[Forest] Cloud Busting

[Zachary Maxwell]

Zachary Maxwell was one of those guys who was able to walk down the corridors of the castle and keep his head held high. Zach did not know the meaning of the word ‘no’ and as a result it normally got him in trouble and a couple of scrapes. He was not one of the guys that people wanted to be like, as he was a trouble making loser, but on the other hand some people could not help but admire his balls. As a result he was a bit of a loner and it was kind of how he liked it. Take now for example, the whole of the castle’s residence where tucking into their evening meal while Zach, while he was filling his body with another kind of food.

Lounging on the grass at the boarders of the forbidden forest a strange haze green haze filled the air around Zach as it billowed out of a simple wooden pipe that hung limply from his mouth. His blue eyes were fixed on the sky above him as he watched and laughed at the different cloud patterns that filled the Scottish sky. His brother had picked him up a nice amount of this pipe weed from the Quidditch World Cup in Egypt and boy was it good stuff. It was not as powerful as the purple weed he had got from Cuba one time, but this still gave him a nice light headed feeling with every breath.

It was only as he exhaled and let another cloud of green smoke escape into the world about him did Zach realise he was no longer alone. Taking his gave away from the cloud dinosaur that was eating a baby elephant cloud the Gryffindor pushed himself up so he could see the individual who had ruined his ‘happy time’.

[Brooke Kennedy]

"No" Brooke shouted at Bryn before ramming her fist into the Gryffindor sofa. Bryn and Brooke had been fighting a little more than usual lately, maybe because they were getting older and were gaining more of their own personalities instead of just simply being known as 'the twins'. She sighed and her glare broke from Bryn's eyes and glanced towards the fireplace. At least that was less intense than the eye daggers coming from her brother.
"Just leave me alone, Bryn. Go be with your friends" she huffed sarcastically. She hated to admit it, but she was still like a child when she argued with her twin. They always reverted back to their petty childlike arguments.

With than, Bryn stormed off and left Brooke alone in the common room. She tugged at a sofa pillow and hugged it for a moment, her anger raging in her head for a while before she began to calm down and realised how eerily silent it was. It was horrible.

Throwing the pillow off her chest, she pulled herself up off the sofa and made her way out towards the castle grounds. Everyone was at dinner and as she walked passed the great hall, she peered in to see everyone giggling and deep in conversation, stuffing their fat little faces with all sorts of junk. She caught a glimpse of Bryn and he looked directly at her, both glaring at each other before she continued to storm off out of sight and headed towards the forest.

The anger was like a storm cloud above her head and she was sure she could even hear the lightning cracking above her. It had her blinded for her walk as she didn't realise how far she'd gone until she caught sight of somebody nearby. Stopping, she smirked as she saw the spiral of smoke emitting from his head and she casually folded her arms and took a few more steps nearer to him.

"Oh man, you're so busted" she smirked, standing over him and blocking his view.

[Zachary Maxwell]

Zachary would never win any awards for being the perfect pupil, heck he would never win any awards for being a moderate pupil. He was one of those annoying kids who sit in the back of the classroom, not paying any attention as they are half asleep from staying up the night before. It was Zach’s laidback attitude that caused most of the problems and this was obvious now as he lazed around on the grass (even in winter) in front of the tree’s staring at the beautiful sky. However his perfect view of the pure blue sky was obscured when a dam attractive blond haired girl leaned over him crowing about him being busted.

“Well if you’re the one to arrest me then lock me up here and now.” He gave the girl a rather toothy grin as he held his wrists up towards her signalling for her to arrest him. “I do rather like the pink fluffy ones.” He added with a playful wink.

Unlike some of the boys at the school Zachary did not see himself as a ‘player’, despite the fact he knew he had roguish looks he did not care. His hair was normally untidy and ruffled and he did not have a neat trimmed beard and he normally had that high or drunk look about him. It seemed however the green haze that filled the air around him had somehow clouded his mind as he tried to remember who on earth his girl was.

He had a feeling he had met her before, yeah…she was a Gryffindor they had shared a box of jelly beans once…what was her name? River…no, Brooke! Yeah Brooke Kennedy, that’s the one. His little dull brain was slowly working his way through the haze and a confident little smile filled his face as he looked up at Brooke. “Fancy a go?” he signalled at the pipe to Brooke as he took another deep intake from the wooden pipe that still hung limply from his lips.

[Brooke Kennedy]

The sun was so bright that it lit up the sky like a grenade. The heat was almost abnormal for a Scottish afternoon, but Brooke loved the Summer and was making the most of it while it was there. The lake glistened on it's surface like a lake full of glitter and Brooke narrowed her eyes to focus clearer on the boy.
Brooke smirked as he held his wrists up to her, willing her to place handcuffs on them. She kicked his foot playfully before rolling her eyes at him and his forwardness.
"Pink fluffy ones arn't my thing, I like to play rough" she winked back.
It seemed to take a lifetime for the fact that Brooke was blocking his eyeline to sink in for the boy, and his dazed and confused look made her laugh. She folded her arms over her chest, still grinning, although she was sure he couldn't really see much of her. Still, it was funny.
Her smiled dropped slightly and she moved out of the sunlight, blinding him with sun once more before she giggled at his wayward expression.
"Oh dear, i'm sorry. Was I in your way?" she said, a mocking tone almost visible in her voice. She turned around and sat down next to him, crossing her legs and pushing her dress between her legs, as more of a force of habit due to guys trying to look up there.

The smell of whatever it was he was smoking was strong and smelt slightly like something that would be found coming out of a mandrake, and when he offered her some, she wrinkled her nose in disgust for a moment.
"Exactly, what is this?" she pouted, her fingers clenching around it as she gently sniffed the air around it, pulling a disgusted face at the smell.
"It smells like Bryn's farts" she added. To be honest, Brooke didn't even need to know what it was, it was something knew so she was bound to try it. Before he could answer, she had copied what he had been doing moments before and sucked hard on it. It blocked her lungs and she coughed it up automatically between fits of giggles at her bad first attempt.
"Okay, okay, i'll do it this time" she said, gearing herself for another try before sucking on it once more. The buzz instantly going to her head...she breathed it out slowly, the smoke creating a line in the air before disappearing.
"Wooooow....." she whispered after a moments silence.
"So, you're Zach, right?"

[Zachary Maxwell]

In any teenagers life there is a point where they have the chance to make a choice; they go to those house parties and take all the different drugs and get drunk, go to the parties and just have a few drinks or simply stay at home with Mum and Dad. Zach, with the urging of his older brother, had done the first of these options and as a result his brain was a little slower then it could have been and more then likely his liver was that of a 60 year olds not a 17 year old. But that was something he would worry about in the future as all that illness and stuff wouldn’t happen to him anyway. So that was how Zachary had come to be sitting outside in the sunshine instead of in the library reading and he was very happy with his choice in life for sure.

The only thing he wished he had done differently in his life was that he had bought a pair of sunglasses with him mainly because now Brooke had moved away he was now being blinded by the bright yellow ball in the sky. Wrinkling his face up and scrunching up his eyes the sixth year Gryffindor shuffled around on the spot so he was no longer looking directly at the sun and also so he could keep his gaze fixed upon the feisty blond haired girl. Honestly, if she asked he would be rough with her, it would take an army of dragons to stop him!

“I don’t know what it is really.” He answered Brooke’s question honestly. All he knew was it was good stuff and it did the job (if not a bit pricey) but he learned from his brother to never ask what it was you where smoking otherwise it would put you off for life. Yet to his surprise, and also admiration Brooke agreed to give it ago and with a wide grin Zach handed the pipe over to her. For some reason he had always seen Brooke Kennerdy as this goodie goodie who would not say boo to a goose and so with keen interested watched as she took a rather large intake. “Whoa, don’t been too greedy.” He interjected a bit too late as the poor girl started coughing and spluttering.

“Your first time then huh?” He joked as she took a smaller amount this time and he saw the wide grin spread across her face as she asked him his name. “The one and only.” He could not help but smile, there was something about Brooke that was different, maybe because she took the time to talk to him rather then look at him with disgust for being the loser that he was. “And you my lovely are Brooke Kennedy. I have seen you in the common room.” He shot her a knowing look as a little grin crinkled his face. “I never took you as a fan of ‘The Remus Lupins’ I always thought you as a muggle dance girl. Guess that proves you can’t judge a book by its cover.”