Trial and error

[Estrella Drage]

After suffering another dismal failure in the Transfiguration classroom, Estrella was determined to at least make some progress with her task today, while the idea was still fresh in her mind. There had been many times where she contemplated dropping the class altogether. However, she had only so far to go, and she would be done with the course for good. And besides, the material might become useful one day. How exactly, she wasn't sure, but it was never unhealthy to be prepared.

She didn't have that long of a walk to the empty classroom down the hall. It was usually vacated, and the Ravenclaw had spent a lot of time practicing her spellwork here. Pulling out her oak essence of raven feather, she banished all of the chairs and desks in the room to the walls around. She set her backpack to the side. Standing in the middle of the room, she envisioned a chair. Something boring and wooden- anything remotely interesting was far beyond her capabilities.

It took her a considerable amount of effort to produce anything. Estrella was both surprised and relieved when a chair popped out of thin air. The girl eyed it warily; it probably had some sort of defect. Figuring that testing it would never hurt, she approached it, and then took a seat.

Testing the chair out did hurt after all. After a good amount of creaking, it held her for about two seconds. She let out a loud yelp as the whole thing gave way beneath her. The seventh year swore loudly as her backside plopped into a pile of splintered wood. Normally she would have been much more professional with her speech, but as no one was around, she wasn't worried about the reputation she had to hold up.

 

[Alexandra Johansen]

Alexandra was trying to escape the glaring eyes of some of the students who had read that months gossip magazine, in which it said she was the grim. She ran up to the fifth floor, and went to hide in an empty classroom, when she noticed the Head Girl, Estrella, make a chair appear out of thin air. Alex stayed hidden on the other side of the wall, having only her head and long, dark hair in the doorway to see what the girl would do next.

She watched as Estrella walked towards the chair, seemingly hesitant to sit on it, and Alex watched as the chair broke after just two seconds of being sat on. She snickered lightly, but realized that it echoed into the empty classroom, and hid behind the gray wall once again. She took a deep breath, feeling a little stupid that she had gotten caught, and decided that the best thing to do would be enter the classroom, and see if she was okay.

Alex rolled her eyes, knowing this was completely uncharacteristic of her, and stood in front of the doorway, entering the classroom with a confident air about her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice sounding completely fake, and unnatural, but not purposly like that.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella did not hear anyone else in the room, so she was surprised when she looked up to see a younger girl. She'd seen her before- though she helped so many people in Flourish and Blotts it was impossible to keep track of anyone these days. The Ravenclaw was apt to forget names as soon as she had learned them. Whoever the girl was, her voice carried a bit of attitude to it. Estrella had learned over the years not to jump to conclusions. She smiled politely at the girl.

"I think I'll be okay. Just a bit stunned is all, thanks." She rose, brushing off her robes, grimacing at the mess she had made. She held out her wand, contemplating what to do with it. Reparo would be pretty useless- especially if the chair did not hold up in the first place. Keeping a small smile, she asked, "What brings you here? I didn't even know someone else was in the room." Estrella found this a suitable place to practice her spellwork. She couldn't possibly be the only who did.

 

[Alexandra Johansen]

Estrella seemed fine, as she got up from the floor, not that Alex cared much. When the attention was diverted to her, she got a chill down her spine, but was a little thankful she hadn't been recognized by the Head Girl as 'the Grim Girl', or whatever other names she was being called. She had to think fast, not wanting to look suspicious for lurking in the corridor. "It doesn't really matter what I'm doing here. The fact of the matter is that I'm here." Alex blurted out, not fully thinking through what she was saying. She was still a little furious about the whole 'grim' thing, that she had gotten caught, and her mind was racing.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's already small smile became minute as the girl answered her question. She had never understood the stereotypical Slytherin mentality. With a slight shrug, Estrella waved her wand at the pile of rubbish, levitating all the parts in front of her and wondering where she could stash them. There had to be a waste bin around here somewhere. From the tone of the girl's voice, there was obviously something bothering her. "Just curious, is all," she finally said, keeping the mess of broken pieces a good distance from the younger student. "If you were coming in here to practice or something, I can leave if you'd like me to." She thought of asking the girl if she had something that she needed to talk about- she didn't look too happy after all- but Estrella decided against it. She would probably be told to sod off anyway. "I don't believe we've been introduced. Estrella Drage." The seventh year held out a free hand, her wand in the other. She wondered if the younger girl would take it.

 

[Alexandra Johansen]

Alex could tell what the Head Girl was thinking by the way her smile diminished. Just another Slytherin, I bet. She thought to herself in a snarly tone. She then watched as Estrella levitated the broken chair unsure where put it. "I was just walking. Not coming to practice." Alexandra said, then stuck her hand out to shake Estrella's hand, when she introduced herself. Obviously I know who you are. You're the head girl. She thought to herself, holding back an eye roll. "Alexandra Johansen. Third year Slytherin. I don't believe we have." Alexandra said, holding back a snippy tone, being genuinely nice by that.

"What was that you were trying to do?" She asked after a moment of silence, for she began to feel uncomfortable.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Nice to meet you, Alexandra," Estrella responded, her voice trailing as she released the Slytherin's hand and pulled away. The Ravenclaw backed away and stepped to the other side of the room, scouting out a garbage bin. Her lips curled in satisfaction as she found a small wastebasket. With a wave of her wand, what remained of the chair hit the bottom of the bucket with a series of clunks. She spun around as the third year asked her a question. "Trying to conjure a chair. It seems I can't produce one that you could actually sit on." Her smile was a bit warmer as she explained to the girl. "I really, really do not like Transfiguration. I have to do all I can not to fail the class, let alone catch up." Estrella may be the Head Girl and a Ravenclaw to boot, but she wasn't perfect by any means. She had a few strong suits, and Transfiguration was definitely not one of them.

 

[Alexandra Johansen]

Alexandra nodded, she didn't much like transfiguration, either, though she kind of had a knack for it. "I'm not much a fan of transfiguration, though I happen to be better than I'd like. I guess, I was kind of...born with it." She said, with a malicious smirk on her face, knowing the hidden meaning behind those words. She was a metamorphmagus, and loved it. She used her powers when she was bored, or needed a quick getaway, but more recently she began to prank using her ability. Only one other person knew about it, that she was aware of. The rest of the school assumed she was a grim, but that would soon blow over.

"So you're not so perfect for Head Girl, are you?" She said, not meaning to point out Estrellas flaws, just to start conversation. After reading the magazine, she didn't want people to assume she was a lifeless grim, so she thought it would be best to become more social.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Lucky," Estrella commented, leaning against the desk casually. She wondered what Alexandra meant by being born with a tendency towards Transfiguration, deducing that it was probably just figurative. "I'm just bad at it all around." Her performance in the class had been great in the beginning, and had gradually declined as the years drawled on. The Ravenclaw observed the Slytherin curiously. She definitely had a strange way of holding a conversation. However, Estrella didn't detect any hostility or maliciousness in the girl's question, and shook her head. "Perfection's an impossible concept. I'm leagues away from it, by any standard." The Ravenclaw always found it difficult to live up to unrealistic expectations. "So, Alexandra, are you taking any classes that you do like?"

 

[Alexandra Johansen]

Alexandra smirked, knowing the answer to that question straight away. Potions was her favourite subject, and she also really loved to cook. "Potions is my favourite subject. I know, it's a cliché for a Slytherin student. I also like cooking, though I haven't bothered to join the Cooking club. What is your favourite subject?" Alexandra asked, realising she might actually make a friend here. She needed to be more social, and that's what she was working towards. Though, the friendship would be short lived, considering that her new friend would be graduating from Hogwarts at the end of this year anyway.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella chuckled as Alexandra told the Ravenclaw that her favorite subject was Potions. She shrugged as she responded, "Eh, sometimes we just live up to cliche. Whether by accident or not. Potions is a pretty neat subject- you get to work with some super difficult ones as you get older. But they're more fun." Her eyebrows raised, she said, "You like to cook? What do you like to make?" In all honesty, Estrella did not even know that a cooking club existed in the school. As the end of her tenure loomed nearer and nearer, she started to wish that she had been more involved in clubs and such. Well, nothing she could do about that now. She smiled and said, "Charms is my favorite subject. I really want to go into a field that deals with charms- they're so practical. I'm even thinking about being a professor one day."

 

[Alexandra Johansen]

Alexandra stood there a little akwardly as she thought about what she liked to cook. Why am I telling this complete stranger my personal interests? She's gone in a few months anyway, so what does she matter to me? She was about to open her mouth and say something rude, when she remembered she's better off knowing the Head Girl on good terms if she ever needed a connection later on in life. "I like to cook anything and everything. Italian and Mexican foods are my best dishes I find." She said, probably coming off more sweet than she intended. Acting was also something else she happened to have a natural talent for, but she would never want to get into showbusiness, she hated the spotlight.

"A professor, huh? What sort of charms do you learn as you get older? Don't you think you should be able to repair the chair by now?" Alex asked, realising she shot alot of questions in one breath, probably overwhelming the Ravenclaw. She walked over to the bucket with the pieces of the chair in it, and took them out, laying them on the ground.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's eyes glazed over just a bit as Alexandra brought up the different types of food she liked to cook. "Mexican food... now that is something I miss. Hard to get around these parts." Her last statement, though obvious, was more of a lament than anything. Was her mouth actually watering? "Where are you from?" she asked curiously, wondering about Alexandra's origins. She wasn't trying to be blatant or pushy, and hoped she didn't come off that way. Wherever Alexandra was from, she didn't come off as a native Kiwi.

"You get to learn a lot more- they're more difficult but worth the effort. The Disillusionment Charm is pretty cool, then you've got things like the Flame Freezing Charm, and we were even able to try out the Patronus Charm this year." The Ravenclaw winced a bit at the last part. She was still having issues producing a Patronus, and was not even close to making it corporeal. It was definitely an irritant under her skin. Glancing down at the pieces of chair that Alexandra had started to pick out of the trash bin, she chuckled, "I could, but I'm not sure it'd be worth it. Wasn't a good chair in the first place."

 

[Alexandra Johansen]

"Um, I'm Spanish and Swedish. What about you?" Alex responded. She took out her wand, after she finished laying out the pieces of the chair down and aimed her wand at the pieces, commanding, "Reparo!" She wasn't very surprised to see that the pieces hadn't moved an inch. She was defeated, but didn't give off the impression that she had failed. She turned back to the Ravenclaw, and said, "In Charms, do you learn how to use spells non-verbally, and without your wand?" Those were two things she really wanted to learn badly. Alex cast Wingardium Leviosa on the pieces and levitated them back into the bucket, then she kicked the bucket into one of the floor-to-ceiling closets, shutting the doors closed.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella hadn't intended to ask about Alexandra's blood heritage, rather where she had come from to go to the school, but she realized that her question had come off that way. With a small smile, she said, "You know, I'm not entirely sure. I'm a quarter Scandinavian and I think there's some Irish and German down the line. As for the rest, I couldn't tell you." She grinned. "I'm from the States." Sure, she hadn't been born there, but it was where she had spent the greater half of her childhood.

The Ravenclaw watched as the Slytherin attempted to repair the chair. Trying to put it back together was a pretty useless feat, as she had figured. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she responded, "Well, you don't learn how to do those in Charms, but you do in Defense class. You get to start learning nonverbal in sixth year, I think, and then seventh year you get to practice wandless magic." She smirked as the girl kicked the bucket into one of the closets. Someone would clean it up. Eventually.