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Hogwarts Grounds
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The Steps
Wood's frustration disappeared. He knew he was acting childishly, but he didn't know some people didn't like it. "Sorry",he muttered through greeted teeth.
When he heard her stomach rumble, he asked: "M'lady, are you in need of.... food?"
What a boring sentence.
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Her stomach growled loudly, and she winced.
"Well then M'lady", said Wood, bowing. "I actually have a sandwich in my posession."He waved his wand and a wooden bag flew out of a window, hitting him in the head.
"Yeowch!"
Rubbing his head, Wood opened the bag and took out a ham sandwich.
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Through bites, she managed to look at the boy fully. He looked younger than her, maybe 1 or 2 years, and was wearing a red headband. "I don't think we ever made it to introductions," she said through bites. "I'm Eve Stringer."
Wood felt giddy. This is the moment he always loved. "I!", he began, striking a pose."am the seeker of justice, the light in the dark, the dark in the light, a hero chosen by fate! I am Wood Odin!"
He remembered how Eve reacted to his earlier antics and composed himself.
"Nice to meet you",he finished lamely.
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The sandwich called her stomach, and her nerves, and she felt calmer, kinder after the food.
After shaking Eve's hand and noticing that she was a lot more amicable, he asked: "Why were you so disturbed by my presence? I am but a clean soul, walking the desert of loneliness. Climbing the holy hill, impaled by the spear that are your words."
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Wood sighed dramatically."Oh, how we all have experienced this moment. The monster withing clouding our view of the outside world. How very troublesome this monster is."
He shook his head and then smirked.
"Unless you have the holy way to satiate the monster you call hunger. The sandwich of ham, passed down from chosen ones to chosen ones. The recipe may never be betrayed."
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Wood's eyes wandered to Eve's bag before bowing once again."Truly amazing to meet someone else truly worthy enough to be in the house of the great. Alas, I am in the year that the great Harry Potter attended the Triwizard Tournament",said Wood, a twinkle in his eye.
"If they ever feel compelled to organize the true test of power once again, I'll make sure to attend it."l
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"Yeah, Gryffindor is pretty cool. I was almost sorted into Hufflepuff, I don't know why," she admitted.
"Of course you'd like to be in a tournament!",exclaimed Wood, throwing his hands in the air."Even if your kindness clashed with your heroic side. The heroic side won, but the fact that kindness even stood a chance is quite impressive."
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"And I don't think I would compete in the tournament, I'd just think it'd be cool to watch," she said, cursing again her American slang.
Wood noticed Eve looking around and smiled gently."The goddess of nature has blessed us with this day. Enjoy it while you can. Demeter or however she is called, thank you. I don't see how it is better to watch than to compete in a tournament. I'd be the perfect prey for a thing called jealousy."
Wood glanced around. Nothing out of the ordinary. His scroll of divine seeings was starting to smell though.
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"As for jealousy, I'm not really a jealous person, either," she wrinkled her nose, a foul stench reaching her nostrils. "You're scroll smells," she said simply, looking at it.
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Ruby was lost in thought while her eyes were gazing at the wonderful view that was in front of her.
She was thinking of this whole story with Morth. Just when she was about to maybe start believing that there was some good in him after all, this whole story started.
A strange letter, an even stranger symbol. Reese and Bryssa risking their lives. Dimitri risking his life.
At the thought of him Ruby felt her blood rushing up her pale face and she contained herself. She mustn't think of that right now. There were so much to find out and so little time.
Her train of thoughts was abruptly interrupted when Ethan, her long lost friend, appeared out of thin air and jumped in front of her, perfectly balancing on the step.
His dark red hair seemed to blend in almost perfectly with the white clouds that covered up the sky behind him.
"Hey Ethan." said Ruby, her expression not changing. She was always like this. Cold, distant but very polite. She wondered if that would be strange to Ethan, after all when he left for America, Ruby was this happy little girl with a thirst for knowledge.
Not the perfect statue she is today.
"Nothing really, the last couple days have been... rather busy and I'm feeling tired. How have you been? Are you adjusted to life in Hogwarts yet?" she asked politely, with her calm steady tone in her voice.
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But who was she to judge others for hiding secrets?
"I am glad you came back, after all, you left so suddenly for America, it felt lonesome stealing the neighbour's berries all by myself." Ruby thought if she hinted out their old mischievous adventures, Ethan would feel more comfortable.
After all, she still saw that fiery boy that used to sneak into their garden past bedtime.
When Ethan hinted that he wanted her to help him get acquainted she almost broke out laughing. "Oh Ethan, I know only a couple people here at school, I am not the popular first year you left all these years ago. But I will try my best."
She thought about letting him know of the Ball. She had to be careful tough, she didn't want another misunderstanding like...
Ruby closed her eyes, pushing the thought away. Instead, she focused on Ethan. Her back all straightened up, her long black hair dancing with the wind and her pale complexion really hinted that she was part of the stone steps' architecture.
"How is your family handling your absence? I'm sure your brother misses you terribly." At the thought of Ethan's young brother, Ruby couldn't help but think of her own. How they used to play as well, as if they were destined to be best friends.
They would be the same age now.
Talking with Ethan felt painful and Ruby felt a twinge of guilt. She wanted to catch up but he brought back painful memories of her dead family.
((Wow, that was long :P Dimitri and Ruby are just friends, or they were supposed to be, but during the last couple of RPs they way they interacted suggested that some feelings are developing, especially with the misunderstanding of Ruby asking Dimitri to the Ball for the plan even though he was thinking about asking her as a date. This is still going on in the Viaduct RP.))
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Ethan's green eyes felt as if Ruby was being long in the deepest forest, cuddle by branches and leaves, feeling safe in nature's hands though weary and cautious of getting lost.
"Adored, huh?" murmured Ruby, hearing Ethan's words. Maybe in another life, if Ruby hadn't been so focused on revenge, so obsessed in finding the truth; if only there was someone back then to open her eyes and tell her,
You can go on, be free, make friends, fall in love, live carefree!.
Ruby's face darkened when Ethan asked who he should avoid. Should she warn him of Nicolas? Was that protecting him or throwing him in the pit of fire since she knew his desire of danger was still lurking around inside of him.
"I have two wonderful friends that are very nice. One is Reese, a very athletic and overprotective Hufflepuff, trusting and kind. The other is Bryssa, quiet and beautiful. Even though a Hufflepuff she's very smart, always points out how the smallest detail can change someone's mind. She has the most radiant smile."
While Ruby was talking of her friends, a very small soft smile appeared on her lips. The girls have always said they were her friends, companions in difficult times, but when Ruby actually described them as such to someone else, that was the first time they actually felt her friends.
She looked over to Ethan. "I think you're going to have quite a chemistry with Reese, she's always in trouble for her friends and you used to get in trouble for the same reason, once upon a time."
"Then, there was Henry, he was... unique. Though we never said we were friends to one another, he always seemed to be right there whenever I needed him. He saved my life a couple of times. A clever and durable Ravenclaw, he was the first friend I made after years of loneliness. He had to go back to Durmstrang, even though he hated it there."
Ruby's mind pictured Dimitri. Her heart sank a but, but he was undeniably her friend. "Then, there's Dimitri, a Slytherin worth of his House. Ambitious, talented. BUt he's also gentle, respectful, gloomy most of all but always wears his flaws as if he's proud of them. A good shoulder to count upon."
Ruby then looked back at Ethan, as he was listening to her carefully. She decided not to tell him about Nicolas. He needn't know and why would Nicolas ever want to contact Ethan Huxley? When Ethan spoke of his family, it felt as if a giant weight was pulling him down. When he mentioned his father his tone was harsh, almost unforgiving and it felt as if he couldn't even speak when Luca came into the conversation.
"You know, Ethan... We've been hopping around trying not to actually say what happened to our families as if not mentioning it makes it go away; makes it non-existent." said Ruby, turning her corso toward him and bending her long-lasting stature.
"I never had the chance to say that I'm sorry." said Ruby, almost acquiring an expression of sorrow. "About your mother."
((I'm so so so sorry, this is too long but I can't help it, I love this RP! And drama, always love the drama. I had this idea that Ethan knows of Nicolas Morth but he doesn't know of Ruby being connected to him. So there'll be a big BOOM when he comes to the Ball RP.
Because he knows about the Andersons trying to establish connections in the Underworld of London. That's why he came, to keep an eye if any of them infiltrates Hogwarts. What do you think?))
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Ethan seemed too defensive, as if Ruby had insulted him by offering her condolences.
She stood up, her robe dancing in the cold breeze. She took a couple of steps climbing upward.
"I only said I'm sorry because I hadn't the chance to all these years ago." she said, he tone calm but frozen like ice. Polite, but sharp.
She then looked at him. "You think I don't know what giving pity is like? How it feels for people to look at you all the time, whispering behind your back?" she said. She took a steps closer to him but she managed to keep herself calm.
He looked at him softening his expression and then she realized she'd misunderstood. It wasn't as if he was insulted, but it was obvious he never felt comfortable talking about it.
But at least he had his brother, and a dad that cared even though distant.
"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable by bringing it up." she said finally, letting out a sigh, her expression softer.
"So, I'm going to respect your wish and never talk of it again." she said.
Ruby sat down on the cold marble steps and gazed at the view. She sighed and spoke no more. She did not really know what to say to Ethan. As if they had nothing in common but their long-pained pasts and childish adventures.
She waited for his response in her misunderstanding even though she didn't care much if he were insulted by it or not.
((Well, After the HB Watchers found out that half of the Prominent Families moved to the UK, they immediately contacted other Informants to keep an eye on them -besides the Huxleys- and they found out that they have been trying to make connections to the Morths but they were being constantly rejected. So they suspected that they might ttry an different approach though they are not sure. So Ethan was told to be careful of Nicolas Morth and to keep an eye on him in case any Anderson tries to contact him.
All he knows about Nicolas though is that he's a Morth and that he owns a business in Knockturn Alley. So he could try to ask Ruby, imagining she should have heard any kind of rumours.
Thank you for your kind words, I enjoy RPing with you too!))
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Ruby thought that Ethan wanting to change the subject was a good idea. She felt uncomfortable with her whole outburst; a characteristic she wasn't known for.
She had calmed down, letting the silence take away their frustration.
When Ethan spoke again, Ruby's expression hardened. Though instead of acting like a Gryffindor, screaming and warning him about how dangerous Nic was and inviting him to fight alongside her, RUby acted like the Ravenclaw she was.
"You were bound to find out about Nicolas Morth, he's a celebrity around here." said Ruby, turning her eyesight towards Ethan.
"I am not sure of what kind of stories you are referring to but Nicolas Morth is the most excellent, charming, popular Slytherin to cross these halls. He comes from a long line of Underworld wizards though Ethan, so you should be careful."
There it was. The truth, without the drama, the details, the attempted murder, her doubt about NIc being a completely soulless person. She excluded everything out and said what any other student would say.
Only if Ethan knew of her past with Morth he'd get suspicious. But students don't talk about them anymore, how they spent 2 years lie siamese twins, always together.
No, only if Ruby was completely unlucky he would know about that.
((Don't worry about it Mareike, I had a long weekend too!))
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Ruby decided not to answer his question about Knockturn Alley. The last thing she wanted was Ethan poking around Morth's life and putting his own in danger. Ethan always had a knack for trouble.
She gave him a warm smile when he mentioned that they should see each other more often. Something about Ethan felt extraordinarily familiar and comfortable. They weren't friends, they didn't know almost anything about each other's lives and yet they could sit in silence and not be bothered by awkwardness.
"That would be nice." she replied, feeling her freezing walls slowly coming down. "It will be very interesting to get to know the grown-up Ethan who hopefully has stopped getting himself in trouble all the time." she said jokingly, letting out a small giggle.
Ethan always was the heart of the most innocent troubles; stealing the neighbor's berries, sneaking off in the middle of the night to help Ruby study, picking up fight's with Muggles who picked on his brother.
Such a brave boy he was. Ruby wondered how he had turned out to be; a Slytherin with the heart of a Gryffindor. That's how he seemed at the moment.
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Ruby felt her blood rushing towards her face. It was obvious that Ethan was asking her to go as a friend and it was natural since she was the only acquaintance he had in Hogwarts.
But he had called her beautiful which in Ruby's ears rang as a great thing to say. The most normal thing and enchanting word one could say to a girl. She squeezed her hands together to wake herself up. She could not afford to think girly at the moment since everything was was getting even more tangled.
It was only a day ago that the whole Dimitri situation had happened and she still couldn't believe what had occurred. Now Ethan felt as a strike that she was not prepared to handle.
She took a small breath, inhaling courage and looked at him in the eyes.
"Thank you for the compliment." she said as warmly as she could, giving him a soft smile. "Truth be told I have arranged to attend the Ball with friends, even though you may hear other people say that I'll be going with Dimitri."
She paused there. Her heart sank at the mention f his name. She made a note to herself to clear whatever was going on with him and her after she would figured out what was going on with Nicolas.
"But we're not going as a date." she said again, wanting to make this clear. "I'll be happy to see you there, though, Ethan." she said, not sure if she meant it wholeheartedly.
She would prefer him to be away from Morth's radar but then again, Morth knew people as if he owned the school.
And Ethan was smart, he would figure out she was trying to hide something. So she did what she could and played it cool.
"You'll have the chance to meet new people and see where everyone stands." she then added and paused in silence, still gazing at him. His dark red hair always caught her eye, making it difficult to concentrate on his face.
((Mareike, how i enjoy this RP! Grace, don't forget the Viaduct RP is still going on!))
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Ruby let out a breath slowly, already feeling herself calming down. Everything was going to be alright; she kept reassuring herself because that was the only thing that she could do right at that moment.
"Oh, long story short, I haven't really had friends up until the last few months. And people love to exaggerate things in their minds. And not that i care what they say about me, but I think they find it weird that I am friends with the people I am. And Dimitri was always silent and distant so they always try to guess what was it that made him a friend and not someone who simply passes along in the Halls."
Ruby did not even realize that she spoke that much. In fact, she hasn't spoken to anyone that much, with such comfortable easiness since the night in the Corridors when she walked around cured when she expected to die.
She looked at Ethan who listened to her carefully but also with a not too serious expression that was wore on his face.
He felt like a huge dose of normality that she had craved for for a long time, a batch of freshness from the past and the present. And that made Ruby realize she had changed.
These last few months had changed her. She was talking more, she was blushing, she was feeling wholeheartedly again.
And even though she had only talked with Ethan for ten minutes and that he probably didn't have anything to do with her changing, Ruby felt grateful that it was with him she realized she could change.
"Don't feel weird about the Ball, Ethan. I mean, it's no big deal not to go with a date." she said, giving him a smile.
She stood up and walked toward him; she placed herself not too close and not too far and leaned in the stone railing next to him. She enclosed her robe around her and crossed her arms in front to keep it in place.
"You should come find us. I'll introduce you to some people and we'll have a good time." she paused there, not sure if she should keep going.
She waited for his response and even though she spoke a few words to him it felt as if they had been talking for years, full of important things and equally unimportant.
((I literally love RPing with Ethan, because when you have characters that can connect like that you discover new layers of your own character while writing. Aaaah, I love this!))
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Ruby felt as if she would prefer not to talk about Dimitri anymore. So she brushed Ethan's question off. "He's a nice guy, kind and not very talkative. I guess we clicked." she said.
RUby felt the cold breeze pierce through her clothes and tightened her robe.
"I'm sure you'll have fun Ethan." she said, giving him a smile. "The band playing is really good, so we'll be able to hear some great music." she added with confidence.
"Ethan, I'm sorry, but I should get going. I want to study before the weekend catches up with me. she said, not realizing how much like a Ravenclaw she was.
"Please, let's keep in touch."
((So sorry, but it felt like closing it, nothing else to talk about!))
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Eve sat on the banister of the steps, which was wide enough she could sit with her legs crossed Indian style quite comfortably. The marble was cold, but Eve didn't mind. She had long leggings and her favorite mustard colored sweater, with thick socks pulled up to her mid calf.
Her hair was swept up into a messy bun, as it usually was, and a few stray hairs tickled her neck. She was reading another book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. She'd read it already, but she always felt reading a book twice helped straighten out any problems you have the first time you read something. Not that she'd had issues with the book, but that there were a couple of things she'd missed or misunderstood the first time through.
Nick waltzed outside the doors, a bad slung over his shoulder, and a roll of parchment tucked underneath his arm. His hair was blue today, he was calm and relaxed, or at least he thought he was. He began walking down the stairs, though they were very slippery from the recent rain. Reaching out one hand, Nicholas tried to hold the wall on the side of the steps for support, yet felt his feet slip out from underneath him.
In one quick motion, and a very loud crash, Nick was sprawled out at the bottom of the steps, his hair quickly turning to a fiery red to match the blush rising on his cheeks.
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Springing up, she slid down the banister to the foot of the staircase. "Wow man, are you okay?" hoisting herself off the rail, she crouched down and offered a helping hand to the boy on the ground.
Nick looked up at the girl, she seemed nice, but he was so embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." He stood up on his own, brushing her hand aside. He glanced around cautiously, trying to determine how many others had seen his fall.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his hair fading from a fiery red to a more subtle colour, though the embarrassment meant it would not fade fully for another couple of minutes.
From what he could determine, this girl was the only person who had seen him fall, so he surveyed her, trying to analyse whether or not she would tell anyone.
His back and shoulders ached, and he realised half of his work had fallen out of his bag. He scrambled to pick it up before it flew off in the wind, and shoved it back in his bag, straightening up to fully face the girl.
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"Are you sure you're okay? That was a nasty fall," she added, smiling a little bigger now to show she wouldn't tell anyone about his fall. Who would she tell? She had no one.
Nick cautiously took her hand, and began a slow hand shake. "Yes I'm fine, thank you, I'm Nicholas James, but you can call me Nick." He looked down to realise they were still shaking hands, and quickly drew back.
The look on her face told him she would tell no one, though he was still cautious of trusting her.
His hair had now faded to a light brown colour, and his fringe was a pale blue.
A few students passed them on the steps and gave him strange looks, probably about his hair colour.
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"Well, hello Nick," she said kindly, holding out her hand, this time to shake.
She looked up at his hair curiously, squinting. "So...are you a metamorphmagus?" she said cautiously, for she wasn't sure if this might be the result of a spell gone wrong or something.
Nick saw no use in denying his skill, but he didn't want to draw attention to it."Shush will you?! Most people just think I'm really good at charms, barely anyone here even knows what a metamorphagus is," he was constantly worried about being humiliated in front of the whole school just for being different.
He squinted at Eve, how did she know what a metamorphagus was? Only really clever witches and wizards knew that they were real, and normally that was only because they'd met one.
"Do you... do you know anyone... like me?" He stammered through the sentence, trying not to show his fear that she'd publicly announce his abilities.
Nicks hair had changed completely back to its natural colour, except his fringe which was now a pale turquoise.
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It must be difficult, though, for someone not to know anyone like themselves. She kind of related, being from America and all, but Nick's ability was far more interesting than her history.
"So since you don't tell other people, do they just assume you've been charmed or something? All the time?"
'Kahlen Greengrass' Nick stored that name away in the back of his memories for later, he'd have to do some digging and he'd met a few witches and wizards who had only pretended to me metamorphagi, but actually were just exceptional at charms. "Well, you see... I can't tell people I'm different... most people already question me, and if they knew I could change my appearance at the tip of a hat then I'd never get any privacy." He knew the consequences of telling people about his abilities.
Nick wasn't sure why he was telling this girl so much about himself, they'd never met before, and well, he wasn't sure what it was about her that seemed so trustworthy.
"My mother, she's the one that wants me to keep myself a secret for as much as possible, because she's scared I'll be attacked or used by the Ministry or something like that." His mother was wonderful, but sometimes she got so paranoid about his abilities that it was too overwhelming to just have a simple conversation with her without her worrying so much.
"You'd be surprised how few people actually notice how much I change normally; height, weight, muscle, and then there's the hair colour, that's the only thing people tend to actually pay attention to."
As he said this, Nick concentrated, he felt his skin squirm underneath his robes and slowly he became the same height as Eve, she was no longer looking down towards him anymore.
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"I don't think the ministry would try to use you, anyway they have like a document of these things right? Like a record of the last century and animaguses and metamorphmaguses born in the period or something," she said shrugging, pulling a few loose strands of hair over her face.
Nick made a shy bow, a small smile spread across his face at the compliment. It wasn't until now that Eve's American accent really showed through her vernacular. "I don't really think that either, but better safe than sorry I suppose." He hesitated a moment, "here's the other thing, only a few select people at the Ministry know I'm a metamorphagus, because of my bloodline they've kept me a secret from the majority."
Nick knew he would not expand anymore than that on his statement, why did he mention his bloodline in the first place? It was supposed to be a secret, but he'd somehow just burst out with it, without thinking, without considering the consequences.
In a quick moment, Nick transformed his face, he slowly turned pink and the snout of a pig protruded where his nose had once been. He tried to laugh, mainly in the hope of distracting Eve from his previous comment, but ended up just snorting instead.
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"Do you want to go for a walk?" she said, gesturing out to the courtyards. It wasn't the most beautiful of days, but it was warmer than it had been, still a little windy.
Eve's grin at Nick's transformation was cute to say the least, and Nick felt himself blush at how lovely she seemed."I'd love to go for a walk," he responded. Eve had seemed to brush over his offhand comment, but he knew it would come back to haunt him, he couldn't let her know, he couldn't let anyone know.
The wind was slowly picking up, and a breeze whipped across his robes, causing them to billow out behind him in an almost majestic manner. He was sure it would be majestic, if he wasn't only a second year, and barely 5"5, he was small and slim and had almost no natural muscle.
Nick knew his luck would run out soon, someone would discover who he really was, but he ignored the nagging, churning feeling settling in his stomach and began a slow wander to the courtyards.
((Shall we move over there now? :) ))
((*just remembered that Nick is a 3rd year, not a 2nd year, so please excuse my mistake))
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((Sorry, I've been really busy with my driving test recently, I'll post now))
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((thanks, I posted in the courtyards!))
She sighed, rolling her eyes at no one in particular.