Stuck With You (Lette)

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer walked quickly, as he was leaving the Common Room. While the Common Room for Slytherin was under the lake, it wasn’t that long of a walk to get back to the castle. It was sort of gloomy, however he was used to it. Even if he wasn’t the standard equivalent of every Slytherin at Hogwarts, he had the makings of a good student, as far as he knew. No, he wasn’t as studious as those Ravenclaws, but he liked to think that if there was any other house for him, it would be Gryffindor. He was the loyal and brave type, but the sorting hat had seen his tendency to have a pretty bad temper, and placed him in his destined House. He reached the stairs and realized that if he didn’t hurry up, he would be late for group assignments in Astronomy, the elective he had decided to take this year. Astronomy was a subject that he had always been interested in, and it was his seventh year, so it was the last time he’d have a chance to take it. Professor Constance Valencia had always been kind to Valmer, and he saw her wandering the halls from time to time between classes. They had struck up conversations about astronomy a few times, and each time, the professor had challenged Valmer to find something new to bring to her next time.

Taking the steps two at a time, Valmer had to keep a handle on the buckle that kept his books together. He didn’t need them to fall between the cracks in the stairs. Of course, with a flick of his wand, he could summon the book right back to himself. As he had learned more and more spells and charms, he realized how easy he could make his life, by just implementing them into his every day routine. The thing was though, Valmer felt sort of disconnected each time he did that, so he tried his best to not have to use charms and spells any time he saw necessary. He only used them when absolutely needed. Some might ask why, but Valmer felt he didn’t need to explain himself. Today would have been a good day to apparate to class, so he wouldn’t have been late, but since there were some pretty heavy spells on the school, he couldn’t do that. It would have made the walk unnecessary, but at times he liked walking. It made him feel more normal, even if he was a pure blood and had grown up with magic in his life at all times. He turned the corner, realizing the classroom for Astronomy was right by the entrance to the passageway to the Common Room.

The classroom was already buzzing with chatter from other students, and he waved to the few he knew. This would be an interesting class, since he didn’t really know anyone. Walking in, he saw chalk writing on the board, finishing up the instructions for the day’s class. The board read, “In the event of Miss Valencia’s absence today, you will be assigned a group assignment from your Astronomy books, and are expected to do the assignment in its entirety. Look for a slip of paper with your name on it at the desk when you walk in. The name on the opposite side of the paper is your partner for the assignment on page 460. No one may leave until their assignment is complete.” Looking down at the slips of paper on the desk, he grabbed one and made his way to the middle of the room. “Violette Silva,” he said out loud, not comprehending who could hear him. He didn’t know who this person was, but she had quite the interesting name. He began to look around the room, trying to find who this person could be. Maybe she wouldn’t show up, and he could just do the assignment quickly by himself. He stood there, with his back turned to the door, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, wondering who knew him.

[Violette Silva S6]

"Did not result in desired effects." Lette sighed and sat back in her seat, her eyes looking over her notes for potions. She didn't know where she was going wrong, but her potion wasn't turning out the way she had wanted it to. Perhaps Snape had made it so the assignment would purposely turn out incorrectly. Or perhaps Lette just needed a break. She sighed and set her quill down, her gaze travelling to the clock floating around the library. Well, she wouldn't exactly be receiving a break – but her mind would be thinking about something other than potions. Normally, Violette skived astronomy off. Really, it wasn't a terribly difficult class – in fact, she hadn't been in the classroom much at all this term and she was passing it with a high grade. It was a simple class, one where she could teach herself from a book – which was precisely what she was doing. However, today Lette didn't want to think about potions and she knew that if she didn't go and busy herself with another class she would think about potions and how it wasn't turning out the way she had wanted it to. Thus, Astronomy seemed shiny and new. Lette pushed her chair from out underneath the table and stood, placing things into her messenger bag quickly before leaving the library in a brisk haste.

She didn't have much time to get from point A to point B, especially since the astronomy tower was the highest point in the castle. Lette pulled her messenger bag's strap over her head so it crossed over her chest, and she picked up speed – hurrying through the throngs of students as she weaved around the younger years, passed by those who thought they were better than others, and dodged those who were hyperactive and couldn't sit still for longer than 2 seconds. She nearly collided with a first year and a soft apology tumbled from her pink lips before she did another 90 degree turn to avoid running into a much larger student. Before they could make a comment, she hurried past them and up the stairs to the astronomy tower. She wasn't late, which was what Lette had been shooting for, but she wasn't early like she usually was for any class at all. Lette walked into the classroom and froze when she saw Valencia wasn't there at all. Just her luck. The one time she turned up to the class to actually learn and the teacher wasn't there to teach. She groaned and read the directions silently, her disappointment growing even more as her eyes devoured each word.

Group work? Violette thought as her brow furrowed. She bit her bottom lip as she folded her arms over her chest. How could Professor Valencia justify doing something so incredibly insane? It had to have been a lapse of judgment on the older woman's part. It just had to be. She was about to turn around and march right back out, return to her ever so aggravating potions assignment, when she heard her name said aloud by someone. Her violet eyes landed on a guy who was in a year above her, and instantly Violette knew she would be staying. Not because of him, for any particular reason, but because of the fact that Lette hated letting other people down – especially when her intelligence might raise their marks one point or so. He paused, looking for her presumably, and Lette found herself trying to keep down the agitation that was rearing its head at her. After a brief moment, Lette breathed in deeply and walked up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder as she cleared her throat to allow him to become aware of her presence. He turned around and she managed a fleeting smile, one that might have appeared cold and disinterested, but was really just her being awkward: "I'm Violette… I heard you, uh…" she blinked and looked at the slip of paper in his hand, "call my name. I suppose we are partners then? I mean, in this assignment, that is."

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer turned around to find a slightly shorter blonde girl looking up at him. She was attractive, and was definitely a Slytherin, as she had the correct robes on. But it was more than the robes. She had the Slytherin feel about her. It was something about the house that seemed to be exclusive to Slytherin, they had a certain aura, if you will. She smiled slightly at him, as if she had no interest in partnering with him that day, but she then introduced herself as the girl he was looking for. “Oh, hi,” he said nervously as he took her hand to shake it. Why was he shaking her hand? People didn’t do that anymore, did they? He took his hand back and shoved the paper in his robe pocket. “I’m Valmer Van Ruster. Yes, it seems we’re partners, doesn’t it? Why don’t we take a seat over here and get into that assignment?” What was wrong with him? He was never this nervous or squeamish around girls, particularly girls he had just met. Besides, he should know this girl, shouldn’t he? Unless she was a younger student. She couldn’t be that young though, since Astronomy elective was only offered to 6th and 7th years, or at least that’s what he knew. Maybe she was a brain, and had been moved up. She looked young, but not that young. Things would come out of their conversation, he was sure of it. She seemed nice enough.

He walked with Lette over to one of the larger desks and pulled his Astronomy book out from the buckle he carried. “I didn’t realize how long this book was,” he said simply. Why was it hard for him to come up with conversation with this girl? She was like everyone else, wasn’t she? She didn’t mean anything extra to him, did she? Yes, she was attractive, but that wasn’t of his concern at the moment. His attention was to be given to the assignment on page 460. But she was someone new to him, and he wanted to get to know her. “So, I don’t know you very well. Are you a younger year? I figure I would know you if you’re a 7th like me. It’s quite an interesting name too, Violette. Is there a name you go by?” He was just making simple conversation, but hopefully it would open her up a bit. “Do you know why Valencia is absent? She never misses class, and I always love listening to her teach.” Valmer needed to get out of whatever funk he was in, because Violette would see how awkward he was. While he didn’t like her like that right from the get-go, he did think she was attractive. But she was obviously out of his league, based on her looks alone. She was dressed fancy, and the robes didn’t hide that fact.

Valmer was asking too many questions. He looked up from the Astronomy book to see that they were completely alone. “Where did everyone go?” he said out loud, before he realized he said it out loud. “Guess no one cares about their education here anymore. You can go if you’d like. I’m going to stay here and get this assignment done. It doesn’t seem like too much work to do, anyway. I can just put both our names on it. Do what you like.” Everyone pretty much assumed that since Valencia wasn’t there, they didn’t need to do the work that was assigned. It appalled him that so many people would just shirk their responsibilities like that. The room was also a mess, since everyone had left their slips of paper all over the room. Pulling out his wand, he muttered to Violette, “Slobs, aren’t they?”, and sent a spell over the room, cleaning it instantly. Putting his wand away, he found the right page and showed it to Violette. “So what do you say? Are we going to get this thing done together?” It may have been an awkward situation for the two of them, since they barely knew each other and everyone had left so quickly, but Valmer hoped that she would stay and get the assignment done with him.

[Violette Silva S6]

"Okay," Lette replied with a simple shrug, moving toward the place he had mentioned earlier. She pulled her messenger bag over her head and dropped it onto the floor next to the seat she had decided to sit in. "Hmmm…" was her non-committal reply to his statement about the book being long as she pulled out her own Astronomy book. She flicked her wand and the pages turned until they were on 460 while she pulled out her ink pot and quill pen. She didn't believe in using feathered utensils. She thought it was tedious. But muggle pens weren't exactly something that wrote on parchment efficiently, thus Lette used quill pens – without feathers. "I hadn't noticed, either, I suppose." Her eyes flickered to Valmer, another fleeting smile, and she set her wand down in front of her book before settling herself in order to read the passage and to understand what the assignment was about. This boy, this Valmer, was apparently very keen on making conversation. Lette tried not to get extremely agitated, another small smile stretching across her lips for a brief moment as she flipped forward a few pages to get the feel of the assignment.

Her eyes remained on the page in front of her as she replied; "I'm a sixth year; and yes, I go by Lette." She offered no explanation about her nickname, it was rather self explanatory. It wasn't an extremely bizarre name, nor was it something that she had picked up on as a young child. Lette went by Lette because Violette sounded too formal and normally only her mother used it when she was angry at the 17 year old. Lette picked up her quill and was about to start writing when Valmer spoke again. Slowly, her gaze rolled onto him and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Before answering, she turned away and opened her messenger back again to pull out her quick quotes quill. She placed the tip on her tongue and sucked on it gently before setting it on the parchment and turning back to the assignment. "I haven't the slightest idea. I rarely set foot into this classroom. It would just absolutely figure that the one day I do decide to show up to class, she isn't here." Lette bit her bottom lip and traced a sentence with her finger before reading aloud: "The eclipse of the moon has dramatic effects on magic if the magical user is in the designated area at the designated time. Effects include, but are not limited to: spells having opposite effect, spells reversing onto the caster instead of the castee, and spells may recast themselves multiple times."

Valmer spoke again and Lette lifted her head and looked around the empty classroom, as well. She shrugged, her eyes flickering to him and then to her work again. "Hardly," Lette replied with an uninterested tone of voice, "any one at all cares about any form of school work these days. You can get ahead without the academics. You just have to know the right people." Perhaps she seemed a little bitter, but she really wasn't. She was just apathetic toward the subject. She was intelligent, and she enjoyed being intelligent. Violette looked up at Valmer sharply and she allowed a small smirk to cross her face; "Don't be idiotic. I care about my education and my marks, and while you might be studious and academically achieving, I don't allow anyone to do my work for me. Thanks, but no." Her quill had paused and she looked at it as it awaited more instruction to write, "No. There's a reason Professor Valencia wanted us to partner up for this assignment. I could handle it on my own, as I'm sure you could, as well, but… it would probably be much easier to work together; don't you think?"

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer was struck by Lette’s apparent attitude. While she didn’t seem afraid to speak her mind, she didn’t talk much. She explained that she was a year younger, and that she went by Lette, not Violette. It didn’t surprise him, as most students who had longer or more complex names went by their nicknames, or a shortened version of their name. Valmer thought about asking her what she thought of the name Vi, but decided against it when she went right into read through some of the assignment they were issued. As she read the assignment aloud, he could hear some agitation in her voice. What had he done to give her such a bad attitude? She was acting so cold to him. Well, if she was going to act this way, he could act the same way. One word answers and simple responses were easy for him. Lette explained how she barely was ever in class, and Valmer found that hard to believe. The class was difficult as it was, and he couldn’t imagine how a sixth year could be getting high marks in this kind of a class. He didn’t question it though, because he didn’t feel like giving the girl any more reason to give him such a hard time.

While Valmer was in Slytherin, he didn’t have that many tendencies of the House. However, he did have quite a bad temper when provoked, and right now, Lette was giving him a reason to let his frustration build. She finished reading the assignment, and he thought to himself. Wonder what kind of effects it might have on her. After he wondered aloud about the rest of the students leaving, and offered to do the work for the two of them, she gave him such an uninterested sounding response. “You sound bitter,” he said, not even contemplating what kind of rebuttal he might get. She then gave him another cold tone and explained how idiotic his offer sounded. Valmer didn’t appreciate this verbal abuse, but he barely knew the girl. Maybe she was the typical Slytherin and he had to get used to it. Likely that was it. Many would consider Valmer not a true Slytherin, since he rarely acted the way the rest of the House did in certain situations. He had compassion rather than judgment to offer, and he liked it that way. So what if the rest of the House decided to act that way? But Valmer definitely wasn’t comfortable with her calling him out as an idiot. “I simply thought you might end up being like the rest of the class. Plenty of people cheat, and I hoped you would actually care about your education and your marks. Good for you that you don’t allow people to do your work for you. Sorry for asking.” He said the last sentence with a bit of a cold tone, to try and give her a bit of her own medicine. While it likely wouldn’t phase her, it made Valmer feel a bit better.

“Yes,” he agreed. “I would think she paired us up for a reason.” Looking back down at the book, he read through some of the rest of the assignment. “Well, we’re supposed to observe some charms and other spells, and how they are affected during an eclipse. How are we supposed to know when the next eclipse is happening?” he said out loud, not expecting any kind of answer from Lette. She seemed totally uninterested in his presence there anyway. Reading over the assignment again, he flipped to another page, where it explained the phenomenon of eclipses. “Oh, look at this,” he said to Lette. “This section explains the patterns of how often eclipses happen. It even has the date when the last one occurred, and when the next one should happen.” Glancing at his muggle watch, which included the date, he realized why Professor Valencia had assigned this project. It was due next week. “The next eclipse is in 48 hours or so. That must be why everyone left. We can’t do any work yet, because the eclipse hasn’t happened yet. Guess we’ll just have to come up with some spells and charms to try. Any ideas?” It was a simple solution, and he was unsure if Lette was going to be friendly with him yet. One could only hope.

[Violette Silva S6]

"I sound bitter?" Lette repeated, lifting her gaze to look at Valmer. She knew she must have come across as cold, but really it was just how she was around people she didn't know, which was pretty much everyone. Lette had a side to her that was likeable, a side that people got along with very well, but she just never bothered to show that side because no one ever seemed interested. She hadn't ever tried to be sweet, or nice, unless it was naturally warranted. But the tone of voice that Valmer spoke to her nearly mirrored her own, and Lette wasn't quite sure if she liked it; "I'm not, though. Just apathetic. I suppose I come across as bitter when I'm apathetic and can't really care one way or another," she smiled, and this time it was an actual smile not one of those fleeting ones, "What can I say? It's all part of my charm…" then the awkwardness set in and Lette tucked her hair behind her ear before turning her attention back on her textbook, "Or something like that." Her eyes ran over the same sentence four times as she listened to Valmer's tone grow colder and colder. He was doing it because he was agitated. Lette had done it because she knew no other way.

Slowly, she looked at Valmer and in a soft tone of voice, not one cold nor distant, she replied: "Perhaps preconceived notions are better served elsewhere?" Lette tried not to judge other people, or think of them before getting to know them, but she also didn't really think much about other people at all. She didn't have friends that she worried about, nor did she have any significant other that occupied her mind every hour of every day. Lette was a loner, through and through. There wasn't anyone who could change that, she didn't think – though her younger brother seemed to think otherwise. He saw a soft soul in Lette, and thought that she really could find someone who made her heart skip a beat, her mind go to goo and therefore rendering her intelligence useless. She looked down again, this time to her hands which were folded gently in her lap, and tried to will herself invisible. It wasn't going to work, but it was worth a try.

"This upcoming Friday," Lette thought in answer to his question. The next lunar eclipse was on Friday night at 9:00. She found astronomy interesting, and the whole of astronomy included the lunar cycle and the lunar events. But she didn't say anything, waiting for him to find the chart in the textbook. She figured they had already gotten off on the wrong foot, she didn't need to be seen as a know-it-all on top of everything. It didn't take him long, and Lette admired that – he had the intelligence to at least find a chart. As he spoke, she began to pack up her things into her messenger bag. Spending an hour with him thinking up spells would be useless without the effects of the lunar eclipse. She might as well get her potions assignment finished. "Hmm," Lette said as she stood, closed her book and picked it up. She pushed her blonde hair over her shoulder and looked at Valmer, "I have a few ideas, but we can just whing it at the moment. So, how about we meet at the lake Friday night at 8:30 and we'll work on our assignment then? Sound okay with you? I hate to rush off, but if Valencia isn't going to be here – I might as well go and do my assignment for Snape. He's far more frightening than Valencia." Lette shuddered noticeably and then offered him another smile before bidding him farewell and turning on her heel to leave the astronomy classroom.

End of Thread.