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Tweak says, "PLUS ULTRA"

Anthony Goldstein (deprecation) wrote in the_8th_floor,
@ 2011-09-14 21:07:00

Entry tags:

anthony goldstein, padma patil

Who Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil
What: Trying to get back on the same page
Where: Anthony's flat
When: Wednesday Evening

Things had not been going well for Padma and Anthony lately. She had been acting strange, he had been worried and every time they had spoken recently it had ended in a fight. Anthony hated not being able to talk to his best friend, but was hopeful when she finally accepted his invitation to his place after work. Mandy was going for the week on holiday, so maybe they'd actually have the opportunity for a real conversation.

He was just finishing unpacking the takeaway he picked up when he heard the knock on the door. "Come in," he called.

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deprecation
2011-09-15 02:37 am UTC (link)

"I..." Anthony still didn't know what to say. How did this happen? Padma was a very responsible girl. Somehow he immediately assumed George had to be blamed for this, even if he wasn't sure how.

"I guess you had to do what was best for both of you." He finally responded, but it didn't begin to express what he felt. If the situation had been his, if he had gotten someone pregnant...Anthony's mind was flooded scenarios he had honestly never thought of before. He understood that it was in many ways a woman's decision to carry a child, but he felt in his gut that at 25, with a decent job...that he would have done whatever was necessary to be a father for that child. As well as a husband for the woman he had gotten pregnant. It was instinctive to him, like eating or sleeping.

But he tried to hold back all of these conflicting emotions. Anthony was worried about her and angry at George and saddened by the whole thing and guilty...very guilty for reasons he didn't quite understand.

"I can't believe this actually happened," he said quietly.

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lotusoftheriver
2011-09-15 02:52 am UTC (link)

"It's all right," Padma said. "I'm not torn up about it; I couldn't have had a child. This was the logic, correct choice to make. Adding in emotion would have manipulated the situation far too much."

Anthony seemed to be struggling with it, and she didn't know what to say to make it okay. Saying 'it was the day I was nearly killed' didn't really seem comforting at all.

"I ... the number of things I can't believe," Padma said with a small laugh. "But Anthony, it's done, it's over, it's behind me, and I've got ... the future ahead of me. Just that right now I have to decide which path to go on. Not that I'm going to marry Vijay, but I have to decide if George is on that path anywhere at all, and ..." Now her resolve started to break. "I don't think he is," she whispered.

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deprecation
2011-09-15 11:20 am UTC (link)

Anthony nodded, understanding the comment at least. Sometimes you had to take emotion out of the equation in order to find a solution. That's why they were Ravenclaws instead of say...Gryffindors.

Lavender. George.

He pulled his attention back to Padma. "So you're going to break up with him after he just found out that he got his girlfriend pregnant and decided not to keep it." That sounded rough. But maybe he deserved it. He should have been more careful. Anthony sighed, realizing that he would have to put this whole situation to the back of his mind until later when he had time to properly sort it out.

Anthony stood up and walked over to her. "Come on, let's sit in the living room." The kitchen seemed hardly the place for the conversation.

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	lotusoftheriver 2011-09-16 01:33 am UTC (link)
	Well, now a dilemma. Did she let him think that she was that terrible to dump that on someone and then just break up with them? It was rough. Was she really thought of by Anthony as someone who would do that to someone? She followed him to the living room and sat on the sofa before very quietly answering, "Ant ... I didn't tell him. Just that it was a scare." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	deprecation 2011-09-16 11:21 pm UTC (link)
	Anthony turned to Padma, unable to hide the look of shock from his face. "You didn't even tell him?" His head seemed to swim at the thought. He tried to remain calm, for her, but he was struggling to digest this information. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lotusoftheriver
2011-09-17 06:44 am UTC (link)

She was, strangely, calm. "No," she said simply. "I didn't." It hadn't even been an option, telling George, and not something she'd considered, not even when Healer Tonks had brought it up.

George would have complicated things, been entirely too emotional. What if he wanted to keep it? What if he wanted to keep it and marry her? What if he recognised that it was her choice, but fought against that choice? What if he told people of her choice? And finally, what if he agreed with the choice and allowed her to make it quietly? It was too large of a risk to get that last answer, and none of the others would have possibly ended well.

But that wasn't an explanation she owed Anthony, or George, or anyone.

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	deprecation 2011-09-17 01:45 pm UTC (link)
	Padma didn't give an explanation for why she responded how she did and Anthony did not ask for one. He had not been one to go through the experience so he didn't have a right to question her intentions. "I'm sorry you had to go through such a difficult situation alone." It was obvious that Padma had some of Gryffindor's bravery in her as well. "How are you now?" (Reply to this) (Parent)

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