Closed Setting Precedent

[Zoe Westwick]

Zoe was happy to be back at Hogwarts, even though she missed having her big sister around. She liked learning, and spending time with her friends, and now boyfriend. Only a couple more years before she would be out on her own, making her own life like Harley and Jason, and Zoe couldn't wait. She was ready to get out there and figure out what kind of life she wanted to have. She was going to make the most of the time she had left at Hogwarts though, and one of the ways Zoe intended to do so was building connections she could carry on after school. Zoe had never done the best job of making friends, something she hadn't realised until she was a bit older than the usual, and she was determined to do her best to remedy that now.

With friendship on her mind, Zoe was delighted to spot a familiar dark head of hair up ahead of her in the hallway. Grinning in excitement, Zoe hurried forward and linked her arm with his, beaming as she spoke. "There you are, I've been looking for you everywhere!" This was entirely true. There were things Zoe had been meaning to address since last year, and she wanted to get ahead of them before time got away from her. Keeping her arm linked with the dark haired boy, Zoe carried on down the hall with him.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

It had been a while since the last time he had had a girlfriend, and Edmund had somehow managed to forget just how terrible he was at actually planning dates. What did people do on them, anyway?! He just wasn't sure. He wanted to ask Analei to meet him somewhere in the next holidays, but where, and to do what?! Edmund was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't quite realise he was being approached until there was an arm linking with his. Edmund tried to leap out of the way in alarm, looking to see who it was, and his heart leaped into his throat when he realised. Oh dear. Zoe had his arm trapped in her own, and he couldn't get away. Scrambling for the words Edmund tried quickly to dissuade her. "Er... I'm sorry, you've got the wrong one." Edmund said quickly, trying to extract his arm again. "I'm Edmund, I'm not sure where Theodore is right now. I can... tell him you're looking for him when you see him?" Edmund could hear the nerves in his own voice, eager to dissuade her of the illusion that he was Theodore. The last thing Edmund wanted was a mixup reopening the recently sealed rift between them.

 

[Zoe Westwick]

Zoe had been hoping to fluster Edmund a bit, and she was pleased to have gotten her wish, chuckling as she kept his arm trapped firmly in the loop of her own elbow. "I know that!" Zoe said cheerfully. "I wanted to talk to you. I'm friends with Teddy, but we've never really talked. I thought we should change that, since you two are talking again." Zoe carried on down the hall with Edmund as she talked, keeping his arm firmly hostage in her elbow. "I'm so happy you're friends again. Teddy was really miserable without you, you know? And I'm sure you must have felt the same. I know what he did to you was horrible, but I'm really glad you were able to forgive him. I think you two need each other, you know?" Zoe smiled cheerfully, walking close in step with Edmund.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Edmund couldn't quite believe his ears when Zoe confirmed he was the twin she had been looking for. Of course, it made sense, she was dating his brother, surely they should meet at some stage, but Edmund had expected perhaps Theodore would set them up to meet sometime, or... something along those lines, certainly not... this. Edmund was still considering that when his brain short circuited entirely. Teddy... Did she really call Theodore Teddy?! And he still liked her?! Edmund was reeling, and the best he could do was nod along, struggling to follow Zoe's fast speech. Teddy. He did his best to keep up but still reacted a moment late when she left a gap in the conversation. "What? Er, yes, I'm glad we're talking as well." He said quickly, feeling rather as though he was being dragged along by the girl conversationally as well as physically.

 

[Zoe Westwick]

Zoe's smile widened as she marched Edmund down the hallway, relieved that she was getting him to the point she had been going for without much resistance. "That's good!" Zoe said cheerfully, her grip on his arm becoming tight enough to hurt. "You know, I'm a Beater on the Quidditch team." She said conversationally as they continued their walk, smiling cheerfully. "But I really don't like it when people are mean to each other, and I really don't like it when they let silly things fester rather than talking about their feelings. When people I love are hurt, I prefer to just smash to the heart of the problem, does that make sense?" Zoe smiled cheerfully. "So I really hope next time you have a problem with Teddy you'll just talk to him about it."

 

[Edmund Westwick]

The sooner this conversation was over, the better, as far as Edmund was concerned. He would leave matters surrounding this girl to... Teddy to deal with. Edmund definitely didn't want to get involved in his brother's love life after all the anguish they had just finished dealing with. Zoe kept talking though, and Edmund couldn't tell why. It was... nice that she played Quidditch, he supposed, and maybe they should get to know each other if she was going to be part of Teddy's life for a long time. As she kept talking though, the true meaning sank in, and Edmund's blood turned to ice. She was threatening him, behind the cheerful facade and the sunny disposition. This was a threat. It was incredibly cold, delivering such a serious threat so mildly, and for the first time Edmund supposed he understood what Theodore could see in this girl. Clearly there was a lot going on under her obnoxious exterior. Those thoughts were all secondary though, to the very real mental image Zoe had provided, of exactly what she could do with a beater's bat if Edmund rubbed her the wrong way, and all he could do was nod in agreement, the squeezing pressure in his arm beginning to cut off circulatioin and entirely preventing him from fleeing this conversation. "I understand." He said quickly, embarrassed at how choked his voice sounded. This was going absolutely terribly for him, and Edmund couldn't help but be impressed at his brother's choice of girlfriend after all.

 

[Zoe Westwick]

Zoe didn't much like being forceful, despite her position on the Quidditch team, but sometimes it was necessary, and Zoe felt like that was the case in this situation. If Ted's brother was anything like him, those boys between them were stupid enough to get into another fight and never manage to resolve it, and that wouldn't do at all. She really didn't want to see Ted hurting the way he had for so long, and if she could play a part in making sure that didn't happen again, all the better. She smiled brightly when Edmund agreed with her, loosening her grip and patting his hand cheerfully. "I'm so glad you see it my way!" Zoe said brightly, tilting her head. "I know I've only ever hung out with Ted before, but I hope you and I can be friends too. Teddy's really great, so I'm sure I'll like you too!" She said cheerfully, releasing Edmund's arm at last. "I should go though, so glad we got to talk!" Zoe gave a last bright smile before turning and heading back in the direction they had been coming from, hoping she could track Ted down to do some studying now.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Edmund felt trapped. Which made sense, after all, he was trapped. Zoe had him thoroughly ensnared, and he didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. He nodded quickly when she agreed, just hoping to flee this conversation as quickly as possible. He was entirely convinced his brother had good taste in girls after all now, but he very much wanted to be out of this conversation before Zoe decided to demonstrate her capabilities in a more practical way. When she loosened her grip Edmund was half-tempted to bolt, but that seemed foolish, and he instead nodded numbly, relieved beyond belief when Zoe gave a cheerful farewell and walked off as though nothing had happened. It seemed he had thoroughly underestimated her, and that was a mistake he wouldn't be making again. As was fighting with Theodore, no doubt, given that he valued his skull remaining intact.