Taking a walk

Naomi was unusually quiet as she took a walk by the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A soft sigh passed her lips as she leaned against one of the trees in the forest. She was bored and didn't have anything to do, having already finished her homework and assignments for the week.

She slid down the tree and sat down on one of the bigger roots that were sticking out of the ground, taking out her wand she flicked it murmuring a soft word.

"Expecto... Patronus." A silver mist erupted from the tip of the wand that soon turned into a small, silver wolf, it's eyes watching the girl. Smiling slightly to herself, she watched as the wolf disappeared.

Katia really probably should've stopped tempting fate by playing on the edges of the wards to the school. It wasn't like she was hurting anyone by being there, however. She'd been very good. The only things that suffered from her presence was rats. She really didnt' like rats. They had it coming. Other than that, the other creatures of the forest had begun to get used to her.

There was nothing as pleasant as the ground beneath her feet and lying on the hard ground of a forest. Nothing that quite reminded her of home as it did. surrounded by trees. All that was missing was a fire, really. Living in the large mansion that she did with her friends since moving to this country was sometimes a bit overwhelming for her. She wasn't sure she understood how they could be so comfortable in it all the time. But she supposed it was just what you were used to.

And she was used to the earth.

Katia's ears perked up as she heard someone speak, creeping over in the direction. Her eyes flashed curiously when she saw a blonde girl, the memory of when she had met Ai out in the forrest for the first time only a year ago filling her with warmth. And the silver wolf that was there for moments before disappearing was almost mesmerising.

"It's certainly a handsome creature, your wolf," Katia said from behind the blonde girl, waiting for her to turn. "You must be proud of it."

Naomi didn't realize anyone was watching her so she yelped slightly when Katia spoke. Her eyes widened as she quickly spun around and faced the girl, her hand gripped the root of the tree hard as she was in fear of falling over.

"Please don't scare me..." She whispered, swallowing. "But thank you for the compliment... And I am proud of it. At first I'd have something like a horse as my Patronus..." She giggled quietly at that thought, it certainly would be quiet funny especially since her mothers' Patronus was a horse.

"May I ask what are you doing here, Miss?" She inquired softly, watching the girl curiously through her ice-blue eyes.

Katia had to bit back her giggles when the girl yelped. But wasn't she adorable? Katia did manage to smile though, not wanting to scare her new entertainment off. She wanted to socialise. She couldn't do that if there was no one about. It would be boring. And she hated boring. So, so much, it was insane.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Katia said. And she was sincere about it. "I think a wolf is much cooler than a horse. You should be proud of it. My Patronus is a crow," she couldn't stop her smile becoming slightly...pleased. "I can't say I can complain. I certainly like shiny things."

Katia did giggle at that question, sitting back on the ground and raising her hands out in front of her. "What am I doing here? I'm having fun, of course!" she gave the girl a wide grin. "And what are you doing out here, Little Miss Naughty? I thought these parts of the grounds were forbidden to students."

Naomi smiled back at Katia, her ice-blue eyes sparkling with slight amusement and happiness. She didn't know if she should be scared of Katia or not but she chose the latter.

"It's fine, don't worry." She waved the apology off, grinning. "I'm used to it. I do have an ex-boyfriend-turned-best-friend who's a Slytherin and he tends to sneak up on me." She told Katia. And it was true, Scorpius really did tend to sneak up on her. "Can I see your Patronus?" She asked softly, biting her lower lip, not knowing if she'd be allowed to see it.

Naomi decided to not comment on what Katia said but instead grin and answer the question. "I like to spend my time here, it's quiet and you don't usually have people coming here often." She shrugged. "I also come here if someone pisses me off... So I can blow off some steam."

Katia giggled slightly at that, pleased that the girl was less tense than she had been. It made Katia less tense too. Having some student cry wolf on her was not what she wanted. "Oh, those sneaky friends we all have. Sometimes you just wish you could get your own back on them," she smirked slightly. "Though I must admit, I'm usually the one doing the sneaking."

It was only fair, Katia guessed, for the blonde to see her patronus too. She did hesitate to think about it for a moment, blinking and staring at her companion. For some reason, her mind was a bit blank at the question. It wasn't one she got asked often. "Sure. I saw yours, after all," she pulled out her wand, her new wand, after those redheads destroyed hers. But this wand worked much better with her.

Sucking in a breath, Katia cast the spell. "Expecto patronus," her voice was soft, and a silvery crow flew from the tip, beak opening to let out a noise, shooting towards Naomi, vanishing into air right before it reached its target. When it did, Katia had a soft smile on her face. She always thought patronuses were something to be proud of.

"I don't often see people come here, no," Katia grinned slightly at the last comment though. "Oh? Has someone pissed you off today? Or are you just wanting some alone time?"

Naomi laughed quietly and shook her head. She knew that if she wanted to sneak up on Scorpius the only time she'd be able to really do that would be when the boy was with his boyfriend but she didn't want to intrude so she didn't do anything like that. "Yes, sometimes I wish I could get back at him but alas, I'm afraid that if I sneak up on him, he'll hex me into next week and back." She winced slightly.

The blond smiled softly at the brunette and gasped when she saw the crow. Naomi was impressed and immediately loved the crow, though she yelped quietly when it flew at her. Her lips though, quirked at the sides and she grinned. "I like it..." She told her.

She chuckled quietly at that and nodded her head. "That's right, most people tend to stay away from this place as it gives them the creeps though I'm quite fine with that." She shrugged. "I just wanted some time alone to think... And to get away from all those couples." She sighed. It made her feel slightly self-conscious about her looks as she always thought that's the reason why guys just don't ask her out.

Katia giggled at the idea of one of her friends hexing her into next week. “I think if my friends were going to do that, they would’ve done it a long time ago,” none of them seemed to be that patient. “And they could never sneak up on me! I’m like a shadow! I’m too sharp and mysterious for people to sneak up on me!”

She couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride as the blond said she liked Katia’s patronus. “I’m glad. I grew quite fond of crows after I discovered it.”

“I guess I could see how it would give people the creeps,” the thought made her grin inside, picturing their reactions to the forest. How easy it would be to scare them. “It reminds me of home in a way. And it’s definitely a good place to be alone.”

A wicked smile spread across her face. “Get away from all those couples, hmm? Do you not have a special someone? Or is your special someone just not quite yours yet?”

Naomi laughed at that and shook her head in amusement. "You are like a shadow, usually I can feel people that are coming close but unfortunately you were too quiet and too sneaky." She smiled softly before her eyes widened and she cursed softly. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Naomi Night, 6th year Gryffindor."

"I would've too but I am quite fond of my little wolf as well..." She smiled as she thought about her patronus. It was unusual for her to be talking about something like that to someone.

"Normally people are scared to enter these woods because they fear that there are wolves or other creatures like that in this forest." The blond shrugged as if she wasn't bothered by that fact then she smiled. "Yeah, it is easy."

"Yes, get away from all those bloody couples. Mind you I don't have anything against them just... It kinda makes me upset that I don't have anyone to be with." She sighed. "Nope, I don't have a special someone." Her voice held a slight tinge of sadness and her eyes seemed to have dimmed slightly though it vanished just as quick.

Katia smiled happily as the blonde agreed with her. Katia thought she liked being compared to a shadow. It suited her. When she wasn't being boysterous. "You must be very aware of your surroundings then, most of the time? And it's fine, I'm Katia," she stretched out a hand for Naomi to shake. "I'm not a student."

"I think many people grow attached to their patronuses. At least, it makes sense for them to. It is...a personal thing," Katia glanced towards the deeper part of the woods, smirk on her face. "Well, there are other creatures in this forest. Some that I certainly wouldn't like to bump into without being prepared. "I am glad you're not though, else I wouldn't get to spend this time with you."

Having a special someone, it wasn't something Katia ever thought was that important. Some people obviously did though, at least people like Naomi. "Perhaps you aren't looking in the right places? I don't really think about special people that often," she didn't think she'd ever thought about it, nevermind thought it was important, come to think about it.

Naomi smiled and nodded her head at that. "Yeah, I am very swear of my surroundings." She grinned slightly then shook Katia's hand. "Nice to meet you Katia."

"I know I am attached to my patronus and I love him very much." She smiled softly. "The memory that I usually use is a very old one but a really happy one nonetheless." She shrugged her shoulders slightly before giving out a slight shudder. "I definitely do not want to go deeper into that forest in case I meet something I'm not supposed to. The only time I'd go in there would be when I'd know for certain I wouldn't get killed which would be never." She shuddered more.

The blond chuckled quietly and shrugged. She wasn't sure if she'd find her special someone that quick but she knew that it was worth a try to look somewhere else. "I don't know. It's not as if I need that special someone yet but still... Seeing your friends with their special someone does leave one really lonely and that usually leads to wallowing in self-pity, something I am not fond of." She sighed.

“It’s a good thing to be, aware of your surroundings. You never know when something bad might happen. Or someone bad might happen,” Katia pulled her hand back after a few moments. “You have pretty hands, you know. And it’s nice to meet you too!”

“Most my happy memories are quite recent,” though she supposed meeting Vera and Sasha wasn’t that recent. Her memories certainly weren’t very old. Katia grinned at the shudder Naomi gave. “Whatever happened to living life on the edge? Revelling in danger? Does it not excite you?”

Katia tilted her head to the side slightly as she thought. She certainly didn’t feel lonely or jealous when she thought of her friend who had a special someone. “Self-pitying? Ugh, that doesn’t sound like fun. Maybe you just need a friend who knows how to have fun without needing a special someone to help you realise how unimportant they are.”

Naomi smiled and nodded her head. "That's what someone told me once as well..." She said and then gaped before laughing at Katia. "...That was quiet random but thank you for the compliment." She grinned.

"My happiest memory isn't that recent but it isn't old either." She said. "It does excite me but I don't think I want to find what kind of danger lies in there..." She shuddered again, not wanting to think about it.

"Yes, self-pitying. It certainly isn't fun, I can tell you that much. I've been there and it was horrible." Naomi told her, smiling slightly. "...It's hard to find a friend that doesn't have a special someone. Because all of mine do."

"Yeah, sorry, but they are! It had to be said!" Katia excused, grinning back. "They are really nice! I can't help myself for wanting to tell the truth! And I suppose your happiest memory doesn't have to be recent, just...happy," and personal. Too personal. This was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. She needed something to distract herself.

"Not even if I was with you?" Katia asked with a playful pout. "We wouldn't have to go far, if you didn't want to? Not that I'm pressuring you or anything, you don't have to go at all, but I'm going to be walking back through it on my way home, if you did want to have some of that excitement."

"Come on, there must be someone! I know loads of people who don't have significant others," her friends didn't really seem to care about that though. They were more concerned with revenge and torture and the such.

Naomi giggled at Katia and shook her head. "No need to apologize Katia." She grinned. "...Yeah, it does have to be happy..." Naomi was starting to feel uncomfortable as well, all her memories were personal and she didn't want to talk about them.

"Well, I don't know." She grinned. "Maybe but I'll have to think about it for a few more minutes." She smiled at her. "...But I might go." She said.

"...There are a few but I don't speak to most of them now since we rarely see each other." She sighed. "And some of those few graduated so we only owl to each other, keeping in contact and all that." She shrugged.

Katia sprung to her feet, hopping from foot to foot as she grinned back at Naomi. "Woohooo exciting! Might might might, might is totally a yes, isn't it?" she clamped her mouth shut, crouching down again in front of the blonde. "But a few more minutes. I can give you a few more minutes. This is totally acceptable."

She felt kind of bad for Naomi, talking about her friends. Keeping in contact was hard. She didn't keep in contact with anyone from Russia. "Being in the same country should make it easier to keep in contact though, shouldn't it? I mean, are you just at school all the time?" this was getting very somber. "Maybe you just need new friends! That way, you don't need to worry about your old friends so much, because you'll have new friends to worry about."

There was absolutely nothing wrong with that in Katia's mind.

Naomi chuckled at Katia and shook her head. That girl was way too happy for something like that, though she supposed she would be as well. "What I meant, Katia, was that I'd think about it." She grinned at her. After a few minutes passed Naomi's lips twitched at the corners though she didn't show any other reaction as she slowly drawled out. "Well... If you're so sure.... I... maybe... I don't know." She grinned at Katia. "Oh fine, I will."

The blond shrugged and sighed as she placed her chin in the palm of her hand. "With Scorpius and Al I can keep in contact with because our parents' are good friends but the others... Well, it'll depend on who will be doing what. We might see each other on the occasional outing but that will be all." She shrugged. "...I'd rather just keep my old friends around for now, I'll probably make new ones when the time will come."

Katia pouted when Naomi said she'd think about it. Was that code for 'no' or 'yes' or what? People should be more upfront about things, so she knew whether or not to get her hopes up. She pouted more when Naomi began to um and ah over it, leeping to her feet once again and cheering when she agreed. "That's the spirit! Adventure time!" she held a hand out for Naomi, smirk tugging at her lips. Adventures indeed. "Come on, we don't need to go far in. I know where most of the creatures are."

"I guess when you're all doing different things, it makes it difficult to keep in contact," Katia mused. "With arranging when to meet and such. What are Scorpius and Al like? Those are their names, right? I'm not being too pry-y, am I?" was she being too pry-y? Was that a word?

"Do you want to take the lead or shall I?"

Naomi laughed at the pouty look on Katia's face and grinned at her. When she saw Katia leap to her feet as she finally agreed she couldn't help but laugh at her before placing her hand in Katia's and standing up. "Okay but I really hope you know what you are doing." She muttered softly, still a bit weary of going into the forest.

"It will be but it won't be that hard." The blond told her. "Scor and Al are great. Scorpius was my ex-turned-best-friend and Al is my friend. We usually see each other when me and Al are tutoring Scorpius in Potions." She sighed. "Nah, you're not being privy. When you've gone too far I'll tell you." She smiled at Katia.

"You can lead."