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[CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO]
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THE COLD WATER PIERCED her skin as she dipped her hand into the Black Lake. Odette drew her hand back and wiped it on her skirt.
There seemed to be a dark cloud shrouded over the castle and it wasn't just literally. There was no escaping the war that was occurring outside Hogwarts walls. As she had been told, the latest attack was on Hogsmeade and the professors had no choice but to cancel the trips to Hogsmeade for the students' safety.
Students could no longer send letters to their families freely anymore, not with the attacks towards the owls delivering letters. Mei and Xia were cautious with their letters, they wouldn't use Aya or the same owl twice. Their letters were full of codes that were quite random, but for the most part they tried to avoid sending letters.
The war only made Odette want to find her family even more. She hoped they weren't affected, but she only knew a handful about them.
She heard footsteps behind her, which caused her to turn around. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of Regulus approaching her. He seemed to be looking up at the sky before he stopped walking and looked down at her.
"Ha— why do you look like that?" He said, an eyebrow raised.
"Look like what?" said Odette, her smile widening.
"Like. . .like that!" He exclaimed, "You have this stupid grin on your face, why?!"
Odette ignored the part where he called her grin stupid and said, "It's the first time you've approached me. Before, it was always me that approached you. It's a nice change."
"It's not that big of a deal," said Regulus, "I can't believe out of all the things you can notice, you notice that."
Odette giggled, "It appears I notice all the unimportant stuff."
"Yes, it appears so," said Regulus, his gaze lingered on her for another moment before he looked over at the Great Lake and where Odette was now throwing stones at. He watched as the stones skipped across the water before he asked, "What are you hoping to accomplish by throwing stones at the water?"
"Nothing," said Odette, "It's just quite fun. Haven't you done it before?"
As soon as those words left her mouth, Odette froze. Odette had no memories of making stones skip on the water, yet she knew how to do it perfectly. It seemed it was only her mind that forgot about her past and she wasn't sure where to be excited or annoyed.
"I have not," said Regulus, "It seems pointless and I have far better things to do."
"Like talking to me?" said Odette with a teasing smile as she looked up at him. Regulus rose an eyebrow before he shook his head.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, I came here to ask you about that dream you told me abou the other day."
"You seem really interested in that dream," said Odette as she threw another stone. It skipped once, twice, thrice, a fourth time, and before it even sunk, she had another stone in her hand, Regulus looked around, he didn't understand where she was getting all the stones from, but he didn't say anything in fear that they would stray off topic again.
"And you don't seem that interested in your dream," said Regulus, "Which is different from before."
"I've experienced weirder than a reoccurring dream," said Odette, "But I'm still up for deciphering it. Do you have anything?"
"The room. . .was there any photos or portraits? A reflection?"
"Of course there was a reflection, it was a mirror," said Odette, "Come on, you're smarter than that."
Regulus remained silent before he said, "Yes, I am aware that there was a reflection. However, was it really the reflection of the same person who threw the water bottle?"
"I don't really know," said Odete, "The mirror was foggy. Who else would it be — can I call you Regulus?"
Regulus blinked in surprise at the sudden question before he gave a hesitant nod, "Sure. . ."
"Really? Great! I would let you call me Odette, but you already do that, so I guess there's no point. . ."
"That's. . .nice, but can we return to your dream? Listen, do you still have it?"
"The dream?" said Odette, "I stopped having it after the fifth night. I have other weird dreams now."
"Listen," said Regulus, "Look closely for any portraits, pictures, reflections, or even people in the background. Don't just assume that the people are the same or unimportant. Can you do that?"
"I guess," said Odette, "Why?"
"I'll explain later," said Regulus, "Tell me when you've done what I've asked."
"Wait! Let me ask you a question," said Odette as she wrapped her hand around his sleeve to prevent him from leaving. It was soft and it felt expensive, so she let it go as soon as he gave her his attention.
"Yes?"
"Why do you speak so formally to me?" said Odette, "You don't have to, you know?"
"Would you rather me be rude?" said Regulus with an eye roll.
"Assuming you aren't already?" said Odette. She had to bite her lip to prevent herself from smiling as Regulus glared down at her. She wasn't scared by him, but he sure did know how to intimidate others.
Odette picked up the stone, though she was certain she ran out a couple of moments ago, and stood up. She held it in the center of her palm and leaned her hand towards him. Regulus looked down from her face to her outstretched hand.
"What?"
"You seem quite stressed about something," said Odette, "Why don't you give it a try? It might help distress you a bit."
"I'll have to pass," he said, but Odette wasn't going to let him go without him at least trying.
"Come on, Regulus!" said Odette, "Is it because you don't know how to skip stones? I'll show you how to! Just once, please. Then, I'll let you go, I swear!"
Regulus stared at her for a couple of moments before he looked behind her. He looked around for any other stones and when he didn't see any, he nodded.
"Fine, but just once!"
Odette nodded eagerly as she lifted up the stone, "You hold it like this." She put in between her thumb and middle finger and hooked her index finger along the edge. Regulus looked behind her to make sure there was no stones. As he noticed before, there weren't any.
Odette turned towards the water and flicked her wrist forward, she released the stone. It skipped a couple of times before it sunk.
"You can count if you'd like, but I don't really like to do that," said Odette. She spun around and ran a few feet away before she returned with a stone. Regulus's eyes widened slightly before he composed himself again. He examined the stone, it looked quite similar to the one Odette had before, but how did it make it's way back to the bank?
Regulus narrowed his eyes slightly, something was going on and he wasn't sure what. Hell, he wasn't sure if Odette was even aware of it herself. He looked back up at her face, which held a gentle smile. He doubted she knew since she had been desperate for help, yet the signs were all there.
"Come on! It's your turn," said Odette, "You said you'd do it."
Regulus only agreed because there was no other stones behind her, yet she held one in her hand. He didn't even know if he should point it out to her.
"I did," said Regulus as he took the stone from her hand.
"Wait!" Odette interrupted just as he was about to throw the stone, "You're holding it wrong! You hold it like this."
Odette grabbed the stone out of his hand and fixed it, so he was holding it the proper way.
"Now, go ahead," said Odette, "And feel free to let out your stress with your throw."
Regulus followd through and watched as the stone skipped across the water. One, two, three, four, five, six times and then it disappeared. Odette clapped her hands excitedly, "You did it! Have you done it before?"
Regulus looked down at the water where the stone had disappeared, "I have," he admitted. "My brother taught me a long time ago. We'd sneak out of the house sometimes just to watch the stones skip on the water."
"Brother?" repeated Odette. She didn't know Regulus had a brother. However, she quickly noticed it was a touchy subject. Regulus looked a bit sad as he stared down at the water. He gained his composure real quick, though. So quick, in fact, that it made Odette feel sad because it meant Regulus had experience with hiding his real emotions.
Odette bit her lip before she wrapped her arms around him. She felt Regulus stiffen in her arms.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"You looked like you needed a hug. A hug is what friends —"
"I know what a hug is!"
Odette pulled away, "Then, surely you didn't have to ask such a question."
". . .Bye, Odette."
"What? Did I render you speechless?"
"There is no point arguing with you. I reckon if I tried, we would find ourselves discussing kittens in the next five minutes."
"Ooh! I like kittens."
"I figured," said Regulus, "Don't forget what I told you."
"About the kittens?"
"No, about the dreams."
"Oh! Of course," said Odette, "Have a good day, Regulus!"
He retreated back to the castle and Odette stayed behind, feeling a bit cold and a bit lonely.