I Just Wanna Talk

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph arrived at the tower thirty minutes too soon. Her wet hair was in a long braid, hanging over her shoulder like a magical Katniss Everdeen. She actually had the book in her bag back in the dorm. She had rather enjoyed her shower, though it had taken a minute to pluck all the feathers out of her hair. She would never admit that it had been a well executed, really funny prank.

She wondered over to her favorite spot, her black attire blending in seamlessly with the night. It's not like she had meant to do it. Her black combat boots were her go-to shoes, and the black skinny jeans and black oversized sweater had just looked the most comfortable.

She climbed up onto the roof of the tower, taking the blanket out from under her arm and unrolled it before laying back and looking up at the darkened sky. No matter how much her head was running away with her, she always felt at ease up here. Her mind stilled as she gazed into the heavens, and she couldn't help but smile.

She folded her hands behind her head and set her foot against the lip of the roof so she didn't slide. After a bit, without even realizing she had started, she began to sing softly to herself.

Come little children
I'll take thee away
Into a Land of enchantment
Come little children
The time's come to play
Here in my garden of magic

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver had spent the rest of his day impatiently waiting for curfew time to pass, and now here he was at the highest place in the school, about a quarter of an hour early. Initially he didn't see Sapphire, and he thought he had arrived first. That was until he thought he glimpsed a pair of dark boots dangling from above, and then he heard her voice singing an oddly familiar tune. The words eventually reached him, and Oliver remembered the song from a movie he'd watched many years ago during the Halloween season.

As he walked forwards to where he heard her voice, he joined in, quietly humming a harmony. "Hey, Sapphire." Oliver greeted warmly, looking up and barely seeing the shadowy silhouette of his friend in the dark. He was impressed at how she'd been able to get up there, and he mentally judged the climb, looking for his way up.

Out of Character:

Sorry for the delay! I helped my mom by cleaning the kitchen after dinner.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Out of Character:

No worries, I just got a bit of a dinner rush so I made take a minute to reply myself

Saph was pulled back down to herself when she heard Oliver say her name. She sat up, spotting him below. He seemed to be looking for a way up, so she rolled a bit so she could offer him a hand.

"Need help there, Ollivander?" She teased lightly, smiling a little. It was kind of cool to have friends, she decided. Him and Alkander were stuck with her now, though she admitted she had softened up on her "not being able to have friends" stance since spending most the semester with Alkander.

Not that she would ever admit out loud that he was right. She was glad he was, though. This time. She liked this spunky Hufflepuff.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver had no doubts that Sapphire was strong, but he didn't want to risk pulling them both off the roof. That would be quite the obituary, one that he chose to avoid. The Hufflepuff shot her a grateful look, but shook his head politely at the sight of her outstretched hand. He'd just have to find his own way up like she had, and so he started out by clambering up onto the ledge and reaching out as far as he could. The lip of the roof was just so high. "You sure you aren't part cat?" He asked with a grin, staring up at her.

Eventually he realized he'd need to just jump, and so he mustered all the strength he had before lunging upwards, fingers outstretched. He was able to grab onto the edge, and breathing hard, he swung his body until he gained the necessary momentum to hook his legs up onto the roof and pull the rest of himself over.

"Woah." He panted, surveying the view. The clouds parted way to the moon, and as he turned to face Sapphire he could see her more clearly in it's silvery light. Oliver was already enjoying himself, and he'd only just gotten there. "When you pick a place to meet, you have high standards." He said with a playful smirk, cracking a pun.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph quirked a brow as Ollivander rejected her hand, watching in amusement as he struggled to pull himself up on his own. She decided not to point out that there was an easier way to get up onto the roof.

She watched him as he finally managed to pull himself up and sit down next to her. She was starting to notice she had a type- both the friends she had made so far were boys with bad puns.

Sapph stuck her tongue out at Ollivander. "What can I say?" She teased, leaning back and putting her hands behind her for support. "Hufflepuffs smell so musty from being underground all the time. I thought you could use some airing out." She winked playfully.

 

[Oliver Foy]

As Oliver sat there surveying the view, his eyes were drawn downwards and it dawned on the boy that he'd made his trip up far more complicated and dangerous than it had to be. "Oh." He said aloud, inwardly wanting to smack himself in the face. "You went that way, didn't you?" He said with an embarrassed chuckle, feeling dumb.

Oliver rolled his eyes at Sapphire's crack, and feigned being immensely offended. "Um, I think you're referring to hobbits." He said dramatically, crossing his still sore arms. He then smirked, giving himself away. The Hufflepuff did hope she caught his reference, though. And there was a chance, as not long ago she'd been singing a tune from a Muggle Halloween special.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Saph chuckled mischievously, wondering how he'd missed the chest that gave you a three foot boost. "I'll never tell,"

She snickered at his Hobbit comment. "And who says that hobbits wouldn't be good hufflepuffs?" She demanded. "Your common room is underground and right next to the kitchen! Where else would they get second breakfast?" It was kinda cool being able to talk about her favorite muggle things again. Last time she'd tried she had to explain everything and that just took all the fun out of it.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver's face turned red and he bit his lip to keep from laughing at Sapphire's words. It would've been wickedly clever, except his house was far above the dungeons on the fourth floor corridor. And most unfortunately, he wasn't near the kitchens either -- otherwise he would've been taking advantage of that.
"Silly, snake. You've been coiled up in your dormitory den too much to know what's where." He replied with a grin, teasing her lightly.

"No, I'm actually a few floors up. And that whole kitchen thing with second breakfast is just a fantasy of mine." He added after a moment, sending her a warm smile and hoping she didn't think he was making fun of her. Oliver did find the situation rather funny, though, normally being the one to miss things.

"We'll just have to go exploring the castle some more soon. I'm afraid if you had a test on where things were, the professor would tell you that you shall not pass." He said, trying to comfort her in his odd way, not being able to resist cracking another terrible pun.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphires smile faded and her face went pale. Oh no. No, no, no. The last time her information was that wrong, she had...

She pulled her knees up and ran a hand through her hair, her eyes wide with panic. Subconsciously she rubbed her shoulder, staring off into space. Tomorrow was Saturday, she would have to spend the entire day remapping the castle, making sure she didn't have anything else wrong.

It wasn't until Oliver's "you shall not pass" pun that she even remembered he was there. She bit her lip and turned her head to look at him, something unreadable in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Oliver, what did you say?"

Sapphire spoke softer than she had been, and she looked vulnerable.

 

[Oliver Foy]

The humor and lightheartedness drained from Oliver's face as he watched his friend. She had lost her color, and the panic and then that far off look in her eyes bothered the Hufflepuff. Deeply troubled, he carefully leaned closer to her, wanting to do something to help her. He avoided touching her just in case she didn't like that.

What she said wasn't very reassuring at all, and Oliver's brows were knitted as he searched her face for any sort of indicator of how the Slytherin girl was feeling. "No, don't apologize... Sapphire, are you okay? I can walk you back if you need." The second year said, not sure of what to do.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire blinked when the Hufflepuff leaned in, almost like she had been off somewhere else and she had just returned to herself again. "Oh, uh..." She realized she had been holding her shoulder and she quickly removed her hand.

"Hey, look! A star!" She pointed randomly, scrambling to catch up with herself. Bloody hell sometimes she really hated her brain, snapping her back and forth the way it did.

She did her best to grin at Oliver, chuckling nervously. Something told her he wasn't going to buy it, but it didn't stop her from trying. "So, uh, you like Lord of the Rings?"

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver saw the liveliness seem to snap back into her eyes, and at least she was being active and talking again, but the Hufflepuff was still deeply concerned over what had just happened. That and her behavior just wasn't quite right. The youth barely glanced off to where she had randomly pointed, more focused on his friend's well being. "Uhuh. That's the moon." He stated simply, suppressing a frown.

The Hufflepuff simply pursed his lips as she sent a rather stressed looking grin his way. She then followed that up with a nervous chuckle, and Oliver could see that Sapphire was aware something had happened and this... He wasn't buying it at all, and the second year swung his legs back over the edge, preparing to jump down and help her get back to her dorm if need be. "I like Lord of the Rings very much, and I'd like it even more if you'd be straight with me and tell me how you're feeling right now." He responded, trying to summon a weak smile.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph winced. Yeah, she knew he wouldn't buy it. She sighed. Well, there was nothing for it. "I don't like being wrong," She said simply. "I've been mapping out the castle since I got here. I just finished the third floor and started the fourth this morning."

Sapph looked away from the Hufflepuff. "Things at the home aren't always... Ideal. It's best to know the quickest ways out of where you are and the best places to hide. Last time I was wrong..." She trailed off, unconsciously rubbing her shoulder again. "Well... It wasn't pleasant."

 

[Oliver Foy]

As Oliver listened to Sapphire answer, the atmosphere seemed to turn grim as he comprehended the meaning behind her last sentence. He just wished he could say or do something to make her smile again, make her feel better and happy. The boy couldn't wrap his head around what kind of monster would make his friend feel this way, and for a moment he felt a sort of hatred. An emotion he'd never really experienced in genuineness.

It was gone as soon as it'd came, and what replaced it was the desire to help her and to also make sure Sapphire's time at Hogwarts was the best. He pushed back thoughts of where or who she was going to go back to when break came, and instead found him glancing at her shoulder. It was obviously bothering her. Did she need to have the school nurse look at it?

"You don't have to explain, but have you told anyone here?
They're wizards. They can do almost anything, you know." Oliver told her, not wanting to sound prying. He didn't want the Slytherin to feel like he was pitying her or make her regret being honest with him, but he also wanted to help her.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Saph let out a surprised laugh at Oliver's suggestion. She reached out and ruffled his hair, smiling playfully. "That's awfully sweet of you, Ollivander, but it's fine. Most of the kids that come through the home aren't that bad. There's just always one or two or sometimes three that have anger issues and try to take it out on the younger, more innocent tykes who always seem to get adopted first. I'm faster now, and much more clever, so I pretty much always win." She winked at him playfully.

Sapph smiled at the Hufflepuff. "So are you going to come sit back down or must I push you off the roof? It's awfully tempting, you know." She teased, knowing it was a bit of a mood swing. She couldn't help it, though.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Only when Sapphire laughed and ruffled his hair did Oliver relax. At seeing the playful smile on her lips and hearing her words, he was comforted a little. It still didn't sound all that fine to him, but she was back to lightly jesting with him and he sent her a smile back. Oliver didn't know much about life inside an orphanage, but he hoped very much that she'd always be able to win those games.

At what she said next, he instantly returned back to his seat beside her, a look mixed with fear and excitement on his face. "You can't do that. It's way to high, you wouldn't even hear me splat!" Oliver laughed in response.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire winked at Oliver as he sat next to her. "Oh, I don't know," She teased. "I have excellent hearing." She nudged him a bit then. "So, you know about my outside school life, so spill. What's yours? Where do you go when you aren't here?" She was really curious about it. She wasn't sure what wizards did when they weren't at school learning to be wizards, and anything had to be more fun than the home.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver grinned at Sapphire's teasing, and he bet she probably did have really good hearing. The more time he spent around the Sytherin, the more he became impressed. "Yeah, well, I'll take a rain check on that." He joked back.

He was sure she'd be rather bored by his answer. Oliver's family lived in a muggle neighborhood, and as of that, they lived just like them most of the time. Why, he rarely ever saw his father use magic at home. "I go back to my dog in Florida." He said with a grin, suddenly missing the boisterous animal.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph perked up at the mention of a dog, and she knew that she needed to know more. "You have a dog? Really? What's his name? Is it a he? What breed? Is he sweet? Does he like treats?" She couldn't help the way her eyes sparkled. She had always wanted a pet, but she didn't trust the current resident bully to not mess with it while she was gone. She did laugh though, knowing she had just peppered the Hufflepuff with questions about a dog.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver let out an amused laugh as Sapphire bombarded him with questions on his furry fiend back home, and he was happy to see she was seemingly an animal lover like him. "Yup. He LOVES treats, probably even more than he loves me, and he's super hyper. His name is Rocky."Oliver replied, getting excited as well. "Actually, I have a photo of him! He's a Boston Terrier." He added with grin, remembering the photo stashed in his jacket pocket.

"I know his name isn't the greatest, but my little brother picked it." He explained as he pulled the picture from its place and handed it to Sapphire.

Spoiler: Rocky

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph smiled and took the photo from Oliver, instantly cooing at it. "Oh look at that cute little nose I gotta get a dog you're sneaking him in next year or I'll end you," She didn't even notice the death threat that slipped out as casually and cutely as the rest of it. She handed the picture back to him and laid back, looking up at the stars.

"It's always so peaceful up here," She sighed, reaching a hand up above her towards the sky. "It's like no matter how dark life gets, there's always pinpoints of light that make things seem so much prettier and better, ya know?"

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver was happy to see Sapphire's reaction at showing her the photo of Rocky, and he barked out a laugh at her last statement. The Hufflepuff had luck on his side, but probably not enough to smuggle the boisterous terrier passed his parents, out of the US, and into the castle. It was practically impossible, but Oliver didn't want to disappoint her, and he never turned down a challenge. "Alright. If I get expelled, though, I'm going to blame it all on you." He replied with a grin.

The second year nodded in agreeance to Sapphire's words, his eyes roaming the sky. It was pure pitch except for the moon and stars which looked like diamonds flung across the dark. Oliver smiled softly, thinking over what she'd said. It was something he hadn't thought of before, but it made such perfect sense. "Yeah. Though it's really dark, there's just as much light if you look for it."

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph winked at Oliver. "Come on, Ollivander, what's life without a little adventure?" She teased. She realized she still didn't know much more than the Hufflepuff had a cute dog and liked Lord of the rings, and that he had a decent sense of humor if you forgot the puns.

"So," she started, "Tell me about yourself. Your favorite things, stuff like that."

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver grinned and wrapped his arms around his knees. "That's true. I just don't want my advdenture to end too early, and my parents would flay me alive if I got expelled." He said with a chuckle. She'd sparked the idea in his head, though, and Oliver was determined to try and get Rocky here.

Oliver pondered her question for a moment, wondering what he could tell her that wouldn't put her to sleep. "Alright. We'll take turns, then." He decided, moving a stray strand of hair out of his eyes. "I really, really love Mac'n'cheese." The Hufflepuff stated, slightly embarrassed as soon as the words had left his mouth. He just couldn't think of anything else at the moment. "Okay, that was really lame." He acknowledged, glad it was now her turn to tell him something she liked.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph sniggered when Oliver said his parents would flay him alive, but there was something in his eyes. She wondered briefly if perhaps she was a bad influence, but shrugged the thought of quickly.

She nodded, liking his system of trading information. She smiled at his obsession with Mac and cheese.

"Well my obsession, other than suckers, obviously, is hot cocoa. Not regular, though, no. It has to have a dash of cinnamon with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Mmm," She licked her lips, thinking of it. "It's divine."