'In the Meantime...Something for Fun' Cont..

[Jazzie C]

Lia grinned, it looked like she was actually making a friend. She looked up at Kalina and nodded. 'A tour of the castle would be great.' she replied quietly, wondering what secrets such a huge castle could possibly hold. She'd seen nothing yet in comparison to the potential of the castle. 'take me anywhere.' she said her eyes lighting up. 'I want to see what my new home is like. everyone back at home was jealous when i told them where i was going. i want to see what all the fuss is about.' She added.

They walked down the corridor together and Lia waited to see where Kalina would take her. She felt so much more lighthearted than before. It was nice to be able to walk with someone rather than behind them for a change. Gryffindors really were friendly. Everyone in her own house seemed to just leave her to her own business.

[Nicci]

Kalina grinned as Lia accepted her offer for the tour of the school.
“You won’t be disappointed” she beamed in a reply “My parents couldn’t believe the school was a castle, they thought it was an over exaggerated joke when I turned eleven and a letter of acceptance was delivered to our door by an owl. Upon seeing the building my mother actually fainted..”
Pausing for a chuckle at the now distant memory, Kalina looked down at the floor and softly smiled to herself. Hogwarts was more amazing than any muggle could dream of and having a talented gift for magic still amazed her now matter how many times she thought about it.

Passing down the corridor that lead out by the Great Hall, Kalina knew where she would take Lia first. “Since we’re close by we’ll drop quickly into the Great Hall, then we’ll go out the front entrance and round the long way to the Quidditch Stadium. You’ll then see on route the edge of the Black Lake and even further behind the tree line that marks the start of the Forbidden Forest. Sound ok?”

[Jazzie C]

Lia perked up at the sound of the quidditch pitch. 'I love quidditch! So fun!' she said excitedly. She linked her arm with Kalina and smiled. She hadnt smiled so much in years! 'So your parents never saw hogwarts before you came?' She asked softly. She looked up and around at all the brilliant lights and the cielings and amazing architecture. 'How do they ever build these things?' She wondered quietly to herself.

She was excited about seeing the black lake and the mystery of it. She wondered what was at the bottom, but at the same time, she didnt want to know what was going on under the swirling surface of darkness. It would be just like Jey (or Jai if you prefer XD) to push her in while she was looking.

She looked up at Kalina while she was waiting for her response. The girl was so tall! Although, Lia was rather small... she watched Kalina carefully, mesmerised by her curly hair. 'I've always wanted curly hair...' she mumbled.

[Nicci]

Kalina gently exhaled with a sigh at Lia’s enthusiasm for Quidditch. It wasn’t too long ago that she herself would have been bouncing off the walls with excitement at the mere thought of the sport.
“No..” she began in reply shaking her head “My father is an ophthalmologist and my mother works alongside him as the opticians receptionist, they are both non magical individuals or muggles if you wish to use that term. I guess it just must have been made by magic...” she added at the end even though it sounded like a childish answer to a rather civilised question.

Leading Lia out into the main entrance hall she pointed at the large golden statue of a male wizard holding a large scroll in one hand and a tiny castle on a cloud in the other.
“He’s the architect who designed the layout of the school and with the help of your house founder Rowena Ravenclaw devised the pattern for the ever changing floor plan. Pretty clever huh...? Some even say that the statue guards the entrance way to the Founder’s Tower where some of the oldest and rarest books can be found” Kalina spoke in a tour guide manner as Lia gave a slight gasp. “I’ve looked around it many times but I’ve never seen it open...but that’s just one of the many hidden possibly surprises it has for you”

[Jazzie C]

Lia looked around earnestly. 'I have to say, i'm beginning to love it here. I didnt have many friends back home... it's strange. i was so frustrated and i just wanted a friend. It's nice here. Nobody treats me like dirt...well almost nobody.' She added the last part quietly. It was so beautiful she couldnt help but stare slightly openmouthed at everything. 'I mean i miss my home but this!' she waved her arm around at everything. She was stunned. She'd never really...looked...at everything - at anything 'Do you love it here?' She asked Kalina.

[Nicci]

“Yeah..very much so” Kalina answered with a whole hearted nod and a tear welling up in the corner of her eye. “I will miss this place so much in a less than a year, It’s gonna fly by..what with revision and exams. Hogwarts has given me so much happiness in my time I’ve been here and it will be so hard to say goodbye”.

Sniffing, she swallowed hard and tried to distract her mind back onto the task at hand. Hogwarts did mean the world to her; before she came she was a nobody, a freak. She used to get teased by other children for mysterious moving things around the room or for having silly, long curly hair that no matter how many times the teacher’s made her parents cut it, it always looked the same. After getting her acceptance letter that all changed, the teasing stopped and she began to grow and develop into her wonderful self she knew today and found feelings towards others she never dreamed she’d have.
So many loving friendships she’d made within the castle walls: Tasha, Erin, Peter, Seth, Callie......Alex. The last still leaving a heavy reminder of how sometimes without realising friendship develops into something more......before tearing itself apart just as quickly as it came along.
Now aside of her relationship issues, she had met Lia. Maybe an unbiased pair of ears would be just the thing she needed to help her get over him.

Continuing, she pointed out a few random banners that hung from the stone walls and led Lia up to the large oak doors of the Great Hall.

[Jazzie C]

Lia looked at Kalina's eyes. She saw the faintest hint of sadness there and recognised the hurt behind it. She wondered if she should ask or not...maybe not so much ask as invite. She took a deep breath, possibly about to blow the first real friendship she'd had at Hogwarts and started to speak. 'So d'you wanna talk about it? I mean you don't have to but...when you're upset it can help to talk...' She said. 'I don't want to intrude, i mean you're the first person whose really been a friend to me and i...i guess i kind of want to be a friend back.' She smiled gently. Kalina looked at her, and Lia held her breath waiting for her response.

[Nicci]

Turning to Lia, Kalina gave her new friend a half smile and tried to look optimistic.
“Thank you..” she began sincerely grateful of the young woman’s welcoming offering “Things just haven’t been easy so far this term..but I’m not going to bore you with my problems. This is your tour and we are going to make it interesting and memorable..not boring, sad and drab”

Before pulling the doors open, Kalina pointed across the pair of them to the four large hourglass containers that stood resting on their stand over by the far wall.
“Those are the house point containers..By the looks of it Hufflepuff are just head, not by much though.”

[Jazzie C]

(Nicci! You've reached 200 posts! *looks awed*)

'Well maybe after the tour, if you want to talk.' Lia smiled, she knew what it was like to have nobody to talk to, and she didnt want that inflicted on anyone else, especially not Kalina, who was the first person to offer Lia help in this place. She seemed so lovely! Genuinely lovely, not like one of those people who were cunning with their smiles and knew how to fake them just right. No. This girl was different, and Lia wanted to help.

Lia ran her fingers through her short hair, revealing streaks of bright red underneath, and they continued on. She was finding all of this so interesting, and the fact that Kalina loved the school so much was touching to her. She wished she'd had a chance to love a school like that, but with all the running, she hadnt been able to settle down in one place. But she wasnt going to run anymore.

Lia made her decision, she wasnt going to be an outsider anymore. She wasnt going to be 'that new girl with the crazy hair' she wasnt going to be the only one who hated Jeyna (Or Jaina...i think i prefer the latter...)Garland anymore. She'd expose her if it was the last thing she did here, she vowed herself that. Even though it could take months, even her whole time here, she would do it. She smiled fiercely to herself and walked alongside Kalina proudly.

(oooooh Lia's having an epiphany!)

[Nicci]

(wow 200 posts already, maybe I do write too much )

Showing Lia the Great Hall, hadn’t been as amazing as she had hoped it was going to be. Of course it was still early; the tables were still bare apart from a few clusters of third year students who Kalina had never seen in the library or outside for that matter. Maybe they were literature allergic stereotypical vampires...one could wish for something out of the ordinary even if it was far fetched.
The grand ceiling had been an instant hit, the sun was clearly visible shining over one end of the Slytherin table and the patchwork of wispy clouds floated across the grey/blue sky like a dense fog hovering over a vast ocean.

Venturing back out the way they came, Kalina led Lia out of the entrance hall, explaining on route the arrival path for first years once they had gotten off the Hogwarts Express this included the boat trip across the lake that she would soon be seeing. Luckily there was room to expand on the subject and it meant their journey around the edge of the castle was filled with Kalina detailing exactly the crimson, red steam engine that took them all back and forth from platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross station in London.

Arriving at the closest point to the shore of the Black Lake, Kalina watched the gentle ripples lap up against the muddy bank. Due to the bad storm that had hit the area a few days previous, the well trodden footpath that lead to fallen tree had become partially waterlogged with uneven areas of clay rich puddles. So maybe the condition of the footpath wouldn’t have put off the most loved up of couples looking for a quick break away from the chaos of the castle’s activities but since Kalina’s shoes were open at the front she didn’t want her knee high socks getting wet and smelling of stagnant mud.
Pointing out the key features about the lake’s including its colour and wildlife; she waited patiently to see if Lia had any further questions.

[Jazzie C]

Nodding along, Lia followed Kalina through the tour. She was being so loaded with information, she wasnt quite sure what to ask. She just listened as they walked, Kalina's voice was growing more and more enthusiastic. Lia liked that, she hoped she could sound like that someday. She hoped Kalina would stick around with her also, and be that friend she could turn to for help.

'Whats next?' Lia asked, when she had come back to herself.

[Nicci]

“Only one of my favourite places” Kalina answered, looking over her shoulder as they left the lake behind them.
With Lia beside her the usual long trek down the path to the Quidditch Stadium didn’t seem to take as long and before they knew it both were stood on the crisp green pitch staring at the sky.

Closing her eyes, Kalina sort comfort in the gentle whipping sound the coloured flags on top of the spectator towers made blowing in the breeze. The sounds, the grass smell, the fantastic atmosphere it all brought the memories flooding back even though she was trying to keep them suppressed.
With her head down, she slowly opened her eyes and stared down the halfway line. ‘Good job, McHenry’ William’s voice spoke in the back of her mind as she imagined his hand dropping down on her shoulder in honest congratulations. Now that was all gone....

Glancing back to Lia beside her, Kalina had suddenly lost the heart to go into detail about the history of Inter house Quidditch at Hogwarts and sadly sank into a mumble.
“I’m sure you’re familiar with the rules of Quidditch, Have you played before?” she asked, trying to pick up her spirit. She had come here for Lia, not to reopen the wound about Alex and the Gryffindor team.

[Jazzie C]

Lia grinned. 'Are you kidding?' She said excitedly. 'Accio Firebolt!' She said, clearly, touching her wand. A couple seconds later, her broomstick appeared. She conjured a big ball and chuckled. 'Fancy a fly?' She asked Kalina happily. She eyed the wistful look in Kalina's eyes. 'Unless you're afraid of being beat by a Ravenclaw.' She said winking. She mounted her broom and hovered for a while waiting for Kalina to respond.

[Nicci]

At the sudden appearance of Lia’s broom, Kalina froze before sinking away.
“I..can’t” she replied downheartedly, but tried to still remain strong. “But thanks anyway...I don’t play anymore”. It wasn’t a big deal, Ravenclaw had already beat them the year before to the Quidditch cup and it had taken Erin, Tasha and Kyle months to finally stop talking about it. Alex had been supportive though, she remembered him telling her that their last match trashing Hufflepuff was the best he’d ever seen her play in and was proud to be a chaser alongside her.
Whilst it was great to see Lia happy and cheerful, Kalina couldn’t take up the offer no matter how much she adored the feeling of flying around in the air.
“Feel free to have a fly around; you’ll see the edge of the Forbidden Forest up there. I’ll wait in the bleachers for you”

[Jazzie C]

Lia wavd her wand and the ball and broom disappeared. 'I'm sorry, i...have i upset you?' She asked Kalina, touching her arm. <great Lia, upset her why dont you? push her away, come on!> She thought to herself. 'I've been to the edge of the forest, i sit there all the time. People seems to think i'm invisible over there. And everywhere else to be fair.' She said quietly. 'But really, i dont mean to upset you, i didnt realise that...well...i dont know really...' She said, confusing herself slightly. She looked at Kalina in the eyes and waited. She wondered if she'd stop to talk or just lead on. She seemed like the sort of person who wouldnt want to throw her troubles onto others. It was hard to persuade those people to share, but she so wanted to help. Kalina looked like someone who was at their best happy.