whiskey in a teacup [rosie/susan]

[Deleted]

Sander had just finished with dinner, which meant that it was time to retreat back to the Ravenclaw common room. He wasn't sure he really wanted to go back, considering how his conversation with Susan had ended the last time they had spoken, and how little of a help Cara had been when he tried to explain his situation to her, but Lysander didn't know where else he could sit in silence with little chance of being bothered. Even the library seemed to be treated more like a social hub than a place for studying, which Sander found rather annoying. He was at the bottom of the moving staircases, trying to puzzle out which one he could get on to return to the common room with the least amount of hassle, when he heard a familiar voice. Oh no. Sander looked around frantically for someplace to hide, but the only way he could go was up... and even that wouldn't hide him from Susan and whomever she was talking to. Oh no, oh no! Lysander was frozen in place like a deer in headlights, and at that moment, he wished that he was invisible.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Susan had not spoken to Lysander since the incident in the Common Room, and she felt a little sad about that. She hadn’t realized Sander had had any sort of feelings other than friendship towards her, and at the time she had been dating Casey. It had felt like a betrayal of his trust when she was kissing him, even if it hadn’t been the worst kiss she had ever had (that distinction went to a boy who shall not be named a year below her). She had noticed he was sort of avoiding her; dinner at different times, never in the library, and seeming disappearing from the Common Room whenever she was there.

Sighing a little sadly, Susan got up from the table at the same time as a Hufflepuff girl her own year; Rosalie Williams, who she was friendly with from Care of Magical Creatures class. “Rosie!” she exclaimed, waving over the other girl and smiling. “How are things? Have you finished the Care of Magical Creatures homework yet? I have NO idea which creature-” Susan stopped short as she glanced up the stairs to see Lysander. “Hi Sander,” she called after a pregnant pause, her voice soft.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@lysander

[Deleted]

Rosie mostly kept to herself and didn't necessarily pay attention to gossip and drama, especially if it concerned her friends. She of course would listen if they wanted to tell her something themselves, but, she refused to believe or listen to gossip. It was impossible to know what was true and what was just flowing through the Hogwarts rumor mill, though it was sometimes amusing to overhear in the corridors.

Rosie was just leaving dinner when she heard a familiar voice call to her. The Ravenclaw girl, and a fellow classmate and club-mate called Susan was leaving too. Rosie stopped to walk with her. "Hey! How are you, I'm doing just fine." she smiled to her friend and listened as Susan began to ask her about Homework for Care of Magical Creatures as they walked out of the Great Hall; however, a very odd occurrence stopped her mid sentence. "Um... Sander? What are you doing?" Rosie asked after Susan had said something. Rosie was aware of the situation, and she knew that Lysander and Susan we're exactly their normal buddy-buddy, however, he kind of looked ridiculous, not that Rosie would say that out loud.

@susanvictoria
@lysander

[Deleted]

Sander hadn’t really meant to eavesdrop on the conversation that Susan and Rosalie were having, but he couldn’t help but hear that it was about Care of Magical Creatures. Great. Under normal circumstances he would have had no qualms inserting himself and his vast knowledge of various beasts into the conversation, but nothing had been normal with Susan since January. He was still caught between looking for an escape route and remaining frozen in face when the two girls appeared to notice him, too. Rosie asked what he was doing, and Sander cleared his throat nervously. “I am attempting to figure out the quickest way to the Ravenclaw tower.” He said, his voice shaking a little. It couldn’t be because he was nervous, could it? Lysander had been telling the truth with that statement, even if a lot went unsaid – about how he had stopped looking and started hyperventilating the moment he had heard Susan’s voice carrying across the hall towards the bottom of the staircase. “Even with a magical eye, I sometimes find it difficult to untangle the different staircases.” He offered as supplemental information. The quivering in his voice still didn’t stop, so Sander just clamped his jaw shut and waited for a response.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Susan knew that Lysander was scrambling in his mind what to say, what excuse to give them for why he was dawdling on the staircases like that. How many times had she seen that face before after all? They had been close, closer than she was with almost anyone else; him avoiding her was like a sharp dagger poking at her heart. She knew he hadn’t been the biggest fan of Casey, but they were broken up now, so he didn’t have to worry about that anymore. Not that Susan thought he should worry about it, even though he had kissed her a few weeks ago, and you don’t kiss your friends like that. Not that Susan had been thinking about that kiss since it had happened, and her reaction to it. No, it definitely didn’t consume her free thought at all.

“Typically I take five staircases up and somehow wind up at the door,” Susan joked, giving him a small smile. “Have you decided which magical creature you’re going to research? Rosie and I were just discussing the assignment,” she asked. Care of Magical Creatures, a safe and happy topic for all involved. That shouldn’t be too hard right?

rose harriet granger-weasley
@lysander

[Deleted]

Rosie knew that things had been weird between the two for a few weeks now, and she felt a little awkward standing with them, at least at first, until she saw how cool they were both being, regardless if they meant it or not. She was happy that they weren't going to make it awkward and she sure didn't want to be the one who made anything weird. Rosie tried her hardest to bend in situations and keep everything positive and uplifting, she kept a smile on her face and simply brushed her brown hair back as she nodded when Susan told Sander that they were just discussing the assignment. "Yeah, I was thinking about doing mine on Manticore's, but it's unlikely I could find a real photo of one, drawings, sure, but anyone who had gotten close enough to get a photo likely wouldn't have lived much longer, but I'm up for the challenge." she explained cheerfully to the two Ravenclaws. Care of Magical Creatures was Rosie's best subject, not that she was the best at it, but it was the one that she put the more effort into and enjoyed over all others, Astronomy being a close second.

@lysander & @susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Susan commented that she normally managed to wind up at the Ravenclaw common room door if she just took five staircases up, and Sander lamented that he wasn’t as lucky. “I was forbidden from doing unicorns.” Lysander responded, voice melancholy, when Susan asked if he had decided which creature he wanted to study. If that caveat hadn’t been added, the choice would have been obvious to Sander. Now, though, he was at an impasse. “Perhaps I’ll do thestrals.” There was a herd in the Forbidden Forest, so at least Sander would be able to have some actual interactions to base his project on.

“I can see if my parents have anything that you could use.” Sander suggested when Rosie said that most people who had seen a manticore likely wouldn’t have listened much longer. His parents were just crazy enough – and just talented enough in magizoology – that the feat might have been possible for them. If not, they probably had better drawings than could be found in the standard creature books. “Or perhaps Alice saw something of the manticore in the maze…” He pondered. There had been a manticore in the First Task, apparently, and since Alice was doing an internship in magizoology, it was possible that someone would have let her see the dangerous animal in a more controlled setting, so that she could use the experience when she encountered one in the wild.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Susan couldn’t help but giggle as Lysander admitted he was forbidden from doing unicorns; she of course knew of his affinity for equine animals, so researching a unicorn would put him at a rather unfair advantage. “Perhaps I will study unicorns then, and you can discreetly help me,” she suggested, momentarily forgetting there was that awkward tension between them. Her face pinkened slightly as memories jogged her brain. “Or perhaps I’ll concentrate on a sphinx, they are supposed to be highly intelligent creatures,” she added quickly. Either creature would prove to be a fascinating study, but it would be nice to reconnect with Lysander if she researched unicorns. That is, if he even still wanted to be friends after their previous encounter.

“I heard the manticore may have escaped, but that could have been a rumor started by someone to put the Beauxbatons champion on edge,” Susan offered with a small shrug. She doubted that the capable magizoologists and creature trainers would have let the manticore out of their sight after the maze, but from her very limited interactions with Emile, she wasn’t entirely surprised if someone made it up to scare him. “Thestrals are a good idea too; they have such a bad reputation but from what I’ve seen they’re quite gentle,” she added encouragingly.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@lysander

[Deleted]

"Thestrals would be so interesting!" Rosie insisted, though, they would never be one that she would chose because she couldn't see them. A part of her hated that there was this creature right under her nose, on the school grounds that was mostly friendly enough for human interaction that was untouchable to her. Rosie had lived a fairly charmed life. Nothing bad had ever happened to her directly. Bad things had happened around her, like the students getting kidnapped and dying, however, she had never witnessed it, it had never touched her life directly.

Rosie gave a small laugh when Susan said that maybe she would study unicorns then, it was true that everyone who knew the Ravenclaw well knew that he had an Equine Affinity, another quality that Rosie envied a little. She was good with creatures and interested in them, but she had no real talents when it came to them except for a friendly demeanor and patience. But then Susan went on to say that she might focus on the Spinx because it was well know as a wise and intelligent creature. "I really like that idea for you." Rosie nodded along with the Ravenclaw girl. She couldn't help but put a thread of connection between Susan, someone who she saw as a wise and intelligent person, and the animal in question. At least as far as intelligence and regality was concerned. 

Rosie listened intently as Susan told her the rumor that the Manticore from the second task had actually escaped. She also had to doubt that it was actually true, otherwise there would have been safety measures in place, wouldn't there have been? Everyone would have known... "That's awful, who would have told him that?" she asked, she was fairly sure however that her friend didn't know. "One of the other champions, do you think?"

@lysander & @susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Susan said that maybe she could study unicorns, and he could help her, and Sander just nodded, wondering if Susan actually wanted to send time with him after the catastrophe that was their kiss, or if she was just trying to save face in front of Rosie. In any case, both of the girls seemed to think that him studying thestrals would be a good idea, and the more he thought about it, the surer Sander was that his equine affinity would extend to the creatures. They were reptilian in nature, but horse-like enough that he thought it could work. “My mother’s ridden a thestral, I think.” Lysander said thoughtfully. “Do you think I’d get extra credit for proving I’ve ridden one?” It didn’t exactly go with the research component of the project, but if he did that, then Sander would be doing something that none of his classmates had attempted or succeeded in (at least to his knowledge). Proving that he had ridden one of the beasts could be a different matter entirely, depending on how the rules of only being able to be seen by those who had seen death worked with cameras. That could be the focus of his paper, maybe.

“I don’t think any of the Champions are mean-spirited enough for that.” Sander put in when Susan suggested that perhaps the rumor about the manticore was just to put the Chevalier boy on edge. Of the three of them, Lysander thought that Émile himself was most likely to start some sort of rumor. It could be a very complex mind game, wherein a rumor was started so the other Champions would think he was nervous and would thus slip up… but Sander wasn’t certain the Beauxbatons boy had the brain capacity to think that far ahead.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Susan smiled. “Then sphinx it is, thank you Rosie for your help,” she said, gently giving the Hufflepuffs’ shoulder a squeeze. “I do love a good riddle after all,” she added, giggling slightly. Sander looked to be lost in thought, likely over whether his ability would reach the thestrals. Obviously he decided it was worth the dance as he decided to run with it. “I think you’ll have to come into your presentation riding on one, that’ll add some shock value and potential bonus points,” she suggested brightly. Her smile faded slightly as the talk turned to the three champions. “No, Anna certainly not, and Elias has been perfectly polite in our very limited conversations. Emile...maybe he did let it out. But there’s always the possibility of..you know, her,” she said, trailing off and biting her lip. There hadn’t been much noise from Elaine and her gang over the past few months; the deaths of Abigail Shacklebolt and Theo Nott had been shocking and Desirae’s demise had likely fueled that. She sighed, shaking her head slightly. “Let’s talk about something else,” she said, giving a small shudder.

What Susan really wanted to do was tell Lysander about what had happened to her over the past few weeks since they had ceased talking. How she couldn’t stop replaying the kiss in her mind, and her decisions in her life in part because of it. “So Rosie, did I tell you? Casey and I split up,” she said casually, giving a sad smile. “He was a sweet guy, and I know he cared about me, but he was so busy with mediwizard training and everything, just bad timing.” Here, Susan paused, and glanced at Lysander. “Plus, I was starting to think he wasn’t quite right for me, you know? Wasn’t the one,” she declared, letting the words settle out in front of the trio.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@lysander

[Deleted]

Of course, Rosie hadn't meant to insinuate anything bad when she asked if they thought that one of the champions had said it to put the Beauxbatons boy on edge. However, she didn't know either of the two boys well. Honestly, she didn't know any of the three well. But she had interviewed them all for the student newspaper when they had been announced as champions for their schools, and they had all seemed perfectly fine and lovely during the interview. She nodded when Lysander said that he didn't think any of the champions were mean spirited and Susan agreed with him and then mentioned that there was always Elaine. But she didn't use her name, something that Rosie appreciated. She didn't want people walking by them to think they were talking about anything too serious and suspicious. Instead, she nodded when Susan insisted that they talk about something else.

it seemed that their conversation was shifting from talk of their assignments to something a little more intimate: Susan and Casey had broken up? Oh No. Rosie expressed a look of genuine compassion, but she was glad to hear that her friend wasn't too upset about it. She seemed to have already processed the break up and was back to her happy, chipper self. While the fact that Susan might have just been telling all this to Rosie in order to have Lysander over hear it went right over the Huffelpuff's head; Rosie did wonder if the break up had anything to do with the kiss that Susan had told her about before. Rosie was far too sweet to bring that up, however, she wasn't one to start drama. "Oh no, I didn't know any of that." she admitted, shaking her head. "I'm sorry to hear it, but I'm also glad that you're okay and I'm so sure you'll find the right one when the time is right. Anyone would be so lucky to be with you." She insisted with a smile. As far as Rosie was concerned, it was the truth. Susan was an extremely pretty, smart and talented witch, and while Rosie didn't have a lot, (actually none) experience in the romance department, she was still a believer in the theory that everyone had someone for them eventually.

@lysander
@susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Sander shrugged at Susan when she said that he could add some additional shock factor to his presentation if he came in riding on a thestral. "Only for the people that could see it." He pointed out. He very much hoped that most of his classmates wouldn't be able to see a thestral. Sander's mother had thought it was important for him to experience death at a young age - his grandmother had died when his mother was nine, and his mother had been there to witness it, so she was a bit biased in that respect. But Sander did think it was important. It helped him accept death as another part of life - not the end of a journey, but a beginning of a new one. And considering animals died all the time, it was good for him to become accustomed to it for his future line of work. At Susan's point about Elaine, Sander shrugged his shoulders. He personally thought that people were becoming too paranoid. Not every bad thing had to trace back to the Purifiers, and he was rather annoyed that people were willing to give Elaine credit for everything. They were building her up as something more than human, and that was something that bothered Sander. Everyone was human - Voldemort had been, and Elaine was too, so they could both be defeated. Sander accepted the change of subject with a nod of his head.

When Susan announced that she had broken up with Casey, every muscle in Sander's body tensed. Susan had prefaced the statement with a question to Rosie, but she had glanced at him right after. Was he reading too much into it? Susan said that Casey was busy, and Sander's stomach dropped. If Susan was suggesting that they could be something, together, then it was likely that they were going to busy soon, too - starting their careers and trying to adjust to life after Hogwarts. Rosie offered condolences, which Sander couldn't bring himself to repeat, but when Rosie said that anyone would be lucky to be with Susan, he nodded his head vigorously. "Anyone would be." He echoed, the words feeling just as heavy in the air as Susan's original declaration had been.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@susanvictoria

[Deleted]

Susan smiled warmly at the Hufflepuff. “Thank you Rosie, but I’m okay, really. He wasn’t the right person for me in the long run, though I likely was clouded by the fantasy for a while,” she said with a soft laugh. She did always think back of her time with Casey fondly, and certainly didn’t regret anything. She also knew what a risk it would be to start up any kind of relationship before heading off into the world. She was to start her internship at the Ministry in August; Rose had let her know they’d be selecting their departments to intern in in the coming weeks. Susan had decided on the Department of Regulation for Magical Creatures, in part because Care of Magical Creatures was easily one of her favorite classes and also because she really did see Lysander as a part of her life for the long run, in whatever way happened. “Thanks Sander, that means a lot,” she added, blushing a light pink.

She cleared her throat, and laughed again. “I’m just picturing you riding in on a thestral, with part of the class being able to see the beast and the others wondering how you’re hovering above the ground looking like you’re riding a horse,” she admitted, chuckling again. Susan could certainly not bring a sphinx to class for presentation; not only were they indigenous to Egypt and likely wouldn’t be too pleased with the United Kingdoms’ climate, but they were also very temperamental creatures. “Shall we adjourn to the library to get some research done? I don’t think the professor would mind very much if we just sat together,” Susan suggested. She knew she was changing the subject rather quickly after her bold declaration, but she knew Lysander would likely need time to mull things over in his brain, and she would grant him that willingly.

rose harriet granger-weasley
@lysander

[Deleted]

Rosie, ever the Hufflepuff was eager to do anything she could do to make everyone around her happy and comfortable. While the girl could sometimes be a bit clueless, she wasn’t blind to the tension in the air. She had known about the awkwardness between her two Ravenclaw friends for a while now, and while it had originally gone over her head that Susan may had been using Rosie as a means of actually telling Lysander, she was beginning catch on, especially with the comment made by the boy standing with them. He agreed that anyone would be lucky to be with Susan. Rosie herself thought that it was a very sweet thing to say, but she sense again that Susan was ready to change the subject once more.

The two continued to talk about Thestrals, something that Rosie didn’t really weigh in on since she wasn’t able to see them. She had seen drawings in her books, but, the Hufflepuff had lived a very charmed life and her life had never afforded her an opportunity, thus far, to see them. Something she felt very thankful for. “It would be really funny.” Rosie nodded, knowing that she was a part of the class that wouldn’t be able to see them and would think that Sander was floating, however, she knew about the creatures so she wasn’t sure if floating would have been her first guess. “Especially if you rode it around the grounds before coming to class, I’m sure you could get a few people to think they were going mental.” she added. Susan asked if they should continue to the library. Likely to continue working and talking about their projects. “Sure, I haven’t got anything else to do tonight.” Rosie agreed.

@lysander
@susanvictoria