Hunger Games -- Dominique

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The hunger after dinner of Louis Arthur Weasley had struck again. It was just into May, and Georgie was fiercely studying for her OWL examinations, which he had taken last year. He had offered to help her study of course, but he knew today she was focusing on a subject that Louis didn’t take - Divination. His girlfriend was a Clairvoyant, who gained access to glimpses of the future when she came into contact with water, so it made perfect sense for her to take the subject. Louis was glad she had access to a Professor who could empathise better than he ever could when it came to having visions. Though he tried the best that he could, as a non-Clairvoyant, he could not get quite to the level of understanding some other people had. So he had bowed gracefully out of Georgie’s study session and ventured down on a quest to the kitchens to quench his hunger pains.

As he reached the well-lit stone hallway, Louis stopped for a minute to take in his surroundings. He knew of course that the Hufflepuff common room was around here somewhere, but his thoughts instead traveled to his Ravenclaw sister Dominique, who would be graduating in a few weeks time. He felt a pang of sadness; next year he’d be the only Delacour-Weasley family member at Hogwarts, which after being with Dom the past six years was a very strange thought. He wished he had thought to invite his sister down to join him in the kitchens; her appetite matched his most days. Wondering if sibling psychic connections were really a thing, Louis closed his eyes and attempted to send a mental message to Dominique to meet him in the kitchens. He opened them back up and reached up to tickle the pear; it squirmed and turned into the door, and as Louis entered he was greeted by a gaggle of house elves. “Care to feed a starving student some sausage rolls?” he asked eagerly, his stomach rumbling in agreement. As the elves scurried off, he heard the door creak open and he craned his neck to see who would be joining him that evening.

@dominique

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Dom was wandering the castle yet again. It wasn't a particularly surprising thing, since Dom wandered lots ever since her first year. However, growing up she'd wandered with her friends; whereas now she did most of her wandering alone. That was how it worked when your best friend died. Sure, Dom got along well with practically everyone and had plenty of very good friends, but things were different now and she couldn't help but want solitude more than she ever had before. 

Something was different about tonight though. As she wandered, she felt an almost undeniable urge to go to the kitchens. That was weird. She went to dinner a short while ago and didn't feel particularly hungry, but she also felt like she needed to go there. She shrugged, thinking to herself that it didn't matter. It wasn't like she was busy doing anything really important anyway. So she made her way through the corridors until she got to the dungeons, tickling the pear and stepping into the kitchen, looking around curiously. When she saw her little brother there, Dom smirked, "You summoned me?" she teased, knowing instantly that he was the reason she was here. She made her way across the room until she was next to him. "What's up?"

@louis

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Louis looked up and grinned at the sight of his sister Dominique. So it looked like that mental sibling connection worked after all! “Glad you received the summons,” he said happily, patting the seat on the bench next to him. “Can’t a brother want to spend some good old quality time with his sister?” he asked, feigning innocence. “And I didn’t want to quite look like a pig eating all this food by myself,” he admitted as a few house elves came trotting over with plates of food. “You know me Dom, gotta keep up my buff physique by eating a lot,” he said jokingly, patting his stomach as it grumbled.

Louis grabbed a chicken sandwich and took a giant bite out of it. It tasted heavenly, as all of the food did when it came from the Hogwarts kitchens. “How are you going to live without this cooking next year?” he asked, closing his eyes as he swallowed the bite. He opened them, looking directly at his sister. There was another thing that wouldn’t leave the castle with Dominique when she graduated; since it was such a recent development, he hadn’t gotten to talk much to her about it. “So…” he started, hesitating a little. “Ethans ghost,” he said after a few moments of silence. “How are you doing?” he asked quietly.

@dominique

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Dom shrugged as her younger brother's smile widened as he looked at her. "Of course I did," she said, moving to sit next to him. "I guess you can, I just figured you wanted something," she responded. Then he said he didn't want to look like a pig and Dom laughed. "Oh so you wanted me to come so I could be the pig and you could eat as much as you want." Everyone knew that Dom could eat a ton when she was of a mind to, which wasn't a lot lately. She was too nervous and anxious to really eat a lot. Ever since Ethan came back ... no, now wasn't the time to think of that. She rolled her eyes as Louis patted his stomach. Her brother could be such a goof.

The house elves came with food and Dom followed her brother's example, grabbing a chicken sandwich. She took a thoughtful bite and sat there thinking. When he asked her a question she shrugged, "Some miracle, I'm sure," she muttered. Dom wasn't bad at cooking, but as a general rule she was either too lazy or too busy to do so. It would definitely be interesting to see how things worked once she was gone. He started talking again, hesitating and Dom felt her stomach clench. There were few things Louis would be nervous to talk to her about and ... yup. He was talking about Ethan. She shrugged flippantly, trying to not give in to the confusion in her mind. "It depends on the day," she admitted in a light tone. No need to worry her brother more than he was probably already worried.

@louis

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Louis snorted, not even a little bit ashamed of the partly selfish reason he had wanted his sister to come down here. “Come on Dommy, you and I know we’re both pigs,” he exclaimed, polishing off the sandwich in his hands. At that moment, three house elves came rushing over with a plate of sausage rolls and Louis rubbed his hands together excitedly. “I remember when Michaels’ parents took us into London for a Muggle football match,” he began to reminisce as he mentally prepared himself for this feast. “There were a bunch of vendors selling different foods, but those sausage rolls...Merlins beard did they smell good. So Mike and I both got the extra large sausage rolls, toasted each other, and ate one of the best things I’ve ever had in my life.” He closed his eyes and sighed, happily savoring the memory. “So you guys have a lot to live up to,” he said jokingly, winking at the house elves. They giggled and waited eagerly as Louis took the top one and bit into it. He chewed thoughtfully, wearing a poker face to not let them know one way or the other what he thought. When he swallowed, he let out a deep breath, and laughed. “This one is even better than Kings Cross! Well done!” he exclaimed, high fiving his little friends.

Louis continued to eat, but he watched Dominique as her demeanor changed when the subject came about to Ethan. He could understand that how she felt about it depended on the day, but he also knew it was more to that. What kind of annoying younger brother would he be if he didn’t pry? “Come on Dom, I know you better than that,” he started, raising an eyebrow at her knowingly. “Ethan was your best friend who you were madly in love with, and when he was murdered it was like a light had gone out of you. He’s back now, but...he’s a ghost. That can’t be easy,” he told her quietly.

@dominique

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Dom laughed as well when Louis pointed out that they were both pigs. Well ... as long as they both knew it and were both pretty alone, she figured it didn't matter. Even if they hadn't been alone, most people at school knew that they ate whatever they wanted anyway. Neither Dom nor Louis were particularly known for their restraint when it came to anything, really. She took some more food, listening to her brother as he started to mess around with the house elves, telling them a story about his favorite sausage roll before trying the ones they brought over. She watched his face, entirely amused at the delighted expression on his face once he made his decision. "Guess I have to try one of these amazing things," Dom said, reaching forward and grabbing one off the plate. She watched her brother as she started to slowly eat it. She was going to miss him when she left. 

A part of Dom hoped that Louis would leave it at that, but a part of her knew he wouldn't. He was concerned for her, probably with reason. When Ethan died, she hid her emotions from the world for months. She bottled it up all until January, when she practically lost it and her sister had to pull her out of school to try and help. It hadn't, but she tried. Louis tried to help her as well and did a decent job distracting her. She bit her lip when he commented that he knew her better than that. She didn't want to think about this, but he was obviously not going to give her a choice. She listened as he described what Ethan meant to her before, what he still meant to her. After a few seconds, she deflated, giving in. "It's not. I ... I know it sounds childish, but I loved him. I loved him for years and then we were finally dating, and he finally noticed me and then he was gone. Like that. And I had to watch it. I just thought I was moving on ... and now he's back. He's back, but he isn't. I see him and it's like I can't help but wish for what I had, but I can't have it. I still love him and he's here but unattainable. It's ... I don't know how to explain it," she paused, having said more than she meant to. At least she knew Louis wouldn't say anything to anyone about this. Her secret was safe.

@louis

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Louis nodded with enthusiasm that Dominique should try one. Of course she should - that’s why he had telepathically brought her down here after all! “Go on then Dommy,” he wheedled. He grabbed another one himself and stuffed it into his mouth, before realizing that they were hot so perhaps that wasn’t one of his more brilliant ideas. He panted a little, fanning his mouth open with his hand. “Hot,” he managed to sputter. He swallowed and immediately snatched the glass of ice water a thoughtful house elf had brought over to him and gulped it down greedily. “That was a bit stupid of me,” he admitted, grinning over at his sister. She’d probably make fun of him for it, and, with the burning sensation on his tongue and throat still lingering, he really didn’t blame her.

“How is it childish to admit you love someone Dom, now really?” he asked, crossing his arms and staring at her intently. He knew how deep her feelings for Ethan had gone; they had gone well beyond the realm of just some childhood crush. They had been best friends, soul mates, destined to one day realize how perfect they were for each other. Ethan had been one of the select few boys that Louis had actually liked, had actually deemed acceptable for his big sister. That was no easy feat; even though he was the youngest, Louis was overprotective of his sisters and their hearts. “What happened...no person should ever have to go through,” he said gently, reaching over and taking Dominique’s hand and squeezing it. “You loved him, you had him, you lost him. And now...now he’s back. That’s a lot to take in,” he told her, looking her square in the eye. “I just want you to make sure you know I am always here for you if you need to talk. Or for me to yell at Ghost Ethan to give you some space. Haunt some other tower, what have you,” he said, a small smirk quirking on his lips, trying to get her to smile a little.

@dominique

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Louis encouraged her to try the food he suggested and Dom took a bite, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. This was definitely better than she expected. She turned to tell him that, but instead laughed when she watched him eat another one, almost as quickly as he could. He was eating like someone that hadn't eaten in a week and Dom found that hilarious. Then he started fanning his mouth and Dom knew what was going on. It was too hot. Her laughter increased. She didn't want to get caught up after hours, but this was just too funny for her to be able to take seriously. He commented that stuffing the whole thing in his mouth was a bit stupid and Dom lifted an eyebrow. "A bit?" she teased. "You'd better be careful or you're going to end up losing your tongue from not being careful enough with it." Dom didn't really see that as a possibility, but couldn't help but tease him about the possibility.

Dom just shook her head when he asked how it was childish for her to admit she loved someone. She didn't think that was childish. The childish thing was that the person she was in love with was dead and had been for a year, and she still wasn't moving on, which was even harder now that he was back as a ghost. "I don't know," she said eventually, softly. He took her hand as her brother summarized everything that happened and that no one should have to go through it. Then he was saying that he was here if she needed to talk to someone, or if she needed him to tell Ethan to leave her alone. That wasn't a problem, at least. A part of Dom felt like Ethan was avoiding her. Still, she offered a soft chuckle to make Louis know she heard, but it wasn't really sincere. She bit her lip, "I don't know what I'm doing with myself, Louis. I'm about to graduate and I have no idea what I want to go into, no idea what to do with my life. This doesn't happen to me," she looked into her brother's eyes. "Thinks always just seem to fit, but not right now and I can't help but wonder if I'm broken. I'm just ... not me anymore and I don't know how to change that." Dom looked away. "I don't want to graduate." This was more than fear for the future, though she didn't say it. Dom knew that many seventh years would miss the school, but she ... couldn't imagine leaving. Not only because Ethan would stay here as a ghost, but because she didn't know how to put herself together anywhere else. She broke here. Didn't it make sense that she would need to figure things out at Hogwarts, where it all tumbled down around her? Maybe that didn't make sense ... Dom couldn't be sure anymore, of anything. She didn't even know why she was telling her brother all this. Normally she kept things like this to herself.

@louis

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Louis stuck his still-stinging tongue out at her. “That’s what the Hospital Wing is for sister dearest,” he retorted, but not before laughing. It wasn’t as if he was a stranger to the Hospital Wing after all. Over the years, he and his friends had tried all sorts of stunts and pranks, not to mention he was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as Keeper. One way or another, at least once a year he landed himself in one of the narrow beds of the Hospital Wing with Madame Blacksmith looking down at him, unsure of whether to admonish or sympathize with his injuries. He was pretty sure by now the bar was set firmly on admonish, but she was too nice to scold much verbally. As if tempting fate, Louis plucked up another sausage roll, but blew on it several times before taking a bite. It was still quite warm, but not scorching hot so he didn’t feel as bad. His tongue still felt a little numb though.

Louis fell silent as Dominique spoke; he knew his sister had a lot she needed to get off her chest. Normally she wasn’t too much of a sharer, at least with him, but Victoire had been pretty hard to get in touch with over the past few months, and it wasn’t like Dom could really talk to their parents about what was going on. Bill Weasley knew obviously there were ghosts at Hogwarts; he had met all of them during his tenure at the school after all. But none of them where the shade of the person he loved more than anyone else (which was good, because then Louis, Dominique and Victoire would all not be around). “Hey Dommy,” he said softly, scooting over to sit next to her. He threw an arm over her shoulders and rested the side of his head against hers. “It’s okay to not have everything figured out. We can’t all be like Victoire, who was born marching towards Minister straight from Mums’ womb,” he said, snickering a little. It hadn’t been all too surprising that the eldest Weasley had been placed into Slytherin after all. “Just...take some time, see the world after you graduate. You have the time, and we have the money to do it. See it for both you and Ethan,” he suggested, seeing as Ethan couldn’t really go anywhere anymore. He knew the shadow of Dominique’s former best friend and boyfriend only wanted what was best for her after all, and not want her to hold back her life because of him.

@dominique

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Dom rolled her eyes at her little brother. "You know, I'm starting to worry about you being here all by yourself next year. I might have to come and visit sometime," she said softly. She was already thinking about it, wondering if maybe visiting Ethan when tons of students weren't around in the summer might help her, and maybe him. She shook her head, pulling herself back to the present just in time to see Louis pick up another sausage roll and blow on it. She couldn't help but laugh at him, shaking her head again as she did so. He could be so silly, but that was part of the reason why she loved him so. 

As she explained what was going on with her, she was a little surprised when Louis scooted beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. She almost forgot she was talking to him. Her throat grew tight as he spoke, saying she was alright and that she didn't need to know what she was doing. She bit her lip as the sudden urge to cry took over. No, she was not going to do that. Then he mentioned her seeing the world for her and Ethan and she started shaking. "I could do that," she whispered softly, trying to keep herself from crying, but she couldn't anymore. A few tears started leaking out, against her will. She didn't say anything else, just leaned up against her brother she her emotions started to overflow.

@louis

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Louis knew his sister was close to tears; they were only a year apart after all, and had spent a lot of time together growing up. Victoire had always been established as the elder sister, the model child, the one to look up to. He and Dominique however had been more wild, and less...disciplined than the former Minster of Magic. He had been through a lot with the Ravenclaw, and knew the warning signs that the waterworks were coming. So he didn’t say anything for the time being, but wrapped his other arm over his sister and pulled her in for a full hug. He rubbed her back gently and rested his chin on the top of his head. There were times for words and time for action, and right now his sister just needed a hug.

They stayed like that for a little while until Louis decided to speak again. “I want you to come visit Dommy, but I don’t want you to live in the past,” he said quietly. “I know it’s not going to be easy, especially after what you’ve been through. But even though Ethan’s back...he’s still dead Dom, he can’t be the man in your life you always wanted him to be.” He sighed, he doubted this was what she wanted to hear, but she had to hear it out loud from someone. He bumped his chin against her head gently. “It isn’t easy to hear, but I don’t want you to be sad, I want you to be happy, find love, and have a life. I am pretty sure Ethan would want that too,” he finished. In fact, he was planning on going to find Ethan to confirm just that, he had decided.

@dominique

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Dom relaxed against her brother as he held her, crying. She had no idea how long they sat that way before he spoke again because she was really just focusing on breathing and keeping the thinking to a minimum. She didn't want to think right now. Then he started talking about how he didn't want her to live in the past and how Ethan was here, but that he was dead. Despite herself, Dom felt herself growing annoyed. The fact that her best friend and the love of her young life came back as a ghost did not evade her, nor was she under the impression that anything would be able to happen between them. It just ... made her sad. Why did everyone think she wasn't living her life? She was mourning, trying to wrap her head around seeing Ethan again, trying to find out how she felt about all that, but it wasn't stopping her from doing anything. 

Still, she knew Louis just meant the best. He wasn't trying to upset her. "I know all that, Lou," she told him softly. "I know it's not the same, I know that Ethan and I ... nothing can come of that. I'm not trying for that. I ... I lost myself. Over the last year, since his death. I'm just trying to find myself again. Maybe Ethan can help me with that. I mean, he knew me better than anyone. Better than everyone. I know he wants me to be happy now. That isn't a question. I just ... I'm trying to figure out how to do that." She frowned, trying to explain herself. "Him coming back hasn't been easy, but he's not making me worse, Louis. He's just bringing out what was hidden before." Dom had no idea if she was making any sense, but that was the best she could do at explaining herself. 

@louis

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Louis could hear the words Dominique was saying, but he wanted to shake her a little bit. “Of course Ethan wants you to be happy Dom; I’d have to kill him all over again if he didn’t,” the Gryffindor said confidently. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Ethan wanted her unhappy, of course he would. “I just….want to make sure you know, that you both know, that he can’t hold you back once you graduate from Hogwarts. I don’t want you to miss opportunities in all aspects of your life because you scheduled a visit with Ethan,” he said. He knew he sounded harsh, but he had to make sure Dominique wasn’t planning on starting out the next chapter of her life coming back to visit a ghost at Hogwarts.

Wanting to take the subject off of Ethan, as Louis was beginning to feel heated, he beckoned one of the house elves forward. “Can we get some creme brulees made for our dessert?” he asked, and the elf trotted off. “Figured if we had something British, we should also honor our French heritage,” he commented, taking another sausage roll and stuffing it in his mouth. He allowed the silence to take over as he chewed slowly, then swallowed. “I’m taking Georgie with me to France with Mum this summer,” he said casually, as if it was no big deal and he was not super excited about it. He hoped his girlfriend loved France, as it was such a huge part of him, both in heritage and culture.

@dominique

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Dom wasn't crying anymore. That stopped sometime in the middle of her last explanation. Now she was listening to Louis' rebuttal. He seemed to be trying to be nice, but Dom found herself getting annoyed at her younger brother all the same. He wasn't listening, just telling her what he wanted to and the major problem was that he didn't understand. She was broken. Sure, she could leave Hogwarts and go off into the world and pretend like things were just fine, but they weren't. She was still trying to heal herself and it seemed like Louis was blaming everything on Ethan. It wasn't Ethan's fault. His death was the catalyst for her struggles, but him coming back as a ghost wasn't making her worse. Talking with him seemed to help her. At least, it made her feel better. "I'm not missing things for Ethan. I'm trying to figure things out and he's a part of it. I highly doubt that will change any time soon." Her voice wasn't harsh, but it wasn't its normal cheerful timbre. Maybe the annoyance was coming through? She wasn't sure. The thing was, she wasn't doing anything with her life. Once she left school, she had no plans. Nothing to hold her down, to give her direction and she was already struggling enough finding herself. She didn't need her brother telling her what not to do. She'd figure it out, but Ethan was a part of that, whether Louis liked it or not.

He started asking for dessert and Dom took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She didn't actually get mad at him and let it out, but her emotions were hardly under her control at the moment. Then he started saying that they should honor their French heritage and she found herself rolling her eyes, a small smile touching the corners of her mouth. Was she becoming bipolar? "Only you would think that by not eating both French and English foods we'd be dishonoring our heritage," she teased, hoping to help lower the intensity of the conversation. He mentioned taking Georgie to France with him and Dom smiled a true smile this time. "That's great! Have you figured out what you're going to show her? Where are you going, exactly?" This was what they needed. A distraction and complete change of subject.

@louis

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Louis could tell that Dominique was starting to get angry with his insistence that she move on from Ethan. Obviously, she wasn’t going to listen to him; she was as stubborn as he was sometimes, and mostly even more so. So when she eagerly spoke of what he’d be doing with Georgie in France this summer, Louis took the hint. That particular topic of conversation was far from over though, as he still did not believe Dominique was being healthy about her relationship with the ghost of her former boyfriend. He was dead, and whatever brought him back should be a sign that he wanted to give Dominique some closure. So how had it been two months and Dom was no better? More and more Louis was realizing he’d need to talk to Ethan himself, though he was not looking forward to it.

“Well, we’re going to be arriving in Nice first of course. I think I’ll treat her to some of their gourmet meals, NOT the Hard Rock Cafe, but one of those locally owned places. Strolls around the Promenade de L’Angleterre, probably a hike up the neighboring preserve. Then it’ll be onto Eze where Fragonard is so she can concoct her own perfume, Monaco to see the lifestyles of the rich and the famous, and Provence for the lavender and sunflower fields, among other sites,” Louis rattled off his ideas, growing more and more excited. They would not be going until August, and though it was only a few months away it felt like ages to the Gryffindor. He was excited to spend two whole weeks in the French countryside; he doubted Georgie had ever seen anything quite like the south of France in the summertime. It was a completely different world, so many new experiences awaited her, and he couldn’t wait to share them with her. “What about you? What are your summer plans - are you coming with us to France?” he asked her, curious as to why she hadn’t brought up her summer plans ever.

@dominique