Sink With Me ((Valmer))

[India Nightingale]

India slammed the quill down on the desk as she frowned deeply and bit her lip in frustration. Beside her, on the other tables, several students looked up curiously to see what the ruckus was about. India glanced towards them and they turned away, feigning lack of interest, and she snorted inwardly. She forced herself to breathe, trying to collect her raging emotions, and eventually gave up on the letter she was attempting to compose and stood up. Grabbing her things, she left the Library, hurrying away from prying eyes and chasing shadows.

Letters to Madeline were always hard. It was perhaps the hardest thing India did - harder than coping in school, harder than hugging Cyrus Thorn, harder than facing Drake. It always took so much out of India, when she tried to put pen to paper and tell her mother about herself. India had never done such a thing before; she had never shared herself with anyone, and Madeline was, although related to her by blood, a stranger. India hadn't seen this woman since she was six months old and she knew nothing about her except that she was her biological mother.

The half-written letter was left in her dorm, stuffed mercilessly into her bag. India then made her way automatically to the grounds. She needed some fresh air - some reprieve from this claustrophobic space. She felt her frustrations begin to fade and knew the walking therapy was helping. Whenever India's emotions began to overcome her, she would force herself to seek solitude, walk and think and compose. It was the only way to calm herself. It wasn't the first time a letter to Madeline had caused India's stress to shoot. However, amongst the failed writings, there had also been successes - India had written a few letters to her mother in the last few months. They were short, awkward and jarred, but they were letters nonetheless, by India's own hand.

She arrived by the lake. The day was fair and and mild; the sun shone, the birds chirped - a typical spring day. India felt nothing towards the weather; she was rarely affected by it. The sun was, though, at least not too bright for her liking. She gazed along the water of the lake, watching the ripples reflected in the sunbeams, and felt her breathing slow. She felt calm; together. Nothing could break her now.

India had only been standing by the lake for but five minutes, rather motionless, when a swooping sound caused her to look up in alarm. Before she knew it, a figure was flying at her on a broomstick, yelling for her to get out of the way. Too late. The boy knocked into her, and with a look of complete surprise on her face, India fell. She fell backwards, into the lake, but before she could be submerged completely by the water, her outstretched hands grappled for a hold. She found one: the boy's arm and robes. And then, he was tumbling with her, into the lake. Splash. And they were in.

The water was freezing despite the weather and it came as a shock to India's delicate body. She gasped underwater, her oxygen rising from her lips, and squeezing her eyes tightly shut, her instincts kicked in and forced her legs to bring her up to the surface for air. Her heart rammed against her chest as she fought, but she was weighed down by her clothes. Finally, though, her head burst through the water and she breathed, gasping for breath and wet through. She couldn't believe this had happened - this had never happened! In a way, it was laughable, but India was surprised speechless more than anything. She didn't quite comprehend the situation. She looked around for the boy she had pulled in with her. Where was he? Suddenly, India was fearful - she hoped he was all right, even though he was the one who had flown at her so haphazardly and knocked her into the lake. She would remember and deal with that later, but for now... she hoped he was all right.

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer stood at the top of one of the many towers of the castle, peering down at the specks of students below him. It was the perfect day to practice his broom techniques, particularly if he wanted to be ready for the next Slytherin Quidditch match. He was a Seeker, and hoped that he would be ready for the next game. He loved being up high above everyone else, searching for the Snitch, and usually being the reason why Slytherin won their games. He was fast, but he was rusty on his broom, so he needed to practice a bit, and get his skills back up to par. He could do find once he was in the air, it was just sharp turns and stopping that he needed to work on. Valmer looked down again, realizing how high he actually was. The wind was strong up here, so he needed to make sure that he was ready for the change in weather. While it was windy up here with the other towers, once he got down to the lake, it wouldn’t be nearly as windy when he was gliding across it. He would just have to work on his speed while he was flying down the side of the castle.

Valmer realized that he was just stalling. He needed to just jump off the ledge and work on his skills in the heat of the moment. Taking a deep breath, he positioned his broom and looked down one more time. What’s wrong with you? Just jump off, what are you scared of? He knew he wasn’t scared of anything. He kicked off the ledge and plummeted down the side of the tallest tower on the castle. Feeling the wind press against his face was a great feeling, but he knew he needed to keep his eyes open so he could fly up away from the ground before he slammed into anyone. Nearing the ground, he pulled up some on the broom, and realized he wasn’t changing course. This was a problem. He pulled on his broom harder, but nothing. This wasn’t going to end well if he could pull up from this sharp descent. Gripping the end of the broom with both gloved hands, he pulled up hard, and shot straight up in the air, narrowly missing a few younger year students. They seemed scared so he looked back and waved. Hopefully that would calm them. He let go of the end of the broom, and suddenly he shot back down again. Something was wrong with his broom, he was sure of it now. Fortunately he was getting close to the lake so maybe he could straighten out before he crashed in the the cold water.

He pulled to the left, to start going towards the shore to land, but his broom was unresponsive. He was heading straight for the edge of the lake, and a girl was standing there, right in his way. He recognized the robes as Slytherin but couldn’t tell who it was until he realized he wasn’t going to be able to stop before hitting her. “Look out! Coming through!” he yelled to the girl, and she turned around. It was India Nightingale, a 6th year Slytherin. This wasn’t going to end well, he could tell right now. Valmer tried to avoid her, but it was too late. He knocked her into the lake, and before he realized what was happening, she had pulled him in with her. “What are you---” was all he got out before they were both submerged in the cold water. He went under, trying to grab around for his broom, but it was long gone by now. It was probably gliding across the lake by now. His instincts kicked in and he forced his legs and arms to work correctly. Getting back up to the surface, he gasped at the warm air, even though he was freezing cold. His robes were soaked through and through, so it was hard for him to stay above the water. Peeling them off so he could actually swim, he looked around for India.

Spotting her only a handful of yards away from him, he swam over to her, grasping his wand from his robe before ditching it in the lake. He summoned his broom, but it didn’t come. He needed to get that thing fixed. “India? Are you alright?” he said, worried that he had hurt her in some way from his carelessness. “I’m sorry, my broom has been acting up and I couldn’t turn. I just summoned it, but it’s not coming. Looks like we might have to swim to the shore. Are you sure you’re alright?” He didn’t want her to be too upset with him, even though she had every right to be.

[India Nightingale]

When a hand brushed her shoulder, India gave a frightened scream and automatically kicked away, only to come face to face with the very person she had been looking for in the lake. "Oh," she breathed heavily, watching the older boy's face in concern and some relief. It was Valmer Van Ruster - a boy in her house in the year above. India's legs continued to kick weakly below the surface of the water. She wasn't a strong swimmer, but at least Duke had taught her to swim - then again, he did owe her his life, so teaching her how to swim wasn't going to make up for it anytime soon.

"Sorry." India's mumble for almost lashing out at Valmer in surprise was quiet and rather gurgled through the rushing of water around them. "I'm fine," she replied shortly, giving Valmer an odd look. He was rather concerned, wasn't he? India hadn't expected it. Most other boys, had they been in his position, would most likely have begun yelling and shouting and hexing her the moment they could get their hands on their wands; she would have been subject to cold glares and multiple cursings. Take Cyrus, for example: as if he would let her off the hook so easily, even if he was the one who had barrelled into her. He always thought he was right. And what would Drake do in Valmer's position? India didn't really want to know. She didn't really want to know if Drake would leave her there to sink.

India's strange stare at Valmer only increased as he apologised. An apology? No one ever apologised to India! It was almost unheard of. Slytherins especially did not apologise. Valmer was a very odd boy. India collected herself and, rather at a loss, remained silent. Then, at his second, insistent question, she snapped, "I'm fine, I'm not a child!" Instantly she shut her mouth, realising she had been a bit harsh; but she couldn't help it - Valmer was so freaking nice. It made India uncomfortable to have to be civil. "I'll be fine," she mumbled, before turning away and beginning to swim weakly to shore, which wasn't too far away. "It was an accident..." She brushed aside his apologies uncomfortably as she swam. Biting her lip, India felt the cold creep into her skin and knew she may just catch hypothermia like this. Damn. Not good. Her body - thin, fragile, malnourished - was too weak to survive too many incidents like these.

India had only reached a metre away when she turned around. She couldn't feel Valmer swimming with her. She sent him a strong glare, but it was free of malice and dislike - just cold and distant. "Are you coming?" she demanded icily but also tiredly and warily. Without waiting for a reply, she made for land. Finally, she dragged herself out of the water, dripping wet and freezing. Her body shook with fatigue and cold, and her clothes were soaked through she was watering the grass on the banks of the lake. India swore quietly under her breath as she knelt on the ground, trying to rid her attire, her hair, of water. It flowed from her like a fountain as her teeth chattered away in the fair sunshine.

India turned round when she heard the sound of more water sloshing onto land. Valmer was just behind her, just as soaked through. Biting her lip so hard she almost broke blood, India struggled to stand, and without looking at Valmer or speaking to him, began to make her way back to the castle. She had no wand, no change of clothes here - she had to return to her dorm looking like a wet-through rat. Her blonde hair clung to her cheeks and she gritted her teeth to stop them from chafing each other. She had only taken three steps when Valmer's voice stopped her in her tracks.

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

When Valmer heard India snap at him, he was a bit taken aback at first. He had explained the situation and wondered why she was so upset, since it was all an accident. He couldn’t have helped the problems with his broom, not until he got it fixed. The broom had been working fine before he jumped off the ledge. He was concerned that he had injured her, which gave reason for him asking if she was alright a few times, more than was probably necessary though. He was compelled to reach for India, to help her swim to the shore, since they had flown a bit further away than he was expecting. But when he had asked if she was alright a second time, she snapped at him even harder, telling him she wasn’t a child. He knew that, but he was just trying to be nice, which was normal for him. It seemed most other Slytherins didn’t take well to him, since he was so much unlike the stereotype of the house. She mumbled something to the effect of “I’ll be fine…” but he couldn’t make it out.

Rather than asking her to repeat herself, he just stood there in the water, kicking ever few seconds to keep himself afloat. The water was quite cold, but nothing Valmer wasn’t used to. He had ditched his robe, after all, so he should be quite cold, but they had been in the water for about five minutes and it didn’t take his body long to adjust to the temperature. She seemed to be freezing, however, and this worried him. India was somewhat of a very thin girl, and came across as fragile, even. It was probably the reason why Valmer had been so concerned as they had crashed into the water. She said to herself, “It was an accident…”, but from the way she said it, it seemed like she assumed Valmer had meant to get her into the water, as if it was some cruel, sick joke. He opened his mouth, about to protest, but she began swimming towards the shore slowly, so he closed his mouth and just stood there in the water again. He couldn’t think of what would be right to say at this moment.

India swam for a second then must have realized Valmer wasn’t following her, since she turned around with a glare, asking “Are you coming?”. “Yeah, sorry,” was all he could muster out of his mouth, since anything else he said might very well get his head shoved under the water. While he was bigger than her and a year older, she pretty much had control of the situation at the moment. In silence, they swam the rest of the way to the shore, and India got out of the freezing cold water first. Valmer heard her swear to herself softly, and she knelt, trying to get the water out of her hair and clothes. She was soaked through and through, and who knows if she had her wand with her or not. It seemed to him that since she was trying to dry herself manually, she didn’t have it with her. Fortunately, he had grabbed his wand before ditching his robes into the dark, cold water. India got up and began to walk away, but Valmer called out to her.

“India, wait. Let me help, please?” He said it with a bit more of force, rather than feebly as he had spoken earlier. “I know just the thing to get us both dry and warm.” Pointing his wand at himself first, so that India could see what he was going to do, he spoke a brief spell and was suddenly blasted with warm air swirling about his body. Within a few seconds, he was completely dry, and his hair was back to its normal state, rather than falling in front of his face from being wet. It was a completely safe spell, and would keep her from getting sick, which he definitely didn’t want to happen. “Your turn,” he said calmly, pointing his wand at the girl. With a simple spell, the air returned and warmed India, right in front of him. He hoped this would make her at least a bit happier. “Is that better?” he asked as the warm air went away. He felt horrible about the entire ordeal, and hoped she would see that.

[India Nightingale]

India turned around and stared at Valmer. She did not hide her scepticism or her surprise. She was freezing, shaking and completely soaked - she didn't have any energy to hide her emotions. India was more inclined to believe Valmer was joking when he said he wanted to 'help'. She found that hard to believe. It wasn't just because he was a Slytherin, that he was older and male; India didn't trust anyone, she didn't believe people wanted to help her. No one wanted to help her; no one would willingly go out of their way to help her. Therefore, Valmer had to be playing with her, for he had no reason to make a move to help. Or maybe he was making some sort of sick joke... Well, it wasn't funny at all.

India was prepared to turn around again and leave, when Valmer dried himself with his wand deftly. She appraised his skill internally, but she didn't expect him to turn his wand on her and, with equal elegance, suck her clothes dry. In seconds her robes were free of water, as though they had been through a dry-clean. She did not look at all as though she had fallen into the lake: her hair was dry once more, falling in natural waves over her shoulder. Her hand went to her cheek and felt its dryness. A look of surprise was even more evident in her eyes as she stared blankly at Valmer.

At his question, India managed to grunt in response. After an awkward silence, where she stared at the ground in puzzlement to why Valmer had even helped her in the first place, she said, "Thanks." It was a quiet, simple phrase, but India rarely ever said it. She owed it him, though. Sighing heavily, she turned around again. She wanted to put distance between her and Valmer. She didn't like him. Or rather, she found it hard to dislike him. He appeared to be so nice that she was sickened by it. How could he be so caring and kind? So open and almost friendly? It was wrong; not only as a Slytherin, but as a man towards India. She had it in her head that men were only so nice to you to gain something from you. But Valmer had nothing to gain from India, did he?

India wanted to run away. Valmer's presence made her skin itch and she needed somewhere, alone, to think; to ponder over the odd nature of this boy and why he had helped her so unreluctantly. How had Valmer survived seven years at Hogwarts with dormmates such as Cyrus Thorn, Pyro Blackfire, Julian Fallon and Drake? In fact, what did Drake even think of Valmer? No doubt that he was a bit of an outcast and a fool, India thought. She agreed, though. Valmer was either a fool if his intentions were genuine because he would never be thanked for them, or he was, as she had suspected, a manipulator. And there were too many of those in Hogwarts for India to assume he were the former.

((I'm sooo sorry, India won't respond. That's just how she is. If you want something more out of her, you'll need to provoke her somehow or... well. I'm sure you'll think of something. (; Sorry again!))