Enjoying the Sun

[Katalina Harker]

Another herbology lesson had come and gone and Kat really wasn't in the mood to head back to the castle just yet. Instead she turned in the opposite direction that most of her classmates her heading and began to walk. Despite the chill in the air, it was a nice sunny day and a nice change from the dorm room that she'd kept herself practically locked away in for the last few months. Maybe the fresh air will do me some good she thought as she found her favorite tree and took a seat beneath it.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, Kat wrapped her cloak tightly around her to protect her from the cool temperatures. She rested her arms on top of her knees and then rested her head on top her arms. Kat stared out across the school grounds, letting her mind wander as she thought about her last four years she'd spent here.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace had a lot of things on his mind lately, school of course being one of them. He was feeling the pressure of his classes full force. The Slytherin boy didn't want to risk getting pulled back into homeschooling with his mother for slacking off. Thus, he had been spending most of his time clammed up in his dorm room. He felt badly for neglecting all of the great people he had met, and after an hour of Herbology he decided that he needed to get out and get some real air. He found it odd that it was winter here, in New Zealand, when it should be summer, but the boy wasn't about to complain. Chace didn't like having to adjust to weather anyways.

His heart fluttered a bit as he realized that Kat, too, seemed to be hanging back after Herbology. He knew that the Yule Ball was coming up quickly, and he did not have a date. Chace wanted to ask Kat, and badly, but he was afraid that asking her would blow everything up in his face. He didn't want to seem an oddity or a sleazebag, after all. Kat was one of the first people he had met here, and while he knew it was pompous to say, she was one of his favorite.

A slight smile creeping onto his face, he approached her slowly. "Hey Kat!" he greeted, wanting to seem as laid back as possible. Chace slipped his hands into his pockets absentmindedly. "Cold day, isn't it?" Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought to himself. Commenting about weather was always a silly thing to do, and very mediocre for the likes of him.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat had been so wrapped up in her own little world that she hadn't even noticed that anyone had approached her. She gave a slight start when the person addressed her and she looked up to see that it was Chace. The butterflies danced around in her stomach slightly and for the first time in a good long while a genuine grin curled up on her mouth. "Hi yourself!" she said brightly.

She hadn't seen Chace, other than in classes, for a while and if she was being honest with herself she was exceptionally happy that he too had decided to hang out after class. "It is very chilly. I'm not really fond of the weather...not really big on the cold." Kat motioned at the ground next to her and asked, "Wanna sit?" Here they got the direct sunlight which made the cold seem not so bad.

"So what's been going on with you? Feels like I haven't talked to you in ages. Things okay?" she asked with genuine curiosity as she looked at him, having to shade her eyes from the bright afternoon sun.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace's expression flushed as Kat responded to him, his heart pounding a little faster at the sound of her voice. He couldn't help the butterflies pattering against the sides of his stomach, no matter how much he tried to curb them. He could not help cracking a wide grin as Kat made the better out of his weather comment. "I think the cold is better than scorching hot," he chuckled a bit, "But really, I wouldn't mind if it was summer again. Summer back in England of course. I hear the heat can be terrible here." He frowned a bit. He did miss England, and it would be odd, over the break, to be going to his new home in New Zealand. His expression immediately brightened up again, however, as he didn't want to plague his friend with his trouble. "Well, don't mind if I do," he replied, grinning. Moving to the ground awkwardly, he crossed his legs, wondering if he was sitting too close. He sure didn't mind it, but he didn't want to weird Kat out either.

He sighed a bit. "I swear, I don't ever want to see the inside of my dorm again." Frowning, he shrugged. "Schoolwork, schoolwork and more schoolwork. I'm doing the best I can to stay out of homeschooling. Otherwise- not much. Considering I'm not really in anything." Chace was not a really outgoing person when it came to clubs, and he was absolutely petrified when it came to flying. He liked the ground, and he liked it a lot. So, he could honestly say that he had much going for himself. "And you? I haven't seen you around a lot as of late- but that may be just because I'm hiding out all the time." He smiled widely, showing all of his teeth, and hoping that there wasn't anything in them. He tugged at a dying blade of grass and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, hoping that the butterflies would subside for at least a bit.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"The summers here really aren't that bad. I rather enjoy them actually!" she said, thinking fondly back on this past summer. "Are you from England too? What part? I'm from Surrey originally." Kat rambled on, but quickly cut herself off as to not look like a complete oaf. The butterflies starting dancing around even faster when Chace sat down next to her, but for the first time in her life she managed to not blush and maintain her composure.

Kat nodded when he mentioned not wanting to see the inside of a dorm room again since she herself had been confined to that very place for the greater part of the term, but it was more of a self-exile thing. For some strange reason she had enjoyed the quiet, but lately she had been missing the outside world and her friends. "You should join the SDA. I'm president." she said a little too excitedly and quickly reeled it back in and then added, "Or you could play quidditch. Do you have a broom?" Of course if he didn't then she had one that he could borrow.

Thinking for a moment about his question to her, Kat stared out once more across the school grounds and to the lake. "I've been doing some hiding out of my own. Classes seem to take up the vast majority of my time. I swear I wish that someone would have tried to talk me out of taking all but one elective...it's murderous!" she joked lightly. She rested her chin on her knees, but then cocked her head to look at him. He really was quite handsome and as soon as that thought crossed her mind she flushed deep pink and turned her gaze back to the scenery. "So what's your favorite class here?" she wondered out loud.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace straightened his back as he sat, not wanting to slouch and look lazy. "Really? I'll just have to wait and see at my parent's place in Auckland. Where did your family move to?" He nodded, grinning. "Can't say I've ever been to Surrey- I'm from Leeds." He knew that the city sounded like some bad vegetable or infectious disease, but he missed it all the same. He ran a hand through his light hair. The motion had always been a nervous habit of his. The Slytherin boy was quite surprised that the girl made him so uneasy with himself- when he was younger, he had always kept his composure around girls, no matter what. Ever since he had returned to school, it seemed that he was unraveling at the seams. Whether it was a good or bad thing, only time would tell.

"The SDA?" Chace asked curiously. "What's that?" His lip pursed in genuine interest as he looked back to Kat. He had really no idea what the club was or that it had even existed. His stomach overturned at the very subject of flying. "Quidditch?" he said a bit nervously, his face turning a nice shade of red. "I- I don't have a broom," he admitted. He felt entirely embarrassed, cursing himself for letting his emotions go so easily.

"I can only agree with you," Chace chuckled a bit, noting that Kat was looking out at the lake continuously. Not sure exactly what she was staring at, he nodded his head. "I think after you say that, I'm glad I only took two electives. It's just Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies for me. Are you going to keep all of them next year?"

The Slytherin boy shifted as he sat, trying his hardest not to stare at the girl for too long. She really was pretty, but he knew that it would be absolute folly to dwell on that fact. He was trying as hard as he could not to blush beet red. Covering up his thoughts he brought his hand to his mouth for a forced cough. He sure hoped that it didn't sound too fake.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"We live in Orewa now. It's near the water so it's nice in the summer!" she said with a small grin before adding, "I've heard of Leeds before, but never been there personally." A slight smirk twitched at the edge of her mouth when Chace ran his hand through his hair. He seemed nervous for some reason, but she wasn't quite sure. It was cute either way and she was enjoying the company.

"Oh, sorry. I should have clarified. It's the Student Defense Association. We meet every few weeks to practice defensive spells and such. Helps a bit with DADA and it gives us an excuse to use our magic!" Kat replied a little zealously, hoping that this year would go a bit better than past years had. When he talked about quidditch he seemed a bit uncomfortable which sparked a bit of curiosity, but as his face turned red Kat decided not to push the subject any further, simply saying, "Well if you're ever interested then I have an spare broom that you can borrow!"

Having to give a moments thought to his question she finally responded with, "I think I'm going to stick them all out through OWLs and then probably drop a fair few of them. Not sure how many of them I'll follow through to NEWT level." In all honesty she hadn't thought too much about it, but saying it out loud made it seem like she actually had some sort of plan for her life...or at least as much of a plan as a fourteen year old could have. "Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies are pretty easy. They rarely have extra assignments which is a blessing!" she said matter-of-factly, looking back out across the horizon.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed him staring at her and wiped over her face quickly with her hand, making sure that there wasn't something stuck to it. Kat began to think about the events of this time last year which made her flinch slightly. It was about this time that she'd met Nic, not too far from this spot to be exact. It had been the day that he'd asked her to the Yule Ball and with that she had to stop thinking about it as it was making her slightly nauseated. She wondered whether or not she'd even attend this year...maybe it wouldn't be as disastrous this year. Might as well show up, even if I do have to go alone she thought. A loud sound brought her back to reality and she looked over at Chace and said, "You okay? You're not sick are you?"

 

[Chace Harker]

"Orewa? Can't say I've heard of it," Chace replied with a smirk. "Although, honestly I don't really know anything about this country except that it's warm. I've hardly had time to look into anything." He shrugged his shoulders. "Leeds is a pretty big joint. It's pretty busy- but I miss it." Bringing his arms about his legs, he tried to shake off the nervousness that held him in its clutches. An idea began to form in his mind, but at the moment, it seemed ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous.

Chace's lip pursed as he thought about the club. "Sounds quite... interesting," he murmured. "You guys are actually allowed to practice that stuff outside of class? On each other?" Hogwarts Scotland had never had a club of the sort, unless they were secret, of course. When he had attended, nothing had really escaped his ear. It was a bummer to him that Kat was so enthusiastic about flying, as he really had no interest in it. Her zeal for Quidditch reminded him of his brothers, who had always tried to get him to play with them. As always, he had blatantly refused. "Maybe," he replied, his voice trailing off, "I'm not that much of a flyer, myself." That was an understatement, but he didn't want to make himself out as a sissy, either.

The Slytherin boy smiled. "Indeed, they do. I can't imagine having that sort of course load though! I think I would drown. Not that I'm not already there." He grinned, trying to offset the fact that next year would probably be even worse as far as schoolwork went. He had to constantly remind himself that this was ten times better than homeschooling.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he replied with an embarrassed smile, "I just think this chilly weather has brought a little bug. This is seriously one of the most annoying coughs I've ever had." Forcing another, light cough for good measure, he smiled back at Kat, his green eyes sparkling. Maybe, just maybe, she had not caught on to his ploy. The little thought that refused to settle in his mind was increasing in volume, refusing to leave him along. Keep control, for Merlin's sake! he thought to himself. Before you do something rash!

 

[Katalina Harker]

"You'll definitely have to take some time to explore when you go home over the summer. New Zealand isn't so bad once you get used to it...I promise," she said brightly with a big grin. Kat had to press her lips tightly together to keep from snorting at how nervous Chace looked and was wondering why he seemed to be that way.

Nodding at his question Kat replied, "Well we are allowed to practice the spells that we've been taught in class on each other as long as we have a professor present. And we aren't allowed to practice spells that are above our level." She thought about how the younger students were always wanting to learn more advanced spells, but that was definitely out of the question...especially since her head of house would probably rip her a new on if she attempted it. She smirked when Chace said he wasn't much of a flyer and she thought that she'd share a little story with him about how 'excellent' she was at flying. "Well, I didn't used to be. First year I fell about thirty feet from the air and landed flat on my back when we were at practice. At the time it wasn't quite so funny, but looking back now I get a little chuckle." Kat realized how incredibly stupid that had sounded and her face flushed slightly...so maybe telling him her experience wasn't the brightest of ideas.

"After OWLs things will probably get easier...on the plus side, we won't have astronomy anymore after next year. That class irritates the snot out of me." she said as she screwed up her face thinking about how much she disliked the class, though she tried to do well in it because she like Professor Cross.

Kat gave Chace a peculiar look and then giggled a little bit when he said he thought it might just be a winter bug. "Well I hope it stops soon. Don't want you to get really sick. That would be no fun." she said sincerely with a smile. She looked at him and noticed he was smiling at her which immediately made her go pink so she turned back to look out across the horizon.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace's eyes reflected the smile that was stuck onto his face. He didn't think that he'd grinned so much in a long, long time. Something about Kat twisted his insides around, made him feel giddy. He tried to shake it off, as he knew he must be coming off weird. Keep yourself together, man! he thought to himself grudgingly. "I'm sure it is- but I think that I could go for some of the summer heat right now!" He shivered a bit, putting his arms around his legs. He liked winter, but not really the cold snaps that came with it. The season was not that far off, along with many other things. The Slytherin boy wondered why in the world the seasons were manipulated around here.

He nodded his head as he listened to the girl, raising an eyebrow. "Really? That sounds kind of insane. Wouldn't they want us to excel? Of course, someone could always get hurt..." He grimaced at the thought of flying, even though Kat used to be bad at it, as it sounded. "I'm sure you were ten times better then than I am now. I doubt you could get me to even mount a broom." Chace grinned nervously, looking back to the ground.

The Slytherin boy could only agree with what Kat had said about Astronomy. "I've never minded the Professors, but the class? Can't stand it. Not at all. The essays make me want to throw up." Not that he ever liked essays from any class, but he could really care less about the sun or any other dying stars.

Butterflies pounded in his stomach as he looked to the ground, his mouth going dry and gathering the texture of cotton. He had seen Kat blush, but what was that supposed to mean? Wondering what she was looking at, he said quickly, "Willyougototheballwithme?" He froze as the words escaped past his lips, innately horrified by his blurt. He blushed a deep crimson, turning his head. I'm an idiot- such an idiot, he thought to himself, wishing he could just disappear into the crinkled grass.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"As could I! Me and Winter weather don't get along so well!" Kat joked with a small giggle. She much preferred the weather here in New Zealand to the weather in England.

Nodding at the boy she replied, "Yeah, I think it's really more of a safety thing. It's helpful though...or at least it is for me. I'm hoping that the other members think so too!" She couldn't help but crack a small smile when Chace talked about flying. He must have really disliked it though she wasn't sure how anyone could not like flying. "I've definitely gotten better since first year. Now I have more trouble with balance down here on the ground then I do up in the air. I do believe that I'm eternally doomed for clutziness!" she said laughing.

Just then Kat heard Chace say something. She had an idea of what he had just said, but she wanted to make sure so she swallowed hard and her face turned bright pink. "I'm sorry...I didn't get that." she said looking him directly in the face.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace's face went a whole new shade of red as Kat asked him what he had said. Stuttering more than a little, he tried to say, "Will you- w-w- will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" He tried to be more collected, more composed, but every time he looked back to her he felt as if he'd like to disappear on the spot. Way to be smooth, ace! he chided himself. He decided then and there that he didn't know what embarrassment was until this moment. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he awaited her answer. Surely, she would say no. If he was close enough to the lake, he probably would have jumped into it to run from the situation.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Butterflies started dancing crazily in her stomach. She practically beamed from ear to ear saying, "YES! I'd love to!" Kat didn't want to frighten the boy, but her excitement for some reason just couldn't be contained. She was certain that this year would be different than last year...it had to be. Nothing could have possibly gotten any worse than last year, but she couldn't let that ruin all her future experiences in fact she wouldn't let it ruin anything else for her ever.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace jumped back a bit, startled, at Kat's reaction. Positively flustered, he could only beam back at her. Maybe he hadn't messed up after all? At least she didn't chase him away. Unable to say anything, he could only smile back at her, glad that she had responded so well. He wouldn't have known what he would do with himself if she had said no. He wondered if the butterflies were assaulting her stomach, too.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat was just about as giddy as anyone could possibly get at this moment. It was like she had some kind of renewed energy that she'd been lacking all term and for that she was truly grateful. She stretched out her arms and legs in front of her thinking that she had so much to do. I need a dress and oh sweet Merlin what am I going to do with my hair she thought to herself. As much as Kat didn't want to leave Chace right now she had way too much to plan in such a short amount of time. Slowly standing up so that she didn't get dizzy and topple over, she looked at him and said with a goofy grin, "Umm, I have to run for now. I hadn't been expecting to actually go to the ball this year so I have to write my mom so that she can buy me a dress, but I'll see you in class tomorrow." With that, Kat turned and walked away, but then looked back at Chace and her face flushed bright pink. Her blue eyes had their old sparkle back and for the first time in months she was truly happy. She waved once and then continued to make her way back up to the castle.