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Post by Hannah Abbott MacMillan on Oct 10, 2005 4:15:03 GMT
Hannah had barely risen to her feet and muttered her goodbye when Dill came bouncing over and she had to bite her lip not to laugh at his antics. She just gawked at him though as he tugged at her hair and kissed the tip oh her nose. Dill of course bound off as Hannah stood there staring after. After a moment though her senses returned and she say Ernie staring at her. “We have fun later.” She said with a silly little grin while blushing crimson rose all over before walking up to the castle still clinging to Ernie’s hand.
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Post by ernie on Oct 11, 2005 0:52:26 GMT
He focused on Hannah for a long time. She seemed to be almost as stunned as he was. She stared after Dillion with a sort of glazed expression. It wasn't until she spoke that he had a better idea of exactly what was on her mind. He had of course assumed that she would have been shocked at the completely inappropriate action. Such behavior should never be exhibited, especially not upon Hannah!
After her long silence she finally spoke, though her words were repeating what Dillion had said. Her cheeks them immediately turned crimson and she grinned in some utterly silly, clueless manner. Now it was his turn to stare. This was completely the wrong reaction! She was to become upset! She was to demand an apology! And instead she had a sort of goofy pleased look.
Her hand was still in his from when he had helped pull her up, and finally he gave it a squeeze and moved so that she stood in front of her. He paused for a moment before he moved his other hand to her chin and held it up and stable so that she had to peer directly into his eyes. She had lost her mind! Amongst her tears she must had lost her senses completely. That was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with for the fact that she had reacted so mildly, and almost childishly pleased at Dillion Moore's behavior.
"Now Hannah" he started, still holding her chin for a moment longer before finally releasing it. "Listen to me Hannah, are you listening? Now, I know his behavior must have thrown you off a great deal. That is the only explanation I can come up with for your behavior. Now though, we have to go back to the castle, but you must get your bearings first. I will not have you walking down that stone path if you are not settled. We don't want you falling now do we."
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Post by Hannah Abbott MacMillan on Oct 15, 2005 0:16:04 GMT
Ernie squeezed her hand and then moved up in front of Hannah where he took her chin in his hand. She looked at him like she had just remembered he was there when he began speaking. She nodded as he asked if she was listening though her mind was awhile away following Dill as he bounced around. He kissed her. Dill had kissed her. She let out a small little giggle as Ernie said she needed to get up to the castle – not over what Ernie was saying but just giddiness from what had just transpired. “Ok Ernie. Falling wouldn’t be good. Don’t you want to stay in the courtyard though? It’s such a lovely day. Don’t you think it’s a lovely day? I think it’s a lovely day. That was nice of Dill to try and cheer me up wasn’t it? I think it was nice. Don’t you think it was nice Ernie? We can sit in the courtyard if you like. No need to go all the way back up to the castle. I am ok now. We can just stay out here. How about that Ernie?” Hannah babbled happily.
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Post by ernie on Oct 15, 2005 15:59:14 GMT
He stared at Hannah, listening to her babble on about the courtyard and how lovely it was. She had lost her mind. There was no even remotely acceptable explanation other than that. Somehow she had been even closer to the edge than he had originally thought and with all that had happened in the past few moments she had finally fallen into some childish babble. He found himself taking a deep breath and trying to focus on how he could correct this. He, being her best friend and the person who knew her the best, would have to be the one to return her to her normal state. Now, he was fully aware of the fact that it would not be an easy task, but her future was at stake here. He had to get her thinking at clearly enough to at least return to classes again on Monday. Despite what had happened recently, she had to finish her final year at Hogwarts before entering the wizarding world to be come productive members of society like the rest of their year.
After a moment of contemplation, he decided that it was best to stay outside. Yes, it would have been preferred to go back to the castle and get her a nice cup of tea, but if she wanted to stay so desperately, he did not want to put her through the struggle it would have been to convince her to go back to the castle. He also decided that it was best to push the entire topic of Dillion Moore out of the conversation. There was nothing he could even say about his fellow Hufflepuff that was fitting for the situation.
He glanced around for a moment, and spotted a bench just off the path, under a nearby tree. He considered the spot for a moment, before nodding in approval. “I guess there is no harm with staying out here for a short while longer.” After that, he nodded again, once again agreeing with himself, before he gave her hand a gentle tug and started towards the bench. “We can have a seat right over here.”
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Post by Hannah Abbott MacMillan on Oct 17, 2005 1:29:31 GMT
Hannah smiled at Ernie as he said sitting outside would be ok. He then brought her toward a bench and Hannah sat down. “It really is nice out. I just came out to read when Dill found me. I was just reading and then poof there he was. He has a tendency to do that eh? Just pop up out of the woodwork. Or the stones in this case I guess. It was nice of him to try and make me feel better though don’t you think? It was great to not be focused on the sad things for a while. It was nice of you to come too Ernie, when you saw I was upset. Dill and I were having fun though before I got all silly.” Hannah continued to babble.
Though it was warm enough out Hannah gave a little shiver and pulled her clock tighter around her. “Oh Ernie why did I have to get all silly again? It’s been so long. I don’t want this to run my life…”Hannah whined and her lip began to tremble. Tears she thought she didn’t have crept into the corner of her eyes once more and Hannah tried to indiscreetly brush them away with her sleeve. With a sigh Hannah tried to smile again though it was likely a very feeble attempt “I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
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Post by ernie on Oct 23, 2005 3:54:08 GMT
It seemed that the topic of Dillion Moore would not leave their conversation easily. Even when he tried to avoid it, Hannah was still caught up in him. Yes, perhaps he was rather entertaining if one enjoyed that type of humor, though he found it more distasteful than anything. He was waiting for a break in Hannah's verbal stream of conscious, when her mood returned to the sorrowful state it had been in not long before. He took in a deep breath, and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him as he did. "Now Hannah, we both know full well that there is nothing wrong with you. You have suffered a traumatic loss, and most of the time you handle it quite well. Its just very hard to be that strong all the time. Now, just take a few deep breaths and get yourself back together again."
He rubbed her arm for a moment, using his other to pull out his wand, which had been tucked in the pocket of his pants, under his robes, and conjured her a tissue. While his outer robes would already need a thorough cleaning, there was no need it dirtying them any further. He reached over with the tissue, and manage and wiped a falling tear from Hannah's cheek before it could land on his shoulder. Thinking again to himself that it would be best to get her back inside where it was warm and he could get the one of the house elves to make her a nice cup of chamomile tea.
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Post by Hannah Abbott MacMillan on Oct 23, 2005 5:05:56 GMT
Hannah rested her head on Ernie’s shoulder as he put an arm around her – glad for his solidness to support her. “Handle it well? Most the time I just hide in my room – I'm a mess. And today when I tried to go outside I end up crying in front of everybody.” Hannah said but still taking Ernie’s advice and trying to breath in as big as she could. It was true too – a number of people had been watching the pair. Some with curiosity, some with pity, and a rare few who knew of Hannah’s situation with true empathy. But their reasons for staring really didn’t matter right now. What did matter was that a whole bunch of people were seeing Hannah cry once more. They were going to think she couldn’t handle anything – that she was really delicate. Not that she wasn’t or anything but it wasn’t something she really wanted advertised. She remembered in her fifth year when she broke down over OWLs first how everyone treated her differently – like she was a china doll that would break if they so much as breathed too near her. She most certainly didn’t want that to happen again. It was annoying enough the first time.
As Hannah kept taking deep breaths and trying to put a stopper in the flow of tears Ernie got a tissue and whipped one off her cheek. Apparently she hadn’t been as discrete as she hoped in hiding them from him. She gave him a feeble smile then squeezed his arm. “Let’s go in Ernie. There are so many people out here – I think I need a little privacy. I guess I just can’t handle outside interaction yet or something.” Hannah said trying to make it sound like a light jest though once more failing miserable. She then stood up in front of the bench and gave Ernie another of those feeble smiles that seemed permanently attached to her face lately to let him know she would follow him wherever.
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Post by ernie on Oct 23, 2005 19:57:36 GMT
He gently patted her arm, still holding the tissue up so not to let any further amount of tears fall onto his robes. Hannah never was very strong when it came to such emotional things. She always took everything so hard. For some time he had been rather worried about her, but she was in general handling it better than he had originally expected. With the attacks happening so close to school, he had feared that Hannah might not find the strength to return to school, yet somehow she did.
When she was done with her comment, her head buried against his shoulder, he worked to formulate his response. It was logical for Hannah to be feeling so powerless at the moment, and it was now his responsibility to reassure her. After a moment he took in a breath, touching her cheek with the back of his hand for a moment, something he decided she needed after her previous comment. "You lost someone very close to you, its expected for you to have a hard time readjusting."
He nodded in agreement to his own comment, just as Hannah finally said that she wanted to go back into the castle and pushed herself up form the bench. He gave her a pleased smile before rising himself. "That is a good decision Hannah, we can go back and get you something warm to drink, and maybe a bit to eat. How does that sound?"
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Post by Hannah Abbott MacMillan on Oct 23, 2005 20:20:10 GMT
“Sounds… sounds… oh I don’t know. I guess it’s a good idea. I’m not exactly hungry though. A drink sounds good. Are you going to get something to eat Ernie? I guess I will get something if you get something. But I don’t want to eat alone. Do we have to go to the Great Hall Ernie? Maybe we could just stop in at the kitchens on the way to the common room? I know we aren’t exactly supposed to but… it would be a lot easier. I don’t want to be suffocated by people right now. So it would be ok for us to stop by the kitchens right Ernie? I really could use a hot chocolate.” Hannah babbled as she walked towards the doors.
She passed out the gate to the courtyard and wrenched open the front door. The front foyer was pretty crowded and Hannah became suddenly even more self-conscious of her tear stained face. Desperately she tried rubbing her face with her sleeve while standing in the doorway attempting to clean up her face as much as possible.
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Post by ernie on Oct 23, 2005 22:31:06 GMT
He nodded at her babbling, only partially listening as he walked along th path with her, carefully to keep her straight on the stones and steering her clear of any obstacles in her path. He knew how she forgot to pay attention to where she was going when she got in such a mood. He caught a few words of what she was saying, though they were generally concerning things that the had already thought of. He knew that in this state, it would not be best to bring her to the Great Hall, where any and all of Hogwarts could see her. Instead he planed to keep her in a more private setting, where she could get her emotions all settled again.
"Yes, I had no intention of going to the Great Hall, I think instead we should head to the common room perhaps. The kitchens are hardly out of the way, we can stop and get your drink then. Now, I never really eat in between meals, but it would be very easy to get you something while we are in the kitchen if you want something to accompany your drink. Now, are you sure that you want hot chocolate, Hannah? Don't you think that perhaps chamomile tea would be better. Its very calming you know."
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Post by Hannah Abbott MacMillan on Oct 23, 2005 23:04:52 GMT
Hannah turned around and looked at Ernie as he agreed to go get something directly from the kitchen rather than going into the Great Hall. It was a relief that he agreed but also a little disconcerting – she must be a serious mess for Ernie to edge along the rules in such a way. “No if you’re not eating then I don’t feel like eating either. But no I want hot chocolate. No tea. Hot chocolate. And maybe some cookies to go with it? But no tea. How about you have some cookies too Ernie? A little chocolate chip cookie can’t hurt you. We can even dip the cookies in our hot chocolates.” Hannah said before realizing her was still standing in the door. Blushing at being so inconsiderate Hannah continued on into the front hall looking down at her shoes. In her head people were staring at her because of her burning face and the tear streaked paths. In reality people likely didn’t even notice that the pair were there but that didn’t matter – Hannah though they were all watching her.
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Post by ernie on Oct 28, 2005 3:15:17 GMT
He took a deep breath and paused a moment before responding. He wished that she would drink a nice cup of tea instead of hot chocolate. The benefits of tea greatly outweighed those of hot chocolate, but sometimes there was simply no convincing Hannah, even if it was for the better. He finally let his breath out as a sigh and nodded. "Hot chocolate it is then." He lingered for another moment, noticing the flood of color to her cheeks as a small group of students passed by them on their way to the Great Hall. He watched the students for a moment, disappearing inside. Ah, yes. It would be about that time, wouldn't it. At different times during the day the House Elves put out platters of snacks for the students. Thankfully, that meant that he would not have to stretch school rules and go to the kitchen. He could get Hannah to a secluded corner, and he would go into the Great Hall and get her hot chocolate and cookies. Not that such things ever acceptable for this hour in the afternoon, but it was simply not worth the battle over the cookies, and he had already admitted defeat on her choice of drink.
Nodding in agreement to his own plan he turned back to Hannah. "Do you think you would be alright by your self for a few moments. I would walk you just around the corner and you could wait for me there while I went into the Great Hall and retrieved your refreshments."
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Post by Hannah Abbott MacMillan on Nov 6, 2005 21:10:08 GMT
Hannah nodded slowly as Ernie asked if she would be ok to wait somewhere while he ducked into the Great Hall. “Yep, I’ll be fine. Perfectly ok.” She said with a weak smile attempting to convince herself as much as him. Looking at the floor with carefully measured steps Hannah crossed the front hall until she was at the doors of the Great Hall. She then turned into the staircase next to it, which led to the kitchen, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin dorms. She went down onto the first step then rested against the wall closing her eyes. “Hey, Ernie.” Hannah said tentatively opening her eyes a moment later. “I think I want to be Dorothy for Halloween… Will you be the Scarecrow for me?” She asked biting her lip.
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Post by ernie on Nov 8, 2005 3:05:45 GMT
He followed carefully after Hannah as she took the few steps around the corner and toward the hall that lead to their Common Room. At this hour, the hall was deserted. Here Hannah could wait safely against the wall, and never be bothered while he went into the Great Hall and got her hot chocolate and cookies. He still thought she would be better off with tea, but then sometimes there was just no reasoning with a female.
He stayed with her until she seemed safely settled, and it was then that he started to turn, hoping he could hurry off and return before she was too desperately missed. He had no sooner turn though when she started to talk to him. He looked back toward her, listening her say that she wanted to be Dorothy for Halloween. It did not strike him at first who she was talking about, and he tried to recall a famous witch who had that name. No one came to mind though. She followed her costume idea with a request for him to be a 'scarecrow' for her. It took him a moment of thinking to try and confidently settle the characters. Yes, he very vaguely remembered them from a muggle studies class on movies, which were often their form of entertainment. There was a movie...something about a Wizard...and someone named Oz. He had seen a photo. There was a girl, who he now guessed was named Dorothy, and she had friends, a man in a lion costume, a scarecrow that talked, and a man wearing a metal suit that looked nothing like armor.
He let out a loud, deep breath. Being a scarecrow was not the costume he had intended on for this Halloween. He had hoped to find some strong influence in wizarding history. After a moment he stepped closer to her and moved into her direct sight. He remained silent for a short moment, before letting out a second deep breath and nodding. "If you insist on being this Dorothy person...and have such strong feelings of me dressing as a scarecrow, then yes. I will do it for you this once."
He nodded, reaching a hand up, and resting it gently on her cheek, "Now, are you going to be alright here if I hurry along into the Great Hall? I would only be but a moment."
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