Away from the noise

[Alana Finch]

The week had been rough for Alana Finch. She'd faced Chaos and Styx in the span of a few minutes, and she had somehow managed to escape trouble with both. Alana didn't think that many people could say that, not that she was bragging about it. Alana had heard that the boy who'd been burned would be alright physically, well as alright as someone could be after enduring something like that. The Slytherin was happy to hear that. Alana had also heard that Chaos had been kicked out of the school. The Slytherin hadn't believed it at first, but she'd looked for herself in the Great Hall and hadn't seen him. He had a twin, but the two were fairly easy to tell apart. His brother never seemed as angry or as mean. Alana didn't speak to him either, but she didn't have to in order to tell the difference.

Classes were long over, not that Alana had been paying much attention in class. She'd been unfocused and easily distracted over the past few days. The only good thing was that no one seemed to know of her role in the whole thing. And not many people knew of her engagement to Chaos. So far, she hadn't been asked any questions about the incident. Alana leaned her arms against the window sill in the abandonded classroom, the breeze from the window caressing her cheeks as she stared outside, her eyes looking at the forest. She spotted a professor patrolling the perimeter and wondered where that person had been a few days ago. Alana briefly thought about the time, wondering how much of it she had before curfew. With a shrug, Alana realized she didn't really care. She just needed some quiet, time away from the noise of the castle.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

Ulysses Viteri was on his way back to the common room after dinner when he stumbled upon a pile of old stuff at the landing, just outside the second floor corridor. Someone must have been winnowing the junk that had been piling up in one of those storage closets. Old brooms, broken chairs, locked, dusty chest among other forgotten, non-functional magical instruments. He was about to move on but his eyes caught something potentially interesting. He strayed from his planned route and found himself stepping through the junk to reach a mechanic, timeworn training dummy. It resembled a hooded man with a bleached out target on its chest. The wand it was supposed to be holding was snapped, hanging from thin shreds of wood.

Ulysses thought it was shabby but perfect. He could make good use of it. After the early morning incident at the fifth floor corridor with that slytherin, he was considering training in self-defense. Student Defense Association was one option but with so many members of different levels, this wouldn't necessarily benefit him. He had just to borrow a book of defensive charms and jinxes from the library, get Doriana and practice on that dummy. He liked the idea and so he checked that no one was around before taking the training dummy. Fortunately, it had a wheel-stand and he could move it around easily. The wheels were screeching but no one appeared to stop him. He sped up and headed to an abandoned classroom where he could stash it for a while before finding a better place to train.

He didn't knock the door. He just barged in before anyone was able to find out about the missing dummy. He pushed it inside, got inside himself and closed the door behind him. A silhouette against the window made his blood froze. He wasn't expecting anyone there. The classroom didn't differ much from the storage closet that was being tidied up down the corridor, yet a familiar face had sneaked into there before him. The dummies screeching rollers had definitely announced his arrival. "Oh, hey!" he said once he drew Alana's attention. She was sharing classes with the blonde and they had once a sort of conversation at the towers. She looked better than back then. "Pretend you don't see this." he smiled deviously and pushed the dummy all the way behind a pile of chairs. There it wouldn't be found that easily and could return some time later to get it back. "What's up? You must be really keen on the grounds' view." he commented as he reappeared from behind the pile of chairs. Last time he came across her, she was again looking at the view. He did the same sometimes when he needed to clear up his head. "Mind if I stay here for a while? I just borrowed this fella and I'm not sure if I was allowed to do so." he explained and hoped it was really intended to be thrown away. He might have been breaking a few rules now and then but that didn't mean he was in favor of doing so.

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard the sound of something rolling behind her followed quickly by the door slamming shut. Her wand was pointed in a moment, her heart beating quickly as she looked for the source of danger. It took her a few moments of hearing Ulysses’ voice to realize that she was fine, that everything was fine. The Ravenclaw boy was apparently trying to hide something. Now that she knew that she wasn’t in danger, Alana tried to catch up with the rest of the conversation. It was difficult though. “O..ok” she replied, still not unsure what she was supposed to be unseeing. It was then that she realized that he was pushing a practice dummy in front of him. The pieces fell together and she nodded. “Sure. Don’t worry about it. I won’t say anything” she replied as he re-appeared from behind some chairs. By this time, her wand was once again stored in her pocket.

With a nod, Alana confirmed that she didn’t mind him being around. He wasn’t one of the overly rambunctious first years that seemed to be roaming the school. He wasn’t exactly a friend either. Alana had been hoping to be alone, but just like the last time, it seemed that Ulysses was who she was supposed to be around. “What were you doing with that? Practicing?” she asked, only slightly curious.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

Ulysses went and cracked open the door to peek out. No one was outside at the corridor but it was best to wait for a little longer. He returned back to her and sat on a creaking desk next to her, leaving enough space for her in case she wanted to settle down instead of standing at the window. He didn't know her well but there was something in the way she was carrying herself that evoked compassion in him. Maybe it was her lonesome eyes that were giving him the impression they wanted someone to save them. He remembered last time when she looked like she had cried her eyes out and it had something to do with her parents. At least this time she didn't look like she had shed any tears. He glanced over the pile of chairs, completely hiding the taken dummy. "Not yet." he began saying as he looked back at her. "I just found it among other trash. I think they were going to throw it away so I decided to save it." he said what he believed it was going to happen if he hadn't moved it away. "I'm going to use it though. Not for me. There's a friend who needs to improve her spell casting and this one could help. It's a good thing to know how to defend yourself when you have enemies around." he explained and scanned carefully the room. He thought that they could actually use discreetly this classroom and practice here if he wasn't going to find a better place. "Have you joined SDA?" he continued the conversation around the same topic. "Taking part in any other groups?" he wondered, trying to see what kind of interests Alana had.

 

[Alana Finch]

Ulysses was behaving oddly or at least it seemed odd to Alana. Thinking about it some more, she wasn’t sure if it was. He had behaved in an odd manner the other time they’d met, so perhaps that was normal for him. The teenaged girl watched the boy move around the room, slowly walking over to sit beside him once he’d finally settled down. Alana wasn’t sure why she felt comfortable around him, but she did. Perhaps it was because he’d made her feel better about things the last time she’d been upset. At least, she wasn’t crying this time. For Alana, it was slight improvement. She was sure that Ulysses thought so too even though he didn’t mention it. She didn’t think normal guys liked to see girls cry. Guys like Chaos were obviously…different.

Listening to his explanation, Alana found herself nodding her head. It was a great idea. “That’s…nice of you” she responded. It wasn’t that Slytherins weren’t nice to each other. They were, but it needed to benefit them in some way, she’d learned. What Ulysses seemed to be doing wasn’t going to benefit him in the slightest, at least not that she could see. “This is probably a good place to hide it. There’s so much junk here that I don’t think anyone will notice an extra thing.” Alana still wasn’t sure what exactly he’d hidden. Alana shook her head as he asked if she was joining the SDA. Ivaylo led that group, which would usually have meant that she would have been the first one to sign-up, but she wasn’t keen on being attacked especially not after what she’d witnessed. “I tried out for quidditch” she said with a shrug, trying to make it into less of a deal than it was. “I’m just an alternate though. Do you play?” she asked.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

When he told her what he was intending to do with the dummy, Alana sounded bemused although she approved his idea. She looked almost surprised with his intention to help a friend. "You can join us if you want to." he didn't hesitate to suggest that. "I'm sure Doriana wouldn't mind." he added, not going to coerce her further. Instead, he nodded several times when she pointed out the appropriateness of the classroom for hiding something among the junk. "I'm sure we can make good use of a few more things in this room." he said and looked around. Momentarily his green eyes glued on a chandelier on the floor at a corner. They could place candles on the holders and use them as targets. He made a mental note to obtain some later and jolted out of his train of thoughts. His initial question was answered in an unexpected way. Ulysses would have never thought that Alana was interested in Quidditch. "This is great!" he replied, genuinely glad about her. "Don't worry. Alternates get to play more often than most people believe. Well, at least that's the case for our team." he said, remembering that Slytherins had different tactics and game philosophy. They were playing more aggressively than needed. Ulysses had partially answered her question but went for a full confirmation. "Yes, I do! I love it!" he said excited. Talking about Quidditch was one of those new topics he liked talking about. He couldn't believe what he was missing all those years he was unaware of the wizarding world. "I'm playing keeper. Feels like the weight of the world but it's fun. What about you?" he asked her in return, keen on the topic of their conversation.

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana was surprised that Ulysses invited her to join so quickly. They weren't exactly friends, though she wouldn't mind if they were. The Ravenclaw always seemed to be doing something interesting, and the Slytherin girl knew she wouldn't mind the distraction. Her red eyes scanned the room, landing on a stack of disc looking things. "Ooh, maybe we can use those" she pointed, already planning for these sessions. "Maybe I can even ask my brother to put a spell on them so they'll hover" she added. She thought Lorin would help. He was a Ravenclaw too and would surely support her doing extra work. At least, that's how she would explain it to him.

As the conversation turned to quidditch, Alana was amused by Ulysses' enthusiasm. It was an odd thing for her to see. In her family, no one ever behaved this way. No one in Slytherin really did either. The blonde girl was glad to find something that she had in common with the Ravenclaw boy. She didn't go to games ever, her father wasn't a quidditch fan, so what she knew of the game was mostly self-taught. It meant that she didn't know about plays or some of the intricacies of the game. She was enjoying learning them now with her team, but practice nearly always left her tired. Quidditch was proving to be more work than she'd ever expected. "I play Keeper too" Alana replied with a genuine smile on her face. "Our Keeper is really good. I hope I can be half as good when I play" she spoke honestly.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

Ulysses had managed to get her into his small practicing group as she looked as well for potential training equipment. He locked his eyes on the items she had pointed to and a smile stretched on his face. "Great idea!" he agreed. "We can either make them hover or just throw them in the air. In this way we could practice on moving targets." he said, excitement building for his idea who had actually be turning into a solid plan. They could be coming there before curfew so they wouldn't break any school rules. Practicing spells wasn't forbidden. They could claim they were practicing spells they were having at charms or defense against the dark arts if a professor was going to find out about their meetings. As for the objects they were going to use as targets, they seemed pretty abandoned and forgotten to him. "If you have anyone else interested, then invite them as well. We can be a small group but a few more people wouldn't mind anyone." he added, in case she wanted to bring a friend she was feeling comfortable with.

The ravenclaw would have never suspected that she was into Quidditch. It was just the stereotypical impression of Quidditch players being tough and oozing an air of confidence. Although she looked quite introverted, he believed that the keeper's post suited her. "So we're actually opponents." he mused with a cheeky smile. He then listened about Slytherin's current keeper and he nodded in agreement. "I have seen how your keeper is playing. To be honest, I have incorporated some of his moves and techniques." he admitted guiltily with a devious smile. Everything's fair in love, war and Quidditch and Ulysses was present at all tryouts of the opponent teams to study their strategy and their keeper's game. It was a way to improve his own game. "I can give you a few tips or practice together some time. I'm not that good. I've only played to a couple of matches but it is better practicing along with someone else than alone." he said about the occasions when he was practicing on his own without the rest of the Ravenclaw team, investing on his own leisure time. She was a pleasant company and he liked her even more now that she was slowly unfolding her bright side. Last time she was too troubled for them to have an proper conversation and Ulysses just recalled the reason why she had looked so agitated. "Have you restored your faith to your parents?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too invasive. He was asking out of kindness and consideration.

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana was trying to temper her excitement, but it was difficult. Sure there was nothing wrong about what they were doing, but it sort of felt like they were making secret plans. The teen had never really been a part of something. She had only just made the quidditch team and really hadn't proved to her teammates that she truly belong. They were cordial to her, but she was sure they were waiting to see her in action to truly accept her as a member of the team. And she was a part of Slytherin house, but there were a lot of people there so it was easy to get lost. Kicking her legs slightly as they hung from the side of the desk, Alana considered what Ulysses had said. She didn't really have many friends, though she wasn't going to admit that to Ulysses. "I might know someone" she finally replied, thinking of one Slytherin who was almost a friend. Alana wasn't sure if she would actually ask, but she would at least think about it.

As the conversation turned to quidditch, Alana listened to Ulysses. She had only gone to one game last year and she couldn't even remember what teams had played. It was interesting to her that they were both Keepers. As he spoke about practicing together, the Slytherin shrugged her shoulders, very noncommittal. She didn't mind the idea but she wasn't sure what the other Slytherins would think of her practicing with a Ravenclaw. "Maybe one day I'll take you up on that" she replied. The next shift in conversation was a bit more unpleasant. Alana bit her lip as she considered his question. "No" she replied quickly, shaking her blonde head. "But...I think the problem might have solved itself" she smiled softly, thinking about how she might be able to benefit from Chaos' expulsion. Surely her parents wouldn't want her marrying someone who hadn't even finished his magical education and had no wand. Alana hoped that she'd be able to exploit these points when she next spoke with them.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

Ulysses was generally an expressive individual. He couldn't really understand why some people like Alana were so restrained but he wasn't in theirs or her shoes to know why. It might was some kind of Slytherin protocol. They all looked a bit too serious for some reason. The slytherin girl felt defensive and Ulysses wanted to break her walls. He was sure she was going to be a good company to have around. "Right. You can tell them to tag along." he said, having no issue with their group consisting of a few more individuals. He was going to help Doriana either way so if he could help at the same time a couple of more people, that would be a pleasure for him.

He could tell she was pensive about his suggestion of practicing together for Quidditch but he could see why. He certainly didn't want her to have issues with her teammates for practicing along an opponent. On the other hand, he had practiced a few times with Doriana who had been playing for Gryffindors and she had no problems with her teammates. At least Alana didn't dismiss the idea and made an indefinite reception that one day they may practice together. Ulysses regretted asking her about her parents. The way her face transformed and how quickly she bluntly replied, indicated that this was still a sore subject. He was glad at least that whatever had her last time crying, seemed to have been resolved. It must have been the first time seeing her smiling. Even that faint, delicate smile was contagious enough to evoke a smile on his face as well. "That's good to hear." he lowered slightly his head and focused on his shoes for no particular reason.

Silence lingered uncomfortably, until he finally took over. "Oh, snap! It's almost curfew!" he noticed after checking his watch. "Better get going." he suggested as he jumped off the desk. He glanced once at the pile of chairs concealing the shabby dummy. He wondered if he was actually going to find it there tomorrow. "I'll meet here with my friend after afternoon classes, around five." he said. He hadn't really fixed a meeting with Doriana but it was going to be around that time. "I hope I'll see you then." he smiled and shoved his hands in his pants' pockets. He then walked over to the door and cracked it open to peek out. "Okay. Corridor clear." he let her know in case she wanted to leave for her common room as well. "Take care. Bye." he bade farewell and quietly left the room. He noticed that the pile of junk was removed as he reached the Grand Staircase and he felt glad that spared the dummy. He was looking forward for tomorrow's first meeting and really hoped that Alana was going to come. For now, he climbed all the way up to his common room to get his telescope and the appropriate gear for stargazing. A shower of Orionids was going to light up the night sky and he was going to set his telescope at the balcony of the tallest tower to observe the show.

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana had rarely felt so comfortable around anyone, but she was feeling more and more comfortable around Ulysses. For her, anyway. She was sure that most people who looked in on the pair wouldn't be able to sense any of that closeness. Even though they were seated near each other, Alana was careful to keep space between them. She preferred it that way. As silence filled the room, Alana wondered if she had come off too harshly. Ulysses had only asked a question, after all, and she was concerned that her smile hadn't done enough to soften the sting of her no. His idea was a good one. After the scary incident she'd witnessed, Alana wanted to do something. Learning to defend herself seemed like a good something to do.

As the boy announced that they were nearing curfew, Alana hopped off of the desk as well. Time had slipped away from her. She had a decent way to go to reach her common room, and these days, Alana was trying desperately to keep off of Professor Styx's radar. He had let her off easily the other night, and she was afraid that seeing her again would jog his memory that he'd forgotten to punish her for being out past curfew. The Slytherin knew that not many had been spared his wrath, so she was on pins and needles, knowing that her turn would come soon. The teen listened to the instructions and nodded her head. She would be free at that time as well. "Bye, Ulysses" she waved. After waiting a moment, the teen headed out of the abandoned classroom herself, down to the Slytherin common room.