| Details for Upon a Rooftop Dreary |
| Summary: | On her anti-smoking, anti-snogging rounds, Morgana runs into a slightly-overstressed Ulysses |
| Date: | 23 January, 1939 |
| Location: | Lake View Louvre, Hogwarts |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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It's later in the evening. Dinner is done. Classes are done. Workout and checking up on family is done. Now comes work. The work that keeps him out of the dorms, out of the common rooms. Just… away. Lys has found his own private little corner of the louvre, unused as long as students aren't up for a stolen smoke, and most of the lower classmen have leaned not to argue with Lys about that. Enough packs and unburnt cigarettes crushed and thrown over the cliffs can attest to that.
Letter after letter spreads around him, as he feverishly looks from one to another, marking in a book at his lap. The frown on his face seems almost etched in as he concentrates.
Smoking is the whole reason Morgana is up here, well to get rid of any smokers she might catch while she is up there. However she finds a studious Gryffindor instead. Pausing she almost turns around to leave him be, but than she spots who it is. "Hullo there Selwyn. Putting in the midnight oil." She says, walking closer to the boy as he looks over his letters.
"Burning it until the wick is dry, and then hoping for a little more," comes Lys' reply, although the book is shut with a snap. Upon closer inspection, it doesn't seem much like homework. For one, most homework papers dont come with the Gringott's seal or those of various lawyers.
Acting casually, he begins to gather the letters up. Can't exactly scare and kick out a head girl, after all.
"You should be careful with that, you do know we have large exams at the end of the year." Morgana says quietly as she comes closer. "Though this doesn't look like homework, at least none that I am familiar with." She asks with a tilt of her head, while adjusting the strap on her shoulder. "I can shove off if you need some more quiet, I sort of invaded you up here."
There's a subtle shake of his head, "Nah." Lys responds, "Much more and I'd be punching holes in the walls anyhow." The last of the letters goes into his shoulder bag, and then his hand goes up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Just a mystery I can't seem to get my head around, no matter how many ways I try to look at it."
He looks at the head girl for a moment, before standing and dusting off the legs of his pants, "What brings you up here, anyhow?"
"I'd offer to look, but I believe that's very private information you have there, and I might not be much help. I'd also refrain from punching holes in the walls, I believe the walls would win." Morgana light teases, before she shrugs her shoulders. "I figured I'd start up here, and kick out all of the smokers before I walked down to the boat house and kicked out all of the snoggers."
Morgana has partially disconnected.
Lys just shakes his head again, grumbling, stretching his legs out a bit to restore circulation to them. "Unless you can figure out why sometimes it looks like a few hundred galleon a month seems to be trickling out of my holdings, and other times does not, I really doubt it."
At the mention of smokers, he laughs, "Well, I've done your job for you at least in this area. The last three gaggles who showed up here suddenly had a change of heart and sought healthy, clean lives shortly after." Shrugging, he leans against the wall now, "Since I've saved you a little time, how about you give the snoggers a little more time? Keep the balance of things intact, and all that?" (*See editor's note at end of log.)
Morgana thinks it over for a moment, before she sits down near Lys. "No sorry, my only guess is that someone is taking it out, and that isn't a helpful answer." She says as she smooths her skirt over. "Well, thank you for making my job just a touch easier." When he offers to give the snoggers more time, she'll tap her finger to her lips and nod. "Very well, I suppose I could linger up here a bit longer. You don't have to be back in your dorm yet anyway."
"Yeah. You'd think with my scores in Arithmancy I'd be able to divine the patterns, but it's just completely baffling me." Lys responds with a wry chuckle, "And I'd thank you, Rashley, if you didn't mention this to the kids." Yeah… that's how much it's impacting him… his own siblings are "the kids". At 18. "They truly don't need to know about this."
As she makes her observation about time, though, it actually elicits a chuckle from him, "You really don't turn it off much, do you?" A smile, "The whole Head Girl thing. She was there when you were punching things… but I was almost convinced you left her behind at the Auditorium last night. At least for a wee bit."
"Arithmancy can not always calcuatle for the effects of human nature." Morgana says honestly, and when he mentions the 'kids' she'll shake her head. "You assume I am one to speak of someones problems to another. Besides, I am not close enough with any of your siblings to let them know such things." She says lightly. "Your secret is safe with me.
When he asks her about switching off, Morgana makes that same bridge grabbing motion and shrugs. "It's hard to shut her up sometimes." She admits. "I usually can during Hogsmeade weekends, and yeah, I almost did during the dance, until Black started acting up."
"Thanks," is the young man's reply, "I actually rather understand. With the three… having to suddenly be the fathe figure, especially when concerns of money about, and then turning it off… to remember that they're also my friends…" A grin, "I missed what happened with black, anyhow, other than the little Evans girl trying to play tug of war with the two of them. Any clue what was happening there?"
"I can't imagine what it is like being in that position." Morgana starts. "I do have that problem as well, that sometimes I just need to been a teenager and do teenager type things." When he asks about Black, she'll shake her head. "From what I can tell, he made someone who couldn't stand up for themselves feel inferior, thus making himself feel better. Granted, he gets someone who is on equal footing and that deflates his ego a bit."
There's a moment where he sighs, and Lys leans his head against the stone wall. "I can't remember the last time, other than taking Dora out to the farm last weekend, where I've just been… here. Most of the time I'm just trying to distract myself from it."
Regarding Black, "Well… my brother /did/ make an ass out of himself by provoking him earlier. I just worry he's going to take it out on Dora. She's just so… giving. People like Black would eat her alive given the chance."
"It's really hard to shut off, but perhaps you should find some where on the grounds where you can relax like that. I get the luxury of the best bathroom in the castle, and that's where I usually just, been here, as you so aptly put it. Well so long as no one else walks in." Morgana shakes her head before she shrugs. "He'll eat her up alive then. It's hard to control a brat like Black, but I hope that she's able to stand up for herself."
"She wouldn't have to. Black or not, I'd cave in his face before he had a chance." And there's no lie to it, judging by the evenness of Ulysses' tone. And given /whom/ he said it to, that should say a lot. There were rumors of the young man's protectiveness. But just as quickly, he's back to the smiles, "And access to that bathroom is so unfair."
"Your protectiveness over her is very noble, but again it's not something I understand all that well. My older brothers are in a different country, and while I have heard the make statements like that before, they're not here to cave in any faces." Morgana comments. "I'm used to doing it all on my own, so when people come in to help fight my battles I"m not sure what to do with myself." When he talks about the access to the bathroom she smirks. "I milk it every chance I get. I'll miss it when I'm gone."
"I'm sorry, Rashley. I can't imagine life without my family. It's hard enough with Papa gone. And I lost my own mother. And theirs… she's a shell of a woman… who never cared much for me as we grew." Lys sighs, "Dora, Leo, Ric. They are my world. I'd do anything for them. Risk anything. Lose anything. I'd give up this, my dreams, my future for them. In an instant. Without hesitation." He looks over at Morgana, a sad smile on his face. "I can't imagine life any other way."
"It's different for me. I'm the product of one wild night my mother had in her youth with a Russian man whose name I didn't know until a year ago. So they have their own lives, and their own bonds that they've all shared, and now I come in as an afterthought. Or in the case of my step-mother, proof of my father's infidelity." Morgana gives a wan smile before she continues. "My mother found a rich man, and secured his legacy again by getting herself pregnant. My half-sister is spoiled, and out of control, and I know the only reason she is tolerated, is because she has someone else raising her."
"I do find your feelings very honorable though. Just be careful, there is the chance that you'll be sacrificing everything for them, and when the day comes that they are all settled and taken care of, there will be little left of you. Don't forget that you too, need to take care of yourself." She says, trying to give him a bit of wisdom.
"Parentage shouldn't determine loyalty," Lys says, rather matter-of-factly. After all, there were the rumors about Dora's birth, no matter how unfounded he believed them.
"What else is there, though? Someone has to be there for them, Rashley. Their mother certainly isn't. That's what parents are supposed to do. And with no one else to take the role, I do. So it doesn't come down to a choice of if you sacrifice… but what."
"Oh, I'm not trying to degrade what you are doing. I know you're going to be there for them, and it will be far better than having them shuffled off to some random relative." Shaking her head, Morgana sighs. "Sorry I go off on tangents and forget the subject at times. Just, don't burn yourself out, you won't be able to help them if you are."
Lys offers a long-suffering sigh, closing his eyes for a moment, "That might have happened, oh… right after my OWLs. That was the year Papa died. I've been running on steam ever sense." He offers a bit of a chuckle again. "But thank you. Don't know why I would dump all that on you of a sudden."
"Take a day Selwyn." Morgana says, turning her head to look at him. "Just one day to yourself where you either sleep in, or go be on your on, with out your paper work. Give yourself a day to recharge, I am sure your siblings would agree with me if you asked them." When he comments on his sudden outburst she smirks. "Because you spend a lot of time with your siblings, and this isn't something you want to burden them with and you've held it in so long that you just had to let it out?"
Lys thinks on this a moment, and then snorts, "I wouldn't even know where to begin. Resting. Stopping. There's just so much to do. To study." Then he nods, "Mayhap. Or maybe I jus think, if I ever talk you into letting me spar with you, I'll be able to do some good, old-fashioned physical obliviating."
"If I can figure out how to do it, you can." Morgana says with a shake of her head. "I said we could this weekend, but I know I am not going to be much of a challenge. You have the skill, where I just punch a stationary bag when I'm angry. I might as well call you the victor now."
"The point of sparring isn't to be victorious over someone. It's to share your skill. To teach. And blow off steam, too. Another human can do things for you a stationary bag never could…" Lys pauses, "And that came out a wee bit more risque than I intended."
"Ah, well then I suppose I can do that." Morgana replies, as she stretches her legs out in front of her. At the 'risque' comment, she'll shake her head at him. "Haven't you heard the rumors? I'm a very risque Head Girl."
Ulysses laughs, blowing air through his lips derisively. "Please. You had, what? Two dates that people seem to be talking about in one weekend? That's nothing. I have you beat. Four in one weekend my fifth year. Two were twins. But let it be a witch doing it… ooooh." A sly grin, and Lys looks back over at Morgana for a moment. "Did everyone have fun? Was anyone hurt in the long run?"
"They wern't even supposed to be dates." Morgana says with a touch of exasperation. "Yeah, you get four dates in a weekend, and everyone is shaking your hand and congratulating you. I do it and they label me a harlot." Well no ones said that to her face yet. "I… maybe. I'm not proud of what I ended up doing last weekend, but I think everyone else came out unscathed."
Ulysses chuckles, "Weren't supposed to be. But turned into. How interesting." He does nod, however, at the next bit. "Did someone actually call you that? Stupid double-standard, if you ask me. I mean, if you were with someone, in a committed relationship, that would be a horse of a different color. But otherwise, what's the problem with a date, a kiss with a friend, whatever? Harmless fun if everyone's aware of the reality behind it."
"Well I should have known better, but honestly I don't have a lot of experience with it." Morgana says with a shrug. "No one has said such to my face, but I know that there may have been several girls who did not like the idea of me with their precious Kettleburn. I'm sure they've said some nasty thing." She'll wink just a touch but shake her head. "For me, it's finding that line, and that boundary. Until then I'm just of blindly flailing around." She'll say before she checks her watch, and seeing what time it is, she'll get to her feet. "Well, I've let them snog enough, I should get going."
"You can at least know one person doesn't care a whit. Does that count?" Ulysses counters with a grin. He then waves her along, "Go on… go on. Crush the hearts of a few third years or ten. I'll make sure this place stays smoke free for a little while longer."
"It's good to know that someone does not care." Morgana says lightly as she looks down at Lys. "Thank you, I'm sure youll scar them away properly." She'll give the Gryffindor one quick bow of the head before she disappears back down the stairs to destroy all snoggers.
Editor's Note: This is being added as the result of a conversation had after the log was posted. The statement Ulysses makes about their finances is not meant to convey that someone is stealing heavily from the Selwyns. While it does mean that Ulysses is convinced this is the case, the truth is actually far more mundane, and rather than draw things out and concern people further, I felt it best to explain. Ulysses is 18. He's tried to run things in his family since he was 15, and has had little or no help, mostly due to his own stubbornness. So take the DIY and self-taught nature of what he's trying to do, add in a pinch of denial of the need for help and an overstressed brain, and mix it into the life of a full time student taking four NEWTS, and you get a big brother who "can't math". It's the same few hundred appearing and disappearing every month, because he's making the same mistake. Rest assured, the Goblins at Gringott's are much better at this than he is, and the family money is secure. :)