A Hidden Talent

[Eugene Smythe]

Eugene had sneaked out the Hufflepuff Common room early in the morning when it was completely deserted.He had his acoustic guitaracoustic guitar slung across his shoulder and he didn't want anyone to see it.For a few minutes he just stood on the Fourth Floor corridor wondering where to go but then he made up his mind and started going down the stairs.He made as little noise as possible because he didn't want to attract attention to himself.It was 5 am in the morning and Eugene wasn't entirely sure if students were supposed to be out of bed yet.

He headed down to the second floor corridor which he knew had an abandoned classroom that was out of the way of students.He found the door and pushed it open.It creaked loudly which made him jump but he proceeded to go inside and shut the door behind him.He classroom was dusty and had all the desks pushed back against the walls.The teacher's table was coated in a layer of dust which seemed to have been recently disturbed because Eugene could make out hand prints on it.The shutters were pulled down and the windows were closed.

Eugene took his guitar off his shoulder and walked towards the first window.He lifted the shutters and then pushed back the windows to open them.Outside it was still dark and the grounds were covered in a blanket of pure white.A cold gust of wind blew into the class room and Eugene pulled his coat tighter around himself.He wore so many layers of clothing over his blue pajamas.A jumper,a long thick coat,a thick woolen scarf,gloves,and he wore woolen socks and winter boots.

Finally he walked back to the teacher's table and opened his guitar case and took the instrument out.Perching himself on the edge of the table,Eugene adjusted his posture to hold the guitar carefully in his hands.It was still slightly heavy for him but it's weight felt familiar.He stroked it with affection as he was transported to the memories of last year when he had bought it and learned how to play it.His instructor had been a muggle man and sometimes Eugene had lost control out of frustration and the strings kept breaking on their own.The memory made him smile.

He positioned his left hand at it's neck and his right under it's body.His fingers strummed lightly on the strings and then he busied himself in tuning the guitar.When he was finally satisfied he positioned his fingers and started playing one of the songs that he loved and had practiced thoroughly on his guitar.It took him to a different place,the stream near the wood that bordered his neighbourhood.It was a quite place with only the natural sound of the flowing water and the morning birds that liked to sing along with his music.He used to sit there for hours playing his guitar,looking for different plants that were named in his mother's potion book,and skipping stones.He missed that place that he called home.Where he could play his guitar out in the open instead of hiding in a class room.

 

[Russell Webb]

Russell was trying to adjust to life at Hogwarts but one problem he found was the dormitory he was in. It wasn’t to do with the personalities of his roommates but rather the involuntary noises they made during the night, not one but two of them were engaged in unsynchronised snoring on this particular night and it kept Russell awake for hours. As dawn broke Russell started to become angry at the situation and rose from his bed, deciding to leave the Common Room to get some fresh air. It was an awkward time of the day, everyone remained tucked up asleep and breakfast wasn’t served this early so the first year decided to take a stroll to pass the time. He didn’t expect to see anyone this early as the prefects and staff responsible for sniffing out the students out after curfew must have gone to bed by now. This left Russell to wander the hallway freely, until he heard something.

He wasn’t sure what floor he was on when he heard the music but as soon as he did he started to follow its trace. Russell wanted to know where it was coming from so when he heard that the music was unmistakably coming from behind a closed classroom door he stood in front of, he couldn’t help but open it. He wanted to see who it was before he let his presence known and only pushed the door barely an inch but it creaked loudly as he did that it was fair to say that his cover was blown. Russell sighed and pushed the door fully open as he wouldn’t be able to hide now. “Sorry, I er, heard a noise.”

Out of Character:

Hey I hope you don't mind me posting here

 

[Eugene Smythe]

Out of Character:

nah i was just planning to reply in your thread in the plotline section

Eugene heard the door creak and was startled and scared for a second before he heard the boy.Eugene had thought that it might be a prefect or teacher but it was a boy of his own age at the door who had apparently hear his music and found his lair.Eugene sighed with relief and smiled welcomingly,"Hey it's okay mate,come one in!" he beckoned to the boy with his hand inviting him into the classroom."Are you an early bird or having trouble with sleep?" he asked him wondering what the boy had been doing before he found him.Eugene was a naturally curious person.

"Oh where are my manners? I'm Eugene,first year Hufflepuff." he got off the desk and extended his arm for the boy to shake.He hoped the the boy would stick around and give him some company and he realized that he didn't mind him finding out about his little talent because he probably wouldn't tell anyone.Eugene didn't want people to find out because he had a silly fear that they would sabotage his guitar which he loved alot.

 

[Russell Webb]

Relieved that the other boy hadn't been annoyed by Russell’s intrusion, he entered the room fully. The room was quite obviously a classroom - you could tell that much by the chairs, desks and left writing supplies; yet oddly everything looked untouched as a thick layer of dust covered nearly everything. Putting his extremely advanced reasoning skills to the test, Russell deduced that this room was in fact a disused classroom.

He focused his attention back on the boy and answered his question, "Bit of both really, I'm used to getting up early and, well, I’m not used to sleeping in a dorm.” He thought for a second, “It would be okay if they didn't snore so loud." Russell admitted, "And what about you?"

Russell too had forgotten the introductions, "Oh yeah, I'm Russell Webb, also a first year but in Gryffindor." He recalled a vague memory of the boy at the sorting ceremony as he shook his hand, it was the name Eugene which had stuck with him, certainly an usual name.

"So you play guitar, that's cool" Russell said before any awkward silence could creep in, "Are you any good?"