Closed Confrontation PV Edwin & Eonaria

IC Time: 3:32pm, November 15th, 2024

XXXThe gray sky, illuminated by a rather weak sun, didn't exactly lift the mood. Clouds transitioned seamlessly into dreary heavens, creating an odd, bland feeling of no shadows. As Eonaria took a shortcut through the courtyard, a chilly wind began to pick up, causing her to shiver slightly. But out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Oliver Thorn, a second year Hufflepuff she had met last week.

XXXEonaria hadn't seen him since, other than a glimpse or two in the hallways, but hadn't gotten the chance to speak with him again. The gloomy atmosphere was immediately dispelled as she proceeded to practically jump on him, hugging him with an excited squeal and nearly knocking the poor boy over.

XXX"Oof! Haha, sorry!" Eonaria regained her balance before she realized just how terrible Oliver looked.

XXX"Eeeh?! Are you alright??" She grabbed him by the shoulders, examining his face. His pale skin had gotten even more pasty since she'd last seen him, and his eyebags were somehow even worse, sunken and extremely dark. "Sheesh, you look like a zombie! You gotta take a nice, seven hour nap sometime this week!" Eonaria furrowed her eyebrows, noticing the way he held himself, like he was in pain. Honestly, even the wind could blow him over!

XXX"Are you depressed? It's too early in life to be depressed!!" She began shaking Oliver by the shoulders before quickly realizing that wasn't the best idea considering how fragile he looked. "Oops- sorry!!" Eonaria apologized again, letting go of him with a blush of embarrassment and giving him a quick pat on the back.

.・-: ✧☾♩♪♩♬　. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.　♬♩♪♩☽✧ :-・.

What should of been just a passing, ordinary encounter in the library on an otherwise boring, ordinary day had developed into something that had acted as a catalyst for the Westbridge. A boy who was otherwise sloth like in his work life had now had a metaphorical fire lit under him.

How could someone defend those beasts?

This question had annoyed him. Annoyed him so much that he - someone typically inclined towards laziness - had been propelled into action. He'd spent the past week mulling over books in the library, learning more about these beasts than he likely ever would in his coming years of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
He'd of chalked it up to 'hufflepuffyness', but he doubted most of that house would be so steadfast in their defence of those things. Olivers apparent illness had bugged Edwin, mainly out of concern for his own health - worries that he may have contracted the illness from one of the older boys coughs. He, however, had remained in perfect health and almost, almost, felt sympathy for the ill boy.

A detour on his way back from his classes lead Edwin to the courtyard, peering up at the grey sky with a scowl, the cold air already biting at his face, the warmth of the castle beckoning him back towards the castle. A familiar figure who looked considerably sicklier than he had done, last Edwin saw him. He took half a step forward, wishing to get a closer look at his symptoms, when a second figure appeared, one which Edwin did not recognise, and seemingly leapt onto Oliver. Edwin let out a snort out the sight, likely loud enough for the pair to hear, before continuing to observe as the girl began to shake Oliver, which caused another snort to come from the Gryffindor, watching on with a small grin on his face.

"Careful, you'll kill the poor boy if you shake him any harder." He drawled as he began to cut across the courtyard, stuffing his hands into his pockets, seeking refuge from the cold. His tone carried that same bored, almost mocking tone, that Oliver would have became familiar with during their meeting in the library.

─────
Oliver was too dreary at first to notice his surroundings, even to notice Eonaria practically sprinting to him from the other end of the courtyard. As the young 1st Year leapt onto Oliver, with a tight squeal that rung through his ears loud enough to startle him back into a state of wakefulness, she fell off of him shortly and regained her balance, Oliver did the same with much more struggle, his legs feeling brittle from the sickness, needing to hurl his whole body back so save him from crashing into the stone flooring.

"Pleasure, too. Eonaria." He said slightly annoyed, the two of them have become decent friends in the short time they met, evident in the sudden pounce onto him, but the collection of his worsening 'illness', a long day, and the rather unorthodox method of greeting somebody shook Oliver with slight annoyance towards the young girl. Oliver's thoughts only coated the girls next words, that same tone of worry that other 1st Years like her had spoke to him with after seeing the full wrath of his condition.

"No, I'm not depressed." Oliver responded quickly and maturely, he was used to these overreactions over the years. Tugging his robe back onto his shoulders properly, and patting any debris that fell upon his lower half back onto the brick floor, Oliver then looked back up at the girl, as usual, Eonaria became apologetic, her eyes scanning Oliver's pale face, then flickering down at his skinny figure, hunched out of dreariness, noticing her 'leap of friendship' was really more of an attack on Oliver's current stature. It was a great quality of hers to see a mistake then so be so quick to apology.

A quick smile tugged at Oliver's lips, his mind clearing from annoyance to the girl, reminding him how good and kind she is, getting off on the wrong foot with Oliver, and yet still eager to help him track Edwin down. Edwin. Oliver could practically hear Edwin with every thought he had of him, after all Oliver knew Edwin for his words. A light mumble in Edwin's typical cynical tone entered Oliver's ears, but it sounded real, not like the voice was in his head, playing like a video-tape over and over, but these were new words, or rather a drawl or commentary, coming from behind Oliver followed by intercepting footsteps, growing louder and louder as he grew more aware.

Oliver craned his head, his whole body following and his Hufflepuff robe swishing, the smile tugging at his lips disappeared to an slight open-mouth amazement, brows furrowed, and the all familiar fire in his eyes reigniting as the blond Gryffindor strided carelessly, hands in pockets, and a malevolent grin plastered seamlessly onto his face, staring high and mighty towards Oliver.

"So you do exist after all? I was beginning to think I made you up." Oliver boomed, Edwin was practically a ghost by the fact it took a whole week to even find him, even with Eonaria, a fellow Gryffindor 1st Year, some moments Oliver even begun to think Edwin had been avoiding the two of them. Clearly not by the sense that Edwin was cutting through the courtyard, and marching right towards them.

IC Time: 3:36pm, November 15th, 2024

XXXOliver sighed out a sarcastic greeting before muttering that he wasn't depressed in a tone that made Eonaria seriously doubt his statement. "Are you sure?" She asked suspiciously, drawing out the last word. Oliver's behavior certainly didn't convince her. However, as Eonaria let go of him, she felt Oliver tense up and heard a cold, drawling voice.

XXXShe turned around, raising her eyebrows at the sight of another Gryffindor. Ah, first first year.. okay that sounds weird... but I haven't met a first year taller than me until now. Oh shoot, is this Edwin? Eonaria narrowed her eyes. She was probably biased because of what he said to her, but he looked like the type of person to pick on Oliver. Or, er, people in general. Haha, protective instincts. She took on a defensive stance but kept her upper body relaxed, while Oliver looked startled to see Edwin.

XXXThis guy just shows up out of nowhere after we caught not a glimpse of him the whole week? His features and build were characteristic of a proud pureblood, but his clothes were... questionable. Eonaria wanted to insult him, but once she spent four seconds trying to find an appropriate term, she had passed the acceptable time limit to deliver a retaliation. Dang it. I really wanted to insult his clothes.

XXX"...you smell like you have a burnt personality." She muttered, delivering it in a way that disguised her pause as a 'I can't believe this guy' moment. Nice recover. "Who are you to insult Oliver? You look ill, too- at least, your face does!" That statement wasn't entirely true: while Edwin was sneering in a way that twisted his expression, his natural face was fine. Okay, no more tangents, this is stupid. She crossed her arms with a sigh.

.・-: ✧☾♩♪♩♬　. 。・ ゜✭・.・✫ ゜・。.　♬♩♪♩☽✧ :-・.

As Olivers voice boomed, Edwin scowled. Twice now, once in the library when he threw his tantrum, and now here, had the Hufflepuff proved incapable of controlling his volume, once more risking attention being drawn to the small gathering, much to Edwins dismay. "Yes, I do exist." He said plainly, directing his gaze over towards Oliver, ignoring the second figure for the time being. "Would be quite the concern if you were imaging that dispute." He said, in reference to their clash in the library, his lips curled into a small grin.

"Hope you had a thought on what I said." He began, before glancing the boy up and down, a brief flash of an unfamiliar, at least to Oliver, expression - perhaps sympathy, or concern - passed over the Gryffindors face, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. "Then again, I imagine you've been preoccupied with.. Whatever that is." He gestured vaguely to Olivers face, trying to indicate the illness.

"Smell like I have a burnt personality?" He echoed, finally directing his gaze over towards Eonaria. "How charming.. Nice to meet you too, I suppose." He drawled, his voice rich with sarcasm. He scoffed at the comment of his own sickly appearance, fully aware that she was just clutching at straws in an attempt to defend someone who was presumably her friend. The only thing about his appearance that looked sickly was the pale tone of his skin, which was more than obviously his natural complexion, rather than some sickly tone. "Really making a great first impression here." He sighed at her words, his expression showing no hint as to whether had taken any kind of offence to the words.

"Besides." He continued, his voice void of any of it's usual tones, no hint of him trying to mock, nor cause a reaction - entirely serious in his words. "It's hardly an insult if it's true, just look at him. He ought to be in the hospital wing looking like that."

"You know.. Maybe you should show some concern for your friend here." He once more looked towards Eonaria, a smirk playing at his lips. "Really now? He's about to keel over, and you're leaping on him?"

─────
Edwin, as always, was quick to shut down all insults with his own that cut much deeper. Oliver bit the corner of his lips as the man drawled out his every sentence, a seemingly spell of annoyance only making Oliver's head hurt and body tighten in frustration. As his monologue steered subjects to his condition, Oliver crossed his arms and gave a dangerous stare, narrowing his eyes on Edwin.

"Don't mind me, I can barely feel it." It was a lie, he was barely keeping himself together as-is. A part of him, even, wished for any other day to see Edwin, another day where his mind was much clearer, and every word, every action wasn't an internal battle. Oliver was clearly ignoring his statement from their last conversation, he could not give a reply he can stand by confidently and it was terrible, he only hoped Edwin would soon leave.

"This is Eonaria, your year, house? I doubt you pay attention at all with who you're surrounded by, though." Oliver couldn't go a sentence without tossing another insult, haphazard or not. Eonaria didn't even know Edwin, he knew his comment was flawed. "Find anything else about the Wolfsbane? Including how it's completely safe and you were out of your mind to think not?"

Some outside eyes, passing students through the courtyard, would stray to the three of them as Oliver's voice grew louder, this time, Oliver was far more conscious, quickly growing silent in a pause and staring back at Edwin. "Let's move this conversation, just to the side."

Finally, a reply that wasn't laced in disgust. Oliver tilted his head to a nearby brick wall, gesturing they'd move into the brick frame.

IC Time: 3:39pm, November 15th, 2024

XXXEonaria narrowed her eyes as the scowling Gryffindor aimed a few verbal jabs at Oliver. Edwin proceeded to insult the Hufflepuff further- well, it wasn't quite a direct insult, but the implication was clear as he waved at Oliver's ill demeanor with a dismissive tone. Eonaria swelled in indignation, but wasn't entirely sure what to say, so she settled for staring holes into the side of the Gryffindor's head. Oliver simply responded that he could barely feel it, which was a statement that Eonaria highly doubted, but didn't want to point out his obvious weakness.

XXXEdwin scoffed at her poor insult, remarking on the first impression she was making. Eonaria flushed slightly, as this statement reflected almost exactly what she had told Oliver when they had first met in the Great Hall. "...okay, sorry." She muttered. "But you still act pretty nasty, you know." Eonaria scowled angrily. Now that she had met the boy herself, she could certainly see what Oliver had meant by 'a constant smirk[...] that makes you want to punch him.'

XXXOliver inquired if Edwin had found anything about the Wolfsbane Potion, something she had taken upon herself to review in her free time after their conversation. But as a few of the surrounding students began to take notice of the confrontation, Oliver decided to usher them to a more private area.

XXXHe used his head to gesture towards one of the brick archways, a more sheltered location. Eonaria followed him, glad to get out of the public spotlight. She turned back to face Edwin with a slight grimace, once again noting how ruffled and lazily his clothes seemed to be arranged.

.・-: ✧☾♩♪♩♬　. 。・ ゜✭・.・✫ ゜・。.　♬♩♪♩☽✧ :-・.
All good, Oliver!

Edwin continued to stare at the taller boy as his eyes narrowed, coming off as some half-hearted attempt at intimidation, the Gryffindors lips curling into a small smirk, almost wanting to draw out a larger reaction from the Hufflepuff, as he had done in the library. Whilst it may have worked elsewhere, given the gap in their stature, Edwin believed himself to be invincible at Hogwarts. What was the worse that could ever happen here? A slap? That didn't strike any fear into the Westbridges heart, so he continued to stare up at the other boy, matching his gaze.

"Yeah, right." He snorted at Olivers claim at not feeling the illness. The boy had seemed ill enough in the library a few days prior, and here he was. Looking even worse than he had done in the library. "Sure look like you're feeling just great. Inspirational, truly." He spoke, barely even attempting to sound interested as he looked once more towards Eonaria.

"You're right, I hardly pay attention." He simply nodded at Olivers comment. "Edwin." He introduced himself plainly to Eonaria. He felt she was likely already aware of his name, undoubtedly because of Olivers complaints about him. Part of his reluctance to associate with his house mates stemmed from his still desperately clutching at straws that the hat had made a mistake, and it would somehow, magically, correct itself one of these days. Whilst that was more than delusion, and he was aware of it, that desperate last, stubborn part of his mind refused to accept himself as a Gryffindor. "It's fine." He shrugged at Eonarias apology. "Don't think I've said anything nasty, just truthful."

"Did I ever question the safety of the potion?" He returned to Oliver. "I questioned if that potion is enough, not it's safety." Truthfully, he hardly remembered what he'd said on that day. The actual contents of the arguments had been tucked away in his memory, masked by his new found obsession over Werewolves.

"Given that you haven't answered the question I left you with, I'll ask your friend here." He glanced back over towards Eonaria, as Oliver lead them into a more secluded area of the courtyard. "If this potion is so effective at dealing with werewolves, why is there so many newly turned werewolves? If this potion was this great fix all that Oliver claimed it to be, then no one would be subjected to that curse." He explained, his bored drawl replaced by a more enthused tone. "He also claimed that this potion could never be forgotten, why makes me wonder, does that mean werewolves are willingly turning people? People who could be kids?" He continued, coming to a halt once they were out of the path of others. "How cruel would that be?"

─────
There it was, the reasoning Oliver couldn't fight against. Why were they, like himself, new werewolves springing since past the creation of such a fine potion, a major solution to it all, he couldn't answer why some stranger many years ago had decided to abandon magical society, to hide in the forest away from the Ministry, and let himself transform in the full moon, risking and eventually harming somebody, who unfortunately came to be a young Oliver.

It was cruel, as much as it churned his stomach and made Oliver whince as the thought passed, Edwin was right. But that was not a question for him to respond to, he had forward it to Oliver's supporter, Eonaria, who Oliver could only hope had an easier time answering the question then Oliver did this past week. That usual monotone tone that carried a quiet confidence was present, Edwin knew he had a wild-card of a retort, and no matter how much Oliver could assure himself that this man's perspective was ridiculous, that did not answer his reason.

Frustration slowly started to brim once again in Oliver, now more fueled by his fatigue then outrage, the thought he'd lose what should be a simple argument, a man playing devil's advocate and boringly trample over the two of them with his words was a nightmare that may soon come true, Oliver curled his lips, his eyes flickering between the relaxed, expressionless Edwin and his dear friend Eonaria, it was like spectating a game of wizard's chess between them, as Edwin pinned the queen, and Oliver saw no escape, he could only hope that Eonaria could.

"What do you think? Eonaria."