Everyone Sees It But Us ((Carey))

[Loki Fen'Rolphus G6]

Loki stood, leaning against the wall humming to himself. This was probably one of the most dull and depressing times of his day; waiting outside the potions classroom for Carey. Dull because he was alone and standing in the dungeons, and depressing because he was…well alone and standing in the dungeons. Plus Loki always found situations to be dull and depressing if they did not involve Carey, but standing in the dungeon just made everything more dull and depressing then it initially would be. The only company Loki had was a suit of armor standing a few feet away, and the occasional nasty bug or rodent that he would see out of the corner of his eyes. Bleh, how Loki hated vermin. Bugs and rodents were the worst of them, and that was one of the primary reasons why Loki had opted not to take potions again in his sixth year. Opted was…well…one way to describe it…Loki having not gotten the grade to take N.E.W.T level potions was another thing that factored into him not being in the class. Loki had never been good at potions. He just couldn’t do it. The only potion he was adept at making was the wolfsbane and that was only if he absolutely HAD to make it himself. Making that potion had been drilled into his skull since he was a child. That probably had to be the most twisted area of werewolf philosophy. When Fenrir Greyback took men out, stationing them around towns as a form of attack, scare tactics, trying to frighten people into surrendering to werewolf society, the men were not at the mercy of the full moon. No, no, these men were in full knowledge of their actions. Often times the use of the wolfsbane potion was encouraged so that the men could think to attack and scare more thoroughly. If someone was bit during one of their outings? It was done with full knowledge by the werewolf. He didn’t do it on accident, contrary to popular belief. He knew full well…he just did it anyways.

Loki looked up the empty corridor, and then down the other way before deciding that he was absolutely alone. Who in their right mind came down these corridors unless they were in potions? Well, the Slytherins of course but Loki wasn’t expecting anyone; he hadn’t run across any company while he waited all year. And Loki had in fact, been sitting outside Carey’s classrooms all year. All of the ones he could of course. I mean, sure he had his own classes to go to, but even after those he would dash off to the class he knew she’d be getting out of, prepared to meet her so they could get some chatting in before her or his next class. He walked her to and from meals every day, and even in the mornings he’d wait outside the great hall for her before breakfast. Sure, they didn’t sit at the same table, but they would both hurry through their meals so they’d have some free time. Loki and Carey had not spent more then a few hours apart since school began. It was like they were trying to make up for all the time they had been apart over the summer. Of course, their close friendship came with the usual words from friends and onlookers… ‘Are you two together?’ ‘You like her don’t you?’ ‘So when are you going to just face the fact that you like her?’ ‘Why don’t you date?’ ‘Are you a couple yet?’ Loki smiled to himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen. He pulled off the cap, tested it on his palm, and then, when he was satisfied that it was a sufficiently inky pen, he slid down the wall to sit on the nasty, grimy floor of the corridor. What was the point of standing? Loki let his mind wander as he doodled on his hand. Everyone of his friends saw immediately what it had taken him all summer to figure out. Yeah, he liked her…he liked her a lot. Did the word like even do it justice? Loki couldn’t even describe how much he cared about Carey…she was…well she consumed him. She had just become everything to him. She meant the world. She was…just…perfect.

Loki let his eyes refocus, looking at his hand again. He smiled to himself. LF & CB How many times had he done that? Too many. With a sigh he licked his thumb and began to rub off the letters he had written so nicely. The letters that just looked…they just…they fit together. They looked right didn’t they? Maybe it was just Loki. When the ink was well enough gone, Loki grabbed his pen again and began drawing the spirals that always started the roses he drew. The top of the rose. He thought back to the day he had gotten Carey a rose, that day in Hogsmead, not to long ago. Loki’s smile saddened as he remembered the rest of the day, or at least the start of it. He had made her cry that day hadn’t he? Yes, he had. But it had ended well hadn’t it? He had held her in the booth for at least an hour before they had gone on with their day, and by that point he wouldn’t let her get more then a foot away from him at any given time. Holding her had brought about the thought in his mind about how nice it was to have her in his arms. After that, he couldn’t let her go. That had been the day it had hit him, that was the day he had fully gotten that Carey wasn’t just a friend, Carey was someone he cared about as more then that, more then a best friend. Yeah, he admitted it…he had romantic feelings for her. And that didn’t even near describe how he felt about her. Loki looked up suddenly when he heard a loud creak and smiled, watching the door to the classroom open. He stood and leaned against the wall, pocketing his pen as students he didn’t care to know, or remember the names of filed out of the musty room. Finally, an eager looking Carey pushed her way through the door and the crowd and made her way to Loki. Without any hesitation Loki stepped forward, took her books from her hand and hooked his arm for her with a light smirk. “How was class, gorgeous?”

[Carey Brighton H5]

Snape droned on, completely oblivious to Carey’s growing displeasure at the late class. Potions was her last class of the day and so, of course, it was the longest class of the day. Not only that, but Snape had to be the worst teacher in the history of Hogwarts. His teaching techniques were fine, really, but his attitude just completely sucked. Carey sighed almost inaudibly and propped her head up in her hand which was in turn propped up by her elbow on the table, her eyes reading over the board and her left hand copying down the homework that was assigned that night. Another essay. Oh, joy. Once the assignment was written down, Carey shoved her quill and parchment away from her and started to pack up. But, no of course not – no there was one more thing they had to copy down. Carey sighed and pulled her parchment and quill to her again, dipping it in the ink pot again, she began copying down whatever it was Snape wanted them to copy down without really comprehending what she was writing. Carey hated this class more than she had ever in the previous years. Namely because it was the longest class of the day and it kept her from Loki longer than any of her other classes. It was pathetic (or perhaps not so) how dependent upon the sixth year she had become. Her friends considered it pathetic, but then again Carey had never taken her friends’ opinions into count. She hated her friends. No, that wasn’t true. They just didn’t have what she needed. Loki did. And that was why she chose to hang out with him more than anyone else.

Finally, the class seemed over and Carey (in her rush to get out of the dungeon and meet up with Loki) pushed back her stool and knocked into someone passing behind her. The person flailed and somehow (Carey wasn’t quite sure how) knocked over the ink pot that Carey had on her table top. The ink spilled everywhere, all over the notes she had just copied. Everyone stopped to look at her, some of the Slytherins smirked, and Snape gave her a look before turning his back on her. Of course, no one would care. With a heavy sigh, Carey set her shoulder bag on the table top and pulled out her wand, “Evanesco.” She muttered with a wave of her wand. The ink disappeared off the table and her parchment. She eyed it, happy to see her notes were still in tact, and then put everything in her shoulder bag before pocketing her wand again and leaving the dungeon classroom with a small scowl on her face. She situated her shoulder bag on her shoulder, shuffling her books from her right arm to her left, and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear as she pushed open the door and stepped out into the corridor. Immediately, she made her way over toward Loki and let him take her books without any complaint or protest. Normally, she might have argued with him – calling him silly and saying she could carry her own books – but today had been a rather horrible day and she was quite grateful to have him there to help her with her massive pile of books.

Without a second thought, Carey looped her arm through his and walked with him up the staircase to the first floor of the school. He asked her how class was, and Carey scowled even more – looking down at her white shirt a moment and then lifting a hand to loosen her tie, noticing a blue ink splatter on the yellow silk; “Ugh. Class was class. Full of obnoxious Slytherins, a seriously demented professor, and exploding ink.” Carey looked over at Loki as they reached the brighter area of the school. It was only around two in the afternoon, and there were still classes going on – but Carey wasn’t worried about much of anything. She still had patrolling to do before dinner anyway. Besides, spending as much time with Loki as possible was definitely on her to-do list. Yes, Carey Brighton had a to-do list. She tucked her hair behind her ear again and looked down at her feet as they continued to walk. Finally, after a moment of silence, she looked back up at him, trying to calm down enough to feel at ease and relax. She knew that being with Loki would have that effect on her in a few moments – but for some reason or another, Carey was rather impatient today; “Were you waiting long? Snape had decided to keep the class later than usual today, and I had to clean up some ink.” Carey eyed him and as she looked at him, she felt herself start to relax. It was amazing how easily Loki could calm her down without even doing anything. He could just literally stand right in front of her for five minutes and Carey could go from livid to complacent easily.

[Loki Fen'Rolphus G6]

It was unusual of Carey to take that long to get out of class. Loki could tell right off the bat, the moment he saw her as she pushed open the classroom door and made her way to him that class had not gone well for her. On a good day, Carey was nearly the first one out of that room, eager to see Loki. And on a good day, Carey would have made some silly remark about how he was a dork for always wanting to carry her books for her. Today however, she let him take her books and immediately hooked her arm through his. Loki’s bright smile dimmed slightly at the look on her face and he knew that since the last time he had seen her, her day had gone on the negative side. It bothered him. If there was one thing Loki couldn’t stand more then that one Jacobs kid, it was seeing Carey sad. It just tore him to bits. Every time all he could think about was that day she had cried. It was probably the saddest he had ever seen Carey before. And, while her current mood was probably more frustration then sadness, it still upset Loki. He wasn’t upset at her of course; Loki found the idea of being upset at Carey something he couldn’t consciously do. He just couldn’t. Anyways, the fact of the matter was that he knew something was up with her, and she confirmed it when he asked her how class was. He watched her loosen her tie and then looked confused. “Exploding ink? Wow, potions is a lot different from the way I remember it. When I took that class we mainly focused on actually making potions. I would think exploding ink would be in like…defense against the dark arts or something…” Loki smiled at Carey, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Loki walked up the stairs with her and glanced sideways at Carey every few minutes. He was just waiting for her mood to shift. She had once told him how much she enjoyed his company on her bad days. Well, all of her days of course, but how on her bad days she was especially thankful for him. He smiled to himself at the memory and then shook his head when she spoke again. “Not too long. I’d wait forever to spend a few minutes with you. You know that, Carey.” He knew the way it sounded. But he didn’t care. Loki had stopped caring if the way he talked or worded things was suggestive, because honestly, he wanted it to be suggestive. Loki had come to terms with the fact that Carey was…Carey was special and she meant more to him then just another friend did. There were things about her that Loki was attracted to; physically, mentally, and emotionally. He glanced over at her tie again and smiled softly at the stain he had noticed a few moments before. Little details were Loki’s forte. He loved detail and the ink spot on Carey’s tie was a detail. Technically, the tiny, tiny dots of ink that were nearly unnoticeable to a normal eye were details too. Loki loved his eye sight. He attributed the fine tuned-ness of it to be on account of his lycanthropy, but in reality where it came from didn’t matter. All that mattered was the fact that Loki could see things that normal people didn’t see. He could see farther, and sharper. He could see brighter images, more detail, crisp lines and outstanding colors, and he could see perfectly at night. Loki cherished his sight.

Loki hummed softly and looked at Carey for a few minutes. She was slowly relaxing but…well Loki just couldn’t stand to see her all frustrated and tense. When the two of them were sufficiently alone in a corridor, on their way to the Hufflepuff common room more then likely, he stopped them and moved to stand in front of her. His hands rested on her arms and he smiled softly at her. After a few moments of just looking at her he moved a hand to push her hair behind her ear. “So what’s on the schedule, pretty lady? Are you busy the rest of the afternoon? I’ve got a transfiguration essay I could use some help on if you’ve got time…” Yeah, she was a year younger then him but she was quite the smart girl and Loki valued her help more then anyone else’s. Typically, people assumed that Loki’s best subject would be transfiguration, for obvious purposes. But honestly his favorite subject was either History of Magic, or Defense Against the Dark Arts, simply because they actually interested him more then the others did. And that was something not often heard, especially seeing as who the HoM professor was. But Loki found it all interesting, and his favorite times were when he could get into huge rants about how the parts of history where a werewolf was involved had been successfully erased from common history. But no matter, he could use Carey’s help in transfiguration, and he knew that just stopping and having a ‘them’ moment would hopefully help ease her.

[Carey Brighton H5]

Carey snorted when Loki spoke of the exploding ink. She obviously didn’t have ink explode on her on a daily basis – today had just been a rather off day. A day she would have much rather liked not really having at all, actually. It was getting increasingly harder and it was only the start of the term. Carey let out a lengthy sigh and repositioned her shoulder bag a bit on her shoulder as they walked up the steps and reached level flooring. Taking a deep breath, Carey moved a little closer to the Gryffindor, closing her eyes a moment to centre herself as they walked. She hated feeling tense around Loki because she knew he didn’t like it and the one thing that Carey hated the most was upsetting Loki. “I wouldn’t know – I’m not required to take DADA this year,” Carey shrugged nonchalantly. She was intelligent, rather very intelligent, and she had been taking double courses since her third year – but this year she had decided to cut back on a few classes. Defence Against the Dark Arts just hadn’t made the cut. Instead, Carey was taking charms, potions, History of Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Transfiguration, and…Carey thought hard for her last class, but it just wouldn’t come to her. She sighed again, because she knew she was taking too many classes and she was slightly disappointed at how much time it meant she had to give up. Time that could be spent with Loki.

As they walked and after Carey had asked if he had been waiting long, she started to really shed her anger away. She detached herself from the emotion with a simple shrug of her shoulders – pulling her head up high and smiling at Loki when he answered her question; “I know, Loki,” she leaned slightly and kissed his cheek, “and I think it’s unhealthy.” Deep down (perhaps not as deep as it had been while she was at Ethan’s party and Loki had mentioned it) Carey really loved the fact that Loki had placed Carey in the centre of his world. She had never been one for attention, at all, but there was just something about the fact that Loki loved hanging out with her as opposed to anyone else that made Carey feel better than any other time in her life. She had slowly slid back into her skin – back into Carey Brighton – as they walked now; but she was still quiet. She didn’t have much to say at the moment, so she just walked with Loki – in the direction of the Hufflepuff common room so she could drop off her books and bag – in silence. Suddenly, Loki stopped walking once they had reached the corridor that held the Hufflepuff common room portrait; but they were a good 100 paces from the portrait. She looked at him and had to keep her heart from pounding too hard in her chest when he pushed her hair behind her ear; “Um,” she breathed – trying to get her head back on straight, “Patrolling before dinner, but other than that nothing. I’d love to help you with your essay.”

Looking at Loki for a moment longer, she took his hand from her arm and kissed the palm of it in a simple gesture (only it wasn’t so simple on her part) and dragged him toward the Hufflepuff common room. “Halt, intruder!” Carey groaned and turned to Loki; “Our regular portrait’s been replaced – so we’ve got Sir Cadogan, I’m sure you know him…” “Who does not know the loyal and gallant Sir Cadogan?” Carey eyed the knight in the portrait wearily before taking her books from Loki; “Ficklebomb.” She muttered and the portrait swung open to reveal the hole to the common room. With a quick look at Loki, she disappeared into the common room to set her things on the round table in the centre of the room, only to reappear seconds later and grab Loki’s hand – leading him away from the portrait; “Prithee return my fair maiden! And perhaps we shall make a date of some nice tea and crumpets.” Carey rolled her eyes as they turned the corner and went up a flight of stairs to the main hall. She turned her gaze on Loki as she spoke, “He’s been trying to get a date with me since he’s been on the wall. That petulant, insolent, little…ergh. I like the monk. He doesn’t talk. I wonder when we get him back…” Carey mused over this as she led the way down the corridor to an open area with a lot of windows. It was probably her favourite place to study. She didn’t like the library because it felt too stuffy and she didn’t like the common room because she was often pestered with questions dealing with Prefect duties.

She had found this corridor in her second year when she was going through a rather difficult time balancing her classes – it was here that she came up with the system that she used to the day. Carey sat down beneath one of the larger coloured glass windows, pulling Loki down beside her. The sun that shone through the windows sent prisms of amazing colour along the stone floor and Carey found herself staring at them, mesmerised for a bit before shaking her head and returning to Loki; “How was your day? I’ve been in a rotten temperament almost all day and I haven’t thought of asking you how your day has gone.”

[Loki Fen'Rolphus G6]

Loki smiled brightly when Carey kissed his cheek. It was something she did often, but every time she did it, it felt like the first time all over again. The first time, what had been the first time? Definitely the second time they had met up in Hogsmeade. That must have been it because that was the first time he had actually bugged her about giving him a kiss. She had been about to leave when he’d reached out a hand and grabbed hers, pulling her back to him. He had asked where she was running off to without actually saying goodbye. It was funny to think that just at the second time the two had gotten together there had already been an air of confortability that Loki had never achieved with any of his other friends. Only Carey. She was the only one he had ever felt so secure with. The only one he had ever felt so safe with. So happy. So marvelous. So completely at ease. She just...she was the only one who could make him feel so wonderful that he knew he could never walk away from her. He could never leave and not talk to her. He could never ditch her for someone else. No one could give him what Carey could. He shook his head as she mentioned his attitude towards her being unhealthy. There was no such thing as caring about her too much in his mind. He knew there never would be. Caring about her was all he ever wanted to do. He’d never felt the way he felt about her, about anyone else. Only Carey. A lot of things were like that. Only Carey. What mattered to Loki? Only Carey.

Loki smiled softly as Carey seemed to work though her thoughts. The way it looked she was almost no,..Nope, Loki wasn’t going to get his hopes up and then have them crushed in the end. Carey was his best friend. And he was hers and that’s all she saw him as. A good friend. He had probably just caught her off guard. Stopping in the middle of the hall like that, sure, it was a Loki thing to do but she probably wasn’t expecting it. That was all. No more than that...right? Well, the kiss she gave him on his palm didn’t help him at all decide if it was no more than that. Most of the time, Loki could convince himself that to Carey, he was just a friend, but sometimes...sometimes she gave him reasons to think otherwise. This was one of those times. Sure, a kiss on the hand could be no more than a simple friendly gesture but Loki wanted to take it as so much more. He wanted to look at that kiss and know that she meant it as more. Know that she cared about him like he cared about her. As more than a friend. But right this moment, he didn’t have time to even look at the kiss because Carey was dragging him off to the common room. But no sooner had they come a foot from the portrait when Loki heard a rather unfamiliar voice. Normally, the monk in the hufflepuff portrait didn’t say much...but this voice...oh this was a voice that would not have come from a monk.

“Cadogan?” Loki groaned and rolled his eyes as they approached the portrait. He shook his head when the small knight spoke again, loudly and more arrogantly then even Loki had ever managed to pull off. “Everyone knows you Cadogan. You’ve got to be the most obnoxious painting in all the castle.” He shook his head again and smiled as Carey took her books. There wasn’t a single part of him that didn’t want to lean forward and kiss her happily before she turned and headed into the common room. Sure she was only got for a few seconds but the fact was she was still gone, leaving him alone with the portrait. Cadogan was eyeing Loki in a very rude sort of way and Loki rolled his eyes once more. “It’s rude to stare.” The knight glared and for a moment the two looked like they were about to go at it, but Carey reappeared and grabbed Loki’s hand, pulling him off. Loki smiled and then smirked when Carey told him that Cadogan was trying to get a date with her. The concept of a portrait and a person being involved in a romantic relationship made him want to laugh. But he had no doubt the poor knight was a very lonely guy. He wasn’t even really thinking when he linked his and Carey’s fingers, walking with her as she let him to a corridor he’d never been in before. He smiled, looking around at all the windows as she let him to sit down beneath one of them. Carey was always a step ahead of everyone else. Loki loved it.

Loki smiled and took his hand from Carey’s, pulling his school bag off his shoulder and setting it beside him, ruffling through the mess of contents for the parchment he knew he’d put in there after class this morning. He had promised McGonagall that he’d have the essay to her by the end of the day, before dinner sometime but honestly, if he didn’t have it in he’d probably go and try to talk his way out of it. Or at least try and get one more day to finish it. He didn’t have much of it left to do, only the last bit to write up, but still, he had been procrastinating and hadn’t gotten it done by class. Of course, McGonagall was one of his favorite teachers, even if her class wasn’t his favorite and he had spent many many hours having discussions with her about the elements of transfiguration. So, suffice to say, as unhappy as she was about it, she had given him the afternoon to finish the paper. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get an extra day without having a serious loss in points, but oh well. Loki’s grades in his classes weren’t a problem. One assignment wasn’t the end of the world. And he would gladly give up a good grade in exchange for time with Carey. Loki smiled and pulled out a self inking quill as Carey asked him how his day had been. He set it, and his essay on his lap as he leaned back against the wall and smiled over at her. “My day was fine. Not as good as it could have been seeing as I’ve been missing you. But it wasn’t bad. No exploding ink on my part at least.”