Snakes in the Hall

S

Saffron Ironsong

Well-Known Member
Messages
652
OOC First Name
Ana,na,na
Wand
Birch Wand 14 1/4 essence of dragonstone
Saffron was one of the first in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, waiting for it to start. She was eager to her started with classes especially if they where spells she could use in a duel. If there was one thing that missed from her old school, the two weeks that she managed to go there, was the Arena. She had been aching for the day that she would be allowed in it and show what she could do but of course that day never came. Still Saffron could do something here. There was a duel chamber close to their common room after all. Maybe she could talk a few of the people she had met and start sort of mock duels until they some more magic in them. Or she would go in there alone and just shoot at the walls or something. With the through of the Arena coming back into her mind Saffron took out her wand and start to practice the movements that she had learned.

She twisted and turned her wrist, she brought it down in an arch, she flicked her wand up as if she wanted to bring something up with it. Saffron got more and more into her practice. The hall was still empty and the door closed. Even if it where not it wasn't like she really cared what anyone thought of her. Soon it wasn't just her hand that was moving but her whole body. She twirled as if she was avoiding a spell while bringing her wand forward as if she was going to cast but of course nothing came from the end of her wand. It was almost like looking at someone practice the stances of a set martial arts. Saffron over stepped a turn and stumbled on the edge of a stand that had a suit of armor on it making her thump into the chest of a fellow student.
 
As Marcus noticed Saffron practising her stances, he chuckled to himself. He could tell quite obviously that he thought she was alone: people act differently when they're alone. He didn't want to disturb her so he stood lent up against the wall watching her. As she came closer and closer without noticing him, he withdrew his wand, stood up straight and prepared himself. To his surprise, she stumbled over the suit of armour and slammed into his torso.

He grabbed her by her upper arms and adjusted her upright to face him. He chuckled, clearly showing that he had seen her every move. "Whoa, mind me", he chuckled to Saffron. "You okay?". He spoke with with amusement in his voice but also with a tone of genuine care for her wellbeing.
 
Saffron straightened herself out after being 'rescued' from a rather embarrassing fall. "I'm fine" She said. She looked at the face of the boy she had crashed into and noticed that she hadn't actually talked to him before though she had seen him in class. "I usually be able make that turn. My father would have scolded me something awful for doing so." She said tugging on the sleeves of her cloak. She knew by the expression on his face that he had been there then entire time but there was no sign on her face that she was embarrassed at all that he had. She tucked her wand away and grabbed her book bag from beside the door.

"I do hope class starts soon I want to see what we learn first." She commented her fingers noticeably twitching under her sleeves. She didn't have an urge to kill but she did have talent for battle. She wanted to get started with Defense Against the Dark Arts more than any other class because it was her only other practical class. Astronomy was important and she did greatly enjoy History of Magic but this was her fun. "I'm Saffron by the way?" She said remembering that she hadn't told the new face her name.
 
Marc, now feeling slightly unwanted for interrupting her practise, lowered his defences as he realised that the girl was friendly towards him. Noticing she hadn't thanked him for saving her, Marc felt like a superhero and not someone who wanted to do it for praise but that sort of thinking would have to be filtered out if he wanted to succeed.

As Saffron went to get her school bag, he briefly scanned her with his eyes to gather a good first impression of her. The un-natural hair colour suggests that she's unique in a good way and shows it in her hair colour, she doesn't want to mix in with a crowd of people, she wants to be noticed and praised. Keeping the long cloak on whilst she was practising her stances meant that she was mentally prepared for any imaginary attacks that may come her way and keeping the cloak on meant she wanted a bigger appearance whilst doing so.

As she introduced herself, Marc gave a little smile. "Marc. I think I've seen you in my Defence Against the Dark Arts class.". Swiftly changing the topic of conversation, "And yeah, I think it starts soon. Want to walk down together? I'm normally late to class but today was a weird exception for some reason". Marc chuckled to himself whilst hoping Saffron would remember his face from around school.
 
Saffron didn't know that she was meant to say thank you at that moment. She was always missing social clues like that though she did notice enough of them to keep herself out of trouble with most professors. "Nice to formally meet you then. Hope we can at least get along." She said with a nod. She scanned the boy for a brief moment and decided that she could deal with being around him. Then again she was meeting a lot of people lately that where nicer to her than people had been in her former school. The cloak she wore was a reminder of that school, black with silver threading along the hood and sleeves. If he followed behind he would see a skull embroidered in the same thread. It was her pride and in a way her security blanket, as long as she had her skull cloak she could do anything. She knew that eventually her body would grow out of it but for now she would ware it where ever she could.

She nodded down the hall and started to walk down it to go back to the front of the DADA class. "Why are you usually late?" She asked, honest curiosity in her voice. She would have guessed that like herself most students would want to get to this particular class. She had head from other students that it was usually a fun class despite the teacher. Saffron sling her book bag over her shoulder as she walked hoping that at this moment the bag stayed together even if she had crammed as many books in there as possible, as well as her quill and notebook.
 
Marc took the question with a thought. Why is he always late to class? It's not because he couldn't find his way around and it wasn't because he hated the classes he was going to. He could manage time well and knew what he was doing most of the time so the reason is pretty unclear to him but now presented with this question, Marc needed to answer so he chuckled and replied with, "I actually don't know. If I hated the class then I would normally turn up early so I don't get so much attention when I arrive late. Maybe that's the case here then with Professor Styx".

He knew she was a fan of the Arts otherwise she wouldn't be practising her stances. Marc doesn't like Astronomy so you don't see him looking up at the stars so often. Expecting an unhappy response, Marc changed the topic. "I like your hair by the way. It can show how unique a person is"

OOCOut of Character:
I didn't know the colour of her hair so I thought it best not to mention it :p
 
Saffron tilted her head. "That's odd. I would think you would be eager to get to a class that you like and unwilling to get to a class to that you don't like." She said through she could see the logic in what he was saying. Saffron noted that Marc seemed to laugh a lot. Saffron felt a bit of jealousy towards that. His manner seemed so light and easy. It made her feel slightly more comfortable around him. Saffron tugged on one of her forest green bangs. "Would you believe that I chose this color before I even knew what house I was going be placed in?" She asked thinking of the irony of it. She had chosen to have her hair a dark green because it matched her mother's crushed velvet robe and she had wanted to try out the spell that her mother had given her.

"I don't do it to be unique I do it because why not. Hair comes in red, yellow, sometimes orange but not overly so, black, and brown so why can't a person have green hair?" She asked. It had been something on her mind a lot. Why did hair not come in green or blue or purple even. There where environment in which those colours would work and keep a person hidden. "What are the subjects you're looking forward to the most?" She asked. People where already whispering about the overly bookish Slytherin that seemed determined to outshine most Ravenclaw so it would be easier to ask what wasn't she looking forward to which was flying. She didn't think she would be doing it too often after the class was over and was grateful that they would be doing it only once in all the years they where here.
 
Marc chuckled at the thought of a woman giving birth to a green haired child. He doesn't mean to offend anyone unless they deserve it but a green haired child would be a sight. Although the thought of it was weird, he nodded along and agreed in a amused manner. He wanted to show that he was a friendly sort of guy who can have a laugh so he just showed off himself.

He had to think when it came to his favourite subjects. He paused slightly to think. Astronomy was a muggle subject in his eyes and wouldn't be something he'd want to continue with in the future. Defence Against the Dark Arts is an essential and could prove useful in the future. Flying would be fun but not something he'd do full-time and History of Magic is boring. But thinking of some others, he made up his mind.

"Well, Defence Against the Dark Arts at the moment but the other subjects are not really interesting except Flying. But next semester I'm looking forward to Charms, Transfiguration and Potions. I wish I could choose my own subjects to learn. What about you?", he asked sweetly with a smile. This girl seemed like someone he could hang out with forever. She was genuinely an interesting person who he couldn't wait to learn more about but to stop himself asking one hundred and one questions, he paid attention to the conversation at hand.
 
"All of them other than flying. I'm not planning on being a qudditch player and there are other ways to travel. I am still determined to pass the class perfectly." She said with a nod. It was just who she was thanks her mostly her father though her mother also had a hand her Saffron's competitive nature. "Though I want to see what I can do with Charms. I'm started to get into that book and I know all the wand movements I just need the spells now. A Gryffendor girl and I found a moving book in the library the other day. I still say it was a Charms assignment left behind." She said then took that particular book out of her book bag to show him. She set the book on the floor and it started to scuttle about on it's back binding. The book brought to mind everything that could be done with magic. If a book could be animated then what else could be?

She gathered the book up and put it in her book bag again with a small grin on her otherwise impassive face. She thought of Olivia and their adventure in the library and she shook her head. Olivia was curious girl but it was too soon to consider her a friend. "Do you have you're own broom? I've heard things about the school brooms being pieces of junk. I hope that they are kept up well enough to keep us from doing any real damage to ourselves." She said while leaning on the molding of the DADA classroom door. It hadn't been open when she had gotten here and it seemed like they still had to wait to get in. Getting a bit restless she took out her quill and started to twirl it in her nimble fingers.
 
Marc took astonishment with the moving book he was presented with. He could see Saffron was very interested in magic and possibly had potential to go on to something great. But it also made him question her blood status. He wasn't prejudice against muggle borns. In fact, he was mixed blood himself so he couldn't judge other people.

Chuckling at the comment about the brooms, Marc replied, "You'd think they'd have better ones but nope. I'm a fan of Quidditch and have been for years but never really gotten into riding. But I'm sure they're very safe. We'll probably learn the basics of riding in a few weeks anyways so we can learn how to control the broom".

Marc took only a glance at the quill Saffron was fiddling around with. A sign like that either meant she was nervous or her personality meant that she liked to keep herself busy, like a workaholic, which would include fiddling around with objects, tapping and not keeping still whilst waiting. It would be best, he decided, not to comment on it.

The conversation paused for a moment as Marc looked around for the Professor to arrive to class. But as he wanted to get to know Saffron he broke the silence, "So sorry if I'm being nosey but it's kind of hard to resist..., he smiled, "...but are you..., he lowered his tone of voice for a moment, "...muggle born?". Noticing that she might be offended or reluctant to answer a question like that to a Slytherin, he quickly attempted to cover his words. "I don't mean to be nasty or anything. If it makes you feel better I'm kind of mixed. My dad was a wizard of muggle heritage and my mother was a muggle. I don't care what people think of me as long as I don't run into any trouble with them. Last thing I need is a detention for getting into fights". He chuckled slightly and regretted asking the question entirely.
 
It was strange how her mind and body worked. If she wasn't actively learning, she had her head in a book if it wasn't that she was off trying to discover something her in her surroundings. Her mind was never still but she never saw a problem in it. It just meant that she had a natural thirst to learn. "That's probably why they keep the old brooms. So kids like us don't have accidents on them and wreck something shiny and new. She thought while looking up. It made since seeing as there where more than a few muggleborns in the school. Not that Saffron minded it was just not this many ever made it to Ravenwood. The headmaster liked to be able to predict the level of power that would come from a student. Saffron heard the next question and shook her head."I'm not a muggleborn. My mother is a healer, my father works for the Ministry. I think my mother has some muggle blood in her but my father has had witches and wizards in his family line for year. I have six brothers and they are all magical." Saffron explained. What exactly her blood statues was she couldn't say. There where so many things about herself she couldn't talk about it made getting truly close to anyone very difficult but then again she could that on her own by just being her normal blunt self.

Saffron caught the part about him not being prejudges. Well he didn't seem like the type. He seemed like a friendly fellow and very easy to get along with though at times it seemed like he was humoring some of her ideas something that irritated her at times but the green hair thing was not an overly big one to her so she payed no mind. The quill pass from finger to finger, never getting bent to the point that the feather would not work any more. "You saw me practicing dueling but you never said anything. Why?" She asked her mind just now coming back to that thought. She had expected to be laughed at or at the very least to be asked to have a mock duel or something along those lines, Marc just watched her.
 
"I suppose it's because I didn't want to embarrass you. You seem like a very sweet girl who's sort of fragile so I thought best not to make a comment on it. You quite literally fell into my arms so I wasn't exactly going to be focused on asking questions". He laughed it off and gave her a smile. He didn't judge people. He'd worked with all types of people in the past and none of his siblings were prejudice in anyway so why should he be?

"But I also suppose it's because it's rare seeing a shy person express themselves like that. You looked like you didn't care what people thought of you so instead of damaging that, I suppose I wanted to see more". Saying that, Marc had his wand prepared in his left hand behind his back. Knowing not of the time, he jumped to the right and prepared himself with a duel pose - presenting his wand towards Saffron.

"C'mon, let's see what you've got".
 
An annoyed glint appeared in Saffron's strange yellow eyes. Fragile? Sweet? Was he looking at her? There was nothing fragile about her in the least her brothers took care of that one the moment she learned how to walk. She too the falling into his arms part as just an observation. She had done so and it didn't bother her in the least that she had. She would have banged against the wall if he hadn't been there so she would have been alright. A little sore perhaps but nothing to go crying to the nurse over. Her eyes narrowed as if she was going to say something acidic when he continue.

Saffron had her wand out in a second which spoke of just how much she had been worked on before on things like this. She put her wand out in front of her and bowed to him. "You do realize that you're most likely not going to be able to send more than sparks at me right?" She asked a slight smirk on her lips. She was going to get him for calling her fragile. This was something also that she lived for.
 
"We'll see, I could be much more dangerous than you think". He switched feet and took a swift step to the left in hopes of confusing Saffron. But he would not throw the first punch... or spell, as it is.
 
Saffron circled right and aimed a trip jinx to the foot he had used to go left. Saffron had dropped her book bag by the DADA class room door. "That is left to be seen." She said as she started to shift her weight from foot to foot ready to take off at a moment's notice.
 
Lying facedown in the floor, Marc jumped back up with his wand still at hand. Taking a brief scan of her stance position, he jumped to the left and flung his wand into position; shouting, "Stupefy!" He took note of any people around him and got himself mentally prepared.
 
"Protege" She called and jumped back because she knew that this spell was a little weak for her and if he was naturally powerful enough he would get through the shield. She brought her arm down in an elaborate arch before casting "Locomotor Mortis"
 
OOCOut of Character:
I'll ignore the fact you spelt Protego wrong ;)


Marcus, nearly tripping over, held his position as his legs were tightly locked to one another. He attempted to wriggle his way out of it but he knew eventually that he couldn't. He looked at Saffron with a smug face and said, "Well done, I suppose. I ain't one to be a sore loser. We should stop before Styx comes along"
Marc's plan had gone exactly according to how he wanted it to. By losing the duel with Saffron, he was able to build her self confidence. She duelled with a stranger she met not 10 minutes ago and won. That must of done massively for her. He looked down at his legs with a look of Not Bad before looking over to Saffron and said, "Could you....? Please.", before giving out a mild chuckle.
 
Saffron walked over, her face unreadable and pointed her wand down at his legs. "Finite" She said unlocking his legs. Saffron was indeed proud of herself but knew that he only stopped because of the rule that there was to be no magic in the halls. "It looks like you need practice." She added and picked up her school bag again slinging it over her shoulder.She put her wand in her robe pocket and leaned against the stone wall. "There's a duel chamber near our dorm. Want to have a proper duel there?" She asked even through being a first year the most she could do was make his ears ring or something to that nature. Still it would be fun to practice with someone who, judging by the smugness that he showed her, believed to have everything in control.
 
Marc, stunned by how much he missed his legs, began to stretch them. He could see that Saffron was pleased with herself and that's all that he wanted. Leaning against the opposite wall, Marc looked over and chuckled a little. When offered the chance to duel he replied, "Maybe another time. You're right, I need more practice", he chuckled again. "Congratulations".

In a happy mood, Marc kept a happy expression on his face as he looked over at Saffron. "It's a good thing we weren't caught. Professor Styx probably would eat us like his babies at breakfast". He laughed at the idea that the Professor ate babies for breakfast.
 
Saffron's face was still an impassive mask. It was something that she got from home actually, her emotions getting her in more trouble than it was worth. She had decided though that she liked the boy "But of course at another time. Did you think I was suggesting we skip class I'd hang myself before doing that. She answered rolling her eyes a little. She saw a few of their class mates wonder into the hall chattering and she was pleased to know that boredom was not going to settle into her sooner now that duel was over and her quill had dissapered into the bowls of her book bag. She would find it again in class she was sure. 'Thanks." She added remembering that he had congratulated her for winning their little scrimmage.

Saffron took a long blink to make sure that the information processed properly when she heard it. "He does no such thing. At least I don't think. He's just strict. He reminds me a bit of my father in a way." She said thinking of Professor Styx. Yes there were defiantly similarities there. He was stiff, rarely showed emotion, and would not dumb down anything just because they where young. Saffron had learned early one that there was no complaining to her father.
 
Marc paused for a minute before replying. Did Saffron understand the concept of humour? He meant it as a joke but he guessed she took it the wrong way. "Anyway, where did you learn to duel like that? Not many people our age know how to. I've never been good at it myself but I know the basics". Marc was surprised to find that the corridor was getting more crowded with students that were off to lessons. The corridor began to slowly fill with students but he was determined to keep this conversation going. This was the first person he had a proper intelligent conversation with since he started school.
 
The joke had in fact flown over her head. It showed just how her life had been before getting to Hogwarts that normal interaction was nearly impossible to her. "My parents worked with me and brothers on dueling. So much so that my brothers would normally challenge me when I first got my toy wand. It was fun when they played fair." She said. She was lightly bullied by the boys but she had to admit she missed them, even fi it did seem like three of them would like nothing more than to kill her. "What about you? Who taught you?" She asked. She was surprised that someone else in the school could match her somewhat.
 
Marc had to think in his head for a split second about that question. "No one,, he chuckled, "Just made it up on the spot. But I made you believe I'm practised, right?". He smirked humourously at Saffron. By this point, Marc can only assume that she could feel comfortable around him. "Do you sit next to anyone in class? Or do you mind if I sit next to you? I'd prefer to sit next to someone I know, if that's okay". He smiled sweetly in hopes to win her over. It was too soon to judge if she'd be a long-term friend or just someone he'd remember. One thing is for sure, he liked her.
 
Saffron shrugged. "Improvisation, very good. With some practice you could make a decent enough duelist." She said a small smirk at the corner of her lip. She didn't really mean anything other than a friendly stab and Marc's ego which seemed to be a tad big but not anything she couldn't deal with. "I don't sit by anyone but I do tend to sit right up in front of the class where the teacher can notice me when questions are asked." She said. She believed that where it not for her competitive and her vengeful streak that she would have been a Ravenclaw but then she had met a Ravenclaw that was like her in some ways, emotionless and not much for social interactions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top