*Leon walked his way through the castle up into the astronomy tower. It was about 5:00 so the sun had not gone down yet, but it would be soon. It was one of his favorite places in Hogwarts besides the lake. Leon decided to come up to the astronomy tower instead. He needed to relax and forget all about schoolwork. He always hated it and it always felt nice being in the astronomy tower.*

*Leon looked across the grounds at the forbidden forest and the lake. He also looked at the quidditch pitch. Leon stared at it for a while thinking of all the games he'd played in. The victories and defeats and especially that great feeling just to be flying.*

*He snapped back to reality about a minute later but not sure why. Reminiscing about his past games was a great way to get away from school. He took a seat with his back to the edge of the tower.Just calming down. He looked around at the sky. Although the sun had not set you could still see a little bit of the moan and a couple of stars across the red sky. Leon smiled as he watched the sky continue to grow more red as the sun sank below the horizon.*

Annabelle caught herself heading up to the Astronomy Tower this evening. She was tired of trying to study in the common room, where several people interrupted her work and concentration. She wanted to study in silence and in the beauty of the setting sun. But as she opened the door to the landing up in that tower, she saw that someone was already there.

A boy sat and stared out at the redness of the great expanse of sky. She followed his gaze and looked at how dark the forest looked against the backdrop. The lake was like a reflective mirror, shining pink. It was all so beautiful, that she couldn't possibly even think about studying anymore.

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" she said, hoping to start a conversation with the boy that she had never seen before.

*Leon was startled to find that in his absent mindedness another person had come up to the Astronomy tower* "Uh, yeah it is."

*Leon couldn't think of what else to say. He looked back toward the setting sun. The girl that had come seemed to be very young, probably new to the school. Perhaps a first or second year. Not sure as to who she was Leon wasn't sure how to act toward her. Was she one of the stuck up Slytherins or maybe a humble Hufflepuff. Maybe she was in his own house and he just had not seen her. Leon thought it would be smart to introduce himself first. He looked back at her before he spoke*

"I'm Leon Faulkner. 6th year Ravenclaw. May I ask who you are?" *Leon said this in his politest tone.*

Annabelle smiled as he introduced himself. She had thought he looked older, but she had placed him in her mind as a fifth year. Now she knew he was much older. What was it with her and feeling more comfortable introducing herself to older students than younger?

"I'm Annabelle. First year, also Ravenclaw. Don't expect me to be annoying or stupid like the other first years, I'm actually pretty mature for my age." she sat down next to him. "Oh, you can call me Anna by the way. Mind if I sit here?"

"Yes you may." *Leon smiled at the first year* "I'm surprised I haven't seen you around. I know we're far apart in years but you'd think I'd at least see you in the common room. So what brought you out here?" *Leon looked around for some reason as to why someone would come up here other than the fact that the scenery is always beautiful up here*

"I came up for the simple fact that I like being up here. Cool breeze, nice view. Same with the lake." *Leon's mind wandered to the lake for a second. The lake was his favorite place. Mixed with all sorts of creatures and it's reflective properties to show the scenery yet somehow more beautifully.*

"Yeah, I'm not in the common room much. Most of the kids in my year don't like me very well, and all I ever want to do is get away. I'm usually in the library or up in the dorm. I guess I'm what you would call anti-social. I came up here, actually to study. But, of course, as soon as I saw how beautiful it is up here, I guess I completely gave up all those plans."

She looked at the lake as he mentioned it.

"I've never actually gotten down to the lake just yet. I know that a lot of people go there to get away."

"The lake's a great place to get away. Now this library you speak of, what is it?" *Leon joked. He'd only go to the library if he absolutely have to* "I've never been to fond of studying. Just because I'm in Ravenclaw does not mean that my schoolwork is my life. I actually hate the stuff. I'm just really smart. But of course every goes by the fact I was put in Ravenclaw. Kinda like how Slytherins are believed to be evil, and all Gryffindors are brave and all Hufflepuffs are just. Yes a majority are but that's not all there is/"

"Being anti-social isn't anything new. It's hard to make friends but once you find a few it'll all be better. It'd be my pleasure to be one." *Leon smiled encouragingly.*

Anna couldn't help but blush as the boy offered to be a friend to her. It was the first time anyone had actually taken an interest in her, and she couldn't help but feel grateful.

"Well, I only study all the time, because no one really talks to me, so there's nothing else I can really do. Actually, in my time that I've been here I've gotten 2 detentions for being late to class, haha. I was convinced I would be put into Hufflepuff when I got here, but for some reason I was sorted into Ravenclaw."

She heard a strange noise within the forest, which really wasn't anything new.

"It would be my pleasure if you'd actually consider me a friend to you, too."

She looked down at her hands. Awkward... she thought.

"So, tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Are you a muggle born?"

"I'm a half-blood. My mother was a muggle-born witch and my father had a muggle mother and wizard father. I was actually born in the states, but that was while my parents were on vacation so I grew up here. My mom taught me a lot about the muggle world. Although she likes to perform magic, she likes doing things the muggle way if she can. Like cooking and cleaning. She does it all herself. Except for her work. She works at St. Mungos. She was actually a Gryffindor and my father was a Ravenclaw. Just another way to show that seperate houses can get along together."

"What about your family? What's your parents like?" *Leon smiled his encouraging smile again. He was actually a little anti-social as well, but when he talked to people he liked it better than being alone.*

Annabelle found Leon completely interesting in every way. She had never met anyone before that was born in another country. As he described how his mother behaved, she wondered what it had been like to grow up knowing that there was magic, but also witnessing Muggle behavior. It must have been wonderful.

"My family are very boring. I'm a Muggle born, so I had no clue any place like this existed until last summer. My Dad is a lawyer...he usually does divorce cases and things like that. And my Mum doesn't have a job, but she volunteers at this school near our house. My Grandmother also lives with us, because she doesn't want to live alone anymore. She's like my best friend."

"I don't see my grandparents much. They like to travel. They've been most everyplace in the world. But It's always fun to see them. Whenever they get back they bring something with them. When I was young they got me my first broom." *Leon laughed* "My dad was a little mad, he wanted to be the one to give me my first broom. It went away quick enough. My dad started helping me practice. He'd throw things about the size of bludgers at me and I'd smack them back with a beater bat he'd gotten me."

*Leon smiled as he reminisced. He loved being with his family. Only thing better than that to him was being here at Hogwarts. Leon stared back up. It was starting to get dark, the sun was almost below the horizson*

(OOC: Sorry for taking so long)