Concurrence PV Flash Holmwood Fin

"Oh, shit," seemed the only apt response to Flash's confession, delivered blandly after a moment of silence. Her next instinct was to run from the scene because Merlin she was probably the least suited person for a conversation like this. She didn't want it. She wanted the knowledge, yes, but without all the emotional baggage attached, without having to decide what the right thing to say was to a boy that had just admitted to being cursed by a hag.

"Oh wow, um." A pause. "Probably a dumb question, but if it's a curse, can't it be broken?" It couldn't be as simple as that, or he would have done it already, right? "Maybe one of the professors can help? Professor Pendrast?" Her mind still went to the former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher first, but the suggestion was followed up by a frown. Professor Lecuyer just seemed too... lighthearted for something like this. Not serious enough. She'd go to him when she wanted help stealing candy, not when she wanted advice on how to break a hag's curse.

His apology was waved away with a distracted hand. "I quite literally asked for it, didn't I? Very insistently, too." Meet a difficult situation with humour, that was something she could do, at least, so she followed it up with a grin and a wink. "I do like mysteries, so I should thank you, honestly." No thought was spared about whether he would appreciate her continued prodding, whether he would want her help at all. She'd give it, anyway.

Her next weapon of choice was logic. Dealla paused, smile fading for a more thoughtful expression, her fingers drumming on the table. She had almost forgotten about their surroundings, the chatter of the other students and the quickly approaching Charms lesson. "Is there... anything more you know about it?" she asked. "Any details of the incident? Why they wanted your eye, or why they gave you a new one? Research on hag curses? There must be something that can be done. D'you know if it happened to anyone else?" Another slight pause. If he'd been walking around with that since the start of the year, other people must have noticed. "Who else knows?"

If someone wondered whether Dealla would ever run out of questions, the answer was most likely no.

@Flash Holmwood

Flash would watch Dealla's reaction calmly, as it was expected even if it wasn't desired. It was the exact reason he kept everything to himself, besides the fact that he was taught not to make other people uncomfortable. It was something which was, to put it mildly, too much. He didn't want pity, which was practically the only thing anyone had to offer him. If he slowly died, fading away into nonexistance before disappearing altogether, people would be much happier who did not know why. They would feel safer too, which was arguably also a more decent way to live one's life, even if it was in ignorance.

Dee would offer the usual roulette of responses. He had spoken with several of his closest friends already, even if the details had been sparse. "I hope so. Not all dark arts are reversable, that is part of why they're outlawed. But, well, I don't see the point in giving up all hope completely."

As to asking the professors, that was always the only real option anyone provided. It wasn't an option for him, though, a child who had been let down by adults his whole life, and spent his first two years learning to normalize paranoia. "I don't trust any of them. For her to be a student here for years, for her to attack me and Thomas-"

Flash halted, not meaning to bring Lestrange into this. He had already been shipped off, his curse had overtaken his life, made it impossible for him to attend school. Flash knew that was his future if nothing changed, but who knew if it could get worse. If Thomas was being treated at home, did it mean no one could find a cure? Was killing Marion the only option?

"Well, I can't help but feel like talking to them would make things worse. Students have been disappearing for a while now, I could be next."

Strangely, he felt better when Dee admitted she had 'asked for it.' Even though he ought to have been a very logical person, he erroneously took responsibility for everything. It made sense that he ought not to apologize after being prodded, but the logic instead had informed him that he should be ashamed for being difficult. Bad parenting was a horrible drug. It would make him remember the respect he held for her mind, only continued by the fact that she admitted to liking mysteries. Though tired in posture, Flash's eyes would be more engaged as she continued.

From there though, rather than dropping it, she railed off many more questions. Flash's engagement would drain as she spoke, and his eyes would unfocus. He knew she was a writer for the student newspaper, she had interviewed Alan and him once about SWAG. The idea of any of this information leaking to the whole school thrummed a vibration of fear through his heart. Ignoring most of her prying, Flash would only answer the final one.

"Only my close friends know. I have trouble trusting people, if you can imagine why." Flash's face would be serious, awake, and scowling. "Please don't go around telling everyone I'm cursed. I don't know what will happen to me if you do, but--"

Before Flash could theorize on his untimely demise, their time had finally run out. The professor walked in with her usual bright energy, and Flash would abruptly stop paying attention to Dee. He would just have to hope she understood the gravity of the situation, and that she wouldn't take advantage of the fact that she managed to get him to spill his guts without meaning to. He didn't know her well enough to judge her character, but now he would need to keep an eye on her.

Dee was still drumming her fingers on the table. She nodded, more businesslike than comforting, but then, comfort was probably not what Flash wanted or needed from her. Better that way, Dealla Prince was not exactly known for her superb bedside manners. "That's true," she agreed. "But still, many things can be broken or at least eased, I think. There must be something to do."

What though, that was a more difficult question. Flash had tried probably. That he didn't want to talk to any of the professors was likely not making the situation any easier. He didn't trust them, it wasn't the first time she'd heard a student say something like that, but who else to turn to? This wasn't a problem he could just solve on his own.

She perked up at the hints of new information. She? Student here? Thomas? Which Thomas. She knew more than one. "Who? What? The hag who cursed you is a student here?" And he was refusing to tell the professors? That seemed negligent at best. "Won't keeping quiet give her the chance to attack even more students? How would talking to a professor make that worse?"

But Flash didn't seem to feel very forthcoming anymore. He was shutting down, perhaps she had prodded too far, too insistently. She didn't regret it, though. The conversation, started for fun, to plan a game, had brought some shocking revelations. Things she felt she should have known, should have noticed, found out earlier. Her mind was spinning, and there were still more questions to ask. Always more questions.

The request to keep the knowledge about Flash to herself was a necessary one in Dee's case, she was not exactly the most discrete person, and usually would not consider things a secret until explicitly told to.

The professor entered while she was still trying to figure out how to respond, and Flash turned away, making clear the conversation was over. She watched him a bit longer, the side of his face visible to her, now again only his healthy, blue eye to her. Finally, she leaned forward a little. "I won't tell everyone," she promised. "But I will see if I can find out more without spreading what happened to you. And for the record... I think you may be making a mistake."

@Flash Holmwood
Thread finished.