#emmelinervance

[hisfirstlieutenant]

@emmelinervance

          Mr. Vance,               I hope this owl finds you on time. I do realize curfew is quite soon, but being a                       Prefect does have its advantages.              If you are free, I am in the Astronomy Tower and will be until midnight.             Dress warm. It’s frigid.        Bellatrix Black

     Bellatrix Black’s left eye pressed delicately against the brass telescope on the crenel of the tower. It faced the constellation Narcissus, after her baby sister. 

     Things had been so different lately, and it left a sour taste in her mouth. She didn’t like this, getting lost in her own head, but there were things she knew that she could do to alter her mindset. 

     It’d been fifteen minutes that she stood, quite still, her back unnaturally straight and her feet aching with heels against stone floor. She watched the twinkling stars, identifying the constellations that she knew before inevitably settling on Narcissa’s. What was she doing to do?

      It was with a soft exhale that she turned around, gaze coming into contact with Emmeline Vance at the top of the stairs. She’d almost been startled by her sudden, quiet appearance. 

    “Hello.” 

     She stood rather still, watching the girl with curiosity.

[anatomicallyburke-blog]

@emmelinervance

      Adrian had to take a piss. 

      He had no idea what he was expected to do, his mind distant when instructions were given, and he’d spent his time thus far locked away in a compartment, high and exhausted. It seemed like his relaxation was about to end as Adrian rose to his feet and moved to leave the compartment for the bathroom. 

      Immediately, he was struck by the crowd of people and almost shut the door, deciding he’d skip a trip to the bathroom when a group of younger students filtered in like it was an open invitation. With an exhale, he shoved his way towards the loo and was frustrated when he had to wait in a line. When he finished, Adrian squeezed through the hall in search of a compartment to sit in, hoping that no one would bother him. 

      He slid into the first one that wasn’t entirely packed and took a seat beside a pretty Ravenclaw he vaguely recognized. 

     “This a load’ve tosh or is it just me?”

[pandorasopenbox-blog]

@emmelinervance

     There was black paint smeared across her pale cheek and Pandora Ó'Máille’s daffodil hair was covered in shredded paper as she stepped through the wide door of the airy Ravenclaw Common Room. 

      It was awfully cold and she’d chosen her outfit most unwisely, wearing a short, green skirt and a feather-light, ruby blouse. On her feet were a pair of rubber rain boots that caused her to stumble over marble floors. She set down her oversized bag and noticed a black-haired beauty in her year sitting at one of the small tables. 

      “Oh, hello Emmeline! Did you know Ravenclaw is associated with the element of air? Funny, because I feel terribly dizzy. I do think I need more air! But oh... I wouldn’t want to float away,” she added, a vague worry in her voice as her dreamy eyes went distant.

[hisfirstlieutenant]

@emmelinervance

     She had not meant to lose track of time.

     It was little secret that Bellatrix Black was brilliant beyond words. She kept a sharp mind and gave credit to a strict sleep schedule, a proper diet, and regular reading; the latter of which she had been doing for hours. As the train zoomed along and her classmates worked out the riddle asked of them to solve, she dove into a deeper understanding of the Dark Arts. 

     If Tom Riddle could see her now...

     That was a thought she could not entertain. She would not become a silly girl obsessed, and would, instead, better her own understanding of important subjects for herself. This would benefit her and no one else. If, perchance, it made Him notice her, then so be it.

     There had been interruptions with students coming and going, but her razor-sharp focus had learned to tune them out as words popped off the white page. However, she rather suddenly realized it had been quite some time since anyone had stopped in and Bellatrix wondered if, perhaps, she had somehow been so utterly consumed she missed the finale of this silly, child’s game. It was when she went to rise to two feet to check on the status of the game that the compartment door slid open. A group of younger Ravenclaws, a mix of boys and girls, spotted Bellatrix within. She gave them a curt nod and a few filtered in to sit across her and discuss the progress of their discoveries. 

      Most unfortunately, they had left the door open, making it utterly loud, but she would not move. She did not glance up again, despite her ebbing focus, but several minutes later out of the corner of her eye, she observed as another entered.

[hisfirstlieutenant]

@emmelinervance

      She knew immediately for whom the hands that touched her shoulders belonged. Warm and petite, she had studied those hands just the previous night. The touch was a welcome reprieve against muscles so tense and lines so angular from sitting at the table since lunch.

      Bellatrix had sat, back facing the entrance to the quiet library, hunched over an open book. One, dainty hand wrapped around the back of her slim neck and her other arm, bent at a tight angle, rested upon the flat top before her. She read and read and read until her mind made silent promises of madness and still she read more. 

       “You are early,” she said quietly before she straightened her spine, listening to the subtle pop, pop, pop of cracking joints relieved for a stretch. Bellatrix pivoted and met the dark, mysterious gaze of one Emmeline Vance. There was the slightest trace of a tiny smile on her red painted lips. Her own gaze, as silver and metallic as a newly minted coin, darted to the clock hanging prominently above the door. Just five minutes until curfew. She quietly closed her book and slid it into her messenger bag to sling over her bony shoulder. 

       “We must go.”

       She rose effortlessly and moved without another word towards the door. Heeled boots echoed against the concrete floor and Bellatrix took a sharp right as she exited the library and did not stop walking and did not check to make sure Emmeline was following even as she climbed and climbed several flights to an untrodden corner of the castle. Long, slim legs carried her to a quiet hallway that veered off the main drag. Down, down she went to the last classroom, tucked away from prying eyes. 

        No one would find them here.

       Bellatrix entered, waited for Emmeline to do the same, and then turned and locked the door behind them as a precaution.

        “How was your first assignment?”

[hisfirstlieutenant]

@emmelinervance; 

Emmeline Vance; Intelligence over vanity. The Noble Champion

“I believe in strength of mind over strength of will. Not that I lack in either. Will is simply far more flexible and less enduring.”