Can I Sit Here? PV Opelia Winters Closed

@Simon Corbin

Opeila had been silent on the way to the train. Not spoken a word, only reacted with a cold 'mh' whenever Lysander had tried to start a conversation and eventually he had given up. This winter had been an utter disappointment. Not only because of the unbelievable choice Lord and Lady Virtanen had made over her life, it had driven a wedge into her relationship with Lysander, making her feel more alone than ever.

Lysander had felt like a kindred spirit when the young girl had first entered the house, like a person who understood her on a strange planet. She had relied on him too much, expected too much of him. And he had broken her trust. Opeila still felt bitter betrayal tightening her throat whenever she thought back to that evening, when she had jumped off her chair and yelled at them all. Threatened, tried to bargain, only to let their manipulation eat away at her conscious.

So all she had left was to punish Lysander with silence, as it would not have any effect on the two adults. They were two blocks of ice, truly. No chance to get through to with petty methods as this. Lysander was different. Opeila was not sure how this young man, who had been raised by parents like this, could have become so sensitive. She did like that side of him, but right now, her intention was to hurt him as he had hurt her. And she knew that it was working.

The Slytherin had entered the train, leaving her stepbrother behind with a curt "See you." and not looked back again. When Opeila had finally found an empty compartment, she didn't dare to look out of the window. Eventually she did it anyway, only to see the young man nowhere. He had left and the whole tactic backfired when regret hit Opeila like a fist.
Damn it. She was being unfair, Lysander had been raised with the values he expressed.

Sighing to herself, Opeila reached forward and opened the transport box that contained a pretty annoyed Loras. The cat jumped out without even giving her another look. "Hey, it's not my fault that they don't like you. Losing less hair would be a start, but that's entirely on you." Wow, now she was really losing it, was she? She shook her head about herself.

Fine, reading a book it was. Opeila had randomly flipped through the pages of her defense against the dark arts book for a few minutes, when the compartment door opened. A first year was apparently boarding the train late and had not found a free compartment, so he asked to sit with her. Opeila was about to open her mouth to answer, when he just walked in and sat down, already continuing to talk.

Dumbfounded she stared at the boy who now held out his hand for her to shake. "Opeila Winters, third year.", she responded after a moment of being unsure how to react to what had just happened. Be nice. Be tolerant. See how he is before doing anything else. So Opeila caught herself and smiled at the boy. "You are not in my house, are you? Slytherin? I can't remember seeing you around in the common room. Why did you thing Hogwarts would be terrible?" Perhaps he had siblings who kept him updated about all the attacks.

tags- @Opeila Winters

When Simon sat down, the girl stared at him, which Simon was used to. Maybe it was because they hadn’t met anyone as outgoing as him. Or maybe it was because he had sat down without waiting to see if she’d even accept.
Nope, definitely the former. She was probably going to accept anyway. There was no difference if he sat down or if he didn’t. Who would say no to him?
“Opeila Winters, third year,” she said after a few seconds of silence, and Simon nodded. “Yeah, I thought you were.”
When she asked him if he was in her house, Simon shook his head. “Nope. Gryffindor. Are the people in your house cool? I kind of heard they weren’t, and that’s why I didn't want to go, along with, uh, other things.” Simon definitely didn’t want to tell her how angry he was when he first came to the station, not only because it was embarrassing to think about, let alone retell, but then he’d have to explain why he was so mad, and then he’d have to talk about his dad, and even the thought of his dad made him want to cry. He shook his head a little to shake off the thoughts and cleared his throat. “How’s your third year going? I want to know, just in case it’s terrible.” He laughed a little to show her he was just joking.
Simon noticed that she was holding a box with holes poked in it, so he assumed it was something living. “Oh, what’s in that box?” He tapped it gently to check if it made a noise. “Is it your pet or…”

@Simon Corbin

A slightly confused smile appeared on Opeila's face, as she tried to be polite while, at the same time, not really understanding the child's deal. Sooo... he knew that she was a third year and asked anyway? Perhaps she was thinking a bit too practical, but... what a waste of breath.

However, there wouldn't be a comment about it. Opeila had learned by now to think certain thoughts in silence in order not to stir discomfort or anger. Instead there was a polite nod at him saying that he was a Gryffindor. "That is a good house. I have some friends there." ... Well, actually, if she thought about it, she had friends in almost every house. Ravenclaw being the exception, but she definitely had some positive acquaintances among the birds.

Simon's next words made her eyes widen in surprise. He asked if the people in her house were cool and told her that rumours made him not want to go. "We do have a bad reputation, don't we? How about Ravenclaw? Did they scare you? I met some pretty annoying Ravenclaws, not gonna lie. And a very aggressive Gryffindor, who beat me up in a bathroom, as a matter of fact. Haven't seen him in Hogwarts since last year, but still. And I was once bullied by a Hufflepuff prefect who had a bad day."

Opeila shook her head. "There are those and those in every house. But, for your information, we have muggleborns in Slytherin and only few still play after those old, stupid rules of blood purity. I've met some very decent people in Slytherin, as well as idiots, but that could be said about every house." Opeila shrugged.

"Just have an open mind and give everyone a fair chance, then you'll be fine."
Opeila chuckled at his next question which was if her third year was terrible. "No, it is not terrible. The excitement of first year wears off by second year, but it is still cool. For one, I have permission to go to the town Hogsmeade every weekend, and then I have also new subjects! Don't worry so much kid, there'll be good and bad times, as everywhere."

As he poked the transport box next to her, Opeila shook her head. "Oh, that's empty, I let him out, my cat, Loras. Poor guy was locked in a lot over the holidays. I think, he went under one of the benches, he doesn't like me too much right now. Or anyone, as a matter of fact, so I wouldn't pet him if I were you."