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su li babysits grown men for a living (warheadonlegs) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-01-04 23:18:00

Entry tags:

!1998: 01, !complete, !open, lisa turpin, su li

Who: Su Li , Lisa Turpin, & OPEN!
When: Monday night
Where: Ravenclaw Common Room
What: Everyone's finally settling in after the end of holidays...assuming they weren't already here
Rating: TBD

Su had hardly forgotten that there were a lot of things to be upset about at the moment. Yet with the prospect of classes getting under way again, the continuation of the Quidditch season (less than three weeks until the match against Slytherin), and her friends all finally at easy access, she was finding it much easier to be optimistic. She had spent much of the day in the library, preparing herself for tomorrow, and now she was fully ready to relax. Supper had been much better than it had over the past few weeks, probably because it was the first feast with the full student body in attendence, and Su had probably eaten a bit more than she should have.

Having comandeered a corner of the Ravenclaw common room for herself, Su was sitting on the floor, back against the side of an armchair, the new broom polishing kit Lisa had given her for Christmas spread out before her. Her Cleansweep was balanced on her lap, and Su was struggling to open one of the bottles. Brow knitted and the tip of her tongue just sticking out of her mouth, Su seemed to be somewhere between determined and frustrated.

The bottle cap unexpectedly gave way, causing Su's hands to slip, dropping the bottle onto the right leg of her jeans and causing an impressivley sized stain to appear.

"Agh, bugger all!" she said loudly, groping for her wand and beginning to clean up the mess, coaxing the liquid back into its container.

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ex_affirming668
2010-01-06 05:46 am UTC (link)

Lisa hadn't been busying herself with pre-class preparations. No, she spent most of her first day back at Hogwarts unpacking her things. She'd always been the sort to take everything home over holidays so getting the parchment, the boxes, the trinkets, and other such girly possessions in their proper order took some time. To her dismay, however, Lisa had found that Su had disappeared for most of the day so they didn't have the opportunity to lay about and be particularly useless together. Instead...Lisa spent most of her day with Morag. And though they did manage to have dinner together - Lisa had escaped to deal with some new-term product orders after the meal.

She'd returned to the common room and gave the space a scan. Inviting herself to join her exasperated friend Lisa sat down in the armchair Su was using as a back-rest. She didn't exactly jump to help the girl in her clean up, but she grinned pleasantly as she leaned over the armrest and said, "Hey you... Having some trouble?"

To be entirely honest, Lisa had never understood the imperativeness of ... polishing ones broom. It seemed a bit silly...and the motion in and of itself was gratuitously inappropriate on so many levels.

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warheadonlegs
2010-01-07 03:45 am UTC (link)

Su sighed heavily, shaking her head with dismay, even though she'd managed to get nearly all of the polish back into the jar. Now she was working on getting the large blot that had spread over her leg out - it was proving the more challenging task, though the stain was lightening already. She paused her murmuring of the incantation and lifted her chin so that she could look up at Lisa.

"It would appear my hands are not as steady as they once were," Su observed, tapping her wand impatiently on her knee. "Better check me into one of those homes for old witches who can't handle daily tasks anymore."

She smirked and turned back to her leg, finishing the incantation and figuring that would have to do for now. When she washed the jeans, the rest of the mark would likely disappear. She hoped. Talented though she may be, household charms had never been Su's strong suit.

"This was a brilliant gift, though."

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ex_affirming668
2010-01-07 06:22 am UTC (link)

Lisa would have offered to help with the stain if she were any good at wand work. But, since she very obviously was not she didn't budge in the offer. In stead she offered the other girl an sympathetic grimace as she watched the girl struggle with the unfortunate spill. If only someone would have gotten the girl a magical stain removing cloth for the holidays.

"Yeah?" Lisa asked curiously in reply to the girls mention of brilliant gifts. "Who sent you that one?" She absently leaned over the arm rest to turn the case of materials for her to see inside.

She suspected it'd be one of the boys or Mandy or someone else prone to frivolous quidditch materials. Despite the fact that Lisa flew perfectly well and owned a Comet 260 herself...she'd never buy anyone a broom polishing kit as a holiday gift. She saw it as something you picked up while out shopping for groceries...not wrapped and put a bow on.

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warheadonlegs
2010-01-07 06:29 am UTC (link)

"Mmm..." Su made a puzzled little sound, pursing her lips.

Wait. Hadn't Lisa given her this kit? Now she thought about it, it didn't really make much sense. Lisa didn't play the game, nor was she an especially big fan. She wracked her brain. This Christmas had been very strange indeed - not being home, having all of those parcels mailed, then this mess with the third decree. It was an understatement to say that Su had been distracted and, though she always organized each year's gifts and made a list according to giver, perhaps she'd made a misstep this year. Awkward.

"Actually, I thought you did," she said simply, shrugging. She turned around and looked at Lisa. "Guess not, though. I haven't been thinking that clearly lately."

Ah, it was Mandy. Su felt very stupid for a short while, then let it go. She was right. There had been many distractions.

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ex_affirming668
2010-01-07 06:41 am UTC (link)

Lisa's face contorted slightly into a furrowed brow and awkward smirk as she shook her head to decline the suggestion that she had managed something like that. If memory served Lisa had spent a great deal of time thinking of things to send in Su's holiday package.That brass telescope wasn't the cheapest and the snow globe took a while to find! She had half a mind to correct her - but didn't got the extra mile.

If it hadn't been for how pathetic Su seemed lately Lisa might have been a little insulted. Instead...the Ravenclaw chose not to fight this particular battle at that current point in time.

"Are you alright?" she asked with honest concern. "You seem off lately." Sitting up she elbowed the girl lightly over the arm rest and asked, "What's wrong? I'm here now - with ears and everything."

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warheadonlegs
2010-01-07 06:54 am UTC (link)

As she sat there and listened to Lisa ask her what was wrong, Su hadn't stopped trying to remember - correctly - what Lisa actually had gotten her. She'd been really excited about it, she remembered, had put the - ah! - snow globe right in the front of her collection. And there was the telescope, too. She felt quite badly, now. Lisa was always very generous. It was a bit late to say anything now, without it seeming forced.

Worth a try anyway. "I feel so stupid, I'm sorry. I know you sent the telescope and the snow globe, Lisa...they were brilliant, really."

Su sighed again. It wasn't often she readily admitted to being wrong (even in cases where she had made a glaring mistake, as it was now), but then again it wasn't often she felt like she did now. Drained, and frightened, and struggling to not give it away. So far she'd done well, she thought, but Lisa was more observant than some.

"Ears, hm?" she quipped, offering a quirk of her brow and a small smile. "I know, though. You're right. I'm not acting like myself."

She stood and faced Lisa, her arms crossed. "Just, this year was fine until last week. I could deal with all the other garbage that they were publishing. Now it's...it real now, you know? I feel like I can't go anywhere. I'm stuck here, who knows how long."

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ex_affirming668
2010-01-07 07:31 am UTC (link)

Lisa had waved her hand at the apology mentioning something about Su not having to worry about any of it. Though she appreciated the effort it was a bit forced and the Ravenclaw really didn't want an apology if it wasn't meant. Not that she suspected Su didn't mean it. It was, after all, a feat to get the girl to admit that she was wrong. Which...kind of made the entire thing unimportant now that it had been offered.

She was a bit surprised when Su stood and she immediately sat up in her chair giving the other girl her full attention. The fact that Lisa wasn't exactly...involved in the current political dramas seemed to make her a bit immune to the situation at hand. Course, it wasn't until that very moment did she put two and two together. Su was quite obviously 'off' because of what was going on. Believe it or not Lisa had a bit of a hard time thinking of Su as a muggleborn. She didn't play dumb like the rest of them.

Suddenly less cheeky the seventh year clenched her jaw and adverted her glance to the floor. "I'm not going to lie, Su - I don't know what you're going through. I mean I can imagine...but it's not the same. I, for one, am glad your safe here. And I'll do anything I can to help you get through all of this... I just- You need to tell me what you want me to do."

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warheadonlegs
2010-01-07 07:48 am UTC (link)

With a wan smile, Su began to pace, then realized it was a silly, nervous thing to do, and stopped. She was clearly uncomfortable talking about this. It was a necessary annoyance, though. She couldn't very well lock herself up and scream into pillows and kick things. Well, she could, but it wouldn't help much.

She took in what Lisa had said, and was stricken by how grateful she was to be friends with her. Lisa didn't mince words, or circle around a topic, or try to make light of things by telling jokes. The girl was blunt, and honest - and right now, it was comforting. Sure, Lisa's words weren't typically consoling. No soppy "I know how you must feel" or "It must be so hard for you" or, Merlin forbid, "Do you need a hug?".

Of course Lisa couldn't fully understand what she was going through, and was glad for her safety within the castle. And if Su needed her help, she couldn't expect Lisa to read her mind. The problem was, she didn't know exactly what Lisa could do. Or even if there was anything, right now, at least.

"I know, Lisa," she said thoughtfully, brushing some stray hairs out of her face. "And it really means a lot to know that I can count on you. But right now...I don't even know what I need to do. Honestly, I think right now I just need you to make sure I don't start acting like a mopey idiot. Keep me from letting this all make me act weird. Does that make sense?"

I need to deal with it, but not by getting all sullen and miserable.

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ex_affirming668
2010-01-07 08:13 am UTC (link)

Lisa considered Su's request and offered a nod and shrug. "I suppose it makes sense." She offered at a careful tone.

She'd noticed when Su paced and then stopped. It was obvious the other girl was uncomfortable in her discomfort. Lisa knew the feeling and didn't have much trouble locating the signs. Unbeknown to her friends Lisa had spent a great deal of her time in her early years dealing with social anxiety and other such silly nuances. Over time she'd managed to overcome the heavy feelings so they weren't as severe as they once were - but Lisa...understood. Or at least she thought she did for the most part.

She was aware that her social anxiety that used to come before first days of classes every start of term or even going to meals or large feasts weren't anywhere near related to Su's current problems. But...in some distant way Lisa felt like she could probably imagine the emotional weight present in her friend. That heavy painful choke both in ones throat and stomach. That feeling of lethargy in your bones but your muscles in constant need to keep moving. It wasn't pleasant in the least.

"But you know..." she offered after a beat. "If you need to be mopey or...angst ridden for a few days it's your prerogative as a human being." She shook her head and shrugged again as she continued, "I don't think anyone would think less of you for it. I certainly wouldn't."

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warheadonlegs
2010-01-07 08:26 am UTC (link)

"I know that."

There was an edge to Su's tone when she said that, and edge that she hadn't meant, or even realized. It didn't help that she'd looked at Lisa very pointedly as she spoke. She knew Lisa was just trying to help, but Su didn't like being mopey or angsty. She'd tried it, believe her. It's what she'd been doing the past few days, or at least as close as she let herself get before getting frustrated. Maybe it just wasn't for everyone.

Now she thought about it, maybe the upcoming Quidditch game would be good for something more than just bragging rights. Su tended to get emotional negativity out through playing aggressively anyway - at the rate she was going, this game could very well be a bloodbath. As long as it was a bloodbath that ended with her hands around the Snitch and the second Ravenclaw victory of the season.

This joyful thought planted in her mind, Su's expression softened and she came a bit closer to Lisa before sitting down at her feet, cross-legged.

"Don't worry. If I need to 'express myself', I certainly will. I just feel like I've done enough of that for now," She smirked. "I'll save the rest of my storm and stress for the Slytherin Quidditch team in a few weeks."

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ex_affirming668
2010-01-07 08:41 am UTC (link)

Lisa's expression of concern dropped slightly into mild insult when Su practically snapped at her. Despite her willingness to help there was no need to talk to her like that. And with Lisa's naturally animated expression she was certain Su saw it on her face that there wasn't any need for that tone in the least.

Besides, Lisa didn't mean they'd sit there while Su cried or anything. On the contrary, in Lisa's head Su being angst ridden and mopey would involve her being in one room and Lisa...not being present. Like Su - Lisa wasn't a fan of emotional outbursts. Not just on a personal level but from anyone for that matter. If you were going to be a completely miserable sod - do it in private. Someplace where she didn't have to feel obligated to console you.

Course, when Su sat down and went on to try and make things light again Lisa didn't buy that either. If Su was going to be an emotionally retarded roller coaster Lisa would endure it, sure. They were friends after all. But that didn't mean Lisa was going to let her do it without realizing she was.

"Well if that's the case," Lisa started with a dry tone, " just let me know when you're going to be some sort of emotional wreck so I can leave the room. Because I assure you there's no way I'll be helpful if you get in some strange lunacy mode where your up then down and back up again in the matter of seconds." She leaned over and placed a hand on Su's shoulder and said, "I love you, Su...but...I will smack you if it gets out of hand." She grinned cheekily by the end of the statement, of course.

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warheadonlegs
2010-01-07 08:56 am UTC (link)

Su almost laughed - she didn't feel much like laughing, but at times she thought there was something to the theory that laughter really did inspire happy feelings, whether or not it was genuine. Trying to picture herself having mood swings was an amusing mental image. As far as she knew, she wasn't a moody person. Maybe not the most pleasant of people, but Su knew that was because she had a tendency to be pushy and presumptuous.

"Oh, believe me," she replied. There was a distinctly reassuring tone in her voice. "I will probably hex myself first. Besides, if anything, I've been much more pleasant than usual. I'm sure there are plenty of people who wish I'd just shut up for a while."

Though the laugh didn't come, Su did smile again. For the firs time that night, it felt genuine.

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