Broken Strings

[October Alcott]

October didn't spend a lot of time in the student lounge, it was too loud for studying, and too busy for dancing or violin. She didn't have a big group of friends to hang around in there with, so it seemed a pointless place to really spend any of her time. She had chosen to make an exception today though... her violin needed restringing, and it felt too lonely to do by herself in the arts room. A quiet corner by herself would be just the place to focus on her task without bothering anyone, and be surrounded by enough conversation so as not to feel completely alone.

October hummed to herself as she settled in and began unwinding the tuning pegs, releasing her old strings. They were rosin-sticky and beginning to unravel, but October had put off the necessary maintenance until the E string had actually snapped last time she tried to play. Luckily she had packed a spare set when she returned from the holidays, and was well prepared for the task. October took the chance once the strings were off to give the body of her violin a proper wipe down, brushing away flecks and smears of rosin she had been too distracted to clean while playing.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan preferred the student lounge to the Hufflepuff common room lately, as he was less likely to run into Vivian there. It wasn't optimal for studying, as the library was better for that, but it was alright for socializing. He ran into Jessica there quite often, and he hoped to see her there again. Being with her was fun, simple, and flattering. It was the opposite of being with Vivian lately, and even though that thought made him feel guilty, it was how he felt.

Jessica didn't seem to be there today, and he felt a little disappointed. His eye was soon caught by another girl, however, and he watched her clean her violin for a moment. That was what he wassumed she was doing, anyway, as he knew nothing about music or instruments. He knew her, as she was in his year. But he had never really talked to her even though they shared quite a few classes. He approached her and smiled. "You play violin? That's so interesting." He told her. "I hope it's not weird for me to suddenly talk to you like this, but we're both in muggle studies, and I've been hoping to talk to you for a while." He told her with a small smile. "And Runes too, I believe." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm Tristan, by the way. You're October right?" He hoped he had her name right. "I wish I was artistic enough to play an instrument myself." He told her with a slightly shy smile. "It's always impressive to me when people are that creative." He hoped the girl didn't mind being talked to, but if she gave him that signal he would apologize and leave her alone. It was true that he had noticed her before, and looking at her now he had to admit to himself that she was quite beautiful. It wouldn't hurt to get to know her, even if he was already in enough trouble on the romantic front. Just talking couldn't hurt, surely.

 

[October Alcott]

October wasn't expecting anyone to speak with her, distracted as she carefully fed her new strings into the pegs of her violin. She didn't realise the boy was speaking to her at first, wrapped up in her work. It only dawned on her that someone was actually speaking to her when he said they were both in muggle studies. October looked up, surprised to see a handsome boy she recognised from a few of her classes. He didn't seem the type of person who would really speak to her, but here he was, apparently with a lot to say. October had never been spoken to in such a flattering way by a boy before, and it was difficult to know how to react. Did he want something from her? After debating a response for a moment, she settled for a curt, "Thank you." It didn't feel sufficient though, so October continued a little warily. "I've been playing since I was little. My father taught me." She looked down for a moment to tighten the string she had been working on, get it out of the way as she began attaching the next string. "If you want to learn an instrument there are some in the arts room."

 

[Tristan Collins]

Even though the girl seemed surprised to be approached and talked to, but thankfully she didn't seem to mind either. Encouraged by this, he took a seat near her. "That's awesome." He told her when she said her father taught her. "My father is as musically gifted as I am, so not at all." He said jokingly, giving her a grin. "I can't even whistle." He added, though he hoped she would see that was also a joking comment. He couldn't help but laugh when she said he could learn an instrument in the arts room. "I'm flattered you think I could just learn by myself, but I think I would need a teacher at least." He told her with a shrug and a smile. "And even then, it's doubtful." He said with a shrug. "I have other talents, though. Well, at least... my grades are decent."

 

[October Alcott]

October still wasn't quite sure why this boy was talking to her. He didn't seem the type to be lonely - October hadn't been watching him personally, but every time she remembered seeing him in passing outside class he seemed to have people hanging off him constantly. Why was he so interested in her? And why was he bragging about grades now? "I see." She said politely, lining the bridge of her violin up under the loose strings, checking that it sat level. "Well, it's important to be dedicated in at least one area." She couldn't think of anything else to say, and quietly October couldn't imagine only dedicating herself to study. What did people like Tristan even do with their free time? She began tightening the strings of her violin, giving the G a gentle pluck as she did.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan leaned back in his seat, eyeing the girl. She seemed very tense and serious, and he wondered what it would take to make her smile or even laugh. Her responses to the conversation were short and clipped, and he vaguely wondered if he was annoying her. He smiled at her charmingly. "That's good, though I think you're covering more areas if you're also playing Violin." He told her with a shrug. "It's impressive. Is all." He eyed her carefully. "You're in some of my classes, right? What did you think of Runes?" He asked her, watching her fiddle with her violin strings. "What is it you're doing right now?" He asked as well, hoping that showing interest would soften her a little, though he decided he would leave her alone if she seemed even more annoyed.

 

[October Alcott]

October raised an eyebrow, not looking away from the strings she was now giving a rough tune. "Well, that's true. My father always pushed me to work hard in all areas. No sense in trying something if you can't be the best." Looking away from the strings as Tristan asked about classes, October raised an eyebrow. "Runes is... alright." She said slowly. "It's not what I was expecting. I was hoping it would overlap more strongly with History of Magic, maybe cover ancient languages and the like. I'm not keen on Divination." She sighed, looking back down at the strings. She gave the D a light pluck, looking up at Tristan again as she twisted the tuning peg. "I'm tuning it, since these strings have just been put in. I can't tune it perfectly without a piano or a tuner, but I'll be able to get close enough by ear." She plucked the D again, before moving on to the A string.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan felt like the conversation between him and October wasn't going all that smoothly, but that didn't stop him from wanting to keep talking to her. The fact that she didn't seem all that impressed by him was actually kind of fun, like a challenge. "So I should stop trying to do well in classes, because you're already the best?" He teased. "I mean, you're a Ravenclaw, I can't compete with that." He hoped she wouldn't take it too seriously, and he hoped she would actually smile at one of the things he said soon. He was glad to hear what she said about runes, because he agreed completely. "I agree, Divination seems silly to me. It doesn't feel like real magic to me, just fancy guesswork. I was disappointed to hear runes were often used to predict the future. It's so vague." He said with a small sigh. "I'll stick with it, though, but I really don't think I'll enjoy it all that much. I can only hope Arithmancy is better." He knew October was in that class too, so it was something they had in common. "That's impressive." He told her when she said she could do it mostly by ear, even though he had no idea if it was. "I'd love to hear you play sometime."

 

[October Alcott]

October raised an eyebrow, surprised by the boy's remarks. "Being in Ravenclaw has nothing to do with grades." She said curtly. "If you think I'm better than you, you should be trying to beat me." October was pretty sure he had intended his comments as a joke, but she couldn't help but be reminded of her stepsister's lackadaisical approach to studies. She was relieved to hear Tristan say something she agreed with about Divination. "I agree. It seems like nonsense, just relying on symbols and feelings. I know we're supposed to be studying magic, but there are limits. I'll stick with runes too, for now, but I don't know how long that will last." She nodded in agreement about Arithmancy. "I hope it is too." She said curtly. "I always enjoyed maths." She was a little surprised when he asked to hear her play sometime, shrugging a little uncertainly. "I mean, if you can wait another couple of minutes I can play something..." She said awkwardly, winding the E string into place.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan snorted slightly. "You take everything very seriously it seems. That's okay, its admirable." He told her with a smile. "Perhaps we should compare grades at the end of the semester, see who really is the best. It could be me, you know." He said, still with a teasing undertone to his voice. This girl fascinated him, especially as she didn't seem all that impressed by him. He was glad she agreed with him on Divination. "I agree, it's just ... nonsense. At least with Charms or Transfiguration you see the effect of magic. I don't know how long I'll stick with Runes either. Especially if you leave." He added with a grin. It was surprising that she agreed to play something, as he had started to suspect he was annoying her. His smile softened slightly. "Only if you're sure, I don't mean to put you on the spot or anything."

 

[October Alcott]

"Life is serious." October replied to the boy's comments, beginning to pluck at her violin's strings as she tuned them as well as she could. His challenge actually made her laugh slightly. "If you like." She smirked. They had enough classes together that October knew Tristan was a good student, but his attitude gave her a decent hope that come the end of the year she would be doing better than him. October nodded in agreement with his comments. "I feel the same." She said politely. "It feels silly just saying that things mean things with no proof. I could say that because your socks are brown today you'll have bad luck after seven in the evening, and I'd have exactly as much proof, and it feels like just as much likelihood of being right. I don't know how we're expected to just take that stuff as fact because someone in the past said it was." She sighed, giving her D string a last pluck. "Alright, hold on." October quickly tightened and rosined her bow, and lifted the violin to her shoulder, trying to decide what to play. "This is a classical piece by Diego Ortiz." She said after a moment of thought, and began to play.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan felt a sense of victory when his idea of a challenge made the girl laugh, as that had been part of his goal. He smirked back at her. "It's a date, then." He said lightly, looking away. He was glad he had found something that they had in common, as they both took their studies very seriously. He did think it was nice when people were up for a joke or something fun, but he had to admire her dedication. Their feelings on divination and similar subject seemed to be very similar too, and he actually laughed at her explanation. "It's such a relief to hear you say that, I was starting to think I was the only one. The professors take it so seriously too." He said with a sigh.

Even though October had said she would let him hear some music later, he hadn't really expected her to play something right here right now. So he couldn't help a look of surprise as she started to play, one that soon morphed into a look of awe. He didn't know anything about music, but what she was playing was really nice. When she was done, he grinned and clapped a couple of times. "Wow, that was amazing." He told her with a genuine smile. "It must be incredible, knowing you can create music like that."

 

[October Alcott]

October smiled in response to Tristan's smirk, but when he commented about their challenge being a date she blushed and looked away nervously. Had he been trying to flirt with her?! This was new territory for October, and she wasn't entirely sure how to respond so she stayed silent, relieved to talk about something else instead. "I agree. Part of me wonders what there is to it, that makes the Professors so convinced in all of this... they're adults with more experience, perhaps they know something I don't, but it's hard to believe with the ridiculous things they talk about."

Once the piece was done October lowered her violin, checking Tristan's expression. She was relieved that he seemed impressed by her playing, and she gave a small bow as he clapped. His comments actually made October blush again though. "I didn't create anything..." She said awkwardly. "Like I said, Diego Ortiz wrote that, in the 1500s. I just played it. I don't write my own music..."

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan noticed how October reacted to his comment about it being a date, and he wondered if he should tell her he had been joking. Maybe it was better not to say more about it, as she seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Instead he focused on her next words, nodding along. "I agree. I am starting to wonder if they just hide the fact that there's really nothing more to magic than Charms, Transfiguration and Potions by making up all these silly subjects to keep us busy. But then the professors wouldn't be taking it so seriously, I suppose." He rolled his eyes. "So frustrating. It's so hard to stop myself from saying something rude when the professors talk about 'fate' and 'future'."

Tristan was really impressed by the girl's ability to play music, though she seemed to misunderstand his comments. "I know you didn't write that, at least, I thought not." He said, giving her a shy grin. "If you could do that too I wouldn't be able to talk to you anymore, I'd be too intimidated. What I meant by creating it is that you can hold an instrument like this and make music fill a room." He paused, glancing around them. "That's a talent, you know. You could give me or most people in this room ten violins and only screeching would be the result. You create the song in this place by playing it. That's... how I meant it. I guess that's a bit silly, huh?" He laughed softly at himself, shaking his head. "Anyway, it's awesome."

 

[October Alcott]

October was relieved that Tristan kept the topic on their subjects and relaxed slightly, nodding in agreement. She wasn't ready to think about whether the boy might have been flirting with her at all. "I agree. It all seems based on nothing. If they didn't seem so sure about their subjects and so sincere I would be absolutely sure, I suppose. But it seems bizarre that people would put so much work into things if they weren't true. I suppose there's no way to be sure unless we wind up a so-called seer or something." She sighed, stretching her legs out slightly.

October listened to Tristan's praise a little uncomfortably. She had never thought that way about music, and didn't know what to think about it. "But, I mean, if you read a book out loud you wouldn't be creating anything, just reading aloud. I'm doing the same. I didn't create any music, just used the violin as a tool to read it out loud." She said a little weakly, shifting a little. "And I'm not talented. I've worked hard. It's a skill, not a talent. Anyone could do that if they put in as many hours as I have. But... thank you." She smiled shyly, not wanting to completely shut him down when he was trying to be nice.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was glad to at least know one other person that was skeptical about some of the subjects that were offered at this school, and it made him wonder about October's blood status. Was she muggleborn like him? Perhaps not, wizards could have common sense after all too. At least, he assumed so. "I doubt seers are even real. And if they are, I doubt you can learn to be one. It's like muggles trying to do magic, they won't be able to do it even if they get the spells right."

Tristan listened to her comparison to reading a book out loud, thinking about what to answer. "Don't you think reading a book out loud counts like creating a story for a person that can't read?" He asked her, curious about her reaction. "Not to mention, if you read a story well, your performance can add to the story itself. It requires skill and I think a hint of talent too." He said, a slight smile on his face. "I didn't mean to use 'talent' as a way to imply you didn't work hard for it, as I'm sure you did." He shrugged. "It was wonderful to hear, regardless of what you want to call it. Thank you."