Stop That, I'm Brooding PV D. Prince Finished

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By SK

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It took a very rare occasion for Dealla to be up and out of bed at just after 7 am - on a Sunday no less - but it seemed like this day was one of those, few and far in between as they may be. She had good reason for it, too - the unfairness of the world in general and her mother in specific had made it absolutely impossible for her to fall back asleep after first waking up around half an hour before the end of curfew, so she had made use of that half hour to to write a heartfelt letter to her mother in hopes of softening Alexandra Prince's stony heart. Spoiler: It wasn't going to work.

Dee thought she made very compelling arguments, too. When she had pleaded to get a pet during the trip to Diagon Alley to buy the school things she'd need this year a few weeks ago, her mother had flat-out refused, telling Dealla that she wasn't ready for the responsibility of taking care of another living being, yet. This was entirely correct, of course, but there had been no way Dealla was going to admit that, so when Dee had still been glued to the windows of the Magical Menagerie - she loved cats, but also those rats were so cute? She could carry one in her pocket! Or how cool would it be to get one of those lizards? - her mother had changed tactics and told her that she was sure most people in her year weren't allowed to own pets yet, either.
This had also been perfectly true - before the break, at least. Somehow it seemed that ever since she'd gotten back to the castle a few days ago, the number of cat paws, owl wings, and rat tails roaming the halls of Hogwarts had multiplied. There were cats everywhere! She'd even glimpsed a few of these odd pink or purple fur balls here and there.

So obviously, that argument was completely invalid, and Dee had written a very passionate letter to inform her mother of this extremely unfair situation, and was now skipping up the last few steps to the Owlery to make sure that letter got on its way as soon as possible.

As she entered the Owlery to the rustle of the wings of hundreds of owls, it took her a moment to realise that she wasn't alone, too caught up in her mission to notice the figure dramatically brooding by the window while she chose an owl at random and fixed the letter to the bird's leg.
Only when she carried the owl over to the window she noticed that she wasn't alone, and Dee's first thought was that her unexpected company looked like Opeila, a Slytherin girl who had stayed in the same camp as Dee had at summer camp. However, while strikingly similar, the two didn't look exactly the same - the height, hair colour, expression didn't quite match up.

But still, there was something tickling her memory, some sense that she should know who this was, as she greeted the stranger with her usual energy and a smile brilliant enough to rival the rising sun. If there was an aura around her that projected Don't approach me as clearly as if it was shouted, or written on a sign in big, neon letters, Dee managed to ignore it without even batting an eye. "Oh, hi! Sorry, I didn't see you, you were so quiet! I didn't expect anyone else to be here this early."
She stared at the girl for a moment longer, trying to remember. In the still reddish light of the sun, she looked a little like she was bathed in flames - "Oh! Wait, I think I know you. You're the girl that was on fire, right? Or... the girl that set people on fire? Maybe both?" Dee frowned, eyebrows drawn together in thought as she tried to recall the rumours she had caught, the whispered words that had accompanied the pointed fingers in the Great Hall. Most of them had seemed to agree that this was someone to stay away from, but currently, she didn't seem terribly scary or otherwise impressive. A little odd, maybe, staring out into the morning sun like this. "Ana Beckett, right?"

The wrinkle between Dee's eyebrows smoothed out, mystery solved, and made way for an easy smile and a curious spark in her eyes. What was anyone doing here this early, on a Sunday? "I'm Dee Prince - Dealla, really, but please don't call me that. Did you watch the sunrise? Was it pretty?"

@Anastasia Beckett

@Dealla Prince

As Ana contemplated the mess that was life, she continued to gaze out on the mist that was rising off the ground. Sunrises were the one thing that seemed to be constant, whether Ana was in Russia, England, Scottland, or France. Sure, it was prettier or earlier or more colorful in various places, but it was always there. Everything else was temporary, even the things that Ana thought were permanent and unalterable. A hundred years from now, when she and everyone in this castle were long dead and gone, the sun would still rise. It was comforting, but also sobering. It was just one more thing Ana had absolutely no control over.

She continued her brooding when she heard irregular footsteps coming up the stairs. Who else would be up here this early? As she listened to the steps, she almost wondered if the person was skipping or hopping or something. That or the person was a giant, so skipping or hopping sounded like it made the most sense. A girl burst in and made a beeline for an bird, clearly set upon sending whatever letter it was she was here to mail. Ana glanced at her for a moment before returning her gaze to the horizon. She didn't think she was even remotely approachable at the moment, so as long as this girl minded her own business, Ana's solitude would soon return and she could get back to her contemplating.

So, of course, the girl didn't mind her own business. She began to chipperly chatter about how she hadn't seen Ana and how quiet Ana had been. Ana glanced at her again, arching an eyebrow confusedly. Even her closest friends had been somewhat intimidated by her new demeanor, and she hadn't had a stranger try to start a conversation with her since she'd been back. Ana's eyebrow arched again when the girl began to talk about fire. God, had everyone heard about that? It was months ago, at that stupid Blossom Ball. Did people truly have nothing better to focus on? She supposed she had more than earned the reputation, since she had stopped bothering to keep track of the people that she had set on fire, accidentally and otherwise. "For the record, I haven't set anyone, including myself, on fire since June," Ana muttered peevishly.

To be fair, if those were the only rumors flying about, Ana wouldn't have minded terribly. She was just glad that she hadn't mentioned any of the rumors about her parents and their supposed disappearance. She knew that there had to be all sorts of crazy tales running rampant, and it was a matter of time until she heard about that.

"Yes, I'm Anastasia Beckett," Ana said coolly, hoping the girl would talk the hint and leave her to her foul mood. The girl continued to chatter like a squirrel that had been shaken up like a can of muggle soda and then given several shots of espresso. Ana furrowed her brow, slightly confused as to why this girl was still talking to her. "I - um - yes, I did, Dee."

She cleared her throat and turned back to the sunrise, certain that the girl would get the gist that Ana wasn't in the mood - not that she was ever in the mood these days - to talk to or deal with other people.

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By SK

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Dee had let her gaze drift across the sky as she talked. There were still some colourful traces of the sunrise, a tinge of pink and red to some clouds, but most of it was already gone. It seemed to be shaping up to be a beautiful morning, though, a warm and golden late summer day.

"Oh," Dee said, frowning a little when she caught Anastasia's muttering. She wasn't sure if that was an achievement to be proud of, since June had only been three months ago, and two of those had been summer break in which the other girl wouldn't even have been allowed to cast any spells. Depending on when in June that last incident had been, maybe she'd really only gone a few days before the break had started, and then another few days since it had ended. But she supposed there were ways to set people on fire without magic, and even small achievements deserved to be supported and celebrated. Maybe. "Uh... congratulations, I guess?" she said, flashing a smile that was somewhere between encouraging and highly amused. "Keep it up! If you make it to a year, I'll get you a celebratory cupcake?" Although half of it - or more - was teasing, the offer was entirely genuine. Assuming Dee remembered, that was. "I was set on fire several times in July, but that was during the Chess Combat tournament at Summer camp, so that's different, I think."

If Anastasia had known Dee at all, she would probably have realised that continuing to talk to her when she wanted to be left alone was the worst mistake she could make. Subtle social cues like facial expression, voice, or death glares could easily go unnoticed - or even if they registered, Dee might just choose to disregard them if she decided the other person was entertaining enough.
When ignored, Dealla might have gotten bored, and wandered off. Given reactions, however... "Anastasia?" the Ravenclaw repeated, her eyes lighting up along with her whole face when Anastasia made the mistake of correcting her. "That is such a pretty name! I would probably go by my full name if it was pretty like that, but Dealla sounds like I should already be ninety years old and at least half dead. It's an 'old family name'," the words were accompanied by the appropriate air quotes, "which I think really just means my parents were too lazy to come up with something themselves."

With a dramatic sigh, Dee leaned onto the railing next to Anastasia, closing her eyes for a moment to feel the warmth of the morning sun on her face. To be honest, even compared to her usual self, Dealla was in an incredibly chatty mood today, and in one especially unwilling to try and read the atmosphere. Ana was just the sole possible target around, unfortunately, not that Dee was currently inclined to look for someone else.
The use of her nickname earned Ana another radiant smile. "I would have liked to see the sunrise," Dee explained, a little regret sneaking into her voice. "If it just wasn't so terribly early. I hate getting up early, I just can't do it. But I bet it was pretty today, there is just the right amount of clouds in the sky. Sunrises without clouds are boring, and if there are too many, you can't see the sun. What colour was it? More pink or more orange and red?" She paused for a second, giving Anastasia a curious glance from the corner of her eye. "Why are you here so early?"

@Anastasia Beckett

@Dealla Prince

The younger girl appeared to have taken Ana's curt replies as an invitation to talk, which made Ana seriously consider just pitching her off the owlery. She didn't have the energy or motivation to do that or deal with the consequences that would come with flinging another student off of a tower, so she resigned herself to listening to the girl's chatter. How was she even this awake right now? Had she had several shots of espresso or possibly an entire cake before she came up here? Those were the only things the Gryffindor could think of that would explain her almost disturbing level of perkiness. Even before her current constant grey cloud, she could remember ever being that perky without the aid of a disturbing level of caffeine.

Ana glanced back at the other girl, somewhat confused. A celebratory cupcake? Not that Ana ever said no to cake, but what? Anyway, it wasn't like she actively planned to set other people on fire, it just kind of happened. She had even managed to set a prefect on fire with no magic, so it was less of a school problem and more of an Ana specific problem. Ana's confusion was furthered when Dee began to cheerfully discuss her own experiences of being set on fire. Her brow furrowed as the younger girl continued in her bubbly way to just drift from one topic to the next. Ana felt like she was missing something. She had scowled at this girl and been somewhat rude, right? So why was she still here chatting as though she and Ana was very friendly?

"That's different, I suppose," Ana said slowly, her eyes flitting towards the other girl as though she was a talking Pygmy Puff or something. The girl didn't seem to be slowing down either. Ana would have thought she would have needed to breathe at some point, but that hadn't happened yet and Ana half wondered if she kept this girl talking if she would just pass out at some point.

"Oh, um, thank you," Ana said in response to the comment about her name. Anastasia was a lovely name to be sure, but Ana was pretty sure it was after the Russian princess who was violently murdered, so she wasn't so sure that her parents' methods of selecting a name for their child. They were also incredibly indecisive about her middle name, which was how she had ended up with seven. They always said that they had done it on purpose, but Ana was convinced otherwise.

Dee continued to talk and Ana was definitely wondering at what point she was going to run out of air. It just had to happen with how much she was talking. "It was pretty, I suppose. Lots of pinks and oranges this morning," Ana told the other girl, still shooting her a questioning side-eye from time to time. She hadn't ever given the number of clouds in the sky very much thought, but she supposed what Dee was saying had some merit. Too many clouds definitely messed things up, and it stood to reason that too few would do the same. When the girl asked why she was up there, Ana was slightly taken aback until she remembered this was the owlery and people were generally there to send letters. That was all well and good, except Ana didn't actually have a letter, so that excuse wouldn't really work. Lying was always an option, just say she had already released her owl with its letter. Still, the truth wasn't something she particularly felt like hiding. "To watch the sunrise and think a bit, mostly."

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By SK

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Dee nodded along to Anastasia's opinion on being set on fire during Chess Combat versus being set on fire during different circumstances, not minding in the least that the older girl was just agreeing to what she'd already said. She was used to being around less chatty people than herself - there weren't all that many people who were more chatty than her, after all - and Dee had a lot of practice in filling the silence.
"It is, isn't it? After all, when I signed up, I kind of agreed to the risk of being set on fire, I was just unlucky that it actually happened. Thrice. I must have been really out of it that day - I'm usually better at dodging than that. I doubt the people you set on fire agreed to it... did they?" There was no judgement in Dee's question, no accusation, just sincere curiosity.

Dee was almost notoriously out of the loop concerning the school's gossip mills, so she hadn't actually heard about any of the newer rumours flying about - the ones about Anastasia's mother, for example, which might reach her, if at all, a few months late. Those might have given her a small pause - but just as likely, she wouldn't have cared either way. Rumours were just rumours after all.
It might be foolish, you might chalk it up to her general thick-wittedness in matters that required reading the atmosphere, but she didn't feel particularly worried either that her blunt, matter-of-fact questions would goad Anastasia into showing her just how much of the rumours about the Gryffindor's pyromaniac tendencies were true. Dee had always fared rather well with oblivious bluntness.

"I never get up in time for the sunrise if there's no one around to force me," Dee admitted a bit wistfully, and put her forearms on the railing, pushing herself up until she was balanced somewhat safely with her upper body on the railing, her feet a bit off the Owlery's floor. She glanced down, along the tower to the far ground, then back up at the rising sun. Dealla wasn't particularly bothered by heights - as long as she had solid ground beneath her feet, or at least something secure to hold on to with both hand and feet. Flying on a broomstick, however, was a different matter. "I did it twice this summer, but neither time was voluntary, really. Are you an early riser?"

At Ana's rather evasive explanation of what she was doing in the Owlery at way too early o'clock in the morning, Dee threw her a sidelong glance, still hanging on the railing, her feet dangling in the air. "Did it help?" she asked, genuinely curious. "The thinking, I mean. I've come here before to think, because I believed I wanted to be alone. I don't think I actually wanted to be alone, though, maybe just not around people who know me. Sometimes being around strangers is easier, don't you think? Because they don't expect explanations if you behave different than you do normally. They won't even notice." The little Ravenclaw nodded to herself in thought, recalling those few instances she'd come to the Owlery for sanctuary, making use of its convenient location near her common room. She'd never actually wanted to be alone, not even when she'd gotten her grandparents' letter last spring. She just hadn't wanted to answer questions about it.
Maybe that was another reason to come here - with all the birds and the rustling of feathers, it felt less like being alone.

@Anastasia Beckett

@Dealla Prince

The Gryffindor furrowed her smooth brow as the Ravenclaw continued to talk. How was she not getting Ana's cues? Was Ana more friendly than she intended? That was seldom the case, and it seemed most of the time, younger students were very offended when she spoke to them. So why wouldn't Dee get offended that Ana was being sharp and leave? "They were accidents," Ana said flatly." Most of them were, anyway." One or two of the people had been consciously on purpose, but for the most part, the people she set on fire were genuinely accidental.

The girl's tone gave Anastasia a bit of pause. She didn't sound particularly judgemental or accusatory as one might upon hearing that someone had set a string of people on fire. To be fair, they attended a school with a bunch of hormonal teenagers who also happened to be learning how to wield magic. It was honestly a miracle there were as few fights and fires as there were. She rather wondered who had thought that hundreds of children hopelessly outnumbering the adults was a good idea. Probably the same brilliant mind that had come up with the idea of putting all of the most aggressive and impulsive students in one house. Granted, Ana had met a fair amount of aggressive students who weren't Gryffindors, but for the most part, Gryffindors were had the quickest tempers and least amount of patience.

"I suppose I'm an early riser," Ana replied after a moment. Her sleeping schedule was a loaded subject. Before this summer, she had been able to get up early when needed but not particularly enjoyed it. These days, she was barely sleeping in the first place, haunted by nightmares in the few moments of sleep she did get, so her bedroom wasn't a place she was overly eager to spend much time in.

Dee's next question caught Ana by surprise. She was still fairly annoyed that the younger girl wasn't taking the hint and leaving her alone, but seeing as she didn't feel like getting in trouble for pitching people off the Owlery again, she resigned herself to the interrogation. "I'll let you know," Ana said, the irritation missing from her voice for a moment. She genuinely hoped it helped because she was out of options. She was all she had left in the world. She couldn't risk her friends finding out what was going on. Sure, the way they looked at her in horror and hurt stung, but she couldn't bear the looks of pity that were bound to accompany any secrets she might tell. Or worse, what if they believed that her father was the one who had done it? What would that make them think of her? No, she couldn't risk it. Being alone and relying on herself hurt and exhausted her but not nearly as much as asking for help might.

Dee's words struck a chord with Ana. She didn't want to be alone. Not one bit. She wanted to be able to talk to her friends. She wanted her mother back. She wanted her life back. To her, being alone wasn't a choice. She had been utterly and completely alone since July, and she still was. "Yeah," she said, her voice catching slightly on the small word. There wasn't any way for the other girl to have known it, but she had hit Ana's problems exactly. Clearing her throat, Ana blinked hard and tried to compose herself. She had been taciturn this long and she knew the moment she let that crack, she was well and truly doomed.

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By SK

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A small wrinkle appeared between Dee's eyebrows as Anastasia made it sound like setting several people on fire on accident was entirely normal, but as the Ravenclaw was still balanced somewhat precariously on the railing of the Owlery, it would only be visible to any birds flying by past the window. Dee had never set anyone on fire, accidentally or otherwise. Well, she'd tried once, during Chess Combat. It wasn't her proudest moment, and the spell had missed, anyway. But well, who knew? Maybe Anastasia was just extraordinarily clumsy? Or maybe she got clumsy around fire - maybe she was scared of fire! That would make sense, she supposed. "Do you like fire?" Dee asked curiously, suddenly moved to learn the truth behind this mystery. The Fire Queen of Gryffindor being actually scared of fire would be an unexpected twist indeed.

Anastasia's reply to the question about her rising habits earned a sidelong glance from Dee, a spark of amusement in her eyes. "You suppose you are? If you don't know, who does?" She twisted back forward, then pushed herself off the railing until her feet were on safe ground again, and turned to Anastasia, grinning. "My best friend is a super early riser and I don't get it. She gets up at like five in the morning every day." Dee shuddered and shook her head. "I couldn't do it. It's bad enough when we agree to meet for breakfast and I have to get up at eight on weekends." She made a face and leaned back against the railing, glancing upwards. The action brought back a memory - a fond one, from almost a year ago now. "We climbed up on the roof here once, out of the window, although that wasn't all that early. Have you ever been up there?"

Turning back towards Anastasia, Dee's expression turned thoughtful. Despite all the rumours flying around, the Gryffindor girl didn't seem all that bad? A little taciturn maybe, but she hadn't seen anything of her famous temper, and Dee hadn't been set on fire yet, either. They were having a rather nice conversation, all in all, although Dee was doing most of the talking.

The promise to let her know about the effectiveness of thinking up here earned a bright, genuine smile. "I hope it did," she said sincerely. "I do like the Owlery, but you shouldn't have to be here alone if you don't want to be." The Ravenclaw paused for a second, then brightened up. "Oh, I know! If you ever need to be around a someone who doesn't know how you're supposed to act, you could come hang out with me! We should be friends."

@Anastasia Beckett

@Dealla Prince

Ana's eyebrows raised when Dee asked if she liked fire. She used to. Before the Blossom Ball, it could have been said that she had even loved fire. It had symbolized her ability to protect herself and had also been something that separated her from her parents. Fire was simultaneously a danger and a necessity. Somehow, nightmares about burning alive ruined those feelings. Incendio was still generally her attack of choice, but it was more serious now. Like most things, her love for the spell had been replaced by a somewhat fearful reverence. "I admire it, I suppose," Ana mused. She knew there was some higher being out there laughing their ass off at the flame loving Gryffindor having caught on fire herself, but even all these months later, she didn't quite appreciate the irony.

Dee earned a somewhat amused laugh that Ana would have rather kept to herself at her comment about Ana not knowing if she was a morning person. God, how was she going to get this girl to leave her alone without pitching her off the owlery now? She wasn't exactly a morning person by choice but based on the fact that she was a regular early riser, she could see how she would be defined as such. Ana's eyes flicked up to the roof. Despite her wide variety of dangerous antics, she had never tried to climb the roof. It sounded quite interesting, and even in her subdued, melancholy state, something in her perked up at the challenge. That would be a hell of a place to read. She could almost definitely hop on her broom and fly up there, but methods of scaling the castle wall or magically getting to the roof were now spinning through her mind. Definitely a topic to give a bit more thought to...

Dammit, why was this girl growing on her? It seemed the more determined Ana was to keep to herself and shut everyone out, the more sunshiney, likable people popped up. She felt guilty for even considering befriending this girl, given the things that happened to the people she cared about. It seemed everyone that she loved the most suffered horribly, and more often than not, Ana blamed herself for it. Still, a smile rose to her lips when the girl said she didn't have to be alone if she didn't want to. If there was one thing Ana wanted more than anything in the world, it was to not be alone. Loneliness was killing her, but it didn't seem she much had a choice in the matter. "I'm not great at friends," Ana said, glancing away. God, that was the truth. It seemed every time she thought she had a real friend, she destroyed it one way or another.

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There was a rather distinct moment of silence before Anastasia replied this time, and it had Dee tilting her head to one side, looking a little like a bird, eyes bright and curious. The Gryffindor girl had neither confirmed nor denied that in addition to being infamous for setting other students on fire, she'd also been one of the people who had been burnt more than a little at the disaster that had been the Secret Blossom Ball, but at this point, Dee was rather sure that this association was correct, although she didn't remember it herself. Her own memories of that night mostly consisted of Victor's horribly burnt body.

Still, it seemed like a bit of a cruel twist of fate, although some might call it justice, that Anastasia had gotten a taste of her own medicine - and a much more intense one than she usually handed out. Dee's own brushes with fire had been painful, yes, but they had been brief, only afflicting a sleeve or a leg at a time, nothing like the pain that Victor or Anastasia must have gone through, forcing their bodies to shut down. That Anastasia still, after all of that, admired fire, that that experience hadn't managed to quite break that affinity, was... intriguing, she supposed. A little worrying, maybe. Explained why she was in Gryffindor, for sure. "It's kind of fascinating, isn't it? Pure energy, nothing quite like it. A little like magic, in some ways." Dee nodded. "I guess it's better to not be scared of it, at least. It's kind of hard to avoid."

At Anastasia's laugh, no matter how short or involuntary it might have been, Dee's grin widened, a trace of smugness sneaking into her expression, her eyes. She didn't get any reply to her story about climbing onto the roof, but she did catch Anastasia's eyes wandering upwards, like she could see the roof through the stone ceiling. There was a spark of excitement and mischief in Dee's eyes when she asked, "Want to go up there? It's got a really nice view, and it's not really very hard. Do you have any experience climbing? I used to climb around the cliffs near my hometown, Whitehaven is right by the sea. The fall here is deeper, but it's also easier to climb, and it's not very far, just over the ledge."

She hadn't expected more than a monotone two word reply to her comment about being friends - that seemed to be Anastasia's style so far - but the small smile the girl gave her was returned with a brilliant one from Dee. Finally, some reaction. Maybe Anastasia was just shy? But it didn't last long, and Dee frowned slightly at the Gryffindor's reply. Not great at 'friends'? Dee, in all her humbleness, thought she was rather good at 'friends'. What was it with this school and their aversion to making friends? Anastasia wasn't the first one who'd hinted, or outright told her, that she didn't want to form friendly attachments. Well, Dee hadn't let that stop her so far. "Not friends then?" she replied, shrugging. "I guess we can hang out without being friends?" What were labels, anyway?

@Anastasia Beckett

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By SK

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