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Tweak says, "I am known by many names."

eloise midgen has a new life plan (offandrunning) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-01-28 13:12:00

Entry tags:

!1998: 01, !incomplete, draco malfoy, eloise midgen

Who: Eloise Midgen, Draco Malfoy, & OPEN
What: Ice skating on the lake!
Where: The Hogwarts Lake
When: Thursday, 28 January. After classes, a hour or two before sunset.
Rating: TBA

As much as keeping busy with school work had been a great help in keeping her mind off of the less desirable aspects of life right now, Eloise could only take so much of studying and reading. Usually staying within the castle walls wasn't a problem for her, either. The Common Room was such a cozy little place, especially so in winter - it was often nice to curl up in the corner with a good book, or with a sewing project, and just let the hours sneak by slowly. But all of those options just seemed too mundane right now.

The sharp winter air seemed oddly enticing after class, so Eloise had made a quick trip to her dorm to drop off her books and bundle up. Within a half hour, she was out by the Lake. Though she could see that the very middle was still somewhat unfrozen, covered by just a thin sheen of ice, the majority of the lake was frozen solid. As long as she didn't wander out too far, Eloise felt confident that she could enjoy a bit of ice skating. She sat on frozen ground and pulled the skates on, the sight of her breath formed a cloud of steam each time she exhaled making her smile.

It sometimes surprised her that she didn't see more people doing this. Perhaps it had had something to do with the squid, when he'd still been here. As Eloise pushed out onto the lake surface and began to trace wide loops, she wondered if she might run in to someone after all.

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dracowished
2010-01-29 11:43 pm UTC (link)

Draco often took these walks - it was freezing, and there was not likely to be too many people in his way as he walked, which he appreciated more and more as he waited for Snape's prediction to come to pass.

Often, he found himself at the lake. No one thought any longer of the squid, which was a bit disappointing. They'd spent weeks up in arms about it, and then let the idea slip away. Not that it much surprised him, really.

As he looked out over the frozen water, however, it became obvious he wasn't the only one who'd wanted their time alone, today.

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offandrunning
2010-01-30 04:42 am UTC (link)

Though she was in no way an extremely skilled skater, Eloise had done it long enough to be able to hold her own fairly well. She idled around a few more minutes, then decided it might be a good time to attempt something a bit more fancy. The past few times she'd done this, Eloise had managed a jump once or twice, but was still very inconsistent - she fell more often than she landed on her feet.

Today appeared to be one of the former cases, and as Eloise came out of a half revolution her foot slipped out from under her and she landed neatly on her bottom. A small "Oof!" escaped her lips and she sat there for several moments, mildly stunned. Oh well.

Eloise got back onto her feet, brushing the frost off of her jeans, and stole a glance at the shore. It took her a bit by surprise to find that someone had appeared. She skated closer, hands on her hips, before she recognized the figure. Knowing full well that Draco Malfoy was unlikely to show her anything but disdain, Eloise slowed a few meters from where he was.

"Oh. Hello."

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	dracowished 2010-01-31 12:39 am UTC (link)
	"I believe you're supposed to not land on your ass when you attempt those," Draco said, instead of saying hello. To be fair, the only reason he'd stayed beside the lake when he'd saw that she was there, was hopefully to see her fall. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

offandrunning
2010-01-31 05:40 am UTC (link)

Eloise had been at the butt end of enough less-than-kindly remarked during her years at Hogwarts. By now she rarely seemed to give them a second though. Though she looked vaguely amused by his comment, she didn't appear to be insulted.

"Hm, fancy that," she replied, moving backwards a little way before slowing to a stop again. For a few more moments she fixed him with an appraising look, then began to skate back and forth. "Unfortunately doing so is usually unavoidable when trying to pick up a new technique."

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dracowished
2010-01-31 05:48 am UTC (link)

And likely unavoidable when your ass was the size of the giant squid, Draco thought to himself, even if - when looking at her now - it wasn't the sort of joke to make any longer since it didn't apply. Had she been the one they mocked for being fat? Or had she been the girl with the acne scars? He couldn't really remember.

She was skating back and forth, though, as if she expected him to answer. "And do you do this often? Come out here in order to fall on your ass?"

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offandrunning
2010-02-01 04:55 am UTC (link)

"Not often enough, obviously, or I'd be spending much less time on my ass," she said conversationally. She stopped speaking for a moment, then added, "This is the first time this winter."

It wasn't that Eloise expected to be able to carry on a polite conversation with Draco. And she certainly didn't want to. She did find his presence a bit irksome and, if he was just going to be left alone to sit there while she skated, rather creepy to boot. It felt like having an audience, which was one thing she didn't particularly like, regardless of whether it was friendly or not.

At any rate, Eloise was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing whether or not she found him bothersome. Instead, she chose to concentrate on doing some spirals, which went much better than the jump attempt had. She'd try that again, soon enough.

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	dracowished 2010-02-04 03:56 am UTC (link)
	Draco understood exactly how much the girl, or anyone of her House, really, would not want him there - or he thought he understood, at least, which meant there was a snide sort of pleasure in staying precisely where he was. A Malfoy didn't retreat first in a duel, after all. Unless, of course, they were losing. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

offandrunning
2010-02-04 05:17 pm UTC (link)

Eying Draco every so often, mostly to see if he was still there, Eloise began to wish someone else would show up. It didn't even have to be someone she particularly liked - just a distraction. After several more minutes passed, void of any remarks or impertinent questions from the figure on the shoreline, Eloise began to wonder just what he was doing out here anyway. She imagined that most people didn't go roaming the grounds alone, especially in the oppressive cold of winter, unless they had something weighing on their minds.

Although she was positive he'd have nothing consequential to say in reply, she called over to him anyway. Her tone wasn't hostile, but it was far from friendly. "What are even doing out here? Clearly you don't have any falling of your own to do."

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	dracowished 2010-02-12 03:05 am UTC (link)
	"Clearly," Draco said dryly, but there wasn't much he could do to justify standing about the lake and actually speaking to... what was her name? Midgen, wasn't it? Like a pidgeon, which was a good enough way to remember it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

offandrunning
2010-02-12 03:46 am UTC (link)

Eloise wondered what he thought the point was, of sitting there, probably just waiting for her to fall over again. It dawned on her that that was exactly what he wanted. In the back of her mind, she resolved not to. Whether or not this would keep it from happening, she supposed, was up in the air.

She crossed her right ankle behind her left, gliding slowly, watching the horizon. "You didn't answer the question," she said pointedly. This was a bit amusing, maybe.

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