(Untitled)

[niamh_gannon]

Week Name/Date/Time: 'Promises and Plans'/ Monday, 10 October / 2:45 PM
Location: corridor near the Great Hall
Open To: Avery
Currently Involving: Niamh

Comments

[averykellaway]

Avery was on her way out of the castle. It would be such a waste if the day had been spent inside, when it was clearly so beautiful out. For once, she had left all her books in her dorm, and her worries locked in her trunk, all ready to take in the beauty of nature.

As she was strolling along the corridors, she let her gaze wander, looking out the window at the beam of sunlight creeping in. She must've not been looking at where she was going, because the next thing she knew, something hard collided with her abdomen and she let out a strained yelp.

Stumbling for a moment, and then regaining her footing, she looked at the small figure in front of her. "Why, if it isn't Niamh Gannon," she said, smiling at the first year. "Are you alright?"

She bent down, picked up some of Niamh's books and handed them to her. "I don't seem to recall ever seeing you around these days. Does this mean I've lost all contact with the outside world, or have you been in hiding?" Avery, of course, meant that to be a joke, since she had really enjoyed their previous conversations and loved being around the rather cheerful-looking girl.

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh smiled weakly up at Avery, "I'm okay, yeah." She began collecting her things and cramming them back into her bag.

She took the books from Avery gratefully and crammed them into the bag, too. She flinched at Avery's comment, but of course the Gryffindor didn't know anything about what Niamh had been doing or why. Only a few Ravenclaws knew about it, and that was only because she'd dropped her journal in the dormitory.

"Er, I've been... um, busy. S-studying in the common r-room a lot." It was only partly a lie, really, but her cheeks went a little pink and she looked down on the floor, not wanting to make eye contact.

[averykellaway]

Avery eyed the girl curiously. She seemed rather shaken, as if the collision had caused her to lose her composure. But that couldn't be it, could it? She used to be so outgoing and cheerful, but this Niamh seemed almost.. scared?

Watching as she stuffed her things haphazardly into her bag, Avery placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Are you really okay? I hope I didn't scare you or anything." She wrinkled her eyebrows, feeling rather confused. Niamh couldn't be terrified of her, could she?

She got even more worried when Niamh stammered in her reply and looked down. Studying the girl's posture, she realised that Niamh seemed to have lost some weight. And she was already so tiny to begin with. This was getting worrisome. "Hey, is there something you.. um, want to talk about?"

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh glanced around, feeling nervous. She didn't want anyone to notice her or worry about her, but it seemed she couldn't avoid it forever. No matter how invisible she wanted to be, it seemed people still wanted to be nice to her.

Swallowing hard, she looked up, attempting a smile again, "I-I'm okay. You didn't scare me, honest. I guess I'm just... distracted," her face flushed again. She really was a terrible liar. Bradan would be ashamed of her.

Realizing that the older girl was studying her, Niamh began shifting from one foot to the other, "Er. I..." she almost wanted to say yes, but she could't bring herself to. She shook her head and looked down again, "I-I'm fine. I mean, it's not like any Slytherins have done anything to me or anything. I just..." she trailed off, too embarrassed.

[averykellaway]

Pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Avery continued to look at Niamh, rather concerned. She probably shouldn't probe her too much, but still, if it was possible, she would definitely want to help.

She removed her hand from Niamh's shoulder and placed both hands behind her back. "Okay, then, if you say so." She smiled warmly at the girl, and reached out to ruffle her hair slightly. Looking at Niamh like this and feeling the urge to want to make things right for her, Avery wondered if perhaps this was the side of her which longed so much for a younger sibling, showing.

Pushing her thoughts aside, she stuffed one hand into the pocket of her robes and slung the other around Niamh's shoulders. "C'mon, let's go outside shall we? If you don't have classes at the moment, that is. Even if you do.." She checked the time. "You're already late. And, I'm beginning to think the dark interior of the castle is causing us all some major emotional breakdown." She shook her head. Slytherins, eh? Certainly didn't sound like they've been keeping to themselves.

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh smiled a little. She couldn't stop herself. Avery was just being too friendly, and when the older girl ruffled her hair, she let out a small giggle. It reminded her for a moment of something Bradan might do if he were there. Oddly, instead of bringing up her homesickness, it made her want to smile. Perhaps because it was a happy memory rather than a fear for the future.

When Avery offered to let Niamh go outside with her, Niamh gave a geniuine smile, "I've not any class. Study hall was my last class for the day. I'd love to go outside. Seems I haven't really been much lately," she paused, thinking of the one outing she'd made on Saturday and smiled a little more. That had been fun. She might be wanting to hide a lot, but the outdoors were always quite tempting to her. She pulled her bag onto her shoulder and looked up at the older girl with a grateful though still small, smile.

[averykellaway]

Now that was the Niamh that Avery had met and liked. The bright, sunshiney girl who talked with an excited voice about things that interested her. Sure, she had been rather unsure when she had first met her, but that could be understood. "There you are. I was wondering when you'd show up," she joked, laughing softly at themselves. Part of the reason she had wanted to fight against the evil which their side - the good one - believed to be threatening the school and possibly the Wizarding world, was because of these younger kids. And as Bran had said, they'd be fighting to keep everyone safe from harm.

"Oh, good then! We could go outside and get some fresh air. And did you not tell me that you like to climb trees? I'd never be able to do it, but maybe you can show me how you do that?" she asked, smiling back at the younger girl.

She led her towards the door leading to the castle, which was, by then, full of students who had finished their classes for the day - or maybe some who had skipped? - looking to get outdoors. And Avery couldn't blame them. It was exactly why she liked flying so much. Because then, she would be free, above the ground, above her worries.

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh smiled again. She really did like Avery. The older girl was one of the nicest people she'd met so far at Hogwarts, and she was very glad to see her. She felt quite a bit less sad than she had in the last few days as she stood here talking with Avery.

Her eyes went wide, nodding, "I do! I've not climbed very many here, though," she paused, looking down, "Busy with classes and studying, I guess." After a moment, she looked, a smile on her face, "But I could do that, if you'd like."

She followed the older girl to the door, but felt nervous being surrounded by so many people all of the sudden. It was a bit of a shock to remember that there really were so many other people in the castle when she'd been working so hard at avoiding them.

She hoped they could get out and away quickly, and that she wouldn't lose Avery in the crowd. If it were Bradan, she would have just grabbed his hand or belt or something, but she wasn't sure Avery would be okay with that. After all, even Bradan barely tolerated it when she did. Instead she just kept close behind her older friend, a determined expression on her face.

[averykellaway]

Avery nodded at Niamh's rejuvenated self, glad that such a small gesture on her part could result in something like this. A smile and a lifted spirit, she hoped, and smiled to herself.

"I see quite a few trees out there," she said, pointing towards the courtyard, where a few shady trees were. Hopefully the place wouldn't be swamped by students soon. She had a feeling Niamh might feel nervous again in front of many people. "Shall we go there?" she asked, turning back to the little girl.

Sensing the uncertainty in Niamh's movement - the girl was terribly close behind her and looked as if she might blend into Avery's back - Avery turned around and gently held her hand, pulling her along. "Don't worry about the other students. They won't do anything." At least, she had hoped so, since this was a public area after all. But who was she to say, since she herself had done something she would normally frown upon just a barely a week ago. But so long as the Slytherins keep out of their way, they should be fine.

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh gave a wide smile this time, "Okay!" She was excited now to climb. She wasn't sure if Avery was really all that interested in watching her, but she appreciated the encouragement, anyway.

When Avery took her hand, Niamh smiled with relief. She felt so small with all these people around and it helped to have someone to hold on to. She was always scared of getting lost or being trampled by people because she was so tiny. Niamh nodded at Avery's words, but didn't say anything. She didn't know what she could to explain her fears. Some of her fears were just normal fears for a girl her size, of course, but the fear of Slytherins and what they could do to her was a new one, and the worst one.

She held firmly, though she was careful not to hold too tightly, to Avery's hand as they made their way towards the courtyard. The smile was starting to stick, it seemed, as she thought of climbing a good tree again.

[averykellaway]

Avery nodded at Niamh's excitement, and pulled her along as they finally stepped out into the courtyard. The weather was quite breezy, but with their robes and scarf on, she figured that they would be okay. But at the same time, she wanted to make sure that the younger girl wasn't feeling too cold. "Feeling alright? If it's too cold we could head back in."

She released Niamh's hand, seeing that there were fewer people out here, and not as congested, and took a few steps forward. Pulling her scarf tighter around her neck, and stuffing both hands into her pockets now, she turned back and looked at the Ravenclaw. "So, which tree shall it be today?" She had no idea what made for a good climbing tree, so that would be entirely up to Niamh. She was, after all, there to offer her encouragement and get the girl to lighten up.

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh smiled and shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I don't mind the cold too much." She knew she'd probably start to mind it soon enough, but she didn't want to pass this chance up. A good climbing tree and a friend to talk to were just what she needed, and she knew it. She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and grinned up at Avery.

Niamh grinned and looked around the courtyard, focusing on the trees. She scrunched up her face in concentration before pointing at one that looked particularly good for climbing, "That one!" she grinned, and walking swiftly, she made her way toward it, dropping her bag on the ground at the bottom the moment she reached it. She turned to wait for Avery to join her.

[averykellaway]

"But you'll let me know if you feel that the temperature is too low for you, yes? I don't want you to catch a cold," Avery said, extending an arm around her shoulders and giving them a light squeeze. Falling ill was probably the last thing Niamh needed, on top of all her worrying.

She dropped her hand from around Niamh's shoulders and stuffed them back into her pockets. Was it just her, or was it really that chilly out here? Choosing to ignore the cold, she looked as she pointed out a medium height tree with lots of low branches. It didn't look all that dangerous, so this time, she was just going to trust her instincts and let Niamh have a little fun.

Laughing a little as Niamh enthusiastically walked to the tree, she followed closely behind, raising her head to indicate that Niamh should just go ahead. "Go on, get up there. I'd like to see how you do it." She leaned against the tree and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh nodded in reply to Avery's question, "Sure." She knew once she started climbing that she'd probably warm up a bit, anyway. She grinned up at the older girl, thoroughly excited and unconcerned about her already pink nose and cheeks.

When Avery gave her the go ahead to start, Niamh didn't have to be told twice. She grabbed hold of the lowest branch and pulled herself up, grabbing the next branch and swinging her legs higher until she was several feet off the ground in a matter of seconds.

She paused, sitting on one branch to look down at Avery questioningly. She wasn't sure if the older girl would really watch, or would even care how she did it, but Niamh hoped she did. She missed having someone about to at least watch her climb, if not to join her. It was much more fun to climb trees with a friend or two nearby than alone.

[averykellaway]

Avery rubbed her both her arms with her hands, feeling a little cold. Nevertheless, she didn't want to spoil the mood for Niamh, so continued smiling at her as she started climbing. "Careful there," she warned, walking nearer to where she was so that she was directly beneath her. Ready to catch her if she fell, which she hoped would not happen.

"What do you do once you've reached the top? Just sit there and look around?" she asked, curious. Was it something like flying, then? Just get up there and do nothing?

Avery watched as she swung her legs upwards, laughing as she paused and looked back down at her. "Go on. I'll just watch. My coordination's real bad, anyway."

[niamh_gannon]

Niamh smiled. She looked tiny and she seemed clumsy on the ground, sometimes, she knew, but she was at home in a tree. She could climb almost before she could properly walk. She wouldn't tell Avery that, though, in case the older girl wanted to feel helpful or something. In her experience, people tended to like thinking they knew better than she did.

"A lot of the time, yeah. Other times I bring a book and read. Sometimes I just hang upside down or swing. There's lots to do in a tree!" she laughed. It felt wonderful to be up in the branches again.

Niamh shrugged, but smiled, "Okay, but you're really missing out. You can see the whole world if you get high enough." She pulled and swung her way ever higher, nimbly and delighted. This was her element and now that she was in it, she didn't want to have to leave any time soon.

She was almost to the top, just a few more branches to go!