Things are changing (Andy)

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Annelise knew that it was too early to go to bed on a Friday night, but she couldn't help it. She was too tired and really just not in the mood to hang around in the Gryffindor Common Room all evening. No one was there that she really wanted to talk to and her mood was ... strange. She paused on the stairs that led to the girl's dormitory and looked around the room once more. She smiled as she saw all her friends and oh so many cousins interacting with one another, but she still felt like she needed to be alone for a while.

Things were changing and she wasn't really sure how to react. First. all the crazy stuff that had been going on at school this year. Then Lily had to somehow get turned into a werewolf. Not to mention all the rest of the Potter drama. Then the Weasley's had their own set of drama. Anna just wanted to get away from everything, just for one night. Was that too much to ask? Closing the door behind herself, she walked into her dormitory and moved over to the window seat, opening the window and taking a deep breath of the cold, fresh air.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt calm. Things would work out, somehow. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She just needed to relax a little. Anna sat there for an immeasurable amount of time, focused entirely on her breathing and the sounds she could hear from outside. Soothing, quiet sounds of nature.

She jumped when the door behind her opened. Sighing a little out of disappointment that she was interrupted, Anna turned to see who else would be coming up here so early.

@lestrange

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Andy had just kissed Albus Potter. She had talked to him for about twenty minutes before they were suddenly wrapped in each others arms and kissing like they'd neer kissed anyone before. And now Andy was freaking the heck out.

It wasn't as if she hadn't kissed anyone before, hah. She had kissed two boys this year already, three including Al. But now she had no idea what she was doing with any of them. She liked Al, sure, he was funny and quirky. But she loved Phil. She had never admitted that out loud, but she knew it was true. She stopped on the stair on the way to the girls dormitory as the thought hit her. Her throat started to close up as she looked down to the common room, catching sight of Phil sitting near the fireplace. She felt the insane urge to run to him. Her eyes prickled with tears and she finally found the strength to move again.

She ran to the dormitory, glad for the chance to be alone. But she wasn't alone. When she opened the door, Anna was sitting there looked disappointed. "Oh, Anna. Sorry I didn't know you were here."

@annelise
(and @philiplongbottom cuz read it but dont post in it cuz THIS IS THE GIRLS DORM)

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Anna's eyes widened in surprise when she realized that it was Andy who'd just joined her. Why was Andy up here so early? From her previous observations, Andy looked to spend most of her time with Phil and Jude and they certainly didn't go to bed early. Maybe something was wrong there? Not that she would ever find out if that was the case ...

Anna smiled at Andy quickly, "Don't worry about it. I just need a little piece and quiet. What brings you to our dorm so early?" Annelise asked sincerely, but with little hope for a response. Andy and she had never been particularly close, so she doesn't really expect an answer, though she would love one. She's always thought that if given the chance, the two of them could be really good friends.

@lestrange

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Andy was relieved when a smile broke on Annas face. Peace and quiet, that was a novelty that Andy didn't get enough of. That most people at Hogwarts didn't get enough of. Andy was conflicted by the questions and the kindness that came from Anna. She moved to her bed, slowly, and took a seat on the edge of it. It was a bed over from Anna's, but there was no one else there so it wasn't like the distance was really a problem.

Normally, Andy would have given a one word response to end the conversation and then would have closed the curtains around her four poster and hid out. But now, now she knew she needed at least one friend. At least one person to talk to now that things were getting... complicated. Then there was Albus, but that was just another story. And Anna was his cousin, so there was that.

She finally looked up, shrugging a little and forcing a gentle grin on her face. "Sick of the crowds, I guess. And the boys," she added a small chuckle, though it was completely true.

@annelise

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Anna was surprised that Andy answered her, but she masked it with a small laugh of her own. "Well I definitely get that. Boys can be quite ridiculous, especially at our age," Anna rolled her eyes to emphasize her point. "And I have to be in the right mood for crowds, so I understand you there ... Anna trailed off and stared at the curtain around Andy's bed for a minute. She didn't really mean to, but she couldn't help it. Sometimes life was just confusing and that's how she felt it was right now.

After a few seconds, she realized what was going on and turned her attention back to Andy. "Sorry," she said, apologizing for her distraction and for Andy's misfortune. "Do you want to talk about any of it? I'm really good at secrets if you need someone to talk to." Annelise wasn't sure what to expect, but decided to throw the suggestion out there.

@lestrange

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Ridiculous was one word to describe the boys... But Phil wasn't that way. No, he was just too good, too genuine...too everything Andy wanted. Well, she had shot that horse in the face and for good reason. Being with Phil would be a mess right now, maybe always. It was better to push those feelings aside... as for Jude and Albus, well, those were both very different and complicated stories. "Sometimes I wonder how I ended up here... in Gryffindor, I mean. I don't see myself as an adrenaline loving crowd lover at all," she said.

Andy barely noticed Annas being distracted. She was too busy zoning out into her own life. Then Anna was asking if she wanted to talk about it and... Andy almost did. She waited a moment, turning to face her dorm mate. "I'm not sure. There's so... it's all really stupid," she said, looking down at her feet. "I mean... it's all my own fault, you know?"

@annelise

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Anna could hardly believe what was happening. Was Andy actually considering answering her questions, considering confiding in her? Anna smiled softly, "Come on Andy, you know Gryffindor isn't just for adrenaline junkies or crowd lovers. It's for those who are willing to stand up for what they believe in and you do that. You're a part of us, I promise. Besides, the sorting hat wouldn't have put you here if you didn't belong," she added cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood somewhat.

Andy wasn't paying complete attention for a few seconds, then she answered Anna's question and the mood got serious again. "Well, I'm not going to push you, but if you do want to talk to someone about anything, I'm here for you. Anything at all." she smiled wryly again, "But don't worry about getting embarrassed for me. We're girls. We tend to make a habit of making things complicated."

@lestrange

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Part of us. Belong. Willing to stand up for what you believe in. All these words felt foreign to Andy. Not that she hadn't heard them before from Phil, but still. It was strange hearing them about herself. Still, Anna had been there the entire time, hadn't she? She'd seen Andys small moments of bravery... and now she was going to start witnessing the big ones. Like never going back to her family, or eventually telling Phil the truth of her feelings. "Thanks," was all Andy could muster. She didn't know what else to say. She didn't know how to react to kindness. She was still getting used to that.

Andy found a smile appearing on her face when Anna spoke of how girls make things complicated. "Well, for the most part it's not in my control..." okay, she really needed to talk to someone about this, right? But so far... no one else knew the truth.

Well, there's a first time for everything. "Okay, if I tell you the whole story I know you won't tell anyone, right?" she didn't wait for a verbal answer, "I'm in love with someone but it's complicated. See, his parents sort of adopted me so we live together back home and we're practically siblings now and it's just a mess because he's best friends with my ex and Albus Potter and I have been snogging and sneaking around together for days now and-" she stopped her speedy rant, face bright red.

@annelise

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Annelise breathed out, relieved when Andy started talking. Obviously she was nervous and not quite sure how to explain what was going on, but that wouldn't be a problem. Anna was glad that she and Andy were finally goign to be able to connect. She had a sense that Andy wanted to talk about this, that she needed to talk about it.

Anna waited, hoping that Andy would decide to confide in her. Andy was still making up her mind, but finally she agreed to tell the whole story and Anna was too excited. She'd always wanted to be close with Andy and this was her chance. Suddenly, she couldn't handle the distance and she jumped lightly off her bed and to the edge of the bed in between hers and Andy's. She wanted to be closer, for her and for Andy. For Andy because things like this weren't always easy to talk about out loud and for her because she just wanted to.

"Of course I'm not going to tell anyone," she answered seriously. She wanted Andy to know that she could be trusted. Andy started with her story, not really going into detail or saying names or anything, but it wasn't really hard to figure out. Just from watching them interact at school, Anna had wondered if something was going on between her and Phil, but she wasn't going to tell Andy that, especially not when she was so embarrassed and her face was bright red.

Anna wasn't smiling anymore. That situation would be hard enough for anyone, so she knew Andy wasn't enjoying it at all. "So ... who are you in love with?" she asked, trying to be polite more than anything. "And if you're in love with this boy, why did you go out with his best friend and why are you snogging Albus? Does he know about Albus? Or does he not know the way you feel about him ..." Anna trailed off, hoping that Andy would still want to confide in her and not shut her out now.

@lestrange

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Anna asked all the right questions, which made this even harder for Andy. She knew all of her answers... but a part of her didn't want to say it out loud. Still, she did. "Well... I went out with his best friend before I knew how I felt about him. Way prior. I really liked Jude, I swear," she said. It was true, too. She didn't know how she felt about Phil back then. She liked Jude, and it was fun while it lasted, at least for the most part. But then he ended it in a brutal way... and Phil was still friends with him. Phil even knew the story! So, what was the conversation between Jude and Phil, Andy wondered?

"I think I love Phil, Anna. That's what... Longbottom, I mean. Albus is..." she shook her head before groaning and falling back onto her bed. She lifted both hands to run them through her hair. "Phil and I decided it would be better off to push feelings aside. We can't do this right now. As for Albus, he's really sweet," she said, even though that wasn't the best word to describe the Potter... it worked for her, "and he cares about me. And I care about him. It's just... Phil doesn't know about any of it. At least, not to the truest extent. Gosh," she shook her head, pushing herself to sit up again.

"I sound like a crazy person, don't I? People are dying and here I am whining about love."

@annelise

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Anna listened and watched carefully, still taken aback by Andy's honesty. She kept expecting Andy to shake her head and pull the drapes closed but she didn't. So Anna listened, sure that Andy probably needed to get it all out of her system and that it would be easier for her to do so if no one was interrupting her. Obviously, she was struggling a little bit to put her feelings into words.

As Andy winded down and started making sarcastic comments at herself. Once she was done, Anna decided to jump in. "We're teenagers," she stressed. "Whining and worrying and practically being consumed with our love lives is basically all that we do. And if we don't do it, we definitely should. So don't feel bad about that at all. You're completely normal. And everyone needs to vent about their love lives once in a while."

Anna thought for a few seconds, trying to decide if she wanted to ask Andy more questions or if she should keep them to herself. She shrugged and decided to go ahead. As long as Andy was in a sharing mood, she might as well keep it going as long as possible. "So when did all this happen with you and Phil and why did you decide to push your feelings to the side? Have you still been doing things with him since you started ... seeing Albus?" Anna tried to think, to see if she could remember Phil and Andy hanging out lately, but her memory was not cooperating.

@lestrange

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Anna did have a point. Andy had every right to feel her crazy teenage emotions. Then she went on, asking more specifics. Andy sighed, "over Christmas break Phil and I kissed, but almost immediately decided that we needed to push our feelings aside because we are practically siblings now, at home I mean," home.... it was weird to her how it wasn't weird calling the Longbottoms place home... but that was a thought that she needed to push aside, other things were at hand. "I haven't talked to Phil much since then... and no!" her eyes widened for a moment, "Albus and I didn't start seeing each other until about a week ago. I know, I know," she rolled her eyes at herself.

She sighed again, seemingly unable to find her breath, "let's talk about something else." She found herself chuckling, oddly enough. She just didn't know where to go from there.

@annelise

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Anna was surprised. She felt like that explained her since the moment Andy walked into the room. She never expected to have these kinds of conversations with Andy, but at the same time she really liked it. She felt her mouth drop open from shock and sympathy. Of course, over the years she'd wondered if anything would ever develop between either Andy and Jude or Andy and Phil. Apparently it had happened with both ... but that couldn't be a fun situation.

Anna made a face, "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be pushy. And I'm sorry about all that. It doesn't seem like it would be fun to deal with. She paused, trying to figure out what to say next before she just shrugged and let it come out. "Well, what do you want to talk about now? I'm game for anything." It seemed like Andy still wanted to talk, just not about her boy issues, so Anna had no problems keeping her company. It wasn't like she had anything more interesting to do anyway. Until Andy came up to the dormitory she was bored as all get-out and trying to come up with something interesting to do. To Anna, talking definitely counted as interesting, so she was happy.

@lestrange

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"No, no. You weren't being pushy. Thank you," she knew Anna was just trying to help Andy sort things out by asking so many questions. She licked her lips as the short silence took place before Anna asked what she wanted to talk about now. "Well... I mean, what's happening in your life?" Andy realized she didn't know anything about Annelise Weasley. She knew about her family, obviously, and a little about her abilities in class. They had lived together for years but Andy had always closed her curtains to those around her. Andy had always been cold, hiding in the shadows and not participating. Who was Anna Weasley? What did she like? What were her goals? He fears? Why didn't Andy know any of this?

"I mean...I've talked enough for now," she added with a bit if a sheepish smile and a light red adorning her cheeks. She had made a fool of herself enough already, not that Anna thought that. No, Andy was her own worse critic, of course.

@annelise

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Anna thought for a minute. What could she tell Andy about her life? Unlike Andy, Anna had no boys to speak of, no relationships. She could talk about her deep feelings against potions class and anything related to it, or she could talk about how she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life but she really just didn't know what to say. Talking about herself was not one of Anna's strengths, but she had to come up with something fast. She didn't want Andy to think that she didn't trust her in return.

After a few seconds, she was still blank so she just said the first thing that popped into her head. She smiled, "Nothing really exciting is going on with me. You know, classes, homework, school. Mostly I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. I'm so stressed about it that it seems like all I ever do these days," she laughed as another thought came to her. "Except for when I'm on some crazy adventure with Lily. That's always a nice break from the routine of things. I don't know, is there anything you want to know about specifically?" she asked, really not sure at all what she should say.

@lestrange
OOC: Sorry it's been so long, the last two weeks have been crazy busy!