Fireplace Meanderings

[Grace Concord]

There was something about the first touches of autumn, the leaves starting to change colour and the first touch of winter’s cold that made it a special time of year. OK, so the highlands of Scotland weren’t exactly the warmest of places at the best of times, but as the month drew on the nights started to come a little faster and there was that touch of cold that hung in the air, sharp enough to cut at exposed skin. It wasn’t enough to be uncomfortable, not yet, but enough to encourage any students crossing the courtyards of Hogwarts castle to find their way inside as quickly as possible.

It was, in fact, the perfect weather to curl up by the fire in an armchair, a blanket draped across your legs with a good book. Which was exactly where Grace found herself this evening, as the stars twinkled in the sky above, the windows of the common room like paintings which matched the decoration that surrounded her. If the girl didn’t know better she would have thought that they were art. The girl lifted her eyes from the pages of the book in her lap to stare out of the window, resting her head against one side of the headrest as she stared into the darkness, lost for a moment in thought and the sight of the stars.

@Iliana Tsankova

[Iliana Tsankova]

Regardless of how long she'd lived there already, Ili still hadn't adjusted to Autumn and Winter weather. It was ironic all things considered where she came from but in fairness; British Isles Autumn and Winter was she felt all together wetter than the ones she was familiar with in Russia. She could at least by now almost set her watch by when the seasons would begin to change so she wasn't at all surprised as she made her way into the Ravenclaw common room to find another student curled up with a blanket and book in one of the large comfortable chairs by a window looking entirely lost in her thoughts.

She recalled her own days of doing such when she'd been young, when she had the time and mental energy to let her mind wander. Ili had no such thing anymore it seemed, preparing for N.E.W.T.S and of course finishing up her time here at Hogwarts before she was to set out into the world as an adult; it was all occupying her mind. Along with the continual creeping thoughts of her curiously soft spoken tutor and how easy it had been to open up to him once the realization had come that he came from close enough to be considered home.

A younger student if she had to guess, given she couldn't recall having seen her in any of her own classes but that mattered very little to her; after all they were both Ravenclaw that was what mattered most. The other girl's presence didn't deter her though because regardless of the chill outside she still had to try and work making her way over to another seat near the windows she did her level best not to disturb her. Settling into the chair Indian style with her legs folded beneath her she opened the book in her lap and dug out the quill she'd been using earlier the motion only then seeming to be what snapped the other girl out of her stare causing her to startle and Iliana did as well. "Apologies, I didn't mean to scare you. I was trying not to disturb you."

Holding up her paper and quill she gave her an easy smile, "Was just taking the opportunity and quiet to catch up on some studying."