In The Hallway (Kaito)

Rose knew that no one would disturb her here in the little corner on the seventh floor hallway. She had sat here many times observing the students passing by. Only one person ever really came to sit with her on occasion and that was her fellow Ravenclaw and friend Kaito, though he was just as she as she was and so sometimes they didn't say much. Today she had left him a note asking him to meet her here at 2 o'clock in order to get his opinion on some of the projects she had been doing, the most recent project being that she was observing the way Slytherin 1st years were influenced by the older ones, and today she had chosen her perch in the corner to sit and write it all down.

She wanted his opinion because they had both taken classes with the Slytherins many times and she knew that he was almost as observant as she was and she wanted to get this story finished in time to send into the Quibbler, which sometimes published her work under a different name. It was almost two and she hoped that he had found her note outside his common room door. She tapped her Quill as she waited.

After finishing classes for the day and upon his return to the Ravenclaw Common Room, Kaito had been both surprised and confused to find a note addressed to him waiting for him when he arrived. He stared for several long moments at the piece of paper that definitely had his name on the top - what could someone possibly want with him? What if it was an invitation to some sort of social situation he would now have to awkwardly decline? Or what if it was a threat or something? Had he upset someone lately? That seemed likely, he always seemed to be doing that. Well, there was only one way to find out...

After actually reading the note, Kaito felt a bit more at ease. It was from Rose Weasley, his fellow Ravenclaw and one of the very few people he might be willing to consider some sort of 'friend,' or at least as much of a friend as Kaito ever had. She was very quiet herself, and oftentimes their time spent together had more silence than speaking, but that was okay for Kaito. That was comfortable, and that was something he could handle. Trying to make small talk was where he failed, and deeper conversations were even worse. But Rose wanted his assistance with some sort of project, so that seemed okay to him...or he could at least check it out. He quickly switched out his textbooks for just some blank parchment and a fresh quill and ink, and then headed slowly in the direction of the seventh floor.

When Kaito arrived, it was probably later than two, but he had never been that great about punctuality. He quickly glanced up and down the seventh floor, looking for Rose's familiar face, and his gaze finally settled on her sitting in the corner. He took a deep breath, shifting his bag on his shoulder a bit, and approached her. Even though he was more comfortable around Rose than most people, he still couldn't help but be a little nervous, especially when he wasn't entirely sure what she wanted help with and because he still wasn't really used to being invited to do anything.

"Hey Rose," Kaito spoke when she reached her, dropping to sit on the floor about a metre away from her, back against the wall. "I uh, I got your note. What is it you needed help with?" He pulled out the blank parchment from his bag, spreading it on the cold stone floor in front of him, showing without words that he was willing to help her with whatever it was she wanted to do.

He wasn’t too late, thankfully, but Rose didn’t mind. She had received plenty of Intel just watching the students in the hall as she waited. She may have laughed and drawn a raised eyebrow in her direction more than once, but she didn’t really care. She knew what she was doing. She didn’t even notice that he was closer to fifteen minutes late then ten, but she was happy to see him nonetheless. Kaito was among the small group of people that Rose felt comfortable receiving an opinion from. He was fairly observant as well, maybe not quite as aggressively as herself, but he saw things just as she did and that is why they got along so well. As silent observers.

”Hi Kaito, thanks for coming by.” she said softly, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. She was pleased when he joined her on the floor, there was a bench not far down the hall but that spot wasn’t as good as this one in Rose’s humble opinion. ”Sorry I left a note, I just needed to get here quickly!”. She felt a little embarrassed. Note leaving wasn’t really a popular way to communicate but she didn’t want to wait in the common room for him to show. She had left two other notes that day, one to her cousin Albus and the other to here dear werewolf friend-she wanted their views on the project as well.

She smiled as the spread the paper out in from of them; she then pulled out a paper and rolled it out as well. It was a chart with some names at the top with a family tree look going down to the bottom. ”Okay, so here is what I’m working on. See here,” she pointed to a name at the top, ”She has been a terrible person since day one at Hogwarts, but here at the bottom is a first year who has been nice to me, unless SHE,” she pointed to the top name again, ”is around. Basically I’m trying to do a study on whether Slytherins were born mean or if the older ones influence. I might move on to the other houses after this one but each first year Slytherin is different and it’s just a lot of work.” She sighed. She was one of the few people at school who worked on projects other than homework. She wanted to be a journalist.

”All I really want to know, is some of your observations on the subject, I need another opinion and I know you notice things pretty well too?”. She said, almost hopeful. She was hoping to get this turned in within the next weeks paper but she needed more opinions in order for it to be accepted, other points of views, other ideas.

Kaito shrugged at Rose's apology about the note - though seldom used, notes were less awkward to deal with for him. He had time to consider what they said and formulate and response rather than having to come up with something on the spot when facing someone face to face. "It's not a problem, I didn't mind," he muttered in response to her, not believing he really had to say it, but maybe it would make her feel better. She really didn't need to be apologizing at all after all.

The Ravenclaw boy listened in silence as Rose explained her plans - though he really didn't care about social interaction between other people and thus would never have even thought about the subject of whether or not Slytherins taught one another to behave the way they did or if it was indeed a character trait that they had in them anyway, he supposed it was an interesting question. Slytherins did tend to be harder to get along with than people from other houses as a rule, that was true. "I'm putting my money on it being a character flaw that helps determine that they're a Slytherin," Kaito then said darkly as he looked over Rose's chart. While he didn't care much about rivalry and competition between the houses, he had statistically had a harder time dealing with Slytherins over other houses now that he thought about it. And it was a lot easier to blame that on being part of someone's character than on it being a taught behaviour - made it more acceptable to place the blame.

Kaito glanced up from the family tree to Rose, a look of vague curiosity passing behind his dark eyes. "Are you writing this up, Rose?" he then asked her. He remembered that he was pretty certain she wrote articles for a magazine or a newspaper or something in her free time - he couldn't remember exactly which one, but the fact that he remembered that she did it at all was a pretty big deal for him. "Aren't you worried that if any Slytherins see it, they'll get angry at you?" Kaito was non-confrontational by a rule; he tried to avoid any sort of situation like that at all costs. Especially because if he did get into an argument, his high defensive techniques usually got him into a lot of trouble. He frowned at her, feeling slightly concerned for her well-being and hoping she had thought this through if she was doing this research for a public source...

Kaito nodded slowly when she half stated, half asked about him being good at observation. It depended on his mood - when he wanted to, he could be extremely observant, he just often didn't care to try. "I'll try to help you...." he then said, offering what he hoped was an encouraging smile and not just an awkward one. Not a lot of people ever asked for his help and giving a second opinion about something seemed easy enough, so he wanted to at least try to be helpful! Rose was nice and one of the few people he could consider at least somewhat a friend, so if she needed his help, he supposed it was only right that he give it to her. "So uh, what's your plan?" he then asked, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. He wasn't sure how to even begin.

Rose nodded happily. She liked writing notes because she liked writing better than talking. It made more sense to take time before deciding what to say and talking was so in the moment that it was hard to communicate competently. Writing was much better for content communication, no vocal tones or bodily language getting involved to throw off ones meaning. Just simple words stating the intended content of the sentence. Much more practical of a way to communicate.

Rose smiled, “True, the fact that they are even a part of the Slytherin house already shows that the personality has the proper qualities for a Slytherin. But sometimes that is just cunning, not necessarily used in a vengeful way.” She shrugged and jotted a few things down, things about the House Hats poetry and how we end up in certain houses. Just quick little two or three worded notes, to remind her to expand on it later. She frowned down at her chart, realizing she needed to involve parents and family housing as well in order to make the project complete. It was starting to turn into more than it was worth.

She sighed, ”Yeah, I am. I sort of have a deadline, but it’s okay if it’s a little late. I should just not elaborate so much.” As must as she hated to admit it, that was the note she had gotten the most from her editor, to keep it a little simpler. Which was a hard concept for Rose to grasp. She laughed out loud and raised a hand up in the motion of waving away a fly, ”I don’t dear the Slythering. I mean they’re nasty as hell, but I don’t really care what they’d do to me. It’s not anything I couldn’t fix.” and she knew it was true. That was where her and Kaito differed, he would avoid troublesome situation when Rose liked to face them head on. If Rose had a problem with you, you’d know it right away. ”Plus, Slytherins don’t really read the magazine anyway,” She added as an afterthought.

His smile was sweet. That was something she liked about friends, they are there for you when you need them. She hadn’t had too many friends in her time so it was something she still wasn’t completely used to. She smiled brightly at him, not necessarily a kind or inviting smile but more like a but of a wild and passionate smile. She loved her work, and she loved hearing about others opinions on it. ”Well, mostly I’ve just been shadowing the first years around the school-don’t worry I won’t make you stalk any Slytherins- mainly I just was someone to think out loud with... for me to share my observations and get a...” she scrunched her nose, trying to think of the proper word, 1D57A4]”...and get several different ideas of what certain behaviors could mean. I-“ She stopped and looked down, blushing a little, ”Basically I just need to talk to someone other than myself.”

Kaito shrugged at Rose's comment about the Slytherins possibly being sorted into that house because of being cunning rather than because of being aggressive and nasty. "How many times have you met a pleasant Slytherin?" he then asked her pointedly even as he tried to shuffle into a more comfortable sitting position. They were probably going to be here a while from the sound of it, and if he was going to feel a bit socially uncomfortable, he might as well not be physically uncomfortable too, right? "I don't think I've ever met one," he then added, trying to recall a few faces vaguely to his memory but failing. Kaito was horrible about remembering people because he frankly didn't care to try, but since he didn't like most people, he assumed Slytherins fell into that category as well. He certainly couldn't easily remember any nice ones at least.

"So that's why you're asking for my help, right?" Kaito asked Rose when she mentioned her deadline. He didn't mind if that was the truth - in fact, he understood it. If she had a deadline she needed to meet, then it only made sense that she sought out the help of someone else who might help her get her work done faster so she could get to writing her article. He still wasn't entirely sure why she had wanted his help anyway - he assumed himself to not be the best form of company she could have chosen. But if she wanted someone smart who could get work done, well, that was Kaito indeed. He was a typical Ravenclaw when it came to being motivated to get work done and working diligently, so it made sense if that was what she was looking for.

However, the boy did frown when she said she didn't care what the Slytherins might do to her if they did read her article about them. "You should be more careful, Rose," he then said softly. Kaito wasn't much of one for concerning himself with the state of other people, but Rose was nothing but nice to him, and he didn't want to see any conflict befall on her that she could have easily prevented. "Or at the very least, don't go looking to stir up trouble." He knew he was unlikely to convince her to give up on her article or anything, and that wasn't what he was trying to do. All he wanted her to do was be a bit more concerned about how it could affect her. "Maybe you should consider writing under an alias if you're going to continue to report about our classmates." It seemed like a simple enough notion to him...

Kaito nodded slightly as Rose rambled about what she wanted him to do, finally settling on telling him she basically just wanted him to listen while she was thinking aloud. "I think I can handle that," he then offered, giving her a very weak smile as he doodled a bit absently on the parchment he had spread out before him - a sketch of his cat, the only living thing that never made him feel uncomfortable. "Have you learned anything ground-breaking so far?" he then prompted. If she wanted to talk and wanted him to listen, then fine. He might not have anything to say, but when one was writing, sometimes talking aloud was the best aid. He didn't look at her, but his posture showed he clearly was listening to her.

Rose felt a little guilty. Unlike Kaito, she wasn’t exactly shy. Just extremely observant and quite in crowds. But, it’s always better to have several sources other than your own brain and discoveries when practicing journalism. “I can honestly say I’ve met… at least two pleasant Slytherins!” She tried to think of names in her head but nothing specific crossed her mind. [color=1D57A4}“I mean, I’m sure I have. I know that I’ve met quite a few nice graduated Slytherins which would definitely help in this case study… maybe I’ll do a follow up article on that.” She jotted down a note to remember that idea and then brought herself back into the present by turning to look at Kaito. He looked concerned and slightly confused. She smiled at him, wanting to be pleasant. That was something she was trying to practice. Being a pleasant person to be around. It was hard work.


“Yeah! That and the fact that I need more opinions than my own.”. She responded to his search for a confirmation as to why he was there. He seemed where she was coming from. He seemed to understand a lot of things, which is why she invited him to join her study. Diligence was something Rose respected. She had a problem of getting so involved in a piece that it doesn’t get finished. She needed focus and an outline, a mediator between her and the story. This time, that person was Kaito.


She felt herself laugh when he warned her to be careful in her actions. “That is sweet of you, but I think I’ll be okay!”. She watched his eyebrows furrow even deeper into concern and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I won’t be handing out the magazine to any Slytherins. Plus, journalists are supposed to stir up trouble. It’s in the job description.” She removed her hand in order to pull something out of her backpack. It was a copy of the Magazine; she opened up to an article somewhere in the middle and showed him the authors name ‘Felicity Spears’. She smiled, a devious smile, “I already write under an alias. For different reasons, but I’m one step ahead of you! I thank you for your concern. Really.”


Rose didn’t even notice that he was doodling as she spoke. She heard his response and question well enough, but she didn’t look up at him. “The most Ground-Breaking thing I’ve discovered is probably Albus Potter and Rachel Black.” She gestured to their names on the layout in front of her, even though he wasn’t looking. “They are not mean. At all. Both are really smart. It’s confusing because both are kind of depressed in a way… I don’t know if that has anything to do with their house placing, but they have really sad backgrounds. Though, most of us do I think.”