An escape from reality (open)

Janet clicked the case open. The day had been stressful and the only thing she could think of that would help at the moment was music. Music was her welcome output most of the time unless she was running or swimming. She rolled her shoulder and cracked her neck before digging through her back for a suitable piece of music. One particular piece called out to her and she pulled it out, drawing a stand from the other side of the room to her side with her wand.

She set the music on the stand and turned back to her case and rosining her bow generously before pulling her violin from its case and sliding the shoulder rest on carefully. She stood, the instrument in one hand and bow in the other and let her eyes browse the music before she lifted her violin to her chin and took a deep breath.

She drew her bow across the string once, eyes closed and startled when she realized it was out of tune. With a small chuckle, she quickly tuned the four strings by ear and set her bow on the string once more, studying the music intently before drawing her bow once more, fingers flying across the strings as she began The Bach Chaconne in D Minor.

It was March already. Time flew by faster than the Ravenclaw witch liked. Lessons were tough, and she had to prepare for her exams, but her mind was simply not cooperating with her. She didn't know if it was the stress, or the fact that she had been spending so much time with Dimitri, that it was simply impossible not to feel something. She was trying really hard to be a good friend, and keep her feelings at bay, but how long until she snapped?

One of the things she had practically forgotten about, with everything that had been going on, was her violin. She had been dancing a lot, and the studying was taking up most of her day, leaving literally no time for her to practice the instrument she so loved. If her parents could see her right now, they would definitely scold the hell out of her. And they would be right. Plus, this was the solution to her problem.

Her music had been the only thing that helped her release all this tension. It was the way for her to express her feelings, to be free and to forget anything that made her life hard. This was why she was so tense lately. Because she had simply given up, in a away, on the only thing that kept her together. Music.

Grabbing her case,the young witch moved out of her Common Room and down the staircase, trying not to bump into anyone. Rushing to the music room, Neri couldn't wait to get her violin out and start playing. But the moment she opened the door, the sound of music hit her immediately. But it was not a piano, so it was definitely not Mitri. Not to mention he was supposed to be studying the Potions notes she had given him.

Moving silently into the room, Neri made sure not to disturb the girl who was, too, playing the violin. Truth be told, she hadn't seen another violinist in the Castle. How could she have missed her?
Nerisei didn't recognise the witch. She did recognise the piece she was playing though. Bach's Chaconne. Such a beautiful piece it was, but it always gave Nerisei sad vibes. Grief. Something... dark. Was the girl in pain? That would make two of us, the voice in her head said.

Nerisei, making sure to be as silent as possible, placed her case aside, opening it and preparing her violin and bow, all the while listening to the other witch. She knew the piece by heart, thankfully, because she needed to know the piece very well, for what she had in mind. Once she was ready, Nerisei waited for the girl to finish the next bar, before jumping into the piece, accompanying her.

It had been a while since she had played her favorite instrument, and it took her a moment to really get into the mindset of the music. There was some awkward fumbling of her fingers and the wrong bowing for a few moments before her muscle memory kicked in, taking over and allowing her to relax some. Before long she was as graceful as ever and the bow glided elegantly across the strings, fingers moving perfectly as the mournful music rang out throughout the room.

The familiarity of the slight weight of the violin in her hand and music in her head comforted the young witch and she sank into the music, swaying slightly with it as the music swirled inside and poured out of her. She put all her emotion into the piece and closed her eyes, relying on her memory of the song to serve her well, as this way a piece she had played many, many times.

Janet didn't notice the other girl coming into the room. She didn't register or pay attention to the quiet click of her opening case, or the gentle gliding of rosin across a bow, she only heard her own music and sorrow. She, in fact, did not notice the other girl until the voice of a second violin rang out, clear and gentle from somewhere else in the room.

Janet stopped for a moment, surprised by the new addition to the music and moved to the left slightly, allowing space for another person at the stand if whoever it was needed or wanted to look at the sheet of music and then continued playing once she found where they were.

Nerisei had no intention of scaring the witch, in any way. She had two choices once she came in the room. Either wait until the girl was over, before introducing herself and asking if she could have the room to practice, or leave, before the other witch understood that Neri had come into the room. Neither was something that Nerisei wanted, though, so instead, she made another choice. Taking out her violin, and simply playing the same piece, a little bit softer. Neri didn't want to be the center of attention, she just wanted to accompany the fellow musician.

But the unknown girl stopped playing, probably surprised that a new violin had joined. Nerisei was tempted to stop for a moment, and apologise for intruding on the girl's practice. After all, she had, rather rudely, jumped into the piece, without taking under consideration whether the fellow witch wanted the company.
Thankfully, though, the girl started playing once again, moving to the side slightly to reveal the music score she had placed on the music stand.

Nerisei gladly moved closer, sneaking a peek at the sheets. She knew the piece they were playing, but the dynamics were something that had been, for the most part, erased from her memory. Smiling as her fingers glided along the neck of the violin, Nerisei turned to look at the witch next to her. She didn't recognise the girl, but she didn't speak. Instead, she waited until they piece was over, before introducing herself. "I am Nerisei. You play beautifully."

Holding her bow and violin in one hand, Nerisei moved away a bit, giving the other witch the space she might need. "I haven't seen you here before..." Nerisei stated, but left it at that. She didn't want to seem nosy.

Thier instruments sounded perfect together, even though she hadn't heard the other girl tune. She supposed she probably practiced enough her violin rarely went out of tune. Janet's violin used to be that way, before the long period where she hadn't played. But she was glad to know that she hadn't forgotten much in the lapse, and it still came to her like she had played just yesterday.

The girls' music flowed beautifully throughout the room and Janet allowed herself to sink back into it, eyes closing as she played. As the song ended, only moments later she remained there for a moment, bow at her side and eyes closed as she let herself stew in the emotions the music brought forth and let out for a moment before she heard the voice of the other musician.

She opened her eyes and looked at the girl for the first time, a small smile on her lips. "Thank you Nerisei, so do you." She meant it too, she had loved the girl's music and found the grin that widened on her face to be genuine. "My name is Janet."

She lifted one shoulder at the statement. "I haven't been here for most of the school year. My mom died at the start of it, so I took some time off to be with family, and make sure Dad would be ok at home by himself, and that kind of stuff." She turned back to her music, picking it up and putting it back in its spot.

Nerisei was silent. She had said her part, and now it was up to the girl to say whether she she wanted to play more, or even ask Nerisei to leave. The Ravenclaw had met various people in her life that had asked her to exit the room, because they felt much more comfortable practicing by themselves. And Nerisei could understand their need to be alone. After all, not everyone could play as good as she did, so mistakes were going to be made. People didn't like other people to witness when they messed up. Nerisei wouldn't want that.

As the other witch, though, complimented her back, Neri smiled widely and nodded her thanks. She already knew that her playing was more than adequate, but compliments were always welcome. They made her feel nice.
The other witch introduced herself as Janet, and Nerisei cocked her head to the side, trying to place her. She was not a Ravenclaw, that was for sure. And she definitely wasn't a Hufflepuff. Her aura was... well, not what a Hufflepuff would be.

"I haven't been here for most of the school year. My mom died at the start of it, so I took some time off to be with family, and make sure Dad would be ok at home by himself, and that kind of stuff."

A frown touched the Ravenclaw's lips at that. Her explanation proved her absence but the reason behind it was not something Neri expected. Losing someone was something Nerisei was very familiar with. She hadn't lost her mother, but her two best friends were the closest thing to family. And it hurt her really, really bad. Imagine how losing her own mother would feel.

"I am so sorry for your loss. I know how losing someone you love feels."

She considered the other girl for a moment. She seemed a bit familiar, and she probably had seen her at the beginning of the year some time. She honestly couldn't tell. The first half of the year sorta just seemed like a blur. She couldn't remember any of the classes she had taken, or things she had learned, let alone anyone she had seen around the school.

"I am so sorry for your loss. I know how losing someone you love feels."

Janet forced herself not to wince at this sentence. She never knew how to respond when someone said something like this, even though she knew they were sympathizing with her, it always seemed to make things awkward, cause what could she respond with really? She couldn't say "It's ok," or something like that, cause it wasn't ok. She instead gave the girl a small smile and used the response she had used over and over again throughout the year. "I'll live."

She rifled through her music, wondering what she should play next. She pulled out a couple, turning back towards the girl. "Would you like to play a duet with me or would you rather have the room to yourself?" She knew the other girl had likely come to practice, and the best solution she could see was them practicing together, however, if Nerisei didn't want to Janet would be willing to pack up and give her her space. She knew several other classrooms in the school that were usually empty and had decent acoustics.

The moment the words left her lips, Nerisei knew she had messed up. She wanted to provide the girl with a kind word, make her feel better, but she should have known better since she had been through this herself. Saying you were sorry never helped the other person. On the contrary, it forced him or her to give you an answer like 'it's okay' or 'it's fine'. But it was not okay. It was not fine. Nerisei knew that very well, because when she lost her best friends, no words could make her feel anything close to fine.

"I'll live."

Neri gave Janet a tight smile. The Ravenclaw didn't aim to hurt the witch's feelings, but it was obvious she had said the wrong thing, from the way Janet answered. Instead of speaking --and risking of messing up again-- the witch just offered a smile, in hopes that this would do for now. She wasn't the best at talking, after all.

Janet turned back to her sheets, looking through them, and Nerisei took the time to fine tune her violin. She always made sure it stayed tuned, sometimes using a charm to keep it that way, but it had been a while since she had played, and the instrument was ever so slightly off tune.

"Would you like to play a duet with me or would you rather have the room to yourself?"

As the other witch spoke up again, Nerisei turned to look at her, studying her. Of course she understood where the question came from. She, too, always asked whether she could stay, if the room was already occupied. There were musicians who didn't like the company, and Nerisei was fine with it. She always found another place to go. But playing alongside another musician was very entertaining. "I'd like to play with you, if you don't mind. Unless, it's you who wants to stay alone. If that is the case, I will leave you be."

She nodded. "It's ok. I know its hard to think of what to say to someone in this type of situation." She paused, thinking a moment before glancing at the other girl. "If it's not too personal, may I ask who you lost? The sadness seems to be recent unless you are just that good at embedding music with emotion." She gave her a gentle smile, not trying to pry, more to understand her better and have a conversation.

She smiled and shook her head. "No, of course not. I enjoy playing with other people sometimes, it's a welcome difference from only by myself or in an orchestra. I only wish I knew a couple others that played instruments such as you, we could start a quartet or something if that were the case." The girl had always wanted to be in a quartet, some of her favorite music people were played by them and she yearned to be able to reach that level in her own music.

She set the duet on the stand, this time they wouldn't have to play the same lines, and glanced at the girl as she tightened her bow just slightly. "Is this piece ok?"

As Janet spoke of how she knew it was hard to find the right thing to say in this type of situations, Nerisei gave her a sad smile. It wasn't just hard. It was extremely hard, since you never knew what to say exactly to make the other person feel better. And truth was, you couldn't really make them feel better. The only thing you ended up doing was making the conversation even more awkward, and probably hurting the person in the process, something that Neri just didn't want to do. Pain was not something she caused to people.

"If it's not too personal, may I ask who you lost? The sadness seems to be recent unless you are just that good at embedding music with emotion."

Sometime ago, Nerisei would have politely turned away, unable to discuss this with someone. But after everything that had happened in her life, Nerisei had finally managed to actually feel comfortable talking about the loss of her two best friends. Truthfully, if it hadn't been for Dimitri, Nerisei would probably be the distant, cold girl she was at the start of the term. But things change, and so had she. Life was moving on.

"Max and Prim. My best friends. They were fellow students, here at Hogwarts. They were the ones who got eaten by spiders." Nerisei explained, taking some time to swallow the lump in her throat and take a deep breath. It's going to be okay, she kept telling herself, because deep down, she knew that everything would be okay, in the end.
"It's still had for me to accept that they are gone, but life goes on, and so must we. I know very well that Max and Prim wouldn't want me to stop living. They would want me to be happy, live my life, do everything they didn't have the chance to do. Because they are always with me. As long as I keep them in my heart.

Nerisei smiled at the older with, showing that she understood how hard this was. She wasn't pitying her. She was simply reaching out to her. "I am sure your mother would want the same, if not more, for you. She is still here, as long as you keep her with you. In every memory." Wiping away the tears that hadn't fallen yet, Nerisei turned away from Janet for a few moments. It had been a while since she had cried, and the witch didn't like it. It made her feel vulnerable.

"No, of course not. I enjoy playing with other people sometimes, it's a welcome difference from only by myself or in an orchestra. I only wish I knew a couple others that played instruments such as you, we could start a quartet or something if that were the case."

Knowing that Janet didn't have a problem with her staying and playing alongside her, Nerisei felt more at ease. It was nice to know that people didn't really mind to play with you and, on the contrary, they actually wanted you to stick around and accompany them. Janet's idea about forming a quartet was something that Nerisei had never thought of, but she had to admit that it was a nice thing to try. Maybe, they could find a couple of other people who played strings, and they could form a group of some sorts. "That is a great idea! Maybe we will be able to find someone to join with us.

The question of whether the piece was okay was answered with a small nod and a smile from the Ravenclaw witch. Her violin was tuned, and after she had scanned the sheet Janet provided her with, Nerisei was ready to play. "Whenever you are ready."