History of Magic concluded for the day and, for once, Sasha was amongst the first to shuffle his way out of the classroom.  Normally, the Ravenclaw lingered after the lesson to finish writing out the last few notes, make a few comments and reminders along the margins for when he got around to his homework and pack up just in time to be the last one out.  But, today Sasha hurried from the classroom, grabbed Baldur from the tower and ran him outside before darting up to the Astronomy Tower with the dog. 

In another act breaking from tradition, it wasn't homework Sasha was hurrying to occupy his time with.  Instead, once settled in his usual spot on the couch, Sasha carefully pulled a small, wooden music box[1] from the bag and set it on the coffee table.  After tugging his wand from inside his robes, Sasha slid off the couch to sit on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. 

The music box was almost done.  With the help of a rather grudging librarian, Sasha had managed to piece together the variety of little charms and spells that would make each of the little dances do their part.  Sasha pulled the first little dancer out of the music box' storage compartment and double checked the miniscule scroll.  He set her to the side and pulled the second little dancer out.  Everything seemed to be in order there, too.  Now...just one more.  The trickiest one.  Getting the little pianist to learn that silly little Three Owl song. 

"Alright.  Stay there," Sasha needlessly instructed the porcelain piano player as he got to his feet and crossed the room to the phonograph.  He didn't know whether Professor Trishna had noticed the mysterious arrival of a Three Owl Standard record in his collection.  Sasha hadn't wanted to get caught with a Three Owl album, himself, so he'd stealthily brought it up to the tower to hide it in the middle of the pile.  But, he slid the vinyl free from its paper and set it on the turntable.  Once the song started, Sasha turned to hurry back to the coffee table but froze when he saw Professor Trishna standing in the doorway. 

"Oh.  It ... um ... hi." Sasha pointed awkwardly towards the record player, grinning awkwardly.  "I ... music."  And, not really the type of music the Astronomy Tower usually witnessed. 

1.

music box

Tapendra had simply been returning from his office on the level below, a few folders of grades and tests tucked under his arm. He smiled but raised an eyebrow at Sasha's surprised reaction, tilting his head slightly as he continued over to his desk.

"Good evening, Sasha. Borrowed a record from Sellaphix?" He asked, dropping the folders on his desk without much ceremony. Several of the pieces of parchment in one started to slide away, and he had to abruptly lean forward to catch them, muttering and the setting a book up in front of them.

It wasn't exactly Sasha's musical style, of course. Tapendra didn't mind the band, but hadn't made much effort to get their records - he certainly didn't own any of their records himself. Papers taken care of, he turned and wandered over to the coffee table, eyebrow going back up at the set up on the table.

Then he smiled, squatting down next to the the table and studying the step up carefully. "Is this a school project?" he asked, looking at the small dancers. If so, he was quite impressed; Kesali may have had them doing some very complex projects compared to his counterparts. Tapendra - who'd always liked challenging projects - approved of that, if it was the case.

"Allo," Sasha offered in return, shrugging and glancing at the record player before picking the needle back up off the grooves.  He'd missed the window of opportunity with the start of the song and would have to try again. 

"It's ... no!"  Sasha?  Borrow music from Figaro?  The Ravenclaw was fond of the Hufflepuff but not so far as to feel the need to mimic the lad's choice in music.  "No, I bought it.  Though, if he doesn't have it already..."  Sasha could always give it to Figaro when he was done with it.  Assuming the magic didn't do anything strange to the vinyl or erase the song somehow. 

Leaving the turntable revolving, Sasha crossed back over to the coffee table where Professor Trishna was inspecting the work.  "I...not really.  It's kind of extracurricular.  But, not like that..."  Sasha quickly added, just in case.  He assumed it would be obvious Sasha wasn't attempting anything nefarious with at music box.   "Mr. Morgan knows about it.  The Latin for spell creation," he added, with an awkward shrug.  Mr. Morgan had not been pleased by the proposed lesson plan; last night had been the first night Sasha had actually reminded the librarian he had a certain degree of say in the lesson topic.  Mr. Morgan, it seemed, had countered with his own apparent moody version of a labor strike, only offering the bare minimum of assistance.

Figuring a change of topic was wise, Sasha sat back down on the floor between the couch and the table.  "It's entirely trivial.  Just animating toys in specific ways.  Maryanne," Sasha said pointedly towards the first of the dancer figurines.  The first girl hiked up her skirt and hurried to her place in the scene just as the second dancer stepped forward, bowing and tipping a teacup free from her hat which fell and shattered on the table top. 

"Scheiß" Sasha muttered, quickly tugging his wand free and casting reparo.  After the slightest of shrinking charms on the ribbon connected to the teacup, Sasha tucked the purple-hued wand behind his ear like a pencil and retrieved the first figuring to try it again. 

"You bought it?" The question had the hint of disbelief to it, but it was warmly said, and accompanied with a slight smile. This sort of music wasn't Sasha's thing, generally, but it was nice to know he bought...semi-normal things. "Well, it's not that bad, yeah?"

He moved as Sasha returned to the table, but remained squatting, looking at the figures. The way they danced and twisted - and animated - was clearly very intricate and something Sasha had spent considerable time on. He smiled as the figures ran about, even at the breaking of the glass.

"Well, it's nice work so far," he said, touching his forelock as one of the tiny glass dancers bowed to him. He considered for a moment - putting the clues together, and largely thinking of Aileen's excited announcement. "Is it for Abby?" he asked, resting his chin on his hand.

"Well, Jacoba bought it.  I'm reimbursing her."  All in all, getting his hands on the band's records was rather easy given Jacoba's proximity to them and the record shop.  "I needed a particular song," Sasha explained, dipping his chin vaguely in the direction of the player and record sleeve.  Whether it was that bad or not was irrelevant. 

Carefully, Sasha eased the piano player free from the panorama and set him on the table in front of him.  "I need him to learn the melody from one of the tunes.  At least, the chorus.  I think I've got it worked out, but it's a bit more complex than the others."  Simply getting the figurine to move in a way that presented a clue was one thing.  This was going to require a series of spells that would have to work together.

The Ravenclaw grinned when Professor Trishna complemented the work but blushed, deeply, when the man managed to put the pieces together.  Pieces Sasha didn't even know he had.  The blush was probably answer enough, but Sasha shrugged and nodded. 

"She told you?  Professor Reid?"  That seemed a more likely scenario than Mr. Morgan and he was the only other one that knew.  "I ... ja ... she recommended making it a bit of a game and, I don't know, I thought making it like a scavenger hunt would ... it's not entirely appropriate, I know.  I figured it'd make it seem less serious?" 

So, as was Sasha's MO, he'd held his nerves at bay by focusing on the exercise rather than the goal.  It was a tactic that had worked on far more questionable activities in the past.

Tapendra's eyebrows rose, expression a mix of slight confusion and the fact he was  rather impressed. "That's going to be a lot of work," he commented, finally sitting down on his ankles rather than remaining squatting. The interweave of charms alone would be difficult. He was quite confident Sasha could pull it off, of course; but it was a daunting prospect nonetheless.

Sasha's blush and sputter at the mention of Abby made Tapendra smile warmly. "Yes, Professor Reid told me after you spoke to her," he said, deciding to leave the amount of excitement the Runes professor had told him with out of the conversation. There was a temptation to ask about the song, though he could safely assume it was Abby's favorite.

"Abby does seem the romantic gesture sort, yes," he said, rubbing his chin. A scavenger hunt...well, it was original, at the very least - but also sounded exactly like the sort of thing Abby would have fun with. "I think it's appropriate. Tailoring the invitation to the invitee is usually the best method, from what I know. With the occasional mishap, admittedly..." Sometimes those practical girls really did want grand romantic gestures and didn't tell you til you'd disappointed them.

"It looks lovely so far, Sasha," he said. "I'm sure she'll love it."

The Ravenclaw shrugged off the comment about the amount of work.  He suspected it probably didn't need to be said that that had been part of what had drawn him to the idea.  His wand still in hand, Sasha pursed his lips as he considered the little man sitting on the piano bench.  Hopefully, he wouldn't be offended by being made to play popular music. 

Sasha listened to Professor Trishna's encouragement, rolling his wand between his fingers as he considered all the various bits of information.  Finally, Sasha set the piano man back down and leaned back against the front of the couch. 

"So, you don't think it's a mistake?"  Sasha asked, shrugging and looking up at Professor Trishna.  "Me.  Asking her.  At all."  Sasha hesitated a bit and then pivoted some to face Professor Trishna. 

He shook his head and shrugged.  "I don't want to make things worse.  Or more complicated.  For Abby.  She says she still wants to know how things will go with that Durmstrang kid and I know she doesn't, you know, think of me like that.  And, given everything..."  Sasha scowled and sighed.  "Maybe I shouldn't even be thinking that.  You know?" 

Which, Sasha had been reminding himself of over and over.  "But, I can't imagine going with anyone else."

Tapendra looked at him for a moment - a moment that seemed longer than it was. With what Tapendra knew about Sasha's situation, that question was a bit more loaded than it might have seemed to other people. But, well - he smiled, shaking his head.

"No," he said, sitting and habitually curling his legs into the lotus position. "I don't think it's a mistake. Honestly - and keep this between me and you, please - with her parents apparently eager to toss her on the first person that asks, I've no objections to some wrenches getting tossed into the gears, so to speak."

He grunted. "Besides, she's your friend. I can't say I know her well enough to say if she likes you that way or not, but -" He shrugged, a little uselessly, and smiled - the expression having quite the air of self-depredation. "Not that I'd know anyway, I admit."

Sasha knew he wasn't the most perceptive person out there but he could guess the reason behind Professor Trishna's hesitation.  But, the moment of quiet ended with a smile and, despite himself, Sasha grinned, glancing down at his hands sheepishly.

The young man nodded his head, confirming he had no intention of repeating anything.  "I know most of that, sir, and I don't know ... should it make a difference?  I mean, I know she's under a lot of pressure and I don't know if she's doing what she wants or what she's expected to.  I-I know I should be a friend, first, and I'm trying to be impartial-" Sasha grew quiet, picking up the little piano and setting it on the couch.  He couldn't ever remember talking to anyone about girls before, especially not with a professor.  Unless one counted his conversation with Professor Reid - and Sasha didn't. 

But, it was Professor Trishna, not just any professor.  "She's my best friend," Sasha admitted, shrugging.  "I ... but, I don't think she does.  Over the summer, she talked about boys.  You know, like cute boys and how she thinks about, you know, kissing them.  And, boys with cute...bottoms."  Blushing was a given.  "But, it was like ... she seemed to have forgotten I was a boy.  Like I didn't count.  Maybe just because I'm a friend?"

He chuckled, softly. "I'm not the best one to ask that, Sasha," he said, and his tone was wistful and bemused, rather than amused. "Because in my mind, it shouldn't make a difference - but Abby and her parents might disagree." He didn't speak for Aileen...and in fact, had to wonder about it a little bit. She'd seemed very enthused about the idea of Sasha taking Abby to the Yule Ball, and now he wasn't sure how much of that was just Abby getting to go...and how much as Abby getting to go with Sasha.

Tapendra rubbed his chin. "Sometimes that's how it is, though. The not mentioning you thing, that is. I know -" He paused and frowned, getting up to sit down on the couch opposite the one Sasha was now on. "I know with my wife she was very...before we got together she never really told me much about the fact she liked me that way. But - she's not a good comparison to Abby," he said, again with a soft laugh.

"Given what she's going through - being a friend should be a priority," he said. "I don't know Abby well, I admit - but she doesn't seem to talk about her problems much, from what I understand. It's possible she's hiding how she really feels about...well, everything."

Sasha half-grinned and half-scowled, not entirely certain whether Professor Trishna was the best to ask made that big of a difference.  It wasn't like Sasha had a whole collection of alternatives he could, or wanted, to chose from.  So, whether Professor Trishna was the self-proclaimed best choice or not, he was the obvious choice.  And, Professor Trishna knew more than Sasha did. 

"Her parents," Sasha said, quietly, frowning slightly.  He'd like to think that it was Abby, alone, whose opinion mattered but he knew that was naive and short-sighted.  Going against one's parents, he knew well enough, was a daunting and uncomfortable proposition.  "And, there's no way they'd ever approve of me.  Especially since everyone thinks I'm muggleborn."  Whether or not the truth would make a difference was a moot point.  He couldn't claim anything but.

Still sitting on the floor in front of the couch, Sasha's thoughtful scowl shifted to the music box.  "Sir, if you don't mind me asking-" Sasha offered, hesitantly.  "So what did you do?  I mean, while you didn't know?  Did you just wait?  Did you try to pretend, you know,...I don't know."  Sasha couldn't think of any appropriate way to phrase the question.  Not care seemed more harsh and definitive than he meant but he couldn't find the alternative.  "Why is it not a good comparison?  Was she not like Abby?" 

Sasha nodded his head; he knew being a friend was the priority and that, of course, was his intentions.  He cared about her - first and foremost, that was the priority. 

"How can you be both, though, without ..."  Sasha hesitated, unsure what he was trying to say.  "I'm trying not to be biased because, as a friend, I shouldn't be.  But...then I know I think about her all the time.  And, I feel guilty because maybe I shouldn't.  How are you supposed to know what's right?"

Tapendra nodded. Abby and Aileen's parents (mostly her mother; was Mister Reid even alive?) did not seem the sort to give up easily or be dissuaded. As for Sasha being muggleborn..."Even if the truth was out, you've got a muggle parent. That's enough to damn you, in their view set." He shook his head, swinging his legs up onto the couch and relaxing, hooking his ankles over the far side.

Sasha's question made him smile a bit, nostalgically. "Hell if I know," he said, with a soft laugh. "I was worse than you at this sort of thing, I think. You at least have the rules of etiquette to fall back on. And you look decent in a suit - I didn't. I'm not sure why Judy returned my feelings for her, honestly. It just..." It had come out one day. He remembered it well, but mostly he remembered..."I remember being extremely confused at the time. Happy, of course. But it came rather out of left field. I honestly don't really know what made the difference."

He crossed his ankles, intertwining his fingers over his stomach. "Judy wasn't anything like Abby, unless you count long blonde hair. Emotion wasn't her...her thing, I suppose. She was always very dignified about everything - an ice queen, as they say. Tended to have a quick temper, though." He grinned. "She and Professor Reid hated each other, I should add. Slept in the same dorm for seven years. She tossed Aileen into some thestral dung one day -" He paused, waved a hand. "Sorry, I'm reminiscing." It was easier to ponder the good days, and try not to think of why those days were so much a fragment of the past.

Tapendra tried to think of answers to the boy's questions, but was largely coming up empty. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I suppose I was just me. I was her friend, and was there for her as much as I could be. But she - romance wasn't really something she was good at, or into. Which was handy, I suppose; I'm terrible at romantic gestures myself." He tended to screw them up, really. "I think in our case it was...I was the only one she really was comfortable with, in that very personal sense. With Abby..." He had to wonder if that was the case, just...differently.

"I'm sorry, that's not very helpful, is it," he said, sighing and scratching the side of his head. "I think with Abby...the trick, as it were, it to be her friend and be there for her, but..." He rubbed his chin. "I don't know. Making things known could help, too."

Sasha's lips drew taught in an expression that was somewhat an approximation of an uneasy grin.  So, regardless of which version of his blood status was known, it was just one more strike against him.  The Ravenclaw's grin faded into a slight frown as he took a deep breath and sighed.  Either way, deciding to date him also carried the implications of deciding to go against her parents' wishes.

"So, just one day she realized she liked you?  That way, I mean?  You didn't do anything different or-"  Sasha watched as Professor Trishna got more comfortable, extending his own legs under the coffee table. 

But, for a moment, a curious and amused grin flickered across the boy's features.  Blond like Abby but dignified.  Ice queen.  Quick temper.  "Well, it does sound familiar..."  Almost immediately, it was perfectly obvious how very inappropriate the comment had been, assuming Professor Trishna could even follow it to its implications.  A bright blush rose in the young man's features and his mind grasped onto the closest related yet still unrelated topic.

Thestral dung. 

"Can everyone see thestral dung?" Sasha asked, his attention momentarily (slightly voluntarily) hijacked by that train of thought.  Was thestral dung also only visible to those who'd seen death?  If so, how did most witches and wizards avoid stepping in it?  How did they know if they had?  How did they know if they tracked it in their homes?  Sasha's nose wrinkled at the thought.  On the other hand, if it was visible to everyone, at what point did it become such?  Was it mid...nevermind. 

With another, bigger, wrinkle of his nose, Sasha abandoned that pondering and returned his attention to the conversation. 

"I think in our case it was...I was the only one she really was comfortable with, in that very personal sense. With Abby..."

"It feels like that with me and Abby," Sasha admitted, unaware he was likely offering the professor the very conclusion he was pondering.  It had been that way with Fergie, too.  "She makes me better, you know?  More relaxed.  More ... like things seem normal.  I don't know - I'd give anything... but, part of me wishes I wouldn't.  What if telling her just makes things awkward?  You know?  But, just, the thought of her marrying that kid ..."  Sasha shook his head.  "Obviously, he'd be so much simpler, but- Why do we do this to ourselves?"

"I don't think it was a matter of her just realizing it," he said, shrugging. "But that's how I found out, certainly. We got to talking one day, and..." He waved a hand. It had come suddenly, in his case unexpectedly. He still didn't really know what she'd liked about him. "I don't think I did anything different. It was about when...well. I don't think I did much to impress her."

Kicking down the door on a crime lord's mansion might have been what did it - he'd have to admit that much. Somehow, recommending this to Sasha seemed foolhardy. Abby didn't seem the sort to find  that attractive.

Tapendra's forehead creased in confusion at Sasha's comment, the implications going over his head. That sounded familiar to him, too, but in his case he could match it to several women and none of them were a perfect match. He smiled in response but otherwise didn't do much.

He turned his head to look at Sasha when the boy questioned the dung. He'd been able to see it in school, so the answer was a yes as far as he was concerned. But Sasha changed the topic back before he could mention that, and he was perfectly fine with not having a discussion on the nature of Thestral dung.

"Because humans seem to like making themselves miserable," Tapendra said, sitting up a bit more, scratching his leg with the opposite foot. "Personally, I'd gauge the ground a bit more before saying anything. Oh course, you being a rival with Bunn - was that his name? - might appeal to her, too," he said, rubbing his chin.

The situation Professor Trishna described seemed fairly in line with any number of muggle movies out there.  Guy and girl were friends.  Guy tries to pretend that's all.  Finally he confesses and it's some big, plot turning, magical revelation.  In fact, most of those movies seemed woefully misleading - they always worked out in the guy's favor. 

Except for Forrest Gump.  That poor bloke had been an unfortunate schmuck when it came to the girl he liked.  Given fate's ability to not let things work out in his favor, that would probably be him. 

"If I could only be so lucky," Sasha admitted, quietly.  With a slight scowl, he leaned forward to look more closely at the miniature piano player. 

Gauge the ground?  Wasn't time running out a bit for that?  After all, wouldn't this whole set up make it pretty obvious?  Sasha's gaze flickered between the Professor and the wooden music box.  "But, if I pretend I'm just asking her to, you know, just ask her then isn't that ... kind of lying?  Not that I have a stellar track record there, anyway."  It certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd withheld important information from someone.  The way things were going, it certainly wouldn't be the last. 

"Brunn," Sasha corrected.  It was strange to think of himself as being a rival to anyone, let alone to the likes of that Durmstrang bloke.  "Or, it'll just remind her how much simpler things are with him." 

The Ravenclaw scowled and, after a moment, shook his head.  "I don't mean to sound so pessimistic."  He really didn't though, in hearing himself, even he could hear how it came across.  "I just wish there was more that I could do.  Or, not make it matter so much."  In game shows, it always seemed to be the contestants who were most confident they'd win that lost the most dramatically. 

"What would you have done?  If -"  Sasha hesitated a moment, not entirely sure what he was supposed to call Judy Trishna.  Given the nature of the conversation and who it was about, being completely formal felt rather awkward but being informal felt inappropriate.  Finally deciding on safe, yet awkward: "if Mrs. Trishna hadn't.  You know, if she hadn't felt the same way.  Are you just supposed to pretend?  Does it eventually go away?"  Or, would he be sitting there on some stupid bus bench with a box of chocolates that, given him, he wouldn't even eat.