Details for Love, Life and Potions |
Summary: | Esther finds Medusa brewing a VERY lucky potion, and they discuss life, love, boys and all that they contain. |
Date: | 1939-03-05 |
Location: | Potions Classroom, Hogswarts |
Related: | — |
Characters |
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She might be eighteen now, but Medusa is still taking her NEWTs seriously. That or she is up to something. Whatever the reason, Medusa is in the potions lab on her own working on some kind of concoction or other. When let alone she is relatively good at potions, the practical side of it anyway. Normally her partner is Douglas, which can be rather distracting for both of them.
Esther wanders into the potions class with the a somewhat flighty glance around. She doesn't know exactly she's looking for - But she finds something interesting. "… Medusa." Esther murmurs. Two of her tasks complete… The third is well under way. "Need another pair of hands?" The girl offers, wandering closer. Curious as to what the woman must be brewing. "Also… A belated Happy Birthday."
Medusa looks up from her cauldron, it casts a buttery yellow glow on the underside of her chin. "Thank you Esther." She seems happy, freer…and smiley. Medusa must have had a very good birthday, or birthday weekend. "How are you?"
"I'm good." The girl smiles, unusually. "… I heard your good news. A little more'f it than I was comfortable with." Esther looks a little bit awkward, for a moment, and wanders closer. Placing her book bag beside the bench and joining Medusa's side. "I'm glad for you."
Medusa blinks. "A little more than you were comfortable with?" She clearly isn't making the connection. "What do you mean?" The potion draws her gaze back downwards and she adds a few more ingredients then gives it a stir. Slowly the golden colour increases.
"Douglas finds amusement in alluding to things that make me feel awkward." Esther admits, wearing the faintest of blushes, working the tip of her shoe against the ground. "Might be he's boastful. Sufficit to say that I'm aware that you had a good weekend birthday. Might be so good that I can get away with having to make up your present later." The girl, smirks. "Either which way. I'm glad for you." She repeats.
"Oh," Medusa laughs. "Yes, we had a lot of sex." She says it as if that is nothing out of the ordinary. "We're rather good at it." Now, being the word she doesn't add, as ever loyal to her often errant but always amusing boyfriend. "There is a whole world of interesting possiblities out there, if one opens their mind to them." Her lips quirk into a grin. "Or is given an instruction manual." Her head turns towards Esther, "Is he still trying to embarass you?"
There it is. Esther's hands tighten upon the strap of her bookbag, the material creaking as Medusa brings up the awkward subject once again. "I… So he said…" She murmurs, voice barely audible. Eyes down on her bag - She might have had her own fumble - But one. Just one. And she still found it quite private. "Also you two have… Your own place now, but yeah…" She bites her lower lip fiercely for a moment, and then slowly inhales. Composure regained. "He does. But he's fun. I like him." She states simply.
"Sit." Medusa nods to the empty stool beside her. "What's wrong? Is he making you too uncomfortable? Just tell him to shut up. I'm the only one who has to listen to him blather on and even I tell him to shut up sometimes." She looks back at her list of ingredients and ticks a few more off that she knows she just added. "You can be honest with me, I'm not going to bite your head off. Truthfully, I'm not jealous of his friendships with other girls. I know he fancies other people."
Esther takes the stool, as indicated. "No, I can handle it. And I've told him to shut up before." The wild-haired creature smiles a little bit. "Y'know neither of us would betray you like that. But I enjoy his company, it's no secret. We joke a lot - And he's helped me an awful lot." A pause. "I trust him. Implicitly. Which is weird, considering who most people think he is. So… How can I help you, Medusa?" The girl admits a fair amount.
Medusa looks at Esther. "Look, it is like this Esther. I trust Douglas. Could he cheat on me with other girls? Sure, but if he did I'd walk away from him without hesitation and he knows that. And he knows I'm the best thing he has. As much as I love him, and I do, I know he pulled above his weight when he got me and he knows that too." She sets her wand on the workbench. "What others aren't aware of is how I went after him. Partly for the amusement at first, but he is a lot deeper than people realise and he cares about me, Medusa, not the Malfoy just me. That kind of genuiness is rare. So while he can brag that he bagged Medusa Malfoy and gets to 'tap that' when he likes, I know that I got something amazing in the deal too."
"You did." Esther states simply. "Y'got one of the only real men I've had the good fortune to meet. And I respect that more'n you could know. And the more I've come to know about him, and you - The more I respect - And understand - You both." The slender teen shakes her head, and sighs. "S'stories within stories within stories. I hope sometime I've something as meaningful to pass on to others. Right now, all I have are the lessons I've learned from others."
"There are others out there, just…not as many as it would seem on the surface." Medusa checks the temperature of her cauldron. "And to be fair, Esther, neither of us were doing what we are now when we were your age. We were both fumbling with kissing and a bit of petting. I think you're in too much of a hurry. You should slow down a little. Life gets hard enough as you get older and closer to all those responsibilities."
Esther sighs. "…'m tired of being a girl. Tired of not feeling like I've got control over my destiny, tired of waiting…" The young woman peers at the cauldron, "… I think I'm afraid that I'm not worth it. Which is stupid. I know I am. I'm told I am, I feel I am…" A sigh, "And then Zayn is busy, Jenny looks down her nose… And I wonder." A pause, and then Esther giggles softly. "You're right. I've got some growing up to do."
"Fuck Jenny. She's a bitch." Which is rich coming from Medusa. "Honestly, she betrays or hurts everyone who cares about her. She is self-destructive and not worth your time or effort." Her blackthorn wand with its wicked looking thorn is tapped lightly against the cauldron to adjust the temperature. "You've gone from having your bitch of a mother treating you appallingly to trying to find your own way. I know I was - look here's the deal. In the beginning I was using you for that painting, it seemed a fair trade. Your art for my help. But clearly it didn't end up that way. I like you, I do. But sometimes you can be a bit too intense. You need to learn to let things go. There are things in life we can control and things which we cannot. Focus on what you can achieve and let the rest go.""I'm trying, Medusa." The younger woman states, a little defensively. "Trying to calm down. Keep myself under control, less intense, let go of what must be let go of." Esther bites her lower lip. "… I've mended that fence. I'm trying to pull the pieces of my life back together. Make a whole person out of the bits, but sometimes… I try too hard to make up for what's missing. Or defend too vigorously what's there - Or not there." Glancing down. "I'm getting better."
"Look," Medusa blinks and stops to wonder when she became the great advice giver then mentally shrugs it off. "Everyone of us has things we aren't proud of or dislike about ourselves. Things we feel are missing or which leave an ache. The thing is, you feel like it's Esther Lowe against the world. It isn't. Frankly the world isn't even aware you exist and that is both frightening to realise and exhiliratingly freeing. The only person who has a say in how you behave and feel is you. I can make recommendations. Anybody can, but ultimately it is about you." She pauses in her advice giving to check on her potion. Nope, no explosions yet. Good to go. "I am confident because I know my faults and recognise that they are faults."
It's part of the Big Sister mentality that Esther has been forming around Medusa. The sad truth. "Sometimes. And the logical voice in my head knows, like you said, that in the grand scheme of things, I'm /nothing/." Esther shakes her head. "I'll grow. Thank you for being patient, though, Medusa. You didn't have to be. You haven't had to be." Her rogue insistence on refusing to call her Malfoy continues. "But… There's still going to be times when I want to come to you for advice. You're stronger than me. You've done more. And I guess… When we talk, I feel like it's helped."
Medusa only uses surnames for people she dislikes, Esther likely has sussed this out by now. "Of course you can come to me Esther. That's what friends are for." She smiles over at her. "And you know our cottage will be the best place to get lemonade in Hogsmeade, well outside of the Broomsticks anyway." She laughs at that and then looks back at her potion. "So Zayn, huh? I mean…really Zayn? Not just for show when I put you up to it?" She can't wrap her head around that one, but then Medusa is the sort who wants an equal which for her means an equal bastard to her bitch.
Esther sighs, and peers into the potion for a few moments instead. "… Zayn's nice. He cares for me, genuinely… He's an artist at heart, and totally self-sacrificing. Sense of honor, morality." The smile she flashes Medusa is just a little put on. "He's many things I'd like to be. Like to have. He's the match my Mother wishes I'd made. And he's attractive beyond words." A slow inhale. "I… He also lacks time… Doesn't always consider my feelings properly. Zayn's… Easy to love, if you can accept his limitations. Douglas was saying I deserve better, but… What's better? Only other person…" A pause. "Is not an option."
Medusa likes to have things laid out before she can make choices. "Who is the other person?" The potion is looking fairly good. From where she is sat, Esther can see that Medusa is working on a potion for luck. The colour looks right, but whether or not it turns out right in the end is another matter.
"Someone unacceptable. An old friend I don't talk to anymore." Esther dances around the issue lightly. "I'm… This is an incredibly complicated potion, Medusa. Why would you need it?" She tries to change the subject. With a sledgehammer.
"Edwards is a knobhead," states Medusa emphatically. She knew well enough about Esther's dalliance, but as things ended nothing was made of it. "I need to show my practical skills because in the exams I will struggle with the theory. Slughorn has given me a list of difficult potions to try and perfect which he says will help with the practical exam. I do adore Sluggy, even if I never was good enough for his little club." While her brother was.
"A complete knobhead." Esther admits. "… But men can be that way." At least she knows he has faults. Lots of them. "I don't understand the Slug Club. Perhaps I don't enjoy feeling better'n everyone else. Fact is, I know I'm a better witch than Variel Weasley," The girl wears the mildest blush, "And it's hardly in Slughorn to keep a tailor, or find great promise in a Weasley. Not to sound bitchy, but I'm glad I've not been asked. Intense and proud make for an insufferable Esther."
"It's because he is a Weasley, not because of what Variel does. That and he survived the Sykes attack. It makes him famous. Sluggy is like that. Some are charity cases like that odd kid Tom." Medusa glances at Esther. "So if it isn't Edwards, then who? Please say it isn't Myrus. The boy is unhinged. The next thing you know his mother will turn up at the school demanding we all be nice to her son - a son she doesn't even like."
Esther shakes her head. "It /is/ Edwards. He may be a complete fucking idiot, but… He does what he feels is right. Acts upon his belief." The girl sighs, her memory reaching back to the bonfire. Watching from the rooftops, with Julian. "… I can't pretend that's not a noble thing." A shrug, "But the walls are too great. Between blood, houses, and history, there's no future there. And there's no-one else here worth a relationship with. Besides… Zayn is nice," When he remembers she exists, "… And he serves current purposes."
"Edwards fancies Lovegood. They are together last I heard." Medusa, to be fair, did stop listening a while ago. "Stick with Shafiq for now and in another year go for someone a bit less irritating or with a bit more time on their hands. Most people don't find long-lasting relationships at school. Most of them end up breaking it off after a month or two."
"They are. She is good for him." Esther admits. "I will. Zayn is a good person, for all his flaws, and I love him as he is." The girl peers at the potion again. "So, do you have a labrat in mind to test it?"
"Oh I can think of plenty of people try it out." Medusa is known for her barter in potions. Fattie that wants to be thin? So long as you aren't a raving mudblood see Malfoy and seh can do you a deal. Desperate for love? See Malfoy. Of course, neither weightloss nor love potions can work on people who aren't already making an effort to become slimmer or have a kindling of affection so that makes it easier for her when the potions don't work.