Lest We Forget (open)

[Tallulah Skeffington]

January 2nd, 2008
7:50 PM

If you were to ask Tallulah to tell you what day it was she would most certainly not be able to tell you. Since she was at Hogwarts for this break all of the days seemed to meld together into one long chunk of time with the only differences in those days being the amount of light that covered the ground. Every day she would get up, eat, go outside, see friends, play with her kitty, go outside some more, eat again, chat with friends, eat again, go to sleep. It had been this same schedual every day for quite a long time. She needed a break.

Today she decided against hanging out with friends today. She got out of bed late and took her time getting down to the Great Hall. She ate slowly and relished at the fact she had no prior plans for the day. After a hearty breakfast she found her way back to her common room. Tallulah walked in to find the room deserted. With a sigh and walked over to her dorm room and went in. Empty again. Yet another sigh. As she turned around to leave her eye caught something. Her cello. She brought it thinking she'd be bored all the time here. Yet she'd been here for a while and hadn't played it once.

"Well why not? I could use the practice," She said as she walked over to the case and picked it up. What better a day to practice then this one? She couldn't think of one. Now with an idea she walked out of her dorm room and out of the common room. She told herself she wouldn't stop walking until she felt she was in the right place. She walked around the school for an hour before she settled on the fifth floor.

Now all she needed to find was a place to play. The hallway as deserted. Spot found. Now she needed a chair. Her brown eyes noticed a classroom with it's door sightly opened. She peeked in and saw some chairs quite close to the door. She opened it and walked in, taking a chair. Now with a chair in one arm and her cello case in the other she walked down the hall. She found a nice window to sit near and play. She set down the chair so she was facing the window. The view was of the lake and the mountains. With a smile she sat down and opened the cello case. Tal picked up the cello, forgetting how heavy the cello was. With her other hand she picked up the bow. Everything felt awkward in the hands.

She positioned her hands correctly and started to play the violin piece of Corelli's "La Folia." Yes she knew that she had a cello on her but she always loved the sound of the violin piece when played by a cello. She was surprised at how well she played, even with the months of not playing. She was a little rusty but she still sounded quite good. The sound echoed through the halls of the fifth floor.

(Le OPEN)

[Celina Jedynak]

January. Another new year, another new time, and above all else, it signified just how precious time really was. This time the year before, she’d been at her parents house after having spent a wonderful night with the Hjorts and Drew and all of the other people that Felicity’s family knew. It had been an expletory time, the new year’s eve/new years party, but on the second, Celina had been sitting in her room, waiting for her brother to return back from his business trip he’d been on.

Alfonz had never returned.

It had actually been days later that Celina had seen her brother again, and not where she had ever expected to see him. She shook the thoughts from her head as she continued to walk up the stairs from her brother’s office, back to the Ravenclaw tower. She didn’t want to remember that she’d seen her brother days later, yet without a face… his voice growling in her ear to tell her that he was there to protect her, and yet… Alfonz wasn’t himself. He was Deva. Again, Celina literally shook her head… knowing everything, and yet not wanting to know anything at all.

The Jedynak siblings hadn’t spoken about what had gone on just a little bit less than a year before. How could they? Alfonz would always reach for the bottle, as Celina would start to whimper and cry because she was confused and scared for her brother’s life. Shaw had threatened her brother, in exchange for gaining information about Felicity and who had really come up with the plan to escape from the Deva’s clutches. She had to watch… because she knew that not saying a word would have had them all killed. Or Alfonz, right in front of her… and Celina couldn’t do that.

At least they all lived.

Again, she shook her head, not realizing the fifth flight of stairs was already done and in the air a melodic sound of a tune that Celina recognized. The classical music was being precisely preformed and Celina’s father’s words about true purebloods having only the magical ability to play so wonderfully came into her mind. Of course, Celina knew that wasn’t true. She had seem musicians before that were not purebloods play just as well as any magical being, but at the same time, Celina found herself interested in the music. She wanted to know who else could play a string instrument, that at that time she could tell was of the lower end of the melodic spectrum.

What it was, Celina was unsure exactly…

A cough escaped her mouth, as she hadn’t been feeling too well as of late, but rounding the corridor of the fifth floor, she saw someone playing a cello, and her face lit up in excitement. Celina stopped walking further, standing about twenty feet from where the girl sat, not wanting to distress or alarm the performer.

The cello was always such a beautiful instrument, and watching another play it was always fascinating for Celina. She could never watch herself play her harp, so she was unsure of her own stature, or the facial expressions she gave, but she knew that when she did so, she liked to close her eyes. Celina almost wondered if the girl had her eyes closed, or if she would know that she was there immediately. She meant no bother, but she really did like the tune… now if she could just place the song…

[Tallulah Skeffington]

Everything in the world went dark as Tallulah's fingers moved over the strings of her cello. She urged them to go faster, to let more music flow through her then out of the cello. As she played a sense of oneness with the cello overcame her. It was a rare feeling that only people who studied music could understand. Her body felt hot and was getting harder the longer she played. Even if she made a mistake she didn't stop playing. She would never stop. Not until the song was over.

As she played she did not hear the footsteps of someone walking behind her. Not that it mattered, nothing mattered right now. She could feel the slight itchy feeling of someone behind her but she assumed that was just the music taking over her body. She held the note for as long as the cello could. Fingers sliding over the strings she as she performed vibrato, the noise washing over the darkened halls. If only her parents could see her doing something besides smiling at boys. They might be proud of her.

As the song started to come to a close she played it slower then usual, wanting to keep the music alive in the halls. With the final note she sighed and sat back in the chair in a very unladylike position. The last traces of music washed away from her, making her feel euphoric. But that damn itch in her back didn't go away. Right then and there she noticed someone must be behind her.

She turned her head to the left. She jumped a little at the sight of a girl, maybe a year older. She had seen her around before. Her name started with a C...or maybe an S? She noticed the girl's ever were closed. She must have been listening to her play. Usually Tallulah would have scowled at someone dropping in on her, but the girl's face was different then most. Her looked at if she was understanding the music. Tallulah didn't move, but only watched the girl for a few more seconds.

"Hey. Did you like my playing?" Tallulah made sure her voice was hushed slightly as to not scare the girl. That was all she needed right now.

[Celina Jedynak]

It continued and Celina couldn’t help but let her eyes close as they would have if she was playing her harp. The music was engulfing the entire hall, and Celina was not only impressed, but she was in awe. The girl whom she really couldn’t recognize from being behind, was an excellent player. One that even Alfonz would have to say was impressive; her older brother would have taken such joy in the girl’s tune. The sides of her lips turned upward just slightly in a contented sort of smile. Such comforts in the halls of Hogwarts were rare in Celina’s mind… only Emerald, her harp, her brother… her friends… Connor…

The song was dying just a bit, but there was never an end. It faded and Celina would have clapped and hollered if she wasn’t trained in how to be proper of such things. One didn’t scream out at private performances. If anything, they clapped slightly, but even that didn’t seem appropriate. It would have ruined the entire atmosphere that the girl had created to pierce the air with sharp clashes of flesh against flesh. So, Celina just waited and soaked in the energies… it’s all she could bring herself to do.

It wasn’t until the girl moved, startled slightly be Celina’s presence did a small gasp escape Celina and she looked as if she knew she shouldn’t have been there. And yet, why couldn’t she? It was the fifth floor where students walked all the time… was it not? A few more minutes passed where nothing was said… Celina just didn’t feel right to break the ice with her own intrusive words.

Hey. Did you like my playing?

Celina smiled widely, nodding her head a bit too enthusiastically. “You’ve been playing for a while, I can tell. It was fantastic! Absolutely wonderful…” Celina paused remembering the recitals she sat through with her family when she was younger. She hadn’t seen skill like the girl’s in a long time. “I haven’t heard anything as wonderful since I used to attend classes at Madam Chevalier’s a few years back; your playing reminded me of the recitals my family would often attend…” and now she was going on and rambling… a slight heat rose to her cheeks and Celina lightly shrugged. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to intrude upon your playing or anything…”

[Tallulah Skeffington]

Tallulah's cheeks turned bright red as the girl spoke about her playing. Not many people knew that Tallulah could play the cello, she wouldn't tell many people that she could. Not many people would listen. Tallulah was quite happy that someone heard her play, someone finally heard her soul. She placed the cello back into the case and got up, placing the bow on her chair. Getting up she moved closer to the girl not wanting to have to yell over to her.

"Yeah, I've been playing for a while. Parents thought it was a respectable outlet for me. I have to agree. Playing is very calming." She shrugged her shoulders, looking at the girl standing before her. She seemed quite nice, a welcome personality to the snake. She gave the girl another grin when she heard she went to music school. "Oh? What did you play?" Her interest was genuine. Maybe if they played similar instruments they could play together sometime, another nice thought for Tallulah to think about.

"I've never played in a recital before. Always wanted to. Are they fun? It may sound a little vain but I've wanted to hear someone clap for my playing." Her cheeks flushed red again, feeling her comment could be taken the wrong way. She leaned against one of the walls, resting all of her weight on she shoulder and one foot. The pose seemed very out of character for the girl. If someone walked by who really knew her they might do a double take.

A thought flashed in her mind, something she was forgetting. She didn't introduce herself yet! Only a uncivilized person would let such a thing pass them by. "Pardon my manners, I'm Tallulah. Tallulah Skeffington." Her pale hand brought out and held for the girl to shake. She hoped that she didn't offend the girl with such uncouthness on her part.

[Celina Jedynak]

It would have been incredibly rude to ask the girl of her blood type, and Celina knew that. But all of her insights and her father’s words were beckoning to know, for they could already smell the respectability and the authority off of the girl. Celina tried to shake the thoughts away from her brain, telling her that it didn’t matter what or who she was, and yet, the thought of her father being able to be proud of her for something… anything in her life, kept smacking her in the face. If she didn’t achieve head girl as much as she wanted it, connections with other purebloods was the only way Celina could even see her father respecting her, and not finding her as a disappointment anymore. Celina began to cough slightly in her hand again and shook away the thoughts. It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter.

Celina nodding, knowing exactly what the girl was speaking about when it came to parents thinking that their children should show their pride and talent of their social status with instruments, how the performance of the instrument was calming any ways, and all in all, just everything. Celina almost wondered if the girl was brought up at all like she… someone that could understand, and not judge… but again, Celina shook the thoughts away. “Did I? I still do play. I play the harp. I always have it with me, no matter where I go,” Celina said smiling.

Celina remembered the recitals that she had to play in for her father, the families of the other children, and even some of the higher upstanding pureblooded connections that her father held. It was all about connections anymore… it sickened Celina, but at the same time, if she had them, would anything have happened like it had the year before? Celina almost wondered and then snapped back into the conversation at hand. “I love playing for people… not because I think I’m superb or great or anything,” for Celina knew she definitely wasn’t the best at what she did. “But because I believe that music is very healing…” it also helped when the strings of the harp were made from dragonheart strings, and the frame was a mixture of gold and wood… but Celina knew it wasn’t only just that.

“No, that doesn’t sound vain at all,” Celina said now, almost wishing she had clapped a few minutes before. “I would have just then, but I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere… if that makes sense.” The raven girl giggled slightly, again lifting her shoulders in a light shrug and sighing.

Sticking her hand out, Celina tilted her head slightly and took the other girl’s hand. “Celina Jedynak. It’s definitely a pleasure to meet you. What house do you reside in?” Celina asked, not recognizing the girl from her own house. She looked over the girl’s clothing for a clue, still smiling.

[Tallulah Skeffington]

"You play the harp? Oh that is a wonderful instrument. It's sound is so lovely and feminine." Her voice was soft and caring as she spoke about the harp. Musical instruments were a beautiful thing to be able to play, when she spoke of them it was like she was speaking of a child she favored above the rest. Did she say she still played? Tallulah's mind leaped with excitement. She glanced back at her cello, thinking the harp and cello would be find together, their sounds would compliment each other. "So you have your harp here? We should try to play together sometime." She just bounced the idea off the girl, hoping for agreement.

Her features softened again as the girl spoke of playing for people. It seemed to brighten the girl also as it had Tallulah. “But because I believe that music is very healing…” The girl couldn't have said anything more true about music. Tallulah also believed this. When music was played it seemed to heal whatever wounds inflicted the listeners. Every bad thing washed away from them and left them as fresh as a baby. "Music is healing. For both player and listener. At my old school we used to play a lot. My roommates all played string instruments and we would play late into the night trying to play ourselves to sleep."

Tallulah giggled along after the girl spoke about clapping. "I'm quite glad you didn't. I would have jumped right out of my seat. I was so into the music I forgot where I was." This happened to Tallulah a lot when she played. This was a good thing to her, being able to forget where she was. it was like when you read a good book, you forget where you are and are immersed into a new world. She sighed lightly, the feeling from playing was pretty much gone now, but she was feeling something different. It wasn't fully there yet, she would have to wait for it.

She took the girls hand she shook it. She grasped it firmly, showing her happiness in running into Celina. "Nice to meet you Celina. The pleasure is all mine." Her last name...Jedynak. It ringed in her mind for some reason. She knew that last name. But from where? Most likely here from passing in the halls or something. My house? Tallulah grinned at the girl and took her hand back. "Slytherin. How about you?"

[Celina Jedynak]

Celina agreed with what Tallulah, but at the same time, Celina smirked to herself. Feminine, maybe, but that didn’t make it any less of an instrument or dangerous in some aspects. Again, she didn’t say a word about it though. Celina was used to having people allow appearances to deceive them, and at the same time, she never felt it was her place to intrude any opinion. “I do have my harp here… I never leave anywhere without it. I carry it with me…” of course, as Celina heard her statement as normal, she never thought to explain it outright that she actually did have it on her at that moment. Any other time, she would have, but today her mind was distracted. Celina nodded. “Oh, yes. That would be just wonderful.”

Celina just listened to the girl about how she too thought music was healing and about what her and her classmates used to do. “Oh, then you’re new to Hogwarts then?” Celina asked, again not surprised that she’d not been here for too long. It didn’t seem anyone hardly started out at Hogwarts anymore, and that saddened Celina. She was a dying breed of student, it seemed…

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t clap then, either. I wouldn’t have wanted to scare you,” Celina laughed, covering her mouth just slightly as she did so and shaking her head. That would have been awful, not to mention if she accidentally let go of her cello or something.

Slytherin. The girl was in Connor’s house, and Celina smiled warmly at the thought. “Ravenclaw,” Celina answered back nodding. “Seems there’s musical talent all over this school. I also know a drummer from Gryffindor,” Celina giggled. “But he’s not that much into classical and such…” shrugging Celina nodded, the music that still lingered in the air slowly fading.

[Tallulah Skeffington]

“Oh, yes. That would be just wonderful.”

Tallulah couldn't help but smile when she heard this. Celina was turning out to be someone Tallulah really liked. "I tried to play the harp a few times but failed miserably. I just couldn't get it." She hung her head in defeat, a smile appearing on her lips. Tossing her head back her hair flew out of her eyes. Smiling again she looked over to her cello. It was quite nice. It was made from strong wood that wasn't charmed. It was just a plain old cello, nothing special. Tallulah liked that about her cello. It wasn't made by some wizard with everything at his fingertips, but by a muggle craftsman. She had to trick her parents into letting her get it. They wanted the wizard made one.

“Oh, then you’re new to Hogwarts then?”

"Yes. I went to Beauxbaton before. I would have been there now but..." She stopped, not wanting to think of such sad things. Clearing her throat she smiled weakly at Celina. "Things just didn't work out. It was for the best." She was telling the truth about that. it was better she wasn't around Jean. She would only get him killed. Her parents almost died of shame when they found out she left campus with a muggle born. Not that they were dating or anything. Their attraction was of the brotherly/sisterly kind. She was ripped away from that. The thought made her depressed.

After Celina spoke about not clapping Tallulah laughed along with her. She could see herself playing the cello peacefully and then someone start clapping, making her jump through the roof. The thought made her laugh harder. She tried to stifle her laughs, but it didn't work. Covering her mouth she turned away. The laughs finally subsided. "I would have probably fainted. I don't do well with things popping out most of the time."

Ravenclaw. Duly noted, Tallulah thought, making sure to remember Celina's house. She had only met two other Ravenclaws and she liked them both very much, especially Dante. Her little game of 'Who can mix the most potions up' was quite fun and changed Tallulah's view of the blue house.

Tallulah nodded as Celina spoke about a Gryffindor boy who played the drums, but didn't like classical. A travesty in her mind. "Wicked. I'm happy to know Hogwarts at least has people who enjoy music.