All the little children

[as_bells_toll]

Names: Anyone and everyone. Specifically people who commented to this post. But open.
Location:The Halls of the school
Week: 49
Time: Whenever
Rating: PG13 to be safe.

Comments

The Great Hall. Catty, Ciel, and Open

[no_souls_here]

Tentatively, Ciel pushed open the rather large door. Clinging to the side of the doorframe he peered inside. The room was open, and spacious, long tables stretched the length of it. There didn't appear to be anyone inside.

His eyes opened wide. The room looked big enough to hold at least a pair of dragons. Luckily, there weren't any here now.

Quietly, he slipped inside to investigate further.

The Great Hall. Catty, Ciel, and Open

[scroll_heir]

There were small people running around Hogwarts. And Catty, having the fortune of not eating a crumpet for that particular breakfast where this all started, had volunteered herself to play babysitter.

Even though, technically the only little kids she had ever been around were... Herself and the other children at elementary school. All she knew were that they were cute. Beyond that, her knowledge was a little fuzzy.

The current task at hand was to collect said children from running around the castle without supervision.

Ah, and there was one of the small people now! Heading right into the Great Hall.

Catty followed Ciel inside.

The Great Hall. Catty, Ciel, and Open

[no_souls_here]

The Great Hall didn't offer much in the way of concealment so when Catty entered Ciel was clearly visible, standing only a few tables in and fixated on something on the ground.

He kneeled down, unaware that he was no longer alone. A round, marble-like object was sitting there. Could this be a treasure?

[scroll_heir]

Catty stood back a bit, hanging out more around the doors than moving in to collect the boy who was now kneeling down. It'd probably be wrong to sneak up on him and snatch him, which had been her first immediate idea.

That would have probably freaked him out, right? She bit down on her lip. What would she have done when she was eight and some person had tried to grab her? Oh, right... She would have freaked out because Kendra had been warning her about government agents trying to take her away and experiment on her.

"Ciel!" Probably best if Catty called out instead before making her way over to the smaller boy. "What are you looking at?"

[no_souls_here]

The boy carefully started pushing the marble back and forth with one finger. It seemed normal enough but something was different about it, that set it apart from the average. The grey colors encased inside, seemed to shift and swirl around, they certainly weren't stationary. It kind of resembled smoke.

At the recognition of his name, Ciel jumped unceremoniously. When had this lady arrived? He looked over at her, was this one of the people he'd been talking to in that magic notebook? It must be, since she knew his name.

"C-a-tty?" He guessed. Looking down at his new found treasure he scooped it up swiftly. The smoke inside turned a brilliant crimson color, he immediately dropped it out of surprise, watching it longingly as it rolled towards her. "I found a marble!" He announced proudly.

[scroll_heir]

With a grin, Catty began to move closer to the little boy until the marble rolling towards her caught her eye. Kneeling down, she picked the round object up, inspecting it. "Oh, how pretty!" She rolled it around her fingers. It really was pretty, not that she was an expert in marbles, but colors were her thing, and the shade of red made her glee.

Finally, she held her hand out, the marble settling in the middle of her palm as she offered it back to Ciel. "Here you go, Ciel! Come on, I'm supposed to take you to one of the rooms with the other kids."

[no_souls_here]

He watched her motions closely, fearful that he may have forfeited the marble by releasing it in the first place, however when Catty was willing to let him have it back Ciel smiled brightly. He moved closer to her, and gently took the shining object.

Staring at it for only a few more minutes, he protectively put it away in one of his pockets.

"With the other kids? But.. I was exploring.." His voice sounded crestfallen as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

[scroll_heir]

Catty couldn't help but be moved but the smile Ciel returned to her when she gave him the marble back, so very confused how this boy grew up to be that bratty troll. It wasn't really any of her concern; really, she barely knew the kid, he wasn't in her house, and he wasn't exactly the friendliest person to her during the last spell.

Still...

"I know, but the adults want you guys to be all in the same place so that we can keep a better eye on you, okay?" She held out her hand to him.

[no_souls_here]

Ciel looked up at her hand as if taking a moment to scrutinize her words. Catty didn't seem like a bad person, surely she wouldn't be leading him to somewhere unpleasant. He just wasn't overly enthused by the idea of a crowd.

At home, he rarely socialized with other children, and most of which were relatives. This whole castle trip had been a new experience for him.

There was still one important question to ask before he'd allow himself to take hold of her hand, "Will you read me a story when we get there?".

[scroll_heir]

She waited, her patience like a rock at the moment, and she knew that around kids, you needed to maintain that or they'd eat you alive.

Or you'd eat them, and that would have just made her feel horribly guilty.

Catty's mouth stretched into a grin when Ciel finally voiced himself, and she could tell that this was the reason for his hesitancy. "Of course I will!"

And hopefully the walk to the common room would give her enough time to think of some story to tell.

[no_souls_here]

"Yay!" The boy exclaimed, gingerly taking her hand. "It better be a good one!". He offered no further resistance as the two headed toward the fabled common room. If it turned out that there were too many people there he fully intended to hide behind Catty and follow her around like a second shadow.

[scroll_heir]

Better be a good one. Did she know any conventional children's tales? Did she have enough creativity to just... Make one up? She was pretty sure that the tale of how her mom had find her on the side of the road wouldn't be very entertaining for Ciel.

Right?

Catty led Ciel inside of the Hufflepuff common room by the hand, glad to have remembered the password Orihime had given her before. It was quiet in the place at the moment, with only a few of the other kids here and there. They must have either been in the other two designated baby-sitting places...

Or they were still roaming around. But before she could head out and look for other wayward sheep, Little Bo Peep had promised the one clinging to her a story.

Why was she referring to herself as Bo Peep now?

"Let's go sit on the couch by the fire, okay?"

[no_souls_here]

Ciel followed alongside happily, anticipation growing with every step. Just what story would Catty come up with, he wondered. He swung his arm back and forth, and bobbed his head from side to side as if they must be going some place exciting. Once they arrived at the common room his behavior changed, becoming more hesitant and guarded.

Initially he hid behind her leg, but seeing that the room was sparsely populated he reemerged.

"Okay!" He let go of her hand and ran ahead of her. Leaping on to the sofa he turned his head to watch her, his eyes shining brightly.

[scroll_heir]

Catty sat next to Ciel, still without any ideas. She stared down at him. Coughed. Smiled.

Coughed again.

Smiled even more brightly.

One step at a time, Catty.

"Once upon a time..." That was how all good stories started, and this was a good story. At least, she thought so. "There was a lonely woman who had no children of her own. She wanted children, but she there was something in the fates that told her not to settle down. Not that she wanted to get married, but she definitely wanted kids."

Her orating skills would be the stuff of legend.

[no_souls_here]

It couldn't be helping to relieve any of Catty's anxiety having the eight-year-old staring at her the whole time she was searching for words. He was being as patient as he could muster.

Gently Ciel placed both hands on the sofa cushion and leaned closer to her.

After a few moments of silence the story began. Unfortunately the story already warranted an uncomfortable, child-like question, "How can you have kids without getting married?".

Still unfamiliar with the birds and the bees, Ciel was fairly certain you needed both a mommy and a daddy. He had both.. didn't everyone?

[scroll_heir]

And that was one of those questions that could horribly ruin a child's mind if they were the type who liked marriage.

Fortunately enough, this was not a birds and the bees type of story and really didn't have anything to do with marriage and kids per se. "People do it all the time," she said before continuing. "So, anyway, the woman was driving home from a visit she had with her younger sister when she suddenly saw a little girl on the side of the road. Now, this was an alien princess, whose spaceship had just crashed in the desert, leaving her all alone and without her memories. Being the kind of woman she was, she pulled over to see if the child was okay."

Nothing like mixing fact with fiction.