Tweak

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Tweak says, "-destination unknown."

Ariana Isolde Marian Elizabeth Dumbledore (untamed_magic) wrote in beyondthepages,
@ 2010-04-08 19:47:00

Entry tags:

!complete, 2023 09, ariana dumbledore, neville longbottom

RP: The Halls of Hogwarts
Characters: Ariana D, Neville
Time/Date: Evening, September 8, 2023
Location: Hogwarts, various hallways
Warnings/Rating: None
Summary: Ari slips out to explore some
Status: Complete

It was just after dinner (taken in the quarters she shared with her brother rather than the chaos of the Great Hall), when Ariana decided she was bored of the walls of the rooms she lived in. She hadn't been out in the castle much since the students had arrived, and not on her own.

Still, it seemed like she was about due for a prowl of the halls.

Glancing toward the room where her brother was, Ari slipped toward the door. She didn't honestly believe that Albus didn't know where she was going or what she was up to, but she'd pretend if he pretended.

With a sneaky little grin, Ariana slipped into the hallway. Barefoot and clad in wizarding robes, she trotted down the hallway and around the corner. Giggling as she ducked around it, she paused and peered back the way she'd come before deciding she was probably in the clear.

Content that there would be no immediate pursuit, Ariana began to roam through the hallways to see what she could see.

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trustingnature
2010-04-12 04:45 am UTC (link)

He nodded. "We should know," he agreed quietly. "But sometimes... people in power think that they know what's best for the people who are not in power. And they make decisions that are... perhaps not the smartest decisions. They want everyone to keep going about like nothing is wrong because they are not ready to deal with everyone panicking. It's selfish and wrong of them, but..." he shook his head. "I'm not sure that it's something that is going to change any time soon."

He did smile when she mentioned Abe would come find them. "I have no doubts of that," he agreed with a nod of his head. "The moment he heard that you were alive again, I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be anyone who could stop him from coming here to find you," he told her with a nod of his head. "In fact, wherever he is right now, I'm sure it's just that no one has told him that you're here, and that's why he hasn't returned yet. Give him a bit more time and he'll come back."

He really, really hoped that would end up being true. Not just for her sake either.

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untamed_magic
2010-04-12 05:02 am UTC (link)

She giggled a little, nodding her agreement. She could relate to that. "People always thought they knew what was better for me." Her brow furrowed. "But I guess they were mostly right, probably," she amended in fairness.

They meant well, at any rate, even if their methods were slightly skewed.

Her lips quirked slightly. "Is he somewhere? Somewhere that he can remember? I don't remember being dead." What if there wasn't anything beyond the moment of their death? "Albus is younger," she continued. "What if Abe comes back at Albus' age and doesn't remember dying, either?"

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trustingnature
2010-04-12 06:02 am UTC (link)

Neville shook his head. "They may have known what was better, but the way they handled it was wrong," he told her sharply, though the sharpness was not directed at her, and entirely directed at the family that had locked her away and made her fear magic the way they had. "It's... a common theme with a lot of adults," he said with a wry grin. "we know what's right, but sometimes we don't know how to get there."

He thought about her questions, and how to answer them, sipping his tea to kill a bit of time. "I honestly don't know, Ariana. But I feel like... he must be somewhere, even if he isn't really... aware of it right now." He paused. "I'm not sure that you... are from a time when you were dead," he said finally. "Some of the returned individuals seem to remember their experiences before they died, and some - like James, Sirius and Remus for example - don't really because they're from a time when they weren't dead. And no one really seems to have the answers as to why that is."

No one that he had heard from that he really put much credence in, anyway.

He looked at Ari for a moment, and then he said, "I think that no matter what age Abe comes back at, he'll still come looking for you." He, personally, would prefer Abe from a later time - a time where he remembered what they'd gone through in the war - but he knew that it was silly to be hopeful like that with such a random returns going on.

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untamed_magic
2010-04-12 06:13 am UTC (link)

"I don't remember dying," she admitted. "But I remember the fight. Albus and Abe and Gellert ... they were all fighting. I remember all the flashes, and ..."

She shrugged. She didn't remember actually dying though, so maybe she returned from just before she actually died and that was why she couldn't?

"I know," she agreed. "Once he finds out we were all dead, he'll know to come find us," she continued with the confidence of youth.

Taking another sip of her cocoa, she cocked her head curiously as she looked around the room again. Curious blue gaze played over the visible books and decorations, though she made no move to investigate them more closely.

"What do you do when you aren't grading papers or teaching classes?"

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trustingnature
2010-04-12 06:33 am UTC (link)

He closed his eyes briefly, not really liking the story. But he listened and nodded all the same. His thoughts mirrored hers, that maybe she'd simply been brought back from a time just before she died, or maybe she just... didn't remember because she was younger and didn't really have any thoughts to associate with dying.

He supposed it didn't really matter either way. The important thing was that she was here with them, and he smiled and nodded.

"I uh..." he said, looking around his room as he thought of how to answer her question. "Well, I'll be honest that I don't do a whole lot. I do read, a little," he gestured to a few piles of books that were scattered in various places around the room. "But mostly my passions lie with plants, and everything that comes with it. So grading papers, teaching classes, preparing for the next class - those are great ways to pass the time for me.

"How about you? What do you do when you're not studying?"

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untamed_magic
2010-04-12 06:51 am UTC (link)

Ari smirked at the return question. "I wander around the castle when I can. I read a lot to try to catch up, but I guess that counts as studying," she reflected. "I color. And draw a little. I'm not very good at it, but I'll get better with practice."

Sipping at her cocoa again, she set the cup down on the table before continuing. "I guess if I can manage classes...I'll start next year, then I'll have homework and tutoring and everything else and probably won't have time for much else."

Or inclination. She'd overheard on occasion (and seen in the journals) conversations between girls, talking about boys. She thought she should be concerned about that soon - she was nearly that age. She just ... wasn't interested right now.

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trustingnature
2010-04-12 07:48 pm UTC (link)

He smiled a bit. "You draw?" he asked curiously, though he supposed that made sense. There likely wouldn't be a lot else for her to do with the other students her age being stuck in class all day. She could wander the grounds endlessly but if she did want something else to do... well, reading writing and drawing were really the only options. "Do you draw people, or sceneray? The grounds and things?"

So all right, his knowledge of drawing was very limited.

He nodded to her statement that she'd try to start next year. "If there are other things you like, you'll find that you can make time for them," he told her with a nod. "But you might find that spending time with your classmates will take priority over other things, like classwork and tutoring," he offered her a wry smile.

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untamed_magic
2010-04-12 07:53 pm UTC (link)

"Different things. Sometimes just what's inside my head, like unicorns with wings and stuff. I saw a thestral, so I draw those." She paused, and grinned. "Kind of, anyway. I'm not that good at it. I can sort of draw a dragon from the book. I haven't tried to draw people yet, but maybe I'll start with trying to draw the portrait outside of our room."

Ari shrugged a little in response to his suggestion about spending time with her classmates. She was ... different from them, in more ways than one, and she wasn't completely certain they'd really get along or relate. She was really far out of the loops they ran in ... but she'd see how it went. Hopefully she at least got on with her dormmates. "We'll see," she said diplomatically before she took another sip of her cocoa.

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trustingnature
2010-04-12 08:30 pm UTC (link)

He did wince slightly at her admission that she'd seen a thestral, and he wondered when he'd developed this protective feeling over her, and if it was something he would get over. She was obviously a stronger girl than people gave her credit for - including himself - if she could overcome the obstacles that had been placed in front of her - though that was hardly surprising, given that she was a Dumbledore. But all the same, it was still hard to accept when he got a reminder of something stories told him she'd experienced.

He nodded. "I'd like to see some, sometimes, if you wanted to show me?" he offered. "I've never been very good at drawing myself, but I do like looking at pictures," he gave her a warm smile.

Vaguely recognizing the attitude that accompanied the shrug of her shoulders, and her response to his statement about spending time with her classmates, he frowned and tried, "It's not always easy, meeting and spending time with new groups of people. But sometimes really good friends pop up from the most unexpected places," he encouraged.

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untamed_magic
2010-04-12 11:15 pm UTC (link)

"Maybe," she said. She'd only shown her brother, really, and she was a little nervous about showing them to someone else. Still, Neville seemed nice enough and she didn't think he'd poke fun or anything like that. "If I draw a really good one, I'll show you," she promised him as she shifted in her seat slightly.

"I don't know how to make friends," she admitted quietly as she stared toward the table. The last time she'd really interacted with anyone had been over half her lifetime ago, and that ... that had ended badly. "I'm a little scared, I guess. And everyone here already seems to have friends, 'cept maybe the first years ..."

She thought she might relate to them a little better though, so maybe it wouldn't be a bad path to pursue.

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trustingnature
2010-04-13 06:50 am UTC (link)

He smiled. "I'd like that," he said with a nod, listening while she admitted that she was nervous about making friends.

"I didn't know how to make friends either, when I first started," Neville admitted. In fact, he wasn't sure it was ever something that he'd really mastered. "But you do... bond over things, classes and Quidditch matches and study groups. So long as you're friendly and kind, you shouldn't have any difficulty finding people to talk to."

He did wonder though if maybe they could make an exception and put her in first year if that was where she wanted to be. It would be unorthodox, but he didn't imagine there was anyone who would really have a problem with it if that was how she wanted to go. It wasn't as though she was that much older, he didn't think. Just a few years. He wondered if Albus had considered speaking to Flitwick about it.

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untamed_magic
2010-04-13 06:58 am UTC (link)

Ari didn't think she'd bond over any of those things. Maybe if there was an artistic student, she might find something in common with them, or she might learn enough about this new world to actually be able to have an informed discussion with children her own age.

"Do you think people who return should have new birthdays? It was just after my birthday when I died, but now it's September. So I missed a few months. Does that mean I'm not how old I am?" It was, she realized, a sort of random topic shift, but it followed along with her train of thought.

"What do you think, if someone just had their birthday, then died, but it was their birthday again right after they came back. Does it make them a year older, or do they skip a year?"

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trustingnature
2010-04-13 08:25 am UTC (link)

The sudden shift in topic surprised him, and he wasn't sure if she was avoiding the topic of making friends because she disagreed with him, or if it was just a coincidence, but he decided to go with it either way, his eyebrows raising in curiosity. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I imagine if it was their birthday right when they came back, then they would skip a year. But if it was halfway between..." he paused, thinking about that.

"I suppose they could change their birthday if they really wanted to, but I don't think I would want to. I would rather pretend like I am the right age, you know? Wait for my birthday to come around again, and always know in the back of my mind that I was a couple of months older, or younger." He paused. "It may not be the most ideal solution, but... it's probably the least of the strange things that surrounds these returns, don't you think?"

He sipped his tea again, regarding her. "Those are my thoughts. How do you think we should handle it?"

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untamed_magic
2010-04-13 03:55 pm UTC (link)

"I don't know," she admitted. "I guess just staying the age you are, or came back at, and ... having your birthday on your proper birthday, so you don't confuse anyone. Or have to reregister yourself with the Ministry with a different birthday. I bet that would give them a headache, if people wanted to have their birthday be the day they came back or something."

Her brow furrowed as she thought about it before she shook her head to see if she could find another tangent to run down.

But it was getting late, and she was getting sleepy, and Albus might start to wonder where she was. "Suppose I should head back," she decided. "But thank you for the cocoa," she added as almost an afterthought.

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trustingnature
2010-04-14 04:35 am UTC (link)

He nodded. That made sense to him, and when she mentioned it was time she should be getting back, he looked around for a clock for confirmation before nodding his head again, moving to rise up from his own seat, planning on escorting her if she'd let him.

"Did you want me to..." he started to say before he realized that it didn't really matter to him one way or the other if she wanted him to accompany her, he was pretty sure he was going to anyway for her safety. "Did you mind if I escorted you?" he altered his words to.

He supposed it... didn't really matter, one way or the other. She was just going back to her room, likely nothing would happen, but he would feel better if she had someone escorting her all the same.

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untamed_magic
2010-04-14 04:42 am UTC (link)

Ari sort of smirked when he corrected his phrasing. She'd assumed, given his concern earlier, that he would insist on accompanying her back to her quarters.

So she shrugged. "If you aren't too busy. I'd hate to take away time from your papers," she teased a little as she slid out of her seat and stretched and yawned.

She really was tired, but she kept herself busy between the books and roaming the grounds when she could. "I'm sure my brother would appreciate knowing I was escorted by a professor."

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trustingnature
2010-04-15 12:57 am UTC (link)

"I'm sure you don't really need to be," he assured her with a smile. "But after recent events with the returnees - and given the battles that have happened recently - it's probably best that no one walk the halls alone." Yes, he was aware of the paradox of how would he get back to his office, and was already preparing responses.

They weren't very good though, because he didn't disagree that he shouldn't be walking back alone either.

Holding the door of his office open, he waited for her to exit so that he could take her back to her room, vaguely amused that he'd managed at how much time he'd managed to waste speaking to her this evening.

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untamed_magic
2010-04-15 01:10 am UTC (link)

"I'm sure my brother will be pleased to hear that other people are looking out for me," Ari said as she lifted her chin slightly. Stepping out into the hall, she glanced up to Neville before lifting one hand.

Perhaps it was a little presumptuous, but if he was escorting her, he might want to hold her hand to ensure she didn't stray too far away for the short walk to her quarters.

She did wonder if her brother was going to have something to say about this, but ... well, she'd find out once she got back.

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