but people say what they wanna say -- vi

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Cameron Murphy could say with absolute certainty he would never be a supporter of Hogwarts's dungeons. The drafts chilled him to the bone no matter how thick of a sweater he wore, the gray stone lulled him into a bordeom so deep he was sure he would never be able to find pleasure in anything again, and nearly everytime he descended the steep stairs, it had something to do with Potions, one of his poorest subjects. It wasn't that Cam disliked Potions. As a matter of fact, he rather enjoyed it. The brilliant colors and textures fascinated him, but his brews were never been above Accpetable. The flaxen-haired Gryffindor struggled to remember the exact amount armadillo bile to stir in for the sixth step or the number of doxy eggs that needed to be dropped into the cauldron. This was besides the point, though, considering Cameron was heading into the dungeons to see if he could find either Caitlin or Cadene, his sister who were both in Slytherin house.

Just that morning, his father's owl has swooped into the Great Hall and planted itself firmly on top of Cam's plate filled with chocolate chip waffles and some scrambled eggs. After nudging the large bird aside, he snatched the letter and read silently to himself. The Murphy family had always been particularly close. Closer than most families, wizarding or otherwise, but out of all the members, Cameron and his mother, Jane, may possibly have been the closest, which is why with each line he took in, his heartbeat sped up. She was upset. She was disappointed. No. She was outright angry... with him! And it all made no sense. Apparently, Mrs. Murphy had it understood that Cameron, along with all three of his younger siblings, planned on staying in England once term ended rather than travelling home to Amsterdam.

While he was initally confused, once the seventh year wizard finished the letter from his mother, he immediately recognized what was going on. Caitlin, a sixth year, and Cadence, a fourth year, always had been rather fond of Aunt Arlene. The middle-aged women was his father's sister and had been raised with him in Basingstoke. While Franklin Murphy moved away, began a business, married, and had several kids, Arlene chose to stay put, stay single, and stay childless. The two Murphy daughters were always begging to visit her on holidays and now they had dragged their eldest brother into it.

An unusually stern countenance masked his face as he stormed down the steps, footsteps echoing sharply. His hands were clenched into fists and the letter was tucked cripsly into his backpocket, but when Cameron reached the dungeon, there was only one other person to be found. He couldn't place a name to her, but the Gryffindor student was positive this young witch was one of Caitlin's roommates. "Excuse me. You're in Slytherin, yes?" he began, voice a bit more commanding than he intended, but his soft brown eyes made up for the unintentional tone.

@vi

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Viovinnia spent most of her time in the Slytherin common room. The good thing about the house of snakes was that they all seemed to find a common ground in peace and quiet. Maybe it was because most were always elsewhere or because many were like Vi, and would snap if someone were to disturb that quiet. Whatever the reason, Vi rarely ventured out of the common room except for classes, meals, and times in which she would wander off to train. Like now; Vi would often go off and find a quiet, deserted classroom to conjure up a punching bag or she would keep up with her physique with going on a run through the grounds. At this time, Vi wasn't sure where she was off to but she knew she was to venture out of the common room.

The blonde walked swiftly through the nearly deserted room, briefly thinking about just training herself in there but decided against it as she wanted to be alone. She exited through the portrait hole that led to the dungeon corridor and just after a few steps saw someone slightly familiar to her and in Gryffindor robes. She stopped only feet in front of him and gave him a look over. Vi always assessed someone's physical appearance before anything else: were they a threat or not? It was hard to tell, though, in house robes. The boy in front of her then spoke and Viovinnia rose and eyebrow at his seemingly commanding sounding tone.

The Slytherin took a moment to answer, looking him over once more and took notice of his eyes. They seemed harmless... intriguing, even. Vi folded her arms in front of her chest. "I am," she replied, a smirk slowly appearing on her face. "And by the look of your robes, you're in Gryffindor. Correct?" Her tone was slightly mocking, but something about it sounded playful. Flirtatious, even. It wasn't unlike Vi to see a desirable being and flirt, and this Gryffindor definitely seemed interesting enough.

@cam

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Despite growing up with a stong female presence and a powerful maternal influence, women always had and always would be a mystery to Cameron. The Slytherin girl before him was obviosuly no exception. Why were her eyebrows raised expectantly? Why was there a knowing smirk etched on her face. Why did her gaze travel over his body? Most importantly, why was her tone so... coquettish? It wasn't as if the oldest Murphy was daft. He noticed when Ravenclaw girls followed him up to the library as he searched for books on the portraits hung up around the castle or how younger Hufflepuffs watched him snap pictures on the grounds of the light gleaming off the lake. It felt very different this time, though.

This student was close to his own age, if not eighteen. This student was from the house of green and silver. Also, this student was exceptionally alluring. He had not noticed at first when he came striding up to her, but now that they stood face-to-face, he was slightly taken aback by her hauntingly cool eyes, sharp bone structure, and thick, but well-groomed eyebrows. Cameron was at a loss of words for a few moments because he had not intended on using such an authoritative tone with such an attractive young lady. He wanted to... what was he wanted to do, again? Oh, right. He wanted to berate his younger sisters.

"Yeah, I'm from Gryffindor. Listen, I'm looking for my sisters. Caitlin, she's a sixth year. Shes got bangs and likes to do dark eye makeup, sometimes. Then, my other sister, Cadence. Fourth year with shorter hair. Can come off kind of rough around the edges. Do you know them? I got a letter from our mum this morning and need to talk to them about it," Cameron rambled, desperately wanting both to straighten the family mess out, but also assure the girl he hadn't meant to snap at her.

@vi

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Viovinnia hardly ever acted on any sort of attraction she felt toward others. Having been raised the way she was, to keep oneself distant from those around them, Vi had never really pursued anyone romantically. That, and she had never really felt the desire. Sure, she had had her fair share of fun with boys - sneaking off and snogging them and what not; typical teenaged stuff, but she had never felt such a pull to another human being like the one she found herself feeling toward this Gryffindor. There was something about him that Viovinnia found so alluring and as she assessed him once again with a look over, she couldn't put her finger on it. Vi had always been drawn to those with power, but she didn't even know this boy's name. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, the way he stood. It actually troubled Viovinnia not knowing why she found him so intriguing.

The Slytherin smirked as the blonde boy confirmed her statement. So that was why he was so familiar... one of his sisters was her dorm mate. Vi let out a small chuckle. "Here to play big brother?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Her smirk then faded. "Yes, I know them. Or at least know of them," Vi sighed, her arms still folded across her chest. "But I haven't seen them. The common room is practically deserted and your sister in my year wasn't in the dormitory." Ah, there. Maybe if he couldn't get to his sisters, Vi could have him to herself just a bit longer. She found herself actually needing, no - wanting, to know more about this boy. It was a strange feeling.

@cam

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Cameron probably would've been more thrown at the distinct change from the sly smirk on her strong face to the cool indifference it was replaced with, but the fact of the matter was, he couldn't exactly be bothered to notice. Instead, he frantically searched his head for this girl's name. He was sure Caitlin had brought up at some point everyone one of her dorm mates, yes... absolutely sure of it. Several years ago in July, just after he had finished his second year she had mentioned, Caitlin told Cadence of Adalyn... or was it Adyson?... anyways, Caitlin told Cadence all about the girl who slept to her left. The Ad- witch had a fondness for sarcasm and blackmail. Then, in his fifth year, Cam found Cait with puffy, red eyes and a bowed head at dinner. It was later explained to him that another girl in the dorm named Ondina used some rather harsh language towards the younger Murphy. It was only a few months ago that the Gryffindor boy learned of a Flint that lived with his sister during the school year. She was a quieter, withdrawn Slytherin that his sister apparently rather admired.

Now that he thought about it, this blonde before him could be any one of the girls in Caitlin's room, but he was rather worried it would be one of the first two. From what he had heard, becoming sweet on Adyson or Ondina would not be a wise move. Though, he never was one to make intelligent decisons. He followed his gut and heart over his head. "Shame," Cameron found himself noting, a smirk, though meager, flickering onto his own face. It was almost as if he couldn't help it while he stood in front of his girl. His arms crossed carefully over his chest and the thought of telling of Caitlin or Cadence nearly left his mind completely. "I suppose I'll have to find something else to keep me busy for a bit before I make them write home and straighten out the mess they made."

@vi

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Vi took note of the boy's hair and stature... trying to remember where she had seen or heard of him before. He was taller than her by a few inches, so she concluded that he was a seventh year. And a Gryffindor? Well, if he was a seventh year Gryffindor he must not have hung around the seventh year lions Vi knew about. Her older brother had really earned a name for himself at the top of James Potter's "list" and therefore, she was certain he did in his friend's lists as well. Vi though back... she happened to be very good at names: a Finnigan, a Jordan, a Shacklebolt (though her brother was snogging that one,) a Weasley... but she had never seen this blonde gallivanting around the castle with Potter and his gang of fools. So she couldn't help but wonder where he fit in and exactly who he was.

As she watched him, her eyes flashed up to his face just in time to see the smirk that appeared on his face. Vi, too, folded her arms across her chest as a smirk appeared on her face, mirroring his. "Well, I'd be happy to oblige," she said through her smirk. The fact that Vi knew little to nothing about this blonde haired lion was for some reason only making him more intriguing to her, and she actually... felt herself wanting to near him. He seemed to have some sort of air about him that just drew her to him. She wasn't sure how to respond to it, but if a distraction was what he wanted, she would be happy to give him one.

@cam

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Never had Cameron felt so incredibly out of his comfort zone. There wasn't just one thing about this situation that made him stomach knot, but an entire array of issues. The first was the fact that he was a Gryffindor and she was a Slytherin. Of course, this wans't necessarily unheard of  these days, but he never expected to be interested in someone from the house of green and silver. Another problem was this girl was the roommate of his younger sister. While he wasn't sure, the two of them could deeply despise one another and that could make for an awkward encounter. A third complication was that there was a certain tension between the two of them. A mature tension that made Cameron want to draw back his shoulders and stick out his chin, which was an unusual desire the seventh year had. It was as if there was a silent competition for the power of the upperhand hear based soley on body language. Still, despite all of these new conditions, he found himself wanting to continue with... whatever he could call this.

Cam lifted one of his hands and ruffled his unruly locks lightly before he let out a gentle snicker. The whole scene now seemed rather comical once he truly considered it all. He couldn't believe he was actually considering all the reasons why he couldn't be attracted to her. It wasn't as if anything would ever happen to them. It just seemed preposterous... His dark eyes lifted back up and he met her cool gaze. It seemed a bit less comical, now. "I'm Cameron Murphy. I'm a seventh year in Gryffindor. You're in sixth year, no?" The blond hummed knowingly with his smirk wide and accent thick. He rather enjoyed the fact that he was a year above her. It made him feel a bit more in control when it was so clear that is what she wanted.

@vi

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It never crossed Vi's mind that she would be standing in front of a Gryffindor that struck her as so mysterious that she would want to know more about him. A Gryffindor of all people. If there was one thing Vi had learned about her half of a year of attending Hogwarts it was that that Gryffindors and Slytherins rarely got along. While the two houses had really put aside their differences compared to years past, that tension was still sometimes there. She had sensed it when she watched her brother play Quidditch against them and she sensed it now... between she and this boy whom had just introduced himself as Cameron.

Vi tilted her head slightly to the right. He seemed to have some sort of look of smugness about him. She smirked and narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, trying to decipher just what brought his own smirk to his face. He was a difficult one to read. "Yes, I'm a sixth year. Viovinnia Nott," she finally responded, her own chin raising up slightly with pride, as she always wore the Nott name proudly. She folded her arms across her chest once more and raised an eyebrow at the Gryffindor. "That's quite the accent you have there, Cameron," she commented, the half smirk still firmly planted on her face.

@cam

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The angular witch witch introduced herself as Viovinnia Nott. Thoughts ran through his head as she spoke, jutting her sharp chin out with pride. Cameron's first thought was, Merlin, that's a mouthful of a name, but she doesn't seem like the type to enjoy nicknames, so I don't have a chance at shortening it... Next, he wondered, Does Viovinnia mean something special? I've never heard of anything close to it... Perhaps, it's just made up and her parents wanted her to have some important-kind-of name to strut around with. Then, Cameron contemplated, Nott. That sounds familiar. She has to have a brother or sister around the castle with her. Lastly, the Gryffindor boy internally deliberated, Why hadn't Caitlin ever told his big brother that one of her roommates was exceptionally easy on the eyes and rather sharp-witted.

Cam was thinking, that is, until his accent was mentioned. Now, it wasn't as if he was embarrassed. It was just that typically, when his accent was brought up, it was followed by a long string of questions. Where are you from? Why are you here? What about your parents? When did you come over? Do you miss home? How is life different? Cameron appreciated the interest, but it often got a bit tedious giving the same answers every other time he spoke. Rather than waiting for Viovinnia to ask, he took a deep breath and began the backstory he was so used to telling.

"My father, Franklin, is from England. My mother, Jane, from North Holland. My dad moved to Amsterdam to start a floral shop. At the time, my mother was working at the Van Gogh Museum. It all went well. I mean, they got married. My dad still owns and runs his own florist business. My mother is the curator of the Rijksmuseum, now. They had four of us kids. I'm the oldest and my dad being a Hogwarts alumnus knew this was the only place to send us off. We go back every summer and every holiday possible. Anyways, it's Dutch, if that's what you wanted to know."

@vi

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How Viovinnia had missed with particular Gryffindor about the halls in the first few months she had been here was a mystery to her. Then again, she rather liked that he was just now making his presence known. Had Vi seen him anywhere else about the castle, she may not have taken up such a fascination with him as she did with him standing there in front of her now. She liked that before now... she had no idea that Cameron Murphy had existed. It just added more of a mystery to him... and Vi found that even more attractive than any of his physical attributes.

The Gryffindor then seemed to go into detail of just exactly where his accent hailed from and at the intake of all the information, Vi raised an eyebrow at him. So he had siblings, which she knew from seeing them around the common room. and two parents that had taken on muggle jobs as their chosen careers. Vi found that a bit odd as she listened to him but continued to do so nonetheless. When he finished, stating his accent was Dutch, the Slytherin just smirked. "Interesting," she cooed, though her tone gave away she was less interested than she said she was. With her arms still folded across her chest, she finally made a move to stand in front of him more, stopping closer to a few feet away from him. "That sounds rehearsed." She tilted her head to the side, still smirk and arms still crossed in front of her, as she looked up at him slightly. He stood just a few inches taller than her, another feature she happened to like.

@cam

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It wasn't difficult for Cameron to understand that, despite her words, Viovinnia was less than interested. Perhaps he should rephrase that... Vi was less than interested in Cameron's upbringing, but was quite interested by him in general. Most people would ask questions about his early life, so that is why the Gryffindor chose to explain it all in one go rather than patiently allowing her to ask questions. Now that his rant was finished, he wondered why he thought she would be like other people. Nothing about Viovinnia had told him she was the average Slytherin witch. On the contrary, Vi was the epitome of everything Cam didn't anticipate. He rather liked the fact that she was unpredictable. The eldest Murphy prided himself on being able to figure out people quickly and respond with what they wanted... that was, up until here. He may have been too keen on pleasing people in that sense, but with Vi, he had no clue of how to please her right away.

Viovinnia inched her body closer and Cameron felt his mouth go a tad dry. Of course, he wasn't an idiot. Girls found him attractive, but this was unusual. Typically, girls would watch him from afar or play coy with him. They weren't usually this forward. Seeing as this was the first time a young woman of Slytherin house advanced on him so suddenly, he found he liked this much more than any of the other times when witches tried to gain his affection. Vi must not have a clue... See, Cameron wasn't one to jump into a relationship, whether that be romantic or even friendly. The attractive blonde before him must have thought he would be eager as she was, but something in his gut told him to wait. Though he didn't exactly want to, Cam stepped back, making more room between them. "I suppose it is. Look, as much I am enjoying this little exchange, I have some stuff to take care of. You understand, I'm sure. I hope I get to see you around, Viovinnia... very soon, yes?" Cameron asked, voice silky smooth with a charming grin on his face. His dark eyes dropped down to the letter in his hands before he raised it to be eye-level with Vi, then waggled it in front of her gaze gently.

@vi