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Worry || Ernie and Padma

Ernie seemed tense, defensive even. “Hmm yes, but they’re hardly going to admit they’re wrong now, after everything that’s happened.” An argument about the Ministry was not what she wanted, especially as Ernie didn’t seem to want it either so she quickly changed the topic. “You have read things even if they aren’t truthful or accurate just to be able to have an opinion on it.” She didn’t want Ernie to feel bad for reading the Prophet, they all did, they all had to to find out the news.

A look of confusion came across Padma’s face. “I’m not sure, I think we had some sort of game with a rope that you jumped over. It was called a Self-Skipping Rope and you said a spell to activate it and then it would spin automatically and you could jump through it. I think that’s the closest to the magical equivalent. Yours sounds a lot safer though. A lot of people swore they had trip jinxes in them but that was mainly adults because they couldn’t jump on time. We were fine.” Whilst nodding Padma said, “Actually, that does sound quite similar but then I guess there are all sorts of games that you could come up with involving a rope and jumping.”

There was a pause for a while and Padma wasn’t sure what topics were appropriate to bring up any more. “I wish I had one now,” she mused, “A Self-Skipping Rope, I mean, and then I could show you.” From Rose she was learning that people’s backgrounds could be very different.

"Yeah you're right. Being aware of everything, including lies is important." Ernie tried to speak sincerely but to be honest he'd been avoiding reading or overhearing anything about current events. Listening to Padma reminded him that he didn't always act this way. He felt guilty about it.

"That's interesting! I've never heard about that. When I was a first year I was always trying to act grown up and never talked to anybody about games that were played back home." He slouched a bit on the bench. "I guess wizard communities are usually pretty isolated huh? Everybody I grew up with before Hogwarts was related to me in some way."

"Yeah that would be neat. Probably would just fall flat on my bum if I ever tried it though," Ernie said with a smile. Inwardly he didn't think he'd feel like jumping anytime soon, but it was a fun thought.

#convo: padma

alexeilevski

Reflections

alexeilevski

[He shrugs.] I don’t really know- is there much else in Muggle London besides this death-wheel? Money isn’t really a problem, but is there anything muggle-interesting to do?

#convo: alexei #//sorry that it's late

Hmm... Muggle London just seems interesting but that's probably because I'm in the wizarding part at least once a year. I don't know if their shops and amusements are any different from the muggle cities where you're from. Well their version of the Knight Bus is weird to be on. Really slow and impractical. -he pauses- Actually everything I've done there has been pretty childish family-holiday type stuff. I've heard there's a decent nightlife if you're the type of person that would like to freak out drunk muggles with magic. -he shrugs- Not really my thing buts it seems fine so long as no one gets hurt.

Worry || Ernie and Padma

It was a choice between lying to Ernie and letting him in on a secret he sort of was already a part of. “Yeah, it was amazing. Well-” She took a deep breath. “I asked Ron if it was still working and he said yes so we went to have a look, and it’s fine, just a little touchy.” So that wasn’t either a lie or the truth but that’s only because she dodged the question. “We wanted to see if it was usable.”

"I hope everyone knows that." When Padma picked it up she expected some truth it in and her mum thought that some of it was true. You can’t fill that many pages with lies, she had said. “Well that’s reassuring at least, but then the way the Ministry treated Dumbledore…” She was going to pass it off as a joke but then remembered Ernie didn’t seem to respond well when she mentioned the Ministry so she kept quiet and it came out more seriously than she intended.

"Yes, exactly, everything could be a lie for all we know." Padma would rather not think that, it seemed too horrifying that everything they had been taught was false. Thankfully, Ernie’s joke lightened the tone, even if she didn’t understand half of it. "What exactly is ‘jump rope’? But yes, you’re right, he could have even been a girl for all we know," she said with a smile.

#wild boar #canon patronus #wintertime

"That's good" Ernie said quickly. He was now almost certain that she wanted to start up the DA again. He wasn't sure if he should mention Rose. If each of them wasn't aware that the other was doing the same thing then that could cause some complications. He really didn't want to get deeper into all of this though.

"The way the Ministry treated Dumbledore was awful. I don't think I've read any sort of formal apology in the Prophet either. Not that I read it to be honest." Ernie strongly felt the need to defend Dumbledore. He was still nervous but well, Padma surely agreed with him and it was nothing he could directly get in trouble for. "They probably said something about how it was all done by the death eaters that infiltrated the Ministry," he scoffed.

Ernie smiled. "Jump rope's this muggle game. My grandmother grew up in a muggle village and learned it from some neighbors. She showed my mom how to do it when she was a kid and my mom showed me. You have a long, thin rope and you hold onto each end with your hands and you..." He stood up and made circular motions with his hands at his sides. "Jump over the rope. I don't know if I'm explaining this well."

"Yeah that's possible too." He knew he shouldn't make a joke or anything but didn't have anything to add. He sat back down, smiled and focused on the view.

#convo: padma

alexeilevski

Reflections

I never really notice how much bigger London is than Budapest until these holiday seasons come around. I’ll have to visit when School lets out.

Oh London's great. When I was a kid my dad and I even went on that crazy muggle contraption that's like this giant wheel that rotates you up to see half of the city. It was ridiculous. Or are you just planning to visit Wizard London?

#convo: alexei

Treats

A nap in the middle of the day

Bones

A horrible shock

Love

My parent's 25th wedding anniversary

Power

Having control

Protect

Important to be able to do

#tweprompts #headcanon

Worry || Ernie and Padma

Ernie’s reluctance to talk about the Room of Requirement made it seem like it had died. “It’s still working, you know,” she quickly said, to dispel any thoughts he may have. “Ron said so and we went there.” She wanted to make it sound like DA wasn’t in the past but there was only so much she dared to say outside. It was ironic that Ernie thought her open and blunt when she kept quiet on what she really wanted to talk about.

It was weird to think of Harry, someone they knew as a voice in a textbook, but then there was an awe around Harry. He was Harry in DA and The Chosen One when he faced Voldemort. Padma had seen him fight in the Battle, but putting that man to the boy who taught them was hard sometimes. It was easy to imagine it was a different person entirely, if only because what happened was so extraordinary and not because of Harry’s lack of skill. “But would they portray it right? Rita Skeeter wrote Dumbledore’s story and despite it saying it was going to reveal all the facts, it’s made the truth more confusing.”

#convo: padma #//the ironic seems fine to me!

"Really? That's great I guess. It was a useful place. Did you guys visit because you were curious?" Ernie didn't know if he was going to regret asking. Complaining about the Ministry, reading defensive magic books and checking out the Room of Requirement all strongly pointed to a desire to revive the DA. Was she in on Rose's plan or was this an entirely different group?

"Yeah that's true but everyone knows her books are trashy, right? I have a few aunts that adore her but she would never be assigned reading in Hogwarts. I hope Dumbledore gets his story written down properly. No rumors or mean-spirited implications." He shrugged. "I guess we don't know how accurate the things we've read about long dead historical figures are either?" Ernie smirked. "For all we know Merlin could've invented jump rope and discovered the north pole." He was glad to be talking about something so distant and out of his control as this. It wasn't his responsibility if things were written down right or if anything he'd learned was true. He realized that this wasn't a good thing to be complacent about but then again so were his feelings about the death of the student. Being anxious all the time narrowed the number of things he could be concerned about, it seemed.

Worry || Ernie and Padma

"Yeah, it was one of the books we found while in the Room of Requirement so you probably have read a bit." If Ernie thought she wouldn’t need it then he clearly wasn’t thinking about relearning how to defend himself. Was she going overboard with wanting to reform DA? Was Hiroki’s death more than it seemed and not a random attack on a student? Padma would have hoped that was true, for the safety of them all rather than any malicious intent, but she knew that it would be foolish to think like that. Whatever happened, it never hurt to be prepared. "I think it’s important to know it thoroughly." Could she say anymore to Ernie? "We never know what’s going to happen next."

"I think it just teaches you that there is no certain truth, even if it is paraded as such." Padma paused for a second and said in a surprised tone, "I’ve never thought about that. What do you think they’ll write in the history books about us?" Would the children of Hogwarts be casualties in the Battle or will the Ministry be perceived as protecting them all from harm?

#convo: padma #//sorry this is so late

"Yep the good ol'... well you know. That had to be where I saw it." Ernie thought about how much the DA had changed from 5th to 7th year. He was feeling a bit bad about being so completely dismissive of Rose's revival. Was it inevitable that the rebellious learning would become actual rebellious activity? If he was hard pressed he'd agree it was necessary at the time but it did exacerbate the tension. The current situation wasn't nearly as dire. They had all been working towards a bright and shiny dawn and only got a foggy and fearful present. It was still preferable to the darkness they got out of. He wanted to stop thinking about all of this.

"Yeah I can understand that," he said quietly. He was nervous about how bluntly Padma was talking about the Ministry. Discussing things in the common room with Rose was completely different than talking out in the courtyard. He could even swear he was hearing a slight echo coming from the castle. "It is weird huh? I imagine a lot of book writers have been pestering Harry to tell them his story. Maybe that would set things right. Who'd criticize his point of view after all he went through to kill Voldemort?"

Worry || Ernie and Padma

It was clear that time and worry and war had weakened their friendship. Had it really been that long since Padma had a proper conversation with her old DA friends? The only person she had spoken to recently was Justin but even then only half their conversations had been light-hearted. True, she had Rose, a bundle of cheerfulness, and Anthony and Luna to talk to - they were still part of the DA lot - but it seemed the main body had been disbanded.

She was thinking of another neutral and small-talk phrase to say when Ernie spoke again. It didn’t annoy her as such that people assumed Ravenclaws liked reading, because she actually did enjoy it, but it was frustrating for some of the Ravenclaws who didn’t live up to that house stereotype. “Practical Defensive Magic was very useful and it’s not too old so it’s still decipherable. I would lend you it but-” she hesitated before mentioning why she needed it, “there’s something I need it for soon, but I’m sure the library has plenty of copies. Rise and Fall of the Wizarding Reign was enlightening, but uncomfortable reading. If you can read it with some distance then it’s interesting. I read some books about weather magic but those were for Flitwick’s work.”

#convo: padma #//sounds good to me =]

"Ah that's all pretty heavy stuff. I'm pretty sure I have read at least some of Practical Defense Magic but I can't-Oh wait that was fifth year right... Umbridge and everything else that happened. I can't imagine you'd still need it though." He thought for a moment and decided it was probably just something she reviewed every once in a while to keep her skills sharp.

"Hmm, I think I'd like history if it wasn't for Binns's lecturing, though I'm guessing there's a definite anti-Muggle lean to that specific book. It's weird that history can be biased isn't it? Makes you wonder what the future will think about what's happened here."

nott-teddy-deactivated20140217

Huh

nott-teddy-deactivated20140217

Keep dreaming, Macmillan. That’d be the only way you’d defeat us.

#convo:theo #//wow i feel like i sound so arrogant #for winning trivia #this is fun :]

Yeah I can hear you talk tough but everyone else has seen Slytherin's performance last month. You guys aren't the team to beat at the moment.

nott-teddy-deactivated20140217

Huh

So the Hufflepuffs can win at Quidditch. Imagine that. I suppose I should start seeing them as a threat now? -snorts-

-looks over in annoyance-That attitude is going lead Slytherin to an embarrassing loss against us in a few months. Alexei has put together a brilliant team.

#convo:theo

Ahhhh

Well, that’s our cover so if anyone gets suspicious… and I’m kind of doing that anyway so I’m not lying at least. -sighs- It’s nice to know you have our back…kind of. Thanks for not snitching. I won’t say a word. -zips lips- You’re just on the straight and narrow until graduation, huh?

I guess? I don't what I'll do once I'm out of here but the sooner I get there the better. Nothing makes time seem slower than worrying.

Ahhhh

-stubbornly shakes head- No I’m not! They’re the ones too scared to go to class, I’m just helping them out and making sure they’re keeping up. That’s all. It’s beneficial to practice spells and the like, right?

I think that’s important, since, as you say, the room can’t produce food. You can do the same thing now. We really need the help. And in this case it’s only one day, Saturday’s around 11. -twists mouth to the side- Though I suppose if you don’t want to do it I can’t force or convince you. Just, don’t let any officials in on what we’re doing, yeah?

Practice is fine. If that's all it is you could try making a tutoring organization and submit it as a formal club to the school board.

No, I think that times have changed. Things aren't as dire and I'm sure that this is going to spiral out of control into something like last year's version. The Ministry don't like to be made fools of and they'll crack down harder if they catch wind of it... But no, I won't snitch. I hope you're successful but don't mention anything about how it's going to me, or ask for help. -smiles uncomfortably-

Ahhhh

It helps a little bit. -she holds up her finger and thumb- The rest is just me. I was going to ask, actually. You were in the group before, right? It’s just a little extra practice, there’s no harm. It’d help them with their exams in the long run. They’d get a better understanding of the basics… -frowns a little- Ah, you’d think they’d take it that way? That’s not my intention. I’m not usually anti things…I just want them to not be afraid to sand up for themselves. Nothing wrong with that.

Well you are basically telling them that you don't think a Ministry-sponsored education is good enough. Besides having them sneak around and keep secrets. That's not exactly teaching them that they should respect the officials and follow rules.

Well I can't say my role was all that important last year. I was pureblood and compliant in class besides being a prefect so I had the task of sneaking in supplies from the kitchens. It was never suspicious for me to be out in the corridors. The Room can't conjure its own food, I guess that'll be useful for you to know. By the end of the semester there would be a haul three times a day there were so many people in hiding. I also helped with some organizational stuff but really, nothing all that interesting.

Ahhhh

-pats his shoulder- It won’t last long, not while I’m around. I’ll knock that pessimism out of you in no time.

I wish you the best of luck I really do. I suppose candy helps with all that positivity. -chuckles- That would really make me a kid's story villain if all I needed were some sweets to be cheerful. I'm going to give you some advice though, and I know you had no plan to ask me but, be really cautious if you go through with this. Maybe don't act so anti-Ministry around the first-years. Even if they've promised to always be polite to the officials some of that attitude might come across in other ways.