Relaxing Walk...

Quentin wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed outdoor activities. Give him a book or piece of parchment and he knew how to pass the time. One didn't need a tree, a field, or a lake to read or write. But the spring weather called to Quentin that day and he rushed outside, carrying a bag with him.

A slight breeze blew passed Quentin as he leaned against a tree which was large enough to block the wind. He sat on the ground and ignored the leaves and dirt below him. He breathed deeply to enjoy the fresh air around him. His hand brushed through his dark hair.

A shiver escaped Quentin’s body as he relaxed. He pulled his bag in front of him and pulled out a roll of parchment. He cut it off with his wand and small incantation. Slowly and carefully he made tight folds in his parchment. Eventually a fully completed frog was in front of him. He waved his wand and whispered a spell under his breath and the paper-creature hopped in a short line away from Quentin. He smiled.

It was then that he saw Ava near him. Quentin watched her for a moment wondering if she noticed him sitting there. He then pointed his wand in a path for his paper frog to follow. He sent it towards Ava hoping to surprise her with it.

Quentin smiled as he watched Ava pick up his paper-frog. He watched her closely as she looked around for the culprit. When she asked him if it was his, he almost laughed at the question. It excited him when he could share his craft with others. He enjoyed origami not just for himself but to make the world a nicer place.

Usually, he would have done something like that in the common room or in his dorm where it was more private. He hadn’t really expected anyone to show up on the grounds that day and after realizing how nice the weather was he felt stupid for thinking that. Of course other students would have wanted to go out, not everyone held themselves up in the castle studying or fiddling around with origami.

”It’s not mine anymore,” he responded with a grin. ”It’s yours now. I think he likes you anyway.”

Thinking he was clever, he swished his wand again and made the frog jump in the girl’s hand. ”See? I knew it.”

He wanted to stand as she moved over to her but he stopped himself. Another inspiration came over him. He pulled out more parchment and folded it up quickly and sloppily. He nearly laughed, his heart beating like crazy. He even used a quill and ink to make some markings on it.

In his palm was the finished a product. It was a small butterfly which he pulled at the end to make the wings flap. He raised it a bit to show Ava as he aimed his wand.

”Here, have this as well. Wingardium leviosa.

The parchment-made butterfly flew from Quentin’s hand and over toward Ava. Hope filled up in the Ravenclaw boy as he wondered what Ava would think of his animals.

After Ava thanked him for the butterfly, Quentin lowered his wand and let the magic cease. The butterfly stopped flapping its wings in the girl’s hand. It reminded Quentin of the butterflies that would frequent his garden back home and how they would land on a daisy and pause. For a moment his missed the simplicity of a Muggle abode compared to the rich, magical creature filled one Hogwarts was. Just arms length from him was a bush of pink flowers had a pixie or two fluttering in it and yet no butterflies to be seen. It was a shame, honestly.

”I’m glad you like them, it takes a bit of courage to offer up a piece of folded parchment to a girl,” Quentin breathed. He knew first hand how difficult it could be to impress someone. At Hogwarts it seemed that all the girls were interested in opposite of origami and paper crafts. It was considered a Muggle thing.

In fact, Quentin had learned origami as child back in Muggle primary school. He loved the bright colored paper that was available at the time, much diverse next to the yellowy parchment that was used in the wizard world. But his creations then didn’t move as if on their own. It wasn’t until his first year at Hogwarts when Quentin could use a levitation or locomotor charm to bring some life into his work.

Immediately after speaking, Quentin became completely aware of his body position. He was still sitting but now Ava had been standing in front of him for more than a few minutes. Nervously, he squeezed his hands into fists and he wiggled his legs out in front of him.

”Please excuse my manners,” he stammered as he raised himself from the ground. ”I really should be standing so I can be eye to eye with you. I apologize.”

He sensed the leaves and brush sticking to his trousers so Quentin promptly wiped his lower back and rear of his legs with his hand. He sighed and gave a half smile to Ava as he did so. He even shrugged as he was sure she understood how dirty one got when sitting on the ground but also how embarrassing it was to sweep it all away in front of another person.

”My name is Quentin,” he announced after rubbing his hands together to remove the dirt. ”Quentin Majumdar.”

He knew her name was Ava. He had seen her around the common room and had heard her been addressed more than a few times. In his experience, though, he had turned many acquaintances away from him by mentioning how he already knew their names. People thought it was weird. And it was. So Quentin didn’t mention how he had seen Ava before or that he knew she was also a Ravenclaw.

It was then that he realized that Ava did have a life outside of origami and meeting goofy dudes on the lakeshore. Self-consciously, Quentin registered that the girl would have been going on a quiet walk alone and he was disturbing her. He thought he should send her back off on her way so she could enjoy her time without him.

”If you ever want to learn how to make one, just let me know. You can find me around the Ravenclaw common room or the library. But for now, I’ll let you go back to your walk.”

Quentin was reassured by Ava’s comment and the relief fell over him. That made him contented since he had more of an opportunity to talk to her. Quentin was a social person and loved making new friends. On top of that, Ava was a pretty girl and as a teenager, Quentin loved those as well. So far Ava was a nice person, especially since she accepted his silly gifts. He hoped that he could spend some more time with her.

“Well, I can be someone to talk to!” he laughed.

That sounded dumb. Quentin felt panic grow from his stomach up through his esophagus like indigestion. He often was bad with girls because of his corny jokes and quirky ways. Though he didn’t put all of his ambition in making Ava a romantic interest, he wasn’t one hundred percent on road to a completely platonic relationship with her. She was very cute after all. He worried that he was going to come off as daft.

He shook those thoughts from his mind for a moment. Thinking too negatively could set him up for failure. Instead he focused on the positive. She had adopted his origami animals so that was a start. He appreciated that. When it came to friends you want to keep people who are accepting in your personal circle. Sometimes that was hard to come by and sometimes people forgot an important virtue like that.

”Would you like it if I joined you on your walk so we can talk?”

Quentin could tell Ava was the type of person who liked the outdoors. She appeared as someone who got sunlight and fresh air often. She had even mentioned to him that she wouldn’t have minded sitting down on the ground with him. The outdoorsy types didn’t mind getting dirty and were into the nit and gritty. Quentin admired it but was never like that himself. He wished he could be. Everyday he felt out of place of the other people his age who loved Quidditch or even Muggle sports like football. Silently, he hoped Ava could be a friend who would motivate him into more physical activities. For now he was very reluctant to do them and focused more on his crafts and reading.

”Oh, but I did promise that I would show you how to make the animals sometime. We could sit here and do that now if you want.” Of course he was going to sneak the origami in and try to convince her.