Loitering - open-

[Leonardo Hughes]

Leonardo had just boughten a large bag of sweets from Honeyduke's and sat on a public bench, just relaxing in the autumn breeze. He watched as shoppers and townsfolk passed by, many of them too busy to give him a passing glance. Leonardo pulled out a cockroach cluster and bit off it's head. It was crunchy and at the same time chewy.

[Larissa Valo]

Larissa, like many of the other students, enjoyed the trips into Hogsmeade. It seemed like they were becoming more frequent now that Headmistress McGonagall was in charge. She remembered back in her earlier years, under Headmaster Dumbledore, when they were only allowed into Hogsmeade a few times a year. There was only so much you could do while staying on the castle grounds and Larissa was thankful for the chance to leave the school behind, even if it was only for a brief time.

As Larissa strolled down the high street she peered into the windows of the shops she passed. She liked to watch the people inside the stores as they interacted with each other. She passed the candyshop and paused. This had been her brother Liam's favorite place in Hogsmeade. He would constantly badger Larissa for a few spare knuts so that he coud buy pocketfulls of sweets. It was while she watched the children inside the store reaching for things from the shelf that she heard the all too familiar sound of someone eating a Cockroach Cluster. Normally, you would not expect the sound of someone quietly muching on a snack to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the busy Hogsmeade streets. But as Cockroach Clusters were Liam's favorite, and he always tried to sneak them past their parents late at night, Larissa knew that sound. She missed that sound.

She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Hufflepuff boy sitting on a bench. This made her happy and sd all at the same time. Though this boy was older than Liam, he reminded her of him. Liam was in Hufflepuff and he had the same dirty blond color of hair. "P'rdon me, but would ya mind 'f I joined ya?"

[Leonardo Hughes]

Leonardo has been watching the girl as she wlaked up the street, and smiled at her when she talked to him. "Sure. The more the merrier." He scooted down the bench a ways to give her more room. "Care for a sweet?"

[Larissa Valo]

Larissa gave him a smile of thanks and sat at the end of the bench. "Thank you," she said to his kindness. "But I'm not really in the mood for sweets right now." She flashed him another smile and smoothed her robes down as she sat. She carried her purse on her shoulder, and let if fall lightly onto her lap.

"I don't think we've properly met." She smiled as she extended her hand in a formal greeting. "I'm Larissa Valo. I'm in Gryffindor, obviously." She was wearing her school cloak which had her Gryffindor patch on it. Her school cloak was lighter than the other cloak she had and she didn't want to get too hot when she was out today.

[Leonardo Hughes]

Leonardo shoved the bag of sweets into his pocket and wiped his hands of ay sugary residew that remained. He then shook Larissa's hand and said "Leonardo Hughes," he said arrogantly. "Hufflepuff." This was a less obvious fact because he was not wearing any of his school attire.

[Larissa Valo]

"A pleasure to meet you Leonardo." She shook his hand and then folded her hands in her lap. She crossed her ankles and sat up straight. She was taught to sit properly at all times, because you never knew who was watching. And she didn't know Leonardo well enough to know if he followed the social rules or not.

"What are you doing in Hogsmeade all by yourself Leonardo? Are you waiting for a girl, if I may be so bold?" She smiled kindly at him, to let him know she meant no harm by her question. Larissa was a curious girl and often asked questions.

[Leonardo Hughes]

Leonardo was always waiting for a girl, but at this moment he was just relaxing. "I'm taking some time to myself, away from the drama of the school. And what of yourself?"

[Larissa Valo]

Larissa liked that Leonardo acknowledged how much drama went on up at the castle. It was bound to happen of course. Anytime you stick hundreds of students together you're bound to have trouble. And add magic into the equation, Larissa was actually surprised no one had gotten seriously injured at the school yet. Though she did hear of a few close calls every once in a while.

"I wasn't really do much of anything to be truthful. I've been sort of a loner lately and I just happened to find myself alone on this Hogsmeade trip." She shrugged it off, knowing there were far worse things in life to be going through a bit of a dry spell when it came to one's social life.