A Discovery Private Closed

In this world, there were about a million and one things that Alexx would rather be doing than holding a conference with some child. A first year. A nobody. It wasn't that Alexx knew for certain that this girl, Catriona, was a nobody, it was merely an assumption based on the fact that she was a first-year student. Perhaps she was popular amongst her grade, but she certainly hadn't made a name for herself. Alexx didn't know her, anyway, and Alexx was the eyes and ears of Hogwarts (quite literally). That drew her to the conclusion that this was, perhaps, a gawking fan, a sycophant, ready to fawn her way into the Headliner.

Needless to say, the Slytherin went in with low expectations. This would be short; she had exactly five minutes of Alexx's time before she took her leave. But one question remained on the mind of the third year. Of all places, why the study room? This all felt too clandestine. Perhaps, she thought, there was secret news that Alexx was to report. If that were the case, she was all ears. Of course, with Hogwarts After Hours emerging into the world, there was no need for the cloak-and-dagger meetings. So, Alexx was at a loss.

Strolling into the study room, Alexx checked the time on her watch, sighed, and then entered. Briefly, she made sure that no one important was watching. She didn't want to be seen willingly interacting with a kid. Not that Alexx had much of a reputation anymore, being nearly irrelevant since she left the Prefect position, but it would be chastening to see what little was left fall to shambles. Word travels fast around Hogwarts; she should know.

Each person had their niche. That seemed to be true, anyway. Alexx's was being bitter. She wasn't always like this. In her first year, she was much more pure and compassionate. That was a big jump from her current merciless state. Furthermore, she decided that she did not want to be called "Alexx" anymore. She went by Lexx now. Just Lexx. Many things had changed since last year. She got an extreme haircut from Max, a nose piercing from Ami, and a new name from Tex. The Slytherin was a changing girl.

Upon spotting Catriona, Alexx kept a lowkey presence. "Hello," She started, nodding. "Since I'm here now, you can tell me what this meeting is for." On one hand, Alexx didn't mean to sound rude. On the other, she didn't actually care. It wasn't that she was heartless, because the opinion of the people did still matter, but she was guarded, for lack of a better word. Carefully, she brushed some of her silky hair behind her ear and took a seat, drumming her porcelain fingers against the wooden side table that was next to her before shifting her hand to run the same fingers across the smooth leather of the seat. Her attention shifted to notice that the leather was cracking just a bit, but she tried her best to focus back on the girl.

"So, what's so important that I must make a formal introduction of myself?" Thoughtfully, she tried to remember if perhaps Catriona was acquainted with anyone that she knew. But alas, Alexx knew very few first years. Only the ones that worked for her, mostly. There was Brielle, who was her bunkmate. Santario and Asteria worked for Alexx, so she knew them to an extent. There was Bastille, too. Lastly, of course, was any first years on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Her acquaintance with first years were only extended so far, which drew her to the conclusion that she had no good guess as to why Catriona would drag her halfway across the castle to meet with her.

Interacting with @Alexx Séverin

Mentioning no one

RPing as Catriona Staverly | text color #674da8

Alexx's voice startled Catriona, but a quick glance at the clock told her the other girl was just on time. Catriona had half thought she wouldn't come at all. After all, it wasn't like Catriona had given her a wealth of information. Alexx probably thought she was some crazed fan seeking to bribe her way into the Headliner with petty flattery. Not that any of that would work; Catriona had never been the best at sucking up to people. Alexx didn't know that though. Catriona couldn't blame her for being mildly suspicious of her motives. Catriona would have been too if put in that situation.

That didn't mean she wasn't nervous. She was. Very very nervous. She'd tried tackling the meeting like she would with a troublesome assignment, but that hadn't worked very well. Research only helped to an extent and when she was asking about a person she just felt awkward and mildly stalker-like. She knew about Alexx, of course. Everyone did, to an extent. She was the type of person people knew about. Like a walking urban legend.

She carried herself that way too, like she was important and people should look at her because she deserved their attention. It was interesting to Catriona, but she was by no means envious. It looked rather tiring, really. Caring so much about ones reputation had to have a toll. But who was Catriona to say such things? She didn't know Alexx. She'd seen the other girl maybe three times. But it interested her anyway. She wondered briefly if Alexx ever felt lonely... Given all of the attention she had it seemed unlikely.

It was none of her business anyway. She just needed to get this over with.

"I'm sorry for calling you here with such short notice, but this is important." She paused. "And it's not about the Headliner," she said, as an afterthought. "There's really no easy way to say this, but—" She took a breath, fingers digging into the arms of her chair. "We're cousins?" It came out like more like a question than Catriona would have liked. She rushed to explain. "My sister found some letters in the attic of our house from your mother. Vivienne Séverin, right? My mother was her sister. She ran away before they, well, became Death Eaters. Augusta Séverin. That's her name. She married my father to get away from it all and here we are." She took in a long breath. "I'm sorry, I know it's a lot to take in. I would have sent you a letter, but I figured you deserved to be told in person."

She shifted in her chair, twisting at the end of one of her braids. "If you're worried about me telling people, I promise you I won't. And if I do, at least it'll be mutually assured destruction? You're welcome to drag my name through the mud if I tell people."

What was, perhaps, the most disappointing was that this did not come as a surprise to Alexx. She knew that her family kept secrets; this wasn't news. A secret cousin was no big deal, which was why she didn't look phased. If she were lucky, she could go about living her life the same way as she always did. There would be no change and no immediate call for action.

So, she shrugged. "Sounds about right. What you will learn about the Séverin family is that they are liars. I don't blame your mother for running away. My brother did; it runs in the family." Though Alexx was snarling, she wasn't mad at Catriona. This was not the fault of the poor girl who was unfortunate enough to be related to Alexx and her clan. "Words of advice: you can't choose your blood, but you can choose your family." This was some advice that Alexx learned early on, and was currently taking to heart.

But then, she sighed. Catriona would never know the truth if she didn't tell her. Not the truth about their name being drug through Hell and back; everyone knew that. The truth about the lives that these people lived, and the extravagance that the brunette was, perhaps, severely missing out on. There was a beauty in it in the end. Something weirdly elegant and graceful about knowing the edge that you lived on at all moments. Besides, for the past 19 years or so, there's been too much shit going on that the Ravenclaw sitting before her might not even be able to fathom. From the outside looking in, the Séverin clan are muggle-hating, wicked frauds. But there was just so much more to it than that.

"It's not all bad, I suppose. You've got four other cousins, anyway. Emmaline is in your year. Then there's Texas and Mikaël. Tex would be a 7th year this year, but he dropped out a while ago. Mikaël is an adult. Lastly, there's Macaire, who goes to Ilvermorny. He's our uncle's son." Trying to make sure Alexx didn't miss anyone, she also made sure not to include Raoul's latest reveal: an affair. More kids in other places. A hidden child, the same age as Emmaline. She would be transferring to Hogwarts next year. There was a second child, slightly younger than the first, and a new one on the way. The years began to unravel when she made this discovery, and Raoul's absence suddenly made perfect sense. None of that, however, would matter to Catriona. She had no relation to Raoul.

After remembering that, Alexx couldn't help but scowl. She was related to a disgusting adulterer. How humiliating! However, she straightened herself out, taking a deep breath, and then continued. "Was there any message conveyed about your aunts and uncle, by the way? Big families tend to run in our blood, I guess." For the sake of keeping the pureblood heritage. Her family thought that purebloods were a dying breed and that they needed to repopulate the wizarding community. How disappointed they would be upon discover of Simon, Alexx's muggle, Canadian lover. Well... Something of the sort. "Boyfriend", perhaps.

Alexx gave a half-grin. "You don't look very Séverin-like. That's okay, you don't want to be associated with us. I got all of the signature traits... Texas and Emmaline got lucky and didn't. But Mikey and I... Well, we look the part. Just another reason for people the likes of Aurelia to spit on our name. I'd be wary about letting anyone know we're related; Aurelia tends to attack." Though Alexx hadn't had any recent encounters with Aurelia, she still didn't want her to cause problems. She knew that there had been issues recently with... monsters. The commotion was evident at the ball. Who knew what she was plotting next.

Interacting with @Alexx Séverin
Mentioning no one
RPing as Catriona Staverly | text color #674da8

Catriona was taken aback at first by Alexx's mildly aggressive tone. The words she spoke themselves were calm. Kind, even, if you were willing to go so far. She wasn't sure why Alexx was so unperturbed about the whole thing. Catriona had been shocked when she'd found out. It wasn't like she trusted her parents very much— they weren't around long enough for that— but she'd always figured they trusted her enough to tell her things like this.

But really, who was she kidding? Catriona hadn't even told anyone about this except for Alexx, and that was out of necessity. Besides, it wasn't like she had anyone to tell. She didn't know anyone at Hogwarts well enough for that and Gem... Gem wasn't really her friend. Not anymore.

She shook her head a little and laughed wryly at Alexx's comment. "I'm not very good at making friends. Better at loosing them if I'm honest." She gave the other girl a quick smile. "It doesn't matter, anyway."

Alexx clearly had a lot of siblings, which Catriona figured must have been comforting. It was easier to dislike your parents when your siblings had your back or at least shared the same experiences you did growing up. Things weren't like that with Freddie and Will, though. Even when she'd been younger, they hadn't really grown up together. She loved them, of course, but she really only knew them through their letters. At least there was that.

"You all sound very French," she said, smiling a little. "I've got two siblings, but they're much older than me. Freddie's the black sheep, I guess, and Will is the golden child. I'm kind of... in the middle somewhere. I haven't heard much about aunts and uncles, other than your mother. But then again, Freddie didn't send me the letters, so I don't know what Mother mentioned or didn't mention."

Catriona found herself relaxing at the sight of Alexx's grin. Clearly the other girl wasn't all that bad, especially if she was taking the time to tell her all this. "I used to be blonde, if that's what you mean. My hair went brown when I was eight, I think. I don't really remember."

Her next comment gave Catriona pause and she frowned. The name Aurelia rang a bell, but Catriona knew she didn't know the other girl personally. She would have remembered her if she did. "Who's Aurelia?"