Waking and Bored

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro waved to Ariana as she walked away and then turned his sights on Susan. "Hmmm, yeah that is a good question. I wonder as well what was taken and what sort of thing took it." He agreed as he eyed the lake.

Susan changed the subject quickly on him asking him how he had been doing, presumably since the incident in the fifth floor corridor. His eyes darted to the ground as he formulated his answer to her. "I've been alright, lately I've just been trying to get out of the castle as much as possible, you know, just gettin' some good, old fashioned fresh air." He laiughed a little as he finished.

"How have you been?" He asked her.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan agreed with Alessandro about the fresh air. It did help pretty much anything to be outside and breathing the clean air. Susan focused on Alessandro's question toward her. How had she been? Well enough, she figured, nothing special really since the night in the fifth floor corridor. That was if you didn't count D'rorah approaching her with the fact that she might be a Shadow Warrior. Susan didn't really want to go around exploiting that fact however.

Instead she replied, "Fine, I guess. I'm a little caught up in my classes." She moved on to a familiar subject. It was the times like now she appreciated the most. When she had absolutely nothing to do but relax by the lake with her friends.

[Alessandro Darko]

"Just fine?" He smiled. "Caught up? Meaning you've no homework or studying or anything to do in any classes?" He asked bewildered. It seemed like every class he was taking he had mounds of homework and studying to do. He was sure that Susan and himself were in a lot of the same classes and wondered how she had nothing to do.

"Nice work in transfiguration the other day." He commented to her as he remembered she was able to transfigure her gravy boat into a cute, yellow bird. "Can you believe Gat turned his into a dead fish? Thats absolutely ridiculous that he botched something so simple..." Alessandro remarked with the image of that dead, red fish fresh in his mind.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan blushed slightly, embarrassed that Alessandro had misunderstood her. "Actually," she corrected him, "caught up in, as in drowning in the work." She laughed quietly, and then harder as she recalled Gat's red fish. It was rather a random thing to transfigure.

"Thanks," Susan said to the complement, and then, "How on earth did he manage a fish?" in response to Gat's mishap. Although her bird was a little of the gravy-bowl side, it was still a bird. Susan laughed again as she thought of Ariana attempting to turn it green, with the horrid result. "Did you see Ariana turn it highlighter pink?" she asked.

[Alessandro Darko]

Upon hearing that Ariana had changed the color of the red fish to highlighter pink, he laughed. "Thats absolutely ridiculous..." He repeated as he shook his head. "I must have missed that while I was transfiguring my gravy boat correctly..." He said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at the thought of a dead, pink fish. He didn't mean to sound arrogant, but thats how it came out.

Deciding he should quickly change the subject before she could misconstrue his comment, he questioned her about her other classes. "So, what other classes are you held up in? I'm still working on that transfiguration homework myself, and I want to be a bit ahead of the game in Herbology so I have taken the time to research more magical plants and such." He said grinning as the Ravenclaw in him shown through.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan smiled as she was reminded of exactly how much a Ravenclaw Alessandro was. She found it funny that she seemed to be making quite a few Ravenclaw friends. "I have my Transfiguration essays, also," Susan said, commenting on her homework, "but as soon as I can find the time, I'll be able to get those out of the way." She thought a moment. "Then theres Herbology, of course," she said nodding at Alessandro. "I, on the other hand, do not have the same patience with that class as I do for others." She smiled and pulled out her thumb, "I don't exactly have a green thumb, if you know what I mean."

She laughed quietly at her own joke. A bad habit, she realized suddenly. And very conceited too, still she couldn't help herself.

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro laughed as Susan pulled out her thumb and proceeded to state the obvious that her thumb was in fact not green. Alessandro was not the best at Herbology either, which is why he had taken the liberty to expand his knowledge of the subject by studying ahead. It was not his goal to fail any class at Hogwarts, yet, he feared that his Potions class may drag him down.

"How do you think you did in Potions?" He asked her suddenly remembering the class in which they were required to make a Shrinking Solution. The ending color should have been an acid green, but his was more of a thick, mossy dark green. At least it was green at all... He thought hoping he'd at least get some credit for effort.

"I did dreadfully....the ending color was a mossy green, and I am not sure what the potion I made might do if tested....probably disintegrate something..." He said ruefully. He looked around the beautiful atmosphere around the lake. Thank goodness the ban had been lifted, now everyone could get thier dosage of wholeseome, fresh air.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan agreed with Alessandro on the fact that she'd wished her solution had been greener. "Mine was more of a crayola green," Susan described referring to the popular coloring utensils for young children. "I don't think I stirred it enough," Susan said dreamily as she when through the directions and her actions in her head. Susan tried to remember exactly what she might have done wrong, other than running out of time for stirring. Nothing came to her mind.

"I think if I'd had more time," Susan said confidently, "It would have turned the preferred green." She looked over to Alessandro. "What do you think you did wrong?" she asked curiously. The mossy-green he had described seemed far from the desired acid green.

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro heard what Susan said about more time. He nodded his head rapidly in agreement with her. "EXACTLY." he said snapping his fingers. "Thats what I think my problem is, I'm rushed." He commented. "What did I do wrong?" He repeated and blinked. "Everything." He said flatly. "I was so rushed for the time, I wasn't really paying attention to the detail, something that I usually do with my other classes, but when you have to drain and press a crocodile heart, while stirring counterclockwise, or alternating directions, or adding something in while doing something else, I get harried and botch the whole project." He said longwinded. He took a breath and then let it go shaking his head.

"I think that if I was able to take my time, like, no time limit, I would flourish in the potionsmaking department, but we'll never know, now will we." He smiled. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair pulling it back behind his right ear. The sunlight lit up his gray-green eyes and instantly caused him to sneeze violently.

"Excuse me..." He laughed. "I hate it when that happens."

[Susan Matthews]

"Bless you," Susan said habitually in response to Alessandro's sneezing. Susan was surprised to hear the Alessandro did not like sneezing. Susan secretly kind of liked it. It had a cleansing feeling. Not counting the snot that usually flew every which direction, she felt refreshed after a good sneeze. Susan simply wrinkled her nose in agreement, choosing not to voice her opinion.

Susan sighed, thinking back to her unfinished transfiguration homework. She ought to do it while there was still daylight. Maybe she would do it in the courtyard, the thought occurred to her. "I should get back to the castle," Susan mentioned glancing at the towering image in behind them. "I need to get started on my Transfiguration essays before I go into procrastination mode," she said as she stood up and began to walk along the fallen tree back to the shore, balance beam style. Reaching the bank, she bent down to pick up her yellow flats, before straightening up again. She turned to ascend up the grassy slope to the castle, then thought otherwise.

"Hey, do you want to work together?" Susan suggested, remembering Alessandro wasn't quite done with his work either. She felt bad about attempting to leave mid-way through a conversation. It was the least she could do, to invite him along.