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il avait peu l'habitude des passions inédites ([info]rhydianluke) wrote in [info]wished,
@ 2010-09-10 22:05:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!2003: 09, !incomplete, essery oakby, rhydian oakby

Who: Rhydian & Essery Oakby
What: Sibling commiseration
Where: Hogwarts
When: Thursday night (Sept. 9)
Warnings/Rating: Probably language.

Rhydian had never been particularly keen on returning to Hogwarts. Coming through the gates and slinking through the halls, he felt its weight settling in on him again - detention, docked points, extra essays. He'd had his good times here, more than enough of them - but he couldn't imagine working here again, never mind living here. It was a bit different when one's sister was an authority figure, of course. No one was going to flag him down in the halls and ask him his business.

He could have given them an earful, though, if he had. It wasn't every day he heard (read?) Essery talk that way about anything; it was clear she was annoyed, possibly more upset than that. It was all the more disturbing for its rarity. He wasn't the sort of brother who jumped to his sister's defense at the drop of a hat, but ... well. This wasn't any ordinary hat.

He waited in the entrance hall for her, pretty sure he wouldn't be permitted to wander of his own accord without being hassled by ghosts.


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[info]oakbye
2010-09-11 02:28 am UTC (link)
Essery pulled on her professorly robes over her pyjamas, just in case she ran across some brave soul who was out of bed - they wouldn't think she was the friendly Hufflepuff Head of House tonight if she caught them, that was for damn sure - but she didn't chance across any.

Instead she found her brother in the Great Hall and gave him a hug, feeling tense in his arms when she did, then let him go and turned toward Hufflepuff Tower with him behind. Even the Friar had the sense to stay away tonight.

"Sorry for dragging you here for the tea. I just can't leave... in case something happens, you know? I'd have had to give prior notice and all."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-11 02:37 am UTC (link)
"Hey, there." He clapped her on the shoulder, keeping his somewhat skeptical eye to himself. He kept his arm around her shoulders, leaning casually. "It's all right. You haven't seen my place in forever, have you - it's not fit for tea. Nothing like your digs," he said, looking around with a broad grin at the stone corridors that he had stopped finding impressive several years ago. "Do you have to put out fires very often? Are they giving you trouble? Shall I give them a talking-to?" Not that he would have had anything near useful to say.

"But if you ever do need to give prior notice and all that," he said after a bit of a silence, "I can clean up the couch for you in pretty good time." It was more than he'd usually have bothered to offer, because he didn't doubt she knew. But - again, she seemed upset.

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-11 02:41 am UTC (link)
"That would be excellent notice to give to Sev...the Headmaster. 'Sorry, I need to be away for a night to sleep on my brother's sofa and whinge about who I'm shagging'..." Essery rolled her eyes, but managed a smile at her brother anyway as the climbed the stairs up to her quarters outside of the Hufflepuff dormitory.

She opened the door and let him in - the quarters were nice enough, almost as big as her small flat had been and already homey and lived in. "I really do hope you brought a kettle, though. Mine's still at the old flat."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-11 02:54 am UTC (link)
"What? He wouldn't go for it, you don't think? 'Severus?'" He made a face, following her up. "What sort of job is it you've got here, anyway? The kids whinge to you enough, I'll bet. You ought to be allowed a rough night. And you're not shagging him anymore, anyway," he said, with a Right? hanging just over the end of the sentence, as the door shut behind them. He'd never been in here before, and took a moment to look around. Much nicer than his couch, for sure, and with a certain touch he'd never bothered to give anywhere he'd lived ... decor was probably what most people called it.

"I have brought one, and you can keep it. If you've managed to bring tea, I'll even make you some." He made a grandiose wave to wherever the nearest chair was sitting, and grinned. "Sit. Make yourself at home."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-11 03:00 am UTC (link)
"I managed to get some from the elves without them sitting me down to a four course snack," She said, heading for the small kitchen area and setting on the lumos charmed in as lighting - she didn't like candles.

"I've finally settled in here I think, took forever to get the herbology dirt out of the crevices..." Which was true, but she hadn't minded as much. She'd loved Professor Sprout - having her as Head of House had been like having a second grandmum, really. "And no, I'm not shagging him anymore."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-11 03:12 am UTC (link)
"And what will we be replacing the dirt with? Muggle knick-knacks, I guess?" He followed closely, intending to dig the tea out for himself when he reached the cupboard. "Didn't I just tell you to sit? Honestly." He found it - tempted as he was to call up an elf just as a matter of convenience - and sent the kettle to heat on the stove with a wave of his wand. "And he knows that, does he? Blokes like that can be a little - you know. Thick." Not that he knew any of them, but it was hardly unprecedented, was it. He wouldn't stick his nose in if she didn't want, but t didn't mean he couldn't make sure.

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-11 03:15 am UTC (link)
She gave him a look that said he wasn't her boss, but then perched herself on the end of the counter after she'd taken off the professorly robes again and hung them over the back of her chair. "Does he? I don't think so, he's in the island. But if past experience with him is any indication, he wouldn't have wanted a repeat performance anyway." If you could really count things that happened when you were sixteen 'experience'.

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-11 03:30 am UTC (link)
"Well." He gave her a curious, sidelong little look, dumping too many tealeaves into the pot. "I haven't got any past experience. If you have, I guess you'll know well enough. - But why wouldn't he?" Which was perhaps an odd question to ask one's sister, but it was a genuine inquiry, intended more to discover exactly what had gone wrong than whether it could go right again. He understood - plenty well - that there were some people you just didn't stick with for more than a night. But you didn't get too bent out of shape about those, either, did you?

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-12 11:30 pm UTC (link)
Essery looked at him out of the corner of her eye and then laughed - really laughed - and it felt at least a little better than she had felt just being upset. "Baby brother. Are you asking me if I'm good in bed? Because that definitely should not be a conversation we have." And after a horrified pause to emphasize that, she added, "I'm brilliant. I just choose the wrong blokes."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-12 11:53 pm UTC (link)
Rhydian rolled his eyes. "No, I am not asking you - Merlin. What's the matter with you?" He tugged a dish towel out of the drawer and threw it at her without very much vigor. "I was hoping you'd tell me what the hell's wrong with him. Much more fun, but if you'd rather laugh at me ..." He left the water heating, and turned to her. "Bad taste, then?" His mouth tugged up into a small smile. "There's no fixing that. You may just have to farm it out to someone more trustworthy."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-12 11:55 pm UTC (link)
"Horribly bad taste," Essery said with a sigh, but she was still smiling, she had a good time with her bad taste, at least.

"Gideon was my crush all through school. Then... well, you remember Lucas." She shook her head at the though of her ex-husband. Though watching her brother beat him up that one time had been a good show. "And then since school started... I don't know what's wrong with my libido this year, let's just leave it at that."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-13 12:14 am UTC (link)
"Yes, who could forget," he said lightly, a darker edge bleeding into his voice. "We all have our moments, though. Kids' crushes and utter bastards, and whatnot." He had, even if none of them had turned quite as spectacularly wrong as that one. "And probably a little office - staff-lounge, anyway - romance, if you're lucky enough to work with enough fit people." He wasn't going to fault her for that; he'd been bothering someone in the DMLE for about the past two weeks. With no chance of success. "Everyone gets a few bad choices. So long as you come out of it well enough to choose again."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-13 12:24 am UTC (link)
"I've been flirting with..." she waved her hand, not even wanting to talk about it right now. "Maybe you're right and what I need is a matchmaker. A good old-fashioned yenta would never set me up with rockstars looking to drown their problems."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-13 12:32 am UTC (link)
Rhydian raised his eyebrows, clearly urging her on - but tonight wasn't the time to press, was it. He'd have it out of her later. A beer or two, maybe some seriously one-sided arm-wrestling ... there were ways. "Well, you know." He cleared his throat, pausing to pour the tea. "It's not as though I'm not usually on the lookout, as it were, in any case." He grinned down into the steam that came billowing up out of the kettle. "And luckily, bad taste doesn't seem to run in the family. Does it?" A slight challenge, there. None of his had been that bad ... well, not really.

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-13 12:34 am UTC (link)
She took her tea, but there was an arched sort of expression on her face. Maybe an answer to his challenge. "It's also not as if your track record is any better than mine. Maybe it does run in the family."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-13 12:43 am UTC (link)
"Well," he said, changing tack immediately, because - that wasn't an argument he was going to win, was it? "So we've got similar tastes. How's that?" He set her teacup in front of her with a cheeky smile. "Here: I'll bet I could choose at least as well as you. And if I make you utterly miserable, you can return the favor. You can't lose."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-13 12:47 am UTC (link)
Essery warmed her hands on the cup and thought about that for a second, eyebrow cocked whens he looked back at him. "So, are we making a deal to find each other men? That makes us very strange, you realize. And maybe a little pathetic."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-13 01:33 am UTC (link)
Strange, perhaps, but he did love to have a mission. "You can think of it how you like," he said, turning to open a cabinet. "I shouldn't complain, if I were you. I have the whole world to look through, for you, and you've got ... Hogwarts. Do you keep any sugar, or am I going to have to sneak into the kitchen?" He started digging through. "And if you find any celebrities who aren't the wrong sort of bloke, you can feel free to send them along."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-14 01:45 am UTC (link)
"I don't just have Hogwarts," Essery rolled her eyes. "Niave. I have the whole Wizarding public. And quite a few muggles, too, you know. But I'll start with magical first. Are you sure you shouldn't just try to snog Fergus? You're so similar...." She was teasing, though, she well knew that Fergus was interested in women.

"Alright, so what are the ground rules. What's the oldest bloke you'll date? Any preferences for looks, that sort of thing?"

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-14 01:56 am UTC (link)
"Fergus would have to be worse than blind, and I would have to walk around with a broken nose. No thanks." Not that he didn't bait him with it occasionally. But there were lines one didn't cross. "What do you mean, oldest? As long as he's still dazzlingly gorgeous ..." He drank his tea, cocking an eyebrow at her. "I don't know. Forty, let's say. Fifty if he's got box tickets for the Wasps. How about you? Any unreasonable demands I should keep in mind?" He grinned. "Employed? Single? Ten fingers? That sort of thing?"

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-14 02:01 am UTC (link)
"Well, if you can find a bloke with eleven fingers..." Essery rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm not picky. Someone I can carry on a conversation with who doesn't spend that time staring at my breasts would be a start..." and oddly enough, she flashed to a very recent game of chess and a very surprisingly good conversation, and smiled. That sort of conversation.

Then she tried to push the idea away, and looked back at her brother. "Single, out of the closet, no wife and children who have no idea? No horrible body odour......"

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-14 02:13 am UTC (link)
"And you don't want Fergus?" he teased, capable of offering it up as a joke only because he was dead sure it was never going to happen. There was no way he'd ever let it. Essery might have thought she wasn't picky, but he didn't quite believe it - and even if she wasn't, he was. She'd had quite enough of bad endings for his taste. "I'll find you someone with a pile of money, how about that? And then you can put me up the style I deserve." He was already thinking of how he'd go about it. It was going to be an awful lot of fun. He might have to collect CVs. "Out of the closet, add that to my list. A man can only be so patient."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-14 02:23 am UTC (link)
"Oh god. Poor Fergus. He'll never get a date with someone who knows you... " Essery was laughing, though, and that was good. She'd almost forgotten about being so upset with things earlier, and it was good that she had a brother who had that magical ability.

She took a drink of her tea, then hummed, considering. "So, single, and openly gay. Wizard. Employed? Likes Quidditch..."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-14 02:29 am UTC (link)
"Likes the Wasps," he corrected her, with a reproachful glance. "Employment is optional. A little bohemian spirit is admirable, actually. If he's going to like me at all, he'd better not be too hung up on titles or cash." Because he had neither, and didn't expect to in the near future. "And for you, traitorous soul that you are, I guess Quidditch doesn't matter one iota. Any must-have skills? Presumably no one who thinks airplanes are held up by magic."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-14 02:40 am UTC (link)
"And no one who can't navigate calling a cab for themselves or getting on the tube without looking like a tourist." Essery laughed, taking another drink. "Oh, and no one younger than I am. Absolutely not on. Yours has to like the Wasps? Do you realize how far that narrows the pool?"

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-14 02:59 am UTC (link)
"It narrows the pool to intelligent, good-natured men with excellent taste." He made a face at her. He'd be willing to compromise there, but ... only for someone who didn't mind a good row every now and again. Actually, he'd probably be better off with someone who liked a good row. "No utterly incompetent idiots, all right. What if they are tourists? And - not younger at all?" He was trying to think of some of the more tolerable people he knew at the Ministry. They were all rather boring, though. "I mean, there's plenty of Muggles who stand around looking like clueless prats in Underground stations, aren't there. You can't hold it against them."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-14 03:11 am UTC (link)
"You know what I mean," Essery said with an accusing finger in his chest. "No one wearing waders and a tutu because he thinks that's the way muggles dress, then standing around talking to the turnstile to get it to move..." Because yes, she'd seen that, and No, it was not attractive in the least.

"So, if he likes another quidditch team but doesn't mind getting into bar brawls with you and Fergus, he's alright?"

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-14 03:22 am UTC (link)
"He doesn't have to commit to Fergus. I mean, it'd be better if he did." Because he hadn't met a better brawling partner, and he wasn't about to ditch his best mate for someone who didn't have quite as good a right hook. "But - let's just say he has to have a good sense of fun. Sportsmanship. That sort of rubbish. And you don't want any tutus, fair enough. Neither do I." He would go about it in the same methodical way he always approached things he was excited about - he'd get a full background, and by the time he showed her anyone, he'd have his mind well made up. ... For a few days, at least. "I think I've got a pretty good idea of how to proceed. But I can see this going south if we're not careful. Once I let loose that you're Head of Hufflepuff, there's no telling what's going to happen." He imaged there were quite a few people who wouldn't quite be able to resist the idea.

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-20 01:22 am UTC (link)
"Good," Essery said with a chuckle, sipping her tea again. "I mean, you're a hard sell on your own sometimes. Throw Fergus into the mix and you become almost untenable." She was teasing, though. Anyone else who even insinuated her brother wasn't worth dating would end up with her right hook, more likely than not.

"You're going to be embarrassing about this, aren't you?"

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-20 01:28 am UTC (link)
"I know. Believe me." He sighed. Staggering through alleyways with a man draped over your shoulders was not generally considered attractive, but ... he wouldn't have traded it for much. Not that he'd ever tell Fergus, the prat. He gave her a wounded look. "Embarrassing? Me? I don't know what you're talking about. I'll give it the same light touch I give all of my Very Important Affairs." he couldn't hold back a grin. "And I expect you to offer me the same courtesy, you know. What would it look like if my big sister had to find me a date?"

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-20 01:44 am UTC (link)
"I'll be subtle," Essery promised, meaning she'd be just as subtle as he would be, which she was assuming wasn't very subtle at all. "Anyone I should focus on? Someone you're interested in?"

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-20 01:51 am UTC (link)
"No, not at the moment, I thank you for asking." But that was subject to change on a minute-to-minute basis, as always. "I'll trust you to find someone reasonable enough, if there's anyone to be found. Without utterly humiliating anyone," he added, with a brief and not entirely convincing glare. They could both drag out baby pictures, if it came to war. She must have known that.

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-20 01:56 am UTC (link)
"Right. He'll have to be someone fit, though..." Essery grinned cheekily at her brother, then finally hopped down from the kitchen counter. "I won't be embarrassed by my brother being shagged by a troll."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-20 02:01 am UTC (link)
"Really," he said, making a face and draining his tea. "The mental images you come up with ... you're going for a record, recently. Yes it had better be somebody fit. I'm not a charity." He stuck his tongue out at her. They were a charity, but still. "And I won't have you paired off with someone who doesn't uphold the family tradition of fantastic good looks."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-20 02:03 am UTC (link)
"Well, we might have different ideas of what is good looking, you know." Recently, her own ideas of it had started to shift quite a bit, much without her permission. She wondered if she ought to tell him about that, but she could imagine his reaction. "Have you seen the new Defense professor? I mean, wow...." That was an easier thing to talk about, anyway.

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-20 02:11 am UTC (link)
"I wouldn't be shocked, exactly." They were different, in some very essential ways. "I don't think I have seen him - care to walk me by, when I'm on my way out? Or are you keeping him for yourself?" He paused. "What's his name? Is he a decent catch? Married?" He wasn't going to go looking far and wide if he could find here someone local. How perfectly romantic. A schoolhouse ... castle ... affair.

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-20 02:14 am UTC (link)
"Trimble, and I haven't asked, though I'm sure he isn't. He's new Head of House for Ravenclaw. Living here doesn't seem like something he'd sign on for if he had a wife waiting somewhere." She had really no idea about the man, except that he was shockingly good looking. She could imagine the Claw girls were a little distracted this year.

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-20 02:22 am UTC (link)
"True enough. Being Head is a bit of a sacrifice, in terms of social life. You'll have to introduce me." It was a win-win situation; if he was only interested in women, he had a spectacular match for the man, and ... if not, well. Same result, really. "Why couldn't we have had any gorgeous professors? I mean, Sinistra was a bit of a peach from what I hear, but that's no consolation for you or me."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-20 02:24 am UTC (link)
"Oh, I don't know... that last bloke we had for Defense wasn't all bad, before Qiurell? And there was Snape..." She tried to make that sound like a joke, but there was something under it that wasn't quite joking. She rushed on to, "But you're right. The faculty is much fitter now."

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-20 02:32 am UTC (link)
"The last decent-looking anyone was Lockhart, but there's something about an empty head that's a little off-putting, isn't there. And sure, if you like greasy, reclusive bastards there have always been plenty to choose from." He laughed - she'd sounded strangely stilted, and he gave her a bit of an odd look, but really - and moved on. "They are. You're setting the bar high. I'll have to be sure not to let the young ones get wind of your search, or you'll have too many suitors."

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[info]oakbye
2010-09-20 02:35 am UTC (link)
"No one younger than I am," She stressed again, and then she sighed and smiled, moving to hug him. "Thanks, brother." For making her feel better, at least.

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[info]rhydianluke
2010-09-20 02:41 am UTC (link)
"All right, fine. That I can manage." He draped his arm around her shoulders, smiling down at her. "No need to thank me yet; wait until I refrain from making a total mess of it all." But whatever else he had accomplished already was satisfying enough, as far as hew as concerned. He didn't like to think of her stuck here with her troubles, any troubles, and no one to speak with. And when her problems had faces, it was better that he should find something to do that wasn't seeking them out in person.

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