Ash was playing the piano beautifully. Alone.

"Yeah, I quite miss home
'Cause it feels like poetry
When the rain falls down on the window
While you're in my arms
and we're watching the TV..."

It was a risk, singing a song by muggles, which was why Ash was doing it in the completely soundproof music room where people were unlikely to hear it. It was a pity, because it was good music. It went on for a while, until the end of the song. And then it was over.

Ash sat at the piano, suddenly full of regret. She looked at her arms, which had the faint outlines of erased art on them. She should have ran. When she had finished first year, she should have ran. Turned her back on the magical world and run for her life. Went into hiding, where nobody could find her. She had the money for it. So why hadn't she? When Ash finished first year, she should have told her friend how much she liked them, just in case. What if her last words to her favorite person were "See you next summer"? That would be all wrong.

The first eleven years of Ash's life had gone by too fast, and what if she never got to make up for it by doing the things that she needed to do? Everything was all wrong.

She sighed and started to play another song.

Sammy was on his way to the common room when he decided to make a small detour. Where was he going? Well, he was trying to find the Room of Requirement to hang out in for a short while, but his search had taken him somewhere else, instead. A different-looking corridor and, by the looks of it, a different-looking room as well.

Curious, the second year pushed open the door and peeked into the roo- ....... Oh. That was music. Music he'd never even heard of before, not even once. And what was more, there was already someone in this room, who was the one playing the piano!

That was it. He knew what he had to do.

He tip-toed his way into the room and towards an empty stool as quietly as he could. Uber quiet, even. He couldn't hide himself completely but maybe - maybe - he could be quiet enough so that she didn't even know he was part of the audience to her music-playing.

Ash finished the second song, a love song. It was less depressing than the last.

"I'm gonna love you 'til
My lungs give out
I promise 'til death we part like in our vows..."

She became somewhat aware that something was not quite right in the room, but she couldn't bear to not finish the music. It would be bad luck, wouldn't it? So she finished the song. She stiffened and paled slightly, taking a deep breath so that she would be prepared for whatever was behind her. Maybe it was a cultist. Either way, she'd finished the song, so she had enough good luck stored to not die. She rubbed the crystal bracelets from Serena for courage, and hope, and stuff like that. She turned around, and was hit by an IMMENSE wave of relief. It was just a kid, a housemate. Probably in her year. He probably couldn't kill her even if he wanted to. Ash stood up to her full height and stuck her hands in her pockets. She was surprisingly tall. Five foot four, actually. Relief showed in her eyes and voice as she addressed the kid and smiled brilliantly. "Hi." It occurred to her that she hadn't spoken to this one before, really. But he had to be harmless, right? It didn't matter that she was singing muggle music. He probably didn't know what it was anyway.

She was going to love someone 'til her lungs gave out?!

Her lungs. She was giving up her breathing for love.

It was safe to say that Sammy was confused. Sure, he'd heard that people make all kinds of promises and do crazy things for ~love~ but he'd never ever ever thought that breathing would be part of that. Didn't you NEED to breathe? And how could you give up your breathing for someone? He just..... didn't get-

Oh, she was done.

Right on cue, Sammy started clapping and cheering along, just like an audience member should. "WOOOOO! YEAH!" It was weird to be the only one cheering - and the only one in the audience in the first place - but that didn't matter. He could appreciate some piano playing, right? Even if he didn't know anything about the piano himself.

It was only when the girl turned around that he encountered a lightbulb moment. This girl......... looked familiar. Like, same house familiar. Or maybe same class familiar? He didn't know. He just knew that this wasn't the first time he was seeing her face.

The second year smiled back at her, trying to look as casual as possible while also silently hoping she had never told him her name before. Because he was not remembering it right now. "Hey, there." Pause. "Great piano playing. You could be a musician. Maybe start your own band, even."

Ash did not want to stop breathing. The message of the song was that she would love someone until and after they both died, and would do anything for them. It could be confusing though. However, it was safe to say she wasn't giving up her lungs for love. She was NOT the little mermaid.

Someone was clapping though. She smiled. Nobody had clapped for her before. She needed to know who this very nice person was. He hung out with.... Emmerson? Yeah? The person in the school who hated her the most other than, maybe, Mavis Trent? That seemed right. They probably had never met then. She made all of these calculations quickly.

possibility of friendship: unknown
possibility of already knowing each other: low?

"I'm glad you like it. I'm... Ash. And you are... it starts with an s, doesn't it?" Hopefully they had never met, or this would be awkward. "If I ever leave this place, maybe I will do music. Then I can get rich, and then I can give my money to charity." Or she could play video games. Or be a healer. The options were limitless. "What brings you here?" Also, what is your name?

Thank Merlin, she was telling him her name. Not only did it tell him what her name was, but it also told him that they had never met before. So he didn't need to worry about anything he'd been worrying about before. Phew! The sense of relief was settling in.

"Ash. Nice to meet you." The smile on his face widened at her guess. Sammy couldn't help but be curious to see if she was going to guess his entire name correctly or not. OR if she was going to call him something very different to his real name. "That's right! I'll give you one guess: what do you think my name is?"

Oh, she had a plan? She had a big plan, it seemed. But what got him was what she wanted to do with her money if she ever got rich. "You're going to give all of it to charity?" Pause. "I mean, that's really nice of you but you should keep some too. Then you can buy some ice cream sundaes." Which was important.

What brings him here? "Well, I was trying to find the Room of Requirement but...... I don't think this is it." Music wasn't his go-to for a room like that. Food? Definitely. But not a room full of instruments. "And then I opened the door and heard music so." Cue a small, casual shrug. "Were you practicing for something?"

"sssss...sss... sammy??????" That was a good enough guess. It started with an s. She laughed at his question. "I have enough already." She was actually a billionaire's daughter. But no need to mention that part. "I'll still be able to buy ice cream, don't worry. But maybe I'll make my own charities." She counted on her fingers. "One for poor wizards who can't afford school stuff, one for mental health services for wizards, and one for... muggleborns facing discrimination." The last part was scarcely a whisper. He'd almost have to read her lips to hear it. "I wanna put my money towards something that I care about." She smiled. Almost dying all the time made her re-evaluate her priorities. Money meant nothing if you were going to die tomorrow. But your public image sure did. "Nah, wasn't practicing. Just letting off steam. Music is like art, but out loud." And art was cathartic. It helped her forget her worries. And she had so many of them. But she didn't need to say that out loud.

How did she guess that in one go??

"That's it! You got it!" Now he was curious to know how she got there and what gave it away but this seemed like too much to ask. There was just no point to it. "Nice to meet you, I am Sammy." She wasn't expecting a prize from him for guessing correctly, was she? Because he didn't have one.

A charity for poor wizards who can't afford school things, a charity for mental health services for wizards, and a charity for....... for? "Sorry, what was that? I didn't quite catch that." She'd have to speak up there. "It's nice that you care so much about good causes. And that you have it planned out, from the sounds of it." It almost made him wonder if he should be making these kind of plans as well.

Ah, letting off steam. "Like a kettle," Sammy said, nodding along. He knew exactly what she meant. "Okay, then answer this: what's your favourite type of music to play? Because there has to be a favourite, right?" Right?

Ash smiled. "Cool. Sammy. I'm sure I've heard it somewhere. It would have been embarrassing if I'd gotten that wrong." She did not expect a prize. Her prize was the satisfaction of being right and keeping to her standard of not forgetting stuff. "Muggleborns facing discrimination." This time she said it slightly louder, but so that only Sammy could hear it. "Well I know that I want to do that. But I don't know what my job will be. Maybe I'll play video games, or be a lifeguard, or a healer, or a musician, or an athlete." Again she said all the muggle-related things only loud enough for this very nice and likeable kid, and not for the world outside this room. "I like playing pop music, and love songs, and sad songs. On the piano or singing. If I was playing guitar, or electric guitar, or violin or cello, I'd play something else, probably." Yep, Ash did not procrastinate. That's how she had time to do all the things. Like sports and arts and music and school and friendship and brooding and looking cool.

Sammy had a calming effect, did he know? Between the music and Sammy and her art notebook, there was enough relaxing stuff for Ash to be slightly calmer than usual. If someone walked into the room right now, she would not have accidentally punched them in self-defense. Which was a real achievement.

Would it have been embarrassing if Ash had gotten his name wrong? "Well, maybe," he said, shrugging his shoulders, "But a lot more embarrassing if we'd met before and we were meeting again and it turns out that you forgot my name. 'Least you don't have to worry about any of that."

And then she said it. Muggleborns facing discrimination.

Sammy felt his face fall at those words. The other charities felt like charities she was mentioning because everyone helps those kind of charities. But this? This felt a lot closer to home. He could probably even guess why Ash wanted to help this kind of charity. "Yeah..... it would be nice to help them, wouldn't it?" And not have to pretend around a bunch of hooded figures.

From playing video games to being a lifeguard to being a healer to a musician to an athlete......... that was a lot. A lot of options. A lot of different options, too. "Well, it's a good thing you have plenty of time to decide. Because you might need a time turner to do all of that." Cue a cheeky grin from the second year. "But you'll always be able to play video games with whatever."

Sammy nodded along to her talk about music, mostly trying to pretend that he understood. Sure, he knew the different types of music she was talking about but he couldn't ever tell which type suited which instrument. And speaking of instruments...... "Wait, you know how to play all of that? A guitar and a violin and a cello?!" Shocked? He was. "How?!"

"That would have been worse, true." It would have been very awkward. Ash did NOT forget names.

Muggleborns, though. "Yeah. It's important to me. Since day one of classes." When Rosier almost killed her.

Also: jobs. "Eh, I won't do all of that. My idea is, become a pro gamer, start the charities, donate the money from gaming to there, and keep most of the money I already have. But I have backup options in case it doesn't work." Not that it would matter. Ash could have no job, give half of her money to charity, and still be way better than fine.

"I don't like to waste time. I fill all of my time, because otherwise I would just be sad. I'm not as good at those other instruments as I am at piano though. I have my main instruments and arts and sports, and ones that I'm passable at. Otherwise, I would have a burnout." See, when you got empty time, then you felt sad. Logic. "What do you like to do?"

Since day one of classes? Sammy furrowed his eyebrows, now growing confused. This was a serious topic so he couldn't make jokes to make her feel better but he could ask questions, right? He needed to know. "What happened on day one of classes?"

His mouth formed into a circular shape as Ash started going into her plans. Pro-gaming, starting charities, donating money, and having backup options. He couldn't help but wonder if all of that were her backup options but this didn't seem like the time to find out. "Oh, I see," he said, running a hand through his hair, "It's great that you have backup options too. I don't have any, and now you're making me think that I should have some."

As much as he couldn't believe that Ash liked to fill all of her time, he knew that he couldn't ask why. She said she'd be sad, and that was sad in itself. She had her arts and sports, and he could only imagine how much time all of that would take. "Burnout is the absolute worst! But I hope you're getting some time to relax as well. Because doing too much can give you a burnout too."

What did he like to do? Instantly, a wide smile spread across his face. "I like to cook! And bake. I mostly make cupcakes for my friends' birthdays and help my mum out in the kitchen." Pause. "That's all I've ever done. I can't imagine doing anything else."

Ash shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We blew up the tech lounge. I almost died. Etcetera. It doesn't matter." That day had sent a message. The message said we don't want you here. What a stupid message. Ash couldn't NOT be a witch. If she had had a choice, she'd have given her magic to a squib who actually wanted it. The idea that she'd stolen magic was ridiculous. People usually stole things that they wanted or needed.

It was smart of Sammy to not ask her why she filled all of her time. Because... if you can't fill your time with love and genuine human connection, you need to fill it with something else.

"Cooking is cool. Important life skill too. I can't really cook anything fancy, but apparently all of my friends can. Muggle and magical." That made her set for life, right? "Sounds fun. Good hobby to have." Sammy could basically be her friend now please. Ash didn't know how to make cupcakes. Ash wanted to make cupcakes. Maybe she would next year if she made it.

"That was YOU?!"

Now it made sense. Now it all made sense. Though, he didn't know what she was trying to say but he felt as though he was beginning to understand. He also felt as though he shouldn't have asked at all but it was too late to think about that now. "I mean......" He ran a hand through his hair, his brain now trying - and struggling - to come up with the right thing to say. "We don't have to talk about that if you don't want to. It sounds like a heavy topic."

The talk about cooking was enough to bring a wide smile to Sammy's face. It was cool, wasn't it? Except, he didn't know she had so many friends who did the same - and now he wanted to meet ALL of them. Maybe have a cookout of their own. Or even a competition. How fun would that be?

Right. Ash. "You know what that means? You're just going to get even more food now. I hope you're prepared." Cue a cheeky grin.

And yes, they were basically friends now. He certainly thought so.

"Yeahhhh... that was me. If anything bad happened, this year or last year, there is a very good chance that it was me." It was true. Ash wasn't looking for trouble or adrenaline or whatever(okay, maybe a little bit), the universe just didn't like her. She looked at Sammy. "Uhhh... we can talk about it if you want to." But she couldn't imagine that he did. Ash didn't think very many people WANTED to hear about her near-death escapes and gruesome injuries. She didn't. Hence the filling all of her time with FUN and DOING COOL STUFF and HANGING OUT. On to the next conversation!!! Immediately!!! Ash acted the happiest when she was avoiding being sad. Weird. Cooking. Yay. "Well, I'm 100% fine with that. I like food. Especially blueberries. That's irrelevant though, to this conversation. On the subject of actually making food, I can only make simple stuff." She listed it. Mac and cheese. Canned soup. Salad. Frozen pizza. Chicken fingers. Takeout. Chicken and orzo. Sandwiches. Pasta. Cake. Ah yes, the foods that Ash ate when she had to make her own food. If there was one good thing about Hogwarts, it was that adults were always present to cook and save you. A majority of the adults at this point were evil and horrid, but SOME of them were alright. To be fair though, her muggle best friend could also cook dinner for her sometimes. So if anyone thought she had found a silver lining to her new life, don't worry. She hadn't.

They needed jokes in here. The more serious the world was, the more jokes they needed. Unfortunately, Ash couldn't think of any. Unless anyone in hear wanted to hear some dark jokes. There were lots of those. Seeing as they were in a whole hostage situation and all. But jokes that you could laugh at would be so much better than jokes you could laugh sharply at.

With Christmas holidays right there within reach, only a few days away now, Lia couldn't help but want to go home. Even with the presence of her siblings and cousins here at Hogwarts as well... it still wasn't the same. She wanted to be at home decorating the entire house and making a mess in the kitchen with her family while they baked holiday treats. The laughter and shouts of everyone gathering together while music played and food was eaten, gifts being given to one another. It was what the holidays were meant to be like... not being stuck here when she didn't want to be.

What was a young girl or eleven supposed to do to get out all of the angry, fear, frustration and sadness that had been pushed aside for months?

Make as much noise as possible. That's what. Dahlia shut the door to the Music room behind her. Thanks to her older sister, she already knew this spot was completely soundproof. Crossing the room with a purpose, she dropped her bag down near the drum set and took a seat. Picking up the drumsticks, she gave them a twirl between her fingers.

What came next... well it was obviously a whole lot of noise. The goal here wasn't to play her very best, nope, it was to make noise. To get rid of all the feelings inside herself until there was nothing but calmness.

Ilya didn't have as much of a sentimental attachment to Christmas. As he continuously mentioned to peers and the very very few friends he had, they didn't celebrate Christmas at the Belrose household. They used it to have a feast and everyone to gather around (although they were only 3 people in that household) but nothing more, nothing less. This explained why he wasn't upset about not going back home for the holidays. Ever. He always spent it in Hogwarts.

The music classroom was a nice location for him to take a book and enjoy reading while someone or a group of people played an instrument. He enjoyed having background noise while focused on something. However, the noise that was coming from inside the classroom today was... different. It was just noise. Chaotic, angry and... just unpleasant. Ilya walked into the room with a frown on his face, his index finger holding the page as a bookmark as he raised his hands to cover his ears.

A youngster was at the drumset. "HELLO?" he yelled over the noise, trying to get the girl's attention. "EXCUSE ME." She should definitely stop before he used his wand to take her drumsticks.

Through all of the 'music' she was creating, Dahlia hadn't heard the door to the music classroom open. Nor had she taken notice to the older boy standing there with his hands over his ears. All that she had been focused on was working through her emotions and nothing else. It hadn't even occurred to her that someone else might have wanted to use the space too.

Well not right away, anyhow.

Shouting cut through the mess of crashes and bangs that were being made by her. Blue eyes found the source of the yelling before the rest of her body realized she should stop playing for a brief moment. Slowly her hands moved to her lap and no more noise was being made but the first year was breathing hard and her cheeks were flushed pink.

"Hi?" Dahlia managed to greet the boy through several panted breaths. Yes, she probably looked very much a mess right now but she didn't even notice.

In everything that was holy, Ilya wanted to kneel in gratitude to whatever force that had the girl stop. WHEW. His hair color, which had changed to bright red during the drumming, had faded back to normal; blonde. He wasn't sure about what colour his eyes were assuming at the moment, but he imagined they were piercing blue... hopefully not the neon green that scared the beejeesus out of that kid the other day.

As soon as the girl's hands stilled and they were on her lap, he dropped his and approached her. She looked quite invested in her playing-- no, he shouldn't call this playing. Out of respect for all drummers aroun the world. "Wow, frustrated much?" The sarcasm in his voice was clear. He wasn't unfriendly, though, just being himself. When he was by one of the chairs next to the drumset, he plopped down. His book sat on his lap and he lifted his leg to rest his ankle at his knee. "Do you... have too much homework or...?" Why exactly was she this frustrated was what he was trying to understand.

The Alliance followers being the reason did not even cross his mind at this point. Probably because they never bothered him? He had his deep thoughts about them when they joined their classes and when Bernie was around (which he managed to successfully avoid his friend so far), but other than that, he was not bothered. He felt safe. He was pureblood, afterall.

Yes, she had been making a whole lot of noise but in all honesty, Lia, didn't think it had been all that bad. She had heard far worse. Perhaps she would've told him so but his hair was very distracting. The bright red fading into a very nice shade of blonde was highly distracting. Almost as much as those striking blue eyes. Don't mind her for staring for several moments until the color changes settled. "How did you do that?"

Still distracted by his hair and eyes, she missed the sarcasm in his words. Not that it mattered because she wouldn't have cared and her answer wouldn't have changed. "You can call it that." It was much more than simply frustration. Why was he sitting down... and with a book? If her drumming bothered him, why was he staying? She didn't care that he was in here but she wasn't planning on stopping what she was doing before he had walked in.

Homework. What did the amount of homework she had matter to him? "I finished it." All of it. She liked to complete all her assignments as quickly as possible so that she didn't forget about them. It also gave her lots of free time to do anything else that she wanted to do. Like make a whole ton of noise on the drums.

Lightly bouncing her foot up and down in an attempt to keep from returning to her 'drumming', she eyed the older blonde curiously. "Are you planning on staying in here?" If that came out sounding rude she hadn't meant it to.

Ilya was used to the staring and the questions. Even though after five years in Hogwarts, he assumed he would get it less. Maybe he was. This was his first time this year. "I just can." He was a Metamorphagus, the short answer. He never provided that. In fact, he never used the M word, it took him a long-winded fight with his grandmother to stop her from saying it when he was around. So. He was not going to say it out loud.

He obviously settled in, yes with his book. "Yes," he answered her question flatly. "Why are you frustrated?" If not for the homework, was it because of the isolation and the... curtness of their new headmaster and his squad? Because Ilya didn't mind their cause much, he wasn't fully with the group yet but the idea about the wizarding world being superior and expressing themselves boldly to the Muggle world instead of hiding resonated with his acceptance of his Metamorphagus ability--which was a pain to have when he went out with his mother and he had to control himself so much or simply wear a wig and contact lens.

All this was not discussed with anyone he knew yet, though. He wasn't sure he'd trust anyone with this controversial outlook on everything that was going on -- especially since his friend was a muggle-born and was directly suffering already.

She hadn't meant to stare. It was rude and she was raised much better than that. If it helped at all, she was technically not staring at him... only his hair and eyes. Not her fault if she found it mesmerizing. His reply to her question didn't tell her much of anything. "Oh... well I like it." His hair and his eyes that is.

Welp, this was wonderful. He planned on staying. Dahlia had every intention to continue drumming whether or not he was going to sit right there. "Lots of reasons." Did he want a list? Surely she wasn't the only one around that was frustrated with the way things were this term.

To give herself something to do, she started to lightly tap one of the drumsticks against the snare drum in a very simple rhythm. It wasn't at all like her earlier 'playing'.

It was okay. Ilya was much ruder than the little girl that he didn't notice those small rude moments. It bugged him sometimes, but when it was children... it was fine. Her reply surprised him a little, he should admit. She was an honest one, wasn't she? "What's your name?" He asked instead of saying 'thank you'.

Honest and vague. How did that make sense even? Ravenclaws (including himself) were really deep ones, weren't they? "Right. Well, whatever it is, if you don't know how to play the drums, please pick another instrument." Like the piano? That must be less annoying for sure. Meanwhile, he would just stretch out his legs over here and open his book. It wasn't a school book, it was fiction and he was deep into it. See, Ilya did not care much for the curriculum as he did other literature.

Oooooh, her new rhythm was welcomed. He gave a lopsided hint of a smile in reaction, though his eyes didn't leave the pages of his book...

As curious as she still might have been, Lia let the topic drop. Perhaps another time if she had the chance to speak with him again, she could ask more about it. Or she might never ask. Right now it made no difference. "Dahlia. What's yours?"

If he wasn't going to press on the matter than she wasn't about to give anymore information. He didn't seem like the type that would really care anyhow. Surely, her 'frustrations' as he had called them, weren't nearly as important or large as some of the others around here. Annnnd right back to square one. The drum playing. "Why? I was in here first." Just a small reminder in case he had forgotten.

Lia kept the gentle 'tap tap tap' going for a minute or so longer. A tiny smile began to tug at the corner of her lips when she caught that lopsided smile of his. "What are you reading?" she questioned softly, glancing over at the book on his lap. The calm rhythm continued even as she added in some different sounds with the other drumstick.