Between Pain and Pride (Open) *KEEP*

[Landon Davenport]

The wind was particularly fierce this evening and it filled the tower with an eerie whistle every time it blew hard enough. The chill was enough to send anyone back to their common room to huddle around the hearth and enjoy the warmth of the crackling fire. In spite of the cold and out right creepy whistle, Landon sat, bundled up in his robes with a letter in his hands and a lantern at his side. The words on the parchment stung deeper than actual physical blow could.

Landon wiped the tears from his eyes and cursed himself for not pushing himself harder during the school year. The boy had received top marks in everything but his flying class and it was because of this that he was not being allowed to return home for the Christmas break. The whole thing seemed extremely cruel and unnecessary to Landon. Being stuck by himself in the cold Ravenclaw dorms while everyone else was off enjoying their Christmas was a punishment that' at least in Landon's opinion, didn't seem to fit the crime.

Over his first year at Hogwarts, Landon had done everything in his power to get the best marks he could. It was all part of the effort to prove himself to his father. To actually get the man to admit that he was worth his salt as wizard. Leaning his head back against the cold stone wall of the tower, Landon wondered if there was even a point in trying. He had passed the classes that mattered with the best possible marks and his father was still unimpressed. Was there even a point in trying? Landon thought as he stared up at the ceiling. Nothing, it seemed, would ever be good enough for his father.

Tired of dealing with his father's belligerence, Landon allowed his thoughts to drift to the few good things that had happened over the course of the year. Of course, there had been his classwork which, for the most part, had been flawless. His class schedule had done an excellent job of keeping his mind off of what his father would think during the days but at the end of the day when there was nothing else to do, the thoughts always came back. That's where Sebastien and Arielle came in. That had been more of a help to Landon than he could ever tell them. Their mischievous adventures gave Landon something to focus on and for the first time in his life, he actually felt happy. It was nice to know that there were people that actually cared about him and what he thought.

Landon glanced down at the letter in his hand and the despair came rushing back. For a brief moment, Landon thought about replying to his father and telling him just where he could stick his quill but that would only make the beatings worse when he actually did get to go home. Maybe being stuck at the school wasn't such a bad thing after all. He got to be by himself and read as much he liked. He got have three great meals a day and, most importantly, there were no altercations with his father over the tiniest of things.

A smiled played on the corner of his lips as he realized just how enjoyable his Christmas holiday could be. Now, if he could just find a way to convince Arielle and Sebastien to stay as well. So much for wishful thinking, Landon thought to himself.