Hugging Harrison close, Lucy made her way to the Music Room. As much as she liked the privacy of the Room of Requirement, she was in the mood to play with people. Unfortunately, she didn't find anyone already in the room. But she sat in a chair and started playing anyway, waiting to be joined.

Gaston was feeling a little emotionally drained right now. He needed some time to unwind, and what better way to do that than with some music? That always calmed him down. He pulled the little black book full of songs he'd written out of his jacket pocket as he neared the music room, but as he entered, he saw he wasn't alone.

He stood silently in the doorway for a few moments, just listening to the music being played. He smiled. "Bravo, Miss Potts," he said, applauding quietly. "Would you mind if I join you?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Gaston was feeling a little emotionally drained right now. He needed some time to unwind, and what better way to do that than with some music? That always calmed him down. He pulled the little black book full of songs he'd written out of his jacket pocket as he neared the music room, but as he entered, he saw he wasn't alone.

He stood silently in the doorway for a few moments, just listening to the music being played. He smiled. "Bravo, Miss Potts," he said, applauding quietly. "Would you mind if I join you?"

Lucy looked up as soon as she heard the door open, but kept on playing. Especially after seeing it was just Professor Marchand.

"Thank you," she answered, nodding. "Yeah." She continued playing.

Gaston worried for one fleeting moment that he might've startled the poor girl with his sudden applause, but that thought went away when she continued playing. He smiled. "You're very welcome, Miss Potts," he said. The compliment was well-deserved. She was good! "How long have you been playing?"

He took the nod as an invitation to play with her and replaced the little black book in his jacket pocket. He wouldn't be needing it now. He crossed the room to the drum kit and began to play a beat that backed Miss Potts's guitar, taking extra care not to play too loudly and drown her out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Gaston worried for one fleeting moment that he might've startled the poor girl with his sudden applause, but that thought went away when she continued playing. He smiled. "You're very welcome, Miss Potts," he said. The compliment was well-deserved. She was good! "How long have you been playing?"

He took the nod as an invitation to play with her and replaced the little black book in his jacket pocket. He wouldn't be needing it now. He crossed the room to the drum kit and began to play a beat that backed Miss Potts's guitar, taking extra care not to play too loudly and drown her out.

"Um, just a few minutes," she answered, oblivious to the question actually being asked.

Lucy grinned as Professor Marchand went on drums. She swiveled slightly in her seat to face him. There were few better feelings than playing with someone.

Gaston blinked, slightly taken aback by the answer he got. Goodness, had he been unclear when he asked her? He really needed to be more careful with his wording! Either that or the girl was just so absorbed in her guitar that she hadn't really paid attention. Hopefully that was all it was! "No, I mean did you only take up playing guitar recently, or have you been at it for a long time?" he reworded his question.

Seeing the grin on Miss Potts's face as she turned toward him made him smile as well. It had been so long since he had another person to play with, he'd almost forgotten what it was like! With his band far away in France and him here at Hogwarts, there wasn't much opportunity... but he wasn't going to dwell on that right now. "I'm not playing too loudly, am I?" he asked as he continued playing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Gaston blinked, slightly taken aback by the answer he got. Goodness, had he been unclear when he asked her? He really needed to be more careful with his wording! Either that or the girl was just so absorbed in her guitar that she hadn't really paid attention. Hopefully that was all it was! "No, I mean did you only take up playing guitar recently, or have you been at it for a long time?" he reworded his question.

Seeing the grin on Miss Potts's face as she turned toward him made him smile as well. It had been so long since he had another person to play with, he'd almost forgotten what it was like! With his band far away in France and him here at Hogwarts, there wasn't much opportunity... but he wasn't going to dwell on that right now. "I'm not playing too loudly, am I?" he asked as he continued playing.

..Oh! ..Oh... Lucy blushed slightly. "No, I started..." she knit her brow in thought, "I think Third Year. Or maybe Second..." It was after she picked up piano, but before sax...and...she just couldn't remember when those were. But she got Harrison for her fifteenth birthday, so definitely before that!

Yeah.

She shook her head in response. "How long have you been playing?" she half teased with a grin. "I'm terrible at drums."

Gaston felt a little bad when he noticed Miss Potts blushing a little. Really it was nothing to be embarrassed about, just a simple misunderstanding. Easily cleared up. His eyes widened a bit at the response he got. Given her talent, he would've guessed she'd been playing much longer than that! He smiled. "Oh? I'm impressed," he said. "Your skill level surpasses even some who've been playing a lot longer than you." And he would know. One of his best friends was a guitarist.

Then it was his turn to blush. "I've been playing since I was eight," he replied, smiling sheepishly, though he didn't say exactly how many years that had been. "My father got so tired of me banging on the furniture that he had no choice but to buy me my first drum kit!" He let out a small self-deprecating chuckle. Why was he telling her this? She asked how long he'd been playing the drums, not for his entire life's story!

Vi needed a minute to just think. As soon as she walked into the empty music classroom, she dropped her bag off at the door and then headed towards the piano. She trailed her fingers across the ebony and ivory keys before she took a seat. She started off with Claude Debussy's Arabasque, losing herself into the notes. Playing and playing brought her mind away from things she didn't wish to think about. She poured her emotions and the tension that had been stored up inside of her over the past few days into her performance and then as she played the last notes, silence filled the room and she felt the stress leave her body. She felt nothing. Emptiness or relief in that precise moment...? She couldn't tell.

Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the moment and then continued playing. She moved to Clair de Lune and then transitioned into Dawn, a particular favourite of hers as she loved Jane Austen's works and especially enjoyed the soundtrack to the 2005 muggle film Pride and Prejudice. A smile worked its way slowly onto her lips as she played.

Kitty walked aimlessly through the castle. Well, not really aimlessly, she was technically on patrol and this was designated patrol area. But Hogwarts was generally quite right now so she wasn't as focused as she could be. While she walked she thought of Tenacius. A sly smile came to her lips as she schemed.

Then coming from the music classroom she heard a piano being played. It was normal to hear music coming from there - some of it good and some of it bad, but this one seemed especially well played. Curious, the Gothic Ravenclaw turned the corner and entered the classroom to see Olivia playing.

Not wanting to interrupt her, Kitty leaned up against the doorframe and casually crossed her arms. The tune that was being played sounded familiar, but from where she couldn't remember. Something about it was very touching.

When the piece was finished, Kitty uncrossed her arms and clapped.

And she played the last note, drawing the song to an emotional close. Silence filled the room for but a moment until there was clapping.

Huh? Who was clapping?

Vi glanced up when she heard clapping and blushed when she saw that she had an audience member. "Kitty! Hey! If I knew I was going to have the Head Girl as my visitor, I should have waited," she teased with a happy smile before standing up and walking over to greet the Ravenclaw girl with a big hug. "Congrats!"

"Whats up? Are you on patrols?" she asked, wondering what time it was now. Had she spent the whole afternoon in here? She couldn't even tell what the time of day was because the lights were still at the same intensity... then again perhaps her eyes had just adjusted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Gaston felt a little bad when he noticed Miss Potts blushing a little. Really it was nothing to be embarrassed about, just a simple misunderstanding. Easily cleared up. His eyes widened a bit at the response he got. Given her talent, he would've guessed she'd been playing much longer than that! He smiled. "Oh? I'm impressed," he said. "Your skill level surpasses even some who've been playing a lot longer than you." And he would know. One of his best friends was a guitarist.

Then it was his turn to blush. "I've been playing since I was eight," he replied, smiling sheepishly, though he didn't say exactly how many years that had been. "My father got so tired of me banging on the furniture that he had no choice but to buy me my first drum kit!" He let out a small self-deprecating chuckle. Why was he telling her this? She asked how long he'd been playing the drums, not for his entire life's story!

More blushing. "Really? No.." she didn't think so. She just played average. "I learn a lot by ear," she added, to try to explain her supposed skills away.

Lucy giggled a bit at his story. "Did you want one? Is that why you banged on furniture?" Because she didn't know any other reason to do such a thing. Jump on the furniture, maybe... "We had to pick an instrument in Primary School. So I picked cello. So I've played that since I was, like, ten."

Oh goodness, more blushing. Gaston wasn't sure if that reaction was a good or bad thing, though he couldn't say he blamed her for it. He usually reacted the same way when someone complimented him. "Really," he said, nodding emphatically. She was being much too modest! An eyebrow raised slightly at what she said next. "That's a good way to learn."

Hearing Miss Potts giggle made Gaston laugh a little himself, but his expression darkened as his mind wandered back to the days of his childhood spent in isolation. "I probably subconsciously wanted one, but really i think I was just bored," he replied, trying to clear the bad memories from his mind. He wasn't going to think about that right now! Luckily the girl distracted him before he could become too lost in his thoughts. His eyes widened a little bit when she told him she also played cello. Now he was really impressed! "Do you play any other instruments or just the guitar and cello?" he asked.

Kitty laughed and hugged Olivia back, patting her on the back once or twice at the same time. "Oh don't worry, I like watching people perform when they don't know people's watching," she admitted.

"My mom has a piano back at our mansion," she said matter of factly, walking casually over to the piano and resting her pale fingers on it. She used to be embarrassed admitting she was rich, but now she assumed everyone already knew or they wouldn't mind. She was cool with it. "I used to be terrible at it, but last year I started taking lessons. So my playing is not as freakish as it used to be, but yours is much better." She laughed good naturedly, remembering that one time when she rebelliously played the piano in the Leaky Cauldron so terribly that her friend Mason interrupted her.

Technically she was on patrol, but that didn't mean she couldn't end it early. "I was finishing my patrol when I heard the music. There's not very much happening right now so I'm ending it early. But what about you? What's up with you recently?" She honestly wanted to get to know the Gryffindor better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Oh goodness, more blushing. Gaston wasn't sure if that reaction was a good or bad thing, though he couldn't say he blamed her for it. He usually reacted the same way when someone complimented him. "Really," he said, nodding emphatically. She was being much too modest! An eyebrow raised slightly at what she said next. "That's a good way to learn."

Hearing Miss Potts giggle made Gaston laugh a little himself, but his expression darkened as his mind wandered back to the days of his childhood spent in isolation. "I probably subconsciously wanted one, but really i think I was just bored," he replied, trying to clear the bad memories from his mind. He wasn't going to think about that right now! Luckily the girl distracted him before he could become too lost in his thoughts. His eyes widened a little bit when she told him she also played cello. Now he was really impressed! "Do you play any other instruments or just the guitar and cello?" he asked.

Was it a good way to learn? She didn't really know any different, learning instruments just happened that way for her. Even when she was being formally taught the cello, she'd go home and play around until she found the right notes to play a song she recognized, rather than memorizing scales and positioning. Lucy shrugged, "I'm terrible at reading sheet music, though. I mean...cello and piano are pretty good...but sax is kind of hopeless..." And was sheet music even a thing for harmonica?

She nodded along to his reply, smiling.

And then her blush appeared once more. "Six. I play...I can play six instruments. I'm really good at three." It always embarrassed her to talk about. Sure, she was proud of herself, but she hated feeling like she was bragging about her musical talents. She wasn't a show-off. Or she feared people would judge her for over-selling herself. That she can't be that good. That it was unrealistic. That she was lying. She kept her gaze mostly off the professor, with just quick glances to catch his reaction.

Back at the mansion? Wow. "A mansion? Cool!" That sounded wonderful but also very strange to her. What must it have been like to grow up in a mansion? She had come from not too humble means herself. "We should play a together.. Perhaps a duet?" offered Vi. She didn't know Kitty played piano. Then again, she didn't really know much about Kitty and she definitely would like to get to know her better.

What was up with her recently? Well... there was a LOT going on. Academically... with friends... and more. It had been an eventful year and it wasn't even December yet. "A lot but as of right now, not really too much. It's nice that I don't have OWLS this year so I can spend some time with friends and just... relax. I think I spent too much time in the library last year," she chuckled. When she had first gone to Hogwarts, she had hated the library.. But after last year, she had loved it.

But back to the main question.... What was up with her? What had she done most recently? "I've been getting to explore the castle more lately. Apparently there are a lot of corridors down in the dungeons that I never knew of until Ace and I went exploring." It had been very exciting -- it definitely satisfied her natural curiosity and love of adventuring. And they had run into Professor Vance down there.

But enough about her... "How about yourself? What have you been up too? More late night walks? Romance?" She knew that the Ravenclaw Head Girl had spent some summer nights doing that!

Gaston nodded. He could relate to what Miss Potts was saying completely! "i started out learning to play by ear too," he said. "I'd probably been playing for about six years before I even picked up a piece of sheet music!" He chuckled sheepishly. "I had music teachers, but reading sheet music didn't click for me until I had a friend teach me." The memory made him smile a little. Thank goodness for Tillie... he probably never would've learned to read music if she hadn't been so patient with him!

Then his eyes widened when Miss Potts said she played six instruments. "Well, that certainly puts me to shame!" he said jokingly. "i only play two myself..." So he knew she played guitar, and she'd mentioned cello, piano, and sax, but what were the other two? "What all do you play?" he asked. "Do you have a favorite instrument?"

Kitty smiled when Olivia said it was cool she lived in a mansion. So yeah, it used to embarrass her, but now she'd embraced it and was very pleased to get positive reactions from people about it. It wasn't like she was a brat or anything, so being rich didn't mean she thought she was better than anyone. No way.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the mention of playing a duet. "Oh that sounds fun, but I warn you: I'm not as superbly talented as you." So give her the easy parts, k?

She listened with interest as Olivia talked about exploring with her prefect buddy Tenacius. "There are quite a few hidden passageways," she said, nodding wisely as she thought back to some of her own adventuring. "My favorite floor to explore is the fourth floor. Behind that strange mirror there is a passageway, and behind the tapestry on one of the fourth floor corridors there used to be a hidden room. Now it's all blocked up, but it used to hold the Book of Mysteria - which put the school in danger a long time ago. During my second and third years at Hogwarts, I was OBSESSED with the Book of Mysteria. Our old History of Magic teacher (Professor Ansley) told me all about it." You could tell she was still excited about it, even though now it was less mysterious than it was back then. "What strange passageways have you and Tenacius discovered? I'm curious."

She smiled mysteriously when asked about romance. "I may have had a few late night since term started, but romances? Not here. I had one of them in London." Who would she romance here? Hmmm. A name actually did come to mind, but she wasn't going to say it right away. "Have you had romances?" she asked with a mischievous smirk.

Superbly talented? Her cheeks flushed red at first, unsure how to take the compliment. She had always been horrible at receiving compliments. Instead of being all awkward about it, she decided to make a joke out of it. “I’m only superbly talented at piano on day’s that begin with a T,” she winked at Kitty at that point. Yep. Thursday and Tuesdays only. But she was obviously joking at it. Sure, she had talent but she wasn’t a piano prodigy. She shouldn’t quit schooling just yet.

She nodded eagerly as she listened to Kitty explain her favourite places to explore around the school. Her eyebrows raised, intrigued by the Book of Mysteria and hidden room behind the tapestry. OH YES! That was where she had met one of Kitty’s fellow Ravenclaws. Katherine had been her name and had brought Vi up to speed about Hogwarts’ history since the Lioness had been a new transfer student at that time. “What’s the Book of Mysteria about?” she asked, wanting to hear more about it. She could just see how excited Kitty was about it and seeing that excitement made Olivia even more excited about this mysterious book of mysteria! At the mention of Ace and strange passageways… “Well he showed me a shortcut in the dungeons and that was across the Slug Pit. I think that one’s pretty well known. I had heard of it but never had found it until this past year.” There were more passages to explore for sure.

Vi raised her eyebrows at the mention of Kitty having a few late night romances. Oh ho ho…. How intriguing. “Late night… Dashing people… Handsome strangers. What were they like?” she smirked, very much so intrigued. Then Kitty turned the question on her. “Not really….Me? I'm horrible at romances and that... stuff,” she began underplaying a particular crush/romance/whatever it was happening in her life. “Okay… Maybe one guy but not officially anything… yet."

She smiled good naturedly at Olivia's joke on being a good player on days starting with T. Yeah, Kitty herself wasn't very good on any day - though she was much better than she used to be.

What did the Book of Mysteria do? Good question. "Well I'm not entirely sure. Professor Ansley never told me everything. I don't know if he didn't know, or if he didn't think it was appropriate for students to hear about it. He did tell me that it grants immortality, but somehow it's very dark magic." Which was a shame, really. "It was moved to another spot outside of Hogwarts for safekeeping. I don't know why almost all the ways to become immortal involve dark magic. I'd love to be immortal, but I'd never use dark magic. Wouldn't you want to be immortal?" It was just a question, sometimes she thought about stuff like that. There wasn't any right or wrong answer.

Exciting as magical books of immortality were, the conversation was about to get even more exciting! Smiling mysteriously as Olivia asked for details on her mysterious partner, Kitty said, "He liked my nails. And he thought I was 'mysterious,'" She mentioned that last part casually. "He has dark hair, is about six feet tall, and was wearing a black shirt and jeans. It was all very romantic," she sighed in a slightly dreamy tone.

Olivia's acknowledgment that there might be someone she was interested in piqued Kitty's interest so high it couldn't go any higher. "Oh?" she asked, looking at her as a smile started forming on her lips. "Who might this lucky person be? Please tell!"

Grants immortality but the price was very dark magic? Now that didn't sound... nice. "As long as I can stay young when I'm immortal I'd be fine with that. I don't want back problems forever," she joked but then she paused. Now she really considered Kitty's question. Wouldn't you want to be immortal? Well... Sure to be immortal meant that she could live forever and could see everything that transpired. But being immortal meant sacrificing her friends and her family because one day they would die and she would be left alone. "While immortality sounds fun and all... I don't think I could do it. It'd be a lonely and hard life. I wouldn't want to watch my friends and family pass away. That'd be hard for me."

Dark hair, six foot tall, and wearing all black? Now that sounded like a guy that was DEF up the Ravenclaw's alley. She could even see Kitty blushing and SWOONING over her. That was adorable. "Was this a summer romance or do you think this individual will come back into your life?" she asked with a curious slight tilt of her head. "It sounds very romantic. And fun." It was good to see Kitty having fun... Or well hearing about it.

Now it was her turn....

Now Vi had only told her closest friends about her feelings towards a certain best friend of hers but she had a feeling that she was very obvious about her feelings. She felt her throat close in as she tried to speak. Why was she feeling so nervous about it? Perhaps it just all felt strange to say this outloud but the two of them were alone so it'd be fine. A happy smile on her face now, she spoke, "It's Ace. We're just going on dates though.. We're not 'dating'."

"I get what you mean," she said, agreeing with Olivia about not wanting to live forever if your friends and family were gone. "I would never want to live past my friends and family. But if there was something that made all of us immortal, I think I'd love that. So then no one would ever grow old. I would freeze myself in my twenties and never grow old and always have fun. Oh well!"She giggled to show she knew this was unlikely. But wasn't it fun to imagine?

Speaking of fun. Her six foot tall summer boyfriend in black. "Well I think he wants to continue our relationship. I actually don't know him very well. He told me his name was Alexander and I know he has a tattoo of a black heart on his chest, but other than that I don't know anything. He kept saying I was way more interesting and that he wanted to hear me talk about myself." Then there was her mother. "Mom thinks I should break up with him. She pointed out how most dark wizards in history wore black, and Alex always is wearing either a black shirt and pants, or black robes. Naturally I rolled my eyes and reminded her I was Goth, but she said I was different." She rolled her eyes. Obviously she did not agree with her mom. "Last time he wrote me was on Valentine's Day." Lowering her voice and looking a little embarrassed, she whispered. "He told me he missed me and said he'd gotten my name tattooed over his first tattoo. WEIRD, right? And he asked if I wanted to be his girlfriend after graduating I didn't respond. So it might already be over." She straightened and her voice went back to normal. "I wouldn't take any of it back though. One night he took me flying! It was the first time I ever flew on a broom like that. I held on to him the whole time, I kept thinking I was going to fall! It was amazing."

Kitty paused, thinking. "What do you think I should do?" It was something she thought about ever since receiving his letter on Valentine's Day. "Alex was fun, but I don't know if I want to continue our relationship or if I should reply at all. He was so nice to me, but going into a serious relationship is a big thing, right? I guess I just want someone to help me decide. Because whatever happens, I definitely want to continue having you and all my other friends in my life forever. I don't think I could date a guy my friends didn't like."

But talking about Olivia's love life was just as fun as talking about her own, and that's what they shifted to next. A huge beam broke across her face when Olivia said who the mystery boy was. "Ace? Oh Olivia, that's great! I'm so happy for you two." She'd had a feeling that Tenacius (who was also her friend) liked Olivia. She pictured them together in one of the secret passageways and the image brought a smile to her face. "How long have you two been going?"

Freeze herself in her twenties and enjoy life. Now that would be interesting indeed.... Freezing yourself at the young age and living in the future... "So speaking of freezing.... What do you think the future would be like?"

Alexander. Kitty's mysterious heartthrob who only really wanted to know about her. "He wasn't up for sharing about himself," she frowned softly. That worried her hearing that. Sure the guy sounded very enamored with Kitty but it saddened Olivia to hear that the guy hadn't shared much information about himself. The very information worried her. And hearing about Kitty's mother's thoughts on the situation was intriguing. She chuckled slightly and smiled, thinking that mother's often fretted so much about their children. However, the smile soon faded when she heard that the guy had asked Kitty to be his girlfriend once she graduated. Why hadn't he asked sooner or in person? It seemed odd for him to ask such a question through a letter. To Vi, that was the equivalent of asking someone out over a text message which was a big no in her book. But Kitty's expression. She seemed so happy and Vi didn't have the heart to inform her friend of her opinion.... Not yet anyone.

And then Kitty had asked her what she thought about it. "I dunno..." she began. "I'm a little bit worried that he hasn't shared much about himself with you. Do you want to date him without really knowing him?" Vi couldn't do that herself. She wanted to be friends with the person before anything happened. But perhaps that wasn't for everyone? "Though I suppose it depends on how much you feel about the situation because at the end of the day, it's only up to you."

"Thanks!" Vi was happy to see that Kitty seemed happy. The brunette had been worried because for a while she had suspected that the Ravenclaw may have had some kind of feelings towards Tenacius. Besides, who wouldn't? He was a blast to be around, intelligent, hilarious, and very cute too. He was... incredible. A bright pink blush dusted her cheeks. "Yeah... A few months... We went on a date last Valentine's day and then one thing led to the next and w've been hanging out more," she explained with a nonchalant shrug. Vi really enjoyed spending time with him... Who knew? Perhaps soon, they'd start dating... but that was scary in itself. She was going to leave it in his hands.... Though leaving it up in the air was slightly frustrating to her.