Pretty Music

Today when Jacquelyn slowly creped through the door of the music class room, looking to see if anyone was in there, the room was empty. Relaxing the young girl tiptoed across the room to the piano that produced some of the most beautiful sounds she had heard, and sat on the bench in front of it. Gently she ran her finger across the keys without pushing them down. Quelyn didn't know how to play and felt that even if she learned she wouldn't be able to make the beautiful sounds others like her mother had made. She sighed and just looked down at the keys remembering when she had watched her mother play.

If there was something in this world that he loved more than himself, then it was music. Darius has always been a talented kid, especially when it came to music. He was given a grand piano at the age of seven and he has played it ever since. He would never say that he's a professional, though. He had heard Mozart, Beethoven and other well known composers play and he wanted to reach to the point where he'd play as skillfully as they did. That is why, no matter how good people told him he was, he practiced after the lessons for many hours until his fingers went numb or he was too tired to continue.

When he entered the music classroom, he did not expect anyone to be there. This classroom was not reserved by him, but it was unusual to see someone else learning. However, he did not allow his emotions to stun him on one place for much longer. Darius looked at the girl, examining her features when he approached the instrument.
He had seen her around. For a first year student she was rather sad and quiet. Was she being bullied? Darius flinched. He had never experienced bullying in his schoolyears. His father's name was well known and people feared the consequences.

“Do you play?“ Darius asked, placing his notes on top of the piano. Her sorrow did not go unnoticed, but he did not bother to ask the reason of her being so sad right away.

Quelyn had not heard the door open or the person enter the room, so when he spoke she was rather startled and jumped as one would during a horror show. Do you play? is what the male voice asked. Turning she looked up at him and shook her head moving away from the piano. "D-do y-you?" She asked hoping he could and would.
Quelyn's mother had done many things before she died but the only thing Jacquelyn had wanted to learn was to dance. When she was younger she thought the music and happiness in her home would never go away. She thought she would always be able to dance to the music her mother played, but she was wrong. Everything had gone away.

Darius raised his eyebrows. Her reaction was odd and it almost made him feel uneasy, but he was fast to gather up his emotions and suspicions. It also seemed that his theory of this girl being bullied was correct. It was sad. Witches and wizards promoted a society without any conlicts and yet an obvious victim was right infront of him.
Making sure that he did not do any sudden movements that might scare the young Ravenclaw, he took a seat on the small chair. “I do,“ she replied. Usually he'd take pride in his talent, but right now he decided that it would be better to stay quiet. After all, he wanted to be a good influence on kids.

“But what brings you here if you can't play? Do you want to learn?“ Maybe one of the professors agreed to teach her and he was only distracting her and wasting space? He could always wait and listen. Darius, though, learned how to play the instruments by himself. There was no use to rely on the teachers. He had one and they learned nothing. Only how to press the keys.

"Will you?" She asked her eyes wide and hopeful. After he sat down he continue to talk and ask why she was there. "The music reminds me of my mom." She whispered looking down at the floor and moved closer to the wall. "Some times. But I couldn't play something as pretty as I've heard." Quelyn looked back up at he older boy and wondered why he played though she thought it would be rude to ask. "I like to come here to hear the pretty music." She finished and watched him quietly to see what he would do sure he didn't care about her mom or how much she missed the music at home.

Dolohov bit his cheek. He did not mind to, but it was really odd to show off in front of her. But how could he resist to her look that was so innocent and hopeful? Darius scratched his chin, trying to think of a positive melody. Usually, when people asked him to play, they wanted to hear something romantic or sad. Like „Moonlight Sonata“ by Beethoven. The melody was indeed beautiful, but to him it sounded so melancholy and he avoided playing it if it was possible.
His eyes returned to the girl when she spoke again. His deductions were wrong? She was not bullied, but she simply mourned her mother.

Darius had never lost anyone close so he was not aware of the pain, but he felt sorry for her. Losing someone that close at her age was harsh.
He smirked, although it was not intended. Pretty music. The world was full of pretty music, she had to be more precise but after thinking for a moment, he thought about the most popular and widely known melody. „Für Elise“ was its name. “I think you've heard it before,“ Darius spoke before he pressed started playing.

Jacquelyn smiled as he started to play and the tune was familiar. She moved closer to the sound swaying back and fourth with the beat. if it had been a few years ago and she had been in her home with her mother Quelyn would have began dancing like her mother had taught her, but out of fear of hurting one of the instruments she didn't move to far from where she stood.
It was odd to Quelyn herself to feel the smile on her face. She hadn't felt that for along time, not since her mother passed away and her father fell into his drinking habits. most of the time, she lived in sorrow or fear. Sorrow for her mother and the little boy she had been carrying when she died, or fear her father would come home angry. She didn't have to worry about that to much here at Hogwarts yet she did.

What was bad about Darius was his urge to finish everything fast. The same was with the music. Once he started playing this song, he realized that he did not enjoy it as much as the girl did. Knowing the piano's keyboard by heart, he was able to look towards the little Ravenclaw. It looked like she was enjoying the sound, but he still saw a glimpse of misery in her eyes. Well of course he would see that. Pain could not be taken away simply by listening to someone or something.
He fixed his eyes on his fingers that moved across the keys and when he finally finished playing, he placed his hands on his knees – out of habit.

“Do you want to learn how to play?“ He was not sure wether it was a good idea, but he thought that if she'd master the piano, she could easily play all those melodies that her mother had introduced to her. Darius was even willing to offer himsef to be his teacher, though he did not even imagine how this all would come out. He himself was a lazy student.

“You haven't introduced yourself by the way,“ he pointed out. Darius turned himself around on the chair and faced the girl. “I'm Darius,“ he said, reaching out his hand.

"I could never play as good as you or my mother." Quelyn said quietly, "I'd love to play but i could never do the instrument or my mothers memory justice." The smile that had appeared on her face slowly faded away and her body stiffened as he turned towards her pointing out a mistake she had made. "I-I'm s-sorry," She stuttered quietly retreating into herself slightly. "I-i a-am Q-quel-lyn." His hand extended out towards her and she was not sure what to do as she watched him. The last hand she had remember reaching out to her was her fathers just before he smacked her across the face for not coming home on time. though he had not been there to see what time she had gotten home.

Darius sighed. He never had a problem with low self-esteem. Ever since he was a child his mother has taught him that love towards oneself can be one of the ways to survive in this world. That's why he did not sacrifice himself for someone else's satisfaction or good. He just knew well enough that there was no one who'd do that either.
“Practice makes perfect. At least that's what they say,“ Darius commented. He practiced for hours and that every day. “But why not? Are you afraid that by mastering something you offend the memory of your mother?“ Alright, he knew that it was the wrongest topic there was to speak about with the girl, but Darius never saw the limits.

He shook her hand carefully. She seemed to be afraid of a physical contact. Again the theory of her being bullied by her classmates popped into his mind. Darius had two younger siblings and he was overly protective over them. Literally. If someone would harm Liesl or Andrei, he'd simply kill the god damn bastards. Did Quelyn have any older siblings here, though?

“Its nice to meet you, Quelyn.“ Saying this, he released her hand and stood up, making some space for the girl. Darius walked over to the other side of the piano and looked at his sheets. He did not have any simple notes, but he could easily compose her something in a matter of time. Not even looking up from his papers, he simply gestured with his hand:“Sit down, please..“