A little odd and a little strange

James couldn’t help but smile at the clear joy on her face as he accepted. He watched her shuffle carefully, taking note of the movements. Meeting her gaze, he nodded. “And I tell you the intention?” He asked, raising a brow, curious as to how this worked specifically. “Any sort of intention?” He wasn’t sure exactly what he expected.

“Well, you don’t have to but it would make it easier for me to give an accurate reading,” Pandora replied smiling. “Yeah whatever you want, people normally gravitate towards wanting to know about their future but it’s up to.”

Lily let out a sigh at the sound of a familiar voice, glad that it was more a friend then foe. The red head gently pushed the door open and made her presence more known, offering a small smile to the blonde. “Hey Dora. Sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

A bright smile spread across the blonde’s face. “Lily. How nice to see you. Oh no, you haven’t disturbed me... Well actually, that’s a lie -- what I meant to say is that it’s welcomed disturbance.” Pandora replied shifting in her seat to face her friend before leaning down to pick up her cat which hissed as she did so. “Oh hush now Opal, you can’t still be cross with me.” She huffed petting the cat which was scrambling to get away. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” 

Lily held her breath and tried not to make a sound as she crept closer to the door, not wanting to alert those in the room to her presence. She wasn’t sure who was in there to begin with or what their intentions were, including how they would react if they realised she was stood outside.

Lost in a world of what ifs and could bes Pandora barely noticed the morning go by. Her tea grew cold at her side but her notes grew wilder and wilder. Fantastical ideas running about her head, it was glorious. She barely heard a noise until her cat moved under her feet and she looked down.“Opal, dear, are you still cross with me?” The blonde asked looking down at the ginger cat. “What’s was that you said?” Pandora quirked her head slightly Opal before looking over at the door. “You’re welcome to come in.” 

James looked up from the piece of parchment that sat in front of him when he heard a chipper voice break through the silence. His head titled to the side as he considered the offer, but after a moment of deliberation, he shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Sure.” He agreed with a firm nod. “But only if I get to read yours after.” A smirk made its way to his lips as he met the blonde’s gaze. 

Now, James had never claimed to be good at divination, but he was obviously a natural talent. And, honestly, he thought it would be a bit of fun. 

 Pandora was glad that James had agreed. From what she knew of the wizard they would get on well, and she wanted to get to know him a little bit more anyway. She nodded excitedly. “That sounds fun!” The blonde replied with a cheerful smile. Expertly gathering up and shuffling the cards, she began to explain. “So, it’s better if you have a sort of intention in mind - like a question you want to know the answer to.” Pandora started, deciding a basic three-card spread would be best for the situation. “And from there it’ll be easier to interpret what the cards are telling you.”

“Want me to read your future?” Pandora asked the person sitting across from her, a bright grin twisting at her lips as she spread the tarot neatly over the table.

“You’re a bit weird, you know that right?” Gideon laughed, shaking his head, as he continued to eat his mac and cheese from the bowl in front of him.

The smile quickly fell from the blonde’s face. “Oh.” She chewed her bottom lip as she looked down at her feet. “I mean, you’re not exactly the first person to tell me that but I do rather prefer the term unique,” Pandora replied quietly, playing with a strand of her hair to avoid looking at the male.

Regulus was aware that curfew was fast approaching, but he didn’t really care much for rules. He would go back to the Slytherin common room when he was good and ready. Or so, that was the way he would act. Truthfully, he’d be heading back any time now. A cigarette was firmly placed between the plump lips of the male. He inhaled, taking the chemicals into his lungs with a content sigh. Removing the tab from his lips, he then exhaled deeply, smoke billowing from his mouth as his gaze then moved in the direction of the voice that had broken the silence. Blinking a few times, the male then shrugged his shoulders. “They’re alright, I guess.” Awkward as ever, Regulus then flicked the ash from the end of his cigarette and placed it back between his lips, taking yet another drag. “Doesn’t that scare you? That we’re oh so irrelevant all the way down here. That should the stars choose to fall we’d all be doomed in a matter of moments.” The dark haired young Slytherin hummed softly, holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment before exhaling, wisps of ashy clouds falling through the air. 

Pandora’s lips quirked upward in the smallest possible hint of a smile. “Just alright?” She asked feeling a little disappointed with his answer. She wouldn’t hold it against him, not everyone appreciated the same things she did which were understandable as the blonde would see the beauty in the smallest of things that other’s overlooked. Even now as the male stood smoking Pandora couldn’t help but watch as the embers from his cigarette lit his sculpted face in a dim, orange glow. She had always been guilty of romanticising people’s flaws, not that she did it on a purpose but she enjoyed making the world around her even more colourful. The witch shook her head. “It comforts me, knowing that our issues aren’t as big as they seem in comparison they’re tiny. There’s so much more to everything than we realise.” She explained smiling brightly before going on to add, “Plus the likelihood of that happening is so low, I like to think that they care too much about us, they choose to do it one by one instead.”  

Hearing her name echoing through the hallway, Andromeda reluctantly stopped to turn. It was already past curfew and she really couldn’t afford to be out much longer. “It’s a bit late to be roaming the castle.” She pointed out, as if she weren’t doing the very same. 

The blonde smiled softly and waved but kept her distance. She didn’t know the witch very well yet she always made sure she greeted her whenever she saw her. Politeness was an important trait to Pandora, she’d hate to have someone think of her as rude so she always attempted to exchange pleasantries with people she came into contact with. Pandora shrugged, rocking back onto the balls of her feet. “I suppose it is but the castle is so beautiful at night it feels like a shame not to enjoy it.” The witch explained before finally taking a few steps closer to the female. “And what about you, have you been doing anything interesting or am I prying too much?” 

It was a new practice that Pandora was intrigued by always having been well adapted to charms class. Her mind needed a distraction and her parchment was full of ideas she was getting inspired from. Of course, her confidence was boosted when she enchanted the tea kettle to talk to her after performing endless hours for a spell that could animate inanimate objects. The problem now being that she was having issues inventing a spell that would reverse it. Pandora disliked coming home to her tea kettle spouting at her.

She heaved a defeated sigh and collected her things, noticing immediately the light had faded from the sky outside and it was now a dark canvas. It was a clear night and the night sky highlighted all the stars above. Pandora tilted her head against the brick wall and stared blankly at the stars above her.

“Beautiful aren’t they?” Pandora sighed, talking to no one in particular. “I’ve always been fascinated by how small we are in comparison.”