Tennis Season :: [OPEN]

Atlanta heard the sound of a girl’s voice, but she was still unwilling to look around to see who it was. She sat there, staring into the water of the fountain as it rippled across the small body of water. Lanta slowly reached down and ran her fingertips through the water, then finally consented to turn around. She found herself staring at Eden Wolf, Head Girl. She had to say, she hadn’t been expecting her to be out here, but it wasn’t as if she was upset or anything of the sort. In fact, she was rather glad to have some form of company. She and Eden never really hung out or talked when it wasn’t necessary, but she had no personal qualms with the girl.

She watched her look down and look back up and then returned her smile with one of her own. It wasn’t full-fledged - of course - Atlanta never gave full-fledged smiles, but it was at least a start, ”Don’t worry about it, Wolf. Sorry for the rude greeting,” Lanta said as she reached up and pushed some of her blonde hair away from her face. She sat there for a moment, unsure of what to say, and then Eden filled the silence with her commentary on the fountain.

Lanta smiled, ”This is my favorite place to be during days like this,” She turned to look out the fountain again, examining the beauty of it. Then she looked back at Eden, ”I dunno. I thought the states were pretty too-” She said with a smile as she stared at the Head Girl. Everyone knew that Eden was from America. She lacked the accented. Of course, some people thought she was a little weird for it, but Lanta liked it. She had been to America and loved her stay there. She ran a hand through her blonde hair again, this time flipping it over her shoulder and leaving it there, ”Then again, I spent most of my time in Hawaii.” She shrugged her shoulders and then laughed.

Atlanta watched the girl come closer and then join her on the wall that surrounded the fountain. She felt a little bit of jealous envy as Eden played with the water, momentarily freezing it and then bringing it back to it’s natural, liquid state. In many ways, she wished that she had the patience for spells like that. But, truth be told, she was never very good with magic. Her parents expected a lot out of her, being pureblood and all, but she just couldn’t seem to get things right. She bit down on her lip slightly and moved her tennis racket so that she could swing her feet down and place them firmly on the ground.

Then again, the more that she thought about it, perhaps she wasn’t envious of Miss Eden Wolf, Head Girl. It didn’t seem like she really associated with many people...maybe it was just her personality or...American-ness, but Lanta felt bad for her, all of a sudden. Everyone should have friends, she thought with a small smile, ”New York sounds like such a groovy place, though.” She said as she thought about it. She had always wanted the hustle and bustle of the city, but instead, she was forced to spend most of her holidays at home with her parents...in the middle of the British country-side. Such was the life of a pureblood, she supposed.

Lanta coughed loudly as Eden mentioned a certain Black. She could only assume that she meant Bellatrix Black...that girl was a piece of work. Everything about her was off-putting, and - although they shared the same heritage and often found themselves at the same social functions - Lanta wanted to be nothing like her, ”I can only assume that you mean the jewel that is Bella. She’s a piece of work.” Lanta said and slipped off her tennis shoes. She reached down and pulled off her socks too. Then she turned around and put her feet into the fountain, moving them back and forth, creating a wave-like motion within the fountain’s waters.

”Oh of course, I love her,” Atlatna said sarcastically and then looked up at Eden. She offered her a small smile and then moved her feet through the water idly. It was funny, the way that Bellatrix Black was. Quite the character indeed. She seemed to have the need to make everyone else feel subordinate, which was a rare occurrence indeed. Of course, judging by what Eden was saying, she assumed that the girl, too had become fed up with Black’s antics. She couldn’t say that she blamed her, ”Hmm-” Lanta wasn’t sure how to answer Eden’s next question. It seemed a little strange to her, but she supposed that she had an obligation to explain her situation so that the Head Girl didn’t think that she was as daft as batty old Bellatrix.

”My dad is, at least,” She said as she turned her head so that she could offer Eden a weak smile. She didn’t talk about her family much, it wasn’t really something that she liked to do. There wasn’t much to say about them. For all she knew, they were relatively normal...except her sister, Des, ”See, my dad’s always believed that you end up where you belong. My whole family was in Slytherin-” She clarified, before continuing, ”My older sister Des wanted me to be in Slytherin...She’s a little bit like Bella...only not as homicidal,” She smiled slightly and then kicked a little bit of the water into the air with her foot, ”Anyways, My dad always said, ‘Do what you want, Lant, the world is your oyster’ but my mum has this weird view of me settling down and getting married and popping out babies. I dunno-” She shook her head, unsure if she was making any sense whatsoever, ”Mom’s are always weird about that kind of stuff.” She smiled at the thought of her mother. Such a kind woman, but so confused about Atlanta. So confused as to why she couldn’t be more like her sister.

”I guess in a way, the only person in my family who really gets to me is Desdemona.” The very thought of her older sister made Atlanta feel a little uncomfortable, ”I understand she wants me to be like her...but follow in her footsteps? I think not,” She turned all the way so that she was looking at Eden, ”Do you have any siblings?”

Atlanta wasn’t sure why they were all of a sudden having a heart to heart, but the longer that she sat there, the longer that she realized that both of them probably just needed someone to talk to. Atlanta didn’t have a lot of friends in Hufflepuff because she was so different. People had heard her last name before...they knew about Des. It was difficult for her, to say the least. Lanta snapped back into reality as Eden told her about her home life. It didn’t sound like it was anything to be happy about, in fact, it sounded rather like she had had a terrible childhood. Perhaps even more terrible than her own, stuck in a room with Desdemona for days on end, ”I’m sorry, Wolf,” She said, shrugging her shoulders. She knew that apologies really meant nothing these days. They were empty; they couldn’t change the past, but she also knew that it meant that someone cared. Perhaps that was what Eden needed; someone who actually cared about her and wasn’t just going to run away as soon as the goings got tough. Lanta looked over in time to see a small tear running down her cheek and then quickly looked away. Eden always seemed so strong to her, like nothing could ever hurt her and here she was...crying in the middle of the courtyard. Lant wasn’t sure exactly what to say at this moment in time.

Eden had said that she had been glad she had been invited to Hogwarts and Atlanta could most certainly relate to that. Getting her letter had been the happiest day of her life; she felt like she would somewhat be out of Desdemona’s clutches for a little while, ”I came here thinking that I would be a Slytherin,” She admitted, looking up again and offering Eden a tiny smile, ”I thought I was cruel and all big and bad,” The thought of her turning out like that made her laugh, ”I had no idea that I would end up a sweet little Hufflepuff-” Of course, she wasn’t all that sweet, she had her nasty side, but everyone did...she wasn’t meant to be a Slytherin, but she had found where she belonged; even if everyone else in her house seemed to not take a liking to her, ”Did you think that you’d be a Ravenclaw? Did your parents go here too?” Atlanta was suddenly curious about the girl and the life that she was living.

Atlanta listened carefully, taking notice of the things that Eden was saying. She had to admit, when she had first encountered Eden Wolf, she hadn’t expected her to be such an interesting girl. She was full of interesting ideas and her life seemed interesting as well. She was surprised that they hadn’t talked before...then again, Atlanta had probably never given her a proper getting-to-know-you period. She nodded at the appropriate times, but didn’t want to interrupt. She knew that Eden was getting into the groove of her story, so she didn’t want to ruin things. Especially not now that she had got the girl actually talking.

”Don’t worry-” She smiled at Eden and then rolled her shoulders back slightly as she readjusted her position on the wall, ”I think that you make a great Head Girl. The perfect mix of strong will and sweetness.” She said and gave Eden’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling so connected to the girl as of late, but she had to say that it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. It had been a while since she had really had a good conversation with another girl that was her age. Lanta realized that she had just informed her that she didn’t think she should have been a Slytherin and she felt herself smile a little bit more. Eden had no idea how reassuring that was to hear for her. She had always had this nagging fear that she was going to end up just like her older sister - bitter, cold, and alone. At least Eden appeared to see something different in her, ”Thanks, Eden.” She said happily as she reached down and touched the water with her fingertips. It felt good to be outside during this time of the year and it felt really good to have company. That much was for certain, ”I’ve always been afraid that I’m going to end up bitter like the rest of the snakes, though,” She commented and then leaned back so that she could peer behind Eden to make sure that no one else was around. She didn’t want to have to deal with Bellatrix herself overhearing their conversation because that wouldn’t bode well for either one of them.

”I think that the snakes - Bellatrix in particular - are just an unhappy lot in general,” She breathed as she looked at Eden, ”Yeah, my mum and dad were Slytherins, but I feel like it was different back then.” She struggled to explain it to herself, but she felt like the Slytherins had just been becoming increasingly unbearable with Bellatrix at their helm. She wondered if anyone else had been noticing it or if it was just her.

Atlanta looked over at Eden and smiled. The girl had knowledge that seemed to be far beyond her years. She was clever and kind and everything that Ravenclaw and Head Girl should be. For a moment, Lanta felt like she was going to burst into tears and lose it completely at what she was saying, but she managed to nail down her emotions and keep herself in check, ”It means a lot to me to hear someone say that,” She said, trying to keep herself as non-chalant as possible. In all honestly, in all her years of living with her parents, they had never said anything like that to her. Sure, they had been supportive of her being sorted into Hufflepuff, but they had never once told her that she was a good person, ”I don’t think that anyone could quite measure up to the eldest Miss Black,” She muttered and then looked up at Eden, flashing her a bit of a smile to let her know that she was only joking. Bellatrix had a certain way about her and even though Lanta thought that she was meant to be in Slytherin sometimes, she also knew that there was no way that she would be as cruel as Bells. There was something so wrong about that girl. Something that felt like it was going to destroy her one day. But Lanta also knew that everyone had their secrets...including her, ‘Maybe Bellatrix is hiding something, just like you...?’ She thought with a mental groan. Immediately her eyes fell onto the water in the fountain as her brain seemed to be working double time to figure out what she was doing with her life.

She bit down on her lip and then reached down to touch the water, avoiding eye-contact, ”Do you play quidditch?” She asked as she ran her fingertips over the fountain’s surface, gently splashing some onto her knees so that she could cool off a little bit, ”I only ask because it’s my favorite sport. It seems like we have a lot in common-” She looked up and smiled at Eden. Atlanta thought for a moment that she might have actually found a genuine friend...someone that wasn’t just interested in her because she was popular...and that? That made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.