Two Worlds

OPEN | Outfit

The Great Hall was one of the places that LJ had banned Gotti from entering. He didn't let him around food, and he didn't let him actually in the classrooms with him. Those had been Lady Bulstrode and Lord Flint's orders when they had let the dog back in the school to begin with, and he would abide by their rules. He didn't think that he was going to push it too far really. There were plenty of other things that he could entertain himself with in here though, and he was just glad that he had showered and changed again after practice. They had had early practice today. They were working on 'specialties' this week in practice anyway, and he had met with more and more of them individually as they went through. Chasers had practiced at one time. He had worked one on one with his seeker, and he knew that with the beaters and the keeper there were things that they weren't going to be able to do without all of them there. They would have a full practice, with all of them there, on Friday. LJ knew that originally he had scheduled it for yesterday, but he thought with a little more pestering he could convince his aunt that there needed to be a family emergency, that was going to pull him out of the castle tomorrow, and if that emergency just happened to occur at the Tornados game... Well that wasn't his fault... 

He knew that he wanted to play quidditch when he got out of here in June. He knew that he wanted to enroll in Lufkin, and that he wanted to look into maybe getting on as a reserve for one of the teams in the League. He wasn't going to be cocky enough to think that he was going to get to play for Aunt Liv's Tornados. They were too good to have kids on their team, and he knew that he was going to have to pay his dues a little bit before he got that far, but that was the goal. One of these days, he was going to be good enough to play for a team like his brother did. It must have been in the blood really. Which was amusing, considering the fact that Ma hadn't liked to fly at all. And they didn't have the same father. The same Dad, yes, but not the same father. And so he thought that it must have come from Ma. It must have come from Uncle Asa really. That was the only explanation that he could come up with, and so that was what he was sticking with. 

LJ thought that he could have eaten just about anything that they put in front of him at this point. And as he dropped down towards the end of the Ravenclaw table he started loading the plate in front of him with anything and everything that he could reach. He didn't even care if he didn't like it, he was going to eat it anyway, because he was starving. If he didn't know better he thought that he could have convinced people that he was wasting away to nothing or something... LJ didn't often spend all that much time talking to people. He thought that everyone pretty much knew that they were going to get one word answers, or that he wasn't going to be all that warm and fuzzy when it came down to it. He just wasn't that person. Maybe he used to be, maybe before everything had happened he had been a little warmer, a little more open. Now he was just this tall, brooding seventh year, that wore a Head Boy badge, and grouchily told the little first years to stay away from the edge of the lake when it was frozen over. He still wasn't sure what they had been thinking, but he had sent them running back off up to the castle in a tizzy as he had called after them that they were all losing five points for recklessly endangering themselves. But he knew that they had made it back in safe, and eating was now his number on priority. There was buzz all around the Hall, and LJ thought that it was busy enough in here that just about anyone could spring up at a moment's notice. 

Two Worlds

Dinner time was always relaxing, at least to Perry. He didn't have to talk to people, not during dinner. Everyone was finally calming down after the day, carefully unwinding from classes and silly friendship stress. He didn't have to get himself to speak, he didn't have to work on talking. He could just sit there silently and stare, nodding occasionally if Donald said something he needed to have an opinion on. Occasionally he would just latch on to one of the older students, but he was at a disadvantage-- Amelia was a Slytherin, and while she was willing to put up with him occasionally he didn't dare stray to a different table. Familial connections only helped so much, then, but he had a habit of hanging onto the edge of his 'cousins' in order to make sure that he had someone to talk to. But at dinner? Dinner had everyone silent, or focused, and they weren't attempting to bowl him over with conversation. And the conversation was generally lacking to the point where books were permitted or even encouraged. He knew that there was also the option for a lively debate, but Perry never took it unless he was just talking to Donnie. Then they talked about Quidditch or different magical theories, but mainly dinner was saved for eating.

He was happier that way, even as he piled food on his plate with a nervous edge. There were things on the table that he had never eaten before, and while Perry knew he didn't have any allergies (they had tested him at Mungo's multiple times) he still was anxious before trying new things. At least he didn't think that he was being poisoned. He knew that was stupid. He was a useless third year, after all. There was no point in poisoning him. If anything, someone would poison the headmaster, but he doubted that would happen. Headmaster Flint was pretty cool, even if he did have some wacky ideas. He shoved a few forkfuls of asparagus onto his plate, looking down the table to tell Donnie about his idea. Perry pushed his glasses up his nose when he didn't see his friend, and nearly sighed. He didn't really like sitting by himself, not at all, but he didn't really have a choice. He just had to suck it up and deal with the large amount of people surrounding him, even if it did make his heart race. He tapped his fingers on the table nervously, looking down at his plate.

Thankfully, he finally recognized someone around him. Because he was small he doubted that the older boy saw him first. A lot of people tended to overlook Perry, but he was fine with that. He didn't really care for other students noticing him. Perry just wanted to be with his books, with his studies, or with his broom. Things were more important than people. And, on top of that, they were better. His broom never let him fall, his books never let him down, and when his quills broke he knew that it was his fault. There was little stress there, little anxiety. With a crinkle of his nose, he turned his head towards the Head Boy, frowning. "That was a rough practice earlier," he remarked absently, looking back down at his plate. He knew that he was mumbling, but he thought that LJ knew him well enough now. Perry was just one of the reserve chasers, but he thought that he worked hard enough that LJ might actually know him. 

Keeping the team in shape was important, but he knew that they were going to need all the help that they could get if they were going to beat Slytherin again. He knew that he was working them hard, but he didn't think that he could stand it if they finished in last as they had last year. He knew that they hadn't lost a single match yet, but that didn't mean that things couldn't change in the blink of an eye. There were always going to be things that they were going to have to work on. There were things that they were going to have to try and work together on. Things that they were going to have to try and make sure that they ironed the wrinkles out of before they took to the pitch to actually play another team. LJ wasn't sure that they weren't going to have to try something new when it came to the Slytherin team. Something that he thought that they were just going to have to deal with when they got there. They had Huflfepuff first. And he didn't think that it would be as hard of a game as Slytherin, but he wasn't going to write them off either. They were still good.

Alois was good. And she was clever, and eh thought that going up against her was something that really put their drive to the test. They were going to have to try and convince them that they were good enough. They were going to have to actually be good enough. He knew that there were no ifs, ands or buts about that. They were going to have to try and work out what it was that they were going to do to make this all easier. They were going to have to play their game, and they were going to have to play the game the way that they had been training to play it. And that meant that they couldn't afford mistakes. That they had to be a well-oiled machine up there in the air, and he knew that he was pushing them probably a little harder than necessary, but he hadn't heard anyone complaining. Kasey hadn't said anything, and neither had Lyla. Caerus probably would have been the first one to tell him that he was being a right ass about it. So, he thought that they were still okay.

If things got too carried away, he was sure that they would tell him. They weren't going to let him be an ass about it without at least getting in his ear and letting him hear about it. They would listen, he knew that they all wanted to win as badly as he did, but he thought that they would at least tell him if he had gone too far. They weren't there yet though, and so he had kept pushing. He had pushed them all today. And he knew that he wanted to be one of the best. That that was the goal. He wanted to be one of the best that had come out of Hogwarts in a while. And he knew that he wasn't going to have much of a choice when it came to who wanted to pick him up out of school, and train him to be a part of their organization, but he thought that he would go to just about anyone that was willing to take him. That, and Lufkin. He knew that he wanted to try and do both, as much as he could. He would just try and get everything that he needed done when he could do it. He wanted to study Alchemy. He wanted to play Quidditch. He wasn't asking for a lot.

He looked over at the sound of a voice. Someone had sat down next to him without him noticing, and he nodded at the kid's words. "I know. But if we're going to stay on the top, we have to do the best we can to actually be the best. That means hard practices sometimes." He paused long enough to look the kid over. Higgs was a third year, the same as their seeker, but he thought that he was good enough to make the team in his own right next year. He could see him taking Caerus's spot when they graduated in June. "You did good out there today though." Encouragement. That was something that he needed to get better at. At telling them that they had done good, even when they had done bad too. He had to find the positives as well, and he knew that. That was what a leader did.

Quidditch was one of the few things that calmed down Perry to the point that he could focus on everything. It was the multitasking, that was what his mother said. He could focus on more than one thing, and he could calm down any impending panic. Flying required more than just one thought, it meant that he needed to focus on everything that was happening. He had to keep in mind his speed, his height, and the amount of pressure needed to spin the broom. He had to work on dexterity, he had to work on balance... There wasn't time for hesitation, not really. And when you were playing Quidditch, there was even less room for error. Perry was a chaser, so he had to keep an eye on bludgers, beaters, and the quaffle all at once. It was complicated, it was great, and he liked it. Quidditch was methodical. It made sense. There wasn't a moment where he doubted what to do next. He memorized the plays as soon as he was able to, and he kept them in a file in his head. There was never a doubt in his head what he was supposed to do, and he liked that. Perry doubted absolutely everything else that happened in his life, so at least Quidditch was different. It was better, too, than anything he could have imagined.

His father was a Chaser, and his mother was a dancer. Perry knew that his love for the methodical was hereditary, no matter how much his mother attempted to deny it. She liked to say that it was just him, that it was his anxiety, but he knew better than that. It might have been a mixture of both. It wasn't just him, nothing was. He might have been a nervous wreck, but there was a reason for it. Sometimes, it was just too frustrating. She looked at him like he was an idiot, like he... Perry knew. He knew that she was annoyed with him, with how he constantly thought there was something wrong. He couldn't help it, but he could turn to his hobbies. He could turn to the things that made sense. Quidditch, that helped, and so did racing. He could calm down with flying. He wasn't scared of falling, not really, because he knew that he had a good enough balance. He wasn't going to fall, so he could focus on other things. 

Flying calmed him. It made everything better because he could just keep focusing on other things. Too many things, really. Perry was one of those people who needed to multitask, he needed the different hobbies, because otherwise he thought he would just go crazy. Or crazier. He needed that outlet, and he wondered if anyone else ever felt that way, too. Maybe it was just him. He didn't want to tell anyone about it because he was sure they didn't understand. No, he was positive that they wouldn't understand. They would think that he was weird, weirder than they thought. So Perry kept his lips shut. He didn't even tell Donnie. He didn't tell anyone. He knew he could probably talk to his parents, but they already didn't understand. They thought they did, but they didn't. It was just... Things got complicated too quickly. His head was a mess, and that was the problem. His head was a mess, and it was always a problem. It made his his heart hurt, it made his head hurt, and he just couldn't get a breath. He tried to talk to people, but he couldn't, and that was why he didn't just explain things. Perry did what he had to do. He didn't open up to many people, but he had his family. He had his friends, even if it was only a few. And he kept his lips shut because it was easier that way.

He didn't really expect the Captain to respond. He was only a kid, so he thought that he would have been ignored. But words meant that he could try to converse, right? Was it even worth it? He didn't know what to do, but Perry didn't think he ever knew what to do. He probably wouldn't know what to do even when he grew up. Perry was of the belief that adults never knew what was going on, and that they just kept pretending. "Hard practices are nice," he commented, not quite making eye contact. He never did, as a rule; it was far too vulnerable for him. At the praise, Perry squirmed lightly. He hadn't been looking for it. He didn't really need it. He knew that he was good, he was just young. He would hopefully get a spot next year, once the older students were off the team. "Oh. Thanks."

There weren't a lot of times that LJ was feeling social enough to actually talk to someone else during dinner. Most of the time he either just sat with his friends, and listened as they chatted, or he sat with Sera and they didn't have to talk at all. It was complicated, and it was something that he didn't like to talk about, but the Great Hall was not somewhere that he enjoyed being. Hogwarts in general was somewhere that he didn't particularly enjoy being, btu there was nothing that he could do about that now. He just had to stick it out. He had to make it to the end of the year, and then it would be over, and he would never have to come back here again. That was a good thing. That was something that he was very much looking forwards too. But there was one semester left, and they were going to make it through that without any hiccups and they would be fine. He was confident about that. Sure of it. They were going to all be just fine.

And he could admit that he was worried. That his aunt and his stepmother both being pregnant worried him. He knew that it shouldn't, that they would both be just fine, but that didn't stop him from thinking that there was always a chance that something could go wrong. That they could lose them too. And he knew that it hadn't been having Orion that had killed Ma. But that thought was still there. That he didn't know if they were strong enough to survive losing either one of them. And he wasn't close to his stepmother. He had only spoken to her a handful of times. But he thought that it would destroy his dad to lose her, and he didn't want that. LJ didn't think that his cousins could handle the loss of their mother. She had done so much for them, and LJ didn't want to see her not get that chance to be happy either.

It was give and take, and he was ready for life to be done taking for a little while. He wanted it to start giving back, and he thought that the babies arriving safely was the exchange that he would take. There were a lot of things that LJ wanted life to give back. He knew that some of them were impossible. But others weren't. He thought that he would take Ana back. As a part of whatever this was that was going on. He would take his sister back in their lives. Or maybe even back in this country. He knew that he had given up their father's name when he had taken Ares's. But their father had never really been a father, and at least Ares tried. He did try like hell to make sure that they were taken care of. That they were going to get through this, and LJ knew that he had fallen short a couple of times, but for the most part, he had at least tried, and that was more than he could say of some other people. That was more than he could say about a lot of people.

The man that they had long thought was Nick's dad… Dominick had walked away from Nick, and Ma, and to this day LJ couldn't figure out why… He had no idea why he had left, though he suspected that it had something to do with his own father and keeping them safe. That seemed to be a recurring theme when it came to the Wentzells, but LJ didn't know if that was something that he understood either. The leaving to protect the ones that you loved. That didn't seem to be how his mind worked. He thought that protecting the people you loved looked a lot more like how his newest uncle had done it. Aunt Anicka had been in danger, Malcolm had gone and gotten rid of the threat. That seemed to be the way that LJ thought that you were supposed to handle things. But what did he know? He was just a kid after all. LJ nodded lightly when the boy accepted his praise, the boy was good, and he figured that he knew it. Good enough to start next year once Caerus was gone. He'd work well with the girls… "Bet you're ready for us seventh years to leave huh? Get a starting spot on the roster?"