Birds of a Feather (Ariesa)

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

Kingsley trudged up the last flight of stairs to the owlry, clutching his chest as he emerged at the top. He wasn't used used to being so worn out from exercise - he ran almost every morning, kept in shape, and ate right. Of course it wasn't every day he walked up all the flights of stairs in school in one go.

Finding a patch of wall and ground less covered in owl dropping, Kingsley took off his outer school robe and placed it on the ground for cushioning. He sat down, loosening his tie and rolling up his shirt sleeves to his elbows. Taking his favourite purple quill from his school bag, a roll of parchment, and a bottle of ink, Kingsley spread out the paper, dipped his quill into his ink,a nd started writing.

Dear Dad,

Hi. It's Kings. How are you?

He paused, not sure what else he should write. Hello dad, just writing to tell you that school is killing me? That I never get to see my friends? That most nights I dream of dropping and becoming a hit wizard for hire? He actually chuckled aloud at that last one.

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

His sudden chuckle disturbed some of the owls. Many of the rustled their feathers and wings while a few of them took off in a flurry of feathers.

As the feathers cleared, Ariesa was standing at the top of the stairs. Her dark blue eyes looked at Kingsley, almost confused. No one was ever up here, let alone just sitting around. The most anyone ever came up here was only to attach a letter then send off the owls.

One of the owls that had taken off into the air came down and landed on the stone railing of the staircase beside Ariesa. She looked at the barn owl and petted it. He was her owl, Lunacy.

Ariesa looked back at Kingsley, again, and then proceeded into the owlery, with Lunacy following her in. As she passed by him, she finally looked away and down at the ground.

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

It wasn't the fluttering owls, or even the ones that had flown off that startled Kingsley. It was the girl that seemed to appear out of nowhere and was suddenly looking down at him that gave him a start. He didn't show his surprise, but he felt his heart stall for a split second and reeled from the shock for a few moments.

Once he had calmed down he realised that the girl had walked in without saying a word. He had at least expected a hi, or maybe just some sort of greeting - nod of the head, a blink, anything. He watched her for a moment, trying to decide if he should say anything.

After some heavy thinking, he settled on a non-committal greeting.

"Hello."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Ariesa looked about as startled as the birds had when she realized that he had said something to her. She turned her head to look at him, trying to figure out who he was.

After a moment, she finally placed his face. He was in Gryffindor, one of their seventh years. He would be out of this school soon. But why was he talking to her?

Ariesa gave a short nod, her eyes going back to the ground.

"hi.."

she said quietly. Her voice was barely audible over the hooting of the owls.

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

Kingsley almost wasn't sure if she had responded, that's how quiet she was. He looked at he for a moment, then looked down at his letter to his father. He picked up his quill as if to resume writing, then changed his mind and looked back up to the girl.

"It's, uh, a nice day out. Good for spending time in the owlry." He went silent for a moment, trying to think of something else to say. The best he could come up with was, "I don't think we've met before. I'm Kingsley."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Ariesa looked up at the sky through one of the windows when he mentioned it was a nice day. It wasn't too bad. There were a few clouds in the sky, but just enough to make the sky look interesting, instead of just blue. The occasional owl flying back and forth gave a bit more character to the sky. She looked out the lower window towards the forbidden forest and watched a thestrel fly up then back down again.

She turned back to him and shrugged and nodded about the nice day before turning away again. When he began to speak again, she turned slightly in his direction, but her back still mostly towards him, to make it so she could hear him better.

"Ariesa," was all she said in response.

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

Kingsley was confused. Had he said something, or done something to make this girl dislike him? He raised his right eyebrow slighty and scratched the back of his head. He looked the girl up and down, taking in he dark hair, hey blue eyes, and her... Slytherin robes? Ugh.

No. He couldn't be prejudiced against her. It wasn't right for him to judge based on house, and it was something he was trying to work through. Kill em with kindness, Kings.

"Ariesa," he repeated. "That's a very beautiful name. What year are you?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

This guy just loved to talk. It was unnerving for Arie. Beyond just that, if any of the other Slytherins caught her talking to him, they would bother her about it. The last thing she wanted was attention from anyone, let alone bad attention from her own house mates.

She turned to walk out the door when Lunacy suddenly flew at her, making her back up and yelp as his beak and talons barely missed her. She stumbled over one of the stones and fell against the low window. The owl flew up onto one of the roosts and sat there, hooting apologetically at her.

Ariesa leaned against the window sill a moment, catching her breath and calming down. Finally, she looked up at Lunacy, glaring a bit at him.

"stupid owl," she muttered, still leaning against the window sill, and he hooted back down at her.

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

Kingsley quickly turned his amused laughter into a small coughing fit. The owl didn't seem to be a fan of this Ariesa girl very much, and he couldn't say he blamed him. She was quiet, and it was off-putting. Kings had met shy women before, but this girl was beyond a slight blush. She was standoffish.

Kingsley loved a challenge.

"Well, he doesn't seem to want you to leave. Is he yours?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

She scowls up at the bird.

"Yeah. Mine... Don't even know why, its not like I ever talk to anyone."

With this first actual string of words, it became obvious that Arie had an American accent. Not many people usually realized that she was raised in America, usually because she just didn't talk enough for anyone to take notice to her accent to ask. She sighed and looked back him.

"Look, I.. don't really do this talking thing."

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

"Oh, that's alright, I can do enough talking for the both of us," Kingsley offered, still smiling politely at Ariesa. This girl fascinated him for some reason, despite the fact that her body language practically screamed leave me alone you creep! Plus, unless his ears were playing tricks with him again, she sounded American. Americans sounded funny. He wanted to hear more.

He rumaged around in his school bag, pulled out a package of chocolate frogs and offered it to her.

"Chocolate frog? I know some people say they're too rich and bitter, but I'm actually fond of the taste. They've still got a lot of jump, too."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Ariesa just stood there, blinking at him a moment. Why was he being nice to her? Lunacy hooted down at her and she moved forward. It was much like offering food to a wild animal. She slowly moved forward, looking down at the frog, before finally, calmly but quickly, took it from his outstretched hand.

She leaned against one of the roosts then slid down to sit on her robe. Her eyes remained on him the entire time, studying him. It was like she was expecting him to suddenly pull his wand on her or something.

She finally opened the frog, keeping her hands cupped around it so that it wouldn't jump around. She slowly pushed her thumbnail, and thumb, through the center of the frog, basically killing the magic that animated it and killing it. Her eyes still remained on Kingsley.

"They remain richer and more bitter because they do not add as much sugar and milk into the mix. It is much closer to dark chocolate."

Her eyes went down to the now dead looking chocolate frog in her hands as she spoke. She set the package down and began to pull the small frog apart with her fingers, placing one of its legs in her mouth.

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

He was glad that she took the candy he had offered her. It meant he was getting somewhere and she was starting to open up. He knew he could get her chatting, it would just take a lot of patience and time, which he was more than willing to spare (anything to keep him from having to write a letter to his dad).

Her eyes were on him the entire time, and he could feel it. Kingsley hated being watched, and the fact that she was blatantly staring at him made him uneasy.

Good thing he knew how to fake his cool.

He unwrapped a frog for himself and bit off its butt, slowly savoring the chocolate and casually observing the sky for a few moments before staring right back. He didn't look at her as he would an enemy, trying to intimidate her. Instead he gazed at her with a sort of gentle curiosity and general friendliness.

When she spoke an entier sentence, Kingsley had to stop himself from outright beaming. He was getting her to open up.

"Too bad about the sugar, I'm quite fond of it." He looked up to the owl in rafters, who still seemed to be keeping an eye on the girl as if she were going to run away. "He seems like a good bird. What's his name?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Her eyes slowly raised to look at him then to look up at the bird. He was looking down at her and when she looked up, he cocked his head to the side. It was actually sort of humorous how he was watching her. Almost like a big brother, encouraging a sister to make friends. She almost scowled up at the bird for that sort of behavior.

"Lunacy."

She quickly looked back down and popped another leg in her mouth. She could feel her heartbeat going a mile a minute. She was not used to this sort of interaction. The last time she had even been around one of the Gryffindor boys, they had been poking fun at her. This was so outside of her comfort zone, even her body didn't know how to react towards it.

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

"Lunacy," Kingsley repeated, looking up at the bird. "Hello there, Lunacy. Care for a bit of chocolate?" The bird was very obviously not paying him any mind, and instead was staring at his owner.

Kingsley looked at the girl and felt a slight twang of guilt. She looked so uncomfortable, and it was his fault. She had probably come up to the owlry for some peace and quiet, to have time alone with her thoughts and just revel in the silence. Gods know that's why Kings ever came here. If it weren't for the bird droppings he very well may have spent more time here.

"Sorry if I intruded upon anything. I'm sure you thought this place would be empty except for the owls; I know I did. I try to come here to write to my dad at least once a week -- he gets nervous if he and my mum don't hear from me for a while, you see -- and I like coming up here to write when it's warm enough out." He was babbling now, but he didn't care. If this girl was going to manage squeezing out more than a few words it was going to take five times the amount of talking on his part.

Not that he really minded.

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

She left the room silent for a moment after his little expressing of his emotional reason for being up in the owlery. To be honest, she really wasn't sure what to say. She had never been one to ever try to fill silence. She enjoyed silence too much to actually try to fill it. She had never cared enough about human emotions to try to understand someone or make them feel better. So she just never really had a reason to talk.

On top of all that, most people just tended to try to avoid her. For one, she was in Slytherin. People tend to avoid those in Slytherin, probably for good reason. Two, out of all the kids in Slytherin, she was also probably the creepiest one. She tended to do this unblinking stare at people who approached her.

Finally, after an extended period of silence, she spoke again. Not to try to fill it, but because she had actually grown curious about something.

"Why? I mean, why are you being nice to me? Your in Gryffindor, a 7th year and a social person. You should have just ignored me, finished what you were doing as quickly as possible and left. It is what everyone does."

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

She was still staring.

Kingsley stared back. He had decided to fight fire with fire and see what would happen. And it worked. She had spoken. At last!

What she said, however, was another story. It caught him quite off-guard.

"Well..." he paused, looking out one of the massive windows at the sky again. How to answer all that in one go? There were a lot of different levels to those questions, and they weren't exactly easy to articulate. But he gave it his best shot.

"I don't really know. It's not like I have a reason not to talk to you. Despite the current state of our world I'd like to think that the age old dispute between Gryffindors and Slytherins is nothing more than a petty argument, more of a school spirit thing that's not meant to be taken too seriously." He left out the fact that minutes before he had to stop himself from scoffing at her for being a Slytherin.

"I'm guessing you're a fourth year? Maybe fifth? My best mates may be other seventh years, but I've got friends in other years and other houses. We're not limited by our labels. Just because it's expected that I pay no mind to you and carry on about my business doesn't mean I have to."

He paused and smiled. "I sound very corny right now, don't I? I'm sorry, it's a hard question to answer without going into extreme lengthy explainations that I'm sure you really don't care to hear."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

She looks away a moment, continuing the silence once again. This time, the pause was not nearly as long, though. She turned back to him and spoke a very simple, but very complexed statement.

"It is expected of me, and many of the other Slytherins, to join the Death Eaters after graduation."

Her eyes had returned to starring at him, judging his reaction to this. She was a bit tactless and when she did speak, half the time it was to see how someone would react to something.

[Kingsley Shacklebolt]

Her response had certainly caught Kingsley off guard. For a second his eyes widened, betraying his calm front, but he quickly regained composure and thought for a long moment before answering.

"Like I said, just because it's expected doesn't mean you have to do it."

He sat silent for a moment, just staring right back at her. There was another question on the tip of his tongue but he was afraid to ask it. Ariesa seemed like the kind of person to speak the truth, and in this case the truth was a dangerous thing. Instead of asking what he really wanted to know, Kingsley slowly asked different version of his question.

"Do you feel you have to join the Death Eaters simply because it's expected of you?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

She knew what he was trying to get at. He wanted to know if she wanted to be in the Death Eaters. She continued her starring contest with him, even though she really didn't know it was a starring contest. Much in the way a cat will stare at you, even though it doesn't realize you are trying to stare it down.

"I hardly do anything I am expected to do. But, then again, I am expected to do both. Stay away from them and join them. I suppose one could say it is a conundrum. I do hate humans. It would be second nature. But it is expected, as a slytherin. My mother wishes for me to stay away from them. But I have a vast disliking for her."

All of this was said in a very monotonous voice, emotionless and cold. It was said in a way one would very much expect the dark lord himself to speak.