The Bird and the Worm

There were times. Those rare, undisturbed times where things were peaceful.

Peaceful, in Gregory's book, didn't always mean good or even alright. Things could be horrible, but still peaceful. There was a peacefulness in dark times, as he had often found. When his father passed, there was a calmness about it. While it had been the lowest point in his life, there was such a stillness that had settled in. It have been pushing five years since the death of his father and Gregory supposed he hadn't moved past it quite yet. He didn't understand how one could move past it. Jocelyn had though, but she had never known the man that shaped Gregory into the person he was today. The young and overly cheerful girl was blissfully ignorant of the guidance she was missing.

Letting a sigh escape between two chapped lips, Gregory stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. School was here, which meant his sixth year was here as well. Gregory didn't know how to feel about that. There was a low excitement that hummed in his veins. Whether that be because of the fact that his time at Hogwarts was nearing an end or because there was an opportunity to climb the Dark Followers latter. Gregory scrunched his nose as walked down the streets of the small village.

Thinking he heard someone address him, Gregory turned around, thereby turning into another person. Instead of apologizing, the tall boy just stared down at the fire-kissed girl with mild curiosity. "Pardon?"

For once, things were starting to make sense.

For once, Cat's mind was quiet. It was one of the things that happened once in a blue moon, and when it happend, which wasn't often, it was something to marvel. She walked along with her book bag slung over one shoulder, her red hair in a side braid. She wore a jacket paired with black leggings, and her scuffed boots made little noise as she walked with a bounce, feeling proud of herself for the first time in years. Cat didn't know where to go, but she just wanted to go.

Eventually, she came to a problem. Small, but still a problem. With no intentions in mind, Cat found herself stopping, sighing at how quickly the previous moment ended. Scrunching up her face, and refrained from screaming in anger, rather, to just find out where on earth in Hogsmeade she was in.

Cat approached a tall boy, who was much taller than her five foot five inches. "Where exactly in Hogsmeade is this?" Cat asked, staring up at him. When he asked again, she sighed loudly. "Where am I?" Cat refrained from shouting, but her voice carried clearly.

Obviously the girl was daft.

Or, at the least, unobservant. The short, redheaded looked to be about his age. Perhaps a bit younger due to the roundness of her cheeks and the almost devious spark in the brown eyes. Whatever it was, the girl wasn't some new third year coming to Hogsmeade for the first time. Perhaps she hadn't been to Hogsmeade before, which was an unlikely possibility. This wasn't a bad part of Hogsmeade, but most students didn't travel this way. Gregory understood that. At the same time though, it was a bit shocking that she was confused.

"It's towards the outskirts," the boy replied as he pulled his hand out of his pocket. With a laziness to his movements, he rubbed his chin that was covered in stubble. Gregory let his eyes wander, wanting to smirk but refraining. She was cute. How utterly endearing that girls these days still managed to just be cute. "Now, now, no need to get loud. If you need help, asking would do." Gregory said smoothly, his curiosity poorly hidden in his blue eyes.

Obviously the boy wasnt pleased with Cat's outburst.

The boy was older than herself, and it showed. Puberty had done him well, and he looked muscly and fit. Attractive, you could say. Not that she would dare admit it. His tousled brown hair looked like he didn't pay it much effort, and his blue eyes werent inviting. He looked comfortable in his surroundings, very much unlike Cat.

"Thank you." Cat replied stiffly, shuffling her bag higher on her shoulder and moving stray hairs out of her eyes. The way he stared down at her made her eyes flicker in annoyance, but the mood was short lived in her eyes. He looked confused, and it took all her effort not to roll her eyes and leave him there where he belonged. Something forced her to stay. "Ido need help. Mind helping?" Cat asked quickly, sharply. She had a brow arched in obvious annoyance.

That was a complicated question. Yes, Gregory did mind helping the girl. The nice, quiet stroll he had just been taking had been interrupted by the short girl that stood in front of him. Due to her questions, Greg's train of thought flew out the window like a golden snitch. As he stared down at her, he supposed he had nothing better to do. The girl had already ruined what semblance of a good day he had, so why not entertain himself with the inferior humans.

"Not at all," Gregory said smoothly.

Motioning with his hand, he pointed toward the left of them, down one of the streets. "We can go that way, it's the short way." Helping people was not on his to-do list for the day. The Slytherin had given up getting karma points, perfectly okay with the place he was going at the end of his days.

"I'm Gregory."

Cat waited for an answer with the little patience she could muster up that quickly on the spot. Looking around, she bit her lip, realizing that the summer weather was leaving as quickly as it had come. She watched him staring down at her and her annoyance and anger shown easily on her face, not liking his attention at all.

"Thank you." Cat had a smirk on here face, and she wasn't finding herself to keep calm.

Cat stormed off where he had motioned, making sure to stay a few feet ahead of him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she knew only two or three steps would close the gap between them. It was a risk that she was willing to take.

"Cat." Was all that she said over her shoulder, not turning around to face him. Gregory? She would have never guessed.

Gregory had to resist the very tempting urge to laugh. How cute, the little fox was angry. It was always interesting and slightly embarrassing to how obvious people were about their emotions. It was rare to find a person who was actually reserved. In one way or another, most people wore their hearts on their sleeves, begging for people to sneak a peak. This girl, this Cat, obviously was wearing her emotions out for the whole world to see- free of charge.

"You're welcome,"

Thankfully, the fox chose to walk in front of him. With a smirk on his lips, Gregory let his eyes wander. She was sexy in that cute, innocent type of way that boys like him craved to corrupt. Unfortunately, she seemed to be one of those feisty types that weren't worth the effort. Shame.

"So, little fox, why are you even down here?"

The silence that fell over the two polar opposites made Cat the happiest she could possibly be in that senario. Honestly, it was almost like Gregory wanted this from her. Youre sick and I already hate you, cat thought to herself with a scorn on her features, only liking the fact that he couldn't see... Her front half.

Making a noise at the back of her throat, Cat knew he was hopeless.

Cat continued walking at her fast paced walk, hoping he was deciding to stick around behind her. He wasn't someone that she wanted to converse with, all he was dong was showing her the way back so she could get the hell out of there and leave.

Hearing him call her that, Cat stopped in confusion, hoping he wasn't close enough to bump into her. The pet name seemed natural coming from him, another thing which she hated. "I got mixed up, obviously. I didn't pay attention to where I was going."

Gregory wondered how he had never seen this girl before. Perhaps he was the unobservant one, which was hysterical to think about. He had no clue how he could miss the flash of red hair that evidently had rushed down the same corridors she had. It was... interesting to think about. It almost felt disappointing to know that he hadn't gotten to her before she gained an attitude. Such a shame.

With a twitch of his lips, Greg found it amusing how she sped up just a bit. Not enough that should've been noticeable, but was. The little fox was uncomfortable around him. How fascinating. He couldn't help but compare her to an experiment of sorts.

"Do you usually get lost or was this out of character for you?" Gregory couldn't help but laugh internally at his question. She was such a curious little thing. Probably a Gryffindor, and for a fact not a Slytherin. Shame. They needed better looking girls in Slytherin.

As she walked, Cat tried to remember if she had ever seen him, Gregory, before in the halls. Of course, she was normally over shadowed because of her height, which makes sense. He had no features that would scream out to her to remember. Honestly, he looked just the same as any other boy she knew.

Cats main priority was to get away from him. But the walk seemed to last forever and she gritted her teeth, wondering how much farther until she could leave and nevere see him again. He was an idiot, and he might have been enjoying this, because he had made no intentions of getting closer to her.

"A little bit of both." Cst wanted to keep the conversation as short as she could, and Merlin knew why he was trying to talk to her in the first place. He had to be a Slytherin, there was no way any other house would take the likes of him. If he was a Gryffindor she would have known.