A new start

Emily was bored sitting in the gryffindor tower so she decided to come outside. SHe hoped that in doing so she would meet new people. Gwen was her best friend and that wasn't likely to change but the gryffindor new it was time for a new start to meet more people and not need to be with Gwen all the time. I mean Gweny was awesome and everything but she needed to meet up with other people aswell. She had met some other people but she hadn't seen them in a while. So yeah, that was how the young gryffindor had found herself sitting by a lake in the sun. It was unusal for the time of year, for it to be so warm and sunny.
Emily sighed and crossed her legs staring out at the lake. She hoped that someone would come and join her.

Lavender had decided to take a walk outside in the fresh air, she's left Hester in the library doing work. A smile crossed her lips at the thought of the red head, that girl worked much too hard. Lavender usually did work last minute and still got a suitable grade, she was quite lucky in that sense. It made her laugh when she saw teachers reactions. The lake was getting closer so she guessed that was where her legs were taking her, though she hadn't been paying much attention before now. As she surveyed her surroundings Lavender saw a girl sitting by the water.

"Hey," She called, still not sure who it was because their back was to her.

Emily jumped a little when she heard a voice, automatically she stood up and turned to face whoever it was. The recognised the other girl as the slytherin she had met not that long ago. "Hey Lavender" she smiled at the other girl. "how have you been?" she asked the girl once she was closer, she hadn't seen the slytherin girl in a while. Emily considered her a friend though, not a close friend but a friend all the same. She indicated for the dark haired girl to join her before sitting back down again.

Lavender smiled when the girl turned out to be Emily Sparrow, she got along with Emily.

"Hi," When Emily indicated for Lavender to sit with her Lavender obliged and sat beside the other girl. They didn't know each other that well but Lavender still considered Emily to be a friend. She needed as many as she could get in this place. "Things have been good, thank you. What about you?"

She smiled at the girl "cool, yeah they've been good with me too. How are the slytherin's?" she asked her, knowing that Lavender wasn't like what evryone though of slytherins. Emily found it slightly odd considering Lavender was a Parkinson and her parents had always aproved of the sltyehrin familys like them. "I thoguht I should come meet some knew people so I decided to venture out of gryffindor tower into the sun" she said to her, she liked Lavendr, she found her easy to talk to.

Lavender watched the water ripple on the lake, listening to Emily speak. The Slytherin's, hmmm.

"They've been okay actually. I haven't been spending much time around them of late, so there haven't been anymore confrontations," She glanced at the girl beside with a small reassuring smile. "Yeah, I understand what you mean. I've only really been hanging around with Hester lately, spending as much time as I can with her to be honest. But socializing with other people is probably something I should do. It's difficult when you're in Slytherin though, to meet new people, because everyone already has you judged as a horrible person,"

She was glad that Lavender was okay with the slytherins, she smield back as she watched the lake sparkle in the sunlight. "yeah everyone seems to think that the slytherin's are evil. I'm sure some of them are but fortunetly for me I haven't had the delight of meeting them" she said. "yeah well i've been hiding in gryffindor common room. Not really any seire to run into those type of slytherins" she said smiling a little. She didn't want to meet them because she knew that what her parents wanted her to be, or have been. Luckily for her she didn't have to even see them anymore.

Lavender watched the lake as Emily spoke again, the girls voice was quite calming in a way.

"Yep, you're lucky you don't have to share a common room with people you despise," She brought her knees up to her chest and crossed her arms on top of them. "Yeah exactly, we're not all evil, I've met around four Slytherin's who aren't at all evil, they wouldn't hurt a fly. Luckily, Hester saw through all that stereotype rubbish, as did you," Lavender smiled at the other thankfully.

Emily listened to Lavender talking while watching the water. It was quite peacful sitting there. "Yeah my fellow gryff's are very nice people" she said smiling a little. "Only four? I wonder who i've managed to avoid all the evil ones. I must eb lucky" she smiled at her. "yeah well I never did believe in stereotypes. Even slytherins deserve a chance before I hex them" she smiled at Lavenader. "also had things been different I might have ended up in slytherin myself. What my parents would have wanted anyway." she said the last part quieter, more talking to herself than the slytherin. She realised the slytherin girl probably heard that part aswell though.

Lavender nodded her agreement with a small smile, until Emily finished speaking and mumbled something about her parents.

"My parents were over the moon that I got in, me...not so much," She frowned at the thought of her mothers smug smile when she heard the news. They hadn't expected her to get in of course, she was far too different from them. But she had which meant she got to carry on family tradition. "I don't think I've met one unpleasant Gryffindor. I said to Hester the other day that I wished they'd let people in common rooms other than their own. Then I could hang out with you guys," Lavender smiled at the thought.

She nodded her head a little as Lavender spoke. Her eyes were watching the lake and away in her own thoughts she was only half listening to what the other girl was saying. "They didn't think you would get in?" she asked her. The was Lavender had said it, gave Emily the impression that Lavendr's parents had expected her to be in a diffrent house. "my parents weren't too happy when they heard I got into gryffindor, not quite what they expected" she said. Her parents hadn't actually replied to her owl that she sent when she got into gryffindor but she knew they woudln't be happy. She only wnated to rub it in theri faces.
"yeah that would be cool, if we could go into other peoples common rooms but then there's the chance that you migth get some people, wrecking the other houses common rooms" she said, laughing a little. SHe knew that fi they were, Gwen and her would probably have done something to the slytherins by now.

Lavender sighed quietly, she did that often. It wasn't because she was bored or sad or so on, it was just how she breathed sometimes.

"No they didn't. They desperately wanted me to be, but they assumed that I wouldn't. I've always been a disappointment to them you see. I'm different. Ever since I was seven I refused to order around our house elf, for example. I don't agree on their views so they assumed I wouldn't get in. My brother got in too, though he's a little less of a disappointment than me," She stopped to allow air into her lungs, that was a lot of talking for her. When Emily mentioned the sharing of common rooms she nodded. "Oh yeah, the Slytherin's would definitely have trashed the other common rooms, good point," Lavender's shoulders dropped in disappointment.

She heard Lavender sigh slightly, she was worried that she the girl didn't want to talk about her parents. It wasn't exactly the gryffindor's favourite topic of conversation either. "Oh yes I know what it's like to be the disapointment." she said. "yeah I wasn't exactly the perfect child my parents expected. Unfortnetly for them, I don't have a brother or sister. So they have no one to be the perfect little pureblood child they want" she said, smirking a little. She didn't mind the idea of beign a disapointment to them, afterall that was how she had ended up with Ursula.
"yeah I don't think they slytherins would be the only ones, so I guess it makes sense why we're not allowed in other houses common rooms" she said.

Lavender rested her chin on her arms as Emily spoke, she'd become strangely tired all of a sudden.

"Luckily my brother hasn't been much better than me, so they didn't even get one perfect child," She couldn't help but smirk slightly at this. It did bother her, a lot more than she cared to admit, but the fact her brother would always be by her side helped. "No you're probably right, we're all as bad as each other really," Lavender glanced up at the sky, bright blue hitting her eyes and causing her to blink a few times. Then when she looked back down at the lake she had an idea. "Can you skip stones?"

Emily stared at nothing in particular only half listening to what Lavender not becase she wasn't interested but she had a lot of her own thoughts going round in her head as well.
She nodded "yeah none of us are better than anyone else when it comes to that we would all love to annoy the other houses as much as possible" she said. She nodded "yeah I can. Not very well but I can a little" she said. She had never been very good at it but after a lot of determination she managed to master the skill of skipping stones. Not that it was much of a skill. She uncrossed her legs she was sure that Lavender was aout to ask if she wnated to skip stones or if she could show her how but she stayed silent waiting for Lavender to speak.

Lavender grinned and pushed herself off the ground, it was a bigger struggle than she intended.

"Fancy a go?" She made her way closer to the water and squatted down to study the stones. There weren't many suitable stones that would do what she wanted. When she found one she stood and turned to Emily. "Here," Lavender chucked the stone to the other girl, not too forcefully though. She then bent back down to pick up another stone. "Want to go first? If you need help, I'll help you," Lavender asked with a friendly smile.

Emily got up off the ground and followed Lavender tot he edg of the water. "sure" she said in answer to her question. She caight the stone that Lavended tossed to her. "thanks" she smiled. "Yeah sure i'll go first" she said.
"no laughing I know I am pathetic at this" she grinned at the slytheirn before tuning back to face the lake. Like she remembered from her younger years she turned to the side and tossed the stone towards the water, it bounced on the surface once before sinking into the depth's of the lake. "well I told you I was bad" she said to Lavender before stepping to the side.

Lavender grinned as Emily caught the stone and proceeded to say she was awful at it.

"I used to suck, then my brother taught me a thing or two," She watched as Emily turned sideways and tossed the stone at the water. It bounced once before disappearing from sight. "One. That's not too bad," Lavender surveyed the other girl closely, noting a few things the other girl could change to skip better. "Right, here," She handed Emily another stone before moving to stand beside her. "Bend your knees a bit more, get lower. Then bring your arm back, a little further than you did before," Lavender did what she described, bending her knees and swinging her arm back to show Emily. "You can just propel your arm forward then and it'll fly pretty naturally,"

"yeah it must eb cool to have a brother" she said. She was happy beging an only child but sometimes she thought it would be aweosme to have a brother or sister. She smiled at Lavender as she took the stone she offered her. The gryffindor did as she was instructed, beding her knees so she was closer ot the ground, taking her arm a little further back. Like Lavender had said. "yeah it sounds quite simple when you say it like that" she grinned. Before briging her arm forward and releasing the stone. Like the slytheirn girl told her, the stone did fly pretty naturally before it hit the water once, bounced of the surface. The sotne then bounced once more before dropping below the surface of the water. "well defiently an imprvment"

Lavender smiled and watched as Emily did as she'd suggested, hoping it would work.

"Yeah, it's nice. Do you have any siblings?" She asked before Emily flung the stone and it bounced twice. Better than last time. "There you go," Lavender grinned at the other girl. "It's just practice really, I think you've got the technique now," She bent down and picked up a stone for herself this time, before doing the movements she'd suggested to Emily and releasing the stone. It flew further than she first thought it would and bounced once, twice, three times. The distance increasing each time. There was a sudden pang of pain in her shoulder and she rubbed it, though trying to hide this from Emily. Show no weakness, remember.

She shook her head in reply to the slytherins question "nope, just me"" she said. SHe smiled "yeah well practice makes perfect" SHe watched as Lavender picked up a stone for herself and did what she had instructed Emily to do only a few moments before. She watched as the stone bounced once, twice and three times. "very nice" she smiled turning back to lavender. SHe truned back to see Lavender rubbing her shoulder. The gryffindor could tell that Lavender was trying to hide that fact. "you okay?" she asked her.

Lavender smiled through the pain at the sounds of Emily's voice, she seemed impressed. However, this smile faded when the Gryffindor asked if she was okay.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine. My shoulder, it's just a bit...dogdy sometimes," She couldn't think of another word to explain it. When Lavender was younger she'd fell from a tree and broken her shoulder, as well as bruising her collar bone and shoulder blade. They'd never been the same since, causing her a lot of discomfort sometimes. "Don't mind me. Have another go," She nodded towards the water, wincing from the pain.

Emily watched Lavender closely trying to annalyse how much pain she was in. She could tell it was causing her some discomfort, to say the least. She didn't really believe what the slytherin told her. SHe felt it was mroe than that.
"you should go to the hospital wing or a prefessor. They would porbably be able to give you a potion or soemthing for the pain. I mena if it happens regularly then you porbably should say to someone."
She didn't want th egirl to feellike she was pressurising her or anythin or to invade her own priviacy, in a sort of a way. So she picked up another stone and went though everything Lavender had told her before realesing the stone. It only bounced twice but that was partly becuase Emily was still watching the slytherin out of th ecorner of her eyes to make sure she was okay.

Lavender listened as Emily suggested she tell someone about it, the speech several people had given her. Though she was still thankful, because it meant the other girl cared.

"My parents know about it. They just didn't care to do anything about it," She said as she watched Emily try throwing another stone. "Good," Lavender smiled encouragingly with a nod. "Anyway, I'll be fine in a minute. It comes and goes," She bent down and picked up another stone. "Let's see how I do using the other arm," With that she bent her knees and flung the stone at the water using her left arm. The weaker, yet not in pain, arm. It landed in the water with a 'plop', not bouncing at all. "Oh dear," Lavender chuckled.

Emily nodded at what the girl said. "I'm sure th eprofessors would care if you told one of them. Or if you went to the healer, whose I don't remember" she smiled. "I'm sure professor cooper or celare would care" she said to her. "if you change your mind an dyou want someone to go with you, I am generally around" she said to her. She didn't want to force the girl into telling someone, btu she was still worried about her. Something as simple as that could change into beging something worse.
She picked up a stone for herself before watching Lavender throw her own. It didn't bounce ven once and just landed in the water. "definetly not your better arm" she said. before throwing her own stone. This time she concertrated very hard on it and she grinned as she watched stone bounce three times. "well I think i'm getting better" she said.