Quiet Stone Walls PV Alan Vanes Completed

Alan was just about to send the owl away, after he securely bound the letter to its claw, when he could hear another person approaching. He only was shaken out of his stupor, when the owl gave him an impatient nip against his palm. The young Gryffindor let a silent and harmless curse slip past his lips, giving the brown school owl a glare. He did not choose a friendly one or so it seems. ”Hmph” he huffed, before he reached into the pocket of his school robe to receive the owl cracker he hid in there, quickly giving it to the owl before pulling his hand away, so that his fingers would be save from the owls sharp beak in case it wanted to be any meaner to him.

But seconds before the owl was about to fly away, having already spread it wings and shook his body as if to get ready after sitting on a perch for hours, they were interrupted by the voice of some girl that was about to enter the owlery. So Alan assumed that he was right and had indeed heard the approach of footsteps when he was about to feed the owl a cracker.

This made him kind of nervous, it was not a voice that he could put to any person he knew, so it must be someone he never met before and this is what made him a little bit anxious.

”Hello?” He said back, even though it sounded more like a question than a greeting. After all he did not know who he was even talking to. They could be someone very mean for all he knew. He hoped that that would not be the case, because he could not deal with that at the moment. He had different things coursing through his mind, leaving him restless on most days and nights.

So there was someone around, well Elena was never one to say no to a potential friend, even as the hurtful words of her letter still swirled around her head. If she stopped now she probably would go into another depression like the one she had before meeting any of her friends, Bella, Quinn, Rorie. They made everything better here.

Elena rounded the corner into the Owlery. Inside, there was a boy with messy hair trying to make an owl take a message, the funny thing was he'd picked one of the few school owls that had a deep hatred for pretty much anyone that tried to make it do work. Obviously the kid didn't spend as much time hanging around the owls as she had, but he had said hi so she might as well find out what he's doing.

"I'm Elena. What are you sending if you don't mind me asking. Not a lot of people use the Owlery oddly enough, I think the majority of the older students have their own owls so it's just us newbies." She laughed nervously, "You've picked Grumplestiltskin I see, he's a bit of a mean owl but treats tend to make him a bit nicer. What's your name?"

Alan turned to the girl, cocking his head to the side slightly in confusion. ”Who are you?” He would ask the girl in front of him, his voice soft and without any hint of threat. While he was a chaot he tried not to hurt people be it verbally or physically. He would just stole a glance at her, before watching the owl in front of him. He thought that she chose a rather weird name for that owl and it wasn't really fitting either. This owl was just a little grumpy because of the food or something… well anyways Splash would be a nicer name, it sounded funny and way more energetic. He couldn't even remember how the girl called the owl, so for him it would be Splash as the brown owl's feathers looked as if someone had splashed black colour onto it and it made the owl look more beautiful. Maybe Alan would be able to purchase his own animal at some point, he would spoil it rotten. When the ow finished the cracker it gave him a last nip, before flying off with rustling feathers.

Alan could only watch in amazement. These animals had something majestic and absolutely aesthetic to them. “What are you doing up here?” he asked suddenly” turning his attention back towards the girl. Alan glanced at her nervously, he never talked with her. Was she a first year perhaps? He can't remember having seen her last school year, so that must be it. But then again sometimes he couldn't even remember what he ate for breakfast, so he could not be sure about that.

She looked at the kid, she must've somehow startled him. That's okay she could always repeat what she'd said. No problems there, she certainly didn't mind.

The owl flying away was truly a wonder to behold, that's another one of the reasons she liked the Owlery, if she was lucky she could see students sending owls out and get to see as they rose up and flew off without a sound. Owl's wings were marvels of science, and Elena wished there were more books on scientific subjects in the library, especially things like chemistry and physics. She figured they would have the highest chance of helping with the subjects taught at the school.

The blue haired girl gave him a grin, "Well, as I already said, I'm Elena. I came up to the Owlery because it's a nice place to study, I mean, if you ignore the cold that it. I guess that's why we have blankets though, and warm clothing. I'm thinking of getting a new cloak over winter break, and a flute too but I wouldn't know where to get a good one."

"So, who are you? And what are you sending if you don't mind me asking." Elena tilted her head and waited expectantly.

-

Alan could have smacked himself. How could he have forgotten her name in such a short time? His attention span had never been the very best or so he was already told more than once. He felt sorry for the girl though, even though she did not seem to be bothered by his slip up. So he was kinda glad that he did not leave a bad impression on her. ”Uhm… I'm Alan, from Gryffindor” he pointed to the inside of the hood from his robe with the red fabric, associated with the Gryffindor house.

”I am a second year… You? I don't think we met before” he wondered with a curious expression as a smile tugged at the corner of his lip. When she asked him who he owled he frowned slightly. ”I owled Griffith… I had a few questions because of his extra program. Have you heard about it?” Alan would ask her as he looked around in the Owlery. The owls were so nice he wished he could have an animal or something… that would be the best ever. He had his aunt's dog at home but he wished he could have his very own pet. He would spoil it without pause. He reminded himself to pay attention to what Elena was saying so he wouldn't get lost in his thoughts.

The kid, Alan, he had said seemed a little distracted, it was interesting, like his brain had too many things to do at once. She used to know a few people like that, the trick was to keep the conversation interesting, he was applying to ROAM probably, so it was therefore time to share her relatively unique views on the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Also a good idea was to make sure he knew Elena didn’t mind it when he got distracted. Elena smiled at Alan, “First year, I’m in Slytherin, I’m not wearing my robes though. Left them back at the dorms, I thought tripping up or down the stairs wouldn’t be fun.”

“Are you talking about ROAM? Yeah, I applied for that. Griffith is pretty cool, I like him at least, he’s got a heart, he just likes to pretend he doesn’t. At least that’s what I think, most people just think he’s a grumpy bastard.” Elena adjusted her hood, it was falling off so she just pulled it off entirely, letting her blue hair fall down to her shoulders, “Are you applying too then? It sounded like a lot of fun, and it might be good to have another friend in the program.”

-

With a small smile directed towards the just slightly younger Slytherin student, Alan would nod in agreement. ”Yeah… I had to hold up the robe the whole time so that it would not slip on the ground… Especially here that would have been ew, since I have yet to manage the scourging spell… I know the theory but never managed to cast it, I will need to practice it soon…. But yeah, I don't want owl poop on my robes” he rambled and secretly hoped that he would not annoy the girl.

When she told him that she as well applied for R.O.A.M, he got excited, only to flinch at the harsh word. He did not really like mean curses like that but he could not deny that the professor must make a bad impression on many. But Alan thought he was nice… sometimes it would take a bit of time but so far the professor replied to his owls and gave him nice advise. He did not do it nicely but he couldn't blame him. He was still fun nonetheless and Alan couldn't wait to meet him in person when he would finally start with that program.

”Yeah, of course I am applying! I hope this will be lots of fun and to learn about creatures is just awesome!”

He flinched a bit when she said bastard, probably best to refrain from swearing for now, this guy certainly wouldn’t get along with Ana Beckett, she swore like an injured drunk sailor. Well, maybe that was an over exaggeration, but he still didn’t seem to like curse words. Or he really liked Griffith, which meant he either needed some help like Elena had, or that he had never actually met him in person. Probably the latter.

“Yeah! I’m wanting to be a wandmaker, so I figured I should know about creatures.” She grinned at him, “And if there’s baby nifflers involved, well, I’m sure nobody could say no to that, just think of their cute little faces! My friend Bella’s more into dragons but I have a feeling dragons aren’t really going to be covered in any field trips for this.”

“So, have you met the professor before? And what kind of thing was in your owl, if you don’t mind me asking.” Elena’s eyes sparkled, she liked the new kid. He seemed cheery, and a little distractable, like a happy parrot, or a golden retriever. Definitely a golden retriever, he would probably be one of the happiest people Elena had ever met.

-

With an excited little squeal, that people usually made when they saw something cute happening in front of their eyes, the young Gryffindor would begin nodding in agreement. ”Abso-bloody-lutely! Baby Nifflers are just so cute, with their cute expressions and their soft fur… and I think it is is just so adorable how they hold onto everything shiny!” Alan really wanted to see those cute creatures. Would they like cuddles? He hoped so! Maybe if he wears something shiny they would like him. ”Wandmaking sounds interesting! What do you like about it so much to make it your career?” He asked with pure interest. He loved getting to know people and to see their perspectives. Wandmaking wasn't something he ever considered as his own path so he was curious what made her choose this path.

Alan was so caught up in his thoughts and excitement that he nearly missed the second question. But he caught it and shook his head. ”I never actually met or talked to him. I saw him in the Great Hall sometimes at the Head Table where all the professors sit, but I don't think he even knows who I am- he just knows my name” he replied with a mischievous grin.

”I asked him when he thinks about starting the program and can you believe it? The owl got lost on the way so I had to send another one! He even said it must have gone lost… I bet it was because I forgot to bring owl cookies that day!” Alan didn't even seem to acknowledge the possibility that Griffith ignored the first owl he had send. Why should he? Griffith had confirmed his idea of the owl getting lost and Alan did not even notice how idiotic he must sound.