After Gabby tells Roman of her nickname, she hesitates, unsure of herself. Should she have told the Slytherin her nickname? It seemed like an alright idea when she said it, and basically everyone else Gabby knew called her by that name as well, so it hadn't seemed like a big deal in the moment. But now that she had actually said it, the girl was starting to have her doubts. What if she was wrong? What if she'd read the situation inaccurately? Calm down, Gabby told herself. What's the worse that could happen anyway? He throws an insult at you and you guys both go back to being enemies?

Fortunately for Gabby, Roman seems to be on the same page. As he tells her his very own nickname, the feeling of relief rushes through her, and she lets out a gulp of breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Hye. A middle name - he tells her - but he doesn't prefer either of his first or second names over the other.
"Cool. My second name is Rosario, but I don't like it that much," she tells him, mostly just for the sake of keeping up the conversation.
Now that they aren't at each other's throats, Gabby has a new-found urge to be liked by Roman Hye, particularly because she doesn't want him thinking that she's always the hot-headed, angry girl that she was during their last two acquaintances. But, words fail her, and not only does Gabby not like small talk, she can't imagine an intelligent, quick-tongued person like Roman would like it either.
"I'm sorry, but this is a bit weird. Especially because of our past... meetings," she admits to him. "And honestly, I have no idea why this is happening, or what to say to you."

He nods to what she says, agreeing wholeheartedly. Even though he considers himself to be an extrovert, and has always something to say, Roman isn’t fond of small talk. Now that he isn't sad, it finally hits him how weird this whole thing is. And it’s a shame, really, that he doesn’t know almost anything about Gabriela to try and start a proper conversation with her since she's starting to reveal herself to be more than that insufferable brat he's seen on twice before. He blames the two of them for being stupid during their other two encounters, though part of him knows that starting a fight is his hidden talent.

“Indeed, very weird,” agrees Roman. It doesn’t make it unpleasant, however. He finds Gabriela a lot more likable now that she isn’t trying to get on his nerves. The boy shakes himself, finding the whole thing just slightly funny. He shakes his head and confesses, “I must admit to not knowin’ how to act, as well. I’m not usually… Not mean towards others, ya know.”

He wonders what he should say. He’s never open about himself to others that aren’t his house-elves, frankly. After all, those three — and Clementine Hamilton — are the closest things he has to proper friends, which is kind of humiliating to think about. Roman’s sure Gabriela must have a lot more friends than him. And, yes, he doesn't need to make a friend, and a few days ago he'd completely deny the want of befriending someone — especially Gabriela, of all people —, but he supposes... It wouldn't hurt.

“Hm, uh, did ya know I have a band?” asks Roman, being the most interesting he could think about. That's what friends do, they talk about each other and... bond or whatever, right? He doesn't know, but can only hope to not be doing a pathetic job at that. And if he is, well, at least he tried.

"Yeah," Gabby agrees, letting out a sigh of relief as her fears wash away. "Its not the easiest talking to somebody you thought was your worse enemy." Now that she had confessed to Roman, of course, the awkwardness of talking to him disappeared. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her tongue, and she could speak freely once again.

Gabby's attention spikes as Roman mentions a band. Unfortunately, Gabby is maybe the worst instrument player in the world, but she likes to dance, and the idea of Roman playing in a band interests her. Admittedly, before today, Gabby couldn't picture Roman in a band. She had thought of him as the type of rich, privileged boy who would play a sophisticated instrument... like the violin, or the piano, or even something like the clarinet. But a band... that's completely different. She imagines Roman playing like the rock stars 30 stars ago, with long hair, and screaming into the microphone. Stifling a giggle, Gabby sternly tells herself that a band doesn't have to mean a rock band.
"That's cool," she tells him, honestly. "What instrument do you play? Is it with other Hogwarts students, or do you do it outside of school?"

“Was?”‌ lingers Roman on that word, opening the first genuine smile ever directed to Gabriela. It’s still a bit mocking like it’s an internal joke or something along those lines. As though hating each other was their thing. “So I ain’t yar enemy anymore? Bummer.”

He hopes she'll notice he's joking. Honestly, it'd be a shame to start an argument right when they're starting to get on the right path. Gabriela sounds honest when she compliments his band comment, and it makes him smile again, fighting back the excitement that grows inside of him whenever he speaks of The Witching Hour. After all, that was his childhood dream and he had finally achieved it. Though he still had to practice with the members, to get to know them properly, he's hopeful that they'll become a great band and be unstoppable.

“Ya,” and so he says, nodding, and resting at his seat, at ease. For the first time ever, Roman doesn't mind letting some of his true emotions show, as he sounds proud whenever talking about his band. A small part of him hopes that Gabriela finds him cool. “A‌ punk-rock band called The Witching Hour. Formed it a month ago. I play the electric guitar and compose.”

Roman decides to be modest too, as there's a lot more to what he does at the band. He's the leader, song-writer and the glue keeping everything together, considering the other members don't know each other. And, of course, the boy isn't complaining; he likes to overwork himself. “Two Gryffindors, another Slytherin and a Hufflepuff. All first years.”

Though the hardest part was over — the need to find others who wanted to join and had the talent he was looking for —, there's still a lot to come. The thoughts and doubts of what the future has waiting for his band only serve to encourage him, and so, he comments, tossing the comment there, sounding polite. “If I ever perform, I hope ya come, so ya can say 'Hey! I know that bastard!” Roman forces his voice to sound a little high-pitched, in order to sound like her.

It sounds like a simple polite invitation, but for him, it also serves as another way of saying 'we'll start over, and, maybe, become friends'.

Happy new year!

Gabby grins.
"I guess I'm not your enemy any more," she says slowly, not exactly comfortable in talking about relationships. Before Hogwarts, in her Muggle school, there had always been arguments between and inside friendship groups, and Gabby had never been a fan.
"But that's a good thing, right? At least for me. Your insults were good. I tried very hard, probably too hard, to insult you better - but I think you won in that competition."

As Roman begins to elaborate on his band, she can hear the pride in his voice. Gabby doesn't blame him either. A punk-rock band? It sounds like the coolest thing ever, and Gabby loves the idea of it. But the invitation is what really throws her. At first, she's not sure how to react. Is he just joking? she worriedly thinks, does he not expect me to take the invitation? But despite the fact that Roman might just be joking, going to a performance of a punk-rock band sounds amazingly cool and exciting.
"Well first off - that is not how I speak! - but in all seriousness, that sounds awesome. I've never seen a punk-rock band before, but I bet it'll be super cool. Are you going to do it over the holidays, or back when school starts again? Where do you live, by the way? Near London? I live down in Southampton, but I'm pretty good at catching buses and trains."
She stops suddenly, not wanting to seem too eager in front of Roman, who has instantly shot up several levels of coolness now that he is part of a band, and plays the electric guitar.

“I am quite good with insults, though I don’t think many would consider this to be a worthy hidden talent,” shrugs Roman, remembering how many times his father's friends would throw little comments here and there about his ‘nasty’ behavior, not that he cared about what those people had to say about him. He continues, shakings those thoughts away from his head, “Ya did a solid job, Gabby. I’ll give ya that!”

It still feels a bit weird to call her by her nickname, but Roman decides to ignore it, focusing on his favorite subject matter: music. “I'll organize an event prolly when school starts again. Unfortunately, Mr. Kingston isn’t very fond of me playin’ the guitar,” He rolls his eyes at that, visibly frustrated by his father's obsession with him learning how to play classical instruments. “So I won't be able to do it during the winter break. Besides, I wouldn't be able to contact the rest of my bandmates, ya know.”

Roman wants to mention that, even though he's very confident in his guitar skills, he can't say the same about his vocal ability, but he doesn't say anything on the matter. He doesn't like to put himself down, even if it's the truth. He continues, answering Gabriela's question, thankful that she asked something else, “I live in Nottingham, Clarendon street. Close to the general cemetery. 'Suppose it's not that far away from London. Hm, about an hour or so, I think? I am not that familiar with trains and buses...”

With that, an idea pops in his head. It's ridiculous and it almost makes him chuckle if it didn't make him slightly excited about it. Roman wants to ask if Gabriela would like to go out during the winter break. The idea is great to him, considering he won't be doing much and getting out of his house would definitely increase his mood. But, because the two of them aren't remotely close, he bites back the invitation, playing with the idea in his head.

Gabby grinned at the compliment of her insults. She wasn't sure if he was just saying so, but it was nice of him either way, and Gabby liked to think that she had good insults, so she was glad that he had said it to her anyway.
"Thanks - I might've been a good insult-er, but I didn't control by temper very well. I guess that's my wrongdoing, but tempers come in good use when you're arguing with your enemies," she said honestly.

"I can't really relate to your dad, mine isn't around any more," she admitted. "But why isn't your dad fond of you playing guitar? Does he not like the noise, or something like that? And why can't you contact your bandmates?"
Roman's whole situation for the winter break didn't sound very nice at all to Gabby, and she was deadly curious to know why his winter break would be so... lonely and quiet. Assumptions of an evil parent, like the ones Gabby saw in movies and books, crept into her thoughts, but she pushed them away, not wanting to make any false guesses.
For all you know, he could be a really nice guy, whose just sensitive to noise, and maybe Roman can't contact his friends because they don't have owls. You never know Gabby.

"I've never been to Nottingham," she tells him. "Next to a cemetery? I bet that's a bit sad sometimes, but also great for adventuring. You could go out there and tell ghost stories at night time, with torches under your faces."

Before he’s about to reply to her comment on their not-so-distant past animosity, Gabriela’s comment on her dad makes him stop. He takes a good look at her, frowning, utter confusion — and interest — on his face. There are a lot of thoughts that come to his mind at the moment, but, not wanting to be so senseless, Roman only nods and mumbles, weakly, “My condolences.”

Despite never experiencing such loss in his life, Roman assumes it must be a very a sensitive topic, and, unlike he’s usual apathetic self, he moves on, not wanting to dwell on something that perhaps would make his ex-enemy upset.

“He’s more of an old-fashioned man, if ya will,” says Roman in a condescending tone, a sneer appearing on his face now that he thinks about the way his father acts. “Though I’m not certain on where his hatred for rock music comes from, it’s prolly because of my mum.”He’s hit with the realization that Gabriela didn’t have the same upbringing as him, or normal pureblood kids, so he adds, just to be sure, “She’s a famous singer, ya know.”

He ignores the question about his bandmates, not wanting to admit that they aren’t close at all, and that all he knows about them is their names. It makes him feel a bit pathetic, and lessen his band as a real thing, because, to Roman, a band is only a real band when the members are as close as they can. Call him a softie or whatever, but he wholeheartedly believes that. Roman decides to focus on her comment on the cemetery.

To be honest, he never once thought of exploring the place, perhaps because he’s a bit afraid of the dark and quite superstitious. He doesn’t find the idea very enticing, but, still determined to look cool, Roman nods and says, “Sounds like a plan, honestly.”He smiles, a fake excitement running through his eyes as he purrs, “Would ya like to join me and explore the cemetery?”

"Oh, thank you," says Gabby, slightly taken aback when Roman replies about the comment on her father. How did he know that her father was dead? Maybe he was just guessing, she thought to herself reassuringly. "And that sucks that you dad doesn't like music - it must be hard to get practices in - but if your mother's a singer, wouldn't she let you practice?"
When he responds to her interest in the cemetery, Gabby grins. It's quite unexpected, if she was honest with herself, as Roman doesn't exactly seem the person to invite (of all people) herself, but she doesn't ponder it much. The train ride has been unexpected at every turn, and Gabby isn't that surprised that something else happened. Plus, when she thinks about it, the plan sounds intriguingly interesting. Gabby loved horror movies, and still does. Exploring a cemetery is a great idea.
"Awesome!" she said enthusiastically. "That sounds like a great plan. I'll come by your place after Christmas is done. And also, before we go off the topic of your mother, who is she? I don't really know any magical singers, but I've heard people talking about them. But are they like normal - well, Muggle - singers? They mustn't be, right? Because otherwise they could be famous in the Muggle world too."
Gabby paused for a second, before the idea hit her.
"But what if they are famous in the Muggle world! Wow - that would be amazing."

"Gimme a piece of parchment so I can write down the address, just so ya don't forget it," says Roman, half-committing to it. He's very thankful that the girl accepted to go on that adventure with him. Finally, he'll have something fun to do during this holiday season. Even though he says this, he starts to move towards his trunk, in order to get parchment himself. Then, as he reaches for it and puts it on the seat he hears Gabriela ask about his mother.

His shoulders feel tense and he freezes for a brief second before finding the parchment and going back to his place, closing his trunk but leaving it there on his seat. It's like a punch in the gut, which he ignores. He's used to people asking about his mum, anyway, and it's not like it's Gabriela's intention to hurt him, unlike some wizards.

Everything his mother, Hyeon, does become gossip and it's not rare for Roman to see people staring at him and even whispering, not even trying to hide that they're talking about him. Not only is he identical to his mother, but the woman is very open about how she "freed" herself from a relationship without love and how she doesn't care much about children.

The boy knows that he wasn't exactly planned and that his existence ended his parents' relationship and almost put a stop sign in front of his mother's career. Almost, he can't stress this enough to himself. Who's he trying to fool? She decided to leave, more passionate about her music than she would ever be about him. It's not like he cares. Roman doesn't care.

Still, Roman answers in the most controlled tone that he can."About my mum. She's Hyeon Park," Even though he's proud of his mother's achievements (unlike his father, that bitter man), his heart still breaks a little when he thinks about how her celebrity life basically incapacitated her from being a present mother. He doesn't care, the boy tells himself, trying to convince his own her. It doesn't matter. If she doesn't give a damn about him, then why should he care? Roman continues, "She's a pureblood witch, so I don't believe muggles would know about her... Do ya?"

@Gabriela Marquez