Closed Back at the Beginning

[Lars van Houten]

It was the day after the sorting ceremony and opening feast, and Lars was sitting at breakfast as someone passed him his schedule. He read it over, then grabbed a pencil and started doodling on the edges of it. He would have a few subjects this semester, like Muggle Studies. He hoped it wouldn't be very difficult to follow it all. He doodled a few flowers, then glanced around to see if he spotted any classmates he could follow to class later. He spotted Sophie Elliston nearby, and gave her a small smile. "Hey." He said. "Did you have good break, Sophie?" He asked her quietly. They hadn't really talked much lately, but he liked the girl and wanted to catch up with her.

 

[Sophie Elliston]

For once, Sophie did not feel excited about coming back to Hogwarts for another year. Sure enough, it would get her out of the house that held so many memories for her, but lately she hadn't been feeling anything at all, and somehow this didn't bother her. Verity wasn't much help and Sophie didn't know if she ever would be. It was pointless. Talking to someone did nothing. Sophie just wanted it all to end. She sat at the breakfast table that morning staring at the piece of toast in front of her, not touching it. She didn't feel like eating and knew that she had lost a few pounds, but did not care. As a voice sounded, she looked up to find Lars. Sophie liked Lars and was happy to see him, but kept a straight face as she responded to him. "Yeah." she said simply with a shrug. She knew that he had received the prefect position, and so thought a congratulations wouldn't hurt. "That's a nice badge." she told him, gesturing to it on the front of his robes.

 

[Lars van Houten]

There was something different about Sophie, which Lars only noticed now that he was talking to her. He hoped he wasn't bothering her, and he gave her a hesitant smile, hoping she would return it. He blushed as she mentioned his badge, self-consciously touching it and adjusting it on his robes. "Oh, thanks." He muttered. "I didn't expect it, really." He mumbled awkwardly. "I hope I won't disappoint anyone." He admitted a little nervously, glancing at the staff table where Professor Josephs was. He sighed, then turned his attention back to Sophie. "They made me co-captain of the team too." He admitted, almost looking embarrassed about it.

 

[Sophie Elliston]

Sophie knew that Lars was trying to be nice to her and she couldn't help but be grateful for that. Lars was such a good friend and Sophie didn't want to scare him away, but opening herself up and showing her emotions was the last thing that she wanted to do. She felt like she would've exploded if she showed any sort of emotion towards him, and tried her best to keep it as casual as possible, even though it was much harder now than ever before. "I expected it. You won't disappoint anyone." Sophie told him reassuringly, giving him a small smile. Lars was the perfect fit for a prefect, and the Head of House would have to be stupid not to give it to him. As he mentioned quidditch, Sophie could feel herself become tense. She quit quidditch last year, not feeling like she could ever play again despite how much she liked the sport. But she was glad that Lars had received the co-captain position and no one else. It meant that perhaps Ravenclaw had a shot at winning. "That's good. Quidditch is good." she told him simply, trying her best to show how much she cared. She wouldn't have said anything otherwise. "Does that mean you'll be captain once the current one leaves?"

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars blushed at Sophie's assurance, resisting the urge to ask how she knew he wouldn't. "Thanks." He said instead, giving her a shy smile. He agreed with her about Quidditch, but sighed. He shook his head at the next question, figuring that she hadn't really kept up with the team. "Minnie and I are both new captains together." He explained. "She's in fourth year, so I'll be graduating before her." He added. "She's good, very analytical and smart. I think she'll help the team win a lot." He said a little nervously. He wasn't so sure about his own contributions. "Do you miss it?" He asked quietly, remembering she had been on the team.

 

[Sophie Elliston]

Sophie listened as Lars explained the current situation of quidditch. It was disappointing that Lars would be graduating before the other co-captain, and the Ravenclaw just nodded as he said that, not wishing to say much else on the subject. However, he asked her if she missed quidditch, and Sophie shot back quickly. "No." she said, almost defensively. She didn't want to admit that she had missed being an important role on the team, she didn't want to admit that she liked feeling as though she meant something to someone and as though she really was important, and so she wasn't going to tell Lars the truth. After all, she could barely tell Verity the truth, whom she knew was only trying to help because it was her job. "I'm not good enough for quidditch anyway." Sophie told her friend with a shrug. "We didn't win many games when I was on the team." She knew she was lying and so instantly stopped talking about quidditch and changed the subject. "Are you ready for the OWL exams? Do you think they'll be hard?"

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars winced a bit at Sophie's harsh tone as she said no. He nodded quickly, wishing immediately he hadn't brought it up. He wondered if something had happened on the team that made her stop, something he had been completely oblivious to. It wouldn't be the first time he had been oblivious to something happening right under his nose. He faltered at her next words. "You're good, I remember you playing." He said, and he shrugged at her next words. "We.. haven't won many games since you left, either." He admitted. "The Ravenclaw team hasn't done very well over the past years, that wasn't your fault." He said, glancing around. "But we're really going to try this year, Minnie has all the strategies." He told her. The abrupt change in topic threw him a bit, but he shrugged. "I... think I'll do okay, I hope." He said uncertainly. "I remember Fleur having to study a lot." He said. "They're probably pretty hard."