Unlikely Friends Finished

The conversation changer was unexpected, but not unwanted. Eris smiled, thinking of London. "It was always busy, filled with the sounds of cars rushing by, and people getting to where they needed to go, but late at night when the cars were much less loud, and there were barely any people out, you could hear the rushing of wind as it hit the trees and bushes. It was a very old city, and if you listened very hard you could hear all manner of magical things, like threstrals huffing--though you couldn't see them, " Eris amended, pausing to correct herself, then realizing she had zoned off, blushed bright red. "It was lovely really, and it's the only city in the world I don't mind, as the pollution isn't so bad." She paused again, evidently done talking, but then her eyes widened, "OH. You could also hear the rain dripping . It was always raining there." She smiled, mind lost in daydreams of her home. Of the smells of Indian food that came off every corner, of the happy carefree days spent on the metro, and the nights spent watching plays in London's theatre district.

"What did the Fens sound like?" Eris said finally, after a blissful moment spent reliving a day in London.

Maybe Kaegen had been to hasty before. London sounded amazing, he tried to experience her life through her story, but London sounded so alien. Amazing, but alien. He could at least relate to the rain dripping. He loved the rain. The rain was so soothing. It was constant. Kaegen was starting to feel better again, he really enjoyed talking to this girl. But the more relaxed he got the less he paid attention to what you probably shouldn't do. "Maybe I would like to go visit. Why are you blushing?"
He realized what he had said after he said it and quickly moved on to answering that last question.
"They don't sound like anything but themselves, full of peace, beauty and danger" Kaegen felt sure that if anyone tried to find the fens, they'd be able to. He hoped that the girl could find them. What if eris could visit him at home? Although that would probably be years from now. How many years do you stay in hogwarts? He probably should have paid slightly better attention during orientation. But he could probably ask around. He'd ask eris, but he already changed the subject, doing it again might make him seem to weird.

Eris closed her eyes, trying to put together a mental picture of the Fens. To her it sounded beautiful, and clearly Keagen though so too. He seemed really attached to the place. "Oh how I'd like to visit," Eris said wistfully. She didn't mention that she couldn't go back to London this year, because of how her mom had kicked her out, so even though she partly wanted to go to the Fens for it's beauty, she also wanted to go there to well, have a place to go too. "Are there a lot of magical creatures there? Magical creatures are so fascinating. I've been reading books about them, and I like what I've been reading." She rubbed her shoulder. It was always hard to Eris to admit how much she loved reading, for she didn't want to be teased for it. But she could trust Keagen, so she kept talking. "I like how beautiful and deadly some magical creatures sound in Newt Scamander's book, ya know?" She shrugged, "Although I don't think I'm going to really study them. I want to be an auror when I grow up." Since she had joined the magical world that had been Eris's dream. To fight magical crime, just like the heroes from her books did.

"You could, you know. I wouldn't mind." Kaegen's mind drifted along, buoyed by the question about magical creatures. "Yes, they love the fens, it's a safe place for many of them to live, and it provides food, water and shelter for all."
"I didn't think newts or salamanders could write books." As soon as he said it, he remembered the book they all had to buy. Wasn't care of magical creatures written by a guy? Oh, she said scamander.
Kaegen's cheeks turned pinkish as he realized that he should be doing more listening to eris and less thinking about things not relevant to the conversation. "The doors of my cottage are open always" That's what father would have said. It seemed fitting to use it here. "Whenever you like, just find me."
Kaegen had been fluctuating between relaxed and rigid, he was now more relaxed, happier. "Do you know any combat spells? Aurors need to be good at those, don't they? And if you do get the job, don't be yourself. Be a silent gust of wind, don't think and be quick to pull your wand."
When he was young he had told his father that he wanted to be an auror. This is how his father responded, and since then Kaegen discovered why.

Eris nodded her head happily, thinking about what it would be like to go to Fens and to see all the magical creatures. Maybe she could adopt one as a pet! Though she wasn't sure how Keagen would feel about that. Oh, but wouldn't it be grand to have a cooler pet than a lame old rat or a toad.

When Keagen mentioned that neither a newt nor salamander could write a book, Eris burst out laughing. Once she started laughing she couldn't stop. Finally she sobered up and turned to look at him, as he asked about combat spells. "Well I've been reading about them," she started to say, but her cheeks turned pink as she gave auror advice. "I-i guess that's good advice, but I don't want to be an auror that casts spells first, thinks later." Her voice got more animated. "I want to do actual good you know! I don't think the job is just about casting spells, I think you have to think too, and use knowledge. A lot of good wizards don't use their heads, and they don't get very far in life. " Her checks turned ever more red, as she talked. What if she had said the wrong thing and Keagen no longer liked her? Panicked, Eris's leg started to shake vigorously in the grass.

Kaegen was surprised at first when eris started laughing. It took him a while to realize why, and when he did figure it out, he smiled. He made joke, even if it wasn't on purpose, and someone enjoyed it. That was a pretty good feeling.
He looks at eris sadly when she replied to his advice, and thought for a little bit before he finally decided on what to say. "Well, don't have any regrets, okay? Go for it, maybe you can do good."
It made him a bit sad. Aurors that tried to help people, to be understanding, ended up dead. But if that was her calling, he didn't really have any right to talk her out of it. He silently promised himself that he would say something at the funeral, should he live to see it, and then dropped the matter in his head. If nothing could be done, there was no sense in worrying about it. Besides, she was alive now, and so was he. No one wants sadness and gloom. When Kaegen's eyes flash over to eris' fast moving leg, he realizes a game would be best, she seems awfully nervous. "can you hop on one foot?" he asked. "I'll race you to the edge of the water and back."
At least now she wouldn't have to think about what the future held. And for that matter, neither would he. The faintest whisper of a smile plays across his mouth.

The conversation was getting pretty dark, as Eris sat thinking about the future. God knows where they would end up in the future, as Keagen changed the topic, a great big smile blossomed on her face. Eris did love games.

"Can I hop to the lake? Boy can I ever!" Eris grinned springing to her feet. "You're soo on." Eris said cheerfully. "On your mark, get set, GO!" She yelled go, and without waiting to see if Keagen was following, she took off. Although she had said she was good at hopping on one leg, Eris really wasn't. She kept falling into the wet grass and staining her robes with dirt and grass. She seemed fine with it though, because every time she fell she would laugh and spring to her feet again, and take off. She was so close to the lake when she fell the last time. She was close enough to the lake that her face fell into the murky water, leaving her with a face full of mud and water.

Shaking water out of her eyes, Eris turned to Keagen, still laughing. "Guess I'm not as good as I thought." She said cheerfully, pulling out her wand to attempt to get rid of the mud.

Kaegen tried to keep up, but even though he didn't fall, his movements were far too slow. If he was about to lose his balance, Kaegen would simply stop and regain it. He caught up to eris and smiled. The girl was covered in mud and grass and water but she seemed pretty happy about it.
He felt good. Really good. And hungry, come to think of it. He looked up at hogwarts, majestic and regal above the lake. "By the time you wash up, it will probably be dinnertime" he said softly, shifting his gaze from the castle back to eris. "If you're not hungry, we can stay a bit longer." Kaegen decided that he was going to adapt. Everything adapted sooner or later, he could start now. He would be louder, more crisp.
He felt a little bad for suggesting the race and getting eris soaked, but it turned out well.
He wondered if all the wizarding schools were like this. Or if hogwarts had a special quality to it, a uniqueness that belonged to hogwarts alone. He didn't know if there was another place like this one, but for now at least, this place was unique, different, and amazing.

Eris grinned, pumping her fists into the air. She had won. Using a spell to clean her robes and face, she sat down in the grass next to Keagen and watched the sky darken. "I think I'd like to stay out here a bit longer," she confided, meeting Keagen's gaze and smiling shyly. This seemed like a great start to a new friendship, that would hopefully last longer than today. Eris liked Keagen a lot. He was different than anybody else she had talked too, but different in a good way. The kind of different that changes the world, Eris thought to herself, studying Keagen's pensive features.

She turned her gaze back to the sky, watching the sun set over the lake. For the first time since she had gotten to Hogwarts, it felt a lot like home. Maybe she could learn to love it at Hogwarts more than she already did. Maybe she didn't need to miss her home in London, when she'd already found a perfect new home here. Eris finally turned away from the sun setting over the lake and looked at the majestic castle behind them, and the students hurrying to dinner.

yes, she was definitely home.

She wanted to stay out a bit? Yeah, that was fine. He had gone days without food before, what was another hour or two? Besides, he really liked being with the red-haired girl. His eyes darted away when she met his gaze, and he smiled a little more. Having a friend was something new, something good. It made him really happy, made him want to sing. He didn't, it would be kind of awkward if he burst out into song, but he considered it. "What is a home?" he asked, thinking about the castle and his cottage in the fens at the same time. "Everyone has a different idea, and I think I'd like to hear yours." His soft voice sounded wistful, but happy. Thinking on the amazing things that happened. A new friend, a place that He thinks could be a second home. Especially if the care of magical creatures teacher was nice.
He would walk out of here stronger, smarter, and a all around better person, he was sure of it. Unable to stop himself, he hummed a happy tune, a quiet one.
"what are you thinking about?" He takes a short break from humming, before resuming, to ask that last question.