And She Never Wanted to Leave (Kinsey)

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

After the time that she had spent at home, Penelope had dragged her feet coming back to Hogwarts. It wasn’t that she had any aversion to school itself; things at school weren’t bad, though she had never been the strongest student all around. Being away from the castle had just been so nice, even if Kinsey had been missing from the picture when she should have been there. She had missed the youngest of her older sisters at Christmas—their conversations over breakfast, watching with anticipation to see her reaction to what she'd picked out for her, watching the weather and hoping that there was enough snowfall that it had stuck to the ground. It had been nice, and having to face reality again—and the increased security at Hogwarts—didn’t sound as pleasant as getting to live inside of a bubble that made her feel like a little kid again.

And, once she was back at school, it seemed to Penelope as though she had had no time to do much else but schoolwork. She didn’t want to think about what her seventh year would be like for her; her workload was already heavy enough. Gradually, though, she was working her way through her assignments, trying to manage her time so that she didn’t get behind in any of her subjects. Divination, of course, was a non-issue. She had loved the subject since she’d started it in third year, and it was never a chore for her. (Besides, it gave her an excuse to drink tea in the name of academics, and that alone was a plus.)

She was coming back down from the library to the kitchens to see if the elves had any spare tea leaves around before she got started on some reading in the comfort of her dormitory, thankful for the prospect of a relaxing night. Maybe, she thought—if her roommates didn’t mind it—she would even be able to light a candle or two. It was shaping up to be a good plan, she thought, and she was on her way down the staircase when she noticed Kinsey on another set of stairs nearby. If she timed it right, maybe she could reach her.

“Kins!” Penelope called out, not minding the stares that she got from some of the portraits on the walls—and probably some of the other students, at that. It had been a while since she had spent much time with her older sister, the downside of being in separate years and Houses. Still, if she couldn’t put off her reading for her sister, then who could she put it off for?

@kinsey
OOC: I tried to leave it as open as I could for you!

[Deleted]

Kinsey was so tired. It felt like her life had become a blur of days and nights. She had a hard time telling whether she was actually awake or whether she was sleeping. She didn't even know what day it was anymore. She tried not to let her struggles show to others (who knew what sort of torment Dom would provide if he realized), but that was starting to get more and more difficult. The more nightmares she had, the less she cared about how she appeared. 

At least today she'd put effort in. She'd brushed her hair and put on a little makeup, choosing a nice outfit to wear underneath her robes. She felt comfortable with what she was wearing. That helped a bit with things. 

When she heard her younger sister's voice, Kinsey turned around and forced a smile. "Penny," she greeted, a stab of regret hitting her. She didn't want her younger sister to see her like this. Hopefully Kinsey would be able to hide how much she was struggling, but there was no guarantee of that. She should have made her way to the Ravenclaw Tower more quickly. Instead, she stopped in the middle of the staircase and waited for her sister to reach her. "How are you?" Kinsey asked, figuring she might as well start the conversation. 

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Penelope moved swiftly through the maze of stairs to reach her sister. She wasn't pushing past people in the sense that she was physically shoving them out of her way to maneuver through the staircase, but she did quicken her step. With staircases that were almost constantly in motion, though, it was a challenge to observe the same etiquette as one might while using an escalator—standing on the right-hand side and walking on the left-hand side. Keeping balanced wasn't a guarantee, and neither was it guaranteed that the stairs wouldn't just turn back in the direction from whence they had come.

It would have been so much easier if she could have Apparated her way up and down the stairs, but she wasn't licensed (or allowed to do so within Hogwarts even if she had been). In lieu of picturing in her head where she wanted to go, Penelope had to settle for the next best thing: weaving around the other students on the staircase until she got to Kinsey.

"Sorry, could I just—"

"My sister's just over there."

"Cheers."

"Penny."

"Hi," she greeted her sister, taking in a breath and shifting her book bag back onto her shoulder so that it wouldn't slip back down.

"How are you?"

"Alright, thanks," Penelope answered. Aside from the fact that she had just had to navigate the staircase and was slightly out of breath from having done so, she was well. Kinsey looked more tired than usual, she thought, and she felt sorry that maybe her sister hadn't slept well. It wasn't fair how much work their teachers had been piling on them so soon. "I was going to go to the kitchens for a cup of tea. Do you want to come with me?" she offered.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

It didn't take Penny too long to approach her, though she did have to make her way through the crowd. Maybe Kinsey could have helped with that somehow, but her mind wasn't really thinking about that at the moment. How was she going to act like she was okay? She didn't want to make it obvious that things were wrong with her. 

Penny said she was all right and Kinsey nodded, wishing that maybe she'd asked a different question. That one was too easily put to the side and didn't really make for good conversation. She didn't really want to go to the kitchens, but Kinsey didn't feel like she should say that, especially if she didn't want Penny to think something was wrong. She gave a small smile, "Sure, I'll come with you." Kinsey started making her way down the stairs. "So, everything with your classes going all right so far?" They should be. The term had barely started, but she was still trying to come up with something for them to talk about. 

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Kinsey said that she would come with her to the kitchens, and Penelope smiled in response. Her older sister might not have been her triplet like Peyton and Persephone were, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy getting to spend time with her. It did feel a little hard to manage, sometimes, with how crowded their schedules had become, but even just catching up over tea was better than nothing at all.

"So, everything with your classes going all right so far?" Kinsey asked as they went down the stairs.

"Yeah, they're not too bad," Penelope nodded. "It's like they think we came back to school and started seventh year already," she laughed, trying to make light of her workload, "but Divination's great." (When hadn't it been, though?) "I sort of wanted to read tea leaves downstairs, actually," she mentioned, but it was really nothing serious. (It probably made her sound geeky, however.)

"Yours?" she asked Kinsey, returning the same question that she had just been asked. "And revising for your NEWTs now, I guess?" If it felt like it was creeping up on her too quickly, Kinsey would have to sit her leaving examinations in only a few months.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey smiled when Penelope explained that her classes weren't too bad, they just had lots and lots of work. "Yeah, the professors tend to do that. You think that it'll get easier as you get used to studying, but they always have to up the workload." As a general rule, Kinsey didn't mind that, but at the moment it was giving her a little bit of trouble. Mostly because she was missing classes. She still didn't know what to do about that. 

Kinsey laughed when she mentioned wanting to read tea leaves downstairs. "Go ahead and read your own, but I'm keeping mine to myself," Kinsey said good-naturedly. She wasn't going to let anyone get near to anything that could tell her future or her present. She didn't need to actually show her little sister how much her life had deteriorated. Kinsey would go to great lengths to make sure that didn't happen, actually. 

She shrugged, "Same here, lots of work, but that's only to be expected." Kinsey smiled, "I like being busy with schoolwork." It made it so she couldn't focus on other things, like her nightmares and the fact that the guy she loved was engaged to someone else. She'd do almost anything to be distracted from that little gem. 

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Kinsey said that their professors tended to do that, upping their workload and making them study harder just when they thought that they had fallen into the rhythm of it. Still, Penelope made an expression of distaste at that, scrunching her brows. "I guess they've got to do it," she conceded. It was a part of growing up and getting ready to enter the real world, where somehow their examination marks mattered more to employers than who they were as people.

Penelope had to laugh when she heard Kinsey laughing, although she was slightly disappointed to hear her sister say that she didn't want to partake in the divination. "Go ahead and read your own, but I'm keeping mine to myself."

"Awww… I'll just make one up for you," Penelope teased her. "And a cuppa's still good even if you don't use the tea leaves," she added as a reminder. Tea was excellent and basically a cure-all in Penelope's view. Stressful day of classes? Tea. Good news? Tea. Procrastination? Tea.

Kinsey said that she was busy, too, and shrugged. She liked being busy with her schoolwork, but that was no shocker; she was also a really good student. Where schoolwork was concerned, Penelope was able to tread water without sinking, but she was no Ravenclaw. "That's because you're clever, Kins! You could do it in your sleep. I'll probably get a Howler from Mum and Dad when they find out my Potions mark," she admitted, laughing to try to mask her embarrassment at the thought.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

It was kind of amusing to Kinsey how most people got so angry when the workload increased. To Kinsey, it made perfect sense. While she didn't always enjoy the fact that her professors gave more and more work every week, she understood that they were trying to prepare her for exams and teach her things she would need to know. She knew not everyone could have that point of view on it, but it was the only one that made sense to her. "Yeah, it's an important part when it comes to getting a job. I just hope that all the studying helps me on my NEWTs." Kinsey did very well on her OWLs, of course, but NEWTs were at a whole different level. 

Kinsey was relieved when Penelope didn't push her to share her tea leaves. Kinsey wouldn't do it, and she didn't want to come off as cranky to her younger sister. She smiled and nodded, "Okay, just try to make it a happy one, okay?" she teased with a small laugh, nodding at her sister's comment about tea being important, even if the leaves weren't used for divination. 

Penelope started complimenting her then, saying Kinsey was clever and could do her schoolwork in her sleep. If only. That would definitely help with the problem of not being able to complete everything she was missing in class due to those stupid nightmares. She chuckled, "You'll be fine. Everyone struggles with schoolwork at one time or another. If you're really having a hard time, I'm sure there's someone in your year who'd love to help you." Normally Kinsey would volunteer herself, but she was already tutoring Joe and having a hard enough time trying to keep herself on top of things. Yeah, she couldn't add more to her plate at the moment. 

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

"Yeah, it's an important part when it comes to getting a job. I just hope that all the studying helps me on my NEWTs," Kinsey commented, as though she had ever really done poorly at anything school-related.

"Stop it!" Priscilla giggled, giving her sister a gentle and playful swat on the arm. "You know you'll get all O's. You're only saying that so I don't look bad!" Kinsey had never tried to rub in her intelligence, which helped Penelope from feeling like a complete failure. There were probably career opportunities out there for someone who wasn't a Seer to work in something related to divination, weren't there?

At least Kinsey had faith in her completely made-up predictions about the future, too. "I can do happy," Penelope assured her. She really didn't want Kinsey's future to be anything but. If Kinsey had given her the okay to read her tea leaves, she thought that she probably would have made something up if there really was a bad omen in there. She couldn't do that to her sister.

Back on the subject of school, Kinsey assured her that she would be fine. "Everyone struggles with schoolwork at one time or another. If you're really having a hard time, I'm sure there's someone in your year who'd love to help you."

"Maybe that's why I'm a triplet," Penelope laughed. "The universe knew I'd need someone to help me in Potions." She wasn't serious, of course, but it was handy to have Peyton and Persephone there if she did need to call upon them for assistance with just about anything. As much as she would have loved for Kinsey to help her out, too, she understood that it wasn't always as feasible.

They continued down the stairs, and Penelope instinctively reached out for Kinsey's hand so that she wouldn't lose her. "Sorry," she smiled apologetically. "Is that too babyish?"

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey laughed when her sister did, telling her that she'd get all O's and that she was teasing. Well, yes and no. Kinsey was downplaying herself, but a part of it was honest. She was nervous about her scores, especially if she didn't figure out what was going on with those nightmares. If she kept on having nightmares that she couldn't wake up from and she missed a lot of class, would she still do well on the tests. "I'm sure you'll do well, Penelope," she answered with a smile.

Penelope said she could do happy and Kinsey nodded, glad that her sister was willing to go along with her on her different request. Kinsey really just wanted to pretend like everything was peaceful for her right now, like she didn't have lots of problems to try and sort through. 

"Well, have you asked Peyton or Persephone?" Kinsey asked, chuckling a little. She didn't want to seem pushy or anything, but since the triplets were all in the same year, it was likely one of the other two could help Penelope. "I'm sure they'd love to help you ... or you could find a boy to ask." Wait. Was Kinsey teasing her sister about boys? Huh, that was definitely a first. 

Penelope grabbed Kinsey's hand as they walked down the stairs and Kinsey jumped a little. It wasn't that she didn't like the contact, but she wasn't used to most people touching her. Toby did, but they'd been best friends for six years and he knew her better than anyone. She and Riley touched, and Joe was always finding new ways to tease her, but Kinsey wasn't used to her little sister touching her. Still, she smiled, feeling the positive intentions from her sister, who seemed to just want to have a good evening together. "Don't worry about it, you're fine," Kinsey answered.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Kinsey asked if she had asked Peyton or Persephone yet. That was her usual course of action, considering that she usually had one or both of them in class with her, and it wasn’t difficult to find a place to meet when all three of them had access to their dormitory or their common room. “I'm sure they'd love to help you…” Or, Kinsey said, she could find a boy to ask.

Instantly, Penelope could feel her face going red. She didn’t even have a crush on anyone! “Merliiiiiin, noooo, Kins! That would be so embarrassing!” Hufflepuff was already stereotyped as being the House where all of the other students who were leftover got placed. Even though Penelope had never held that belief herself, she didn’t want to reinforce it. There were some attractive guys in her year, as well as in Kinsey’s year, but all she ever really did was look. What would she even give as an excuse? She didn’t need to end up staring in some boy’s eyes and getting distracted.

It was Kinsey, though, who jumped a little when their hands touched. She said not to worry about it and that it was fine, but it was as though, in telling Penelope not to worry, her sister had only made her worry about it more. “Did I hurt you? I-I didn’t mean to…” she asked, apologizing before Kinsey had said anything one way or another, and almost retracting her hand.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Penelope didn't say anything when Kinsey suggested she ask their sisters for help, but Kinsey grinned when her sister started turning red. It was kind of nice not to be the one going bright red for once. She chuckled when Penelope started to argue with it out loud. Kinsey smiled. "I'm just teasing Penelope. I can't tell you to do something that I wouldn't do." Kinsey was definitely not brave enough to ask a guy for help, even if she needed it, which she didn't. 

Kinsey could see the worry in her sister's eyes when she touched Kinsey and she felt bad. Kinsey shook her head instantly when Penelope started asking questions. "No! No, you didn't hurt me or anything. You're fine. I'm just ... not used to people touching me, but I like it." She was trying to reassure her sister. Suddenly, Kinsey was worried that she'd lose yet another sibling. Hopefully not. That was the whole point of talking to Penelope like this. 

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

With her sister's reassurance that she was only teasing her about asking a boy to help her with the subjects in which she was struggling, Penelope Bainbridge's face gradually returned to its normal color. Even she, herself, wouldn't have asked a boy for help with school, Kinsey admitted, though it was honestly a little surprising to the Hufflepuff that her older sister had never been in that position, from the opposite standpoint. Kinsey was both clever and pretty. Maybe she didn't wear layer upon layer of makeup or bathe in perfume until it was unbearable, Penelope thought, but at least she didn't need those as though they were personality traits.

Kinsey also shook her head when it seemed as though she had accidentally hurt her. Sometimes, Penelope had a tendency to forget that being touched wasn't something that everyone enjoyed as much as she did. It wasn't even that, though, Kinsey explained. "I'm just… not used to people touching me, but I like it."

Penelope gave Kinsey's hand a gentle squeeze. "Tell me if it's too much for you," she urged her. She didn't want Kinsey to get angry with her over something that she could prevent from happening. "Or if I'm tugging too hard," she added. She didn't want Kinsey to lose her balance, either.

@kinsey
OOC: Slight time jump to the kitchens?

[Deleted]

Peyton seemed to relax once Kinsey reassured her, though her reaction was definitely cute. Was this why Joe teased her all the time? Was that the kind of satisfaction he found from making her blush? Kinsey wasn't sure, but it was definitely something to think about. The two sisters continued to walk, Kinsey feeling bad when she hurt her sister's feelings. At least Penelope believed her when Kinsey said that she didn't flinch because of her. She nodded. "You're fine, Penelope. Don't worry about it." Even if her sister did pull her too hard, Kinsey wouldn't say anything. She'd be fine. 

Before she knew it, the two of them were in the kitchens. The house elves were accommodating, as always, asking what they could do for the two young girls and Kinsey smiled at them. She loved the house elves. They helped her through her first several years here at Hogwarts, when she struggled with her ability. She didn't come down to the kitchens half as much now, but she still had fond memories here. "Can I just get some cake and milk?" Kinsey asked after a moment, her mind changing from before. She wasn't really in the mood for tea anymore. 

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Before long, they reached the kitchens, stepping inside the portrait of the fruit bowl that marked its entrance. The house-elves, as usual, were more than happy to ask what they could do for them. Kinsey asked for cake and milk, rather than tea, as Penelope had expected. She couldn't read anything in a milk glass, though her sister had already mentioned not being interested in having a reading. Cake did sound good, though; she'd have to steal that idea from Kinsey.

"Oooh. And can I have some cake and a cup of tea, please?" Penelope asked of the elves. "In a wider cup, please, if you've got one," she clarified. Anything too small would make it difficult to read the leaves once she was done.

@kinsey