Sweatpants

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt felt a state of unease after leaving the Hospital Wing for the first few vials of his potion after the winter holidays had finished. He feared being judged by his mentor and all those he assisted in the wing but worst of all he worried that someone would find out what his potions were for. He felt a great sense of shame in needing them and although he knew that they gave potions to people for far worse conditions the boy was deeply embarrassed for it and so while he walked he peeled off the labels so that his dorm mates wouldn't possibly read them as he was given a few for the week as he had to take one every day of the week to keep with the program as outlined by the Healer he'd spent much of the summer visiting to start on the therapy she wanted for him but he'd refused during the school year. He needed some normalcy - even if it was in this freak show of a world. The boy kept peeling the labels and pocketing the papers in his pocket to throw into the garbage when he got a moment while he shuffled through the corridor slowly, barely paying attention to those around him and yet all at once being hyperaware of their reactions to him and his actions should they take any interest to the potion he'd been prescribed. As he walked towards the stairs Wyatt was glad to not have to deal with his friends just yet, having been able to avoid them easily and even better having been able to avoid them during the holidays too.

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella had been looking forward for this school year to start so she could finally try out for the Quidditch team since her brother had seemed to enjoy the sport. She had asked Wyatt for some pointers and tips over the break but her letters had mostly gone unanswered so he was probably too busy having fun with his friends to reply to her. Nonetheless she was persistent and had 'borrowed' his beater's bat and broom for her tryouts without permission. She wondered if this was a bad idea because he might get mad at her for taking his stuff, but lately he didn't seem to care what she did. It was hit or miss with him whether or not he'd react at all to her so she had taken her chances in the hopes that he wouldn't find out. She sometimes felt like he tried to avoid her at all costs ever since she had come to Hogwarts. But she was still optimistic and excited as she ran up the stairs from her common room in the dungeons in search for Wyatt to tell him her good news. She figured he might be in the Hospital Wing since he was always there helping out, and just as she bounded up the stairs she smacked right into him with a small 'Oof', holding on the railing of the stairs so she wouldn't fall over. "Wy!" she said excitedly, glad to have found him. "Sorry," she added belatedly, waving a hand dismissively as she rushed to get to her point. "Guess what?!"
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[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt was surprised to have been bumped into and even more that it was his kid sister that did it. He awkwardly put a hand on the top of her head as if that was going to steady her and also stop her high octane personality from popping out but that was not going to happen so he pat her head twice and then took his hand back and wiped it on his jeans a little less than subtly. "What, Stell?" he asked then noticed that she was carrying his beater's bat which he eyed before looking back at her. He'd gotten her letters but had thrown them away without a response and what he'd read had not entirely sunk in but this felt vaguely familiar - her questions about Quidditch. Ironic as he'd been on a temporary suspension from Quidditch for the past several months leaving him rusty but now she was holding his beater's bat and was excited. He wasn't sure what about but he knew she'd tell him.

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella swatted his hand away as he patted her on the head like some sort of puppy but didn't comment on it as she was used to this sort of behavior from him. She rolled her eyes as she said, "You're supposed to guess, but okay I'll tell you anyway!" Her excitement was obvious from the way she smiled, every bit the polar opposite of Wyatt. "I made it! I made the Quidditch team!" she announced. "Well, only as an alternate but still! I did it!" She was so proud of herself for having made it as an alternate and really hoped that she'd be able to play in a game some time. Last year's alternate had been able to play but that had been because Asaiah and her brother had been benched so Stella wasn't going to bring that up. But it felt promising to be an alternate on the chance that she'd be able to play. Her brother had first been an alternate when he'd joined Gryffindor's team in his second year so Stella was especially happy to be following in his footsteps, even if they were in different houses. In her excitement, Stella reached forward to hug him and when she pulled back she noticed he had a vial of medicine, or potion, in his hands. She knew the Hospital Wing was close by and she glanced up at Wyatt, her features slipping from happy to concerned. "Wy," she said, eyeing the vial again. "You're not supposed to take medicine from the Hospital Wing. That's - you could get in trouble for that," she said quietly, worrying her lip. Employees at a hospital were not supposed to steal supplies, it was an abuse of their privileges and it could be potentially dangerous. She knew Wyatt knew this because he'd wanted to be a doctor for as long as she could remember, so she wondered why he'd be risking such an unethical thing now.
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[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt looked at Stella, surprised and impressed, as she told him that she had made the Quidditch team. He never imagined that she would try out as she was a bit feminine for such a rough sport - but he was glad she wasn't protesting as he couldn't have that associated with his family. The older Finch wrapped an arm around her as she hugged him excitedly, being a bit lazy about it so as to not seem like he needed a hug which he felt sure now that he really did. It had been a hard winter. But still he had a facade to uphold and so the boy said, "Good job, Stells. Tell Murphy who you are with the first team practice - he'll give you extra pointers too." Before Wyatt could continue on to tell her that she would need her own beater's bat he was accused of something surprising. He shoved her shoulder lightly - not nearly enough to make her fall but enough to make her step back if she wasn't properly grounded - and then put the vial in his pocket and said, "They're for me, buttface." He really didn't want to get into it with Stella but that rumour going around was one he couldn't handle so the boy hoped that she would just accept it and not become worried. She was always poking her nose in places she wasn't wanted. "You do know how much time I spent at the hospital with Dad, right?" he asked her, making sure she didn't have amnesia or something because he'd practically spent the whole eleven years of his early years in the hospital outside of school and lacrosse. "I wouldn't steal medicine," he said firmly and with a sense of finality. They had spent a lot of time apart as a family but he never thought she would believe him to go so far against his belief system and the values that their dad had put into them regarding healthcare.

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella beamed as Wyatt actually praised her which made her accomplishment feel ten times better. But now her concern was over the medicines, or potions rather, in his hand. She scowled when he shoved her but her hand was still on the railing so she kept her balance. "Oh," she said simply when he explained they were for him. Stella nodded her head when he pointed out that he practically grew up in a hospital trailing after their dad, so he knew better than to steal medicine. But she hadn't considered the possibility that they could be for him. "Do you have a cold or something?" she asked, scanning his face for any obvious signs of sickness, and went as far as to press the back of her hand on his forehead to feel if he was warm. She hadn't seen him all summer break so he might have contracted some sort of illness that she hadn't been around.
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[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt shooed his sister's hand away, getting annoyed at her for treating him like a baby. She was the baby, after all. He was not going to tell her what he'd learned over break and certainly what the vials of potion were for so he looked down for a second as he thought of a lie and said, "Yeah, I've got Spattergroit." The ailment was the first he could think of and he had a feeling that Stella had never heard of it so she wouldn't question him and his lack of symptoms because for anyone in the know it was clear that this was a bold faced lie but Wyatt shrugged it off. "Are you going to get a bat of your own or do I have to get a new one for the game?" he asked, trying to get his beater's bat back and hinting that she ought to get one herself. It wasn't as if money really was much of an object for them but he'd grown attached to the bat so he hoped she'd return it to him.

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella pursed her lips when Wyatt swatted her hand away because she couldn't feel any clamminess or warmth from her brother but she listened as he told her what he had. She wrinkled her face and said, "What the heck is that?" and then cautiously took a step back to the next step below her. "How did you get it? Is it a wizard thing? Cuz that sounds made up to me. Is it contagious?" she asked all at once, wiping the hand she'd touched him with earlier on her jeans even if she'd only touched him with the back of her hand. She glanced down at the bat in her other hand and swung it lightly. "Oh, yeah," she said as if the idea of getting her own bat just occurred to her. She handed it back to him and said, "So you'll actually get to play this year then?"
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