As Lovers Go
Chapter 1 - A New Friend
Many are the days one wishes they could possibly fit in. What happens though when one is so fiercely immersed in the crowd that he/she eventually becomes invisible, irrelevant, simply ordinary? This was the case with Iliana Blaize, a seventeen year old, fifth-year brilliant witch enrolled in one of the best wizarding schools to date Hogwarts. Her platinum blonde hair fell ordinarily to her shoulders while her bangs cut straight across her forehead and sometimes fell over her never-noticed crystal blue eyes. "She was a pretty thing, thin, but pretty," she would hear people comment, though the fact that anyone had actually taken note of her existence was rare. It was true that she wasn't the widest in places where width was wanted nor was she the tallest or anywhere near it, but nonetheless she had an elegant frame. Of course, however, we are our own worst enemies. Iliana was never one to struggle with her body or its image. She was … satisfied with "how she turned out" as she'd address her features whenever she wrote in her journal; no, this wasn't what she despised about herself. It was her invisibility. Her shyness, her inability to stand out in a crowd, all this bothered her. Iliana wasn't one of those girls who simply wanted to fit in; no, she wanted to stand out. Year after year she'd made it her goal to become a bit more noticed than her years before; however, she never succeeded. Let it be known though, that she wasn't totally isolated; sure a fair few of her roommates in the Hufflepuff girl's dormitory knew her name and often smiled with her, but neither engaged in deep conversation with her. Perhaps she seemed taciturn; perhaps she seemed as if she was far too busy to indulge herself in social activities, or perhaps she simply wasn't interesting enough. She didn't care for their reasoning as to why they didn't talk to her. Perhaps it was partly her fault too, perhaps she hadn't made an initial approach, and therefore setting people at a distance. She shook her head of all thoughts. It was the last day of her fifth year, and already amazing instances had happened this year. Then again, interesting events have been happening since her third year - when the young hero Harry Potter enrolled in Hogwarts. An acclaimed murderer was captured, and then suspiciously went missing soon afterward; the destined-to-die hippogriff Buckbeak that Hogwart's gamekeeper Hagrid had kept as a pet this year (as far as Iliana could remember, Hagrid was always known for collecting the most unusual and particularly dangerous sorts of animals as pets) had escaped his death as well; and Professor Lupin, the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher for this year, was in fact a werewolf. What a wonder!
There was no questioning that the school would no longer have that air of 'normality', whatever little it seemed to possess, with Harry Potter here, but who knew his years at Hogwarts would be filled with such danger, such horror, such … excitement. Iliana wished for just a bit of that to sway her way. She wished that something exciting, riveting and in a strange way unusual would quickly cross paths with her if not somehow slip its way into her life. The longing for something out of the ordinary, for a simple, atypical incident, seemed to be prevalent in her mind, every waking hour of her day. This day was no different; although majority of the school had emptied out into the Great Hall for a bit of socialization before they departed to the Hogwarts Express, the school train that transports the students to and from Hogwarts at intervals during the semester (for example Christmas holidays, etc.), Iliana continued on to the Hufflepuff common room, to gather the remainder of her things. Having spent the night in the library, catching up on homework as well as reading up on several creatures in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Iliana's idea of packing was certainly lost. All except for her sole pet, a rather small, dusty gray barn owl named Jasper who had already been placed in his cage prior to her trip to the library that night. She reached the corridor that harboured the Hogwarts kitchen as well as the passageway to the Hufflepuff common room. Proceeding on she came across the barrels that were to be tapped on in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff' so as to open the passageway. She completed the tapping successfully, and proceeded inside the warm and earthy common room. Its windows looked directly into the grounds, and its cosy wooden furniture gave it the feel of a small, homey cabin. The bee-coloured rugs and pillows also showed the house's pride along with the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff, one of the great founders of the school who believed in justice and fairness as well as education to all those the other founders seemed to have not claimed and of whom the Hufflepuff house takes it name. The portrait raised her cup as it always would in greeting her house members. Iliana gave a small bow of her head out of courtesy before proceeding through the round door marked Girls Dormitory on it. Making her way over to her bed, she heaved the trunk from under the magnificently carved mahogany bed she'd taken refuge in during the semester, whether it was for reading without distraction, or simply resting while having no one who cared enough to talk to her. She pushed all thoughts away. She really couldn't blame anyone, could she? She hadn't made the initiative, and she assumed that made her seem a bit taciturn, which could pose problematic in terms of socializing. Nonetheless, Iliana resumed her packing, gathering all clothes from under her bed, all shoes that she seemed to misplace frequently during intervals at the year, and finally from within the bedside table's drawers one of her prized trinkets, a necklace with a pendant of a skilfully-crafted, gold butterfly. She always claimed it was something she was born with as she couldn't remember the person who'd given it to her; whether it was a family heirloom passed along or if it was a gift from a person so very long ago, she didn't know. Still, she kept it, and she kept it safe, never daring to wear it. After all, who or what did she have to be all dolled up for? Certainly not friends or anything relative of that parties, etc. She'd thought once or twice about just wearing it for herself, but dismissed the idea immediately. She wanted her wearing it to be meaningful. Bringing her lips to golden butterfly, she bestowed a sweet kiss and tucked it away in her trunk. Sure that she gathered all that she needed, Iliana heaved her heavy trunk off the quilted comforter and set it on the ground prepared to place it amongst the others. Giving one more courteous nod to Lady Hufflepuff, Iliana was on her way. She deposited her trunk beside those of her schoolmates and ventured out into the grounds for her time being. There was just something about the grounds that seemed to instil a bit of serenity and tranquillity within one. Perhaps it was the gentle breeze that drifted through the air or the warm, but not overwhelming, heat the sun has to offer, or the way the grass felt when one sat upon it. Or perhaps it was simply because she was a Hufflepuff, a nature-loving being to her core.
A slight smile twitched on her face as she buried her hands in her jacket pockets and wriggled off her shoes, allowing herself to walk barefoot across the freshly cut grass. What a pleasure and treat it was for her to bask in something like this. Although such a small event it may seem, it meant the world to her. Nature, animals, she welcomed them all. In a sense, these factors were her friends. For so long now, living in a somewhat reclusive lifestyle has led her to find her own source of entertainment, and so, she wrote. Quite beautifully, in fact. She'd written several poems about nature's gifts and its curses, and the animals that roamed its vast expanse. She composed stories about native tribes who depended on the forest and its animals for food and game. Often times these stories would conclude in foreigners adapting to the natives' lifestyle as well as the natives' being willing to learn from the foreigners. Compromise, adjustment, spontaneity, newness were characteristics her stories tended to possess. Nature was her inspiration for the talent few knew she possessed. Suddenly something stirred from a nearby berried bush. Iliana's eyes quickly diverted to the rustling bush, as her feet prepared themselves to break off into a sprint. It couldn't be the werewolf professor; no, werewolves only reveal themselves during full moons. Iliana's heart pounded against her chest; although her feet prepared, they froze where they stood. Perhaps this was the adventure she was searching for, and perhaps she didn't want it anymore. No, certainly not! She'd changed her mind! She preferred a quiet, safe life where she could actually not worry about dying. Then suddenly, the rustling had stopped and out whimpered and limped a shaggy, black dog. Iliana had never seen a dog built such as this before. It was strange, but she liked it. The dog's great yellow eyes flocked up to her as it stood with its paw raised in pain. Iliana was immediately moved with compassion. Bringing herself to her knees, Iliana extended her hand to the wounded creature in hopes that she might offer a bit of hospitality and perhaps … friendship. The dog immediately retreated, apparently sensing that she may harm him. "No, no," she whispered to the creature, "it's alright." She watched as the dog, obviously questioning her motives, began to retreat back into the berried bush. Crawling on her knees towards this creature, Iliana gave it a slight smile. "My name is Iliana. I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help," she whispered affectionately to the wounded creature, indicating its paw lifted in pain. The retreat had stopped, but the quizzical dog still hadn't made any attempt to draw near to Iliana. Reaching into her pocket, Iliana withdrew two small crackers she'd been saving for the train ride home. "Here," she said offering one to the wounded animal. The creature's snout sniffed it precariously at first, and then took it directly into its jaws. Iliana beamed a happy smile. "There we are. Now can you trust me," she asked the creature. As if it understood, it limped toward her as steadily as it possibly could. Iliana took the creature's paw in her own, examining it intently. She hadn't assumed it to be broken, but sprained possibly. Flexing the creature's paw several times and bandaging it with a few scraps of cloth Iliana hadn't minded tearing off her pillowcases, Iliana felt at peace once more. She hadn't known whether or not a single Blaize had been a veterinarian, but she felt as if perhaps there might have been one with the slightest potential. After feeding the creature another biscuit, the sound of the Hogwarts Express's horn sounded from quite a distance. Iliana picked herself and her shoes up off the ground. "Well then, Mr. Dog, sir, I can assure you that your wound will be taken care of in a couple of days," she expressed as she struggled to put on or half-put-on her shoes. "So long," she called as she started off toward the Hogwarts Express.
Quickly boarding the train, after tripping over several feet, and bumping into people who "just hadn't seen her there", Iliana found a compartment all to herself. Propping her legs up on the bench and hugging her knees into her chest, she stared out at the green pastures of Hogwarts, where perhaps she felt the most included. Every blade of grass, every leaf of a tree and every whistle in the wind had somehow been an acquaintance of hers. Very Native American, she thought, but it was the truth. Her mind flocked back to the recent encounter with an aspect of nature she'd had. The wounded dog responding to her sentences without hesitation. Was there perhaps a humanlike quality about him? Or perhaps her Hufflepuffness was just kicking in again. She shook her head, clearing out all thought with a light chuckle at herself for thinking the way she did. As the Hogwarts Express began its journey back to the homes of the students on board, Iliana contemplated her recent thought for a while. Perhaps there was an air of unusualness surrounding that creature. Whatever it was, she was sure of one thing. Perhaps truly she had made a friend. A living, breathing friend. A creature, yes, but a friend no less, and with that a smile extended across her face far and wide. Perhaps things truly were… looking up.
As the dog's yellow eyes watched her run off from the distance, something moved inside of him. A feeling of desire, and in a second, this shaggy, black dog had transformed in a handsomely dishevelled man, cloaked in nothing but a filthy, forest green cloak. His thick, uncombed, brown hair fell to his shoulders, and his great brown eyes remained focused on the disappearing image of a stunningly extraordinary girl. She was unlike anything he'd seen before, let alone felt something for. He wasn't sure if he'd felt this way about anyone else. It wasn't love, not yet, but could it be? Love at first sight? He scoffed to himself. Quite cliché, wasn't it? But there was something undeniably … special about her. Perhaps it was her unusual kindness and willingness to aid him despite her uncertainty of his predicament. Or perhaps it was the way she seemed to be wondering the pastures of Hogwarts barefooted and all in her lonesome. Usually and quite often had Hogwarts students formed their own bits of cliques. Why even his orphaned godson had had a few friends to call his own, he was sure of. This girl, though, she was different. She didn't seem to have companions, but she seemed to be uncertain as to if it bothered her or not. The man shook his head once more. Shrugging his shoulders, he sat himself upon the ground, the very spot where this special creature had knelt before his wounded, animagi self. With a small smirk on his face, he pondered upon this girl. "Iliana," he repeated to himself as he continued to stare at the green pastures of Hogwarts while the summer sun began to roll in as brightly as ever. A slight chuckle emanated from him as a beam of sunlight had shone though the thicket and onto a patch of berried bush beside him. "Bright," he repeated to himself as well, a prominent smile placed on his face, before he returned to his furry self and whisked away back to his prior location.
Was Iliana spared at her first encounter with an intervention of fate? Or did she in fact get what she'd wanted? Little did Iliana realize from her recent encounter with this creature, that she might not have been spared a grand and riveting excitement, but in fact she was about to embark on a very new and perhaps particularly dangerous adventure. One surely to change both the lives of herself and her adventurer.
