Stranger than fiction

[Deleted]

Slowly her eyes came back into focus as she began to read the same paragraph for what felt like the one hundredth time. The words blurred in and out as the noise level of the Common Room seemed to soar with each passing second. Tracey closed the book she had been attempting to read through the protests and jests that her fellow Slytherin threw her way and massaged her temples; trying to read over the noise was giving her a headache. Unfortunately, she had chosen today to start the new romance novel that everyone had been raving about for weeks. Now here she was, only one hundred pages into the book and already she was hooked, but unable to advance due to the lack of quiet she found among her peers. With a sigh, Tracey stood and without a word made her way towards the door out of the Common Room and into the corridor.

The noise she was trying to escape fallowed her as she walked away until the door closed behind her. Finally in the quiet of the halls she stopped and leaned against the wall to think of a clever and enjoyable place where she could lose herself within the pages of her book. Within the castle she had a few choice places that she liked to disappear to when she wanted to read, but on a day like today most of her normal places would be overrun with chattering nonsense. She could of course venture to the Library where she knew for certain she would find the quiet she sought, but just thinking about that Egghead sanctuary made her skin crawl. The only way she’d be seen reading in the Library was if she had a term paper to write.

Knowing that if anyone she knew found her standing this way, they would tease her for weeks, Tracey heaved a heavy sigh and walked slowly towards the Entrance Hall, but with no real destination in mind she was in no hurry to even reach that location. The empty hall echoed her footsteps loudly back at her from both sides giving her the feeling she was being fallowed, which of course wasn’t very likely, but the feeling still crept up on her. Quickening her stride ever so slightly, she found herself in the Entrance Hall at last.

Now what? She thought hopelessly to herself as she stopped walking in the middle of the hall. Still wanting to lose herself in the pages of her book she tride to picture herself in the numerous places that she would normally go from here, but the noises within the castle told her those places were going to be occupied. Just when she was about to give up and go back to the dorm a group of third year boys came through the main doors to the school bringing with them the fresh smell of the grounds. Tracey closed her eyes and breathed in deeply the smell that washed passed her, it was a mix of sweet grass and sun kissed skin; both a welcome scent. Finally she knew where she was headed.
As she set off in search of a peaceful place, her pace was more deliberate. On the grounds she only had a few places she enjoyed and the odds of them being overrun were slim. Granted, on a day like this full of much needed sunshine, there were bound to be a few people, maybe even in her choice places, but if they were out to enjoy the weather they were bound to be less quiet than those cooped up in the Common Room.

The smell that had fallowed the boys into the castle didn’t do the grounds justice. The air was cool and crisp while the sun was warm and plentiful. Tracey drew a deep breath through her nose enjoying the smell of the sun warmed grass and the water from the lake; the way the water smelled drew her closer. As she made her way towards the lake she found her eyes wandering around the landscape for a nice place to sit and read. Finally she found a small clump of trees just up from the shore that was completely unoccupied while the areas around it were dotted with students enjoying the day. Sliding down the trunk of one of the trees she settled herself on the grass and finally opened her book to enjoy the words within. A soft breeze touched her face and played with her hair was the words filled her mind with beautiful pictures.

I wouldn’t mind an interruption like that. Tracey thought as she read a passage about a girl her age getting interrupted while she studied, by a good looking boy.

[Deleted]

The day was nice and refreshing for Elliot as soon as he had stepped outside of the confines of the castle. He had been intent on studying a bit out in the sunshine, mostly to get away from the younger kids in the Common Room. They had been so boisterous and loud! He hadn’t been able to study for a moment on his assignment. Instead he had gathered up his belongings and made the long trek back to the Great Hall, then out the doors and to the grass beyond. He had set up shop somewhere lesser run by other people, mostly so that he could focus. Of course, at a school like Hogwarts, it wasn’t long before someone else came wandering along into this section of the grounds. Some Slytherin girl sat down and then instantly opened her book to shove her nose within, reading away quietly to herself. Elliot wasn’t going to move just because a Slytherin was nearby; she wasn’t hurting him any, and she so far hadn’t said anything snide in his direction. Instead he focused back on his work and things went on for a little while just like that. The quiet breeze tousled his hair, and one lock actually fell into his eyes. Reaching up, he flicked it away and this time his eyes actually caught the book the girl was reading. Hadn’t he seen his sister Rachel reading that exact book? Come to think of it, he’d seen a lot of people (mostly girls) reading it lately. He wondered if it was any good, or some trashy novel the females were all giggling over. He wondered for a second if he should ask her. Would she be rude to him if he started talking to her? He had spoken to Astoria without incident-- she had been rather nice, actually-- since he had become her tutor, and she was from Slytherin. Maybe not all people in the house were mean; they sometimes were sorted there for being cunning and such, he supposed. “Is that book any good?” He finally piped up, his brows quirked. “I’ve seen a lot of people reading it.” There we go. He threw himself out there, and now he had to wait to see what the response would be. If she was rude, he’d just shrug it off and go find another quiet spot to sit. The sun was nice here, sure, and it was plentiful, but he didn’t want to stay here with mean company. “My sister finished it last week, I think. She tried to foist it off on me to read, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the time. What do you think?”

TRACEY | 449 | ---

[Deleted]

Tracey's heart began race with every passing second. The words drew her deeper into the depths of the book. It almost felt as if she were the main character with her skin tingling as the boy casually touched her arm, a normal respoce the girl figured. As the passage wore on you could tell the girl really liked her company but was afraid to really let her feelings show. Typical female reaction, Tracey thought with a smile. So deep was she in her reading that the voice from a boy nearby startled her. The book feel to her lap causing her to lose her place.

Anger welled up inside her, of course someone had to interupt her at the best part of the book so far. Couldn't they tell she was distracted? Hadn't she wanted to escapre the Common Room for this very reason? Why did people have to be so rude? Gently she picked up the book and sighed heavely as she tried to find her place so she could mark it. Sure she should have probably answered the boy sooner, but right now her mind was still on the feelings she had experianced.

Finally, with her place found and remembered, Tracey slowly turned her attention to the boy. At first she was just going to tell him off, be rude, you know the typical Slytherin go to, but then she saw his face. Unable to breath at first, Treacey just stared. Oh my god, she thought her eyes quickly taking in his features. So much for her snide remark; all spite within her vanished.

"Um, that's actually how I got turned on to it. I saw so many people reading it that I couldn't resist." Her voice sounded strange. It almost sounded flustered. "I'm completely enjoying it." She said with a smile. Unable to stop herself, her eyes serached every part of the boy she could see. "I'm not sure it would be your cup of tea though." Tracey let a giggle escapre her, but regretted it instantly. "Um, it's geared towards the female population. I mean it is a good read, but it's the sort of book that might make a man feel like less of a man." She cursed herself. "Not that I'm saying you are." More curising. What was she doing?! This boy was hot and she was totally being a spaz! Wanting a quick recovery, she took a deep breath and then let it out again. "I'm Tracey," she offered. "Feel free to ignore my explination. I'm not very good at explaning things when my mind is elsewhere." And of course she blushed.

Way to go girl, Tracey spat inwardly, You probably just made yourself into a periah. She really hoped her words didn't scare this boy away. It wasn't every day a hot guy talked to her that she hadn't pretty much lived with for the past six years. The males in Slytheirn thought very highly of themselves and made sure they were noticed at all times; it got old after a while.

[Deleted]

At first, Elliot was relatively sure she was going to rip his head off. Either with her teeth or her bare hands, he wasn’t quite sure, but it was a toss up between both. But then her eyes fell upon him and her face seemed to freeze. He blinked owlishly at her, confused by her sudden persona shift, and tilted his head a bit to the side. Several heartbeats passed without her speaking, and Elliot rolled his tongue out over his lips. Was she about to say something snide to him? He wasn’t sure what to make of her quietly scanning his face, not one emotion flickering over hers. “Uh,” he awkwardly murmured, about to speak up again, but that was when she seemed to unfreeze. Slowly his lips twisted into a smile as she blabbered on. She sounded nervous, though he had no idea why she would be. Elliot was an easy-going enough guy; as long as she wasn't rude, he would be friendly right on back to her. “Ah, I see.” He nodded his head. “If it’s geared mostly at girls, that would explain why I really only see them reading it.” He paused and thought, then chuckled. “It would also explain why my sister was trying to convince me to read it. She just wanted to laugh at me later.” It would be just like Rachel to pull some stunt like that. Later, when everyone was giggling that he was reading some chick book, she’d come up and tease him about it publically. Yup, definitely sounded like his younger sister. “I’m glad you don’t think I’m less of a man,” he teased. She was rather nice, he thought. He had been expecting her to be malicious and rude, but so far she seemed like a normal human being. Huh. Slytherins could be human? He was starting to doubt all the preconceived notions of them. Maybe he shouldn’t let a few bad eggs spoil the good ones. “I try my hardest to be one, after all.” “Elliot,” he said and grinned wider at her, actually letting it reach his eyes this time. “I promise your explanation was just fine. It allowed me to escape an embarrassing situation. My sister would have laughed all the way to Gringotts if I had actually read that book.” He paused as if to think of something else to say, then continued: “I’m a Sixth Year. What about you?” He had never actually seen her around before. That wasn’t much of a surprise though. He didn’t go around talking to Slytherins all the time. Mostly he spoke to Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, with the occasional Gryffindor. Slytherins were definitely not the friendliest bunch from what he’d seen, but lately he’d been meeting a few okay ones. He should probably branch out a bit more sometimes, get out of his comfort zone. It might help alleviate his boredom on the days off from school work. Heaven knows he was always constantly bored when he finished all of his work, and his other friends were busy. He needed more friends, ugh.

TRACEY | 515 | Hope the post is okay (:

[Deleted]

As he spoke, Tracey found herself able to relax. She had been sure he would have told her off or something for the comment she'd made. He had a gentle voice and he seemed genuanly interested in talking to her which she found refreshing. Most poeple tended to stay away from her just because of her house; of course given its history she couldn't hold it against them and wouldn't.

With a giggle she turned her body to face the boy so her neck wouldn't get a cramp. "You sister sounds fun." Tracey smiled brightly. She couldn't help but admire his smile and the fact that he took her explanation lightly. "If I had a brother I would probably do the same thing." Shrugging she laughed again. "You're a sixth year?" She asked, suddenly confused. "So am I." Her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly as she tilted her head to the side and really looked at him again. "How is it we've never met?"

Tracey thought she had an idea. Slytherin students weren't always known for their bright winning smiles. Leave it to a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone else. Not all Slytherin were mean and impossible to get a long with, Tracey thought that she was actully pretty easy going. There was so much more to her than most people assumed. Not even the people in her house knew much about her, well maybe one or two did, but they didn't know everything.

The longer Tracey looked at Elliot the more she got the feeling he was slightly confused by her. She imagined he didn't go around convercing with many of her kind. It sounded weird putting it like that, but most others did, boxing her into one big group with the other immature and stuck up kids from her house. Unable to hold back the questions she had swimming around in her head, she smiled as kidnly as she could, her most dazzling one she had.

"Why do I get the feeling you're confused by me?" She asked, not in a rude way. She was in fact curious herself. "I can bet you haven't had too many polite conversations with students from my house have you?" Shame washed across her for the place she called home.

Tracey knew how bad of a reputation Slytherin had and at first she was proud to be there, but why did everyone have to have that reputation? Everyone is different, but For some reason everyone seemed to think that every single student was exactly the same, but obviously that wasn't ture. Though she wouldn't admit it to Elliot or anyone else, she actually held a grudge against the other houses for treating her like a snake. She laughed at herself for the comparison. If she could show Elliot she wasn't the same, maybe she could actually have friends who weren't so full of themselves. Please don't hate me, she thought feeling selfconcious. For the first time since he'd first spoken, Tracey finally looked away; how awkward she suddenly felt.

(Of course it was (: )