| Details for Charms Before Chess |
| Summary: | Andromena and Alphard discuss their disappointing Charms class. |
| Date: | 7 November 1938 |
| Location: | Charms Classroom |
| Related: | — |
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Students were just beginning to filter out of the classroom, talking in low-but-slowly-building murmurs as they did so. Beside Alphard, Andromena heaved a sigh that said it all: what a load of garbage! Spying the student responsible for her decidedly passive aggressive outburst, Andromena leaned slightly closer to Black to say in a hushed voice, "She's only repeating what her boyfriend told her. The girl is vapid." Someone was a tad bit derisive today. Shall we blame Alphard? No…not yet. "But everybody clapped for her as if she invented the answer herself." Naturally, Andromena had known the answer and then some. But she had not been called upon even once that class.
"Aw.." Alphard purred his faux sympathy straight into Andromena's ear, having leaned down to match her height when she drew close to him. "Is little Meanie upset that Professor Viridian didn't call on her all day, even if she stretched her hand ever so high?" With a flash of laughter in his eyes, he bumped her hip-to-hip and shoulder-to-shoulder, then wove his arm through hers. With a smirk his eyes drifted towards the source of her antagonism. "Though you're right, she is a stupid little cow, isn't she? And look at those shoes." Like the true snob that he was, he had a distinctive distaste for bad footwear. If any piece of clothing was capable of betraying someone's lack of class, it was the footwear.
"Don't worry, anyway. It's Professor Viridian. He wouldn't give a pureblood a chance at showing their skill if it killed him."
The class had been a pretty uneventful one. There were only so many ways that Professor Viridian could remotely make the Sticking Charm a fun, interesting topic to lecture on. However, as usual, Julian had been attentive; he had listened and taken notes… even if it were a completely bore of a topic. Having packed himself away, he had stopped to chat briefly with the professor, hand in something, and then head out himself. He's not far behind Andromena and Alphard as he heads through the door with the rest of his yearmates… but he does take note of their closeness as they make their way along.
Mental note: check. He continues to walk along, his stride eventually allowing him to catch up with the pair… at which point, he adjusts the scarf he's wearing, shifting his bookbag a little on his shoulders. "Afternoon, Mena. Black," he greets the two. There's no distain in his voice, but it's his typical greeting, really..
Now that Andromena had spent some time with Alphard Black, she was not entirely unused to his…manner of speaking. Thusly, she took no offense at hi commentary, and instead indulged in a laugh. "I suppose it's really no surprise." The girl in question was herself not a pure blood. As soon as she disappeared from sight, Andromena pushed all thought of her from her mind. Her mouth had just opened to say something else when Julian greeted them. "Oh hey, Jules," she says in a much cheerier voice. To Alphard she supplies, "I once asked him to teach me music."
"Exactly." There was approval in his voice, because she was starting to see things properly his way, wasn't she?
When he heard his named called out, he straightened out with a languid motion, his arrogant features turning towards Julian. A second or two was spent looking down his nose at the other boy, before he answered with a crisp: "Edwards." There might not be any hostility - just aristocratic superiority - in his demeanor yet, but it wasn't exactly warm either. Not by any shot. With a dismissive shrug he started walking again. "Yeah? What sort of music? Didn't actually know Edwards played anything."
"The piano," came her answer. A glance was spared for Julian, along with a faint smile. "But despite these long elegant fingers, I determined that the piano was not for me." Andromena held her hands out as she spoke, waggling said fingers. She made light of it now, but at the time Andromena had been severely disappointed. Her nature did not allow her to excuse very much, and she considered her lack of musical aptitude to be a crushing failure. "Since that time, I have found other hobbies."
"I'll allow that self-playing instruments aren't nearly as nice to listen to. You want it proper you have to do it yourself, or have someone else do it for you. I lean towards the latter. I mean.. its insane how many hours you have to practice to get even semi-decent." When Andromena lifted up her fingers for inspection, he playfully caught a handful of them in his own, lifting them up for a closer look. "Hrmm. I'm not sure long is the right word." At least not when layered over with his fingers. "Short seem more like it. But I'll give you elegant."
"Just as well, I guess. Wait. What? You have hobbies?" How could she have the time outside of her book-thumping?
Well, when your hand is engulfed by the mammoth paw of someone the size of Alphard, then no, your fingers do appear rather short in comparison! With a scoff, Andromena slid her hand out of his own to hold it up to her chest as though wounded. "It must come as a surprise, I know!" He was right about the dedication it took to become even somewhat proficient at playing any sort of instrument. More importantly, the idea that someone was playing for you rather than you playing for them did sound rather more appealing. One of her hobbies, such as it was, gardening, was more to do with her studies than it was for sheer pleasure. In fact, though Andromena was fairly good at it, it wasn't her heart's calling, either. "Does reading count as a hobby?" Asked innocently.
Alphard laughed, unable to help himself. "Yes it counts as a hobby. However since you've had your nose in a book since.. I don't know, the moment you got off the train to Hogwarts? It doesn't count as a hobby you found after the poppy dream of being a world renowed pianist was cruelly torn away from you." His eyes flicked in Julian's direction. "So how bad was she, anyway? On a scale of horrible from one to ten, with one being the neighberhood cat scratching on the wall, while ten being Caretaker Ogg singing?"
"It was cruelly torn…" Andromena muttered oh-so-sorrowfully, bowing her head as the trio walked down the hall. "Hey!" She protested, looking between Julian and Alphard. "I was not THAT awful! Don't you say anything, Julian. Alphard will never let me hear the end of it!" The young woman could picture it now…They happen to walk past a piano, and he begins to make yowling cat sounds, spitting and hissing. Or: Here Meanie, smack a few keys for me? I want me ears to bleed! "It was I who chose to give it up." You know, just in case Julian himself wanted to cut things off first. To spare herself the terrible, agonizing experience.
"Well, I'm sure your hands are good for something, Meanie" Alphard told her in a mock-soothing tone, adding a little pat on her shoudler for good measure. Down the hall towards the staircase, moving without any sort of hurry, though anyone who looked like they might try to block his way did get a cool glare of warning. Alphard expected a clear path when he went strolling through hallways, enforced with knuckles of his wand, which ever was required if a stare didn't do it.
"Right. Of course you did. Still haven't told me what your new hobbies were. The ones you found, you know?"
Ugh! No one was content to just leave her be! (Because she ought to be able to decide what answers needed to be given). "They're just boring, everyday stuff. I picked up gardening for herbology and potions- and someone taught me a bit of chess." Satisfied!? Wring the life from her why don't you? Thanks to Alphard, their path remained relatively free and clear. Andromena was totally oblivious to it, of course.
"What about you, Alphard? Aside from duelling, quidditch…and whatever else you're apart of." Asked as she contemplated her hands again, no doubt wondering what else she could attempt. Art, perhaps?
"Chess is fun. My pieces are the most bloodthirsty band of murderers you'll ever come across," Alphard informed her with a grin. "We aught to match each others' pieces up. Someone, huh? Sounds very mysterious." Though not so mysterious that he actually bothered to ask who it was. Instead he kept strolling, occasionally looking out the vaulted windows at the view the third floor offered of the grounds below.
"Though gardening? Isn't that what you have a house elf for? Besides, would you really want to soil those hands of yours? They won't stay all slim and elegant if you put them to work, you know." He shrugged. "You pretty much summed my hobbies up."
"I wear gloves," she told him in a totally 'duh' voice. "I could use a house elf, certainly, but I want to be proficient in the field before leaving the matter in the hands of another." That way if something was wrong, she would know…and also because Andromena had a thirst for knowledge. It was not good enough to simply have the plants and know their names.
"It's not mysterious so much as I doubt you'd care about some faceless name," Andromena informed Alphard with a lazy shrug. Curse you, Black. She looked at her hands again, suddenly fearful of them losing their dainty appeal! "You'll have to show me your murdering chess pieces some time."
"I guess that makes sense.. sort of," Alphard admitted with a wrinkle to his nose. "Except, you know, that it's still completely servants' work. Who cares about what grows where as long as it's all pretty? I mean I get why we learn Herbology.. but honestly? I'm never going to be on my knees rutting in the dirty like some pauper. I'll just buy my ingredients." It wasn't easy to decyphre whether he detested Herbology because he was bad at it, or if he was bad at it because he detested it. Either way, a genious with plants he was not. The only thing that really mattered was that he gotten his O.W.L in it and could forever more ignore the stupid subject.
"Got some time. Wanna play some right now?"