Well you don't know where I've been (Harland)

[Deleted]

This was definitely not the way he wanted to start his day. Though he doubted many people would disagree with him. Giovanni’s head was pounding and his vision was blurring. Making it worse, he was drenched and had certain spots of his body exposed to the cold air of December. He never dealt well when the weather started turning south. He irritably intensified causing his mood to change with the snap of a finger. The first day that the weather had changed his dorm mate had told him he should wear a jacket outside to their Care of Magical Creatures class. His innocent piece of advice resulted in Giovanni that he already had a bitch of a mother and didn’t need another one. His friend rightfully didn’t talk to him for a week afterwards. There was nothing he hated more than the cold, which only made this situation worse. He was halfway to the castle now but he had been knocked out cold long enough for his body to shake with cold, making the trek to Galaxia worse than it normally was. Actually, he wouldn’t have been surprised if hypothermia was slowly taking control of him. He was positive that his body had never before experienced this much cold in all of his life. He could barely feel his wand in his coat pocket but couldn’t get to it if he tried. Giovanni’s fingers felt stuck together and his hands were frozen to his arms. Even if he was able to get to it, he doubted he’d be able to stop his teeth from chattering long enough to mutter the right incantation.

The day had started off normal enough. Giovanni had gone to his first classes of the day and had been on his extended break in between those and the next one. He had finished up on his assignments the day before and had decided to go down to the hut of the groundskeeper for Care of Magical Creatures extra credit. All he had to do was groom and feed one of the hippogriffs that had been brought to the campus for third year lessons. Fortunately, the class was one of his favorites and he had retained an extensive amount of knowledge on the subject. It had taken him an hour, which was made longer because of the amount of snow on the ground from the previous night’s snowfall, but he had been happily on his way back to the common room with an extra couple of points added to his next test. Giovanni had passed a few students on his way up to the castle but had paid them no mind. He had no interest in starting conversations with anyone until he was bathing in the warmth of the castle. Though things just never quite worked out for him the way he planned them to. He had just passed the Whomping Willow when a group of Slytherin students that were walking by saw him and stopped. One of the bigger ones snatched his CoMC textbook from his arms and sent it flying through the air…right into the tree. Laughing, the group hurried away before they could face repercussions from a wandering Professor or Prefect. From the moment the book made impact, the tree reacted by shaking itself. As Giovanni stood looking hopelessly at it now, the thing was still swaying lightly.

He wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Retrieving anything that was lodged in the borders of the Whomping Willow was a death wish. Still, Giovanni couldn’t afford to purchase another textbook since the one he had now was still thirty galleons used. The way it had landed in the snow wasn’t promising but he could handle a few water-damaged pages. Too add insult to injury, the cold that had taken a backseat in his mind from his happiness over getting test points had come back to the surface. He’d like to think that his reasoning for going after the book was mostly based on the fact that his brain wasn’t in the right state of mind to think logically. Regardless, after waiting a minute or two to gather up the courage, Giovanni bolted. The tree swung. Giovanni went flying backwards after a solid hit to the stomach from one of the thick branches of the Willow and was rendered unconscious after hitting the ground. He would have no idea how long it had been since he had been knocked out until looking at a clock but with the wet heaviness of a coat that didn’t even feel like it weighed a pound, he came to the conclusion that it had been awhile.

Finally making it to the entrance of the castle Giovanni pushed his way past a group of younger year Hufflepuffs and into the grand foyer of the castle. He could see the eyes of curious Aurors and students looking at him, but he ignored their gazes and went straight for the Great Hall. In his state, it probably would have been a better idea for him to receive treatment from the medical witch at the hospital wing but he was too irritated to walk any further than he had to. That and his mind was trying to convince him that his body would warm up after sitting in a heated room with a stomach full of food. He really just wanted to be left alone with his irritable thoughts anyway. Ignoring the laughing of another group of silver and green lined robes from his right Giovanni entered the Great Hall and went towards the left to the Ravenclaw table. Walking towards the middle, he took a seat at his usual place when he approached and instantly took his coat off. Thankfully, his coat seemed to suffer more damage than his clothing had and the shirt underneath his robes was only slightly damp. The jeans underneath were another story though. Those had no chance until he had stopped shivering enough to charm them dry. The Great Hall had a few lingering upper years in it who were socializing, studying or taking in a few snacks before heading off to their next class. Giovanni was one of three at his table. Hoping no one would bother him, he reached forward to a pot in front of him and lifted the lid. Grabbing a soup bowl from the side he picked up the ladled and scooped four portions of the soup into the bowl before setting the ladle back inside the pot and returning the lid. Placing the bowl in front of him Giovanni reached over to grab a few packets of saltines and began preparing the soup, which was chicken noodle and the only thing going right for him now, for eating.

[Harland Burrows]

Thank Merlin for the fact that Christmas break was coming up soon. It was his very last year here at Hogwarts, it was supposed to be his easiest year. What a laugh that was. He had made sure not to take a light course load like a lot of the other students In his year had been doing because he wanted his resume to look very nice for his internship over the summer. He also hadn't wanted to lose focus, or grow soft whenever it came to his academics, it was proving to have been an unwise situation. He was starting to experience a sensation that made him want to do nothing but wander the hallways and share his knowledge with all of the people around him, to only look and reminisce, not study. It was horrible, but the excitement over his possible internship was starting to become more than he could bear. Harland hadn't ever been the sort of man to let himself get distracted form his goals in life, and yet...these was one distraction in particular that was starting to get to him. The kind with bouncing blond hair, and high spirits that just couldn't dampen. It was the same reason why he had been staring at the same line in his text book over and over again. His quill had to of scribbled her name over and over again on his parchment instead of his assignment. It was starting to get to be very bad. Of course, there had been a number of women that he had been romantically interested in over the years, but nothing like this. He had dabbled in dating of course, but nothing more than social events, and certainly nothing that had lasted him very long. He had been too focused on his goals for anything like that. Yet, for the last year and a half, Celeste had just come along and inserted herself in his thoughts, and he couldn't make them his own again.

Throwing his hands up in defeat he shredded the piece of parchment that he had been working on and left it in a pile on his work space. Dropping his quill onto the desk he used the sides of his hands to start pushing the spare bits of loose paper together into a larger pile. He needed a break, some time to clear his head away from the common room where he was just waiting for her to come in at any moment. Rising to his feet he hastily packed all of his materials into his knapsack and brought it over his shoulder. Perhaps a nice warm meal would pick his energy level back up. Adjusting his house scarf around his neck he tucked his journal into his back pocket and headed out the common room and into the main castle. Checking his pocket watch as he walked for a feel for the time, he noted that he had a couple of hours before his next lesson was due to begin. Most of his curriculum this year was extracurricular classes that he hadn't been able to take in earlier years due to him wanting to stay one step ahead. He had runes and Xylomacy in the evening, so that could promise him at least two or three extra hours in the library before he could submit to sleep tonight. Hoping that there would still be enough food left over from earlier to fill a plate he turned in the direction of the Great hall. Most of the people milling about were just killing time like he was. However, the group of sinister looking Slytherins rapidly heading this was was never a good sign. Out of reflex, he averted his gaze and lowered his head toward the ground. There was too much on his person to become a victim to them today, they were coming from the direction that he was heading, that was something, at least they weren't going to be following him.

Harland didn't attract the attention of the Slytherin house very often, it was usually only whenever they couldn't find somebody better to tease that they turned on him. Teenagers could be so cruel. Harland didn't give them what they wanted, he didn't beg or plead to have his things returned to him, and he certainly didn't try his tongue at insulting them back whenever they targeted him. More, he just turned into stone, just stood there and handled it until they lost interest. Sometimes, that could take a very long time and more often than not, it made the older ones more angry that he wasn't reacting like they wanted him to. He just couldn't justify giving them the power that they wanted. Luckily, this time they seemed to be just heading somewhere, not a hunting party like he had originally assumed. That just meant that they had already found somebody earlier today. Harland just hoped that it wasn't anybody that he knew. Hoisting his bag up higher in his shoulder he hurried his pace before they could turn around and change their minds. He entered the Great Hall just as a couple of Gryffindors were heading out. Whenever he got in, he was glad to see that it was thankfully mostly empty. It meant more table space, perhaps he could work on his report while he was eating. That really would be a win win situation. There was literally nobody at the Hufflepuff house, which meant he would have the whole thing to himself. Heading in that direction, he didn't happen to spot Giovanni at the next table over until he had almost selected his seat. One look at his friend and he knew exactly who the Slytherin's had been tormenting. His face screwed up in sympathy for his friend. Deciding to break a rule and sit at the Ravenclaw table he took his stop directly across from Gio.

The poor lad was shaking, even with the large bowl of soup in front of him. Extracting his wand from his pocket he dried off his friends clothing for him with a simple charm. “What exactly did they do mate?” His voice was full of concern, this was going to be exactly the distraction that he was needing to focus on his work later. Replacing his wand back in his pocket he situated the place setting in front of him and made sure that he had utensils. He could only see vats of soup, but really wanted something with more sustenance. Luckily, after opening and closing the first couple of containers, he found one of beef stew. It would just have to do. Helping himself to a portion he toyed around with his spoon in the stew, waiting for his friend to speak. “I mean, you look like hell mate, honestly”

[Deleted]

For normal people, the sound of laughing would be enough to make people go crazy with paranoia. For Giovanni though, it was typical. He was used to people snickering or making snide comments in his direction. He had grown up with it his whole life. Even when he was still part of his family, he was an outcast. His brothers and sister knew how different he was from them and they weren’t afraid to let him know it. Being left out of things was never surprising. Truthfully, any time his siblings invited him to partake in something was shocking. Of course it was usually to play some mean prank on him but he would always be surprised that they took that extra step. It was what had hardened him. Now, he could deal with the amusement at his dismay. Giovanni forced it to be background noise. He was simply used to it. The cold had numbed him enough to completely avoid the chatter around him. All he wanted was to be left alone with his soup. And by Merlin, he was going to make sure that was going to happen. Any little thing that could make him happy, he had to focus on. Sure it was bad that the only thing that could make his mood lighten was a bowl of food, but what choice did he have? There were no friends around him that he could joke with. No books to place him in a different world then the one he currently found himself in. There was no use on dwelling what he couldn’t change. All that would do would remind Giovanni of just hold cold he was and just how badly damaged his Care of Magical Creatures book was.

Sighing, Giovanni shook his head lightly as he crushed four saltines over his soup. Letting the crumbles shower onto the soup, he used the other hand to grab his spoon to begin stirring the mixture together. Once he finished his food, he figured he would have enough time to head back to the common room to change before Transfiguration. He would as long as he was left alone anyway. The chances of that were highly unlikely since Slytherins seemed to have a radar that followed his every move, but he could hope. It really was like they all operated on a system. Like they had some way to inform the entire House to every move he made. Honestly, the only place Giovanni could guarantee himself some peace was his common room. They were bloody everywhere. Even when he worked he still managed to run into them. That was proved not even a few weeks ago when he ran into that blonde twit. He was beginning to think that the only way he could avoid the whole lot of them would be by moving out of the country altogether. Things would probably be a lot easier for him that way. Then again, bad luck had a way of finding him no matter where he was. It was highly likely that at some point he would run into one of the prats that made his life hell. Sometimes Giovanni wondered whether or not being sorted into Slytherin would have made any difference on his life. Would he have been able to stand the misery of being in that house more than being tormented by the members of it? Often, it seemed like the answer would be yes. He would never change any part of his sorting though. He knew Ravenclaw was the right house for him, no matter what those idiots in Slytherin thought.

Satisfied, Giovanni lowered his head a few inches as he brought a spoonful of soup to his mouth. As he closed his lips around the spoon, he really savored the flavor that had been brought with it. The house-elves that Galaxia employed were truly masters of their craft. He doubted that he could have ordered the exact same food from a five star restaurant and would have received the same quality. There were just some things magical folk couldn’t do. Food was definitely one of them. Swallowing the mouthful, he brought his spoon back to the bowl for another helping. As he did, a familiar voice broke the silence he had temporarily sanctioned. “What exactly did they do mate?” It was nice to hear a friendly voice, but Giovanni wasn’t in the mood for talking. Not even for a close friend of his who had the authority to make his situation better. Harland was a prefect who was damn well near Head Boy status. He always seemed well in enough with LeGrand to get things done. However, he wasn’t the type of person to go crying over people being mean to him. It was nobody’s business to deal with other than his own. That and the last thing he wanted was for those idiots to label him a tattletale. If he thought things were bad now, then his life would be made into complete and utter hell. Giovanni was thankful when Harland kept quiet and went about preparing his own lunch. Maybe he had gotten the hint. Then again, if the light water dripping from his coat wasn’t evident enough of his happiness, he didn’t know what it would be considered. Stirring his soup with his spoon again, he lifted another helping to his mouth and blew on it. He had been distracted enough to not notice the burning coming from the taste buds on the tip of his tongue from the first spoonful.

“I mean, you look like hell mate, honestly.” At this, Giovanni angled his head towards Harland and glared. He knew his friend didn’t mean anything by it. Still, he simply wasn’t in the mood for it. “Thank you for pointing out the obvious,” he snapped, without meaning to. “I’ve never been one to follow the in crowd. I start the trends and then stop once it catches on.”

[Harland Burrows]

Harland had always wondered if there was any variation in the food that appeared on the tables in the great hall. If the beef on the Ravenclaw table was more succulent than the chicken on the Gryffindor table, or if there was a desert that was only given to one house above all others. He had never been bold enough to sit at another table to test this theory before now. The stew in the bowl in front of him looked just like anything else on his house's table. Pushing his spoon into the broth surrounding the floating bits he singled out a lump of potato and loaded it onto the spoon for consumption. If he had been at another table, perhaps people would have looked at him strange. It wasn't uncommon for Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's to be friends so this wasn't exactly out of the norm, just for him in particular. Sitting here felt strange, and not exactly in a good way. Luckily the food in front of him should serve as a decent distraction from the awkward feeling inside of his stomach. Swirling the contents around in the bowl he waited for an answer, or at the very least some form of explanation from the tall boy. Glancing over the other people in the room just once to see if maybe the reason hat the boy wasn't talking was because the person who had caused him such discomfort was still in here. He didn't even see more than one person sitting at random intervals at the Slytherin table, not to mention nobody was really paying too much attention to Giovanni now that he was no longer dripping.

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious,I’ve never been one to follow the in crowd. I start the trends and then stop once it catches on.” He knew the boy didn't mean it, so he just shrugged it off even though the barbs in those words did sting a little. He couldn't hold him accountable for it, he had no doubt had a very rough day thus far and Harland just wanted to help if it was at all possible. It didn't seem to be one of those times where the boy just wanted to be alone. If he just needed company to sit and eat and silence, then that was exactly what he was going to do. He hoped that their friendship was strong enough for Giovanni to know that if Harland could help in any way, that he would be more than happy to do just that. Sure, Gio wasn't the sort of man who went about crying whenever something was upsetting him, but Harland also knew that the boy's pride did prevent him from asking for help sometimes whenever he actually did need it. Taking another bite of soup, this time some carrot, he slurped the broth up. Perhaps Giovanni just needed to vent, and if that was the case Harland would listen like a good friend should. Perhaps it was the investigative side to him that really did want to know what happened to Gio, and he would rather not have to start tailing the group of Slytherin's that had just gone by him in their huddled, laughing pack. He hoped to always hear things straight from the source. At unlikely as that was going to be.

He wanted to think that he was going to be a very honest reporter, that he wasn't going to lie or take information from less than reputable locations but he didn’t want to make unrealistic expectations on himself. He had no idea what kind of reporter he was going to be until he actually started doing it. Until he had written his first article, he had no idea if he was going to be the worst received writer in the entire world. It didn't help matters that he didn't like to let other people see his writings, it was something that he was going to have to get over sooner or later. He just had hoped it would be something that just...happened and required no work on his behalf. Which, was very foolish and he accepted that. After sitting in silence for a little while, he placed his spoon down on the table in it's spot. Folding his arms in front of him on the table he leaned into them. “So, how many of them were there? Like cowards I'm sure there were a few”

[Deleted]

The warm soup felt good to his cold bones. If given the proper amount of time, Giovanni was sure that two or three bowls of it would put him in a better mood then he was now, even if it wasn’t by much. The warmth was exactly what he needed. The heat in the Great Hall itself was just surrounding him. It wasn’t enough to dry his coat and clothing. At least with the soup, it was closer to him, warming him from the inside. He could have cared less if anyone found it stupid. It was comfort food to him. He would never admit it to anyone, but chicken noodle soup had always been ever since he was a young boy, back with his family. The blasted house-elf that hated him was an expert of making the homemade meal, as well as fresh bread that complimented the broth perfectly. Giovanni had turned to it all the times his brothers and sisters had upset him by their teasing. While they would continue playing their games without him, he would retreat to the kitchen and ask Gnomo to fix him a helping. The creature would always complain and mutter under his breath about having to serve the black sheep, but he did as was asked and the young boy would silently eat his soup once it had been prepared and politely thank the miserable old elf before leaving the kitchen and finding something else to preoccupy his time. A frown formed on his face as the memory came back to Giovanni. He hated thinking about his family. He hated still having any connection to them at all. The soup had always stuck with him, sadly, was always there when he had a bad day. Like today.

“So, how many of them were there? Like cowards I'm sure there were a few.” He didn’t want to answer. Giovanni didn’t want to sound any more pitiful then he already was. It would have been worse if there were only one of them, but it still made him feel stupid having to confess to being the victim of four troublemakers. Actually, it’d be worse admitting to what had knocked him old cold in the first place. The Slytherins had initiated it, but he had been the one to try and brave the Whomping Willow. He really needed to stop getting himself in these predicaments. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he took another sip from his soup. If Harland was concerned enough to ask, then Giovanni could at least have the decency to answer. The older Hufflepuff was his best friend. He played the role very well. When there were things that Abby just couldn’t understand, he always turned to Harland. He had always been able to surprisingly relate well enough to him. He didn’t undergo the kind of torment that Giovanni did on a daily basis, but he did know what it was like to be the target of a band of Slytherins on occasion. Besides that, he was a good listener. Even if he couldn’t offer any advice, he allowed Giovanni the chance to blow off some steam. He preferred letting it out sometimes as opposed to holding it in to dwell on. Anger never did him any good. It made his comebacks a lot wittier and personal, but it didn’t make him feel better as a whole. He wished he could rise above the level of hate he experienced daily, and for the most part, he could. Some days though, some days it just felt like he had finally had enough. Then there was Harland, who could probably talk him out of making himself fish food for the giant squid in the lake. He’d never do it, but the guy had a way with words.

Once Giovanni had swallowed the mouthful of chicken noodle soup, he dabbed needlessly at his mouth with a napkin. “Four,” he finally revealed, dropping the cloth back to the table. “Four who I just coincidentally happened to have come across on my way back from the groundkeeper’s hut for a CoMC assignment. The biggest one grabbed my textbook and threw it near the Willow before they happily trotted away, ya know, super proud of themselves.” He stopped briefly to take a sip from his glass of water. “I couldn’t just leave my textbook out there,” he continued, “it’s the only one I got and I can’t afford to buy a new one. So…I went for it.” Giovanni left it at that, knowing Harland would be able to pick it up from there. “It’s pathetic, like I’m back in elementary or something. The little nerd being picked on by bullies who steal his lunch money, except my books are a lot more expensive than a school lunch.” He forced himself to chuckle as he looked down to his soup and slowly began stirring it with his spoon. “Sorry…about earlier. I was just real heated over waking up in a snowy mound drenched from head to foot. Not to mention, my book is soaked and I’m not sure how many drying spells won’t make some of the pages stick together.” He hadn’t bothered to look at his book since entering the Great Hall. Seeing the damage would only further his irritation at how the day had gone for him so far. “What have you gotten yourself into today mate? Better fortunes I hope.”