There You Are

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

With the new year starting Lizzie was busy with Quidditch, and Hayley had been busy with her new Prefect responsibilities, and her... project Lizzie didn't really understand. It had been difficult to find time together, but today both girls had a whole afternoon free, and Lizzie was excited to spend some time with her girlfriend. Whistling as she turned the corner, she was happy to see Hayley waiting by the portrait they had decided to meet at and bounced down the corridor happily, greeting Hayley with an excited hug. "Hey!" Lizzie said happily, debating in her mind for a moment before giving Hayley a quick, soft kiss. She still hadn't gotten around to telling Caro about her relationship, and though she doubted her sister would mind, or even really care, Lizzie didn't really want that to be how she found out. "Missed you, been busy busting rulebreakers?" She teased, keeping one arm slung around Hayley's shoulders as they parted.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley waited impatiently at the portrait they had decided to use, excited to see Lizzie. They had both been so busy this year so far, and it was always a little complicated to arrange to meet any of her Gryffindor friends - apparently that included her girlfriend. Hayley was so accustomed to meeting the girl gang in the particular abandoned classroom that they frequented that it felt kind of strange to not meet there, but this was great too. She wondered briefly if Lizzie had a specific plan for this afternoon, but the thought flew out of her head as Hayley saw her round the corner. "Lizzie!" It no longer startled or thrilled her when she and Lizzie kissed, but there was a more comfortable, happy excitement in it now. Hayley was a little disappointed when Lizzie drew away, but she supposed the corridor wasn't the optimal place for making out. Hayley chuckled at the idea of her busting rulebreakers. Lizzie knew how she felt about that whole situation. "I missed you too! But nah, it's been pretty quiet actually. I haven't even broken any rules myself lately. How's quidditch going?"

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie kept her arm around Hayley's shoulders and began walking with her idly. She didn't really have a specific destination or goal in mind, but it was nice to just walk and talk. "Really?" Lizzie teased, smiling. "Not even, like, broken curfew or littered?" Lizzie's disregard for the rules wasn't quite as active as her girlfriend's, she had never gone out of her way to get in trouble, but she definitely found it a bit cute that Hayley was so deliberately rebellious. It made it even funnier that someone like her would be chosen as a prefect. "Quidditch is... fine." Lizzie shrugged. "Practice the other day went pretty well. I think we'll do alright against Slytherin." As much as she enjoyed the game, the thought of being passed over for captaincy still stung and Lizzie was trying not to think about it. "Hey, so..." Lizzie commented, changing the subject quickly to a question she had been meaning to ask Hayley. "Yule Ball's coming up..." She grinned nervously at Hayley, trying to be more casual than she felt. "You wanna go?" Lizzie didn't know if things like the Yule Ball were really Hayley's thing, but she had never taken a date to the ball before and she wanted to go together so badly.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley didn't know where they were going, or even if they were going anywhere in particular, but she was content to let Lizzie take the lead, happy just to spend time with her girlfriend. She smirked. "Well, now I'm a prefect I kinda . . . can't break curfew? We're supposed to do patrolling, which is sort of cool but also kinda sucks. I don't wanna get anyone else in trouble for something I'd do myself, y'know?" The whole prefect thing was no new and weird to Hayley, and she was pleased to have someone to talk to about it who wouldn't just tease her, like the girl gang would. "Cool, cool. I'm def keen to support my girlfriend against my house." Hayley hadn't really paid much attention to quidditch before Lizzie, but now she was finding she quite enjoyed watching the games. And Lizzie knew Hayley's stance on her house as opposed to her friends, so there was no rancour in the joke.But Hayley also understood why Lizzie didn't want to talk about it at the moment, so she wasn't surprised when she changed the subject. What she changed it to, though . . . Hayley opened her mouth in surprise, which quickly morphed into a grin as she realised what Lizzie was asking. "Oh my gosh! Yes! Hell yes! Absolutely!" Hayley had been to the ball with friends, as a group, but to go with a date, with Lizzie . . . that was something entirely different. Impulsively, Hayley reached up to plant a kiss on Lizzie's lips.

 

[Caro Taylor]

Caro was strangely relieved to actually be busy this year. Hogwarts Monthly had always taken up most of her time but there were still down-times where she felt lonely and bitter about being lonely. A secret, paranoid part of Caro wondered if Lizzie had been telling people not to hang out with her. She didn't think it was likely, Lizzie was more obnoxiously oblivious to anyone other than herself than actively malicious. She was probably way too busy being popular and perfect and having everyone love her to even notice how lonely her little sister was. Well Caro wasn't lonely anymore. Being accepted to Accio had been a pleasant surprise, and her new responsibilities were keeping her more than busy enough. She didn't need lots of friends or everyone loving her like Lizzie. She was perfectly fine keeping busy with her hobbies. All Caro had to do was stick it out for three and a half more agonising years and she would be free, free to leave this tedious, stifling place forever and go see the world. No sister for people to compare her to, no walls to keep her trapped, just a world full of adventures waiting to be had. With the amount of work on her plate, surely the next three years would fly by.

Arms full of poll notes for the next issue of Hogwarts Monthly, with her camera set precariously on top of them, Caro was thoroughly preoccupied with her thoughts as she made her way to the newsroom to finish putting her article together. She was jolted out of her thoughts when she turned the corner to see her sister, and fought the urge to roll her eyes. Lizzie was laughing and chatting with another friend Caro had never seen her with. She hadn't tried to keep much track of Lizzie's best friends, because they seemed to change constantly. She only recognised the girl at all from the Revolution coverage in the Monthly. It surprised her that Lizzie would hang out with someone so controversial, but... anything for attention, Caro supposed. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but they looked happy and excited, and Caro was about to put her head down and try to rush past them, hoping her sister wouldn't notice her, when she was frozen in place by the sight of the Slytherin planting a kiss on Lizzie's lips. It quite definitely wasn't a platonic action, and Caro felt elements of how she saw her sister crashing down around her. Did Lizzie really like girls? How long had she had this... girlfriend? How had Caro not even noticed? Lizzie wasn't doing anything to hide it, how had she managed to avoid her sister entirely for so long that something so important completely evaded her notice? Mind racing, Caro realised abruptly that she had absolutely no idea what to do now. She just gawked at Lizzie and the other girl from a distance, hoping neither would notice her while she tried to figure out what to do with this new information.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie laughed softly. "That makes sense. I'd feel weird like, telling people off for stuff I do myself." She smiled. "Not that I've ever broken curfew, actually..." She paused. "Or been in the forest. Damn, I'm not cool enough for you." She laughed softly, giving Hayley a light squeeze. "You'll have to teach me your rebellious ways." Lizzie had never held the school rules in the highest regard, but she had never actually had any reason to break them either. Sometimes it almost intimidated her a little, the amount of time and energy Hayley seemed to put into disregarding rules, but Hayley had never pushed her into doing anything. She smiled when Hayley said she would come to the game, already excited at the thought. "Awesome." She said happily. "You can borrow my Gryffindor scarf if you want." For once, Quidditch was at the back of Lizzie's mind though, as she waited for Hayley's response to her ball invitation. She didn't have to wait long, grinning back brightly. Hayley's enthusiasm was a surprise, Lizzie had thought that maybe it would be too boring or conventional for her, but it was nice that Hayley seemed just as excited as she was. "Awesome!" Lizzie couldn't stop smiling even as she kissed Hayley back, heart thumping slightly, excited and nervous and happy all at once. In the moment, nobody existed to her but Hayley.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley smiled. "Yeah. Y’know, I think actually in general, like, I’d be happy to use this for good, like breaking up bullying and stuff. I just don’t want to be a hypocrite about it." Hayley had been thinking about the implications of her becoming a prefect, and why precisely it bugged her (besides being a ridiculously bizarre decision on Professor Styx’s part), and eventually come to the conclusion that she could accept it in that context. She shoved Lizzie playfully. "Babe. Of course you’re cool enough for me. But we can totally do some creative rebellion if you’re keen." Hayley grinned, wondering if she could convince Rose to make her a Gryffindor scarf she could keep. "Mmm, yes please, that’d be cool." Honestly, though, quidditch was far from her mind as she and Lizzie kissed. It would be so much fun to go to the ball together, and it felt like a milestone both in their relationship and in Hayley’s life, to go to an event as a couple. It was going to be wonderful, and . . . wait. Out of the corner of her eye, Hayley spotted someone. A girl, staring at them. Hayley recognised her as the girl who’d asked her something for the Hogwarts Monthly, and now this virtual stranger was staring at them kissing. That was . . . more than a little creepy. Hayley broke off, and tapped Lizzie’s arm. "Um."

 

[Caro Taylor]

Although Caro took pride in her journalistic work, having to observe people sneakily had never been a part of it, and she cursed under her breath when she realised Lizzie's girlfriend had definitely, definitely seen her. The girl was staring right at her. Caro had two options. She could turn and run, and not have to have this undoubtedly uncomfortable conversation, but for once, running away from her sister wasn't what Caro wanted to do. The desire to know how Lizzie had hidden this entire side of herself was too much, and so, gathering her guts, Caro approached the pair, folding her arms and trying not to let her nerves show. "Lizzie." She said tensely, trying not to let her gaze waver as she stared at her sister. "What's going on?"

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

As far as Lizzie was concerned, the corridor around them may as well have been empty, all of her attention focused solely on Hayley. It was difficult to pull herself out of the moment when Hayley tried to get her attention, but Lizzie pulled back, looking in the direction Hayley had indicated. Seeing Caro staring back at her sent a chill through Lizzie, and she felt her whole body tense at once. It had been a long time since she had stopped bothering to try and hide her sexuality from her sister, having realised to her dismay that Caro seemed insistent on avoiding her at all costs. She had realised that being less cautious meant that Caro was bound to notice one day, but had just assumed she would ignore it, like she seemed to ignore everything else that Lizzie said and did. The shock on her face told a different story though, and Lizzie ran through a million coming outs she had practiced for her family in her mind, panicking more and more as she realised that nothing she had planned for really fit in this situation. As Caro reached them Lizzie looked back and forth between her and Hayley nervously, realising that there was nothing for this but to just tell her straightforwardly. "Uh, hi Caro..." She said awkwardly, and glanced at Hayley. "Hayley, this is my sister, Caro. Caro, uh... this is... my girlfriend, Hayley." She smiled nervously, hoping that Caro's reaction wouldn't be entirely terrible.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

There was a tense, panicky feeling rising in Hayley's chest, and now she could feel the same tension in Lizzie's body. Who was this girl? What did she want with them? Was she some kind of homophobe? Hayley had been lucky not to encounter any of that particular flavour of prejudice yet, but she wouldn't be surprised. And now the stranger was coming towards them, and Hayley was on edge for a fight . . . and the girl knew Lizzie. She gave what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze of her hand when Lizzie glanced at her, reading the anxiety on her girlfriend's face, but her own uneasiness was far from dissipated. So this was Lizzie's sister. That was better than any of the other scenarios that had occurred to Hayley, but it was still a weird, awkward way to meet her. Lizzie didn't talk about Caro much, which led Hayley to interpret that they didn't have a great relationship, and she guessed now that Lizzie hadn't come out to her before now. S**t. "Um, hi," she said, keeping hold of Lizzie's hand, feeling that she should at least say something. "Nice to meet you, Caro."

 

[Caro Taylor]

Caro felt almost a strange detachment as she listened to Lizzie and Hayley fumble their ways through their introductions, nodding awkwardly in return. It was surreal, seeing her sister in this different light. After so many years spent dedicated to avoiding her sister, Caro couldn't help but wonder what else she didn't know about Lizzie. There was a lot she wanted to ask, but it was... still too strange, this soon, to ask everything at once. So Caro settled for her one most pressing question. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, looking Lizzie right in the eye, trying to conceal her worry.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Instead of all the reactions Lizzie had worried about, she supposed she really should have expected this from her sister. Blunt questions were much more Caro's style than any real conversation, though it made it painfully difficult for Lizzie to judge how Caro was actually taking this news. Shrugging uncomfortably, she struggled to find a way to respond that hopefully wouldn't offend her sister. "I... I dunno, I just always felt like you... didn't really want to know stuff about me." She said awkwardly, unable to keep a slight tone of hurt out of her voice. "You always avoid me at school, and..." Lizzie trailed off, uncomfortable admitting such a personal fear in a public corridor. "I was... worried you'd... like, take it badly or something. I haven't told Mum and Dad yet either. I don't know how they'll react..." Lizzie shifted uncomfortably, squeezing Hayley's hand a little tighter for strength. "Please don't tell them yet..."

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley didn't know how to react. Her fight-or-flight reaction was fading now that Lizzie and her sister were talking, but . . . Lizzie and her sister were talking. It tugged at Hayley's heart to see Lizzie so uncomfortable, so hesitant. Hayley didn't have much in the way of family, but she'd never had any doubt that her mum would accept her sexuality. The thought that Lizzie didn't have that support . . . and that she'd never said anything about it to Hayley . . . It was clear to her now, too, that there was some unexpected tension between Lizzie and Caro. This felt like the sort of conversation the two of them should be having in private. Hayley didn't know what to do. So she squeezed Lizzie's hand, and stayed silent, and hoped that was enough.