Some Things Never Change (Tag Greta)

Ed, for some reason, didn't feel tired at all. Yeah, the part at the Staff Room was over and done with and most of the students were probably in bed by now. But he didn't feel like going to sleep yet. So he headed up to the Astronomy Classroom, where all his stuff had already been brought in. The classroom was much like how he remembered it: a little mysterious, but always fun. His suitcases lay in a stack against the wall, along with a few boxes. And his guitar case. He smiled as he went over and opened it up. He just considered it lucky that the old instrument had managed to make the journey back to Hogwarts. He was afraid it would get broken somehow, or smushed by his luggage. But, he plucked one string and the note that echoed through the room was clear and in-tune. It looked like the old thing would last him a while longer.

Greta had been wandering the empty halls of Hogwarts for a little while, every so often gliding into familiar rooms, only to glide right back out as she found that those rooms, once capable of entertaining her, held little current value in their abilities to do so. All in all, she was bored. Being a teenager, even if she was a ghost, she didn't care for boredom, and was now looking for a better way to keep it at bay. She aimlessly floated higher and higher, phasing through floors and ceilings, not particularly in that order. As she climbed higher, she reached the seventh floor, and recalled that she hardly ever spent her endless time in the towers, anymore, since she usually didn't go higher than floor six.

A sudden resonance of a musical note hit her sensitive ears, causing her to look in the direction of the astronomy tower. Who in the world could still be up? It was well past the end of the ball, not to mention the parties that always went on afterwards. She felt her fear trying to pull her away from the tower, but something else, not quite curiosity, was pulling her to it. She made her way into the tower, peeking around a corner, her gaze falling on a young man, looking just a bit younger than thirty. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then she retreated into the wall, not wanting to be seen. This man was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

Ed seemed to feel a prickling at the back of his neck all of a sudden, like he somehow knew that he wasn't alone in the room. It wasn't a bad feeling necessarily, it's not like he felt like he was about to be assassinated or anything. But when he turned around, nobody was there. "Hello?" he called out, wondering if another student or teacher was up and about like he was. "Is somebody there? Hello?" He got no answer, but he felt like someone was still there, and it was starting to unnerve him a bit.

Greta gasped quietly when the man called out, and she stiffened, ringing her hands together nervously. The man's voice called out, again, and she closed her eyes, his voice sounding familiar. She could almost see an image forming, but it was fuzzy. A part of her knew she knew him from somewhere, but couldn't place who he was, or how she knew him. Her presence must have been making him nervous, she could hear it in his voice. But, if she knew him from somewhere, she must have talked to him, before. But it was years ago. Maybe if she spoke to him again, she'd be able to remember him?

Despite her fear practically screaming at her to leave, she let out a small breath and phased through the wall enough to pop her head into the room. She looked to the man shyly, unsure of what to say. Her eyes fell on the guitar, and then they widened. This man was... Ed Once-ler? She could hardly believe it! She hadn't seen him since his seventh year!

It took a moment, but finally, Ed's mysterious visitor appeared. As a matter of fact, she appeared right through the walls. He jumped, for he was the sort that startled easily. But it didn't take him long to remember who the ghostly girl was. Her actual name was Greta, although to most, she was simply known as Secret. She and Ed had run into each other a number of times throughout his time at school, especially when he played the guitar. It was almost odd, seeing her again, when he was so much older than her now. In school, it hadn't been too much of a problem. She had been older than him for a while, until he had finally reached fifteen. He blinked, realizing that he hadn't said anything and that he and Greta had been standing in silence. "Um, hey, Greta," he said, giving a little wave. Introductions sometimes weren't his forte. "It's good to see you again."

Greta jumped as Ed did, her big eyes going wider as they were fixated once more on the rather startled man, and she sunk back into the wall by an inch. Should she have been more subtle with how she entered the room...? Would it have startled him any less? A part of her told her there was only a slight chance of that. She looked carefully at his face, her eyes flickering to every familiar feature, and she searched her memories, finally coming up on a clear image of him from late in his seventh year. He looked the same, truthfully. Just older. But despite that one clear image, she was still having trouble remembering everything. She knew there must have been more, but it was a blur. Damn that spell. It made all of her memories jumble up over time.

She gave another slight start when he spoke again, and she blinked, realizing she'd been lost in thought-- and memory-- for a bit. Her lips formed into a slight pout as she sunk another inch into the wall. Her lips parted for a moment as she hesitated, and then closed tightly. Her eyes wandered back to his guitar. She really wanted to hear him play.

It looked like Greta had been lost in thought for a moment the same way Ed had for a moment. Funny how even in death, ghosts could think the same way as living people did. Ed didn't mind to much when Greta didn't say anything. She was always so much quieter than him, lost in whatever memory came to her mind. Ed knew that it would probably take eons for him to understand what went on in her hand. He saw her glance at the guitar and he smiled. It always came back to music, which for some reason, drew her to him like a lantern and a moth. "Bet it's been a while since you've heard me play, huh?" he said, smiling as he picked up the instrument and looped the strap over his head. He strummed the strings once, trying to think of a tune. But it didn't take long for something to come to him and he soon started playing Greensleeves. His fingers glided easily from one string to the next, almost as if on instinct. He glanced up at Greta once, smiling at her.

Greta saw Ed's eyes flicker over her face, not scrutinizing her, but studying her. Or, he was probably trying to figure out what she was thinking. She knew that it must have been hard for anyone to do that, because she hardly ever spoke. She felt a sense of familiarity as they stared at each other, and for a second, they were in another room, he was much younger, like she was used to. He was playing his guitar in that different room, but she couldn't hear the music, or rather, she couldn't remember what he had played. His lips were moving, too, but the words were immensely muffled, and she couldn't recall them enough to understand. Back then, she hadn't gotten as close to him.

But this time, she was just across the room, and he was very aware of her. She was pulled back into the present, her eyes losing their glazed over look as he spoke again. They followed the guitar with intently, but softly, as the man picked it up and rested the strap on his shoulder. She inched forward in anticipation, but only phased through the wall until her shoulders were slightly exposed, and stopped, floating in that position as she watched him strum once. The sound was sweet, and brought back a few more images, which floated in and out of her vision as he began playing again. She closed her eyes as more images resurfaced in her mind, some of them literally appearing to be broken, but also mending as they came into focus.

She could hear whispers of conversations past, but despite how overwhelming they seemed to sound, they didn't drown out the present, and she could still hear him playing, which she was thankful for. Several long moments passed, and then her eyes fluttered open, focusing on Ed. She remembered quite a bit, now, and felt a bit bad for forgetting, even though she knew it wasn't her fault. When he looked up to her and smiled, she tensed a bit and looked down, her cheeks taking on a silvery color, similar to how a living girl would blush.

It looked like Great was becoming more at ease the more Ed kept playing. Music usually had an affect like that on her. Or maybe it was just him, one of the few people she talked to regularly. He wasn't sure. "Hard to believe that I'm back here, after all these years," he said, his fingers still playing. "And as a teacher to boot." He laughed. "You can imagine how surprised my family was. They think I'll be back home within a week, but I'm gonna prove them wrong. They won't be able to find fault with me once I become a distinguished professor around here." He smiled at the thought, at the faintest possibility that his family would finally be proud of him.

Greta kept her eyes on the floor of the classroom for awhile, feeling a little embarrassed, which only constricted her voice more. She listened to the guitar, giving a slight nod when Ed broke the silence that seemed to keep returning. It had been a long time, hadn't it? She began counting backward in her head, trying to figure out exactly how many years that had been. After starting over several times to make sure she'd gotten the year of his seventh year correct, she paused, her eyes softening. Twelve. It had been twelve years since he'd left the school. She could hardly believe it, but it was true. And it only took twelve years for seven years' worth of memories of him to fall into darkness within her mind.

Damn that spell.

"Subject?" she asked quietly, her eyes lifting back to him in shy curiosity, and her voice almost sounding hoarse from a lack of speaking. She had a clue regarding the answer, given what classroom they were in, but she wanted to be sure.

"Astronomy," Ed replied, smiling up at her again. "Although I'm hoping I can get a music club going here. I know we always get a few students who can sing, play the piano, all that stuff. So I thought it would be nice to get everyone together and make a club and stuff. I'm just hoping enough students are interested, otherwise you're going to be the only one who hears my old guitar." He laughed.

(( Hiya! I'm back from my anime convention trip! Woot! It was so freaking FUN. And guess what? I saw two-- yes, TWO-- Once-ler cosplayers! The first one I saw was the Greed-ler, and then the second one was good ol' regular Oncie~! <3 I got to huggle them both. >w< And then they made me think of you, so I was all like, 'OMG I must tell Angel of my endeavors with the Once-lers when I get home! @A@' ))

A corner of Greta's lips twitched slightly in amusement, and she glanced around the room a bit. She'd always liked Astronomy. It wasn't her best class, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. And Edward would be teaching it, from then on. That was a very pleasant idea, to her, and it almost made her smile. Perhaps she would spend more time roaming the higher floors of the castle, like she used to.

A sudden thought struck her, causing her eyes to flicker in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower. It must have been years since she'd even been there, and that was her former house. She'd have to remind herself to pay a visit, sometime. She became lost in thought for a moment, a few memories of that tower flickering in her mind, before she realized that she'd been spacing out. Her attention and her eyes returned to Edward, listening intently as he explained his idea for a music club. Her face fell a bit at the idea of no one joining something that seemed so important to him. He didn't deserve anything like that to happen.

With the tiniest bit of hesitation, she flew forward more, coming completely into the room as she approached him. Floating two feet above ground, she was still shorter than him, so she looked up at him, raising a hand and pointing at him, though not completely extending her arm to do it. "Believe," she stated simply. "Remember our talks?" she asked, referring to the many conversations they held before regarding Ed's confidence in himself, which had been very little for the longest time, thanks to his family.

((Hooray for Oncie cosplayers! I've always envied cosplayers. They do their costumes and make-up so well, I'm just like "OMG, I'm in awe of your skills." XD Oh, and I have your b-day video up: [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Ed noticed Greta go quiet for a moment, seeming like she was lost in thought. For a young girl, she certainly tended to brood. Then again, she wasn't exactly young. Being a ghost for a while tended to do that to a person. His fingers strummed idly on his guitar. "I ran into John at the ball earlier. Remember him? He hasn't changed too much, except he somehow got a son." He gave a little laugh. "It's kinda hard to think of him as a dad. Last time I saw him, he was still a bumbling teenager like me." His last year at Hogwarts seemed so long ago, it made him old just thinking about it. He smiled a little at Greta's question and nodded. "I remember." Greta had always believed in him back when he was younger, even if he didn't. She and John were similar in that retrospect: They always supported him, even if his family didn't. Of course, that had been a subject of many of their conversations. Ed's family, how they treated him, how they put him down on almost everything they did. Greta had always told him to ignore them, that they just didn't understand him. That had always made Ed feel better. And if he managed to do good at his job here, then maybe he could finally make his family see that.

(( Hehe, I cosplayed as well. x3 I was Haruhi from Ouran HSHC, and then a rag-doll/stitched-up Mad Hatter, and two of my friends were Alice. xD Oh, and... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVE. MY VIDEO. JUST. LOOOOVE. AND I LOVE YOU TOO. ;A; ))

Greta tilted her head a bit at the mention of someone named John. If Edward knew him from when he was in school, that made this John person about his age. He must be another teacher. She made a slight face of concentration as she sifted through fragments of memories, before an image finally came up. "John Smith?" she wondered aloud, wanting to be sure that she had guessed right. She thought back some more, then finally got enough memories pieced together to remember enough. He and Ed had been friends, and he had always had a similar role as she did. Supporting Ed.

Wait. John had a son? Greta gave a puzzled look for a moment, but then shrugged it off, moving a tad bit closer to Ed. John having offspring wasn't her business, and she didn't see any problem with it. Sure, she hadn't expected him to have had a son so early in life, but from what she'd seen of him during his years at Hogwarts, he must have been a decent father, at least. She lowered her hand when Ed said that he remembered, and she felt a tiny smile curling onto her lips.

"Good," she began, pausing as her throat almost constricted again, making a slight face of effort as she continued her attempt to speak a full sentence, "don't ever forget, okay? Promise?" She felt quite proud of herself. Her first full sentence in several years. And truthfully, she was glad that it had been spoken to Edward.

((Ooo, sounds like fun! Aw, I'm glad you like it! ))

"Yup, that's the one," Ed replied. "His niece also goes here too. I think her name is Molly. Seems a bit fiery compared to him." He smiled, remembering the look she had given John, the "Oh my God, I can't believe I'm related to this man" look. It was amusing, to say the least. But at least John had a family that was at least willing to put up with him. That had always been one of the things Ed envied about John, that and the fact that he was a lot less klutzy than he was. "Don't worry, I won't," he replied. He was just glad that he had managed to run into Greta again. It was nice to know that he had at least her and John to go to if things got rough here.

Greta gave a small nod of acknowledgement when Edward confirmed that that was the John he was talking about. She did remember him, though she wasn't very close to him. Actually, she didn't think she ever personally interacted with him, she just knew him through Ed. She almost felt as if things were back to the good ol' days, when Ed was still a teenager, when she was less isolated... It was nice to have that feeling back again. But there was still that sense of caution, always keeping a part of her alert, waiting to kick her instincts into gear if another person came in. She still had trouble being around Edward if he wasn't the only other person there.

Her smile faded a bit when Ed replied, and she held up her hand again, extending her pinky finger towards him. "Promise," she insisted, meaning she wished to make a pinky-promise. She leaned forward and gave him a knowing look, because she knew him. She wanted him to always remember that she believed in him, even when life-- or his family-- got him down.

Ed leaned back against the wall, his fingers still moving from string to string. He had a knack for doing that: playing a song or random notes while he talked. It was just something he did without thinking, which could be considered interesting or annoying. Greta had always thought it was the former, which Ed was grateful for. When Greta extended her pinky, Ed had to smile. Cliche as it was, that was always how the two of them had made promises, sealed deals, kept their word, whatever you wanted to call it. "I promise," he said, leaning down to wrap his pinkie around hers. His finger was a lot bigger than hers now, and it reminded him of how different he must look to her. But despite that, it looked like the two of them would still be close.

Greta watched as Ed stopped playing for a few seconds to extend his hand and hook their pinkies together, just like in his years as a student. She blinked once as she noticed that his pinky was much bigger than hers, now, which wasn't something she was really used to. Sure, it had been bigger than hers in his seventh year, but she'd at least had a few years of getting used to that as he had his growth spurt. But, twelve absent years of aging later, she was a bit confused by the slightly unfamiliar feeling of it. However, she had years to get used to it, again. So, shaking the thoughts from her head once, she hooked her pinky with his and jiggled her hand a bit, giving him a small smile as their promise was sealed.

It was unfortunate that she may not be able to consistently keep that promise, herself, though. But, Ed would understand. He always did. She let go of his pinky, and her hand fell to her side again as she suddenly realized that she'd been floating quite close to him. With another tint of silver spreading over her cheeks, she moved a few inches away, her eyes falling back to the guitar.

No doubt the scene would have looked funny, a grown wizard and a girl ghost, making a pinkie promise. But Ed found himself comforted by the familiarity of it all. A lot of things may have changed for him during the past few years, but it looked like his friendship with Great hadn't. No doubt being friends with a ghost was odd to some people, but Ed didn't care about things like that. "Do you have any song requests?" he asked, smiling as he played a chord.

Greta laced the fingers of her hands together shyly, looking to the floor as she thought. "The one you played the last time we talked?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper, glancing to him with a tiny, hopeful smile. She really loved that song, and the lyrics, when he occasionally sang along to his guitar. She just hoped he remembered which song it was. It was a miracle that she even remembered.

(( You can just pick a song, my brain isn't functioning enough for me to find a good one... @Ae ))

It took Ed a moment to remember the song, but it soon came to him once he thought about it for a moment. That had been quite a long time ago, when he was a seventh year and it had been close to graduation. He had met up with Greta one last time and had played a song for her. His fingers went up and down the guitar as the lyrics came back to him and he sang softly "Starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and grey. Look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul. Shadows on the hills. Sketch the trees and the daffodils. Catch the breeze and the winter chills, in colors on the snowy, linen land. "

Greta smiled softly to herself when Ed played to familiar tune. It had been so long ago, and she was happy to be able to hear him play it, again. Sometimes when she'd been alone, she'd hum the song to herself, and sometimes without even realizing it. For the last several years, she'd actually forgotten where she'd heard it from. But meeting Ed again had made her remember. She swayed slightly in the air, the movement causing the cold of her ghostly form to make soft breezes of cold air flow about the room. She watched his hands move about the guitar, smiling to herself as he continued playing. This was the Ed she remembered. The one that got lost in the music just long enough to forget his worries for awhile.

The words came back easily to Ed, even though he hadn't sang the song in a long time. It usually reminded him too much of the friend he had left behind. But now, he didn't have to worry about that. They were back together again, maybe forever, depending on how long Ed taught at Hogwarts. He sang through 'til the end, the guitar softly accompanying him. Ed had a knack for knowing just how to play the guitar so it didn't overwhelm his voice. The two always blended together perfectly, like they were one instrument rather than two separate ones. When he finished, he smiled up at Greta. "I feel like I'm going down Memory Lane or something," he said, laughing. It was true, though. The song brought back the times he and Greta had had together, the good and bad, the moments when they had helped each other out through their pain. That was just how the two of them had been. And it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

(( I've been trying to reply, but I somehow feel that this is actually a good place to end this topic. @^@ ))

((Yeah, we can end it here. ))