in the emptiness somewhere sounds an echo }} colt

[beth spencer']

The sudden shift of light was enough to wake her from her slumber. With a discontented moan, Beth shut her eyes tighter and pulled the duvet up over her face in a hopeless attempt to call back her dream. Perfectly delighted in her dreamlike state, she'd not been ready to be pulled so steadfastly into reality. Even as she stubbornly buried her face into the soft down pillow Beth knew she'd be unable to let sleep overcome her once more. Already she was adjusting to what was going on around her. Secluded in her soft nook of blankets she could hear her dorm mate scurrying to get ready - running the brush hurriedly through her hair before dropping it carelessly to the floor, the scratch of hangers as she sought out a shirt, the familiar zip as she settled into her jeans, and finally the slamming of the door before she rushed down the stairs. It was the same nearly every morning, except for the relaxing few when Beth awoke first.



She lay there tangled in her sheets for some time - hoping, yet knowing all the while that sleep would not again overtake her. Unsure how much time had passed she sighed once more as she pulled the duvet from her face, emerging from the nook she had made for herself. Immediately she found herself squinting in response to the harsh light which met her eyes. Just as it was every morning, her dorm mate had failed to shut it off in her hurried exit. Allowing her eyes the time to adjust she moved slowly as she gathered her thoughts, first pulling her legs from beneath the blanket and allowing them over the side of the bed so her feet might graze the floor. Mussing her hair with her hands, Beth let her eyes be drawn to the nearby window. The day was no where near as picturesque as her dream had been, painted in the colors of springtime. Instead she was met with foggy skies and raindrops spattered carelessly across the glass. She'd been hoping to spend the day outdoors, perhaps spend a few hours on her new broom, but the weather had her favoring an alternative.



As she did every morning, Beth pulled open the drawer to her bedside table. A sliding glance was all it took to tell her there was nothing there, as it had been so for sometime. Perhaps it was better that the paper was blank. While she wouldn't eagerly admit it, she was certain her brother would think so - even though he had no inclination. Beth had never been one to stir trouble, but she was certain that was all she'd be doing had the paper held any sort of response from him. Already she had overstepped some boundaries. Colt was her professor after all. Shaking her head she closed the drawer and crossed over to her wardrobe, she wouldn't fret over him - it was unlike her. There were still so many other things for her to enjoy here and Beth was not one to get caught up over something. Not nearly the romantic that her brother was, such things had never really stirred her much. Today she'd devote her time to something else, the only one thing she could ever say she truly loved - the piano.



The thought was enough to bring a smile to her lips and add a bit of pep to her step. Not even the rain could threaten her mood. Beth merely readied herself around her dorm mates mess, not bothering to clean the mess the girl had left behind. She dressed casually pulling on a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt with the face of a fox emblazoned in patterns of blue and black, before hiding her unruly locks beneath a mustard-colored cap. The only other she grabbed before walking out the door was a jacket and her wand, which she placed in the back pocket of her jeans. The corridors were strangely alive this morning, which she believed had to do with the fact that it was so dreary outside. Though the crowded hallways and promise of company excited her, she was more excited by the though of the empty ballroom and those perfect keys.



The room was just as she thought it might be as there was not a soul in sight. She was comfortable in this room, even though she was alone in the large empty space, Beth felt completely at home when the careful and studied sounds of her playing echoed through the room. Taking a seat on the bench, she fell immediately into the keys, her fingers dancing gracefully across the surface - filling an otherwise empty room.

ooc: not my best, but something...

[Colt Vince Sommer]

Colt’s eyes roved tranquilly across the endless hall that the sight of his office offered. Gallantly dressed, invested with that porcelain structured scenario that the ancient Greek precinct he dwelled within. Though his thoughts permeated through the glass panes and the thick marbled walls into reminiscence of that night, at which his lips had been softly touched. The man had a cursory glance at the words filled book, cracked open below him, as of not even minding on its contents for they seemed as overwhelming as anything else seemed so. He had roused with the dawn as he did so every day, fleeting so freely through the set of stairs which exscinded the story into a set of levels from which above his abode lied, as a recluse, concealed from the rest of the palace. It still intrigued him sometimes about the complexity of the edifice, and how the former professor had achieved such marvellous toil. Even when he attempted to leave his mind stranded in other affairs, the conclusive imagery of a effulgent smile peeking through plum tender lips emerged, and the words inevitably slipped off his conscious mind and the temporal lobule – It was as though his brain had been confined to an isolation state, where only the memoirs of that weekend could seep in, insufflating it. The summers were known for their antics, and Nathaniel could endow himself with infamous glory on the matter, albeit Colton could not do as so. The wistful weather had taken its toll on him already, and he was a little shadowed by nostalgia, for it seemed impossible to concentrate on anything rather than the inexorable quest of putting his heart aside. Content, was him. Filled with mirth from one cheek to another, as they had both been grazed by her hands – oh her so lovely warm hands.
‘but it’s wrong…’ it beset him, and almost sieged him, with the vibrant and pretty boisterous retorting of his lil’ brother. Of course, he was to admonish him on his decisions upon certain matters as such. How could something so good, be as bad? As deranging as anything else could besmirch his slate.

The Charms professor had spent a light-year in brooding, and pondering, just assessing the situation and whatever measures needed to be taken. ‘…As long as you keep it covert’ those were his final words, and they kept bouncing off, opening crevices inside his skull as the prodding thoughts felt so, in such limited space. An ounce of sanity cropped up every now and then, yet his inward sentiment was reluctant to let go off it. Framed by the notorious meditative frown crowning his features, his eyes downed to the book as he pulled back the chair with the aid of his legs and stood up with haste, stowing the book down as he posited on the desk littered with parchments from the students. He was an average professor, with a defiant method, that was little of orthodox and much of daunting to students – no wonder why his classroom was emptying ever so with the terms. As some referred to him as the ‘wacky’ and some others as ‘charming’, the ladies who stayed for his outlook were flitting off like flocks in winter. This, however, had some silver-lining as he was to keep the students who were eager to learn and less interested in anything else.
‘As your brother, I just wish your happiness…’ The bloke was harsh when he needed to be so, and blunt as the coldest winters in Scotland were so, but he was his kin, before anything else.

Relinquished from decent sleep, he had opted to remain within the Lair (as the former professor had named the office like), for it was grand and hollow and perfectly built as a thinking sanctuary. The only reason he had abandoned it was to impart lessons and to ingest the proper aliments – mostly, breakfast and supper. It was eerie to contact Beth by any mean – even through the quick notes piece of parchment he had let her keep. Why so? He was numbed enough to know the answer to it. As the clouds finally let their contents poured from the heights, he watched the droplets carefully patting against the window panes, having a profound mournful sigh that lasted more than due. Ravenous as he was, he had sneaked out earlier for a raid on food, and he had even toted some bits with him. Nevertheless, the climate seemed as suffocating as the lair was, for him reckoned best to let himself out of it all. Grabbing a satchel and slung it over his shoulder, he dashed off through the entrance, heedless on the several dragon snout locks as he shut the door closed behind him – they would put themselves on if someone was around.

Striding past some familiar hallways, a set of doors slightly ampler than the rest caught his attention and lured him hither. Colton had never been there, despite of having walked by the zone, and yet, a filling noise that seemed to escape the crack on the door enticed him and made him slip inside by merely opening the door and closing it behind him. Surreptitiously, he stepped forth and downed the stairs until the very stage where a so familiar slender shape awaited. There she was, glimmering from the light that came from behind, almost like a halo. “Beth…” his lips betrayed him and he pronounced the name aloud, and almost as high as the volume of the piano – perhaps, intentionally. His countenance lit up with a huge grin that went from ear to ear, and he couldn’t do anything but to rush off and jump onto the higher platform to meet her.

“I didn’t know you played the piano” an slightly accusative stare accompanied the words uttered, but it was followed by another grin, “…and that you were so talented about it, either”

BETH | 987 | PREPOSTEROUS

[beth spencer']

The soft echo of her name, barely audible over the music, was the thief of her attention. Her fingers hovered over the yet untouched keys, so only the soft echoes of the melody remained - that and his voice. A voice which had recently become familiar. It had been just this morning that she had looked in her drawer hoping to see his words scrawled neatly on her quick notes, but instead she was hearing them uttered from his lips. Suddenly, she felt both tense and excited, the sound of her name on his lips had been enough to steal away all of her composure. Unsure of which emotion was the stronger she bit her lower lip as she turned to greet him, her fingers falling from their place on the keyboard. Colt... Her lips betrayed the name before she had the chance to correct herself. The last time they'd spoken had been in confidence, protected by the four walls of his own home. Being the charms instructor she'd no reason to fear their level of confidence, she'd felt safe within the confines of his home. Here inside the Palace was different. This was the second time she'd let his name carelessly fall from her lips. Though they were alone, it was his place of employment. Although she'd regularly feel comfortable using his name, she was aware that it was all a little unorthodox, even more so since their lips had touched. Professor Sommer... I meant. The words stumbled awkwardly from her lips, feeling misplaced.



Shyly she turned her eyes on him but she couldn't help the smile which immediately turned the corner of her lips as she took in his bright countenance. Her words hadn't even found the time to reach him before he jumping up on to the stage, quickly closing the empty space between them. Her fingers curled around the bench on which she sat, nervous that they too might betray her. Beth had made a habit of touching him on their last few visits and while she wanted to embrace him as she would any other, again she knew it to be unacceptable. Colt though, unlike herself, seemed coolly at ease which was so strikingly unlike her. I'm sure there are a good many thing you don't know. She started, allowing herself to move her hand only so far as piano, playing a few soft keys as she raised her gaze to meet his own - slightly accusing, underneath his brilliant smile. It seems you have some learning to do yourself Professor. Beth teased, as her eyes traced his handsome features. Beth knew that she hadn't been the only girl in his classes to find him strikingly handsome. Between leaving classes there had been whispered remarks and just like herself she'd seen their eyes follow him as he walked through the halls. It'd become almost a guilty pleasure of hers, falling back into the memory of their meetings every time someone spoke of him. It was hard keeping it a secret, as Beth was not prone to being secretive, but she knew her family would disapprove and she couldn't chance anyone else knowing. Beth was in the practice of enjoying life as it came to her and she so hated to waste an opportunity.



My brother always jokes that the piano will be my only true love. Laughing she turned again to the piano, allowing the soft melody to take over the room once more. In her later years, after Josh had left for Beauxbatons, Beth had spent all of her time learning and playing the piano. In his absence she had dedicated herself to only two things, playing and writing him letters. The two had been very close growing up so when he'd left, she'd been heartbroken, playing had been the one thing that helped heal the pain of his absence. They were the two reasons she was here after all, her schooling had started at Hogwarts, but she'd hoped to be closer to Joshua and also to come to a school which might be more well rounded to her talents. Even before she'd learned to play she used to sit at her mother's side with her eyes closed, just to listen. It was that she loved above all else. Joshua who had this seemingly traditional ideal of love that Beth couldn't quite grasp always told her she'd never love nothing more. She doubted that would be the case, she just didn't think settling down and marrying was the definition of love - whereas that was his sole belief. It all still puzzled her honestly. I like to be good at what I do. I've always had that competitive edge and the piano has always demanded excellence. It's too beautiful an instrument to have wasted talent. She said over the music, turning to look at him, yet continuing to play. It was of many thing she enjoyed. Another of those things, she was learning quickly, was his company.



So tell me... what brought you here on this gloomy day



ooc: blah, hopefully they'll get better...