Unmaking
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@Siobhan McCartyClassroom
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────It had been quite some days since that stupid and tumulus argument upon Astronomy Tower, and the silence and lack of contact that followed, felt heavier than any curse Prat had ever been dealt with on the piste.
Too many nights he found himself replaying that scene, every word and every sharp inhale, the unfinished sentences as he tried to figure out where exactly it all went wrong. He could still hear her voice, distant now, clipped and sure in her delivery of the rejection. In the moment, it had truly stung like nothing else ever did.
And for a while, he'd pretended he didn't care much. Telling himself it didn't matter, Siobhan McCarty did not matter; that if she didn't see him the way he wanted her to, then fine. He did not need her either.
But that was a lie. A good, well rehearsed one, but a lie nonetheless.
The truth however couldn't have been any different. He cared, and far too much about this.
He'd been hurt by her dismissal and the path she chose for it. He could admit that much to himself. The boy had foolishly believed himself to be holding a little more space in her world than he actually did. Thinking he was important, or at least significant. But her rejection made it quite clear how that wasn't the case.
Not the way he wanted it to be anyway.
And in his usual fashion, he'd taken that blow and turned it into something twisted and cruel. He'd lashed out at her that night, said things he wished he hadn't.
It wasn't right and the boy knew that.
Prat had always been good at keeping things under control. Emotions, impulses, presentation, but that night he'd lost his rationale and she'd been the one to take the blow. He'd meant to hurt her and he had succeeded in the most exceptional of ways.
In hindsight, he wished he'd handled it all differently. He wished he'd just asked her out properly back at the summer camp, that night he'd walked her to her tent after the fireworks. The moment was right there, and it surely mattered a lot to him, he assumed it meant something to her as well. She'd hugged him after all, thanked him, looked at him with those eyes.
And in his genius, he'd done nothing. Letting it all pass like smoke.
And here he stood, days later, pretending he hadn't thought about her since the ill fated day.
The boy told himself to move on, tried so with another beautiful face. The ball had come and gone, and though he did his best to enjoy it, seeing her there with Odilon of all people twisted something ugly in his chest. He'd even faked her into a duel with him to get her attention.
A pathetic attempt. It was desperation disguised as confidence parading as Strategy.
And despite his best attempts, she didn't bite, not as much as he wanted her to. It almost felt like she was avoiding him altogether. Whether it was my coincidence or choice, it was a worse state to be in.
He missed her.
And that wasn't something he knew to fix or name. Approaching someone for his needs wasn't in his forte, he was used to being in the spotlight and having all the requests made of him; and not the other way around.
It wasn't just about missing her company however, it was the absence of her presence as well. The ways she always found something muggle to bring to the conversation when most would simply stay silent from their lack of genuine interest. The way her stubbornness almost complimented his so perfectly.
She was infuriating, exhausting and both the sweetest temptation and the deepest of torments.
And not seeing her everyday had started to wear the pureblood boy down more than he wanted to admit. He'd tried burying himself in both duelling and Quidditch, coursework, in anything and anyone that would make him forget. But the memory occasionally lingered in the halls, during classes at the Astronomy Tower, in the faint smells of those objects that his memory refused to let go off.
He decided he'd stop waiting for her to forgive him and reach out. If she wasn't going to talk, he would.
He caught her between classes that day, the very few advantages of fancying someone from your own year. The corridor was briefly empty, just long enough for him to act before he head could find sense and convince him not to.
When the Gryffindor girl walked past, he stepped out from the side hall, catching her waist in a smooth motion and pulling her into an empty classroom, clicking the door shut behind them. Her back hit the wall softly, and before she could make a sound, he pressed his hand gently, yet firmly over her mouth.
"Don't shout," he whispered. "It's me. Prat."
For a second, he stayed like that, close enough to see the startled look in those eyes. Close enough for the hot breath against his palm.
He waited, watching her, half-expecting a sharp kick to his shins or a bite to his hand. Eventually, he eased back a little, lowering his hand but keeping his gaze locked on hers.
His fingers founds hers next, intertwining, instinctively. He didn't want her running away again. "Hi, Sio." he sighed, voice quieter now. "Don't say anything yet, alright? You already speak a lot."
While it came out as a joke, to those more perceptive, it'd have come out with the underlying tones of tension, regret and a tinge of fear laced in his work.
Drawing a steady breath, he forced himself to meet her eyes, not that it'd change anything. "I need to say this before I lose that nerve. About that night up there." He swallowed. "I'm really sorry for what I said, and the way I said it that day."
The words felt clumsy, too heavy in his mouth. He wasn't good at this, apologies weren't something that came naturally to the overly pampered Heir. "I didn't mean half of it," he went on. "I was angry. Hurt I suppose. It just--- It felt easier to last out than admit it. So I did what I do best. I aimed for the lowest hanging fruit. Said things I knew would hurt where they hit....And I realize that wasn't fair to you."
He paused, thumb grazing her knuckles unconsciously. "That must've felt like such a betrayal of your trust. I know it would to me. And I hate that I gave you a reason to think that."
The silence that followed was thick, but the suffocation he'd felt for the past days was no longer holding the air hostage. Something had broken open. Raw and Uncertain.
He let out a slow exhale. Chest felt lighter now that the words were finally out, though it made him endure an ache that wasn't easy to name.
"I've missed you," he said finally, almost under his breath. "These past few days, not seeing you, not talking to you. It's been strange. I hate it and I hate how much it bothered me."
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| Prat Pass - Slytherin | |
Sta: 7 | Eva: 10 | Str: 6 | Wis: 7 | Arc: 7 | Acc: 13 |
Sta: 9 | Eva: 15 | Str: 0 | Wis: 7 | Arc: 5 | Acc: 15 |
Unmaking
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: A Gloomy Day| CC:#2E8B57
────────────────────────────────One moment she had been walking down the corridor from one class to another and the next, her back was slammed into a wall as an unseen assailant had thrown their hand over her mouth. Before she could let out a cry of fear there was a familiar voice of "Don't shout. It's me, Prat."
His palm was still over her mouth. It smelled like regret and desperation.
Her nose wrinkled and her eyes squinted as she tried to bring his face fully into her vision. It was more difficult than ever lately to see things for how they were. Prat having grabbed her and pulled her into an empty classroom seemed completely out of character. Her mind needed to pull his face into focus to assure her that it really was him and not somone else who was using their friendship as a means to mock her.
Though the sound of his voice was far too desperate when he asked her not to speak. She knew her mouth ran off before she could catch it. Besides. She hadn't found any words that she wanted to say to him anyway. Enough had been said between them and not much more when the night in the Astronomy Tower had passed. Prat had orchastrated a duel between them in a pathetic attempt to get her attention- as though he'd been a barking dog that she had put outside. But then, when the ball had arrived he had ignored her. The event that he had all but begged her to attend with him and he had flat out ignored her.
She'd put it out of her mind because she'd had a lovely night, and a lovely date. Odi was far too kind to her, and he truly let her try to do things for herself rather than doing things for her. Odi didn't bicker with her over everything and he made her laugh. He made her feel good about herself and it was just perfect. And yet something had still been missing.
She'd really hoped it wasn't Prat but it was. His snark, his audacity, and his matter-of-factness. How he kept things real and didn't sugarcoat things when she worried about them. But still- he had called out her insecurities. How could someone who seemed to come across as caring about her say such horrid crap to her?
Siobhan listened to him intently but her mind was still feeding into her anxieties that he was only saying this to get her to feel sorry for him. Her mind was spiraling and she felt her breathing rise as the pressure in her chest tightened and the room began to spin.
"I hate it and I hate how much it bothered me." Prat finished as the silence between them started to grow once again. She'd done what he'd asked and not said anything, though at what cost? Too many words were swirling at Mach 10 in her head as thoughts formed and disappated trying to find things to say in response to what he had told her.
Siobhan looked down at their hands. No longer where they simply grasping each other's hand like friends, rather their fingers were intertwined now, symbolizing that they had definitely started to move into territory that couldn't be classified as platonic.
On her bed, in her arms nearly every night, was the bear that he had gifted her which was enchanted to give her a hug whenever she was near. It was marred with her tears and it had become accustomed to her perfume and the earthy notes of her clothes and hair covered it in. Prat had given that to her during the Summer Camp Firework event. He'd walked her back to her tent after an ice cream acquistition and then...
nothing.
He'd just made some dumb kidnapping joke and then left her. In the dark outside of her tent. It had been weird when she went to bed that night. She remembered laying in her bed with her bear in her arms as she thought to herself about whether something had been missing from that last moment between them. Words? Actions?
They'd only talked a little bit during class, their usual bickering and chiding between them until a few days before the ball when it had been too late for her to accept him as her date again. The scene in the Astronomy Tower had weakened her emotionally and she had been far too exhausted the next day to even get to classes. Something she had never done consciously before.
Defintiely not because she and Alphonse had been far too hungover to make it out of the tower.
But here he was, trying to convey to her what he had been feeling since that moment. Since all the moments before hand.
"I know I put this distance between us." her voice finally broke through as her mind stilled like the beach before a wave crashed upon it. "I thought I needed space but it didn't help."
Her free hand took the hand away from her face where he had rested it to keep her from speaking as he said his piece. Holding both his hands in hers, she sighed deeply even though she still felt incredibly dizzy and lightly sick to her stomach.
"You hurt me. You cut deep with words I know now came from a cut I made on you. It's... I can't-" Siobhan started as she tried to formulate all her thoughts so that they came out correctly and not because they were anxious and nervous about what could happen if the words between them weren't interpreted correctly. "I can't lie to you and pretend I wasn't mad. I was-still- no, I was angry. I was emotional. I just didn't understand why you did that. Because I didn't accept your invitation?" Siobhan asked him with a light plead in her voice as she tried to get him to understand why she had run away when he'd snapped at her.
"I didn't want to hurt you." She whispered. "I am so sorry that I did."
Siobhan quieted down after that. It was all she could really say at that point. An extension of an apology and a butterfly of hope floated into the atmosphere between them. Unseen by both, it fluttered above them as she looked at where his voice had come from.
Siobhan felt the warmth of a setting sun on her face from the window next to her. Was it really so late in the day? Her eyes reacted lightly to it but not in a way that she would have if her eyes were able to see.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Prat Pass|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Last edited by Siobhan McCarty on 26 Oct 2025, 17:08, edited 1 time in total.
sta 6 | eva 8| str 7| STATS | wis 7 | arc 5 | acc 7|
I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream- Sleeping Beauty
Unmaking
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@Siobhan McCartyClassroom
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────Prat hadn't thought it would come to this. Dragging Siobhan into an empty classroom like some kind of criminal, but she hadn't left him any choice to begin with. Every attempt he'd tried to approach Sio like a sane individual, something made its way between them as a barrier. Her friends, her schedule, her intentional avoidance and eventually; his own pride. The results was always the same despite different methods. Another day without her, another night with too many what-ifs.
When he heard her footsteps echoing down the corridor as she made her way, he didn't think twice. It was a preplanned move after all, body moving before the mind. Next thing he knew, she was against the wall, startled gasp muffled by his palm. Her heartbeat thundered against his hand and for a brief second he believed so did his own.
"Don't shout," he whispered, voice low and soft, unlike his usual rough around the edges demeanor. "It's me. Prat."
Fortunately, she didn't scream or push him away. Not immediately at least, and he lingered long enough for her to see the outline of his face, ensure it was truly him after all. Only then did the weight of what he'd done settle in. This act was insane, even by his antics. But going this long without her was excruciatingly worse.
Days had passed since their argument in the Astronomy Tower. he'd replayed it in his mind a thousand times. Her face after he'd said those things, the silence that followed and the sharp sting of realization that told him he'd gone too far. He'd been angry, sure, but mostly...it was hurt. For the first time in his life he'd entertained the idea that he didn't quite matter to her in the same way she mattered to him. And that destroyed him from within, in a very little way. He hadn't admitted that yet, not even to himself.
She didn't deserve the things he'd said, not any of it. But Prat wasn't the sort of man who broke down quietly or bided his time. When he was hurting, he lashed out. He struck where he knew it would stung. And telling her she lacked confidence, that she was weak; He hadn't meant it. But he'd simply gone for the jugular, that was what he did best and all he was taught to do. And it haunted him.
He'd told himself she probably was avoiding him and found something crappier to to do. Telling himself he'd be fine without her, except she probably was the one continuing her life without as many distractions. Siobhan always did find ways to be composed, holding herself steady when her world titled. But Prat? he had been miserable. The absence of her voice, the constant chiding and the absolutely gorgeous cat named Toaster, it all left a void within him that he couldn't quite fill with new names and new face. He hated how much he yearned for the touch. She was, as much as he wanted to deny it, a necessary and constant presence in his existence.
He missed her laugh, her scolding, and the clash of the Gryffindor's optimism that somehow always clashed with his own calm and cooler logic. She was infuriating, but she was also so much more.
And he'd ruined it.
So when she finally took his hand off her mouth, and her fingers slid into his, Prat's breath faltered. Her hands were smaller, softer than he'd remembered them to be. The gesture was enough to unravel the wall of control and calm he'd tried to build. Scanning her face, she looked conflicted. Like she wanted to say something, but just couldn't. When her eyes flicked downward, he felt a rush of guilt hit him all over again.
Then she spoke.
"I know I put this distance between us," she said, voice soft but steady. "I thought I needed space, but it didn't help."
He understood that sentiment, truly did. She probably did need space, not that it helped him at all. For Siobhan, she probably needed that time to heal and recollect her thoughts. For him, it only made the ache louder and the silence heavier. Every time he passed her in the corridor, pretending not to look or care, it killed a little in him.
Her words hung in the air, fragile and so real. She took his hand in hers, both of them. His pulse jumped. She looked flustered, nervous mayhaps, but her voice carried the weight of weeks of feelings when she continued.
"You hurt me. You cut deep with words I know now came from a cut I made on you. It's...I can't-"
He listened, head bowed slightly, jaw tight. She was right, He had cut deep and it was no accident. He'd known exactly which words would pierce her and he'd used them anyway. Not out of hatred but out of fear. Fear that she did not care, fear that he'd been fooling himself with the delusions of a child. He hated how honest she was being now and the forceful mirror it presented in front of him. Forcing him to confront his own cruelty.
When she asked, "Because I didn't accept your invitation?" he finally found the courage within him to speak.
"I'm really sorry," he said quietly. "For my words, the way I handled everything. You're right- I can't explain why I did what I did. I've tried. I've tried to justify it to myself every night since. But I can't. Truth is—"
He hesitated,eyes flicking away. "The truth is, it was jealousy. Raw and Pure. I didn't even recognize it at first. But when you said he was your date. It just happened. It wasn't fair to you, It wasn't right—but it is what I felt. I wanted to be there next to you. And I hated not asking you sooner. Time slipped out of my hand."
There it was. The confession he'd been too proud to make.
He exhaled, almost a laugh, hollow and self deprecating. "Once the words left my mouth that night. I instantly regretted them. But by then, it was done. And I figured the best thing I could do for you in that moment was to let you do. Rather than making it worse. I didn't want to chase you, not after that."
When she whispered, "I didn't want to hurt you. I am so sorry that I didnt."
He squeezed her hands gently, eyes softening. It wasn't her who'd done the hurting, not really. But hearing her apologize cracked something in him.
"You didn't hurt me half as much as I hurt you," he murmured. "Still, yeah..it did hurt. More than I'd like to admit. I couldn't understand why it mattered so much, why it got under my skin like that. At least not initially."
He paused, watching her face in the fading sunlight. She was listening to his words with expressions such that he couldn't stop himself from continuing.
"I've said some afwul things to you, Siobhan. Things I can't take back, no matter how much I wish I could. But I'm trying to fix what I can between us."
He took a step closer, their hands still joined together. "I'm sorry for saying you lacked confidence. That was the cruelest thing I could've said as a friend, and the furthest one from truth. You're one of the strongest people I know. You've been through so much more than most, and yet you still stand tall. You still smile and you still fight, you're—"
He stopped himself shy of calling her beautiful, but the words lingered in his throat all the same.
The light through the window painted her in soft gold. For a second, she looked like she belonged to the dream he wasn't supposed to reach for— but he couldn't help it. His hands moved, one to her waist and the other rising to her neck and to her cheek.
"I should've done this way sooner," he said quietly, voice almost breaking with the weight of what he was about to do. "Back at the camp, when I walked you to your tent. I thought about it for days after. I thought about you for weeks after."
His thumb brushed lightly against her cheek, heart hammering as he leaned in; slow, cautious, uncertain if she'd pull away or push him back. "And I don't know what this is supposed to mean anymore. But I do know I missed you. More than I've missed anything in a very long time."
Only the faint hum of something fragile stood alive between the two of them, no other barriers left standing. Prat didn't hesitate anymore before closing the distance, he didn't need to. Not forceful or demanding, but deliberate.
A kiss asked rather than taken, though it carried quite the determination of the latter.
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| Prat Pass - Slytherin | |
Sta: 7 | Eva: 10 | Str: 6 | Wis: 7 | Arc: 7 | Acc: 13 |
Sta: 9 | Eva: 15 | Str: 0 | Wis: 7 | Arc: 5 | Acc: 15 |
Unmaking
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: A Gloomy Day| CC:#2E8B57
────────────────────────────────Their hands where still joined together as they talked though the dynamic had shifted from her taking his hands in hers to him holding her hands with a deeper need to remain close to her. If she could see, she supposed that he was probably a little red in the face, likely not looking directly at her in an attempt to keep his words flowing.
His hands stayed locked with hers though. Fingers intertwined, his thumbs running over the backs in a comforting constant contact between the two that she had been missing from her day to day ever since he had chased her off with those words.
You wish you had half my confidence, we both know you could certainly use it. The words richocheted in her head suddenly as he stood in front of her. Those words had hurt so truly. And he'd spoken them with raw jealousy and anger towards her. Hitting at the most vulnerable part of her heart, knowing that it would ruin her if he had meant it sincerely.
He'd sounded so vicious when he'd said it and not meant it. What would it sound like when he did mean it? If she'd felt like she was trapped in ice by it last time, would she freeze forever when they hit this time?
She felt her lip start to tremble as she thought about the last time they had been alone together. Barely touching... now their hands couldn't let the others go it seemed. Prat held onto her in both an assertive but caring way. Trying to tell her things that he hadn't been able to last time, or the time before that, or the time before that.
Siobhan bit the inner corner of her lip, nothing noticeable but something to keep her grounded as he talked. Lots of emotions and words where making their way out of his lips and they were serious. No games where being played, no schemes were being orchastrated. Just pure unfiltered truth.
Siobhan admired that.
It wasn't easy to find your truth, let alone voice it to someone else. For Prat to stand here in front of her and voice how he had missed her, had been craving her attention and her acknowledgment of his existence, it resonated with something inside of her that had her heart pumping out a rhythm she was unaccustomed to hearing.
Could he hear her own heart or was that just the blood rushing across her face and into her ears? Oh and now the room was spinning again.
"You've been through so much more tha most, and yet you still stand tall. You still smile, you're still-"Prat cut himself off and the words went unspoken. Siobhan felt a lump in her throat as she wondered what he was going to finish the sentence with. Pretty? Kind?
Beautiful?
You can call me beautiful. Siobhan thought to herself as her hands instinctively squeezed his once again. The squeezes between their fingers had become something that helped convey thoughts that weren't easy to vocalize. They had been doing it for a while now she supposed. At the last ball, over the summer, alone in the Astronomy tower. Holding hands had been a security deposit as their thoughts and feelings circulated in their heads. Prat wanted to fix everything between them. That's all she had wanted since she realized what it was that she needed to happen between them.
Those cookies had helped, even when he had tried to get her attention with the duel, it had helped. This stupidly concocted kidnapping to get her to pay attention to him had helped... Prat was truly trying to be a part of her life again, even if it meant he needed to go to farther lengths to show her that he cared. And deep down... She cared to. So much- She cared about him and she needed him in her life
The sun was still in her eyes, but she didn't blink. It wasn't bright enough to hurt as it normally would. It was then that Prat had let go of her hands. At first she panicked- was this a goodbye? Was he telling her all this because he was letting her go? What about everything that had been reconciled between them? She had just accepted his apology but... oh no- was it because she hadn't said anything? A hiccup escaped her throat as she tried to vocalize everything she wanted to say in the moment. Too often was her mind clouded with thoughts that she was too shy to tell people. Too worried that what she said was going to misconstrued as snippy or wrong.
But this? What she wanted to say to him? It needed to be said.
I'm not ready to let this go! Please don't let me go- Her thoughts finalized.
She wasn't ready. She needed him to stay and stop leaving her. To stop chasing her away without waiting to hear her out. But she needed to stop running away from him. Siobhan had to find a way to be honest without lying. Without laying tentative boundaries for people who could hurt her after they already had. Prat had been incredibly vulnerable to her and she needed to repay him with her own honesty.
Then Prat grabbed her waist with one hand and the other brushed it's thumb against her cheek. And all plans wete thrown out the window as her mind stopped in its tracks. What-
"I don't know what this is supposed to mean anymore" Prat interupted her, the subtle cues in his body language and words begging her to just wait for him to finish speaking before she moved or said anything. Not that she wanted to. Siobhan blinked as she listened to his words and relaxed into his actions. "I missed you. More than I've missed anything in a very long time..."
And then-
Siobhan's eyes widened as he kissed her. Everything about it, felt completely right and natural. Alphonse had kissed her but it was more of a way to console her and show her that she mattered when she thought that she hadn't.
Prat kissing her was an apology and a declaration.
Siobhan stopped thinking for a minute and closed her eyes. There wasn't a reason to think about this at all. She didn't push away but relaxed further into his hold as she struggled to decide what her hands needed to do. Did they hold his shoulder? His cheek like he held hers? She found her settling on taking his hand in hers from her cheek and leaning a little bit more into their kiss.
When they finally separated, Siobhan blinked as she came back into reality. She still felt dizzy, but in a way that she'd never felt before. The hazy feeling made her face feel flushed and warm. Her heart felt full and it- it just felt good.
Siobhan hugged Prat quickly. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she held onto him and laughed. It wasn't the typical giggle or light laugh that she usually kept hidden by her hands or gentle to not distract from the situation at hand. But this laugh? It was full, full of life, and it wasn't hidden behind insecurity or fear.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Prat Pass|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
sta 6 | eva 8| str 7| STATS | wis 7 | arc 5 | acc 7|
I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream- Sleeping Beauty
Unmaking
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@Siobhan McCartyClassroom
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────He had her hands. He had her hands within his and she wasn't slipping away. He wouldn't let that happen.
That act alone nearly was his unmaking.
He didn't dare loosen his grip. Not after how she'd disappeared from his world like breath fogging against glass, save for those rare encounters in class. She was there one moment and gone the next. His fingers remained laced with hers. Deeper, palms locked like he could anchor her here in place by his sheer will. His thumb traced across her knuckles in slow, steady sweeps. Soft and certain sweeps. They weren't very sweet, he couldn't afford that when every second with her felt like it was balanced on edge of a blade.
Merely a wobble from either of them could send it all spiraling further down once again.
Prat's heartbeat was obnoxious in his ears. Banging loud enough where he wondered if she heard it, feeling it through the faint tremors in his hands. He forced himself to breathe, forcing air back into his lungs to talk. To get the words out instead of burying them under his old familiar armor of nonchalance and reservations he wore in all aspects of his life.
It was ridiculous really, with how terrifying honesty was, how dreadful facing your own truth and looking it straight in the eyes was. He'd faced challenges as the sports captain. stood defiantly against upper-years in all those duels and even faced hexes thrown at him without blinking. Yet, speaking to her like this seemed the hardest task of all.
Saying he missed her like she was something vital nearly pushed all the air out of his lungs. As if they hadn't gotten the memo.
But she squeezed his hands again. A tiny squeeze, nothing dramatic of the sort, but the act nearly wrecked his poor repentant heart when it felt like agreement. Permission, A tether thrown back to him rather than one cut away. A feeling mostly unfamiliar to the boy.
"You've been through so much more tha most" he heard himself say, voice genuine and sweeter than he'd meant it to be, throat tightening as he forced himself to continue. "and yet you still stand tall. You still smile, you're still-"
He stopped, the coward. He hated the moment of hesitation the second it left his mouth. He knew exactly the word that had been sitting there. Beautiful. She was, always had been. Beautiful like sunlight on marble floors, like the first ray of light on rain drenched plants, like victory speeches and first snowfalls. Like every sharp thing that hurt to look at because you couldn't look away from how mesmerizing it was.
He would call her that, one day surely. Just—maybe not yet. He didn't want her believing pretty words were the only things he could offer her. He wanted her to know she mattered more to him deeper than words or material.
Her fingers stayed intertwined in his, and he clung to that small miracle like it was the last rope to climb away from this hell he'd been.
He didn't know how to tell her how we hadn't enjoyed the person he'd become in this short period of absence. That the irritation he normally prided himself in had curdled into something lonely and sharp within him. And half the time he'd caught himself expecting her commentary on his actions, right by his side only to remember she wasn't there and the absence hit harder than their duel where he went lights out.
He didn't say that aloud, because even thinking it sounded severe. Unbalanced, but the truth lived heavy in his chest all the same. He needed her in ways he did not know how to explain. Not possession or obligation, but something else. A frightening thought carrying tenderness of its own kind.
Finally forcing himself to let go of her hands, for the very brief moment, he saw panic flicker in her expression. It punched right through him, he hadn't expected her to go this long without chiming in, without letting him go.
The realization burned hotter than adrenaline ever had.
So, before she could even think of stepping back or before either of them could flinch into old patterns of retreat, his hands found her waist while the other rose, hesitant for half a breath and then cupped her cheek. His thumb brushed her skin, and everything in him stilled with how soft she was.
Sunlight clung to her hair, soft and stubborn and she was there. Close enough for him to feel her breath, close enough for the world to shrink between them.
"I don't know what this is supposed to mean anymore," he breathed as his voice sounded rougher, exposed now. Raw, but without breaking eye contact. Not this time, he was willing to step up and be the brave heart he knew he was. "I missed you. More than I've missed anything in a very long time."
And then he had kissed her.
It was instinct and choice all at once. Like muscle memory he had been born with, but only just discovered. He didn't think about it because if he did, there was chances he'd ruin it. Might've hesitated and lost his nerve, watching her slip away once again. He just acted.
And by Solomon's Beard, everything aligned. The world, the moment and the terrifying and fragile quiet between their breaths. Everything clicked into place it was always meant to be.
Her warmth against his mouth, faint inhales. The way his chest tightened like he'd finally been allowed to breathe after drowning.
This wasn't like other kisses he'd come to know. Cocky, calculated, doing it for the sake of it. This felt like standing on the edge of something fast, unexplainable, and stepping forward anyway. Diving deeper into it despite knowing nothing. It was a confession, a truce and an apology all added together. Spoken without words and a promise built on some mutual signs.
Sio leaning in, not pulling away or pushing out, just there with him made every fear he'd been carrying cracked open. He felt weightless yet grounded. Stupidly lightheaded like the sun itself had taken up residence in his ribcage.
Not realizing how tightly he'd been holding everything together until he let her breathe again.
When the kiss broke, he didn't move too far, didn't want to. His hand stayed at her waist, and the other slid into her hair without him thinking about it once she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hold over her was gentle yet firm. Anchoring the moment from ever dissolving in the history of continuous time. She seemed unsteady a minute ago and he wasn't willing to let her go, not again, not even for the sake of balance.
Her laughter was like a spell to the chest. A real, bright, unhidden one. Free. It startled him in the best of ways possible and his answering exhale, while not quite a laugh was close. Warmer than he usually allowed himself to sound.
"I missed this," he murmured at her, voice low with the edges softening without permission. His fingers combed through her hair lightly, arms still around her. Her arms wrapping him, "You look beautiful like this, when you laugh."
The admission slipped out before he could bury it deep down. Not a grand declaration but something close. Honest in ways that mattered the most.
He stood there for a moment without saying anything more, just holding her as he let himself feel it. Her presence, her warmth and the fact that neither of them was rushing from it. From this. Drawing back, he separated just enough to see her face. "I'm sorry," he said again, quieter but firmer. He meant it more with each time he said it. "For that night, for everything."
He carefully, cautiously yet hopefully, cleared his throat. "Have you gone to Hogsmeade yet this term?" There was meaning threaded in his questions, if she wanted him around more, she would pick this up, in broad daylight too.
"I can make time," he added, like that wasn't the most significant thing he could offer her. His fingers brushed hers once again, a question rather than plea. "If you'd like."
A slight smirk ghosted across his lips. "And" he leaned in towards her ears, voice dipping, eyes flicking to her mouth once, "Before class, could I take another?"
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| Prat Pass - Slytherin | |
Sta: 7 | Eva: 10 | Str: 6 | Wis: 7 | Arc: 7 | Acc: 13 |
Sta: 9 | Eva: 15 | Str: 0 | Wis: 7 | Arc: 5 | Acc: 15 |
Unmaking
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: The Golden Hour| CC:#2E8B57
────────────────────────────────Prat was really an excellent kisser. Damn him. Not that she could totally tell who was and wasn't a good kisser, as she'd only kissed Alphonse before Prat, But from how he had held her lips with his, it was obvious that he had some idea of what he was doing. She understood why her older brothers and sister always seemed so happy after they had kissed their significant others.
It made the chemicals in her brain run wild and free like cows over the moon. It made her want to giggle, squeal, and hide her face in a pillow until the heart palpitations in her stomach completely subsided. Kissing had always seemed somewhat icky to her, some way to cultivate and garner diseases. She'd heard what had gone around in the Slytherin dormitories. But this was nice.
Prat's hand moved from her cheek and into her hair as she hugged him. Her ridiculosuly too long hair that she could not for the life of her keep under a controlled length. She felt his hand run down the strands gently, with the controlled movements she had come to know from him. She turned to follow the movement. This was comforting and she laid her head against his shoulder. The two of them had both shot up like weeds in terms of height but somehow Prat always seemed to be just slightly taller than her. The nerve of it all.
It almost cleared everything up between them except for what would happen when one of them decided to let go of the other. It wasn't healthy, the reactions that she had of running away and avoiding him, or his reactions of yelling harmful statements and obsrvations at her. They couldn't literally kiss and makeup. It would take time between them to really reach a place of honesty that didn't mean weeks of avoidance over momentary lapses of vocal judgement.
Prat had called her beautiful because of her laugh. She could feel the rosecea in her face ignite as he said so and she found herself turning her head farther away with a mumbled "Thank you" as he laughed in a way that had almost matched hers. Her ear that was against his shoulder could hear the residual excitement of his heartbeat. Afterall, Siobhan's own heart was hammering out it's own identical rhythm.
Soon the moment had passed into a state of comfort and she pulled her head off his shoulder as he spoke, but not away. Prat still held her and she looked at him as best as she could. With the way the lights lined up, and with his features only a hairs-breath away, she could see him again. It had been quite some time since her eyes had been able to fully discern the features on his face that weren't just the color of his hair or the general silohuette that she had come to recognize.
It wasn't easy, but Siobhan could see his eyes for once. They were dark like hers had been at one point. But while hers had been closer to a cocoa color, his were the color of crackling firewood. It made sense for his personality. Despite how cold he could come across as, his mind was always on fire with calculated thoughts. It made sense that she could see it pouring out of his eyes.
"I forgot you had glasses. Can you not see with out them?" She mumbled half paying attention to her own words and not at all in response to what someone should say when someone was in front of them and apologizing.
"I know you're sorry... I'm sorry too- I shouldn't have run away. I shouldn't have avoided you. The fear of being hurt again was too much... too- the word... dosheachanta... in-ev-i-table?" She finished with a slight uncertainty in the word. It wasn't often that she struggled with English nowadays but it was with multisyllabic nightmares such as that one that would trip her up and cause her to lose her pattern of speech. Siobhan wouldn't ever diminish her language, but it did make honest and emotional communication difficult sometimes.
Prat's voice took her head out of her own thoughts and she looked back at him.
"Have you gone to Hogsmeade yet this term? I can make time, if you'd like." Prat asked in a tone that sounded both hopeful and anxious. As if asking her to go with him was the equivalent of clipping the wrong wire on a ticking time bomb. Listening to him fumble over his invitation was amusing to her. Because of all the excitement that had occured during the first month of school, and getting into the rhythm of classes, Siobhan had not found time to venture into the Wizarding Village. The deal with her parents had been that she had to be escorted to the village. There had been no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
After the accident, her freedom had diminishe increasingly over the summer. But the offer of an escort to the outer village of the Hogwarts area was an inviting invitation. She really wanted to visit and explore the shops and the village itself. However because of her blindness, it wasn't safe for her to just wander aimlessly across the grounds without knowing where it was she was going. Even just wandering around the castle was a struggle and she often relied on the kindness of others to help with the moving stairs and the missing steps. It's embarrassing to her when she walks into a door, or a wall, or into another person. Most people were forgiving, others treated it badly. But she missed the freedom to do things without havng to depend on others.
Prat wasn't offering to escort her because she needed seeing eye help. He was offering to escort her because he wanted her to go with him. Siobhan nodded eagerly and her face broke into a pretty grin.
"I haven't been. Can we go? I want to visit their book shop, and the potions shop, and the post office-" Siobhan rambled as she listed all the things she wanted to experience when she was able to. Her hands clasped around his, squeezing excitedly as she spouted off about the village. Her ears burned momentarily when she'd acknowledged he only wanted a yes or no answer and not a speedy ramble.
"Sorry. I do want to go." She finished timidly, out of character for her to say the least. It wasn't often that she fell back into this nervous habit of speaking in whispers but it was occuring more frequently. Eitherway, she had an opportunity to explore and she wasn't going to squander it if he was offering.
Then to ruin the moment, Prat had to be a cocky bastard and ask her if he could kiss her again. "Could I take another?"
And was she stupid for letting him? Maybe. But she didn't care and let out a weak "Sure" as her tongue gently coated her lips which felt far too dry all the sudden. They also didn't taste like peppermint anymore. The bastard had stolen her chapstick off her lips...
It didn't matter though. Chapstick could be reapplied but this was fleeting. A moment that passed far too quickly and yet extended to lengths unseen. Siobhan felt a breath let itself out of her body as she waited for him to meet her lips with his. Knowing her luck she'd miss and end up falling forward or kissing his jaw or something. That would be even worse than missing the invisible step on the moving staircase in the middle of the dinner rush.
Though she'd gladly take that if it meant that this could go on just a smidgeon longer. Whatever this was.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Prat Pass|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
sta 6 | eva 8| str 7| STATS | wis 7 | arc 5 | acc 7|
I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream- Sleeping Beauty
Unmaking
date. October 7th, 2025 ─ location. classroom ─ hex. #5d6c47
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▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Fridays—quite the agonizing day for all souls involved. Understandably, her students likely yearned for the weekend to finally arrive—the Haitian Parselmouth herself wouldn’t be an exception.
Oftentimes, she’d designate the first quarter of her class for her students to relax after plowing through yet another strenuous week. It was undeniable that the youth required this reprieve as much as the adults teaching them, so was Sarai's personal philosophy on the matter; her employers likely wouldn't agree with such lax ideology, but the Caribbean-bred Holticulturist couldn't care less. Naturally, the lecture would commence roughly a quarter-hour following a headcount. Within that allotted timespan, her students finished homework, snoozed, or read—as long as they were quiet and present in the greenhouse, the time was theirs to utilize.
Silently swearing upon an unfulfilled desperation for coffee, the Herbologist's pace was exhaustively slow after being preoccupied with cranky twin girls who recently begun teething. How the woman hadn't lost her sanity while singlehandedly raising two boys in her teenage years was beyond the Haitian woman's own comprehension, but thank the lwa she had Fabian now. The corners of her lips twitched into a faint smile at the thought of her doting husband whilst Sarai's gunmetal gaze swept to all corners of the greenhouse while murmuring names in attendance.
Snagged from lovely thoughts, Sarai's attention was immediately captured by two names unaccounted for—Prat Pass and Siobhan McCarty. Odd, especially for Miss McCarty—one of the rare students whom the Haitian had taken underwing. Her tranquility quickly turned into carefully concealed disappointment, and a seed of curiosity subsequently blossomed within the deep recesses of her perplexed mind. Lightly tapping the coiled brown and white serpentine body of Badriyah-Abuk with a pointed nail, Sarai muttered with a steady voice, mindful of cadence to avoid drawing undesired attention regarding her pair of stowaways: "Se mwen, ede m jwenn yo." My sister, help me find them.
Prat skipping was a separate matter, in the Caribbean witch's opinion; the former Slytherin Prefect was talented with different means outside of the greenhouses, yet lacked direction. She pitied him more than anything. Although the woman's initial reaction after feuding with Mieyu was to act as if Prat didn't exist; instead, the attentive mother evolving in her spirit fed him soup opposed to invoking the ruthlessness of the Haitian that often lied in dormant—it was a silent showing of understanding, as long as Mr. Pass reciprocated it.
For Siobhan to be unaccounted for, the woman's mind geared to emergency; the brunette girl never skipped a day without some sort of notice of tardiness. Her overcommunication neared perfection as much as her talent with the Herbology curriculum. Had something happened in this hell of a school? Gods, Sarai prayed not—the thought was grim as was Hogwarts itself, and surely the Nurse would have notified the Professor. Worry furrowed her brows as the Haitian witch pondered if Prat's skipping aligned with Siobhan's.
With a sharp and disappointed inward breath, Sarai sucked it up and let out a weighted sigh before promptly rising to her feet. A dark gaze greeted Alphonse's oak-brown eyes from across the greenhouse upon Sarai's sudden movements. Addressing him firmly by name, her words were underlain with thinly veiled disappointment. For once, her iciness wasn't directed towards her eldest son—the pubescent boy recognized the tone and immediately knew the drill without question: he was in charge, for now.
Her serpentine familiar slithered down through the familiar yet empty halls of the first and second floors with the Haitian witch slinking behind. All classes were in session, and only the nogooddoers would be running rampant at this time, though Sarai had half a mind for students who weren't her own. As smart as Badriyah-Abuk was, even she recognized the serpent couldn't track the woman's students amiss without their scent—the Puerto Rican boa constrictor was left only to navigate the world through vibration. Observing Badriyah-Abuk slither past a closed room, the Herbologist's dark gaze narrowed when the serpent suddenly whipped back and lingered in front of an abandoned classroom.
Her delicate hand lingered on the handle with a featherlight touch, not wishing to alert the awaiting perpetrators, whilst pondering what or who lingered on the other side so suspiciously. In the mere moments amid Sarai's hesitation, the woman mentally counted to three in place, internally bracing herself for what her eyes may see. Upon collecting the willpower to turn the door open, one could almost sense the exasperated sigh radiating from the Caribbean witch—immediately, her countenance twisted to barely containable disgust.
Unsavory as it was crass, Sarai turned her head away upon witnessing Prat and Siobhan lip-locked like animals. Lwa help her—
"Mr. Pass. Miss McCarty—" she greeted them dryly, tone clipped and venomous, "Out. Now. Miss McCarty, see that you return the spare keys to greenhouses 1-4 at your earliest convenience; I no longer will be requiring your services. I'll see you both in detention at the end of the day." With that, she finished and made to leave.
Oftentimes, she’d designate the first quarter of her class for her students to relax after plowing through yet another strenuous week. It was undeniable that the youth required this reprieve as much as the adults teaching them, so was Sarai's personal philosophy on the matter; her employers likely wouldn't agree with such lax ideology, but the Caribbean-bred Holticulturist couldn't care less. Naturally, the lecture would commence roughly a quarter-hour following a headcount. Within that allotted timespan, her students finished homework, snoozed, or read—as long as they were quiet and present in the greenhouse, the time was theirs to utilize.
Silently swearing upon an unfulfilled desperation for coffee, the Herbologist's pace was exhaustively slow after being preoccupied with cranky twin girls who recently begun teething. How the woman hadn't lost her sanity while singlehandedly raising two boys in her teenage years was beyond the Haitian woman's own comprehension, but thank the lwa she had Fabian now. The corners of her lips twitched into a faint smile at the thought of her doting husband whilst Sarai's gunmetal gaze swept to all corners of the greenhouse while murmuring names in attendance.
Snagged from lovely thoughts, Sarai's attention was immediately captured by two names unaccounted for—Prat Pass and Siobhan McCarty. Odd, especially for Miss McCarty—one of the rare students whom the Haitian had taken underwing. Her tranquility quickly turned into carefully concealed disappointment, and a seed of curiosity subsequently blossomed within the deep recesses of her perplexed mind. Lightly tapping the coiled brown and white serpentine body of Badriyah-Abuk with a pointed nail, Sarai muttered with a steady voice, mindful of cadence to avoid drawing undesired attention regarding her pair of stowaways: "Se mwen, ede m jwenn yo." My sister, help me find them.
Prat skipping was a separate matter, in the Caribbean witch's opinion; the former Slytherin Prefect was talented with different means outside of the greenhouses, yet lacked direction. She pitied him more than anything. Although the woman's initial reaction after feuding with Mieyu was to act as if Prat didn't exist; instead, the attentive mother evolving in her spirit fed him soup opposed to invoking the ruthlessness of the Haitian that often lied in dormant—it was a silent showing of understanding, as long as Mr. Pass reciprocated it.
For Siobhan to be unaccounted for, the woman's mind geared to emergency; the brunette girl never skipped a day without some sort of notice of tardiness. Her overcommunication neared perfection as much as her talent with the Herbology curriculum. Had something happened in this hell of a school? Gods, Sarai prayed not—the thought was grim as was Hogwarts itself, and surely the Nurse would have notified the Professor. Worry furrowed her brows as the Haitian witch pondered if Prat's skipping aligned with Siobhan's.
With a sharp and disappointed inward breath, Sarai sucked it up and let out a weighted sigh before promptly rising to her feet. A dark gaze greeted Alphonse's oak-brown eyes from across the greenhouse upon Sarai's sudden movements. Addressing him firmly by name, her words were underlain with thinly veiled disappointment. For once, her iciness wasn't directed towards her eldest son—the pubescent boy recognized the tone and immediately knew the drill without question: he was in charge, for now.
Her serpentine familiar slithered down through the familiar yet empty halls of the first and second floors with the Haitian witch slinking behind. All classes were in session, and only the nogooddoers would be running rampant at this time, though Sarai had half a mind for students who weren't her own. As smart as Badriyah-Abuk was, even she recognized the serpent couldn't track the woman's students amiss without their scent—the Puerto Rican boa constrictor was left only to navigate the world through vibration. Observing Badriyah-Abuk slither past a closed room, the Herbologist's dark gaze narrowed when the serpent suddenly whipped back and lingered in front of an abandoned classroom.
Her delicate hand lingered on the handle with a featherlight touch, not wishing to alert the awaiting perpetrators, whilst pondering what or who lingered on the other side so suspiciously. In the mere moments amid Sarai's hesitation, the woman mentally counted to three in place, internally bracing herself for what her eyes may see. Upon collecting the willpower to turn the door open, one could almost sense the exasperated sigh radiating from the Caribbean witch—immediately, her countenance twisted to barely containable disgust.
Unsavory as it was crass, Sarai turned her head away upon witnessing Prat and Siobhan lip-locked like animals. Lwa help her—
"Mr. Pass. Miss McCarty—" she greeted them dryly, tone clipped and venomous, "Out. Now. Miss McCarty, see that you return the spare keys to greenhouses 1-4 at your earliest convenience; I no longer will be requiring your services. I'll see you both in detention at the end of the day." With that, she finished and made to leave.
——mentions. @Prat Pass & @Siobhan McCarty
——notes. boo!
Congratulations, you messed around and found out!
⫸ Reminder: You are not in trouble out of character, only in-character.
I'll have a detention thread up shortly. Once it is posted, you will not be permitted to join/create new RP threads until the requirements have been completed, but you can participate in old/ongoing threads.
I always knew the wind would blow you back to me one day.