Unexpected goodbye PV Callie Jensen Closed

Callie wasn’t often someone to frequent the abandoned toilets and whenever she did it usually wasn’t on purpose. Even after a year residing within Hogwarts’ walls she got lost often, largely due to her own tendencies to wander around in awe of her surroundings. Even now the castle held a certain aura of mystery that Callie couldn’t help but want to explore.

Today was no different as after a particularly difficult day spent in the confines of the library Callie found herself in dire need of a walk. Usually she’d simply wander the grounds but it didn’t seem like the weather was going to hold up, so the young girl resigned herself to wandering the castle for a while. As she bumbled along the corridors Callie occasionally slipped a sweet from her pocket into her mouth all while holding onto a couple of textbooks. It wasn’t long until she wandered into the abandoned bathrooms, an area she hadn’t frequented since coming across May a few months ago. Curiosity got the better of Callie as she couldn’t help but wonder if the room had changed much since. So she pushed open the door onto to be greeted by the same old abandoned room. Only this time around something was different..Callie couldn’t remember hearing crying the last time she was here. Maybe that was the latest in the long line of discoveries Callie had made recently? Or maybe it belonged to the girl who seemed awfully upset by a letter.

Deciding against any discoveries of the supernatural, Callie opted to check if the girl was alright like any other decent person would. You couldn’t just leave someone to be upset by a bit of paper, could you? However Callie was careful to reign in her usual enthusiasm in fear of further upsetting the girl. Instead she quietly approached and offered her a sweet from her pocket. “Is everything alright? Sweets help make everything better when I’m upset, maybe it’ll help you?” Callie offered with a sweet smile and a soft, caring tone.

Callie wasn’t often someone to frequent the abandoned toilets and whenever she did it usually wasn’t on purpose. Even after a year residing within Hogwarts’ walls she got lost often, largely due to her own tendencies to wander around in awe of her surroundings. Even now the castle held a certain aura of mystery that Callie couldn’t help but want to explore.

Today was no different as after a particularly difficult day spent in the confines of the library Callie found herself in dire need of a walk. Usually she’d simply wander the grounds but it didn’t seem like the weather was going to hold up, so the young girl resigned herself to wandering the castle for a while. As she bumbled along the corridors Callie occasionally slipped a sweet from her pocket into her mouth all while holding onto a couple of textbooks. It wasn’t long until she wandered into the abandoned bathrooms, an area she hadn’t frequented since coming across May a few months ago. Curiosity got the better of Callie as she couldn’t help but wonder if the room had changed much since. So she pushed open the door onto to be greeted by the same old abandoned room. Only this time around something was different..Callie couldn’t remember hearing crying the last time she was here. Maybe that was the latest in the long line of discoveries Callie had made recently? Or maybe it belonged to the girl who seemed awfully upset by a letter.

Deciding against any discoveries of the supernatural, Callie opted to check if the girl was alright like any other decent person would. You couldn’t just leave someone to be upset by a bit of paper, could you? However Callie was careful to reign in her usual enthusiasm in fear of further upsetting the girl. Instead she quietly approached and offered her a sweet from her pocket. ”Is everything alright? Sweets help make everything better when I’m upset, maybe it’ll help?” Callie offered with a sweet smile and a soft, caring tone.

Carolyn was so distracted by her own misery that she didn’t even hear when somebody entered the toilets. In fact, she didn’t even hear the young girl approach her. She was completely oblivious to her presence until she actually dared to speak up. Finally, Carolyn lifted hear head, looking utterly mortified. She has never let anybody see her in such awful state. She was always calm and collected and if anything, she was the soothing presence for others…never the other way round. The young witch unconsciously crumpled the letter despite it being quite important and definitely no secret. Perhaps her subconsciousness just acted on an impulse as if to try hide her weakness. She also quickly wiped her tears and surprisingly managed to stop them quite easily this time. This was most likely because she was not used to crying in front of other people. Her eyes were still wet with unshed tears but she wouldn’t let them fall anymore. “I…Yes…I’m sorry,” she apologized still somewhat caught off guard.

It was a bit peculiar. The only other time she allowed herself to show a little bit of weakness; she was offered a chocolate frog. Now, this young lady also tried to bribe her with sweets? Is it a Ravenclaw thing? She wondered briefly. Carolyn couldn’t quite recall the girl’s name but she was sure she belonged to her house. “That’s because sugar causes the release of the hormone dopamine in the brain,” she explained almost automatically while reaching for the sweet offering. “It makes you happy.” Her new companion didn’t ask and she might have not been interested but stating facts helped Carolyn to dissolve at least some of the awkwardness she felt at that moment. “Thank you…um…” She was trying to remember the name but with all that was going on, it didn’t seem possible. Hopefully, her classmate would get the hint and provide her with the name. Usually Carolyn would do so first but she was so embarrassed that she almost wished the girl wouldn’t remember her name or face in the first place. All these emotions were so new to her…she didn’t quite know what to do with herself.

Callie sat herself down across from the poor girl, offering her a soft smile in an attempt to reassure her that she didn't mean any harm. Watching Carolyn crumple up the letter that seemed to be causing so much distress struck Callie as a little odd but she didn't make any comment on the matter. People did illogical things when they were upset which was entirely understandable. Callie didn't feel like doing logical things when something upset her either, so why expect someone else to? "Sorry? Don't be sorry, it's perfectly alright!" She reassured whilst passing forward a tissue to help wipe her tears. "Science always makes things seem so..logical don't you think?" Callie offered as she lay her hands flat on her lap, trying to avoid fidgeting. "Oh, I'm Callie! Sorry, I should've introduced myself!" She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly for a brief moment. Callie fell into silence for a second as she quickly thought over the best thing to say to avoid further upsetting the poor girl. She clearly didn't like being so upset in front of people, so Callie didn't want to accidentally make things worse.

Callie may have been a loud and talkative soul but finding the right words for the moment was...difficult. Instead she opted to buy herself time by picking up the crumpled paper and smoothing it out, taking great care not to read what was imprinted. Afterwards she carefully folded it together to form an origami dragon and passed it back to Carolyn. "See? Not as scary now, don't you think? Don't worry, I didn't read it." Callie smiled and laid her hands flat on her lap once again. "Would you like to be alone? I know being upset around a stranger can be a little scary, so I don't wanna make you uncomfortable! Buuuut, if you want someone to chat with for a while I'm totally here! Heck, I'll even make more dragons for you! Dragons solve most problems, I'm convinced of that."

Carolyn watched the girl sit across from her. Surprisingly, she had quite similar way of approaching the situation as Carolyn herself might have. It was a bit peculiar yet helpfully familiar. To be quite honest she didn’t even realize her first reaction was apology. It felt like a natural response but she also remembered telling Elspeth she didn’t have to do so once or twice before too. Clearly, she wasn’t able to take her own advice. In the end, she decided not to react to that particular statement and instead accepted the offered tissue to clean the mess that was her face. “Thank you,” she said quietly, still oozing with shame. Thankfully, her classmate was kind enough not to comment on her current state. “Yes, it does. I like it…even though it clashes with my reality here.” She pointed out. She was a bit weird that way. She loved the science and all the logical explanations but at the same time she was also an artist and a witch with great imagination, who appreciated mysteries.

“I’m Carolyn. It’s nice to meet you, though I wish the circumstances were different,” she admitted when Callie finally introduced herself. Then came a moment of silence when neither of the girls quite knew what to say. Eventually, instead of speaking, Callie reached for the crumbled letter. Carolyn’s fingers twitched with a sudden desire to protect the piece of paper but then, her companion didn’t seem like a bad person so she decided to leave it. Callie only proved her right when she didn’t try to read the message and instead carefully folded the cursed letter into an origami dragon. Carolyn watched her action with great interest. Dragon was actually the only thing she was able to make as well. Her grandma tried to teach her how to make other animals and flowers but it never went well. "See? Not as scary now, don't you think? Don't worry, I didn't read it." The young witch let out something that could be described as a chuckle, thought it probably sounded more bitter than happy. Still, she found the comment pretty amusing and it did make her feel better. She accepted the dragon gratefully. “Being upset is scary,” she corrected the girl absentmindedly while inspecting the origami. She was so used to being in complete control of her emotions and she hated the fact that she suddenly wasn’t. Of course, being seen only made it worse. For a moment, Carolyn considered Callie’s words. Would she feel better if she were left alone? Probably less pathetic, but better? The situation was beyond saving anyway, the damage was already done. “It’s okay, I’m better now. Thank you.” She was not. All the events were too much to be solved by shedding a couple tears but that was not something Callie should worry about.

“They sure do.” Carolyn nodded with a half-smile when Dragons became a topic again. She couldn’t help but think Callie probably appreciated her dragons’ paintings around the Castle and in their common room during the Pride event last year. She most likely didn’t know Carolyn was responsible for those however. She only wrote her initials on the posters, as she didn’t feel the need to sign them properly at the time. She was still inspecting the origami when she decided to speak again. “Elspeth is not coming back,” she sighed eventually glaring at the dragon as if it somehow offended her. She was not offended by the pretty origami of course; she was just upset about the contents it was hiding. It was possible Callie didn’t know whom she was referring to but she somehow doubted that was the case. While Elspeth was pretty shy, she was also caring and by the end of the year, unlike Carolyn, she made many friends and even became part of the Quidditch team. Not to mention they shared the dorm together. Honestly, she was not sure why she decided to share the information with a stranger but it did help to say it aloud. She did not mention all the other stuff however, that was not something she would share with just anybody. Sure, Carolyn was considering telling everything to her best friend but she was not here and she would not return to Hogwarts so Carolyn would just have to deal with the rest herself.

"I know it seems super implausible and strange but every so often logic is kinda overrated anyway." Callie idly drummed her fingers against her knee as she spoke as a way of keeping her hands occupied. "Like sure science is neat and all but sometimes its..nice to be illogical. Like you know when you open the fridge looking for food even though you checked it five minutes ago? Oooh or when you know you have to get out of bed but you lay down for a while longer anyway." Callie took a brief pause to reign in her train of thought before it got too out of hand. After all there was a point to her small ramble and she didn't want it to get wrapped up in her tendency to blurt out whatever popped into her head. "Being upset can feel illogical but that's perfectly alright, sometimes the most illogical things have have logic buried deep down in their core. If...that makes sense anyway, I know I tend to ramble a little and lose track." Callie chuckled and offered Carolyn a bright smile once she introduced herself. "Don't mention it, I'll have you know the best friendships can be forged in this tired old bathroom! It's nice to meet you too!"

Callie sat quietly to allow Carolyn some space to think and gather her thoughts. After all the young Ravenclaw was more than aware of how overwhelming her almost constant yammering could be, especially when someone was upset. The way Callie could approach most circumstances with a positive attitude could occasionally rub someone up the wrong way, especially when they were upset. That wasn't something she was willing to repeat anytime soon, that's for sure.

It wasn't until Carolyn mentioned Elspeth that everything seemed to click as to why Carolyn was crying out the pain in an abandoned bathroom. Callie hadn't spoken to Elspeth personally but she was at the very least aware of who she was given her place on the quidditch team and how often people spoke about her in the common room before the summer. Callie may have been a social butterfly but Elspeth had somehow managed to slip her radar of people to greet and now she'd never get the chance. If Carolyn was so upset by her sudden departure it only made sense that Carolyn was one of her closer friends, a plight Callie could sympathise with all too well. "Ah." Callie blurted out in response before realising what she had said and quickly scrambled to elaborate. "She probably has a super good reason, right? Besides, I doubt she'd want you to mope around too much about it. I uh, didn't really speak to Elspeth but I heard about her in the common room a lot." Callie paused a moment. "I know that applying logic to this one doesn't make it hurt any less though, it's okay to be upset. Like I said earlier, logic sucks in situations like this anyway!"

Callie was rambling. Well, she wanted to anyway. It was blatantly clear that she was holding herself back for her sake. Carolyn smiled at the girl fondly. She knew what she was doing as she often struggled with a similar issue herself. For her, it was her calmness that ticked people off. Especially when they were angry. Sometimes it helped defuse the situation other times she was like still oil, only adding fuel to the flames. It was curious how they could be so similar and yet so different at the same time.

Carolyn didn't mind though. She herself welcomed spazzy and overly talkative people since she wasn't one herself. She was incredible listener but not much of a talker. Of course, there were some topics where she let herself go too but it was a rare thing to happen. "Yes, there are places and times where logic loses its power," she agreed with the blonde quietly. She, for example, let it go when she was drawing or dancing but emotions actually didn't belong to that category for Carolyn. Logically, she knew Callie wasn't wrong but she was taught otherwise. Her mother was the only one that encouraged free flow of emotions yet even she, perhaps unconsciously, had a very tight grip on them. Nevertheless, the young Ravenclaw was still grateful for the kind words and the fact that Callie tried so hard to give her some space and quiet to think. Perhaps that’s what made her share some of her troubles with the girl.

Listening to her talk about Elspeth, it was clear she didn't know her very well but she did at least hear of her. Carolyn was almost jealous before realizing that she did not want to be in her place after all. She may have lost her best friend but she would always have nice memories of her. "No...it helps" she shook her head when Callie once again pointed out that logic probably wouldn't do much good to her right now. Perhaps it would come across weird but that's how Carolyn's brain worked. "Please, don't get me wrong I fully understand when others act irrationally because of emotions and I would never expect any logic from them but to me... applying logic helps. I think I was just raised that way." She admitted sheepishly. It was only half-truth. If she was being honest, applying logic didn't make her feel better but it helped her calm down and keep her emotions in check, which was a familiar feeling and a therefore very welcome one. She would still have to process the sadness but she would do so slowly and quietly. Crying was a quick fix but it brought shame with it that Carolyn definitely didn't appreciate. It was no doubt peculiar state of mind. She never judged others when they cried or raged. She understood their pain and tried to help if she could yet she wasn't able to allow herself the same luxury. "And you are right. She had a reason and was not trying to hurt me. I suppose, the letter was just a tip of the iceberg for me. I'm feeling better now though. Thank you for talking to me." She said gratefully.

Carolyn would not go into details about all the other stuff that was happening in her life but Callie truly managed to lift her spirits a little. "I do hope you will talk to me when I look like an actual human being too. I promise I can be a pleasant company. Well...at least I hope so," she smiled at Callie gently. "You might have to do most of the talking though. I’m not very good at that,” she admitted eventually. “What were you doing anyway? I mean before I went and ruined your plans?”

Callie wasn't entirely convinced that logic may have helped in a situation like this but opted not to comment much on it for Carolyn's sake. Logic was comforting, it provided reason in the darkest of places but sometimes it didn't deserve a place at the metaphorical table. Sometimes it was nice to simply lose yourself in the whirlwind of emotions that came hand in hand with being a person. Emotions weren't an inherently bad thing or something to be feared in Callie's mind. Being sad may suck immensely in the moment but at the end of the day it's a necessary function of existence. Crying may sound awful in theory but in the moment? It could feel like the most freeing sensation on earth. Or at least to Callie anyway, she couldn't expect Carolyn to accept the same viewpoint on the subject. Everyone was different and not everyone welcomed emotion quite like Callie Jensen. However that was not going to stop Callie from trying to comfort Carolyn in her time of need. Scary emotions were considerably less terrifying if you had someone beside you. "It's okay, don't worry! Just because she's not here doesn't mean she's gone completely, you know?" Callie reassured with a comforting smile, clearly empathetic towards her plight. "Besides, there's plenty of other people here to keep you company. Including me!"

Callie seemed a little confused when Carolyn claimed she didn't entirely look human. It took the young girl longer than she'd ever be willing to admit that Carolyn was likely speaking metaphorically. "Of course I will! Although you look pretty human to me right now." Callie laughed whilst drumming a couple fingers against her knee out of habit. "First of all you didn't ruin any plans." She defended before continuing. "I got a little fed up of staring at the same charms textbook so I went for a walk! There's only so many times you can study for the advanced charms classes before your brain melts a little, you know? I think I got a little lost along the way which made me end up here, lucky I did don't ya think?" Callie paused a moment in thought. "As for the talking thing don't worry about that, you'll probably have a hard time shutting me up to begin with. I uh..have a little bit of a habit to ramble.."

Carolyn was grateful that Callie didn’t fight her on her approach to bad feelings. She was pretty sure, girl like her didn’t share her point of view and many others would not either but at least she didn’t try to pop her little safety bubble. Perhaps, Carolyn would learn to accept negative emotions better in the future but for now, this was how she dealt with them. “I know there is plenty of good people at Hogwarts. I’m just not great at making friends,” she explained sheepishly. She had no problems talking to other people and when it came to it, she was probably pretty approachable too but she had trouble with crowds and letting people close to her heart. “I mean…I have my fair share of acquaintances of course but Elspeth was a true friend. I don’t even know how that happened to be honest,” she snorted somewhat amused. Because she really didn’t know. Elspeth had somehow managed to get under her skin before she even realized what was happening. “I suppose I’ll just have to wait for someone similar to appear and sweep me off my feet.” She shrugged eventually. "You must have a lot of friends though." The witch half asked, half stated. She was pretty sure Callie's personality must have done wonders for her, however she never liked to assume anything.

“Oh… you are taking the advanced charms classes? I’m kind of jealous…I love that class!” Carolyn perked up when Callie finally explained how she ended up finding her in the first place. “Although, if it led you here, maybe I should wait a little before attempting to do the same,” she pointed out, smiling. She wasn’t confident that she could take them on at this point anyway. She might consider doing so next year but now didn’t seem like a good time. “I suppose, I should indeed be grateful you were struggling a little. It was nice to meet you for sure.” Carolyn said sincerely. It was clear to her that Callie was pretty amazing person. “And never worry about talking too much with me. I prefer to listen anyway.”

@Carolyn Hunt

Callie was a loud and outgoing person and in many ways the polar opposite of someone like Carolyn. Although that didn't stop her from sympathising with Carolyn's claim she wasn't brilliant at making friends. It wasn't something she had often struggled with but Callie often feared that her very nature tended to scare people off. Or that people were simply being nice to her because she wouldn't stop talking. "Hey some of the best friendships are the ones where you're not even sure how they happened!" Callie offered with a bright smile, still drumming her fingers against her knee. The girl was by all accounts a hopeless fidget, even when she was trying to comfort someone. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, people here are great! If you discount the occasional stinky weirdo." Callie didn't often encounter the apparent 'stinky weirdos' but she was certainly aware of their existence when they did cross her path. "Who me? I know a few people sure but that's probably because I talk a lot." Callie laughed before allowing Carolyn to continue.

"Heck yeah I am! My current mission is trying to figure out Ferula so I can help out Thomas and Elias when they inevitably get injured again." Callie didn't entirely know if Carolyn was aware of the delights that Thomas Baines and Elias Weare brought but hopefully she got the point across that the two boys were quite...accident prone. Even if most of those arguments were caused by fights but that's a story for another time! "I knew my theory that getting lost was a good thing! My mum always tells me that kind of belief is stupid and being lost is no fun." Callie mused. "Gah what's that stupid quote I always see everywhere..Ah! 'Not all those who wander are lost!' That one! I'm probably using that wrong but bah! I can't remember who said it, probably someone cool." Callie wasn't yet aware of the Lord of the Rings but when she would eventually find out about it's existence, she'd likely lose her mind. Sadly for now at least her mind was consumed by thoughts of Spiderman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles.