Finished Yesterday PV

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Slytherin school uniform, two silver rings on left middle and index finger and with her hair tied up in a braid

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Italics:Thoughts
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#5doo8f: Talking

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@Malin Penns

River was walking past the Rehearsal Room when she heard it: The melodious song of a violin. There was a certainty to the notes, as if their song had been played a hundred times before, but there was a frustration there. Perhaps the player had been having a bad day or gotten some bad news or fought with a friend. Either way, River was drawn to their music. There was nothing like listening to the soft melodical notes of music to forget a tiring and stressful day.

She stepped silently into the room, finally recognising the song, Yesterday by The Beatles, and took a nearby seat at the piano, her fingers itching to play an accompaniment, but not wanting to disturb with blonde girl.

I want to play, the thought echoed around River's mind, bouncing back and forth before she could no longer hold back and lifted her hands. Her delicate fingers hovered over the ivory keys, silver rings stark against her skin. Her long, thin fingers spread open to rest on the necessary notes before playing along to the violinist in front of her. She hoped she wouldn't startle the girl in Gryffindor robes into stopping, finally beginning to play along.

"Suddenly
I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly"

Word count: 203/200

Malin cracked open her eyes and seemed to snap out of a dream. She kept playing, however, even as the unknown pianist began her song.
As the bridge of the song approached, Malin began to play around with the melody, adding a finger vibrato here and there and matching the piano player's pretty melody.
The two musicians played as if they had been playing together their entire lives, the tiny symphony of their instruments melding together like they girls were meant to find each other and to play this very song.

"Why she had to go
I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday"

As the music swelled, so did Malin's mood. She felt the weight of the day being lifted off her shoulders as she played with the mysterious pianist. Their individual music styles clashed together skillfully as they played.

Yesterday
Love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday

She closed her eyes once more, feeling the familiarity of the song come back to her as if she had never stopped playing it. It felt nice to play the violin again, as she hadn't in so long. A small, gentle smile crept onto her lips as the song continued and the chorus drew nearer and nearer.
She added a few spins to the song, letting her creativity grow as the music did. She switched strings back and forth, twisting the melody as the chorus crept closer and closer.

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Slytherin school uniform, two silver rings on left middle and index finger and with her hair tied up in a braid

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Italics:Thoughts
Normal text: Actions and general description of what is happening
#5doo8f: Talking

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@Malin Penns

River could feel the heavy burden of her loneliness lift just slightly as she continued to play, humming along to lyrics unsaid, the delicate sounding blending into the melody. There was this catharsis that came with playing with someone else, playing styles so complimentary that one would have thought that they had been playing together for years, notes meshing in perfect harmony. Her eyes drifted shut, hiding their icy blue as she fell into the music.

"Why she had to go?
I don't know, she wouldn't say.
I said something wrong.
Now I long for yesterday."

The ivory keys felt like they had their own kind of magic as she played, fingers pulled like magnets to where they needed to be, as if her soul was guiding her through the music. She continued to hum as the song slowly came to a close.

"Yesterday love was such an easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm."

As the final notes rang out, River mourned the peace playing had brought her, knowing that now she would have to actually talk to the unknown violinist. She could already feel her cold mask slam shut over her face, losing the warmth that the music had brought. Her anxiety was always difficult to manage, especially after growing up isolated from others her age.

Hopefully I don't scare her off, I really liked playing with her, River thought, lifting her hands from the keys and placing them in her lap, hesitant to turn around to face the girl.

Word count: 269/200

As soon as the melody came to a close, Malin knew she would have to talk to the mysterious pianist. She wasn't necessarily dreading it, but she had always had anxieties that came with talking to new people. With the people she knew, she was perfectly fine speaking to, but new people or people she had only known a short while took very much longer for her to warm up to them.
She could sense similar sort of feelings coming from the other girl, so she decided to take that first step.
"I'm Lin." She introduced, "Lin Penns."
Ok, James Bond, She mentally scolded herself, her slightly awkward introduction reminding her of the oh-so-famous line.
She felt her hands beginning to shake as she removed her violin from underneath her chin and instead held it close to her torso, almost like a shield.
She brought her mind back to the memory of the music, one of her favourite songs repeating itself in her memory. She felt herself calm down ever so slightly as she repeated the words of the song over and over in her head as she waited patiently for the girl to respond.
I must've spooked the poor girl, she thought, mentally going through all the things she could've possibly done wrong in the last minute.

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Slytherin school uniform, two silver rings on left middle and index finger and with her hair tied up in a braid

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#5doo8f: Talking

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@Malin Penns

"I'm Lin. Lin Penns" The blonde-haired girl held the violin in front of her defensively as she spoke, hands shaking slightly.

River tried to take a subtle deep breath. Her cold blue eyes met the other girl's, years of etiquette kicking in as she automatically responded, "River Luxley, Heiress to the Noble and Ancient House of Luxley." The formal greeting sounded detached, her clear voice quiet despite the empty room. She stands from her seat and holds a hand out towards the Gryffindor.

Please don't think I'm rude. Please don't think I'm rude. Please don't think I'm rude.

River could feel the palm of her hands go clammy from anxiety, internally cringing at the sensation. Her tutor's words echo in her mind, "You must be graceful and poised. You must not allow yourself a single moment of weakness when in the presence of a stranger. You are the Heiress to a noble pure bloodline, act like it."

The more awkward she felt, the more River would hide behind her indifferent mask. She's had to use it a lot more than she's used to, now that she was in Hogwarts. She missed her parents and her creatures, her carefree days spent being herself without being so self-conscious.

Word count: 206/200

Malin hid her anxiety at the namedrop well.
The second she had gotten to Hogwarts, she had gone straight to the library, researching all she could about wizards and magic --including noble pureblood families.
Luxley was certainly one of the names mentioned.
She debated curtsying but voted against it as she wasn't going to make a fool of herself in front of this girl. She thought at one million miles a minute, trying to decide what was appropriate to say after an introduction like that.
"That's got to be difficult to say every time you meet someone." She blurted out.
Really? That's the best you could think of? She inwardly scolded herself.
She continued for the sole fact that apparently, she unwillingly wanted to embarrass herself as much as she possibly could.
"Really, though. I can imagine how tough it was after the Sorting." Malin said, her voice growing more confident as she grew more anxious. She never knew why, but when she got to a certain point of embarrassment, she reached a stage where she didn't even care about impressions or manners anymore and just owned the awkwardness.
She thought back to the sorting, where she had James-Bond-ed everyone she met that night by saying she was 'Penns. Lin Penns.' And look where that had gotten her. Now most people in Gryffindor called her either Penns or James Bond.

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Slytherin school uniform, two silver rings on left middle and index finger and with her hair tied up in a braid

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Italics:Thoughts
Normal text: Actions and general description of what is happening
#5doo8f: Talking

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@Malin Penns

The girl, Lin, took a second before seemingly blurting out her response, "That's got to be difficult to say every time you meet someone." Taken aback, River couldn't even formulate a response before the Gryffindor continued, "Really, though. I can imagine how tough it was after the Sorting." Her voice was confident, but River could tell by her tense posture that she was most likely just as anxious as River herself.

"Oh. No, not entirely," River said hesitantly, "I've been taking formal etiquette lessons since I was 4, so it's a rather instinctual response at this point." Despite her nervousness, there was a clear elegance to her tone, her words sounding as her playing had, graceful. "I apologise if I was too stiff, Mother says I have a rather bad habit of doing so when in the presence of strangers. I didn't grow up alongside many people my age, you see, so it's rather difficult not speaking in my "adult" voice as my father calls it."

River tried to drop her usual cold mask, only managing a small, but genuine, smile, "You may call me River, if you'd like. No need to get fussed over my last name, Mother said that some people might be a little overwhelmed by our family's prestige, but I suppose that normal when your family has decades of history as a pureblood family in the UK. And that's not even considering our heritage from before the Luxleys came to England from Norway and changed our name." River scolded herself for rambling, the other girl already seemed overwhelmed enough.

That's what you get for practically spewing your entire family history at her! What a terrible first impression.

Word count: 281/200

Never having been good at holding her tongue, Malin spoke up, "I'm sorry, but formal etiquette lessons since you were four?" She questioned rhetorically, not so much shocked at the revelation as she was curious. Malin had never really interacted with her father's side of the family, but she knew they were stricter than wardens. And even they didn't seem to be a fair comparison to River's home life.
And since she was four? She thought, When I was four I was chasing butterflies and playing pretend.
She suddenly felt the urge to run away, as she had read stories about pure-blooded families. How they despised anything below a Pureblood.
But, ever the Gryffindor, she stood her ground.
"How long have you been playing the piano?" She questioned casually, only a small part of her wondering if the girl was going to scoff at her for being a Half-blood.
She had, of course, spoken to a Pureblood before, but never one from a great long line of assumed-to-be-rich Purebloods. Her mind raced as she wondered what would happen next. Would River answer her? Would she scoff and turn away? Did she even know Malin was a Halfblood? What would she do when she found out? How would she even find out? Would she ask? What would Malin say if she did?

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Slytherin school uniform, two silver rings on left middle and index finger and with her hair tied up in a braid

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Italics:Thoughts
Normal text: Actions and general description of what is happening
#5doo8f: Talking

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@Malin Penns

"I'm sorry, but formal etiquette lessons since you were four?" Lin seemed completely incredulous at River's words. Her shock was palpable, but it soon gave away to a genuine curiosity. "How long have you been playing the piano?" The Gryffindor questioned her, a nervous look overcoming her features.

River felt a mild sense of amusement at the other girl's words, Lin was clearly not a pureblood so she must have been either a muggleborn or a half-blood. She knew of the Penns family, a rather minor pureblood family, but she hadn't read about a Lin Penns before in any of her self-updating genealogy books, so River assumed that Lin must have been a half-blood. Lin also seemed quite nervous to be interacting with a pureblood family as ancient as hers, so River's cold mask dropped enough for her to send the blonde girl a small, kind smile.

"Yes, they were standard according to my parents. We started out very simply, greetings and learning the family trees of the various magical families known to reside in magical Britain, the Penns family included," River kept the reassuring smile as she continued, "I started my piano lessons around the same time as my etiquette lessons, so around 7 years now."

Word count: 207/200