her with a smile. He picked out another flat stone and gave it to her in case she wanted to try again.

New things always took time. It was the same with this Hogwarts and all the first years. Many looked lost and lonely, some homesick and others curious. "Are you in Hufflepuff?"he asked Biutin wondering if his guess on her house was right. "I'm in Gryffindor like my mom" Kyle told the girl. He sometimes wished he would be able to say 'like my brother or sister' but Kyle was the only child and many people at Hogwarts had siblings for those few first years who were lucky that way, the new school was a lot easier.

Out of Character:

I got the inspiration of making Kyle skip stones from this

 

[Bituin San Buenaventura]

Bituin smiled as the boy named Kyle told her that her name was nice. She hadn't really met anyone that thought so. most believed it to hard to really pronouce thought it really isn't that hard. She didn't understand how her told her that it had been a good try. It hit the water and went right in, didn't skip across the water like his. "Maybe. Practice is always good, as long as you are doing it right just getting the wrong ending. Otherwise you might train yourself to do something wrong without knowing it and it'll take a long time to fix that," she answered the boy. Her thoughts were on her older sister who trained herself basically to hate everyone and anyone.

Bituin was about to take the stone from his hand when he asked if she was a Hufflepuff. It made her pause and wonder if she was really a Hufflepuff. "No I'm in Ravenclaw," she answered him. She hadn't even met a Hufflepuff in the school. Bituin herself couldn't even say that she was a Ravenclaw like her mother, her mother wasn't magical after all. She had no idea what her father was, if he was even magical that it. "Can you show me again?" She asked Kyle really wanting to show her Ravenclaw spirit now and learn and master the skill of skipping stones.

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Kyle heard Biutin's reply. It was very sensible and as she later mentioned that she was in Ravenclaw, he kind of got it. Smart people had smart answers. She was like his father. He had told her that not any riff raff go into Ravenclaw and that to enter the common room they always had to answer a question. That clearly showed some true Ravenclaw spirit which Biutin and Patrick Cavanaugh had and Kyle lacked. He was not disappointed by this because Gryffindor was very good and he would have chosen no other house.

As Kyle watched the lake he spotted some disturbance on the water and saw a tiny tail or a fin of something. He wondered what he was and if it was dangerous. So far Kyle had not had a swim in this lake but he thought it was about time that he had a dip. It would be fun and he could even were goggles and check things that grew and lived in the dark waters.

Kyle nodded as Bituin asked if he could show her again. He picked a flat stone and this time handed it into Bituin's hand which he held and swung it back and then forward showing her the hand movement that she would need. Doing it once again he said "And now throw" as their hands approached the far end. He watched the stone go towards the lake wondering how it would land this time.

Out of Character:

sorry it took so long for me to reply and the above post is lame . And I just realized I have been spelling your character's name wrong this whole time Anyway would Bituin be up for a swim?

 

[Bituin San Buenaventura]

Bituin new she wouldn't be good at skipping stones for a long time. It seemed like the boy had been practicing for years. She wasn't a very talented child either so there was no doubt in her mind that this would be yet another thing she did not exel at. Which for a Ravenclaw being bad at something was not a good thing at all. Her house had standards and the girl knew she had to live up to them and she tried her hardest to do so. Typically she took very good notes in all her classes. Though some there wasn't much to take notes on, like Potions in the past two classes. There wasn't really anything she could write about the class where they had to drink Prank Potions. Other then saying that they drank Prank Potions and had various effects on everyone. Her orange had been quite embarassing. Turning bright Orange was something she hoped never happened again.

Bituin smiled at the Gryffindor as he held her hand and moved it back and forth showing her how to throw the rock. When he told her to let go she did and watched as it flew towards the Lake. This time it looked much more like the rocks he threw instead of a terribly thrown American football. It landed on the lake water and to her suprised skipped off once before sinking down to the bottom. That was a much better improvement over the instant sink of her first one. "Wow!"

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Kyle grinned as he watched the stone skip before it sunk. "See" he told Bituin. "That was good" he added as he dusted off his hands as they had got all sandy and dirty. "So what are your hobbies?"he asked Bituin wondering what the Ravenclaw girl liked to do for fun. He could guess that she would probably like reading or something given that she was in Ravenclaw. Kyle could occasionally read a novel but he preferred watching movies. Books could take forever to finish but movies would get over in a short time and they gave you more visual stuff rather than leaving you to imagine everything. "Swimming is one of my hobbies but I like flying and Qudditch most" he told her.

Kyle was very good when it came to swimming, maybe even better than flying. There was no actual scale were he could compare those two skills but he knew that his father had once mentioned to him that if Kyle did very good in swimming and improved then he could even try for the Olympics some day. He was just eleven and still had a few years to practice and Kyle had decided to make the most of it. Swimming in Olympics was one of his dreams besides playing Qudditch on International level.