By the Gate

[Simon Hedwig]

Where students hand around before and after Care of Magical Creatures Class.

[Justin Morson]

Justin stood behind the gate, gazing into the paddock. There hadn't been much going on this school year. It felt wierd now that all the troublemakers were gone. The school seemed dull and dead. Everything was so quiet. It would have been enjoyable if people wouldn't have been to adjusted to the presence of Danika, Ceallagh, Krysta, Caeleb, Kelly and Kildara. He shivered at the thought of those names. He knew he shouldn't have thought like that, because it was a good thing that the wizarding world was in peace, but a part of him wanted to go back to the last year, to enjoy the excitement and events again.

[Sophia Herrera]

Sophia walked up to the gate and looked around. Her outfit was definitely not made for playing around in the paddock but it didn't seem to bother her. She leaned on the railing and smiled as she looked out. This was a safe place for her, away from all the looks and jeers that the other girls gave her. She was new sure, she was good looking, rich and smart all the factors that made the other girls jealous and made the guys either want something from her or avoid her. She sighed and lifted her low heeled, designer shoes onto the lower railing making her already slightly short skirt ride a little higher revealing more of her long legs. Pushing aside her dark brown hair she peered out wishing she were back home with her horses. Her eyes caught someone a few feet away and she turned her head to see a boy roughly her age. She hurriedly put her foot down so her shirt would fall back down. She didn't know the boy. Should she go say hello? He's probably do the same thing as the others. Boys.

[Justin Morson]

Justin turned his head as he saw someone else approaching the paddock. The girl didn't notice him, so he didn't say anything. He watched her climb on the lower railing and sighing. She was very pretty with her brown hair and tanned skin. Her short skirt was just perfect for her build. He didn't want to stare at her, so his thoughts travelled. Why did all the girls have to be so pretty? He didn't understand that. Why couldn't there be atleast one girl in the whole school, who was just average. It would make his job a lot easier he thought and grinned. it was really hard to be friends with absolutely beautiful girls. Like Frankie for example. Suddenly he saw the girl looking at him and he turned his grin into a soft smile. "Hello there!" he walked slowly up to her "My name is Justin, 6th year Ravenclaw. I haven't seen you around school earlier, are you new?"

[Sophia Herrera]

Sophia stared out at the paddock, at the grass growing freely and blowing in a slight breeze only they felt and a small smile came to her face. This is what she always pictured peace as, just like this paddock. Her attention was pulled from the serine nature by the sound of the boys voice. She turned toward him as he walked up to her and flashed him a brilliant smile. "Yes, I am new. My name is Sophia," her Spanish accent was strong but her grasp on English was also. "I am a 6th year..." she looked down at the color of her robes and blushed as she strained for the unfamiliar word. "Umm...Gryffin?" She laughed lightly and shook her head, "I am sorry. I am not familiar with the unusual names yet."

[Justin Morson]

Justin laughed loudly "Gryffindor yeah" slowly his voice turned into a quiet chuckle. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to be rude." He felt really embarrassed and he lowered his head, so that Sophia couldn't see his ears turning red. After a minute he restored eye contact "I'm sorry I laughed at you. It's just that we don't get a lot of foreigners around here." his thoughts wondered to Ceallagh, Isabella and a few others. "I do like your accent though. It's very .. ahem .. sexy, in need of a better word." He smiled at her and his thoughts flashed back to Frankie. Don't give up on her yet he thought to himself. "I mean, yeah. I feel embarrassed now" he chuckled. Get a grip, no one wants you anyway.

[Sophia Herrera]

May 3, 2009 0:49:21 GMT 8 Justin Morson said:

Justin laughed loudly "Gryffindor yeah" slowly his voice turned into a quiet chuckle. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to be rude." He felt really embarrassed and he lowered his head, so that Sophia couldn't see his ears turning red. After a minute he restored eye contact "I'm sorry I laughed at you. It's just that we don't get a lot of foreigners around here." his thoughts wondered to Ceallagh, Isabella and a few others. "I do like your accent though. It's very .. ahem .. sexy, in need of a better word." He smiled at her and his thoughts flashed back to Frankie. Don't give up on her yet he thought to himself. "I mean, yeah. I feel embarrassed now" he chuckled. Get a grip, no one wants you anyway.

Sophia turned red as Justin laughed at her and her quick temper she inherited from her mother started to flair. When she heard his apology however she regained her composure quickly, a gift from her diplomatic father. "It is alright." She watched as he looked down and saw he was turning slightly red. She smiled and stepped up higher on the railings so that she could sit on the top railing facing him. "I can understand that. We do not get many Englishman in Spain." She crossed her legs and looked at him curiously as he said he liked her accent. "Sexy?" Of course he did, well at least she knew what category he fell into. She smiled and placed her hands on the railing, "Do not be embarrased." She looked at him, he was rather cute though it was too bad he fell into the want something category. Maybe her father was right in how he kept her sheltered. She looked around a bit and then back at him, "So why are you out here all alone?"

[Justin Morson]

He watched Sophia sit on the top of the railing. She looked so beautiful, it made him smile. "Well, I think I'm doing the same thing you are. Waiting for the class to start?" He looked at her shyly, trying to banish his thoughts of her body. "Besides, we aren't here alone. There is life everywhere around us." He gazed around, as if looking for something. Then he took a rock from the ground and closed it in his palm . "Want to see a trick?" he flashed a smile at her and placed his hand over hers. As he opened his palm again, a flower fell into her hand. He looked up at Sophia "By the way, no, I'm not trying to show off" he told her, predicting her thoughts. "I'm just trying to be friendly and trust me, in this school you're gonna need friends."

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon walked around the side of the hut and saw that finally some students had arrived.
"Ah! I was beginning to think no one was coming." he called out to them as he unlatched the gate and pushed it open. "Is it just you two? I have a lot more on my sign-up sheet." he said peering at the class list in his hand sceptically. Was morale in the school so bad that the students had simply stopped turning up to classes now?
"Well it's their loss. Come along in to the paddock. We'll give the others a few more minutes before we get started." he told them and motioned for them to pass through the gate. His last lesson had been about Unicorns and it had been quite popular. He hoped he could keep them interested this term.

[Sophia Herrera]

May 3, 2009 2:35:50 GMT 8 Justin Morson said:

He watched Sophia sit on the top of the railing. She looked so beautiful, it made him smile. "Well, I think I'm doing the same thing you are. Waiting for the class to start?" He looked at her shyly, trying to banish his thoughts of her body. "Besides, we aren't here alone. There is life everywhere around us." He gazed around, as if looking for something. Then he took a rock from the ground and closed it in his palm . "Want to see a trick?" he flashed a smile at her and placed his hand over hers. As he opened his palm again, a flower fell into her hand. He looked up at Sophia "By the way, no, I'm not trying to show off" he told her, predicting her thoughts. "I'm just trying to be friendly and trust me, in this school you're gonna need friends."

Sophia smiled at Justin's reply and nodded, "I suppose you are right. Though I just enjoy the outdoors." She leaned on the railing that she sat on and inhaled deeply, "Ahhh...see the crisp clean scent of nature." She smiled again at his profoundly acute statement, Maybe there is more to this one than meets the eye.... "In the old days...people used to worship the different things. Everything had a 'god' as it were and to appease the god you either sacrificed something," she made a face in disgust, "or offer gifts. If you wanted rain, the rabbits to stop eating your cabbage...more fish, what have you. Of course they attributed it to 'miracles' but I bet most things happened by a witch or wizard...." She trailed off as she realized she was babbling and turned slightly red, "Sorry," she muttered quietly. As he asked if she wanted to see a trick she smiled and nodded, making her hair fall over her face so she had to push it back. She watched as he picked up a rock and placed his hand over hers, as the rock turned into a flower and fell into her hands. Her first instinct was to readjust her thoughts of him again since it seemed he was fishing to be on her good side but hearing her explanation and how he seemed to realize what she was going to say, her smile grew and she looked at him, "That is really neat. So...you are good in transfiguration?"

May 3, 2009 22:30:36 GMT 8 Simon Hedwig said:

Simon walked around the side of the hut and saw that finally some students had arrived.
"Ah! I was beginning to think no one was coming." he called out to them as he unlatched the gate and pushed it open. "Is it just you two? I have a lot more on my sign-up sheet." he said peering at the class list in his hand sceptically. Was morale in the school so bad that the students had simply stopped turning up to classes now?
"Well it's their loss. Come along in to the paddock. We'll give the others a few more minutes before we get started." he told them and motioned for them to pass through the gate. His last lesson had been about Unicorns and it had been quite popular. He hoped he could keep them interested this term.

Her attention was drawn when she saw a rather good looking, older, what had to be, professor walking around the hut and up to them. It seemed that this school, unlike the one back home she had attended, was filled with rather attractive professors instead of the old witches and wizards that seemed to be about one hundred. She smiled as the professor spoke and nodded as she said in her thick Spanish accent, "It appears as such professor." As he told them to come inside she hopped off the railings and landed rather gracefully beside Justin. Looking at him she smiled and placed the flower he had transfigured in her hair elegantly and grabbed his hand, "Come on. I want to see what we are to learn today." She grinned and led him past the gate and the professor, flashing a smile at him as she passed.

[Justin Morson]

Justin smiled at Sophia "I'm pretty good at Transfiguration yeah, but everything that involves earth comes juat naturally" he paused for a moment "I guess it's more like something I was born with." He took a deep breath and looked back at her "Not many people know about it, but I'm an elementalist." He knew it sounded wierd, so he decided to explain a bit further. "What I mean is, I don't want people to know, because they might think that that's why I'm so good in Transfiguration. It's not. I mean, it is, but there's also a lot of hard work included, cause most of the things we do, don't always include earthy objects." He sent her an apologetic smile. Then he noticed professor Hedwig coming towards them. "Morning, professor." He listened to Sophia's soft voice as she spoke. He was drawn to her more and more by the minute, but her thoughts were stuck with Frankie, whether he liked it or not. So he was pleasantly surprised when Sophia landed next to him and took his hand. He felt a warm wave flow through his body, but he wasn't given any time to ponder about it, since Sophia pulled him along. As he passed the professor he smiled at him apologetically and shouted over his shoulder "New girl. Too much energy."

[Alycya Weasley]

Alycya raced down from the castle to the paddocks, and saw Professor Hedwog and Justin and Sophia.
Oh no! I'm late! Great! Head Girl is late for class!
She raced up behind the others as they were walking along, puffing slightly from her running.
"I'm soooo sorry I'm late, Professor," she breathed out. Golly she was unfit! "Head Girl duties - y'know."

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon rubbed his arms furiously trying to warm himself up. It had been a cold winter and Spring seemed reluctant to come out of hibernation.
The place was dead. There was no other way to describe it. The peace had been welcomed at first, but years training and rearing dragons had given Simon a taste for excitement. But with Liz still missing and Krysta leaving the country, there seemed little chance of it. All the trouble-makers were in Azkaban anyway.
He hitched open the Paddock Fence and waited to see if anyone would actually turn up for class.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon looked up from the broken fence and squinted against the Autumn sunshine. The sun was low over the mountains and a hazy mist was starting to appear over the highest peaks. He sighed and returned to his work. One of the Thestrals had somehow managed to destroy three of the panels the night before and he was fixing it old style. There was something satisfying about hitting the rusty nails with the hammer that just wasn't the same using a wand.

For several minutes he worked silently, the only sound the birds in the forest nearby and the hammer against the nail. He barely noticed when the kestrel landed on the post by his shoulder. He jumped when it squawked in his ear.
"Jesu...Kattera?!" he exclaimed recognising the bird immediately. It was his sister's faithful pet with a scroll in her claws.
He took the letter carefully, suddenly on edge. What could his sister be writing to him about? He hadn't heard from her since she and Sebastian had eloped to Europe.

As he read the letter his fingers tightened on the parchment and his eyes widened with shock...and then joy.

"It's a girl."