Floored ((Merrick))

[Theo Darke]

The look on passing students' faces was priceless, but Theo only had eyes for one. "I'll see you later," he murmured into Oscar's jaw, blonde head tilted into his boyfriend's chin as people streamed past and around them. Oscar needed to run to man the Gryffindor Quidditch practice, and Theo had some books to return to the Library. With one last peck to Oscar's cheek, Theo unclasped his hand and drew away. Already he missed his boyfriend's warmth, the love he felt in his chest when Oscar was with him. Recently they had been much more open about their relationship, and although there were no true public displays of affection - some things were private, and Theo knew not everyone would appreciate it - most were now aware of it. It had been the talk of the school for weeks. The past year had been a roller coaster ride for Theo's heart, but now he was truly settled and happy.

The crowds began to thin as Theo made his way through the corridors, towards the Library. School was out, as classes were now over for the day, and students were heading to their respective destinations in obvious hurry - back to the Common Room and their dorms, or the Library like Theo, or Quidditch practice even in the cold of the winter, like Oscar. Theo didn't envy his boyfriend; the air was chapped and chilly outside, the grounds were frosted over. Hogwarts was soon to break up for Christmas, and Theo could hardly wait. He looked forward to seeing his parents again, but more than that, he wanted Oscar all to himself; no doubt either he would visit Oscar over Christmas or vice versa. Christmas also meant exchanging presents with friends and family. Theo had yet to purchase any, so a trip to Hogsmeade was inevitable. The village was no doubt bustling with pre-Christmas buzz, and it never failed to place a smile on Theo's face every year.

The books Theo was carrying in his arms were beginning to weigh him down, and he quickened his speed. Meanwhile, thoughts of presents filled his mind; a book for his dad, a bath set for his mum, games from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for Callum and Brittany, matching baby-pink gloves and scarf for Lori, a Wizard's Chess board for Scott, and... Theo's thought inevitably fell on Oscar. What to buy his boyfriend? He could get him something typical - scarves and hats and gloves, games and books - but this was their first Christmas where their relationship was properly established, and they had both agreed to exchange presents this year. Theo wanted it to be special. They had often talked about travelling together, he pondered, so maybe tickets to Europe--

Theo's thoughts broke as he was flung backwards. He had just turned a corner and slammed into another body - taller, broader, stronger. It didn't help that Theo had been walking quite quickly, and his thoughts had distracted his attentions and fast reflexes. As Theo hit the floor with a wince, his books fell gracelessly around him, one narrowly missing his head. Theo thought that was the end of the onslaught, but when he looked up, pieces of parchment were slowly settling around him too, following his books from the sky. Finally, when everything was on the floor with a stunned Theo, he noticed the boy in front and recognised the disgruntled expression. "Sorry about that, Merrick," Theo was quick to respond, flinching thanks to the pain in the small of his back as he stood up. He dusted himself down to look at his classmate with an apologetic smile. Merrick was in his year, a Slytherin who had once been on the Quidditch team. He and Theo were, at most, acquaintances.

Without waiting for a reply, Theo brought out his wand and expertly cast spells that organised the books and parchment together separately. In seconds, Theo's Library books - a large, heavy stack - floated innocently by his side, and Merrick's pile of parchment sailed towards him, waiting to be taken. "Sorted," Theo murmured with a soft smile, and pocketed his wand. "Sorry again. I should've looked where I was going, but... well, it's Christmas soon. I guess the excitement got to me. Are you okay?" He cast a quick eye over Merrick. "You're better built than I am... like Oscar. You're much more likely to be more resilient than me." Theo grinned. He hoped Merrick knew who he referred to; they were in the same year, after all, and if Merrick knew his Quidditch, he would know Oscar.

[Merrick Marr]

Merrick Marr’s body was bent over the sink, his hands splashing as much water as possible on his face. Steam from the bathroom had fogged the mirror in front of him. That didn’t matter to Merrick though. At that moment the only thing he wanted was to leave Hogwarts. How had he ever thought he could survive his NEWT year the second time? He knew all this lousy information so why couldn’t he just take his NEWTs and be done with it? Merrick stood slowly, one hand turning the facet off and the other reaching for a hand towel. Dabbing at his face he looked up at the fog-covered mirror, his hand streaking across it in one fluid motion. The steam streaked mirror showed the image of a man that Merrick didn’t know. A green towel was tucked in around his waist, exposing the chest and abdomen region. Muscles rippled and flexed as he moved, green orbs slowly moving over the body he hardly recognized. Some things were familiar, the little pull of muscles as he moved his arms…but when he got to the face…the mirror was wrong. He didn’t look like that. That wasn’t him staring back at him…he wasn’t that same person anymore. He was different.

Mind flashed back to that moment at the Quidditch Awards…his hands tensing on the towel. He could almost see Finn there…NOOOO his mind screamed at him and before Merrick knew what he was doing his fist connected with the mirror, shattering the mirror behind his hand, cracking it along the rest of the surface…skewing his face from view. Yes…that was how he felt right then. He didn’t know who he was…or what he was doing. Everything was changing. He couldn’t play Quidditch…he couldn’t leave Hogwarts yet…he didn’t have enough alcohol to numb anything…and he didn’t know what to do about Finn anymore. His heart seemed to be thumping a million miles an hour as he just stood there and looked at the cracked mirror, the slivers of glass dusting the sink and counter. Out of the corner of his eye he saw red and it was perhaps the one moment that brought him out of his reverie. Green orbs slowly slid from the mirror and down to his hand, blood was seeping out between the slivers of glass that were still stuck in his knuckles. Great.

Slowly Merrick pulled the slivers from his knuckles, the pain not even making him wince. It was hard to feel the pain when you were so numb inside. There was too much going on in his life…too many changes and he wasn’t sure how to deal with them. That’s why he just pushed them away…stayed numb to the world. It was how he dealt and it was the best way to deal at the moment. Merrick thought about just using his wand to heal the wounds, but for some reason he found it more releasing to let the pain stab at his hand. It made things seem a little more real. So he just wrapped cloth around the wounds and slipped on something other than his school robes. Class had been over for him for longer than it had others. He had a free period and it had been spent taking a shower…shaving…all those things that made his life easier, but now…now he had to get moving. The Library was calling his name…he’d been going through all the books he could on the brain…trying to figure out a way to allow himself to play Quidditch once again. So far the search had brought little result…okay that was an overstatement, the search had brought him nothing. He was flying blind in a wooded forest. No telling where he ended up or if he even survived.

The halls were crowded…more crowded than Merrick thought they would be, but they were slowly thinning. Apparently he was earlier than he thought he had been. Merrick was expecting classes to be over and students already in their dormitories, but he was wrong. He moved through the halls in his uniform, minus the robe, with a stack of parchment. Black pants, cuffed shirt, Slytherin tie also adorned his body…he looked dashing…especially with his spiky wet hair. Maybe that’s why he smirked at the girls as they passed. It wasn’t until he was almost to the Library that he remembered he’d left behind the piece of parchment that held the names of the books he’d already looked through. A sigh of exasperation left his lips as he turned back around and headed back to turn the corner…of course he never did expect to find someone rounding the corner at the same exact time from the other direction running right into him. Merrick felt the hit in his chest first and stumbled backward, trying desperately to keep his footing, his hand reaching out to the wall for leverage, parchment falling free from his hands. Luckily his feet were more on top of things than he was as he righted himself and jerked his head up in the direction of the kid that had run into him.

Merrick felt his chest constrict as his eyes landed on Theo Darke…he was a Ravenclaw…Head Boy to be exact. That wasn’t the only thing he knew about him though. Theo’s reputation had come about quite quickly with his announcement that he was in fact a homosexual and on top of that it’d recently been announced that he was dating Oscar Flynn, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. The thought made Merrick uncomfortable…whether it was because how close it hit to home or how unsure he was about everything at that moment. He was going to address it…No. The Merrick Marr he had always known would never admit it and he wouldn’t just accept an apology because some kid couldn’t pay attention…but then most kids weren’t the Head Boy who had every ability to dock points from Slytherin if Merrick felt the need to be rude. So he swallowed his pride for a moment and nodded, hands grasping the parchment. “I’m fine. Just next time watch where you’re going. You could have killed me,” the last was meant to be a joke, but in reality if Merrick had hit his head hard enough in just the right place he would have been dead. That was why they wouldn’t let him play Quidditch anymore. One knock to the head could end his career…and his life. Merrick was willing to pay the price, but the school didn’t seem to want to lose a student to Quidditch. “What’s the hurry anyway? School on fire?” He dusted himself off, fixing his uniform and his hair. Last thing he needed was to look like an idiot when he walked into the Library…Merrick prided himself on always looking his best, no matter the state of consciousness he was in.

[Theo Darke]

Theo nodded, then laughed. Despite the negative stereotype attached to Slytherins, he had never been particularly afraid of them, nor did he dislike them either. It was true there were many people in Slytherin he was not fond of, more than compared to the other houses, but there were individuals in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and even Ravenclaw who Theo did not like. One's personality was more important as a judgement factor than one's house, and Merrick did not appear to be scathingly mean and superiorly arrogant like many of his house were. Theo felt himself relax more as he replied, "Nothing like that." He gestured at the books floating beside him, then gathered them into his arms again. "I was just going to return these to the Library and get some work done." He shrugged; he had no plans. "I wasn't in a rush, but I got swept along the crowd. You know the time of day." Theo gave a lopsided smile and then nodded in the direction of the Library. "Are you heading there too?"

Before Merrick would reply, however, a loud call of his name interrupted their conversation, and Theo turned to see Lori fast approaching. His face split into a wide, fond grin as his best friend propelled towards them. "Excuse me a moment," Theo said politely to Merrick with a small smile, before turning his attention to Lori for a few moments. "What's up, Lori?" It took a few minutes for Lori to dump even more books on Theo's being, and then she departed. "Typical," Theo grumbled good-naturedly under his breath, grinning friendlily at Merrick as he struggled to balance so many books in his arms. "Sorry about that. My best friend uses me like a tool," he joked, before a book at the top tilted and escaped the pile, falling to the floor. "Damn," Theo cursed, unable to extract his wand to levitate the books rather than carry them. "Lori's lucky she's my best friend," he added with an amused but exasperated smile.


((I'm so sorry, this is horrifically short, but I could not find anything else to do or say. ^^;; Hope you can work with it, and I'm sure when conversation picks up, Theo's posts will be longer, I promise!))