7 Apr 2020, 12:05
Tainted Love
Interacting with @Aly Salinger
Sunday 5th April 2020
Lilia had always loved to sing. It had been a part of her life ever since she was small, her parents would dance around the kitchen singing ABBA loud. The young girl's mother’s singing ability was not something to write home, she was forever going off-key and off-pitch, however, she always sang with gusto. Her father however, was another story. George had been blessed with a keen ear and voice and was definitely able to hold a note. Luckily for the young lion, Lilia had inherited her father’s voice, some may even say she was better than her old man.
Lilia had also inherited her father’s love for 80s music and pop culture. Lilia didn’t care to keep up with mainstream music of her time, while she could appreciate modern artists; in her humble opinion they ‘just didn’t make them like they used to’. Lilia’s whole ‘aesthetic’ as one might say, was completely retro and unique. She wouldn’t call herself edgy but her clothes had a certain flare to them that she somehow mastred. Despite her love for the time, Lilia hadn’t originally felt ‘brave’ enough to wear fashion different to the mainstream culture, however, she knew that Hogwarts was where people were themselves and the 11-year-old wanted to be true to herself, whatever that meant.
For example as it was the weekend, Lilia was allowed to wear what she liked. She wore floral jogging pants with a white tank top, on her feet were flip flops and she had her hair held up by a floral bandana. The castle could be cold at times especially in the winter but now was spring and Hogwarts had been filled with life. Lilia enjoyed the springtime, she loved the newness that came with the season, especially the new flowers and plants that bloomed in the Hogwarts meadows.
She used to always sing at home but ever since joining Hogwarts, she didn’t really have the opportunity to belt a tune. Lilia also felt self-conscious singing in front of people other than her family, which was also the reason why she had chosen to stay mute at Hogwarts. Whilst she liked the chaotic nature of the castle, there never was much peace and there was definitely not much privacy. Lilia knew she would get used to it eventually, afterall she would be spending 7 whole years at the castle. She simply couldn’t wait to learn about Magical Creatures, play Quidditch or maybe even learn to apparate, the possibilities were endless!
Lilia was craving to sing a little, it just made her so happy and ready to tackle the day ahead of her, regardless of how cheesy that sounded. She had decided to go looking for somewhere peaceful in the castle and had found some abandoned toilets. Well she said ‘found’ but deep down she knew they were a common spot for all sorts of students needing peace. Whether it was friendship or family troubles, a bad grade or just a need for peace and quiet, the abandoned toilets provided. Lilia had even heard talk that a ghost haunted them by the name of Myrtle but Lilia certainly did not want to encounter her.
Lilia sat in an empty stall in the toilets making sure that no one else was in range to hear her. Smiling softly, the girl began to sing the lyrics to Mr. Blue Sky, it was as if everything else disappeared, as if Lilia was the only girl in the world, she felt at peace with herself and anything that had been bothering her had faded away. “See how the sun shines brightly in the city”, Lilia sang almost like an angel; as the song progressed, she felt new-found confidence envelop her like a warm blanket. The young Gryffindor then stood up on the toilet seat and almost began laughing as she continued to sing the lyrics; “Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why, you had to hide away for so long!” Lilia was now head-deep into the song, singing with all her heart, her limbs had even started to resemble what could be passed as “dancing” if you were half blind! “Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race”, now this was what Lilia missed.
She soon finished her rendition of Mr. Blue Sky, Lilia collapsed on the toilet seat with a huge grin on her face, she kicked open the toilet stall door with her flip-flops as a finale, however what she saw made her heart drop to the floor. “Cacat”, Lilia swore in Romanian as she took into account of what her eyes were seeing. She had gone to the abandoned to get some peace and finally let out her emotions in a song but there standing in front of her was a girl with frizzy, curly hair. Lilia hadn’t seen the girl before but she could tell she was also a first-year. Judging by the expression on the girl's face, there was no doubt that she had heard Lilia’s little ‘performance’, Lilia knew she wasn’t bad at singing but singing in front of a complete stranger was a totally different story. The young Gryffindor couldn’t help but be annoyed, she hadn’t asked to be disturbed. Lilia wasn’t normally rude, generally she was nice and polite, maybe even a little shy; however, she was tired from singing and the fact that a stranger had heard her certainly didn’t put her in the best mood. Flicking her blonde hair that had fallen out of the bandana, away from her face, Lilia stared at the girl. “Who are you?”
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Wordcount: 932
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7 Apr 2020, 22:40
Tainted Love
What a morning it had been! Aly had spent the entire first few waking hours of her day curled up on a window seat in the Ravenclaw common room, reading this exciting new book she'd checked out from the Hogwarts library the day prior. Beating the Bludgers - A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch, it was called, written by one Kennilworthy Whisp. She could tell he was a Wigtown Wanderers fan, for almost every single one of the defensive strategies listed in the heavy tome was exemplified by some Wanderer example. Aly was personally a fan of the Holyhead Harpies, even though she did not live in Wales let alone in Holyhead itself, but she easily got past the author's love for the rival team because his knowledge of defensive strategies was so vast and intriguing. And as someone who wanted to play Beater on her House Quidditch team someday, it was always good to know about what defensive strategies might be used against the position.
"Enough about Quidditch," Aly reminded herself in a mumble as she strolled through the hallways of Hogwarts, book in hand, on her way to return it to the library (and probably check out another similar one). "You've got to focus on your studies, Aly..."
Her high-pitched voice trailed off as suddenly a new sound reached her ears. It was... music, of some sort, but not the kind Aly had ever heard before. Just one voice, light and- young and- female, for sure, though she couldn't make out the words or any instruments for that matter. Who would be singing in the abandoned halls in the early afternoon on a weekend? Curiosity overtook the young Ravenclaw first-year, and she followed the faint song down the corridor and around a corner.
The singing seemed to be the loudest when Aly stood in front of the large door that led to the second-floor girls' lavatory. At first, she paused, slightly nervous. She'd heard tales of this specific bathroom being haunted by a particularly gloomy ghost, something that started with M, she was mostly sure. Morticia? Martha? Melody? Aly couldn't remember... but whatever the ghost's name was, she had never heard anything about her singing. Were the stories even true, then? Or was the restroom just abandoned, used for musicians like the girl singing joyfully inside? Now that Aly was so close, she could begin to make out some of the words...
Hey there Mr. Blue / We're so pleased to be with you / Look around see what you do / Everybody smiles at you...
Aly had never been much of a dancer, but she found herself bopping her head to the lively tune. What magical music, what wonderful words! She had never heard anything quite like it, and her father was always listening to the Wizarding Wireless Network whenever he worked from home, so she had heard quite a lot of wizarding music. She preferred the oldies, though, so... perhaps this was a newer Wizarding song? Or maybe it was a Muggle ballad!! This thought sent a thrill through Aly's mind and all down her spine. Even before coming to Hogwarts, Aly had held a secret interest in Muggle culture (secret lest her very traditional pureblood mother find out about it), but since arriving at school it had magnified and multiplied. Aly couldn't exactly help her curiosity about a world she had never seen, not even once. This curiosity led her to reach for the handle...
Slowly, as the mysterious belting girl reached the song's bridge, Aly pushed the door open and took a peek around the otherwise empty bathroom. There were no ghosts waiting behind the door to mope or cry or scare off any entrants, no ghosts hidden behind the big white marble sinks in the lavatory's center, no ghosts in any of the empty stalls. Only one stall's door was closed, and though Aly's keen light green eyes couldn't see any feet on the floor, the singing was quite clearly coming from there. A ghost wouldn't need to (or potentially even be able to) close the door, though, so Aly was quite comfortable that it actually was a living breathing girl on the other side. She carefully leaned against the broken white sinks opposite from the toilets, examining her curly brown hair in the cracked and dirty mirror. Even though she hadn't stepped foot outside today, it was already frizzy. Ugh. This kind of thing always happened around springtime... soon her hair would start to become one gigantic matted nest of sorts. She just hoped no pygmy owls would try to live in it (which had happened before).
The song began to trail off, and Aly whirled around; suddenly the stall door was kicked open from the inside, and there was a girl sitting on the toilet seat. She had straight light blonde hair that Aly immediately envied- the straight-haired always had it easier- and green eyes that looked a lot like those of Aly herself. Not exactly hidden in those eyes was an intense look of shock combined with... was that annoyance?
The girl demanded to know who she was, and Aly instinctively stuck out her hand to shake even though she was way too far away. She sheepishly retracted it. "Oh- er- I'm Alyssa!" she managed, trying to get all of her thoughts on track. "Alyssa Salinger, actually, but- well- everyone calls me Aly." Aly blinked owlishly for a moment, not quite sure what to do or say, before eventually blurting out in awe: "You're really quite good!"
WC: 926
"Enough about Quidditch," Aly reminded herself in a mumble as she strolled through the hallways of Hogwarts, book in hand, on her way to return it to the library (and probably check out another similar one). "You've got to focus on your studies, Aly..."
Her high-pitched voice trailed off as suddenly a new sound reached her ears. It was... music, of some sort, but not the kind Aly had ever heard before. Just one voice, light and- young and- female, for sure, though she couldn't make out the words or any instruments for that matter. Who would be singing in the abandoned halls in the early afternoon on a weekend? Curiosity overtook the young Ravenclaw first-year, and she followed the faint song down the corridor and around a corner.
The singing seemed to be the loudest when Aly stood in front of the large door that led to the second-floor girls' lavatory. At first, she paused, slightly nervous. She'd heard tales of this specific bathroom being haunted by a particularly gloomy ghost, something that started with M, she was mostly sure. Morticia? Martha? Melody? Aly couldn't remember... but whatever the ghost's name was, she had never heard anything about her singing. Were the stories even true, then? Or was the restroom just abandoned, used for musicians like the girl singing joyfully inside? Now that Aly was so close, she could begin to make out some of the words...
Hey there Mr. Blue / We're so pleased to be with you / Look around see what you do / Everybody smiles at you...
Aly had never been much of a dancer, but she found herself bopping her head to the lively tune. What magical music, what wonderful words! She had never heard anything quite like it, and her father was always listening to the Wizarding Wireless Network whenever he worked from home, so she had heard quite a lot of wizarding music. She preferred the oldies, though, so... perhaps this was a newer Wizarding song? Or maybe it was a Muggle ballad!! This thought sent a thrill through Aly's mind and all down her spine. Even before coming to Hogwarts, Aly had held a secret interest in Muggle culture (secret lest her very traditional pureblood mother find out about it), but since arriving at school it had magnified and multiplied. Aly couldn't exactly help her curiosity about a world she had never seen, not even once. This curiosity led her to reach for the handle...
Slowly, as the mysterious belting girl reached the song's bridge, Aly pushed the door open and took a peek around the otherwise empty bathroom. There were no ghosts waiting behind the door to mope or cry or scare off any entrants, no ghosts hidden behind the big white marble sinks in the lavatory's center, no ghosts in any of the empty stalls. Only one stall's door was closed, and though Aly's keen light green eyes couldn't see any feet on the floor, the singing was quite clearly coming from there. A ghost wouldn't need to (or potentially even be able to) close the door, though, so Aly was quite comfortable that it actually was a living breathing girl on the other side. She carefully leaned against the broken white sinks opposite from the toilets, examining her curly brown hair in the cracked and dirty mirror. Even though she hadn't stepped foot outside today, it was already frizzy. Ugh. This kind of thing always happened around springtime... soon her hair would start to become one gigantic matted nest of sorts. She just hoped no pygmy owls would try to live in it (which had happened before).
The song began to trail off, and Aly whirled around; suddenly the stall door was kicked open from the inside, and there was a girl sitting on the toilet seat. She had straight light blonde hair that Aly immediately envied- the straight-haired always had it easier- and green eyes that looked a lot like those of Aly herself. Not exactly hidden in those eyes was an intense look of shock combined with... was that annoyance?
The girl demanded to know who she was, and Aly instinctively stuck out her hand to shake even though she was way too far away. She sheepishly retracted it. "Oh- er- I'm Alyssa!" she managed, trying to get all of her thoughts on track. "Alyssa Salinger, actually, but- well- everyone calls me Aly." Aly blinked owlishly for a moment, not quite sure what to do or say, before eventually blurting out in awe: "You're really quite good!"
WC: 926
| Aly Salinger's ency |
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STA 10 | EVA 14 | STR 5 | WIS 19 | ARC 7 | ACC 18 Charmer • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health • Lovely Creature • Foulplay • Keen Eye who's afraid of little old me? |
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8 Apr 2020, 13:41
Tainted Love
Lilia felt herself panicking and she quickly began fiddling with her hands, it was a habit that she really did have to stop but the urge to do something regardless of how small and insignificant it may be, was crashing over Lilia like a tidal wave. Her father had always told her to be proud of her talents, he told her she had the voice of an angel and that she was truly blessed. Lilia liked to believe him, however something was always holding her back. She hated singing in front of people, as soon as there was some distinctive measure of pressure to perform, her voice closed up and words, let alone songs, couldn’t form. She never told her parents about this, she didn’t want to disappoint them, especially when they had such high aspirations for their sole daughter. Sometimes she doubted herself, she wondered if she really could do things but the young girl had figured that putting on a mask was the only way to do things. She was extremely reckless and obnoxiously brave but deep down she wondered if she really was fit for Hogwarts, let alone Gryffindor.
She also had been quite rude to the girl in front of her, afterall it wasn’t her fault that Lilia had been oh so stupid to believe that she would be able to get peace where there was people everywhere. Lilia knew that she didn’t have to be demanding of who she was, or why she was here, obviously the girl was a student, she lived at Hogwarts and it was only inevitable that perhaps she too had wanted some peace. Taking a deep breath but keeping her nails digging into her palms she took away the look of annoyance out of eyes, leaving only a state of confusion. Lilia sheepishly smiled as the girl tried to shake hands with her considering they were over two metres away, the girl in question? Alyssa Salinger, well Aly, Lilia decided she liked her name, it was pretty although she wasn’t exactly sure why the girl would want to shorten a name like that, maybe it wasn’t her choice.
Aly stared at Lilia and the latter felt herself get a bit uncomfortable, if she were completely honest she wanted to be left alone again but something stopped her from running out of the toilets completely. Lilia also realized that she could be the reason why the atmosphere was unpleasant, she hadn’t been short of rudeness and Aly was definitely trying to be nice. Swinging herself off the toilet seat she moved closer to the girl and felt herself immediately blush as Aly said that she was quite good at singing. It wasn’t often that she got compliments, let alone from a frizzy-haired-girl who she met two minutes ago. However, Lilia wasn’t completely sure if the compliment was genuine or more a filler for the silence that had surrounded the two girls like a blanket. However, Lilia smiled at Aly and decided to let it slide.
Walking past Aly completely, Lilia made her way to the sink to wash her hands that felt a bit numb after digging her nails into them for so long. Looking over her shoulder with a small grin on her face she responded to the girl now behind her; “Sorry for my rudeness, I didn’t expect anyone to be here at this time.” Lilia’s voice was softer now, void of the annoyance that had recently been in her tone. Lilia turned around so she was facing the girl, she took into account Aly's physical features. The girl had rather owlish green eyes that definitely seemed to sparkle. Her hair was something of art, it was huge but in a nice way, Lilia thought. She would love to have some kind of hair like that instead of the flat hair that she harbored.
Speaking of her hair, Lilia tucked a small stand behind her ear, revealing a studded pearl in the lobe of her ear. Lilia had begged her mother to get her ears pierced and she finally relented on the girls 10th birthday, Lilia absolutely loved jewellery and was always wearing some new earrings or bracelets, it made her feel well put together. She realized she hadn’t introduced herself properly yet, putting out her hand (making sure she was in shaking distance); “It’s nice to meet you Aly, I’m Lilia Eilertsen”. It was a strange contrast, how different her emotions and tone of voice had changed towards Aly in the last minute or so.
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8 Apr 2020, 23:21
Tainted Love
The strange singer girl began to fiddle with her hands and then jumped off of the toilet seat to take a few steps closer. An obvious flush had spread over her cheeks- embarrassment, perhaps? Aly couldn't see any reason for the girl to be embarrassed- she was an amazing singer! Aly herself had always been terrible at singing, as she sounded quite like a screeching banshee whenever she tried it, but this girl had the voice of an angel that the Salinger girl had never quite been able to achieve. Any other person would likely be jealous, but that wasn't Aly's style... instead, she decided she would celebrate the girl's talent further to make sure she knew she didn't have to be embarrassed.
As soon as Aly opened her mouth to speak, however, suddenly the girl was apologizing for her rudeness and introducing herself in a soft, shyer voice that was completely at odds with the confident song that the girl- Lilia, she'd said- had been singing before. Aly instantly attempted to commit the name to memory. Lilia, Lilia, Lilia, Li-li-a. She'd gotten much better at remembering little things like names since her first month at Hogwarts, in which she'd been so overwhelmed that she had mixed up the names of her fellow Ravenclaws, other students, and even some of the professors. Now that had been an embarrassing time, but Aly had simply laughed it off and pushed through it as she did with every hardship.
She grasped Lilia's hand in a firm handshake, glad that the other girl had initiated the gesture this time. It would have been a little strange for Aly herself to do it again, especially when her first attempt at the greeting had turned out to be such rubbish. "It's nice to meet you!" she gushed, a sincere smile spreading eagerly across her round face. "Don't worry, I didn't really think you were being rude at all. And I was being serious with the compliment. Your singing voice is wonderful- I wish that I could have half your talent!"
For the first time, she really looked at the girl's outfit. What even was she wearing? Aly knew it was the weekend, but she didn't see a reason to wear anything other than her usual white button-down and grey pleated skirt; Lilia, on the other hand, wore looser pants patterned with flowers, a matching piece of cloth in her hair, and a white shirt that didn't seem to have any sleeves. And what in the entire wonderful Wizarding World was she wearing on her feet? They weren't exactly shoes... no, they were, but they didn't cover the tops of her feet, only the bottoms. And it seemed that there was some uncomfortable strap between her toes, holding the strange shoe on.
As usual, noticing something that she didn't know much about had Aly bubbling over with questions, practically overflowing from her lips. She couldn't help her curiosity- she supposed that's why she'd been Sorted into her father's House of Ravenclaw rather than into Slytherin like her mother. "If you don't mind me asking, what in the name of Merlin are those on your feet?" she blurted out quickly, gesturing down to the floor on which they stood, and trying to slow down the stream of words that was bursting from her mouth like she had just eaten an exploding bonbon full of them. "And also, I didn't recognize the song you were singing- but it was so beautiful, and I just have to know who it's by so I can listen for it next time I have the W.W.N. on! And, er, I'm sorry for the long stream of questions, but what House are you in? I don't recognize you at all, which is strange because it's April so if you're a first-year like me I have to have seen you around at points..."
Aly gave the girl something between a wince and a grin, hoping she wouldn't be too scared off by the rambling.
WC: 671 words (sorry for the shorter reply!)
As soon as Aly opened her mouth to speak, however, suddenly the girl was apologizing for her rudeness and introducing herself in a soft, shyer voice that was completely at odds with the confident song that the girl- Lilia, she'd said- had been singing before. Aly instantly attempted to commit the name to memory. Lilia, Lilia, Lilia, Li-li-a. She'd gotten much better at remembering little things like names since her first month at Hogwarts, in which she'd been so overwhelmed that she had mixed up the names of her fellow Ravenclaws, other students, and even some of the professors. Now that had been an embarrassing time, but Aly had simply laughed it off and pushed through it as she did with every hardship.
She grasped Lilia's hand in a firm handshake, glad that the other girl had initiated the gesture this time. It would have been a little strange for Aly herself to do it again, especially when her first attempt at the greeting had turned out to be such rubbish. "It's nice to meet you!" she gushed, a sincere smile spreading eagerly across her round face. "Don't worry, I didn't really think you were being rude at all. And I was being serious with the compliment. Your singing voice is wonderful- I wish that I could have half your talent!"
For the first time, she really looked at the girl's outfit. What even was she wearing? Aly knew it was the weekend, but she didn't see a reason to wear anything other than her usual white button-down and grey pleated skirt; Lilia, on the other hand, wore looser pants patterned with flowers, a matching piece of cloth in her hair, and a white shirt that didn't seem to have any sleeves. And what in the entire wonderful Wizarding World was she wearing on her feet? They weren't exactly shoes... no, they were, but they didn't cover the tops of her feet, only the bottoms. And it seemed that there was some uncomfortable strap between her toes, holding the strange shoe on.
As usual, noticing something that she didn't know much about had Aly bubbling over with questions, practically overflowing from her lips. She couldn't help her curiosity- she supposed that's why she'd been Sorted into her father's House of Ravenclaw rather than into Slytherin like her mother. "If you don't mind me asking, what in the name of Merlin are those on your feet?" she blurted out quickly, gesturing down to the floor on which they stood, and trying to slow down the stream of words that was bursting from her mouth like she had just eaten an exploding bonbon full of them. "And also, I didn't recognize the song you were singing- but it was so beautiful, and I just have to know who it's by so I can listen for it next time I have the W.W.N. on! And, er, I'm sorry for the long stream of questions, but what House are you in? I don't recognize you at all, which is strange because it's April so if you're a first-year like me I have to have seen you around at points..."
Aly gave the girl something between a wince and a grin, hoping she wouldn't be too scared off by the rambling.
WC: 671 words (sorry for the shorter reply!)
| Aly Salinger's ency |
| | |
STA 10 | EVA 14 | STR 5 | WIS 19 | ARC 7 | ACC 18 Charmer • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health • Lovely Creature • Foulplay • Keen Eye who's afraid of little old me? |
| | |