Cold Heavens [Katherine]

[Deleted]

@katie

12.22.2024

Finally Christmas break had arrived. Lance had been worried earlier in the term that he would have to be one of the Prefects required to stay at school during the break, but they had asked ahead of time, allowing a few of the ones that wanted to stick around to take up those spots. Georgie had also decided to stay at school, meaning the apartment provided by Barbara during the previous summer break was all for him this time. Aside from the furniture and general living items Barbara had given them, there really wasn’t much when it came to personal belongings. Lance had been used to bringing everything he owned (which included a few keepsakes from home) with him between Hogwarts and the orphanage. He didn’t have to do that anymore because they had a proper place to stay. Just thinking about having a place of his own to call home had him giddy. There had ever only been three constants in his life until that point; Georgie, Hogwarts, and the inevitable return to the orphanage. Now he could add the apartment to that list. And hopefully Katherine as well.

Today was the day though – Katherine was supposed to arrive any minute now, and he had spent the last day and a half meticulously cleaning the apartment. Again, there wasn’t much to clean, but he had also never done something like that before so it took a lot longer than he assumed it normally would. Dust had a way of finding itself in almost any imaginable spot, and then some. The other trick was that he had to get groceries, a task that he had done a few times during the summer but was still awful at. How much food was he supposed to get for only two people? Those weren’t the sorts of things that normally crossed his mind when he had mandated eating hours at both school and the orphanage. He had the freedom to buy and eat whatever he wanted now. It was a dangerous thought to have, but he was pretty sure he kept it tame in his selections. The girl cashing him out at the grocery store thought it was cute that he was ‘puttin’ on an American accent’’ when he politely greeted her, her own return being a very boisterous ‘Howdy!’

But that was hours ago now, and he was anxiously sitting on the couch, feet tapping away on the ground. Once the cleaning and shopping was done, he was at a loss for what to do next. The worst part? They weren’t even going to be at the apartment the entire time. Lance had somehow finagled a small vacation to a beach, away from the city and long enough trip to run right up until they had to catch the train back to school. He thought it would be nice to escape everything one last time before graduation. He had never had the chance to do so before, so doing it now seemed like the best time to do it.

The knock on the door had him jumping to his feet instantly, his arms instinctually whipping it open in the anticipation that Katherine was on the other side.

[Deleted]

Katherine was kind of sad that she wasn't going to New York over the break, but she had other plans that she really wanted too. She had Lance. She didn't tell her parents she was spending the vacation with a boy, just implying she was going to be with a friend. She was of age as a witch now anyway, so there wasn't really much they could do about it. But they didn't even seem to mind, so that was fine by her. She did tell her younger sibling that she'd send a gift to them, and she may have nodded a goodbye to Jake... she'd probably send him back a gift too.Maybe.

She had a small bag packed for this, but she didn't really need much. She found herself fidgeting with the shoulder straps on her backpack due to nerves as she neared Lance's apartment. She didn't normally get nervous about things, but for some reason she felt... antsy. Not in a bad way. Maybe 'anticipating' was a better word for how she was feeling. She started doing math problems in her head as she approached the door, that always calmed her down.

She knocked, and the door was almost immediately opened. She smiled, a small smile, at Lance and nodded once in greeting, "hey," she said, her eyes moving past him to take in the room inside. Then she looked back at him and stepped in, kissing him quickly and casually on the cheek before dropping her bag by the door. She folded her arms, raised an eyebrow, and assessed the room.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@katie

12.22.2024

Thankfully it was Katherine on the other side of his apartment door and not Georgie, having made a late decision to join him instead of spending the holiday at school. He had seen her just yesterday on the train, but it still felt like it had been forever. Probably because he had been so busy cleaning the place over the last twenty-four hours. Not having a second for himself really had a way of elongating a day. Somehow the house elves enjoyed doing things like that, and Lance was really starting to second guess whether they were sane beings or not. A clean living space was supposed to make for a happier life, but giving an entire apartment a scrub down was tough. Sequestering a house elf or two away from the castle at the start and end of each break sounded like a great idea for the future. It would definitely make his life easier.

“Hey,” he grinned at her as she stepped into the apartment, giving him a peck on the cheek as she went around. “It’s the least she could do after pretendin’ Georgie and I didn’t exist for the last six years,” Lance reasoned, mostly to himself. It was still messed up no matter how he looked at it. Barbara was trying to buy their love and affection back. Turning the place down would be stupid though, and the same could be said about the bank account she had set up for each of them. He could love her gifts but not love her. Stepping up next to her, he also folded his arms, to match her, before continuing, “But it’s the home now, so welcome.”

[Deleted]

Lance grinned upon seeing her, which she of course took in silently before making that entrance. She put two and two together at his words about where the apartment came from. His mother had given it to him and his sister. He stepped up next to her, saying it was home and welcoming. She nodded once, taking it in a moment longer, "at least good things can come out of crap situations," she said firmly. She wasn't one to be all whimsical or anything, but that didn't make the statement any less true. She had been in plenty of bad situations and got good things out of it. Heck, her brother having his insane ability caused her to take the time to learn one for herself and that was something she was proud of. It didn't do much unless she was hiding from a legilimens, but she still was grateful for it. Especially when Jake was around.

She turned her head to look at him, keeping her body facing forward, her arms still folded. "Is that sister of yours here now?" she questioned. Georgie could easily be back in another room... but also Katherine was sure that she wouldn't be hiding just because Lance had a girl over. His sister was rather... well, she was different than Lance as far as Katherine could tell. Just like Katherine and Jake were so different. Maybe not to THAT extent.

Jake, who would be wondering where she was...

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@katie

12.22.2024

Katherine’s frank tone always took him a few seconds to get accustomed to. He liked her forwardness, especially after being jerked around so much when being forced to go to England and then Hogwarts. She didn’t bullshit him like Barbara did and there weren’t any games involved. At least none that he knew of yet. Being direct was almost always a good thing, in his opinion, and getting to the point was better than dancing around it for ages. Too many of his friends did that (and he did to an extent too), and it had gotten old by this point. “A lot of good things came out of that,” he mused, not specifying what he meant by that. Meeting Katherine had been directly tied to getting the apartment, since he had been out in Diagon Alley looking for household items to buy for it. And now they were here.

Unfortunately she also possessed the sort of directness that resulted in the following question. Lance frowned when Georgie’s name was relegated as ‘that sister of his’. The younger Linley was still his best friend, regardless of what happened between them, and she deserved being known by her name still. Katherine’s general animosity towards her didn’t make sense either, and he could only assume they had a poor encounter with one another at some point that he didn’t know about. “No, Georgie stayed at school this year,” he explained, making sure to say her name. “Because she isn’t old enough yet, the orphanage wouldn’t let her stay here with me.” It was all semantics and rules; if he could have adopted her and become her legal guardian before Christmas rolled around, he would have done it. But that wouldn’t be possible until summer and by that point she was going to be free of the orphanage as well, so there wasn’t much reason to do it anymore.

“Want anythin’ to drink?” he asked while moving around her and heading towards the kitchen. “Figured we don’t have to rush right out there.” Fiddling through a couple of the cupboards while trying to remember where it was that he kept the glasses, Lance opened the correct one after a few tries. Pausing as he got two glasses halfway out, Lance continued, “Unless you want to go now?”

[Deleted]

He said a lot of good things came out of his mother leaving and she didn't press the question as to what. She was sure that he would share details if he wanted to, and she was fine with just taking what she got. He said his sisters name, that she stayed at school this year because the Orphanage wouldn't let her stay with him yet. She nodded, "I guess that makes sense. Since you're leaving for the Holidays it's probably nice that she'll be around other people anyway," Katherine suggested, trying to sound a little more supportive of Georgie. But really she didn't have much of an opinion of her at all. Still if she made Lance happy... whatever.

He asked if she wanted anything to drink and she nodded, moving toward the kitchen with him slowly. "Water is okay," she answered, "we can wait a bit, I'm sure that the beach will still be there when we leave," she found herself teasing, even though her voice wasn't necessarily the traditional teasing tone. Katherine had her own way of doing things, always had.

She took a seat, turning to look at him getting the drinks ready, "this place suits you. It's cozy," she complimented.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@katie

12.22.2024

Katherine wasn’t wrong; it was nice that Georgie would be around other people. The orphanage had a special way of making the holidays terrible, and it wasn’t their fault at all. Most of the kids there were too young to remember Christmas with their birth family, if they ever had one to begin with. The Linleys did remember, and quite a few of them at that. The other problem Lance tended to have with it was that the other kids there tended to get jealous because he and Georgie were still family and had each other no matter what. That was something the rest of them lacked, no matter how much the staff at the orphanage preached that everyone there was family to one another. They were wrong about that and they knew it. “Yeah it’s good for her. Next year though, she’ll finally have Christmas at a real home.”

She said it was fine to wait before leaving, and Lance nodded his head in agreement before completing his action of pulling the glasses out of the cupboard and filling each of them up. “I hope so. I’ve been waitin’ for this for months,” Lance said as he crossed back over to the couch and handed Katherine her glass, setting his own down on the table and taking a seat next to her. “Y’all drove me crazy with all my Prefect duties this term,” he laughed, “Didn’t think I was going to make it out alive at the end.” He had only experienced the rowdiness of the oncoming holiday break from the student side and never from the working side, and now he absolutely understood why the Prefects were always irate by the end of each term. Absolute chaos, even when everything seemed normal.

“Thanks. I haven’t had this much space…ever,” Lance laughed again, though it trailed off as he realized the seriousness of the comment. “Don’t think many students at Hogwarts have their own apartment all to themselves. I count myself lucky.”

[Deleted]

He said that next year his sister would finally have christmas in a real home and Katherine nodded, underdtanding that he had that desire for her. She ahted the thought of her younger sibling being stuck in England for any holiday, like they were for thanksgiving. Her siblings had both gone with their parents for the holidays, though, which was nice for them. Not that Katherine worried about Jake, but she was sure he woulld be happier with that arrangement. That was a comforting thought, in it's own way.

He said he'd been waiting for this for months and she smiled a little, taking the glass of water that he handed her. He mentioned those prefect duties and she rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink while he went on to say he didn't think he was going to make it out alive. "You probably wouldn't have if another prefect had caught us," she explained. A part of her had hoped that would happen. Then he wouldn't have to do those stupid prefect rounds anymore. Granted, it was also kind of an added perk to their relationship that he could technically go wherever and people didn't generally ask questions. Maybe being in bed with the law wasn't such a bad thing.

He said he had never had that much space and that Hogwarts students didn't have their own apartements. "I doubt it, what with those parents and all," she explained. "I think it's nice. I've never had this much space either. Apartments in New York are incredibly small unless you're unbelievably wealthy, and my parents didn't really care to bother with enlargening charms or anything because the ministry is so strict about the parameters," she shrugged. "If you use geometry right you don't need a lot of space, just the right places to put things."

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@katie

12.22.2024

“A Prefect probably wouldn’t have done anything if they walked in on us,” Lance admitted. He had stumbled upon one of his colleagues in the middle of some frisky business exactly once and decided to turn a blind eye to it completely. The only time he ever brought shagging couples in was if they had been warned multiple times from him personally. That rarely happened though, and it was more because they hadn’t found any original spots and voices tended to echo through the hallways late at night. It was hard avoiding it when he knew exactly where they were in the castle. Being derelict of duty just because he was embarrassed to tell them to stop wasn’t a good way of losing the badge either. “I’d say another student finding out would be worse. With a student, they could say that I’m being contradictory to my normal duties, or something stupid like that. Still not as bad as a Professor walking in though, obviously,” Lance was satisfied with his answer, but decided to continue, “Doesn’t mean I’m going to stop though. Prefect’s bathroom is always secluded,” he shrugged, knowing that on his allotted times, it was only ever him in there. But it didn’t have to be.

Katherine went on to explain that apartments in New York were tiny, much smaller than his, and they were all about using the space well. It had him thinking about whether or not he had done things correctly in his. He didn’t have much of an example to draw from, so he sort of threw everything in places that they seemed to work in. “How bad is mine?” he asked, knowing that her thoughts on the matter would be worthwhile in the end. By now, he was too embedded in what the apartment had always looked like, so a fresh, outside take on it could definitely make it homier in the long run.

[feel free to magically rearrange it]

[Deleted]

He said a prefect probably wouldn't have done anything and she raised an eyebrow, "what, is there some sort of pact among you guys?" she guessed. Even if she was a 'prefect' she would turn people in just for the sheer fun of it. But Lance wasn't like that, she knew, and he may not appreciate that she was but that didn't mean she would lie if it came to asking her opinion. He said another student finding them would be worse - and of course a professor. She smirked at the thought of that, but the smirk shifted into a smile when he said that didn't mean he was going to stop. "Good. Even if a professor showed up, we'd just find somewhere new, right?" she suggested. She hated that they weren't in the same house for this reason too, that they couldn't just find each other in the common room and just hang out, watching the fire, talking. No, they had to find little times throughout the day and whatever evening she was willing to sneak out and meet him. 

He asked how bad his arrangement of the apartment was and she tilted her head to the side. "Close, but needs a little work. May I?" she lifted her wand and only made a few small changes, putting the couch to the middle of the room but arranging everything else against the walls, aside from the small table which was flesh against the back of the couch, right behind it. "See most people don't think to put the couch in the middle because it looks like more space if it's against the wall, but if you put it there - like an island - you technically get more use out of the floor. With the table there you can put more chairs around it, or just tuck them under out of the way when there isn't anyone here," she shrugged, pocketing her wand again. 

"I bet the bedrooms a mess, though," she suggested.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@katie

12.22.2024

Lance shook his head at the guess of there being a pact amongst Prefects. Maybe with the other Hufflepuff ones, but definitely not the other houses. There were times where it was like stepping onto someone else’s property and having the dogs sent after you for it. He didn’t really care who ‘owned’ which parts of Hogwarts as long as they all did the job they were assigned to do. “Nope, No pact. But I’m a nice guy, and people tend to tell me things they don’t want others to know about,” Lance explained. It was a dilemma he had never been able to avoid. Being a good listener was easily his biggest flaw. “Let’s just say that I know a lot of things about a lot of people. It’s not blackmail if I never have to use it.” And if he did, the image of Lance Linley would immediately go down the drain. Luckily that would never happen because he would rather take the personal blow of a spreading rumor about him and Katherine in the bathroom than embarrassing another student to protect his hide. That wasn’t his style.

Stepping back to allow her to rearrange the living room, he listened to her explanation as the couch and table were moved to their new locations. It made sense. Suddenly it didn’t feel as cramped as it did before, and everything still flowed in a logical way. “Impressive,” he said as he moved next to her, arm going around her waist. “You sure you don’t want to go into home design or somethin’? All you have to do is change everything around when nobody is looking and you’ll have bags of money.” If only it was that easy. Lance remembered watching the shows about homes back when he was still in the US. There was a level of art involved in all of them, and he couldn’t even wrap his head around how people could make their homes so visually appealing. He threw everything down and left it where it was once it sort of worked.

“See for yourself,” Lance offered, leading her by the hand to his bedroom. It was at the end of the small hallway that made up the rest of the apartment, the door to Georgie’s room closed on the left and the bathroom to the right. “There’s not much to it. Most of the mess is from unpackin’ my school stuff and then throwing my normal clothes back into my suitcase.” Lance stopped once he was in the room, giving it a solid once over to see if there was anything really messy out in the open. His suitcase was splayed open in the corner, the closet door overflowing with black robes on hangers. Other than that, he had a nice big bed to make up for the lack of one at school and the orphanage and a nightstand next to it. “I used a featherweight charm on the bed to make it softer, but that’s about the only interesting thing in here...”