It's Easier to Get Through the Days

[Felicity Hjort]

Saturday October 11, 2008
4:27pm

October and the air was starting to become a bit more chilly than it previously had been. Felicity didn't mind in the least, it meant life was going to arrive on the ground again, snow was going to fall from the sky, the lake would freeze over, and she'd be able to be outside, dancing, walking, and making snow angels. Really, the blonde lioness couldn't wait and her excitement was only growing bigger at the thought of all the fun she was going to have that year. Of course, whenever winter came around she had fun, but she couldn't wait. The end of the snowfall that spring had been hard to get through, even with all the attempts made to have her out in the snow things just hadn't felt right then.

But now, things were feeling better, Felicity felt better herself. Even with all of the scares of the new staff members, the blonde didn't mind so much. Everything that happened in January was still as real to her as anything else, but she felt better about things, she had her friends, was making more, and her family had been swell over the summer holidays. Seeing them had given her a good feeling about life once more, and since returning, despite the incidents with both the new History of Magic Professor and the new Caretaker, not to mention the new Hufflepuff, she really did feel renewed.

Except that day, instead of being outdoors in the misty weather, she was inside, having just finished a paper for Herbology. The library was a little stuffy as it seemed some students preferred to finish their homework indoors rather than out of them, or in their respective common rooms, so the blonde decided she'd take her things upstairs to Gryffindor and then walk around, see who she could find to talk with.

Her plan was great, she knew it was, it sounded like a done deal to the blonde until she was nearly on the last step at the top of the stairs between floors three and four. Then it didn't sound so great as she tripped, not having lifted her foot enough, and was sprawled face first on the cold stone floor. While she was used to such situations and events occurring, she actually hurt. Once more, like when she'd taken a stumble down the stairs previously that spring, her wrist ached, but she didn't think anything was done to it, just that she'd landed upon it incorrectly.

"Ouch," she muttered to herself, not bothering to get up off the floor just yet. Hopefully no one saw.

{OPEN}

[Layla Jimenez]

The chilled October air was slowly penetrating the castle and steadily bringing out the thicker robes and scarves. One 7th year Ravenclaw had geared herself up and was sitting on the ground against th staircase. Wrapped in her robes, she scribbled a few other things onto her parchment while she crossed out others. She had been planning to ask Professor Brady something about an assignment, but had become dissatisfied with what she'd written as she read it on her way down from Ravenclaw Tower. By the time she had reached the 4th floor, she'd already taken out her quill and started a large editing expedition. Seeing that there were more than a few things wrong, she simply took a seat on the ground and worked on it right there.

She had been in the middle of rewriting a sentence when she heard a thump. It wasn't the kind she had been hearing for the last 5 minutes that indicated that a moving staircase had reconnected with a landing. It was a different kind of thump. She looked over her shoulder and saw a girl on the ground, apparently fallen. Frowning slightly Layla got up, leaving her parchment and quill on the ground and quickly walked over. But before she touched her, she simply cleared her throat a bit, trying not to startle her. "Are you ok?"

[Felicity Hjort]

Life was far from being over, it always was far from being so, and at that moment Felicity had no cares other than her nose and wrist. Then again, with the amount of times she fell a day, she didn't think she had reason to worry, not once had she ever broken a bone, by falling or playing athletics, and her luck was normally with her on such occasions. It was when she was in a horrible mood she tended to easily hurt herself, such as with what happened that spring and falling down the stairs. It was just after breaking up with Drew when it happened...how could she have been happy after such a thing?

Still not moving, finding contentment in just laying there, Felicity heard a voice trying to break through a throat, mouth, the vocal chords in general. The voice that finally followed was slightly familiar, but not enough to know off the top of her head. Bringing her arms around to prop herself up, Felicity's brown eyes glanced up to see who was speaking a smile formed over her lips easily.

"I'm fine," she answered. "I'm used to it." Sitting herself up gingerly, Felicity turned around, bringing her knees up to her chest and took in the sight of the girl before her. If the Gryffindor was right in her thinking, Layla was one of Drew's friends. Should she take the chance of getting to know her, or would it only end in disaster as every time she had tried to get to know Charlie and Hiro had? "I'm sorry if I startled you, I don't think I know how to walk very well on stairs..."

[Layla Jimenez]

Layla had almost bent down to help the girl up, but the blonde had turned her face up and smiled at her. After recognizing Felicity, Layla couldn't help but think what an odd reaction she had. Well, that was new. Anyone else wouldn't be so upbeat after falling on their face. But the girl was apparently fine and wasn't hurt. Giggling a little, Layla wasn't sure if she should offer her a hand to get up, but it seemed like she'd already made herself comfortable right where she was.

After hesitating only slightly, she took the few steps to where her things were and sat down as well. She didn't know Felicity well. The last time she was in school Drew was still with Alhana. Layla had at first seen Felicity as another part of her friend's life that she needed to relearn. She had barely been able to talk to her on the Hogwarts Express or in classes, so this really was the first time they'd run into each other. "Well you never know," she told the girl with a pointed finger, "maybe it's just the steps that can't be walked on properly."

[Felicity Hjort]

The slightly nervous laugh that Layla offered Felicity was returned, only whole-heartedly on her part. She didn't mind if people laughed at her, how often did it happen in muggle school? It was when it was the hurtful laughter, like when making fun of her wandwork that it bothered Felicity. Otherwise, she didn't have too many cares in the world. Laughter was a natural part of life, something she was used to, and it helped make others happy. Good moods and happy thoughts were what Felicity had decided to mostly focus on this year, though Alexander's talk about his relationship with Krissy going down the drain wasn't a happy thought. Just one more thing to worry about and constantly ask Drew of.

Giggling when the girl said it could just be the stairs, Felicity pulled her messenger bag over her head and shuffled closer to her. "So, how's life going, Layla?" the blonde asked, deciding it probably would be best to take at least one more stab at getting to know some of Drew's friends.

[Layla Jimenez]

Smiling, she was pleasantly surprised when the girl scooted closer on the ground and started up a incredibly vague chat. Life She didn't even know herself. She shook her head with a grin and tried to come up with an answer that was honest, yet concise. "Okay, I guess," she replied, surprising herself that she'd respond that way. "I mean, the badge," she said, pointing to her robes, "and just being back." Despite still being stressed from the workload she'd assigned herself aside from that year's curriculum, she found that her were were true. She was doing ok. Well... at least that's what she felt that particular day. "I think I'm doing ok."

She felt a little odd that two Prefects were sitting on the ground in the middle of the castle, but was sure nothing would come of it. She folded her parchment and tucked it into her robes, saving it for later. "And you? Other than the obvious mishap here and there, of course," she grinned again glancing at the stairs.

[Felicity Hjort]

A smile formed on her face when Layla said life was going all right, but it didn't last long. As she pointed toward the badge, Felicity's eyes followed, not sure about the whole badge, she didn't know Layla had gotten it at all. It didn't really surprise her, she was nice in classes, but what did surprise her was how she addressed the badge. She didn't sound completely happy, but she didn't sound as miserable as Felicity was over having one. Maybe she somewhat understood Felicity's position about having one? That Raynor had concocted some evil plan against her, and maybe the others, too.

But it was nice hearing another was doing well, she liked hearing people were in a good mood. "My life is absolutely fantastic, even with the mishaps in it," she smiled her answer. "Things with my friends are going well, classes aren't so bad right now," she laughed, glad she didn't have to take Charms class and had dropped History of Magic after that horrible lesson, "and Drew and I are doing extremely well, so my life is currently fantastic."

It was a satisfied answer on her behalf. Life was fantastic. Even after everything that had happened in January, life was on track again, and she was excited about it.

[Layla Jimenez]

Layla smiled and giggled. Not because anything humorous or ironic. But because the girl sitting across from here was so excited. How could you not giggle? A bit of her was almost jealous that things were going so well for the girl. There were more dejected parts of Layla's life than ones that made her excited. Or perhaps there were less, but their significance outweighed the exciting ones. Either way, Layla was not 'fantastic'. Feeling a bit selfish, she quickly pushed those thoughts aside and realized that she felt happy for the girl, and was starting to like her company. She could see why Drew liked her so much.

"Well, that's really great," she told her earnestly. "Now that you mentioned it," she told her wrinkling her nose a bit. "I haven't seen some of my friends in a while. Have you seen Charlie lately? She keeps getting away from me, the little bugger," she told her, laughing. She knew Charlie was busy with her Head Girlness plus Quidditch and classes. But she missed her and would be satisfied even if she heard news of her from someone else.

[Felicity Hjort]

"The Head Girl?" Felicity questioned, not knowing any other Charlie in the school, but not wanting to make assumptions. Then again she couldn't imagine anyone else being described as a bugger. Charlie was all right in Felicity's mind, despite how they'd "gotten along" on hers and Hiro's birthday party night. Drew had told her he wanted her there and in the end of it all, Felicity was pretty sure it would've been better without her there at all, she just hadn't been ready to associate with people after January right then, she wasn't even speaking to Celina yet right then either.

"I actually haven't seen her very much," Felicity answered, only the passing glance through the corridors. But in a way, she supposed she couldn't expect her to really be around to speak with. Their whole history so far was kind of rocky, though their talk after the party broke up had been awfully nice, scary and frightening, but nice. She wished she had a chance to talk to Charlie like that again, she almost felt that they were going to make a breakthrough, then the boys interrupted. "But you're her friend, too?" she asked Layla curiously. "Are you friends with the whole crew, or just a few of them?"

[Layla Jimenez]

Layla's face fell only slightly when she heard that Felicity hadn't seen much of her either. She resolved to make a stronger effort to pin the girl down, somehow. The year had been much busier than they had all anticipated, but Layla swore there had to be a time where they could all get together.

Layla grinned and nodded at the Gryffindor, wondering how she and Charlie got along. "We weren't friends til about 4th year though. We had nothing in common," she told her. She paused a bit to think about what she'd said before correcting herself. "Actually we still don't have much in common," she admitted with a small laugh. "It was one of those things where... you don't expect to make a friend, but it turned out great." She knew she hadn't explained it right, but there really was no better way. Her and Charlie becoming friends had involved lots of talking and an impromptu haircut in the middle of the bathroom. It was certainly not something that happened often.

"Drew and I friends with a lot of the same people," she answered, tilting her head trying to place everyone's name in an imaginary venn diagram. "But we have our own friends here and there. We actually didn't always get along as well as we do now." Layla grinned and shook her head at the most prominent memory that pertained to that statement. "But I guess we've all matured."

[Felicity Hjort]

What Layla said about she and Charlie ran across her own mind on more than one occasion, did she and Charlie have nothing in common, hence why things didn't seem to always go well? She wasn't sure. They both liked athletics, they both enjoyed eating, and they were both interested in Ravenclaws. Was that enough to base some sort of foundation on though? It had to be. After all, Felicity hadn't left Celina alone until the girl finally admitted they were friends and that'd taken quite a while to accomplish, maybe she just needed to try again with a different foot forward.

And the blonde knew what Layla was talking about, she'd done that on more than one occasion, like upon meeting Drew and him showing her his boxers. While he continued to say it was purely accident, she wondered sometimes. She really hadn't expected to make friends with him, he was the type of person her dad told her to stay away from, flashing silky boxers at her in the back hallway at the bathrooms in the Leaky Cauldron. However, he more than redeemed himself when he got her unstuck from the tree when she was chasing Sammy.

Nodding, she kind of figured they'd all be friends considering they were in the same year, but she wasn't sure. Most of Felicity's friends were in the year ahead of her and not her own, something she was determined to fix that year, so she wouldn't be left with only Celina in case Celina had something she had to do with Felicity wanted a friend.

"Matured?" Felicity asked with a giggle, meaning no disrespect to any of them, but even Drew wasn't always the most mature, not that she was either. If they'd matured since then, she wondered what they were like before.

[Layla Jimenez]

Once Felicity uttered the word, she realized that it wasn't quite accurate, though it still held some truth. "Well, ok, ok," she surrendered with her hands up, laughing. "Mature is not exactly what describes it, but we get along much better now. It still kind of applies, though." She tilted her head, trying to make the word fit," Sorta." She laughed again and shook her head. "We've made progress," she finally offered. It was probably the best she could do. And it was true indeed. Drew had turned out to be a great friend and had offered to help Layla whenever he could. She had tried not to tie up his time too much, since he was busy himself, but he was always there when she needed him.

All things being even, she wasn't very mature either. She had done a lot of mature things lately, but out of what she thought was necessity. But she very much felt like the 4th year she left behind still.

[Felicity Hjort]

Laughing along with Layla, Felicity knew what she meant but couldn't help but wonder whether if she'd met Drew, any earlier that she had, if she'd like him. Most of her told her there was no doubt about it, but a little bit said it might've taken a bit more time than it all ready had; in her opinion it'd all ready take much too long to tell him she liked him and for him to tell her he liked her too. It took even longer to have their first kiss and nearly two months longer before he finally asked her to be his girlfriend. She still wasn't certain about the kissing before the dating and the established relationship but she was more than willing to forgo it and say it didn't matter despite what her dad had taught her.

Grinning at Layla, she thought it was kind of funny. Progress was important, she knew that and was glad to hear they were getting along just fine.

[Layla Jimenez]

Felicity's laugh indicated that she did know what she meant, and only made Layla laugh harder. For just a little while Layla felt at ease and was able to just enjoy someone's company. Recently every encounter had some purpose; homework, studying, reading, writing, rewriting; awarding points, deducting points. Eating was a daily bonus and sleep was an obligatory filler. The middle of the 4th floor was an odd place to find a second to relax, but Layla would take what she could.

"Well..." she said after she finally was able to stop laughing. "Where were you headed before you were rudely interrupted?"

[Felicity Hjort]

With their giggling and laughing coming to a slow end, Felicity couldn't stop smiling. Maybe she'd actually get along really well with one of Drew's friends. She and Hiro got along fine, but she always felt so odd around him, she wasn't sure if it was because he was blind and she was so curious but afraid to ask, or what, but she did get along with him pretty well.

"I was just going back to my common room," the blonde answered with a big smile. "The library was really crowded because so many people don't want to be outside with the light raining. But it got really uncomfortable down there," she continued, shaking her head slightly. "With so many bodies the air was stifling, I just couldn't concentrate. But I was just going to take everything back and prowl around the castle, see who I could find to spend some time with." Smiling at Layla, she was kind of glad she'd found this particular girl. While they'd met each other on the Hogwarts Express, and in classes, it really wasn't enough time.