Help Me Through The Hopeless Haze {OPEN}

[demetri]

I picked up a guitar
What does this signify?

Demetri rolled his shoulders, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun on his skin. He had abandoned his teacher’s robes on this trip, instead wearing a dark T-shirt and jeans. His scuffed shoes skidded along the cobbled roads of Hogsmeade, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. The guitar slung over his back shifted slightly, but mostly stayed in place. Oftentimes, people asked him why he bothered to carry the bulky thing with him. He didn’t really have an answer; he just liked to. Some people had a stuffed animal, he had a musical instrument. Go figure.

It was a nice day to be out for a walk; many students were here to buy last minute things before the break, and professors and other magical people were out and about in the sunshine. The streets were crowded, but Demetri didn’t really mind. Every so often, he took his hand out of his pocket to cheerfully wave at somebody he recognized, most returning his greeting just as cheerfully. He was well known among the students and faculty at the school, and almost everybody liked him.

Demetri made his way past the tantalizing shops, sidestepping a group of giggling girls who completely ignored him. He wasn’t really here to buy anything, he just wanted to get out of the castle. It was impossible to stay inside on a nice day like this, and he had a perfect spot in Hogsmeade to spend the day. However, he had to get there first without being run over.

He finally made it, and heaved a sigh of relief. It was a large grassy meadow behind the last of the shops, where the construction for the town had been halted. It was a nice place, rarely seen because most people were distracted by the shops. However, Demetri came out here often, to play guitar, read, or grade papers.

Now, he unslung the guitar from his shoulder, sprawling in the shade of a large tree. He carefully unzipped the guitar from its case and settled it on his lap. He absently began to play a few random chords, leaning against the tree. His eyes were half closed, already fallen into a torpor only the warm spring sun could induce. There were a few last minute assignments for him to grade tucked in his guitar case, but he was in no hurry. It was barely noon; he’d have plenty of time.

[dream]

there were drums as we started to dance every soul
• in the room keeping time with their hands

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• • • AUDREY WILLIAMS

[/font] • • •[/center]

With the sunshine out, and the temperature no where near being too hot or too cold, many people strolled the streets. Most were students, or parents' of the students gathering things before summer break, or just out enjoying the gorgeous weather. All the shops were open, displaying their various items for sale, many colorful things too, drawing people's attention. The streets were busy - yes - but the street windows appeared to lift people's eyes from the street and others walking, to their store. That was their main goal, to get people to buy things without having to use magic to draw attention - too much. Otherwise, many store owners smiled to their customers, and aided them with almost anything they needed. Granted, there were the occasional pureblood owners who wouldn't help outspoken impurities, or non-pureblood supporters who were purebloods anyway. Lips remained shut, as she shook her head, while her youngest sister, who was still a student, Brianna met up with some of her giggly friends.

Giving a slight wave to her 17-year-old sister, she absent-mindedly adjusted her wand in her back jeans pocket. Oh yes, she'd ditched her usual attire, and went for a pair of jeans with holes in the thighs that showed some skin, though not too much, and a black tank-top with matching shoes. A comfortable outfit, and she also got some sun. Fingers coursed through her hair softly, watching her blonde-haired sister vanish. Jealousy still tended to slip into her veins, unlike all five daughters, Brianna was the lucky one of the five to have golden-blonde hair, with blue eyes, much like Carlee and her. Pursing her lips, she pressed on, dodging some giggling girls, then a group of boys who were daring each other to do - more or less - interesting things.

Laughing softly to herself, she pressed on, one hand rested softly on her back pocket, the one that wasn't occupied by her wand. Putting a spell on it so only she could pull her wand from her pants, she checked the spell, and nodded solemnly to herself. It was always reassuring to know if someone accidentally hit her butt, and her wand, it wouldn't slip out, it would remain there. Grinning, she suddenly paused, eyes scanning the small alley between shops. Peering through it, eyes narrowing slightly to see on the other side, she noticed a small, grassy green meadow. Curiosity peaked at that, and the woman inched forwards.

Seeing the small space, she quickly turned on her side, her back brushing one side, while she had a few inches on her front for her hands and face. Nose wrinkled, as she almost sneezed. People's voices got slightly duller as she inched along, before popping out on the other side into the meadow. Stumbling to regain her balance, she looked up, perplexed for a moment. It was so - peaceful. The sun landed softly on the meadow, before the soft melody of a guitar struck her eardrums. Entrapped, her entire body went stiff, while she listened. Head tilted softly towards the sound, and letting it "carry" her, feet felt lighter now, as she listened. Guitars had always kept her curious, though she'd never bothered to learn - too hard she'd always say, though it probably couldn't be harder than gymnastics.

Hands went forwards, as she propelled her legs up, and arms tensed, supporting herself into a hand-stand. Grinning, as if the music was asking her to do this, she landed down smoothly - or so she hoped, and brought her arms up gracefully, then looked to the source. Arms dropped immediately upon seeing the dark-haired man under the stree, plucking the strings. A soft coloring tinted her cheeks, before light steps were taken precautiously towards him. Seeing the guitar, then his fingers lazily playing the soft chords, she opened her mouth, though sat down a few feet away, still in the shade, brushing back her hair before inquiring softly, "How...how long have you been playing?" once she got his attention, she smiled softly, and added quickly, keeping her manners about the - what she'd say handsome - man, "I'm Audrey."

WORDS ! 690
ARTICLES ! clickeh hurrrr
TAGGING ! demetri xDD
BACKGROUND NOISE ! christina aguilera O___O
TEMPLATE ! meine! that's right, i, D.REAM MACHINE created this. steal it, i shall stab you with a plastic fork many, many times.
NOTIES ! have fun replying. ^____^

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[demetri]

I picked up a guitar
What does this signify?

Catching movement from the corner of his eye, Demetri opened his eyes fully and sat up straighter. He continued playing his guitar, though by now he wasn’t really paying attention to what he was playing. The sun shone through the branches of the tree, dappling his skin and guitar. It was an interesting effect, and not an unpleasant one.

He saw the person was a young woman who, oddly enough, was doing a handstand. Demetri laughed, though not in a cruel way. It was more of a “well, that’s interesting” laugh. Demetri leaned back against the tree, grinning as he wondered why exactly the woman had done a handstand. However, he did his own share of strange things, and wasn’t about to condemn her for doing the same.

She sat down next to him, and introduced herself as Audrey. He gave a lopsided grin when she asked how long he had been playing, and had to think about it for a moment. “Oh, about 20 years now. Do you play?” he asked. She seemed either shy or reserved, which interested Demetri. He could never understand why people would be shy around him. It’s not like he could do anything, right? He didn’t recognize her though, so she probably wasn’t a teacher at the school. Probably just a witch, out to do some shopping.

Remembering his manners, Demetri stopped playing for a moment and held out his hand for Audrey to shake. “I’m Demetri. You can call me Dem, if you want,” he added, still grinning. He resumed playing, quieter than before, more background noise than an actual song.

“So, watcha doing in Hogsmeade?” Demetri asked cheerfully. If she was shy and he didn’t start a conversation, they would be sitting in awkward silence for a while. Demetri hated awkward silences, more than anything. Even if it meant two hours of small talk, that would be better than silence.

[dream]

there were drums as we started to dance every soul
• in the room keeping time with their hands

[/font][/size] •[/center]

• • • AUDREY WILLIAMS

[/font] • • •[/center]

Feeling the grass along her hands while she ran them over the tips of the green carpet, she'd loved to call it as a child. The small pricking feeling of the shards of grass always had a thing with her, she loved the sensation of grass, it was just - soothing, though it did get a bit pokey once in awhile, it was still a nice thing. During the winter though, when it got dead, she'd never try and do that then. She'd instead wait till spring or summer, where it was revived and brought back "color" to the world, all over hills, and much more. Tilting her head softly, seeing the sun fall dappled on the grass, and both of them, the pureblood looked to him silently when he responded about having been playing for around 20 years. Twnety...she was just about three when he'd been playing. Smiling weakly to herself, eyes flashed lightly, though she smiled innocently, and shook her head, letting a light laugh escape her lips, "No, but I've always been interested in learning." she shrugged, and added, "My parents were never really big on their daughters venturing outside of the box...you should have seen their face when they found out I had been doing gymnastics."

Unable to help it, she smiled fondly at the memory of her parents ranting on her for a good ten minutes about how she'd betrayed their trust, and gone behind their back. After demanding that she quit gymnastics, Audrey "agreed", but the next day, had Georgina take her to the gym, and she continued anyway, but warned her coach that her parents didn't approve, therefore if she had to contact someone about a competition, et cetra, she had to call one of her sisters, either Georgina or Raquel about something, since Raquel was about 5 years older than her. Pausing silently, Audrey's attention refocused from the past back onto the present. Eyes glittered in the sunlight, a thing she'd always loved about their eyes, eyes were lovely. People could tell so much about someone - usually - by looking to their eyes, how they held themselves, and much more.

When the guy suddenly outstretched his hand for her to shake, the Williams' daughter took it silently, lightly, but still formal and nodded, "Nice to meet you, Dem." she grinned, testing the nickname he'd given her on him. It seemed to suit him fine. Her hands stopped lying on the grass, her right one having been stroking it, it appeared, letting the coolness of it brush along her palm. Setting one on her thigh, then the other just in her lap, her legs folded over one another in the pretzel style. Perking when he asked about why she was here, she replied, listening to the soft music he was plucking on the guitar in his hands, "More or less baby-sitting." she flashed a playful smile, "Here with my younger sister, she's a seventh year this year." Audrey shrugged, "But right now, since she found a pack of girls to giggle with, just enjoying the air." she leaned back, one of her hands supporting herself as she did so, "And what about yourself? Just escaping to play?"

WORDS ! 500+
ARTICLES ! clickeh hurrrr
TAGGING ! demmy ^____^
BACKGROUND NOISE ! silence
TEMPLATE ! meine! that's right, i, D.REAM MACHINE created this. steal it, i shall stab you with a plastic fork many, many times.
NOTIES ! so awkward...but cutely awkward....lol. xDD :33

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[demetri]

I picked up a guitar
What does this signify?

Demetri laughed when Audrey mentioned wanting to learn how to play, but having her parents forbid it. “My parents were the exact opposite. Dad would have had a heart attack if I didn’t want to play guitar,” he said, shaking his head slightly in amusement. “He said he wanted me to start when I was five, but the fact that the guitar was taller than I was put a damper on things. Had to wait three more years,” he finished, grinning fondly at the memory. He was glad his dad was so enthusiastic about him playing. Maybe with somebody else, the fervor with music would have made them hate it forever. Demetri loved it anyway, and probably would have begged his parents for a guitar had they not already provided one.

“Gymnastics, huh?” Demetri commented, glancing back up at her. “Suppose that’s why you can handstand. Merlin knows I’d probably break my back trying to do that,” he chuckled. Audrey seemed lost in thought for a moment, so there was a slightly awkward silence, broken only by his soft playing. Demetri did wonder what she was doing here. She was pretty, and he was enjoying their conversation. However, the sound of laughing kids in the background and the papers rustling in his bag were a painful reminder that he’d have to go back to the school soon.

Audrey shook his hand lightly, formal and lady-like. Though he didn’t judge her by it, Demetri was now positive she was a pureblood. He didn’t comment, however; such things really didn’t matter to him. He had made friends with people of all blood statuses. “Baby-sitting? Sounds fun,” Demetri said in a teasing tone. “My sister’s a seventh year too; she’d murder me if I tried to baby sit her,” he said with a laugh. He studied Audrey for a moment, thinking she had looked a tad bit familiar. He remembered her sister now, Brianna. He didn’t say anything; mention of knowing other people’s siblings or kids usually came out sounding vaguely stalker-ish.

“Exactly,” Demetri replied with a grin. “Wanted to get in some me time before the hols. At home, I’ve usually got my siblings bothering me about something or other. You’d think they lived with me, the way they hang around!” he continued, laughing. His siblings spent a lot of the holidays at his house. He was okay with Ari, but his twin brothers irritated him to no end. However, they always needed help in this subject, or tried to wheedle him into changing their grade for History of Magic. Though he loved teaching, he also enjoyed privacy, and this time, right here before the holidays, was his only time away from kids. “Not that I mind an interruption from a lovely lady, such as yourself,” he added with a grin. He stopped playing, holding the guitar out to her. “Do you want me to teach you?” he asked. Whenever somebody said they couldn’t play guitar, his first reaction was teach.

[dream]

there were drums as we started to dance every soul
• in the room keeping time with their hands

[/font][/size] •[/center]

• • • AUDREY WILLIAMS

[/font] • • •[/center]

At Demetri's laugh, she paused for a moment, her nervousness coming out, but she couldn't help but smile, and laugh when he mentioned about his own dad. Laughing, Audrey smiled, imagining a younger Dem and his father attempting to teach him guitar. Teachers always had a way with things, especially if they were parents. They tended to know their child better, therefore the kid learned more. Even better and faster usually too. Thinking of this, the young woman lifted her attention back up to meet Dem's brown eyes as he finished up, then brought up gymnastics. A light blush tinted her cheeks - he'd seen the handstand. Though, she quickly regained herself, reminding herself she could just talk. "That's really neat about your dad, though, I'm glad to see it didn't affect your joy with music." she grinned, "Usually when parents get so passionate about their child doing something, they usually ruin it." she shrugged, "It's nice you stuck with it though."

With her gymnastics though, she'd found the sport out by herself. The thought of flying through the air, the freedom had been tempting, and as a younger girl, she eagerly took it. Been doing it since she was young. The dark-haired woman replied coyly, "Been doing gymnastics since I was about 8, really, so not as long as you've been playing guitar." she allowed a coy grin to spread across her features; as if she knew something he didn't, and she wasn't going to tell him. He could probably figure out her age, if he knew her sister, that meant she was at least over 19, since Carlee was between her and Brianna, Carlee, having just gotten out of school about two and a half years ago.

Perking, Audrey heard his teasing tone about baby-sitting, she rolled her eyes, jokingly and laughed, hearing him mention about his sister would kill him. Interesting - Brianna - her sister would just need to get over the fact that their parents didn't appreciate if one went somewhere alone - which was what she was doing right now. She bit her bottom lip, as if trying to hide a smile and doing poorly at it, "Really? What's her name? I bet three Galleons Bri might know her." she grinned and winked coyly. Audrey giggled, before blowing back some of her hair that had been swept into her face by the breeze. "Just don't get yourself killed now." she added, unable to hide a smile now. His was infectious - at least to her anyway.

Curious to learn more, she leaned forwards slightly, silently letting him know, instinctively that she wanted to know more. Eyes blinked, before Audrey listened as he brought up his siblings. So they shared the same pain of siblings, older or younger, either way, siblings were still siblings. It depended usually on how many you had, and if you were older or younger. She debated for a moment, knowing his sister was younger, though she didn't know about the other ones. "Agreed!" she smiled, "Especially, when they think they own the bathrooms for primping, when it's your house." her nose wrinkled in playful distaste. She did oh so love her doting sisters, but sometimes when they pampered themselves in her two bathrooms, it got old faster than if they just spent time together.

Shifting on the grass, lifting her palm up off it, hearing his interruption comment, her serene features played into a light smile. Tilting her head, her nerves jumped, and the smile faded slightly, and she grinned uneasily, "Uhhh....sure." she couldn't resist. Dem's offers - she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to turn down. Audrey added quickly though, not wanting to not learn, she'd love to, "I'd love to, but my fingers aren't the smoothest." she admitted, eying the guitar like it was a bomb that would explode in her face. Tentatively accepting the guitar, she then crawled forwards and sat down, closer to Dem now, and took it, carefully, like it was an infant, the neck on her left side, her right hand down by the bridge and strings. This felt...odd. Frowning, she then turned it over so that her left hand was by the strings. Grinning innocently, she mused, "This ok, or do I need to turn it around?"

WORDS ! 716
ARTICLES ! clickeh hurrrr
TAGGING ! demmy
BACKGROUND NOISE ! la radio
TEMPLATE ! meine! that's right, i, D.REAM MACHINE created this. steal it, i shall stab you with a plastic fork many, many times.
NOTIES ! hehehe...she's a lefty. xD she can adjust though, so if dem can't teach her like that, she can play right-handed. ;]

[/font][/left]

[demetri]

I picked up a guitar
What does this signify?

Audrey still seemed nervous at first, but she was warming up to him. She mentioned his dad again, and he laughed again. “You should have seen him, though, when he tried to teach my sister. Completely tone-deaf, she is,” he shook his head in mock anger, though he was still laughing. “When she was about ten, he gave her a guitar, and she broke it in about three minutes. Me…I probably would have bugged my parents to no end for a guitar, if they hadn’t wanted to give me one,” he finished with a slight shrug. Some people found his obsession with his music a bit scary, but he did many odd things, guitar playing being one of the least of them.

Demetri wasn’t surprised to find that Audrey was younger than him, though according to her, not by much. “Really? Well, I commend you for that. Gymnastics sounds a lot harder than guitar. At least with guitar I get to sit around on my arse all day,” he said, his eyes sparkling with laughter. Merlin knew how lazy he was; if he hadn’t managed to get a job, he would probably have spent all his time inside his house, playing guitar. Being a teacher actually required him to get up and work.

Audrey seemed to be growing more comfortable with him, which made him happy. Most people found it hard to be shy or stuck up around him, which was always good. And now they were talking about his sister, whom Demetri adored, mostly because they were a lot alike. “I think you’d owe me three Galleons,” he said wryly. “Her name’s Ari, and she’s in Hufflepuff. I love her to death, but she’s too much like me: spends all her time doing her own thing, instead of going out to meet new people.” If he didn’t attend those pureblood meeting-type things his parents reminded him to attend every so often, he’d probably never meet anybody who didn’t work at the school, or who wasn’t related to a student. Kind of sad, but true nonetheless.

Audrey seemed especially interested when they were talking about siblings, which Demetri had learned was always a common ground for anybody who had them. She mentioned primping, and he laughed again. Sadly, he knew what she meant, though probably in a different way. “I assume you mean your sisters? I’d say you’re lucky; my sister doesn’t primp, but my brothers do.” He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, though still grinning. “They’re twins, third years. Merlin’s beard, when they’re over, they spend more time in the bathroom grooming than spending time with us!” Although it would seem awful to say, Demetri didn’t mind, really, though having his brothers fill up his one bathroom with their hair products and whatnot was annoying. They themselves irritated him to no end, though he was firmly convinced that he really did love them. Secretly.

Like many others, Audrey seemed scared to touch the guitar. Demetri smiled reassuringly, trying to convey that the guitar would not spontaneously combust. “Don’t worry, this thing’s fairly indestructible. Remember, siblings,” he said, tapping the side of his head with his index finger. “Don’t worry about your fingers, love. Smooth fingers and guitars don’t go together. See?” he held out his hands, palms up. The tips of all his fingers were callused, from constantly pressing down on the guitar strings. He tilted his head as Audrey settled the guitar in her lap; she was left handed, he guessed. It didn’t matter; he had been taught to play on both sides, though learning left handed had been the most excruciating two weeks of his life. “Nah, you can leave it. Here, just put your fingers on the neck here…” he carefully adjusted the fingers of her left hand so they were pressing down on the proper strings. “And just strum these strings with your thumb. I can give you a pick later,” he added, strumming the strings himself to show. He always started off fairly simple; he didn’t want to confuse people by trying to explain every part of the guitar, or explain what each note did. Honestly, almost every time he tried to teach somebody, they dropped out. Like he said, he was lazy.

*DO NOT GO HOME AND TRY THIS! I have absolutely no idea how to play the guitar XD

[dream]

there were drums as we started to dance every soul
• in the room keeping time with their hands

[/font][/size] •[/center]

• • • AUDREY WILLIAMS

[/font] • • •[/center]

Hearing Dem's laugh, for some reason - she wanted to hear it more. She enjoyed the sound of his laughter, it made her laugh as well, though she did listen to what he had to say. Tilting her head curiously, like a dog would that was attempting to listen better. Well - more or less - understand what was being said. Lips pursed slightly in thought, before she then looked up when he brought up gymnastics and the difference between it and guitar playing. Smiling softly, Audrey replied, "True, but I do commend you for playing guitar....'all day'." she winked playfully, "I'd be able to play it for a good hour or so, though afterwards, I would need to do something." she plastered a smile on her features, almost a childish one she couldn't help but put on there. Features moved slightly, before the pureblood looked up through the tree's branches that were shading them to the bright sunlight. It fell dappled along her and Dem and his guitar, and she enjoyed the cool weather now.

Once out of the tree's shade though, the temperature rose, since the sun's rays were beating right on your skin, and didn't have the leaves between you. All the leaves absorbing the ultraviolet light and such, converting it to energy for processing sugars. Thank you school, she silently thought to herself. Arching a dark eyebrow, she mused, "You're on." As Hufflepuff was named, then her name, Ari...frowning lightly, Audrey tried to place the girl's name, then inquired, looking up slightly while she thought, "Ari....Selkirk?" she grinned coyly, "Brianna mentioned it over Christmas break." The young woman grinned sheepishly, then paused, realizing Dem was a teacher there...he was Brianna's History of Magic teacher she'd mentioned who punished kids by having them do something ridiculous, though funny all the same - in some ways. "You're...the History of Magic Professor..."

Blue eyes widened slightly as she noticed this puzzle piece, as if suddenly seeing it, so now it was finally completed. Unable to say something, she let it sink in. Had he been there when she was in school? Maybe, she might have been in her sixth or seventh year when he did. Hiding a laugh, Audrey just had to grin, "Brianna likes your class." she smiled. The girl then shifted slightly, as he spoke about his siblings. His brothers, third years primping themselves in the mirror. Laughing, Audrey couldn't help but do it. She could see a slightly different, and younger version of Demetri doing that. "Ouch...I'm sorry." she placed her hand over her heart, as if to show how truly sorry she was. And she was, she knew what it felt like. Always banging on the door to shepherd them out.

She'd admit she spent some time in there, but that was only for things she couldn't do in her own room, which was using the toilet, or checking her make-up and hair in a different light. Even though she didn't wear too much make-up, she didn't want to look horrible when she went out or anything. The guitar rested nicely in her arms, as she adjusted so it was more comfortable, the dark-haired young woman then let him move her fingers onto three strings. Feeling suddenly intimidated by this thing, she tensed, though hoped he didn't see it as sparks danced along her arm, Audrey then strummed it, her fingers softly strumming the strings, and a lovely sound was produced. Smiling like a child on Christmas morning, she spoke, "That's so cool.." she admitted, and moved her hand down the neck slightly, her fingers still in the same strings, and stummed it. A soft noise came from it once more, this time in a higher pitch. "I know, shorter the strings, the higher the pitch." she winked, and eyed him softly, "Have you taught many people?"

WORDS ! 716
ARTICLES ! clickeh hurrrr
BACKGROUND NOISE ! animals - nickelback (i'm a fan...lawl)
TEMPLATE ! meine! that's right, i, D.REAM MACHINE created this. steal it, i shall stab you with a plastic fork many, many times.

[/font][/left]

[demetri]

I picked up a guitar
What does this signify?

Demetri, almost unconsciously, leaned closer as Audrey began talking again. She was interesting, he had to admit. A lot of the girls he knew were too…girly. Flighty and giggling, generally annoying him to no end. Lost in thought, it took him a moment to replay what Audrey had said back in his head. When he did, he grinned again. “Each to their own then, right love?” he said, laughing. “If I tried to do gymnastics for an hour, they’d have to drag me to St. Mungos.” Demetri had never really considered himself graceful, definitely not enough to do any sort of triple-round off-back handspring, or whatever it was that gymnasts did. He recalled trying to volunteer Ari for it, but after she had broke her arm trying to do a cartwheel, he had given up. Clearly, their ungraceful-ness was hereditary.

The day was heating up, as far as Demetri could tell. He shifted slightly; he was alternately too warm and cool, because of the dappled shade. He wryly wished that the tree would make up its mind, though it wasn’t all bad. He liked watching the sun reflect off his guitar; it was such a beautiful, mahogany color. Honestly, Demetri probably loved his guitar more than he should. It was his escape, his passion. He shifted that on his lap, again unconsciously.

Demetri chuckled when Audrey mentioned his sister’s last name. Who’d have thunk it; Ari knew somebody! He had his sister in his class, obviously, but she spent most of the time taking notes and trying not to get picked on. On a totally unrelated note, History of Magic was her best class, even though she hated history. Shaking his head incredulously, Demetri said “Incredible. Who knew? What House is Brianna in? She’s a seventh year, right? Ari is too; could be how they know each other.”

He could practically see when it struck her that he was a teacher. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what her reaction would be. Most people got a bit freaked out, though he didn’t know why. Some of the teachers there were younger than he was; the staff of the school had gotten switched up many times; people just out of Hogwarts were getting hired. However, Audrey grinned and mentioned her sister again, seeming to be over the shock. “Well that’s nice of her. I’m glad, some of the teachers there…” he trailed off, shaking his head to indicate he wouldn’t say more. Not all of the professors at Hogwarts were as benevolent as him. Many took their classes too seriously, preferring harsh punishment and fear to motivate the students. However, Demetri always refused to talk about them to others; he was determined to remain neutral and keep out of others’ business.

Deciding to let the sticky subject pass, Demetri rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “You have no idea. Well, I guess you might, with sisters,” he mused, correcting himself. “Though trust me, it’s different with brothers. I swear, they could oil every door in Hogwarts with the grease they put in their hair! That’s including the doors to the Great Hall,” he added with a teasing wink. “Sometimes, they forget to clean up, and everything falls off the counter. And I’m sure when your sisters leave, it at least smells nice. Merlin, they spray cologne everywhere; it’s deadly to go anywhere near them for a good hour!” Honestly, it was fun to complain about his brothers; he didn’t get to do it a lot. For many of the pureblood families, the Selkirk twins were perfect children. To Demetri, they were just annoying.

Demetri was pleased as Audrey began to play; she didn’t attack the guitar like other first-timers. A few times, people had broken the guitar strings trying to get a chord out. She seemed pleased too, and Demetri’s grin mirrored hers. He was surprised when she moved her fingers, though still pleased. AT least he wasn’t teaching a dimwit. “Almost everybody I’ve met,” he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “Anyone who says they can’t play. Though most people give up after a few hours; it does take a long time to learn.”

[dream]

there were drums as we started to dance every soul
• in the room keeping time with their hands

[/font][/size] •[/center]

• • • AUDREY WILLIAMS

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The woman leaned forwards slightly, as she shifted the guitar, but also to let Demetri know without words she was interested in learning more about him. Blue eyes shifted from the strings up to him, a small grin appearing on her face when his smile came. Her stomach churned uncomfortably, and her quick mind suddenly reeled when that happened. Was she sick? No, it actually didn't feel like she was sick - something else - like a school girl. Ew. She cringed away from the thought of being a student again, though perked as Demetri finished about St. Mungo's, "Awww, don't worry, if you did happen to attempt something while I'm around, I'll make sure you only get a bruise at the worst." she winked, reassuring him softly. Honestly, she didn't want to see Demetri get hurt, physically, mentally or emotionally too. Her hands tightened slightly on the guitar thinking of a woman hurting him. How could she? Audrey's eyes narrowed slightly, though she moved her head so Dem couldn't see it.

If someone did end up hurting him - she'd just make sure they got a nice, little talk. Looking up to him silently, she couldn't help but allow a gentle smile to plaster itself along her lips. For some reason - Dem just made her happy, like - what was that word Brianna used...oh yes, bubbly. Oooh, too girly for her likes. Maybe, just excited, but that could be taken the wrong way, happy, joyful were a few good words. Nodding silently to herself slightly, looking up through some of her dark hair to Demetri, strumming the strings once more, enjoying the calming sound it made. As he spoke about Brianna and Ari once more, at the inquiry of which house, she paused, as if it was a dark secret. In a way, they all had gone to the same house, but the thought of people branding them because of it made her skin crawl.

"She's in Slytherin...." she arched a dark eyebrow, curious to what his reaction would be. Most of the time Slytheirns didn't venture out of their little "clique" but Brianna wasn't the type to limit herself to just a bunch of friends in one house. She liked talking, therefore probably had tons of friends in other houses as well. "Probably why she doesn't have many friends in her own house..." she mused, before bursting into laughter. Suddenly realizing Dem probably wouldn't know why she was laughing suddenly, Audrey calmed herself, still smiling brightly, and mentioned, "Brianna just talks so much and to anyone, it's adorable, really, but it cost her some friends in Slytherin."

Tilting her head curiously, Audrey noticed his tone as he spoke of the teachers. Her eyes flickered downwards. Oh yes, she had plenty of her own run-ins with the teachers when she had been a student. Mainly because one time, she had been caught casually conversing with a Gryffindor along the halls. The Gryffindor girl had gotten punished, and she just got a slap on the wrist - literally. Checking her hand, the small scar, shaped like a curved "V" was there. That was another incident though, and it had faded since her fifth year, though since she was tan now, it was easier to see. That had been from a teacher, then the blonde, Transfiguration teacher, Professor Penn had healed it up and managed to dull the scar for her. Smiling weakly at the thought of Professor Penn, she looked up to Dem and inquired, "Is Professor Penn still there?"

She certainly hoped so. That woman was a harsh teacher in the classroom, though once she left - usually her tough exterior faded. Though with Demetri, she was very curious to see how he was in the classroom. Probably not much different than he was now - from what she'd heard of him anyway. Grinning softly towards him, Audrey's attention drifted between their subjects. Glancing towards the sun, she knew eventually, Brianna would be looking for her to apparate them back home. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she was half-tempted just to tell her to use Floo powder in the Network to get back home. Though, knowing Brianna, she'd accidentally send herself somewhere else.

Though, as Dem started complaining about his brothers, Audrey roped her thoughts back in, and listened to what he had to say. Giggling, Audrey nodded in agreement about the smell anyway, "Oh, yes, siblings may appear nice to everyone else, till you have to live with them." her nose wrinkled at the thought of smelling her older sister's, Georgina's perfume again. It was nice, don't get her wrong, but it just was so heavily put on. Shaking her head, she mused, "I agree, staying away for an hour or so...or putting them outside when there's a breeze," the woman grinned, "Just let the breeze blow some of it off." she laughed softly, thinking of putting all her sisters outside. They'd probably just come after her.

Her fingers danced along the strings, as she just played random chords, putting her right hand farther down the neck, shifting the strings to get a different sound, and a higher pitch. Softly smiling, when she accidentally hit a string she didn't mean to, the chord was so off. Cringing, Audrey shook her head, and looked to Dem, smiling lightly, though nodded to his comment, "Like everything, it can take some time." she grinned, and looked to him, "Do you do anything besides play it for your own entertainment? Such as, getting your students to stay awake?" she grinned, interested to learn more about what it was like to be a teacher at Hogwarts now. Plus - just to get to know him more - see what he was like.

WORDS ! 960 (woot!)
ARTICLES ! clickeh hurrrr
BACKGROUND NOISE ! silence
TEMPLATE ! meine! that's right, i, D.REAM MACHINE created this. steal it, i shall stab you with a plastic fork many, many times.

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[demetri]

I picked up a guitar
What does this signify?

Audrey leaned forward, and Demetri was suddenly aware of how close they were. He brushed that aside, concentrating instead on the actual conversation. He laughed when she teasingly reassured him that she wouldn’t let him get hurt. “Thanks, I appreciate that…I think,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t think I’ll try anything; I don’t think even you could prevent things from going horribly wrong.” Demetri looked down at the grass, absently pressing it down with his hands in odd shapes. He missed Audrey tensing, and wouldn’t understand it even if he had seen it. He was only the tiniest bit of a flirt, and didn’t really understand being on the receiving end.

Audrey was still absently strumming the strings of the guitar, moving her fingers to make the barest hint of a song. He’d have to teach her more chords, but she showed promise, more so than many of the others he had tried to teach. He caught her pause before announcing what her sister’s house was, and Demetri wondered for a moment if this was too touchy of a topic.

He was mildly surprised that she had said Slytherin, though not too much. Being a teacher, he saw all kinds of students in every house. At this point, he was sure any student could be in any house, depending on what character traits they decided to emphasize. There were air heads in Ravenclaw, cowards in Gryffindor, sweethearts in Slytherin, and bullies in Hufflepuff. He was a bit startled when she started laughing, but understood her amusement. “Could be why I don’t remember her house,” he said, laughing. “She’s lovely in class, but most of the other Slytherins seem to find her…” he paused, trying to think of a kindly word. “Annoying,” he finally finished, grinning to show he didn’t share the sentiment. And with that, comment about Brianna’s house was over: that was that.

Demetri caught Audrey glancing at the scar on her wrist, and frowned. HE recognized the scar; it was common among the students now. Days when such punishment would get you fired were gone; if Demetri wanted to, he could have treated his students the same way. When Audrey mentioned Eleanor, Demetri realized that he recognized the well-healed scar. He had noticed that about half of the students had ugly, ill-formed scars, while the other had the cut well tended to, leaving only a delicate half moon in its place. Eleanor Penn must have healed them. “Yeah, Eleanor is still there,” he replied, actually answering the question.

Demetri liked Professor Penn. They were a lot alike, though she was a bit more harsh in her teaching. However, neither of them abused the students, and they both actually taught their subject in a way that didn’t make the students wish magic never existed. Both did use a special kind of fear; with Eleanor, it was more of fear of being yelled at. With him, it was fear of being embarrassed.

“I guess all little siblings are annoying,” Demetri commented, realizing Audrey would actually know what he was talking about. Most people went “Oh how sweet!” No matter what he said about his siblings. If he had to hear how great Tristan and Kyle were one more time, he’d explode. Better yet, he’d probably kick them out. Ari was good, though the fact that she broke or dismembered almost everything in his house.

Demetri visibly winced when Audrey hit a sour note. Being musically inclined, his hearing was very good, and had fine tuned itself so that he could hear the slightest change in pitch. “Here, let me help with that,” he offered, moving her index finger one string down. There was a slight shock when he touched her skin, though he tried to ignore it. IT could mean anything, after all. He grinned again when Audrey asked if he did anything else. “Don’t do much, other than play or teach,” he said with a wry grin. “I try to make class interesting, though. I love history, but nobody else does,” he began explaining his teaching. “I keep the desks around the edges of the room, because we usually do something in the middle of the room.” He paused, trying to think of an example. “Well, last week, we were discussing goblin rights, and we had a mock trial. The goblin side dressed up like goblins, and it got pretty fierce. You should have been there,” he finished, chuckling.

[dream]

there were drums as we started to dance every soul
• in the room keeping time with their hands

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• • • AUDREY WILLIAMS

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Audrey cued in as Demetri said about her not preventing anything. Knowing this would be the end of this part of the conversation, the pureblood nodded quietly, and replied, "Ah, then maybe you should stay with two feet on the ground, no?" she laughed lightly, the vision of Demetri doing a hand-stand perfectly. That would be their luck, or him completely shattering something. That would not be good. Nibbling on her bottom lip gently, Audrey quickly focused back on the task at hand, which was getting to know Demetri more. For some reason, she felt the overwhelming need to spend as much time with him as she possibly could when she could. As the strings moved softly beneath her fingers, the young woman lifted her blue gaze to meet his darker one as he spoke about Brianna in his class, and the other Slytherins. She flinched slightly, though hid it well - or so she hoped. The thought of her youngest sister, her baby sister being an outcast - in some sense didn't...appeal to her. She hated that thought. All her sisters, herself included had always been social butterflies with everyone, but always maintained their main social group in Slytherin. Maybe Brianna wasn't.

Her forehead wrinkled slightly in a frown, though she nodded solemnly, accepting the fact a bit more now than before, "Yeah...I kind of figured that." she grinned, though it was more of a grimace, mostly out of worry for her sister. "Hope she doesn't cause too much of a fuss for you." she teased. Falling silent for a moment, though the silence they shared didn't feel awkward, which was nice - at least what she thought. Awkward silences only got awkward because people let them. Most of the time, silences were because the people were finding something else to talk about. Lips moved smoothly, splitting into a small smile, before she then plucked the strings once more, a nice, soft sound being produced from it.

Professor Eleanor Penn. The blonde teacher who ruled her class with an iron fist, but was so much softer and more gentle outside of it. Smiling softly, Audrey nodded, most people did like Penn, she had a sort of aura about her. Demetri, she sensed seemed to have that too. Well - unless you disobeyed him in class, oh yes, she'd heard from Brianna what he makes kids do for punishment, embarrass them somehow. Laughing softly to herself, the dark-haired girl lifted her attention from the guitar when he shifted closer, pleasant chills spiraling down her spine. "Yes, even worse when people compliment them. They don't live with them!" she widened her eyes for effect, before laughing lightly. It was true though. In some sense for people anyway.

Perplexed for a moment, seeing him flinch, she blushed and spoke, "I'm sorry." though when his fingers brushed against her hand on the guitar, sparks flitted up her arm, as if he'd jolted her. Thoughh, it didn't hurt, it didn't bother her, though she did push it to the back of her mind, as her stomach churned excitedly. Everything he had to say, she wanted to listen, as he spoke, she strummed the new strings, enjoying the sound it produced. Glancing up, ears open and absorbing his words, Audrey nodded solemnly, and grinned ear to ear to show she was involved in the conversation. "Really? Sounds intriguing!" she grinned innocently, "I will admit, I never did like history in general, but history of magic was always somewhat interesting...kept me awake." she admitted, grinning innocently, "But from what I hear, you do just a fine job teaching them, Professor." she winked.

WORDS ! don't know...don't really care. xDD
ARTICLES ! clickeh hurrrr
BACKGROUND NOISE ! bounce - timbaland
TEMPLATE ! meine! that's right, i, D.REAM MACHINE created this. steal it, i shall stab you with a plastic fork many, many times.

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[demetri]

I picked up a guitar
What does this signify?

Demetri laughed as Audrey seemed to concede that he would not make a very good gymnast. “Agreed,” he said, his tone still sounding amused. The grin wavered as he saw her flinch, ever so slightly, when he mentioned Brianna in class. Had he said something wrong? He winced internally, realizing he made it sound like Brianna had no friends, at least as far as he could see. Though he only saw her a few hours a week, she was always talking to somebody, unlike Demetri himself, who had had a few close friends that he had talked to, most of them even more antisocial then himself. It wasn’t that they didn’t like people, they just spent more time inside than out and about.

Demetri shook his head, his grin firmly back in place, when Audrey asked if Brianna was too much of a fuss. “Not at all, love,” he said cheerfully. “The talkative ones are always the most fun. And don’t worry about her. She has plenty of others to talk to, at least from what I’ve seen,” he added in a more reassuring tone. He could tell Audrey was now worried about her sister, and would probably ask if she was having trouble making friends. However much Demetri loved talking about his students, he wanted to find out more about Audrey. If she was anything like her sister, he could tell they would get along just fine. Still, you couldn’t judge everybody by their siblings. Merlin knew that he was a perfect example: his brothers were the most annoying people in the world, and he was positive his sister had ADD.

He was surprised that Audrey had picked up playing the guitar so quickly. He knew few people who could just keep playing. She must have already been musically inclined, which was good for him. Less sour notes, more real playing. They seemed to have found a common ground in talking about siblings, something Demetri enjoyed. He disliked awkward silences, or really any sort of long silence. “Good point. I’m guessing your siblings are terrors too?” he asked, laughing. By no means did he hate his siblings, but he had been hoping to get some time away from them when he left home. Though the fact that he was a teacher did put a damper on that.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said disarmingly as Audrey flushed and apologized for the sour note. “You’re much better than many of the others I’ve had to teach. Whole strings of bad notes, and them strumming away like everything is perfectly fine!” His voice rose in mock anger, and he threw his arms in the air dramatically, before falling backwards onto the grass. He lay on his back and grinned up at Audrey, laughing again as she mentioned his teaching methods. “I suppose you had Binns, correct?” He asked, knowing her answer. “I had him too. Bloody bore, he was. Had to take the job from him so the kids would actually learn something. Like to think I keep them awake.” He spoke in disjointed sentences, feeling to lazy to actually put together complete sentences. He put his arm across his eyes, shading them from the sun. He felt utterly content, lying back in the grass like this and talking to somebody he found interesting.

TAG ! Audreyyyy
WORD COUNT ! 553
LYRICS ! Trouble Maker by Weezer
NOTES ! Sorry it took so long, luff =(