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.

[Brian Colly]

The freezing cold hit Brian hard. He didn't mind he loved cold weather. While this was a bit worse than the usual he just thought of it as better. It was also empty around here because everyone was in their common rooms relaxing by the warm fire. He got to be alone out here in the tower. In a group of people he just got nervous and stayed away. So he decided to just get out of there. Honestly he didn't even like the heat that radiated off of the open flames. It was just too hot in his personal opinion.

Just a little while ago he sent off a letter to his parents saying that he wanted to spend Christmas at Hogwarts. It wasn't that he disliked his family, it was that he felt awkward around them. He loved them very dearly, but they just weren't like him. Not many people were. No, he wanted to stay at Hogwarts. There wouldn't be as many people and the library was better anyways.

He bumped into someone. It was another Ravenclaw boy and he was sitting and had a letter in one hand and a lantern at his side. "Um...sorry, I, uh, didn't know anyone else was around. I just, uh, leave then," Brian said very shyly.

[Landon Davenport]

He bumped into someone. It was another Ravenclaw boy and he was sitting and had a letter in one hand and a lantern at his side. "Um...sorry, I, uh, didn't know anyone else was around. I just, uh, leave then," Brian said very shyly.

Just when Landon thought that his night was truning around someone blundered into the tower and bumped into him. Landon stared at the boy, an enraged look upon his face. Was he that invisible to people here? He had been sitting the corner with a bloody lamp next to him and someone still managed to run into him. The letter droppped to the floor as Landon pushed himself to his feet. He was furious and that would have been obvious to anyone who happened to walk into the room at that time. As Landon look the boy over, he recognized him as a member of his own house and if Landon was right, the boy was also a first year.

"What in the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Landon spat rudely in his slight Scottish accent. "Are you blind?" It had crossed Landon's mind that he was over reacting but at the moment, he didin't care. this boy had picked the absolutely worst possible night to be so oblivious. "Or are you just stupid?" Landon asked, the anger clearly showing through in his voice. "There was a bloody lantern next to me!" Landon ran a hand through his hair and gave the boy a penetrating glare. "How in the hell did you make it into Ravenclaw? Ravenclaws are supposed to be clever and attentive!" Fists balled up, Landon took a step back from the boy. He knew that if he approached punches would probably be thrown and Landon would probably lose.

Growing up as frail as Landon had, he had never really learned to fight. Landon was fairly certain that almost anyone he came across could easily best him in physical combat. Because of this, Landon focused his abilities on learning. Landon counted on knowledge and pure cunning to overcome his foes. Through his anger, Landon couldn't see that he was boarding on making a foe at that very moment.

((OOC)) I apologize for the rudeness. Landon is having a bad night. :)

[Sebastien Dantes]

It was nearly Christmas and Sebastien was quite literally jumping for joy up the staircase of the tower. He would be leaving for home in three days, and he couldn't wait to see his parents. Going to Hogwarts had been his first experience away from home and he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss them. He'd never admit that he was homesick out loud, but he was. He was thrilled to be heading back to France. Not only did he miss his family, but he missed his hometown too - the smell of pumpkin pies cooling in Madame Garnier's bakery, the sound of the neighbourhood band playing Christmas carols in the town square, and the bright colours of the Christmas lights that were always strung back and forth between the houses so that when he looked up from the street, all he could see was a zig-zag of bulbs and sprinkling of stars in the sky. The thought of it all filled him with a warm tingling of anticipation.

But that was days away. What time he had left would be spent with his best friends, Arielle and Landon. He would miss them over the holiday, since he usually spent every single day with them at school. He'd grown accustomed to their company. He'd always had lots of friends in his town, but now that he went to school far away, he was sure they would no longer want to associate with him as often. It had happened to Jacqueline, too. During the year, her friends found new people to hang out with, often people that Jacqueline didn't particularly like. She had given up spending any time with the majority of them, and stuck with the one or two best friends that didn't abandon her. He hoped he'd made better choices in friends than Jacqueline had. If not, he knew he always had Arielle and Landon, and that was comforting to him.

He reached the top of the stairs and walked into the room at the top of the tower, taken aback by the sight he saw. It looked like Landon was about to punch a kid straight in the face, judging by his aggressive appearance and clenched fists. Sebastien had been looking for Landon, but hadn't expected to find him in this particular situation. Sebastien didn't know the boy's name, but recognized him as a member of Landon's house, Ravenclaw. He didn't dwell on it though, he needed to try and cool his friend down. He was quick to jump in between the two, facing Landon.

"Whoa, whoa, calmez-vous!" he commanded, not really caring that he'd spoken in French. He was sure they would both get the message. "What happened?" he asked, putting his hands on his friend's shoulders to try and relax the situation.

[Landon Davenport]

"Whoa, whoa, calmez-vous!" he commanded, not really caring that he'd spoken in French. He was sure they would both get the message. "What happened?" he asked, putting his hands on his friend's shoulders to try and relax the situation.

Through the haze of anger and frustration, Landon felt a familiar presence and someone place their hands on his shoulders. The voice that spoke to him was both firm and concerned. He recognized it instantly as one of his dearest friends, Sebastien Dantes. Sebastien was one of the few people in their first year class that actually took the time to get to know Landon. Most of the time he wondered why Sebastien even bothered with him. Never-the-less, Landon was grateful that he had. Landon could feel the anger rising in him again as Sebastien's words began to sink. The Hufflepuff wanted an explanation of what was going and Landon wasn't sure he could give him one with out completely losing what little control of his temper that he had left. "What happened?" Landon practically scoffed as he looked over Sebastien's should at the other Ravenclaw boy.

"That, that prat, who is pants on head idiotic, walked right in here and crashed into me when I was sitting on the floor with a bloody lantern next. It's not as if I'm bloody invisible, mate," Landon yelled more at the other Ravenclaw than at Sebastien. "Bloody tosser," he muttered under his breath as he looked down at the cold stone floor of the tower and glancing over at the letter that he left lying next to the lantern. He took a deep breath but just the sight of the letter was enough to keep Landon from calming down completely.

"They won't let me go home, Seb," Landon whispered with just enough volume for Sebastien to hear. "They won't let me go for Christmas." The anger on Landon's face faded and was replaced with sadness. Quietly, he bent down and retrieved the letter. He silently read the words once more before handing it to his friend. "One bad mark from the whole semester and I don't get to go home. I'm stuck here alone, Seb." Without another word, Landon returned to the spot he'd been sitting in before the rude boy blundered into the tower and buried his face in his hands.

[Brian Colly]

Brian stood there, frozen, and was avoiding eye-contact and trying to hide his face. He absolutly hated the feeling of angering someone unprovoked. It was a horrible experience for him. He felt the rage completely and felt disappointed with himself. 'Oh bloody hell, my clumsiness has been a problem for me before, but this is just horrible,' Brian thought.

When the yelling started Brian just wanted to disappear right there, he was horrible with confrontation. However he knew that he owed this boy an explaination, so he meekly said, "I-I am terribly sorry. I have a dreadful habbit of looking at the upper corners of rooms when I walk into them. I did that thinking no people were in here and I missed the light from your lantern. And again I would like to apologize to you."

Some of the insults he was hearing seemed like a bit much and almost had Brian say something, but he knew it was his fault and kept his mouth shut. He saw the clenched fist and thought, 'I only know how to wave a wand, not how to fight with my fists. I probably shouldn't even try though. It was my fault and a good punch to my face might help him calm down.'

When the Hufflepuff boy jumped between the two Ravenclaws to calm his friend down Brian was relieved. He might not have to get slugged. He silently watched as the other Ravenclaw talked to his, apparently, close friends, wishing he had one. The two boys were talking and he knew better than to interupt or even listen. He would wait for them to finish and then apologize to the Ravenclaw, once more, and thank the hufflepuff for stopping things from escalating.

[Sebastien Dantes]

"That, that prat, who is pants on head idiotic, walked right in here and crashed into me when I was sitting on the floor with a bloody lantern next. It's not as if I'm bloody invisible, mate," Landon yelled more at the other Ravenclaw than at Sebastien. "Bloody tosser,"

Sebastien nodded at his friend. He knew Landon was very upset, and arguing with him was worth nothing. The poor fellow who had ran into Landon probably didn't deserve to get yelled at like that. Everyone was clumsy sometimes. But it was no use telling Landon that when he was in the kind of state he was in. Sebastien guessed he was really upset about something else. That was how Landon operated. When something was bugging him, it affected everything else in his life. That wasn't abnormal. Most people Sebastien knew were like that, including himself. It was hard to focus on anything but whatever was making him upset, especially if something really awful had happened. He hoped nothing too horrible had happened to Landon.

"I-I am terribly sorry. I have a dreadful habit of looking at the upper corners of rooms when I walk into them. I did that thinking no people were in here and I missed the light from your lantern. And again I would like to apologize to you."

Sebastien appreciated the boy's polite apology, and hoped Landon would accept it and move on. He clearly had the pitiful kid trembling in his boots. On an average day, Sebastien would have found his terror both hilarious and useful. Fear was a very positive attribute for a potential lackey to have. But he wasn't interested in recruiting another minion for his crew of miscreants at the moment. Maybe he could track the kid down later - in fact, he would. What was more important was his friend. Landon was clearly very, very upset. As much as he loved to expand his ever-growing posse, his best friends came first. He was loyal like that.

"They won't let me go home, Seb," Landon whispered with just enough volume for Sebastien to hear. "They won't let me go for Christmas." The anger on Landon's face faded and was replaced with sadness. Quietly, he bent down and retrieved the letter. He silently read the words once more before handing it to his friend. "One bad mark from the whole semester and I don't get to go home. I'm stuck here alone, Seb."

And he was right. Sebastien shook his head in disbelief. It seemed that with each passing day, Landon's parents became more and more crazy. It was strange to hear about parents who cared more about their son's grades than his happiness. Sebastien's parents were loving free-spirits for the most part. Although his mother could be a little anxious and over-protective, she would never think of forcing Sebastien to stay at home. Both his parents loved him and his sister very much, and even when they screwed up, it was never bad enough for their parents to punish them like that.

"I'm sorry, Landon. That really sucks. Your parents are out of line," he told him, frowning, as he thought about what he could do to help. Then it hit him. "Maybe...maybe I could stay here too? You know, if you want me too." He would really miss spending Christmas with his family, but his best friend needed him. He wasn't sure why, but it felt like something he should do.

[Landon Davenport]

"I'm sorry, Landon. That really sucks. Your parents are out of line," he told him, frowning, as he thought about what he could do to help. Then it hit him. "Maybe...maybe I could stay here too? You know, if you want me too." He would really miss spending Christmas with his family, but his best friend needed him. He wasn't sure why, but it felt like something he should do.

Landon's head shot up and smile quickly formed on his face. it was exactly what he'd hoped to hear from his friend. Almost as quickly as the smile appeared it vanished and his shoulders sagged. "Thank you but I can't let you miss Christmas with your family. You should go home," Landon said forcing a weak smile at the end. "I'll be fine. I always am." Landon couldn't help feeling bad for the other Ravenclaw boy that he'd been yelling at earlier. He supposed that it was true that everyone had their clumsy moments. Landon sighed.

The idea of spending Christmas at Hogwarts by himself wasn't entirely appealing but at least it'd be quiet. Landon deeply appreciated his friends offer but could not allow it in good conscience. "There is a bright side here," Landon began, trying his best to look at least somewhat chipper. "I will have free reign over the library while everyone is gone. Just think of all the books I'll get to read with no distractions." Landon gave his friend a bright smile but it was a smile that obviously did not reach his eyes and shrugged.

"Hey," he began looking over Sebastien's shoulder at the other boy. "I'm sorry for flying off the handle like that. Normally, I'm a really nice guy," Landon said with the slightest hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. It was still beyond Landon how anyone could walk into a room and miss someone sitting by a lantern but he wasn't going to argue the point any further. It was obvious he'd made the boy feel plenty bad and even scared him a bit. That, for now, was enough to keep Landon satisfied.