A drink to ease the mind

[Queerious]

Queerious walked down Hogsmeade street, which to day, did not seem cheery to Queerious, just gloomy. It was as if his inner feelings had been torn out, and on display on the street. His heart filled with sorrow, it felt so heavy, the pain he held, made it painful to look at anyone who was happy with their bestfriend. He continued to walk, eyes glued to the ground, just incase a tear would sneak out. He took deep-breaths trying to calm himself down.

Why does everything happen at once...First dad, now him... Queerious thought to himself.

Queerious reached out towards the door knob of the Three Broomsticks, and opened the door. He walked in, still looking down at the ground, he could tell that his eyes were red. He reached a booth, and sat down, looking at a cup that was on the table. He stared at it, a tear fell from his eye. He closed his eyes tight, making sure that no other ones would appear. He wiped his eyes, and hoped that no one had noticed him crying. Queeerious sat in the booth, all alone, his eyes swelling, waiting until he calmed down, to order.

He turned to look behind him when he heard someone open the door...

[Rezna Lardale]

Rezna pushed open the door to the Three Broomsticks and walked in, alone as always. She hoped to relax a little, before heading back to the castle. Inside, her eyes scanned the faces of students and other citizens of Hogsmeade that occupied the many tables scattered around the bar. To her surprise, the place was busier then usual to her, but she wasn't a usual visitor anyway. A far off table in particular caught her eye. With a soft step, the girl made her way around the scatted tables until she reached the bar.

Quietly, she ordered two butterbeers and when the bartender brought her the orders she took both of the drinks to the table she had spotted earlier. It seemed that it's occupant wasn't expecting someone, and a butterbeer was as good of a medicine for emotional stress as anything she knew of. Rezna's piercing gaze hadn't missed his tense stance and posture.

"Mind if I sit here?" she asked coming up to him. "Perhaps I can make up for the disturbance with a drink? I saw that you hadn't ordered yet," Rezna's voice was soft but she was sure that the boy had heard her. Lightly, she pushed the glass toward him.

[Queerious]

Queerious heard a voice, and he looked uo with out realizing that he was giving away, that he was crying.

He sniffled a bit, and rubbed his eyes, to get the tears out, forcing a smile, "Thanks, that is really nice of you. Sure just take a seat. Sorry, about," Queerious pointed to his almond brown eyes, "its just..." he started to cry again,

This was really, really embarrassing for him, "Why did he have to go?" he said quietly, as he looked down.

[Rezna Lardale]

Rezna's worried green eyes scanned the browns ones before her. She sat down opposite him and looked him over this time at eye level. He was definitelly upset and she nodded as he apologized for his appearance. His last words were almost a whisper, but she caught them quickly enough.

He had lost someone, someone he cared about, and he was trying to deal with that loss.

"You shouldn't feel ashamed, you know," she told him quietly, so only he could hear. "When you lose someone, whether to death or not, you lose a piece of yourself. You mourn because your heart cannot keep beating without that piece of you that was taken away. You cry because your soul cannot take the pain of your heart, the heart which will one day heal. When your tears stop, you know that your heart has started to heal, even if you as a whole, have not."

Rezna wasn't sure if what she said made any sense. She hoped that her words would somehow help the stranger before her. She had spoken from her heart, for she had mearly retold him of her own healing process, one that she had to undergo the previous year. Lightly, she reached out her hand and softly touched the other's arm. "It is through touch that others make our pain lessen," she said, this time so softly that she could hardly hear herself speak.

[Queerious]

Queerious looked up at the girl and forced a smile, "It is just so hard, I can't be strong, I can never rest." Queerious rubbed his eyes, "It seems as if slowly but surely everyone I care about gets wiped out of my life. I just lost my dad, and now my best friend. My mom has been for two-years, and now I am kicked out of my old school, I have no one. My sister is alive, but I don't no where she is."

Queerious took a sip of his drink, "I am such a little creep, I should just suck it up, I am sorry, you probably don't even want to here this. I should let you be, so how are you?' He asked, was he wiped his teary eyes.

[Rezna Lardale]

Rezna listed to him, almost experiencing the pain he felt, herself. Looking at him, she knew that there was no answer anyone could give that could make him better, make his pain magically dissapear.

"Please, don't think me to be so cold hearted. I choose to come over here, remember? In either case, sometimes you just can't pretend that everything is OK, sometimes the pain you feal brakes you down, that is not weakness; it's human nature. You have my condolences on...on your loss," she said, letting her hand drop lighlty on the table. She knew how much he suffered, and she was deeply sorry for his loss but had trouble saying so. Looking him in the eyes, she hoped he understood her well enough. The words, 'I'm sorry' never made her feel any better, and it wasn't as though the other person had done something wrong. That was why she didn't say them, although she was indeed sorry for all that he had when through.

"Well it is not as though you are utterly alone in the world," she added after he told her about losing everyone he loved. "I'm sure that you can find your sister; there are people from Magic Horizons or even the Ministry of Magic that could definitely help you. Depending on how much you know, maybe you could find something in the library that could be of use," Rezna suggested. "As for rest, perhaps the nurses in the Hospital Wing could help you. Their magical skill exceeds all of ours combined." At that, the girl's green eyes scanned the boy sitting before her. He did not wear the school's robes, and suddenly she wondered if he was a student at all. Besides, she hadn't even introduced herself and not knowing how to address the boy was becoming a little imbarassing.

"I believe we haven't met before, I'm Rezna Lardale of Hufflepuff house," she smiled warmly and offered him her hand in greeting. She hoped that he would answer her unspoken question about being a student of the school without her asking him. He never mentioned going there, and afraid that her question might make him remember his past, she feared to ask it.

[Queerious]

Queerious looked at Rezna with his swollen and red eyes, "I don't think you are cold-hearted, I think you are really nice, you know exactly what to say. If anything, I would say you have a heart of gold." Queerious looked up to the ceiling.

Queerious couldn't help but feel bad for his tears, at the military boarding school he had atteneded it would have been a shameful act. He would have been punished, I guess that is why I am so upset, so brought down, is because through the times I was there, I couldn't cry when my dad was found murdered, I couldn't worry when my sister was reported missing. I could have no feelings, my face always needing to be blank. I hate that school! Now instead of tears, he was just anger.

"I can't help but feel this way, to think that I should just suck it all up, be a person with lack of emotion. That is how I was brought up, it is so hard, keeping everything locked up, trying to be so strong, when you just want to be weak..." Queerious looked back at Rezna, "It was hard to be beat for having a grin on your face, a tear on your cheek, even a twinkle in your eye, that is how I was brought up, it was shameful to have feelings. That is why I am so mad at myself for crying."

"As for my sister, you do not want to hear the story about her... but all I know is that I shouldn't expect to see her alive again." Queerious finished, the most terrible feeling was left in his stomach.

Queerious took the girls hand, as she called herself Rezna, "I am Queerious, I do not attend this school, now I don't attend any school.... I was kicked out of the last school I went to. I might be able to go here..." Queerious shrugged, "I was kicked out because I had to go to a funeral, and they wouldn't let me... so I snuck out..."

[Rezna Lardale]

His first words touched her heart, no one had ever spoken to her like this, especially a stranger. Yet the warmth she felt soon faded as he spoke, about how he was raised to act. Rezna watched him, and she saw his internal battle between his emotions and his teachings. She knew there was a line, a line that was never taught to him, a line where emotions dominated, where your heart took over, where the soul ruled.

"Queerious," she spoke in a soft voice although it was deadly serious, "our emotions come from our heart, our soul. If you do not show them, if you act as though you are made of stone, a walking statue, your heart will turn to stone. I can see that you care, that you want to care, about your family, that is not something to be ashamed of. Are you mad at me for coming over here and caring about a mere stranger?" not waiting for his reply, she continued, "Then why are you mad at yourself for caring about your father, your friend, your sister?"

Rezna reached over and taking his hand in hers, squeezed it gently, but enough to make him look at her. "If that school did not allow you to love your family, then it was not a school to begin with. You did the right thing, running away, for I believe if you stayed there, I would not only be talking to a man right now, but a robot. Machines lack emotion, are made to be strong, and keep everything held inside. Men, humans, flesh and blood, they feel, they cry, they love and hate, and they grow strong because of their emotions. I may not be a teacher, or a philosopher, but I know that you show that you are strong by overcoming your pain, not hiding it. Hiding it is for cowards, keeping it inside shows that you're too weak to let it come to the surface. The strong accept who they are, what they feel, and use it to their advantage."

As she finished, the light from the candles on the walls reflected in her eyes, and a glittering speck slowly slid down her cheek, followed by another on the opposite side. Rezna was breathing quickly, from her speech, and tears were slowly falling down her face. She couldn't believe how horrible this boy's life had been. She knew that coming to Magic Horizons would do him good. He would be able to open up there, to deal with all the pain he had kept inside him.

"I hope that you come to the school, Queerious. I know that it will be hard, that your troubles will follow you. But perhaps there you will find the tools you need to fight them. At the school, I think that you will be able to destroy the demons that plague your heart. Only then can you fight those that are still after you in real life. At Magic Horizons you will be safe. That is what your father, friend, and your sister would want, isn't it, to know that you're safe?" Rezna asked him, her green eyes locked with his, her voice quiet but forceful. She was showing emotion but remained strong, and she needed him to know that he could do so too.

[Queerious]

As Rezna spoke Queerious smiled at her, when she asked if he was mad at her for coming over, he opened his mouth to say no, not at all, but she continued to speak words that comforted him a lot.

The next question struck him, it sunk in, but he had no answer, looking away, a tear appearing. He wiped it off, and whispered something very quietly, "I don't know."

When Rezna took his hand, he did not take it away, but just looked at her straight in the eyes, this time not hiding tears that appeared every now and then. He sat silently as she spoke words that were very wise, and made perfect sense, something that made sense for once.

Seeing that Rezna was crying made Queerious feel sad for her, yet he knew that she was a nice person, who felt others pain. Reaching out his free hand, he wiped off her tears, and smiled.

"Why are you crying?" he asked quietly.

"I think I will be coming to this school, it might just be good for me, I can see that it will be, after all the things you have said. And yes, they would want me safe, but, my father would've wanted me to go to military school, I don't think that one... but a military school like him." Queerious faded off.

"Thanks for talking to me, you make perfect sense." Queerious said as he looked into Reznas' emerald eyes, that he thought looked so beautiful.

[Rezna Lardale]

She was surprised when he reached up and wiped the tears off her face. The gesture as much as the question touched her in a way that it normaly would not have.

"Why am I crying?" she repeated not sure of the answer. She smiled as she spoke, "Perhaps to show you that tears are not always an evil. That they do not always call for punishment."

She nodded her head lightly once he finished. "I'm pleased to hear that. I look forward to seeing you there. And you're welcome," she whispered, "but anyone could have told you that. Perhaps everyone other then the people in that military school of yours."

Feeling the mood lighten, she brought the topic away from his horrible past. "I've been wondering Queerious, how did you come by Hogsmeade?" she asked. Again her question carried meaning. She knew that muggles could not see the village, so she wondered how he came to know he was a wizard.

[Queerious]

Queerious sighed at her question, "I have always been a bit well odd, I think my parents knew I was a wizard, but they wished I wasn't," Queerious faded off, "They weren't prejudice or raciest or anything like that, they just had a dangerous experience, and lost a loved one, they didn't want to lose me. One day I got a letter inviting me to MH, my parents were willing to let me go, but I knew deep in their hearts they didn't want me to go. In the end I decided it was best if I went, but I never did end up going. My mom died in a car accident, the week I would have been leaving. I stayed for my father, and sister, they needed me, and I knew my dad would've been worried with me gone."

Queerious took another glug of his butterbeer, "Soon enough I was sent to a boarding school, my dad thought it was a good one, top-ranked it was. By the time I had sent him my first letter, about what they would do, they would do terrible things... I received a letter back, which I hoped would be his reply saying he would take me out of the boarding school of hell, but that is when I found out he was murdered, and my sister was stolen by his murderers..." Queerious let a few tears fall then soon continued his story.

"Tony, my friend, who died recently, was a friend of mine from before the boarding school. Every so often I would be free from the boarding school, and would be able to meet up with Tony, we would always meet here. That is how I came by Hogsmeade, since the first time I came upon this village, I have loved it. I love the wizarding world, it is like my home."

Queerious looked out the window, that had rain dribbling down it, and then back at Rezna.

"Enough about me, how about yourself? I know your name is Rezna, you are in Hufflepuff house,"Queerious spoke, among one of most beautiful girls I have seen all my life... One of the nicest people I have ever come across... he thought to himself.

[Rezna Lardale]

Rezna nodded, not missing his piercing gaze. "Well, the only parts of the wizarding world I have seen is this village and the school. It may sound ironic for my family has had a witch or wizard in every generation as far as I can remember. Of course, for every one of those with magic we have someone who isn't magical at all, a squib. Well, because the family is so divided, my parents found jobs through the Ministry allowing them to work for it but be stationed in the muggle world."

Rezna smiled, knowing that her parent's job will sound amusing to someone who knows a lot about muggles. "They do research about the muggles, their way of life, for the ministry. Funny right? For those people are exactly like ourselves. Well, they also guard one of the few entrances and exits to the wizarding world, so that is a little more serious."

She blushed a little, only then realizing that she was still holding his hand. "Sorry," she said hurriedly, letting him go and grabbing her glass instead. The change from the warmth to the cold glass wasn't exactly inviting, but she continued anyway, blushing a little. "But you asked about me and not my family, right? Well, I was born among muggles and saw very little magic around the house; my parents weren't allowed to use it much, with all the muggles around. My older brother, Elexi, he hates it. Says it's cheating, to do magic, when you can do something by hand. He's also a squib, so it drove him nuts to see me with my wand running around the house cheating on chores. He never told my parents though, for I helped him out too many times with magic. Really, he is very protective of me, and although we fight constantly, he's my best friend."

"Otherwise," she said looking up at Queerious again, "my life was as normal as any teenager's should have been until I came here. Now, well it's more-" she stopped, not sure of what to say. She knew that Magic Horizons wasn't at peace at that exact moment. Horrid things were happening and she wasn't going to be far from the excitement. "Let us say, they are more climatic then what I expected. But with magic, you know things will get hectic, won't they?" Rezna knew that the shadow that had been following her was settling over her again, and she fought it off. She had left the troubles at school, and they were going to stay there.

Suddenly, her thoughts jumped ahead of her and the reality of what she had proposed hit her with horrible force. How could she have said that the school was a safe place for him to stay. At the moment it was far from it, he was in more danger inside then out.

"Actually, Queerious, where are you staying right now?" she asked hurriedly, interrupting herself. Realizing how awkward her question might seem to him, she tried to elaborated quickly. "I mean, the term is almost over at school. Maybe you should wait until September before coming." She knew it sounded forced, for students could stay there over the summer, but she knew that the school was one place he should not go, at the moment.

[Queerious]

OOC- I was put in hufflepuff... i think it mite b cuz of animals...

Queerious listened to Rezna, not missing a single word, when she took her hand away, he flet a little uncomfortable, when she was holding it, he seemed to be at ease. He couldn't help but laugh when she blushed and said sorry, he started to blush himself.

"It's fine." Queerious said in a friendly tone.

"If I were a squib, and lived with a family of witches and wizards, I would probably get jealous too. My sister was a muggle, but I didn't really do magic, since my parents didn't want me too. Her and I were unsepreble, she tried to come to the boarding school with me, she went on to the airplane, but they dragged her out." Queerious smiled at the thought of his sister, but the moment was ruined, by the fact that she was gone.

"Oh things would definately get hectic, always something new..." Queerious commented, as Rezna spoke.

"I am staying, uh, well last night I slept in the graveyard... I don;t know where I'll stay tonight. Perhaps MH, will let me in, before to long... I hope so, I must say it wasn't the most luxurious sleep I have had." Queerious said.

"I wonder what house I will be sorted into if I get excepted." Queerious said, in a dazed voice, as he took a sip of his butterbeer.
"What year are you in, or what is your age?" Queerious asked curiously.

[Rezna Lardale]

(ooc: Welcome! )

Rezna fought back a sigh, hearing that he had no place to go. She knew that Magic Horizons was the best place for him, but with everything that was happening, Rezna wasn't sure it would be safe. Still, she didn't like the fact that he slept outside, especially so close to the forest, and at night.

"Oh, in that case, you have to come to the school. It's dangerous sleeping out there, with the forbidden forest so close. Don't do it again, please, whatever you do. You don't know what... creatures live there," she stopped. She knew her voice was strained with worry.

She took a drink, hoping to calm herself before answering his question. "Well, I'm fifteen, although a first year. My parents wanted me to finish up with my schooling in the muggle world before coming here. They didn't want to take me out of school at eleven because people would wonder about what happened to me. Now they simply say that I'm off to a boarding school. It's funny, I don't even know the name of it. You'd think I would." She stopped talking noticing that her hands were shaking causing the drink in her hand to go slush dangerously. Casually, she put down her butterbeer and pulled her cold hands into her lap.

"So what about you?" she asked, her tone light without the slightest hint of fear she felt. "How old are you, since I believe this will be your first year at the school?"

She looked him over once more. 'He can handle danger. He has done so for so long,' she thought, comforting herself. Her only fear for him being that the more friends he makes, the greater his chances for suffering would be. 'He doesn't deserve so much pain. Really he doesn't. But he's strong, he's shown as much. And maybe things won't turn out to be so bad, maybe.' Rezna wanted to shake her head at herself, she was never good at lying, never.

[Queerious]

Queerious smiled at Rezna, "Fine, I will ask tonight, but they might not let me in, if I am not let in, I won't have a choice, I can't sneak in, I have no friends here..."

Queerious laughed when Rezna said she didn't even know the name of the boarding school, that she was 'attending'. However he grew worried, her hands were shaking a lot.

"Uh, are you OK there?" he asked, staring at Reznas' hands, "Why are they doing that?"

Still staring at her hands that were shaking, he spoke, " Uh- sixteen, but who cares, are you OK?"

Queerious looked at the butterbeer, he had a lot of knowledge in medical situations, "Are you diabetic, or something, and you drank - that." he glared at the butterbeer, "In that case, you are coming to the hospital wing with me right now, I am not having you die on my watch."