Undeterred, Sam kept following. She had to. If she didn't, it was as bad as admitting their friendship had collapsed beyond all repair. She hadn't waited this long to let that happen. She half wanted to call Dora out for being so selfish, but instead bit her tongue. "That's not true," she responded quietly, almost meekly. "You knew how I felt about me Pa." A different sort of loss, perhaps, but one all the same. "And all this time I've been trying to show that you won't lose me."

Although, a fat lot of use it'd seemed to have done.

She wasn't sure if what Dora was saying was meant to help her, or Dora herself. It wasn't exactly reassuring for the Ravenclaw to be compared to Charlotte Kettleburn, regardless of the period of time the older girl had been avoided for. Sam slumped a little, trying to hold herself together. At least there was a glimmer of hope. Those last words: ' am not used to people caring enough to push'. That meant Dora knew she'd done it for all the right reasons, yes? That Sam had constantly put herself in that position, however frosty the response, because she cared.

Sam raised her gaze back upwards, the movement letting a lone tear stray down her cheek. She rubbed it away roughly; it had already betrayed enough. "You wan' me to list the reasons?" she said with a sniff. "Because there's a 'ole load of 'em. But mainly, because when you're wiff me, you make me a better person. I aspire teh things I'd ne'er even heard of before I met you. You make me feel safe 'n' secure, 'n' you're the one of the onleh people in the world I trus' nearly as much as meself. You've never judged, onleh accepted me feh who I am...encouraged me." She gave a small smile, her eyes fixed on Dora's brown ones. "And 'cos I realised what 'urt the most these last few weeks is 'ow much I miss yeh."

For one of the first times in her life, she'd felt distinctly lonely, despite being surrounded by more good friends than she'd ever had. And what she'd really, REALLY like now, was a bestie hug.

Dora opened her mouth to speak several times as Sam spoke, but each time she closed it back. What could she say? What would be good enough? She had no idea what to do anymore. What could she say to make everything... right again? For so long she had just been shutting Sam out, admittedly, over something so stupid, but she had found herself committed to beING angry and miserable. Ugh. Stupid. Gryffindor. Loads of other adjectives!!

The blonde pretended not to see the tear that fell because... well because she knew that Sam was trying to be tough. That much, she was certain, the other girl had picked up from herself. The overwhelming need to pretend everything was okay. It was a horrible habit and she silently berated herself for doing it so often. Finally, after what felt like forever, Dora smiled slightly.

"No one asked for a list." Because, really it was alright. Everything was alright. Taking a tentative step forward Dora reached out and tugged a lock of Sam's hair. "Sorry. " Then, with no more hesitation, she closed the distance between them and threw her arms around her friend. HER friend. Best friend. Moments passed with her embracing the Ravenclaw before she pulled back a little bit and started covering her face with kisses. "I'm so sorry. So, so, so sorry. " Would Sam ever forgive her? Had she already? She was officially done acting crazy! PROMISE!

Scarlett had gotten very interested in this whole Runes thing - mainly because she wanted to see what was so fascinating about it that made Mr. Stuffy Professor believe in THAT over DIVINATION. She still couldn't believe he'd said that. Shouldn't they all be like...supporting the other professors and their subjects? Not making snide remarks about it behind their back? It still had her fuming. She wondered if her dad had ever experienced doubt from his fellow professors when he had been teaching...

Still, she wanted to know what it was that was so fun about Runes. And so far - it was nothing. It made her head hurt. It was like studying a different language AND a charms theory AND Divination all at the same time. It was so...broad. How could anyone focus on any one part of it? It made her brain hurt.

Alice had picked up a few books on birds, hoping to find one that might help her teach Diaval to talk. Her pet Raven was clever as all ravens were but teaching a bird to speak took patiences and most people only taught parrots. So this was frustrating. But Ravens had been associated with witches for years.. so maybe there would be some wisdom here.

That's when she spotted a girl about her age reading a rune's book. "Mind if I sit with you?" She smiled.

The Grey Lady was in a bit of a state. Though she displayed a poised outwardly appearance, the lady could hardly remember a time when she was more uncomfortable with the present predicament. Never had the ghosts been more opposed against each other on a situation.

This was the reason behind her floating here with a book in her hands. The library was her solace during such times. She needed words of wisdom from the human counterparts of the castle and this felt like the right place to do so. The books and stimulating minds at work made for a nice sight but she hardly wanted to disturb any of them just yet with the ghostly matters at hand. Not when they seemed to be so focused on their important studies.

Therefore, the lady chose to drift towards the stained glass windows and peer outside.

Harvey was searching for a book on winged horses. He felt that he cold have gotten a lot more out of the lesson if he'd been more familiar with the topic - though the idea of flying those things still scared him. He hated heights.

He turned the corner around a bookshelf and spotted his house ghost lost in thought close the the windows. Which had stained glass. They looked so pretty!

He loved colours.

"Hi," she smiled and half-waved at Helena. Wait, he didn't even know how to address her! His sisters had known most of the ghosts at Hogwarts, but he hadn't heard them mention Helena often. Her...Ladyship?

"I'm Harvey, I've just started out this year in your House. It's nice to meet you," he smiled hesitantly, deciding to avoid the issue of her title altogether and hoping it was all right to just introduce himself like this. He wasn't entirely sure what else to do in the situation, though, he had interrupted her thoughts by appearing like that after all.

As much as he wanted to owl his papa about his thoughts about his recent class in Divinations, Jace managed to keep himself from writing a full-blown report on it, and sound like a helpless child who can’t think for himself. As his usual, the Ravenclaw’s mind buzzed with thoughts as he pulled out a Japanese book from his satchel and walked over to the Stained Glass window to read. He needed a distraction for the day, so a book was automatically in his hand, his head buried in it.

Engrossed, Jace walked into something cold, and had to jump back from the weird sensation. Looking up from his book, the thirteen year old paled at the sight, and immediately bowed down to their House Ghost in apology. “Gommenasai, Lady Helena.”

Err...oops?

Slowly standing up straight, Jace turned his head to a younger Ravenclaw and gave him an apologetic nod of his head. Were they...talking? The half-Japanese really wouldn’t know since he was into the Japanese text he was reading. “S-sorry.” He said, taking a step back ready to get out of the area.

As Harvey waited for the ghost to respond, another Ravenclaw appeared and... walked right though her!

You could do that? His sisters' hadn't mentioned that!

"I was just introducing myself," Harvey explained, seeing the boy wasn't sure whether he was interrupting and was making to leave. "I'm Harvey, I'm just starting out," he said again, moving over (and making sure he didn't walk through their House ghost) to offer his hand to the newcomer.

He held a book. It looked like... no book Harvey had ever seen before.

"What's that?" he asked, curious. As always, curiosity in the face of novelty shadowed his good manners... hopefully this boy wouldn't think him rude. He couldn't help it.

But they were both Ravenclaws. Surely he'd understand, right?

Helena was utterly lost in thought and hardly noticed the young man until he talked her out of her thoughts. "Hello, Mr Harvey. I'm Lady Helena, or the Grey Lady, as some prefer to refer to me as," she said, managing a small smile for the young Ravenclaw. She certainly recognised him from the feast as a newly sorted young fellow so it was nice to put a name to a face. "How are you liking the wise house of Ravenclaw?"

Ah, yes, here was another young Ravenclaw. One who always went around confusing her so with his words from a different dialect. And one who had walked right through her, if you believe. "Gommsai to you too, Mr Jace. Enjoying your read?" And do tell her what it was he had just said. She wanted to learn.

Lady Helena let the boys continue their talk, slightly intrigued by the book in the older Ravenclaw's hand as well. What fascinating new subject did he have there that couldn't wait to be read? Would it be one she would love as well?

Love.

Her ladyship shifted slightly. "Gentlemen, if I may, could I pick your brains about a ghostly topic?"

Was there ever a student on record that got to teach the Lady Helena a thing or two? Although it sounded absurd to teach a ghost who is, by the way, the smartest of them all, Jace always found joy in filling up one’s curiosity. “It’s…uh…it’s actually ‘Gommenasai’ your ladyship…not ‘Gomsai…” Well, she has a lot to learn still. Like Hady and Newton-sensei. “It means ‘I’m sorry.’ I…well, walked through you earlier so…I’m sorry again.” He said bowing his head for the second time.

Jace isn’t the type to be careless and not know what was going on around him so the whole incident was embarrassing to the boy. However, seeing that it was the Grey Lady and a fellow Ravenclaw, he didn’t feel as mortified as his usual. The raven-haired teen looked at the hand being offered to him, and was a bit confused as to what it meant.

…oh! Right. Of course. That’s how they greet each other around here, right? Jace grinned at the boy and took his hand for a very mild handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Harvey-kun. I'm Jace.” The older Ravenclaw felt a bit awkward addressing the boy as someone younger than him. “Are you having fun in Ravenclaw so far?” Because back when he was a Firstie, he had a blast even if his technical know-how with magic was very, very limited.

Jace eyed the book in his hand and showed it to Harvey. “It’s ‘Kokoro’ by Natsume Soseki-san. It’s a classic in Japan.” And it’s one of those books that he loved reading over and over again. It seems that whenever he aged…the message of the book matures with him too. “…it’s written in Japanese though.” He said, opening the book in the middle and showed the texts to the younger Ravenclaw.

An idea came to mind, but Lady Helena politely stepped in their conversation.


Looking up to where she was, Jace tilted his head to the side and wondered what in the world made her consult them for advise? The older Ravenclaw looked at his younger companion, and back to their House Ghost. “What is it, Lady Helena? How can we be of help?”

"It's lovely to meet you," Harvey filed politely at the ghost. "Of course, if you think we can actually help with something..." he replied to her question, wondering what it was that she could possibly need advice on.

Harvey noticed the other boy - Jace - shook hands rather... awkwardly. He felt almost bad. He suddenly realised how much he relied and assumed everyone was familiar with the English greetings and polite mannerisms - of course, for Jace the 'norm' must be totally different!

"Harvey-kun?" he repeated, looking a bit confused. So they... added words onto names in Japan? Interesting...

"That looks... so different," he commented on the book Jace showed them. It was utterly unreadable to him. "What is it about? What kind of literature do you have in Japan? Is it very different?" he asked, something unknown becoming immediately, of course, an object of fascination. He hoped Jace didn't mind.

Kitty was reading a book about the Statute of Secrecy when out of the corner of her eyes she saw the Grey Lady and two of her fellow Ravenclaws talking. At first she was too engrossed in the book (reading about the Cult was always fascinating to her) to pay attention but then she heard the Grey Lady ask for advice. Hmmm. What could this be about?

Curiosity pricked, Kitty put her book aside and approached the three of them."Hi guys," she greeted the two boys with a slight smile before turning to the Grey Lady. "Greetings Lady Helena. I overheard the conversation and thought maybe I could help too. If that's okay." She didn't want to intrude if not wanted, but the alternative was to eavesdrop.

Sam didn't know how to read her friend's silence, instead just letting it hang there. So much silence had hung between them lately, and Sam just didn't know what else she could say. In that list, she'd laid her heart on the line, and if she was met with a frosty reaction now, it'd truly shatter into irreparable pieces.

...except, something changed, and instead it filled with warmth.

Dora hugged her. And Sam just clung to her bestie, burying her face into the Gryffindor's shoulder. The tears that had been clinging on were beginning to fall, but now they were happy tears. So many happy tears. Because Dora's arms felt warm and safe, and everything was right in the world again.

Well, perhaps not everything, since they were still grounded. But at least they were grounded together.

"Don't be sorreh," Sam replied, looking up and colour flushing her cheeks at all the kisses. "S'all behind us now, isn't it?" She BEAMED at her friend. "What shall we do teh celebrate?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schroyers

Alice had picked up a few books on birds, hoping to find one that might help her teach Diaval to talk. Her pet Raven was clever as all ravens were but teaching a bird to speak took patiences and most people only taught parrots. So this was frustrating. But Ravens had been associated with witches for years.. so maybe there would be some wisdom here.

That's when she spotted a girl about her age reading a rune's book. "Mind if I sit with you?" She smiled.

Scarlett looked up when a girl approached her - someone she recognized from class, but had never actually spoken to, as seemed to be the case with most people, and smiled. She moved her feet so there was more room for her and nodded. "Sure, sit down!" she told her happily.

"I'm Scarlett, by the way," she added, introducing herself promptly. Manners and all.

The look of confusion was not missed. “Harvey-kun. That’s how we address boys who are younger than us.” Unless Harvey is a tiny fourth year student then he’s in trouble. “You can just call me Jace. No need to use honorifics since…you’re not a native speaker.” The Ravenclaw grinned and stopped himself from patting the boy’s head. He’s just like the younger Kendo students he worked with during his summer vacation in Japan.

The thirteen year old gave the book to Harvey and urged him to take a good look at it. “It’s about the author’s journey in finding an answer to his loneliness. It’s a philosophical book…to me at least.” Jace said with a shrug. “It’s different with the way it is written…if I am to compare it with western literature. Japanese love to write stories that seem to be shallow but in fact, have a lot of hidden philosophies in it.” And Jace is a sucker for that. “How about you, Harvey-kun? What topics interest you?”


From his peripheral, Jace saw movement and turned to see their prefect join them. The Ravenclaw inclined his head to her and waited for the Grey Lady to respond to her query.

Dora held onto her friend in kind. It was as though a huge weight had been lifted, really. A stupid, ugly weight that had been sitting on her chest; the size of an elephant. She was not crying like Sam was, but she felt a sob stick in her throat. Like her lungs were rejecting all of the negative energy she had previously been holding in. It felt amazing.

Don't be sorry? Dora pulled Sam back in and kissed her right there in the library... right there so anyone could see. She didn't care WHO saw her. "Of course I am sorry. I treated you poorly... I made you sad. I made Astrea cry... I made a whole mess. I am sorry. Let me be sorry, okay?" Could she give her that much? A time to repent, if you will. THAT would definitely make the blonde feel better about things.

"Considering we are both grounded still... I don't know. Maybe come with me to the grounds. There is a swing set out there. You'll love it. Dad can't be here to stop us from having fun ALL the time." Grinning was happening. She was so glad to have Sam back... but there was one more thing to address. A BIG thing, really.

"I'm super jealous of other people... And I am sorry for that."

"Gommenasai," the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower said slowly. The letters rolled off of her tongue but there was a stark difference between the way she pronounced the words and the way Mr Jace seemed to. She had some learning to do. "That's perfectly fine. It's been known to happen but thank you for apologising."

Both of the boys seemed very polite. Her ladyship was all too glad that she had managed to see such well-mannered young Ravenclaws in her search for a bit of wisdom with the current affairs. And as it were, a student leader of the wisest house dropped by too. "Of course it is, Miss Kitty." Maybe she needed some female intuition amongst this.

"Very well," she started, her usually poised hands now being fiddled around on her lap, "I wonder, what do you three think of the situation at hand? The one between Peeves and," She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Miffy and their wish to get married. Do you propose that they ought to or not?"

Jace didn’t mind the pronunciation at all, given that the Grey Lady isn’t a native speaker. As long as she doesn’t butcher the word, then it’s all fine with the half-Japanese. The Ravenclaw, however, turned pink again in embarrassment when he was told that it’s a usual thing. Jace hung his head slowly, berating himself mentally for not watching out. He knew that the inhabitants of the castle weren’t limited to living beings, and, albeit not breathing, ought to be respected.

The thirteen year old kept quiet to still his mind, and slowly looked at Lady Helena as he listened to her predicament. Jace expected something very trivial and easy to solve, but found him...stuck with the thought too. The young teen, lost in his thoughts, sat on the floor and pondered on the situation.

“I assume that the pink robes and Cornish pixies were Peeves and Miffy’s doing...” he said softly as he stared at the stained glass window nearby, as the half-Japanese subconsciously went into the lotus position ready to meditate on the Grey Lady’s problem. He just had an encounter with the pixies back at the Entrance Hall, and a younger Slytherin claimed that Miffy was responsible for unleashing those pesky creatures. “I see how delicate this problem is, Lady Helena. It can’t be solved with a yes or no.” He said louder this time and looked at their House Ghost. “Right now, they are acting like spoiled children because their request wasn’t granted, correct?” he didn’t have to be that smart to figure that one out really, “But...has the Bloody Baron set out conditions for them? I understand that he has to keep them in check.” This time, Jace looked from their House Ghost, to Harvey...and to their prefect. What are their thoughts?

Harvey listened to Jace's careful response. He could see that the matter was a difficult one, but he also only saw one 'right' way through it. Perhaps he was too black and white about these things? Well, he figured he'd find out soon enough. Because, Sir Nicholas had thought he made sense, so...

"I actually talked to Sir Nicholas about his earlier on," he began, deciding he didn't want to pretend like he hadn't heard about the ghosts' dilemma before. Honesty was always the way to go, he figured.

Well, almost always, but when ghosts were concerned he figured this was the best route.

"I think that they should be allowed to marry if they choose. I mean, if they're in love, who's to tell them they can't be together? The whole point of Hogwarts is equality and tolerance and all that, it would be rather out of character to start acting against that," he voiced his opinion.

Grateful that her advice was also being sought, Kitty listened as the Grey Lady explained the problem. Miffy. Oh Miffy. It seemed Kitty wasn't able to turn a corner without either experiencing a prank from Miffy or hearing her name mentioned somewhere. An exaggeration certainly, but she was so annoying that that's what it felt like.

She let Jace and Harvey give answer first. "Both Jace and Harvey bring up good points, I think." Now it was her turn.

"Whether or not they should be married, it is certainly not OUR fault (the students) that they aren't, but that doesn't stop them from ruining our clothes or unleashing pixies and who knows what else they've done? I mean, turning clothes pink might seem like an amusing prank to Miffy, but it is not to those of us who actually try to express ourselves through our clothes." Kitty was partly referring to herself, of course. Having your clothes turned pink can really be infuriating once you've put a lot of energy into being the "Goth" girl of Hogwarts. "And will they stop pranking us if they are allowed to be married? Two years ago they ruined the feast by throwing glue and feathers at us, and they poisoned Professor Art's ingredients for potions class." She shuddered at the memory. "And at the time Miffy was doing that all to impress Peeves. Now it's because she can't marry. What's to say that if they do marry, she's not pranking us again next year to celebrate her and Peeves one year anniversary?" She paused to take a breath. "Then again, much as I hate Miffy, I think everyone should be free to marry the one they love. But at the same time it's hard to feel sorry for her when she's pranking us all the time. If she really wants to marry Peeves then perhaps she could make a promise to respect us in the future."


"What are your personal thoughts on the matter, Lady Helena? I would like to know where you are coming from too."

Sam quite possibly melted in Dora's arms in the moment that she was pulled back in, the kiss bringing a flush of colour to her cheeks. She nodded into the Gryffindor's shoulder, understanding her friend's need to be sorry, rather than having a desire for it herself.

For Sam, these reconciling moment was more than enough.

"A swing set?" Sam looked up excitedly, her eyes wide and shining. How had she not found a swing set in the grounds yet? Dora was right, she would love it. "That sounds like an awesome idea." Grins were happening, and she slipped her hand in Dora's and bounced excitedly. "Wanna see if there's any fresh cookies in the kitchen on the way past?"

Before moving any further though, Sam looked at Dora. "I know. And...it is what it is. Don't apologise for being you. And...I'm aware of it now." Because it had been her obliviousness to it that had triggered this whole thing, really. "Sorry for my part in everything too."

And with that said, they could resume normality and go have fun, yes?