Andrew Kirke (dragondrums) wrote in reduxpitch, @ 2016-05-25 17:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, character: hermione granger, character: jim the cat, location: diagon alley, retired character: andrew kirke |
Who: Andrew Kirke and Hermione Granger.
What: Inappropriate questions and unsolicited advice.
When: Wednesday 25 May, early morning
Where: Evan’s flat.
Rating: PG.
Even though he didn’t start until half ten on Wednesdays, Andrew was up even earlier than usual and - having little else to do in wizarding London until Evan woke up - ran a longer course than he usually did. The grey morning clouds were just clearing when he returned to the flat and hopped in the shower, keeping it brief in case Harry or Ron woke up and needed it. It hadn’t been too big a problem so far, or if it had no one was saying so to Andrew. After drying, dressing and fixing his hair he checked in on Evan, who was still fast asleep, before making his way to the kitchen. He was quite used to seeing Harry grabbing a drink or breakfast, they seemed to keep similar schedules, but the person standing watching the kettle boil was definitely not Harry, and had entirely too much curly hair to be Ron either.
“Hermione?” Andrew recognised her from school, of course, they’d shared a common room for six years and she’d been both prefect and Head Girl. None of which had prepared Andrew to see her in Evan’s flat before work on a weekday. Not that he knew when or where she might work, he hadn’t kept up with her after she graduated. He managed, just, not to ask why she was here. She and Harry had been an item for a while, Andrew was pretty sure, but Harry was with Parvati now, as Evan kept complaining, so… Ron? It was none of Andrew’s business, of course. He’d just ask Evan later.
He didn’t quite know what the etiquette was here. If it’d been Panquake House, he wouldn’t have hesitated to offer breakfast, but he was as much a guest here as she was. After a moment, Andrew shrugged it away. “I usually make myself breakfast. Do you want some?”
--
Since Hermione had a key (and no, she did not plan to give it back), she tended to pop in at least once a week in the early mornings before work to water the plants. Not that Hermione didn’t trust the boys to do so themselves, but she really didn’t trust them to do so themselves. Usually Hermione also had things to drop off so it was okay. This morning she had brought some pastries for Harry (vegan, since those were in his dietary plan) and a book for Evan. Hermione tended to just leave things on the counter, often without a note. Today, though, she had had extra time, so Hermione was making coffee when Andrew spoke behind her.
She turned slightly, almost in surprise. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, Hermione realised. Andrew was Evan’s boyfriend, so it made sense that he would be here. Perhaps it was surprising that he was up so early, Hermione hadn’t realised musicians rose early. “Andrew,” she greeted politely. Hermione remembered him from school but hardly much past his name. “Good morning,” she added. “No, thank you, I’ve eaten already,” she informed him. “But I could make you some coffee? I’m making myself some,” Hermione asked but fetched a new mug from the shelf before Andrew could even respond. Who didn’t want coffee this early in the morning?
“I assume Evan is still asleep?” She asked looking at Andrew, shifting as she leaned into the counter with her back. “I brought him a book,” she added waving her hand over at the counter where the book rested. “It’s on Art Deco architecture,” Hermione explained. She had seen it in one of the second hand book shops she frequented and seeing how it was a recently published book, it seemed likely that Evan would not have it.
--
“Coffee’s great, thanks,” Andrew agreed as he moved into the kitchen to investigate the cupboards for food. He ate here often enough now that he tended to bring supplies every now and then - because he didn’t want Harry or Ron resenting Evan for his house guest eating more than his fair share - but it had been a few days so he was going to have to rely on Harry’s stock of house bread for toast. When she said she’d eaten already, Andrew couldn’t help glancing around the kitchen. There was no sign of breakfast, and she certainly hadn’t been here twenty minutes ago when he’d passed through on the way to the shower.
He hummed a vague agreement as he toasted two slices and retrieved the butter from where it usually lived. “Yeah, he’s-” He paused, turning to look at the book. “Oh. Nice.” He hadn’t known Hermione and Evan were friends, let alone good enough friends for impromptu early morning deliveries. Maybe she’d been hoping to see Harry or Ron and been disappointed. It still wasn’t his business. “I’m not sure when he’ll be up,” he said, because he really wasn’t. It was Evan’s summer holiday, and though Andrew thought Evan would probably be up in time to see him before he had to leave for work, he wasn’t going to advise Hermione to wait around when he couldn’t guarantee it.
--
Hermione gave a nod in acknowledgement when Andrew said that he wouldn’t be turning her coffee offer down. She had not expected him to. Once the kettle boiled, Hermione carefully filled the cafetiere set on the side of the counter. It would take a few minutes before she could pour it out. “It’s fine, I had not expected him to be awake,” Hermione replied. Quite honestly, even if Evan had been awake this early, Hermione was under no illusion she would be able to speak to him. Evan could be quite intolerable to talk to at the best of times, first thing in the morning made that a lot worse.
“How is that going?” Hermione asked genuinely curious. Out of the three Potter siblings, Evan had been the last one Hermione could imagine in a relationship. “It’s been going on for a while now, right? Valentine’s? That’s more than three months now,” she noted managing to sound almost impressed. Honestly, perhaps she was. Hermione did not know Andrew at all and she did not believe that she knew Evan particularly well, but she knew him enough. “It’s impressive you’ve managed this long,” she said rather frankly and there was no hesitation in the fact that she meant ‘you’ very much as Andrew rather than ‘you’ as ‘Andrew and Evan’.
--
Andrew nodded, a little relieved because he might otherwise have felt like he should offer to go wake Evan up, and he really didn’t think Evan would have appreciated that. (A book on Art Deco architecture might be better than sleep, but Andrew wasn’t inclined to find out.) “I’ll make sure he finds it,” he said, nodding in the direction of the book. It would hardly be necessary, the book wasn’t by any means hard to spot, but it was something to say that wasn’t resorting to talking about the weather or the Werewolf Registry.
At her question, he looked up from scraping butter over toast. “That?” he asked. He suspected what she might mean, but he and Hermione had definitely never had the kind of acquaintance where they talked about relationships. “Uh, yeah,” he confirmed, frowning. Apart from their first month anniversary, he had entirely lost track of how long he and Evan had been not-dating. It felt longer than three months, definitely. He didn’t doubt Hermione was right, though. “It’s good.” He didn’t hesitate, it was good, even if he’d freaked out over the weekend about Evan being in love with him. They were still together, still sharing a bed and planning adventures. It didn’t need to make anything weird. (And if Andrew had to tell himself that about once a day, that wasn’t something he intended to share with Hermione.) “Three months isn’t that long.”
--
Obviously Evan would find the book. It was sat in a very visible place and Hermione had left books out for him before. Not that this seemed important to point out, since she presumed Andrew had mostly said it out of politeness. She also did not bother to elaborate when he seemingly asked for a clarification of what she had meant. Hermione thought it was rather obvious and then Andrew carried on talking, proving her right. He was not wrong, Hermione thought, three months weren’t that long, but she also did not presume that many people would have lasted even half as long in a relationship with the youngest Potter child.
“Perhaps not in general, no,” Hermione agreed, pushing down the handle of the cafetier slowly, careful not to let the coffee grains escape. “But you don’t seem like the sort of person I would have expected Evan to end up with,” she commented honestly. For one, Andrew seemed perfectly normal. “That is not a criticism,” Hermione added since she hardly meant it harshly. “It’s good, really,” she said more thoughtfully. “He must like you a great deal if you haven’t ran away yet,” Hermione told Andrew, filling the mugs and passing one over to him. Whilst Hermione hardly would ever consider herself and Evan friends, she had been around him enough to know that Evan could be awfully rude and insensitive (both traits Hermione could probably recognise in herself, too). This meant that either he wasn’t like that with Andrew or Andrew had terrible masochistic tendencies. Suppose that was an option.
--
Andrew leaned back against the counter, plate of toast in one hand as Hermione continued. He didn’t reply immediately when she said he didn’t seem the kind of person Evan would end up with - Andrew probably wouldn’t have thought so either, but Evan claimed to be happy (and in love, Andrew’s memory prompted). “Why would I run away?” he asked, frowning. He’d expected that sentence to end very differently. He could understand why someone would be surprised that Evan had stuck to something exclusive with him, when Evan himself had said he didn’t really understand why Andrew wouldn’t want him to kiss anyone else. Hermione didn’t, as far as Andrew knew, know enough about Andrew to be surprised that he hadn’t run off.
He accepted the coffee, setting the mug down to give it a minute to cool. “I like him,” he added, a slight edge in his voice that really had nothing to do with Hermione. He did like Evan, a lot. He just didn’t love Evan and it was still preying on his mind that that might need to change, even though Evan said he didn’t object.
--
Hermione genuinely gave Andrew a rather quizzical look when he asked why he would be the one to run away. From Hermione’s experience with Evan, and this wasn’t just personal, but also from what she had seen him be like when interacting with most other people, Evan was rather patronising. Rude. Harsh. Inconsiderate. Not that Hermione thought he necessarily intended to be any of those things, but that hardly made it not so. “I have alway gotten the impression that Evan expects to be disappointed in people,” Hermione said honestly. “So he acts like they have disappointed him already,” she added with a small frown. “He can be very rude and dismissive of people,” Hermione told Andrew wondering whether he really wouldn’t have seen that in three months of dating Evan.
“Saying that,” Hermione continued. “He is very bright and intelligent. Just not particularly good at social niceties,” she said with a another small shrug. It was hardly as if Hermione was criticising. Not when her ice breaker conversation with an almost complete stranger was ‘it’s odd that you and your boyfriend are still dating’. “And of course you like him,” Hermione added with a dismissive wave. “Otherwise you wouldn’t--” Before Hermione could finish the sentence, she gave a rather loud yelp. The damn devil-spawn cat had jumped on the counter and was now proceeding to glare at Hermione suspiciously. “Wouldn’t tolerate that, for one,” she finished the sentence with that instead her original thought. This was still fair though.
--
If anything, Andrew was more puzzled than Hermione. If Evan were the kind of person who was easily disappointed, Andrew was pretty sure they wouldn’t have lasted very long. Most days, Andrew didn’t even worry about it anymore. He no longer fretted that his surprises would be exciting enough, because he thought he had a good grasp of what Evan liked - and because Evan seemed genuinely very easy to please as long as Andrew was around. “He hasn’t acted disappointed in me, yet,” he said, which was true. Even the times Andrew had freaked out or hadn’t been able to explain his feelings to Evan, he’d never seemed disappointed by that. In fact, the only time Andrew could think of that Evan had seemed even at risk of being disappointed was when Andrew had been reluctant to invest in a thousand sparklers - and Andrew had fixed that. He easily shrugged off Hermione’s observation that Evan was rude. Andrew hadn’t ever really seen that side of him, either, except perhaps first thing in the mornings (and even then, it was usually directed at Aisling rather than Andrew himself).
Evan was bright and intelligent, but Andrew really didn’t think those qualities were the reason he was still seeing Evan, though they were sort of related. Evan was interesting, and direct, and his mind seemed to work differently to other people that Andrew knew. He was passionate, and fun, and spending time with him made Andrew feel good. “That’s not really-” He was about to explain when Hermione yelped and Andrew almost dropped his toast. Before he could reach for his wand, he spotted Jim baring his fangs on the counter. Andrew grinned, moving a little closer to the demon-cat. In the daylight, he wasn’t quite as frightening, and though Andrew still didn’t want to stroke him like a normal cat, he didn’t actually mind him being around anymore. “You get used to him,” he promised Hermione, noting the way Jim’s eyes moved to him at the sound of his voice. “Sort of, anyway.”
--
There was neither any wish nor need for Hermione to get used to the weird demon-like creature. She didn’t miss it, though, the way the creature seemed quite happy (or perhaps, less angry when it spotted Andrew). “I’m unsure I’d care to get used to it,” she commented honestly and rolled her eyes when the cat seemingly gave her a nasty look for her words. “Well, it’s true,” she repeated, this time to Jim rather than Andrew. As far as Hermione could tell, the demon was rather attached to Evan, so it made sense that it would come to his defense. Not that Hermione felt she had said anything unfair, or even untrue.
“All I’m saying is,” Hermione continued slightly slower, giving the cat a suspicious look. It stared back, despite managing to jump off the counter and walk over to Andrew, rubbing its back against his leg. Hermione could only assume that Evan had to like Andrew very much for his weird demon pet to be so affectionate. “That it’s nice that Evan has someone who makes him happy,” Hermione said taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s unexpected,” she added because it was. As much as no one would wish unhappiness on Evan, Hermione was sure, it was hardly as if many had been able to imagine him in a relationship. And yet, Andrew had managed to change that.
--
Andrew couldn’t really blame her for not wanting to get used to Jim. If it weren’t for Evan, Andrew probably wouldn’t have wanted to either. It had happened to him, whether he wanted it or not, because spending time with Evan meant sometimes spending time with Jim. He watched as Jim rubbed against his leg, not moving. They hadn’t quite got to the stage where Andrew initiated contact, but while Andrew had been cooking for Evan Jim had taken to following him around the kitchen so this wasn’t the first time he’d had Jim wind his way between his ankles.
Andrew hadn’t been fully aware that he was feeling defensive until suddenly he wasn’t anymore. Hermione thought it was good, and that Andrew made Evan happy - so there was no need to be defensive. “It’s unexpected for me too,” he said, after finally taking a bite of his toast. “And a bit scary.” He flashed her the grin of a Gryffindor who doesn’t let being scared turn him away from something he wants. “Mostly just good, though.”
--
Unexpected, Hermione assumed, was not a bad thing. Personally, she wasn’t sure how good she’d be with ‘unexpected’ but then Hermione also knew what worked for her. Always having things happen the way she expected them to was rather good. That, however, did not mean that she couldn’t appreciate the fact that for Andrew unexpected might be a good thing. So she nodded and sipped her coffee and pondered what the time was. ‘A bit scary but mostly good’, that was more interesting than ‘unexpected’, so Hermione raised an eyebrow at Andrew.
“Scary,” she repeated. “Why?” Since obviously that seemed like a fair question to ask. He had been the one to bring it up. “Have you had relationships before?” Hermione asked despite presuming that the answer was highly likely to be ‘no’. For one, Andrew was rather young (not that she was much older), but also that seemed one of those things people usually found scary in new relationships. “Or not ones that would be serious?” She added. “Is this serious?” Hermione asked with genuine curiosity. She hadn’t seen them together, not past marginal interaction at the Potter twins’ birthday party, and that had not been particularly indicative of anything.
--
Andrew shrugged. “It’s new,” he answered, almost before she’d managed to ask if he’d had relationships before. “No. Well, unless you count Ginny in second year.” Andrew, personally, didn’t. They’d been friends who’d held hands sometimes and who had fairly quickly realised they were better off calling their relationship a friendship than trying to make it something it wasn’t. He did pause, covering with another mouthful of toast, when she asked if this was serious. He didn’t need to think about the answer - obviously it was serious, given the events of the weekend, he just wasn’t sure it was Hermione he wanted to talk that over with. He hadn’t even told Aisling yet.
He brushed crumbs from his fingertips onto his plate. “It’s been three months,” he said at last. He didn’t mean to dismiss those three months, or Evan’s feelings, they were just private. “It’s going well, we’re not seeing anyone else.” And, yes, Andrew had met most of Evan’s family by now, and they’d been on holiday together. More information Andrew didn’t feel Hermione needed.
--
Hermione did not, in fact, count a brief Second Year romance. The relationship being new did account for it being somewhat scary, she thought. Then again, it clearly had been working out quite well so far, whether they considered three months a long or a short period of time. The way Andrew noted the length of time rather than answering her question, made Hermione raise her eyebrow. It wasn’t as if it was any of her business - whether she appeared like she believed that was a different matter - but Hermione did want Evan to be happy. She would not consider them friends, hardly, but there was still plenty of protective feelings Hermione felt towards Harry’s baby brother.
“That is good, I guess,” Hermione commented at Andrew’s statement that they weren’t seeing anyone else. It seemed like a given to Hermione that when people were in a relationship they didn’t see other people. Then again, Hermione only knew about heterosexual relationship, she suspected that perhaps the norms were slightly different in a gay relationship. She had read some articles about it. “I apologise if my questions make you uncomfortable,” she offered genuinely. “I’m just curious,” Hermione admitted, and she really was. “I don’t think anyone had ever really imagined Evan in a relationship, so it’s a little surprising,” she explained with a small shrug.
--
Andrew shrugged off the discomfort, because he could hardly tell her that it was because he didn’t really know her and wasn’t going to tell her everything. (Well, he supposed he could have, but he didn’t really see what the point would be and it was needlessly antagonistic.) “I didn’t know him before,” he pointed out. “Has he changed that much?” To Andrew, Evan was just… Evan and he really didn’t understand what everyone else seemed to be talking about half the time when they said Evan was frustrating. Andrew found Evan to be many things - not all of them positive - but frustrating and dismissive were not among them. Maybe he really had been like that before and Andrew had caught him at a good time, but Andrew would have found that confusing.
“I don’t think anyone imagined me in a relationship,” he said, probably inaccurately. Andrew certainly hadn’t imagined himself in a relationship, but maybe Ginny or Aisling had. Did that mean Andrew had changed when he met Evan? In some ways, he supposed he had. Maybe he should ask Aisling how much. “But we’re making it work as well as we know how.”
--
Hermione almost choked on her coffee at Andrew’s question. Not because it was particularly funny, but because she mostly had tried to both answer it and swallow her coffee at the same time. “No,” she shook her head. “I don’t think he’s changed at all,” Hermione replied with a shrug. “That’s why it’s surprising,” she added. Perhaps that was unfair and perhaps Evan had changed, but from what Hermione had seen of him in the past few months (which, given wasn’t a lot), he seemed exactly like he had before. “Maybe that’s slightly unfair of me,” Hermione noted thoughtfully. She hadn’t meant to imply that people wouldn’t date Evan, but to her it seemed like she might have. It was clearly incorrect because Andrew was right there, dating Evan.
“It’s good that he’s got someone to try for that isn’t his sister,” Hermione noted, finishing her coffee. “God knows he doesn’t try with his brother,” she added. Hermione didn’t think Evan was every very fair to Harry, or even attempted to be. But then again, Evan always had been a patronising little shit and Hermione was going to hear nothing to the contrary. Clever, sure, but still a brat. “I have no doubt that you’re very good for him,” Hermione told Andrew, taking her mug over to the sink. She’d have to start consider leaving, work would start soon.
--
Her answer was both reassuring (Andrew wasn’t sure how he’d feel about being the reason Evan’s personality had changed) and confusing. Andrew just couldn’t get far enough out of his own perspective to see what was so surprising about someone wanting to date Evan. Evan was great. “I don’t think I can explain it,” Andrew said honestly. Ginny had suggested that maybe Evan only got frustrated with her, and Andrew did wonder if maybe Evan was different around him. It would explain why other people kept describing Evan in ways Andrew didn’t understand. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else wanted to date him.” Worried, but not surprised. “But if that surprised me then I guess I wouldn’t be with him.” He shrugged. Were they going round in circles? It was still fairly early in the morning to be untangling this conversation effectively.
Andrew probably wouldn’t have described Evan as ‘trying’ with Daisy. He hadn’t seen them interact much, admittedly, but the way Evan talked about Daisy it didn’t sound like he felt he had to try. Andrew hoped Evan didn’t have to try too hard with him, either. His list (which Andrew may have read a few more times since Saturday) did say that Evan didn’t think Andrew would ask him to change who he was. He rubbed his hands on his jeans and glanced towards the corridor to Evan’s room. “I hope so.” He wasn’t at all convinced he was as good for Evan as he’d like to be, but that was another thing he wasn’t going to discuss with Hermione.
--
Hermione hadn’t really been looking for an explanation, or at least she didn’t think she had. It was hardly shocking that Andrew could imagine someone else wanting to date Evan. Who, though, that might be a harder puzzle to solve. Not that Hermione intended to ask. Even she could recognise that might be a touch too far. It wasn’t really until the way Andrew glanced towards Evan’s bedroom door and said that he hoped he was good for Evan that Hermione realised she might have been a bit harsh in her questions. This happened too often, really. She never intended to make her questions seem like an interrogation, but it was a natural talent.
“I’m sorry,” she said genuinely. “I have an awful tendency to pry,” Hermione told Andrew honestly. It wasn’t like she didn’t know. “I also am hardly in a position to comment on your relationship,” she added. “Though, I have little doubt that you are, in fact, very good for Evan,” she clarified. Hermione might not know exactly what their relationship was like or whether Evan was actually less patronising to Andrew (thought she strongly suspected that he was), but she really did not doubt that for them to have dated for three months there had to be something. Glancing at her watch, Hermione sighed. “I have to go,” she informed Andrew, not convinced he’d really mind her absence. “It’s been lovely chatting to you,” she said politely, honestly meaning it, too, before picking up her bag from the counter. “Perhaps I’ll see you again soon?” Hermione said, making her way towards the door as to ensure she didn’t actually arrive at work late due to her nosiness.
--
Maybe Hermione and Evan were closer than Andrew realised, but even if they were Hermione herself admitted that she wasn’t in a position to comment. In which case, Andrew wasn’t convinced she could tell whether or not he was good for Evan. What would she be basing it on, if Evan hadn’t talked to her about Andrew? It wasn’t a doubt worth bringing up though, especially when Hermione was probably only being polite. “It’s alright,” Andrew said, because he didn’t really mind the questions - especially since he didn’t feel any strong urge to answer them more fully than he had.
When Hermione moved towards the door, Jim jumped back up onto the counter, paw on the cover of the book Hermione had left there. “Probably,” Andrew agreed, mentally noting that whatever had brought Hermione to the Potter flat was apparently going to be a recurring thing.
--