Oops I did it again // Selfie
Clyde never meant to stumble on these things. Yet, somehow, the squib couldn't seem to stay out of them.
Clyde was home for the summer, and like any summer before he had his routine. It was familiar and normal and the return of the never a never-ending feeling of concern in his gut that he was wasting time. There were people that needed his help, his mother needed his help, and still, over two years later, Micheal still needed his help. The boy never seemed to have left him. That chilling last phone call and the voice mail he heard far too late. Panic had settled so deep in him it felt like a norm now. He should have told someone, but he didn't. He was a squib, what did he know about anything anyway?
Being home was like returning to his childhood. He was sleeping in the same bedroom he had been for years, he was taking care of his mother the same way he had been since he was 16, and he was back to a routine he had only when he was home. Nothing changed, but it didn't kill Clyde to be there though the panic made him think otherwise. It did kill him to think that things would never change, though. It was only nostalgia that kept him going throughout the day watching over his mom and prepping for his summer sessions. He liked summer, he saw students that were perhaps regulars, and on occasion, he saw actual adults who needed some quick help. It was a way to get extra cash, yes, but it also allowed some change in scenery as he ran his own little office from his mom's house.
Clyde went on errands for his mother now and then. She hadn't left the house much since the incident other than to go to therapy and the healers a few times a week. Clyde had officially hired a nurse to watch her, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous to leave the house still. He just couldn't fathom the very likely chance she could die.
Clyde walked through Hogsmeade regardless, picking up groceries and some books for his mother.
Stumbling onto conversations was easy for Clyde. He was a natural listener. He was a helper. He was always in tune to his surroundings before himself, so while he was picking up a few books in Flourish and Blots, he couldn't help but be drawn to the voices that echoed through a back room.
They were hushed, as any conversation that wasn't meant to be heard by others should be. But in the back of Flourish and Blots was not secretive enough to keep Clyde away or for his ears to catch words that only peaked his interest further.
"We don't talk about those things here," A man said simply. At least it seemed like a simple request, but a voice that was surely too young to be mixed up with these things that couldn't be discussed in public piped up again.
"We need to talk about it though. You know what I saw!" It was surely a girl's voice that spoke, but the man didn't say a word before she spoke again. "How did you know I'd see that the-" She was cut off though, her words muffled. Clyde grew tense though, worried about the girl and her safety. She sounded so young.
"I told you to be quiet!" The man hissed. Just as he did, he poked his head out, and Clyde stuck his own head in the first book he saw. He needed to be blissfully unaware. He had one inconspicuous spying lesson from Calhoun, shouldn't he know how to do this? That didn't shake the feeling that Clyde surely still looked suspicious looking at healing potions to stop someone's toenail fungus.
The man stuck his head back into the room and returned to a more hushed tone. As he did though, Clyde inched over to hear better. He couldn't help but worry that the girl might be in trouble the way Mike was. Clyde was Mike's last hope and Clyde didn't even hear his call for help till long after he was gone. He was certain he would never make that mistake again. "We'll have a meeting," The man said softer now, he was whispering quickly, but his voice wasn't nearly as harsh as it was before. Maybe Clyde had thrown him off? "People don't understand right now, and that's okay. You know it's true don't you?" He asked the girl. The conversation suddenly seemed more innocent to Clyde; maybe there was nothing to worry about after all.
"Of course, but-" The girl was cut off again.
"No buts, you saw the truth, and now you'll meet others who saw there's. Someday, everyone will see it for themselves too." He sounded soft, gentle. Even Clyde wanted to trust him. He wanted truth. In this uncertainty, he had been facing recently with his mother, the students, and Mike, he would certainly give anything to see something that was true.
Clyde backed away, happy to know the girl was safe and let his guard down. Putting the book back on the shelf, Clyde left. Completely forgetting what he had come into the store for in the first place.
