Tears, Ticks & Tocks

Bertie continued to stare at the ruined parchment as time rolled by. There were clippings from novels he'd wrote, songs that had allowed him to escape when he needed it. Even draft letters to his Mum - he always wrote a plan beforehand in case he wanted to change something. Then there were mind maps of characters that came more to life with each extra fact. 

Lost tears splattered his vandalised journal. All that time wasted. He wouldnt have minded so much if they were recent, he'd easily have been able to remember them. In fact he hadn't looked at them for months. Most were simply ideas and plans yet he liked to preserve them, keep them as memories for him to look back on - they would also act as fossils of where his imagination had once taken him. Now they were burnt, bent and broken. Gone. 

Not realising he was no longer alone the Ravenclaw glanced up as he felt Vivianna on his left and Zane on his right. How they had known to find him here he wasn't sure, he didn't think either. The only thought going through his head was why. Why someone would be so cruel and hurtful when he had never done wrong to anyone. 

A ball of sadness pressed in his throat, fighting back the tears. He hated for people to see him cry, it was embarrassing and Vivianna was the only one to see him like this before. The thought dug deep into Bertie.

 Last year when a girl had spread rumours that he had a thing for a girl by the name of Mavis Oakes - he'd never even heard of her. One thing had led to another and soon he had become the laughing stock for no apparent reason other than the girl thought it would be a bit of entertainment. The most entertaining part for the other school children was when he lost his temper and stormed out of a class, retreating to the Clock Tower, like the present, for some release. 

Dropping The pieces of parchment in his hands Bertie pressed his face against Vivianna's chest, continuing to fight the tears and hide them from Zane. It wasn't that he didn't like Zane, he simply felt humiliated. 

Zane saw that Bertie was embarrassed - either at his being there, or at being discovered, and didn't quite know what to do with himself. Honestly, he'd hoped Vivianna would be the first to say something. Right now she was holding onto him as he did his best to keep the tears back. He reached out a hand, but stopped before it actually rested on Bertie's shoulder. Pulling the hand back he frowned and glanced at Viv, sure that his awkward feeling and lack of confidence in this situation was visible to her. Yes, the boy was like family - but not immediate family. Not yet anyways. Perhaps cousins or a nephew even. He didn't exactly know how to handle him yet.

"Mate," He attempted finally, "I know you're feeling rough right now, but if you tell us how to help you know we will."

There really wasn't anything else he could think to say or do at the moment. He had a feeling that Vivianna would be the one to really know what was going on here. If anyone could get something out of him it would be her.

"It's alright Bertie," Vivianna said softly, one hand running up and down the young boy's back. It had surprised her slightly when Zane spoke up. His statement had been slightly hesitant and awkward, but completely heartfelt.

Breaking her eyes away from the boy wrapped in her arms, the girl looked into Zane's eyes. She had seen out of the corner of her eye how the elder male had reached out to the younger, before pulling back his arm. He seemed to be looking at her for a cue of some sort. The redhead didn't quite know how to say that she didn't exactly have a clue how to deal with this situation either, and was basically working with basic female instinct just through her eyes.

Lifting her hand from Bertie's back for a moment, Vivianna reached out and grabbed one of Zane's hands. Pulling it away from the Ravenclaw, she placed the wizard's hand on the shoulder it had hovered just inches away from only a few moments before.

Zane had to admit he was surprised when Vivianna looked at him with the same lack of confidence about the entire situation. Leave it to them to not have a clue, he mused with a soft frown.

Vivianna reached out and took his hand, placing it on Bertie's shoulder. So maybe he did sort of know what he was doing. Things were different with Brianna - she always said what she wanted, or hid her fear or emotion. He could always talk it out of her, though. Zane supposed it came with years of being a sort of brother as well as father figure.

"Please tell us what happened." Zane requested gently. He couldn't push the boy, nor did he want to. If Bertie wanted to tell them he would. Surely the boy knew they wouldn't make fun.

The motion of Vivianna's hand up and down the young boys back and was somewhat soothing yet it was the addition of Zane's hand that brought Bertie back to his senses. Lifting his head from Vivianna's chest he wiped a finger across his eyes, brushing the tears away. 

'I have to go.' He didnt know why he said it and he didn't have anywhere to go yet he felt embarrassed. He was crying because a few bits of paper were in tatters. 

As Bertie grasped the handle of the door, leaving his ruined works behind, he stopped. A giggle surpassed him. A giggle that turned into a fit of laughter! What had come over Bertie was unclear, maybe it was his way of dealing with it? The more the Ravenclaw thought about why he was crying the more it seemed bizarre as to why he was crying. 

Zane's hand slipped off of Bertie as the boy lifted his head and said he needed to leave, standing up. Zane raised an eyebrow at Vivi as Bertie made his way to the door. Standing, Zane wasn't quite sure what to do if the younger Ravenclaw was just wanting to have them leave him alone.

Suddenly, however, Zane heard a burst of laughter come from the door and found Bertie still there, chuckling to himself. The older Ravenclaw smiled briefly - Bertie seemed to be feeling better at least a bit. That or the kid had gone mental, which Zane thought unlikely.

"Feeling a bit better?" He called, relief and happiness that Bertie felt better evident in his voice. Zane crossed his arms loosely over his chest and nudged Vivianna as he headed over to the door, hoping she didn't think he was doing the wrong thing. He hoped she would join him in trying to make the situation simply a conversation rather than some kind of help session which Bertie obviously didn't want.

Bertie wasn't listening to Zane. He continued to chuckle at how absurd the whole situation was. He'd retreated to an attic like setting to cry over a few things he'd wrote. Vivianna wouldn't cry if someone stole her cauldron. She liked potions just as much as he loved to write, yet they were different people with different thought processes. 

The laughter slowly died down, appearing more irregular as he returned to his senses. His letters to home, records of his conversation and best work was in ruins. Work he'd put so much emotion and effort into. Words that he may not be able to bring up again from his brain. 

'I'm an idiot.' Bertie said, slumping down the wall and falling to his knees by the door. He didn't know what to feel. He was truly hurt and the momentary laughter was his way of escaping but it wasn't wise to escape. He couldn't ignore what had happened. His passion was in tatters and now he felt like a complete buffoon in front of Viv and Zane.

"No you're not," the Slytherin said, pushing herself onto her feet and walking over to the boy on his knees. "If you're an idiot, then there's absolutely no hope for the rest of us," Vivianna stated, upon reaching the young Ravenclaw.

The witch let her hand rest naturally infront of her thigh, palm facing Bertie. That way, it could be interpreted as a hand for the upset boy to grasp and pull himself up, or just a slightly odd casual position, if he wasn't yet ready to stand. The girl might not be brilliant with comfort, but she was pretty darn good with manipulations and subtle gestures.

Vivianna still had no idea why the boy she thought of as a little brother was upset, but she wouldn't push. Not yet, anyway. Wanting to reassure Bertie, the teenager spat out the first thing that came to mind, "someone burned my potions notes the other day. I threw an absolute fit. You can ask Zane, I ended up hunting him down to plot some sorta revenge."

Allowing her other palm to settle on the shoulder of the wizard kneeling at her feet, Vivianna let out a gentle sigh. She never though she'd think this, but upset vampires were so much easier to deal with. All one had to do was keep them from attacking you, and give them a bit of blood, they calmed right down. But with humans you actually had to do all this emotional stuff, that the Slytherin admittedly had very little experience with.

Shaking his head Bertie disagreed. 'I am. I've been crying over...' A sigh escaped him. He wasn't sure how Vivianna and Zane would react the reason of his tears. Would they be amused that he'd locked himself in a tower over his written works, or would they understand? 

'Someone ruined all my writing. My letters from home, my poems, novels, music I'd wrote. Gone.' His brown eyes were round and filled with sadness. A lone tear escaping his tear duct was wiped away as his eyes caught the sight of the singed scriptures by Zane's feet. 'They're all burnt and torn up and...' And what else he was thinking didn't leave his lips, he froze in his mind, piercing the sorrow of his ripped writing. He didn't know who would do this... Nor why.

Grabbing both of Bertie's hands in her own, the Slytherin took a few deep, calming breaths. Someone had destroyed Bertie's writing. Writing that the boy had spent hours upon hours creating. Writing that was basically the young Ravenclaw's heart and soul inked into physical existence.

"Oh Bertie," the Slytherin sighed softly, one of her hands breaking away to run through the mess of brown hair. "Do you know who?" Vivianna was unable to refrain from asking, voice slightly louder than her previous comment. No-one hurt her little brother and got away with it. She might have to enlist Zane's help, but the witch was nothing if not a Slytherin. And if you mess with a snake, you're going to get bitten.