A perfect human being -- G. Weasley approved (sweet_helga) wrote in fourteenshades, @ 2013-01-19 22:23:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ernie macmillan, helga hufflepuff |
WHO: Ernie and Helga
WHAT: taking a walk
WHERE: a/the forest
WHEN: 5th January
RATING: NC-17. No, not really.
STATUS: started in gdocs, now threading
Ernie MacMillan may have been twenty-two years old, but dating remained a mystery. When he was a child, magic terrified him for one major reason. That reason? He could not control it. It was not until after a few years of Hogwarts that Ernie finally felt more comfortable in his wizarding skin. Books taught him to control magic. However, no book explained women. No book explained emotion. Oh, he knew several tried, but even he realized the written word could only explain humanity so much. Even his friends could only offer so much advice regarding this set-up by Parvati. He needed to take a deep breath and just do his best. Still, that did not mean he was not worried. He knew he was smart and he certainly tried to be fair and loyal, but he also knew he had a habit of pushing people away through his speech no matter how well meaning he usually was; he did not want to lose Helga's friendship even if she did not fancy him. Look what happened with Hannah! Well, he was not going to leave Helga hanging. That would just be rude so he headed to meet her at the castle. He figured they would walk through the forest and then warm up with tea at the shop. He only hoped they did not run out of things to say. He also hoped he did not trip over a branch and fall on his face.
Ernie still believed he had nerve thinking he any right to crush on his House's Founder, but clearly, Parvati noticed his feelings, which was completely humiliating. Even so, he eagerly accepted Amelia and Tracey's offers to help him prepare. Hence, he showed up wearing a very neat pair of dark-wash jeans, a crisp button down plaid shirt under a sweater vest, and a new, dark brown pea coat. He left the tie at home on their suggestion, but he just could not dress less formally for a date. He thought the outfit was a good compromise.
After much deliberation on the clothing issue, Helga had opted for one of her usual dresses, albeit one of the better ones. She had tried on some modern clothes - not all of it was completely immodest, she had discovered - but she did not feel entirely comfortable in them and she decided, quite reasonably, that it was more important she felt comfortable than that she looked the part. Medieval garb it would be, and if Ernie didn’t like it... she would be sad.
That was just it. If Ernie did not like anything, she would be sad. If he did not like her, she would be very sad indeed. Helga had accepted that she had a ‘crush’ on her friend and was worried that the feelings would not be reciprocated and she would look a fool. Unlike Ernie, however, Helga did not have the fear of ruining a friendship. She had no experience of such a thing happening, directly or indirectly, and the idea had not occurred to her. She also had not read any books on the subject of dating, which in a way was good, as she did not have to keep it all in her head. She would just be herself, and if he didn’t like her or the date did not go well, she would be embarrassed, but she would get over it. At least he had said he was glad Parvati had set them up. That was definitely a positive sign.
In spite of her matter-of-fact way of dealing with things, Helga was still nervous. She had not been able to eat all day, and on a day that included making a big cake, that was quite an anomaly. In the end she had taken a bite of it, just so she could take part in twelfth night, but the churning of her stomach had prevented her from eating anything more solid. She just hoped she didn’t faint or anything stupid on the walk. That would be embarrassing.
All worries of that left her as soon as Helga caught sight of Ernie at the appointed meeting place. She didn’t know what it was (a muggle might have been able to tell her that adrenaline had finally been joined by his endorphin friends) but her stomach was forgotten and she no longer felt weak. Helga had never been on a date before, but suddenly she was in dating mode. There was no going back now: she couldn’t exactly turn on her heel and flee. Instead she walked towards him with a (slightly nervous) smile on her face.
"Hello Ernie," she said. Helga’s modern English was pretty good now, but she still tended towards more formal speech. ‘Hi’ was a little beyond her. "Have you been waiting long?"
Helga didn’t need to worry about her outfit because, frankly, Ernie rarely noticed such things. He thought Helga always looked very nice in her dresses though sometimes he wondered if she felt chilled. Yes, Ernie was practical to a fault which was why normal presents to others usually included things like scarves, coats, and wallets. The fact he managed more thoughtful ones for Helga spoke volumes though he didn’t notice he worked as hard to give her a “thoughtful” present as he normally did for very close friends and family members. Things like that didn’t come easily for Ernie, but since he understood that about himself, he tried hard to do extra special things for those he cared most about.
When he saw her approach, he smiled warmly while trying to keep all the friendly advice he received in his head. He also tried to recall the things he read in those dating books. In the end, when Helga spoke, all those words flew out of his head. Welcome to real life, he supposed. "Not long at all." He reached out to tap her arm briefly and then leaned in to kiss her cheek as he was brought up to do when greeting women. "It is not too cold for you, is it? I thought you might like the woods, but if the weather is too harsh, we might try something else if you like." Ernie may not have just learned modern English, but he usually spoke just as formally.
For a moment there, when Ernie leaned in for a kiss on the cheek, Helga had been worried. Modern people did things more than a little differently, and she wouldn't have been surprised if the protocol for the start of a date was something rather more intimate than she was really comfortable with. It was fine, though; a kiss on the cheek, as he and others had done before, and she even thought she had managed to not look too petrified as he did it.
Helga smiled back at him. "I would be a pretty poor Welshwoman if I could not handle a little cold," she replied. "And a disgraced daughter of a farmer if I fled inside. I am fine." She was teasing, but she really was comfortable in the outdoors in all weathers. Rain could be difficult, if it was the unending sort, but even that could be tolerated for a brief while.
It occurred to Helga then that she might have sounded too combative. She might not have had Ernie's habit of pushing people away with her speech but she did often sound as though she thought she was their parent, and that included sounding like she was telling them off. She did not want to give off that impression right now, not to Ernie. Best try for something a little more agreeable. Meek, even.
"The forest sounds lovely." Yes, like that.
Ernie once thought Helga despised him, but their first exchanges had been through the written word which was often fraught with misunderstanding to begin. He really didn’t mean what he said to be taken to heart about a group of people, much less about some version of Salazar who he did not know. However, as time continued, he started to see what made her tick and thought maybe they had the same poor habit of speaking too quickly or out of turn. Well, they were Hufflepuffs, weren’t they? He merely chuckled as she talked about her origins. "Well, then we shall do your origins proud today." Not for the first time he questioned his idea for the date. Was it too young? Should he have suggested dinner? Drinks? He rarely imbibed, but could manage with lighter alcohol. He cleared his throat suddenly. What had Astoria said about not adhering to any rigid plan? It was just a walk; they could change things up later if they wished. "I like being outdoors," he admitted as he held his hand out to her. His stomach dropped. He was supposed to hold her hand, right? He knew Helga was forward for her time, but that was still part of things?
It was still part of things, but that did not mean Helga had done it. She had held hands with female friends before, and members of her family, but a man? Only when trying to comfort them if a hug was not appropriate. Helga flushed, but took Ernie's hand, feeling her heart leap into her throat as she did so. Her skin tingled at the touch and she was sure it was quite apparent on her face, which only made her flush more. Why had she not considered this might happen, on a walk? She was sure her face must be bright red by now. Helga decided to make light of it and laughed a little at her own embarrassment.
"I am sorry," she said. "This is all rather new to me. Please excuse my face. It has betrayed me." She tightened her grip on his hand to show that didn't mean she wanted to stop.
Ernie’s experience in the romance department might have been slightly more advanced than Helga’s, but not by much so relief washed over him when she accepted his hand. He was just about to lead them away from the clearing and toward the path when she mentioned her face. He looked at her curiously for a moment. Yes, he noticed some redness, but nothing that detracted from her pretty eyes and sweet smile. Thinking about those things just made Ernie flush in turn. He reminded himself that Helga wasn’t about to read his thoughts. "Your face is lovely," he said seriously. "I like your smile." The compliment slipped from his lips, reminding Ernie why dates terrified him. He was usually pretty calm and collected, choosing his words carefully. When dating? He lost control. He blurted things like "your face is lovely" which sounded daft and insincere to his ears. He should have said, "You are pretty." He should have said, "You are gorgeous." Blokes said those things. Her face? What about the rest of her?
Helga could not have been more surprised if he had complimented her elbow. For a second she had absolutely nothing to say. Then she found her tongue and managed a "Thank you." More than that, however, was beyond her. She hoped he didn’t think she was trying to get him to compliment her face. She really was just apologizing for it being red. Talking of which, the problem really hadn’t dissipated. The flush, if anything, had heightened. Helga became self conscious of it and turned her face away, although she couldn’t help smiling as well. Now what were you supposed to say? Were you supposed to change the subject? Return a compliment? Stand there like a ninny unable to speak? Apparently apologizing for your own awkwardness wasn’t the way forward either, as it just drew unsolicited compliments. She probably should have read a book or something on this, or at the very least talked such possibilities over with Astoria. Now he was probably feeling awkward too, waiting for her to speak.
"I think you are handsome," she said.
If ever there was a time to remain composed? It was in that very moment. However, outside his mum and sisters, who in the world called him handsome? Alright, Hannah may have and maybe a few girls who helped him get ready for Yule, but they were humouring him. Like an idiot, he giggled. Oy, suave he was not. All those times he asked advice? Well, none of the sage words of wisdom mattered when a pretty girl said you were handsome. He felt twelve. How was that even possible considering most people accused him of acting even older than his mere twenty-two years? "T-thank you." Manners told him to look back at her while he spoke, but then he glanced away again. Still, he kept his grasp on her hand. "I haven’t taken many girls on dates." He figured it best to admit why he was doing such a poor job of it.
Helga didn’t know how she expected Ernie to respond, any more than she knew how she was supposed to have responded, but if pressed for a few possibilities, giggling would not have been among them. It was such a genuine, childlike sound that Helga did not even consider that he might be laughing at her - the meaning was quite clear in the thoroughly undignified sound. It was kind of adorable, and it made her smile. She was feeling increasingly like this was an actual date and Ernie was actually interested in her, and it felt nice.
She was surprised to hear that Ernie had not been on many dates. Helga had the impression that dating was more common in the modern times. Still, Ernie seemed a traditional sort of man, so perhaps his ideas on dating were also more traditional.
"It is a first for me,” she replied. "I was always too busy taking care of the younger ones. Then, not long before I arrived here, a young man came a-courting Nog, and I realised they were not so young any more." Helga shrugged.