(un)lost [hugo]

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Today was a big, important day for Xanthippe Meagle. It wouldn't be hyperbolic to say that it was the most important day in her life. Why? Xan was getting out of the hospital wing. She hadn't had an elevated temperature for an entire week, and the nurses all agreed that it was probably safe for her to leave the hospital wing. She had strict instructions to return if she started feeling ill, but Xan didn't really care about those instructions. She would follow them, yes, but she was happy just to be able to go. The hospital wing beds weren't as comfortable as the ones they had in the dormitories, and while there was an illusion of privacy, Xan knew if she so much as sneezed someone was taking note of it. The freedom of not being watched twenty-four seven was already intoxicating, and Xan was particularly happy because it meant that she was going to be able to go on adventures with Hugo without asking permission first. Xan had asked her boyfriend to come to the hospital wing when he was done with classes to help her carry her stuff back to her dorms. She had slowly transferred most of her books and several personal items to the hospital wing, and transferring them back was too big of a job for one slightly-sickly Ravenclaw. it would still be a big job even for her and Hugo, but slightly more possible, and she was looking forward to seeing him and celebrating her departure with him.

@hugo

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Hugo was more excited than he'd been in a while. Granted, he always felt positive that this day would come, that Xan was going to get well and get out of the hospital, but now that the day was finally here he couldn't wait! He got out of his class and was practically skipping down to the hospital wing. Xan asked him to help her move her items back to where they belonged and Hugo was only too happy to help. Honestly, he was delighted to do anything as long as she was involved in it. People looked at him strangely as he made his way, but Hugo didn't care. Most of them probably didn't know about Xan, about her sickness, but that didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that she was better! At least, she seemed well enough that the healers were willing to let her go. He arrived to his destination and opened the doors, grinning as he looked around for her. "Congratulations Xan!" He exclaimed when he saw her, rushing across the room to give her a big hug.

@xanthippe

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Xan was already happy enough on her own, but when Hugo stepped into the room, her smile went from brilliant to blinding. She placed everything that she was holding on the ground so that she could run into his arms, enveloping him in a tight hug. “Thanks, Hu.” She said, squeezing him just a little tighter before releasing him. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Xan added. Hugo had always been the optimistic one, even when Xan had struggled. As she had told him all those months ago in New Zealand – he was her lighthouse. And he never, ever stopped shining. That never ceased to amaze Xan, and if she hadn’t been so happy already about everything that was happening, she probably would have cried. Instead, Xan just let her gaze linger on Hugo a little bit longer before turning to the pile of things she had amassed to move to the Ravenclaw dormitory. “Anything you want to say to the old place before we skedaddle?” Xan asked. Hugo had spent almost as much time in the hospital wing as she had, so it only seemed right to give him a chance to say goodbye.

@hugo

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She was grinning, which made Hugo's own smile widen larger. He loved seeing her happy, so this was a dream come true. He'd wanted to see her like this for a while. He shook his head, "You would have made it just fine without me ... though I will admit that it definitely wouldn't have been as much fun," he teased, winking at her. "Apart from that, I'm always here for you, love, so there's no need to thank me." Hugo was positive that if he was ever in need of something, Xan would be the first one offering her services, so he didn't need her thanks. They helped one another equally. He shook his head when she asked if he wanted to say anything to the hospital wing and laughed. "Good riddance!" He said with a grin, reaching over to pick up a pile of her books, figuring those would be heavier than most things and wanted to help her with the heavy things. "You have any last words?" he asked in return, waiting for her to speak and grab something so they could be on their way.

@xanthippe

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Xan looked at Hugo when he said that she would have made it just fine without him. Her smile didn’t falter, but it became a little smaller, and a little softer. “That’s not the truth.” She said, reaching over to touch him gently on the shoulder. Xan had really needed someone to be there. Even if Hugo hadn’t been positive the whole time (and he had been!) just having someone to talk to was something that Xan never could replay. Everyone else tried to visit her, yes, but Hugo was the only one who had succeeded. And she had needed that! The more she thought about it, the more Xan was sure that she wouldn’t have made it without Hugo. “Even if you love someone and they love you, it doesn’t mean that you can’t thank them for being there.” If anything, it meant that you should thank them more, so that they never doubted your relationship. When Hugo said good riddance to the hospital wing, Xan let out a loud, loud laugh. She hadn’t laughed that loud since she had gotten sick. “Good riddance says it all.” She said, laughing again. “Let’s go.” Xan said, picking up a bag full of her books and gesturing towards the other. “You got that?” Xan asked.

@hugo

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Her expression clearly became more serious as she told Hugo that she wouldn't have been fine without him. He didn't say that to diminish what he did for her, more to try and emphasize her strength, but he wasn't going to argue with her. Xan was getting out of this hospital wing and he had no intention of bringing the mood down from that. He nodded, "Well I appreciate your thanks then," he responded softly, smiling at her. He loved her laugh and the fact that he could get her to laugh. She picked up a bag of books and asked if he had the other one. "Of course," Hugo said, picking it up as he made to follow her. "Lead the way, love," he encouraged. He was ready to get out of this place, so he was entirely positive that she was too.

@xanthippe

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Xan smiled at Hugo when he said that he appreciated her thanks. She didn’t think that anyone, even Hugo, could understand what it was like to have someone who supported her unconditionally through everything that had happened. When they made it to be old and grey, like Hugo had seen in his vision, she still wouldn’t have thanked him enough times for everything he had done to help her get there. With the two of them both carrying their appointed bags, they could embark to the Ravenclaw tower. Xan had to admit, she was a little nervous to come back. Her roommates had probably gotten used to living without her, and now that she was back, things were going to change in big ways, even if it was still suggested that she try to avoid magic – which meant skipping the practical part of classes, again. Xan paused at the bottom of a flight of stairs. “I’ve been waiting for this since September, but it still feels like a dream.” She said. Xan wasn’t sure why she was having a hard time believing this was real, because she wanted it so badly, and she was excited for it. Maybe that was the reason why – it felt too good to be true.

@hugo

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For the first little while they walked in silence. Hugo wasn't really sure whether or not Xan wanted to talk, so he opted for silence until she broke it at least. They got to the bottom of some stairs and she mentioned how it all felt like a dream. Hugo gave a soft chuckle. "That's alright. It'll probably feel like a dream until you get back in your dorm and back with your friends. Then things will start feeling like they're back to normal." At least, they should. Hugo saw no reason why she wouldn't be able to pick everything up in stride. With her cheerful attitude back and her health as well, Xan should be good to go. "Are you excited?" he asked softly, still waiting for her to lead the way up the stairs. He wanted to make sure he gave her the chance to express the way she felt and not assume anything.

@xanthippe

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Hugo said that everything was going to feel like a dream until she got back to her dorm, and Xan nodded slowly. When he said that things would go back to normal, though, she hesitated. “What if they don’t go back to normal?” She asked softly. It was funny, but in a way, the idea of things not going back to normal was scarier than the idea of dying. She had anticipated dying, but until that moment, Xan had never considered how her sickness was going to change the views of everyone else around her. Her dormmates were all smart people – they were Ravenclaws after all – but sometimes they lacked emotional intelligence, and Xan was afraid that was going to be horribly obvious when she returned. “I’m excited.” Xan said, though her voice betrayed her nerves even more. She slowly took the first step, glancing back at Hugo. “Just… realizing that everything has changed.” She had changed in six months, but she had been focused on surviving the storm that she hadn’t considered what was going to happen when she got out of it.

@hugo

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At her question about things not going back to normal, Hugo paused and looked over her. "Then you can always come back to me for some normalcy," he teased with a grin. He knew she was serious, but quite honestly he didn't know what to tell her. If things didn't go back to normal, that had nothing to do with him. It would have to do with her friends and her classes and Hugo- sadly- didn't have control over any of those things. "I'm sure things will be fine," he added. She mentioned that she was excited, but also noticing that everything changed. He nodded. "Everything always changes. You just have to make the best out of it, and I'm sure it won't be too hard for you to do that." She was good at being positive and cheerful. Things would work out. He was sure of it.

@xanthippe

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Xan grimaced at Hugo when he said that he could always come back to him for normalcy. She had meant to smile at him, because she knew that it was true and that he would always be there, but at the same time, only having one person in the entire castle who made her feel like things were normal wasn’t a comforting prospect. Well, she had Edmund, too, but still… Xan sighed a little, and forced her grimace to look like a genuine smile. “I know that things will be fine eventually.” She said, once again forcing herself to sound confident, even if she didn’t feel it. She knew that things changed, and that change was good, but that didn’t make it any less scary when it was staring her in the face. “I feel like I did the first day of Hogwarts.” Xan admitted. The first day of school, she had been miserable because she was separated from her siblings and her parents, and it had taken her some time to adjust to life at school. Maybe it would be like that when she got back to the common room.

@hugo

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Hugo could tell that what he said wasn't really all that reassuring to Xanthippe, but he hoped she would start to look at this positively. He was sure that it was intimidating to her to start afresh, but Hugo knew Xan. She was happy and cheerful, not to mention a good student. He knew that she would get along just fine, even if she felt uncomfortable at first. He nodded when she said, unconvincingly, that she knew things would be fine eventually. "Yes they will," Hugo confirmed positively. At her next comment, Hugo looked over at her, wishing he could really understand what was going on with her. "At least things can only get better, right?" He thought for a moment. "And you're out of the hospital. Being new is better than being alone." Hopefully that would help her. Hugo didn't want to make things worse, he really just wanted her to be happy. Where did all her cheerfulness from a few minutes ago go?

@xanthippe

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Hugo said that things could only get better from here, and Xan gave a shaky laugh. “I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up.” She said with a weak smile. Everything was hitting her all at once, and Xan was a bit worried that when she got to the common room she wasn’t going to be able to go in. She would cling to Hugo the same way she had clung to her mother when she had been on the train station to go to Hogwarts. She nodded when he said that being new was better than being alone, though she wanted to protest that she hadn’t been entirely alone. Xan didn’t stop on the next landing, hoping that if she plowed through the stairs then she would somehow be able to leave her emotions behind on one of the lower floors. “It’s natural to feel afraid of new situations.” She said aloud, though whether it was to comfort Hugo or herself, she didn’t know. They both definitely needed the reminder, though.

@hugo

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He could tell from her voice that she was still nervous and anxious and everything, but he was glad that she was being positive. Hugo nodded his head firmly. "Yes you are," he told Xan with a smile. He knew she was nervous, that was what the whole conversation was focused on, but Hugo wanted her to look at the positive side. Only a few minutes ago she was so happy to be leaving the dorms. This was a good change. He smiled when she said it was normal to be afraid. "It is, but almost all new situations work out in the end, love," he told her confidently. They were almost to the Ravenclaw Common Room and Hugo was glad. He wanted to give Xan a hug, but both of them were too busy carrying things at the moment for that to really be possible. In a few minutes.

@xanthippe

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The best thing about Hugo (though he had infinitely many great qualities) was that when Xan was freaking out, he was always there to reassure her. It would have been just as easy for him to ask what a roller coaster was or say that she was being a trifle too optimistic or that there were going to be some hardships or any number of things that would have distracted Xan from her optimism, but instead he just agreed. Because that was what she needed. Xan glanced over at her boyfriend, and smiled. It would be nice to be able to see him whenever she wanted, instead of always having to wait for him to come to her – which, granted, wasn’t much of a wait in the first place. “I think this one will.” Xan said confidently. She had just needed to get some of her jitters out of the way before she could see it. Even the fact that she could walk up all these stairs was a miracle in and of itself. She just need to keep looking for the little miracles that were now interspersed through her daily life, and then she would be okay.

@hugo