Life, the Balancing Act

Darcy was concentrating very hard.

Now, this is important to note, because the Hufflepuff rarely had reason to concentrate while she was on land. On the ship, she was a marvel. She would scale the mast to fix the rigging, tying compliated knots in a matter of seconds, before jumping back to the deck and joining her mates in hauling over a net full of treasure, quickly sifting through the junk to the good stuff. On land, she struggled to walk and chew gum at the same time.

So it was magnificent to see her walking the halls, two large boxes in her arms. Inside them were all of the mixtapes she had collected over the years. The boxes were not overly heavy, but they were large and awkward, and they prevented her from seeing in front of her. Or below her, for that matter. So she had no clue the danger she was in as one sneaker stepped down upon the lace of the other. The lace was pulled tight, her knee jerked as it was prevented from going any farther, and suddenly Darcy Deas suffered a great fall.

The fall did not hurt. She had two great boxes to break it, after all, and she was no stranger to pain after all. The boxes, however, were much frailer than her. They burst open, being the weak, flimsy carboard they were, and suddenly old muggle tapes scattered across the corridor. She pushed herself up, righting herself so she was sitting on her bum in the middle of the carnage that was her fallen tape empire.

"Well, shit."

Ugh.... another detention once again for something that she didn't do, but the professors didn't believe her. Now after hours of cleaning the hospital wings beds, Ally was finally free to fo on with the rest of her day. With muscles aching, Ally strolled down the corridor her feet seemly guiding her along. After being up almost all night, Ally wanted nothing more than go back to her dorm room and catch some sleep. But all the sudden a crash from down the corridor told her differently.

Coming upon a girl her age or older, Ally almost stepped on one of her tapes. " Watch where you put these bloody things, I'm trying to walk here!"said Ally hissing at the older girl. " Have to be a Hufflepuff. " Ally thought to herself. " Ravenclaw and Slytherins weren't that dumb to drop ma box of useless muggle stuff. " What the heck are these stupid things anyway?"Ally spat at her before picking one up.

Ally never seen anything muggle before, so she had to say she was quite fascinated by it. Being raised by nothing but Pureblood ways, Ally was never exposed to anything muggle or anything. Her parents forbid her and still do til this day, to have anything to do with muggles or muggles things. Ally used to have friends of different blood types as well a muggle born boy friend, but after being cheated on and laughed at by the school, angry started hated everyone but purebloods more than ever. It was funny how one tiny little thing like that could crush you and make you so cold and bitter.

A rude voice immediately berated her, but Darcy was used to it by now. She was very used to being abused in her school, the place that was supposed to be a secure and safe place to learn. Sure, people were not exactly polite on the ship - sailors were rarely practiced in coversational ettiquette. But still. At least behind all the rude talk and tough words, there was some love there, some common decency. It was exactly that missing at this school she had been coerced into calling home. People could be nice, people could be mean. But here at Hogwarts, there was no Love, and they all lacked a whole lot of Common Decency.

"I'll clear the way out for you soon," she said, trying to sound chipper and optimistic, while her mind spewed a few choice words. "Terribly sorry to inconvenience you, I usually make sure to make life as easy for you as I can. That's my job and all." Okay, so she could not keep all the sass out of her voice and words, but that was how it went.

She looked up when the stranger asked about the tapes. It was a girl her age, with a bad attitude and a mean expression. Darcy could guess her House, but she hated to assume. "Mix tapes! That one there's one called 'For Stormy Seas.' Lots of sad, quiet songs. My friend Bryce made it for me."

Ally looked at n mix tapes before rolling her eyes. " Sounds boring, and makes me want to go to sleep."said Ally smirking. " Let me guess, you're some kind of sailor or something?"Ally spat at her looking her up and down in disgust. " By the looks of it, a muggle born, I mean what else would explain why you have these?"Ally asked her looking at her even more disgusted. She was honestly fascinated by these mix tapes, she never seen anything like them before. Although she wasn't going to admit that to this girl.

Ally used to do muggle things in secret all the time with her ex boyfriend, but since the break up she went back to her pureblood ways. Although she knew very little about muggle things, she knew some. She used to read muggle books all the time, and honestly she missed it. Being a pureblood was hard, for she didn't know anything other than pureblood ways. Ally honestly felt dumb, although she wasn't seeing how she was a Ravenclaw. She wanted to know more than she knew now, but could she let go of everything that happened to her?

Ally didn't know but she was already different than her family, so liked it mattered. Not to mention she was friends with a Ravenclaw older than her named Gordan. Although she wouldn't call it friends, more like acquaintances then anything really. Although he really changed her point of view on things around, maybe she needed that detention after all.

Darcy raised an eyebrow at the girl's remark. It was odd. Sure, tapes did not sound interesting to some people, but to put you to sleep so quickly? This girl was an odd duck, Darcy was getting an easy sense of that. But she would not be too quick to judge - unlike the girl who continued to tower over her. Darcy continued to shovel the tapes back into their boxes, before waving her wand. They all immediately landed in the boxes in a great heap. The one that had been picked up by the strange girl tore itself free from her grip and landed in the boxes.

Darcy pushed herself up and stared down into the boxes and the tapes inside. Her dormmate Suzannah had spent a solid two hours helping Darcy organize, sort, and pack away all of the tapes. And now, with a wave of her wand, everything was all mixed up and out of order. Darcy heaved a sigh, looking down, reaching up and pushing her short hair back out of her face. "Damn," she whispered.

Darcy's ear was caught by the word she identified with most in the word : sailor. The girl continued on, spouting judgement and prejudice, but none of that mattered to Darcy. She was not one to be easiily disrupted by hearts crueller and weaker than her own. She was much too strong for it. But she was not wearing anything nor doing anything that suggested she sailed. "How do you know I'm a sailor?" Darcy challenged. "See... Tapes are not common on a ship. At all. They have nothing to do with them. So either you have powers, or you know me and are pretending not to so you can seem cool." She rested her hands loosely on her hips. "So... which is it?"

Ally chuckled and laughed at the girl.  " Although I'm a pureblood,  I seriously doubt that I have any powers. " said Ally smirking.  " As for knowing you,  that's impossible my parents would kill me if I knew you. "said Ally honestly.  " I think I seen you before when my parents had a party on their yacht. " said Ally.   " Besides you look kinda salorish."said Ally simply shrugging her shoulders.  " Besides why else would you be carrying around mixtapes called 'for the stormy sea'?"Ally asked her smirking.  

Ally couldn't believe she was being somewhat nice to this girl,  maybe Gordan was changing her.  It scared her though,  she worked so hard to be where she's at to please her parents,  but they never noticed anyways.  Would they noticed if she changed? Probably not seeing how she was a disgrace to them anyways.   Ally been that way since she was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin.   Ally used to care,  but after so long of her parents not caring she didn't care anymore.

Ally was always the black Sheep of the family, broke the Nott family tradition and she dated and fell in love with a muggle born. She did so many things different from her family, maybe deep down she was always different from them. Maybe deep down, she didn't want to live the way her parents taught her but her own way. Slowly but surely, Ally was breaking free from them, and she didn't even realize it.

The girl said that she doubted she had powers, and Darcy found that the insult came so quickly. “Yeah, so do I.” It was spoken in a bright, cheery tone, relaxed and happy. Yes, Darcy could be rough and tough and mean and nasty, but she knew that dealing with girls here was different than dealing with sailors. If one of the sailors got mad enough, she knew that a few punches, a lager, and a drinking song later they would all be friends again. In girl world, as she had been told by her dormmates, one bad run in could lead to a lifetime rivalry.

And Darcy did not have the time for that.

“I feel like I’d remember being on a yacht, and that wouldn’t make me a sailor, either,” Darcy assured her. The girl tried to claim that it was the name of the tape, but even that was a bold statement. “Assumptions are terrible things to say. You can’t take them back, and you know the old rhyme. They make an ass out of you and me.” She smiled, shrugging, as she bent down to close up the boxes and restack them on top of each other.

The comment about looking sailor-ish struck her – a little delayed, yes, but it struck her. She straightened up and began an earnest questioning. “I look ‘sailor-ish’? How many sailors do you know? Do I look suited for a boat? And, lastly, didn’t your parents ever tell you that judging was a sin?” Ooh, she had just gone Catholic on the girl. And yet, she was asking as though she were asking for the time.

Ally rolled her eyes at the girl, getting more and more annoyed by her presence. Ooh... so she was pulling the nasty and mean card was she? Ally could do that as well, although she tried really hard not, but this girl was asking for it. Ally dealt with hot headed purebloods, so she could handle this girls insults. Besides it wasn't like she haven't been insulted before, her parents maybe rich, but she has been insulted before this wasn't the first.

"I' didn't say you were on it, so don't be putting words in my mouth. " Ally shot at her. " I honestly don't know how I know you're a sailor, just a lucky guess?"Ally asked shrugging her shoulders. "No there not, I may be a Pureblood but I'm not a idiot! " said Ally simply. " Besides, not many people I seen walked around with mixtapes of the sea unless there one can't sleep and something to help them sleep, two love the noises of it, three an pirate or four a sailor. " said Ally honestly.

Once she played the parents card on her, it struck her as she looked coldly at her. " I don't know any sailors, but my ex boyfriend used to take me out a dock where board were lined up in rows preparing to take off for a trip."said Ally softly. " I used to find it fascinating to watch them, but I stopped after the break up. " said Ally simply shrugging. " As for my parents no they didn't, I was taught on nothing but Pureblood ways, my family hates me, I'm a disgrace to the family for being a Ravenclaw."said Ally. " Even when I was born, my mother was never around me it was always my brother Alexander, I was close to my brother and my father until Alexander went to Hogwarts, after that everything started falling apart little by little but gotten worse as I was sorted into Ravenclaw and not Slytherin. " said Ally softly. " I don't know why I'm telling you this, you'll probably tell me to suck it up and deal with it people live without their parents all the time. "said Ally.

Darcy did not think she had once run into someone at Hogwarts that was even slower than she was. Darcy knew exactly why it was she had been sorted into Hufflepuff rather than one of the cleverer Houses, and that was because there was saltwater where her brain was supposed to be. Put her on a ship and she was a genius. Put her in a school and she drowned, socially and academically. Intelligence was not her strong suit… so if she was feeling intellectually superior to someone, then something strange was going on indeed.
 
“I think I seen you before when my parents had a party on their yacht,” Darcy repeated. “Honey, I’m putting nothing in your mouth.” She winked, unable to keep from reverting to her usual cheeky self. The girl began to explain her reasoning and Darcy arched an eyebrow. “You should be a detective.” Her earnest tone completely hid the fact that she was being sarcastic.
 
Suddenly, the other girl was going off, and Darcy doubted she could stop her if she punched her. Not that she would. She didn’t want to kill the girl, after all. After her oddly revealing talk was over, Darcy reeled. Who just… said all of that? That was beyond honesty. “Well, you’re certainly not a Slytherin…” Darcy said, a bit weakly. She paused, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “You’re going to take this the wrong way, I’m sure… but what’s your damage? I mean, you sort of just unloaded on me and you obviously don’t like me for some reason… You have some issues, and that’s not my business, but you’re sort of making it my issue.”

Ally looked down at her feet. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you. " said Ally honestly. " I honestly don't know why I even did that. " said Ally. "Well... my muggle born boy friend cheated on me with my worn enemy Maia who wasn't a half blood, I was sp hurt and angry I started no one but myself. "said Ally simply. " Plus I was raised by pureblood ways, so yeah I got to hate you. " said Ally honestly. " I know their stupid reasons, but I guess it's just me being scared of getting hurt. "said Ally shrugging.

Ally didn't know why she was dumping everything on this girl lap for, but she was. " Oh I'm Ally, Ally Nott although you probably knew that. " said Ally. " As for my damage, that's everything I told you, I just want my parents to accept me and just want some love. " said Ally honestly. " Is that to much to ask?"Ally asked softly. " Maybe that's why I am the way I am, due to no love. "said Ally simply.

Ally never knew what love was, she never really had it growing up. Just when she thought she was having it, plans always turned out differently. Ally's cold way and bitter ways, had to be due to the way she was raised. Deep down Ally wanted to change, but she was scared to. She been like this for so long, it was the only way she knew how to act.