A good day ((Kitty))

[lacey]

Lacey sang to herself slightly off-tune. She didn’t have a very good voice like some other people had. But she like most others liked to sing when she was in a good mood. And she wasn’t exactly even sure what had put her into a good mood today. She still had lots of homework to do yet that was all piled upon her bed right now and it wasn’t even weekend. But Lacey was still in a good mood. Slipping out of the Hogwarts uniform Lacey pulled on a pair of white tights and a knee-length blue-white something that seemed rather like a mix between a sweater and a dress. Lacey wasn’t sure what it was herself either. But it was warm and comfortable and nice. Tying it up with a matching knitted belt Lacey gathered her uniform into a tight ball leaving it for the house elves to wash. She had been shocked the first time when she heard and saw house elves. But in some ways she had gotten used to it by now. Everyone else around herself was use to it after all. Besides if you thought about it house elves were like maids who used a washing machine, cooked, washed the dishes, dusted and did pretty much every household work for you.

But despite the talents of house elves you still had to make sure your trunk and bed-side table stayed proper. And Lacey didn’t like her things being out of place because then she never found anything she needed. It was bad for her things too. So Lacey had decided to place her things in order again today. She did it about every other month really. Because Lacey didn’t have the time or strength every day to make sure everything was simply perfect. So she cleaned more thoroughly after some longer intervals. The dormitory was empty right now so her humming didn’t disturb anyone either. She had already sorted out all the clothes that needed cleaning and had put them aside and the rest of her clothes were piled on top of her bed too waiting to be folded properly and placed back into the now practically empty trunk when she found a completely empty block of drawing paper at the bottom of it.

Grinning happily Lacey raised the papers to her face smelling the unique smell of paper. She had all evening ahead of herself yet. A couple of good hours so she could sketch something quickly before finishing her cleaning. Lacey glanced at her bed but she couldn’t possibly fit next to her books, bag and clothes on it already. So Lacey settled to sitting down on the floor and pulling out her colouring pencils as her hand moved surely over the paper as a late spring garden appeared under the light pressure of the pencils she held in her hand. Today was a good day.

[Kitty Swann]

Kitty flopped down on the comfy couches in the Common Room, wiping her brow. Whoa, that was a long day. Classes always seemed to slow time and soon, everything was going in slow motion, even the fun stuff. Like, seeing her friends, acting goofy, and sometimes writing a note home. Sometimes. She already got enough of her house already; letters seemed a little too over-rated. Pulling her legs up on the couch after kicking her shoes unceremoniously off her feet, she curled up cat-like on the couch. It was always a favorite position of Kitty's. Maybe it was just the way you were all curled up, or maybe it was the fact it related to her name in a humorous way. Well, to some people anyway. Mum would just roll her eyes and push her off the chair.

Kitty wasn't what you'd call a pet. To a teacher, I mean. She disliked classes; they bored her and when it was sunny out, they tortured her. Just seeing a trickle of sunlight was like a pain in her side. She would like to be anywhere but in her desk. But now classes were over! She could do anything. Even if it was cloudy and overcast and ruined. The Common Room was filled with commotion. No one else felt like going out, I guess. It didn't bother Kitty; in fact she relished in all the noise and excitement. It would be better if she was part of it though. Unraveling her limbs carefully, Kitty stood and turned to look at all spots in the room. People here and there, people everywhere! She sighed, starting to feel claustrophobic. She hated small, enclosed spaces.

For some reason she fled to the Dorm. Not really fled, just kind of jogged up the stairs and bustled into the room, that's all. She liked her dorm. She had spent her last three full years here, comfortably sleeping and just enjoying herself. Three full years that weren't spent at home. Her first initiative was to parachute on to her bed and curl under the covers, maybe to nap? That was hopeless anyway; Kitty couldn't stay still for less then a few minutes. Mum didn't say so, but Kitty could kind of tell that she had some form of A.D.H.D. or some hyper attention lover disease thingy. The other reason she didn't carry out the plan was that Lacey was sitting on the four poster nearby, drawing something. Kitty perked up instantly. To her, Lacey looked like a sign that clearly stated: "Come over here! Talk to me!" Kitty grinned and hopped on over, as the sign said.

"Hey Lacey!" She greeted, flopping on the nearest bed. It wasn't hers, but so what. "Whatcha drawing?" She peered over Lacey's shoulder. "Ooh! A garden! A pretty garden! It looks really good. Great. Fantastic. Sup - " Kitty stopped when she saw the stuff gathered on Lacey's bed. Probably a relief to Lacey that something stopped her tirade of compliments. "Getting ready to go home or something, eh? I wouldn't be packing yet, if I were you. There's still a while until the weekend. Believe me, I'm used to packing and leaving." She wrinkled her nose. "Mum says I have to come home during the weekend. For Dad and everything." She smiled, not at all perturbed by sharing family problems. She liked Lacey. What she knew of her, anyway. "So I always have to go home, and do chores, and deal with my stupid annoying brother." She sighed and leaned back on her bed. At first she opened her mouth to speak again, but shut it after thought. Maybe it was time to give Lacey a chance to speak.

[lacey]

Lacey had just about finished all the trees she wanted to add to the garden. There had to be trees. They provided shadow, were nice, created variety and what could be better than cherries or plums or apples picked from your very own back-garden. Not that she could draw apples or other fruits onto the trees right now cause she was drawing a spring-time garden. Looking up when Kitty bounced into the room and seated herself on a near-by bed Lacey couldn’t help but smile at her dorm-mate. Sometimes she really envied her liveliness. Kitty never seemed to be shy. Even if Lacey sometimes also wondered if being so happy all the time didn’t get tiring. But it might be quite pleasant to talk with Kitty. Pulling the half-finished garden-picture out of the block Lacey smiled warmly at Kitty and turning the paper the other way started to draw the other girl. With Lacey sitting on the floor between the beds she had a rather nice view to her model.

“Hey Kitty. And thank you. I found the empty block in my trunk and just couldn’t help but draw something. And spring seemed appropriate. And no, I’m not really going home. I just felt that it was time to clean my trunk. It was already starting to fill with all kinds of junk, you know how it happens. I was starting to forget everything stored in it myself too.” Lacey smiled at Kitty replying to all her questions in the order they were asked. Lacey wasn’t sure that she hadn’t forgotten something. Kitty spoke so quickly that keeping with it was quite a task. It would be hard trying to catch Kitty’s character on paper but Lacey would do her best. Quickly outlining the general shape of her face with the chin a bit higher as Lacey already knew that she wanted to draw a smiling Kitty. Hair was next. Lacey made her hair seem a bit hair-blown. Not exactly coming into your face but a couple of unruly strands here and there making the outcome more playful.

“Is your dad alright? And I’m sure your brother isn’t that bad. At least it’s one relative who will always be for you when things get bad. You can’t choose your family, but having a family who stands buy you no matter how much you argue when things are good is the best thing someone can ask for I think.” Lacey looked at Kitty curiously for a moment with some worry in her eyes. Was there something wrong with her dad? Lacey felt kind of bad for not even knowing about it previously. Lacey smiled Kitty in what she hoped was a comforting way. She didn’t want to pressure Kitty into talking but she wanted to let her know that she was here to listen if Kitty wished to talk.
“Doing chores isn’t fun though. I really-really hate washing dishes. I can bare through most other house-hold duties but washing dishes I simply despise. I’d much rather dust or use a vacuum-cleaner or anything besides washing or drying dishes really.” Lacey grinned happily at Kitty observing her mouth for a few moments as she tried to get just the right curve of the upper lip onto the portrait she was sketching.

[Kitty Swann]

"I'm so happy it's almost spring!" Kitty exclaimed at Lacey's remark. "Sooo happy! Winter is no fun, nope. No fun at all. Going out there with snow everywhere and a cold breeze is yucky. Plus, all the plants die and wilt." She looked out the window closest. "Did you know I plant some of those flowers out there. I never actually get to see them grow, and by the time the next year rolls around, I pretty much forget about them totally." She shrugged and turned back to Lacey. "Oh, you're real welcome. It looks super good. I like it a lot. Spring is my favorite season. Everything starts to grow and it warms up. And you don't have to wear those stupid winter coats anymore!" She grinned and spread herself out on the bed she had chosen to sit on.

"Oh. I have to pack, like, every weekend." Kitty said. "You're lucky. Mum makes me clean out my trunk each time I visit home, so I lose, like, half the stuff I have in there anyway. But that's okay. I just never get anything new..." Kitty never got anything except old and cheap stuff. Mum and Daddy couldn't pay for a lot of things. Getting her small trinkets of delight wasn't their top priority. "Dad?" She repeated. "He's fine now, I think. Hope. Know. No, I hope. I don't know and I don't think. I just hope." She paused, thinking. "Dad has cancer. He's had it for a while, and the doc always says he has so much longer to live. Dad always outlasts that though." She jutted out her chin proudly. "Cancer's not gonna take my dad down.... I hope. And Jerome? Not being bad? He's okay, I guess. He just wants me to do stuff for him, because that's the moral about brothers and sister, I guess. I don't know. But it's like he doesn't care about anything," Kitty mused, "and his favorite hobby is to make fun of me." She shrugged. "He's a normal brother."

"I have to do tons of chores and stuff. Mowing the lawn, taking care of all the animals on our farm. We have, like, thirty animals to keep care of. Then I have to clean the house, make dinner, and wash the dishes afterward. I hate chores big time." She grinned. "Washing dishes is no fun. I hate how your hands get all wrinkly with the hot water. Really annoying. I like outside better, because then you can do lots of other stuff while doing your chores. And I get away from mum for a while." She sighed, and seemed to become downcast. "Ever since the doctors said Daddy had cancer, she went all sour. I can hardly stand her now..."

[lacey]

Lacey couldn’t help but giggle a little as Kitty spoke. Her words were funny most surely but it was rather the whole way how she spoke that made one cheer up. So Lacey didn’t hide her own good mood either and laughed along at Kitty’s antics.
“Winter isn’t that bad. True you have to wear lots of sweaters and jackets and gloves and hats and scarves and heavy and thick cloaks but you can also go skating and sledging and skiing and have snowball-fights and build snowmen. All that is fun and there are evergreen plants too. Christmas-trees for example.” Lacey suggested a bit more optimistic view about winter, even if she also admitted that winter wasn’t her favorite season.

“I didn’t know about the flowers. Do you like yard-work? I haven’t tried it much I’m afraid. Sort of never had the chance to outside Herbology classes. I live in muggle London with my father in an apartment so we don’t have a garden there either. But thirty animals? That’s amazing! What animals are they? I love animals, but father can’t afford to buy me an owl and it would be suspicious if we kept it at home. And we can’t keep any other animals either really, which is a shame because animals are great. But then again there are so many animals I could keep as a pet that I most likely wouldn’t be able to choose just one.” Lacey smiled trying to look brave and not show on how much she actually wished to have a pet. But you had to care for an animal and feed one and her family just wasn’t ready to afford that just yet. So she would much rather hear about the animals Kitty had at home. Were her parents kind of like farmers?

“Cancer can be cured. He might still come out of it. It won’t be easy but if your father sounds like a survivor. And doctors aren’t the smartest people on earth always. They make mistakes too. And I’m sure you mother will return to normal soon too. This must be hard on her too.” Lacey said hoping to comfort Kitty a little as she finally felt satisfied with the curve of the mouth on the portrait before her and started to work on the eyes leaving nose to be last. Nose was always hardest to draw.

[Kitty Swann]

Kitty grinned. "Ooh, evergreen trees! I love them!" She said, hugging herself. "They smell soo good! Does your mum have one of those things that hang in her car? And then it dangles and lets off that really good smell? Sometimes it even looks like a tree! My mum has those in her car because she doesn't like the smell of old leather. But I like Christmas too! Christmas super duper fun! All the presents under the tree, but decorating it is the very best. I just don't like the needles. They're all sharp and they fall a lot. Mum used to make me sweep those up off the floor every day. Actually... she still does." Kitty frowned in thought.

"Yard-work's okay. Sometimes on real cold days or real hot ones, it's my least favorite. But on perfect days it's perfect! It's real fun to watch plants grow too. I usually forget where they are, but sometimes I walk around next year and I see a plant and then I'm like, "wows, I planted that last year!'" Kitty shrugged. "I think I have a picky memory. It remembers some things, and then somethings it doesn't. Like real important stuff. That I always forget, but I do remember to tie my shoes before I walk around." Kitty smiled. "Really? I live in Manchester. I like it lots. We have a big ole farm and tons of animals! Lots of dirty ones though. Lots of pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, and then we have nice animals like birds, dogs, cats, and two horses. It's really hard to keep up with them all. It practically takes up the whole day! It's weird, but we have a real big yard, but then we have a real small house. Mum says she spent too much money on the animals, so she had to buy a cheap house. It's nice though, I like it lots." Kitty said. "Mum and Dad are like farmers, they even have a cornfield in back of the yard! I have to take care of that too. Then afterward we make lemonade and lay down in the grass and look at the stars. It's real nice. Maybe you should come over sometime?" Kitty suggested, rolling on to her stomach. "It's really nice. I've never been in an apartment. Is it small?"

Kitty nodded happily. "Yes, I hope it is. I really do. And mum... she's always been strict, but when dad got diagnosed, something in her snapped or something. Now she orders me and Jerome around a bunch and she works too hard too. Sometimes she nearly falls over from working so hard. I hope Daddy does get better. Because then we can be a family again!" Kitty said, grinning. "Daddy's doc is mean, I think. He's always ordering us around and then the next visit he says real quiet like that Daddy only has so many weeks to live. But Daddy keeps on rolling, and no body's gonna stop him!" Kitty said. "Do you have any siblings?" She asked, realizing that she hardly knew Lacey's life beyond Hogwarts. "What's your mum like? Your dad?"

[lacey]

Lacey giggled as Kitty talked about the yard-work. Lacey liked gardens. She didn’t like it when the gardens were fully styled and every piece of grass that wasn’t growing in a certain direction was plucked out. She wanted garden to be natural. You don’t see bushes in the shape of proper balls in nature, do you? So if that’s not regular in nature, then why to plants have to butchered like that in gardens? Kitty’s garden sounded like one of those lively gardens where you could just be free and yourself and run and actually walk on grass. “Your garden and yard and house all sound brilliant. And the animals too. It might take time to care for them, but in a way it’s fun too, isn’t it? I mean animals are supposed to be man’s best friend. Well dogs are really but if dogs can be, then why can’t other animals be friends too? Do you have any favorite animal among all of those? And can you tell all the names of all the animals and birds by heart?”

Lacey almost closed her eyes as she tried to imagine what it would feel like to just lay down on her back and look up into sky and all the stars in it. “Stars? You can actually see stars from your back-yard? You are so lucky! If I look out of the window back at home during night then the only thing I see are the lights in the windows of other houses and apartments. The first time I ever properly saw real stars in the sky with my own two eyes was when I came to Hogwarts. I haven’t traveled much. There has never been time or money for such kind of things.” Lacey smiled and placed her block down as she moved to kneel a little and raised her hands to her hair. She would have to wash her hair later but for now it would be alright is she just braided it to keep it all together and out of her face. Her fingers moving quickly through the familiar pattern of the braid Lacey thought of home. She liked Hogwarts. Of course she did, how could anyone not? But home was still back in muggle-London where she had grown up and where dad was. Only dad.
“I… I had a brother once I know. But he died when he was about a year old in some disease. I don’t remember much about it because I was 5 then. But after that my mom and dad divorced. Mom moved back to the wizarding world as she was a witch and about a year after her second marriage she moved away to America. I haven’t heard of her since.” Lacey finished the braid and stood to find a bobble from on top of her bed trying to swallow to tears that seemed to have risen to her throat in a big clomp. Lacey sometimes still wondered what she had done wrong to make her parents divorce. Had she not been a good enough daughter? A good enough child? Dad assured her that she didn’t cause the divorce but Lacey still wondered and worried.

“Our apartment? It’s mediocre I think. We have a kitchen, a bathroom and 3 rooms. One for me, one for my dad and a living room. It’s not big but it’s enough for the two of us. Maybe you can come and visit on day then you can see it for yourself. And I can sometimes come over and look at your cornfield and help you with caring for the animals. I would love that.” Lacey smiled dreamingly at the thought of animals as she picked up her notebook again leaning her back against the side of her bed.

[Kitty Swann]

"So many questions!" Kitty giggled. "Of course I know all the names by heart, silly! It would be like not knowing my family's names. I would say them all - but it would take a while, I'm sure. Me? Favorite? Nope, I try to treat all of them the same. Although horseys make me mad lots - they like to step on my feet. I broke a few bones once 'cause of them. They think it's funny, but it's really rather hurtful." Kitty grimaced. "So maybe those horseys are kind of down on the favorite list - but it's all good. They can always make things better. Oh, and taking care of them is super duper! I like playing with piggies the best! They oink and squeal and like to roll in the mud. Just like me! They really cute too, if you get past the fact they all dirty and junk. People never really get past the outside looks, you know?" She narrowed her eyes. Such insight was rare for Kitty; she didn't bother herself by trying to read people's philosophies.

"That suck - stinks, I mean. No stars? How can you live?" she hadn't meant to be so rude, but still, how? She smiled. "Sorry, it's just all my life I remember seeing stars from my window. Dad would teach me the constellations. The Big Dipper was cool, but I think I like Taurus the best. He's my horoscope thingy." She smiled happily, rocking back and forth. When Lacey mentioned not having enough money, Kitty nodded, turning more solemn then usual. "We don't have much money either. I think we spend it mostly on the animals and we come later." She shrugged. "It's a big issue but mum and dad try to keep it a secret from me and Jerome. I don't mind though; can't understand any of it." She smiled but it soon became a worried frown as Lacey talked about her little deceased baby brother and her divorced parents. Kitty felt ashamed for complaining about her over-achieving mum. She jumped up and gave Lacey a big hug before she could protest.

"Feel all better now?" Kitty asked with a silly grin. "Hugs always make me feel better. Not sure why, but they do!" She sat back down on the bed and hugged her knees to her. "Mediocre?" Kitty tilted her head to the side, a blanket of hair falling forward. "Does that mean... small?" She guessed, and probably rather poorly. Kitty wasn't prone to know any words other then a normal vocabulary. Fancy things like that overwhelmed her. "Yep, I will have to come to your apartment some day! It sounds fantastic! And I'll buy some curtains that have glow-in-the-dark stars on them! Then you can see the stars each night!" Kitty rubbed her hands together with excitement. "Oh man, I can't wait! And yeah, you betcha you gotta come over! I can't wait! You can meet all the animals and Jerome and mum and... dad." She smiled, pushing that thought away. Dad would be there still, of course. “Dad too. Sometime over the summer!” Kitty grinned and rocked back and forth, ruffling the sheets. “When’s your birthday? Mine’s April 29th! Is it over the summer? ‘Cause if it is, I know what I wanna get you for a present!”

((Sorry it's such a late reply. Been having some difficulties getting computer time... ))

[lacey]

Lacey found herself giggling along with Kitty and she was a bit surprised at this. She didn’t usually giggle. Actually she didn’t smile very much at all except to her father and when she was alone with paint and a blank paper to draw on. But there was just something catchy in Kitty that took hold of you and made you laugh along with her. Lacey had noticed it about her dorm-mate earlier too, but they hadn’t really had very long conversations earlier nor on these topics. “It must be great to have such a big family. Always someone to keep you company.” Lacey giggled and shook her head as she listened to Kitty. Piggies? It was just more evidence on how truly unique Kitty was. Most people would do exactly that – decided that pigs were filthy and not play with them. Actually Lacey wasn’t sure she would have played with pigs either had she been offered the opportunity. “Most people would stay with the outside looks. But that is a bit important too, don’t you think? You comb your hair and brush your teeth in the morning just the same and dress nicely so everyone pays a little bit of attention to their looks too.”

Lacey nodded with a small smile: “No stars. The lights from other windows can look quite comforting too actually. I always used to imagine how the people under the windows lived and who lived there. Some fairies in disguise and princesses and things like that. And when the light was turned off in some room then it seemed as if the house was winking bye to me until I see the light again the following night.” Lacey was still thinking about it thereby fully missing Kitty jumping up and bouncing over to engulf her in a hug. “Oh,” Lacey mumbled returning the hug quickly and smiling at Kitty: “Yes, thank you. I do feel better. And our apartment. I don’t even know. There are bigger apartment certainly but there are smaller ones too. I think ours is about medium.”

“Really? Learn about constellations? Do you take Astronomy too? I didn’t take it cause I figured I would never find any constellation anyway. And Jerome is your brother right? Does he go to Hogwarts too? I’d like to come and visit one day though. We can find some time that would work for us both and I’d love to try and help with caring for the animals. I never have done it before so I might not be very good though. And my birthday is in November. On the 24th so it’s quite a while until it again.”