what comes up when rain comes down?

[enigmaster]

Inter-Dimensional Pen Pals Omakes

Comments

[agoodname]

Uh-uh. [he shakes his head in the negative] She just said I should go look for you.

[enigmaster]

Right. Okay...

[He looks away again, staring ahead a little.]

Yeah, she... she was there. Um. Her and Professor Lupin and Professor Flitwick. I thought I was in trouble at first.

[agoodname]

But you weren't?

[enigmaster]

...No.

[He kinda wishes he had been.]

No, it was about, um... about Professor Lupin's class. A few days back.

[agoodname]

[. . . . . .] With the boggart?

[enigmaster]

...Yeah. [He still hasn't told Oswald about what he saw. Though he's sure that some people have talked about it. Speculated about it. He could tell, from the way some of the other Ravenclaw students kept glancing at him, even if they were already slowly losing interest in the matter.] Yeah. With the boggart.

[agoodname]

[Oswald would be lying if he said he wasn't really curious about what happened but...it seemed pretty upsetting to Edward, and he also never seemed to want to talk about it ever, so he hasn't asked yet.]

....so...if you weren't in trouble, what did they want?

[enigmaster]

They--

[He cuts himself off a little, swallowing nervously. The answer came almost as a reflex, because it's Oswald, and he should be able to tell Oswald anything, of course.

...He's not sure if this counts for that. So he has to think about it a little longer, before he actually answers.]

They wanted to know about... how things are going at home.

[agoodname]

...okay. [he sounds a little confused] Why...would they want to know that?

[enigmaster]

[Edward looks down, now. Kind of regretting saying anything, while at the same time a part of him does want to talk about it, so much. Maybe. Maybe not. He doesn't even know.] Because... Because, um... [He should just abort. He could think of an excuse, maybe, or just say he'd prefer not to talk about it and it'd work. But he just finds himself talking, for some reason.] The boggart... when it changed, for me, it... it turned into my dad.

[agoodname]

[that...makes Oswald's stomach twist into knots, suddenly feeling all tied up in nerves and dread. There are certain..."open secrets" in the Slytherin House. Things they don't talk about, but word gets around nevertheless. He swallows, then, sucking in a small breath] Is...is your dad pretty scary, then?

[enigmaster]

[Edward's a little quiet. Pulling at his sleeve, making sure it's covering his arm enough. There aren't any bruises to hide - they've faded, now, from summer vacation - but it's a force of habit.]

...I guess.

[agoodname]

[Oswald scoots a little closer, just so their sides are pressed together a little. He's quiet for a moment.]

...um....why?

[enigmaster]

...I don't know. [Yes, he does. Perfect recall won't ever let him forget. He thinks back to the bruises, the screaming, the sound of breaking glass far too close to his head.] He... He yells a lot, I guess. I mean, he... you know, he's got a lot on his mind and stuff, so...

...It's no big deal, though. I mean, it's... it's nothing weird.

It's just... normal stuff.

[agoodname]

[again, a frown. Thinking, and a bit of confusion] ...my mom doesn't yell at me. Well--[he pauses, thinking]--she yelled at me once, because I broke her favorite teacup. But she said sorry after. [....] Does your dad say sorry when he yells at you?

[enigmaster]

No?

[Edward sounds confused at the very thought. His dad would never apologize, not in a million years. It's a ridiculous thing to even think about.]

No, he doesn't ever-- I mean, why would he?

[agoodname]

Because...yelling at someone is...it's not nice? [I mean, understatement] You usually only do it when you're mad at someone. And even then, you usually apologize later.

[enigmaster]

My dad doesn't-- That's not how things work, in my family. And he's... mad at me, a lot.

[...]

It's usually my fault, anyway, so...

[agoodname]

How...why is he mad at you? [he's...confused? by this? it's Edward] You're not...are you constantly smashing tea cups or something?

[enigmaster]

[And for Edward, it just makes sense. It's how things always have been, so of course there must be some logical reason for it. Even if... maybe he doesn't understand it, entirely.] No, but... I... [And he doesn't know how to explain it, either. Not in any way that makes sense logically.] I just bother him and... Look, it doesn't matter...

[agoodname]

You bother him? [Oswald sounds very confused now] That's not a reason to yell at someone...

[he leans into Edward's side just a little bit]

[enigmaster]

It... No, it... It makes more sense when...

[He can't really manage to look at Oswald, though.]

Listen, like I said, it doesn't matter. Just... forget about it.

[agoodname]

[....it sounds all wrong. Why is Edward's dad yelling at him that much? Why would he do that?]

...okay. [tentatively, Oswald's going to reach out and put an arm around his shoulders]

[enigmaster]

[Edward stiffens ever so slightly, at first. But then he leans against Oswald a little himself, now.]

The whole thing's just... stupid.

[agoodname]

[he feels a bit sick with all this, even as he pulls Edward a bit closer against his side, gently.]

....yeah. [he answers almost hesitantly.