Harry is good at mocking himself (harry_dresden) wrote in carpediem_rp, @ 2015-08-23 20:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | character: harry dresden (dropped), character: molly carpenter, thread: complete |
Characters: Harry Dresden & Molly Carpenter
NPCs: --
Location: Quidditch World Cup, Arena
Timeline: Aug. 22, about mid-game
Description: Molly catches Harry who was sent by her dad to keep an eye on her and keep her out of trouble.
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Molly was very much enjoying her time out with her friends, munching the frozen lemonade cubes she had brought with her- imbued with a charm to keep them frozen, fortunately. Partying was fun, and given the group she was with she was focused on food and her ice cubes rather than anything alcohol based. It was partially a nod to Adrian since he didn't drink, and partially because she had no reason to want to get drunk. She was stretched in a comfortable chaise watching the people that wandered back and forth, occasionally teasingly tossing a bit of popcorn or another random snack toward her friend, who was currently sitting with Jackson and his sister. In her glancing around she caught from the corner of her eye a figure that looked familiar. A small frown as she turned in a double take, though subtly enough that she didn't think most of the people around her would notice. As she looked, the tall man turned and his face became clear, making it obvious that she had been right in her guess of who it was. She rose from her lounging position and moved to Adrian, letting him know that she was going to stretch her legs a bit. She slipped her feet back into her sandals and started to walk, her ears focused even with all the noise for evidence that she was being followed. She knew Harry's stride, after all, and it was something she would recognise almost anywhere. Molly's father asked Harry to keep an eye on her at the World Cup. Sports events weren't really his thing, but he owed Michael a favor. But Harry was never one for subtlety and subterfuge. In fact, he was pretty awful about it. Harry Dresden had moments where such feats were possible, but this wasn't some life-threatening moment where his hiding was a form of making it out alive. He did make a bit of an effort though, keeping near the area and pretending to watch the game. He wasn't against quidditch, but Harry just wasn't all that used to being so heavily immersed in the wizarding world. Not since his time with Ebenezer McCoy had he been so thoroughly involved in magic. Harry thought he might have been made, but it looked like Molly may have noticed too. So much for being sneaky about it. Maybe if Murph were around, she could've given him some pointers. But then again, Harry wasn't always so great about following instructions. He pretended to be looking elsewhere, hoping he could obscure his face from her and she wouldn't notice him. He did a piss poor job of not looking as himself as it was, considering he wore the long black jacket infused with magic that he rarely ever left home without. When he glanced in Molly's direction again, she was stepping away. Where was she going? Harry decided to give her time to walk before he'd start following her again. He just didn't realize she was walking toward him. Molly very nearly brushed by Harry before her eyes- then head and body- turned to catch him off guard. He was a few inches taller, but it was not at all difficult to look up past those few inches and catch his eyes with her own. A few moments and her eyes blazed, her hand moving to stroke through her shoulder-length hair and annoyance obvious in her every feature as she glared at him. Yes, she understood she’d made some mistakes, but sending someone to babysit her? It was a bit much, really. “You do remember that I’m of age now, right? I don’t need a tail when I’m out with my friends.” Because at least these friends mostly knew what she could do and avoided the sort of thing that had led to problems with her muggle friends. They were magical too and the knew that her skills in legilimency and occlumency were on a high level, so that they were able to follow proper behaviors to avoid her getting into their heads in the way that she had with the muggles. Molly quirked an eyebrow at him and stepped back, starting to walk to a less crowded area. “I’m not doing this around my friends, so if you want to grill me, you’ll have to come along.” Because she really didn’t need Adrian or (Merlin forbid) Gabe seeing her being watched over like she was 5. Caught. Dammit. Harry sighed and knew he couldn't make up an excuse for why he wasn't actually there following her. And Molly had picked up the habit of reminding Harry she was of age, and Harry had used that in his lecture when she'd gotten herself into a world of trouble. He earned the glare, but it wasn't like it was his fault. Michael called in the favor and how could he turn the guy down? Harry reached up to rub his temples, "Look, Molly. I'm here because I'm here. I'm not going to bust in like the narcs and start arresting your friends. I'm just making sure you're okay. You're my responsibility and this place is a mess." And it sounded like a really lame excuse because he was trying to figure out how not to tell her dad was the one that asked her to do this. Chances were she knew already and would call him out on that too. But this did mean questions were coming up. All those awesome awkward questions. He frowned and then sighed, letting his hands drop to his sides. He would never ever have children. Ever. "So who are they?" he asked stepping in time with Molly. "Harry? Aside from the fact that you're a pretty terrible liar, you know as well as I do that this is a parent-requested babysitting job." Molly quirked one eyebrow at him before sighing slightly. She knew he was worried, the same as her parents, but that didn't make it all that much easier all things considered. She wanted to be a normal teen girl for a while, even with her small mishap. Well, big, but it wasn't like she was going to do it again! She sighed again at the question. "Adrian Battye. His mom owns an art gallery out in Mixed Marble. The whole family is here, including former quidditch player Wallace." Who was technically Adrian's mother for real but that was far from common knowledge and so kept to herself. "He's in my house and year. He also brought his friend Jackson and his sister brought some of her friends. They're Daniel's age." To give a bit more perspective. "Next?" Because obviously there'd be more questions. Harry really hated this conversation already. She told him who the boy was and then he said, "Are you two a thing? Don't get angry, I have to ask that." And he did because Michael would ask him later. Okay, he didn't have to but he was anticipating this. Dads were supposed to want to know that and Molly's more recent behavior in the summer had made her father believe she might keep more from him. Harry knew that Molly was young and wanted normalcy, but with a father like Michael Carpenter, that wasn't likely to happen. "Also, what are you intending to do after the party with his family or go with your friends?" he asked and tacked on, "I am obligated to remind you that you're of age for some things, but not drinking." The way he said it was tired and bland, knowing it already. This was so awkward. But while he didn't want to ask these questions, he did feel responsible for Molly. He'd been pretty hard on her, but he felt he had to be. What she did was unacceptable, no matter how great her intentions were. He tried not to think about how many times that was his excuse as well. Molly laughed at that, shaking her head slightly. "Adrian's not the sort you want a thing with." Because commitment and that boy were so far from friends it was ludicrous. She understood why, as they'd had a number of conversations about it in the past, but it was still one of those things that she didn't think she should address further. It was Adrian's business and not hers. "Trust me, if I had a thing, it wouldn't be with someone I call a friend." Ruining friendships was par for the course when relationship things snuck in. A shrug to the next question. "They are my friends. Jackson and Adrian, and I imagine some of the others we talk to at school will find their way over." There were two pretty opposite Slytherin groups, when it came to hanging out with people like her. Adrian, Gabriel, and obviously Stiles would, since he had similar upbringing. She was pretty sure some of the others thought she was as bad as a muggleborn, or maybe worse because her mother had withdrawn from magic entirely. "I have no intention of drinking. I just intend to have fun with my friends before I head back home." Molly was just giving him answers and assuring him that she wasn't going to get into trouble. That's basically what she was saying. It really should be her father in this position but Michael had shackled Harry with it. "Alright, well, now that that's out of the way, you can go if you want and I . . . will end up following you anyway because I owe your dad. And if you want to argue with someone, argue with him, not me." He sighed. "Look, Molly," he said, "Your dad is going to be your dad. He's going to always see you as his little girl and you growing up isn't exactly easy for him. Having a dad that cares isn't a bad thing." Harry's own father was a good man and losing him had been rough. He thought he found that father-figure in Justin, but that didn't do all that well for him. Molly rolled her eyes and shook her head a bit. "Yeah. I know." She understood that it really wasn't his fault and he probably had better things to do than tail a teenaged girl. Her eyes flicked to his for a second and she offered a faint smile. "I know this isn't your idea of fun, but hey, at least it's in a fun setting?" Because quidditch and partying. Always a good combination. She ran her hand through her hair and shook her head. "It's not that he's worried that's the problem. Just seems like everyone's waiting for me to screw up again, and honestly sometimes I want to. It's like a little itch in my head that says 'wouldn't this be so much easier if you made things happen?' And I have to stop and tell myself no every time." Harry found himself frowning, his brow knitting together with scrutiny, "Molly, you're a teenager and you aren't going to like it when people watch you, but what happened wasn't like backing a car into a mailbox. Actions have consequences and when you mess up, they're going to keep a close eye on you. It's not going to last forever unless you scratch that itch." Or if she took anymore after him. Harry was constantly getting himself in trouble with the BMA and it was always with one excuse or another on his part for why he did what he did. "Just keep saying 'no' because trust me, it's not worth it," he said, even if he was probably a bit of a hypocrite, but wasn't the person living that lifestyle the one that would best know its effects? "Also, despite being of age, there's a lot to learn out there and they want to protect you from going down a slippery slide. Can you really fault them for that?" "Yeah. I get it." A faintly dejected look and she turned slightly from him. She was just a kid. She would always be just a kid in his head, and a screwup of a kid on top of that. She sighed and shrugged. "I'm not doing it. No matter how I want to, it's not a choice I can make anymore." She got what he was saying, and she ignored the fact that he was similar to her in many ways. It wasn't something she wanted to harp on anymore. "It's hard to have a life when you're expected to mess up at every turn." He should understand that at least, given that he had the same scrutiny on him most of the time. "It doesn't last forever," Harry said as a word of comfort and then reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady her look onto him, "and you're young. It'll follow you and it'll always follow you. But the longer the time is between what happened and your present, the less it'll matter. Be grateful that you didn't have your face printed on the front page of USA Today." Like more recently for him. Harry did appear every once in a while, but this last time had been at the end of the doozy. He was in court so much he felt like he was getting cabin fever. He should be out in Chicago, helping Murph and the rest of her team, but they stuck him in a classroom for a year. It was better than jail, but Harry only had experience in working with only one teenager, not a classroom full of them. Molly shrugged slightly. It was what it was she guessed. She'd get past it all. Well. Most of it anyway. She glanced at Harry out of the corner of her eye, no longer wanting to be in this conversation. She hadn't been on the cover no, but it was hidden in the papers as well and so people knew. "So I'll just go and pretend I don't need a babysitter now, okay? The Smiths are probably wondering where I got to." It was true enough even though this was more an excuse than anything. She just really didn't want this talk anymore. "Just for today and don't think I'll be babysitting you at the school either," Harry said, knowing that Molly by now knew that her mentor was going to be teaching at Hogwarts, "I'm there to work off the community service. We can keep your training outside of classes, that won't change." He felt like that might be something she'd maybe like. He knew that Molly was an eager student and while she'd learn some of his bad habits, she'd also learned a lot of other stuff from him, things that they didn't teach in Hogwarts but had actual application. He then nodded, "Just have fun, Molly. I'm here but I was a teenager once and I remember it a lot more than your dad does." |