Olive Clayworth (kotinos) wrote in caged, @ 2013-11-26 17:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | [ log ], andrew kirke, olive clayworth |
WHO: Andy Kirke and Olive Clayworth
WHAT: oops we talked about Colin
WHEN: Late at night, Tuesday, November 26, 1997
WHERE: Gryffindor common room
WARNINGS: n/a
STATUS: Complete log!
As soon as she woke, Olive forgot the details of the nightmare that had roused her. Something about running through a forest -- it didn't matter. She knew then that she wouldn't be getting back to sleep. She felt completely alert, even in the silence of her dormitory. Shoshanna, Lavender, and Parvati were surely fast asleep, and she couldn't disturb them. Taking care not to make too much noise, she slipped out of bed and into her dressing gown and slippers, grabbing a book off of her nightstand. She could read by the firelight in the Gryffindor common room until she felt tired or until morning, whichever came first. She padded down the stairs and was surprised to find that there was one other person still there, a sixth year she recognized as Andy Kirke. Olive found him annoying at best, but he seemed to be immersed in a homework assignment, and she hoped that he wouldn't find her a disturbance. "Hi," she said, hoping not to startle him. It was becoming a far too common sight, Andy Kirke up late trying to frantically finish homework before it was due the following morning. He hadn’t anticipated quite how much work he would need to do for sixth year, and the flow of homework never seemed to end. And yet, he always found something better to do in his free time and would leave his work to the last minute. “Hrm?” Andy looked up, face breaking into a smile when he saw the opportunity for distraction. “Alright?” It wasn’t usual for someone like Olive Clayworth to want to talk to him, but he would welcome a nice chat over his Charms homework. "Oh yes, I suppose," Olive said. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would read down here rather than disturb my dormmates." She held up her book, which, as it turned out, was her seventh year Charms textbook. In the darkness, she hadn't been able to see which one she'd taken. She remembered seeing Andy down here before, especially towards the end of the previous year, studying for OWLs with his friend Colin. A muggleborn like her, she thought suddenly, wondering if maybe Andy knew something that could help her. She slid into the seat across from him and peered at his parchment. "Are you working on something?" she ventured, in an attempt to break the ice. Andy’s smile was unfaltering as he nodded and waved the parchment at her. “Charms. Due in,” a quick glance at his wristwatch and then a grimace, “About eleven hours? I kept putting it off and putting it off and then BAM it’s the night before.” Andy shrugged his shoulders and looked over at her as she sat next to him. He’d never really spoken to her but she seemed pleasant enough. “That’s not what I’d call fun light reading when you can’t sleep,” he told her, glancing at the heavy textbook in her arms. “So why can’t you sleep?” Andy asked, slipping into conversation quite easily as he pushed his parchment aside. "Charms is my favourite subject," Olive said lightly, setting the book down on the table, its title easily visible. "I suppose it was just one of those nights," she added dismissively, not at all willing to discuss the real reason for her lack of sleep with an excitable sixth year. She sighed. She supposed she could continue attempting to ease Andy into the conversation, but the Gryffindor in her was growing impatient. She needed to know what he knew -- maybe that would be what set her mind at ease. "You're friends with Colin Creevey, aren't you?" she asked suddenly. Andy’s entire demeanour seemed to shift slightly upon hearing her question. In truth, he didn’t even know the answer any longer. He’d tried to create some distance between them, and as much as he now regretted it he still wasn’t quite bold enough to admit it. He looked down at his essay for a moment, unsure of what answer to give. What was it he’d said to Jack only a few weeks ago? Colin was one of them. It was still strange that he wasn’t there with them. “Well, yeah,” Andy gave a noncommittal response, shrugging his shoulders a little. “He’s in my dorm.” It felt awful, giving that as a reason to know someone he’d previously called his best friend. "He was," Olive corrected, well aware of Colin's absence. He had been annoying too, but somehow the lack of camera flashes in the common room put her on edge. Her question seemed to put Andy similarly on edge, and she took the opportunity to push. "Have you heard from him at all this year? Did he tell you where he was going?" It wasn’t the first time that Andy had heard that question, and his smile practically disappeared when she started questioning him. Paige was probably the first person to ask about Colin, but others had asked Andy if he’d heard from him and the letter he’d received before the start of term was going to remain a secret. He stared down at the parchment. “Who’s asking?” Andy asked her, looking at her with no hint of a smile and even the hints of a glare about his eyes. "I'm asking," Olive said, matter-of-fact. She matched his gaze with an icy, blue stare of her own. It was the sort of superior, doubting face one might expect from a member of the Smith family of which she claimed to belong. "It's --" She faltered, uncharacteristically, then decided to shoot as close to honesty as she could manage. "It's important to me to know whether he got away," she said in a low, urgent voice. She had to know if it was possible for young muggleborns to make it on their own, without Hermione Granger's talent and connections. "I won't tell anyone if you know anything. I just want to -- need to know." Andy stared down at his essay once again, jaw clenched. The letter was a secret, something he didn’t want to confide in anyone and certainly not Olive Clayworth. “Well,” he sounded out the words carefully. “They’d have said, right? If he’d been caught. Told us all how he’d been stealing magic and had to pay for it or some crap like that,” Andy didn’t need to state too clearly how he felt about this particular narrative. He paused, chewing on his lower lip in an unfamiliar moment of anxiety. “We’d have heard.” “But he’s gone. He went a while ago. Hopefully far away, put thousands of miles between himself and this place if he’s lucky.” Andy hesitated again. His friend hadn’t had the best of luck in his life, and he wasn’t known for particularly strong survival skills. Andy looked up at Olive, having avoided her eye since she’d asked him, and for a moment he was struck with curiosity. Why was she even asking? “I hope he has.” Andy said the words with a quiet fervence. “I really do.” "So do I," Olive said softly. She pressed her lips close together, considering what Andy had said. Surely, the Carrows would have rubbed their noses in the renegade's capture. It seemed like the kind of thing they would do. But the fact that so many of their muggleborn classmates' whereabouts remained unknown could have indicated any number of things. It didn't matter, she decided. She wasn't sure if she was going to run over the holidays anyway, and if she disappeared, it would open up Shoshanna and Zacharias to all sorts of scrutiny. The Gryffindor in her couldn't bear to betray them like that, even as the niggling voice in her head pointed out that the consequences for a half-blood and a pureblood wouldn't be near so drastic as Azkaban. She sighed again, sure that she wouldn't be getting any more information out of Andy Kirke. She shifted in her seat, better to look at his parchment. He had helped her, so now she would help him. It was only fair. "What lesson are you on?" she offered. "I can help you with your assignment." |