Bumpy Delivery of Letters PV Piérre M. Closed

@Katrina Walker
Aha... you figured me out...

Reducio

Rolled a d4 to Determine House Color for the Day:
1- Hufflepuff
2- Ravenclaw
3- Gryffindor
4- Slytherin
Number Rolled: 3 (I rolled three times in a row and all were threes, I have no excuse XD)
Gryffindor

Piérre was back from Christmas break, having spent a lovely Christmas and new year with his brother, Romeo. It had been killing him to stay away from his twin for so long, and truth be told, any longer and he probably would have gone mad. Truth be told, the Potter case had been eating at him the while time, and he had actually dedicated some time with Romeo to further what they knew on the situation, just so that he could feel better about the standing of himself and his house. Romeo too, though he never showed much more than a faint smile or a small jest, was also deeply concerned and involved in the matter, for even though he was now a Liberalis of Durmstrang, he had once been a Gryffindor of Hogwarts, and blood runs deeper than water.

The older twin of the two was now toting his satchel around, dressed in red to support his house, The house that had won the house cup now for three months and finished off the end of 2019 a winner. The news of Potter's framing, however, seemed to have dampened the house's spirits quite a bit, and surprisingly Slytherin was a close second to the unsurprising dominance of Ravenclaw, which, by nature, were renowned for mental prowess and general 'good behavior'.

Reducio

But there was, of course the dhampire boy Piérre had heard so much about, the one he had stood up against another, older, taller, quite possibly popular, girl for. He hadn't run into her since then, and truth be told, he wouldn't have remembered her if he did see her, for she had worn a mask, just as he had hidden his own identity with a now shattered Italian Masque.

Alas, although there was a meeting set up for Gryffindors to debate the issue that he was currently fretting himself about, there was nothing he could do except continue in his classes, learn spells, and develop way he could either help or carve his own path when at last it was time for him to make it on his own. It was impossible to think about. He hardly knew what he was going to do next week, let alone what he was going to do with his adult life in less than seven years. All he knew was that if he even wanted a chance to pursue his ambitions and dreams, he would have to do well in all his classes, even Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was his worst class as of now.

Swinging about a corner far too sharply, Piérre impacted with someone, and he tumbled to the ground, a little more than dazed before scrambling to his feet and attempting to pick up a few books which had fallen out of his bag. "Aw, jeez, I'm so sorry, took a corner too quick... keep forgetting that cars drive on the left side in England... or Scotland... or... something or other..." After stammering incoherently, Piérre bent down to pick up any books that other person could have dropped, but stopped short when he spotted her eyes and got a better look at her face.

"Katrina?!" Piérre shook his head, his stomach dropping as he recognized the girl who had dumped tea on him on accident at the Gryffindor tea party. She had been kind and quaint... and had been able to share something with him that he had connected to on more than one level. It was a sort of bond between them, though they had only met on one occasion. Piérre never really felt connections with people easily, testament to him being a joker who would jump in, spit out a witty phrase, leave, and then hide from the consequences of those who didn't like or didn't agree with what he said. "Oh man, oh jeez, oh... bullocks." Piérre rambled again, spinning in a circle as he attempted to think of a way to remedy the situation. He then realized that the best thing to do in that moment was to help her up. He did so, offering a hand and pulling her to her feet.

To his surprise, Kat told him that she was really pleased to see him again, and somehow that calmed the boy's nerves. "Oh, haha! Nice to see you too! Life been treating you okay? Go anywhere fun for Break?" He asked, returning to his jaunty disposition now that he knew that he was with a friend and fellow Gryffindor.

Katrina's Christmas contained a bit of mischief herself. She had returned to London, but instead of meeting her family like most students, she went undercover. She spent her time in the Leaky Cauldron and the stores inside and outside the hidden place. She had bought the present for her Secret Santa and presents for a few key friends she had. She had also spent the time addressing letters to people that had been there for her in difficult times. She had spent the break with a lot of self-reflection and the decision to become more involved with the people around her.

Katrina noted Pierre's choice of robes first. The common red and gold stripes of his actual house told him as Gryffindor. She wondered how he chose day to day, was it chance or was it based on feeling. Three months in a row was a bit to stand for. Katrina had done little to get her house points so far and was planning on doing an errand for one of the Professors later that month anyway.

The masked ball had done a lot to everybody. Katrina stood taller, but her face was more lined- and, if anything- looked older and more mature. The ball had been her opening point. From a closed off, timid girl; to one that was open-minded, more out-there, and positive. She was even seriously debating dying a lock of her auburn hair, but that was a debate for another time.

It was funny to bump into Piérre again. He seemed a bit out of it and acted more like Katrina had the first time. He was apologetic and mumbling. He stammered about England or Scotland, to which Katrina cocked one eyebrow in amusement. He groped for any dropped books, but there were none as she had only been holding the letters, instead he picked up one. The cover read 'Saskia Nicholson'.

Piérre had been funny. One of the boys that always has the perfect comeback and knew how to make anyone smile. Although those people tended to be quite superficial, Piérre had proven to be capable of emotions too. The dup had fond common ground in the complexity of their families. Piérre with an adopted brother and Katrina with the losing of her parents. He had been the first one not to judge and to be kind to her in one of her tough spots.

"Oh, haha! Nice to see you too! Life been treating you okay? Go anywhere fun for Break?" he seemed to regain his personality quickly. "Ya, besides the politics drama and lack of sleep. I went to the Leaky Cauldron for break. I spent a bit of time reflecting." It was odd being so open to someone immediately. "And you?"

Her eyes caught the letter in his hand. "And no stealing mail! That one's not for you." she winked before finding his letter. "This one is yours... this too" she handed him one of the candy canes with a wink.

@Katrina Walker Sorry! Wanted to get some Writer’s Juice in me!

”Oh, well, I went back to London and got to say hi to my twin. He’s doing really well in Durmstrang you know, an all O student, no surprise... Maddie and the rest of us had a cool Christmas dinner, and Romeo and I played video games until three in the morning the night before... so... it was a win all in all.” He offered a small smile which slowly turned into a small smirk as he noticed Kat’s attention to the letter in his hand.

Being a good deal taller than her (3 inches, in fact...), Piérre put a hand up to defend himself as he hoisted the letter high above his head, laughing as Kat snatched for it. However, Piérre wasn’t the mean-spirited type, and he let down his guard after about five seconds of laughing his head off.

Piérre grinned impishly as Kat snatched the letter form his hand, having read the back of it with a mischievous urge ‘Saskia Nicholson’. With a tiny grin which caused his eyes to light, he clasped his hands over his nose and mouth, stifling a giggle as if he was being scolded. ”Tee-hee... Sorry, couldn’t resist!”

Kat handed him his own letter and a peppermint candy cane, and immediately, Piérre’s eyes glowed bright enough to light event he darkest room. Candy... and peppermint at that! Piérre happened to know that peppermint was a renowned aroma to stimulate concentration and was also a very good form of direct sugar intake. ”Wow! Thanks so much! I’ll read it right away, and I’ll save the candy cane for later... in case I have problems studying!” Piérre suddenly realized that he didn’t really have anything else in exchange, and he felt his face flush. What an arse he was, accepting gifts from others and not giving any in return... that was just greedy.

”I just wish I could give you something in return...” He mumbled, feeling around his chest and pant pockets, flipping the collar of his shirt up in an attempt to find anything of even the smallest value to give to his friend in return...

After a few seconds of digging around in his pocket, he cracked a small joke, withdrawing a large clump of unknown grey and black string and wool. Keeping a hand around it as if he were presenting a prize in a gameshow, Piérre wiggled his fingers for a second as he announced in a low, thickly (and poorly done) British accent. ”Ladies and Gentlemen, feast your eyes upon the grandest of all fluffs, the greatest of all the sheeps in Iceland, and the... um... coarsest of all threads, I proudly present to you, winner of the... Red Gryffin gift exchange... A ball of gen-u-ine Piérre Pocket fluff!” He whipped his hand away to reveal the sad blob of black and peppered white he held in two fingers. ”May I direct you to take note of the darkness of the black wool? The darkest of all the Icelandic sheeps! The white snowlike quality of the white thread, kept preserved in the deepest part of an Italian child’s unvisited pants pocket! He doesn’t keep anything in there, how does it even form?!” Breaking character for a second, Piérre looked at the ball in confusion. ”How does it even form...?”

Musing over it for a second, Piérre immediately snapped back into his gameshow host impersonation. ”Madam Walker, you are today’s lucky winner and the proud owner of this luxurious ball of fluff! Do with it as you will, but there are noooooooo refunds!” Offering an award-winning smile, Piérre presented the ball to Kat. What she wanted to do with it, he had no clue, chances were she would just throw it away, but hey, at least he had made an effort. Through clenched teeth, Piérre added. ”I don’t really have anything else of value on me... if you wanna rob me, that’s okay too... gotta pay those tuition fees... Murry Birthmus!”

Katrina smiled as he recounted his break. It seemed like a nice family dinner. Her smile widened with congratulations as Piérre mentioned his twin getting all O's. It was certainly a title to be respected. A small jealous part of her wished that she could say the same, but instead she decided to put on a happy face. She was giving presents after all.

The lioness smirked as he laughed with no restrain at her attempts to regain possession of Saskia's letter. Her fellow Gryffindor's eyes lit up and he acted like a little child. As much as Kat tried not to give in, a broad smile plastered itself on her face. He certainly knew how to make her smile.

As she handed him the candy cane, Piérre smiled even wider. It was almost as if this was his first time being given a candy cane. The 'child in a candy store' phrase came to mind. He began to gush about how great it was and Kat wondered what he would have done if she had bought him a larger gift. She certainly had thought about it, but never found anything that he seemed to have liked.

Refocusing on the conversation she realized that Piérre was wearing the, now normal, face of 'but I don't have anything to give back'. Each person she had gifted so far had done the same thing. Yet, she didn't let it bring her down. She was just as happy giving presents as receiving them. It was something she wished were easier to put to words.

Piérre randomly began to check his pockets. For a split-second the 12-year-old wondered if he had forgotten something for one of his classes. At last, having found it, he kept it hidden behind his hand. Katrina felt a large production forming and the smirk fell upon her face again. In a grand, British, game-show voice he announced his product. Katrina hid a smile behind her hand and play-acted along.

"Oh, dear, what willlll it be?" she rose her tone to her best attempt at a preppy boarding-school cheerleader voice. As Piérre lifted his hands, she saw a lint ball of white and black posed in his fingers. Unable to withhold herself, the Gryff burst into laughter. He continued and she held the giggles back to listen to what he was saying. He continued (with surprising accuracy) to describe it in all of its furry glory. He presented Katrina with the gift and she took it gingerly in her fingers. "And this folks, is 100% percent reliable wool made of-- springy-- fluffy-- sheep? Coats? Fur?" she trailed off loosing herself to laughter once more.

He finished with a finale and Katrina nodded along. He clenched his teeth and admitted that he had nothing else of value on him.

Grinning she responded, "No worries, I will treasure this-- lint ball?-- with my life. I now name it…. Furretta. It will live in my satchel and help me take notes during class and study with me. I will clean it's-- fur?-- nightly and give it a tissue on which to sleep upon. It will be my guardian-- fluff?" She surprised herself with the longitude of staying in character before she burst into laughter once more.

@Katrina Walker

Nothing was more welcome in Piérre’s ears than the sound of laughter, and the sort that laughed with him, not cruelly at him. Katrina’s laughter was a silver melody in his ears, and hearing all the funny ideas that Katrina said that she would do with the ball of lint, and Piérre nearly smiled so wide that he began to cry. It felt so good to be acknowledged in a good way. He didn’t think he would have any friends in his corner at a school of magic and personalities which were as diverse as the human race itself, but here he was, laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.

Katrina had seemed so closed off when he had first met her, but looking at her now, Piérre would have never believed that she was quiet or antisocial at all.

After laughing for a while, Piérre finally pulled it together enough to ask her one more question. ”Hey, you got a few more letters to hand out. Mind if I walk with you for a bit while I give you advice on how to properly care for Furreta? I’m a professional as it happens.” Piérre nodded to the fluffball before trotting backwards a little further down the hallway, smile wide.

If Katrina came with him, he would continue to joke with her and offer small tidbits of advice for lint care, how to find or make it new friends (by satchel, pocket, or coat), their personalities and characteristics (sheep wool tended to be a bit more clingy, thread could become unraveled if unkempt, and any kind of lint ball with Velcro did not mix), and the best way to make sure you didn’t lose them.

If she was too busy, Piérre would bid her farewell and go on his way, opening the letter when alone and then smiling his head off as he placed the letter in with his belongings.

Piérre leaves thread

Katrina ginned foolishly while he offered his expertise on lint-balls. "I would love more guidance." Katrina caught up to him and stayed in stride. "So, I know that they enjoy dark spaces, so I was thinking about keeping her in my backpack. And what do you think about food and proper nutrition? Should I go with the all-organic Fluff-food, or let her fend for herself..." Katrina trailed off about setting and amount of sleep, about how many calories per day, and proper exercise.

Pierre was the only student here that put Katrina at ease. Sure, she had met a lot of people, but none were so easy to talk to. Bridget was nice but a somewhat worrisome companion, they could have great adventures but trust sometimes seemed a little too far away. Then there was Allyssa who was nice, but they hadn't even talked in months. Finally there was Thora, they were close until Katrina messed that all up. She never spoke to anyone else.

Then there was Pierre. He was funny and relatable. No matter what was on her mind, he could put a smile on her face. Always the jokester, but he also had a sensitive side. Katrina smiled.

"So, what about friends? Are there types of lint balls to avoid? Also, how should I keep track of her? Is a leach too much?" A playful smile danced on he lips as they walked away.

Katrina Walker Leaves Thread