~Strike a Match (Celyn)

[Verity Bromley]

Verity stood at the edge of the lake with a letter in her hand. It was from her father saying he would cut her off from her weekly allowance if she didn’t come home immediately for his next wedding. She hadn’t read it thoroughly, skimmed it until she got to the part about him cutting her off. So what? She had enough money saved up for a shop of her own. Hell, she had enough money saved up for a mansion of her own. She didn’t need him. She didn’t need anyone. Verity couldn’t remember why she had come out to the lake in the first place, only that it had still been bright outside. Now, the sun was setting. She took a moment to take in the beauty of it: a mesh of reds and oranges and pinks that met at the edge of the lake.

Verity pulled her eyes away from the breath-taking landscape. She held the letter crumpled in her hand and poked around in her bag. “Where is it?” She muttered to herself. Finally, she found her wand. It was at the bottom of her bag, which is why she hardly ever kept it in there. She pointed the tip of her wand to a corner of her paper and set it on fire. There was a great deal of satisfaction to burning the letter. She blew the flamed on her wand out and tucked it back into her bag. It was as if she burned it then it was taken care of. The landscape caught her eye once more. She couldn’t help but to stare at it as it slowly disappeared into the night. Carelessly, Verity had let the flame on the paper reach her fingertips. “Ouch!” She said and dropped the paper into the lake. She examined her finger, the burn wasn’t bad. In fact, you could hardly even tell it was burned by looking at it, but the sting was terrible. Verity cursed under her breath.

[Celyn Corvus]

Just a glance and she hadn't realized that she was not alone. Celyn was making her way from the forbidden forest; too dark to see anything and she thought it was night. It dawned on her that the sun was somewhat still out and the mesh of color in the sky was worth leaving the forest for.

Her moments of silence were disturbed by the sound of papers and books, someone was looking through their bag. Finally surveying the lake she realized there was someone else there. Celyn decided it would be best to just walk by the girl and pretend like she was nonexistent. Looking ahead she walked to the castle, head looking straight ahead and sketchbook casually in her arms. When she reached the girl the unmistakable smell of burnt paper greeted her. Celyn wasn't going to stop until the sound of ouch came and Celyn turned to look at the girl. "You alright?" she wanted to bite back the words; she should have walked on, but what was said was said.

[Verity Bromley]

"I'm fine." Verity barked. She didn't bother looking up to see who it was that was speaking to her. She blew on her finger as if somehow that would stop the stinging. She had assumed that whoever it was that spoke to her had moved on by now, but when she looked up the girl was still there. Verity heaved a sigh, suddenly feeling ashamed that her manners escaped her. "I'm sorry," She apologized. "That was rude of me." She dropped her hand to her side, realizing that the more she messed with it, the more it stung. Verity decided to give it another go. "I'm fine, it was just a careless mistake." She said gesturing to her fingers. Verity hadn't heard the girl walk up to her and she hadn't seen where she came from. She assumed most students would be inside for dinner, but wasn't surprised that some had wandered outside to enjoy the nice weather.

[Celyn Corvus]

Celyn was unfazed. About to turn and leave the girl looked up and she was rooted to the spot. "Lemme see." she stuck her hand out and pulled out her wand. She could use a spell like Episkey, but that was mostly for injuries such as cuts and perhaps a very tiny fracture. It would work, but it would be too 'strong' for this sort of thing.Celyn did not acknowledge the apology, but this little act was somewhat of an acceptance.

[Verity Bromley]

"I'm fine, really," Verity insisted. She couldn't believe how much of a baby she was being. She was probably over-exaggerating the pain, anyways. Right now, she just needed a distraction. If her finger was still bothering her later, she could fix it herself. "I can hardly even feel it." Verity said hoping to make it sound convincing with a small smile. Play with fire and you might get burned... Her father's words echoed in her head. For once, he was right, even if it wasn't exactly how he had meant it. Verity held up her finger in front of her. "See? It's fine." She insisted again. Before the girl could look any closer, Verity tucked her hand behind her back. She wasn't one to accept help, usually. It wasn't that she was trying to be rude, but more that she was just stubborn.

[Celyn Corvus]

Celyn barely glanced at the wound and shrugged. She tucked her wand away in her sleeve. If this girl didn't want help Celyn wasn't going to insist or use force. "If you like the sensation then whatever floats your boat." it was that easy for her. Celyn herself liked to do things herself and refused help so it didn't offend her that this girl was the same. Celyn was almost gifted when it came to charms, something she got from her dad. It was mostly healing charms she was really good at, all because her dad was a healer.

Her eyes moved down to the girls robes and the silver and green Slytherin symbol shone in the dark. Anyone else would have thought it was the reason why this girl refused; Celyn knew better.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity could feel the girl’s eyes burning a hole through her robes. It only took her a brief glance to recognize where the Blue and Silver came from: Ravenclaw. Many Slytherins would frown upon the fact that Verity hadn’t turned and walked away from the girl and walked off by now. Slytherins and Ravenclaws didn’t usually get along. Well, Slytherins didn’t really get along with any of the other houses. In all the schools Verity had been shipped off to, each one seemed to have their own cliques and rivals. She had only heard rumors of the rivalry between the houses at Hogwarts, but hadn’t actually witnessed it for herself. With lack of anything better to say, Verity introduced herself. “I’m Verity.” She offered. It wasn’t too formal or icy, but plain and simple.

[Celyn Corvus]

Celyn glance down very briefly at her own robes. Yes, Slytherins didn't get along with many, but Ravenclaws were able to relax around Slytherins. Ravenclaws were knows for their intelligence, not necessarily meaning they were nice. Some Ravenclaws she believed should have been in Slytherin instead. Mentally shaking her head, she knew it wasn't always true and following such stereotypes was stupid. "I'm Celyn."

[/color] her tone mirroring Verity's. "So how did you manage to get hurt."[/b] she did smell burnt paper, but she sure as hell didn't see anything so she couldn’t assume it was a burn.[/blockquote]

[Verity Bromley]

Verity’s eyes darted to the lake, but all remains of the burnt letter had vanished. The last thing she wanted was to talk about that letter. Since she burned it, it was gone forever and no longer her problem. But since the girl, excuse me, Celyn asked, Verity replied, “I was burning something.” Well, that was obvious, she added: “A letter.” It wasn’t all that important. In fact, it seemed ridiculous and a tad melodramatic the more Verity thought about it, but it was satisfying. “It was a careless mistake.” She waved it off with the hand that wasn’t burnt. “You’re in Ravenclaw.” She stated with a nod of her head. “Have you been at Hogwarts long?” She knew Hogwarts gets new students nearly every week, like her.

[Celyn Corvus]

"And you Slytherin."

[/b] it was merely a statement, nothing bad about Slytherins. "I've been in Hogwarts since first year."[/b] it had been six lovely years of Hogwarts. The occasional acquaintance, a friend that only stayed around for a bit before Celyn distanced herself from them it had been the same for six years. "You on the other hand are new."[/b] she could tell, Celyn did not recognize the girls friend and if Celyn didn't know a person by name their face may be recognizable.[/blockquote]

[Verity Bromley]

Verity was caught off guard. Yes, she was new to the school, but how could Celyn tell? Had she been spying on Verity?”I transferred to Hogwarts a couple of weeks ago.” Verity confirmed. She said it slowly, suspiciously. She suddenly felt uneasy. What if she was being spied on? It's not like she had anything to hide.

Had it only been a month since Verity got to Hogwarts?? It felt like so much more like a year. She had fallen into a routine easily enough: Class, schoolwork, sleep, class, schoolwork… “How did you know?” Verity asked curiously. The school was so big, she couldn’t imagine being able to recognize everyone, even if she had been there for years. It didn’t help that Verity’s memory was horrible and she was never good with remembering who anyone was.

[Celyn Corvus]

Celyn didn't pay attention to the look Verity was giving her, she didn't even care. "There are always new students in Hogwarts. I guessed."

[/b] that and the schools population seemed to have decreased, it wasn't hard to spot a new student in a tiny mass of older ones. "I'm good with faces."[/b] she drew and on many occasions did she have to remember someones face to be able to draw them later. Sometimes she was surprised with how well she could get some of the details the rest she left for her imagination."You like it here?"[/b][/blockquote]

[Verity Bromley]

Verity shrugged. It was school, there was work. It was a simple and dreadfully boring life. “I guess so.” She said plainly. There wasn’t anything wrong about Hogwarts, but there wasn’t anything that made it stand out, either. She longed for something exciting to do. So far, she had only met two other people besides Celyn: that kid from the forest, the one with the cards, and Jamie, who was far too stubborn for her own taste. Well, at least Jamie was fun to mess with. “The teachers seem pretty laid back,” At least the ones she had met so far, “and the other students seem nice.” Granted she had only met two and one was an a~. He wasn’t mean, just an annoyance.

[Celyn Corvus]

"Teachers, I wasn't aware we had any."

[/color] she was being sarcastic. Seriously, when was the last time she actually went to class? Celyn was sure that before the Spring Break she barely attended classes and her grades weren't getting any worse or better. "Some are alright, some are a pain in the as* and some..." some she wanted to just backhand. Mostly the Ravenclaws who saw themselves as above those who didn't get as good grades. "Nothing fun to do here anymore. When I was in my younger years the school was crawling with students."[/b][/blockquote]

[Verity Bromley]

Verity couldn't imagine Hogwarts being crawling with students, but probably because she had never seen it that way. Out of all the schools she had been to it was neither the smallest nor the largest. "I was talking to someone the other day who was telling me about a night club nearby." Verity remembered suddenly. She couldn't remember the name of it, though. She had hoped to check it out sometime, but never did. Verity had visited Hogsmeade once during her time at Hogwarts. It was briefly and she didn't look too closely at it. It looked like it was mostly cafes and candy shops, not really her scene.