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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Sept 10, 2014 13:44:50 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2014 13:44:50 GMT -7
The afternoon was sunny and warm. There wouldn’t be too many more afternoons like this before winter set in.
Not that the weather here was intense enough to really bother Carcer Hagrid. Blizzards were a mild discomfort for him in terms of temperature and exposure. But this was one of the afternoons that many other students took advantage of as well. People-watching was something of a hobby for Carcer. He liked seeing people go about their lives. There was just something…relaxing about letting the world go by. So here he lay, on a small hill beside the Black Lake, watching students laughing, talking and playing. One arm kept his head reclined, while the other was draped over a thestral that had wandered out of the Forbidden Forest and laid down beside him, scratching at the skeletal horse’s ears. The breeze was blowing gently, carrying clouds slowly across the sky.
The clouds held Carcer’s attention for a few minutes. Cloudwatching was another thing he enjoyed. …actually, come to think of it, for a guy who was so dedicated to his studies, A lot of Carcer’s hobbies honestly involved sitting and watching things happen without taking part. Guess that was how he evened things out? The thestral shifted, head scooting farther up his chest in an effort to move his hand to the side of its neck. He obliged it absentmindedly, looking at a cloud shaped like a manticore. Dad had said something about getting one of those if he ever got the chance.
Carcer really hoped he never got the chance.
@corianderpepsi
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Sept 11, 2014 17:54:40 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2014 17:54:40 GMT -7
Sun. Yuck.
Honestly, Cori didn't mind sunny days. But the warmer it was outside the colder she seemed to others, and it made it harder to act normal. She went outside, black jacket and black scarf and all, even on this sunny day. She preferred winter of course, where the way she dressed wasn't so abnormal. As she made her way onto the grounds, she headed towards the lake. Her closest friend, Maryn, and her often met there and she was hoping to find that particular huffle lingering around today.
She wasn't expecting to run into an entirely different Hufflepuff, Carcer Hagrid. She had seen him before, with Alice. Generally people who stayed close to Alice were meant to stay off of Coris radar, but Carcer was always so kind to her in classes and in passing. She was interested in what the gentle giant was doing however. It seemed he had his arm around something, but that something was invisible. She cocked her head to the side, and pulled her sleeves over her hands. She was trying this new thing where she went ungloved. It was scary, but she was seventeen bloody years old. She needed to get a grip.
She approached him, not speaking, and walked a little ways beside him. She slipped her shoes off and stepped into the water. It felt warm to her, almost. She turned over her right shoulder to glance at Carcer, "hey."
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Sept 17, 2014 13:58:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 13:58:29 GMT -7
Carcer was almost beginning to doze, an impressive feat for him. Giants required much less sleep than humans, and Carcer was halfway between the two species, so he rarely failed to get much sleep. But being so completely relaxed, with the warm body of the thestral steadily breathing next to him, let his mind very nearly drift away. But before that could happen, the thestral’s breathing changed. It lifted its head to look at something, and Carcer, fully awake once more, turned as well—a student walking toward them. Carcer arched an eyebrow in curiosity. He was known as the guy to seek out for easy company, but people rarely did so when he was all the way out at the Black Lake. Ravenclaws in general were even less prone to seeking him out, as Carcer’s inability to articulate ideas seemed to frustrate them, to a degree. And among Ravenclaws, he was even less likely to be sought out by Coriander Pepsi, the aloof, beautiful seventh year girl who was as adept at staying away from people as Alice Longbottom. Although she’d come to see him too. Huh. Carcer said nothing, still surprised that Cori would be coming here like she wanted company. And she wasn’t even wearing gloves. Today had just taken a turn for the interesting.
He watched her take her shoes off and wade ankle-deep into the Black Lake. “Hey.” Welp, it was official, Carcer had somehow been hit with an enchantment that drew the loners of the castle to him. Which was cool, mind you. He sat up off the ground, smiling. “Afternoon.” He gave the thestral another scratch around the ears and then gently nudged it in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. The batlike horse shook its head in annoyance, but turned and trotted off to its home. He watched it go for a moment before turning back to Coriander. “Nice to see you trying to enjoy the day. Don’t see you too much outside of classes and mealtimes, you know. Everything alright, Cori?” Carcer rarely talked to her, but observation was his specialty, so he kept general tabs on the actions of his friends and those in the same year as him, for the most part, out of simple habit. When one learns through watching and noting details, it becomes second nature. But then, that begged the question of why Cori had deviated from her usual routine.
Carcer hoped nothing bad had happened…
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Sept 19, 2014 12:32:53 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 12:32:53 GMT -7
Cori smiled back as Carcer did, glad that he wasn't freaked out by her initiating conversation. She didn't really like starting conversations, but Carcer had been kind in the past. She turned over her right shoulder a little further to look at him, but still didn't turn all the way around. She wanted to look at the lake as well but be able to look at him just as easily, in order to make good conversation. "Oh," she was a little stunned that he just came out and said that she wasn't out in the open much. He must be a very blunt and honest person, which Cori would appreciate.
"Everythings fine," she started, but felt herself wanting to say more, 'well, as fine as it could be on a day like this." She chuckled. Most people couldn't understand her dislike for Sunny days. As if on cue, she adjust her black scarf has she spoke, shrugging as she did so. "How is everything with you? Your classes going well?" she asked him. They had a lot of the same classes and she saw how well he did in them, at least visually, but she wanted to know how it was going from his end. Everyone has there things on the inside that nobody else can see, maybe he needed to talk about something. Or maybe she was just going to make small talk. Either way, it was a valid question she thought. Cori often found herself analyzing her communication techniques, trying to get better.
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Sept 24, 2014 12:15:06 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2014 12:15:06 GMT -7
He stood and stretched as Cori assured him she was okay, though she seemed unhappy with the day. That was weird to Carcer. As far as he knew, today was the kind of day most people liked. Granted, Cori could be one of those people who loved the biting cold of winter and the warmth of the fireplace—she was certainly always dressed like it. But that was kind of the thing. If she liked the cold, why bundle up on a day where it probably made her uncomfortably hot. Carcer gripped his neck and arched his head into his hand. His neck popped, the sound far louder than if a full-blooded human had done it. Aww yeah, that felt good.
She asked if his classes were going well. Carcer shrugged. “Can’t complain. The worst is Potions, I just don’t fit in the dungeon classrooms you know. Other than that, I’m happy. How about you?” He popped his neck again, mirroring his movements on the other side now, and stepped closer to the lake. He wasn’t quite sure why the Ravenclaw was trying to look at him and in the other direction at once, but he might as well make it easier. So he waded out a little way into the lake as well. He didn’t bother removing his boots—where he stopped, the water didn’t reach his ankles, and the boots were waterproof anyway. He looked over at Cori. “So why don’t you like a day like today?” He eyed her ensemble. Nobody ever seemed to ask her about it, but everyone whispered theories and talked about it when they thought she couldn’t hear them.
But that was not how Carcer Hagrid did things.
“So is that a choice of style, or are you really so cold you need the jacket and scarf?”
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Sept 24, 2014 13:01:50 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2014 13:01:50 GMT -7
Cori jumped a little as his neck popped, slightly startled by the sound. She felt her cheeks turn red, embarrassed at being jumpy. She stayed where she was as she listened to his answers about classes, and laughed at the image of him fitting in the dungeon door. "I suppose I've seen that happen before... I'm sorry." She couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought, however, because it really was amusing at times when you saw the almost giant trying to fit into spaces in the castle. It was mildly entertaining, but she would never mock him and she was sure he wouldn't want to be pitied either.
"Classes are fine! I really enjoyed casting those chairs and bean bags into existence the other day," she laughed, remembering the class. The seventh years had all established their relationships so well by this point that it was almost comedic to watch them all interacting in one room, especially if they were making unique objects that reflected their personalities.
She felt her cheeks redden again at the mention of her outfit and the day. He really was straightforward. "I'm just not really into sun. It gives me a bit of a headache, but I still can enjoy it to an extent," that was mostly true, but not the entire truth. As far as his question about her style, she just shrugged, "I prefer longer sleeves and..." she trailed off for a moment, trying to decide if she should be more honest. She decided to go with a partial truth, again, "I really don't like people touching my skin. So, I make sure it isn't easily accessed even in passing."
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Oct 7, 2014 12:06:02 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2014 12:06:02 GMT -7
He shrugged and waved off Cori’s apology. It wasn’t as though she had built the dungeons, after all, and it was a small price to pay in the larger scope of things. He could handle it. The secret passages were worse. Carcer couldn’t use about half the ones he knew of, due to simply being too large to fit through. One reason he was looking into becoming a weasel animagus was specifically for the size reduction, while maintaining a degree of problem-solving ability (weasels were quite dexterous). On the plus side, Cori enjoyed the latest Transfiguration classes. Not that Carcer was surprised. Transfiguration had its fans in every year, but his year was unusual in how many people liked the subject and were good at it. He knew this, because someone at some point mentioned it every year.
He looked down at the water, noticing the rocks beneath his boots. He bent over, rummaging through the rocks as Cori mentioned that sunlight gives her a headache and said that her wardrobe was because she didn’t like people touching her skin. Come to think of it, he had heard she didn’t like being touched. Guess for once the rumors got it right. “Fair enough. To each their own, right?” He stood up, flipping a round, flat rock over in his hands. It was big enough to set a goblet on, which made it a good fit for the palm of the half-giant’s hand. Carcer leaned back, wound up, and flung the rock, sending it skipping across the lake. He counted 21 skips before the rock was out too far for him to see any more.
Times like these, he wished he could have seen his dad working here. This had always been his home, after all, as it was the home of many of the teachers andstaff. Even those with a significant life outside of the castle lived here throughout the school year, making it at least partly their home. He bent down again, sifting through more rocks, wondering if he could smack the water hard enough to attract the giant squid to play. “Well, it’s a good day to get out and enjoy the sun, at any rate. Winter’s coming, this might be the last mild day we get this year.”
Then, as an afterthought, “Not that it means much to me, since I don’t really get cold. Perks of being part giant.”
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Oct 8, 2014 14:39:12 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 14:39:12 GMT -7
She shrugged, "Yeah, guess so." She was grateful that her assessment of him had proved correct and that he wasn't going to press and further. She stepped closer yet again as he rummaged through the rocks and chose one, a massive one in her opinion, to skip across the lake. She watched as it skipped, but after ten she lost count. "Impressive..." she muttered, half to herself. She finally decided to just go for it and walked over right beside him, rummaging in the rocks for one to skip herself. She chuckled as she did so and looked back at him, "I've actually never done this before. Skipped rocks." She wasn't necessarily embarrassed by the fact, but the game had never really occurred to her as something she wanted to try. What a silly thing to be inept at doing.
She nodded at his comment about mild days, but dropped the rock she had finally chosen when he mentioned not getting cold. "What?" she raised an eyebrow at him and gasped a little as she spoke. She shook her head, no need to make a scene. She calmed herself down before questioning him further. "What are Giants like immune to cold or something? I know, I know. I should know little facts like this being a Ravenclaw and all..."
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Oct 17, 2014 12:32:02 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2014 12:32:02 GMT -7
He heard Cori mutter that his throw was impressive, before admitting she’d never skipped rocks before. Carcer shrugged. “It’s all about the rock’s surface and the force of the throw. My brother and I have kind of an unfair advantage in that second department.” The two had once tried to have a rock skipping contest, but neither could see far enough to judge who won. It was still a fun way for them to pass the time though. He did not fail to notice that she dropped a rock before asking him if giants were immune to cold. Heh. Even Ravenclaws could be surprised, apparently, which Cori pointed out herself. Carcer chuckled, sending another rock skimming along the water into the distance. “I wouldn’t say giants are immune to cold…mm…more like they can tolerate a wider range of temperatures than humans can. Giants live high in the mountains, usually, and that means thinner air and colder air. I can get hot or cold, just not as easily as most people around the castle. Snow doesn’t really bother me much. My dad walks around in a huge coat no matter what the weather is.”
He dug around for a bit, seeking another stone, when he felt toes on his hand. He raised it out of the water, watching the dark green frog as it surveyed its temporary new perch. “What giants are really immune to is magic. I mean, not completely immune, but there’s not many students that know a spell that I might need to avoid. I’ve never actually been cursed, hexed, or jinxed in my life. Any time someone tries, the spell just bounces off. The only magics that really affect me are my own spells and stuff like Potions that I ingest. Even then, it takes much more of a dose to work on me.”
He knelt down again, placing his hand in the water, and watched the frog dart off into the reeds that stuck out of the shallow water around them. He looked at Cori, eyebrow raised. “If you’re curious, give it a try. Pull your wand and fire a spell at me, see what happens.”
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Oct 28, 2014 13:10:07 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2014 13:10:07 GMT -7
Cori nodded in agreement to his comment about having an unfair advantage. That was most certainly true, being half giant and super strong and all. Cori picked up a rock, a flat one. "I see... I was told once they needed to be flat. I'm guessing that's probably true considering the skipping really wouldn't work otherwise," she observed the rock as she spoke. She didn't throw it though. Not yet. She wasn't entirely confident in her ability not to make a fool of herself. Plus, she was really distracted and interested by this immune to cold thing that he was explaining.
"Oh, toleration... that's different. Also, more logical," she nodded, a little disappointed. But it was still possible that her touch wouldn't really bother him. If his range was so wide, why not? She cocked an eyebrow at him as he went on to explain his tolerance/ sort-of-immunity for most hexes and whatnot. Now that was really handy, she'd bet. She watch as he place his hand in the water and didn't move, save her hands which where still fiddling with the rock.
"Oh no, no." She shook her head and chuckled, nervously this time, "I couldn't do that. But I could..." well, it was worth a try. His housemate, Alice, knew about her cold skin now so this fellow Huffle in their same year would find out eventually, wouldn't he? "I could try something else though." She lifted her hand as if to examine it. "You see my..." she chuckled, unsure, "my skin is ice cold. I wonder if you'd even feel that."
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Nov 11, 2014 9:44:57 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2014 9:44:57 GMT -7
His eyes tracked a fish as it darted through the lake. He hadn’t been fishing in awhile…maybe he should do that once more before winter hit for real. Grab a few fish…well, relative to the amount of food he needed, anyway…and take off on Apollo. There were many secluded glades in the mountain forests, where he could start a campfire and cook lunch while Apollo wandered and grazed. Sounded like a pretty good day, if he could fit it in somewhere. With Halloween approaching, security measures were being taken to make sure the grounds would be safe during the party, when the Aurors and teachers would need to stay grouped up to keep eyes on the students. Some of them might just interfere with his trips beyond the grounds, and Carcer was not keen to have himself or his horses blown out of the sky on their way back to the castle.
Cori refused to cast a spell at him. Alice had refused as well. It was amusing—several Gryffindors had jumped at the chance when he had challenged them to do it, though to be fair they had never done anything harmful. Probably the worst thing they’d done was make him hold a goblet of pumpkin juice while they cast Expelliarmus at him, hoping to make him drop it. However, Cori did seem to have something in mind…whatever it was, it made her nervous to discuss it. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked if he would be able to feel how cold her skin was. Freezing skin…that explained a lot about the way Cori dressed and acted. Seemed like at least one of the rumors he’d heard was right. Carcer, still crouched down, grinned and held out a hand, not hesitant in the slightest. “One way to find out, right?”
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Nov 14, 2014 10:47:08 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2014 10:47:08 GMT -7
Cori felt her heart speeding up as he offered his hand to her."That's.... true..." she agreed. This was weird, she never openly let people know about her curse and she never let them find out if it was real, either. At least not with good intentions. Sure, she and Alice had a run in where Cori let her touch her hand. Alice acted like nothing happened, of course, but there was no way she didn't feel it. Still, Cori couldn't deny the fact that trying this out with Carcer was intriguing. She turned away from him for a moment, finally skipping the rock across the way. It skipped only twice before sinking, but she was pleased. She smiled, while biting the side of her lip and turned to face Carcer.
For a moment she contemplated crouching down to his level, but decided against it. She reached toward her hand as if she was going to take off her gloves, then laughed at herself. "Forgot I didn't wear gloves today," she spoke nervously. She shrugged her shoulders a few times. "Okay, okay. Let's try it." She reached to his hand and touched him very lightly at first. After a moment she clasped her hand around his, and held on. What would she do if he didn't feel it? Maybe something about him would have the cure to fixing her curse. Though, people probably already had those thoughts about giants and their immunity... so it probably wouldn't work if it hadn't been discovered already.
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Dec 13, 2014 19:23:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2014 19:23:29 GMT -7
Carcer was quiet and patient while Coriander debated with herself. He didn’thave any information on this, but he knew it was important to her, and at the end of the day, what else mattered, right? So if she wanted to see what happened, they could do that. If she decided she didn’t want to know after all, well they could do that too. He would simply wait it out and see. And, after long moments of indecision, she finally held out her hand. “Okay, okay. Let’s try it.” Carcer grinned, reached out, and wrapped Cori’s small hand in his own, far larger one, closing his eyes to better read the magic.
At first, he felt the cold. Not cold enough to bother him, not if it was just his hand like this. On top of that, the cold lacked bite, which was proof enough it was cold made by magic. But then, after a few seconds, he started to feel a…sort of tingle…as the curse withdrew. It was the pins-and-needles feeling that you get whenever your foot falls asleep, only he was feeling it from an outside source. It was a weird feeling, to be sure. Finally, even the tingling faded, to leave only skin, warm and soft. Carcer could still feel the curse at the edge of his senses—maybe an inch or so from where their contact stopped. It boiled and churned, wanting to move back to the Ravenclaw’s hand, but unable to approach the Hufflepuff's presence. Once he did let go, it would spread back into her hand. He wondered for a moment if moving his hand up Coriander’s arm would push the curse back further, or if it would be able to reconstitute behind his hand. It might help to know if the curse had a central point that it emanated out from. But he didn’t try to test this, figuring Cori probably wouldn’t appreciate more touching. It did make him wonder, though.
He ached an eyebrow at Cori, still a little above her eye level, despite being crouched while she was on her feet. “Feels like spring beneath the ice, no?” He grinned again, slowly lowering Cori’s hand to the water. Once there, he shifted his fingers, letting the water flow in around hand, making sure not to let the curse pass by his thumb. “That’s what real coolness feels like. It’s something you can feel past your skin, in your blood and muscles.”
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Dec 20, 2014 12:19:42 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2014 12:19:42 GMT -7
Cori watched at Carcer held onto her hand. His face didn't really give her a clue as to what he was thinking, but the lack of a sudden gasp at her touch was encouraging. Cori never really felt the cold of her skin herself, but she felt something strange after a moment of him holding her hand. It was almost warmer than normal. "Does it?" she commented as he explained the analogy of Spring beneath the ice. She let him lead her hand into the water and waited to feel the water flow between their fingers. She wasn't sure why he did this, exactly, but she watched intently. When he gave his explanation she nodded, "So, clearly, my cold skin is a curse, not a force of nature," she agreed.
After another moment of letting the cold water rush over her hand, she pulled it back from Carcers. She felt her jaw drop a little, glancing at Carcer in amazement. "Wow... I've never really been able to do something like that before. Holding hands, I mean," she was amazed by it. When she was little, people would wear gloves when they had to touch her. At least after the first time. As a child, she started to learn that choosing to avoid others was less hurtful than letting them avoid her. She hadn't purposefully touched someone well... ever.
She moved her hand a little, as if she was going to take his again, but she brought it back. She really shouldn't get used to this physical contact. She chuckled a little and ran her hands through her hair, interlacing her fingers on the top of her head, "I wish more people were like you," she paused, "or rather, I wish I was like other people."
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last online May 1, 2024 21:22:23 GMT -7
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Jan 19, 2015 13:51:06 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2015 13:51:06 GMT -7
Carcer had a better understanding of Cori now. Her dressing habits, the way she acted. All defense mechanisms, to protect herself and her secret from others. And he wanted to say it wouldn't matter—and in his case, and in the cases of others, it wouldn't—but for far too many students, it would matter. He wondered if he could help her somehow. But that wasn't likely. Surely she'd been to trained cursebreakers about this. If they, with all their training, knowledge, and skill, hadn't been able to fix this, then Carcer trying to trace the magic to its root couldn't possibly make a difference. Not to mention he'd need physical contact to even try to follow the magic, and Cori was already pulling her hand away. Maybe he'd be able to help her down the road, once he got out of Hogwarts and worked on completing his own cursebreaker training? But that wouldn't even be false hope, saying he might be able to help in a few years. It would be...well, he didn't have the words, but it would be bad. No, Carcer would not say that to her.
He smiled, a bit sadly, at her comment that she’d never gotten to hold hands before. “Being different does make you miss out on things. I can’t dance or play in Quidditch matches because my size and strength make it uncomfortable or unfair. Not that I’m comparing my situation to yours, of course, but I think I understand it a little.” Though Carcer couldn’t think what advantages she might have to her skin. Well, he supposed if there were people she wanted to STOP touching her, it would be useful. That was just a liiiittle bit grasping at straws though. He looked out over the water of the lake, where chop was beginning to form from the winds that were just starting to bluster in. A storm was coming—and likely bringing snow.
Before he could mention this, though, Cori spoke up again, mentioning that she wished to be normal. Carcer chuckled lightly at this and turned to face her again. “Believe me, I wish you every advantage and all the luck in the world in finding a countercurse. But if you hadn’t grown up with this curse, you wouldn’t be who you are now, so at least there’s one good thing to come out of the situation, yeah?” For emphasis, he reached up and tapped her on the end of her nose, smiling.
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