Past & Present :: OPEN ::

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The minute Kat had entered the castle she'd felt that old excitement flood back to her. Each year she returned to the school had spelled something knew and unknown for her and today was no exception. She'd spent an extra week in Hogsmeade, contemplating whether going to back to Hogwarts at all was a good idea in general and at the end of it all decided it might even be good for her to go. James still didn't get it, his silent protest against her returning to the school was followed by a heated debate late one night in a dingy inn room.

To keep him sated Kat revealed to him the truth of the Shrieking Shack as she knew it, that it held the entrance to a passage way that led straight onto the school grounds and that he could always have a way in and she would always have a way out. It was fitting that James was a werewolf, the initial use of the Shack was for a werewolf. James had too many issues with what she had planned, it was working on her nerves. No matter how much she'd valued his presence in her life - such as it was - he'd never tried to control her in any way before.

She left him on the night of the full moon, he'd already transformed and there was no way for him to stop her without killing her. On those nights where he couldn't fight what he was he left early and only returned to her during early morning when the moon had disappeared. When he returned he would find her gone and most likely hate her for it, but it was the only way she could get back to Hogwarts without having another drunken debate with him.

Kat closed the great doors of the castle behind her, the soft thud bringing back memories she'd thought she'd forgotten but then there was something else. It made Kat scowl and breathe unevenly. There was a scent in the air, very faint but impossible to miss. The thought of what the scent led to was vexing and the possibility was unexpected. She recognized the scent easily enough as well as the fact that the scent had been altered in some way... Vampire...

She contemplated leaving again but drew herself up and put one foot in front of the other. She would see this through, no matter what. At least she wouldn't have any trouble finding the common room. The scent got stronger with each step she took and by the time she reached the entrance it was almost overpowering. Kat opened her mind to the students within and filtered out the password. The door opened and she stepped slowly into the common room.

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"Why don't you ask your girlfriend?"

Damon's lip curled back as he was about to let out a growl at the petite girl threatening Chloe. But before he was able to, Chloe looked up at him and quickly changed her position so that she now stood in front of him. What is she doing? He thought in surprise and anger. Two seconds ago Chloe had been terrified and angrier than he had ever seen her, now she was blocking him from the girl causing all the trouble. He was about to protest her move, but he remembered that she had given his hand a tight squeeze to indicate that all was well at the moment and to not doing anything rash. So Damon reluctantly stood somewhat behind her, but without blocking all of his view of the girl. He still continued to glower at her.

As Chloe stood silently in front of Damon, he was finally able to really look her over. When they had met outside, their emotions burst from them the moment they laid eyes on each other and he barely had time to look at her face, let alone the rest of her body before they were entwined in a kiss. He was now able to look at her long hair flowing down her back and notice rips in her sleeves, and as his eyes lowered to hear legs he noticed even more rips in her pants. What the hell happened to her before I arrived? Damon's eyebrows knit together as he looked closely at the rips and tears in her clothing. Chloe wasn't really a materialistic girl, but she did like to look nice and would not willingly go out in torn clothes. He squinted as he examined a tear in one of her shirt sleeves. By the way the fabric had been torn it appeared to be done by an animal. Chloe was an excellent hunter, so that definitely wasn't the reason behind the torn clothes.

Very suddenly it seemed, or maybe more surprising as he was distracted by Chloe's clothes, her hand slipped out of his. He made to grab for it but she had tightly wound her arms around her torso. He could see that she had made fists and her knuckles were beginning to turn white. Why had she let her hand slip from his? Did he miss something while he was trying to figure out the cause for her messy appearance? Then Chloe spoke...

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"Why are you here?"

The sadness and pain that engulfed her voice was agony. Damon desperately wanted to wrap his arms around her and make everything better, but she had taken her hand out of his... Why was she so tormented by the appearance of this girl? There had to be more to it, something from the past that was causing all of this. The girl's a vampire, so I bet she was here before... Here with Chloe. Damon struggled with the possibilities in his mind, but Chloe's clothing was still distracting him. Nothing made sense at the moment and he desperately wanted answers! He looked to the other girl, immediately blaming her for everything that was happening. As he looked at her, he noticed that her gaze was on Chloe and that it had changed. She no longer looked just as angry as Chloe - Her facial expression mimicked the sorrow in Chloe's voice.

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"I don't know anymore."

Damon looked at the girl curiously, hearing the same sadness that rippled through Chloe's voice. This whole thing, whatever it was, was obviously carried on from the past and it was clearly something Chloe had never spoken to Damon about. He suddenly felt very unwanted as he looked between the girl and Chloe. It was like they were speaking to each other with out actually saying anything. They mimicked each others sorrow as if... as if they had felt the same sorrow. Damon took one silent step back from Chloe, his head dropping and his eyes staring absently at the floor.

Chloe's eyes had kept darting back to Aurora as she felt the familiar tug at her mind - It was an irritating feeling that was not helping the situation. She shook her head softly and dropped her eyes to the floor, concentrating on pushing the thoughts away from her. Two seconds later the tug was gone and Chloe was able to look up again. Her eyes immediately went to Kat and she was surprised at what she saw. Kat's expression had changed. She had lost the anger and now Chloe wasn't quite sure what she saw... Was it sad? Does she feel bad for breaking my heart, or is it pity at how pathetic I am? Chloe absently picked at the loose threads from one of the tears in her shirt as she considered what Kat's expression meant. The fight with the lion that had happened earlier in the night seemed like absolutely nothing as she now stood in front of Katherine Lyons.

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"I don't know anymore."

Chloe's eyes shot back to Kat and she studied her face well. She looked sad... And it sounded like she was truly regretting coming here. Chloe didn't want to stop Kat from coming back to Hogwarts. Yes, they had some serious history, and Chloe was still hurt, but she still felt a pull towards Kat, a pull she had never been able to resist. As she looked into Kat's eyes, Chloe couldn't help feel an urge to go wrap her arms around her, so instead she hugged her own torso even tighter. She had to resist the pull... She had to! But even as she tried to force her mind to resist, she knew her heart was betraying her and finding the old memories in her mind - The good memories.

Without even realizing it, Chloe was making some of the tears in her shirt bigger as her arms squeezed her torso as tight as possible without crushing herself. She suddenly became aware of the ripping noise and looked down at her arm. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, loosening her grip a bit. "If you want to be here... I can leave." Chloe spoke softly and with her eyes still shut. The ripping had oddly reminded her of her own heart ripping, as she lay in a quiet meadow, deep within a forest in Scotland. She glanced back at Damon then at realized that he had taken a step back from her. His head was lowered and she couldn't make out his expression. She chewed on her bottom lip as guilt flooded her mind.

((I thought that they had, but it’s been a while…which was why I checked.))

Roslin nodded silently as a reply to Aurora and kept his eyes on the action.

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Why are you here?

The sudden change in Chloe was unnerving and a relief at the same time. Perhaps there was no need for a peacemaker, not if she still cared deeply for Katherine.

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I don't know anymore.

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If you want to be here... I can leave.

Roslin sniffed and rolled his eyes. “You two are being ridiculous…” he muttered, no longer able to keep his thoughts to himself. “You know why you came here, why all of us came here. We all have the same reasons. However, there is no reason for any of us to leave. Not yet.”

“I need some air. I’ll find out how it turns out later,” Roslin thought at Aurora as he turned to head for the door. He had grown tired of the tension in the room and a part of him had grown jealous of the feelings that the two seemed to still have for each other. It was only after Chloe had left that Katherine and Ros had been able to become close. Now that he saw them together again, he felt sure that closeness would be lost.

“If you decide to leave, don’t leave without telling me first,” Ros thought at Katherine as he walked through the common room doors. “I will hunt you down this time.” He turned and looked through the entrance at Katherine before shutting the door. Ros stood there for a moment and then turned and made his way toward one of the closest secret passage out of the school.

The higher level of tension seemed to evaporate, Katherine had never had any ill feelings toward Chloe and with the dissipation of her anger at what she'd thought was a sick trick of some sort the thickness in the air was more manageable. Chloe looked calmer too and so did the boy who'd entered with her. He appeared detached suddenly though as if he would slip into a tantrum at any second. Pouty. That was the word, that's how he looked to Kat when she glanced at him now. He'd taken a step back from Chloe and Chloe hadn't yet noticed. "I don't want - "

Her sentence was cut short by Roslin who suddenly gave his two cents worth of exasperation, showing how much he didn't understand - but he had a very good point... in theory. "I don't want anyone to leave." Katherine piped up even as Roslin left the room. She heard a silent voice in her head, annoyed suddenly that she'd let her guard slip enough for anyone to project their thoughts into her head. She'd always been so vigilant about that, but now - Perhaps it was just the shock of seeing so many of the people she'd thought were long gone...

She stared at him before he exited the common room and then stared at the spot where he'd been for several seconds more before looking back at Chloe who looked different yet again. Almost like she was nervous about something. Kat took a step towards the duo, not wanting to cause any more tension. Some part of her wanted to follow Roslin, and yet the other part wanted to stay and ... she didn't know what. It was surprising how strong the part of her was that wanted to follow Roslin but she knew she had to calm the situation with Chloe.

She shook her head and smiled crookedly at Chloe. "I don't want you to leave. It was never my intention to make you feel like being around you was unbearable, it was far from it." She didn't know what more to say. The truth was, Chloe and Roslin had been her saving grace and losing both of them was something out of a nightmare that she'd hated for as long as she could remember.

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I need some air. I’ll find out how it turns out later,

Aurora looked up at him, she could see he wasn't happy about any of this and that a lot of things had happened and been revealed today that was a bit too much for him. She knew the only thing to do was let him go, he'd come back to her when he was ready. Alright, see you later then she thought back at him flatly. She watched him exit the room and turned back towards the others. She suddenly felt very self conscious and out of place. This really was none of her business and as much as curiosity wanted to make her stay and see what happened, she just couldn't do it without Roslin. "I may as well take my leave also, you guys have a lot to discuss. Just so you know, I love both of you no matter what. Come find me if you ever want to talk........or hunt, I'm good for either." She glanced at Damon, wondering if she should address him but as they hadn't been formally introduced she didn't see any need. She was sure she could get acquainted with him later. She elegantly followed Roslin out of the common room but she headed for the one place she was sure he wouldn't go: the Library.

Chloe barely even noticed Roslin as he spoke. Her mind captured his words but were unable to process them. There were far too many other thoughts in her mind at the moment. She felt bad about Damon. He was clueless as to what was happening, but coming up with his own ideas that had clearly made him feel separate from Chloe. Then she was thinking of Kat and how things use to be. The two of them, Damon and Kat, were battling in her mind. She barely even noticed the quiet buzzing of thoughts being passed around the room. (When it wasn't directly at her, Chloe only heard a strange buzzing sound, as if a bee were around).

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"I don't want anyone to leave."

Chloe glanced up at Kat, almost jumping as she realized how out of it she had been. Her eyes had been so focused on the ground that they had completely blurred over to a point of being in a sleep-like state. Chloe wanted to say something, but she wasn't sure what to say. She really didn't want anyone to leave either, and nor did she want to leave herself. But if there was only ever going to be tension between her and Kat, then she would rather leave then be in that kind of atmosphere that typically caused her mind to go haywire. As Chloe eyed Kat, she noticed that her eyes had be drawn back to the spot where Roslin had been. Chloe narrowed her eyes briefly and fixed her face with a blank expression.

Then Kat took a step toward her and Chloe received a fresh wave of Kat's scent. There was something lingering, barely... but still lingering. Then another scent hit her, dragging itself up from her subconscious mind - Roslin walking past her on his way to the door. Her eyes locked onto Kat and slowly began to turn black again, veins of blackness seeping into the green as anger flared through her body. Part of the anger was toward herself as she realized she had begun to hope... begun to care again.

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"I don't want you to leave. It was never my intention to make you feel like being around you was unbearable, it was far from it."

More anger surged through Chloe as Katherine smiled at her like the whole thing was a joke. Chloe took the steps necessary to plant herself mere inches from Kat. She slowly eyed Katherine, from the tip of her toes to the depths of her eyes. "Enjoying Roslin's company, are we?" She hissed, her eyes spilling out hatred. Chloe held her gaze for a moment and then took a step back. "Care to join me in my room, Damon?" She asked him without taking her eyes off of Katherine. "I'll tell you everything you need to know in order to understand all of this better." Chloe had always been a one partner type of person. Most Vampires were players, going from one play toy to the next, and sometimes several within one day, but not Chloe. She stuck to one person, and one person only. Her problem, or what others would say is a problem, was that she fell in love - She gave her heart to the person she was with and therefore could not have more than one person at a time. Clearly that was not the case for Katherine.

Soon after Roslin left Aurora got up and left as well, no doubt the tension in the room was affecting her more than anyone. Kat glanced over at her and followed her out the room with her eyes, she smiled lightly at Aurora but wasn't sure the girl had seen it, they would have a lot more time to catch up - so it seemed.

Something she'd said had been wrong, Chloe had that murderous glare in her eyes again and when she closed the distance between them Kat could all but feel Chloe's anger rolling off her. Her eyebrows pulled together and her lips parted before she closed her mouth and dry swallowed. Her eyes widened just slightly when Chloe mentioned Roslin.

Katherine felt like she should be hyperventilating again, but all too soon Chloe stepped back. This reaction from her was so unexpected that Kat didn't really know what to think - for all she'd known Kat was dead, did that make all her other partners reasons to get angry as well? Her expression showed all the confusion she felt and when Chloe indicated she was ready to leave Katherine laughed shortly. "So you're angry now because someone you thought was dead found comfort with someone else?"

Chloe's eyes widened in anger as she heard Katherine laugh. How could she possibly be laughing? I guess all of this would be a complete joke for her. It's all part of the fun in her game of Life. Chloe turned to leave but stopped mid-turn. Her eyes rested on the stairs as she spoke. "I didn't know you were dead. I left, remember?" Chloe sighed heavily and turned the rest of the way, now facing Damon. She took his hand and eyed him meaningfully, hoping he would get the hint to not protest and just follow her.

Thinking it over, Chloe knew she had overreacted and it really wasn't her place to say anything, hell... she had Damon, but she couldn't stop her heart from feeling jealous. Chloe had always been an extremely jealous person, and apparently she still felt like she had some sort of hold on Katherine. Which is ridiculous! Chloe shook her head, her eyes on her and Damon's hands. "Doesn't matter anyway," she spoke softly, the black leaving her eyes and returning them to their stunning emerald green. She gave Damon's hand a squeeze and led him to the stairs that would take them to the dorm rooms.

Katherine watched in helpless fury and aching as Chloe walked away. The pain of their past seemed to catch up to them once again and she felt again like running away. Just getting away from all the emotions these few people had resurrected in her. For centuries she'd been shut off, devoid of any attachment from anyone and now Chloe and Roslin and even Aurora were all here. All pulling at the strings that had made Kat's heart bleed in the past. She echoed Chloe's sigh and followed Chloe and the boy to the stairs that led to the dorm rooms.

If it weren't for Damon Kat most likely would have followed - she didn't know what she would say to Chloe but she would make things better, lessen her pain somehow... It was an impossible situation. She looked down at the carpet, staring hard at the thread that wound through the entire thing. "Just don't leave." Her words weren't much more than a whisper and with that she turned and left the common room, heading out to the dungeons again.