[Lawns] Of homecomings & autumn days.

[Professor Lauretta Mericcini]

After a long day of teaching, Lauretta headed to her quarters, finishing to set them up just the way she liked them, neat but ridiculously cozy. She looked around the place, beaming. The paintings that had just found their way onto the walls, smiled and waved at her before beginning to chat amongst each other. LC decided to let the painted figures of the past catch up with one another, and stepped out of the portrait hole that lead out into the corridors.

It was a lovely fall day, and she decided to make her way back to the lawns. The lawns where she had caused so much trouble back in the day. Not anything harmful, except for the one time that Keifer had been attacked by the squid after she pushed him in the lake, but how was she supposed to know the squid was moody that day? With a step outside, LC took in the fresh air flowing through the grounds.

She walked a small dirt path, that lead her around the grounds and past the forbidden forest. The professor headed for a small clearing, filled with wild flowers. Naturally, she felt at home in nature. She laid down in the meadow, the sun shining upon her face as she closed her eyes. Although the term had come upon her rather quickly, as she had only arrived a few days before, she was glad to be back. To be home... felt magnificent.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

The autumn air was cool and crisp as Ash wandered about the lawns of Hogwarts. He smiled softly to himself, taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the season. Although France would always be his home, Hogwarts held a special place in his heart. It was where he learned to stand up for himself and others. Where he had learned that not everything is as it seems. And that if you work hard enough, happiness is never out of reach.

The cool air, the warm sun, the rustle of leaves, all the different colors reds, golds, yellows, the scurrying of small animals, the comforting scent of pumpkin and cinnamon coming from the castle.. yes, autumn was by far one of Ash's favorite seasons. Surpassed only by the cold beauty of winter.

As he was walking, Ash spotted a familiar figure. He walked closer to see who it was. Imagine his shock when he found himself staring down at his old friend LC Merricini.

"L.C .? Que faites-vous ici?" he asked, before belatedly remembering that not everyone understood him when he spoke French. "Oops. Sorry" he laughed. "What are you doing here?" he repeated, this time in English

[Professor Lauretta Mericcini]

Lauretta opened her eyes, to face the person whom was speaking French. She chuckled when she realized who it was, and pulled herself off of the ground. "Ashton, il a été si longtemps," Lauretta greeting him with a warm smile and a small hug. "And, I've finally buckled down and learned to speak French." Years before, she had only been able to speak fluently in Italian and English. Since, she had added French and German. After all of those years about Ashton talking about his beautiful home, LC had decided to discover France for herself, vacationing there a few summers ago.

"My friend, you are looking at the new Herbology professor," she beamed. Herbology had always been her favorite subject, followed by potions. Now, she had the opportunity to teach the subject the young students. It was exciting, to say the least. "What about you? Lauretta was just as surprised to see him still here.

A slight breeze creeped across the lawns, causing Lauretta to shiver slightly, and slip into her cardigan that had been sitting next to her.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash was thrilled to hear his old friend, speaking his native language. He'd tried to get LC to learn French when she was at Hogwarts but she'd never really seemed interested in the beautiful language. Well, it was beautiful in Ash's mind anyway.

"C'est génial! Maintenant je ne dois pas répéter tout dans l'anglais" he said with a laugh. Repeating everything had been getting a bit old. Of course LC was very stubborn. Just the fact that she'd finally been willing to learn the language was a miracle within itself.

He smiled when she revealed that she was the new Herbology professor. "Cool. I'm the Muggle Studies apprentice. It's actually pretty cool. And seeing as I've grown up in both worlds, the professor often asks me to cover a lesson or topic."

He lay down beside LC, hands beside his head. "Oh, and I have a boyfriend." he said, a small smile on his face as he slightly turned his head to look at his friend.

[Professor Lauretta Mericcini]

Lauretta chuckled remembering old times, when her younger friend had mumbled about her stubbornness under his breath, almost on a daily basis. It was true, though, that she was just as stubborn in other situations as she had been back then.

Lauretta had changed outside of Hogwarts, almost as much as she had changed within it's walls. She would never be the person she used to be when she first started, cold and cruel. Hogwarts had changed her into an admirable young woman, who was kind hearted and honest. Maybe, that's why she had come back. She knew what kind of power the school had, and she believed that if it had changed her, it could do anything.

"Yes, that would be a good subject for you to help with," Lauretta smiled. To think that she had once sneered at the thought of muggles, muggleborns, or half bloods was just odd. That had all washed away by the end of her first year. It wasn't until her 4th or 5th year that Ashton came to school, and she remembered helping him with a variety of things. He always had this cute, innocent vibe about him.

"Ooooh, a boyfriend? Do tell."

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash smiled. "Yeah, it is really great. I know it's gonna be alot of work but I'm actually looking forward to when I take over the post. I hope it's soon. I think I'm more afraid of not being able to catch the students interest."

He blushed when she asked him about his boyfriend. He knew she'd get there sooner or later. "His name is Tyler Monroe. We met in France. He's the Healer here now."

Ash smiled, "He's actually really amazing. You'd think that being a Healer he'd be all mother-hen like when I'm sick, but he's really not. Well... he kinda was the first day he was here cause I had a really bad cold.. but he's not bad. I should introduce you to eachother sometime."