Who: Phoenix Schwartz and OPEN to anyone in Camelot What: Someone’s going stir crazy already. Where: Camelot Castle When: Saturday afternoon, March 31st
It had only been a couple of weeks,if that, since they’d made these new arrangements where Phoenix would stay at Camelot. Protected. It was already more than enough to begin driving him insane. At least while he was on the run he could do that...run. There were places he could go, even though he had been spending most of his time around Hogwarts. The point was he didn’t have to stay there. He could move on if anyone got suspicious or he got a lead on where his crazed cousin was. He had the freedom to do what he wanted so long as he didn’t get caught. But Camelot had rules.
It was like being holed up in Grimmauld Place all over again, except there was more company and no screaming portrait of his mother to contend with or any bitter house elves. So okay, it was a step up from that, but even so, it felt almost the same. Perhaps if he were more like Rowan or Remus he would be content with this confinement. He’d be able to settle down in a quiet corner somewhere and just read, but neither he nor Sirius were particularly good at staying still or quiet.
Currently he stood at a window, tapping his fingers against the sill as he stared blankly outside at the bright spring day. He was on the balls of his feet, practically vibrating with tension as he leaned around, trying to get a view of the edge of Camelot’s grounds where the weather turned dramatically dreary and miserable which he felt would better suit his mood. It was no use, and within another ten seconds he gave up with an exaggerated sigh as he dropped back down flat on his feet feeling heavy once more. However good an idea this might have been (which the jury was still out on), it felt stifling.
It wasn’t even that he couldn’t talk to anyone. There were plenty of people around all the sodding time. It was almost like he was back in Hogwarts in the 70’s and it just felt so out of balance with what should be happening while he was on the run from the law that he couldn’t get used to it. That in itself was an oddness. They weren’t even new people he had to get used to, he’d just been cut off from them for the last six months and in some ways it felt too much like a return to business as usual. But that was the way it had to be for him to stay here. And if he was going to be here long term, he might as well start finding all the hidden passages the castle had to offer. It wouldn’t even be half as hard to map as Hogwarts had been. Things didn’t move around while your back was turned.
A sound behind him broke his train of thought. He spun to meet whoever or whatever it was that had caused it, the sudden movement eliciting a sharply inhaled breath as pain flashed across his ribcage. His splinching wound wasn’t fully healed yet, the ever-present joys of a magical injury, though he was likely to end up with a kick-ass scar. His eyes narrowed as he hugged one arm around himself, tucking his hand into the armpit. And now he wasn’t even sure he had heard anything. Perhaps he was merely going mad, the obvious intended outcome of all this. Did this mean that Trixie was winning?
“Who’s there?” he ventured. It wasn’t like it mattered if his mind was wandering as he feared. Verbalising things didn’t make him any more or less crazy it just made it obvious to those around him. And then if there was someone, at least he’d feel a bit less paranoid. A bit less like someone was just waiting for an opportune moment to kick him out and hand him over to the authorities. His being here was going to bring a lot of unnecessary heat down upon Camelot and while he would always be grateful that they were taking this chance on him...well, not everyone in a group that was fighting for the best of humanity always had the best of intentions. Pete had been one of the Marauders, their best friend, and he’d still betrayed them to save his own skin. Pettigrew was the last person he wanted to think about right now though, perhaps he’d just be better hiding out in his room where he’d be less likely to have these kind of thoughts and wouldn’t annoy anyone with the pacing he knew he was about to break into.