Catching Up Over Burnt Toast

[Silus Hollister]

Silus breathed in the fresh air of the lakefront, and knelt down on a soft patch of grass. He hadn't seen his favorite person in a long while, and without her company things weren't as lively or as good. Not long ago he had borrowed some firstie's owl and sent her a message asking her to meet him for a picnic.
He'd anxiously awaited a reply from her, and when he thought it wouldn't come, it finally did. She'd said yes. He was overjoyed.

Silus had put a good amount of thought to it. There wasn't a blanket he'd found to lay down, but he'd smuggled a cushion from the Ravenclaw common room for her to sit on. And for the food? That had been saved from breakfast. There was fruit, toast, eggs, ham, and a few other items held in a large basket beside him.
While he had successfully been able to keep all these things warm, the toast... It was mostly brown, and the edges were not far off of black.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

Over the past year, things between Lyra and Silus had grown back to normal. They had an easy friendship now, and Lyra felt comfortable with Silus. He hadn't made any further declarations of love to her since Valentine's last year, and she assumed he hadn't meant what he said. Silus had only been trying to get back at Lanithro, or that's what Lyra told herself. So, of course Lyra had immediately accepted when he had asked her to a picnic by the lake. He was one of her best friends.

There was a chill in the air that had come up in the last week or so but it wasn't unbearably cold yet. Lyra pulled on a Gryffindor quidditch jacket and headed down to the lakefront. She spotted him when she was still a little ways off. She saw the cushion and the picnic basket. Lyra grinned as she skipped over to him. "Silus! It's good to see you." The brunette hugged him before sitting herself down next to him. "What have you been up to lately? It's been awhile." she said with a grin to him.
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[Silus Hollister]

It wasn't long before Silus spotted a familiar figure a little ways over from where he sat. Just seeing the Gryffindor was enough to make his eyes brighten, and he thanked whoever was out there that he'd worked up enough spirit to invite her.

Her grin was absolutely contagious, and Silus felt warmth and happiness come back to him when she hugged him. "I'm glad you came." He said, unable to hide the cheerfulness in his voice.

It was such a simple phrase, but it dd him good to hear Lyra say that she was happy to see him. The Ravenclaw's feelings for her truthfully hadn't changed much since last year's -- particularly horrid -- Valentine's Day, but right now Silus was a good friend to Lyra, and that's what mattered to him the very most.

"Keeping out of trouble, of course." He said with a playful smirk. "And you?" He inquired, looking down at the bare earth in annoyance. He hadn't been able to ste- find a blanket anywhere. The ravenclaw shrugged off his cloak and spread it out in the ground as an attempt to use it as a substitute.
"Is it an authentic picnic without a blanket?"

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

"Of course I came." Lyra said, wondering why Silus would ever doubt that. They were friends. She had spent the day with James in Brightstone yesterday so he certainly wouldn't begrudge her time with Silus. As far as she knew, they had never had any issues. Lyra laughed and arched an eyebrow as Silus said he had bee keeping out of trouble. "I don't know that you know how to stay out of trouble." she teased, elbowing Silus in the ribs. Silus always earned her forgiveness easily, and she didn't judge when he did get in trouble. Trouble could definitely be fun. That sort of thinking was exactly why she wasn't a prefect. Her Aunt knew too well that she thrived on 'trouble'.

Lyra knew that she hadn't seen Silus as much this year as they both would have liked, but she did try to keep up their friendship. "I'm doing well. James and I went to Brightstone yesterday, so that was fun." she said casually. Her green eyes watched as Silus spread out his cloak as a blanket while she talked. Lyra grinned at him. "But we have a blanket now so it's a proper picnic." the brunette said with a wink towards her friend.
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[Silus Hollister]

Silus grinned before laughing as Lyra elbowed him in the ribs. He doubled over and tried to joke that he was in pain, but due to his fit of amusement it wasn't convincing in the slightest. "Safe to say you know me well." He said still grinning. It just came far too naturally for the Ravenclaw.

"Ah, that's nice... " Silus replied when hearing about Lyra and James' trip to Brightstone. He was very aware the two were a couple, and while he wasn't happy about it, he knew that ship wouldn't sail for long -- at least that's what he told himself. "Did he buy you ice cream?" He asked, trying to keep his voice pleasant.

"Only the 'properest' for you. He half teased with a playful smirk. Silus flipped open the lid to the basket and pulled off the two small plates and forks from the top -- also borrowed from breakfast. He laid them out, and smiled, taking in the day. It was a good one.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

Lyra laughed as Silus admitted she knew him well. It was true. He had been one of her first friends at Hogwarts though their first meeting hadn't gone all that well for Felix. She knew that the two boys still didn't enjoy each other, but she still looks loved them both. Lyra nodded her head to his question. "Naturally. James has been so good to me. We're really happy, Si." she said with a smile. It was true. Lyra was very happy with her current boyfriend. Other than Felix's obvious hate for him, things were perfect.

Sunlight hit Lyra's brunette hair, turning it into an auburn color. She loved the sunshine. Soon, winter would be here. Lyra loved the snow but she hated the feeling of being wet all the time. "Today was the perfect day for a picnic. I'm glad you invited me." she told him with a grin as he put a plate in front of her. "What did you manage to find for us?" she asked curiously.
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[Silus Hollister]

'James has been so good to me. We're really happy, Si.' The words replayed in Silus' head for a moment. Well at least the Gryffindor boy wasn't an ******* to everyone, he thought in a poor attempt to humor himself. The Ravenclaw had matured over throwing a series of massive tantrums everytime Lyra was happy with some other boy, but what he thought and felt inside had not changed at all.

He slipped a small smile at her nickname for him, and watched as the sunlight touched her hair. Silus had always admired the way hair seemed to constantly shift shades. From a chocolaty brown to different hues of auburn. As far as he knew, his own hair was tire black and kept that way. "That's good. You of all people deserve happiness." He said. The first statement has a half lie, but the last part he believed wholeheartedly.

Silus' eyes brightened at her words. "It is a perfect day...but you made it that way." He said in a joking tone, though he was serious. He smirked mischievously when she asked him what he had brought to eat, and moved the basket closer to her. "Half the breakfast table!" He announced while trying to hold back laughter.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

"Thank you. That means a lot." Lyra told him with a smile. She reached over and squeezed Silus's hand briefly. She meant it too. Silus was much kinder to her about James that Felix, who liked to disparage James whenever he had the chance. The Gryffindor girl had to admit that he really seemed much more grown up lately. The Ravenclaw was better at controlling his temper, and Lyra liked to think she had something to do with that whether or not that was actually true. He was certainly much better at being her friend.

Lyra grinned as Silus announced that he had brought breakfast treats outside. "I love breakfast, and I just so happened to miss it this morning. I woke up late." she said, happily. It was true that Lyra had been up too late the night before catching up on school work that she didn't wake up until the sun was well in the sky that morning. "So, what are you going to do over break?" she asked curiously.
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[Silus Hollister]

Silus smiled softly at Lyra as she slipped her petite hand over his and gave it a brief squeeze. Oddly, he felt a small bit of pride in his chest. Not long ago he would have been greatly angered by this whole scenario. The old him would have never accepted this, seeing it as a huge defeat. The Ravenclaw recognised that he had changed, and he knew it was because of her. He wondered what he'd be doing at this same moment if things had gone differently, or had he not met her at all. Probably provoking older students into jinxing his head so antlers would grow. Silus smirked amusedly at the thought, and looked back at Lyra

A huge smile broke across Silus' face as Lyra mentioned she loved breakfast. He arched a brow at her. "Lazy Lyra, that's no good at all." He teased scoldingly, knowing fully well she was probably over studying due to the OWLs coming closer. "I'll probably just hang around my hometown, stir up some mayhem." He replied to her question with a mischievous grin. "What about you?" Silus asked, trying to change the subject to a more pleasant one. His summer wasn't composed of merry times with family and friends like her's probably was.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

Lyra rolled her bright green eyes as Silus called her lazy. He was joking with her, and they both knew it. Laziness wasn't really a Lyra trait. Link, on the other hand....The brunette leaned over and picked up a piece of toast and some jam that she then began to spread onto the toast as she listened to Silus talk about his plans for the break. She believed him when he said that he was going to stir up mayhem; he was very good at that. Lyra knew that Silus didn't have a good life at home, and that his mother wasn't the kindest person though she didn't have all the details. The Gryffindor girl had grown up very differently than the Ravenclaw boy.

"I'm going to help my mom at Ollivander's and make a little extra money. Plus, James works there so I'll get to see him. That's how we got close last summer." Lyra told Silus, knowing she had never mentioned it before to him. "Other than that, I don't know. Things are different at home now that my mother has a new boyfriend." she said, taking a bite out of her toast.
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[Silus Hollister]

Silus bit his lip as Lyra' s hand went for the toast, cursing himself silently for not just flinging them off into the lake. The boy put off pointing out its very toasted state, and instead listened as the Gryffindor informed him of her break plans. He smiled proudly when she told him she'd be working with her mother at Ollivanders. Shortly afterwards he did his best to keep it from sliding into a grimace, hearing that James would be working alongside her. Apparently that was also how they'd gotten close the previous year. 'That incredibly lucky bastard...'

But maybe James really was the best for Lyra. It wasn't like Silus even had a job. As much as he wanted to think poorly of the Gryffindor boy, Jame's colors seemed to shine far brighter than his own.

"That's a very good idea. Do you know what to expect?" Silus asked, intrigued about his her job. He would have never admitted it, but he felt a bit jealous of her. The Ravenclaw wasn't very proud of how his life was amounting to be, and he figured he wouldn't be happy with the end results either. He honestly didn't know what to reply to Lyra's last statement on James, and was most pleased when the topic changed.

"Is he nice?" He asked. Lyra didn't seem all that happy about the situation, and Silus felt for her. Some of his worst moments in life came from men his mother acquainted herself with, but the Lyra's mother seemed to be a very smart and sensible woman. Silus figured she wouldn't allow a man to treat her or her children poorly, and he wondered what it would be like if his own mother cared like that.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

Lyra's bite of toast ended up tasting of burnt flavor more than the strawberry jam, but she really didn't mind it. It wasn't the first time she had eaten burnt toast, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She looked at the rest of what was in front of her and swapped the toast for a pastry that looked more appetizing. Lyra nodded her head at Silus as he asked her if she knew what to expect. "Yes. I've spent too many hours in Ollivander's I'm afraid. My mother has owned it my whole life. We went with her to the shop most days before we started Hogwarts. I just help first years find the wand that chooses them." the Gryffindor answered.

Lyra shrugged her shoulders. "Yes. At least he seems to be. He's a professional dueler or something." she said. She hadn't given much thought as to whether or not she liked Etienne. She didn't really know him all that well. Besides, she was still holding out hope that Carter would come home. "I just miss Carter. It feels like I'm being disloyal to him if I like Etienne too much." she said, feeling silly for saying it out loud. Carter wasn't her father, but he was the closest thing she had had in a long time.
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