Turning Point

[Raziel Kim]

Set after Graduation Y21​

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Finally, the end had come.

Graduation. It was a time to celebrate, a time to say congratulations. It was supposed to be a happy time, and for most of them, it was. However, Graduation also meant another thing, it was a time to say goodbye. Some would say that saying hello was difficult, but the truth was, it was harder to say goodbye. However, farewells were inevitable. Everything that started must come to an end. Subconsciously, and even consciously, people knew that. But knowing doesn't make it any less difficult, in fact, it made it even harder. Goodbyes certainly evoke powerful emotions, tears were most common, but in the case of Raziel Kim, it was the slight downward turn of his lips that showed that he wasn't pleased about this happening.

Today was the culmination of their career as students of Hogwarts, after this, they would leave this place for the last time. It was bittersweet. Their time was over and a new chapter was opening, adulthood. Exams were done, classes were over, and there was no turning back. While the head boy would not miss the noise, the professors, nor the majority of the student population, he would miss the school itself. Looking around him both at the familiar and unfamiliar faces, he could not help thinking about just how much had changed since he had first entered these halls to be sorted. He might not have noticed it for he was too occupied by his own world to pay attention to what was happening around him, but things had definitely changed in the last decade of his life. This led him to think about the ones whom he did consider to be important characters of this chapter in his life.

Conan Edogawa was the first person that he knew, and though they rarely spend time together especially during the later years, his view of the hufflepuff didn't change. In his last years at Hogwarts, he was also able to meet someone who shared the same fate that he did, Abel, and while he didn't wish his condition on anyone and though he had long accepted it, it was quite comforting to have someone who understood what he was going through. And then there was Dante Raven, an equally quite boy who played such a large role in his time at Hogwarts even though words were rarely spoken between them. It was probably odd, but despite the lack of verbal exchange, they were friends. Raziel enjoyed the younger's company. With him, he doesn't feel that he was obligated to talk nor did he feel that he was required to do something which he didn't like, which was good. The younger also understood the value of silence, something which he was yet to see from those that he knew. The head boy might not miss a lot about Hogwarts, but these three, he would.

His musings were cut short as tumultuous applause and cheering broke out among the students. Hats shot into the air like a rainstorm of pointed black felt before returning to the outstretched cheering hands of the young men and women who were now embarking on their new journey. Congratulations, thank yous, and a few hugs were exchanged. It seemed that people wanted to mingle a bit more. This, after all, was probably their last chance to see the people that would not likely be their friends in the future. There were a lot of promises made and a lot of odd reunions planned. But Raziel Kim did not care about all of that. Instead, he quickly left his position to do one last thing before leaving. Instead of looking for his family among the crowd, however, he was looking for someone else. Not Conan, not Abel, (for he had been able to say goodbye to latter in a party which though quite new for him was something that he quite enjoyed) but Dante. He walked away from the crowd, partly because he never did enjoy crowds, but mostly because he knew that the younger did not like the noise too. His walk was quick, unlike his usually slow paced one and he was paying less attention to his surroundings. Hogwarts was behind him and he only faced the unknown future ahead, but before he close this chapter of his life, he had to see his friend, and he had to say goodbye.​

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[Dante Vittori]

Dante had viewed the graduation from afar. He had his own brother graduating today, but really, he barely recognised Jeremiah as a brother. Jeremiah had done many things that aggravated Dante - namingly, two seventh years that were now pregnant. To say that the young pureblood felt sick at the thought was an understatement, and he could not wait for the formalities of the graduation to end, and finally be able to leave. The only reason he was not in the Ravenclaw Tower right at this moment, hiding behind a book, was Raziel Kim, the Head Boy, and only person he cared about today. With the graduation of his only friend staring right in his face, the younger of the pair was forced to look at his life, and reflect a little on what he had been doing. Never before had the Ravenclaw pondered in such a way - he never cared about what his life would become. He assumed he had it all planned from the very beginning - well, that his mother and father did. However, now he was not so confident. He did not fit the shape of the family, and so now planned to expel himself from it - as his older brother Jeremiah should have done. As Grace should have done. If they were going to be blood traitors, the least they could do was not have it reflect on their family and do the responsible thing, that Dante himself planned to do.

He sighed as he heard cheering, and turned his back on the scene. He was ready to leave. He had seen Raziel cross the stage, and that was it. Whatever happened now, all Dante knew was that his future was not in this school any longer. He had wanted to leave since third year, but had stayed because of his friend, Raziel. Now, his friend was grown up, a legalised adult, and he had no other reason to remain here. His thing were packed, and he made sure that everything was there because he would not be returning to this school ever. But what was he to do with himself? He could not go home. He could not live in that house any longer with the rest of his family. Their opinions clashed too much, and Jeremiah was to still be living there - it was disgraceful. His family were once so proud, and now because Jeremiah decides to ruin the family name with a girl that wasn't even a pure blood, and another girl who was about as important as he dandruff on her head. The children should never be acknowledged as being related to any of the Raven family, but apparently Jeremiah was a special case. His hand rose to his temple in frustration, and he released a sigh. His plan was to go off somewhere different, far away from his family, and to make sure that nothing he did ever looked badly upon the family he once respected, he would take the name of his mother's line. They were all dead, anyway. The reputation of a dead line was irrelevant to the young Ravenclaw.

As the crowds went about their business, exchanging superficialities and making empty promises, Dante departed to a more secluded area, just near the steps in the shadows. He was planning to tug his friend from the bustling crowd if he could manage it without being noticed, otherwise he would have to find Raziel at a later date. He did, after all, plan to surprise his friend once he was able to leave the school. He had been planning his departure from the school and his family for a long time, and he had yet to share his plans with another. However, it seemed that Dante would not have to work to gain his friend's attention, as Raziel seemed to have found him instead. He inclined his head to the shadows, and lent against the wall so Raziel could join him. He looked at the parchment Raziel had received, his diploma he assumed, and then returned his gaze to Raziel's face. Without breaking eye-contact, Dante reached into his robes, and pulled out a sweet, identical to the ones they often shared - well, that Raziel gave and Dante took. "Again," he muttered, quietly, his deep voice hoarse from rarely being exercised. He, of course, meant that they would meet again, but that was far too many words to say, and therefore ran the risk of Raziel not understanding. But that did not matter. He would soon understand. With a small nod to the former head boy, the young Ravenclaw side-stepped his previous companion, and left for the Ravenclaw Common Room, allowing Raziel to return to the festivities.​

 

[Raziel Kim]

Usually, it would be hard to look for someone in a room full of people who keep in moving from one place to another, but strangely, it didn't take long for him to spot the one that he was looking for. Dante didn't look any different, he still wore that familiar expression on his face, the one that he got accustomed to seeing as the older Ravenclaw had the odd habit of staring at someone for long period of time. Not that he expected the younger to cry which was the usual reaction of someone seeing his friend off, crying didn't suit the younger's face, and honestly, he wouldn't know what to do should the Ravenclaw burst into tears. That wouldn't be Dante.

He entered the shadows just like his friend did, his brightly colored hair standing out in the darkness, a stark contrast to his friend's raven colored ones. He had initially planned to say goodbye to the younger seeing as they wouldn't be seeing each other for years. Dante, after all, was still a student of Hogwarts. He would be entering his sixth year, he on the other hand, would be leaving. Not that they had no way to communicate. They could still write letters like they did during the holidays. But still, he wanted to say goodbye. Now that he was standing in front of the younger, however, he did not know what to say nor do. He didn't have to do anything though, as the younger soon broke the silence. It was a rare thing really, but he wasn't complaining. His dark orbs locked with the younger's blue ones. Perhaps it was because of their location, but it was the first time that Raziel really did appreciate the color of the younger's eyes. He took his friend's gift without saying anything and merely nodded his head at the other's statement. He wasn't really optimistic as he learned long ago that optimism wouldn't really bring him anything good, and he didn't really expect that they would be seeing each other anytime soon, but if Dante said that they would meet again, then so be it. Whether it be in a few years after he graduated, or after a decade, whether it be accidental or planned, it was fine. What mattered was that they would see each other again.

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A few months had passed since Raziel entered a new chapter in his life. His life as a Hogwarts student was over, he was officially an adult, at least, in wizarding community, he was already considered as one. He should be looking for a job, but instead, there he was, sitting on his bed, with a bunch of books and crumpled parchments around him. It had been months, but he was yet to get used to this new life. Honestly though, aside from the lack of classes to attend, he still spends his day the way he used to spend them back at Hogwarts. Still, something was missing, and perhaps that was why he was yet to get accustomed to this new life.

The former Ravenclaw rolled up another parchment and threw it at the far corner of the room. He had been trying to write a letter since that morning, trying being the key word. Writing letters wasn't supposed to be difficult, especially if it was for a friend, but he couldn't get himself to finish one. Said friend had not written him anything too, not that the younger was obligated to do it, but honestly, he expected that he would write even once. But no. Not one letter came. Not after graduation, not after a week, not even after months. Perhaps he was asking too much, the boy need not write to him. He must have been busy after all, for unlike him, the boy had classes to attend to and homework to do.

Raziel turned away from his half written letter and pulled a chair away from his desk. He positioned it so that it faced the room's single window and promptly sat down and leaned forward, resting his chin against his folded hands with his elbows placed on the window sill. His mother, being non magical, didn't want her kids to be ignorant about the muggle way, and thus, had insisted that it would do them good if they would live somewhere where they could cross both the wizarding world and the muggle community. His father had agreed, thinking that it was a good way to blend in, though Raziel's sisters think that the older man just agreed because he thought it was too troublesome to argue with his wife, Raziel thinks that it was because his father loved the ocean though, but whatever the reason was, it did not really matter.

Located at Jeju island, their house was near an ocean and a forest, however, their neighbors were all muggles, or at least, they think they were. Their house appeared like a normal muggle house to the outsiders, the truth, however, was that it wasn't really a normal one. After all, if it was one, it wouldn't be able to accommodate his father's large family every time they suddenly decide to visit. The living room was fairly normal as it needed to be, but the other rooms were enchanted to fit their magical side. His family however, lived as normally as they could, his mother was a journalist and writes for the local paper, but she and his father travels most of the time. His older sisters had all graduated already, and they too, travel a lot. This time, however, they were all at home. Raziel thinks it was because he was there. They all see him as the seven year old kid that he once was.

The former Ravenclaw yawned as he blocked his sister's voice. The older had been yelling for him to go downstairs, but he wasn't really in the mood to do that. While he liked her, (they were family after all), he rather spend his time in his room than go downstairs to meet another group of her friends. Since he returned, the older had seemed to have decided that it was her mission in life to introduce him to the world and get him some 'life'. Something which he didn't need. However, his sister's voice had been getting louder by the minute, and it was getting rather annoying too. With a sigh, he decided that the only way to stop the noise was to go downstairs and give whatever it was that his sister had wanted from him. Perhaps she just served the food, or perhaps she needed him to do something, anything would be fine as long as he would not be forced to meet someone new again.​

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[Dante Vittori]

Dante, never being one to think things through entirely, had found that there were several hiccups in his plan. Getting out of the school, and getting his last name changed were easy, he easily convinced his parents this was right - they were just surprised he actually spoke big sentences to them, and gave them a speech about how right he was. No, the hard thing was finding Raziel - not even running away at the dead of night off an island was difficult. Locating Raziel was what was hard. Raziel Kim, a very normal name that hinted nothing as to the whereabouts of his friend. Dante just assumed he was from an Asian country because he was Asian, but he could not pick the older's accent because they rarely spoke. They had never exchanged addresses because it was not necessary. He had spent the last few months doing nothing but surrounding himself with a bunch of foreigners that he could not understand. Well, in actual fact he would be considered the foreigner. His English was not at all impressive, and not one person he had met on his travels spoke Italian, and he was not inclined to talk anyway. The only thing that kept him on task was that finding Raziel was very important to him, and he could not fail his self-appointed mission, and so he now found himself on an island called Jeju. He had done some digging, and with a stroke of luck, discovered that a family with the last name Kim lived here. The only issue was that it was a muggle area, and the pure blood felt severely uncomfortable here.

He had picked up a few muggle mannerisms from Muggle Studies, and from observing the beast on his travels. he now knew to look both ways before crossing a line of tar, otherwise he ran a strong risk of being hit by the muggles in their mechanical machines. He held his breath as he crossed quickly, feeling nervous as he always did when crossing the road. It was a most harrowing experience, and the thought that this could be another dead end was enough to get him a little concerned. Would he never find Raziel? It was certainly a possibility, and the thought of having to return home after being gone so long was frightening. He could not stay out here for the rest of his life, and there would only be one place Raziel would be able to contact him, and he contact Raziel, and that would be back in Italy. He pulled on his muggle collar, finding the shirt he was wearing to be irritating - having missed the comfort of robes - but this was his choice. He had made the bed, and now he must sleep in it or else hit the floor. He was not longer quite so optimistic about his search, but he had not quite given up hope yet. He walked up to the front door, and paused. With a pale hand, the tired pure blood knocked on the door, ready to receive disappointment.

"Raziel?" he inquired, not quite looking at who answered until there was a distinct silence that brought his eyes to level. His eyes widened with surprise, and utter relief as the very person he had been looking for was standing right in front of him. Raziel Kim. The relief would have been palpable. The younger of the duo hunched his shoulders and released a stressed sigh. His quest was done, and he was ready to spend some time recuperating from his long trip. He released his trunk from his own grip and let it slump to the floor, and gave a small nod to Raziel, before looking past his friend, at the other people that appeared to be within the house.
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[Raziel Kim]

Instead of a group of strangers sitting on their couch, laughing about something which he could not understand, it was an empty living which greeted Raziel Kim as soon as he took the last step down the stairs. Which was a relief. His family alone was noisy enough, he didn't need strangers making things worse. People who met the former Ravenclaw without meeting his family first would have thought that he came from a disciplined and silent household. After all, Raziel wasn't really a talkative one, nor was he extremely active and open. Merlin were they wrong. Except for his father, the rest of the member of his family was far from being like him. His mother, being a journalist, was naturally curious. She had no reservations nor tact and would ask and say anything that was on her mind. His sister, Raina, was like a copy of his mother, though more curious and clingy than the older one was. He had two other older sisters, but they were traveling somewhere for their jobs, which was actually a good thing. The Kim household was loud enough with only his mother and one of his sisters occupying it. Seriously, if he did not love his family, he probably would have left already. Though at least, he had the company of his equally silent father to keep him sane.

Another yell from the adjacent room reminded him of the reason why he left his room. Why couldn't his sister open the door herself? She was on the same floor, it would have been quicker if she did it instead of calling for him. But alas, his family did have their own fair share of oddities, he shouldn't be one to judge. Hair slightly messy from lying around on his bed and doing nothing the whole day, he approached the door to welcome whoever it was that was visiting them. Raziel stood for a moment in front of their door. Hopefully, this wasn't another rude and noisy visitor, or another neighbor inviting them to another party. Hopefully it wasn't another salesman too. He didn't know how to turn those people down. Before, he used to let them in and gestured to their sofa before he would leave for his room, letting his parents or his sisters to do the part which required conversations. After a while though, and after a long talk from his parents about him letting strangers in without asking who they are or why they were there first, he learned to just shut the door without saying anything unless the other person quickly states their names and their reason for disturbing their house' 'peace'.

Expecting for the worst, the former head boy opened the door slowly, mentally preparing himself and his ear for the usual awkward greetings and empty 'how are yous'. He was surprised, however, when instead of a smiling face and an overly bright aura, what he found in front of him was the person that he had least expected to see. If the surprise didn't register on his face, it was evident with the way his eyes widened, and his mouth parted by a fraction as if he was about to ask something. The fact that the other person said his name was gone unnoticed for he was too busy figuring out whether the person standing in front of him was the same person that had spent a huge amount of time with all those years ago. It was the sound of the younger boy's trunk hitting the floor that finally made him stop from staring and turn his attention to something else. A trunk? Was the young Ravenclaw travelling? Dante did not seem like the adventurous type nor did he seem like someone who would go out of his way to see the 'wonders that the world has to offer'. Something was amiss about this thing.

"Raziel?" A voice and a flash behind him made him turn around, only to see his own sister holding a camera, a curious expression on her face. "You have a visitor?" his sister asked in their native language, surprise mixed with excitement evident in her tone. The mental preparation that he did earlier wouldn't be wasted, in fact, it might not suffice for all the questioning that he expected would follow. He merely nodded his head to stop her from asking the same question using different words and phrases just to make him answer. "Eomma! Appa! You have to see this, hurry!" His sister really need to have her ears checked, she might not be aware that she was yelling instead of talking. The older girl strode towards them and another flash told him that she took another photo. "Who's he?" the older inquired, gesturing to the younger boy. Raziel sighed. This had to stop, and the only way to stop further questions was to give the answer, otherwise, the older might resort to asking Dante instead, something which he wanted to avoid at all cost. This was his family, he had all reasons to tolerate their nosiness and loudness. It was different in Dante's case. "Dante," he answered shortly, nodding towards his friend. " ...English," he added after a pause, if his sister couldn't be bothered keeping her voice down and being silent, at least, he hoped that she would be considerate enough to use English so she would be understood. Unceremoniously, the older girl turned around and plopped down on the couch to finally leave him and his friend and give them a breathing space and a break from all the noise. "He passed, let him in!" His sister announced loudly, finally, in English, once again, pointing towards the younger boy.

With another sigh, something that he only does when he had no other choice, he bent down to pick up his friend's trunk and opened the door wider to let the younger Ravenclaw in. He was glad to see his friend, but Merlin, this would be a long day.​

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[Raina Kim]

Raina Kim giggled as she looked at the photos that she took. This was a glorious day. A time for celebration. Her brother, the overly quiet and reclusive Raziel Kim, had a friend. And said friend was paying him a visit! A friend! One of her greatest wishes had been granted. Never, in her entire life, did she expected that the day would come that she would meet one of her younger brother's friend. Her brother was too silent, and he wouldn't make any effort at conversing with someone, in fact, he greatly dislikes talking, which was why she made it her mission in life to introduce him to people, hoping that eventually, he'd learn how to get out of his shell. It turned out, however, that that was not needed. He had a friend. Merlin, why didn't Raziel tell her about this? She giggled again. She thought that the younger was probably too shy to say it. He shouldn't have kept it from her. She wouldn't tease him, at least, not so much.

"Let him in, and do get him something to eat. He must be tired and hungry," she ordered enthusiastically, turning her attention to the duo. The boy seemed decent enough. He seemed to be no fun though, which was regretful. Not that it mattered much. Her brother's the same anyway, and she had always figured out a way to engage him into a conversation, no matter how one sided it was. Eventually, she'd be able to engage this boy into a conversation too. She'd do whatever it takes to get answers from him.

Once she was sure that her brother had left the room, she brought out her commonplace book and placed it on her lap. "So, who are you? I know my brother said your name is Dante, but Dante what? And where are you from?" She asked with a roll of her eyes, coupled with exaggerated hand movements and expressions too. She was eager to learn more about this new boy. If he was her brother's friend, then surely, despite his rather boring and rude appearance, he was interesting. He had to be. "Merlin you should have seen your pictures! You are stiff! Now loose up those facial muscles and smile, come on, it's not that hard. Do it," she then reached out to pat the other boy's cheeks, not even caring about personal spaces.​

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[Dante Vittori]

Dante had had a long trip, and the lines on his face, and bags under his eyes probably told Raziel what the ex-Ravenclaw refused to say. He and Raziel had never spoken of their home lives. In fact, over their years of companionship, the amount of words uttered between them could probably be counted with one hand. However, he had expected that Raziel was not a pureblood, as there did not seem to be many around these days. Appearing here was just further proof, as it was not a magical area, and from what he could guess, Raziel's female relative had just used a muggle item to take a photograph of the two of them, causing the Italian teenager to flinch at the sudden eruption of light that violated his tired eyes. Naturally, this sister was not as quiet as his Raziel, and went chattering away. He allowed Raziel to handle it, having the older boy tell the girl his name and explain that, while he respected their right to speak whatever language they desired, he would much prefer English simply because he would have a much better time understanding them. He winced at how loud she was, and momentarily gave Raziel a worried look that showed exactly how sorry he was for dropping in unannounced. Clearly, this would be some sort of punishment for him. He too knelt down and picked up his trunk, his hand sliding beside Raziel's as he knew that the trunk could be heavy, and he felt that they were close enough to warrant this form of touch.

While her assessment was correct, Dante was both tired and hungry, he wanted nothing from them but to sit among Raziel's company, preferably without them there. However, it would be rude to appear at their door and demand that they leave with own home, so Dante let her go. Dante stared at what he assumed had to be Raziel's sister with a blank expression, blinking at her, yet never once responding. They managed to triple in size, however, as she touched him, and his eyes immediately snapped to Raziel inw what could only be described as the most fierce death-glare the ex-Ravenclaw had ever conjured in his life. He expected Raziel to rescue him. Swiftly.
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