god help the girl.

                      𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃  𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑  𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐓  𝐓𝐎  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓,     the  slight  surge  of  anger  that  threatened  his  unreadable  expression     .     Had  he  done  it  on  purpose     ?     No     .    Then  why  was  he   ,    for  the  briefest  of  moments     ,    sad  that  he’d  actually  woken  up     ?     Two  hours    ,    she  said    .    He  hadn’t  even  overdosed  correctly    .     Aside  from  art     ,     was  there  anything  this  fool  was  good  at     ?       ❛      Yer  kind  of  a  bitch     .     ❜      The  edges  of  his  lips  curled  slightly  upward  as  a  weak  chuckle  slipped  free     .      ❛     Thank  ye     ,      I   guess     .     Or  yer  welcome     .     Potions  can  be  a  bitch     .      ❜      He  stretched  out  his  legs     ,     sheets  tangled  around  his  toes     ;     the  same  toes  that  ran  infamously  cold  given  his  terrible  circulation      .     Least  now  they  were  insulated  like  crazy     .      ❛     Ya  don’t  really  look  like  someone  who  tells  people  things     .    So  ye  won’t      .  .  .     tell  people  about  this    ,     will  ya       ?    ❜  

she whistled when he called her a bitch, eyebrows raised exaggeratedly. “ --- jeez, didn’t know the chocolates were that big of a deal to you. my bad. ” she wasn’t sure why she kept making lame jokes to a boy who just overdosed on god knows what. they said laughter was the best medicine. too bad he wasn’t laughing. “ --- is that just a nice way of saying i look like i don’t have FRIENDS ? well. i’ll have you know you’re absolutely goddamn right, ” she said dryly, twisting her lips into something that could be a wry smile. “ --- kidding. mostly. but seriously, don’t worry. i won’t tell anyone, your junkie secret’s safe with me. ”

          Ollie  had  a  mouth  on  her     ,      spewing  curse  words  like  currency    .    He  leaned  sideways     ,    against  his  pillow  for  a  comfier  position    ,    and  refrained  from  fully  sneering     .     She  was  crass    ,     this  one    .      Practically  biting  with  it     .      The  mention  of  Rita  alone  was  enough  to  plunge  the  venom  back  in     .     It  was     ,     after  all     ,     a  little  difficult  to  hide  such  a  big  secret  from  the  girl  who  seemed  to  know  everything      .       ❛      Why  are  ye  here      ?      ❜     He  was  willing  to  guess  that  she  had  been  the  one  who  got  him  there     ,     a  thank  you  absent  from  his  lips  as  he  waited  for  an  answer     .      He  wouldn’t  have  stayed     .     Adie  would’ve  dropped  the  person  off  and  left     ,     nobody  the  wiser  that  he’d  actually  helped  someone     .      So  why  was  she  still  there      ?     Did  he  owe  her  money     ?

          ❛     Thought  Pomfrey  might’a  kicked  ye  out  by  now      ,      ❜      he  clarified    ,     trying  to  seem  kinder  than  he  actually  was     .     If  anyone  deserved  a  little  NICE     ,     it  was  the  girl  who  saved  his  ass      .        ❛     You  are  the  one  who  brought  me  here     ,     aren’t  ya     ?      ❜     His  eyes  narrowed  just  a  little     ,     chin  raising  slightly  as  he  studied  the  girl     .     She  had  that  thing      .     Same  thing  he  often  heard  people  saying  about  Rita     .     That  eh      ,      Resting  Bitch  Face     .        ❛     What      ?      No  chocolates      ?     I’m  in  the  damn  hospital  wing     .     ❜  

ollie shrugged in response, looking bored. “ --- pomfrey says i’m in SHOCK. besides, it’s better than potions. and you’ve only been out for, like, an hour or two. s’not like you’ve been in a coma for five years. ” she shifted into a more upright position, eyes flicking over him quickly before glancing away again. he was looking significantly less corpse-like, which was probably a good sign. she wanted to ask him what he’d been on when it had happened, what near-lethal mixture had pushed him over the edge, but she refrained. something didn’t seem very tactful about that. but then again, anyone dating rita skeeter would have to be used to not very tactful. “ --- NOPE. sorry, ate em all. i’ll bring extra next time you start foaming at the mouth, yeah ? ” 

          He  was  exhausted     .     Worn  to  the  very  bone    ,     he   was     .     But  no  matter  how  many  times  his  mind  screamed  WAKE  UP     ,     he  remained  still     ,     eyes  shut  and  skin  pale       .       In  spite  of  this     ,     he  often  heard  distant  voices     ,     whispering  his  name  as  if  he  were  a  simple  topic  of  conversation     .     Sometimes  his  flesh  would  crawl     ,     as  if  someone  had  touched  him      .     He  would  fade  in  and  out     ,     an  odd  sensation  taking  over    ,     like  he  was  floating     .     But  he  would  always  crash  back  down    ,     attempting  once  more  to  WAKE  UP     .

          Over  and  over  and  over  it  would  go    ,     the  artist  wanting  to  open  his  eyes     ,    until  he  finally  did     .     He  saw  a  familiar  face     .     Not  a  person  he  technically  knew    ,     but  familiar  in  the  sense  that  they  were  in  the  same  house     .     Adie  thought  momentarily  about  asking  her  what  had  happened    .     It  would’ve  been  a  waste  of  oxygen     .     He  already  knew    .   Stupid    ,     stupid  boy  with  his  stupid     ,     stupid  drugs       .       ❛      Shit  digs    .       ❜      Those  were  the  words  he’d  meant  to  say    ,    but  they  emerged  as  more  of  a  mumbled  groan     .

          ❛      Shit  digs    .       ❜     He  repeated     ,     this  time  more  clearly     .    //   @olliebax

to put it plainly, ollie was exhausted. funny how saving someone’s life did that to a girl. that’s what madame pomfrey had told her, at least, in a hushed tone once adie was properly and healthily asleep, courtesy of a sleeping draught --- that the boy was lucky she’d come along when she had. ollie didn’t buy it. saving lives was something gryffindors did on their weekends off, in between saving kittens from rabid hippogriffs, or some shit. saving lives was not something an underachieving stoner did while skipping class. she didn’t quite know why she stayed by his bedside. if you believed madame pomfrey ( which, again, she did not ) she was in shock. ollie figured it was just a reason to miss potions. even slughorn couldn’t argue with the hogwarts matron. 

she was just drifting off, her neck crooked at an uncomfortable angle, elbow propped up on a table and her cheek crushed against the heel of her hand, when the boy spoke, effectively nearly startling her out of her skin. “ --- mary mother of jesus fucking christ god shitfuck, ” ollie said eloquently, too rattled to really care about the reprimanding look she received from madame pomfrey. if she hadn’t been in shock before, she sure was now. she ran a hand through her hair, giving him a wide-eyed look. “ --- well, about damn TIME. thought i was gonna have to go tell your girlfriend you’d gone and kicked the bucket, and she was gonna murder me outta grief or something. ” she stretched her legs out in front of her, itching for a smoke. “ --- so, much obliged you’re, y’know, still alive and all that shit. ”

                The  young  witch  hadn’t  been  paying  attention     ,     absently  chewing  at  her  thumbnail  as  she  studied  the  contents  of  the  article                      it  was  a  nasty     ,    albeit  uncontrollable  habit  she’d  developed  over  the  years    .     Her  normally  brightened  hues  turned  dull     ,     unaware  of  the  body  that  sat  across  from  her      .       ❛       .  .  .     Jesus     !    ❜      She  jumped  when  she  finally  noticed  them     ,    her  hand  pressed  firmly  against  her  chest  in  shock    .       ❛      You  a  fuckin’  ghost  now     ,      or  what     ?     ❜

“ --- sure am. bodeme says hi, ” ollie said casually, a comment which earned her a shocked glare of disapproval from the person next to her. “ --- too soon ? my BAD. ” using humour as a default whenever uncomfortable probably wasn’t the best solution in this case. she lifted a shoulder in an easy, lopsided shrug, her blasé demeanour effortlessly masking how shaken she was by this whole mess. “ --- guess i should ask how your break was, and all that fun stuff. ”

Celia: I have cat-like reflexes.

Ollie: Prove it.

Celia: *sees a cat*

“You wish that’s what I was doing.” Frank did not know what he was doing. “I’ve skipped classes before, I know I have. Just didn’t hide it very well. It’s nothing.”

“ --- wait, lemme GUESS -- you missed class cause you were too busy saving some african orphans. you had to help some house elves raise a baby deer. you were finding a cure for dragon pox. tell me if i’m getting close. ”

“that’s a pretty average reaction to my mug.” he shrugged at the insult, as if not bothered at all — which he wasn’t, of course. “and that’s pretty fuckin’ homophobic, ollie. didn’t think you’d be that kinda person, but alas … i guess everyone disappoints you at some point in yer life.”

“ --- hey, you know me -- i live to disappoint. ” she paused, considering. “ --- too heavy on the self-deprecating jokes ? should i try some new shit ? ”

            ❛    They  say  women  shouldn’t  be  funny,     ❜     Narcissa  deadpanned,  finding  the  overall  idea  both  archaic  and  disgusting.    ❛    I  see  you’ve  taken  their  advice  to  heart.     ❜                        

“ --- yeah, people keep telling me that lately. ”

             ❛    Can  I  help  you     ?     Surely  it  must  be  hard  to  find  your  way  around  a  common  room  that  isn’t  your  own.    ❜  

“ --- shit, you’re saying this isn’t the ravenclaw common room ? no wonder the riddle seemed so damn EASY. ”

“You are incredibly funny. Amazing how no one knows that.” Truly the boy did not feel like going to class, or bantering with the sarcastic girl. “No I’m just going to sit in detention with my head on the desk.”

“ --- what can i say ? i’m unappreciated in my time. ” she cocked her head at the boy, her face a mask of languid curiosity. “ --- so what sparked the rebellion ? why’s good guy longbottom skipping class all of a sudden ? don’t tell me you’ve started in on street drugs. that’s MY thing. ”

“you damn sure are. just lookin’ at you makes me wanna weep.” at her next words, his expression only turned more grave ( as if mundungus fletcher was ever serious ). “well, i promise you, olivia baxter, i’ll never ditch ya. that is, of course, ‘cuz i’m much better than the average dad.”

“ --- yeah ? well, just lookin’ at you makes me wanna BARF, ” she informed him, her voice dry and teasing. at his promise, she wrinkled her nose at him, with derision but not unkindly. “ --- wow. that’s pretty fuckin’ gay, fletch. ”

“I skipped one class. One and McGonnagal catches me for it. One bloody class. It’s not like I’m going to have missed some big life lession. Reckon I could have just gone, but that’s besides the point right now. I don’t do records, I’m a clean chap and I know it.”

“ --- frank, my GOD. you skipped class ? what’s next, burning down the hogwarts library ? i’m so disappointed in you. ”

“ — try my best not to wake up. ”

“hmmm, don’t make me cry now … that is truly tragic.” he pretended to wipe a way a tear. “i do believe in you, ollie       one day, you will make it, i’m sure.”

“ --- hey, what can i say ? i’m a goddamn TRAGEDY. ” she crooked a grin at him, easy enough to let him know her next words were in jest. “ --- aw, thanks, fletch. you sound like my dad, ‘fore he ditched. ”