Much Needed Fresh Air

Raphael walked down to the lake needing some fresh air away from students and away from school work. He completed all his homework quickly and with information than what was needed. He yawned softly having little to no sleep last night because he was up making sure that he had all his work done for today. He knew that he needed a break from everything. He was wearing jeans and a button down flannel t-shirt with his jean jacket over it. He finally got to the lake and looked into it's depths wondering what it would be like to swim beneath the water. He wanted to know what it was like to breath beneath the water and not have to worry about the spell wearing off or anything else. He walked along the lake's edge until he found a log not far from the water's edge and sat down upon it with a sigh. He picked up a stick off the ground and began making designs in the sand as he thought about everything that he still had to do today. The list was very very short and it wasn't filled with much as he looked up at the sky above the lake.

So far, Malaika hadn't had much opportunity to get to know her fellow students.  She had tried, but many of them were stand-offish.  Not that she wasn't used to that, for one reason or another.

She was taking a walk on the grounds in the hopes of bumping into someone, so when she saw the little boy (yes, Malaika considered people the same age as her "little") playing at the edge of the lake, she had no qualms about approaching.

"Nice day for it," she greeted him.  

She had no idea what he was doing.

Raphael just finished one design and started working on another one when he heard a voice. He looked up and gave a small smile, "Yeah for once it's not too cold or extremely hot, something in between." He said as he continued to make the design in the dirt. He scooted over on the rock and gestured next to him. "You can sit down if you want to." He looked at the spot realizing it was wet slightly. He took off his jacket and laid it on the log. "There now you can sit down, it sucks to have wet pants. I'm Raphael Bianchi," He said looking over at her with a smile. "What's your name?"

Malaika stared at the boy's jacket, vaguely insulted at his misplaced chivalry.  Yet she also had the feeling it would be rude to complain.

"Uh, that's okay," she said.  "I can stand."

"I'm Malaika," she supplied.  

English wizards seemed always to be introducing themselves by their full names.  It was awfully exhausting, and Malaika wasn't stupid enough not to realise it had something to do with their hangups about blood purity.

"What are you doing?" she asked.  "Does that mean something?"

"Okay," He said looking at her curiously. He didn't push for her to sit because she didn't look like she wanted to.

"Nice to meet you Malaika." He said as he continued to make another design but it was more intricate then the others. There were swirls, straight lines, curves and it seem like it didn't end. He would occasionally sprinkle some dots here and there. It was something he did out of boredom or when he needed to calm his mind so he could concentrate on what he needed to do. Today it was just trying to clear his thoughts and a little bit of boredom too.

"Just drawing, it helps clear my head." He said then looked at her his head slightly tilted. Looking at the design, "No it doesn't mean anything. It's just something that I've seen in my head."

"How zen," Malaika responded, deadpan.

So many people in this school had creative hobbies. Malaika wondered why they didn't go to a school where they could pursue them seriously. But then, she was far more practical than creative and she also secretly suspected that people who were so blatant about their talents were really just using it as an excuse to show off.

Either way, it irritated her, and she certainly wasn't going to encourage it by paying any further attention. Or complimenting him.

"You ought to be careful about clearing your head," she observed. "If you clear it too much, your mind might fall out."

Raphael shook his head at her words and made a small design in the dirt then put the stick down. "It's not exactly zen, it's just drawing. Besides it's not like the design is gonna be seen by anyone else. I erase it before anyone else can see them, I do it for fun to not be seen." He said as he stood up and walked to the shoreline that wasn't too far from where she stood. "So what brings you down to the great lake?" He asked curiously.

He laughed at her words, "That's a good one. I haven't heard that one before." He said grinning.

It was almost like he could read her mind. Malaika wondered whether there was any latent seer's blood in his line.

He'd laughed at her "joke". People were always doing that. Malaika supposed it was a good thing, having them mistake her less generous remarks for humour. Being sorted into Hufflepuff must have helped as well. Everyone knew Hufflepuffs were friendly.

But Raphael's laughter did also bring shame. Malaika was well aware that the instinct to prey on other people's insecurities and make them feel small was one of her worst traits. Even while Raphael's sunny disposition and general personality grated on her, Malaika found herself relieved that her intention seemed to have gone over his head.

"Oh, you know," she answered his question. "Lake. I haven't got a good look at it before."

Raphael looked at the lake then at her in confusion, "There's not much to look at. It's kinda just a hole in the earth filled with water and creatures." He said as he looked back at the lake. "I mean some of the creatures are pretty cool when they wanna show themselves. Other than that there's not much to look at."

He walked back towards where he had drew in the dirt and sat back down on the log. "What house are you in?" He asked curiously wondering what house she was in. He didn't think she was a Gryffindor and she definitely wasn't a Ravenclaw.

Malaika just stared at the boy.    

"It's an entire ecosystem," she stated, although that prompted her to wonder whether these British Wizards even knew what an ecosystem was.  She knew she ought to have gone to Beauxbatons.

When he asked about her house, Malaika's eyes narrowed.  What kind of a question was that?  Had she somehow stumbled upon a feral Slytherin?

"Why?" she asked.  "If you want to copy my homework it's gonna cost you regardless of which house I'm in."