breakaway [hugo]

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Ever since her conversation with Brandon about the future, Jamie had been wondering what it would be like to be clairvoyant. It wasn't something she really wanted to ask someone, since it seemed like the kind of thing that people asked and didn't really want the full answer to. Besides, clairvoyants weren't like animals in a zoo, any more than lycanthropes were. But the thoughts of the future were like an itch that Jamie couldn't scratch, and eventually she figured it was better just to ask, rather than dancing around the subject every time she spoke to someone who could see the future. She had seriously considered just asking Georgie Linley, but considering the way their last meeting had gone, it didn't seem prudent to burden her with a question. Jamie also hadn't wanted to bother Irina, which left one clairvoyant that Jamie had a sort of passing familiarity with to ask about the subject. Jamie had heard that Hugo's girlfriend had been in the hospital wing quite a lot lately, but when she poked her head in, he hadn't been there. Now she was on her way up to the Gryffindor common room to see if Hugo would agree to have a chat with someone who virtually a stranger.

@hugo

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Hugo was late. He didn't mean to be, but during his free period he fell asleep while doing his homework only to wake up and realize that he was supposed to be in the hospital wing. Granted, Xan didn't really know he was planning on being there, so no one but him knew that he was late, but he still wanted to get there quickly. He hated how often she was stuck in the hospital wing. So he was hurrying down the stairs when he almost ran into someone. Hugo stopped to see who it was. "Oh, sorry. I ... should probably slow down on the stairs, huh?" he said with a smile when he recognized her. Jamie Greyback. They weren't particularly close, but Hugo was glad that he didn't almost run into a stranger. That would have been awkward.

@jamie

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Normally when Jamie was looking for people, they didn’t almost accidentally run into her; it seemed today her luck had changed, because Hugo almost bowled her over on the stairwell. “No, it’s fine!” Jamie chirped. “I didn’t touch you, did I?” The Hufflepuff asked, aware of the clairvoyant's ability to see death upon skin-to-skin contact. She assumed not, since Hugo wasn’t catatonic or otherwise looking like he had just witnessed someone die, but it was always better to double check, especially since Hugo had probably become fairly good at hiding his horror if he saw a particularly gruesome death. “Actually, I was looking for you.” Jamie announced to the Gryffindor boy. “But if you’re in a hurry, it can wait!” She added. She didn’t know where Hugo had been going so quickly, but it was obvious that he wanted to get there, and she didn’t want to be an impediment to his progress.

@hugo

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Hugo smiled at Jamie when she said she was fine, but he didn't contest that. She probably was great, just a little surprised that he almost ran her over. "No, you didn't touch me, don't worry," he answered easily. Jamie was one of the people that knew about his Clairvoyance, so he felt very comfortable around her. His eyebrows rose curiously when she said she was looking for him. "Oh really? Well, what can I do for you?" He asked. Then she said something about him being in a hurry and Hugo shrugged. "I was going to see Xan, but she's not expecting me, so we can talk if you want." He'd see Xan after, for sure.

@jamie

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Jamie smiled at Hugo, glad that she hadn’t touched him and made him witness her death. She had to admit she was a bit morbidly curious as to how she would meet her demise, but at the same time…ignorance was bliss. Hugo asked what he could do for her, and Jamie decided that she ought to explain the background. “I was talking to my friend Brandon about the future and how always worrying about the future can drive you crazy.” She began. “I was wondering how you…don’t. Go crazy, I mean.” Jamie said. Being able to literally see into the future must have made the whole looking ahead a hundred times worse. “And how is Xan?” She asked. She didn’t know much about the Ravenclaw, other than her being Hugo’s girlfriend, but there were whispers of the girl being sick, so Jamie hoped she wasn’t prying by asking that question.

@hugo

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Hugo listened as Jamie got right to the point. That was one thing he liked about her, that she didn't beat around the bush. She just said what was on her mind, which was sometimes a really big relief. Her question was harder though. Hugo thought about it for a minute. "Well, it was really hard at first. I had no idea what was going on and why I was seeing everyone die and that really freaked me out," he admitted. "But then it became easier; mostly when I started being more careful about touching people. It's not easy to see people die and sometimes I still see some of the worse visions in my sleep, but I try to think about the happy lives, the people who die at a nice, old age. Does that make any sense?" He wasn't sure if she would understand where he was coming from, but he was trying. Then he smiled, "She's alright. She gets lonely in the hospital wing, but she believes she's going to get better now, which makes things way easier." Hopefully he didn't just say too much, but Hugo was a pretty open person, to everyone.

@jamie

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Jamie had expected Hugo to have to think about her question quite a bit, so she wasn’t surprised when he had to pause before speaking. If anything, he took less time than she had anticipated to open about his experience as a clairvoyant. She nodded along when he spoke. She could understand being afraid and unsure what was happening. Her first time as a werewolf hadn’t been her best night, that much was certain. She could only imagine it would be worse as a child being forced to see the deaths of everyone you touched. “It’s a coping mechanism.” Jamie stated. She could get behind that – being okay with death because you thought about the life that came before it. Death didn’t always have to be the ending of a life, but if it was, then it was a comfort to know that it was the end of something beautiful, and not wish that the person had gotten happier times before leaving the world forever. “I’m glad to hear that she’s better.” Jamie said quietly. “I don’t know her that well, otherwise I would visit her.” Jamie added, in case the thought had crossed Hugo’s mind. “Do they know when she’ll be out?” Maybe it was easier to talk about normal day-to-day stuff and then occasionally work clairvoyance into the conversation, rather than just talk about Hugo’s ability to see the future.

@hugo

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Hugo nodded when Jamie told him that thinking about their lives was a coping mechanism. She was right about that, at least, and he knew it too. "Yeah, it is," he told Jamie calmly. Why did she want to talk about this again? Granted, it wasn't one of the more awkward conversations he'd had about his abilities, but it definitely wasn't an easy one either. He smiled when Jamie started talking about Xan again. "I don't think she'd care that you don't know her," he confessed. "Xan likes talking to people, whether she knows them or not. So if you want to, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you visiting, but you don't have to." He didn't want to make Jamie feel pressured. Then again, Xan had asked him to send more people to talk with her.

@jamie

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Hugo seemed willing to admit that his strategy of not touching to people and thinking about the people’s lives was a coping mechanism, which meant that he had probably had a conversation with someone before about it. It definitely wasn’t Jamie’s place to judge when it came to healthy or unhealthy ways to cope with a power, especially since she wasn’t the best at keeping her lycanthropy (or, more accurately, her own perception of her lycanthropy) in check. “If I’m going to talk to her, I’d probably need something more to go in with than ‘I met Hugo outside the Three Broomsticks once’.” Jamie said, grinning at Hugo to show that she was just teasing. “Tell me about the one and only Xan Meagle?” Jamie suggested. Her strategy of asking people about their significant others to make them feel a little more comfortable with her hadn’t failed her yet, and she was hoping that Hugo would have some fun gushing about his girlfriend to someone who hadn’t heard it before.

@hugo

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Hugo shrugged when Jamie said she'd need more to talk to Xan about. "Uhh ... she likes art? She really just likes talking to people and getting to know them, so being able to just talk with her would be fine. Besides, if you told her I sent you she'd be delighted. She isn't really one to judge," he said with a smile. Honestly, he didn't think he'd seen Xan not in a mood to make friends. "She's sick because of magic, but she's going to get better one of these days. She sees the good in things and constantly has a smile on her face. I don't know. Is there anything specific you want to know about her?"

@jamie

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Jamie could see that Hugo was having a bit of a hard time describing what Xan liked. It was funny, how the more you knew someone, the harder it was to describe them. Jamie thought it was because it was hard to explain someone that you knew inside and out, and you didn’t want to accidentally miss any of the best parts. The Hufflepuff nodded along when the Gryffindor said that his Ravenclaw girlfriend wasn’t good at judging. (Jamie felt the need for a Slytherin to be mentioned, just to balance out the house ratio.) Jamie smiled a little at Hugo’s last sentence, about Xan getting better. “You really care for her.” She said softly. As the newly-minted Weasley aficionado, the one thing that Jamie saw in common throughout the family was that when they fell in love, they weren’t afraid to show it. That was so nice, and so beautiful.

@hugo

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Hugo wasn't altogether too close to Jamie, but he appreciated how she was asking about Xan. It was nice to hear that somebody other than himself wanted to know how she was doing, even if it was just for a conversation. When she mentioned that he cared for her, Hugo smiled and nodded. "I love her," he corrected gently. Saying he cared for Xan really didn't do his feelings justice. He smiled, "Well that's enough about me. How have you been this year?" He tried to take the attention off himself.

@jamie

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Ah, young love. What a wonderful thing. Xan, Jamie was sure, was happy to have someone who loved her like Hugo did. And to love a Weasley? That was something that Jamie had known for herself, and while it could be overwhelming at times, it was also an experience that was – not unique, because there were too many Weasleys for that – but special. When Hugo asked how she was, Jamie shrugged. “I’ve been stressed out about the future. Hence why I decided to ask some questions about what it’s like to be able to see it.” There were a lot of other things that had gone on that year, but Jamie was trying to keep her answers as short as possible so that she wouldn’t bore Hugo with too much talking. “What about you?” There had to be more than just a sick girlfriend in Hugo’s life.

@hugo

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Hugo nodded at Jamie's reasoning. It made sense to him, wanting to ask someone who knew bits of the future because you were curious about how it worked. "The future is a weird thing. Most of the time my visions come true, but they are subject to change. It's all about the choices we make and things that happen to us. A lot of times we have no idea what will have an impact on it and what won't." Which was one of the reasons Xan's sickness had been so hard on her ... and on Hugo. She thought her future changed with her sickness and he was certain it hadn't, even though she asked him not to look into her future to check. When Jamie asked how he'd been this year, Hugo shrugged. He wasn't one to complain and other than things with Xan, his life was going rather smoothly. "I don't have anything to complain about. A little worried for Anna, but she's done well as a champion so far, so things are good. Classes are fine and the year's moving along steadily." Hugo knew that was a lame answer, but he wasn't really sure of anything else he had to report.

@jamie

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Jamie listened when Hugo said that the future was a weird thing. Didn’t she know it. This time last year, she hadn’t met her family yet, and probably wouldn’t have believed anyone if they had told her that she was going to grow close to all of them. And just six months ago, she thought that she was probably going to marry Harper, and now she was enamored with a totally different, presumably beautiful, girl. The world changed so quickly, and like Hugo said, there was no telling whether or not the things they did would change the future. “I guess if we knew what would change our futures, then there wouldn’t be a point in living our lives, would there?” It would just be a game of theory, and not something to be enjoyed. And people would never make mistakes, and things would just be…boring.

“Anna will be fine.” Jamie said confidently. She had taken everything in stride, it seemed, and Jamie was trying her hardest to keep the Weasley girl from getting too stressed out about everything. “This time next year, you’ll be getting ready to graduate.” Jamie reminded Hugo with a smile. It was strange how fast time was flying by.

@hugo