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Poppy's soft purrs filled my ears as I lay stretched out on my four poster bed. My body was wrapped in my favorite sunshine yellow quilt and warmth spread through my body as I sipped on a steaming mug of lavender honey tea. I turned the page of the book I was reading. "To Kill A Mockingbird", Olivia's voice rang out as she threw her body onto my bed. The tea in my hand sloshed dangerously close to the top of the mug and I moved quickly to set it on my bedside table.

    "Another Muggle book?", she said, running her nimble hands over Poppy's outstretched body. I nodded and shifted my position as to give Liv more room to spread out. "I will never understand why you like to read about their boring lives when you have so many magical books you could be reading", she rolled over so her head dangled off the end of my bed.

    "I find it interesting to think about life through the perspective of others", I shrugged. Olivia was pureblood, and had never known anything of the Muggle world. I, on the other hand, was a Half-Blood. My mom was a muggle. She took it pretty well when she found out about my dad. By that, I mean she freaked out and didn't talk to him for three months. It was a lot for a simply country girl who had been raised on the bible and simple living. However, love prevailed, and here I am.

Olivia sat up, her deep brown eyes shining. "Guess what?", she said, obviously having been waiting to tell me whatever it was since she got here. I sat up, crossing my legs, "What?". "Quinton asked me if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him next weekend!", she squealed loudly. A huge grin spread across my face. "That's amazing!", I cried, grabbing her hands and pulling her up, my covers sliding off my bed and falling in an untidy pile on the floor.

I took her hands and spun her around the room. She giggled and grinned from ear to ear. "I'm so excited, I can't believe it!", she said, catching her breathe as we stopped spinning. I reached for my wand and caused a chain of daisies to spurt out of the end. I draped them over her long, straight brown hair. "You deserve to be so happy", I said, my eyes twinkling with unspoken appreciation for my best friend.

"I love you, Bri", she wrinkled her nose up. "I love you too", I smiled, taking in the scene. The sun was shining throughout the dormitory, stray daisies laying on the floor. Poppy settled down in the nest of blankets that had fallen from my bed. It was pure happiness manifested.

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    Weekends at the castle were full of late mornings and lazy afternoons for most students at Hogwarts. But, being unable to sleep past 8 AM, I often found myself with long stretches of time before anyone else awoke. I spent most of my time outside when I could, and so it was not a surprise to anyone that I was found wandering the grounds most mornings. This early Saturday morning was no exception. I held a small loaf of bread in my hand, ripping off pieces and tossing them into my mouth, enjoying the buttery taste as it melted onto my tongue.

    Birds chirped above my head and the smell of flowers filled the atmosphere. I highly doubted anyone else in the entire castle was out of bed yet, so I didn't bother to put on my robes yet. I wore a large yellow knit jumper with the Hufflepuff badger sprawled across the chest and jean shorts. My hair was in a loose bun at the nape of my neck, tendrils framing my face.

    I had already made my way around the grounds once, but didn't feel like heading back to the castle quite yet. I knew where I really wanted to go, but I hadn't returned there since my first encounter with the Marauders. I weighed the options in my head, if they were there it wouldn't be the end of the world, I would just turn right around and leave. Plus, it was so early, it was extremely doubtful they would even be out of bed. My mind was made up.

    I traipsed further down the grounds towards the lake, the castle fading from view as I grew closer to my special spot. I strained my ears to see if I could hear any voices. Nothing. I smiled to myself and popped the last bit of bread into my mouth. Finally, I was back in my happy place. I pushed willow branches out of my way and found my way into the grove of trees that I knew oh so well.

    Settling down and placing my back against the thickest tree, I closed my eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of the lake. A dragonfly flitted past my face and I smiled to myself. We were barely into the school year and I already felt like this was going to be one to remember. And, as much as I hated to admit that I might have been wrong about someone, I did enjoy being friends with Remus.

    I pulled out my wands and began to make bright red and gold flowers bloom out of the ground. I was so incapsulated in my work, I didn't hear the padding footsteps coming closer or notice the shift in the willow branches. In fact, it wasn't until a large black paw crushed one of the prettiest red flowers, that I noticed the fluffy black dog standing in front of me. I jumped back slightly, surprised but not scared.

I had seen many animals in my time here, including a few bowtruckles and the occasional hodag, but never a regular looking dog. I examined it from afar, wondering if it was lost. It was rather large for a dog, muscular and strong. Its eyes were dark, with golden flecks. They reminded me of something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Hi there, buddy", I said, crawling on my hands and knees slowly towards it. It let out a soft whine and backed up a little bit. "Are you lost?", I cooed and reached out tentatively, scratching under its chin. After a moment, it moved closer to me. I let out a giggle and scratched behind its ears, I placed a kiss on its soft head and let out in a light voice, "You are such a cutie".

I reached under its chin to continue scratching, when suddenly a loud crash of thunder sounded from above. My eyes snapped up towards the sky. Dark clouds bled into the previously blue sky. I glanced down at the dog, who's eyes were also trained on the forming rainclouds. "We better get out of here, buddy", I bit my lip. Growing up on a farm, I knew how spooked animals could get in a storm. However, when I looked into this large black dog's eyes, I didn't see fear.

It ducked out from under the tree and I followed, rain starting to drizzle from the sky. I let out a laugh as it began to pick up. I started to run, the rain now coming down in thick sheets. My feet sloshed against the wet soil as I darted towards the castle, the dog trailing behind me. My jumper was clinging to my skin, soaked through. I pushed my now sopping wet hair out of my face, letting out another laugh. Reaching the door to the castle, I flung it open, looking down to let the dog run in before I did, but it was gone. I squinted into the rain covered grounds, but saw no sign of the large black dog.

A shiver ran up my spine and I realized that I must look like a maniac, standing in an open doorway, dripping wet. I entered the castle and hurried down the hall, attempting not to leave too much of a trail of water behind me, my destination a steaming hot bath and cup of warm coffee.

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