We Meet Again

Casey was sitting on the Lake shore, gazing at the clear water rippling in the slight breeze that was also gently stirring her dark hair. She heard footsteps and looked around, almost groaning as she recognized the annoying Slytherin boy from earlier. She stood fluidly, facing him with folded arms.
"So. You again."

Alexander looks down at the girl for he is much taller than her. "hello gryffie." his voice is velvety not wavering in the slightest. "so why the wreckless attitude this morning.?" she hasn't noticed any emotion on his face whatsoever.

Casey raised an eyebrow- her favorite expression. "Me? I'm always reckless. What's life without a little danger? Where would the fun come from? And don't bother trying to hide your emotions. I know. I always know." She thrust a hip out to the side, refusing to look uncomfortable at the fact the he was taller than her. "So what brings you here to this beautiful lakeshore this evening?" she asked with a mocking smile, spreading her arms wide to indicate the scene behind her.

He doesnt change his facial expression. "no emotions to hide.... death does that to someone. makes them think." he skips a rock across the water. "the only time i'd ever show emotion was if i had someone to express it to." he glaces sideways at her. and thinks 'lovely...gryffie or otherwise'

She looks at the rock he skipped. Five hops. "Pretty good a that. Never could do it myself." She grabbed a flat rock and tried to immitate his low slinging movement. It sunk. "See?" She shrugged. "And as to your emotions, they are muted, but they're there. I know you don't hate me. I can feel that. You're confused. Why don't you hate me? That is your question I'm guessing. You're subtly sad, a bit angry under it all, but you're mostly calm. You're almost as emotionless as you try to pretend." She let a small smile show, still gazing over the water. "Almost, but not quite."

He sighes "i'll help you." he presses a flat stone into her hand anforms her hand around it "hold it like this and stand like so." he guides her into position and holds her arm helping her to throw the rock "see not bad. your form was off. and i dont hate you. i hate the man who murdered my parents. they went up in flames with the house. i got out but they werent as lucky and i burn for revenge."

She watched as her stone skipped twice and sank, her face impassive as he told her his parents were dead. She stuggled internally for a minute, then turned and gave this boy she barely knew a quick hug before turning back around and picking up another flat stone. "Like this?" she asked. She bent low and threw the stone. It bounced three times off the surface of the water and sank. She looked up at him with a small sad smile. "I guess I just needed someone to teach me," she said softly.

He genuinely smiles for the first time in years. "exactly. wonderful now we could keep talking back and forth like this... or i could kiss a pretty girl. you can decide for me either way im satisfied."

Casey smiled, but shook her head. "Thanks for the compliment. And the offer, I guess. But there's someone else. I'm sorry. All you Slytherins keep chasing me. Whatever happened to interhouse rivalry?" she asked, smiling to show she was joking. "But it's good to see you smile. I was beginning to think all you had in stock were smirks. I'd like to be friends though. You seem nice... for a Slytherin." She smiled wider.

He looks down feeling stupid and all the emotions she saw are instantly gone. "yeah nice meating you too i guess." he sits down on a rock and throws another stone at the lake and thinks 'alexander youre a bloody fool....' he sighs and looks down and finds a sharp rock.'he picks it up and closes his hand tightly around it. casey sees blood

"Woah there. Don't go back into your shell! Alex, don't leave." Casey saw him clench his hand around a sharp rock. His hand bled and she yelped, sitting down next to him on the rock. "Now look what you've done." She grabbed his hand and pulled it into her lap, prying his fingers off the rock and throwing it away. Pulling his fingers open, she saw a gash, about 3 inches long and very deep on his palm. She looked up at him with a light reproach in her eyes. "Be a nice boy and sit still," she murmered, pulling out her wand. First she murmered "Tergeo" to clear the blood and clean the cut. Then, concentrating as hard as sh chould, she closed her eyes and said "Vulnera Sanentur." At first nothing happened, but when she repeated the spell the gash healed itself, skin and tissue knitting back together, not even leaving a scar. "Don't sulk," she added, giving him his hand back.

He isnt looking at her at all his hand shakes with rage as he murmers to himself "worthless scarp....alex bloodbayne you worthless garbage! you sit here alive while their ashes are scattered somewhere...fool...lowlife....nothing... you deserve a fate worse than death..."

Casey strained to hear what he was muttering and started when she heard "You sit here alive while their ashes are scattered somewhere...fool...lowlife....nothing... you deserve a fate worse than death..."
"Alex! Don't say that, never say that!" She grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. "Never, ever think you're a bad person for living. It's not your fault. And what parents would ever be sad that their child was alive, that he survived? They would be happy that you didn't die with them. Never take life for granted, never. It's a beautiful thing and you always need to use it, always." Casey let go of his face, folding her arms over her torso, shaking. Her mind turned inward and she remembered the bullies at her American school that she thought were going to kill her. She had once caught herself contemplating killing herself to get away from the pain, and had been horrified. "Never regret your life," she whispered, her voice broken and hoarse. "It means they've won."

He sighs "my own family members told me to die.... they blamed me for everything.... thats why ive spent most of my life as an orphan." he shakes his head "none of that matters now. i want revenge." he looks down at the water and casey hears him making some hissing noises and a snake rises from the water

Casey looked at him with hard eyes, thinking of a family that would tell a young boy to die. "They are wrong," she said flaty. "they are all wrong, but don't let revenge consume you. It can destroy if you're not careful."
Casey looked at the snake as calmly as shecould, though she shuddered. It was pretty big for a water snakes, and though she wasn't particularly scared of snakes, she wasn't find of them either. "So, er, you're a Parseltongue I'm guessing? What kind of snake is that?" She dreew her feet up onto the rock as casually as she could, not that it would make much difference.

He shrugs. "i dont have the slightest concern." he slices open his arm and whispers in parseltongue and a giant snake made out of his blood appears and he stands on its head and sighs "the view is nice from here. come look"

"You should care, but I can't make you."
Casey looked at the blood snake. "Ok, that's just weird," she said, standing up nevertheless. "If I get blood on my shoes, you're buying me a new pair." She stood up and climbed carefully onto the blood snake's head. Then she gasped at the veiw of the lake. YOu could see clear across it and the sun was just starting to go down, painting the landscape orange, red, and pink. "It is beautiful," she breathed. Looking down at the blood snake again, she shuddered. "Where the hell did you learn to make the snake out of blood?"

He sighs "my father. i learned how just before he died... i also got this."he shows her the family ring ion his right hand. "it shouws that im now the hier to my familys fortune. unless shes gotten to them by now...." he looks at casey. "whyre you so kind to me?"

Casey looked at him, thinking her answer over. "Well," she responded slowly, "I do try to be kind to everyone unless I'm in one of my snarky moods. You looked like you needed it. It's always the ones whose emotions never show that need someone to probe deeper and teach them to feel 'out loud', so to speak. Pure and simple, you need a friend. I could feel it."

He looks at her and sits down and lets out a sigh "i dont deserve kindness lady. im a rat. my parents are dead and i never tried to help them i was too scared..." he cusses at himself "you shouldnt be kind to me....at all.....maybe you should forget our encounter all together."

Casey slapped Alex across the face, not hard but loud. "Wake up Alex and stop feeling sorry for yourself. You've had a hard life, but you're not the only one and self pity isn't attractive. Stop looking down on yourself and just let yourself be. No matter how much you think otherwise, you're worth something in this world. You are not a rat. You are not worthless. You are not undeserving of kindness. You are not a coward." She blushed and looked down at her hands, which she was twisting in her lap. "Wow. Didn't mean to make a speech. And sorry I hit you."

He sighs "not a problem. used to abuse. that was nothing." He looks at the water and he starts to twitch.

Casey sighed, and scooted next to Alex, putting an arm around his shoulder and leaning her head against his shoulder, staring at the water as well. "I'm sorry. Really. I hate that you have to be used to it. And I definitely didn't want to be part of it. Do you want to talk about, or just... be?"

"be?" his face breaks into a smile of sheer madness "you make no sense at all all i want is revenge. if you wont be by my side ill get it myself." he pulls out his knife and holds it to his throat

"Yeah, exist..." Casey waved her hands vaguely, trying to explain herself. "I never make sense."
She shreiked when he pulled out the knife and held it to his throat. "WHAT THE HELL ALEX?!?! Put that down, what the hell is that going to do? Godammit, don't kill yourself!" Her potty mouth came out in her panic. "Put the knife down Alex. Put it down. Please." She lifted pleading eyes to his. "For me? Come on, don't kill yourself!"