Half Past Dead ((Kennedy))

[Scoute Maycomb H3]

Scoute was busy with her classes and going to the library and working on homework, so she could turn it in on time. Scoute seemed to be the first one with her homework turned in. She would usually see the teachers sometime after class or after lunch and then give the homework to them with a great big Southern Welcome smile that she always used. Scoute wasn't at all the least bit worried about being a teachers' pet. Scoute liked being on top of things. Now if only she could get on top of having more friends to talk to then she would be absolutely happy! Scoute never saw her self as the attracted kind so she just seemed to, not talk to any boys, especially ones that were older, she didn't want to be the one that they would pick on and push around. Scoute wanted to be liked, and maybe she wanted that a little too much. Scoute just wanted someone to help her with this, problem that she had with meeting people. It wasn't that she was a bad person, it was just she didn't know exactly how to just walkup to someone and start talking to them so she decided to let someone come up to her and talk to her so she can be on the other end of deciding whether or not she wanted to be friends with them.

Scoute walked into the student lounge and plopped on the couch near the fire place and let out a big sigh of releaf. She was so tired that she felt as if she could be half past dead. She sometimes didn't feel alive as she worked hard through her classes and trying to be a good person so that people would like her and want to be her friend, that she wanted to just roll over and die. Scoute didn't want to really roll over and die but that was how she felt. Scoute often wondered if people would like her more if she wasn't such a hard worker, that maybe a guy would be interested in talking with her if she didn't like working hard and achiving everything she wanted to achive. Scoute started to thinkmaybe she should lay back and relax try to be less of a hard workeer, which she knew was inpossible.

((sorry it is so short....i'm limited to a short time but i promise it will get longer))

[Kennedy Valak S6]

Another night of prefect duties. The last time Kennedy had been on prefect duty, he and Mack had found a liter of four Kneazles and a mother Kneazle. Since then, all of the Kneazles had been given to Hagrid for his Care of Magical Creatures class. Kennedy wasn't too thrilled with that news, considering he never did quite trust the care of Hagrid when it came to magical creatures. In most cases, he wouldn't have cared, but since it was he and Mack who had found the Kneazles, Kennedy was quite upset he wasn't able to keep at least one. He knew Alex would have been excited to keep one as well, and as far as Mack was concerned, she'd likely have went along with it if Kennedy and Alex were both going to raise a Kneazle for themselves. That wasn't the case though, and Kennedy had to live with the disappointment of knowing Hagrid would be watching over them.

Walking the halls, he passed a group of younger Ravenclaws. Whatever they had been doing, they stopped when he came near. He cast them a look of disapproval, but didn't bother to stop to say anything. He wasn't in the mood tonight to deal with children and their juvenile games. He was just looking forward to when he might get to see Fiona again. Christmas break had been good, and since then with classes starting up again, he felt like he didn't get to see her enough. They did get to spend some time together though, but for Kennedy, he'd prefer to spend all of his time with her if he could.

The student lounge was his next stop. Usually, it was the most likely place that groups of students might get into trouble. Despite being in the open where everyone could easily get caught if they were doing something foolish, the room seemed to attract trouble nonetheless. Perhaps it was because it often provided an audience. Kennedy learned that with the younger students, they often would only misbehave if there were others watching them. It was almost like they needed to prove something to others about themselves. It was something that even those Kennedy's age had done as well. Kennedy knew he was guilty for it, but on some levels he wasn't able to tolerate the immaturity of it.

No chaos in the student lounge today though. It was about half full, but many of the people seemed busy doing work or just relaxing. Only a few groups were huddled together in conversations. Kennedy walked to the far side of the room, simply scanning the area as his prefect duties required. It wasn't until he neared the fireplace that something caught his eye. Sitting alone, he saw a girl, younger than himself, and she looked like she might be ill or something. It seemed that he should probably check to make sure she didn't need to be escorted to the Hospital Wing. "Are you alright?" he said, standing in front of her seat and looking with a curious look at her tiresome features. Kennedy wasn't the most compassionate person, but he did have a subtle sense of kindness. When it came to upholding his prefect duties though, he was fairly determined to do so. This obviously called for some sort of caring if the girl really was sick. "I can take you to the Hospital Wing if you need me to." He knew that if she was sick, he'd much rather trust her in Madam Pompfrey's care than his own.

[Scoute Maycomb H3]

Scoute was relacing as she watched the fire and got some what warmer from it. Scoute was used to sitting in front of a fire, she liked it. The fire not only kept her warm, but made her feel at home when she wasn't and when she was feeling like she was going be sick of all the stuff going on around her, she would just sit there and not move. All her pain would slowley slip away. Scoute scanned the room just to see what she was missing, not a whole lot. There weren't that many people in the Student Lounge. Scoute was used to there being a lot more people in here, she wasn't sure why, but she was. Scoute liked to watch other people, she liked to pin point the things they did wrong or the stupid things they did that they thought were cool. Scoute also aometimes couldn't tell the difference between the two; whether they thought it was cool, or if they wanted to be stupid.

Scoute was looking in front of her down at the ground, with almost a sad look on her face. Scoute had a pale look on her face, she wasn't the bit sick. Scoute just figured she shouldn't waste her time making sure that she was smiling non-stop or just looked happy, because no one was going to come talk to her so why bother? Scoute was deep in thought about home. She missed how it smelt walking down the stairs in the morning and seeing her father sitting at the table and her mother cooking eggs and pancakes. Scoute loved her mothers' eggs, she always made them with some kind of spice, although she didn't know what it was, she just knew it was very good. Scoute also missed Dorothy's, she missed brushing her even when she had brushed her five minutes ago. Scoute loved taking care of her, she wouldn't want to do anything else but take care of her.

Scoute was still in deep thought, when she saw a pair of feet step in front of her. She didn't bother to look up to see who they belonged to, she clearly thought she was day dreaming. The perfect day dream for her; someone coming to talk to her. If someone was coming to talk to her then it would be to move so they could sit down. Scoute had gotten that alot. Scoute thought she heard something, but since she was in deep thought it sounded as more of a mumble. That was when she looked up to see who it was trying to talk to her, then she would ask why they were talking to her. It was an older boy, she wasn't sure who it was, of course she rarely knew the people in her own house. She didn't understand the first thing he said and gave hima confused look. The she heard him when he said,"I can take you to the Hospital Wing if you need me to." Scoute was sure of her self that she wasn't sick. Sscoute had forgotten the look she had on her face," No, I'm perfectly alright, do i look as if i would be sick at all?" Scoute had a calm and some what of a quite voice, there was no need to be loud, since she figured that he wasn't in deep thought because he was talking to her. Scoute wasn't sure if he wanted to talk, she thought maybe it was his job to make sure people were alright, so Scoute turned her head back to the fire. She was waiting for him to leave like all the other people do, after they take whatever it was she said the wrong way. She began to yell at her self; in her mind of course. Why can't you talk to one person, and not chase them away! your pathetic!

[Kennedy Valak S6]

Kennedy looked on the girl with a confused interest. She seemed a bit out of touch and slightly dazed. She did claim that she was OK though. "You just looked..." he began, but then realizing that he was probably making a big deal of nothing, he continued. "...nevermind." Kennedy stood there for a second and watched her gaze go to the fire. He saw that it seemed to be getting a bit low on wood, and so he used his wand to levitate a few pieces of firewood from the pile that was stacked beside the fireplace over to the dying flames. Carefully, he flew the logs into the right location and lowered them slowly with his wand so as not to send soot and ashes flying everywhere. "That should help liven it up a bit," he said somewhat dully. The girl seemed to be lonely, but Kennedy hated the thought of being the person who would have to provide her with company. This was one area of being a prefect that he was definitely not strong with. He just never did enjoy connecting with younger students in an attempt to be a good model for them. But he did it. It was rare when he did, and his mood had to be right, but Kennedy took the initiative sometimes. He was a prefect, and he had to act like one if he wanted to get the Head Boy position next year, which he very much wanted to get.

"So, just a hard day then?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the stone side of the fireplace. Perhaps she didn't want the company. In that case, he could continue on with his duties. He had to try though. You always had to at least try before making assumptions. He wished it were the other way around. Kennedy like to be able to make assumptions and then just assume that they were right. It wasn't how the world worked though. He had learned enough of that in the past. The situation with Fiona and the Chosen had changed him; it had matured him a bit and showed him that things are worth working for and that one should never just assume. He had a long way to go though. Perhaps Kennedy couldn't see it himself, but he still had a lot of growing up to do.

"What's your name?" he finally asked, realizing he didn't have a clue. The yellow on the girl's robes showed that she was in Hufflepuff, which made Kennedy feel less guilty about not knowing her name. He was still working on learning all of the Slytherin names too though. He'd get them eventually. Nobody, well most people, didn't know everyone's names, right? "I'm Kennedy Valak," he said, simply assuming that the girl wouldn't know him either. Even if he was a prefect, it seemed that a lot of younger students didn't know you if you weren't part of the same house as they were. Still leaning against the fireplace, Kennedy watched and waited to see if the girl would even answer. If she didn't he'd just move along. At least he tried, whether he really wanted to or not.

[Scoute Maycomb H3]

Scout's attention was on the fire, and she knew it was getting low. The boy that was asking her if she ws alright had moved a few peices of firewood into the fire. No sparks or ashes flew from the fire, he had done it very well, and most people that Scoute knew, couldn't do as well as he did. Scoute said to he self that was.....almost...well that was perfect. Scoute would have told him that she thought that was absolutely perfect but she wasn't very good telling people, good job or well done! No she couldn't do that well, unless she knew the person. It just went back to the, not being able to talk to new people for the first time. Scoute wanted to talk to him and at least know who he was and maybe even become friends, if that was even in the picture. Scoute was now thinking of something to say, as she watched the fire come back to life. Scoute then heard the boy say"You just looked..." and then he changed his mind about what he was going to say. Scoute smiled as he talked to her and suggested it was a hard day. Indeed it was. Scoute was so tied up with school work as usual and then she was also tied up with trying to meet new people. Scoute smiled at this boy as he tried to talk to her. It felt as if she was on the other side this time, that for once she wasn't trying to talk to someone else. It felt a little better then feeling like a fool trying to tlak to some one she didn't know. She was about to giggle, but she knew how it felt to try to talk to someone and they not talk back so she didn't laugh instead she spoke back to the boy.

" Well, i know how i look and yes it is a hard day. I ..." Scoute paused and started to wonder if the boy was being nice and didn't want to really want to talk to her. Scoute then decided that he started a conversation and that he must have a little time to talk or he wouldn't have started a conversation. so she continued, " I just have been really working hard on my school work and on top of that i'm trying to meet new people, I'm not so good at that....if you can already tell." Scoute was imbarresed that she had just told some one she didn't know, her problem. Scoute started to blush and tried to hide it. Scoute often blushed when she was imbaressed and she didn't know why. Scoute remembered that he had also asked her name and told her his, she must have been thinking or talking to her self. She tried to remember what is was he said his name was. Oh, come on what was....Lenny, no! it was.....Kennedy, yes that's what it was. Scoute then smiled at the name she thought it had a nice tone to it." Well, Kennedy Valak, my name is Scoute Maycomb. I know it sounds like a boys' name but it's not. well ok it is but i think i fit my name perfectly!" Scoute was proud of her name but she couldn't help but think of how bad what she had just said sounded. " Sorry, that kind ogf came out wrong, what i meant was that i like my name and i'm not ashamed of it." Scoute then knew for a fact that she was , propably annoying him so she stopped talking and she turned to the fire again. The fire was the only thing that she could rely on to not judge her.

Scoute had to learn how these people act in order to be able to talk to them with total confidence. Scoute had a lot more work she had to do. Scoute even thought she had more work cut out for her then she thought at the begging of the year. Scoute didn't care she was going to work towards getting along with people and at least getting used to talking with people with out them walking off in the middle of what she was saying. Scoute decided that the rest of their conversation was up to him. If he wanted to talk to her still after her boring problem that she had just told to him, then she would be glad to talk to him. If he didn't want to talk to her then she would feel bad or sad because she was used to it, she admitted that it is a terrible thing to be used to but there was nothing she could do about it but to just live with. That's what she did. Scoute was smiling, since she hadn't stopped smiling from the time she first smiled. Scoute was staring, smiling, at the fire waiting to see if Kennedy the boy she had just met wanted to talk to her any more. Scoute hoped that he did, just for a little while.

[Kennedy Valak S6]

A hard day... Kennedy didn't need to have it explained to him what that was like for him to know what Scout likely meant by that. Kennedy had went through his share of hard days, but lately they had been good, which he was thankful for. He was getting quite used to things being back to normal, and so he hoped that in his comfort he wouldn't be surprised by another sort of crisis like he had been last time with the whole Chosen incident. "I know the feeling," he offered kindly. So far, it was easy to talk to the girl, despite them being a few years apart and in different houses. It was all part of fulfilling his responsibilities though. Sometimes you had to do what wasn't always easy and then it might be easier than you had anticipated. "I can't say I've heard that name before," he admitted. "Though, if you say it fits you and you like it, then it's a good name for you, right?" Kennedy never really thought much of whether he liked his own name or not. It had just been his name, simple as that. There wasn't ever a time that he felt it was good for him or bad for him. He did like it though for the fact that it wasn't a common name. He would have hated to have a name that was very common, simply because it would get confusing. There were not many Kennedys and he liked it that way. In fact, from what he knew, there were more people who had the surname Kennedy instead of their first name being Kennedy. "Names are an interesting thing though. If you take Arithmancy, they say that your name tells a lot about you. I'm not sure how much I believe about that, but I guess it's pretty interesting to see some of the things your name can say about you."

Kennedy kicked at the ground with his shoe. There was a piece of burnt wood that had fallen from the fire, and so he kicked it back into the crackling flames. When he looked back at Scoute, he thought about her comment of not being good at meeting people. He couldn't see why she wouldn't be good at it. After all, she was a Hufflepuff, and weren't they known to be loyal and friendly? Then again, that was a stereotype, and Kennedy more than anybody else hated stereotypes. He had been in many conversations over the years about the stereotypes at Hogwarts. Though, in the end, he always seemed to conclude that there was no way around them. If you wanted to prove that you were above the stereotype, you simply had to show it in your actions. In theory, the stereotypes would always be there. He tried to always keep in mind though that they were generalizations and nothing more. In fact, for himself, he really didn't want to be seen as the stereotypical Slytherin. Kennedy was Kennedy, and nothing more. Sure, he had quite a number of stereotypical Slytherin traits, but he didn't want his house to define who he was. "Why do you have a hard time meeting people?" he asked, curious to know what seemed to be stopping the girl from doing so. "I mean, seriously, what stands in the way of a young Hufflepuff like you from having lots of friends?" Kennedy was always interested in things like social dynamics, despite not being the most social person himself. He had his friends, and he had Fiona. He didn't really need much more than that, though he was curious if he was the only person who found things like social stereotypes annoying.