Closed Bright and Balmy

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester knew all too well that there wasn't really any such thing as a good place to practice her bagpipes at Hogwarts. She did her best to keep it out of the castle, as much as it was a pain to have to go all the way outside every time she felt like playing. Upon giving a first experimental blow though, a slight rush of air over her hand told Hester that she had forgotten to clean her blowpipe last time she played. Groaning slightly, she took a seat on the grass and began disassembling the mouthpiece, pulling a tissue from her pocket to wipe it down thoroughly. At least the weather was nice, and she found that it was enjoyable to just sit here and tend to her instrument in the warm sunshine, not worrying about anything in particular. She took the time to check the joints as well, oiling a few stiff patches to make sure it wasn't at risk of cracking.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn was not really the sort of person to leave the castle and walk around. Mostly because walking was still a huge pain and he'd rather not deal with it. Though he could walk, doing too much of it still hurt and with all the stairs in the castle, he usually spent all his time complaining about his leg. It was Quidditch practice that had dragged him out of the castle, heading back from the pitch feeling quite out of breath from it all. But he was still happy, confident in his abilities for the first time in a while, and also confident about beating Hufflepuff for the cup. But his thoughts were distracted somewhat from Quidditch as he was walking back to the castle and saw one of his year mates cleaning... bagpipes? "What do you have bagpipes for?" What an incredibly odd thing to have at Hogwarts with you.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester looked up at the sound of a voice, giving Flynn a cheerful smile as she recognised him from classes. "Because I play them!" She said brightly, carefully reattaching the mouthpiece now that it was all clean. "I was gonna practice, but they needed a clean first." She tucked the bag under her arm and blew, playing a few quick notes for Flynn to demonstrate before setting them down again. "What are you up to?" She asked, wondering if he had been playing Quidditch. Hester didn't think she would ever understand the rules of a game where everyone was flying around in the air, but she definitely thought people who could play were pretty cool.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

She actually played the bagpipes? That was probably the funniest thing he had actually heard in a while and he couldn't help but snort slightly with amusement. "Why would you actually want to play the bagpipes? No one actually enjoys listening to them." They were just loud and annoying and he certainly didn't want to be in the near vicinity if she was going to start playing them. And he didn't really think anyone else would want to be around either. Bagpipes were only good for ruining the peace and quiet and annoying everyone. But it was too late to run and he promptly stuck his fingers in his ears to try and block out the annoying noise and she decided to try and demonstrate. "Yeah, stop playing or you're going to burst my eardrums." Only once he was sure she had stopped did he pull his fingers from his ears again. Then he shrugged, "Walking back to the castle. Duh."

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester actually gaped in disbelief at Flynn's ignorance. "Noone?!" She laughed slightly. "My family's in a pipe band. We've won awards." She said firmly. "And we perform in parades all the time. People love bagpipes." Hester had been performing her entire life, and she knew firsthand how excited crowds could get when a pipe band approached. She scowled when Flynn told her to stop playing, giving another firm honk from the bag before she stopped. "Well, you can't blame me for you having no taste." She said firmly, rolling her eyes.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Hester seemed rather offended to find out the truth that most people outside of Scotland didn't enjoy listening to the bagpipes. Flynn certainly hadn't ever heard anyone compliment the annoying instrument. "No they don't," he snorted quickly with a shake of his head, "Most people just find them loud and annoying and hate having to hear it." Anyone who could actually listen to a bagpipe without wanting to cover their ears was strange, in his opinion. Thankfully she did stop playing, so Flynn pulled his hands away from his ears and instead shoved them in his pockets. "Nah, I have plenty of taste, thanks."