Just a few days after the welcoming feast, Kiri found herself with a free period just after lunch. As she - and everyone else - had only had one or two classes so far, her homework list was fairly manageable. With her schedule all sorted out, she was simply trying to decide whether to stay in the common room and read or wander out into the grounds.

Figuring that she would see enough of the grounds soon enough (the Quidditch season was not far off, at least for a captain such as herself), she grabbed one of her - literally and intellectually - heavy astronomy textbooks and wandered into the common room. She was just about to slump into an armchair when she caught sight of Professor Lupa's Head of House office.

The boxes of barking dogs were gone, so someone, perhaps Professor Kazimeriz, had figured out how to remove them. That was good.

But the open door reminded Kiri of something else. Professor Lupa had wanted to see her! She put her book down on a table (careful to do so face-up so people could see the title, which sounded impressively complicated and scientific), and walked over the office. Was the professor even in her office? Announcing her presence, Kiri knocked on the wooden door frame. "Erm, Professor Lupa? Are you there?" She peeked inside.

Ever since Diagon Alley, Lavi had wanted to meet his new Head of House. He walked through the dungeon, occacionally getting lost so he was forced to go back some steps and took a left turn..it took him about 5 minutes to find the office but he finally found it. He looked at the door and noticed that this corridor looked..familiar. Lavi turned around to see the Stone wall from the Slytherin Common Room. Greeaat!

Feeling utterly stupid, he turned around and thought about what to say. He hadn't had much to talk about ..well he did, but he was too scared to say it, what if his head of house would laugh?! Or or..tell it further to other students and teachers and they would all laugh at him in class! nuuu, that was terrible!. Ohkay maybe a teacher wouldn't do that but that was the image that played in Lavi's mind. But for now he would just say a hello to the professor.

He quietly walked up to the door but then noticed another person knocking on the door and he halted. " Eh..Hi, i can come back later...if you have a meeting with the Head of House" he said and fumbled with his fingers on his robe sleeve.

"Oh, Captain Starstalker," She said smiling as she looked up and closed her diary, "Come in, please... would you like some coffee?" She looked at the apple slices on her cookie tray and said "Not my usual sweets, but one must keep one's figure..."

"If you'd like to wait, just outside the door, I'd be happy to help you as soon as I am finished with the Captain here." Alessia said with a smile.

Oh, there she was! "Hello, Professor," Kiri said with a friendly smile. She was about to enter the Head of House's office when another person spoke, just behind her. If the common room had not been that quiet, Kiri wouldn't have heard them. Their voice was so low and sounded so shy, she wasn't even sure whether it belonged to a boy or a girl.
She turned around.

Huh. Odd.
The boy - it was a boy - looked as if he could be her own age. Why was he so nervous? Then Kiri realised that she had never seen him before. So maybe he was new, a transfer from some other school. "One moment, Professor," she called out over her shoulder.
"Yes, I have a meeting with Professor Lupa," she told the boy apologetically, "but we should be done in a few minutes. 's about Quidditch." She indicated the badge on her robes. "You should think about trying out!"

With a faint smile, Kiri turned around and entered the office. She closed the door behind herself. "Thanks, erm... I'll try a coffee, sure." She took a seat opposite the professor.
Wow. Coffee! That had sounded so grown up!
Kiri wouldn't say no to an apple slice or five, either. "Mmm, theesh..." she swallowed, "these are good." Kiri held up the apple slice for inspection, which had been cut in half sharply by her teeth.

Alessia watched the girl as she assured the other student. She was happy she picked the right Slytherin for the captainship. She poured a cup of espresso for the girl and handed it to her, and without asking her, one lump or two, she put two cubes of sugar in her cup. Pouring herself one, she smiled. "So tell me, how is our friend Prefect Kururugi?" She wasn't going to go around the bush.

Kiri had only ever seen coffee made magically, so she watched with interest as Professor Lupa busied herself at the stove. It was a very old one that fit in well with the look and feel of the office, dark and full of intricate patterns made out of cast iron.

What was she preparing, though? The pot the professor was handling began to hiss and steam, but it didn't smell like coffee. Not exactly. Maybe some Muggle variety? Why were the cups so small? "Thank you," Kiri said, taking the little cup carefully. The smell issuing from it was pretty strong.
She sipped carefully.
And just managed not to spit it out. This was not normal coffee, this was espresso! Kiri had only ever tried it once - some of her mother's friends had adopted it as the fashionable thing to drink, but Kiri thought it was much too strong and bitter.

She swallowed hastily. Now that she came to think of it, this one wasn't quite as bad. Professor Lupa had added a lot of sugar.
But a moment later, she wished she had done something to cause a scene. The professor wanted to talk about Raiden? This wasn't going to be about Quidditch at all, then.

"Hmm..." Putting the second piece of the apple slice into her mouth, she wondered what to say. "Well, I guess he's, er, good. I haven't actually... talked to him so far. Term's started just a few days ago, and I guess everyone's busy, so... so we didn't have a lot of time." That was so obviously not true, Kiri felt embarrassed as soon as she'd said it. After only a couple days' worth of lessons, no one had had to do any work so far. But what else could she say? She hadn't seen Raiden much, except at breakfast - where she'd always sat somewhere else.

"I suggest you don't..." She said sipping her coffee and looking at the apple slices as it they had leprosy. "Say hello, if HE does, but don't go out your way. In fact..." Ooo Idea... "Lavi Saitoh, the boy just outside the door could become a good friend... and maybe more." She wasn't going to push things, but little Kiri needed a friend of the boy persuasion to show the male prefect he wasn't all that! And maybe... She shook her head. "May I call him in and we could all sit and chat...? Or if not him... Blake Wright is a 5th yeah, he's an intelligent boy, Chaucer Ipswich is a 4th year and Evan Cartwright is a third year, but mature for his age... maybe befriend all of them. It's nice to have friends..." and this plan would work if they were just friends...

It took Kiri a while to figure out what Professor Lupa was talking about. But when understanding dawned, it dawned like a supernova.

Hold on.

Befriend other boys to... make Raiden jealous or something? But she wouldn't be able to do that! She was friends with people she liked, not because of some ulterior motive. Besides, apart from the boy outside - whose name was Lavi apparently - she wasn't sure she'd ever met all those people the professor had talked about.

Completely bemused, Kiri simply nodded and said, "Erm, sure... Call him in." Professor Lupa seemed to know what she was doing, which was more than Kiri could say for herself right now. And he had appeared nice enough (from what she could tell after a five-second conversation), if a little shy - just like Kiri had been.

She stood and opened the door. "Master Saitoh?" She called at the boy, "would you come in please?" She said sweetly.

Hearing a voice coming from the door, Lavi looked up from the place he had been seated and saw the Professor standing in the doorway. "Yes?" he said as she adressed him with Master AND Saitoh! eeek so cool! much better than .Mr.Sweet as Blake and Art liked to call him...

He jumped up from the ground and dusted his Slytherin robe , which was slightly too long for his body, off. He walked over to the door with an somewhat curious expression on his face and entered. "Hello Professor" he greeted with a smile and took a seat near the other girl and he smiled at her too. "Hey, I'm Lavi Saitoh" he introduced to her, of course not knowing that the Professor had already told her his name when he was still outside the door.

"Yes Master Saitoh, Come in come in... Do you know Captain Kiri Starstalker? She is the new captain of the Slytherin quidditch team" She said, "Not only that, but she is a very bright student and an amazing girl all around..." Ok... maybe she was going overboard...

Oh, Professor Lupa was really calling that shy boy back in? Kiri did an intense study of the patterns on her espresso cup to avoid looking at Lavi. She wondered if he was going to notice the change in her behaviour - just a few minutes ago, she'd smiled and told him about her meeting with Professor Lupa, and now, (even though he didn't know it, of course) he was being called back in to... well, to do what exactly?

"Hey Lavi," said Kiri, smiling in the direction of her cup. "'m Kiri."
But Professor Lupa was already busy introducing her.

Kiri stared open-mouthed, espresso cup forgotten. Initially, Professor Lupa was introducing her. Kiri Starstalker, that was her name. Yes, she was the new Slytherin Quidditch team Captain. But then she called her a "very bright student".
Sure, Kiri wasn't dumb. As such. She had decent grades and- what was Professor Lupa going on about?! Kiri nearly swallowed her tongue and let out a loud cough.

"Erm," she ventured, "I don't think I'm an... I don't..." She fidgeted around on the chair. "I'm not all that great."

Lavi did not see the change in the girl's , who's name was Kiri, behaviour. He wasn't really good at signals but when it came to his own feelings he knew perfectly well what he was feeling. With Shana he felt nervous because she had grabbed his hand when they had only just met. And Lucy he felt shy because..well...she actually had pinched his cheek!

Listening as the professor was introducing Kiri to him, Lavi looked at the girl with a twinkle in his eyes and saw the captain's badge on her Slytherin robe. Ooooh! a Captain?! so cool! He wanted to poke her badge and say 'poke poke poke' but of course he didn't because the professor was in the same room. He would have done if they had been talking alone. Teehee. He then listened to the professor as she told him that Kiri was a 'very bright student' An vision popped inside his head where the girl gave light like a lamp when he thought about "bright" student and he chuckled, holding a fist in front of his mouth. "S-sorry.." he quickly said although not sure if the two had heard it.

"It's nice to meet you Captain Bright....err i mean Kiri" ugh fail
He looked back at the professor again and wondered what would happen, he was really curious why he was being let in now when not a few minutes ago they wanted to talk alone.

Tobias rapped sharply on the Slytherin Head of House's door. He knew her name and that she was the Ancient Runes teacher, but, having never taken that class, Tobias knew nothing about her. He had decided it was a shame not to have met your own Head of House, and this would hopefully remedy that matter. This was probably the only way he would ever meet her. Ancient Runes was altogether too terrifying a concept to even contemplate. Seeing the older students struggle with their Runes homework had killed any lurking desire to take the class.

"Well I'm sure the two of you will make for fast friends." She said offering the apple slices to the boy. "Now what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked, but then was suddenly distracted by the kid at the door. She'd forgotten to shut it.

"I'll be with you once I'm done with The Captain and Master Saitoh" She said to the boy.

Kiri sneaked a small hand past the professor and snatched up a few more apple slices. They were crisp and sweet and offered a nice change to the bitter taste of the espresso. Which she also took another sip of.

Professor Lupa apparently was not about to reveal why she'd asked Lavi in, instead began talking to him normally, with Kiri still in the room. Maybe he thought this was a Quidditch-related interview of sorts or something, which would have meant that Kiri was there in her "official" capacity. The off-hand manner Professor Lupa used when she said that Lavi and Kiri would become... "fast friends" would probably only add to that.

So Kiri munched on her apple slices and drank her espresso. When the professor got up to answer the knock on the door, Kiri smiled at the boy and said, "Sooo... you're new, right? I haven't seen you before. Where are you from?"

Looking at the apple slices, Lavi took a few and happily ate them. He waited till he was finished eating and frowned slightly at the Professor's question. Why was he here again?...oh yea! Lavi suddenly remembered the reason for his visit and he looked down at his knees, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Uhm..it's uh.." he stuttered. He felt a little shy that he had to say the reason for his visit where another student was with. Should he lie and say something else or bite through the pain and tell the professor? Lavi looked at Kiri for a second and figured that the girl would eventually know ayways. "Well.. i actually came to ask for help..i think" yea he defenitely needed help. He took a deep sigh and bravely told his fear. "I have a phobia named Bibliophobia, it means i'm scared of certain books...uhm.. i-i was wondering if there was something like...i don't know, a potion or something that will help me get over it.?" his cheeks flushed a bright red colour and he pretended to sneeze which, of course came out fake but atleast he had a reason to look away.

When he looked away he noticed another student standing in the doorway. He looked at him for a second and Kiri's voice reached his ears.


Lavi turned his attention to Kiri and watched her as she munched her apples and drank her espresso. "Yea i'm new here, I'm from Sendai, Japan. My father is a Japanese wizard and my mother a English muggle" he said with a hint of proudness in his voice. He never cared that he was a halfblood in Slytherin. "I lived till i was 13 in Japan , my mother wanted to go back to England and now we are staying in Leeds" Lavi thought about the small appartment and suddenly became home sick. He had never been away for this long. At his previous school he went home when the classes where over, but now he had be without his parents for a whole year..minus the holidays. "Uhm, can i ask what year you are in ? oooh and what possition do you play in the quidditch team? Captains also play right? i don't really know much about the game, i can't fly..." eeeh no that wasn't true. He knew how to fly..breaking.. now THAT was another story. Poor trees.

Alessia let the two chat, as she wrote up a note and sent it magically flying to the nurse.

The Slytherin Common Room---this would be a definite first for Gabriella. As she quickly headed towards the dungeons, she considered the fact that she would probably need to get used to being called to the different common rooms to help heal a number of different magical mishaps. Such was the life of a Healer, and despite how unfortunate it would be for the students to find themselves in need of healing, Gabriella was glad to help.

Now, where had Less said the student was? In the...office, yes, that's right. Glancing around the room, Gabriella finally eyed what she thought to be the office and made her way over. With a quick knock, knock, she waited to be called inside, thinking it to be the polite thing to do. The situation wasn't a dire emergency, but had it been, she'd have let herself in.

"Ah... this must be the nurse." She said as she opened the door. "Gabriella, thank you for coming on such short notice. "Master Saitoh here," she said gesturing to the boy, "has a mild case of Bibliophobia, where he's scared of books... certain books... so he was wondering if there was a potion he could take for it."

When the door opened, Gabriella met Less with a polite smile. "It's no problem at all, of course," she said, stepping into the office. She nodded a few times as she listened to a brief description of the child's symptoms. "Bibliophobia, yes...," she muttered. "Thank you." Gabriella's gaze changed from Less to the Saitoh boy.

"Well hello there, Mr. Saitoh. I'm Healer Ashford," she greeted, taking a nearby seat and retrieving a phial of potion from the pockets of her robes. Noticing a young girl in the room, as well, she nodded towards her before turning back to the young boy. "The good news is that there is indeed a potion that can help you with your symptoms. There really isn't any bad news so to speak, but I must tell you that one dose of this potion certainly won't change things for good."

"It's a work in progress, as even magic can't cure everything with a quick swish and flick," she went on. "Once you take this, you'll need to take two additional doses. At the start of the next month, come back to me, and we'll discuss your progress and administer the next dose."

Lavi saw in the corner of his eye that the Professor was writing a note. He wondered what it was for and followed the paperplane as it flew out of the office. Lavi looked back at Kiri with a confused expression on his face but then shrugged his shoulders. He would find out soon enough.

An yes, not some time later another knock was being heard on the wooden door , making Lavi turn around on his seat to look at the door. He watched as his Head of House had opened the door to reveal a woman standing in the doorway. Was that a professor? , she certainly looked too old to be a student...Oh!..a nurse?. Lavi stood up from his chair as the professor addressed him and made a slight bow with his head. He sat back down when the healer walked over and sat next to him.

"Hello , Healer Ashford.." he mumbled and suspiciously looked at the phial of potion that was now in her hand. He hoped it wasn't disgusting...most likely it would be, like all potions. "So there is a cure?!" he asked , his face suddenly beamed with happiness. Yaay finally! He knew it was a good thing to talk to his professor about it. He felt so stupid that he had always kept it a secret in his previous school in Japan. As he listened to what the healer was saying, Lavi kept staring at the phial and bit his lip. "So, if i take a few of these, i'll be cured?" he asked, thinking about all the books he could finally read. And not just the books, but the school text-books too! Yes Lavi was someone who wanted to study , who wanted to do his homework. Hah, so next time if Blake threated to throw a book at him he wouldn't have to run away crying! big yay! "Why can't i take them all now?" he suddenly asked when he snapped out of his thoughts.

Okay, mental note: come back next month for new potion. Lavi nodded his head to show he understood.

"Ohh, so you've only moved here recently? That must have been quite a change," Kiri said, settling back a little more comfortably in her chair. "I guess it's obvious with me where my parents are from," she added with a smile, pointing at her face, "but I've actually lived here my whole life. Never been to Japan except when I was very small, so I can't really remember it."

What was Professor Lupa doing? "Erm... fifth-year," Kiri answered shortly, glancing at the professor scribbling away in a corner of the office. "Ye-es, captains... erm, captains also play." She turned to look at Lavi again. "Last term, I played Chaser. I'll probably be a Chaser again this term, I dunno. Depends on who else gets on the team." She pointed at the boy. "Hey, you should sign up as well. There are flying lessons and everything to teach you if you don't know how to use a broom."
She glanced at Professor Lupa again, who was looking at the door in an expectant sort of way. "And if you need one, the school has spare brooms. And bandages and..."

Before she could finish, the door opened, and a young woman entered. Kiri had seen her briefly at the start-of-term feast - a head full of shiny blond hair was hard to miss - but had no idea who she was. That was explained to Kiri in no short order, however, as the woman introduced herself as the new nurse. Healer Ashford... Kiri smiled and waved with a hand that was still holding an apple slice. I guess the old saying only works for doctors, not Healers, she thought sardonically as Professor Lupa and Healer Ashford converged on Lavi.

Kiri tried not to listen too closely to what they were talking about - it was a personal matter, after all - instead, she looked around at the paintings decorating Professor Lupa's office. A knight in pitifully rusty armour trying to unscrew his helmet caught her attention.

"Mmhmm," Gabriella replied, responding to Lavi's question about there being a cure for Bibliophobia. She shrugged her shoulders, though, in reply to the next question. "It is truly a work in progress. It requires a lot more than a simple potion, although, the potion is a very large part of getting yourself cured. It's also a case of mind over matter, though, and you and I will chat about that when you come see me for your second dose."

She had a feeling he'd inquire about taking all three doses during one sitting. It was only natural to want to speed the process of being healed. "There are a few reasons the doses can't all be consumed now. For one, it's a strong potion, and taking all three at once would be too strong," she explained. "Two, you've got the whole mind over matter to take into consideration, and that's not something that can be conquered with a single dose of potion."

She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, crossing one leg over the other as she did so. "Finally, we need to monitor your progress after each dose to see how you're coming along, and if we possibly need to alter the potion you're consuming. Not all medications work the same for each person. The same applying to potions, too, of course."