ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀᴏᴡɴ

after almost seven years, eddie assumed he’d experienced MOST of what hogwarts (and its inhabitants) had to offer. he’d lent a shoulder to a crying fifth year girl after a party when he was in his second year, heard the whole student population roar with laughter at one of his jokes during a quidditch match, snuck out to watch the sunrise on more than one occasion, enjoyed several of the marauders’ pranks, had many, many late night deep conversations with the house elves, seen slughorn in just a bathrobe       (don’t ask). but THIS? this was something he’d never seen before. he approached the individual in question with a mixture of curiosity and hesitancy. “are you okay?”

❝   well, maybe he is! he did look like one. very promising.      ❞  alice laughed along with her friend, knowing full well she wasn’t exaggerating. it couldn’t be helped, through her eyes the best in people shined through… it just didn’t pan out long term. maybe that’s why she took the situation with theodore so seriously, she had afterall been his number one fan back when he and marlene initially started dating. she’d thought he was the one her best friend would inevitably walk down the aisle to. his betrayal was about as disappointing to her as it had been to the blue haired princess, she was just spared the heartbreak.  ❝   that just means you were EMOTIONAL, which is nothing to be ashamed of. he should be so lucky to have someone care about him as much as you have, even if he doesn’t deserve as much. and you’re not wrong for wanting a reaction, especially after everything you both went through. maybe…maybe he just doesn’t want to react in front of you? which is not fair because it robs you of closure. i don’t know if he didn’t care, if not he was certainly good at faking it… boys are just terrible with emotions, it’s quite annoying.       ❞

        she  was  getting  sick  of  having  the  same  conversation  over  and  over  again.  the  topic  of  her  ex-boyfriend  always  upset  her,  and  she  couldn’t  stop  bringing  it  up.  marlene  was  beginning  to  think  she  was  a  masochist.   “  boys  are  terrible  at  a  lot  of  things,   ”   she  mumbled  under  her  breath,  like  a  whisper  on  the  wind.   “   he  took  so  much  from  me,  alice.  i  hate  him.   ”   despite  her  posture  being  perfect  and  her  head  being  held  high,  she  still  felt  small.  ted  made  her  feel  small.  unwanted.  and  damn  it,  she  never  wanted  to  feel  that  way  again.  “  i  told  him  i  was  done.  and  i  mean  it  this  time.  i  swear,  alice.  i  know   ...   i  know  i’ve  said  it  before,  but  i’m  serious.  i’m  tired  of  being  THAT  GIRL.  fuck,  i  used  to  make  fun  of  THAT  GIRL.  i  don’t  want  to  be  alone,  and  if  i  don’t  get  over  this  bullshit  teenage  lie          or  whatever  the  hell  he  wants  to  call  it            then  i  will  be.   ”

               she  was  still  somewhat  suspicious  of  why  the  girl  had  approached  her.  maybe  benjy  would’ve  been  able  to  tell  if  she  was  being  genuine;  he  was  always  good  at  reading  people  like  that.  she  made  a  note  to  ask  him  later.  still,  she  only  hesitated  for  a  second  before  lifting  her  shoulders,  lips  curving  into  a  tentative  smile.   ❛   —  depends.  will  there  be  more  chocolates  ?   ❜

        success.  marley  could  practically  feel  mickey  staring  at  the  duo  from  a  distance,  no  doubt  on  the  brink  of  a  sibling-induced  panic  attack.   “  please.  with  me,  there  will  always  be  more  chocolates.   ”   offering  a  genuine  smile,  she  took  a  stand  and  waited  for  the  brunette  to  do  the  same.   “   so   ...   how  do  you  feel  about  nicknames?  or  do  you  prefer  andromeda?    ”

          pale  fingers  left  the  pages  of  the  textbook.  instead  flying  up  to  run  over  his  face  in  vexation.  of  course  marley  mckinnon  would  mock  him,  that  was  their  relationship.  a  tit  for  tat.  tilden  just  happened  to  be  too  tired  to  muster  a  witty  remark  back.  a  rare  but  lucky  win  for  her.     “     then,  what  would  you  like  to  discuss?     ”     he  blurted,  gaze  flashing  towards  the  witch.     “    —  if  you  start  spouting  anything  about  witches  weekly,  pendergrass  or  the  latest  romance  in  this  castle,  i’m  leaving.     ”

         she  couldn’t  help  the  smile  that  surfaced.  tilden  had  always  been  something  of  a  challenge         the  most  addictive  drug  for  a  troublesome  addicted  witch.  she  liked  to  push  boundaries.  she  liked  to  be  the  exception.  and  at  that  moment,  with  him  finally  giving  in  to  the  concept  of  a  conversation,  she  was  just  that.  an  exception.    “  i  want  you.   ”   she  said  point  blank.   “   ...   to  join  eddie  and  me  for  the  first  match  back.  we  need  to  up  the  ante.  a  grand  return  or  whatever,  and  you  being  our  guest  would  be  perfect.   ”

               ❛   —  oh,   ❜   andromeda  said,  for  the  third  time.  she  blinked,  not  quite  knowing  what  to  say.  not  that  she  ever  truly  knew  what  to  say,  but  this  was  …  different  ?  this  loss  for  words  was  …  happy,  almost  ?  she  felt  her  palms  begin  to  sweat.   ❛   —  you  don’t  …  seem  like  you  rub  people  the  wrong  way.   ❜   it  was  supposed  to  be  a  compliment,  but  the  words  fell  out  of  her  mouth  in  almost  an  accusatory  tone.   ❛   —  i  mean,  you’re  …  you  have  a  lot  of  FRIENDS.   ❜   and  now  she  was  sounding  like  a  stalker.  she  couldn’t  help  but  wonder  if  she  looked  as  uncomfortable  as  she  felt.

           leaning  forward,  a  whispered  secret  resting  on  her  lips  as  she  narrowed  her  gaze  on  the  tiny  brunette.   “   only  because  i  give  them  chocolate.   ”   a  joke,  of  course.  she  was  extremely  lucky  to  have  found  such  patient  people  to  call  her  friends           certainly  andromeda  could  have  the  same  thing,   if  she  would  only  put  herself  out  there.  but  mickey  was  right.  the  girl  was  different.  closed  off.    “   and  you  can  never  have  too  many  friends.  i  always  welcome  one  more.   ”

she most certainly is, and that is by far the best and perhaps only evidence of my brothers impeccable taste. and yet, i do reprimand him because it’s simply not fair to you. now this boy, yes i will absolutely introduce you. he seems like a wonderful lad, and will treat you like a princess. i can tell by the look in his eyes, you know i have a WAY of knowing these things.           ❞ a small frown settled onto alice’s lips, knotting her brows together as well as she studied her friends face for any sign of distress. some part of her knew that even if it wasn’t immediately visible, it would definitely be there somewhere, it always was whenever theodore was mentioned.  ❝  REALLY ? did he bother to do anything at all ? the nerve he has, i swear i could just… oh gosh, i won’t even get into that. want to talk about it ? what did he do this time? was he being a troublesome nuisance again?        ❞

          "  calm  down,  alice.  you  have  a  habit  of  building  people  up             a  couple  more  words  and  i  MIGHT  be  convinced  you’ve  gone  and  found  me  a  greek  god.   ”   she  nudged  her  friend  playfully  as  they  walked,  the  silk  of  her  robe  tickling  the  flesh  of  her  calves.    “  no,   ”   she  said  with  sigh,  darkened  hues  shifting  to  offer  her  friend  a  look  of  appreciation.  marlene  was  aware  she  wasn’t  the  easiest  person  to  get  along  with          hell,  the  bullshit  with  ted  must  have  been  just  as  bad  for  her  friends  as  it  had  been  for  her.  she  would  cry  and  shout  and  complain  and  tear  their  room  apart.  she  had  been  psychotic,  and  yet  her  girls  remained  by  her  side,  hating  the  beautiful  boy  to  this  very  day.   “   he  didn’t  do  anything  wrong.  i  just   ...    ”   she  groaned,  brushing  away  the  stray  hairs  that  had  fallen  in  her  face.   “   i  got  drunk  at  the  party  and  i  freaked  out  at  him,  because  i’m  me  and  OF  COURSE  i  would  do  that.  i  apologized,  but          is  it  so  wrong  of  me  to  want  a  reaction?  i  don’t  know  why  i’m  surprised.  to  this  day,  i’m  the  only  one  who  actually  cared.   ”

         “   people  see  what  they  want  to  see.  sometimes  it’s  right,  sometimes  it’s  wrong.  i  doubt  they  really  care,  now  do  they?   ”

                  “  ack,  fuck  that!  i’d  rather  punch  myself.   ”

           “  sirius  is  the  most  attractive.  it’s  the  whole:  hate  to  see  you  leave,  love  to  watch  you  go  scenario    ...   don’t  care  much  for  the  narcissism  though.  it’s  pretty  much  the  ugliest  thing  i’ve  seen.   ”

     “  ha!  you’re  delusional  if  you  think  any  of  my  girls  would  EVER  date  ted.  even  if  i  gave  them  permission  to         but  if  i  had  to  choose,  i’d  pick  emmeline.  least  then  i’d  know  she’d  kick  his  ass  if  he  tried  anything.   ”