walk within the || LINES ||

[nessarose]

SOMETIMES I GET SO WEIRD
I EVEN FREAK MYSELF OUT
I LAUGH MYSELF TO SLEEP
IT'S MY LULLABY

It’s not that Vanessa was daring, per se, as much as it was that she was... rather detrimentally curious. Besides that, she was ever so lonely because it seemed like all her friends decided to be miserable lately and she had tried time and time again to cheer them up but to no avail. She thought maybe they needed space, because that’s what her mum had always told her when people didn’t get cheered up by all the various things she did for them. So, Nessa decided to give them all the space they needed. But... well, that made things rather nebulously dull for her. She had nothing to do but get a head-start on the scrolls owed after the weekend, but who wanted to get a head-start on that when it was only Thursday? She sighed. What was more, she hadn’t gotten a chance to get her spell-checking quill from Hogsmeade yet and she just didn’t want to even start writing without it. She was sick of all the patronizing stares she would get from her teachers and all the docked points she had to suffer regardless of whether or not the premise of the paper was correct. They knew what she meant to say, and her handwriting was perfectly legible, so what was the problem? Honestly, she didn’t understand her professors sometimes. If she had to get one more look from under the spectacles of Professor McGonagall she’d, well, she’d... she’d scream, that’s what! Unintentionally, Vanessa stomped on the ground at the very thought of it and balled her fists. Oh, but it was so frustrating! She was on her way out to the grounds now, with no real destination in mind other than the river, because it was one of the places on the grounds that she had never really explored, and besides, she’d heard there were pretty flowers growing on its banks in wintertime and perhaps she could pick enough to make two little bouquets for Gabby and Emmie. Most of all, she really wanted to see if these flowers were even there in this season––though she couldn’t imagine why anyone would tell her a lie about such a thing––and, well... everybody knew that the river led to the Forbidden Forest... and sometimes Nessa kind of really wanted to see it up and close and personal, even though it frightened the living daylights out of her. It was just so magnificent and terrifyingly beautiful and... she knew to be careful, especially after what had happened to Gabriella, but she couldn’t help but have this sort of morbid interest in what it was like to be in there. Not that she would be indulging in that curiosity anytime soon, of course, but maybe it could be temporarily sated if she were to just peer at its fringes from a distance. And... well, there were unicorns in there! Nessa had always wanted so desperately to see a unicorn. She doubted any would come out at this hour but it was a nice thought all the same.

It was getting sort of cold out, being that it was near Christmastime, and there was a light snow frosting the ground. She could see her breath pooling in front of her as she walked, feel the contrast of the heat of it against the frigid air. She was wearing some mittens and earmuffs but her nose was still pinched red and her cheeks flushed with cold. She was quite bulky-looking in all of her heavy insulting robes and winter gear, but she didn’t much care. The only thing she wanted to know was if flowers really could grow in the wintertime. Really, who knew! She was attending a school for witches and wizards, anything was possible! As she trudged along with long strides, her boots sinking ever-further in the snowy banks nearer to the icy river, Vanessa couldn’t help but hope that she hadn’t been lied to again. One of her more unfortunate traits was that she tended to be rather gullible and some of her friends took advantage of it. She would be quite devastated if this was the case for the flowers too, because she really was hoping to pick some for Gabby and Emme. Maybe she could even gather some extra for that poor Slytherin girl Daciana Gamp, whom she had talked to earlier. It seemed that the girl needed a lesson in the beauty to be found in the world, outside of the influence of drugs and alcohol. If magical wintery flowers couldn’t save her soul, then what could?! She huffed and puffed and edged further on, encouraged by these thoughts of saving people with pretty flowers, so blinded by her own hopes that she didn’t notice the ice patch she was about to step onto, and consequently stepped there. The ground swiveled underneath her and she struggled to find her balance... and failed, falling right onto her bum and sliding a few feet forward. Her hair was dampened with snow and she grimaced as she rolled over and began to search for her dislodged earmuffs. "Oh, bugger," she muttered. Alright, earmuffs, where were you... it couldn’t be that hard to find them, they would stand out against the snow, of course. She sighed and scuttled through the snow, brushing piles of it away with her be-gloved hands until she uncovered them, soaked through. "Just my luck," she whispered with a piteous shake of her head.

She gained her balance and stood, dusting herself off and shoving her earmuffs in the deep pockets of her robes. Her wrist sort of hurt, she realized, but thought not much of it. She probably just bruised it as she tried to break her fall... from the back. She rolled her eyes and glanced behind her, suddenly self-conscious. She found herself hoping no one had seen that graceful move. And she, the daughter of a prima ballerina! How embarrassing. Oh, and now her gloves were wet too, and so very cold! She peeled them off and stuck them in her pockets as well, pausing to estimate the damage done to her wrist. It was a little red, but it didn’t look too swollen. She gave it a light shake, soon regretted it and let out a small whimper of pain, and then rubbed her hands together gently and blew on them to try and warm them. How could she pick wintery flowers now, when she was all cold and wet, and when she had no protective outer layers?! She had to do it anyway, she couldn’t turn her back on those in need!

With a renewed spring in her step, Vanessa carefully walked along until she could see the river’s outlines in the distance. Curious. It looked quite devoid of vegetation. No matter. She hurried along until she reached its banks and then immediately dropped to her knees, searching for the flower a little closer to where it was supposed to grow. "It’s got to be here," she said to herself, ignoring the cold nibbling at her fingers and ears. Why would her friends lie to her!? It wasn’t funny at all and they gained nothing from it! There had to be a flower here, there just had to! She stood and walked along the contours of the river carefully, not letting a single thing escape her field of vision. Well, there weren’t any flowers on this side, but on the other side... yes, that’s where they were, they had to be there! But... she could see the other side from here, and it looked just as vacant as the one she was on. She frowned. When the crushing realization set in that she had been maliciously tricked, Vanessa slumped to the ground and fell backward, lying there for a while and trying to think of why anyone would do such a thing. She would have made a snow angel if she hadn’t been so upset. She wasn’t even excited about the unicorns anymore, and certainly didn’t even want to look at the Forbidden Forest. She suddenly felt terribly alone and terribly annoyed and terribly helpless all at the same time. She just wanted to help her friends! What was so hard about that? Why did people have to lie to her when they knew how easily she was fooled?! She stuck her bottom lip out in a little pout and sighed. Maybe they really did just need space, she thought miserably. But what of her? Maybe she was selfish for thinking this, but it made her sort of sad to know that her friends were sad and she couldn’t help them in any other ways than by giving them space and well, that just made her feel incredibly isolated. Nessa was the mummy of the group and it was her job to make everything better because that was what mummies did. She wished the flowers had been here, at least she wouldn’t have wasted her entire afternoon. It was just so frustrating that––wait. What was that? She thought she heard a crunch, like a footstep. OhmyGodwhatifitwasaunicorn. She sat up, perhaps a bit too fast, and whirled around to look behind her...

...and did not see a unicorn. Bother. She thought she had been alone. Defeatedly, she raised her eyes to Daciana’s and said, "You saw me fall earlier, didn’t you?" it was more of a statement than a question. Oh, how embarrassing. Now she'd wasted her afternoon and humiliated herself in front of a Slytherin. As if the day could possibly get any worse. She really hoped Daciana wasn't going to tease her, although she half expected it anyway. Why was she even here? Had somebody played a trick on her too!? "Were you looking for the flowers too? Because they're not here, let me warn you."

[/blockquote]

^{daciana gamp}

[Daciana Gamp]

It was quiet outside today. There were little to no students walking the grounds in the winter climate, and so the white blanket of snow covering the ground remained mostly untouched. There were no first-years making snowmen, or girls making snow angels, nor were there balls of snow thrown at anyone from behind white, make-shift barricades. Tracks made throughout the day before had been filled in by the night’s snowfall, and indeed, all was simply, purely veiled in white. It was particularly cold today – cold even for winter, it seemed to Daciana, and she as such attributed the lack of persons outside to that fact alone. She pulled her robes closer around her and brought her green and silver house scarf nearer to her face to block out the biting cold wind. It was true, the school robes she was wearing now were her thicker ones especially fashioned for the cold weather, but with occasional snowflake floating onto her hair, inevitably causing cold water to run down her back, and spurts of wind whipping at her face every few minutes, it was still quite, quite chilly. However, Daciana couldn’t smoke inside. And truthfully, she would rather withstand the frostiness of the outdoors than deal with the craving gnawing its way into her thoughts all day. It was particularly bad at the moment, and her classes today hadn’t helped. It seemed like all her teachers insisted on cramming loads of knowledge down their throats before the break for the Holidays. Didn’t they know that the anticipation of the upcoming break was distracting, and making students everywhere not want to do anything but un-stressful holiday activities? And then there was the Yule Ball… Daciana didn’t even want to think about that. On one hand, it was a party with dancing and punch that would, inevitably, be spiked. On the other, if she didn’t show up with a suitable date, she might as not go at all. But if she didn’t show up, people would know she couldn’t get a date. It wasn’t even that she couldn’t get a date she just… didn’t want one. Maybe everyone would just buy her excuse that the ball was lame and she simply didn’t want to go at all.

She sighed, seeing her breath come out in a small cloud due to the cold. Walking out away from the castle, Daciana shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling the cardboard pack of cigarettes in her right one and the smooth, metal lighter kept warm in her left one. She was hesitant to make such an ugly trail in the previously unscathed snow, but she had to get far enough away from the school to avoid running into a teacher or disapproving prefect. Her legs took her in the direction of the river, where it was sure to be deserted in this frigidness. But the farther she got, the colder it seemed to get, and so Daciana decided to stop in her tracks, light up, and then continue on her way. Digging the necessities out of their respective pockets, Daciana slid a cigarette out of it cardboard container and flicked open her lighter. It was a specialty, magic lighter (not those shoddy, mechanical-type kinds the muggles use) – engraved with the Gamp family crest, in which automatically lit when placed near the end of a cig. And light it did when brought to the cigarette she had placed in between her lips. The little flame caught and burned its end, producing a small line of smoke floating up to the sky, before flickering out. She inhaled immediately, feeling the warm vapors engulf her mouth and throat. Her exhale was more like a sigh of relief, smoke flowing out of her mouth and nostrils. Oh, but it really did make everything more bearable – and she felt a little warmer too. So continue on, she did, the crunch of snow under her boots sounding much more relaxing even just with that one hit. But as she focused on where she was actually headed, Daciana noticed someone walking ahead of her, who she had presumably been walking out there for a while, as she did not see them coming out of the castle. She hadn’t noticed other footprints in the snow either, and assumed the girl had come out of a different part of the school than she. She took another drag and the squinted, making out the back of a tall blonde girl…Oh Merlin. That weird flounce in her step, the length of her light hair – it was that Hufflepuff – Vanessa. Ugh. Daciana didn’t want to turn back to the castle now that she had just started on her sig. Maybe if she just minded her own business, the blonde wouldn’t notice her. She would just walk quietly behind her toward the river and –

She fell. Daciana watched as Vanessa stepped, slid, and flew backwards landing on her ass. Daciana’s free hand flew to her mouth to stifle the snickers that started to involuntarily come out of her. Now that was funny, she thought as she watched the girl pop back up and start searching around for something in the snow. For a moment, Daciana considered her to be much like a chicken with its head cut off. But before she knew it, Vanessa was up and moving again, shaking her wrist pathetically and walking on. Daciana shook her head disapprovingly. Clumsy things, muggleborns tended to be, even those deemed the more “graceful” of the lot, in Daciana’s opinion. The Hufflepuff had probably hurt herself. Well, let it be a lesson. Still, Vanessa probably didn’t even think about performing a simple healing spell that would stop any pain. Helpless things. Daciana found herself following Vanessa, her lit cigarette making a thin trail of smoke behind her. She’d probably fall again, and it’d be comedic, or perhaps she’d simply freeze, and if so than Daciana should probably alert a teacher or another (after putting out her cig, of course). But no, as she followed the blonde to the water’s edge, the taller girl just willingly flopped to the ground, in what looked like to be defeat. What was she to look defeated over? Come to think of it, what was she doing out in the cold in the first place? Daciana flicked the ash off of the butt of her smoking stick and took a drag lazily, standing a few yards from Vanessa still. Truth be told, she was sort of peeved that Vanessa was there. It was so nice and quiet, and no one had been around to scold her or get her in trouble for smoking, and she would have just been able to fill her lungs with smoke in peace. While the girl’s fall did provide entertainment, she had wanted a moment for herself. Now the Hufflepuff’s apparent senselessness had made her curious (against her will and better judgment) and completely ruined her plan.

And yet, she had approached. Daciana watched as Vanessa popped up from her laying position to see who was behind her and was about to ask what the hell she was doing when the blonde spoke. The girl was clearly embarrassed by her failure in balance earlier, as she well should have been. “Yes. It was probably one of the most awkward falls I’ve seen in a while,” Daciana said condescendingly. She should mock the girl and leave – it was what she would have done had the grounds been more populated or they in the crowded halls of Hogwarts. Daciana opened her mouth to sneak in another snide comment when Vanessa started talking again. Flowers? What the hell was she talking about? Daciana would, Daciana should spit insults and claim that the girl was clearly daft and leave her to sit and freeze in the snow…

“Flowers? But it’s winter, you do know that? Of course flowers don’t grow in the winter. You can’t honestly tell me you’re out here…looking for flowers?”

But it was quiet outside today, and there was no one else outside, and so there was no one there to see her holding conversation with a mudblood.

[nessarose]

SOMETIMES I GET SO WEIRD
I EVEN FREAK MYSELF OUT
I LAUGH MYSELF TO SLEEP
IT'S MY LULLABY

She still just simply could not wrap her head around the concept that she had been fooled. How had she allowed this to happen again?! And why would someone lie to her like this? Oh, it was simply terrible! Why couldn’t people just be truthful and good? Then the world wouldn’t have any problems and everything would be fine. Vanessa sighed. She was too gullible, she knew that. And yet even knowing that hadn’t helped her to avoid getting herself into such situations as these. This wasn’t the first time she’d been tricked and she quailed a little when she accepted it probably wouldn’t be the last, either. It wasn’t fair. People knew how easily she could be mislead! They should just leave her alone, really! They should have better things to do than pick on her. Like. Homework or scrolls or something. Ugh. She didn’t want to face any of them now, she was so embarrassed. They’d probably ask her where the flower was and laugh in her face when she said it wasn’t there. Nessa didn’t know why she had listened to them in the first place. From now on she would only trust Emmeline and Gabriella, that was it. No one else! Gabby had never lied to her and neither had Emmie so it was quite clear that they were her only true friends. She would have to ask them later how to be less trusting of other people, and if there was any way to improve herself so that she wasn’t so darned gullible. Emmeline would probably know. But… oh, that’s right. Emme was still sad. She couldn’t bother her with her own silly problems, right? That would be selfish. And Vanessa wanted to be there for her, not the other way around. Oh well. She’d just have to deal with her own issues later, no big deal. For now she had enough to worry about, anyway, seeing as she had to address the slightly more pressing issue of the Slytherin girl standing over her and probably preparing several insults from her arsenal. When she got confirmation that Daciana had in fact seen her fall, she deflated a little and whispered, “Well, poop.” And it was awkward too? How embarrassing. “Sorry about that, I wish you didn’t have to see it.” Despite her current mood, Vanessa managed a weak self-directed laugh. “Guess my boots aren’t as reliable as I thought.” Not that it really had anything to do with her boots so much as it did with her simply not paying attention, but… well, it was all she could manage to say anyway.

Ugh, and now she had to explain about the flowers. Why had she even brought that up? Stupid stupid stupid, she mentally berated herself. Daciana was a Slytherin and she didn’t give a bird’s nest about these nonexistent flowers. She didn’t even want to talk about it now, but she supposed it was her fault for bringing it up. She didn’t want to be rude. “Someone told me there were these special winter flowers that were growing out here by the river, and I thought I could pick some for my friends to cheer them up.” Oh, gosh, she was aware of how silly that sounded. “They like flowers,” she added, lamely. What did Daciana care about her friends?! Just because Emmeline was depressed and Gabby wasn’t much better off probably made no difference in Daciana’s life. In fact, Nessa was fairly certain Emme had even mentioned something about how much she disliked Daciana. She assumed the feelings were returned, too, seeing as Emmeline was a muggleborn and a Hufflepuff, too. She didn’t do that silly stuff that Daciana liked either, so Vanessa was positive they didn’t get along. Daciana didn’t seem to care for nice people like Emmie. “What do you do to cheer up your friends?” she found herself asking, rather without precedent. It wasn’t like Daciana was actually inviting a conversation, but Vanessa was curious. Were Slytherins really that different in the area of friendship? Did they cheer each other up with gifts too, only different things like snakes and potions? Sometimes Vanessa wondered about how much different Slytherins were from Hufflepuffs and from, well, everyone else. From what she could tell, they seemed to be almost worlds apart in terms of what made them happy and angry and sad, alternately. They were in fact almost direct opposites of everyone else she knew, and it puzzled her. How could they possibly be happy like that? It didn’t seem that enjoyable of a lifestyle to Nessa, but then again, what did she know, enough to make a judgment?

Speaking of judgment. She just noticed exactly three seconds ago that Daciana was smoking. Smoking. Ohmygosh. She couldn’t let this happen! Maybe Daciana could do it on her own time but as long as Vanessa was here she simply could not stand by and watch a fellow student destroy themselves! “Is that your… Mary Jane Weed? Or whatever you call it?” she asked, looking at it from the side. She wrinkled her nose. It didn’t smell very good. She couldn’t understand why anyone would want to smell it let alone smoke it. Nessa didn’t understand how smoking worked anyway. Did you suck it in? Where did go after you sucked it in? In your lungs? Why would anyone do that!? That’s disgusting! She’d have to ask Gabby about it later, maybe she knew why people did that. Ugh. “I don’t think you should do that,” Nessa said, timidly, coughing a little as she inhaled the thick smoke “it doesn’t smell very good, besides. How can you like it?” She really, really didn’t comprehend the idea of drugs. She preferred to just leave them out of her life altogether. She hoped all her friends were of the same opinion because really they were such nasty things and she didn’t want anyone to do them, least of all her friends. She wished Daciana would feel the same. Besides, hadn’t she gotten in trouble for it a while ago? Vanessa didn’t know, but she’d heard something of it in the hallways, people gossiping about ‘that Gamp girl and her drugs.’ Apparently there was some cause for scandal, but Nessa didn’t know the whole story. She didn’t like to listen to gossip very much because it wasn’t fair if the person being gossiped about couldn’t defend themselves. Maybe she would ask Daciana about it someday. Oh, maybe they could even become friends! Maybe she could save Daciana too. It was possible, right? Anything was possible: when there was a will, there was a way! …or something like that. Daciana needed saving, Nessa could tell. The way she carried herself, hung her shoulders, the way her eyes looked––so dark and lost. Vanessa pitied her. And besides she was so pretty. And pretty girls like Daciana shouldn't smoke, and they shouldn't be lost. They should be happy and healthy. Vanessa wanted to help Daciana be happy and healthy, because everyone had a right to be. Even mean Slytherin girls. She was just mislead, anyhow, she probably wasn't really mean.

Vanessa hadn't even thought that maybe sometimes it was hard being a pureblood; they did have a lot of pressure, after all. Maybe Daciana was trying to escape the pressure by doing what she did. Smoking and drinking. That wasn't the way to go about stress management at all, but... oh! Maybe that's how Nessa could help her! She could manage her stress! It was perfect. All she needed was a little help to get rid of her stress and she'd be fine and happy and healthy! Right? Vanessa could do that; she was good at organizing! A smile flitted across her features. Maybe she didn't need flowers to cheer everyone up, she just needed a little will.

[/blockquote]

[Daciana Gamp]

She was like a child, Daciana thought as she squinted her eyes to look at the girl. She squinted, partly because the reflection of sun off the white snow was harsh on her eyes, and partly to scrutinize Vanessa. The Hufflepuff clearly didn’t look like a child by any physical means, and yet she seemed more childlike than even some of the small first-years Daciana had seen throughout the halls of Hogwarts. Vanessa’s actions – her expressions, the way she walked, the way she fell, the way she wrote- were that of a kid. Even her speech, which was gentle, had a simple, childish quality. And then there were her thought processes and her intentions; no, Daciana couldn’t read minds or anything, but she could tell that her thoughts were often reflected on her face, thoughts that were untainted and naive. Like her body grew with her age, but her soul did not. Daciana wondered how anyone could be that way, how anyone could have never experienced anything more troubling than being lied to or misguided. That was, assuming Vanessa hadn’t. Daciana supposed it could just be an act – dark, hidden secrets behind big, doe eyes- but she didn’t really think so if she was being honest. Vanessa simply had the soul and will of a child. Daciana almost wondered if it was better that way. Ignorance is bliss, they say. However, as the Hufflepuff deflated in her embarrassment, Daciana thought, no, perhaps it wasn’t better. Because someday a misstep in balance would turn into something far larger, and her naivety would get her into trouble, and she just wouldn’t know any better. She wouldn’t know how to find her way out. “You should be more careful,” she said reflexively, putting her cigarette up to her lips and inhaling. It wasn’t concern, it was sharing a piece of common sense. Or that was what Daciana told herself, anyway. Really though, she didn’t know the girl enough to have concern for her. And she’s a muggleborn, she reminded herself. You show no more concern for a muggleborn than you do a dog, perhaps less – it was what her Demarco had told Daciana her first year at Hogwarts. She had run smack into another first year whom her brother soon recognized to be a muggleborn. When Daciana, unknowingly, started to apologize, ‘Marco pulled her behind him and pushed the other first year out of their way, sneering that the kid had better get the hell away from them (and stay away) if he knew what was good for him. It was later that night when Demarco told Daciana to watch out for who might be a mudblood, for the school was crawling with them. She blinked, bringing her mind back to the present, realizing how uncomfortable it was to her, recalling these sort of memories in the presence of Vanessa.

And anyway, the girl was talking again, giving her ridiculous excuse for looking for flowers in the middle of winter. “And you believed them?” She said it as more of a statement really, realizing full well that Vanessa was exactly the kind of person to believe such a fantastical tale. “Well there aren’t any winter flowers or whatever. At least, not that I know of.” But Daciana liked to think that she knew everything. She even probably knew who Vanessa wanted to pick the imaginary flowers for; it wasn’t like anyone could miss Emmeline Vance’s transformation- the way she moped about, how she astonishingly managed to get even thinner than she was before. The Hufflepuff cheerleading captain had to be the friend Vanessa was talking about giving the supposed flowers to, if not at least one of them. Daciana, however, thought Emmeline could do with a drink instead. Obviously though, Vanessa (and probably Vance too) would disagree. And then Vanessa asked what Daciana did to cheer up her friends and the thought of a bottle of firewhiskey appeared clearer in her head because really, if someone was going to wallow they might as well be inebriated. “I’d buy them a drink. Take their mind off of whatever was bothering them. But, my friends aren’t that whiney or depressive.” It was true though, at least recently. Her group of friends lived life up and were seldom miserable about anything. Anya was satisfied as long as she had someone’s bed to be in at night, Deaglan seemed to be happy if everyone else was, Aiden was, well, probably too proud to admit dejection, Serena was odd, but generally too concerned about being a lady to be concerned about much else, Paris’s soul was in his penis, and Regulus…it was hard to tell the difference about him being upset and him being an asswipe much of the time. Daciana had certainly never considered giving any of them flowers. In fact, none of them had ever given her flowers. Not a living soul had given her flowers before, actually (the ones her mother had around the house didn’t count- they weren’t meant for her). But why would she care? Flowers were just plants that were a little more pleasing to look at. It’s not like they were that useful; you just put them in a vase until they died and you had to charm them back into bloom. It’d be a nuisance to have them.

Speaking of dead plants. Did Vanessa just say “Mary-Jane Weed”? Oh Merlin, this Hufflepuff. Daciana shook her head critically and corrected the girl, “No. It’s a cigarette. Tabacco. Don’t muggles have it as well?” She brought the cigarette to her lips as if to emphasize some unspoken point. Really, didn’t everyone know what a cigarette was? It was perfectly rolled and stark white (all but the butt of it), and nothing like a homemade, man-rolled joint of marijuana. Someone as ignorant as a child wouldn’t know, she made the comparison again and scoffed at the way the blonde was looking at her. Daciana couldn’t understand why Vanessa cared, as the other girl expressed her unwanted opinion about Daciana’s habit. “Well I disagree.” She flicked ashes onto the snow and muttered, “I like the way it smells.” It reminded her of when the chimney was cleaned, and how when she was little she would sit and watch the ashes fall in puffs down the fireplace, like small pieces of black snow. Again, she inhaled defiantly. “It’s relaxing and warm and I just like it,” she spoke on the exhale. “Why do you care?” It wasn’t any of her business. Daciana really didn’t understand the fuss about it – it wasn’t like one cigarette every once and a while would kill her. Sure, she got those pesky cravings every once and a while, but it was totally manageable! Only feeble muggles were seriously harmed by smoke (or that’s what Daciana told herself) – after all, wizards basically traveled by smoke what with floo powder. She really didn’t see what the big deal or difference was. Anyway, there were a lot worse things than cigarettes – most of which she had done- but it wasn’t like she was making ruckus on a high in front of the taller girl sitting in the snow. Speaking of, Vanessa was still sitting in the snow. What a strange one. “You know you’re… Aren’t you getting cold?”

Then, Daciana noticed Vanessa smiling to herself, and she couldn’t help but be on edge. The Hufflepuff was thinking something – formulating a plan or such- in her head, and Daciana had a bad feeling that she would be somehow involved with it. She did not need to be involved in…in child’s play, but a part of her also realized she probably…wouldn’t have much of a choice.

[nessarose]

SOMETIMES I GET SO WEIRD
I EVEN FREAK MYSELF OUT
I LAUGH MYSELF TO SLEEP
IT'S MY LULLABY

"Well that's a shame," Vanessa said, thinking how lovely it would have been to have flowers that grew in wintertime. She'd plant them all around the campus, if it was alright with Professor Dumbledore. "Someone should make some," she concluded, thinking of Professor Sprout perhaps who knew of ways to crossbreed plants and make something out of them. She'd have to talk to her later. For now, she was shivering a little, and her lips may or may not have been turning blue as she strained to focus on Daciana, her mind zipping from thought to thought uncontrolled as she wondered at what she might do to be able to help this girl de-stress. When she mentioned the buying a drink part, Nessa frowned. "A drink? Like butterbeer? Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. I dunno, they can get that anywhere though. Maybe it works for your friends but I don't think it'd work for mine." Boy, this girl sure was weird. But Nessa had decided that she liked her, anyhow, because weird meant interesting, and––and in Nessa's mind, she had already committed to taking care of Daciana, and so of course she liked her. She was her responsibility, now! Her nose was still crinkling with the smell of the, what was it, tobacco, though, and she struggled to stand up and shake her head a little so as to get a different whiff of a different (more clean) air. "Aha! You like it because it's relaxing," Vanessa accused, smiling in that tongue-in-cheek way that meant she was on to something. "You're stressed! Well, Daciana, there are other ways of relieving stress! Like coming out here searching for flowers that don't exist, or just making snow angels, or going inside and playing around with friends, or maybe just taking a nice nap! I'm going to help you find other ways to de-stress! You don't have a say in the matter, either." So, perhaps Vanessa was being a little, well, bold with this, but she felt strangely empowered whenever her mommy-senses tingled, so she went with it. "In fact, we should go get some hot cocoa right now, because it is rather cold," she agreed, teeth chattering, and beginning to trudge a few steps toward the castle. "Come on, it'll be fun, I promise," she beckoned, earnestly, turning back and waiting for Daciana to follow her. She was normally a patient one, but the darker-haired girl did have a point about how it was getting cold, and Vanessa hadn't necessarily bundled as much as she could have, so she was hoping Daciana would hurry up and follow her into the castle right away so they could get a nice cup of steaming chocolate and maybe she could coax the girl into talking to her about her specific stressors. Who knows? Maybe they could even be friends, Vanessa thought with an ill-concealed grin. She really hoped Daciana would agree. She had to, right? Because what did she have to lose?

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^{ooc: given that we sorta fell behind and all with this thread i think it's probs a good idea to wrap it up and then get to more stuff with these two faster:)}

[Daciana Gamp]

Daciana’s cigarette was shrinking rapidly, she noticed as she watched the lit embers at its end inch closer and closer to her fingers. She could only hum in response to Vanessa’s comment about those silly winter flowers, her honestly not really caring. Either way, it was cold outside, and either way, she wouldn’t trek out into the snow to look at flowers even if there were some magical wintery flowers on the grounds. She didn’t have time to concern herself with such trivial things. She inhaled on her cigarette briefly, trying to make what was left of it last, and rolled her eyes when the blonde girl totally misunderstood what she was saying. “No, not a butterbeer- ugh just – never mind, forget it,” she sighed and shook her head as Vanessa stood from the snow, realizing that it would take far too much effort to explain these sorts of things to the oblivious and innocent girl. She was a piece of work – Daciana expected her to perhaps be naive to most magical things, but when she didn’t understand even the most basic of concepts known to both worlds… Merlin. And she was so interested in Daciana’s actions without Daciana having a clue as to why. She huffed slightly and mumble mostly to herself, “Yes it’s relaxing unlike talking t-,” but was talked over by the Hufflepuff. Of course I’m stressed, I don’t live in a world full of bubblegum and rainbows like you apparently do, she thought to herself, thinking of a whole string of sarcastic responses as the girl rambled on, Or like drinking a bottle of fire whiskey by the fireplace, or going to a party and getting so shit-faced you forget your own name… Or, well, the nap actually didn’t sound too bad to her. She was taken aback though when Vanessa exclaimed that she had put it upon herself to “help” Daciana, and that Daciana didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t help but stiffen a bit and say, “Look, you can’t just decide to change who I am…” She looked down at the dwindling cigarette between her fingers. It was –all of them were- an addiction that wouldn’t change even if she wanted it too. And she didn’t, besides. She took one last drag before tossing the butt into the snow, it sizzling upon contact with the cold moisture. It wouldn’t be a good idea going with Vanessa to get hot cocoa that she knew. She should get out now, while she could. But, on the other hand, she had nothing to do for the rest of the day and if Daciana rejected her offer, she thought Vanessa would surely explode. And there really weren’t too many people out and about today… ”Fine,” she said taking a few steps to follow the other girl, ”But we’re going in through the back door and back hallways as well.” She firmly nodded and marched past Vanessa as if to lead the way. If someone saw her associating with the Hufflepuff though… well, she had everything to lose.

[nessarose]

END