Follow the Music ((Luke))

[carmen]

Normally students waited as long as they could before saying good-byes to their families at the start of a new year. It was something about being away from thsoe who ment so much to you for so long that caused everyone to take in their last few moments, and wave their final farewells through the window to their tear-full loved ones as the train pulled away. Carmen though, was never good and simple being like everyone else. Instead, she said her good-byes back home, long before the boarding he train. She loved her family, and she missed them a great deal, but Hogwarts to her and all that surounded it was like her own world. She liked the space, and the independance, and found her journey from home alone was just what it took her help clear her mind of all the summer events and prepare her self for school. It also meant an easy job once she was immersed int he chaos of the students. I was easier to move around even if she had more than just her trunk to watch out for. It just seemed easier that way, especially considering she would never let her guitar and keyboard case out of her sight in a crowd like this.

The train this year was as crowded as ever, and she tried to make her way down the narrow passage as carefully as she could, taking great care to keep her instrument cases as far from the walls as she could. "Coming through!" she call, when she saw a group of what looked like third years running down the passage, causing her to be pushed up against the wall as they ignored her words. "Either I we need students with manners or I need a hobbies with smaller stuff" she mumbled to herself as she searched for an empty compartment. She didn't care who she say with really. She didn't care if she found her friends or if she sat with a stranger, but she always felt strange barging in on someone. Finally, when she reached far enough down the row that she could see the end of the train, she saw a compartment to her left that had been passed over by her fellow students, and she pushed her way inside, carrying her cases before her so they didn't hit the door frame on the way in.

Thankful to be in and out of the rush of students she sunk heavily into one of the benches, letting out a long breath as she did. She set her guitar and keyboard on the seat beside her, leaving her trunk on the floor in front of her. After a moment she sat for a moment, letting her brain catch up with her body and the silence of the compartment, she moved herself over a bit so her trunk was centered before her, and she pulled her keyboard case onto her lap before setting it down carefully onto of it. After unzipping the case, she paused a moment before flicking the on button, and after another moment of hesitation she pressed her fingers against the keys, letting an easy melody escape her fingers as they moved across the keys.

[Luke Dallan H7]

Luke yawned loudly as he looked around his bedroom. He was never a good morning person. It took a while for his body to adjust to anything, whether that be new surroundings or a new schedules, it still took a long time for him to adapt. Within a month into summer his body was already quite suited for the time. Ryder woke him up early to run in the morning, he would have Breakfast, then spend the rest of the day how ever it was planed. Now that school was the next day, that meant the train left today. Luke had already gotten all his supplies for his classes; all he had to do was set it inside of his trunk. Lately he had been too busy to even organize anything for his trunk. Julien had his two sons helping him however they could for the Quidditch World Cup. Luke loved helping his dad, and put aside to organizing everything until later. Now that it was only a couple hours before the train ride, he had to get a move on. Taking out all his clothes from his dresser, he folded them neatly up and set them inside of the trunk and made sure to keep out and extra pair of clothes to change into for the sorting hat ceremony. Soon followed by his books and other school materials that he needed for class; lastly that went in was his new Quidditch gear and everything Quidditch.

The last thing that had to be packed was his shoulder bag. Putting inside his sketchbook, a couple Quidditch magazines, and an extra Daily Protect paper, Luke clasped the end of the bag and his trunk at the same time. Tucking his wand in his front jean pocket, he looked around his bedroom. The white walls were filled with posters of different Quidditch team and the Wicked Sisters. There was his favorite painting on the mantle of the dresser of the sunflower field nearby. It was beautifully painting in different colors. No one had seen his final work, and he wanted to keep it that way. The new master piece he was working on was that of that one girl he and his brother met at Hogsmeade. Luke didn't know the deal between the two, but he hoped it was something good. Setting the strap of his bag over her shoulder the door opened up and in came his father Julien. Ryder was off with the Quidditch team and Julien was about to leave for work. "Ready?" his father asked taking out his wand making the trunk float magically in the air. The two went down the stairs and with a pop left the house.

It took no longer than a second to reach the Kings Cross Station from the little village that the Dallan's lived from. Luke gave his father a huge before wheeling his trunk with Romeo in the carrier on top through the crowds of muggles. He reached the familiar brick wall and ran into it to Platform 3 and four quarters. There were many students around boarding the train. Following the crowd he made his way down the corridor. Little first year were running around and playing tag while other hugged each other talking of summer. Once reaching the back of the train, Luke was about to open a compartment when he heard the sound of a piano. Who could be making such beautiful music? Redirecting his path toward the sound, Luke slid the door open and smiled at the girl. Entering the compartment he put the sliding chart upright and smiled at the girl. "Your really good at playing the piano," he began his smiling never leaving his face. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

[carmen]

As her fingers danced across the keyboard in a melody created with out thought, her eyes closed as she tried to let a song come to her. With the chaos of schools starting she had been blocked. Normally she could play or write at any moment, sometimes her need for expression so strong she couldn’t function if she tried to avoid it. For the last week though, the need had escaped her and was replaced with thoughts of returning to Hogwarts. She loved school, she always had, but she missed home. She didn’t play into the teen-age social thing most of her class mates did, she was happy to just stay home with her grandma and play. As her eyes stayed close she could see her grandmother sitting across the room from her, the older woman’s eyes closed as she nodded slight and hummed a bit along with the music her granddaughter made up. Soon Carmen found herself humming bits, creating a new sound as she tried to commit the new melody to memory so she could write the notes down later.

She was lost in her music when suddenly she heard a voice. Her fingers didn’t stop moving, but her humming did, and her eyes opened and she looked over to see a boy standing in the door way. “Thank you” she replied to his compliment about her music, smiling as she looked him over. She didn’t really know him—more of him, but then he was a fellow Hufflepuff, and even in her own year. There was no escaping anyone with those two things in common with you. Beyond that though, she knew very little. His name was Luke Dallan, she could recall that much, and she was well away of the quidditch reputation surrounding the Dallan name. That thought was where her knowledge stopped. “Sure, come on it.” She finally answered, turning back to her keyboard for a moment, letting the melody she had been working on come slowly to a close. After she did she looked back up at him, smiling almost forcefully for a moment as she thought of what to say. She wasn’t good at this whole making friends thing, and somehow it was more awkward not needed to have to introduce each other. “Well…um…its Luke right? I think we’ve had a few classes together.”