It all started with Anette. She looked about seven, but she was actually almost ten. The problem, of course, was that she hadn't really had proper food in ages, inevitably stunting her growth. Declan had learned all of this when his new bartender had found her stealing and tried to scare her off. Upon finding them, Declan actually thought the idiot was going to hit her, and promptly fired him. Anette looked baffled. But not as much as she did later, when she was sat down in her own booth and joined for lunch by the owner himself.
Her older brother, he had learned, was killed when the werewolves attacked Hogwarts. It had felt like the event had happened ages ago, for Declan, but that changed instantly. The fact that she was so open about it was shocking as well, at least until she slowed down and started hyperventilating. It had destroyed her parents. Her father in particular. And she had run away, only to find out that things had continued getting worse. So now, she was on her own. Now she was waiting for her letter to Hogwarts, just so she would have somewhere to go for most of the year.
He'd tried to comfort her, when he realized she was having a panic attack. He understood that feeling, now, in a way he never wished to. But she startled, taking off and leaving the pub altogether.
She didn't come back for three days. But when she did, she asked for "Dec, the man who made her a meal." He wasn't at the pub when she arrived, but he showed up minutes later when she insisted and his manager sent him a message. Contrite though she seemed, Anette looked surprised that he had shown up with such haste. Declan guessed nobody had bothered since the loss of her brother.
So he brought her through to the kitchen and offered to sit her on the counter. She panicked when he reached towards her, though, so he just shrugged it off and went about making what she wanted: a grilled cheese. One of his favorites. Clearly, they were going to get along splendidly.
He didn't mention her to Dom. Not because he felt strangely about it, but because it just seemed like a good deed he had done, and bragging about being good sort of ruined the act all together, didn't it? So he pushed it to the back of his mind while with her. Besides, she had enough to worry about with her schooling and his post-Ilvermorny problems. She didn't need to wonder about that little girl as well. So even when Anette returned again, that time just to get out of the rain rather than to ask for free food, he didn't say anything when he saw Dom the next day. He did mention Dom to Anette, though. On accident, really. And for a nine-year-old, she was really quite perceptive. And that led to him trying to decide if telling her all those things about his love life was morally justifiable. He had complained about something that seemed so small compared to this girl's life. But she was listening more attentively than most people ever had to him. And that made it easy to talk, even if he shouldn't have.
She asked about work, shockingly. And then Hogwarts came up. He felt a bit bad for it, given her circumstances. But then she asked for his last name. And she finally recognized him. Declan Arryn. One of the ones that showed up at Ilvermorny to help. It had been skewed by the media, as expected, but Anette had read up on him in a paper that someone discarded like it was nothing. Their litter, her entertainment. But he seemed pretty normal, to her. Not the hero type. Declan understood that. Even if it hurt, quite a lot. She wasn't wrong.
So when he asked where she stayed and Anette didn't have an answer, he offered her a place at the Leaky. But she had nightmares. She thought she would wake everyone if she became frightened. Declan hadn't slept peacefully in weeks, so he understood again. But he did something immeasurably insane. No person in their right mind would have invited a clever thief into their home. Perhaps Declan was as mad, now, as he felt in the middle of the night when it got particularly bad.
That night, lucky for him, was not one when Dom stayed over. Maybe she felt bad for leaving Rose alone so often. One day, he would ask her to move in properly...
..or would he? She had told him not to. They weren't even official. He had promised her that he wouldn't ask again, and regardless of how strange it felt - even still - he couldn't go against that. Yes, he had been the one harmed at Ilvermorny. But it could have been her. And maybe, in that universe, the students wouldn't have known how to help. He could have lost her just as easily as that: an accident. So. Despite Percy's warnings at Hermione's birthday party, Declan had told his heroine the truth. That they weren't in a relationship. What she thought they were involved in, now, he had no idea. He also didn't know that Hermione planned quite firmly on talking to Dom about him. He probably wouldn't enjoy the outcome of that.
Anyway, neither of them had made it through the night. But neither had expected to. The worst part was that he nearly scared her half to death when he started talking in his sleep. At least he hadn't gone wandering about the flat like he usually did without Dom there, clinging to him in her sleep. With her there, it seemed like his body was more afraid of leaving the bed. More guilty for getting up and scaring her. But it was almost nice, actually. Because they talked more, and his instinct was proven correct: she was the good kind. Probably a Hufflepuff, he mused. Imagine his shock down the line when she turned out to be a Slytherin due to her cunning and despite her warm nature. A Slytherpuff, if you will.
At any rate, her eventual housing only mattered in the end because after he fell asleep on the carpet and she on the couch, the morning dawned and both were still there. And both were thrilled to see the other rather than waking up on their own. And his discussion of Hogwarts with her brought them to the day's plans. She, actually, had a fair number of friends - most of whom were children of local shop owners - and she wanted to see them. And who was he to say she shouldn't?
But Declan was to head up to the castle, wondering the whole time if she would return to the pub that evening, and what he would say to Dom if she did. He didn't want to think too far ahead, but already he was wondering if he ought to transfigure some more space into his flat so he could give her a bed rather than the couch. But that was madness, not half because he was rubbish at Transfiguration.
But he would probably run into Keiran on the grounds, so perhaps he could ask for help if they became reacquainted. After Ilvermorny it was all madness and tears, not meeting up with old friends. So perhaps now was the time.
As Declan walked into the castle and decided to head upstairs to the staff area, he realized that, actually, he no longer had access to it. What if Keiran had moved it? A deep frown pulled at his weary, sleep-deprived features, and he slowed to a near-stop, trying to decide what to do. Just then, classes let out and he was all but trampled by the students before he could wiggle his way up to one wall of the corridor. Thankfully, none of them recognized him. Must have been first years, that group. So he shook his head and muttered apologies as he continued down the first floor, looking for any familiar face.
by Declan Arryn Tue Nov 22, 2016 7:30 am
