Moonlight Escapade PV Klaus Sohn Closed

April 12th, 2020 | 00:12

During the night, the grandiose castle grew still like a machine that’s been powered down. The corridors that were often occupied by students had faded off as darkness fell over like a thick velvet blanket, and all that’s left was the faint light from the torches; but even then it didn’t illuminate as much as the naked human eye would like. But Klaus dared not to use his wand just yet.

This had been the first time he decided to sneak out after curfew - but it hadn’t been the first time that he'd had trouble sleeping since he'd arrived at the legendary Wizarding school. The first few days had been horrible to his body, but he was far too excited and happy about the new start of his life that it didn’t bother him as much. The next following instances, he’d kept himself busy and entertained by just reading all the textbooks, taking in as much information that he lacked as possible - but now he doesn’t know how much he’s reread the same books over the past couple of months.

He loved to read, but even then one can still get tired of something they love.

And so under one breath, he decided to emerge from the Slytherin commons and explore the castle.

Klaus was aware of the consequences he was going to face if he came across a patrolling professor, or someone else just catching him and tattle on him. It was risky business walking around the grounds at night. But many students did it once or twice anyway, and the blonde french-born wasn’t gonna stick to rules his whole entire life anymore.

The male adjusted the hood of his robe over his head, feeling it begin to slide off from cautiously looking around. He just kept walking mindlessly, just taking in the atmosphere and quietness that the castle was in at this very moment. And before he could realize it, his wandering had taken him up towards the Astronomy tower.

He wondered if the professor was present- no, surely, Klaus was certain that the professor was around even at this hour. He knew that he shouldn’t risk such a chance to wander around at this part of Hogwarts grounds. But as he looked out the window, overlooking the rooftops of the other parts of the castle and over the great lake. He could only wish that he had a view like this instead of the underground; where he was only provided a window looking out into the murky waters of the loch, just barely making out the shadows of the infamous giant squid that circled the area every once in a full moon.

The moon… was the one that Klaus wished he had a view of the most. Then his lonely sleepless nights would’ve been much bearable. Even more beautiful than the stars around, the buttermilk glow would keep him company.

Until the sound of shuffling grabbed his attention immediately and he felt his heart stop.

His dark eyes searched in the gloom until his gaze fell upon a figure standing just a few feet away from him. From the shadow, he could barely make out the shorter figure of a girl and he guessed that it was another student.

“Uh… uhm… I was just… I thought I heard a noise…?”

His gaze shifted as the girl’s face became a bit more evident that he took notice of her demeanor and body language. She looked like a deer that’s been caught in the headlights. It seemed that Klaus wasn’t the only one wandering around. But he was reminded of the ‘horror stories’ of the consequences done by tattletales, he didn’t want to risk it, not when it’s his first time.

"Perhaps, it’d be quite funny…” He’d think.

Taking out his wand and waved around, “Lumos.” He uttered and within seconds the tip of his wand illuminated brightly, the features of the girl much clearer and he studied her properly. The boy cleared his throat, keeping himself calm.

“What are you doing here? Isn’t it against rules to be out at this hour without permission?”

Hypocrite.

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If the radiance of the moon striking the figure’s bright hair was not enough to blind her, the glow of his wand was, forcing her to take a step back. Bringing her hands up to shield her squinting eyes, Calanthe tried to make out any discerning features of the figure. Maybe he was one of those that sat at the back of class all the time. Then she would not have to worry about a professor knocking on her door in the morning. But if he was one that sat at the front, practically toting apples to place on the professors’ desks, then she would have to think of a way out of this.

Shifting on the balls of her feet, Calanthe could only see darkness behind the wand. What if it was the Head of Slytherin? She had white hair that would react to the moonlight in the same way. It was possible that Calanthe had misjudged her height on the rare occasion she spotted her.

“What are you doing here? Isn’t it against rules to be out at this hour without permission?” No, it was a male voice, surely, but its restfulness roused a sense of indignation in Calanthe. Reaching back for her wand, she was surprised to find the wooden thing missing.

You idiot!

But she could not chastise herself too much for remembering to grab her wand was not second nature like remembering to pocket her lucky d20 before running out the house was. That was apparent as the weight of the die in her back pocket felt heavier than usual. Without anything up her sleeve, the witch huffed, with a million excuses running through her mind by the second. Though, she was unsure of which one she could use to escape successfully without knowing what kind of student was behind the wand.

She lumbered down the steps, every footfall echoing like gunshots ricocheting off the stone walls, and got as close to the boy’s wand as possible. With an attempt to latch her hand onto his wrist and shift the angle of his wand away from her, Calanthe got a better look at her interrogator.

His face was one she recognized from classes in her year, but just like most other first years, she had not spoken to him nor paid him more attention than a passing glance. She had no way of knowing if he was a prefect or not. His features resembled her own – East Asian – but with some fundamental differences, the most obvious being his light hair. He towered a few inches over her with a long robe around his body connected to a hood that partially concealed his hair. Ah hah.

A smile dusted the witch’s lips and for the first time since arriving at Hogwarts, she felt like giggling.

“I would like to ask you that same question… unless all prefects wear their hoods up like they’re trying to hide something.”

Under the bright light, Klaus noticed her flinch and also began to search herself to which he could guess was her wand but she just looked back at him empty-handed. She stood out in the dark, her pale skin illuminated so brightly like it was porcelain reflecting more light back at him, and her dark hair added to all the features that brought him the assumption that he may have crossed paths with another Asian folk similar to him.

He was taken aback when she began walking towards him, her shoes echoing in the night’s silence and he felt a cold hand wrap around his wrist to move aside the wand that seemed to block their eyes from meeting. And when they finally did, he knew that he was exposed.

“I would like to ask you that same question… unless all prefects wear their hoods up like they’re trying to hide something.”

Klaus peered up to see the hem of his hood just barely sticking out, “maudit…” He mumbled under his breath as he adjusted his stance to a more comfortable one as he racked up his brain for another excuse. Though he couldn’t help but inwardly smirk at the girl’s wit, to say the least he was rather impressed; two indeed could play the game, after all.

Relaxing his arm slightly to his side, still bended and keeping the wand upright between the two of them. “I fancy having my hood up; it’s quite cold you know. Your hand is evident of that.” He explained, keeping a calm and unflappable demeanor. “I’m not a prefect, though I was looking to go to Professor Equinox and use the telescope…” As normal as he can say it, if there was anything that Klaus learned during his etiquettes training, was to mask up his true emotions. And after years of torment, he knew that pretending and lying was one of the key things that has helped him live up ‘til now.

“Actually…” He dragged on, tilting his head to the side a bit while he scrunched up his brows a bit. “You do look quite familiar… You’re a first year too, right?” He piped up, finding another reason or way to segway the conversation because he wasn’t gonna risk someone with ill-judgment of him to tattle for his lie. “Ms. Choi, innit? I think we sit across from each other in one of our classes.” The corner of his lips twitched upward this time, ever-so-slightly as to make him seem more welcoming.

As the boy’s body relaxed, Calanthe let her hand fall away from his wrist, but maintained the tight space between them. If she had learned anything from her father’s time at the head of the tabletop, it was that being provocative would give her advantage on her rolls… or disadvantage, depending on who she was dealing with. But how steadfast could one eleven-year-old boy be?

“I fancy having my hood up; it’s quite cold you know. Your hand is evident of that.” Infuriatingly so, it would seem. Any attempt to gain insight on his statement failed as Calanthe drew her palms towards her body and rubbed them together.

“C’mon. It’s already spring. If you still need this thing now,” she flicked the side of his hood, “I’m surprised you survived winter.” Poised as she was, Calanthe still had no idea if she should believe him or not. His tone was incredibly certain.

“I’m not a prefect…” she only needed to hear those four words before the relief on her face became evident. It was like she was the polar opposite of the boy before her; he could not be more composed while she let the emotions run wild on full view, “… though I was looking to go to Professor Equinox and use the telescope…” And her heart sank once more.

There was nothing stopping him from sauntering up those stairs to the Astronomy office and informing Professor Equinox of Calanthe’s insubordination. If his words were true, he had permission to be out and the only thing that would save her was running straight back to the common room and trusting that her good relationship with the professor would cause him to disbelieve the boy’s words.

One small problem… you don’t have a good relationship with Professor Equinox – or any professor for that matter.

Deciding that this was not the sort of situation that she would be advantageous in, Calanthe stepped away from him and waltzed back up the stairs. Professor Equinox was benevolent enough. He would probably believe her if she told him she asked the boy to tag along. Besides, if that plan did not work, Calanthe would not mind getting into a little bit of trouble. Even better if the professor wrote home to her mother. But before she could respond, the boy continued.

“Actually… you do look quite familiar… You’re a first year too, right?” Was that impatience or an eagerness to move the conversation along? His features gave no tell. “Ms. Choi, innit? I think we sit across from each other in one of our classes.” His identification made her stumble, almost tripping on her way up. She grabbed the railing before she could go crashing down and swivelled right back to face him, bounding down to her former position inches from his body.

How did he know her? Calanthe was sure she had done a good job of hiding herself in plain sight. She hadn't spoken to a soul, never made an interjection in class and met no one’s eyes but her own in the lavatory mirrors. Or… perhaps there were a couple of occasions where her name was called out when she was jolted awake in class by professors, but she never thought that anyone paid attention to an insignificant figure like herself.

“Don’t call me Choi,” it was harsher than Calanthe wanted it to sound, almost like a hiss, but she was not in the business of making friends, anyways. She released her balled fists and the grit of her teeth – tension she had not known was built up – and sighed heavily. “Call me Calanthe… or whatever you want. I don’t care. But not Choi.” She held his gaze for a few moments more before turning back and carrying on up the stairs. After putting some distance between herself and the boy, she turned back with her hand on the railing, prepared to heave her body upwards.

“Well… aren’t you coming, Monsieur Goldie – ah – Platinum Locks?”

“C’mon. It’s already spring. If you still need this thing now, I’m surprised you survived winter.”

The blondie couldn’t help but frown a tiny bit at the retort, simply brushing it off with a small sigh and his lips pursed into a line.

Klaus actually enjoyed the colder, breezier season in comparison to the hotter, humid seasons. He didn’t like the feeling of sweat and stickiness. He much rather be able to wear layers of clothes and his many sweaters, and scarves. But he couldn’t say these things - it would only contradict with the excuse he just came up with on the spot.

Though Spring was the perfect blend of either or, it was sometimes cold with its breeze, but the sun was often out to play to bring life back to the greenery that had fallen into a deep slumber under the thick bed of piled snowflakes. Spring was the mark of a wistful ending and a beautiful beginning.

“Don’t call me Choi… Call me Calanthe… or whatever you want. I don’t care. But not Choi.”

Klaus was taken aback at the girl’s response to him calling her by her family name. Her displeased expression, gritted teeth, and glaring eyes, was all enough to tell Klaus not to push the idea any further. After all, he knew not to anger a lady.

So, he smiled with a gentle twinkle. “Of course, my apologies Calanthe. Pleased to meet you.” He debated to introduce himself for the first time, unsure whether the girl knew his name or was as observant as he was during class to be knowing everyone’s name of sorts. But he didn’t want to risk it, not yet at least.

He watched Calanthe keep his gaze for a brief moment until she turned away and headed up the stairs, causing Klaus’ brows to furrow. He wondered in curiosity what the girl was planning to do next - he knew that she was still skeptical of him, but he also knew that she was obviously sneaking out of curfew… just like he was.

“Well… aren’t you coming, Monsieur Goldie – ah – Platinum Locks?”

His deep brown eyes widened, surprised at what she’s done, and he felt himself stop breathing at that moment. Had he been tricked into thinking otherwise? No, Klaus was already certain that he’s gotten the upper hand in the situation. No, you mustn't break. You shan’t.

Clearing his throat to calm his beating heart, “Monsieur? How did you know that I’m able to speak French? Do you speak French as well?" He uttered instead, clenching his fingers around his lit wand - the bright hues bouncing off of their pale rose-y cheeks, causing a ray of sparkles to reflect off in their dark eyes.

^{Redirect the topic, entertain the third party, place the focus onto them.}

"I haven’t met many French speakers in this school, it'd be nice to expand the mutuality.” Klaus continued, the same charming smirk returning, etching out across his cheeks; meeting the significant mole just beneath his right eye. "Did you also have an appointment with Professor Equinox? You should’ve said so, I almost assumed that you were sneaking out. I was prepared to tattle on you to the prefects, or even the Professor himself.”

^{And lastly, show that you can be a threat.}

If this was a different situation – perhaps one in which she was not caught red handed – Calanthe would have stalked off, leaving her blonde nightmare behind. It was just her luck that she would be unable to walk away from this interaction. The word Choi still echoed in her ears and the boy’s graceful voice did nothing to mitigate the rage she felt when it likely would have otherwise. The young witch had kept a lid on the growing anger within her since coming to Hogwarts and she knew an explosion could occur at any moment. But saving that rage for her mother would make her feel better. She was sure of it.

So Calanthe painted the image of a smile on her face to say apology accepted and took a few deep breaths to cast any wrath away. After her last words, she turned to face the incline of the stairs and took a few more steps up until the boy cleared his throat. She returned her gaze to his, noting that he had not yet moved from the spot.

“Monsieur? How did you know that I’m able to speak French? Do you speak French as well?" came his words. She stopped in her tracks again and cocked her head to the side. French? Calanthe pursed her lips, considering the questions that confused her.

That’s just a figure of speech, is it not? Well – not a figure of speech exactly – but it is a thing people say!

"I haven’t met many French speakers in this school, it'd be nice to expand the mutuality.” Not realizing that she had let her eyes wander, she brought them back to the boy’s face where a smirk was etched. She felt anger bubble again but she knew that she did not want to waste it on punching the smirk off his face. The doubt that she could even leave a mark caused any red-hot fury to dissipate.

“No, sor-,” the word sorry almost escaped her lips, but she bit it back. Calanthe had spent months teaching herself to not apologize for her actions and this boy was not going to break that streak. “No. I don’t speak French,” she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize the word Monsieur was exclusive to French-speakers. It’s just the way I talk.”

Had this been a year ago, she would have grabbed the boy by the hands and yanked him down on the steps, asking him how he knew French and if he had ever been to France. She would demand that he speak some French for her and make him promise to give her a tour of Paris one day when they were old enough to apparate. Unfortunately – or fortunately – for the boy, Calanthe was a different person now. With her arms still folded, the boy continued, changing the subject almost immediately.

"Did you also have an appointment with Professor Equinox? You should’ve said so, I almost assumed that you were sneaking out. I was prepared to tattle on you to the prefects, or even the Professor himself,” the arrogance to his words would have made her laugh but she was fixated on the realization that he had still not moved.

“You know… you haven’t moved an inch. Are you sure its Professor Equinox you’re going to see?” Calanthe debated going down again but stayed on the high steps where she could look down on him.

If the boy was really telling the truth and his destination tonight was with the professor, Calanthe would accept her fate and allow the boy to tattle. Getting in trouble and having a letter sent home sounded like a wonderful chance to get under her mother’s skin. But she also had the sneaking suspicion that the boy was being untruthful. His voice was steady and Calanthe could detect no inflections that would indicate lies but that fact that he was still standing where she had first seen him was suspicious. Walking up the stairs again, she called back to him, lying through her teeth with the chuckle in her voice evident.

“Yeah, I have an appointment. Why don’t we head up together?”

“No, sor- No. I don’t speak French… I didn’t realize the word Monsieur was exclusive to French-speakers. It’s just the way I talk.”

Klaus tilted his head to the side, raising an amused brow at the way she restructured her words all of a sudden - the look of reluctance on her face while doing so made it so much more intriguing to him. “Ah, is that right? I didn’t think people outside of France would be using it as a way of speaking.” He explained, the same cunning smirk never leaving his lips; one side reaching the mole beneath his right eye. “I was getting excited… I still have trouble expressing my thoughts completely with English.” He responded as he shifted his weight onto his left foot while staring up at her just a few steps higher than him.

“You know… you haven’t moved an inch. Are you sure its Professor Equinox you’re going to see?”

She had reminded him of someone he’s met before, maybe it had been the way she carried herself and the way she spoke abrasively, almost counterattacking back with his sweet-talking. But instead of just accepting it and following suit, it seemed that his years of training to hold this facade all this time was slowly being knocked down with a sledgehammer. By this one little girl.

“Yeah, I have an appointment. Why don’t we head up together?”

He had been silent to the first retort, but the moment she started walking up the steps and the way her chuckle softly echoed down the dark tower to further compliment the wily look on her face - it just made him even more apprehensive. She knows already that she’d been caught by him outside of curfew, it was evident. So why was she still so determined? And what was she thinking if what he’s been saying had been true, and her parents got written a letter for breaking school regulations? Was she not afraid of that happening?

Then he realized that maybe she didn’t have guardians like his father or grandmother to worry about.

All the reasons not to do this came flooding in as he thought about the consequences he would have to face for getting himself in trouble at school, even if it’s as mild as breaking curfew, and just all the scolding he’ll have to face for tainting the name of his family tree. He felt the soft panic rumble in the pit of his stomach, waiting to grow or fade off depending on what he’ll do next.

With hesitation, he took the first step up the stairwell, and then another as he stared ahead cold. But as he reached her, he halted. “Espèce d'idiot…” He mumbled under his breath, almost incoherent with the way his jaw clenched slightly, knuckles shaking as he gripped onto his wand tightly.

Klaus never expected to break under pressure, but for some reason… he didn’t want to spend another day listening to those detrimental words anymore. Glancing over at the girl next to him, his kind expression seemed to drop, falling into a blank stare as his lips fell into a small frown. He then leaned forward, bending down a bit to the girl’s level as he spoke into her ear.

“Let’s stop this… walk down these steps, and go on our separate ways. I won’t tell anyone about this for as long as you don’t either. I’ll pretend this never happened… deal?”

With that he stepped back, and took a step down as he leaned back against the walls. “You’re a smart one, Madame Calanthe.” He said, the corner of his lips barely twitching upwards as his stern expression loosened up a bit while he motioned a hand down the steps.

“So… donner un coup de main, please?”

A soft “Oh,” escaped Calanthe’s lips as the boy explained his trouble with English. She would have felt sympathy for him, truthfully, if it was not for that blasted smirk adorning his youthful face. Still, she bit back any insult or quip she had been holding up. It was not her intention to nag at the boy for finding it hard to keep up with the eccentricities of the language she spoke and she knew second-hand how people could be rude in their badgering – her own parents faced this sort of harassment on a daily basis.

Stifling the persona she created for just a moment, Calanthe wondered what it would be like if she asked the boy to teach her some French. The Calanthe back then adored impressing people. Their amazed eyes and acknowledging smiles were like fuel to her. In the present, her heart began to beat faster. The thought of dazzling the boy with her quick ability to pick up a new language excited her. Calanthe could imagine spotting him in the courtyard and racing up, saying hello in French – Bon jour, or whatever it is. The thought brought an odd smile to her face before a gust of wind blew threw the open window, yanking her back to the present.

She tried hopping up the steps as fast as she could, but her short legs and the aching in her joints caused by the cold prevented her from moving quickly. Maybe you shouldn’t have slighted Logan Lucky for his robe. As if he were three times taller than her, the boy caught up quickly and for a second, Calanthe was scared. What am I doing? I’ll get in trouble. I can’t –

Shut up.

That’s right. She wanted this. She would finally be able to get her mother’s attention. All she had to do was make it to the doors of the classroom. Her smile grew bigger as the reality of what she was doing settled in.

A mumble broke Calanthe’s concentration and she looked over to the boy who was now next to her. The smile that she so desperately wanted to slap off was gone, replaced by a hardened stare. The grace in his body withered within seconds. Reading his expression, her brows instinctively creased. Worry set into her face and she brought her palms together, twiddling with her fingers. What’s wrong? Did I say something? Why is he mad? It was old Calanthe again, rearing her perfect, little head. She really hated disappointing people. The boy’s face reminded her of nights in the basement, when she got her lore wrong or messed up her accent. Sure, no one was actually disappointed in those things, but it still felt like that back then and right now.

When he bent to reach her ear, she almost leaned to the side to escape his closeness, but the fire in her reignited and she stayed right where she was, panic melting off her face to be refitted with a mimic of the boy’s now strict manner. As he spoke, her brows creased again, this time in confusion. By the time he pulled away, Calanthe was still registering his words. As he stepped back to use the wall for support, the moonlight fell out of his snowy hair, giving her eyes a rest. Backing out of the rays herself, she hung onto the railing of the steps imitating his posture. The light shining between the two felt like a barrier to Calanthe, blocking her from reaching out to the boy. In fact, the boy seemed to shrink at his stance on the walls, allowing as much space as possible for her to waltz down and head to the Gryffindor Tower.

Cocking her head to the side, the smile returned to Calanthe’s face. She scoffed in the realization that the boy who seemed so high and mighty before, threatening to report her, was now begging her to stop – to obstruct the two of them from getting in trouble. She could not see any house markings beneath his robe, but she would not have been surprised if he called the Slytherin commons his home. Still, she managed to beat him in this arbitrary battle that they were having. Maybe that spoke to the Gryffindor side of her.

Smirking tightly, just as he had done before, at the sudden looseness to his expression, Calanthe could not help but laugh. Complimenting her before a request – she did not know what his last words were but she assumed it was just a shorter version of what he said before – was another Slytherin move, surely.

“Oh Snowdrop, why would I do that? I have an appointment, so I’ll be heading right up,” she smiled widely, hopefully flashing her canines before licking her lips. The beats following her words were quiet, until she broke the silence with a laugh. Softening her posture, Calanthe shook her head. She should have taken the boy’s request and cut her losses, but the idea of heading to the Astronomy room was at the front of her mind. The only thing that could be prettier than the view from the steps of the tower was the view from the top. Truthfully, Calanthe had thought about heading up there every time she snuck out of the dorms, but the fear of getting caught always stopped her. Tonight, she had done away with that fear and having a companion only made the idea more exciting.

“Why were you heading up this way in the first place? To get a view, right? Well, I want the same. So why don’t we head up there together? I’ll protect you if we meet any scary monsters,” she put up her fists and took a fighting stance, but laughed at her own silliness. The staff were hardly ‘scary creatures’ and her fists would stand no chance against them. Looking straight into his eyes with burning desire, she crossed the space between them, breaking through the moonlight. Getting up close for the umpteenth time that night, she grinned.

“What are you so scared of?”