New Mexico [Louis]

[Deleted]

@louis

Classes were done for the day. Lance had just walked out of Defense Against the Dark Arts, which while enlightening, had started to become increasingly stale these days. Almost everything was planning for seventh year at this point, and laying down the basics so that they could jump straight into the NEWT level course. Lance didn’t even know if he wanted to take that anymore. Seeing as he was practically locked in though, he supposed it wouldn’t all that bad. There were certainly worse classes at Hogwarts to be in. He wasn’t going to name them though, because he enjoyed playing the neutral card for both his fellow students, and the professors. The last thing he wanted to be known as was the stereotypical, annoying American. Those years were long behind him, and having that happen in the last year would be awful. Plus Georgie would have to live another year at school with whatever reputation he left her. Lance had seen it happen before with siblings, and that was definitely not something he wanted to do to her.

Strolling down the hallway, he said goodbye to a few of his fellow sixth year Hufflepuffs, who were off to do something that didn’t involve him at all. Lance knew it was strange for him not to join them; they had made that much obvious over the last few months. But they were also giving him the space and time that he needed. And it was needed. Eventually everything would go back to the way it was, and with Barbara running back off to America like he had anticipated, it would hopefully be sooner rather than later. Taking his time going down the stairs from the first floor to the entrance hall, he noticed that one of his shoe’s laces had come undone. The last thing he needed right now was to pick up his pace on the stairs, step wrong, and go headfirst down them. Pausing, he bent over, setting his book bag on the ground, and started to retie his shoe.

[Deleted]

Louis was also in Defense Against the Dark Arts; he couldn’t help but steal quick glances over at Lancelot Linley from his table. His girlfriends brother, the two Linley siblings had been through hell and back since the start of the school year. First their parents reappeared after they had been convinced they were dead, then their father was killed in the line of duty, and finally, as if it was the figurative nail on the coffin, their mother had gone back to America. He had tried to be there for Georgie to the best of his ability over the past few months, and he was looking forward to making sure she had an amazing, unforgettable summer by his side. He couldn’t exactly call Lance one of his friends; sure, they got along fine and didn’t have an issue with the other (at least to Louis’ knowledge) but they didn’t really...hang out one on one.

The bell rang and Louis gathered his things up to leave class; he really didn’t have a set goal or place in mind as he had a break between this and his next class, so he took his time packing things up. The last thing he wanted was anything falling out of his bag, especially with the select few things from his cousins recent package from Weasley Wizarding Wheezes inside. He was one of the last few out, and started for a moment when he noticed Lance was still in the corridor, tying his shoe. Well, he supposed now was a better time than any to talk to the boy. “Hey Lance, good call on the shoe tying thing, wasn’t really in the mindset to lug your unconscious body up to the Hospital Wing,” Louis called, attempting to crack a joke.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@louis

Tying shoe laces in public was easily one of the most annoying things ever if there wasn’t a proper place to sit down to do it. Lance dreaded them coming undone, and usually double-knotted them. And usually that worked like a charm. Lately they seemed to have a mind of their own though, and he was starting to think that using an actual charm on them to keep them tied wasn’t that bad of an idea. Plenty of people did that, right? To add to the difficulty of setting his bag down onto the ground and tying his shoes on the stairs, there were also the other students still trying to get around him. This was probably what cyclists in their bike lines in major cities felt like. Except he didn’t have to fear for his life that a several ton hunk of metal could easily run over or squish him. Still, moving as far over on the stairs as possible didn’t leave much room if people were trying to both go up and down the stairs at the same time, so he tried to move quickly.

As he did so, a voice from behind started going on about him tying his shoe, and that the last thing they wanted to happen was for him to fall. Well yeah, staying conscious through an entire day was kind of a good thing wasn’t it? Lance glanced over his shoulder as he pulled one loop of his laces tight in order to get a better look at the person. “Oh, hey Louis,” he responded, turning his attention back to his shoe. A few more loops and he was all set. Tightening ii satisfactorily, Lance hopped back to his feet and slipped his bag over his shoulder once again. “Not blocking traffic am I? Hate being that person, but it happens.”

[Deleted]

Louis glanced around at Lance’s inquiry. “Nope, just me here,” he told the fellow sixth year, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down at him. “That lesson really was something, huh? Can’t believe that in a year, we’ll be taking our NEWTs and setting out into the world on our own,” he started, trying to make conversation. He and Lance had always been what some would call friendly acquaintances; Louis had always been a great deal closer with Georgie despite her being a year younger. Louis wasn’t really sure what Lance thought of the Gryffindor dating his sister, but with everything that had gone on this year in the Linley family, he was sure the Hufflepuff had other things on his mind.

“At least soon it’ll be summer and you can wear sandals that don’t have laces,” Louis offered with a light chuckle. He wondered if Georgie had told her brother about his offer to take her to the South of France over the summer; they would reach their first anniversary if she was allowed to go. Louis had no idea who would be granting her permission anymore; their mother had gone back to America, Lance wasn’t yet seventeen, but because they did still have a living parent, the orphanage really couldn’t control them anymore. “D’you have anything fun planned this summer?” he finally asked.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@louis

Not impeding people from walking on the stairs was always a good thing. A smooth moving stair system was the most economical way of getting to class. Except for when the stairs decided to move on their own and throw everything out of whack. Why they couldn’t stay in one place during transition periods between classes was a question he had asked every single day since first year. There was no explanation for the move, no rhyme, no reason. Logic dictated that the stairs should remain still during that time. But nope. They enjoyed the little game they played with the students. Many times he had been late to class because of that. Between the disdain he had towards the stairs and the thought of finding a job, Lance groaned. “It went by too fast, to be honest,” he shrugged. “But it all has to end at some point, right? Can’t go back in time and redo it all again.” Technically not true, but he certainly wasn’t going to jump down that rabbit hole. Louis on the other hand…it was probably better not to tempt him with the idea.

Lance looked down at his shoes as Louis commented on wearing sandals. “Those aren’t exactly my thing. I worry too much that people will step on my toes.” Having them exposed like that constantly would certainly increase the amount of pain inflicted on them. Stubbing a toe was literally the worst thing imaginable. At the question about what he had planned for the summer, Lance had to think about it for a second. Well, he had an apartment to furnish now that Barbara had left him and Georgie one. That had been so recent though, that he wasn’t sure how much time it would take out of his break. Had Georgie even told Louis about that yet? “Not that I know of. Probably planning for next year. Like you said, NEWTs and jobs and stuff.”

[Deleted]

Louis nodded and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Any clue what you want to do when you get out of here?” he asked curiously. It was a question he had been giving a lot of thought to the past few months; whatever he wound up doing he knew he wanted it to be exciting, an adventure worth having. But now he was taking Georgie into consideration; he wasn’t worried she’d fret over the adventurous part, but he wasn’t a fan of a career that’d take him to the opposite side of the globe. “I might want to study dragons; my Uncle Charlie’s been at it for years,” he admitted. He knew dragons weren’t known to be the friendliest creatures, but they were big and fascinating, and there was that element of danger and adventure Louis was eternally craving.

Louis was silent for a moment after Lance rattled off some pretty vague summer plans, which made sense. “Georgie, er, she told me your mum went back. To the states,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “I’m sorry,” he offered, unsure really what else to say. What else could he say? His parents were still alive, married, and living in the same house that they had been given when they first got married. They’d added to it of course, to accommodate for the three children and numerous pets, and his grandparents (both sets) were still in good health to his knowledge. He had no idea what to say to Lance in this sort of situation, except one thing. “If you need a place to stay at all over the summer, my sister Victoire’s moved out, so we have room,” he offered, unsure if Lance would even consider the offer.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@louis

Getting a job was one of the only things that truly terrified Lance. That first year graduated from Hogwarts would be the only time in the last seven where he and Georgie would quite literally be separated from each other. That alone gave him an uncomfortable feeling. He knew she could hold her own and take care of herself; the two of them had done that since they were forced to move here. At the same time, not having that easy access to each other would be difficult. An owl didn’t exactly have the same meaning that talking face to face did. Sometimes only conversations could accomplish what needed to be said. Lance didn’t respond immediately to what he had planned for the future, but Louis did. “Dragons? I knew you were a little crazy, but never pegged you for that kind of crazy,” Lance laughed. That was a pretty serious gig. In terms of his own skill set, there really wasn’t much there. He was average at everything at best. The obvious answer would be to return to the orphanage and work there to help the other children, but at the same time, he also knew that he needed to remove himself from that environment for a few years so that he could move on and grow. “Suppose I still have a year to figure something out, right?” And then the real world would come crashing down again. He’d be prepared that time.

Lance opened his mouth as if to say something, but stopped himself. He knew Georgie was going to divulge that. Louis needed to know as much as they did, after all. Nodding his head slowly as the Gryffindor talked, Lance mulled it all over. “Don’t be. Barb clearly made her mind up about what was more important years ago.” Lance paused, before letting out a small sigh. Talking about her was tiring at this point, not that he could blame Louis for being curious about the whole thing. “At least she made it obvious this time. We aren’t as oblivious as we used to be.” He was still angry, but not as much as he had been when she was trying to make amends for everything. She didn’t understand, and never would. But it was done with now. Except for the whole apartment thing. Which conveniently fit into place with Louis’ next comment. “Actually, about that,” Lance started. “Barb decided that her parting gift was going to be an apartment. Fully paid for. Not sure how being a barmaid for a few months allowed her to get that sort of money, but it’s mine and Georgie’s now.”

[Deleted]

Louis laughed at Lance’s ‘crazy’ comment. “It surprised me too to tell you the truth. But it’s something I’ve been thinking on for a few weeks now. I’ve always been adventurous, perhaps to a fault sometimes. I just...I can’t imagine sitting at a desk somewhere doing paperwork, or attending boring meetings,” he said slowly, scratching the back of head before shrugging. “Besides, dragons are pretty cool creatures, even if they can’t be domesticated. I’d like to think that perhaps one day at least one dragon wizards work with will think ‘huh they’re okay, I think I won’t try to char broil them’,” he added, laughing at his comment. He had no idea if that was remotely a possibility, but he had to hold out hope.

Georgie had not mentioned the apartment yet, likely because Louis had extended an invitation for her to stay with him for part of the summer before they headed down to the South of France. “Really? Wow...that’s great!” Louis exclaimed. It was great; he knew what his girlfriends feeling on the orphanage was and always got the feeling Lance felt something similar. “I suppose...at least she did something right?” he added, not sure if it was the right thing to say. Lance and Georgie’s relationship with their mother seemed complicated at best, and he gathered from Lance calling her by her first name, it had not been all sunshine and rainbows since her return to their life. “Have you heard from her at all since she, you know, left?” he asked him.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@louis

Lance imagined Louis’s concerns about being stuck at a desk job. That would be…interesting to say the least. There were quite a few Gryffindors that he could name off the top of his head that would be better suited for jobs that were located outside the confines of walls. He wasn’t opposed to working outdoors either, just that having a nice, cozy desk job didn’t sound all that bad. Hogwarts had killed his want to run around like a mad-man between classes. Anything that sent him racing across London or the countryside wasn’t exactly what the Hufflepuff had in mind. Though a lot could change in the next year. “Yeah, I can see how that would get a little monotonous after a while,” he commented. “What’s the in with the dragons? Family, friend, both?” Lance asked as his friend went on about the beasts. That seemed like the kind of job that required either prior knowledge or someone to show the ropes to newcomers. Lance had never seen a live dragon, but he could imagine from the stories he had heard that a lot of skill and talent was required to wrangle one.

He figured Louis would be excited about the apartment. It was for Georgie as well, after all. Lance understood that meant Louis was attached for as long as his sister was dating the Gryffindor. “Is it right though? Don’t get me wrong, having an apartment of our own is great, but it’s so materialistic of her at the same time,” Lance frowned, his brow furrowing. He still didn’t know how to deconstruct the apartment thing. He didn’t know if he was looking into it too deeply, or if it was quite literally Barb’s last attempt at saying she was sorry for everything. The last thing he wanted was her believing she had won them over by buying an apartment for them. Then again, their mother seemed to think that coming back from the dead would solve all of their problems with a flick of her wand. Life didn’t work like that. “Georgie might have, but nothing for me. I made it kind of clear that I was done living the way she wanted me to.”

[Deleted]

Louis smiled widely. “The in my friend is my uncle, Charlie Weasley. He’s been a dragonologist since the 90s, studying them over in Romania for the longest time, though he did come back for a few spells. He helped out with the Triwizard Tournament my mum took part in by getting the nesting dragon mums transported here, and making sure they didn’t break loose and run amuck around the castle.” Louis chuckled a little, then grew somber at the thought. That would probably not be good for his uncle if a dragon got loose on his watch; both his life and job security would have likely been in jeopardy. Louis was all for the life or death situations though, as his daredevil stunts showcased. He hadn’t done as much this past year with all the extra security and foreign delegates; he didn’t want his mothers school to think their former Champions offspring was….immature? But they were leaving before term ended from the rumors he had heard, so he would have time to shine before he went home for the summer.

Louis’ smile faded a little as Lance contemplated the meaning behind the apartment. “I think...I dunno, maybe part of it has to do with the fact that she left you guys in an orphanage for so many years, and she wanted to make sure you didn’t have to go back to that,” he reasoned. He had met Barbara Linley only once - over Christmas time when Georgie and he had gone to surprise her at the Leaky Cauldron. His girlfriend had looked radiantly beautiful in her gold dress, but he wasn’t about to gush about his attraction to Georgie to her big brother - that’d be weird. “As long as she respects your decisions,” was all he said when Lance admitted he hadn’t spoken to her since she left. “Did Georgie mention to you I invited her to come to France with my mum and I in August before school starts again?” Louis asked curiously.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@louis

His uncle was a dragonologist? That was actually pretty awesome. Dangerous, but awesome nonetheless. And to still be alive after being at the job for all these years…this Uncle Charlie was either one crazy dude, or the best dragonologist that has ever existed. “Does he still have all of his body parts?” Lance asked, knowing full well that the question was morbid. He figured it was valid for the conversation though. Working with magical creatures had to have some drawbacks, especially when it came to the number of remaining limbs that they had. “They had a task about dragons during the last tournament here?” he blinked through the surprise. It shouldn’t have been that strange, considering that the champions this time around had faced some rather dangerous creatures, but still. Manticores, forest trolls, and whatever else they had faced were tough enough. An entire portion dedicated to messing with a mother dragon though? They clearly toned it back this time.

Louis seemed to have a lot of good answers. The one he gave was kind of the same as what Georgie had said, or at least what Lance had understood from his sister. Barb was trying to gain their trust back (if that was even possible anymore), through bribery hidden as repentance. That was messed up in his opinion. “That wasn’t that bad at all,” Lance shook his head, his jaw clenching at the idea that Barb still thought she knew what was best for them. That went out the door years ago. Literally. Whether or not their mother respected his and Georgie’s decisions was a different story. Did she really? Buying them an apartment and telling them to live there wasn’t something they had decided on as siblings. She went ahead and did it regardless. Lance wasn’t going to argue that though, because having their own place was a good thing in the end. He just didn’t like that Barb had been the cause of it. “She hasn’t brought it up yet, no,” he responded. France sounded nice, especially as one last vacation before school again. “She’ll probably need escape me by the end of summer.”

[Deleted]

Louis laughed at Lance’s question. “From what I’ve seen yes. I haven’t asked about the...other parts, but seeing as he has three kids I’m assuming that nothing is missing,” he said, scratching the back of his head and chuckling again. Charlie had married a bit later than what the Weasley clan had seemed to expect, but his bride, his Aunt Natalie, had been much younger - Uncle Charlie joked that he just had to wait a few extra years for the right woman to be ready for him. Louis remembered groaning and rolling his eyes at the comment, but he supposed it would have seemed really weird for a man near thirty to be dating a Hogwarts student. He supposed that when it came to love age didn’t really matter, but there was a small part of him that Georgie was close in age. This way they could enjoy being a young couple in love together from the get go and have it not be awkward. But really, Louis thought, this was not the time or place to be thinking about his girlfriend, while having a conversation with her older brother.

“Yeah, my mum faced a Common Welsh Green actually. Go figure, the only dragon truly native to the UK my French mother faces,” Louis told him with an excited laugh. “She put it into a trance, but it trampled half of the real eggs before she could get her golden egg, so she got marked off for that. My uncle Harry flew around his dragon's head until she flew up to meet him then dove down for the egg.” Louis paused for a breath. “No matter what, it all sounded pretty exciting, and I’m a little let down we didn’t get any dragons this year...except for that baby dragon Anna almost faced,” he admitted, though he was glad none of the champions got burned alive by a dragon.

Louis chuckled. “I feel like my sisters always thought the same by the end of our summers, but after Vic graduated I actually liked spending time with her on holidays. Dom is graduating this year, so next it’ll be just me from our trio,” he explained with a simple shrug. “I mean...I know she’s planning on going to the states with a friend or two, but if you’re ever bored you can come visit the seaside if you like,” Louis offered. He liked Lance well enough, and if he needed a retreat, they had spare bedrooms at Shell Cottage.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@louis

Lance had to close his eyes and let out a deep breath to keep himself from laughing. He hadn’t meant those parts, though losing any of that would be…well, he didn’t want to imagine what that would be like. Especially to a dragon. “I’ve always imagined that working with dragons is like being in a really large kitchen,” Lance mused. “Lots of extremely sharp knives and hot stoves and plates. Except, you know, a dragon can think and act on its own. An oven can’t.” That sounded super lame after the last words came out, but it made sense in his head. “And a head chef probably has the same temperament too.” Dragons were dangerous, but so was the tongue of a chef, or so he had heard. They had to get it all out somewhere though – that was the reason expensive food was done so well. If only he had the time and patience to dedicate his life to any kind of art.

He listened intently to the story of the last tournament. That task sounded intense, far more than the ones they had already witnessed. That was also a different time, and a lot had changed since then, or so he had learned while at school. There wasn’t much about the UK’s magical politics that actually interested Lance Linley. His ultimate goal was to eventually end back up in South Carolina someday. “There was that uh, what was it? A manticore?” Lance simultaneously asked and answered his question. “Figured that the cocky French guy would be able to get around it. Supposedly they’re classed as intelligent beasts or something like that,” he shrugged. While Care of Magical Creatures and Defense against the Dark Arts covered all of this material, Lance hadn’t exactly cared to remember all of it. The odds of him ever encountering a manticore in the wild were slim to none, so he wasn’t all that worried.

It was strange hearing Louis talk about his family. For the most part, Lance had kept to the side and watched the Gryffindor interact with Georgie. The last thing he wanted to do was alienate his only real family left, and while he knew she would never actually do that to him, there was still the unnecessary worry that it could. “Maybe if I’m not busy,” he answered. “I feel like a lot of my summer is going to be spent getting this apartment furnished and learning how to live without any oversight by adults,” he took a deep breath before letting it back out, trying not to show how perplexed he really was about everything. “This stuff happens fast.”

[Deleted]

Louis mused Lance’s description of what he believed working with a dragon was like. “I’d say a magical kitchen, but even our kitchens don’t move around on their own accord,” he said with a chuckle. “Maybe a bewitched kitchen, like a prison almost. Dragons did guard a lot of castles and fortresses in those Muggle fairy tales my sisters liked,” he mused. He wondered how the kingdom had actually convinced a dragon to guard a castle instead of burning it to the ground; really, it made little sense to him. “The head chef absolutely has the same temperament. You should see some of my uncle Charlie’s burn scars,” he agreed with a grin. His own father had scars of course from being attacked by that werewolf Fenrir Greyback, but they were scratch scars. Charlies’ were shiny red patches on his arms that never quite went away.

“A manticore yeah. They’re supposedly quite intelligent creatures. Someone had spread about that the manticore had gotten loose and was seeking revenge on the Beauxbatons champion for besting it, but it turned out that was just a rumor,” Louis explained. If he recalled correctly, he had heard the rumor from Irina Krum, but she wasn’t the type to start rumors. She did seem to really despise Emile though… Louis didn’t dwell much on the thought. “I figured I’d offer; my mums a fantastic cook and she loves your sister, but living alone without adult supervision sounds pretty fantastic if I do say so myself,” he admitted, laughing at the idea. His mother would never let him have his own apartment before graduation, and even after for a few years if she had any say in the matter. “Speaking of your sister, I have to go meet her in the library, and I don’t want to keep her waiting,” Louis said, checking his watch and realizing the time. He gave a cheerful wave and turned back towards the staircase, leaving Lance to himself in the corridor.

END LOUIS
feel free to throw out another post, or call it done