Second Encounter

[Collin Cambridge]

Collin just finished eating his breakfast. They were the usual pancakes with maple syrup and fresh orange juice but Collin never got tired of eating them. The day was going great despite of Collin's recent argument with his sister and he hoped it would stay that way until the sun goes down again. The argument started yesterday evening when Collin was busy sketching the trophies on the trophy room. He had promised his friends last summer that he would show them some pictures of certain things in Hogwarts but stupid Collin forgot to bring a camera. He already told his mom via owl that he needed a camera but his mother doesn't really trust owls so he'd never got it. Then one day, while taking a promenade along the corridors of the old school, a brilliant idea struck Collin's mind. Almost all of his friends had mentioned that his drawings look like very real and very detailed so why not draw instead? And from that day on, he always brought his sketchpad with him along with a couple of perfectly sharpened pencils and a box of crayons. He already had dozens of drawings filed on his folder and so far, he was simply enjoying his current status. While he was busy coloring that night, Jessica jumped into the picture with her rare grumpy face. She started her usual rant on how it takes a week for the owls to deliver her jewelries but Collin could not care less of the owls' delivery speed. And that's when the argument started. Jessica realized that Collin's drawing pads come faster than her jewelries and then she started complaining. Collin already explained that his drawing pads come earlier than her jewelries because they are much lighter than Jessica's baggage of jewels. As usual, Jess never gets it an argues with him more about how their parents love him more than her. The fight ended when Jessica walked out with her irrelevant sobs and Collin knew he was going to have a word with his father again.

Drawing is the first thing that came up on the Gryffindor’s mind. Drawing is the only thing that can tear Collin away from everything. When he’s drawing, he forgets everything that is happening around him. It’s only him, the pad, the pencil and the view. He stood up from the long chair and began cleaning himself. After dusting off little pancake bits from his newly ironed shirt, Collin grabbed his bag, went out and began to walk towards the North Towers. It was a real challenge, judging all those labyrinth of stairs but now that Collin was a third year and a Gryffindor, he sort of got used to it. Despite of that, he still catches his breath at the end of the stairs. Collin ran his fingers through his golden hair as he inhaled the cool breeze that now surrounded him. It felt like heaven. He had been in the North Tower a thousand times before but every visit feels like the first. The view never fails to amuse the boy. Collin sat down on a bench near the window. He was the only person up here and that was the good thing. Drawing without any annoyance is one of the best things an artist could ever ask for. He quickly grabbed his bag and pulled out his new sketchpad. He also got out a new sharpened pencil from his pocket. After doing so, he looked at the view and smiled. Then, he began drawing.

 

[Damien Blade]

Damien was enjoying his breakfast down in the Great Hall. The place was buzzing with various different conversations between students. Thankfully there was no talk of another Rumor Has It magazine. Damien had never really paid attention to the magazine before he had been mentioned. Only he had heard his name being mentioned last time he wouldn't have given the thing the time of day. Now like many other students in the school he wanted to find out who the culprits were and let them pay. It was because of that blasted magazine that he and Andi were no longer speaking. If the stupid thing hadn't insulted her pride things would have been better. He was still a bit miffed that he had been called gay. Why? Was it just because he liked music? Damien sighed. There was no point even giving the authors of the magazine satisfaction. That was why he had not reacted in the hall. If he had then that was egging them on. He had stayed silent until Andrea had reacted. That's when things had gone wrong. She hadn't taken it well and she thought that he hadn't cared because he hadn't reacted. He hadn't been able to explain his reaction. She had gone off before he could explain. They had both been very angry and they both knew how bad their tempers were. Their clash would not be pleasant. It would end like a disaster. Neither of them had spoken in ages and even though he didn't like to admit it,he missed her . She had been a close friend of his and now they were avoiding each other. Damien felt like banging his head off the table. To make matters worse JazzyMae was acting out lately. She was having mood swings and Damien didn't really know how to act around her. When he had accidently called her pretty she had taken it the wrong way entierly. They hadn't spoken since and like Andi he missed her. His feelings for her had changed. Rather unexpectedly. It had been a complete shock to him but the more he thought of it the more it felt right but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way. She seemed so fragile. Damien just wanted to wrap her up in a hug and tell her everything was going to be alright. But from experience Damien knew that didn't always work and it wasn't always right. Some things just aren't going to be alight but you have to deal with them and get through them.

Damien was at a complete loss as to what he was supposed to do. Why did girls have to be so moody and complicated. Damien groaned and stood up quickly. Startling the group of girls beside him. He muttered an apology as he left the Hall and headed up to the common room.A lot had happened recently. Some good and some bad. Damien was a whirlwind of emotions. His feelings changed quickly and with out warning. One minute he could be perfectly content and the next he would be angry,annoyed ,upset or confused. It was exhausting. It was affecting his work in class. He found he couldn't concentrate. His mind constantly turning to thoughts of the two girls who nearly had him on the edge. He knew the only thing that would help him concentrate was his music. He hadn't played it in a while and he felt guilty for neglecting his guitar for so long. He had been so focused on other things he had totally forgotten about the thing that would make him feel better no matter what.He jogged up the short flight of stairs to his dorm. He bent down and retrieved his guitar from under his bed. He looked at it affectionately before grabbing a pencil of his notebook which were on the locker beside his bed. Music had been one of the only constant things in his life. It had always been there ever since he was a toddler. It was one of the only things that had never changed. It was comforting and was one of the reasons it helped him so much. He walked out of the dorm and out of the common room. He walked towards the North Tower. It was one of his favorite places in the caste. Lovely views and usually quiet so he could play his guitar with out a distraction.

He walked into the Tower and went straight over to the edge. As usually the view was amazing. There was a breeze blowing and Damien felt his hair which was as usual sticking up but not in a messy fashion being blown. His mother had said he needed it cut but he liked the way his hair was. He had managed to avoid the hairdressers but he wasn't sure for how much longer. He sat down on a bench and put his guitar on his knee. He wanted to just play a song or two just to clear his mind. He didn't to play something sad and slow. He opted for a much happier summery song. Once he had it chosen he began to sing.


Oh, Oh
Take me back, take me back
Oh yeah
Back to summer paradise

My heart is sinking
As I'm lifting up
Above the clouds away from you
And I can't believe I'm leaving
Oh I don't kno-kno-know what I'm gonna do

But someday
I will find my way back
To where your name
Is written in the sand

Cause I remember every sunset
I remember every word you said
We were never gonna say goodbye
Singing la-da-da-da-da

Tell me how to get back to
Back to summer paradise with you
And I'll be there in a heartbeat
Oh-oh
I'll be there in a heartbeat
Oh-oh

(Tell 'em)........

 

[Collin Cambridge]

One thing Collin love most about drawing is that when he is doing so, it's like everything ceases to exist. It's just him, the pad, the pencil and whatever it is that he's copying. When he is drawing, he is not aware of the time passing. One minute it's 10:00 and the next it's already 11:30. He never really notices it because he is so caught up on what he is doing. When he is drawing, it's like he's visiting his own world, his own creation. And there is no world better than that. When he is drawing, his problems would all go away. Everything would just be perfect. Collin wished it would be like that every moment of his life. Without his sister annoying him, without his mother talking about parties all the time, without his father controlling his life. Everything would just be perfect. But beyond that island of perfection stands the island of disgrace. Collin would eventually be lifted from his paradise and be transported back into the real world. Collin wished he would just draw forever but he knows his hand would get tired eventually and if he continued on drawing on a single view forever, it would end as a disaster.

As Collin was caught up with his drawing, a boy came inside the towers. He did not really notice him since he was too focused. When he was close to finishing another masterpiece, beautiful music distracted him from his hobby. It was not Jessica's usual punk songs but rather a different style of music. Collin listened to it eagerly as he continued on drawing. True, drawing has been really his first love but he also had a thing for music. He knows how to play piano. His friend Gregg had taught him how back when he was eight. Collin was close to finishing his drawing when the music stopped. Collin raised an eyebrow in annoyance and looked up to where the music came from. That's the time he noticed someone was occupying the towers as well now when it had been empty except for him when he started drawing. He was boy, holding a simple guitar. He looked very familiar. Collin racked his memory and found out he was that Blade boy he met last year. "Hey!" Collin called out, with his British accent clogging it. "I know you! You're that Blade boy, am I right?" He asked with the same accent.

 

[Damien Blade]

Damien had never had an easy life. Things had always been harder for him then most people his age. He had been poor basically. Well technically not poor, they had just had enough money to scrape by. That was putting it mildly. Damien had had to busk everyday after school, Chloe had worked all day at any sort of place she could.There had been no heating in their small flat, just a fireplace that was only used when necessary because fuel was expensive. They had had enough food,water and clothes. They had the necessities which was all they needed really. The only luxury they had was his guitar and her piano which she had bought when she was sixteen. Music was their only source of amusement. Life would ave been incredibly boring without their long evenings of playing music together. It was nice after a long day of work to be able to just sit down and play music together, make music together.It had been as nice escape from their current situation. They made the best out of the situation. Life wasn't as bad as it could have been. They had tried to look at the class as if it were half full not empty. It hadn't been easy at times. Damien had hated school. He had despised everything about it. Especially the people inside the school. Bunch of wasters and bullies.School was one thing he did not miss at all, he was glad to see the back of it.

Damien stopped playing the guitar mid through the song. He did like this song, he had written it on a particularly nice summer evening three years ago. He wasn't in the mood for it though, too many thoughts were running through his head. He was just not feeling the song and he was slightly frustrated that he couldn't even play his own music. Was he really that messed up emotionally he couldn't even play his own music? Damien sighed and put his guitar down. He didn't know why this was affecting him so much. Music was the only thing he had always been with him since he was a baby. It had been the one constant in his life and it had always made him feel better but now his head was too full or worried thoughts. Damien's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone speak. He looked up quickly and frowned, this boy did look familiar, his name was at the tip of his tongue but it wasn't coming to him. "I am"He said uncertainly "I know you too but I can't think of your name"He said thinking back over the past year "I'm sorry, it's just not coming to me. Whats your name?"He asked, rather embarrassed he could not remember the boys name.

 

[Collin Cambridge]

Collin started drawing at the age of four. It was a random drawing. He did not knew what he was doing but his mum certainly loved it. It was a bouquet of flowers, nothing very special. Collin was bored that day. He was learning to write his name on a paper but eventually got tedious. He saw the bouquet and decided to copy it. While he was drawing, his mother noticed it and praised it and since then, Collin had been drawing many things for his mum. Drawing had been his hobby since then. And since that day, all Collin wanted to be when he grew up is to be an architect or a member of the Ministry. But sadly, he knew that his dreams would never come to life for he knew that he will take over their family's company when his father retires. Music is another thing. The Cambridges have been long musical lovers. They adored different kinds of music. Collin loves listening to music whenever he draws. Back home in his drawing room, he always play classical music in the background as he sketches his masterpiece. Classical music is cool to the ears and blends well with the smell of turpentine in the air.

Blade was that boy Collin met last year at the Gryffindor Common Room. They hadn't talked much just exchanged a few words. Collin forgot what his name was but he remembered his last name. Blade seemed to have forgot about him. "I'm Collin Cambridge" He said casually, with his British accent. Blade appeared to be American, judging his accent. Collin noticed the view changing when he took a single glance at the view. The sun was continuing to rise and it somehow changed the color of the grasses. Collin immediately took his color pencil and hurriedly finished his drawing before anything can be changed.

 

[Damien Blade]

Damien's really only talent was music. He wasn't good anything else. Basketball was the closest thing after music he was good at. He was useless at school though that wasn't really his fault. With the proper help as a child he could have been good in school and maybe actually enjoyed it instead of the cr@p school he had attending as a kid. Damien certainly didn't have anything else going for him, music was his only hope as a career. He loved music and would love to pursue a career in it. Magic had certainly been a good thing that had come into his life. He wasn't sure what he would be doing now if he hadn't attended Hogwarts. He would probably be going to a normal secondary school and would have learning support everyday. All in all he guessed things would be pretty much the same except he wouldn't be magical. He liked Hogwarts but he didn't thing he would go anywhere with magic. It would be useful to him in the future but not for jobs. He didn't know if there was any sort of a magical musical industry. He had heard of some bands from friends but really he preferred muggle singers and bands. He had a feeling he had more options in the muggle world with music also.

He had spoken to this boy briefly before, nothing much had been passed between them but he vaguely remembered him as being nice, he had no bad memories anyways. No sirens were buzzing telling him to keep away. If those boy had been bad news he would probably have remembered him also. "Oh hey Colin, sorry I knew your face but I couldn't think of your name. I'm Damien"He said smiling and watching as Colin seemed to draw something on his paper "What are you drawing?"He asked curiously. He hoped he didn't mind him asking, he would drop the issue if he wanted.