Clumsiness Befalls Me, but What Else is New

[Katalina Harker]

Another Potions lesson had come and gone. Kat had stayed after to ask Professor Fox a few things about a particular potion that she was having trouble with. Still utterly confused, but not really giving two hoots about it right at the moment, Kat packed up her things and headed out of the classroom and down the dark damp dungeon corridor. "Oh dear Merlin, I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my neck!" she exclaimed when she realized that she'd left one of her books on the table in the class. Normally she would have just waited until the next lesson to get it, but seeing as how she had some reading to do in it she figured it best to go and get it.

Finally having her book in hand, Kat headed back down the same path, this time noting that the corridor seemed to be extremely empty which in turn made it that much creepier. She shuddered a bit at the thought and picked up her pace a bit, wanting desperately to get out of the dungeons as fast as humanly possible. Just as she saw the entrance to the stairwell her toe got caught on a stone that jutted up slightly from the ground and down she went. "Yeow!" Kat yelled and it echoed down the dark corridor, "Dammit, I swear I'd fall down walking across a completely flat surface barefoot." She looked at her hands which had sustained a fair amount of scratches and then pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked to see what the damage was to her knees. A tear in the right knee of her stockings revealed a small laceration that was bleeding, but nothing she wasn't used to by now. She pulled a kerchief out of her satchel and applied pressure to the wound and inspected the left knee to make sure it too wasn't wounded. Luckily just a few scratches and nothing more.

Kat sat there in silence, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Could this possibly get any worse? she thought to herself, although she knew just as well as anyone that things could always get worse and in her case most of the time they usually did.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken was struggling in his dorm room to find his black hoodie. To be quite frank, it was getting on his nerves that he couldn't find it. Giving up, Jaken changed into his favorite plain black shirt and regular jeans. He decided that he would spend a few hours outside of the Slytherin House. He threw on a pair of his boots before exiting the dorm rooms. He took his time to walk down the dungeons, stumbling upon old empty classrooms. He smiled to himself, the silence keeping him company as he amerced into his thoughts. He only had three classes this semester, and he had a lot of free time in his day. Thinking like this usually brought him calm of the mind.

Of course, who wouldn't be calm if they knew about a Death Eater in the school? thought Jaken harshly. He was referring to his father, of course, who had somehow managed to keep up the image of a regular, strict professor. Personally, Jaken wondered if the cover would ever be blown. Still thinking about the whole Death Eater, cover being blown, and possibly becoming an auror running through Jaken's mind, he took out his wand and twirled it between his left hand fingers, a strange habit of his coming from playing the drums.

Jaken's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and noticed that he was heading toward the exit of the dungeons. Shrugging, he stopped in his tracks and took a step from which he had came, that is, until he heard a thud, and a yelp. Jaken turned his eyes toward the sound, and realized that he wasn't alone in the dungeons. He wondered if the girl was really hurt, and felt the urge to go to her. The urge took over and he made his way toward the girl without hesitation. Despite his rather large build, he was silent as he moved. He bent down in front of the girl, and stared at her eyes mostly. She looked familiar, perhaps too much so. Oh, this is the girl that helped me out on sucking up to Estrella. It had finally clicked. He asked in a low tone, his voice soft and warm, unlike a lot of Slytherins in this sort of situation, "Hey, are you okay?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat jumped, slightly startled when she realized that there was someone right there at her side. She hadn't heard anyone come up, but she was zoned out so she chalked it up to her lack of attention. She looked at the older boy who looked somewhat familiar, but in a school this size everyone looked familiar to some extent. Kat had gotten over being embarrassed about her clumsiness...it was part of who she was and it just seemed to get worse the older she got.

"Eh, I'm fine. Nothing a little soap, water, and ointment won't fix. You mind helping me up though?" she asked. Usually she wouldn't have asked for help getting up from the ground, but this time around had genuinely hurt and she was a little on the sore side. "I wonder if they have a special place for exceptionally clumsy people?" Kat mused aloud, not really expecting an answer.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken smiled slightly, and realized that she must have tripped or something. Last year, he himself went through a clumsy spell, but all that seemed to have vanish from his genes. Just a phase, perhaps. He stood up straight, and held out his hand as a motion for him to help her onto her feet. He was strong, and would hold his place once she did her part. Jaken laughed softly hearing what she had said, "I doubt they do." His grey eyes scanned the area. What did she trip over? At least, if that is how she had fallen in the first place.

"If you don't mind me asking, but what did you trip over? I assume that is what happened after all." Jaken's face had a bit of a smirk, along with amusement. He moved his hair slightly with his hand, and waited for a response. He was also struggling to remember a name, and a house. There was no way she was a Slytherin, or else he would have remembered, right? At least Houses never really mattered to him, coming from Durmstrang and all.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat grabbed his hand, her small one seeming to get lost in his large one, and hoisted herself up with a few groans. I'm going to be feeling this one in the morning she thought with a bit of annoyance. "Thanks. I would say I'm normally not this accident prone, but what can I say...Klutzy Kat strikes again!" she said with a slight chuckle. At least she could laugh at herself now instead of crying about it.

She looked around on the ground and saw the culprit. The smallest little minute stone was jutting out of place a fraction of an inch. Kat pointed and said, "That little thing there. Not that it usually takes that much...my own two feet are my worst enemy!" She dusted herself off as best she could, making a mental note to trash the stockings as they now had gaping holes in each knee. Kat looked at the boy, and now that she'd had a closer look she remembered that he had come from Durmstrang. The thought of that school twisted Kat's insides up and made her slightly nauseous. She then also remembered where she knew him from...the bookstore. This was Estrella's boyfriend.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken noticed that she was hurt, but hopefully not too much to require medical attention. When she said that she wasn't accidental prone, or at least, not like this. He laughed slightly, "Can't be any worse than crashing on the ground when flying." He remembered that day almost too well. He had hurt his back from many scrapes, and it ached for a few weeks. He did his best to dismiss the memory, but another drifted into mind, when he had to get distracted while flying and crashing into a tree. He rolled his eyes at his embarrassing thoughts.

His eyes caught what had tripped Kat, the full first name now coming to him, Katalina. He couldn't help but feel impressed. He stared at it in amazement, before staring at Kat, "Um, that tripped you." Jaken shook his head and smiled to keep from laughing. "Wow, that is impressive, if I have to say so myself." He glanced down to examine the damage, and frowned slightly. He glanced back up at her, "Well, are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital wing? It doesn't appear that serious, but you would never know." Jaken shrugged slightly. It felt odd for him to be nice to a complete stranger, but then again, he wasn't the person he used to be. He was much, much warmer and more caring.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat snorted when the boy said something about crashing when flying and her mind flickered to first year when she fell head first over her broom about 10 feet and landed flat on her back. "Done that too," she said as the embarrassment from admitting that made her cheeks go pink. "Some people were born with natural grace...I unfortunately was not one of those people," Kat stated matter-of-factly as she bent down to pick up her books and shove them back in her bag.

When she stood back up she looked over to the older Slytherin boy who seemed to find it amusing that the small little area of misplaced stone could have tripped her up. She smirked at him and said, "It takes years of practice and special talent to be able to trip over something that small and cause this much damage!" Kat laughed at how incredibly dumb it sounded, but it was true, though she didn't know if she'd call it 'practice' so to speak...probably more-so bad coordination. "Nah, I'm fine, really. This is small beans compared to other times. I'll live...a few scars probably, but nothing permanent." Kat looked at the boy, but for the life of her could not remember his name. She knew who he was but his name escaped her at the moment and she wanted to thank him properly for helping her. "Sorry, I'm drawing a complete blank. I've forgotten your name. You date Estrella right?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't think her a complete loon.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit, although a smile still stayed on his lips, showing that he meant no rudeness from the gesture. "I guess we both have had bad experiences when it comes to flying." He was rather too embarrassed, or proud, to say how he had to begin with. At least, the major crashes. Jaken shrugged, "I'm not one of those graceful ones. I guess it is just phases for me." Jaken added, "Besides, everyone has their weaknesses, whether it be clumsiness or something else."

Jaken had to take another look at the culprit before gazing back to Kat. He chuckled at her response, still impressed, unable to hide it. Then again, why would he need to? "Special talent indeed." He continued to chuckle under his breath. Jaken raised an eyebrow at her next statement, "You aren't bothered by scars, whether thye be temporary or permanent?" Jaken could have sworn that girls hated having scars. But then again, he was completely ignorant of girls, and he knew it. Jaken nodded slightly, "Yeah, I'm dating Estrella." He smiled a bit, before adding, "And I'm Jaken. A rather easy name to forget." He shrugged carelessly.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"I do believe that clumsiness is definitely my weakness...well that and my excessive shyness around new people, but at least that one is getting somewhat better," she said as she tied her hair back from her face. "Mum always jokes that she should have named me Grace. I think it's her own personal joke on me!" Kat laughed at the thought of it.

Kat had to chuckle as Jaken still seemed to be amused about something so small being able to trip her up. When he asked her about being bothered by scars she cracked a crooked grin and said, "Scars add character and heaven knows I've got tons of character!" With the confirmation that he was Estrella's boyfriend Kat asked him, "Jaken, that's right! I'm horrible with names. So did the journal work?" She remembered he had bought the Ravenclaw girl a journal as a bit of a peace offering she thought.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken raised an eyebrow, "You must be getting better, because you aren't being shy around me." Jaken couldn't help but laugh a bit at her mother's joke. He shrugged, "I think my dad wanted to name me Shanaos, but well, mom won that argument. So, it is my little brother's middle name." Jaken thought to himself, Wow, you sound like an idiot, rambling like that. Although, he had to remind himself that he wasn't upholding an image here as well.

Jaken didn't really bother checking his body for scars. Merlin knows how many scars are on his back from the crash. However, his uncle had a worse scar, one that came from a curse, no doubt. More than likely from Asparuh. Good thing they were in a truce too. "I guess you are right about scars adding to someone's character." Jaken struggled to remember whether the journal even worked. Jaken laughed, "After I apologized and all for being a prick, then yes, the journal worked." Jaken added, "Thanks for helping me out with that. I tend to dig myself into trouble apparently."

 

[Katalina Harker]

"That's very true, but then again we've technically met before so you're not really new people." Kat joked and then she laughed at the name that was supposed to be given to him, but fell in the lap of his little brother instead. "I think you lucked out on that one. No offense, but that's a little like pinning a kick me sign on your kids back. Might not be a bad name for a girl, but definitely not for a boy." she said, hoping that Jaken wouldn't take any offense to what she had just said.

"Your welcome. And I'm glad it worked out for you." Kat said with a sincere smile and then added as a little jab, "Imagine someone from Durmstrang being able to dig themselves into trouble. I of all people am shocked by that." She smirked at him with a raised eyebrow and then couldn't help but bust out laughing. "I'm only kidding of course. Well I'm kind of kidding. Just a little." Shut up you dork she berated herself mentally.

((Sorry so lame...I just got home from work and have to be back there in about 5 hours ))

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken simply nodded, "I suppose you are right. Although, that meeting before didn't really last long." Jaken's expression remained the same when Kat spoke about the name 'Shanaos'. The name was an ancient one, and well, it belonged to a bad wizard at that. Jaken responded, "It was from back in the ancient days, so I guess things were different then. And my family tend to name their children after ancestors." Jaken's name came from his great-grandfather, long since dead, and well, he wasn't a good guy either. A pureblood Parselmouth that was raised on hate. Of course, he wasn't willing to share that information.

Jaken smiled, and nodded. He was glad as well. Although he smirked when she mentioned Durmstrang, his old school. He laughed, "I'm sure you are appalled." Sarcasm coated his voice in a friendly way. Jaken shook his head and replied, "Trust me, I think you have every right to say what you did, mainly because you got.. Well, we don't have to repeat what happened." Jaken never liked those two Durm boys. Of course, he had never gotten around them either.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat merely laughed at the sarcasm she sensed coming from the older boy. Then he nearly mentioned what had happened last year which made her suck in a sharp breath, which was nearly a reflex now, but then Jaken dropped it. She exhaled in a ragged sigh of relief that it wasn't going to be brought up again as she still had a hard time talking about it. It wasn't that it made her sad...it made her sick and angry and the grudge against Nic was still very strong. Kat looked at Jaken with appreciation filling her blue eyes and said sincerely, "Thank you. It's still a bit of a touchy subject so thanks for not talking about it." She shifted the weight of her school bag and happened to catch glimpse of her watch, not realizing what time it was. "Oh for Pete's sake. Sorry to rush off like this, but I've got another class in about half an hour and I probably better go and clean up a bit before I go. It was nice talking to you and maybe next time we see each other you won't have to come to my rescue," she laughed and then added, "I better be off. See you around!" With that Kat turned and headed up the stairs so that she could go and clean up in the prefects common room before her next lesson.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken stared at the floor, hearing the sharp breath she inhaled. He glanced up when he heard a bit of relief. Why did he bring it up? He felt a wave of guilt wash over him. She probably had a hard time talking about it, and if he were her, he would have too, he supposed. However, because of that crowd, it gave him and people like him a bad name. Although, Jaken knew better. For he too was a bad person back in Durmstrang, living his family’s reign over the school. Even though the Death Eaters in the family weren’t nearly as chaotic as he was. Kalif was a silent one, while Asparuh was a loner. Jaken smiled at the girl, as she interrupted his thoughts and responded smoothly, “No problem.” He listened to her next saying, and frowned slightly, “Eh, while you have fun in class, I get to have fun talking to dad.” Allowing his eyes to roll, he nodded at her, “Coming to your rescue would be entertaining. See you around.” He waved goodbye, before heading back to the Slytherin House, grabbing a few things, before heading out, his destination: the Greenhouses for plans for the summer.