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Post by Dorcas E. Meadowes on Nov 6, 2012 2:37:03 GMT -5
17th September, 1976. Friday Evening.
Doe had spent the morning at Quidditch, had laid low in class, skipped lunch for the library and had even headed straight there after lessons had ended. She had avoided life all week, hoping to blend into the background and disappear in the crowd, wishing her friends away so she wouldn’t have to admit her grief. Then Gamp went missing, and her perspective changed entirely. The whole school was now either scared, saddened or sadistically satisfied with the incident, Dorcas just wanted to go home. It was all anyone could talk about, and the last thing anyone wanted to hear. Although she would love to run from the home turned hell that was Hogwarts, she knew it would be cowardly and she would regret it.
Through all the gossip, she had deciphered that the toga party had been the start of all the dramatics. Fights, fires and fowl blood status abuse had been thrown about at the Marauder’s annual event, it was shocking. It seemed unlikely that the two incidents weren’t related. Dorcas had received the news of her father’s gruesome passing at breakfast shortly before her invitation to the party, there was no chance of her going. She did feel bad, as annoying as those boys could be they were amusing and highly likable, they reminded her somewhat of her own siblings though she was nowhere as close. James was her Quidditch captain even, and she felt she ought to go. She had even got ready with the rest of the girls and shared their firewhisky as pre-drink. But when it came to it, she was simply too sad. She didn’t tell anyone, just made an excuse to hang behind and crawled into her bed to be alone with her misery. It was all rather angsty.
So when she heard the following day what had gone on, Doe felt even worse. She saw them that morning for the breakfast where Dumbledore announced the disappearance, but she never said a word. Some of her closest friends had even fallen out with her, calling her rude and uncaring, but they didn’t know and she couldn’t blame them, she was acting pretty selfish.
That in mind, after a day of finding every excuse to avoid the world, Dorcas finally submitted to the call of social life and the comfort of the Gryffindor Common Room. She had studied enough to carry her through to Christmas in her efforts to hide, and if she practiced Quidditch any longer she’d surely catch pneumonia. No, it was time to face the world again.
Unfortunatley, as soon as she decided she was ready for the world it rather rudely chose to avoid her. The common room was deserted, and she felt suddenly a bit downhearted. Just when she could do with some company, too. Sod’s law, it was. She settled into the couch by the fire and cosied into its cushy fabric. Doe would not listen to Hufflepuffs when they gloated the comfort of their little burrow, there could not be a more lusciously snug spot then the one she occupied at present. It was impossible. She stared into the fire dazedly, wondering how her family was coping.
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Post by Sirius Black on Nov 6, 2012 8:25:28 GMT -5
  As the week drew to and end, they were no closer to finding her then they had been. Sirius had spoken with everyone he could think to, and nobody was in a position to share any information. Whether it was fear, ignorance or malice; nobody was willing to speak. He had far from given up, but it was hard to imagine what more they could do to find her. If it was how Meda suggested, that they had taken her to threaten her father, then why had her parents not received declaration of this threat. It seemed in that case that it wasn't wrong to assume they had been more dangerous in their threats. The longer it went on, the more likely it seemed that the girl was gone. He felt pretty useless. When he retired to the common room at last, the only thing he wanted to do was collapse in the company of lions and forget about the snakes nipping at their feet. He headed for his spot, as close to the fire as he could get. And noticed a familiar face occupying the seat that offered so much comfort. Usually he'd expect a pretty swift exit from the theif, but in this case he was inclined to allow her to stay. Sirius had read in the paper the day before about another horrific murder. It was cruel, and he couldn't imagine how it must feel. The incident had happened before Gamp, but there was always a delay as the Ministry still tried to keep knowledge of the murders limited, presumably to prevent panic but more likley to protect their own press. The missing girl was bad enough, but days after losing a family member yourself it must have been painful. That in mind, Sirius knew he couldn't be too mean to Dorcas as she sat looking quite sadly into the flames. Evicting her from the couch seemed a tad cruel, so he resisted and took the arm chair to her right. "Alright, Dork?" he greeted, with a grin. He didn't have to be suspiciously nice. She'd obviously been avoiding everyone all week, and he had noticed she wasn't with the others at the toga party. It was only his awareness of her news that kept him from suspicion. He didn't blame her for wanting to stay out of everyone's way, more disappearances would only be a painful reminder of her grief. Clearly she wasn't keen on them knowing about her loss, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by treading on egg shells around her. He would just have to be his usual git self, out of kindness. "How are we faired for the first match this year then?"  |
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Post by Dorcas E. Meadowes on Nov 7, 2012 8:17:28 GMT -5
 
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Doe hadn't really thought about who she wanted to find her here. She wasn't really in the mood for anyone, but she did need the company of someone. As it happened it was Sirius who came around first. Now, that daft grin and his childish nicknames should really want to make her run a mile, but somehow she felt a shallow, light hearted distraction was what she needed. She smirked despite herself as he joined her, his constant high spirits infectious. She could never understand how he and James always seemed so damn happy. The pair of them had so much energy she could never understand it. This week in particular she knew had to be hard for the marauders, after all that had happened at their party, but Sirius still looked like he'd never had a bad day in his life.
"How creative," she responded, as the insults began in his first breath. "Sirius, before you even start, please know I'm not against hexing an injured party. How're your bruises?"
Dorcas hadn't witnessed the fight, but she had heard he and James had been victim to some pretty brutal shots. She was sure rumours of the fight had been exaggerated but it still sounded dangerous. She'd noticed his face at breakfast the day before, and James had looked in pain every time he stood up in class. She had even heard Lily Evans had gotten involved in the ruckus, but that was another detail likely to have been slightly exaggerated. She could easily imagine Lily throwing the odd hex, but their head girl was hardly one to instigate a fight.
He asked about Quidditch and Dorcas had to really think about it. She and James would have a fight on their hands arguing the case for the sport to continue. McGonagall was already contemplating calling a day to all of it, and with everything that was happening they were lucky the school itself was still open. The world was already falling to pieces around them, if they took this away as well they'd have a fight on their hands. Doe needed the escape of practice, she would argue the toss as long as she could with this one. Whether or not their team was ready was another story.
"Getting there," she conceded tactfully, their newest young team mate wasn't in her opinion up to scratch just yet. It was one thing to swing a bat well, but with beaters there had to be a decent partnership there or they'd just end up bludgering the life out of one another, and not even touching their opposition. She had far too many bruises this year already, and she'd only had practice a couple of times since this years try outs. It wasn't the kids fault, it was just something that came with time. But with spirits down this week, she didn't have the highest hopes for their first match. "If certain individuals with a knack for the sport would get off their backside and commit to the team, we might be doing a good deal better." Dorcas gave him a sly smirk. She always suspected he would have made a great beater for them, if he could take something seriously for once. That comment balanced a fine line between insulting his laziness and inflating his ego. She was not hoping for the latter, but she was almost certain it would be taken that way.
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Post by Sirius Black on Nov 8, 2012 7:32:21 GMT -5
 Dorcas was quick to retort, and he gave her his best look of hurt. The fight had spread through the whispering gossips of Hogwarts like wildfire. It was pretty dramatic anyway, it didn't need the added theatrics of student's creative exaggerations. His injuries were negligible now in any case, though he could imagine facial burns would take somewhat longer to heal. "You should see the other guy," he said, an honest use of that cliché for once. "No, I'm afraid my war wounds are gone now, so no excuses. It would be a fair duel. But I don't see how I've earned such threats, Doe, I wasn't starting. In fact, if anything, you're the hostile one." Sirius took the hint with the Quidditch remark. He did enjoy Quidditch, flying about on a broom knocking the crap out of people with bludgers was great craic, but the thought of morning after morning, school long commitment somehow didn't appeal to him. Perhaps she was right and it was laziness, but he had always figured that with his tendency for reckless anarchy, the Gryffindor squad would be better off not giving him the most violent position. James would probably testify to that too, the last thing they needed was disqualification before the snitch was even caught in their first game. "You're absolutely right, with my brilliance on the team you couldn't fail," he agreed, grinning widely. If she was going to actively fuel his ego, he would make her regret it. "But I think my presence would be a dangerous distraction for yourself. Wouldn't do for one of our star chasers to go all doe-eyed over me in an important game." Sirius paused for a moment before adding, "Pardon my pun." That was poor, even for him. Sirius really was trying to be being nice, so he faltered a little in his rant. He was so used to his front that it took conscious effort not to spew out arrogant statements. In truth, he was arrogant. It was a self-belief drilled into him along with his entitlement as a member of the Black family. But even he had to concede that nobody was likely to be as arrogant as he acted. The whole show and exaggerated ego was a front he had perfected since he left his family. It was all they could do to try to crush his spirit, so Sirius did everything he could to at least act as though any cruelty they threw his way simply bounced right off him. A lot of it did, but he wasn't completely immune to, he just couldn't give them the satisfaction of thinking that even one of their efforts had had the desired effect. It was however a very difficult thing to turn off, even if he wanted to avoid a hexing. "In all seriousness, from what I've heard you've got a decent team this year," he assured her, diplomatically, hoping for her sake and for Prongs' that current events didn't prevent their last season. It would lighten spirits somewhat if they did get a victory in their first match, but that might be unwanted added pressure. “And if your feelings towards me ever do overwhelm you, you need only say. Don’t tell the masses I said that, though, then you really will have a fight on your hands then.” That was the best he could do, truly. "So, what have you been occupying your time with of late?" He asked carefully, he wasn't going to actively say; why have you been hiding? or even more blatantly, I know about your loss. But he also wanted to give her an opportunity to. He realised he probably wasn't anyone's first choice for a sensitive shoulder to cry on. It would probably be less awkward for both of them to avoid an emotional encounter. "Besides bullying your new squad recruits into a state of terror." |
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Post by Dorcas E. Meadowes on Nov 9, 2012 10:18:56 GMT -5
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Dorcas had heard about the fire. That was probably unnecessary, she suspected. From what she could gather, surprisingly enough Sirius had not actually started the incident, but he was not known for careful restraint and a cool head. Doe expected the fight could have been resolved with a few attempts at disarming the assailant, but that didn't suit Black's reckless attitude to life in general.
"Was that really called for?" she asked him, seriously. It was bad enough they were under attack without having to resort to their level of abusive insanity. Even to her, fire seemed particularly vicious. "And are you any closer to finding out who it was?"
Then came more egotistical ranting. Doe wasn't particularly close to Sirius, but she'd had enough conversations with him over the years to have developed an ability to tune out. She knew him well enough to know that eventually he would always turn their conversations to somehow insinuate she was utterly infatuated with him. As amusing as his little group of fans were, Doe had never been one to fawn over anyone. He was cute, but she doubted she'd have the energy for another conversation with him that week, never mind invest enough time to consider dating him. She merely rolled her eyes at his justification of avoiding the Quidditch squad. Her Doe eyed distraction was nonsense, but he was probably right about the latter. Sirius could have been a liability for them were he to lose his temper. Dorcas herself was bad enough, she'd had plenty of harsh words exchanged on the field, and she was nowhere close to him in her recklessness. It wasn't even worth a response.
"I'll do my best to resist for now, cheers," she declined, smirking. "I don't want to invoke the fury of your fan base. I hope you're right about the game though, and I sincerely hope we get a chance to prove that before they ban the game altogether, or worse." The thought of what she'd do if they were to close the school troubled her somewhat. On the one hand she would be able to look after her mother, but then even with the disappearance Hogwarts still appealed to her as the safest place left. It wasn't so much her own safety, but she still had her younger brother to think of.
When Sirius asked her what she had been doing, Doe narrowed her eyes suspiciously. There was something about the way he said it she didn't quite trust. He was being careful, she realised, the irritating behaviour wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. The only reason she could think he would act in such a peculiar way is if he had serious reason to believe her to be in a delicate mood. He knew. Dorcas wasn't entirely sure how, but it was obvious he had heard. She had avoided the paper lately, but given that her younger brother was very similar to her in his avoidance coping mechanisms, she figured the only explanation to be that the Prophet had finally gotten hold of the story. Sirius was far from subtle on the best of days, his tentative manor only irritated her further. She didn't need to be wrapped in wool.
"I've been herding Hippogriffs Sirius, what did you think I was doing?" she answered, voice dripping with aggressive sarcasm. "If you have something to say, go right ahead. Sensitivity doesn't suit you."
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Post by Sirius Black on Nov 10, 2012 9:56:26 GMT -5
  Sirius had assumed that he could not come out of his being attacked, without provocation and at his own party, in any negative light. He had been branded a blood traitor and hexed to hell and back, yet rather than sympathy the majority of the school had taken the disapproving approach and muttered about his callas use of magic. It was much of a concern to him what people thought, but it did seem slightly unfair his reputation was enough that everyone assumed he was in the wrong. How their logic allowed that, he couldn't guess. "He was masked, I thought setting the mask alight might be incentive enough for him to remove it," Sirius explained, though he shouldn't have to. The only thing that stopped him from retorting equally as harshly was fear of upsetting her further. "Apparently his identity was worth more to him than his skin, and that isn't my problem." He simply shook his head in quiet restraint as she asked if they were any closer to naming him. No idea, no clue. He wasn't sure quite how they could ever know, without a confession. Sirius had his suspicions, but there was more than one suspect. Her narrowed eyes and suddenly aggressive disposition began to get on his nerves very quickly. He was trying to be nice, patient... He got the feeling even the most well wishing of individuals would have struggled here. As she said herself, it didn't suit him. Although he tried to remind himself that she was suffering grief, he felt that she was provoking him to drop the pleasantries. "Come on, Dork, you once had a sense of humour. Would you rather me sit here and insult you? Because I can try that approach if you would prefer," he offered, trying hard to keep some of the animosity from his tone. It would have been equally easy for her to merely acknowledge the elephant in the room, without turning it into an entirely unnecessary attack on him. "I didn't consider how insulting my sensitivity to your grief could be, how thoughtless of me. You're not the only one suffering right now, you know, if everyone went around like yourself we'd all be miserable as sin." With his last ounce of patience he took a breath, and thought better of continuing his rant. "I'm very sorry to hear about your father," he said, sombrely. The atmosphere suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. 
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Post by Dorcas E. Meadowes on Nov 11, 2012 9:36:06 GMT -5
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Dorcas had to accept his reasoning. It did make sense, in fairness to him, and she couldn’t say she wouldn’t have done the same. Actually she was quite impressed with his resourcefulness under pressure, but she didn’t think he needed to hear that. Doe was learning swiftly that Sirius never needed an ego boost.
“Well I suppose that makes sense,” she conceded quietly. “I just think you may have added to the fear and panic. There are students having night mares about burning flesh. Some of the younger ones were crying all night recounting the smell and the screams. There were other spells that would have been far less traumatising.”
It wasn’t really worth arguing the case, but as Sirius started laying into her she felt her jaw clench and her fists curl. How dare he? Sirius wasn’t known for his restraint, but she had always thought of him as a friend. Everyone was on edge, maybe a bit snappy, she wasn’t alone and he had definitely exceeded her in that department anyway. His words were hurtful. She didn’t want him to sit insulting her, and she didn’t want him reminding her that in her grief she had abandoned her friends. In fact, Doe would prefer him to go back to hitting on her and making his egotistical statements.
It was all too much for her to take. A single tear escaped her eye, though she was quick to remove it. Doe had cried, alone in her dorms often since the news, she’d even cried with her little brother, but she had told herself she would never cry in front of any other, certainly not Black. Yet here she was, welling up with angry tears.
The problem was Doe didn’t really have time to react before he deflated and awkwardly awarded her his sympathies. That was when she lost it a little. With everything he said, she still found herself angry with him. He was entirely insensitive, but then she had actively instructed him to drop his attempts at sensitivity. Could she really be mad at him for doing just as she had asked? Her anger was quickly replaced with grief, guilt and regret all at once and Dorcas struggled to hold back her tears.
“I realise that,” she bawled, defeated. “We aren’t all so well practiced in hiding our feelings behind an ego, Sirius, I’m sorry to say.”
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