Post by Ariane Chan on Jan 27, 2008 19:00:53 GMT
((Set in the beginning of the year; it is the train ride back to Hogwarts in September, and is set before Mistaken Identity.))
Ariane lugged her trunk irritably onto the train, not giving even a backward glance at the rest of her family still exchanging goodbyes. After all, she had to take this slim window of opportunity to slip away. It was somewhat cruel of her, she knew, to leave at such an intimate point whilst they were so absorbed in one another, but… that was precisely the reason Ariane could not stay to watch. The love the other Chan family had… the bonds that tied them so closely together, they weren’t broken yet. And although Ariane did not hold this against Aurora, for she wanted the best for her best friend, a part of Ariane still ached when she watched such loving exchanges. It merely reminded her of what she could never have now; what she could have had had it not been for some stupid mistakes in the past. It caused her heartstrings to wrench painfully, almost snapping from the strain of keeping herself together. With a thump Ariane dragged the trunk over the threshold and onto the half-full train, looking around for the direction towards the end of the carriage. She wanted to find herself a quiet area for solace, where she could think in peace… even if her thoughts were not at all peaceful. Aggressively yanking her trunk after her, Ariane decided the right direction was to the left, and proceeded to head that way. A few people passed her, gave her the usual curious yet fearful look, and left her alone. Ariane didn’t bother acknowledging them; she knew their names, and even some more about a few of them, but that did not mean she had ever spoken to them; she intended to keep it that way too.
Ariane had to halt though when a gaggle of giggling second year Ravenclaw girls skipped towards her. She almost groaned inwardly as she saw them fast approaching along the narrow hallway, and so very tactfully squeezed inside one of the compartments without looking in first. She watched warily, displeasure a telltale sign on her face as the half a dozen happy girls passed by, almost like a stampede, yet leaving a trail of odd sweet scents rather than dust in their wake. Relieved that the danger obstacle had passed by, Ariane looked around to whose carriage she had invaded so rudely. She planned on apologising if anyone was even there, but there was only a trunk by the window, meaning someone had been here, captured the compartment for themselves, before leaving it to be easily sabotaged or overtaken. Ariane shook her head disagreeably, then turned to open the door. She was just stepping out of it when she walked right into someone trying to enter the compartment; her head hit the person’s shoulder – a boy, it had to be from the robes and the stature (if Ariane hit his shoulder, she doubted at such a height it would be a girl). She didn’t make a sound as she hit him, since the contact wasn’t so painful; merely a graze on her cheek. The alarm of the suddenness of it did cause her to drop her trunk though; it landed with a thump behind her, and she almost fell over it as it scraped the back of her shoes. However, she quickly balanced herself as she grabbed the frame of the door. Once sure she wasn’t about to keel over, Ariane gathered herself and looked up in annoyance to see who the person she had bumped into was. She planned on apologising, but that did depend on who it was – it could have been Tristan, for all Ariane knew. Not that she wanted and planned on seeing that Slytherin anytime soon, oh no.
However, upon looking up, Ariane did recognise the face staring down, but it did not belong to Tristan; it was Jez Cuthbert, a troublesome jerk in her year and house. Great. Just what Ariane needed, she groaned inwardly, her face still rather steely. She had never really spoken to Jez before, but from what she had witnessed and heard about him from other people’s conversations, he wasn’t the type to blend into the background like whitewashed walls. Oh no. It seemed Jez quite liked the limelight and attention trouble brought. He was always being reprimanded by the teachers. This in itself had caused Ariane to steer clear of Jez and his mischievous ways. Some of the pranks she had heard of sounded downright horrible; not better than Tristan filming other people’s humiliations. The thought left Ariane scowling angrily, and before she knew it, she muttered a rather unfelt ‘sorry’ under her breath, picked up her trunk, and tried to stalk past Jez’s taller figure. Now wasn’t the time to be wasted being blocked by some annoying guy in her year. Ariane needed to find herself some lone compartment at the back of the train so she didn’t keep having stupid encounters such as these. Jez however continued to stand in her way, and out of low patience and increasing irritation levels, Ariane looked up and almost snapped at him, but held her tongue. Her eyes flashed her evident anger though, held tightly on a short leash right now. She just knew, looking at Jez, that he would annoy her even more if he opened his mouth, and hoped she could get past him without more hassle. “Excuse me.” She finally ground out testily, eyes staring straight into a pair she didn’t really recognise.
Ariane lugged her trunk irritably onto the train, not giving even a backward glance at the rest of her family still exchanging goodbyes. After all, she had to take this slim window of opportunity to slip away. It was somewhat cruel of her, she knew, to leave at such an intimate point whilst they were so absorbed in one another, but… that was precisely the reason Ariane could not stay to watch. The love the other Chan family had… the bonds that tied them so closely together, they weren’t broken yet. And although Ariane did not hold this against Aurora, for she wanted the best for her best friend, a part of Ariane still ached when she watched such loving exchanges. It merely reminded her of what she could never have now; what she could have had had it not been for some stupid mistakes in the past. It caused her heartstrings to wrench painfully, almost snapping from the strain of keeping herself together. With a thump Ariane dragged the trunk over the threshold and onto the half-full train, looking around for the direction towards the end of the carriage. She wanted to find herself a quiet area for solace, where she could think in peace… even if her thoughts were not at all peaceful. Aggressively yanking her trunk after her, Ariane decided the right direction was to the left, and proceeded to head that way. A few people passed her, gave her the usual curious yet fearful look, and left her alone. Ariane didn’t bother acknowledging them; she knew their names, and even some more about a few of them, but that did not mean she had ever spoken to them; she intended to keep it that way too.
Ariane had to halt though when a gaggle of giggling second year Ravenclaw girls skipped towards her. She almost groaned inwardly as she saw them fast approaching along the narrow hallway, and so very tactfully squeezed inside one of the compartments without looking in first. She watched warily, displeasure a telltale sign on her face as the half a dozen happy girls passed by, almost like a stampede, yet leaving a trail of odd sweet scents rather than dust in their wake. Relieved that the danger obstacle had passed by, Ariane looked around to whose carriage she had invaded so rudely. She planned on apologising if anyone was even there, but there was only a trunk by the window, meaning someone had been here, captured the compartment for themselves, before leaving it to be easily sabotaged or overtaken. Ariane shook her head disagreeably, then turned to open the door. She was just stepping out of it when she walked right into someone trying to enter the compartment; her head hit the person’s shoulder – a boy, it had to be from the robes and the stature (if Ariane hit his shoulder, she doubted at such a height it would be a girl). She didn’t make a sound as she hit him, since the contact wasn’t so painful; merely a graze on her cheek. The alarm of the suddenness of it did cause her to drop her trunk though; it landed with a thump behind her, and she almost fell over it as it scraped the back of her shoes. However, she quickly balanced herself as she grabbed the frame of the door. Once sure she wasn’t about to keel over, Ariane gathered herself and looked up in annoyance to see who the person she had bumped into was. She planned on apologising, but that did depend on who it was – it could have been Tristan, for all Ariane knew. Not that she wanted and planned on seeing that Slytherin anytime soon, oh no.
However, upon looking up, Ariane did recognise the face staring down, but it did not belong to Tristan; it was Jez Cuthbert, a troublesome jerk in her year and house. Great. Just what Ariane needed, she groaned inwardly, her face still rather steely. She had never really spoken to Jez before, but from what she had witnessed and heard about him from other people’s conversations, he wasn’t the type to blend into the background like whitewashed walls. Oh no. It seemed Jez quite liked the limelight and attention trouble brought. He was always being reprimanded by the teachers. This in itself had caused Ariane to steer clear of Jez and his mischievous ways. Some of the pranks she had heard of sounded downright horrible; not better than Tristan filming other people’s humiliations. The thought left Ariane scowling angrily, and before she knew it, she muttered a rather unfelt ‘sorry’ under her breath, picked up her trunk, and tried to stalk past Jez’s taller figure. Now wasn’t the time to be wasted being blocked by some annoying guy in her year. Ariane needed to find herself some lone compartment at the back of the train so she didn’t keep having stupid encounters such as these. Jez however continued to stand in her way, and out of low patience and increasing irritation levels, Ariane looked up and almost snapped at him, but held her tongue. Her eyes flashed her evident anger though, held tightly on a short leash right now. She just knew, looking at Jez, that he would annoy her even more if he opened his mouth, and hoped she could get past him without more hassle. “Excuse me.” She finally ground out testily, eyes staring straight into a pair she didn’t really recognise.
