Not Alone (Erik)

[erikoliver]

Erik smiled slightly as Nat laughed, rather enjoying the sound. She was quite the character, and the fact that she disliked her brother even more than he did was the icing on the cake. He looked over at her and laughed, eyes seemingly laughing along with him. "Perfect, must drive him crazy, knowing people hate his 'greatness,'" he replied, putting air quotes where appropriate. He laughed a bit more, then was taken slightly aback at her question. "How many?" he mimicked, eying her curiously. Not many people ever took an interest in what he could do.

"It'd be easier to just tell you what instruments I play, rather than count them," he said finally, laughing slightly. "First there's the acoustic guitar, my electric and my bass are in my room at the moment. The piano, obviously, so I also can play the organ and the keyboard. Same basic technique, you know? Then there's the cello and the violin, since they're basically the same... Oh! And the mandolin, that one was pretty simple. The synthesizer, though most don't consider that an instrument. Then the trumpet, the drums, then other percussions, like the tambourine and the maracas. Those last three were pretty easy to learn," Erik said, counting off everything on his fingers. He took the accordion off from atop the piano and laced his fingers through it. "Then this," he said with a grin, playing a little melody for her.

[natalia]

Nat felt her jaw drop further and further, before she foolishly pictured it detatching from her face.

"Your left brain must be unbelievable," she gasped, gazing around the room once more. Her eyes traced the intricate notes which appeared as if they would make a nice melody. Of course, Nat would never have admitted to it, but she had once attempted to read music, and had failed. The only time she had failed at something academic in a sense.

The all too familiar envy grew slightly, as she brought her attention back to erik.

"You wrote all of this?" She gestured generally to the piles of music littering the flat. "Your IQ must tip the scales..." She said to herself, not really expecting any answers.

[erikoliver]

Erik laughed, setting the accordion back where he had retrieved it from it's position atop the piano. He sat down on the couch, grinning. "Yup, every single song. It takes me a long while to write music, but I've been doing it for years," he replied brightly. He perked up a bit. "Here, I'll play you a little something." With that, he stood, grabbing his wand from the table. "Accio Dolores and bass," he whispered, and his gorgeous blue electric and bass flew into his hands from his room. He set them down, then moved over to the drum set in the corner, wand in had. Muttering the spell of his own design, he enchanted the drums and piano, and muttered, "Esteban." Both instruments played a beat to show him they understood. He paced over and did the same to the bass, and it propped itself up straight beside him. Taking his guitar, Erik grinned at Nat before strumming his guitar once. "This one's called 'I Constantly Thank God for Esteban,'" he said, then proceeded to immerse himself into his song.

I Constantly Thank God For Esteban

[natalia]

Nat watched the drums and bass in fascination, tilting her head as she attempted to study the complicated patterns all playing at once, filling air with sound. Yes, the simple concept of sound was already known to her, and the build of the instruments, but the actual music...now that was beyond her. She brought her attention to him as he opened his mouth, a voice like none she had heard coming out. It wasn't like the classical singers which had come to their village in Italy, no.

This was amazing. This was a raw talent. She blinked as the song ended abruptly, the beauty suddenly ended.

"That was..." She didn't know any word that could sum it up. Grudgingly, she gave the only word she knew, no matter how simple it was, which could accuratly do the impromptu performance justice. "...cool," she smiled.

[erikoliver]

By the time that Erik was done, he had broken into a sweat. He placed his Dolores on the couch and excused himself for a moment, retrieving the bottle of water he had set out on the counter earlier that day. He took a hearty swig, walking back into the room and grabbing his wand to disenchant the objects. He caught his bass as it fell limp tipping towards the ground. He too set that upon the couch, just in case she wanted to hear something else. Laughing at her observation, he grinned, "Thanks. Not many wizards understand my rep, but I figured you'd appreciate it more than others, being a Muggleborn like me," he replied.

[natalia]

Nat watched the instrument beside her as she studied it shortly. Every physical aspect seemed to fit the despcriptions she had read, and yet she had not been able to play it for the life of her. This man made it seem so easy, and she doubted it had been only magic in the process. She had never heard the spell he had used before, so it must have been very high level, to say the least.

Nat frowned slightly as she listened to his explanation. "Wizards don't like music?" She asked. Slowly, she processed the foreign word. Muggleborn. Muggleborn. Muggle, she had read that word many times, and only now did she realize that it must have meant mortal. Mortalborn.

"You aren't a full wizard?" She asked, confused. "But are they not the ones who have the most strength? That spell must be way beyond any...muggleborn," she insisted.

[erikoliver]

Erik frowned slightly, shaking his head. "They like music, but it's a very odd mix of some heavy metal, rocker stuff. I'm never that... hardcore. My music is more American in flavor, since I lived there most of my life," he replied. "I'm more of what you would call an 'alternative' artist." He smiled, taking another sip from the water bottle. As confusion painted its way across her features, he realized just how in the dark she must have been about the way of the wizarding world.

"You've been reading some pretty biased books," Erik said pointedly, eyes narrowed slightly. "Technically, according to the pureblood wizards, the 'higher' class of wizards, us born from non-magical folk are weak in comparison, and not truly wizards. However, what you just saw was proof that they're all idiots, those purebloods. I've only met a few decent ones in my lifetime, but the majority think that you and I have 'dirty blood,'" he explained, the phrase tasting bitter on his tongue. "But, don't think for a second that we're any less strong than them. That spell? My own design, my own creation that took me years to figure out."

[natalia]

"Well, the Amis seem to have managed one thing right," she smiled slightly. He set the beautiful instrument beside her, as she studied it quickly, taking in every physical detail. She could see how the waves produced different tones...

"What?" She gasped. Books? Biased? Opinionated? Wrong? That was impossible books could never...they would never. Nat based her whole life upon books, and had always accepted that the Wizarding world was the way it was, until now.

[erikoliver]

Erik grinned slightly, watching Nat examine his guitar. At her comment, he laughed. "You certainly aren't from here, no one but the Western Europeans call us 'Ami's,'" he replied. Granted, he only traveled out of the UK when visiting family or getting exotic things for his ailing mother and his newly adopted sister, Leleti. He smiled at the thought of his little sister. It had been a few weeks since he'd seen the family. Erik reminded himself to in and visit them as soon as he possibly could. Granted, his parents would pester him about him finding a “real” job. Like most parents, they worried about where their son was going in life. The pair were his chihuahua fans, as well as his biggest critics.

At Nat's gaping mouth and surprised expression, Erik frowned. "Oh, dear,” he commented, shaking his head slightly. He reclined back no the couch, closing his eyes. How was he going to explain the cruelty of the awful, slanderous wizarding world without scaring her half to death and potentially turning her fragile mind off magic forever? Taking a deep breath, his eyes fluttered open and he looked down at Nat. “Look, most of what you will read about around here will be written by Purebloods. It will be against us, because hardly any Muggleborns have made an impact on this world. That's why I care that my music is heard, because I want to make a difference, I want more than anything to change the perception of our kind.”

[natalia]

Nat watched him. This was more than just a man showing off his intelligence. It was a man with a passion and a greater purpose. She was awe struck. He wasn't like her parents who worked everyday to own materialistic items, and continue the pattern day in and day out. That life had always terrified Nat. There were people like this man, who did what they did with a purpose. That was the most inspiring thing she had heard in what seemed like ages.

"No, I'm from Italy," she explained, grinning at the term. One of many slang words that slipped into her English, which had improved greatly since moving to Ireland.

She listened to the pureblood description and sighed. As if dealing with social situations in general wasn't complicated enough. There was no set formula when dealing with social situations. Far too many variables.

"Well...why do they let us into Hogwarts if they think that?" She whispered, holding her wand in her hands once more.

[erikoliver]

"Because it isn't up for them to decide that," Erik replied simply. "They think that they can just control us, but they can't. In reality, though they believe they hold the true power, they don't anymore. They did, nearly thirty years ago, but that was a dark time, with war raging for a few years before being cut short by a very famous man," he explained. "Since then, most people have been against the purebloods, but, since they hold the majority in the wizarding world, there's not much anyone can do to stop them. It's unfortunate, but true."

Erik sat forward, stretching his arms up. Exhaustion was beginning to hit him again, but he wasn't about to go to sleep and leave Nat alone by herself. It just wasn't right, in his mind, especially now that he was seemingly being a role model to her. Erik was proud of himself for that, it wasn't often he got to share his views with anyone. No one seemed to care about what he thought and felt, since he was such an outspoken Muggleborn. He turned back towards Nat, itching at the tropical flower tattoos on his left forearm. They were too easily irritated, but they looked elegant alongside the keyboard tattoo.

[natalia]

Nat nodded, still feeling that twinge of sadness, that perhaps this world wasn't as amazing as Giovanni had painted. Even there, she would face hard work, and struggle in social situations. She sighed. Erik stretched, obviously tired, as Nat suddenly felt irritating with her parents. It struck her once again that they had even't bothered to plan anything, and that Giovanni had been the idiot he was in telling them they didn't have to. She glanced at her watch, realizing her parents were planning in all day trip.

"Well I hope that you get heard one day, because what you say means the world to some of us," Nat admitted. Her eyes landed upon the books which had nearly been responsible for the destruction of what little self esteem she had left.

"So you graduated from Hogwarts already?" She asked suddenly, bringing her attention back on him, realizing he had actually walked the corridors and had an IQ level higher than that of most. "What house? What was it like? Do they really have Herbology?" The last question seemed the most important to Nat.

[erikoliver]

Erik was touched. "Thank you," he replied with a bright smile. At her question, he nodded. "Been out on my own for a year now, I miss Hogwarts a little bit though. I was in Gryffindor, a great and noble House," he said with a grin, eyes shimmering. "Hogwarts is... wonderful. It's not something I can describe in words. I felt like I finally belonged somewhere. I only attended my fifth, sixth, and seventh years though, my first four years of school was in an American Wizarding school," he explained. At her next question, he laughed a bit. "Yes, Herbology exists."

[natalia]

"Your welcome," Nat always enjoyed those words. It always followed a thank-you, meaning you had made someone grateful. It was small things like that which made Nat feel a tad better about herself. She stared at him. Gryffindor. She had read countless stories about the trio from Gryffindor seemingly an eternity ago which seemed to have changed the Wizarding world on their own. It was almost too fairy tale for her to believe. Gryffindor almost seemed the best of the best, idolized in many of the books she had read. Her face lit up at the answer she had been dreading. Herbology seemed almost too good to be real. "Good," she grinned. She glanced at her hand again, realizing that the shock of the spell had worn off a while ago. "What was that spell?" She asked, flexing her hand blankly.

[erikoliver]

Erik looked at Nat and smiled softly, amazed at the young girl's willingness and dedication to learning everything she possibly could. It was amazing that someone so young had such an inqusitive mind. He noticed her looking over her hand, startled a bit by her question. "Expelliarmus?" he asked, puzzled. He pondered for a moment before forming a way to explain it. "It's a defensive spell, one of the first you learn. I could teach you now, if you'd like," Erik offered, smiling. It wasn't every day he got the opportunity to train a young wizard in magic, much less one so eager to learn.