Melodies of Home

[Emilia Manning]

While it wasn't as bad as it had been last year, Emilia's return to the school did make her feel slightly homesick. She loved being back in Denmark with her parents, with all her things and her piano and no studying to do. Most of the holidays she had spent playing piano, helping her mother in the garden, or sitting outside and reading. To fight the melancholy feeling of being so far away from home, she decided to try out the piano in the conglomerated arts room. Last year she had seen it, but she hadn't actually dared to play it in case someone heard her.

Entering the room, she was glad to be alone. With a small smile, she took a seat at the piano and carefully pressed a few of the keys. The resulting sounds they made brought a smile to her face, and she settled in to start playing properly. The piece she played was one she had played many times at home. As she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was sitting at her own piano, the sunlight from the window open shining down on her as she played. She felt herself relax, the music making her feel at ease.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira made her way down to the Conglomerated Arts room. She wanted to practice the guitar. She'd been learning for about a year now, and she was getting better. She wasn't sure why she wanted to learn so badly. Maybe because it helped her get everything under control, maybe because she liked how Reagan would relax when he listened to her play.

Whatever the reason, it brought her here today. She paused as she entered the room, and smiled softly. A pretty blond was sitting at the piano, playing a song that was soft and pretty. Kira knew it well. An idea came into her head and she acted on it. She walked over to a guitar and took it, sitting down without a sound. She positioned herself and after a moment, she began to play along.

The guitar mixed well with the sound of the keys, and Kira smiled. She didn't usually go out on a limb like this, but this seemed to be going well.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia had almost completely forgotten she was at Hogwarts, losing herself in the music of the song that was so familiar to her. Her fingers flew over the keys without requiring much thought. They only stumbled when she heard a surprising sound behind her. It took her a few moments to register what it was, but when she did she turned her head to see who was playing the guitar along with her. Her fingers faltered on the keys of the piano, and she stopped playing. Uncertainly, she gazed at the girl with the guitar. "Oh, hi..." She said, looking her over curiously. She was sure she shared classes with her, but she wasn't sure of her name. Emilia kept to herself for the most part, though she had a few friends and a cousin in her year. "If you want to practice, I can go." She said softly, averting her gaze.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira smiled encouragingly at the girl as she turned to look at her, though the blond faltered and soon stopped playing. Kira continued playing softly. She was half sure the girls' name was Emily, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions and be wrong.

"No," Kira reassured her gently. "We sounded good together. I liked being able to play with you." Kira gave her a soft smile, feeling a little shy herself. "I'm Kira," She told her. "You can keep playing if you want to."

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia felt her cheeks heat up as the other girl stared at her, even though she wasn't being anything but friendly. Biting her lip, she nodded in agreement when she said they had sounded good together. "We did." She said, playing with her hair a little nervously. While she agreed, she still felt shy about playing in front of a stranger. But on the other hand, the girl was being very nice to her. Once the girl said her name was Kira, it sounded familiar to her. "I'm Emilia." She said with a shy smile. Then she looked away. "I don't usually... play in front of other people." She said softly. "Only my family." She blushed, realizing it sounded like she didn't want to play with this girl. That wasn't the case. "I'm not that good."

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira smiled. She had been close with her name, at least. "That's alright, I understand." She looked down at her hands. "I'm just learning to play the guitar myself. I've only ever played with my brother, but I thought that maybe it might be good to step out of my shell a bit." She looked at Emilia for a moment. "This might sound odd, but did I deliver a rose to you?" She asked, curious.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia was impressed to hear that the girl was only learning to play the guitar. Not only had she played well, she had been confident enough to jump into the song and join someone she didn't really know. Even though Emilia had been playing the piano for a long time now, she didn't think she would be that confident. "You play really well... especially if you've only just been learning." She said. Emilia's eyes widened when the girl mentioned a rose delivery. Now she remembered her. They had talked briefly afterwards too. How could she have forgotten? Embarrassed, Emilia nodded. "Oh! Yes, I think so. I'm sorry." The apology came almost automatic. Even Emilia wasn't entirely sure why she was saying it.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira smiled shyly as Emilia complimented her. "Thanks. I've been practicing a lot. You're really good at the piano, too." She returned the compliment. "Your playing was so pretty." Kira set the guitar down and moved to sit next to Emilia. "It's okay, I completely forgot about it until a moment ago. To be honest I don't even remember what color rose it was." She grinned at the girl, trying to be friendly.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia felt both flattered and a little uncomfortable as the other girl complimented her in turn. A part of her found it hard to believe it was a genuine compliment. Perhaps Kira just felt like she had to say that because Emilia had complimented her first? It was still nice of her to say it, though. She was glad Kira hadn't remembered the rose that well either. "It was yellow." Emilia offered with a small shrug. One of her roses had been pink, but Kira hadn't delivered that one. "Did you get roses last year? Did you like delivering them?" Emilia mostly asked the questions to keep the conversation going, though she was also curious about the delivery process. She had been too nervous to sign up herself last year, and wasn't sure if she would like it.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira smiled. Emilia was shy like her, but more nervous. She found that she liked the girl and wanted to be friends, and was glad when she kept the conversation going. "I got two yellow ones, but that was it." She smiled happily at the other girl. "As for the deliveries, they weren't too bad. A little nerve-racking, but I met some interesting people." She grinned at Emilia again, thinking that Emilia had been one of the nicest deliveries.

She ran her fingers over the piano keys, careful not to press any. "What made you decide to play the piano?" She asked conversationally, genuinely curious. She thought it might be nice to get to know the other girl a bit.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia twirled a lock of her hair around her finger as she looked at the other girl. Kira was very nice, maybe they could be friends? But she really wasn't sure if the other girl would want that. Maybe she had enough friends already. "That's nice. I liked the flowers," she told her with a small smile. "I was thinking of signing up for the deliveries, but it seems kind of scary... having to find and talk to all those people." She bit her lip for a moment, then shook her head. "I think I won't. Maybe next year." Hopefully, she would know enough people in a year to feel more comfortable delivering the roses. She did like how romantic and nice it all was, but she was too shy for it.

Kira's question took her off guard, and she had to pause and think back. "Well, my grandparents have had a piano in their house for as long as I can remember. And whenever we visited, I would sit at it and just play random keys. I'd make up these 'songs'..." She smiled slightly as she thought back to that time. It felt like a lifetime ago. "So my parents let me take lessons." Ever since, she had really just been playing the songs she had been taught, rather than making up her own the way she had when she was a child. But maybe that was part of growing up? It was strange to think about it that way. "What made you pick up the guitar?"