YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ME ROAR! (OLLIE)

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

Free-spirited Laila ran across the Hogwarts grounds gleefully in a cute outfit that included dark denim shorts, a black tank top, and a pastel blue jacket. She grinned as she welcomed the spring weather and the sun on her face. Her bag hit her side as she ran but she paid it no mind as the Quidditch Pitch entered her vision. Although Laila didn't actually play on the house team or anything, Laila loved Quidditch. It was a great sport and popular, at that. It was days like these - close to the end of term - that she liked to run out to the middle of the pitch and throw herself on the ground. Lying on her back she could look up at the sky from practically the best view on the grounds of Hogwarts. She wasn't sure how many other students followed suit in her pre-summer hobbies at school, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

Laila smiled as she reached the middle of the pitch and threw her tote out of the way. Her brown hair acted as a pillow as she laid down on her back and gazed up at the beautiful sky above. It was a tad cloudy, indicative of a later rain, but for the moment, Laila was going to enjoy as much sunshine as she could stand. She sighed in awe and closed her eyes, the light of the sun breathing an orange light to the inside of her eyelids. The chirps of birds enjoying their nests in nearby trees was comforting and the splashing of boats against the water of the Black Lake made Laila realize that it wasn't just her who enjoyed the warm weather. It was simply delightful how beautiful the world could be when it shook off the winter weather and everything blossomed from it.

"If I could take you away, pretend I was queen, what would you say, would you think I'm unreal?" she sang faintly in a dreamy state. Laila smiled at herself, her eyes still at a close. The music in her head was so loud she could have sworn everyone could hear and didn't feel the least bit embarrassed by singing out, "Cause everybody's talking how I can't be be your love but I want want wanna be your love, wanna be your love for real!" Laila laughed at herself and then sighed once more, wondering how perfectly perfect it would be if it could be spring all year and every day she could spend sitting on a lawn singing to her heart's content.


@ollie

[Deleted]

Ollie happened to be one of those who were outside enjoying the almost-summer weather as well. He loved being outside - it was probably part of what contributed to him loving Quidditch so much, the feeling of being outside and having the wind racing past him. He didn't have his broom out today as he had decided to just go for a walk instead, but he had decided it would be nice to swing by the Quidditch pitch, at least. The Quidditch pitch was a soothing place for him - as, when he was playing, there was one focus and one focus alone, and that was stopping the Quaffle getting through his goals. One focus, that was it. Crystal clear. Well, there was avoiding bludgers, too, but if his beaters were doing their job that hopefully became less of an issue.

That sense of focus helped the Quidditch pitch to become a relaxing place for Ollie, even outside of game time. It was a place where he didn't have to think about schoolwork, or other responsibilities - he could just clear his mind a bit and zone out. That was a difficult thing for him to do, normally, so it made this spot all the more ideal.

He rounded the corner around one of the stands, and came out onto the pitch. As he usually did, he took a moment standing there to take it all in - it really was majestic. Wide, open, silen- wait, no, it wasn't silent this time. There was... singing? He looked around, puzzled, before realising it was coming from the middle of the pitch, where a girl was lying down on her back and singing. Not incredibly loudly, but definitely singing. He walked up to her curiously, recognising her face as he came closer, but not being able to put a name to it. They must have been in the same year, he supposed, but different houses.

He soon found himself within speaking range of her. "You have a nice voice," he complimented, looking down at her curiously. He didn't really know what else to say. Ask why she was singing? That seemed like an odd question, even though singing out here seemed like kind of an odd thing to do. At least this way he might just find out through conversation, rather than asking awkward questions.

LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

Just as soon as she stopped singing, Laila's eyes fluttered open at the sound of a male voice. She laughed and shook her head. "Thanks! I'm not great, writing is more my thing...but when you're in the mood to sing, do it! At least that's my philosophy," she answered playfully, then realized she might have been rambling a bit. "Sorry, I'm just in a very good mood," Laila said, then practically became blinded by the sun just over the boy's head. She put her hand up over her eyebrows as a sort of guard and squinted. Even through the poor lighting Laila could tell she had seen the boy before. He was on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, right? She'd been to enough matches to know that her first assumptions were right, she just couldn't place his name was all."You're in Ravenclaw right? Play Quidditch?" she asked, setting her hand down as the sun finally moved a bit to the right and gave way for her to see the boy properly.

It was then that she noticed the boy was a bit more familiar than she originally thought. She'd definitely seen him playing Quidditch for Ravenclaw, and wasn't he in some sort of class of hers? She could have swore it. In either case he was definitely charming and Laila wasn't about to deny any sort of friendship. After all, Hogwarts wasn't that big of a school and it was proper that you knew, or knew of, mostly everyone there. To come across someone you'd never met before happened to be a pretty rare thing. Well, when dawning on it further, Laila supposed she actually did know of this boy sort of so it might not have counted for a complete stranger encounter...but still. Formally meeting the boy before her meant a possibility at more conversation and another friendship, and if either were to happen with someone as attractive as him then Laila was certainly going to accept it openly.

"So what brings you down here?" Laila asked, smiling. She was sure that he might have asked the same thing since he approached her first, but really she wasn't one to wait to be asked things. Laila wasn't like most girls in that regard, she supposed. She was a natural flirt and a natural talker. Conversation came easy to her and she rarely got nervous or embarrassed. That's not to say she would never become nervous for some reason, but in general, Laila could carry on a conversation with someone with ease. She only hoped it was more a happy surprise than an intimidating factor in talking to boys - sometimes, it was certainly the latter.


@ollie

[Deleted]

Ollie laughed at her philosophy. "Well, if it works, then why not? And you sounded pretty great to me, you shouldn't downplay yourself so much," he replied. She did have a really nice voice, he thought. He sung a bit himself but he wasn't bold enough to go right out and say that to a girl he just met - she seemed like the kind who would ask him for a rendition or something. Which wasn't a bad thing, her being like that - but he would have felt a little embarrassed doing it off the cuff like that.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm a Keeper." He then realised the other connotation for that, and awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, that's the position I play. Obviously." Well, smooth. Nicely done, Ollie. "I come out here because I just really like the vibe of it. The pitch is so open and spacious, and it reminds me of what I feel like when I play. Like, focused, clear-minded, things like that. It's kind of soothing, you know?" he said, as he decided to take a seat a few metres from her on the grass. "How about you? You don't play for one of the house teams, or I would have noticed you... so why the Quidditch pitch?" he asked. He definitely would have noticed her. She was beautiful. This made the Quidditch pitch even better than normal.

LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

"Exactly, right!" she laughed, then shook her head at him and grinned. "Well thank you kind sir," Laila exaggerated, chuckling at herself. The ease of which the conversation was continuing made Laila pretty certain that her and the boy before her could definitely be friends. While she was easy to talk to, it helped when both people in a conversation could contribute fairly equally. That wasn't to say that Laila wouldn't hangout with anyone who was quiet - no, just the opposite. She enjoyed a challenge of getting someone to talk and helping them earn a few friends in the process, but ultimately Laila found it easier to found a friendship when someone was willing to talk to you as much as you were them. It just made for an even playing field, really.

Laila knew what he meant when he responded to her question about Quidditch, but she couldn't help but giggle at his response. "Oh you are, are you?" she asked with a grin. Laila winked and then laughed, wondering if he would take her shameless flirting lightly. She didn't mean anything offensive by it, of course, but some boys did surprisingly. Laila wasn't cocky but she knew she was pretty good looking for the most part, so it came as a bit of a shock to her when a few boys she approached seemed disgusted by her naturally-flirtatious mannerisms. Laila tried not to dawn on it too much; if she did, it often got her in a weird mood and she didn't like it. She much preferred to be happy and carefree, but then again, didn't everyone? "Yea I definitely get that," Laila said, nodding. It was like that with her writing. Laila could best describe that feeling with one word: home. You felt relaxed and free to do as you pleased, like you could hangout in your underwear and it wouldn't matter because it was your house. Your playing field. Your Quidditch pitch. Wherever home was for a person, it was definitely a good place to be and she could definitely relate to wanting to be there. For Laila, she could take her 'home' virtually anywhere since her passion was writing. It made for a good passer of time when the occasion called for it.

"Well...the pitch for me isn't just about what it symbolizes. This is the best spot to look up at the sky, which is what I enjoy. See...I'm pretty into writing poetry and fiction and stuff like that. I get inspired from getting in touch with nature, letting loose and really being able to be myself. It helps me get more in control of my feelings I suppose," Laila explained, then shrugged. "A bit complicated I guess...but true. But I also enjoy Quidditch in itself so it's not a bad spot for that either - I don't play much, but I can ride a broom if necessary," she added, grinning. "Oh! I'm Laila by the way," she chuckled, extending her hand in his direction.


@ollie

[Deleted]

It did feel like a very natural conversation; Ollie had been put at ease quite quickly after starting to chat to the girl. It was relaxing, and fun, and obviously she was pretty. That was causing him a little nervousness, but the ease of the conversation was easing his nerves a bit.

He could barely believe he accidentally said that Keeper line, though. He was blushing a bit because of it, but she seemed to enjoy it and take it in her stride. Her teasing voice actually helped a lot - he had felt like he had said something awkward with that line but her response had assured him that it was fine and that she actually seemed to want to respond in a flirtatious tone, too. That caught him a little off guard - more because he didn't expect her to be at all interested in him. Did that mean she was? Or was that reading too much into it?

He was glad that she seemed to get what he was saying with the pitch being relaxing. But then he got to hear what she appreciated about being out here, which was also really interesting. "Yeah, this is definitely a great spot to see the sky. That's really cool that you're into writing! I guess you'd want to understand your feelings pretty well as you write, as it would help your writing be more realistic and relatable, yeah?" he asked. Nearly all of the writing that he did was for schoolwork, very little for his own leisure. It would be interesting to hear about some of the writing that she did. "So have you written any books or anything like that? How often do you write?" he asked, finding that he had quite a few questions. And he also felt like he would be interested to see some of it, but he knew that sometimes people didn't like to share what they had done. Maybe that could be for another time once they knew each other better.

"It's cool that you still play, even if not for a house team. Which house are you in?" he asked. When she told him her name, he smiled warmly and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you Laila, I'm Ollie. I'm surprised we haven't chatted earlier - I'm sure I recognise you from classes we've had together." He may have been too intimidated to chat with her earlier. She was very good looking. But now that he was talking to her, it was surprisingly easy, and he liked that a lot.

LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

Laila listened to his response to her rather lengthy explanation of why she enjoyed the pitch, and he was dead on. She grinned and nodded, setting her hands together in joy as someone finally understood her. "Exactly right!" she cheered, laughing. "It's definitely hard to get into writing if you can't understand your own feelings. Sort of defeats the purpose I guess, since I believe that most writings are a direct reflection of one's emotions, even if they are varied throughout a story," she explained, then put her finger to her chin as she contemplated an answer. "Hm...well I've written about twelve short stories so far and got about a quarter of a way through with my novel I'm working on...and I've probably written at least twenty or so poems. I like to write a lot actually and write at least three days of the week. Sometimes not as much if we're around exam time, like we are now, but I never force it. Forcing writing makes it so rigid and passive. I want my writing to really show how I'm feeling and feel like I can write whatever I like and even if it's not suitable for anyone else, it's at least an honest work."

She was glad he thought it was cool that she played Quidditch, even if it wasn't for her house team. Since Laila knew that he played Quidditch, she could have presumed that sort of response. After all, it meant there was just one more thing for them to be able to talk about, really. That was a plus. "I'm in Gryffindor, actually. And it's nice to meet you, Ollie!" she replied with a smile, shaking his hand. She tried not to act too excited about touching his hand - it was hard not to be a bit fond of someone so handsome. "I'm sure we've had classes in the past just never really had the chance to talk, I bet," she said, then added, "which is a shame, really, since it seems we get along so well."


@ollie

[Deleted]

It seemed they were in close agreement on a number of things so far, which pleased Ollie. It was nice to find someone who was on the same page. He found it really interesting to hear about her thoughts on writing, it was great to gain an insight into that. "Oh, that's really cool! It's great that you can do it so regularly even when exams are happening," he said with a smile. "But I can see what you mean about not forcing it. That would be pretty tricky if you had writers block and were trying to finish your novel, though," he noted. "But it's awesome that you've written so much. I'd love to hear some of it sometime? That is, if you don't mind sharing. It's okay if you prefer not to," he assured her. He didn't want to upset her or anything, he had just met her after all.

He nodded when she told him which house she was in. Gryffindor was a good house, it did seen to suit her personality well. She was bright and bubbly, and seemed like she would stand up for what she believed in. He was also grinning as they were shaking hands... He hadn't expected anything like this at all when he came down here but he was really enjoying being with her. "It's definitely a shame," he agreed quickly. "But I'm very glad we got to meet now! We can make up for lost time."

LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

She nodded instinctively as Ollie talked about not forcing it, and then the complications it could have on not completing a task. "Well," Laila started, "I think that's a valid point, too. It definitely would take a while if you get writer's block, but I've found that when I'm really into something, I hardly ever get too stuck. I mean yea once in a while I'll have a bit of a tricky part to work through but other than that, stories just seem to...flow out of me, ya know? It's rather fun, though, when it happens like that, since you can quickly see your story progressing in plot and being able to introduce more characters...sorry I get a bit giddy talking about it," she said, quickly apologizing at the end of her explanation for her fast-talking. Laila couldn't help but get excited when people let her talk about things she liked doing - usually it was the other way around. And while Laila enjoyed listening to others' likes and dislikes, being able to share information about herself and what she liked doing was just as important, she felt.

Laila blushed slightly and ran her hand through her hair. "Oh yea, we'll definitely make up for it," Laila answered, tossing her hair over her shoulder and releasing a soft laugh. She looked to Ollie and searched her thoughts for what else to ask. There was so much in the world to know about each other, and then she decided she didn't want to ask anything. The best way to get to know someone was by doing something together - and that's what she decided they should do. "So Ollie, did you have any plans for today?" she asked with a mischievous grin.


@ollie

[Deleted]

Ollie really enjoyed hearing about her writing- it was so interesting to hear an insight into how other people thought about the things they loved doing. And it was very clear how much Laila loved her writing. While she was talking about it, her eyes were sparkling with excitement that was very clear to see. "That is really awesome. What are some of the characters in your story?" he asked her, interested to hear about the kinds of characters she came up with.

When she asked him if he had any plans for the day, he shook his head after a moment. "My only plans involved more studying, and that would happily be substituted for a better option," he said with a smile. "Why, did you have something in mind?" He hoped she had meant the hint he had picked up, that they should do something together.

LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

Laila had so many different characters in her stories, be it from her poems or her actual book she was working on. She even chuckled at herself at the time it took for her to come up with just one of them to tell Oliver about. They were all pretty great, though...but then again, they were figments of her imagination. They were little people she'd created all by her lonesome and that fact alone made them pretty grand in her view. "Well the protagonist of my one book is Elsa and she's pretty amazing. She's a witch who gets a potion from a mysterious dealer and ends up gaining the powers of a dragon - she can breathe fire and fly and everything. She's pretty wicked," Laila cheered. It would be a great tale to tell once Laila was finished and hopefully she could publish her book someday. She thought there was definitely a market in the wizarding world for fantasy.

Cheeky from just revealing her most favorite character, Laila giggled slightly at his response of doing nothing the rest of the day. "I think I have a few things in mind we could get into," she winked. Laila stood up and brushed off the back of her shorts, then put her hands on her hips and grinned. "What do you say about a little wager? If you race me to the boathouse and win I'll...jump into the Black Lake. If I win, you've got to do it instead,"[/b she said sneakily and stuck out her hand, one eyebrow raised. "Deal?" she grinned.

@ollie

[Deleted]

As Laila explained her character Elsa to him, Ollie listened carefully. It sounded like she had put a lot of thought into her character, which made sense if she was writing a whole novel. "Wow, powers like a dragon? That's really awesome. Is the world setting like ours, or is it very different?" he asked. That was an important question to ask, as in some fictional worlds a girl who had powers like a dragon would be less abnormal than in others. He loved hearing about the book.

As Laila stood up, Ollie did the same, and he couldn't help but watch as she brushed off the back of her shorts. That was nice. He also brushed himself off as he stood. "A wager, hey?" He listened to her suggestion. A race? "Do you mean a running race or a broom race?" That was the big question. Running he felt like he would be able to win - but a broom was much more unknown. Either way, he was up for it. "Either way, that sounds great. Is the loser jumping in in their clothes, or getting changed first?" That was another important thing to ask.

LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

She was glad that Ollie seemed interested Elsa; she certainly was an interesting character. Laila smiled as she replied with, "A world like ours. She's a tutor for young wizards and witches who have trouble controlling their magic, and is twenty so not too young. But she's really gifted and goes on some great adventures through the wizard world - and parts of the muggle world too." Laila liked the fact that Ollie seemed so intrigued by her character. It was definitely something she could easily talk about and with him eager to listen, it certainly bonded them, she felt.

"Hmm...well, at first I thought a running race. But hey you know what? Let's see if you can take me, chaser," she teased. Laila took out her wand and pointed it into the air, uttering, "Accio Broom!" In moments her broom arrived and she caught it, snapping her arm back a bit but she took the hit proudly. She grinned. "That's up to you! I'll jump in naked if it's what the winner calls for," she said laughing, though was being a bit serious. She wasn't sure it'd be very pleasant a thing to do in the middle of the open but hey - they would be by the boathouse and no one would be able to see anyway. Then again, Laila was a spontaneous person; she'd definitely be the type to just jump in with her clothes on without even thinking. It was totally up to him, though, if he wanted to change before jumping should he lose. Laila certainly wasn't one to pressure people into things they weren't comfortable with - no, she was the exact opposite.

@ollie

[Deleted]

"That's all really cool. I'd love to read it sometime if it's in a state you're happy with," he said with a smile. He knew that some people could be quite protective of their writing, especially if it was unfinished.

Ollie grinned as Laila summoned her broom and declared it a flying race. "Accio broom," he echoed, and his broom soon came out and he caight it easily. "And that's Keeper, remember? We will soon see whether I can 'take you' or not. It looks like you have a nice broom, though - I'm sure it'll be close." Being a Keeper meant that he didn't generally have to work on speed while flying, it was mostly reflexes and agility. So he would probably be outsped by most Chasers and Seekers, but he was one of the best Keepers going around at the school. At her comment about jumping in naked, Ollie's eyes went wide at that mental image and he accidentally coughed a little and had to take a moment to recollect himself. That wasn't a mental image he would soon forget. "Wait, really? I mean... you don't have to..." He didn't know how to respond to that. The idea of seeing that was one that was appealing, but he also was certain that would have been too much too soon. He was a firm believer in doing relationships right, and respecting girls more than he respected himself. Not that he had had the opportunity to do that before, but now that he possibly might, he wasn't going to disrespect her in the slightest.

LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON

[LAILA IMOGEN BRANDON]

dancing through the fire

Laila nodded and grinned. "Sure! Next time we meet up I'll be sure to bring my journal along and you can totally read some of it! Hopefully I've done Elsa justice by writing her story. That's what it really feels like - more her story than mine," she said, hoping he'd understand what exactly she meant by it. She knew it was something not everyone did, though. Writing with complex characters wasn't an easy task and sometimes it felt like it was more the characters writing their own stories instead of her writing it. It wasn't like she was making it up, it was more like the story was unfolding inside her head and she simply wrote down the words to convey it. It made a lot more sense describing it that way, but there were no words to really define it so narrowly as she could do in her thoughts. Whenever she tried to find the words to do just that, they simply became unavailable.

"Oh yea!" Laila said, putting her hands over her mouth. She blushed hard and she knew it by the warmth crawling into her cheeks. "Sorry - Keeper, Keeper. I've got to remember that. I have a hard time remembering things," she admitted, feeling a bit foolish. Ollie was a Ravenclaw too, which would only mean he would think her even more stupid than the next person. She had to mentally try and keep her composure instead of running off, but figured maybe he would let it slide. She just had to make sure not to make anymore mistakes. She didn't want to scare off a new friend - and potentially someone who could be more than that. Laila bit her lower lip and shook her head. "I was just kidding Ollie, don't worry. No - we can conjure up some swim wear when the time calls for it," she explained, then mounted her broom and looked back at him with a smile. She wasn't sure if he'd be able to detect the small tinge her mistake had made to her pride, but she tried to play it off nonetheless. "Ready?"

@ollie