Closed Changes Between Us

[Emma van Houten]

The past few weeks had seemed like a whirlwind for Emma. The whole incident in the forest still made her feel weird when she thought back on it, losing several days had made her feel strangely disoriented, especially since so much had changed when she had finally opened her eyes again. She then had somehow made it through her exams and graduated, throwing herself straight into helping Lars plan his wedding. But now that that had all died down a bit, Emma had a lot of time to think. She hated thinking. It became increasingly obvious to her that she really, really missed Lysander. She had tried to hold onto her anger at him so she wouldn't miss him, but it wasn't helping. She knew he was probably upset she hadn't responded to his letters, but she had needed time. Time she now had.

Emma hadn't told anyone what she was planning to do today. She knew Iris would have insisted on accompanying her, and she didn't want that. It wasn't like Lysander could set another basilisk on him from his house anyway, there was no reason she couldn't go visit him. Emma felt strange, standing in front of his house. Finally, after hesitating for a long moment, Emma rang the doorbell, her ears straining for any sound on the other side of the door.

 

[Lysander Summers]

While the trials had come and gone, the whole basilisk situation still didn't quite feel over for Lysander. He'd gotten through perhaps the worst of it - he was free of Azkaban, at least, but not of the social consequences of his actions. Those still followed him. He could deal with the legal consequences, and almost enjoyed the distraction community services provided him, but losing a good portion of his friends, the way people looked at him now, how they acted, it was all different, and proving difficult to bear. His house arrest had been lifted, but outside of work, he wasn't going out often, if he could avoid it. The wizarding community had always been small compared to the rest of the world, but people he didn't even know knew who he was. Parents of students he could have killed spared him withering looks. It was easier to stay home.

The doorbell chimed. It hadn't been too uncommon to hear lately. Lysander had had his fill of people stopping by in the past few weeks. Someone had gone so far as to egg the house - whether as a nod to the fact he'd hatched the basilisk with one, or just some sh*tty uncreative person, he didn't know. He waited a beat, though with neither of his parents home, he'd either have to answer, or hope whoever it was got bored and went away. Deciding it wasn't worth ignoring it on the off-chance his probationary office was stopping by, he reluctantly made his way to the door, and turned the handle to open it.

The door had only been opened a fraction, enough for him to poke half his face through, yet Lysander paled at the sight on the other side. Emma. There she was, standing on his porch. Alive. Breathing. Moving. Very much unpetrified. He'd spent so many nights picturing the last time he'd seen her in the flesh. The stillness to her expression had occupied every memory he'd had of her, until he couldn't remember what she'd looked like when she'd smiled, or frowned. It was all that one same expression, over and over. To see her like this, in person for the first time in what felt like a long time, he almost couldn't believe it was her. "I-" He started, though words failed him. What could he say? Hello? I'm sorry? He'd tried to say so much already, letter after letter he'd sent, without a single response. All he could do now was stand there and stare, his face a mixture of disbelief and...fear? Fear of what she had to say, after everything that had happened.​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber walked past lalala

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma waited a few moments, wondering if anyone was even home. Was Lysander even allowed out of his house? Would he open the door for anyone? She guessed there had probably been journalists at his door, asking for his story. Or maybe his dad would open the door, that wouldn't be so bad. Emma knew Professor Summers from her time at Hogwarts, though she had heard rumors he was leaving his position at the end of last year. For some reason, Emma hoped that wasn't true. She felt strangely responsible for the situation, even if she knew that was a little silly. She held her breath when she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. Even though she knew why she was here, she was still a little stunned by the sight of Lysander as the door opened. The door was only opened a bit, so she couldn't see him very well, but what she saw of his face was enough to make her forget everything she had prepared to say. She opened and closed her mouth as the awkward silence stretched between them. Then, she realized she had to say something, anything. "Hi." She managed, attempting a smile. "Could I... come in?"

 

[Lysander Summers]

The moments that stretched out were painful. Lysander was torn between wishing he hadn't opened the door in the first place, and now not wanting to close it again in case Emma disappeared. "Hi." He repeated back to her with some hesitation. He wasn't sure how long he could have continued to stand there without speaking - probably too long. He paused at her question, briefly checking over his shoulder for...nothing, really. An excuse to delay the conversation, perhaps. "Okay, yeah. Um, yeah, come in." He said, pulling the door the rest of the way open and stepping back to give her room to enter. And to put some space between them. He should have been happy to see her - he was, but nothing about this felt normal. All he could think about was the situation he'd put her in. The fact he'd gotten his best friend petrified, and now he had to face that in person. He loitered in the foyer momentarily, looking around as if unsure of the layout of his own home. "Do you...need anything? Like, a water, or, or something." He asked lamely. It wasn't as if this were the first time he'd had friends over to entertain - Kas was living here now, yet somehow all knowledge of hosting a guest felt like it had left him, and he grasped uselessly at what he should be doing.​

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma wasn't sure who Lysander was looking for when he glanced inside, was he worried his dad would see her? Surely Professor Summers wouldn't mind her visiting, right? She wasn't sure how Lysander's dad felt about the whole incident. All she knew is that he quit at school soon after, which had been somewhat alarming. Emma felt a vague sense of guilt about it, even though she didn't think it was actually her fault. She stepped into Lysander's house, feeling frustrated by the awkwardness between them. She had visited Lysander tons of times, why did this feel so different? "Water would be nice." Emma said in response to his question. "I... I just wanted to talk, is that okay?"

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander almost didn't expect Emma to actually come in from the doorstep, but she did, and he gingerly closed the door behind her, slowly, as if to give her the opportunity to change her mind. He wouldn't have blamed her. He still wasn't sure if her being here was a good thing, after what had felt like so long without hearing a word, or if it was going to somehow make things worse. "Cool. Well, uh, the couch is over there, if you want to sit down." He offered, pointing the way toward the loungeroom despite the fact Emma had been here before. Numerous times. She knew exactly where the couch was. He didn't need to tell her, but the words sort of...spilled out without him having the chance to think about them. "I'll be right back." He continued, eager to escape into the kitchen to process, if just for a moment. Emma turning up today, or any day in the near future had not been something he'd been prepared for.

Glasses of water in hand, Lysander returned shortly after and set one down in front of Emma, before taking his own seat, sitting a little stiffly on the edge. He could only assume she'd come to talk about the fact he'd gotten her petrified. The thought left his mouth dry, and he downed his own water a little too quickly. He coughed, and put his empty glass to the side. "Sorry." He muttered, pausing for a moment. "So I, uh, I wrote you letters. After everything...you know. Happened." He said. It was a question to know whether she'd actually gotten them, though he left it unsaid. Surely she had, right?​

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma absolutely hated the awkwardness between them. She tried to lighten the mood as Lysander pointed out the couch. "Right, didn't move I see." She said, attempting for a smile. She wasn't sure if the joke landed, things still felt strange. She sat down as Lysander headed back, unsure what to do with her hands for a moment. She glanced at Lysander as he returned, taking a glass of water from him with a quiet thanks. She winced slightly when he mentioned the letters. "I know." She said, forcing herself not to look away from him. "I read them, I'm sorry for not writing back. I was kind of- no, pretty pissed off." She admitted. "Mostly because you were gone. You know, when I woke up." She sighed, putting her glass of water down. "Look, can I just ask... why didn't you tell me? You know I would've had your back. Right?"

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander had known, even if he didn't want to admit it, that Emma must have gotten his letters, even before she confirmed it. They hadn't started to simply vanish into thin air, coincidentally after everything had gone down the way it had. He was quiet as she spoke, stung by the fact she was madder that he wasn't there when she recovered, instead of being furious he'd gotten her petrified in the first place. He'd wanted to be there, to know she was safe with his own two eyes. It had driven him crazy waiting for any sort of news. But her question surprised him. Of course he hadn't told her, though he'd never thought about it as keeping a secret from her. It was just something he'd kept for himself, from everyone. "I...I don't know, I mean, it was crazy illegal, you know? I didn't really think it was a good idea to get anyone else involved. I had a whole plan, I thought I had it all figured out on my own, and, well...we know how that turned out. Maybe I should have told you. I don't know." He said. There was no telling just how much more trouble he might have gotten her into if she'd known all along. He'd already done so much damage without trying to involve her in it. Would she have been safer knowing? It was times like this that he envied seers. "I didn't tell anyone, you know that, right? Not even Kas, until he - the basilisk, I mean - it hatched, and Kas can talk to snakes, so, yeah, I panicked." He said. "If I could redo it, I'd tell you right from the start. Then, I dunno, maybe things would have turned out better. Less of a mess. I'm sorry."​

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma knew, somewhere deep down, that she was hung up on silly things. She knew it shouldn't bother her this much that Lysander hadn't told her about the things he was doing, and that she probably should be bothered by him doing them in the first place. But she couldn't help how she was feeling, and Emma had always hated feeling left out. She listened as Lysander explained, frowning a bit as she realized Kas hadn't known about it. "I thought Kas knew." She admitted. "That's- I thought... you were doing this with him." She said, her frown deepening. "Why else expel him too?" She asked, crossing her arms. She had never liked Kas, and it was a strange relief to hear he hadn't gone out of his way to tell Kas and not tell her. She hesitated. "It's why I followed you." She finally admitted. "I saw you were going off together and I was jealous, I wanted to see what you were doing together." She paused, wrinkling her nose. "It even occurred to me that you might be sneaking off to make out or something in the forest. But I mostly worried you were just trying to hang out without me." She sighed, looking down. "I don't think telling me earlier would have helped." She admitted honestly. "I can't see how I could've made it any less of a mess. Honestly. Unless I told a teacher or something before things went wrong, but I wouldn't have done that. Never."