The Better Part of Valor PV Olphie

Olphie had not even been at Hogwarts 24 hours when she got an owl from a fan. It was unsurprising to hear that she had gotten an owl, as Olphie knew that the Harpies probably had to field many enquiries as to where their star reserve had gone. What was surprising was that she hadn't gotten more owls, actually. Certainly, there was some sort of error with the international owls and she would get more fan mail soon.

The owl had actually not from an identified fan, though Olphie had been certain that she was one and had just forgotten to note it in her owl. Its contents? An interview. Olphie couldn't help but be a little irritated, but she knew that was the downside of being a star Quidditch reserve. The fans refused to stop, even when the former beater was transitioning into her new role as Flying Professor and role model. It seemed that these microsized fans would be no different, though Olphie wondered if they would be more petulant. She had had a few crazed fans in her past, but she could scurry children away, especially with her position, correct?

Olphie sat in her pink-hued office, thinking over the owl once more. How did this child expect her to answer how she was settling down when it had only been a couple days? She hadn't even unpacked, yet. The office was filled, floor to ceiling, with packages that her parents and fans (mainly her parents) had sent her, portraits of mainly herself, and many trunks and bags filled with clothes. It was a mess, and if she had not painted it the pepto bismol pink that she loved the best, the stressful, scattered belongings would have perhaps given her a heart attack. Luckily, she had heard that Caravan Brawn had been a healer, so he would likely be able to save her if the stress got to be too much. But was that not a house elf's job to clean one's belongings? It seemed they needed a stern talking to.

Olphie had just noticed her neon green nails had chipped when she heard a call at the door. It seemed she had finally had her first visit with a fan! If only she knew where her teapot was, Olphie would have have started brewing up a pot immediately so the girl and herself could share tea about the Harpies properly. Alas, she did not know where it was, and it seemed that this girl didn't even want to talk about her superstardom? But she was smiling, and first impressions were important. So Olphie returned the smile kindly as she listened to the girl and decided that, even if she didn't say it, she had to be a fan of the former beater. It would be impossible to think otherwise.

"Oh, pleased to meet you, Miss Savearing, dear! I did get your owl, yes. You wanted an interview?" She glanced at the parchment with the interview questions, then stood up to beckon the girl in. Nodding to the empty leather armchair, the other being submerged in things, she sat back down in her white desk chair. Olphie caught a glimpse of her nail again. She'd have to fix that soon, as soon as she could find her polish in all those things.

When she looked back at the door, Olphie noted that the girl remained in her doorway. Alexxxa was quite fashionably confident, yes, with her high ponytail and gold hoop earrings, but she was acting so uncomfortable. Olphie had experienced such fearful individuals before and knew how to handle it, of course. Fame seemed to intimidate people, but one can always melt the ice with a smile. So Olphie beamed from her chair while she waited for Miss Seventy to make her next move.

"I- uhm... I wanted to ask a few questions if that's alright? Not paper related," the girl asked, and Olphie's smile widened further. She had been right; the girl was most definitely a fan. Yet she still looked uncomfortable, and Olphie wondered if she was going to cry while she watched the girl stare at her shoes and play with her skirt. She had thought the girl would be asking for tea about the Harpies, but it now seemed that she could have even deeper issues. Such as boy issues. Luckily, Olphie was beautiful and wise enough to know how to handle such childish problems, so if that was where the conversation ended up going, she would be just as pleased. Anything to be of help.

Olphie nodded toward the chair again and this time extended a hand to make the gesture clearer, as it was possible that the girl was a bit daft. You never knew with these fans, and childhood, itself, had an inherent stupidity that inhibited boys and girls. She smiled once more and stated loudly, "Of course, dear. I do have to apologize that I do not have any tea for us to drink as we chat. As you can see, I'm still settling in. I daresay I thought I would have a bit more help with unpacking from the house elves."

Miss... Wait, no. That wasn't her name. It was "see-vuh-ruh". French. The "in" would be pronounced "uh"- well, to normal people. Alexx was from Southern France, so she tended to drag on the "n". But it was fine! She was sure the professor was just confused! Besides, Alexx was too polite to correct her. Maybe she would get it right the next time?

Following the gesture, Alexx made her way over. Taking her seat, she cleared her throat, straightening her skirt out. "Right! Right, yes. So... I'm a big quidditch fan. So, obviously I know who you are and... I'm sorry this is so soon, but I was supposed to stop by here anyway because of the paper and stuff. It's, uh... Well, I'm not Editor in Chief or anything so I don't give the orders about deadlines or anything. And it's best to get to know the person I'm interviewing. So, could you tell me about your time on the Harpies? I really want to play for them one day." It wasn't often that Alexx caught herself rambling like this. She never really opened up to people or ever got excited about things. She never had much of a reason to. Her life was all one simple schedule that she followed, day after boring day.

Being here in front of someone who was professional in a field that Alexx wanted to dive into herself; that was amazing. That was more than enough. She was sure that she seemed just like an immature little girl, and the professor was pretty cocky anyways. "And you could always ask your students to help, you know? As an errand. It would speed up the process for sure." Alexx advised, smiling. She remembered when she looked for the keys for Professor Jensen with a fellow Slytherin, Daniel Weaver. Students flocked to errands like moths to a flame. Always chasing house points...

Of course, Alexx was no different. She couldn't blame anyone for wanting their house to win, because she conformed just as much as the rest of them. It wasn't like she did anything outstanding when it came to her school work. She was an 'E' average student with the occasional 'O', so she racked up a few points from time to time, but nothing that was impressive. Naturally, when errands came about, she got excited. Just like how she had participated in the Model UN errand, which she loved. Then again, of course, a Prefect had a knack for delegation. It was only typical of her to do such.

Looking around the room it was... well, interesting. Pink. Very pink. Well, that was fine. Alexx loved the color pink. Perhaps not enough to drench her whole room in it, but to each their own. She liked pink enough to get a pink Pygmy Puff, which was cuddling some lint in her pocket at the moment. She kept the pet with her wherever she went, no matter what. It just felt safer that way. She didn't need a stray owl swooping in and gathering her beloved pet; Alexx would be heartbroken. Or worse yet, a cat, who might consider her to be a play-thing. She could only assume that this Professor may have had a pet, and just in case it was anything other than a rat, toad, or Pygmy Puff, she wouldn't take her chances at exposing her.

Realizing how much she likely intruded, Alexx quipped up again. "Though, if you would rather me leave, I can! I'll always be around later, so I could come back if you are too busy." She wanted to be polite as possible because the worst thing that she could do now is upset her idol. The blonde girl wanted desperately to not come off as annoying, so she didn't want to overstay her welcome or anything like that. She liked this professor a lot, even if she mispronounced her name.

Part of Alexx wanted to assume that maybe she didn't know French, but the professors last name was French. It didn't make much sense to her. Or perhaps she was just forgetful? Professionals didn't have time to keep up with stuff like that, she supposed. Like how Michael Jackson couldn't recall if he bought the elephant man's bones. How could he keep up with that? Perhaps the new flight professor was just the same. Too busy, mind racing with much more important matters. That surely had to be it.

For once in her life, she was right - the Slytherin was a fan. It would remain ambiguous if the child really wanted to know of Olphie's time on the team or just the Harpies in general, but Olphie would assume the former, of course. The Harpies were important, but the team's former reserve was far more influential than some silly old team!

As the girl had rambled on, Olphie's smile grew bigger and bigger; the girl may be blonde, but she reminded Olphie very much of a brunette she knew...herself, of course. Ambition was an important trait to Olphie Bercegeay, a food that she consumed daily in order to achieve great things, such as convince the Harpies that it was worth it to hire Olphie to be their reserve. The Slytherin admitted that she wasn't Editor in Chief, but Olphie could tell that if the opportunity arose, she would pounce. Alice just diffused that kind of energy that Olphie wanted in all of her students.

"Of course," she responded genially, "Is there anything specific that you would like to know? I have quite a bit of tea, if not..."

Miss Selfless had no reason to need to prove herself, and yet she did immediately with the genius idea that next came out of her mouth. "An errand?" Olphie inquired, aghast. How had she not thought of it herself? If she brought the idea to the other professors, a little task to give students house points, she'd not only be able to become more popular with students and staff but also get one step closer to overthrowing the house elves and hiring sexy centaur slaves in their place. What a wonderful idea! Now, she just needed information as to how: "What is the process for that, dear? Do I just put a little bulletin up asking for help and see which students flock my way? I daresay I'd have to have a limit, though...I know that so many students will want to assist, but as you can see, my office isn't large enough for that many fans."

The girl would look around the room and offer to come back at another time, but Olphie immediately shook her head as a response, adding, "No no, dear! I must say, I am quite enjoying our little chat. Please, have a seat, and my dear - I know I am fabulous, but tell me more about you."

She eyed the girl in such a focused gaze that it would be clear that Olphie was trying to read Miss Sellotape's inner soul. Olphie was always looking for students to mentor, and it seemed that this girl, so like herself, would be a good candidate. But Olphie had to remind herself that few children were as confident as she was their tender age of ... ten, probably. The vague question would probably overwhelm the girl. So Olphie said kindly, "I heard you are a prefect, dear? I'll be sure to tell Miss Jesting how wonderful I find you to be."

Note to Readers: This is dated around the time that Alexx is still Prefect

This was going swimmingly, and Alexx meant that in a genuine manner. So far, she hadn't scared off the poor professor, and they were getting along quite well. She couldn't have asked for a better way to go about this meeting in the least! She felt eager as the professor expressed willingness to indulge Alexx in the life of a professional.

Truth be told, Alexx didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She was a bit young, anyway, so no one was faulting her. As an heiress, she could just sit and accumulate money for her entire life. But that was boring; Alexx craved more than that. The way that things were looking, it seemed as if she would go on to work for the Daily Prophet. The life of journalism wasn't very respectable, however, it paid decent enough and she was passionate about doing it. She couldn't tell if it was what she wanted in the end, but it would give her everything that she desired, at least.

Then there was a perfectly good Quidditch career sitting right in front of her. Alexx longed to be a Seeker, but it looked like that wasn't in her future. There were second-year students chasing after that fame as well, and Alexx knew she just wasn't destined to get it. Chaser would do... For now. But it wasn't what she wanted. It was a thankless job, and it left her bored at the end of the day. Everyone else got to play in the positions that they wanted... Why couldn't she?

If only Alexx were in any other house than Slytherin... Like maybe Gryffindor.

Starting quite recently, the Slytherin pride had faded into resentment. Not only did the house have a terrible reputation, but Alexx also wasn't sure that she belonged to it. They say that the sorting hat is never wrong, but Alexx thought that maybe this time... Well, maybe it was. She felt as if she belonged in Gryffindor, those firey spirits warming the place with the same mischief found in the emerald house, but far more regalness. The honor wasn't in Alexx's blood... She was a cheat, a liar, a fraud... All of it. But she yearned to be better than the person who she was taught to be. It was embedded in her brain that this was all that she was good for, which was almost nothing at all. Nothing but being a sulking dungeon dweller.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Alexx flashed a smile at Olphie. "Right! Well, what's it truly like to be famous, and working with some of the most famous Quidditch players in the world? Does it ever get tiring, or is each day a new adventure?" It was the fame she was after. Many people would claim that Gryffindors wouldn't do it for fame, but Alexx felt like it was otherwise. Though, her being a Slytherin in the end, this seemed very typical of her. To be after glory. The reality was that Alexx was seeking out the love that she lacked as a child. The attention that was never there. That was why she did all of this... It wasn't always a show, but at least she was honest with herself about why she wanted it.

Taking her seat as she continued, Alexx smiled more genuinely. The professor wanted to know about her! How wonderful! She hadn't honestly been asked about herself in ages, and it was refreshing to think of all that she had accomplished. "Well, I'm a Prefect of Slytherin. as you noted, I work for the school paper, the Hogwarts Headliner... I'm the Chief Editor of it, in fact. I'm a Chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch team... I think that's about it." It was slightly sad that all Alexx could think of was her titles. She felt nearly irrelevant without them; like people would forget who she was if she didn't have one.

All of this had Alexx so excited that she hadn't even noticed Olphie's mistakes in the name of her Head of House. She supposed (when she did notice it) that it was possibly due to the woman's newness here at Hogwarts; a simple mistake. Alexx brushed it off just like that, not worrying about it.

"OH! Right! Errands! Yes, that's exactly how you do it. I've never made one myself, but I've seen the professors do it. There's also a reward that comes with it, usually house points or something." She noted, trying to think of if there were any other awards.

The Slytherin had asked Olphie another question, causing the gears of her brain to move quickly, then stop suddenly, to interject: "Have I not offered you any tea? How rude of me! Here, have a look."

The Flying professor shoved a large box of tea in the girl's direction, which had no sense of organization to it. It would perhaps be easier for her to just pick one off of the top row, as each teabag had drifted away from its original box and just hung loosely. Olphie would not notice whatever the girl decided, for once she had performed the perfunctory behavior of politeness, she resumed the spotlight back to herself. 

"Being famous is everything that I hoped for...and more," She began, with a smirk. "Everyone worships you, wants you to sign things. It can get a little tiring rejecting the -" She leaned in to Allie, whispering, "uglies. But -" She straightened up and resumed her loud commentary: "I believe that fame is something we all should strive for. When I was your age, of course, I didn't think it would be possible. But I didn't let that bring me down! I continued to try, for I had the Slytherin's ambition, and look where I am!"

The former Harpies player had completely ignored discussion of any of the other Quidditch members, even though that would have perhaps been of more interest to the young child. But for now, and for quite some time, Olphie's ambition of fame, attention, and love had been a quest with her at the center. Others did not matter; if she had to hurt them, so be it. Though she did not know the girl's backstory, she sensed that, if she wanted, she could use similar tactics to reach fame herself. It was why she answered so bluntly, full of harsh realities, so that the girl would know and be inspired, hearing words from someone who had already lived such a glorious life.

When the girl revealed what she did for extracurriculars, Olphie was even more certain of her hunch: she child in front of her had potential. It was just a matter of if she were to use it. For now, Miss Selery was a bit too young, but Olphie could at least promise her the following: "If you ever need anything, dear, don't be afraid to find me. I have a feeling you will amount to something spectacular."

She chuckled after a pause, and asked, "Have you chosen a tea yet, dear? I suppose it's just as messy as my office, you see...but perhaps I can do one of these errand things you speak of for organizing my tea supply, as well."