High Key

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle was thankful for sunny spring days because it meant she could sit comfortably inside the gardens with her guitar resting safely in her lap and a book of guitar music open in front of her. Luckily there was no strong wind that day, only a slight breeze to cool down the warmth from the sun shining down on her so the book stayed open to the right page without any fighting on Noelle's part. It was a book of popular muggle songs from a few decades ago, and Noelle was eager to learn every song in the pages despite not recognizing any of their tunes. She enjoyed listening to music as much as she did playing music. But these songs in particular were as familiar to her as apparition was to muggles, not familiar at all, so she was left to the book's disposal, relying on the key and time signatures in every piece, playing whatever it told her to play.

It was equally fun as it was annoying. For one the Ravenclaw could improvise as much as she wanted but on the other hand she could play the songs completely wrong because she had no further guidance from her memory. Regardless, Noelle was happy to be playing her guitar on such a nice day where she did not need to worry about disturbing her fellow Ravenclaws when practicing in the common room. With that thought in mind she smiled to herself as she imitated the chords as per her book and gradually found herself lost in the catchy, upbeat music.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol was very familiar with the Hogwarts Garden. She walked through it every month in order to get to the concealed Howling Cavern where she had to be trapped during a full moon. The place was almost always deserted so it made a great hiding spot for the secret entrance. Marisol expected to hate this place and associate it with bitter memories of her monthly transformations, but the beauty of the place was a magic that not even lycanthropy could taint.

She didn't visit this place often but for some reason Marisol felt herself coming here on her free time today. It was such a nice day out because the summer season was upon them and she didn't feel like being inside. As the Gryffindor strolled through the garden, she began to hear music faintly, and thought perhaps there were some sort of enchanted plants that played music as they blossomed, nothing would surprise her in the wizarding world anymore. But as she continued walking, she began to hear the music a little clearer and she realized she recognized the tune. I know that song! she thought to herself excitedly; it was a Muggle song! She'd heard it plenty of times from her parents' music.

So surprised at hearing a Muggle song being played at Hogwarts, the latina set out in search of the source. It didn't take her long to find that a girl with a guitar was playing it. She didn't seem too familiar with the tune as she would pause here and there to adjust her fingers since it didn't seem to be from memory, but it still sounded nice enough to enjoy. Marisol couldn't help but smile and she slowly approached the girl. "Hi," Marisol greeted cautiously, not wanting to startle the girl. "I love the song you're playing. You sound very nice," she said with a bright grin.​

[Sorry I took so long to reply!!]

 

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle continued to play, smiling at the sound of the music despite being unsure if she was playing it with the utmost accuracy. Her fingers gradually began to feel sore but it was all part of playing. She didn't stop playing the song by the book until someone spoke to her. It jolted her from where she was lost in her thoughts to the present and it caused her to stop playing entirely. Gasping slightly at the shock, Noelle looked to the girl that spoke to her, managing a polite smile through her feelings of surprise. "Hello, and thank you." She answered. "You know the song?" She then asked as she put her guitar down in the grass, suddenly feeling more comfortable chatting than playing her guitar.

Noelle moved her hands from her guitar to the book that was open in front of her. "It's from this book. I don't know if I'm playing it right because it's muggle music." She admitted, regretting it immediately as Margaux always told her admitting weakness was the first step to being taken advantage of. No one was supposed to see Noelle as vulnerable so she quickly changed the subject by introducing herself to the girl. She looked slightly older than her but that did not distract from how nice she seemingly was. "I'm Noelle, by the way."


no i'm sorry this took so long! i'm the literal worst!​

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol felt bad for having intruded on what was clearly personal time for her to learn how to play the song, as she could now see the book she was reading the music from, but she had sounded too nice not to compliment. The brunette nodded her head when the girl asked if she knew the song, and then hesitated slightly on telling her how she knew it. She was beginning to understand that background 'blood' seemed to be important to the wizarding community. But something about this girl told her that she wasn't the type to judge her based on that, especially since she was playing the song in the first place. "It's an old song I've heard my parents listen to before," she explained with a smile. "I hadn't heard it in a while, but it sounded good so far!" she added encouragingly, taking a few steps toward the girl as she felt more comfortable. "Nice to meet you Noelle, I'm Marisol. Do you mind if I sit?" she asked, gesturing to the space around her. "I wish I could play something, but reading music looks so complicated," she shook her head with a small laugh. "How long have you been playing?" she asked.
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[Noelle Seung]

Noelle wanted to cringe at the way her shock caused her to stop playing and make conversation instead as it was not only awkward, but unmannerly. Though through it all she was glad for the change as she gave her the chance to meet someone new and hopefully make a friend in this school as so far she had done nothing but try and fail to do so. It was usually a fault of her own as she could be too quiet and awkward at times, often dismissing interactions with others to practice music as it was her only true passion. It limited her by keeping others away but by a stroke of luck that day it had the opposite affect. "Of course you can sit." Noelle answered, smiling as she kept her hands on her guitar that now lay delicately on the grass. "It's not complicated when you're used to it. It almost becomes a second language." She chuckled. "I've been playing for a long time now. Since I was about six." Noelle then said, quickly moving the conversation to Marisol as she didn't want to be caught talking too much. It would be impolite and not the correct thing to do. "Do you listen to music often?"
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