On A Mission

[Kayla Sheridan]

Kayla couldn't believe it. She was here! She was in Hogwarts. The last few days had been utter bliss. Of course she missed her Mam. This was the longest length of time she had been away from home but at the moment she was so caught up in reliving her Dad's past it hadn't trigured yet in her brain. However there were certain things that would take some getting used to. It was strange living with out technology. It was such a normal part of life muggle life. Now she had no phone, no kindle, nothing electronical. Everyone seemed to send letters. Her Mam had purchased an owl for her. He was now installed up in the Owlry. She kind of liked that she had to send letters. You had to put in more of an effort and make them detailed. It just required you to think more about how you spent you time and it's better then just receiving a one sentence text. Kayla already had one prepared for home. She knew her Mam would probably be very lonely. She felt guilty. She was all her mam had left and she had flown from the coop at age eleven. Kayla quickly shook her head, knowing where this line of thought would bring her. All in all, the past few days had been wonderful. Hogwarts was so big. She hadn't realised until she walked into the Great Hall. That had given her idea of the scale of the school. She liked being in Gryffindor. It seemed like a fun house, with fun people. She hoped to experience all aspects of Hogwarts, even those which weren't exactly conventional.

Today, Kayla planned on visiting the Cliffs. Although she had an awful fear of water, from her dad's pictures they looked very beautiful. She reasoned that as long as she didn't go too close to the edge she would be fine. She had many places left to visit. She had orginally planned on trying to see them all as soon as possible but she had decided on a different approach. She wanted to spread it out over the year and in the process, make her own memories. She dressed warmly before heading to the cliffs. It was a windy, cool day and as she got closer to the Cliffs she felt the strength of the wind build. Kayla loved the wind, it was so powerful but there was something thrilling about it at the same time. She hummed as she walked, her humming turning to singing . It seemed like a perfect time to burst into song. There was no one around and the wind was roaring around her. In order to hear herself she had to practically shout but there was a wide grin on her face. Nothing made her happier than singing and performing. Some people listened to music, talked to friends or ate when they had a problem or felt up but Kayla just sang. So Kayla sang to her hearts content , blissfully unaware of any other sound but the wind.​

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares Jeffreys was more than a little pleased that he had ended up sharing a house with Xavier, the two had always been close but he was happier knowing that he'd be with his twin in this house together, the young hufflepuff had wanted to be with his brother Isaiah, but as luck would have it, neither himself nor Xavier were suited to the house much. Ares had read up about the houses before attending, heard stories from Isaiah, and really it had all just resulted in Ares deciding the Hufflepuff was absolutely the right place for him. He couldn't help but feel happy, lying on his bed in the dorm room, staring up at the ceiling and just imagining the adventures of him and his brother, he could see them playing in the lake's water when the days were long and warm, and he could see them fighting side by side in the dark forest against whatever nasty creatures lived inside, he could see the spells shooting from his wand, feel their power. Just how perfect it would be for him, how good would it all be. Ares sat up slightly when the door of the dorm slammed loudly, and startled the hufflepuff boy who was lost in his own thoughts, pulling him out of the day dream and back the reality of the day.

The boy scrambled out of bed, rushing around the room, throwing on warm clothes, and briefly scrubbing his face and teeth with a cloth and toothbrush respectfully, there was so much to explore and in his Ares could see himself racing against a clock to save the school from an impending attack by the god of the wind, Ares didn't bother combing the mop of blonde hair before just grabbing his shoes and racing from the dorm, slipping them on as he attempted to keep moving forward, which of course resulted in him falling flat on his face multiple times. As Ares made his way through the school, his eyes fixated on the ceiling, on the windows and the cracks between the stones, and the boy continued until he got outside, and while holding out the wand began to make his way through the grounds, pretending to fight the monster of the wind, seeing the wind and pretending to fight it, he began so lost in this that the young hufflepuff didn't even realise he had headed towards the cliffs, and it was only the sound of singing that seemed to bring him out of it. He glanced around, more aware of the world, and noted the girl standing at the cliffs just singing at the cliffs and he was just in awe of it, how amazing it sounded, how incredible. The boy didn't even want to interrupt he just stood waiting and listening.
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[Kayla Sheridan]

Kayla had this awful habit of getting completely lost in her own world. She was used to spending so much time alone as a child. It was her imagination that had entertained her. She imagined all these situation, both fantasy and fiction. Many had included situations where her Dad would be in the audiance watching her perform. She would dedicate it to him and afterwards he would run up on to the stage and give her a giamt hug. Others included being a princess or she herself would be doing the rescuing. She would go on many adventures and save the world. She had lost some of this ability to an extent. This didn't stop her mind wandering however, especially when she was singing. Her mam didn't know where Kayla's love for music and acting came from. No one in the immediate family had any real talent or love for this area. This didn't bother Kayla, she hoped to pave the way for her family with this profession. Maybe if she ever had kids, they would love what she loved too. For all she knew she could marry an actor. Suddenly Kayla shook her head realising how deep into her thoughts she had gone. Her singing stopped for a moment while she just took a breather. "Oh my"She thought before smiling at how ridiculous her thoughts were.

Kayla then realised she was way to close to the edge of the cliffs for comfort. She could hear the waves crashing and could even feel some of the spray. Her heart constricted with fear and she took a few steps back. The sea in Kayla's mind was the enemy. It had taken her father away from this world too early. One day she hoped to overcome her fear and love it like she once had but for the moment she would try and avoid being too close to it. She turned to walk back to the castle when she spotted a boy just standing there. She cocked her head, curious as to what he was doing. It never crossed her mind that he had been listening to her singing or that he had been standing there long. She began walking towards him and she was almost sure she kind of recognised him. Maybe he was a fellow first year? Kayla smiled at him and once she was close enough for him to hear her over the wind she said "Everything okay there?"

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares could've listened to this girl sing all day, it was just so beautiful, even if it was a little hard to make out it was still beautiful, he was so enthralled by it, he barely noticed the time passing, he was honestly frozen in his spot with a smile gracing his lips, he felt like this was the most perfect thing ever, he felt like nothing could possible go wrong when she sung it was so good, the young hufflepuff wanted to do more, he wanted to speak with her, ask her to sing more to never stop singing preferably, even if he realised such a thing was just impossible, that she could never do such a thing, but he was happy right now to pretend that she was singing into the wind, that she was appeasing the wind gods with her song, that perhaps she was the daughter of musical god, Apollo, half brother of the god Ares was named after, and he felt like he could feel the old power of those gods following in the wind, flowing in the song, and Ares who'd never once believed in any god suddenly felt like he could.

The moment was shattered when the girl stopped singing and turned towards him, where he stood still frozen and lost in the echoes of the song still playing in his mind, he was oblivious to the fact she was approaching him, oblivious to the sounds of footsteps towards him, but vague aware of the singing having stopped, he was completely brought out of his state when he looked at the girl, asking how he was, and the words just failed him, "You were singing," he spluttering out in one quick breath, he couldn't believe how amazing it had been, couldn't believe how good it had felt, she wasn't the best singer in the world, but to Ares what she was was enough. It was good enough to him, "It was amazing, where did you learn to sing like that?" he asked still somewhat rooted to the spot, his eyes glancing between her in front of him and the spot where she'd stood, from where the music had flowed, and it was as he looked back, he realised he hadn't even said who he was, "I'm Ares," he added with a small smile, just clearly stuck on his thoughts of her singing.
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[Kayla Sheridan]

Kayla had never had her voice trained before stage school. She had just sang. She would constantly hum whilst doing other things. It had driven some people mad. Even now here she was going around Hogwarts over the past few days singing her heart out in these places were humans normal frequented. She was going to get reputation for being a crazy girl who just randomly sings.She didn't want that. She just sang because she loved it so much and it was almost a habit now. She couldn't help herself when notes came out of her mouth. She made a mental note however to be more careful and more considerate of those around her. She only had to think back on the incident with the Slytherin girl Lilyanna. She hoped everyone didn't react like that. Hogwarts wouldn't be such a happy place for her if that was the case. At least in this case the boy hadn't told her to shut up. It was a start.

Kayla almost giggled at this boy. From what she could tell he was probably the same age as herself making him a first year. She didn't recognise him as a Gryffindor so she wondered what house he was from. "Yes I was" her southern twang particularly noticable due the fact she was trying not to laugh. She wasn't laughing at him , she just found the bewildered look on his face amusing, it was adorable really. He hadn't moved since she saw him first. She appreciated his compliments. They gave her back some of her confidents. At least someone in this school appreciates singing or even music. "I've just always sang" She laughed. Well was that strictly true? Obviously with practice she had became a better singer but it had been clear ever since she was small that she had a talent for music. "Thank you"She added afterwards. She was grateful and liked this strange but endearing boy. "Nice to meet you Ares, I'm Kayla"

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares felt a little like he'd put her on the spot as well as himself really, he hadn't really meant to be caught staring at her but he'd just been so frozen in his spot that he hadn't been able to pull away, he had thought it amazing, he thought that she was amazing just that voice, but he knew that it was difficult for him to just be able to say it, and he'd therefore just blurted out the first thing he'd managed to say, blurted out a statement that was a little obvious as to what she had been doing, and yet he'd still said that, the boy seemed almost unable to get himself to think straight, and he was surprised when she said that she'd always just sang, "That's incredible," he told her, unable to stop himself from blurting that out too, the boy was sure that she was sure he was a little insane, unable to control himself.

The hufflepuff was glad that she seemed to not mind too much, that he was a little weird, and it definitely made him happy about it, or made him feel more comfortable about it. Kayla, and he just returned the smile and nodded, "It's good to meet you too," he said to her, "But honestly, the way you sang to the wind, just like, it was being carried by the god of the winds," he was trying to express it, "I could see the gods dancing to it, the song being an appeasement, asking the wind to become less powerful," the boy continued, "I could see it," he hoped he didn't sound too insane, as he just drifted off in his sentence looking up towards the clouds and the sky, the wind blowing the strands of his fringe around his forehead, he could see them, he could feel the power, although perhaps he was just feeling the magic, the sheer magic of the school, "I'm a hufflepuff," he added finally glancing back at her.
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[Kayla Sheridan]

Kayla had never had quite a response to her singing before. It was nice to be complimented and she even felt a blush come to her cheeks. She had got compliments before but they had never been said with such amazement. He seemed a bit flustered also , like he hadn't meant to say the compliment the way he had. Kayla didn't mind. A compliment was a compliment and she appreciated it very much. She needed to stop singing so loudly in randomly places. But she hadn't thought anyone would hear her out on the cliffs. Plus it was wonderful to sing with the wind and to feel it blowing her hair and seemingly through her body. Kayla laughed "Thank you so much"

She listened as he explained what he had felt. It sounded pretty amazing and Kayla didn't think she was that good a singer to have inspired such an image but the image was beautiful and she almost wished it had happened. "That sounds so beautiful and wonderful"She added, looking out towards the cliffs. If she closed her eyes she could almost see the whole scenario play out. However this boy was he had a wonderful imagination. Kayla was almost jealous that he could just see that, with out trying. "I'm a gryffindor" she smiled "You are the first hufflepuff I've met"She added,a small bit curious, wondering were all hufflepuffs this imaginative.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

The boy hadn't expect the girl, Kayla to be so receptive of what he was saying, and Ares just knew that he was stumbling over his words and not holding back at all on how he felt about the song, the hufflepuff got a feeling that if Xavier could see him now, he would definitely likely laugh at him, though not in a malicious way, Ares was glad that she was able to see the funny side of it, and didn't seem to mind his antics, didn't seem to mind the way that he was with her, the way he had acted which the Hufflepuff knew was less than normal but she seemed to just be happy with it, even a little impressed by it, which really made him feel strange, since more people just tolerated what he said, his family enjoyed it and the story with the girl had been different, it wasn't like he'd just described something that he'd seen, exactly how he'd seen it.

The boy looked at the girl and felt himself blush at her words, as he'd never been complimented on his imaginations, it wasn't something he often found himself talking about out loud to anyone other than perhaps Xavier and Isaiah, but it had felt like a good thing to explain to this girl, it had felt like the right thing to do, and it was in his mind the only thing to explain why he had blurted out what he'd blurted out, and why he had been unable to really move. She was the first Gryffindor that he'd ever met, and he just nodded in agreement, "I'm pretty certain you're the first Gryffindor I've met," he told her with a small smile, "What's at the edge?" he asked, before moving tentatively forward towards the edge of the cliff, "Seems sort of dangerous, you weren't afraid of falling because of the wind? I mean your song probably pleased the gods so much they would've saved you, but weren't you a little afraid?"
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[Kayla Sheridan]

It was refreshing to meet someone like Ares. He was different, a good different. She definitely hadn't met someone like him before and Kayla had met her collection of different people. The theatre was an extremely diverse place. People tended to be much more self-confident and therefore confident enough to be who they truly were. Although Kayla loved musicals and her experience in Matilda had been life-changing, she had certainly seen the other side of people and the hard side of her future career. It was an extremely stressful job and a lot of hard-work. One had to deal with a lot of difficult people also. She had been very young at the time but a lot of people had pulled no punches or treated her differently from their older co-workers. It hadn't put her off the theatre however. Despite the hard work and difficult people, she loved it and her love for what she did outweighed everything else. It was also nice to be complimented because they were few and far between among co-workers. Kayla did have to admit that due to her age some people had been very nice and she was grateful for that because it was nice and boosted your self-confidence.

Kayla had not known much about the houses before entering Hogwarts, in fact she had known nothing. It was why , at the time she had had no particular preference as to which house she was put into. Once sorted she had made it her business to find out. On reflection Gryffindor had suited her best. Hufflepuff would have been nice too but she maybe have been a bit much for the kind-hearted 'Puffs. She could definitely see why this boy had been sorted to Hufflepuff. He just screamed it. If she went on the characteristics of each house then at least she knew Ares would be friendly and nice. Hopefully she had nothing to worry about. "Water"She shivered, she didn't like thinking about water or even saying it. She hated how it reduced her to a shivering mess. She was supposed to be brave for god's sake. She hadn't been afraid of falling , she was just afraid of the water itself "I loved the feeling of the wind behind me too much"She began "It just felt amazing, I didn't even think of the drop"She said truthfully.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares had moved towards the edge of the cliff, but the closer he got to the edge the more afraid he became, Ares was not afraid of heights really, but the lack of a barrier did put him a little on edge, he was afraid of slipping and falling, which would of course just end terribly and that would not be good for anyone. He glanced back at Kayla and smiled a little before shifting closer, eventually he reached a spot where he just stopped, close enough to see over the edge and able to still stay a distance away that he didn't fear falling into the abyss below. The young Hufflepuff glanced out at the view in front of him, and looked at the water moving in the distance, how strange this little area was, how odd for the students to even be allowed, he wondered how many people had stood on the edge, if any had ever fallen. The Hufflepuff's gaze moved up from the ground and to the grey cloudy sky, squinting slightly due to the light still shining through, taking in the words which Kayla had spoken, feeling of the wind, not even thinking of the drop.

Ares was despite what he'd said, and his name sake not exactly religious, he didn't think of the gods as a real thing, but occasionally he had moments where it felt like he could feel it, like this girl and her singing had felt like a song of appeasement to the gods, like a song which the gods celebrated, "This is such a strange place," he told her, though almost speaking to himself, "It feels like it should be one of the most dangerous places in the school, but it's doesn't, it feels like magic would catch you if you fell," he let his eyes drift away from the sky, imagining the gods on the water playing with the magic of the world, the magic streaming out of the school and the pupils with in it. He wasn't sure what else to do, and so the boy just sat down on the ground staring out at the water, "This school is so full of magic you can almost see it hanging in the air," he muttered, it didn't matter that he was probably acting weird and she likely thought that he was weird, but he didn't care, the boy was just staring at the sight in front of him, allowing his eyes to dart around, seeing in his mind the shimmer of magic which surrounded them.
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