Dubious Intent

[Louisa Clark]

Louisa had been swimming. She'd taken to swimming each morning this year, it was a habit of her Mother's to go out at eight on weekdays and at the weekend, ten. She'd gotten to the lake at ten this morning, and liked to think she was swimming at the same time as Ella Martin-Clark back in Hamilton. The presence of the lake was the one of the few things she truly liked about Hogwarts. The only other bright spot at the moment was potions. She liked the quirky professor, and since wandwork wasn't common, she rarely had to touch the piece of wood she kept in a drawstring purse around her neck, the yew wand she couldn't bear to touch. The memories were less painful now than they had been when she'd come to this castle, but the wand was still a painful reminder.

After her swim, she'd come here to read. Her hair was still damp, but the sun was out so it was drying gradually. Today, she wore muggle clothing, liking their familiarity. She had no problem with the robes, though they were somewhat impractical, but her t-shirt and shorts felt more natural. Her rucksack with her swimming gear lay under her head as she held her potions book above her to read. She didn't really like any of her other classes particularly. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was very friendly. She'd named him Smiley, and dreaded his classes. The girl, who was still a child in many ways, had an adult distrust of the unfamiliar, and looked forward to Professor Styx's return. Hogwarts, too, had become familiar, but it still wasn't home. She wasn't quite sure where home was now. The little house by the Waikato river was the place she'd grown up, but it The daughter of the house being away at school meant less money was spent on food and such, but school supplies weren't exactly inexpensive, and it was a worry for Louisa too. Matthew Clark had left some money behind, but not much, and three years later, his family were making ends meet on a teachers salary, and money Louisa made in the holidays bringing tourists out onto the lake. She planned to take over her father's boat repair work when she was older, perhaps sell boats imbued with magic when she reached seventeen. As it was; for now, the plan was to make it through the next five years, with passable grades and as little friction as possible.

 

[Vincent Della-Robbia]

Vincent Della-Robbia was bored and very much so. Whenever he was bored, he became very playful. It was only his second year here at Hogwarts New Zealand, but he felt like he wasn't getting enough attention. He needed to get out more and go to his classes. Jazmine was very threatening when it came to his grades. He never knew his sister could have such high standards for him, which he did like. If he was going to become the next owner of his father's company, he was going to need to step up his game.

As Vincent walked around the lawn, he say a girl who was of particular interest to him. He did not know why he wanted to talk to the girl because it definitely wasn't because she was pretty. She had clearly just finished swimming because her hair was damp. Vincent went over and sat next to her. "How are you?" he asked with a small smile. He felt this would be fun.

 

[Louisa Clark]

Absorbed in her book, Louisa only noticed her new companion when someone sat next to her. Ignoring the intrusion, she continued to read. Perhaps they would take the hint. When the stranger spoke, however, she answered tersely, "I'm fine, thank you, just reading." Now perhaps they would leave her be. She didn't want to make friends here, she wanted to make it through the next few years without complication. She had everything she needed in her mother.

The stranger hadn't left and Louisa shut her book, sitting up straight. "Can I help you with something?" As her eyes landed on the stranger, she noted that he was very pretty. It wasn't a word she would've normally used for a boy, but any other would've been inaccurate. She couldn't fathom why he was speaking to her. She was not the kind of girl boys sought out, as a child, she'd been friends with girls always, and boys were a foreign concept to the young Slytherin. This one looked vaguely familiar, which wasn't unusual given that they went to the same school, but she had no real idea who he was.

 

[Vincent Della-Robbia]

Vincent kept his gaze on the girl as she read her book. He was bothering her, so he was not offended by her rash words.However, once she laid eyes on him, he knew that he had her. He smile became a smug one. "I was just wondering what you were doing by yourself? Don't you have friends to spend time with?" he asked, his small Spanish accent coming out. English was the language he learned last. Spanish was the language that was usually spoken at home because of his mother. Whenever he was in trouble, he would be reprimanded in French. He and his siblings had been taught English because is was the universal language that got people places. Vinny moved his thoughts back to the girl next to him. "But, I can leave if I am bothering you..." he said as he got up like he was going to leave.

 

[Louisa Clark]

His words were hurtful, but Louisa wasn't offended, and found herself answering the stranger. "I don't want friends. I make a point of not making friends." It was the truth, though she didn't know why she was saying it. Louisa wasn't old enough to care about boys yet, she had larger concerns, but unbeknownst to the young girl, the charms of a veela didn't care about age. His next words sent a confusing sense of disappointment down her spine. "You're not bothering me," Yes he was! Why was she speaking to him? This was so odd. "I don't let people bother me." That was more like it. Desperate for the interloper to leave, Louisa found she couldn't make the words form in her mouth, no matter how much her mind was protesting. This was not a comfortable sensation. "I'll just read my book." She couldn't concentrate on the pages, too aware of the person sitting next to her.

 

[Vincent Della-Robbia]

Vincent found himself getting quite agitated with the girl next to him. However, he did not let these emotions show. He had much practice at hiding his emotions, especially since he had a rowdy family that took all the attention away from him. "You prefer to suffer through life all alone? That's no way to live." he said softly. The girl was clearly conflicted inside, which was what Vincent liked. He sat back down and moved closer to the girl. "What are you reading? It looks interesting." he said and peeked over the girl's shoulder to take a look at the pages, not that he was legitimately interested in the content of the book.

 

[Louisa Clark]

This boy was far too close to Louisa. He wasn't her friend, he didn't even know her. Why was he asking her so many questions? Why was she answering them? His comment brought a frown to her features, and the girl couldn't help wondering why she cared. Blinking rapidly she shook her head, trying to drown out this strange heady feeling which had overcome her. "I'm not alone. I have Mum, I have to look after her." He didn't need to know that. Why were these confessions coming out? She didn't need to speak to him. As he moved toward her, she felt the urge to move away, but found herself stuck, resorting to leaning in the other direction. "It is. It's a potions book; it's my favourite subject, I like Professor Pendleton." She needed to exit this situation, and she had no idea how to do so. "What year are you in?" she blurted out, thinking that he had to be older than her, though not understanding why her brain assumed so.

 

[Vincent Della-Robbia]

Vincent was not getting any fun information from this girl. It seemed that he had misjudged her because he found the girl quite...boring. Who didn't have a mother? He was not interested in her family. However, Vincent was interested in why she had to take care of her mother. He did not have any responsibilities at home. There were house elves for that. "Is she sick?" he asked gently. He was treading deep waters, and he preferred not to drown in them.

Potions was not a class that Vincent enjoyed. He found the professor quite annoying, and the third year had better things to do than make juice. The girl finally asked him a question. He had garnered enough of her interest, or she was simply confused with what her mind was doing to her because of him. "I am a third year. My name is Vincent." he told her and held out his hand for her to take.

 

[Louisa Clark]

His question took Louisa by surprise, and she found herself floundering, with words dropping out of her mouth against her will, "No, she's widowed, not that she was a widow and had me, no my father died, and now she's alone and I don't want her to get depressed the way he was, because then she might die too, and I don't want to be an orphan." She shouldn't have looked at him, that was why she was saying these things. If she'd ignored him, this strange effect wouldn't have taken hold. Tears started to fill her eyes as the words came out, acknowledging a fear she'd been denying even to herself. She shook her head violently and her eyes widened as the boy stretched out his hand.

She didn't want to shake it. If looking at him made her truthful and flustered, what would actually making contact with him do? This was too confusing, and yet she found her hand in his. "Louisa Clark. Third Year Slytherin." Wrenching her hand away, she found herself cradling it, as though injured by having touched this stranger. What sort of charm or spell had he used on her. "I'm so confused, I feel so odd. I don't talk about my Dad to people I don't know why I mentioned him." Her voice was a murmur as she stared at Vincent, wondering what on Earth was going on.

 

[Vincent Della-Robbia]

Vincent was pleased with himself. He had finally gotten her to talk, and he was getting information from the girl. Why did he care so much about learning about this girl's life? The boy shrugged at the thought. He simple thought it was fun to learn the deepest secrets of others, and only those who were strong willed were able to resist his charm. The boy was arrogantly confident about the blood that ran through his veins. It was what made him strong, and it made him an asset to anyone. He gave a soft nod as she shook his hand. He then proceeded to pat Louisa on the shoulder. "You shouldn't have to worry about such things, Louisa. You are at school to have fun!" he said genuinely. He saw her eyes had begun to water, and he held back an eye roll. He hated when people cried. It was the most barbaric thing a person could do. "I'm a Slytherin too!
I can't believe we are in the same year." he told her. It meant that he would be able to be around the girl much more often, which is what he wanted at this point. Vinny shrugged as if he did not know that he was the exact reason Louisa was spilling her secrets. "I'm a very trustworthy person. It's only natural that you want to share such personal information with me." he told her with a soft smile.

 

[Louisa Clark]

This didn't feel right. She didn't like talking to people about Matthew. The one time she'd told, she'd run away. This was wrong. Louisa felt like her eyes were clouded over somehow. "I don't choose to worry." His words made her feel foolish. Of course she shouldn't worry! How silly she was being! Shaking her head, Louis attempted to regain her senses. "I think I saw you in class..." She'd never taken any notice of him before, nor had he ever approached her, so why now? Why was he taking this interest in her? She kept looking at him, unaware of the draw of his veela blood. "I don't know you though, how would I know you're trustworthy?" She could've hit herself for questioning him. Why would she want to ruin what could be her new friend? But she din't want new friends, she chose to be solitary. This boy was ruining everything! Yet, she could feel her mouth shaping itself into a grin.