Frosty Morning Solitude *

[KATHERINE LENNOX]

It was cool enough that she knew she needed to wear a warmer cloak if she was going to venture up to the owlery at such an early hour of the morning. Only a week back at school and the weather had already taken a bit of a turn, leaving the grounds silvery with frost as the sun slowly began to rise each morning. Most were still tucked into their beds, the covers pulled tightly under their chins in order to keep warm for as long as possible. And since it was Saturday morning, even few of them were willing to rise at such an early hour and leave the comfort of their beds.

But Katherine hadn’t been able to sleep the previous night. She had tossed and turned uncomfortably in her four poster bed, unable to get her mind to rest. It was too busy thinking about the classes she was going to have to worry about this term...and the assignments that were already beginning to pile up. Transfiguration required a roll of parchment by the end of next week. Potions would soon be testing her on the simplest of brews. And that didn’t even include the fact that she was going to need to start practicing with the team for the upcoming Quidditch season.

In the early hours of the morning she had abandoned the idea of trying to sleep and slipped from the bed. She had brought her slippers with her, for which her toes were rather grateful, as she wrapped a cloak around her shoulders and left the dormitory behind. Within a few minutes (and after hearing mumbled complaints from the Fat Lady for being disturbed) Katherine had made her way out to the owlery tower. She settled in the window, knees pulled to her chest as she listened to the soft hooting of the owls around her.

They didn’t seem too disturbed by her presence. Any of the ones who opened their bleary eyes to peer at her instantly knew that she wasn’t a threat and tucked their heads under their wings once more. Her only true companion was the falcon who rested on her knees, gently brushing her feathered head against Katherine’s cheek.

Athena always seemed to know when she was having a bad time of things. The falcon had been in her care for nearly two years now, and despite their rocky start the bond they now shared was unlike any that Kate had ever experienced before. She didn’t speak the way humans did, but Athena understood. Her eyes told Kate that she did.

”Silly bird,” she murmured softly, lifting her chin as Athena stretched her neck and started to rub at her jawline. ”You’d think I never paid any attention to you.” The falcon seemed to hum in agreement, causing her mistress to laugh softly. Only a week back at the castle and her poor feathered friend was feeling neglected and alone. "I understand," Katherine told her sadly.

WORD COUNT: 504
TAGGED: OPEN
NOTES: --

[CALLUM ECKHART]

KATHERINE LENNOX , 617.

The start of a new year at Hogwarts always brought on a myriad of complex and conflicting emotions. There was of course the tinge of relief that came with the freedom from his parents’ rules, and a touch of sadness in saying goodbye to members of his family for a few months. There was the thrill of catching up with the friends he had said goodbye to in June, along with the nervous anticipation of wondering what he would be learning about in the upcoming year. And there was the excitement of meeting all of his new Hufflepuff first years, along with the worry that he would be unable to encourage the most timid of the bunch.

It was all familiar, and for that reason it was comforting. Now that it was his sixth time returning to school, the churn of emotions was a well-rehearsed dance to Callum. He knew he just had to go through the practiced motions until everything settled down. And it would in a few weeks, just as it always did with the start of a new year.

There was now the matter of dealing with the only start-of-year emotion that left his stomach in knots. It was time to perform his new ritual - sending back most of the birthday presents he received from his parents.

Callum lifted the collar of his navy peacoat closer to his neck to chase away the early morning chill as he traversed up the final outdoor staircase leading to the owlery. It was unseasonably crisp for a morning in the start of September, even though the rosy corals and oranges of dawn had begun streak across the sky. It almost made him wish that he had come up to the owlery a little later in the day when the sun would have had opportunity to warm the grounds and the air.

But he was up at the crack of dawn before most of the student body rose for a reason. The earlier he came to the owlery, the less likely he was to be questioned by someone why he was sending owls home so soon after the start of term and why he was sending large parcels home instead of receiving them. Silently, Callum readjusted his heavy messenger bag to his opposite shoulder as he entered the owlery and scanned for one of the school’s owls not so deep in sleep.

Within a few seconds Callum noticed the room’s other occupant. He watched for a few seconds as the pair interacted. The bird nuzzling against Katherine Lennox was unlike any owl he had seen before. He cocked his head to one side and grinned in spite of himself as he watched the falcon stretch its neck to meet contact with Kate’s jaw.

He watched their affection blossom a few seconds further before he cleared his throat softly to mark his presence. Callum knew she had come to the Owlery this early to be alone, he had after all done the exact same thing, but he considered Katherine a friend. Ignoring her to mail off his letters after not much communication over the summer and then not saying hello at all when they were alone together would have been rude.

Callum turned his attention back to his bag and he rummaged through for the thank you letters he had written last night addressed to his uncles. ”Good Morning, Katherine.” he said brightly with his usual friendly grin, skipping the part where they asked how each other about their respective summers, ”I don’t think I’ve seen a bird like that before. What species is she?” He could not know for certain but their affection spoke female to him.

[KATHERINE LENNOX]

As someone cleared their throat behind her, Katherine felt Athena pull away and lower herself into an offensive position on her lap. The bird moved back and forth between her feet, wings opening slightly in preparation for flight. But as the brunette looked over her shoulder to see who it was that had joined them at such an early hour, she immediately set a hand against Athena’s back.

”It’s okay,” she cooed softly as she stroked her feathers from head to tail, using her other arm to pull the protective bird a little closer to her chest. ”Relax Athena, it’s okay.”

Kate lifted her head, offering Callum a small smile. ”Sorry...she tends to get a little overprotective sometimes. Dad has a cat who likes to try and play with her tail feathers when she has her back turned.”

She knew Callum to be an intelligent young man from Hufflepuff, someone she had written to a few times over the course of the summer months. They kept in touch on a casual basis, rarely seeking one another out or writing to expose secrets...but their friendship was one that worked really well for them. Casual conversation about school work and Quidditch had been their normal for a number of years now. They had actually played against one another for a few years, but Callum had ultimately decided that he didn’t like the constant pressure that was being put on him about the sport and had decided to retire. Kate had always thought it was a bit of a shame, given his natural talent in the sport, but she understood. His family was nothing by professional Quidditch players from what she could tell. The pressure was probably making it more of a chore to play than anything else.

”She’s a peregrine falcon,” Katherine explained, moving her arm once she was sure that Athena wasn’t going to attack him, though that didn’t seem to stop the bird from eyeing him warily. ”I found her in the woods behind my house a few years ago. Someone had actually shot her down and left her to die.”

But Kate hadn’t been able to just leave her. It had been a trying and extremely painful process to get her back to the house before a wild coyote or even a cat had gotten to her, but Katherine had managed it. She had a few scars on her arm to prove that she had battled with the stubborn falcon as she tried to help her. At one point she thought Athena was going to take one of her fingers clean off while she tried to change the bandages on her wing. Eventually though, the two of them had come to a silent understanding. Kate wouldn’t touch her more than necessary, and the falcon would begrudgingly accept her help.

Katherine smiled softly, stroking Athena’s feathered head once more. ”It took almost the entire summer to make you better, didn’t it?” she asked the bird. ”And when you were finally ready to fly again...you came right back.” Stubborn creature, she thought to herself.

But the brunette lifted her head, bringing her attention back to Callum. "You survived the summer back home then?"

[/colour] she asked him lightly.

WORD COUNT: 550
TAGGED: CALLUM ECKHART
NOTES: --