A Little Bit of Happiness

          Word travels fast around the castle, but it is hardly in one’s mind in whether it’s better or worse to not have all the details.

          In just a few short days, the castle was enraptured by a deep gloom that infected the minds of all students. It was common knowledge that Professor Fig was dead, that nobody questioned. What was questioned was the silence from the professors, the house points taken from students who interrupted class to ask about what happened.

          Then there was the new student.

          Hans Kaiser, the Ravenclaw.

          By this point he somehow made it into every retelling of the story of how Fig died, no matter by who or where it was told in the castle. Some of the students began to believe it was him who killed Professor Fig, spinning up tales of Unforgivable Curses and mighty battles. Those who knew Hans knew better than this, but they were in as much of the dark.

         It was known, by word of maybe 25 students that under Professor Weasley’s watchful eye did the boy emerge from the bowels of the castle. Some students claimed that they caught angry glares and insane mutterings under his breath, but most said it how it was.

          The dead, blank stare from the boy’s eyes as the professor gripped his arm gently. His robes were torn, and his face had many bleeding scrapes across it, but beyond that, he seemed fine. His black and wavy hair was disheveled and sticking in many directions, and his gray eyes showed the mark of a hollowed man. Despite the visible shock and the red circles eyes that marked his face. Professor Weasley tried to shoo the students away, saying that Mr. Kaiser needed to go to the infirmary and rest. Many believed that to be the icing on the cake that confirmed Hans had not killed Professor Fig.

          The night it happened, the students were woken up by the sounds of distant explosions and a consistent rumbling. Under the orders of Professor Black, the school was to be evacuated immediately. Organized by Mr. Moon and the many house elves, the four houses were evacuated from the castle and taken to the Quidditch Pitch.

          There they waited in the middle of the night, most students in their night things and holding onto a few personal belongings. While Professor Black, Mr. Moon, and the house elves took roll call, the students waited in anticipation. The rumbling could still be felt, but was just fainter from the Quidditch Pitch.

          Then it stopped.

          Shortly after the rumbling had died away, the students were allowed back into the castle. Due to certain failures in leadership, the students hectically pushed their way into the castle. As the last stragglers entered the castle, the new student and Professor Weasley emerged from the library. Both of them looked quite disheveled, but they went their way to the infirmary, and that was that.

          Still, nobody knew what happened, and nobody had the means to ask.

          Hans Kaiser was well known throughout the school by the time of these events. He was applauded for his skill with a wand, with a broom, with plants, and with beasts. But most of all, he was known for his ability to care.

          Most in the castle knew of someone in the castle who Hans had helped, or they had been helped themselves. From sparing a few coins or sitting down to play a game of Gobstones with a lonely first year to battling a troll to fetch a family heirloom or traveling across the nearby land just to race you on his broom.

          Despite this though, few really knew him. A wide variety of the few individuals, yet still only four. And even then, these four knew very little. It was very hard to find him these days, let alone talk to him.

          Sebastian Sallow and Ominis Gaunt were worried for his well-being, but they felt like they couldn’t do anything for their Ravenclaw friend. It had been a month and a half since Sebastian had killed his uncle. Since then, Sebastian and Ominis hadn’t spoke much with Hans, which only got worse since the unspoken accident beneath Hogwarts. It also didn’t help that he was a Ravenclaw, and the other two were Slytherin, so they couldn’t seek him out in the common room. Ominis confirmed on the side that Hans was not avoiding Sebastian, but was really and truly just busy. Hans never disclosed what he was “busy” with, despite Ominis’s insistence.

          Natsai tried very hard to get her friend to open up to her. She understood what it was like to blame one’s own self, and it was only because of Hans that Natsai stopped blaming herself for her father. Of course, Natsai didn’t know what had caused Hans to shut down, but she could see it in his eyes. He was trapped inside his own head. Eventually Hans cracked with Natsai’s persistence, finding him in the halls or at lunch for the week following the event, asking him what had happened.

          “Natsai,” Hans turned, spinning around to face her in the stairs before the Great Hall. Natsai followed him out of the Great Hall to try one more time after breakfast, and figured he was only heading back to hide in his common room. He paused before continuing, trying his hardest to hide visible irritation.

          It was not common for Hans to respond in such a way, and Natsai was surprised at his sudden outburst, but also partially relieved. Her name was better than the silent stare or the soft yes’s or no’s, despite the less than ideal tone. She raised her hands up in surrender and took a step back, “I am sorry, my friend, but I cannot let you do this. I cannot let you stay inside your head and push all of us out. I don’t know Sallow or Gaunt very well, but I know that they are your friends and must be worried about you too.”

          Hans didn’t say anything, he simply stared at her, but a shadow of something past over his face as he bit his lip. She could not tell what it was, but something on his face other than emptiness surely was a good sign.

          “Poppy and I are very worried about you, my friend. Please, come back to us.”

          Hans took in a deep breath, and then averted his eyes, shame across his face. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Natsai. Just please… not… not right now…”

          The way Hans had answered, whispered his answer back to her in the saddest of voices was more than enough to stop Natsai from pursuing him again as he departed for his common room. He had stopped coming to class, and that too, for her, was a worrying sign.

          Then there was Poppy.

          Peculiar Poppy, as some would call her. Always caring more for beasts than for anything else. Always turning a blind eye to anything social and seeking out the bizarre things hiding out in the forest.

          She remembered the time she first met Hans, and the first time she saw him smile. Before then, she had never really noticed him, never really noticed anyone. But that one day in beasts would always change it for her.

          Everbody was in place near their tables, watching as Professor Howin stepped before the class, giving her introductory speech. Poppy was too busy with her Puffskein at hand, carefully holding him just properly so he felt at ease. She hadn’t even noticed the new student that joined her at her table. In beasts class, most people tended to stay away from Poppy. She never understood why.

          Then she noticed the new student, who was standing awkwardly beside her at the table. A smile was displayed on her face as she watched Profesor Howin feed a Diricawl that stood on her table. When the professor let down her arm and the bird vanished in a poof of feathers, she looked to the side at this new student positively beaming from the bird that disappeared right before their eyes.

          In that moment, she noticed a few things about the new student. She liked the way his wavy hair laid over his head, it was only about forehead length and pushed back out of his way, a bit poofy and disheveled, but in her honest opinion it was cute; something that surprised her. His gray eyes were bright and intelligent, staring down at the spot the Diricawl just vanished from with a soft smile of amazement. Though he hadn’t even looked at him in that brief moment, she had a small inkling that he was special, just from the way he was watching the animals.

          When the professor asked her to help the new student, she continued with her wide smile and said, “Yes, Professor Howin.”

          Poppy turned to look at the new boy with the same smile, noticing how he returned it instantly and watched her with attentive eyes as she said, “Hello, I’m Poppy—Poppy Sweeting,” Poppy leaned toward the boy, muttering to him in a poorly hushed voice, “Don’t worry about Professor Howin’s speech, she over exaggerates sometimes,” Poppy turned her head down at the gray furball in her hands that was Gerald, “All the beasts in class are perfectly safe.”

          At that most unfortunate moment, Gerald’s mouth opened and his long slippery tongue shot out, slipping into her mouth just briefly. Poppy exclaimed loudly at this, pulling away from Gerald as Professor Howin began to scold her. The small girl released a frown of disgust and began to nervously laugh as she looked around the class. When her eyes met with the boy’s she found him still smiling, but in a kind and genuine way. It was if he was puzzling over whether or not he should be worried or amused.

          “Uh- Yes, professor,” Poppy answered to Howin’s long remark about the Puffskien, and shifted nervously with Gerald still in hand. To break the awkward silence between her and the boy, she offered, “Here, you can practice on Gerald.”

          The two bonded over the adorable Puffskien as she made many joking remarks about Gerald, for some odd reason, to try and make herself sound appealing. She didn’t know why, but the way she watched the boy tend to the animals was quite interesting for her. He seemed to enjoy, and more than that, right in his element. At the very least, that earned her friendship.

          She learned his name too, Hans Kaiser. It didn’t sound English, that was for sure, but she didn’t know off the top of her head what it was. Poppy was never a history person.

          They talked for a bit longer while Poppy taught Hans how to feed and brush the small animal, noticing when their hands brushed against one another as she handed him the comb, or how delicate he was with the tiny Gerald.

          “I think we can safely say that Gerald likes you,” Poppy said once the gray Puffskien had finished eating, and was now staring up at Hans with big bold eyes.

          “That’s good news. He seems very nice,” the boy answered with, the slightest trace of a smile on his face.

          “He is. Kindness is one of his best qualities. Right after ambition. And cleanliness,” Poppy continued to joke, hoping to see the boy smile again.

          He did, and it felt so wrong for her to be happy simply because of that.

          Professor Howin interrupted but moments after Poppy finished, taking their attention from each other and back to the teacher. This time, Poppy and Hans were instructed to go together to the Kneazle pen.

          “This way. The Kneazles are over here,” Poppy said to Hans, walking in front of him and heading toward the far pen in the back, closest to the forest.

          Though, as she walked toward the pen, she could tell something wasn’t right. A Slytherin boy was standing over the fence, his wand raised and glowing as he was apparently struggling with something. A Ravenclaw girl watched right behind him, a grin on her face as she watched whatever was going on.

          Poppy’s rate of pace increased, and she momentarily forgot about the new kid as she tried to see what was going on. “What in Merlin’s name are you doing?”

          As Poppy approached and the boy lowered his wand, taking a step back, she saw a tension on one of the Kneazle’s whiskers to be released, and in an instance knew what the boy was doing. He was trying to hurt the poor animal for just a little bit of money.

          “Ugh. Tsk tsk, peculiar Poppy. Worried about a worthless little rodent?” The Slytherin boy bumped her arm as he said the word “rodent,” before turning to see Hans slowly approach from beneath the pavilion.”

          “Her name is Persephone!” Poppy exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.

          The boy snickered, before sneering to her in a high-pitched voice, “Her name is Persephone.” Behind him, the Ravenclaw girl was making hand gestures toward Poppy. He pulled back in laughter, finding amusement in her indignation. As the boy looked at Hans, he seemed to expect him to laugh with the Ravenclaw and Slytherin, but he didn’t.

          Hans had stopped just beside Poppy, looking at the boy with a deadpan expression as he simply said, “That’s really not funny.”

          The boy stopped laughing instantly, knowing who Hans was. Unknown to Poppy at the time, but her newly found friend was the champion of Crossed Wands, the in-school dueling club. If that didn’t stop the Slytherin in his tracks, Professor Howin standing ten feet away with her hands on her hips was also a concern.

          The boy cast his eyes downward as he groaned, before turning and muttering to his Ravenclaw friend, “Let’s go,” and they were off.

          Oh yes, he definitely was the one.

          The one to meet Highwing.

          The two talked some more over the kneazles, while Howin watched over their shoulders until the end of class. From then on, Hans was made to speak with Professor Howin before he was set free, and that was when Poppy asked him to come and meet Highwing. And from there, the rest was history. Well, technically, all of it was.

          Poppy liked to reminiscence on meeting Hans, and she could never figure out why. It took her several weeks after there meeting that she realized why she always felt so strange around him. Why his smile brightened the day more than anything, even her beast friends. Why his laugh made her feel all bubbly on the inside. And why, whenever she was near him, she always had the burning desire to touch him or be near him.

          Poppy fancied Hans. For her, it was the first time for many things, and that made it partially special. The first time that she daydreamed about something that wasn’t winged or many legged. The first time she envisioned her kissing someone. The list could go on and on.

          It was nothing short of one-sided, she was sure, but she would always tell herself it was okay. Staring at the ceiling and thinking about the time they rescued a dragon, or when they found the snidgets. Oh how she missed those times, despite the danger and anxiety that came with it, there was this anticipation she had whenever she was near him that was some kind of dopamine high.

          Poppy figured that it would eventually go away, and her mind would give up on him. That’s how these things worked, at least that’s what her few human acquaintances would say.

          But it didn’t.

          Every time he said hi to her in the halls or smiled at her from across the classroom it was exciting. Even the rare times after the snidgets that he would find the time to come and just help with the animals just made her desperate for more. Of course, nothing ever happened, but just being with him was something she never wanted to give up.

          If it weren’t for him she and Natsai wouldn’t be so close. Poppy didn’t have very many friends, and early on in her friendship with Hans did she find out that he and Natsai were friends. Was she a bit jealous? Sure, she would admit it, but even then, Poppy could tell that Natsai and Hans were just friends. They were more like brother and sister than anything of the stranger sort. And so there it was. Natsai was now Poppy’s third best friend, right after Hans of course, who had to be topped by Highwing.

          Despite Hans being friendly with many throughout the school, Poppy was proud that she was one of his closer friends. He confessed that much.

          The night he confessed it was a good one. Beasts class was later in the afternoon because of a thunderstorm earlier in the day, and so Professor Howin pushed the time of the class back.

          As per usual, Poppy and Hans stayed after class to help the professor clean the area. They laughed and joked as they did, and at the time, she was poking fun at the way Imelda Reyes would look at him in the halls or touch his arm when he spoke to her.

          “She does not!” Hans exclaimed, carrying an armful of brushes he had gathered around the lot toward one of the tables.

          “Does too, have you seen the way she watches you during breakfast?” Poppy laughed at the confused expression he made, with the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks.

          “Wh- no? Why would I? I have no reason to look at the Slytherin table-“

          “Oh don’t even, it’s not like the entire school knows you, Sallow, and Gaunt are always getting into trouble,” Poppy interjected.

          “Not always. And it’s mostly Sebastian,” Hans sighed, thinking about the recent drama with Sebastian and Gaunt, how they had been arguing about the use of Unforgivable Curses. It gave him an unsettled feeling. Hans quickly snapped out of it though, not remaining in such a state for Poppy to notice, “what about you? Hm?” He turned the question on Poppy, “why are you looking in our direction? Who is it, me?” The boy mocked, not really intending for the last jest to slip out.

          Both of them blushed and looked away, Poppy because it was true, and Hans because he wasn’t too aware of his feelings for her.

          They both used the interruption of a white diricawl that appeared right in front of Hans, causing him to jump violently. He began laughing right away, mostly because it genuinely scared him for a moment, but also because he needed an easy distraction. Poppy didn’t see what happened, but she didn’t need to for her to smile and start laughing with him.

          As the sun began to set and they started to make their way to the castle, mostly in silence as they reveled into the peaceful night, Hans said quietly to Poppy, “you know. Today was a good day. Got to sleep in, learned something new about Kneazles today, and got to spend the rest of my day with one of my best friends.”

          Poppy’s heart skipped a beat when she heard him say the last part, but couldn’t also to feel a bit disappointed. Of course, she wasn’t complaining, but all her fantasies about the two of them got to her head sometimes.

          “Who, Gerald?” Poppy decided to turn his statement as a joke, it seemed to be a better option than to answer seriously.

          “Why yes, Miss Sweeting, Gerald,” they laughed together, looking anywhere but each other’s eyes as they did. After a few moments, when the chuckles were out, he looked back at her and said with the sweetest smile she had ever seen, “I am serious, though.”

          Poppy didn’t say anything in response, she just smiled, on the inside and the outside while they spent their last minutes with each other in a peaceful silence, heading back to the castle.

          That felt like a decade ago to Poppy; things weren’t the same anymore. The school was no longer peaceful, but was on edge with the events of the recent week. Hans was so far away now, so distant. She knew he was somewhere inside that shell, but she didn’t know what to do.

          Poppy sat alone at the Hufflepuff table, staring at her porridge with a frown. In her hands was her clean spoon and the Daily Prophet. According to the paper, Ranrok’s Loyalists were now disbanding, and Victor Rookwood was reported missing. Now, both dark wizards and goblins alike were going into hiding.

          This would only distract her for so long, as across the room, a boy stood up from the Ravenclaw table. He had been sitting at the end of the table, his head down. Poppy hadn’t even noticed him before, and she felt terrible. If she had just spotted Hans she would have sat with him, but somehow he managed to stay hidden this time. It felt like he was trying harder and harder to push his friends away.

          A few moments later, a dark Gryffindor got up from her own table, following behind the boy. Poppy hesitated for a moment, before setting down her spoon and getting up to follow. After gathering her things, Poppy hoisted herself up and began moving toward the doors out of the Great Hall.

          Just as she got near the doors, they opened, and in came Natsai. The African stopped in front of Poppy, and they both greeted one another, “Hello, my friend,” Natsai said solemnly.

          “No luck?” Poppy noticed the tone of her friend’s voice voice.

          Natsai shook her head, moving around Poppy back in the direction of the Gryffindor table. Poppy sighed, “I’m sorry about him, Natty.”

          “Me too, my friend, me too. But I don’t know how to help him, and he won’t talk to any of us.” Natsai paused, stopping in her tracks and sighing, before turning around to face Poppy. “You need to go talk to him.” There was much more of a demand in Natsai’s voice, like it was a necessity for Poppy to do this.

          “Natsai I’ve tried. Everyday I’ve tried,” Poppy was trying to sound as calm as she could, but on the inside she had been having a really rough week. Not because he couldn’t be there for her, but because she couldn’t be there for him. Poppy opened her mouth to continue, “but-“

          “No. You don’t need to fix everything, just go, be there for him, be a Hufflepuff,” Natsai interrupted.

          “Why me?” Poppy inquired, “I mean I will, I would do anything for him. But why do I need to all of the sudden?”

          Natsai gave Poppy a very strange look, she was partially perplexed, but partially amused. We’re they really this oblivious to each other? Half the time she wanted to vomit her guts out when they were together, and the other half she wanted to laugh so hard her lungs popped. Despite Hans’s incredible capability to pick up on anything, to know when to be there when nobody else could, he was oblivious to his own game. Poppy too, seemed to be too focused on her feelings for him she never really looked for any signs that he may feel the same way. To Natsai, it was utterly bemusing.

          “When this is all said and done, and we get our friend back, I’ll tell you,” the Gryffindor said mysteriously, before grabbing Poppy by the shoulders and turning her around to face the Great Hall doors again. Natsai shoved Poppy in the back, gently, as she instructed to the small Hufflepuff, “Go, go find him. I doubt he can stand being locked up in his common room for long.”