Hidden Rooftop Garden

Weird, Claire hadn't met Parvati either. That was weird since she and James were so close, but they had only been dating so long before Parvati was in the hospital wing. It would have been odd for him to introduce her there. "They're with each other most of the time, yes," Claire said calmly. She hadn't really been affected by James and his constant hang outs with Parvati. She was used to spending time on her own anyway. She followed Teddy's gaze to the people below and smiled. She watched a group of Slytherins wander off towards the lake and tried to understand what they were doing. She looked at Teddy and laughed. "I used to do it a lot, actually. My life's never been that exciting, so I liked to imagine what others were doing. I'd think they were on a crazy adventure of some sort. I remember, when I was at Diagon Alley with Melanie, I watched this pair of Ministry workers come out of Gringott's and decided they were doing something top secret. They might have, but... I doubt it," she said quickly, looking back at the people on the lawns. "Sometimes I wish my life could be as exciting as my imagination."

Teddy watched the same group of Slytherins and decided they were probably just going to the lake to go swimming, "I guess it's a lot easier to do when you're young. You'll believe almost anything." He smiled, "Your life has to be more exciting than you give it credit for. I mean, you found this place." He told her, gesturing around them at the garden, "You must have been pretty excited about that, right?"

"True," Claire said quietly, but she still felt somewhat inadequate. "I was actually psyched when I found this place. I was up here for hours on end doing homework, enjoying the fresh air, you name it. It was some place where I could just...be. The only thing is I feel like I should do more. I don't want to be the encyclopedia who can spurt out random facts. I want to be the person who experiences some of these things as well as knows facts about them. Know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean. Experiences always are worth more than actually reading about something. But don't feel bad about always studying, getting good grades and being knowledgeable is what's going to get you those experiences. You don't need to go to parties all the time to have fun at school, as long as you don't regret not doing those things." Teddy smiled at her, "And if there are things that you regret not doing, you still have a whole year to try them."

"Thanks," Claire muttered, even though she was feeling far more confident in herself than she had felt before. She stuck her chin up proudly and nudged him with her elbow. "I may not be the biggest party girl there ever was, but I've been to a few. Does that surprise you?" She smirked and leaned back on her palms, arching her neck and staring up at the sky. "I try not to regret anything. I think everything we do in life eventually shapes us into who we're meant to be. If we regret one thing, we're going to be unable to continue. It's best to ignore the past and continue. I'll work to having better experiences in the future and you'll work to saving people in the future. Sound good?"

"That may surprise me a little bit," Teddy admited, "But I guess everyone here has been to a party or two, whether by their own will or not." He nodded, "You're right about not regreting anything. Regret is one of the worst things to feel, it stays with you for a long time. That sounds good," He laughed, "Except yours seems quite a bit easier than mine, don't you think? Maybe we should throw in something a little more challenging..."

He was right about the party-going. She had never really wanted to go to some of the crazy parties held in Claw, but she went anyway because she thought she'd make more friends that way. Didn't turn out that way. She laughed at his agreement with their plans to work towards the future, but tilted her head in bewilderment at the comment that followed. "Oh? What did you have in mind?" she asked, biting her lowering lip nervously.

"I haven't come up with that yet. How about I let you know next time?" Teddy noticed her biting her lip and held back a smiled, "Do you want to go out sometime? We could go to Hogsmeade, get out of the school." He shrugged, "Whatever you'd like."

Next time? Claire raised her eyebrows and wondered where and when this next time would occur. She didn't have to wait long to find out. She grinned widely and ran her hand through her hair. When she reached the ends she twirled them around her index finger out of nervous habit. She was an odd one, that was for sure. "I'd like that a lot actually," she said, her voice low in volume. She wasn't used to be asked out, but she relished in the feeling. "I don't mind where we go. I've always been a sucker for Honeyduke's and Zonko's. Though, I do love a good butterbeer once and awhile. You can surprise me, if you'd like?"

Teddy laughed, "A surprise, then. Sounds good. I'll just owl you to see when you're free, then." He hoped off the ledge and turned to face her, "I have a class to go to, so I'll see you then." He smiled at her, "It was nice meeting you, Claire. I had a lot of fun." He looked around him at the flowers and plants, "Thanks again for showing me this place."

Claire stayed on the ledge, watching Teddy as the slight breeze hit her face. It wasn't too much to blow her hair in wild directions, but it was enough to make her feel relaxed. "Perfect!" she exclaimed, but coughed quietly afterward in order to hide her full excitement. She smiled and gave him a small wave. "It was nice meeting you too, Teddy. Hopefully, we'll have more fun next time." She looked down at her shows and slowly hit them together before glancing back up. "It was no problem. Really. Come up whenever you'd like," she said before giving him another short wave. She watched him leave the rooftop and looked back over her shoulder at the rest of the students for a few more minutes before hopping off the ledge and heading back down herself.

Hidden rooftop garden? Why not.

Marlene is up here, stretched out on a bench, lit cigarette dangling from her fingers and little puffs of smoke rising occasionally into the air.
Cue Melaine!

Melanie walked up to this rooftop garden to get some fresh air and be alone, something she rather liked doing nowadays. She had become the kind of person who wasn't very fond of being around big crowds for some reason. She saw a girl she didn't know laying down on a bench and figured she might as well say Hello since they were the only two up there and it might get slightly awkward if she didn't say anything. "Hey," She said, leaning against one of the fixtures.

Marlene glances up, sort of looking at the girl upside down with the way she's laying on the bench. "Hey." And then she decides that it's a bit stupid of her to keep laying down - she doesn't know this girl, she could be a Death Eater in training for all Marlene knows, and she can't exactly keep an eye on her like this. So she sits up, casually hoisting herself up to sit cross-legged on the bench. Her hand brushes reassuingly against where her wand is concealed and she takes a drag of her smoke. "I don't know you, do I?"

Melanie shook her head and stayed where she was when the other girl moved. "No," She said with a small shrug. "It can't hurt to meet someone new though, can it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the other girl. "I'm Melanie by the way." She told her, figuring that introducing herself would be a good thing to do, now this other girl could say that she knew her. Her eyes shifted to look at the cigarette in the girls hand, she never really found the appeal of smoking or why people got so addicted to it. Then again she had never tried it herself so she wasn't really one to talk.

"Well it can hurt if the new person turns out to be a psychopath," Marlene points out lightly, although she figures that this girl is anything but that. She doesn't seem like the type to go around hurting people, anyway. "Marlene," she responds. She watches the other girl's eyes shift to her cigarette and blinks. "Does it bother you?"

Melanie laughed lightly. "Well, you don't have to worry about that. I promise you I am not a psychopath." She said, giving the girl a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Marlene," She said, letting the name roll off the tongue. "I like your name, just something about it, it's cool." She said with a small nod and then shook her head. "No, it doesn't bother me, I just don't really get smoking." She said with a light shrug.

Marlene chuckles lightly. "Good to know." She pauses a moment; she's usually abrasive enough that people don't really get to the stage where they do things like compliment her. "Thanks, I guess. So are you a Melanie or a Mel or whatever?" she wonders. She finishes the smoke, stubbs it out, and vanishes the butt. "Not much to get, really; you light it, you breathe in, once you're used to the smoke then it feels good. Repeat as needed."

Melanie shrugged lightly. "Whatever really, some people call be Mel, some Melanie. I don't really care. As long as it has something to do with my name, I'll most likely respond." She told her with a small nod. "Well, I get how you do it." She said with a small nod. "I just don't get why people do it. I guess it's something that you can't really describe, one of those 'well you wouldn't understand' type of things?" She asked raising a brow. "I've never smoked before so I don't really know what it's like."

"Right then," Marlene says to acknowledge Melanie's name preferences. She grins quickly, and then shrugs. "You want to know how I got started on the dark and sordid path to becoming a -gasp- smoker? Whatever, really it just feels good," she says simply. "And it ain't like I'm gonna die of cancer, is it?" Marlene figures that even if magical people couldn't cure cancer without batting an eye, the war would kill her before lung cancer got a look in.

Melanie gave a small nod. "Hmmm, interesting." She said. She didn't really understand how smoking could feel good but, like she had also said she had never tried it herself. "Well, not everyone who smokes gets cancer before they die." She commented with a small nod. "I mean who knows, you could get killed tomorrow by getting attacked by a centaur or you could get hit with an Avada Kedavra on your way back to your dorm tonight." She said with a small nod. "All I have to say if life is short so do whatever the fuck you want." She said with a light shrug.

"Pretty much," Marlene smirks. "Although, what I want is pretty much gonna mean fighting like hell once I get out of school, so I wouldn't exactly call that fun. But I'm not about to live as if I'm already dead anyway. How 'bout you?" she asks, deliberately leaving the question open for Melanie's interpretation so she can figure out if she's talking about smorking, dying, or what she wants to do when she leaves school, whichever seems to stick in her mind the most.

Melanie shrugged. "What do I want to do after school?" She asked curiously. She wasn't sure if that was what Marlene was asking but that was what she was going to take it as. "I don't really know. I'll probably end up going into some career that is relatively easy that pays well." She said with a small nod, not too fond of the idea of going into the real world and having to work for the things she wanted and not having things handed to you by your parents. "Maybe like a healer or something..."

Marlene laughs loudly. "I like your plan, Mel," she says, because at least Melanie is honest about wanting to do very little with her life and still be paid for it. "Although at least if you're a healer, you're still doing something pretty awesome. Unless you're getting chucked up on all the time or something. That'd be pretty shitty."

Melanie shook her head. "Ugh, no. I would do like the easiest job in the Hospital." She said with a small nod. "I would take care of like the long term patients, you know? Those healers must get paid a lot because those people are paying good money to be in there but they aren't like so severely ill that they would get you sick." She said with a grin. "Yeah, that's my career plan."