9 Aug 2021, 22:59
Bonding Over A Boomerang
outfit
speech #bf0040────── ☆ ───────@Henry Knight[font=times new roman]M[/font]ake your case. Scarlett was enjoying this meet-up with Henry a bit too much for her own good. There was a gaping chasm in their friendship, but here they were, in a corridor, at midnight, talking about pointless things defending their favourite sport's honour. It rather infuriated Scarlett. She needed to say something rude, right now. She needed to deflect whatever stupid emotional bonding moment this was before it worked. She -
Didn't do anything.
Instead, she listened with a critical ear - occasionally chiming in, because she was Scarlett - as Henry told he about the wonders of duelling. That Quidditch wasn't all too appealing with the rain and the risk of breaking bones. ("It's the adrenaline of it! What's life without a little risk? And only weaklings can't cope with rain.") How Quidditch required improvisation, not strategy. ("Tell that to the team captains!") And that no one showed up to watch Quidditch. ("HAVE YOU SEEN OUR CROWDS? THE WORLD CUP?")
Ooh, duelling needed strategy, intellect, precision, patience and team-work. How fancy. ("We need all that with Quidditch! Along with actual skill!") Ooh, you had to be able to improvise and change according to your partner and your opponents' next moves. ("BUT DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY QUIDDITCH IS JUST IMPROVISING?!") You needed to aim and dodge at the same-
"This is all Quidditch, but off-brand!" she ranted. "And as if Greek and French make any difference." She had tried to learn French once. She had given up at 'le crayon'. She reluctantly shook Henry's outstretched hand, rolling her eyes profusely as she did so. "Fine. A truce. Though we all know the real winner here."
She thought for a moment. Scarlett was late to bed and late to rise, so the afternoon would be better. "How about four in the afternoon, Saturday?" she offered. "We'll see who's the best athlete - if duelling is even a sport with its lack of actual athleticism. Now, how would you feel about a one versus one Quidditch game? I'll make it work."
At Henry's 'compliment' about her being a pranking queen, she nodded in agreement. No double-meaning or sarcasm this time, at least from what she detected. In Scarlett's rather high and mighty opinion of herself, she was a queen, not to mention a pranking one. "Quite right, Knight," she said. "I only used your last name because it rhymed. As a second thought, we really need nicknames for each -"
She stopped. They weren't friends yet. After that little slip-up, Scarlett sealed her lips with great difficulty and threw the boomerang in as Henry quietly opened and closed the door.
Another prank done. Huzzah.────── ☆ ───────
chill, it's only chaos
10 Aug 2021, 18:50
Bonding Over A Boomerang
Why was this fun? Why did this feel normal? Standing in the corridor at midnight about to pull a prank with Scarlett Aden while laughing and debating with her. How could this feel so normal when before they had a fight that left a large, gaping hole in their friendship. This couldn't be real. It was a dream, it had to be. Right?
As Henry made his case about dueling, Scarlett interrupted with comments that didn't frustrate or anger him but actually made him smile a little. The comments reminded the young lad of another time, a different one where the two laughed and debated like this for hours on end daily. If only one had a timer turner. To go back in time before the thie fight, the fight that had struck as a reminder. A reminder of what once was and what can't be again.
Henry shook Scarlett's hand with a small smile, letting her final comment play out before nodding to her as he spoke" a truce for now and yes we do know the true winner," a thought struck the young lad and he eyes Scarlett a little as he playfully added in French, "dueling is the best sport, correct," Henry remembered that Scarlett didn't know French and actually still wanted to teach the red head the language if it wasn't for their fight at the end of last year.
"If you still want to learn, I can still teach you french," Henry spoke calmly and politely eyes drifting as else. Watching for any sign of professors or prefects who may come down that corridor at that hour. Henry didn't want either of them to get into trouble so it was best to keep a eye out at all times if he wanted to stay out of trouble that is.
Henry eyed Scarlett for a moment and offered a soft smile as he spoke" dueling is a sport and does require athleticism even if it doesn't include flying on a broom or throwing balls around," taking a moment to think of the day, Saturday was usually spent studying in the library with Logan and Loki but Henry guessed he could make a exception one time as he spoke" Saturday at four sounds good, how when are we doing this one on one quidditch match?" Henry eyed Scarlett curious about it even if he wasn't the biggest fan of the sport.
Henry figured Scarlett would like the compliment even if it wasn't intention, the lad just forgotten they were suppose to be fighting. Nodding toward her and again he forgetting when she dropped her words, Henry offered a soft smile and spoke" we should have nicknames for one another-" dropping his words as well. They weren't friends. Not yet. Not until he addressed the gaping hole, not yet.
Henry looked around for professor or prefects as he spoke" remember the nickname the troop had for Anna, that was creative," Henry hadn't thought about his life in godric hollow for a while because when he did he found it sadder than what it really have been. He found the memories now painful to think of.
"How is the troop?" Henry asked quietly but then quickly added still calmly, " you don't have to answer, uh let's get on with the prank then," motioning to the prank.
Opening the door a crack, watching Scarlett throw the boomerang in then closing the door quickly. Henry stepped back. A prank done. His first prank, the first thing he did against the rules at Hogwarts complete. Woah.
Henry looked over at Scarlett with a soft smile before it faded away as he felt like awkwardness would now fade in as he spoke" I should go now."
Last edited by Henry Knight on 26 Aug 2021, 22:24, edited 1 time in total.
"There's no such thing as strange creatures, only blinked people" - Newt Scamander
18 Aug 2021, 23:13
Bonding Over A Boomerang
outfit
speech #bf0040────── ☆ ───────@Henry Knight[font=times new roman]S[/font]lowly, reality set in. It had always been there, always rearing and ready to go. Her real thoughts, real feelings, about all her mistakes were lying beneath the surface of her pretence the entire time. But Scarlett just hadn't been willing to dig that little bit deeper, hadn't been willing to rip open the hole of vulnerability that was her relationship with Henry - so here they were. Both of them, desperately trying to push away what they had done. No - what Scarlett had did. Burying the truth with small talk and lies, as if they could manage a healthy friendship without ever talking about the way Scarlett had treated Henry, once upon a time.
Scarlett would've been perfectly content to do that - to go about her life without ever addressing her mistakes, even once. But sometimes, reality gets tired, and reality gives you an impatient slap on the face as to notify you of what you've done and who you need to apologise to. This metaphorical slap had been given to Scarlett, and a few seconds after the prank, she could be seen, face blanched, eyes wide, an epiphany sinking in.
She was an idiot.
And idiots need to say sorry for the idiotic things they've done.
But - she couldn't. It was definitely an ego thing. No matter how much Scarlett knew she was wrong, no matter how much she knew she was a terrible person, apologies did not come naturally to her. She had spent so much of her life making mischief and doing what she wished that she had never thought about how her actions affected other people. And never thinking about apologising meant never apologising.
Also, as a child, Evelyn and Levius had raised her to be...less than humble. Scarlett could still recall them telling her that she was an Aden and a Fulton. She was wealthy and entitled and she could get what she wanted, when she wanted it. Of course, Scarlett wanted to forget everything about her earliest years, when her family wasn't so dysfunctional. She wanted to forget how she had been raised by two snobby blood-purists. She wanted to forget everything about her parents - but she couldn't. Six years - seven, if you counted the uncertain year in between Levius leaving and Scarlett moving to Fiona's place - made a difference. And the mindset drilled into her by her biological parents was one that stayed with Scarlett to this day.
So she would apologise. But not yet.
"The true winner, yes," said Scarlett, absent-mindedly. "Quidditch. And what was that you said in French? I tried learning it once to keep up with you and my friend Cassie, but that kinda failed because 'crayon' in French is actually a pencil and it's super complicated and my brain hurts thinking about it so-" She trailed off, waiting for the next conversation starter.
"I'll manage," said Scarlett, shrugging at Henry's next words about how exactly a one-on-one Quidditch match would work. "We'll just have to play all the positions at once, I guess. And nicknames - yeah, er, didn't we have those kiddy names as kids? Holmes and Watson? I was Holmes because I was the main character, or - something." Anyone could tell that Scarlett was distracted, her mind debating furiously on whether to apologise or not. "And Anna's name was funny. Queen Poopypants or something. Peak comedy. The Troop are doing okay."
Do I say sorry? Or not? Sorry? Or not? SORRY? OR NOT?
But as Henry turned to leave, Scarlett made up her mind, mainly on instinct. She whirled round, almost reaching out to grab his wrist when she realised that personal space was important at the moment. She then - still on instinct - blurted out, "I'm sorry!"
Now she had his attention. For all her drama-queen tendencies and her love of the spotlight, all Scarlett wanted to do was melt into the shadows right now. But there was no going back.
Say something.
"Look, I was a jerk, and I'm really, really sorry about everything I've done. Moving to Liverpool wasn't your fault, but I was too much of an idiot to realise that and then I yelled at you because I'm a terrible person and I'm so sorry. I let my anger get ahead of me and then that happened and I just needed someone to rant to and it happened to be you because I know you, but then you abandoned me but it's not your fault - it's mine, and I'm not trying to excuse myself, I just want to let you know I'm super sorry for the yelling and the blaming and I really hope you can forgive even though it'll probably take a while and when that's done we can be friends again because I miss you, and I miss us being friends and - and yeah."
Scarlett's face was flushed with shame. Embarrassment. But also something else, that she couldn't quite name, that felt uncomfortably like relief.────── ☆ ───────
chill, it's only chaos
26 Aug 2021, 23:13
Bonding Over A Boomerang
The prank was a distraction. A distraction from reality, from the fight last year, from the awkward relationship that they couldn't label as a friendship. A distraction that couldn't distract them any longer.
Reality came rushing back like a wave. Washing out everything in its sights, severing as a reminder of what happened. Bringing reality back from the trip to the past.
Henry stared at Scarlett. His first friend. The first person he could be himself around. The only person at Hogwarts who knew him before he was a werewolf. His closest friend.
Now their relationship was being questioned. Now situations between them ended in awkwardness. Now the once jokes and closeness that may their friendship hangs in the balance. Waiting for them to resolve thie problems, to have a conversation about their friendship. A conversation that both were avoiding.
Henry was avoiding it for his own reasons
Staring at Scarlett. Her chocolate brown eyes and red hair remaining him of what was. Of memories spent getting into mischief and goofing off with the girl in the streets of godric hollow. A childhood that he was trying to forget. Sometimes the happy memories are the most painful to remember.
Memories flashed through Henry's mind. Ones that he hadn't- tried not to think about since moving.
Running through godric hollow with Scarlett, smiling with her and laughing. Playing games and being children. Children that weren't expected to mature or grow up or have responsibilities. Children who could play the day away with a smile on their faces. Children who didn't lose family. Children who didn't meet evil. Children who weren't monsters. Moments spent with Scarlett after the attack allowed Henry to feel like he felt before the attack, before the werewolf, before he was a monster.
The young lad missed that. He missed her.
Conversation continued, almost naturally even through there was the awkwardness in the air. The gaping hold of their friendship that held in the balance that they both were avoiding.
Henry avoided the subject afraid he would make things worse. Afraid that if he apologized or said something then he would ruined their friendship. A friendship that was once something amazing. His first friendship.
"Your ambitious you can learn someday," Henry replied a light smile on his face as he commented to Scarlett's remark about learning French. The boy slipped his right hand into his jacket pocket and his left hand held a strap of his backpack that sat on both shoulders.
Hearing Scarlett mention learning French reminded Henry of a time when he first started learning French from his mother, before the attack. The young lad was beyond excited to be learning the language and after he met Scarlett he wanted nothing more than to share it with someone so he would ask her daily to learn French with him. Eventually stopping but the memory of it still made him smile.
"Or we could change the game to fit two people instead of each of us playing scene separate players," Henry replied still thinking how a two person quidditch game could work. They could play it at the pitch, use the hoops and the quaffle and the person with the most points can be winner unless they wanted to include the snitch because they it could be the person who catches the snitch first wins. However since Scarlett played beater, Henry figured she would want to play beater and use bludgers in their game as well. Or maybe they could gather some friends each and have a improper quidditch match between each other.
The conversation changed again, absentmindedly Henry laughed a bit as he remembered the nicknames of their childhood.
"Holmes and Watson, right, " Henry replied with a soft smile remembering how they use to run around godric hollow and solve 'mysteries' and how Scarlett pulled him into things with the troop. It was the hardest memories for him to remember but they were also some of the happiest he has.
"Yeah- that's good..." Henry replied then the conversation ended. Awkwardness came floating back. The gaping hole in their friendship threatening to break apart further. Henry was avoiding the topic and he assumed Scarlett was to.
"I better go, see you around," Henry spoke and then turned on his heel and started to walk away. A unsettling wait on his chest and the little familiar voice in his mind ringing in his ears as he was walking away. His legs felt like lead.
"I'm sorry!"
Henry stopped. Scarlett's voice. Her words. It struck him, deeper than most. The small voice within his mind was quiet for a moment as the young lad turned around. Facing Scarlett. Listening to her words.
She was apologizing. Addressing the hole in their friendship. She wasn't avoiding it but fixing it. Henry smiled at the girl softly, she had change. They both change. They weren't the same kids from godric hollow but that didn't mean they still couldn't be friends.
He took a step forward, a soft smile on his face as his blue eyes reflected the dim light in the corridor and he spoke" your not a idiot and this isn't your fault. I told you before that none of us this us your fault and it isn't mine either, but I'm sorry to for yelling and never visiting you before. Apologies aside, I miss you to and want to be friends again to." The young lad smiled toward his first friend. His childhood best friend. Now friend. They were opposites but that was also what made them compatible.
Henry offered the girl a soft smile as he spoke" I'll see you after classes today, Holmes," the young boy nodded toward Scarlett once then turned on his heel and head down the corridor toward his first class that morning. He arrived there with a hole in a friendship and left with his first friend his friend again.
Holmes and Watson, a mystery solving duo that a single figure couldn't break apart.
Henry has left the thread
"There's no such thing as strange creatures, only blinked people" - Newt Scamander