Classes finished for the day, Eli made his way to the Gryffindor common room to change into more comfortable, but still fashionable and very cute, street clothes.  He threw his story journal and various writing utensils into one of his many collectible Hello Kitty bags and selected his favorite pair of colorful shades.  Putting them on, Eli checked his appearance in the mirror, waved to his reflection, and then quickly exited the Gryffindor tower, not wanting to waste the late afternoon sun and nice weather that had graced the  school that day.

Eli didn’t have long before he would leave Hogwarts and enter the world as a working adult.  The problem was, he wasn’t sure what that meant.  He knew what he wanted to do; he wanted to write, but he wasn’t sure in what way he wanted to utilize his literary skills.  Write for a newspaper? Magazine? Be a freelancer? Write a book?  There were many possibilities facing him, and Eli just couldn’t make up his mind.  His father had told Eli that in whatever field of writing he decided to take, it would be practical of him to have examples of his work to present to possible employers. 

The Gryffindor had agreed with his pops.  Eli wasn’t always the kind of person to plan ahead, but when it came to matters like his possible future career, he knew when to step up and take initiative.... Which is why he decided today was a fabulous day to go outside, crack open his journal, and start writing.  Eli quickly spotted his favorite leafy tree and cheerily skipped on over and plopped himself down underneath it.  He pulled out his journal and stared at the empty white pages.

Ten minutes later, the journal had been pushed aside and Eli was pointing his wand upwards at the leaves on the tree.  He had decided his surroundings were too dull, so he was going to change things up a bit by coloring leaves!  So far he had a patch of pink leaves, a patch of blue, and working on a patch of purple ones.  Colors were so much fun!  Eli smiled to himself as he colored a few more leaves purple.  Some students passing by starting pointing at him and whispering.

“What? Got any color suggestions?” Eli asked, startling the students, making them continue on their way.  “Yeah, yeah, just walk away.  Blah blah blah.  No one at this school has any taste these days...”

Heliotrope liked to swim during her free time. The wether was getting warmer which aided her energy levels. As classes were done she headed straight for the lake, content to discard her bag and clothes down to her swimsuit and take a dip. She was doing these routine sooner because the professors advised that the students increase their studying to revise before exams. Heliotrope asked what this was and rereading her textbooks was one of the answers. Heliotrope could stay on task better after a swim.


Heliotrope paused. There was a very asian looking older boy sitting under a tree with multicolored leaves. He was asking passerby for colors. Heliotrope stared at him and then at the tree. Her translucent eyelids blinked. She had never seen anything like this before.

Was it really that odd to see a person changing the color of leaves?  Maybe it wasn’t really considered a common practice, but this was Hogwarts was it not?  Plenty of strange things went on here on a daily basis that would make his current activity look like a silly children’s magic trick.  If Eli had been changing the leaves’ color in say... a park full of muggles, then, yeah, he would expect the strange looks he was currently getting and much more.  But this was Hogwarts. And now Eli was terribly worried about the direction the next generation of students were headed if they couldn’t get a little joy out of simple a multi-colored tree.

Eli finished the patch of purple leaves and let out a sigh, letting his eyes take a break from looking up by scanning the surrounding grounds.  His gaze met a young girl’s.  Instead of looking judgmentally at his art project, she seemed rather awed by it.  Finally, someone who enjoyed his efforts! 

The Gryffindor waved in her direction, motioning her to come closer.  “Do you have a favorite color?” He asked, smiling.

The boy motioned her forward. Heliotrope thought she better introduce herself. "Hello, my name is Heliotrope LeJean." This greeting had been memorized by her since entering the wizarding world. For a while she had worn it on a nametag.

She plucked off one of the leaves, a periwinkle blue that made her think of water reflecting the sky. She ran her fingers along the leaf. It didn't feel different.

As the girl approached, Eli was expected her to respond to his question about her favorite color, however, she introduced herself instead.  As normal as her introduction was worded, it had a slight robotic-like sound to it as if it was something the girl had practiced saying multiple times.  Eli automatically assumed then that she wasn’t a person of many words.  She had said her name, yes, but had failed to answer his question which was a little off-putting to the older boy.

“Uh....yeah, okay....” Eli mumbled out loud before looking back at the girl, “Hi, Heliotrope.  I’m Eli.”

Eli then watched as she reached up and took a blue leaf off the tree.  Was that supposed to be a sign to him that periwinkle blue was her favorite color?  Was that supposed to be the answer to his earlier question?  Nah, he was just over thinking what the younger girl was doing.  She looked like she was just curious about the colored leaves.

“So, Heliotrope...” Eli paused, “Do you mind if I call you Heli?”

Heliotrope's mind tended to delay at times. As she fingered the blue leaf she realized that the boy asked her for a color and while he name was a color (she'd found out recently) it wasn't the color color he was looking for.

"I don't know what to suggest for a color. Down in the lakebed the only colorful thing is Magenta Kelp."

She moved to the trunk of the tree, feeling its texture. Then the nickname triggered.

"Heli?" she repeated. "Heli, Heli..."

"I don't know what to suggest for a color. Down in the lakebed the only colorful thing is Magenta Kelp."

"The most colorful thing is just that?!  Wow, doesn't sound like a very pretty place if the only colorful thing you have is magenta kelp...." Eli remarked.  Actually it sounded like a very dull place.  Somewhere he probably wouldn't want to be considering Eli was not only a lover of colors, but he was indeed a very colorful person himself.  Not that Eli had any future or current plans to pay a visit to a lake bed.

"Um..... wait.  How much time exactly do spend down in the lake bed?  Are you some kind of water addict or something?" Eli asked, letting his words fly out his mouth without thinking ahead, "Can I suggest something?  How about hiring an interior designer?  I'm sure someone could help pretty-up the lake bed!"

"Um..... wait.  How much time exactly do spend down in the lake bed?  Are you some kind of water addict or something?" The boy looked very confused.

"Any time that is not for class, for meals, or for sleep," Heliotrope replied. "Addict?" She hadn't heard of that word before.

He continued. "Can I suggest something?  How about hiring an interior designer?  I'm sure someone could help pretty-up the lake bed!"

At least on coming to live in a castle she had learned the difference between interior and exterior. "An 'interior designer' would need to get to the bottom of Loch Lomond with pretty-up plants."

After recalling her limited knowledge of economics, Heliotrope continued. "We Selkies don't often trade with wizard gold."

When Heliotrope mentioned being a Selkie, a lot of things started to click in Eli’s mind. So she was part Selkie? Well that explained why she spent so much time in and around water.  It also explained the fact that she seemed a bit unused to English and things in the outside world in general. 

“Ahhhh, so you’re part Selkie?  That’s interesting.  I don’t think I’ve ever met a half-Selkie before.” Eli mused thoughtfully.  He pointed his wand up at the tree and turned a patch of leaves an aqua blue color.  That was the color he most associated with large bodies of water despite the fact that most were more of a murky brown color.

“I’m sure it would be possible.  We are surrounded by wizards and witches.  I’m sure one of them knows how to transport things underwater for permanent keep,” He grinned, “As for the gold, well, I’m sure there are things that Selkies have than can be traded...  Just an idea.”

A leaf by Heliotrope turned the tint of sky reflecting off the water. She plucked this too and felt it. Her uniform was beginning to get uncomfortable since her body expected to be in the water by now. But she was still entranced with the leaves.

Not hearing what Eli was saying, she removed her school vest, shirt and tie, down to the single strap one piece lycra she wore under everything (the other shoulder strap gnawed off by a hippocampus). With some skin free, she leaned back against the tree. Liking the texture, she slid down into a sitting position, bark scratching at her back, until she was splayed next to Eli. She was still looking at the charmed leaves in her hands.