Be Wary

James walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, sketch book and pencil in hand. He hadn't been outside in a long while, and since there was still a few hours before it was time to be in bed, he decided to take the time and wander around outside.

It was a little chilly outside, so James wrapped his coat around him tighter as so, to keep the warmth closer to his skin. He searched along the edge of the trees, and found a spot on the snow covered ground to sit. He pulled out his wand and cleared a small spot of the snow and sat down.

Opening his sketch book to a new page, he stared at the trees and the different scenery before him and started to draw. He loved to draw. Drawing was what gave him his peace of mind.

He was maybe half way through drawing a tree, before he heard footsteps approach him. He quickly started to pack up his things when a voice spoke.

Coyota walked through the snow-covered grounds, her hands buried deeply in her pockets. She shivered as she drew to a stop, wondering why she had decided to come out here in the first place. Certainly, there was little for her to do, but then, she enjoyed being out in the cold air. It woke her up better than just about anything else.

She was about to head back inside when she noticed a figure making it's way around the border of the Forbidden Forest. Intrigued, and looking for an excuse not to go back inside, she headed towards it. As the girl got closer, she noticed that it was a boy who was sitting by one of the trees, and he was one of her housemates.

She couldn't quite remember his name, so instead she greeted him with a question. "What are you doing?" As usual, it came out much harsher than it was meant to.

James looked up when a girl's voice asked him what he was doing. He stared up at the girl, and recognized her as one of his fellow class and housemates, though he didn't think he knew her personally.

"I was just drawing." he replied gesturing to the sketchbook in his hands. "Would you like to see?" he asked patting the spot next to him on the ground.

She seemed like a nice enough girl, so James didn't think there was any harm in asking her to join him, besides, maybe he could make a new friend.

Coyota bit her lip at the request, pausing to rub her arm and look down at the boy in uncertainty. Then she shrugged, "Why not," and sat down next to him, "My name's Coyota, by the way". Surely there was no danger in this. The boy seemed harmless enough and, so far, no one at this school had taken a knife out on her.

Her eyes scanned the picture, and she smiled softly, "That's really good. Where did you learn to draw like that?" She asked, looking up at the boy again.

James smiled when the girl sat down next to him. At least she didn't think he was totally repulsive, that she couldn't even sit next to him. "Coyota, that's a really cool name. I'm James." he said holding out his hand to the fellow Slytherin he now knew as, Coyota.

He looked back down at the page filled with drawings of trees and otehr scenery that surrounded him. "I don't know actually, I guess I've just had a lot of time on my hands to practice." he replied to her question.

It was true, James found that as a child he always seemed to have a lot of spare time to do whatever he wanted. His mother had died giving birth to him, and his father was always away at work, or out with colleagues. So when James was a lot younger, before he went to Hogwarts, he always found time to draw.

Coyota gave a small laugh, "Well, who says it's any better than James? Personally, I like that name a lot better." She shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you."

The girl tilted her head as she continued to look at the picture, gradually noticing the slight details that made it so impressive. She nodded, "I suppose practice really does make perfect." She bit her lip. Coyota had always regretted never developing a hobby- something she could do just for the sake of doing it. Maybe... maybe it wasn't too late.

She looked up at James, her eyes hopeful, "Hey... Do you think you could teach me something? I mean, just how to draw something." She shook her head, "But- if you don't want to... that's fine, I totally understand." She felt like she might have been asking too much. After all, the only people who had the patience to teach her anything were being paid by her father, and here she was asking this guy to help her for free.

Laughing lightly, James replied, "It's a heck of a lot cooler than James. I mean as far as I'm concerned, my parents named me after someone they read in the paper."

He watched her as she looked closer at the drawings on the page. "Haha, yes. All it takes is a little patience and time." he said smiling.

James smiled a little wider when she asked for his help. He had always wanted to put his talents to use, and here was the opportunity. But also, Coyota seemed genuinly interested in learning, and James always liked to help others.

So with a nod of his head, he said, "I don't mind at all. Here." he said handing over the book and pencil.

He quickly turned the page he was drawing on, over to a fresh page and said, "Look ahead, I mean really look. For me the trick is to start with the simple lines, the outlines if you will. Instead of looking at the tree itself, look in the spaces, then fill in the details." he explained pointing ahead at one of the smaller trees.