If Liam wasn't already uncertain and awkward, Addie arching that eyebrow at him didn't help. He could feel his cheeks threatening to flush red and he quickly ran a hand over his short ash blonde hair to try and keep himself together. However, despite his fumbling and stumbling, he still didn't think he could just walk away from her, even if she seemed to be close to fully recovered. He wasn't sure what to say, he wasn't sure what to do, and these unfamiliar feelings plagued him but he did not budge.
The abrupt admonishment which Addie spat at him did make him flinch somewhat, which seemed a little ironic to him when he thought about considering how often he'd so far managed to trigger a fear response in his oh-so-fascinating tutor. He had little time to even register the twitch, however, since the redheaded Ravenclaw quickly stammered out her own jumbled apology. Her insecurity was written on her face, though he knew she wouldn't like that he could see it.
Truthfully, while Liam's natural curiosity was of course piqued by the events back in the classroom, he'd had enough dealings with Addie at this point that he knew how uncomfortable she'd be if he were to try and prompt her to tell him anything about what had happened. He had already made up his mind not to ask pretty much as soon as he'd given chase after her. Then suddenly...there she was trying to explain it to him anyway.
At first, though, Liam felt just confused as ever...
"That's...," he started, his voice mildly bewildered, though his eyes and tone remained soft, but he paused just long enough for a brief consideration of what he was about to say, finally deciding on..., "Well, I mean, of course you do." It seemed like a better choice of words in his own head, but his head was not always the most reliable judge of...well, anything.
Creativity
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Posted: 11/23/2019 at 5:11 PM
Post #82
Now that her thoughts were clearer, Addie was able to consider just how Liam should react to what she had told him. He had lived his entire life in the wizarding world. That was just one of the many things that made the two of them different. To him, perhaps, the idea of someone not having a patronus would be completely and utterly insane. It would be much like hearing someone tell you that they didn't have lungs as they stood before you, breathing.
She kept her mindset on the defensive, just in case he reacted like he ought to do. She didn't feel that she'd be able to handle it if he told her that her ideas were ludicrous, even if he believed they were. Just because she would have understood how he reacted didn't necessarily mean that she would have been okay with it.
Luckily, he didn't shout at her. It seemed as if he was almost going to, and she was ready to recoil within herself - or... or maybe run. She didn't know. Regardless, what he did say still caused a flare of emotion in her chest. Her gaze hardened and she stared at the ground, trying her best not to flee. She wanted to say something, but her throat had suddenly turned to sandpaper, and she tightened her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms to try to feel something, or maybe center herself. She didn't know.
When her throat did soften enough for her to say something, she found she didn't know what to say. "Of... Of course..." she muttered, and then a jolt of anger shot through her and she looked back at him sharply. "I don't, though," she insisted. "Don't you think I would have been able to master the charm by now if I did? Liam, I've been physically abused before I could even walk. What if... You know, m-maybe he b-beat all of the happiness out of me?"
By the time she ran out of words to say, she was finding that it was getting hard to breathe again, and she could only stare at Liam in a mixture of emotions, her arms hugging her own torso tightly. She felt like a cornered animal - perhaps because she was actually in a corner. Liam was... He was her predator. He had to be. That's why she was so scared of him...
Britters
Level 72
The Eggstraordinaire
Joined: 8/25/2014
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Posts: 2,034
Posted: 11/25/2019 at 10:29 AM
Post #83
It was difficult for Liam, this business of trying to understand Addie, perhaps made even more so by the fact that he wasn't entirely sure why he was trying so hard. Sure, his nature, much like the nature of most true Hufflepuffs, was to try and help others. This could mean many different things depending on the person and situation, which could be what was giving him so much trouble. He wanted to help her, like how she was trying to help him with Potions, but he just didn't know how...
All through the silence which followed his statement, Liam remained in his same position, squatted down about six feet in front of Addie. He had learned much in these last few weeks about his new Ravenclaw...friend? Yes, friend would suffice for now. Tidbits of information, facts and his own suppositions, they all swirled around in his mind as he tried to make sense of it all. She was a very confusing witch, and it wasn't simply because she was muggleborn and he was not.
No...no, the answer to the mystery that was Addie had nothing to do with her non-magical lineage, and everything to do with the words she finally spoke into quiet of the room...
As Liam listened with rapt attention, he felt his body grow hot, both of his hands tightening around his wand which he hadn't slipped back into his robes yet. His heard everything but his focus zeroed in on that single pronoun..."he". An image, a memory, from the day they faced that boggart in front of the third years appeared in his mind. He saw Addie standing there, facing down that horrible, mean looking man, and some of the information he had so far absorbed but not fully processed solidified into terrifying realization.
Having a temper, being hot-headed, were not typical of Hufflepuffs, which is not to say they didn't get angry, but more like their anger seemed incredibly potent when it did happen simply because it was a rarer occurrence. Now, in this moment, Liam could scarcely remember ever being more furious, and for a few seconds it threatened to overwhelm him, consume him...but no, he couldn't let that happen. This was not what Addie needed from him, it didn't take a genius to figure that out, and she was what mattered more.
With difficulty, Liam got himself back under control before he spoke, taking his time to respond as she had, the passage of time outside this classroom still such a faraway concern.
"Addie," he began softly, wanting to inch closer to her but deciding against the idea for the time being, "I can't say that I understand what you've been through, but I understand why you think it means that you can't produce a patronus." He paused, unsure as to how exactly he could explain how silly that was without upsetting her further, which so far didn't seem to be his strong suit.
"It's just...not having a patronus would be like not being sorted into a House. Sometimes the Sorting Hat takes no time at all to put students where they belong, sometimes it takes longer to decide, but it always gets there in the end. Some things just...take more time." He gazed at her, his vivid green eyes looking somewhat hopeful, though there was a fire which lingered there in the background, unwilling to go out completely.
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Posted: 11/25/2019 at 11:56 PM
Post #84
Everything was simultaneously happening too fast and not fast enough, and for all the world, Addie just wished she could be back in her room. She wanted to be away from Liam. She wanted to be back in her room, so that she could make music and pretend that he - and dementors, and patronuses, and abusive fathers, but mostly Liam - didn't exist, and they couldn't make her feel this confusing, jumbled concoction of feelings that she was going through.
Addie understood that what she had experienced in her life was terrible. Her father was terrible. The things he did - no child should have to go through that. However, that didn't mean that Liam had any right to pity her, much less to show pity. And, well, the look on his face... That definitely screamed 'pity' to her, and all she could do was wince and glare at the ground.
His words brought a flash of memory to the forefront, all the way back to when she was eleven and terrified...
The Great Hall was huge, and it only succeeded in making her feel even more small, especially with all of the eyes dissecting the crowd she was in. When her name was called, she numbly approached the stairs and climbed up onto the stool. The musty old hat was dropped almost unceremoniously onto her head, and not long after, she heard a voice in her mind that was not her own.
'What a wonderful character. You... You seem to be almost something unique, Addelynne.'
"I prefer Addie, actually," she had told it quietly, her gaze fixed resolutely on the ground.
'A pretty good mind you have. You've been through quite a lot, too. You are very brave. Perhaps - '
"I'm not!" she shouted, her initial, knee-jerk reaction echoing throughout the Great Hall. She felt all of the eyes on her and almost shrunk down into herself.
She rolled her eyes and stared at a spot on the wall, hoping Liam could sense her annoyance. "Would you mind stepping back now so that I may leave?" she asked irritably, determined not to look at him again for the rest of the day - or week. Merlin, if it were up to her, she'd avoid looking at him for the rest of her life if she could, only so that she'd never feel the confusion he instilled in her again.
Britters
Level 72
The Eggstraordinaire
Joined: 8/25/2014
Threads: 167
Posts: 2,034
Posted: 12/1/2019 at 4:18 AM
Post #85
For most of Liam's life, he'd never really wanted for much, and he especially didn't usually desire anything for himself. Even now,
as he wakes up every morning ready to continue throwing himself into the popular and successful persona, he knew nothing would satisfy him until his familys name was no longer the stuff of whispered gossip. It was all always for his family but for a few moments in that empty classroom he was floored by one realization...
There was something that Liam wanted solely for himself, and looking over at Addie he suddenly felt his mouth go a bit dry, his face heating up. What was it about this girl that made him want to know everything? They had been in school together for years and she'd never even really made it onto his radar, and now she was all he seemed to be able to think about. His curiosity about her and her life was growing more potent by the day, but he knew that pushing Addie could be disastrous.
While Liam sat there trying to sort through his tumultuous whirlwind of thoughts and emotions was when Addie seemed to snap out of her own reverie. Her response drove him back on his heels, almost as though he'd been struck, though he was sure she hadn't meant her words to bite so hard. They weren't particularly forceful, her command straightforward and to the point, but he was rather surprised to find that wounded him. He stared at her somewhat blankly, his heart pounding with sudden and very foreign anxiety.
What could Liam say? What should he do? These and dozens other questions flashed through his mind in a series of frantic blurs. Part of him nearly ached to reach out to her, though for what purpose he was unsure. Truthfully, he knew what it was he had to do...
"Of course," he said to her, his voice feeling too thick for his throat so that it came out as a clipped croak, which he quickly tried to cover up by coughing lightly into his fist, "I'm sorry to have kept you." He stood up, trying to keep his face void of any reaction to the pain he was feeling inside, and with a small nod in her direction, he walked smartly out the door of the classroom and disappeared down the hall.
One look out of the window told Liam he had utterly missed Quidditch practice. His team were not going to be happy with him...
Creativity
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Posted: 12/3/2019 at 10:46 AM
Post #86
Somehow, even as Liam stepped back and gave Addie what she wanted - space and an exit to escape - she didn't feel as relieved as she thought she'd be. It was something in his tone of voice that suddenly gripped at her chest like guilt. She narrowed her eyes, knowing the feeling all too well. After all, she was the reason why Rosalie was...
Shaking her head and clearing her throat, she tried to distract herself from those thoughts. Liam had left pretty quickly after her request, and before she knew what she was doing, she had opened her mouth to call out and stop him. Realizing with a touch of horror what she was about to do, she shut her mouth and pressed her back against the wall again. Why had she almost called him back? She shook her head again, a sudden headache coming on.
She was free. She could go to her room and sing and play and forget about the dementor and her lack of a patronus and Liam, but... For once, she didn't feel like singing. The brief flicker of hurt on his face... She groaned and slid down the wall, drawing her knees up to her chest and burying her face in her hands.
"Why am I so bad at this? Whatever this is..."
-
There was something that Tempest always liked about Hogsmeade. Ever since they were first allowed to go there, in their third year. It was a place where she could be free with her friends, without the watchful gaze of authority. She could go to the Three Broomsticks and drink butterbeer, or to shops and spend the money her parents supplied her with. If you asked her whether her parents loved her, she'd say yes, wholeheartedly, and her reasoning would be because they took care of her and gave her money when she needed it.
Regardless, the Three Broomsticks had always been her favorite place in Hogsmeade. It was so cozy and comfortable, and she loved feeling at home there. Besides that, it was a place that her friends could truly relax and let loose - and the butterbeer certainly didn't hurt!
She was sitting at a table, a hand sitting loosely around her cup as she watched Harris and William play wizard's chess (since, you know, William didn't ever go anywhere without his set). The latter was beating the former quite heavily, but Harris was a good sport when it came to games. He had one hand wrapped around Tempest's waist, holding her close to him. On the other side of the table, Venus, Grace, and Elaine were gossiping to each other about something.
Suddenly, Grace looked through her purse and frowned. "Oh, Tempy!" she cried. "I must have forgotten my wallet at the Gryffindor dorm!"
The rest of them quickly checked their persons and agreed with looks of shame on their faces. Tempest wasn't dumb; she knew that it was very unlikely that all of them had forgotten their money at the dorm, especially when they knew that they'd be coming here. However, she also knew that paying for their drinks and food would make them happy, and after all, wasn't that what she wanted most to do?
She smiled warmly and reached for her own - Merlin forbid she ever come unprepared - and took out the money within, the symbol of her parents' love, counting out enough galleons and sickles to cover the bill. "Don't you worry, darlings," she reassured them. "I can take care of it."
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