[Lake] November Plights

[Thom Moen]

Thom narrowly missed another battlement as he shot along through the bitter November air. It was Sunday, and that meant flying was allowed anywhere on the grounds - even the roofs of the castle.

He had jumped from his dorm window, making sure not to wake Boggleworth, and wrapped in his thickest cloak and furriest Russian hat the Hufflepuff had been up since the crack of dawn. The only time he had come close to touching the ground was when a freak gust of wind had knocked him into the whomping willow, dislodging almost half of its orange, yellow and red leaves. Thom was still finding them clinging to his hair and collar.

Kicking against a weather vane, Thom spiraled off towards the North Tower and the lake, squinting into the icy wind for signs of life...

[Bailey Griffiths]

Bailey had been walking by the lakeside, thinking of many a thing. When a sudden chilly breeze reached her, with a shudder she thought that perhaps it would have been best to have worn a coat!
Bailey looked back towards the castle as the thought of heading back came to her mind. 'I could go and sit by the fire in the commonroom and do some work i spose' she thought to herself.
However when she looked back towards the castle she noticed someone on their broom flying towards her.
Bailey started walking towards a cluster of trees as to avoid the incoming broom. 'Can't have any casulties now can we'

[Thom Moen]

As Thom passed through a particularly freezing cloud, his gaze set upon a shock of long red hair rippling in the wind on the lake shore. Tilting his broomstick down, Thom dropped a few meters to see another Hufflepuff he had not been acquainted with yet, a yellow striped scarf blowing around her neck. Thom realised she was staring up at him as she made her way toward a tree. She was obviously wary of his eccentric flying.

He spiraled down toward the shore, digging his heels into the mixture of mud and sand as he skidded to a halt before her. 'Bit early, eh?' he asked with a wink. 'Why haven't I seen you before?'

[Bailey Griffiths]

"a bit early indeed! I mean all the sane people within the castle are still asleep, of that i am sure!" Bailey laughed.

She smiled and studied the character, "However, it is never to early for touring the castle via broom. It would appear you have brought some memo's of the journey with you!" she chuckled and pointed at some of the Browning leaves in his hair.

Not wishing to give away the fact she was a new student to readily, she cheekily stated "oh, i have ways of concealing myself to the untrained eye!"

Bailey smiled and curtsied "I'm Bailey, nice to make your acquaintance!"

( I can no longer spell curtsied.. i'm trusting the spell checker there =P)

[Thom Moen]

Thom laughed. 'Right, I'm sure,' he said in mock doubt. Leaning forward on his broomstick he shook Bailey's hand briefly. 'Nice to meet you, Bailey. I'm Thom... you may have heard of me.' he said, sitting up a little straighter, throwing his chest out. 'I'm the Hufflepuff heart throb.' he added cheekily.

[Bailey Griffiths]

"nice to meet you also, oh yes I had heard of your dashing good looks! the leaves and twigs just increase it drastically." Bailey said with a grin

"going for a rather windswept look are we?" She giggled

[Thom Moen]

Thom gave a smarmy grin, and with his hand swept the hair that was sticking out from under his hat, untangling some of the leaves but leaving one side of his already brown hair sticking up. 'Oh yes. I look my best when I go au natural...' he said, flicking a twig from his collar. 'I suppose you would know at least Girty or Bog... they seem to mingle with others a lot.' He said almost critically. 'Do you?'

[Bailey Griffiths]

"Yes indeed, i have had the pleasure of making there acquaintance previously, Girty is a cousin of mine actually, and i met Bog one breakfast. Rather interesting people are they not?!" Replied in a similar critical tone, for no other reason than to be random.

"however on such a fine day.. actually it is hardly fine rather chilly really, look at me all scarf and no coat!" she laughed.
Bailey looked at Thom's broom and had an idea.
"Fancy going for a fly?." Not waiting for an answer, she pulled out her wand and shouted "accio broom!".

Bailey watched as her broom came soaring towards her, she hopped onto it and kicked off from the ground, she twirled round and smiled awaiting an answer.

[Thom Moen]

Thom laughed nervously as Bailey stated that Girty and her were cousins. 'Oh right... I really don't see the resemblance though...' he said, wondering if Girty had told Bailey all about her and Thom's falling out. He had no doubt that she too agreed that Thom was a typical male with no emotions. He was about to reply when Bailey's broomstick came pelting from the direction of Hufflepuff tower, shooting through the clouds.

'Ha! Are you sure you can handle it?' he said, raising into the air with his arms crossed before him. 'I'm a pretty good flier, you know. You couldn't possibly compare, Bailey Griffith.' he have a lopsided smile, suddenly leaning forward on his broomstick and soaring past the other Hufflepuff, blowing her hair in her face. 'Lets race!' he called.

[Bailey Griffiths]

"Oh yes i can handle it, after all i have a brother, helps greatly to deal with other boys in life." She laughed and emphasised the calling him a boy.

"Even if i couldn't possibly compare its still good practice for our quidditch matches is it not?!"
As Thom sped past her, she got a faceful of her hair. right she thought.
Bailey leant forward and span round on her broom speeding off, she pulled infront of thom blinding him with a mass of ginger hair. Laughing she turned and raced off in the opposite direction.

[Thom Moen]

Thom pulled the handle of his broomstick backward as Bailey's long red hair whipped in his face, catching his cheek sharply. That'll certainly come in handy against the Slytherins, he thought as he blink in surprise. Thom grinned as he watched her lean heavy to the left and pull upward, her hair clear and bright against the white sky. At least he could not loose her.

'I'm not a boy, thank you very much! I could take you and your brother on without even a broom!' he laughed confidently, increasing his altitude swiftly, making sure he did not have his back to her. Looking off toward the towers, Thom could see a maze of spires and turrets. 'Come on then, lets see what you can do, dear.' he chanted darkly as he pulled into the wind and raced toward the top most roofs.

[Bailey Griffiths]

"i'll believe it when i see it!" Bailey shouted to Thom

She leant forward and sped toward the castles roof, accelerating more and more with each passing second.
As she approached the roofs, she turned sharply left and flew past a low spire, hoping to catch her fellow hufflepuff out.
She began to climb again, twisting and turning to avoid windowsills whenever close to the walls of the castle.
Bailey glanced behind her to see where Thom was, hoping he hadn't given up already. As that thought reached her, a wide grin spread across her face.

[Thom Moen]

Thom trailed her closely, taking every chance he got to appear in her vision as she swiveled round to check his position, making sure to keep her on his toes. 'You can't out fly a seeker, red,' he called amusedly, leaning to the right as they passed the large glass dome of the Astronomy tower. Someone - mostly likely Professor Owen, shook their fist in disapproval as Thom's feet skimmed the glass, dislodging some old snow.

Bailey was smiling to herself, looking briefly back at Thom challengingly. He grinned to himself also, taking the opportunity to lower himself on his broomstick and over take her sharply, cutting her off as they dived down under a stone bridge connecting two unused towers. 'You've got a lot to learn, Griffith!' he shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared up into the air and around a corner.