everybody knows ernie macmillan (proudly) wrote,
@ 2010-08-12 01:53:00

If there was one thing that Ernie was looking forward to this year, it was making sure that everything was right again this year. Last year was such an incredible debacle -- and, quite frankly, a waste of his time. Living in fear of his own life (along with most of his friends') was more than he could bear most of the time. In fact, most of the time, Ernie found himself being unable to have any fun at all. He was more serious, more scared for his life than ever, even if his life was never in direct threat.

Ernie did have a feeling that this year was going to be different. Last year was a complete mess, and the only thing that Ernie learned was that he should never trust anyone. This feeling of being on edge all the time made Ernie a careful, paranoid sort of person, and he wasn't so sure he could go back to his confident, flirtatious self after all of the setbacks of last year. In fact, he had literally forgotten himself until the end of the summer.

Rubbing his shiny Prefect badge against his robes to make it shine even more, Ernie cleared his throat awkwardly next to one of the new Prefects, who now seemed much too young for him. He stood uncomfortably in the compartment, waiting for someone -- anyone of interest -- to show up.

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hannahabbott
2010-08-12 04:01 am UTC (link)

Hannah had conspicuously fallen off the radar over the summer. After the emotional upheaval of the previous spring, she had found herself wanting to hide from the world. Richard had dragged her to go pay their respects to the Bettencourt family after the untimely demise of their eldest daughter Charlotte. Hannah hadn't stayed for very long, and that had been her last appearance in public. After that, she'd buried herself in books, especially the news came of an 8th year at Hogwarts.

The summer came and went, before she knew it, it was September 1st and she was back on the train, headed for Hogwarts. Going through the motions, she went to the Prefects' Compartment and sat down next to Ernie.

"Hey," she said quietly, nodding to acknowlege Claire Mercer, one of the newest Ravenclaw Prefects.

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proudly
2010-08-12 12:02 pm UTC (link)

Ernie's head whipped up when he heard someone else entering their compartment -- good timing, too, because he had just been having a conversation with this strange girl about puddings -- and sighed just the little bit when he saw who it was. Hannah. He had heard absolutely nothing of her over the summer, which actually (surprisingly) worried him.

When she sat down next to him and muttered a hello, Ernie raised his eyes, trying to look impressed with himself. "Fancy seeing you here, Hannah." He smiled crookedly at her.

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hannahabbott
2010-08-12 12:11 pm UTC (link)

"I've already lost a year when I lost my Mum," the blonde explained with a shrug, "I figure Year 8, why the bloody hell not?"

Hannah pulled out her journal and began to write. Writing was her therapy and she needed to get a few things out of her system. There were things she never wanted to share with anyone so the journaling helped.

"I've missed you," she said quietly, "I wasn't sure if you'd make it out alive."

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proudly
2010-08-12 04:03 pm UTC (link)

His lip twitched downwards when she mentioned her mother. I am such an arse, he thought to himself, not even offering condolences when she walked in. Ernie did figure, though, that she'd heard enough from everyone else -- it can't have been easy to go through that, and perhaps she just wanted to think about other things and get through her year easily enough.

He frowned as she pulled out her journal, leaning over. "What're you writing?" Ernie asked curiously, and then it registered what she'd said to him. "Of course you missed me, Han. Who wouldn't miss this?" he asked, trying to look impressive and arrogant like usual. Ernie did add a quick smile at the end of that, though, only teasing. "I mean, I'm too pretty to die in battle."

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hannahabbott
2010-08-12 04:48 pm UTC (link)

Hannah shut her journal abruptly, as though she felt that there was a need to protect herself and her secrets. Ernie had always been around, and they had been good friends from Day 1, but there was a bit of a distance between them she couldn't explain. Maybe it had been the arrogance and ridiculous flirting. Whether he was not serious enough or she was being too serious, the walls had come up with him. She forced herself to smile at his comments.

"Yeah, so pretty that you've got a face only your mother could love," she joked back, her eyes wandering to the door of the compartment, waiting for a familiar face to arrive.

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proudly
2010-08-13 02:07 am UTC (link)

He put his hand on his chest, eyebrows immediately raising. "Oh, Hannah. That hurt." His lip twitched. Of course, he was only joking, but he couldn't help but tease her right back. "Would I ever say something like that about you? Because I think not."

Ernie scooted away from her the tiniest bit, giving her a little more space. "I'm glad you're back," he said, serious for the first time in this entire conversation.

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hannahabbott
2010-08-13 02:33 am UTC (link)

"I came back to finish my education and see the people who decided to come back," she explained with a sigh.

Hannah turned away from Ernie, her thumb in her mouth. She didn't want him to be able to read her emotions on her face, especially since she'd been waiting for the new Head Boy to enter the compartment. She'd grown apart not only from her fellow Prefect but from the rest of Hufflepuff, and she wasn't ready to address that particular issue. She hadn't purposely closed herself off to her housemates and close friends but when the going got tough, Hannah always felt as though she needed to put a brave face on, especially in the aftermath of the war.

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proudly
2010-08-14 12:45 am UTC (link)

He frowned when she turned away again, not understanding exactly what he did wrong. All he had done was try to lighten the mood -- granted, he probably shouldn't have, since she was going through a tough time, but that's what he would have wanted if he was feeling down. He would have wanted to forget about it and have a good time. That was just Ernie, though.

He gave the younger Prefect sitting across from him an annoyed look, as if not wanting her there at all -- he didn't -- and looked back at Hannah. "Hey, Han? If you ever need to talk... I'm here, all right?" It was an offer that stood, no matter what, he decided.

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hannahabbott
2010-08-15 02:22 am UTC (link)

"I know."

Hannah nodded; she wasn't expecting Ernie to understand what she had gone through, what kind of mental anguish she had suffered. It was hard to explain to someone that wasn't there, she figured that was the reason she had connected to the one chosen as the Head Boy. He had been there when most of the people she considered her closest friends had not been there. Yes, a part of her resented it but what could she do?

"I'm fine, Ernie, I really am. I promise."

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proudly
2010-08-17 01:07 am UTC (link)

He looked at her, albeit a little worriedly. Cocky as he may have been, Ernie was loyal to the grave and would have done anything for any one of his friends -- who included Hannah. He just didn't like to see any of them hurt, and he knew that she was hurting. There was nothing he could do about it, either, unless she let him.

Scrunching his nose a little and then smoothing his face out, Ernie murmured, "Okay." There was nothing else he could have done.

"So what'd you do over holidays, miss?"

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hannahabbott
2010-08-17 10:11 am UTC (link)

Hannah looked down at the journal she had closed shut on her lap. She really wasn't about to tell Ernie that she spent most of her summer locked away in her room, reading, studying, preparing herself to return to Hogwarts, was she?

"I spent most of it with my Dad," she explained, "We went to see the Harpies play. Quality time and the like. It's been strange without Mom around..."

That was close enough to the truth without him knowing about the nightmares.

"What about you?"

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proudly
2010-08-17 11:44 am UTC (link)

"Yeah? That sounds really great, though. You know, spending time with your dad. I bet that means a lot to him," Ernie mentioned consolingly, putting his hands in his lap so that he wouldn't be tempted to put it around her shoulder or something -- she was not one of his regular prospects that he could just find for a quick snog. Hannah was fragile.

Shrugging, Ernie ran a hand through his hair as he explained. "After the battle, Mum decided that we needed a holiday from everything. So we packed up and went to India."

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hannahabbott
2010-08-18 07:50 pm UTC (link)

"India must have been lovely," Hannah said with a tinge of jealousy, "I guess if I had sent an owl, it wouldn't have gotten to you."

Hannah knew that Ernie or Susan would not have ignored her on purpose. But it really had heightened the feeling of loneliness over the summer that came from not having them there when she had experienced the most unbearable trauma of her life. She had almost felt abandoned.

She wasn't really in a talkative mood and was starting to get anxious when she realized the Head Boy was late. She hated surprises and people who mess up the plan. If things were not going the way they were supposed to, Hannah had a tendency to panic.

"Where is that Head Boy anyway?" she muttered, "Richard's supposed to be leading a meeting here and giving us some sort of direction."

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