Demitria finished writing the note with a flourish of her quill. It was an odd habit she had picked up from watching her mother, Darya, write over the years. At first, she had tried to subdue it, as all it managed to so was leave a few misolaced inkspots on whatever she was writing on, but as the years drug on, it had only gotten worse. She smirked slightly at the sight of the ink drops that had fallen on her name. She quickly read over the note:


 Demitria sighed as she tied the note to her miniature Pygmy Owl's leg. The bird that sat on her finger gave a hoot and flew off, his tiny body weighed down by even that small peice of parchment. The Russian had never understood why her mother had chosen to get her a mouse on wings, but she had come to love the little thing.

Turning back to the piano, Strellie began playing one of her favorite pieces, a simple Chopin Nocturne. She dearly hoped that Leon would come. she hadnt seen him in over a week. She had come to enjoy his company greatly. His laugh and smile brightened up her night, since it was usually night when she saw him.

Oh, she so dearly hoped he would come.

It was getting late.

A few of Leon's dormmates were already fast asleep, a few were still out and about, but Leon himself was just beginning to undress for bed. Normally, Leon would already be in bed, but he had been working on a rather lengthy essay. With plenty of indifference and long, tedious hours of work, Leon was finally ready to retire for the night. Leon enjoyed doing his homework, mostly. Accomplishing tasks that most people found hard and pointless almost made Leon prideful. But he overdid himself simply for his own self satisfaction. No one would truly understand.

But as Leon's long, pale fingers began to carefully undo his silk tie, a small tap from his window forced him out of his tired daze. With slight hesitation, he turned his gaze to the large window behind him. There sat a little owl, hooting cheerfully toward the large boy. His mates seemed too deep in sleep to be woken by the small bird, so Leon took it upon himself to investigate. He assumed the owl was for Eddie, who had plenty of friends and girls to swoon after him at every given moment. Considering the size of the owl, Leon assumed it was one of Eddie's countless "secret admirers." Or perhaps it only seemed countless to Leon, for he simply stopped paying attention at that point. He removed the parchment from the owl and watched as it spread its tiny wings and flew away before closing the window slowly. An inaudible sigh escaped his lips and he unrolled the parchment, out of slight curiosity. But he was surprised to read the first line...

My dear Cellist...

Leon licked his lips and glanced around the room, making sure no one was watching him. Leon always had an issue with secrecy and keeping all his owls to himself. It was mainly due to his father, whom was also very secretive, and to his uncle being a deranged criminal. Uncle Nero had a thing about liking Leon a little too much, and would sometimes send Leon owls despite how much Leon pleaded with him not to. Leon secretly liked Uncle Nero. He was just very, very scary to be around. But he knew exactly who this letter was from. His red lips cracked into an innocent smile and he sat down on his bed before continuing the note.

Demitria's utter defiance of the rules almost made Leon frown. She even had guts to ask the head boy to join her. Leon would never join a student in such a scandalous act, especially not for just a few hours of talking. But what put Leon in a bind was the fact that the pretty little thing was asking Leon for company on her birthday. Or, at least, the day before her birthday. Leon bit his lip and read the note over once more, He imagined Demitria sitting, alone, in the room of requirement all night, waiting for him. Alone. Completely alone. After she had sent him a letter asking for him to simply show up.

But who was to say Leon couldn't be out and about past curfew? He was head boy. He could simply say he was patrolling the halls if he were caught. And he could make sure Demitria stayed out of the merciless claws of a roaming professor by walking her back to the Slytherin common room. "She was sleepwalking, yeah? I just wanted to make sure she got back alright." A professor would never suspect Leon as the type to stay up with a girl. He was too awkward and clumsy for a girl like Demitria to be pleading for his company. The thought made Leon's cheeks flush a faint pink. Leon never imagined her being interested in him. But even if she only wanted his friendship, that was alright with him. He was used to being just a friend.

Leon figured he wouldn't be breaking the rules, and therefore he felt much more comfortable with meeting Demitria at night. He would just have to make sure that she wouldn't be facing the wrath of a professor. He pulled all his friends out of trouble at least once. Perhaps that was why his professors hardly loved him as much as they should have. He had that subtle, unnoticeable streak of faithfulness towards his friends that forced him to be careless from time to time. No wonder Eddie enjoyed being so wild and fearless around Leon. He always had his back,

Leon tightened his tie again and pulled his gray, wool sweater over his head; he made sure his shiny shoes were tied and he attempted to flatten his wild hair. After a small moment of reluctance, he folded up Demitria's letter and slid it into his pocket. He didn't know where to put it just yet, and he didn't want Eddie stumbling upon it when he came staggering into their dorm later. He could almost imagine Edmund's taunting. And a part of Leon couldn't help but think Eddie would go looking for this "Mimi" and start flirting with her mercilessly due to his overbearing superiority complex he had. It was subtle, and Leon hardly experienced it, but he knew it was there. Memories of Eddie fuming over George Carter's harsh words still pooled Leon's thoughts. Edmund couldn't stand the thought of anyone having an advantage over him.

He picked up his cello case and bow before making his way out his dorm. He didn't want to keep Mimi waiting for long. Mimi. He oddly felt uncomfortable with calling her that. Demitria was too formal, Mimi too personal, Leon wanted to think of another name he could call her, but he simply settled on dancing between the two monikers. He would call her whatever he felt fit. Even if she insisted on him calling her "Mimi," Leon wasn't sure if he would be able to. It was much too intimate. And Leon wasn't sure how he felt about her, or if it was okay to be close with her.

He mindlessly walked about, his cheeks flushing a darker red with each thought he had. Mimi signed her name as so, and she asked for him to spend time with her on the day before her birthday, And it would be her birthday in a mere two hours. How personal could that be? Surely she had friends she could have invited to join her... But no. She invited him. His lips quivered into a smile. Did she know how much she flattered him?

After a few minutes, the door to the room of requirement formed before him and he paused in front of it. He wanted to calm himself before stepping inside, but he realized it was hopeless. He simply stared at the door like an idiot, as if he didn't know how to open it. Leon finally turned the handle and shuffled through, making sure his bow didn't knock against the archway and bend. His eyes stayed planted to the ground before the door closed with a thud behind him. He took a moment to adjust his collar. He knew he was coming off as incredibly awkward, but he could hardly help it. His cheeks were beaming red by then, but he simply trudged forward.

His gaze finally flicked up to take in the young girl before him. Mimi was definitely one of the more prettier Slytherins. Perhaps it was because she was so kind compared to them. And because a lady never looked lovelier than when they sat quietly before an instrument as beautiful as the piano.

Leon was simply too soft for his own good, A crooked smile cracked against his red cheeks.

"Good evening, Mimi," he told her with mock confidence, "And happy early birthday." He felt slightly cheesy, but he sat his case down on the chair next to her, opening the latches with delicate fingers. Leon never expected his cello to ever truly benefit him in the way it did. That being, giving him a reason to spend time with a girl, He loved the cello. And the fact that Mimi loved the cello only made it so much better,

"You caught me at a very good time. I was just about to go to bed before your little owl came along, so I wasn't busy at all," he paused, "or sleeping, for that matter." He cleared his throat. He felt like everything he was saying was coming out incredibly inelegant. But he gave her another smile. If she wanted to see him, clearly she didn't mind his blundering words.

Demitria’s fingers flew over the keys in an elegant dance. Her soft Chopin had turned into something much darker… Somehow, the melody had become haunted with all of the fateful events that had happened in the past month. The piano was her outlet. It was her saving grace. Everytime she touched the ivory keys of the magical piano in the Room of Requirement… It was like she was touching her soul. After all, that’s what she called the wooden beauty. She called it Dusha, Russian for soul.

She felt small tears well up in the corners of her eyes as she realized she wasn’t even playing a written song anymore. She just was. There was just black and white caught in a never ending dance with one another. It was so easy. Black and white. White and Black. Yes and No. Light and Dark. There was no inbetween. There was no doubt, no worry, no nothing.
There only was. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if the world was white and black?
 
Suddenly, the music stopped short. The tiny Russian’s hands were paused a heartbeat away from the keys and her eyes were wide open. If the world were white and black, she realized, she wouldn’t exist. Her brother Maxim wouldn’t exist. Hundreds, no thousands, of other things just wouldn’t exist. It was an eerie thought for the young girl. It would be much easier to not be than to be.
 
She dropped her hands that last fraction of a moment and let the final chord of her melody echo through the mostly empty stone hall. Her song had resolved. Of course it had… music always resolved, whether it intended to or not.
There was a squeak from behind her and all of a sudden, all trace of darkness was gone from the SLytherin’s face. Leon was there. She spun around on the piano bench and smiled at the arrival. She didn’t make a motion towards the door, but her stance was welcoming all the same.
 
Honestly, she had been doubtful that Leon would come. He was Head Boy after all. It was his duty to stop errant students like herself, not join them in their misadventures. For a brief second, Mimi wondered if he had just come to tell her to bed.
 
The sight of his cello quenched that thought instantly. No, Hogwart’s Head Boy was breaking rules for her, a flightly insignificant little Slytherin that could do no good. A boy like him should’ve been with an angel, not a Queen of Dirt. A small smirk played across the Russian’s lips. All things considered, an angel wouldn’t have been out past curfew, nor would that angel have asked a boy, especially the Head Boy, to join her.

When he walked up, a wave of fear hit her. She swallowed it up with calm features, but her insides were rumbling. What had she been thinking? She was a mess! It was a mere three hours to her birthday, that wretched occasion, she had just been crying at her piano, she had been lying to the whole school for years, and she had brought Leon into it? It had been a stupid idea! Stupid! Leon didn’t deserve to be lied to and by becoming close to him, which she so dearly wanted to be, he would be drawn into her folly. Unless she told him of course…

His words drew her from her thoughts and for a moment, all was well. She saw the red on her cheeks and the darkness was pushed even further into her mind. Leon always did that to her… when he was around, everything seemed to be brighter.

She chuckled slightly, her bell-like laugh ringing through the stone hall. “Good evening to you too. I’m glad you came. Although, I’m sorry for taking you from the loving arms of your bed. I hope El’fiiski wasn’t too bothersome. Silly thing loves to nibble fingers.”

She watched him unlatch his cello’s case. It was a beautiful instrument, even lovelier than Jaska’s perhaps, although in her mind it didn’t hold a candle to her Dusha. She was definitely biased in that regard, though.

She turned back to her piano, listening to the clicks and rustles of the seventh year and his instrument. She closed her eyes slightly. The darkness tried to seep its way back up but she forced it down with all of her might. She hadn’t seen Leon since he father’s revelations, so this was going to be harder than she originally imagined.
“Thank you so much for coming, Leon, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

After she had said it, Demitria began blushing, a rare thing for the girl. The words had come out of her mouth unknowingly. A Mimi in her right mind probably would’ve never said such a thing.       

The sight of Demitria's warm smile definitely didn't help Leon's nervousness. He almost felt himself shaking as he unpacked his instrument, completely caught off guard by her friendliness. It wasn't untypical for a girl to be friendly with Leon, mostly because he was in high positions at school. But Mimi was always so sincere around him. She didn't have that deceiving air to her like a lot of people did at school, especially the Slytherins. Leon was head boy. He was his own Quidditch captain. He got fantastic scores on all his exams and he was incredibly selfless. Not to mention, he had that whole "white knight" part of him that wanted to help everyone and be chivalrous and a total push over. Personality? Who the hell needs a personality when they have height, muscle, and innocent blue eyes like Leon Monroe. That's why he liked Mimi. She was sincere. She liked him for him. At least, that's what he thought. Hope made even the most intelligent people go blind. Especially when it involved a pretty, Russian girl.

“Good evening to you too. I’m glad you came. Although, I’m sorry for taking you from the loving arms of your bed. I hope El’fiiski wasn’t too bothersome. Silly thing loves to nibble fingers.”

Leon shrugged and smiled, "Don't be sorry. My bed's arms aren't that loving, anyhow. More so, indifferent," he paused, feeling like he sounded like a moron. He gently pulled his cello out of its case, careful and delicate as ever. He really did have a beautiful instrument in his hands. Hand-carved and made of Romanian and Himalayan wood. He could talk for hours about it, his prized possession. He could note how it's full sized, how its upper and lower bouts are thirty-four to forty-four centimeters, and perfect for his sound. Leon loved the sound of a full sized cello. He used to want to play upright bass for its deepness, but the cello was much more pleasing to the ears. And much easier to lug around. He could hardly imagine what it would be like to pull an upright around, especially since he was visiting Mimi that very moment. And she loved the cello. She would have probably been unimpressed with an upright.

He ran the back of his finger down the side of his instrument. The thing was his good luck charm at that point.

"Cute little bugger, your owl is. It didn't give me any problems, no. I just... Wasn't expecting it," he bit his lip and  pulled his case off the chair before sitting down in its place. He wanted to say that he hardly ever gets mail. And that when he does, it's family, and never at night... Well, most of the time. He wanted to say that she was the first girl to ever invite him out at such hours... But he feared he would sound incredibly... Awkward and uncool. Perhaps it would only be awkward because he thought it was awkward. But he didn't want to admit such things to her. He relaxed himself. He had to remain relaxed around Mimi. They were friends, she invited him to give her company the day before her birthday, and she made him happy. That was that. He had to learn that if she were to think of him badly, they weren't meant to be friends. Because real friends didn't care about his awkwardness. That was why he enjoyed Waker and Eddie so much. If they noticed his awkwardness, they never said a word.

He also wanted to ask, why him? Didn't she have other friends, other than Leon? Of course she did. A better question would be, didn't she have people who mattered more than Leon? A girl with her looks and personality... It was surprising she didn't have a fabulous amount of trustworthy friends. But that was awful logic. The prettiest people attracted the ugliest souls. Leon knew this. He was much too observant with his friends and family to not know this. Demitria, at the very least, deserved someone more than Leon to talk to. He hardly saw himself as interesting. Trustworthy, yes. He was more so a doll to confine to, rather than a human to converse with. He hated that aspect of himself. He never knew what to say, and when he did say something, it was strange and bewildering and never helped a single soul.

She turned away from him, toward the piano, “Thank you so much for coming, Leon, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

His stomach immediately twisted. Red lips parted, but he hardly knew what to say. He never knew what to say. Perhaps he misjudged his importance to her. Or, at least, his presence's importance to her. Leon's gaze dropped to the floor as he attempted to pull together a coherent sentence. "Of course," he mumbled before clearing his throat, "of course... I- I wouldn't have just left you here. I can always sleep. But I can't always celebrate the day before your birthday." He attempted to smile. He was the epitome of cheesy. Blue eyes flicked to the bridge of his cello. He wanted to say something else besides one of his cheesy lines. But he wasn't sure what to say. What was there to say? Him being there meant something to her and that gave him a warm, calming sensation in his chest.

"You inviting me here means a lot to me, too, Mimi..." he felt his whole face heat up. Perhaps he should just stay quiet, else he'd embarrass himself completely.

Demitria was a master of reading people. Would she be the spy master of Hogwarts if she wasn’t? She saw how Leon shifted nervously. He tripped over words and there were moments of silence where she could see him searching for the right thing to say. And his blush.

But somehow, she didn’t care. And honestly, she was just as muddled as he was… she was just better at hiding it. Hiding things. Something clenched in her chest. She was a master at hiding things. She had come back from Spring break bawling her eyes out. She went into the Astronomy tower. When she had come out… it was like nothing had even happened. Her makeup was immaculate. Her Russian accent was as light and lilting as ever. There was nothing about the Slytherin Duchess that gave away the fact a few hours prior she had been lying on the floor in her own blood.

Around Leon, she could feel the walls come tumbling down. Just a slip of the tounge and one more person would know. One more person that could tell Kitty, Maeve, Liviana, Jordyn, Neely… any of the beautiful monarchists. Demitria Strelnikov would be ruined.

But Demitria wasn’t always Demitria. She was Strellie. She was Mimi. Even if one face was gone, there were others that remained. And with Leon it was always Mimi. She tried not to lie to him like she did the rest of the school. She was so happy whenever he was around.

It was just the two of them and their instruments playing in harmony in a Stone Hall. That was her happy place. She used to be so happy alone in the vast stone room that the Room of Requirement created for her, but then Leon came along and the room warmed. It created a fireplace. Couches and pillows and brightly colored rugs. All because he came.

"Of course," he mumbled before clearing his throat, "of course... I- I wouldn't have just left you here. I can always sleep. But I can't always celebrate the day before your birthday.”

Demitria turned back to him and smiled brightly, the gesture showing her immense pleasure at his words. In truth, she could’ve spent the evening with anyone. She had Kitty. She had Neely and Jordyn. She had Livi. She had Xavier…  even though the bastard hadn’t shown much interest in months. Hell, she even had the Fayette twins, Sophie, Chance, you name it… Instead she had spent the evening talking with her Uncle Storm, smiling at his various methods of revenge. Then she went straight up to her Stone Hall. And there she met with Leon. To her, it was perfect.

“You inviting me here means a lot to me, too, Mimi..."

The smile turned shy, a rare thing for the veela. Her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of pink that nearly mirrored Leon’s. Of course, on her pale pale features, it looked almost red. To most she was Strelnikov. To Kitty, she was Demitria. To Xavier, she was Strellie. To many, she was Mimi. But no one sounded as perfect as Leon did when he called her name. Her stomach did flip flops as she flipped around on her piano bench to further inspect Leon’s instrument. It was a suitable distraction. Looking questioningly at Leon, she silently asked permission to touch the beautiful wood. His long cello fingers draped themselves across the neck. Demitria sighed wanting to feel the touch of the cool wood. “It’s so beautiful. Sometimes I wish I knew how to play. I hear Jaska practice sometimes and I am so jealous. The strings are so foreign to me. Like Wales when I first moved there. To me, the piano is Russia. It is my heart and my soul. Nothing can separate me from my home. But the cello is England. It is new and a strange world. I have always known of it, but I never paid attention.”
 
She blushed again knowing she probably sounded silly.