Quote:
Originally Posted by
EastonionNW 
Wandering the grounds, in absence of Pam and Jez, was Nathaniel Stone. He was sort of relieved that the two others weren't with him this time, as his reckless exploring had to be just as spontaneous as he was. Nate's level of spontaneity was hard to achieve.
Winding through trees, rolling down hills, doing dive-rolls en every clearing, Nafe felt like he was seven again, only this time he was wearing robes. That made it about five, maybe seven times cooler than when he was actually seven, playing spy in his backyard. After what only felt like a second of ecstasy, Nate found himself leaning precariously over a pool of water. "Huh?" he asked out loud, inspecting his surroundings. "This is new!" He had heard rumors of a duck pond, but naturally thought it was just mindless chatter. After all the drama in Ravenclaw last year, anything could just be a made up story. But most of it was true, and most was directly related to him...
Nate counted the ducks he could see as he took a seat, cross-legged, on one of the larger rocks by the pond. Fifteen, he thought. Fifteen ducks. He searched his pockets for anything edible, finding nothing but a chocolate frog that he honestly did not know the origins of. Breaking that frog into small chunks and tossing them haphazardly into the pond, Nate watched as the ducks scrambled over the treat. It was odd that nobody was really around...
Hogwarts, Darwin had decided, was THE most amazing place in the whole wide world.
Okay, second to the Abandoned Playground, but that wasn't here, that was all the way back in Croydon, around the corner from his house. Which was very far from here, if the train journey was anything to go on. He wasn't homesick, but the thought of it made the eleven year old think of his Mum, and how odd it was not seeing her everyday. He was used to missing his Dad as he was away all of the time, but this... was different.
Deciding that the best thing to do would be to not think about it, Darwin had taken it upon himself to go on an 'adventure' around the Castle. Starting with the grounds, he thought, and working his way up. His odd, jaunty step bounced him out of the Castle and down towards the Lake, until he spotted someone he thought he recognised in the distance.
Out of new habit, he clutched his wand in his pocket, as if he could have lost it, and waved to the older boy as he approached.
"Nateeeee?! It is Nate, right?" he added as he reached him, suddenly concious that he might have gotten his name wrong.
Shoot.