Closed Kicking Up Dirt

[Freya Song]

Freya had been attempting to drop hints about magic for her brother all holidays, but somehow he hadn't picked up on any of them. She supposed that he'd just started tuning her nonsense out after a while so anything real slipped on by, which was usually her intent, but in this case it had frustrated her. She was beginning to consider the angle that perhaps she didn't actually want to tell Soren that she was a witch, and just keep the whole affair to herself until the end of time. Freya had people she cared about at Hogwarts, reluctant as she was to admit it, and the selfish six-year-old part of her soul didn't want to share.

She headed down to the gardens, like she often did when she wanted to think but wasn't feeling melancholy enough to stare blankly into the lake for hours. The creeping realisation that this was her last year at Hogwarts was making her want to curl in on herself in a way that was totally fine and not bothering her at all. Freya was going to have to make a choice about what she was going to do once she graduated, and she couldn't help but feel like she was going to have to do it all alone. Eventually her deception was going to be bigger than forcing one of her housemates to babysit her pet fairy so her brother wouldn't see it. Connor and Kas had whatever it was going on between them - Freya was trying really hard not to think about it in case her own feelings of being left behind tangled into the mix, and surely neither of them would want to be saddled with her presence once their forced proximity ended. At least, she figured she could always make the first move of disappearing into the void and ghosting everyone the second they graduated.

 

[Connor Holland]

Every time Connor thought the list of people who disliked him couldn't get any longer, another miracle seemed to happen. Now it was Linden of all people. He had always thought of the Keeper as a friend, and certainly a good teammate. It was hard not to dwell on the thought that the younger boy was seeing through his facade, had come to the same conclusion as Connor that he didn't actually deserve to be the captain, and was doing his best to take the job out from under him. But Connor had a year of captaining under his belt now, and he wasn't going to let someone push him around. He couldn't afford to, not with how few people in the school respected or liked him as it stood.

Luckily for Connor, there were a precious few people he was actually certain did like him, and a rush of relief ran through him as on his walk he spotted the person he was most certain about. Through every stupid fight and drama of his dumb, idiot Hogwarts life, Freya had been there. As prickly as she could be, Freya had never once wavered in supporting him, their relationship had never been complicated, it was just the two of them, as they should be. So when he caught sight of Freya he made a beeline for her, relishing the chance to get one over on her for once as he crept up behind Freya and wrapped his arms around her waist, scooping her easily off the ground in a tight hug. "Freyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, I missed youuuuuuuuu..." Connor whined, setting her feet back on the ground after a moment but maintaining the hug, resting his chin gently on her shoulder. "Did you have a good holiday?"

 

[Freya Song]

Freya yelped as she found herself in the air, but her shocked expression quickly turned into a wide grin as she realised it was Connor. She kicked her legs in mock anger, offended on behalf of small people everywhere until she was safely back on the ground. "Aw, missed you too, marshmallow." Admitting it was immediately embarrassing, but Freya didn't think Connor had any room to judge her for being a sap. She ruffled his hair before pulling away from the hug, grabbing onto one of Connor's hands and swinging her arm happily. "Told my brother I got accepted into music college, so now I gotta learn to play an instrument." Freya laughed lightly. She liked that problem. It was small and her ruse could easily be concealed by picking up a guitar at some point, which was also a very good distraction. "What about you, did you survive alright without me?" she teased.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor couldn't help beaming at the nickname, relasing Freya when she pulled away but only smiling brighter when she took his hand instead. "Hmmm, I think you should get really into the tuba." He said, after a moment's consideration. "You could follow people around making sound effects while they're going about their business." He added, thinking that seemed like the most enticing aspect of music for Freya. "Or you could play violin and sneak around playing horror strings when people don't expect you." He shrugged when Freya asked how he had been. "My holidays were good. Still a bit weird having Minnie at home, and... Eric having a job. Growing up is too much."

 

[Freya Song]

Freya nodded in consideration. Both the tuba and violin had merit, but her heart was telling her to go towards the bagpipes. They were loud, dramatic, and nobody would be able to tell if she sucked unless they were unfortunate enough to also play the instrument. She grimaced sympathetically at Connor. "Watch out, kiddo, soon it's gonna be us with the jobs and careers." Freya laughed. "We'll be grey-haired and yelling at children to get off our lawn before you know it." She realised she was missing a golden opportunity to harass the first years over her new pre-elderly status. She'd have to look into that - maybe even start carrying around a purse of totally-not-hexed grandma candies to hand out to the young 'uns.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor pulled a face at Freya's words, not really wanting to think about it. "Ugh, don't remind me." He commented, head falling back. "I have no idea what I'm gonna do after school. Think Zelda will just let me hide in the back room of Vibez carrying boxes forever?" It was only half a joke, as Connor was fairly sure Zelda would let him live in the back of the shop if he asked really nicely. She was certainly nice enough. But working at Vibez was just a job, Connor knew he wanted a career somehow. He just had no idea what it ought to be.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya laughed, amused at the image of Connor building a nest out of cardboard boxes in a storage room. "With your illustrious schooling career, I'm sure something will turn up." she said, hoping she sounded supportive and not jealous. She'd always thought Connor was very good at everything he did, so Freya had faith he'd trip and fall into a successful life path. "Or, you could come open a flower shop with me and see how long we could get away with selling carnivorous plants before the wizard cops show up," she suggested, elbowing Connor in the ribs. It was an entirely non-serious plan, however Freya would do it in a heartbeat if Connor agreed.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice when he laughed, shrugging slightly. "I hope so." He grumbled, though his mood brightened slightly at her suggestion. It almost sounded viable. "I mean, I've actually... kind of considered going to school to become a florist." He said hesitantly, voicing the thought for the first time. "Not the kind who sells carnivorous plants." He added, giving her a sharp look. "But you're welcome to help out with entirely unharmful ribbon placement if I do wind up a florist."

 

[Freya Song]

Freya hummed thoughtfully. She'd assumed that Connor would go on to some grand and exciting magical career, but she could see floristry suiting him. "I'm sure I could be trusted to arrange some perfectly lovely daffodils without anybody being eaten," Freya smirked. Her expression softened as she examined Connor, thinking about a possible future where they tried that for real. "I think you'd be not terrible at it. I'd buy all my flowers from you." Freya shrugged. She liked the idea of opening a flower shop together, maybe even dragging Kas along, though she was hesitant to commit to anything herself in case it all fell apart.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor laughed slightly, raising an eye at her comment. "I don't know, I wouldn't put flesh-eating daffodils past you." He teased, smiling warmly. He was surprised to see her softening, and even more surprised to hear her actually support him. Connor was fairly sure he could count the amount of times he had seen Freya being sincere on one hand, and it always shocked him. "Well, you had better." He smiled, not wanting to mention the moment that had happened, in case he ruined it. "If I find you out at my flower-rivals shop it'll be flower-war."

 

[Freya Song]

Freya's chest had begun feeling that gross gooey sensation that happened whenever she spent too long talking to Connor without deflecting with a joke. It was a problem and made it hard for her to want to just vanish from everyone's lives after school. "In that case, I might just have to open my own enemy shop right across from yours." Freya patted Connor on top of his head, standing on her toes to reach and be appropriately condescending. "Make you put that extra hard-working Hufflepuff energy to good use," she grinned.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor giggled at Freya's suggestion, raising an eyebrow. "Duelling florists, that sounds like fun..." He teased. "I'd have to let you name your shop first though, then name mine the same thing but better." Connor giggled, thinking of Prettier Connor. "Where's PC, anyway?" He added, wondering what one did with a fairy when they weren't hanging out with it.