Meeting Someone New

[Katalina Harker]

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore right now!" Kat yelled out as she sat staring at the stack of books before her in her dorm room. She felt a little foolish for yelling at herself, but in a way it was almost stress relieving. Deciding that she'd had enough for the day, Kat packed up all her notes and books (slamming a few of them a little harder than necessary) and slung her bag under the bed. She threw herself across her bed, still in her pyjamas, and pulled out a book. She laid there for a good ten minutes attempting to read, but nothing was sticking. It was all just words on a page.

Frustrated and ready to scream to the top of her lungs, she thought it might be best if she took a walk to clear her head and cool down a bit. She put on a pair of jeans and sweatshirt and pulled her hair up in messy ponytail. When she hit the landing at the bottom of the stairs in the common room, Kat grabbed her jacket that was sitting on the back of a chair and headed out of Gryffindor house through the porthole.

When Kat arrived to the outside of the castle she wasn't quite sure where she wanted to go so she just started walking. She ended up down at the lake front and had to put on her jacket because the breeze coming off the water made the winter air even cooler. The giant boat that had inhabited the lake since the beginning of this year caught her attention for some reason. Kat took a seat on the cold ground and just stared at the boat, wondering what it was like to have to live on it for a year. The castle was terribly drafty and cold. She could only imagine that it was way worse for the Durmstrung students. For some reason the boat held her thoughts captive for a while, or maybe it was curiosity of the people that inhabited it.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic arrived on the shore from the boat, wanting to get out and stretch his legs a bit -- and maybe run into a few pretty faces while he is at it. He started to walk along the shoreline, the weather much warmer than he was used to back at school. As he walked, he noticed a girl that looked to be about his age sitting on the ground, staring at the boat. He was not sure if she was trying to will someone off the boat, or if she was just bored, but he decided to walk over and find out. She was cute after all, and would be a fine one to have as part of the competition.

As he walked closer, he tried to make a bit of noise so as not to startle her when he spoke. "Hi. It is a pretty impressive boat, no?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat was sitting so deep in thought that she barely even noticed that there was a boy, and a very attractive boy at that, standing next to her. Her blue eyes grew bright and wide as her face grew deep pink in color. She looked around her to make sure that it was herself that he was talking to. When Kat finally decided that it was her that the boy was addressing she stammered out clumsily, "Umm, yeah! Big boat...big, big boat!" She closed her eyes and shook her head at her stupidity. Yes hullo! My name is Katalina Vanderhol and I have a neurological disorder. You blubbering idiot! she thought harshly as she stood and dusted herself off.

Kat faced the boy, whom she assumed was from one of the opposing schools, and extended her hand. "Hullo! I'm Katalina...or well Kat rather, but whichever you prefer to call me! And you are?" She wanted to be a good little prefect and make the other students feel welcome to HNZ, even if she did stammer quite stupidly whilst doing it.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic chuckled to himself as the girl stammered on about the big boat. She is rather cute, I think I can overlook her obvious nerves, he thought to himself, taking her hand in his and introducing himself to her in his thickly accented English. "Nice to meet you Kat, I am Nicolae Kobori. You may feel free to call me Nic if you wish." He flashed her one of his killer smiles, the one that he had heard from his friends made women melt. "What year are you here?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat thought she was going to melt as she felt herself go weak in the knees when he smiled at her. "Ni...Nice to meet you Nic!" she managed to get out without sounding completely ignorant. "I'm a third year." she added as she just stared at his face. He truly was one of the most attractive boys she'd ever seen. Then a twinge of guilt hit her insides like a bolt of lightening. Kat quickly pulled herself together and asked Nic, "I'm taking it from the accent you're from Durmstrung then? What year are you in?" She felt just like the old Kat again...shy, nervous, and terribly out of place. She looked at him, her face now flushed bright red and said apologetically, "Sorry...I'm usually not this, urm, well, nervous. Just when I meet new people! I'm actually quite a bit brighter than I'm appearing at the moment." I wish I could crawl under a rock and hide she thought as she continued to melt under his gaze.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic did not know what got into him at that moment, but he decided to make this girl melt more. He could tell that his mere presence was affecting her, and he wanted to make it work to his advantage. He was going to win the bet after all, and this was the perfect start to it. He smiled wider at her, his eyes bright and sparkling, and replied, "Yes I am from Durmstrang. I am a 6th year there, so almost able to be done and out of school." He winked at her, then continued as he sat down next to her on the ground, "So what brings you out here, just marveling at the boat or are you waiting for someone special?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat gulped and then swallowed the lump in her throat. For the temperature outside to be so cool she was suddenly feeling quite warm and her face was practically scarlet now. "I...I, um...no, I'm not waiting for anyone in particular. Th...The big boat just caught my attention. Taking a break from revising for exams." she managed to stutter out in broken phrases. Kat tried to look away from him, but for some reason he had captured her gaze and his eyes seem to lock right on her. She broke away, closing her eyes and shaking her head lightly. She had butterflies in her stomach something fierce now and had an overwhelming urge to giggle, but refrained as she didn't want Nic to think that she was a complete moron. "So, what are you doing out here?" she asked to break the awkward silence, but quickly berated herself for asking such a stupid question.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic tried not to laugh. He could tell the girl was nervous, but he had no idea why. What was it about him that made girls act all odd like that? He looked at her again, and smiled. He was going to play this up as long as he could. "Well, I came out here to get away for a bit from my roommates. They are rather full of themselves and discussing their options for the Yule Ball. I guess they have been scoping out the girls at meals in the Great Hall. They have a few picked out they are planning on asking." He shrugged, not sure what her reaction to that would be.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Katalina gave the boy a shy smile, which looked rather goofy. "Oh...the Yule Ball. Yeah, people go a little crazy over that. Never really did understand why," she said as her stomach started doing flips. She herself didn't have a date, but wasn't making that big a fuss about it as she didn't have one last year either and had a perfectly wonderful time with Lily and Courtney. Then a thought hit her like a sack of bricks. Courtney wasn't here anymore and Lily was most likely going with Blake. Kat screwed her face up at this realization and huffed quietly. A cool breeze blew across her body and she shivered, bringing her attention back to her surroundings and Nic. She immediately flushed bright pink again. "So...do, urm, you have a date yet?" she asked feeling extremely ridiculous. Of course he has a date you ding dong...look at him...he's gorgeous! she thought as she rolled her eyes.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic was surprised at how much he made Kat blush. She was rather cute, and he figured if he was to take her to the ball, he might have a good time. And that way he was almost guaranteed that he could kiss her, and get at least one entry into the contest. He looked over at her, and spoke softly in his heavily accented voice, "No, I don't have a date yet. Would you like to go with me to the ball?" He smiled then took her hand and looked her in the eyes and smiled. "Please?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat thought she was going to pass out when Nic asked her to the ball. The look on his face was entirely too irresistible to turn him down so she mustered all she could and managed to squeak out, "Yes." She shook her head and pulled out of his grasp, pinching herself. "Ouch!" she exclaimed as she rubbed her arm, a small red mark now appearing.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic's smile grew larger as Kat squeaked out her answer. She then pinched herself, leaving a red mark on her arm. Quickly, he moved his hand over to her arm and began to rub it. "Now why did you go do that?" he asked with a chuckle, "Did you think you were dreaming or something?" He continued to rub her arm, hoping she would be okay. "Will that leave a bruise?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat was glad she was sitting because she was sure if she'd been standing then her legs would have given out from underneath her as Nic rubbed her arm. She swallowed hard and said quietly, "I'm still not convinced that I'm awake." Her face flushed even more, now practically making her face look like she was sunburned. "I don't bruise easily." she added plainly as she stared at his face with a twinkle in her blue eyes and a goofy grin on her face.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

"That is good. I don't want to have to explain any bruising on my date for the ball," Nic replied with a wink. "Now, what color dress are you going to wear to the ball?" He was going to get flowers for her, but wanted to make sure he got ones to match.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat giggled like a little girl when Nic winked at her. Stop it stupid! He's going to take it back if you keep acting like this! she thought and immediately stopped her fit. Luckily she did have an answer for his question. Her mother had just sent her dress to her the day before. "Black! It's black." she said with a 'normal' smile on her face for the first time during this entire conversation.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic thought for a moment. "Ah, so then I shall surprise you. Black will match with any type of flowers." He had a conspiratorial look on his face, hoping to catch the girl off guard, which he seemed to be doing a lot of lately. "So, where should I pick you up for the dance?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Usually Kat hated surprises, but she would gladly accept any surprise that Nic threw her way. "I'm sure I'll love whatever you pick out!" she said, but then quickly berated herself for making such a stupid girly comment. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about this boy that made her act extremely silly and she had to admit that she didn't mind it in the least.

Kat thought about his question and honestly didn't have a clue as to where he should pick her up. She didn't want to have him walk all the way up to the 7th floor to meet her so she decided that it would probably be best to just have him meet her out front of the school. "How about just outside of the entrance to the school? Is that okay?" she asked timidly, having never actually been picked up for a date before.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

"I believe that will work. I can find that easily." Nic smiled at the girl, then moved to stand. "Care to walk with me around the grounds a bit?" He extended his hand down to Kat, moving to pull her to her feet.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat thought she was going to jump out of her skin when she grabbed Nic's hand and let him help her up off the ground. "Umm, yeah, sure, I'd love to." she stammered as she brushed the grass off of her clothes. "Where, urm, where would you like to see? I'm guessing you've had your feel of the lakefront since that is where you're living." she continued nervously. Way to state the obvious Kat she thought as she let out a sigh, trying to calm herself, finding that it only worked momentarily until she looked back to Nicolae. "We could go to the gardens if you'd like...there are some very pretty winter flowers in there." she suggested keeping her eyes averted away from Nic's gaze, which made it easier for her to concentrate and blunder on like a mental head case.

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic took her hand back in his and started to walk. "Sure, the gardens sound fine to me. Lead the way." He squeezed her hand, and was ready to follow her wherever she led them.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat had been expecting him to release her hand once she was up on her feet, but he didn't and when Nic squeezed her hand she got a tingly feeling all over. She fought back the urge to squeal like a giddy little school girl, deciding she would save that for later when she was telling her friends all about this. Hand in hand they walked to the gardens, Kat's stomach doing flips the entire way. "Umm, here we are. It's really alot prettier during the spring and summer, but I like to come out here to think sometimes." she said in a sort of pained voice, remembering who she was with and what had happened the last time she'd been out here. "What are the grounds at Durmstrung like? I'm sure you don't have gardens. I've heard it gets very very cold there."

 

[Nicolae Kobori]

Nic walked along, holding Kat's hand. He looked around at the flowers that were there, impressed by the amount of flora alive in the winter. "Yes. It does get quite cold. We do not go outside much in the winter. It is much too cold to be out there too long." He walked along next to her. "So, what kinds of activities are you into?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat couldn't imagine not being able to stay outside for very long, even in the winter. She had always hated being cooped up inside for hours on end, which is why she spent a great deal of her time outside if at all possible. "I love quidditch. I play chaser for the Gryffindor house team. I like to read too, when its actually warm enough then I come out here and read. It's peaceful out here. I just like being outdoors I guess. What about you? Do you have any hobbies or special activities?" she said sweetly with a smile, though still not looking directly at him so she wouldn't stammer on her words.