I really, really, REALLY want to destroy something

[kris]

Kris scowled darkly as he stormed through the hallways. Probably her furious glare and the absolutely mean scowl were enough for people to not stay in his way, should the Slytherin badge on his robes not warn them about keeping a safe distance with the absolutely enraged boy. Right now he would pull his wand or even hurt you physically at the slightest irritation. Well, actually Kris didn’t hit girls, but he was in the mood to destroy something today and he would walk out again without feeling any guilt.

Storming out of the castle Kris felt a small bit more content when the doors slammed closed with a loud BANG! after him. Kris made his way towards the lake with long strides, pulling off his cloak and sweater and throwing them carelessly on the cliff that was a bit higher. Pushing off his shoes as well, Kris jumped into the water. Without any heating charm on him the water was absolutely icy. But Kris enjoyed it right now at his current mood. Swimming towards the giant squid to get rid of some of his extra energy. The squid had absorbed enough magic to be a surprisingly intelligent and after Kris had got past it’s shyness, the squid seemed almost glad to see him. When Kris swam to the squid, it usually ended with a couple of bruises for him though, as the uhuge water-animal couldn’t really control all of its strength just yet.

Kris swam and ‘played’ a little with the squid, being brushed into the water and under it for a number of times by the squid but considering the state of fury Kris was in, it was just what he needed.
Finally deciding that he has to get out before getting a frost-bite, Kris swam towards the shore and climbed on the ground once again. Performing a drying and heating charm on himself, Kris used ‘accio’ to get his cloak and sweater from where he had left them. He pulled on the sweater but left the cloak on the ground.
Kris used his wand and a couple of powerful muttered charms, making high walls of magical fire burst out all around him as they danced higher and higher as Kris burned off some of his energy. This was how Kris distressed when he was extremely angry – he destroyed something, exhausted himself physically and lashed out meanly to others. But it worked for him.

Kris had the flames dance and warm him for a good 10 minutes being completely invisible among the flames from time to time. Finally Kris lowered his wand and closed his eyes breathing deeply as the magical flames slowly started to grow lower and fade into nothing without even any burned mark on the ground. Kris breathed the cold air in deeply and stood without moving, barely acknowledging the dully aching bruises he had gotten in the water while playing with the squid, as the last flames were still dancing around knee-high. It had been a lousy week. Actually it had been a lousy week and a catastrophic day so Kris was almost beyond fury already.

((OOC: I’ve had a catastrophic 24 hours. Some things that happened were spraying my ankle, someone stealing my mobile-phone, my printer is broken beyond repair and my computer only lets me access internet and Excel, having destroyed absolutely every piece of work I had stored in my comp. So I am beyond mad. Feel free to join this post – it was created mainly because I needed to rant and get some of it out of my system. But I will be mean if you do, so no harsh feelings as none of it will be personal))

[Samantha Driscoll]

Mad at the world… those were the words to describe Samantha's mood most of the time even if she didn't know it, and even if she just wouldn't admit that she was the one who made life hard for herself with her competitiveness and her constant insistence to be the best at everything she did. She was self-centred and self-absorbed but she couldn’t see that she was reason for all her problems. She was now seated in front of the lake, very early in the morning on Sunday, dressed in a leotard as she had just been practising before breakfast as she often did being a very early riser. Her discarded cloak lay on the ground. She had only worn it to be inconspicuous as she didn’t want people talking to her if she should meet someone, for she enjoyed the cold and hadn't worn the cloak for warmth. She rubbed lotion onto her sore feet enjoying the cold sensation of the grass between her toes and the icy wind on her bare legs. She dropped the bottle and extended her legs before her, then slowly leaned back and lay down on the grass, the plants on the shore shielding her from view. She dipped her hand into the water and closed her eyes, for once feeling at a little peace with the world, and the dull ache in her feet began to subside.

Samantha only had a few minutes to experience that feeling of serenity she seldom enjoyed. She heard the sound of footsteps and suddenly there was loud splash and she felt water on her legs. In a moment she had looked up, her temper flaring up at this sudden invasion of her solitude, her hair falling from the bun it was in as she stared at the lake in surprise. A boy was in there, how he was swimming in the lake when it was so cold she couldn’t imagine. He was not only swimming but… he was… it seemed he was fighting with the squid. Whatever he was doing, he had broken the spell and spoiled her mood, and he had splashed water on her. It did not matter in the least that he could not possibly have seen her to Samantha. She was furious and flabbergasted by the boy's behaviour.

"What the HELL are you doing?" she demanded, standing up completely astounded at the boy's strange behaviour. As he turned around the water continuing to battle with the Squid she recognised him and was a little taken aback. He was a Slytherin, not one she had talked to before, but then she wasn't very sociable at school, and she spent a lot of time studying and reading and practising ballet. This year she had attempted to be a bit more talkative and friendly with her fellow Slytherins, but the result of that was that she had been chosen to become a Slytherin Queen and she hung out with them and hardly anyone else though. Suddenly she realised she had talked to him, well not more than a few words, that time when they were comforting the depressed sixth year in their house.

The boy had not heard her at all. Now he was out of the water and warming himself with a fire by the use of his wand, still having not noticed the angry sixth year. She watched as the flames lowered to his knees then walked up to him. She decided to keep her anger in check for this was a Slytherin and Samantha was always courteous and polite to her fellow house mates. She noticed the bruises on his bare shoulders and she pointed at them and said "You've got a few bruises over here." She looked at him and then suddenly away. She had never been in a similar situation and felt at a loss at what to do. She wasn't angry at him anymore, but just angry because she felt at a loss how to deal with the situation and wished she had just run back to the school, but the boy would have seen her if she had done that and she would have looked rather silly.

((I can delete or edit if you like. If you want me to stay, you can be as mean to Samantha as you like. She deserves it and will probably be just as mean.))

[kris]

Kris had been enjoying the feel of the cold wind on him, when he almost sensed and felt someone approaching. Kris didn’t open his eyes though until the girl, who had approached him, spoke.
Opening his eyes Kris concentrated his piercing green eyes, which still had rage burning in them, onto the girl. It was Samantha Driscoll – a sixth year Slytherin. And one of the Slytherin Queens if Kris recalled correctly.
Kris just shrugged at her comment about the bruises after a moment: “I’ve had worse. Not worth of bothering madam Pomfrey.” Kris hated hospitals and doctors actually, usually healing the natural way, if he couldn’t cast a healing charm himself. It might have taken longer and been more painful that way, but it gave him a chance to avoid all kinds of doctors.

Almost subconsciously Kris’s hand lifted to his side and lower back, where his fingers traced 4 thin white scares on his otherwise tanned skin. They were left my dragon claws, so they would never disappear completely, no matter how much magic would be used.
Kris looked at Samantha, wearing an expressionless mask, as he pondered what she was doing outside. Though Kris knew not to get too curious.
“Did I bother you in some way that made you come over? Or are you needing help with something?” Kris’s voice was emotionless. The words weren’t exactly an apology, but they weren’t offensive either. At least not yet – Kris had enough control over himself not to lash out first. Especially not to a fellow Slytherin and a pure-blood. And as old-fashioned as it may have sound – Kris didn’t hit girls.

Kris narrowed his eyes lightly taking in Samantha. As good as Slytherins were at hiding their emotions, but did Kris just imagine it or was she a bit nervous? Kris didn’t really see a reason why she should be, but he didn’t bother to think about it either as he smirked and picked up his cloak from the ground, throwing it loosely on his shoulders. He wouldn’t be bothered if anyone else saw the bruises on his shoulders, but why attract attention that wasn’t necessary?
Letting the last flames around him die out, Kris turned to look at Samantha once again, waiting for her reaction and answer to his question.


((II'm glad you joined. Adn guess we'll jsut have to see how it all turns out in the end, right? Besides Kris hsa been nice enough lately))

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha watched the boys eyes take her in, and she wondered if he was surprised that her legs were bare in such cold weather. That would be rather funny as he had just jumped into the lake and had a swim and she knew the water had been very cold as she had just had her hand in it. The wind was in her hair and she smoothed it down with her hands, wondering if the boy was as surprised at her presence at the lake dressed in only a leotard as she was by his jump in the lake and battle with the Squid. Hardly anyone had ever seen Samantha except dressed in fashionable robes and with her face made up, as her appearance was something she cared very much about and paid a lot of attention to.

Samantha returned Kris' piercing look at her, her eyes cold and emotionless but she was doing a lot of thinking as she did so. For once her curiosity was aroused and she felt she really wanted to know a bit more about the person she was standing with. Most of the time Samantha didn't care about anyone except herself. But Kris seemed rather unusual, and he enjoyed the cold like her as she could see. He also rose in her estimation of him as he dismissed the matter of his scars although she was quite sure they must hurt and her eyes followed the track of his hands to his back where she could see some others which stood out against his bronzed skin. She wondered what they were from. Very few things left such scars from her experience. She shuddered as she remembered one of the more violent training sessions with her father. None of those compared though with the time he had put the Cruciatus curse on her. She pushed that memory away quickly and looked back at Kris.

She couldn't tell at all what he thought of her from his expression which was rather wooden. "I never require help from anyone," she said, then realised that sounded rather arrogant. "At least, no, not at the moment. I was just startled, for I did not expect anyone to be up so early, and certainly I did not expect that someone to try swimming in the lake either. I was behind those plants over there and you inadvertently splashed some water at me when you jumped in. I did not consider it polite to leave before at least greeting you before I went inside, especially as you are a fellow Slytherin, and then I noticed your scars so I asked about them," she explained. "My name is Samantha Driscoll," she said, realising she had not yet introduced herself.

((OK. )

[kris]

Kris nodded in greeting as Samantha introduced herself: “I know who you are. We met at the Slytehrin table once – barely spoke, but I always recall the names of pretty girls.” The compliment slipped out of Kris’s mouth almost automatically – he was a flirt and pretty much went through girls as he pleased. But Samantha didn’t look bad either, as some Slytherin girls seemed to. Kris eyes her leotard quizzically, but didn’t ask. He loved the cold weather, so it even actually wasn’t his place to question Samantha about it.
“One of the so famous Slytherin queens,” Kris commented dryly. He wasn’t close nor actually talked with the members of the Slytherin Queens but he had seen them once and remembered their names. Although rather thanks to their pure-blooded histories then their so-called little club.

“Cold?” Kris asked noticing Samantha shudder suddenly, “About the swimming – some of the annoying mudbloods irritated me to fury. I did get a good hex on them, but still had spare energy to burn so I swam. The squid is smart enough to not hurt anyone severly and it burned more energy than flying with the thestrals. And I enjoy the cold.” Kris smirked, once again realizing the irony of that statement. Kris lived in Italy, which could get pretty hot during the summer, when he preferred colder weather himself. He usually spend his summers traveling so it hadn’t really became a problem though.

“I’m Kris Graas,” Kris introduced himself with a formal half-bow, wondering if the older girl would recognize the rather famous last name. The Graas family was one of the oldest and most influential line of pure-blooded wizards in France and Italy. Kris’s part of the tree was less known, but Kris’s mother had been killed when he was 5 and his father and had been murdered, when Kris was 12, so he actually already lived alone in the family mansion and even controlled his family-fortune, which would last for a life-time.
“And I’m sorry for startling you. And getting you and that absolutely enchanting costume wet, even though it got me the pleasure of meeting you,” Kris curved one of the corners of his mouth into a grin, “And did you ask about the old scars or the new bruises?” Kris tilted his head – if Samantha asked, he wouldn’t bother to lie. But he wouldn’t give out information otherwise.

[Samantha Driscoll]

"Ah yes, I remember our meeting, though I was not quite so fortunate to catch your name during that time as we were all quite busy comforting Jersey. Thank you," she said, flashing him a smile, surprised at the compliment. Slytherins flattered each other all the time and compliments were just a way of letting the members of your own house know you were aware of their worth, however she did not think it was just a compliment. She raised her eyebrows at the way he mentioned she was a Slytherin Queen. She played with a strand of her hair which had fallen out of the tight bun it had been when she was practising. For once Samantha looked seventeen and not twenty-one. Her doll-like features gave her an innocence that no-one usually saw because of the piles of make-up she usually applied to them. She looked at him in the eye for a moment and then spoke. "Actually I have just been made a Queen this year. I did not belong to the group before that. They wish to purify the wizarding world of those who are not worthy of being a part of it, and I feel the same way, as any proud Slytherin does. So I joined them. I do not think we are better than any of the other Slytherins, but I do think something must be done and I felt maybe we could do it working as a group," she explained. She had never told anyone about that before – but she was trying to open up a little. The boy was a Slytherin after all, though she still didn't recognise him and she was sure she knew all the British pureblood families – so little of them had remained pure to this day.

He had noticed her shudder, and she shook her head no, not sharing with him the reason why she had. She was beginning to see they had quite a lot in common – they both enjoyed the cold and were quick to hex anyone who annoyed them. Her anger had absolutely evaporated and she was still also very curious to know more about him though she would have never admitted that to anyone, even herself. She had never met anyone who talked about 'playing' with the Squid like it was something he did everyday. She wondered who he had seen die. Samantha herself couldn’t see Thestrals – a thing that had annoyed her as she felt they were challenging her somehow.

When the boy mentioned his name the look on Samantha's face was definitely one of admiration. She could feel the pride in his voice. She did not look so emotionless now, but her curiousity had increased. She knew the Graas family – who didn't? She moved a little closer to Kris, smiling. Now this was a person she should socialise with. She knew his family to be quite influential in their part of the world, and Samantha liked knowing people of power. If there was anything better than a pureblood it was one with power, for look at the Weasleys and some of the other purebloods even in her own house, they were purebloods but dull-witted and rather useless to the magical world. When he apologised and called her leotard a 'lovely costume', she knew he was joking, and she laughed, surprising herself. It wasn't that evil throaty laugh of hers, just one with real mirth and amusement in it. "Costume? This is what I practise in," she said, raising one of her eyebrows. She moved closer to him to point at his other scars and said "Well actually I meant the bruises you got right now, but you've made me wonder about those pale ones," she said looking at them standing out against his bronze skin. "How did you get them?" she said, shielding her eyes from the sun and looking back at his face.

[kris]

Kris smirked as Samantha told him about the Slytherin Queens. He didn’t know any of the girls personally and Samantha was the first one of them, with who Kris had actually exchanged a couple of words. But Kris knew enough to not even try to get too close – he didn’t care much about Voldermort and a lot of times Kris just didn’t bother to hex and taunt other houses. But because of that Kris had to watch very carefully what to say and to who.
“I’m proud to be a Slytherin but that doesn’t mean I can’t find ways to use muggles as well as muggle-borns and half-bloods. There are many not too important jobs that they are able to do, so none of the pure-bloods would have to lower to that level. And muggles have some useful inventions,” Kris shrugged off-handedly, not completely always agreeing to the ‘Slytherin moral’, “But naturally I believe that pure-bloods are the elite of the wizarding world.”<br>
Kris smirked as the change on Samantha’s face after he had told his name was visible. There had been people who had tried to manipulate Kris to get closer to his father or his legal guardians or even his family-fortune, which was rather large, so which ever way Kris lived it would last him a life-time and more. So Kris knew most of the ways people used to get close to someone and didn’t fall into that trap easily. But it was probably Slytherin nature that caused people to act this way almost automatically. Kris glanced down at the four scars and smirked looking up once again: “Dragon claws. Had the ‘lucky’ chance to meet an angry female-dragon when I paid for a month to stay at a dragon-tamers camp.” Kris stated simply, deciding not to let any information out without it being required. Kris’s eyes flickered as he recalled the month he had spent at the camp. Because of the dragons being so dangerous the month had cost a lot, but in Kris’s opinion it was worth it.
After his father’s mysterious murder Kris had been on a destructive mode and so he could pretty much say that if something was dangerous, he had tried it. Kris had drank, smoke, picked fights, done extreme-sports. The dragon-tamers camp in Bulgaria had been the changing point – the dragon had attacked Kris, when he stepped into the enclosure and sliced his side and one leg. The dragon’s hard horned face and smart, unblinking eyes still came to Kris’s mind form time to time – the way they had looked when the dragon had looked at Kris after attacking. And then the dragon had pulled Kris to his feet and pushed him out again. No one knew why the dragon had spared the boys life, but for Kris’s mind and thoughts it had changed a lot.

Kris eyes Samantha wonderingly. How far would the girl go to protect her believes and how much she believed in them. After a small bit of hesitation, Kris formed the question in his mind, which would pretty much decide his further behavior, without exposing too much information: “I have a cousin here at school. The grand-daughter of Julien and Meredith Graas and the only heir to their money, book-stores and probably influence as well.” Kris was rich, but that was nothing compared to Meredith and Julien Graas, who were one of the wealthiest families in the whole world, thanks to earning thousands each year from their book-stores and stocks. And Julien was the next most likely Minister of Magic for France and that position paid well as well as giving them even more power.
“However Meredith’s and Julien’s daughter ran off with a muggle, when she was 16 and the outcome was ‘ma cousine’. She was raised by Meredith and Julien from the birth as her real parents are dead, but that doesn’t change the fact she is technically still a half-blood,” Kris wasn’t worried that he would give away too much info about her cousin. She had her muggle-father last-name so Samantha would have real hardships in trying to find out who she was, as only a couple of people besides Dumbeldore, McGonagall, Snape knew about the background of Kris’s cousin. And the few students that knew were Mary – who wouldn’t give out this info easily and some Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. And Kris doubted that Samantha would lower to talk to them and even then find the right people to ask.

“So would you hold her mothers… ‘adventures’ against my cousin or not?” Kris asked after a moment of silence, although she was sure that Samantha knew the hidden question behind Kris’s words. Would Samantha dare to attack her cousin openly for being a half-blood with all her wealth and influence, especially since the pure-bloods position in the wizarding world wasn’t half that strong right now?

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha stared at the lake, listening to Kris intently though appearing not to. She looked back at him to comment on what he had just said, glad that the clouds had covered the sun so that its light was not entering directly into her eyes. She thought a little about her answer and replied a little guardedly. "It is true that there are uses for those of lower status… there is a complication that always arises though when we try to make use of them, and that is that they always want to rebel. They do not want to stay in the positions they should but always seek better positions and jobs, ones they could never have the capability to do well in. That is the reason why the measures one has to take to remind them of that can be somewhat… drastic," said Samantha, saying the last word with relish. She smiled a little to herself, an evil smile that transformed her face making her look like a cat ready to pounce. "As for Muggle inventions, they might be useful to them, but one always has to come up with a solution to their problems. I do not find it intelligent that they are constantly finding new ways to do things. It is the same in the magical world, and we are much quicker at working on new charms and potions. It seems to take them decades and even centuries to come up with inventions they call useful," said Samantha scornfully.

She listened to the story about the dragon-tamers, and her admiration of Kris increased again. She didn’t know too many people who would dare to try and do that, let alone during their vacation. She hoped it didn’t show on her face. True, Kris was a Slytherin and she might think of becoming friends with him, but they had just met. She needed to know more about him, even if what she had heard so far was good. She would have asked him more about his experience with the dragons had he not looked like he was going to ask her a question. He started to talk about his cousin, and Samantha wondered why he was telling her about her cousin. The story was interesting, and she had to say it was not an easy question. "Well, I don't think much of her mother. Your cousin probably wouldn’t agree with me on that though, for she is her mother. However you say she was brought up by your family, and that really is a point in her favour. I wonder what they told her about her mother," she said musingly. "Actually I think your cousin is an exceptional case as the main reason I do not approve of the filth in this school is their lack of achievement and that they are so useless to our world. They can never fit in as your cousin probably does from what you’re telling me. Tainted as her blood is, she might have inherited a lot from her mother's side of the family. What house is she in?" asked Samantha. She made a mental note to ask her parents opinion on the matter and then go with their decision as she always did.

[kris]

“They are muggles and that makes them stand below us. Don’t expect them to be fast and smart enough to work nearly as effectively as wizard – or a witch – would,” Kris said in a lazy drawl, avoiding snapping at Samantha, even though the drawl irritated a lot of people as well, “And I personally like my motor-bike, even though it was created by muggles, before it was charmed by the workers in the Ministery of Magic in Italy.” Kris believed he was better than muggles, but surprisingly he also found muggles tolerable – at least some of them – and amusing. He didn’t voice that opinion loud though, knowing how much trouble it might cause him with the older and more ‘fanatical’ Slytherins.

Kris stared off onto the lake and listened to Samantha’s opinion about her cousin. It put Kris into a hard position as it didn’t give him a complete understanding as to how much Samantha believed into the superiority of pure-bloods.
“Doubt my cousin would mind that comment besides the fact that she doesn’t think muggles are much lower. And she was told the truth about what happened, and she doesn’t care frankly. I think Meredith is more of a mother than a grand-mother to her,” Kris muttered calmly with an unreadable mask on his face, even though his mind was working fast, “And she is a Ravenclaw. Had been a close call, but still.” Kris didn’t bother to mention that her cousin had ended up in Slytherin almost as well. Actually it hadn’t been that quick of a decision where to sort Kris as well – the Sorting Hat had though about Ravenclaw for a moment. Kris certainly had the brains for it, even though he skipped classes rather often, but he still managed to practice enough himself to pass within top 8 students in his year. Maybe that was why professors didn’t give him too much trouble anymore, when he skipped a class.

Hearing a chilling screech coming from the Forbidden Forest Kris smirked rather coldly: “Some aranchid got his prey.” Without any more thought of the huge spider, as Kris was a regular visitor in the Forbidden Forest and didn’t fear most of the animals there, even though he was always cautious of them, Kris’s thoughts returned to the situation he was in. How freely could he step?
Kris decided that it the conversation was interesting enough, so he would have time to go on into the Forbidden Forest later. “Coming back to more interesting matters,” Kris measured Samantha’s leotard quizzically, “Do you mind me asking which practice would require wearing a leotard?” The question was easily asked and not too deep, even though Kris didn’t particularly feel like having a meaningless social chat at the moment. Kris didn’t like social babbling at any time actually, but at least this time he had a rather interesting conversation partner.

[Samantha Driscoll]

"Ravenclaw. That is the only bearable house in this school after Slytherin, they do not have false ideals and stupid misconceptions about nobility, nor do they act like the Hufflepuffs who do not know when they should stick together and when they shouldn't. They also use their brains which is a change from the students in the other houses," said Samantha, Charles immediately coming to her mind, and the anger he usually filled her with coming to. She smiled at Kris to hide the sudden fury and wondered if it would had been different if her brother had been sorted into Ravenclaw instead. That would have been much better than Hufflepuff – no, it wouldn't have. He would still have insisted on befriending the riff-raff he had deemed worthy of his friendship. She pushed thoughts of Charles away with an effort. It was not the time to think about him. She turned her head at the sudden screech from the forest, regarding it with a little more interest than her companion. She did know as much about magical creatures as she did about dark curses. She blamed that on the dim-witted half-giant who taught them the subject. He hardly brought anything interesting to class. She didn’t care if he brought dangerous creatures if they were interesting. But he was too thick and disorganised to know anything about teaching anyway. She was just going to ask Kris if he knew anything about the creatures in the forest when she noticed his lack of interest which aroused her curiosity. He had asked her a question first though so she answered him.

"Not at all, Mr… Kris," said Samantha, thinking it was time they called each other using their first names. As a rule she did not do so till she knew a person a little better, definitely not after just 15 minutes of conversation, but she could tell already that Kris Grass was her sort of person. Very few people were as very few people saw things the way she did. Anyway, that was their problem and not hers. She tossed back her hair which she had just curled the day before she answered his question. "I dance ballet. I usually get in an hour or two of practice every morning, there is hardly anyone up then and I have the whole school to practise wherever I choose," she explained. In truth the reason was she was attempting to make her practice more enjoyable by always try to find a new place to dance. She was a good dancer but she did not put any feeling into her dancing. She did not 'let go' as her ballet teacher always told her to. But somehow she could never do that. She worried far too much about doing every move correctly to try and put any passion into her dancing. "Do you have any other pastimes other than battling with the Squid?" she said, her voice the most pleasant it could ever be, which meant it was just lacking sarcasm and not pleasant in the sense that it was cheerful or friendly.

((Just wondering, you did mean an acromantula right? Like Aragog in CoS?))

[kris]

((According to myths and legends and internet – aranchids are smaller relatives or acromantulas. They are about knee-high only and like to bit their prey and poison them, before wraping them into their net. Acromantulas are supposedly more evil and more aggressive as well. I love mythology and animals, so I know a lot of these kinds of little details. ;D))


“Ballet? That takes a lot of practice I guess,” Kris answered eyeing Samantha curiously, “Must be rather good work-out though. And certainly one of the finer arts. And no-one to bother you with your practicing early in the morning.” Kris could dance ball-room well enough – basically every pure-blood did for formal social events – but Kris had had some extra-practice as well. But ballet was something else and it required a lot of grace, practice, patience and even strength – all qualities Kris appreciated.

“Battling? The squid is just a bit shy, but smart enough to not hurt anyone. He just doesn’t really understand his full strength yet,” Kris corrected. He didn’t think of it as battling, rather playing or swimming with the squid, as the huge water-animal didn’t mean to hurt Kris in any way.
“As for other past-times,” Kris thought about this for a second and sent Samantha a charming grin, that usually melted girl’s heart, as Kris was rather liked by the female side of his age girls, so he had dates in Hogsmeade often enough, ”I guess you could say I like female company, so I visit Hogsmeade rather often. Have to practice martial arts from time to time to be able to get my black belt in summer. Keep my fingers moving well enough to not break my guitar, so I sometimes play that. Visit the Forbidden Forest from time to time – one can encounter rather intriguing sights there from time to time.” It was rather two or three times a week than time to time and that had been going on since Kris’s third year. Kris didn’t feel out of place in the school or at some formal party, but he felt most at home in the wild nature and the Forbidden Forest was perfect for that. During the years Kris had managed to see a lot of different creatures – more than required for the N.E.W.T. level classes actually. Kris found an almost magical contact with most animals easily, so on the whole Hagrid’s classes were a breeze for Kris, even though he usually didn’t bother to be very active. Kris glanced at the forest and decided in his mind to visit it a bit later to relieve some tension.

“You already know I sometimes fly with the thestrals – a small herd lives rather close to the edge of the Forest – a male, 2 females and a year old foal, who loves to wrestle. Only the male carries me out though. Some other animals I know well enough for them to approach me and not mind my touch,” Kris shrugged – he had said enough, but nothing too revealing, “I’ll find things to occupy my time.”<br>Kris looked at Samantha and raised an eye-brow with one more grin: “I think I’ll ask the same question back as well. Anything else interesting to occupy your time besides ballet?”<br>

[Samantha Driscoll]

"It does," she said. Boy did it ever, and boy did Samantha know it. Her sore toes where evidence of that. But she had to admit it did give her grace, and helped her keep her weight down, truth was she was a little too thin because of her long hours of practice, but Samantha couldn't see that. Samantha didn’t think she was beautiful at all, though she would never admit that. She only saw the flaws in her appearance even though she was much prettier than a lot of girls in her year. She raised her eyebrows as Kris talked about the Squid like it was a pet of his and a creature most people were frightened of approaching. If she hadn't just seen him in the lake with the squid she might have not believed him.

Kris told her about his other hobbies, giving her a boyish grin in the process, which she returned surprising herself because it came out naturally. Kris was attractive – that charming grin and the smooth shiny black hair any girl would enjoy running her fingers through were definitely endearing. She smiled at his comment about his love of girl's company. Samantha herself wasn't looking for love but she had had her share of boyfriends. Her relationships had mostly been short flings more for her own self-confidence than anything else – she liked boys telling her she was beautiful and all the other nice things boyfriends said to their girlfriends. It appealed to her vanity and raised her non-existent self-esteem.

"I must say I've never been in the forest a lot myself, though I like learning about dark and dangerous creatures. Almost on your black belt? You must be very strong," she said in a cat-like flirtatious voice, her eyes passing over his arms and then back to look at him. "You seem to like everything that is dangerous, Kris. The Forbidden Forest, martial arts, the Squid… I wish Hagrid's classes were more interesting. He hardly ever brings creatures too class that I find so and when he does he seems incapable of teaching us anything interesting about them or how to care for them," she said, her eyes darkening at the mention of the half-giant.

It was her turn to tell Kris about her own hobbies. "Yes. Ballet is not my main hobby. I like learning all about the Dark Arts, actually defence against them of course in my free time." Samantha did not go into details as she never told anyone how far she had delved and dabbled in the Dark Arts. She was very careful about that and about where she practiced them. Ever since she had turned seventeen she had been practising them even harder than before. "Making Potions is also something else I like doing, though not as much as learning about the Dark Arts. I like knowing about all that is supposed to be stronger than and dangerous to wizards and witches and the way to stop it from being so," said Samantha. "I also like to shop, but then you'll find almost all the females at Hogwarts like to do that," she said, tossing her hair behind her and moving to stand away from the sun. She thought over what Kris had told her and a question popped into her head. "Who did you see die?" she asked. "I can't see Threstals myself though I find them very interesting creatures."

((Wow, I never knew that. It's really interesting. It's funny what you can learn from RPing.))

[kris]

Kris’s grin was almost wolfish. He was a pure-blood and had had a perfect social education, including ball-room dancing and etiquette lessons, so Kris didn’t feel out of place at some fancy ball. He could dance and talk as easily as ever at such social events and even enjoy them. But out in the wild, romping through woods and fighting or playing with different creatures – that was the back-ground where Kris felt most at home. Always had and probably always would.
Kris tried to count how many times he had been punished for being out in the woods, but gave up after a moment, realizing that there had been too many times to count.

“I’ve been going through the Forest since the beginning of my third year, so I know which places to avoid,” Kris answered calmly. He had been drawn to the forest since his first year, but he had known better, that a first year wouldn’t stand a chance in the Forest alone, “There are plenty of places that are nice enough or where there aren’t creatures any more dangerous than an aranchid from time to time and if I don’t know a spell to protect myself from some aggressive creature, then a knife works even better sometimes. And it’s not a matter of being strong but rather having years of practice.”<br>For a brief moment, Kris lifted his left pant’s leg and the sharp steel blade glinted momentarily from between the leather straps holding it in place, before the black silk of his pants shielded the dangerous weapon from view once again, not even giving a hint the knife was there. The knife was made for hunting and it was charmed to never break and to always stay sharp, so the knife was attached to Kris’s ankle at all times, even at night. Kris had learned to throw the knife when he was seven and after years of practice he could hit a moving target with it at almost 300 steps.
Kris glanced towards the dark shadow that the Forbidden Forest created andrecaleld the spring, where a lot of animals went to drink. A small herd of unicorns for example.

“Well, maybe flobberworms seem dangerous to the half-giant,” Kris answered with sarcasm dripping over his words, “Who knows – with all that hair and shabby fur on Hagrid’s coat, the flobberworms might mistake him to a giant bush and try to eat him.”<br>Kris squinted his eyes lightly as he looked over the lake-water and listened to Samantha’s hobbies: “Dark Arts and defence against them. It’s really a shame that the school can’t find any decent teachers for such a necessary subject, so if you want to learn anything good, you have to learn it yourself. Then again, maybe some incompetent Hufflepuffs, that Longbottom guy or younger years would be hurting themselves, if the teacher would teach anything useful.”

Silence fell over the two for a moment as Kris thought about Samantha’s question, before recalling her last question and answering with as calm tone as if they were talking about the weather. Actually, if they had been talking about weather, then Kris would have been bored, so his tone might have been actually holding even more emotion had that been the case: “And I saw my mother die. Seeing thestrals has always been natural to me – here at school as well I had seen some even before.”<br>Kris didn’t bother to specify that his mother had been killed by some aunt, who had gone crazy, in front of Kris’s eyes, when the boy was only 5. At that time Kris had been young enough to not really understand what had happened and he had never been close with his cold and distant mother, so Kris hadn’t missed her either. It really didn’t matter to Kris at all – it might have well been something that happened in some book.

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha found herself wondering what it would be like to go into the Forbidden Forest. She had a certain disregard for rules, which in her opinion could be broken if one was given sufficient reason to do so. She usually didn’t break rules at Hogwarts because she didn't want word to reach her parents. And when she did so, she was very cautious. She had a reputation to uphold. But Kris' enthusiasm was contagious. There was hardly anything in life that Samantha felt that much emotion about. When Kris spoke of the forest it was like he was talking of his own territory, of a place where he belonged completely. Samantha didn’t know if she would ever find a place like that. Even at home, amidst her family and all the many luxuries they had provided for her, subconsciously she didn’t think of it as her home. She supposed when she had her own house and life when she was older she might feel differently. Or would she? She didn’t want to think about that, so she pushed it to the back of her mind, listening interestedly to Kris. "Do you usually go on your own? Have you ever thought of taking someone with you there?" she asked tentatively.

She laughed at Kris' mocking of Hagrid, and then nodded. "It needs a lot of courage to delve into the dark arts and defence charms against them. Not anyone can do that in my opinion. It's a pity we all have to take the class together. I should think that they would single out the people with the most promise and teach them on their own. But then there is room for a lot of improvement in everything at Hogwarts. Dumbledore is better than other headmasters I have heard of, but his choices of staff are ridiculous at times. However I know what I want and I go for it even if our teachers can give it to us. It's refreshing to see someone agree with me. That Hagrid is liked by too many people at the school despite the fact that his classes leave much to be desired." She reached out to touch Kris as he spoke of his mother's death, but removed her hand just as her fingers touched his arm. She didn't want him to think he deserved pity; it was obvious from his personality he would hate her if she did that. His tone devoid of any emotion, but then she didn't know if that meant he missed his mother or not. He seemed as capable of masking his emotions as she was, if not more. He was very enigmatic and mysterious, and it was quite clear he wasn't one to divulge information if he didn't want to. She wondered what her life would have been like without her parents. She couldn't even begin to imagine it; she depended completely on her parents and took their advice for everything she did. "So you live alone with your father? Or did he remarry?" she asked.

[kris]

“I’ve escorted some younger students out of the edge sometimes, when they foolishly run after their cats for example. And I’ve taken my cousin for some quick tours, but I go alone usually,” Kris answered after a moment of thought. A lot of people were dead-afraid of the Forbidden Forest, Kris didn’t bother to take them along or the time didn’t suit the others, as Kris ventured into the Forest during night hours usually, “I’ve been punished for this a couple of times, but I’ll live.” Kris shrugged – to keep Kris out of Forest the teachers would have to shackle him or otherwise give him some task in the Forest or concerning animals, that wouldn’t require Kris sneaking in it.

Kris nodded, inclining that he agreed with most of what Samantha said: “Dumbeldore isn’t half that bad. But there are still things that could change to better. Have to give some credit to our Head of House though.” Kris actually even liked Snape at some level and he certainly respected him.
Kris looked at Samantha ponderingly as she asked about his father. He had been thankful Samantha hadn’t bothered to try and comfort him over something Kris didn’t need comfort over. And he would have disliked it, but it made him think - was the older girl fishing for information or just being curious? It wouldn’t hurt though, so Kris answered.
“My father was murdered 4 years ago,” this time anger flickered through Kris’s eyes, even though it was momentarily shielded again and his voice went colder by only half a tone. Kris hadn’t cared for his mother, but he still missed his father, “Meredith and Julien are my legal guardians. Theorhetically. As I do have complete control over my family-fortune and I live in my family-mansion in Italy with my house-elves. I’ve pretty much been allowed to do whatever I want.”<br>Kris lifted his hand and touched the old family-heirloom around his neck with a storng silcer chain. It dated back for centuries for being carried by the head of the family in Kris's branch of hte family-treee nad after so many centuries it had absorbed osme magic itself as well, feeling always warm to Kris, but soemtimes icy to others.
Kris didn't bring out hte silver ring with a square-shaped emeraly with the family-crest - a snarling wolf satnding over a sword, with the sowrds hilt laying on an open book - but he felt familiar warmth coming from teh ring as he tuched it even through his shirt and wondered if Samantah had seen it earlier or known what it was.

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha thought she might ask Kris to take her with him into the forest, but now, maybe after they got to know each other a little better. She had already decided she wanted him as a friend, but wasn't sure whether he liked her or not. They seemed to getting along fine till now anyway, but he had a way of talking and looking at you that made you feel a bit uncertain of yourself. Not Samantha was letting him get to her. She spoke and acted pretty much that way herself. She smiled at the mention of Snape. "You’re right about that Kris. It's refreshing to see we have at least one capable professor at this school who knows what he's doing. It's more than you can say for almost all the other ones," she said with a smirk.

Finally some emotion showed in Kris' eyes. It was a quick flicker of anger, but it was the most emotion she had seen from him till now. His voice sounded a little uptight, but she could see from his answer why that was so. She liked the sound of the words "I’ve pretty much been allowed to do whatever I want." Kris didn’t seem spoilt, just like someone who knew what he wanted and how he was going to get it. That was the problem so many of her fellow students had – they were afraid to reach for the stars as Samantha wanted to. There dreams were shallow and they lacked any kind of real ambition. That was why she never bothered getting to know half the people at Hogwarts – they were, and always would be, insignificant.

She noticed Kris' hand move inside his sweater to hold something under it. Before he had pulled on his sweater she had noticed a rather strange… well she didn’t know to call it… item hanging on a silver chain around his neck. "Murdered?" she said in a low surprised voice. She didn’t know if he wanted to talk about it, so she thought it best to just say the one word to which he could choose to just nod or tell her a bit more about the story. She hated to admit it, but she wasn't sure about where she was treading right now.

[kris]

Kris half-grinned at Samantha at her one-worded question “Murdered?” It was placed in way that he could answer with just a yes or no if he didn’t want to give out any more information. It was diplomatical and maybe that was why Kris decided he rather liked Samantha. They might still have some different thoughts about things, but over-rally they should get on well enough.
“Murdered, when I was 12. The reasons as to why and who murdered him are still unknown, so I can’t tell you anymore of it,” Kris pulled out the heraldic ring hanging around his neck and muttering a quick incantation freed it off the chain and slipped it on his third finger. The ring gave off a soft green glow for a moment, recognizing it’s rightful master, before resting almost weightlessly around his finger.

Kris raised the ring, so Samantha could see the craving of Kris’s crest in the emerald, knowing it would be enough for any Slytherin to recognize the ring now. These kinds of rings – especially original rings – were rare to come by anymore, but Kris had one. Kris’s own blood-line dated back to the 13th century and even though the ring was about 2 centuries younger, it was still magical having absorbed some of the magic of all the people ever having worn it.
It always influenced Kris as well, when he wore it. He held himself even straighter if it was possible, there was even more confidence in the way he spoke, looked around himself or even held his head. The boy, still visible in Kris sometimes was gone now, being replaced by the man he was or to who he would one day grow to be.

“Upon receiving this ring I made a wizards oath to use the most hurting revenge I can think off on the murderers of my father, whoever they might be – a common bandit or Voldemort himself,” Kris muttered to almost himself, twirling the ring around his finger once while his eyes grew stealy for a moment. Maybe it was because of being grown in Italy and France, where Voldemort’s horrors didn’t touch Kris closely or maybe the fact that his father and later his legal guardians had always spoke the name regularly to him ever since he was a kid that caused the fact that Kris could say the name freely and without fear. Usually wizards were taught to fear it ever since their cradles and so the fear was almost born into them.
However Kris never added the title ‘lord’ to it – in Kris’s opinion Voldemort wasn’t worth it, just as he wouldn’t join Death Eaters himself either. Some had contacted him – Kris’s last name would open a lot of useful doors in France and Italy, so he would be useful.

Brining himself back at the moment, Kris slipped the ring back around his neck and half-grinned at Samantha once again: “But those are dark topics and all about me, when I have such pleasant company with me. How is your family? I think one of your fathers statements was quoted in the Daily Prophet a couple of days back, was it not?”<br>

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha made a dismissive gesture with one of her hands as if to say that it was fine and she didn't mind that he couldn’t tell her anymore at the moment. The feigned disinterest disappeared a minute later though when Kris took out the ring that had been under his shirt and showed it to Samantha. Her eyes widened in surprise, surprise she did not attempt to hide. It was a mark of how astonished she was that she did not do so. Samantha had heard of those rings, seen them in books and heard many stories of the few of them that existed in Britain. "Wo… I mean I didn’t realise your family went that way back," she said looking up at Kris who was looking very smug and proud. Samantha recollected her composure and smiled back at Kris, thinking about the many surprising things she had learnt about him today. She wished she had met more people like him in her past years at Hogwarts; she had had more than enough of the dim-witted students she had to live with and listen to their boring conversations. "I would have felt the same way," said Samantha her eyes narrowing. Her loyalty to her parents and family was very strong and she would go to any lengths to hurt anyone who tried to do anything to them. They were all her life and she depended on them for everything, and it was only fair that she give back all she could. She didn’t flinch when he said the name Voldemort. Samantha might not use it herself in most situations, but she was getting used to saying it now. She agreed with a lot of what the powerful wizard had to say, but she didn't agree with everything. She also didn’t think he had gone about things the right way, if he had how could a little baby boy have stopped him? And not only once, but several times?

Samantha smiled and her eyes lit up with pride when Kris mentioned her father's statements being quoted in the Daily Prophet. "We just opened a new branch for our potion's company in Milan. They make and concoct healing potions and other products for beauty care and such, but mainly healing potions. Dad thought it would be a good idea to open one next to Mum's clothes boutique over there, that way they can see more of each other when they're travelling – they do that a lot to visit the different branches of their companies and boutiques respectively. The Prophet had an article about Dad a few years back; they were doing a series of stories about successful people in the magical world," said Samantha. "They're quite fine, thank you," she ended then suddenly looked down and rubbed her arm. The word family brought Charles to mind, and Samantha really didn’t want to think about him and spoil the good mood she was in. He was not family anymore.

"What are your dreams for the future Kris?" she asked. She was not just changing the subject. She was interested in knowing the answer to the question as she could see he was one of the few people at the school who might actually have some real dreams.

((We should have some fun later on when Kris finds out that Charles and Samantha are siblings. )

[kris]

Kris shrugged at Samantha’s surprise: “I can trace Graas family-line back to 13th century. In France and Italy. There is some small branch in Germany as well I think so somehow the line just kept on.”<br>Kris noticed the pride in Samantha’s voice: “Sounds good. In Milan? Maybe I’ll stop by there this summer then and see what it’s like. I find some use to healing potions, salves and spells. My house-elves always tend to keep a supply of something at home. But if I can buy something with good quality that close from home, then that’s good.”<br>Kris squinted his eyes a little looking over the lake for a moment: “Any other relatives besides your parents? Brothers, sisters?”

“Dreams for future,” Kris muttered thoughtfully, thinking about the question. What were his plans for future? He wouldn’t join Death Eaters, but he wouldn’t become an auror either. Some random job at Ministry wouldn’t suit Kris’s rather wild nature either, as he needed fresh air and physical activities.
“Can’t say that I have many. I certainly won’t pick up some humdrum job at the Ministry and I get annoyed my idiots way to easily to ever pursue a career in politics. One of the bonuses of being independently wealthy – I will never have to worry about getting a job or going broke,” Kris shrugged. It was a difficult question and Kris hadn’t really spent much time thinking about it either, “Travel some time, do what I want. Maybe deal with some magical creatures some more – with griffins or hippogriffs, chimaeras or other creatures like that. With dragons perhaps? I have to admit that I haven’t spent much thought on it. And you yourself – any intriguing future plans?”<br>
((Sure, might be fun. You can decide yourself whether Samantha tells Kris about Charles or not ;D ))

[Samantha Driscoll]

“You should. We only sell potions of the best quality. And it would be lovely to meet you there during the summer,” she said graciously, having warmed up to Kris already. “Italy is always divine in the summer; I always go there to do all my shopping. Unfortunately her good mood didn’t last for long, it was strange how any happiness or satisfaction Samantha felt was always short-lived. Kris asked her if she had any other family members and Samantha looked away from him and at the lake. “I used to have a brother,” she said, taking care that no emotion showed on her face or in her voice. The mention of Charlie always seemed to affect her temper. “I mean, he’s not dead, he’s alive, but my parents have decided he will no longer be part of our family until he changes some of his ideas,” she continued. “Not anyone can be a Driscoll,” she said, remembering the words her parents had told her when she had discussed the matter with him. Charles hadn’t tried to argue with them, he seemed not to mind what they though at all, though he had tried to patch up his relationship with Samantha. She had been forbidden to talk to him anymore by her parents though and she had obeyed her parents as she always did, not giving herself a chance to hear him.

She listened attentively as he told her of his aspirations, and she could see he wanted to be more than most of the people she knew at Hogwarts, yet he might a push in the right direction. He did not seem to wish to be quite as powerful as Samantha, he was looking for his own comfort more than anything, or at least that was she felt from what he told her. She wondered for a minute what it would be like to work with dangerous creatures, it was not a career she had ever though of herself. It was certainly appealing, like Kris Samantha was almost fearless, even reckless at times though she was careful news would never reach her parents when she felt like embarking on one of her dangerous adventures. But no, she couldn’t do that. Her parents expected her to run one or both of their businesses, and that was also the way to becoming a powerful person in the magical community as she wanted to. “Well, I suppose I will be responsible for one of my father or my mother’s businesses,” she said. “I’m also going to do research on Defence against the Dark Arts, really go deep into that field. I won’t become an Auror of course,” said Samantha scornfully. She knew her father was going to want her to do more work with the Dark Arts; she’d been practising them with him since she was 11, and was deeply interested in them now, loving the feeling of power they gave her. “I know I want to be someone important in the magical world. You only live once, and you only get one shot at making something of your life. I want everyone to know who I am,” she said. She turned to Kris and smile. “Think I’m building castles in the air, or perhaps searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?” she asked with raised eyebrows.