pv Another Autumn afternoon Closed

Legend: Speech: #4d8454 Thoughts: #750000 Others: #aa8b00

IC Date: 2023 / 10 / 28 Mentions: @Helena Rose

Outfit Reducio + Long trousers & Black wellingtons

Alasdair's baby blue eyes excitedly shot up at the sky. He could scant believe how lucky they had been to finally see some decent weather, for the past weeks had given the pupils of Hogwarts nothing more than endless rainfall. Admittedly, it could've been a lot warmer, and the dark clouds on the horizon would surely put an end to the boy's relief in an hour or two. Yet, as a highland lad himself, Allie knew that one couldn't complain or muck about; a sunny day without wind, rain or snow only came about once in a blue moon in the unforgiving Scottish autumn.

When he did reaffirm his gaze onto the courtyard, he noticed just how crowded it had become. Apparently, Alasdair wasn't the only person intent on getting some fresh air. He pranced over to the mighty gates that divided Hogwarts' courtyard with the vast school grounds that surrounded the castle, proudly marching around with a smile on his face and uncharacteristic nonchalance in his step. In truth, he was actually in a very decent mood. Having just slaved away at his exhaustingly theoretical transformation homework earlier in the day, he was dying to get out and have some time to himself, going for a refreshing walk. Once he'd pass the courtyard's grand marble fountain, it'd only be a few yards to the gate-


"Blast!"
Suddenly, the young boy felt something sharp cutting at his left foot. "Wait, is that..?" Alasdair asked himself, fearing the worst. He stopped at the marble fountain, held onto the base that surrounded it, and carefully shook his left foot.
"Merlin's beard..."
By some dreadful coincidence, a tiny stone had managed to find its way into Alasdair's left wellie. Now, getting a pebble stuck in one’s shoe before even starting the walk was a fairly bad omen, and Alasdair, who was famously superstitious, started his decision to have a leisurely saturday stroll. He let out a frustrated sigh, and looked around, trying to find a place to sit to get that rock out of his boot. By this point, the courtyard had steadily got fuller and fuller, and most of the the benches had been occupied by other students. As a matter of fact, Alasdair couldn't find a single free spot, except...

There was one spot left, a seat on a marble bench beside a blonde who seemed to be mesmerised by her book about the Dark Arts. Unfortunately for her, Allie would have to pull her out of it. He approached the pew, pursing his lips into an awkward smile that said about as much as "I don't know you and you don't know me, but I'll be sitting down on this here bench with you."
Alasdair then promptly did as much, gracefully taking a seat beside her and reaching for his left foot. If there was anything that he really hated, it would have most definitely been awkward silences, and before Von Tschirnhaus-Comyn had even got his boot off his foot, he calmly broke the quietude between the two of them.

"Must be some good book -" he started, his eyes and attention still squarely focused on that stupid stone that had been stuck between his sole and sock, "If you're still reading it after that deluge of rain." Just as he spoke, he managed to dislodge the bugger, letting the pebble slide back onto the ground where it belonged. He turned his gaze back to her, shooting her a toothy grin. "What's it about?"

H E L E N A

R O S E

*ੈ✩‧₊˚- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶♡˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Date 10/28/23

Helena's Dialogue #aa8b00

Tags @Alasdair von Tschirnhaus-Comyn

*ੈ✩‧₊˚- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶♡˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -*ੈ✩‧₊˚

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•——————✧◦♚◦✧——————⋆•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Flipping to the next page Helena’s sea blue eyes scanned the page eating every word that was in front of her. The cool soft touch of the worn down pages felt slightly rough to the young girl’s delicate slim fingers. The scent of old word ink wafted slightly from the pages of the book. The words on the page seemed to lure Helena into the very pages.

The soft gentle nudge of the Autumn wind licked Helena’s soft heart shaped face tickling her soft ivory pale cheeks leaving a dust of pink lightly dusting across the bridge of her slightly button shaped nose. The tips of the young girls' slightly pointed ears had a tinge of pinkish red from the wind bustling about around her.

Helena’s bright illuminating honey gold hair cascaded down her shoulders in a soft ripple of straight waves resting upon her shoulder occasionally dancing a bit with the wind dancing around her. Her bangs seemed to hover slightly in front of her left eye as she seemed a bit entranced in the Dark Arts book.

With the leaves dancing about the courtyard ground in little swirls of wind as if they were doing a little soft dance. The sound of footsteps seemed to catch Helena’s attention slightly, but she chose to ignore it for a bit. The golden haired girl was too enthralled to really wish to interact with anyone at this particular moment. The book in front of her was more intriguing even though it was mainly about the history and background of the Dark Arts, nothing too spectacular to really indulge in.

“Must be some good book-”

A voice interrupted Helena’s train of thought causing the girl to lift her head slightly up to face the person that had begun to speak to her. Helena trained her sea blue eyes full of curiosity like a young kitten that escaped home to explore for the first time.

Helena examined the young boy glancing at his appearance. He seemed to be wearing a beige gray coat while underneath seemed to be more of a creamish almost off white close to gray T-shirt that was tucked into a pair of khaki tan long trousers. The young boy seemed to be focused on digging something out of his shoes.

Helena seemed to focus a tad bit on the boy, quite curious why he would sit down and begin a conversation though it would make sense for formality reasons and being polite she supposed it made sense in a way.

Continuing to analyze the young boy curiously Helena slowly closed her book gaining more of curiosity he seemed to be well mannered and dressed properly than most of the students she has seen attend Hogwarts.

“If you are still reading it after that deluge of rain.”

As the young boy finished speaking he had dislodged the rock from his sock. As the pebble slid back to the ground. The young stranger that made themselves clearly in Helena’s presence turned towards her shooting her a toothy grin. Confusing the young girl greatly.

Helena felt rather befuddled. The young boy had a toothy grin which she had not expected from a stranger especially when it came to the young girl.

“What’s it about?”

Speaking once again towards Helena. The golden haired girl blinked rather slowly at first processing what the young boy said. She was a bit confused with this interaction but slowly went along with it smiling a soft shy closed mouth smile.

“Oh well I just got here not to long ago avoided the rain great timing while it is still peaceful.”

Helena answered the boy's first question as she gripped her book in a soft tight grasp, her index finger gently tapping the spine of the book in a soft melancholy tune. Glancing down at the book debating on what would be the right thing to say, the young girl glanced back up towards the young boy smiling softly.

“Oh this is just about the history of Dark Arts and some other fun facts I suppose. Nothing to interesting I suppose.”

Helena poke softly in a soft to the touch tone of voice as her voice slightly waivered.

With a small touch of wind brushed against Helena’s face making her golden locks stray about swaying in front of her eyes the young girl brushed her bangs slightly behind her ears. Smiling softly towards the new stranger in front of her. Thinking of something proper to say, the young girl continued to secure her stray lockes behind her ear.

“I am Helena by the way. Helena Rose and you are?”

Helena introduced herself in her key signature soft tone holding a poise elegance to her posture as she sat up a bit straighter gazing softly at the boy growing rather curious about him. She was uncertain if this boy would be a friend or someone else she would have to keep an eye out for. After all the young girl was trying her best to stay out of trouble for sure.

Legend: Speech: #4d8454 Thoughts: #750000 Others: #aa8b00

IC Date: 2023 / 10 / 28 Mentions: @Helena Rose

Outfit Reducio + Long trousers & Black wellingtons

“Oh well I just got here not to long ago avoided the rain great timing while it is still peaceful.”

Alasdair intently listened to the girl’s reasoning, trying to understand why she chose the windy outdoors over the comfy castle. He was in awe of the fact that someone would willingly study in the courtyard, especially with this mass of people about. For him, a decent place to study had to be tranquil and private, like the subterranean, dimly-lit Slytherin common room or the far-removed library, not out in the open air. He thought the sun would get in one’s eyes, the sound of chatter and laughter would keep one from one’s own thoughts, and the sturdy autumn winds would scant keep one page of the book on the other.

“Oh this is just about the history of Dark Arts and some other fun facts I suppose. Nothing to interesting I suppose.”

“Sounds like a decent read, then.” Alasdair answered, his eyes wandering from the girl’s smile to the black book in her hands, scanning the golden lettering on it and wondering what would motivate her to spend her day off reading it. To him, the subject seemed archaic and taboo, like the dark pages of a history book. The world seemed stable and safe enough, and Alasdair genuinely wondered whether Defence against the Dark Arts was still a course worth pursuing. Many in his family were frustrated with the way in which Hogwarts presented dark magic as purely negative and evil. His father oft went on tirades about the supposed lack of nuance on the subject. As he was only a boy, and not yet able to fully think for himself, Alasdair proudly appropriated these opinions, but he never shared them publicly, knowing that they were not at all popular, and could lead to some embarassing conversations that he could scant maintain with his limited knowledge of the subject.

“I’m not sure whether I would put ‘fun’ and ‘dark arts’ in the same sentence, though.” Alasdair chuckled quietly, adding to his previous comment. His soft, Highland accent delicately came through as he uttered the words ‘daerk’ or ‘saentance’ in a decidedly different way than the Scouse girl would. Over all, his voice was course and deep, and though he spoke jovially and warmly, his tone remained foremost one of restraint and order, of calmth and neutrality. Open outbursts of emotion had always been seen as gauche within the family, and even as young children, Alasdair and his twin sister had been taught to subdue them well. In effect, they were raised to be the carbon copies of their parents, with stiff upper lips and archaic beliefs about how (not) to express their feelings.

“I am Helena by the way. Helena Rose and you are?”

Somehow, “Rose” rung a bell. Alasdair felt strangely familiar with the name, and couldn’t help but wonder why he did. Perhaps his father had mentioned it in passing - The Comyns had always maintained excellent connections to other long-standing British and Irish wizarding families, and it occured to Alasdair that the Roses may have been one of them. Perhaps the two had even briefly been introduced at a ball or charity event? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, if it was anything of substance anyway.

“My name’s Alasdair, Alasdair von Tschirnhaus-Comyn.” the young Scot said, speaking with pride when he mentioned his family name, which must have sounded dreadfully pretentious to anyone who heard it. As many young boys and adolescent men do, Alasdair thought the world revolved around him. He was particularly proud of his lineage, and felt some pressure to live up to his forebears’ expectations. His constant competition to outshine his twin sister was especially important to him, so whenever someone heard the names ‘Von Tschirnhaus’ or ‘Comyn’, the boy believed it was him they would have to think about, not his sister, which is why he put so much emphasis on advertising his name as broadly as he could, which could rightfully lead to ridicule.

He continued, intrigued by the girl’s name.
“Do forgive me for being so forward, but have we met? Your name sounds awfully familiar.”

H E L E N A

R O S E

🙤 · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ꕥ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · 🙦

Date 10/28/23

Helena's Dialogue #aa8b00

Tags @Alasdair von Tschirnhaus-comyn

🙤 · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ꕥ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · 🙦

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

Helena continued to sit comfortably on the marbled bench. The cool wind blew a few loose strands around the young girl's vision, making her push the golden locks behind her ears.

Her soft sea blue eyes examined the young boy that was in front of her. Helena knew better than to judge someone on appearance and behavior after all she grew up around many pureblooded children and families she was accustomed to some interesting people to say the least.

Helena rested her book on her lap smiling a kind small smile towards the young boy. The young boy seemed rather posh and not overly stuck up like some other students the young girl has met. Though he did seem rather interesting to the young girl especially by the way he held himself with poise and a proud aura around him.

“Sounds like a decent read, then.”

Helena listened to the young boy speak in a soft accent. Helena was not sure exactly were the accent may have been from, but it made the girl rather interested in the young boy.

Helena kept her soft ocean blue eyes on the young boy as he seemed to be examining her book. Helena had to admit reading about Dark Arts may not be the best of things to read or even really read for fun after all it is associated with dark wizards and those who are up to no good. But Helena was also curious about the Dark Arts maybe because it had a bad reputation did not mean it was bad after all it is the wizard or witch that decides on if they use it for good or bad or at least that was what Helena believed after all.

Breaking out of her thoughts the young girl heard the young boy speak up once again.

“I’m not sure whether I would put ‘fun’ and ‘dark arts’ in the same sentence, though.”

Hearing the young boy chuckle a bit Helena tilted her head quietly thinking to herself before thinking of a response.

“Dark Arts can be fun to learn and read about. It is not necessarily the worst thing others use it for wrong it never asked to be used for horrid things though I suppose it is a subject and can not choose it’s destiny.”

Helena spoke softly, glancing at the young boy as she kept the book gently on her lap. The young girl smiled softly towards the boy pushing a loose strand behind her ear.

“I am Helena by the way. Helena Rose and you are?”

Helena introduced herself softly staring at the young boy examining him quietly and calmly the more Helena examined him a bit more she noticed he seemed oddly familiar. By the way he held his poise and stature he was most likely from a prestigious family of pureblood lineage which was Helena’s luck after all she was basically a laughing stalk at the moment after the howler incident

Helena stayed quiet for a bit until she heard the young boy speak once again in his soft accent that he held.

“My name’s Alasdair, Alasdair von Tschirnhaus-comyn."

Hearing Alasdair’s name Helena tilted her head slightly to the left the young girl seemed a bit stump. The name sounded familiar though she was not necessarily that familiar with the name. Maybe his family has been to a few of the gatherings her family has thrown or maybe she has met him at one of the Norden’s gatherings?

Afterall Helena was not one to make friends as often the girl usually stayed close to Remedy. Wherever Remedy was Helena was maybe Remedy would know, but Helena was not ready to speak to the other girl, not yet after all. Helena has done too much damage and she was not ready to try and fix it. The young girl was utterly terrified.

Helena broke out of her thoughts once again hearing Alasdair speak towards h er.

“Do forgive me for being forward, but have we met? Your name sounds awfully familiar.”

Helena smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. Though the girl was uncertain if they have ever met before she would not deny that Alasdair’s name sounded familiar. Maybe she would ask her cousin after all, maybe he would know after all Helena’s click always was small until she started Hogwarts and it has slowly started to grow. At the same time Alasdair could have heard her name from the Howler but that was around the beginning of the month.

“It is quite possible the Rose family is a bit known around other pureblood families. Father likes to throw gatherings and parties also attending them sadly so usually we tend to mingle with others like us as father puts it.”

Helena spoke softly, her soft blue eyes lingered as she continued to gaze over at Alasdair. Helena had to admit he looked familiar too. It was quite possible they had run into each other, maybe by passing it was always rare for Helena to even speak to others at least that was before she started Hogwarts.

Helena stayed quiet pondering for a second though the young girl really was uncertain if she had ever met the boy before she hated to admit it but her mind seemed to blank with any recollection though he seemed rather kind at least he acted kind.

Legend: Speech: #96a193 (English) #96a193 | Italic (Scots Gaelic) #96a193 | Underl. (German) Thoughts: #a193a1 Others: #9394a1

IC Date: 2023 / 10 / 28 Time: Some time in the afternoon Mentions: @Helena Rose

Outfit: = Reducio + Long trousers & Black wellingtons

“Dark Arts can be fun to learn and read about. It is not necessarily the worst thing."

There was a sense of earnest in her words that surprised Alasdair - the Dark Arts had been a taboo for as long as he could remember. Whenever it did rear its ugly head, it had an unmistakeable negative connotation. The subject continued being highly controversial, or at least, it had been in the circles the young Scot frequented. The boy, who seldom talked about taboo issues like these with anyone but family, certainly never did so with strangers. Helena's openness about this subject immediately piqued Alasdair's interest, and so he perked up his ears, eager to hear more of what it is she had to say.

"Others use it for wrong it never asked to be used for horrid things though I suppose it is a subject and can not choose it’s destiny.”

The young Scotsman stroked his chin, taking a minute to think about what the girl had told him. He wasn't quite sure whether he agreed - professor Lécuyer had described the Dark Arts as fundamentally corrupting to the wizards who use them, instilling in them an irrational desire to harm, hurt and destroy. However, Helena's nuanced reasoning reminded him of his father's, who had always spoken out against the negative label the Dark Arts had received following the Second Wizarding War.

The Comyns, whose vast lineage included prominent barristers, magistrates and members of the Wizengamot, had a proclivity to not see issues as purely black and white. Many of Comyn stock had come to fame by finding well-concealed truths in contested and controversial issues by recognising both sides of the debate, even if that wasn't always popular. Whereas many others may have found a defence of the Dark Arts objectionable, Allie recognised a striving for nuance in Helena's rationale that was not too dissimilar from those that he heard at dinner-time debates or days out hunting in the Highlands, which made him feel instantly more at ease in this cold courtyard.

Still, he had been raised not to engage in conversations about heavily contested subjects, such as the Dark Arts, with strangers, and felt inclined to throw in the towel to avoid reaching a seemingly inevitable point where opinions on the issue would start to offend and polarise.

"Well put." the boy responded in a crisp, most neutral tone, suppressing his astonishment at the girl's unexpected nuance and eloquence as best he could. He turned to face her, and found her staring back at him, face-to-face.

Up until now, Alasdair had been too preoccupied with the stone in his boot or the book in her hands, so much so that he hadn't even got a proper look at the girl besides him. But now, as the pair sat on that same bench, and their eyes met, Alasdair felt some regret about not looking her way earlier.

Her eyes in particular caught the boy's attention, its sapphire blue shine reminding him of the vivid North Sea. He thought back to Dornoch, a quiet seaside town on Sutherland's east coast, where his father took the family's personal Diver to sail him and his twin sister onto the open seas. He could recall the first time when he awoke on their humble sailing yacht as though it was yesterday, surrounded by nothing but deep ocean and low fog, with the North Sea's savage waves ramming against the ship's hull. Alasdair snapped out of his nostalgia and shot the girl a warm smile, amazed at how a pair of eyes could transport him back in time to the Moray Firth like that.

“It is quite possible the Rose family is a bit known around other pureblood families. Father likes to throw gatherings and parties also attending them sadly so usually we tend to mingle with others like us as father puts it.”

"Ah, that must be it then." the young Scotsman thought to himself when the girl mentioned her pureblood pedigree. He could not quite recall if he had met her personally, but Rose was a common surname in aristocratic circles. Considering that puzzle solved, he refocused his attention on the rest of her answer.

When the girl threw in the word 'sadly', Alasdair couldn't help but raise his brow. There were people that would kill, murder even, to be given the immense privilege and social standing that children like Helena and Alasdair stood to inherit. He had always been taught to be grateful for the chances his family provided him, and though twelve-year-olds typically don't enjoy rigid, formal events, the young Scot had been instilled with a sense of duty, noblesse oblige, if you will, from such a young age that attending balls and galas and behaving at his best became so absolutely commonplace that it was neither good nor bad - just an ordinary facet of everyday life.

"I'm not sure that I see it that way. It's always grand to meet - ahem..."

Alasdair stammered, trying to find the right word to use. He liked the tacitness and discretion of 'others like us' as Helena put it, and tried to scramble his word choice to the best of his ability, browsing through some vocab that reciprocated that air of unspoken elitism.

"...like-minded people, wouldn't you agree?"

The boy ran his fingers through his long blond hair, letting the question sink in and offering Helena a second to think about it, before he continued.

"The more you have in common, the fewer things there are to squabble over." he joked, letting out a hearty laugh when he did. Discussing matters like these could be quite daunting and serious, as the question of blood relations had become a very controversial and divisive one in wizarding society. Cracking a joke that simultaneously reinforced his reasoning and made her laugh seemed like a decent way to argue his point whilst keeping the conversation airy and pleasant.

H E L E N A

R O S E

🙤 · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ꕥ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · 🙦

Date 10/28/23

Helena's Dialogue #aa8b00

Tags @Alasdair von Tschirnhaus-Comyn

🙤 · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ꕥ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · 🙦

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

Helena pondered for a bit as she awaited to hear a response from Alasdair. The golden haired girl continued to gaze over at the boy that was beside her.

The young girl examined the boy. She had to agree that he seemed well unkempt and seemed to hold a good posture for their age, but she expected that from someone from a pureblood lineage.

“Ah that must be it then”

Hearing the young blonde hair boy speak up broke Helena from her own little thoughts. Blinking slightly the golden haired girl smiled softly brushing her bangs slightly behind her ears.

“Yes, that must be it.”

Responding in her soft quiet tone Helena smiled a soft smiled. The young girl was not sure how to really think. She was one who never seemed to see eye to eye with other purebloods and due with the curtain situation the young girl has found herself in the past moth or really sense she had begun at Hogwarts she actually quite enjoyed a nice conversation without being judged or given a sour look. It was reassuring to Helena to know that at least someone seemed to respect the young girl at least for now she thought quietly.

“I’m not sure that I see it that way. It is always grand to meet -ahem-”

Alasdair spoke once more, Helena could tell the young boy was trying to speak without stammering, most likely finding the right words to speak. Waiting patiently Helena listened to the young boy speak. After all one could tell he meant well or at least Helena figured he meant well. It was always hard to tell with many children from prestigious families like the Rose and von Tschirnhaus-Comyn families.

“Like minded people, wouldn’t you agree?”

As the young boy spoke again, Helena tilted her head slightly pondering on what to say.

The golden haired girl pondered what to say.

Helena knew she was not like others she was indeed different mainly a follower she had to admit she used to follow Remedy Norden everywhere but they have known each other for years since childhood in a way, life was a bit strange sense they had that disagreement or fight it was difficult to explain what really happened that day it was a blur and Helena felt awful for her actions. But at the same time the young girl was never really like other purebloods; she was either too timid or just stuck in her books.

“The more you have in common, the fewer things there are to squabble over.”

Helena laughed slightly hearing the young boy try to make light of the conversation.

The golden haired girl smiled softly towards the wavy blonde haired boy that sat beside her. Helena was uncertain why but having a simple conversation with this young boy seemed to be enlightening, calming the girl from previous nerves as if many things that had happened seemed to just disappear for a bit.

Maybe it was being treated like a normal person seemed to be more enlightening then it was feeling as if she was a burden to her family and her friends.

“I do agree having more things in common means less squabbles for sure. Though I must be honest I tend to have different things I am interested in than most. For example I prefer my studies and books over interacting honestly less of a hassle.”

Speaking softly Helena gazed softly towards Alasdair tilting her head slightly to the side thinking a bit more to herself.

“I have never been good with other people and I have proven that recently too. Books tend to be better, at least they can not hurt you at least not too badly.”

As the golden haired girl spoke once again she looked upwards towards the sky watching the clouds drift by lazily drifting lost in thought for a brief moment. Helena turned her gaze back to Alasdair smiling a small smile.

“Though books can’t help with everything. Having friends is nice too. I just hope I can make a few. A few that actually will stay that I won’t end up scaring off or pushing away.”

Rambling softly Helena shook her head chuckling softly before glancing towards Alasdair.

“Sorry about that rambling really. I tend to get lost in my own thoughts and the words tend to escape.”

A soft giggle escaped Helena’s mouth. The golden haired girl seemed to relax a bit around the boy though she wasn’t sure if her rambling would scare him off or not, but after all everyone gets tested in life and perhaps her mind was making her test this young boy. To see if he was truly loyal but nobody really knew what was going through Helena’s mind after all. The girl herself had no idea what was running around in her own thoughts.