To Start in Disaster

[Phillip Piper]

Despite his love for the outdoors and all things nature-ry, Pippin hated Spring more than any other season. He thought he'd escaped the worst of the cold when he traveled to New Zealand with his adoptive family, but there were the occasional snow falls and a lot of chilly rain. It was irritating for most people, but for a boy who relied on flat, hard ground for basic transport, Pippin hated getting stuck in the mud that followed the winter thaw. It would stick to the rubber of his wheelchair, he'd trek it throughout the corridors, spend all afternoon apologising profusely to the caretaker and having to go to Herbology half an hour early just so he could make it through the quicksand-like mud. He had a lot of help of course, but he insisted on going on his morning 'walk' alone and sometimes there was a price to pay for solitude. Solitude he got as much as he wanted of, since although he was friendly with everyone in his house and grade, he hadn't made any firm friends yet since he'd arrived. Pippin had wisely expected this since he was used to the company of adults, but it got lonesome from time to time. One day, just one day, he'd like to wheel beside someone in the mornings with a piece of toast and a thermos full of tea. With a friend, he might even have a destination instead of just circling once around the Great Lawn and coming back inside. Today Pippin was to learn exactly how useful having a friend around could be when one couldn't walk.

Angling towards a gentle incline towards the forest, Pippin knew to keep well away from the edges but still liked to peer into the thick trees when he could. Someone like him could never explore such a place; firstly, because he never, ever broke the rules, and secondly because he might as well paint himself fluorescent pink and invite the forest dwellers to come and eat him. The Forbidden Forest was dangerous enough, even without the added hinderence of a wheelchair. He probably couldn't even make it a hundred meters in, anyway. This time, Pip did not even make it down the tiny hill. Most days, this sort of angle was nothing to him, but after a long week of frost and dew, all the elements seemed to be working against him. Before he'd even traveled a foot, Pippin began to slide. Furiously he slammed the breakers at the back down, but the hill was determined to throw him right in a patch of mud at the bottom. Throw him it did - right out of his chair and still sliding till he was only meters from the beginnings of the Forest. Pippin was slightly shellshocked but began to laugh at his misfortune. It must have seemed rather pathetic to an onlooker, but his gentle nature made him laugh at himself till no one could help but laugh with him; if anyone was there. A disabled fifteen year old boy lay faced down in the mud, chuckling and attempting to pull himself back over to the wheelchair, which was stuck fast. It didn't occur to him how close he was to danger, being so near to the forest, but still Pippin called out for help. "Excuse me?" came his thin cry with a touch of amusement. "Is anybody up there? D'you have a hand free?".

 

[Charlie Linus]

Charlie lifted his arms above his head and stretched as he yawned. The fresh air filled his lungs as he strolled, no particular destination in mind, but simply enjoying the outdoors. Charlie regretted the long years he spent locked away in the castle, hardly ever venturing outside. It had been that one day that he acted on a whim and gone to the cliffs to play his guitar instead of vacating his usual spot in a dusty old corridor, and had met Ariah. He had sworn he would never make another friend while at Hogwarts, especially not a Slytherin friend, as they couldn't be trusted, but Ariah was persistent. Somehow, she had made it underneath Charlie's skin and he had found some peace in the knowledge that he wasn't completely alone again. He decided not to think about what might happen if she abandoned him and instead chose to focus on the knowledge that there was now someone he could talk to when he was feeling particularly lonely.

Having a friend definitely lightened Charlie's attitude towards life if anything. Ariah had convinced Charlie that getting out in the open once and a while would be good for him and after being dragged from the Dungeons several times by Ariah, Charlie now roamed the grounds of his own accord every now and again, much like today. He was lost in his own thoughts when he heard someone speak. The Slytherin's eyebrow automatically raised as he caught sight of an empty wheelchair. Laughter could be heard from behind the small hill and Charlie's steps quickened until he found the source of the noise. He didn't know whether to feel sympathy or join the boys laughter. It was a ridiculous sight and had the boy not just fallen from a wheelchair, Charlie probably would have laughed in his face because of his situation. However, Charlie wasn't that heartless, so instead he took the few steps closer to the boy and bent down a little. "I guess I have a hand free." He said and stuck out his hand to prove it. "Did you want me to bring your-" Charlie went quiet and instead pointed to the wheelchair. For some reason he felt like he had to be careful, just in case he offended the fallen boy. Charlie may have been a grump, but he wasn't usually a nasty person to people that didn't deserve it. Besides, the boy was laughing, he was hardly a prime target for insults if he was just going to laugh them off. Why was he laughing anyway?

 

[Phillip Piper]

Finally, Pippin's laughter fading into concern, someone approached and offered him a hand. It was a boy who looked to be just his age, though Pip could never judge properly since he has always looked like a child. Beaming, he nodded gratefully and extended a thin arm to grasp Charlie's, then, with a neat little twist, he managed to hurl himself into the chair with his momentum. He was used to using his arms for everything and they were strong but had no stamina. A quick burst of energy like this was nothing for him, but had he been forced to slither back to the castle, he probably would have spent an humiliating day on the far side of the lawn before anyone had found him. "Oh, thank you," said Pippin, going pink around the cheeks with his effort, his embarrassment and also his general merriment. "I wouldn't have needed the chair brought, but I confess I would have been quite stuck if not you'd come. I ... oh, no." he paused, looking at how he was covered head to foot in mud. Far from making him look dirty and wild like some may have, Pippin ended up more like a sad sewer rat. Worse yet, it was all over the other boy's uniform. "I think I can ... here," said Pip, brining out his wand and casting a neat Scourgify over everything. Now the only thing muddy was his poor gummed-up wheelchair, which groaned and squeaked as he turned it around began to labour up the hill and out of the quagmire.

"Look at this mess," sighed Pippin as he looked back at the slop. "I daresay a junior hinkypunk will try and take up residence soon enough. Thank you for your help ... ?" he inquired. "I'm Pippin," he added politely. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've fallen in this thing. The breaks are shot and I've not yet learned how to fix them." Hence his laughter; laughing made him feel less pathetic and generally alerted people to his plight. It also helped to ease them of pity, which he hated.

 

[Charlie Linus]

Charlie blinked at the boys manoeuvre, genuinely surprised at the boys strength for the moment, however when he thought about it, if the boy had been in a wheelchair the majority of his life, one would have good arm strength. "Yeah, don't think that would have been too much fun." Charlie mumbled, thinking about the possibility of being stuck out on the lawn all day. When the boy got distracted, Charlie looked down at this own clothes, not having noticed the mud covering him. He pulled at his shirt and shrugged. It didn't exactly concern him, a little dirt never hurt anyone. As the boy brought out his wand, Charlie couldn't help but flinch, immediately suspecting that the boy would hex him, but when he cast a scourgify, Charlie let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Looking down at his clothes once more, he said a small "cheers" in appreciation.

Furrowing his eyebrows and possibly looking at the boy like he was crazy without meaning to, Charlie tried to think back to any lesson when they had talked about hinkypunks. Only a moment later he concluded that he had no idea what on Earth that meant. Fixing up his facial expression before he creeped the boy out, Charlie decided he really needed to pay more attention in school, but the fact of the matter was Charlie just didn't care for Hogwarts at all. His main goal was to survive it and go back to his muggle life.

"Charlie." He finished the boys sentence for him. "I'm Charlie." He said again and nodded when Pippin introduced himself in return. Charlie was a little shocked the discover that Pippin had fallen more than once off his wheelchair. Why didn't he just get it fixed or get a new one if it was that much of a burden to him? Charlie would have informed the boy of this also, but he realised just in time that there could be other circumstances that resulted in Pippin not being able to get another, so Charlie best to keep his mouth shut.

Sorry this is so late! Been crazy busy!