Open up your mind & see like me

Nerissa hummed to herself, putting one foot in front of the other in a way that wasn’t
exactly skipping but at the same time wasn’t her usual lazy way of walking; the Quid-
ditch stadium was peaceful when no one else was around, and at the moment, she
had the whole place to herself. Nerissa plopped down in the freshly mown grass wi-
th a sigh, spreading her fingers out, her hands in the grass; she loved to be so near
plants, much like a child enjoyed being close to their favorite stuffed animal.

Looking up at the clear sky, Nerissa wondered what it would be like to ride a broo-
mstick; she had never actually owned one, for she had been too afraid of falling off
when she had been offered one while shopping for her school supplies, but now th-
at she was a bit older, the idea didn’t frighten her as much. She shook her head, it
wasn’t safe either way. She leaned backwards until she was lying down, her arms
& legs spread out like a starfish. Nerissa listened to the sound of students chatting
down at the lake and near the castle; she liked to listen to the different voices and
laughs that each person had been born with- in fact, it truly was ‘music to her ears’.
Nerissa smiled and shifted slightly so that the side of her face was in the grass, and
inhaled the sweet sent of it. She didn’t have any homework to do or any classes to
attend until later, and she figured lying around in the sun was the best way to spe-
nd her free time.

As usual, Nerissa was startled by the sudden arrival of a fellow student. She bolted up-
right with a fearful expression, at least, only until she realized that it was simply a young
man she had seen around Hogwarts a couple of times. There were so many people in
the enchanted place that it was hard to keep track of all the names, ages, houses, and
faces- but not for Nerissa; she remembered those details because it made her feel safe.
She wasn’t sure why, but ever since the start of time she had been obsessed with mem-
orizing every tiny detail. For example, this boy was in Hufflepuff and he was in the sa-
me year as Nerissa was, though she hadn’t ever actually learned his name.

Nerissa relaxed once more, lowering herself back down on the grass, looking up at the
boy, running her hands along the grass absentmindedly. “I’m Nerissa Hatts,” she replied
with a soft smile, waving once with the hand that wasn’t stroking the blades of grass
underneath her. “Getting a good workout then?” she asked, noticing the sweat soaking
his hair and shirt.

“Well it is a pleasure to meet you Hunter,” Nerissa replied, storing that information away for
later, as usual. “You’re a Hufflepuff, right?” she asked, though she already knew the ans-
wer; it seemed less… creepy to ask what house he was in and find out that way than to
have already known.

She watched him sit down in the grass next to her and listened to his voice and to his laugh,
they sounded pleasant, and it had been a while since Nerissa had heard a pleasant voice
so close; most of the time she would only hear the other students from afar, laughing and
talking as they enjoyed their free time. She smiled, “Yes. I’m glad that the sun is out and that
yesterday’s rain didn’t leave everything all muddy and wet,” she replied, shifting so that sh-
e was on her side facing him. She laughed, “I love the grass and the plants. I’ve grown up
around plants, so I guess it is only natural for me to enjoy spending time around them,” she
replied honestly.

Nerissa was clearly surprised when Hector guessed what house she was in correct-
ly, “Yes, I was sorted into Ravenclaw just as I had hoped,” she replied. She wondered
if she was such an open book that he could read her easily, or if it had simply been a
lucky guess on his part. She bit her lower lip absentmindedly as she thought for a mo-
ment. Perhaps predictability was something she needed to work on.

“The rain? I despise it! I understand that the trees and the grass need rain to survive &
to grow normally, but I still have never enjoyed it much; when it rains I am stuck inside
in the library doing studies or something else equally as boring,” she replied, looking up
at the clouds, feeling rather relaxed even in the presence of someone else- which did-
n’t happen often considering the fact that she was a very nervous and jumpy person.
“I don’t think I’ve ever actually felt the rain…” she added, looking up in her skull as she
thought back, flipping through all the old pages of the book that was her life. She titled
her head to one side, “yes, that is correct, actually… I cant remember a single time I
have been out in the rain,” she said, fallowed by a thoughtful “hmm”.

“Yes, I assumed I had been given a nickname as such; when you love plants or other
things that are strange to most people, they tend to mock you or assume that you are
a weird kid that doesn’t like to be around other people,” she replied, nodding to her-
self. “Pretty? Oh dear…” she said with a hearty laugh, “I’ve never thought so”