Where's your crown King Nothing [NVM Harry]

[Lillian 'Kat' Gillespie]

As soon as Gabe told her that both his parents were muggles she shook her head a bit, raising one hand as he described the difference between muggle born and half bloods. "I'm sorry. I mean I know the difference.. I don't know what I was asking... I guess I'm not used to talking to anyone else like you. Everyone I can recall talking to that's not pure blood is half."

Was she really this nervous around him? I mean he had clearly yelled that out the first time they met. She probably looked like an idiot now and she was hoping she wouldn't stick her foot right in her mouth again. She didn't know whether she was more humiliated by her own actions or if she was just desperate enough to move past this mistake so they wouldn't linger on it. "Well what I meant was... what do they think about you being a wizard? I mean the whole magic around someone that can't use it?"

She sat back and she slipped her hand up under her dark hair, fighting the urge to comb it out with her fingers. Instead she slipped her fingertips down her jaw line. Her mind was weighing heavy and right now she was concentrating more on not looking a fool. She was genuinely interested in Gabe. Partly because she had no clue how it must have been growing up.. I mean born into a life where your parents weren't like you. She knew that alot of muggles had trouble accepting things like this. Parents feared their own children and she didn't know that she could blame them. But still he seemed to have trouble either answering or really knowing what she was asking so she decided to make it a little clearer. "I mean it must have been a bit unnerving to not know magic and things suddenly start happening to make you feel like theirs something wrong with you. I'm just guessing here but I bet when you started having signs you didn't know what was going on. I mean I grew up knowing about the whole wizarding world and being around so much magic but when I actually did something, even if it wasn't what I wanted.. well I was shocked."

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Gabe let Kat's little mistake go, seeing as how the day had been a weird for her. Being accosted like this by a guy she hardly knew and then suddenly finding herself making dates with him...well...it was enough to rattle anyone's cage. Gabe himself was still spinning from the moment and while he hadn't said anything totally stupid yet, he knew the day was still young.

"Well," Gabe began, sitting back in the booth, making himself more comfortable, "It was a bit unnerving at first, what with all the furniture moving around by itself and things disappearing and then reappearing at the oddest times," he went on, laughing at some private moment, safely locked away in his memories, "Lots of time in therapy, mostly for mom, not me," he said clearing up the confusion for Kat, after all he didn't want her getting the wrong idea about his parents, "but once the letter from the school arrived, well, things began to move in a more positive direction. Of course, the whole owl thing really freaked them out, but after a visit or two from the Ministry, things smoothed over rather quickly," he rambled on, trying to think back to that day, all the while smiling to himself. "They've been here a few times with me," he said, looking about the building, "Blows their minds everytime....but then again, it still amazes me," he said, replying to Kat's last statement as well.

No matter how many times Gabe performed some small feat of magic, it made him feel light headed, but not in a bad way, no it just overwhelmed him. With a slight wave of a stick, things would jump to life, change into something else or just disappear altogether. This of course came in handy back home when he accidentally broke something of his mother's, like that really weird and expensive vase he broke last summer.

[Lillian 'Kat' Gillespie]

Kat quirked her eyebrow a little as he talked about his mom spending time in therapy. She had no idea how things looked like on his side of the fence, well at least not at that young of an age. She knew that since she could really walk and talk she was trying to recite simple spells used around her on anything, people.. inanimate objects. It was frustrating knowing that one day you would/should be able to do amazing things like your parents but you sort of hung on to a fear when you just couldn't yet. I mean there was no guarantee. It wasn't like anyone told her about squibs but that fear lingered in the back of your mind.

She nodded slightly, taking another sip of her drink. "I'm glad that they are supportive. I didn't meet a muggle til I was about ten." Her lip pushed up a little in disapproval. "Not really a great experience." It wasn't like she hated muggles.. but she had to admit that well, it just was pretty horrible for her. And though she probably could kind of relate to him, being thrown into a totally different world and all, she wasn't going to make a comment to let him be aware of that.

She was still amazed by the wizarding world, she always had been. She wanted to go so many places.. I mean she was sure that there were so many places like Diagon Alley and she had always hoped to visit them. "I never get tired of coming to Diagon Alley... or Hogsmeade either. I mean there's always something new amazing every time I come. I've always wondered what other places around the world was like. I just always figured I would go there with my parents." She grew quiet, letting her finger slip up and down the side of her glass. She was getting careless, sure.. But she wasn't really confiding or exposing any of her emotional scars. Perhaps Gabe would pick up on little things here and there but that was probably the best he would get from her for a while. Of course that was unless he put her into some kind of trance.. be it by magic or chemistry (chemistry, not crazy).

She glanced back up at him, a slightly puzzled look on her face as if something just came to mind. "Have.. have you played quidditch?"

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Gabe was beginning to piece a few things together for himself about Kat's past. Nothing too concrete mind you, but just some things she said made him wonder. She had some sort of chip on her shoulder when it came to muggles and while the ever tried and true excuse of her being a pure blood was screaming to be reason, Gabe suspected different. The way she talked about muggles, especially the way she mentioned meeting one at a young age told a story of a first meeting gone bad. Being a muggle, Gabe had an idea of how that meeting went down. Here was some average Joe, no idea that magic was real, suddenly face to face with a real witch. Of course, being so young, jealousy was just another everyday emotion and just as human nature demands, said muggle no doubt tormented poor Kat. This was all just a guess though, but one Gabe was confident was right.

He smiled to see that at least someone besides him found the magical world so interesting. Sure, magic was fun and neat, but when one grows up around such things, they sort of take it for granted. Hearing someone who was from this world so taken with their surroundings made Gabe feel a bit more home...a bit more accepted if you will. Now while fitting in wasn't his thing, it just felt nice to find someone who shared similar feelings...even if only about one or two things.

"Quidditch?," Gabe repeated, laughing somewhat, "No...not me," he answered still laughing a bit, "Afraid I'm a bit too soft for that," he went on, poking fun at himself and his rather vain ways. Gabe wasn't in to rough housing, being an only child he didn't have the opportunity to experience that sort of thing. No, he was like his mother in a way, always primping and making sure he looked good. Not to the extreme of trying to impress anyone but more just because he liked it. "What about you? You've got enough fire to show some of the guys a thing or two," he said to Kat, poking at her, trying to liven the mood just slightly.

[Lillian 'Kat' Gillespie]

When Gabe said he was too soft for quidditch Kat's lip lifted just slightly, mimicking a smile of sorts."Yeah, you do seem pretty soft.", she was aggravating him on her own and her tone tried to get that through to him. "But no, I don't play quidditch. I don't even fly." Her eyes rested on his. She wasn't the type at all to get out there and have everyone's attention on her. There was no way in hell she'd hop out there on the Quidditch field and play a game where everyone watches you intently, counting on you to screw up - or even worse, hoping more than anything that you won't. In fact she absolutely refused to take flying lessons at Hogwarts.

Without skipping a beat, other than that brief pause of reflection, "But I'd like to." I mean after all it was hard to fight that appeal of having that sort of freedom. Sure it wasn't necessary, I mean... you could travel by apparation or the floo network. She probably wouldn't use it much to get anywhere. She just felt like it would be an overwhelming feeling to be that high up above everything. "I've flown before but I was young and I wasn't alone." Sure it was only a few times but she can still remember what it felt like as a child. And those memories made her feel almost happy, even if only when it hit it's peak before she faded back into her current life.

But she wasn't going to linger on things past, at least not while in the company of someone that she was enjoying...

Besides she had to admit that it seemed to be tiring to always be so negative. Sure she had the same impulses as other people, she just acted on them so rare that when she did.. well it seemed out of place. He was so good at joking around and .. being all .. happy and such. She felt that it would be tiring. After all how much easier was it to give up and not put forth any effort in letting people get to know you or like you? Now mind you she didn't plan on going back to the slytherin dorms and having a big heart to heart girl chat. No, she was just going to try to give him a chance.. relaxing around him. She couldn't really make herself trust anyone, however she could give him the opportunity to show he could be trusted. And before she knew it she was sitting there with a relaxed smile - still natural, mind you - looking him over in thought. Perhaps this looked quiet strange from his perspective for a couple of reasons.... And who could tell if it would make him comfortable or nervous to see her in this odd state. No matter Kat really didn't catch herself doing this, she had too many thoughts and questions spinning around to be conscious of it.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Gabe didn't expect to be the sort who played quidditch, she was far too distant and an isolationist for that sort of public sport. From the little he had been around her, Gabe surmised Kat liked to be by herself and judging from her awkward social skills, he guessed she didn't socialize much either. He was sure she had a few associates she spoke with but most of them were likely just people in a study group. Kat came across as the loner, the one who takes life on on her own and would rather die than to ask for help. Of course, this last little bit with her, Kat was beginning to show another side. She was starting to act like your average girl. Making a dates, enjoying time with a friend and learning how to relax just a little bit.

Gabe caught himself intently listening to Kat, but more importantly, he was just watching her. Smiling as he thought about teaching her to fly a broom, even if he was only mediocre at best himself and as things grew quite, he realized that Kat was just sitting there staring at him. Now whether this was because she had just asked him a question and in his daydreaming he had not heard her, or she was just enjoying the moment like he was. "I'm not much of a flier myself," he said casually as if he had intentionally let that silence drift by, hoping that she really hadn't asked him something because then he would look stupid. "I mostly use the floo network and now that I'm old enough, I'm kind of fond of apparating here and there," he said with a smile as he leaned forward and propped his chin on the palm of his hand.

The mood between them was changing and finally for the better. Kat was relaxing more and Gabe was learning a new found patience. The little things which Kat let slip showed she was trusting Gabe, even if only in the slightest and whether she knew it or not, she was becoming more and more comfortable around him.

[Lillian 'Kat' Gillespie]

Kat was pulled back into normal time when Gabe finally spoke. And it didn't really surprise her that he wasn't much of a flier. She could see him doing well in things like charms (no pun intended) but as far as like... flying and perhaps even the more serious defense against the dark arts. Well it just didn't seem to fit him. Of course given his circumstances it would be best to press himself in this subject. But he seemed a bit too laid back.. Now Kat, she liked dada, and charms, and potions.. mostly she just didn't care for care of magical creatures. She didn't plan on working with animals at any point in her life. Heck the most she needed to know what which ones to put in what potions. And come to think of it.. potions was alot like cooking so perhaps he would be interested in that.

She nodded slightly at his comment, making a mental note that she needed to pick up a broom before she graduated school. She would learn, on her own time and such.. without everyone all gaping at her. Kat had the determination to do anything she wanted..

And when he leaned forward and put his chin in his hand she felt her breath leave her a little. He was handsome.. she didn't know why it was so hard to see earlier. I mean even the annoying way that he carried himself and the way he came off as a socially awkward geek. It sort of added charm, or perhaps it was the charm. And true he was really baby faced and she usually.. well.. never liked the 'pretty boys' in school or outside. "What makes you so special?" she accidentally asked herself in a whisper, suddenly realizing that she had said it aloud, even if he probably couldn't have made it out.

Her eyes grew a little wide and her cheeks started to flush again as she searched for some kind of question to ask him to keep him from picking up on anything she said. "You told me you can play an instrument.." Yeah, it was said pretty fast and almost blurted out, "but you never told me what kind." He had mentioned that he could sing, didn't he? Hah, maybe Kat could try to take this moment (trying to revert back to her cool self where she was confident and didn't care) and see if she could embarrass him.. Hopefully. She liked it when he got flustered. "You said you could sing.. so when are you going to let me hear it?"

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Gabriel almost missed the slight movements of Kat's lips as she muttered something to herself, but the soft tone of her voice wasn't audible enough for him to make out her words. He furrowed his brow as he studied the situation, curious as to what she was asking herself, but didn't push the subject. Kat was owed her privacy and while this would eat at Gabe for hours on end, he would eventually even forget the moment. Of course as Kat quickly recovered and spouted of yet another question, in order to cover her tracks and words. Gabe was getting used to that sort of distraction and while he wasn't one to talk about himself much, he found it sort of easy with Kat. She seemed like she really wanted to know these things about him and having nothing to hide, Gave didn't mind answering her.

"Piano," he said with a smile, showing just a bit of pride. Gabe wasn't the best to every tickle the ivories, but he was pretty darn good and while bragging wasn't his style, he couldn't help it when it came to music and his talent for it. His father had taught him how to play at an early age, mostly jazz and blues, but when his mother got in on it, it quickly became classic as well. He could play most of the major pieces, you know, the usual, Chopin, Bach, Mozart....all the big names, but Gabe's first love was jazz.

Kat's attempt to goad him into embarrassment didn't quite work the way she probably hoped and when asked when he was going to give her a sample of his talent, he couldn't help but smile. "Soon enough," he said with a mischievous smile and wink, not really letting on to what he had planned for them Saturday night. His father was playing that night and as always, Gabe would join him and his band for a song or two, the perfect opportunity to impress Kat a bit further.

[Lillian 'Kat' Gillespie]

She couldn't be positive if Gabe had heard her or not.. and though she failed at embarrassing him it still kept her from any further humiliation. She finished eating the last couple bites of her sandwich, hoping at least when she seen him Saturday nigh (if she had the courage) that she could at least act decent. I mean these last few minutes have been pretty good. Sure she didn't know what to say all the time, it was hard getting to know someone especially if you were so protective of people finding out about you. And she wasn't so sure if she didn't want people knowing because they would use it against her or because it made her so miserable. She absolutely hated it when someone acted like they could relate to what you were going through... they couldn't.

She gave him a slightly brighter smile, "I've really liked today... But I'm going to have to get going, Bastard's going to be mad if I stay out too late." She didn't really think bout him not understanding, she wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't thought about his temper when he was ignored when she realized she had been gone for longer than she really intended.

She thought about standing up but she didn't want to seem like she was trying to get away so quick. So instead she gathered her coat and hat from the seat and reached into her pocket for the money to pay for the sandwich. Hopefully he would at least see that she was leaving on good terms, that she wasn't tearing out of here in a desperate attempt to flee from him. "I hope you have a good day.. and I'll see you around school." Despite the fact that she wanted to stay here a bit longer she had to get going. She had studying to do and such... so she did slip out of her seat and put her robe and hat on, watching him.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Gabriel hated to see Kat leave, but he knew the moment was coming to a close for the day and he didn't want to push things too hard. Kat was starting to thaw out a bit and even though patience wasn't Gabe's strong point, he knew that sometimes he just had to clam up and find some anyway. Kat was fragile at best and too much pressure on her would make her break or crack and someone with that sort of problem didn't exactly respond well in situations like that.

As she stood, reaching for money to pay for the lunch with, Gabe put up his hand, "My treat," he said hoping Kat wouldn't take offense, after all, so many girls today insisted on paying for their share of this and that. "And I guess I'll be seeing you Saturday then....say about six o'clock in the front foyer of the castle?," he asked her, throwing out a rather reasonable time to start their date. He wasn't sure if it would work for Kat, but he was rather flexible and as we all know, Saturday night didn't start till late anyway.

Gabe's mind drifted here and there as he waited for Kat's answer, thinking about what he was going to wear and what she might wear. He hoped she wouldn't freak out too much about going into the muggle world and while school wasn't officially started yet, he wondered just how much the school would frown upon it.

[Lillian 'Kat' Gillespie]

Kat relaxed and returned her money to her pocket as Gabe said it was his treat. She usually didn't let people buy things for her on most occasions.. I mean you always hear that nothings free and she didn't like feeling like she owed anything to anyone. And the candy from the shop, well that had a purpose. It was allowing him to do something nice to smooth things over from their first encounter without letting him have a way to screw it up. But now, now was just because he wanted to. "Thank you." she said quickly, showing him that she did appreciate it.

He mentioned their date and she hadn't even thought about time or a place to meet. Well usually when something that seems completely impossible happens you hardly think about picking over the details. And her own mind was swimming with what to wear. She didn't want to over dress and make him think that her expectations were really high.. or that she was anxious. But she also didn't want it to be too casual. After all you could tell that he had class when you looked at him by what he wore, how he fixed himself up, and how he just generally presented himself. "That sounds good.", she responded softly - still in mild thought.

And then something else hit her. It was official now that she would indeed be dubbed a blood traitor... She couldn't imagine how her own house was going to react when they heard about this. I mean people have died for less over the past and Slytherin house still followed many of those customs. She held back a sigh. Oh well, she didn't like people telling her what she could and could not do. Besides it wasn't going to break her heart if anyone in Slytherin saw her as an outcast. Sure it would suck to be the odd one out but it wasn't like it was something she couldn't easily get used to. No matter what happened she wouldn't roll over and give in. Needless to say she's going down swinging.

She pushed those thoughts aside *blood traitor, blood traitor, blood traitor* and gave Gabe another smile. "I'll see you then, Gabe.", she said softly getting one last glance before she turned to walk out of the shop. And it was just a moment before that she made up her mind that she was going.. Despite all the rumors that others may start about her or her insecurities. She would be there...

She stepped outside the shop and pulled her robe tight around her. It wasn't too cold today, however Kat seemed to either want to be really warm or cold. There was no in between or mild weather that really pleased her. And given this moment it could be ninety degrees outside and she would be fine. She just held on to her robes as she started walking, leaving the shop and Gabe behind.