Locked Following The Music PV June Selwyn

The rays of the late-afternoon sun streamed through the windows of the rehearsal room. After a fun (but quite tense) competition earlier in the day, June needed to decompress, but not in her dorm or the common room like she usually did. No, this time she would go upstairs, to the stone-walled room she'd only visited a few times before.

June walked through the room to the beautiful piano, the eyes of the portraits adorning the walls following her as she went. She pulled out the bench and sat down, taking a deep breath. June closed her eyes, enjoying the brief silence of the room. June was no piano prodigy, but she would happily admit she was quite skilled at the instrument. After all, she'd been taking lessons for almost 6 years now, she liked to think she had something to show for it.

June opened her eyes and perched her hands on the ivory keys. She needed a kind, simple melody. But not a lullaby, she didn't want to fall asleep. Something comforting, familiar. She flipped through her mental repertoire, eventually pulling out one of the first songs she was ever truly proud of learning.

And then she played.

It had been quite a while since she played this piece, but she only missed one note near the very beginning (in fact, it was so early on that June simply restarted). She felt the words in her head turn to melodies, her feelings to rhythm and dynamic. As the short melody began its second movement, June felt herself move with the sound. This was her favourite part of the song. She closed her eyes, confident in the months of practice she had put into this section. Gone were the memories of her lonely days around the castle, gone were the thoughts of failure and embarrassment. Right now, it was only June, the piano, and the song.

She finally came to the end of the piece, striking the final chord. She lifted her fingers off of the keys, letting the sound ring through the room as long as it could. When it finally faded away, June placed her hands in her lap, smiling at the portraits as they have her polite applause.

How wonderful it was for June to be alone with her music.

─────The song began to build, June was clearly enthralled in the piece, moving about the keys along side the melodies they were producing. Monica remained silent, holding the door, trying not to interrupt the moment.
At last came the ending, the final note. It filled the room. Echoing in every crevice, and gradually fading itself out.
Silence reclaimed the room, but only for a moment. When the last of the final note had faded away, the portraits on the walls began to applaud, nearly knocking Monica off her feet. She still was not yet accustomed to the animated... beings hanging on the walls of the castle.
Looking over at June, it became clear that Monica's presents was still not known, perhaps it is better that way. It would be one thing if she had been spotted right away upon entering, causing an awkward, but brief "Oh sorry, didn't mean to disturb you..." and then leave. However, Monica had been standing in the doorway for quite sometime, this was more like being caught in the act of eavesdropping, which wasn't what Monica was intending, she just found herself lost in the music.
She slowly began to back away, and thus far was quite successful when....

*CRASH** BANG**

She had backed right into a candle stand, knocking all 5 candles out of their slots, rolling across the floor. Monica nearly fell over herself, but just managed to keep herself on her own 2 feet. But her cover was 100% blown.

She stood, facing June, the candle stand laying behind her, the fallen candles, now all out, encircling her.
Monica forced out a smile, and raised her hand, caught in the act.

"Ah.... hello June, sorry to interrupt... but ah, you are very talented on the piano."

BloODY HELL!" June felt herself jump off of the piano bench as a loud clanging defiled the silence in the room. She whipped around, her plaits swinging and hitting her lightly in the face.

There near the entrance of the room, smiling and waving at June, stood Monica Evans. June stared at the girl a moment as her heart rate began to slow again, the adrenaline steadily fading. She sat in the silence for a while, just looking at Monica. "Merlin, Monica! How long were you standing there?" It seemed every time she ran into Monica, June was seeking time alone. She wasn't sure if this was a good sign for their friendship or not...

"Thank you, I suppose," June fully turned around on the bench, facing the ebony-haired Slytherin. "I'd hope so, after playing for so long." A rogue candlestick rolled closer to June. She sighed, standing up to go and help Monica put the candelabra upright. She picked up the candlestick, the flame now extinguished, walked over to Monica and handed it to her. "Here."

"Some might consider it quite rude to eavesdrop on a private rehearsal, you know. I suppose this wasn't much of a rehearsal or practice, though." June huffed slightly, unsure if she was frustrated with Monica or herself. "Just some time alone," she thought to herself.

─────Monica, caught like a dear in the head lights, the candles surrounding her, and the fallen over stand. She was embarrassed, she did not mean to interrupt, let alone in the dreadful manor that had just taken place.
June picked up one of the run away candles, handing it over to Monica.
"Thanks, I am terribly sorry for scaring you like that. I had a bit of a scare down at the abandoned toilets, and found myself up here. I heard the music from the hall and was taken by it. Made me forget about nearly dying just moments before. Anyways, I had to see who was responsible for the fantastic melody. My mother would be thrilled if I was ever able to play like that."
She continued to pick up the remainder of the candles, returning them to their place on the stand.
Trying her best to make amends for her unruly behaviour. It was something her mother always warned her about, "You need to be more aware of your surrounds, and people's feelings Monica." What her mother would always say to her.
It wasn't that Monica wanted to plow over people, or break things, or over step boundaries, but for some reason when it came to in the moment, it seemed she had no control over herself or the circumstance around her.

She finished returning all the candles to their rightful place, but didn't have a means of re-lighting them.
"Bother, not even another candle within reach to use, and I have no idea what spell would create fire, nor am I in a place where it would be wise to even try."
She opted to leave the candles un-lit, surly there was a staff or professor that would come by and be able to fix the situation.

"Well, I better leave you to your... practicing, I am truly sorry again for scaring you."

Monica bowed her head, and turned to leave.
"Hopefully whatever scary thing lay behind the abandoned toilet has gone back to sleep, so I can pass by with no issues."

Monica seemed quite embarrassed. June felt bad, had she reacted too harshly? It wasn't Monica's fault that she didn't know June wanted to be alone, but still...

"It's alright," she let out with a sigh. "You didn't mean to. A scare in the abandoned toilets?" June laughed softly at the idea. "Why on earth would you be there?"

June looked back at the piano, debating if she wanted to resume playing or not. No, the moment was gone. She felt like she'd gotten everything out of her system that she needed to, anyways. "It's alright, I was finished with the piece. Thank you, though," June's cheeks flushed just a bit. "That's very kind of you to say."

June looked at Monica for a moment. Monica was certainly different from June, strange, even. June hadn't quite decided if it was a good strange or a bad strange. But until she figured that out, there was no harm in indulging the girl in some music, was there?

Just then, June remembered something. One of the very first songs she was ever taught on piano, a sort of duet. Two melodies playing with one another. The lower one was quite easy, and June was filled with memories of playing it with her mother. She smiled, and walked back to the piano. She sat down and pat the space to her left, indicating for Monica to sit beside her on the bench.

"I can assume then that you at least can play a bit of piano, yes?" June smiled at the girl. "Come here, I'd like to show you something we can play together."

Monica's heart leaped a little, June was, with out a doubt, truly a kind person. Though most of their interactions had been brief, there was something about this girl, that just made Monica feel.....Not quite sure if the word is safe, or just the idea of safety. Much like the lines on a colour page are there to shape the image, June brought forth this, frankly, much needed structure that Monica lacked in her own life. Yes it was clear, June was vastly different from herself, but was that a bad thing? Don't the best pairs in life, work together because they are so different? Like the smooth, cream of milk mixed with the bitter sting of coffee created a blend that nurtured the soul, and brought order to a person's morning.

Monica watched as June made her way back to the piano, and was nearly about to leave when the offer came out to join her. Monica panicked ever so slightly. Yes she had taken lessons, but she never really got past chopstick, or hot cross buns. He thoughts spun as she tried to remember what scales were? "Was it, All Good Boys Deserve Fudge? Was that one of the series of note?"
She approached the piano with great caution, and took her place next to June.
"Well she did say that she could teach me something... so it would seem the idea is I don't have to come with set knowledge....At least that is the hope."
"Fair warning, I haven't really played piano for a while, so I might be a bit rusty."
"Best warn her now, and set the bar to the level Monica felt she could reach, better than being a disappointment..."

No worries, I promise this is rusty-player-friendly. Right, so, I'll play your part slowly an octave above, just join in when you feel you've got the hang of it."

June began to play a very simple melody with her right hand. It was a joyful tune, embedded with a sense of playfulness despite only using 4 notes. June quietly hummed along as she played. This song certainly brought back memories. It was the melody to a song her parents sang to her growing up, telling the story of a young witch who stayed outside too late after dark. She lost her way home and couldn't see anything, but she had a wand of elder wood, and was confident that with it, she could defeat anything. She cast 'lumos' to light her path, but all it did was allow her to see the werewolf who was running towards her as it bit and clawed her. After all, "wand of elder, never prosper". It was a bit morbid, but June supposed quite a few of the stories she grew up with were.

"Alright, once you've got the hang of it, we'll speed up a bit, and then I'll start playing the other part."

Dialogue: ✕ | Thoughts: ✕ | Quotes: ✕
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As June began to play once again, the melody started to dig at a familiar place in the deep recesses of Monica's mind. She had heard this melody before... but from where? Concentrating on the notes, Monica was trying to pick up the progression of the song.
Then, June began humming along with the notes, her voice was soft, soothing to the ear. Simple though the piece was, it was never the less, a beautiful piece.
That was it!
As if handed the key that unlocked the most precious, and nearly forgotten memories, Monica remembered where she had heard this piece before. It was the song that called her to sleep every night. The one her father song to her and her siblings. Though she couldn't recall the words, she couldn't deny this was indeed the same melody!
Monica began to hum alongside June. Classically trained Monica was not, but she was more than capable of carrying a tune. She allowed her voice to accompany June's, finding the harmony, letting herself get lost in the music.
Placing her hand on the keys, she eyed over to see what June was playing. Mimicking her finger placement, Monica felt the music out, and waited for the right moment to jump in. She started the sequence of notes, integrating herself with the already existing notes.
The music now was truly coming to life, with both pieces on the piano working together in perfect harmony, and the vocals adding to the over all atmosphere, Monica could feel herself beaming, she had never done anything like this before. If every piano lesson she had was like this, she would have been far more dedicated to the craft of it.
They were creating magic together.

| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: @June Selwyn |
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Monica... was familiar with this tune? June couldn't hide the curious look from her face as she began to hum louder, a solid foundation for Monica's voice as she began to flit around with harmony. Embarrassed as she was to admit it, June was not a singer. She wasn't tone-deaf, no, and she could carry a tune, but the shrillness and abrasiveness of her Geordie accent did not lend itself well to song, and so June often stayed quiet, or simply hummed. But Monica was quite good, a least a good bit better than June.

She smiled, watching Monica's thoughts wander as they played together. Perhaps Monica Evans wasn't so terrible, after all. Not that June ever thought that her peer was a terrible person. Although Monica might hold that opinion of June after... certain events that occured the day prior.

The piece came to an end, and as the two hit the final chord, June kept her foot on the far right pedal of the piano, letting the finality of the song ring throughout the room. As the sound began to fade, the portraits in the room politely applauded the duo. But June didn't notice, she was too in her head, thinking about things that she had said.

She sat in silence for a good while. If Monica had said anything, June wouldn't have noticed. She finally took a deep breath, turning to face Monica. "Have you-" No, that's not what she wanted to say. "Yesterday, I-" No, that wasn't right either.

"Do you think I'm awful? After yesterday, I mean?" June hoped Monica needed no clarification after that. "I just... I feel bad. I feel bad because I clearly messed up. But he clearly is not sorry for what he did, and so I don't want to feel bad. And that.. That maybe makes me feel worse? Maybe? I don't know.."