The Sound of Echoing Voices *Open*

[Alyria Cambian]

The Sound of Echoing Voices hitting every corner of the ceiling

Mornings suck, nights suck even more.
The day was going by a little too slow for Alyria to handle. Classes were so boring, every time she looked at the time, it only went by one minute passed the time she looked at it before. She had a huge Potions essay due in three days and she never even started it - after classes, Aly tried to start it, but had no ideas of how to start it! When Alyria went walking around to look for people to hang out with, they were either practicing for quidditch, doing homework, or sleeping. The hours in the day weren't liking her. Alyria was sitting on her bed in the girls dormitory, staring at the canopy of the bed. She sighed as she was too weak to get up.

The only real thing to do was to go to the astronomy tower. Aly would always go there, but never really knew when the professor had class this year - so she wouldn't know if she would be intruding on a class or not. They weren't suppose to be up there unless it was for class, and she already saw that professor enough in the day as it was.

"Hm," She thought. Maybe that would be a good idea. Aly got up slowly with a soft groan and walked down the stairs of the dormitory, out the common room portrait hole, and up the grand staircase toward the astronomy tower. She saw no one around. It must have been later in the night than she thought. She opened the door to the room quietly to see no one in sight once again of the astronomy tower. Now Alyria knew that whatever time it was, she could go to the room whenever she wanted.

She strut slowly into the middle of the room and grabbed her wand. With her arms crossed over her chest she pointed her wand toward the ground and thought up a certain spell. In a split second, a black grand piano apparated into the room in the middle of the tattered rug on the ground. She sat on the stool gracefully and started to play a slower, calmer song. Song to Tradition by one of herself.

[Adam King]

Adam may have not been the top student here at Hogwarts but the things he really wanted to excel in, well he could if he really put himself into it. Strangely enough he liked divination. Maybe it was because of the whole allure of telling the future, especially since he was so weary not knowing his own. Perhaps it was because it was something that came easier to him. And we all know that astrology and divination go hand in hand.

He had come out after everyone retired to the common rooms, in a pair of loose fit blue jeans and a red t shirt with a black skull and winged logo on the chest. He carried with him a bag, the same one he used to carry his books around with him.

It didn't take him long to reach the astronomy tower, especially since it was so close to the common rooms. Once inside and sure that he was alone he moved out to the balcony and sat down, crossing his legs indian style. He placed his bag beside him and pulled out his quill, some ink, a long piece of parchment that already had some constellations wrote down, and a small wooden box with a metal design on the top. He got everything situated in his lap and placed the box on the ground, hitting a small button on it. Immediately it brought up a larger image of a section of stars in front of him. He pulled out his book and started drawing and labeling the stars.

He was well into this project until he heard the soft sound of a piano start up. A piano? Here in the astronomy tower? He pushed his things off to the side and stood to his feet. He took just a couple of steps and moved to look around the corner. He simply stood there for a moment, scratching the back of his head. Leaning against the archway he crossed his arms, a smile on his face, "So is the show for free or do I have to pay?" He didn't really know the girl, although the face looked a little familiar. He wasn't sure who she was or what house she was in so he would be civil to her for now.

[Alyria Cambian]

Song to Tradition was originally a choral song she wrote a while back for an audition in Italy, she would play it every chance she got. It was one of her favorites that she wrote as a young girl. Alyria moved to London once her mother and father passed away from an accident on her ninth birthday. She now lives with her grandmother closer to Hogwarts than Naples and her grandmother also likes to listen to it when she is sitting in the foyer reading her daily books or just because she would like to hear the Cambian's family gift of musical abilities. Of course Aly never had the better chance to audition, getting caught up in moving and such. It works out, however, and she never thinks that she made that song on a waste of time. The song was talking about the child going off on their own in the world and that the parents did a great job at raising the child, not needing to worry. Alyria felt that way herself. Rebecca and Derek did a good job of raising her and Alyria feels like she left the nest, spreading her wings, and her parents not needing to worry during the storms in her life. Alyria left the nest once her parents left her, yet still has guardian angels and her grandmother watching her for a few more years, Aly knowing her sickness will take her not too long away.

The song ended with an amazing five part harmony that she put in long after she made the song. Aly was determined to get the song published and have the Hogwarts choir or another choir have the joy of singing the song, hoping it would happen in her lifetime. It was made for SSATB standards and it was going to be kept that way. If it wouldnt, there wouldnt be any meaning in the sound she tried to make come through.

She was glad for her work on Song to Tradition, but went onto a new song. A song by a muggle artist she was a fan of. Yes it was known that Slytherins didnt have anything to do with muggles in any form, but Alyria believed if it was music, then it should be a crime to others not to pass it on from person to person, to tell them hear the message of the lyrics. Her name was Nikki Flores, the song was Face In The Crowd. She first heard it while on summer vacation from school. The two live in the muggle realm, her grandmother Sophia not having any reason to live in the magical realm except for the hospital a little farther from their home. Aly was walking down the street one morning and saw a muggle girl's window open, the sound coming from it, Nikki Flores. Alyria listened to the song as it went on and the girl trying to imitate the notes on the piano, playing it over and over. Alyria sat against the house until the music stopped for the night. It was stuck into her mind from then on and she finally found the artist.

I gave you my all,
'cuz thats all that I could give to you baby.
Did you even love me at all,
Let me let you know just what you mean to me now.

But before she went on into the chorus, Alyria heard a voice coming from a farther side of the room. She stopped abruptly on the piano and had a puzzled look on her face, leaning back to see who it was. His name didnt catch her by the face, so the two most likely never have met before, unless they did yet the name slipped. She didnt say anything to the comment, just getting up from the piano stool and setting her hands on her hips, "And you are?"

[Adam King]

As the girl kept playing Adam slumped his shoulders a little, true the music wasn't bad... but evidently he didn't share her avid love for it. He couldn't care less if she had wrote this song or had a choir sing it or whatever. She was interrupting his study and he found an opportunity to say 'hi' is all. The girl either lacked the manners to reciprocate or she had perhaps not heard him.

After what seemed like near an hour - you know time just flys while you are having fun - she finally quit her intricate finger work. She stood up from the stool and put her hands on her hips, making him arch his eyebrow because this welcome didn't seem warm and friendly. What a b!tch, Adam thought as he heard her fire off a quick question. But he quickly brushed that thought aside. He knew one thing, she seemed to lack manners and a sense of humor. He figured that this meeting would be short and perhaps unpleasant. Still he was going to be himself and whether that made the situation worse or better, well it wasn't any hair off his chest. Wait, was that the old saying?

He gave her a quick glance over before pushing off the wall and making his way towards her. "Rustus Leroy Rastus.", he started as he forced a smile to his face. "But you can call me Rustus." He offered her his hand, not really expecting her to take it because she would have to come out of that snotty five year old girls pose. But still just because she wasn't being friendly and open didn't mean he wouldn't take the higher road. "I was out on the balcony and I heard you playing. You're pretty good.", he commented casually, not realizing that this girl was probably so prideful that he should have acted as if he was just blown away by her talent. I mean it wasn't like a good pianist was new to this world. In case she hadn't heard there have been several muggles to write many beautiful pieces.