i'm waking up to ash and dust [evelyn]

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Natalia desperately needed time to shop. She had spent the majority of November composing a piece for her sister's Christmas present, but she still needed to get a gift for Nikolaj, and of course, presents for all of her adoptive family as well. Trying to figure out what any of the Longbottoms would want was a mystery to Natalia, so the next time she wrote Andy, she was probably going to ask her sister what they would like. It was slightly easier to get something for Neville and Hannah. Since they didn't have many photos of Nat, and Nat didn't exactly have a way to get any photos her parents might have taken of her, she was going to go on an impromptu photo shoot and make a photo album. Before she actually got all of the photos, though, she was going to buy the album to put them in, and hopefully find something for Nik in the process.

@evelyn

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Evelyn wasn't sure what she was doing at Diagon Alley. She needed to shop and get gifts for her parents and Rocco and Dustin, but she wasn't really in the mood for it. Besides that, it was way too crowded here for her taste. Yet, she was still here for some reason. At the moment she was simply walking in and out of shops, gazing at everything that she passed. She wasn't paying attention to the people around her either. In all actuality, what was the point? Ev didn't know hardly anyone because she'd never made a point of it. So even if she ran into someone from school, she probably wouldn't recognize them. People hadn't been her priority in school, knowledge had. As she was walking by a shop, she stopped to look in the window, not even noticing that she was suddenly blocking the flow of traffic. She jumped when someone ran into her shoulder hard. "Sorry, I'm in the way," she said, stepping closer to the shop.

@natalia

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It wasn’t atypical for there to be shoppers who stopped to look in the window. It was, however, atypical for Natalia to run into them. Normally she was better at paying attention to these sorts of things. Nat was going to blame that on the lack of sleep, even though she had gotten a fairly good night’s rest. Writing Hannah had helped. Whoever she ran into immediately apologized to Nat. “Thank you, but it was my fault.” The Ravenclaw said, stepping out of the flow of Alley traffic so she could make sure that she hadn’t accidentally injured this woman with her carelessness. “Are you alright?” Nat asked. Even if she worked in the plant and poisoning division of St. Mungo’s, she knew enough first aid to help if the other woman had been injured. Nat didn’t think that scenario was likely, but better safe than sorry.

@evelyn

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Ev smiled when the stranger took the blame for running into her. Really, she wasn't sure the other girl was right because Ev was the one to stop in the middle of the sidewalk, but she didn't want to argue. So Ev nodded, not saying anything until she asked if Ev was alright. "I'm fine, really," Ev insisted. "You don't need to worry about me." Even if she had been hurt, she wouldn't have admitted it. She was confident enough in her abilities as a witch and her intellect to be able to take care of herself and any injuries she might have. But she wasn't injured so it really wasn't a problem. "Thank you for checking. I'm Ev, by the way. Evelyn Estrada," she introduced herself, entirely aware that it was extremely awkward. That was the thing about Ev. She was trying to learn how to make friends and talk to people- even strangers- but it always came out awkward. Inevitably. She'd come to accept that, but that didn't mean she liked it.

@natalia

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Natalia clicked her tongue a little when the woman insisted that she was fine, and didn’t need to be worried over. Nat wasn’t the best at warming up to people, but she was a Healer first, and everything else second. What kind of Healer was irrelevant – she needed to make sure that people were okay. “Telling people not to worry never works.” She stated matter-of-factly. Maybe it wasn’t the warmest greeting, but it wasn’t cold, either, and it was the truth. After another once over, Natalia was satisfied that the other person was, indeed, uninjured. She introduced herself, and Natalia felt a glimmer of recognition. “Natalia.” She answered. No need to involve last names in this, especially if Evelyn was going to remember it on her own in a few moments. “You were in Ravenclaw, weren’t you?”

@evelyn

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She seemed annoyed by Ev's insistence that she was fine, but she was. "Really, I'm fine. It was just a small bump, no harm done." Ev wasn't quite sure if the woman would accept that explanation, but she hoped she would. Ev wasn't used to being worried about. Other than with her parents and Dustin, that was. "Nice to meet you," Ev said politely. The name Natalia sounded familiar. They probably went to school together, but Ev didn't know hardly anyone from school. She nodded when Natalia asked if she was in Ravenclaw. "Yes I was. What house were you in?" Obviously this girl knew something about her and Ev felt somewhat guilty. She hadn't focused on people in school and sometimes that came back to bite her.

@natalia

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Natalia decided that it was time to let go of the whole bumping in business, even though she rather wouldn’t. At least Evelyn didn’t flinch at her name, probably because she didn’t remember her enough to associate the name Natalia with the last name Lestrange. Evelyn asked what house Nat had been in at Hogwarts, and she smiled a little, though internally she was frowning. The joys of being trained from a young age. “I was in Ravenclaw, too. You were…three or four years ahead of me, I think.” Nat said. “You were on the Quidditch team, weren’t you?” Natalia hadn’t paid much attention to Quidditch, even after she had started dating James, but she thought maybe that was why she had recognized the girl.

@evelyn

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Well now she definitely felt embarrassed. Natalia did know her, apparently, and Ev was left in the dark. This is what she hated about school. At least, what she hated now about it. At the time, focusing entirely on her homework and Quidditch seemed perfect. But now, when there were so many people she realized she'd missed out on, Ev felt guilty and regretted her previous actions. "I-I'm sorry I don't recognize you," she said after a few seconds. The only relief in this was that she wasn't at school the same year as Natalia. She wouldn't be able to recognize the girls she grew up with now, probably and was embarrassed to admit it to herself, though she wouldn't out loud. "I was on the Quidditch team, but I wasn't good at ... talking to people." That would sound strange, but Ev didn't know how else to explain it. She didn't talk to people at all when she was at school and was just now starting to do it in her life. It was a constant struggle.

@natalia

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“It’s probably better that you don’t remember who I am.” Nat said matter-of-factly. She was glad for it, really, to have someone who she had something in common with but didn’t remember anything of who she used to be. Evelyn was a blank slate, and there were precious few of those for Natalia anymore. She was going to savor the one that she did have. “I understand.” She said with a nod when Evelyn said she wasn’t good at talking with people. “I wasn’t, either. Still am not, really, but I’m getting better, since my job is more social.” Being a Healer was forcing Nat to interact with more people from all walks of life, even the ones she had previously considered unsavory. But it didn’t make sense to value one life over another when you were a Healer, especially based on something as arbitrary as blood purity. “So what do you do now?” Nat asked. Since all she remembered of Evelyn was her Quidditch skill, she couldn’t begin to guess what the other woman was doing, unless it was Quidditch.

@evelyn

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It was strange, the idea that it would be a good thing that Ev didn't remember who Nat was, but Evelyn didn't comment on it. If Natalia didn't want her to remember who she was (which would be impossible for Ev to do even if she wanted to) then Ev wasn't going to question her about it. She gave a small smile when the other woman said she was the same when it came to talking with people. In a way it was a relief to know that she wasn't the only one that didn't make too many friends at school. "At least you're getting better," Ev commented after a few seconds. "I'm a beater for the Falmouth Falcons, which doesn't really help me talk to people at all except for about Quidditch. What job did you take?" She asked, curious about how a job was making Natalia more social. Other than interviews, Evelyn didn't really have a lot of reasons to talk to other people.

@natalia

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Apparently the other woman had gone into Quidditch. The Falmouth Falcons – had James ever mentioned them? Natalia didn’t know, but she’d have to ask him about the team eventually, to see whether or not Evelyn was actually any good at Quidditch. Not that Natalia expected her not to be, but she was curious to see just how good her former housemate was. “I work at St. Mungo’s now, as a Healer.” Nat answered when her question was turned back on her. “Technically, Healer-in-training, but I’ve been in training for six months or so, so I’m pretty close to being done with my official training period, I think. Other Healers still supervise me, of course, but it’s kind of typical that Healers work together anyways.” That was the longest time Natalia had talked without interruption for a while, and she cleared her throat, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “So if you ever have an issue with a plant or poison…” She said, much quieter than before. She didn’t finish the sentence, figuring Evelyn could extrapolate that Natalia was the one to go to in any such case.

@evelyn

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Ev was fascinated by what Natalia told her. She was working in the hospital, almost done with her training. That was awesome! Ev stored that away in her memory for later use, especially when Natalia told her that she was specializing with plants or poisons. That was a good thing to know. Just in case. "I'll come to you," she finished the woman's sentence with a smile. "How do you like it working at St. Mungo's?" Evelyn asked, in full learning mode. She would answer questions if they were presented to her, but when she got in a mood like this it was all about learning and what she could find out about it. Even with her trying to be more sociable, she hadn't really changed much. 

@natalia

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“I think that it’s good for me.” Natalia answered when asked how she liked St. Mungo’s. “Sometimes it’s a lot. With all of the people, I mean.” She clarified. Nat was not a people person, however well she was pretending right now with Evelyn. “Can I just say a couple clichés?” She asked with a little bit of a smile. “Because I really do enjoy getting to help people and all those things people think Healers say just because it’s their job.” After having a family legacy of hurting, it was nice to be the one that could help. She chewed on her lip a moment. “It’s really tiring, though.” Nat sighed. That was partially her own fault, and her own unwillingness to take any sleeping aids, but Nat was going to push past it.

@evelyn

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Evelyn nodded when Natalia said that it was good for her, but that it could be a lot. Ev understood that. She loved being a quidditch player, but sometimes the interviews were overwhelming. Or the fans. It was yet another reason why Dustin was so important to her. More than anybody else, he understood her and her lack of ability when it came to talking with other people. He kept her from doing stupid things, which was a relief. Ev was constantly worried that she would accidentally do something and offend someone terribly just because she didn't know the right way to respond. "Clichés are fine," Ev said once she'd finished. "If someone asked me why I like Quidditch, I would be cliché. It's all about the adrenaline for me, the rush. I like the tactics and the triumph of winning, but mostly it's the rush." She smiled, "I believe you get tired. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to take care of people and their injuries." Her nose crinkled a little at the thought. She couldn't imagine taking care of sick and injured people, but was glad that other people were willing to do it. That meant she didn't need to and she could just have fun with Quidditch.

@natalia

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Nat was relieved that Evelyn understood what she meant with all of her clichés, and even had a few more to offer. In the end, it just made sense that certain kinds of people were attracted to certain kinds of jobs because it was in their natures. Evelyn didn’t seem like the typical adrenaline junkie, but with her past and half-shaved head, Nat probably didn’t seem like the typical person to want to help people, either.

“I don’t really have much to do with injuries.” Natalia corrected. “Unless they come from a plant, and those are more along the burn side of things.” Plants with caustic chemicals in their systems were the most common offender of sending people to her ward in St. Mungo’s, followed by accidental overdoses or poisonings by otherwise innocuous substances. “I haven’t seen a Quidditch player since I started.” She added. Natalia wasn’t the one that Evelyn would probably ever need if she came to St. Mungo’s. Then again, most people didn’t anticipate to need Natalia, since poisonings weren’t the sort of thing one could predict as easily as Quidditch injuries or spell damage.

@evelyn