WHO: Shawna Capper and Stephen Cornfoot. WHEN: BACKDATED to April 28. WHERE: Library. SUMMARY: Shawna wants to thank Stephen for all that he has done for her. WARNINGS: Mentions of Unforgivables.
Walking into the library, Shawna was pleased to notice Stephen sitting at one of the tables closest to the door. On his own, of course -- Rowena forbid anyone would actually voluntarily spend some time with a HEP member, regardless of how well-liked Stephen had been before this school year. It was utterly ridiculous, and had made Shawna feel all the more guilty when she realised during Eloise’s celebration party that it had been Stephen’s birthday and she hadn’t known to congratulate him.
“Hi,” Shawna said as she quietly approached Stephen’s table. She gestured towards the chair next to him. “May I sit?”
Stephen hadn’t looked up as he heard footsteps approaching, entirely too accustomed to ignoring people who just wanted a target to mock, and that his turquoise badge was apparently a beacon to that exact type. But when he heard Shawna’s voice, he looked up from his Charms revisions, and smiled at her. “Yeah, please,” he shoved a stack of books away from the spot so she’d have room for her own things. Shawna wouldn’t be mean to him.
Giving Stephen a small smile, she slid into the seat, resting her bag on the table in front of her. Undoing its clasp, the rummaged around for a second before retrieving a small package from it, which she carefully placed on the table between them. The brown wrapping was charmed a pretty Ravenclaw blue; the best Shawna had been able to do under the circumstances.
“I er- I got you a little something. For your birthday. And as a thank you.” She had considered asking someone to leave the gift on Stephen’s bed, but she didn’t trust his roommates not to meddle with it. Eventually, Shawna had decided that she should give it to him personally, although right now she was beginning to regret that decision. What if he didn’t like it? Unable to look at Stephen directly, she glanced up at him through her eyelashes.
“You - you didn’t have to get me anything,” he frowned thoughtfully, and turned the package over in his hands, before giving Shawna a small smile. “May I open it?”
“Of course,” Shawna said quickly, before adding, “I know I didn’t have to. I just, I wanted to. You’ve done so much for me. I don’t know whether I would have made it through the year if not for you.” She looked away, her cheeks warming slightly. He was likely the only one she trusted still, within her own House.
After opening the present and finding a beautiful engraved set of inks, with a small smile, Stephen moved his head down to meet Shawna’s gaze. “Thank you, Shawna.” It was possibly one of his favourite gifts that he’d ever received, especially from a friend. “They’re...really lovely, and I look forward to using them.” He took a closer look at the thoughtful present, still somewhat taken aback that he had people in the castle who cared about him that much.
A relieved smile slowly spread on Shawna’s face. He liked it. Good. She had spent quite some time agonising over the right gift. “You’re welcome,” she said. She busied herself by retrieving a book and parchment from her bag, intending to work on one of her essays while she was here. It would be better to work in the company of someone she actually liked rather than study back in her Common Room, where she would only receive chilly looks.
“How have you been?” she asked. Being in a different year meant that she only really saw Stephen in between classes or sometimes at lunch, and HEP had been rather busy this past week trying to figure out where everyone was disappearing to.
“Fine,” shrugged Stephen, setting down the inkwells and picking up his quill to dip into the set he’d already had open, altogether missing the look on Shawna’s face. “Normal, I suppose. Caught between being annoyed and happy that half my roommates are gone. How are you doing?”
“A bit worried,” she admitted. “And frustrated. Daisy and Sam have decided that they would rather sleep in the boys dormitory than with me and Freya.” Shawna pulled a face. No matter how much she had tried to reach out to Daisy, it seemed that the girl still didn’t trust her. “Anyway. Do you think they will have us cast the Killing Curse soon?’
Stephen rolled his eyes - not at Shawna, of course, but at Daisy and Samara - and let out a breath of air in solidarity. “Trust me. I know what that feels like.” Closing his book, deciding homework would be a fruitless endeavor for right now, he leaned forward, and propped his chin up on his hands. “I couldn’t say. Before the end of the year...possibly, but if so, it’ll be on the spiders,” Stephen said as he reasoned out his thoughts, ignoring the slight prickle on the back of his neck for even mentioning the Killing Curse so casually.
Shawna nodded, relieved by Stephen’s reply. A spider she could handle, but casting the Killing Curse on a fellow student? The Cruciatus was bad enough. After their last practice session she had felt like vomiting, and no matter how long she had showered, she could still feel the darkness crawling just under her skin.
“Do I seem different to you lately?” she asked carefully.
“As opposed to you...at the beginning of the school year? Since we returned from Christmas, or Easter…?” He trailed off, hoping for more context.
“Yes, since the beginning of the school year. Since… since we started learning dark magic.” Shawna bit her lip, fiddling with a page of her book.
Stephen considered her question, and frowned as he stared thoughtfully at Shawna. “Certainly...not in a shocking way? There hasn’t been any one particular moment that struck me as unusual for you, but I think we all have? Changed a bit, I mean. I think you’re...more confident in your magic, and...not more outgoing, but more...I don’t know.” He exhaled through his nose. “I think I know what you mean, something does feel a bit different, but not bad?” He hoped he hadn’t said the wrong thing. He wanted to be reassuring, but he wanted to be honest, too, and that was a difficult balance to strike.
It was true, Shawna was more confident than she had been a year ago. Perhaps being in a leadership position with HEP had helped with that. But she couldn’t help but think that it was more than that, that casting dark magic had made her more reactive, more cruel. A year ago she wouldn’t have dreamed of hurting another student, but just last week she had voluntarily cast an Unforgivable on Seamus, just because he had pissed her off.
“Maybe I just feel like this because of the looks I’ve been getting,” she considered. “Be treated like a leper for too long and you start to believe that there is something wrong with you.”
Stephen frowned a little harder, this time out of concern, and reached a hand over to cover hers. “There’s nothing wrong with you,” he told her sternly. “I mean it.”
Shawna smiled. It helped, knowing that there were still people who were on her side, people that did care about her. Stephen most of all, as he was not only someone that she liked, but a person that she greatly respected. And if he could believe in her, then so could she.
“Thank you,” she said, briefly moving her fingers against the palm of his hand in a quiet caress. She shared one more look with him and then she went back to her essay, feeling much better than she had before.