a new school

[zelika]

Zelika stared at the big front doors of her new home wiping the rain from her face… how could it have only been yesterday when she had first stood here dreading her fate? She shivered suddenly “oh, it’s so cold!” she muttered angrily flicking her blond fringe out of her eyes. She opened the door and walked into the dimly lit entrance hall.

Zelika gasped, she could have sworn that a portrait had smiled at her! She laughed at herself, how could a picture move? She thought nervously, she looked again and this time there was no mistake. She distinctly saw its grin get bigger! She wanted to scream, then, she remembered her mum had said something about the portraits being alive… Was it actually true she thought doubtfully If only her mum had said if they could talk or not!

[~Persephone~]

Persephone had been excited about the winter months. The snow had just started to fall, and she was estatic about the chance to go dancing and running in it. Even at the age of sixteen she still loved the snow and all the wonders it held.

Persephone's long silver blonde hair flowed around her. She hadn't pulled it back knowing that her ears would freeze in the chilly weather. Her green eyes were bright and cheerful, and her smille was a mischevious grin.

At five foot, Persephone was usually mistaken for being under sixteen. She had gotten used to it, and now she even enjoyed watching people try to figure out her real age. It proved to be fun and quite entertaining to watch people to find how this small girl could be a sixth year.

As Persephone bounced down the last set of stairs that led from her common room, her cloak and scarf swirled around her. She was humming the last few lines of jingle bells, and she seemed to be smiling at the same time. Even the portraits on the walls smiled with her.

Then she saw a girl standing in the Entrance Hall looking petrified. She seemed to be caught in between and awe and fear, and Sephe only hoped that she'd be able to help the other girl out. She looked genuinely afraid, and she wondered what could have that affect on someone.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked carefully as she approached the other girl.

[Shae]

"The dear is just surprised to see the portraits move, is all," came a mildly hollow-sounding voice, though with the hollow-ness came melodics and harmonics that more than made up for it.

The girl's long purple hair was tied up in a ponytail, and the ponytail secured again a couple of times further down it's length by extra ties, though a couple of strands had freed themselves to frame her face, and were being tugged gently by an etherial breeze. Bright green eyes looked carefully at the new girl from behind half-closed lids.

"And I suppose you have never seen a ghost before either, hmm?" Slightly glowing chin rested on semi-transparent hand.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, I work here in the Hospital Wing, healing. Helping people get better after they've acted stupidly," she said, raising her head off her hand, and letting it twirl descriptively in the air, a slightly aloof attitude to her stance.

The phantomess turned to Persephone, and pointed an accusatory finger at her that stopped half a foot short of the girl's chest.

"Don't you go catching cold out there. I'm already working on finding a potion to combat the common cold, but the wretched thing is a virus, so it mutates! We don't have a potion to cure the cold, Sephe, so don't catch one!" She said before turning back to the new student.

"Now, what is your name, and what house are you in?" The phantomess asked, her four-foot frame floating two feet off the ground.

[zelika]

Zelika noticed the picture had started to wave! It felt like she was coming out of a trance and she was quite nervous, not that she would have admitted it to anyone. And she heard a girl say “Is there something wrong" Zelika was about to reply when she heard a slightly hollow voice say "the dear is just surprised to see the portraits move is all" Zelika froze to the spot , she was not sure if she should to turn around or not ………….. but she didn’t have time to decide when the hollow voice continued . Zelika was so scared of what she would see all she heard was "ghost"and “I am not going to hurt you." But the ghost did not stop there. “Don’t worry" it said . could ghosts read minds ? she thought Zelika nervously . She decided she that she would try not to be scared anymore, so she turned slowly around .

Zelika almost screamed. She had thought it was a student pretending to be ghost, but she did not have time to voice her opinion before the ghost turned back to her. Zelika must have gone temporarily deaf with thought as she had done so many times before at home. “Now what is your name? & what house are you in? “Asked the ghost. “ I am Zelika" the terrified little first year “and I am in ravenclaw" She said gathering confidence . “what did you say you did again ………….? I am sorry, but I’ve never seen a ghost before" She said blushing a brilliant crimson , being brave was never her strong point .

[Shae]

ooc: YES! For goodness sake read the rules! Frankly I'm offended that you presume of my character as well. I have never RPed with you before, and you're saying that I did this that and the other! Until you understand some of these basics, I'm just not going to recognise you have arrived.

bic:

"Zelika. What a nice name, and Ravenclaw is a wonderful house to belong to, Sephe here is one of your prefects, so if you have a problem you can turn to her, or me if you like. I'm a Ravenclaw as well," she said, smiling as kindly as she could.

Ah, embarassment. It was always a cause to smile, but always as well one had to consider the other person's feelings, and hide the smile. The ghost did both.

"I'm a nurse. I'm almost up to fixing everything, but there are some things that just refuse to be fixed," she added, exasperation sliding into her tone as soon as she said "but".

Looking back at Sephe from Zelika quickly, she added "There's also Teagan, the other Ravenclaw prefect, but she's a little more wild, I think."((no offence intended.))

[zelika]

Zelika blushed just as the ghost said she liked her name! Wow she thought smiling but turning an even brighter crimson than before she loved getting compliments! then a though struck her phantomess was looking so kind when she said it so that couldn’t have been sarcasm! She turned and beemed at the phantomess.

Zelika smiled “So what is your name?” she said trying to keep all of the politeness in her voice as she could though feeling scared all the same I haven’t socialized in the common room yet” she said making full use of her wide vocabulary as possible "so i havn't seen you around!" she said wishing she spent less time in her room studying "so" she said getting ready to ask quite a personal question and with her strong british accent she said "soory if this is personal but..." she shifted slightly " do you take lessons and evrything even though you are are a ghost?"

[Rice]

Wandering into the Entrance Hall, the boy seemed to have found a bunch of girls and a ghost talking, not thinking much of it. He noticed Persephone right away and walked over to her, "Well hello there Persephone. It's been a while since I've seen you." He gave her a warm smile and a hug, his hands over flowing with bags from Hogsmeade, accidentally tapping her on the back with the gifts that were inside. He jumped when he noticed that he had the bags still in his hands and quickly hid them behind his own back.

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled, blushing slightly from the embarrassment of his mistake "Well how are you doing?" Soon he noticed the other girls and the ghost "Hey! Are some of you new? Don't think I've seen you around here." He gave them all a big smile and took flowers from his bag, giving them to the girls. His gaze was taken away by the ghost, smiling up at her as well "How are you doing there? Don't think we've met either."

[~Persephone~]

ooc: I go to study for a few days and everyone leaves me in the dust. *shakes head* oh well, guess I'll just have to go with the flow. And no offense taken for the being the lesser wild one between Teagan and myself. ^_^

bic:

Persephone wanted to smile when Shae warned her about catching a cold. The small Prefect knew that Shae worked hard during the winter months, and she wouldn't do anything to annoy the ghost. She knew how hard it was to ask people to follow "simple" rules and precautions.

As Shae talked with Zelika, Sephe just listened. It seemed that the two were making a good start, and Zelika was getting used to the ghost with every second that they spent with each other. Still, she could see the nervousness in the newest Ravenclaws eyes.

"Yep, you can come to me at any time! I promise I don't bite...er hard."

Still, she smiled. There was something reassuring about it, and it reminded you of summer days and balmy weather, not to mentiona mother's embrace and the safety of warm house. Even that warmth was reflected in the light in her emerald eyes.

As Rice came closer, she smiled, and when she saw the bags she grinned at him. She'd met Rice on his first day and the two had remained friends since.

"Hey Rice. What have you been up to?"

She said eyeing the bags and smiling again, but this time mischeviously.

[zelika]

Zelika suddenly noticed a boy out of the corner of her eye and for the second time that evening she realized how freezing it was so she wrapped he coat tightly around her as she watched the boy greet the small prefect called persophone though she didnt catch his name and then the boy turned to her! "Hey are some of you new" he asked an Zelika found it the correct moment to speak “I’m new” she blurted out some how sounding polite all the same! Zelika gasped realizing the flowers he were holding out were intended for her “thank you!” she said turning fully to face him

Zelika repeated her thanks again and then asked “what house are you in… I’m in ravenclaw!” she said already getting used to the kind boy and then zelika herd the prefect start talking to him and so she decided it would be wise just let them talk for a while

[Shae]

((ooc: You think YOU were left in the dust Sephe?))

"My name is Shadow Tell, but everyone just calls me Shae. Feel free to do so yourself, Zelika," she said before Rice made an appearance.

She caught the name when Sephe welcomed him, and waited patiently for everyone else to say hello before she did.

"Hello Rice," she said kindly, but didn't raise a hand to take any of the proffered flowers. Her bright green eyes picked out one bloom, and it separated from the rest of the bunch. Lifting a finger to it's petals, it froze over. The flower was beautiful before, now it glittered, covered in ice that wouldn't kill it.

"I'm beginning to do very well here, MH is a wonderful place, with even room for a ghost to be useful. I appreciate that we haven't met before, if we had, you would remember. I work in the Hospital Wing."

Then something Zelika said caught up with her.

Did she take lessons? The thought made her laugh. It was a strange laugh, not mocking, or cackling, or meant with any intention at all, simply a bubbling laugh that had risen at the thought.

"Zelika, I have been learning the are of witch craft since I was five, at a school in Romania. I was transferred here a month or so before I was killed in hopes that I would learn - not magic, but restraint and care. I probably ought to write to them and tell them how I am going, I just always get distracted every time I go to write to anyone back home."

Seeming to twirl the ice covered flower between her fingers - though she could not touch it, and it was her will and magic she had retained from her life that did in fact hold it, and move it - the dead girl's thoughts turned inwards.

"I could go back in the New Year, back to the caravan, but they might not welcome me," she sighed, and brought the flower up to her nose, breathing in the scent that the flower would carry for eternity.

"I really should get around to writing those letters," she decided, though she made no move to go to the owlery.

[zelika]

Zelika’s ears had switched off once again and the only part of the ghosts sentence she heard was "shae" which she took to be the ghosts name she decided she liked shae quite a lot but and then she watched in amazement as shae lifted the flower and froze it then she listened as shae talked to rice then Zelika had to listen harder as shae continued to talk but this time once again to her “Zelika, I have been learning the are of witch craft since I was five, at a school in Romania. I was transferred here a month or so before I was killed in hopes that I would learn - not magic, but restraint and care. I probably ought to write to them and tell them how I am going, I just always get distracted every time I go to write to anyone back home." Zelika felt a sudden stab of sadness for shae as she thought how shae must feel

Zelika some how managed to hide her sadness as shae turned the icy flower somehow without touching it then continued "I could go back in the New Year, back to the caravan, but they might not welcome me," she said and Zelika couldn’t help but let a small tear at the corner of her eye fall in to her hand and she quickly wiped it on her robes then she somehow couldn’t move from where she was and her throat was to dry to speak so she just stood there looking at shae oh why do I cry so much? she thought sniffing back a second tear

[Shae]

She hadn't heard the tear fall, if someone were able to hear tears fall into a palm they would have almost super-natural hearing, the ghost just had extremely good eyes, even when she wasn't looking. She saw the tear fall, and was touched.

"Thank you Zelika, I really do appreciate that you seem to be able to feel my sorrow, and can express it. I never cried when I died, I still haven't cried for my death, or my losses," the eyes that were turned to Zelika were bright green, and seemed to have a barrier between them and the mind, masking whatever true emotions there were.

"I always used to get mad, which was why I was sent here. Thank you for crying for me, but I don't want you to anymore, okay?" She asked, an almost sad smile gracing her ghostly features.

[zelika]

Zelika thought know one had seen her tear fall but she was wrong but it seemed shae had caught sight of it "Thank you Zelika, I really do appreciate that you seem to be able to feel my sorrow, and can express it. I never cried when I died, I still haven't cried for my death, or my losses," Zelika couldn’t help but let a smaller tear fall in to her palm but this time she didn’t wipe it away, but she kept her bright blew eyes glued to shaes ghostly face.

Zelika listened to shae intently and only blinked slightly as the ghost continued "I always used to get mad, which was why I was sent here. Thank you for crying for me, but I don't want you to anymore, okay?" and Zelika noticed an almost sad smile cross shaes face Zelika’s throat seemed to have gone dry so she just nodded instead and pulled a tissue out of her pocket. Zelika blew her nose noisily on the tissue and smiled a sad smile for shae wondering how it would feel to be in shaes position.

Zelika suddenly couldn’t help but ask a question that had been brewing inside her fighting to get out since she had started talking to shae “can we be friends? Zelika asked timidly, suddenly finding her shoes quite interesting. She shuffled slightly then looked up expectantly.

[~Persephone~]

Persephone felt awkward. It wasn't that she wasn't used to death or being around ghosts. IT was just that she was so used to that feeling always being there. Sure, it hurt a lot, even when she didn't know it, but it was always there to cope with. And she'd always had the ability to move forward.

But what if she was in Shae's spot? What would she do then. Persephone didn't know, and she turned her emerald eyes away from the green of Shae's. She just didn't know about how that must feel.

When Zelika asked Shae to be her friend, Sephe felt even more uncomfortable. She knew she had to be quiet, that breaking the fragile silence could ruin two people, and so she stood there looking at Rice.

[Shae]

The ghost spent a careful ten seconds - which must have felt like ten minutes - just studiying the girl's features.

Frightened, saddened, and feeling alone. It was easy enough to see emotions like those for the ghost, she saw them all the time.

"Of course we may, though I am usually fairly busy in the Hospital Wing. Feel free to stop by anytime of course, I can always use an extra pair of hands around the place, and it's a nice place to get your homework done," she said, smiling.

She had seen the second tear fall too. Zelika would learn to be stronger, she knew that. Though she was also fairly sure she would need someone to help her up now and then, and the dead girl would be more than pleased to help.

"Go on, Sephe, I can see you're bursting to say something," she said, not taking her eyes from Zelika.