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A Helping Hand
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Valerie dashed as fast as she could up the dirt pathway that lead from the Quidditch Pitch towards the castle. Hot tears had began to stream down her round face, and her mind was whirling at one thousand miles an hour. She stumbled and fell to the ground and let out an agonizing sob. She quickly scrabbled to her feet, not even bothering to dust herself off, and persisted. She refused to let up on her pace until she was well within the dungeons.
A couple of students stopped to ask her what was wrong when she had sped by, but it was useless. Anger and confusion seared inside of her like a raging fire, causing for her to yet again fall to her knees.
The argument played over and over in her head. What's going to happen to me now? I severed my relationship, what are people going to think?! What's father going to do when he finds out-?!
Her heart pounded in her chest as punched her gloved fist into the floor. More tears of frustration welled and poured from her glistening eyes. The lamps around her began to shiver and shake, and the floor itself seemed to quake. It was much like a mini earthquake had struck the dungeons of Hogwarts. The glass of the green lamps finally burst and they were snuffed out. This left Valerie in complete darkness, still sobbing heavily.
She was very very angry, as well as very very perplexed.
When she had collected herself, she gathered the energy to blindly navigate her way back to the common room. She heard that people were talking to her, but she didn't actually listen. Raphael was nowhere to be seen, but Quincy had apparently let slip to everyone what had happened already. Everyone in the Slytherin common room peered up from what they were doing just to stare at her, like deer in headlights. She didn't care.
She threw the door open to her dormitory, where Leanne Porter and a couple other girls immediately pounced on her with loads of irritating "gossip" questions. Valerie, her eyes still heavily bloodshot, tried her hardest to ignore them. When Leanne decided to grab her sleeve was when Valerie snapped. She violently slapped Leanne's hand away, "Leave... me... alone." Valerie seethed, her slow annunciation was quite frightening. Leanne's eyes bulged. She held her hand in pain, and took two cautious steps back. She apologized silently, and rushed out of the room with all the other girls in fear.
Valerie ripped her Quidditch cloaks off and changed for bed. She slid into her bed and pulled the heavy quilt over her head. She curled into a ball, still sobbing silently, and somehow managed to find sleep.
XXX
Valerie woke very late the next morning. It was past nine o'clock, which meant that first period was already half-way over. She rose from bed and got ready for the day at snail-pace, because she really didn't give a flying fuck what would result from being late. The worst case scenario was probably a weekend detention.
She shuffled her way up the dungeons and corridors, her eyes still slightly puffy looking, and her face was much more pale than usual. She eventually reached the tower that Transfiguration was held in. Still feeling incredibly drained from last night, she opened the door unenergetically. She felt the whole classroom's eyes on her, and she figured they were all amazed at how Valerie had managed to be late for once.
"Mrs. Rinaldo!" Professor Vlamer piped up happily, fixing his monocle as he spoke. "How nice of you to join us at last! Luckily for you, we postponed the test until Friday! Go ahead and take your seat, hopefully Mr. Hampton can help you catch up!"
Valerie felt the slightest feeling of relief at Vlamer's tolerance for her tardiness. It immediately vanished as she made the embarrassing walk of shame down the middle of the classroom's long aisle. Everyone still watched her as though it were some kind of phenomenon, and she swore she heard a couple of Gryffindor girls giggle. Only then did Valerie realize that she hadn't brushed her hair that morning, and it probably looked god-awful. Her lip twitched and she thought nothing more of it.
She made it to her seat at last and slumped down into the chair. She dropped her bag listlessly with a loud thump, and folded her arms on the table. She rested her head on top of her arms, hiding her face almost shamefully. She wasn't about to let Joel see her in this condition.
Ten minutes had passed, and Valerie still hadn't moved. A boy she knew in Slytherin walked over to their table and tried to talk to her and cheer her up, but he failed miserably. Receiving a defensive look from Joel, the boy returned to his seat in defeat. Vlamer himself tried to talk to her, but he alas got no reply. Frowning sympathetically, he patted Valerie on the shoulder and walked away in full understanding.
Five more minutes passed, and she knew class would be over soon. It wasn't until she was about to move and grab her bag was when she felt a hand on her back. She shuddered, as Joel rubbed her back gently. Valerie sniffed, welcoming the comfort from him. She was in no mood to talk, but just knowing that someone was there helped.
Vlamer had dismissed the class, but Valerie still sat in her seat with her head on her arms; Joel didn't budge either, still trying his hardest to comfort his Transfiguration partner. He had no idea what was wrong, but he knew it must've been something quite terrible to make Valerie act this way.
After what seemed like an eternity to her, Valerie lifted her head. Her eyes were still only slightly red, but something about them showed the world the pain she was in. She bent down and grabbed her bag, hoisted it on her shoulder and looked over at Joel. His eyes were soft, and his large smile was warm. Valerie's spirits had been lifted, and she managed to curl her lips into a very small smile. He stood when she did, still not saying a word, when the moment was inconveniently interrupted.
"What's taking you forever?" Rachel's tone was a little too bitchy, Valerie thought to herself bitterly. Rachel's chocolate eyes switched from her boyfriend and back to Valerie. She looked disgusted by what she saw.
"Hold on one moment, Ray." Joel said rather impatiently, keeping his eyes on Valerie. To this Rachel crossed her arms in contempt, still bearing down on the pair with eyes that screamed jealously. Valerie looked up at him once more, feeling his warm hand on her shoulder once again. He patted her twice, much like Vlamer did, but the feeling she got in return was worlds different. "Take it easy, Valerie." he instructed her genially as she stared at the floor again, overwhelmed by the situation she so feared of falling in to.
With that he left her standing alone. Valerie followed him with her eyes as he walked over to Rachel who was now tapping her foot. "What the hell are you doing with a Rinaldo of all people, Joel?" She was whispering but her tone was so harsh that Valerie could make out every word of her sentence. "Those people are heartless and repulsive! Or do you not remember that match against Slytherin a while back?" They walked side by side out of the door, and Valerie heard Joel's deep voice reply, but could not decipher the words.
XXX
Valerie sat alone on a small, wooden bench outside the enormous walls of Hogwarts castle. It was a rather reclusive spot, in the shade of a wonky looking maple tree, which she liked. She often went there to be alone, or if she needed to escape for some fresh air, and in this case it was the latter. She studied the long grass as it swayed in the autumn gust. It was all beginning to brown, signaling that winter was well on it's way. She inhaled deeply, feeling the wind whip through her hair. Her cheeks were reddening and numb, due to the chilly air but she didn't mind it much. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. All she had on was her school uniform and robes, with no gloves or a scarf to help keep her warm. She looked up to the clouds, which were now turning a beautiful shade of pink, with random splashes of orange as the sun began to set. This caused her to grin.
The news of her break-up with Raphael spread like a nasty wildfire through the school. Luckily, many did not know exactly what was said in the conversation, (thanks to Quincy restricting himself.) They just had knowledge of the very nasty, and explosive disagreement. It was inevitable that ridiculous rumors spread, and one even let others to believe that Valerie had punched Raphael squarely in the face, which of course wasn't true. However infuriated she was with the controlling bastard at the moment, she would never dare to stoop so low.
She had a discussion with Daniel in Astronomy, which was probably the first conversation she held with someone since the argument. Daniel knew to avoid the subject of Raphael, which Valerie respected immensely. Instead they talked about their third year bogart experiences, where Daniel broke out into a hilarious story of him having to face larger than life, rabid rat. Valerie giggled and explained how her bogart turned into what seemed like a pool of water that "filled" the classroom. The teacher had to step in, due to Valerie being completely petrified, because she was more than convinced that she would drown. They both laughed as she desperately explained how she can't swim, so it all made perfect sense.
Recalling the conversation had already put Valerie in a better mood as she sat alone. She rose one small hand to her hair and began to twirl a lock of it between her fingers, her eyes were still pensive as they interpreted each colorful cloud formation as different figures or shapes.
She felt a presence and looked to her left, knowing already who it was. Joel always had the tendency of finding her, but this time it was just flat out peculiar. She was far far away from any kind of heavily trafficked area in the castle. Plus it was nearly dark, and also nearly time for curfew.
"How'd you find me?" she asked, hugging herself even more tightly, as the cold air whipped against her pale skin even more. She was a little grateful when he sat down beside her on the old wooden bench, because he blocked some of the harsh wind with his tall, lean body. He wasn't wearing his cloak. Instead he wore a jacket over his school sweater, and a blue and silver scarf wrapped around his long neck.
He furrowed his brow at her question. "You act like it's rocket science or something." he stated, his gelled hair barely moving in the wind. Unlike Valerie's, her's lashed at her face uncomfortably.
"Well, this is an awfully large campus, if you haven't noticed... Joel." she replied, calling him by his first name for the first time.
He smiled pleasantly, but didn't look at her, his gray eyes were on the sunset. Valerie could see the warm colors of the sky reflecting beautifully within them. "If you really want to know, I just asked Quincy and them during dinner. I got a lot of dirty looks in the process, but eventually they told me you were probably outside near the Astronomy tower. They told me that's a hang out of yours or something like that."
Valerie's heart skipped a beat. Joel went searching for me, and asked Quincy, of all people, where I was? Oh god... That's not good, that's not good at all! "I hope to god Raphael wasn't at the table... Was he?" she asked quietly.
"No. I didn't see him." Joel replied plainly, still watching the sunset with interest. Thank god... Wait! How does Quincy know where I like to hang out by myself?! I might of told him without knowing... Damn, I need to find a new place!
Valerie shivered violently, and her teeth were noticeably chattering. Joel noticed this and, as though it were his que, scooted closer to her. Her cheeks felt warm again as she watched him remove his scarf from around his neck. He held it in his hand and looked at her expectantly. When she shook her head he rolled his eyes and smirked. "Here," he said, and he began to wrap it around her gently. He took special care to make sure her hair was below the blue scarf, so it wouldn't whip at her cheeks anymore. A little surprised at his insistence, she just shrugged. "You're loss, I guess." she teased, although she was actually quite glad that he offered it to her. His scarf kind of smelled like cinnamon.
He hunched his shoulders to remove his jacket, when Valerie intervened. "No, no, no, I'm not that cold, it's fine-"
"Take it!" He coaxed, pushing it closer to her, and she decided to give in. She was really cold, after all. Valerie looked at his rather tight fitting black sweater, over the nice white button up accompanied by a blue tie of course. The core of the uniform, as all students knew, and she couldn't imagine how cold he was beginning to feel in that alone. She noted his very long and lean torso, but yet he wasn't lanky looking. His physique was very easy on her eyes.
She then moved her gaze upward and studied the recognizable eagle patch on the right side of his sweater. She smiled meekly, and couldn't help but feel like it was refreshing to see something other than a snake for once. "Do you like being in Ravenclaw..?" Valerie couldn't help herself from asking. She felt him move against her arm as he leaned forward, lacing his hands together over his knees.
"I guess it's alright," he said, and then paused to yawn before continuing, "-I have to deal with quite a few know-it-alls. But that's the only downfall, really." Valerie thoroughly enjoyed listening to Joel's rhythmic way of speaking.
There was a long pause, and Valerie sniffed a little before saying, "Sometimes I wish I wasn't in Slytherin..."
Joel turned his full attention to her after the statement. He looked appalled at what she just admitted to. "R-really?" he asked, trying not to sound too surprised. "Why? I thought since-"
"Since I'm a Rinaldo with famous blood that I'd have an obsession with being in Slytherin? No, not at all... I think the Sorting Hat placed me in Slytherin just because of my background and family. I don't think I was sorted based on my character at all. And sometimes... Sometimes... I kind of feel ashamed of who I am and what I'm expected to be.... " The words came to her fluidly, due to being bottled up for years. Her lip trembled a little bit, and she blinked a couple of times. There was a still silence, before she weakly said, "I.. I haven't told anyone that before... Promise me you-"
"I won't." His tone was short, serious and very believable. "I'd never."
Another pause. "...You know, you're really easy to talk to, Joel." she whispered almost inaudibly. "... You don't judge me like everyone else."
"I know." he said warmly, causing Valerie to genuinely smile at him. After yet another awkward pause, he began to laugh, and she did too, and they locked eyes yet again. Her heart began to beat faster, and she swore she saw his freckled cheeks turn just a hue pink.
"It's almost dark." Valerie said finally. The sun had set behind the mountains, and it had grow even colder.
Joel was starting to shiver just a little bit, and his lips were beginning to become discolored, but he shrugged. "I barely ever make curfew," he admitted easily.
The wind howled, and the sky was now turning a deep blue color, "We can at least go back into the castle where it's warm-"
"-And get caught by a teacher? Are you crazy? We should hold off on that for about an hour after curfew. That's when they all give up and go to bed." Joel sounded like a pro, like he knew what he was talking about. So Valerie ultimately decided trust in him. So the pair continued to sit, talking and laughing together. They discussed many things ranging from school, to Quidditch, and apparently even swimming. Valerie looked uncertain as Joel described his great passion for the sport when he was home for his summer vacations. He was actually quite accomplished in the butterfly stroke, having won medals and trophies from various prestigious meets and competitions. Valerie listened politely, nodding and smiling to his enthusiasm. Eventually he asked her the question she had been dreading, and she looked to her feet to try and comfort her through what she was about to admit.
"...I don't know how to swim... Actually... I'm scared to death of the water." Spitting it out was harder than she imagined. She still looked at her feet, but it was hard to tell that she was heavily blushing from embarrassment because of her wind kissed cheeks.
Joel didn't say anything at first. It was hard to find something appropriate to say to that. He bit his lip, pondering, and Valerie became even more aware and embarrassed of her huge shortcoming as the seconds dragged on.
"I could teach you."
Valerie rose her eyebrows in doubt. "Psh, really? I think it's impossible-"
"-Of course it isn't!" he said quickly, scooting even closer to her, his eyes suddenly wide with child-like excitement. His face was very close to hers now, but she wasn't phased at all by the close conversation. "I could try to teach you in the lake! Of course, when summer rolls around towards the end of the year, it's apparently far too cold right now-,"
"-I don't know-"
"C'mon, Val!" Joel encouraged her, and Valerie just rolled her eyes with a small laugh and said, "Fine-fine! I'll let you try to teach me, but you'll regret it."
His grin was huge, and he now looked extremely excited about his new task. "Awesome!"
Valerie noticed that most the stars had appeared in the sky above. This was probably the signal for them to head back in. She stood without warning, and reluctantly removed the warm and cozy jacket. "Thanks so much for letting me use that." she said happily.
Joel also stood to his towering height. He nodded, still smiling. "No problem, anytime." Valerie thought it was actually quite funny how much taller he was than her. It was almost a foot in difference.
They snuck back into the castle together, creeping along the sides of the corridors all the way up until they had to go their separate ways. They stared at each other, unsure if a hug would be too much, and Valerie turned her back on him before she was tempted too much more. "Bye." She whispered, and she began to walk away lightly on her feet.
"See you tomorrow." he whispered back, but Joel was quite sure she didn't hear him. He watched longingly as she made her way slowly and gracefully down the stone corridor, before finally rounding a corner and disappearing from his vision.
