Taking a stroll

[Chace Harker]

Chace had not been at Hogwarts New Zealand a week, and he was already liking it. The atmosphere was much better than that of his home, where his mother was constantly harping about him getting his work done. No, things were much more lax here. The fourth year Slytherin had had a rather nasty disposition when he had attended Hogwarts Scotland a few years ago. Now, his attitude was more subtle, and while his arrogance would probably never fade away, he was more tolerant to be around.

The only downside to being here is that he knew virtually no one. The rest of the transfers he had never associated himself with- whereas when he had attended school, he knew practically everyone. For someone as social as Chace Harker, it was rather odd that he had not reached out to talk to anyone. He blamed it on adjustment, but the boy wondered if he had lost his touch.

With a sigh he strolled along the grassy lawn, figuring that he would go for a walk on the Lakefront. Sitting inside a large building all day did nothing for his health. With a sigh he kicked at a clump of grass some impudent first year had pulled up, occupying himself for getting it the farthest distance he could.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat was still getting used the recent influx of transfer students on top of the gobs of new first years that had seemed to take over Hogwarts New Zealand. There was no such thing as a quiet place to think inside of the school anymore and to be perfectly honest it was a bit maddening at times. Even the prefects common room seemed to be a bit more crowded than she had remembered.

She looked out the window of her dorm room and saw that the sun was shining brightly. Might be nice to take a walk outside and get some fresh air she thought as she hopped up off the bed and stretched her legs. Kat looked back down at the pile of books and papers on her bed and decided that a break was probably more than necessary if she wanted to keep her sanity.

The autumn sun beat down heavily on Kat's back as she walked out across the school grounds. She breathed deeply, letting the crisp air fill her lungs. The grounds were absolutely beautiful to the point of perfection this time of year and Kat smiled as she strolled. A few yards ahead of her she noticed a boy, about her age, that she'd seen in classes, but didn't know his name. He was kicking at a few clumps of unearthed grass it seemed so she approached him and said jokingly, "Now what did that grass ever do to you?"

 

[Chace Harker]

Frankly, Chace had not been expecting anyone to address him, and was a bit startled when he was. He looked up to see a girl he recognized from his class. A Gryffindor, no less. The Slytherin boy sighed a bit. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he didn't talk to anyone outside of his own house- and besides- she was cute.

A sly smile curling his lips, he shrugged and replied, "It was in the way. And besides-" his smirk broadened, "There isn't much more to do out here than kick grass." His green eyes flickering just a bit, he extended a hand, hoping he wasn't being too formal. "Chace Harker," he greeted, wondering if she would take it. "I believe we are in the same year."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat snorted a bit when the boy said the grass was in his way. She noticed that his robes were Slytherin colors and thought with a smirk Another one, eh? Where are they all coming from?. He seemed nice enough and at least she hadn't nearly knocked this one over when she was walking...mostly because she was paying attention to where what she was doing.

"Katalina Vanderhol, but most everyone calls me Kat," she said as she shook his offered hand with a bright smile. "I do believe that you are correct. I've seen you in classes before. I'm guessing that you're a transfer student then, unless you're just really good at not being seen and have been here the whole time," Kat added, chuckling just a bit.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace's look was smug- although, he always looked smug, so it really wasn't a bad thing. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kat. Most everyone calls me Chace. Although, I haven't really been introduced nor have met anyone around here to be called by my name." Smirking, he replied, "Why of course. I have a top of the line Invisibility Cloak I like to utilize when I attend my classes."

The Slytherin boy laughed, and he thought the sound was weird escaping his throat. Chace was not used to laughing a lot- although, his family was never the sort that laughed, so it was explainable. His green eyes flickering in amusement, he continued, "But yes, I'm a transfer student- I haven't been at Hogwarts Scotland for two years though. I was homeschooled last year." Frowning a bit, he added, "But I think I like it here much, much better. Everything is so much more organized. Hogwarts Scotland had a lot to answer for."

Smirking, he inquired, "Are there always so many first years here? I swear I can't walk two steps without running into one." Young, immature students tended to get on his nerves- even the ones that were in his own house.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat gave Chace an odd look, but then couldn't help but laugh when he mentioned something about an invisibility cloak for attending classes. "I knew it had to be something like that because I'm usually a pretty observant person," she said still chuckling a bit before adding, "So does that mean I'm the first person you've actually put on a conversation with since you've been her?" It was odd for her to think that someone wouldn't have been social for over a week, but if she was being honest her first year here she was so shy that she rarely spoke to anyone.

"Seems like we had quite a few transfers from Hogwarts Scotland this year. I swear we get rid of you all after the tournament last year and then you all come back." Kat cringed momentarily as she thought about the opposing schools returning here, but then was comforted by the thought that it was only going to be the students from the other Hogwarts transferring. "Homeschooled huh? How was that?" she asked curiously, not sure if she could handle being cooped up in the house all day.

Amused by Chace's question about the first years, Kat smirked slightly and answered, "We usually have quite a bit of first years, but I think that this year takes the cake as far as numbers go. It's like swimming in a sea of little bodies to get to and from anywhere. And the attitude that some of them have adopted is a little unnerving and a tad annoying at times." She rolled her eyes at a few of the first years whom she'd helped at Schrivenshaft's that had been extremely rude to her.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace frowned slightly. "Actually, yes. I must say I've been an introvert since I got here." Smirking, he added, "I figured it was high time to take that stupid cloak off and make myself known." When he was younger, he would have been jumping to meet people right away. But on the other hand, he was also more immature. Now, he was more cautious, more calculating. And, while he would never openly admit it, he was nervous about his peers accepting him. He was thrilled by the fact that he seemed to be getting along with Kat quite enough- his twelve year old self would have sneered and laughed had he known he would be talking civilly, even jokingly, with a Gryffindor in a few years.

The Slytherin raised an eyebrow. "There was a tournament? I heard no news of this. In any case," he smirked, "I wasn't one of those." His lip pursed as Katalina asked about homeschooling. "It was absolutely terrible. Not only did I not get to associate myself with anyone besides my brothers, my mother was always harping about me studying." He grinned. "I actually like it here a lot better- I am thinking even more than Hogwarts Scotland."

Chace chuckled. "They seem to be more and more annoying every year I ascend in school. Little urchins, they can be. I refuse to believe that I was ever like that." I was probably worse, he thought silently to himself, deciding not to broadcast that little thought to Kat. "So, are there any places around here I should be checking out? People I should meet?" He looked to her a bit hopefully. With some luck he could meet some more people. He hated appearing the antisocial worm that he was these days.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"I used to be horribly shy myself, but didn't stay that way for too long," she said in a sad attempt to make him feel a bit better and then added with a goofy grin, "Well I'm glad you decided to take off the cloak. Always nice to see a friendly face!" Ugh, that sounded stupid she thought as she shook her head, hoping that he hadn't noticed how incredibly lame the comment was.

Kat was a bit surprised that Chace had no knowledge of the disastrous Tri-Wizard Tournament. Surely it would have made headlines all over the wizarding community, but if he'd been homeschooled then maybe he wouldn't have known about it. "Yeah, they held the Tri-Wizard Tournament here last year. Hogwarts Scotland and..." she had to choke out the second school, "Durmstrang students were attending here." Kat shuddered at the thought of the second school, still somewhat haunted by the events that had taken place.

"My sister is homeschooled now. She attended here her first year, but contracted Spattergoit and had to be sent home. My parents just decided to keep her there, though I think she secretly wishes that she was back here sometimes." Kat added as a side note, then said, "I don't think I'd fair well being in school at home. I'd likely lose my mind. I love it here too much!" She was always a little overly zealous about the passion she had for being able to attend school here and her face flushed slightly with her last comment.

Kat couldn't help but laugh at the boy's comment about the first years. "They do seem to get a little more annoying as I get older, but I suppose that I annoyed the upperclassmen when I was a wee little one." She tried to remember back to her first year. Though it wasn't really that long ago, as she was now a fourth year, it seemed like ages and she almost wished to have the simplicity of it all back.

She thought about Chace's questions and then answered him with, "Hmm, you should probably lurk the school a bit. Get your short cuts to classes all planned out and such. The gardens are always a nice place to visit...they are sort of my 'special spot'. It's where I go to think!" Kat had friends that she could introduce him to of course. Even a Slytherin that was in his year. "I could introduce you to my friends if you'd like! We're a bit crazy and off the wall at times, but we're fun!" She had a slight twinkle in her bright blue eyes as she thought about how lucky she was to have such great friends and she hoped that Chace would get on with them too.

 

[Chace Harker]

"You definitely don't seem shy now," Chace commented with a smirk. Indeed, she seemed the opposite. Luckily she wasn't one of the Gryffindors that had been back at Hogwarts Scotland, whose heads were swelling so large with ego they threatened to burst. He could only chuckle at her comment about friendly faces. A few years ago she wouldn't have found him so friendly. Well, he figured, he should finally shake that off. He was in the here and now.

"Wow- I for one cannot believe that I did not hear about it. Usually such large get-togethers are well publicized." Then again, he had been cooped up in his house. Knowing his mother, she wouldn't want to get him riled up about seeing any tournaments. He raised an eyebrow. "Which school was champion, then? I take it that you did not care for Durmstrang's students?"

He shook his head. "That is a shame. Being homeschooled is not enjoyable at all." The Slytherin boy chuckled. "No, I don't believe you'd fare well at all... you seem to like it enough here." Wow, that sounded really lame, he thought to himself. He hoped that she wouldn't notice, deciding to shrug it off.

Chace smirked, not entirely sure what else to say about first years. He found most of them impudent and self absorbed. In any case, he was happy to surround himself with upperclassmen if he could.

The fifteen year old pursed his lip as he thought about it. "You know, I think I'd like that. I'd like it a lot." He was fortunate to have met someone who was willing to be helpful- and hopefully she was someone who could set him up with a good social network. "And shortcuts sounds like a great idea- I'm surprised I have not passed out trying to get from class to class yet."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Chuckling slightly Kat said, "Yeah, not really shy anymore. Being here cured that I think!" She liked this guy, though not in that way. He was easy to talk to and funny. He's cute too, but that is not territory you wanna get into Kat she thought, being very adamant about it.

"None of the schools took champion actually. The whole thing was called off before the second task even began. Our headmistress was kidnapped so the ministry thought it best to call everything off," Kat said, remembering back to the day Headmistress Barker was abducted. When Chace mentioned the Durmstrang students she dropped her face to the ground, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and took a deep breath. Then Kat looked back up and said softly, "They weren't all bad, just had a not so pleasant experience with a few of them. It's over now and I'm glad that they are gone." Unfortunately the scars are here to stay I'm afraid she thought.

Glad that the subject was almost immediately changed, Kat replied, "Great! I'm sure that you'll get on with them very well. In fact I'm positive of that!" She looked at him and smiled saying, "You just have to know where to look for the shortcuts is all. I was so thankful when I found them. All of that running all over creation was absolutely ridiculous!"

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace grinned. He wondered if he, too, would be opening up in no time. Don't count on that, he thought to himself. It might help that the girl he was talking to was rather cute. Hogwarts New Zealand had an atmosphere that he felt quite akin to, for no specific reason. Hopefully, he would get along well here for the rest of his academic career.

The Slytherin boy's mouth hung agape. "Kidnapped?" He could not believe any of this. Now, he was surely positive that his parents had been keeping this from him. "Uhm, who kidnapped her?" he asked a little uneasily. "And is she back?" He had heard some dodgy things had gone on at Hogwarts Scotland years back, but this too? He hoped that the Headmistress was safe, even though he had no idea who she was.

He frowned a bit, realizing that he had struck a nerve by mentioning the Durmstrang students. The Slytherin boy shifted nervously where he stood, deciding not to comment any further. He was never one for awkward silences.

Chace's smile was genuine as he looked back to Kat. "I hope that I will. Maybe you'll have to introduce me sometime?" The prospect excited him more than a little. If Kat's crowd was just as decent as she was, then they would probably get along very well. He nodded. "Indeed- running amok about the place is not desirable at all." His green eyes glistened with amusement. He was glad at the possibility of having a friend.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"We're not really sure. I've heard speculation that Death Eaters had something to do with it, but I'm sure it's only that...speculation." Kat said as she screwed up her face before adding, "She's not back yet. I don't think they have any new leads and if they do then no one is telling us." The whole situation was a little fishy to her, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Kat's face went slightly pink when Chace smiled at her. She smiled back, a bit of a sparkle in her blue eyes and said, "Sure! Whenever you're up for meeting new people just let me know! We'd be more than happy to add you into our circle." Stupid, stupid, stupid! What the frick has gotten into you girl? she thought about her last statement. In spite of her slightly dumb comments to him, Kat was really glad that she'd met Chace.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace snorted a bit. "Death Eaters?" He shook his head. Death Eaters were a joke in his opinion- a bunch of radical nitwits who were vying for a lost cause. From what he knew they were a dying breed. The smirk melted from his face, however, as he realized that Kat was serious. The skeptic inside of him refused to believe that was true- as Kat said, they were indeed, speculations. Rolling his shoulders around as if to shake off an invisible weight, he pursed his lip. It definitely wasn't a good thing if the Headmistress of the school was missing.

The Slytherin boy flashed a smile at the girl, one that consisted of showing his teeth. Normally accustomed to the smirk that was ever present on his face it quickly vanished, although it remained in his eyes. "Anytime is good for me. I don't have much to do other than classes." He had not gone out for any clubs, although he had seen flyers around the school from time to time. And Merlin knew that he was too scared to join the Quidditch team. The very thought of flying made him nauseous.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat gave the boy an odd look when he snorted at mention of Death Eaters. Maybe he doesn't believe me. Course if everyone wasn't still talking about it then I don't think I'd believe it either she thought seriously. She just hoped that wherever Headmistress Barker was that the woman was safe, though if she really had been kidnapped by the 'dark side'....Kat couldn't bare to think of it like that.

Beaming from ear to ear when Chace said that anytime was good for him. "Well, maybe we can plan something for this coming weekend. Is that good for you? I'll send owls to everyone telling them that we're gonna have a little get together!" she said a little zealously, but then her face turned pink as she added sheepishly, "If that's okay with you of course."

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace took note of the girl's odd look, giving her a weak smile. He didn't know what else to say on the matter, however. He jammed his hands in his pockets, feeling a bit out of place with the awkward silence. Immensely glad that Katalina was the first to pick up conversation, he opened his mouth to speak.

"This weekend? I think this weekend would be great! I- I don't have anything else planned," he replied, giving her a rather sly smile. He wondered how large of a get together this was going to be. The Slytherin boy had no idea how many individuals were in the network of friends that this girl had- he would just have to wait it out and see. "It's totally okay with me," he reaffirmed, a surge of happiness flitting about in his chest. He was quite glad that he had decided to take a walk today.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat was ecstatic that she would get to throw a little welcoming event for Chace...and of course for the other new Slytherin boy she'd met, Ashton. A list of names of people that she hung out with on a regular basis starting running through her mind and she needed to get owls out to each of them by this evening so that none of them would make other plans.

With a giant grin and her blue eyes sparkling more than they had in over a year she said, "GREAT! You'll love it! All you have to do it show up! As soon as I have all the little details planned out then I'll send you an owl!" Once again her perkiness had gotten the best of her and she tried to compose herself somewhat before saying, "So, I have some preparation to do. I'm gonna run and get started on that, but I'll see you later. Oh, and if you'd like some help finding your way around school then I'd be more than happy to help you with that." She turned to walk back up to the castle, but then turned and flashed him a smile and a small wave saying, "Bye!" With that she took off at a bit of a sprint towards the school, butterflies filling her stomach.