Closed Shoot it True

[Edmund Westwick]

Edmund was grateful to be back at Hogwarts. A holiday isolated with noone nearby but his parents and brother had been a nightmare, and Hogwarts provided ample welcome places to be alone, and people to distract himself with. And there was one person in particular who Edmund was eager to distract himself with. He had been relieved at the end of the previous year when Analei agreed to resume their piano lessons together, and had spent the achingly long holidays planning things they could do together. Edmund was never one to ask for help directly, but he had pilfered some of his dad's teaching notes for beginner students, and gathered a few ideas from there.

And then, most daringly of all, rather than meeting Analei at the arts room as they had in the past, Edmund had chosen to be bold. As her common room was on the way from his own, Edmund had asked to meet her there and walk downstairs together, catching up on their holidays as they went. He listened as she talked, trying not to let his gaze flit to her face, though it was difficult. Analei's features were pleasing, and Edmund often found it difficult to tear his eyes away. He made sure to pay attention to what she was saying though, listening as she talked about her holidays. When Analei finished speaking, Edmund realised he had been staring for far too long. Fumbling desperately for something to say to explain his gaze, Edmund eventually settled on the truth. "I missed you..."

 

[Analei Westwick]

Analei's break was exactly what she needed. She was away from all the drama at the school, and could finally wrap her head around the things that had happened during the year. She was fourteen now, and definitely felt more mature than she had been during the previous year. It had definitely been a dramatic year, but after spending some time sorting through her thoughts, Analei realized that she had been missing Edmund. The Hufflepuff had asked her parents for a piano or keyboard, but they hadn't gotten her one, so she hadn't been able to practice much over the break; so when it came to her first piano lesson, Analei felt nervous - and for more than just seeing Edmund again. Would he be disappointed that she hadn't progressed?

Still, Edmund had asked to meet her outside her Common Room, and walk to the Arts Room together. That had to be a good sign. She smiled at him as he approached, gladly speaking about her break as they walked down together. The break had mostly consisted of reading and practicing Quidditch, and Analei left out anything to do with pianos, hoping that he wouldn't ask if she had practiced or not. Analei felt his gaze on her as she spoke, and she could feel her cheeks growing pink, especially as she finished her sentence and then Edmund spoke. A small smile grew on her face at his words, and she playfully and gently nudged his shoulder with hers. "I missed you too." Analei said, turning to look at him. It was the truth. She had long forgotten any hurt she felt when he chose to dance with Diana instead. That was well in the past, and besides, he was here with her now, taking the time to teach her how to play piano. Analei struggled to find something else to say to continue the conversation. "Did you, uh, did you - how was your break?" Why did boys have to make her such a mess?!

 

[Theodore Westwick]

It was hard to believe that Theodore's fifth year had begun, and that his brother still wasn't talking to him. He hated the silence and the loneliness, and it made him angry. Edmund had even asked for separate rooms at home, something Theodore saw as a real betrayal. They had always shared a room, even at Hogwarts. And now Edmund was officially taking distance, which hurt Theodore deeply. He had retaliated with his glasses, making sure he looked different than Edmund so people could easily distinguish the two of them. But Edmund hadn't seemed hurt by that, and Theodore was annoyed that it hadn't done much. Maybe it had been exactly what Edmund wanted.

Some days Theodore actually liked being a bit different from Edmund, it felt refreshing. But there were days like this where he just missed how it used to be, and missed when his brother had time only for him. The boy had his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his robes as he made his way through the corridor, shouldering past a few people who walked annoyingly slow. He glanced around, only to freeze when he noticed his brother standing there. Even after so long, he felt the urge to walk over to him and say hello as if nothing had happened. But even if Theodore had been brave enough for such a move, he couldn't have done it. Edmund was busy talking to that blond girl, the one he had been hanging around with more and more. Theodore scowled. The one girl hadn't been bad enough? Edmund had simply had to replace her? He remembered the Hufflepuff as she had mistaken him for Edmund before, and it seemed like they were friends. Or maybe even more than that. He did look a little like he had looked at that other girl. It was gross. Theodore was walking closer without realizing it, making sure he would pass them in the hallway. He was close enough to hear them say they missed each other, and made a loud gagging noise as he passed as if the sound of them talking to each other like that was enough to nearly make him puke. He shot them a derisive glance. "I wonder who he will replace you with, like he replaced that other one with you." He said to the girl, hoping it would make her feel bad. Then he glanced at Edmund, before walking on quickly.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Whenever Edmund was with Analei he felt like he was in a little bubble all their own, where the rest of the world ceased to matter, and he could simply be. Over the course of their piano lessons her presence had become a refuge, a place where he could simply spend time with someone else and escape all his problems. Of course, that had changed towards the end of the previous year, but as they walked and talked together, Edmund felt that easy comfortable bubble return. The rest of the world faded to hazy, irrelevant nothing, only to be brought back into harsh relief by the sound of a voice Edmund was all too sick of hearing. Angry as he was that Theodore would speak to him, Edmund burned with fury at the words his brother was saying. Of course he couldn't be contented with ruining one of Edmund's relationships. Theodore wouldn't be happy until he had ruined everything that made Edmund happy, had hurt every one of his friends and left Edmund with noone but himself. Rage sparked through Edmund, and he barely even felt himself moving to draw his wand, firing a stinging hex at his brother. As angry as he was, deep down Edmund couldn't bring himself to truly hurt Theodore, but a firm warning certainly never harmed matters.

 

[Analei Westwick]

Before Edmund had a chance to reply, another voice entered the conversation, and Analei turned quickly to see it was Theodore. His words hit her and her mouth dropped open slightly, ducking her head down in embarrassment as she felt her cheeks heat up. How would she ever recover from that? She had nothing to say in retaliation, nothing to say to Edmund either, and she was sure it was going to make for a very awkward piano lesson. Analei wondered if she should just save herself further humiliation and go back to her dorm, and hide her head all day. But Edmund reacted before Analei could even move, and her eyes widened as he shot a hex at his brother. Analei wasn't sure if he did it to stand up for himself or for her, but she knew that he would get into trouble for it. "Edmund..." Analei started softly, not too sure what else to say. She knew of the complications between the two twins, and definitely didn't feel like it was her place to say anything, or offer advice - she wasn't that good at relationships and she didn't even have a sibling.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore was fairly pleased with himself for the comment. At the very least, he had probably ruined their romantic little moment together and that made him happy. He was looking ahead, not wanting them to catch him if he glanced back at them. But he soon came to regret that, as he was hit by a sudden pain that he recognized as the stinging hex. It took Theodore a second to comprehend what had just happened, then he whirled around, grabbing his wand. "How dare you!" He yelled at his brother, deeply hurt by the fact that he had actually used a spell on him. "Petrificus Totalus!" He yelled, casting a spell back at his brother.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Edmund barely even heard Analei's voice, so focused on his brother he was. This was the last straw as far as Edmund was concerned. Of course Theodore couldn't be contented to leave one another alone, to live separate lives and seal away their past fights in icy silence. No, Theodore had to be the center of everything, to ruin anything that made Edmund happy. It was unbearable, and Edmund had had it. If a direct threat was what it took to end this, so be it. Edmund had intended the stinging hex as a warning, but he hadn't anticipated Theodore retaliating so aggressively. He barely had time to throw up a shield, flinching away from the spell's path at the same time, his mind reeling. Theodore had attacked him. A stinging hex was one thing, but Theodore had responded with something that would have put him in hospital wing, no question. It seemed Theodore was eager to sever every bond that had once kept them as close brothers, and it sent a deep ache through Edmund, though that pain was quickly overshadowed by fury. He was barely thinking as he retaliated, firing aggressively back at Theodore. "Stupefy!"

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Rage had taken over Theodore when he had sent the spell at his brother, and he instantly felt a moment of regret. He watched with slight relief as his brother blocked the spell, but knew he had gone too far. He was just so angry, still, with Edmund. His brother had abandoned him, and had never really seemed to regret it. So every time Edmund got close to anyone else, it felt like a personal attack to Theodore. Perhaps he should have kept walking without saying anything, but he had been hurt. Theodore had never learned a better response to pain than to hurt others. He blocked his brother's stunning spell, then sent an Antler jinx his way. It had gone too far to back out now.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Edmund snarled slightly as he blocked his brother's spell, torn between fury and betrayal. He couldn't put up with his brother's fury anymore. The part of Edmund that wanted things to go back to normal, and the part of him that wanted nothing to do with Theodore anymore had been at war for the longest time, and it seemed now Theodore had chosen his side firmly. Edmund glared at him, trying to catch Theodore off guard as he returned fire. "Confundo!"

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore couldn't think of anything but his brother, and barely remembered that the Hufflepuff girl was even around. He could only focus on his twin, forgetting about the world around them as they dueled in the hallway. If a part of him had been aware of the trouble they would probably get into for this, it had forgotten to care by now. All he wanted was to hurt Edmund the way he had hurt Theodore, to make him feel how he had been hurt. He blocked his brother's spell, then sent one back with an angry motion of his hand. "Rictusempra!"

 

[Analei Westwick]

The whole situation seemed to escalate incredibly quickly, and Analei found herself moving quickly to the side as Theodore shot another spell back at Edmund. The two boys sent spells back and forth, and Analei felt horrible just standing there, watching it happen. The Hufflepuff wanted to stop them, but knew that her standing up for Edmund would probably just add fuel to Theodore's fire, and she didn't want to upset Edmund. It was not how Analei envisioned her day going.
The boys kept going though, and Analei hated it. "Stop!" She yelled a little bit louder, hoping that at least one of them would, then the other might too. Were they going to keep going until they hurt - or killed each other? Analei knew she should go find a Professor but she was torn between that, and Edmund.

 

[Aspen Faye]

Duty was definitely the worst part of being a Professor. She definitely didn't even consider the fact that it would have to be done when she applied for the job. But, if going around and making sure kids were behaving was the worst part of her week, then she didn't really have it all that bad. It had been a relatively slow day, until a small child informed her of a fight happening on the Second Floor Corridor. "What the crappy - merlin -" Aspen started muttering to herself as she rushed to where the child had pointed her towards. She didn't think kids even fought these days, but as she rounded the corner, it made sense. It was a duel! Between a boy and his clone - was he trying to defeat his evil clone? Trying to push away the silly thoughts that Aspen often had to try diffuse the tension, she took out her wand. "Enough!" Aspen yelled. She wasn't very good at charms at the best of times, but she managed to send Protego's over both the boys and the spectator. "What in the bloody - no, you know what?" Aspen said, deciding she was not equipped well enough to deal with the two. "Who's your Head of House? We are going there right now. Ravenclaw, right? You're coming too." She added to the spectator. "Don't you dare even try to look at each other while we're walking, or I will curse you so far into next week." Aspen threatened. They didn't need to know about her lack of skill - she was a Professor, they'd believe she was good, right?

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Torn between fury and heartbreak, Edmund moved his wand to block Theodore's most recent spell, searching his memory for an appropriate retaliation. The two sides of Edmund were at war - the furious side wanting to hurt his brother, really hurt him, show him just how much pain he had caused Edmund, while the heartbroken side yearned to just make this stop, make all of this end and walk away from this horrible fight. Before he had formed his shield though, something else blocked Theodore's spell, and Edmund looked over in shock. Great. A professor, and one of the more useless ones at that. Exactly what they needed. He glared furiously at the woman, but it seemed there was nothing to be done to avoid this, so Edmund begrudgingly pocketed his wand as he turned to follow the woman, too furious to even look at Theodore.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore was hardly aware anymore of where he was, or that there were other people in the wold even existed. He vaguely heard Edmund's girlfriend yell at them to stop, but sneered and ignored it. He was waiting for his brother to send a new spell his way, and was so focused on that that it took him a while to even notice Professor Faye. Theodore looked at her, irritated. This wasn't her business. He glared at her, and said nothing as she asked who their head of house was. As one of her students, it was her job to know that sort of thing. Her threats were weak, and Theodore was definitely not intimidated by her. Still, he didn't look at Edmund as he followed the professor. Mostly because he didn't want to see the expression on his brother's face.