smoke and mirrors. (corey)

[noah]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] MAYBE IT'S NOT MY WEEKEND BUT IT'S GOING TO BE MY YEAR : noah yawned absently as he lent back on his stool in the defence against the dark arts classroom. the lesson had been on learning how to do non-verbal defence spells, when the situation called for it. noah had managed it a couple of times but it really wasn't all that easy. now though his mind was wandering in the last five minutes of the lesson as the professor listed off an essay he wanted them to hand in next week. then the familiar sound of books slamming shut and stalls pushing back across the stone floor echoed through the classroom. grabbing his stuff, noah shoved the books into the bag and slung it onto his shoulder as he made his way out of the room. thankfully that was the last lesson of the day because noah's concentration really couldn't have made it through another class. taking the staircases, noah navigated his way easily back toward the gryffindor common room. he stopped to help a few lost first and second years on the way, most of whom had stared at him speechlessly once they had recognised him out of his quidditch kit. coming up to the portrait of the fat lady, noah smiled politely at her before uttering the password. then he clambered through the entrance and came into the gryffindor common room, welcomed by a roaring fire and the gold and red hangings. a few people were scattered across the common room, some sat reading and other scribbling quickly across parchment. his deep brown eyes searched the room and a smiled tugged at the edges of his lips as he saw the familiar red head sat in the corner of the room. with a few strides, noah crossed from one side of the common room to the other smiling and waving to those that noticed him. then he dropped down into the arm chair opposite of his extremely close friend. "well hey there cor, looking lovely as always" a warm smile graced his lips as he put his bag down on the floor. "have you missed me, since i saw you like two hours ago" he asked cheekily, his brown eyes settling on her. noah's heart always raced a little when he saw corey, not something that happened with any of his other friends but well that was because there was some feelings buried deep down that he currently was not going to bring to the surface. "so i'm going to practice nonverbal spells on first years, im thinking of using the batbogeyhex as a trial" pranks they were something that noah was always coming up with, in-between quidditch formations, classwork and flirting. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[corey alayne burke]

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' ' Corey Alayne Burke had a hard time connecting with people. She knew a lot of people considered her fairly popular but it was mostly by accident. She would be friendly to people but her mind had a hard time focusing on new people and chatting so a lot of the time, with her less that prime level of self control, she would get distracted, not listen, sometimes walk away. She never meant to be rude but it come off to others as though she saw herself as better than them, like she only gave her time and energy to those she deemed worthy and for some strange reason, just like in muggle schools, when a pretty girl blows people off but is still close to another gorgeous girl, such as her friend Delilah, and the Captain of the Quidditch team, Noah, it simply made people want her to like them more making her, by default popular. But what most people did not understand was that she never tried to seem like she was blowing people off. She loves people... some of the time. She liked learning about people. All different sorts but those people who were just interested in knowing her because she had a sort of deceit fashion sense and boobs, or because she had some popular friends, she wasn't interested in knowing them. She did not want that shallow poison in her life. But really people who had real conversations with her all knew the truth, her brain was a bit scattered.

Corey has some mild OCD, that being Obsessive compulsive disorder, although she often wondered if they should simply refer to mild OCD as just CD but did not matter. And she also has a pretty decent case of ADHD, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Her brain hopped from topic to topic, usually was running through thoughts very quickly, high energy, low attention span, etc. Now, Muggle schools were equipped to handle these issues, slightly extended test times, lessen plans provided in advance. And socially speaking, ADHD or ADD was fairly common Hogwarts? Not so much. The headmaster had offered her to get the problems removed through a certain healing spell but Corey didn't feel broken. She simply felt like she was different. She didn't want some spell to change her head, she felt like it would be changing who she was, as opposed to healing a broken arm. She may have to work a bit harder to focus and not faze out while people are talking to her because she's lost interest but who was she to rewrite what had nature had given her when it really didn't disable her at all. She knew how to work with it. She did not do great in some classes, History of Magic, Ancient Runes, Divination, etc. Classes with long lecture times were the hardest but she got by. And some classes she was incredible at. Potions was her favorite as well as what she excelled the most in. Top of the class, even past most Ravenclaws.

She sort of connected with potions. It was like her brain. In making Potions you are taking all these different, not random but unrelated ingredients and organizing them, weighing them, working all these multiple aspects of the procedure and putting them together to make one cohesive and wonderful new thing. Cooking and Potions, kept her brain and hands busy, she was always able to have the best conversations with people during one of those two activities. But she knew she could be okay with people in other situations because certain people could hold her attention even if all they were doing was sitting and chatting. Her best friend, Delilah was one of them. And one of the others was currently plopping himself down in the arm chair next to her as she had her book and a parchment pad in front of her on her lap. It helped her learn if she rewrote everything and then summarized, and then made into flash cards... She smiled though as he sat down and set her parchment and book down, between her and the chair. She nodded, "Oh course. 7,200 seconds is way too many." She replied with a smile. Corey leaned forward slightly in her chair, pulling a leg up and under her. "so i'm going to practice nonverbal spells on first years, im thinking of using the batbogeyhex as a trial" Corey smirked slightly and shook her head, "Don't you think they're frightened enough, new school and all that?" Corey didn't morally oppose a bit of hazing that happened to the younger people but she didn't fully understand the fun of it. "Besides, the batbogeyhex would make a nasty mess." She said with a small giggle.

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[noah]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] MAYBE IT'S NOT MY WEEKEND BUT IT'S GOING TO BE MY YEAR : being captain of the gryffindor quidditch team meant that when he walked through the halls of hogwarts it was hard not to be recognised, but if noah was honest he loved the attention. popularity had seemed to come easily to noah when he had turned up at hogwarts, his personality and out-going attitude had just seemed to instant work in his favour and he had found himself making friends straight away. the most important ones though had been damian, delilah and of course corey. they'd all seemed to click pretty well with each other, even if damian could be a bit difficult but noah was more than aware of why that was. from the outside they all probably looked like the stereotypical popular bunch, but really underneath it all they were actually pretty complicated people, looks were certainly deceiving. still noah was more than happy with how things had worked out, hogwarts was a big deal in his family, all of them being gryffindor alumni and most playing on the quidditch team to. so when noah had gotten his letter the pressure was on for him to excel just as much as his siblings and relatives had done. thankfully, noah had seemed to pull it off, even if at points the pressure had caused him to stress out. as he came into the gryffindor common room though, noah couldn't help but be proud of his house. obviously his opinion was completely bias, but it was the best house that you could ever be put in. the people were amazing and well lets face it even if nobody would admit it, gryffindor was always better. his attention however was almost straight away drawn to the gorgeous red head sat off in the corner of the room, corey burke, one of his absolutely best friends and also the one girl he had never been able to tell how he felt through fear of the cliche reason of damaging their friendship. plastering on his ever goofy smile, noah took the seat across from her, almost taking a deep breath to calm the slight nerves that rippled through him. if there was one other thing that noah could do well that wasn't quidditch or pulling pranks, it was masking his emotions. his deep drown eyes focused on corey as the smile played across his lips. "see, i knew you couldn't bare to spend all those seconds away from me, which is why i came over to see you" a slight chuckle passed through his lips after he spoke. "I mean i just have one of those really missable sorts of faces" leaning back in his chair, noah fidgeted a little until he got comfy. when corey made her point about the first years, noah pretended to look like he was considering here opinion before shaking his head, a cheeky grin forming on his face. "no way, if anything a little hex will make them feel welcome. plus got to give the caretaker something to clean up!" picking up his wand, noah acted out as if he was hexing thew few young students that were in the common room. "besides, i have to amuse myself between quidditch and classes" with a nod, he placed his wand back down on the table. "so what you been upto, other than missing this?" he gestured to his face, before smiling warmly at her. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[corey alayne burke]

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' ' Corey was actually fairly surprised she had the friends she did. She was muggle born so she already felt separate from most of the kids in the school from having a separate culture in her. She was still just a fun loving Irish girl in her head. Her Aunt had seen it coming though. She had been a trick fortune teller but she said from day one Corey was going to be different from the rest of their family. Guess there was a little magic in all of us. But Corey was sort of average apart from the mild OCD. But she grew up in Dublin with her father and brothers, lived with her Aunt in a small village in the highlands of Scotland during the summers. Practically grew up in the neighborhood bars. She was home schooled by her aunt until she got her Hogwarts letter and it basically confirmed what her aunt had been saying. But there was definitely a culture shock. Corey was used to working on a farm when in Scotland and doing her own dishes. She was used to carrying her books in a backpack on her back. She was used to making her bed by hand and cooking her own food, especially since the whole indentured servitude of house elves made her a bit uncomfortable but still. She didn't know why she needed to learn a spell that would go get an item from her room, how about she stopped being lazy and went to her room herself? Plus she respected that when wizards have lights at night it's because they enchanted candles to not go out or set the castle on fire, but muggles, through years of study and intelligence learned the rules of the natural world and harnessed it.

No one really seemed to understand exactly why she refused to have her head magically fixed, or why she liked to do so many things by hand instead of my magic, but she felt like it made her stronger as a person to only use magic when it was absolutely necessary. Corey appreciated that she was able to find Delilah. Delilah had been a bit chubbier when they were younger. She was being teased and lets just say the loneliness and fear that creates in someone was a feeling Corey knew very well. They had been friends ever since they met, practically inseparable. Corey even knew about the Damian weirdness. She appreciated finding Noah. He had never been anything but kind to her, made her laugh. She kept her calm, it was like her issued got better when he was around. Like the slightly crooked painting on the wall, she had been fighting to ignore it as she sat there alone but now that he was here she was barely thinking about it. It also surprised her he was so willing to be her friend. He was a fun, quirky but good looking guy who was athletic and captain of the gryffindor quidditch team who also happened to have a good heart and a cool head, even if he had cocky moments, it was all good fun as opposed to true arrogance. He was so different from his friend.

Damian and him were friends, that added to fact that Corey had Care of Magical Creatures with Damian and has seen how even the meanest creatures seem to love the broken souled hufflepuff made Corey believe he must be a good guy somewhere deep down, but that didn't mean he wasn't a jerk to her friend most of the time and that made her not like him much. Delilah deserved nothing but the best. "I mean i just have one of those really missable sorts of faces" Corey grinned and nodded with a small shrug, "I think it's more the humor and smiles I miss but I can see that too." She replied with honesty. "no way, if anything a little hex will make them feel welcome. plus got to give the caretaker something to clean up!" Corey raised her eyebrows and nodded with a smile, "Well, the caretaker part's true. If he had nothing to do, he'd lose his job. Really both he and the economy should thank you." She replied with slight sarcasm. Sarcasm was something she learned from Noah mostly and her brothers when she gets to see them. "so what you been upto, other than missing this?" Corey reached down to where she placed her parchment and book. She lifted the parchment, "Copying the chapters for Ancient Runes." She answered. Noah had known her for awhile. He knew the sort of extensive ways she had to study the lecture topics. She placed the book back between her and the chair before looking around the room and back at Noah, "And I'm so unbelievably hungry. I've barely been eating, I still feel weird about the house elves thing. I mean I know they're offered pay checks here which makes me feel better but... whatever I'm weird. But I will have to sneak to the kitchens and cook my own food some day soon."

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[noah]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] MAYBE IT'S NOT MY WEEKEND BUT IT'S GOING TO BE MY YEAR : being from a pure-blood line of wizards and witches, noah had never really experienced the muggle world and well it did fascinate him and he'd had corey explain all sorts of things to him bout it. though it had all sounded so crazy and weird to him and well maybe some day he'd investigate it for himself, but his parents were pretty strict about mixing with muggles and such. instead they had made sure to pack him off safely to hogwarts, a magical school that noah's whole family had a history in. noah had loved it from the moment he had stepped onto the grounds and well it had been the best seven years of his life having made amazing friends and successfully carried on the miller name with pride. delilah and corey had been two of the first people that noah had met, having sat next to them after being sorted into gryffidor and well from there the friendship between them all had just gotten stronger. they were certainly an interesting bunch, all of them with their own quirks and odd habits but they worked well together and as far as noah knew they'd never really fallen out with one another. noah could see the three of them certainly being friends for a long time after they left hogwarts. though just the thought of leaving hogwarts seemed so strange, seven years had seemed to just fly on by. noah was more than aware that damian as much as he was his best friend, was not always corey or delilah's favourite person which well noah couldn't blame them too much. after all damian was a rather acquired taste, especially if you didn't really know what was going on with the guy. but sometimes they all had managed to hang out together without too much awkwardness, but noah did his best to avoid it happening for overly long periods of time. corey though, she was one of the closet friends that noah had and he knew people thought it a little odd that he was such good friends with her, but other peoples opinions really didn't bother him much at all. there was just something that had drawn him to the red head, whether it was her quirky personality or the stunning smile that she had, who knows but noah had been harbouring more feelings for her then he'd been letting on. "well i will take that, at least you missed something about me. that is always a good start" he chuckled lightly, the smile playing across his lips as he looked at corey sat across from him. he scratched the back of his neck before shifting a little in his chair, finding another comfortable way to sit. "exactly, so if we think about it like that im making sure that he stays employed and has lots of work to do" the caretaker really wasn't noah's biggest fan and they'd had a couple of run ins over the last seven years that had been pretty amusing. "ew ancient runes, i have no idea how you can bare that class. i never understood any of it" there had been a handful of classes that noah had been thankful to give up and ancient runes was one of them, but he respected the fact that corey seemed to be amazing at it. "you know the elves would be upset by the fact you don't eat their food. they love making it" noah quirked an eyebrow slightly, he'd known corey's slight aversion to the house elves working in the kitchen but hadn't thought she was this bothered. "well how about me and you go sneak down there now! i know a shortcut that none of the professors or ghosts will be wandering" noah had spent years finding all the secret passages in this place and it paid off in moments like these. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[corey alayne burke]

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' ' There was the start of the year dance coming up. She was not sure she was up for it. She knew she would not go as a date for anyone. She had been asked by a Hufflepuff in her year but she had turned him down. He was sweet and all but she barely knew him and honestly, she felt it was strange when people she did not know asked her out. She was more comfortable getting to know someone before any actually dating took place. Although she was not really up for any sort of dating. She hadn't been since her last and only boyfriend and her broke up. She had met him in her fifth year. He was older than her. 21 when she was 15, thinking back, it was probably blaringly obvious something was wrong there. He was a graduate of Durmstang. He had gotten a job at the Hogs Head in Hogsmeade. He never treated her like she was strange. He made her feel beautiful, which, despite all appearances, was hard for someone to do for her. There was something about the way he looked at her that had made her feel like she was okay, everything about her was fine or that she could be fine. It had been the first time she had ever felt like that. None of her friends seemed to like him. It should have been another warning. I guess, Mikhail (his name) could come across as a bit conceded and controlling, but Corey was head over heels for him. Which is why when he began to hit her, she forgave him. But happened over and over again. Thing is, it's actually fairly easy to hide an abusive relationship in the muggle's world. Make up, lying, etc. But the Wizarding world made it even easier. Black eye healed with the flick of the wand. Broken rib from when he slammed her down on the railing? Hell, he healed that himself as he apologized.

She stayed with him until partially through her sixth year. Finally just something that her friends said to her, not knowing the situation at all, struck her. That had been when Corey decided to break up with Mikhail, purge him from her life, she might not have the greatest self esteem but something in her friends reassured her that what he did to her, what he said to her, how he blamed her for his behavior, it wasn't right. It wasn't fair. So she told him it was over and his reaction was something she had a hard time even thinking about and yet she seemed to think of it every day. She could never bring herself to say the "R" word, in her head she would just say the night he attacked her. She had never told Noah about the abuse or the ra-- the attack. She had never even told Delilah. The most she told Delilah was that she broke up with Mikhail because he slapped her in a fight once. A sever understatement but still. She felt guilty for lying but she felt so ashamed she let him hurt her for so long. She felt ashamed she let it happen. She felt embarrassed her first time was with him. Since then? Dating just seemed like something she would get to in the future. Her ocd had gotten worse since last year because of it. Although, thankfully it hadn't been as bad as it was in her fourth year after her father and brother died. Noah and Delilah had both been there for her then. She wasn't sure she would have been okay through that if it weren't for them.

Corey gave a small smile as he said he would take her missing the smiles. He always made her smile somehow and that was always something she missed. "Maybe he should send you a thank you note." She added in, referring to the caretaker jokatively. She and him both knew the caretaker's job would be safe with or without Noah and that he was not the caretaker's biggest fan but Noah was always pulling something, she was sure the caretaker was used to is by now. They were lucky their current caretaker was rather nice. She had heard stories of the old caretaker, a man named Filch, the stories painted him horribly mean. "ew ancient runes, i have no idea how you can bare that class. i never understood any of it" Corey shrugged, "It's hard for me to pay attention but otherwise I don't mind it. Need it actually, a lot of old potions recipes are written in different runes. I'll need to know how to translate them." She stated. She loved potions, her best class and after she graduated, she hoped to save up for her own apothecary shop. She looked up from staring at her book to Noah's face and shrugged, "Some do, some don't, Individuals and all, but unfortunately for the ones that do, I like making my own food, and cleaning my own space. Magic clearly makes people lazy." She replied honestly but with a grin to convey that she was not judging. She did have some real moral issues with house elves but perhaps that was because she was taught a very different history as a muggle during the summers. "well how about me and you go sneak down there now! i know a shortcut that none of the professors or ghosts will be wandering" Corey grinned and nodded, "Short cut as in secret passage? You know I there!" She replied happily. As strange as she was, she still had the classic gryffindor in her, always up for anything slightly resembling an adventure.

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