Prima Mossa (First Move) - OPEN (Empty Classroom)

[Ocean Abbott]

So far Hogwarts had been decent. When Ocean's mother and father suggested transferring he had been against it. He was comfortable in Virginia. He had a dance teacher that meshed with him. The man was talented. Not talented enough for mom and dad though.

As he thought, Ocean tucked his white tank into the band of his black leggings. He pulled out a worn pair of ballet slippers, not his toe slippers. Dancing en pointe held no appeal at the moment. Fifteen, almost sixteen and his parents still didn't listen to him.

Even if attending Hogwarts meant on weekends and afternoons he could attend the Royal Ballet School, he had been against it. Ballet was life, love, the flow of the world, Ocean thought as he slipped his faded black slippers on. At a young age his parents had known. It just made sense; ballet and Ocean.

Ocean set his wand out of the way after a quick flick to start a musical beat in the empty classroom he had found. Practiced. Assured. Ocean didn't need a barre any longer to warm up with plies. Thoughts crowded as Ocean began the familiar routine, stretching his joints, bending.

He was good. Everyone said so. Everyone knew so when they saw him. In Virginia he was the creme of the ballet world. Mom and Dad said he needed to expand. As he felt his muscles expand and contract he couldn't help a smirk, he did that just fine.

Other forms of dance were fun as well. He didn't limit his options. If Ocean was honest with himself he would know that he still wanted to remain the creme of his world. He was adjusted to that. Now he would have to start again.

Thought fled his mind as the stretches turned into more, the music beat against his mind and his limbs flowed with it. He felt strong. Male. The music demanding it as he executed a jump. Ocean didn't care who saw him. This was elemental. His element.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity had been at Hogwarts for a few months now and she was still getting lost. She wasn't used to having to know where she was going. Usually by this time she was already being pulled out of one school and put in another. She was lucky enough to be able to stay in the same school for one month let alone three or four. This time was different. She had taken control, even if it meant being cut off by her father. She had the Three Broomsticks now, which was almost ready to open. Verity had been so lost in her thoughts, that she hadn't realized where she was going. It wasn't until she saw something out of the corner of her eye fly through the air that she was pulled away from her thoughts.

Verity walked over to a door that wasn't open all of the way and glanced in. It looked like a room that used to be a classroom and in it was a boy with blonde hair. He was, indeed, flying through the air. She recognized the steps instantly, but couldn't remember the last time she saw them executed so gracefully. The boy looked like he was at peace and perfectly content. He was definitely a ballet dancer if she ever saw one. Verity used to dance, but ballet was never her favorite. She wasn't as graceful as the others and she had to work too much to improve her arch.

Verity stood, leaning against the doorframe, for a little bit longer. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. It was like he was dancing because it was a part of him. It seemed so natural. Verity started to move as if she were leaving, but she hit the door by accident and it let out a loud creak. Oh no. Verity didn't want to be caught spying, but it was too late. "Oh my," She said. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...erm...spy. I should go." She said, her eyes wide.

[Ocean Abbott]

A creak of a door was not enough to disturb the peace that was found when Ocean focused like this. It was the talking. Not the first word, or the second. The string of words penetrated through what he was doing. Aware of what a misstep could bring he let go of the focus and slowly unwound.

As he stepped slowly through a few loose steps, he allowed himself to face her. The music died away. He shook his hair out of his face. Only to have it fall back. A half grin spread across his face. "Don't worry about it." His arms moved to keep muscles loose. A lack of a wind down would lead to sore muscles. His eyes held a silent glitter of good nature. "I was dancing in a classroom. Anyone could have walked in. I always hope someone does."

[Verity Bromley]

Verity stood up straight and realized that she probably could have turned and walked away before the guy even noticed she was there. Nevertheless, a smile spread across her lips. It was nice to have someone not yelling at you about privacy and whatnot when they’re in a public place. If it had been anyone else in that room, Verity was sure that they wouldn’t have been as friendly as this guy was being.

“That was beautiful.” Verity said. Even if ballet wasn’t her favorite dance to perform, she enjoyed watching it. She was still fazed by how graceful his movements were; as if he was being lifted across the room by air.

[Ocean Abbott]

Ocean couldn't help a smile. Ingrained or not. He liked praise. "I try." He reached for a towel he had on the floor. Stretching his legs along the way. He rubbed the towel along his face. Through his hair. Damp strands straying from their normally styled path. He walked closer to the girl. "I've been dancing since I was three. Classical mostly. Some newer things too."

[Verity Bromley]

Verity took a step into the room so she wasn’t awkwardly standing in the doorframe. “I started to dance when I was four, but it’s been about a year since I actually danced.” Verity said. It was sudden very obvious how much she missed it. “I was trained classically until I was fourteen. Then, I realized how much I hated ballet and loved contemporary.” It was a freer style, in her opinion. Ballet was too technical. Maybe it was the fact that because she was never really that good at ballet that pushed her away from it and she wasn’t willing to work hard enough to improve as much as she needed to. “I was never as graceful as you are.” She said nodding.

[Ocean Abbott]

A whole year. Her skills would have declined. Possibly to the point of not dancing professionally. If she had been that good. "I'm not dancing neoclassical ballet. I dance contemporary ballet." Ocean scrunched his face. "No tutus for me please." He tossed his rag back at his regular shoes. "I transferred to Hogwarts for ballet. So I could attend the Royal Ballet Academy. On weekends. After classes. Expanding my ballet vocabulary." Ocean knew he was graceful. Years of work had ensured that.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity raised her an eyebrow. The Royal Ballet Academy. She was impressed, to say the least. Her lips curved into a playful smile. "That's a lot to take on." She observed. She had heard about the Royal Ballet Academy and she knew they didn't waste time with people they didn't think had a shot at dancing professionally. "I'm Verity," She offered, her cheeks reddened a little as she realized that she should have introduced herself sooner. "I'm a transfer, too." Only, I transferred because I had no choice, she added silently. She wasn't as upset about it as she thought she would be. Hogwarts was turning out to be a good experience. Especially now that she had the Three Broomsticks.

[Ocean Abbott]

"Ocean. And it's not so much. I've been training all my life. My dream. I've only got till I'm thirty. Then I'll be too old." Thirty was the cap for entering dance. Most dancers moved on by then. If you got lucky. And Ocean hoped he would. You could stay in dance until forty. Again not many people did.

[Verity Bromley]

At first, Verity didn’t catch his name and he was confused about why he was talking about oceans. Instead of pondering on that thought too much, Verity moved on. She had heard that once you hit thirty years old, a dancer’s body and technical skill begins to decline. She personally never imagined she would still be dancing when she was thirty. “The teacher I had for my first year on pointe had trained with the Joffrey Ballet until she was thirty-three, but she had a terrible fall one rehearsal and ended up breaking her hip.” Verity said. After she had recovered, she began working as a dance teacher.

Finally, his name caught up with her. Ocean,it was an unusual name, but it had a nice ring to it. “It’s nice to meet you, Ocean.” She said with a genuine smile.

[Ocean Abbott]

Her story wasn't unusual. That was why people stopped dancing. You just weren't the same after something like that. It was better to go out being remembered for your wonder. Ocean thought that. But he knew he'd dance as long as he had it in him. "Nice to meet you too Verity. So what are you doing wandering the halls? Peeping into empty classrooms? Or was I special." Ocean knew how to flirt. He liked flirting.

[Verity Bromley]

A smile spread across Verity's lips and her eyes gleamed. "I was trying to figure out how to get out of this place." She answered. "That's one of the downsides here, this castle is like a maze. Not to mention all of the corridors look exactly the same." She added. "Where are you from?" Verity asked curiously. It was a question that had been burning in the back of her mind. His accent was different and she couldn't quite place it at the moment. It certainly didn't sound like he was from England.

[Ocean Abbott]

"Virginia. Fairfax County. If that means something. I'm used to confusing corridors. I've lived in a city my entire life." Ocean glanced around the room. "Actually this school freaks me out. It's way to quiet." Ocean turned on a goofy grin. "I'm only used to that in my dancing. It's supposed to be loud elsewhere. I keep thinking of sneaking into another house. Just to see if they're more active."

[Verity Bromley]

Verity laughed. "I doubt you'll find much difference. At least in Slytherin, most people tend to pick their fights with everyone else who isn't a Slytherin." It was pretty quiet in the dorms and Common Room. However, Verity found herself walking in on fights between Slytherins and Gryffindors, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins and Ravenclaws more and more often anywhere outside of the Common Room. Verity had been to the United States once for about a month when she was fourteen. Her father's wife at the time had sent her to a school there, but she wasn't impressed. She never had a chance to go to Virginia and she wondered if it was as pretty there as some of the other states she got to see. "I know what you mean, though. I imagined Hogwarts would be a lot bigger and busier before I came here. Instead, it seems like there's enough space in the place for each student to have their own wing."

[Ocean Abbott]

"I didn't choose Hogwarts. My parents did. I was happy where I was." He shrugged. "The Royal Ballet Academy is worth it. I suppose." He looked around. "I miss noise." He cocked a crooked grin. "I miss being the center of a group of friends." His eyes implied that she could be his first friend. You had to start somewhere.