A book and it's cover ((zach))

[pandora]

Pandora met Zach’s gaze and offered him a small uncharacteristic chuckle in return. “I promise I wouldn’t laugh at them as long as you don’t laugh at my drawings.” She stated with a half-smile. Finally, after all that Pandora had been through, she found herself relaxed and fairly happy once more. Trust was not something Pandora offered easily and she still couldn’t explain why she had given it to Zach, but she no longer regretted it. They would still have to be careful though. Caring for someone was a sign of weakness that would be greedily exploited by anyone else in Slytherin who found out about it. Yet, for all the danger she would face if she chose to keep Zach as a friend, Pandora could not bring herself to even consider turning away from him now. The small part of her that had not frozen solid in the face of all that she’d suffered, now cried out in joy that she’d found someone who understood what she’d been though. They both shared secrets that now bonded them to one another.

Pandora bit harder into her bottom lip and cast her eyes down, swallowing the knot that rose up in her throat. Her words came out strained and sounded so very tiny, even to her own ears. For a moment, she feared they would get swallowed in the wind and she did not know if she had the courage within her to ask the question twice. “We’re both alone now, aren’t we? I don’t want to always be alone anymore. Zach….will you be my friend?” The wind ruffled the short hair on her head once again and when she looked back up to see if Zach had heard her, she felt the sudden warmth of moisture on her cheek. Pandora did not move to brush the tear away but sat frozen, staring at Zach with large wide eyes filled with trepidation. She was afraid to move, afraid to breathe too hard, for at that moment, Pandora sat on the precipice of her first real friend.

[Seth Wright]

Zach's eyes widened, but he said nothing at first. He didn't know what to say. He'd never had a friends before, and Mason really didn't count. And Pandora was in Slytherin with him, which, while better than her being any other house, could still make complications. True friendships were rare in Slytherin. There was loyalty, yes, but there's a difference between loyalty and friendship. And yet...Zach liked to know he could trust someone with his secrets, someone that would understand. Pandora understood it all. She knew. He bit his lip, not even stopping when the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. What did that matter? This was a serious situation. This was the possible beginning of a friendship. And anyone who had a single ounce of intelligence at all knew that friendships could be dangerous.

Zach's dark hair blew into his face, obscuring his eyes. He didn't move to fix it. It was almost nice to feel hidden again. His robes flapped lazily in the breeze. It would be nice to have a friend, Zach finally decided. Although, it was best if they kept their friendship under wraps, at least for the time being. If Pandora's mother, or Lucan, found out, they would both probably be in trouble. Lucan didn't approve of Zachary having friends period, and Pandora's mother didn't exactly sound like Mother Teresa. He frowned. This could prove to be rather difficult. But Zach knew Pandora would make a good friend, and he just couldn't say no when---Good gods, she was crying!

Zach gulped. "I--I'd like to be friends with you...er..." The words stuck in his throat. He gave up, shrugging. "Might be fun, right?" His voice sounded too....urgh, Hufflepuff. Swallowing, Zach offered Pandora the best smile he could muster up and held out his hand. "I think it'd be brilliant." He said confidently. He had a friend. A real friend. It was madness....

[pandora]

Seconds seem to drag into forever for Pandora as Zach sat silent before her biting his lip in thought. She feared he would turn her down outright or even laugh at her for such a stupid thought as friendship. She admitted that it sounded ridiculous to her as well, but Pandora couldn’t stop herself from hoping that for once, something good in her life wouldn’t hurt her. Finally, Zach began to speak and Pandora was sure she had never heard a more wonderful sound. He seemed nervous at first, as if he too, was weighing how good a decision this was; in the end though, and much to Pandora’s relief, Zach responded in the affirmative. He wanted to be friends. His confidence seemed to bolster now that he’d made the decision and he held out his hand to her as a confirmation of the newly formed alliance between them.

In that moment, something truly rare happened, an occurrence that was so seldom seen, no one who had known Pandora for very long would believe it.

Pandora Munio smiled.

Not the unpleasant smile she usually offered those she’d just insulted, nor a sneer, but a genuine warm smile that lit up her whole face. For a few moments, the doll-like features of her face were softer, her small pale-pink lips seemed all the more delicate as they were pulled into this smile and, as out of place as it seemed for a girl like Pandora, when she truly smiled Pandora had dimples. In this brief moment of time, Pandora looked like a friendly and actually rather pretty little 11 year old girl. She reached over and shook his hand firmly, her smile widening just a bit as she did so. A little stoic voice in her head said she must look ridiculous grinning at him like that but Pandora didn’t care for the moment. She had a friend, a wonderful secret that she decided she would defend viciously if need be.

Pandora sat up a little straighter and leaned back as some of the tension drained out of her small form. Suddenly she found herself a lot more relaxed around Zach, the two had shared secrets and now had decided to be friends. She glanced over at him and offered one more brief smile, this time though, her face did not fall back into its normal mask of calm, but instead simply relaxed into what she normally looked like when no one else was looking. The sternness that was usually written on her face was gone and simply seemed at ease. “We must keep this secret you know. For both our sakes. No one should know we’ve decided to be friends or it will be exploited, I’m sure you know this. We’ll simply have to be careful. We could come up with a plan, little hidden ways of letting each other know when we just need to talk.” Pandora’s voice held a little note of excitement to it. She simply loved secrets and now she had someone to share one with.

“It can be your first good secret.” She smiled at him.

[Seth Wright]

Zach watched Pandora nervously. He was afraid she was going to back out on him. He wouldn't blame her. Pandora's mother sounded as though she could be as bad as Lucan was, maybe even worse sometimes, if that was possible. He was pretty nevous himself, but, in Zach's mind, it was too late to turn back now. He repeated that to himself, gathering nerve. When Pandora reached out to shake his hand, Zach's heart leapt. She was going to be his friend! His first real friend! He broke into a grin, a real grin. It wasn't a shy, nervous half-smile, or the smirk he wore around the Hufflepuff duffers, or even the small twisting of his lips he'd once called a smile. No, this was a true, friendly grin.

He knew he must look a fool. Putting the thought aside, Zach settled back, propping himself on his palms. He had already been warming to Pandora, but now there was a trusting sort of comfort between them. This was all a new experience for Zachary Grey. Sure, Mason had been his friend, but that was really only because they were brothers. There was no doubt in Zach's mind that had he and Mason not been brothers, the older boy would never have bothered to even so much as look at him. But Pandora was different. Zach could see that right away. She wouldn't toss him aside, and she wouldn't turn on him to save her own skin. At least....he hoped she wouldn't.

“We must keep this secret you know. For both our sakes. No one should know we’ve decided to be friends or it will be exploited, I’m sure you know this. We’ll simply have to be careful. We could come up with a plan, little hidden ways of letting each other know when we just need to talk.”

Zach nodded. He understood. Friends were liabilities. If anyone in Slytherin found out, they would more than likely use the friendship to their own advantage. "I won't tell anyone." He thought for a minute. It would be too obvious if they just started talking to each other in, say, the common room. "Maybe we could get invisible ink or something. Or mini-messengers! They're brilliant. And you need a password to open them, so we should be pretty safe with that...." He trailed off. The whole idea of a secret friendship enticed Zach. He'd never had a good secret before, and this one could certainly be seen as one. His very first good secret. He liked the idea of it.

[pandora]

Pandora mulled over several ideas and decided she liked the secret messenger one. “We could use owls to send back and forth to each other. The school has plenty of owls we could use so no one would see the same owl delivering messages to either of us.” Pandora’s voice rose a little in excitement. She stared at the grayed and weathered flag-stones before her and chewed her bottom lip as she thought. “We could meet in various hidden passages throughout the school. I can start researching those tomorrow after classes.” She trailed off and stared thoughtfully at the door to the Astronomy tower. After a few moments, she looked back over at Zach once more. “I like the min-messenger idea but where would we get them from? We can’t go into Hogsmeade by ourselves and we can’t exactly write our parents for them.” She smiled a little at him. “This is going to be tricky.” A note of mischievousness showed through in her voice and it was obvious Pandora was thoroughly enjoying this new challenge.

[Seth Wright]

Zach chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it would be kind of hard to get them. They're only sold at Dervish and Banges, and I'm not even sure they mail-order." He liked the idea of meeting in secret passages and using random owls. The lot of it just reaked of espionage. Zach loved the feel of all this secrecy. It was a mischeivous, light sort of secrecy. He was finally beginning to understand why Pandora loved keeping secrets so much; they were fun when there wasn't much harm. The risk added to the excitement, Zach thought. It was almost like nicking food from the kitchen at home, only Zach was sure he'd probably be in less trouble for this--as long as they didn't get caught, that is. He scratched his head. "I'll see you later, then, Pandora."

[pandora]

Pandora smiled over at Zach as the boy talked and then said the beginnings of a good bye. Pandora was a little sad to see the conversation end but now that she had something to work for and a secret to keep, the pang of loneliness wasn’t so sharp anymore. She stood stiffly and brushed herself off, setting her robes back around her just so. She glanced back down at him and though the mask she usually wore had fallen back in place, effectively robbing her features of any warmth, a slight hint of mischievousness still sparkled in her eyes. She gathered her things and straightened back up, looking down at Zach with an air of fondness that wasn’t too terribly obvious. “Well, I’ll send word when I need to talk again…..you do the same.” She stated. The small hint of a smile played only once more on the corner of her lips before she turned and strode to the tower door. Just before she disappeared into the depths of the castle, Pandora glanced back over her shoulder at Zach. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.” She said, a note of teasing slipping into her voice and the merest traces of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. With that, Pandora, ever the one to make a dramatic exit, turned and melded into the darkness.

[Seth Wright]

Zach watched her go, a small smile tugging at his lips. He liked Pandora, he really did. She wasn't like all the other Slytherin girls. She was real, and human, even if she did hide those facts. He nodded briefly and moved to stand up as well, if a little reluctant. Zach had liked talking to Pandora, and he was almost sad to have to end it. "I'll make sure it gets to me." He said softly and walked off toward the Slytherin common room. Unlike Pandora, his exit was subtle, quiet. He slipped away into the gathering darkness as silently as a house elf might, robes fluttering ever so slightly behind him. Zach was tired, and he had a bit of reading to do before bed, not to mention a letter to write to Lucan. He sighed. A rather unpleasant ending to a rather nice day, really.