rolf scamander

sixth year hufflepuff | slug club care of magical creatures club grandson of newt scamander imagine e m o t i o n that moves like the o c e a n your mind is the current that drifts with the notion that everyone everywhere is taking their time but going n o w h e re i can't live my life on their time i just had to run away

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Through the Woods We Ran || Rolf & Luna

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ofwaveringwanders:

Luna hated death more than anything in the world, sometimes even more than she feared herself or magic. While she knew that she and magic could be controlled, death couldn’t. And from the stories of the Deathly Hallows to the death suddenly greeting her own mother, she didn’t see him as an old friend or someone that could be trusted, she saw him as something much worse. He had became the monster in her closet from the age of nine, something that was always lurking but never struck, creating more fear in the young girl’s heart than love at times.

And with the war in the past, her heart still continued to ache at the thought. Facing death head on in a way was quite riveting, learning that she could conquer it wherever she went. Yet, the fear still lingered there, sitting tucked away in a closet somewhere that she hadn’t opened, and with that in mind, a slight chill ran down her spine.

That was why she didn’t quite feel the desire to wander into the wand raising. While she missed those that had fallen dearly and respected them just as much, she felt as though death would be sitting at the doorstep, watching her carefully. And if there was one thing she knew better than anything else, it was that she stood out in a crowd. No, Luna did not need to stand out in a crowd that death was an attendee to, not in the least. So instead, her mind wandered as it did, still riding on the rails of death, but led her to the beauty of it.

Seeing death meant she could see them, these beautiful creatures that held nothing more than what she thought to be understanding and love. She had stashed away a handful of crackers, something she had always figured (but never truly known) if Thestrals liked. And by feeding them, being in their presence, Luna felt that this would be equal to raising the wand. Here and now, she was honoring them all, and part of her felt they all knew and saw that. 

But as she strolled down the hill, another had found what she considered to be her friends much faster. Her eyes narrowed to look more closely, a pleasant grin cracking onto her lips. She wouldn’t be alone, no. And if death decided to visit, perhaps it was better to have two to one in the end. As she got closer, her voice chirped lowly, holding a cracker out.

“I don’t know if they especially like them, but I have quite a few of them if you’d like to feed them,” her voice hummed, a smile cracking onto her lips. “I’m Luna Lovegood and I think you’ve already met my friends, I think.” She gently placed a hang on the head of one of the Thestrals, a big smile growing wild.

He only heard the footsteps approaching moments before they were followed by a voice.

Rolf had just tossed another piece of meat to the Thestrals when she began speaking, and he turned on his heel to see none other than Luna Lovegood strolling toward him with a smile on her face. For a moment, he was almost starstruck--it was Luna, someone he’d always admired, and she was happy to see him. He was instantly grinning as he approached them along with her, glad to see that they weren’t nervous. Rolf hadn’t wanted to risk scaring them off, but Luna had just waltzed right up to them without a fear or a care in the world, and so he followed, also patting the head of one of his friends. All this time they’d had mutual friends in the Thestrals, and he’d never known.

“I know who you are,” he said in a rush, immediately regretting his words. Usually Rolf was more articulate than this, and he was a little embarrassed. He chuckled nervously and cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s nice to meet you, Luna. My grandparents and I have always been big Quibbler fans. The Crumple-Horned Snorkack issue was a particular favorite of mine.” Grandpop had been interested, too, and they often talked of going to Sweden to search for one. “I’m Rolf, by the way. Rolf Scamander.”

Her smile grew and his did, too, as they stood there in the clearing with the creatures that they both were clearly so fond of. “They’re your friends, too, are they?” he asked, chuckling again. “I’ve been coming down here to see them since my first year. It’s a wonder we haven’t run into one another before.” If Rolf had known that Luna came to visit the Thestrals, he might have arranged a meeting with her years ago. It almost seemed like a lot of lost time that they could have been friends, and it made him a little sad to think about--but at least they were here now, officially meeting for the first time, and he was over the moon. Luna was so cool.

Rolf took one of the crackers from her, feeding it to the Thestral whose face he was stroking. “They seem to like them well enough,” he observed as the creature ate from his hand. “I’ve only ever fed them from far away with the meat. This... this is really cool.” Somehow, to him, this felt more reverent than the wand raising ever could. The Thestrals represented death in their own way--and to him, they also showed that loss wasn’t all negative. There were little things, little glimmers of hope and light that shone through everything, and being able to see such majestic creatures? Well, that was a definite perk in his book.

[rolf-scamand-blog]

xhermionegranger:

She knew very well who the boy was, of course, even if they had not spoken much. She was sure everybody did, as his grandfather was none other than Newt Scamander himself. He was a man Hermione greatly admired for his book, and he seemed to be an incredibly clever man - she had no doubts his grandson was very much the same. With the evident care his grandfather carried for magical creatures, certainly Rolf was at the very least somewhat similar - he was part of the Magical Creatures club, as far as she had gathered. Perhaps he cared for the House Elves as well. He had not joined S.P.E.W. when she first time she fired it up, though she could not remember whether it was because he didn’t want to or she simply never came across him as she campaigned for it. She hoped it was the latter.

Regardless, he was standing in front of the kitchens, and that in itself brought a smile smile to her lips, wider and more genuine than what it had been a mere moment ago. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” She proved to be quite right about him - it was evident in the way he spoke that he, too, saw them as more than the castle chefs. She was happy they had arrived by the kitchens somewhat at the same time, causing them to meet before entering; he obviously had the same concerns as she did. Would some of them be dead, she was happy to have someone beside her.

Her eyes grew a bit wider as he told her about his attempts to save them. “Oh, did you really?” Her voice was filled with disbelief and admiration all at once; she had worried about them before they came out to fight alongside all of them, and even Ron had done so. Yet, they had not had any time to try to convince them themselves, and Hermione had thought nobody else would go as far as to try to evacuate them. “I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you. I didn’t have time and I… I thought nobody cared enough to try.” The boy in front of her was no doubt a hero himself, in his own way, putting aside precious time to help the elves when nobody else cared to.

“You did what you could, Rolf,” she assured him. “They were incredibly brave. They do have quite a strange magic and I keep hoping it’s enough to have kept them all alive.” Her eyes flickered from his a brief moment. She did not truly believe it herself. “But yes, I came to check in on them as well. I must admit, I’m happy I’m not alone about this.” She offered him a faint smile as she glanced back at him.

Then she cleared her voice. “Do you want to go in?”

Rolf matched her grin, glad that she was happy to see him. 

His intention wasn’t to sound self-righteous or like he was bragging about his attempts to save the house elves. Honestly, he’d mostly brought it up because it was something that he’d worried about, and he was glad that she seemed so relieved. Not many people cared much about the house elves, but Hermione was one of the people who cared the most. Rolf was glad that she seemed so relieved that someone had thought to try to help them--especially since she hadn’t been around to do it herself. Hermione had had a much more important job during the last year.

The magical creatures were Rolf’s calling, though, and to him helping them was the most important job in the world. Still, he was taken by surprise when Hermione actually thanked him. He hadn’t done it for thanks or for recognition or for praise--he’d done it because he wanted to, because he felt like he had to. Nobody else was going to help the creatures, and he felt like it was his responsibility to do so. 

“Oh! Um, you’re welcome,” he responded, still smiling. “I mean, you don’t have to thank me. I really wanted to make sure that they were okay. I don’t think that anyone else was thinking about them when everything else was going on. I just couldn’t leave them behind without at least trying to talk to them. Grandpop was all ready for them to come, too--but he was really impressed that they stayed. They’re not helpless like some of the other creatures, you know?” Rolf shrugged his shoulders. He was pretty impressed with them, too. 

Hermione’s words were reassuring. If she thought that he’d done his best, that there was nothing else he could have done, then perhaps it was true. She was awfully bright, after all, and cared deeply about the elves. “I’m happy that I’m not alone in this, too,” he admitted. “It makes it easier, doesn’t it? I mean, it’ll be hard either way if any of them didn’t make it, but... I don’t think I could deal with that by myself.” Rolf was an outgoing person, the kind who liked to share experiences--good ones and bad ones--with his friends. He was especially glad that it was Hermione sharing this particular experience with him. She understood better than anyone what this was like.

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and then nodding. “Yeah. Let’s go in. But... you first?”

[rolf-scamand-blog]

WEEKLY TASK 003 HEADCANONS TRUST ME - LUNA LOVEGOOD @ofwaveringwanders

Someone that Rolf would like to be able to get to know and to trust is Luna Lovegood. She’s always been the type of person that Rolf admires, and she seems interesting. She also seems like someone who’s a good friend and she seems like a really down to earth person.

He’d watched her from afar for as long as he could remember.

It wasn’t anything creepy--he wasn’t lurking around corners or hiding out in the corridors, trying to sneak glances at her. It was more that he was fascinated by her, mesmerized from the first moment he laid eyes on the quirky blonde who helped her father write the Quibbler. The Scamanders had taken up the Quibbler instead of the Prophet years before that, and being only a year behind the daughter of the editor had Rolf a bit starstruck, in the beginning.

Rolf was always too nervous to speak to her.

Their paths never really crossed, not in a way that was organic, but even if they had ended up in a situation where talking to one another was natural, he would have been too nervous to actually speak. Luna was somewhat of a legend to him, although she was probably one of the few people who appreciated magical creatures the way that he did.

As the years went by, Rolf admired her more and more, but continued to keep his distance due to many different things--nerves, mostly, but a lack of mutual friends contributed, too. He could just never get the situation right, the timing on target, to actually get to speak to her.

Luna became more and more someone that he wanted to befriend, wanted to trust--as she fought in battle after battle at the side of Harry Potter and their other friends, Rolf became a bigger and bigger fan. She disappeared during the year with the Carrows, and he later learned that she’d been taken--but, valiant and brave as Luna was, she’d come out the other side and then survived that last battle, too.

Now that it’s her last year at Hogwarts, Rolf really wants to find a way to talk to her. He wants to be her friend, wants them to be able to talk to each other. He thinks that if there’s anyone he can trust, anyone he can really talk to, it’ll be someone like Luna.

[parvcti-blog]

the ones that love us never really leave us.

[rolf-scamand-blog]

romixvane:

Romilda was watching everything with a focused eye, making sure that each detail was perfect, just like she liked it - and just like those lost in the war deserved. She had a reverent but small smile curling the corners of her lips. It was looking to be a helpful experience for some people, who had held their feelings in for so long and were now letting them out in the form of hugs, tears, and quiet words.

She walked the perimeter of the growing crowds, saying hello to people here and there. The occasional hand squeezed her shoulder or took hers in it, and she’d embrace them or nod compassionately. It was the perfect environment for someone who loved attention, but even Romi couldn’t revel in it when the tone was so solemn. She glanced at glistening eyes and shining faces, and knew that it just wasn’t the place for pride.

Noticing Rolf on the outskirts, Romi worried that he didn’t feel welcome somehow. Even in times when everyone should be coming together, Romilda knew that some would feel like outsiders. She herself spent a long time making others feel that way for no reason at all. Maybe in the past, strange and quirky Rolf was one of those people, but truthfully Romilda couldn’t remember who she did and didn’t bully over the years. There were many. All she knew now was that Rolf seemed to hold no hard feelings if she ever did hurt him, as he was always very nice to her.

“Rolf,” She greeted him softly. “Why so far from the crowd?”

Rolf managed a small smile when he saw that it was Romilda approaching him. She was someone that he considered a friend--after all, they were in the same year, and although she was infamous for trying to slip a love potion to Harry Potter, there was much more to her than that. They weren’t necessarily close, but he thought that she was a nice person and the fact that she’d taken the initiative to form MASH impressed him greatly. It was something that Hogwarts desperately needed right now, and she’d been smart enough to come up with it.

“Hey, Romilda,” he greeted, leaning against the wall at his back. At first, he wasn’t sure how to answer the question--he didn’t want to come off as standoffish or rude, but he wanted to tell the truth. Honesty was always the best policy. Rolf just didn’t know whether he could bring himself to walk among these people, the crying huddled masses mourning friends that he’d hardly known. It didn’t feel right, and he felt like he was imposing just by being here, but he also couldn’t bring himself to stay away. This was for everyone, a memorial to remember everything that had happened and everyone that had died. How could he skip out on something like this?

“You did a great job,” Rolf told her, evading the subject for just a moment longer. “It’s a really amazing event, and I think that everyone is getting just what they need out of it.” He was impressed that she’d helped to put this together. Maybe he’d have to consider joining her group, after all--the battle had been as hard on him as it had on anyone, despite that no one particularly close to him died. Maybe MASH could help him work through some of his feelings about everything, the guilt in particular. Rolf hadn’t stayed to fight in the battle. He’d fled with the creatures to his grandfather’s house, leaving Hogwarts and its students and faculty and allies to fend for themselves.

Rolf realized he couldn’t avoid the question forever, and he sighed, tugging nervously on one of his braids. “I just don’t know if I belong here,” he admitted, shrugging a shoulder and avoiding eye contact. “Everyone here... they knew Lavender and Colin and everyone. They were their friends. I hardly knew them at all--in fact, I don’t even think I ever spoke to Lavender, to be honest. I just kind of feel like I’m intruding, you know?”

It sounded silly when he said it out loud, but it didn’t stop the feelings of guilt inside him. Who could he possibly talk to here? Rolf was beginning to think that maybe he shouldn’t have come at all.

[rolf-scamand-blog]

Through the Woods We Ran || Rolf & Luna

There was just enough daylight to see where he was going as he entered the forest.

Today seemed like as good a day as any to do the one thing he’d been purposely putting off--going to visit the Thestrals. They were undoubtedly overwhelmed and confused by all of the sudden attention they were receiving this year, a larger portion of the student body able to see them than ever before. Rolf hadn’t wanted to frighten them even more despite the fact that he was at least fairly familiar to them, and so he’d left them well enough alone. Today, though, was different--today was the day of the wand raising ceremony, and it seemed only fitting that he visit the creatures first.

On his way he’d dropped by Hagrid’s hut to fill his bag with raw meat, happy to do the feeding this morning. Sure, they could hunt for themselves, but feeding them once in a while never hurt, either.

While most people found the Thestrals to be creepy at best, Rolf found the skeletal black horses to be quite gentle and friendly, if handled properly. Their association with death didn’t help matters, and he understood why they were so misunderstood, but he definitely didn’t appreciate it. If people did any research at all or even spent a little bit of time with the Thestrals, he was sure that they’d agree that the creatures were harmless and even rather nice.

Rolf reached the clearing where the Thestrals were gathered, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible on the forest floor. They were still probably skittish from their experience on the first day of school, and he didn’t want to scare them away. He approached slowly, taking his time and remaining hyper-vigilant of every movement his body made. Because he’d grown up around so many different types of creatures, Rolf had learned to be aware of his body and the way that he moved so not to scare--or worse, provoke--anything.

Once he was close enough, Rolf reached into his bag for a piece of meat, throwing it hard toward the herd. It landed in the middle of them all and they all went for it, tearing at the meat hungrily, and he smiled. Most people probably would have found the sight revolting, but he was fascinated by the way that they moved, the way they ate, everything about them. This was his happy place.

@ofwaveringwanders

[rolf-scamand-blog]

He’d tip-toed outside early in the morning before anyone else was awake.

The sky was grey as the sun rose, and Rolf couldn’t help but notice how fitting that was. Today was the day of the wand raising ceremony, the one to honor the dead--those who had sacrificed themselves in battle, very much in the way that he hadn’t. Rolf had fled before the battle began--not due to his age, but because he needed to help his grandfather care for the creatures that he’d evacuated from the castle. Their safety had been his top priority, as he’d been confident that his classmates and peers and friends would be able to protect each other. 

Well, it so happened that two of them hadn’t been so lucky.

Rolf had met Lavender a time or two, but it was Colin that he’d known better due to being classmates with his younger brother, Dennis. The prospect of someone their age dying had terrified him, and when he’d heard that it was two of his classmates that had died in the battle, Rolf had cried. He didn’t know whether he was mourning or afraid or guilty or some mix of it all, but he’d broken down and cried in a way that he hadn’t in years, not even when his own mother passed away in front of his eyes. 

Rolf hadn’t even been sure that he would come to the ceremony. 

It was for the whole school, yes, but it felt like it was so much more for the people who had been close to those that had died, their closest friends and their families and their professors, and he almost felt like he was intruding when he came back from his morning walk to the forest to see the Thestrals. Now had seemed like as good a time as any, and their presence had actually calmed him a little. Now, though, as he was approaching the courtyard, his nerves were kicking in. Rolf wasn’t typically an anxious person, but when he felt like he was out of place he got uncomfortable fast.

Sticking to the outside edges of the courtyard, Rolf found a wall to lean against in a less-populated part of the space, trying to make himself as invisible as possible. The last thing he wanted to be was an imposition, but something about what this gathering stood for had drawn him here, anyway. He just didn’t want to take any of the attention away from the people who were mourning the loss of their close friends.

[rolf-scamand-blog]

WEEKLY TASK 002 HEADCANONS SUMMER OF 1997

The Scamanders had always felt very removed from the goings-on of the world. Rolf suspected that it was because of all of his grandparents’ involvement with MACUSA--they’d probably had enough of that for one lifetime. That was why, when his Grandpop started really reading the newspaper and paying attention to what was going on in the world, Rolf knew that something really big was wrong.

The day that Voldemort took over the Ministry was the first time he ever saw his Grandpop reading the Daily Prophet, and it was in that moment that he knew things were much scarier than they’d thought. 

Grandpop never read the newspaper.

They had subscriptions to both the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet, mostly for Grandmom to read in the mornings over her coffee while Grandpop and Rolf sipped tea or cocoa. Sometimes, if there was something concerning or particularly interesting, Grandmom would speak up and read a few sentences out loud. When there was an article in the Quibbler about a creature, she’d clip it out and leave it for Grandpop to put in his little scrapbook of newspaper articles. 

That was why Rolf was so surprised to see Grandpop at the head of the table, sipping from a steaming mug of tea, glasses perched on his nose as he read the Daily Prophet. It was so surprising, in fact, that it stopped Rolf in his tracks on the stairs, his Grandmom looking up to see why the footsteps had stopped. She looked from Rolf to Newt and smiled warmly at her grandson, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Go on and sit next to your Grandpop,” she said, kissing him on the forehead. “Do you want tea or cocoa with your breakfast, love?”

“Tea, please,” he said, always going with whatever Grandpop was drinking without fail. Still, Grandmom always asked. She nodded and he slid into the chair next to the head of the table, and Newt folded down the side of the paper to look at Rolf. He had the paper folded so that the front page wasn’t visible, and Rolf was beginning to get nervous.

Before he could ask what was wrong, though, his Grandmom was putting heaping plates of breakfast before them along with a steaming mug of tea with milk and sugar for Rolf, and despite the way his stomach was twisting, he dug in. Breakfast had always been his absolute favorite meal, and even his worry couldn’t keep him from it.

It wasn’t until the food was eaten and the plates were cleared and the tea was drunk that Newt and Tina sat down on either side of Rolf. “Voldemort’s taken the Ministry,” Tina told him, and he was struck with a wave of more emotions than he’d felt in a long time. Fear, dread, uncertainty--they all hit him at once, but he kept his composure.

“It’ll be okay,” he said, although no one believed him, including himself.

“Do you want to go back to school this year?” Newt asked. “Quite a few aren’t, but as a half-blood, you’ll be in less danger than the muggle born children.”

Rolf shook his head. “Of course I’m going back,” he said, no doubt in his mind or in his voice. “I have to.”

Newt and Tina didn’t argue with their grandson, not even once. When the time came, they packed up his trunk and they took him to King’s Cross, unsure whether they’d ever see him again as the train pulled away.

[rolf-scamand-blog]

⊙

I think you are:

| Admirable | Attractive | Absentminded | Amusing | Abrasive | Aloof | Arrogant | Brilliant | Bizarre | Bland | Caring | Charming | Clever | Confident | Courageous | Creative | Cute | Careless | Childish | Clumsy | Cowardly | Cruel | Dignified | Dramatic | Desperate | Devious | Disrespectful | Elegant | Energetic | Emotional | Excitable | Faithful | Forgiving | Friendly | Flamboyant | Foolish | Frightening | Generous | Gloomy | Greedy | Gullible | Helpful | Honest | Hateful | Intelligent | Ignorant | Impulsive | Insensitive | Irresponsible | Lovable | Lazy | Mature | Malicious | Misguided | Monstrous | Narrow-minded | Optimistic | Obnoxious | Peaceful | Persuasive | Protective | Power-hungry | Quirky | Reliable | Romantic | Ridiculous | Sexy | Sophisticated | Selfish | Trusting | Treacherous | Understanding | Unpredictable | Unstable | Vulnerable | Witty | Weak |

[rolf-scamand-blog]

⊙

I think you are:

| Admirable | Attractive | Absentminded | Amusing | Abrasive | Aloof | Arrogant | Brilliant | Bizarre | Bland | Caring | Charming | Clever | Confident | Courageous | Creative | Cute | Careless | Childish | Clumsy | Cowardly | Cruel | Dignified | Dramatic | Desperate | Devious | Disrespectful | Elegant | Energetic | Emotional | Excitable | Faithful | Forgiving | Friendly | Flamboyant | Foolish | Frightening | Generous | Gloomy | Greedy | Gullible | Helpful | Honest | Hateful | Intelligent | Ignorant | Impulsive | Insensitive | Irresponsible | Lovable | Lazy | Mature | Malicious | Misguided | Monstrous | Narrow-minded | Optimistic | Obnoxious | Peaceful | Persuasive | Protective | Power-hungry | Quirky | Reliable | Romantic | Ridiculous | Sexy | Sophisticated | Selfish | Trusting | Treacherous | Understanding | Unpredictable | Unstable | Vulnerable | Witty | Weak |

[rolf-scamand-blog]

⊙

I think you are:

| Admirable | Attractive | Absentminded | Amusing | Abrasive | Aloof | Arrogant | Brilliant | Bizarre | Bland | Caring | Charming | Clever | Confident | Courageous | Creative | Cute | Careless | Childish | Clumsy | Cowardly | Cruel | Dignified | Dramatic | Desperate | Devious | Disrespectful | Elegant | Energetic | Emotional | Excitable | Faithful | Forgiving | Friendly | Flamboyant | Foolish | Frightening | Generous | Gloomy | Greedy | Gullible | Helpful | Honest | Hateful | Intelligent | Ignorant | Impulsive | Insensitive | Irresponsible | Lovable | Lazy | Mature | Malicious | Misguided | Monstrous | Narrow-minded | Optimistic | Obnoxious | Peaceful | Persuasive | Protective | Power-hungry | Quirky | Reliable | Romantic | Ridiculous | Sexy | Sophisticated | Selfish | Trusting | Treacherous | Understanding | Unpredictable | Unstable | Vulnerable | Witty | Weak |

[rolf-scamand-blog]

thelastbones:

If there was anything Susan hated doing, it was lying to a friend.

It wasn’t like telling Rolf that she was tired was a big deal- she certainly looked and felt a bit tired, but then again, so did the rest of the school. Between getting back onto a school schedule and the added bonus of school work, stress, and attempting to cope with all that had happened, it was a miracle that half the school wasn’t hiding in bed, fast asleep. But she could tell just by the look in his eyes that Rolf knew that she was lying.

At least he didn’t call her out on it. Having someone make her admit that all she was thinking about was last spring was the last thing she wanted. No- the last thing she wanted was to actually talk about it. Talking about it meant reliving it, and that wasn’t something that Susan was in a rush to do at all. After all, who would want to talk about and relive a moment when your childhood died? It was bad enough that it happened, but thinking about it just made her feel worse and worse. 

Instead of thinking, she tried to focus on her pumpkin juice. 

“Merlin… I know what you mean. I think I stayed up past midnight just sitting in the common room, staring at my homework and trying to get it done. But I won’t drink coffee until I can’t drag myself to class without it. It tastes burned and sad- my dad would’ve said that it’s an ‘acquired taste’, but I think it’s just for people too tired to care what it tastes like.”

She picked at the pancake, managing to make a reasonable dent into it. Susan was pretty sure that she ate enough of the Hogwarts Pancakes in her first year to last a lifetime. Technically she shouldn’t even have been eating the pancake in front of her. Technically, she shouldn’t have even been in the castle. She and the rest of her class should have graduated and gone off in their separate ways, finding work or exploring the world. But they were all back, stuck in the same place they had been for the last seven years. Well, not all of them. Her eyes glanced around the room, finding empty places at tables, spots filled with different faces rather than the old faces that would have occupied them.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. She’d be a grouch the whole day if she didn’t eat…. wait, did you just say that breakfast is the best?” She asked, an amused smile creeping onto her face.

He couldn’t help but feel that there was another unspoken conversation happening between them.

To any outsider, it would look like Rolf and Susan were simply making small talk, having a friendly chit-chat over their breakfast foods, smiling and laughing with one another. They weren’t talking about any deep topics, nothing sensitive, but it all felt like a cover. They were playing along with it, too, pretending that their conversation was about coffee and breakfast and being too tired for class, but there was so much unspoken between them, so many subtle things happening that Rolf couldn’t help but feel like they were having two conversations at once.

It felt as though they each knew what the other was thinking--as if Susan knew that Rolf knew that she was lying, and Rolf knew that Susan knew it and was grateful that he wasn’t bringing it up. It was easier to pretend that they didn’t know these things, he supposed, than to drag it all up at the breakfast table. Everything was still too precarious for things like that. Still, it was slightly dizzying to be talking about acquired tastes and whether or not Lisa was going to come to breakfast instead of the things that were really filling their heads.

Rolf tried to push it all away, to focus on their verbal conversation, but as always the thoughts refused to budge.

“You shouldn’t stay up so late,” he chided gently, well aware that he was speaking to someone two years his senior. “It’s not good for you! Even if you have homework--you still need your sleep.” Sleep was something that seemed to be evading everyone to a degree, be it due to nightmares or fear or just insomnia. Nobody was sleeping soundly anymore. Some people weren’t sleeping at all, it seemed. “You’re probably right, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that they love the taste of coffee, just that they love coffee. They probably just love that it wakes them up. Grandmom doesn’t even say that, she just drinks it, but I suspect it’s because she thinks that tea is too English. She likes to hang on to bits of when she lived in America.”

As he ate, he watched Susan out of the corner of his eye, worried that perhaps she wasn’t eating enough. At the very least, she was picking at her food and making a bit of a dent in it, so that made him feel a little bit better. It was too easy for people to fall into routines of not taking care of themselves in the wake of something like this, and Rolf worried about his friends. Especially because nobody seemed to be talking about any of this--they were all suffering in silence, alone, and he worried that perhaps part of the front everyone was putting up was also hiding the fact that they weren’t eating or sleeping enough.

Rolf grinned, looking up from his eggs and raising an eyebrow. “Of course breakfast is the best,” he repeated nonchalantly, reaching for his goblet and taking a drink of his pumpkin juice. “That’s not even debatable. It’s the first meal you eat of the day after starving all night, that’s self explanatory. Plus, the food is the best, hands down. There’s not even an argument you can make for any other meal.”

[rolf-scamand-blog]

thelastbones:

A sheepish smile settled on Susan’s face, embarrassed that she had been ignoring her friend for so long. She hadn’t even seen Rolf walk up, and somehow there he was, right in front of her with his plate piled high with a bit of everything. How long had he been sitting there? Seeing as there wasn’t a dent in his food, it couldn’t have been that long, but still. 

“I’m alright. Just tired, I think.” She fibbed, scooting in towards the table and her untouched pancakes. The last thing she wanted was to keep thinking about the past that morning. Better she distract herself with a friend and food then keep living in her ghost town of a mind. “If I was thinking anything it was probably ‘Why do I have to go to class, why can’t I go back to sleep?’”

She took a bite of her breakfast even though she wasn’t very hungry. Breakfast had never really been a priority for her, but dinner was an entirely different story. She could eat dinner for every single meal of the day. Pancakes and eggs were nice, but nothing beat a nice hot dinner at the end of the day. 

“Thank you, though. For coming over. I have a feeling Lisa is sleeping through breakfast…” Susan motioned to the empty spot next to her where the Ravenclaw sat most mornings. Her smile grew a bit, warming up with a small laugh. “I might’ve fallen asleep if left alone.”

Rolf didn’t want things to always be like this.

It was clear that they’d all suffered, all gone through more than children their age ought to have. They’d all lived through a nightmare, seen their friends die, watched a place that was supposed to feel like a safe haven come under attack. They’d all witnessed a battle between light and dark. Not to mention the last school year, where they’d all been subjected to torture and chaos and terror. Yet still here they all were, back in the castle again, everyone wearing fragile smiles and spouting even more fragile excuses, little white lies that they were all telling to make it seem like they weren’t as affected as they really were.

The problem with that was that they were all pretending. It was like some kind of strange play, everyone muttering forced lines and keeping their faces trained into smiles when underneath everyone was terrified. They were all having nightmares, they were all trying to recover from the horrible things they’d seen, and they were all trying to make it look like they had it all together. But the more everyone pretended, the more everyone else felt like they had to pretend. It made Rolf uneasy, but he didn’t know how to fix it. Prying feelings out of his friends and classmates was a recipe for disaster, but he hated that everyone felt the need to act like everything was fine when it was so clearly not fine.

Instead of demanding the truth out of Susan, Rolf decided to play along. At least, for now.

“Going back to bed would definitely be better than class,” he agreed, chuckling. “I haven’t been sleeping all that soundly lately, so I know what you mean. If it keeps up I’m going to have to switch to coffee in the mornings instead of my pumpkin juice, and I don’t even like coffee. I don’t know how anybody drinks that stuff.” Rolf shook his head, wrinkling his nose as he spoke. “Too bitter for me. Grandmom always drinks coffee. Grandpop only drinks tea and cocoa, and that’s what I drink, too.”

Once she started eating, Rolf took that as a cue to dig into his own breakfast, chomping away on a piece of bacon. He was glad that she was eating. Something about Susan seemed so fragile, especially now, and he was worried about her. Everyone had this sense of delicacy, now, as if they would break if someone said the wrong words to them. Maybe that was true. Maybe they were all just barely holding it together.

“Of course!” he exclaimed after swallowing his mouthful of bacon, washing it down with a swig of his juice. “I wouldn’t want you to eat breakfast all alone, and I was all alone, too, so it only made sense. I’m sure Lisa will be down any time now, though. Otherwise she’ll be hungry all day long. Maybe, if she doesn’t come, we should wrap her up some and you can give it to her.” Rolf smiled. “I’m not going to let you fall asleep at breakfast. It’s the best meal of the day!”

[rolf-scamand-blog]

light-laura:

“I’m here to make you company, then!” Laura declared proudly, more than happy to be the person who would be with Rolf as he checked on the creatures. She knew how much it meant to him, their well being, and to be honest she was also curious to see how they were doing; Laura found it all horrible, how they had to suffer with the war, and plants and animals were also alive enough to have suffered. “Well, if I’m a person and I’ll be with you, then maybe we should check the centaurs first? Because they remind me of people, at least more than other creatures, so we start with them and then we check on animals that aren’t so relatable and we kind of create a scale until you check all of them or most of them? I don’t know if it makes sense.” Laura shrugged, not really minding it if Rolf would or wouldn’t follow her chain of thought. She was too happy to care right now - to have a friend, that was wonderful.

“Do you think we will find creatures that haven’t survived?” That was the first time this possibility crossed Laura’s mind, and it made her worry right away; her heart started hurting with the prospect, after all it would be horrible to find out some of the creatures in general didn’t make it or came close to not making it. “Maybe, if something close to it happened, maybe you can find a way to help? I mean, I don’t know if it’s really possible but… I just hate the thought that some creatures might have risked their lives and paid for it.” She hated the thought that a lot of living beings paid. She hated knowing that some of her friends were gone, and creatures were friends for Rolf so it should be the same for him, maybe even worse.

“I guess it’s a good thing that you care so much about them… Ha, there it is!” She pointed out for the Common Room, making a sign that she would be soon back with her guitar. It took her almost no time to get it, after all she always knew where her instruments were. At least the rush wasn’t enough for her to make a mistake when entering the Common Room. Anyways, back she was, with a big smile and staring at her friend once again. “I’m sure you’re ready for some music? I hope the creatures like it too. We all need music, you know. As long as it’s helpful to our feelings.”

Of all the people who could have come to keep him company, Rolf was glad that it was Laura. Sure, there were a few other people that he would have been just as happy to see, but Laura was definitely up there, and the fact that she was eager to spend some time with him had him smiling. Her attitude was infectious, and if there was anything he needed right now, it was a little sunshine. He figured that they could probably all use a little of it. Besides, Laura was someone who had a lot of empathy and understanding--she was at least as likely to care about the creatures as anyone else, and her excitement about going with him only solidified those thoughts. A day with Laura, it was.

“I don’t think I can check on all of them in one day,” he said, chuckling. “I mean, I’d like to. I’m going to visit the house elves separately, because they could keep me for a whole day in the kitchens. We should definitely check with the centaurs first. Ever since Firenze was a professor here they’ve been a little bit more friendly, so maybe they’ll be willing to talk to us. Then maybe we can go down to the lake? I want to talk to the merpeople. I’m pretty sure Hagrid has his creatures handled, and I want to give the Thestrals a little bit of time to wind down after the other day. They’re not used to all the attention they’re getting, since so many people can see them now.”

Rolf walked alongside her, the familiar path to the Hufflepuff common room second nature to him, his feet carrying him without too much conscious thought. “Only in the forest or the lake,” he said. “I got the rest of the creatures out before the battle. I spent all of last year transporting them all to Grandpop’s and then we spent all summer transporting them back. The merpeople decided not to make the trip, and none of the creatures from the Forbidden Forest came. I’m hoping the centaurs were able to help them as much as possible. But all of Hagrid’s creatures were at Grandpop’s, so they’re all alive. I’m worried about the house elves, too. They fought in the battle and I don’t know whether all of them made it or not.”

It warmed his heart that she was so concerned about the wellbeing of the creatures. Most people didn’t spare them a second thought--people were more important to them, he supposed. But people could fight for themselves, whereas the creatures were all but helpless. They couldn’t defend themselves against a full-scale battle, and many of them probably would have been injured or killed. That was why he spent so much time transporting them out. His Grandpop was immensely proud of him for it, too.

The common room came into view, and Laura bounded inside to get her guitar, today’s instrument of choice. Rolf knew that Laura played quite a few instruments extremely well, having grown up in a music shop to two musical parents. It was as much a part of her as the creatures were a part of him, and he admired how deeply her passions ran. Most people couldn’t be bothered to care about something so much. “I’m always ready for some music, especially when it’s you playing,” Rolf said, grinning wide. “I’m sure the creatures will appreciate it. If not the centaurs or the merpeople, I know the giant squid will be happy to hear some music.”

[rolf-scamand-blog]

thelastbones:

Being in the castle again was like being in a haunted house. There were ghosts everywhere, and not all of them were the Fat Friar type. They were ghosts of memories, ghosts of people who were no longer there, ghosts of a time when. It was like there were a thousand eyes staring at her that she couldn’t see. In her opinion, they were far scarier than any other ghost could be.

Susan found herself sitting in the Great Hall, ignoring her breakfast, staring around as if she was seeing it the way that it had looked during the battle. If this was what it was going to be like, then it was definitely going to be a very long year. She only looked up when she heard someone calling her, probably not for the first time.

“Sorry! Sorry, I was just.. never mind. What’s up?”

Breakfast was Rolf’s favorite meal of the day.

It wasn’t just about the food, although that was a definite bonus. He’d happily eat sausages and eggs and bacon and toast for every meal, if it was up to him. In fact, his Grandmom always made breakfast for dinner at least once a week while he was home for the summer, no matter how much Grandpop playfully complained about it. He’d take pancakes over traditional dinner foods any time. In the mornings at the Hufflepuff table, Rolf’s plate was always stacked high with his favorites (really, a bit of everything) and he wasn’t shy about having seconds. He was active enough and his teenage metabolism was high enough that he could burn through it all, and he needed the fuel to get through his day. He was a growing boy, like Grandmom said.

This particular morning when Rolf had arrived to breakfast in the Great Hall, it was still fairly empty. He scanned across the whole room--sometimes he’d take breakfast at another house’s table if he spotted one of his friends--and finally saw Susan Bones sitting all by herself, breakfast untouched. He frowned, instantly worried that something might be wrong. Well, something more than what was wrong with all of them, now.

Quickly, Rolf grabbed himself a plate and loaded up. Eggs, sausages, bacon, toast, and a goblet filled with ice cold pumpkin juice were all balanced precariously in his hands as he made his way over to where his housemate was sitting, clearly lost in her own thoughts. He cheerily plunked himself and his breakfast down directly in front of her, grinning. “Hey, Susan,” he greeted warmly, hoping to pull her from her daze.

It didn’t work.

“Susan?” he asked, wrinkling his nose. Could she not hear him, or was she just so engrossed in whatever she was thinking about that she didn’t even know he was there? “Susan!” Rolf waved his hand, attempting to get her attention, and still nothing. He sighed and took a swig of his pumpkin juice, setting the goblet back down noisily and sloshing a bit of it out onto the table. He quickly mopped it up with a napkin and then turned his attention back to her. “Susan!”

That seemed to snap her out of it, and she suddenly focused, apologizing. He chuckled, glad that he’d finally gotten her attention. “You doing okay?” he asked, his tone jovial. “I just came over to have breakfast with you, that’s all. Looks like you were thinking pretty hard about something.”

[rolf-scamand-blog]

terryxboot:

“Other Prefects, maybe. He just didn’t know I was one.” Terry figured that he either forgot due to everything that happened during the Battle of Hogwarts or Ernie really hadn’t been paying any attention. The Macmillan boy was one of the smartest in his house so he knew it wasn’t blind ignorance. “He’s a Prefect himself who I’m sure has a lot on his plate.”

“I’m going to go with the vast majority around the castle.” He chuckled, sliding his hands into his pocket while switching his gaze from Rolf to the nature around Hogwarts. “It took me until I could see them now to know that they were pulling the carriages into Hogwarts.” Many people were able to see them after the Battle of Hogwarts and Terry remembered the surprise and wonder when the realization came that the carriages weren’t pulling themselves. It was a somber moment but also a depressing one. “I’m sure it’ll calm down once this year passes.”

Passion from how much he cares about creatures was something that made Terry smile, as he wish he had that amount of passion for something. Now, Terry didn’t have the best opinion of Rolf’s grandfather due to his book being so expensive. Well, he didn’t hate him but he was bitter about that book. “You’re still a hero. Imagine if you hadn’t been there to help. You ever read up on history?” One of Terry’s favorite subject involved history and constantly he brought it up when speaking. “There are always people fighting in some way that many people don’t consider because they focus on big names. You may not have the recognition you deserve but you did a big fucking thing.”

Terry was going to take his Care of Magical Creatures class a little more serious now. Of course he was still going to crack jokes at times but he was going to have a new outlook on creatures being shown by Hagrid. “Again, thank you. Anyway, how have you been staying sane here besides creature care?”

“I mean, I guess,” he agreed with a half-hearted shrug of the shoulders. “Maybe he just never paid that much attention. I might have to ask him, because now I’m curious how he could possibly not know that you’re a prefect. You’d have to really not be paying attention to not know that anyone was a prefect, though. Especially with him being one, too.” Rolf shook his head in disbelief. “Maybe that’s just me, though. I can’t imagine it.”

“I think that most people thought the carriages were just pulling themselves,” he offered. “But it was the Thestrals all along. They’re getting more attention than they’re used to this year, since so many people can see them now. People our age aren’t supposed to have seen death. It’ll calm down for them again, though, after a few years. Less and less kids will be able to see them until it’s back to normal. I could see them from the first time I came to Hogwarts, though.” Rolf had watched his mother die at ten years old, and so from his very first year at Hogwarts, he’d been able to see them. He was one of the minority back then. Now it seemed that almost everyone could see them.

He scoffed when Terry called him a hero. Sure, Rolf felt heroic for having saved the creatures, but to actually be labeled a hero was something else altogether. While he never quite understood people who sprinkled swearing into everyday conversation, he appreciated the sentiment. “Someone had to do it, and I didn’t know who else would,” he said, shrugging again. “I don’t think that many people would consider what I did heroic. I mean, I didn’t even stay to fight in the Battle. I was more focused on the creatures than on the people fighting. They’re helpless, though, most of them. People can fight for themselves. Most creatures can’t, not on a level like that. They’d all have been killed, and I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d let that happen when there was something I could do about it.”

Rolf remembered the look on his Grandpop’s face when he’d shown up with the first creature, one of the Nifflers. He’d asked whether some of the creatures could come and stay for a while, and there was so much pride in Newt Scamander’s eyes in that moment. It was the moment that Rolf knew that his grandparents were more parents to him than his actual mother and father had ever been. Even his Grandmom was proud of him, and the three of them had worked tirelessly to get temporary habitats set up as Rolf transported the creatures. It had been a lot of hard work, but he didn’t regret a single moment of it.

Terry’s next question confused him a little--what else did he need besides the creatures? Still, as he thought about it, he supposed there was more to what was keeping him grounded than just the creatures. “My friends, mostly,” he said earnestly, smiling. “I mean, it’s so good to see everyone, you know? So many people died and it’s like... every person I see, it could have been them instead. So I’m really grateful to see how many people made it out alive. I wasn’t here for the Battle, like I said, so I was worried about my friends. How about you? What’s been keeping you sane?”

[rolf-scamand-blog]

alice-txlipan:

It took her brain a while. Gears sticking and clicking,trying to process the lack of danger. See it still seemed novel to Alice’s mind that they were safe right now. Safe in the castle that they’d nearly died in. But eventually the death eater vanished, and it was just Rolf. Alice suddenly felt like a fool, utterly horrified to have been caught in the midst of a panic attack. It was still happening, she didn’t want to be still right now. And it was so hard to breathe, exhausted by running and pointless fear.

People didn’t normally see this. Of course she’d been home all summer, but in that small house Alice had managed to avoid detection for the most part. You’d think in the vastness that was Hogwarts it would be easier; apparently not. She’d forgot to account for the wandering students. So now Alice was just stood, trying not to double over with the effort of catching her breath. She rubbed a hand against the space between her collarbones, trying to relieve some of the burning pressure there.

Hurt? Alice’s gaze snapped back to focus. “Hurt. Right…” She had to take stock, had to think beyond the panic. Alice twitched her fingers, tilted her head to check her neck, took a couple of steps on the spot to feel for any pain in her legs. “No. No, I’m fine.” Physically, anyway. If you ignored the breathlessness. “I… I was just running.” It was a lame excuse, barely an excuse at all. “Not from anyone. Just… Late. Late for class.” 

She didn’t answer right away, and Rolf was getting more worried by the second. If something was really wrong, how was he supposed to tell? How many seconds should he let tick by before he insisted on taking her to the Hospital Wing? Finally, though, her eyes focused and she started to speak, and he let out a breath that he didn’t know he’d been holding. At the very least, Alice could speak, and that was a start. It seemed less likely that he’d have to drag her to see Madam Pomfrey at this rate.

Alice said that she was fine, and he was immediately skeptical. “You don’t look fine,” he protested, his brow furrowed worriedly. He watched her do checks--a few steps, fingers twitching, tilting her head. Still, someone who was fine didn’t come running like that. There was something wrong, and he was concerned. Just because he and Alice weren’t close didn’t mean that it wasn’t his problem, that he would just leave her to figure this out on her own. No, he simply couldn’t do that. “Do you want to maybe go sit somewhere quiet?” he offered, keeping his voice soft. Whatever was wrong, out in the open in front of everyone probably wasn’t the place that she wanted to deal with it.

Rolf frowned when she said that she was running because she was late for class. Nobody who was late for class ran like that. That was fear. They’d all seen enough of it to know what it looked like, and her excuse worried him. Sure, they weren’t exactly friends, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to help her. She didn’t look like she was about to go running off to find help, either. He had the distinct feeling that if he let her go, she’d ignore whatever was going on or try to deal with it by herself, and it didn’t seem to him that she was in any shape to do that.

“Class can wait,” he insisted. “You’re already late, anyway. It can wait. Come on, let’s find somewhere quiet and we can sit for a few minutes, okay? And maybe you can tell me what’s wrong.”