Jerry } A drop in the Ocean.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

a drop in the ocean
A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
i was praying that you and me might end up together

The portrait swung open to allow a short girl through the doorway. Her brown eyes were cast toward the ground and her curly brown hair bounced with each step. But her shoulders slumped and hands trembled. It was easy to see she was upset. But the girl wouldn't admit it, couldn't. Since she had her little run in with Landon Dupree in the library, her mother's colleagues had reported to her saying some words she probably shouldn't have. And now that her mother had moved to Hogsmeade, she was called home every weekend to "help" around the house. It was Sunday evening and she had just returned from a long weekend of crying and fighting and had more homework to do than she could ever imagine. or at least that was the way it seemed. And she just didn't want to.

Dylan felt so low that her head was clouded with negative thoughts and self loathing, the way she usually felt after she had spent a few days with her mother. The summers had been the worst and with the new school year, Dylan looked forward to being able to escape the tormenting words of hatred that her mother always managed to throw her way. And everything went well. While she got many letters, things were much better because letters could be burned. Until she had received a howler, stating how her mother would be moving out to Hogsmeade in January, and suddenly it was like every ounce of home Dylan had was gone.

With a heavy sigh, she lowered herself into one of the arm chairs away from the fire. It was colder over here, but also less likely that someone would head her way to sit with her. The oldest Mazani had only a few friends, and tended to keep to herself when she could. There was only one person who knew her situation and she intended to keep it that way. Landon had been an accident and now she just wanted it to be forgotten. Dylan hoped that he would do what most did, disappear. Everyone she had ever learned to trust had left in the end. Her father, her first love, even her best friend, once they grew to close, it was like a switch went off and she no longer could remain close. And they always disappeared.

Dylan placed a stack of books on her lap, the very ones that she had clutched to her chest while walking through the common room. Her eyes scanned the covers, and while she did so, her hands absently rummaged in her bag for a quill and scroll. Producing the items, she quietly looked at potions. It was an easy subject for her, and would probably the first she completed, so she opened the book, and began reading the section. Moments passed before she closed the book and placed on the table beside her. All interest lost in school work, as always. At this point, she didn't care what happened. She wanted to leave. To disappear. The girl pushed the sleeve of her robe up, absently viewing the pale blue and black marks caused from a small fight with her mother. Her body ached, and she found she was exhausted. But there was too much to do. Yet she leaned her head back against the back of the chair and closed her eyes. Maybe if she just rested for a moment. Only a moment was all she needed.

it's like wishing for rain as i stand in the desert

I'M HOLDING YOU CLOSER THAN MOST
you are my heaven

words || 579
muse || drop in the ocean - ron pope
notes || WHOO. I miss posting with Dylan. xDD
other || <333333 Can't wait to plot. xD
tagged || Jerry Beckenham
credits || DANNI of AK

[JERRY BECKENHAM]

Jerry was curled into one on the armchairs nearer to the fire, with a parchment in his lap. It was supported by a heavy textbook about History of Magic, a subject that Jerry loathed. Still, to appease his mother, who actually liked non-wand subjects, he took it. Jerry considered many times to fail it on purpose, but it was one of the rare things that his mother liked about magic. History. Jerry scoffed to himself, thinking that his mother should have been a historian and not a surgeon. The Gryffindor had to take History of Magic though, he knew he had to. He needed to make his mother proud, because according to a conversation between her and his step-father Jerry had overheard during a rare visit in this summer, he would never amount to anything. Especially being the way he was. Jerry didn't pretend not to know that they were talking about his sexuality. It seemed that Thomas hated that particular fact about Jerry as much as his father did.

His father. The last words spoken between them were unkind, hateful to be honest. Jerry foolishly let himself to believe that his father would be understanding. He was wrong, oh Merlin, he was so wrong. Jerry closed his eyes and almost saw the loathing in his father's eyes, almost felt a few droplets of spit that landed on his face when the adult wizard started yelling at him. He could almost see the hand ascending into the air, hesitating just a tiny bit, before it made contact with his skin. Jerry's eyes shot open when he heard the portrait open and followed a small figure to the armchair that was farther away from his.
He observed the familiar girl, Dylan if he wasn't mistaken take a seat, all discreetly of course. She looked...upset about something. Jerry wondered if the girl was being bullied, and wondered if it were Slytherins. Though Jerry didn't want to point fingers at anyone, Slytherins were 75 per cent cause of grief with Gryffindors. The older boy put the quill down from the drawing of the view outside that he had been sketching and mulled over the thought of approaching Dylan. Jerry didn't know her that much because they only interacted during practices, but he couldn't just let someone suffer like that. Okay, he had a selfish reason as well. Jerry wanted to forget about his bad memories.

The seventh year stood up and made his way to the girl, his footsteps barely making any sound as he was approaching. "Are you okay?" Jerry softly asked, leaning to the armchair, crossing his arms on the chest. He adopted the 'cool' stature as he and his friends called it, trying to mask the bad thoughts from before. "Right, you obviously aren't, but then again, you most probable answer would be fine. Did you know that words I'm fine, are one of the commonest lies uttered in the world?" Jerry knew he was already babbling, but he thought that distraction would do them both good at the moment.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

a drop in the ocean
A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
i was praying that you and me might end up together

The fifth year Gryffindor seemed to finally coax herself into a lulling state of relaxation because while her eyes were closed and she was certain she had not fallen asleep, she was definitely dozing with the way her breathing would slow and occasionally a great sigh would sound from the girl before she move only a little in the chair that she had curled herself up into. Her book had been discarded onto the table and she sat with her legs pulled up underneath her and her head propped up on her hand which was supported by the arm of the chair. Dylan hardly noticed the sound of approaching footsteps, until the feeling of the chair shifting as weight was applied awakened her. She blinked her brown eyes open slowly, attempting to rub the exhaustion from her appearance as a voice filled her head.

It startled her, the question immediately thinking that Landon had showed up and was now interrupting her sleep merely to ask how her weekend with her mother had gone. As she turned to address the question a different face peered down at her and she blinked for a moment. Slight confusion turned into recognition, and then back into confusion again. What was Jerry doing here? Well, then again, it wasn't like she wasn't in the Gryffindor Common Room. The question would surely make sense if she hadn't been so tired and worn from her visit with her dear mother. "I'm f-" She was cut off by his next sentence and a look of frustration flashed on her pretty face.

Dylan didn't want to talk about what happened at her mother's house. She didn't want to talk about the fighting she had done all weekend, the spells her mother so free willingly cast on her child. The Jinxes, the curses, everything. She didn't want to talk about it. Because that meant she would have to admit it happened to someone outside of her own mind. The thought of finally admitting defeat and that it was a reality and not just a bad dream seemed to shake Dylan to the core. "I am fine though. I'm tired, but that is all." She added, making it so at least she had a reason to have just fallen asleep in the chair she had only sat in moments before.

She cast a glance back at the Keeper of the Gryffindor team. They knew each other on a first name basis of course, but only because they were on the team. Outside of practices and team celebrations, she spoke little to him or anyone else on the team for that matter. Landon seemed to only be the exception because he constantly came looking to break down the walls and secrets she held so close and built so high. Dylan observed him for a moment longer before looking toward the book she had placed on the table. Potions was calling her again and she knew eventually she would have to do it. "I really hate to be rude, but I kind of need to get my homework done." She muttered.

it's like wishing for rain as i stand in the desert

I'M HOLDING YOU CLOSER THAN MOST
you are my heaven

words || 518
muse || drop in the ocean - ron pope
notes || He's such a goof. xDD It's cute.
other || Dylan is soooo uncomfortable.
tagged || Jerry Beckenham
credits || DANNI of AK

[JERRY BECKENHAM]

Jerry chuckled at the annoyed look on Dylan's face. He found it greatly amusing when he could unintentionally bother or annoy other people, especially if those were Gryffindors. "It was just a question though luv," he grinned, letting his accent become more pronounced. There was a flash of something shiny at the other side of a common room and Jerry's head snapped to it. It was a gold belt buckle on one of the girl's pants and Jerry let himself take a moment to observe the girl's...qualities, before he shook his head, telling himself that those days were over for him. No more lolly-gagging and chasing after both genders.

"We're all tired lately, especially fifth and seventh years," Jerry nodded, and checked his nails. "With OWLS and NEWTS around," he explained and peered at a textbook that the girl was using, or trying to use, seeing that he caught her sleeping. "Potions, eh...My kind of thing....Kind of," he muttered and bent down to look at the opened page the Seeker was looking at before. He was okay at Potions, not too smart about them, but not too stupid either. Jerry's skill at Potions was just high enough not to melt any cauldrons while he was studying at Hogwarts. Though he did came close once. The third years were making Befuddlement Draught and Jerry put frog's livers instead of porcupine quills in the potion, which bubbled over, but luckily that was it. He was better at making other cauldrons explode.

"If you want, I can help you with your homework," Jerry offered and stood up, giving Dylan some personal space. Not for long though. The seventh year looked around the common room for the nearest armchair and started pushing it towards the space which Dylan had been occupying. He huffed at the hard work, mock glaring when the girl didn't offer any help. When the armchairs were literally touching arm to arm, Jerry stopped and flopped on the soft linings. "Now, what do you need to do?" he asked, grinning slightly. Yes, sometimes he had no sense of personal space at all.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

a drop in the ocean
A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
i was praying that you and me might end up together

His accent reminded her of London. The place she missed. She had wanted to continue living there where when her mother got angry there were plenty of options to run. In Hogsmeade, there was almost nothing. She could duck into the Three Broomsticks if she had the time to get away, but it would be too easy to be found here. She let out a soft sigh at that thought but quickly pushed it away. "Of course ya are." Her own voice had more of a drawl to it, a sweet one. Most didn't know that she was an American, her dialect being from the South. Anyone who asked her would hear right away how she dreamed of going back there some day.

Dylan was acutely aware of how close he was. It made her uncomfortable. The only time anyone got that physically close was her mother when she was angry. And when she had been dating some one only a year ago before he had left, disappeared once he knew how much trouble staying in her life could be. The fifth year bit her lip at the memory and lowered her gaze to her hands which were now placed on the edges of the book which had been balanced across her lap again. As he peered down to look at it, she did too, not wanting to look at him now. The page was opened to a section on the Befuddlement Draught, and though she knew what it was and knew how to brew it, the last thing she needed was to get any of her facts wrong by writing this paper.

When he offered his assistance on the homework, she looked up at him and shook her head for a moment. "No, really it's o-" She was cut off as he started dragging the chair over to where she had purposely sat alone and instantly she felt awkward. As he scooted it closer she merely looked down at her book, attempting to read the words before her, but none of them managed to sink deeper than to flash before her eyes and the meaning disappeared in the fog of her own mind.

Dylan watched out of the corner of her eye as he flopped onto the chair and scooted as close to her as possible. She had the intense urge to move away, it was so bad that her hands shook as she moved slowly, placing the book on the arms that touched but scooting herself a little ways away, until she felt her hip on the opposite arm. She merely leaned over occasionally, looking at the pages. "I have to write a paper on the Befuddlement Draught. It's effects, antidotes, ingredients, and how to make it." She mumbled. The way she sat was uncomfortable, but right now she cared little of comfort and more for her space. The fact that he was so willy-nilly with his own space made her feel even less confident as she sat beside him. It didn't make sense. Why would he want to help her, it wasn't like she was stupid. She would have been fine on her own, had she not fallen asleep.

it's like wishing for rain as i stand in the desert

I'M HOLDING YOU CLOSER THAN MOST
you are my heaven

words || 532
muse || drop in the ocean - ron pope
notes || She would so hit him right now if it weren't for the fact that she'd think he'd hit her back.
other || LOL. That made it worse.
tagged || Jerry Beckenham
credits || DANNI of AK

[JERRY BECKENHAM]

Jerry cocked his head to the right when he noticed something off with Dylan's voice. Well, he had no idea if it was wrong, per se, since he admitted to himself that he barely paid her any attention outside the practice. Jerry did notice, however, a slight accent that he didn't before. "Excuse my bluntness, but where are you from?" Jerry gently asked, threading with caution in the next few sentences. He didn't want to offend her. "I mean, I don't really recognize it, so I am slightly curious....Okay, I am curious a lot," Jerry gave Dylan a lopsided grin.


"Ah, the Befuddlement Draught. I have had dealings with this kind of potion before," Jerry nodded and without asking if Dylan really needed any help, he started rattling off the recipe and properties of each ingredient. "Weeeeeell," he started, mulling over which facts he should explain first. " Befuddlement Draught is a type of potion which causes the drinker to become belligerent and reckless," Jerry slowly explained and tapped the page of the opened textbook. "Three of its main ingredients are lovage, sneezewort and scurvy grass. Also porcupine quills, see," the seventh year pointed at the end of the ingredient list where said item was placed. "Sneezewort is actually very poisonous to animals, perhaps even humans, so don't go putting it in your mouth anytime soon," Jerry chuckled at his own joke and leaned further to the book. "Unless you hate someone's guts. Then by all means."
"Wheeeere was I?" the boy wondered, as he had been momentarily lost in his thoughts and checked over the recipe. "Right, the main ingredients. If those three are used together they can be most efficacious in the inflaming of the brain. But if they are apart, beside Sneezewort, they are completely harmless," Jerry nodded, and held up his hand to stop any protest that Dylan might say. "Wait here luv," he ran to his dorms and picked a leather bound book that looked really old and worn, as well as a couple of parchment scrolls.

He was down not a minute later and threw everything, though with extreme care, onto the wooden table. Jerry first picked up the leather bound book and went through some of the pages in concentration, until he gave out a small yelp, when he found what he was looking for. "Here," Jerry showed Dylan sketches of the ingredients used in the Potion that he made himself. "This is how they look like." Putting the book slash journal in front of the fifth year, Jerry handed her a couple of parchments as well. "You should consult the journals of Larm Pirglim, for he has a lot of them and discusses Befuddlement Draughts and Confusing Concoctions with intense detail. You may find it to be a very...informative." Jerry smirked and gave Dylan a slight nod. "Just...Give them back once you are done with them please. They are one of the rare things I got left from my father," the seventh year gave her an odd look, that had sadness and slight bit of anger in it. Even though Jerry and his father didn't like each other, especially after the revelation, that did not mean that the boy didn't miss him. "Just...don't put any frog liver in the potion. It bubbles over and gives your hair an extraordinary pink hue."

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[DYLAN MAZANI]

a drop in the ocean
A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
i was praying that you and me might end up together

Dylan became acutely aware of her accent in that moment, her cheeks flushing slightly red as it was pointed out. Her eyes directed toward the fireplace she thought about answering the question or wondered if she should just have ignored it. Then again, it wasn't like he was asking merely to make fun of her. He was genuinely curious by the looks of it. With a sigh, she shot a glance toward him, contemplating. Finally she let out a breath and spoke. "I was born in America, Tennessee to be exact."

When he heard she was learning about the Befuddlement Draught it was like a switch was turned on his head because all of a sudden the mouth that she thought wouldn't stop moving just went at a mile a minute, explaining what it was, the ingredients, and many other various pieces of information. Before she could make any protest (and believe me, she was trying) he rose from his chair, signaling for her to wait, and bolted off. Her eyes grew wide. What the hell just happened. She blinked a few times before pulling her parchment closer to the edge of the table and tried to start writing before he came back and ruined her moment of silence. But all she managed to get down was "The Befuddlement Drau" before he came zipping back with assorted paraphernalia.

She blinked at the book he flipped open and stuffed her way. She glanced at the sketches and nodded in an accepting manner. They were good, what could she say? He had a talent for drawing at least. But before she could again comment on his skill, she had a set of scrolls plopped on her lap and she blinked, taking one in her hands and looking them over, brown eyes flicking across the page as she read. Once she had finished a couple of lines she looked up and offered him a small smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it." Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, right now she was having trouble determining her truest emotions. She was still angry, but not at Jerry. At her mother. She was still hurting from her weekend and her eyes pricked with tears at the sudden overwhelming set of emotions that swelled inside of her.

Yet when she glanced up at him again, his words seemed to strike a cord in the younger girl. It was like all of a sudden a realization hit her. There was something wrong. Something wrong indeed. "Are you all right?" It had been a little hard to see at first, only the strange look he gave her really gave it away, but the longer it set in her mind, she realized he was sad. Or angry. Whatever it was, it was no longer the bouncy, bubbling, talkative goofball she had just been talking to. His mood seemed to have darkened, and needless to say, she was more than a little bit concerned. Who wouldn't be? His final comment though brought a smile to her face, though she was still focused on the serious question she made before hand. "Well of course you don't, silly. The Frog Liver and the Sneezewort don't react very well together."

it's like wishing for rain as i stand in the desert

I'M HOLDING YOU CLOSER THAN MOST
you are my heaven

words || 535
muse || drop in the ocean - ron pope
notes || xD SHE HAS A HEART
other ||
tagged || Jerry Beckenham
credits || DANNI of AK