| Details for Love Hurts |
| Summary: | Jo finds a very sad Phae in the library, and tries to cheer her up. |
| Date: | September 26th, 1937 |
| Location: | Library, Hogwarts |
| Related: | In the Closet |
| Characters |
  |
The library is quiet…of course it's quiet. But it's also nearly completely empty, which is why Hephaesta has chosen it as a place to hide away from people. She wasn't even at dinner today, claiming an upset stomach when asked by Ravenclaw Prefects. So she has come to one of her sanctuaries to bury herself in books and study.
Also choosing to come to the library when it's nearly empty is Josie. Wandering the aisles looking for a book that's relatively easy to practice her reading with, she stops as she spots the older girl. She smiles immediately, "Phae!" This gets a 'shh' from the direction of the librarian, so she's quieter as she makes her way over to the older girl. "You weren't at dinner, were you here the whole time?"
Hephaesta flinches at the sound of her name, and a be-goggled pair of eyes peek up from under her wavy brown locks. She blinks, owl-like, and slides the goggles down around her neck. There are dark circles under her eyes, and she looks a little pale. Still, the sight of Josie brings a half-hearted smile to her lips, and she reaches out for an embrace. "Hey, Josie," she murmurs. "Yeah, I…I wasn't feeling well."
Josie gives the older girl a hug, then settles in to sit beside her, "Oh, sorry. Been to the hospital wing yet? They're really good at making people feel better. I ate too much one night and gave me a potion that had me fixed right away."
Hephaesta gives Josie another squeeze, endeared by her concern. "No…I don't think they can help me. I'm not sick. Just…" How can she explain it? She barely understands it herself. "Josie…have you ever been in love?" She's asking an eleven-year-old; but Josie is more mature than other Firsties in many ways. Maybe she is in this, too.
Josie bites her lip, then shrugs a little, "I loved my mum, but don't think that's what you mean, is it? I dunno. Don't think so." That, though, makes her think of a question, "How do you know if you have?"
Hephaesta sighs, and thumps her face straight down into the open book before her. "Everything hurts," she mumbles, muffled by the book. "Your stomach turns into knots, and you can't concentrate, and everything makes you cry."
Josie bites her lip again, and reaches to try to half-hug her friend in an attempt to comfort her, and answers honestly, "No, never felt like that." She starts to ask, "Who…" But she trails off, perhaps unsure if she should ask.
Hephaesta sits up again and looks over to Josie, a bit of hair now mashed to her forehead. She frowns nervously, but takes a breath to steel herself. It's the first time she's really verbalied it. "Ophelia Summerbee."
Josie is, indeed, mature for her age, in some ways at least. She doesn't giggle or anything similar to that answer, but instead just spends a moment thinking who that is. "Oh, the girl who likes wands? She's nice."
Hephaesta sighs wistfully, nibbling at her lip. "She's amazing." She shuts the book, pushing it aside, and leans on her propped up arm. "But she's my stupid cousin's girlfriend now," she grown, lip threatening to tremble. "And I just want to…punch him."
Josie thinks about that, and then says, "Punching him's no good, you'll just get caught. Bet we could get him somehow, though. Maybe there's some potion that'll turn him green or make him all spotty or something. Could ask Colton, bet he'd have a good idea."
Hephaesta's eyes widen when Josie takes her seriously. "What? Oh, no!"
"Shhh!" comes the powerful shush of Madam Patil.
Hephaesta ducks her head, lowering her voice. "No…please don't do anything to him. I just meant that…I don't know. It's not his fault. He didn't know how I felt. I didn't know how I felt."
Josie bites her lip again and then shrugs a little, "Ok, promise I won't, until you want me to." She looks up to Phae again then and asks, "*Can* I do anything to make you feel better?"
Hephaesta moves to give Josie another hug. "You do make me feel better. You're a really good friend." There is a pause, then a meek mumble, "Unless you can think of a reason why Ophelia might break up with Kaiden…." She is far from immune to pettiness.
Josie hugs back a little tighter this time. She sits back again then after the mumble as she thinks, and shakes her head a little, "No, I don't know. Dunno why people break up, except there's arguing involved. 'Least there always was with Jimmy and his girls when they broke up."
Hephaesta sighs, expecting as much. But her Ravenclaw curiosity brings a welcome distraction. "Who's Jimmy?"
Josie answers, "Jimmy Shore. He runs the Shore Gang in Hoxton. He sorta looked after me after my mum died. He got me to spy on the Italians, 'cause I know that language, and taught me how to pick pockets and how to look after myself. I worked for him until they came and told me I was a witch."
Hephaesta blinks, shocked. "Really? I had no idea." Suddenly things make a little more sense when it comes to Josie. "Well…I'm glad you're away from him, then. I'm glad you're here at Hogwarts with me."
Josie nods a little, but she smiles as she looks up to Phae again at the last, and says, "Me too." The bell goes off indicating it's close to curfew, and after another quick hug she hops to her feet, "Bye. Gonna find you again tomorrow, promise." She smiles and then hurries out to get to Gryffindor Tower.