potter; EVAN (potterlings) wrote in reduxpitch, @ 2016-09-24 19:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, character: evan potter, character: primrose dursley |
WHO: Primrose Dursley and Evan Potter
WHEN: 24 September 2002, Lunch time
WHERE: Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow
WHAT: Talking of things to come
RATING: Low (pregnancy)
STATUS: Complete
Evan was the last of her cousins to receive the news. Primrose had visited Daisy on Thursday night; she'd wanted to be certain that she was okay. When she saw that Daisy needed distracting, telling her about the baby had been a good way to do that. Their conversation actually went the way she thought it would, with Daisy assuring her that Prim didn't have to make a decision one way or another yet. Prim knew she was just trying to protect her, like she always did.
She didn't know why she was most nervous about telling Evan, and she hoped he wouldn't be upset that he was the last of the Potters to know. It wasn't that she was trying to keep it from him, or that she was afraid of how he would react. She knew he had a lot going on in his life, and she, being the type of person she was, didn't want to derail him from his happiness. She loved that he was happy and wanted him to stay that way.
Not to mention that this conversation wasn't getting easier with each time she had it. Everyone was different, and she tried to remind herself of her aunt's words: You can't help how people feel, and you can't change what made them feel that way. She made a simple lunch of turkey sandwiches and vegetable soup, and there were several of Daisy's pastries for dessert. Everything was ready, though her stomach twisted a little with nerves, and all she could do was wait for her cousin.
--
Evan had no idea what Prim wanted to talk to him about but Evan was also not a person who speculated on such matters. He was also not a person who turned down free food, so on Saturday he apparated to his parents house, kicking his shoes off by the door before walking through the house and into the kitchen. “Hey,” he greeted Prim on his way to the kettle. Whilst Evan hadn’t lived at his parents house since leaving Hogwarts, it was hard to get out of the habit of acting like it was his house. It didn’t help that the mugs and tea were always in the same place.
“Tea?” Evan asked but was already pulling down a mug for Prim, too. “Tea,” he confirmed with a nod. Looking over at the table, Evan gave a small ‘ooh’. “The sandwiches look nice,” he told her honestly. “I came over the other day and dad made me sandwiches,” Evan explained. “They were quite alright, too. Not like mum’s sandwiches, of course, but they weren’t like awful or anything,” Evan said conversationally, before sitting down at the table with a mugful of tea. After taking a sip, he gave Prim a look. “So what’s up?”
--
Prim was glad she didn't have to answer Evan's question. Tea was never a question, because the answer was always, Yes, please and thank you. "The mint tea, please. It's all I've had a taste for lately." She settled at the table, knowing that she didn't need to supervise her cousin in the art of tea making. She also wasn't required to truly play hostess with him. This was his home, and it would have been strange if she had done so.
Laughing lightly, Prim settled a napkin in her lap and propped her elbows on the table to rest her cheek on her fist. "Nothing can beat your mum's sandwiches. I aspire to that level, but I know I have a ways to go." She accepted her tea with a grateful smile and held the hot mug between her hands. Prim inhaled the minty steam, holding her breath for a count of three before letting it out slowly again.
This was Evan. Honest and straightforward were the best bet with him. She set her mug down and clutched her hands in her lap. "I'm pregnant. I'm nearly nine weeks along."
--
Personally Evan thought that Prim’s sandwiches were pretty close to how Lily made sandwiches. If he had to rank them, he’d definitely put them above James. To illustrate as much, Evan reached out for one of the sandwiches, stopping halfway back to his mouth at what Prim said. Evan blinked at her and then blinked at her again. Evan hadn’t realised Prim was even having sex, but he did suppose the last time they had spoken about it was a while back. Resettling in his chair, Evan put the sandwich down on his plate, sure that he shouldn’t be chewing during this conversation.
“Okay,” Evan said finally with a nod. “So,” he started and then paused again. “When are you getting rid of it?” He asked finally since that seemed the most reasonable thing to ask. Maybe Prim needed someone to go with her. Evan doubted she’d want him to be that someone but if she did, he would of course go with her.
--
Evan's made Prim go hot and cold in quick order. It was like all of the blood rushed to her head then quickly drained to her toes, and she sat, gripping the edges of her seat as the world seemed to spin a little quicker. Even Daisy hadn't asked about that so baldly.
But this was Evan, and Prim reminded herself that this was the cousin who approached things differently than others. The cousin she went to when she needed something straightforward. So she forced herself to breathe normally and willed the buzzing to leave her ears. "I'm not." Her voice was soft, but her words were firm. "Lucas and I are young, but we're not naive. It's going to be hard. We'll have to work hard to stick to a budget, to make sure everything is in order and ready come May. We are keeping it. It will be loved and cared for and happy and healthy. And Evan--" She looked at her cousin earnestly. "Anything else isn't an option for me. I can send you the notebook full of research after Daisy's done with it to show you that I am very well-informed when it comes to my options." Prim shrugged almost helplessly, praying her cousin would understand. "It was an accident, but it's not a mistake."
--
Evan blinked in confusion at the way Prim suddenly went all pale and wondered if he needed to get her a cushion or open a window or something. Maybe get mum, in case this was a medical emergency, because Evan was not very useful in a medical emergency. But then Prim started talking and Evan gave a small ‘ah’ as she told him she wasn’t going to get rid of the baby. “Nice speech,” he commented when she’d finally finished, before reaching for another sandwich.
Whilst Evan could’ve offered plenty of opinions regarding what he would do in this situation, he also strongly believed that if Prim wanted to make dumb mistakes she had every right to do so. “Congrats,” he offered stuffing a sandwich in his mouth. Washing it down with some tea, Evan shrugged. “I don’t need a notebook full of research regarding how well-informed you are,” Evan told Prim with a shrug. “Pro-choice and all that, you want to keep it, you keep it,” because really, it was her choice and Evan didn’t think he should point out how bad of a choice it really was.
“You tell mum and dad?” He asked curiously. No one had told Evan. Then again, Evan wasn’t sure anyone was meant to.
--
Prim felt the colour slowly return to her face, and she huffed a sigh that was half laugh. Picking a small piece of bread from her own sandwich, she pinged it against the side of Evan's head. "That's for being so nonchalant," she informed him primly before she stood up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "And this is for being so nonchalant," she said softly, her gratitude evident in her voice.
Resuming her seat, she took a bite of her sandwich and chewed it slowly. She nodded in response to his question. "I told Lucas first, as was his right, and I tried to give him the option to leave, but he wouldn't. Then we told Mum and Dad, then his siblings. We've slowly been making the rounds with everyone else." She smiled apologetically. "I told Harry and Daisy before I told you. I'm sorry."
--
When Prim walked over to give Evan a hug, he returned it happily. Evan knew he could be difficult and he didn’t really try to be, but then, he also probably didn’t try not to be so that was really neither here nor there. But Evan definitely didn’t want to upset Prim, he never did even if he knew he had done in the past, so her hug was a nice assurance that perhaps he hadn’t upset her this time around.
Evan took a sip of his tea, giving Prim a nod when she returned to her seat, explaining how she’d told Lucas first. That made sense. And so did mum and dad and Lucas’ siblings. Evan wasn’t sure whether he was surprised that he’d been the last of the Potter kids to find out. He also wasn’t sure whether he should be surprised. “Why did you tell me last?” He asked curiously.
--
Prim had to think about her answer for a few quiet moments. It hadn't been a snub, and she still had to tell the uncles and her friends, so it wasn't like he was absolutely the last person to know. But she knew there had to be a reason other than timing. She could have easily told him and Harry at the same time. She had, after all, just turned up with food for Harry.
"In hindsight, I think because your reaction was the least certain. I think I knew that Harry would offer to help financially speaking, on the down low. And I knew that Daisy would be adamant about me knowing my options and not making this decision just to please anyone." She looked over at Evan, her mug cradled in her hands. "But I didn't know what you would say until you said it. I never know what you will say until you do, and what usually comes out of your mouth is a form of the truth."
That was the heart of it. Evan was a million things, but he wasn't a liar. His truths weren't always her truths, but he was honest in what he said and did. That's what had frightened her. What if he had said something that inadvertently touched on something she was worried about? What if he accidentally, in speaking his truth, made her doubt her own. "I know I can count on you to be honest with me--not that the others aren't or weren't, but you're straightforward about it. You don't sugarcoat anything. I was afraid of what you might say because I do have all these doubts and fears, and what if your bluntness made them more real and less manageable than I want them to be?"
--
Evan supposed Prim’s explanation made sense. He did like to imagine that he was honest but Evan could see how that wasn’t always favourable, or at least easy to deal with. Evan also knew that he didn’t always read other people’s emotions correctly or react to things like he was meant to. He did hope that however Prim had expected him to react it wasn’t terrible, since Evan didn’t think he’d done too badly. He wasn’t going to offer Prim money like Harry had, because Evan a) had no money and b) felt that if she was going to make this choice, she had to be sure she could do it with or without someone else’s financial support. Evan also wasn’t going to question whether Prim knew what she was doing because, well, he assumed she did.
The last part, though, about Evan accidentally, bluntly pointing towards any doubts and fears that Prim might have, and thus making it harder for her to deal with, Evan frowned at. “How could I possibly make you unable to manage doubts and fears?” He asked somewhat confused. “If you have doubts and fears already, don’t you think you should talk about them? With like--I don’t know,” Evan shrugged. “Maybe not me if I’m going to make it worse,” he added reaching for his tea.
--
Prim gave him a gentle look that she hoped was reassuring. "It's not that you make it worse, Evan. It's that--" She trailed off and sipped her tea as she searched for the right way to put this. "It's one thing for me to have these fears. I have think a lot of negative things that are ninety percent unbidden and often sound like my--like Petunia. If someone else voices those concerns, if the doubts and fears are said aloud by you or anyone other than what's happening in my head, that makes them real."
She frowned. That wasn't exactly it. She wasn't afraid of them being real, and she could usually handle the things she worried about if no one else was worrying about them, too. "What I mean to say is that giving voice to my worries makes them more real than if I leave them in my mind and deal with them as I can." She leaned towards Evan and touched his arm lightly. "You have an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a matter without meaning to, and if you had put voice to some of the things I'm afraid of, I would have...Well. I'm not sure how I would have reacted exactly, but I likely would have worried harder."
Prim wasn't sure if any of that made any sense, but she knew she couldn't explain it any better. She tapped her temple. "It's often a mess up here, but I can usually sort through what's a real concern and what's my self-doubt that manifests in Petunia Dursley's voice."
--
Evan didn’t really think that it was very healthy to hope that people weren’t going to mention the things you were worried about. Especially when he assumed there were plenty of perfectly legitimate concerns to have over the whole situation. Except they weren’t concerns for Evan to have. He didn’t really have any concerns. Sure, he would not have made the same choices as Prim had in the same situation, but then it also relied on Evan being able to get pregnant, which fortunately was not a situation he was ever going to face.
“Have you considered talking to someone about that?” Evan asked. “Like a professional someone,” he explained. It didn’t seem like a particularly fun thing to have the voice of the woman who was cruel to you in your head telling you mean things. “You want to be as healthy and happy a possible, right? For the baby?” Evan said with a small wave of hand towards Prim’s stomach. He was rather pleased at referring to it as a baby, too, since technically it currently was just a bunch of cells. It would be a baby one day, and Evan supposed that as quite exciting.
--
Prim nodded. "It's something I've only thought about recently, because it's only relatively recent that I had a chance to stand up to any of the Dursleys." First it had been her mother, then her brother. Both times had, in a sense, been in defense of her little sister, and she didn't know what would happen if she faced them and had to defend herself. "Over the last several months, I have learned that I am stronger than I think, though I still forget that, but I know I have a long way to go." She chewed her lip. "I have thought about going to someone, but it's been hard to convince myself that it's not a sign of weakness. Or, rather, not myself, but--" She waved her hand at her head, knowing how crazy she must seem.
"But you're right. I want to be as fit for the baby as possible, and I know that means mental and physical health." She sipped her tea, thinking in silence for a few minutes, her half-eaten sandwich forgotten on her plate and her soup likely very cooled. "If it's something I can fit into my budget, I will consider it."
Sighing as she felt a small weight lift from her shoulders, she turned sparkling eyes on Evan. "I know there are months if not years before this can happen, but I kind of expect you to be the one to teach this kid the wonders of putting things together. I keep imagining everyone with him or her, and every time I get to you, you're playing with an erector set or Legos or something of that nature."
--
When Prim said she’d consider it if she could afford it, Evan rolled his eyes. “Now, that’s stupid,” he told her pointing a finger at her over his mug. “Take Harry’s money for that,” he informed her. “And if you feel bad for doing it, just remember, all Harry does is flying about on a stick and he earns loads! Certainly enough to pay for someone to talk to you about voices in your head,” Evan told Prim seriously. He did also make a mental note to tell Harry he was going to pay for it, because Evan might not think there were many instances in which financial help was required rather than just desired, being healthy was definitely one of them.
At the mention of building things Evan’s eyes widened. “I fucking love Legos,” he told Prim because he did. “Just make sure not to raise a clumsy child,” he instructed Prim. “I’m not sure how good I’d be at teaching a clumsy child to build things,” which seemed fair. “And then I can teach them to build, and Harry can teach them to fly and Daisy can teach them to bake,” Evan told Prim assuredly.
--
Prim laughed, a proper laugh that almost became the giggles. "I feel I should tell you that I'm a writer. Or, rather, I'm trying to be a writer. Not that anyone has read any of my work, because...anway. I have a lot of voices in my head that aren't mine but belong to my characters." She grinned broadly. "But none of them tell me to do bad things, so you don't have to worry about that." Still, she understood what he meant. She needed a way to get the negative thoughts out, because writing certainly didn't do that.
His reaction to building and legos, his assertion of what each of them would teach her child, made tears spring to Prim's eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. "That's exactly it," she laughed. "I'll try to protect their inner ear so they don't have balance issues," she promised. "Just maybe don't try to teach them anything with dominos or card houses until their dexterity and hand-eye coordination is developed."
She finished her tea and set her mug down, folding her hands in her lap again as she looked at her cousin. "There is something I want to know from you, though. A preference about the baby and your relationship to it." She let out her breath and looked at Evan seriously. "Do you want to be cousin Evan or uncle Evan?"
--
Evan demonstratively rolled his eyes when Prim told him she had lots of voices in her head. They were both aware that that was not what Evan had meant. The actually having of voices wasn’t a problem, but the negativity they brought, well, Evan didn’t think that was very good for either Prim or her baby. Probably. Evan wasn’t sure whether babies inside bellies could hear voices in one’s head. He doubted it but also suspected there was no research that said they couldn’t.
“Good,” Evan nodded at Prim’s promise to protect the inner ear of the baby to ensure their dexterity. Maybe Evan would find Prim some articles about how you had to play classical music to your womb to ensure the baby didn’t come out thick as bricks, too. That couldn’t hurt, Evan was sure.
At her question, Evan blinked. “I don’t really... mind?” He offered unsure of the question. “I assume ‘uncle’ is more appropriate because you’re my sister?” Evan asked before frowning. “Or am I too young to be an uncle? I could be too young. Is there an age minimum for uncle-ing?” There could’ve been. Evan had never been an uncle before.
--
Prim had to bite her lip hard to keep the tears out of her eyes. When that didn't work, she quickly stood from the table, tea pot in hand, and busied herself with refilling and reheating it. She didn't mean to cry so easily, and she told herself it wasn't completely her fault. She didn't want to make Evan uncomfortable with her tears, though they were happy ones.
"I don't think there's any age limit on being an uncle," she said, her voice a little thick with emotion. She wiped her eyes on the towel by the sink before turning to face him again. Unable to stop them, tears slid down Prim's cheeks even as she smiled. She crossed the kitchen again and wrapped her arms around Evan, hugging him tightly. She knew, in her heart, that her cousins were more like her siblings, but hearing the words said out loud. Having her feelings and hopes confirmed, especially right now--she was nearly overwhelmed with happiness.
After several moments of soaking his shoulder, Prim pulled away and smoothed down her skirt. "Sorry about," she waved her hand towards her face. "I'm told they come with the territory. I--" She was interrupted by the kettle, which was fine, because she was about to start rambling nonsense at Evan. "Uncle Evan has a nice ring to it." She smiled at him brightly.
--
When Prim started to cry Evan worried that he must’ve done something to upset her. He didn’t know what because Evan thought he had been handling the whole thing quite well, but maybe he was wrong? But then Prim came over and hugged him again and Evan doubted that she’d be doing that if he had upset her. So he hugged her back, giving a small nod when Prim apologised, saying that the baby having was very tear filled. Evan believed it. No one really wanted a thing growing in their stomach and slowly eating its way out right? Evan was sure he’d cry, too.
“Ruler of the World Evan, also has a nice ring to it,” he informed Prim. “Can the baby call me that? Ooh, can we convince them that I am the Ruler of the World?” Or at least of the title. Evan was okay to settle with just the title.
--
Prim returned to her seat and did giggle at that. "Maybe, one day, when it knows the words, but don't blame me if he or she calls you silly for saying so." She pretended to consider his request for a moment, sizing him up. "You'll have to start dressing the part. The supreme ruler of the world needs outfits that tell of a title that is trademarked and capitalized." She tilted her head. "I'm thinking purples, in shiny materials."
Sipping her tea, giving him a measuring look, she continued. "Or, at the very least, your cape should be."
--
Evan made a face at the suggestion that he might have to dress up for world domination. “Nah, I’m alright,” he decided reaching for another sandwich. Evan was not a fan of dressing up, though he might consider a cape. He could probably do a cape. Realistically, however, Evan didn’t think Prim would tell her baby that Evan was the Ruler of the World. It might just be confusing for a child and Evan didn’t want that.
After a moment, and once he’d swallowed his sandwich, Evan looked at Prim. “Can I tell Andrew?” He asked. Evan’s first reaction was to, of course, tell Andrew, but then he remembered reading somewhere that often people didn’t want to tell anyone outside family that they were having a baby until the first trimester had passed. Whilst Evan wanted to tell Andrew, he also respected the fact that it wasn’t exactly his news so if Prim rather he didn’t say, he wouldn’t.
--
Prim smiled fondly at Evan. "You can, but privately please? I still need to tell the uncles, and my friends don't know." She was happy that he had someone in his life like Andrew. Not that she knew Andrew very well. Just that there was someone Evan wanted to tell things to. "How are things with Andrew? You two are still doing well?"
--
“Oh, good,” Evan nodded relieved that Prim didn’t object to him telling Andrew. Evan didn’t really keep anything from Andrew, but he would’ve done for Prim. Still, it was nice that he didn’t have to. Evan would, of course, make sure it stayed between them, since it still wasn’t his news to tell. Sooner or later, though, it would become very evident that Prim was expecting a baby.
When she asked after Andrew, Evan gave a smile, the smile that only ever appeared when Evan talked about Andrew. “We’re great,” he confirmed with a nod. “We went to a Murder Mystery weekend. Do you know about Murder Mysteries? I didn’t. It was pretty cool,” he explained with a nod. “Thought, the murder was fake,” he added scrunching his nose up briefly.
--
Her heart warmed when his face lit up. She hoped that look would never fade, and it made her happy that he was obviously happy. She frowned slightly. "Like the film Clue? Or an Agatha Christie novel?" She leaned against the table, elbows propped on the wood and cheek resting on her hands. "Were you assigned parts? Did you have to dress up?"
Her imagination was working in overtime. She wasn't sure of the particulars, but murder was in the title, and she thought that might be something fun to do for Halloween. "Did you solve the mystery?"
--
Thinking back on the event, Evan nodded. “Like Agatha Christie,” he decided. “Sort of,” Evan added. It had reminded Andrew of Agatha Christie, though Evan thought that might have also been the sneaking about they’d done in between the Murder Mystery-ing. “We didn’t have to dress up, but I think Andrew said there were some other events where you did?” Evan offered with a small shrug. “And we weren’t given roles, but we could interview all the actors and they had roles,” he explained.
At the question of whether they’d solved the mystery Evan nodded. “Oh, yeah, I got it in like the first ten minutes, but I don’t think I was meant to? So I didn’t tell Andrew for ages,” he told Prim. “It was still a lot of fun,” Evan assured because it had been. “Have you been up to anything fun?” Evan asked before frowning at Prim. “Apart from all the baby making, obviously,” which Evan assumed must’ve been fun? He hoped so at least, otherwise the whole thing was like a million times worse.
--
Prim wasn't surprised that Evan had figured it out so fast. He was clever, and it was difficult to pull the wool over his eyes. Still, she wondered if she could ever plan a surprise party for him. His birthday was sort of coming up, and she would be very nearly huge when it came around again. There was time to plan, so she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. "I'm glad the two of you had fun, despite you figuring it out so early. And I'm glad he makes you happy." She smiled at Evan. "That's written plainly over your face."
She thought about her daily life. While much of her day made her happy, her idea of fun was less exciting than his. "My friends and I had a sleepover a couple of weeks ago, and I've been going to the library a lot to use the Internet." She shrugged a little helplessly at Evan. "I live a very adventure-filled life, I'll have you know."
--
Prim’s words, of how it showed on Evan’s face that he was happy, that Andrew made him happy, made a warm feeling settle in Evan’s stomach. It was a nice thing to be told, he thought. Evan wasn’t sure why but he didn’t really question it since it felt lovely and he, too, was glad that Andrew made him happy and that it was easy to tell.
“Hey, library and sleepovers sounds very adventurous,” Evan assured Prim with a grin. Personally, Evan was a big fan of libraries. He supposed he was also a big fan of sleepovers, but he somehow doubted that by now him and Andrew sleeping together counted as sleepovers. “Shall I make more tea?” Evan offered but was already halfway across the kitchen to put the kettle back on.