| Details for A New Friend |
| Summary: | Polly overhears Elise dictating to her diary, and stops to chat. |
| Date: | 1939-06-13 |
| Location: | Study Area |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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"Dear Diary," Elise says quietly as she dictates to her quill, which is a rather fabulous blue, with a bronze nib. She assumes she is alone in the room - it was empty when she came in. "Everyone, and I mean everyone… forgot my birthday." She sighs tragically. "Except for Mum and Dad, of course. They sent me a nice pair of new shoes and some hair ribbons, and four cookies. I haven't eaten the cookies. I wanted to share them with my friends. But everyone forgot, so there they sit in their gay little tin, uneaten and getting more and more stale." She takes a moment to feel rather sorry for herself, reveling in the angst as only a newly-turned 13-year-old girl can do. "Even Luci forgot. She's crazy for some Hufflepuff boy." Elise sniffles a bit. "Cillian's still…" her quill stops for a moment, awaiting her next words. "He's still Cillian," she sighs. "I will most likely die before he ever kisses me."
Polly is walking out of the past the mini-library. She hears the girl talking to her library and she winces when she hears what she's talking about. She walks slower and then all together pauses and listens to her finish. After the kiss line she gives a little throat clearing hoping to get the girls attention. She shifts her knapsack from shoulder to shoulder and gives the girl a smile. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhearing that its your birthday. Happy birthday."
Elise eeps and turns around, her cheeks rapidly pinking up. Her hands fumble at her diary and slam it closed - the quill barely moves out of the way in time, and it drips ink onto the sleeve of her robe. The black blends in quite nicely. "Er… it's — it's not," she stammers. "It was on the 9th." Three days ago. "Um, but thank you." She grins sheepishly. "How much did you hear?" she wonders aloud.
Polly takes out her wand and performs a simple charm that removes the ink spot from Elise's sleeve. "I heard it all. Its alright. I won't tell." She sits down on a chair in the study area and gives the girl a smile. "Its alright. Sometimes it doesn't get better when you get older. There is this boy I might like but I have no idea if he fancies me at all. Maybe this Cillian is a ninny. Boys your age don't always like like girls unfortunately."
Elise's shoulders slump a bit when Polly says it might not get better. "Cillian's not a ninny," Elise says. "He's just a bit young, is all." She sighs a bit. "He's so brave and sweet," she tells Polly. "It's not really his fault he's not old enough to think about kissing, yet. Maybe this year." Then she shrugs. "Though even then… he may not like me." Then she shakes her head a bit. "What about the boy you like?" she asks. "What's his name?"
Polly taps her front teeth with her finger nail as she listens. She bits her upper lip a little and gives a small sigh. "I'm not telling. There's nothing to really tell yet." She sets her bag down on the table. "He use to date my cousin, so I don't know if he'll even like me and not compare me to her. But he's cute and he knows he's cute." She wrinkles her nose a little bit. "Have you asked Cillian if he likes you?"
Elise pouts. "No fair," she says. "You know who I like. I won't tell," she vows. As to the last question, Elise hesitates. "No…" she says. "But I told him I like him. That was a while ago, though. We're still friends and all." She wrinkles her nose. "But… you can tell when a boy likes girls. He doesn't like girls, yet. He doesn't, you know… stare at them, or anything."
Polly laughs! "All boys don't stare at….well….you know." She leans forward. "Not a soul or I will find you." She leans back and sighs. "Gerald. His name is Gerald. He's a Gryffindor and sometimes a pompous jerk." She sighs and rubs her eyes. "Boys are confusing."
Elise turns red again. "I didn't mean stare at… at those!" she squeaks. She crosses her arms and hunches her shoulders. "I just meant, you know, stare at them." Her cheeks are glowing so red she could light the way to the North Pole. "Cillian's a Gryffindor, too," she admits. She nods vigorously. "You're right," she agrees. "They are." She gives Polly a look. "So why do you like Gerald?"
Polly crosses her arms over her chest too. "I don't know why. He's a challenge? Its not boring, for sure." She shrugs. "He's also good looking, and that doesn't hurt."
"Cillian is cute," Elise half-whispers. She giggles a bit. "Some of the girls don't think so, because of his eye, but that doesn't matter to me. It just makes him special."
Polly raises her eyebrows. She now knows who this boy is. "Ah. The boy with the two different-colored eyes. He is definitely unique." She gives the girl a nod. "Okay, so why else do you like him. He's cute, but is there anything else?"
Elise blinks. "Two different… what?" She shakes her head. "No, you're thinking of Greyson." Elise makes a creeped-out face. "No, Cillian's right eye is sort of… blind," she says. "It's kind of milky-looking. He wears a patch. And he's my age."
Polly ohs. "Is he the one that acts like a pirate?"
For some reason, Elise finds that highly amusing. Though she doesn't laugh aloud, her breath comes out in a staccato beat and her lips turn up toward her sparkling eyes. "Yes, that's him," she says. "I'm part of his crew," she adds. Then she takes a piece of chocolate out of her pocket. "Would you like some?" she offers.
Polly ahs and laughs. "We were at some gathering in the Great Hall together and he wouldn't leave me alone." Polly takes a piece of offered sausage. "Thank you." She takes a small bite and continues on. "Maybe it's because he's younger, but I just wasn't in the mood to be wooed by a Pirate and gave him the brush off."
"You're welcome," Elise says. She peers closely at the girl. "Wouldn't leave you alone?" she repeats, turning it into a question. "W—woo?" She's startled by the girl's choice of words, looking alarmed and dismayed at the same time.
Polly shakes her head no. "It wasn't flirting. He was actually kind of a bother now that I think of it." She sighs. "I don't date younger men either. My age or older." She gives a nod and looks in her bag and digs out a bag of lemon drops. "Care for one?"
"Well…" Elise still looks dismayed, and sounds it, too. "He probably was just trying to be nice or something," she says. "He couldn't have been flirting. Not — not really. He doesn't like girls." She bites her lip. The offer of a lemon drop is refused with a demure, polite shake of her head.
Polly nods. "Probably. I didn't stay long and maybe I wasn't interpreting it correctly." She looks at Elise. "You like anyone else? Anyone else who may like you in return?"
Elise shakes her head. "Just Cil," she sighs. "Always just Cil." She peers up, her big brown eyes making her reminiscent of a doe. "What about you?" she asks.
Polly shakes her head no. "Not really. Slytherin boys are the worst. They are the most conceited and borderline rude. I don't know if I could date a Hufflepuff. I don't know how elitist my parents are but I don't know if they would be appreciative of me bringing home a Hufflepuff boy. I don't know about all of the Gryffindors either. I don't know." She pops a lemon drop in her mouth
Elise starts to settle down a bit, easing back from her startled dismay brought on by the thought of Cillian flirting with some other girl. "Not every Slytherin boy, surely?" she asks curiously. "What about Ravenclaws?" she asks, though she looks somewhat confused by the house elitism.
Polly shrugs. "I haven't talked to many of them that are my age or older. Are there any you know?"
"Well, I suppose," Elise says, blinking a bit. "Er… There's Greyson. I think he's a 6th year." She taps her chin thoughtfully.
Polly laughs. "I have to get through exams and then it's the end of the year so I might not even have to worry about boys for all summer."
"Exams," Elise says, sighing deeply. "I think I'll do alright. I ought to be studying, actually." She gives her diary a guilty sort of glance.
Polly grins. "I'm ready for them I think. I"m just putting the finishing touches on my end of term project that is a mixture of Potions and Transfiguration." She sighs. "Second year seems so far ago."
"I'm looking forward to the summer," Elise says, perking up a bit. "Father said we could go to the sea-side every week. It will be lovely!" She tilts her head a bit. "What about you?" she asks. "What are your plans for the summer?
Polly shrugs. "Probably interning for my family. Parkinson's Potions. We serve St. Mungo's and many other places."
"Oh, how interesting!" Elise says, leaning forward a bit. "I've gotten a lot better at Potions this last year," she says. "Though Herbology is my favorite."
Polly grins. "Herbology and Potions go hand in hand. I like Transfigurations. It's a challenge. I like challenges." She sighs and grabs her bag. "I probably need to study more, too." She stands. "Take care. I hope your boy problems solve themselves before the end of term."
"They are rather complimentary, aren't they?" Elise agrees with a smile. "Good luck on your exams," she says. "And thank you. It was nice talking with you."
Polly waves to the younger girl and heads out.