Acquaintances, I Suppose (Lux & Nirek)

Guest

Nirek was popular enough, so getting time to himself was a luxury he was not afforded very often. Time away was pleasant though, especially after everything that had happened. Unlike many of his Gryffindor peers, Nirek had stayed away from the fighting, keeping himself up in his common room, looking after the terrified younger years.

Well, he pretended to anyway, especially when they were greeted with the sight of the professors to calm the group as a whole.

Since then the school had seemed, well, pretty deserted with everyone scared of their own shadow. Nirek wasn't scared though, why should he be when he was not the target of a Basilisk attack. Which was why the boy was strolling through the halls that afternoon, with no particular destination in mind. His feet found their way to a random room - one he did not recognise. The portrait had let him in quite happily, and now Nirek was stood before cabinets full of trophies with various achievements on them.

Nirek wanted to achieve greatness, in some degree, so he found himself drawn to the cups, with names engraved in them for various things. Things that had been invented long ago lay in cabinets, and Nirek found himself in silent awe as he looked on at some things behind the glass.

How he was going to be great, Nirek was not yet, sure, but he would find a way, of that much he was sure. Everyone would remember his name, even if it killed him.

Guest

Lux hated Valentine’s Day with a vengeance. She didn't get the whole idea of showing love or appreciating one's significant other on a particular day. If one was going to be involved in a relationship, it only made sense to show one's feelings more than once a year. Why wait for a particular day? There was one thing good about it though. It gave Lux an excuse to pull more than her usual number of pranks. She replaced chocolates with brown coloured substances she concocted, sweet notes with creepy, threatening ones and did anything else she could think of that would ruin the day.

It was no surprise that she was rather happy the Basilisks decided to attack around this time. It made the day that much more special. If there was anything she loved more than tormenting people, it was a blood bath. What a coincidence it was! Valentine’s Day was associated with pink and red as so was blood. It was almost a dream come true for her. But as much as she disliked the purebloods, she didn't support the Basilisks. Lux preferred retaliating in a way that would make the stuck-up purebloods miserable for a very long time.

Feeling restless after a long day of classes, Lux wandered the halls and noticed a room she hadn’t been in before. Deciding now was as good a time as any, she entered the room. The first things to catch her eye were trophies, awards and more trophies. The room was chock full of them. Someone’s an over achiever Lux thought. It wasn’t that she looked down on climbing the ladder of success but it irritated her when it became all that a person ever lived for. Sure, it was good to set goals and achieve them but life was so much more than that.

The second thing to catch her eye was a familiar face. Her partner from herbology. Wonder what he’s doing here? Quirking an eyebrow and crossing her arms, she said, “Hi herbology guy.”

Guest

Nirek was studying an invention from the middle ages. The inventors name was one that he could not actually read through the dust in the display, but it was quite clear this invention was not a nice one. Smiling a little to himself as he took it in, Nirek had not heard someone else enter the room, much too interested in working out how the thing before him worked.

So, when a voice filled the almost silent space around him, Nirek did jump. Not in an overly theatrical way, oh no, just a small jump as he looked towards the noise. The words registered a moment later, and Nirek couldn't help but give a small smile at her choice of greeting.

"Herbology girl." Nirek replied, a little bit cheekily, truth be told, but he wasn't much interested in how it came across.

"But, my name is Nirek, for future reference." The Gryffindor added, deciding to make sure she knew for future. Though, he did wonder what dark hole the witch resided in if she didn't know those who were deemed popular within the school. Though, calling her up on that would be rude, and Nirek did not wish to be.

"You reckon you can work out what his does?" Nirek asked, motioning to the thing he'd been looking at. "I think it was a torture device, personally, but I'm really not sure." Nirek explained, not caring for how that might sound to someone who didn't really know him at all.

Guest

Lux didn't miss the jump the boy gave and grinned to herself. She'd surprised him. The tables were turned on her however, when he replied in the same manner she'd greeted him. She wasn't expecting that and she let a smirk out. Interesting. This was not the usual simpering idiots she sometimes came across. She'd have fun with him.

As he offered his name, Lux let her eyes wander the room, taking in some unfamiliar sights. She nodded when he finished his introduction but decided against returning the social etiquette. She was never known for her manners and she wasn't about to start conforming to society.

At his question, Lux directed her gaze to the thing and came closer to inspect it. Torture devices fascinated her and she wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to see one up close. She grinned when she saw what it was. It was a metal stick with prongs at each end. The stick was attached to a metal circle.

"Fascinating," Lux whispered, the smile still curving her lips. "The metal circle goes around the neck so that one end of the prong is right under the chin and the other end is at the base of the neck, forcing the person to look up. Once the person looks down, he's dead meat. I love it." The last sentence was said under her breath.

Lux didn't care that she'd been labelled psycho and freak multiple times. She liked anything to do with pain and blood. It enraptured her. What puzzled her was why a torture device was in a room full of awards and trophies. She shrugged it off though.

"So what're you doing here?" Lux asked as she strolled through the room, seeing if she could find anything else of interest.

Guest

With no inclination of what the witch's name was, Nirek decided that she would simply be Herbology girl under she corrected him. Either she would find it annoying enough to tell him, or she would simply stay with that name until he found out through other means as to what her name was.

The explanation as to what the device was made Nirek nod approvingly. It would, in truth, be quite amusing to see how long Stuttering Finley Allen could last in the piece, but he was sure the teachers would notice if one of these things went missing. And the trace would be much too easy.

Especially now the witch beside him knew he had been looking at it.

Though, she did seem to know a lot about it, which raised a number of questions with Nirek, though he voiced none of them, simply tucking that information away for later use.

With a question being presented to him, Nirek gave a small shrug. "Wanted to get away for a bit." He told the witch truthfully. "Everyone is a little too preoccupied with the attack that happened, and I'm fed up of their glum looks, so thought I would explore seeing as everyone seems to be hiding. Well, everyone except you." The Gryffindor replied honestly. Nirek didn't really care if his answer had been to honest, he really didn't care if it wasn't the right thing to say.

Guest

When Nirek didn't comment on her knowledge of the instrument of torture, Lux was once again pleasantly surprised. Now here is an oddball. Most people she knew would either freak out and walk away, question her knowledge of something like that or freeze and look at her in horror. Nirek did none of those and it aroused Lux's curiosity and interest.

Then there was the fact that he didn't ask for her name which further puzzled her. Was he playing some sort of game with her? She didn't care. This was the most amusement she had in a while and she would enjoy it while it lasted. At least he had some backbone.

At his mention of glum looks, Lux scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I know right. I for one am glad that it happened. Think of all the blood! And pain." Lux paused, recalling what she'd glimpsed of the attack. Besides giving her some practice with spell and charm casting, the attack had given her the adrenaline rush her stagnant blood was craving.

At his comment on her not hiding, Lux shrugged nonchalantly. "I have no reason to hide. They want Purebloods and I'm a Muggleborn. And it's not like I'm foolish enough to challenge them." Neither was she a coward to hide out until it was all over. She would never miss the chance to be at the scene of action.

Guest

Whilst the knowledge of the torture device hadn't bothered Nirek - honestly he was more fascinated by the idea of the device than the fact the witch knew, thinking of two things in the same moment was not something Nirek could do - the comment on the blood and pain did make him realise the witch beside him...

He didn't finish the sentence in his head, instead he looked to her with slight confusion. "You're glad it happened?" Nirek asked, more curious than anything. "You support the Basilisks?" He continued, again, his tone was not judging, more so he was intrigued as to what she thought on the subject.

The comments on why she had no reason to hide made Nirek nod. "I guess so. I heard one boy tried to oppose them. He was blown up in the process. Not the nicest way to go." The Gryffindor replied, screwing his nose up at the thought. Nirek wasn't a violent person, not really, he was a bully, but he had others that did his bidding for him. He simply took satisfaction from having people fear him, more than anything.

"My mum wanted me to go home." Nirek continued, moving away from the witch to the next cabinet, the self-stirring cauldron was in this one, a useful item, he was sure. "I wrote back immediately telling her I would be staying. After all, lightning doesn't strike the same place twice."

Guest

Lux smirked triumphantly at his questions. He wasn't completely immune after all. Not very many people were once she decided to reveal her more...freaky side. She showed it sparingly and only to figuratively pummel other kids into submission. How she loved seeing their frightened eyes. It amused her to know that she could order them to do whatever she wanted.

"Aren't you?" she bounced the question back at him. "The high and mighty purebloods are now cowering in their skins." She chuckled. "How the mighty have fallen."

She took her time formulating her answer to his second question. "Oh, not really support them per se. It's good that the purebloods - some of them anyway - are brought a few pegs down but I wouldn't have stormed the castle. I would have made them miserable for a very long time instead of ending their life."

Lux paused for a while as she inspected an odd looking award. "At any rate, it gave some excitement to the boring routine of life here." And I got to see blood she added mentally.

"I don't know about that," she replied on his comment of the way the boy died. "Would you have preferred a slow and agonizing death? Being blown up is like...human fireworks, don't you think?" She didn't know if he knew what fireworks were since it was a muggle thing but she thought it was an apt description.

"Wise choice," she remarked. "But that whole deal with the lightning is a myth, you know," she continued. He probably just meant it as a saying but either way, she disagreed with him. What's to prevent another attack? It could always happen again.

Guest

The question of whether he was glad the attack had happened made Nirek pause for a moment. He hadn't really met a Pureblood who deserved to die, truth be told. "I..." But the Gryffindor didn't try to explain himself, instead giving the witch a small shrug of his shoulders in response.

The idea of a slower death for the Purebloods made Nirek grimace a little at the thought. "They're just kids." Nirek replied, not defensively, but as a counter-argument to the witch's words. "If it had been me, I'd go after the adults. I mean... they're the problem, aren't they?" Nirek proposed, again giving a small shrug of his shoulders to show he wasn't overly sure in that moment.

Again, the witch made a comparison that didn't wholly make Nirek comfortable, but he could also follow the logic. "I just meant... if I were to die, I'd not want to know anything about it. Being blown up must surely have been painful. A quick death, with the Killing Curse, now that would be the best way to go. In those circumstances." Nirek explained, showing what he really meant in that moment.

However, the lightning thing made Nirek frown at her. "I'm sure it doesn't land in the same place twice." Nirek replied, trying to remember who had told him that in the first place. Honestly, though, Nirek wasn't the cleverest, so he could easily have been wrong.

Guest

When all Nirek could do was shrug his shoulders at her question, Lux couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She thought she'd met someone who had a backbone and could engage in argument. That would have provided amusement that would break the daily routine. Oh well, looks like she judged him too early.

"The kids are the next generation," Lux pointed out. "Without the kids, the old people would die without passing on what they believe." Lux wasn't sure how they got into a sort-of debate. Most of the social interactions she had with other students, especially the younger ones, involved threats and cowering.

The coward's way of dying was what Lux thought of the way Nirek wanted to go. She however, wanted to die spectacularly. What was the point of living an awesome life and in the end, die a quiet normal death? Why not live magnificently and die as equally grand? "I suppose so," was all she commented.

"And I'm pretty sure it does. I saw it once when I was at the orphanage. The lightning struck the field opposite. Burnt up the ground," Lux said. "Too bad no one got struck. That would have been hilarious." She could just imagine one of the little kids getting hit by lightning. She'd probably have laughed so hard it hurt her stomach.

» Pleasure to See Safe (Nirek & Cara)
» Jokes On Us (Nirek)
» My Lady (Nirek & Cara)
» The Beginning (Madison & Nirek)
» Carry Into the Fall (Nirek & Caramarienne)