This is the Greatest Show PV. Levi Drakos Closed

It was easy to embrace January weather. Not unlike autumn, Levi saw it as much more gruesome than it was. A winter wonderland was more of a wasteland, a time so brutally unkind yet the young aspiring poets would continue to romanticize a dripping icicle or a lake with a thinly iced surface. Dreams of skating were crushed by fractures with the smallest pressure, blankets of snow would rapidly melt and leave only a muddy marsh in their wake. Everyone was there for the sublime moments as fleeting as they were, the aesthetic of fireplaces and warm mugs, but the moment the ice turned to slush and the dead limbs dangling from barren trees weren’t frozen over, those same enthusiasts hid behind woven quilts of seasonal depression.

This was one of the warmer days, a breathing mark of the fluctuating temperature. Leafless trees provided careless shade; intricate motifs traced along the grass from the entanglement of the bleak branches above, not terribly different from the jagged hexagonal designs of stained glass. These thin shadows were cast over the boy’s expressionless face, his way of embracing the couple days above freezing that finally let the ground dry. With his left hand, he lazily twirled a fallen twig, forming a straight groove in the loose dirt where it occasionally caught. It was apparent his focus was elsewhere, glassy hazel eyes set a small way ahead on the pinnacle of human nature: a rat in a maze.

Just a few yards away was another tree which casted that elegantly fractured gloom upon a second student and the arrangement that was before her. Surrounding the trunk were some scattered objects, leading up to the main event she’d set up directly in front of herself. The arrangement was rather impressive in its intricacy; while Levi couldn’t distinguish details from the distance, he could pick out its various sections which seemed to present an array of complex puzzles for the dull mind of a brown rat. The dynamic girl’s voice carried with the light breeze, belting the lyrics to a song he personally didn’t know beyond secondhand.

After that final note, a silence fell as far as he could hear, her voice drowned out by rustling brushwood and the gush of wind controlled by his rapid twirling. The rat, having completed the maze after much effort, was pampered. Pressed affectionately against her head, fed treats, coming to rest on her thigh with her fingers stroking its head. A rodent as a pet wasn’t exactly what he considered usual—even hamsters and their thousand ways to die seemed excessively bizarre to the brunet. On one hand, it was hardly his business, on the other, nor were most of the things he occupied himself with on a day-to-day basis. His stare trailed upward, clouds rolling smoothly across the blue. With a quiet hum of his own approval, Levi then stood and started on a path toward the other tree.

In closer proximity to the obstacle course, it was clear she had a knack for this sort of creativity. Levi embraced nature by spinning a twig like a baton, while she went the extra mile by transforming parts of a dull earth into a challenge. Broken sticks and bumpy rocks were meticulously placed in patterns, items of no significance were torn into something greater for a creature lesser. It was affectionate, in a manner, as though she was shedding her own intelligence onto the less deserving. Admirable, even, to someone eager for such emotion. The boy wouldn’t sit, merely standing beneath the tree’s skeletal roof, still fiddling with his makeshift baton.

“This is neat, do you mind if I cut in?” The second year asked, still sporadically flickering his eyes to the girl in melted curiosity. Little could be told from her appearance, but it was nothing a long conversation wouldn’t reveal in due time.

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Staring up at the sky, she noticed the shapes that the clouds were making. One looked a little bit like a bunny, it was pretty cute. The weather was relatively grey and dull, though. A shame, really, as it would have looked beautiful with a bright blue sky behind the clouds. She gently scratched her finger behind his ear, "You know buddy... I'm not entirely sure if it will ever be truly over..." She whispered softly. It was practically inaudible but she said it nonetheless, as though he could hear.

Her mind drifted to thoughts of the events of the past. She had been through so much over the past four and a half years of Hogwarts, far more than she ever anticipated having to deal with. Pizza was a few years old now. He had been through half of that with her now that she had thought about it. And the last time? The last time, he had done so incredibly well that she did not know what to say. Truly, there was not enough praise for the incredible bravery he showed. In the face of pure evil, he had prevailed. Well, in the face of gross hag slugs, he had helped keep them at bay.

Things had quietened down over the past few months though. It was nice but a part of her was waiting for the next time. A voice broke her thoughts. "Hm?"
Glancing over, she noticed a young boy that looked somewhat familiar, "Oh, yeah, sure, uh, go ahead?" She asked, wondering what he was talking about. Did he also have a rat that he wanted to do the obstacle course or training exercises with? Did he want to cut in and pet Pizza himself? Did he want to cut into her thoughts? She had no idea but she agreed to it, whatever it was. Uncertainly, she waited for a moment as though to allow him to just... do whatever he wanted to do.

"Wait - you're a broom racer -" She suddenly said, as it clicked in her mind. She saw him. In that Gryffindor game that she went to spectate, he was one of the players... right? She was pretty sure he was. At least, that was why she thought he looked familiar but she could not be certain. All she knew was there was something very familiar about him and her mind kept saying he was on the team with Hugh and Nicholas, "Aren't you?" She asked, her tone of voice more uncertain and hesitant than it had been before.

No, no, she was right. She was pretty sure she was right. The more she stared at him, the more she convinced herself it was true, "Yeah, you're one of Hugh's!" She added. Before realising how weird and perhaps impolite she had been, "I mean, hi, sorry, I'm uh, Serena. You just looked kind of familiar and I was just trying to figure out why," Lifting her hand, she awkwardly scratched the back of her head over her hat. It was a habit of hers, whenever things got a little awkward - which seemed to be her norm these days.

The sky rested over the pair, a somewhat pensive weight massaged into their shoulders, likely not by means of melancholy but by the swelling dimness of the gray horizon. Abstract clouds rolled by, and the faintest rustle rippled through the green canopy overhead, overlapping leafless branches scratching against one another almost undetectably. Levi’s head was tilted back, watching them claw and grasp at shredded bark, carefully avoiding the glassy, honey-brown eyes of the afternoon’s chosen company. It was an innocent whim of nature that limbs became entangled, barren and white, yet even with a year passed he remained skeptical of every windy day, and every creeping shadow of a tall tree.

She agreed to let him disturb the peace, a consent he’d likely be snowballing with as his head trailed back down to sit without contaminating her artsy arrangement of the landscape, held together by loose knots of grass strands and good feelings. Levi dropped, crossing one leg beneath the opposite arched knee, and produced his makeshift baton with his left hand, starting to mindlessly twirl it with his index, middle, and thumb. His other arm crossed over the raised leg, gaze shifting toward the girl. She was small, and to think such compared to his own seemingly shorter-than-average stature meant more to him than it would to a 5’5” monster. It wasn’t just the fact that her legs didn’t stretch far ahead nor her back set high against the tree’s stump, but generally, there was a thinness to her stature with a resemblance he failed to place.

Dark hair complemented her complexion, the two shades partners in highlighting the deep set sweetness of the other. Something unknown pulled roughly at his mouth before he realized it’d been his turn to speak, and by the time his lips had parted to embarrass themselves from the catalog of one-liners, recognition overcame the girl and so sputtered through her accented voice.

"Wait - you're a broom racer -" She stated, and Levi was half-certain it was with better confidence in the fact than he himself had possessed. Since their last race, he made a pointed effort to flaunt association with winners without raising the question "hey weren’t you the guy that fell off his broom then just stayed there?” Why yes, yes he was that guy, and his knuckles were suffering the consequences with this time a thin layer of skin peeling from the gruff surface they already sported. The memory tasted sour and the mysterious quarter-smile was replaced by a loser’s apathy despite the win. Overruled by Mop. Levi was no epitome of cruelty, he as celebratory as anyone could dance to the adagio, offbeat rhythm of a golden-streaked first year, but to be cast in the shadow of a cleaning supply…. Well. It spoke for itself.

Hesitance plagued her by the second round, and Levi took pity on the awkward uncertainty that he himself had suffered the days immediately after the race. He felt like the melting snow, so beautiful in its prime, but once it was gone, it truly was so. There was no enjoying its demise, no respectful, dignified death. Just a muddy swamp that washes over the ground and makes you want to stay inside for a number of days. “I am,” he confirmed with a half-hearted chuckle, though she’d go on to confirm it herself, digging uncomfortably far into the shameful picture of that day that remained entrapped in the minds of spectators.

"Yeah, you're one of Hugh's!" And apathy went bitter. A tart grimace quickly swallowed alongside a lump of his remaining pride. Yes, hi, I’m Levi Drakos, and if you’ll look at my collar you’ll notice it says “if lost, please return to Hugh”. The brunet could practically feel his eyes doubling in size and producing shimmers to the center of his iris, the visage of a pleading puppy-dog. There was an imperceptible twitch beneath his right eye, and a timeless apology tumbled from behind the teeth of the other girl. No, it was not for calling him Hugh’s, but he would most certainly pretend it was and forgive her for this misdemeanor. Much worse than disturbing the peace, should you ask him.

A very forced, very exhausted smile dragged itself from its devastated puddle on the floor to the crevices in his cheeks. “Serena,” he repeated, voice resonating much more pleasantly than expected by his acid-stricken ears. “It’s alright, a pleasure to meet you. I’m Levi. And who’s this?” His arm slunk from its position on his knee and gestured toward the rat still settled on her thigh.

Private to @Levi Drakos

She swallowed, feeling his eyes on her. Instinctively, she tugged on the hem of her hat a little as she noticed it to ensure that her ears were fully covered - or at least the tips of them. It was only the pointy parts that really gave away her heritage. The fact that he was observing her just put her off a little, making her question if he could see it. There was a bit of awkwardness to her, she really hated being noticed. It did not help that the boy was being quiet. Just silently watching her as though he knew. Did he know? Maybe? She knew his housemate and teammate knew but she also knew that Hugh would not have told him. That much, she trusted.

But he agreed that he was a broom racer and that meant they had something in common, something they could bond over surely! His lack of words and silence though was killing her. It did not help the sense of awkwardness that she was already feeling. Did she say something wrong? She did not think so. She had been perfectly polite, right? All she had done was allow him to join her and speak about broom racing. Wait - did he know? Had he noticed? Was that why he was staring at her and suddenly all sorts of quiet? That might have been it. Serena swallowed, hesitantly waiting for him to just come out with 'are you a goblin' or something related. She did not know she was holding her breath but she was.

Luckily, he spoke up - breaking the awkward silence that was definitely about to fall over them. "Oh! Nice to meet you," She replied with relief as she smiled, looking down at the brown rat on her lap, "This is Pizza. Well, Pizza Rat," Serena continued proudly as she introduced him, gently lifting him and holding him out a little in case Levi felt the need to pet him or something. Her gaze fell to Pizza, noticing that he seemed to start to curl up in her hand, "He's a little tired at the moment, I think though..."

"Congrats on your win, by the way! Glad you guys won. Didn't expect Slytherin to pull out so many spells and stuff so, yeah," She continued, referring to the broom racing game. She had been spectating and it definitely looked pretty close from her viewpoint. Though she was definitely biased, with multiple friends on the lions' team. She did not really know anyone on the other team this time. Serena made no reference to him falling. Mostly because she did not really recall that specific detail.