| Details for Gigantic Backbirths |
| Summary: | A simple bump from Dryden reveals a stressed-out Esther's more purist leanings - Unfortunately infront of a half-blooded Elizabeth. |
| Date: | 1939-01-24 |
| Location: | Entry Hall, Hogwarts Castle |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Late afternoon as sweep the school free of loud chatter and clanking shoes, replacing it instead with lowered voices and silently rushing herds of students. Homework has began, clubs are meeting, and some students, those more capable or those bored of the solitude not found within their commons, have taken to the grounds.
One such student is Dryden, who at this very moment can be found in the Entry Hall, his eyes upturned toward the house points as he grins. His lips are licked thoughtfully as he stairs, something comical no doubt found within those four, gem filled glasses.
In the near distance a group of chattering girls can be heard passing by, their voices kept to whispers that are so much more like roars against the boundless echoing of the hall. They draw his attention, but for only a sheer second before he looks back again.
Esther's now the subject of keen rumour, once more. Young Miss Lowe, Incesther, might be a heartbreaker after all. The young woman comes down from the roof, slow steps carrying her to the entry hall. She's heading for the world outside, where she can get a break from people whispering about her, about Myrus, about the tatters of their relationship - She hasn't even managed to find her cousin since the Balcony, which is even more frustrating. Her bookbag is clutched close, looking around for… Certain people who make offer solace, or take advantage of her situation.
Lucretia walks into the entry hall, arms wrapped around her middle, head down. Thinking. Thinking. She almost doesn't see Esther walking down the stairs, nor Dryden standing in the centre of the room. "Merlin's beard. Stupid. So stupid. Why can't they just be li—" And she breaks off, hair on the back of her neck prickling enough that she takes a moment to look up. "Hello Esther…" Apparently not one to have heard the rumours as yet, she does have a smile for her, her own dark thoughts banished as concern once more fills her face for her friend. She wasn't in the best place when last she saw her. Pulling herself to a halt, she simply looks at the older girl, unsure where to take things from there. Dryden gets a quick glance over, but not knowing him she naturally doesn't enthuse over his presence.
We'll steer down the route of the obvious for a moment. When in a situation with two people you a) don't know and b) never would know, there's really only one thing to do. You turn on your hells, and you walk at full force face first into the closest non-Black you can find. In this case, it's Esther that Dryden's 6 foot tall frame walks into, causing him to stumble considerably as his hands shoot out. His goal is to correct whatever damage he may have done in the collision (eg: catch her perhaps). What actually comes of it is, of course, all up to lady luck.
Not that the Hufflepuff has had the best of luck here recently.
Esther bites her lower lip, until she catches Lucretia's eye, and breaks into a smile for the first time all day. "Lu'." Esther had gone to bed immediately last night. Right now, she's walking towards the younger Slytherin, to offer her a gentle hug - And then she's walking /straight/ into Dryden, and for the second time in as many days, Esther's on the ground - Although unlike last time, she's knocked onto her backside, her bookbag clenched tightly as she's knocked onto her slender backside with a soft 'ooof'. She frowns, looking… Well, a little pained and pretty displeased. "Do you not watch where you're /going/?" She asks, her voice carrying an edge.
Lucretia squeaks. "Esther!" About to be hugged, suddenly she's not and she quickly drops to a hunker alongside her friend, offering her a hand. "Are you okay? Oh my goodness!" A glance up to Dryden, the young witch's face forehead creasing in a frown. Or it might be concern. She huffs a length of hair from where its flopped across her nose, brown eyes locking on his. "Look what you've done! Poor Esther! Help me get her up before someone falls over her!" Not knowing Dryden, she's polite enough to him, it'll be up to Esther to give him the stink eye. Or not.
"Don't you?" That's all Dryden really applies toward the fallen girl, though even before the small Black barks her command, he's already offered a hand out to help the girl up from the floor. Not that it's his fault mind you. HE is still on his feet after all.
"You okay?" It's asked lowly enough, his pale eyes narrowing toward the smaller girl before he sighs. "And I didn't do anything. She walked into me." Small evil little monster!
Her mary jane heels click faintly as she descents the last few steps of the moving staircase, though Elizabeth couldn't help but pause on the last step, caught off guard perhaps as she sees Esther sprawled on the floor, with Lucretia helping her up and Dryden… well, he's trying to help. She blinks her powder blue eyes with faint confusion, almost cautious as she takes that last step to the ground proper and begins to steadily approach. "Bumping more girls to the ground are you, Dryden?" Elizabeth asks lightly, a faint amount of amusement in amusement in her voice.
"/I/ was going to hug my friend." Esther defends heatedly. "Before you stepped in my way, you lummox." A sharp tint to her voice, as she takes Lucretia's hand and pushes herself to her feet. She's hardly tall enough to be a threat, but she clasps Lucretia's hand warmly. "Do you always blame girls for not knowing where to put your feet, or only the ones you knock down?" She hasn't noticed Elizabeth yet. "Or are you truly that much of a simpleton that you don't know when to give an apology?"
"And you're a boy, which means that you're the one at fault because boys should be gentlemen," Lucretia says, defending Esther as the other girl gets to her feet. Its Lu logic, and she applies it to a lot of things in life, notably things which can't be shoe-horned into any other category. A frown knitting her brow, she glances up to Esther to check that she's honest-to-goodness not hurt before looking back to Dryden. "AND a proper gentleman would know when to apologise too. Or maybe you simply aren't one." Like Esther, Lu's not noticed Elizabeth either as yet, attention completely taken up by the kerfuffle with which she's dealing.
"Sob off you frizzy haired git." And he was about to apologize too! "Maybe you should get Blacks help prying that stick out of your ass before you work on looking where the hell you're walking. I may be a lummox, but you walked into me. Careful slinging the word simpleton you psychotic twit." Which..in all fairness, may be the most Dryden has spoken all at once this school year. He also sends a scowl toward the to her girls before he turns to sidestep the group, and leave. And yes, he mutters the rest of the way.
"The hell did you say to me?" Esther's been roused. And she's not in the mood. "You half-giant freak, if you've got half a braincell left in your lackwit skull you'll keep walking. I'll not tolerate slander from a semi-alert backbirth just because he can't manage putting one foot infront of the other!" Her voice has lifted to a shout during what can only be considered a tirade of hate. Unfortunately, with her pride and her backside hurt, she's NOT a very nice person to annoy right now.
Elizabeth pointedly frowns at the whole fiasco, accusation and harsh words slung everywhere until Dryden stomps off. It's another longer moment before she exhales a longer breath of a sigh, slender shoulders visibly slumping from the sheer dramatic sense of it all. "Smeg…" she murmurs absently under her breath, making note of the direction Dryden is heading before she looks back towards Esther. More words and insults that Elizabeth has never heard of, but she's rather certain are very much insulting.
Lucretia pales a little at the tirade. She's never seen Esther in full on bitch mode and its taken her by surprise. "Backbirth?" She frowns at that, mulling it over as she watches the boy depart, then comes to her own conclusion. "Oh. He's one of those?" Her nose crinkles in distaste and she bends to pick up a bit of paper that's fluttered from nowhere to lie on the floor. Presumably its Esther's so after retrieving it, she tucks it on top of her friend's bookbag. "Honestly. The school would be so much better a place if they'd just stop accepting them in."
Esther's learned more than a few offensive words from her mother it seems. A few words that are cold and cutting beyound her years. She turns towards Lucretia, and shakes her head. "Ones like him? Yeah. Sometimes they forget that they're supposed to be Wizards now." A pause, as she suddenly realises Elizabeth is here. "Elizabeth." She notes. "Sorry you had to witness that…" She admits, looking a ilttle awkward. Elizabeth's presence calms her right now.
Confusion, even hurt, flickers across her features as Elizabeth frowns quietly, her lips parting wordlessly for a moment. "Is that what you really think, Esther?" she asks softly. "'Backbirth…" She could understand Lucretia not wanting 'her kind' here, but she never expected Esther to act like this.
Esther's standing beside Lucretia, which probably doesn't help the nature of the comment she just made. "I… Elizabeth, you know that you're a Witch, to me. You know what I believe. But, people like /him/ - Rude, offensive, bumbling creatures, richly deserve the title." There's the taint of her mother coming through strong. A glare is shot at his retreating back. Then back to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth softly presses her lips together, though she doesn't glance at where Dryden had disappeared off towards. And after a longer moment, she exhales another faint sigh. "A couple of days ago, I bumped into him in the Study Hall. Literally, just like you did. I'm not certain of the circumstances here, but he was perfectly gentlemanly towards me. Apologized, even helped me to my feet and tried to find a book I was looking for. The point is, I think this was a misunderstanding and you got the wrong impression of him. No one's fault, but still a misunderstanding. However, I cannot help but wonder if those words that you so easily threw out accusingly at him are what you really feel. And considering this half-blood is the one that looked for you last night to see how you were, that is rather disappointing."
"Esther has been having a terrible day, and if someone makes it even worse for her by knocking her to the ground, then she's entitled to feel angry and upset," Lucretia says tightly, shoulders squaring even as she bristles at Elizabeth. "That he still didn't apologise, even after seeing the distress he caused, is a real measure of the person." Her mouth presses into a flat line and she glances back to Esther. "Would you like some cocoa? I was on my way back to the dormitory when you got knocked down. I could make you some, if you like."
"Elizabeth;" Esther protests, immediately. She's struggling greatly, with the idea of losing her cousin and now one of the very few friends she still has. "Someone's blood doesn't define them as a wizard nearly as much as their actions. You've always been a friend, and never any of those things I said." It's hard to be eloquent when you're that angry, that hurt, but Esther's trying it. Lucretia is actually helpful, but the girl places a comforting hand on Lucretia's shoulder. "Lu', it's fine. Elizabeth is speaking her mind. If she were any other way, she wouldn't be the Elizabeth I trust." That shorthand, again. Although her smile is pained, it's genuine.
Elizabeth snaps her gaze to Lucretia and gives the younger girl an outright glare. "I wasn't talking to you, Black. It's also a measure of a person of whether or not they even have the most basic of manners not to interrupt other's conversations." she murmurs sharply, though she keeps her eyes trained on Esther. There isn't any disdain, just the twinge of hurt still in her gaze. "I have to wonder how freely you would use those words if you hadn't known me personally. Or if you weren't around those that encouraged those negative attributes when I know that you can be so much more." Elizabeth exhales another small breath, gently shaking her raven head before she turns around to begin taking the staircase back upwards again.
"I do believe that you're the one who interrupted," Lucretia says to Elizabeth, even if she is already leaving. Dark brows pulled into her own glare beneath her fringe, she slips an arm around Esther's waist and gives her a small hug. "Don't mind Dweedle, Esther, she's probably still upset over Variel dumping her. After seeing that, I'm not surprised he did. He was probably only looking for an excuse to get away from her. She's so… righteous." That's a big word for Lu, and she doesn't lower her voice as she speaks to Esther, she's not bothered whether Elizabeth hears her or not.
Esther slowly tightens her hand into a fist as more words that are hurtful, rather than their delivery, are issues. "I… Lu, let's go to the common room." The snake sighs, feeling even more dejected than before. And a little angry, that Dryden's own blood-bias might have had something to do with the reaction. Or just being a Slytherin. Lord knows that's earned her more than a few dirty looks, just based on House alone. "She's righteous, indeed. But she's a far better person than you give her credit for," Esther warns. "Far as Variel's considered… I think he and I need to have a chat." A 'chat' with an open palm, moving at speed.
"Don't be hard on Variel, he's just finally found out who he is," Lucretia says, snugging an arm through Esther's. "He's my friend, and like a few other people around school, he's been having a bad time too." Placing her other hand over the top of Esther's arm, she gives her a small with her fingers then starts walking towards the Slytherin maze, her voice lifting a little as she asks, "Would you like one of those nice chocolate sticks in your cocoa? I'm having one in mine. And mallows. And chocolate dusting on the top too…"
"I'm not so certain about that." Esther seems happy enough to keep Lucretia close. "Variel was my friend. It's hard to keep track of what he is now. But enough of problems; we have hot chocolate dusted with chocolate served with chocolate." She states simply. Leading away.