Some Free Time (Open)

[Mikayla Menki]

Mikayla was taking a walk around the castle in some of the only free time she ever had these days. She was either always with busy with Kite or working most of the time, but this was one of those rare times when she had none of those things to do and she was just bored. Kite was off somewhere that for some reason she couldn’t come and she missed him terribly, but there was really nothing she could do about it. She had brought a book with her, for a bit of light reading, in case she didn’t run into anyone she wanted to talk to, which was bound to happen as basically everyone she knew was either busy or off somewhere for the summer.

After walking around the castle a few times Mikayla had finally decided to stop and just sit somewhere to read her book. It was a particularly hot day as the spring was slowly turning into summer so she had prepared by wearing an outfit that fit the weather. She hoped Kite didn’t disapprove of her wearing such revealing clothes around all the time, but most of her clothes were like this so there wasn’t much she could do for the time being. She put her stuff down under a nicely shaded tree by the lake. Birds were chirping, leaves on the tree were rustling, and the sound of the water softly hitting the shore were nice ambiance for reading in Mikayla’s opinion.

She lay back on the ground, putting her legs up on the tree so that she would be a sort of ‘L’ shape to anyone who walked by and saw her. She made sure her skirt was staying in place before any of this took place by the way, just so she wasn’t giving anyone a show they weren’t entitled to. There was nowhere like this in Hogsmeade, the place where her and Kite now called home and since they lived so close to Hogwarts anyway, she didn’t see any reason why she couldn’t come over to the lake just to be in a quiet place.

[Ezekiel Gage]

Ezekiel, who usually stayed over during summer at Hogwarts, was standing not far off from where Mikayla was resting. He didn't notice her presence. Actually, he wasn't noticing much of anything else. At this point in time, he was reevaluating his life. Sure, he had a hellish upbringing, but is that seriously a good reason to hate? He was uncertain, and after hearing the recent rumors of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin dating, he just plain stopped giving a damn.
He turned to walk back towards the castle, and noticed a girl laying upside down by a tree. "By God.." he muttered. It was Mikayla...
A conflict arose in his mind, one that seemed to take forever. During his mission for revenge, he attempted to implicate her as the culprit, albeit not very well, that is. He thought for another moment, and decided it was high time to start making amends. He walked over slowly, then slid down the tree.
Mikayla wasn't exactly a 'friend', but they were on speaking terms, mainly because she was the only sociable Slytherin who didn't seem like they had any kind of dark past or upbringing that turned them into a Pseudo-villian.
He sighed, and said "Mikayla... I'm sorry." he looked over at her, ashamed. "I kind of... used you, lass." he was of course speaking of copying her voice when he attacked Kite.

"About a year ago, give or take a month... I attacked who I hear is your current boyfriend. Kite. I used your voice to block his memory, and apparently, my guess was wrong when it came to you two meeting." he looked down. "Please, save your anger. I think it's time I explained myself, and you are, at this moment, the only one I can call a friend."

His tone of voice, if one would note, was soft and sophisticated. If not for his shaggy look, he could pass of as the son of a royal family or a rich home. But he hated the stereotype. The school paid for his food and housing, his supplies and way of life... there was no way he would be rude enough to take advantage of such good people, especially now.
"Would you listen to my story, Mikayla?"

[Mikayla Menki]

Mikayla was so entirely immersed in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi that she almost didn’t notice someone slide down the tree next to her. It wasn’t until he said her name that she even noticed his presence. Looking up under her book, she noticed it was Ezekiel Gage, a boy she had known for quite some time; he was a year younger than her in the same house. They werent what you would call friends persay, but Mikayla found him to be good conversation when they had a chance to talk.

She wasn’t sure why he was apologizing, but she let him go on with his explination. What he said was astounding. So HE was the one who used her voice to wipe Kite’s memory. Kite said he knew who it was but he never ended up telling her who he was talking about. But for it to be Zeke, someone who she had spent some time with and even conversed with in that time period baffled her. Mikayla was mad, yes, but she let him continue with what he was saying; after all, her and Kite weren’t together when the incident happened and Zeke was right in assuming they probably would have never met if it weren’t for that fateful day.

[green] Zeke, dear, you are right to assume that I am mad, but since you are a friend I’ll let you explain why you had to do what you did. I’m assuming you had good reasons to do something so horrible to someone so good, so…get to explaining.[/green] She wasn’t trying to be rude but, she just needed to know why. She turned her body around, so that she was sitting next to Zeke with her back against the tree as well. Marking her page and placing her book at her side, she got ready to listen to what he had to say.

[Ezekiel Gage]

Zeke often wondered who would hear his story first. Even the Ministry, who placed him here under a similar 'house arrest' like protection, had never asked him the details of his past, or why he was even around these Dark Wizards. They always assumed he was just a young recruit that wanted to spill the beans. As much as these facts were true, no one would even harbor a guess that in fact, he was related to these Wizards by more than association. He wanted nothing more now than to atone for what he did, and make sure that Kite, as well as those he loved, are safe.
"All in all, it was a childish act of revenge. As he probably told you, the only reason he was even placed here under this protection is because he happened to stumble onto a group of Dark Wizards chasing something. That something happened to be me, and my mother." he chuckled. "Kite was in the middle of the road, the fool, and he was wearing all black. I immediately assumed him a foe and dove out, wand drawn, trying to protect my mother."
He sighed. This part would be hard for her to hear...
"After a moment of dueling, I tried knocking him out with Flipendo, and he rebounded it. Mind you, this was high in the cliffs of Ireland, where I happened to be at the time. The spell missed me and hit the car, with my mother still inside, hiding, The car slid about seven feet, and rolled off the cliff."
He looked at Mikayla, a look in his eyes that transcended any sorrow one could experience. "Kite is completely ignorant to the fact that he accidentally killed my mother."
He stretched and looked towards the sky, giving Mikayla a moment to take it all in.
"I sought revenge, and if I had not chickened out on that day, I may have very well put a knife in him... but I felt something stronger than revenge. I felt mercy. Maybe... I could take his memories instead of his life, and that would be fair." he looked at Mikayla. "At that time, you were headstrong about your bloodline, partying, and getting involved with only perfect, pureblood men. The only way to break the effects of the curse is for the victim to hear the exact same voice that cast the spell. So, when I used yours, I assumed, rather knew damn well that the chances of you two talking for more than fifteen minutes was absurd. But here you are, causing an uproar in the school, breaking every social rule imaginable... Please, tell me, are you in love with him? Are you ready to spend the rest of your life with him?"
He turned the question over to her. He was curious as to how against all odds, she chose him. He wanted to know why.

[Mikayla Menki]

Mikayla was listening to Zeke’s story, her head against the tree with her eyes closed as if trying to picture the events for herself. Her expression changed as the story got darker, almost like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. At the point in the story when Kite had unintentionally killed Zeke’s mother, Mikayla’s eyes shot open, looking at him to see if there was any hint of joking in his eyes. There was none. She sighed, her eyes beginning to sting with tears. After a moment of silence, he continued.

She continued to listen to why he picked her, and he was absolutely right. Back then, she was popular, always partying and gossiping, and her one concern in life was flirting with only the purest of blooded men. She would have never talked to Kite in a million years. As he continued, it turned out that it was her that broke the curse, as she had earlier speculated. That day when they were up in tree, the first day they had met and all of a sudden he had gotten his memories back.

Finally, once he had finished his story, he asked her a question. She hadn’t said anything this whole time as to give him a chance to thoroughly explain himself, and amazingly, she understood. [green] As hard as it is to believe, I feel like you were justified in what you were doing. I’ve never gone through losing a parent and I’ve never felt the pain I’m sure you felt, but I am extremely grateful that you decided to choose mercy, rather than murder. [/green] She sighed, putting her head on his shoulder lightly. [green] I do love him. I really do. Even though we have only known each other a short time, I am ready to give up everything just to be with him. And yes, I do want to spend the rest of my life with him.[/green] She hadn’t said these words to another person, other than Kite and it felt nice to actually tell someone how she felt.

[green] I don’t know why I love him, and I couldn’t tell you why my heart chose him, but it did, and I am happy because of it. [/green]

[Ezekiel Gage]

Zeke smiled a little, feeling more and more at peace with his friend being this supportive. Well, he DID try to kill her boyfriend while posing as her. That never ended well, as far as Zeke knew.
"I'm glad. I could tell last year and part of this year you were very troubled. As much as I hate to admit it, you were on the downhill spiral to what I feared would end up killing you."
Now it was time for one more confession.
"I hid Kite's bag from him, waited for you to get up, and left the bag for you two to find each other."
He smiled a bit, knowing it might confuse her. "And yes, that means that I helped set you up. Call it a showing of 'retribution' or what have you. I just call it making up for almost screwing up your lives." It was indeed nice to know that Mikayla didn't hold any ill will towards him about Kite, and he playfully ruffled her hair a bit. She was always so optimistic and happy. It honesty used to sicken him, but now, he felt that this optimism was rather contagious, and was happy to have a close enough friend to bring him out of this useless funk.
"Please do me a favor. I don't think Kite remembers or was even aware that my mother was in that car... don't tell him. I don't want his pride to leave him because of that. I don't blame him, and I don't think my mother does either."
He looked out to the lake as a Grindylow was sneaking out of the water. Having been spotted, it froze. In a quick motion, Zeke calmly brought out his wand, and after a flash of red light, the Grindylow was seen splashing some quarter of a Kilometer away into the lake. He grinned. "Those buggers always cause so much trouble..."

[Mikayla Menki]

Mikayla racked her brain trying to remember this downward spiral he was talking about but 99% of last year was just a blur. She was always partying as he earlier said and she probably had a reputation similar to Kayla’s. She felt awful thinking about it but she was glad that that time in her life was over; but she was also glad that she had a friend who cared about her enough to worry about her. [green] Aww, Zekey I didn’t know you cared so much. [/green] She said, lightly nudging his shoulder.

The next thing he said confused her but also caught her by surprise. Once she finally wrapped her head around what he had just said, all she really had to say was [green] You did what? [/green] It was him all along who had written that not for Kite that made her so curious she had to check it out and placed his bag in the exact spot that they would end up talking. [green] Oh my god I can’t believe that was you. I thought I would have recognized you. [/green] She smoothed her hair down after he ruffled it; she hated when people did that. It made her feel like a dog. So she went ahead and ruffled his hair right back. [green] In trying to make up for almost ruining my life, you went ahead and made it perfect. I think you did good. [/green]

It was crazy to think that all along it was Zeke who caused her to meet Kite. That was something she never expected to hear in more than a million years. [green] Don’t worry. I won’t tell him. I wouldn’t want to crush him like that. [/green] It was going to keep something that big from him, but it really wasn’t her secret to tell. If anyone was ever going to tell him, it was going to have to be Zeke. She watched him blast the Grindylow halfway across the lake. [green] My hero! [/green] She joked, hugging him like he had just done something to save her life and then busted up laughing. It was nice to have someone she could just be friends with.

[Ezekiel Gage]

Zeke yawned. Sure, zapping Grindylows beyond oblivion was fun and all, but he was bored. During the Summer, he worked on various projects to heighten his abilities, more or less, to excel enough to reach his goal of being an Auror. It was difficult, but rewarding. Except for the damning fact that it made just about everything else boring as hell. Going from advanced dueling techniques and countercurses to walking around the forest? Nie, it wasn't fun at all.
"Say, I heard you applied for Herbology Professor." Zeke said, trying to make some idle chit-chat to sate his lack of exciting going-ons. 'I have to say, you'd be wonderful in it. I was still thinking about being an Auror, except for the fact that I'm actually dropping behind in my Herbology.. you mind helping me out a bit?" Zeke said. "I promise, I'll make it up to you."
He truly hated Herbology. It was one thing to know the three or four herbs and plants necessary to heal a wound or several different venoms, but in this class, there was so much more. It wasn't that he didn't like the concept, he just hated how little of it he would use for his goal, but alas, it is downright necessary to to have to become an Auror. It's the only class he hasn't had perfect marks in.
"Whaddya say?" Zeke said, grinning a little.

[Mikayla Menki]

[green] I did apply and that’s sort of why I’m here today. I was waiting to tell Kite when he got home but, I got the job! [/green] She had been waiting for Kite to be the first person to tell, but she was having a hard time containing her excitement, and when Zeke brought it up, she just couldn’t hold it in anymore. [green] You’d be a great auror but why does everyone want to be one of those? Kite is training to be an Auror as well and I’ll be worried sick when he has to go out and do assignments. [/green] She sighed. Mikayla didn’t technically want Kite to be an Auror but it was his dream job and if he wanted to do it, she wasn’t going to stop him.

[green] I don’t see how you‘re falling behind in Herbology. Its soooo easy, but I guess that’s probably just to me. [/green] She had always had a passion for plants and their many uses. This particular fact wasn’t well known to people, but apparently Zeke knew more about her than she thought. [green] Of course I’ll tutor you. You’ll have the best marks in the class once you finish. And how do you intend to make it up to me huh? [/green] She nudged him in the ribs, tickling him a bit with her elbow.

[Ezekiel Gage]

Zeke smiled. "Congrats! I bet you'll be great." he looked out towards the lake. "He's probably in it for the same reason I am. Aurors and those amongst them are powerful Wizards. They are, as it stands, the only true documented military force the Ministry has to offer. Therefore, if the Dark Hand isn't off of our backs soon... we'll finally be able to defend ourselves, and in Kite's case, defend you." he smiled. 'Oh, I would love to see the look on _______'s face when he sees me, stronger than ever."
((The blank is because I haven't decided on a name for said bad guy))
He sighed as several more Grindylows came out of the water for revenge on their friend. "Sonofa-... hang on." he stood, launched several stunning curses, used the full body bind curse on all of them, then punted them back into the water. "I'm at war with these damn things, I swear!" he exclaimed, frustrated. He then went back and plopped down next to Mikayla. "Oh, about how I'm going to pay you back... how about this?" he handed Mikayla a package out of nowhere. It was small, but about the size of a small book. "I had gotten this for ya once I heard you applied for the Professor job.." inside was a small handbook The current, up to date list of Herbal Concoctions That Are Sure to Cure, which was a handbook for Herbology Professors and students. "You definitely could use that for your classes, A nice little reference guide."

[Mikayla Menki]

Mikayla hugged Zeke as he congratulated her. [green] Thank you, dear. I hope I’ll be decent at it. Sure I know a lot about Herbology, but I’ve never taught anyone before. I’ve never even tutored. [/green] She sighed, and laid down on the ground listening to Zeke. [green] Being an Auror sounds crazy intense. I don’t think I could ever handle the stress. [/green] She sighed, picking a blade of grass and shredding it up with her nails.

For a couple of minutes, she watched Zeke stun and kick the Grindylows back into the water. It was rather entertaining but it made her wonder why the Grindylows insisted on attacking him; she had sat here many times alone and had never seen Grindylows attack anyone. She thought it was odd. After a bit, Zeke came back and sat back down next to her. He had handed her a small box to pay her back for the tutoring she hadn’t even done yet. Opening it, she squealed. [green] Oh my goodness Zeke! This is so great! [/green] She kissed him on the cheek and flipped through the pages quickly. She had read all of her other Herbology books at least 5 times each and used them as a reference more times than she could count. Even thought they were starting to fall apart, she had basically memorized them by now. [green] Thank you so much. I love it. [/green] She hugged him again, showing her gratitude for her present.

[Ezekiel Gage]

Zeke smiled. "I'm glad you do. You've come a long way, and so far, become a better person. You deserve that, and you deserve Kite."
He felt that his transgressions were forgiven, and decided. "Ah... I think I'm gonna go for a swim." he stood, wiping sweat from his brow. "Either way, I think I'm going to have to put on a Grindylow repellent." he chuckled. The Gindylows didn't like him because it was him that went under and stole their treasure, which will be gone over later. He tapped himself with his wand which made his outer clothes disappear and land, neatly folded by the tree, leaving him in a pair of trunks. He yawned, needing this cool dip. "Two seconds, Mik." he said as he dove in the water. He didn't come back up for a little while, having used the bubblehead charm to explore for a bit. He sent up blue sparks to show he was ok.

[Mikayla Menki]

Mikayla watched Zeke as he got ready for a swim. A swim sounded really good actually but she didn’t want to get all wet, or attacked by Grindylows. After he dove into the water, she followed him and sat at the edge of the lake, removing her shoes, and stuck her feet in the cool water. She was waiting for him to surface but it was taking him a bit longer than she expected. She was just about to dive in and find out what was wrong when he sent up blue sparks. She figured that meant he was ok.

Once Zeke was gone, none of the Grindylows bothered her. There must have been something about him that the Grindylows didn’t like. She felt something brush against her feet, but she just chalked it up to being some kind of water plant or stick. After a few minutes, the rest of her body was getting hot so she decided to wade a bit deeper in the water. She was about waist deep when she decided just to dive all the way in. She wasn’t that great of a swimmer, so once she came back up, she only stayed where her feet could firmly reach the ground.

[Ezekiel Gage]

Zeke was right. He found a small device, used to focus the aggression of animals and other magical creatures on one person. Or two. He surfaced, shouting when he popped up right in front of Mikayla. "SWEET JESUS! Dont do that!" he said, catching his breath. He shook his head. "So... seems like the Dark Hand is onto me and your Lover.' he held up an orb. "This... is used to make animals attack certain people. Used similarly to Imperius, except the blood of both people are needed.... and seeing as Kite had been attacked by Grindylows the other night... it worked."
Zeke tossed the orb into the air, blasting it into pieces. Two drops of blood could be seen dripping into the water.
"I'd like to know how they got Kite's blood... unless it was a nurse int he Hospital Wing." he treaded water for a moment. He then looked up at Mikayla, realizing she may be terrified by the prospect of her Boyfriend, under attack by a pack of angry Grindylows. "He's ok. You just spoke to him today, right? It happened not too long ago."

[Mikayla Menki]

Mikayla tried to take in everything that Zeke was telling her. [green] Wait..wait…wait…what now? [/green] She was confused. [green] Are you trying to tell me that whatever is after you two has actually gotten close enough to you guys to get your blood? And yes, I saw him before he left for whatever it was he was doing today that I couldn’t go to. He was fine then. [/green] She sighed. She was now more worried about Kite than she had been all day. When the day began and they had separated for their various tasks, she hadn’t even thought about worrying, it just seemed like a normal errand.

[green] Come to think of it. He was out here swimming with someone the other night. He never told me who he was with and he didn’t say much about the night…except that he was attacked by grindylows…wow…its all starting to make sense. But why are they still after you guys?[/green] She asked curiously. Now it made her wonder even more who Kite was here with and what happened that night.