Passing Time Together PV Maria D Closed

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Sylvain Indarys

Maria made her way to the through the hallways on her way to meet a friend. She walked calmly, her book bag held close, containing all the quills and inks and books she would need for her to do school work. Studying was not the usual way she’d spend her time, but as the saying goes, any time spent in good company is never wasted. Sylvain had reached out to her in an owl a few days ago after a long time of not writing and invited her to study. Letters from the boy were not so new to her, but lately his letters had been scarce. Occasionally she wondered why he hadn’t written but mostly took no offense. So when he’d told her he wanted to spend time with her, she enthusiastically accepted.

Besides, it wasn’t like she was one to turn down help for homework. Truthfully, Maria had been struggling this year. Between dueling and constantly worrying about home her focus wavered much more than she expected. Transfiguration and Potions had been especially hard on her this year as she shifted her focus more towards Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts to focus on dueling spells. Her grades were slipping and if there was anything her mother would have to say about it, she might just make Maria quit dueling. The young badger winced at the thought. Laura wasn’t exactly the type of parent to do that, but the possibility put about as much fear into Maria’s heart as a boggart. Perhaps if one showed up right now that would be the exact image it would show her. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.

Reaching the study room, she looked for her companion. He wasn’t hard to spot, his brown hair that always seemed to do what it wanted to was fairly easy to spot. From where she stood, it seemed he’d already started on his work.

With a smile, Maria carefully approached. “Hello there, stranger.” She’d greet calmly.

Hexcode= #507091

Sylvain smiled slightly as Maria entered the study room and greeted him, letting a little chuckle slip when she called him stranger. Setting his quill down Sylvain picked up one of the cupcakes he had picked out to share with her. "It's good to see you again Maria," he said as he put the cupcake down in front of the seat across from him. "I hope you like sweets, because I got you a cupcake in case you needed a snack." His eyes smiled too. Motioning to the seat across from himself, Syl invited her to sit. "Please, take a seat. We have plenty to catch up on, let alone our homework." True to life, time was already working to pull them apart. Luckily they still had a surplus of moments to make the most out of.

Moving his work out of her way so she could create her own, unique, spread of parchment and text books, Sylvain gently asked her for a hug before she could sit down. It wasn't just nice to see her, it was exciting. "Thanks for meeting with me today. I honestly don't even know where to begin." He would put his hand to his chin as he leaned forward with the same arm's elbow braced against the table to hold his head up. If he recalled, the last they had spoken, she was going to be an older sister. Of course, then there was the entire situation where he had been given back up for adoption. Including discovery of his uncle and the promise of a happy life with a new family. A family of wizards.

Holding off on that seemed deceptive, though it was slightly uncomfortable to speak about, being his friend meant she deserved to at least know what had been affecting him recently. He started off with a bite of cupcake, speaking between chewing like a wild animal. "It's not as bad as it sounds..." he started off cautiously, "but my parents put me up for adoption." The one other time he'd admitted as much, others seemed to take it harshly. More harshly than he had. His face was not solemn, nor sad, but hopeful and full of cupcake. "I know it sounds bad, but this means I can be with my family..." Naturally, this lead him to the second of his talking points.

"Also," he said as he pulled back his sleeve revealing a plain silver bracelet with the name "Wyllt" engraved on its plating. "I found my real name." He left out the part where he'd given the bracelet to the librarian and made a mess of calling her a hag as there was some chance of miscommunication directly resulting in her being called a hag for the rest of her career. A lapse in judgement both would gladly forget as soon as possible. There was one last thing to catch her up on. "My Uncle Frazier is going to take me in as his own," he said letting the brightness of his smile shine through the chocolatey cupcake that covered them. "He's a wizard just like me!"

@Maria Dee @Robyn Finley

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Sylvain Indarys

From the looks of things Syl had already gotten a head start on his work. Maria smiled sincerely.“Your Ravenclaw is showing.” She joked as she tapped the table. The rest of the space had a spot she assumed was made for her and there were two cupcakes on the table. Silently, she hoped one of them was for her.

“I do! Thank you.” Her friend had said that the baked good was indeed for her. She did not understand then how much she would be needing it for the conversation to come.

“That’s fine, I would much rather catch up than do Potions essays.” The young girl’s face turned into an exaggerated look of disdain. She hoped it would make her companion laugh. She hugged him when he’d asked then went to take a seat across from him.

Bag set on the chair next to her, she opened it up to gather her quill, inks, books and parchment on the table. Quill and ink were placed to her right, and she arranged the cupcake to her left. Some parchment and her potions book were in front of her, yet to be opened, and probably unlikely to be. Her eyes inspected the cupcake before she grabbed it.

“You have my full attention.” When she saw that her companion stared eating his own treat, she followed suit. She had just taken a bite when Sylvain made the announcement the of his adoption. Her surprise was evident, with her eyes widened her gaze moved to him mid-chew. As the information and her reaction dawned on her she nodded slowly and resumed chewing.

“Again?” She said through a mouth half-full, studying his expression. This was uncharted territory for her, so she decided to tread lightly. Intuition and a good sense of things got her far in life, but these things did not necessarily teach her how to be good at things like these. It came with growing up with a mother who was as young and as head strong as hers. Laura Tann did not believe in coddling her daughter. She wasn’t exactly a heartless or cold mother, she did not necessarily provide the best examples for comforting people. Like her daughter, she did not know how to deal with it.

Children do as they see their parents do and what not.

At face value, Syl did not look like he needed comfort in those moments. So instead she continued to eat her cupcake and nodded to let him know she was listening. Leaving him to do the talking seemed like the better strategy. When he finished, she found she did not know what to say. But she tried anyway.

She inspected his bracelet to see his “found” name. “Ehm, what do you mean by your found name?” Maybe they also should’ve offered communication classes at Hogwarts. It would have saved the Hufflepuff from her current predicament. She could feel moisture gathering in her palms and tried to hide the rest of the manifestations of her unease. There was no letting that feeling overpower her when a friend like Syl opens up to her like this. “And you’re uncle… have you met him before? Is he a nice man?” She asked.

Hexcode= #507091

Sylvain nodded, scooting forward in his seat. "Yes, again," Sylvain said as he revealed the bracelet so kindly returned to him. Wyllt was the only significant detail on the otherwise plain jane bracelet. Still, he regarded it like a dragon would the most precious of his treasures, letting it glimmer for a moment before pulling his sleeve back over top to cover it. "Rose and Gracie returned it to me when they told me about..." he said in a hushed tone as he looked at Maria. It felt as though the words were too painful to speak, so instead he hoped they could come to a silent understanding. What love they had for him made them give him up.

Wiping at the corner of his eyes, Sylvain continued on as though he finished his earlier sentence without tearing up. "As for my uncle, no. I haven't met him yet." A grin returned to his face however when his thoughts moved past his previous life, and considered the potential of his wizarding life. "But he did promise to take care of me." The half-grin turned into a broader one when he recalled the first letter he'd gotten. "Said we'll be thick as thieves sailing on seas as smooth as gravy." Whether or not his uncle would keep that promise mattered very little right now. Hope was on the horizon and that was exactly what he needed.

Finishing the last of the cupcake by gnawing at the pieces left in the wrapper, Sylvain tossed in the bin before turning his thoughts and questions to Maria. She had been grappling with her own family issues last year around this time and he wanted to know how things had changed with her life. "What about your family, Maria?" If he recalled correctly, she was most worried about being forgotten. A fear they had both shared but hopefully one she hadn't needed to face since their parting. Gingerly, he approached the topic with all the care in the world. "Do you still feel loved?"

@Maria Dee

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Sylvain Wyltt

She continued listening as he responded to her questions. When Sylvain mentioned his parents his expression changed to one of pain and discomfort as his words trailed off. He did not continue what he was going to say. Maria figured it was something he did not want to talk about, so she did not press him. Instead, she solemnly nodded as she continued munching on her cupcake. When he chased away the moisture gathering at the sides of his eyes, she sniffled a little herself as the mood settled. “Dusty in here, isn’t it?”

The mood lifted itself as soon as Syl started talking about his uncle again. His eyes lit up clearly excited to be with the uncle he’d yet to meet. “Well, if he’s anything like you I’m sure he’ll be nice.” In Maria’s head she concluded she was happy for her friend, but if it were her in his shoes she would not know how to react to an unknown family member. Briefly the memories of finding her real father resurfaced again but she tamped it down as quickly as it came. That ship was not sailing any time soon if she had anything to say about it. Instead, she focused on her friend and his joy at the prospect of knowing his name and meeting this new family member. “Mmm, smooth gravy does sound very appealing. Add a bit of chicken, some greens and potatoes and you’ll be a whole Sunday roast.” She joked her eyes brightening. “But really, I’m happy for you.” As he finished off his cupcake and threw it away, she wiped her hands and mouth on a handkerchief.

His next question was unexpected. Perhaps it was naïve of her to think that the conversation would only be focused on Syl, but a conversation is a two-way street and he was a friend. He would likely want to know how she was doing just as much as she wanted to hear about him. “Ehm…” She started, her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth slightly agape trying to think of what she would say. “Well, I don’t feel ignored.” Was her reply.

“I’m sure my parents still love me but it’s just been a strange time.” She let her eyes wander the room as she continued to speak, her supposedly clean hands picking at the crumby remains of the cupcake. “I think everything’s just… new I guess?" This conversation was quickly bringing up feelings she had not pondered in a while. They were somewhat unpleasant but thoughts of home when far away rarely are . "They’re busy so we can’t spend as much time together but they told that they love me every night when I was home." Her next thoughts were much more pleasant and she looked at him with a small smile this time. "I know Aiden loves me for sure even if he can’t say it.” She smiled fondly as she remembered her brother.

“Dad told me that his eyes said so.” This was one of the fonder memories she had of being home that she took with her to Hogwarts. When she felt home sick she thought of those things and didn’t feel as lonely anymore.

Realizing that she’d steered the conversation to an odd place she tried to bring it somewhere light hearted. “Personally I’m positive he’s going to be very smart. She nodded surely. Dad’s already started reading Tolkein to him and with the pace they’re going he’ll probably have The Hobbit memorized before he can walk.” She quipped.

Before she went on a deeper tangent as to why Aiden might have a higher IQ than most babies she remembered something that they’d talked about before. With the way he talked about his parents earlier she wondered if it was an okay subject to ask about. She decided to open it anyway. “Speaking of siblings….” A souffle’ maker would probably be put to shame with how delicately she tried to approach the subject. “What about your sister? How is she?” She asked.

Hexcode= #507091

Letting go of a snort in reply to her sense of humor, Sylvain smiled genuinely as Maria finished off her cupcake. From both her joke and the ravenous way with which devoured the treat, he could tell she was starving. Hopefully the cupcake would stave off actual pangs of hunger until they both finished their work and were able to get the dining hall for a proper meal.

Nodding as she admitted to not feeling left out, all Sylvain said in response was "good," followed by the relaxing of his eyebrows and jawline. There had been some worry that she might feel left out, and now it seemed it was nothing but a passing fear. Feeling loved or not was a struggle he could personally empathize with, but it filled him with a different kind of joy to know his friends had what they needed to be happy.

"The Hobbit," he said, eyebrows contorting and unsure of the title at first. Wasn't that one of the fantasy books Flash had suggested to him before? "Sounds familiar, but I can't say I've read it." With no frame of reference, the lad could hardly imagine how much work it would be to memorize the tale, but then again he could suppose how much of a feat it would be for someone who had yet to speak. "I'm sure he'll be a proper Ravenclaw in no time then."

When the topic came back to his family, a subject of much tiptoeing in the past few months, Sylvain was caught off guard. "OH," he said visibly grief-stricken for only a second, brief but present all the same. "My sister. See. Well. We," He had forgotten about her entirely, being swept up in the multitude of changes that happened, but it wasn't as though the two had ever really gotten close in the first place. It had at first felt as though she was brought in to replace his own absence, but though now that he thought about it again it was just as likely she felt the same as he had when he first realized he was being fostered. "We haven't really kept up with one another," he finally admitted, letting a bit of his smile go sad.

"Not that we really had much to talk about before, me being a wizard and her being barely old enough to read." He would wave his hand, dismissing the way it made him feel.

The idea of talking about family turning sour as he contemplated his sister, he felt as though a change in topic was overdue. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," Syl said politely while rummaging through his ever faithful satchel in search of his most recent assignments. Placing them on the table, Syl greeted the parchment like a long lost friend. "There you are!" he said excitedly, half-enthusiastic to see the homework and half-excited to talk about something less dramatic than family matters. It was one-hundred percent disappointing that it was the charms homework he'd been putting off all week, but what better time than now?

Looking up to Maria from his work, he first scanned the room to see if anyone was eavesdropping when they shouldn't be, then caught her eye. In a hushed tone he asked, gently inquiring for confidentiality, "can you keep a secret?" Before smiling and putting his hand under his chin to prop his head up, he changed his mind. "Who am I kidding, it's probably not even a secret at this point." All this was of course to delay the admission to himself, rather than any actual fear to admit it to Maria.

"I'm definitely going to fail Charms if I don't finish my project before the end of the night." He would then peer across the table over her stack of work while she picked at her cupcake's crumbs. "Please tell me you're passing. You can help me right?" There was no shame in his voice throughout the request, just a boy that needed help charming.

@Maria Dee

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Sylvain Wyltt

Maria’s eyebrows could’ve merged with her hair line when Sylvain expressed that he’d never read The Hobbit. She knew he’d grown up in the muggle world just as she had, but it was a shock to her that he hadn’t read the Tolkein classic. Her own copy was already creased at the spine and fairly aged after having been read many times over. “Well, we certainly can’t have that, remind me to lend you my copy sometime.” The young girl offered. No friend of hers was going to go without experiencing the joy of Bilbo’s adventures in Middle Earth.

When Syl mentioned that Aiden could be a Ravenclaw, it felt like she took a mental pause. Neither she or her parents had breached the subject of her brother having magic, but there was a good chance he would. Briefly she wondered if she would be around to witness it. How would his experience go? He was far too young to have a personality then, nor did she really know what he was like, but she’d no doubt it would be amazing. “Right.” Was all she replied.

If she wasn’t actively trying to be calm, Maria would have visibly flinched at his expression when she asked about his sister. Really, there was no amount of care in the world that could make breaching a topic any less tricky. She could only smile tightly and listen with empathy as he talked about the situation. It was evident that he was trying not to let the emotions get the better of him, but Maria decided not to talk about it any further.

Fortunately she didn’t have to interject with another topic (because she’d been doing such a good job at that) because her companion had instead brought out his school work. Ah yes, homework. They were supposed to be doing that. Then, out of the blue he’d asked her to keep a secret. She quirked her head in confusion but leaned in to listen anyway. Once again, her friend surprised her by giving her some unexpected information and not only that, he’d asked for her help!

“Ehm, I can’t say I’m the best at it, but I’ve definitely been putting in the extra work because of dueling.” She nodded. “Definitely doing better in that class than potions, if that tells you anything.” She muttered under her breath. “But, let’s see what we can come up with. What are we working on?” She leaned over the table and checked the homework he was working on. There was only so much they could do for each other in the school, but she wanted to give him this much.

Hexcode= #507091

Looking at the papers, the textbooks and with his wand on the table in front of him, Sylvain's mind had already began to wander before Maria could ask her question. His heart just wasn't in his charms homework tonight, and even if he loved the class itself, something else held a tight grip on his thoughts. Scooting back and looking up to Maria before slowly drifting his gaze back down to the supplied instructions, Sylvain would let her question linger in the air between them before he answered. After a few moments of relative silence, his mind was still racing for an answer to her question but came back empty. He had absolutely no idea where he should start and absolutely no desire to figure it out. Finally, he found the words he needed in the form of a familiar idea.

"On second thought Maria," he said scooping the papers and books into a pile. "I've got a better idea." Was the way he answered her question awfully cryptic and vague? Yes, but the feeling was that he needed to get up and go outside. It wasn't a huge leap for his train of thought to make, but rather a familiar stop that existed within every station in his mind. He would take the aforementioned pile of soggy thoughts and dump it into his bag, forgoing any proper system of organization in favor of speed. "Would you go on a walk with me?" He asked her, fully assured that she might not be up to the idea of brisk trek in the middle of February's worst. If all else failed, at least getting his heart pumping would help lift his mood.

@Maria Dee

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Sylvain Wyltt

Maria’s eyes darted around the table as she scanned the different homework implements that were spread around. Silently, she hoped that whatever Syl was having trouble with was something she already managed to master. While she was a proficient student, things didn’t always come so naturally to her. As she learned new spells she spent quite a good amount of time practicing and reading. It always took her a while, but she had to make sure she wouldn’t have a repeat of her Blossom Ball “Incendio” incident.

Always make sure your wand is facing the right way, kids.

Syl was the one to break the silence and suggest something else. “What do you have in mind?” Her face was bright, not at all put off by his change in decision, and excited to get to do other things not related to school. Homework wasn’t high on the list of things she wanted to do on that day, and if she was being honest, she preferred to catch up more. She found it a bit odd that of all things he could suggest for them to do he suggested a walk, but decided not to question it.

“Didn’t think you’d be one to suggest a walk in Scotland in February.” She jested lightly. “But I’d love to!” After all, a walk was a walk. Even if it was quite cold out. Fortunately, Maria was not one to turn down a chance to be outside. “Like I said, I wanted to spend time with you, regardless if we’re working on charms or shivering around the grounds.”