Skipping Rocks {open}

Belle nodded in agreement. "Mm-hmm. Not to mention it brings people together. I know some students who made most of their friends through the Quidditch teams, or for their love for the sport. It bonds them, in some way." Belle appreciated anything, whether it be school subject or sport, that brought people together and helped them make friends. "Oh, the library here is pretty amazing, even though the only books I pick up tend to be Herbology ones. Although I guess I did borrow one on Muggle Studies when I found out my old friend Dean was teaching the class. I'm so rubbish when it comes to Muggle stuff. I consider it an accomplishment if I manage to make a cup of coffee using the coffee pot without blowing anything up." Of course, she was lucky enough that Dean was patient enough to walk her through things that she didn't understand. Belle had no idea how he put up with her half the time.

"Yes, it is quite magical in more than one aspect," Neira smiled. She had had a few friends who had been on the Quidditch team, but that hadn't lasted long after she got her gift. James, though... James had loved Quidditch. He had played on one of the teams at Durmstrang and she couldn't help but think about how fitting it was. The two of them loving Quidditch. The thought seemed to open fresh wounds and she tried not to think of it too much.

Gwyneira smiled slightly and nodded. Yes, the library was quite amazing. Perhaps she'd go and visit it next. "Oh gosh, I think the last thing I checked out at the library was a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts... and I don't even remember why," she let out a small laugh. She raised her eyebrows then, for a moment before letting out another small chuckle. Gwyn wasn't particularly good at muggle things, but she wasn't bad either. Her mother had been a muggle, but never having met her meant she grew up without that aspect in her life. However, once she was on the run, she had to live in muggle towns from time to time. She had picked up a few things here and there. "Oh, really? Hmn. I guess I'm not the best when it comes to muggle things... but my mother was one, a muggle." She paused for a moment before giving a small smirk. "And I'm not quite sure if you can blow up a coffee pot," she teased lightly.

"Ooo, Defense Against the Dark Arts? Sounds interesting," Belle said. "I've never been too much of an expert, but I always admire people who are good at it. To have reflexes like that fast and to be able to think on your feet, I think it's pretty impressive." Thinking under stress was one of the reasons why Belle was never good at the subject. When things went bad, she tended to panic more than anything else. "Trust me, I have a habit of accidentally finding out how to blow things up," she said, laughing. "Even if it seems impossible. Thank goodness the plants are safe from that."

"Yeah, I honestly cannot remember why. I was probably studying for the final exam or something," Gwyneira shrugged slightly. She pulled her pink sweater together a bit, fighting off the slight chill of the day. Gwyneira smiled once more. Yes, she wasn't too terribly bad at Defense Against the Dark Arts. She had definitely gotten better over the years, that was for sure. Practice always made perfect.

Gwyn let out a small snort. "Oh my, well, remind me not to get near you when you're dealing with muggle things. I'd rather not get blown to pieces," she teased lightly before giving a small nod. "Yes, thank goodness for that."

"Ugh, some of those final exams were brutal," Belle said, remembering how much she used to stress out about them when she was in school. "I can't count how many times I've seen kids pass out from stress alone. Even when I was teaching last year, I saw some of my own students go into hysterics when studying. At least we have medicine that can calm them down and stuff." The Hospital Wing was always full of people that needed a calming potion or two. Or just some tea. Sometimes, that was pretty effective in getting students to relax. "Lucky thing there aren't that many Muggle things in Hogwarts, besides what in the Muggle Studies classroom, otherwise the place probably would have gone up in flames by now," she said, laughing.

"Yes, I always managed to do well, but damn... I hated them so much. Studying for hours was painful, I'm glad that it's okay... for me anyway. Now I get to watch my poor students suffer through it as well." Gwyneira had graduated top of her class, but she had worked hard to get the marks that she did. Gwyn let out a chuckle, scratching behind her ear. "Yes, thank goodness. Perhaps I'll just avoid the Muggle Studies Classroom, never know when you'll be in there blowing things up." She gave her a small wink.

Gwyneira sighed, glancing back out over the lake. She looked down at the rocks below their feet. She pursed her lips for a moment, glancing back at Belle. "Ever skipped rocks?" She questioned as she reached down and picked up one of the smother rocks near her.

"Yeah, thank goodness we don't have to do too much of that anymore," Belle said. "Instead of studying, we get to grade papers, which I guess is the better option, depending on who's essay you're reading." There were always those certain papers that made Belle cringe when she read them, mostly because of the lack of knowledge of the subject or grammar. Belle may be a plant expert, but she was a picky one when it came to proper grammar. She laughed. "Well, if I'm in there, it's usually because I'm talking with Dean, and I think he's learned to let me near stuff like that under careful supervision." She shook her head. "Tried a bit when I was younger. Never got the hang of it."

"Oh, I still have nightmares over not having studied in time... horrible, horrible dreams." Though, she definitely preferred those dreams to the ones of being killed by her stepmother. Gwyneira then let out another snort. "Oh yes, I've had some pretty bad essays already." She shook her head. It was a shame some of the students didn't seem to know how to write anymore. Perhaps she should offer a lesson on the side on the proper way to write an essay. She doubted any of her students would want to attend, but some of them really needed it.

"Good on him then, wouldn't want half of the castle to explode," she said with a bit of a serious face, though her brownish-green eyes glinted in humor. She nodded approvingly as she did so.

Gwyneira smiled, tossing the stone up and down for a moment, weighing it in her hand. She used to do it all the time in her youth, but apparently her lack of practice had had a bit of an effect on her. "It's really not all that hard; it's all in the wrist," she smiled before turning toward the lake. She bit the corner of her lip, concentrating as she flicked her wrist. The rock flew towards the lake and... one... two... three... four... Hmn. Four seemed to be her maximum for today. "Of course, I'm not as good as I used to be," she shook her head lightly

"There's a unit in Divination about dream interpretation, right?" Belle asked, struggling to remember what exactly was taught in the class, besides the obvious "reading tea leaves" thing. "Wonder if dreams like that mean something. Or if it's just a 'reliving your past' thing." Belle often had dreams like that herself. The memories varied between good and bad, depending on how she was feeling at the time. She watched carefully as Adela took a stone in her hand and threw it across the water, making it skip at least four times. "Well, here goes nothing," Belle said as she picked up a rock and tried to throw it like Adela had. But it just ended up plunking into the water, as usual. "Darn rock," Belle muttered.

"Yes, it's quite interesting... Trelawney used to say that dream interpretations were the "most important means of divining the future." I hope that doesn't mean we'll all be sent back in time to go through school again," she said teasingly. Of course, dreams were more difficult to interpret then that. Gwyneira wasn't the best at dream interpretation, but she tried as best she could.

Gwyneira watched, her head titled to the side as Belle threw a rock out into the lack. It made a plunking noise as it sunk to the bottom. A small smile appeared on her face as she tried to hold back a small giggle. "Oh, don't worry. It does take a bit to get the hang of. I used to come out here for hours on end just to get a few," she reassured the other professor.

"Ugh, no," Belle said, making a face. "School was fun and all, but I wouldn't want to go through it again. Once is enough for me." She gave a little laugh. She liked reminiscing on her school years, but reliving them all over again, she wasn't so keen on. "Hmm, well, at least I have to something to practice on during my free time," she replied. She threw another smooth rock, but it ended up plunking the water again. Of course, she didn't expect to magically get it on her second try. No doubt it would take a lot of practicing.

Gwyneira snorted. “Oh yes, I quite agree,” she nodded. She’d never want to go back to school, as a student, ever again. School had been fun for the most part, though she’d never be able to deal with the ridicule again. It was hard enough once. Gwyneira smiled softly. “It’s a fun thing to practice. Takes a bit of time, but when you get that first skip... it’s very rewarding.” Gwyneira leaned down and picked up another rock. She threw it out and one... two... three... plop. One less than the last two times. What a shame. She really needed to get back into practice.

Belle nodded, although she was still half-tempted to make the rock skip over the water using magic instead. But then, that wouldn't be so rewarding. Magic was good in some cases, but it did take some of the gratification out of accomplishing something. Belle threw another rock. It plunked right to the bottom again, but she just shrugged. She didn't mind too much. "So, what else do you do for fun, besides skip rocks?" she asked.