Imperfection ((Gaenor))

[Lita Hollows R6]

Today was a fairly good day, Lita decided cheerfully, twirling a pencil between her fingers absent-mindedly. Saturday was always a good day, but this one in particular had gotten off to a good start and showed no sign of going wrong. As always, she had risen at six AM, preferring an early start to the day, and for once, Adrian had been content to amuse her and follow her demands without complaint. That alone made a good day for Lita, but if you added in the fact that she had also managed to finish any homework she had, had been confided in by Adrienne about her plans for this girl called Fallon and had refrained from physically attacking the obnoxious - to Lita anyway, most others seemed to enjoy her company, including Adrian - Ravenclaw-girl Alyssa. Nothing would spoil her good mood, and if anything tried then it would be introduced to the sharp side of Lita's tongue and the hot side of her temper, something that most had the luck to never see. A quick temper, sharp tongue and a vocabulary resembling that of a fifteen year olds was not a good combination for whoever irritated her.

She just wasn't a good Raven, if she was truly honest. Lita smiled wryly. Truly honest. Childlike as she was, being truly honest was something that was hard for her. Cuttingly honest about faults in others, she was an expert in. But honest about herself? No chance! This, however, was one thing that she just couldn't deny. A good Raven, as a rule, wouldn't prefer those in the Slytherin house to those in her own house. But she couldn't help it. Lita sighed resignedly, silently admitting that perhaps Adrian had been right. Maybe she was more Slytherin than she could ever be Raven. Which just didn't seem right, even to Lita's young mind. She would never be a typical Ravenclaw, but she couldn't truly fit in Slytherin either. Gryffindor was absolutely out of the question - especially since she would lose most, if not all, of the friends she had gathered - which left Hufflepuff, which wasn't really an option either. Ah well. Lita shrugged carelessly, banishing the haunting thoughts from her mind with the easiness of the young and rather thoughtless.

Lita braided her dark hair quickly, feeling the sudden need to explore the castle. It wasn't unexpected, not really. She was a curious girl and the castle was new territory, just begging to be explored and have its secrets revealed to curious minds. Lita hesitated by her book for barely a second before shrugging. Generally, the Ravenclaws wouldn't take much interest in harming a book, and she could simply ask Adrian to replace it when he next went to Hogsmeade if they did. If she couldn't go to Hogsmeade herself then the next best thing was having a brother would could go, and was willing to run errands for his adorable little sister. Lita grinned wickedly, lost in thought as she wandered along the corridor. Only crashing onto the floor after walking into a hard body made Lita wake up from her daydreaming. "Couldn't you have moved, or at least warned me?" Lita demanded hotly, her voice slowly trailing off a sshe took in her opponent.

Most definitely older, a third year at the youngest, and certainly stronger, both magically and physically. And somehow Lita doubted that this boy would agree to settling this over a nice, peaceful game of checkers - well, chess was so boring! - and cold glass of butterbeer. She wasn't entirely sure what gave her that idea, but suspected it had something to do with the slow smirk appearing on his face. Merlin. Lita sneered disdainfully. Gryffindors really could not smirk properly. Uh oh, an overly cheerful voice commented inside her head, seems to me that he's not at all happy. Oh no, Lita replied sarcastically, whatever gave you that idea? Whatever smart retort that the annoyingly cheerful voice had been about to start was abruptly silenced when Lita ducked under the boys fist, her brown eyes dark with fear. No one had ever tried to hit her before and it was only some deep buried instinct that had told her to duck. This...this just wasn't fun. Fun was annoying Adrian until he glared at her in exasperation. Fun was not getting knocked out by a fierce Gryffindor third-or-fourth-or-whatever-year boy.

"Yeah...well, you smell like Gryffindor!" Lita raised an eyebrow at her weak insult before deciding that terror was a good reason for amazingly bad insults. But really, that was just the worst insult ever said. Something had to be added, something to make it less stupid. "A smelly Gryffindor!" Oh Merlin. Maybe she should just stay quiet. Anything but those half-hearted insults. Or maybe a better idea would be to run? For once the cheerful voice had some good advice. Good voice, Lita praised mentally before spinning around and sprinting away, stopping only to kick the boy in the shin with all the strength of a physically fit, annoyed and terrified eleven year old girl. The enraged gasp of pain and anger brought a satisfied smirk to her face, even if her fear increased slightly.

Lita was a fast runner, although she didn't have much stamina, and so Lita allowed herself to drop to the floor once she was outside, naturally choosing a place near the Forest to sit down. Well, she was still curious about the Forest but not sure enough about Kris to venture in there with him, as Gaenor had advised her to do. "Well that was foolish," Lita murmured to herself dryly, her breathing still unusually quick and shallow due to her fear. Anyone who knew her even slightly would recognise the touch of fear in her widened eyes, and the gentle tremor in her voice when she spoke. Today as perhaps not the good day she had thought it would be. So much for wonderful Saturdays!

((Yes, it's much longer than my usual posts. A fact that I'm idiotically pleased with. Especially since my last post was annoying short and lacking of substance. *huggles and smirks* Hope you enjoyed reading it.))

[Gaenor Maydell]

Gaenor woke up to his owl tapping the headboard of his bed in the morning. Dragging his eye open Gaenor sighed and raised his arms to the owls. Heaven’s knew he didn’t want to have a room full of pissed and sleepy 7th year Slyths early in Saturday morning. Still laying in bed Kris removed the letter from his owls leg and shooed the owl away as he broke the seal to scan the contents of the letter expecting more news about business. Yet luck seemed to smile lightly at him finally over a long time as the news were good. Smiling at the note before folding it and slipping it into the drawer of the small bedside table next to his bed Gaenor rose and headed off to shower to prepare for the day. Pushing his spread fingers once through her hair after he had finished Gaenor dressed quickly into a pair of light-grey pants and a crisply white blouse and headed out of the room. Unlike Gaenor himself who enjoyed a bit of a sleep-in Lita was a morning person so perhaps Gaenor could find her somewhere. He had made a promise to her during their last meeting at Diagon and now he could most likely fulfil it, if Lita was still interested.

Gaenor wandered around the school, glancing into the Great Hall and the library and a few places his sleep-hazed brain thought Lita might be at before heading outside. Slipping into the gardens Gaenor grimaced as the glint of sunrays from one of the greenhouses attacked his eyes, but he found the person he had been looking for. Smiling lightly Gaenor made his way over, yawning widely on the way. A branch broke with a loud snap under his leg making Gaenor glance absent-mindedly towards the ground even as he walked on and crouched down next to Lita trying to stifle his yawn. “Morning, cub,” Gaenor muttered as he smiled at the girl. Looking up upon the sound of someone’s voice Gaenor raised a curious eye-brow at some 3rd year boy standing further away and looking at them. Whatever he was beginning to say had died away without ever being uttered and under Gaenor’s curious gaze he backed away before turning and leaving. Not understanding the boys motives as he watched him leave, Gaenor turned towards Lita to ask for an explanation. His words died as well as he searched Lita’s face, finding strange tension in her expression. Reaching out his hand Gaenor took hold of Lita’s chin and tilted her head slightly upwards as he searched her eyes.

Gaenor’s eyes narrowed threateningly as he saw and understood the fleeting sensation of fear in her eyes and his eyes flickered back towards the direction where the young boy had been, but he had already entered the castle again. “He was troubling you,” Gaenor said with a slight hiss. More of a statement than a question really as he made a mental note to locate the boy later on. He had seen him for long enough to be able to find him. “Maybe it’s a good thing I decided to wake at the incessant annoyance I call my owl or Elinor after all. Even if you really must understand that while pride is a good thing, you don’t always have the power to back your pride up against older students; especially not so Gryffindors our brother and I don’t have too much influence,” Gaenor mused quietly before moving swiftly and wrapping one of his arms around Lita’s waist and raising, the first year Ravenclaw tangling from his arm.

Twirling with a light smile gracing his features yet again Gaenor smiled fondly at the girl hanging onto him – or hanging from his arm if one wanted to be punctual – Gaenor smirked: “Don’t you know it’s unhealthy to sit on the ground anymore, especially so for a girl? You might get peri-oöporthis ((yes, I used dictionary)) or some other illness and we wouldn’t want that now, would we? But I didn’t really come looking for you to give you a lecture of different diseases. Kris bought a small manor at the outskirts of Hogsmeade and it has an 8-slot stable as the old woman who owned it previously is a fanatic of horses. And the letter that came for me this morning told me that Kael – my horse. A nice sandy stallion – reached the stable so, presuming you are still interested, we can one day sneak you out of school and you can borrow one of Kris’s horses and join me for a riding tour around the grounds near here?”

[Lita Hollows R6]

She was an idiot, Lita decided mournfully, sniffling pitifully. And what's worse, she was an idiot with absolutely terrible insults. Actually, she was going to be an injured idiot with terrible insults, Lita realised fearfully. Apparently the boy had chased after her. Deep fear clouded her eyes as the reality of the situation finally sank in. She had gotten away once, yes, but her attack had probably just made him even angrier. So she was faced with a potentially dangerous situation and had no one to back her up. Her eyes closed in what would seem like defeat, even as she was quickly thinking through a possible plan for getting far-far away from this idiot Gryff. Oh but what she wouldn't give for the presence of Adrian or Gaenor. Heck, she would even tolerate Alyssa if she would get rid of the pesky imbecile who seemed determined to harm her for something that he caused. Oh, the wonders of Lion-kids!

The sound of a branch snapping made Lita's gaze rise sharply, ready to launch herself back to her feet and start running if she had to. Her hands dropped to the floor, ready to push her body up at a moments notice, and Lita shifted position slightly, moving into the easiest position to sprint at a split-second warning. Her sharp brown-eyed gaze rested on the figure, her muscles relaxing ever so slightly as she recognised Gaenor. He wouldn't hurt her, Lita knew that. "Mia protezione," Lita muttered wryly, a gentle smile curving her lips. Learning entire languages wasn't high on her list of priorities quite yet, but she found it easy to pick up small phrases. And sometimes it was just plain easier to say things in a language other than English. Her morning had already been ruined, she wasn't going to ruin it anymore by answering questions as to why she considered Gaenor her protector. Even it was completely true, to her at least.

Lita didn't even try to fight against Gaenors hold on her chin, just gave in with a silent acceptance. She knew he would read the fear in her eyes, but hadn't she known that since she first recognized him? "It was my fault," Lita lowered her gaze to her hands, chipping at the nail polish on her thumb nervously, "I walked into him and, naturally, he wasn't very pleased. I probably didn't help anything by insulting him." Or rather, trying to insult him, as she had been too scared to think up a good insult. But Gaenor didn't need to know that. Lita snuggled into him childishly as he pulled them both to their feet, comforted by the reassuring warmth emanating from him. That Gryffindor had scared her more than she would like to admit, which was the only reason she would even attempt to seek comfort from her friend in this way. It was a weakness that Lita hated to show to anyone, except perhaps Adrian, but she couldn't help it.

"But I like sitting on the floor," Lita protested quietly, still too shaken to truly banter with even Gaenor. One thing was for sure, her brother had been right about Gryffindors. No matter how noble they were supposed to be, they never hesitated to attack a younger student. If Adrian brought up the idea of a protection guard again, then Lita would seriously think about it this time, not just reject it as a stupid idea. Independence was important, but not quite so important as staying uninjured. "But you'll get into trouble if you get caught, which you undoubtedly will." Lita shrugged lightly. "I miss horses, yes, but I've survived a whole summer without them, another year won't do me any harm." It was hard for her to turn down an opportunity to spend time with horses - especially as she had taken a liking to Carycyn, when she had ridden him at the wedding-that-wasn't-a-wedding - but this was Gaenors seventh year, an important year, and she wouldn't get him into trouble. Not for her sake.

((Mia protezione - my protector (which is what Lita saw Gaenor as at that moment). Italian.))

[Gaenor Maydell]

Gaenor smiled lightly at Lita who snuggled closer to him seeking protection. Maybe it was some reminisce of ancient instincts to seek protection from someone stronger. For Gaenor it was one of the best compliments Lita could pay him, where the lack of words spoke volumes more than any word could. “Protector. Now is that a rank higher than bodyguard or lower? Do tell me it’s higher to preserve the little of my ego you have still left in tact. Lie to me about it if you must,” Gaenor mused lightly as he gathered Lita into his arms and headed towards a near-by bench with measured steps as Lita wasn’t overly heavy really. Besides it was a new sensation for Gaenor as well as he smirked friendlily and almost lovingly down at the young girl in his arms, letting her seek comfort in him.

“He’s a Gryff. Doubt he would have understood a good insult anyway, appreciate it all the less. Which is exactly why I’ll meet up with him later and make sure he does understand it,” Gaenor commented calmly as he sat down on the bench and loosened his hold on Lita, so that the girl could move away should she so choose, “And while I personally prefer chairs to floors, that statement doesn’t have any foothold, because you were sitting on the ground – you know, the stuff under your feet when you’re outside? soil and dirt and all that stuff? – not on any floor.” Gaenor smiled fondly at Lita absent-mindedly twirling a strand of her hair around his finger before letting it go and watching how it hopped back into it’s place from where Gaenor picked it up again and repeated the whole motion.

“I’m an adult. Really now, what could be done to be if I’m caught?” Gaenor questioned curiously, “Do you really think I haven’t been in detention before? Or not be able to sneak away from one, with some help from our favourite prefect? Besides, that’s what Slyths are known for. Stealth, subtlety and cunning wit. Why on earth should I get caught? Or we get caught rather? It’s not like we were planning on riding the horses in the middle of Hogsmeade or strut here to show off before some professor. Or at least I didn’t. Who knows what goes on in this devious head of yours. Maybe you should come with an owners manual to make the lives of other people easier. And my offer stands. The horses are present, the riders are present – me, Kris and Cleo and least as Dana doesn’t care much for horse-back riding – so it’s your choice if you’ll come with us or not. And of course I can take you out on a private riding-trip as well. The choice is all yours, cub. But now tell me, what are your first impressions of our own slice of earthly paradise?” Gaenor gestured lightly with his hand to signify that with the paradise bit he meant the Hogwarts castle behind him.

[Lita Hollows R6]

"It's a higher rank," Lita nodded obediently, showing no signs of being the sarcastic, lively girl that Gaenor had first met. Both her pride and personality had been damaged, not to mention her elbows. Lita smiled ruefully, glancing at the small cut on her arm quickly as to not bring Gaenors attention to it. He was angry enough as it was, without Lita drawing attention to an injury. A slight smirk pulled at her lips as something occurred to her. At least Gaenor wouldn't be telling Adrian about this, since neither were really on speaking terms with the other. Adrian loved her, yes, and this proved to even Lita that she wasn't impervious to harm, but Adrian was just too overprotective. Almost stifling her in his attempts to keep her from harm. For a second, exasperation glinted in her dark eyes. It would be silly to say that she didn't need any protection - which was the only reason she hadn't said it - but Adrian needed to learn that she didn't need him hanging over her shoulder every second of every day. And he would either learn it himself or she would teach him. Obviously, him realising it himself would be a much less painful route than her teaching him.

Lita opened her mouth to protest before shutting it again and resting her head on Gaenors shoulder, not even considering moving away from the comfort and protection he offered. She had no doubts that the older Gryff would be hunted down anyway, no matter what protests she raised in his defense. And that was an interesting point. Lita's eyebrow rose slowly. Exactly why was she trying to save the idiot from her protector? "Floors, ground, chairs. They're all the same really. Somewhere to sit and contemplate the meaning of life. Or which flavour of ice-cream is the best," Lita added with a grin. Ice-cream couldn't fix everything, but it came pretty darn close. She might actually have to go through with her plan of attack with the squirrels, Lita mused silently, watching Gaenor playing with her hair in absent-minded amusement. If he was expecting it to curl then he would be disappointed. Only hours of work could get Litas hair to curl, especially since anyone coming near her hair with a wand was abruptly kicked in the shin and smacked over the head.

"Of course you haven't been in detention before," Lita widened her eyes innocently. Tilting her head slightly would complete her trademark look of innocence but it would be rather hard to do since her head was still resting on Gaenors shoulder and she couldn't be bothered to move. "That's just ruined my whole image of you," Lita shook her head with mock sadness. "Gaenor Maydell. No, Gaenor Byron Maydell - middle names are important, see - you have just shattered my beliefs. Not a hardworking, old, far too tall, never-even-heard-of-detention student, after all." Ahah. Lita smirked slightly in muted triumph. She had slipped two playful insults into her words. Now to see if her protector noticed them. Which he undoubtedly would, but never mind. "Stealth, subtlety and cunning wit. Oh, how misguided the whole Slytherin house is." Lita smiled lightly, trying to get back into her old rhythm of insults. Even if the Slyth house was all of that, and more. To her, they were what Gryffindors were to the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors of the wizarding world. Riding was a tempting choice, even if Lita wasn't quite sure what she thought of Kris and Cleo quite yet. "Earthly paradise?" Lita quirked her eyebrow in amusement before answering. "Far more peaceful than my house, that's for sure." And that was all that she could say. Lita grimaced slightly, knowing that there was no way she would tell Gaenor that she felt like she just didn't belong. He'd already seen her insecurity once today; to show him just how insecure she was twice in one day would be downright humiliating.

[Gaenor Maydell]

Gaenor smiled lightly as Lita obediently fulfilled his request even managing to keep a straight face while at it. Shifting himself lightly as he sunk a bit lower in the seat Gaenor offered a more comfortable headrest to Lita on his shoulder as he gazed calmly into the space, his eyes narrowed lightly. Gryffindor and by the looks of it 2nd to 4th year. Not younger, definitely not older. Finding him shouldn’t be a problem because Gaenor had had a good enough look at him. The question was about approaching him. What if he was smart and chose to hide behind a group of Gryffindor 7th years? Or hide in the Gryff common room? Gryffs were idiots and while they wouldn’t necessarily always protect their own, they just might find Gaenor a big enough threat for the whole bloody house to jump head-first into the fight. Hmm. Now that might prove to be a problem. If the guy wasn’t around at lunch Gaenor would ask if Dana had any favours to call in from any Gryffindors, because Dana owed him.

“Not really the same. Floor can be dusty. Ground and soil will most surely ruin your pants. While most chairs will leave you with dignity and still normal-looking clothes. Big differences there, you see. And ice-cream doesn’t need too much contemplation either. Strawberry ice-cream is the best of all times, anyway. Even if I wish someone would discover how to make strawberry ice-cream green or blue or basically any other colours besides pink. But the pink tone of the sweet doesn’t even ruin the taste,” Gaenor pointed out with a quirk of his lips enjoying the light bickering. Actually couldn’t even be called bickering yet, but rather an exchange of opinions. Gaenor chuckled at Lita’s words as she talked about her image of him. “Don’t you know, cub, that good boys are supposed to be boring? It’s the bad boys you have fun with and enjoy and bad boys with some good mannerism deep inside or the ability to pretend to be nice that you one day take home to your parents to approve before you marry him. And you just love throwing my age into my face, don’t you?”

“Are we?” Gaenor asked calmly with a light smirk. Was the Slytherin house misguided? Hardly. Slytherins were the only ones who could have people running away form them as if they were chased by demons with just one pleasant smile, not to mention frowns. If a Slytherin didn’t want to tell you something, then you weren’t getting it out of him or her, because Slyths could twist around one topic up to no end. Yet their stealth and other such qualities were often underestimated, just because it worked for Slyths – it kept people form knowing just how good they were and because of it they always played for victory or keeps. They used their skills to hide the very same skills. A circle of defense – or offence if you wished to put it that way – that was nearly impossible to break. Gaenor did the same as he merely smiled and chose to not say anything more. “My house is quieter really. A safe-haven fro me to retreat to when life outside gets too hard to rest and recharge my nerves. But I must admit that I’ve grown quite fond of Hogwarts, despite the mistakes it has and there are more than few in my opinion. Boarding school as second home I could accept. Professors as second mothers I couldn’t. Minnie as my mother. Dear lords, I’m going to have nightmares,” Gaenor muttered with a wry grimace as she tried to picture McGonagall tucking him in at night in the Slytherin dorms before deciding that the image was more disturbing than he could handle.

[Lita Hollows R6]

Lita accepted the more comfortable position gratefully, mumbling a quiet thanks into Gaenors shoulder but not specifying exactly what she was thanking him for. For saving her, for being her friend, for being a comfortable seat, for caring enough to step in and help her. Could be any, and possibly all. Actually, probably all so it wasn't even really worth the small amount of thought she had put into considering the matter. All in all, Lita decided with amusement, a waste of time to think about any part of the rubbish that had just distracted her. "Just don't get yourself into trouble over an idiotic Gryff." A small, gentle order that was the closest Lita would ever verbally come to accepting that Gaenor would hunt the Gryffindor down. She was weak now, Lita admitted silently, but she would change that. Never again would she be forced to cower behind someone until the danger went away. Being so weak was perhaps one of the most humiliating things in the world.

"But I enjoy sitting on the floor. It's comfortable." Lita stuck to her opinion stubbornly, her slowly-growing smile faltering and fading as she noticed the group of girls looking at her and Gaenor oddly and whispering to each other. Her right hand - since her left side was leaning against Gaenor - fisted in his white shirt for a moment before Lita forced herself to relax. Those girls weren't necessarily friends of the Gryffindor. It was quite possible that the girls were merely curious about the fairly strange sight of a first year seeking comfort and protection from a seventh year Slytherin. "Your loyal fanclub who will behead me for daring to come near the object of their obsession?" Lita inquired lightly, tilting her head toward the group pointedly. "Strawberry ice-cream is good, though not perhaps my favourite flavour. Mint is the best, but strawberry could come second. With chocolate reserved for bad days." Though chocolate could occasionally be enjoyed on good days, even if Lita preferred to save it until she was having a bad day. Which reminded her that she had to convince Adrian to show her the kitchens, just in case she needed some ice-cream. "It's not my fault that you're too old and too tall."

"Its not so much that the Slytherin house is misguided. It's more everyone else being misguided, I think." Lita started slowly, thinking her words through before saying anything more. "I'm not quite sure why people seem to dislike the Slytherin house so much, nor do I understand it. I mean, the situation with that Gryffindor, for example. From what I've gathered, most students would expect Slytherin to be mean and the Gryffindor to be the protector. And I do wonder how people can be so blind as to think that the Gryffindors are all noble, courageous and the best of the four houses. Slytherins are cunning, Ravenclaws are smart, Hufflepuffs are loyal, but what do Gryffindors have in their favour? They're supposed to be brave and noble but they'renot. One Gryffindor who was supposed to save the wizarding world and suddenly most of the house has a big ego." Lita rolled her eyes, her attitude completely and utterly scathing toward the Gryffindor house. Maybe having a Slytherin brother wasn't the best way to remain impartial toward the Lion house but Lita had tried to be and had still been disappointed by them. "Your nightmares are your own fault," Lita grinned. "If you just had to put that image into my mind, then you can live with it yourself." And it really was a horrible theory to live with, Lita grimaced. One Professor as a mother, another as a father and the rest as adoring aunts and uncles. And the ghosts as cousins!

[Gaenor Maydell]

Gaenor glaned out of the corner of his eyes towards Lita, but as her head was resting on his shoulder he didn’t see much other than a mass of hair. It seemed almost as if the quietly mumbled thanks was something she needed to do but as no explanation followed after a moment, Gaenor decided to let it be. Turning his head slightly Gaenor dropped a kiss on top of Lita’s head but not responding verbally. What could he say? That he enjoyed being around Lita more than he had ever considered it possible to enjoy someone else’s company? That didn’t sound exactly right not even in his head. “I shan’t,” Gaenor responded with some cockiness in response to Lita’s soft order before letting that subject drop too. He was going to hunt out the Gryffindor and hurt him, no matter what Lita might say or do about it. Lita could fight her own battles, but why should she if she didn’t have to?

Feeling the fabric of his blouse tightening Gaenor glanced down at Lita’s fist grasping it tightly before following the girls eyes towards a bunch of younger girls a moment before Lita pointed his attention towards them. Gaenor blinked and eyed the girls a bit more thoroughly, faintly recognizing them as a mixture of Huflfepuffs and Gryffindors. “And I thought that the only SLytherins with fanclubs were Malfoy, Zabini and Kris. Why, I’d be honoured to share such honour with them,” Gaenor commented with a light smirk before he cocked his head lightly leaning his cheek on Lita’s hair, “Hmm. Only the Slytherin boys with tempers have followers while none of the girls do. Quite curious. Must be that widely-spoken of ‘bad boy charm’.” Gaenor hadn’t averted his eyes from the group of girls even as he spoke and he noticed that the girls were starting to shift a bit uncomfortably as they seemed to be arguing quietly over something. Most likely trying to decide whether to leave or approach them, even if Gaenor couldn’t possibly imagine why they would want to approach them.

“What is it with everyone loving mint ice-cream and I have never even tasted it?” Gaenor complained playfully averting his eyes from the girls and mock-scowling towards Lita, “Next time you plan on having mint ice-cream I insited on my being invited along.” Laughing at Lita’s comment about Gaenor being too old and to tall – was she still on the world being too large thing? – Gaenor merely shook his head. He turned his head and followed some thestralas flying over the lake with his eyes. He had been old enough and his participance in the war had been demanded. He had seen death, even if he had never killed himself. A lot of people – old, adults, children the same – had seen death, had even felt it walk next to them. “Slytherins give their all to protect what’s theirs. It’s a dedication, willingness to throw up everything for this one thing that scares people perhaps. It’s not easy to understand,” Gaenor rubbed small circles on Lit’as back absently, “And there are Gryffindors who throw themselves head first into danger as well. So it’s not the courage they lack really, it’s the knowledge of how to use it. And I now it’s going to be a nightmare. I’m going to need so much counseling now.”

[Lita Hollows R6]

Lita felt a slight pressure on her head, so slight that she would never have noticed it unless her senses were still on guard, but only pondered the cause for barely a second before shrugging it off and forgetting about it. It wasn't like she would come to any harm with Gaenor there. It was odd for her to trust him so easily - especially when he had warned her that she shouldn't - but she felt none of the wariness that cropped up whenever Kris or Cleo, for example, came near her. Even Dana hadn't been trusted quite so easily as Gaenor although, admittedly, Lita had trusted Dana quicker than she could trust the Graas'. It was odd but understandable, really, since Lita hadn't spent much, if any, time with Cleo or Kris and they didn't seem interested in her either. She wasn't stupid enough the think that she would've gotten even a second glance from them if she didn't have Gaenor as a friend. Not that it mattered. Gaenor was her friend because of who he was, not the contacts he had. Politics were for Adrian and her father; fun was for her.

"Never met Zabini nor Malfoy, so I can't comment on their fanclub, but I'm pretty sure I saw a group of girls stalking Kris." Lita grinned cheerfully, neglecting to mention that she and a few friends had then kept in the shadows in order to see just how long the girls would stalk Kris for. Unsurprisingly, they had scattered when close to the dungeons. Lita couldn't understand why some people found the dungeons intimidating but, when brought up in the dorm, a red-head had snickered and informed her that of course she wouldn't, not with the protection of two Slytherins - three if one counted Adrienne, Lita guessed. Of course, that short answer hadn't been enough for her inquisitive mind, which was why Lita brought up the subject now. "Why are some students afraid of the dungeons?" Lita's eyebrow quirked curiously as she shifted slightly to face Gaenor. "It can't just be because Slytherins sleep there, because they are not scary."

"Ah, see, girls don't have fanclubs because you will never meet a boy with enough patience to stalk someone all day and still retain interest in that girl. Girls, however, can stalk a boy all day and still love him at the end of it." Which was, honestly, quite disturbing. Girls who thought that stalking a boy would make him like them were obviously quite delusional, to Lita's mind. "Dedication shouldn't scare people - unless it was the person who was at the receiving end of the dedication, as it would be quite scary to know that someone would risk everyone for you. Though Snape isn't exactly the best person to strike love into everyones hearts," Lita commented dryly, shivering slightly as she remembered the first time she had seen the Potions Professor stalking down the hallway. Awe-inspiring and slightly terrifying, yes, but certainly not the type of person to inspire love and adoration. "I wonder what Snapes fanclub would look like," Lita mused absently, snickering at the thought of mini-female-Snapes trying to make their robes swirl around them like the Professors did.

[Gaenor Maydell]

“I wouldn’t really recommend seeking Malfoy and Zabini up either really, unless you want to be pull in as a small wheel in Slytherin power-games,” Gaenor commented quite calmly, not adding that Lita might most likely be used as a leverage to manipulate Adrian. Lita herself was perhaps a bit too young for her small influence to interest the Slytherins otherwise, “I feel almost sorry about Kris’s stalkers though. Or maybe past tense would be a bit more correct. Don’t they know by know that Cleo is almost as dangerous as Kris is?” Gaenor chuckled shaking his head lightly. He loved his friends, but they were a perfect match in more than one way. Someone with less of a temperament would be suffocated and forced down in a relationship with the other. Seeing their courtship dance of curses and hexes, however loving those might have been, Gaenor sometimes wondered what had been the last thing to push the two to get past their differences and become friends and by now husbands. Sometimes even made him wonder which woman would influence his own life that way one day?Or maybe it was best to shake these thoughts as Lita had spoken.

Gaenor snapped back to attention, catching Lita’s last words about something not being scary because Slytherins sleep there. That phrase was easily connected with dungeons and Gaenor shrugged. “Personally, I’m quite happy with dungeons being off-boundaries for most other students but Slytherins by some unwritten verdict. I don’t know what makes them scary. That you can get lost there and stay lost in them unless you know the way? That it’s dark and that there are Slytherins around with some random hexes here and there if you get too close to the private sanctuaries of Slytherins? I admit that it does get a bit chilly and dreary down there in winter, but I’ll pull on an extra sweater and I feel quite comfortable there.” Lita’s words about stalkers made Gaenor laugh yet again: “Well, you know what they say. There are two theories about arguing with women and neither of them works. So if that already doesn’t work then you can’t really expect me to be able to fathom how or why some girls would still love a chap after seeing all his bad habits after a day of stalking.” Grinning a bit wickedly at the girl in his lap Gaenor briefly wondered if he’d be swatted or not.

“Ah, now that question I can answer. If you want to see who would join Snape’s fanclub look at Dana. She is shockingly fond of ‘Sevvy’ as she tends to call him outside class,” Gaenor remarked with amusement twinkling in his eyes, as he absently let his hands fall a bit lower so he could tickle Lita’s sides, “She part of the group whose Truth and Dare games are known over the school. And Dana has quite often been dared to do something with Snape. I think Dana has hugged him, openly read love-poems to him - I even have a photo of that bit, kissed him once as well I think. I would almost suggest you to make sure Snape’s free to escape if you see Dana approaching him in the middle of some hallway with no evident reason the next time. Dan has even said once that if she would have to marry someone in Hogwarts the following day, she'd pick Snape. Is that enough for you to imagine my Head of House's fanclub?”

[Lita Hollows R6]

"Like I'm important enough to be used in Slytherins petty little power games," Lita snorted derisively. She was eleven, not stupid. Children held absolutely no power, and she was still a child. The only power she had was the power to manipulate Adrian and twist Gaenor around her little finger. "Besides which, Zabini and Malfoy graduated last year. The only reason Slytherins would involve me is if they wanted something from Adrian, or perhaps you. Considering that you're one of the oldest Slytherins, that only leaves Adrian and he only dabbles in the power-play. Not to mention that he often reacts in the opposite way than people expect him to." Lita tilted her head, her confusion obvious. "I've been down to the dungeons plenty of times and I've never been hexed, cursed nor threatened. Do Slyths have a list of people who are permitted to enter their dungeons or something?" Lita demanded, honestly curious. Until now, she had never wondered why she was able to walk straight to the Slytherin common room without being hexed, but now she wanted to know.

Lita smiled wisely, some deep-buried instinct giving her the answer to his question. "Love - or obsession - notices all the faults and the bad habits, but they fade in comparison to the traits the girl loves about him. Thats why friendship can turn to love so easily. As friends, they've already noticed all the bad habits and the faults but love comes from seeing all sides of the persons soul." Lita flushed and looked down, suddenly embarrassed by her words. For a girl who had never fallen in love, or even had a crush on anybody, she sure sounded like she loved someone. Not for the first time, Lita was glad that her hair naturally fell to curtain her face when she ducked her head, forbidding Gaenor to see her embarrassment.

"I can't believe that someone would like Snape so much," Lita shook her head in disbelief. "I respect him and think he's a good teacher who certainly knows his subject and feels a passion for it, but he's simply not attractive in any way." Lita wasn't sure if she was amused or horrified by even the thought of Dana - witty Dana who had made her feel confident that it would all turn out okay no matter what house she was in and who had stopped Adrian reciting the values of the Snake house - kissing the potions master. Lita turned to face Gaenor, her arms crossed stubbornly. "Why don't you date her? She's pretty and you get on well with her. It's a perfect solution and Snape might not be so uptight if he didn't have Dana pursuing him all the time."

[Gaenor Maydell]

“Everything and everyone could be used in the power-games. And they aren’t always petty,” Gaenor paused for a moment, trying to figure out a way to word it better. So many people thought that SLytherins were manipulative, suspicious and perhaps even a tad paranoid and all that really was true. But that was only one side of the matter. In Slytherin you’ll make true friends. And it was true. You made friends
who never questioned or judged. But such a blessing came with a heavy price. Ergo came forth the power-plays. Luckily Lita didn’t seem to wish a long musin on the topic and Gaenor found himself smirking. Witty and bright as she was, Lita was still innocent in many ways. “I suppose you could call it a list. But actually it’s much more sophisticated than that. Look closely at Dana sometime when she goes out to patrol the dungeons. She always has a pin of a snake attached to the front of the robe or a braclet in the shape of an attacking cobra. Cleo has an identical pin, bracelet, necklace and earrings as well as a regular ring. I’m sure Adrian gave you something similar to it as well. When Dana wears the pin it’s as good as a promise of harsh retribution from Kris should Dana be disturbed in any way. So knowing and respecting and fearing Kris, the other Slytherins give Dana the space she wishes. Not that she actually needs the pin, as she’s known well-enough even without it.” Gaenor peered at Lita thoughtfully, wondering what she would think of it. She might rebel against the idea of such protection. But at the same time she might just decided it was funny and use it for her own advantage. Gaenor was quite sure Lita would have picked up on this sooner or later on her own anyway.

Gaenor blinked. And then blinked again letting Lita’s words about love pass through his mind once again. For an 11-year old speaking of love they were… Poetic and shockingly wise. “So you’re saying that in order to love you must place your faith in someone else to care for you better than you would care for yourself?” Gaenor slowly prompted before shaking his head, “Don’t grow up so fast, cub. Or you’ll be so wise and soon before I can blink that I’ll need an user’s manual just to keep up with you.” Lit seemed embarrassed enough by her own words as was evident by the red tips of her ears. And she had used her hair to hide behind again. So Gaenor decided to take it easy and drop the subject, simply saying a neutral: “Snape is an interesting character.”

“Me and Dana?” Gaenor croaked in surprise as he glanced back at the school, then around, before slouching slightly more and dropping his head back as he tried to find some words. HE opened his mouth twice to start speaking but wasn’t able to find his voice. “It’s… just that… it simply wouldn’t be right?”Raising his head again Ganeor narrowed his eyes actually taking time to think over Lita’s suggestion as he looked into Lita’s eyes without really seeing the girl. “True. Dana is a pretty and she knows how to bring out the best of her features. She takes care of herself and her confidence is part of her attractiveness. And she’s smart and we’re friends. It’s easy to laugh and work with her. We’d lead a content, amiable life together. But it would lack a spark, emotion bigger than friendship. Passion that makes you care so much you’ll fight over the smallest details only to sulk afterwards until you’ve had a chance to make up again. And I don’t want to deny myself – nor Dana either – that spark. Besides it would be almost like… hmmm. Let me use an example. That cousin of yours at the stables you so love. It would be the same as you one day went up to that cousin and fell in love with him. Me and Dana it just… wouldn’t.” Gaenor peered a bit helplessly into Lit’as eyes wondering if the younger girl got anything out of his ramble, “You’re the love-poetess as you proved a moment ago. You put this non-romantic love into pretty words.”

[Lita Hollows R6]

"You sound like Adrian," Lita shook her head in disgust. "He also places a lot in the power-plays whenever he gets bored enough to participate. All it is are silly little boys and girls playing with their family names in a hope to raise up fake respect for themselves. Respect doesn't come from a family name; that's just awe and a vague sense of caution." Lita shrugged, gazing out to the lake contemplatively. "I love my Slytherin friends and my life would be so much more boring without them, but I have to wonder how much of their friendship is just part of another game of power, investing their energy in me for a few years until I get old enough to truly matter in such games." It was a hurtful thought, but it made a lot of sense. After all, she had been raised among such games, watched her father, and later Adrian, navigate their way through such games with shocking ease. But it had been so much easier when she was younger. Her father had kept an eye out for her and warned her just which of her friends were also caught up in a power play they knew nothing about yet; something she knew he had never done for Adrian. Her father truly didn't make sense sometimes. Wasn't it natural to wish for a boy heir who would inherit everything from him, including knowledge? Even at a younger age than she was now, Lita had been aware that her father paid ridiculously little attention to Adrian, especially when it was considered that he would inherit the majority of the family. Part of it stemmed from the fact that Adrian was a Slytherin, but it had started before that and, more and more, Lita wanted to know why.

"Ah." Lita smiled uneasily at the topic of the snake jewelery. She had known there was a reason deeper than cuteness when Adrian had given her that ring but hadn't been aware of what that reason was. "He did give me a ring," Lita confirmed, tugging at her hair uneasily. It wasn't a lie, since he had given her it the week before they left for Hogwarts but if anyone looked closely at the silver ring on her hand now, she'd definitely have to lie because it certainly wasn't a snake. The ring could pass as a snake ring if no one looked closely enough, which, fortunately, no one had yet. After all, how could she say that her father had seen her looking at it, had obviously recognised it for what it was and ordered a house-elf to dispose of it immediately? She hadn't told Adrian because she figured that a flash of silver on her hand would convince him that she was wearing the ring, and she could buy a replica of the original ring over the summer. For a Slytherin, her brother was ridiculously easy to fool. Though, now she knew exactly what the ring did - or would do, if she were still wearing it - Lita was even more determined to find out her fathers reasoning for hating Slytherins. And to the extent where it could harm her, if she were found wandering around the dungeons with a fake ring. It was a clever way of identification, although obviously not foolproof.

"Something like that," Lita nodded confirmation to his interpretation of her words. Lita tilted her head back to look up at the sky, staring at the clouds thoughtfully but not really seeing anything. "When I was four, I asked my father why he married my mother. I think I was expecting him to say that he loved her and call me silly for even asking, but he said it was a good match and that he was fond of her. Essentially he married her for money and prestige; because the merging of their families would bring more wealth and power. Then I asked him what love was and he looked at me like I was insane before starting to laugh quietly and then he patted me on the head and sent me away. I didn't even have to ask Mother if she loved Father, because I know the answer would be yes. She makes it clear with the way she dotes on him, acting practically like a servant, just to get him to pay attention to her. She doesn't seem to care that he never notices her existence beyond what her family can give him. For the longest time, I thought that was love, a one-sided emotion that brought nothing to a soul except heart-ache and heart-break." Lita lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Eventually, I formed my own view on love, twisting it to make it what I thought it should be. I was only satisfied when I decided that it was a lot better than what my mother and father called love."

From there, it was easy to end her argument, even with Gaenors counter-argument raising a few good points. "Isn't a content, amiable life better than such a one-sided love?" Lita pointed out gently. "And that spark of passion may never appear, so is it alright to end your family line and back yourself into a lonely life as a single man just because you continue to hold out hopes for a spark that might not even exist?" Lita arched an eyebrow. "My cousin? I can barely tolerate him, despite my admiration of his skills as a horseman. He resents me for something that happened when I was too young to have any say in the matter and I dislike him for resenting me over something so petty, especially when I've let him carry on the life he leads." Lita frowned darkly. Sometimes she was so tempted to force him into another way of life but she had promised herself to not make any decisions until she turned fifteen and could understand her situation clearly.