Hear Me Roar

[Pia Morales]

Halloween had become a staple in Pia's annual schedule since she transferred to Hogwarts. Her first year at the school she won scariest costume and since then she wanted to outdo herself. Not for the sake of winning, but for the sake of seeing how creative she could be with her limited funds, wardrobe and make up collection. That year she wanted to do her best compared to her previous two years and spent the weeks leading up to the Halloween feast going into thrift stores and doing her best to alter the clothing she already owned with magic. The result was a lion costume in which her dark red hair was over tousled, and her make up over done, all wrapped up with a faux fur scarf sewn onto the collar of one of her favourite coats.

She was pleased with the outcome and walked confidently into the great hall that evening, approaching one of the tables to pour herself a glass of punch which she sipped at slowly after walking to stand against one of the far walls. As she stood with her back against the cold stone, she looked around the hall for one of her friends. She couldn't possibly be the only seventh year willing to celebrate Halloween that year and hoped she would see a familiar face sooner rather than later.

costume​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

It was that time of year again and Calum was absolutely dreading it. Halloween was not something the Slytherin believed in, despite the many Halloween celebrations that happened around him every year. The teenager had no fear of anything other than losing a dueling match and so Halloween didn't really affect him at all. The only reason Calum even decided to go to the Halloween celebrations at school was because he heard Pia was going. Despite the recent broken heart, Calum was still thinking about her. If she felt happy with her new boyfriend then so be it. Her being happy was always the only thing he wanted and if he wasn't able to give that to her, then he'll at least try not to care about it.

Calum straightened his tie before entering the double oak doors into the great hall. The only reason he was there was because he wanted to see her, even if it was only a small glimpse. He dressed in one of his suits, not caring if he might have looked a little alienated with the way others were dressed around him. Truthfully, Calum thought a couple of the people there looked stupid. The teenager grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice before situating himself in the corner of the room, away from the others, to look out for the prettiest girl he knew.

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia's lips upturned to reveal a wide, toothy grin as her eyes landed on Calum. She waved at him frantically from across the room and then walked over to him, both excited to see him in a suit, and excited to see him at the Halloween feast to begin with. It didn't seem like his kind of event but that made his presence in the hall all the more worthwhile. "Calum!" She exclaimed when she halted her steps in front of him. It was good to see him and hopefully talk to him properly. They had not talked as much recently and it saddened her to think about that. She hoped everything was okay with him and was glad to have an opportunity to speak to him on that night. "How have you been? It's like you're a ghost these days!" She said in an attempt to be light hearted, but she failed to hide her genuine concern, even behind her costume. However she still continued to smile at the boy as she moved her hand that wasn't holding her drink to touch his shoulder. A growing habit of hers that she was yet to realize, even in that moment.​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum began to stand on his tiptoes slightly to look over the people's heads. Somehow, Pia had found him before he even had a chance to scan the entire room. He spotted her waving at him and suddenly he became self-conscious of the way he was looking around. He instantly stood properly on his feet again as she began to walk over to him. What was she doing approaching him? Where was her new boyfriend? "Hi Pia." he muttered once she stopped in front of him. He looked around again to see if her boyfriend was nearby, but to no avail. "I don't know... I'm alright I guess." The boy mumbled as he tried to answer her question. He obviously was not telling the truth, but why did she care how he was anyway? Besides, he couldn't really concentrate with the way her soft hand was holding onto his shoulder and tried to change the subject. "How's... um... that guy?" Calum couldn't bring himself to say 'boyfriend', especially since he didn't even know for sure if it were true. He hoped that it weren't, but tried to pretend he didn't mind if they were.

 

[Pia Morales]

Calum's answer was not satisfactory to Pia. It made her want to question him more as she was genuinely worried about her friend. Over the holidays they had grown closer and it hurt her when he suddenly began acting differently, avoiding her. She was glad they were talking now as she always loved talking to him, but she could not get his recent absence from her life out of her mind. She was busy with her duties as head girl, but it would be a lie for her to say she had not noticed his absence. She also knew it was 'rude' to prod him further on the subject, but she cared about Calum enough to disregard most social customs that were considered rude. His well-being meant more to her than any stupid custom. "Are you sure you're alright? We haven't talked lately." She said, squeezing his arm as she did so. Her brow furrowed, and her smile disappeared, however, when he asked how 'that guy' was doing. It confused Pia as there was no 'guy' in her life and she, quite frankly, did not completely understand what he was talking about. In English it sounded as if he thought she had a boyfriend. She was single, and had been for that entire year. For at least as long as she had known Calum. Her brow was still furrowed as she squeezed his shoulder again and asked "What 'guy'? there is no 'guy'. Calum. What is wrong?" because she was so confused and concerned. Both with the situation and with the way Calum was acting. ​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum didn't think that the fact they hadn't talked lately bothered Pia at all. He simply stayed away from her just so she could spend some time with that guy, and also so he could have some time to himself. He didn't know how to feel when he saw Pia with her fellow Ravenclaw and he felt that time away from her would be a good thing, but she obviously thought not and he was curious as to why. What made him even more curious was the fact that Pia was acting as though she didn't know what he was talking about. "You know, that guy you went on a date with." he told her, trying his best not to sound too angry or disheartened about the whole situation. He shifted uncomfortably as he felt Pia squeeze his arm, but quickly covered it up with a smile, hoping that this other guy was in fact her brother or something and was of no worry whatsoever. Despite this, Calum didn't understand how Pia could not know what he was talking about. How did she not think anything of it? "Who was that guy anyway?" he added, sounding nosier than what he intended to be.

 

[Kylie Ortiz]

Kylie was running a little behind because a strap from her costume had gotten undone and in all honesty the gloves she had on did not give her much dexterity so as she walked into the great hall she sought out her friends and found the familiar coloured hair of her best friend talking to someone she didn't recognize as she couldn't see his face so she walked towards them and said, "Hola." It was only then that she saw who it was Pia was talking to and the girl managed to gasp in shock. He was not meant to be here and certainly should not be infiltrating into her friends. It was a weak ploy if she had ever seen one. Thinking quickly she stood up straight and touched her friend's arm as if to lead her away but not pulling her anywhere. "Come Pia, I've heard someone is looking for you," she said, thinking that she was trying to escape the conversation because if it were Kylie she certainly would feel this way too. Calum Lloyd was a dreadful creature that one should avoid and being the good best friend she was Kylie would help her escape this too.

 

[Pia Morales]

What Calum was saying confused Pia with every passing second as she had not been on a date in a long time nor anything that resembled a date since she first began speaking to him. She averted her gaze from Calum's and to the floor, brow furrowing deeper as she pondered this fact. Soon realizing she had been on something that resembled a date more recently when she paired up with Orwell for the mock date during one of their Muggle Studies classes. But that was simply for fun, an exercise to understand Muggle customs for the sake of their NEWTs at the end of that year. Not a real date as it was during class and her and Orwell were nothing but good friends. She couldn't see herself why such a thing would rouse questions from Calum, but she figured this was the only thing that fit the description of a date and what he was talking about, albeit vaguely.

She looked up from the floor and to Calum, about to open her mouth to ask if that was what he was talking about when her attention was diverted by the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. She moved her own hand from Calum's arm as she turned her head to see Kylie. "Hey." She greeted her friend, momentarily moving her gaze from Kylie to Calum and wondering how she was supposed to deal with this situation. Calum and Kylie were sworn enemies and here Pia was in the middle of them, figuring out her confusion on what Calum had been saying and now the confusion to who on earth Kylie was talking about when she said 'someone is looking for you'. Not wanting to leave Calum hanging nor the person Kylie mentioned, Pia said "Can it wait a second? I need to clear something up here." before turning her attention back to Calum.

When she thought Kylie was out of earshot, she looked up to the boy and exhaled, wishing she had more time to explain this and figure out if Calum was really talking about that muggle studies class. "By 'date' do you mean that mock date in our muggle studies class? If so, that 'guy' is Orwell. He and I are just good friends." As she said this she nodded her head, hoping this explanation was enough to cure any confusion. No matter how brief of an explanation it was.​