Charmed I'm Sure (Gena)

[CASSIDY CLAWFORD]

(OOC: Poor Cass, every post I've made with her so far has seen her studying!)

Cassidy sat alone at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall, her empty plate pushed away and her ever-faithful books stacked around her. She had a free period before her next class and it seemed to make sense that she just stay here to do some studying instead of hauling off to the library. There was a spattering of students here and there around the hall, obviously others who had nowhere to be just yet. Some were still eating, others sitting together talking and then there were those, like Cassidy, who seemed to be seizing the opportunity to do some work. There was a murmur of conversation but it seemed unnaturally quiet compared to raucous banter that could be heard when the hall was full. The enchanted ceiling showed a blue sky, dotted with fluffy, white clouds.

The book Cassidy was reading was her Charms books from her sixth year - The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 6. Although Cass had managed to maintain a good grade (Exceeds Expectations) in Charms she found the subject did not always come easily to her and she had to work hard to keep making progress. As such, she was practising spells from the previous year and trying to cast them non-verbally. Cassidy flicked her wand in the direction of her empty glass, concentrating hard on her incantation: aguamenti. Clear water flowed gently from the end of her wand, filling the glass. Cassidy gave a relieved smile - she was off to a promising start!

Next Cassidy pulled another empty glass towards her and drew from her satchel a vial of vinegar, tipping some of its contents into the glass. Turning vinegar into wine was a charm that had taken her a long time to perfect and she had not practised it, well, since revising for her exams last year. Cass tried it now, non-verbally, giving a little swish of her wand. Nothing happened. She frowned slightly and tried again, clearing her mind and focusing as best she could. Still nothing! After one more failed attempt, Cassidy gave up on doing it non-verbally and said the incantation aloud. This time the surface of the vinegar rippled slightly, as though it had been disturbed, and the vinegar turned a translucent, rosy pink-red colour. Cassidy didn't even need to sniff it to know it was not wine. With a sigh, she pushed the glass away and crossed her arms in frustration.

“Honestly...” Cassidy murmured crossly.

After taking a moment to recover from her disappointment, Cassidy looked away from her books and instead glanced at the letter that had arrived from home this morning. The letter itself was quite unremarkable, it was just a quick note from her mother wishing Cass well with the academic year, but Meara had included with it a photograph of Cassidy on Waverley at the beach. In the photograph Cassidy grinned, there was laughter in her eyes and the wind tousled her hair as she held the reins in one hand and waved happily with the other. Waverley, her handsome bay gelding stood square, looking rather noble. Cassidy gave a small smile and turned the photograph over, reading what her mother had scribbled there:

Waverley misses you! x

[GENEVIEVE FAWCETT]

[ooc: oh goodness, poor Cass indeed! I hope this is alright, by the way. Not quite sure about it.]

"Ambush," she spoke firmly to the cat that she was firmly convinced was growling in her arms, "I regret to inform you, today might be the day I kill you." she roughly scratched the cat's neck, received angry hissing and tossed the furball to the floor, watching it scurry away after some invisible mouse. Sighing deeply, she muttered about wanting a dog instead and entered the Great Hall. Her eyes scanned the ceiling as they did every time she was in the Hall, and she smirked at the pleasant day that was apparently right outside. Genevieve's eyes then darted across the four tables, noting the virtually empty appearance of the place. She would never get over how strange that looked compared to every meal time.

She straightened her messenger bag on her shoulder and started the long walk to her usual area of the Ravenclaw table, passing students here and there and averting her eyes when they happened to glance at her. It wasn't as if she was trying to be tagged as the awkward, anti-social Ravenclaw student with random mood swings and unpredictable behavior. She just didn't know how to act around strangers anymore. There was a time that she could treat every stranger as if she had known them all her life. But not anymore. That was too dangerous, and she had run out of energy to even try after her brothers left. Most people would hear that and call her over-emotional or clingy. But she couldn't help it. Times had changed so drastically with the leaving of her brothers. Voldemort's return, Dumbledor's death, the entire Wizarding World was risky and unsafe. That included Hogwarts. Who could be trusted anymore?

Something caught her eye while passing a girl at the Hufflepuff table. She spotted the moving image of a mounted horse. And what a beautiful mare it was! She accidentally exhaled a small admiring sigh, and she realized her feet had stopped carrying her towards her normal area of the Ravenclaw table. She let her gaze wander to the Charms book she recognized as her own for her Sixth year, and then back to the photograph, her smile growing as she read the message scribbled on the back as the girl turned it around. "Waverley." she breathed, "Beautiful." She suddenly clapped her hand quietly over her mouth and quickly turning to continue walking, hoping the girl didn't hear.

[CASSIDY CLAWFORD]

(OOC: No need to worry, it's great!

Cassidy was lost in a world of her own as she gazed at the photograph of Waverley. It had been taken in the summer just passed, in June, and Cass recalled that day with happiness and contentment. It had been the bank holiday so Cass wasn't needed in the bakery. She had slept in and had wakened to feel rested – she hadn't been disturbed by nightmares that night – and it had been one of those rare days where both her parents were home and willing to take a day off. And, to top it all off, the weather was beautiful! They had packed a picnic of delicious sandwiches, cupcakes and lemonade, and had walked to the beach. Cass had explored the rock pools, soaked up the sun and, of course, they had brought Waverley. Cassidy had raced him up and down the beach, through the retreating tide and up into the sand dunes. Then, as the sun sank in the sky, they had returned home and, while her parents had fired up the barbecue and thrown together salad, Cass had given Waverley a proper scrub. Waverley always went a bit dippy when he was washed and he made Cass laugh by snorting and shaking suds everywhere. All in all, it had been a pretty perfect day. But, of course, all good things must end and that night the nightmares had returned... Cass frowned, this train of thought was a slippery path and not one she wished to tread. Fortunately, it was at this moment she heard a kindly female voice, one she did not recognise, comment on Waverley.

“Oh, thank you,” Cass said shyly, flushing slightly with delight. “Do you-” she faltered as she turned to see who had spoken, noticing the girl, a pretty Ravenclaw, was making to walk away. Oops, she mustn't have been looking for a conversation! Cass flushed a little more but continued her question with a friendly smile on her face, “Do you like horses?”

[GENEVIEVE FAWCETT]

Genevieve wasn't sure if running away was the best option to avoid situations. She hadn't ever done so before, but there really wasn't any other way from time to time. Especially with how fond Gena seemed to be of letting her mouth run away with her. She was just so used to speaking her mind, even after so long of being secretive and "safe", it was hard to find balance just all the time.

“Oh, thank you,” She heard the girl's voice, and the Hufflepuff even continued speaking before she seemed to spot that Genevieve was on her way out of the conversation before it had even started. Guilt suddenly took over and Gena's step faltered. She froze there for a minute, considering which option was the best to pursue right now. Once again, her brother's warning repeated itself in her head. But this time she ignored it, finding herself turning around to face the girl again. She didn't smile, only stared.

“Do you like horses?” the girl finished, and Genevieve's eyes brightened a little, though her face remained mildly indifferent. "Like them?" she re-situated her shoulder bag on her shoulder and shook her head. "I practically grew up around them." she corrected matter-of-factly, even though that statement wasn't completely true. Her aunt and uncle owned about three horses, to help around the farm. But that didn't discount Genevieve's love for the magnificent beasts.

She found her feet moving her back over closer to the girl, a little timidly. "Do you... do you own your own?' She mentally shoved both her brothers urgent voices out of her head as she risked a very slight smile, more to be polite than anything. "I mean to say...is that yours?"

-------
ooc: the word "sorry" doesn't even cover how very sorry I am for taking so long to reply! And this isn't the best work, but I promise I'll get back into the groove of things very soon!

[CASSIDY CLAWFORD]

(OOC: Honestly, there’s no need to apologise, I’m just glad to see you back!

Oh goodness, this was terribly awkward! But what was to be done? Cass could hardly clamp her mouth shut now, she had basically called the poor girl back to a conversation she clearly didn’t want to be involved in. Cass squirmed in her seat, cursing her social awkwardness – why couldn’t she be confident like Caitria and Tristan? Either one of them would happily talk to anyone and could hold their own in any social situation. But not Cass, oh no, not at all. You see what happens when you speak to people you don’t know! Cass chided herself, vowing to perfect the art of invisibility at the soonest possible moment. Still, she ought to count her blessings – at least she hadn’t started to blush profusely.

At this moment the Ravenclaw girl spoke of how she had practically grown up with horses and Cass relaxed a little, breathing a silent sigh of relief. The slight smile playing on the girl’s lips gave her some encouragement and Cass returned it with a bright, albeit shy, one of her own.

“Oh, yes,” Cass said quietly, “I’m very blessed that Waverley is mine... I only wish I could bring him to Hogwarts with me,” Cass added with a small sigh, bowing her head demurely before gazing up at the girl. Should she continue or let the girl escape? It seemed to Cass it would be rude to abruptly end the conversation and so she continued with a question, twisting in her seat to face the Ravenclaw student, “Do you keep horses of your own?”

A sudden thought then dawned on her - where were her manners??

“Oh! I'm Cassidy by the way... well, just Cass will do,” she added with another smile, a little wider than the last.

[GENEVIEVE FAWCETT]

T'would seem, if anything, the girl felt as awkward about the conversation's beginning as Genevieve. It was all her fault, really. Who walks away after striking up a conversation? The new and not-so-improved Genevieve Fawcett, that's who! Sometimes, she hated this new girl who had taken her name and face and carved an almost permanent frown on her demeanor. And that was becoming a frequent occurrence. Curse everything!

The girl's smile made her seem harmless enough, so Gena relaxed her weight onto her left foot, cocking her head to listen to the fellow student speak, seemingly quite excitedly (at least for this timid girl) about horses, particularly this Waverley. "I only wish I could bring him to Hogwarts with me," the girl finished, and Gena's smile grew brighter. She pointed loosely at herself.

"I feel the same way about my sheep dog back home!" Too excited, Gena. Stay indifferent. She sniffed a little and the smile dimmed to polite again. "Naturally, however, we understand that's against the rules." Rules, rules, rules. Oh joy, how she loved rules. Before her brain could travel to the picture of students walking the corridors with the strangest manner of animals, she raised her brows. Keep horses? How does one answer this without appearing completely stupid.

"I do. Well," she shrugged, "My Aunt and Uncle do, and I visit them quite often, so I consider their horses as much mine as theirs." She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "So if your family owns them, you must live on a farm?" she loved the country. She had begged her parents thousands of times for the family to move closer to her aunt and uncle. To even think there was someone in this school who lived it all daily, Gena's heart skipped a little beat.

“Oh! I'm Cassidy by the way... well, just Cass will do,” Gena's smile grew a little. And after a moment's thought, she held out her hand. "It's a pleasure, Cass. I'm Genevieve. But just Gena will do." that same old tricky glint flashed for a split second in her eye, and she knew her brothers would just about kill her right now. Making friends? Unacceptable.

And then she peered over her shoulder a minute, as if she was going to be killed by Ravenclaw-death-stares for what she was about to do. And then she sat down a little hesitantly, enough distance from the girl that she wasn't crowding her.