Interacting with @Harvey Barrows as Helene Zauber.

February 13th, 2025

Did french people have hearing issues or something? Helene could ignore casual conversation, but everyone around her today seemed to be making an effort to be as loud as they reasonably could. She'd changed locations three times this afternoon, and just when she'd thought she'd found some peace and quiet, a bunch of noisy students burst it, completely ignoring the fact that everyone else was quiet. And it wasn't just them talking, everything about them was loud. The way they walked, slammed their bags down and shoved desks together showed how little they considered anyone but themselves.

Helene didn't even want to be here at the school in general. Not at all. She wasn't too pessimistic about it initially, but the whole experience had quickly gone downhill. First, she had to go to a tea party of all things-- what, in the world, is more frivolous than that-- and now she had to suffer through five more days of similar madness until she could go home. Why the hell was there a week-long trip for Valentine's Day in the first? It's one day. One day that had absolutely no value to Helene. Plus, why did every school need to look like a fairy castle? It was a school, not set for a Disney film. God, the students even dressed like they thought they were better than everyone.

This was all her sister's fault. If Saskia weren't so bent on Helene having a social life, and having a 'fun high school experience', Helene would be back in Russia right now, enjoying peace and quiet while she worked. Instead, she was in a silly country with people with silly accents who didn't know how to shut up or consider others. Maybe it was just that the school was overcrowded at the moment, but wasn't enough of an excuse. Could they go to the dining hall, or outside, or literally anywhere else where people weren't working?

The string in Helene's hand snapped, and she let out a huff of frustration. She'd been trying to sew a set of drapes for her sister's room (the old ones had been destroyed in a minor fire), but as she was not very skilled, she really had to concentrate to get it right. Which was kind of hard when everywhere she went, people were more and more outwardly disrespectful. Was anyone else annoyed by this? Because if someone didn't speak up soon, Helene would have to, and that was not going to be pretty...

416 words. #420c55.

@Nora De Carie as Helene Zauber

Finally! Harvey thought to himself as he cracked open his book and took in the quiet of the room as if it were a breath of fresh air. He could feel the tension slipping away from his shoulders as the chaotic atmosphere of Beauxbatons had him feeling tense. The boy daydreamed of those back at Hogwarts enjoying a week of a nearly empty castle. What a dream! Why did grandfather have to force him into this? Sure, Harvey had enjoyed the chance of getting to know some of his international peers and he did truly hope to hold onto those connections for years to come, but there was something about cramming all of these wild teenagers together that only intensified their already chaotic energy. The lad felt as if he were suffocating from it all.

The day had just started out that way too. First he had been disturbed by his noisy cabin mates as they rudely prepared themselves breakfast. Now, Harvey was an early riser, but surely these mongrels had been taught the decency of keeping quiet until a proper hour. Yet they had stomped around the tent, banging cookery, laughing and shouting at the top of their lungs. He had dressed and packed quickly in search of any shred of solitude the poor boy might find. Though it seemed that everywhere Harvey went the chaos followed. How was he to keep up with his studies if he could not find peace in which to do so!

So, the part-goblin had entered the chateau in search of an empty room. Surely even the French had classrooms and designated study areas in which some sense of order was expected. Though so far they had proven to be quite the fractious bunch! But to his delight Harvey had entered a room with only a few others quietly focused on whatever task at hand. Thank Merlin! He took a seat at one of the desks and opened his copy of Book of Spells. They would be covered Lumos and Nox upon his return to Hogwarts and the boy was not going to fall behind. yet just as one of his abnormally long finger found the place within the text he had left off at a bang at the door would have him jump in his seat.

Harvey nearly ripped the page out of the book as his heart began to hammer. The noisy group of students were dragging furniture across the room and yammering away in their stupid language! Composure was one of the many lessons he had been taught in how to be a proper gentleman, but one could only withstand so much! "For Merlin's sake!" Harvey slammed his book closed and rose from his seat. He would not scream or shout, but a surprisingly commanding voice came from deep within his little body. "The rest of us are trying to conduct our work in peace! Have some decency and keep quiet!" It didn't matter if they understood English or not as his message became very clear as he held a finger to his lips in the universal gesture for shut the hell up!

Interacting with @Harvey Barrows.

February 13th, 2025

Helene had always been the more confrontational one in her family. Her sister was far too friendly to step on anyone's toes, and her dad, an awkward and gangly man, was too shy to even talk to the cashier at a store. When he did have to make that trip, he hunched his back and stared at the ground like he was on the run. If the other villagers didn't know him so well from his literal green thumb, then they might think to call the cops. Helene knew it gave him great relief when the school year came to an end, and Saskia could again handle those kinds of social tasks.

However, often it was up to Helene to make sure that they weren't walked over or mistreated. For instance, most of the villagers were respectful of their solidarity, but some were a little too keen to see what happened inside the dark stone walls of the Zauber home. When nosy outsiders started intruding on their property, stepping through their garden, Helene's dad hid in his office, and her sister tried to make conversation. Helene? She chased them off with a broom. Sure, she'd get called a witch, but hey: those weren't even real according to Muggles. If they were going to step on her cabbages, then she was going to make them work for it.

Therefore, if the noise around her continued, she would have no qualms about yelling at them. But she'd learned from her sister that maybe the wasn't the best thing to do right away, at least socially. Instead, she would wait. Four seconds. Only four, they didn't fucking deserve five. Alright, here she went. Four... three... two... and--

"For Merlin's sake!" A voice snapped from nearby, accompanied by the slamming of a book. The exclamation had come from someone at a desk near her, a small boy with jet-black hair who Helene recognized. He couldn't have been more than four feet, but with his slicked-back hair and dark expression, he looked almost intimidating. His name, she was pretty sure of, was Harvey. "The rest of us are trying to conduct our work in peace! Have some decency and keep quiet!" he finished in a quite commanding voice, and Helene just thought: thank god.

The group looked satisfyingly shocked at the kid's outburst. The room was holding it's breath, and for a second there, she felt a glimmer of hope. The silence was broken by a huff of annoyance let out by one of the girls in the group. She was lanky with long, stringy brown hair and the second that she started walking towards Harvey's desk rather than the exit, Helene literally squinted in disbelief. God, why were people so so dramatic?

"Just zatknis' blyat' or leave," she groaned, saying the 'shut the fuck up' part in Russian because she still didn't quite know how to swear in English. Besides, her accent was horrible enough that it didn't really matter.

She stared at the girl, trying to muster up every bit of that unapproachable energy that she supposedly carried, and thankfully, this seemed to do the trick. The girl's friends seemed already ready to go after Harvey stood up, so when she gestured for them to follow her out, they were quick behind her. However, on the way by, they weren't shy about the dirty looks as they filtered out the door. And as the last one made their way out, complete with a door slam, Helene was finally... at peace.

"Slava bogu Thank god that you said something; I was close to it," she muttered to Harvey as she rearranged her strings.

609 words. #434d56.

@Nora De Carie as Helene Zauber

Harvey's voice had boomed out of his chest as he demanded quiet from the rowdy group of French. It may be surprising to some considering his short stature, but it was a quality he had inherited from his grandfather. Many had mistaken the goblin for an innocuous being and had paid the price for their misjudgment. Fortunately Harvey had not taken after his mother who he could only describe as meek. While he carried a tender place in his heart for her, he was silently grateful he had not turned out like his mother. She lacked the strength and the character it took to achieve success in this life. Harriet would always be subservient and the boy had vowed never to be like that. One day he would surpass his grandfather, but for now he would serve the boy's only role model of success. Harvey had never known his father. Something that often inspired a feeling of being unwanted in people and while he had to process that like any other that had an absentee parent, he had come out the other side with a sense of resilience that many his age did not carry. Those that opposed him would do well to tread lightly.

Harvey would stand straight with a rather long index finger moving from his lips to point at the group of obnoxious teens. A clear indication that he was challenging them and they would do well to listen. For the most part the group seemed a bit taken aback by his command and while that filled him with a sense of satisfaction it would seem that one of them was unwilling to obey. The tall young witch with poor hair was walking in his direction and Harvey's hand would fall to his side. His long fingers would slip into the inside pocket of his robe as the boy was not afraid to defend himself. Yet just as his fingers touched the handle of his wand another voice would enter the fray.

Though Harvey could not understand some of the words spoken, his beady black eyes would dart to another witch that he recognized from the day before. The words were foreign to him, but their meaning was clear enough as the group took the hint and began to leave. His sharp memory would recall her name, Helene. The Russian from Koldovstorev that had left quite the impression on him. "My pleasure, Miss Helene. Though it is quite refreshing to meet another that won't tolerate such nonsense." Many chastised Harvey for being so serious at a young age and that mentality left him with few confidants, but he cared little. However, he had to admit that he was rather intrigued by Helene who seemed to share at least some of his personality traits.

"Harvey Barrows." The boy reintroduced himself with a slight bow of his head. "But if you don't mind dropping the formalities, please just call me Harvey." He offered with a smile. The room around them had slipped back into the quiet place they had both been seeking and he retook his seat. "May I ask what you're sewing?" Harvey tested to see if she was open to conversation, but pushed forward regardless. "Besides the fact that everyone feels it necessary to be as loud as possible, how are you finding your time here?"

Interacting with @Harvey Barrows.

February 13th, 2025

The boy, Harvey, was very odd to Helene. He seemed very much more mature than most of her classmates, and she was sure he couldn't be older than twelve. He almost seemed like he'd been body swapped with a forty to sixty something year old man, whose consciousness was now stuck in the body of a child and had come to terms with the fact. Very odd. But then again, Helene was very odd too, so who was she to judge?

"My pleasure, Miss Helene. Though it is quite refreshing to meet another that won't tolerate such nonsense," Harvey said. "Harvey Barrows. But if you don't mind dropping the formalities, please just call me Harvey." He smiled, and Helene nodded back. She didn't need an introduction; she remembered his name from their first meeting, but she didn't bother to say that. "May I ask what you're sewing?"

"Drapes," Helene replied as she reached down for a spool that had fallen during the outbursts.

After she retrieved it, she turned to look at Harvey. Truth be told, she wasn't much one for conversation. She never had been. While her sister paraded around town, making friends with all the just under a thousand residents, Helene stayed at home. She cleaned the house, tended the garden, and prepared meals for her mother and father. The most socialisation she had in Chekalin was with the grocery clerk, and even then, she never said anything unless she needed to. What was the point? Social etiquette was so incredibly convoluted. How was she supposed to know when to laugh, when not to, when someone was being polite, when they were being sarcastic, or when they were actually being genuine? Helene thought that everyone should just be genuine, or make it very clear if they were being anything else. But most people didn't operate like that, so for that reason, Helene didn't trust most people.

However... her sister had always pushed her to be better, to put herself out there. Before she'd left, Saskia had made Helene promise to give people a chance. Sighing, she clarified in her usual broken English, "For my sister. The old ones burned in a... flame."

She made a quick hand gesture to represent what she meant.

"Besides the fact that everyone feels it necessary to be as loud as possible, how are you finding your time here?" he asked, and her mouth turned downward to mask a smile. Those French people were being incredibly loud.

"I do not like the french," Helene said, a little stiffly. She tried to relax a little by focusing on her threads. "But the weather is good. What do you think? You are of Hogwarts, yes?"

450 words. #434d56.

@Nora De Carie as Helene Zauber

Harvey's eyes fell back to the fabric as Helene offered her one word response. Perhaps an indication that she had no interest in furthering the conversation. While the boy understood and if she wished to drop it he wouldn't push it, but he had hoped to get to know her a little better. While they probably shared many traits, Harvey had a bit of a different social perspective. He too would not suffer people for just the sake of it, yet he did yearn for friends. Ones that truly understood him anyway. Helene may look to social etiquette as a chore, but it was something Harvey thrived in. He loved the game and hoped to become a more practiced player. Humans had long since developed ways of hiding their true selves behind polite conversation and social norms and worming it out of people was always a good bit of fun. Or seeing just how easily they could be tricked or manipulated. However, it was nice to drop it all and just have an honest conversation with someone and that was very much lacking in the young boy's life.

Harvey was just about to retake his seat figuring the conversation had concluded when Helene's gaze caught his once more. The drapes were for her sister apparently as the last were destroyed in a blaze. "Oh my, I hope that was all lost in the flames. Nice of you to make her new ones. A personalized touch is always nice." Harvey thought he caught the very hint of a smile from Helene when he asked his question about the loud mouthed French and in return he offered his most charming of smirks. Perhaps he was getting somewhere after all. "I don't think I care for them either." Why not return the honesty. Surely there was one or two among the Beauxbatons assembly that would be worth a damn, but so far he had been thoroughly disappointed.

"I am envious of the climate." He cast his eyes towards a window for the moment as they had been graced with another sunny day. "While I appreciate the architecture of the chateau, I find it all a bit...much." The way the building was set directly into the Pyrenees left a breathtaking visage, but the decor of it all was far too loud for his liking. "I do like a manicured setting, but the color scheme and overindulgence of it all makes it hard for me to relax. I am from Hogwarts, yes." Harvey answered her follow up question and he was already yearning to return there. The muted tones of the castle reminded him of his own home and it was much more his pace. "Am I correct to assume you are a student at Koldovstoretz? Or maybe Durmstrang?" He was usually good with accents, but she could have been a transplant like many other witches and wizards from around the world. "If I am correct, I would love to hear more of your time there. Would you care to sit with me?" Harvey gestured to a pair of seats and hoped she would indulge him. He wanted to travel the world one day to study magic far and wide and visiting each school was already on his bucket list. A first hand account would be thrilling.