Curiosity Can Be Nice

[Ai Nightray]

Although her leg was cured by the school nurse, it still felt a bit painful as she didn't really ask the hospital for a medicine that would help cure the bruise on her leg. Ai felt that it was too much to ask so she just left as soon as she was able to walk properly once again. It was just probably two or three days ago that she had an encounter with her brother. It was already a year since they stopped talking and then, in a flash she was kicked and punched by her brother. It was painful, but what hurt her more was the words that she heard from her brother's mouth. Those were the most unexpected and unprepared for. But nothing could be taken back anymore.

The young girl had figured out that staying in her room just made it more depressing of a state than she had to be. She decided to go to the Gardens. It is where the fight took place, but at least the view would calm and soothe her mind. When she got into the right clothes, she made her way downstairs for a little walk in the Hogwarts Gardens. And when she got there, she figured out that she was right. When on her way, her mind was circling around, but now, her mind was clear and calm. The view was nice and so was the weather. She had looked for a vacant bench and took her seat, continuing to admire the beauty of nature around her.

 

[Alliyah Jackson]

"Don't let me freeze to death."

Those were the first amusing thoughts that entered a certain blonde Gryffindor, as she stared outside the window of her dormitory. There weren't various windows to choose from (there were about two, if Alliyah was not as lazy to count) and Alliyah was glad that she picked the perfect place to sit down and see what was going on beneath the heavy skies that fogged the windows of her dorm. She smiled unconsciously, as her own bright hued eyes scanned the blanket of snow covering what was grass prior to the winter season. Her thoughts were thankfully at peace although the feeling of physical coldness captured every sense of her body right away - it was the first thing she felt the second she woke up. The winter season... Perhaps Artemis was currently in a good mood now. Thankfully the cold air wasn't rustling too much and the occasional breeze had lessened over the night. Alliyah hugged her knees to her chest and exhaled loudly to see if any puff of cold air would form just before her chapped lips. At first excitement boiled in the chest of the lioness. Cold breath only happened several times in a year. Yet nothing came out much to her disappointment. Alliyah let her eyes linger on the snowy blanket but abruptly, she perked up when she distantly remembered what the time was.

After releasing her legs, she relished the feeling of it not being crammed near her chest after almost a span of twenty minutes straight. The blood in her veins somewhat stopped, making her leg feel numb for a few minutes. Without any difficulty though, Alliyah stood up and made her way to her trunk that she found had more sweets than usual thanks to her dad. One of the fabrics inside it was a coat that was definitely feminine. She smiled, pleased that her search for winter clothes was over in just a few seconds and proceeded to slip on the coat whilst her eyes looked for her wand. The boots that had been in the corner of her four poster bed looked lonely, giving Alliyah a stare of isolation in its position. The Gryffindor picked them up and wore them easily, mentally noting that winter boots were actually good to offer as a gift of sorts. The numbness of her legs gradually ceased, leaving her to grab the camera from the dresser and secured her wand in the inner pocket of the white trimmed coat. Her reflection in the mirror was appropriate and Alliyah left the dorm to enjoy the icy grounds.

"Come on, start up." The camera had a folly against her for about two minutes, whilst Alliyah was working her way from the castle to the open grounds of one of the most beautiful places in Hogwarts. The skin in the middle of her eyebrows formed a small 'V' as it narrowed down. Alliyah breathed shakily as it finally started, its screen lighting up as usual whenever turned on. She felt her feet trudge on the snow as she finally focused her entire attention on the scene waiting to be walked on. So the entrance of the garden was just above her head and Alliyah raised her camera and placed it near her eye, adjusted the lenses of the gadget and took a picture. The flowers weren't really present, nor were the leaves on each tree. They were all skinny branches that were coated with a heap of snow. But the sense of serenity was still there, and Alliyah moved forward, in search for a place to sit down and take pictures. She doubted that any other human presence could be found. However her guess was entirely incorrect. There was another student alright and Alliyah squinted to see if that person really was a female - another guess that she had formulated.

Surely there was a feminine figure there, sitting, looking very lonesome in Alliyah's immediate opinion. A year younger than her and definitely in Hufflepuff. Also featured by that clot of an author that Rumour Has It had. She halted suddenly in her steps and Alliyah tilted her head, wondering in vain why the hell did she know those facts. But the name... She vaguely had an idea of what her name was. Alliyah moved her legs reluctantly again and tried to take her steps in a secretive manner. She had no move to surprise her but only to make a friend out of her - if the other girl wouldn't be so hardheaded to make a friend out of Alliyah as well. "So peaceful isn't it?" Before it can come out as a statement it appeared to become a question instead. Alliyah smiled at her own self, hoping that the younger girl would not bite back with defensive sarcasm. A gust of cold air whistled and Alliyah felt her blonde hair become messy. She sighed mentally in defeat and returned to the girl she knew was a Hufflepuff. "Could I sit next to you?" Alliyah smiled softly at those orbs that definitely did not match hers and stroked the smooth yet bulky camera of hers subtly. She would do some remembering - trying to rack her brain if she indeed had any encounter with the other student.
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WC: 892 words
NOTES; my muse c: so many words!

 

[Ai Nightray]

Ai felt lucky that she was used to enduring different things, and that included weather. Enduring the warmth of the sun during summer was not much of a problem but enduring the coldness of winter brings a bigger deal, but nonetheless, she will be able to handle a little cold. She wasn't sure why, but the temperature didn't bother her much at all. In fact, it didn't bother the young Hufflepuff as he attention was solely now focused on the beauty of nature in front of her.

They were not as beautiful as Spring, which Ai deemed to be the most wonderful and beautiful season of all, but she liked Winter just the same. It reminded her of happy times that came with it more than eight years ago. Back when her parents were still present in the world. Back when her brother and herself never had to fight nor argue, because they really didn't have the reason to. Back when Ai was happy with her life, to the point where she never wanted those moments to end.

The beauty of her surroundings did not escape her sight, little animals not present. Flowers not blooming. Leaves are not falling. Instead, all there was was a wilted tree, a couple of benches and a blanket of white that was so admirable to the young girl's eyes. But peace had its own way with her as noises filled her mind before another girl had approached her. If estimation proved her right, she would either be about the same age as her or a year or two older. Any seemed to fit. "Wish it could last forever though," Ai answered back a bit bitterly at the girl's comment which had turned into a question.

The Hufflepuff didn't mean to answer the way she had, but it annoyed her so. The noises. It wasn't the girl who made them, Ai knew better. It was her memories of the past that wanted to flood her mind again. Wanted to remind her of everything horrible that happened to her. But Ai had other things in mind. She kept her mind occupied as she looked at the other girl's face, possibly trying to recall where she had seen her. All she knew that she had an encounter with her. An unpleasant one. But in her eyes right now, the girl seemed to gentle to be in one. So Ai continued to wonder where she had encountered the said girl and in the process just nodded at the girl's question to sit beside her. She didn't mind. But right now, Ai was getting more and more annoyed. She couldn't remember where she had met the girl and her memories kept on bugging her, wanting to take over her mind once again.

Out of Character:

Too long!! Haha!

 

[Alliyah Jackson]

Alliyah's high spirited attitude faltered scarcely as she heard the six first words that the girl replied with. They weren't sugarcoated at the slightest and Alliyah knew that she did not intend it to be sugarcoated at all. There was bitterness evident in her tone but the amount was just an ounce of it. Despite the many people that Alliyah came across, she had always tried looked at the bright side of things. She disliked being such a pessimistic judge at some times but she knew her own self better than anyone did really. To criticize immediately was something she could not avoid and perhaps it will be a habit for the whole of her young years. The girl looked like she was going through emotional pain that delved deeper into the heart. Alliyah felt a twinge of sadness for her and she felt the need to extend that pity easily. "True." Alliyah sighed and proceeded to see if ever someone else was there to keep them company. Her fingers stroking the smoothness of her camera as her ears were up for anything that could be heard. A single silent bob of her head indicated that she was permitted to be by the Hufflepuff's side with caution. Alliyah, knowing the look of the Puff's face was bitter, decided that she needed to uplift the mood's current dilemma.

Winter was New Zealand's season yet the coldness did not entirely touch the veins of the older student's heart. Sweetness was always how Alliyah responded with a never failing gentle smile. The old and ever recognizable air of awkwardness seemed to warm the mind of Alliyah, making her realize that it was already the time to speak up and actually deliver a small monologue that could encourage the other one to talk. Alliyah looked down at her camera and let her eyes sweep over the series of buttons that held numerous functions. Fiddling with it would not improve anything at all. To try to recall their meeting in the earlier months would prove to be something useful later on. "How long have you been here?" "All alone too," thought the blonde. It must have sucked to be sitting so lonesomely for hours just thinking about the past. The past for her might have been difficult - Alliyah easily remembered that this girl was featured in Rumour Has It; an event wherein she did not deserve to be spotlighted so. It was pure nasty, she had to admit.
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Out of Character:

I swear I'll do better in my next post.

 

[Ai Nightray]

Thinking about where Ai had met the girl was seriously frustrating. She couldn't really make up where she had seen the girl, and it was practically annoying. All she remembered was that she saw the girl while she was in trouble. End of memory. No more. Dead end. Scanning through all the troubles she had been in was hard as well, after all, it wasn't like she only got into trouble once or twice. Don't get Ai wrong, she may be a Hufflepuff, but she still got a knack for trouble once in a while. Even from when she was a first year until now that she is a third year. It was seriously making her angry, not being able to remember the girl. And also, it didn't look like they were going to introduce each other any time soon. Most of all, Ai hadn't even been paying attention to the said girl for a few minutes already, and she could barely make out what the girl had said.

Silence was bearable. In fact, Ai found that to be more satisfactory in comparison to having a conversation while she was being annoyed by her memories and being annoyed by not being able to not remember what she wanted to. It was indeed annoying. At least, for the past few seconds, she was half paying attention to the girl, now sitting beside her. "Almost an hour. Give or take a few minutes," she replied simply. Ai practically didn't care for how long she had stayed under the snowflakes and over the blanket of white. She didn't care as long as she doesn't get frozen like a popsicle stick. And most of all, Ai wouldn't even bother to ask the other girl on how long she had spent in the cold.

Out of Character:

Nah.. It's alright.. I can't reply long anyway..

 

[Alliyah Jackson]

Cooperation was always a must in conversations. To make it time consuming and fun at the same time; each member needed to participate and actively respond with enthusiasm. The case in the present for Alliyah was not entirely achieving anything. Dwindling down, her thoughts remained calm. Prior to that she thought of numerous topic starters in just a span of mere seconds. But then after that, she thought it was enough. Igniting the fire between two people with only one person trying to kindle it was not very helpful. Alliyah glanced at the pretty Asian, who was obviously half mute regarding her surroundings. Alliyah had the feeling that she was not even interested in making a conversation which she felt decreased her hopes. Alliyah gave in to the silence and noted bluntly, "Sad." This girl had such an uptight arse. Alliyah chewed on her bottom lip as the grip on her camera tightened which was unnoticeable. However Ally could just not judge all of a sudden - she barely knew this Hufflepuff and realized that she barely knew any Hufflepuffs. Alliyah bowed her head down and gave a little sigh. The silence was terribly insufferable causing Alliyah to shift suddenly, and cleared her throat to ease her down.

To use some of the muted time, Alliyah turned on her muggle made camera and waited for it to fully load. Even if the gadget was bulky Alliyah loved it most dearly. She adored photography the way growing boys loved consuming anything edible on the table. It was an addicting hobby she tried ever since she was about nine or ten years young and up to now, she still dug it up. Photography for others were uninteresting but Alliyah thought that the process of snapping a photo will preserve her memories about nature and the like. "And what could be hers?" she timidly thought. Everyone supposedly carried a hobbies they thoroughly enjoyed. Alliyah sat straighter than usual and let the silence devour her bubbly personality. The cheerfulness' light inside her depleted a small bit because the sour mood to her side. She wanted to suddenly frown for the feeling of contagiousness was in the air. The irritation was suddenly reaching Ally's system which she did not want to happen. Ignoring it, she settled for taking a picture with her camera. She supported the weight of the SLR on her right hand whilst the left adjusted the lens. Cautiously, she snapped a photo with the viewfinder close to her blue eye.

Deciding to give it another try for a conversation, Alliyah pleasantly made sure her tone was amicable. Finally putting her conversational gear on, she glanced sideways at the girl. "We've met you before, haven't we?" It has been perhaps a year or two ever since they have gotten this close to each other or rather talked to one another. Alliyah vaguely knew that she had a small encounter with this Hufflepuff and one of her roommates, Andrea Kelize. And to even give Alliyah giggles (now that it was all over), those two students had pie stains all over their clothes. It was a gross sight to witness yet she found strange humor in it. Alliyah added a small kind smile to her question, as if she was trying to trigger some laughs out of the other girl.

Out of Character:

Take your time with this! I still have plenty of threads that need my reply!