Open Solitary Wandering

[Eric Holland]

Open after Jess posts with Emily

Eric didn't really enjoy his fellow Gryffindors, so he often left the common room early in the morning. Lately he had taken to wandering around the castle or wandering around outside. He always hoped to run into someone he liked, but as that was a pretty low number of people he spent most of his walks by himself. It was a nice break from the busy common room, and frankly, from his girlfriend. Eric still wasn't entirely sure how he had wound up with someone like Nicole as his girlfriend. She was nice, sweet, pretty... probably a lot more popular than him. But somehow she had picked him, and still seemed happy to be with him. He knew she had been less than thrilled by his behavior at the yule ball, but she seemed to be over it now. He hadn't even done anything that bad, it wasn't his fault he had been distracted by what had happened with Minnie. It wasn't every day you saw someone like her punch a guy like Blake. The memory made him smile a little, though he quickly wiped it away. Hands stuffed in his pockets, Eric wandered through the corridor, away from the common room and in the direction of the stars. He glowered at everyone he passed, enjoying how a few younger students gave him a wide berth. He knew he had a reputation, and it definitely came in handy at times.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily had often taken to walking in the evenings, to stretch her legs. She held her book to her chest, thinking perhaps it would be good to find a nice spot to read for a bit. She was almost lost in thought when a familiar glare caught her attention. She almost laughed, turning quickly and jogging to catch up with the boy. "You aren't going to say hello?" She teased lightly, smiling. "You still aren't scary, Eric," she brushed her hair back.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric noticed someone was approaching him, and hunched his shoulders more in an attempt to ignore them. But as she spoke, he finally looked at her with a frown. "Emily?" He asked, looking at her for a moment. "You look different. Also... were you gone?" He asked her. "And I'm not trying to be scary." He snapped at her, before stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking on. If she wanted to talk, he assumed she would keep up.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily smiled, nudging his arm with her own. "I was transferred out to the original Hogwarts for a while," she told him, laughing a little. "I grew up a bit, silly, that's what happens as you get older." She yawned, stretching a bit. "For someone that isn't trying to scare anyone, you sure do have a good glare."

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric nodded when Emily explained where she had gone. she sounded casual about it, like it was not a big deal to go to a different school on the other side of the world. "You got bored there and came back?" He asked her. Then he rolled his eyes. "That's just my face." He said, sounding deadpan.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily shrugged. "It's Ava's last year. Arthur is causing trouble. Sometimes you just follow your family," she offered easily. When he said it was just his face, she laughed lightly. "Yeah, your face is just scary," she teased softly. "Where are you off to?" she asked.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric frowned in confusion when Emily talked about her family. He had forgotten about her convoluted family setup, though he knew he was hardly one to talk with all his stupid cousins. "So why did you leave in the first place?" He asked her. He couldn't imagine leaving a school that Connor was at, as much as he had sometimes wished he could leave Hogwarts behind and start fresh somewhere new. Though he knew deep down that no matter where he went, things would go the same way. "I've been told." He said. "I wasn't really going anywhere in particular." He admitted.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily shrugged at his question. "I'm not particularly close to anyone in my family. Or really anyone outside of my family, either. I thought going off might be good for me, a good experience," she shook her head, "Nothing really changed, though." She smiled a little when he said he wasn't going anywhere in particular. "Alright. Do you wanna go somewhere then?" She asked.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric nodded when Emily said she wasn't really close to anyone. He could relate to that a bit, though he was definitely close to his mother and brother. He couldn't imagine leaving Connor alone at Hogwarts, but he guessed Emily wasn't the oldest. She also wasn't a boy. She probably didn't understand how he had to protect his family. "I could've told you that." He said with a shrug. "All schools suck." He shrugged again. Her words made him frown. "Like where?" He asked her, glancing at her sideways.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Lily almost smiled, but she let it slide. Somehow she could see Eric thinking a lot of things sucked. She considered his question, shrugging. "I'm not sure," she replied easily. "I haven't been here in ages. Where do you usually like to go?" She asked, glancing sideways at him and smiling.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric sighed, wondering why he was letting Emily tag along rather than just getting rid of her with some excuse. Hadn't he been trying to avoid his girlfriend? Now he was hanging out with some other girl. "I dunno, I hang out everywhere." He muttered. "Well, mostly places without too many people." He ran a hand through his hair. "Most places at least beat the Gryffindor common room, that place is the worst." He said with a glance over his shoulder.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily considered his words, nodding silently. "I think I know a place. Come on," she smiled at him, turning and motioning for him to follow. Eric was one of the few people in this school she considered as one of her friends. Him, Daintree, Minnie. Her smile faltered a little but she pushed aside the thought that none of them had noticed her absence. She wasn't emotional like the other girls in her family. Emily was rational.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric blinked when Emily said she knew a place, then hesitated for a moment before shrugging. "Sure." He said after a moment. "Whatever." He remembered he had liked Emily, sort of, before she left. They hadn't been that close, as he hadn't even realized where she had gone when she suddenly left, but he didn't dislike her. She was one of the few people in his year he could tolerate. "So where is this place?"

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily laughed a little bit, brushing her hair back over her shoulder. "Oh you'll see, it's a surprise," she smiled at him, slipping her hands into her pockets. "How have things been here? Did I miss anything exciting?" she asked, looking to him again with a smile.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric raised his eyebrows when Emily said it was a surprise, but he kept following her, a little curious. She asked how things had been here and if anything exciting had happened, and Eric snorted. "It's a school, when has something exciting ever happened here?" He told her. "Some house won Quidditch, and Gryffindor won the house cup despite my best efforts." He gaver a slight grin and a shrug. "Like anyone cares."

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily laughed at his words, shaking her head. "I suppose you're right," she agreed, sticking her hands in her pockets. "What about you, then? What have you been up to? Pissing off the entire class again?" she asked, sure he had managed to start a few fights while she was away.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric knew that Emily would agree with him, and it was nice to see he was right. He actually laughed softly at her next question, shrugging. "Maybe not the entire class, there's a few people who seem particularly bothered by me." He said, thinking of Noel. "But besides that, not much... I kind of have a girlfriend now. If that's news you care about."

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily smiled as he laughed, pleased with herself. "There's always someone mad at you," she teased him lightly. Her brow raised when he said he had a girlfriend and she smiled a bit. "Well normally I don't care about dating gossip, but I do care about you, so spill. Who is she? Are you happy?" she asked, thinking Eric deserved to be happy.