A Storm Approaches ((Kiana))

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer had had a good day, even if a few of his professors had frustrated him. It didn't happen too often, but when it did, it was certainly something to talk about. Today, during Herbology, his friends were messing around with him in the back of the classroom, and while Professor Sprout wasn't watching him, he used an Aguamenti charm and soaked him all the way through his robes. The kid had it coming though. He should have known how far Valmer could take things. He was Slytherin, and no matter how nice he was, he had to remember his heritage, and his father. He only got in trouble a few times, because he was quite cautious of holding his temper until he was out of trouble's range. The incident ended up being a pretty funny experience, in the end.

His father had always meant a lot to him. It wasn't that he didn't get along with him mom, that wasn't it at all. He just felt more drawn to his father, most of the time. He had been a Slytherin, and told him a lot about Hogwarts before he even got there. Valmer thought that, from his father, he knew more about the school than some sixth or seventh years. But that was prideful, and he didn't want to act that way. Yet, some of his instincts told him it was okay to know more than others, and let them know it. So he did it once in a while. Usually those times were the ones when he got in trouble with professors. But oh well. He had enjoyed his time here at Hogwarts, and had friends that cared, or so he thought.

Valmer went outside the castle, down to the lake. It had started to rain lightly, but stopped for a bit, yet dark clouds were making their way over the castle. He was going to go back to the common room, under the lake, to get away from the soon-coming downpour that was likely. But he wanted to take a while out by the water for a while. Maybe practice a few water spells and charms so he could get Binns a bit better, next time he mouthed off. Maybe also to think about all that had gone on in the past week, what with Ruby and the possible date they had that weekend. As he made his way down to the water, he saw a girl sitting under a tree right next to the edge, reading some books. She seemed quite occupied with her work, so he slowed his pace, but didn't call out to her. He thought he had seen her before, and knew she was in Gryffindor, obviously by her robes, but couldn't place her. He didn't want to bother her, but he was always up for talking to people. Maybe he could show her some charms and spells with the water nearby, and gain a new friend. On the other hand, she could be a hater of Slytherins, which some Gryffs where. She might want nothing to do with him. As he walked in front of her, he thought he saw something move in the water, but wasn't sure. It could have been a fish, but he couldn't be sure if he had even seen it. He looked at the girl, to see if she had seen what he had.

[Kia Brightstar]

With just a few more inches to go before her essay was completed, Kia set down her quill and rested her head back against the tree trunk. It was fast approaching Christmas, which meant that the weather was slightly chilly, but when had that ever bothered her? She was used to the bitter winds that heralded the coming of winter; it was hard not to be when she had been exposed to them for all of her life. Besides, it had been a while since Kia had last claimed her favourite tree – yes, she had a tree that she had claimed for her very own favourite spot, who didn’t? – and there was a chance of someone else stealing it and leaving her without her favourite tree to sit under. Which would undoubtedly be a tragedy of gigantic proportions, ranking just under the Honeydukes entire supply of chocolate being stolen by a chocolate fiend.

Being outside was calming, and allowed her to work on her homework without being distracted by the numerous ongoing conversations in the common room. Sure, she could work in her dorm but working on her bed just made her feel sleepy or someone bounced in and distracted her all over again. No, while she was inside there was just no chance of any work whatsoever being done. It was just one of those facts of life. Like the fact that humans breathed in oxygen and exhaled carbon dioxide. It was cold enough that few people dared to venture outside, which Kia had decided that she was really grateful for. This year was probably the first in all of her fie years at Hogwarts that she had actually tried to get a homework done before the night before it was due to be handed in. It was quite impressive.

On the other hand, being so close to the edge made dipping her hand in to the water and testing the temperature a real temptation, if only to distract herself from the homework that she was currently putting off. Oh yeah, Kia might have improved since previous years but she still wasn’t a model student. Homework was just plain boring and nothing could change that. Unless the homework had something to do with chocolate or cookies or maybe her friends. Because they were always interesting. Kia blinked slowly when water spots appeared on her parchment, her smile widening slightly when she noticed the rain. Already distracted, Kia decided that there was really very little harm in glancing around and her head tilted curiously when she noticed someone rather close, looking at her. A Slytherin, Kia identified easily, and one from her year as well. His name...oh, something beginning with V wasn’t it? Valmer! That was it. Her eyebrow furrowed slightly, slightly paranoid and wary before shrugging and lifting her hand in greeting. Maybe it was foolish, because Slytherins weren’t exactly known to be nice to Gryffindors or anyone else really but Kia preferred to make her own impressions of people rather than lumping the whole house in together. “Decided to keep me company, Valmer?” Kia called over jokingly, not feeling at all awkward about talking to someone she barely knew.

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer had decided to try and ignore the girl, sitting under the tree there. The fact was it really didn't matter who was out here. He wanted to know what had made that movement in the water just a split second ago. But then he heard the girl, whoever she was, call out to him jokingly. She knew his name. He didn't know many people, and especially Gryffindors, judging by her robes. However, trying his hardest not to be rude, he turned from the lake and walked over to the tree where she sat. As he studied her while he walked forward, he knew that she looked familiar. He didn't know her at all, but he had seen her. As he got closer, he searched his mind's files to come up with her name. Suddenly he remembered. Kiana. He wasn't sure of her last name, but that didn't matter. He barely kept up with people's last names, just because it was added hassle to his work load, particularly with school work piling up as it was. He knew that right now, instead of being out here with Kiana, he should be working on Transfiguration and Divination homeworks. Divination was due a week from yesterday, and he had barely started a lengthy paper on the fundamentals of the subject. However, the reason Valmer had come out of the castle was to get away from all that.

Kiana seemed nice enough, so he took a seat down next to her, under the tree. "Yeah," he mentioned. "I guess I did, Kiana." He noticed that she was working on homework, like he thought he should be. "I see you're working on some school stuff out here. Anything interesting?" he questioned. Not that he completely cared, but she was a nice girl for the most part, and he worked on not being a pushy and annoying Slytherin like some of his friends. He just lost his temper and got more angry than others, from time to time. It wasn't that much of a problem, especially when he knew that he could control his temper to a point. As he waited for her to respond, he looked down at the grass, which led all the way down to the coast of the lake. Looking at the lake reminded him of the movement he had seen. He wanted to ask Kiana about it, if she had seen it. But he wasn't sure if he had even seen anything.

He finally got the nerve to ask. "Kiana, did you see something move in the water before you called out to me? I swear I saw something move out there. I'm not trying to be paranoid, but I don't think it was a fish or anything. I can't even tell what it could have been. Did you see anything?" He couldn't be sure if he had even seen anything, but if Kiana had, they could check it out together and not make the other feel stupid. He looked up in the sky, and saw the dark clouds were moving in even faster than he had thought. They were covering Hogwarts completely, and working their way towards the lake. He hoped the storm would hold off until he and Kiana could get done talking.

[Kia Brightstar]

Was that...? Kia blinked curiously, her head turning toward the lake urgently. Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen something moving in the lake; Kia was absolutely sure of it. It had just been a splash of water and something that she hadn’t seen enough of to identify but there had been something there. Either that or she was hallucinating. Losing interest quickly, Kia just shrugged and turned back to her homework, forcing herself to concentrate enough to finish the essay before she decided to go back inside. The movement in the lake has probably just been the giant squid anyway. It was probably nothing to be interested in or concerned about.

Kia tilted her head, not hiding her surprise when Valmer sat next to her. Well, it wasn’t exactly a usual occurrence to see a Slytherin and a Gryffindor get along. Seeing them fighting or arguing, yes, but not having a civil conversation. “Call me Kia,” she ordered lightly. “I haven’t been called Kiana by anyone in years and I’m not letting it happen again now.” Especially since the only person to ever call her Kiana (or at least, the only person that Kia could remember ever doing so) was her mother. Ever since her mother had died, Kia hadn’t let anyone at all call her by her full name. It just brought back memories that she didn’t particularly want to recall in front of strangers. “When is homework ever interesting?” Kia grinned laughingly. “But no, it’s not interesting. When is History of Magic ever anything other than mind-numbingly boring?”

Kia nodded calmly, putting her quill down again and lifting her head. “I did see something actually. I saw it out of the corner of my eye so I can’t be sure what it actually was but I’d guess that it was just the giant squid. Come to think of it, he must be awfully bored. I wouldn’t like to be under water with only fish for company, would you?” Kia followed his gaze to the sky, grimacing when she saw the dark clouds before pushing her unfinished essay inside her bag hurriedly. The last thing she wanted was for rain to ruin her hard work. “Looks like we’ll have to go inside soon, but I really don’t want to. It’s so peaceful out here.”

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

As Valmer sat down next to Kia, he noticed her surprise in his motions. Was she that surprised that a Slytherin might sit down next to a Gryffindor? He assumed that she was another one of the usual people who judged people by house, but he was also one not to judge by first impressions. So he asked. "What? Are you offended by the chance that a Slytherin might actually dare to sit next to a Gryffindor outside under a tree? I happen to be a different kind of Slyth, mind you," he said somewhat triumphantly. She told him to call her Kia, and he nodded. She made mention that she was working on History of Magic. What a subject to be studying out here in this beautiful weather, he thought to himself. "Ugh," he grimaced. "History of Magic. That is one class that gets on my nerves quite a bit. This year it's not as bad as the past, but still. Learning about seemingly unimportant facts and events, it all seems so trivial. I do, however, like learning about the great wizards. Is there anything you can find that you like in that subject? I know it might be hard, but try. I'm sure there's something in there that peaks your interest, even a bit?"

His mind went back to the lake, as she agreed that she had also seen something move. Kia quickly brushed it off, concluding it was the giant squid underneath there that wanted to get away from all the fish. But he continued to think that it might be something more. Maybe it was his Slytherin blood twisting his mind, but he swore it was something else. As he thought, and she spoke, the clouds kept moving closer to them, and it began to slowly sprinkle. Valmer noticed that some of the rain was getting on Kia's paper, and he knew that she would want to go, plus he knew that she loved the outdoors, particularly because it was beautiful out here, and she had said how it was so peaceful. He loved storms, and hoped that she did as well. What's there to not like about storms? To stay out here, they had to have some sort of cover. He looked at Kia, and said, "Well I don't want your hard work to get ruined, so here. Hopefully this will help." He raised his wand and did a charm that formed a bubble around them, and part of the tree. It wasn't a large bubble, but it did the job, as far as he saw. As the bubble formed above them first, it caught the rain falling and stopped it before it reached them. "I love the bubble charm, it always comes in handy during an amazing storm, like this one that's likely coming."

As he spoke, the storm moved closer, and the peacefulness was destroyed by a few of the center clouds breaking apart and rain pouring down out of them. It had started to pour down hard rain, but quickly slowed to a steady rain. The bubble kept them dry, and he had formed it so that it kept the ground dry around them as well. "I'm glad I did this when I did," he chuckled. "Now we'll keep dry for a while. I love storms, they're always so beautiful, yet sometimes dark and destructive. Don't you love storms?" he questioned.

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia flushed guiltily at his accusations, looking faintly embarrassed. “Don’t blame me for being slightly wary after having some bad experiences with people from your house,” she shot back irritably. “No, that’s wrong,” Kia corrected herself quickly, feeling contrite as her irritation retreated. “It’s not just Slytherins that pick the fights, Gryffindors do it too. Our houses just can’t get along with each other, it seems,” Kia mused quietly. “Very few things in History of Magic actually do interest me. The past itself should be interesting, because I do believe that if we forget things in history, they repeat over and over again. But...oh, I don’t know. I just never seem to be able to concentrate for very long and I end up passing notes or talking or doodling over the few notes I actually concentrated long enough to take.” She smiled wryly. “I need to sit next to someone who will quite firmly ignore me if I try to talk to them, I think.”

“Thanks,” Kia grinned at him warmly, looking up at the bubble that surrounded them and seeing the rain run over it instead of reaching them. “I would never have thought of that,” she shook her head self-deprecatingly. “My first instinct would have been to go inside and watch it from there, but your idea is a lot better.” But storms brought back so many memories of her father and Kia had to swallow the lump of tears that rose up and stuck in her throat. She wouldn’t even show weakness in front of her closest friends unless she had to, so naturally she wasn’t going to let herself cry in front of Valmer, someone who was practically a stranger to her. Oh, but how many times had she and her father sat out on the top of a hill during storms and just talked, with no bubble charm to protect them from the rain but a spell to keep lightning from coming too close to either of them. She had been a true daddy’s girl and it had never shown more than during those times. Her sister hated storms so Kaelyn had never joined them and it seemed like the few years Kia had had with her parents before losing her mother and gaining a baby sister. It was the only time that she could imagine being an only child again. That when she and her dad retreated back inside, her mum would be waiting there for them with a towel and mug of hot chocolate each. It was probably a hateful thing to think, but Kia couldn’t help it. She wasn’t strong enough to not want her parents with her again.

“Storms are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Not even a sunrise can beat the brilliance of a storm,” Kia agreed faintly, turning her head away from him slightly as she fought against the tears rising up again. That, she was strong enough to do without any help and so she could turn back again after only a few seconds with a smile that was just a little bit too bright to be real. “We should ask questions about each other to pass the time,” Kia suggested chirpily. “But nothing too personal because I doubt either of us would appreciate it. What do you say?”

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer had to agree with her about the houses issues, particularly in the sense of the Gryffindor/Slytherin feud. He might not have been the average Slytherin, but that didn't mean that he didn't fit in at all with the group. After all, his father had been a powerful Slytherin, and he had to live up to at least part of that name. "Yes," he agreed, "I understand about the house feuds. It just seems like the two houses will never get along. But that doesn't mean that we, or any other Slyths and Gryffs can't be friends, right?" She continued, as she spoke about History of Magic, and he continued to nod, because as it was, he strongly disliked the class as well. "Yeah, I can never concentrate through a full class of that garbage. And if you're ever looking for someone to completely ignore you in class so you can pay attention, I'm always available. As a Slytherin, I tend to be good at ignoring people!" he joked with her. So far, this was an enjoyable conversation, and he was hoping she wouldn't have to leave soon. He had no other intentions other than talking with her, and getting to know another person from the school.

Valmer smiled as she thanked him warmly for the bubble that he had created around them, protecting them from the now steady rain. "You're welcome. I just figured you wouldn't want that hard work you've been doing to go to waste." He looked at her as she spoke about the storms that she loved, as he did. She seemed flustered when he brought up the topic though, and he was about to question her on it, but figured he would leave it alone. If something was wrong, and she felt like talking about it, he would be sitting here intent on listening. She mentioned that she thought storms were more brilliant than some sunrises, and he had to draw the line there. "Well, honestly I think they're both equal in beauty. I love nature, in general. My favorite would be a blizzard though. A snow storm. Just because it whites everything out and everything looks brand new, like it all started over. It gives me a refreshing feeling sometimes. What do you think?" he prodded.

She came up with the idea that they should ask questions to bide the time until the rain stopped, and he was fine with that. "That's fine. But I'm comfortable if you want to ask a personal question of me. I don't mind sharing things. So here's the first question, Kia: What's your favorite place to be in the castle, besides your room or outside of the castle? I'll answer it too, if you want." He looked forward to finding out more about the girl, she seemed like a friendly and worthwhile friend to have.

[Kia Brightstar]

“Of course we can be friends,” Kia agreed firmly, her smile making an appearance once more. Sure, he was a Slytherin and she’d had her fair share of bad experiences with them, but Valmer had already proved that he wasn’t like them. For one, Kia couldn’t think of one time she had seen a Slytherin willingly join a Gryffindor for a conversation, much less a pleasant one without any insults. Besides, friends were always something that Kia would be utterly grateful for. She liked knowing that there were people there to watch out for her and help her out, even though she didn’t always admit that she needed the help until it was too late. “I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer, Valmer,” Kia joked lightly. “It might be the only way I’ll ever have a chance of not failing my OWL, which is always a good thing.”

Kia wrinkled her nose in distaste, shaking her head slightly in disagreement. “No, I don’t think snowstorms can ever match up to storms or sunrises or sunsets. The dark beauty of a storm or the simple, breathtaking beauty of the sun rising and setting...how can a blank canvas like a snowstorm ever match up to such brilliance? But sometimes, it’s nice to see everything so white and unmarked. It feels just like a new start, with no mistakes made yet.” What she would give for a brand new start, with no doubts or worries or emotions from the past summer to hold her back. Erasing the whole summer from her mind would probably be the kindest thing anyone could do for her, but also the most harmful. Because to grow, and to mature, she had to deal with those memories and feelings, not just tuck them in a safe corner at the back of her mind and disregard them because she couldn’t cope. Which was what she had been doing so far, but maybe it was time to grow up and to make herself deal with death and the possibility of it for her sister.

“My favourite place in the castle,” Kia frowned slightly, pondering the question enough to give a truthful answer. “I suppose I’d have to say windowsills are my favourite place. If I can’t be outside, then I’ll be in a corridor – usually one near the Transfiguration classroom – sitting on a windowsill and just watching the outside world. It’s a fun way to meet new people too actually,” she grinned slightly and shrugged. Well it was true. She always had to be outside, or as close to it as possible. It came with a need to be active, because her father had always pushed her outside before she broke every ornament in the house with her antics. Especially when she had first started learning gymnastics when she was seven and had practiced her flips all over the house. “Well, let’s start out slow, shall we. So I’ll ask an easy question for your first one. What’s your favourite subject and why?”

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer smiled, as Kia smiled. It was surprising and soothing to be with someone that made him smile as much as Ruby. He and Ruby hadn't even done much of anything together. He didn't even remember all of what they did on that day out by the Shrieking Shack, and it was okay. He wasn't even sure what was going on with her, she had seemed a bit distant lately. But never mind that, he wasn't thinking of Kia that way. Besides, he had seen her with some guy all the time. Ciaran, was that his name? It didn't matter. He was glad to offer up a chance to help her with her OWLs, because he had been able to catch on with them pretty quickly.

He listened intently as she described her love for regular storms, not snowstorms, like the ones he loved the most. He knew exactly what she meant though, when she talked about the good that a nice snow could bring. "Yeah, making everything look brand new is a beautiful sight, I love it," he said. "Sometimes I wish my life could be like that. I wish I could start over sometimes, and make changes. But I know that there's a reason for how I acted or how I treated someone. Sometimes my Slytherin blood gets in the way, and I regret those times, but then I learn from them, and work on controlling things more next time. Does that make sense? I hope I'm not rambling." He worried he might be scaring her off, and he really didn't want that at all.

As she explained where he favorite place in the castle was, he wondered about it himself. He couldn't really decide at times. He seemed to really like going to the Snape's classroom with Potions, even though he didn't care for the class, nor the teacher for that matter. She asked him about his favorite subject, and he immediately answered. "I would have to say Defense Against the Dark Arts, that would be my favorite class." He knew she would be a bit surprised, so he explained himself. "The reason I like it so much is because I want to know just how to protect myself if some kind of attack happens again, just like what happened with Harry. The guy was a hero, and saved all of us. I just want to know how to be that same kind of guy, protecting those who I care about." Valmer wasn't sure what question to ask Kia next, so he just thought of something random off the top of his head. "Next question: If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?"

[Kia Brightstar]

“I wonder what people would change, if they had the ability to choose only one thing to change.” Kia pondered, speaking her thoughts out loud. “I know what I would change,” the words were barely above a whisper, not even meant to be spoken but rather kept to herself. Would she pay a penalty to get her family back again; for her and her father, her mother and her sister to be together again? What a silly question for her to ask, of course she would. Kaelyn had never gotten the chance to meet her mother and Kia herself hadn’t had much time with her. At times, while blushing and unsure around Ciaran, she had wished so badly that she could ask for advice from her mother because who else was there to ask?

“You’re not rambling,” Kia laughed and shook her head. “It makes perfect sense. I know that I often regret how I handled things or how I treated someone, but I can’t blame that on my Gryffindor blood because I know it’s just my personality. I have a fiery temper – well, I used to have one but it seems to have disappeared recently which I’m grateful for – and I speak without thinking. I can’t take back those words, but I can work harder on thinking before I open my mouth and hopefully spare someone’s feelings next time.” Kia cocked her head as she thought for a second, grinning slightly as she started to speak again. “We all wish for a snowstorm in our own lives sometimes, something that will fall over our mistakes and hide them away. But I guess life doesn’t work that way.”

As Kia listened, she pondered her own answer to the question, coming up with it without much thought needed. Transfiguration. She was good at it and understood it without much difficulty so naturally she enjoyed it. Not to mention that it was useful, and not just in the harmless pranks she had used it for during earlier years. Valmers reason was a good one – a lot better than hers, Kia felt slightly ashamed to admit. “A wolf,” Kia answered instantly, knowing that the animal didn’t fit in with the image she gave off or the reputation as a light-hearted, carefree jokester that she had earned over the last few years. And even just last year, her answer would have been different. Wasn’t it funny how much difference a simple letter could make? “They can run alone or they can rely on their pack whenever they need to. They always have a family there waiting for them, ready to run with them. I used to want the freedom of being a bird though.”

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer smiled as Kia explained that he wasn’t rambling. He liked the fact that she understood him. Not many people seemed to be able to understand his feelings and such, especially lately. She explained about herself not completely fitting the Gryffindor stereotype, and he nodded. “Yeah, I understand that completely,” he said reassuringly. When she mentioned about not thinking before she spoke, he nodded again. “Yeah, sadly I think we all deal with that dilemma. I’ve said some things to people that I wish I could take back, so badly, and it’s completely irreversible. I’ve hated myself for some of the things I’ve said. Hopefully that won’t happen between us, right?” he smiled again as he said it. “It’s funny you should mention about snow. I heard this rain is supposed to eventually turn to snow in the next day or two. It’s getting cold enough, I’m hoping it does. Did you hear about that?” He looked her in the eyes, eagerly listening.

Valmer found it interesting that she had picked a wolf, and wanted her to explain it. “I know you explained it a bit, but why exactly did you pick a wolf? It doesn’t really suit you, especially the Kia I’ve just met tonight. Unless,” he looked at her with a watchful eye, “you’ve got a side you’re hiding.” He winked at her, to let her know he was joking. “A bird seems better suited for you.” As he spoke, he wasn’t sure what question to ask next. “I’m kind of at a blank for my next question. Why don’t you come up with a new one? Or do you want to get back into the castle? It seems like the rain is slowing, at least a bit, as of now.” He looked at Kia, waiting for her response.