We Need To Talk

[Onyx Derouin]

He was sure of it now. He had watched, and prodded, and he had finally reached a conclusion. Something had to be done. They were both idiots. There was one person that he knew could help him in his evil schemes, so Onyx set out that morning with one goal in mind. He looked through the castle, with no luck. Getting a tip from a Slytherin kid that the forest beyond the Quidditch Pitch was a good place to look, he set off. If he hurried, he could catch her.

It didn't take him long to find who he was looking for. "Yo, Leda!" He yelled, jogging over to the girl. "It is Leda, isn't it? I'm Onyx Michaels, and you and I need to have a chat." He grinned as he approached, wondering if she would go along with his plan. He hoped so. His sister needed a bit of happiness, and after talking with Leda's buddy a few times, he knew that it was meant to be.

He could only hope Leda agreed.

 

[Leda Layton]

After the drama Mr Prickles can caused her, Leda was honestly quite relieved to be seeing the back of him. He still seemed ill to the Slytherin but she's been informed thst he was simply hibernating, and despite her best efforts he'd not taken to any potion the third year had offered him. After a small fairwell she'd released him back where he came from, although with Mervyn away it seemed a little off to be doing something by herself for once.

Turning on the spot she was a little shocked to find a boy stood behind her, and quickly she crossed her arms over her chest. Maybe he was one of Zennons friends but she didn't recognise him despite the fact he seemed to know her. Or had she? He did look strangely familiar but it was hard to place. "Yes, I'm Leda," she stated simply, wondering what he wanted from her. Had she seen him hanging around the Slytherin table on a few occasions? Unsure, she let the boy explain himself before jumping to conclusions, something she seemed to be very good at.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx grinned widely as the girl confirmed her name. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto one leg. "I just transferred here this year, second-year Gryffindor, sadly. I'm Sapphire's twin brother. You know her, yeah?" He asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He was eager to find out what Leda knew.

 

[Leda Layton]

Although Leda had never had been introduced to Sapphire as such, she recognised the features of this boy well enough to know she was with Mervyn that day in the hospital wing. The one that seemed to be clutching on him. "I guess I've seen her, long brown hair, sassy demeanour, could probably be mistaken for an elf if you're not paying too much attention?" Leda asked, only once the words left her mouth did she think that maybe she shouldn't have described her like that to her brother. "She's the one that keeps lurking around Mervyn." she added, wondering if that was why he was here.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx laughed. "Black hair, and she's a sassy ass little elf, I'll give you that much. And yeah, I suppose she is. Can't get her to admit that though." He rubbed his neck and looked at Leda a little cautiously. "You, uh, talked to Mervyn bout that? I've talked to him once or twice, and I think he likes her." He gave her a little grin. "My sister is, ah, well, stubborn, to say the least. She likes him- and I mean she's got it bad. But she ain't never liked nobody before, and it's got her all flustered. She ain't got no clue what's goin on and it's driving her batty pretending it ain't nothin."

 

[Leda Layton]

What was it with the number of kids these days that spoke in slang? She sighed as Onyx explained that he thought Mervyn liked someone, more than a friend as far as Leda could make out. In all honestly she hadn't spoken to her best friend properly, even at the Hospital Wing it hadn't been more than a few comments here and there. "Prove it." she said with raised eyebrows, wondering whether this boy had anything to go on that this were the case or whether he was just trying to trick her. Surely if Mervyn liked someone, she would have been the first to find out, regardless of whether they'd had a disagreement recently. She didn't like to admit it too often but he was her partner in crime and it had been strange to go without his presence for so long.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Well, that didn't work. Onyx paused a minute before letting out a sigh. "Okay I don't really know, that's why I need your help. Sapph is absolutely taken with him, but here's the thing." Onyx took a step closer, unintentionally, his face completely serious. "I just transferred here this year. We're twins but we were separated as babes. I won't bore you with the details, but she's spent all her life alone, fighting for everything she's got. I've known her around a year and not once- once, have I ever seen her like this. I... I don't know what's up with this Mervyn bloke. I've talked to him a few times but I don't know if he- well, ya know. I don't want her to get hurt and I don't know how to handle this. I need your help with this one, Leda." He pleaded, his sapphire eyes earnest as he spoke.

 

[Leda Layton]

No one had ever needed her for their own missions, usually she had her own agenda, but the way this poor soul seemed to be pleading with her was giving her second thoughts. She knew she was going to have to apologise to Mervyn at some point for getting so angry at him, but if this was something he too was interested in she wanted to know about it. "Well, I guess there's not much we can do." She added, her eyes boring into his as she paused for a moment, "However, if we were to find out what's really happening, I suppose it wouldn't hurt." It was strangely satisfying to be needed, and she'd missed having someone to share her thoughts with. Perhaps this black haired boy would be able to help Leda and Mervyn become friends again too. "But I haven't spoken to him for a while. Not properly anyway." Of course the first step would be to break that barrier.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx let out a relieved sigh, very tempted to hug her. "Oh, you just saved my skin. You ever need help with anythin', anythin', you just gotta ask." He smiled widely and thought over her last statement. "Did you two have a fallin' out? I can help if ya want. I've had to do lots of apologizin' to Sapphy lately. She seems to always forgive me." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty sure this Mervyn kid would forgive ya." He grinned widely, delighted that he could at least figure out what to do next. He'd tried coming out here with all bravado, hoping maybe he could play matchmaker and get the two together. But if Mervyn didn't actually care for her, that was the last thing he wanted to do. He may be new to this whole brother bit, but he would protect his sister from anything.

 

[Leda Layton]

Of course, Leda rarely needed help from anyone, but it was good to know that if she needing something fetched then she'd have someone to call upon. The Slytherin gave the boy a shrug, not really sure of where she stood with Mervyn at the moment. "You could call it that." Everything had happened that day in Olive's office so fast that she'd started to doubt herself over what really happened. She couldn't stop a small smile appearing on her face though at the idea of Mervyn forgiving her. They'd been friends for years and she liked to think that one small row hadn't completed dissolved that. "How did you find out about Sapphire?" Leda changed the subject quickly, not wanting to talk too much about her own feelings to a stranger, after finding herself slipping into a strain of thought she wasn't used to.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx gave an embarrassed chuckle. He rubbed his neck as he answered, his sapphire eyes sparkling as he gave Leda a boyish grin. "Well, I'm not sure what this says about me, but I went for ice cream in Obsidian Harbour and a girl from your guys' house mistook me for my sister." He struck a dramatic, somewhat feminine pose. "Don't I just make an adorable girl?" He grinned playfully.

 

[Leda Layton]

Leda snorted when she heard that he'd been mistaken for a girl. He obviously wasn't but he did have a similar facial structure to his sister. "What a way to find out.." she said dryly, wondering if anyone ever saw her in her sister too. "If I was ever mistaken for Professor Layton, I would damn well make the most of it." She grinned, wondering whether he would be able to slip into the Slytherin common room undetected. "So why do you think Saphhire likes Mervyn?" She asked, trying to get to the root of the issue. If she was going to badger the Gryffindor about what was going on, she needed as many details as possible.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx laughed. "You're sister's the Professor? I would definitely take advantage of that then." He bit his lip as she asked why he thought Sapph liked him. "Well... the staring, and then blushing and pretending she wasn't staring, even if you don't say anything. She looks at him and gets this goofy little grin on her face. Then there was this." He reached into his pocket then, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "This fell out of her bag yesterday." He held it out to Leda. He had already read it, so he knew what it said.

Spoiler

Stupid Gryffindor with his stupid hair and stupid grin and stupid accent. Why the hell can't you just stop thinking about the bloody idiot, Sapphire? He has no reason to talk to you again. Should've left him with the stupid nose bleed, Leda wouldn't've let nothin' happen. This whole thing is stupid. Just need to find something interesting to take my stupid mind off his stupid face and I can be fine again. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't bug you, you're fine you stupid git.

 

[Leda Layton]

"Well yeah." She was sure they looked alike, although she guessed for a transfer student it was easy to miss something like that, especially as Olive taught the older year groups. She knew it would be strange though when Olive was teaching her Potions. It was one thing to be taught by your sister at home versus in a room full of other students. Taking the piece of paper from Onyx, she wondered how he'd managed to acquire such material without his sister noticing. As her eyes scanned the words, she thought it was cute that someone would see Mervyn in that way. He was her best friend, and she definitely didn't see him in the same light that Sapphire did, although as the realisation hit that he might prefer spending time with someone else rather than than, she knew she was going to have to fix things sooner rather than later in case it caused the rift between them to widen. Handing the slip back to the Gryffindor with a nod, she said "I'll see what I can do." She had her own issues to deal with but she did need to know more about what Mervyn was thinking. "I take it Sapphire doesn't know you've come to see me?" she asked, wondering if she were meant to keep quiet in the common room.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx let out a laugh. "Oh, no, no. If she had any idea she'd kill me." He grinned. Leda was pretty cool, he could see why Mervyn and her were friends. He could also see that she didn't see Mervyn the same way Sapph did, and that made him feel better. He was worried a bit that Leda might be jealous, but that didn't seem to be the case.

A thought came to him then, and he was quick to voice it. "Oi, uh, last time I talked to Mervyn I asked him if he had any girl troubles and he bolted right off. I don't know if that'll mean somethin to you or not."

 

[Leda Layton]

Asides from Mervyn there were very few people Leda had actually spoken to. There were a handful of Slytherins, and she perhaps even considered Zennon a friend now, but it was still strange for her to be talking to someone outside her house. Even if Leda did know why Mervyn had bolted, she wasn't about to spill the details of how her best friend worked to anyone. In time perhaps Onyx would be her friend too, but for now the third year just shrugged and tucked away the knowledge for when she came to find him. If this was the case, she was glad that he was also stepping outside his usual zone and talking to people asides from her. "Did you come out all this way just for that?" She asked, curious if the Gryffindor wanting the pairing so strongly that he was spending his free time hunting her down.
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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx shrugged. "Only part of it was for Sapphy. I figured if you were nice maybe we could go back for lunch and have a chat? I haven't made any friends yet and I figured since I was lookin for you anyways I could see if we could talk a bit and see where it goes." He gave her a boyish grin. "Whatcha think, Leda? Think you can spare me some time?"

 

[Leda Layton]

Leda didn't really want to admit that she was enjoying having company, and doing her best to hide it she waved his request off quickly, "Sure. Fine. We can eat." She wasn't hungry either but at least it saved her from sitting on her own for a while. She really didn't like talking about herself though, and with a glance up to the boy she began to walk back to the castle, signalling over her shoulder that she wanted to hear more about he was getting on in his classes.

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[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx let off a pleased grin and followed after Leda, more than happy to talk about life at school. Aside from Gideon and Sapphire, he hadn't really had anybody to talk to. Even if she was older than him, Onyx appreciated that she was at least listening to him chatter away about school. He only wanted to get great grades to impress his sister. Aside from that, he didn't really have any purpose at the school yet. After a bit he turned the conversation back towards Leda, asking her how third year classes were.