p a t r o l {open}

[potter]

Elliot relaxed slightly when Nat laughed, glad that they had gotten away from the topic that had made her want to change her water to rum. According to her father it was something that a man called Seamus Finnigan had attempted quite regularly. But no, she couldn't afford to drink her troubles away on the job, and especially not in front of Nat. Right now was when she needed to be a good example- not a warning sign. After all she had been through at twelve Nat deserved better than the life that Elliot had brought upon herself. Nat shouldn't have to rely on alcohol and cigarettes the way she did, stress so much over every little calorie...

"It was," said Elliot with a small smile. Of course, she had not been quite so socially successful as a Potter kid was expected to be, though if given the opportunity to change her school years the only thing she would change might be her self-esteem. Maybe then she might not still be suffering the consequences of not being able to accept herself. "Ever since I was a little girl," said Elliot, "before Hogwarts, even. My dad would come home in the evening, and every day I would think that I wanted to do what he did." Her eyes glazed slightly as she pushed back further in her memories to her early childhood.

[natalia]

Nat smiled, glad to see Elliot lighten up, no longer looking as ill as she had been. She seemed almost pleased to be reminiscing on her childhood. Nat said nothing as Elliot went on, not wanting to ruin the bliss she had found. "Everyone loves the idea of it," Nat agreed. "You sometimes forget there is anything else to do," she was only half joking. Only being a second year, she knew she had no need to know what she was going to do, but the pressure was getting down to the younger years. None of the fourth years could stop talking about it.

Of course, Nat had never thought to be what her father was. A stockbroker. Who wanted to be a stockbroker? It sounded boring, and it was nothing but paperwork. She shook her head at the thought, as if it would push away memories of her past life. It had become easier and easier to banish past thoughts of her muggle family away. Her brother had graduated, and she had heard nothing of him since. For all she knew he could be a banker, or some other sorry excuse of a person. She'd be even more ashamed to call him her brother if he had become a stockbroker like their father.

[potter]

Elliot thought back as far as she could, which at the moment was back when she was three years old, before her brother who was closest to her in age had been born. Both her parents had taken her to the zoo on a Sunday afternoon. She remembered holding both their hands, and when she got tired how her father would carry her on his shoulders. Elliot was frankly surprised that she remembered that far back with such vivid detail- it had been almost seventeen years ago. She lightly shook her head at herself, she really had started to get older. She was just a regular adult now, no more a "young adult," she was twenty years old now.

Elliot was brought out of her thoughts when Nat spoke, and she nodded in agreement. Really, there had only been one brief time in her life when she had considered doing something other than being in Auror. It had been sixth year when she had randomly picked up a book on wandmaking- though even the fascination of wandlore hadn't been enough to draw her away from her childhood dream. "I suppose it is glamourized enough to that point," said Elliot before going back to her soup, she had almost forgotten about it.

[natalia]

Nat nodded. Even in her eyes she still pictured super heroes, even with paperwork. She sighed. Part of her wished she could manage it, but the other part knew she wouldn't get far with it, nor anything else involving her with aggressive magic. That knockback jink had almost cost her an O. She resented thinking back to a struggle. But it had been a valuable lesson that she took everything for granted. But she hadn't bothered to think of a job. She didn't want to think of leaving Hogwarts if there were worse things outside of the walls.

For a brief moment her mind flickered back to the first time she had entered Erik's house with Erik, after he had dropped the muggle facade. She had seen him seal spells on his door of advanced magic she wasn't familiar with at all. Precautionary spells, he had told her. Only now did she realize how important the precautionary spells were. Why they were there. Could houses be targeted? Could people as normal as Erik be targeted. She shook her head. She was supposed to be avoiding this topic. She wasn't supposed to think about it or speak of it. Aurors were supposed to protect. That's why they were here. That was the whole reason Elliot was here.

[potter]

((OOC: So my muse has sort of run out for this thread, was there anything specific you wanted to accomplish? 'Cuz I'm pretty much out of ideas...))

[natalia]

((OOC: I think it's pretty much a dead thread at this time))