nice chatting with you (Alexis Greengrass)

Jocelyn was sitting at the lake back at school, Matthew just left her to go to class and she decided to think about what to do while looking over the black lake. It was a beautiful afternoon and you could see the spring weather coming after the cold days of the winter.

Jocelyn rummaged through her bag looking for something she could draw on, she wasn't really talented with drawing but it was a fun thing to do so now and then. She finally found what she was looking for and started drawing.

Alexis had finally emerged from the library, and all of her homework was complete. Wandering the halls, she thought about what she would do with the rest of the afternoon. Eventually her feet decided for her as they carried her to the huge front doors to the castle. She would take a walk and enjoy what would probably be one of the last nice days before the cold took over.

Walking outside, she took a deep breath in and smile at the feel of fresh air on her face. Her eyes caught the way to the lake and she quickly decided that it would be her destination. If she was lucky, she might even be able to go for a swim later.

Soon enough, she was at the edge of the cool dark water and she began to make her way around it. She supposed that it would be good to get some exercise as she followed the bank around. She wasn't fully paying attention to her surroundings when she heard a strange noise nearby. Looking around, Alexis saw a girl who looked about her age drawing by the lake. The sound had been the scratching for her drawing.

The Ravenclaw made her way over, deciding that she would take to the girl. Once she was close enough, and although she felt bad for interrupting her, she said, "Hello? What has you out here all by yourself?" She stood a few steps away, not wanting to frighten the other girl and hoping that she wouldn't get upset with her for approaching.

Jocelyn was so busy with drawing she didn't notice the girl untill she spoke. Jocelyn looked up and then at the girl, she checked the girl from the bottom to the top. "I was just drawing, my boyfriend had just left me for classes so i wasn't really alone." Jocelyn said to the girl. She could see she was a Ravenclaw but never had seen her before. "What were you doing here out alone yourself?" She asked the question back at her.

Jocelyn looked at her drawing waiting for her to reply and had to laugh because it was only scratchings and nothing else. "I'm really bad at drawing, my brother is better at drawing than i am." she chuckled. She held the piece of parchment up abover her head for the girl to see. "You can be honest about it." Jocelyn said.

Alexis smiled when the girl replied. She didn't seem annoyed that she was interrupted, which was a good thing. "You have a boyfriend? Lucky you," she wasn't being sarcastic. It was a little sad, but Alexis very rarely spoke to boys outside of class. "Oh, I'm just walking. I finished all of my homework, so I was kind of bored." Alexis almost slapped herself for sounding like such a.. Ravenclaw.

Alexis glanced down at the girls' drawing and smiling slightly. When the other student spoke, she had no idea what to say. "Well.. I don't know what it is? When I attempt to draw, i usually end up with a heap of dark lines all over the place. At least your drawing looks like an actual sketch, even if it has yet to take form." Moving a little closer to the girl, who she now recognised to be a Slytherin, she sat down. The grass was cool and comfortable. "The closest to artistic I am is writing in my diary every night."

She then bit her lip, as she knew how lame that sounded. Pulling out a few strands of grass, she began to carefully tear it up. "I don't believe we've really met before. I'm Alexis," the girl said, smiling as she offered her hand to shake.

Jocelyn blushed at the mention of her boyfriend. "Yeah, we don't have so long, don't you have a boyfriend?" She chuckled at her comments on her drawing. "Well i'm just drawing something. not something particurly."

As the Ravenclaw girl sits down and introduces to her, Jocelyn smiled and shook her hand. "No i have never seen you before, but nice meeting you, i'm Jocelyn." She wasn't going to scare the girl with her being a slytherin because she knew that she wasn't as scared as some of the Slytherins are.

"Nope," Alexis said, "I don't really talk to boys. Or rather, they don't talk to me." The Ravenclaw didn't have much interest in boys yet anyway. Perhaps it was because her parents were so strict on who she would be able to be with when she was old enough. Or most likely it was that she spent most of her time in the library or her common room; studying, reading or writing. The occasional trip outside was always something to look forward to.

Alexis smiled at her Slytherin's words and said, "It's nice to meet you too, Jocelyn." The girl's eyes shifted to the lake. "So what do you think of this year's school work?" she asked quietly, returning her gaze to Jocelyn. Personally, she had found it difficult but had spent all of her spare time making sure that everything was complete.

"My dad doesn't know I'm dating him I met him when I came back from my stepdad, I bumped into him and we fell for each other. I think my dad knows but I guess he finds it not very important." Jocelyn shrugged. Dragon didn't show interest in her at all so she didn't care to tell him. She looked at the girl when she mentioned the school year and the work.

"Well some of the other house think that Slytherins never do their homework but I love doing homework so I'm up to date because I needed to go home for a couple of days and I just came back to school." Jocelyn explained with a smile.

Alexis couldn't figure out how to take what Jocelyn said. Did she mean that her father didn't find it important because he trusted her and knew she would do the right thing? Or did he not care very much about her? Alexis Greengrass wasn't one to pry into other people's business, which was one of the few admirable things that came out of her upbringing. So she chose to ask a reasonably generic question. "So he goes to school here? What house is he in?"

The Ravenclaw couldn't help but laugh. She knew that many of the other students in her house liked to believe that they were the only house who cared about their education. Alexis didn't so much. "Oh, I don't have time to assume things about the other houses. I'm far to busy trying to keep up with it. Sure, it's all done early but only because I've spent every waking moment that I'm not in class studying. I will never understand why that stupid hat put me in Ravenclaw!"

Jocelyn saw a bit of confusion on Alexis face and she could totally understand because she was known for the rambling against others. Jocelyn smiled. "Don't worry, i know my family is confusing even i find it hard to keep up with them. And yes he is a third year and he is in Hufflepuff." Again Jocelyn was blushing when she talked about Matthew. "His name is Matthew." Jocelyn had to laugh at her sudden reaction on the sorting hat. Jocelyn never liked that hat.

"I don't really think the hat is just choosing a house by looking into your brain, you can completely change and still he could have guessed it wrong right?"

She laughed at her own comment. "Sorry sometimes i'm just rambling but that is just me..." Jocelyn sighed and looked over the water chuckling at herself.

Alexis nodded and chuckled, "Oh, aren't all families a bit confusing?" Her own was lost on her most of the time as well. She could never figure out if her mother actually loved her father or not. Or if they were supposed to hate muggle-borns or not. Alexis smiled when she saw the flush of red come over Jocelyn's cheeks. It was refreshing to see love when things have been so dark lately.

"Exactly! I mean, what happens is someone is sorted into one house but by their fourth year they're completely different? I mean, I love my house, of course. But I don't see how it makes any sense." Though, Alexis often wondered if the sorting hat knew more than even they did.

The Ravenclaw waved her hand light-heartedly. "It's no problem. I just enjoy talking to someone.. anyone," she said with a laugh, but the smile quickly faded away. She was sounding lame again.

Jocelyn laughed at Alexis. "Trust me, it can't be worse than my family. My real father and my step father are in war with each other and that is not about my...." Jocelyn stopped when she realized that she was talking about her mother, she looked at her hands. "You don't want to hear about my family, it is a bit of a waste, i like them but it's still a problem subject lately."

Jocelyn shook her long dark hair and smiled again. "I like you Ravenclaw, i was expecting something really different but you're funny." Jocelyn stated at the girl. "So now that i find someone to talk too, what subject do you really hate?" Jocelyn asked her to keep the conversation going.

Alexis frowned slightly as Jocelyn spoke. Was her family that difficult? She rose her eyebrows at the mention of a way between her father and step-father. Surely she didn't mean an actual war? Perhaps she just meant that they didn't like each other? Or maybe they were always arguing or avoiding one another. "Well, okay then," she said, smiling to hopefully lighten the mood again.

Still looking out at the water, Alexis smiled. At least someone liked her, which was always a nice thing. The Ravenclaw thought for a moment and then sighed. "Definitely Divination. I can not for the life of me make sense of it. I'm so glad that I don't have to take it this year. I was silly enough to choose Divination last year because I thought that it would just an easy subject. What about you? Anything that you really don't like?"

Jocelyn chuckled and laughed then as she was about to say the same thing. "I say Divination also, i hate that subject because i don't believe in it. Come on it is stupid right and all those freaky look into the future thing from her. It really scares the crap out of me and believe me i have been scared in my life but that is just the top." Jocelyn said to Alexis. She mimicked the teacher of Divination.

"Okay enough with the Divination, what subject do you like the most?" Jocelyn asked.

Alexis laughed loudly. She mostly agreed with Jocelyn's perception of the dreaded subject. "I think that there may be some truth to it. Like the prophecies for example. However, I can not fathom how anyone believes that the dregs in the bottom of a teacup can tell you a things about someone."

Again, the Ravenclaw pondered the question. She had a few favourites, one was History of Magic, but there was no way that she was going to admit that out loud. "I like Potions. You can do anything with Potions, kill or heal, wake up or put to sleep. So that's great. I'm liking flying at the moment. I'm not very good, but I feel quite empowered when I finally get over my fears. Let me guess your's. Potions? All Slytherins like Potions, right?" Alexis spoke with a smile, and hoped that Jocelyn could tell that she was only joking.

Jocelyn smiled and nodded at Alexis about the prophecies. "Maybe that is true about the prophecies but brrr...goosebumps that woman." Jocelyn said and listened to what Alexis favorite subject was.

She looked confused at the all Slytherins like Potions because she herself wasn't good at Potions at all. "No my favorite is not Potions, i always end up messing things up. I like flying and History of Magic but Flying is my most favorite subject. I like your opinion on Potions but i guess not all Slytherins like Potions." Jocelyn said although she always thought she was a Ravenclaw but the hat put her in Slytherin.

"Well i'm a very rare kind of Slytherin, i always thought that i would end up in Ravenclaw so i never thought of me being a real Slytherin but i guess i don't know myself that good." Jocelyn shrugged.

Alexis frowned slightly and shook her head, "I was only joking! Because we were talking about house stereotypes before.." She trailed off, and focused her eyes upon the lake. She could shouldn't have said that last thing. She was having an actual conversation with somebody who she thought could be a potential friend and then decided to say something that bothered that person.

The girl's eyes widened briefly at the comment on History of Magic. Not because she thought that Jocelyn wouldn't be interested or good at it, but because she had never met anyone, even in her own house, who liked the subject. Hoping that she could rectify her previous statement, she said, "I wish I could become good at Flying, but I don't think that I ever will. I'm afraid of heights, you see. One of my favourite achievements is that I keep going to the lessons."

Alexis smiled at the Slytherin, and said, "I think you would have made a brilliant Ravenclaw. You seem very insightful."

Jocelyn looked at Alexis again confused. "No Alexis, i'm not mad at you, why would I?" Jocelyn asked. "Good, you should keep doing that, go to the lessons, maybe at the end of the term you can actually fly without being afraid." Jocelyn smiled at the comment from Alexis. "Thank you, i think so too although i can't help and wonder why the hat put me in Slytherin, i never asked, i don't even know if you can ask." Jocelyn sighed and looked over the water, she put her drawing back in her bag and she played with the stones that she picked up and threw it into the water.

"I just didn't want you to think that I believed in all of that stereotypical stuff," Alexis answered, relieved to hear that Jocelyn wasn't mad at her. She nodded and smiled. That was definitely the intention, 'face your fears' and all of that. "I hope to one day jump from an aeroplane," she joked, laughing lightly, "There is no way I'll ever be able to do that. But it's slowly getting better - baby steps and all."

Alexis nodded in understanding at what the other girl was saying. "I do wonder if you could take to it.. him. Isn't he kept in he headmaster's office?"

Jocelyn nodded at Alexis. "I think it is but i never been in that office before and what is an aeroplane?" Jocelyn asked confused. She never heard of that before. Jocelyn shook the thoughts away and smiled at Alexis. "Baby steps it is. I was always afraid of fire and one day my dad just exposed me too it and i couldn't run away from it so i had to do something about it and so i learned to overcome my fear for fire. It was exhausting but i managed and i know you will do too, i didn't do it in babysteps but i think the way i was exposed to it was a bit harsh." Jocelyn said.

Alexis smiled at the question about aeroplanes. Of course she wouldn't know about them, they were a muggle invention. Alexis herself shouldn't know about them either, but she had managed to sneak to public libraries throughout her life and read muggle books about all different things. "It's a muggle thing. A giant machine that carried people in the air to other places, they can travel anywhere they want. Not as efficient as apparating, I guess but they don't have that."

Alexis' eyes widened, "That must have been horrible! I would freak out if somebody took me up into the air and then made be fly without any warning or building up to it."

Jocelyn widened her eyes at the explaination of the aeroplanes. "I don't understand, how do they do that without using magic?" Jocelyn was obviously confused. "Isn't that dangerous? what keeps him in the air?" Jocelyn said in shock but then she was surprised when Alexis' eyes widened. "Well it was in the beginning but i really wanted to get over it. I still am afraid of the big fires but not as much as i was, so now i'm taking the babysteps. Jocelyn explained to Alexis.

Alexis sighed and shook her head, "I don't think that I will ever understand how muggles manage to do what they do. In a way, I admire them, they can do much of what we do all without magic." The words were out before she could stop them. Her hand when to her mouth and she wished that she could just suck what she'd back in. She never expressed her thoughts about muggles out loud, for her parents would be so mad if they knew. It was just that she was so comfortable talking to Jocelyn that she didn't even think before she spoke.

She nodded in understanding at what Jocelyn had said with a laugh, "Maybe it will get over it quicker if I try flying out of my dorm window up in Ravenclaw Tower?"

Jocelyn listened to what Alexis had to say about muggles and to be honest Jocelyn never had met a muggle before in her life so the muggleworld was something that wasn't even a subject at home and she never was curious for them. She saw how Alexis reacted at what she said and put her hand on her hand to calm her down. "Come on, don't be scared i won't tell a soul Alexis. I never seen a muggle before and i never really been in a muggle city before so for me it is all very new but i don't think i can come home and talk about muggle stuff. I think they will bring me to the hospital to ask if they could check me on diseases.

Jocelyn smiled at the stunt Alexis wanted to do. "I wouldn't try it because it could end up bad and you have come so far, you don't want to screw that up now do you?" Jocelyn asked. "Everyone has his own things and on how they do them, mine was a bit extreme but maybe it is for you not a really good outcome, maybe you need the time and the babysteps." She smiled hoping she would have calmed down the girl.

Alexis took a few deep breaths before allowing Jocelyn's words to sink in. She's not going to tell anyone.. she thought with relief. To others, it would have seemed she was over reacting, but in her family, and the others in their social circle, talk of muggles should be derogatory or you will be punished. She still remembered before she went to Hogwarts, when she met a boy just on the other side of her home's fence. He and his parents had been walking past their home on what they called a hike when Alexis walked out from what appeared to them as a thick, marshy forrest. She had spoken to them for all of two minutes when her mother came outside and saw her. She had been locked inside of her bedroom for more than a week. The Ravenclaw couldn't help but laugh at what Jocelyn said, "Oh, my parents probably would to! We children tend to be obedient when it comes to all of that stuff."

Knowing that Jocelyn was right, Alexis nodded, "I don't think I would even be able to go up there again if I tried, and I need to sleep somewhere. So where do you live? I live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods. It is a nice place to grow up, but when I'm old enough, I would love to by an apartment in the city."

Jocelyn was glad that Alexis calmed down and as she told about the talk about muggles, Jocelyn nodded. Alexis also changed the subject and asked where she lived. Jocelyn looked down at her hands, should she be telling this. "We lived in Merlin's Court, a wizard city like a rich wizard city in London but now I live here and until the house is rebuild I live Goderics Hollow. Our house was destroyed, well half of it by the people of my stepdad. I led them to the house but I didn't know I was doing that. Now I....umm..." Jocelyn sighed. "My dad is very disappointed in me, he hasn't talked to me since I told him what I did." Jocelyn didn't look at Alexis but she looked over the water.