Justin Finch-Fletchley (jfinchfletchley) wrote in mockery_rpg, @ 2007-12-26 18:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | justin, padma |
Who: Justin & Padma Paitl
When: Boxing Day (26 Dec)
Where: The Great Hall
Rating: G
Status: Completed Log
Justin was sitting at the Hufflepuff table. He was still a little--non-plussed about Ernie's Christmas present. It wasn't a shirt he would normally wear. Honestly, it was a shirt that Will would wear. Or something Will would buy him , say 'Come on, Justin, show off those guns once in a while, and see what happens. Girls will love you in that shirt!' He'd have to find some excuse to wear it to be polite, and then hide it along with all the stuff Will usually bought him to wear. That was too tight, too flashy and entirely not Justin.
In the meantime, he was enjoying the quiet of Hogwarts at Christmastime. On Christmas Eve, he'd gathered all the young Hufflepuffs who had stayed behind and read them ''Twas The Night Before Christmas' then shooed them all off to bed. That morning, they all opened their presents in the common room together, they went out and played in the snow during the afternoon. Christmas dinner was excellent, with baked hams and goose, fluffy potatoes and peas and baked macaroni cheese and all kinds of other good things to eat. Pudding was--well, a great flaming plum pudding, the kind of which Justin hadn't seen since he was very young, and Jamaican blackcake and Christmas biscuits of every shape, size and kind. Many people exchanged gifts and all in all, Christmas was a grand affair. The only thing that would have made it perfect was having his best friend here with him.
The Great Hall was a sort of great common room, where everyone who didn't want to stay confined to their houses would come to read, talk with friends from other houses and of course, eat. There was always hot cocoa and sweet biscuits at the centre of each table. Justin was reading his new Tom Clancy novel. He'd found ways around his left hand, and it had actually become quite useful. It was especially good for holding books, and doing so helped it somewhat by stretching the muscles that had been damaged slowly. He was only ten pages in, and he was already happily lost in the technical writing of the American author's newest thriller.
Padma couldn't hide in Ravenclaw any longer. She could only read her journal so many times before closing it and having that raw feeling come back. Theo hadn't said anything about his present...but she wore his. She was touching it constantly, and she was doing that as she came into the Great Hall. Since she was there, and almost all of her prefects were home, Padma had decided make sure that she was more visible so that if there were any problems, people could find her. In short...she still had to do her job. Ravenclaw was nearly empty for Christmas morning, but they had sang carols while they opened their presents from home and from friends.
She noticed that as the days went on, many students found their way to the Great Hall, and she saw students from all four houses coming down to socialise with each other...even thought very few of them were Slytherins. At the moment, most people were at the Gyrffindor and Hufflepuff table, and she saw Justin Finch-Fletchley sitting at his table, reading. She'd been meaning to speak with the boy....but it was never easy for Padma to come up to people she didn't know well and speak with them. "Er...you could be reading in your common room," she pointed out timidly as she approached the Hufflepuff table.
Justin looked up at the very timid voice, and was surprised to see it belonged to the Head Girl. "Yeah," he agreed, "but there's no refreshments in the Hufflepuff Common Room," he joked. He carefully set his book down and gave Padma a smile. "Don't look so nervous, Padma. I only bite on command." He liked Padma. She reminded him of his brother's fiancée, Ashley. Both were quiet and serious, but once you got to know them were great people. "Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas," she replied as she fidgeted nervously. She couldn't stop herself from staring at Justin's left hand. It wasn't as bad as some people had told her, or even she had imagined, but she hadn't really taken a good look at it. Well, she had, but she didn't want to think about what had caused it. "Are you enjoying staying during the break so far?" she asked.
Justin shrugged. "It's OK," he said. "I'm sort of the Hufflepuff 'dad', so I have to tuck everyone in at night and make sure they're all in bed and such...but it's kind of fun. And I can get some reading in." He picked his book up. "But, it's odd, with the castle so empty. I thought your sister would have stayed with you," he noted. He also noted that Padma looked sad. Not that she was one you'd considered 'bouncy'...but there was something not quite right with the Head Girl. He also noticed her looking at his left hand, and he smiled gently. "It's all right, you know," he said. "I don't mind people staring at it."
Padma's face darkened as she blushed. “I'm sorry,” she said, looking down. “I—shouldn't have stared. That's impolite.”
Justin's smile softened. “I said it's OK,” he said. “You're not the only one who does.”
“Doesn't it bother you, though?” she asked, sitting down next to him. “I mean...everyone stares, don't they?”
Justin shrugged. “Nah, not any more. It did at first,” he admitted. “I felt like a freak. Still feel like a cripple, to tell the truth. Anthony and Megan are trying to get it through my thick skull that I'm not but, it's hard. Well, it's less hard now that I found some use for my claw. Even if my owl is daft and thinks it's another bird and pecks at it.”
Padma's eyes opened a bit wider. “Your owl...is jealous of your hand?” She knew she shouldn't laugh, but she did. “He's a big ginger barn owl, isn't he?” She had seen it swoop down at the Hufflepuff table a few times.
“Yeah, that's my Chudley...DON'T I already know that Chudley's a shite Quidditch team, I was 11 and I liked that way it sounded!” Justin smiled about all the ribbing he'd taken over the years for his owl's name. “He's a good boy....” At that moment, Chudley came swooping down to the table with an envelope in his beak. “Hey, speak of the devil. Hey, Chudders.” Justin slipped his hand in his pocket for some of the owl treats that Megan had given him for Christmas, and gave them to his owl as he dropped the envelope with his mother's handwriting on it. “Hey, that's a good boy,” he said, stroking his owl's head with his good hand. Chudley ate the treat out of Justin's left hand, and pecked it lightly.
“Oi, quit that, or you go to the Owlery,” Justin chided.
Chudley hooted once, and looked directly at Padma.
“Oh, that's Padma,” Justin said, as if he understood the owl as well as any human. “Do you want to say hello to her?”
Chudley hooted once, and bobbed slightly in Padma's direction.
Justin smiled apologetically as he looked at Padma. “He's an awful flirt,” he said to her. “You can pet him, he's really gentle.”
Padma watched this exchange with wide eyes. What a gentle person Justin was. Just like Theo... She felt a little sad thinking that, knowing that Theo was currently still angry with her, Christmas present given or no.
She reached out and petted the owl's head, amazed at how soft his feathers were. “Hullo, Chudley,” she said softly. “You're a very pretty owl.” She had never had a pet of her own. Unless you counted Chadani, but she wasn't really a pet, since she was a stuffed animal.
The owl hooted and seemed to stand up more, and his feather puffed up. “You've just made a friend for life,” Justin joked. “He LOVES being told what a good looking owl he is. Don't you, you vain blight—OW!” Chudley had just playfully nipped his hand. “Oi, keep that up and the Owlery AND none of Meggie's owl treats for you.” Chudley hooted, then rubbed his beak against the slight red spot. “OK, OK, OK I know, you're sorry, you big baby.” Justin petted Chudley's head with his good hand.
Padma was amazed. “You understand what he does...like...he was a person?” she asked. She knew many people with owls, but never any who seemed to understand their animal the way Justin understood his.
Justin. “Yeah...it's a gift, I think,” he said as Chudley perched on Justin's left arm, hooting softly. “I volunteer at an animal hospital during the breaks normally and over the summer hols,” he explained. “I'm going to apply to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures,” he admitted, though anyone who knew Justin wouldn't have found this a surprise. “It beats working in some stuffy office, counting money or some other nonsense. I mean, that's what my dad and my brother do, and they love that, but it's just not for me.”
Padma didn't know what to say about that. Justin wasn't someone she expected to be so set on his future already. It was impressive in a way. “But...won't your...” she stopped herself from asking if his hand wouldn't now keep him from that future. It seemed a cruel thing to ask.
Justin followed her gave. “Yeah...well...I guess I'll be stuck behind a desk, counting animals then,” he said. “But, Cedric always said I was a little hard headed.”
Padma had almost forgotten about Cedric Diggory. They had all been saddened by his death, but she didn't think about how his death must have affected those who knew him the best...the members of Hufflepuff. Ernie never spoke of him, neither did Hannah. “You were close to Cedric then?” she asked quietly.
Justin chuckled. “Well, if you hear me tell it, I was Ced's favourite..but we all looked up to him,” Justin said. “He was always looking out for us when we were younger. Always say we could do anything, and that Hufflepuff didn't mean 'pushover'.” Justin smiled a little as Chudley hooted mournfully. “Yeah, I know...you miss Ced too, don't you?”
Cedric wouldn't have ever let Justin get away with setting about, thinking he was a cripple...or getting his hand taken care of.
“What about you?” Justin asked. “What are you going to do after school is done?”
Padma looked surprised. “Well...work at my father's shoppe,” she said. “I like working with him. He travels a lot, and maybe when I get more familiar with the business, he'll be able to retire and I can do all the traveling. He runs a spice shoppe...he wants to get a storefront in Diagon Alley, since that's what all the best wizarding shoppes are.” She looked a bit wistful. “But either way, I want to travel. There are so many places I've never been, that I want to go.”
Like Italy. With....
“In the meantime, I...try hard to be a good Head Girl,” she said. “It's best I can do. All things considered.”
“You are a good Head Girl,” Justin said emphatically. “You're fair, and you try the best you can.”
“Is is enough though?” she mused absently. “I mean...I have to do things that..not ever people like. Enforce rules that people don't like. Have my friends be disappointed that I do...”
“Lookit,” Justin said seriously, moving his arm so Chudley could stand on the table instead. “Lookit, you can only do the best you can, with what you've got,” he said. “That's what Ced always told us, and that all that anyone who says they care about you can expect,” he added. “It won't always be easy, but life's not easy. It's not supposed to be, yeah?”
Padma titled her head to the side, but before she could say anything, there was a hoot. She looked at the owl on the table, who was staring at her. She reached over and petted him, and he moved closer.
Justin smiled. “Here. Hold out your arm,” he said, laying one of the cloth napkins over her arm as she did. “You might feel a bit of a prick,and he's a bit heavier than he looks. Chudders...mind your claws, yeah? Easy...easy now...” Justin very gently guided Chudley where he seemed to want to go, which was to perch on Padma's arm.
Chudley hooted as he rested very lightly on the girl's arm, and fussed with her long hair a bit.
Justin smiled. “Chudder's a good judge of character,” he said. “He likes you.” He tilted his head. “You know...I expected you to have a go at me about Lavender, to tell the truth,” he confessed. “What with me and her having that disagreement in the beginning of the year and all.”
Padma swallowed hard as the owl perched on her arm...but the animal seemed playful and very gently. She smiled when he hooted and nudged her head a bit. “Well...I know Lavender,” she said softly. “She can be a handful. Honestly, I rather thought she was trying too hard, and I told her so. Lavender's not really your type, I don't think. I always suspected you—would be suited for a different sort of girl.” She hadn't missed how close he wans Megan Jones had always been. IF there was any girl Justin would end up with, Padma had her galleons on the blonde Hufflepuff girl.
Padma petted the owl again, and was rewarded with a comforting hoot.
Justin blushed a bit. “I'm dead awful with girls,” he admitted. “Not that Lavender's not a great girl, don't get me wrong I'm just not...yeah.”
Padma laughed a bit to see her classmate so bashful. “Are any of us?” she asked seriously. “Just..be who you are, Justin. Like you said...isn't that the best that any of us can do?” That simple statement spoke to her...and gave her insight in to how she was going to handle a very serious discussion that she knew she needed to have with a certain someone. It was also going to temper how she dealt with the whole situation. She had to put herself in his shoes, for just a few minutes. He'd been unfair to her...but she'd been unfair to him as well. IF she cared...and if he did...they were going to have to find a compromise between them.
She continued to pet the owl gently, mulling over this new development in her mind.
Clearly, Padma was thinking about something important, Justin noted. “Yeah...it is. Thanks for reminding me about that,” he added. He stood up slowly, stuck his book in the pocket of the fleece jacket he wore and held out his left arm. “Come on, Chudders...let's go.”
The owl looked at him, hooted and looked as if he had no intentions on leaving.
Justin frowned. “Chudley, you great flirt, let Padma alone and let's go. I've got more treats for you downstairs.”
The owl hooted.
Justin rolled his eyes. “YES, Chudley, you can stay the night with me, you big baby, now get on up here and let Padma go do important things.”
Padma had to laugh at the antics of owl and boy. Which, was probably both their intentions. “Chudley, she said gently, “if I promise to come visit you, will you go to Justin now?” She was surprised when the bird hooted, stretched out his wings and flew the short distance to his master's arm. “I swear...he understand what I say.”
“He does,” Justin replied. “He's a smart bird.” He smiled down at Padma. “So are you,” he said with a wink. “Come on, daft birdie...let's go get you some treats, and if you're a good boy, you can perch on Zach's bed.” He waved at Padma. “Don't be a stranger, Padma,” he said. “Not just because of...well..you know. That.” He didn't want to mention the DA out in the open, even with so few people about. “But yeah...don't make yourself scarce.”
Padma nodded, rubbing her arm. Not because the owl had hurt her, not at all. She reached over and petted him one last time. “I won't, Justin,” she said sincerely. “Thank you.”
Justin looked puzzled. “For what?” he asked.
Padma smiled softly. “For letting me play with Chudley,” she said. “And for telling me what Cedric said to you. It—helped. More than you know.” She made her way further in to the Great Hall, going over to her house's table to have some hot cocoa and biscuits before she went on her rounds for the afternoon.
Justin made his way to the doorway of the Great Hall, and looked back at Padma, sitting at her table. He really wasn't sure why their conversation had happened, but he got a feeling it was something they needed. “Yeah, and you,” he said to Chudley as he carried his owl to his room, “I'm telling Meggie you're cheating on her. See if she gives you any owl treats then.”