Author's Note/Whining: This chapter took a bit longer. Struggled a bit with it. Some chapters I have really clear in my head, and it's an easy matter to get them onto paper. Others, I have to pull kicking and screaming from the ether. This chapter most definitely falls in the latter category. Been trying to keep close to a weekly cadence on these chapters, but this one just took longer to get out in a semi-decent state. Sorry about that.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Rolling Back the Storms

The second time that Juvia Lockser was ever grateful for the rain that followed her was when she realized that people were far more forgiving of snow than rain.

During late November, a chill took hold of Hogwarts. Her endless rain turned white and soft and blanketed the school in crisp white snow. Inis Stoirm had never been cold enough to turn her rain into anything more than freezing sleet that coated the pathways. All it was good for was making walking a hazard for the Sisters and other girls as they cursed her existence yet again. Here, though, as Juvia and Gajeel emerged from the dungeons on their way to the Great Hall one weekend, they were greeted by the sound of laughter and excited chatter coming from outside the castle walls. Curious, Juvia stopped by one of the windows and peered out into a world turned bright and new.

"Gajeel! Gajeel, look!"

The Redfox boy paused next to her. "S'just snow, Raindrop," he said, looking far less excited than Juvia at the change in scenery.

"That's snow?" Juvia asked with a small gasp. Some of the stories she read in the abbey's books had written about snow, but the image she had crafted in her head paled in comparison to the scene that stretched before her.

"Ya've never seen snow, either? Raindrop, ya really need to get off that island."

Juvia ignored the boy's comment, latching onto his arm. "Let's go outside!" she said as she attempted to drag the boy with her to the nearest door.

The boy stayed right where he was, Juvia's attempts at pulling him laughably ineffective. "I'm hungry," he said, glowering at her.

"You can get breakfast later! Please, Gajeel!"

"Fine, fine. But ya ain't goin' out like that. End up back in the Infirmary, and ya just stopped coughin' last week. Come on." With far greater ease, Gajeel grabbed a hold of the blunette's arm and dragged her back to the dungeons, the little newly-crowned snow witch resisting the entire way to try to get back to the window and its winter landscape. When they were back in the Common Room, she was sent to her dorm to get her heaviest coat, woolen hat and woolen gloves and only when she arrived suitably attired did Gajeel agree to let the blunette head back up the stairs to the waiting wonderland.

Once back upstairs, Juvia was out the door in a flash, Gajeel following behind at a much more leisurely and reluctant pace. Juvia darted out on to the fresh snow, unable to suppress the laugh that burst out of her as she felt the snow crunch beneath the feet, felt the flakes of snow that fell soft around her, for once spared the pelting of rain drops. She had only just paused when she felt something strike her from behind. She spun around, half-expecting to see Minerva or one of her other dormmates and their sneering faces, but all she found was Gajeel grinning back at her, another freshly packed snowball in his hands.

"And now, Raindrop, I'm gonna show ya the only thing snow's really good for. A good fight!"

Juvia shrieked and ducked away as another snowball hurtled towards her, clipped just in the shoulder. The missile burst into soft powder on impact.

"Come on, Raindrop! Pick up a weapon and fight back!" The Redfox boy called out as he reached down to make another snowball. Juvia scrambled to make one herself, but the snowball didn't make it very far, falling apart long before it reached the other Slytherin. The boy shook his head. "Time out!" he called, tossing his current ammo onto the ground as he approached the girl. "Step one to a good snowball fight is making a decent snowball. Watch."

After a few minutes of instruction on the proper tactics to packing a snowball, the fight resumed with Gajeel winning handedly until Juvia figured out that her slight frame and quicker speed gave her a far better advantage when it came to ducking behind trees and other cover.

Once Juvia had had enough of the fight, collapsing into the snow panting for breath, Gajeel declared victory and then joined Juvia in a far less violent activity, making snowmen, only grumbling occasionally about the ache of his stomach. At least until a new challenger appeared in the form of the Dragneel boy. After a surprise attack on the Slytherin pair that decapitated their just finished snowman, an all out battle began between Dragneel and Gajeel while Juvia ducked behind a tree to avoid the crossfire. It was clearly not a fight for novices.

The battle continued until the two found a common target in Laxus Dreyar and his group who had just emerged from the castle. After an initial volley that landed a couple of good hits on Freed Justine and Bickslow Kerry, wands were pulled out and both Dragneel and Gajeel were buried beneath a snow drift a half moment later.

When Dreyar and his lot retreated back indoors again, Juvia snuck out from behind her tree and began digging out Gajeel, the Redfox boy letting out a long string of curses as she did. "Dammit, Dragneel, this is yer fault. If ya hadn't tripped me, I woulda knocked Dreyar on his ass."

"Dream on, tin head. You couldn't hit the broad side of a castle," the pink-haired boy snapped back, the words muffled a little underneath the snow.

"Just wait 'til I get my arms free, flame breath."

"Gajeel, would you hold still? You're just knocking more snow back onto you," Juvia scolded as she shoveled more of the snow away.

"Just use a charm."

"You're the charm expert. Juvia's not. She's just as likely to bury you as get you out. Now hold still."

Ten minutes later, Gajeel was free. With a parting curse to the Dragneel boy, he started towards the Great Hall. "Come on, Raindrop."

"Blue, wait! Get me out too!" Dragneel called out to her. She paused and then took a step towards the boy, only to be dragged away by Gajeel.

"Hell no. Ya stay where ya are until yer idiot friends come and dig ya out. Let's go, Raindrop. I'm starved."

"Gajeel -," Juvia started as she stumbled after Gajeel, struggling to keep pace with the other Slytherin who hadn't yet let go of his hold on her arm.

"Nope. Idiot deserves to cool down a bit."

"He'll catch a cold, and it'll be Juvia's fault."

"He's a Dragneel. They don't get colds, the flame-brained idiots. Too stupid to get them. Don't worry, he'll probably melt the snow himself in a few minutes."

Still protesting, she nonetheless followed Gajeel to the Great Hall. They found a couple of empty seats at the Slytherin table as trays of food apparated in before them. Gajeel immediately began piling food onto his plate while Juvia glanced over to the Gryffindor table, looking to where Gray and his friends sat chatting over their breakfast.

She wanted to go over and tell them about Dragneel. She did. But her courage failed her. She was a Slytherin. Just an evil Slytherin git. Another dark wizard in training, just like the ones that had destroyed their families and their homes. What right did she even have to go and talk to them? He wouldn't even want to see her, would he? Not likely. Not anymore. Her doubts keeping her firmly planted in her seat, she poked at her food absently.

"Eat somethin'," Gajeel ordered between mouthfuls.

Juvia made a face at the black-haired boy, but she obediently shoved a forkful into her mouth. Once she had eaten enough to satisfy Gajeel and once he had finished devouring a bit of everything in sight, she darted back out of the Great Hall, Gajeel following behind leisurely. She ran back outside to find that Gray and the other Gryffindors had found the Dragneel boy by this point, though none of them seemed to be in any hurry to dig the pink-haired boy out again. Her courage failing her yet again, she ducked behind one of the trees to watch the group.

They were piling snow onto the Dragneel boy, but she hardly noticed. Her eyes found their way to Gray. He was leaning back against one of the trees, arms folded over his chest, laughing as Heartfilia and one of the other Gryffindor boys, Loke Llewellyn, dumped another armful of snow on to Dragneel, the pink-haired boy complaining incessantly all the while. In spite of the cold, she felt warm and bright as she watched him, a smile spreading across her face.

He was happy.

She made him happy. In a roundabout way.

It was her rain. Her snow. Her curse. It made him smile. For a moment, she didn't feel like the cursed little rain witch of Inis Stoirm. For a moment, her rain felt like the blessing that the abbess had always insisted it was.

"Why's yer face so stupid?" Gajeel asked as he walked up next to her, munching on an apple he had brought with him from the Great Hall.

"Juvia's face isn't stupid," she snapped back.

"Not normally it ain't, but it is now."

"Is not."

"Come on, Raindrop. Too many Gryffindorks 'round here. We'll go find some other spot." The other Slytherin stalked off.

Juvia, after one last glance at Gray, trotted after him.

"Aren't you going to start packing?" Juvia asked as they watched one student after another drag up trunks into the Common Room.

The two Slytherins had camped out in their usual spot, a window seat by one of the great floor to ceiling windows that faced out into the lake. One of the Common Room's many large tapestries - a massively ornate scene bearing the crest of some house long forgotten - hung from just above the window and swept down to the floor, hiding most of the seat away and obscuring them from the other students. Only a small portion of the seat remain exposed, leaving them a way to peer out but only giving some ability for others to peer in It reminded her of her little alcove in the abbey, a secret spot to keep her hidden and safe from the other girls and Sisters, though this hiding spot was large enough to also shelter Gajeel. Her alcove at the abbey certainly wasn't large enough to hide Gajeel away, even on his own. She wondered briefly if it was even large enough to hide her anymore. It seemed so long ago.

The window seat was also the closest she could get to the lake without breaking her promise to the Headmaster, the gentle song that so concerned him drifting in from the other side of the glass.

"Ain't goin' back home this year," Gajeel muttered, leaning back against the window with arms folded over his chest.

"Why not?"

"My uncle's on assignment for the Ministry. He's gonna be away fer a couple a years. That means it's just me and the old bat, and the less time I spend around her, the better."

"The old bat?"

"My aunt. She's like my ma. Daft and arrogant. She's a Blacksteel, my ma's sister, and the Blacksteels ain't much better than the Redfoxes. My uncle's a Blacksteel too, but he's... well, he's decent, I guess. He's an ass too, but he ain't an evil shit like the rest of my family."

"So you're going to spend your holidays here?"

"Yeah. And then I'll find some way to hide here during the summer break too for the next couple a years. How about you? Not gonna go back and see yer abbess?"

Juvia shook her head. "The Reverend Mother is busy, Juvia imagines. She doesn't need Juvia underfoot for a few weeks."

"Good. Ya can help me find a way to break into the Gryffindor tower. Gotta come up with a good hex to put on that Dragneel idiot's room while he's away."

Juvia rolled her eyes. "That's not happening. Juvia's not spending two weeks in detention during the holidays."

"Pfft. Yer no fun."

She shrugged and returned to stitching together a new teru teru bozu.

He watched her idly for a moment. "Why ya messin' with those still? Ain't that what yer charm's for?"

"There's a potion that Juvia made on Inis Stoirm. Last week, she found the same potion in one of the later chapters of her Potions book. The book has an entirely different way to make the same potion," she replied without looking up from her newest talisman. "She asked Professor Precht about it. He told her that most potions have different recipes to get to the same result."

"Fascinatin'," the boy said drolly. "There a point to that?"

"This is just another recipe," she said as she finished the last stitch of the latest teru teru bozu doll. "There has to be some recipe that'll work." She snipped the straggling thread and leaned back to peer out the window. The inky black waters of the lake greeted her as they did ever morning, no signs of light making it down below the surface. With a weary sigh, she reopened her book and compared her finished product with the one on the page, searching for some defect. Maybe her stitches were too large? Or maybe it needed a different sort of cloth?

"Ya ask me, that little doll's just some Muggle nonsense. Better off with a proper spell."

"Well, Juvia needs to try something," she replied as she fastened this newest attempt to her cloak, just below her amulet and removing the teru teru bozu that had been previously fixed there. She pointed her wand to the old attempt. "Reverte." The teru teru bozu doll broke apart, returning it to the pile of cloth and thread it had been crafted from. "Professor Makarov's going to just send her away at some point if she doesn't show any progress." Gajeel snorted and rolled his eyes at the thought. "He's going to think she's a waste of effort. It's a wonder he hasn't cast her out already."

"Doubt that's happening, but if yer worried, I'll work with ya on the charm this break. 'Tween the two of us, we should be able to figure it out... Dammit, Raindrop, what'd I say about hugging me?"

"Meteolojinx Recanto."

The pair watched as the blue light climbed upwards from their perch on one of the courtyard's benches, the gently falling snow slowly burying them. The courtyard, like most the school, was largely empty and quiet. Only a handful of students had remained at Hogwarts for the break, leaving Juvia and Gajeel with largely free reign of the school. Gajeel was less than enthusiastic that they were losing that opportunity to studying but he kept most of the grumbling to a minimum for her sake.

"Eh. I think yer movements are still off a little," Gajeel said as the blue light hit the clouds, the impact not registering at all.

Juvia puffed out her cheeks, glaring at the clouds that still hovered overhead, half hoping that if the charm didn't scare them away, her utter contempt for them would. The clouds, however, seemed unimpressed by either the girl's spell or glare and stayed resolutely where they were. "Juvia isn't going to ever get this spell to work."

"Ya can't say that. Ya figured out the Mending Charm, didn't ya? Just took ya a week or two."

"Juvia's been trying this charm for almost four months now and nothing."

"It's a harder spell, that's all. Still got a week before next term starts. Plenty a time to figure it out. Here, let's see the wand again," he said. She flicked the wand again, just as she had several hundred times before, Gajeel watching every movement. He had her repeat it a few times, studying her and then the book and then her again. "Try not to twist yer wrist so much. Should be more of a downward motion than a swoop." After another few dozen wordless attempts later, Gajeel seemed satisfied with the adjustments. "Okay, give it another go."

Juvia took another deep breath and flicked her wand skyward. "Meteolojinx Recanto." The blue light shot upwards once more, but a sliver of blue only poked through the clouds for a second before the storm returned.

"Not a bad attempt, Miss Lockser," a voice like oil on the ear spoke behind her. Juvia cringed, a small shiver running down her spine, before she turned to face Professor Jose. The pointed man smiled at her and Gajeel while Juvia fought the urge to hide behind the taller boy.

"Good afternoon, Professor Jose," Gajeel said, his demeanor immediately changing around the tall, thin professor. Gajeel had little respect or patience for most people, even professors, but Professor Jose proved to be one of the few that managed both from the Redfox boy. It didn't hurt that Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of the few classes that Gajeel ever seemed to look forward to. It also happened to be the class that Juvia dreaded.

"Hello, Mister Redfox. I'm happy to see the two of you aren't sitting idle during the holidays like so many of your classmates. It shows a dedication to your schooling that's very admirable," the professor said with a charm that sounded so hollow to her.

The Slytherin boy straightened, lips twitching up into a smile, while Juvia bit down on her lip, deciding not to mention that it wasn't so much her education she was concerned with.

"You know, if the two of you are really interested in expanding your abilities, I do teach a small group of some of my more gifted and dedicated students after classes. Students who wish to learn more than just the standard curriculum. Are you interested?"

"Yes, sir," came Gajeel's immediate response, not even sparing a glance to Juvia.

The pointed professor smiled down at her. "Miss Lockser?" She looked to Gajeel, to the excitement that she rarely saw outside of Quidditch matches. Heaving a quiet sigh, she nodded. "Wonderful. I'm teaching a session tonight. I look forward to seeing both of you there." With a nod to them, he left the pair.

Gajeel turned to her, grinning ear to ear. "D'ya know what this means, Raindrop? We're gonna be in the Phantom Lords!"

"The Phantom Lords?"

"It's a club that Jose runs. It's been around Hogwarts for centuries. Only the best Defense Against the Dark Arts students are ever invited. The students in it are practically guaranteed t'be Aurors when they get out of Hogwarts. My uncle was even in it when he was at Hogwarts, back when previous old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was running it. I can be an Auror, just like him!" He beamed at her. She'd never seen him so excited. Not even after a good Quidditch match. "I'll be the first Redfox Auror ever!"

Juvia didn't say anything at first. Part of her just wanted to go along, but after a moment, she said quietly, "Juvia's not so sure about this, Gajeel."

"What's wrong?" he asked, his smile faltering.

Guilt nipped at her for draining his enthusiasm, but she couldn't shake the sinking feeling she had. "She doesn't trust Professor Jose."

"I know he's a little odd, Raindrop, but he's a Hogwarts Professor. And he's an expert in the Defense Against the Dark Arts. We can learn a lot from him."

Juvia frowned and looked away, though she didn't press him further. He leaned towards her, setting an arm on her head and scrunching down her hat. She batted at the arm to shoo it away, not that he paid her any mind. "Don't worry, Raindrop. S'gonna be okay. I ain't gonna let anything or anyone harm ya."

Her shoulders sagged as she muttered under her breath, "It's not Juvia that Juvia's worried about."

"Meteolojinx Recanto."

Juvia watched expectantly as the blue light rocketed skyward, breath lodged in her throat as she waited for the blue patch of sky. Like so many times before, the gray clouds parted just a moment to reveal a fleeting patch of blue, only for the storm to overtake it once more a few seconds later. Her breath rushed out in a heavy sigh as she laid her chin on the windowsill, staring at the stormy sky. The rain, returned to its rightful state now that the chill of February had given way to the warming days of March, drummed a pattern in sync with her disappointment that followed another failed casting.

"Hrm," she heard Professor Makarov hum behind her. "This isn't working."

A whimper escaped her lips before she could suppress it as she whipped around to face the Headmaster. "She-she'll try harder! She will! Please don't give up on her!"

"Hush, my girl, hush. I didn't mean it that way. I mean we're just missing something. Something's wrong with how we're approaching this," the Headmaster said. "Your incantation is fine. So is your wand work. I see nothing in either that should prevent the spell from working, so I'm inclined to think it's the memory. It's not powerful enough to repel the more negative emotions. What are you using as your memory?"

Juvia flushed slightly. "She's using the memory of when she first saw the sky."

Professor Makarov was silent a moment before asking, "Tell me, child, what did you feel when you first saw the sky?"

"She was happy. She never saw anything so beautiful before," she said.

"What else?"

"Sir?"

"Emotions are messy things. Even in happiness, you can still feel other emotions. Sorrow, anger, jealousy. What else did you feel when you saw the sky?"

She paused a moment, replaying the moment in her mind. After a space of silence, she responded, "Fear. Juvia was afraid it'd be taken from her again."

Professor Makarov nodded. "Think it's safe to say that it's the fear that's calling back the storm again. You'll need another memory. Something less complicated."

Juvia frowned. "She doesn't really have any happier memories."

"It doesn't have to be happier. Just less complicated. Surely there's some moment that you can think back to that simply makes you feel better."

Gray's laugh flashed into her mind, bright and clear as the day she first heard it in Ollivander's shop. She closed her eyes and focused on that day in the wand shop. The way he smiled. The way she felt wanted for once. The way her heart seemed to flutter in her chest whenever he looked at her. She clutched her wand closer to her chest as she let the memory replay in her head.

"Good," she heard Professor Makarov say. "Let's give this a try." She opened her eyes, the wand glowing more brightly than it had in previous attempts. "Go on."

Hope rising in her chest and the memory of Gray's laugh still ringing in her ears, she flicked the wand skyward once again. "Meteolojinx Recanto." Off the blue light went, climbing up into the stormy heavens. When it disappeared into the dark gray clouds, the sky rippled, like a raindrop hitting the lake's surface. Then the clouds rolled back, repulsed by the light. It all vanished. The storm clouds were gone. Not a trace left behind. As if they'd never been there at all.

"Well done, my girl!" She heard Professor Makarov said behind her.

She couldn't respond. Her wand clattered onto the floor, dropped by her slackened grip. But still the sky stayed, clear and blue. So blue.

"I want you to keep practicing the charm. Anytime you experience strong negative emotions, you might find that the storms return, so you'll need to be prepared to use the charm again in those situations," he continued on.

She scarcely heard him. She whipped around and flew at the Headmaster, wrapping her arms around the man not much taller than she was. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" They were the only words she could think to say then as her tears slipped free.

After an initial pause of shock, the professor patted her on the back. "There, there, my girl. That's what we're here for."

Smiling, Juvia darted back to the window, taking in all the colors she'd been deprived of before then. "Oh," she breathed. "The lake! It's so blue!" It sparkled in the sun, glittering. It had been nothing but a rolling black mass of swells before, but now it sparkled like a sapphire around the castle. "Is the ocean as blue?"

"In some places," he responded after a pause. "In others, even bluer."

She breathed a happy sigh, every color so much more vibrant now. "May Juvia stay here for a moment?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, my child." She heard the smile in his voice without having to see it. "Stay as long as you want."