Quiet Musings | Tessa

February 9, 1923
6:55 PM

Benji sat on the stone edge of the Astronomy Tower, gazing out across the grounds, his drawing pad on his lap and charcoal pencils at his side. The side of his palm was smudged black from blending, his sandy brown hair hanging lazily over hazel eyes.

It was a precarious position, sitting on the railing that was meant to keep him safe from a treacherous fall. All it would take was one mishap, one imbalance, or a violent shove from a certain Ravenclaw he'd been at odds with for six years to plummet to his death.

Benji had heard that sometimes wizards bounced when falling from great heights, and while he considered himself a daredevil, it was one experiment he'd never sought to find the answer to. Still, the thought didn't dissuade him as she sat perched, etching the outline of the owlery in the near distance.

It was quieter moments like this that often found the sixth year contemplating his world and drawing what he found around him. His drawing pad - several of them now - were filled with Hogwarts imagery, plenty of portraits of Rae, Kate, his mum, a few old ones of Cass and Rosie, and numerous other friends that had come and gone in the years he'd spent here.

The sound of footsteps behind him didn't tear him away from his work, but his body tensed all the same, in case someone got a bright idea. "Come sit if you dare," he called. As long as it wasn't Tommy, then almost anyone else was welcome. "It's a long way down if you trip though."

Tessa decided that after a long day of school and socializing, she was going to explore. Normally, she would be in a group of girls. But she wanted to do something by herself. She was a prim and proper girl. And this was her way to let herself unwind. Tessa was still wearing a pink tea dress style. Even if she was just exploring, it didn’t mean that she didn’t need to look proper.

She was acting like she didn’t have a care in the world. Tessa was just going to try and be herself. Because she knew being proper all the time could become tiring. Right now she didn’t have to perform for anybody. And this was giving her time to be by herself. And she was always focused on her studies. Because she promised that she would get good marks. Because she knew that they would affect her life after Hogwarts. Even though she had several years before that happened, it was always on her mind.

Tessa had found that she made her way to the Astromoy tower. Her hazel eye was scanning around and noticed that she wasn’t alone. She put on her best smile and wasn’t going to be rude. She then heard him saying that she could sit. And she knew that she had to be careful, as it was a long fall. And she knew that she wasn’t trying to find out how far.

“ I think that I will join you if you don’t mind.” Tessa didn’t want to bother him if he just wanted to be by himself. Because she was trying not to be rude. She couldn’t help but notice the sketch book. It seemed like he was drawing. “ If you want to be by yourself, I can always go.” Even though she wanted to stay. She wanted to give him the choice.

‘ I am Tessa Greene, by the way.” She was just trying to say anything to fill up the space. Tessa was trying to make small talk. Or in this case, she was just trying. She didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Which she knew that she could do.

"Hey Tess," Benji answered, his eyes only rising to offer the girl a smile and pat the ledge beside him. The boy wasn't one for formality and often labeled people with his own nicknames as he saw fit, whether he knew them well or not.

"You're not bothering me." Truth be told, little could bother Benji these days. After the past several years full of changes and ups and downs, the boy was finally starting to find his footing. A solid family that loved him, friends that accepted him for who he was, vices that he hadn't touched in years and a future that finally started to feel like his and not washed in the shadow of someone else.

It made his every day feel a little lighter, knowing that no matter what came up, he always had a soft place to land. Expectations came with it of course, but nothing he couldn't handle. A girl in a pink dress, eager not to disturb was hardly the thing to throw a wrench in his day.

"I'm Benji," he offered lightly, sketching out the details of the worn stone on the tower. "I think I've seen you around here and there." Hazel eyes met her own and he offered her a small smile. "You're not the shy type are you? You've come to the wrong bloke if you were looking for quiet contemplation.

In truth, Benji was a chatter when he felt comfortable, and it was rare he didn't. A natural confidence exuded from him even in the most casual of encounters, mostly led by the fact that he didn't care what anyone thought of him.

It didn’t bother her that he called her Tess. In fact, that was a nickname that was used for her. And it was something that her parents would call her. And she was glad that she wasn’t bothering him. She smiled as she looked at him. “ I am not sure what your name is.” But she was glad that he was offering a seat next to him. And that is when Tessa learned his name.

“ Hello, Benji.” She wasn’t ready to give him a nickname because she didn’t really know him yet. He then mentioned that he had seen her around. “ No, I am not a shy type.” In truth, Tessa was anything but shy. She had tried to keep an active social calendar. “I wasn’t really sure what I was hoping for coming up here. But I do like a good conversation.”

She was hoping to make him feel comfortable. And didn’t want to see like he was bothering her. And it was true that she thought she might be the only person up here. But she liked that there was someone else. Then she wouldn’t be too bored. She then pointed out his sketchbook.

“ Do you come up here very often to draw?” Tessa knew that he must have a talent as that was something that Tessa had never tried. In truth, she knew that she could learn. But she knew that it took some talent.