Closed Family Matters

[Conan Elliott]

Conan absently chewed on the toast in one hand as his other free hand flicked through the copy of the Daily Prophet. Usually he wasn't much of a prophet reader, but one of the other Gryffindor's had left it on the table, so Conan decided he might as well have something to occupy his time while he ate the last of his breakfast. Though there was nothing really of interesting as he flicked through the main pages, pausing as he reached the sports articles in the back. And almost instantly he nearly choked on the mouthful he had as he saw an article on the Thundelarra Thunderers and their recent win. But that's not what made him choke, it was further down the article where the Prophet had gotten a short interview with Coach Derrick Elliott after the match. Promptly after reading that line, and properly swallowing his food, Conan closed the paper and angrily shoved it to the side. "You can have it."

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah had gotten a late start on her day but knew she'd be miserable if she tried to skip breakfast. She took a seat quickly and filled her plate with some eggs, bacon, and a few pieces of fruit. She also poured herself some tea and was momentarily distracted when a younger student passed her the sports section of the prophet. She smiled. "Oh thanks!" she said cheerfully and quickly scanned the headlines. That's when she suddenly remembered who the boy was. She had recognized his name during the sorting ceremony but had forgotten all about it as the night wore on. But with the interview with the Thunderers coach brought her curiousness rushing back. "You're Conan Elliot right? I noticed you during the sorting ceremony." Leah explained and held up the paper. "You're not related to Derrick Elliott by chance?" she asked nearly buzzing with excitement.

 

[Conan Elliott]

"No problem," he muttered as the girl thanked him. He didn't really think he deserved the thanks as it wasn't even his copy of the Prophet to begin with and he'd just borrowed it from whoever had left it laying on the table in the first place. But, surprisingly, the girl was talking to him again. She even remembered his name, Conan blinking stupidly at her with a piece of toast hanging out the side of his mouth. And then she made the link with his father and Conan instantly scowled. Why did anyone have to make that connection? So they shared the same surname. That was it. That was as far as the similarities went. Anyone could have the surname Elliott! "No," he huffed maybe a little too quickly, pulling the toast out of his mouth. Then a pause. "Well, technically yes. He's my biological dad. That's it. Why?"

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah waited excitedly for Conan's answer and when he said now she deflated slightly and figured it was a common enough last name. But it would have been cool if she had been correct. So she was rather shocked when the younger boy changed his answer. She inhaled and was nearly bursting with what she wanted to ask him about first. "Wow that's so cool." she gushed before anything else. She loved her dad but she was never really sure what he had done for a living. Now he was trying to write a novel which was interesting in it's own way but it was nothing compared to being a quidditch coach. She imagined long afternoons at practices and getting to know all the players personally. The games! He probably had the best seat's in the house! "So do you go to Thunderers games all the time? Are the players as cool as they look? Have you met Liam Waldgrave? I heard he went to this school?" she asked in a rush.

 

[Conan Elliott]

Well, Conan was would say that his day was well truly ruined now. He would have preferred no one made the connection between him and his dad. He would quite like the whole world to just pretend that his biological father didn't even exist. But no, of course the world wasn't going to do that for him. That one simple favour. "It's not cool," he muttered, rather feeling as though he had lost his appetite. And then the girl continued asking all these questions and Conan sunk a little further into his seat. He wanted this conversation to stop. He didn't want to be talking about his dad or quidditch or anything to do with either one of those subjects. "No, I've never been and I've never met any of them," and he didn't really want to change that, either. "My dad's been out of my life for years. He ditched when I was young." It was only recently he tried to waltz back into his life.

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah was practically holding her breath to hear Conan's answer and hoped he had some fun stories but his response was the last thing she had expected. Part of herself felt like she had stuck her hand in a trap and it had snapped close, now she was trying to pull it back as fast as she could. "I'm sorry." she blurted out, and she was sure her face was flush with embarrassment. She tried to comfort herself by telling herself that there was no way she could have known any of that. But the look on Conan's face made her stomach twist. "I had no idea." she said quietly. That much was obvious but she wasn't sure what else she could say.

 

[Conan Elliott]

When the girl apologized to him for something that very obviously wasn't her fault and didn't have anything to do with her, Conan inwardly cringed before exhaling slowly. Maybe he did feel a little bad for her now. Just a little. "Course you didn't know," it was not like it was public knowledge. As far as Conan was aware, his dad had never mentioned his relationship in any interviews or anything. And it was not like his Mama mentioned it at all, either. "You don't need to apologize," he also added with a small shift of his shoulder into a shrug. "It was ages ago. I'm over it." That was a bit of a lie, it was still a sensitive subject, but he didn't want to admit it right now. "Sorry I don't know anything you want to know about, or whatever."