[T.Broomsticks] BroomstiThe Changleings

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie sat that the table, mug of butter beer clenched in her hand. The day has warmed considerably for March. Ellie was now glad that she wore nothing more than her sweater from warmth. The threee broomsticks as always warm and cozy anyway. The walk over hadn't been that bad. The mud seemed to finally be disappearing. Ellie wasn't fond of walking over to Hogsmeade right after the snow started to melt. The whole walkway seemed to turn into a pool of mud! It wasn't getting dirty that bothered her, it was getting stuck that did.

Ellie had thought that maybe it was time the get the gang back together again. Obviously, she and Bray weren't officially together again, but she missed him as a friend. If Ellie missed anyone more than Bray it was Fay. Fay was the only girlfriend Ellie had where she was sure she could tell her anything. Any secret would be safe with Fay.

Ellie had gotten ready quickly, hurry to escape the castle walls. The rotten feeling the stone wall had given her in the past couple months, plus the bad dreams, had given her the creeps. She didn't like it. She had skipped out on more than one of her prefect duties since then, feeling that nothing could be worse then walking alone in the dark. After her brave fight with the armor only a couple weeks ago, the cuts still healing on her face, as well a her elbow still wrapped just to be careful, Ellie had felt scared that she might met another foe in the darkness. Except this time, she saw herself losing.

The Hufflepuff took a sip of her butterbeer. She wondered if anyone else had started to feel the way she did. She had tried her best to hide her fears and hide that she was afraid, but she was beginning to crack. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold everything in. The was another motive she had ask Fay and Bray to join her at the pub.

Ellie tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear as she heard the bell on the door clang. She looked up to see if old familiar faces walked in.

[Bradyn Reed]

Since the time that Bray was attacked by the dogs in the hallway, things haven't been the same between him and Fay. Actually, things haven't been the same between him and anybody. Everyone thought that he's completely snapped and gone into some sort of, cataclysmic state. He had no idea why no one refused to accept that he was injured, and it just didn't make any sense to him. People were being annoyingly pitying towards him, to the point that he spent a good portion of his time with Erys Grace. With her, he was still sane.

Earlier that day, Fay charged into his dorm in the same manner that she always has. Rudely with no sense of personal space, and if he wasn't decent, it would suddenly become all his fault. But it wasn't the same as old times. Her look was angry and she threw a note at him as if she were trying to have it impale his eye before announcing that they were going to the Three Broomsticks later in a tone that held no room for wiggling out. Then she stormed off without saying anything else and Bray probably would have never known that Ellie was involve if he hadn't looked at the note tossed at him. Geeze, that woman was becoming increasingly annoying. In fact, both of them were.

Bray stood up, but not in the flowing way of a normal, healthy teenager. It was shaky, and heavily leaning on his left leg to relieve any pressure from his right. His jaw clenched into a pained expression as he realized that he had been sitting reading for far too long. Lately, that's become a past time of his. Sitting in his dorm reading since it didn't involve walking too far, and skipping out on some of his prefect duties. Anyone to sneak out at night with all these weird happenings was out of their mind, and he wasn't going to aggravate his injury just for their benefit.

Bandages were wrapped tightly around his upper thigh, the medical care done completely by himself since everyone else refused to help him, and his jeans were slightly looser than normal for his own comfort. Not particularly caring about his appearance, Bray pulled on a simple polo before going to find Fay somewhere in the common room. Which, of course, she wasn't in because she was taking the time to get ready that all girls do. Grumbling and sitting on the couch, it wasn't long before he could tell she was down by the general feeling that changed as she entered the room. Fake pleasantry, just like a veela.

The walk there was quite tense and filled with conversations about the first things that came to mind to keep it from falling to silence. Neither of them were really interested in what the other was saying, partly because they were falling apart and partly because they were talking about basically nothing.

"You're limping."
"Yeah, I am.. anyway, that word's not German. Someone was trying to fool you. Not that that is particularly difficult."

There was a sign that the old Fay he used to know was still in there, but Bray had no patience for her any more. He would much rather get to the Three Broomsticks, have a butterbeer with Ellie, then go back to his room for a couple days straight.

[ Crappy post : G-modded them a bit since we haven't rped in forever, ally xD
don't know of an injury? Read "Raining Cats and Dogs" ]

[Felicity Locke]

Everything and everybody was changing, it was frightening. Felicity could see the different mannerisms people had now, especially Bray. He had come to her one day, raving about an attack and trying to show her what happened. Fay began to worry in her usual way: that had not changed. But, when Bray was trying to show her the supposed wound, there was nothing there. And when Fay told him that, he accused her of being uncaring and limped away. He was going crazy, and it frightened her more that she didn’t care as much as she should.

Felicity had been taking more care in her appearance, and reveled in the fact that she was turning heads. A smile here, a hair flip there, it was much too easy. She always had a constant company with someone, generally a guy, and found she loved the constant attention she was receiving. It was completely unlike her, like Christi had taken her place. There were still some traits about her that made her Fay, but they were overshadowed by her veela personality. Felicity Locke was hardly herself anymore. What was happening to everyone?

Ellie had come to Fay one day talking about meeting at Three Broomsticks. Felicity agreed in an instant. Ellie’s company had not ceased to lift her spirits, even if she was changing. Of course, Fay would have to be the one to tell Bray. She charged into his room in her usual way. But, seeing him just sitting down reading somehow angered her. That was not Bray. He didn’t just sit and read. He slacked off, hunted small animals then showed her to just see her squeal. This boy was defeated. In a more violent way than normal, she flung the note at him and left.

Once in her dorm, Felicity spent several minutes just trying to decide what to change into. Finally, she just chose a light blue—low cut—sweater with skinny jeans and some flats. Her hair was curled and left to hang down to frame her pale face. She skipped down the stairs to meet Bray and forced a smile to her lips to try to lift his sour mood. It didn’t seem to work. He got up shakily, and didn’t say anything to her when they started walking. Fay made small comments, trying to keep them from lapsing into an awkward silence, which would finally prove that they had actually grown apart.

“You’re limping.”

He wasn’t hurt, she knew that, she saw it. But there he was, limping. Bray voided the comment by making one of his own. It was still sarcastic, but not Bray sarcastic. Her gaze lingered on his ‘bum’ leg for a moment, before she threw in a small comment about their topic. The old Fay and Bray would’ve been debating heatedly over something stupid to prove themselves right. Normally, she would’ve shot back with an equally sarcastic comment on her own, but they continued to talk about a topic she barely cared about.

Fay opened the door to Three Broomsticks and held it open for Bray. After he had safely limped into the building, she let the door slam close and went to looking for Ellie. She could always spot the Puff in a crowd. Felicity made her way over to the table—with one hand curved around Bray’s wrist to lead him to her—and sat down next to the girl. “Hey Ellie, sorry we’re late. My hair was being impossible again.” She grinned as she spoke, trying to keep the atmosphere light.

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie peeked behind her, looking around, making sure that no one was starring at her. She huddled, trying to make herself look smaller. She felt weird, sitting alone at the table. The Three Broomsticks was a familiar setting and yet, Ellie didn't feel safe. She was frightened. She decided that if Fay or Bray didn't show up, she would leave, and go back to the common room.

Ellie was happy to see Fay's face coming near her. The Hufflepuff shook her fears, and didn't tell either one of the feelings she had just been feeling. "Hair?" Ellie said, scrunching her nose, as Bray came into view. When did Fay care about her hair? Ellie was usually the one fussing about her messy waves and her wardrobe. Ellie pushed past her thoughts as Bray was pulled to the table. He was limping. Ellie jumped up and got the seat ready for him.

"Oh my gosh! Bray, what happened, your limping rally bad!!" Ellie asked, horrified that she might have missed Bray being hurt. Ellie's eyes welled up with tears as she took her seat again. She picked up her cup and sipped it, calming down. She cleared her throat and look at her friends. "Fay, you look..." Ellie looked at the low cut shirt and the curls. This wasn't her Fay, her eyes welled up again. "You look nice." She forced out. What was wrong with her?

[Bradyn Reed]

Bray was used to getting odd looks. He has been getting them ever since the world figure out that he was peculiarly sarcastic, or that he was always in the presence of a veela. But the looks of nowadays seemed much more strange. More jealous that he was walking next to Fay, more mocking that he was limping to an invisible pain. The general looks were more hostile and made him uncomfortable when paired with a conversation that was quickly going nowhere. By the time they had reached Hogsmeade it was basically silent between them.

At that, Bray just characteristically rolled his eyes about her comment on her hair being impossible, like it was in an outright battle to look bad. Hell, veela hair probably looked good by nature, so what was she on about? He was about to sit down without much of a comment when Ellie suddenly felt the need to freak out and start nearly sobbing. "Uh... I'm alright, just bummed my leg when I was on one of my prefect duties." He probably would've elaborated on the story and mentioned the words Erys Grace, demonic dogs, and dungeons if that wasn't likely to make her cry. Instead he just sat down next to her but leaned away a little bit. He wasn't the best at dealing with emotional girls and would much rather remove himself from the situation.

As soon as his personal welfare was out of the way, it seemed that Ellie needed to fret over Fay now. Now that would be a chore, there was too much to say. "What, are you jealous?" Bray said a little too sharply, not really noticing that it was even said out loud. As soon as he realized it, his eye twitched slightly in annoyance when he realized he'd have to patch up that comment. "Er.. you look nice too, Ellie." He said in too awkward of a manner to be natural or genuine before subconsciously rubbing the sore spot on his leg that was throbbing from the walk.

It seemed that this little meeting wasn't going to go well. Who ever came up with this ingenious idea should be killing cursed.

[Felicity Locke]

While Bray was dealing with hostile looks and annoying conversations that centered around his fake injury, Felicity was busy grinning at men who happened to turn their heads when she passed by. The attention she was getting lately was astounding, but maybe that was because she seemed to be more…charmful than normal? That certainly wasn’t a word, but it worked well to describe what was happening to her. Veelas always had a natural charm to attract men, or at least turn their head. With Fay, it was usually suppressed, but apparently not anymore.

She saw that eye roll. Felicity shot a glare over to Bray. Just because he didn’t care how he looked didn’t mean he had to go mocking her for it. She clenched her jaw for a moment, before returning to looking at Ellie. “Yea. I had to look presentable if I was going to see you! Only the best for the best right?” She grinned again, letting out a light laugh. Fay wouldn’t let a grumpy puss ruin her day.

Felicity noticed, though only barely, the tears that gathered in Ellie’s eyes. There was a small pang of guilt, though she couldn’t understand why. But, she didn’t dwell on the fact because the subject had once again turned to her. Before she could respond to thank the Puff, Bray cut in with an unusually harsh comment. She turned on him, glaring all the while. “No need to be so rude. She was just making a comment.”

And them, the last straw finally hit. Bray rubbed the fake sore spot on his leg and winced. Felicity slammed her hands on the table and stood up suddenly, sending her chair toppling over. “What the hell is your problem? You’re not hurt at all! There’s nothing there! So stop pretending to try to get attention.” The outburst was sudden, and it didn’t seem like it was going to stop either. All that pent up frustration had to get out what way or another.

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie was obviously feeling rather emotional. Something within her was just pulling her down, making her eyes just well up instantaneously. Ellie could hear herself yelling deep down inside somewhere; "What the hell are you doing? Crying? You hate to cry? You big baby!!" Thins just made Ellie feel worse and more likely to burst a damn.

Ellie wiped away her initial mist of the eye and handed Bray a butterbeer. "Oh my god, are you sure you're ok? I mean I had a run in myself." Ellie said, pushing away her bangs, showing them a scarred over deep cut from the hallway collapsing as she and Professor Hubbles fought the armor. "But, I'm fine, but you..." Ellie thought of Bray never being able to walk normally again, and instantly, she needed a tissue.

Ellie composed herself. Fay seemed to be really showing off her goodies. Ellie heard a murmured remark from Bray. Ellie instantly turned to him. "I..no..jealous? Why would you say that?" Ellie said, her once composed self completely melting. Fay barked at Bray, and Ellie couldn't stop these tears. Bray had been mean to Ellie before, but Ellie had felt that she always sort of deserved it. However, this was the last straw.

Ellie could see fay was trying to comfort her, but the sixth year just sat there, tearing. Then Fay seemed to explode. Ellie's sobs became caught in her throat. She looked from Fay to Bray and down to Bray's leg. "What?" Ellie squeaked. She couldn't handle the yelling. More tears came to her eyes, and she immediately lost all control.

[Bradyn Reed]

"Oh did you? I'm not surprised, everyone has." He said somewhat disinterestedly. It wasn't like she was attacked by filthy, disgusting dogs. Ugh, the thought of it made him cringe.

This girly little talk was starting to annoy him. Sure, Fay complimented people but she never expected compliments and ran around flaunting off herself in skimpy clothes and throwing her hair all over the place. It was disgusting. He was grossed out and Bray wanted it to stop immediately. His rough tone should've told her that, since they were always on the same page as each other since they were kids. But all he got was a harsh stare and a little scolding, like he was some naughty little boy. What the hell? And then, to make things worse, she gave Ellie the look. The feminine 'oh no he didn't' look.

Then, she snapped. His jaw fell open in a mixture of shock and anger, a retort was hot on his lips but when his voice tried to come all he got was a pathetic squeak before his eyes began to water. This was his best friend? The one he told everything? And she didn't even believe him, she was just sitting there calling him a liar. And Ellie believed every word -- she would be a fool if she didn't. He was the typical pathological liar, he was the boy who cried wolf.

The one that no one would save.

Blinking a few times and trying to remove any expression from his face, he pushed back his butterbeer before standing up. "It's clear neither of you want me here so I'll just go." He said as monotonously as possible to try and keep his voice from cracking.

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie had an inkling on the walk over that this probably wasn't the greatest idea. She had all the high hopes in the world that the three of them could just put aside everything and pick up where they left off.

It became apparently Ellie in the first few minutes that while Ellie had been absent from the group, Fay and Bray had eaten each other apart. They bickered harshly, not their normal play fighting which was all jokes. Fay had become somewhat stuck up, and Bray, Ellie couldn't even imagine what had happened to Bray. He was not the same, and Ellie hated him in that moment.

Ellie was unsure of what to say, so she just sat there, her hands folding around her butterbeer. Ellie looked up when Fay snapped. Ellie looked at Fay and then at Bray, and then at Bray's leg. The tears were welling in her eyes. She wasn't sure if she was crying for Fay's outburst, or Bray's mental inability to see that he was perfectly fine, or herself for crying in the first place. Either way, within seconds, Ellie's butterbeer was sprinkled with salt tears.

Bray stood. Ellie looked up at him. Her pain was obvious in her eyes. She stood also, her chair making a loud scrap on the wooden floor of the pub. "No." Ellie said, her voice completely shaky as though someone was behind her physically shaking her. She cleared her throat. "No." She said again. "Don't leave." She looked at him, and then at Fay. She stood stern, all her stress locked in her straight shoulders. "Please." She said, as she stood like a statue, but her face melted into more silent tears. Ellie couldn't give him a reason not to storm out of the door and into the streets of Hogsmeade, but she just needed him to stay.

Ellie was hoping that he would snap out of it and walk over, without a limp, arms stretched toward her, gathering her in a hug. However, Ellie knew that would never happen. That time was over. She and Bray were over, and it looked as though Bray and Fay were over. Nothing was the same. Everything had changed.