Closed Lesson one; Be more chill pv

@Charles Alluring @Henry Knight

Outfit

Haley stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tied her long wavy hair into a high ponytail. She examined herself once from top to bottom, she had recently found the courage to do things without thinking about what others thought or at least trying not to care. Often she was unsure if she would be looked at strangely for what she wore, whether it was normal or extraordinary, but she was learning that there were far too many idiots in this world. Too many idiots whose opinions she shouldn't care about. As a finishing touch, she pulled a few last strands out of her braid and let them frame her face, fixed her outfit and left the Gryffindor common room.

She strolled through the castle to the meeting place with Charles. One of the more encouraging reasons to do what she wanted and not be swayed by the opinions of others. They had some common things about themselves and Charles had agreed to show her the dark side. She smiled at the thought of the moment, shaking her head slightly. The blond boy from Durmstrang had already grown on her in his own way and in a short time. But even as she walked along she felt she was getting looks, she didn't know if it was real or just an annoying voice inside her. Whether it was whispers about how she had dressed or any other rumours they might have heard about the redhead. She tried to put the thoughts out of her mind, but it would be a lie to say she was doing well.

Not long after, she could see her target in the distance. There stood the blond boy, leaning against the wall in his black leather jacket, waiting for her. Obviously her doubts were well in evidence and Charles didn't wait with the first lesson. She barely had time to greet him before he was standing beside her, improving her posture. Stand straight. Head high. She did as he said and she didn't know if it was really that or his presence but she felt stronger. "Appearance is key" she repeated his words, putting on a confident face and nodding at him to let him know she understood. She had pulled her shoulders back, her head up and the stares she now noticed on her suddenly didn't concern her, she smiled confidently, with one corner of her mouth pulled up. But at the same time the doubts came back, she was sure Charles closeness was a significant part of it but she tried not to let it show.

"So Charles, what's the plan for today?" she now asked, eagerly anticipating the day ahead.

@Charles Alluring @Henry Knight

Outfit

It wasn't that Haley just did what she was told, she had a mind of her own but she was always ambitious and what Charles told her was what she wanted to do. She wanted to learn from him and so she tried to implement his tips perfectly from the very first second. But it was not only about implementing them, but also about internalising them, after all she wanted to be self-confident and not just pretend to be. It was a strange feeling at first, but she was sure it would be worth it.

Cautiously, Haley squinted over at Charles, looking for some kind of confirmation if she was doing it right or a hint of what she should do differently and quickly got a short but clear response - a simple nod. Somewhat proudly, she now looked forward again, glancing back and forth between the students, only brief glances, for she didn't want to pay attention to what she might read on their faces, after all, she didn't want her to care. She also stopped looking at Charles. The uncertainty had gone for that moment and so she just stood there, next to Charles against the wall.

"Be more chill, I think I can handle this." She spoke, thinking that was at least a first task she could handle. She knew she could wrap her head around things but at the same time she had moments when she didn't care. She would just find a happy medium and she would be more chill. The girl eyed the boy as he pushed himself off the wall and tried to take in every detail. Hands in his pocket, head up and a straight back. It was obvious that Charles was just like that and not just playing at it, as was currently still the case with Haley.

She thought about his words for a moment and began to nod slowly. He was right, but this was definitely one of the things that would be difficult for her. Even if she didn't dress in a flashy way at all, she worried about how others would feel about it. She didn't know where this insecurity came from, but it was there. Even with her outfit today, which she more than liked, she was unsure whether she should really wear it. But it wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy and challenges are there to grow from so she would try to work on this one.

Haley silently followed Charles down the corridor, watching his behaviour closely. "I don't know if I can." She answered honestly, "But I'll try." She continued, showing her ambition. She glanced at the group of students Charles had mentioned and gave him an uncertain look before looking in their direction again. "Alright then." She said, still unsure but walking down the corridor. The outward walk was not a difficulty, much more the fact that she was to walk back through the group. She kept her posture, as much as her body tried to shift into one that would make her as invisible as possible. She forced herself to do it anyway and from her face it was obvious that it was uncomfortable. The closer she got to the group, the more nervous she became. Normally, she would simply turn a corner or politely ask the others to make room for her, but not today. She took one deep breath before walking towards the group with her head up, back straight and eyes straight ahead but without paying attention to them.

She noticed a head turn towards her and she knew now she would fail. She was just waiting for the head to turn away again, to simply ignore her and do anything but make way for her. But things turned out differently than expected, the body to the head nudged their elbow right and left to draw attention to Haley and instead of getting in her way, they split up and let her walk through the middle. They looked down at her from top to bottom and the looks were anything but nice and polite, but Haley thought she saw a spark of respect. And even if it wasn't, they had still made room for the redhead.

Completely surprised, she came back to Charles, unable to believe what had just happened. "What just happened?" she asked him in total disbelief and at the same time she felt bad. She wasn't used to acting like this. Normally she was the always friendly Haley, who always wanted to please everyone, was nice and always dutifully said please and thank you. She felt like she had wronged the group but at the same time there was another feeling hiding in a dark corner. It was a kind of feeling of power, even if she would not recognise it.

@Charles Alluring @Henry Knight

Luckily for Haley, she didn't notice the first doubt of Charles, because if she had, she wouldn't have been so successful, but probably would have really just avoided the whole thing, or rather the group. But she had done it and she had mastered the challenge. Even though she didn't have to swim through a lake full of aligators, merely through a group of students, which really wasn't witchcraft, she was nevertheless proud of her achievement. And her proud smile only grew when Charles called her a natural. She looked Charles in the eye, copied his half-smile that he so often put on, let her pride out, and dusted the imaginary dirt off her shoulder with her hand and started laughing.

She thought about his words for a moment. Haley was up for any nonsense and that included pranks. But obviously being on the dark side wasn't what breaking the rules meant. She obviously just had to ignore them and not intentionally cause any chaos. "I'm not sure I understand." she said as she continued to think about it. "Okay, so an example. I can't sleep at night and I just feel like going for a walk. I leave the common room and do just that, I allow myself a relaxing walk. And actually I know I'm not supposed to because it's already after Curfew but I'm doing it for the walk and not to break the rule?" she now asked Charles, not sure if she really understood.

She wondered how he behaved in Durmstrang, how this behavior would be noticeable in him, and as her thoughts kept digressing, she eventually came to the idea of paying Charles a surprise visit in Durmstrang, but before surprising him, observing him in his natural environment. "Tell me an example of your everyday life." she now prompted the blond boy, eager to get to know more of him. She was sure that the expert next to her didn't bother with walking confidently through a group of students.

@Charles Alluring @Henry Knight

At first Haley was glad that she had understood Charles correctly but immediately she felt insecure when he remarked that one should not be a prankster type. She gave him an innocent look, Haley was definitely the prankster type, but she tried not to let it show. She didn't want Charles to think of her as a silly little kid, because she didn't want to be. Even though Haley had always been more mature than others her age, even in kindergarten she was, she didn't want to be a kid after all. Because that was what they had told her, that she was just a stupid stupid child. But the redhead didn't want to put on that shoe and so she tried to take Charles' advice to heart. After all, change was part of growing up...right?

Practicing Quidditch after Curfew? That would be something she would dare to do. She listened to Charles as he continued and nodded at his words. She couldn't hide her initial reaction and looked at the blond boy with wide and startled eyes when he told about casually beating people up in the corridors. "You do what?" she asked further surprised and at the same time annoyed that the words just burst out of her. "If you don't mind me asking...w- why do you hit others?" Haley asked uncertainly. She wanted to understand him, the boy she had taken to her heart and had suddenly come to know a side of him she hadn't expected. She really wanted to understand him, which was why she asked, she didn't want to just judge him for something.

Break the rules in little ways. Haley continued to think about it and while a few minutes ago she was so proud of passing her first challenge, she didn't know how she was going to pass any more. Let alone who would challenge her when Charles would no longer be around. "I'll try." Said Haley and at that moment an idea came to her. "You know, I have an idea." She spoke enthusiastically now and snapped her fingers. "As you know, unfortunately, you have to go back to Durmstrang. And if you're away, you're obviously not here to challenge me. But we could keep this going." She explained to her friend, looking at him excitedly. But before he could have asked anything, she continued. "Of course, it wouldn't be fair if only I received challenges, right? Right! So the plan is as follows, I receive a challenge from you in a letter, I report to you whether I did it or not and in the same turn you receive one from me. And so on. Got it?" The redhead presented her idea, talking without full stops and when she concluded she looked at Charles. "Deal?" she asked, holding out her hand for him to strike.

@Charles Alluring @Henry Knight

While at first Haley was unsure about the behaviour Charles had revealed to her, it turned out that the right decision was not to simply condemn it, but to let him explain. To ask questions and not to see the bad in people across the board, because everyone had a story. And so Charles also had his story and part of the story he now revealed to Haley. The redhead brought them both to a halt and listened intently to his words, her gaze fixed on his eyes, his face. She could see that it triggered something in Charles, that he chose carefully what he said.

Haley couldn't imagine what Charles was going through, she only remembered similar experiences, but this was not comparable to being the target of the own brother every time. It made Haley sad, but more than that it made her angry. She knew that if she came across his brother at some point, she would not be able to control her temper.

Haley put her hand gently on Charles shoulder and looked at him softly. "I'm sorry about that." She spoke, knowing that those words didn't change anything. But she wanted to show that she was there for him, didn't judge him and understood that sometimes you were made to be who you are. Carefully, she put her hand to his face and briefly stroked the side of his face with her thumb. "I can understand you." She assured him before quickly withdrawing her hand. She turned away and leaned against the wall. "It's not the same, but my first year I got a howler from my mother." Haley smiled slightly and shook her head at the thought. "My mother had found out I was a Parselmouth and wasn't thrilled. Well, because of that, it felt like half of Hogwarts had found out too and not everyone reacted well to it." Haley didn't want to go on forever, but she could remember all the looks, the rumours and the derogatory behaviour of some like it was yesterday. She didn't care if Charles knows about her being a Parsel, je accepted it, she loved it and she knew it was a talent. But still this was one of the first experiences that shaped her here in a negative way. An experience that pointed her in a different direction.

"And then there was that visit in the summer to my grandfather's house." Haley didn't notice that she just started talking so openly. But it was because she trusted Charles and felt safe with him. "I wish there it had just been looks and words." Shocked, she realised what she just said and came back to reality . "E-hm what I'm saying is, we're not all bad and sometimes we're made to be what we are." She shrugged and shook off the subject again.

Haley smiled broadly as Charles made the deal with her, this was definitely something she was looking forward to and she knew his challenges wouldn't be hard and she also knew that she won't be able to do every challenge of him for sure. Haley raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked the tall boy up and down. "Don't underestimate me Mister Alluring!" she admonished him, holding her serious gaze for a moment before a smile spread across her face again. "Believe me, I know your challenges will be tough."