Promise Fulfilled ((Cleo))

[Nadine Whitaker]

Nadine held her breath cautiously, dropping just one more drop of oil into the mixture before snatching her hand back and rocking back on her heels triumphantly. True to her word, Nadine had spent all week on this mixture, mixing and remixing until she was absolutely sure that all of the scents blended together seamlessly without the potency being disrupted. Even one more drop of Impatiens would've overpowered the Rock Water and she definitely didn't want to go through last weeks ordeal again. Her dorm mates had bothered her until she had finally snapped and hexed one of them to speak in rhyme for the rest of the day. Sure, it had been only an hour before curfew - which, unfortunately, meant that no one had seen her handiwork - but it had been enough to quieten the twittering idiots and didn't result in a loss of points. Not to mention that the other girls had told their friends about her hexing one of them, which meant that it had spread around most of the school. All in all, excellent work, if she did say so herself.

Nadine flicked her wrist and her wand dropped into her hand from the thin piece of twine she had used to secure it to her arm while she was working. Maybe it was time to buy one of the wand-holsters her Grandfather had been pointing out over the summer. It would please him and would certainly make life easier for herself. "Scourgify," Nadine flicked her wand at the small puddle of mixed oils on the floor, leaning forward to smell the oils before they disappeared. The sharp, soothing scent was, to Nadine, the equivalent of a gentle hug, due to a spell that had been placed on the crystal holder that Nadine had poured the oils into. It was designed to soothe when the person holding it, or smelling the scent inside it, was worried, angry or upset. "Pirates," Nadine tapped the stopper of the bottle sharply and the spell instantly deactivated, making Nadine shiver slightly as the ghostly hug disappeared. A shame but there it was; she wasn't going to force a spell onto Cleo. Now, her information card had to be filled out. Hardly the most exciting work but necessary.

Oak - to lessen pain.
Elm - to help with any feelings of being overwhelmed.
Impatiens - to lessen impatience and sharpness (also helps with mood swings)
Chicory - to balance both the oils and your moods; to stabilise the scent
Rock Water - for relaxation.
Spell on crystal bottle (to soothe and comfort) is activated by saying Treasure and deactivated with Pirates, tapping the stopper once with each word. Tap the stopper three times to reset the passwords.

Nadine paused before dipping her quill in the ink once more and pulling another piece of parchment toward her. Her last statement would have to go on a different piece of parchment, since the information card had to be kept. If her time with Cleo had taught her anything it all, it was that her slight reference to their conversation wouldn't go unnoticed. She hoped.

Never let it be said that I don't follow orders. A rhyming room-mate isn't entertaining after the first half-hour, but sometimes necessary.

A sharp whistle and a dark-brown owl landed before her, nipping at her ear affectionately before allowing her to tie the package to his leg. "Be careful with this, Apollo, it's breakable." When the owl hooted imperiously, Nadine snorted and ran her fingers through the ruffled feathers slowly. "Cleo Graas, boy. Wait a few minutes for a reply, okay? If she doesn't want to reply then go back home." Nadine followed her grandparents owl with her eyes, only looking away when Apollo was no more than a dark speck in the blue sky. She was lucky that a letter had come from her Grandmother today really, otherwise she would've had to use a school owl.

((*shrugs* I was planning to post this later, but I got bored. Anyway, don't feel that you have to reply, because this is just something that Nadine was ordering me to write. Here is the crystal bottle, if you were interested.))

[Cleo Graas]

It was surprising how different the common rooms were. Even if in all truthfulness Cleo had seen only two. But comparing the two Slytherins common room was quiter, the colour-scheme was more united and only for brackground and the art and statues here were most certainly more expensive and with better quality. But the lack of windows was quite uncompareable and most likely dreary in winter. Leaning back in the huge armchair she was lazing in Cleo observed lazily as a younger Slytherin was taught parring as two older years were having a mock duel. Mock because which Slytherin would show his or hers best spells that easily to the general public? No, that would give away some of your weak points. Letting her hand drop into Kris’s hair Cleo wrapped the black hair around her fingers as Kris tilted his head slightly backwards towards his hand from his position where he sat on the ground before the armchair Cleo was sitting. An glorious family-portrait – blazing fireplace, comfortable chairs, pregnant woman and a man sitting next to her feet, a fluffy black kitten – if not for numerous other Slytherins milling around.

Sharp taps sounded from the door and after some seventh years impation gesture a first year quickly climbed to his feet and opened the door letting in a dark-brown owl. The owl didn’t even receive any glances – owls were too ordinary for that here – as it circled the room before landing on the armrest of the armchair Cleo was lounging in. Giving the owl a mildly interested glance Cleo accept the parcel being held out to her and opened it, smiling with some delight at the sight of a pretty crystal vial. Flicking the note open Cleo skimmed it lazily before picking up her wand and tapping it on the vial while muttering ‘Treasure’. Inhaling the scent deeply Cleo held it in her lungs for a few moments trying to decide something about it. It was quite pleasant. It had spunk and wasn’t too sweet but at the same time it didn’t demand attention too loudly. “From Nadine Whitaker. I told you about our meeting in Hogsmeade,” Cleo said as she held the vial out for Kris. Kris nodded as he accepted the vial andinhaling as well before gracing the vial with a slight twitch of his lipcorner over an inner joke only he knew and deeming it acceptable. The owl hooted sowing he was waiting for a reply and Cleo smiled lightly as she recalled the meeting.

Telling the owl to wait – which it quite gladly did after Kris produced some treat for it – Cleo managed to get her next whim of a wish quite easily. 10 galleons – also produced from Kris’s pocket - exchanged owners and Cleo poured some of the oil into a smaller glass vile before closing it and slipping the silver chain it was tangling from over her head. “Could you find where Nadine was right now?” Cleo questioned Kris who hesitated for a few moments before raising and holding out his hands to pull Cleo to her feet as well: “I could most surely try to.” Floating the vial Nadine sent into Kris’s dormitory and onto his trunk Cleo wrapped her fingers around Kris’s as the couple exited the common room, Kris till carrying a goblet of dark-red wine in his hand and the dark-brown owl perched on one of his shoulder and Morrigan on the other. Stating some quite complex spell Kris left his wand into his hand as they sauntered out of the dungeons and towards to wherever Kris’s tracking spell was leading them. Hopefully Nadine wouldn’t be too scared when she felt the spell enveloping her, but this spell worked only on short distance or there wouldn’t be any criminals loose.

As they walked Cleo wondered how big were the chances that Nadine was in there common room or maybe out of it on her way to McGonagall alarmed by the spell. Either of those thoughts turned out to be wrong however when Kris pulled open a door and Cleo entered smiling lightly at Nadine standing in the center of the room. “I received your owl and I must recommend you. I like the smell,” Cleo stated as she pushed her hair out of her eyes and stepped further into the room, Kris canceling the tracking spell with a sharp flick of his wand before slipping it back into his sleeve. “You must tell me your price as I want new doses of it. By the way – Nadine, meet Kris. Kris, this is Nadine.” Kris merely raised an eye-brow and inclined his head sharply as Cleo rolled her eyes at him, “Go now. Shoo. Leave us to girl-talk.” Kris didn’t budge as Cleo twisted to stand in front of him, her hands resting lightly on his chest. “You don’t have to worry about us,” Cleo convinced. “Can you blame me for it?” Kris responded with an ironic arch of an eye-brow as he bowed and gave Cleo a kiss before turning none the less and leaving the room after shooing the owl from his shoulder from where it flew to Nadine. Licking her lips Cleo tasted the rich aftertaste of Kris’s wine on her lips as she conjured an armchair for herself before sitting down on it, “He had good wine. About the oil though – if I keep the scent on all the time – like with the necklace – how long until it fades out on it’s own? And will I be held to my part of the bargain about doing your nails now?” Cleo questioned with a light tone as she wiggled around in her chair to find a comfortable position, "And the hex was nice as I heard. However why hex someone with rhymes when you have to tolerate listening to it later on?"

[Nadine Whitaker]

Nadine looked up sharply, automatically flicking her wrist and grasping her wand when it fell neatly into her hand. Half-blood she may be but she had been raised in true Hautore style, courtesy of her grandparents, and so she was well used to the feeling of a spell being cast on her. It wasn't a particularly unpleasant feeling but this wasn't her grandparents house and therefore a spell could mean danger. Not good, especially so soon after Moldy-Face's defeat. Granted, a year or so wasn't exactly soon but it didn't hurt to be on guard. She was nowhere near the dungeons, which meant that she wasn't near Slytherin territory. She was in Gryffindor territory and that meant they, unless the person was a Gryff, were poaching on her grounds; thereby giving her the advantage. Excellent. Nadine paused for a fierce smile and switched to the other side of the table, giving her a clear view of the door. Paranoid she might be, but adults and children alike had seen horrors that they had never even dreamt of in the last war and such things left a permanent effect, even if it showed itself in different ways.

The door opened and Nadines left hand tensed on her wand, only relaxing and using her index finger to push it back into place when she saw the two figures at the door. "Cleo, Kris, Apollo and kitten whom I don't know. How lovely of you to invade my sanctuary. Maybe you'd like to paint it green and blue in your spare time," Nadine snapped irritably. How dare they cast a spell on her and use it to follow her - or rather, track her, Nadine realised darkly, her eyes flicking from Kris's wand to meet Cleo's eyes disapprovingly. Her left arm snapped up to shoulder height and Apollo landed on it neatly, her arm almost falling beneath his weight. By no means was Apollo a heavy bird, but neither was Nadine an overly strong girl. "I said wait for a reply, not an invasion," Nadine murmured faintly, distracting herself from the two invaders by rubbing a feather between two fingers thoughtfully. "Lovely to meet you, I'm sure," Nadine greeted Kris dryly, her eyes still firmly fixed on Apollo, listening to her own breathing and using the steady rhythm to calm herself. Well, snapping at a Slytherin and his wife - especially when said wife had a temper of her own - was a dangerous occupation and not one that Nadine frequented.

"Of course he should worry about us," Nadine snorted. "Being a Gryffindor, I'm going to kidnap you and sacrifice you to a muggle god of some kind. I hear that's all the rage in Northampton," Nadine finished mockingly, turning to finish packing away her vials and only rolling her shoulder to give Apollo better access when he changed positions to sit on her shoulder, not that he had any choice since she'd dropped her arm. "Depends on how big the vial in the necklace is," Nadine answered vaguely, waiting until she had cleaned her silver measuring spoons before turning around to take a look. "With that size vial, and the amount I gave you in the bottle, you shouldn't need anymore until February, or near that time. I'm not marketing them, so consider them to be free. If you insist on paying then prepare for me to be insulted. See, insulted face." Nadine pointed to her face, pasting a suitably insulted look onto her features. "Oh, I didn't have to listen to her. A small locking spell was enough to take care of that. But hearing someone curse in rhymes is quite amusing."

[Kris Graas]

Kris felt the owl take flight from his shoulder and smirked lazily. It was a heavy bird and buy the brief moments Kris had stroked his feathers had seemed healthy. Must be. This girl was from a pureblooded family that had some nice reputation. Some muggles ruining the bloodline purity but not bad family. Kris had asked quietly from a couple of friends about Nadine after Cleo had told him about their meeting in Hogsmeade and hadn’t heard anything that would have made the small nerves inside him tingling. And Cleo had said that the girl liked animals which was one more benefit for him. And Kris felt some amusement rising in her as she had the backbone to not grovel at his feet but snap. Even if she was also smart enough to constrict her tongue yet again before it would cross the line and get herself in trouble.

It were all these things piling up that made Kris take it good-naturedly and response in a drawl that didn’t hold any malice: “Really now, I’m afraid your words aren’t too threatening. The question is which muggle god – Jesus Christ, his father? Allah? All of them are honoured by people in the magical world as well. Someone else? Besides, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with different religions before threatening with the, because sacrificing isn’t allowed by them. Even satansim doesn’t favour it really. Even if some fanatics during religious wars did think that to kill and infidel wasn’t a sin but rather a pathway to heaven.” Kris smirked almost lazily and making a mockingly flourishing bow with his hand reached out to the side before turning on his heels with a sharp twist and exiting from the room.

((Well, one more post up. But let Cleo reply too before you have Nadine speak up again.))

[Cleo Graas]

Cleo noticed that Nadine looked a bit edgy, so she must have felt and noticed the tracking spell. Cleo merely smirked in response to her accusing glance and shrugged her shoulders. Kris wouldn’t have done anything to Nadine and Cleo couldn’t cast the spell, so she didn’t feel the least bit sorry about what had occurred. “Hei, Nadine. And the kitten is Morrigan. I wouldn’t really suggest trying to get acquiantanced with her as you woudn’t be the first person whose face she’d shred with her claws. Quite the temper she has.” As if sensing she was being discussed Morrigan purred sweetly and rubbed her fluffy back against Kris’s cheek, looking as innocent as one can be. But ven though people had tried in the beginning no one tried to approach Kris to see the kitten anymore, as she had made herself known enough to prevent that. Conjuring an armchair for herself Cleo dropped herself to sit with a satisfied sigh escaping her lipsas she found a comfortable position again and raised her feet to a leg-rest that had appeared along with the armchair, listening to Kris’s and Nadine small exchange of words with only half an ear.

“Know thy enemy or something like that,” Cleo commented to Nadine after Kris had left the room, having proved his point about muggle gods, “Though there is a muggle village near our castle. Almost feodalic in a way, but it works.” Cleo chuckled and nodded, understanding Nadine’s reasonings. If the positions were opposite she most likely wouldn’t want to accept any payment either. “Alright. Heaven knows I don’t need one more Gryffindor insulted and angry at me. I have enough already that would hex me in the hallways if they weren’t afraid. But I do expect to be kept up to date with the oil.” A couple of lazy flicks of her wand and Cleo smiled with appreciation at the bag now in her hands: “But I did promise to do your nails some day as well, which I still haven’t done.” Beckoning Nadine closer Cleo fished out an under-polish. Taking Nadine’s hand Cleo examined the nails – not the strongest and quite short, but nicely shaped luckily. Nodding with satisfaction Cleo applied the under-polish with quick and experienced moves to all 10 nails before blowing on it lightly to let it dry somewhat.

“Not a bad place you’ve got here. I didn’t actually know there were such rooms in the towers. All Slytherins have their own sanctuary – decorated and furnished by their whims – but in the dungeons and heavily protected. And even with all of that I think no more than the most half of the dungeons is filled. Such safe-heavens where you can just be oneself are needed though,” deeming the under-polish dry enough Cleo pondered for a moment before reaching n the bad again and bringing out a handful of red tones. Picking out the one that most resembled Gryffindor-red Cleo started to cover Nadine’s nails with it, “Don’t worry though. We won’t be invading your sanctuary, even though I can’t promise abut Kris forgetting the way to here. But he doesn’t visit this part of the castle frequently.”


((Not much, sorry. But my inspiration spring seemed to be dry while I was writing this.))

[Nadine Whitaker]

Nadine merely shrugged and smiled wryly at Cleo's smirk. She wasn't fool enough to expect an apology - from either of them. "The cutest kittens are generally the most dangerous. An intelligent way to fool everyone." Nadine commented carelessly, flicking a cursory glance at Morrigan before turning away and starting to finish clearing up with an almost single-minded determination. Sure, she adored kittens but she wasn't an idiot. After packing the rest of her empty vials into a black leather pouch that she dropped into the bag at her hip, Nadine turned back to the Graas' just in time to hear Kris' parting shot and watch his departure. "He's interesting. Intelligent and sarcastic with just the slightest possibility of charm if he wishes to call on it." Nadine mused thoughtfully, her eyes glittering with faint amusement. Both Cleo and Kris amused her, even if she knew that the Slytherin would only tolerate her for as long as her tentative friendship with Cleo lasted. A friendship between a Gryff and a Slyth would never happen, not when the houses had such different personalities as a whole.

"Know thine enemy and know thyself," Nadine corrected absently, peering around with a faint frown.She had brought that damned hat down with her; she distinctly remembered being ready to curse the little brat who had knocked it off her head. Yet another difference in herself that spoke volumes. Over roughly a month, her personality had shone through the shadows she preferred to stay in, and her dueling - or rather, cursing and hexing since she didn't give them an opportunity to fight back - had improved with all the practice she had been putting in recently.Strange how just one person talking to her and treating her as an equal had given her the confidence to fight back against those who would tease her and sneer at her just because she was slightly different. Ahah! Nadine crouched before throwing herself into a forward roll, stopping herself neatly by her black stetson and fixing the silver chain around the base as she rose gracefully. "I'll contact you in January about the oils, and in a few months you might be able to wear it in jewels," Nadine replied cheerfully, jamming the stetson on her head before perching on the edge of a desk. Her research was delayed but not forgotten.

"Eh, it's not exactly in Gryffindor territory. I figured out the boundaries a few years ago and this room falls just short of the protection the Tower is supposed to represent." Her map of the boundaries of course, had included the need for other houses to move around the castle easily and get to classes without extra fuss. As far as Nadine knew, she was the only person - not including Cleo - who currently knew about the rough boundaries she had marked out to keep herself out of trouble with the Slyths for invasion. "Invade as much as you wish, since I doubt I could stop both of you if you wished to have access. Besides which, while I don't completely trust you or your husband, I at least trust you to not curse me in my own sanctuary. Especially when I'm the only person who knows the ratio of oils for the perfume you're wearing."

((My own isn't the best but, with more free time, the posts can only improve, surely.))

[Cleo Graas]

Cleo smirked and agreed with Nadine. “Morrigan is quite protective of Kris. He found her with a broken leg in a rhododendron bush near a lake in our home the last summer he could see. She has some inborn genetical mistake so she will never grow to be bigger than the ball of fluff she currently is. But she is quite a character to take into account.” Cleo absorbed Nadine’s comment about her husband quietly. It was much more polite than most of the comments he usually seemed to spark from the Gryffindors. Or any members of the houses outside Slytherin. Slytherins themselves were smarter than to openly criticize an older, rich and quite influential person. “Practiced perhaps. He likes reading but prefers practical knowledge. Working with his hands so to say, which was quite surprising to me when I learned to know him, considering his background. Charm. Hmm. Other arrogance he knows how to present so openly you can’t recognize it fully for what it is,” Cleo remarked thoughtfully, analyzing mentally her husband, who still could easily surprise her really. Most likely always would. Not that she minded it really.

“Know thine enemy and know thyself,” Cleo repeated dutifully, storing the sentence in the back of her mind for future references, but not really being overly bothered for remembering the muggle saying correctly. She really didn’t have that many chances to socialize to muggles. And the few she did know either knew she was a witch or thought such lack of knowledge as joking or her original and individual quirks. Cleo never minded shining out among a crowd. She was arrogant too! “January. Alright. I’ll hold you to that. And about jewels – if you need any base materials or trinkets to put my oil – see, I already consider it mine. Shows that it’s good – to put my oil inside just let me know. I have a couple of hundred more than I could ever find use for anyway. Looking at the jewelboxes at home can me quite dazzling.”

Heaving herself to stand upright Cleo walked to the window and opened it. A couple of flicks of her wand and a few moments later her quite big nails-kit was soaring towards her through air. Taking it Cleo floated her armchair over to the table on which edge Nadine was sitting and calmly took her hand. Observing the nails Cleo muttered a spell and drew her wand-tip over her nails to shape them properly before fishing out her see-through underpolish and started covering Nadine’s nails with it. “It’s curious really, isn’t? That each houses have some area where they rule. Their territory where they offer their protection,” Cleo raised her hand to show the curling snake bracelet with some initials to Nadine, “Kris’s protection. No Slytherin will attack me without knowledge that everything they say to me counts as if it had been said to Kris as well and he really isn’t that hard to offend. Even though he’s quite unpredictable about that.”
Cleo blew lightly on the nails and left them to dry as she picked up Nadine’s other hand to place the nail-polish there as well. “Don’t worry. I won’t invade too often. Or at all really. I know how precious such sanctuaries are. Do you wish some special design on your nails? Though my artistic possibilities on such a small canvas as a human nail is is surely limited.”

[Nadine Whitaker]

“Even the smallest of animals have a hidden part of themselves that couldn’t be guessed simply by looking at them. Though Morrigans reputation has spread throughout the school, if I’m not mistaken.” Nadine shrugged, straddling a chair and resting her arms on the back comfortably. People were interesting, much as she hated to admit it. They were interesting to watch and a few were good to interact with, but Nadine could never really see herself as truly social. Watching and taking note was fine – there would be a time when she would have to mingle with the people after all and it was easy enough to fit in once you knew how – but it was rare for her to talk willingly. Unless it was to a client, or Taire. Or telling Jackson to jump off a cliff. That was always worth opening her mouth for. Now, if only he’d obey.

Nadine frowned thoughtfully, moving to sit on the edge of a desk. As always when it came to thinking about her passion and new adaptations of it, her green eyes were sharply focused and deep in thought. “I’ll have to do a few test runs first. And even before that, I have to figure out the correct spells needed and how to mix them if needed.” Nadine tilted her head, her fringe flopping over her right eye messily for only a second before she brushed it back to the left, silently swearing that the fringe would either behave or be cut before it blinded her. “A professor’s advice might be needed for certain parts of the theory, but a trip to the library might serve just as well. That bookstore too, mmhmm, and that one also. Maybe the one in Diagon but I can’t wait that long.” Nadine mumbled to herself, diving for her bag and rummaging around inside it haphazardly, pulling out parchment and pen before scribbling down a few notes.

“Oh,” Nadine looked up and smiled apologetically. “I’ll only use your jewels once I’m sure that it’ll work properly. Such possessions are too valuable to be ruined in one of my experiments. You see,” Nadine returned to the desk and sat on it, arranging her legs under her, “I’ll start out by using a rock or pebble to see if the stone accepts a mixture and then cast the appropriate spells and figure out if I need to mix any more spells than the few I already made a theory about. When the theory is definite, I’ll try the mixed oils and spells in a less valuable jewel and work my way up to the really valuable jewels. Then I’ll start selling the jewels that aren’t damaged in any way to recover the money I spent on buying them in the first place, so I can afford the oils without dipping into my inheritance fund.” For a moment, Nadine looked irritated. Everyone else with a relation to a pureblood – let alone such a direct relation as the ones she held – got to access their inheritance at 17 or 18 but no. She had to wait until 22 years of age. Was it any wonder she felt the need to start earning and saving money now, if she wanted to move away before she was 24?

Nadine raised an eyebrow involuntarily. “That’s…a big case for just nails.” Nadine commented warily, wondering whether it was really such a good idea to subject herself to Cleo’s mercy after all. “With the rivalry between the houses, and even inside the houses, people have to have somewhere to protect themselves.” Nadine smiled wryly, honestly disappointed with her house. “I sometimes feel that Gryffindor has a lot more to do with that rivalry than they should. If we learnt to control our tempers and think before leaping into a battle then maybe the rivalry would die down a bit. But the other houses do their part too. A war can’t be fought with only one side.” Nadine turned her attention to the bracelet and grinned, delighted with the idea. “It’s an original idea, and quite intelligent too. Not many people would notice the bracelet and connect it to freedom from Slytherins.”

“Don’t worry too much about invading.” Nadine would’ve waved a hand dismissively if Cleo hadn’t been holding onto them. “I’m not in here too much, and I have other such places that I can retreat to if I feel the need.” Nadine grinned lightly, feeling no guilt at all at the fact that some of her sanctuaries were bordering on the territory of other houses. After all, she wasn’t in the territory; just quite close. “Anything is fine. No worries about being artistic because this is the finest treatment my nails have had in quite a long while.”