It was chilly out, but Amber needed a place to think. Over halfway through third year, and she as well be invisible. Oh, she knew why. With the way she was raised, it was a wonder her parents even remembered her name with how much attention she was given. She had managed to make a friend as a child though. Haley Kantal was a squib, but that hadn’t mattered to the lonely little girl who had wandered over the property line. Amber hadn’t even realized she was lost at the time, having just been out enjoying what she saw as freedom, until the twelve-year-old squib had spotted her. It had been a day much like today: chilly, with the scent of snow in the air. Amber hadn’t really been dressed warmly enough for the temperature, but such things had mattered little to her. Haley had struck up a conversation, easily maneuvering the eight-year-old child into her house for some hot chocolate and warmth. Haley had introduced Amber to her parents and her four-year-old brother. Over the next year, Amber had made may such visits to the Kantal home. She was treated just like Haley and Christian, as if she belonged. She’d even learned Russian, because it was Haley’s grandmother’s first language and the one the older woman had felt most comfortable using. The visits always came to an end as Amber had to return home before the nanny elf decided to worry.

Then, three short years later, she started Hogwarts. It had taken her a while to get used to the newness of the castle. Shy and quiet as she had been, she had made a friend in Gryffindor. She was horrified when her friend died shortly before first year ended, and she developed a fear of letting anyone get close. It hurt too much when they went away. She’d even been stand-offish when visiting the Kantals. It hadn’t mattered that they’d adopted Amber when it became known that her home life was not the type a child should have. While not physically abused, she had been emotionally neglected ever since her grandmother died. In general, the Kantals had no idea how to help her other than constantly reassure her. This was extremely hard when she’d test them by acting out to see if they changed their behavior for her.

Over the previous summer, things had finally been beaten into her head that she wasn’t going to be abandoned, and it was stupid to shy away from meeting people from fear. Not everyone was going to leave her, either by choice or force. It was a lesson she’d seemed to learn well. She’d made some friends through Haley. These were magical friends, but apparently homeschooled or something. Amber had never asked, and if she’d been told, she didn’t remember. Apparently, she got along better with guys than other girls. For them, she didn’t really seem to have many, if any, delicate sensibilities to upset. For her, they tended to get her, admittedly sometimes morbid, sense of humor without looking at her like she was insane.

There was one guy she’d gotten to know particularly well. She and Thane hadn’t actually dated or gotten serious in any way, Amber feeling that she was too young for that, but that hadn’t stopped them from certain experiments and explorations. They’d never gone too far, and Thane, who was two years older, hadn’t seemed to mind when Amber stopped him. That was one person who didn’t leave her. She’d left him, when she returned to school. She didn’t expect anything from him, knowing it was just a summer thing, but it had helped to give her the confidence that maybe, just maybe, she could close out that little voice in her head that reminded her of everyone who had ever left her. She’d been working hard on quieting that voice down. And now, she thought she had.

---

With determination glinting in her eye, Amber decided to go where there was a chance of people. Who knew? Even if she didn’t make a best friend forever, she could still find at least one person to talk to, have fun with, maybe even study with. It could happen. She made her way to the Great Hall. There should be someone there, as it was almost time for dinner. She slipped through the doors and walked up to a group of older students and listened to their conversation until she came to a point that she could take part. She was actually surprised she wasn’t told to go away, but it helped boost her wavering confidence.

She left them and walked up to someone she only recognized from seeing around school. She wasn’t even sure of the name. “Hi, I’m Amber,” she introduced herself. She waited politely for the return introduction.

Tomorrow was Monday. Baxter liked Mondays- unlike most of his other classmates. He enjoyed going to classes, and liked getting back into the swing of things after the weekend. He had finished all of his homework the day before, and today had been spent reading a book that his mother had sent him. It was a fiction book- and Baxter rarely wasted his time on fiction, but he liked the way that it read. It sounded sophisticated instead of silly- even though it was silly, considering that it had creatures in it that did not exist. (And some that did.) It was by a muggle author- so he knew it was supposed to be "fantasy".

Whatever the case, thus far Baxter was enjoying reading The Hobbit and had taken it with him to the dinner table to continue reading while he had his meal. He had just finished up a chapter when he heard a girl speaking. Baxter looked up and saw a Slytherin girl that he recognized from classes. At least she had offered him a name. He was not very good with names, after all, considering his own lack of socialization.

Baxter carefully folded down the corner of the page he was on and closed the book- resting it so that the back of the book was facing them. A lot of kids would give you a hard time for reading muggle-books, especially Slytherins. (Because in Baxter's mind all Slytherins were rude, obnoxious, pureblood butt-heads.) "Hello Amber, my name is Baxter," he told her. He did not extend a hand for her to shake (thankfully she had not extended hers, either, Baxter did not like to touch other people). "... Do you need something?"

Amber chuckled at the question. Well, that was kind of blunt, wasn’t it? She didn’t mind though. In fact, she kind of liked it, being blunt internally herself. She wasn’t normally all in-your-face verbally, as she had been taught the Kantal version of manners, but when she felt comfortable enough, and wasn’t around her adopted family, she could be herself.

“No, I don’t need anything,” she replied, a small smile on her face. “I just realized you looked familiar, and I’d wondered what you were reading. Is there a problem with that?” Her eyes sparkled, showing that she wasn’t offended, as the words could have been taken. If anything, she was amused. It seemed that this socializing thing was easier than she thought it would be.  Either that, or she was just lucky she hadn’t yet met anyone who was actively disliking her for what patch she wore on her robe. She wasn’t stupid. She understood that the world needed all personality types, so she wouldn’t discount anyone because of their House. It was just silly to do so in her opinion.

“Well, you could tell me what you’re reading if you feel like it anyway.” She shrugged. She was curious as to what could hold his attention that he didn’t notice her sit down until she spoke. She enjoyed reading, so if his book was something she’d be interested in, she could always write home and ask for a copy.

Baxter did not think there was a problem with anyone wanting to know what he was reading. It was just not a common question. What was not usually asked, generally someone asked him why. Why was he reading when he could be doing all of these other things that he just had zero desire to do? Baxter was never sure of the answer to that question other than he simply liked to read, which often did not seem to be enough of a answer for most people. (Housemates excluded, naturally.)

Socialization was not something he was particularly good at. The young boy was not a people person, and likely would never become a people person. It was a simple fact of life for young Baxter Evan Fox. Ever doomed to be his father's son.

He was not sure that he felt like telling the girl what he was reading. "A book," he answered. "By a muggle author. My mother and stepfather sent it to me. He says he loved it at my age and wanted me to read it." Baxter shrugged, and flipped it over, displaying the cover. "It's decent so far. I imagine it is more enjoyable to a person who doesn't realize half the creatures exist and can then further point out the inconsistency between muggle versions and the real versions. But..." Baxter shrugged again, "that's part of life I guess."

Amber tilted her head curiously as she waited to see if she’d receive an answer. She giggled when she finally did. “I can see it’s a book.” She nodded, showing that she understood his words. “My sister’s a squib and goes to muggle school. When she finds a book she likes, she usually wants me to read it too. She just finished a class on American literature or something, where they read a book called The Outsiders. Some of the muggle things went over my head, but it was a good book anyway.”

She didn’t normally broadcast the fact that she read muggle books, but then again, she didn’t broadcast much at all. She felt she had to read the books from her sister though. Otherwise they would have nothing to talk about during the breaks. Amber refused to tag along with Haley when she spent time with muggle friends. She was convinced that those muggles would see that she was different somehow, and although it was too embarrassing to admit, she had a fear of muggles. As a child, she’d been told horrific stories about muggles. Even though she now knew they were just stories, she couldn’t shake off the irrational fear. She understood it was more of a fear of the unknown that anything, but she wasn’t currently interested in facing that one yet. Maybe next summer.

Baxter nodded. He had gone to muggle school prior to Hogwarts. His father hadn't been certain that he or his sister would end up magic, and wanted them to have a chance for a good life in case the whole magic thing didn't pan out. Baxter had enjoyed it- but it had made it harder to adjust to magical school. Considering that the logistics of magic didn't seem as easy to grasp as the logistics of science. But magic was more interesting and capable of doing more things.

"I haven't read that book," was the response that Baxter chose to give. It was odd for a Slytherin to admit to reading muggle books. Odd for a Slytherin to giggle. Odd for a Slytherin to seem at all human, really. Then again, he'd been accused of lacking the basic understanding of human emotion. Baxter wasn't very good at connecting with his classmates- or other people in general. But it wasn't that uncommon among the Ravenclaw house to have a lack of understanding of society and social constructs.

Baxter knew that he was supposed to say something else at this point. It was his duty to carry on the conversation. She had offered an anecdote, he was supposed to comment on that anecdote and offer his own. "The full moon is in a few days," was his decided route. "Be glad you aren't a Hufflepuff."

Amber studied the boy sitting in front of her. He didn’t seem like he much enjoyed talking, or maybe he just wasn’t used to it? Then again, she had interrupted his reading, so was he a bit miffed at her? She did relax as he responded. Maybe she was just seeing things or letting old insecurities flare up.

She smiled. “If you would like to, let me know. I wouldn’t mind lending it to you.” She looked at the book he currently had. “It might be a while before you ask though. That book is really thick. The only book I’ve read that was anywhere near that thick was Gone with the Wind, another suggestion from my sister. It was okay, but it’ll never make my list of favorites.” There were just too many things she didn’t understand in that book for it to make much sense to her. Haley had tried to explain, but Amber had only ended up more confused.

She blinked, coming back to reality as Baxter spoke again. “I know the full moon is in a few days, but what does that have to do with being a Puff? I mean, I’m glad I’m not since they don’t seem to understand the concept of personal space, but what’s wrong with it?” Amber didn’t pay much attention to the hearsay going around school, not really caring about rumors and not wanting to know if any were about her, so she was totally lost. What? Did the Puffs party on full moons or something? Or was it something else that supposedly happened?

Baxter had no intention to ask for the book, but telling the girl that would be rude. He knew that much- at least logically. He did not really have the time for recreational reading with all of his classes. He had, after all, for some reason, decided to take all of the electives that Hogwarts had to offer. (And was already learning that he was not as fond of the electives as he had hoped to be. At least some of them. The more useless ones.) So instead he simply nodded. "Thick?" he repeated, looking down at his book. This book wasn't thick. The girl must never read at all. "Even our required reading from text books is more than this," he commented incredulously. Then again, not every student did their required reading- that much was obvious from the rampant stupidity he encountered in classes.

"Nobody wants to be a Hufflepuff," he told her. "It's the house that takes people who don't fit in anywhere else. Most of the Hufflepuffs are troublesome and stupid." Baxter knew that his opinion could be offensive, but he believed it to be true. The boy had a tendency to be a bit disdainful- why should he spare the Hufflepuffs from that? "I'm glad my house isn't filled with the likes of Winifred Oliver."

But the point of Baxter's comment was not purely to give him an excuse to insult the badgers. "Fauna Blake is a werewolf, haven't you heard?" he asked her. "Everyone in school is talking about it. Even the ministry came to talk to her about it a few days ago- they even think she is a werewolf. Ministry is rarely wrong about those kinds of things." He was also rarely wrong about those kinds of things. He had been the one to deduce it after all- but now that the rumor was rampant, not as many people knew where it had originated from. "If you were a Hufflepuff she might eat you in your sleep."

Istarbel walked into the Great Hall for dinner, She was a bit late but she had been engrossed with her Charms book.  As she walked to her usual seat she couldn't help but notice a Slytherin sitting with Baxter. That was not a normal a occurrence.  Deciding that this was one of those things she did not wanted to miss.  She sat besides Baxter and smiled. "Hey Baxter, how are you? And who is your knew friend? I am Istarbel by the way."

She served herself some food before, and took a bite. "So what were we talking about before I came over and so rudely interrupted?"

Amber raised an eyebrow. “Maybe so, but I find the textbooks interesting. I’m not really into muggle fantasy. I find that I just want to find the author and tell them how wrong they are.” Yes, she had read one or two fantasy books, but had hated them. So reading them had felt like forever.

She blinked at Baxter’s opinion of Puffs. “Okay, so going by the stereotype, you must be a stuck-up Raven then. Are you too good to talk to someone who isn’t after homework answers and therefore isn’t impressed by your overwhelmingly superior intelligence? I’m not even sure who you’re talking about, but I’m sure this Winifred person feels the same about you.” She may normally be quiet, but she wasn’t one to just take it if she felt insulted.

“No, I hadn’t heard. I don’t put much stock in rumors. Very few of them are the truth, and most have the most minuscule basis in truth that it’s like one grain of sand on a beach. And if it was true, wouldn’t the Ministry have taken her away with them? Werewolves aren’t allowed in school, after all.” Which really made no sense to Amber. Without an education, how were they to find a job? Without a job, they were forced to turn to a life of crime just to survive. And really, they were just people unless it was a full moon. True, they were dangerous then, but surely precautions could be taken.

She smiled as another girl sat down. “Hi, Istarbel. I’m Amber. And we were apparently talking about books, Hufflepuffs, and werewolves.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized how strange that sounded. Well, maybe it would be an ice breaker?

Baxter was a little put off by her response to his comment about Hufflepuffs. "Then I suppose that makes you a muggle hating, doomed for Azkaban, inbred Slytherin," he stated. "Tell me- how round is your family tree?" he asked.

"Shows how little you know about the ministry and their werewolf practices. They can't take her and hold her for the entire month, it's against the policy. They take them in before the full moon and hold them until after. And, since she's a student, they can't yank her out of school for a whole month because of it." Baxter didn't understand people who had to babble about things they didn't know anything about.

A fellow third year Ravenclaw sat down with them- Istarbel- and began talking. "Well, I'm sure the two of you have far more to talk about without me around," with that, Baxter stood up and tucked his book into his bag. "Have a good day, Istarbel," he said to his housemate before disappearing from the great hall in long strides.

Istarbel was not very surprised at the welcome she got. Baxter was civil, and they were from the same house but that did not mean they were friends.  She merely smiled. "Book, Hufflepuffs, and werewolves? Books I can talk for hours, werewolves not so much. Now Hufflepuffs, it depends, anyone in particular?"

As Baxter made a excuse to leave she smiled at him. "The same Baxter, but really you shouldn't leave just cause I got here. I don't bite you know."

Amber sighed as Baxter left and then turned to Istarbel. "Sorry about that. He just got to me when he stereotyped the Puffs. But just in case, I'll be honest. I'm not fond of muggles because they make me nervous." That was one way to downplay her fear of them. "I'd prefer not to end up in Azkaban. I doubt prison robes would look flattering enough on me to be worth it. As for my family tree, as far as I can tell, I'm not inbred at all." She grinned at Istarbel, truly amused by the failed insult.

She couldn't deny that she didn't know much about the werewolf laws or whatever. She wasn't really interested. She didn't have any bias towards them.

"So, um," Amber tried to come up with a topic of conversation, "what do you like to do during free time?"

"Oh okay. I am pretty stereotypical Raven but I get seriously distracted so there you go that's how break that particular mold. I think we all break our moulds in one way or another." Istarbel didn't bother much with stereotypes. She could see the use for them but wasn't really one to follow them or use them. 

She smiled at Amber. "My free time? I am a Ravenclaw what makes you think i have free time? No just kidding. I like sewing and doing stuff with my hands. How about you?" Istarbel couldn't help but make a joke. It was too easy.

"I'm sure. No one is a carbon copy of what they're supposed to appear to be. In that way, everyone's an actor." Amber nodded, believing her own words. Most times, she wasn't even sure how she'd gotten into Slytherin, but didn't normally dwell on things like that.

She shrugged as the question of free time was turned back on her. "Um, I don't sew and I'm not an artist or anything. I usually write to my sister, read the latest book she's sent me, or spend time outside when it''s warm enough." She had no idea what to talk about next and hope Istarbel came up with something.