Closed Mistletoe and Mayhem PV Simon Tilia Continued in Hospital Wing

Estelle smiled as Simon helped her up. He slung his arm around her shoulder and she slung hers around his, allowing her to use him to support her leg.

Estelle looked back at the tree. The branch that held the remaining mistletoe was crooked and there was a small gap with broken branches where she fell. She hoped the tree would be able to regrow the branches.

"By the way, did you get the mistletoe?"

Estelle glanced at Simon and then gestured to her pocket. The mistletoe was neatly folded in it, preventing it from falling out.

"It's in here"

They began to hobble towards the school. It took them a bit to get into sync, but after a few near falls and one point where Estelle somehow managed to trip over her own leg, they were off.

Her knee still hurt but the pain that would have prevented her from walking was lessened with Simon's aid. She was so thankful for his help. Honestly, she probably would have hurt herself more, attempting to hobble to the Hospital Wing by herself. She was a little clumsy at the best of times.

As they walked, Estelle decided she wished to get to know Simon a little better. She had learnt that he was also a half blood and a few other things about him on their journey to Hogwarts but she wanted to learn more.

"So Simon, I was thinking... could we play Two Truths and a Lie?"

Getting Estelle back to the castle was a bit trickier than Simon had anticipated, not at least due to their height difference. He did his best to aid her and thought they had no choice but to let it take time. There was no need in rushing, that would probably only make her knee worse.

"So Simon, I was thinking... could we play Two Truths and a Lie?"

He was quite surprised by the question. Playing games was perhaps not the first thing you would think about doing when you have just fallen from a tree, but at the same time, he liked the idea. That would also give them something to talk about.

"Well, since we have quite a bit left until we reach the castle, we could as well fill that time with something meaningful", said Simon and smiled. "Okay... Let me think..."

Try not to overthink this time. After half a minute he felt ready to present his alternatives.

"Okay, I think I got something... Are you alright, by the way? Just let me know if you want to pause and rest for a moment." He observed her facial expressions carefully for a short moment to see if there was any sign in there that they should stop. "Alright... First, I enjoy listening to jazz music, like old jazz music. I... I've been up close to the Whomping Willow. Nearly got crushed to death by it and all. And... I'm in love with someone."

Simon was quite pleased with his two truths and one lie. He had always been a bit uncomfortable to talk about things such as love, especially with people he did not know so well, but he did not feel embarrassed at all. And he managed to keep his poker face on, keen on not giving her any clues...

Interacting with @Estelle Nyx

Estelle pressed on. She had got this far and felt that if she stopped, she wouldn't get back up. Her knee was throbbing again and the best thing to do for it would be to go to the Hospital Wing. Therefore, she nodded to Simon when he asked if she wished to keep walking.

First, I enjoy listening to jazz music, like old jazz music. I... I've been up close to the Whomping Willow. Nearly got crushed to death by it and all. And... I'm in love with someone."

That last answer surprised her. Simon didn't seem like the type to talk about love. Estelle didn't have much experience with love - only a stolen first kiss by a grubby boy who had chased her round the playground. She thought for a minute. Simon could easily have someone he loved. She very much doubted it was her. Who else could it be? She honestly didn't know.

She was surprised when she felt a pang of jealousy. Why was she jealous? Simon was fully entitled to love someone else. This was only really her second time meeting him, if you don't count the occasional waves and smiles in the corridors. She decided to see this answer objectively. It was risky to go for and she felt it could honestly go either way.

Estelle weighed up her options. Old jazz music seemed completely believable, but often the lies lay in the most obvious of answers.

The second answer was trickier. The Whomping Willow was dangerous, and difficult to approach. Simon could have overheard one of the other students talking about its dangers. Then again, Estelle fully believed Simon was capable of evading the Whomping Willow.

Estelle weighed up her options. The Whomping Willow was almost definitely true, leaving Simon's potential love of jazz and romantic love in doubt. But which could it be?

She finally went with the less risky of options.

"I think that you don't like Jazz music."

The silence was almost painful. Rather than trying to guess which answer was right, Simon thought that Estelle probably tried to decipher who the girl was that he loved. She was probably doing detective work in her head, going through each and every one of the girls among the First Years and those he usually was seen around – Irina, Willow, Madison, for instance... If Estelle would be so bold to guess which one she thought Simon was in love with, then he would be embarrassed. Perhaps he had not thought this through properly.

"I think that you don't like Jazz music."

Puh, what a relief.

"That's false. I do like jazz music, actually. Kind of a guilty pleasure. A bit dorky perhaps, but that's the truth", he said with a smile. "The Whomping Willow is true also. First month. But... please, don't tell anyone. I didn't know that the tree was so dangerous. It literally had you caught like an eight-armed octopus, blocking every possible escape path when you tried to flee from its swinging branches! So the other one was a lie. I'm not in love with someone." Simon changed his grip around her waist because it felt as if she was constantly slipping. "Okay, now your turn!"

He was curious what Estelle was going to come up with.

Interacting with @Estelle Nyx

"Okay, now your turn"

Estelle was relieved that Simon's potential love was the lie. She didn't want to hear who it was and it would be awkward if it was her. Still, if someone wanted to admit their love, Two Truths and a Lie was as good a way as any.

Anyway, Estelle had other things to focus on. She needed to think of her statements.

She knew she had to think of them all first, lest she spend too long thinking between them and give it away.

She had a think about weird things she could say. She had worn many a strange costume for Halloween but she felt they were too obvious. There was that time when she managed to climb onto the roof of her house, but that was a bit obvious. She could make up something about a sibling, but she wasn't sure whether she'd told Simon that she was an only child. Finally, she settled on three statements.

"Firstly, I absolutely hate carrots. They are too crunchy, they hurt your jaw and I hate how they taste. Secondly, I have ridden a Hippogriff in Scotland. It was terrifying but exhilarating. I loved it! Thirdly and finally, I can't sing. My voice is terrible, and everyone winces when I sing. I can't hit the right notes.

So, Simon, which is the lie?"

Carrots? Could it be that Estelle really hated carrots so bad? The hippogriff anecdote actually sounded like something that Estelle could have done. He knew that she aspired to become a magizoologist and it was almost as if she was talking out of experience. So that one could possibly be true. No, it was highly likely that one was true. Estelle had a sweet voice, however. He enjoyed her tone and the way she spoke. But was she a good singer? He did not doubt it, but when summarizing the facts, hating carrots seemed like the lie among the statements.

"Okay. Since you want to be a magizoologist, I'd say you have ridden a Hippogriff in Scotland, for which I would be super-jealous... About your singing voice; I have no reason to believe you are a terrible singer. Just from hearing you speak, I'd say you have a very good voice. But hating carrots because of their crunchiness and taste? That seems a bit far-fetched to me. I might be wrong, but I'd say that is the lie."

What if she was an excellent singer? He hoped he did not offend her.

"Okay, my turn..." Simon did not gave himself much time to plan this time, so he decided he would just wing it. "First statement. I've never lied to a teacher here at Hogwarts... I've never punched someone." He thought about the last one for a long time. The silence was filled with bird song of the returning spring birds and the mild wind that caressed the trees. "... When we departed on the platform... I hoped we were going to hang out more."

Interacting with @Estelle Nyx

Estelle giggled as Simon denounced her hatred of carrots. She'd always hated the crunchy, sometimes watery vegetable. Honestly, she didn't understand why they were eaten as food. It was like eating grass. There was no point.

"I can now reveal to you that the lie is, dun dun dun... I can sing.

Well, kind of. Everyone loves my voice when I sing but I don't do it very often. I pretty much exclusively sing Disney songs and mostly sing them while listening on headphones in my room at home. It's a shame headphones don't work in Hogwarts. I need to work out how purebloods listen to music. Maybe they don't? That would be terrible. Imagine a life without music..."

Estelle shuddered. That was a terrible thought. She realised she was rambling again.

"Sorry, I'm rambling aren't I"


She assessed Simon's answers. The first could be true, though she doubted it. The second could definitely be true, or at least if it wasn't it had a good story behind it. The third she hoped was true. She really hoped it was.

[color=#850000d]"The first is a lie."[/color]


Estelle glanced up. They had nearly reached the castle doors. She probably had time for one more game.

"Okay, my turn."

Estelle weighed up her options. She thought of all the weird and wacky things she had done at her primary school.

"I once planted a newt in a boy's pants, I climbed onto my school roof to chuck water at my teacher and I have dyed my hair at least six different times, in various colours.

Which is the lie?"

So she could sing after all! He wondered what her singing voice sounded like. Perhaps he would get to hear it some time? Without having to be at her home in her room. Or maybe he would be there some day? But he hoped she would dare to sing more at Hogwarts. Simon always enjoyed live music and live singing.

"... It's a shame headphones don't work in Hogwarts. I need to work out how purebloods listen to music. Maybe they don't? That would be terrible. Imagine a life without music..."

"I totally agree. I know that gramophones work in Hogwarts. So at least we can listen to older music, like LP records. If you miss music that much, we can listen to one of my LP's some time. If you want to. And if we find a gramophone, of course", said Simon and gave her a friendly smile. "I can always send for one of my records. I have a small collection at home."

"Okay, my turn. I once planted a newt in a boy's pants, I climbed onto my school roof to chuck water at my teacher and I have dyed my hair at least six different times, in various colours. Which is the lie?"

She did what? Estelle was apparently more mischievous than he thought. Of course, one of the two statements was false, but would she really have done even one of those things? He realized he actually got to see new sides of Estelle from this game.

"You put a newt in a boy's pants? Should I be nervous?", said Simon and chuckled. "I would fear for Hufflepuff's position in the House Cup if you were to chuck water over one of the Professors... But I definitely think that you could have dyed your hair in six different colors. Then it's only a matter of question of how brave you really are. Would you really have chucked water over your teacher? Maybe. If you hated him or her, perhaps. But the other one? Nah. I think the first one is false!"

Interacting with @Estelle Nyx

"Well, Simon, you'd be surprised. The teacher one is false.

In my primary school we had a pond, which had newts in. I always loved them, as I do all creatures but some of the boys were really annoying and would tease the girls and dump water on them. I always hated it.

There was this really annoying boy named Gale. He would chase the girls around, asking if he could kiss them and when they said no he'd try to do it anyway. It got to the point where I was the only girl not kissed, as I had spent some time in the library in my breaks and he didn't go there. So I concocted a plan.

I got one of the newts and put it in a jar of water. When Gale came up to me, I let him kiss me (which was really gross - he basically stole my first kiss) and plopped the newt down the back of his trousers. He spent the next few minutes screaming and squirming, until finally the newt fell out of his trouser leg. I rescued it and returned it to the pond.

After that, he and his friends left us alone."

Estelle gazed up at the gates. Apart from the occasional twinge, Simon had managed to distract her from the pain the entire journey.

"Thank you so much for helping me Simon" she said with a smile.

Then she remembered the location of the hospital wing.

"I'm going to have to go up three floors worth of stairs!"

"... He would chase the girls around, asking if he could kiss them and when they said no he'd try to do it anyway ..."

“That wasn’t very nice!”

Simon laughed as Estelle got to the end of the story. He thought it was very admirable that Estelle had let the boy kiss her only to make him stop, once and for all. But then again, she was a Gryffindor, clearly living up to their reputation of being courageous and willing to sacrificing themselves in order so save others.

“Well, that boy got what he deserved! At least there was a happy ending to the story, both for you, for the girls and for the newt. Although I believe it was quite an unpleasant detour for that newt back to the pond. I feel more sorry for the newt than for you, to be honest. I’d prefer the kiss rather than the other way around."

Simon could not imagine what it would be like to be kissed against your will. Sometimes his parents or big sister gave him a kiss on his cheek or forehead. But what was it like to kiss someone on the lips? He hoped his first time would be better than Estelle's. He did not want a girl to force herself onto him against his will. At least he knew about the 'newt trick’ now, but he doubted it would ever be necessary. Maybe no one would want to kiss him? Like, ever... and he would die unkissed. After all, he was turning 13 in only five months and he had seen both Third Years and Second Years having partners, holding hands in the corridor or kissing each other before going to their respective classes. Was that the reality that awaited them next year?

"Thank you so much for helping me Simon", said Estelle as they entered the courtyard.

A lot of curious students were looking at them, wondering what had happened. Simon ignored them.

"Don't mention it, I'm sure you would have done the same for me", said Simon and smiled.

"I'm going to have to go up three floors worth of stairs!"

"What are you talking about? Did you really think I would just drop you off here? I'm not leaving you. Besides, I now a shortcut behind one of the paintings, so we can go straight from the first floor to the third floor. Sure there are some stairs there as well, but the road is not as long as if you would take the Grand Staircase. If you still want my help?"

Maybe Estelle was ashamed of being seen around him, for some reason. He had never really thought about that. Was that why she had left him on the platform and never really talked to him again except greeting him and smiling to him in the corridors? It was still a mystery to him what had happened between them. Of course, he too found new friends shortly after arriving at Hogwarts and was soon occupied with them. It was not like he had approached her either, but he was not entirely sure why. Maybe it was because he always had the feeling that she was just being polite and did not actually want his company.

Interacting with @Estelle Nyx