I Forget Where We Were PV Bloom Finished

The reassurances were - reassuring, but left some doubts in him as always. He got along well with Felicity, found her interesting to talk to, and overall a great friend. It wasn't a long friendship, but it was one that felt like it could last. His head turned to the girl as she made herself comfortable against his shoulder. He didn't mind, Sabrina had done the same and he held no discrimination as to who else leaned on him. Physically and metaphorically. 

It was better being the tree than the one who got stepped on though, that was for sure. He probably smelled like burnt wood from sitting in front of Hufflepuff Common's fireplace and a hint of grass dew. He took Bloom's word for it, there was no reason he shouldn't trust her anyway. Felicity would be fine, they'd see her sometime this year - maybe she just needed time at home. He arched his brow at her suggestion of an indoor adventure, something he was about to decline quite quickly. 

Yet the mention of the room caused a sound from the back of his throat, clicking his tongue as he thought of it. "I've never heard of it, it sounds mysterious. Who was the Slytherin looking for the room?" he asked. It was an odd name and he's never heard it be mentioned by anyone before, but once again the enigma might not even be real. The boy slightly shrugged and suggested, "It could just be some legend of Hogwarts Castle." 

Bloom shrugged her mind away from Felicity. She knew that everything would be fine and that she would be back in no time. Although her friend had broken her ankle, she was most likely spending as much time with family as possible. Knowing Bloom, she would have done the same thing. Her sister, too old to have been a part of Hogwarts as the school was not open then, would have been her support system at home. Maybe then, she would have asked her sister for the advice for this boy-triangle she created for herself.

Her mind went back to the Room of Requirement that she was oh-so excited hearing about from the Slytherin a couple weeks ago. Why she goes to Reid for this adventures is beyond her. He just seems trustworthy and she felt much more connected to him in that way.

"Ackerman, I think," she guessed, trying to think of the Slytherin's name. "She was so confident that this place exists...," she added, thinking about what a room it could be. She tried to remember what the girl said. You have to think about it... But what kind of thought... Good thoughts? Bad thoughts? Bloom then remembered what the girl had told her in order to find the room.

"It's apparently this hidden door that only appears when you desire it," she said, getting more and more excited the more she spoke about the room. Bloom rolled her eyes when Reid shot down the thought that something existed.

"Reid, it's March... You should know by now that there's no legend in this castle. There's still a lot of things to find. Who knows... This room might be real. What's the harm in looking for it?" she asked, her eyebrows perched up in question.

Ackerman. Ackerman. Ackerman. He fell quiet as he tried to recall the name, it sounded oh so familiar to him. "Kendra? Kendra Ackerman?" he echoed, looking a little perturbed. It only brought back memories of the time she took something from the Restricted Section. The Slytherin girl was surrounded in a lot of mischief it seemed, so her looking for the Room of Requirement wasn't too big of a surprise. He was more hesitant now after what happened to Bloom, a hesitance he wouldn't give up so easily. 

Part of him wondered if she'd go alone, that thought made him just was equally anxious to think about. From the tone of her voice, she sounded awfully intrigued by it. The fact that she dismissed his comment made him more inclined to think she'd go alone. The brows on his head creased in a way that suggested he was worried and the chewing of his cheek reinforced it. Still she had somewhat of a point. "I know, I know. I'm just being careful, you know? That thing coming after you is still kind of stuck in my mind." Reid grumbled slightly, glancing at the girl. He wrinkled his nose as he watched the owls fly to and fro from each post. 

He didn't mean to sound like such a worrywart, but surely Ben would have said the same. If she was going to go though, he wanted to be there just in case. "You know, sometimes you sound like a Gryffindor. I think that hat made a slight mistake." It was a light jest, she was a perfect Ravenclaw. But her courage sometimes caught him off guard, well her curiosity. Maybe that was it - maybe she wanted to know more information about it. Reid straightened his posture, fixing the robes he had on him before looking over to the Ravenclaw girl. "So, where and when did you want to do this?" he slyly asked.

How did he know who she was?

The name of the Slytherin took awhile for her to remember and yet, he knew not only who she was, but the tone of voice seemed surprising. Bloom looked at Reid quizzically, wondering how he knew the first year Slytherin by the name of Kendra Ackerman. It seemed as though there may have been some history.

The thought of the spider that attacked her was also embedded in her mind. She realized that asking to do an adventure with Reid was perhaps a bit too ambitious after their last event together. But she was keen that this one was different. It had to be. It wasn't as though they were outside in the dark where creatures were crawling and hunting prey. They would be in the castle walls. Plus, it didn't have to be night.

Gryffindor... Unlikely, she thought to herself, but still gave a little giggle to his joke. If anything, she had always thought of herself as a Hufflepuff like her father. Perhaps the fact that she was always delved into her mind made her more of a Ravenclaw, but she still could feel some Hufflepuff traits within her. Could that be why Bloom always found her way towards Reid?

"Oh, so you're coming now," she joked, happy that he had finally agreed to go with her. With the way he was trying to get out of the situation, she knew that he wasn't all up for it. So what was making him go? Was he worried about her? Did he not want her to go alone? Did he enjoy going on adventures with her? Bloom's mind was racing with one question after another. Maybe he just feels responsible from last time? "You don't have to join me if you don't want to," she added, fishing to see why he would truly go with her.


"We don't have to go searching at night. Why don't we go in the afternoon tomorrow when everyone is eating lunch in the Great Hall?" she asked, thinking it would be best to just walk around the corridors for a bit. Should I invite Ben? A part of her felt guilty that Ben was not thought of at all during her adventure. Was it wrong to just have Reid to herself on this adventure? Should she invite Ben?

"Ackerman looked on the second floor corridor. My gut feeling says that may be too easy of a floor for something so legendary to be in. Maybe it's higher up in the castle, or maybe in the dungeon... What do you think?" she asked, mapping out where this secret room may be.

The thought of another adventure around the castle was pure excitement. Knowing that there are more legends that are to be awaited, there was no idea as to what were just rumors and what were true areas around the castle. The way Ackerman had described the Room of Requirements, Bloom knew it had to be true. She was so specific with how it was supposed to be found that how could someone, let alone a Slytherin, be so creative and thorough like that?

Bloom could not help but to laugh at his dungeon comment. She agreed that the weirdest of things do come from the dungeons with a nod and thought of a few Slytherins that could fit that bill. To think that it was months since she had to confront Marcus when he jinxed the Ravenclaw table the first day of her Hogwarts experience.

Nodding, Bloom agreed that checking the dungeon was perhaps a great start on their search. It was best if they started from the bottom and worked their way up anyways so they could be thorough on their legendary search. 

Rolling her eyes, she turned her body to look at Reid. Quickly discovering that his body was already turned towards her, she had her knee touch his. "I'm not going to land in the hospital wing. It's not like we are outside where creatures can come lurking about. It's just the dungeon," she said, with a bit of playful attitude.

The question had finally been asked: should Ben come with? Bloom absolutely adored Ben, but to have both Reid and Ben together in a room... That would make her heart and mind go crazy. Would she focus enough on Ben with Reid by her side? What about the other way around? How was she going to answer such a question? If I say no, that just seems weird, right? she thought.

"Since this is only a search, it can just be us and if we find it, we should definitely get Ben. He's been taking over a lot of the rounds on his own when I was in the hospital wing that he's finally catching up with homework and I want to let him be," she said, surprised at the words that came out of her mouth. Did she just shut Ben down from joining them? Bloom felt a twisted feeling in her stomach. But what was an eleven-year-old girl going to do in such a situation? Obviously she was not in her right senses and just wanted what she wanted.

UMPH

Bloom looked towards the other side of her and saw an owl that seemed to have slammed itself onto the platform. The white owl slowly got up while flapping its wings and kept itself still. Bloom looked at its leg to see if maybe it had a letter, but nothing was attached. It hopped closer and closer to her and she couldn't help but to reach her hand out to the creature. The owl looked at her head, moved it's head around in segments as birds do, and hopped closer. Bloom pet the owl's head gently and the owl hopped closer. Finally, the owl, positioned right next to her, hopped on Bloom's lap and she used two hands to pet the owl on the back of his neck and back area.

"I heard we are going to be allowed pets in Hogwarts. What pet would you want to get?" she asked, wondering what kind of person Reid was. According to her mom, sometimes a pet can help define someone. For example, if someone was a bit quirky and unique, they would have a toad as their pet. Bloom was interested to see what Reid would say.

Reid nodded slowly at her answer, his eyes slowly drifting past her towards the window. His gaze snapped back to her once the owl flew into view. It caused him to flinch a little, startled by the size and flapping of its wings. His foot leg shifted a little, probably accidentally bumping the girl's knee rather roughly. Reid muttered a 'sorry' as he watched her tend to the owl. His body relaxed and he settled into a gentle silence, yawning once in the time they fell silent. 

She seemed to have a way with animals or at least a way with attracting them like the tale from Snow White. He slightly smiled at the idea, most of it hidden by the hand that cradled his face. Once again, Reid's eyes fell beyond Bloom and eyed the large window that let the light flood the tower. It was a nice ambience, one could probably ignore the smell thanks to it. Plus the fresh air of the Scottish highlands seemed to destroy most of the odor in the tower. The smell wasn't strong, it didn't fester, and the rest of the tower thankfully distracted him from the thought of it ever being there in the first place. 

He didn't look bored the whole time, he simply looked far off as he always did. Reid was comfortable enough around Bloom to daydream,; but he didn't know whether that was exactly good or bad. His face left his hand after she asked, making a small noise as he thought of what she said. "I was thinking of ..." He had heard of the permitted pets at Hogwarts, although limited. He did want one of the permitted pets, an odd choice for someone like him perhaps. 

"A toad or a frog, I'm still thinking of a name. What about you? What pet are you thinking of getting?" he beamed, clasping his hands together. His choice of a toad came down to the fact that he didn't feel comfortable yet with an owl and neither a cat. The reptilian seemed low maintenance and he thought it was quite an interesting pet by itself. Or he was mistaken and he could simply be walking around with quite an odd companion in the future.

Curious, Bloom's finger made it's way to the beak of the owl and began to stroke it gently. The owl's mouth began to open, perhaps not liking the gentle stroke, but it did not stop her from petting the creature. When her finger came back down to the edge of its beak, the owl gnawed on her finger, telling her to stop. The gnaw did not hurt her at all and instead made Bloom smile. She moved her fingers back to the top of its head and it closed its eyes in comfort.

Bloom smiled at Reid when he had accidentally bumped into her knee. It wasn't as hard as he thought, but she ignored the matter altogether.

A toad..., she thought to herself when she heard Reid answer her question about what kind of pet he would want. She tried to think of what her mother said about those who wanted a reptile, especially a frog. They are reserved people who tend to keep to themselves, Bloom remembered. Looking at Reid, he did seem reserved and to himself at all times. Realistically, she knew nothing about him other than he cares for his friends, he likes Quidditch and he is a Hufflepuff.

Now was her turn to answer the question. She had no idea what kind of animal she wanted. Sure, she was great with owls, but that was not something she wanted as a pet for her years at Hogwarts. If she wanted to play with an owl, she can just come up to the Owlery. She wanted something different.

"If Hogwarts allows it, I would love an Niffler," she said, thinking of the creature that is very much like the Platypus in Australia. She thought it was perhaps too much of a responsibility to have at Hogwarts as a student, so she quickly added, "If not, then a cat would do just fine." Bloom hadn't grown up with pets, so having the ability to own one is very inspirational and exciting for her.

Looking at the window, she saw that it was getting darker. She moved the owl from her lap, which hopped away and into its own cubby and slowly got up. Brushing off whatever caught onto her skirt, bending down on her knees she looked at Reid, her eyebrows up. "So tomorrow afternoon?" she confirmed.

"Also...," she paused and gave Reid a large hug by wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "I can't think you enough for saving me that night," she said, giving a quick squeeze and unwrapping her arms from his body. She got up and made her way down to the ground level of the Owlery.

"See you," she said and Bloom made her way to the exit door, excited for the next day adventures with Reid.