Closed Turning colours

[Tilly Drage]

Tilly didn’t always find Brightstone weekend all that exciting. This time around, for some reason, she felt a little tug at her chest. Maybe it was her brain, begging for an escape from schoolwork. Or her body, protesting at her daily practice on the Quidditch pitch. After taking breakfast, she returned to the dorm and slipped into a new (well, most certainly secondhand) purple peacoat her parents had sent her. It had arrived just in time for the cooling fall weather. And surprisingly, this one fit perfectly.

The Hufflepuff walked by herself to Brightstone Village. She hadn’t told anyone she was going, and she didn’t exactly feel up to a shopping spree. Not that she had the money to start with. Instead of spending her precious few galleons on a butterbeer or a new hairpiece, she decided to go for a stroll.

Tilly walked towards Takaroko Park, which wouldn’t charge her a knut to just be there. She took her time, breathing in the crisp air and admiring the fall colors. Tilly soon occupied a bench and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t quite understand herself anymore. She knew she was changing, and that she was going to be OK. All the same, these days, she could never escape the feeling that she was ill-fitted for her own skin.

@Seraphina My

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina wasn't one to take advantage of the Brightstone weekends. The village was always crowded, and there were too many giggling students buying things, two thing she disliked. It just made her angry because material things were never going to make them happy. Of course, if you had asked her mother the same question, she would likely disagree, seeing as she was marrying into a rather wealthy family system soon. If only she and Hera could have had the normal life that other kids get, it would have made things easier. Maybe she'd be "normal" and actually have friends. The arguement she and Jenna had had put a sour taste in her mouth everytime she thought of the Slytherin, and once again, Hogwarts was rather lonely.

Today, she needed to get out of the castle and forgot that there was a park in the village. While the cliffs were more reclusive, it was a change of scenery, at least for a while, and Seraphina started walking on the trail, noticing some families nearby before seeing a familiar face. Her stomach started to turn as she Tilly and she shook it off, not sure what to make of it. It wasn't like her to approach others, but she and Tilly were seemingly getting along for a good while. The Gryffindor still wasn't quite sure if they were friends, but maybe the Hufflepuff was the closest thing she had at the moment. Changing directions, she walked over towards the bench and looked down at Tilly. "Uh, hi. May I?" she asked, gesturing to the seat beside the girl.

 

[Tilly Drage]

Tilly was expecting the footsteps of an approaching person to carry on past her. Except, they stopped just short of her on the path. She looked up, and there was Seraphina. Tilly hadn't seen much of the Gryffindor in a while. To be fair, it had been a busy year, at least for the Hufflepuff. Her face split into a smile. "Hi there… of course you can," Tilly said, glancing to her side. She leaned back against the bench and patted the space next to her. Shivering a little in her coat, she put her arms back around her torso, hugging herself. She was a wimp for the cold.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina awkwardly smiled and took a seat next to Tilly, looking straight ahead. She wasn't sure if Tilly actually wanted her there, but maybe this was why she was drawn out of the castle today. Tapping her knees softly, she looked out over a family playing nearby. "Rather chilly, isn't it?" she asked, not actually minding the cold, but as she first turned to look at Tilly, she noticed the girl shivering. She had a jacket that she wouldn't mind offering, but would that seem weird. "Oh, um, do you want my coat?" Seraphina asked nervously.

 

[Tilly Drage]

Tilly nodded, shuddering again. She wrapped her peacoat tighter around her chest. “I’m good with this one… but thanks.” Tilly smiled back at Seraphina. She doubted that the Gryffindor’s jacket, or any other article of her clothing, would fit well on her.

“Wouldn’t want to rip yours out of its sleeves,” Tilly joked lightly. She glanced over at the family that Seraphina had just been watching before. An ache prickled at her ribcage. She missed her sisters, and her parents, but she didn’t want to complain.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina nodded as she looked towards Tilly for a moment, watching as the girl shivered. Her hair moved slightly, and the Gryffindor wondered if it felt as soft as it looked. Scrunching her face, she returned her gaze forward. "I don't know why you think that," she scoffed, wondering why Tilly thought that. It wasn't like her arms were going to explode or something. "Your arms are great, I mean, uh, fine. Your arms are normal." Seraphina tugged on her sleeve as she looked at Tilly again nervously. That was awkward.

 

[Tilly Drage]

Tilly laughed out loud. Perhaps she was breaking the peace in the park. “I mean, I don’t think I would fit in your jacket.” She blushed a little when Seraphina said her arms were great; not that she knew entirely what that was supposed to mean. “I hope they’re not too normal,” she said. Although maybe that was why she sucked at hitting bludgers lately.

“Do you like the cold?” Tilly asked. As chilled as she was, there was something about talking with Seraphina that warmed her up a little.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina was startled when Tilly started laughing. She wasn't quite sure what funny thing she had said, but the arm comment did make a little more sense. "Oh, uh, right. I'm sure swinging the bat around in quidditch makes your arms pretty strong." Why was she still talking about Tilly's arms? It's not like she had really noticed the Hufflepuff's arms before - or maybe she had. It didn't really matter.

Clearing her throat, she pushed some hair out of her fair and shrugged at Tilly's next question. "Uh, I don't mind it. I'm used to spending time outside so I don't have to be around my mom." She didn't really talk about these things with anyone, even Jenna, and swallowed hard before continuing. "Do you like the cold?"

 

[Tilly Drage]

Tilly nodded, grinning at Seraphina’s comment about her arms. “Yeah, maybe a little bit.” She hugged herself subconsciously. Compliments always made her feel the tiniest twinge of embarrassment. Especially coming from someone like Seraphina My.

“Does your mom bother you?” Tilly asked curiously. It occurred to her that she really didn’t know much about Seraphina. Not like her other friends. She supposed that was fair enough, given their short and chaotic history together. Tilly shrugged. “Not really. At least I get to go back to Samoa when the term's over.”

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina tried not to stare at Tilly too much while they continued their conversation, even if that in itself was a hard task. Ever since the spin-the-bottle event where she ended up kissing many of her least favorite people, she had been noticing that she wasn't looking at boys differently like a lot of her classmates. But she kept eyeing girls. And it wasn't that it felt weird - it felt normal. It was no longer the angry feelings anymore that led her to believe she wanted to be the girls she was jealous of; rather, she seemed to be interested in staring at them, and while most of her classmates were starting to make it known to others they were interested each other, Seraphina chose to hold back.

"Umm, yeah, I guess," she continued, clearing her throat as she looked out over the park. Why was it so hard for her to just make conversation? She hated her mom, but then again, she was sure Tilly must have a perfect family life. When the Hufflepuff mentioned going away after the break, Seraphina forgot that she would suddenly have to go back to Italy during the break. She knew the next few months would be miserable. She had nothing to look forward to and no one to really talk to. Looking back at Tilly, she was about to respond when the wind blew her hair a little bit and Seraphina felt this weird feeling in her stomach. Her arms felt like they were buzzing, and she just didn't quite understand what was happening as she threw her hands on Tilly's face, pulling her towards her own as their lips met. It was only for a brief moment before Seraphina pulled away, realizing what she had done. Her eyes widened, and she brought her hands down stuttering before literally jumping off the bench and running out of the park as fast as she could. What had she done?

Godmod approved

 

[Tilly Drage]

Too wrapped up in her own thoughts, Tilly didn’t notice the way Seraphina was looking at her. The Gryffindor didn’t seem like she wanted to talk more about her home life. Well, Tilly didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Their friendship, if that was the right thing to call it, was still fresh and fragile. Tilly was about to change the subject when Seraphina reached up and put her hands on her face. She didn’t have time to react as Seraphina’s lips met her own.

Tilly had steered clear of the Spin the Bottle game. Just the thought of it made the butterflies pound in her guts. Deep down, kissing someone else was scary to her. What she’d heard from Hester and how horrible it supposedly had been only cemented this fear.

Despite this, the split second where Seraphina kissed her wasn’t so bad. Tilly’s cheeks burned madly as Seraphina bolted. The Hufflepuff wanted to shout after the Gryffindor, but instinct stopped her. She had the feeling that it wouldn’t go well if she did. Her heart pounding, her head spinning, and her stomach tumbling, Tilly rose from the bench. One kiss from Seraphina My and it didn’t feel like her body worked anymore.

Tilly had so many questions and feelings that she didn’t even know where to start. How was it possible to keep blushing after the source of that embarrassment had up and run away? Somehow, she made it back to Hufflepuff house. She avoided her roommates. Tilly didn’t know how to talk about the kiss and didn't really plan to. Right now, Seraphina’s lips were a secret she wanted to keep to herself.