Taking time to appreciate nature...

[Alice Hills]

Alice walked through the garden, admiring the flowers and the nature. She hadn't been to the garden before and had finally found the time to visit it. Walking around, she noticed some pretty flowers and crouched down, to take a better look at them. Smiling down at them, she gently held one in her hand, before noticing a broken flower lying on the side of the garden. Picking it up carefully, she checked that it wasn't attatched to anything, before sticking it through her bun at the back of her hair, where her long, brown curls were tied up messily but so that they still looked nice. Smiling at the effect, she carried on walking through the garden, thinking about her time at Hogwarts so far.

 

[Vito Machiavelli]

Vito had always liked gardens. Gardens, to him, was a place of solace in which he could truly interact with nature. He liked to play his guitar here. There wasn't an audience, there wasn't anyone to judge him but the birds, the flowers and the occasional small animal that visited the gardens themselves. Today, Vito woke up especially early to visit the Hogwarts Gardens for the first time, since he had never been there before. He made himself two bacon sandwiches and placed them in a paper bag so he could eat at the garden. With the sandwiches stowed away safely in his bag, he slung his guitar over his shoulder and walked out of the Great Hall, towards the general direction of the Gardens.

His lungs swelled in a sudden intake of air that tasted sweet - Perhaps due to the flowers that populated the garden and also in surprise at it's beauty. Vito was sure that he had seen a few pretty gardens in his time but the Hogwarts Garden took the crown. A trace of movement broke the panorama in his eyes as he saw a girl prance around the flowers and admiring them. Vito found himself with the intention of talking to her, after all, he thought it'd be good if he started making friends in this school.

A light smile appeared on Vito's face as he said wryly "That'd look better." Vito then pointed to a rose that which stem has been probably accidentally been trampled on and lay broken near the side of the path.

 

[Alice Hills]

Alice looked up as someone spoke to her. Looking around, she finally found her gaze resting upon a boy, probably in the 1st year like her. "Hi." She said quietly, following his gaze. Looking at the rose, she raised her eyebrows. Pulling her flower out of her hair, she held it next to the rose that he had shown her. "It may look better, but a rose has thorns." She said quietly, thinking more about the metaphor behind the words than the literal sense in its self. "But it is pretty really. Im just not keen on beautiful things that end up hurting you." She said, this time referring to an old relationship that she had been in. Shaking herself out of it, she smiled again at the boy, taking him in for the first time. "Sorry, how rude of me. Im Alice." She said softly, sticking her original flower back in her hair but still picking up the rose and twirling it in her fingers.

 

[Vito Machiavelli]

Vito continued to smile wryly at the girl comment on his choice of flowers and her short explanation on her rejection of the rose. There was definitely a metaphor behind the words, as a rose's thorn can barely hurt you unless you hold it really, really tightly. It reminded Vito of the song sung by Poison his father always listened to when he was younger, Every Rose Has It's Thorn. He learnt that song on his guitar recently and it was one of his favourites, with it's quiet melody and the huge influx of similes and metaphors within it's lyrics.

"No, no. I should be the one apologizing. I'm Vito."

He spoke in his usual calm, indifferent voice and finished it off with a slight bow. It was one aspect of him that caused everyone to comment on his maturity. It made him sound much more serious, much older than he actually was. He couldn't help himself, really. Vito was raised in a family which trained him to be the perfect gentleman, a man that is usually seen during formal occasions.

"It's a beautiful world out there, isn't it?" Vito turned around and looked at the hedge wall before him. He reached out with one hand to touch a vine that grew from it, feeling it's veins.

 

[Alice Hills]

Alice smiled as he gracefully let her keep her own flower. If it had bee Fayt, he would have argued with her constantly, she knew that. Thanking the heavens that it hadn't been Fayt who had found her in this mixed up state, she smiled and nodded, acknowledging his name. "Vito." She muttered quietly, letting the name hang off her tongue and float away in the air. Seeing him gazing at the flowers, she pulled her bag off her shoulder and rummaged in it, looking for something specific. Finally finding a neatly folded piece of paper, she smiled and handed it to him, unfolding it as she did so. It was a drawing that she had recently done of a rose but she hadn't found anyone to appreciate her drawing skills yet. Hoping that because he was a nature guy, he would like it, she shut her bag. She had recently been collecting an assortment of items in her bag, sheets of music and random old drawings. Deciding that she had to soon start clearing it all out so she had room for her books, she decided to give it to him.

 

[Vito Machiavelli]

Vito gently took the piece of paper from the girl and appraised the sketch. It was a well done sketched, the shadings, the lines and all. Everything was in perfect proportion. Nothing overwhelmed anything. He carefully folded the picture back together and slid it into his chest pocket. He didn't want to crease the paper. No drawing deserved to be creased. Looking back up at the girl, Vito softly said "The picture is beautiful." which, in the silent garden seemed to have been shouted out. An apologetic look then crept up and into Vito's face as he shrugged and smiled guiltily at the girl.

"I have nothing to give you."

 

[Alice Hills]

Alice smiled and looked down at the floor as he praised her work. It was nice for someone to finally appreciate her work, and actually like it. Shrugging modestly, she let the comments fly away in the garden. She wasn't really the sort of person to accept praise properly, she found it awkward to know what to do with it. Scuffing her foot along the floor, she looked up as he spoke. It was very loud and she looked around, wondering if anyone else heard it. "Don't worry. Your company is enough." She said, smiling at him. She felt that she needed people around her at the moment, and found it hard to be on her own with her thoughts, because they overwhelmed her and confused her. She found it fun to be with people and take her mind off continuing problems. Her thoughts had enough time to swallow her up at night time, and she didn't want them taking over her daytime activities as well.

 

[Vito Machiavelli]

A light smile danced on Vito's face as Alice declared that his company alone was enough. This seemed to be going pretty well, with the acceptance he has received from the girl. Nodding his head, Vito continued to walk by her side, listening in on the sound of the birds chirping, a sign of the morning progressing. It would be nice to have a friend in this school, even though the relationship wasn't exactly set in stone yet. It's always good to have a friend, or friends around you if you were going to be spending seven years in the same place over and over again. Opening his mouth to speak, Vito said in his previous soft tone "Would you like to sit down somewhere? I brought my breakfast. We could share, if you haven't eaten."

 

[Alice Hills]

Alice carried on walking, looking around at the flowers and trying to stop herself sitting down at the exact moment to capture the light from the sun and the way it glinted on the flowers, looking like they were on fire. She looked up at Vito as he spoke and smiled. It was only when he mentioned how early it was, that she realised that she hadn't eaten. She had been planning to have a look around the gardens and then go up for breakfast, but guessing from the sun's angle, if she wanted food, she would have to go to the kitchens. Smiling and nodding, she refrained herself from checking if it was ok, realising that because he had offered, he obviously meant it. "That would be lovely." She said, smiling at him. "Thank you." She added, remembering her manners. As the carried on walking, Alice pointed to a little clearing in the flowers that would be perfect to sit and eat. "Here?" She inquired, wondering where he was looking for. The sun had come out from a cloud and shone on her hair, making it seem lighter and more curly at the same time. Checking that her flower was still in place, she sat down.

 

[Vito Machiavelli]

"Sure. That position looks perfect." Vito then decided to allow Alice to go ahead and sit first. It was never polite to sit before a lady did. The flowers that surrounded the clearing were lovely. They were flowers of all colours, different, different colours. It all formed a montage which can only be described by one word - Beautiful. Furthermore, there was a gentle breeze in the clearing, bringing the combined sweet scents of these flowers diffusing through the air, perfectly.

Once he had sat down, he placed his guitar case beside him and his bag on top of it. Releasing the clasp on his bag, he dug around inside for the sandwiches that he had packed and wrapped in plastic wrap. He brought all four out, placing them on his palm and presenting them to the girl. "Which one would you like? Tuna, egg, bacon or cheese?" he asked with a polite smile, letting her have a choice first.

 

[Alice Hills]

Alice smiled at him as he joined her. She glanced at the guitar case and made a mental note to ask him about it later. She guessed from it that he was musical and this would be something else that the could both talk about, but still be relaxed with what was said or done with the whole topic. She wouldn't boost about her musical talent, although it would be nice for her to find someone who would actually appreciate it rather than just nod and agree with her. Sighing as she thought of how many people she had met that did this, she missed his question. Smiling politely, she took a wild guess that he asked her what sandwich she would like. Shrugging, she smiled. "I don't mind. You choose first, i mean, it is your breakfast above mine." She said, laughing softly at how polite the boy was. It wasn't every day that you met someone so nice and gentlemanly.

 

[Vito Machiavelli]

Vito shook his head at the girl's rejection of his offer to let her choose first. With all the manners in which he was taught and grew up in, there was no way he was going to allow himself to pick anything before a girl. Vito's smile grew slightly wider as he offered the handful of sandwiches to the girl again, this time with a slight tone of insistence in his voice. "Pick first and I'll play you a song later." Vito laughed softly, the sound reverbrating throughout the enclosed area.

 

[Alice Hills]

Alice sighed, she could see that they wouldn't get anywhere with this arguing. She felt bad that she was eating his breakfast, but pointed to the smallest one which was the cheese one and smiled. "Thank you so much." She said, her manners flowing fluently now. He was very much like a gentleman and Alice thought that this was good, because it was a dying trait. It felt nice to be treated with respect for once and she smiled again. Her eyes flicked to the guitar again. She was wondering whether he would be able to teach her a few more chords. She knew basic ones, but like her Spanish, it wasn't fluent and took her a few minutes to work it out when asked for. Hoping that he would play a song that she knew, she looked down at the sandwich with hunger and took a small bite. It tasted good, like all the food at HNZ, but she had decided that cheese was her new favourite filling.

 

[Vito Machiavelli]

"You're welcome" was the only thing Vito said in reply to her thank you before he unwrapped the bacon sandwich and took a large bite out of it. He was famished and he hated being hungry. The feeling made him feel weak, useless even. He took a side glance at the girl beside him as he took another bite from the sandwich, effectively eating up half of it. The girl seemed pretty pleasant to be around, shy, sometimes, but most girls were. She looked like someone Vito was willing to befriend and be around for, since to him, once a friendship is made he must always be there for the person.

 

[Alice Hills]

Alice smiled back at Vito and took another bite of her sandwich. "You are in Hufflepuff? Right?" She asked, trying to remember back to the sorting ceremony that seemed a life-time ago. She couldn't remember him going into Gryffindor, he wasn't a Slytherin and she was pretty sure that he wasn't in Ravenclaw. By process of elimination, she figured that he would be in Hufflepuff. She liked the people in hufflepuff, finding them kind and caring. She enjoyed their company, but felt slightly sorry for them. The legend went that Helga Hufflepuff took all of the remaining witches and wizards, who didn't fit into the expectations of the other houses. Gryffindor took the brave, Slytherin took the pureblooded (and evil in Alice's opinion,) and Ravenclaw took the clever and the wise. She wondered how most of the Hufflepuff's felt, but she guessed that they would be ok with it because it was a nice house still.