| Details for Letters and Colds |
| Summary: | A little bit of studying is done. Elizabeth is concerned about Gerald's health, and Andrew suggest things about Gerald in an effort to help a situation. |
| Date: | January 20, 1939 |
| Location: | Study Area — Hogwarts |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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It is a winter night. The weather is cold and flurrying.
A very small library that can be used as a place to study that is both out of the main library and also not the Great Hall that usually acts as the home for study hall. The walls are all sone and the floor is oak hardwood that is designed to the wood looks like interlocking open books. Cheeky students in the past have scratched stories onto these books. Several throw rugs are placed here and there over some of the more inappropriate stories. Of course as well wood fill was used as a censor here and there as well. There are a few bookshelves in the room. Each bookshelf is dedicated to a Hogwarts Subject and every shelf is divided up by year with first year on the bottom and seventh year on the top. All the books in the study area are donated by students so they are in varying degrees of disrepair. Flanking each shelf is a couple of large tables. Every table is centered with a book holder and simple quills rest in black ink wells ready to be used by a studying student.
Classes are over for the day, and as always the school is a hum of activity. Students talk in clusters throughout the halls, some lingering near doorways while others wander from corridor to corridor.
Some are slumped in chairs in the study hall, their heads resting on their folded arms. Oh wait. That's Gerald! His bag has been dropped on the table next to him, his potions book open near by along with a discarded quill and poorly scribbled notes.
Elizabeth, at some point in time, had settled herself into the seat opposite of Gerald, without him knowing it. And she hadn't felt a need to really disturb his nap, if that indeed was what he was really doing. A few papers, a self-inking quill, a pair of books on Egyptian, and the blue stone scarab. But after a few long minutes, her pale eyes glance up at him through her long bangs, and tilting the end of her quill she uses it to tickle his cheek.
Gerald mutters something along the lines of profanity as he feels the feather as a had moves to swat at it. It's not much longer before he pushes upright, his eyes heavily lidded as a yawn breaks his silence. His cheeks are flushed, and his tone raspy (much more so than the night before) as he sends her a glance. A curious enough glance in fact as his eyes quickly move toward the nearest window to check the time. "Huh.." he allows seconds later, "H-hey Lizzy." Haha! "What's shaken?" Not that he seems aware of much more at the moment.
The young woman narrows her pale gaze, "Elizabeth." she corrects him with a little bit of flatness, though as he straightens up and yawns, a small frown gently knits at her brow. "Did you stay outside after I left? You look worse than you did the day before." she murmurs, obviously concerned. Elizabeth softly presses her lips together. "Have you visited the hospital wing?"
Gerald sighs, though he allows a look of annoyance at the question. "No..It's not that bad. And anyway, I don't like Spleen all up in my business." He slumps back in the seat, his hand reaching to straighten the book out on the table before a cough breaks his sullen silence. "And..yeah. I had to write a letter, and the common was full of people and Douglas doesn't give me a seconds peace when I'm in there." Normally this is as non-issue but with his health impaired, so is his temper. "It'll be fine in a few days. It's just a cold." Beat, "How are you?"
There's once voice at least that Eibhlin recognizes right off, despite his cold, and that's where she heads. Reaching into her pocket she pulls something out, dropping it onto the table in front of Gerald as she passes before turning to take a seat across the table from him unless someone objects. Peppermint. Go figure. "Don't get me started on letters," she comments before offering a slight smile to both him and the girl. "But yes, how are you Elizabeth?"
The door opens quietly and Andrew slips in struggling under the weight of many books which are piled in his arms. He selects a table in the corner out of the way and tries to lower the books down gently. Its clear his arms are tired as he sinks into a chair rubbing his strained upper arms carefully. He starts organizing his book into the order in which he will read them. Pulling ink, a quill, and parchment out his the bag he carries he cracks the first book open and stats reading jotting notes down in a small yet script as he goes. He glances up at the others here and looks at the nervously before his head ducks and he goes back to work.
The frown lingers as she presses her lips together, clearly not pleased that he was trying to play off the importance of being sick. After a few moments of listening, her expression softens and she sighs lightly to herself. "Sounds like you need a Gryffindor girl to take care of you, since you seem not to care about doing it yourself." she murmurs lightly, "I can understand wanting a few moments of peace, but you haven't been writing like you had intended." Elizabeth softly presses her lips together again and sets down her quill. "What if I take you to the hospital wing, but I wave Madam Spleen away to take care of you myself. Would that be an acceptable compromise?" Life has been all about compromises nowadays it feels like.
Eibhlin soon joins them at the table, and as peppermint is dropped onto the table. Elizabeth quirks a brow at this. Hadn't he had peppermint in his pocket the day before? Maybe this was the source of the candy. She exhales another faint breath through her small nose. "Concerned." Yes. That's a good word for her state presently.
Gerald shakes his head at the offer, "No, I'm fine. I don't have the plague, I have a cold or somethin. I'll pass, but thank you." Chalk it up to a mixture of being a know-it-all teen and know-it-all male, but he does take the candy, offering Ebi a weak grin as she settles. "Ebi, Tell Lizzy I'm fine." He demands, "I have too much to do anyway. I still haven't finished my letter to Daphne. What do I write? Hey there future wife. Sorry my letters a week late, but I've been busy dating a girl I /don't/ day dream about burning at the stake?!" A little mellow dramatic? Maybe it's the fever. Either way he lets his head fall forward onto the table, a small *thud* sounding as it lands.
"He's fine," Eibhlin assures Elizabeth, turning towards the girl for a moment. "Everyone gets colds. He'll be back to his usual brooding self in a day or two." She's not worried at all. Not about him anyway. "Tell you what," she offers, turning to cock her head at Gerald. "I'll write Daphne for you if like and then you can write a letter for me." Even trade.
Elizabeth gives Gerald another flat glance, "I'm not saying that you have the plague, I'm trying to point out that if you don't take the time to take care of yourself properly, it'll take longer to heal yourself of a cold and your grades will suffer because of it. Logically, one or two days in the hospital wing resting would be better than a full week trudging through a cold and classes consecutively." The bit about the letter, she arches a brow and glances to Eibhlin, just as the other girl reassures her that it's not big deal. "What's the use of coddling him if he's going to be stubborn."
Andrew looks up at the boys dramatics overhearing the problem with a frown. A soft sigh is given before the shy boy makes a soft unintentional comment in that direction. "I don't know about you but if you really hate the girl -that much- you should find a loophole or negotiate with your parents to see if they will let you marry someone else. Surely they wouldn't force you on someone intolerable? I hope not anyway…" He blushes and ducks his head realizes he spoke his thoughts aloud. "Sorry! Its just seems illogical to sit and let yourself be made miserable when you could try and fix it…after you get better of course." He keeps his head lowered not daring to look up.
Gerald laughs, lowly of course, and he doesn't seem a bit irritated by the other boys opinion. It earns a sigh, "Sadly this /is/ the compromise." He allows, but that's all he really says about it, out side of a laugh. "I..I'll make it work..and No thank you Ebi, I'm sure you don't want me to write a letter to Gus. Believe me."
"I'm not coddling him," Eibhlin points out to Elizabeth. "He'll like writing mine even less than his own." Less of an offer that way and more incentive. Not having noticed Andrew earlier his comment causes her to look up in his direction, "He doesn't hate her," she notes. "He just doesn't know her," the comment finished as she turns at pointed look back to Gerald. "And I never said I wanted you to write Gus."
The young woman blinks her pale eyes up from beneath her loose waves at the sound of another voice, almost surprised that she hadn't noted Andrew earlier. Had he snuck in at some point? Her expression softens subtly, but Elizabeth just quietly shakes her head, "No, I agree. I seems illogical." It really does. Her crimson stained lips part with a faint breath. "I still think you need to take care of your health. Sitting outside in the winter cold is no way to treat yourself." But she's resigned herself to the fact that he won't listen to her. Stubborn.
Andrew's head raises now looking nervously at the group. He summons up his courage to add. "Well you clearly are not happy with it. I would suggest you find someone better suited that your parents will approve of that you actually -like- and renegotiate. If you find some girl you like that outranks the other girl in whatever quailties your parents are looking for surely they won't refuse to change the deal? Unless…unless you don't like girls at all and thats the problem?" Andrew blushes heavily but keeps his head up this time curiousity getting the better of him now.
Gerald just shrugs, though he does send a small chuckle toward Elizabeth, his hand reaching to give hers a small squeeze before he looks away again, toward Ebi and Andrew. "Yeah. I guess…" He seems thoughtful enough about it, though Andrews next words cause a sudden stilling in Gerald and a rather wide-eyed look. He just stares, and there's the rather obvious look of confusion on his features. "Do..you know me?" Clearly the other boy does not. "At all?" color him amazed. And amused. He even spares a glance toward Ebi, "Hey, look it, I'm not as big a whore as you thought." SEE! "If I was more people would know."
Eibhlin shrugs lightly. It might seem illogical, but she's met his parents. "She is right," the redhead points out. Gerald does need to take care of himself, but if they need to they can trick him into it. Its Andrew's question that has her blinking in the younger boy's direction, but it's Gerald's response to it that brings a hand up. Fingers pressing against her forehead. "I never said you were," she mutters, "But now you can have boy trouble too apparently." The later added with an ever so sweet smile though she hasn't looked up just yet.
Just like everyone else, Andrew's questioning conclusion makes Elizabeth blink. Her pale skin quickly flushing a brighter shade of red at the mere suggestion that Gerald… she quickly shakes her head. She couldn't even think of it. "That… while I normally do not discount theories so long as they are based upon facts, I do not believe this one is entirely sound." she gently replies to Andrew.
Andrew blushes heavily at the reaction he gets. His head lowers once more. "Sorry…and no I don't know you and I don't really pay attention to rumors so i have no idea abou your…preferences. I was just trying to pinpoint the problem and how it might be solved…I didn't mean to emabress or upset anyone.." He looks truly sorry and ashamed of himself now and he keeps his head down trying to sink further into his chair in embaressment.
Variel pushes open the door into the study area and pauses to see who's about. What he SEES is an incredibly redfaced Shacklebolt and a roomful of puzzled stares. "… what did I miss? Did Shacklebolt suggest that Alphard Black is really a nice guy and just needs a hug now and then?"
Gerald chuckles, "Na, it's okay." He assures Andrew, noting the other boys expression. "No worries. But I do like girls." The last is added as an afterthought. "Very much. One specifically at the moment, who I should probably go find." Again, an after thought. Variel's entrance manages to call Gerald's attention forward, despite his need to lower his head to cough. "No, not at all." He chuckles, pushing to his feet. "I need to go find Lillian. And then go to bed."
Eibhlin just shakes her head. "Feel better Gerald," she offers as he stands, moving to do the same herself. "I should get going too, I really should write Gus." Thanks for the reminder Ger!
Elizabeth quietly slips her hand from Gerald's brief grasp to settle her hands in her lap, trying her best to work through the sudden embarrassment from the abrupt turn the topic had made. He had apologized, and hadn't mean for anything like this, just made a conclusion from what information I had. "Um, it's okay, really." she tries to give Andrew a small but reassuring smile. "I believe proper introductions are in order. I'm Elizabeth Aurora Dweedle. I think we may have bumped into each other in the Commons without realizing it." It's a big school after all. And she's never been good with meeting people. From behind her wire frames her powder blue eyes blink up at Gerald, pushing to his feet as Variel enters. "Make sure you eat dinner. And drink plenty of orange juice." she calls after him. As if she were his mother. She loosely rolls her eyes though and shakes her head to herself, lifting a slender hand to absently brush back some of the loose waves in her silken raven locks.
Variel's words only cause Andrew's blush to deepen further. "I would -never- suggest Black needs a hug…therapy maybe, anger managagement definatly but hugging him is a pointless excerise. Besides those three that keep cornering me are his friends…I wouldn't dare actually give them a reason to hit me again…" The small boy sighs and then looks at Elizabeth with a shy uncertain smile. "Andrew Shacklebolt…its nice to meet you." He glances back to his pile of books that are arranged neatly in front of him before he looks up at the others once more.
"Cornering you?" Variel frowns vaguely. "You want to tell me what that's all about, Shacklebolt?" The older Gryffindor student moves into the room to look for a seat, checking where each remaining student now sits.
An equally shy but genuine smile flickers across Elizabeth's crimson stained lips. "Nice to meet you as well." He was intelligent, but awkward around people. Much like most Ravenclaws are for the most part. When Variel asks about what had happened, another flush rises in her otherwise pale cheeks. Clearly she's hesitant to bring it up again, and she glances back to Andrew, waiting to see what he decides.
A little nod is given to Elizabeth and Andrew's smile brightens just a little now clearly pleased. But then Variel speaks and he lowers his head again and mumbles softly his quiet words directed at the older Gryffindor. "No thank you…It will just make things worse…" Another sigh and he goes back to his books trying to read even though its clear he is flustered once again.
Hearing Andrew's sigh, Elizabeth feels a little sympathetic pang, still flushing gently. "It's okay. Really." she tries to gently reassure him. "It was just an innocent mistake. You were trying the help. And he didn't really help clarify the matters either."
"Okay, okay- sorry for prodding a sore subject, Shacklebolt." He sits down with the ywo, nearer the one what wasn't mad at him, and peered between them. "So what should we discuss instead?"
Andrew nods to Elizabeth with a faint smile. "Thank you but I think he was asking about my…issues with a certain three Slytherins that hang out around Alphard Black not my emabaressing comment from a moment ago." He runs and hand through his curly brown hair and looks shyly to Variel. He isn't angry. more nervous than anything else. "Its fine. I'm not upset. These things happen."
Well if there was any chance of getting rid of her flush, it seems futile now as it appears just as bright as before. Elizabeth absently curls her fingers curls her fingers in her lap. Best say nothing, she repeats to herself. And the chance to change the topic is more than appealing. She exhales a small, quick breath and glances up at the others. "Apparently the girls in Divination are more excited than usual, because of the project."
"Well, I was excited about it, too, until the Arithmancy involvement turned out to be a sham." Variel shakes his head, tsking playfully. "Ah, well, such is life. It does seem pretty exciting. Is it just the girls, then? Working on the pairings and such?"
As the subject changes away from him Andrew relaxs a bit and goes back to reading and taking notes carefully. He appears to be taking notes from several books on runes and their effect and uses. He looks fastinated by whatever he is reading and chews his lower lip as he works letting the other two talk without interuption from him.
Elizabeth pauses as she gives Variel a small glance, though she still tries to keep Andrew included if he wanted to comment as well. "I'm not sure about boys, but it does seem like the girls are more excited than normal because of it. Over the prospect I think…" she lightly shrugs her shoulders. "And I don't think they're picking out individuals themselves. I believe it's just the spell."
"Still an exciting thing to do. You -do- have some Arithmancy students in the Divination classes, right? It'll help ensure the spell goes off as well as it can when the time comes to cast it." He glances over Shacklebolt's reading material and smiles. "Hey, I remember that coursework. Are you covering actual runic spells yet, or just theory?"
Andrew looks up with a faint shy smile at Variel's question. "We have started basic runic spells but I'm reading ahead as much as I can…its fanstinating to me…Its easily one of my favorite subjects." His excitement show in his eyes until he lowers his head once more. This time however he is smiling faintly.
A smile flickers across her lips. "It's one of mine as well." Elizabeth admits. "But I usually read just about anything that is put in front of me." She picks up the book in front of her to gesture towards it. "Languages are another. Egyptian is what I'm studying presently."
"Egyptian? That meshes particularly well with the logic of runes. They're something we study pretty… early…" He trails off. "… which both of you know. You're IN the class. Sorry, guys." He grins and flips open his book- it's titled "The Creation Process With Relation To New Incantations."
Her shy smile grows a little bit. "I've already mastered Latin and Ancient Greek, so I'm hoping I can master Egyptian fairly quickly." Elizabeth chuckles quietly. "I have a personal copy of Advanced Rune Translations that I've read forty three times." Not that she really needs to.
Andrew's eyes go wide with surprise and admiration at Elizabeth's words. He speaks again unable to hide his curiousity and excitement "Could you..show me the books you learned latin and ancient greek from please? That sounds like it could be very useful and interesting to learn." He blushes again but looks at his fellow Ravenclaw hopefully but Variel's book also get a curious glance.
Elizabeth brightens with a genuine smile. "Sure, I can. I have a talent for learning languages though, so I'm not sure how long it would take you to learn. But… if you want, I can also give you lessons." she chuckles softly. "Reading spells and books in their original languages is always fun."
"I oughtta learn a second language sometime," Variel muses. "And if you ever want some tutoring on your runes, Shacklebolt, look no further than Dweedle. You could inquire with Head Girl Rashley, too- she's got a study group."
Andrew nods with a faint yet sincere smile. "It may take me a while but I'm sure I will get it eventually and lessons would be helpful if you have time to give them." He gives Elizabeth a grateful look and then blinks checking the time. "I need to go. I have to return a book to the library before cerfew..excuse me and it was nice to offically meet you Dweedle. Maybe we can talk more later?" He starts packing up his books but waits for an answer before he leaves.
She dips her chin with a small nod. "During free time, between meals or after classes. I'm more than happy to assist." Elizabeth murmurs, smiling softly, though as Andrew realizes the time and begins to excuse himself, she blinks her pale eyes once and quickly nods. "Perhaps in the Commons, or at dinner." she offers. The small smile grows faintly as she lifts a hand to wave.
"Okay…I'll see you around then." Andrew smiles happily and though he can't wave back with the stack of books in his arms he gives Elizabeth a polite nod of his head in agreement before he hurries off to put the books up and return the one that is due to be returned. He disappears into the hall and scurries away with a smile on his face.
Variel says, "So he seems pretty clever. Awfully submissive- I can see why he draws attention from bullies. He's an easy mark." But he HAD offered to hear him out- it's an observation, not calling it okay."
"Yeah." Elizabeth murmurs softly, watching the door for a moment before glancing to Variel. "He also seems sweet. He kinda reminds me of Hart." They were both quiet, intelligent, and sweet. A rarity, she thinks. Exhaling a small breath, she begins gathering her things as well, organizing them steadily before returning them to her cloth knapsack. "I probably should be getting to dinner. I know we should limit how much we're seen together."
"If you've gotta go, then go. There'll be other times." Variel offers her a grin. "Just take care, alright? And watch for owls."
She rises to her feet and slips the strap over her shoulder, under the layers of her robes, and Elizabeth pauses a moment before she glances to him. The smile gone. "I promised. I'm not going to break it to indulge myself."
Variel nods once, his own smile fading. "Alright. Thank you."
Elizabeth softly dips her chin with a small nod, tempted to say more, but she can't. Not here. Not when there are eyes and ears everywhere. She didn't think it was for the best, but he did. "Tak care." she replies softly, before she turns to begin her walk out.
Variel heads back to his book as Elizabeth leaves, studying as he's left on his own.