Closed Painful Patrols

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan wasn't thrilled to be back at Hogwarts. It was his final semester ever at the school, and the first time he'd ever not looked forward to returning. Vivian had utterly crushed his reputation, and his heart. And while Tristan couldn't say he hadn't deserved it, he was still upset about it all. He hated how people looked at him now as he passed them in the hallway. Even the smallest first years knew these painful things about him, and it made it extremely frustrating to see them look his way. Ever since it had happened, Tristan had retreated from the public eye. Before, he'd enjoyed the recognition that came with the prefects badge on his chest. But now, he disliked it. He'd thrown himself into studying, as his grades were something he still had control over. But he couldn't abandon his other duties completely, not without drawing unwanted attention from his teachers. So for his first patrol in the new semester, Tristan made sure he was on time. He'd been distant and quiet on his patrols with Hayley, and hoped that today it would be as quiet as it had been before. He waited for her at the spot they had decided on, leaning against the wall near a light. He was reading over some notes he'd brought just in case he had to wait. If he let himself do nothing for even a moment, his thoughts started to wander places he didn't want them to go. It was best to keep his mind occupied, even if only for a few minutes of waiting.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

It was bizarre to Hayley to think that this was her last semester at Hogwarts. So soon she would be leaving all this behind, and the thought thrilled and terrified her. Prefect patrols, though, was certainly one of the things she wouldn't miss. Hayley still didn't understand why she was a prefect at all; maybe this year, just before she left, she would work up the courage to ask Styx about it. In the past three years she'd had a collection of patrol partners who seemed to have been chosen for maximum awkwardness - or maybe just to keep her out of trouble. Tristan wasn't the worst of them, by any means; her interactions with him had always been civil, even if there'd been something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. But at the end of last semester she'd finally discovered what that something was, and it disgusted her. Hayley was intensely curious about what precisely had happened, but she was reluctant to make their patrols together still more awkward by asking outright. She held back amusement to see him already reading something, when she was barely a few minutes late. "Hey, Tristan. Nose in the books again, I see."

 

[Tristan Collins]

A small sigh escaped Tristan as he noticed Hayley approaching, and he marked the spot in his book before closing it and looking up at her. "It's good to be as prepared as possible for the NEWTs. It's our future." He said, almost automatically. He had completely focused on his future after Hogwarts, because to him it felt like he didn't really have a future at Hogwarts since Vivian went public about what he had done. He didn't doubt that Hayley knew about it, but hoped she wouldn't bring it up. Tristan put the book in his bag. "Shall we go?" He asked her, hoping to convey to her that he didn't feel like chitchatting.