the empathetic hunger descends [ollie]

[SAMUEL LEONHARD VECTOR]

Mid July 2029

More and more frequently, Sammy found himself just on the periphery of his group of friends. He'd never cared much for Quidditch, which had always made him sort of the odd one out of them. But it had been much more acceptable than the chasm he felt was growing between himself and the others. Because the boys - Theo, Sammy, and Ozzy - only had one thing on their minds.

Girls.

It was driving Sammy absolutely bonkers. He couldn't get through a single conversation without someone bringing up a nice pair of tits, or the rag that Gilbert had started that Theo had delighted in. More than once, Sammy had tried to steer everyone back to sanity, but it was proving to be a more difficult job than he'd expected. He just didn't understand the allure. Sure, girls were fine and everything. Tilly was around all the time, and she was great! But that didn't mean that Sammy was interesting in fondling or even seeing her breasts. He thought he'd explode at the mere mention of tits in front of her anyways.

Sammy sat on the edge of the pool at their party, uncharacteristically quiet. Usually, he'd be the centre of attention with Scottie - who was whipping a wet t-shirt around his head in the pool and cat-calling a pair of Ravenclaw girls who were giving him flirty looks. Sammy's head was far away, lost in thought. Scottie stripping half naked was nothing new, but it had given him an idea. A harmless little prank really. That would be it. And maybe, for ten minutes, people would talk about something other than girls.

Withdrawing his wand, Sammy surreptitiously pointed it at the water, charming it so that the swimming costumes of everyone who got in the pool would change colour. It took a few tries, but Sammy wasn't the (self-proclaimed) Master of Charms for nothing. He watched as the charm took effect, rippling out through the water. At first, no one noticed. But that would change when people moved. With a satisfied smile, Sammy stowed his wand and watched the rest of his classmates messing around, content for a moment to be on the edges.

Oliver Russell Blishwick

[Oliver Russell Blishwick]

Mid-July 2029

Ollie had floated off into his own world and was blissfully ignoring everyone else around him. That was the beauty of finally being after his NEWTs – their marks wouldn’t arrive until later that month, and being in that awkward transition from school to career training meant he hadn’t gotten summer reading yet. Oliver had powered down his laptop, put the spreadsheets on hiatus, and resolved to do absolutely nothing all summer long. He thought he deserved it. Oliver was due to start Healer training next fall, and he’d seen the students walk around campus like zombies – dead-eyed, slow shuffling motions, and endlessly searching for a brain. He wanted to briefly enjoy being young before that happened to him.

The open invitation to the Vector party seemed like a wolf in sheep’s clothing – promising a good time until the moment you realized someone had drawn troll nudes all over your things. The misdeeds of the MAGIC kids had reached LIFE too, and he was a little suspicious about what it all meant. Surely this was just one big conspiracy theory, since mass pranks were hard to pull off in the summer when everyone had gone off on holiday. But in the end, even Ollie was just a boy and could be broken with the promise of free food, music and pool time. So he had a strategy. He’d scoped out one of the lounge chairs in the pool early to stake his claim, made himself a milkshake at the poolside bar, and settled down to soak in the water with his drink – shades on, situational awareness off.

At least until the screams started. He didn’t sit up immediately, choosing to sip on his straw until he felt the last dregs of the strawberry milkshake disappear. Then he sat up to assess the damage. Nothing seemed to be wrong at first and he removed his sunglasses so he could squint around better. Other students seemed to be confused, looking around and whispering until someone pointed at the girl who’d screamed. Ollie snorted as everyone absorbed the hideous orange of her swimsuit, then started to look and point at each other. He looked down and sure enough – his navy blue trunks had somehow gone pink.

That troublesome fact and being blond meant he looked like he’d just walked out of a Legally Blonde movie (or worse…Barbie). Ollie sighed to himself and gave up the chair – just to see if getting dry would do anything to reverse the charm. But no luck. He did a quick scan to search for the usual suspects, and paused for a second to stare contemplatively at Sammy Vector sitting by the pool. Looking extremely nonchalant in the middle of the chaos. Even if it wasn’t him, Ollie reasoned, he probably knew who had done it – their gang ran somewhat wild and it tended to put a damper on everyone else’s day. He approached quietly and sat down next to Sammy, letting his legs dangle into the pool (the damage was already done, right?). “Good bit of luck you weren’t in the pool when that happened,” Ollie suggested, waving a hand to gesture at the people gawking at their swimsuits. He picked at his new pink swim trunks, wondering if this was just going to be a thing now.

SAMUEL LEONHARD VECTOR

[SAMUEL LEONHARD VECTOR]

It was one of those rare moments that Sammy was content to not be the centre of attention. It made it simpler to pull off what he was planning - a simple, colour changing charm. But the key was using water as a conductor as well as a target. After a few tries, he managed and a wide grin swept across his face as he watched his charm take effect. It took people a few beats to notice, and the screams of confusion and delight had Sammy sitting back, looking exceptionally smug. He summoned a pair of sunglasses and perched them on his nose, casually perusing the chaos that ensued.

Sammy heard someone approaching him, and glanced up. It was Ollie Blishwick, a Slytherin a few years older than him. Sammy smiled up at him, looking very much like the cat who'd caught the canary. "Alright, Blishwick?" asked Sammy. Though Ollie was older than him and in a different house, Sammy's numerous misadventures with the Slytherin boys in his own year had brought him into contact with Ollie more than once. To say they were friends was a stretch, but certainly there was no animosity between the boys. There was something distinctly calming about Ollie, who was organised and tidy to an unnatural degree. One which Sammy very much appreciated.

"Yeah, luck," said Sammy with a secret grin to himself. "Pink suits you though. Brings out the colour in your eyes," he added with a chuckle. "Better pink than say... mustard. That would completely clash with your complexion," Sammy added with a frown. Naturally, he had been well educated in colour palettes, because Harmony would not have a son of hers dressing unfashionably. "How you feeling about the exams being over? Did big head many feet prepare you well for NEWTs?"

Oliver Russell Blishwick

[Oliver Russell Blishwick]

Casual extravagance had never fazed Ollie, all things considered. The Blishwicks weren’t nearly so flashy when it came to showing off their wealth – unlike this sprawling place that wanted to remind you of how grand it was, something that definitely reeked of new money. Even so, Oliver’s family had always found their own little ways to remind everyone of the Blishwicks’ long and undisputed reign of their own territory. Even in their own version of a summer celebration – his dad and uncles might do the grilling themselves, but the crystal lemonade glasses and carefully manicured lawns still reminded you who they were. Anyway, all that meant was that shows of wealth didn’t put him on edge since they weren’t anything different.

But it was still a little hard to be completely nonchalant when you were seated next to one of the Vector kids. Even though Sammy was a few years younger, he absolutely towered over everyone (including yours truly) and found ways to casually sit and lounge like he was modeling for a magazine cover. Ollie knew better than to outwardly show everything he was thinking – but yeah, maybe he was a little more self-aware right now than the usual. “Oh sure. I’ll avoid mustard,” he agreed, glancing down at his trunks and wondering about his complexion. It was outside his range of knowledge, but Sammy said it with enough confidence that it sounded true. He continued in a tranquil voice, like he was discussing nothing more interesting than the weather. “Best I could hope for, really, for such an amateur charm. Looks like it was sloppily done.” He sneaked a glance at Sammy as he spoke.

He idly kicked his legs in the water and splashed around, leaning back on his palms. Ollie had gotten a million questions about his NEWTs since the moment he’d walked out from his last exam, starting with overeager classmates and culminating with impatient letters from his mum. But Ollie still squinted up thoughtfully and contemplated his answer so he could give a real assessment of what he thought. “I did as much as I could,” he finally said slowly, shrugging slightly as the familiar feeling of anxiety wormed its way into his stomach. There was no way to control what the owl would bring, but his entire future hinged on it and the loss of control of the situation was stressful. “But I can finally drop potions,” he continued wistfully, focusing on the silver lining of the whole thing. He’d have to take Healer-specific classes in the subject, probably, but it’d still be better than the standard Hogwarts curriculum.

SAMUEL LEONHARD VECTOR

[SAMUEL LEONHARD VECTOR]

Sammy idly commented on the altered colour of Ollie’s trunks, managing to stifle a grin at the same time. When Ollie retorted and insulted his wandwork, Sammy had to fight hard to maintain a stoic expression. He didn’t think he did a good job of it, but then again, he wasn’t sure Ollie was completely wrong. It had been a bit haphazard of a spell. ”Suppose so,” said Sammy reluctantly, his brows drawing together as he considered what he could have done better. Truth be told, Idele would have done a much better job. But then again, she refused to participate in his plans anyways. So Sammy had to work with what he was offered.

Not really listening for a response, Sammy asked Ollie about how his NEWT exams had gone. He didn’t know the elder Slytherin very well, and figured it was only polite to enquire. Mummy would be so proud of his manners. She’d always taught them that manners cost nothing. He was fairly certain that Theo or Scottie would have more intriguing topics to discuss with their housemate, but Sammy was at sea. ”Scottie talked about skiving off NEWTs. But I think our mum would murder us,” said Sammy after a brief moment. ”I’m jealous, the things I’d do to never have to deal with big head, many feet again,” he added. ”Maybe I’ve failed my potions OWL and am off the hook anyways,” he amended thoughtfully. ”When did you know what you wanted to do? In the future, I mean,” said Sammy, glancing over at Ollie and wondering for the first time if he could solicit valuable information from him.

Oliver Russell Blishwick

[Oliver Russell Blishwick]

It was fairly easy to keep a serene expression on his face as he delivered a poor review of the prank, although Ollie did have to smother a bit of a knowing grin as he watched Sammy’s downcast expression as he looked over the effects of what had surely been his spell. It was an aftereffect of being cousins with Jimmie, he supposed. The two traded snarky comments during mandatory family events all the time, and in Oliver’s quite vast experience of always trying to show off for his family – nothing stung more than being told it wasn’t good enough. AKA, there was no better way to reveal the face of the prank than by giving it a thumbs-down. But he didn’t intend to do anything about that. Maybe if it’d been one of the other Vector kids, who were quite apt at annoying him by disrupting quiet study time. But Ollie did like Sammy, relatively speaking. He didn’t really know him, but the boy hadn’t done anything worse than turn his trunks pink.

“Ah well. Suppose next time the bloke better consider the timing of the prank. So I’m not in the line of fire and all.” Ollie kept his carefree tone, but figured that his patented Slytherin Side-Eye (TM) towards Sammy would make the message clear. He kicked his feet around idly in the water and leaned back on the palms of his hands. The flinch at the mention of Sammy’s mum was involuntary, but that was only because Oliver’d had the misfortune of seeing her and her strange house-elf in the middle of a veela freakout at some kids that had tracked water onto an expensive rug. He’d heard the Slytherin boys making jokes about how hot she was, but he personally couldn’t unsee the fireballs. “Just wait for your brother to get into trouble before you bring it up. Your mum will care less,” he advised. He didn’t often have bad news, but he usually waited until his dad had made a blunder before he brought it up. Sometimes she simply punished him later, but usually she was too distracted by the bigger heap of trouble.

“Er, I dunno. I guess I’ve just always had all these questions about people, and why we are the way we are. So it makes sense to do something that’s supposed to give answers.” He shrugged a bit and scratched at the back of his neck. He was starting to get a bit hot again, but the pool was still a renaissance painting of horror and chaos – some kids still in hysterics about their bathing suits, while others seemed to be trying to trigger the charm again for another color change. Like hell he was going back into the water with those barn animals. “Strange to see you two apart. You and Scottie, I mean,” Oliver added a second later. The only reason he could identify Sammy at all was because the boy spent so much time in the Slytherin common room, despite not being one himself. So Oliver would’ve figured that the two would be inseparable at home.

SAMUEL LEONHARD VECTOR