Safety in Secrecy

[Kynthia Boulais]

Cherry had woken that day by an owl at the window, well the rest of the dorm had woken to it, Cherry was woke by the other students. They told her that an owl left a message for her. Cherry hated that her parents didn't trust her to realize what time of the month it was. She worried because her rival had read the letter. Luckily it was vague. The worse part was actually that the owl had waken everyone before the sun rose and they were not pleased with that.

Now, Cherry sat outside the castle. She had been close to tears the entire day, as she always was before a transformation. The only thing that kept her from it now was the objective of edging toward the forest without drawing attention before the full moon rose. The sky itself was already turning orange and red as the sun met the horizon. Cherry wore very little, a simple black robe and old black boots. Her hair was a mess.

Cherry was close enough to the forbidden forest to see through the trees by now. She looked back and wished she did not have to sleep out here tonight. She wished that this curse was lifted from her. She always felt bad keeping the secret from friends. She was not smart in covering her tracks so many of them already knew but kept their silence.

Turning away from the castle as someone came out of one of the greenhouses, Cherry began to weep. She cried alot so she was used to the tears rolling down her cheeks; She did not wipe them away. She spotted a snake on the ground and leapt away from it. She made whimpering noises, aware of more dangerous creatures in the forest itself. The snake disappeared under grass but the fear it inspired in Cherry remained and she was frozen.

[alariclarsstouner]

Alaric was sitting by the castle grounds, with books on herbology and charms at hand as he was trying to finish his research for the two respective subjects. He wore a dark blue cotton shirt and black pants and suede shoes, because the day had been so hot. He was glad that he was almost halfway through and he would be able to finish it for the day. It was already mid-afternoon and the sun was almost setting and he knew that in half an hour, he wouldn’t be able to read anything at all in the darkness. Abandoning all possibility of wand light reading, he picked up his books, placed it on his bag and he was ready to go back to the castle, where the common room may provide the necessary lighting for his work.

However, ready as he may seem, his eyes caught sight of something, or someone acting strange. He tried to go for a closer look, out of curiosity, Upon being close, he caught sight of a girl, whom he knew was about the same year as himself, crying. He instantly felt like approaching her and try talking to her, a job that he loved doing as a prefect. However, he felt that something did not feel right. He tried to push the thought away and when he finally succeeded, he was surprised that the girl he was watching was already walking away. And what made him alarmed all the more was that she was trying to tread the path going to the Forbidden Forest, not a nice thing to do when night falls. He felt like he had no choice, he needed to secure her safety. He then walked swiftly to follow her.

He was rather surprised once again as he saw her stopping by the greenhouses and crying again. He could not believe what he was seeing. She must have been overcome by some sort of deep sadness or maybe she had a family problem or something. As the greenhouses were already near the forest, he knew that she would definitely go there. He then casually stepped out of his hiding place. “Pardon me, but I couldn’t help but notice that you are crying,” he said softly to her. “Is there anything I can help you with?” he asked, smiling at her.

[Kynthia Boulais]

Cherry unfroze but she began sobbing more quickly. She looked at Alaric through watery eyes which disturbed her vision. She showed no shame at being caught crying as it was actually quite common for her to cry in front of people. Cherry had an urge to run to Alaric and seek comfort from him but she already knew it was useless. Cherry sniffed loudly and shook her head in a defeated manner. "I'm sorry, good sir. There is nothing you could possible do. I am cursed!"

Cherry's speech had calmed her sobbing. She looked at him, trying to appear warm toward him. "I am not insane. The other Sixth years in my house will say that. But it isn't true." Cherry hated feeling how stupid she must sound when trying to explain her whining fits. It usually made things worse.

"Do you have any chocolate?" Cherry suddenly craved a bit of chocolate before she descended into madness under another full moon. Cherry finally wiped her eyes but new tears streamed from them to fill the new void where the initial stream had flowed. She checked the sky suddenly, hoping it would freeze like that. Cherry loved a great sunset. Despite what came after it.

[alariclarsstouner]

As he set his gaze towards her, Alaric could not help but feel sorry for her. It seemed that she had been doing it all her life and he just wondered what could possibly make her cry like so. What actually piqued his interest was the very thing she said: that she is cursed and he could not do anything to help her. He then shook his head sadly and said, “I am sorry, but I could not possibly understand what you just said. Perhaps you should enlighten me about it.”

He then went near her for a closer look. He was absolutely surprised by what he saw. “You look really pale. Are you perfectly sure you are alright?” he asked. He could not imagine how much she seemed to go through every single day and he was sure that this particular day would be very different. When she tried to explain herself regarding her sobbing, he just raised a hand to stop her and said, “It’s alright, I believe you. You don’t have to worry.” He knew that what she needed right now is some form of support.

When she suddenly asked him if he had chocolate, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bar of dark chocolate. “Well, I do have some here but it’s just dark chocolate and it’s not really much,” he said as he handed it to her. “You can have that, I’m not really in the mood for sweets anyway,” he added as an afterthought. He then gazed at the sky and saw the sunset and for the first time, he managed to appreciate it. “You know, watching the sun set is not really my thing, but for some reason it just simply looked stunning to me,” he explained.

[Kynthia Boulais]

Cherry considered telling Alaric about her transformation. He would be the first person that she told even though others already guessed. She knew he just wanted to help but she wondered how he would react. She really did not want to scare him away. She decided he would figure it out if he truly desired to. "Could you keep it a secret?" Cherry bit her lip nervously then shrugged, "I'm a werewolf." She blurted, not wanting to seem as though she didn't trust him. Cherry then looked down at the floor in shame.

Cherry heard Alaric approach her and stepped back away from him. She didn't like how much she enjoyed his scent even though she knew it was just in her head at this point. "I-I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous. I don't like to be alone out there." Cherry wrapped her arms around her waist. She shrugged, "Who knows what I'll hurt in there? If something will hurt me? I'm scared." Cherry shuddered as early night wind tickled her skin.

Cherry looked at the chocolate that Alaric held out for her. She grinned through her tears suddenly and bounced towards him. She took it from his hand with her mouth fearing her hands were trembling too violently and she did not want to drop the precious sweet. "Fank You." She said with the chocolate held in her teeth. Then she retreated away from him again. She finished eating the chocolate quickly. "Will get you more... sometime. I get lots." Cherry was trying her best to stay in control of her tears. But the attempt was useless. She had stopped whining by now though. "Thank you," she added again with another grin.

[alariclarsstouner]

Upon hearing her confession, Lars was absolutely surprised. However, he wasn't the type of normal person who would be reacting like it was the end of the world. He merely nodded upon hearing and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. It's just that I'm surprised; there aren't that many female werewolves out there." He knew that it would be his first time encountering such a person and he did not know that it would be during this particular moment.

When she was trying to back away from him, he immediately understood that he was attracting her with his scent. He wondered how adept their sense of smell was, given that he did not spray any perfume today and that he smelled sweaty, having ran from the castle to the grounds all day. He listened to her speaking about her fears of her upcoming transformation. "You know, having heard all these from you is not enough for me to know what will actually happen. However, if you want, I'll stay with you until it happens, then I'll be waiting until the full moon wanes down." He did not know what actually made him say that, maybe because he was concerned for her safety as well as the others.

He then reached into his bag and pulled out three more bars of dark chocolate. "You're in luck then, as I still have some here left," he said, smiling at her. "You know, you ought to stop crying. You're beautiful without the tears you know that?" he added.

[Kynthia Boulais]

Cherry could hardly see him but was sure he hadn't moved. She was a bit nervous that he hadn't. She didn't notice she had stopped crying. She was distracted from it by what he said to her. Cherry laughed, "I know. The one that bit me was trying to kill me. He said eating girl's hearts let him live longer. I think he was just trying to scare me." Natalie didn't say that she could laugh at this because the reason the wolf failed to kill her was because her father had killed it. She was never scared of the werewolf himself though even now she was simply scared that she'd hurt innocent creatures.

Cherry did not like his plan. It was bad enough he knew that she turned into a monster. She shook her head at him. "That- I don't think that's wise. I can't control myself when I turn. No one would even make me a wand because all of the wandmakers found out what I am. Everytime we went, they told my father to just kill me. Even though I was standing right there. My daddy had to make my wand. It doesn't even work." She had began trying to tell Alaric how he should but had rambled on.

Cherry shrugged taking a few careless steps toward Alaric. The promise of chocolate was too great for her to stay away from him. "I always cry easily. I don't know why." Cherry spoke carelessly, she was more interested in the chocolate even though she knew she had more than enough throughout the day. She was standing right next to Alaric before she knew it. "You're too nice." Cherry was unsure how to thank him. Cherry checked that her hands were not shaking before she took one. Maybe she ate too much sweets? She thought too herself before wiping her tears away again.

[alariclarsstouner]

As he listened to her talk about how she was turned into a werewolf, Alaric could not help but shudder at the thought of what happened to her. Had it happened to him, he would have just killed himself on the dot rather than harm innocent creatures. “Well, I guess the werewolf got overpowered at some point, who managed to save you then?” he asked. Then again, she was supposed to be killed however of course someone or something saved her that is why she survived with only the curse of being a werewolf for life.

He knew that she disapproved of his plan since it entailed a lot of risks on his part. However, he felt like being there, out of the way for the simple reason that he actually wanted to witness her transformation and assure her safety during the process. “Don’t worry; I’ll be out of the way once it starts. I would have to assure your safety and I’ll be moving out innocent creatures to safety also,” he said, waving his hand up and down to show her that there was nothing to worry. At the mention of her wand not even working and that wand makers refused to make a wand for her, he felt very livid, like he could kill someone. “I just can’t believe why they are discriminating you like that, it’s utterly vexing to me,” he said, his fists balled with anger. “They should have just given you a chance or something.”

“I guess you really do like chocolate after all,” he then said, while making a mental note to bring some more when he goes to Hogsmeade. Suddenly, he found her standing next to him and he was not the slightest surprised at all. He knew that it was quite difficult already for her to be standing just a few meters away from potential targets. “Yup, well I’m not really a nice person but I guess you really needed a helping hand at this point,” he added as an afterthought.

[Kynthia Boulais]

Cherry nodded her head at Alaric's statement. It would have never occured to her to continue the story to the end. Cherry never cared much for the ending of things. The end always made her cry worse than more dangerous things usual would. She continued though, after putting a piece of chocolate in her mouth. "My dad saved me. He killed the wolf. I kind of feel sorry for the wolf, he didn't get to defend hmself. At the time, I was glad. He scared me and hurt me but I am fine now and he isn't. I would not have killed him, I think. Even as rotten a beast as he was."

Cherry broke another piece off of the chocolate and placed it in her mouth. She still was not sure about his safety but didn't want to make him feel useless either. Cherry had not even let her parents watch her transform. She wondered if they even wanted to. "Huh? Well, you don't have to. I think I would find that a bit embarassing, I mean." Cherry felt a bit of a sting when she thought of another motive behind Alaric's insistence. And she felt her tears returning suddenly. "I am not lying, you know?"

Cherry was sad again but she continued eating the chocolate in her hand. When she finished it she licked her hand where some of the chocolate had melted. She would have run away from him but she was not sure if he thought she was a liar or not. She was confused by his claim to not be nice. She wondered if he was a hunter and wanted proof before he killed her. Cherry cleared her eyes and inspected Alaric closely, now quite wary of him. "Oh? So you're not nice. Sorry. I didn't know." Cherry was very confused by him and that made her a bit angry. Though she was not new to confusion.

[alariclarsstouner]

As Alaric listened to the continuation of her story, he knew how hard it was for her to be scarred for life, let alone by a werewolf. Then again, maybe he was making her talk too much, knowing that it was a painful event for her. “It was a good thing your father saved you, or else you wouldn’t be here now,” he said, nodding. “I guess it’s hard not to think of revenge after being hurt and I can say that I respect you for that,” he added. There were not many people who would choose not to hurt or even kill anyone for revenge and he admired her for standing her ground.

He then gazed intently on her face, and he immediately saw that she was already beginning to get livid for some reason. He inferred that maybe she had already guessed that he partly wanted to watch her transform. “I’m sorry, maybe I am overstepping too much into your life. I really did not mean it that way, I’m really sorry,” he said, repeating the words all over again, like a litany. He did not really like being carried over by curiosity; this has got him into numerous troubles before. “As I have said earlier, I believe what you said. I really don’t like the fact that they did that to you,” he said, now knowing that she must have been thinking that he did not believe her story.

“I know that I confused you when I said that I am not really a nice person, but I want you to know that I am sincere with my words and that you can trust me,” he then said, knowing that he made her confused by his choice of words. “If you want, I’ll stay away while you transform, I’ll just wait for you at the edge of the forest until the moon wanes out.” He did not really want to intrude into her life for he felt that he was already doing so at this point.

[Kynthia Boulais]

It was true that Cherry would not wish to kill anyone that hurt her. She preferred they became friendly towards her instead. Though that was mostly because she knew her own limitations and one of them was being able to defend herself. Cherry sighed. She looked to the sky again. "Yes. Uh, thank you." Cherry was a bit dishonest about never having thoughts of revenge but she liked having his praise so she chose not to mention it. "I was not always like that though." She admitted. "I was very bitter when I first came to school here. Professor Hufflepuff helped me alot."

Cherry looked at Alaric curiously, she thought he looked sincere. But she was never really sure after what that wolf man did to her. Cherry nodded to his words, "You want to help." She could not reason why he would. He did not make much sense to her. She was never very good at reasoning though. "I thought you were just curious. Sorry. I am very stressed right now." Cherry was still worried he would not be safe. She grabbed his sleeve with one hand and shook it. "I think I would be curious too."

Cherry let him go and took another chocolate in her hands. She nipped at it slowly as she watched Alaric closely. Surely, she would have found him interesting if he could morph into a different creature. Cherry still wasn't sure she desired that sort of attention however. She did accept his sweets maybe she owed him something. "But aren't you busy with schoolwork? When would you sleep?"

[alariclarsstouner]

Upon hearing her confession that she used to be very bitter when she first came to Hogwarts, he knew that she could not be blamed. After all, being scarred for life by a werewolf is a no mean joke. He merely nodded upon the mention of Professor Hufflepuff helping her during her stay. “She is really a kind professor and I’m glad that she managed to make you feel at home here,” he said. He felt happy for her, although he knew that there were students who would actually make her feel otherwise. “Did your classmates know you secret?” he then asked, knowing that it would cause her a lot of trouble in the long run.

He knew that her trust towards him was indeed tested at this point. Since the incident that happened to her, he knew that her trust towards others was already strained. Not to mention that his motives itself was pretty much suspicious. Despite it all, he knew that he sincerely wanted to help her, no matter how dangerous it could be. “I know that maybe what I am telling you do not make any sense but please, I want you to believe in me,” he then said softly, almost like a whisper. “Curiosity has always got the better of me before, but now, I am putting that aside so that I can help you,” he added, as he felt her hand tugging his sleeve and listened to her talk about being curious also.

The question she then asked made Alaric think. He knew that he finished most of his schoolwork for the entire week and that his class would not be until the morning after. And after all, he was already sick. “Well, that’s not really a problem, I’m done with my school work and I don’t have classes until the day after. And you don’t have to worry about that part, I don’t sleep. Well, i couldn’t sleep for the past few months already,” he answered.

[Kynthia Boulais]

Cherry shook her head slowly. When she finished the gesture, her eyes returned to Alaric. She stopped nibbling at the chocolate to tell him, "You are the first person I have told about it. My parents told a few of my other relatives and some of the students were able to guess. Some people know. Most don't." Cherry never actually had anyone show as much interest in her as Alaric did, she figured that was why she had told him. Or maybe he just approached her at the perfect time. She really had no clue why she acted so she was in no position to really predict Alaric's motives. "My name is Kynthia Cherish Boulais, but most people call me Cherry. Because its easier, I guess."

Cherry kept her eyes on Alaric as she returned to enjoying the chocolate he had provided her. It was very sweet and she wasn't sure how she would repay him. She shrugged and gazed up at the darkening sky above them again. "I never thought of it as a bad thing. Except when people snap at me for being nosy." Cherry got that alot from people though she was mostly actually unsure of her directions when it happened. "What house are you? I'm Hufflepuff. My house thinks I'm looney because of my outbursts but they are nice about it."

Cherry looked at him with worry etched into her expression. She never heard of someone that couldn't sleep. It did not seem possible to her. Though she wasn't the brightest student. "Are you alright?" She asked, more out of curiousity than concern. Though she was immensely concerned for him. "Sometimes I try not to sleep but I always fall asleep anyway." She trusted that he said it was not a problem but preferred if he could repeat it.

[alariclarsstouner]

When she made mention of the fact that he was indeed the first person she had told about her transformations, he just nodded and made a gesture that meant that it was okay for her to tell him. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” he said, hoping that she would believe him. After listening to her talk for a few minutes, his suspicions were confirmed; a lot of people already knew about it. He wondered if ever he would be able to guess it on his own; he was pretty weak when it comes to these things. He then realized that they have been talking for hours already yet they still do not know each other’s name. “Nice meeting you Cherry, my name is Alaric Stouner. Actually my nickname is Lars but only a select few call me that,” he said, extending his hand for a shake.

Upon hearing her opinion about being too curious, he nodded in earnest agreement. “True, it is never a bad thing, except when we overstep on our limits,” he replied, glad that she was sharing his opinion with regard to being curious. He then looked at the sky and figured that night was beginning to fall now. When she mentioned that she was from Hufflepuff and that her housemates were nice about her outbursts, he just smiled earnestly at her. “I think it’s really good for you to be cared about by your fellow Hufflepuffs. By the way, I’m from Ravenclaw, and I am the sixth year prefect there,” he said casually, although he was sorry for mentioning that he was a prefect.

When he saw her face etched with worry upon knowing that he does not sleep, he tried to appear calm and assure her that it was really okay. “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine, don’t worry,” he then said, with a wave of his hand that signalled her not to worry for him. “Besides, even though I want to sleep, I just couldn’t fall asleep. I sometime envy those who could nap for a very long time,” he added as an afterthought. He knew that he was losing his bodily functions one by one and that he wondered why it was happening to him.

[Kynthia Boulais]

Cherry nodded her head. She nearly jumped away when he extended his hand to her. But she merely shifted to one side quickly before she noticed that he wasn't trying to grab her. She looked at his hand in confusion for a moment. She put the chocolate she was holding in her mouth then grabbed Alaric's hand with both of her hands with a speed it did not seem she had before. Cherry shook Alaric's hand hastily and probably rather vigorously for a girl. She then looked away toward the forest. Feeling a slight embarrassment at her reaction. She took the chocolate away from her mouth to say, "Lars. I am glad to have met you as well. I hope it does not rain tonight." Cherry put the chocolate back to her mouth and nodded. She stared at him with large, curious eyes.

Cherry never got to know many Ravenclaw students. Frankly she was afraid they would be able to tell she was a werewolf easily so she avoided them carefully. She was probably never even consider to be a prefect which made her sad that she was obviously not working as hard as she should have been as a student. Cherry looked down at the ground and realized that she had never really helped anyone before. She was always the one being helped. She felt bad now but did not see how she could help anyone at the same time. "That is nice," Cherry said simply. She still kept her eyes on the ground. Knowing it would take a lot more work before she could help anyone herself.

Cherry scratched her head softly. She would never be sure of that sleeping problem without someone to tell her it was fine or wrong. When he assured her that he was fine, Cherry nodded. It was all she needed to be convinced. "I am not like that at all. Perhaps you need a new bed? My brother sleeps better outside next to a lake. And a family friend says he prefers to sleep on the floor." Cherry shrugged. She would not pretend to be an expert. Even though she really did want to help him. "I would panic if I couldn't sleep. It sounds frightening."