bad decisions {evelyn}

[oliver patrick reynolds]

While most kids his age would be spending a Saturday afternoon with pleasant weather outside, Oliver was indoors as always, meandering about the lowest floors of the castle to avoid happening across any windows. To some degree, he did wonder what it was like, to be able to enjoy sunlight, though it stopped only at a moderate curiosity. Oliver was content with his solitude, or at least that was what he told himself. It got to be lonely, but he had his thoughts and Penelope to keep him company. The sleek Siamese was currently padding about at his heels, occasionally breaking her elegant strides to brush up against the side of his leg, purring.

Oliver might not have many friends, but he did always have cats. He had yet to come across a cat that didn't agree with him. Though Penelope was special, she was reluctant to let him out of her sapphire blue gaze. This suited Oliver just fine, at least he had something to be affectionate with. He settled himself down in a corner- this was such a damp and dreary place, it was almost depressing. Perhaps he ought to have stuck to the basements, and only then had it dawned on him that he had ventured quite close to Slytherin territory, which was usually treacherous. Those who wore green as their house colour generally bullied him the worst.

But Oliver was optimistic that it likely wouldn't be the case, at least not then. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, so all the older kids would be out of the castle, and he could usually hold his own against a first year- it was still early enough in the year where they would be terrified of him, rather than use him as an outlet for harsh words. Sighing lightly, he took out his sketchbook and an assortment of pencils, lining them up neatly beside him on the stone floor. Penelope mewed lightly before jumping into his lap, between his torso and where he had situated his sketchbook against his thighs.

He'd barely made the first line of his drawing when he was interrupted by the very same people he had been hoping to avoid, a group of Slytherin fifth years who went out of their way to torment him. "Bit beyond your home, aren't you?" one of them said in an oily voice, and in one fluid motion kicked his sketchbook from his lap and sent it skittering across the floor, and another purposefully stepped on a few of his pencils- the audible snapping noises made Oliver recoil slightly. "Please... don't..." Oliver said weakly, to which the group only laughed.

"I always thought vampires were supposed to be scary, but this one's rather laughable," said the third of the group, and then adopted a high-pitched mocking tone, "please! Don't!" They all laughed again. The leader of the trio, a rather brutish boy, picked him up by the front of his robes, pulling the squirming boy to his feet and sending Penelope running, hissing as she left the corridor, her fur puffed out in all directions. Oliver was the smallest bit relieved, at least his precious cat had gotten away. "You know what we do to badgers who come here alone?" he said casually, easily pinning his small frame to the wall.

Oliver squirmed some more, but couldn't free himself. A tearing noise alerted him to the fact that one of them had grabbed his sketchbook and was now in the process of ruining his drawings. Well this had been a rather bad decision...

[evelyn amelia strauss]

Evelyn was feeling a bit better about herself in regards to what she'd been keeping from the world. Thus far, only one person knew about what she was experiencing, and she much preferred it to stay that way. Her anxiety had lessened and the panic attacks had slightly decreased in frequency, though when she did have one, the intensity remained the same, if not increased. That was the only thing that was worrying her about the whole thing, she didn't know if she could handle her panic attacks getting worse each time she had one.

Since she'd told Gavin about her parents, it felt as though an enormous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She knew that it only would help a little in the long-run, seeing as how revealing what was ailing her hadn't caused the panic attacks and the severe phobias that she had developed to lessen in anyway. Still, she knew that she was taking small strides, but she vowed not to tell another soul about what she was going through. One other person as her confidant was fine, but if too many people found out, she'd be labeled as a freak.

Evelyn was exceptionally happy that the person that she'd told was Gavin. She smiled and her heart fluttered just at the thought of her professor. She knew it was wrong, morally so, but she didn't really care all that much. The only thing holding her back was the fact that he was her teacher. They were both adults in a legal sense, and Evelyn was certainly consensual. The feelings he brought her, while secret, were powerful and it made her seem a bit happier to those around her.

Evelyn was currently wandering the halls, wearing her uniform, minus her robes. The school was a bit warm for her tastes, and the robes made it feel even stuffier. Evelyn hadn't taken but a few steps into the dungeon, however, when a rather pretty, albeit angry, Siamese cat bolted around the corner. Evelyn didn't get much time to question what was going on when she heard several Slytherin brutes jeering at someone. Evelyn rolled her eyes and rounded the corner, hands on her hips. It really was a rather sad sight to behold.

One Slyterin had a small, helpless boy pinned up against the wall while the other two set to ripping apart notebooks and cracking pencils under their feet. Evelyn shook her head slightly. "You've got to be kidding me. Put him down and get out,"

[/color] she hissed. Her wand was tucked into the waistband of her skirt, it wouldn't take much of an effort to pull it out, should things turn ugly. She looked at the kid in the leader's grasp. "Don't worry, honey, I'll take care of this."[/color]

Evelyn's Outfit[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[oliver patrick reynolds]

Oliver cringed away, though there was only a group of three- they had essentially backed him into a corner, were crowding him... He liked having his space, too many humans too close by was not pleasant, it got to be incredibly overwhelming. The smell of their blood, how he could hear their hearts pounding- like drums encased in their chests. Oliver even swore that he could smell the adrenaline, the rush they were getting from treating him like dirt. Luckily he had fed recently, gone up to the hospital wing the night before to get one of the bags of blood the nurse kept on stock for him, so he wasn't going to go into a frenzy or anything, though it was still overwhelming.

It made him forget exactly what he was capable of, though small, Oliver was still quite physically strong because of his vampiric background- a well-placed punch or kick could release him, though he'd dipped a bit too far into his panic to think about fighting, so he continued to squirm against the wall, as if that would accomplish something. He really was hopeless. Oliver was mentally kicking himself for having come down here in the first place, it was dangerous and he knew it. Heaven forbid he ever have a change of scenery.

But the basements were cozy, still a bit chilly compared to the rest of the school, but nicer, not quite so damp. And the Hufflepuff commons were delightful, though Oliver often got the feeling he wasn't welcome there, either. Perhaps he ought to start taking to locking himself in broom cupboards, at least then his presence wouldn't be bothering anyone spare for a few spiders. "Well, go on, do you?" said the Slytherin, pushing him a bit more firmly against the stone wall. Oliver didn't respond, merely cringed away. His aggressor's breath was foul, worse than the smell of his blood.

And then came a fourth, a girl, and Oliver almost wanted to start crying, this was bad enough without someone else ganging up on him, too... Though she, with a soothing sort of voice said that she was going to take care of things. Oliver instinctively blushed, it was a very slight tinge owing to both his slow circulation and low blood volume, but one could notice if they were looking closely enough. He was glad she had come to rescue him, though at the same time a bit embarrassed that he needed it.

Unsurprisingly, the Slytherins laughed at the idea, they didn't seem too intimidated by them, and the one pinning him to the wall made no movement to let him go. "Or what?" said he, making Oliver cringe again, both at the smell of his breath and what would likely occur next. He hated confrontation, he just wanted everyone to get along and leave him be...

[evelyn amelia strauss]

Evelyn turned up her nose at the trio as the two cronies stopped destroying the art supplies before turning to look at her. The leader didn't bother to look to her, keeping his snarling mug pointed towards the small boy in his clutches. Fifth years still were at the age where their bullying wasn't too terrible, but these boys seemed to be taking their notes from the seventh years, who weren't afraid to destroy things, pulverize and rape people, and otherwise raise Hell in some dastardly ways. Evelyn stood, hands on her hips, appraising them.

This was simply unacceptable. She wasn't about to let some brutes bully this poor kid into oblivion, especially while she was around. It wasn't right. Couldn't they go pick on someone their own size? They towered over both her and the boy pinned up against the wall by a good half of a foot, probably more, was it too difficult for them to do anything. Two of the boys advanced slowly on her, looking her up and down, eyes wide. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Did they really think she was that stupid?

Evelyn certainly wasn't going to give up. She'd throw punches if she had too, but she wasn't going to let them touch the kid. She'd prefer not to hex them unless absolutely necessary, and most people didn't see her as the type of girl to fight dirty. She looked far too girly, especially dressed like this. Still, Evelyn wasn't afraid to hit, kick, scratch, even bite if it came to it. She just knew that she wasn't going to let them hurt the boy.

At the leader's voice, Evelyn leveled her gaze on him. "Well, for starters, I'm a seventh year, and probably a lot more intelligent than the three of you pea-brains combined, so I could easily hex you into next week if you don't leave."

[/color] The boys just laughed, and, with a head nod from the leader, moved forward to take her arms. She moved out of the way, only to have one of the boys snatch her wand from her waistband as the other moved to shove her against the wall. Evelyn rolled her eyes as they snickered, a tall lackey pinning her in place.

"And if you don't have your wand?"[/color] the leader sneered. Evelyn rolled her eyes, looking up at the boy who had her pinned, who was currently looking her up and down like a piece of meat. In one, fluid motion, her knee was up, jamming between his legs. The boy howled in pain and fell to the ground. The one holding her wand advanced, and she easily landed a punch square in the middle of his face, hearing a satisfying crunch as his nose gave way beneath her hand.

The boy dropped her wand, hands flying to cover his bleeding nose. Both boys exchanged a look with one another before scampering away. Evelyn leveled her wand at the leader, smirking. "Any more questions, or are you going to put him down?"[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[oliver patrick reynolds]

Oliver could feel his heart racing, or as close to "racing" as a half-vampire's could get, which was likely in the range of normal for humans. He didn't like this, not one bit, he could tell that things weren't going to go smoothly, this seldom was the case with Slytherins, especially so with these brutes. They could always be counted on to give him hell regardless of who was around, except perhaps a teacher, but nobody had ever stood up for him before. He just hoped the girl knew what she was getting herself into, it was social suicide to associate with him, even more so to intervene in the bullying escapades of those three.

Though she was older than them, he would give her that, she probably knew all sorts of complicated hexes that the Slytherins (while mean, they weren't incredibly intelligent, Oliver was sure even he could take them in a duel- that was if the idea of standing up for himself weren't so petrifying) could only dream of using. Oliver could only watch helplessly as she too was backed into a corner, her wand taken from her. If things could go from bad to worse, that was probably the way to do it.

He instinctively put his hands over the ringleader's, trying to pry the fingers off his robes. The feel of his skin was hot, and even through his relatively passive grasping he could feel the pulsating of his veins, even the smallest ones... Oliver looked over quickly when he heard the boy wheezing, doubled over on the ground, and before the other could strike, the girl had punched him square in the nose. The crack was audible, and the immediate scent of flowing blood was overpowering. The fifth year boy didn't even smell all that good, but spilled blood was always more appealing than when it was inside someone's body. He'd even recently fed, but all the same, it was too much...

He struggled a bit more fervently against the final foe, though the brute's grip remained stronger than ever. Though he now stood alone, his friends hobbling off, seemingly having learned their lesson. Oliver could still smell the spilling blood, though the urge to pursue it lessened as the boy with the broken nose got further away, but the memory of the smell lingered in the back of his mind, it was so incredibly tempting, but he knew what was good for him. He wouldn't go near any of them.

"Any more questions, or are you going to put him down?"

As if sensing defeat (or perhaps being afraid of meeting a similar fate as one of his buddies), Oliver was finally released. His keen reflexes allowed him to land lightly on his feet in a feline way, though his knees felt decidedly weak from the encounter, at least he didn't look too shaken, it was one of the benefits of his being a half-breed. One of the few if Oliver should say so. Generally, he didn't like what he was, it seemed nobody did- they ostracized him and bullied him for something that hadn't been in his control. Oliver watched the leader sulk off before getting onto his knees, bringing together the pieces of his torn drawings so he could charm them back together. "Um, thank you," Oliver said bashfully, not daring to meet the girl's gaze.

[evelyn amelia strauss]

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at the leader, who seemed to be contemplating his choices. Her grip on her wand tightened as she took a step towards him. Rolling his eyes and grumbling, he released the boy, who fell to the ground in a fairly delicate manner. Grinning, she lowered her wand as the boy sulked off in the direction that his friends had went running. Frankly, it served them right. Picking on poor souls... it wasn't right. She turned towards the boy, who was doing his best to avoid her gaze.

Something about him seemed... different. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, exactly. Evelyn watched him in silence, sizing up the boy. Regardless of the fact that he was young, he was just as tall as she was with her heels on. Evelyn hated being so short at times, but she didn't really mind. It wasn't anything that she could help, and it tended to make people ignore her. Because of her height, she was invisible. The only thing that normally drew people towards her was both her fiery hair and her opinionated personality. Once people learned that she wasn't a Weasley, however, they tended not to care much about what she thought. It didn't bother her, too much.

"Um, thank you."

Evelyn pulled herself from her thoughts, smiling softly at the boy before bending down to gather up the torn notebooks and broken pencils. "You're welcome,"

[/color] she replied. Gathering up everything, she held her wand over the broken pencils, sealing them back together with ease. She then turned to the artwork on the page. Biting her lip in thought, she examined this boy's drawings.

He really was very good. She didn't think that she'd ever seen anything as good as this before. Evelyn took her time, trying to piece together the images that were torn. Once she had everything fitting the way that it was meant to, she waved her wand over the sheets, binding them together with a simple spell. She then gathered up everything in a neat stack, picking it up and straightening up. She approached the boy, gently handing him his artwork.

"These are really good,"[/color] Evelyn said, smiling softly. After he'd taken his work, she held out her hand. "My name's Evelyn."[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[oliver patrick reynolds]

Oliver bit his lip lightly, though he was quick to stop the gesture when he felt the points of his fangs. Normally they looked like normal canine teeth, though when he thirsted or smelled blood not contained in a body they elongated. It wasn't anything he could control, and he hated that, as if he needed another way to proclaim to the world what he was. Normally the eyes were enough, nobody had red tint to their eyes unless they were a vampire, or part like he was. Hence his aversion to eye-contact, though that was typically an unnecessary precaution around here, Oliver was sure that everyone knew already.

Any classroom he was in needed to have the window shutters closed, he walked through halls during the day beneath a heavy cloak... Oliver could, technically, tolerate small amounts of sunlight owing to his human side, though his skin still remained quite sensitive. He could sunburn in a manner of minutes, and even just a weak beam on exposed skin would burn like fire. So it was best if he avoided it as he had done for the past twelve years of his life, Oliver really didn't know any different. He continued piecing together his drawings, surprised as the girl went above and beyond- and repaired his pencils.

In a matter of minutes he had his sketchbook and supplies back, without an evidence of the trauma they had sustained. Magic truly was a beautiful thing. Especially now that he had a good amount under his command- if this had happened the year before he might have been stuck with using copious amounts of Spellotape, hardly a seamless repair. Oliver blushed his very faint tinge of pink again when the girl complimented him on his work- he was developing into quite the artist, and he found it hard to remember a time when he didn't draw. It was a quiet, solitary pursuit, the sort of thing an exiled half-breed would have a lot of time to do.

Carefully, he tucked his things back into his bag, giving only a smile and quick nod as his thanks. He did, however, accept the hand offered to him, warm and soft, and again he was vaguely aware of the pulsating sensation of the intricate network of veins. He wondered if other people noticed things like that... "Oliver," he said softly, still not meeting her gaze.

[evelyn amelia strauss]

"Oliver."

Evelyn smiled, but only then did she notice his eyes. Her heart sank a little in her chest, realizing this boy's heritage. He only was a half-vampire, that she could tell, but it still caused her a bit of shock. No wonder he was being bullied. So many questions ran through her mind, but she hid them behind a smile. There was no use being rude, he wasn't any different than anyone else. She felt sorry for him, really, knowing how difficult it must have been for him to be what he was.

Regardless of the fact that the Ministry was passing laws against half-breed discrimination, Evelyn knew full-well that things were still bad for them. There were loopholes in the laws that were making it so the half-breeds thought that they had the same rights as everyone else, but she knew that was not the case. If anything, the laws made it easier for the half-breeds to be spotted. They were lulled into a false sense of security and thought that they would be able to come into the open, gain real jobs like the rest of society.

If anything, all that did was make it easier to bully them into oblivion. With the new laws, it was illegal to discriminate against half-breeds of any sort. However, now people were simply threatening and hurting the half-breeds under the table until they were forced to quit and return to hiding. It was an awful thing, and Evelyn felt sorry for them. She was one of the few who didn't mind the half-breeds, as long as they were posing a direct threat to her.

Evelyn smiled, lightly shaking his hand before releasing him, pulling at her skirt slightly. She sat down at a table and smiled at Oliver. "I'm sorry that people are so cruel. You certainly don't deserve it,"

[/color] she said softly. She looked at him for a few moments before speaking again. "You don't have to worry about me, you know. I'm a seventh year, Gryffindor. I've got your back if ever you need it. How old are you?"[/color] she asked, eyeing the Hufflepuff badge on his robes. The poor kid, both a half-breed and a Hufflepuff? He really wasn't very cut out for surviving in a school full of assholes, that was for sure...[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[oliver patrick reynolds]

And there it was, the look of shock, it had registered to Evelyn what he really was. Given past experiences, Oliver was fully expecting her to quickly excuse herself- leave the area and likely never speak to him again unless she was intending to mock him. It was what he found to be commonplace, even amongst those of his own house. Hufflepuffs were supposed to be the most accepting lot in the school, though even from them Oliver felt a certain sense of distance, as if nobody wanted to get too close to him. In a way, he did understand it. He was one of the untouchables of society, anyone associated with him would likely get slapped with the same label.

Sure, the Ministry was working on things, passing laws and such, though that did relatively little to change the mindset of the people. Oliver figured he was just as oppressed now as he would have been had he been born in a different generation. Granted, he might not have been allowed to attend Hogwarts fifty years ago, but it seemed people's openness about half-breeds such as himself was still at the same level it had been half a century ago. Oliver supposed, however, he should consider himself lucky that he was at least allowed to go to school- even if very few people treated him kindly.

Though to some degree Oliver did recognize that as being his own fault. People might not walk all over him if he could stand up for himself, or even have the guts to report incidences to a teacher. He supposed his head of house, a quirky, yet kindly man called Professor Bertram who taught Divination, would do pretty much anything to help, but he was ashamed to ask for it. And frightened of the inevitable backlash that would come with being a snitch.

Evelyn, however, surprised him, sticking around, saying that he didn't deserve that sort of treatment. "Oh, I'm used to it," Oliver said quietly, though that bit had been a bit more intense. Normally it was just verbal abuse, but that had bordered on physical. Again, Evelyn shocked him by saying that she had his back. A seventh year Gryffindor on his side? Now that might actually do something, he was almost incredulous, nobody offered anything like that. "Um, twelve," said Oliver when she asked for his age, thinking it would be lame to say "nearly thirteen."

[evelyn amelia strauss]

Evelyn could sense how incredulous Oliver was at her statement. She felt sorry for him, she did. It wasn't right that he had to be picked on the way that he was, especially for as young as he looked. Evelyn felt the overwhelming urge to protect him as much as she possibly could. She didn't want to see someone so innocent hurt. It was a bit of a bad habit that she had, protecting others, regardless of whether or not they needed it or wanted it. It was simply the kind of person that she was.

Besides, Evelyn knew that everyone needed someone to be able to turn to. At school, you were forced to turn towards your friends, to turn towards those around you. That was a difficult feat when your peers tormented you, rather than taking your side. If you had family ties, it could be easier, but not everyone had a network like the Potters and the Weasleys. You couldn't turn a corner without running into one of their ilk. Evelyn decided then and there that she would do whatever she could to act as Oliver's unofficial guardian.

It was a weird feeling, bestowing that kind of responsibility unto herself, without Oliver's knowledge, but Evelyn felt good about it. It was the right thing to do and it certainly would help the boy around school. People knew her fairly well, give how outspoken she was, and she was old enough to know how to handle certain situations. She smiled softly to herself as she waited for Oliver to respond to her question. Surely he wasn't that old...

"Oh, I'm used to it... um, twelve."

Evelyn smiled. A little 2nd year Hufflepuff, it was rather charming. Evelyn took a seat at the table, looking in the direction from which she had come. "I saw a cat running out that way before this mess. Is she yours?"

[/color] she asked, looking back towards Oliver.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[oliver patrick reynolds]

This was definitely unusual, not only had Evelyn swooped in out of nowhere and rescued him from those nasty Slytherins, she was continuing to hang around as if he might be pleasant company. Most unusual. Oliver had lead most of his life thinking he was a bother to everyone- his grandparents had certainly made it seem so, complaining about having to be borderline nocturnal because of him, expressing their disgust every time they went around St. Mungo's to pick up a crate of blood for him... Those times were always the worst, enough so to the point where he had made himself quite ill the previous summer, trying to go without blood.

As much as he detested it, Oliver did need some to survive, and he wasn't willing to forgo it again for the sake of keeping his grandparents happy. Withdrawal had been awful, fighting against attacking his guardians, slowing down, everything about him had felt so heavy until he had eventually collapsed. That was not something Oliver was keen on repeating. He was born part vampire, and would stay that way until the day he died, he might as well get used to it. But if he could, he had a hard time seeing why so many other people couldn't, it was just a terrible fact of life- one that would leave him mostly alone in the world.

Oliver nodded when Evelyn inquired about the cat, that was of course his Penelope- one of now two living beings that didn't seem utterly repulsed by him. Of course, that might not be completely true, he had a way with cats, even the grouchiest of felines warmed up to him, but his Siamese was special with the bond they shared. "Her name's, um, Penelope, she'll probably be back," said Oliver. His cat was a clever girl, she could usually sense when danger had passed and return to his side accordingly- unless she got distracted by one of Hogwarts' countless mice.

[evelyn amelia strauss]

((OOC: My muse is DEAD for this thread...)))

[oliver patrick reynolds]

((OOC: Don't blame you, we can try them again later.))