0700 hours, Hogwarts Grounds

As the colder months of the year approached, daylight hours began to slowly slip away with the rise and fall of the hazy autumn sun. It was a waste to sleep through the light. Like clockwork every morning, Raine would rise to do her ritualistic stretches and then begin on a steady jog through the grounds-- always avoiding the area close to their Forbidden Forest, tending towards the shore of the lake. Sundays were no different from any other day and once she was dressed this morning, the Gryffindor prefect had quickly made her way out of the Castle; eager for fresh air.

...only to have found herself in the thick fog of daybreak. Almost everywhere she looked, a white blanket of mist veiled anything further than ten to fifteen feet away. It was eerie but not atypical of the Scottish highlands. Raine began her run without thinking twice and trusted in the fact that she had done this so many times that one was unlikely to run into something or trip over anything.

One, two, buckle my shoe. Three, four, lock my door. Five, six...

The nursery rhyme tumbled through her red-haired head rapidly, keeping rhythm to each footfall and exhalation. Pale fog gave way to more of the surroundings as she jogged on; it was not long before she was able to distinguish the blear shoreline of the school lake, and quickly turned to begin moving along it. 

Seven, eight, lay them straight. Nine, ten...

Abruptly, Raine stopped. Blood pulsed through her ears with faithful tempo and she was breathing hard. Blue eyes stared straight ahead at a tiny figure of black walking across her path-- a cat. "Maurice," she said in a surprised tone, licking her lips thirstily. He disappeared most mornings but it seemed strange that he'd be by the lake, of all places. Didn't that business in the prefect's bathroom teach him better than to go near bodies of water?

"What a mystery you are," the witch murmured as she approached her pet and scooped him up gracefully. He meowled, yellow eyes staring widely back at his owner. "Now why in Merl--"

A splashing sound interrupted and Raine quickly glanced out at the lake, alert. Its dark surface rippled in contrast underneath the unmoving mist. "Hello?" she moved closer to the water, peering out with a tiny frown. That was when she caught sight of a familiar looking head of blonde hair, resurfacing. It was only Trumble.

"Good morning!" Raine called out to her Hufflepuff classmate. She held Maurice in one arm and waved lethargically with the other, signalling for him to come closer. He was still some ways out. A wry smile tugged at her lips. "So. Are you the one who's been catnapping Maurice?"

Zel loved to swim. He got up early every other morning, and went to the lake. In the past, he would have taken off his shirt while he was swimming. After the attack, however, he liked to keep himself covered up. He noted that since he lost a lot body fat, he was finding it more difficult to keep himself afloat. After awhile though, he had gotten used to it. Now, he was just as strong a swimmer as ever, despite losing about 30 pounds over the summer. Swimming took his mind off of all of his problems, all of his worries, and took his mind off of his schoolwork. It was one of the few times where he just did not have to think, and he always felt much better about himself after a good lap or two around the lake.

His moment of peace was interrupted, when he heard someone calling out to him. His eyesight was not doing too horribly well at the moment, since he was dealing with water. However, he began to swim towards the edge of the lake, towards the voice. After all, it would be rude. And he had heard the name of his dear feline friend, as well. It took him a  good couple minutes, but he managed to get close enough to see Raine clearly, and to see dear ol’ Maurice.

“H-hello.” Zel said softly, sounding slightly out of breath from the rush. He slowly made his way out of the water, his wet clothes clinging to his body, revealing  just how skinny he was, and how much his ribs were protruding from the rest of his body. However, he seemed to be in a good mood—that was what swimming did to him. And it helped to see his friend as well. Animals had a calming effect on Zel.

“M-Maurice is my friend.” He said softly, reaching out his hand so that the cat could sniff him, and decide whether or not he wanted to be petted. “I give him treats when I see him.” That was as simple an answer as he could have given. Zel adored cats. He imagined himself in the future, single, alone, but living with ten cats. He could be the crazy old cat man.

Raine watched as Zel emerged from the lake, towering more than a foot above her now that they were on level ground. Their difference in height didn't make the Hufflepuff seem any more intimidating or threatening a figure. They had duelled in class before and she knew him to be an especially unassertive human being.

Not that Maurice would have noticed either way. The feline purred contentedly as he nuzzled the boy's reaching hand, eyes closed. Stupidly happy creature.

"Yes, I suppose he would be your friend," Raine muttered in an unimpressed voice as she shifted her gaze upwards. "Haven't you heard?" she explained sardonically: "Maurice is the friendliest stray in the world." Rather the opposite of herself; he seemed far more open to interaction than the prefect normally did. Merlin knew what went on inside that tuna-riddled brain.

"Although I imagine that he's better off being fed treats than hunting down somebody's pet rat," she scratched the cat's ears, thoughtful. "At least now I know why he's away some mornings. Do you always come swimming... ah, fully clothed?" Raine raised a quizical eyebrow, watching Zel appraisingly.

She didn't quite understand the idea of being insecure about body image-- but even putting that aside, she suspected that a wetsuit might have functioned better. Perhaps such clothing was more of a muggle tendency.

Zel started rubbing the top of Maurice’s head, particularly behind the cat’s ears. “I’d like to believe that Maurice thinks I’m special.” Zel insisted, knowing full well the only reason he was probably ‘special’ was because he gave the cat treats every chance he got. Zel, however, looked mortified at the idea of Maurice hunting down a pet rat. ”He wouldn’t! Zel thought, his jaw dropping open. He didn’t want to think of his feline friend as some sort of…. Rat murderer.  Raine’s questions distracted him from any traumatizing images of Maurice killing baby rats.

“Yes.” He replied, blushing ever so slightly. “I-it’s… Uh…” It was difficult for Zel to explain, and he honestly didn’t know what to say. “I-I don’t own a wetsuit or anything…. And it gets cold…” That was the best explanation he could give, “Also, I don’t want to…. Um.. Offend people.” Offend people? By being shirtless? That certainly wasn’t a problem last year, though he could blame it on his weight loss. Though, if he mentioned his weight loss, then people would ask him why he lost so much weight, and he did not want to get into that.

“Do you always go running at this time?” He asked, trying to shift the subject from him, to her.

It was easy enough to ignore Zel's general stammering and blushing; his answer was slightly more difficult to glaze over. Offend? The male body was hardly that disturbing. Raine considered him with a frown. He was terribly thin; almost as boney as Maurice was when he'd wandered into her home, though the similarities between the two stopped at just about there.

"I doubt you have anything to worry about. There aren't many people around to offend if you're here this early," she shrugged indifferently. To each their own; wearing a shirt in the lake wasn't hurting him or anyone else. Eccentricity was a sin easily forgiven. Raine shifted Maurice's position in her arms, hand resting against his back as Zel continued to scratch him. The cat was purring away.

Her answer to the question was mechanical. "Everyday, yes, though not always this close to the lake. I needed to be near today, to see in which direction I was jogging." The Gryffindor knew better than to risk running too close to the forest (or more likely, right into a tree). 

"It clears the head, doesn't it? Getting a little exercise in the morning," she looked out onto the lake. The fog was gradually lifting and they could see further out now. "I've never considered swimming. Not many lakes close to my town. Do you do this often?" Raine glanced back: "Probably much kinder to the knees than a daily run."

Conversation was not one of Raine's strengths-- but physical sports interested her. Perhaps she was due for an alteration to her routine; one shouldn't become too used to jogging. Change was good.

He understood. It was not fun running around if you couldn’t see. Zel was starting to get more comfortable, the longer that he and Raine talked. It always took him a couple minutes to get used to a new conversation, and to stop being so awkward. “Can I hold Maurice?” He asked, though he wondered if the cat would be too opposed to being held since Zel was still dripping wet. He continued to pet the cat, even going to give the cat a couple belly rubs whenever it was possible.

Zel was relieved that she caught onto the bait, talking about jogging. “Yeah, I don’t like jogging because my knees always hurt afterwards.” He explained, “But my favorite part about swimming is that my head just goes blank, and I feel kinda…” Zel blushed, “I feel kinda happy when I swim.” He always had difficulty expressing emotions, whether or not they were negative or positive. “I-I swim every other morning or so.. More, if I get up early enough. You could come swimming with me sometime, if you want.” If she didn’t know how to swim, he was confident that he could teach her.  After all, he taught all the younger siblings he had, how to swim. Except for Nettie, but she was only two years old.

Zel's request to confiscate Maurice came as a welcome to the Gryffindor who, much as she liked the cat, was not used to carrying him around. It was easier when he was shadowing her. "Why not? Give me a minute."

Cradling the cat in the crook of her arm, Raine awkwardly used her free hand to slip her wand out of the sweatshirt pocket. She spoke as she did this: "Yes, swimming often must be therapeutic. Feels quieter down there," with a smile, she twisted the wand towards Zel and flicked it gently. A hiss of steam erupted around the Hufflepuff as his clothes dried off.

"There. He's not fond of water," Raine gave her pet a rueful look as he nearly jumped out of her arms towards the boy, procurer of treats. Food-founded loyalty, she supposed and glanced up at Trumble's pale face. Or perhaps Maurice was a good judge of character? Better for the animal to befriend a gentle sort of person.

The prefect considered the offer to join her classmate on swims. It wasn't like certain sports, wasn't the sort that allowed much conversation; which made it rather ideal to practice with other people. "I think I will," she replied. "We did plenty of swimming in Egypt over the summer and I enjoyed that a great deal."

"You didn't come along for that, did you?" His pale complexion said just as much. Raine was still tan and slightly freckled from her time on the school trip. "The warmer waters were a pleasant change."

He was thankful that Raine had the idea to dry out his clothes. He gladly took Maurice into his arms, and snuggled the cat, even touching noses. He loved animals of all kinds, and he had a gentle touch with them. For awhile, Zel wanted to be a healer. But now, he was thinking that he would love to have a job that involved dealing with all sorts of creatures, whether or not they were magical. He preferred animals to humans. He felt like animals, though they were good judges of character, also were less critical than humans were. If an animal was angry with you, you knew immediately, rather than having to wait through all the passive aggressive games in order to get at what humans were angry about, if they even admitted that they were upset in any way.

“No, I didn’t go to Egypt.” Zel replied, frowning a little bit at the thought of his summer. “I have six siblings, they miss me enough when I’m gone at Hogwarts. I don’t want to be away from them any longer than I need to.” Zel spoke about his siblings with tenderness in his voice. He loved them dearly, though each of them had vastly different personalities. His oldest sibling was in his mid twenties, while his youngest sibling, Nettie, was only two years old, and absolutely adorable. She and Zel shared their albinism, as well as their nine year old sister, Zenia. However, Zel was closest to Emeline.

“Also, I burn really badly. I need to avoid the sun. I’m an albino, literally… so…” Zel didn’t know what else to say on the subject.

The fog was dispersing faster now as more and more of the Grounds became visible. The lake that oversaw the highlands, the grassy earth that ran up the the silhouette of their castle. On a weekday, others would already be waking for breakfast but today was the one day for sleeping in. Just not for Raine. Or, she thought, Zel.

She observed Maurice thoughtfully, unable to help the faint smile that was creeping up on her on her face. He looked happy (as happy as cats could look anyway). The Hufflepuff explained that he'd stayed at home with his family and Raine caught the warmth in his timbre, a clear sense of fondness. Six siblings; she wasn't sure if she felt jealous or grateful. It might have been nice, to have another sister... but she knew better than to assume that another sibling could replace a lost one.

"You have a large family," Raine commented as she ran a hand through her curls, which were now damp from the fog. "I wager that it must be difficult to get a moment to yourself. There wasn't much for me to stay behind with, I think my parents were glad to say goodbye." Her tone wasn't bitter-- if anything, it implied humour. Home was a quiet place and the Gryffindor was often obligated to leave town when she wanted company.

At the mention of Zel's albinism, Raine raised an eyebrow at her classmate: "Swimming here must be ideal for your skin," she smirked. "All this water and none of the sun. Do you ever bump into our resident squid, or do you not swim far enough? There's a crocodile to look for nowadays as well, isn't there?"

Maurice bristled defensively in the albino's pale arms at the mention of the crocodile.

Hm, having six siblings did have it’s fair share of difficulties, but at the same time, he valued them. Each of them had their own quirks, and he appreciated each of them in their own way. However, each sibling did have some annoying habits. “It’s not that difficult. Garrett, my older brother… He lives in muggle London with his new fiancé.” Zel replied, “I miss him sometimes, but…. He has a lot of problems, because he’s the only squib in the family. He gets resentful.” No need to mention that Garrett’s relationship with his first fiancé ended partially because of his inferiority complex.  “But because he’s gone, there’s a little more room back home.”

Zel quieted down for a little bit, when she mentioned that her parents were glad to say goodbye. His mother had been very glad to see him go, when he left for Hogwarts. They did not say goodbye on good terms, but he did not regret that. He felt like his mother needed to understand that he was angry, and that he probably would not want to speak with her for a long time. The only setback to that, was he doubted that his younger siblings were receiving his letters, because he had yet to get any responses. Granted, it was only the thirteenth of September, so they still had time. Zel did not say anything about Raine’s parents, not wanting to delve into a conversation that she did not feel comfortable having with him.

“Squid? Um… I I think I’ve seen him, but the squid leaves me alone.” His face, if possible, got even paler at the thought of crocodiles. He noticed that Maurice got tense at the mention of crocodiles, so he held the feline closer and kissed the top of his head. “It’s okay, Maurice.” He said, though his voice was trembling. He was also terrified of the alleged crocodile. “I-I’m sure she’s joking. You’re joking, right?” Zel so, so hoped that Raine was joking .

Raine wondered, as she listened to her classmate, how much of one's life was decided by family. Perhaps more than most would like to admit. Zel didn't seem to have a problem discussing immediate family members and the prefect listened without complaint. She didn't really feel like interrupting someone who was holding Maurice.

Squib brother? Raine glanced at the Hufflepuff's expression carefully. And in London too... perhaps he kne-- well, no, that didn't matter. It wasn't like she cared anyway, about what had happened to Roger. She had no reason to. Her gaze fell to the lake and she smirked abruptly at Zel's reaction to her mention of the crocodile.

"You haven't caught a glimpse of Boris yet?" she watched the lake with a faint smile. "The Salem Headmaster's idea of a pet. He dropped by our prefect par...ah, meeting last night."

The redhead turned to Zel and smirked again. "I wouldn't worry if I were you. He seems harmless enough," she added: "Didn't even try to eat Maurice." Not that any creature would want to consume a scrawny, over-affectionate cat with boundary issues.

The alligator had a name?

And his name was Boris?

“Who would—Who would….” He could not imagine anyone wanting to have a crocodile as a pet. They were snappish, insanely fast swimmers, and they liked to eat people!  They liked to eat poor, unsuspecting felines who were too curious for their own good! “I won’t allow Boris anywhere near Maurice!” Zel exclaimed defensively, clinging to the poor cat for dear life. “Not even if there’s a fire.” Okay, that last line did not make sense, but he was too freaked out over the idea that there was a crocodile on campus to even make sense.

“He’s pretending to be h-harmless, so that he can eat us all!” The werewolf insisted, “Oh Maurice. I’m so sorry you had to see Boris. He wasn’t too mean to you, was he?” Well, Maurice was alive. However, Zel was very concerned about any psychological trauma that cat received at the hands of the crocodile, or alligator, or whatever the hell Boris was.

Soon, Zel was able to calm down. He realized how irrational he had just been, and his face turned into a bright red. If that red was a lipstick color, it would have been called ‘Tomato Hooker.’

“Ahem. Er… Sorry about that. I just don’t want him to eat any of my friends.” And by his friends, he meant the local cats.

Was... was Trumble having a panic attack?

Raine stared at the boy, slightly taken aback, as he began spluttering about not allowing Maurice to become alligator food and how, clearly, Boris was a reptilian mastermind out to gnaw on the bones of Hogwarts finest. Or at least that was what it sounded like to her; she lost him when he brought up a fire. He stopped just then and she didn't say anything as he apologized, though she continued to stare.

"Merlin's beard." The Gryffindor finally murmured and took a step back, nearly bumping into one of the large rocks bordering the lake shore. "You are... so much crazier than you let on," she told him as she rested against the rock and started to laugh-- at first a giggle but then a fully fledged cackle.

And here she thought that her house possessed the monopoly on insanity! Raine held the side of her stomach, feeling an ache there, and gradually brought herself to stop laughing.

"You should lay off the catnip, Trumble." Her grin was mean but not malicious: "Do all albinos turn that shade of red or are you an exception?" Maurice meowled back before Zel could respond, almost protectively, but she ignored it. A little laughter never hurt anyone.

To be frank, Zel was utterly embarrassed. He buried his face into Maurice’s back as a futile attempt to hide his blushing, but to no avail. It was painfully obvious already. She was staring at him like he was crazy, but he had certainly acted the part. He claimed that a crocodile had near human intelligence, and could therefore plot the deaths of all of Zel’s feline friends. Now that he was calmer, he realized just how ridiculous he had been, and honestly did not blame Raine at all for staring at him. But he had to make it right, somehow.

But then came the laughter.

It started out slow, but then it grew.  The more her laughter grew, the more awkward Zel felt. So she did think he was crazy, she thought he was nuts. It had been so out of character of him to behave this way, but he felt oddly protective of animals, and he wanted to make sure that no one would hurt them. Not even a crocodile, and apparently, not even if there was a fire.

“W-we only turn this red when we blush.” He explained. He smiled a bit at the catnip joke, it put him at ease. Zel was the most sober person around. He had never done drugs, and he had never gotten drunk or high. He hated the idea of losing control of his body, especially now that he essentially lost control once a month.

Trumble didn't seem all that offended by the laughter, which was a little surprising. In a good way. Raine thought that he was probably tougher than she gave the Hufflepuff credit for-- people her age rarely took kindly to being laughed at. It was one of those insecurities, much like body image, that she didn't like to think about. If you think too much about a fear, there was a chance it might grow in you.

Raine pulled herself up from the rock she'd been resting against and glanced behind at the grounds, the fog now having cleared away well enough for them to be able to see the castle in the distance. When she turned back to Zel, her expression was sombre again. "I had better complete my run before breakfast. Perhaps we'll see each other one these mornings, for a swim? I advise a wetsuit, if you really are afraid of offending me," her tone was light-hearted but she wasn't quite smiling.

"Maurice knows his way back." The prefect gave the pet a fleeting look, meeting his yellow eyes affectionately and then reaching out to scratch the cat's neck. "Try... try not to spoil him," she added. Not that she wanted anyone to know but she pampered him enough as it was.