Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

"My favorite is Thestrals." Connor sighed. He had to push the thoughts floating in his head away. All the trouble in his family was doing his head in. Add that to the fact that he really did not want to run into his littlest sister and he had a really good reasin for needing the headache remedy that He needed to go by the apothecary to get. He stacked the books about the Basilisk and the Acromantula together in a neat pile when near him he spotted a copy of "Magical Water Plants in the Highland Lochs." Now this might do him some good, both with herbology and with feeding dear Nessie.

"Japan huh! I do hope you're not taking a broom that far dear. Please tell me you will be going in a flying car or one of those muggle flying things, Air buses...no that's not the word...Airplanes." He smiled, after getting it right. "Flying on a broom that far is just not safe." He said vehemently, shaking his head. Connor thought fondly of his flying motorbike and hated that he was going to have to park it in the garage for so long.

He was pulled out of his reviere by her soft voice calling his name. He smiled, enjoying the sound of it and hoping he heard it again. "Yes Kurumi?" He almost added Dear or Love behind that, as was his nature, but he didn't want to scare her off or have her think he was being anything less than a gentleman. He listened to her question and smiled. He was quite sure she would be interested in Nessie. "Well, I am not sure what the magical term is for her, I need to look it up. But the muggles in the villiage near where I love call her for lack of a better term, a Water Horse."

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi nearly dropped the book she was holding. “You’ve actually seen a Thestral before!?” Kurumi squeaked with a hint of jealousy in her tone. It was a horrible notion to be jealous of someone who could see this breed of winged horse considering the means that it took to be able to see one, but she couldn’t help it. The inability to see one drove her a little insane.

Realizing that her rather energetic squeak could have been a bit offensive, her checks flushed and her hands flew to them to try and hide the fact. “S-S-Sorry…” Chances were that someone dear to him had passed away and that is how he could see them.

At first, Kurumi thought that Connor was talking about Flying Seahorses, but something about his accent and the particular book he was holding told her otherwise. “Your pet is a Keplie isn’t it?” There really was no other option since the only magical horse like creature that resided in water was a Flying Seahorse. “Kelpies can transform into a variety of shapes and occupy British and Irish waters. One of its favoured transformations is a sea horse and the largest Kelpie on record is found in Loch Ness. The International Confederation noticed that it wasn't a serpent when it changed into an otter.” She rambled on for a bit more before stopping. There she was, doing it again. “We, um, discussed them in History of Magic last term in regards to how that particular Keplie is a breach of the Statute of International Wizarding Secrecy.”

She then found herself giggling a bit at his comment about flying on a broom. “Merlin’s beard no!” she laughed tossing her long black hair over one shoulder. “I am probably the worst flyer in all of Hogwarts.” She stopped laughing for a moment and her tone turned serious. “Wizarding world items and talk are not allowed in my home.”

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

Connor smiled. "Aye lass, I can see thestrals." He noticed her blush and try to hide it, a trait he found rather endearing. He reached over and moved a lock of hair out of her face so that he could see her eyes. "Dinna worry yeh have not offended me Kirumi." He told her honestly. "I had a friend that died when I was verra, verra young. We were playing on our toy brooms and he fell and hit his head and well, you know the rest." He spoke to her softly. "You dinna have to be afraid of what you say to me Kurumi. I want to be your friend." He said honestly. He wasn't flirting with her, just being truthful.

He listened to him give her a rundown of the facts on Nessie. The more she chattered, the broader his smile got. "Aye, a Kelpie, actually she's The Kelpie." He grinned. "I was out swimming in Loch Ness one day and there muust have been something about me tha Nessie liked cause I found meself in a moment ridin' her. Well since tha time we kind of took ta each other."

He threw his head back and laughed. "There's no way, yeh can be the worst flyer in Hogwarts. I dinna believe it." When she told him that wizarding world items and talk were not allowed in her home he raised an eyebrow. "I ya dinna mind tellin' me, why? I mean do you live wi' muggles or something?" He waited for her response as he looked at the barely-organized and dusty shelves.

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi was having a hard time with his accent seeing as she had never met someone who spoke with such a thick one – besides her grandmother. Her grandmother was from a small town in the mountains and spoke a dialect that only her mother seemed to understand. Her father had pretty much given up trying to speak with her and had relief on her mother most of the time.

“I’m so sorry…” Kurumi sad sadly turning her gaze towards the ground as a glimmer came over her violet eyes. “I…I know what it is like to lose a friend…especially one you hold so dear.” She kept her gaze down at her pile of books. She had never experienced the loss of a friend dying, but she knew what it was like to be left behind and not knowing what direction to move in next. That pain was still fresh in her memory as if someone had torn off an old scab that had hardened from her childhood. The memory of Hitomi’s cold eyes before she turned her back on her and walked out of the playground where she lay quivering in pain on the ground had been overlaid with the pain of Adam leaving and, perhaps, never being heard from again.

Kurumi was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear him talk about his Kelpie, but her ears perked up when she heard him talk about flying. “You would be surprised…” she blushed. Yep, he would get to see firsthand when classes began at Hogwarts and then she would make an utter fool of himself. Her cheeks turned a deeper shade at his next question. “Magic talk isn’t allowed in my home…” she whispered. “My father is a pureblood wizard from Britain, but my mother is a non-magical from Japan. She…she fears magic…”

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

Connor listened to her, absorbed in her eyes. He recognized the pain in her eyes and knew it for what it was. He wondered who put that pain there. he hated seeing anyone hurting inside like that. Most people on earth did not deserve to hurt like that. He looked down at his hands, not sure what to say. Wanting to comfort his new friend, but not wanting to scare her off.

"Why would I be surprised?" he asked. "Surely someone so clearly smart can fly!" He said softly. When he realized she wasn't joshing him he grinned. "I bet yeh think you're unteachable and you'll never fly righ?" He asked. "If you can find time in your busy summah for a new friend I can have yeh flyin' in no time."

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"I'm book smart," Kurumi shrugged. As if THAT wasn't obvious from the pile of books she planned on buying. "I really am rubbish in on a broom. I grew up playing kendo with my other brothers, so it isn't so much my reflexes..." it's more of never being exposed to it as a child. Kurumi could hardly keep the positions and names of all the balls in Quidditch straight - which drove Selina up the wall.

"My friend is going to try and teach me how to fly this summer," she smiled thinking about her red-head friend. "She says it may take a week just to get me to not crash into things getting off the ground."

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

"I think that flying comes from the heart. If you wan ta soar with tha eagles, yah cant keep to the ground with the turkeys." He grinned. "I think there's mire than book smarts up there Kurumi. If there was just that then you would have been sorted into Hufflepuff. But you're a Gryffindor, There's bravery there and a good heart." He turned toward her. "Tell your friend if she needs help with those flying lessons I'm willing to help."

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi blushed at Connar's words. She wasn't sure that she would be able to soar with the eagles, but she wouldn't mind being able to at least flutter at a butterfly's pace on her broom.

Then, her eyes grew wide and she gripped the white fabric of her skirt. "H-H-How did you know I was in Gryffindor?" She hadn't mentioned her house at Hogwarts. Perhaps Lexi and Patroclus were right. Maybe she did have more Gryffindor in her than she thought.

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

In response to her question, he merely leaned over and pointed to a Gryffindor tie handing out of a purse or bag of some type. "Me Da has taught me to take careful notice of me surroundings so I learned well. But I can see all tha in yeh. I also can tell tha yeh have no confidence in yourself. I see before me a young woman who doesna ken that she is smart, beautiful and worthy of friendship and love."

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi checked her small leather bag and had nearly forgotten the lion key chain that her older brother, Takashi, had given her for her birthday. "Oh..." she blushed feeling utterly foolish for forgetting such a detail.

Kurumi found herself unable to look Connor in the face as he continued to speak to her. She wasn't sure what ken meant, but she was able to figure it out based on context. He was wrong about one thing though, she knew she was smart. Top of her class actually and got there from the hours she spent in the library.

"Connor..." she said shyly hugging the book in her hands closer to her chest as if it was a shield. "P-Please don't pretend like you know me. You have no idea what all I have been through."

She felt a little bit of Selina's confidence bursting through as she said that.

It was true though, he really had NO idea.

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

"I dinna pretend to ken everything Kurumi. And I didna mean to offend. Sometimes my mouth runs away with me. Please forgive me." He bowed his head. He looked into her eyes for a moment and took a breath, "I might not have any idea right now, but I hope one day in the future, you will see that I am your friend and maybe one day your eyes won't hold so much pain." He whispered.

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Well, at least that had confirmed that the word 'ken' meant 'know.' Slowly but surely she was figuring out how to translate his speech, but it would probably take a little longer to understand his accent. Still, his accent intrigued her as it was nothing like she had heard before. So different from her friends in England, and Sophia from Italy, and her friends that came from France.

She looked at Connor and nodded her head with a gentle but awkward smile. She too hoped that someday she wouldn't feel so much pain as well...but it seemed like things were only going to get worse seeing how her father had suddenly change his lifestyle for more reasons unknown to her.

"Connor," she said after a few moments of silence. "Your...your accent...where is it from?"

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

Connor observed her as she seemed lost in her thoughts. Just the study of her face was intriguing to him. How could she not know that she was beautiful? Her almond eyes, so like his mom's He noticed that where Kurumi had violet eyes though, His mom's were brown. He could not get past the pain in her eyes. Whatever it was it was soul-deep. "I'd love to get my hands on whoever hurt you like that." He thought to himself.

He grinned at her question. "See I ken now that ya were nae payin attention when I tol yah abou me Kelpie." He teased. Although he really wasn't teasing, cause if she had heard him then she would have known. "I'm Scottish Luv." he replied. "Me kelpie is Nessie. We sorta adopted one another." He answered her.

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"Scottish!" she squeaked not really knowing why. She knew very little about the country and its people but she knew more than a third year should know about its creatures. "So, you are not from around here either." It always made her feel a little better knowing that she wasn't the only one on unfamiliar territory. Although, in this case, she was the one more familar with the area than he was, so thar gave her a tiny confidence boost.

"So...why did you transfer to Hogwarts?" she asked as her curiosity got the better of her. "Unless, you know, it is, um, too personal...then, you don't have to tell me." She waved her hands in front of her face frantically. She was just all over the place recently making assumptions and asking things she probably ought not to.

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

"Aye Lass, Scottish." He said with a smile. "Nay, not really, but I'm just over the border so it's not too far. Actually Hogwarts isn't too far from Me home. Far enough though, considering he wouldn't be able to see his family for nearly a year and that hurt. he sighed and leaned his head back against the shelves.

"Well me da's in the military and we tend to get transferred from place ta place everywhere. For example At Christmas me home was Japan and I spent it there, then I found out we were transferred again nid-term so home was New York till last week. But during all this I was at Drumstrang and Hated it. Me mom promised me when we landed roots back at home we'd stay cause da was retiring to work for the ministry."

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi sensed some sadness leaking from Connor as he spoke about having to move so often. She had never been uprooted from her home before. There had been many times that she wanted to be and even wished for it. She had even gone to the nearest Shinto shrine on her way home after school, deposited 5 yen, and asked the kami to take her away from where she was. It took them eleven years, but they finally answered her prayer.

"You lived in Japan?!" she practically shouted before throwing her hands over her mouth and hunching her shoulders out of embarassment. "You lived in Japan?" Her cheeks flushed crimson again and she giggled nervously for a moment. "Where?"

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

Connor smiled. "Yah I lived in Okinawa for a wee bit. We lived near my Mom's family home. It was interesting ta see where she grew up and everything. In my opinion I wasna there long enough." He said softly. "I loved it there." He got that lost look in his eyes as he remembered wandering through the Cherry blossoms and watching the fishing boats, he sighed softly. "I'm sorry I got a wee bit lost in memory there." He smiled. "Ya have a verra lovely laugh."

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"Okinawa," Kurumi repeated. That was far away from where she lived up in the Northern part of Japan in the mountains. She had never been there before, neither had any of her brothers as far as she knew. "It's fine," she blushed in response to his apology. "There is nothing for you to be sorry about. It's nice to hear about you."

Then, she turned pink again and the tips of her hair began to do the same, a different shade than it had turned with Adam, but a shade of pink on the less. Her hands grabbed from the end of her pony tail and clutched the bottom of it, hiding the tips.

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

It was now his turn to blush. He wasn't used to talking about himself really. He had been good at chattering and hiding his true self, but for some reason he was incapable of it where Kurumi was concerned. He noticed her blush again and he noticed the hair color change by the ends piking out through her fingers. "I promise not ta apologize fer being meself anymore, if ya will do tha same." He grinned.

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi's eye flicked towards her hair and began to think about watching paint chip of the side of a building. The unusual color began to fade and soon her hair was back to its usual ebony color. Feeling her emotions in check enough to lower her hands, she did so and then turned her eyes back toward Connor.

Stop apologizing? She wasn't sure she was capable of such a thing considering her upbringing. Not to mention ever time she was in a situation where one arose, she heard her mother's voice BOOMING in her head and telling her what to do.

Blinking a few times, she hunched her shoulders again. "I-I can try..." she said not promising anything.

Originally Posted by Deatheater 2251

Connor smiled at her. "Thas all I ask me friend. I wan yeh ta be comfortable being yerself around me." He grinned. He looked into her violet eyes and saw in them, a glimmer of sometthing he could not figure out. He stood and began brushing himself off. "Please Excuse me Kurumi, but I must get home to help me mom. we're to have company for dinner tonight. I do promise that I will keep the dragon book with me so that i can give it to you when I see you again."