with these thoughts, louis!

[ruth]

the school was often noisy on the weekends. students were laughing and chattering in the hallways. they traveled in groups, not one alone. the girls' bathrooms were full of prissy blondes trying to get in front of a mirror, and the library was packed with nerdy ravenclaws hoping to get in some last minute studying for a nonexistant test. the dorms had music blasting, with a few stay-ins, while the courtyards were littered with slytherins waiting to pick on gryffindors. there would be at least one fight before the sun went down, that much was promised. there were a lot of unspoken things that were like rites of passage to being a teenager in general. it kind of just popped into the minds of children when they turned thirteen.

ruthie lay in her bed, blinking sleep from her eyes and yawning. she stretched her long limbs and flexed her meager muscles. she looked around, squinting as her eyes got used to the sunlight pouring through the windows. there were a few ravenclaws still asleep, though ruthie could bet most of them were already up and out. she sighed and sat up, leaning to stretch again. she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands and proceeded to lift the sheets off of herself. swinging her legs about, she stepped onto the wooden floor and reached for her dresser drawer. she grabbed an outfit at random, and slipped on her shoes. trying to be quiet, she shoved her composition notebooks in a scuffed and old bag, and slung it over her shoulder.

it didn't really take her long to figure out where she was going. she knew that most places were packed with students doing their own thing, and she didn't really want company. well, no that wasn't it. she wanted silence. the quiet to think and write. she exited the dorms, and skipped toward the common room, blinking and watching her shoes intently as she tried to ignore the glances her way. whispers that she couldn't make out passed between a few students. she didn't really need to hear it to know what they were saying. resisting the urge to huff in exasperation, she continued out of the common room and down the hall.

she went to the same empty classroom every time she wanted to write on the weekends. it was the good old transfiguration classroom, and it wasn't far from the ravenclaw tower. stepping down a few stairs, ruthie peered around. the halls were empty, save for a few passersby. unseen, she slipped into the classroom and shut the door quietly behind her. turning about, she smiled. it was exactly how she left it. cluttered, but clean. clearing a space for herself at a table, she sat down on a stool and hefted her bag onto the surface of the desk. opening it, she pulled out the composition book labeled 'umbrella theory.' it was a book she had been working on since first year, and she just had an idea ...

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[.LOUIS HENRI WEASLEY !]

“Oi! Weasley!”

It was going to be one of those Saturdays, Louis could tell. The ones with the perfectly chilly weather, the gray skies and icy cold of the castle walls that made Louis shiver pleasantly to touch it. He loved the cold and the rain and the wind, the way it made people move more quickly to their destinations. The air was razor sharp with cold as Louis exited the owlery tower, his raven Leroux flying over his head to deliver a letter to Victoire. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, stepping quickly through the clouds of warm breath puffing out of his mouth. A quick jog around the last corner and Louis was back into the castle. He stamped his feet and beat his hands together to get some warmth back in them, before heading back in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room.

“Weasley!”

Louis didn't turn. There was a good chance there were about twenty other Weasleys the unfamiliar voice was referring to, and his friends didn't call him by his last name, anyway. So he kept going, undoing the first button of his coat and smoothing his hair from its wind-tossled state. He heard some angered mutterings behind him followed by quick footsteps, and by the time Louis figured the voices were, in fact, trying to get his attention, three tall bulky Slytherins had surrounded him.

Shit.

“Hello, gentlemen,” Louis said quickly, pulling his shoulders in a little in an automatically defensive maneuver. “Is there anything I can do for-” “Shut it.” A Slytherin growled, cutting him off. “I'm talking, you listen. Next time the professor tells you to help us in potions, you stay the hell away. No one needs your kiss-ass help, got it?” The Slytherins closed in on him further, but Louis was confused. They were going to get violent over a little thing like the teacher telling him to help them with their potions?

“Guys, that was two days ago,” Louis started, backing towards a wall. “And I didn't choose to... H-he made me, I couldn't just say no-” “Stay away from us, little birdie.” Louis was shaking. God ,it wasn't even that dangerous a situation. They were just flustered that a classmate had to teach them the proper way to go about that particular potion, maybe feeling a bit sorry for themselves. It was understandable, and Louis was taking things way out of proportion. But could you blame him?

Their faces swam before his eyes, replaced by the sneers of children of his youth. Louis flinched visibly, backing up until he hit the wall, where his breath started speeding to near hyperventilation. “I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again, ok? Just please, I'll... I'll just go!” Confused at his reaction, the Slytherins smirked. “I thought your whole family was supposed to be stupid brave,” one of them drawled while the others laughed at his cowardly pleas. They walked away, never really intending to harm in the first place.

Louis bolted.

He flew down the hallway, feet pounding the floor with unrivaled speed. His heart hammered in his chest, beating his ribs in rhythm with his footsteps. Flashes of that night in the park burst in Louis' mind and he rounded a corner, and he halted at the first empty classroom he saw. He dove in and slammed the door shut behind him, collapsing against it and sliding down to the ground in exhaustion. He curled up, breathing heavily and wrapping his arms around his knees, head bent down to catch his breath.

He shivered now, and not from the cold. A hot pain pricked his eyes like tears but he forced them down, not eager to relive the memories. He coughed, clasping his hands tightly around his wrists until his breathing evened. Looking for all the world like a scared little boy, Louis finally looked up.

There was... someone else in the room? Eyes shining with panic and now shame, Louis gulped. “I'm... I'm sorry,” he stammered, getting up quickly. “I...” but he didn't finish. What was he supposed to say?

[ruth]

ruthie pulled a little muggle thing out of her bag, it played music. she knew how to work it, and thought it was interesting. she played some soft music, letting it drift around the room in hopes to block thoughts out of her mind. well, not thoughts, memories. she wanted to think ... but think about what she was going to write. not what happened at her grand- no. she wasn't going there. the brunette reached over and turned the volume up one notch. ...i said 'where've you been?' he said 'ask anything...' the music was some muggle band she had learned about in muggle studies. and from a friend she had spent some time with over the summer. where were you, where were you? the music drifted right out of ruthie's mind, and she leaned over, the pencil firmly in her hand as she began to write. the words spilled out onto the page, and with each one the character was growing more developed. not everything was as it seems, her character often said. well, it was true.

ruthie looked up at the sound of a door slamming. well, the door. her wide brown eyes were like saucers for a moment when she noticed a boy curled up by the base of the door, breathing heavily and hiding his face. ruthie's mind flashed back to the time in the summer when she had run and hid from her grandmother, who's madness was clear. her grandmother's husband was passed out, drunk, and ruthie could only scramble away. in the end, she had a solitary bruise on her cheek. she cried that night ... oh goodness what was she thinking? she didn't want to think about that. it's why she wrote. she was writing until she forgot. she blinked, her startled appearance softening as she dithered on what to do about the boy. she could do nothing, she sure wouldn't want interference if she were in that state.

but then he looked up, and ruthie was surprised to see how ... well, fearful he looked. honestly, she should've guessed. but still, now what was she going to do? it was easy enough for her to pinpoint what a person was feeling, but that never made it any easier when it came to dealing with the feelings. she dawdled a moment longer before leaning forward and tilting her head slightly to the side. he looked very scared, and ruthie only knew one thing to do when someone was scared. hear them out. so, without saying a word, ruthie offered a small smile with a message clearly written on her face. i'm listening.

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[.LOUIS HENRI WEASLEY !]

Louis stood shakily, clutching his elbows as his embarrassed gaze rested on the girl only yards away. She was a Ravenclaw, Louis recognized, an easy to remember girl because of the way she kept so quiet. Counterintuitive, perhaps, but to the usually social Ravenclaw common room, her intense silence was noticable. Even during those long weeks before examines when the whole tower went completely silent save for the turning of pages and scribbling of notes. Even then.

She was a year younger than Louis, and as such he'd never really bothered to get to know her. He had his friends in his year and his family, and that was usually ample society enough to appease him. It was hard enough to keep track of all the Potters and Weasleys, plus figuring out his roommates for Louis to bother wondering about the quiet girl, too. It was hardly out of the norm to see a quiet Ravenclaw anyhow. Why was he still thinking about this?

Louis took a breath and moved a fraction closer. Her wide eyes seemed genuine and her body language open enough for Louis to relax, and soon he found himself dropping his hands from his chest and letting them hang at his sides instead. A silence stretched between the two of them for a long moment, Louis debating whether or not to just leave and let her to her writing. The previous encounter had shaken him pretty badly, and he needed a chance to calm down - but he didn't want to go back to the common room or elsewhere around the castle for fear of the crowds, the possible compromising questions. He could just picture running into Rosie or Fred only to be bombarded with concerned questions. Why did he look so pale, did something happen?

If he just stayed here, he wouldn't really be bothering her, would he? He could take some time to think quietly, put his head down and force those memories out of his to concentrate on something more positive. Maybe he'd go over the latest spell they'd learned in Tranfigurations, translate from memory the last few pages of Ancient Runes. He didn't want to bother her, and he didn't want others to bother him. Overall, staying seemed like a pretty ok idea right now.

Louis moved over a desk a few rows over from where the sixth year sat writing in her book. "I... hope you don't mind if I just... stay here for a bit," Louis hesitated, hovering by a desk before sitting a little uneasily. He hated being so obviously weak, and it was clear the girl had noticed how rattled he was. Common Louis was known for his widely stated opinions, his general arrogance and lack of tact. He wasn't normally associated with words like "coward" or "pathetic" because he worked to keep that regretful part of his personality secret. A secret from those who mattered, anyway. It wouldn't do to have his family, the recklessly brave Weasleys, know exactly why his patronus was a quail.

"I don't mean to bother you. I suppose I'd be a bit shocked if someone came flying in abruptly," he laughed stupidly, hoping to regain some semblance of dignity. He removed his coat and balled it up, wrapped his arms around the bundle and finally rested his chin on top of the whole thing. He smiled a bit stiffly, apologizing for behavior. "But if you could just... Don't tell anyone, ok? Please?"

[ruth]

ruthie could clearly remember that week. it was so tortuous, to have to watch the man who was supposed to be her grandfather fly into the house, his hands upraised. ruthie had been too fast to be hit by him, the guy's drunken stupor had slowed his reflexes. but her grandmother had lost it the next day, and the day after that ... suddenly the week at her grandmother's didn't seem as fun as it should've been. she didn't go back- and all these years she kept silent about it. her grandmother would send her letters, telling her not to say a thing. her 'grandfather' would take to outright threatening. mum was never home, and dad was out all the time, so there was no one to interfere or even see what ruthie was hiding. her sisters noticed her silence, but ruthie wasn't about to tell them why she stopped talking.

the look of shame and fear on this boy's face brought all the memories rushing back, and ruthie's eyes glazed over for a few moments before she blinked and watched him take a seat, shivering. something had scared him to bits, but it wasn't her place to ask what. he spoke, and she listened, though his words were merely stiff apologies and begging phrases. ruthie's gaze followed him as he sat down and she eyed him for a moment longer before turning back to writing in silence.

she wondered if he was someone she wanted to speak to. her guts screamed for her to say something, but she wasn't sure. she didn't talk to everyone nowadays, only a select few she thought were ... well, worth it. she supposed. anyway, her heart went out to this poor boy, and she could tell that something more was going on than just what happened now when he ran and ended up in 'her' room. she scribbled a small doodle on the side margain, swirling her pencil around and letting out a soft sigh. "why would i?" she asked, without looking up. her voice, soft and melodic from lack of use, carried only as far as the boy. if there were others beyond him, they'd hardly hear.

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[.LOUIS HENRI WEASLEY !]

Fingers flexing under the fabric of his coat, Louis considered her whisper soft voice. He was surprised she talked at all, though he knew she couldn't be silent all the time. It was unfounded shock really, but Louis did not exactly have his wits about him at the moment. It was going to take a bit before he could suppress this latest blow to his ego.

Why would she tell anyone? He supposed there wasn't a reason, though there was always the possibility of reputation damaging gossip that spread like wildfire in this school. Louis wanted nothing more than to leave this side of him in complete anonymity, and he could count on those Slytherins to think too little of him to bother mentioning it. But what about her? Maybe she would go and blab, maybe she wouldn't even remember this encounter tomorrow. Who was he to know? Louis swallowed and picked his head up a little from his makeshift pillow.

"I dunno," he sighed, plopping his head down again, face turned toward the girl to his left. "I don't reckon I'm important enough to gossip about, but I'd appreciate your silence all the same. I'm not terribly proud of..." he trailed off, flapping his hand as he rambled. He groaned. God, his yellow streak.

Again he fell silent, working hard now to think of other things. Arithmancy. Charms. Potions. No, not potions. Try again, Lou... Um, Defense Against the Dark Arts. History of Magic. There, yeah, focus on Hurshid the Horrible and whatever rubbish he was up to in the late 800s.

Whatever.

"What's your name?" Louis said suddenly, blinking. Conversation would take his mind off his matters, and for a brief moment, Louis stepped out of his own ego and actually considered the girl next to him. She seems distracted and distant, like there was something weighing heavy on her own mind. Well, today was the day for it, after all. The cold weather he had loved only a moment ago had turned against him, leaving him isolated from enjoying the day and entirely more introspective than he would have liked. Focus on her. Focus on her. Focus on her.

Ok. She had brown hair, long and straight and shiny and he could smell her shampoo faintly in the warmer air of the classroom. Her eyes were wide and dark, her wrists thin and delicate, the way she tapped her pencil rhythmic. She wasn't bad looking, he decided, and she had a definite air of mystery about her, her limited words only teasing him into wanting to know more. Dismissing his previous thoughts about not having time to deal with anyone new, Louis saw that she was the most perfect distraction. He could probably get over himself for a few minutes.

He closed his blue eyes for a moment, taking a steadying breath. Conversation. Maybe he could get her to have a conversation, maybe distract them both. He noticed she frowned a little at the very corners of her mouth, and the way she doodled in her notebook suggested she was open to considering hearing him out. Did that mean she had things she didn't want to focus on, too? Maybe he was reading too much into this. Maybe he was making a fool of himself.

More so than he already was, that is.

[ruth]

ruthie looked up, regarding the boy sitting at a desk near hers. his head was resting on a balled up coat and he was obviously fighting for control. it wasn't easy to tell by his face, but by his stiffness. he was tense, thinking about something. she blinked slowly, watched with mild curiosity as he lifted his head and began speaking again, his voice trailing off after a moment. not proud of. there are a lot of things many people are not proud of. ruthie, remembering her own faults, breathed out through her nose. she kind of felt like a nanny now, listening to a child who scolded himself instead of waiting to be scolded by a more authoritive figure. she smiled slightly, and kept her lips pressed together in silence, almost like an invisible glue kept them in place.

she was quiet for a moment, not immediately replying to his question about her name. but, she wasn't hiding that. "ruth burrow." she replied, keeping her words short and soft. she blinked, startled by a sudden, rather intense look on the boy's face. he seemed to be concentrating very hard on something. perhaps he was doing what she did everyday, thinking on something else to ignore what bit the front of her mind, knawing at her day in and day out. she pondered on asking his name, or letting the subject just drop there. no, he needed to be calmed. as much as he looked calmer now, ruth was positive he most definitely was not any calmer than before. frantic to find something else to focus on. "what's yours?" she asked, lifting her pencil from the paper and twirling it in her fingers to point it at him. she thought his name started with an 'l' but she couldn't be positive.

[sorry its so short]

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[.LOUIS HENRI WEASLEY !]

"Louis Weasley," Louis said quickly, picking his head up for good and pushing his coat away from him a little. He was eager to talk, about anything, everything. He could hear people laughing outside the classroom, and with a quick look at the door he grimaced. They'd laughed too, Louis remembered. The five of them, circling him around him and laughing as he pleaded in his tiny ten-year-old voice to leave him alone, that he didn't want to join their club after all. Shaking his head slightly to clear it, Louis blinked those thoughts away.

He cleared his throat quietly, making sure his voice was stronger than it was moments ago, when he was about ready to have another one of his panic attacks. "What are you writing?" He asked, flicking his chin to gesture to her notebook. "Schoolwork?" He needed to finish his work, come to think of it. He didn't normally put it off until Saturday - he was more apt to finish it the moment he got some free time so he wouldn't have to worry about screwing up beautifully crisp Saturdays like this one. Well, now he had two things to worry about. Great great great.

Running a hand through his hair and smiling a little, Louis got up and moved a desk or two closer to Ruth. "I'm not normally like this," he added, not entirely sure why he felt he had to suddenly justify himself. He didn't need to impress her, in fact he though he was just using her as a distraction. "Skittish, I mean." Louis chuckled haughtily, though a bit strained when Ruth remained quiet. "The rest of my family might have more guts, but I'd challenge any one of them in book smarts. Yes, I suppose that's the one thing I have going for me." Blabbering enough from the both of them though he knew it was awkward, Louis grinned cheesily. There, it was working already.

[ruth]

oh, louis weasley. ruthie had heard he was arrogant, and a snot. slightly put off, she bit her lower lip and continued to scrawl little doodles on her paper's margain. he spoke again, and without looking up, she shrugged. "nah- just a book." she replied shortly, though her tone wasn't exactly curt or anything. after a moment, feeling a little guilty for seeming to be rude, well in her mind she was being rude, she looked up and her brown eyes locked in his. she saw thoughts swimming there, ones unsaid. she sighed. it was just like her to attract the people with issues. her sister, reggie, used to joke about it. she was the magnet for that kind of stuff. she blinked at louis, and found a wall. he wasn't easy to figure out, well not as easy as others. damn, she'd actually have to work a little bit.

she paused when he moved closer, and narrowed her eyes for a second, regarding him with a (hopefully) blank stare. he began defending his actions, proceeding to laugh haughtily. ruthie leaned to the side, resting her cheek on her fist, and her elbow on the table. she quirked a brow as he spoke, now coming upon the 'arrogant louis weasley' phase. so she assumed, at least. he babbled on, a sign of obvious nervousness. the kid was not at ease. ruthie's lips twitched in a semblance of a smile. she shrugged and bobbed her head, blinking and remaining silent. yes, i suppose that's the thing i have going for me. he said. ruthie sat up, turning around so her back was to him, and she turned down the music. it hadn't been loud, but it suddenly seemed to be blasting in her ears. perhaps she could only focus on one thing at a time.

when ruthie turned back around, her gaze bore into louis's. "but you don't want it that way." she said it as a comment, not a question. it was clear that he'd rather have guts, from what she'd seen. of course, she couldn't ever be one hundred percent sure of anything, she hardly knew this kid. she heard rumors and whisperings, but she'd only spoken to him in a matter of minutes. she wasn't going around judging, but she was making hypothises. educatred guesses. hell, she could be dead wrong- but she wouldn't know unless she was told so. she eyed his cheesy grin, and felt herself deflating a little. she smiled back.

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[.LOUIS HENRI WEASLEY !]

Whoa, she was writing a book? Louis nodded, impressed. But she turned her back to adjust a Muggle music device, and Louie got nervous. He hadn't wanted to bother her at the start of all this, and here he was, inching closer and hoping she would keep up the conversation, if only he could puzzle her out. Or distract himself? He wasn't sure of his intent anymore. He just knew he had to keep talking, even if he'd forgotten why.

He crossed his arms, leaning back in the desk chair in what he hoped was a casual manner. His lips were drawn a little too tight though, putting him at complete odds with Ruth's demure silence. Suddenly he felt like a loud, bumbling idiot with all his words and braggings. He quieted, reconsidering his need to talk. He ought to just leave, it was obvious he didn't fit well with her.

But her next reply gave Louis reason to pause. "But you don't want it that way." It wasn't a question; Ruth stated it like fact, and Louis found himself dumbstruck. "No, I..." He stuttered, blinking a few times. Did she know more about him than he suspected? No, he was just being completely obvious. Quit reading so much into this...

"I guess I don't," he finished after a moment, his eyes breaking contact with hers as he looked down. Louis watched his feet for a moment uncomfortably, shifted, and looked back up. He didn't bother trying to make light of things again. He knew the moment had never appeared to try to be normal, as he didn't bump into Ruth in a normal manner. Even if he had, would he have talked to her?

"I don't think I'd mind changing a few things about me, but I can't be the only one. Everyone's got their own demons," Louis finished quietly, looking through his lashes at her. What demons did she have? Louis looked away again, vaguely wondering why he was so curious now.