avoiding the crowds {harlow/open}

[james oliver wood]

James ducked out of charms and hurriedly (though cautiously) took the stairs down to the Great Hall- not because he was in a hurry to eat, but he was in a hurry to snatch up some food and go to his usual spot before someone else claimed it. Though it wasn't particularly common for students to take their food outside the Great Hall during the winter, instead favouring the spring and summer, and early fall, when the weather was nice to go and have a picnic. That was fine and all, but James hated spending lunch in the crowds of the hall, so he would instead take what he wanted up to an empty classroom on the first floor- James had long since laid claim to it.

Most of the time his best friend, Harlow Knight, joined him, though sometimes he was alone. Nevertheless, James grabbed a few extra sandwiches in case she joined him. He tucked four of them in his bag, and also grabbed two apples and a jug of pumpkin juice. James didn't bother to look around the hall as he left, he wanted to get up to his oasis, away from all these people, it was making his anxiety spike again, he could feel a slight amount of constriction in his throat, he wasn't going to be hanging around here for much longer...

James hurried back up the stairs, thankfully this time stepping over the vanishing step, rather than getting his foot stuck in it- though his clumsiness did prevail in the end, and he stumbled on the last step before reaching the landing, knocking a bony shin against the stone. James winced, knowing it would leave a bruise, but he simply walked it off, hobbling in direction of the empty classroom, he could feel himself already relaxing, it was getting easier to breathe again. James released a sigh as he entered the room and found it blissfully empty.

Today, it seemed, was his lucky day. James hoisted himself on top of one of the desks, setting out the sandwiches, apples, and the juice, as if he were expecting company, but he told himself not to get his hopes up. Harlow hadn't been herself lately, and while he wanted to get to the bottom of it, but he was a bit too timid to come right out and ask, despite the fact that she had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. James figured that she would open up on her own accord after a while. He just hoped that he would get to see her today, honestly she was beginning to worry him.

James picked up a sandwich and nibbled at the corner of it as he pulled a book out of his book- he figured he could at least get some homework done. Now that the Christmas holidays were over the teachers weren't shy about piling homework on the fifth years in preparation for their OWLs that spring. James was dreading them, particularly all the homework, he wasn't the most organized person, he had trouble keeping on top of everything. James flinched as the door unexpectedly opened, in the process awkwardly swallowing his bite of sandwich. Coughing and sputtering and tears coming to his eyes, he turned to look at...

[harlow christine knight]

Harlow was struggling. Her studies were still her top priority, but now that was all that she was focusing on. Harlow was locking herself up in the Ravenclaw common room to do her homework and study for her OWLS. To the outside world, it just looked like she was an intelligent fifth year working towards getting all O's in her testing, but it was out of the ordinary for anyone who knew her. In truth, Harlow was working incredibly hard to stay away from Jack. In the past month, he'd cornered her once or twice more since that fateful day in the Forbidden Forest. Locked away in the common room, Harlow was safe. Jack couldn't get her where he wasn't allowed.

Of course, she had to eat. Harlow was a bit angry with herself when she needed to get to the Great Hall. It was a bit silly, seeing the normally bouncy and vibrant Ravenclaw sulking in the shadows, trying her best to avoid Jack. His friends had stopped their torment, but Jack was just as persistent as ever. Harlow had desperately hoped that he would leave her alone after he'd taken her by force, but that had only fueled something deep and truly evil in him. The first time, he'd cornered her in the dungeons when she'd been leaving potions class. The second time he'd infiltrated the girl's bathroom. Harlow didn't feel safe, but she couldn't tell anyone.

Jack's threats that first time rang clear and true in her mind. If Harlow so much as mentioned that he was bothering her, let alone forcing sex upon her, he'd hurt her worse than he already had. At this point, she was solely convinced that he'd take her life if he saw fit. Harlow had never thought that evil could exist in the body of a school boy, but then Jack had come along and stolen her innocence from her. Harlow was absolutely terrified of what the Gryffindor boy would do. She had a few more months to endure with Jack, but then he'd be done with Hogwarts. Harlow assumed that, after that, she'd never have to see his face, or any other part of him, ever again.

Harlow had taken the chance and abandoned the common room, wandering downstairs to get some food. She was starving and it was about time to eat. Harlow hurried in, wandered to the very end of the Ravenclaw table, grabbed a few of the turkey sandwiches that rested on a platter in the room, wrapped her hands around a full goblet of grape juice, and hurried off. She had every intention of heading back to the common room when she remembered about James. She'd been neglecting their meetings lately and she really missed him... It wouldn't hurt to be with someone she trusted. Making a detour, she quickly began scouring the empty rooms until she came across the room where James was sitting.

As Harlow opened the door, James began sputtering. She hurried to his side, setting the tray and goblet down on a nearby desk. Gently placing a hand on his back, she looked at him and smiled gently. "Are you alright?" she asked, slightly amused.

[james oliver wood]

James might normally have lit up into a wide, crazily stupid grin when Harlow came into the room- honestly she was the only friend he had in the whole school. She didn't seem to mind his awkwardness, didn't give a damn that he was the worst Quidditch player that Hogwarts had seen in many years, and had never once poked fun at his stutter. James had figured that after sixteen long years of tripping over his words that he'd be used to it, but he was still rather sensitive about it. He supposed it was that combined with his social anxiety, he was always concerned that people were judging him- really, in his mind, there was plenty to judge.

First was likely his house- he was a disappointment to both sides of the family being that he was unable to continue their Gryffindor legacy, and that was only the top of the laundry list of shortcomings. He was clumsy, had none of his parents' athletic ability, had a short stature... But Harlow didn't seem to mind any of these things, and James adored that. It was like he was finally allowed to be himself, quirks, stutter, anxiety and all, without being judged. She knew how it was, understood it, and he loved that about her. Really, he was hard-pressed to name something about Harlow that he didn't like. Unless, of course, he were to mention her mood of late, how she hadn't quite been herself, it was concerning. She was so gorgeous, so perfect, he didn't want to think of anything ever troubling her.

James managed something of a smile through his sputtering as she placed a hand on his shoulder, looking almost amused at him as she asked if he was all right. He coughed some more, blinking back the film of tears that had come to his eyes from lack of oxygen. He was glad to see something of a smile on her lips, she had seemed so down lately, what he had seen of her at least, it was almost as if she were hiding from something. The thought made him want to frown, though he didn't, merely swallowed forcefully to get the last bit of sandwich caught in his throat to slide down fully. He picked up his jug of pumpkin juice and took a long swig, gulping down liquid to get rid of the feeling of almost chocking.

"Yeah, I'm all right, j-just s-s-swallowed wrong," said James, giving Harlow his signature crooked smile. It had been the bane of his mother's existence for a long while, she had always complained about how the family pictures never turned out right, and teased him about not being able to smile like a normal person- though as he approached adulthood she had figured it wasn't going to change- it was just another characteristic of her son, his lopsided grin. Though James felt if there was a single charming aspect about his person, it would have to be that. He didn't smile without reason, every grin he gave was well-deserved. Except around Harlow, her presence usually made the corners of his mouth turn upward stupidly. Yes, he liked her, but he wasn't about to admit it, he didn't want to lose his only friend. "H-how have you b-b-been?" asked James, figuring it was only natural- it had been a while since he'd seen her.

[harlow christine knight]

"Yea, I'm all right, j-just s-swallowed wrong."

Harlow smiled softly as James choked down the bite that was bothering him, reaching across her to the large jug of pumpkin juice. He lifted it to his lips and guzzled it down and she sat back, watching him. It was nice to have James be at the forefront of her mind instead of Jack. Of course, the moment that she consciously thought so, thoughts of Jack immediately began to surface of their own accord. She absolutely detested the level of control the man had over her mind. Part of her was absolutely terrified that she was beginning to give in and actually enjoy what was happening her.

Harlow knew it could never be possible. Everything that Jack was doing to her, all of the mental, emotional and physical trauma he was forcing upon her, was negative. She knew that, and she knew that she could never possibly give in to what he was describing as carnal lust and affection. Still, there was a fire slowly dying inside of her from everything. Jack was slowly killing her with the random attacks, it was beginning to push her over the edge. Luckily, Harlow had James to keep her sane. It was a nice feeling, having her best friend (and, arguably her only friend) by her side. 

"H-how have you b-b-been?"

Harlow couldn't help herself; she caught herself panicking outwardly at the question. Quickly, however, she recovered and offered a tentative smile in exchange for one of James' adorably lopsided ones. He was fairly observant, she had to give him credit. There wasn't anything she kept from him and vice versa. Part of her wanted to tell her what was going on, but she was afraid of what James might do. As much as she wanted Jack to pay for what he was doing, the moral part of her knew that James could possibly confront Jack. If that were to happen, Harlow would be in a lot of danger. 

Jack's threats loomed heavily over her head. Harlow was terrified of him, truly. She had no doubt in her mind that he'd do much worse than force her into sex if she were to tell anyone what was going on. Of course, Harlow had never been a very good liar... Picking up one of the turkey sandwich halves from the plate she'd brought into the room, she carefully took a bite, chewing slowly and carefully. Swallowing the bite, she picked up the goblet and took a drink, putting off her response as long as possible before looking at James and shrugging slightly. "I've been better. I'm stressed.. the OWLS, you know," she replied, sticking on a plausible excuse for her flighty behavior and hoping James wouldn't question it too much.

[james oliver wood]

James felt an incredible mixture of emotions, he wasn't quite sure what to do about Harlow. She seemed so skittish of late, and he desperately wanted to fix whatever it was that was bothering her, yet she said nothing about it. He simply wanted to put things back to the way they were- though something deep in his gut told him it might be something beyond his control. Of course, the possibility remained that he could simply be over-thinking the whole thing, James did tend to do that, particularly when his anxiety got the better of him, which if he was going to be honest was half the time.

He let out one final cough, glad to finally be rid of the irritation in his throat, he really needed to work on not startling so easily. It was beginning to be a bit of a running gag amongst the fifth years, to see who could get him to react the most violently to a sudden scare. James was beginning to dread the corridors, and as such would walk through them as quickly as he could, which only paved way for more opportunities to trip and fall. Really, it was hopeless. Though he figured that he had this semester, plus two years, and then he would be rid of the school, and the people in it that tormented him, forever.

What exactly James was going to do once he had graduated, he wasn't quite sure- he wasn't really a man with a plan. James had panicked at his meeting with Professor Bertram when they went over career choices and had blurted out that he wanted to be a curse-breaker. Really, the idea of doing that as a profession petrified him, he was too mild a person to lead a lifestyle of danger and excitement- that and he was abysmal at Transfiguration, and damn near illiterate when it came to runes. But Professor Bertram had been kind and polite, and helped him outline a study plan for his sixth year- though James wasn't optimistic that he'd score highly enough on his OWL to get into half the classes he needed.

James waited for Harlow's reply, unable to ignore the panic he had seen dart across her face, which only solidified to him that she was hiding something. He raised his eyebrows, mismatched eyes widening in an expression of skepticism, yet true to his non-confrontational nature, he said nothing and after a moment allowed his features to relax into a more neutral position. If something really were bothering her, he figured she would enlighten him, they never kept secrets from each other, but all the same he was worried. "Yeah, I g-get that, s-s-so much work, I c-can't h-h-hardly k-keep on top of it all m-myself," said James, thinking that perhaps a little chat might make Harlow lighten up some.

[harlow christine knight]

Harlow watched as James' eyes widened, his eyebrows shooting up. He knew her too well to believe that nothing was wrong. Still, he wasn't going to ask. Harlow just stared into his dual-colored eyes and smiled. His eyes were absolutely stunning. She'd realized early on that the unusual attracted her. James' heterochromia was about as unusual as it got. It was part of the reason she'd trusted him and became friends with him in the first place. His eyes were beautifully enchanting. It hurt her to know that she was gazing into them and not telling him the complete and total truth about everything.

She wondered what the boy in front of her would do if she were to tell him the truth. James was incredibly passive, like she was, and she didn't want to do anything to hurt herself or him. Harlow wondered if that passivity would change given the circumstances. James was incredibly protective of her. She was protective of him as well. That, ultimately, was the reason she wasn't pressing the issue further or letting him in on the horror she was forcing herself to endure because of Jack. It wasn't fair to him to carry her burden around on his shoulders. Harlow didn't want anything to happen to James, should he stand up for her.

"Yea, I g-get that, s-s-so much work, I c-can't h-h-hardly k-keep on top of it all m-myself."

His words broke the spell that his eyes had over her. Harlow found herself captivated by everything about James. He was her best friend and it would most likely stay like that. Still, there was the small stirring of something in Harlow that she caught herself feeling from time to time. James was unique and beautiful, inside and out. Harlow didn't really have crushes, but she'd found herself imagining what life would be like romantically with her best friend. In her mind, James was the one who held her hand for the first time, the one who hugged her when she cried, the one who took her first kiss from her.

There was a tug in her chest when she realized that none of that would ever happen. Jack had taken most of her first moments from her. Harlow felt herself shrink on herself as she thought of all that had been stolen out of her hands before she perked back up, hoping James would continue the passivity and not ask. Right now, she was able to keep herself from telling the entire truth to protect both herself and James, and she planned on continuing along that path. "Well, at least we have this. It's a nice break from reality," she replied, lifting up her half of a sandwich before taking another bite.

[james oliver wood]

James' conscience was screaming at him. You idiot! it insisted, there's something wrong, just say so! You know she's lying! Yet he couldn't get the words to form, and the moment he spoke, allegedly buying in to her OWL stress alibi, his moment to act was gone. So he would wait, and likely still not act even if the opportunity was presented a second time. This, he supposed, was the reason why he had not been sorted into Gryffindor like his parents. He was weak, timid, honestly, he was a complete coward. Normally, James was all right with that, he liked to not put himself in danger, but this felt much different.

As much as he would insist otherwise, even to himself, James was rather protective of Harlow, he wanted to make sure that she was all right, safe, happy- and the fact that in this moment she might not be any of those things and he had done nothing to fix it, was bothering him immensely. But in his desperate bid to avoid making her angry, he would keep quiet. He would keep quiet like always. He just hoped that this time it wasn't anything too serious. That didn't stop his mind from making up imaginary scenarios with a very slim likelihood of happening, and the thoughts were quite distracting, try as he might to subdue them. James busied himself with another bite of sandwich, hoping that might occupy his mind. Great, he figured, might as well add that to his ever-growing laundry list of problems; stress eating.

James watched as Harlow seemingly shrank, and then in remembering she had a ruse to maintain, immediately perked back up again. If it were anyone else he might have found this rapid changing in perceived mood amusing, but since it was Harlow it put him on edge. She needed to be okay. He needed her to be okay, really, he felt like she was all that she had. Her, and Cap'n, his disgruntled, mangy looking kneazle/cat cross breed who seemingly hated every living creature aside from his owner. And without Harlow, James' existence would be a quiet, lonely, rather pathetic one.

"E-exactly, I c-could do with p-p-procrastinating on my T-t-t-transfiguration for a wh-while," said James, feeling like he took forever trying to spit out the word "Transfiguration." Luckily, Harlow had always been patient with his stutter, and around her it did diminish considerably, sometimes to the point of almost vanishing, though now he was under a little too much stress for that to happen, both from the recent venture into the crowded Great Hall, and from worrying about her.