Shine

Vic made her way out to the court yard once the sun started to rise. On her person she only had a sketch book, a pencil, and her wand. She walked around for a while, looking for inspiration and finally stopped at a patch of flowers where a large butterfly was resting. Quickly, before the light changed too much, she began to sketch the scene, hoping that the butterfly would stay put long enough for her to get a rough sketch.

It was the first Saturday of the school year and Vic did not intend to spend the hours of sunlight doing her homework. That could wait until sun down, for now she was going to enjoy as much of the warmth and the day as possible, for it wouldn't be too long before there was nothing but snow on the ground. Vic loathed winter. The cold, the lack of flowers and insects. There was little that she liked about it, so she was determined to make the most of spring and summer as possible.

After having a hearty breakfast, James made his way out to the court yard where he planned to stretch before heading out to the ancient quidditch pitch. The broom that his mother had bewitched for his tenth birthday hung over his shoulder. Although it was seven years old, it still worked pretty well. Although his mind had been locked onto flying and perhaps trying out for the quidditch team whenever everyone figured out how it was really supposed to be played, it quickly changed to another subject once he saw the beautiful blonde alone in the court yard.

James hadn't yet gotten up the guts to speak to his beautiful house mate, but now that no one was around, he thought that he might be able to do so now. He looked around to be sure that no one else was lurking in the court yard.

He nervously made his way up to her and then cleared his throat, "Morning, Vic," he said, his throat a bit hoarse from nerves. A butterfly took flight not far from the two of them. "Nice day, eh?" James said as he watched it flutter away.

Vic gasped and watched the butterfly flutter away. Her sketch was not yet done, but she figured that she could use her imagination for the rest. She sighed before looking up at the boy who had approached her. Because she had seen him in the common room and it was hard not to notice him, she knew that he was in Gryffindor, but he wasn't in her year. So she knew close to nothing else about him.

Slowly Vic stood, closed her sketch book and said, "Hello. Yes, it's lovely..." with a warm smile. After taking a moment to think Vic smiled sheepishly and added, "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

James' face flushed dramatically in embarrassment. 'Should'a known she wouldn't know your name you oaf!' he thought to himself, now furious that he had assumed otherwise. "James Digby," he said with a sheepish smile across his face. "You're in sixth year, right? I've seen you around...heard people talk about you." After saying all of that, he wished that he could immediately take it back. He was starting to sound like a stalker.

"Oh?" Vic said, her own face turning a bit pink at the news. "What could people possibly have to say about me?" she wondered out loud. She hoped sincerely that it was nothing bad. Vic couldn't stand the thought of people thinking poorly of her. Her heart began to race and a dull pain followed. She tried to quietly take a few deep breaths to calm herself down and hoped that the boy wouldn't notice. If people were already talking about her, then she didn't need them to realize that she had a physical handicap.