Aurora couldn’t tell whether the weather was changing to autumn or if the wind that was blowing its way through the ancient corridors of Hogwarts was just an anomaly for that day. Whatever it was, the way it was making her blonde wavy hair blow in the wind whilst she stood on the fourth floor balcony made her feel like a mermaid perched on a rock and she was loving it.

A fictional mermaid that was. Not one of the slightly scary looking ones that lived in the lake. Those she appreciated from a distance but whether she’d want to see them up close was another matter. She had been taking Mermish lessons although her attendance to those was diminishing the more she realised they would NOT be singing pretty songs to lure sailors into the deep dark depths of the sea.

She had initially intended to use the balcony as a lookout point for her friends which in theory could’ve worked quite well if they didn’t look like ants from up there. Still, it was a much closer view than the Ravenclaw tower had and some of her friends have very distinguishable hair. Not that she could see any of them at that present moment of time. She raised up on her tiptoes to peer over the railing once again when a strong gust of wind almost took her out.

Speaking of friends with distinguishable hair, Aurora would have probably spotted Arden’s bouncy, blonde curls from anywhere, and especially on a windy day like today. Her hair was all over the place. It wouldn’t even contain itself in a plait, an so Arden had forgone that idea and went with a very messy bun. That was her usual style, anyway, since it was just too much to deal with most days. Only, Arden hadn’t come from somewhere the balcony overlooked.

So when she appeared there, much to do the same as Rora (sans the mermaid stuff) and feel the wind in her hair, she was purely delighted to see her younger friend. After Rora and Ari’s vacation, she had spent a good bit of time at the girls’ house with Auntie Layla. She loved her aunt Layla; she was much nicer than her other mother. “Hey, Rors,” she said with a smile as she leaned with her elbows onto the balcony’s awning. “It’ nice today. Like….nice wind.”

Had she been left alone for any longer, there was a chance that the third year would break out into song. No one really wanted to hear that though, the wind would be likely to carry it across the grounds and infiltrate the ears of the poor students. She couldn’t help that she felt so mystical right now though. Her solitude was interrupted however by a friendly and familiar face.

The irony that Arden thought Layla was nicer than Eden considering that Layla didn’t like many people at all and could usually be seen with that resting frowny face. It was true though that Layla considered Arden a niece, Eden was one of the very few people whose company she tolerated and so she treated the child with the respect she deserved. That and as a parent Layla was incredibly laid back, she was more than happy for her children to socialise with Arden. Socialise they did, spending time together with Ariadne after returning from their ski holiday.

“Hiiii!” she responded musically, shuffling closer to her friend and wrapping her arms around her middle in a hug. “It’s a bit blowy but I kinda like it” she giggled. Made her feel quite dramatic really and if there was one thing that the third year did well it was being over-the-top in her behaviourisms. “I wanted to go for a walk but I thought that the wind might blow a branch down and smack me on the head and then I’ll end up in the hospital wing and that would be no fun.” See? There were brief moments where she showed her true Ravenclaw by actually thinking ahead, as fleeting as those moments might be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lottiepot

Had she been left alone for any longer, there was a chance that the third year would break out into song. No one really wanted to hear that though, the wind would be likely to carry it across the grounds and infiltrate the ears of the poor students. She couldn’t help that she felt so mystical right now though. Her solitude was interrupted however by a friendly and familiar face.

The irony that Arden thought Layla was nicer than Eden considering that Layla didn’t like many people at all and could usually be seen with that resting frowny face. It was true though that Layla considered Arden a niece, Eden was one of the very few people whose company she tolerated and so she treated the child with the respect she deserved. That and as a parent Layla was incredibly laid back, she was more than happy for her children to socialise with Arden. Socialise they did, spending time together with Ariadne after returning from their ski holiday.

“Hiiii!” she responded musically, shuffling closer to her friend and wrapping her arms around her middle in a hug. “It’s a bit blowy but I kinda like it” she giggled. Made her feel quite dramatic really and if there was one thing that the third year did well it was being over-the-top in her behaviourisms. “I wanted to go for a walk but I thought that the wind might blow a branch down and smack me on the head and then I’ll end up in the hospital wing and that would be no fun.” See? There were brief moments where she showed her true Ravenclaw by actually thinking ahead, as fleeting as those moments might be.

Eden hugged the younger girl back tightly. Awwww. Aurora was just the cutest friend ever. Arden tucked some of the younger girl’s hair back behind her ear as she pulled away. Blowy was quite a word, and Arden found herself mouthing as she chuckled. Blowy. Such an Aurora word, really. “I like it in small doses. My hair doesn’t like it as much, though,” and she gestured at her messy bun. Arden could remember being just as over-the-top with dramatic gestures and flair when she was a third year. Bouncing around the castle, speaking LOUDLY for no reason. She thought Aurora was waaaaaay less annoying than she herself had been. Hence why she cherished the girl so much.

“Ah, see, that’s that Ravenclaw wisdom and why I’d never be placed there in any lifetime.” Not like their mothers. “But I think you’d be safe from tree branches, Rora. At least any big ones that would give you a concussion or anything.” She sighed contently as another ribbon of wind touched their cheeks. “Oooh can I plait your hair? Fishtail style?” She asked as she played with the ends of the third year’s blonde locks. Her fingers were always fidgety; SHE was almost always fidgety.

Aurora wasn’t entirely sure why Arden found the word ‘blowy’ so amusing but she grinned back anyway. It was a regular in her Ma’s vocabulary when it came to describing the weather. Maybe it was just a South London thing? “But your hair is the PRETTIEST! It’s so curly and you don’t even have to use a potion to make it that way.” Or a curling tong but they didn’t work at Hogwarts so there was no point in even attempting that.

Every time someone mentioned how she WAS a Ravenclaw, the thirteen year old swelled with pride. Maybe it was because she had spent a lot of time thinking about how she wasn’t one that it had made her second guess the Sorting Hat (and fundamentally her) decision. She beamed at Arden again, squishing her side into another bear hug. “I don’t think I’m very wise but sometimes I think logically.” Rarely but it was there. “Not all Ravenclaws have to be super smart and like reading.” Her petite nose scrunched up. As for tree branches? “You never know! The Whomping Willow has a mind of its own. Maybe it gets even grumpier when it’s windy.” Magical things did seem to have a strange way of thinking sometimes. “But I’ll be safe up here well away from branches.. unless one of the roof tiles blows off.” Which.. Unlikely but not impossible.

It was as if Arden had read her mind. She was literally just thinking about how much she’d love to braid Arden’s beautiful curls but the older girl had got there first. Aurora was absolutely the child to love having her hair played with, her sister had often done so growing up and it wasn’t that often she would be seen at school without her hair in a plait of some sort. “Yes please!” she squealed excitedly. “Usually Ari does it for me but I’ve not seen her around at all today. I guess it’s because she’s a seventh year now which means that it’ll be exams again and after last time..” she trailed off. Rora had tried her best to help her older sister during her OWL’s but even she, often the world’s most oblivious Ravenclaw, had noticed how the stress had got to her.

The prettiest? Well, that compliment certainly made Arden smile. She had such mixed feelings about her hair lately, and one intrusive though she had had lately about her hair was how much easier life would be if it were straight and not curly. She had inherited her father's hair, the puffy, thick curls of his side of the family. Eden had the smooth, brunette hair, something both her and her brother did NOT have. Arden was the only blonde in the family, and she supposed it was nice sometimes. One advantage was that her hair hardly ever looked oily even when it was both due to the blonde AND the curls. "Well, thanks, Aurora. It's sometimes a pain, you know. Like...not being able to brush it is unfortunate." And like, literally painful.

At what could be a length discussion about Ravenclaws, Arden merely laughed. "All I know is that I am not made for Ravenclaw. Don't you guys have to solve a riddle to get into your common room? I cannot imagine doing that. I can barely remember a password, much less solve a riddle to figure it out." It wasn't that Arden wasn't smart - she could be, but she always felt like she had so much going on in her head that it was hard to remember trivial things, like a password, for Merlin's sake.

Arden then gestured for Rora to sit, and Arden made to sit behind there. "Okay! I'm happy to get a chance to practice my skills." She wiggled her fingers in anticipation. And if Rora, asked, Arden would tooootally let the younger girl plait her hair.

To be honest, Aurora viewed most things that were different to the ordinary as beautiful. She and her close family all had that bombshell blonde hair which was what she was used to, Arden had these gorgeous fluffy curls that made her stand out from the crowd much like her best friend did. “What happens when you brush it?” she asked curiously. The thirteen year old had always taken good care of her own hair, it had been extremely therapeutic whenever her Mom had brushed it when she was younger hence why she still enjoyed it being played with now. “At least you are blonde like Ari and me, we could be sisters!” Their families were close enough for them to practically be surrogate sisters anyway.

Yes it was true that in order to enter the Ravenclaw Common Room the students were required to answer a riddle. That didn’t mean that Aurora herself was able to answer it on a regular basis. “Sometimes I wait for someone else to come along and answer it. Especially after breakfast when my brain is still sleepy.” It was far easier to sneak in behind an older student than it was to sit and think for ages and end up being late for lessons simply because the riddle didn’t make sense. That being said when she did get it she felt a major sense of pride and accomplishment.

She moved to sit in the middle of the balcony, unfortunately no longer able to see over the stone wall so instead watched the birds flying around the castle’s turrets. She crossed her legs underneath her in an attempt to get comfortable despite the hard floor. “I’m always happy to be your hair model! I want to learn how to do five strand braids next.” Which considering she had fairly short arms and a lack of eyes in the back of her head seemed like it would be an impossible task.

As Aurora sat in front of her, Arden began to brush her fingers through Aurora's hair. "Well, when I brush it, it gets really puffy. It kind of loses the defined curls and just...POOOOF." She snorted and began to separate Rora's hair down the middle, then moved each half to the front of each shoulder. Arden happened to have a hair elastic around her wrist that she would use for Rora's hair. "Yeah, Starr and I both." Opposed to Eden and Phoenix's brown hair. She had her father's hair texture for sure, though. His curly hair was as big as hers.

The Gryffindor didn't think she'd ever forgotten the password before. It all five of her previous Hogwarts' terms, she'd never once had to wait for someone else. She supposed that was a win for her, someone who often forgot MANY things. The password, though? The obstacle blocking her from her comfortable common room, dorm, and bed? Nah. She wouldn't forget it.

She began to use her fingers to fishtail Aurora's hair, being gentle and slow with her movements. She wasn't rough with her hair like her mam could be. "Let me know if I pull too hard or hurt you. Don't want to yank your hair," she chuckled a little. "Five strands as opposed to three?" Arden's interest was piqued.

As Aurora had been blessed with having pretty much perfect, non-knotty, blonde hair she was a little ignorant to the qualms of other hair types. It did however encourage her fascination with other people’s hair which was both a positive and a negative depending on the opinion of the other person. “Oh!” she giggled. “Like a big cotton ball? I bet it’s still pretty though, you can never not be pretty.” Not in Aurora’s very honest opinion anyway. “Is anyone else blonde in your family? My cousins Honey and Felix are both really blonde even though Auntie Kat and Uncle Bradley are brunettes. But then again Ma is Bradley’s sister and she’s blonde so I guess that makes sense.” She rambled on as if anyone else cared to listen to her inner thoughts.

The third year was thankfully not overly sensitive to having her hair tugged and pulled as she used to compete in ice skating and some of those hairstyles were overly complicated. Still she nodded in response politely. “Yes! Like Princess Rapunzel had. It’s like weaving except with hair.” Maybe there was a spell that could help accompany the process to make it easier?

“Can I do your hair afterwards?”

Her pseudo-sister was the sweetest. Never NOT pretty? Arden thought she could certainly look rough in the mornings before she did her facial routine, brushed her teeth, and did something with her hair. However, it was nice of Aurora to say such things to Arden. "A big cotton ball is correct. And I think my grandmother's side has some blonde. The Irish side," she said as she sifted through strands of hair to create the fishtail effect. It was tedious, but if they talked while she did, it almost felt automatic. "It's weird how genetics work. I'm surprised muggles haven't created science things to affect genetics, and I guess magical physicists? I dunno what you'd call them, but haven't invented magic to affect it, either." But that was an ethical question, wasn't it?

"OOOOOH, you'd make a good Rapunzel if you ever wanted to dress like her. If we're doing Disney princesses, I feel like I could pull off Merida and that is it." And not just because of the big hair.

That elicited a chuckle from Arden. "Of course you can! Good luck, though...."

Aurora was of the opinion that makeup and creams and potions weren’t necessary to make others feel and look pretty. In fact, despite appearing to be a princess personified, she rarely ever wore makeup and her hair was usually up in braids for practical reasons rather than loose and flowing. Maybe fourth year would be the year she started really caring about her appearance but for now she was content with getting as muddy as possible. “But why would they want to change genetics? It’s like a big surprise when a baby is born and you don’t know what they’re going to look like!” she giggled. Not that she knew anything about genetics despite attending a muggle primary school. Remaining clueless was probably the best place to be.

Being Rapunzel was exactly something she’d love to do one day should the occasion ever arise. “Merida is the BEST! She has a horse called Angus too and can shoot a bow and arrow and she doesn’t need a prince.” All of which were clearly priorities when it came to being great characters.

She would argue that luck wasn’t necessary considering she had got really good at it recently however Arden’s hair was completely different to her usual texture. “I promise I’ll be gentle” she giggled.

Arden didn't to delve too far into this topic because it could get dicey, she supposed, and so she just shrugged and kept on fishtailing Aurora's hair. "You're right. Apparently when mam and dad got pregnant with me, they kept everything about me a surprise until I was born." And in a tub, no less. Her mother had unusual choices for life events by typical standards. "I think mam was super happy to have a girl until I got my personality. Now, she loathes having a girl," she rolled her eyes, but it wasn't like Aurora could see it since Arden was behind her. Maybe Rora could hear it in her tone.

Whoaaaaah, Aurora had a lot of knowledge about Merida that Arden felt ashamed not to know. She hadn't been raised on muggle Disney films or anything, so she supposed not knowing wasn't a huge deal. She mostly just knew what each character looked like and basic personality traits. She felt like Merida was the coolest one, and not just because of her big hair. "I knew she could shoot a bow and arrow, but I didn't know her horse's name. Merlin, Aurora. Tell me more about her," she prompted as she got halfway down the length of the younger girl's plait done. It would go by more quickly if they kept up the chit-chat.

...she better be gentle, Arden thought. Would she regret agreeing to the hair braiding trade-off?

“Surprises are FUN!” she beamed. The only issue being that Aurora was terrible at keeping surprises secret as she just got so excited that they came blurting out. It took all of her effort to keep her mouth closed whenever she bought presents, the tell-tale sign being the bouncing of her feet until someone outwardly asked her what had got her so excited.

The Ravenclaw couldn’t understand the conflict that Arden had with her mother as she had always seen that positive side to Auntie Eden, especially considering she was one of her Ma’s very few friends and so therefore she was obviously special. “That’s silly, I bet Auntie Eden loves you LOADS.” Perhaps it helped that Aurora had been brought up in a very loving and open household and it wasn’t often that her parents got mad at the girls.

The thirteen year old practically lived in her own fairytale land. Blonde, bubbly, creature loving and with the (somewhat) gracefulness of a Princess, she was quite content existing on her cloud where her biggest worries were what she was going to eat for dinner. Old Muggle films had always been a favourite of hers to indulge in, besides she attended Muggle primary school so it helped to fit in with her fellow friends. “Umm.. well she didn’t want to get married so she kind of turned her Ma into a bear accidentally and then she and her horse Angus had to go find a way to break the spell. Oh and her three little brothers turned into bears too. But anyway in the end she didn’t have to get married because she’s a strong, independent lady who can fight for herself AND she has the best hair.” It was a very roundabout way of describing the film but Arden should be able to get the gist of it.

Aurora really had the same amount of energy that Arden had had at that age, and it made her feel warm and cozy. She could only hope that she made people feel that way when SHE was around them. "They can be, if they're good surprises. But not all surprises are fun," she said with a wrinkle of her nose. She was 2/3 of the way done with Aurora's hair by now, and she took a brief respite to stretch and wiggle her fingers. "I'm sure my mam does love me, but she's so stern with me sometimes. She doesn't like how spacey I can be. Ironically, she has no issue with my snogging a boy I am not dating," she chuckled, unaware that she hadn't actually ever mentioned Mozart to Aurora before, only to Ariadne.

The plot of the movie did sound appealing to the Gryffindor, and Arden found herself laughing just a little at the sound of the turning one's mother into a bear; if only she could turn her mam into a bear sometimes. She supposed that growling might be scarier than yelling, though, and what if the bear!mam lost control and like....hurt her? Eden as a literal mama!bear, in hindsight, sounded frightening. "I need to watch this movie, now," she as she continued to plait Aurora's hair.

She didn't take long finish, and soon she was looping the hairtie at the end of the fishtail. "I'm all done, Rors," she said softly as she pulled a few chosen strands out to make it not look so tight to Rora's head. It looked adorable!

Aurora could only speak on her own behalf but Arden definitely made her feel warm and cosy whenever she was around. Then again Aurora considered her to be another older sister and therefore felt safe whenever she was in her presence so that definitely helped in her opinion of Arden. “A bad surprise is more of a shock than a surprise.” Surprises should ONLY be good. The blonde hadn’t been informed of any extra-curricular activities involving boys but it was probably best not to discuss such things with the innocent girl anyway. Her nose wrinkled up like a cute little bunny in response. “That sounds messy.” She’d much rather use her lips to eat yummy food than share saliva with a boy. It was cheek kisses for extra special friends only for this thirteen year old.

That was clearly where the girls differed as seeing Layla as a bear would only make her want to hug her even more. In fact, Layla!Bear would be less intimidating than her Ma usually was with her stoic expression and death glare. “Can we watch it together? Maybe during the holidays you can come over and we can have a PJ movie party with Ariadne? Although she might be too busy seeing Tommy to see us..” She honestly didn’t see the appeal in dedicating all her time to ONE boy when she could just have a whole bundle of friendships to enjoy.

“Does it look pretty?” she asked, whipping her head around and almost hitting herself in the face with her own braid.

Arden supposed that was a fair enough assessment. Surprise = good. Shock = bad. The words had different connotations, even if they were used interchangeably sometimes. Meeting up with Aurora was a pleasant surprise, not a shock. Learning she had a potions essay due by midnight would be a shock and not a surprise.

Messy in a few ways, sure, but she decided just to laugh and not get into anything else with Rora. Ari wouldn't appreciate it much, probably, and Arden felt too much like an older sister to delve much further into the ins and outs of her non!love life.

"Sure! And we can convince Ari to ditch Tommy for ONE night, surely. Or he can watch with us in his own PJs," she giggled imagining the Hogwarts alum snuggle in cozy pajamas watching Disney flicks with the girls. Arden hadn't had any conversation with Ariadne's now boyfriend while he had still been at Hogwarts, and she didn't think he seemed all that conversational. He made Ariadne happy, though, and Arden thought that if Ari found him to be a good person, she probably should, too. Ari seemed to be a good judge of character, much better than herself.

At Aurora almost flinging the plait into her own face, Arden found herself stifling a laugh. "Be care, Aurora. It does look pretty. Feel it," she said as she ran a gentle finger down the plait.

If Arden did want to divulge into the ins and outs of her apparent non-relationship relationship then Aurora would’ve done the diligent thing and listened, or at least look like she was listening but rather be thinking of something else entirely so she didn’t have to hear of all the messiness that seemed to come along with boys. It wasn’t that she didn’t like them, in fact some of her closest friends were of the male variety, but rather that she was happy and content being the naive thirteen year old that everyone knew her for. Why would she want to overcomplicate anything?

As amusing as it would’ve been to force Tommy through a Disney movie marathon alongside three very excitable blondes, she highly doubted that he would give in to their requests. “I don’t think he likes me very much. Ari says it’s because I don’t give him the space he needs but he’s dating MY sister so I can’t give him THAT much space or I’ll never get to see Ari.” She was determined to make him like her though even if it took years of inflicting her company on him. “But if I ask Ari really nicely I’m sure she’ll say yes. Especially if there’s popcorn and ice cream involved.” Aurora was lucky really that their sisterly bond was so strong.

She reached to one side to feel the plait, running her fingers down the length of her hair and beaming back at Arden. “It’s so pretty! You’re very talented. It’s a shame there’s no flowers growing up here or else I’d thread them into it.”

"Oh, Tommy seems like he likes NO ONE. I didn't even know he liked ARI until I heard they were dating," she said with a roll her eyes. "And I agree with you! Ariadne is YOUR sister. You should butt into her life whenever you want! Merlin knows I do the same to Starr!" she chuckled, thinking of her brother and Rudy dating and whatnot. When the boys had first become a couple, Arden had probably INCESSANTLY annoying. It came with the territory of having a younger sibling, and older siblings just needed to come to terms with that!

She sighed as she checked the time. She thought she'd have time for Aurora to do her hair, but she needed to move on to some homework soon. "Hey, want to come with me to the library while I do my homework? You can braid my hair in there if you want?" she offered with a smirk. That might be distracting. Well, not MIGHT, but WOULD; however, Arden found she didn't care. If it made doing homework more bearable, she was game.

There was likely some accuracy in Arden’s statement although the thirteen year old found it hard to believe that anyone would be content with very few friends and the thought that no one liked them. Aurora had practically cried when she thought her new dormmate didn’t like her, this was the importance of friendship to the little blonde. “I just want him to know that Ari and I come as a package so he HAS to like me too.” Poor boy had a quartet of blondes to impress if you considered her mum's opinions too.

To be truthful, it was unlikely that Ariadne would need much convincing anyway and Aurora had found that despite the change in her older sister’s relationship status, she’d always have time for socialising with the youngest Ackerly. “I’ll ask her later. It’s great being in the same common room, I get to see her every night.” Even more so now that her boyfriend had graduated and there were fewer distractions. The next year was going to be truly tragic without her sibling by her side.

Homework didn’t sound like the sort of thing she wanted to do right now but she was enjoying the company and she didn’t want it to end. “Okay!” she smiled, gathering herself up from the floor. How much work Arden was about to accomplish was questionable, Rora was likely to talk the entire time.

Arden didn’t think that Aurora’s thoughts were wrong. When you started dating someone and wanted the relationship to be serious, she felt like the family HAD to come as a package deal. It was why Starr and Rudy’s relationship, at first, had been a little rocky. Rudy’s uppity family had to get used to Starr’s aloofness and overall…Starr-ness.

And Arden would need to find someone whose family didn’t mind her…Arden-ness.

Maybe Aurora would be a distraction, but Arden was hardly likely to not be distracted anyway. She could distract herself easily; she was not very focused. And so with a chuckle, she stood and offered her hand to Aurora so they could head to the library together.