Secret Corridor

[Draco Malfoy]

A corridor very much so hidden from view. I don't think the new DE staff even knows it's there (hint, hint).

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex reached the corridor and sighed before lowering himself and taking a seat against the wall. It was always nice to just get away for a little while in a place of solitude. It gave him time to think.

[Ginny Weasley]

The minutes ticked by silently as he was left undisturbed, until at last the sounds of footfalls made it down the corridor as someone else made their way towards the hidden branch of the hall.

Breathing a long sigh of relief, a vaguely harassed looking Ginny rounded the corner, hand running through her flaming locks, the Gryffindor pausing as her eyes fell on the older student.

"Oh... sorry didn't realise anyone else was here..." she offered slightly awkwardly as she ran her gaze over the Ravenclaw in deliberation.

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex looked up at the sound of her voice, briefly tensing before relaxing as he recognized the red-head as Ginny Weasely, a Gryffindor and friend to their former classmate, Harry Potter.

He offered a small smile, "no worries. I don't mind." Tilting his head, he observed her somewhat distressed demeanor. "Are you okay?"

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny offered him a wry smile in response.

"Fine," she assured him, hitching a slender shoulder. "Just you know, dodging teachers. Chevalier, right?"

She personlly didn't know that much about the older boy, but she did recall Harry speaking about him on occasion. He'd always considered him an alright type, so she supposed it was safe enough to be at least slightly frank.

Offering him her hand, the redhead studied his face.

"Ginny Weasley."

[Alexander Chevalier]

He considered her response a moment and decided that Ginny was the more careful sort, a wise trait to posses. He smiled again before standing and taking her hand, "pleasure to meet you. I'm Alex."

Though he had heard of the Weasley, he had never actually been properly introduced to her. He recognized a fierce determination in her gaze though, one that prevailed, no matter how difficult the times.

[Ginny Weasley]

"You too," she offered mouth twitching up a little higher as she shook his hand before releasing her grip and letting it fall away.

"So..." she mused, moving to slide down the wall and sit next to him, her bag falling on the flagstones between them, head turning to look over at him as she arched an eyebrow. "Whats got you hiding out in a draughty corridor then?"

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex reclaimed his seat and shifted his gaze to meet hers before shrugging, "just needed to get away. It's a nice place to escape to." Glancing away, he stared at the wall across from them, thinking over the current term. A lot of things had changed in very drastic ways. Would anything ever be normal again?

[Ginny Weasley]

"NO argument here," Ginny agreed as her head tilted back, eyes closing for a moment as she let out a long breath, giving the boy a few minutes to himself.

[Alexander Chevalier]

A companionable silence fell, in which Alex was lost in thought for a moment. However, he recovered easily before glancing to the girl beside him and observing her face again. With her eyes closed and breaths seeming to relax, he recalled her earlier statement, about dodging teachers, and wondered if it was something she cared to discuss in further detail.

Why not endeavor it? It would probably be nice to just simply converse with someone without fear of being overheard or reprimanded.

"Is there anything in particular you're trying to escape from?"

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny's eyes blinked open as she was addressed, head turning to the boy next to her. A strange expression passed over her face as she considered him, her eyebrows slightly raised and her mouth curved up in a vaguely disbelieving smile.

"Let's put it this way. I'm a Weasley and I used to date Harry Potter in a school crawling with Death Eaters," she offered in dry humour. "Take a wild guess."

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex chuckled softly before nodding, "yeah, I guess that's kind of obvious." His smile lingered though and he tilted his head, noting the reactionary smile that had crossed her face. It somehow suited her. "But I meant more like..." he narrowed his eyes as he searched for the right wording, "a particular instance, perhaps."

Appraising her closely, he surmised it could very well just be the weight of everything she was having to deal with, though felt compelled to continue all the same. He shrugged, "for the sake of conversation."

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny tilted her head a little as she ran her eyes over the boy before her. He was a handsome guy, his features a pleasing mix of foreign and familiar, his eyes captivating and bright and his cheekbones to die for. But that wasn't what interested her now, it was noted and passed on, instead she searched those eyes for answers to questions she had not yet posed.

Alex seemed like a nice guy, easy to talk to for all he held a certain formality about him. But lots of people had fronts and nice didn't mean trustworthy.

"The Carrow's seem to think I know something about my brother's whereabouts," she offered at last, though the speculative set to her expression didn't fade, leaving him to draw his own conclusions from that, though honestly it should have been obvious to any that had met them. Those two psycho's were worse than wand happy.

[Alexander Chevalier]

As Alex continued to unwaveringly meet Ginny's stare while she inspected him further, he saw the hesitance. She was trying to determine whether it was safe to be discussing these things with him. However, he relented to the fact that all he could really do was patiently wait for her to arrive at her own conclusions about him. She was curious but wary, and he admired that. Two entirely opposing forces, which could be interestingly compared to the contrast between her fiery strands of red and the cool, collected hue of her eyes.

But she had decided to open up, if even a little. He knew that any direct interaction with the Carrow siblings was never a pleasant experience for anyone. And they had wanted something from her on top of it. There was no telling how far they'd gone in trying to acquire it.

"I'm sorry," Alex said, feeling it appropriate to offer a bit of sympathy. He thought of the way she had worded her response and smiled gently, "I gather you didn't offer them anything though." Whether she actually knew anything or not, he couldn't tell, but he mused that she probably would've withheld any information regardless.

[Ginny Weasley]

Defiance burned in her eyes as they met his, her chin lifting at his question.

"I wouldn't have even if I DID know anything," the red head returned, voice stubborn, her lips parted to say more but she caught herself - now was not the time for a rousing speech on rebellion. She was not cowed, and she would not pretend to be... but that didn't mean there wasn't something to be said for being sneaky. Being to outspoken would just do more harm to her cause than good. Biting her tongue, Ginny leaned back again, lifting a hand to brush her flaming locks from her eyes.

"So," she murmured instead, her tone dropping back to something less heated. "What about you? How are YOU finding this year?"

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex was slightly taken aback by her sudden display of conviction and, having caught the fleeting look in her eyes, surmised that it suited her every bit as well as the earlier smile she had offered. Still, he noted that he had been right in his prior musing. Her loyalty was commendably strong.

"Me?" He paused to consider his words. She had been open with him and so he reasoned no harm would come from doing the same. "It's been...rough. I can't wait to graduate and leave this place behind, though I'm starting to wonder if anything will go back to normal, even then."

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny's eyebrow raised at his response.

"You're planning on leaving the country?" she asked him curiously. Perhaps he was intending to return to France - that was where he was from originally right? Maybe she had that wrong... She only vaguely remembered Harry mentioning it when she had asked off hand about the slight accent that sharpened his vowels. "What about your family?"

(Love the new sig btw)

[Alexander Chevalier]

(Lol. Thank you ;p)

"Well," Alex responded, a small smile crossing his face in response to memories of his mother and of his homeland. "I don't really consider my father as family much. Though I've been with him for the past seven years, it's always been very tense." Returning his gaze to Ginny, he continued, "he's...a pureblood and set in his own mind when it comes to lineage. I don't think he can stand the sight of me, yet doesn't seem able to discard me. Worried about his public image and all that."

His smile returned, "I'd love more than anything to return home to my mother. All of my better memories were spent there."

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny's expression softened slightly at the candid answer, though her eyes remained interested.

"Your mother's not a pureblood then I assume?" she pressed gently, not wanting to pry, but her curiosity piqued as she tried to form a complete picture of this boy in her head. He was more than a little mysterious after all.

[Alexander Chevalier]

"No," Alex shook his head. "She was entirely unaware of magic, in fact, until I started showing signs of it. Between my father and mother...I was simply a...happy accident."

He sighed, "and my abilities frightened her a little at first. She didn't know what was wrong with me. That's when she sought my father out. He didn't bother trying to hide himself from the public eye and so it wasn't difficult at all." He shook his head, "I think she was also hoping that he and I would...reconnect or something."

[Ginny Weasley]

"A muggle?" she surmised, surprise flickering over her features as her brows tugged down. "I don't understand... I thought you said your father was a blood supremacist? How does that work with a muggle mother?"

Yes she had seen cases where a pureblood family had reluctantly accepted a half blood into their fold after an indiscretion, and she had heard of on occasion elitist purebloods 'slumming it' with a muggle born now and again, but for an elitist to actually go as far as to bed a muggle AND claim the resulting child... yeah, it was a little weird. Maybe she had misunderstood him.

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex shook his head, "the one time I asked him about it, he merely said that he had made a lot of mistakes in his younger years. He then promptly ordered me not to bring it up again."

Lowering his eyes, he thought over the matter. He had considered many different angles as to why someone like his father would've gone so far as to have any form of intimate relation with a muggle. There was really only one explanation that made any remote sense.

"My theory is..." he began, still entirely unsure, "That he must've had some feelings for her, at a time, but that he wanted that fact to remain hidden. Against his 'better judgement' he formed some sort of relationship with her. But then, because of me, he was given a wake up call or something and left her. I can imagine he despised himself for it, making his animosity towards muggles that much stronger."

Glancing back to Ginny, he tilted his head in thought ."But...when my mother sought him out, pleading with him to take me, I imagine that he couldn't refuse her. I like to think that some part of him feels just a little bit of guilt for what he did to her."

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny watched him as he thought out his reply, eyes looking sightlessly at the floor as he spoke, voice low and matter of fact as he spoke of what could only be a painful personal revelation. After all, knowing your parents hated each other, even a little was one thing, but to know your parent hated half of you the same way... Yeah. She couldn't imagine that was anywhere near easy to deal with.

"I'm sorry," she offered at last, tone compassionate and low.

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex took just a moment to recollect himself before focusing entirely on the girl beside him. She was so...entirely sincere. Perhaps one of the most sincere individuals he had ever come across. Within such a short time, he was entirely assured of the fact that she was someone exceptional.

He offered a warm, grateful smile. "Thank you."

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny's lips curved up in a small smile in response, her eyes lingering on his.

"So... from the sounds of it, you're not a huge fan of the regime change I'm gathering," she offered at last, tone light as she steered the subject towards more important issues.

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex tilted his head at the new direction for their conversation and deliberated briefly before nodding. "Yes, I'm..." his gaze intensified slightly, "very against it."

He considered that smile she just offered him and couldn't deny what a great sort of sadness it was that, whatever she was currently struggling with, prevented her from being entirely at ease. If only momentarily.

[Ginny Weasley]

Feb 16, 2014 2:48:28 GMT -5 Alexander Chevalier said:

Alex tilted his head at the new direction for their conversation and deliberated briefly before nodding. "Yes, I'm..." his gaze intensified slightly, "very against it."

He considered that smile she just offered him and couldn't deny what a great sort of sadness it was that, whatever she was currently struggling with, prevented her from being entirely at ease. If only momentarily.

"Have you ever considered doing something about it rather than just running away?" she asked him, tone even, though her gaze shifted into something more intense as she held his eyes. She was on dangerous ground here now - treason. Something that could probably get her killed or worse if the Death Eaters overhead... but she had the feeling that this guy might be worth the gamble. He came accross as intelligent (then again he was a raven so she supposed that was part of the course) and despite his standoffish formal manner there was a passion there, lingering just beneath the surface. One that they could use...

[Alexander Chevalier]

The intensity of Ginny's stare momentarily caught Alex off guard, but he didn't look away. Couldn't look away. The girl possessed such an outstandingly prevailing inner fire that was entirely compelling to him. It was like a beacon, challenging him to consider something greater.

And she had also chosen to trust him in that moment. Her gaze was daring and assured as she seemed to detect something within his. It made him feel just a little vulnerable.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked quietly.

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny's gaze searched his, as she took a moment to choose her words.

"The war's not over you know," she offered at last, tone soft. "They're trying to make us believe it is now that Dumbledore's dead, but it's not, not by a long shot. He was our leader, but not our cause."

[Alexander Chevalier]

Alex considered the girl's words. If the state of their school was anything to go by, then it was possible that the entire Wizarding World was threatened as well. The Dark Lord was still terrorizing and enforcing his ideals. Still...what exactly was she proposing? Was there actually something that could be done about it?

"Go on," he urged her gently.