Silent Year

WEWT!! This chapter's really long! ^_^.
And we have questions! So, start question corner!

Question #1: Does Quiari seriously have to walk to Hogwarts?
Explained in the chapter below. ^_^.

Question #2: How long would the trip to Hogwarts from Durmstrang be?
*shrugs* At Quiari's brisk walk, five to seven days. Anyway, that's as long as I made it in this. ^^;

Question #3: Is the tiny room where Hazelton is Quiari's living quarters?
Yes.

All right, end question corner! Please enjoy the chapter and don't hesitate to review!
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Chapter Nine: Scars of Winter


Hazelton’s eyes fluttered open in the middle of the night. The full moon shone through the hole in the ceiling, where snow gently drifted but was blocked and melted by a barrier. The room was deathly cold. He shivered and let out a breath, it came out in a stream of steam. He reached up and put his palm against his forehead, his eyes closing. He sat up quietly, looking around the small room, and he saw Quiari curled into the only space in the room, that of a small corner. She looked so fragile sleeping like that. The little dragon was nestled into her cleavage, which was showing a small amount. Hazelton blushed slightly, but didn’t look away. He seemed to tear his eyes away from Quiari’s peaceful face, and he looked around the room. “So…this is where you sleep?” he whispered, and Quiari’s eyes fluttered.

They opened half-way, but she snapped awake when she saw him sitting up. The dragon whined as she sat up, and she blushed and snatched her sweater vest closed. “Uh…morning…” said Hazelton, blushing as well and looking away. Quiari took in a deep breath and then crawled forward on her knees and right hand. The left was holding her shirt closed. Hazleton gulped as she looked over his face, and then she sat back on her knees, holding out her right hand. Hazelton lifted his own hand, and Quiari dropped the red stone into his hand. “What’s this for?” he asked, but Quiari merely stood up and turned away. She took a half step over to the wall opposite Hazelton, and she put her hand against the stone. It slid open, revealing a few folded up clothes, and she pulled out another sweater vest. Hazelton averted his eyes as she pulled the dragon out of her ripped shirt and took the shirt off. He snuck a small glance before Quiari could put the new shirt on. She had gotten the sleeves over her arms, but that didn’t stop Hazelton from seeing her curvy figure…and the scar.

The jagged line went in a diagonal down her back and tucked into the waistline of her skirt. The scar went up over her shoulder, going under the black bra strap, and he watched as the jagged mark disappeared beneath her shirt. The fabric obscured the scar from his sight, and he remembered to drop his gaze. Quiari turned and looked at the blush that had spread rapid fire over his face, and she moved forward and knelt before him. She took the stone and put it on the ground. She raised a finger, blew on it, and then she ran her what little fingernail she had on her index finger down the center of the stone, it split easily in half. She picked up one half and pushed the other over to Hazelton. “Uh…thanks?” he said, picking up the half of the stone, and Quiari put her half into her shirt. Hazelton’s eyes went wide.

“You’re…cold!” he exclaimed, and Quiari’s lips twitched up slightly. The dragon popped out of her shirt, the stone in its mouth. The dragon’s breath was blasting cold ice onto the stone. Quiari held her hand out to the dragon, and it spat the stone into her hand. She smiled slightly wider and then she brought the palm holding the blood stone to her mouth and cut it open with her tooth. “W-what’re you doing?!” demanded Hazelton, lunging forward, and he went right through Quiari. He turned to face her, and he watched as her palm dripped with blue blood quietly. She closed her palm and a bright light flashed before she opened her palm, revealing the blue blood had turned into a stone and infused with the red blood stone. She took the one out of his shaking palm and did the same thing, and then her palm healed.

She put Hazelton’s stone on the floor, tucking the other one into her shirt, and then she stood up and picked up the ragged blanket, putting it over her shoulders like a cloak. The stone on the floor in front of Hazelton was pulsing with gentle light. “What…what is this?” he asked, but silence was his only answer. Quiari went over to the stone wall, the exit into the library, and she put her hand against the stone wall, it slid aside easily and quietly. Quiari walked out, leaving the stone door open, and she walked into the maze of bookshelves, leaving Hazelton with only the stone.

“Are you prepared for you punishment?” Karkaroff’s voice resonated out through the Dining Hall. It was breakfast, and a blizzard was going on outside, with whistling winds and snow that struck like bits of ice. Every student and teacher was here, Gym class had been postponed for this. For Quiari’s judgment. She stood quietly, eyes to the floor, and hands clasped in front of her. The blood stone she had made hung by a gold chain around her neck, hidden with the dragon in her shirt. “For attacking a student, you are to walk to Hogwarts, and deliver these books.” Karkaroff turned and motioned towards a large, wooden, box. She’d have to carry it on her back to carry it at all. The boys were all staring at her, the ones that had been in the astronomy class seemed skeptical about the crime. They’d seen her patience, and her peaceful countenance, it seemed to confuse them that she would “attack” a student without good cause.

Hazelton sat at a table with Erique, watching the scene unfold with angry eyes. He knew what had really happened, and yet he didn’t speak up. “Master Karkaroff, this doesn’t seem right.” Said the Transfiguration teacher, gaining the attention of the entire Dining Hall, but Quiari simply moved forward and touched the box before bending down and picking it up by the straps that were attached to the side. She heaved the large box onto her back, nearly crumpling under the weight. She stood doubled over, balancing the box on her back. “Very well then, go.” Said Karkaroff, and Quiari nodded silently before she started walking, her heels clicked harshly against the stone. There was silence except for the click of her heels as she moved slowly down the middle aisle. “And don’t come back until those are delivered!” shouted Karkaroff as she left the Dining Hall.

Outside the wind nearly tipped her over, and the snow was waist deep. Quiari, however, simply jumped up and landed on top of the snow, still hunched over. Karkaroff sent a spell that slammed the doors behind her. “It’s like before, little one. When I was young…” Quiari’s voice was lost on the wind, and she started walking. She stepped lightly across the snow, traveling for many days in the cold, but she never stopped, and soon she straightened up a little bit. She didn’t talk at all, and the little dragon seemed so happy curled into her chest. Five days later and she came to the Forbidden Forest. It was still snowing hard, and the wind had reduced her clothes to mere tatters. “Almost…so close, little one…” she whispered, stopping to rest against a tree, and she let the wooden box drop into the snow. She sat on top of the box, catching her breath. She fixed the blanket around her shoulders, hiding her scar, and she shivered.

“It…doesn’t seem right, little one. This punishment…it’s so similar.” She said, the dragon yawned. “So similar to the test of a thousand leagues.” Quiari’s breath came in sharp pants from between her chapped lips. Her mouth was dry, barley able to whisper. “But I’ll see Albus again, little one. It’s been a while.” Quiari hopped off the box and then slung it onto her back again, starting off through the trees. She left no tracks, and it seemed that she was more at peace in the trees, as if she drew hidden strength from the leafless trees. “So…close…” she stepped out of the Forbidden Forest. Just a quick walk to the castle, but it seemed her strength was failing her. “W-what is this feeling, little one?” Quiari lifted her hand, pressing the tips of her fingers together. “I…I feel…different.” She continued walking. “I…I can’t feel my hands or my feet. They’re numb…and they’re tingling.” She tripped then and fell into the snow; only the top of the box was visible through the deep snow.

Quiari lay in the snow, a soft smile on her lips. “I’m…so tired, little one…let me rest…” the dragon whined. “No…little one…I’m tired…” The dragon cried again, and Quiari snapped her eyes open. “So…tired…let me rest.” Her eyes closed again. The dragon dug beneath her shirt and then appeared again, biting Quiari’s collar bone hard enough to draw blood. Quiari jumped up, a small sound escaping her throat, and she glared at the little dragon. “Little one!” she said sternly, but the dragon didn’t let go. Quiari sighed. “We’re close…I can make it a little further.” Said Quiari, and she clambered on top of the snow again and started walking lightly on top of it. She came to the castle doors in a while and she opened one, entering from the cold quietly. It was in the warmth of the large entrance that Quiari seemed to feel the most pain. She grabbed her hands and her mouth opened in a silent scream as the heat burned her skin. Her hair had icicles dangling from it, and her nose was very red, as were her cheeks, they flushed even further in the warmth. Her clothes were ripped and the only thing hiding the scar was the blanket shielding her back from the wooden box. She took in a deep breath, put the box down, and straightened, grimacing at the pain of finally standing up straight after so many days. Despite the pain, she smiled and took a shaky step forward. Her heel clicked on the welcoming floor of the entrance. “We’re…here…”
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Told you this one was long! *parties* All right, Chpater 10 should be up soon and I thank everyone who has reviewed. Thanks for reading this far! ~Nezumi-kun~ ^_^.