one foot in the grave, [close friends]

[Sage Campbell]

The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.

This was the single, unanimous thought running through Sage's mind as she peered out of her green eyes. Of course, she wasn't a criminal, and this wasn't a crimescene. It was the place where here childhood stood still. Time didn't sour everything. That was made perfectly clear, watching all the greenery spill out onto the familiar Hogwarts grounds she had roamed as a carefree teenager. Ah, the memories. No matter where Sage wandered, this place would always feel like home to her. Plus, it helped that it was basically like a painting, in the sense that she could come back and look at it a million times, and it would still be the same.

Only the one major difference stood out: the people. It wasn't Sage's seventh year anymore, it was someone else's now. The grounds were no longer filled with the ringing voices of the people she had befriended. '...And then lost contact with.' That little nagging voice in her head echoed. A slight frown appeared on her face. Sure, she up and left the school, and when she came back to finish it up, none of her friends were here. It was just a sacrifice she had to make. But boy, did she seriously wish some of those friends were here right now.

Her eyes continued scanning the horizon and Sage eventually spotted the old willow tree that held her favorite sitting place. She had come out dozens of times to bathe in it's shade, enjoy the conveinent sitting place where she could read a book or two, and more. Sage took a seat and was once again flooded with memories, some more painful than others. Although she had missed this place like a dear, old friend, she couldn't forget all the upsetting things that had also happened to her too. 'Man, I could use a friend right now...'

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[Riley Pearson]

It was weird being back here.
The last time I had been here was quite a few months ago.. actually, it might have been a year already. I was really losing track of time.. But I hadn't spent much time around the grounds. I was pretty much just in the castle, specifically in the hospital wing covering for Madam Pomfrey. I forgot how nice it was out here. Looking around though, it was slightly strange not to see any famaliar faces. I sort of missed that. I missed being here, period. Things were just better. Despite the fact that they really weren't all that great. I guess that just goes to show how terrible things have been lately.

So today, the girls wanting to visit hogwarts since they'd be attending a bit later this year and since I was coming here anyway to visit Pomfrey, I just brought them with me. But they were walking around the school with one of the professors, taking a small tour type thing. I wouldn't gone with them, but they insisted that I didn't. So, after talking to Pomfrey for a while, who insited I call her Poppy, I took a walk outside.

After a while of walking, I stopped at a tall willow tree and sat down just taking this time to relax. I didn't really want to think, but what's new with that, right?
I'd been there for maybe twenty minutes, when I heard footsteps coming from the other side of the tree.
My curiousity getting the best of me, I stood up and walked around the tree a bit, seeing a girl sitting there.
.. Sage? I thought to myself, biting my lip slightly, trying to decide if it was her. I thought that it was though..
"Long time no see." I said with a small smile, hoping I didn't just come out of nowhere and scare her or something. I hated when people did that.

[Sage Campbell]

Her head gently leaned against the large trunk of the tree. So many times she had been out here; this was literally beginning to feel like she was back in school again. Hell, she probably would have felt that even more had it not been for the atrocious memories blazing through her mind at the moment. Sage began to think: 'I don't know if having a friend here right now would be a good idea or not. I'm not sure if I'm ready to deal with all the questioning that I'm going to get.' It made no nevermind. Hogwarts was one place that she was almost positive no one she knew would be at. More than likely, all her friends had moved on; they had their own lives to attend to, with more important things than taking a trip down memory lane.

'Exactly,' Sage thought to herself again, 'Running into someone here...I don't know if my emotional state could handle that right now.' She wasn't one to beat around the bush. Sage had known for the longest time that something was wrong with her. She knew it before Jenna had even left. What was wrong with her? Sage wasn't too clear on an answer for that one. Things were just...fucked up, enough said.

Of course, thinking about all this only consumed Sage more into her thoughts. So, when she heard someone talking, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Her head twitched up, looking at the general direction in which the voice had trailed off from. At that point, she froze. She would have thought that her heart had stopped had it not have been for the vegetative mental state she was in. "R-r-r..." Was all she managed to get out; she couldn't breathe, couldn't think. "Riley?" Sage whispered, but the words were very much emphasized.

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[Riley Pearson]

I bit my lip slightly pretty sure I might have scared her a little bit when I spoke. I hated doing that to people... well, sometimes it was fun, but only when I'm purposely doing it. Even though I know that when it was happening to me, I hated it one-hundred percent of the time. So maybe that wasn't the best way to say hi to her.. even if it was an accident.

I listened to her stutter a bit on my name and smiled softly to her as she whispered my name. I nodded a bit, even though I personally didn't think I changed much, so I was just assuming that she would recognize me. Most people from school did. I was slightly curious why she had stuttered though.. maybe she was surprised?
Then again, I'd seen most of them a few times over the last ten years. I haven't seen Sage since Hogwarts. It was kind of funny how we were both here at the same time.

A moment passed and I moved a bit closer, taking a seat on the ground by her. "It's good seeing you." I smiled. "You alright?" I asked as an after thought, since she seemed like she may have been a bit out of it.

[Sage Campbell]

Immediately, she scrambled up off the ground. It wasn't that she didn't want to sit by him, it was just...other things. Panic began to rise in her chest. Sage was definitely right on the money when thinking she wasn't ready to meet and see friends again. A million thoughts began to run through her mind, nearly making her dizzy. 'Get out!' One part of her mind was screaming at her. 'Run, while you still can, you idiot!' But all she could do was just stand there, dumbfounded and stupified. Ever since her "adventures" it felt like her mind had been split in two; one half her rational side, and the other was well...not so rational.

Either way, she didn't know what to do. She felt like a deer who had jumped into the road, staring unmoving at passing headlights that could potentially kill it. Just standing there made the few seconds passing by feel like hours. Sage made a choice though, and that was to hightail the fuck out of there. Sticking her hand into her pocket, she began to fumble for her wand. At that moment, her jaw could have dropped if it wasn't attatched by bone and cartilage. Her eyes flickered to the spot where she had been sitting momentarily and of course, there was her wand, laying in all its glory on the grassy ground. 'Shit...' She thought anxiously.

All she could do now was continue to stand there like a bump on a log. Sage's nervousness severly showed through; her body was shaking slightly and subconciously she was biting her lip to a point where it was about to bleed. "You...uh. Yeah, you too." A voice that wasn't hers managed to stutter out. There was no way she was brave enough to just run away. She would have to stay and play this out, nervous as hell. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad as she thought it was going to be.

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