My Sanctuary (Open)

Guest

From the moment Roxanne stepped foot into the Ravenclaw Tower, the common room with all of it's blue and bronze colors, with all of the bookshelves filled to the brim, with all of the warmth in it, had been her sanctuary just to get away from the general populace of Hogwarts, most of whom tended to get on her nerves, at least those from her year.

Only that year Roxanne had realised just how much more mature she was than her other thirteen-year-old peers and she knew that the blame lay in her Father who had to make her mature due to the dangerous job that their family was involved in. As a young child, for the first couple of years it had been expected of her to make mistakes, to fumble and stumble through the curtsies, the bows and greetings but as soon as she turned six she went from a young toddler wobbling about to a pre-teen who needed to watch what she was saying and doing lest she insult her father's acquaintances.

It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would but the Förstner Heiress all the more sulked in her own private time, complaining silently to herself about her maturity; yet she still didn't blame her father, not really. Her protection and understanding was what he worried about the most and if that meant that she would grow up quicker than the rest than so be it.

Inside this common room, with all of her fellow Ravenclaws, was where Roxy could be herself; she could be a mischevious, immature thirteen-year-old as much as she liked, taunting, pranking and generally making chaos. Outside of these walls though she was expected to act proper as befitting of her status though she rarely did that, only when time really called for it did she let her proper Pureblood Heiress persona shine through and only when she thought it was needed.

In this room, though, Roxanne relaxed for the first time in the past eight hours, in the past eight hours in which she had literally been as stiff as a board, smiling and charming the people around her just so that they would leave her alone and in peace.

Flopping down on the couch in the room, Roxanne placed her arm over her eyes and silently mused to herself that things were certainly going to get worse before they got better.

Guest

Serenity yawned to herself as she stepped into her common room, glancing around at the small handful of people there and hiding a wince. It had been a bad day all around. First, she accidentally had a prophecy in the middle of the class, resulting in Tammie having to drag her out before anyone could realise she was sprouting riddles in a low, dispassionate voice that rasped and creaked like something far too old was inside her and trying to get out.

The rest of her afternoon was spent at the Ministry, sorting out the logistics of getting the prophecy recorded and stored away, making sure she was alright, ensuring nobody had overheard -- and, if anyone had, that they were brought to the Ministry for a debriefing. After all, if a prophecy was shared around before its meaning had been properly deciphered, it could cause wide spread panic; sometimes they sounded far more ominous than it actually was.

After hours of tedious but necessary Ministry protocol, Serenity was allowed back to school. Her excuse was the same; she had fallen sick and went to visit the hospital wing. It was a story that made the most sense, and yet somehow Serenity doubted that everyone believed; but the ministry said to use that line, and Serenity would not argue with the people who raised her, and so it was this exact lie that she dutifully repeated over and over.

To make matters worse, after a prophecy, her abilities seemed to double in intensity, and for almost every class afterwards, she had vision after vision of those sitting around her. From the birth of sisters to the most recent fight with a best friend, Serenity had to act like she hadn't just seen some very private things and go about her day as any normal student would.

Now, hours after the incident and with classes for the day finally over, she could attend to the headache that had only grown worse as the minutes ticked by. It was a side effect of getting overwhelmed, and she didn't even bother to try and make it to her room, collapsing into the nearest armchair with an audible sigh and massaging her temples. Next to her, Tammie stood guard, holding out a cup of tea she'd somehow managed to conjure up; Serenity accepted it with a nod of thanks. It wasn't much, but it would help.

Guest

Roxanne's bad day started from finding out that her grandmother had fallen ill and was currently at St Mungo's with the Healers not sure what was going on and trying to keep her alive, but the woman was proving to be resilient and didn't let her illness overtake her. Then she had been involved in an incident between a Slytherin and a Gryffindor who had decided that pulling her into the argument was better than saying they were wrong, she had been close to pulling her wand out and cursing the both of them with boils before literally verbally flaying them and coldly asking them to just get over the sexual tension between them before she walked off in a huff.

Thankfully her classes had gone okay, no people annoying her and no people pulling her metaphorical pigtails as many people could see she was annoyed. After lessons, she had pretty much just barricaded herself in the library where only people who knew her could find her; the librarian liked her so she put up a repelling ward around her desk for the day.

Now as she sat on the couch, musing on her third year at Hogwarts, her magic seemed to vibrate when someone sat on the armchair near her. Slitting one eye open, she stared at the ginger-haired female, a tilt of her head as she curiously watched. She knew this girl was a first year, she could remember her sorting clearly that year, but the way the female looked seemed as if she had a worse day than she did.

"You look like death warmed over Newman." Unless she was given specific permission, Roxanne tended to use a person's last name when speaking to them.

Guest

Eyes closed and breathing in the comforting scent of firewood burning and parchment that drifted through the air from all the books on the shelves nearby, Serenity sunk further into the couch, wanting to curl up into a ball and go straight to sleep. But it wasn't even dinner time yet, and she also wanted food. Wondering if Tammie would allow her to just get something from the kitchens and then go to bed early, she was about to ask the house elf when a nearby female spoke, catching her attention.

Turning towards the fellow Ravenclaw, Serenity took a moment to place her name. Roxanne... something. It was a foreign last name -- German, if she remembered the whispers around the common room -- and not one she knew how to pronounce.

Averting her gaze so it fell not on the female but the couch beside her, Serenity managed a somewhat smile. No, I've seen death, and this isn't close, she thought, just barely hiding a shudder. There were some vision that she never wanted to see again but, just like the rest, would never be able to forget. She let out a shaky breath, exhausted from the day and hating to be reminded of things she's Seen, whether that was Roxanne's intention or not.

"I'll be okay," she said, not wanting to lie and say she was fine, but not wanting to draw too much attention to herself. "I'm always okay," she added, almost as an afterthought. "You can also call me Serenity, if you want. There's no need to be formal. I'm not someone who's particular."

Pausing, she swallowed as a wave of sheer exhaustion washed over her, spilling out from the Ravenclaw. "You're not," she said, before she could think about it. "Okay, I mean. You're not okay."

Guest

Roxanne stared at her fellow ginger-haired female, her brows furrowed and her lips pursed as she stared at the eleven-year-old, an arched brow clearly indicating that she didn't actually believe a word of what Serenity said but the German student was willing to give the girl the benefit of doubt so she just nodded her head and smiled lightly.

She didn't know what was wrong with her fellow female, she had no idea if she did want to know but her magic felt chaotic, somehow making Roxanne's own mourn for whatever reason and it just made the Förstner Heiress frown; she'd have to floo her father and ask why her magic was like that. It only started acting up like that at the beginning of this year and she needed to know why.

"Roxanne." She returned when Serenity told her she could call her by her first name. "It's nice to meet you Serenity." The young girl made Roxanne remember her first year where for the first couple of months she had been unable to make many friends because people hated her foreign status as a German.

"..." Roxanne didn't even bother denying that but she did arch her brow in question as to how Serenity knew she wasn't okay but then again it wasn't her business.

Guest

As the other Ravenclaw offered her name, Serenity merely nodded. It was another name among many that she had learnt during her time there, and chances were she wouldn't have a chance to use it much; not many people stuck around. Why, she wasn't sure, nor did she particularly want to know. Perhaps it was because she was different, or maybe it was another reason altogether. All Serenity knew was that, more likely than not, Roxanne would just be a name of someone that talked to her once or twice and never again.

When there was no verbal reply, Serenity dared to glance up just a little more. That was her first mistake; her second was not looking away immediately. There was a image that flashed across her vision. An elderly lady in a bed of sorts, a Healer walking past. "We're not sure... echoed faintly in the distance, like a bad syncing of a video.

Then it was finally over, and Serenity blinked herself back to awareness, finding Tammie already at her side, one of the elf's hands on her knee. "Serenity okay?" the house elf asked, and she nodded.

"Fine. I'm fine," she murmured, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself. Tammie gave her a quick look over and then nodded, moving back to the couch nearest to Serenity and sitting, not taking her gaze off the Ravenclaw for a moment.

Taking a few breaths to steady herself, Serenity looked over at Roxanne and the emotions she felt from earlier suddenly made sense. "I'm sorry," Serenity said softly. "But she's very strong, your grandmother. I think she'll make it." This last part had been more intuition than anything, but Serenity could never be certain what was being Said and what was just her wanting to offer comfort.

Guest

Roxanne didn't have many friends and those that she did have either wanted something from her father or something from her which just made the Ravenclaw annoyed beyound belief though she didn't care to point it out to anyone that she knew their real reasons; she knew that with her German heritage and her father, it was bound to bring trouble when she came to Hogwarts but at least it wouldn't touch her so much until she turned fifteen at least.

The ginger-haired female sat up, rubbing the bridge of her nose and letting her eyes fall close as she grimaced at the headache that was slowly forming; she had been much too annoyed that day and the exhustion that hit her wasn't actually helping her either. It just made everything worse.

When she heard the house elf Roxanne jerked her head up and narrowed her eyes upon the younger girl, criticly eyeing her up and down to make sure that the first year really was alright; she remembered herself when she was that age and she didn't want anyone's help, much less someone whom she didn't know.

Just as she was about to ask Serenity what she apologized for, the next sentence made Roxanne jerk in her seat violiently as she stared at the younger girl.

"But she's very strong, your grandmother. I think she'll make it."

"How..?" She choked out, her eyes wide and her lips parted open. How did Serenity know? No-one knew about her grandmother being at the hospital and the words from Serenity implied that the younger girl knew. She had a feeling she knew how Serenity knew but she chose to keep her mouth shut and not say anything about it.

Guest

Serenity knew what she was doing. She'd learnt, by then, what was considered appropiate and what wasn't; of course, she still messed up at times, when she wasn't concentrating. This wasn't one of those times. She was so... tired of having to hide, of seeing things and not being able to speak, that the barely-existant part of her that wanted to throw caution to the wind and just live a little, as Sophia had told her.

Perhaps this isn't right, the more conscious part of her brain said as soon as the words left her lips. Judging from the expression of the older Ravenclaw, Serenity had to agree. What was wrong with her? She knew she wasn't supposed to go around talking about the things she Saw, and yet it had felt so... so good to not have to hide.

She would deal with these questions and thoughts later. For now, she had to deal with Roxanne. "You told me," she answered, softly. Sure, it hadn't been a verbal telling, but the vision she got was one that Roxanne had been thinking about earlier (or at least, that's what Serenity assumed) and as such it was almost as though she had. "You showed me," Serenity corrected. "I Saw it. And I think she's going to be fine."

Pausing, she tilted her head a little. "But that's not all you're not alright about. What's wrong?" There, underlying all the weight she already had on her shoulders, was compassion and care that could not be rooted out no matter how hard logic and fear might try. And Serenity, despite being twelve, knew that sometimes all someone needed was another human to listen. She might not have known how to be there for someone, having no real role models in this area, but she could darn well try.

Guest

Roxanne wasn't dumb or stupid; she knew the moment that Serenity told her about her grandmother being okay that the second year was a Seer of some kind. It would be impossible for her to know her grandmother would be okay, not to mention Roxanne would've felt if anyone brushed against her shields to check her mind; she was a fairly good Occlumens, all thanks to her father really who had her learn to shield her mind from a young age.

"You're a Seer." Roxanne murmured softly as she eyed the young girl and the House Elf not too far from the child. No wonder the House Elf was here then; even though she may not know much about Seer's Roxy knew fairly well how Seer's and their prophecies worked. "A fairly young one but a Seer nonetheless."

As she listened to Serenity, she felt a small smile appear on her lips when she was told that her grandmother would be alright. Oh, she had no doubt she would be fine but it felt good to actually hear that from someone who could See it.

The thirteen-year-old female pressed a finger to her lips and hummed softly, her head tilting to the side as she wondered how to answer that question. It's not that she wasn't alright, it's more like she was annoyed with some of the constant nagging she kept getting from older and bolder students who knew exactly who her father was and what he did. "Nothing is wrong per se." She started softly. "More like I'm just annoyed because people don't know how to keep their mouths shut."

Guest

There really wasn't much for Serenity to say or do. She'd broken one of the most important warnings she'd received from both Aunt Sally and the Ministry, and she wondered for a moment if Tammie would tell on her. But the house elf, while nearby, seemed to have heeded no attention to her conversation, and Serenity felt a small ounce of relief. It wasn't as though in this particular moment she cared about it; no, she was too exhausted to think of the consequences.

Besides, there was something about Roxanne that read as trustworthy. Serenity didn't expect anything other than sharpness from her housemate, and as Roxanne spoke, Serenity nodded once. "Yes," she said, simply. "I am."

A few moments passed while she mulled over what Roxanne said, thinking over her words before responding as she usually did. "I don't think age has anything to do with what we do. We're born with these abilities, so if I'm five or if I'm sixty, I can't control what I See or what I prophesy about. The only difference with age is that we become better at understanding what we See." She paused. "I'm twelve. That means I don't get a lot of it, because sometimes it's adult problems."

Waiting patiently for the girl to speak, Serenity's mind wandered to all the times she couldn't tell someone what she saw or had to pretend she hadn't Seen horrible, horrible things, because it wasn't 'proper' or 'right'. It felt good to be honest and upfront without worry; after all, she hadn't revealed anything bad had she?

As Roxanne started talking, Serenity switched her attention back, nodding at the words to show she was listening -- but what that meant, she wasn't quite sure. So, a very light frown on her features, she said, "Do you mind explaining what you mean?"

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