It Pays To Explore (Open)

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Humphrey had been given a set of watercolor and oil paint, along with the brushes and some canvases to use while he was at school. For a long time he'd been drawing now, and when he brought up the possibility of painting his parents had seemingly ignored his request. The week before he left for his second year at Hogwarts, though, his dad came into his room and gave him the belated birthday present. He explained that he wanted them to use them while at school, and that when he came home they could get him more to use for here. His father explained that Hogwarts had a lot more interesting things to capture on canvas, and Humphrey couldn't help but agree with him. Aside from when he got a little sister one year, it was the best thing his parents had ever given him. He'd hugged his dad tightly before going to show Casey what he'd gotten.

Now, he was back at school and wanted to take the opportunity to paint the castle from what he remembered of the trip on the boats in first year. The way the night sky acted as the perfect backdrop with a few stars and the hint of the moon peeking around a tower. However, where would be the place to do it? With his trunk filled with the supplies, he wandered around a bit before stumbling across a room on the fourth floor he hadn't noticed before. It claimed to be the Arts, Music, and Dance room. Grinning widely as the torches automatically lit up, he set up the stand and put the canvas on it before closing his eyes. After a full three minutes of simply losing himself in the memory, Humphrey slowly began to paint.

It started with the base of the castle, before he added in the detailed steps leading down to the boathouse. Next, he started adding in the dark, slightly choppy waters of the lake, making sure to add some reflected light from the moon and stars. After he'd done that he added in the front of a boat, and the tops of the knees on a seat. Humphrey added in some boats ahead and beside him, with the dark silhouettes of students. One of them held a teacher, the one in charge of them. Instinctively he began drawing in the slopes of the hills around it and leading up to the base of the castle, filling it in with grass and the dangerous willow near the lake. Finally, he began the slow process of all the detail needed on the castle, knowing it would take him the longest. Humming to himself as he worked, he didn't even notice the paint that stained his fingertips. The only times he paused were to dip his brush in water and rinse it out before adding in a different color.

Subject: Re: It Pays To Explore (Open) Tue Apr 26, 2016 7:26 pm

Summer had been both most enjoyable and intolerable. On the one hand, Elenore had Caramarienne, which made her very happy. They had ordered new dresses, visited lavish stately homes across France, partook in luncheons with their mother and many other things. The down side had been Jacques, Jacques had been in a very bad mood since he'd come home, and he did not mind taking out on both girls. The reasoning for his bad temper, Elenore could harbour a guess.

Girls.

Jacques might be the heir to the Clement power, fortune and fame, but he was not able to conquer hearts yet, and Elenore... well, she could see that a girl - or maybe two - were getting to her brother, so she had steered clear. Which, should have been easy in the Palace of Versailles, but Jacques had his ways of being heard.

Being back at Hogwarts was, therefore, a welcome break from her brother. Elenore felt sorry for Caramarienne, for her sister had no where to escape to, but Elenore had insisted on sneaking her in to the Hufflepuff Common Room wherever possble. Today, however, Elenore was heading to the Arts room.

Being able to dance was a must for a lady in her position and Elenore liked to be on top of her game. Today's agenda, ballet. Exhibits of France's greatest dancers would be taking place over the Christmas holidays, and Elenore was not going to be the one who let the family down. No, fate was destined for that to be Jacques, and Elenore was not one to mess with fate.

Stepping in to the room, Elenore noted a boy already there. This wasn't an issue to the witch, she was confident in her capabilities. Though, truth be told, she preferred to be alone.

"Hello," Elenore greeted, her French accent quite tangible in that moment because she had been in France for the summer, back to the beauty and sophistication of the world. "I was going to practice my ballet... do you mind if we share the room?" She asked softly, for a lady never spoke too loudly, there was no need to force people to listen if what you were saying was worthy of attention.

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It took a moment for his concentrating brain to register that someone had spoken to him. Humphrey finished with the line of the turret he was working on before setting the brush down and turning towards who had spoken. There was only one voice he suspected it could be, and sure enough it was Elenore Clement he saw standing there. Although his father didn't buy into the pureblood mania some families did, he had still educated both him and Casey on their place and importance in the world of wizards. Thinking over the girl's question, he eventually bowed his head slightly before replying. "Don't mind at all, Mademoiselle Clement." he said politely. He knew his French was far from perfect, as he'd only learned a little bit; but, he still thought it polite to make the effort.

Since he didn't want to be rude and stare at her while the girl worked on her ballet, he took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes before picturing the scene in his mind once more. A few moments later, Humphrey opened them again and resumed the painting. This one he was trying with the oil, as he found he was able to get richer blends of color with it as opposed to the water-based paint. In particular, it helped him get the perfect mixture of dark blue and black for the night sky, which he was rather pleased with. It also allowed him to add a weathered look to the stone, making some areas slightly different shades of gray on the castle to show the toll wind and rain had taken. This process was slow, but he found it rather rewarding and even relaxing. Painting like this took patience and dedication, and Humphrey was not a Hufflepuff for nothing. After another few minutes of work he took a break and rinsed the paint out of the brush before stepping to the side and sitting down, leaning his back against the wall.

His right hand was slightly sore from the fine motor skills it required to paint like that, and he shook it out lightly before massaging it gently with his left thumb and forefinger. Looking over at the girl, he wondered how long she had been dancing. Knowing what he knew about her family, it was likely she had the best teachers available instruct her. Humphrey smiled a little, reminding himself that the girl was in Hufflepuff for a reason. Even with the best of instructors you didn't become good at something without hard work. The girl definitely knew how to push herself, nobody could deny that without lying to themselves about it. Humphrey hoped the girl wasn't too bothered by him being there while she worked.

Subject: Re: It Pays To Explore (Open) Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:46 pm

Elenore was thankful that the boy didn't make a scene - that would have led to her having to bend him to her wants without seeming like a threat. Elenore hated using that technique - manipulation, as her tutors would call it - it seemed so... barbaric, but she had mastered the skill no less, using it only in the last effort to get what she wanted.

"Merci beaucoup." Elenore responded - the boy had used French, so she gathered he knew enough to understand a thank you. Not bothering him more than that, Elenore moved past the painting he was working on - art had been etched in to her from a young age, but Elenore had no love for the works of art created on paper. It was the art of sophisticated movements of the human body that she found more alluring.

Sitting down on the other side of the room, Elenore changed from her normal shoes in to her ballet shoes, tying them carefully before warming her joints up as she had been shown a thousand times before. The stretching came next, and the Hufflepuff was in her own world, counting out the seconds of the stretch to make sure it was neither held too long, or too short, before moving on to the next. Ballet was an art like no other, and Elenore loved each and every movement she had been taught.

As her limbs felt thoroughly warmed through, the witch moved to her feet. She did not need music, for it was set firmly in her head, the routine was perfect with or without music. Taking a deep breath, Elenore began the dance that was complex in nature, making sure each movement was held for a moment before moving on to the next. Eyes closed for the majority, Elenore imagined the beauty of the dance, in full splendour, only opening her eyes when she needed to check the angles of her limbs were pointing correctly.

A couple of minutes passed, with Elenore concentrated on herself - forgetting the boy that was in the room. Until, with the final move, she gave a small bow to where the audience would be, her eyes opening to find the boy's eyes upon her. Offering him a small smile, Elenore stood back up properly once more, she was not self-conscious, so the boy before her was not an issue.

"I didn't think you'd find ballet interesting." The French witch said, not in a mean tone, more of a tone that was slightly impressed. The unrefined boys that she knew were often too caught up in being boys to care for ballet, but it seemed this one had been watching. "Do you dance?"

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While Humphrey had watched the last few minutes of her practicing a complex dance, he quickly went from curious to impressed. He knew pretty much nothing about ballet, but even he could appreciate the grace and artistry that she had precisely moved her body with. The little dancing he'd done had been swing and basic ballroom, so he really didn't have anything to compare it to. However, it didn't take an experienced eye to appreciate the talent of his fellow Hufflepuff. Soon, she had finished and gave a practiced bow before opening her eyes, and his gaze met hers. Not knowing what else to do, he gave her a quiet round of applause before stopping when she spoke to him.

"To be frank, I wasn't sure I would either." Humphrey admitted, a bit sheepishly. Up until today he hadn't really had an opinion about ballet, but now he had to say that if it was anything like what she'd just done it was quite a lovely form of dance. "Umm, a bit of swing and basic ballroom. Nothing so beautiful as what you just did. What piece was that? How long have you been dancing?" he asked, unable to decide which question he wanted answered more. She must have been working for at least a few years to be so good at their young age, that much was clear. He blushed a little at his barrage of questions, because it was probably a bit rude to be asking so many. "Forgive my manners, I admit I'm quite intrigued." he explained, hoping she wouldn't mind too much.

Although he wasn't too familiar with ballet, he had seen the movie The Phantom of the Opera and remembered some of the dancing scenes from that. The boy could only imagine how beautiful the dance Miss Clement had performed would be in full costume, performing it on stage. Then again, he didn't even know if she would be performing it for anyone else. Perhaps it was simply something her family wanted her to do, or a hobby that she enjoyed in her spare time. Humphrey didn't know enough about Elenore to guess which would be the most likely scenario, as up until now he hadn't really conversed with her much outside of classes. And, even in classes, it wasn't often that they had been partnered together for their lessons. His warm brown eyes looked at her curiously as he smiled a little. No matter if this encounter resulted in a friendship with her or not, he felt lucky to have seen her practicing such an amazing form of art.

Subject: Re: It Pays To Explore (Open) Wed May 11, 2016 7:56 pm

The French witch couldn't help but smile with amusement when the boy had said that he didn't think he would find ballet to his liking. "You sound like my older brother." Elenore responded, though there was little to know fondness when she spoke of Jacques. But, that was not a thought for now, Jacques would not ruin her ballet today.

The two dances the boy gave made Elenore smile a little, giving a small nod. They were not difficult - in Elenore's opinion at least - so they did not give rise to an interesting conversation. However, Elenore knew that she needed to say something. "Good choices, ballroom is my second favourite type of dance, the beauty is quite exquisite, if you have the right kind of partner." She added, not in respect of him, but a general acknowledgement. Jacques, for example, was terrible to dance with, because he had absolutely no interest in trying.

"Oh, that piece, it was called Black Swan." Elenore responded happily. "And, I have been dancing since I could walk, apparently. Though, I suspect my parents actually mean about three or four." Elenore explained, she did not believe she had been dancing since her first steps, but parents often exaggerated the capabilities of their children. Her parents, Elenore knew, were on the top of that scale, for who they were meant Elenore had to be on a pedestal above the rest.

The blush, and the apology made Elenore wave it away. "Don't worry, I have been quizzed much more deeply before, anything you ask would only be a repeat." Elenore explained, though her smile hid the fact her words were not quite mincing the topic up nicely.

"I apologise, but your name has escaped me..." Elenore prompted, because she honestly didn't know who the boy was, but, if he danced, he might well be an asset to her.

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