Elizabeth Killick

Althea did not dismay over her arranged marriage in the way most muggleborns and halfblood assumed she would. From a young age, Althea and her friends had daydreamed of possible future matches, what it would be like to finally know the name of their betrothed and plan the wedding of their dreams. While the list of suitable matches was short, not knowing was always part of the fun as they spoke of their future husbands as nameless mystery men. Althea had always known that an arranged marriage was in her future, and while she had her concerns, they were only natural when agreeing to marry someone who was practically a stranger. “I suppose that’s fair. I don’t think I could imagine what it would be like to have to pick my own fiancé.” Althea tried to joke.

With a sigh, Althea supposed she ought to explain what she meant further. “It’s just, pureblooded boys grow up thinking they’re the center of the universe. They can be spoiled, and sometimes they can be cruel.” It was an all too common, if unspoken fact that many found themselves miserable in arranged marriages with men obsessed with power and status, caring only for the name and connections that could be gained through a marriage. “Quentin doesn’t seem the type.” She added quickly. “My parents would never have agreed to this if he did.” In fact, that was why Althea supposed they had taken so long in finding a match, as they had been incredibly careful to pick someone who would be kind.

Liz’s comment struck Althea, and her chin tilted in confusion. “Do you wish you were?” It was a very personal question, and at one point Althea wouldn’t have found it appropriate to ask. Liz was one of her closest friends, however, and they had long ago crossed the line of appropriate topics of conversation. 

Elizabeth let out a small laugh at the joke, listening to the girl explain her lifestyle to her. It was odd to think that they were both witches, had the same opportunities when it came to education, and yet things were still so different for them. She was happy to hear that Althea’s parents had been careful in their decision. Everyone knew rumors of pureblood parents being harsh and cold, and while she didn’t actually know Althea’s parents, it made her think that her parents weren’t like that. It was odd to hear so many things about purebloods, usually being on the outside of things and to finally be ‘in the know’ about it all. Truthfully it was hard to know what she should believe when it came to everything that she’s heard, but it had also never particularly affected her too much. 

The question came as a surprise to her. “What, married?” She asked for clarification in that moment. It was odd to think of herself getting married. Of course as a child she’d pictured herself married, and most likely with a child at this point. But as a child she also hadn’t imagined she was a witch and would go to a magical school. “I’m not sure,” Liz shrugged. “I suppose at one point I thought I’d be married by now, back in school I even thought I knew who it’d be too. But he-” She stopped herself. Althea was probably one of her best friends, but she still found the subject hard to talk about with her. “It didn’t work out. Right now I’m just happy that I was able to focus on my career and get the exact job I wanted when I did. If that means becoming an old spinster, then I’m fine with that.”

Once again, Althea could feel her cheeks heat in another blush and her hands lifted to cover them. “If you keep on teasing me I’m going to get stuck like this.” Althea chided her friend, dodging the question. Liz’s teasing was all in good fun, and she didn’t mind so much now that they were alone. “I’ve never spoken to him alone before.” Althea admitted, her hands dropping back to her sides with a sigh. “You probably think I’m crazy, agreeing to marry him before I even know anything about him.” In some ways, Althea thought it was a bit ridiculous as well. She’d always assumed she would be matched with someone she’d known better beforehand, a friend from school maybe, or  a family friend. The Crabbes were respected enough, though Quentin had escaped her notice for years now.

Still, it wasn’t unheard of for families to seek new friendships and connections through arranged marriages especially when options began to dwindle. The Notts had been relatively slow in seeking a match for their daughter as most girls were engaged or married by graduation. Althea hadn’t pushed them for a match either, not especially eager to get married so soon. Her parents had seen some greater potential in her, allowing her to pursue first mediwitch training and then healer training. She’d known a match would come eventually, though she’d been surprised it came through Quentin. “Thank you, Liz.” She said, giving her friend a small smile. “He seems sweet, and Mum says marrying someone both younger and outside of the Sacred 28 should keep him humble enough to stay kind. As awful as that sounds.”

Liz couldn’t help but laugh at the girls reaction, knowing that she was only being a little over dramatic about it. “Sorry,” She said halfheartedly, though she would temporarily stop teasing her for the time being. The woman couldn’t help but feel a little bad for Althea, having to marry someone who she barely knew. She knew plenty of people who who’s marriages turned out terrible even when they had known the other person for years. Her own parents were a perfect example, though the stress of having a witch for a daughter had definitely had something to do with their inevitable divorce. This certainly wasn’t the same case though, and it wasn’t about her. “I don’t think you’re crazy. I really can’t judge because I never had to worry about such a thing.” She smiled to her, hoping it would let Althea know that she really didn’t think negatively about her situation. 

Even though Liz had never had to worry about an arrange marriage, she knew enough about them. They were made due to connections, or rather so that connections could be made between families. The woman didn’t know enough about Althea’s family to possibly know what they would want from Quentin Crabbe and his family. Nor did she know what either really had to offer, other than being purebloods. Even so, Liz would like to be there for the girl if she could. She was sure this was going to be a difficult time for her between training and the inevitable wedding. “That does sound a little awful.” She sighed, furrowing her brows. The woman extended an arm to the girl and placed a gently hand on her shoulder. “I really can’t even imagine- I guess that’s the lucky thing about being a muggleborn. Though I’d probably be married by now if I wasn’t.”

Where: outside the Hospital Wing 

When: March 15th, after dinner 

Elizabeth was only supposed to be at Hogwarts for a few hours that day, but had somehow spent most of her day there. Thankfully she wasn’t expected at St. Mungo’s until the night shift, so she still had a few hours to spare. She didn’t mind working at the two locations, enjoying the opportunity to train the new healers and get a change in scenery. With working at Hogwarts, she also ran into people much more often than she did at the hospital. One of those people now being Silvanus Kettleburn. He wasn’t much older than her, and was certainly hard to forget from their time at Hogwarts together. The man was extremely tall, with a personality just as big. “Silvanus!” She smiled, calling out his name to get his attention. “Don’t tell me you’re a teacher here? I had no idea!” 

“I wanted him to leave before you could talk to him properly.” Althea corrected, turning back to the inventory she should have been counting and rearranged the vials yet again to give her hands something to do. “Quentin comes from a traditional pureblood family.” Althea said quietly, hoping that her friend would understand what she meant. Families like Quentin’s, like her own, held deep prejudice against witches like Liz. Some might not even consider her a true witch due to her blood-status. Althea was ashamed to admit that she was still working through a bit of that prejudice even now, though working with Liz had been something of an eye-opening experience. Liz was one of the most talented healers she had worked with thus far, and Althea was very quickly learning that blood-status meant much less to her than the rest of pureblood society would have her believe. “He’s different than what I imagined, too.” She added, glancing back at her friend. “I don’t know him well enough to say, but he seems kinder than most pureblood boys I’ve met. Still, it’s better to be cautious.”

At Liz’s questions, Althea found herself shaking her head. “I didn’t know he was going to stop by, at least, not today.” In fact, she was surprised he had made his way over so quickly. Althea had assumed due to his age, he would likely be more nervous than she was, but the opposite had turned out to be true. “My hands were shaking so badly.” Althea said miserably, turning back to Liz. “I don’t think I even remember half of what was said, I was so nervous at first.” As far as first impressions could have gone, Althea supposed she hadn’t done too badly, though she had been caught off-guard by Quentin’s visit, and she had no doubts it was obvious.

Liz rolled her eyes at the girls first comment, knowing she meant it because she was well aware of how nosy the older woman could be. Hearing that he was from a pureblood family though, she understood. Even though she tried not to let it show, purebloods did make her a little nervous. Mostly because she knew that something as silly as her family was enough to make her more of a target than others. It’d even gotten in the way of work a bit, having run into several purebloods who refused to work with her, or patients who refused to be seen by her. It was more of a nuisance than anything. Even when she’d first met Althea, the girl had been weary to work with her. She was stubborn though, which was why she’d been even more strict with her than usual when her training had began. They’d obviously gotten past that as she now considered Althea a good friend of hers. 

“He was definitely more polite than most students who come in here.” She chuckled, trying to show Althea that she’d gotten a good impression of the boy as well. Though Liz hadn’t been owling him like she had, so she certainly knew him much better. “Just at first? So are you telling me that your face wasn’t red due to nerves?” She teased the girl, knowing fully well that she’d been embarrassed more than enough for the day. Althea would know it was all in good fun though, at least she hoped she would. “I think it’s real cute though. I hope he is really as nice as he seems though, you certainly deserve it.” 

Had she not been distracted by Liz’s presence, Althea might have wondered whether or not she should be flattered Quentin didn’t seem to have anything better to do with his time other than talk to her. As it was, however, she merely managed to nod at his suggestion of sending an owl should she want to speak with him again. She did, in fact, find that she would like to talk to him again, but could hardly bring herself to voice such a thing in front of Liz in the moment. Mercifully, her friend waited until Quentin was safely out of earshot before beginning the expected interrogation.

“That was Quentin Crabbe.” Althea explained, giving Liz a pointed look. They hadn’t spoken much about her betrothal other than the fact her family had been looking into making some sort arrangement, and that something had been finalized. Althea supposed they’d been rather busy at St. Mungo’s to speak much about it, and even when they had a moment to catch up, Althea hadn’t had much to share. “He’s- you know, the one I told you about.” For some reason, she wasn’t sure what to call him. Her betrothed? Her fiancé? They both sounded so formal, and yet much too intimate for a boy she hardly knew. “The one I’ve been writing to.” She added.

As soon as the connection was made, her jaw literally dropped. She almost could not believe that that was the boy Althea was arranged to be married to. Liz wasn’t sure what to make of him, though she definitely hadn’t been able to picture how he actually was. She wasn’t quite sure if that was a good or bad thing yet, seeing how she would need to get to know him better. “And you let him leave before I could talk to him more?” She shook her head in disappointment, even though she understood why she’d done it. Surely the boy would have been mortified to suddenly undergo an interrogation. That didn’t mean she didn’t wish she’d been able to. “He’s different then what I imagined.” 

Truthfully she had imagined someone much more brooding. More mature. Though the boy definitely wasn’t a complete disappointment, and was surely respectable enough. “I’m guessing he came by to say hello. How’d it go? Good, bad, wish you hadn’t ever met him and just kept writing you letters?” She asked, knowing that she was throwing way more questions at her than necessary. But Liz was so curious about how these sorts of things worked. As a muggleborn she’d never been expected to be in an arranged marriage of any sort. Though a marriage at all would have been nice, and every year she got older was another year that she became sure it just wasn’t going to happen. 

There was a huge influx of people in the hospital wing lately. Professionals. Sometimes, Amara wasn’t too sure if she was actually needed anymore since she had only started back in January. It wasn’t enough time to actually count as her internship and she didn’t think that Pomfrey would sponsor her anyway since she already had Lily so she wasn’t even sure why she still went. The need for a distraction was still there so she still stopped in each day, even knowing that she was just going to be sent on her way. “I’m one of the student healers” she said, trying and failing to smile at yet another new face, “Do you guys need any help today?”

Liz had only gone to Hogwarts to assist Madame Pomfrey with the trainees. That way the woman could make sure the students were properly looked after. “Oh! Well it’s lovely to meet you, I’m Elizabeth Killick, but please just call me Madam Liz.” She smiled, still not quite used to being around the students. She wanted to be formal, but not excessively which was where the Madam came in but still went by Liz. Plus it had been suggested she do so in order to keep a sort of separation between her and the actual healers in training. She only used her first name instead of last because she wasn’t there too often, and it was Madam Pomfrey who was in charge there and not she. “I actually believe Madam Pomfrey set something aside for you to do, just come with me.” She nodded, leading her toward the back of the infirmary where more of the supplies and paperwork were kept. 

althea-nott‌:

“Not usually.” Althea replied, smiling at Quentin’s teasing tone but quite serious. “Then again, I don’t often have visitors while I’m at work.” She said pointedly, though there was no sting in her words. In fact, she rather liked this friendly bit of back and forth between them. It was certainly the most they had ever spoken to one another in person, and the few meetings they’d had before had been stiff, formal, and worst of all, observed. And though she had been nervous to speak to him alone, Althea found that she dismayed when he called Liz over to join them, for a vast number of reasons. The foremost of which, Althea worried they might not get along or happen to offend one another considering Liz was muggleborn and Quentin a Death Eater.

Althea found she held her breath as she watched the two shake hands, though she did her best to smile as they did so. Liz’s self-introduction sent the heat of a blush spreading across her cheeks and she laughed, embarrassed. “I suppose I ought to take that as my cue to get back to work.” She said, wringing her hands. “Besides, I’m sure Quentin has much better things he could be doing as well, don’t you Quentin?” Althea suggested, glancing between the two of them. 

@quentin-crabbe​

It seemed as if they had gotten past being awkward, something he was thankful about. He had originally worried that they never would, or that it certainly wouldn’t become friendly. It was easier to fake being friendly, or even mistake politeness with such a thing over letters. It certainly hadn’t helped that neither of them had ever been very forthcoming with each other the other times they’d met. Those had always been observed though, under the pressure to act respectfully and properly. “It’s very nice to meet you Liz.” He laughed at her introduction, finding it rather charming if anything. 

Cute. Quentin couldn’t help but think it when he noticed her blush at her coworkers words. He shook the thought out of his head quickly, “I don’t, but I probably should get going and let you get back to work.” He smiled, taking the chance to stand up from his seat. Thinking about it, Lucius should be free at this point of the day so he would just go find him. Maybe he would even study a bit if there was really nothing else to do. “Just uh- shoot me an owl if you want to talk again, or if my friends come by and annoy you.” He joked, turning to wave a polite goodbye to Liz before exiting the Hospital Wing.

@liz-killick​ 

Liz was well aware of the fact that she had intruded upon something. But she had been called over, so Althea couldn’t blame her for that. She couldn’t help but raise her eyebrow at her coworkers blush, glancing back and forth between her and the boy for a moment and they just about shut her out when she was standing right there. It was all very interesting and made her wonder what exactly had been going on. She was almost sad to see the boy, Quentin, leave. Surely she would have been able to witness much more embarrassing moments to tease the other girl about later. For now though, she had to find out every detail of what had just occurred. 

“Who was that?” She asked immediately as the boy was out of the Hospital Wing. “I mean, I know that his name’s Quentin but who was he and why was he hear for so long exactly? Not that I actually mind of course, but you’ve got me a little more than curious at this point.” Liz was sure to add in a smile to ensure that Althea didn’t think she was in any trouble. Usually one would be if they were so blatantly slacking off at work as she had, but Liz didn’t particularly mind in that moment. 

Where: Hospital Wing 

Liz only worked at Hogwarts a few days out of the week, spending the majority of her time at St. Mungo’s. Her time at the school was much more laid back, as she mostly just oversaw training. It wasn’t that she minded it seeing how training new healers was probably her favorite part of the job. Althea and Margo were both nice and eager to learn, which made it easier to teach them. She appreciated having all the extra hands around, including Penny who was more than capable of handling things on her own. “Hello, can I help you with something today?” She smiled at the student who walked in. Students were always coming into the Hospital Wing for various reasons, including to try and help them out. 

althea-nott‌:

Althea felt her smile slowly widen as Quentin laughed, glad to be in on the joke. Not only was it obvious Quentin cared about his friends, but he also seemed to have something of a sense of humor as well. And what was more, even though there was some lingering awkwardness at their situation, Quentin didn’t seem to let it bother him. In turn, Althea was filled with a sense of relief and a determination not to let it bother her either. “Your secret is safe with me.” She promised him, sincere in her word though she couldn’t help her teasing tone.

Nosy coworkers. Althea’s gaze flickered over the Hospital Wing to where Liz stood, obviously pretending to busy herself with some task while trying her best not to look as though she was listening. Althea felt the heat of a blush rush to her cheeks, though she couldn’t be sure if that was because her mentor had caught her socializing on the job, or her friend had been eavesdropping on a private conversation. “I have a lot of nosy coworkers.” Althea said, softer now that she knew Liz was listening. “But Liz is particularly nosy. Though I suppose that’s because she’s been tasked with keeping me in check.” Althea smiled speaking of her friend, though she leaned closer to Quentin as if sharing a secret. “Watch, now that she can’t hear me any longer, she’s bound to come over. It’s like she can’t help it.”

Her promise made him smile, her words making him feel like there really was some big secret that she was keeping for him. As if he were someone special. Which was ridiculous of course, as he was absolutely ordinary and special in no way. Which made it even stranger, that Althea seemed to make him feel special in any way. Maybe it had been because of all their letters, and the time he’d spent writing them. Quentin had once been sure that she hadn’t put nearly as much thought. But now that he was sitting there speaking to her, actually speaking to her without either of their parents watching and monitoring them, he wasn’t so sure. Was it possibly that she had tried just as much as he did? Or was he getting ahead of himself and making himself believe that he could possibly be special, to her or anyone else, one day. 

The boy found himself leaning in when she did, getting distracted by their sudden close proximity. Quentin had almost begun to believe that she was trying to stay as far from him as she could without making it awkward, now wondering if it had simply been from nerves. He certainly found himself slowly relaxing the more they talked, so maybe she did as well. “Well do you need to be kept in check?” He found himself teasing her. He broke the moment, looking up and making eye contact with the healer. Raising his hand, he waved her over. “Why not just speed up the inevitable then?” He smiled, holding out a hand when Liz approached them. “Hello, I figured I’d introduce myself now rather than later.” 

@liz-killick

It hadn’t surprised Liz when some students and aurors came in knowing Althea, the girl still being pretty young and having graduated not to long ago. Plus, she was pretty easy to get along with and likable. What did catch her surprise when a boy came in and sat down, seeming like he was going to stay for a bit. She couldn’t help but try and listen in a bit as to what was going on. Purely because whoever could make Althea so nervous must be someone interesting. Being caught spying on them though, was quite embarrassing as she made a poor attempt to seem busy. 

Liz was unsure if she should be grateful the boy called her over, or embarrassed. She surely would have made her way over to them eventually, or at least to Althea after the boy had left to get any details that she might’ve missed. “Well how nice of you.” She smiled, raising an eyebrow as she shook hands with the boy. Breaking the eye contact to glance over at Althea. “I’m Liz, I help train Althea when she’s not busy talking.”