It was raining.

Of course, given that it was Scotland and it wasn't yet summer, this was to be expected. Even in summer, the chance of rain was high. But it didn't stop Reuben from being considerably annoyed by it. He stood in the Entrance Hall doors, staring out at the puddles forming, and pouted a little bit. He'd wanted to go to the Climbing Tree.

Maybe he'd just wait here until the rain stopped.

The rain didn’t particularly bother Aurora but she did admit that it was somewhat a hindrance when there was something you particularly wanted to do out on the grounds and the rain was making it muddy. The second year had intended on going for a walk down to the stables to see the Winged Horses and so was wrapped up in her pink raincoat and sporting a pair of rainbow wellies her Mums had bought her. The wellies clip-clopped as she walked down the stairs from the Ravenclaw tower, stepping on each individual stone floor tile as she did so until she reached the entrance hall.

Stood before her was a familiar face who clearly wasn’t quite so eager for a soggy stroll as she was. “Reubyyyy” she practically sang a grin falling upon her face as she bounced over to stand by his side. “Did you forget your coat?” It seemed like such a boy thing to do. Boys were reckless and didn’t take the great British weather when preparing for the day. She’d offer him her coat but she didn’t think he’d like the colour, nor would it probably cover him considering Aurora was a tiny 4’6” human.

It didn't look like the rain was going to subside anytime soon, but that didn't stop Reuben from staring longingly at the sky. The clouds were thick and it seemed more likely to thunder than stop raining, but a boy could dream. He could also go back to his dorm and get a coat, but he hadn't thought about that.

Not exactly the smartest cookie, this one. Turning when he heard his voice, he offered Aurora a smile that didn't quite match her own grin, because he was CLEARLY still annoyed at the weather. "Yeah," he said with a big sigh in answer to her question. "Do you have a spare?"

Because people carried spare stuff, didn't they? And Aurora looked super prepared, so maybe it wasn't out of the realms of possibility! (It absolutely was, and a weird thing to ask anyway given she was nearly a whole 10 inches shorter than him, but!!!!!!! he hadn't thought about that, because - as previously mentioned - he was not the smartest cookie).

Aurora was unfortunately not the type of person to carry around spare coats with her. The only reason she had been so prepared today was because she had looked out of the common room windows and seen that the weather was not so favourable and so had dressed accordingly before she even left her dorm. Had she not looked it was very likely she would’ve been in exactly the same predicament as Reuben was.

“Nope” she answered with an apologetic smile. Besides with her size and stature it was more than likely it would be at least two sizes too small. She briefly glanced out the door trying to come up with a suggestion when it dawned on her. “Is there a spell to keep you dry?” If there wasn’t it absolutely should be a thing and if Aurora had any idea how to invent spells she would do it herself. But alas she was just a second year who barely had a grasp on charms herself.

“What were you going to do outside?” she asked. They could find something exciting to do inside if he was bored and wanted company.

No? Ugh, hard luck. Reuben pouted a little before the expression was replaced with a smile. "I bet there is! I don't know it, though - maybe I should check the library?" Never mind that the library was much further away than his common room, and that if he were to go and do that he might as well have gone to get his coat - no, Reuben was now fixated on learning this spell and all logic had gone out of the open Entrance Hall doors.

Not that he had much logic to start with, mind you. "I wanted to go to the climbing tree," he said, his smile dipping a little. "Probably need the spell on the tree, too." It was, no doubt, super slippery. And whilst Reuben was dumb, he had some level of self preservation. And he didn't want to break his arm.

It did somewhat baffle Aurora that they were expected to remember every single spell in existence when they were all written in Latin and they were literally hundreds of them. As a second year she was still making her way through the simple spells. “Orrrr we could ask an older student?” she suggested mostly because it would be far too much effort to walk all the way over to the library, find the appropriate book, perfect the spell and then walk aaaall the way back. That just sounded like more trouble than it was worth. “There must be someone around here” she wrinkled her nose looking around to spot anyone in her vicinity.

Sigh.

Climbing a tree sounded like such a fun thing to do if the weather was in their favour. Aurora hadn’t frequented it much herself since the previous year but it did give a really good vantage point across the grounds. “Let’s find something else to do then! Have you been to the arcade?” It was an odd spot in such an ancient castle but it offered a wet weather activity that was still fun. It also clearly didn’t matter whether Reuben would want her company or not as she had invited herself to be his companion for the day.

Ask an older student. Right. Reuben hadn't thought of that, and it wasn't because the older students scared him. No no no no noooooo, not at all. He was fearless!! FEARLESS! (And maybe if he told himself that enough, it would become true!). But either way, a quick glance around told him that there weren't any older students in the immediate vicinity, and therefore that put that plan out. "They're all probably studying or something," Reuben said with a wrinkle of his nose. Seemed that that was all the older students got up to, sometimes.

"Of course I've been to the arcade!" What a silly question, Aurora. Anyone with a degree of SENSE would have been to the arcade, because it was where games were and games were fun and this fourteen year old was all about fun. "Do you want to go now?" Reuben quite liked the fact that Aurora seemed to have just invited herself to spend the day with him, and he didn't give a second thought to the fact that quite clearly she'd been planning on going outside for something specific and he was interrupting her plans. In fact, he didn't give a first thought to it.

It wouldn’t matter if Reuben didn’t have the guts to approach an older student because Rora had enough confidence for the two of them. In fact she had garnered a little bit of a reputation for speaking to absolutely everyone regardless of whether they were interested in her interactions or not. Unfortunately, as was the reality for the pair, the older students couldn’t be found anywhere which meant they would have to consult a book or just admit defeat and get soaking wet. “How boring!” she reacted to Reuben’s statement. “I can think of much better things to be doing even if it is raining.” Then again she was a second year and therefore the idea of studying for exams hadn’t even crossed her mind yet.

Okay, fine. Asking whether a young boy has been to the arcade might have been a little of a silly question but the castle was so big and the arcade was tucked away and Aurora had no idea how good Reuby’s navigational skills were so it could’ve been possible he hadn’t spotted it yet. As for whether SHE wanted to go? Now who was asking the silly question? “YES! And maybe afterwards we could go to the kitchens and find a snack?” Because playing games for an hour or two was definitely going to work up an appetite in the petite Ravenclaw. What she lacked in height she made up for in sugar cravings.

The only problem was that wellies were not the most comfortable thing to trudge around a castle in but it was SO MUCH effort to walk all the way up to her common room just to change her shoes. Her little nose wrinkled as she glanced down at her feet. “Maybe I should just go bare feet instead of wearing these? I wish Hogwarts would install a lift up to the seventh floor instead of making us walk all the way.” Perhaps then students might not be late for classes when the staircase decided to randomly change route halfway through your journey.

Happy that Aurora agreed studying was boring, Reuben nodded. "Exactly," he said emphatically. "When I get to my OWLs, I will absolutely not be studying as much as most people do. Where's the fun in that?" A decision he would no doubt forget about when the time came around and he realised he was actually not very intelligent and needed a lot of work to pass anything.

But for now, ignorance really was bliss. Be a goldfish, and all that.

It wasn't really a dumb question, given Reuben's navigational skills (and skills in general, at everything) were poorer than the Weasley family. But he liked to think he was brilliant, so of course that was what he was. "Games, then snack. Sounds like a plan, Rora." And now he was already thinking about what snack he wanted. Maybe cookies? Maybe a sandwich or - NO! Cheesy garlic bread. Yup. Snack decided.

"I could give you a piggyback," Reuben suggested brightly, glancing down at Aurora's wellies. She was only tiny, and he figured it wouldn't be too difficult. Given that he wasn't exactly very strong and his only experience were literal toddlers, though, she would probably not enjoy the ride.

Aurora’s OWLs were too many years away for her to determine how much she’d be studying. On one hand she wanted to be a Magical Creatures Healer which probably meant having decent grades in a lot of subjects but on the other hand she found sitting down to study so tediously boring. “Maybe we’ll have to find a way to make it more fun. Like we could make it into a game?” If she could learn through a game that certainly might pique her interest more.

The mere mention of the snacks they could have afterwards was enough to set off a miniature rumble in the Ravenclaws stomach. For something so small she could definitely consume her weight in food at times. Her Ma suggested it was because she never stopped and therefore her metabolism was running double time. “I was in the kitchen the other day with Anna and we were making ice cream sundaes and we made a bit of a mess but that’s not the point. The point is I found a cupboard full of sugary treats and I think the House Elves were trying to hide them from the students.” Their hiding place was clearly not good enough for Detective Ackerly.

Did Aurora want a piggy back to the arcade? Now that was a fantastic suggestion. If it meant she didn’t have to waddle her way like a weighed down duck back through the castle she was absolutely on board. “Yes!” she giggled delightedly. Being so petite should mean that she was fairly easy to carry. “I hope you’re feeling strong,” she beamed preparing herself to hop onto his back. Not that she was heavy but it was quite some distance to the second floor where the games arcade was located.

"A game?" Reuben found that, maybe, just maybe, he was a little curious about how one could turn studying into a game. Not enough that he would devote much time to it, though, leading to the task he put to Aurora; "Okay, well, you let me know when you've figured out a game."

Work smarter, or something. And by smarter, he meant getting other people to do the work. Win win!

Blinks a few times at Aurora's statement, and then focuses on the part that apparently wasn't the point. "Wait, you and Anna made sundaes and I wasn't invited?" He was, of course, assuming that she meant Anna Walles. It wasn't that Anna was an uncommon name - in fact, it was probably the opposite - but that Reuben only knew one Anna and that Anna was supposed to be one of his closes friends and now he was INSULTED. INSULTED and DISTRAUGHT that he had been left out of sundae making!! How rudE! Almost as rude as the house elves hiding the - wait, what?! "Why are they hiding them?! Who else are the keeping them for?!"

Professors didn't want loads of sweets, surely????

"'Course I'm strong," Reuben said, puffing his chest out as he bent his knees slightly and prepared for Rora to jump on to his back. He would likely regret this later, but for now he was READY AND WILLING.

Just because Aurora suggested that they should turn studying into a game didn’t mean that she had any idea what exactly that game should be. She was a Ravenclaw for her curious and inquisitive nature and not for her creative idea abilities. “Hmm.. Give me summer and I’ll come back to you with an idea.” Or rather she’d constantly ask her family and friends for ideas until something stuck in her head and she could possibly take the idea for her own.

There was no harm in taking a little credit was there?

Did everyone know Anna? She couldn’t blame them that they did as she was equally as loud and bubbly as Aurora was and in Rora’s very accurate opinion she was the best friend a girl could ask for. “Because no boys allowed at Bestie time!” That and it wasn’t exactly planned and so therefore giving anyone a forewarning would’ve been impossible. “We’ll invite you next time” she nodded. Well if she remembered anyway. They hadn’t invited Solomon either to be fair.

As for the not so super secret supply of sweet treats? If Aurora was a Professor SHE’D want to keep her own supply of sugary snacks to get through the day. “I don’t know. Maybe Elves really like candy?”

The second year barely even waited for an invitation before she hopped up onto Reubens back ready for a piggyback ride. “Don’t drop meeee” she giggled.

"I'll hold you to that," Reuben said solemnly. In reality, he would have forgotten by September, if not by summer. Maybe he'd hold onto the idea for a few weeks, whenever he saw an older student stressed and studying, but then something more interesting would come along and all thoughts of turning studying into a game would disappear.

And it wouldn't take much to be more interesting than studying.

Had known Anna since.. FORVER. Or what felt like forever, given they'd attended primary school together. But that wasn't important right then. What was important was his invitation, which he grinned about. "Good, I'm looking forward to it."

Another thing he'd forget, no doubt. When Aurora jumped onto his back, Reuben wasn't one hundred percent prepared, but he dealt with it well - or at least, he thought so, only letting out the smallest woosh of air. Adjusting his hands on her legs he started slowly for the stairs. Slowly because he didn't want to drop her, and slowly because he had a feeling he was going to get tired soon.

Like Reuben, Aurora was entirely likely by the end of the summer holidays to completely forget what she had promised to do. Somewhere in between lounging on beaches, celebrating her birthday and whatever else it was that she was planning on achieving over those couple of months they had free from school, any thought that she had pre-holiday was going to dissipate into non-existence amongst the clouds living in her head. “Sure thing!” she raised her hand to her forehead and saluted her friend in a pantomime type expression.

There was plenty of Anna to go around (except there really wasn’t because she was so teeny) that Aurora wasn’t going to be jealous that she had to share her with others. Besides, it was in her opinion that the bigger the friendship group the better and therefore they could ALL join in one big bubble of FUN! Well at least the girls could, the boys would simply be dragged along for the ride. “You’ll be useful, I couldn’t reach the top shelf to get the sprinkles down.” Which then spiralled into the mayhem that was the ice cream covered kitchen.

The Ravenclaw hopped up onto her friends back, slinging her arms over his shoulders and clinging on for dear life as he adjusted her position. There was a temptation to wave at her fellow students as Reuben carried her past but she resisted.. for now.