The Courtyard

[Lissy Longbottom]

Image Credit: Felixir

Accessible from the castle via the Clock Tower, the courtyard is both a throughway, leading to the wooden bridge which spans the nearby ravine, and a popular area of the grounds in its own right.

Many students spend their free time here outside of classes, particularly during break or lunch. Between lessons, this area is usually crowded with students catching up with their friends, getting in a round of gobstones, or lingering under the pear tree while they wait to head to their next class. A covered cloister surrounds the paved courtyard, and stone benches are spaced throughout the covered area, as well as dotted around the courtyard itself. Much of the architecture is in the gothic style, from the arches to the gargoyle parapets.

In the middle of the courtyard is an ancient fountain flanked by stone eagle sculptures, their features somewhat worn away by the elements over the years. Feel free to make a wish and toss a coin into the fountain, but be aware that once it's gone, it's gone. Any attempts to retrieve it will be unsuccessful, as the coin will keep magically sinking out of reach. Do try to jump into the fountain; staff will take pains to rescue you, but they're unlikely to be very impressed.

An addition to the courtyard as of 2104 is a bronze plaque, hanging on a restored pillar, its cracks and missing pieces clearly visible to those who take a good look. Both the pillar and its commemorative feature have now been charmed to prevent theft. The plaque reads:

Quote:

This marks the location of the duel to the death between the Neo-Alliance leader, Lucien Rosier, and the British Minister for Magic, Charles Hollingberry, which resulted in Rosier's death. Long Live Hollingberry! May 10, 2104.

[ArianaBlack]

Though Kinsay preferred to work on sewing projects in the art classroom, she didn't like when others occupied her space. The art classroom was hers. Didn't they know? And. And despite wanting to kick people out of her room, she wouldn't because. Because she was incessantly polite and incessantly polite people didn't kick people out of rooms even when they really, really, really wanted to. So.

So, instead, she made her way outside, materials tucked away in her canvas bag as she stepped into the courtyard and made her way for the peartree. It was another favorite spot and she had claimed it as her own. As one does. It was a nice day out and the shade the tree provided would keep her from burning up under the sun. Plus, it wasn't as crowded outside. All in all? Not a bad second choice.

Reaching the tree, she took a towel out of her bag and unrolled it, taking her time to fix her little set up under the tree. Aesthetics were important.

[Bryn]

A breeze blew a curl over her cheek as Geode held her breath and tried to answer a very important question:

When is the polite time to let someone know you are sitting in the tree above them?

Geode had come to the courtyard after breakfast with a fat novel and no plans for the afternoon. She'd gotten lost in the pages of her book as the sun rose higher in the sky - only to be interrupted on page 479 by a very pretty older girl who looked like she wanted to be alone. Or maybe she was waiting for some friends? Either way, Geode did NOT want to be known as some weird little first year who admired people's aesthetic stalked from tree branches.

The best time to exit the tree was five minutes ago. The second best time is now.

"Um. Hi?"

Geode had imagined herself as much more socially adept than this before coming to Hogwarts. In her (many) daydreams, she was never this awkward.

[ArianaBlack]

Having arranged her setup, Kinsay pulled out her sewing supplies and wasted no time in starting on her project. Though the school dance was very much present on her mind, she needed to work on birthday gifts for the twins first. Fi and Teddy superseded school festivities. So. So this sweater she was embroidering for Teddy? Super, super important stuff.

But. But, of course, Kinsay James couldn't ever get anything done without being interrupted. It's like the whole universe was conspiring against her to impede birthday present plans! Because, obviously, that is what was happening here.

So when she received the surprise visit from a tree gnome, she blinked several times. "......" ??? "Um ..... Hi?" If she looked mildly alarmed, it was because she was, in fact, mildly alarmed. And not in a good way, ok?

First of all: "..... What are you doing up there?" And second of all: Did Kinsay even want to know? All important questions.

[Bryn]

“I was reading,” Geo explained with a polite smile, hoping to remove some of the sourness she’d made appear on the other girl’s face. “I didn’t mean to intrude,” although Geode knew she certainly had, although ALSO Geode had been there first!, “although your sewing looks lovely!”

Agh. Time to awkwardly climb down the tree, which she did with as much grace as her eleven year old self could muster.

Once on the ground, Geode didn’t know what to do. She’d leave, but after the small incident at the feast she didn’t want to be seen as someone to bully. Even though she didn’t feel bullied at all and this pretty older girl seemed like she wanted to be left alone. But. “Sorry if I scared you.”

Ma had said that at Durmstrang if you interrupted/encountered/breathed around an older student they were mean to you about it and everyone knew where you stood. Maybe that was preferable???

"I'm Geode?"

[ArianaBlack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryn

“I was reading,” Geo explained with a polite smile, hoping to remove some of the sourness she’d made appear on the other girl’s face. “I didn’t mean to intrude,” although Geode knew she certainly had, although ALSO Geode had been there first!, “although your sewing looks lovely!”

Agh. Time to awkwardly climb down the tree, which she did with as much grace as her eleven year old self could muster.

Once on the ground, Geode didn’t know what to do. She’d leave, but after the small incident at the feast she didn’t want to be seen as someone to bully. Even though she didn’t feel bullied at all and this pretty older girl seemed like she wanted to be left alone. But. “Sorry if I scared you.”

Ma had said that at Durmstrang if you interrupted/encountered/breathed around an older student they were mean to you about it and everyone knew where you stood. Maybe that was preferable???

"I'm Geode?"

"In a tree???" The question came tumbling out of her mouth before she could even pause to think. But. But in her defense, a tree was a weird place for reading, even if the younger girl was being so nice.

"... Thanks, and that's okay," Kinsay decided after a moment. Geode hadn't scared Kins, but there was a bit of a spook factor present. But, like, who reads in TREES?! "I'm Kinsay," she offered, temporarily setting her sewing supplies down, not wanting to work whilst they were speaking. Not because she thought it would be rude, but because she liked to give her full focus to her work.

"Are you new?" She seemed new.

[Bryn]

"Haven't you tried reading in a tree before?" Geode tilted her head to the side.

Look, Geode had been reading in whimsical nature spots for as long as she could remember. It was a large part of the aesthetic she worked to cultivate slash she lived in the country and all of her neighbors were 800 years old. Nothing against Mercy and her cat crochet or Ronin and his three hour long stories about how pineapples were linked to the C.I.A. They were cool.

Kinsay. Kinz-ayyy. What a nice name. Kinsssssssay.

"It's great to meet you, Kinsay!" Please do not tell people I am a freak in a bad way!

"I'm a first year, so as new as all of us are."

[ArianaBlack]

Honestly? "No," she answered point-blank. Kinsay liked to climb trees sometimes, but not for reading. And she wasn't even trying to be judgemental or anything - pinky swear. But like. Trees weren't a good reading spot. She'd know because she used to read a lot. Mostly with her dad. But. Yeah. So. No.

It also wasn't a surprise to find out Geode was only a first year. It made lots of sense. So Kinsay offered her a tiny smile to be nice because sometimes being a first year was hard. Mhm. "Oh." She also did her very best to feign surprise because sometimes it was flattering when people mistakenly think you're older.

"That's nice." Until something inevitably went wrong and ruined Hogwarts for her forever. But. Maybe this year would be different. ..... "Do you want to sit?"

See? Incessantly polite.

[Bryn]

Actually, trees were great places for reading. Maybe Kinsay should develop a flexibility routine or some other regimen to make sitting in trees more comfortable for her?

Geode offered a BIG smile in response to Kinsay's tiny one. The little spinach-leaf-sized (but spinach-leaf-free!) gap between her two front teeth was on full display. Sometimes our best job pretending to be surprised just isn't good enough - but that's okay! Geode was just happy to be there! Speaking of being there...

"Yeah, sure!" And sit she did, off to the side making sure not to touch anything. Was she making a friend? "Thank you."

[ArianaBlack]

As it was, Kinsay James was flexible! Though she had quit gymnastics a couple of years ago, she had been consistently attending since age 5! And she was good at it! So!! Plus. She was a big fan of climbing things and hanging upside down. So. So it had very little to do with hanging out with trees and more to do with the fact that trees weren't meant to be reading spots. So. So, yeah.

To be honest, Kins had only offered to be polite. So when Geode actually took heed of it and sat down, Kinsay wished she hadn't offered at all. Being incessantly polite was a problem sometimes. ".... Do you like Hogwarts so far?" And would she maybe mind leaving this spot sometime soon?