Catching up. PV Simon Closed

Simon was on his way to the Library to collect some books that were being held for him and even in arriving at his Common Room he could sense it was a bit of a different morning. Some of his fellow badgers looked upon him curiously - not really frightened, not really upset, not really judging - but somehow their gaze seemed a little different than normal. It was like they were studying him, their eyes scanning over his features.

He just flashed his smile to them, greeted a "be awesome today, badgers, and have an amazing day," and headed out. Who knew what they were going on about - perhaps they were still talking about his proposal to the Fall Dance. Perhaps he'd never live that down.

As he made his way to the Library, some other students there were out and about seemed a little off as well. These ones seemed just plain shifty and would move when they saw him walking through the corridors. Did he appear to be in a hurry?

He spotted three books resting abandoned along the stone wall with no one in sight of them. They looked dropped or scattered, so Simon went to retrieve them to see if it had names on the inside covers. They too were Library books. He glanced around to see if anyone seemed to be missing them. Maybe he'd just take them back to the Library.

"There he is. That's him. The dhampir," he heard a student say as another, a friend, pushed them further away. That caught Simon's ear and he glanced up as they scurried away and he caught sight of a few in the corridors with the school newspaper in their hands. Ah, the October edition had finally been released. Of course.

It was then that Clair approached him and he smiled, glad to see her, but also relieved that now everyone would know. "Clair! Good to see you." She brought up the article straight away and he had no doubt that the Ravenclaws were probably the first to read the publication. "No, no celebrity at all. In fact, I may have unfortunately made some enemies - or at least, what they assume to be my prey with the way some are acting this morning. I'm just tired of hiding."

"Good to see you too! How have you been?" The prefect smiled toward her fellow prefect and best friend. She rolled her eyes at his comment, "Oh yes, because you have a history of preying on your peers." She jumped away from him, acting scared "Oooh, please don't bite meee!" She said dramatically, earning a few weird looks from students walking past. "Seriously though, anyone who knows you would know that unless in a broom race or dealing with hags a teddy bear is more violent than you, why would that change now?"

Clair had always been rather open to the whole half-breeds at hogwarts thing, to her it was like letting Muggleborns, purebloods and halfbloods into hogwarts. Heck, her boyfriend was a werewolf, and her best friend a dhampir (as the whole of hogwarts now knew) She had never understood what people had against them, but still she knew that there was a good amount of the student body who disliked the halfbreeds that called Hogwarts home.

She watched for a second to see how people acted around them, some seemed curious, some seemed scared, but few seemed hateful and none seemed to make any advances towards her friend. She wondered if Simon was not a prefect if the students would take a more violent measure or if they would have the decency to be kind.

(wc 230)

@Simon Kincaid

"I'm hoping not much will change and hey, to those that it really matters, it won't change at all." Besides, the most important of his inner circle already knew what he was - whether it was through him telling them or they just figuring it out on their own after being around him long enough - to see the dilated pupils in low light, to see how quick he was to sunburn, how pale he always was, his quick reflexes, his increased strength - not to mention the adult fangs and unsettling aura that came in last year.

Yes, it was time to out himself and Simon felt rather relieved to have done so. There was no hiding now. His full true self was out there and if anyone was to make a deal of it then he would just live and let go.

"It was quite the topic of conversation this morning in my common room, but not really a topic of concern. I think the most scandalous comment said was that I was in competition with Howard White to be the new resident Hufflepuff dhampir - like I'm trying to steal his limelight somehow," Simon smiled because that was just ridiculous.

"So besides reading fantastically written articles in the school newspaper, what has my best friend been up to?"

A first year bumped into the both of them. "Sorry," he quickly said to Clair and then looked over to Simon and his eyes got wide. "S....s...... s..... " and that's all he got out before scurrying away like a rat who was getting chased off with a broom. Simon sighed and tilted his head, indicating for Clair to follow them and they found themselves a bench there in the corridor.