♛

nibs vasco. ❝ I firmly believe in small gestures: smile or try to be kind even when you don’t feel like it, pay compliments, try to be larger than you are— particularly when it’s difficult. ❞ 24, farmer, muggleborn, order.

[reaganlongbottom-blog]

Grinning over at Nibs, Reagan swung her feet in the water in delight under his praise. She liked knowing things, even if she was told that most of what she knew was information that she wasn’t going to get to use. “Not always. There’s a vast world out there, Nibs, full of information that no one will ever know.” That was part of the mystery of life, but at the mention of a secret, her eyebrows quirked up in invitation, “I won’t tell a soul. Ghosts included. Pinky swear. What is it?” She scooted closer to him to prevent anyone else from eavesdropping. 

[nibsvascos-blog]

Warm, light brown eyes lit up as he tried to picture just how big and wonderful the world was. However, they quickly became heavier as he was reminded with the realisation that the world wasn’t always as wonderful as he believed it do be. “That’s why we go to school, right? And why we have libraries? My grammy used to tell me how important books are, because you’re always learning... And everything you learn is super valuable and super useful!” A sad smile graced his lips. Then, he looked once to his left and once to his right, suspiciously, as if he was loaded with the world’s most important secret, before leaning in to whisper into Reagan’s ear. “I... can’t swim.”

[reaganlongbottom-blog]

Perched over the edge of the pool, her toes dipped into the water, Reagan turned to the person beside her. “Did you know that one in five adults in the UK don’t know how to swim? And if that isn’t enough of a hazard, bikinis are named after a nuclear testing site called Bikini Atoll. A NUCLEAR TESTING SITE. And ironically enough, the crawl is considered the fastest stroke in swimming.”

[nibsvascos-blog]

“That’s so cool, Reagan!” The absence of alcohol at a party where the majority were at various levels of intoxicated was more of a frustration than Nibs had imagined. However, when he drank he felt things more intensely, and when he felt things more intensely he cried. He looked at Reagan with a soft smile. “I mean, not the nuclear testing site thing, but it’s cool you know all these facts! You always know cool facts, huh?” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the water. “Shall I tell you a tip top secret? You can’t tell anyone...”

[purescorp]

“I’d offer you a drink, but to be frank, I don’t like you.”

[nibsvascos-blog]

“Oh, I wasn’t-- it’s just a part of the song... I wasn’t-- I wasn’t asking.”

[heavyhcarted-blog]

All this memorial did was taunt and build to the fear seeping through the walls of the castle. Hogwarts was no safe place to call home and instead fodder for violence. Death and corruption reeked the wizarding world, and this event only added to the burning flame. James wanted little part in it, no matter if the rouse was partially in honor of his father. His shoulders were soaked with the tears of a third year who had been trembling during the service that he’d consoled, his face steely as he wandered into the depths of the Forbidden Forest. It was no more dangerous here than it was in the hallways. He intended to escape into his animagus, red fox form, but keen senses indicated that he was not alone. Tapping his wand to light at the tip, he turned it toward the presence, still cold stone silent until he could properly gauge the situation.

[nibsvascos-blog]

Nibs wasn’t a Potter, a Shacklebolt, or a McGonagall, but the way he had shed his tears, he could’ve easily been mistaken as a son of all three. ‘Be brave, Nibs,’ he heard his grammy whisper to him from the cloud, ‘Be strong’. And he’d tried. He’d exhausted himself with trying. He’d spent hours in church asking for forgiveness after doubting his faith in recent months, for joining a war that would ultimately result in blood shed from both sides, and he desperately pleaded for some inner-strength for the times to come. However, his efforts were lost by the time this memorial came around. He’d been doing okay; opening the doors for strangers, even the intimidating ones, buying surprise treats from Hogsmeade for the younger ones in his house as his smile mirrored theirs, and generally trying to be as kind as he could even though he was just a boy too small to contain such grief. It was why he excused himself with the pretense of needing to use the bathroom. As sad as he was for those that’d lost a relative or friend, his inconsolable grief was for his own family that’d perished at the hands of Death Eaters, and he felt so unbelievably selfish about it. It didn’t feel right staying at the service when all he could think about was how much he missed his siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, and aunties and uncles. He hadn’t been brave, and he hadn’t been strong. So, instead, Nibs tried to persuade himself that running into the Forbidden Forest was being brave, but he knew deep down that all he was doing was hiding. But, even that failed as he ran into James. He felt a wave of embarrassment, and so he was finally able to reign in his uncontrollable tears, wiping away at his reddened eyes, though his shoulders continued to shake. “It’s... just me,” he struggled to speak through laboured breathing, “Nibs-- Just Nibs... I-I’m sorry, James, I’m not-- I’m not at the service... I just--” Nibs couldn’t lie, but he couldn’t tell the truth either, so he just lowered his head in shame.