The Day I Poked A Dust Bunny ((Kris))

[Kia Brightstar]

You remind me of the baby. What baby? The baby with the power. What power? The power of voodoo. Who do? You do. Do what? Remind me of the babe... I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry. What could I do? My baby's love had gone and left my baby blue. Nobody knew: what kind of magic spell to use? Slime and snails or puppy dogs' tails. Thunder or lightning. Then baby said dance, magic dance, dance, magic dance. Kia hummed along to the song blasting out from her WWW and grinned, unconsciously starting to dance and earning several strange looks from the other students in the student lounge. Not that the looks bothered Kia much. She had earned too many to count since she had arrived in her first year and would undoubtedly receive many more in the years to come. "Hey," Kia glared in response to a particularly insulting comment passed between two younger students and stopped dancing to respond. "Growing old is mandatory; no one said anything about growing up! So if you want to grow old and be miserable at the same time then you can keep glaring and throwing around derogatory comments in an attempt to appear mean but don't expect me to put up with it!" One last dirty look and a stink bomb fished from her bag and thrown over her shoulder toward the two students and Kia was gone.

How dare they say such things just because she was attempting to have fun? Kia fumed silently as she strode through the corridors to the grounds, heading for a place that had made her feel secure and calm since she had discovered it late in her first year. True, it was only a tree -and quite an old tree at that - but something about just made her calm down, no matter what injustice had been wreaked upon her world at the time. Darn it, Kia scowled and whirled around before changing her mind and whirling around again, continuing her previous route to her tree. She had left her WWW in the lounge but no matter. She was fairly sure that no one would steal it and even if they did...well, that's what spells for for. Besides, who would want to steal a radio? It was simply ridiculous. Anyway, Kia simply didn't have the energy nor the inclination to go back for it. If anyone was stupid enough to steal it then they'd find a hex on it, courtesy of her dad. Good old dad, he always thought of everything. Even if he was a little paranoid.

Kia slumped down to the ground and leaned against the tree wearily, her good mood of before utterly disappeared thanks to those idiotic students. "Wait," Kia frowned slightly, not even realizing that she was talking out loud. Not that she would have cared if she had known. "Why am I letting two little pipsqueaks ruin my happiness? That's absolutely stupid!" Kia jumped up, faking the energy that she didn't possess in an attempt to get herself back into the cheerful mind frame of before. "Dance, magic dance. Dance, magic dance. Dance, magic dance. Put that magic jump on me, slap that baby and make him free! I saw my baby, trying hard as babe could try..." The song trailed off slowly as Kia noticed a small object on the floor next to the tree. Sure, it wasn't unusual to find objects next to a tree - students often forgot things and had to return later - but this object looked like it didn't belong. It looked like... Kia leaned down and poked the object just to make sure. Yes. It was most definitely a dust bunny. How curious. "Curiouser and curiouser." Kia blinked in confusion, "how can a dust bunny be outside?"

((The song being Magic Dance by David Bowie. A song that I highly recommend and a reason that actually brought this post so quickly. *sighs and giggles* Just don't hurt her too much for poking Andy. Your characters seem to have a fondness for attacking Kia ))

[kris]

((Not my fault that you always offer her to be tortured! And I warned you to stay away from Andy. For those who don’t know – this is Andy the Dust Bunny.))

Kris was outside yet again. Which could only be guessed as the weather was fantastic. Or actually the weather didn’t even matter that much as Kris could often be found outside in completely dreadful weather too. But it was warm today so Kris had pulled on his black jeans that were worn in comfortably by all the times Kris had been out in the forest or running and playing with his dogs. And a thin black T-shirt, the fabric soft on Kris’s skin as he walked outside. He didn’t have much of a purpose today other than lounging. He didn’t want to stay cooped up in the castle, Cleo was studying for her OWLs and Kris didn’t feel like finding someone else to socialize with. He could easily entertain himself so here he was touring the Hogwarts grounds. He had taken a rather long walk with Morrigan perched on his shoulder and Andy in his pocket. About a mile and a half away form the castle to where some quite curious rocks or very old pillars had been erected once and back. Kris sometimes wondered if there was anyone in the whole school who could compete with him of all the knowledge about what was on the Hogwarts Grounds and in the Forbidden Forest. Kris doubted that there would have been anyone who could have bested him at that while he could still see, but with practice and common sense Kris still roamed quite freely on the grounds. A child of the wild so to say, even though Kris wouldn’t have given up the comforts of civilization either. He wanted the best of both.

But the sun was still heating up his hair - the black colour of it warmed quickly forcing Kris to always keep an eye out to avoid getting a headache form the sun during summer, even though he never got sunburns – even though the light breeze was cooling him off nicely enough so Kris turned towards the lake once he got nearer to the castle again. He didn’t want to go into the castle just yet. Stopping near an oak Kris pulled Andy the dust bunny out of his jeans-pocket and put the creature on the ground. Even Kris still smirked every time with humour at the fact that he had pretty much adopted a dust bunny. How many people could say they had done that? But Andy was quite special. Kris had stumbled on him in a hallway and the roll of dust had taken a liking to him as someone with a morbid sense of humour had shaped the dust to look like a bunny before using a golem transfiguration spell most likely to animate the bunny. Kris had been amused enough by the concept that he had taken the dust bunny along and then he had gotten attached. So with a potion he bought (even if it came slightly from the black market) and a spell Kris had turned the animation of the bunny’s movements permanents. So not he had one more pet. Not like he hadn’t had more than plenty before. But Kris didn’t mind. Besides while Andy was quite amusing, Kris was still glad he couldn’t speak. Considering the energy of the dust bonny – maybe the potions had been a bit strong for it – if he could talk he would chatter anyone’s ears off. But now Andy evidently wanted down so Kris put him near the tree and cast a quick spell around the three with a 3 feet radius. He didn’t want Andy to wander off on his own and the minor charm Kris used would only influence him.

Leaving the rabbit Kris himself moved further towards the edge crouching down at the water-edge and touching the water with his fingers. It was warm so Kris grimaced dropping the idea of going swimming. Considering the temperature of the water which might have been about 15 or 16 by Celsius it would feel like swimming in lukewarm soup for him. Kris preferred colder water so perhaps he would stop by the Room of Requirement later on and have it turn into a colder pool where he could swim a couple of rounds. Morrigan seemed to be completely satisfied with the water however so Kris let the black kitten play a little with her paws in the water. After about 5 minutes had passed Kris stood again and stretched. Letting Morrigan hop onto his shoulder again Kris took his walking cane into his left hand and turned to fetch Andy too. Only to hear a voice as he neared the tree. A sneer rising to his face immediately the flick of his wrist that made his wand appear in his hand was almost automatic. No one – NO ONE – made fun of Kris’s pets, even if they were as pathetic as Andy. “Do back of and quite immediately,” Kris snarled as he walked closer and after a few more long strides felt Andy start bouncing on the ground and on his legs from time to time in a weird greeting-dance while Kris mentally tried to make her black sunglasses look menacing as he couldn’t very well glare at whoever it was anymore, could he?”

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia smiled curiously, poking the small roll of dust yet again. It was a dust bunny! How utterly cute! But...who would put a dust bunny by a tree? Inside would be the most reasonable, and certainly expected, place to see a dust buny...but outside? It must belong to someone but...who would adopt a dust bunny? It would be a cute pet but a rather strange one. That almost instantly ruled out the Slytherins, surely. Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors...well, sure. They might take a fancy to such a cute and unique pet, but the Slytherins and Ravenclaws? Not a chance, surely! A cool breeze wafted around and earned a smile of gratitude. Today was almost too hot which, considering Kia's adoration for the heat and the sun, was quite a strange thing for her to think. The dust bunny moved and Kia barely restrained a surprised jump backward. Someone had even charmed the dust bunny to move? How strange but, yet again, how cute. Kia giggled, straightening up to look around for the owner of this extremely unique pet. No...no one in sight who looked like the owner of a dust bunny. But really, how could one identify the owner of a dust bunny? Would the person have specks on dust on their clothes or something of the sort?

A voice sounded from behind her and Kia stood up, turning around to see who had told her to back off. She groaned almost inaudibly as she recognized the boy. Not that Kris Graas would be hard to recognize. Surely everyone knew of him and his black furball, Morrigan. Just her luck. Two encounters with two different Slytherins in just a matter of a few weeks. Almost three years of practically no contact with Slytherin but now, in only a few weeks, she would have faced two Slytherins and angered them without even realizing it. What fun this was sure to be. At least this Slytherin couldn't put her off her favourite fruit, Kia comforted herself silently, trying to banish the fear that swamped her before she had to face the Slytherin. The dust bunny started to dance and Kia stifled a giggle, realizing that now wasn't exactly the best time to giggle but finding the sight so hilarious that she couldn't completely stop the laughter from escaping.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright? I didn't know that the dust bunny was yours and I was just curious. I didn't realize that curiousity was a crime." Kia snapped defensively, angered by the boys order for her to back off immediately. She wouldn't have harmed the dust bunny nor would she have moved him. She was just curious, as would anyone have been had they been in her position. Still, her previous encounter with the Slytherin who had refused to name himself had taught her some caution and had forced her to grow up a bit and so she inclined her head politely, ignoring the fact that the Slytherin wouldn't be able to see the motion, and gentled her tone from the harsh, defensive tone of before. "I'm sorry. I would not have harmed your bunny and I wouldn't have moved him. But you have to admit that finding a dust bunny outside is a rather strange event and that anyone would be curious if they were in my position." Kia hesitated for barely a second before taking a step away from the dust bunny obediently. She would move away a small amount but she wouldn't let this boy chase her away from her favourite spot in all of Hogwarts. She had done nothing wrong and so she was under no obligation to move.

((I know I always offer her up to be tortured but she does need to grow up and this is the easiest way of doing making it happen without killing one of her family. *ponders* That might not be such a worthless idea actually but for now it's easier just for you to torture her. ))

[kris]

Kris wasn’t even sure why he was so bothered about this silly little girl. And the voice that had responded to him let Kris know that much. Some younger girl who had the sense to apology before having the gall to start proving her innocence which completely ruined the point of the apology. Definitely not a Slytherin. Maybe it was stereotypical of Kris but he would have rather imagined a Hufflepuff staring at him shocked speechless or fainting or just fleeing. And Ravenclaw just might be smarter to not approach something as unordinary as an animated dust-bunny or they would have backed off without trying to prove something to themselves. Kris silently groaned at the misfortune of most likely running into a Gryffindor. Just his luck, wasn’t it? The one thing that could ruin the moment as Kris wouldn’t give the girl enough power over him to ruin his mood or the rest of the day. “Didn’t you know? It’s almost a shame that it wasn’t something that would get rid of that nose of yours. You’d think that even idiots would learn to not approach objects or creatures out of their place, especially after the last Death Eater attack on Hogwarts,” Kris told with a sneer towards the where the girl’s voice had sounded, “While others might have been curious they would have had more common sense to not approach Andy.”

Kris crouched down laying his walking cane over his bent knees gracefully as he had had months to practice the movement. At the moment the cane was only going to be an hindrance yet Kris didn’t know for sure how quickly he would need it later on so he wanted to keep it where he could grab it any given moment. Reaching out his hands Kris placed his tongue behind his upper tea and made a weird chirp-ish sound that Andy seemed fond of as Kris had discovered. As expected the dust-bunny came bounding over and a few moments later Kris had already grasped his body and picked the bunny up his fingers gliding over the bunnies body as Kris smoothed the dust to settle down evenly again. The potion Kris had used on Andy had made sure that he didn’t drop off dust anywhere, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be taken to pieces. And this girl had almost succeded in punching holes into his body Kris discovered with his jaws clamping.
“And what gave you the gall to poke something and cause it bodily harm however unfleshy it is?” Kris asked in a low purr, the voice coming from deep in his voice as he drawled the words out softly. A tone of voice that clearly stated that Kris was much angrier than yelling or throwing a fit would. If Kris threw a fit then he was most likely merely acting, yet this tone carried a warning most people didn’t understand until it was too late.

Kris rose himself to stand slowly. If the girl was younger than he was, then there were good chances that she was also shorter than Kris’s own 6 feet and Kris was going to use that to the best of his abilities. His shoulders just a little backward, head tilted slightly back, the right hand holding Andy before his stomach so that the elbow angled and the left one (as Kris could use both of his hands equally well. A weird twist of nature) stretched a little bit out with Kris’s wand pointed towards where the girl had spoken from. His legs slightly apart, with one of the legs backwards Kris loomed threateningly in one position with a sneer firmly in place, “Why don’t you let me demonstrate you exactly how it would feel? Morsus spiculum!” Kris stated with an angry movement of his wand after casting the hex. Scorpid sting. IT wasn’t an overly harmful hex really, it just hurt almost up to tears – Kris knew that much from personal experience - as the pain flashed through your stomach as if a scorpion had just bit you. Minus the effects of the poison of course.

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia took another step back at the boys words, unconsciously cowering against the trunk of the tree. He was scary, even scarier than the other Slytherin from the kitchens. Honestly, what was with Kia and annoying the Slytehrins lately? She opened her mouth to protest her innocence again but closed it without saying anything. Nothing she could say would ever make a difference to the boy, so why should she even try? Not that she didn't deserve his anger toward her, as she discovered when she thought back over his words. Bodily harm. Kia flinched and bowed her head shamefully. She had meant no harm to the poor dust-bunny and yet it seemed that she had. Unless Kris was lying but why should he? That wouldn't be logical and Kia was coming to rely more and more upon logic. No, she must've harmed the dust-bunny and so Kia would face up to that fact by accepting whatever punishment was going to be dealt out to her.

And that was a decision that Kia almost regretted as pain flashed through her and she bent over double in a weak attempt to ease the pain before the pain vanished and she was able to straighten up. Sure, she had seen the curse coming and would have had the opportunity to escape but she felt that she deserved the pain that she had unknowingly inflicted upon Andy. A penance of sorts. "I'm sorry," Kia sighed, bowing her head yet again and letting the words escape as a quiet whisper before turning around and walking away, unusually silent and seeming older than her thirteen years of age. Maybe it was time to grow up after all. Time to stop acting before she thought and time to think over her future. Though if she didn't stop annoying the Slytherins, it seemed highly doubtful that she'd even have a future. So consumed in thoughts that were much deeper than her usual flighty laughter and bouncing, Kia didn't even realise that she had grown up more in a few weeks than she had in three years. Sometimes it just took a sharp jolt of reality to make a girl grow up, even just a little.

((*dances and huggles a Spiderman plushie* You made her grow up! I actually thought that it would be impossible but you did it! *throws red glitter and confetti*))