Long Day Means Rest ~Alex~

[Jaylen Nemechek]

The fifth year Ravenclaw female came into the Ravenclaw common room after a long day of classes. She made to move towards a clutch of comfy armchairs. For several long moments the female just sat there, no movements came in attempt to get up or get anything. It truly had been a long day. Now that dinner was done with she knew she would not have to get up until she was ready for bed. She put her feet up on the coffee table in between the clutches. It was a nice relaxing position.

Finally after she relaxed for a bit she reached over and grabbed her little black book. It was an enchanted notebook that was to look smaller than it truly was. The tiny notebook had hundreds of pages but looked to have less than fifty. This book was where she wrote down all the spells that she created, mostly of which were just combined actual spells. She worked on these in secret and the book was precious to her. This was something that no one could touch or they would be hexed. When she was a third year a second year decided to get brave and take it. The short version of the story is that she hexed him up on the ceiling of the Great Hall. She put a temporary sticking charm onto him as well that would only release after a good week. The professors had tried a nice amount of things to get him down finally breaking it after three days which made Jaylen extremely upset.

As she looked through her book she paid almost no attention to the rest of the common room. She did not really care for being in Ravenclaw but there she was sitting in an armchair in the Ravenclaw common room. She could not change her mind of such a thing. She'd gotten used to it though. She mostly minded her own business and spent her time with Jay, her twin brother. She looked like a grouch most of the time sitting in the common room, usually not wanting to be bothered but some days she did not mind and would lean back and pay attention to such things. Sometimes she would not speak to the other person while sometimes she would just insult them. She had a reputation that she planned to keep, even if it was not a good reputation.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex wandered into the common room from the boys' dorms, a book balanced on one hand in front of him. He crossed the room without looking up from his book to seat himself on one of the chairs there. He had lately been getting into the bad habit of reading while walking, and often ran into others while doing so.

This was nearly the case now, as Alex just stopped in time to keep himself from running into the legs of a Ravenclaw girl in the same year as himself. He hadn't talked to her much, but he did know that her name was Jaylen.

"Oh, terribly sorry Jaylen, 'scuse me," he said, changing his course so that he could walk around the table and sit on the chair on the other side.

[Jaylen Nemechek]

The female looked up as... What was his name? Oh yes, Alex just about ran into her legs. She glared at him. “Maybe you should put down your book for a few moments while you are walking,” she told him in a very snarky tone. She knew a good amount about her fellow house mates, especially those in her own year. She was known for not liking muggleborns and that was exactly had just about ran into her. A mistake on his end.

For him to apologize, well at least he knew better than to act rude towards her. She was not sure if he truly knew her reputation, either way. Her bright blue eyes did not remove once from him. She would not allow a muggleborn to get the best of her. “Do you think it's okay to just run into people? How many times a day do you do that?” she hissed.

The boy had done nothing wrong, after all he had just about bumped into her, nothing on purpose. He was walking and reading. It was for who he was born not who he was as a person that made her act like that towards him. It was not his fault one bit in all truthfulness. Her eyes followed him as he sat from across her. Why did Ravenclaw have to accept muggleborns? Oh how much happier she would be if she was not around them. Dealing was now what she had to do.

[Alex Woltheizen]

A frown crossed Alex's face as he looked up from his book at the girl, who was apparently very angry that he'd nearly bumped into her legs. Her tone was snarky and a bit holier-than-thou.

"I did apologize, Jaylen," he said, keeping his voice low and calm, though a tiny spot of anger was beginning to boil. Luckily, Alex was very good at keeping his temper in check. "And I did mean it."

Alex wondered exactly what he had done wrong. Sure, he'd almost bumped her, but most people would've waved it off. There had to be something else that had irked her... but what could it be?

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen looked at him. He frowned at her and than spoke to her with a clam voice. He told her that he did apologize. Even though he was calm she was probably already working on his nerves. She still glared at him. “That you did, I'm not deaf you know,” she told him. She mumbled quietly to herself, “good thing you did apologize.” She closed her black book and pushed it into her robes before leaning forward.

“Still you should take my fair words of telling you to put down your book while walking,” she told him seriously. She was acting like Jaylen, there was truly no other way to describe her attitude towards him. Stupid mudbloods, she thought to herself. She was so tired of every where she walked in Ravenclaw Tower that she bumped into one.

She eyed him carefully. “Just watch your step, never know whose wand might hex you,” she threatened him. Sure she could befriend the muggleborn but for Jaylen that would take a lot of work. She could try and be nice to him. She was not sure if she wanted to right at this moment. Maybe he would try instead. Jaylen guaranteed nothing though.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex nodded when Jaylen warned him to put down his book while walking, his face a perfect picture of serenity. "That I will. It's becoming a bad habit of mine, and I really ought to break it," he agreed. He wasn't about to let this girl get on his nerves.

At her threat, Alex tipped his head to the side, giving the girl an odd sort of smile. "My, my, are you threatening to hex me? Why make enemies of those who wish you no harm, Jaylen? Or have I committed some crime of which I am not yet aware?" Alex was slipping into his odd-speaking self, the one that sounded more like an English textbook than a teenager.

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen continued to eye him. “Bad habits should not exist,” she noted. She hated bad habits, especially those that could cause harm to her. Why did he keep so calm? This was not fair, she wanted to be more on his nerves that she was at the moment. She did not understand why he was talking to her like he was her equal.

He spoke asking her if she was threatening him. Which she grinned at. “I guess you are smart, pick things up somewhat quickly don't you?” she asked him. He also asked her why she was making enemies with those who did not mean to cause her harm and than continued to ask if he committed a crime that he did not know of.

She thought about her reply to him. “I do have a reason, the fact that you are a muggleborn, it's quite simple in all truth, why would you rather be friends with me?” she asked him. She looked at him carefully. Jaylen now silenced herself. She though on what if her brother was here. Jay was very accepting and usually he was around to keep her in check.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex cocked an eyebrow, still very calm. He could tell it was annoying the girl, but her annoyance somewhat amused him, so he didn't really care. "They shouldn't, no, but yet they do. You can't honestly tell me that you have no bad habits yourself. It's illogical."

A small smile quirked at his face. "I have been told that I catch on rather quickly, yes. And thank you for saying so," he replied, voice even. He wasn't about to let her catch on to his little game. Not quite yet; he was having too much fun not giving her what she wanted.

His face brightened when she told him why she was angry with him. "Oh, is that it then? I was beginning to get worried. And, Jaylen, I think I may have discovered your bad habit," he told her, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin. "Your bad habit is that you judge others too quickly, based on their blood status. But you already knew that, didn't you? The only problem is that you didn't realize it's a bad habit." He leaned back to his former position, looking very peaceful.

"Why would I rather be friends with you? Because, Jaylen, what's the point of enemies?" he asked. It was something he'd always wondered, really.

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen wanted him to just give up the even temper. It was very annoying, but she had no idea he was using that to his advantage. “I never said I did have bad habits, I just never mentioned my bad habits,” she told him, “why would I put forth my own bad habits to anyone?” she asked him.

When he smiled, well at least he was showing some type of emotion like amusement, she raised her brows. Her words were not completely a compliment. As he spoke to her she kept her mouth shut. She did not want to give him anymore compliments. If what she did was give him a compliment. She leaned back again in the seat.

“Why would that be a bad habit, I think that's more of a personality trait than a bad habit,” she told him. “Yes I judge based on blood status, but I do not believe that it is a bad habit even if you do,” her words made sense to her even if it did not to him. “I grew up in the muggle world, mind you with magic in my life, muggles are selfish people, they do not understand all that should be given, I do not want such poison in my veins, I feel for you,” she told him.

“Friends have advantages, while I may judge based on blood status, my brother does not, I have learned to become friends with people I do not like even with blood staus being the wrong type for the wizarding world,” she told him, “friends like me can have even greater advantages, like protection,” she said. She spoke very highly of herself. “While enemies keep the world in disarray, no point, just fun,” she told him, “gives me something to do when I'm not doing anything, but also people who truly do make me upset, they have been on the other side of my wand, hexing and charming is my specialty, you never want to be on the other side of my wand, fair warning now.”

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex smiled at the girl calmly, knowing from the expression on the girl's face just how frustrated his serenity was making her. "Well, it's much easier to get to know someone when you're aware of at least a few of their faults. Makes it much less like talking to a god, don't you think?" he answered he question, leaning back and resting comfortably in his chair. His book now lay on the table, forgotten in this interesting argument.

Alex's eyebrow twitched up in mild surprise after her explanation of why she didn't like muggleborns, though he betrayed no other emotion than that. "So you would not consider judging others on a situation they were placed in, with no control over who they were born to, to be unfair? I myself am proud to be the son of my mother and father, and to have their blood run through my veins. My mother was a wonderful and generous woman, and my father is a good man. And you cannot honestly tell me that there are no purebloods or halfbloods that are not just as selfish as some mudbloods and muggles." He said all this with a smile, still calm, though he had a deep desire to defend his deceased mother. He hid this well, though, letting no outward sign of it show, and regarded the girl calmly as she explained the benefits of her friendship.

"I'm not to shabby at charming and hexing myself, though I do not proclaim myself a master. After all, there is much to learn this year and the two years we'll have after this. But tell me, Jaylen, why explain the benefits of your friendship to me if you are so dead-set against me and my blood status? Not having second thoughts, are we?" His voice betrayed a glimmer of amusement, but nothing more.

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen glared at him and folded her arms as she leaned back in her own armchair. “I'm no god, I have my faults, I think it's fair to admit such a thing, after all Jay tells me what I'm doing wrong all the time,” she said with a very grumpy tone. He was just like Jay, always making sense of what she was doing, trying to push her towards the smart choice. She hated having things pointed out by someone, especially someone who was not Jay.

She saw his surprise in his explanation. “I realize such a thing, but I think it's perfectly fair and normal to be able to judge someone, even based on who they were born to,” she spoke. As she spoke Jay's voice popped into her head, Jaylen you know that's not fair at all. Reminders from her brother came all the time to her when she spoke. What was it about this boy that made her want to change her words. “So not every muggle is like the ones I had to deal with in school?” she asked him. She was giving him a chance to show her his side of the story without allowing her own temper to get ahead of her. It was his words of purebloods and halfbloods that were just as selfish as the mudbloods and muggles that got to her. She muttered a few incoherent words under her breath, most likely some curse words.

As he went on to speak about everything she had told him. That he did not claim himself a master and there was still much to learn. “I explain them because if I did not give it a try both Jay and Oliver would have my head,” she said, “and I don't know about you but my head is one thing that I like having.” She made no mention of her parents, though they would be greatly disappointed in her if she did not try either. “I feel like a black sheep, always being told my way of thinking is wrong, my parents and brothers think everyone deserves a chance, but they have not had the experiences I've had, well they have just don't look at it the same way as myself,” she said coldly. “I have to try and even if we don't become friends I can at least say that, that's what matters,” she said. Jay knew very well how his older sister acted when she was not around but he always did tell her to try and since he made an effort and she was close to him, sometimes, rarely, when she was by herself she could make an effort as well.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex had to fight to keep himself from laughing at the girl's grumpy tones. He kept himself calm, though if one looked closely they might be able to identify the slightest glimmer of mischief in his eyes. "Well yes, obviously you aren't a god, or I doubt you'd be spending your time here when it could be much more productive elsewhere, off solving world hunger and curing cancer, that sort of thing. But it is nice to know that someone you are speaking to has their faults, and isn't afraid to admit that they have them," he told her. He gave an indifferent shrug at her next words.

"Perhaps it is normal, but I highly doubt that it is fair," he countered. Alex had met plenty of pure-blooded wizards who disliked muggleborns just because they were muggleborn, so it really wasn't all that weird.

"I don't know the muggles that you dealt with in school, but I have had the pleasure to have met many kind, generous muggles. While they may not be able to do things with magic, they do try, and after all, that's what really matters."

He listened calmly as Jaylen explained herself, genuinely interested in what she had to say. As she finished, he nodded, mulling over her explanation before speaking himself. "Well, at least you are trying, that's more than can be said for some. There are pure bloods that have no reason to dislike muggles at all, having little to no contact with them, and still refuse to even speak to a muggleborn, let alone try to be friends with them. Really quite foolish of them; they have likely turned down the chance to make the acquaintance of many good people, simply because they are too stubborn to give muggleborns a chance."

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen looked at him. “My faults are my faults, but I do not let them out of the bag unless someone notices them, I know I have them as everyone does, but I do not like to admit them,” she said. Yes, she had her many faults, one he'd already pointed out, actually three he had already pointed out. Her way of thinking that she was better than most by what she did in her spare time, as well as her judgment problems, and the fact she would sometimes be thinking of herself without the faults and all good. “Also if I was a god, I totally would spend my time here, sounds like it'd be more relaxing that solving world hunger or curing, what did you call that again, cancer?” she said.

The entire time he spoke all she could think of was how much he was like Jay and finally she let it out. “You're exactly like him, exactly,” she told him, “those exact words have come out of his mouth. What'd you two play the body switching game?” she asked with a giggle. She quickly stopped but it was quite funny in her opinion.

“The muggles I dealt with in the school thought they were everything, I showed magic in school and after that I was a freak, always to be thought of one, I'd gotten in trouble after one took my toy and I hexed him, not that I was knowing what I was doing, but it happened, I dislike muggles because of the way they treated me, the way I was left out of so many things as a child, I was so happy to get out of that school when my Hogwarts letter came,” Jaylen said. She'd just revealed a big part of herself to the male and it was obvious the memories came back to her when she spoke as her tone became less aggressive and more sorrowful, not to mention slight tears began to well in her eyes.

“I have had enough contact with muggles for my liking, I realize it's not your fault that you're a mudblood,” she said the word as if it were a normal everyday word for her, “but I do dislike muggles, I am perfectly happy not having such contact, unless they don't think I'm some freak, I mean I never thought muggles were freaks when I was a child, but children, they can be so cruel,” she told him. She looked away and was careful not to show what was happening with her eyes now that true tears were falling. She hated her emotions. She bottled them up too much that they would just come out all at once sometimes.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex gave a small laugh at her joke; more of a chuckle, really. Looking around the Ravenclaw Common Room, he really could see why someone, even someone who was a god, would want to hang around there. For the most part, it was comfortable, peaceful, and relaxing.

He laughed with her at her comment about how much like her brother he was. The mischief in his eyes was a bit more plain when he said, "Who knows, perhaps someone switched our minds in our sleep. However, I'm fairly sure that I am myself, and not your brother in Alex's body."

Alex listened to her explanation of the children that she'd gone to school with before coming to Hogwarts, and he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. Her mind had been poisoned against muggles since the time she was young; he couldn't really blame her for hating them so much. His fingers twitched when Jaylen called him a mudblood; it was a dirty name to call someone, even if it were true. Still, he didn't allow himself to become angry with her.

He nodded, agreeing with what she said. "Children rarely have any tact; they say what they think, and a lot of the time, what they think is not very nice. Unfortunately for you, you've only seemed to have had contact with muggles that are just as unaccepting of wizards as you are of muggles and muggleborns. You haven't seem to have met an decent muggles at all, while there are really quite a few of them. My father, for instance, feels honored to have a wizard in the family; he finds the wizarding world quite fascinating, and not in the least bit freakish."

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen smiled when he spoke. She loved the words he used. “You just referred yourself in third person,” she told him, “and hopefully not, because it would be strange looking at my brother in another persons body.” It was true that what he said amused her and made her feel a little bit better.

She watched him carefully when she finally dried her tears and made sure it was unnoticeable that she had true tears in her eyes. She saw his fingers just barely twitch, but didn't understand why. She never truly realized when she used certain words like mudblood, it was just natural for her to use the word now that she had no idea when she was saying it.

His words spoke to her. He was correct about children not having tact. “They shouldn't speak when they don't know anything, I realized they had no idea what I was, but I'm sure like when you first showed magic, if it was in public, did they call you the same thing? Did they know what they were doing? My family is not the average pureblood family, they love muggles, think they're so interesting, which they are, but still Jay nor Oliver showed signs of magic in public, but I'm glad to hear there are nice muggles in the world, your father sounds like a nice man, he must be proud to have a son who is so understanding and ready to defend himself,” she said.

She couldn't believe she had spoke like that, it was true though. She wanted to bite her tongue but she was also kind of glad she said it. It made her trying a little easier. Jay would be surprised when she told him.