A Better Day PV Henry Llewellyn Closed

For once, Henry didn’t get distracted. Everything to do with Eden had been confusing and intriguing, and Henry was still a little confused about it all. One thing he do know, though, was that it seemed like Eden was attempting to be friends. After their first encounter, where Eden had been cruel, Henry was more than willing to try again with their friendship. That was why he left his dorm the instant he knew he would need to in order to arrive where they planned to meet. His mind racing with the possibilities, Henry had taken several wrong turns and found himself lost.

Growing a little more anxious the longer he wandered, Henry worried that Eden would forget about him and leave. Henry had a few friends at Hogwarts, but there was something about Eden that was just more fun. Maybe it was the challenge that he faced with Eden’s blood purity mindset, or the fact that he didn’t seem like the type for mischief. Whatever it was, Henry wanted to make a good impression their third time meeting. He realized he had come across as kind of stupid the last couple of times they met, so he was determined to appear smarter.

That was going to be difficult to do if he arrived late.

Turning another corner, he saw something familiar. Sighing and jogging slightly to reach it, he looked around and knew exactly where he was. Grinning, he continued his path, pulling his robes tight around himself as a bit of chill seeped through to his skin. He was prone to getting cold and was starting to wonder if he should have worn an extra jacket. Wherever they were going, he was probably going to want one. Having almost arrived, Henry knew it was too late to go back. If he got cold, he would just have to suffer through it.

Turning yet another corner, he spotted a figure with their robe hood up. He couldn’t see their face, but there weren’t a ton of other people around and this was where they had agreed to meet. Approaching a little warily, he came around to the front of the person to find that it was, indeed, Eden. “Hey! Sorry for being a bit late.” He apologized, giving Eden a crooked grin. “I’m more on time than usual, though,” he tagged on, realizing after the fact that he was trying to sound smarter this time around.

@Eden Gardener
color code = #5A8697

Interacting@Henry Llewellyn

#008040

The tapping of Eden's foot impatiently clicking against the stone floor he stood on made an effective sound, loud enough for it to echo throughout the hallway he waited in. His fingers nibbled at the cloth of his robe. The hood he wore had started to frustrate him as it made the back of his neck feel annoyingly warm, and there was no doubt that his ears had turned a furious red by now. The temptation to remove it was kicking in, but Eden worried far too much to let his comfort take over his worry. What could have kept Henry this long? Was he this dimwitted to get lost so easily in a castle he's spent seven months in?

After a sensational progression of countless eye-rolls and angry sniffs, an appearance was made, and the closer it approached Eden, the easier it became for him to confirm that it was, at last, Henry. Ed released a sigh that exhaled all of the built-up frustration inside of him out. A smile even found its way crossing his lips with genuine enthusiasm. He noticed his own feelings getting the best of him, but something had told him not to cover it up, and so the smile remained stuck on his face as if he was the happiest little guy in Hogwarts.

All that fiery attitude and crossed brows, only for Eden to be easily swayed by Henry's apology. Not even a minute after his arrival and the boy had said sorry more than he should have. Eden was ready to point such manner out, but he held his tongue still and gave a glance at the fellow wizard in front of him from feet to head, head to feet.
"That's alright," he replied with a gentle tone, "I don't believe you're late anyway, I think I got here a bit too early." He lied. But it was for a good cause, so Eden didn't feel so horrible after, whereas usually, he felt guilt every single time a deceitful lie came out of his vile mouth only to benefit his own sake. Although he knew he was not going to cut the horrible habit, not as long as the fear that consumed him devoured him whole. At least he was honest to himself.

Not being one for small talk, Eden cut to the chase. After checking his sides and making sure that no one was watching, Eden took off his hood and revealed what he was so preciously hiding away. The silver-white hair was styled straight to the side, with not even one string of hair out of line. It always took him more than it should have to get his hair done perfectly to his liking. His mother had the technique outright, but she wasn't there to help him, sadly enough.
"So, has your curiosity ever led you to these parts of the castle?" Eden asked, a sense of enthusiasm clear in his tone.

"I've tried to find my way around here a few times myself, but the paths I take ended up always sending me back from where I started - and anyways, going alone was growing boring." He admitted. It was too true. Eden barely had any friends and those who did he could not trust yet. This did not mean he trusted Henry, even though he felt like he could surrender his barriers down to him. He did not seem the judgemental type. Too kind and apologetic, he just seemed like he didn't have a mean bone in his body. But what if Eden turned out to be wrong? His assumptions were half the time always incorrect, and it was such a weakness that always made him regret things. He no longer wished to be hurt anymore. He never really wished to in the first place, if that meant anything.

Approaching the figure, Henry was pleased to find that it was, indeed, Eden. A grin crossed his face as he got closer and realized that the other boy was…smiling. A split-second waver in his own face and steps, almost impossible to detect, was accompanied by a strange flutter in his chest. Continuing toward Eden, Henry brushed it off as enthusiasm for being able to sort of make friends with the rather irritated boy. Henry felt awkward that he had, indeed, gotten lost amidst the stone walls of the castle he had been living in for the last several months. However, when his mind wandered, he lost complete control over it, which made getting lost a certainty.

“Ah, that’s good,” he responded, scratching the back of his neck nervously. The way Eden looked him over was not lost on him, and he felt another dizzying flutter in his chest. Ugh, why wouldn’t this stop? Attempting to ignore it, he shuffled his feet and fidgeted with his fingers, trying to think of something to do. He was glad when Eden removed the hood, so he could see him better. After their previous two encounters, Henry figured the hood was because Eden didn’t want anyone to know it was him. The way the blonde spoke about blood purity made Henry wonder why he was so willing to spend time with him, but he had brushed off this question quickly, just glad to have a chance to spend more time with him.

“Er,” Henry started, realizing he hadn’t looked away from Eden as the other boy had removed his hood. Finally tearing his eyes away from the boy, he looked around the part of the castle. “Not really, no. I think I’ve been down here, but not a lot.” Henry responded, thinking about what he had been down here for. He wasn’t sure, but he vaguely remembered having come this way. Still, he hadn’t stayed here for long, so it wasn’t entirely familiar to him.

“Really? Maybe there’s a way we can keep track of where we’ve been, then.” Henry suggested, shoving his hands into his pockets and digging around. Like usual, he had a ton of random things he had collected from around the castle. He spotted random oddities around the castle all the time and just felt the need to carry them around. He had no idea if they would ever come in handy, but it was usually worth a shot. Pulling his hands from his pockets, he held out his treasures. He had three small stones, two buttons, a couple origami stars, a bracelet his sister had made him, the broken tip of a quill, and a few rubber bands. “I dunno how useful these are, but maybe they can help?” He offered, realizing he wasn’t of much help, since he had no ideas.

@Eden Gardener
color code = #5A8697

Interacting with@Henry Llewellyn

#008040

Eden wasn't entirely sure whether he was meant to feel amused or confused by the stack of completely random objects that Henry carried with him. His eyes gazed at the numerous items that made no sense as to why they were in a Ravenclaw's pockets, remaining silent until words found their way onto his lips. But even then Eden found it odd enough to stutter.
"I'm- where- why do you have all of these on you?" The Hufflepuff asked, genuinely curious to know Henry's reasoning behind his idea of what seemed to be a prized collection.

But maybe they couldn't be entirely useless, what Henry had just said, at the very least, sparked an idea that the red-head might have actually been already hinting at.
"Are you suggesting that we drop these items of yours as some sort of... landmarks so we know whether or not we've been at where we might find ourselves?" Maybe Henry wasn't so dull after all. Anyone who thought the same way Eden did, could rightfully title themselves geniuses. Eden was on the verge of expressing his genuine, quite frankly annoying thoughts, but he bit his tongue until he realized that nobody liked snakes for their venom. Instead, Eden flashed a sly smile, his lips slanting to the side, a cackle escaping in the process.

"You've got a sharp mind for adventure, Pumpkinhead, Gryffindor don't know what they missed on." Then Eden remembered that he hated the red House just as much as he hated his own. "Consider yourself lucky though," he then changed his tone, "it's bad enough I'm risking to be seen with you, associating with a Gryffindor and a muggle-born would make things twice as bad."

Maybe he didn't bite hard enough. He never meant to sound rude to Henry. It was only the first time that Eden felt angry towards the boy. He was one of the very few fellow peers that actually didn't mean Little Ed any harm, and that made him feel happy around him for once. Even if he worried that Henry was just doing this so he could discover more about him, and then gossip behind his back... but no, he couldn't keep on being paranoid about everything and everyone. Eden had to trust someone, at least just one person. Maybe Henry could be exactly that. But if someone saw them...

Eden shook his head, an aching pain suddenly striking him in the process. His hand reached to hold himself as he gently placed it on his own right cheek.
"I truly am excited for this though... to hang out with you," Ed tried to correct his own behaviour, "I'm just sca- worried, that's all. I swear." Trying hard to remain calm and get ahead of himself with the conflicting thoughts that fluttered around in his head, Eden proceeded to shake off all the thoughts that crippled him from fun, and proceeded to take a quick glance at his surroundings, suggesting that they start from somewhere.

"Unless you value those stones highly, may I suggest we start by placing one of them right where we're standing at? That way we know where we began moving from."

It was often that Henry forgot his tendency to collect random things was out of the ordinary. It had been a force of habit he had picked up from Daniel, since one could never know when something like this would come in handy. Since then, he had become better at finding useful objects than his brother was. He seemed to have a knack for finding random objects hiding around in the strangest of places. Picking them up only seemed right.

So, Eden’s reaction threw him off a bit.

“Oh, er, well, I kinda just…find things sometimes.” He responded with an awkward shrug, shuffling his feet a bit. “I usually collect things I find in case they could be useful.” Most of the reason for this was because of the pranks he enjoyed pulling every now and then. “I’ve always been good at finding things and now it’s just a force of habit to, er, pick them up.” He added, on, remembering how bizarre this usually sounded to most people.

Henry nodded along with Eden’s words, lowering his arms a bit, as they were getting tired. “That’s one thing we could do.” There could be other ways, he thought, looking down at the small stones. What if these things did end up being useful again later? He didn’t want to lose them. Cleverness and wit were not things Henry had been blessed with. However, him and a friend as realized his sorting into Ravenclaw may not have been a fluke, after all. Ravenclaws were, apparently, creative as well. Henry was most certainly creative, particularly in finding solutions to troublesome problems. Also, with creating crazy pranks.

This had been the first time someone had said anything about him potentially belonging to Gryffindor. “Gryffindor?” He mused aloud. “I guess. I feel like I belong more in Hufflepuff, though.” After having learned about each of the houses, since he had known little about them upon arriving, Henry found a slight attachment to the idea of the Hufflepuff house. He felt being sorted into Ravenclaw was a mistake, but he was here now and there was no changing it.

Henry cringed slightly at Eden’s words. He wasn’t sure he was lucky for being part of only one of the two groups Eden seemed to despise. He really didn’t understand the other boys distaste for muggle-borns, and now he disliked Gryffindors too? People were people, whether they belonged to a specific group or not, that didn’t necessarily effect who they were or how they acted. It could, sure, but it wasn’t like it was a determining factor.

“I’m, er, I’m excited too,” Henry commented, trying to bring back the genuine excitement that had been flowing through his veins when he was on his way to their meeting spot. He really had been excited, thought Eden’s words had put a slight damper on the situation.

“I was wondering, actually,” Henry mused, plucking one of the stones from the objects and shoving everything back into his pockets. With a swift and purposeful movement, he struck his small stone across the walls of the castle. He didn’t really know Eden’s thoughts on this, but he was sure to hear them immediately. However, the little stone made a light-colored scar on the stone of the castle. Slashing again, he marked the wall with an X. Turning back toward Eden, he grinned. “We won’t lose anything and we can still mark where we’ve been. Er, if it works better, we could mark lower down on the wall and use arrows or something.” In all sincerity, anyone who saw the marks might think nothing of it, unless they were familiar with the walls. They just had to avoid being caught by a professor or a prefect.

@Eden Gardener
color code = #5A8697

Interacting with @Henry Llewellyn

#008040

Eden’s eyes shuffled from right to left as Henry spoke of his tendency to… find things and collect them. It wasn’t awkward or anything - Eden had several hobbies that people would immediately pick on had they known about it. But it was slightly odd and most definitely something Eden had never come across. His neck tilted inwards as his bony shoulders raised themselves up, his arms wide open - shrugging. Little Ed did not want to say any further comments about Henry that probably made him regret his acceptance to meet him. He had already done enough of it the first time they met. So he stopped at a halt, his tongue clicking at the back of his mouth.
“I guess each to their own, yes? Personally, I like to think that combing my hair for hours is absolutely natural - but my lovely housemates have made it very clear that it is not.” That did not help the conversation get any less awkward.

Regardless, there were far better things to discuss. One of them being this venture that they still had to officially start off. Yes yes, Eden enjoyed small talk more than anything simply because it was indeed small. Hence why he was in no rush. (Though his legs had started to shake as he grew impatient and tired of waiting). Especially when Henry had confessed that he drew some sort of connection with Hufflepuff. The way Ed’s face reacted is indescribable. But it almost looked like what the furry face of a cat would do the second it comes in contact with water. It was almost unbelievable how he hated his house so much, yet someone would have been willing to be in it. The worst part was that neither of them got what they wanted.
“That’s funny,” Eden said seriously, “maybe I should wear the blue of your robes, and you the yellow of mine.”

Blue might have been the colours of House Ravenclaw, and Slytherin was favoured under any circumstance - but anything was better than what Eden ended up with. Maybe his father wouldn’t have been so mad as well. But had that been the case, Eden would have probably not been accompanying Henry at this very moment and time, and he sought this as a genuine opportunity to make a friend - something he valued highly at these current times, regardless of how much he refused to show it. Henry might not ever realize, but Eden thought of him a great deal. His little verbal stabs were merely a sign of appreciation. So maybe ending up in Hufflepuff, being so mad about it to completely darken one’s determining goals at Hogwarts, to a point where you start making allies instead of enemies because of it, was not entirely a bad situation overall.

He still hated it though.

“I’m almost certain that’s illegal,” Eden grew concerned, nothing a little magic couldn’t handle but if anyone caught them they’d be getting in big trouble.
“I’m intrigued and surprised that your idea is actually better than mine. Way to go, Pumpkin.”
It was almost adorable how Henry felt like he grew a connection to these randomly picked-up objects, and did not want to lose them. Eden was not one to empathize but he understood that not everyone was willing to sacrifice things for a certain goal. So at the very least, he was able to respect it.
“Well then, you get all the honours to mark our starting point. I’m ready whenever you are.”

Henry was well aware that everyone had different things they enjoyed doing or that felt right to them. He had never thought that any hobby or activity was wrong or incorrect – save the ones that hurt people. Sure, to him some activities were weird, but that was simply because they weren’t things he did. Collecting random things he found had sort of been instilled in him by his older siblings. One never knew the usefulness of things found on the floor. Especially in pranks. Besides, having so many siblings gave him a different perspective on what was considered normal, since they all had so many different habits. Normal was just what worked for each individual person. At Eden’s words, Henry tilted his head and creased his brow. “Isn’t Hufflepuff supposed to be the nicest house? That isn’t very nice of them.” Henry didn’t get Eden’s seeming fascination with his hair, but to each their own, like Eden had said.

The look on Eden’s face after he admitted that he felt more like a Hufflepuff was not a look Henry had seen anyone make before. Henry was vaguely aware that purist wizards preferred Slytherin, but he had no idea that there was any one house that deserved the most disdain. After learning about all the houses, Henry had felt a stronger affinity with the loyalty and kindness Hufflepuffs were generally known for. He knew there were some aspects of himself that did warrant his placement in Ravenclaw, but Hufflepuff still seemed more comfortable. “It would be nice if that did anything,” Henry commented, a small smile crossing his face. It was understandable, that everyone had traits from every house, but it was disappointing that some arbitrary magical hat decided which traits were more prominent. Couldn’t they all just go to school? Was it really all that necessary?

Having had several friends growing up, Henry had not had much interaction with those who picked on people. Sure, he had his fair share of mean classmates, but they were never as persistent as Eden. It was taking Henry a bit to get used to this being the way Eden interacted with others. Especially since the first time they had met, Eden had very clearly voiced his disdain for Henry. However, Henry enjoyed giving people multiple chances. Everyone could change, he knew, if they only had the opportunity.

Henry nodded, shrugging his shoulders a bit as he did so. “It’s definitely against school rules to damage the school, but these walls are marked with years of damage, it would take effort for someone to notice.” Of course, it would take no effort at all if they were caught in the act, but there was currently no one around, so Henry felt a little more confident about this plan. Henry froze in a small, awkward laugh at Eden’s compliment, caught off guard by the nickname. He was aware of Eden’s intentions behind it, but his mind flashed to home, where his dad used the same nickname in an endearing manner with his mum. This thought had Henry turning to look away from Eden toward the wall to prevent the other boy from spotting the blush that had begun to creep up his neck toward the tips of his ears. “A-Alright, then.” He tried to hide the awkwardness in his tone by crouching down and finding a spot he thought was good for a mark. Since he was pretty good at spotting hidden things, logic held that he’d be able to see where he had marked the wall. Standing back up, having taken a couple of calming breaths, he turned back toward Eden. “Which way first?”

@Eden Gardener
color code = #5A8697

Interacting with @Henry Llewellyn

#008040

Oh, Henry, you sweet innocent thing…

Eden thought to himself, a smirk crossing his lips, genuinely in complete awe over how blind could the red-head be. There he was, standing in front of him, the two boys with hair of ice and fire, contrasting one another in various and numerous ways, and yet Henry, someone who had to witness Eden’s vicious streak of tantrums and horrid behaviour, really thought Hufflepuff still consisted of the nicest students - poor little thing.

Had that been true, I wouldn’t have been sorted in it in the first place - was what Ed wanted to express, but he didn’t want to further be a nuisance to Henry with his pitiful regrets. There was already enough of that. So instead, Eden raised his eyebrows at such a statement and laughed it off, mumbling a tiny word of agreement in return. Truthfully, Henry was right, but thinking about it, it was rather impossible to think that Hufflepuff would hold all the nice children in Hogwarts, and if that was its purpose since it was founded, it had failed last September.

But regardless, the task at hand was far more intriguing, and the pair of first-years were taking their sweet time enjoying the small talk. If they were to stick around any longer without moving, they’d be considered suspicious by any witnessing eye of a staff member, or one of those uptight-nosed prefects who seemed to think they ruled the school because they wore a badge. And crossing their path was not on Little Ed’s to-do list. Not if it meant he’d be getting in trouble anyway - so had there been a chance to make a prefect’s job harder without getting caught… that admittedly, that would be far more satisfying.

Eden couldn’t help but continue to think that beneath the shyness that Henry showed, was hidden away a rowdy, adventurous boy who probably had already broken a few ground rules here and there. Though he intended to continue blabber about it simply because he found it funny to pick on (in an actually friendly manner), he didn’t want to further embarrass the poor lad any longer. If anything, he could understand the frustration of such awkward emotions, regardless of how much Ed tried to reassure himself that he was confident enough to not have a sprinkle on his face turn red in timidness.

Then popped up the most decisive question - whereas the Hufflepuff was used to taking the lead and was more than willing to be the representative in any given situation, he wasn’t so sure about this one. Being the oldest child meant that Eden had his sister follow him wherever he went within the Gardener’s hold. But that was a familiar, welcoming place, and Hogwarts was not. Eden looked at the walls surrounding him and saw dullness, the weather outside wasn’t so pretty either and the people that lived here were like a tree’s dead leaves. Useless. Eden wasn’t aware of whether or not things were bound to change once he made his return back home, and he wasn’t going to know until Summer came.

He looked around, ahead of him was a straight path into a shadowy corner that seemed more than eager to welcome the two to a dead end and maybe have them fall into some hidden chamber or something of the sort. On the right flank, a few steps ahead was another passageway that served as a corridor, but was merely used by anyone at all, and Eden hadn’t been particularly interested in ever heading towards it.
“Seeing as you’re giving me the option, I’m bound to say that we can never go wrong with what’s on the right.” Was that true? No. But he once heard his father say something of the sort, and it seemed to fit in this situation. It was also funny and somewhat controversial to quote his father while accompanying a muggle-born. Not that it really mattered but it actually did.

Eden started walking forward and then made the turn to his right with his hands in his pockets, as his hood flowed around his neck, his eyes peering around to see if anyone was spying on them, while his ears carefully tracked each and every sound that he could hear. But it was only the tapping of his feet on the cobblestone ground that he could hear. Truth be told, he wasn’t so sure what they were going to come across, but as long as Henry stayed with him, then the two of them should find light in each other’s company.
“Tell me whenever you stop to do the markings, aye? I don’t want to end up proceeding on my own and leave you behind without noticing.”

It hadn’t really crossed Henry’s mind, that Eden being in Hufflepuff was already a contradiction to his words. All he could think of was the way the hat had described the house when he had first arrived. Though he had learned a little bit about the houses since, he was still stuck on the original description, since it had been the first he had heard. Henry was also aware that house qualities overlapped, as one person could not be defined so restrictedly. Still, Hufflepuff had always sounded like the house filled with nice people. Of course, the hat made no mistakes, as he was starting to come to terms with, since he had been sorted into Ravenclaw and felt he didn’t fit in.

Despite what they were planning on doing – Henry loved to explore – the red head was enjoying the conversation. The last several times he had interacted with Eden hadn’t exactly been civil. It was kind of nice just getting to talk, though the conversation wasn’t about anything in particular. Even with his love of exploration, Henry also just enjoyed talking to people. He loved making friends, so it was nice talking to Eden for a bit. Though, if he had been able to read Eden’s mind, he would have agreed that their loitering might be perceived as suspicious to anyone passing by.

If Henry had been able to read Eden’s mind, he would have found it a little funny that Eden perceived him as shy. Around most people, Henry was outgoing and friendly. Sure, he had his awkward moments, but he was usually rather quick to brush them off. With Eden, however, their relationship had not kicked off to the greatest start. After the first interaction, Henry became wary of Eden, which was where the shyness came in. Hanging out with Eden now, though, Henry felt himself opening up a bit more.

Another difference Henry would, potentially, discover was the leader/follower mentality between the two. Henry, being the youngest of seven, was used to being the follower, going wherever his siblings wanted to go. Going to Hogwarts had required he take the lead on many situations, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. He was glad to make friends, because then they could take the lead and he'd chip in when necessary. When alone, he did enjoy the castle and the many paths it offered, but it was a whole lot more fun with someone by his side.

As Eden looked at the passages before them, Henry’s gaze followed his, looking both ways. Even if they headed down a dead end, it was always good to see what when that direction. If they wanted to know what went where, they would eventually have to travel down every single corridor and path. But, Henry had let Eden decide, so he wasn’t going to insist on anything different. They could always come back, if they felt like it.

“Sounds good to me,” Henry responded cheerfully, following Eden down the corridor, making a little mark on a corner to let them know they had been that direction. He trotted lightly to catch up, trying to think of something to say before Eden spoke up. “Oh, yeah.” He responded as they continued. He did as was requested, making a small comment whenever he felt a mark was needed. After what felt like an eternity in silence, but was probably only a minute or two, Henry finally decided he should try to make conversation. “So, what’s your family like?” It wasn’t until after he had asked the question that he realized it was probably the last conversation they should be having. Still, he was curious to know. He had a pureblooded friend who had no disdain toward him, so he kind of wanted to know what the family dynamic was like in a family where the opposite was true.

@Eden Gardener
color code = #5A8697