Chapter 11

Where time stands still

Remus stayed behind with the other two, watching silently at the exchange taking place. It didn't look like it was going well, but it was not like their hopes were all that high anyway. When Val turned and marched in to the classroom leaving Sirius behind, they didn't know what to make of his expression.

"What did she say?" Remus asked, not really sure if he even wanted to know the answer. It probably just meant more trouble when he already had more than he felt he could deal with right now.

"I should have been more specific with the terms when I made the deal with her." Sirius admitted looking rather embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" James asked reluctantly.

"I mean, that now we have four months to suck up to her before we really have to leave her alone, but that doesn't mean she has to do anything to make it easier to us. Basically that means she doesn't have to spend any time with us or anything like that if she doesn't want to. She can't completely avoid us or ignore us either, but she wont make this easy on us." He explained with a dark look on his face. It would be easier to just turn back time and make it like nothing ever happened, but unfortunately that was not an option.

"I guess eventually there had to be a time when our pranks would come back to bite us in the ass." Remus muttered earning a few bewildered looks from his friends. He was too tired to care about their opinions right now, too tired to care about proper language either so he just started towards the classroom and tried to slip in quietly to avoid detention – yet another thing he was too tired for.

-XXX-

It was late in the afternoon and for most of the few students in the classroom this would be their last class of the day. The sky behind the big windows was starting to get dark and didn't provide much of natural light to the canvas Val was working on. To her it was not a problem but Kia was squinting her eyes while spreading more of the same shade of blue that had decorated her left ear for the whole day. Every now and then she would shoot Val with one of those piercing green looks that felt like she was trying to drill holes in to your soul and hoping all your secrets would just spill out of the holes.

"What are you painting?" Valerian eventually asked, more in order to get her to stop staring than because she was actually curious.

"Oh this? I'm trying to make something for my grandma. It's about these family traditions of ours that are really important to her. " Kia took few steps back and tilted her head, scrutinizing her work with a dissatisfied expression.

"I just can't get it to look right." she let out a frustrated puff while Val rounded their easels and came to stand next to her. Kia's painting was a rather large swirl of intense shades of red, blue and yellow. Few strange symbols and curious shapes were scattered around the canvas in a seemingly nonexistent order. Other Kia's paintings Val had seen were nothing like this one, and to be quite honest she wasn't really able to understand this one at all.

"Intriguing." was all she could say for that at least was true.

"Yeah I know it is hard to get." Kia sniffed and started collecting her things in to a big wooden box full of different colored paint smudges covering its surface. "It's a cultural thing I guess, but I know mom and grandma will like it" she explained. The box snapped shut and Kia turned to look at her expectantly.

"I'm sure they will." Val told her and that too was true. Kia just had to hear it every once in a while.

"It will be a Christmas present." she was smiling again and picking up speed "I love it when I get back home for winter holidays. It's so different than here... we have so much snow and everything is so pretty..." Kia continued her rant while Valerian collected her few belongings and started towards the door. Their teacher nodded them good bye and they started the journey towards their dorms.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Kia eventually asked with a peculiar look, like what she was asking wasn't really what she was asking, and what she was really asking was something else entirely.

"It's not really up to me." was Val's detached reply that made the other girl frown at her.

"What is it like? Your home I mean?" was the next question in line. Now it was Val's turn to frown.

"Big?" was all she could come up with, and even that came out as a question.

"Oh yeah. With your dads profession you guys must be pretty rich right?" It wasn't really offensive, not with the way she said it, like it was just common sense. Like having an apple tree made a lot of apples.

"Somewhat." Val shrugged and stopped at their common-room door.

A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with wands ready, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him? Asked the raven head.

"Is it just me, or have the riddles become more and more morbid?" Kia asked with a bewildered expression, not really even bothering to try and solve the riddle anymore.

"If you don't feed lions for three years they are already dead, so the third one." Val answered to the door that grudgingly swung open and let them in. They walked between small tables with groups of studying ravenclaws and found their way to their now usual spot partially behind a large armor and out of sight.

" How do you always solve them so fast? " Kia wanted to know, while she dug through her bag for something.

"I once had a teacher like that." Val explained, thinking about Kayn who had been stuck inside her room again for the whole day.

"Were you home schooled?" her voice was muffled by all the stuff Kia carried around with her.

"In a way."

"Found it!" Kia declared and pulled out one of her textbooks with a victorious smile plastered on her smug face.

"What did the boys want?" she asked while searching for the right page.

"To make amends they say." Val was picking at a loose thread on her sleeve, mind already elsewhere making plans for taking Kayn out for a walk once everyone else had gone to sleep.

"What did you say to them? They all must have their heads still intact. If they hadn't I would have heard." she practically purred and her flood of questions seemed never ending.

"I think I made my point clear enough." Val mused while standing up.

"I have something to do so I'll see you later." She told to her almost-friend and walked up the stairs to her room before Kia had time to answer.