Just Us Tonight... And Lear PV Hjørdis Jensen

She may have normally been a woman who seemed so confident and decisive. However, these were some of the few moments where her worries were visible. Hjørdis had no idea what the 'right' answer was here or if there even was one. Her heart told her one thing, every other fibre of her being told her another. Her eyes took him in, watching what he was doing whilst silently listening to what he was saying.

A small smile appeared on her face as he mentioned trying to get her to kiss him again. He definitely could have been an actor! Perhaps most suited to musicals, with his admiration for breaking out in song. What she did not expect, however, was what he said next. Hjørdis swallowed, staring at him. Her eyes widened a little, almost shocked by the words that were coming out of his mouth. In a good way. She trusted him enough to believe they were true. The way that he looked at her, the sincerity of his voice. Rather, she was simply surprised that these were observations that he had made or things that he had felt. Perhaps she did not think anyone else saw her, perhaps she had spent so many years pretending to be something or someone else that she had started to believe it at some point. However, he seemed to see her in a way that not many people did. His hand touched hers, as she continued to stare into his eyes.

The sound of her heart beating against her ribcage, pounding so loudly that she was convinced everyone could hear it. A leap of faith, he asked. He almost made it sound easy. Perhaps it was easy. However, life had told her not to trust and not to love so easily. These were things that she had tried to stop herself from doing - and failed miserably.

There was no sense of time left. She had no idea how long she had been quietly staring at him. It could have been a second or two, it might have been hours. It was most likely less than a minute or so. It felt a lot longer than it actually was, though. Her lips moved, mouthing out the word 'ok' after whatever time had passed. Her voice was barely audible, even in the quiet of the room. "Ok..." She repeated, slightly louder so the sound actually touched her ears but still a whisper.

She exhaled softly, moving her hand's position to intertwine their fingers. A nod followed, reaffirming the decision. "Ok," There was more confidence in her tone this time, slightly louder than a whisper. She stared at him for a few more moments, "How about we just start with a date, see how it goes and take it from there?" She asked, "What are you doing after camp? Maybe..." She smirked a little, a glint in her eyes, "If you're going back to Hogsmeade after camp, we could go together? I mean, I could certainly use someone to carry my bags," Hjørdis teased, running her other hand along his arm and 'squeezing' his biceps jokingly. She did not need someone to carry her bags. Not even slightly. That was, after all, what magic was for. But she wasted zero opportunities in pointing out that he had strong arms. It was just too fun. Making him drag piles of yoga mats through the corridors as she sat on them had been a blast, after all.

"In exchange, I guess I could also make you dinner," Oh, how romantic she was! Pfft. Yeah, no, she was not romantic by any means. She might not have been the most romantic person or excellent at planning dates. It had been a while, after all. Nonetheless, she was trying. That had to count for something, surely.

She offered, not entirely sure what his summer plans are but deciding to clarify it would be outside of work, before he got any other ideas. Seeing his daughter would certainly be on the agenda and she had no intention of getting in the way of that. So her offer was quickly followed up with more words, "Though, I completely understand if you're in Ireland or with Cass. I don't want to get in the way of either, of course."

There was a moment's hesitation as she had to wonder if this was even a good idea. Was there even space for her in his life? They could not go on dates during school time, they had work. Hell, work even crept into the holidays - such as this camp. And his breaks were the only time he got to see his daughter or family. She had no idea why or how either Caradoc or Cassanora needed her but despite her brain telling her that this was not a great idea, she decided to simply follow her feelings. She trusted him in a way she had not trusted in a long time and at this point, that was enough.

Outfit of the Day

Hjørdis raised one of her eyebrows in response. Her quirk really was telling, she did not need to say anything else - at least, she did not think she needed to. Nonetheless, for some reason, she felt compelled to respond. A part of her just had to comment. "That sounds like... something. We'll call it a date," She responded, not entirely convinced it was a very good one - despite the grin on his face and the fact that he seemed pretty content with the whole idea. Carrying her bags certainly did not seem like a date activity but any excuse to spend time with him... Her hand continued to run over his arm jokingly, a smirk on her lips as she locked eyes with him. He was close enough for her to kiss again but really, she needed to stop thinking about that and he was distractingly close.

Pulling away from him before either of them got any ideas, "At least I can guarantee that the food will be good," She added, fairly confident that he enjoyed her cooking - based solely on the fact that he seemed to eat a lot of it every time they hung out and she had some to offer. Though, now that she thought about it... What was she going to actually cook for him? It had to be date-worthy, right? What was date food?! Geesh, it was clear how little she went on dates in the recent years if she was questioning these things...

She nodded in response to words about Cassanora and time. She was not sure how much truth was in his words or how much he was saying just to reassure her. Nonetheless, she accepted it, simply trusting him enough to know that he would do what was best for Cassanora and at the end of the day, that was enough for her.

As he turned back towards her, she nodded once more. It was late. Well, it was getting close to morning. The students should be returning from their stargazing trip soon, which meant the professors accompanying them would be returning too. She stared at him for a moment, recalling how he was with the Headmaster earlier in the night. Lear had been through hell but Caradoc was not in full health either. She knew that better than most. Stepping closer, she hesitated for a moment before placing her hand on his cheek - slow enough for him to move away if he wanted to. It was an action that she had done several times when they were just 'Jensen and Browne, Head of Houses' as he put it. But for some reason, it suddenly felt different. As though she should not do it anymore. Perhaps it felt too personal all of a sudden.

He would likely sense her hesitation but she opted to ignore it and go for it, if he did not stop her. Stroking the side of his face with her thumb a little, "Don't strain yourself," She whispered. There was little else to say. She could not promise him that it would be alright. But she did want him to take care. They really did not need two people down for the count. Locking eyes with him, she found herself almost lost in them. They were so blue. They were beautiful. This was not the first time she had noticed, by any means. But she found herself staring into them, a soft smile on her lips as she did. Ahem. Anywaaaaay...

"Besides, I don't want you getting sick and using that as an excuse not to carry my bags," She teased him playfully, dropping her right hand from his face and stepping back, "I can take over, there shouldn't be too long before the others return anyway," He had already watched over the headmaster earlier in the evening, whilst she was preparing the food, so there was no reason she shouldn't take over now. He argued a little but she was having none of it. She would convince him. He was still sick himself. He was not solely responsible for the Headmaster, no matter what he thought. Besides, it was not like Hjørdis to take 'no' for an answer in this matter and she knew that he knew that. She would tell him that she could - and would - wake him up if anything happened or if she needed him for something.

When he relented and agreed to go to sleep, she would continue. "Goodnight, Browne..." She whispered, staring at him. Hjørdis would be lying if she said she did not want to kiss him again but she made no such move. That would have to wait a few weeks. Oh gosh, they still had another two weeks of camp, didn't they? Well then. Guess they were back to just being Head of Houses for now. "I'll see you today," She answered his earlier question. It was already the early hours of the seventh, after all. She would likely get a bit of sleep once the others return but be up for breakfast.

Stepping back, she watched him leave, making sure that he went back to his compartment to rest before she sighed softly and turned towards Lear's compartment. Entering it, she resisted a chuckle as her gaze fell onto her Bengal. Jeger was curled by the edge of his bed. Not asleep but as though he was watching him. Since he was doing no harm, she left him be as she moved to check the candles. There were so many around, Lear preferred it that way. Hjørdis relit a few candles that had started to burn out before taking a seat on the chair not too far from him. He seemed to be muttering in his sleep but there was nothing unusual about it. He seemed to be okay for now, at least. Her eyes flickered to Jeger, who was walking over to her. He jumped onto her lap, moving around a little with a turn or two before settling down, curling up on her laps. She picked up one of the books and silently read, just glancing over every so often to make sure he was alright or whenever she heard a sound.

She had no idea how much time passed but other than a few odd moments, the night went relatively smoothly. There was a moment of panic in Lear's face at some point. ​She had held Lear's hand for a few moments, patting it to calm him down, at one point. At another point, she had put a small wet towel on his forehead. Nothing important enough to bother her fellow Head of House over. These were usual antics these days. In fact, these were better. At least there was no waking up and screaming for once.

Within time, she heard the sound of children reappearing. The distant sound of a crowd, chatting away and walking in different directions as they made their ways back to their own tents she imagined. She picked up Jeger, who was curled up and fallen asleep by now, as she made her way out of the compartment to speak to the other professors who were taking over. Handing over as she was relieved of her duty, she returned to her compartment and got ready for bed. At the very least, she figured she could get a few hours before breakfast and perhaps take a nap in the afternoon.

Closing the curtains of her own compartment, she bit her lip a little thinking about everything that had happened earlier. Hjørdis placed Jeger down on the bed, sitting down next to him for a moment as she allowed herself to finally reflect on everything that happened. This would be okay, right? She was worried, admittedly. Unsure if this was a wise decision. She had no idea how long she sat there but at some point, Jeger nuzzled her leg, half asleep before sitting up and looking at her. A smile broke out on her face as a small laugh escaped her lips, as she raised both hands and buried her face into them. It did not matter how much she covered her mouth though. It was evident she was smiling and blushing behind them. It had been a while since she felt this way. A part of her felt almost like a teenager again.

Composing herself again, she looked down at her right palm that was open towards her and smiling at it. Jeger nuzzled her some more, "Okay, okay, I'm going to sleep," She responded, as she scratched his back softly with her left hand for a bit before getting up and getting ready for bed. The smile not faltering from her expression even once.

Outfit of the Day

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