In Pursuit of a Hand pv finished

Zephyr couldn’t agree more at the talk about siblings. “Siblings are like that, in general. My sister never stops talking, so I get it.” He’d never had a brother so he couldn’t tell how fun would it be to have one.

His question was the cause of her reddened cheeks and Zephyr knew he possibly crossed an invisible line for going too far with his statement. He shouldn’t have said it if it meant embarrassing her but she surprised him by responding that she was a part veela on her mother side. His brain completely blanked.

He frowned while trying to place the word, and came up with nothing. “Veela?” There was uncertainty in his voice when he said it. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that one before. Sorry.” For a moment, he worried he had done something wrong without realizing it. Being new to the magical world meant he was one step away from looking stupid. He shifted on the grass and rubbed his thumb against the edge of his notebook.

Though his curiosity was obvious on his face and he couldn’t let it go. “Does that mean you’re not human? Or part human? Or something else?” He winced at how that sounded even to him. “That probably sounded dumb. I just really don’t know.” He glanced at her, wanting to know more. “Is it a magical heritage thing? Like family magic? Or does it change how you look or how people react to you without you meaning to?”

Then another question formed in his mind that he hesitated for a brief moment, unsure if it’s rude or not but his curiosity won. “Does it bother you when people notice? I mean—” He gestured between them, then toward himself. “Like me.”

It was obvious to him that she’s having a hard time talking about her family, but she did confirm it was complicated. Complicated for him usually meant hurt that didn’t have a clean ending. She explained about her sister leaving the family for a while now. “I’m… sorry.” He noticed her fingers move through the grass. Was it anxiousness? Maybe he should be careful with his words.

“That must’ve been really hard, losing someone like that.” He was imagining losing someone who is still alive was harder than one who was completely gone. At least there’s ending and you could move on properly with time, but with those still alive, it must be confusing and more painful? It must have changed her in a way whether she wants it or aware of it or not.

Zephyr closed his journal and set it aside for now, and rested his arms on his knees. “If someone important leaves, it’s normal that nothing feels the same again.” He never had someone leave like that but his sister did… he would feel lost for a long time. “When you say things changed… do you mean between you and her? Or everything else around you?”

@Charlotte Winfield

Zephyr is uncomfortable asking or discussing personal information of other people because his instinct is to protect, not to pry. He learned long before Hogwarts that words can weigh on people, depending on how they perceive your words or the intention behind them, sometimes more than silence.

Growing up on a farm, care was demonstrated through action. You simply pay attention and adjust as necessary. Usually, when the conversation turned personal, he became cautious because he cares deeply. He's constantly gauging if the conversation is helping them or if he's making it harder for them. Are they choosing to answer his question because they wanted to share, or is he pulling at something tender? And most important of all, do they need a listener or just someone who will not ask?

If he sensed that his questions were making someone anxious, exposed, or uncomfortable, he would rather stop entirely despite his curiosity. To him, understanding someone is never worth causing them distress. It should feel like relief and not pressure. The way Lottie folded in on herself, he learned to read those signs long before Hogwarts and long before magic. The weather had moods, but so did people.

“I didn’t know that existed until today.” He should read more about the magical world, especially it's people and magical creatures. There was a moment of disorientation that passed through him upon confirmation that she was half-breed. This was the first time he met someone who was not entirely human. He grew up with very limited exposure to the magical world, so his knowledge is practical rather than encyclopedic. To be fair, she looks and acts like a human as he carefully deliberates the information he has received, no longer shocked, but now more curious. He replayed his own words in his head and wondered if he crossed a line without realising it, for that, he felt quietly foolish for not knowing.

With that knowledge now, he avoided staring at her; she's still the same person she was moments ago. Lottie told him she wasn't bothered by people's reaction to her. She might have experienced it many times throughout her life, so it was nothing new to him now. Realising people react to Veela heritage, his focus shifted. The important part to him was not what she is, but how others treat her because of it. And it should start with him.

When she drew her knees up, he hesitated only a second before he removed his jacket and offered it to her. He held it loosely, “Need this? It’s warmer than it looks.” As if that might make it easier to accept or easier to refuse.

“Change doesn’t always mean something went wrong; sometimes it just means you had to grow around something that'll challenge you....and hurt you at the same time." She did share that she would be meeting his sister over the break. "Are you excited to see her again? I hope it's going to be a good meeting." He said sincerely. Some things will remain a bother until you’re standing right in front of them. The lake rippled under a stronger gust, which sent waves toward the shore. “If it helps, you don’t strike me as someone who changed..." He winced at what he's about to say, hoping the girl wouldn't mind, "...for the worse. Maybe you also learned something good from your situation?”

@Charlotte Winfield

Zephyr noticed how the wind played with her hair and how it never quite stayed in one place, twisting and curling as if they were alive. Commenting on it or even mentioning it would be too much. Some things were better left alone. He focused instead on the lake and the sound of water. There was this strange pull that he couldn’t quite explain, and he realised, like a puzzle falling into place, that maybe it was because of her, her Veela heritage.

Hearing about it explained the weird feelings he had. It's making sense to him little by little, although he couldn't really say he understood everything. There was something about her presence that even affected the air around him. Even the lake looked calmer and clearer. He shook his head as if trying to push his thoughts aside. It was new information, something he had never experienced before. After hearing what...or who she was, it didn’t feel overwhelming, just more aware now. He decided not to say anything. Some things were better felt than talked about.

She spoke further about Veela becoming more common, and that may be true, but not to him, who grew up in the Muggle world and had no idea about all these things. "I didn’t know that...” There was honesty in his voice. “I still have a lot to learn about this world.” Which he was finding confusing and interesting at the same time. A bit hesitant and careful with his words, he added his thoughts: “It sounds like people think that makes it easier, but I’m not sure it actually does.”

He didn’t want to assume anything about her life or her experiences. He could feel that this was one of those moments where listening mattered more than fixing it or even asking for it. He kept his eyes on the water out of respect, just in case she was thinking, and he didn’t want to interrupt that. She hesitated for a bit at his offered jacket, and he wondered if he had misjudged it or if he had overstepped, but before he could come up with any conclusions, she reached out and thanked him. He felt relieved and handed it to her. "Don't worry about it."

It took her a moment of silence before she replied to his question. She wanted to believe that she had changed for the better. Even told him he would change, too. He's not one to assume or judge someone's character; if she thought she changed, then she probably has. "Well, everyone changes, and it's not always bad. And even if it did, we've learned things and that counts for something, right?" He was nervous about saying too much, but wanted her to know he was offering his thoughts and not just listening to her. "Ever since I arrived here, I know I've changed, too. And I hope that change was for the better, too." It felt like it.

Zephyr noticed how tightly the girl pulled the jacket around herself, which prompted him to look up at the sky. It's getting colder by the minute, and he considered suggesting going back inside. But one look at her again, he knew she didn't want to leave just yet. She just looked like she just wanted to sit there and do nothing, maybe even thinking of nothing in particular. It happened to him many times in the past when everything around him was overwhelming. He wanted some time to mute his mind and just be still, even for one minute.

He kept his thoughts when it came to her being a Veela. He noticed small things, how sometimes he was oddly aware around her, as if his senses were heightened and made aware of every action she did. Though he was also aware of his actions, so he didn’t feel out of control, maybe just more alert if he were honest with himself, a bit curious about her, too. He thought if there was something to understand, it would come with time, there's no need to force it.

When she said she was very different in her first year, he turned his head toward her again, giving her his full attention. “Different...how?” It was an honest curiosity. “I’m still trying to understand what’s normal here, or if there even is a normal. Was it harder than you expected? Or just… different from what you thought it would be?” Part of him was asking for himself. He may not have said it out loud, but it was deep inside him. If she's already lived through this stage, maybe he could learn something, and maybe he could prepare himself for whatever shift was coming next.

Her next words rendered him speechless, maybe a simple compliment from a vela really had this profound effect on a normal human being like him. Zephyr felt his entire face heat up. “Thanks.” He was not sure what else to do with a compliment like that. “I don’t know if I’m smart...I just think a lot before I talk.” He chuckled. “If I’ve changed, I think it’s mostly because I had to listen more. Before Hogwarts, things were straightforward for me but here, things are more complicated.” He didn’t mean it as a bad thing. "I don’t want to get things wrong with people.” That was probably the most honest part.

@Charlotte Winfield

While listening to the girl, Zephyr sat quietly beside her. His eyes remained staring on the lake, but his attention was entirely on her words. They may have different lives but her description was not a stranger to him. He understood her desires to some extent, when he first arrived at Hogwarts, he spent some days feeling out of place, everyone else already knew where they belonged while he was still trying to explore the castle without losing his way again. He remembered standing in the middle of a corridor one evening wondering if someone else out there was feeling the same way he did.

From the lake, his gaze went to the distant shape of the castle as she explained how Hogwarts eventually became home. He understood that too. Home was not always a place someone started loving, sometimes it happened slowly without noticing. One day it was just a castle full of strangers and confusing magic then suddenly it became familiar and comfortable. Unknown faces became friends.

Her suggestion to eliminate the connotation that there was the thing called normal here was considered although his brain was being stubborn about it. Maybe it takes time to actually believe it. Whatever normal was supposed to be, Hogwarts certainly left it behind years ago. A stronger gust swept across the lakeshore, which told Zephyr there’s an approaching rain which automatically caused him to look at the sky. The clouds darkened considerably while they were talking. Living on the farm taught him how to read weather on instinct by observing the shift in the wind, the heaviness in the air, and the temperature dropped. It’s coming soon.

Lottie did say he was smarter than he knew, and from that point, he didn’t comment and just smiled in acceptance. Compliments had huge effect on him than criticism. Criticism he understood but compliments made him awkward, as if he was supposed to know what to do with them but never did. He looked down at the sketchbook beside him and thought about what she just said. He knew he doesn’t know everything yet, the more time he spent in the magical world, the more he realized how much he didn’t know. But intelligence was not just knowing things. His father told him that some people learned from books and some people learned from paying attention. He’s always been better at the second one. He noticed things. He’s not sure what made him smart, but he was also sure he was not that ignorant or stupid either.

The first raindrop landed on the back of his hand then another. He looked up and smiled, “I think that’s our sign.” He pushed himself to his feet and brushed the grass from his robes before picking up his sketchbook and pencil. The lake grew dark in color. He took a moment to stare at the water. He initially came down here because he couldn’t think straight when he’s overwhelmed. Now he felt a bit better, funny how that worked. He offered Lottie a hand to help her up if she wanted it. “Come on, let’s get back before we both end up soaked and sick.” Rain started falling in light scattered droplets.

@Charlotte Winfield
OOC Notes: Ending here now, thank you so much! If you want another thread this new school year, let me know!