almost like home ; {open}

[Valorie Mays]

Valley pulled her blue and bronze scarf tight around her neck, frowning as she crunched through the snow on her way to the playground. She never really liked winter too much. Snow was always fun, and Christmas made her feel warm and happy, but after a while she got tired of layering every article of clothing she had and still being cold. Nonetheless, she was tired of sitting inside all day, and decided that she was going to go for a walk outside and maybe go on the swings some. That would probably warm her up.

After what seemed like years, Valley finally made it to the playground she'd been headed for and sat herself down on an empty swing. The playground was pretty deserted, since it was in the dead of the winter. She dug her toes into the snowy ground and pushed herself back and forth, gently at first, looking at the big castle looming behind the snowdrifts and clouds. It was one of those moments where she really thought about how crazy her life was. Just a few months ago she'd been a normal Muggle girl with her normal Muggle family (although at the time, she had no idea what a Muggle was), and now, she and her twin brother Devin were learning magic at big castles that were supposed to be schools. This is not how she pictured life would be once she turned 11.

She wasn't complaining, though. She was living a fairy tale. She loved magic, and she was excited to learn all the different things she could do with it. But sometimes, it was nice to come to the playground with its plain, practical swings and slides. It reminded her of home, and her family, and the normal, boring life she'd left behind. It was the one place that was familiar to her, and sometimes, it felt right to come and think here.

[/size]

[Christina Abbot]

Christina was feeling a little restless today, she had on blue jeans, bright yellow sweater, white fluffy winter jacket, yellow scarf, and yellow ear muffs. She decided to take a walk outside in the snow, she loved Christmas it was a great time of year. Her breath left puffs of white smoke as she breathed exiting Hogwarts to go out on 'The Lawns'.

She had met her new friend Ana and hanged out with her then she continue to enjoy the great weather and headed towards 'The Playground'. When she arrived at the 'The Playground' she saw a new girl she had never met before swinging on the swing set. She walked over to the swing set and took a swing next to the girl and said hi.

"Hey I'm Christina Abbot i'm a first year Hufflepuff, how are you?"

She said extending her hand to the girl and giving her a nice warm smile.

[Valorie Mays]

The young Ravenclaw was so engrossed in pushing her swing back and forth and feeling the icy air sting her cheeks that she almost didn't see the Hufflepuff that looked to be her age take the swing next to her. Valley planted her heels into the snowy ground to slow herself, smiling at the girl from underneath her slouchy winter hat and tousled hair.

"Oh, hi! Sorry, I almost didn't see you come by." She grabbed the girl's extended hand with her own mittened one and shook it firmly, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Christina. You can call me Valley, or Val... my name's Valorie but I don't really like it," she explained, scrunching her face and sticking out her tongue in disgust. "I'm a Ravenclaw, by the way," she said proudly, pointing to her scarf. "But Hufflepuffs are cool. I'm just enjoying some time away from everyone and stuff... not that I don't like everyone here. But sometimes it can be overwhelming. I like the playground. I thought it would be a good place to... umm... escape, I guess is the right word."

Valley gave herself a good push off the ground, swinging back and forth again. "Anyway, how are you? What brings you out here?" she yelled over the squeak of the swing chains and the forceful wind.

[Christina Abbot]

Christina smiled and looked over at the girl while she listened to her reply. Christina liked to make new friends when Val said about escaping she felt like maybe she had intruded on her quite time alone, thought she hoped she hadn't She started to swing kicking her feet off the ground and felt the cold December air biting at her skin as she swung.

"Hey Val nice to meet you, I"m doing good thanks for asking."
"I hope I didn't intrude on your alone time."
"I just was out enjoying the snow, its really beautiful this time a year you know."
"Are you going to the Yule Ball Dance?"
"I am going with my boyfriend Sirius who's a first year Hufflepuff here at Hogwarts."

She said as she watched the air from her breathing and speaking was frosted white. It was a very beautiful time of year she thought and she loved going out in the snow.

[Valorie Mays]

"Glad to hear it!" Valley said with a smile once Christina had said she was doing well. "And no no, please, don't worry. I haven't met too many people here, so it's nice to have someone to talk to. It wasn't alone time, really, just a chance to get outside and away from crowded places and stuff. Like all the people in the dorms and Common Room and just everywhere in general. And I needed some fresh air."

She nodded, closing her eyes against the cold wind. "It is, very very pretty," she agreed. "I love snow. The cold, not a lot. But snow, very much."

At Christina's mention of the Yule Ball, Valley turned to look at her, leaning around the chain of her swing as she continued to move back and forth. "The Yule Ball? Huh. I dunno. I guess I should. I don't wanna miss out on anything. But I don't have anyone to go with or anything, and I'd have to find something to wear... I mean, I'm sure I could. I just never really thought about it much." She shrugged. "I'll probably go, sure. That's cute that you get to go with a boyfriend and everything. How did you guys meet?"

[Christina Abbot]

"Yeah getting fresh air is wonderful specially this time of year when its cold out."
"The cold air really can wake you up and give you energy in a way if you think about it"

She said with a smile as she continued to swing, watching as it started to snow.

"Wow look its snowing right now look at all the beautiful snow flakes. You know its really magical , did you know that not one snow flake is ever the same as another, I think thats just magical. Well if you don't have any guy to take you , you could just come and hang out with friends like me and dance. Me and Sirius met in class at the beginning of the term. I had a boyfriend before Sirius, my first boyfriend ever was A.J. Rawlins a first year Slyherin but he broke my heart when he called my best friend Sophia Davis a liar. Then the next day, I would of never guessed it would happen but I got an owl telling me that A.J. and Sirius were having a wizard's duel over who would get to date me. Well the battle started off fierce they both were strutting their egos and showing their worth. Then while I was watching with my friends Sophia and Lily Novus , she is Sirius's sister,. I decided then and there that what he did do my best friend calling her a liar was too much and I broke up with him during the duel. Well A.J. at that point basically gave up the duel and ran off. That's basically how it happened after that I was Sirius's girlfriend. I mean he won the right to have me since A.J. gave up the duel."

"Yeah I am going with him to the Yule Ball Dance he better show up on time and be dressed appropriately Though I must admit lately I been thinking if maybe i'm not quite ready for a boyfriend yet, I mean i'm only 11. Maybe its just too soon I dunno, I'm going to see how Sirius is with the Yule Ball and all."

She said after saying a mouthful and she smiled at Val.

[Valorie Mays]

Valley listened to Christina's story carefully, nodding where she felt appropriate. "Wow, that's quite a story," she said with a laugh. She'd been expecting some little tale about them meeting someplace around the castle and deciding to go on a date after some conversation, not a duel of any kind. "It's exciting, though!" Though Valley wasn't exactly up for dating just yet, she could imagine having two boys dueling over you would be sort of fun and adventurous. "I've never seen a duel before," she said, more to herself. There was a lot she had to learn about the wizarding world.

"Yeah, I understand," Valley said in reply to Christina's uncertainty about being in a relationship at such a young age. "Between you and me," she said furtively, leaning over to her and lowering her voice to a whisper, "I still kinda think boys are icky." She chuckled to herself and straightened her body out on her swing, pushing herself back and forth again. "Maybe when I'm older, I'll want a boyfriend, but for now I'm enjoying learning magic and being a witch and just making friends," she said honestly.

Valley tilted her head back and stuck out her tongue, catching some snowflakes in her mouth. "It really is pretty," she agreed. "And yeah, I did learn that about them all being different! In grammar school our teacher had us all design and cut up our own snowflakes to show how different they would all be, just like all the people in the world. Individuals," she said, remembering the word.

"What're you going to wear to the Yule Ball?" Val asked, thinking of the clothes she owned. "Is it all glam and stuff?"