Closed If We Have Each Other PV Group

Date: Around Christmas Break
Location: Flourean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour
Character(s): Shay & Max

The bell tinkled as Shay held the door open for his cousin, resisting the urge to spit on him for being so dramatic. Why did he have to do the boring stuff like hold doors and carry packages and pay for shit when his cousin was the almost-adult here? Never mind that it was the other boy's money he was spending, he shouldn't be treated like a slave just because Ivor said they had to stick together when Shay left the castle.

"I'm not staying long," Shay growled lowly as Max strode past him, unconcerned. "I want to keep exploring."

Max didn't even bother looking at him when he spoke, his voice matching the volume of Shay's. "Since when, dear cousin, have I ever given off the impression that I give a singular shit about what you want?" That made Shay grimace as he hurried after Max, the scowl he'd been wearing since they'd met up deepening at the words.

But... well... ever since they'd met at Ivor's place, he'd never been able to one-up the older boy. He was always socially stumbling at parties, getting frustrated with his homework, and losing his temper regardless of how hard he tried to reign it in. By contrast, Max was poised, smart, and grew cold instead of hot when he was angry. It wasn't fair. Shay didn't necessarily want to be like that, since Max seemed to be able to lie convincingly at the drop of a hat, but he at least wanted to be able to... to... give off whatever vibe that was. Predatorial and graceful, like a confident large cat. If he was like that, would Ivor be just as impressed with him as he was with the Durmstrang student?

"Dymphna," Max said as he approached a table with a couple of older students screeching around it. Why were so many girls like monkeys, always screeching and loud? His mother had never been like that. "Thank you for the invite. It's wonderful to see you. And Rosie - "

Was that a real smile on his cousin's face? Shay could never tell with people, but Max in particular was hard to read. He'd seen Max say absolutely horrible to things to people at parties with the same smile he was wearing now, but then he'd seen him wear it while accepting praise from Ivor. Fuckin' weirdo psychopath boy. Unable to contain himself, he cut in on the middle of Max's conversation with a burst of anxious words, setting his shoulders stubbornly. "We can't stay too long, so say yer greetings and then we'll leave. Important appointments to get to."

" - you seem to have grown somewhat. I think. Hard to tell." Damn, that leech-for-brains hadn't even paused to acknowledge him. Shay moved to take a seat but Max grabbed the exact one he'd been moving for, slipping into it without a hint on his face of whether or not he'd known Shay wanted it. Shay wondered if he could ask any of the nearby patrons if they knew the spell that killed people. "I'd ask what you've been up to, but I imagine we should wait for the others." Great, more screechers and psycho weirdos? "But it is good to see you."

Clueless to it all, Dymphna squeezes her tight. She inquired after Rosie when she left but her letters went unanswered, leading her to believe that whatever it was, the Hufflepuff didn't want to talk about it. Like Reid, Rosie will open up when she's ready. Though it does give Dymph the sense that her friends feel as though they can't talk openly with her, or rather won't, and instead bottle it all up and act like everything is fine.

She can't judge too much as she's done the same but that's what friends are for, to chat with and offer support in hard times. It's why she confided in Phaedra and Reid about leaving Hogwarts briefly during her third year. Leaving then returning to Hogwarts herself, she understands what it must be like for her friend these last few months leading up to their winter break. However, the blonde is an impatient person.

She's always been the curious sort, not one for gossip but for knowledge, and over the years she's often wondered what happened with Reid. At first, Dymphna didn't want to push him on it. It wasn't any of her business and she offered to talk about it, he declined. That was the end of it. But she often thinks of asking him directly about what happened with his family.

The sense of normalcy is what's holding her back. It'll be shattered within a few months. Something will happen as it always does (another fire perhaps) and someday they'll meet for a study session as they always do, and she'll ruin everything by opening her big mouth and bringing up something he'd much rather forget. That thought makes her frown and she clamps her mouth shut so she doesn't ask Rosie about what happened right then and there.

Her smile is fake but Dymphna doesn't notice. "I've missed you too. I'm sorry I didn't stop to say hello these last few months, you know how it is." She brushes it off with a wave like it's no big deal, though in actuality it is. At the time, the sting of her unanswered letters was still there; now it's faded somewhat the same way it has with Reid not confiding in her. (She reminds herself that just because they're friends doesn't mean they have to tell one another literally everything).

For a moment, she launches into a spiel regarding one of their last assignments before the holiday which she can practically feel Rosie rolling her eyes at, but she listens all the same until a familiar voice speaks. They turn to look at him. "Maxwell," she exclaims in surprise, unsure if he would be able to make it, "of course, it's good to see you."

Dymphna studies the younger boy with him. She's heard about a younger cousin starting at Hogwarts but hasn't introduced herself yet. It doesn't seem like he wants to be there but Max brushes him off easily, like he does it all the time. Knowing him, he probably does. She watches their interactions with surprised amusement as they take a seat; Dymph sits facing the door, leaving a space between her and Max for Phaedra.

"Should we order something? I could go for a hot chocolate."

Things were always changing at Hogwarts - though, this bitter cold weather did seem to be a constant. Over the years, she had lost touch with friends that she had been attached to the hip at before or worse, lost friends over petty things like a boy. It sucked. Whilst she was getting better at dealing with the emotions and certainly feeling less lonely than she had in parts, she was also kind of aware that she seemed a little distant from people these days. She had friends. It just seemed that... her list of close friends grew smaller by the day or perhaps there was a distance growing between them. Maybe she was overthinking this. The Hufflepuff could not really tell but sometimes, she felt like she considered people friends when, perhaps, they did not? Or maybe she considered herself a bad friend for not being more actively involved in people's lives.

There was a distance between them and perhaps, in some of those cases, the fault was her own. Her long fingers gently ran over the tip of her pointy right ear before sighing softly and adjusting the woolly hat she was wearing. The knitted hat donned Christmas-themed designs, like the outline of a reindeer, some jackalopes, a little badger in a Santa hat and snowflakes. She had a matching scarf to go in hand with this. There was a set of gloves with it but she was wearing her usual black fingerless gloves instead. Making sure everything was fully covered, Serena walked down the streets of Hogsmeade.

A part of her was on edge as she looked around. It might have been the fact that she was a goblin walking around alone on the streets of Hogsmeade - a place where her best friend had been attacked less than a year ago simply for being a half-breed. That was one of the many reasons she was being careful that her 'goblinesque' features were covered.

Another part of her felt a little nervous. When she received Dymphna's owl, she was thrilled. It was an opportunity for her to hang out with at least one of her oldest friends and hopefully start bridging that distance that she had placed between them. She had no idea who else was going to be here, at the hangout but that did not matter. She just wanted to be with her friends and stop feeling like they had grown apart. That being said, there was another part of her that was nervous. What if things felt a bit different now? Like the distance had grown so deep that it was just awkward now? What if they were not as close as they once were? Grumbling inaudibly to herself, she warned herself to stop thinking. There was definite overthinking in this. Or maybe there wasn't. Ugh. Why was trying to be social and just be happy so frickin' hard sometimes?

She sighed softly as she glanced at Pizza, who had poked out of the pocket of her winter coat and ran up to her shoulder, "Hey buddy," She whispered softly as he snuggled into the side of her neck, "It will be alright. They are friends. Aaaaannnd, I'll get ice cream so that's a win:win right? Though maybe it's a bit too cold for that... Oh wells!" Serena mumbled towards him, comforting herself more than him as she tried to make herself stop overthinking this. It would be great. Dymphna was a friend. Whoever else was there would also be friends or just have further opportunities to make new friends! Right! That was a good way of thinking about it. Everyone was either a friend or a potential future one that she just hadn't met yet. Unless they sucked. But in that case, she could just politely excuse herself and leave.

With that, she pushed open the door of the parlour and entered. The warmth from inside hit her face, much to her relief and she quickly hurried in, shutting the door behind her before looking around for a familiar face.

Wait - was that Rosie? Serena's face lit up, almost as though the nerves were dissipating at the sight of Rosie and Dymphna. They both looked well! They were with someone she did not recognise and uh... wait- why did that kid look familiar- wait- was that... Max Avery? She found herself squinting a little at him as she walked closer, almost like an old lady but he had shot up in height quite a bit since she last saw him if it was him and seemed generally... older? Then again, most people did. Everyone except her. Who was pretty much the same height... as she was about four years ago... Welp. Argh, maybe it wasn't him?? How was she supposed to know! Wear a name tag, dammit!!

"HIIII GUYS!" She quickly started in a sudden burst of excitement before composing herself as she turned to the younger looking boy, "Hi, sorry I don't think we've met before? I'm Serena," She said, trying to be polite and keep her awkward nerves at bay before flicking her gaze to the other boy, just in case it wasn't Max. Ugh why was meeting new people - or even just older people you haven't seen in a little while - feel so awkward sometimes?