Birds of a Feather... ( Apollo / Pandora )

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Diagon Alley.

It really wasn't a place she got tired of to be honest, though few people ever went to the homes scattered along in it's wake above shops. It was so different from her home life or where she grew up. A whole community of like minded people living in elaborate luxury along a crowded street; what would it be like to live here? The very idea drew her and made dreams upon dreams possible in her daydreams thinking an address here would be one of the coolest things ever. Certainly a dream at least, although who knew maybe Jared might consider it if this contract business actually happened. The idea of being at someone's mercy bothered her, but there wasn't really a lot of choice in the matter either.

Anyway. School supplies. She was here for a reason. Mrs Banks agreed with her about splitting up and she headed into the bookstore to get her books as Pandora turned to Scribbulus Writing Instruments. It was, next to the bookshop, the most popular place for her dorm and if she would see anyone familiar it would be in there. However, that was secondary as she needed new quills, parchment, and more ink. Stepping inside she breathed in the dry air for a moment and then moved towards the paper racks, running her fingers across the sheets of each style, feeling the smoothness of the different types and kinds. Eventually she pulled one selection with a sigh and took a good chunk of the student note stuff and slid them into a bag there.

Counting off the inch on the provided tape measure she wrote on the outside the measurement and price.

As she came around the end to the ink selection she saw someone there which caused her to smile slightly. Stepping up beside of him she nudged him with an elbow and said "Goodness, the people you have to deal with when you go out to places," and then turned her eyes to the inks knowing he would be okay with not being stared at. Apollo was barely ahead of her age wise with his birthday just before the school year and hers late in the school year which is all that kept them out of the same year. A quiet boy, they had never had an issue with quiet time and study and she had come to him to ask for some details on some things he had already dealt with before.

In addition, she had spent some time last year helping him prepare for his OWLS by testing him on answers from his notes as a favor a few times. He was probably one of the ones she should tell about the contract, but she wasn't sure how he would react. And stress was not something they brought up much in their friendship, she hesitated to be the one to bring up a subject most felt very strongly about...

@apollo

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Apollo had been rather focused on the inks, while he was stocked up on enough black ink to last him the year he wanted something else. Maybe a green, or even a nice blue. The black ink could get boring at times and sometimes it was nice to have different colors for notes or even letters. Being absorbed in his internal debate he almost didn't notice her, well actually he might not have if she hadn't given him a little nudge. He shook his head and looked at her with a wide grin. He didn't stare long, just long enough to acknowledge her before he looked back at the inks. "No kidding, I could have swore someone just randomly came around and nudged me. The things we have to endure." He laughed a little, he was actually happy to see her.

Even though Pandora was in the year below him he had developed a fondness for her. She'd never asked too many questions and never seemed bothered with his short answers. Not that he had anything to hide, but it was just his nature. She seemed similar like that, and even though he found himself curious as to why he offered her the same respect as she offered him and he left his curiosity remain as just that. "It's good to see you." He said softly as he picked up a bottle of deep blue ink to inspect. "Sorry I didn't write much this summer." He always had been pretty terrible with keeping in contact, not just with her but with everyone.

He glanced at her again a small smile on his face. "I hope you had a good summer though." He would have asked how it was but if she wanted to tell him she would, at least that was what he had come to assume, he jut tried his best to not ask her questions too often. Things were simpler that way.

ooc: sorry about the delay in reply!

@shava

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For whatever reasons, there were quiet people in every group in the world. She could name three boys from her homeland she knew personally who (whether through shyness or simply nature) were the center of quietness where ever they went. Only one of them was part of an accepted group, the other two seemed to be voluntarily separate and alone. Maybe having known them she made a conscious effort to hang out with the few quiet ones even in her dorm, or maybe just to encourage them to open up more. In any case, she gravitated to Apollo naturally and for more of a comfort of presence more then of conversation.

So poking him in the side slightly was a good way to alert his distracted head to her presence. She smiled slightly as he spoke and picked up a bottle of green ink eying it for a moment. A pretty shade, but she didn't see herself using it much unfortunately. As she replaced it she said "Torture," she agreed amused, "you'd think one's personal space would be sacrosanct or something." Picking up a midnight blue she looked at it, nodded, and added it to the hand holding the bag then picked up a larger refill container of black.

"Thanks, it's good to see you too! Don't worry about the writing, though I should feel your forehead. Whoever heard of a Ravenclaw resisting quill and paper?" She flashed him a grin and chuckled as she added the black to her other hand easily. Her smile wavered a tiny bit, but she said "Well it was weird enough I guess, but mostly quiet." A hesitation, but she wasn't likely to get a better opening then that one with Apollo. "My grandfather is in the middle of finishing off a marriage contract for me."

@apollo

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He laughed lightly about Pandrora's remark on parchment and quill, it was funny house stereotypes, but Apollo was more fond of reading and learning as to taking time for writing. Though he did have a fondness for composing, or at least attempting to compose. "Must have been all the sun I got in Rome, heat stroke perhaps, a rare long lasting case of it." It was a joke of course, writing to friends had always been some what of a struggle for Apollo, he had grown far to comfortable with solitude. He listened to her remark on her summer, but at her pause he looked to her sensing her hesitation and as he was about to question she went on.

Marriage contract. The look on Apollo's face was indifferent. Coming from mixed blood Apollo was hardly about to hear about having a marriage contract of his own, they were rare enough these days. He wasn't sure what to think on the matter. Pandora was younger then him but already her future was being lined up. He wondered if he ought to feel happy for her, maybe she was keen for this, often times marriage contracts secured wealth and social standing. But it was all foreign to Apollo. "Oh, thats...." His face screwed up as he tried to find the right thing to say.

"That's good, right?" What he really was asking was if she was happy about this. A rare time when he was willing to try and dig deeper and learn a bit more about what she might be feeling. Or at least try and understand. He guess it could be worse, it could have been a contract she didn't even know about, told to her only after she had found love in the arms of another. Still, he was glad it was not something he was facing himself.

@shava

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She shook her head only slightly miffed about missing out. "Wow, was I the only one who didn't go on a big trip this summer out of the country? I feel jealous! So if you got that much sun did you tan or just suffer for too many clothes on hot places?" She didn't see him as one laying out under the sun nor being exceptionally 'open' around big groups. But of course she had never seen him out away from school before either much. "Ah well, I guess work pays off in the long run."

A mixed expression crossed her face as he reacted very hesitantly. "Mixed, I think really. I always knew it could happen and just hoped it wouldn't be to some jerk and thankfully he doesn't seem to be one." She reached across to where the quills were on the other side of the stand and picked one up with an odd pattern to the feathers. "But even though I knew it might happen, it was a shock to hear about it being near. So just...mixed."

Status and money and a future; it meant her con was good and she had pulled off something truly great, but at the same time she agreed partly with what Evie had said, it would have been nice to have some choice in the matter regardless. "Long run, it's a good thing and I think it will turn out very well, short term I'm still a bit surprised even now." She sighed, put the quill back deciding not to mess with it and selected a few of the normal ones putting them in a small bag from the same stand.

@apollo

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It was too bad that Pandora had not gone on the school trip, Apollo had always traveled and felt it was important for people their age to see the world. "I tanned a bit, though I was more worried about ending up with a sun burn." He'd spent a little time at the beach but the tours had been more of what he enjoyed. He might have expressed this but he didn't want to seem as if he was bragging, after all she wasn't able to go, it seemed rude. "Maybe you'll be able to make the next one." He offered up as a hope, not that it helped or changed anything.

It was strange to her her talk about the contract. He could listen to her go on about it all day but he doubted he would ever understand why her family was truly opting for this. Marriage should never be about anything other then love. He might have not seemed it but Apollo was a romantic at heart, well in the vaguest definition of it. He liked the idea of having someone who he cared about, who he didn't mind opening up to, who he trusted fully. But how would that be possible if his future wife was decided based on blood and financial standing?

"Well, you'll still have time to get to know him before everything is final, right? Its not as if they plan on you marrying before you finish your schooling?" His final statement of course sounded more like a question. He was puzzled about the entire thing. Of course he also felt as if no matter what he said on the matter it would be of no use or even necessary as he truly was not versed in how such things went. He picked up the quill she had placed back, "You should get this one, its unique."

@shava

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She smirked. "Ah but you see summer time and holidays are when I work. And the more I work those the better off I will be after school, so the summer break isn't the same for me as it is for some." She shrugged, resigned to that fact continuing in the future. "I really do enjoy it though, I'm just not one for the big crowds I think so much. And soon enough when I'm old enough they will be taking me places around the world probably so I think I'll get the travel just later on."

He seemed to think about her words and she watched him for a moment before turning back to looking through the quills. "If it doesn't fall through for some reason, I'd finish school first. And he doesn't seem so bad, he's...already surprised me more then once. We're going to try getting together through the year and see how it goes." If he was romantic, he'd be thinking about how wrong it is, if he thinks abut traditions, he's in favor of it. But she wasn't sure exactly what he really was thinking.

When he picked up that quill in particular she smiled at him with gratitude. Apollo was more subtle then most, but she enjoyed that as well as the quiet times. He could be quite the gentleman. "Thank you, Apollo, for listening to me. I do appreciate you putting up with me all this time. I must seem a strange person sometimes." And she did pick up that quill and placed it in her hand, giving him a soft smile.

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Apollo felt oddly protective of Pandora. He couldn't place a finger on just why or what brought out this feeling but it something that he could hardly just ignore. He knew they had very different backgrounds. His father had married twice out of love, the first ended in failure, well and Cassandra. Would things had been different had his father been in a relationship determined by his grandparents? It made his head hurt to try and wrap his mind fully around the logic of arranged marriages. Of course he understood there was the whole 'blood purity' to it, something as a half-blood he found ridiculous, almost as ridiculous as people who factored in race when searching for a mate.

So when Pandora expressed that she was going to work on getting to know the boy she was being bond to he felt a small sense of ease towards the matter. Maybe it would be a perfect match, maybe she would find feelings for him, or maybe not. "So will I get to meet this mystery man or am I going to have to wait for the wedding?" He joked giving Pandora a lopsided smile. For now, he planned to keep his opinions to himself, unless she was to ask for them, because in the end who was he to tell her it was wrong when he didn't even know all the facts?

His smile shifted to a small grin that verged on being smug as she took the quill. "I might have added that in that sense it was like you, but seemed a bit dorky even in jest." He laughed a little, amused by himself. After all it was strange when others compared someone else's beauty or personality to trivial things such as quills or even flowers. "Of course, that is what friends are for, right?" He said in regards to listening to her, though it was funny almost because so little did they tend to divulge what was going on in their lives. "You're the strangest though, I thought you already knew that's what I thought about you." he teased, but he had to wonder, was she strange? Or was it him? Maybe neither or perhaps both.

@shava

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Reminding herself of her false story, Pandora knew she might come across as a tragic figure. Parents killed at an early age, only one relative left, and in a house by herself with just her grandfather for company. For the persona she showed, being a model got her out of the house and gave her a strong purpose; family would be a key thing to be loyal to so an arranged marriage would be something she would hesitate to go against. The fact it fit her plans exactly had nothing to do with it really, but it gave her a tragic appearance story wise which was always nice.

Pursing her lips she said simply enough "You may already know him, or heard of him since he's big into Quidditch. He's a Slytherin by the name of Jared Tchaikovsky." She did glance at him to see if that sounded like someone he had heard of, but just a glance not wanting to be rude. She was aware he had been kidding, but it was information she didn't mind him having either. She knew he wasn't in the gossip scene so he was safe to tell stuff too. "Hey, at least he's willing to work with it too, could be much worse."

Speaking about jest brought humor to her eyes as she turned back to him. "Ha! I can see why you held back, but thanks! I think of you as fairly unique as well actually, one of my close friends. It's why I wanted to make sure you heard about it from me first instead of someone gossiping." That would not have been a nice surprise for sure, though it did lead her to wonder if his family had ever been involved in contracts before. She thought she remembered him saying something once about his blood, but she thought he had said half.

Seeing a few stationary pads to the side she walked behind and past him a few feet to those saying "Ah well, I think there are always a few strange ones around. I just manage it quietly. Never did care for being flashy." Well dressed and stylish and elegant yes, flashy and bling no.

@apollo

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"Tchaikovsky..." The name was familiar to Apollo but he couldn't say he actuality knew the young man personally. "I believe I accompany his cousin from time to time." He of course was talking about playing his cello. A pass time he was very fond of. "You're right though, it could be worse. You could have to marry me - that would be a nightmare most horrifying." His tone was overly dramatic towards the end of his statement as he was very much joking. Being of mixed blood he was hardly the sort that would ever find themselves in an arranged marriage.

It was strange in ways for Apollo to listen to Pandora talk about their friendship. Apollo had struggled for years with managing relationships. He wondered at times if it steamed from the strained relationship he had with his sister, or if he just was not as much as a people person as he tried to be at times. But there was something about being told he was considered a close friend. "Well I appreciate the thought, seeing as I would have likely disregarded any rumor I heard about you." Apollo tried his best to stay away from gossip, there was enough drama that came with being a teenager and gossip only seemed to add to it.

Apollo followed Pandora to the stationary and looked through it himself. He picked out a small stack. "You're really not that strange." No there was Moonberry, she was strange. Each house had their own strange characters of course. "I think you are actually one of the most normal people I know, you don't over indulge in the dramatics of school life, you stay out of trouble...maybe its strange but its refreshing." In theory it made him strange too, so he much rather consider it normal.

@shava

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Cousin? She would have to probably learn a whole bunch of names. That hadn't occurred to her and it caused some hesitation for a moment. Gah, now she was going to have to devote an hour of time in the Library to go over his family line information just in case. Adding it to a mental list, she nodded. "I hadn't even considered it, but I have heard that last name before in school. Guess I need to look them up." His joke she nudged him with her elbow again while grinning slightly.

"Goof. I know when the right person gets you under their thumb I'm sure you will wonder how you ever lived without someone else keeping you on track. I suspect your family doesn't deal with contracts so you will have to learn to be more openly charming then you normally show." That made her chuckle softly as well; Apollo could be very nice, but reclusive fit him like a glove. "Trust me, I never considered you gossip central, I just didn't want you hearing it from someone else."

That was one thing about having friends; you did have to work to make sure everyone really felt you were on their wavelength and cared. "Hmm, maybe I meant odd. I don't feel like I fit in often with the rest of the crowd, except in classes." When he spoke about trouble she looked at him. "Can't afford it on my record and wouldn't have the chance in the first place. When everyone else is in mischief, I'm usually working."

@apollo