you can't see past the blood on my hands [Brian]

[ivoryvein]

i know this tension that you speak of;
we’re in the palm of a hand making a fist.
it’d be best for one of us to speak up,
but we prefer to pretend it does not exist.

[/color][/right]

The Trophy Room was entirely underrated. As if the school weren’t wacky enough, what with its moving staircases and forbidden corridors, but it also had its own secret treasure trove of artifacts. At this, some would laugh, but it was completely true: aside from the obvious medals and awards housed in the gallery, there were also plenty of undiscovered ribbons and plaques for the most interesting things. For instance, the "Dangerous" Dai Commemorative Medal, given to the Quidditch player who has been the most reckless that season (in honor of Dai Llewelly, an apparently well-known player for the Caerphilly Catapults that Ivory had never heard of until three weeks ago). Also, the numerous exceptional wizardry prizes, all of which Albus Dumbledore had swept up before his eighteenth birthday (or so it seemed). Although it might have seemed trivial to some, Rory personally enjoyed it, finding it was a haunt she frequented after classes quite often.

Today was no exception: after dining in the Great Hall and waving her friends off at the still life portrait that led to their Common Room, she wound up the three flights of stairs to the Trophy Room (stumbling a bit on the aforementioned moving staircases). She's was jumpy, to say the least. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed, really, but she knew it would seem rather odd to have to explain exactly where she was going.

”Oh yes, I’m just going off to visit the Trophy Room. It’s quite interesting, with all those hunks of medal and dusty plaques hanging around. Really, they’re quite charismatic.

To avoid such confrontations, she simply thought of a short list of excuses she could use if ever the opportunity arose, which it had over the past year, though not often. Most just passed the room without any indication or notice that she was out of place, but upon the occasional awkward encounter, she was prepared with a simple “History of Magic” project or “detention dusting off the trophies”. Thus far, no one had pushed it beyond that, but she certainly kept a good five lies in stock just in case.

Slowly, she slunk passed the large portrait of the humpback whale that brayed and splashed tiny flecks of water out of the portrait. During her first visit, she’d gotten positively soaked, but since, had learned that the period between the whale’s gigantic tail flopping into the water and the snort from his blow hole was a good two seconds, during which she dashed across the hallway. Coyly, she surveyed the corridor, noting a small group of Gryffindors standing underneath a window at the far end of the hallway and a tiny Ravenclaw speaking to the Charms professor just inside the classroom. When she was sure they were paying her no mind, she slipped into the dark room, eyes adjusting after a few moments of blindness.

Just as she’d left it. She smiled, turning to begin where she had been upon her latest visit, the Wall of Quidditch. There were shields from all the previous years, mostly Slytherin with a few scattered houses here and there. And…what? What was this?

Her eyebrows creased as she knelt down to inspect the most recent of the plaques, a piece of wood shaped into a small shield with seven smaller golden ones placed strategically around it. It was for Ravenclaw, from last year, and…it was there. His name. Brian Vein, and his position, right in the center of the award. Her face fired up, neck burning with annoyance. Of course, even here she couldn’t escape him. In the class room, it was how bright he was, in the hallways, how undeniably attractive, and here, what a blessing to Quidditch. God, they all thought he was so perfect! They didn’t know anything: he was playing them all for fools, and only she knew what he really was. A cold-hearted, sick prick that would abandon his own family over some stupid blood. And not even all of it, anyway: just half, the half that wasn’t pure like he was, the half that was a smudge on his otherwise flawless reputation. Her eyes narrowed. Soon, she wouldn’t have to deal with him or his slutty ,vain reputation, the one that followed even her, although she was so far from him, it was ridiculous. Yes, someday soon. But, even with it so near, she thought it could not come soon enough.

[brian callum vein \\]

Altogether it had been quite a boring day for Brian Vein as he took a bite of the dry turkey that was laying upon his platter in the great hall. So far, nothing interesting had happened. A few fifth year girls had walked over to the ravenclaw table, giggling and then quickly taking another direction with the reddest cheeks as they saw Brian Vein. He smirked to himself at the memory, some girls were just so pathetic. Instead of just walking up to him and asking what they wanted, they giggled around, hoping he would take the first step.

The duo was a bit below his standard, the one girl was skinny, too skinny for her own good, too pale and commonly plain with a few freckles upon her nose, the color of her mid-long hair was vale, between blond and brown but with no shine at all. The other girl, however was slightly cuter, with banging brown curls come down to her waist, an olive toned skin and very dark eyes. Come to think of it, she was quite a looker in contrast to her friend.

A sudden nudge in the ribs caught him off guard as he looked at Simon, one of his best friends. The guy next to him was obviously wearing one heck of a smile that told enough. "What are you thinking about, mate?", he asked with a knowing gleam in his eyes. It was clear that his mate thought that Brian would take action soon, and well, he was probably right. "I'll see you later," as he skidded off, leaving enough of his dry turkey to feed three house elves.

The girls had just walked out of the Great Hall, stepping along the steps of Hog warts Castle before they looked his way. Nudging each other, they suppressed another giggle coming out of their mind. Great, he thought, finally some manners. He ran after them, sliding his arms around both of their shoulders as he walked in between them. "Girls, girls.", he said while smirking slightly, leading them up different flights of stairs. The look in their eyes was clear to Brian, they wanted him. "What do you girls think about the trophy room?". Another giggle, and another look of pure excitement. These girls obviously where in for some wild banging against the trophy cabinets.

He opened the door with his foot, the two girls still giggling in his arms when he stopped dead in his track. She was here. The girls giggled some more, knowing that she was Brian's sister, but he shushed them. "It'll be for some other time, ladies.", he stated dryly as he tapped both of their asses before they needed to skip off.

"My, my", his tongue slithered as he walked towards his half-sister, arms crossed over his chest. "Admiring my trophies, Ivory? Too bad you just scared two away."

[ivoryvein]

i know this tension that you speak of;
we’re in the palm of a hand making a fist.
it’d be best for one of us to speak up,
but we prefer to pretend it does not exist.

[/color][/right]

"My, my,"

At the sound of his voice, she jumped up from the bottom shelf of trophies, sending the Ravenclaw plaque clattering into a replica of the game-winning Snitch Brian (surprise, surprise) had snatched up at the final game of the past season. (Really, it was as if she would never escape his tyrannical raid on Hogwarts.)

She caught sight of two younger girls scampering away as Brian stepped inside, folding his arms across his chest. She should have known: of course he would have been bringing them up to the supposedly-empty room to - ugh. She shook the thought from her mind, glaring at him from beneath her dark curls.

"Admiring my trophies, Ivory? Too bad you just scared two away."

Oh please. Her eyes rolled to the ceiling and once again she had to force thoughts of Brian ravishing the two young desperates from her head. Why did he have to choose here? Surely he could have taken them out on the grounds, or broken into the Prefects' bathroom, or even 'taken care of them' in the Common Room (although she was sure that would have caused quite a commotion). Nevertheless, she didn't see why the Trophy Room was such a delightful pick...well, besides the fact that it was normally deserted. Ok, and rather large, meaning the would likely not be heard or found. All right, admittedly, it was perfect for Brian's major activites.

Regaining her composure at least slightly, Ivory bent to retrieve the Ravenclaw plaque, setting it back into its righful place, but not before glowering down at it for a quick moment. Her eyes snapped up towards Brian's, seemingly aloof but with just an outline of hatred.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, but it's probably better that way." With a mocking smile, she leaned against the vacant wall behind her. "It was either me or your...well, you know, 'non-existent surprise' later," she spat haughtily, nodding towards his pelvis. If anything, she knew hitting him hard below the belt was the best way to bruise his pride: it was all he had going for him. (Or, at least, that's what she told herself.)

"I would suggest you run along after them, but I don't think the Headmaster would look too kindly upon it." She winked scathingly, feeling her temper flare slightly beneath her skin. "I think you're the only one who thinks pedophilia is ok."

[brian callum vein \\]

Watching his sister dropping the replica of the Snitch he had caught during that last game of the year, he couldn’t suppress his trade-mark smirk. Poor sister dear was slightly frustrated to see him, it seemed. He leaned his back against a cabinet, full of trophees for prefects that had proven good deeds to the school. One being from Tom Riddle, a quite uncommon name for a wizard, for great service to the school. His arms were crossed firmly over his chest as he clacked his tongue against the top of his mouth. She was so clumsy at times.

He could smile at the memories of her, bumping into doors, falling of the stairs, and all those times he’d been overly protective over her, hoping that she hadn’t hurt herself. He still smiled about those things, though she never knew about any of it. He kept that to himself, even the small lines of his lips now betrayed nothing of those feelings of actual love. She didn’t know anything about those dreams that haunted him, where she was getting hurt, much harder than when she’d just fallen off the staircase. Yet, he still kept those dreams and ideas to himself. Nobody could ever find out.

There were times that he praised her for not being like him, for being her prude self. Else, he would find himself more caught up in trying to protect her from bastards like him. Luckily, she kept herself away from guys like him, so that he almost never had to blackmail one of those guys. He just hoped it would stay that way.

All this time, while those thoughts ran through his mind, he kept as much of a straight face as he could managed. He’d made her believe that he didn’t care about her, and it had to stay that way, to help himself, to help his reputation, but most of all, to help her. Loving him was never good, no girl had ever survived loving him, and neither would his sister.

“Ouch, Ivory.”, he smirked as he pushed himself off the cabinet, taking a few quick and smooth strides towards her. “I’m seventeen, those girls were fifteen.. I would at least have to be two years older to become a paedophile.” , he stated smartly before brushing his hair out of his eyes. It was straight down towards his face, a low fringe hanging over those bright dark orbs of him, with only a few curls here and there.. magicked away of course, he didn’t want to have really curly hair.. What good would it be to his reputation?

“and of course, by the time I’m that old, I’ll only be sleeping with older girls who’re worthy of my company. Whoever until I graduate, which will be in a few months, I have to settle with less.”

Ooc: sorry bout the mellow history.. listening to ‘with or without you’ kinda ruined my sexist mood.

[ivoryvein]

i know this tension that you speak of;
we’re in the palm of a hand making a fist.
it’d be best for one of us to speak up,
but we prefer to pretend it does not exist.

[/color][/right]

She had to admit, she was surprised her didn't laugh at her. Ivory had always been clumsy, and her slightly awkward encounter with the Snitch had been a perfect opportunity for him to mock her. But his face betrayed no signs of this, and, inwardly, Ivory was slightly disappointed. Any sign of emotion out of Brian towards her would have been welcomed...besides hatred, of course. Just the smallest hint that he didn't utterly dispise her, that would be enough...but nothing. She would never admit it, but she still wanted Brian as a brother, not a mortal enemy. But what could she do? He obviously wasn't interested in anything besides snarky remarks or the occasional yelling match, and she really had no choice but to buck up and hand it right back to him.

Still...she couldn't help but wonder what her Hogwarts days would be like if he acted the way he used to. Most of her memories of their childhood included him fussing over her 'injuries' every time she toppled off of a chair or ran into a doorframe. She had pretended, then, that it was annoying, the way he sheltered her, but secretly, she had loved the feeling of having someone watch over her like he had. She would swat him away, complaining that she was fine, no harm done, but she was always anxious to see if he would continue 'mothering' her when the next tumble came around. He always did, and she always appreciated it, showing it in her own (sometimes unexplainable) Ivory ways.

Wow: she had to snap out of it. That was buried in the past, and there wasn't any time to reminice now. (She prayed her face hadn't displayed any of her nostalgic feelings.) His response was predictable, although Ivory hadn't been thinking of it. Of course he knew all the technicalities of pedophilia. "You would know that: you didn't get into Ravenclaw for nothing, I suppose, but certainly not for much. And...don't you mean the girls are settling?" She examined her fingernails lazily, a classic sign of uninterestedness.

His final words stunned her a bit, though she didn't show it. That was true: he was graduating soon. She had been forcing herself to look forward to it so often that it caught her completely off guard when he mentioned it. He would be out of Hogwarts soon, and...she'd never see him again. Well, that wasn't set in stone, but it was highly likely, considering their recent encounters. However, Ivory dismissed all these thoughts from her head, heaving a big sigh of relief.

"Finally: as if you haven't been sodding up this castle for long enough. You know, maybe some of those tramps will come visit you in Azkaban. That is, if you're even blessed enough to end up there." Her smirk mimicked his own, eyes flashing.

ooc:|| haha: no problem. i thought it was nice. [/size]