June 1st - June 19th
It's almost summer! The last few weeks of school have come, and students will need to study hard for their final exams! Don't let up yet, or your grades won't be what you want them to. Of course, the weather is almost perfect and pristine, in attempts to lure students away from their studies.
A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton
It was gorgeous outside. For Blaire, it wasn’t as beautiful as winter was, but it was getting a lot warmer outside. The melting show was starting to reveal the snow bitten grass, birds we’re migrating back to their homes, and animals had woken up from their season’s slumber. But the lake was still partially frozen, and winter has left its mark upon the scene, which was what made this time of year so unique.
Blaire had ventured outside of the castle after classes. She still had her uniform on, but today’s awfully warm weather had brought her to the decision to leave her cloak in the dormitory.
She had been at Hogwarts for a little over 4 months now, and although she had taken the time to thoroughly scheme through the castle, the grounds was yet a place she wasn’t incredibly familiar with. The only time she really went outside was to go to Hogsmeade, to watch a Quidditch match, or to go to Care of Magical Creatures classes.
She had been to the stables once before for a Care of Magical Creatures classes, but it was only so that the class could see what Horklumps looked like, and staring at a pinkish mushroom had been found to be a rather boring observation. This time, Blaire wanted to look around the stables more and see what other creatures Hogwarts kept. At Beauxbatons, the stables contained an array of Abraxans, which drove the carriages for travelling purposes, and which Blaire had found to be one of the most stunning of creatures. She knew, however, that Hogwarts didn’t have Abraxans, so she was curious if the school had an equally fascinating creature.
But there was a lot more than curiosity that had led her unto this little adventure. A lot more. Blaire had now grown out of her shocked and angry stage of her mother’s death. Well, she wasn’t completely freed of the anger - that was the one sentiment that she felt would stay for a long while. Now, she was moving into a melancholy state, where the thoughts of the men (and women) who had killed her were slowly moving away, and instead, found herself constantly remembering the past, and the memories she had shared with her departed mother. And this depressed stage hadn't helped her eating habbits either. Already on a 'strict diet', her gloom had caused her to lose her appetite altogether, and she was now down to 119 lbs. And for a girl of 5'9'', that's saying something.
The most vivid of those were the strolls they would take into the forest near their Provence house. Her mother would tell her about all the creatures and plants of the magical world, and Blaire would listen intently to every word. Now, Blaire had no one to tell her stories like her mother did. No one would be able to tell her stories like her other did. Only the past would ever be there. And that's why she wanted to go see the creatures. To connect with her mother on some level. On any level she could. She wanted to try to remember the things she had told her.
Making her way through the first part of the stables, Blaire grumbled annoyingly at the gnomes who were trying to climb over a fence. She fastened into the next room, only to shoot just as quickly out as blast of fire shot in front of her. Blast-Ended Skrewts were defiantly not the kind of beast she was looking for.
So, she wondered into the next room, and she didn’t even realize her mother's magical, purple, velvet bag's drawstring had untied, causing it to slip from her belt and onto the floor in the same room of the gnomes. She was far to busy now, as she caught a first glimpse of the stalls inhabitant. A small smile found its way upon her face, and her eyes glittered in inquisitiveness. A Hippogriff, from what Blaire could remember from classes, was sleeping in a stack of hay in the corner.
She walked up to the barrier, and leaned her elbows against the top. She rested her head in her arms as she watched the Hippogriff’s stomach smoothly move up and down with each breath. It seemed so peaceful under the bits of rays of sunshine that reached through the cracks of the stable roof, and Blaire just watched it for a while, a small smile still perched on the corner of her mouth.
He slowly closed her eyes, and searched her mind for more memories. A story appeared, one she had thought was forgotten. Her mother had once told her – he must have been 9 or 10 – about a poem some renaissance poet had written. As far as she could remember, she was pretty sure the poem had the name Orlando in it. Part of the poem talked about a Saracen Prince named Ruggiero who saves a beautiful maiden from a sea monster with the help of a hippogriff. She remembered her mother telling her that the Hippogriff served as a symbol of love, that that’s why the creature should always be respected.
Blaire opened her eyes and watched the Hippogriff again. In a way, she could sort of feel her mother’s love. But, moreover, a pain was provoked. Blaire was still far from being adjusted to what had happened, and thoughts of her mother always hurt. It was that feeling you get when you have to do a speech in front of a large group of people. Or if you swallow a dry pill. Except for it was many times worse. It was a pain of losing something you loved so very much, and knowing you’ll never get it back. And it was a pain that just couldn’t go away.
She closed her eyes again and let a tear roll down her face. A few more had fell, and this time, she let them fall. She let herself cry. It felt a lot better than try to hold it in, and when you lived in a school - where you were constantly surrounded by peers - you had to. She just couldn’t let her weakness be shown. When weaknesses were revealed, it gave people the opportunity to use them to their advantage.
But. here in the stable, it was okay to let some of the building sentiments go. It was just her and the sleeping Hippogriff. Or at least that’s what she had thought.
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton
Things had been thoroughly confusing for Ashton as of late. And also, considering that he wasn't the most versed in understanding the inner workings of dating and the works, it made things that much worse for poor Ashton. Four days until his seventeenth birthday, and he still couldn't even begin to understand the female species, or what he was supposed to do to "lure one in" so to say. Yes, he had dated Puck for a while, but that was just...weird. Yes, weird. It was the only way to describe it. He and Puck had been such close friends before that it made taking their relationship to another level just so odd. And then the whole disaster of the love potion happened making Puck fall head over heels for Devon. What a mistake THAT had been. That was probably the final straw for his relationship with Puck, and once she was sane again they had a little talk about everything. Which had lead to a mutual break up.
While Ashton was a bit sad about the end, he figured it would be for the better in the end. Eventually, they could go back to being friends and having fun, rather than turning beet red every time they saw each other. Man, that time couldn't come soon enough if you asked Ashton. But then on top of that, Fyora. What about her? Ashton had no idea. She had been acting rather...odd at Alex's surprise birthday party. Almost as if she were attracted to him? Which, again, was very odd for Ashton. He had gone for ages without any female contact at Hogwarts other than friends, and suddenly just as he was ending one relationship, another one presented itself. Or did it? Maybe Fyora was just in a weird mood...or had gotten a slip of love potion or something. Yes, that was a better answer. People were most definitely not interested in Ashton in a dating sense. It just wasn't normal.
At the current moment, Ashton felt as if there were no one in the world that he could talk to. Puck? Well, she was obviously 50% of the problem. Devon? Devon probably had a worse understanding of relationships than Ashton did. His heart was in the right place, but Ashton had a feeling he had his eyes on someone in particular at the moment. Who, he had no idea. But Devon had been acting a bit peculiar recently. And by peculiar, Ashton meant different. Then again Devon always was different from everyone else, so that shouldn't come as too much of a shock. There was always Alex, but Ashton hated to relate to her in that manner. She was so anti-dating save for her relationship with Jereff, and didn't exactly talk about things like that with people like Ashton. So now, he was resorting to a walk all by his lonesome. To try and talk himself through it. Hopefully he could make some sense from the whole ordeal.
The grounds were brisk and cool, but the temperature had certainly raised a few degrees in the last few weeks. Spring was on the way sooner than they would all know. The snow was starting to melt, and a few patches of dead, decrepit grass was coming into view. It was incredible how a mass of coarse brown strands could turn into lush green grass in such a short amount of time.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Ashton strolled aimlessly along the grounds, no idea where he was going or what he was going to do. He just wanted space, peace, some time alone. Maybe he hadn't gone on the walk to think, but more so to escape from that very thing. It didn't really matter. Ashton was alone now, and he could relax in his own sanity, if that was even left intact.
Glacing aroung, Ashton's eyes slid over to the Stables, a place that he hadn't visited in ages. He stopped for a moment, looked at it with great regard, and decided to go in. Why not? It would be nice to have some company that couldn't talk, judge or care about you. He opened the large barn doors and entered. There was a mumbling and scratching noise from behind the barricades of the room. Gnomes. Merlin. Best get through this room as fast as possible before they escaped and ate Ashton alive. Just as he started walking through, however, he noticed something on the floor. A purple drawstring bag. Was someone else in the stables? Perhaps someone had lost it during a class. Either way, they probably wanted it back, and probably had no idea where it was. Bending down, Ashton quickly picked it up, deciding to take it to one of the teachers to see that whoever lost it, probably a she, got it back and intact.
He continued on to the next room, seeing an army of blast ended screwts. Urgh. Not the most fantastic of beasts. He quickly ushered himself through that room, and into the next. Before Ashton could even see what fantastic, mystical creature inhabited this room, he caught sight of something else. A girl leaning over into the stall. And if Ashton was correct, she was crying. Ooh this was bad. From what Ashton had learned in the past, girls liked to be alone when they cried, and hated it when they were disturbed. Ashton planned to back out without making a sound, but he was quickly thwarted when the wooden door closed with a clang. Well, she probably knew that he was here now. What to do? Fall to his knees and beg for his life? Promise to not tell anyone else?
"Er..." was all that Ashton could manage to say at the moment. But "Err" was probably going to get him in a lot more trouble than anything else was going to. "Sorry um...didn't know anyone was in here," Ashton explained sheepishly. "Are...are you alright?" Ashton asked, but then realized that was probably a mistake. "Actually um...sorry...I'll be going now..." Ashton said, turning around, reaching his free hand out to the door to pull it open.
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton
At first, her crying had been rather quiet and imperceptible, despite the tears trinkling down her face. But, as more tears started to pile, she couldn’t stop from letting herself go, and had added sobbing to the scene. But with her head ruffled in the comfort of her arms, in a place where only the sleeping Hippogriff could judge her, it was approved. It was fine to let as many tears out as she could. She was sort of hoping her body would just run out of the salty water and she could stop having to cry altogether.
It was pathetic, in her opinion, to let herself go like that, but it seemed to be the only physical form of releasing her sentiments. It hurt way too much to keep it in, and at least crying made things feel slightly better, even if she was putting her emotions out in the open like that.
She just had to be careful, and make sure she let them go at the right time. As long as she was quiet enough, no one would hear, and no one would notice. And she had only planned on shedding tears for a moment anyway. A slight moment, until she felt better enough to move on in the day. Just for a minute or two, she thought in her head, and then she’d just think about things for a bit - try to clear her mind.
But aspects had change when Blaire heard a door shut behind her. She immediately stopped sobbing, and shot her head out of her arms. For a second, she had just paused, to see if she had really heard a door close, until a voice had verified another’s existence.
“Er…er…” Blaire whipped the tears off her face with her sleeve before anything else. Maybe this guy, as the voice had indicated, hadn’t noticed her shedding her tears and she could get away with it unnoticed.
She slowly turned around, but tears were still forming in the corner of her eyes, which made the image in front of her partially blurry. She blinked to try to clear her vision, and she was now eyeing the new guest. "Sorry um...didn't know anyone was in here.” Ashton Singer, Blaire was now able to interpret. Of all the people, Aston Singer. The Hufflepuff, the friend of Alex and Puck and whoever else Blaire had considered an adversary. She pursed her eyebrows, and glared at him. He knew what was going on. She could tell by his tone - by this sheepish and awkward manner.
She needed topbut on a face. Put her snobby, intimidating mask back on. "Are...are you alright?" Ashton asked, and Blaire attempted to glower her eyes at him. She wasn’t angry with him, but rather scared. Guilty. Like a little girl who had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She was caught in the act of not being herself, or rather, the Blaire everyone had recognized since her transfer. There was a glitter of fear in her dark blue orbs, despite the glare she continued to send off.
Was Ashton going to go and tell everyone? Tell Alex, Puck, and whoever else hated the serpent that he had just witnessed Blaire Blackwit crying? She could just see them all laughing, making their judgmental assumptions, saying she deserved whatever it was that had made her so upset. And she was the villain again. Merlin, she was tired of being the villain.
She opened her mouth to say something, something dignifying, something in response that prevailed over the situation. Ask him not to tell, to keep this side of her hidden between the two of them. But what difference would it make? Would he really even care about her feelings? About what she thought? She wouldn’t off. She wouldn’t have taken a second thought to run and tell all the Slytherins if she had walked in on Alex crying. It was something that would have made her feel better about herself, and her conscience would remain silent like it had always had since the summer. Because the real Blaire wouldn’t be that cruel, and she needed to cover herself up so that she wouldn’t be hurt again, so that she wouldn’t just give away her trust. She would rather have everyone think she was some bitch then a doormat.
But her mind was blank, and her lips were ceasing to move. Too many thoughts were racing through her mind, and she couldn’t find the right way to deal with her situation. She didn’t know whether to return a sort of kindness like the little voice in side of her was screaming for her to do, or to say something witty and callous to preserve the mask she had made for herself. And the fact that she was already upset and dazed, as it was didn’t provoke any help in making that decision, as well as the fact that she knew very little about this older, Singer brother.
She was becoming light-headed, and the objects around her were slowly turning and escalating. "Actually um...sorry...I'll be going now..." Ashton said, turning around, reaching his free hand out to the door to pull it open. Blaire’s eyebrows had lifted slightly, and everything around her had turned to pitch black. She was losing grasp and was falling back before she realized she hadn’t eaten all day. There was a smack on the ground, and Blaire was passed-out on the hay of the ground.
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton
As Blaire turned slowly on the spot, Ashton thought he was seriously going to die at that very moment. It was Blaire Blackwit. Of all people to walk in on crying. Wait, Blaire was crying? She was capable of tears? That was insane! Now, Ashton had no personal feelings of hatred toward this serpentine beauty, but the girl had indeed gone to many lengths to make Alex's life as miserable as possible. Ashton, being of the loyal type, was the kind of person that resented people for that. If someone was mean to one of his friends for absolutely no reason, then they were no friend of Ashton's. But then again that didn't mean that he wanted to start any personal issues with her. He had never really talked to her before, so it wasn't like he was going to draw his wand on her and challenge her to a verbal/magical duel. Really, Ashton just wanted to make it out of the stables alive.
Luckily, Blaire hadn't thrown any daggers yet, but was simply trying to glare at him. Ah yes, that's why girls were scary. They had evil glares like that. The kinds that could kill on impact. Ashton was going to start a list of basic principles. Principle One: Don't look females in the eyes! It's deadly. It was like that ferocious beast that had lived in the castle when Harry Potter was at school. That giant snake thing. What was it's name again? Hm...it somehow escaped Ashton. Everything but survival instincts were just running off...
Just as Ashton was pulling the door open to free himself, her heard a hard thump against the wooden floor. Oh man. She had ripped apart the barricade and was thumping the wood against the floor in a menacing manner, ready to beat the living daylight out of Ashton! Run, Ashton. If you know what's good for you! But he chanced a glance behind him, just to prove that his petty fears were just his imagination running away with him. Indeed, it had run away. Just like everything else. Instead of seeing warrior princess Blaire, the girl was laying limp on the ground. She had fainted!
Letting out a gasp, Ashton let go of the door, allowing it to slam once again. Merlin, what was he going to do? Flee. Yes, run away. He had absolutley nothing to do with her little fainting spell, and as long as he cleared the area, no one would have to think as much. They weren't duelling, he hadn't knocked her out, so there was no need to worry. Unless someone decided to frame Ashton. But not if he ran. But...but...but what if she died? Could people die after fainting? Well, they usually didn't faint just because someone walked in on them crying. So what if someone saw Ashton enter the stables, leave minutes later, and suddenly Blaire shows up dead! That would NOT be good.
"Stop being a prat, she's not dead," Ashton muttered to himself, turning around to leave. He pulled the door open and started out, but then stopped. It just didn't feel right leaving her laying there... What were you supposed to do when someone fainted anyways? Pick them up and carry them to the Hospital Wing? What if she woke up somewhere along the way? She would devour him!
Reluctantly, Ashton turned around and walked over to where Blaire had fallen, and stooped down next to her, bending down on one knee. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and eyed Blaire wearily. "Goodbye world," he said quietly before whispering the fatal command. A fountain of water erupted from his wand, and he aimed it just right so it would splash down onto Blaire's face, hopefully stirring her so he could get her up to the Hospital Wing, and then happily continue on with his life. Arg. Why did he have to choose to come into the stables?
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton“Pffff” Blaire exasperated, spitting water out of her mouth as it shoot in her face. She sat up suddenly, whipped her face with her hands, and blinked her eyes a few times, before she realized what was going on again. She looked at Ashton, and the snooty glare had diminished from her face. She was scared. She had never fainted before, and it was bloody frightening.
She was feeling light-headed now, but her mind was starting to drift away from what had happened to the Hufflepuff boy next to her. “Um…” she started in a questioning stare, “thanks?” She wasn’t really sure what she was suppose to say. It had been an incredibly long time since someone had been nice to her. He could of just left her on the ground, but he didn’t, and even if Blaire wasn’t exactly the nicest person herself, she respected what he had done.
She paused a moment to get her head in order, and made a soft, awkward laugh, “Well, zat was sort of embarrassing,” she stated in her usual, throaty, French accent. She quickly comprehended she’d have to come up with some way to cover up the reason why she had fainted. “I ‘aven’t been feeling well lately,” she lied, avoiding making any eye contact, and instead looking down at the ground, and lifting herself up so that she was standing up.
She whipped bits of dirt and hay off her skirt, and look down at her shoes. She felt humiliated, and when she looked up to move her eyes back to Ashton, she instead caught sight of a small, purple, velvet bag hanging out of his pocket. She tugged on the draw string to pull it out of his pocket, “Where deed you get zis?” she asked, an inquiring look on her face. She wasn’t sure if Ashton had took it from her while she was passed-out, but she realized that it was doubtful that a guy would be attracted to a bag like that.
She took out her wand and tapped the bottom of the bag, whispering, “mouchoir” into it. A handkerchief appeared in the bag, and she returned her wand to the pocket of her skirt and tied the bag back onto her belt.
Blaire walked over to the Hippogriff’s enclosure again, and leaned her arm against the railing as she dried her face with the cloth, and looked at the creature for a moment. It seemed to have been woken up from the thump, but it was slowly closing its eyes again and returning to its sleep. She scrunched the handerkerchief in her hand and turned back around at Ashton, with a perplexed sort of expression lit on her face. “Why did you ‘elp me?” she asked, knowing that Ashton was a friend of Alex and no doubt had heard a few nasty things about the serpentine. She was aware that her tone was rather nicer than it regularly was, but she felt it was appropriate. Her old self felt obligated to return the kindness, and she would of look awfully stupid if she had started being rude after she had just embarrassed herself. She would just embarrass herself even more. And Blaire hated looking pathetic.
She was feeling strange at the moment, like she was acting differently. She felt like the girl she had been at Beauxbatons, where she was adored by so many, and where she was so polite and outgoing to everyone, regardless of their house. Perhaps at the moment, there was no one around to impress anymore. No…impress wasn’t the word. She was never one to astonish others. Rather, it was like an invisible and boundless standard she needed to live up to.
But with the event of things that had just happened, like her emotional breakdown from her mother’s death and her fainting spell from avoiding eating for so long, all of which were witnessed by this guy she hardly knew, the worst of the things had already happened, and the standard wasn’t set anymore. She could be her old self for just a moment, just to help out the situation. Just attempt to talk to someone who wasn’t a sly, ruthless Slytherin – like her. Merlin, these thoughts felt strange to her. Maybe it was just the hunger that was getting to her.
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton
Before long, Blaire was coughing and sputtering, coming back to consciousness. Oh thank dear sweet Merlin she wasn't dead! Ashton's conscious was clear and he wasn't going to get in any trouble. Mission accomplished. Except she just might punch him in the face for spraying her with water. But it was worth it, right? He might get a good story out of it. And also fortify his new theory that all females were confusing and scary. Blaire sat up suddenly, and Ashton wanted to protest and push her back down, but used his better judgement and kept his hands to himself. But he had a point. She had just fainted for some reason or another. She shouldn't be up and jumping around quite yet. She might faint again! “Um…thanks?” Blaire finally said to Ashton. Ashton quirked a brow in shock, but then quickly wiped the expression from his face.
“Well, zat was sort of embarrassing,” Blaire started. Embarrassing? How was that embarrassing? It was a bit more serious than that. “I ‘aven’t been feeling well lately,” she continued. What kind of sickness made you faint on command? Ashton, however, was a bit more distracted by the fact that Blaire was already pushing herself to her feet.
"Are you sure you should be standing up already?" Ashton questioned, his voice wavering a bit. He stood himself back up and watched her. She was brushing bits of dirt and hay off of her, and then suddenly looked back at him, her eyes catching the velvet pouch he had found.
“Where deed you get zis?” She asked, pulling the drawstring to pull the pouch out of his pocket. Oh no...it was Blaire's wasn't it? She must have dropped it earlier without realizing it. Oh man. Oh great. She was probably going to start screaming, calling him a thief and then he would get in trouble for that, and lose points for Hufflepuff (which they really couldn't afford at the moment), and then everyone would go around calling him klepto boy! His sanity couldn't take that! Okay here's what he had to do. Slowly and calmly tell her where he found it, what he was going to do with it, suggest that she go to the Hospital Wing, and then get the bloody hell away from her. He liked to live on the edge, but this was a bit extreme, even for Ashton.
"It was on the floor," Ashton replied, trying to stay as calm as possible. He didn't want to rush it so it seemed like he was lying. "In the room with the gnomes. I figured whoever lost it would want it back so I was going to take it to my Head of House, and make sure they found out who owned it." It was the honest truth! Now hopefully his reputation as a Hufflepuff would help him out. Trustworthy, loyal, true... Those parts of the house description, Ashton liked. He didn't like it when people tried to edit it to suit their needs and insult the Hufflepuff's saying they were pushovers and gits. That was just unfair. "It's uh...good that I found you though...I er...never would have guessed it was yours," Ashton said, starting to stutter a bit. Oh great. He had been fine up until then, and then he had to go and lose it. Fantastic. Now she was never going to believe him.
Blaire took her bag and muttered something, pulling a tissue type thing out of it as she made her way back to the hippogriff's enclosure. Which she thankfully hadn't ripped apart to beat Ashton into a pulp. Blaire looked back at Ashton with an interesting look on her face. Please let that be the look that means "get out of my sight now!" Oh please, oh please, oh please... But it didn't look like that kind of look. It looked confused or surprised. “Why did you ‘elp me?” Blaire questioned. Ashton felt a kind of shocked relief that she wasn't about to whip some other sort of insult or smart remark out. It was just a simple question. But why did he help her? Because he didn't want to be charged for her murder? Ha. Like he was going to say that. Because he, unlike other Slytherins, had morals? No, he wasn't going to say that either.
"I couldn't just leave you there," Ashton replied with a shrug. "It just didn't seem...right." In all actuality, that was the condensed truth. Ashton had just let his imagination run away with him before.
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton"Are you sure you should be standing up already?" Ashton questioned as Blaire stood herself up, “No,” she replied in that dry sense of humour of hers. It probably wasn’t a good idea that she stood up right away, and now that she had done so, she was feeling a bit dizzy, but not enough that she wasn’t able to hold herself up.
“Where deed you get zis?” she had asked abruptly when she saw the velvet bag in Ashton’s possession. "It was on the floor, in the room with the gnomes. I figured whoever lost it would want it back so I was going to take it to my Head of House, and make sure they found out who owned it.” Blaire squinted her eyes slightly, trying to read through Ashton’s calm cover. She was starting to question if he had stolen it or not. Take her bag and bring it back to Alex and all her friends so they could rummage through it – despite the fact they would just learn that it seemed completely empty. "It's uh...good that I found you though...I er...never would have guessed it was yours," Blaire’s eyes moved around in questioning, until she dismissed the glare on her face again. “Well, I suppose Purple eesn’t exactly your colour,” she joked, as much as what was possible of her cute smile edging on the corner of her mouth.
What was wrong with her? Why was she acting this way? Her brain must not be functioning properly. Perhaps she was still a bit light-headed or something. Or maybe, in a way, she was trying to kiss derrière so that Ashton wouldn’t recall this little incident that took place. Or maybe she was just letting a bit of her true self, the façade she wore underneath, show through. But frankly, she didn’t want to consider that an option.
Blaire thought for a moment, as she leaned herself against the railing, that she hadn’t even taken a look to see what house Ashton was in, she looked at his uniform for a quick second, and realized he was indeed a Hufflepuff. A Hufflepuff. Blaire was associating herself with a Hufflepuff? And a muggleborn no doubt. But such pessimistic thoughts hadn’t reach Blaire mind yet. She was starting to remember what it had been like at her old school, and how houses never mattered to her then. Her old self was starting to poke at her from underneath her skin, and she felt dirty. Like she had been the bad guy for so long, like she had been such a horrible person so many.
"I couldn't just leave you there," Ashton replied with a shrug. "It just didn't seem...right." Blaire sort of pursed her eyebrows again, but in a different way. Her eyes were partially dazed over, and she looked like she was trying to understand what it meant for something to not feel right. The only thing she had ever paid attention to not feeling right in a long while was her mother’s death, and nothing else had matter.
But her mother had been a good soul. You may not have known it from looking at Blaire’s father, but he use to be a decent guy too, and that’s why they had fallen in love. Adrienne had been so full of love and care and morals – that’s why she had been a vegan, that’s why she had taken care of plants and animals, and that’s why she had loved her daughter and husband so much. And that’s why she was so missed now.
Blaire was starting to realize what had been missing for months now. She was starting to realize what she had been doing to make things worse for herself, and make her mother disappear from her even more. She had shunned everything her mother had given her. A cute, kind, and loving personality. Yes, such a personality existed in Blaire. She had just been ignoring it. No, more than just ignoring it. She had thrown it, stepped on it, and spit on it without even realizing what she had down. She felt so alone because so much of her mother had left her.
And Blaire snapped back to the stables, and lifted her eyes to Ashton, “I..I’m…” she wasn’t sure how to respond to what Ashton had said, because it had been so long since she had heard something so simple and thoughtful, especially from her stranger. Her father hadn’t been the greatest example, and, well, hanging out strictly with Slytherins, no matter how much she enjoyed it and felt secure doing it, hadn’t helped either. She wanted to say straight out that she wasn’t a bad person; that she wasn’t cruel; and that she did have morals. But, she wasn’t going to go that far.
So, she lifted her delicate, manicured hand that was not tightly grasping her handkerchief, and slowly, and shakily - because she was still a bit dizzy and because she was sort of feeling she’d regret was she was doing - held it out to Ashton. “I’m Blaire, by ze way,” she knew that Ashton undoubtedly already knew who she was, but she was always a person for proper introductions, “I don’t zink we ‘ave ever really met before.”
Blaire smiled her sort of coy, petit – and yet strangely odd – smile. This manner felt strange to her, and she felt awkward without her cruel cover-up on full view. She placed her hand back on her side before she realized Abbott was crawling down it, and felt more comfortable with his presence. “Um…” she muttered, not sure if she should just get out of there or if Ashton would rather do it himself. But she found herself drawn into this new guest, and she was sort of curious about him. She kept thinking to herself how strange this was, for her to be interested in a Hufflepuff, but he had been kind to her. And…and…she just couldn’t describe it. She…wanted to be kind back.
“I’m sorry you ‘ad to find me een such an awkward state like zat,” she apologized as the Slytherin Blaire screamed. She continued to attempt against catching eye contact with Ashton, but for a moment, she let their eyes meet and her detesting, ignorant, and icy glares seemed to be nowhere in sight. Instead, laid a pair of deep blue, sincere orbs. They whimpered out, ‘please don’t leave me here alone, I feel so, upset, so frightened, so out of place and eccentric’. Blaire didn’t want to admit it, but she could use company, and she could use someone to talk to.
She was starting to feel a lot dizzier all of a sudden, and she was feeling her view slowly fading once again, but she grasped onto her consciousness, and instead brought herself slowly down to the ground, so that her back was leaning against the Hippogriff’s enclosure. She caught her breath and took a deep breath before she looked up at Ashton again, trying to ignore how awkward it felt to be talking to someone from the ground. There were much more awkward things occurring at the time being anyway.
“So what inspired you to wonder off in ‘ere?” she asked, sort of in the hopes of dragging the conservation away from her for a moment, but also because she was finding herself becoming interested in what Ashton’s problems might be, where his weaknesses laid. “I am wasting your time, aren't I? If you want to go, you can,” Blaire drooped her eyes slightly. She could tell Ashton didn't want to be there, she was able to evaluate his expressions and tones into those of a person who wanted to be anywhere else. She wouldn’t care if he did leave, but company felt inviting, especially when it felt like you had no one. She wanted to say she would understand, but that sounded to pathetic. She was feeling like she was now somebody else, looking down on the past-months-Blaire Blackwit. The serpentine, the snob, the ignorant, the bitc…cruel cruel person. She would understand. She could understand. And if he left, nothing would change, and nothing would seem to matter. Blaire would go back to being Blaire and forget about ever being nice to a Hufflepuff, and the confused Hufflepuff would just go back to playing with his little Hufflepuff friends.
But, truth be told, Blaire’s inner self was looking for that new option, that chance to actually try to connect to someone somehow. Someone that had those same morals she had had before. Was it possible? Her old self had been put in the bottom of the drawer for some time now, and it almost didn’t seem possible. And now that rusty self had just giving Ashton the go. He would no doubt leave now, and she would just be alone with the Hippogriff again. Just like she had wanted before, right?
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton
Blaire seemed to be trying to look right through Ashton with some sort of insane X-Ray vision. He wasn't hiding anything at all! He would swear to it on...whose life would he swear it on? Devon's. Yes. Devon was probably the one individual that Ashton cared the most about. His younger brother, partner in crime, everything. He had grown up with Devon, being only one year older than him. So really, they had shared almost every single experience with each other. Ashton didn't remember much of the first year of his life. So they were as good as twins. Save for Ashton's coming of age ceremony one year before Devon's. Oh, how Ashton had warned his younger brother about that. It had been the closest to hell that Ashton had ever come in his life. The dancing, the girls, their leering faces, their obsession with high society... It was a factor of life that Ashton never wanted to be involved with. To think his lineage would have sorted him into Slytherin. His father had wanted to murder him when he had been sorted into Hufflepuff instead. He was the failure of the family apparently. Until Devon was a Hufflepuff as well.
“Well, I suppose Purple eesn’t exactly your colour,” Blaire said. At first, Ashton was relieved. But then he was surprised. Was that a joke that had come out of Blaire's mouth? Was that a smile spreading across her face? From what Ashton had known about Blaire, she wasn't the smiling, joking type. Rather the leering, sneering kind of person that he wanted absolutely no association with. The kind that his father wanted him to fall in love with, marry, and re-enter the world of snooty, high society. As if. He would rather marry a cave woman. No matter how ugly she was.
After Ashton's reply, she seemed almost lost for words. Had no one ever really cared for her before? Had they all just walked by when she was in a state of need? Talk about a bleak life. Ashton preferred the provide and nurture way of life. Where you helped each other to a common goal rather than trying to kick each other in the shins to hinder your competition. Suddenly, Ashton started to feel sorry for Blaire. Maybe his prejudgements were wrong, but how could people live like that? Wouldn't it get so completely and utterly exhausting? Always trying to reach the top, but having everyone around you clawing toward the same thing, trying to make sure that they would get there before you did. Talk about a waste of energy. If everyone just worried about themselves, or really just gave a helping hand, imagine how the world would function!
Suddenly, Blaire was holding her hand out to Ashton. He looked down at it hesitantly for a moment, wondering what she had intended by it until he realized she was introducing herself. “I’m Blaire, by ze way,” she said. Ashton reached out and took her hand to give it a firm, yet not painful shake. Hopefully he hadn't hesitated long enough for Blaire to think he was psychotic. “I don’t zink we ‘ave ever really met before.” Well, that was true. She was a year younger, a Slytherin, and bitter enemies with one of his closest friends. It seemed like reason enough for them to not associate with one another. Yet here they were in the Stables, starting toward what could possibly be a civil discussion, and maybe positive interhouse interaction. Imagine something like that, after everything else that had happened so far during the year. The inter-house tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"Ashton," Ashton replied before releasing her hand from their handshake. "Singer," he added at the end, figuring he might as well.
“I’m sorry you ‘ad to find me een such an awkward state like zat,” Blaire said in a form of apology. Ashton gave her a look of surprise before shaking his head to signal that it wasn't awkward at all. Well, that's what it meant to him.
"No, don't...that wasn't awkward. Don't worry about it," Ashton replied. He wanted to add that he wouldn't tell anyone, but then she might turn on him and yell and scream, saying that he was a jerk for lying by saying it wasn't awkward and then claiming that he wouldn't tell anyone...which single handedly stated that it was indeed awkward. Ugh. The thoughts of confusion...they were taking him over!
“So what inspired you to wonder off in ‘ere?” Blaire questioned, apparently making an attempt at light conversation. Wasn't she just going to shove Ashton out the door, away from her? This was a new side of Blaire that Ashton had never seen! In fact, he was sure that hardly anyone at Hogwarts had ever seen it. “I am wasting your time, aren't I? If you want to go, you can,” Blaire said, dropping her eyes. Ashton's stomach lurched.
"Oh no, not at all." Suddenly he realized that he might have found someone to talk to. Imagine that it could ever be a Slytherin girl! But really, she was disconnected from everything he was having problems with, meaning she wouldn't be likely to get involved or have a bias formed toward the other people (save for her Slytherin bias) and she was there at the moment, apparently looking for someone to talk to as well. I mean, she had tried to make small talk, right? "I was just on a walk trying to think some things through," he explained vaguely. If she wanted to know more, she would ask, right? "I just came up to here and figured I hadn't been in to walk through for so long that I might as well." He bravely stuck a toe into the water, so to say, testing how cold it was by returning the question. "What about you?"
Re: A Piece of the Picture (2.10.2009) ISO: Ashton
No. What she had wanted before was for some company. That’s why she had come to the stables, in hope that the creatures could provide her with such company. Though their mystical and stunning allure let Blaire’s thoughts wonder for a moment of comfort, they couldn’t provide her with the console that human interaction offered. Just like her father, the creatures could not seem to give her answers to her questions, they couldn’t tell her everything would be alright, and they just couldn’t seem to understand her. That’s why she saw some kind of hope in Ashton. Hope that this…Hufflepuff (merlin forbid), could be someone she could talk to. Even if the talk was vague. Even if it was intense. But the latter was something Blaire was going to try to avoid; it was too weak and dangerous. It was too sensitive of a spot for her.
"No, don't...that wasn't awkward. Don't worry about it," Ashton replied, and Blaire attempted to cover her unconvinced face with a smile. Ashton seemed nice. Really nice. But there was no way of denying it hadn’t been awkward for her to be caught crying like that and a guy having to walk in on a girl like that, and from what she could see by his surprised jestures, crying wasn’t the only thing that was awkward at the moment. Blaire knew it too. Merlin, she knew it too. She wasn’t acting like herself. Over and over again she was sneering at herself for not acting like her sneering, leering self. But, she had already made the decision that she’d open up a bit and try to let old self shine through, and that was what she was doing. Though, it continuously felt weird to act in such a way, and in her face regulated a constant expression of being slightly uncomfortable.
“So what inspired you to wonder off in ‘ere?” Blaire questioned, her eyes looking up from her spot on the ground, trying to slowly ease the conversation to the other side, but when the words left had her mouth, she wanted to take them back and start to run back to the place under her skin. Her thoughts kept swerving back and forth, and she couldn’t interpret was her mind was saying anymore, “I am wasting your time, aren't I? If you want to go, you can,” she added in, but Ashton appeared to have a change in direction. Maybe he did want to stay, "Oh no, not at all." He replied, and Blaire’s drooped eyes looked moved back towards his. She stood up, the discomfort of sitting on the ground only making the discomfort of such a conversation worse.
"I was just on a walk trying to think some things through," Blaire nodded lightly, her eyes moving away from his and searching for anything else less awkward to look at, “I just came up to here and figured I hadn't been in to walk through for so long that I might as well,” Blaire nodded her head again, still focusing on not letting her eyes catch his. She wondered what it was he wanted to think about and what trouble had fell upon his life, and had thought that whatever it was, she would rather take them instead of the mess she had to go through. But her thoughts moved on to a less attracting matter – an itch that Ashton might ask her what she had been doing in the stables. She swallowed hard and watched as the words came off the tip of his tongue, "What about you?"
Blaire paused and glazed around for an answer. What was she going to say? Crying cause my mom died. Moping in my self pity because so much of myself has disappeared that I feel completely lost. Yea, right. That would make her sound like a person seeking attention. And though Blaire was a girl who put quite an amount of effort into her appearance, seeking attention from the wrong people was not her style.
Her blue eyes deepened at the sight of the Hippogriff, and she bit her lip in preparation for what she was going to say, “At Beauxbatons we ‘ad Abraxans, and I was curious to see what was ‘ere…” she drifted off, and knowing that she had only told part of the truth, she contemplated again the disadvantages of her opening anymore up before urged herself to continue just a little further, “…the Hippogriff is beautiful,” she persisted, turning around so that she was know leaning against the rail, looking down at the sleeping Hippogriff again “but it would be nice to see an Abraxan again. Better yet, I weesh I could of taken one with me…not literally of course but…” Blaire felt herself mumbling and hated it, “…I miss ‘ome, you know.”
A tear began to form in the corner of her eye, but she only let one fall this time before quickly brushing it aside. She didn’t speak anymore due to the fact that she was afraid she’d go into a crying frenzy again, because she knew that even if she was to go back to France, even if she was to return to Beauxbatons, she couldn’t be any closer to home. Her true home was in her mother’s arms and watching her dad smile again, and though she wished she could find her way back to that place, circumstances held her back. She was holding herself back. Why was she holding back?
[OCC-sooo sorry this took me so long! And,ugg...I'll do better next time. I swear.]
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