Promise

[Alleara Vendalwood]

As Alleara walked through the empty corridors of the Durmstrang Institute, she'd never felt lonelier. Today marked an anniversary that she was sure never to celebrate and never to forget, and only wished to have someone there for her; someone to tell her that she wasn't completely alone in the cold walls of Durmstrang. But no comfort came. The only thing that echoed through these corridors at this late hour of night was silence. She wondered, as she crept up a staircase , whether it was better to be alone and to never be hurt than to have someone and face the risk, but that was foolish for her to think. She'd been through too much, lost far to many loved ones, and had fallen even more deeper into sorrow with each death, each dramatic change of her life. As she slipped into the cress of a windowsill and looked out at the falling snow, she suddenly remembered the face of her little sister, small and white, eyes bright with pain and fever. You must promise not to mourn for me for more than three days, promise. Alice had told her, tears falling from her eyes on the night she had died, the night she had left Alleara alone in this world, with her grief and despair. But Jace, her cousin and best friend, had been there for her, telling her that she wasn't as alone as she thought. She'd give anything to have him here with her, to hear the voice of her best friend tell her to stop feeling sorry for herself.

Jace knew of loss, but not of the heart wrenching loss and grief she had witnessed. He'd lost his mother when he'd been born, and even if he hadn't known her to missed her, he still missed what she would have been, and that pain was only greatened by his father's abandonment through his childhood, and the blame that Jace sensed for the death of his mother. Alleara loved Jace, not as a brother, but just as her best friend, when she was down he would tell her not to feel sorry for herself, and when she didn't want to talk he wouldn't press her, he would just sit with her so she wasn't alone. These cold stone walls reminded her so much of the castle she had lived in since she was 9, the very same castle where she had sat by as her sister died, as the sun disappeared from her world, but as she had been told all her life, first by her mother then by Jace, she still had to get on with her life and do all that she could in life, make something of it. Even when she had nothing she still had the determination her mother had given her to be something great, to Make people know her name, to not just be another leaf in the wind. Plus she had made a promise that she planned to keep, forever...

The wind tossed the snowflakes and made them twirl, spinning and dancing through the night sky with a backdrop of dark blue and twinkling stars. Alleara shivered, feeling tears flood to her eyes. She felt so alone in the world, so cold and as if there was no place for her, as if her home had been ripped away from life as her family had been, and now she was just lost. She felt heart wrenching pain, and felt as if her tears would never stop falling. No, she told herself, you must not cry, be strong, you must be strong! As she forced her tears back and ignored that biting, putrid feeling in her throat, she looked up at the sky in time to see a star falling across the sky, almost too fast to see, and before she could think a second thought, before she could tell herself how stupid it was to make dreams and wishes on silly stars, she made a wish.

she wished that she wasn't so alone...

 

[Maximilian Faber]

Maximilian was usually a stickler for the rules, but some nights were harder than others to get through. With a sigh, the teenager stood up from the bed where he’d been tossing and turning. He glanced at his roommate, glad that the guy was asleep. He was a prefect, after all, and Max didn’t want to have to explain to him where he was going or why he was leaving the room. It was none of the guy’s business, after all. And the two didn’t get along very well, so the less they spoke to each other the better. Not many people spoke to Max, which was something that bothered him on occasion. Of course, he understood why it happened. His parents were known members of the Scitorari, one now dead and the other now imprisoned in Azkaban. It wasn’t anything that he went around boasting about, but it was a school and gossip ran rampant. The truth was crazy enough, so Max could only imagine the stories that were told about his family. Slowly closing the door behind him, Max crept out of his room, clad in his pajamas with some sneakers thrown on his feet.

The boy quickly made his way down the empty hallway, glad to avoid the school ghosts, some of whom were a lot more likely to turn him in than others. They tended to travel the same paths though, and having been in the school for years, Max had gotten to know their routines. He headed for the stairs, creeping up slowly, a funny sight, seeing as he was just a touch over six feet tall. Hiding was no easy feat these days. Continuing up when he heard no footsteps ahead, Max took the steps two at a time as he headed for his favorite spot. It had been weeks since he had been there last, but on this sleepless night, Max wanted the reassurance of his favorite area. His breath could be seen in front of him, but Max didn’t really feel too much of the cold. Rounding one final corner, Max broke out into a small smile. It froze on his face and he quickly began to back away, disappointment filling him as he realized that his favorite spot was occupied by someone else. He knew the reasons why he used the spot, and he could only figure that this girl, one he’d seen before in classes though had never spoken to, had similar reasons for needing it. His mouth opened into an o and he quickly began to speak. “I…I didn’t know…I’m sorry” Max stuttered as he began to back up.

 

[Alleara Vendalwood]

As she sat huddled on the window sill, keeping quiet so that she didn't draw the attention of any ghosts, Alleara lost herself in her mind, her thoughts overfilling her head and drawing her in like a wave in the beach. Some how she felt strange for having wished that, having wish to not be alone. Most of her life she had indulged in being alone with her thoughts, because she knew that at least when the world went array, her mind was a place where she was safe to think, say and feel what she wanted. Being alone meant not having to pretend and act the way others wanted you to, being alone meant that she could be who she was without having people judge her. And being alone meant not having to see peoples pity, when she was alone there was no one to look at her strangely, no one to tell her that they were sorry for her loss, no one to wonder how she had lived through each day of her life. Because everyone at school knew what she had been through, or at least thought they knew what she had been through, because like every other school on the planet this one had rumours spread like wild fire. The Durmstrang girl slid her hand down her leg, feeling the softness of her leggings and the rough lip of her converses, before twining her fingers together around her knees. Alleara listened to the silence of the castle, feeling unafraid of the darkness, and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the cold stone of the windows sill.

As she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, fast in pace as if anticipated, she didn't move, hoping that whomever it was would run straight past without noticing she was there and leave her to herself again. Please, her mind whispered, please...
But as soon as the teenager heard the footsteps slow and then stop, she opened her eyes, turning her head to see a boy standing on the stairwell, his eyes piecing her to the spot. Alleara almost flinched when his voice pieced the silence of the sleeping castle. In the back of her mind one voice whispered that she knew this boy from somewhere, probably classes, and another screamed that she should retreat, run back to her doom before this boy got her in trouble for being out of bed at such a later hour, but for some reason she listened to the smallest voice of all, which told her to stay. "You didn't know what?" She asked, surprising herself by speaking to this stranger, and before she could stop herself she looked back out the window for a split second, and saw the stars winking at her, her wish gone from the night sky.

 

[Maximilian Faber]

Max locked eyes with the girl as he hurriedly took a step back, his sneakers squeaking across the floor. The noise they made was enough to bring a ghost over, so he froze, eyes widening at what he hoped was a harmless mistake. It couldn’t be any more horrible than their voices carrying through the empty halls, Max realized. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie as he began to turn around. There were plenty of places that one could go to hide in this school. It was true that this girl had gotten the best one, but he wouldn’t fight her for it. If she was out here at this time, willing to risk being caught by a professor, it had to mean that she really needed it. Glancing over his shoulder at her, Max got a better glimpse of her. It was probably because a cloud had passed, allowing the sun’s illumination to fall right on her. Alleara. Max had overheard two girls talking about her one day as he’d walked behind them. The girls' conversation had been mundane, and Max had been on the verge of rudely brushing past them just to be away from them. Then, they’d started speaking about Alleara, saying something about a dead sibling or parent, he couldn’t remember which. All Max had remembered was the empathy he’d felt for the girl he’d never spoken to. He knew what it was like to lose someone and definitely knew what it was like to have other people speaking about your experiences as if they were topics to be gossiped about. It had been bad enough entering the school with the stigma of his mother having been killed by Aurors and his dad in Azkaban. But, having his older brother die while he was already enrolled had been worse in some ways. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on what had happened, yet no one had ever come up to him and asked him. It was enough to make him want to hex the entire student body.

“Uh…I didn’t know anyone was going to be here” Max stated with a frown on his face even though he was neither upset nor especially sad. It was the expression that fell on his face during most normal circumstances, one that made people like his aunt tell him to smile more. “It’s a good spot” he added as an afterthought, though she probably already knew that since she was here. The teenager dropped his eyes to the ground, watching as he kicked at a spot on the ground. He didn’t really know what else to say to her. It wasn’t like they’d spoken before and it hardly seemed the time to begin discussing Potions class. “You might want to get out of here in about twenty minutes though. That's when the prof on duty will probably be around to patrol. Sorry for interrupting again” Max apologized again, lifting his gaze to meet hers once more. He wanted her to know that he respected that she probably wanted to be alone. He did too, which made it all the more surprising to him that he was actually sort of having a conversation with someone. Max had friends in the school, of course, but he hardly ever went out of his way to talk to people.

 

[Alleara Vendalwood]

Alleara watched as the boy quickly stepped back, his shoes squeaking on the floor and an uncomfortable look on his face. As if realising the amount of noise he was making in his quick get-away, he stopped and just stood there, looking at anything and everything. Alleara felt for this boy, he'd probably been seeking refuge here, it was the perfect spot she had to admit, this boy had probably been like her, restless and wanting to think alone, but that wasn't what she'd just wished, she'd wished that she wasn't alone, and now here this boy stood in front of her, murmuring something about a professor coming on duty. The teenager remembered something that her sister had once said, wishes do come true, just not in the way we expect, and sometimes that's better then what we wished for. Alice had been very wise at sometimes, whereas at other's she had been wild and restless, and Alleara couldn't help but wonder if her sister had been right. The Durmstrang girl snapped out of her reverie just in time to see the by frown, his eyes mournfully looking at the spot where she had just been sitting, and she realised that he had really wanted that spot, not expecting some girl to be here. She felt guilty somehow, knowing that the boy had probably wanted to get away from the craziness of life, and had just wanted to be alone. Alleara wasn't one to be selfish and stop people from doing what they wanted, and it looked as if this boy really needed this sport to think, and that is what he would get, she'd done her thinking after all.

Even though the Teenager was not tired, she stepped aside from her spot, hold her hands out to it, and looking straight at the boy. "If you want it so bad, here it's yours." She told him, looking once more out the window and at the sky. "I wasn't really here to think anyway." She turned and began to walk back to her doom, but couldn't resist looking over her shoulder at the boy, one last look, and she found that he was still looking at her. Alleara turned back meaning to go back to her bed in the girls doom, but she prayed and hoped, feeling like her stomach was tuning and flipping on circles, repeating the words in her head over and over, as if chanting a spell. Wishes do come true, just not in the way we expect. Wishes do come true, and sometimes it's better than what you wished for. Wishes do come true. As the lonely Durmstrang girl took step after step, realising that in this boy's company she hadn't felt so alone, she wished that he would say something, tell her not to go.

 

[Maximilian Faber]

Max nodded his head to the girl as she ceded the spot to him. He took a step closer as she moved away from it, the familiarity of the view out the window already beginning to do his job. Maybe, it's the girl dweeb, a voice in the familiar tone of his brother teased. Max quickly shook the idea out of his head, it was a silly one after all. How could this girl who he had seen for all of sixty seconds do for him what sitting an hour at the window sometimes could not? It was only when he was in this spot, the spot that his brother had told him about, that he ever allowed himself to hear his brother's voice. There were several such spots in the castle, spots that his brother had either told him about or taken him up see when they'd briefly attended the school at the same time. It was in those spots that Max was at his most vulnerable, where he allowed himself the opportunity to despair at all he had lost. The rest of the time Max attempted to present himself as a strong teenager, one who needed no one and nothing. He probably failed more than he succeeded, but no one had ever told him otherwise so he was ignorant to this fact. Max stared at the girl's back as she headed off, lost in thought. It wasn't until some sort of animal flew past the window, its wings beating gently against the glass, that he was brought out of his thoughts and noticed that she was staring at him. For what reason, he couldn't say. Glancing down, a blush that was hopefully kept hidden by the shadows, Max composed himself for a moment before looking up.

The moonlight lit only a small sliver of the hallway, the space in between the boy and the girl. Still, it was enough to illuminate his eyes, which didn't hold their usual icy gaze as he spoke, his voice only slightly above a whisper in case the professors on duty were ahead of schedule in their patrol. "You can't go down that way" he stated, gesturing for her to come closer with his hand. Max had come to the spot often enough and been caught enough to have finally decided to learn the patrols. As if to punctuate his point, a cough came from the floor below them. Max's eyes widened as he realized which professor was on duty this night. It was the horrible Divination professor. The woman walked around prophesing doom and gloom in all of the students' lives. It was why Max had dropped the class after fourth year. He'd already experienced some bad times and didn't feel they would have gone any better had he known they would be happening. Holding out his hand, Max whispered more urgently. He'd leave her if he had to, though he didn't want to. " Trust me." He knew that she would check the classrooms, but she never checked the storage closet beside the Astronomy tower. It would be a tight squeeze for the two of them, but they'd be fine if they could make it.

 

[Alleara Vendalwood]

Alleara kept walking, moving away from both the boy and the windowsill which she had just willingly given to him. She wouldn't look back again she decided, ignoring all thoughts of dreams and wishes from her mind. Go back, voices in her head were saying, go back and talk to him. What was she thinking? This boy had obviously wanted to be alone, something she thought she had wanted too, but unlike the Durmstrang girl the boy sitting on the sill wouldn't change his mind and call her back. As she stepped further away, the moonlight disappeared behind her, and she was left to only walk in darkness and shadow. The teenager frowned. Sometimes, like on nights like this, Alleara hated the dark which is why she often found the moonlight coming in through a window or something, but it was far too late to find another spot to sit in the moonlight and think, so she just paused for a moment and began to step forwards once more when a voice from behind her stopped her, the boy had spoken again after all. Alleara turned back, listening as the boy stared at her and told her that she couldn't go that way, and as if on cue, a cough came from the floor below them, sounding female. Allear froze, her mind racing, wondering if they would get court out of bed past curfew.

The Durmstrang boy in front of her was frozen too, and by the way his wide eyes were shooting from one thing to another she could tell that his mind was racing like hers. What's he thinking? Alleara wondered, shocked by how much she wanted to know, then she hear footsteps below them heading for the stairs. "oh shi..." Alleara had time to say, as her heart hammered, before the boy standing now held out his hand to her, as if trying to convince her to follow him, to trust him he said. And for some odd and worrying reason she did trust him, and that unsettled her, trusting a boy that she didn't know the name of, didn't know what he was like, or plainly just didn't know anything about him. The girl made up her mind in a second, grabbing his hand, which was warm and soft but also rough at the same time. Then they were running, running but keeping their foot falls quiet, and The lonely Durmstrang girl, the very one who had lost her parents and sister, and had turned her back on people who wished to love her, couldn't contain her quiet laughter as she felt more alive than she had in years.

 

[Maximilian Faber]

Max was quickly reaching panic mode as he waited for the girl to decide what she wanted to do. If she chose to stay, he knew that he’d probably be found out too. The Divination professor might not be a true Seer, but the woman was nothing if not persistent and curious. She would question the girl, and Max didn’t know her enough to know if she’d rat him out. What he was asking the girl for, trust, was not something that he had in his fellow classmates. He had learned fairly early on in his Durmstrang career that the students here were willing to step all over each other to get themselves further ahead. It wasn’t true of everyone, he was sure, but he had experienced that far more often than not. When she finally reached for his hand, Maximilian was startled by the warmth and softness of it. If it was any other time, he would have taken a moment to process his feelings towards it, but for now only one thought consumed his mind. Run!, he thought to himself as he pulled her down the hallway, trying his best to remain silent. With every step that they took, the woman drifted closer to catching them. The hallway was darker than most, their only source of light the moonlight that came through the window when the clouds allowed. Counting the doorways that they passed as they ran, Max was looking for just the right one. He knew, just as well as the girl did, no doubt, that the hallway led to the Astronomy staircase. They would find no help in that direction as the stairs led directly to the Astronomy classroom and the Astronomy professor’s sleeping quarters. No, the door that they needed was just before that.

Spotting it, Max found the energy to sprint ahead, pulling the girl along. Thankfully, she was able to keep up. He heard a noise that he first thought was a whimper and wondered if he was holding her hand too tightly or pulling her too roughly. You can apologize later , Max grimly told himself as his hand reached for the doorknob to the storage closet. It was the moment of truth. If the door was locked, they were probably screwed. He had left his dorm room without his wand, not thinking he would have need of it. As the doorknob easily turned to the right, Max breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Merlin” he murmured in German as he let go of the girl’s hand to give her a small shove in the small of her back. Entering the closet behind her, Max pulled the door shut just as he saw the small light emanating from the Divination professor’s wand. She had just reached the landing. Max had hidden here once before, but it was a much tighter fit this time around. The closet held an assortment of textbooks, a pile of chairs and some other odds and ends for classroom use. Taking a deep breath, Max readied himself to apologize to the girl for hurting her. It was then that he realized that she wasn’t whimpering at all. “You’re laughing?” he whispered in disbelief. He shook his head, rolling his green eyes at her, before realizing just how crazy this whole situation was. He’d left his dorm room to be alone and had somehow managed to find himself in a storage closet with a girl. Before he could stop himself, a snicker escaped him. He clapped his hand over his mouth as laughter threatened to take over. If they couldn’t keep quiet, they’d be in deep trouble.

 

[Alleara Vendalwood]

As they ran, her hand still in his, the Durmstrang girl's heart was beating loud and hard, so that she thought he would hear it. Alleara knew where they were heading, the Astronomy tower mostly likely the storage closet, and as the click of footsteps hurrying behind them she knew that if they didn't hurry they would be court. As they passed the charmed windows it seemed as if the moon were winking at them, and Alleara felt another well of laughter rise. They had to be quiet, she knew, but that was hard to achieve when she thought of the situation, she was running to a storage closet in the astronomy tower to hide with a boy that she had just met and still didn't know the name of, it was madness. So crazy and funny that it brought another well of laughter rising to her throat. The boy pulled her along down corridor after corridor, running for the storage closet, and her heart sang. The whole time he had not let go of her hand, which meant that he didn't want to leave her, and that she thought a bit strange. Most people that she knew at Durmstrang would push and lie and knock others down to get ahead, but this boy was helping her. Alleara could hear the Professor chasing after them, the click of her shoes on the hard floors matching the beat of Alleara's heart. They reached the storage closet, the boy stopping so abruptly he almost head-butted the door, and another giggle escaped Alleara.

He pushed her inside, his warm hand at the small of her back and then slid in himself. The storage closet was small, stuffed with all types of things for a classroom; chairs, books and a lot of dust. The boy looked at her, his eyes widening as he realised she was laughing, and Alleara at once covered her mouth, knowing that more laughter would come if her kept looking at her like that. The Durmstrang teens listened quietly as the Professor, Alleara wasn't sure which one, roamed and looked for them just outside the door, and then must've given up and walked away. When Alleara was sure that she was far far away from the storage closet door, she laughed while her heart still beat loud in her chest. The boy looked at her incredulously. "You should have seen your face! You looked like you were about to jump out a window rather than get court!" Alleara gasped. A second thought hit her and she let out another giggle, amused to find that the boy was holding back laughter as well. "I'm sure I probably looked much the same!" Without even realising the Durmstrang girl no longer felt along in the cold castle of Durmstrang.

 

[Maximilian Faber]

Max stared at the floor, laughter bubbling up inside of him, threatening to erupt at any moment. The situation was serious, extremely serious, and Max knew that it would mean detention and loss of privileges if they were caught. They were in a storage closet, for Merlin’s sake, and he knew what the professor would think if she happened to open the door. Max wasn’t sure that any attempts they made to explain that they barely even knew each other would work. In fact, he was pretty sure that would make things worse. Clapping a hand over his mouth, Max willed the woman to walk away. He could hear her searching and saw the light from her wand illuminating the space under the doorway. When he heard her footfalls begin to die away, Max closed his eyes, sending a silent prayer to Merlin and several others. Still, he remained silent, fear leading him to believe that the silence was a trick meant to lure them out of their spot.

When the girl spoke, Max started, his eyes drifting open to look over his shoulder at her. As the girl erupted into a fresh bout of giggles, Max let out a deep breath. And then another. He turned around to face her, his back to the door as he shook his head. “I thought she was going to catch us. I was sure of it” he admitted, a grin appearing on his face as he realized that they had actually gotten away with something. The girl’s giggles brought his own back and in a moment Max was laughing himself, a hand on his chest as he felt his madly beating heart beginning to slow. It was several long moments before Max had composed himself. Letting out another long breath, Max shook his head once more. “I certainly wasn’t expecting any of this when I snuck out of my room” he stated with another shake of his head. “I don’t think anyone would believe this story” Max stated with a chuckle. It wasn’t like he had anyone to tell it to, but if he did, he was sure that they wouldn’t believe that he’d snuck out, met a girl, and nearly caught by a professor with said girl. It was very unlike him to do any of those things, let alone all three.

 

[Alleara Vendalwood]

Alleara stared at the boy in amusement, her giggles dying down. She wanted to reach out and poke him, make sure that he was real and not just a figure of her imagination, but she resisted the urge knowing that it would be rude and hard to explain. The keep herself from fiddling and wanting to touch things, the Durmstrang girl pulled her jacket sleeves over her hands and crossed her arms, a smile still on her face. How in the world am I in this situation? The Durmstrang girl repeatedly asked herself, How? It was a good situation she admitted, but crazy. Alleara was in a dark closet with a boy that she'd just met, she just couldn't get over it. And all because she'd snuck out of her doom to think and wallow. To wallow over the death of her sister, who had taken a piece of Alleara with her when she'd left this world, one that Alleara didn't think she would ever get back. And not even this boy could ease that pain. Alleara suddenly had a flash of heat in her chest, and heard her sister's voice as if whispered in her ear, Don't be stupid, Alleara, don't let this night slip away, it's yours! Alleara smiled, half in amazement at how much it truly sounded like her and the other half was at what the voice was giving her. A night to do what she wanted, a night to make her own. Alleara snapped back into focus at the boy's laughter and began herself laughing, happy that she had snuck out of her room and was now in this situation.

The teenager looked up at the boy across from her, who was composing himself to talk. She waited as he spoke, listening to every word that fell from his mouth, and laughing when he said that no one would believe this story. "No, I don't think anyone would believe me either," She said between laughter. "But just so it isn't as crazy, my name's Alleara. Alleara Vendalwood." No, it definitely wasn't something that her friends would believe, but she knew that's done it and she wasn't planning on telling anyone anyway. As Alleara stared at the boy, she could help but feel that something was strangely familiar about him, as if she heard or see something about him that she wasn't likely to forget. But she just could think of what.

 

[Maximilian Faber]

f Max wasn’t laughed out, he likely would have started up again. He had been through more with this girl, this girl whose name he didn’t even know, than he had with most of the student body. Keeping to himself meant that Max had been through years in the school without really ever getting to know anyone. That had changed a bit when he’d been befriended by Elijah and his small group. He spoke to them now and then, some of the members more than others, but Maximilian would hardly call them friends. Perhaps he would with Elijah, but none of the others were more than mere acquaintances. Max accepted his own blame in this, knowing that if he spoke up more, shared a bit more with them, that they would likely share more with him. That was the way friendship worked. Max knew this, but actually putting it into practice was something different. The teenager had always been on the quiet side, but things had grown worse when everything had gone down with first his parents and then his brother.

Glad that they were still in the semi-darkness, Max allowed himself a small smile. He took the girl’s silhouette in, wondering whether her demeanor would change once she heard his name. He’d been through that sort of thing before, people coming up to his aunt and telling her how handsome the boys were and speaking with her in a kind manner until they heard the family’s surname. Instantly, their demeanor would change and they’d suddenly remember an appointment that they had to get to. It was terrible to deal with, something that Max never would grow used to. “Pleased to meet you, Alleara” Max stated as he slowly opened the closet door and peered around it to the dark hallway. When he was certain that it was clear, he stepped out and glanced back at Alleara. It was a unique name, one that he faintly recalled having heard in class. “It looks like we’re in the clear. I’m Maximilian Faber. Most people just call me Max though.” The teenager turned his gaze away, not wanting to see the look of shock, or worse, disgust, that might cross her face.

 

[Alleara Vendalwood]

He was still laughing, and Alleara thought it was quite amusing. She stood in the semi darkness, watching everything but trying not to stare. It was strange indeed that the Durmstrang girl had been through a lot of events in just one night, and with a boy she'd never met before. It just wasn't much like her at all. She was the quick-witted, smart type of girl, the responsible one, the teachers often called her. She was a night person, preferring the cool, dark night time compared to the bright sun under everyone's judging eyes, so she was often awake at night times, but not doing things like this, and not normally for this long. But she doubted she'd be able to sleep even if she tried at the moment, and she doubted that she'd change this night one bit. The boy's voice startled Alleara out of her thick thoughts, as he slowly opened the door. The only sound in the hall was the tiniest creaking of the hinges, and the only thing that lurked in the empty corridor was the moonlight.

Maximilian Faber. The teenager knew that she knew that name, had heard it whispered from time to time, but she couldn't remember why or for what reasons she knew his name. If she couldn't remember then it obviously wasn't that bad, and even if it was she didn't care. Most rumours around this, or any, school were false. But soon those thoughts were discarded as Alleara realised that the boy had just told her his name, at last, and that just the sound of it made her smirk. She'd always liked the name Max, in fact when she'd been little she'd wanted a puppy named Max, not that she thought the name was for a dog and not that she'd bring it up. "Hmm, Max, or The-lonely-boy-who-wanted-the-spot-by-the-window? I think I like Max better, personally." She smirked, walking over to a window and staring out of it to look at the stars. The school was completely silent, with only the bright moonlight dancing through it's cold, stone halls. It was rare to see the stars and moon at Durmstrang, mostly it was always cloudy, overcast or just raining, and it was nice to finally see them twinkling in the sky. The Girl remembered telling her sister after her parents had died that when people died they became the stars in the sky, watching over everyone. Now she smiled up at the sky, before turning back to Max once more.

 

[Maximilian Faber]

Out of Character:

Sorry! I’ve been so busy lately.

Maximilian could tell by the expression on her face that she had heard his name before, though he was fairly sure that she hadn’t heard any of the darker rumors concerning him. If she had, she probably wouldn’t still be speaking with him. “Me too” he chuckled when she mentioned which name she liked better. Max’s shoulders relaxed and that was when he realized that they’d been tense. It was such a normal reaction to him, one borne of someone who preferred hiding to speaking with anyone the majority of the time. It was such a nice change to share a laugh, an experience with someone at the school. As the girl stepped over to a window and gazed out once more, Max was struck by how quickly the silence on the floor had returned. It reminded Max of his true intent in being out of his dorm. He certainly hadn’t left the room expecting what had happened this evening. No, he’d been expecting to find a quiet space to have a quiet moment before returning to his quiet life. Tonight had been different. It had been filled with an excitement that Max hadn’t even known he’d been craving until it happened.

As Alleara turned to face him once more, Max gave her a lazy smile before gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb. “It’s late. I’m gonna head back to my room now.” He took a step backwards, moving closer to the stairs that would lead him back down and to his normal life. Taking another step back, Max waited to see if Alleara would say anything else. What was there to say really? They didn’t really know each other very well. “Good night, Alleara. It was…unexpected. That’s definitely not why I left my room tonight. But I’m glad I did” he grinned, dipping his head to hide the blush across his cheeks as he admitted that he’d actually enjoyed the whole chase and hiding in the closet with her.

 

[Alleara Vendalwood]

Out of Character:

Haha That's ok! This was fun! PM me if you want to do it again sometime

As Alleara Turned back, her smile still in place, Max's face seemed kind of...uncomfortable. As if he'd expected her to run at the very sound of his name, and that seemed to pierce straight to her heart. She knew what it was like to be judged for things other than who she was, for her past, her family, her appearance and anything else that was different to every other person in the world. She knew how much that hurt. Alleara smiled at him again, trying to get the message through that she wouldn't judge him for his name or by whatever gossip was floating around the school, and his shoulders seem to settle as he smiled and replied, saying that he preferred Max too. Alleara smiled to herself idly, tonight had been so different to her normal pattern, and it had felt so good to break free of that same routine, she'd felt so free. She'd felt as if she were living someone else's life, not her sappy straight-forward life of studies and whispered sympathy. She'd felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. Free. And even as she tried, Alleara couldn't find the words to thank this boy for helping her feel that way again. She muffled a yawn with her hand, realising that it was probably really late, way way past curfew that was for sure.

She turned back to peak out the window, expecting to see the sun just rising, but it was still black and endless, as if they were stuck in some timeless world. As if reading her mind, Max spoke out her precise thoughts, and at the very though of her bed she shivered, awaiting to slip back under the warm covers. But as she realised that going back to her room meant saying goodbye to Max, disappointment unfurled in her chest. She knew that this boy with the dark hair and piercing eyes would take her feeling of freedom with him, and she wasn't quite sure is she were ready to give that up. She smiled, watching as he turned away, trying to find the courage to say something else, anything else, when finally the words slipped from her mouth. "Hey! Wait!" He turned back to her, and she smiled again, stepping further and further away. "I know that we don't know each other, and that this night has been pretty...out there. But I had fun, and that's probably thanks to you, cause you know, it would kinda be boring doing all this by myself. Hiding in a storage closet and all." She smirked again as a light pink covered his cheeks, and felt that it was time to say goodnight, but only for now. "But I'm pretty sure that now that we've fought over a sitting spot, ran from a Professor and hidden in a closet together, that at least makes us kinda-friends, so I'll be expecting you to come up and say hi every now and then, ok? I mean I don't just go around hiding in closets with everyone." Alleara laughed, she was feeling happy with sleep now, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind, though most things she kept to herself. She did a little sault with her two fingers and laughed along with the boy. "See you around Lonely Boy." She didn't turn straight away, surely he would say something else. Alleara knew that they couldn't stand there talking all night, but she was still reluctant to leave. She just had to have one last glance, hear one last word that fell from his mouth, she just had to wait one last time.

 

[Maximilian Faber]

Max saw the kindness in her face, but his guard remained up. He had been befriended in the past just so he could be questioned about his parents’ activities. People always seemed fascinated by the fact that his father was in Azkaban and his mother dead, never stopping to think about the devastation that had been caused to the family. His family. To Max, they were just his mother and father. He had been far too young for either of them to see him as a confidante for their Scitorari dealings. People often found that hard to believe. They wondered how people who were careless enough to be caught in their business dealings could be good enough to shield their children from the mess. Max didn’t know how to explain it, but he knew it was true. Focusing on her face once more, Max hoped that the kindness he saw there was genuine. The teenager wouldn’t mind being able to, at least, laugh with her about the experience. As she muffled her yawn, Max could feel one of his own coming on. He did little to hide it, but instead smiled when he had finished and began to walk away.

Her words reverberated throughout the hall, causing Max to pause in his retreat. Thankfully, the professor had appeared to have disappeared from this section of the castle or they would’ve been in huge trouble. He listened to her, his curiosity quickly disappearing as she spoke. When she finished, silence filled the space between them. It didn’t last long though as Max was quick to end it with a nod of his head and words of his own. “Ok then” he stated, another smile coming across his face. He didn’t have to trust her right away, but maybe it would be ok to get to know her a little bit more and see if she genuinely did want to be friends. She hadn’t sought him out, after all. He was the one who’d spoken to her first. That had to mean something. The teenager could hardly recall smiling as much as he had this evening. He hadn’t had much to smile about over the past few years. “See you around, Lost in thought Girl” he added and with a tip of his head he turned and bounded down the steps, breaking into a jog when he’d reached the corridor where his room was located. He made it back into his room with only a little bit of difficulty and climbed into his bed, sleep coming over him easily.

Out of Character:

I shall!