Oh, Brother..(OPEN)

Lauri was walking around, trying to think. Somehow she ended up at this lake, It's really beautiful, she thought, sighing. She had just gotten a owl from her older brother, Zach. He told her about his encounter with their Father.

Their father wanted to apologize, he said he had only left because their mother kept a large secret from him, and that he wanted to get to know them. She didn't believe it though, it was a little sudden, after twelve years he suddenly wanted to make everything better? Her brother knew she never wanted to talk about him, He doesn't even deserve to be called a 'father' anyway. She sat down on a rock, throwing a stone into the lake, watching it skim until it stopped.

She groaned, "This isn't working, why can't he just leave us alone?" She muttered, playing with the stone in her hand until she heard someone come up behind her.

Ondrea was lost, which was a bit sad, really, as a bloody great castle was rather hard to lose. The girl wrung her hands anxiously.

"Just brilliant," she muttered aloud. "Lost in the bloody Scottish wilderness. The one time I think to take a walk..."

She jumped as a bird took abrupt, startled flight from a tree beside her. "Well, that makes two of us, then!" she called after it in annoyance.

Sighing, she continued along with no clue of where, exactly, she was going. A few moments later, she spotted a body of water up ahead. If it was the Black Lake, she could follow the shore back to the school. Ondrea picked up the pace, only to halt in uncertainty when she found that not only was it not what she had hoped, but that there was also somebody else already there.

Lauri looked around, slightly terrified. I shouldn't have came here alone... She thought, getting up. She never usually went anywhere alone. Especially not abandoned lakes, no matter how pretty it was.

She searched her pockets looking for her wand, mentally kicking herself when she didn't find it. "Seriously? What kind of Ravenclaw am I supposed to be? The first thing they teach you is to never for get your wand." She scolded herself.

She sighed when she realized it was a girl, her age or a little older. "Sorry," She said, indicating her 'intruder alert' position. She looked like one of those Muggle who played Karate or something. "I thought you were a scary creature of some sort, I have to try to protect myself, right?"

Ondrea had both arms held in a placating - and self-defensive, for that manner - gesture in front of her. She thought she might have seen the other girl in the common room, once, though she wasn't in any of her classes.

She gave a nervous laugh, waving it off with both hands. "I'm n-not that s-scary," Ondrea ruefully declared, her stammer in fine form. "I-I just sorta g-got l-lost. Didn't m-mean to s-scare you." She put on a slightly strained smile. If there was any doubt as to her scariness factor, it was certainly gone, by now.

Lauri laughed, it seemed like she wasn't the only one who overreacted. "You aren't, but after years of being homeschooled and living with overprotective brothers they make everything seem scary." She remembered the girl from somewhere, Isn't she a Ravenclaw? She thought.

"It's alright, I could help you get back if you'd like? I'm Laurasia by the way, but just call me Lauri," She took her hand out for her to shake. "So what brings you out here? Were you on your way somewhere before you got lost?" She smiled sheepishly hoping she didn't ask to many questions.

"I-I suppose you're r-right," Ondrea said with a small smile as she thought of her own brother.

"That'd b-be good. I was j-just taking a w-walk and got tur-turned a-around, I think," she explained. "On-Ondrea. My n-name, I mean, i-is Ondrea." She was grateful at least one of them knew where they were, because she was clueless.

Lauri grinned, "You have any brothers?" She said. She had only grew up with brothers, so it was nice to meet someone that knows how it feels to be surrounded by boys.

"Oh, I've been there." She remembered all those times she got lost while taking a walk, "My legs always seem to have a mind of their one," She joked.

"Nice to meet you Ondrea, you go to Hogwarts right? I think I recognize you." She said, studying the girl for a moment. She once again sat on the rock, turning to Ondrea, "Do you mind? I kind of still need to think, my family kind of sent me a letter that was more like a load of bad news." She frowned.

"I have an older b-brother, Owen," Ondrea replied. "He al-ways likes to t-tease me."

She nodded. "Y-yeah, I just t-transferred a wh-while ago," she answered. "I-I think we're i-in the same H-house. Ra-Ravenclaw. I'm th-third year.

"I don't m-mind. S-sorry things a-aren't going very w-well."

Dulce was walking around carefully. She needed to be alone for too much of this place reminded her of Passion. Should she have really come here?

She ran into two students. "Oh.. sorry." She apologized.

Lauri grinned, "Older brothers are a pain sometimes, aren't they? I have three myself. I personally think they live to tease their sisters." She said in a whisper.

"That's nice! I'm one of the few people that were home schooled until this year, my mum's a bit of a worrier." She shook her head, laughing. "That's where I've seen you! I'm a second year."

Her thoughts started to wonder to her mother, what did she think about their father suddenly wanting to be in their lives. "Don't worry about it," She muttered, her head snapping up when she heard a voice.

"Not a problem, were you lost?" She asked curiously, a lot of people seem to be coming to the same place

"I know, right?" Ondrea laughed. "Absolutely nothing better to do!" She smiled fondly. Despite his incessant teasing, Owen really was a good brother.

"I have a picture of him, if you'd like to see," she said. Her stammer abruptly reasserted itself as she shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "I s-suppose it's sort of str-ange that I c-carry it around." Ondrea drew the photo from her pocket, anyway. It was of the two of them, actually, the sandy-haired, blue-eyed Owen leaning with his elbow atop her head until Ondrea shoved him away and slapped him on the arm to Owen's silent laughter.

She frowned a bit. Lauri seemed a bit troubled over whatever it was, but Ondrea had never really been one to press. Would her housemate even want her to press? If the younger girl wanted to talk and Ondrea didn't ask, that could seem a bit insensitive. On the other hand, if she did ask and Lauri didn't want to talk, she'd seem nosy, wouldn't she? How did one know when to -

Ondrea startled as another student arrived, hand flying to her chest. She worked on slowing her breathing. Honestly, she admonished herself, one of these days you're going to have a heart attack or something. Glancing briefly at the newcomer, she waited for her to answer Lauri's inquiry.

"No. Just walking around." She told them. "Is it o.k for me to stay?" She asked.

"Yup, they should learn to stop otherwise they might go into post-'no teasing' depression after they move out or something," She laughed. She really loved her brothers, and didn't know what she would do without them.

"I'd love to! It's not weird at all actually, I still wear this bracelet my brothers gave me before I left. I supposed you need something to remind you of your siblings," She showed her the bracelet, grinning when she looked at the picture. "A brother at work, as in the work being annoying you I mean." She explained.

Lauri didn't really know what she was going to do, she decided maybe telling one person wouldn't hurt. "He left us, my father I mean. I was pretty young so I don't remember a thing." She sighed, pulling on her hair. "And now my brother send me an owl telling me he met up with him, and that he wants to 'come back' into our lives," She said adding quotations with her fingers.

"The whole thing is a bit foreign to me I guess," She shrugged, looking at Ondrea after her long rant. "So, what do you think?" She asked kicking a pebble with her foot.

She looked up at the girl whom she hadn't gotten her name yet, "I suppose, It's not my place to say no anyway." She said.

Ondrea smiled, glad that she wasn't the only one who held her brother in high regard. She listened as Lauri confided in her, frowning slightly.

"I-i-if my p-parents - m-my b-b-birth par-parents, I mean - i-if..." She couldn't get her words to work for her, so shook her head adamantly, instead. "I-I c-c-couldn't." She hoped Lauri understood what she meant, because she really couldn't explain herself; not aloud, in any case.

Ondrea gave another shake of her head. "I don't m-mind," she told her, having recovered what little bearings she possessed at any given time.

Dulce smiled. "Alrighty then. I am Dulce." She sat against a wall.

(OOC: Sorry it's been a while >.<)

Lauri sighed, "I understand, it's hard to talk about some things at times. But thank you for listening anyway, especially since we've just met and all." She smiled appreciatively.

She started playing with her bracelet, trying to remember why in the world she had come here. Maybe if she was still back home she could have convinced her brother not to meet the man who is causing her so much grief. She looked over to the over girl, blushing as she forgot she was there. "Nice to meet you, Dulce. I'm Lauri, and that's Ondrea," She pointed to the older girl.

She throw one more pebble into the lake, looking over to the girls. "I'm sorry but I have a lot to think about. I might see you too around the Ravenclaw commons, Goodbye!" She waved to the girls before walking back to the castle.