Roxroy lay on his stomach in one of the alcoves of the garden. There was still a deep chill in the air so he'd set up a perimeter of warmth using runes- making the alcove a little bubble of perfect temperature. One of his new books was laid out in front of him- showing the intricacies of how wands were shaped and cut to length based off of the cores inside and other wood properties. This book had cost him a pretty penny- but it was worth it. There hadn't been many of these printed when it came out, and finding it had been a total surprise- albeit a pleasant one.

Fingers of his left hand turned the page, fingers of his right hand brought a joint to his lips and he inhaled deeply. His parents weren't the fondest of his smoking gillyweed- they worried it would make him lose interest in his studies- but more than anything it helped. Rocky's mind was wide open when he smoked and he had all of the best ideas and epiphanies about the wandmaking shop he'd have one day. He kept a journal full of ideas specifically for his future- full of random wand combinations, shop names, organization- everything you could think of.

Rocky flicked the ashes from the gillyweed cigarette and rested it on top of a nearby stone. He turned his head left and right, cracking his neck loudly, and sighed. This really was the life, relaxing in the gardens with a book, with gillyweed, and a bag filled with foods nicked from the kitchens and a thermos full of coffee. Roxroy marked the place in his book and grabbed one of the snacks out of his bag before rolling over onto his back to look up at the sky. It was remarkably clear given the time of year- not that he was complaining. Rocky bit into the oversized peanutbutter cookie- shaking his head a little when crumbs fell on his face- and closed his eyes against the sun.

He didn't have long left in his final year of Hogwarts. NEWTs would be coming up soon- and after that he'd be a true blue wizard, a real adult, totally grown up. Rocky still needed to figure out where he was going to live- he wanted to be in London since he was planning to apprentice and work with Ollivander over the summer. If he was allowed to, anyway. He still needed to send off some owls about that. It was an important part of The Plan to learn from Ollivander and work in a wand shop for a while before he'd be able to even consider making wands of his own or even opening a shop.

Rocky heard foot steps on the stone pathway of the garden. He opened one eye and saw a familiar Gryffindor and smiled. " 'Lo Soph," he greeted with a lazy wave- speaking around a mouth full of cookie. "Cold out there- come sit down with me, share my cigarette, enjoy the warmth in my little alcove."

February had long been Sophie's least favorite month. Spring felt so far away and everything was wet and dreary in Scotland. In fact it had been wet and dreary and disgusting that very morning, but skies had broke for a moment and the sun was streaming down. She doubted it would last long and vowed not to waste the entire day inside fretting over upcoming tests and a nagging feeling everything was going to go to shit soon. She'd been having strange dreams of being trapped in a maze but she wasn't herself. It reminded her of those crime dramas her father had always been such a fan of but she hated down to her bones. She didn't need any help having terrible dreams.

The only answer was to take a walk through the gardens. It was nice to walk along the path and remind herself though everything seemed dreadful or dead that in a matter of weeks Spring would be upon them and the flowers would bloom once more. Maybe that's why she liked Spring, it always seemed to keep it's promises. That sounded so dramatically cliched in her own head she actually snorted aloud and shook her head at herself. When had she become such a mopey pessimist? It was more than a little disheartening really. She'd always been full of mischief and vigor but as winter wore on she found herself more content withdrawing from the people and hobbies that sustained her the rest of the year.

She hadn't actually been paying attention to where she was going until she heard Rocky's voice and felt her lips tick up in a small smile. Sometimes the Fates knew exactly what you needed even when you weren't really sure what you wanted. Rocky was like a little sunbeam, or maybe more like a cat stretched out in a sunbeam - either way. He reminded her a little bit of Eli or maybe Eli sprinkled with a generous dose of Marco? Whatever it was she always enjoyed being around him. There was a stillness to his nature that was very calming for the often overwrought Flickwick. Which was why she didn't hesitate to join him in the warmth of the little alcove and pick up the rolled cigarette, arching an eyebrow at him, "Aren't you ever worried about getting caught? McGonagall would skin you alive." Of course knowing that (coupled with the fact she'd smoked about 4 times in her life) didn't stop her from placing the joint between her lips and taking a sizable pull.

Roxroy shrugged when Sophie mentioned McGonagall. "I might get caught," he agreed. "Then again, I might not. Besides, I'm not making any trouble. Just out here studying and having a cigarette. I'm sure McGonagall and everyone else has a lot more important things to worry about than that." Rocky gave her a lazy smile and a conspiratoral wink. "And I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about you telling on me."

He sat up and grabbed his bag, nudging it over to her. "I've got snacks, too, if you're hungry," he told her as he finished off his cookie. Rocky took the joint back from her and took another pull himself, coughing a little as he exhaled. "Cookies, pastries, sandwiches- little bit of everything. You know how the house elves can be when you ask them to pack you a few snacks. They always go overboard." But Roxroy liked the house elves either way. They were funny creatures and always very nice and accomodating. He did his best to be polite to them- even if a lot of other witches and wizards saw them as nothing more than servants.

"Glad for the sun to be out for once, aren't you?" he asked. "It's been raining for weeks it feels like. After spending summers in the Caribbean or in Portugal it makes it hard to come back to Britain sometimes. You'd probably like the Caribbean, Sophie. If you've never been, you should go sometimes. The waters are so blue and the people on the islands are so nice." Rocky handed the joint back to her after he took another small toke. "Haven't been seeing you around as much lately. Busy with studying or just hiding from everyone?" he asked.