| Details for It's a Mad, Mad World… |
| Summary: | Elise has a heart-to-heart with Eibhlin |
| Date: | 1938-12-08 |
| Location: | Ravenclaw common room |
| Related: | Faults. |
| Characters |
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Sunday morning sees most students sleeping in, but not Elise. Especially not Elise, who has intense dreams she wants to be rid of. She is up, yawning, standing in front of the fireplace in her robe and slippers. Her hair hasn't been combed, yet, and she probably has morning breath, not that anyone's around to smell it. That battle-scarred old grey tomcat is wending his way around her ankles, purring thunderously.
While many are still asleep Eibhlin hasn't been for awhile. She's taken the time to dress herself, but shoes have been left behind for now as she steps in socking feet down the stairs intent to settle in beside the fire before breakfast. "Morning," she greets quietly as eyes light upon the younger girl. "You're up early," she notes as she settles into a chair, leaving book on the arm of it to brush her own hair.
"Yeah," Elise says. "G'morn…" yawn. "…ing." She rubs her eyes, and then looks at the girl, and realizes exactly who it is. An almost guilty look comes over her face and she fidgets a bit uncomfortably.
It doesn't take much for Eibhlin to run the brush through her hair being relatively tangle free already. Guilty might not be her first guess as to the reason for the expression on the other girl's face, "Bad dreams?" she ask, not going on to say it but the mean in is implied, if she wants to talk about it she'll listen.
"Er… just the usual," Elise says, which Eibhlin can interpret however she wants. "Eibhlin… can I ask you something? I have a… sort of a moral dilemma, and I thought you could perhaps advise me?"
"I'm sorry," Eibhlin replies at the mention of it being 'usual'. She blinks at the girl's hesitation however and nods, "Of course," she assures, "I don't know that I have help you make a decision, but I can certainly listen, maybe help you think through it?"
Elise clears her throat, and then stands silently for a few moments, thinking. "What would you do if you heard someone say something about one of your friends behind their back, and the person who said was also a friend of your friend?" she asks. "Would you tell them about it at the risk of breaking up that friendship? Or would you keep it to yourself, even knowing what the first person thought of your friend?"
Eibhlin hmms, "Well that is a difficult situation," she replies, waving the girl over to sit with her. "I'll brush your hair," she offers as she considers the question. "Well… I suppose it depends on what it is. I mean is it something that this friend should know?"
Elise comes over and sits next to Eibhlin, and then turns so the older girl can brush her hair. "Thanks," she says. Then she considers. "Well… I'm not sure," she says. "Let's call them OtherGirl and Friend, so we don't get confused." She pauses. "Alright. OtherGirl has a rather… well… bad view of something that's beyond Friend's control. It's not something that Friend can ever change, and I don't think it's something that anyone should hold against her. But OtherGirl really does. She told me that because of this thing, even though she likes Friend, Friend is… is lesser. As a person. And that seems so wrong and hurtful, I don't…"
Eibhlin nods, lifting the brush when the girl settles in to slowly pull it through her hair starting at the bottom and working up. "Hmm. Well if its not something your friend has any control over then its not like there's anything that can really be done about it is there?" its a rhetorical question really. "But if your friend and the OtherGirl are friends.. well I can see where that could pose a problem."
Elise sighs, sounding rather miserable. "And Friend is so nice," she says. "It's not fair that OtherGirl thinks that about her. It's stupid and bigoted." She sniffles a bit and pulls her hankie out of her pocket to wipe her nose. "What would you do?" she asks. "Would you tell Friend what OtherGirl said? Or not?"
"Everyone has different opinions," Eihblin replies, moving the brush to the next section of the younger girl's hair to repeat the processes. "I think that's a very hard question to answer," she says. "You have to do what you think is best Elise."
Elise goes very still. "Well… what if you were Friend?" Elise asks. "Would you want to know?"
Eibhlin stops brushing to lean over and catch a glimpse of the girl's face. "Is there something you want to tell me?" She does catch on to those little hints. "I don't know if I'd want to know Elise. You can't un-hear things, but sometimes its better to have all the facts."
Elise turns around to look at Eibhlin. She nods, but her hands are wringing the front lapels of her robe, white-knuckled. "You… you are Friend," she admits. "And… someone said… someone… she said that because you're a Half-Blood that you're…" she starts crying. "You're lesser, and — and it's your prerogative to sc — scrub out your f — father's mistake." She looks absolutely miserable while she says this, and she just puts her face in her hands and cries.
Eibhlin was rather.. expecting that. "Sweetie, a lot of people think that," she replies, aiming to pull the younger girl into a hug as those tears start. "And in some ways they're probably right." She's spent enough time here to know how things work.
Elise goes into the hug willingly enough, and her crying subsides a little while she listens. "But how can you say that?" Elise asks. "It shouldn't matter who your parents were. Why… you're a powerful witch, and smart, and very kind. Who cares if you mother was a Muggle? She must be a nice person to have raised you so well. And she's obviously able to keep a secret, isn't she? She hasn't told all the other Muggles about us, there's no reason to think she ever will, so there's no reason to be afraid of her or dislike her. Or you, for that matter.' She looks up. "You're not lesser. I bet you could out-magic a lot of purebloods here."
"Maybe not," Eibhlin agrees, about the idea of it not mattering who someone's parents are. "But it does whether your a pure-blood or a Muggle, it matters to some people." She blushes a bit given the compliment from the girl, "Thank you, but it took a lot of hard work to know what I do now. You're a sweet girl Elise and I know you don't like it, but sometimes you just have to accept other's views."
"It shouldn't matter," Elise says. "And it really shouldn't matter to friends. I mean, how can she call you her friend when she looks down on you like that? I don't understand." She sniffles again and wipes her nose.
She still hasn't told her who, and that's the question that follows. "Who?" Eibhlin inquires before shaking her head. "I can't pretend to understand why other people think the way they do. Its the way it is though. I don't have a name for people to see and know who I am like the Malfoys or the Blacks or you for that matter. I had to lean about your world when I was eleven, I'm still learning and some day maybe I'll fit in."
"It's our world," Elise says. Perhaps to stall for time. "It was… well. Are you sure you want to know?"
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Eihblin replies with a shake of her head. "But don't let it eat you up. Alright?"
Elise sniffles again. "Well… she did say something else, which was kind of good. She said that, just like one bad apple can affect a bunch, so can one good apple do the same thing. I think… well, I know you're a rather good apple, and if there's one thing that purebloods need, it's more good apples around them being a good influence. Maybe if you felt that you should stick around with her, and just… be a good example, maybe she'll change her mind?"
"She has a point there," Eibhlin agrees, sending the girl a soft smile. "And maybe you're right. Now what do you say you go get dressed and we can get some breakfast. Hmm?"
Elise nods, and then leans forward again for another hug. "Alright," she says, and with one last sort of anxious, torn look at Eibhlin, she runs up the stairs.