Open Practice Make Perfect

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah made her way quickly and quietly through the castle to the abandoned classroom carrying her violin case. She really didn't want to be seen, and then have to explain her instrument or deal with people asking her to play them a song. All she wanted was to practice in peace but ever since coming to school Delilah hardly had the time or opportunity to practice. Considering how many girls shared her dorm there was hardly any time she was ever truly alone and she was starting to worry she would quickly forget everything she ever learned. She sighed with relief when she found the classroom empty and quiet, and started to set up her things. With the violin carefully tucked under her chin and her fold able music stand in place, she plucked the strings to check their tuning. After fiddling with it for a moment more she was ready and started to play one of the pieces she was working on before she had left for school.

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira held her guitar case as she looked for a place to practice. She didn't mind practicing in her dorms but it was too loud and a lot of people kept on bothering her. She had only been able to practice when there were only a few people in the dorms, as a lot of them did keep to themselves often. Saira had heard that there were a few rooms in hogwarts that were unused and so she started to look in the second floor as she didn't want to go too high up. It would be too tiring to lug her guitar case around up more than three flights of stairs. When she found a room that seemed empty she opened the door to see a girl, holding a violin. It seemed that there were others who had plans similar to hers. "Uh... Hi."

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah had just put her bow to the strings when she heard another voice. She jumped in surprise and jerked her arm, creating an awful sound as the bow awkwardly dragged over the strings. Turning around, she quickly saw that it was just anther student. "Oh...hello." she finally responded a moment later, her shoulders still tense and her pulse racing after being caught off guard. Delilah looked at the other girl some more and recognized her as someone form her year, and then noticed the guitar case in her hand. "You're looking for a place to practice too." she stated more then asked, since it was fairly obvious. She guessed it was to be expected to find someone else looking for a quiet place when the dorms and common rooms were always so loud and crowded.

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira flinched at the sound of the violin. One of her least favourite things about the instrument was the sound it made when it wasn’t played properly. Saira held the case strap tighter in her fist and and pressed her lips together to form a straight line. “Uh, Yes. But I can go and find another room if it distracts you.” She offered. Saira wasn’t too bothered by other things when she focused enough on something, but she knew the case could be different for others.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah felt her cheeks burn when she noticed the other girl flinched at the screeching sound. "Sorry." she mumbled. "Normally I'm a bit better then that." she added with a light laugh. Unlike cello which always sounded nice even if played wrong, violin's started to sound like cats dying if you weren't careful. How her parent's put up with her practicing at the beginning, she would never know but she did figure a silencing charm was involved somehow. "It's alright. I can't imagine there are many place to practice around here." she said with a friendly smile. "Maybe we can take turns or something?" Delilah suggested, it wasn't the best idea but she figured both of them needed the space.

 

[Saira Lykims]

“That’s alright, I.. get you were startled.” Saira said, pausing to form her train of thought. She tucked a hair behind her ear. “Thanks.” She smiled and grabbed a chair, dragging it farther from the girl with the violin. She sat down and took out her guitar, which had been tuned previously when she was practicing in the dorms. Saira clipped her capo on the second fret and strummed once. “Uh, you can go first.” It only seemed fair that the other girl went first, considering she was in the room before she arrived.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah nodded and was honestly surprised when the other girl agreed to her slightly unusual suggestion. "Oh, okay." she mumbled and moved to pull out a few sheets of music her tutor had given to her at their last lesson. "Well, thank you." she said a little more clearly this time and raised her instrument again. She hesitated for a moment before she started the piece it was a fast paced song meant to work on her finger movements. She had been getting better at it but with the added pressure of an audience, she started to get into her head and she slipped up a few times. Thankfully she never had to stop the song completely but her missteps were noticeable. Delilah sighed as she finished, and nodded towards the other girl to signal it was her turn. "By the way, what's you're name?" she asked, before she started playing. She recognized her as a fellow first year and was fairly sure she was in Slytherin. But in all her observations, Delilah didn't think she had ever picked up on her name.

 

[Saira Lykims]

Saira took out some sheets of paper as she listened to the girl play the violin. She recognised the song, Saira had learnt to play it on the piano around a year ago and had performed it in a recital. The girl played well, a couple of mistakes, but violin was one of the harder instruments to learn and master. “You’re pretty good.” As the girl finished playing, Saira strummed some common chords, warming up her fingers. “I’m Saira. You?” She had seen the girl around a couple of times in her classes with the ravenclaws but had never spoken to her.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah set down her instrument on its case gently and smiled at the other girl before. "Thank you." she said a little sheepishly, unsure of how to take compliments from strangers. "I'm Delilah. Nice to meet you." she said, smiling again as she watched Saira warm up, enjoying the easy sound of her playing. "How long have you been playing?" she asked as she hopped up to sit on one of the empty desks between them.

 

[Saira Lykims]

“Nice to meet you too.” She said, giving her a bit of an awkward smile. “The guitar?” She asked. “Around four years, I think.” She said, before getting an answer. Saying it out loud made it sound like she had been playing the guitar for a very long time. But it only seemed like it had been a few months ago when she started. Back then the guitar felt too large for her tiny hands, even though it was a junior size. Now it fit her almost perfectly. “You?” She asked, as she started to play an old french song.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah let her feet swing off the end of the desk as listened. "Do you play anything else?" she asked, noting the question in the other girl's voice. She had to think for a moment to count how many years it had been. "Well I've only been playing violin for about 4 years but I played piano before that since I was about five years old." she explained. "I had a bit of a gap in lessons when I first moved to New Zealand though." she added. Delilah sat quietly as Saira started to play. She didn't recognize the song but she thought it was lovely and enjoyed listening to the music.

 

[Saira Lykims]

“I can play the piano, and the violin. The piano since I was 4.. And the violin when I was 7? I’m mediocre at best at though, I stopped learning it last year.” Her parents had stopped forcing her to play the violin last year, making sure Saira focused on the things she already did well. And her violin wasn't up to their standard. She continued to play the song, cringing every time she missed a few chords. Most people who knew the song wouldn’t have noticed, but she sure as hell did.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

"Oh? Why did you stop?" Delilah asked letter her head tilt to the side quizzically. "I think I might be slightly better at violin. But I'm pretty sure its because my hands aren't quite big enough to play all the chords very easily." she said with a little laugh. She didn't think she was particularly good at either instrument but she loved playing music and it was a hobby her parents seemed to approve of so she wasn't about to let it go anytime soon. "Well you play guitar beautifully. What was the name of that piece?" she asked, as she stood up and turned to leaf through some of the other sheet music she had with her.

 

[Saira Lykims]

“My.. parents wanted me to focus on my studies and the piano.” Saira said, explaining. “No, you’re definitely better than me, I was barely able to play anything more complicated than twinkle twinkle little star.” She said, amused and laughing a bit. She remembered being frustrated at the time, but was glad her parents had stopped forcing her to learn the violin like her brother. “It’s um.. Pardonne- moi ce caprice d’enfant.” Saira replied. She didn’t know if the girl infront of her knew french, so she wasn’t too sure how to tell her about it. Saira had picked up a bit of French from her gardener when she was younger, and later officially learned it when her parents told her to.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah let herself feel a small sense of pride when the Saira insisted that she was better at the violin then she had been. "Oh I see." she said, accepting that answer and not pushing the topic any farther. Parents with high expectations were noting new to her. "And thanks." she added. The other girl was probably just being nice but she did her best to resist the urge to disagree with the compliment. "That's french right?" Delilah asked, she was unfamiliar with the piece but she was fairly certain it was French. Considering she aunt was French and her cousin went to Beauxbatons she should probably know more, but it wasn't like she saw that part of her family enough for them to teach her. She picked up her violin and set a Mozart piece that was much harder then the first and started to play, her nerves about playing in front of someone else easing slightly.

 

[Saira Lykims]

“Yes, it’s one of the first songs I learnt on the guitar.” She said. Her gardener had said it was his favourite song, and so she had worked hard to learn it. Though she never had a chance to play it infront of him.The girl started to play another song, one she didn’t recognize too well. She seemed to be more comfortable with playing though Saira couldn’t be too sure. Soon an idea popped into her head as the girl finished playing. “Have you ever played with accompaniment?” She asked.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah was surprised that she had made it through the piece with only a handful of little mistakes. It was surprising since she usually froze up when it came to playing in front of others, and because she hadn't practiced all that much since coming to school. She glanced over at Saira, and blinked a couple of times when she asked about playing with accompaniment. "Not usually." she said. "Only ever with my tutor, and if they play its usually a piano." she explained. She had wanted to try and join some kind of orchestra before her family moved but now it felt far too big of a request since she was too busy with school to play much anyways. "Do you have something in mind?" Delilah asked tentatively with an eyebrow raised, unable to hide her curiosity.