Farther Than The Eye Can See PV Opeila Finished

Opeila had a hard time sleeping. For weeks she had alway only been able to sleep late and wake up way before everyone else. She had spent some time in her common room with a book, but after she had finished it, there was nothing for her to do there anymore. She didn't even think about getting her violin, first she would wake all the students up and second she still connected too many strong emotions with the instrument.

Instead she had decided to visit a place she hadn't seen for months. The Astronomy Tower. Last time she had been up there she had talked to Jack Burnett, in the middle of the night, way after curfew. This time it was more relaxed, she could wander around without the fear of being caught by one of the prefects or professors. Opeila hadn't even realised that she had missed this place. She loved the height and the cold air. When she reached the top of the stairs, the wind immediately blew her hair into her face and she brushed it back, smiling a little. The Slytherin pulled her scarf tighter, once more she had underestimated the temperature.

Opeila didn't look around when she went straight to the railing, breathing in deeply. The view was beautiful. She looked at the sun that was still rising, half visible above the top of a mountain.
She turned her head to the left-- And then finally saw the third year who had his head buried in one of his arms. Opeila's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. How had she not seen him until just now?
Hesitantly she walked over, not quite knowing what to say- Opeila had seen people reacting very differently when disturbed in their emotions. If he was crying, that meant. She couldn't realy tell.
"Hey, uhm... Are you ok?", the first year asked hesitantly.

@Dmitri Jones

Dmitri visibly stiffened as a voice called out to him while he was in one of his sad, emotional funks--again. With a quiet, wet sniff and a subtle rub of is eyes on one of his sleeves, the older Slytherin straightened and glared at the intruder.

His eyes would widen only slightly as he took in the other's presence.

It was a younger female student from the same house as him--and she looked familiar. He might have seen her and noted her presence in the Great Hall during the Sorting Ceremony at the start of the school year--and maybe a few times after that, but with the number of bratty teenagers entering their house this year, he wasn't entirely sure who she was (and who did she think she was barging in on a vulnerable moment like this?)

"What do you want, kid?" Aren't these children supposed to be asleep right now? Nobody's up to climbing multiple flights of stairs to get to the Astronomy Tower this early in the morning--especially not a fellow Slytherin, what with their common room being in the Dungeons and all. At least for him, his first few months as a first-year he'd taken advantage of all his free time--that wasn't spent studying--to catch up on much-needed sleep.

Your first year at Hogwarts was a lot to take in.

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow haughtily at her, his bout of vulnerability momentarily forgotten. "And what makes you think I'm not okay?" I was fine. Definitely fine. Just got a little teary at the... beautiful landscape. Yes, right. Definitely wasn't crying. Dmitri bristled at the sympathy he saw from the girl's expression. To say he was irritated was an understatement. 

"I'm perfectly fine! On the contrary, I should be asking you that." The raven-haired boy looked the other student up and down and took in her quite disheveled appearance. Maybe it was the wind or the cold, but the girl looked quite worse for wear. "First year at Hogwarts got to you, huh?"

He knew he was a little mean, but did that mean that he cared? Definitely not.

The warm, golden rays of the rising sun were not enough to give him the patience needed to deal with children this time of day--but he must admit, the leftover melancholy took away a little bit of the sharpness to his words.

@Opeila Seilun

A little sharpness more or less, Opeila didn't care at all. In the moment the boy had finished his first sentence, her inner wall had been up, allowing her to react completely relaxed.
She didn't miss that her rubbed his eyes in his sleeves, so now she was almost certain that he had been crying. So it was not surprising that he reacted unfriendly. He was quite tall, probably a second or third year... more likely third year.

He asked her what she wanted-- more or less friendly. Opeila only lightly rose a brow at his tone. "I want to enjoy the view... And you?"

He then crossed his arms and asked her what made her think that he wasn't okayg. Opeila walked to the railing next to him, looking at the mountains. She gave him that privacy in case his eyes were teary or red.
"I don't know. I guess I was wrong then." She wouldn't waster her time to convince a crying boy that he was not okay...

His next words caught her off guard. He said he should be asking her that. First year of Hogwarts go to her.
Opeila turned her face to him now, her eyes slightly narrowed. "What makes you say that..."
Two possibilities from what she had seen.
First: He felt cornered and now bit back. Fair enough.
Second: He, a stranger who had looked at her for maybe a minute could tell that she was emotionally completely exhausted. That would be terrible.
Or she was understanding something wrong and he meant something different.

A little sharpness more or less, Opeila didn't care at all. In the moment the boy had finished his first sentence, her inner wall had been up, allowing her to react completely relaxed.
She didn't miss that her rubbed his eyes in his sleeves, so now she was almost certain that he had been crying. So it was not surprising that he reacted unfriendly. He was quite tall, probably a second or third year... more likely third year.

He asked her what she wanted-- more or less friendly. Opeila only lightly rose a brow at his tone. "I want to enjoy the view... And you?"

He then crossed his arms and asked her what made her think that he wasn't okayg. Opeila walked to the railing next to him, looking at the mountains. She gave him that privacy in case his eyes were teary or red.
"I don't know. I guess I was wrong then." She wouldn't waster her time to convince a crying boy that he was not okay...

His next words caught her off guard. He said he should be asking her that. First year of Hogwarts go to her.
Opeila turned her face to him now, her eyes slightly narrowed. "What makes you say that..."
Two possibilities from what she had seen.
First: He felt cornered and now bit back. Fair enough.
Second: He, a stranger who had looked at her for maybe a minute could tell that she was emotionally completely exhausted. That would be terrible.
Or she was understanding something wrong and he meant something different.

@Dmitri Jones

Dmitri's brows furrowed, skeptical and quite a little bit uncomfortable at the casual way the other student placed herself beside him on the tower railing--but at least her incriminating and sympathetic eyes weren't on him anymore.

Small miracles. He hated being silently judged.

"That makes the two of us..." The older Slytherin muttered quietly as the girl expressed her own desire to look at the view. Can't blame her; view's amazing. The sun's almost out by then, nearly cresting above one of the green peaks just some ways away from the Hogwarts Castle. Soon enough, it'd be time for classes and homework; the sunrise really doesn't last forever, however hard a certain Slytherin boy wished for it to be.

Dmitri raised his hands in a gesture of surrender as the girl suddenly turned heated, narrowed eyes on him after his comment about her appearance. "Oy! Have you seen yourself recently?" He gestured to her. "No offense, but your under-eyes have bags you can probably label as designer." He understood fully, though. Your first year at Hogwarts was a major adjustment--if it weren't for his obsession with his schoolwork rendering him comatose most of the time during his first year, he wouldn't have been able to sleep much as well. 

He threw his hands up frustratedly. That was a little offensive if he was to be honest. "What I meant was, that's why I should be the one asking you if you were okay." But I won't because I don't know you and I'm not the type to be in other people's business--hell, I wish other people cared about their own businesses like I do; the world would be a much better place.

"You don't seem to be... adjusting well to the," he cleared his throat, "Hogwarts lifestyle if your eyebags were any indication." By this time he was past caring whether he was being offensive or not--and anyway, whatever he was saying was true to what he thought and felt. And besides, he was nearly sounding like he was concerned, so he might have been making up for it a bit by being a little extra abrasive. He doesn't want people to think he was soft, now does he?

@Opeila Seilun

Her housemate agreed with her opinion about the view. Opeila wondered if there was a person in this castle who wouldn't. She couldn't imagine to hate it.

When she asked him what made him say that he should aske her if she was ok, he pointed out the bags under her eyes. Oh. That made sense, Opeila hadn't been able to sleep properly in ages. Damn insomnia.
The third year suddenly seemed to be worried if he had offended her, because he started to explain what he meant and said that Opeila didn't seem to be adjusting to the Hogwarts lifestyle very well.
Opeila had turned back again to look at the view.
"... Yes. It is a lot of work. Does it get less in the upper years?", she asked. This was not even close to the truth about her problems but that was nothing she was going to tell him while she didn't even know his name.

"I am Opeila Seilun. By the way.", she said. Opeila had already figured out, that especially Slytherins tended to keep information to themselves as long as the other one had not spilled his yet. Might it be that small.
Opeila felt like she had to be careful with this housemate of hers. He seemed like he wanted to be a jerk, while he could be totally different. She knew another one of those.

@Dmitri Jones

Dmitri wanted to think he couldn't really care less about the younger girl--or any other student in the school--but in reality, the way they all experienced the same stress, pressures, and danger inside this educational institution intertwined them all in so many ways. They all might have different attitudes and perspectives on the things happening around the school, but they were all just... children all left to fend for themselves. 

Granted, they were magical children. But that didn't diminish the fact, however, that they all deserved to just... be children for Merlin's sakes! But no--now they'd need to deal with heartbreak, social relationships, mutated spiders... death.

Seeing the younger girl reminded him of the fact that they were responsible for themselves from here on out, now. Their parents weren't there (those lucky enough to have parents, that is) to remind them to get proper sleep and eat their vegetables, their headmaster has gone to God-knows-where, and most of them didn't have anybody they can call allies or friends to tide over the ups and downs. For the past two years, he has distracted himself with his schoolwork--something he knows he can control, something predictable, something sane. An O was achievable--foreseeable, even. 

But survival? Happiness? Genuine human connection? In this school that is slowly going to the dogs? 

Unfathomable.

Dmitri would chuckle ruefully. "Trust me, the first year is always the hardest."

For the luckiest of them all, the first year would be a fun, rollercoaster of an experience with friends they'd made along the way.  But for those that have no one else but themselves to call their own? It's hell.

The Slytherin boy would once again rest his arms on the tower railing and stare at the early-morning scenery in front of him, unconscious of the fact that he has started to find it easy to relax again, even with the shorter girl beside him.

"The first year, you'll be so engrossed with acceptance--with interactions and connections. You'll crave recognition and approval. You'll start thinking that maybe you don't have to do this alone, after all." Dmitri would breathe in the chilly morning air before speaking again. "And for some of us, it works--we find what we all desire, what we all look for."

He'd sigh, eyes unfocused, and thoughts far away. "For some of us, it isn't all rainbows and sunshine and long-lasting bonds--and we learn to make do with what we have."

A distant chorus of hoots would suddenly pierce the air. Right below them, a flock of owls swooped and dived around towers and school buildings on their way to deliver the morning post down in the Great Hall.

Lucky birds, Dmitri'd think to himself. Being able to see all kinds of faraway places--all while doing it with others who share the same burden.

He wouldn't realize he said this part out loud.

The boy would then stare at the girl's profile as she introduced herself, before replying. "Call me Dmitri. Dmitri Jones, third year."

The older boy chuckled and then told Opeila that the first year was always the hardest.
He then started to explain- probably his own- first year experiences. The first year nodded. Made sense so far... even though she found it strange of him to generalize his experience. On the other hand... Didn't Jack Burnett accuse her of doing the same? Acting like her thoughts and opinions were facts?

Her housemate went on about some students succeeding, finding friends and reach their goals and others who don't.
Opeila looked at him, thinking. "... I which of those groups do you see yourself?"
It was one of those moments where she could think objective about the things he said. None of them were actually alone. She was sure of that. If everyone, who thought about himself as alone would come together, they'd see that there were people willing to help them, stand with them. One only needed to look around...
"You seem so convinced, that the school will be the problem. But what if you had the choice between home and Hogwarts, and home would be the worse choice?" Opeila would not want to go home, even if it was offered to her right now. She needed to stay away from that house as long and as far as she could.

She heard his comment about the owls. "That they are...", was all she said about that.

The boy introduced himself as well, Dmitri Jones, a third year.
"Nice to meet you, Dmitri.", she said while still watching the owls. It was a strange habit of hers to always look for her family owl. She feared and hoped for news at the same time.

@Dmitri Jones

"... I which of those groups do you see yourself?"

Dmitri would freeze slightly at the question. Uncomfortable, he'd divert his eyes back towards the slowly rising sun.  "Well, if you haven't heard of me yet, I'm doing quite swimmingly in my academic career--I've learned all that I needed to and more. Quite better than my peers, dare I say," he replied after clearing his throat surreptitiously. The raven-haired boy absently traced a finger over the cold stone of the railing in thought. "I'm doing well in school so I guess I'm the former," Dmitri deflected, avoiding talk of friendships and emotional connections altogether. A much more observant individual would clock the slight diversionary tactic, but Dmitri figured Opeila was too young to catch the complexities of his statement.

He pulled off his green-and-silver scarf as the Astronomy Tower started to get slightly warmer by the minute, signaling that they might not have that much time left to dwindle before classes started--unless they chose to forego breakfast altogether. Letting the scarf hang from his hand and watching it sway slowly in the breeze, Dmitri would look back at the younger student as she spoke once more.

"You seem so convinced, that the school will be the problem. But what if you had the choice between home and Hogwarts, and home would be the worse choice?"

Dmitri scoffed quietly in indignation. "Firstly, I never said that Hogwarts was the problem..." On the contrary, it's too close to a personal problem for comfort, he thought to himself. This difficulty in adjusting he has experienced and still is experiencing seemed not to plague most of the students his age. "...though the Headmaster has a lot of explaining to do." He continued. "And second, I'm sure whatever was the less horrible choice, as long as one was far away from their problems, would be a choice I'd support. Any escape would be a good escape." The Slytherin, however, being the way that he was, didn't miss what Opeila didn't say. 

Apparently, he wasn't the only one with a messed up background.

As the last of the owls entered the Great Hall, Dmitri turned to the other girl and nodded in acknowledgment. "Nice to meet you, too."