A letter Finished

A Slytherin was climbing the stars to the Astronomy Tower. She knew it was against the rules, but it was becoming a personal motto of hers that "rules were made to be broken". Her feet made no noise as she set them down softly, step after step. She... she wanted to see the sky from a nice angle.

Her name was Koko. Her hair was loose and flowing behind her as the wind caused it to cascade into separate ringlets, and she wore the same clothes she'd worn earlier that day--not her school uniform. She was going to get in trouble, she knew that, but... It was worth it to have the sizzle that being a rebel gave her. As she stepped up each one of the stairs, she heard a noise. Some girl talking to herself--and maybe she was speaking between sobs!?! Koko did feel a little concerned, but when she was unsure of something she could come across as rude.

She rounded the corner at the top to see a child with pale hair hunched over something, crying. Koko felt a pang of empathy--she'd sat in the Owlery sobbing before. However, her awkwardness began to take over, as well as her sense of self-preservation. Taking one step closer and letting her boot click against the hard stone floor, she said, "I really don't think you're supposed to be up here." Just a small sentence, but having it said so harshly might either make the girl sob more, or perhaps she would try to give Koko a reason why she could be up there. A reason why Koko shouldn't berate her.

A smirk crossed over her face as she glanced down at the girl. Softening her voice, she decided that she really didn't want to hear these annoying sobs. "Don't cry, though," Koko whispered. "I'll keep watch." She was telling the truth--she actually did go over to the entrance to the tower to be a mock lookout. "You can tell me what happened. I won't judge you," Koko called softly over her shoulder as she made her way to the doorway. She certainly hoped that she could make this girl feel better. "I'm Koko, by the way." She sat down on the edge of the tower, letting her legs dangle.

"May I ask what you two think you're doing up here?"

Oh. So a professor actually was in here. Koko probably hadn't seen him before climbing up onto the stargazing platform. Professor Barclay seemed to be annoyed at the very least. Still, he didn't seem to be angry with the two Slytherins. Koko thought about her response; she knew that if she said anything wrong, she could provoke a reaction from either person, and that reaction could be an unwanted one.

She saw the white-haired girl kneeling, with scraped knees. Koko felt a wave of concern wash over her; it wasn't Koko being empathetic, but it was really her just being curious. She hadn't ever scraped her knees before. Elbows, those were another story, but she didn't have any reason to scrape her knees. "Are you okay?" Koko asked, knowing that the other child likely wasn't, but she still asked anyway.

To Professor Barclay, the golden-eyed girl responded with, "You may very well ask what we are doing here--you are the professor, after all," Koko said in a smart-alecky sort of manner. "I had been going on... a walk, of sorts, and was coming up to the tower to see if it were unlocked. If it wasn't, which it wasn't, I would walk in. I heard her--" Koko gestured indifferently to the sobbing girl, "So I decided to find out what was wrong, taking multiple approaches to try and find a solution. I hope you can forgive my intrusion," the Slytherin finished, her voice soft as usual. She regretted backtalking to a professor, but it was just part of her nature to be a bit of a smartmouth. She smiled sheepishly and turned her attention back to the white-haired Hufflepuff--Jade, she'd have to remember that. "You seem to have scraped your knees. I probably have a few bandages in my pocket if you would like any," she offered.

She nodded as the professor spoke. "Yes, sir," she added politely. He spoke with a tone of annoyance, and the first year didn't want to contribute to his mood. She motioned at the other girl--Jade--to follow her out of the tower. Footsteps sounded as Koko walked, tossing a glance back over her shoulder at the Professor. "I'm sorry to have bothered you," Koko told him.

She smiled at Jade. Koko reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out two Band-Aids. "Here," she said softly, holding out the bandages to Jade. "These might help."

She glanced around once more, bending down to Jade's level so that Jade might be able to grab them. Koko then paced around a few moments before she headed out of the tower. Maybe she could come back up here another time... The sense of being so high up, so powerful, made her feel strong. And perhaps it made her feel like she could control the chaos burning inside of her. Her feet found their way down the stairs, and she smiled as she ran down the stairs, heading to the Slytherin Dormitory. Her hair flew behind her as she raced along, hoping to meet someone there.