First Snow Falls (Finley)

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Sumire pulled her hair into a high ponytail as she hummed, bustling around her dormitory happily. The chill that had entered Scotland reminded her of home and the joy birthed from every visit to New York. A few of her bangs fell from her ponytail as she dawdled around looking for something to wear. It was probably best she wear pants but where was the challenge in that? Dissatisfied with that idea she pulled out a pair of black opaque tights to go under her dark red skirt with a black belt and her grey long-sleeved shirt under a black vest with a red hairband to push back some of her hair neatly. She pulled the rest of her hair into a thick ponytail at the nape of her neck, curling around her mid-back as she smiled triumphantly in the mirror. She was stylish and not cold at all.

Now the next step to enjoying the weekend, Sumire thought as she tapped the end of her quill against her bottom lip, was to figure out the best plan of action to stroll through the school and enjoying the chill. She smiled at that idea and nodded to herself, before placing her wand behind her ear and bracing the necklace from Felix. The memory of her fiancé made her blush a bit as she found herself in the quadrant on the floor of the school, watching the way the snow tenderly fell to the ground in gorgeous layers. She decided to just enjoy the spectacle of nature doing it’s work in perfect synch and sat herself down on a bench, and tucked her hands under her thighs to keep them warm as she tilted her head to enjoy the snow fall in beautiful, iridescent, and effortlessly pure blankets.

Guest

With the snow that had set in, Finley had enjoyed it with Naomi as much as they could. They'd built a snow man, and had a snow fight, and they'd even tried working on Finley's levitation charm. It hadn't gotten much better, but Finley didn't seem to mind so much given the weather outside.

However, Naomi had gone home the day before, and now Finley was on his own. He wasn't going home until Christmas Eve, because his parents were working still. So he was entertaining himself. Which, at the moment, meant staying away from the usual people who bullied him.

Hurrying around the corner, Finley lost his footing due to a wet patch the caretaker hadn't yet cleared up. Hitting the ground quite hard, Finley noted he had, quite literally, fallen at a girl's feet. Looking up, Finley hoped that he wasn't falling at the feet of one of his bullies, but looking up, he let out a sigh of relief. Sumire. "H-hi... S-sorry, I d-didn't..." Finley cut himself off, looking back over his shoulder. The bullies were staying away now he was with someone, so he let out a relieved sigh, looking back to Sumire as he got to his feet.

"How a-are you?" The Ravenclaw asked, glancing back to the bullies to see them still in the same place. Good, he thought, deciding to stay with Sumire long enough to get rid of the bullies. Maybe longer if she didn't mind his company.

Guest

Sumire was not a person of courage. No she would much rather be someone valiant in healing others. It was a career she was considering going into, but she was unsure as of late. Also her father had been rather cryptic in his letters to her; it was worrying to say the least because normally he was so open and honest with her. She couldn’t dawdle on those thoughts however, now wasn’t the time. Or perhaps it was, Sumire wasn’t doing anything important just hanging about and enjoying the weekend by herself. Usually she had something to do like do corresponding letters to Felix & send letters to her best friends back in New York, but at the moment she was just trying to enjoy the scenery she didn’t get very often surrounded by towering buildings. She loved New York yet, there was this homely feel that Hogwarts provided her with.

She was taken out of her reverie by the sound of a crash and immediately she looked down to see none other than a fellow third year at her feet. Her eyebrows knitted together as she studied his face, concern clouded hers.

 “Finely are you alright?” She asked bending down and off the bench to try and help him onto the seat, “I’m quite alright, but you look worse for wear, if you don’t mind me saying. Is there anything you need? Would you like tea or hot chocolate, I don’t see too many bruises so maybe,” she paused mid sentence to follow his gaze as her mouth twisted into an unpleasant frown. She turned back to Finley.

“They won’t hurt you while I’m here,” she assured him, although not entirely sure why she said it, she was hoping it would comfort him, to complement that she pressed her hand into his knee and smiled softly. “How’re you enjoying the snow?” She was rather loquacious today unlike most other days.

Guest

Of all the people Finley could have run in to, he was almost glad that it had been Sumire. Yes, they'd only spoken briefly in class, but she seemed like a nice girl. Which was all Finley really needed, was people to be nice to him. Like Naomi. And... Madison he supposed.

Shaking that thought from his head, Finley took the seat next to the witch he'd almost crashed in to, and gave her a small, thankful smile. "I'm f-fine." Finley assured her, not wanting her to worry about him. The question of needing something made Finley shake his head. "N-no. I'm f-fine." He insisted this time, and he was fine, his hands might be a little sore later from the floor, but he'd had worse.

The comment on the bullies not hurting him didn't make Finley feel safer. Sumire probably couldn't do much to deter them, but they had given up, for now. Just so long as they didn't go after Sumire for helping him, Finley didn't care what they did to him. But he focused back on the Hufflepuff when she asked him about the snow.

"It's g-great." Finley admitted, his smile becoming genuine in that moment as he looked to the witch beside him. "I h-haven't made a s-snowman yet though." He added, giving a small shrug. "W-what about you?" He asked politely, not sure what else to say to the witch because conversation most certainly wasn't his strong point.

Guest

In Finley Sumire saw the chance to make a new friend, and she liked that very much. Perhaps she’d even make a best friend to be placed next to Felix! The idea excited her, not to mention with the way those absolute jerks were harassing the sweet faced Ravenclaw made her think he deserved more kindness than anyone she’d met before. She smiled and put a hand over his. She was worried about him, but she would be worried about anyone she saw getting treated that way. Of course she knew about bullying; had ever since she was young. However, she wasn’t exactly the biggest girl nor the toughest girl. The most she ever worked out had to be in dance class or Bikham yoga in New York (she did both religiously to stay in figure so she could continue playing lead romance roles) and she was no fighter.

She wished she could offer Finley more than just kind words.

“Are you sure? Please,” she let her voice go soft and her eyes go tender after establishing eye contact, “you can tell me Fin, I’d like to help in anyway I possibly can.” She informed him sincerely, biting her lower lip nervously as her hand reached out to pat his hand comfortingly.

Sumire found herself smiling at his own smile in return. “Then let’s make a snowman and get some hot chocolate or something warm to help with the cold,” she got up off the bench and nodded towards the little sheets of snow. Without thinking about protecting her hands she knelt in the snow, ignoring the slight chill since New York had seen worse snow falls, and started to build a little ball of snow to start off the base.   

“I love the snow,” she admitted as she worked to make the ball bigger, “I grew up in New York so snow something we get a lot and I’ve always liked the way it felt, it’s beautiful too don’t you think?” She nodded towards a tree where the ice was slowly falling to the ground in slow drips, little chunks of ice falling off leaves, and the bare branches wearing icicles that pointed to the ground. Gorgeous and ugly clashing on one seemingly insignificant piece of Earth. Nature was a beautiful contradiction, Sumire concluded inside her own head.

Guest

Finley gave a firm nod when he was asked if he was sure. Because he was fine, the bullies hadn't caught up with him, so he wouldn't be hurt. Which was always a bonus in his view. However, when she shortened his name, Finley did feel a little uncomfortable, so he decided to correct the witch. Unlike Madison, Sumire wasn't scary, so he was quite sure he could correct her and she wouldn't get mad.

"M-my name is F-Finley. I d-don't like being c-called Fin." The Ravenclaw told her softly, hoping that she would understand. He didn't know why he didn't like the nickname, it was just something he disliked and never used. "Please c-call me F-Finley." The boy added, hoping this would lighten the moment a little bit and not push her away.

At the offer of making a snowman, Finley checked one more time that the bullies weren't coming back before moving to Sumire's side and helping to make another ball. "T-thank you." Finley told the witch softly, because he was very grateful that she had come to his rescue in that moment. Without her intervention... well, he probably would have still been running around the school, trying to get away from the others. But, Finley didn't explain the thank you, he simply hoped that she understood him.

Finley worked on another ball, ready to put on top of the one Sumire was currently making. He looked up when she mentioned the beauty of the snow, and his eyes followed hers to the tree. Using one hand to brush his fringe from his eyes, Finley smiled at the sight. He nodded, rolling the ball over once more, thinking to himself for a moment. "W-what's New Y-York like?" Finley asked, his inquisitive nature taking over. He'd never left the United Kingdom, so he was a little limited on most things outside it. Of course, he'd read some stuff, but there was only so much the books could tell you.

Guest

Sumire wasn’t overly shy, but there was a huge difference between her stage personas and her own personality. In most cases as the young love interest in a play she was hard to get, not outgoing, but approachable. Sometimes Sumire opened herself to talking to people however, she felt there wasn’t enough people who she conversed with that she was sure were people who wanted to pursue a lasting friendship with. There weren’t enough people that she’d met so far willing to look past her strange-ish accent, or her polite words. It crossed her mind maybe she wasn’t doing enough herself to make friends and needed to pursue them more, but the threat of embarrassing herself and ruining whatever kind and fragile persona others had built up in their mind of her was too high. She had spent the last two years just slowly gathering whatever braveness was in her to want to expand her friend group.

“Of course, I’m sorry Finley,” her face was flushed nervously now, “ didn’t mean to - it was just easier on the tongue, though I suppose that doesn’t excuse me I’m sorry.” She let out a small laugh at her own stupidity mentally cursing herself before continuing to make snowballs for the snowmen with more meticulous precision and tenderness. “It won’t happen again I promise.” She added looking up at him apologetically, her movements frantic if not working mostly to perfect the blobs of snow.

  Mentally she was chastising herself for messing up so badly (How would you feel if someone called you Sum? Oh you big doof), but as she was admonishing herself her fingers continued to create pat and smoothen out the edges on the first one.

  “New York?” She smiled widely as her brain became assaulted with memories of New York, from her dad taking her ice skating for the first time, to Felix holding her for the first time, to her first stage kiss, and so forth, “it’s especially beautiful in the Winter, if you can stand it. Scotland's got some pretty similar weather patterns, and if you prefer the nature coated in snow then it’s great. However, New York is all big buildings that tower over you and they’re all painted this pretty ivory that kisses the ground in dots,” she rambled on before letting the silence fall over them as she relived her first snowfall, Papa lifting her up and holding her to let the snow hit her cheeks and let her fingers play with the snow. She loved the feel.
 
“Winter is the prettiest season to me, y’know? New York heat is unbearable for the first time; the weather is constantly at war with being freezing and harsh or humid and wet,” she giggled a bit as she remembered the constant ice cream trips the cast of whatever she she was doing. She remembers Rick shoving his face into a tub of vanilla at one time to try and eat as much as possible. “And for the most part as long as you’re not a prick, the locals are fairly nice. Just always have your guard up.” She paused before starting on the torso for the snowman.

"What about you? Where did you grow up?" She asked softly, fearful a bit of treading into the wrong waters.

Guest

The moment Finley had corrected the witch for what she had called him, Finley regretted it. He hadn't meant to put her in an awkward position, but it seemed he had, and he really didn't like the thought of that. "It's f-fine." Finley assured the witch as she seemed a little flustered. "D-doesn't matter." He assured her with a grin, because it really didn't matter.

Listening to the explanation of how New York was, Finley nodded in the right moments, continuing to make his snow ball bigger but not too quickly. He didn't want to lose this moment. "That s-sounds great!" Finley insisted, smiling to himself a little. "B-but I don't much l-like the c-cold, I get cold v-very easy, so it's okay f-for a little while, b-but not too l-long." Finley explained, hoping that would make some kind of sense.

"I'd l-like to go to A-America one d-day." Finley admitted softly when Sumire had finished her explanation. Though he'd heard the Americans were a little more full on, and possibly a little intimidating, Finley still wanted to go other and see their culture. But, America was so big, it would be difficult to decide where. "I w-want to go t-to Las V-Vegas, n-not to gamble, b-but I just want t-to see it." Finley tried to explain, wondering if that was an odd choice, but he didn't much mind.

When the question was returned to him, Finley paused for a moment. His home was known for being the 'posh' part of England, though he didn't really agree. "I l-live in the C-Cotswolds." He explained, again pausing to think of what to say. "I-it's... pretty, I g-guess. I d-don't know h-how to explain..." Finley finished flatly, hoping she wouldn't be too put out by his lack of reply.

His attention turned to his snowman, putting the body in to place and starting the head. It wasn't very good, but it was fun. He was making a friend. And that was better than anything.

Guest

Sumire would probably beat herself up about her screw up but apparently now wasn't the time to. She hid it well and nodded, giving him a soft smile of her own; his grin really eased her discomfort. Finley was proving to be far too nice for the treatment he received from their peers and that made her so angry she could've screamed, but she bottled that anger up (promising to use it later when it would prove to be more useful in acting).

"Oh then you'd love California!" Sumire explained as he confessed he didn't like the cold, and frowned, "oh my are you sure you're alright right now? Would you like something warmer? I can't cast a warming charm but I wish I could for your sake." She knew he might not react too well to her mother hen nature (not too many people did), but it worrying was second nature to her. She gave him a smile. "I promise helping you isn't a burden on me either." She added.

"Las Vegas is in a very hot area," she added, "you'd love it there. And it's not all about gambling either, it's a very heavily tourist filled area, but the strip is gorgeous at night! There's plenty to do there such as buffet lunch at the Venetian or a trip to the top of the Eiffel from the Paris hotel, and there's always the Bellagio light show that everyone just loves." She rambled off the attractions she loved the most and smiled a bit sheepishly at the end, now conscious of how much she'd said.

"Hey sometime during the summer you could probably even come visit me in New York, the heat there is almost unbearable sometime, not cold at all, you'd be comfortable I think." She added. She listened carefull to his explanation. She was a bit hurt at the shortness of it, but she put the hurt away instead to focus on the good. "Do you have any siblings then?" She asked, she was an only child and always longed for a sibling that would never come.

Guest

What Finley had said wasn't meant to worry Sumire, but apparently it did. The feeling of being worried about was still something Finley was adjusting to, but he took it gracefully. "I'm f-fine." The Ravenclaw insisted. "I'll h-have a h-hot bath later." He insisted, hoping the witch wouldn't worry too much about him because it was unnecessary really.

As Sumire explained about Las Vegas, Finley's face lit up with all the information he was receiving. Honestly, he didn't know much about the place, but the pictures he'd seen looked really cool. "T-that sounds great!" He insisted happily. "I w-will go one d-day." He insisted happily, because America was definitely somewhere he wanted to go.

The offer, however, had Finley looking to Sumire in shock. He hadn't expected her to offer such kindness to him. Not really, she was nice, very nice, actually but he was just Finley. "R-really?" The boy asked, looking at her with such hope he looked like a small child in that moment. "That w-would be so a-awesome!" He insisted, a grin touching his features. "D-do you really t-think I would b-be allowed?" He added, because he didn't want to get his hoped up on something he couldn't actually have.

Thankfully - or perhaps not so for Sumire - Finley didn't notice that his short reply hadn't been what was expected in that moment. Instead, he took on board the next question. Almost at once, Finley shook his head. "I w-wasn't planned." He explained, putting the head on to his snowman. "M-mum didn't w-want children r-really. So after I c-came, they m-made sure that there w-wouldn't be m-more." Finley explained, though he wasn't quite sure how exactly his parents had decided to do that, he had just heard it once or twice before, and filled in the rest.

"W-what about y-you?" Finley asked, looking towards the witch hopefully. He couldn't fathom what having siblings would be like, but he was sure it had to be better than being an only child.

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