Constellation Company PV Joseph

“C’mon, we ain’t got much time left,” Joseph urged, beckoning Astra to hurry. His pace quickened to a stride, fingers tightening around the spine of his new favourite book. Biting the inside of his cheek, he glanced back at his rock.

She clattered at a blissfully slow pace behind him, gazing up at him with those irresistibly pleading eyes.

Joseph sighed. He couldn’t bring himself to scold her. Especially not when she looked at him like that.

“Okay fine,” Joseph relented, abruptly stopping in his tracks. “But we don’t have long before curfew. If we get there soon we’ll have more time to ourselves. Isn’t that what you want?”

He returned the soft, pleading look she was giving him.

Maybe he imagined it, but Astra seemed to roll a wee bit faster afterwards.

Joseph still didn’t understand why he was doing this. Sure, the Astronomy classroom was grand, spacious and offered a spectacular view of the night sky - but he had never been a big fan of twilight stargazing. Besides, the last time he’d sought solitude at the classroom, his efforts had been less than successful. 

Whatever. Maybe this time the stars would be on his side.

He nudged open the door, Astra tailing noisily behind him. 

Joseph bit back a gasp. He’d forgotten how beautiful the night sky looked. The thousands of millions of stars glinting overhead, illuminating the inky black sky to give it an ethereal, almost surreal look.

 Almost-

His gaze dropped to the floor, and his face soured. A figure lay sprawled across the floor, seemingly fast asleep. 

Great. So much for solitude.

Stooping down to scoop up Astra, Joseph gulped, gingerly treading towards the figure. It was a girl, resting peacefully atop two soft cushions, her slow, rhythmic breathing audible amidst the otherwise thick silence.

It wasn’t until he was mere paces away before he recognised her characteristic wavy, golden hair tumbling down her shoulders. Joseph froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

“Pam?”

He had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He blinked hard, almost expecting the girl to vanish into thin air. Nothing happened. 

It was Pam. Unmistakably Pam.

Clearly the universe had a cruel sense of humour.

Too stunned to speak, Joseph sank to the floor beside her, stroking Astra with slow, gentle finger brushes. The floor was cool, pressing hard against his exposed calves.

Maybe he should go get a cushion.

But his body stayed rooted to the spot. He couldn’t describe it. Surprise? Shock? Amusement? Or… something else entirely?

Joseph sighed again, absentmindedly scratching his earlobe. Life was like a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans; he never knew what he was going to get.

@Pamela Graham

Speech -- Thoughts

She really couldn't nap in peace.

Pam had heard the sound even before it had actually woken her up. It sounded like someone was continuously dropping something on ground (for what dumb reason, Pam really couldn't tell.) She mumbled unintelligibly, something along the lines of "ugh, go away" and "quit being so loud" and "I'll kill you", burying her head further into her temporary pillow in an attempt to recover her previous feeling of peace.

The sound stopped abruptly, and Pam was almost asleep again, before a tiny voice whispered her name. The girl whined, the question registering in her mind like, who on earth is Pam?

She sensed movement behind her, whoever the newcomer was had probably sit down, and Pam felt a spark of annoyance. Ugh, I got here first. Also what kinda weirdo just sits when someone's sleeping without waking them? It didn't occur to her that it was probably someone she'd already met, since the person knew her name (let's forgive her sleep-induced brain)

Well, her sleep had already flown out of the window, so Pam figured she should check out who it was that had interrupted her beauty sleep. Or you could keep playing dead. That works too.

Pam had nearly chosen the second option, before a sigh cut through the room, soft in general, but loud in the quiet of the night, changing Pam's decision in seconds. They're really asking for a fight— She turned around to look at the person, words falling out of her mouth tinged with annoyance, before realising who it actually was, "Oh, for the love of G— what? Joseph?"

Pam blinked in surprise, gazing up at what was in fact a familiar face, confusion and amusement dancing in the latter's dark eyes. The girl sat up abruptly, brushing her hair roughly out of her face as she realised belatedly that— Oh crap, I nearly cussed him out.

Astra rested peacefully in his hand, or at least, that was the rock's name, if Pam wasn't wrong. She remembered seeing the two of them at the ball shortly, before she'd had to drag Ruth Fairchild out of it by her ear. The chicken outfit flashed vividly before her eyes, causing a bubble of laughter to rise up her throat. Oh, it must've been her that I heard rolling about that time. "How long have you... been here?" She asked him.

Joseph had always thought sleep was a peaceful thing. A quick recharge for the body, accompanied by fantastical worlds with endless rainbows and beaches to unwind on. With coconut juice. And sunglasses. And Astra, of course. Moments of bliss when he could forget everything he loathed about himself.

Well, clearly Pam had a different definition of sleep. Still gently stroking Astra, he watched Pam’s fitful state with a hint of amusement. Either Professor Sauber had slipped her one of those bizarre draughts in his wardrobe, or her dreams involved a wrestling match with a giant gorilla. Probably a rather aggressive one, by the looks of it.

He was still internally debating the gorilla’s boxers brand when Pam jolted awake from her restless snooze.

“Evening,” he greeted, giggling softly at waking Pam’s clump of soggy spaghetti for hair. Or maybe it was the way a million emotions seemed to flicker across her face in that one nanosecond. Shock appeared to register longest.

Pam regained her composure quickly, and the predicted interrogation began.

“Haven’t been here for very long,” Joseph admitted, his gaze fluttering over to the rock snuggled encouragingly in his palm. “Was planning some time alone with y’know, Astra. Didn’t think you’d be here-"

He had to bite his tongue to prevent the word ‘again’ from slipping out. Sitting next to a tired, groggy girl was enough. He didn’t need said girl to feel thoroughly insulted too.

“So… what brings you here?” Joseph asked, a curious gleam in his widening eyes. Grinning, he relaxed his shoulders, glancing up towards the stars overhead. Maybe Pam had been binge-reading magazines all summer about sleeping under the stars, and decided to experiment with it. If so, it was pretty clear Pam had been thoroughly misled.

Hopefully she’d at least apologize to the gorilla later for leaving the competition early.

@Pamela Graham

Speech -- Thoughts

Getting caught sleeping out had not been on Pam's second year binge list.

Then again, she was probably lucky that it was Joseph and not some random weird guy she'd never met in her life. Although it was still awkward, (she and Joseph weren't that close; he wasn't Ruth either) things could've been much worse. Like if it was someone you didn't know, her brain volunteered helpfully Right, thank you.

The boy looked considerably less stiff than he had the first time they'd met. We deserved an awkwardness award for how that evening had turned out. Although it wasn't too bad. Maybe because he was meeting a familiar face, or maybe because he'd become more social through the year. After all, he had worn a chicken outfit to the ball. Nevertheless, Pam was more inclined to believe it was the former.

People didn't change that quickly. Mostly.

"It's been a while." Pam smiled, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her legs. She was still feeling a little tired, the post-sleep haze not yet gone completely, but was awake. She wasn't gonna drop down snoring at the very least. ...which was something.

Astra. It looked like Pam had gotten the name correct after all. Pam cast the rock a curious look, probably the only look she'd ever given the rock. In a whole year, she still hadn't met a second person who had a pet rock. It still confused her. Perhaps she could ask him about it this time. Was it an it? Or does it have pronouns too? She? He?... They?

"Nothing specific." She replied, copying Joseph and turning her head up towards the sky too. "I missed this place. You can't see the stars too well from back home. How were your holidays?"

Joseph’s gaze dropped back to Pam. Holidays. Home. The thought tugged something in him, though he wasn’t clear what. He didn’t answer right away.

“It was fine.”

He paused, before realising she’d probably expect elaboration. How much should he say? How much did he trust Pam? Did he even trust Pam?

“As expected, I suppose. My family isn’t really the YIPPEE YOU’RE BACK type, you know? Got to enjoy some time alone with Astra, especially on the beach. The night view there is almost as terrific as here - oh! Heard you can catch the Northern Lights sometimes if you’re lucky.”

A smile twitched at the corners of his lips. The beach - the closest thing to paradise, as far as he was aware. Soothing slushing waves. Cool sand beneath his toes. Gentle breeze caressing his face. Everything he could ever want, all to himself, unless you counted the occasional ferry dotting the horizon.

Yet… he was starting to wonder what it would be like to share that beauty with someone else. 

Joseph leaned backward, his eyes tracing made-up constellations - like the sky was a giant ‘join the dots!’ activity for him to mess with. The cluster of stars to his right kinda resembled a giraffe. An injured one though, with a leg arched upwards at an agonising angle. Joseph winced. If only he could reach into the sky to nudge that one star a little lower. Maybe the giraffe would be so grateful it’d let him name it ‘Giraffee Major’.

A new scientific discovery. Oohs and aahs from the audience. Scattered applause. Someone hand him a prize for his stupidity.

“So…” Joseph said, running a hand through his hair. Nervous habits strike again. “How did your hols go?”

@Pamela Graham

Speech -- Thoughts

Did he not share a good relationship with his family? Pam knew absolutely nothing about the boy whatsoever — well, besides the fact that he wasn’t social and had a rather tragic relationship with conversation itself. Nevertheless, if his parents weren’t exactly thrilled to see him after a whole year away from home that couldn’t be a great sign.

Pam’s own father had practically tackled her the moment she came home for the holidays. He’d spent the next two days fussing, making her favourite food, and telling her the house felt “too quiet without her noise.” Maybe not the best comparison. Her dad could be a bit too much sometimes, but she always adored him for it.

Her train of thought derailed the moment one word caught her attention. Beach.

“Do you live near the beach?!” she blurted, her voice pitching a note higher than usual. The blonde girl had always loved the sea — its smell, its sounds, the way it made everything else seem small and infinite at the same time. Her father used to take her to the seaside during holidays, but ever since Hogwarts, those trips had faded into memory. “I’ve not been to a beach in forever,” she muttered, wistfulness seeping through the words.

Joseph's words had sent her mind spinning. He lives near a beach. He can just… go there? Whenever he wants? The thought made her ridiculously jealous.

I wonder if he’d let me visit someday, she wondered. She couldn't ask though. They weren’t that close yet. Still, she couldn’t help asking, curiosity slipping through her smile. “Where do you live, anyway?”

In her excitement, she completely missed out the rest of Joseph’s words — something about northern lights? Wait, what? Northern lights? The Northern Lights? Her brain scrambled to connect the dots. Where on earth does he live? Norway? Iceland? …Scotland? That last one was probably wishful thinking though.

The beach, though, that had stuck. I wanna live near a beach now, she thought, watching the boy with a faint pout. It would be so pretty. Her imagination started to wander further — seashells glinting under sunlight, mermaids brushing past waves, a castle made of coral maybe—

Nope. Not when you have company. Control, Pam, control it.

She shook herself slightly, blinking back to reality just in time to catch Joseph’s next question. “My hols? Pretty good, I suppose.” She shrugged, though her smile probably gave her away. “Did you go to the summer camp?” Pam had spent most of her own summer there — half the time running around in chaos, the other half regretting how little of it she’d spent with her father. It had been fun, but she’d missed home in a quiet, unspoken way.

The homesickness would probably hit in full blow this year. Serves you right. You should've stayed at home. It was fine. Pam planned to stay home once the second school year ended. Thinking of the end of the school year when it just started out.... How silly. She shrugged and turned to Joseph again, "Do you like the sea?"

“Yeah, I live near the beach,” he said, a smirk slipping onto his face. Pam’s envious shock was oddly gratifying. 

He drummed his fingers on the book laid beside him, letting her words settle in. Never been to the beach in… forever? That sounded horrid. A life Joseph probably couldn’t bear to live.

The beach had taken on a new meaning, since his first fall out with his parents. His private space. Somewhere to escape to, when life demanded too much.

Then again, Pam was probably a regular girl. Regular people didn’t have a family rotting from the roots up. He’d give up Astra if she’d been booted from her room to sleep in a dusty attic too, during her holidays.

No, not Astra, he glanced down at his pet rock, face twisted with concern. That was too much to gamble. He’d give up a chocolate bar instead, maybe.

Why couldn’t he have a regular family too?

“I live in Scotland,” Joseph replied, scratching his neck. “Some wee coastal town called Arisaig.” He technically didn’t live in the town itself. Rather, a three-storey stone cottage tucked behind a copse of trees, a twenty minutes trek from the cosy muggle village.

‘Far enough to keep our blood untainted by vermin, close enough to remind us of our pure-blood supremacy,’ his father’s sickening mantra went. Joseph often scoffed at it. His father’s only superior aspects were probably his ego and his mustache size. And his mantra didn’t even rhyme.

Sigh. Thinking of home always left this weird, bitter knot in his stomach. He didn’t like bitter. Just like he didn’t like bitter chocolate. 

“The beaches there are pretty much always deserted,” he continued. His butt began to protest from extended pressing against the hard floor. He definitely should have gotten himself a cushion. “It’s a remote area, so you don’t get many people lounging under the sun. It’s cool anyway, usually drizzling or overly windy. Not exactly a tropical paradise. Perfect if you don’t want anyone seeing you.” 

He turned back to face Pam, who spoke briefly about her summer, following up with a smile. He took that to mean she’d enjoyed her holidays more than he did - though he was probably setting a pretty low bar. Even Doozy the relentless gull back home had a better summer than him - shrieking “ERH! ERH! ERH!” from dusk till dawn like it owned the place.

“Yep, was at the Summer Camp.” He couldn’t have been happier to be there. Anything to get away from his hell hole of a house. He didn’t say that, of course. “Got to meet lots of new people. I’m assuming you were there too?”

He propped his head on his hands as Pam threw him another question. He watched her with mild curiosity. Looks like someone’s mind was still on the sea.

“It’s nice to watch the sea.” Therapeutic, even. He could lie down for hours admiring the crashing waves. “It’s usually too cold to swim in though. Otherwise I’d take a dip in there every other day.”

The memories came rushing back. Seven year-old Joseph dipping his finger into the retreating waves, then shivering as he stepped back to pull out his dripping finger. He’d always wanted to go for a swim. But he wasn’t keen on finding out if he could drown or freeze to death faster. His family would probably invite every microplankton in the sea over for a party if he did.

“Well…” he mused, looking away. That was enough about him. “If you don’t live anywhere near the beach… where d’ya live? The city?”

@Pamela Graham

Speech -- Thoughts

Pam, listened, head tilted as Joseph told her the name of his hometown. Arisaig. She had never heard of it, although, it sounded like Ariadne and reminded her of that specific Greek legend the second she heard it. The name rolled off her tongue silently, foreign, pretty. It sounded like one of those spots that would sit quietly on the map, out of sight, in between the cliffs and clouds. It did indeed sound very much like a tropical paradise: the wind, the deserted beaches, the drizzle.

“Deserted beaches sound kinda perfect, actually,” she said, leaning forward slightly. “I mean, I like people and all, but sometimes (which is mostly) it’s nice when there’s no one around. Just waves and air.” Her voice had softened, the slightest hint of nostalgia creeping in. "My dad and I also took holidays to the beach. He does a lot of traveling and therefore it was our little thing as long as he was home. We would get up very early in the morning and watch the sunrise. He always said that it made the world feel new again."

She smiled at the memory, a flicker of warmth lighting her face . “The water was always freezing, though. Not that I ever minded that. But I don’t think I’ve ever gone in past my knees.” A laugh escaped her, light and genuine. “Although I can swim, he was always worried, and hence always told me to stick to the shore. Probably because he never learnt to swim himself, I suppose.” The smile faded, replaced by something quieter. “Haven’t gone in a while. Guess life got busy. Hogwarts happened too.” Her shoulders lifted in a shrug, as though that explained everything.

She looked back at Joseph, curious. “Still, living near the sea sounds amazing. You can just… go there whenever you want. Don’t you get tempted to, like, sit there every evening or something?” Then, as if realizing how that might sound, she quickly added, “Not that I’d stalk the sea if I lived nearby. Probably. I mean, maybe I would a little.”

Actually, she definitely would.

Her thoughts wandered toward the water stretching out in the distance — the Hogwarts lake was nothing like the ocean, but it had the same tranquility and charm, though not that untamed and uncontrolled power or grandeur which belonged to the latter. “I get what you mean, though,” she remarked. “About how it feels nice to just watch. It’s like it keeps moving, no matter what’s happening. Kinda… steady.” There was something in her tone — not quite sadness, but something close. A gentle yearning for the type of peace which remained, which did not fade away when life got messy again.

She dismissed the thought, and gave a slight smile at Joseph. “So, next time you go home, I expect pictures. Of the beach. And the northern lights.” Her eyebrows raised. “You can’t just drop that into conversation and not elaborate. Oh, and to answer your question,” Pam leaned back on her hands, "I live in Ipswich, just outside, actually. It has this small lake in the woods that I came to with my father. There’s this little lake near the woods where my dad and I used to go sometimes. It’s quiet and pretty, especially in the mornings. Not the sea, but... well a water body anyway."

Her eyes traced Joseph's shifty movements and she sat up. "Btw, would you like a cushion?"

Ipswich. Joseph had heard the name before, though he couldn't quite place it. A city, probably, like London, where he’d spent part of his summer. The noise, the air, the birds... it was all different. It took a while to get used to not seeing a flock of gulls screeching past whenever he glanced up into the sky. Ipswich…? Probably smaller than London. Quieter, he guessed.

"Sounds like you could use more beach trips," he said, his gaze drifting back to Pam. "Though maybe it's better that you don’t go too often. Beaches start losing their magic when you visit all the time. For me, at least. They now feel more… familiar." He shrugged, offering a wry smile. Maybe it was better that way. A personal safe haven was nice to have.

Joseph sighed, a soft twinkle in his eyes. Funny, how everyone's life experience could be so different.

"You get to hang out with your dad a lot, huh? That’s nice. Love having company while admiring nature."

He grinned down at Astra. Better company than he could ever ask for.

"I used to watch the sunset with my old friends. Not at the beach though - one of them wasn't a fan of the sand. We’d settle by an open field instead, lay down a little picnic mat, and just enjoy ourselves." 

A ghost of a smile flickered across Joseph’s face. Laughter. Snacks. Shared jokes. He missed Jacob and Astrid more than he wanted to admit. 

Of course, family trips would be entirely different.

He wondered what it'd be like on a beach trip with his family. Likely some abandoned shore — his mother had a severe case of muggle allergy. She'd be flipping through the news, muttering disapproval for every name she encountered. Father would be beside her, asleep. Nikolas and Adair hunting for crabs to toy with.

Joseph? Probably not invited. Didn't matter.

He fell silent for a fraction too long.

“I’ll try to catch the Northern Lights next time I’m home. Though I’ve never seen them during the summer before.” Joseph leaned back, laughing shakily. “Unless… I go home during Christmas. Then maybe I’ll—”

No. He was not going home for Christmas. 

“—well, no, nevermind. I'll let you know if I ever see 'em again.” Joseph glanced away, shaking the thought from his mind. Maybe if he tried hard enough he could get his sister to snap him a picture. Or maybe Nikolas. No, Adair was the safer bet. She was newest to the We-Hate-Joseph fanclub, after all. Why was he even thinking this? Was he really going to risk so much to show Pam a photo?

He blinked out of the mental spiral as Pam asked if he’d fancy a cushion. Right.

“Um, yeah, cushion. I can get one, don’t worry.” He muttered, rising to his feet. His knees groaned in protest. Cons of sitting still like a pitiful statue.

Joseph picked two midnight blue cushions — one for himself, the other for Astra. He peeked at the design on his cushion: a blood-red horse, mouth gaped open like someone had just stolen its breakfast. Poor horsey.

He swapped cushions with Astra, whose cushion stitchings resembled an unfamiliar constellation. Much better. Now Reddy the Horse wouldn’t need to choose between an hour smushed against the hard floor or Joseph’s bum.

He sank into his cushion, comforted by the tiny victory.

“Do you… ever go out with the rest of your family? Or just your dad?”

@Pamela Graham