You're Back! PV Ruka Burnett-Tân Abandoned

Getting off the train had left Ruka with a bittersweet feeling.

He was glad to be back at Hogwarts, had definitely missed being able to practice magic and further his wizarding education, but at the same time Cardiff had given him a sense of belonging he just did not feel at school. His new family really did their best to make him feel welcome and wanted and to leave that behind, even if just for a few months, filled him with a sadness that made his movements sluggish as he stubbornly pulled his trunk through the castle hallways on the way to his dorm room.

He could have let the house elves take care of it, but instead he had decided that carrying it himself would give him more of a purpose and make him forget about any negative emotions coursing through him.

"Jolly..." he murmured to himself as he slowed his step in favour of putting his trunk back on the ground for a moment while he caught his breath and regained some strength. Maybe dragging it with him had not been the smartest idea after all.

With a heavy sigh he reached for one of the handles again, but before he actually lifted it up a voice called his name and made him look up with furrowed eyebrows as he looked for his new company. "Opeila," he responded lightly once he laid eyes on the girl, a small tired smile playing on his lips as he offered her a little wave in greeting. It had been a while since he and Opeila had last spoken and in a way he was glad that the first person he got to talk to upon his arrival wasn't someone who was going to crowd him with enthusiasm.

"Pretty good," he answered her question with a little shrug. "Except, this thing seems to get heavier with every step I take and I'm exhausted." Of course, being back at Hogwarts he could have probably just levitated the trunk all the way back to his dorm, but considering how sad and tired he felt he doubted he would be able to focus enough to execute the spell properly. Anyway, Ruka had always preferred solving his problems the Muggle way if it was at all possible. "How about you, how've you been?" he asked, though as he finished the question his eyes focused on a ball of fur seemingly hiding between Opeila's legs, and Ruka found himself sinking to his knees immediately, expression smoothing into something warm and soft as he slowly and carefully held a hand out towards the cat.

He vaguely remembered Flash mentioning that Opeila and Willow had gotten cats back at the beginning of the school year though he didn't think any breeds or names had been mentioned, so he looked back up at Opeila for clarification.

"Your cat?" he asked brightly, an excited spark in his eyes as he crouched down even further to make sure Opeila's cat didn't think of him as something intimidating. All these cats around school were really turning him into a goofy idiot.

@Ruka Burnett-Tan

Opeila chuckled when Ruka complained about the weight of his trunk. "Honestly, I wonder why you are pulling it. Last time I checked you were a wizard, were you not? Let me help you." The little Slytherin took out her wand and pointed it at the trunk. "Wingardium Leviosa.", she said firmly, only to send her friend an unsure look right after. "Wait- are we allowed to cast spells outside of class? I don't remember... Well whatever, if you don't mind my company or feel uncomfortable with me knowing where your common room is, I could come along. If there's a password or something I'll just cover my ears."

"Me? I've been... alright. It's Hogwarts, you know how that is. Hard to be more than alright most of the time. January has been difficult, I don't know if you heard of what happened." To Opeila the events were still very present. Her concussion as well as her heavy cold had been healed within mere hours and soon after she had been let out of the hospital wing, but the experience, the cold fear and the memories of the pain stayed. Opeila wondered if events like that were something she would get used to after a while.
It was mainly the unanswered questions that had remained afterwards that kept her awake at night.

Ruka had spotted Loras and asked Opeila if he was her cat. "Yeah, he is, though he regularly makes me question if he is really a cat and not a monster in cat form. He has stopped attacking strangers though. His name is Loras." The corners of her mouth moved upwards a little at the memory of poor Zyk making the mistake to try to play with Loras last summer camp.
"You haven't been in Hogwarts for weeks, have you? May I ask where you are coming from?", Opeila asked the Gryffindor curiously.

@Opeila Winters

Ruka found himself momentarily grateful as Opeila cast the levitation charm on his trunk, effectively relieving him of the weight of it. "I'm pretty exhausted," he told her with a small shrug. "Didn't want to risk messing anything up. Give my trunk wings just to watch it fly away from me or something, you know?" The thought made him chuckle for a moment before he focused on the Slytherin girl again.

"I thought Common Room locations were pretty common knowledge anyway," he pointed out with a grin. "I can't bring you inside, even if you cover your ears, I'm pretty sure, but there's no harm with you coming along to the entrance. I bet I can handle the rest from there myself." Nodding gratefully, Ruka tilted his head to the side curiously when Opeila kept talking, throat tightening up as she wondered if he had heard what had happened. A moment later, however, he realised that she probably wasn't talking of the same event he was thinking of. "What happened in January?" he asked carefully, frowning a bit. Could he really have missed even more than the things he was already aware of?

The arrival of Loras, at least, brightened Ruka's thoughts again, and he stayed on his knees for a moment, not moving to get closer to the cat or give off the impression that he wanted to cause any harm. He just remained still to see if Loras may have wanted to approach him again by himself. "Hey Loras," he purred gently, clearly enthralled by the furry creature, despite the subtle warning that he was a bit of a monster. Every animal had a wild side, Ruka wasn't scared. "I left with that train to London for Christmas Holidays," he confirmed Opeila's words with a small nod, remaining on his knees but looking up at the girl. "Spent some time in Cardiff for some tutoring and... family bonding, I suppose."