Pain and Tears {Open}

[Twilight Borealis]

Twilight leaned against the cool wall for a moment. Her whole body felt weighted down and her mind was in a turmoil. Twyla had barely had any sleep thanks to all the worrying she did. She had just come from a particularly nasty fight with her sister Aurora, a sixth year Gryffindor, over their mother's crying and inability to care for any of them. It had ended with Twyla shouting that Rora's selfishness wasn't helping their mum's condition and Rora slapping Twyla on the cheek, hard, and stomping off. Tears filled Twyla's eyes as she gingerly touched her still stinging cheek.

The two sisters had been best friends before Twyla had begun going to Hogwarts. The bitter house rivalries had made arguments occur between them. As the years had gone on, Rora had become conceited and self-centered. This had broken their mother's heart, seeing her two daughters fight like that. They were ruthless but Twyla had never wanted it to be that way. She had hoped that Rora was just going through a phase and that she would be her normal, silly self again but she never changed. Now Twyla had to try and help Rora be her old self again before she ruined herself and her chances.

Another tear coursed down Twyla's face and she closed her eyes, giving in to the pain that filled her to bursting. The cool wall kept her rooted to the earth and made her remember where she was.

[Jasmine Vail]

Jasmine walked the corridor slowly, her footsteps echoing softly throughout the stone walls. Her pace matched her heartbeat perfectly. She wasn't sure what had drawn her away from the common room, especially with the amount of homework piling up already, but she'd decided she simply needed a break, and since no one cared to join her, Jasmine walked the halls alone. She had her soft, dark hair pulled up messily behind her head and comfortable clothes on as she wandered.

Jasmine considered heading down to the kitchens for a snack. Before she was able to make up her mind, however, she heard a noise mixing in with the echoes of her footsteps. She skidded to a halt and glanced around, curious as to why someone was spying from the shadows. What was the noise, anyway? A sneeze? A snicker?

"Hello?" Jasmine called out softy. She'd narrowed down the quiet sound to either tears or giggles. Which would be worse to deal with, she wasn't sure.

[Twilight Borealis]

Twyla's eyes flew open. Startled, she looked around the corner. There seemed to be someone else there. Twyla didn't feel like talking to anyone but she forced herself to answer. She didn't want to be called rude or snobbish or cold. Steading herself, Twyla prepared to turn the corner. As she walked, she pushed away the tears that stained her face, wishing she had not just been crying.

"Hello." Twyla replied as she neared the slim figure.

[Jasmine Vail]

Jasmine held in her gasp as another figure rounded a corner in the corridor, scaring her as she stood alone. Jasmine didn't recognize the girl right away; she only knew that she'd seen her before. Realizing who it was, however, Jasmine's heart dropped as Twilight stepped into a sliver of light. Moisture was embedded on her face as though she had been wiping away tears. She looked sad, which simply made Jasmine sadder in turn. The Gryffindor was not the kind of girl that wanted people's feelings hurt; not unless they deserved it.

"Hey," she started out. A small smile played at Jasmine's lips as she shifted her weight, her hands fidgeting in front of her. "Are you alright?"

Twilight didn't seem to be angry at Jas for interrupting something important, but nor did she seem happy to have company. Jasmine tilted her head slightly, her pony tail falling over her left shoulder, her brown eyes filled with sadness and curiosity.

[Twilight Borealis]

Twyla sighed. "I'm fine. Just very worried and unsure. Aurora had another fight with me today. I called her a conceited self-centered brat and she slapped me. I don't think she'll ever be the old Rora that I grew up with for so many years. Have you seen her lately?" she replied. Jasmine had helped Twyla with her problems for a few years and the girls had become quite close. Twyla thought of Jasmine as another sister, just closer than Rora.

[Jasmine Vail]

Jasmine sighed and shook her head, letting her lips pull up into a one-sided sad smile. She hated hearing of Twyla and Rora's fights. She also knew that she could do nothing about them. The girls simply didn't get along, and who was Jasmine to make them? The Gryffindor stayed out of it as much as possible, but would listen to her friend Twilight as long as she wanted her to. What were friends for, right?

The irony of a Gryffindor and Slytherin being close friends was never lost on Jasmine, but she wasn't one to judge based on houses; she was one to judge on character and personality, if she had to really admit it.

"Sorry, Twyla," Jasmine told her friend. "I haven't seen Rora anywhere." She wasn't as familiar with Twilight's sister as she was with the other Slytherin; the two didn't seem to get along quite as well as Jasmine and Twyla did.

"What did she slap you about, though?" she asked, suddenly more emotional than before. Jasmine's dark brown eyes flashed with curiosity and anger, though it quickly disappeared, and her hair swayed with each movement of her head.

[Twilight Borealis]

Twyla sighed, a small smile suddenly forming on her lips. "I told her her selfishness wasn't helping mum's condition." she replied, impishly. Twyla loved pointing out the obvious to people especially when they didn't see it themselves or just ignored it. She pushed back her dark raven black hair and sighed again. The smile disappeared and Twyla looked just as tired and plain as before.

[Jayden Hawls]

Jayden was wandering around the castle when he heard two voices waft in from a nearby corridor. His curiosity getting the better of him, he began to walk towards the voices. After all, he had nothing better to do. Wondering who the voices belonged to, he thought that he had heard the voices from somewhere. Finally rounding the corner, he saw two girls, but their faces did not match the familiarity of the voices. Sighing, he supposed that he must have been hearing things.

Smiling as he came upon the two of them, he was surprised to see that one of them had tears staining her pretty face. Now a fair bit concerned, he faced the one that had been crying and quietly asked, "Are you allright? You don't need to tell me anything, I just want to know that your okay." Brushing his curly hair out of his eyes, he gave her a small smile to try and comfort her a little.

Realizing he hadn't introduced himself, he added, "My name is Jayden. It's a pleasure to meet you both." Looking at the other girl, he asked her, "What's your name?" Looking down at their robes for the first time, he noticed that neither of them were in the same house as him. Not that it really mattered, but sometimes you would find things more in common with your own housemates. Although, the stereotypes were oftentimes wrong.

As he waited for the pair to respond, he wondered if it was healthy to expose himself as much as he had lately. All he had been doing of late was meeting new people, and although it should be a good thing, Jayden's sense of paranoia was beginning to overcome him. He lived in constant fear that someone might find out. Trying to overcome these thoughts, he figeted with his wand in his pocket.

[Twilight Borealis]

Twyla smiled a bit and almost blushed. She was not used to boys any older than her little fourteen year old brother. "I'm fine. Just a bit worried." she replied hesitantly. Twyla looked sideways out of her pale blueish-grey eyes at Jasmine. As the boy introduced himself as Jayden, Twyla smiled inwardly. "I'm Twilight. Everyone calls me Twyla." she remarked. Twyla felt her cheeks reddening a bit.

[Jasmine Vail]

Jasmine chuckled darkly at the mention of Twyla's story. If it was like anyone to simply come out and state what they thought, it would be her Slytherin friend. Jas was worried for her, but she seemed to be able to take care of herself for the most part.

The Gryffindor heard new noises behind them. Turning to look, she saw a Ravenclaw boy emerging from the other end of the corridor they were in. Jas smiled warmly at him, her white teeth flashing in the darkness.

"Nice to meet you too, Jayden," she told him. Jasmine stuck her fidgeting hands into her pockets as she glanced between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw. "I'm Jasmine." She grinned at him and shot a glance at Twyla; the uncomfortable look on her face didn't escape Jasmine's eye, but she simply smiled and turned her attention back to the newcomer. Oblivious to Jasper's fidgeting, she simply shrugged and let out a breath, her bangs blowing from the air moving through her soft lips.

[Jayden Hawls]

Jayden watched the crying girl speak, knowing that she was holding something back. He decided to not press any further, as he knew that busybodies were the worst kind of friends. Smiling reassuringly at her, he murmured, "Don't worry so much. It's so much better to just live and not be bothered by everything." He found that he had said this quite ironic, as he was paranoid about his own life, probably more than she was worried about hers.

Nevertheless, he hoped that she would be happier soon. It sucked being depressed, Jayden definitely knew what that feeling was like. Losing his dad had hit him the hardest, and knowing that he would never find the man who did it made it even worse. Jayden had almost ripped his hair out in misery as he watched Father's body being brought out of the morgue. It had been like watching someone else's life, like it wasn't really him. Like it was someone else.

Pushing away these incredibly saddening thoughts, he turned to the Gryffindor and said cheerfully "Are you two new to the school? I just transferred over from Beauxbatons. Today is only my second day here. Do you know what the classes are like?" He idly scratched his nose while he said this, looking around the empty corridor, watching the suits of armor rattle and the various poltergeists floating by.

[Twilight Borealis]

Twyla smiled at Jay's words. Usually her smile would light up her dark face but today it only made her look sadder. "I try. Trust me. I try." she replied, sighing. Twyla seemed to sigh a lot these days. Maybe it was just the fights and the pressure but she was glad someone other than Jas was there for her to talk to. Twyla looked at the drab grey stone walls that reflected her mood perfectly. There were very few paintings on the walls in this corridor.

Twyla's head jerked back to Jayden when he mentioned he was from Beauxbatons. "Really? What was it like there?" she almost blurted out but stopped her self as Jay continued speaking. This time a real smile played across Twyla's face, giving her a slightly impish look in the current light. "I'm a fifth year but I'm actually 16. Jas is a seventh year." she replied quickly, "Classes here are actually really fun. I personally enjoy them. Especially DADA..." A mischievous look appeared in Twyla's eyes. She stopped speaking abruptly as she realized she had used Jas's nickname. "I'll just shut up now..." she added.

[Jasmine Vail]

Jasmine's eyes flashed wide at Jayden's confession. She grinned appreciatively this time, not knowing exactly what it would be like to be new in a school, but imagining the feeling. The boy would have more than enough friends, Jas concluded. He was friendly and caring, not to mention handsome. The small Gryffindor chuckled at her own thoughts; she didn't care if anyone else knew what was so funny to her.

"No, I've been here since my first year, actually, so I've got quite a knowledge of the classes." Jasmine's lips stayed turned up into a smile as she spoke, pulling her small, cold hands from her pockets and animating with them, moving around pointlessly in the darkness of the corridor. "All classes are fun to me, even ones besides Defense Against the Dark Arts," she shot a teasing glance at Twyla. "My favorite is Charms, with Professor Flitwick." Jasmine laughed aloud at the thought of the tiny teacher standing on a stack of textbooks.

"If you need any help though, feel free to ask, right?" Jas had to hold back a shake of her head; people before had told her that her mother had taught her to be way too friendly and trusting. What was not to trust, though? A curious breeze blew throughout the corridor, blowing Jasmine's soft hair and tickling her skin. Her brown gaze glanced toward the end of the hall, but she was unable to see anything, even after squinting her vision.

"Met anyone interesting yet?" she wondered aloud, actually now quite curious as to what Jayden thought of Hogwarts so far. Everyone she knew had been going to the school since their first day; it was simply what they knew. Jas thought it would be quite interesting, however, to see it from an outsider's perspective.

[Jayden Hawls]

Ooc: ew...this might be a short post <.<

Ic: Jayden heard Twilight say that she tried to act positive, and he realized that it might not be as minor of a problem as he had first thought. Not knowing quite what to say to such a statement, he heard her say that she was 16, but in 5th year. At this point, he spoke up and said, "You're sixteen as well? I am, but I'm a sixth year. My birthdays in May, so I'm just a normal kid. Why are you in fifth year?" Jayden was genuinely intrested in this, as it was fairly unheard of to hear of someone older than they are supposed to be.

As he heard Twilight talk about her favorite class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, he laughed and said, "DADA is a complete joke at Beauxbatons. Teachers are more concerned with subjects like Transfiguration and Charms. I'll be glad to actually learn some defensive spells and jinxes instead of sleeping through class." Jayden loved two things about wizarding school the most: Dueling and playing Quidditch. However, when he transferred over to Beauxbatons from Durmstrang, he was dissapointed to learn that you learned formulas and theory mostly instead of actually learning spells.

He then turned to Jasmine and heard her say that she had been at Hogwarts since her very first year. This was the norm, of course, but to Jayden, it seemed quite alien, as he had transferred schools at least 4 times. Father oftentimes had to flee countries when people found out, after all. Jayden never blamed him, it was what they had to do for survival. Now though, it was Jayden's decision to leave the French Countryside and come home once again to England. Home sweet home, indeed.

Finally speaking, he said, "So you've been here for 6 years, then? That's quite amazing. I've had to transfer school a few times, so you never really quite settle in. I wont be moving anymore, though. This is it for me." When she offered to help him out, he smiled and said, "I don't think ill need too much help, but thank you very much for the offer. Ive been at wizarding school all my life, I just have to put up with changes in scenery every few years." He laughed when she asked him if he had met anyone intresting, and said, "Yeah, Ive met a few people. Do you know Jane, or Alyssa? I met them as I was coming in last night. Alyssa is a newcomer as well."

[Twilight Borealis]

Twyla laughed, a rare thing these days. "I was born in October on Halloween so I turned 16 about a month after starting my fifth year." she replied, genuinely in a good mood now. Talking with Jas and Jay helped her forget her troubles. The wind that had come through earlier, blew through again, rustling Twyla's hair. She looked for the source of the breeze, only half listening to Jay. Twyla didn't know to many people. She was kind of a loner slash quiet girl and thus, very few people noticed her unless they were witnessing one of the very common fights between the Borealis sisters.

Not finding the wind's source, Twyla shifted back to Jay and Jas. "Would you count us as interesting?" she asked impishly. Her eyes were dancing and she didn't look or feel as pained or hurt as she had earlier. The sting in her cheek was nearly gone and she was becoming more and more comfortable. Realizing this, a sudden blush mounted her cheeks. Some knew that she was not used to being this relaxed with guys but Jay probably didn't...