Closed The Politics of Love

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley was walking on air as she strolled up from Slytherin to meet Lizzie. It was a few days after the elections, and although Hayley had been frustrated by being too young to vote, she was vindicated in that her favourite candidate had won anyway. Hayley hadn’t managed to attract much interest to her revolution since the start of the year; she wanted to put a petition together for the rights of marginalised groups within the school, and perhaps to start some kind of actually useful orientation course for muggleborns, but Hayley didn’t have the writing skills for that, and it seemed for now that most of the people who’d promised they would held had lost interest. Maybe it was the looming OWL exams, which Hayley was trying to put out of her mind as much as possible - for today’s date, at least. But now, with this election result, Claudia Holland had promised to do some of those things anyway, and Hayley had high hopes for her.

She bounced across the grounds to the flower garden, where she was excited to spot Lizzie already there waiting for her. This was a more mushy-romantic type of location than the pair’s usual date ideas, but after the high of the Valentine’s dance, if Lizzie wanted to be sweet and flowery Hayley was more than okay with that. She hurried over to her girlfriend, greeting her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, babe!” she said with a huge grin. “How’s it going?”

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

The end of the year had never felt so bizarre to Lizzie. Sure there were exams still ahead, but for the first year in a long time there was no Beauxbatons match in Lizzie’s future, and with no Quidditch on the horizon it felt strange to just…. Be at Hogwarts. All the dances were over and done with, and though she was keeping up with her personal practice, Lizzie didn’t really… have anything ahead to look forward to for the rest of the school year. It felt like a strange dead space between Quidditch and holidays, one that she hadn’t occupied for years now. She was trying to look on the positive side though, and even if there weren’t any more school events to look forward to, Lizzie could fill the empty time with friends and her girlfriend, and without any matches to focus all of her attention on, she was enjoying having the extra attention to dedicate to her social life.

The Valentines roses had put Lizzie in a sentimental mood, and though the seasons were beginning to turn the gardens were still in the last throes of bloom, and she had decided that that would be the perfect place for a date with Hayley. Lizzie was always too distracted by deliveries on Valentines day itself to pay much attention to other people, and though the dance had been fun, she still felt like she owed Hayley a romantic day together. When she caught sight of her girlfriend Lizzie’s face split into a wide grin and she opened her arms, scooping Hayley up for a hug and kiss. “Hey!” She said happily, letting go of Hayley and taking her hand instead, a walk through the flowers on her mind. “I’m good! You’re cheerful today.” She said with a smile, pleased to see Hayley so happy.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley was reminded again how much she enjoyed dating Lizzie by the soft feel of her girlfriend’s arms around her. She was content to squeeze her hand and just bask in the moment. “I am,” she agreed. “What’s not to be happy about? Except exams, but shhh, let’s not talk about those.” With the hand not holding Lizzie’s, she made a sweeping gesture at the gardens around them, the cool blue sky overhead. “Got my GF right here, the school year’s nearly over, and Claudia Holland won the election.” It occurred to Hayley then that she’d never really talked to Lizzie about politics before, not even the revolution. She’d had the impression that her girlfriend didn’t much care, and honestly it was kind of nice to spend time with someone who wouldn’t talk to her about those things. They were important to Hayley, of course, but they were so stressful. And this was not a day for stress, it was a day for enjoying her girlfriend’s company, and the other good things in the world. Taking Lizzie’s cue, the pair began to wander aimlessly around the garden. Hayley didn’t have her sketchbook with her today, wanting to keep her attention on Lizzie, though she did look around for things that would be interesting to draw later. Flowers weren’t really Hayley’s aesthetic, but they were Lizzie’s, and besides, they were always good practice.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Seeing Hayley so happy put a smile on Lizzie's face, and she squeezed Hayley's hand back gently, contented to walk and listen. She laughed softly at Hayley's comment about exams. "Exams sucks. Let's forget about them." Truthfully, Lizzie knew that if anything she could probably stand to pay a bit more attention to exams, but right now she didn't want anything to break the cheerful idyll of their walk through the garden. She couldn't help a groan escaping her at Hayley's next comment though, thinking about the frustrated letter she had gotten from home just this morning. "Ugh, my parents are really pissed about the election." She said without really thinking, mind still on her mother's complaints. "We were a Cade family, but I guess we've just gotta hope he'll be able to reign Rose's mum in a bit." Lizzie knew her girlfriend was much more politically minded than she had ever been, but being almost old enough to vote herself, she had paid at least a bit of attention to the election, largely prompted by her parents nudging that she really ought to understand this stuff as she was approaching adulthood. It was easiest for Lizzie to look at a bit like a sports match, and she was still a bit stung that her team hadn't won.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley nodded and dropped the topic of exams. Maybe she wasn't so focused on her schoolwork as she should be, particularly in her OWL year, but Hayley wasn't much interested in paying attention in class, and as long as she passed she really didn't give a damn about her grades. She was relaxed and glad just to wander around in the gardens, but Lizie's next comment put a cold jolt of betrayal through her that stopped her short. "You'd have voted Cade?" she said incredulously. Like a fool, she'd assumed that as a reasonable person, Lizzie's politics would roughly align with her own. But to support that right-wing fool - to support anyone right-wing was irrational to Hayley, and the thought that Lizzie would . . . Well, at least she hadn't supported Scitorari-apologist Finch, or Kaster who had insulted her on national radio rather than answer her question - but Cade was quite bad enough. "Rein her in? When he's not agreeing with Claudia he's a f***ing fascist!" Hayley took a breath and kept walking. She didn't want to argue with Lizzie, she hadn't meant to be so rude (unusual for her), but she had been shocked. And if Lizzie really thought that, Hayley wasn't sure how they could avoid arguing. Wait, did Lizzie really think that? She'd mentioned it was her family's view, and while Hayley generally agreed with her mum, she knew plenty of people who didn't. "Do you really support Cade? Or just your parents?" It was a thin hope, but it was something.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

As soon as she saw Hayley's reaction, Lizzie knew she had made a mistake. It shocked her how angry the other girl got over something so small and she released Hayley's hand to raise hers defensively. "Woah!" Lizzie said gently, shaking her head. "Calm down, it's just politics. Don't make it such a big deal." Looking for a way to change the subject, Lizzie's thoughts were interrupted by Hayley's next outburst, and her thoughts of defusing the situation evaporated. "What? If anyone's a fascist it's Claudia, I don't wanna be forced to take Muggle Studies! We already have enough classes!" Although she was upset, this was definitely not the kind of conversation Lizzie wanted to have with her girlfriend, and she tried to force herself to calm down. "Look, I don't know, I liked the stuff he said! It's just politics, this stuff doesn't really matter. Let's just forget about it, agree to disagree or whatever." Lizzie sighed, though it was hard to push down the irritation simmering beneath the surface. As much as she wanted to return to it, it felt like the romantic afternoon Lizzie had planned was already ruined.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

If anything, Lizzie's asserion that politics weren't a big deal was more appalling to Hayley. She didn't understand how anyone could not care about the future of the country, to say nothing about the human rights issues Hayley herself was so heavily involved in. "It is a big deal," she said, tension evident in her every word. How could they be fighting about this? This was ridiculous. Hayley had never argued with Lizzie before, and it felt awful, but now they had started she was surprised it had never come up before. Hayley had never been able to let this go with anyone else, and she couldn't see how it could be any different with her girlfriend. "That's . . . not what fascism is. And it's also not the point. It's not meant to be a proper class, just a course to make sure people who haven't grown up with them understand that muggles are people, not, I dunno, savages. Which considering the garbage I've heard idiots at this school spouting, is a huge step in the right direction." Hayley supposed Lizzie might not understand the extent and stupidity of the prejudiced views Hayley had seen, so she tried to explain rather than get annoyed, but it was hard to talk about such things with any kind of detachment. And Lizzie's next words destroyed any hope of that. "It does matter! It matters a lot. It's - who's running the country, it's human rights, it's . . . this s**t is important, Lizzie."

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

As hard as she was trying, Lizzie's efforts to brush this unpleasant conversation aside didn't seem to work, and she just found herself getting more and more irritated as Hayley pushed the issue. "It's not that bad! Some people are just ar$eholes but that's true about everything, it's not like, the end of the world! We don't need a whole extra class, people are gonna be ar$eholes no matter what. The government sticking their nose into people's business and telling them what to do won't change that, it's ridiculous." Lizzie folded her arms, feeling restless now with the frustration rushing through her. What she really wanted to do was go hit a few bludgers to calm down, since their romantic afternoon was completely through, but this conversation just kept going on and on. "This isn't like, a war zone or whatever, politics is just boring junk! It doesn't matter, why are you making such a huge deal of this?"

 

[Hayley Elridge]

"You don't seem to understand how awful people are," Hayley said, trying hard to keep the insulting tone she would have used with anyone else out of her voice. "It’s not a few isolated ar$eholes, it’s a whole lot of otherwise normal people who don’t even realise that the views they hold are harmful. Every time I meet a new person, I drop some subtle reference to being muggleborn into the conversation, to see whether they’re a decent human being. I have to. It’s that prevalent." Hayley knew that having grown up magical, Lizzie didn't fully understand the prejudices faced by those who hadn't - or by those in otherwise marginalised magical groups, so she tried her best to lay it out for her clearly and rationally. It was hard, with the shock of realising how little her girlfriend knew, and the fear that she would turn on her after all, but she tried. "This is what the whole revolution thing is about. This world needs to change. So many people are marginalised and bullied for things they can't control - not just the muggleborns, obviously, but they're a good start." She really wasn't getting through to her. Lizzie's disinterest was staggering, dreadful, inexcusable. Hayley's nerves had been fraying throughout this conversation, but now, all at once, she lost her temper. "How can you think that!" she yelled. "How can you possibly be so - so - disconnected that you think this stuff doesn't matter! I've been trying to tell you, as if it could be explained - but you won't LISTEN, you just keep saying it doesn't MATTER but it DOES! I - I . . ." There were tears in her eyes. "I don't know how to tell you you should care about other people."

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

It was impossible not to be frustrated with Hayley at this point. Not only for ruining the vibe of the fun afternoon Lizzie had planned, but for pushing this so aggressively. She knew Hayley had struggled a bit when she first came to school, but she had always thought Hayley found power in challenging those views, she had never expected this view of herself as a victim. "That's ridiculous! You're testing every person you know without even telling them? What if they're fine otherwise, but they just HAPPEN not to pass your standards, are you just gonna write them off without even saying why? That's such an awful thing to do to people!" It made more sense to Lizzie now, why Hayley was so insular with her small group of friends. Lizzie had always thought she just didn't share her eagerness to make friends with everyone she met, but if she was testing them before even talking to them it was no wonder she wasn't more social. When the word 'revolution' dropped from Hayley, Lizzie felt her stomach sink. They had never really talked about Hayley's revolution thing, and now she didn't really want to find out what it was about. "Wait, is this what your revolution thing was about? I thought it was just, like, some punk anarchy stuff. What're you gonna do, round up everyone who was kinda rude to you and beat them up? That's so stupid!" Lizzie was already infuriated, but Hayley's last statement really got to her. "I do care about people! I just don't think politics has anything to do with that! All I said was I like Cade more than Rose's mum and you blew up at me! Sounds to me like YOU care more about politics than other people if you're willing to go off at someone like this!"

 

[Hayley Elridge]

There was no coming back from this. Before, it had just been an argument - their first, and a big one, but forgivable. Now . . . Hayley had trusted Lizzie with a truth she'd never told anyone else, and Lizzie had betrayed that trust immediately. "What the f***, Lizzie! This isn't some difference in opinion I'm talking about, like Cade vs Holland or whatever. These are people who think I don't deserve to exist! There's no way that's going to be fine! And even if they were nice in other ways, they'd be bound to find out some time, and if I'd befriended them it'd just upset both of us." Hayley didn't know why she was still trying to justify herself in this unsalvageable wreck of a conversation. Maybe because she still wanted Lizzie to understand. Hayley laughed, humourless and hysterical, when Lizzie called the revolution 'just some punk anarchy stuff'. "No! I don't wanna beat anyone up! I wanna change the LAW! DESTROY the Statute of f***ing Secrecy so we can all see that different people are still PEOPLE!" Considering what had gone before, she didn't think for a moment that an overview of what the revolution was about would make things any better. Quite the reverse. But they were past the point of no return now, and some sadistic part of Hayley wanted to see how Lizzie would react. "NO, Lizzie, that's NOT all you said." Belatedly, Hayley wondered if she had reacted too extremely to the Cade problem, a reaction brought more by shock than anything. But the more worrying wrongness of Lizzie’s other opinions would have come out sooner or later. "F***ing Cade doesn't even matter any more, not compared to this. You said it doesn't matter, and just ignored me trying to tell you why it DOES! Politics IS caring about other people, on the large scale! And if I have to fight individuals who are wrong to get equality for EVERYONE, f*** YEAH I will!"

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie had never wanted this to go this far. At this point, she just wanted out. Out of this argument, out... of this relationship, maybe at this point. Just out. “How do you know just from like, testing people? What if they just don't know better, and you're writing off someone nice just because they said the wrong thing one time! You can't be mad at people for making judgements when you're this judgemental! That's ridiculous!” Lizzie didn't think there was anything Hayley could say at this point to upset her more, but the other girl was quick to prove her wrong, and a fresh wave of horror washed over Lizzie as she realised just how far Hayley wanted to take this. "What?!" She exclaimed, though she knew she hadn't misheard. "That's CRAZY, do you have any idea how many Muggles would DIE if we did that? Our world isn't SAFE for them, my whole home is warded so they won't come anywhere near our dangerous slopes! Can you imagine if muggles got their hands on BROOMS? This is insane, you're ridiculous!" Lizzie took a step backwards, feeling like the bottom had dropped out of her world. Where only minutes ago she had been so excited to see Hayley, now the mere sight of the other girl was unbearable. "F*ck, I can't do this anymore." She said, shaking her head. "I can't believe you're acting like this, I can't believe you think this is OKAY! I don't want anything to do with you." Lizzie had known early in the conversation that this was the direction things were heading, but saying the words still hurt. For her first real relationship to end on such bad terms was a huge blow, and the fact that someone she had trusted so much had been thinking like this all along was an additional gut punch. Lizzie had never seen any importance in knowing what the people she knew thought about politics or anything like that, but she was going to have to pay closer attention with future friends, for sure.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

At this point Hayley was too angry to frame any sort of coherent argument, nor did she really believe there was any point, but she tried anyway. How had she not known for so long that Lizzie thought things that were so f***ed up? "This isn't the same kind of judgement! How can you not get that? How can you think not wanting to be around toxic people is the same as believing an entire group is evil? F***! I give up!" She should leave. She should back away, and get out, and . . . never look Lizzie in the face again. But she just kept saying more wrong things. "What the F***! Sh*t, there are some valid criticisms, but that doesn't even come CLOSE to being one! Muggles aren't IDIOTS, Lizzie. They could handle brooms JUST as well as wizards, but SURE! It's nice to know that's what you think of my family!" Hayley was breathing hard, and honestly it came as a relief when Lizzie said what she should have said all along. It annoyed her even now that Lizzie was saying exactly what she thought, that Lizzie still somehow believed she was in the right here. "You're right. This is impossible. First thing you've been right about today." Now she was retreating behind her usual wall of insults and sarcasm, to avoid focusing on the hurt, the betrayal. How had things go this far without her realising that Lizzie had thought such f***ed-up things? Hayley had had these arguments plenty of times before, but never with someone she'd thought she could trust, someone she'd cared about. She took a deep breath, turned, and began to walk away, so Lizzie couldn't see her crying.