Funny Little Friendships

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A copy of the Daily Prophet lay by Doreen’s books, but she wasn’t sure if it was hers. She had been reading it on and off, but starting sometime last year she had realized it was just about the only non-Muggle newspaper she had seen. For quite a while, she had tried to hold onto her belief that she could work for the Ministry and still be proud of herself, but considering what she had heard lately…

What am I doing here? she wondered, looking down at her homework. It was her favorite subject and had been even last year, but that was because whenever she thought a teacher was subpar in a class that she either needed or enjoyed, she would make an adventure of sneaking into the library. I’m studying to get a job I’m not sure I want anymore, and I can’t leave until I’m old enough to do any good. I’ll just end up back home with Mom and Dad, and they’ll both be disappointed. She was more worried about her father’s opinion than her mother’s, but she still didn’t want to tell her mother that she was leaving school. They would both want a better explanation than some kind of existential crisis.

She set aside her homework and tossed the Prophet onto another table. She could write a letter to Fitz; he might understand, or he might try to come up with solutions that would only work in his little world. She could go on an adventure, but her usual partner was probably working. She could try her homework again… no. She wouldn’t.

Instead of doing anything, she pulled her legs beneath her and looked at the flames. It might be fun to play with those, if she could get that one charm right and make sure no one panicked when they saw her arm on fire.

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Better not to breathe than to breathe a lie.

Sophie was usually much more conscientious about her essays than this, but her concentration was divided at best. Wayward thoughts would constantly interrupt the scratching of her quill against the parchment, cause ink blots to dot the page. Her lips thinned for a moment in frustration as she looked at her paper. A part of her wanting nothing more than to cast a spell to cause the parchment to burst into flames to vent her emotions, but some of her work was salvageable. Inhaling deeply, Sophie slowly exhaled to expel her tense muscles and the stress constantly haunting her thoughts. "Evanesco," she murmured as she lifted her wand over her essay. The ink blots vanished, which was a relief. The essay was not due until the end of the week, so she simply rolled it up neatly and placed it in her shoulder bag to finish another day. Transfiguration was not going anywhere, and perhaps she could use the break to soothe her worries. Her mother's last letter had been somewhat tense; although, her mother had not outright stated that anything was wrong. Sophie would be an idiot to think that everything was sunshine and rainbows, and she was not an idiot.

Right now, Sophie wanted to escape the eerily quiet dormitory and curl up by the open fire in the Common Room. Now if only she had a steaming mug of hot chocolate, but she would have to make do without that for the night. She slid off her bed and rummaged through her trunk to pull out a warm, cotton robe to pull on. It certainly kept her more warm than her cotton pajama pants or her tank top did. A sudden gift from her brother, since she had accidentally burned her favorite robe over the holidays. Her lips quirked into a small smile as she thought of Edward. Sophie had not heard from him in a few weeks, but she knew he was busy with his own work. The Ministry certainly kept their employees busy, even if they were mostly running around headless and foolish. A snort escaped her at the thought before she pulled her auburn curls back into a loose bun and slipped her wand into her robe pocket. She quietly left the dormitory and closed the door behind her, descending the staircase to see who else was lingering there in the later evening.

Green eyes flickered around the familiar setting, and she was somewhat surprised to see Doreen staring into the flames. Granted, she did not know her housemate that well, but seeing the other girl sitting so still was disconcerting. Sophie chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before deciding to head over that way. The least she could do was attempt to find out what was on Doreen's mind. Sophie sat on the opposite end of the couch and curled up against the armrest. Her own gaze stared into the flames for a few moments before she glanced to the silent redhead. "Is something up, Doreen? Or do you need help with your assignment?" she offered with a slight smile. Either way, this would provide for a much better distraction than being left alone to her own thoughts.

‘Cause when I open my body, I breathe a lie.

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Doreen glanced up from the fire when she heard someone say her name. “I think my homework can help itself, but it’s probably grateful for the offer,” she said, gesturing her head to the papers and books. She rather wished it could help itself, but the most useful spell she could think of would only make it fly across the room, and she had to keep her books from falling apart until the end of the year.

As for the other question… the obvious answer would be something like the sky, or the clouds, or possibly some annoying person’s underwear after she had finished hexing them. Obvious would be boring, though, especially tonight, when she wanted a surprise. What was more surprising than honesty?

“I’m considering running away,” she said flippantly. It wasn’t quite honest, but it was certainly one of her options. Take off and hide until she came of age. “You know, take my wand and all the food I can carry into the Forest, see if I can work my way through there. I figure I can make it to Ireland – real Ireland, not Ulster – before someone catches me. If I’m feeling really brave, I’ll try for Wales.”

Trying to avoid London would only make it more of an adventure, she realized. This plan sounded better and better. The only problem was that she would have to wait until Fitz had moved out of his house before visiting him, but that would only be a few years. She might even get to sneak into whatever university he ended up in.

“I just don’t know what I’m doing here,” she said. “Remember last year, when McGonagall talked to us about what sort of careers we wanted? I can’t think of a single one that wasn’t connected to the Ministry, and I’m not exactly in favor of them lately. I mean, if I’m just learning so I can get a job, what’s the point?”

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Better not to breathe than to breathe a lie.

Sophie held back a snort at the comment. It would be rather nice if their classwork could simply do itself, right? She certainly would love to skip some of her more boring lessons, but she had to put in the work to keep her grades up. Her mother would be sorely disappointed in her if she simply did not care for her school work. As if her brother would ever allow her to live it down if she did less stellar than he had done when he attended Hogwarts. “I wish my History of Magic essay could write itself. It’s a miracle I can even stay awake long enough to take notes with the way Professors Binns drones on,” she remarked with an exaggerated sigh. Honestly, Sophie did question her sanity when she had not dropped the class like the other sane Gryffindors. She was a glutton for punishment, right? The subject was rather interesting when she managed to wake herself up enough to listen through the lecture.

Her brow did quirk at the sudden remark of what was wrong. Running away? Sophie was at a loss for words on how to even comment back. Green eyes merely stared at Doreen with bemusement as she explained her plans. Were they plans? It would be near suicide to escaped through the Forbidden Forest. The centaurs would hardly tolerate her presence, and she had heard that Acromantulas actually lingered far within. Merlin, Doreen would most likely be eaten within the day if she tried to traverse through there unaided. Sophie was unsure whether to take her fellow Gryffindor serious or not. Perhaps a part of her was honest in the desire to run away from the school, but not by those exact means? She really hoped so, or she would be going to their Head of House to warn her in advance. Doreen may hate her for it, but Sophie did not wish to see her housemate get hurt by being reckless.

“I can’t blame you about not wanting to have a job connected with the Ministry. I want to be an Auror, but not with those idiots in positions of leadership doing nothing but tripping over their own feet,” Sophie replied with a slight sneer. There was so much mayhem going on, and the Ministry officials still ran around like they had all been permanently Confunded. “I’m not too keen on staying here, but we have to for now.” Her talk with Sura a few days prior had reminded her that she could no go running off to get herself killed. The best thing she could do was study hard and help out with the repairs at Hogsmeade. Sophie would do everything she could to make sure the younger students would be kept safe and to help those that had been hurt in these last few attacks.

OOC: I am so, so sorry about the wait. OTL

‘Cause when I open my body, I breathe a lie.

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“Should have dropped the class,” Doreen said when Sophie mentioned her History of Magic essay. “It could be interesting, if they could find a professor who was actually interested in students.” When she first arrived at Hogwarts, she had thought History of Magic would be fascinating. After all, the only history she knew came from her father, who was often too busy to tell her as much as she wanted to know. Thanks to Binns, she was more interested in Muggle history than anything to do with trolls and goblins.

She stretched, looked at her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, and decided it could wait a while longer. If she finished it when she was a bit more tired, it might come out rather garbled, but at least she would be able to focus on it. Funny how those things worked. When she glanced back at Sophie, she thought she saw worry on the other girl’s face, but dismissed it. People didn’t worry about her. Well, her father did sometimes, and Fitz, but only when she was doing something really dangerous, and even then, her cousin would be more likely to join in than get her to stop. It must have been a trick of the light, or just nervousness at her mention of the Forest. People did get jumpy about that.

“Have to?” Doreen repeated, raising her eyebrows. “Because we’re underage? Not for long. I turn seventeen this summer, and then I can do almost whatever I want. Well, money might be something of an issue.” Since hearing about what the Ministry had been doing – especially when it came to werewolves, considering what she’d heard about her favorite professor – she had bristled at the idea of having to do anything, especially for people she didn’t care for.

But then there was her brother, a second-year Hufflepuff who had nightmares about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and her sister, who wrote letters asking if Dory was happy. Walking away from them was impossible. She’d even made a few friends, in a strange way. Part of her insisted that she would have to say good-bye to them someday, but the rest of her refused.

“Hell,” she muttered, shifting in her chair. “You’re right. I can’t leave yet. Knut for your thoughts, though? I promise I won’t make fun.” She felt oddly sincere tonight, and her promise was just about genuine.

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Better not to breathe than to breathe a lie.

No truer statement had ever been spoken as far as Sophie was concerned. She must have been Confunded when she did decide to keep the class. The truth was that she had simply been too stubborn to drop the class after she had dealt with it for five years. Why not finish with it and say she had survived seven years of listening to Professor Binns? Sometimes Sophie despised the fact that her pride often got in the way of sheer common sense. “Here’s to hoping I survive of the next two years and don’t die from sheer boredom,” she replied with a sardonic twist of her lips. At least she would have real horror stories to tell her brother when she graduated. Sophie was not too eager to graduate, since she wanted to enjoy her remaining two years at Hogwarts while she could. Honestly, she would like to enjoy just another day of peace with the way things were turning out this year. It felt like there was a countdown until doomsday in a way and she despised it.

Either way, Sophie was concerned on what Doreen could be planning. She could certainly empathize with being discontent with everything that was going on. Perhaps she should have used better wording. She resisted the urge to wince at her housemate’s tone. Even if she turned seventeen this summer, it hardly meant she should do whatever she pleased. Running out with her wand blazing would be a reckless thing to do and would place a target on her back. “Wrong wording on my part. You certainly don’t have to stay here, but I think it would be the wiser choice,” Sophie stated. Even with everything going on outside the protective wards of Hogwarts, she knew that there was a battle to be fought in these very halls, too. Perhaps not with their wands out, but convincing others to choose the right side was going to be a large, verbal battle to stay in tune with.

It was a relief to hear Doreen curse, since that meant she was changing her mind. Sophie relaxed a little more comfortably against the armrest of the sofa. At least it was one thing she had done right this week. Convincing even one person to stay was a small victory to feel happy over. Her brow quirked at the question of what was on her mind. Her shoulders raised in her usual automatic gesture of shrugging off the inquiry. Sophie stopped herself as her expression became more pensive for a moment. Honestly, she would rather not voice any of her own doubts to Doreen. It was not that she distrusted her housemate, but it was different than admitting things to Sura. A fair exchange, though? Sophie swallowed down her pride as she was coming to do more often as of late, “Honestly? I’ve been having the same thoughts you were. I’d rather be out of Hogwarts helping my brother than doing classwork, but I’m better off here trying to help than out there where I have little experience in those situations.” Merlin, she despised admitting that much.

‘Cause when I open my body, I breathe a lie.

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Death from sheer boredom would be an interesting way to die, Doreen mused, but not one she would want to see anyone succumb to. It was, well, boring. “Cheers,” she said with a wry grin. “If you live and get your N.E.W.T.s in that, it’ll be worth heading out to a pub, no matter the danger.” Maybe not no matter, but she would be impressed. She had scraped by in that class, at least according to her definition. Her mother was still disappointed she hadn’t gotten an O.W.L.

Wiser to stay at Hogwarts? Perhaps. After all, she was surrounded by professors who would be more than capable of defending the school. Why not stay there until she was ready to go out and fight. “I’ve never been accused of being wise,” she said, “but I guess one more year couldn’t hurt. If nothing else, I’ll have more of a fighting chance when I do get out.” She had no intention of avoiding this fight, though she couldn’t place her finger on why. Protecting Charles and Jane? Probably. Protecting Fitz? She couldn’t decide whether he was in danger or not.

Sophie paused before speaking, and Doreen pulled one of her legs up onto the chair, resting her chin on her knee. It wasn’t often that she actually sat and listened, although whether that was her own fault or she simply never had a chance was up for debate. Just after the girl mentioned experience, she said, “Well, the best way to get to know a situation is to go for it. Dive in the deep end, as the Muggles say.” Almost as soon as she had spoken, she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she said through her fingers. “I meant… I…” She hadn’t meant anything, and that was the worst part. Most of her promises were flippant and either ignored or forgotten as soon as her mind was on something else. This one, though, she had intended to keep, and she hurriedly averted her eyes from Sophie.

Maybe I should stick to adventures.